Grimm's Household Tales

Once upon a time a poor, pious peasant died and arrived before the gate of heaven. At the same time a very, very rich lord came there who also wanted to get into heaven. Then Saint Peter came with the key, opened the door, and let the great man in, but apparently he did not see the peasant, and he shut the door again. And now the peasant outside heard how the great man was received in heaven with all kinds of rejoicing, and how those inside were making music and singing. At last all became quiet again, and Saint Peter came and opened the gate of heaven and let the peasant in. The peasant, however, expected that those inside would make music and sing when he went in also, but everything remained quite quiet; he was received with great affection, it is true, and the angels came to meet him, but no one sang. Then the peasant asked Saint Peter why they did not sing for him as they had done when the rich man went in, and he said that it seemed to him that things were done in heaven with just as much partiality as on earth. Then Saint Peter said, “By no means. You are just as dear to us as anyone else, and you will enjoy every heavenly delight that the rich man enjoys. But poor fellows like you come to heaven every day, while a rich man like this does not come more than once in a hundred years!”