Grimm's Household Tales

One very fine day it happened that the good God wished to enjoy himself in the heavenly garden and took all the apostles and saints with him, so that no one stayed in heaven but Saint Peter. The Lord had commanded him to let no one in during his absence, so Peter stood by the door and kept watch. Before long someone knocked. Peter asked who was there and what he wanted. “I am a poor, honest tailor who prays for admission,” replied a smooth voice. “Honest indeed,” said Peter, “like the thief on the gallows! You have been light-fingered and have snipped folks’ clothes away. You will not get into heaven. The Lord has forbidden me to let anyone in while he is out.” “Come, do be merciful,” cried the tailor. “Little scraps that fall off the table of their own accord are not stolen and are not worth speaking about. Look, I am lame and have blisters on my feet from walking here, and I cannot possibly turn back again. Only let me in, and I will do all the rough work. I will carry the children, wash their clothes, wash and clean the benches on which they have been playing, and patch all their torn clothes.” Saint Peter let himself be moved by pity and opened the door of heaven just wide enough for the lame tailor to slip his lean body in. He was made to sit down in a corner behind the door and was to stay there quietly and peacefully, so that the Lord, when he returned, would not notice him and be angry. The tailor obeyed, but once, when Saint Peter went outside the door, he got up and, full of curiosity, went around into every corner of heaven and inspected the arrangement of every place. At length he came to a spot where many beautiful and delightful chairs were standing, and in the middle was a seat made all of gold and set with shining jewels. It was also much higher than the other chairs, and a footstool of gold was in front of it. It was, however, the seat on which the Lord sat when he was at home, and from which he could see everything that happened on earth. The tailor stood still and looked at the seat for a long time, for it pleased him better than anything else. At last he could master his curiosity no longer, and he climbed up and seated himself in the chair. Then he saw everything that was happening on earth, and he noticed an ugly old woman who was standing at the side of a stream, washing, and secretly setting two veils aside for herself. The sight of this made the tailor so angry that he seized the golden footstool and threw it down to earth through heaven, at the old thief. Since he could not bring the stool back again, he slipped quietly out of the chair, seated himself in his place behind the door, and behaved as if he had never stirred from the spot.

When the Lord and master came back again with his heavenly companions, he did not see the tailor behind the door, but when he seated himself on his chair, the footstool was missing. He asked Saint Peter what had become of the stool, but Peter did not know. Then he asked whether Peter had let anyone come in. “I know of no one who has been here,” answered Peter, “except a lame tailor, who is still sitting behind the door.” Then the Lord had the tailor brought before him and asked him whether he had taken away the stool and where he had put it. “Oh, Lord,” answered the tailor joyfully, “in my anger I threw it down to earth at an old woman whom I saw stealing two veils at the washing.” “Oh, you rascal,” said the Lord, “if I were to judge as you judge, how do you think you could have escaped for so long? I would have had no chairs, benches, or seats long ago, not even an oven fork, but would have thrown everything down at the sinners. From now on you can stay in heaven no longer, but must go outside the door again. Then go where you will. No one shall give punishment here but I alone, the Lord.”

Peter was obliged to take the tailor out of heaven again, and since the tailor had torn shoes and feet covered with blisters, he took a stick in his hand and went to “Wait-a-bit,” where the good soldiers sit and make merry.