Illustration by Harlow Berny
Retold by Harlow Berny
Centuries ago, an old religious man of a long forgotten kingdom died of a poor heart and ascended to the pearly gates in the sky. At the same moment, the king of the lands the old man came from died of old age, despite being younger than the peasant. St. Peter came to the gate and unlocked it, rejoiced to see the king, but was so distracted that he did not see the peasant and closed the gate before the old man could walk through and join his king. The peasant sat down before the gate and waited. As he did so, he heard trumpets, drums, and shouts of glee, no doubt for the king that entered heaven. After an hour or so, he could smell freshly baked breads and ripe fruits and warm pies, and the music became quieted as they celebrated the grand arrival. It was around this time that St. Peter came back to the gates and found the old man, and when the peasant walked to the feast, he half expected the music of the angels as well, but all he heard was the chatter of the people as they ate. There were angels that greeted him and were happy to see him, but there were no songs or music. When the peasant asked why there was singing for the king but not for himself, and if heaven had the same favoritism of wealthy over the poor, St. Peter gave him this response:
“Dear old soul, we love all people the same here, and everyone is able to enjoy the riches of the earth in the kingdom. I ask you to forgive us, for poor souls like yourself come many a time, but souls of the rich only ever come a hundred years or so.”
Edited by: Renée Vazquez
Re-telling of Grimm’s
Leave a Reply