The Tailor in Heaven



Peter leaves tailor in heaven. This condemns old woman on earth. God shows him faults and throws him out of heaven.

It happened that on a beautiful day, God wanted to go to the heavenly garden and took all the apostles and saints with him, so that no one remained in heaven except St. Peter. The Lord had ordered him not to let anyone in during his absence, so Peter stood at the gate and kept watch. Not long after, someone knocked. Peter asked who was there and what he wanted. "I am a poor honest tailor," replied a fine voice, "asking to be let in." "Yes, honest," said Peter, "like the thief on the gallows, you have made long fingers and pinched off people's cloth. You won't get into heaven; the Lord has forbidden me, as long as he would be out, to let anyone in." "Be merciful," cried the tailor, "little patches that fall from the table by themselves are not stolen and are not worth mentioning. Look I limp and have blisters on my feet from the way therefore, I cannot possibly turn back. Just let me in, I want to do all the bad work. I will carry the children, wash their diapers, clean and wipe the benches they have played on, and mend their torn clothes."
St. Peter was moved by compassion and opened the gates of heaven to the lame tailor so that he could slip in with his scrawny body. He had to sit down in a corner behind the door and had to keep quiet and still, so that the Lord would not notice him and become angry when he came back. The tailor obeyed, but once St. Peter stepped out of the door, he got up and, full of curiosity, walked around in all the corners of the sky, looking at the opportunity. At last he came to a place where there were many beautiful and exquisite chairs, and in the center was an all-gold armchair set with shining gems; it was also much higher than the other chairs, and a golden footstool stood in front of it. But it was the armchair on which the master 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 armchair for a good while, for he liked it better than anything else. At last he could not restrain his forwardness, climbed up and sat down in the armchair. There he saw everything that happened on earth, and noticed an old ugly woman standing by a brook and washing, and putting two veils secretly aside. The tailor was so enraged at this sight that he seized the golden footstool and threw it down through the sky to the earth after the old thief. But since he could not bring the stool back up, he crept gently away from the chair, sat down in his place behind the door, and pretended that he had not drank any water.
When the Lord and Master returned with the heavenly retinue, he did not notice the tailor behind the door, but when he sat down on his chair, the stool was missing. He asked St. Peter where the stool had gone, but he did not know. Then he went on to ask if he had let anyone in. "I know no one," answered St. Peter, "who would have been there but a lame tailor still sitting behind the door." Then the Lord made the tailor come before him and asked him if he had taken away the stool and where he had put it. "O lord," answered the tailor joyfully, "I threw it down in anger on the ground after an old woman whom I saw stealing two veils while washing." "O thou mischievous one," said the Lord, "if I would judge as thou judgeest, how thinkest thou that thou wouldst have fared long ago? I would long ago have had no more chairs, benches, armchairs, nor even a stove fork here, but would have cast all down after sinners. Henceforth you can no longer stay in heaven, but must go out again before the gate: see where you get. Here no one shall punish but I alone, the Lord."
Peter had to take the tailor out again before heaven, and because he had torn shoes and his feet were full of blisters, he took a stick in his hand and went to Warteinweil, where the pious soldiers sit and make fun.