them to conduct themselves decorously and modestly in the presence of the Lord. They were to bow down before him civilly, hold out their hands, and to answer his questions modestly and sensibly. The ugly children, however, were not to let themselves be seen. One hid himself beneath the hay, another under the roof, a third in the straw, the fourth in the stove, the fifth in the cellar, the sixth under a tub, the seventh beneath the wine-cask, the eighth under an old fur cloak, the ninth and tenth beneath the cloth out of which she always made their clothes, and the eleventh and twelfth under the leather out of which she cut their shoes. She had scarcely got ready, before there was a knock at the house-door. Adam looked through a chink, and saw that it was the Lord. Adam opened the door respectfully, and the Heavenly Father entered. There, in a row, stood the pretty children, and bowed before him, held out their hands, and knelt down. The Lord, however, began to bless them, laid his hands on the first, and said: “Thou shalt be a powerful king;” and to the second: “Thou a prince,” to the third: “Thou a count,” to the fourth: “Thou a knight,” to the fifth: “Thou a nobleman,” to the sixth: “Thou a burgher,” to the seventh: “Thou a merchant,” to the eighth: “Thou a learned man.” He bestowed upon them also all his richest blessings. When Eve saw that the Lord was so mild and gracious, she thought: “I will bring hither my ill-favored children also, it may be that he will bestow his blessing on them likewise.” So she ran and brought them out of the hay, the straw, the stove, and wherever else she had concealed them. Then came the whole coarse, dirty, scabby, sooty band. The Lord smiled, looked at them all, and said: “I will bless these also.” He laid his hands on the first, and said to him: “Thou shalt be a peasant,” to the second: “Thou a fisherman,” to the third: “Thou a smith,” to the fourth: “Thou a tanner,” to the fifth: “Thou a weaver,” to the sixth: “Thou a shoemaker,” to the seventh: “Thou a tailor,” to the eighth: “Thou a potter,” to the ninth: “Thou a waggoner,” to the tenth: “Thou a sailor,” to the eleventh: “Thou a messenger,” to the twelfth: “Thou a scullion all the days of thy life.”
When Eve had heard all this she said: “Lord, how unequally thou dividest thy gifts! After all they are all of them my children, whom I have brought into the world, thy favors should be given to all alike.” But God answered: “Eve, thou dost not understand. It is right and necessary that the entire world should be supplied from thy children; if they were all princes and lords, who would grow corn, thresh it, grind and bake it? Who would be blacksmiths, weavers, carpenters, masons, laborers, tailors and seamstresses? Each shall have his own place, so that one shall support the other, and all shall be fed like the limbs of one body.” Then Eve answered: “Ah, Lord, forgive me, I was too quick in speaking to thee. Have thy divine will with my children.”
The Nixie of the Mill-Pond
THERE WAS ONCE upon a time a miller who lived with his wife in great contentment. They had money and land, and their prosperity increased year by year more and more. But ill luck comes like a thief in the night: as their wealth had increased so did it again decrease, year by year, and at last the miller could hardly call the mill in which he lived, his own. He was in great distress, and when he lay down after his day’s work, found no rest, but tossed about in his bed, sorely troubled. One morning he rose before daybreak and went out into the open air, thinking that perhaps there his heart might become lighter. As he was stepping over the mill-dam the first sunbeam was just breaking forth, and he heard a rippling sound in the pond. He turned round and perceived a beautiful woman, rising slowly out of the water. Her long hair, which she was holding off her shoulders with her soft hands, fell down on both sides, and covered her white body. He soon saw that she was the nixie of the mill-pond, and in his fright did not know whether he should run away or stay where