arethese?"
"They are pillars which our father Abraham brought with him to Palestinefrom far-away Chaldea, and which he called Righteousness' Gate. He whocan squeeze between them is righteous before God and has never committeda sin."
The boy stood still and regarded these pillars with great, open eyes.
"You, surely, do not think of trying to squeeze yourself in betweenthem?" laughed the mother. "You see how the floor around them is wornaway by the many who have attempted to force their way through thenarrow space; but, believe me, no one has succeeded. Make haste! I hearthe clanging of the copper gates; the thirty Temple servants have puttheir shoulders to them."
But all night the little boy lay awake in the tent, and he saw beforehim nothing but Righteousness' Gate and Paradise Bridge and the Voice ofthe Prince of this World. Never before had he heard of such wonderfulthings, and he couldn't get them out of his head.
And on the morning of the next day it was the same thing: he couldn'tthink of anything else. That morning they were to leave for home. Theparents had much to do before they took the tent down and loaded it upona big camel, and before everything else was in order. They were notgoing to travel alone, but in company with many relatives and neighbors.And since there were so many, the packing naturally went on very slowly.
The little boy did not assist in the work, but in the midst of the hurryand confusion he sat still and thought about the three wonderful things.
Suddenly he concluded that he would have time enough to go back to theTemple and take another look at them. There was still much to be packedaway. He could probably manage to get back from the Temple before thedeparture.
He hastened away without telling any one where he was going to. Hedidn't think it was necessary. He would soon return, of course.
It wasn't long before he reached the Temple and entered the porticowhere the two pillars stood.
As soon as he saw them, his eyes danced with joy. He sat down on thefloor beside them, and gazed up at them. As he thought that he who couldsqueeze between these two pillars was accounted righteous before God andhad never committed sin, he fancied he had never seen anything sowonderful.
He thought how glorious it would be to be able to squeeze in between thetwo pillars, but they stood so close together that it was impossibleeven to try it. In this way, he sat motionless before the pillars forwell-nigh an hour; but this he did not know. He thought he had looked atthem only a few moments.
But it happened that, in the portico where the little boy sat, thejudges of the high court were assembled to help folks settle theirdifferences.
The whole portico was filled with people, who complained about boundarylines that had been moved, about sheep which had been carried away fromthe flocks and branded with false marks, about debtors who wouldn't pay.
Among them came a rich man dressed in a trailing purple robe, whobrought before the court a poor widow who was supposed to owe him a fewsilver shekels. The poor widow cried and said that the rich man dealtunjustly with her; she had already paid her debt to him once, and now hetried to force her to pay it again, but this she could not afford to do;she was so poor that should the judges condemn her to pay, she must giveher daughters to the rich man as slaves.
Then he who sat in the place of honor on the judges' bench, turned tothe rich man and said: "Do you dare to swear on oath that this poorwoman has not already paid you?"
Then the rich man answered: "Lord, I am a rich man. Would I take thetrouble to demand my money from this poor widow, if I did not have theright to it? I swear to you that as certain as that no one shall everwalk through Righteousness' Gate does this woman owe me the sum which Idemand."
When the judges heard this oath they believed him, and doomed the poorwidow to leave him her daughters as slaves.
But the little boy sat close by and heard all this. He thought tohimself: What a good thing it would be if some one could squeeze throughRighteousness' Gate! That rich man certainly did not speak the truth. Itis a great pity about the poor old woman, who will be compelled to sendher daughters away to become slaves!
He jumped upon the platform where the two pillars towered into theheights, and looked through the crack.
"Ah, that it were not altogether impossible!" thought he.
He was deeply distressed because of the poor woman. Now he didn't thinkat all about the saying that he who could squeeze through Righteousness'Gate was holy, and without sin. He wanted to get through only for thesake of the poor woman.
He put his shoulder in the groove between the two pillars, as if to makea way.
That instant all the people who stood under the portico, looked overtoward Righteousness' Gate. For it rumbled in the vaults, and it sang inthe old pillars, and they glided apart--one to the right, and one to theleft--and made a space wide enough for the boy's slender body to passbetween them!
Then there arose the greatest wonder and excitement! At first no oneknew what to say. The people stood and stared at the little boy who hadworked so great a miracle.
The oldest among the judges was the first one who came to his senses. Hecalled out that they should lay hold on the rich merchant, and bring himbefore the judgment seat. And he sentenced him to leave all his goods tothe poor widow, because he had sworn falsely in God's Temple.
When this was settled, the judge asked after the boy who had passedthrough Righteousness' Gate; but when the people looked around for him,he had disappeared. For the very moment the pillars glided apart, he wasawakened, as from a dream, and remembered the home-journey and hisparents. "Now I must hasten away from here, so that my parents will nothave to wait for me," thought he.
He knew not that he had sat a whole hour before Righteousness' Gate, butbelieved he had lingered there only a few minutes; therefore, he thoughtthat he would even have time to take a look at Paradise Bridge before heleft the Temple.
And he slipped through the throng of people and came to Paradise Bridge,which was situated in another part of the big temple.
But when he saw the sharp steel sword which was drawn across the chasm,he thought how the person who could walk across that bridge was sure ofreaching Paradise. He believed that this was the most marvelous thing hehad ever beheld; and he seated himself on the edge of the chasm to lookat the steel sword.
There he sat down and thought how delightful it would be to reachParadise, and how much he would like to walk across the bridge; but atthe same time he saw that it would be simply impossible even to attemptit.
Thus he sat and mused for two hours, but he did not know how the timehad flown. He sat there and thought only of Paradise.
But it seems that in the court where the deep chasm was, a large altarhad been erected, and all around it walked white-robed priests, whotended the altar fire and received sacrifices. In the court there weremany with offerings, and a big crowd who only watched the service.
Then there came a poor old man who brought a lamb which was very smalland thin, and which had been bitten by a dog and had a large wound.
The man went up to the priests with the lamb and begged that he mightoffer it, but they refused to accept it. They told him that such amiserable gift he could not offer to our Lord. The old man implored themto accept the lamb out of compassion, for his son lay at the point ofdeath, and he possessed nothing else that he could offer to God for hisrestoration. "You must let me offer it," said he, "else my prayers willnot come before God's face, and my son will die!"
"You must not believe but that I have the greatest sympathy with you,"said the priest, "but in the law it is forbidden to sacrifice a damagedanimal. It is just as impossible to grant your prayers, as it is tocross Paradise Bridge."
The little boy did not sit very far away, so he heard all this.Instantly he thought what a pity it was that no one could cross thebridge. Perhaps the poor man might keep his son if the lamb weresacrificed.
The old man left the Temple Court disconsolate, but the boy got up,walked over to the trembling bridge, and put his foot on it.
But he drew back his foot, for he thought: "This is impossible. It ismuch too old and rusty, and would not hold even me!"
But once again his thoughts went out to the old man whose son lay atdeath's door. Again he put his foot down upon the blade.
Then he noticed that it ceased to tremble, and that beneath his foot itfelt broad and secure.
And when he took the next step upon it, he felt that the air around himsupported him, so that he could not fall. It bore him as though he werea bird, and had wings.
But from the suspended sword a sweet tone trembled when the boy walkedupon it, and one of those who stood in the court turned around when heheard the tone. He gave a cry, and then the others turned and saw thelittle boy tripping across the sword.
There was great
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