Two angels were walking around to see what people were doing on earth. Often they tested people and gave them rewards or punished them.
One day, they stopped near the large and beautiful house of a merchant. The merchant saw the travellers looking tired and invited them to rest for the night. His servants looked after them well. They had a lavish dinner and were given a comfortable room to sleep in.
In the room, there was a hole in the wall. One of the angels repaired that hole. Then they slept off. In the morning they thanked the merchant and went on with their travels.
A few days later, they stopped at a poor hut where a farmer lived with his wife. They welcomed the two travellers and gave them the little food they had cooked for themselves. Then they gave them their own bed while they themselves slept on the floor.
In the morning, they heard the farmer’s wife wailing. They had a cow that had died in the night. It used to provide them with milk for their own use and for sale.
The angels felt very sorry for them, but there was nothing they could do to help them.
The travellers gave them a few coins for their kindness, thanked them and went ahead.
As they walked on, the younger angel spoke to the elder one, “You did some very strange things!”
“What did I do?” asked the older one.
“In the house of the rich merchant you repaired his broken wall. He could afford to do that himself. But you gave the poor farmer just a few coins and let his only possession, the cow, die!”
“You see, the merchant had dug a hole in the wall and hidden inside it a lot of gold that he had earned by cheating people. I repaired the wall; now he won’t be able to find the gold,” explained the elder angel.
“Oh! And what about the cow?” asked the younger one.
“In the night, the farmer’s wife was to die. I begged the angel of death, when he came for her, to let her live and to take the cow instead. And those are magical coins. By now, they would have multiplied and turned into gold. So, the farmer and his wife can live in comfort!”
The younger angel smiled happily, “Now I know why we are called the Angels of Justice!”
Moral: Justice always comes in strange forms.
