Once, two angels, one old and the other young, came down to the world. The angels actually wanted to test the character of human beings. First, they chose a wealthy man. The angels decided to spend a night in a wealthy man’s home. But he made them stay in the basement. There, the older angel sealed a hole in the wall. The next night, they rested at a poor man’s house and he let them sleep on his bed. But his only cow was dead in the morning. “Why punish him?” asked the younger angel. The older angel said, “I saw gold through that hole in the wealthy man’s wall. As he is greedy, I sealed the wall, denying him gold. The angel of death came for the poor man’s wife. I gave him the cow instead, saving the man’s wife. Each got the due reward and punishment.”
Reward and Punishment
