Gabriel was a famous sculptor. His sculptures looked quite real. One night, he dreamt that after fifteen days, the demon of Death would come to take him. Gabriel prepared nine statues of himself and when, on the 15th day, he heard the demon of Death coming, he took his place among the statues. The demon of Death could not tell them apart and was astonished to see ten Gabriels instead of one. He rushed back to the god of Death and told him what had happened. The god of Death got annoyed and set out himself. Gabriel was alert, but stood motionless. The god of Death got a little puzzled, but he thought for a moment and said, “Gabriel, these sculptures would have been perfect, but for one mistake.” Proud Gabriel could not bear to hear about the tiniest fault in his work. He came out and asked, “Where is the fault?” The god of Death caught him and said, “HERE.” The statues were faultless, but Gabriel was caught because of his pride.
The Proud Sculptor
