In the beginning, when man began to plough, when he had cut a furrow
from one end to the other, he lifted his plough on to his shoulder,
and when he had carried it back to the same end that he had begun
from, he began again to plough thence. The Lord, in the form of an
old man, passed by and said to him, 'Not thus, my son, but when you
make a furrow, turn your plough round at the same place to which you
have cut the furrow, and plough back to the end from which you
began.' And thus the ploughman learnt to plough aright, as people
plough at this day.
Thence the Lord went away in the form of an old man, and saw a woman
who was weaving at a loom, and putting the thread, three threads at
a time, into her mouth; she bit the thread off at one end, and began
again at the same side. The Lord said to her, 'Not thus, daughter;
but put the thread hither and thither with two hands without biting
the thread off.' And she learnt to weave as people weave at this
day.
The next day the Lord again passed alongside of the ploughman in a
different guise, and asked him: 'Who taught you, my son, to plough
thus?' He replied to him: 'The Lord God, in the form of an old man.'
The Lord blessed him, and said: 'A day to plough and a year to eat!'
Afterwards he passed by the woman and asked her: 'Who taught you,
daughter, to weave thus?' She replied: 'Myself, my very own self,
quickly, quite quickly.' Then the Lord said to her: 'A year to
weave, that you may carry it under the arm!'
They say, moreover, that at that time men had command not only over
all animals, but also over inanimate things; but later, they say, it
was altered when men became wicked. For instance, when a man had cut
logs of wood and piled them in a heap, he struck them with a stick,
and they went of themselves whither they were required to go. But a
certain woman having cut logs and struck them to make them go, they
started; but she, being tired of walking beside them on foot, seated
herself at top, and the logs resisted. She struck them on one side,
she struck them on the other, but they didn't move any whither. Then
she unfastened her girdle, and put them on her back. On the way God
showed himself to her, and said to her: 'Since you are wicked,
instead of your riding on them, let them ride on you.'
When the Lord walked about the earth and blessed it, he went first
to a herdsman. He was lying on his back under a tree, a pear-tree;
his pitcher, in which he fetched water for himself, stood by empty.
The Lord, in the form of an old man, asked him: 'My son, is there
any water in the pitcher?' He said to him: 'No.' The Lord said to
him: 'Go, my son, to fetch me a little water, that the old man may
drink.' The herdsman made a sign to him with his foot: 'There is
where the spring is; if you're thirsty, go, drink.' The Lord then
gave the word that all the herd should run off as if assailed by the
gadfly; then, when they began all to run in one direction, the
herdsman took his hat in his hand and started off, and as he ran
after them thought: 'How I have sinned against God!'
Then the Lord went to a shepherd. The shepherd also had a pitcher.
The Lord asked him: 'My son, have you any water?' He replied to him:
'There is water, old man, but I cannot go to fetch it myself, or the
sheep will disperse.' Then said the Lord: 'Go, my son; I will watch
them.' When the shepherd went off for the water, the Lord took the
shepherd's staff, and when he had stuck it into the ground, placed
the shepherd's cloak upon it, and blessed the sheep. They became
quiet and tranquil in the shade. During the shepherd's absence up
came a wolf to obtain the appointed tribute which he received every
day from the shepherd. The Lord gave him a lamb of little value. The
wolf, discontented, did not choose to take it, but darted forward
and seized another, which he liked. Then the Lord took the
shepherd's trumpet, and struck him on the loins--on the spine. From
this it has remained a property of the wolf that his loins are just
as weak as his neck is strong. But he carried off the lamb which he
had seized. The Lord took two little stones, threw them after the
wolf and blessed them; they became two dogs, ran after the wolf, and
took away the lamb which the wolf had seized. The shepherd came up
bringing the Lord cold water, and saw the sheep quiet, for they were
standing in the shade and the two dogs were frolicking round them.
The shepherd then asked the old man: 'Well, old man, now when the
sheep are standing quiet, and are like blocks of wood, how shall I
drive them to pasture?' The Lord said to him: 'My son, take a copper
trumpet, and blow it to them; they will start off in the direction
from which the wind blows gently.' From that time forth down to the
present day people drive their sheep to pasture blowing trumpets.