There was once a man with a merciful heart who had a large fortune, and
when he died he left much gold to his brother to use as he wished, and
an additional amount in trust, to succour the poor. In his will he
wrote:
"Build a big house and put therein a big stove and heat the stove well.
On the door thou shalt put a sign in red letters that shall read: 'Ye
poor of the land, come in and warm your bodies; ye hungry of the land,
come and get a bowl of warm wine and a loaf of bread.' This will be my
monument. I want no tombstone on the grave wherein my body will lie.
Dust unto dust descends, but my soul will be alive in the blessings of
the poor."
Peacefully the man died. They buried him in a lonely place under a tree.
Then the brother brought masons and carpenters and built a big house of
stone, as was written in the will, and when the house was finished he
called a painter and had painted in letters, red and big, so they could
be seen from very far, the words his brother had written: "Ye poor of
the land, come in and warm your bodies; ye hungry of the land, come and
get a bowl of warm wine and a loaf of bread." And every one admired the
good deed and many other rich men prepared their wills so as to provide
help for the poor, that they might live eternally in their blessings.
The next day, when the stove, the big stove, was put in, the brother of
the dead threw the doors open for a feast to the rich. And they all
blessed the dead because of his goodness to the poor.
On the third day the doors were opened to the poor, and it so happened
that the locusts had eaten up the wheat on the fields that year, so that
there were many without bread and who had to seek shelter in other
places. They passed by the red sign and came in to warm themselves and
eat, and though busy with their own sorrows they blessed the dead one.
Many were the bowls of wine and loaves of bread given to the poor. But
the brother was greedy and wanted all for himself, so day and night his
constant thought was how to comply with the will of his brother and the
sign on the door and yet not give bread and wine to the poor. He read
the will again and the devil fastened him to the word "stove," and the
devil within him said: "Stove--stove--the stove will save you."
Greed sharpened his wits and the next morning he rose early and made a
big fire and closed all the windows and doors. When the poor came to
warm themselves the heat would chase them out again, and instead of
blessing they cursed the dead who had so artfully attracted them into
the house, only to torture them with the heat of the room. The wine
would remain untasted and the bread untouched.
The poor of the land spoke:
"Are we to be punished because the locusts ate our grain?"
And the house is called "the Devil's Spot." The wanderer freezes on the
snow-covered field, the poor starve in their huts, but they take not the
bread. And one day, a child said: "See! the sign! the red letters are
written with blood."
In a lonely place is the forgotten grave of a merciful man.
On a lonely road is a house, where the poor dare not enter, and on the
big stove stands the devil, and laughs and laughs. And when one asked
him why he laughed the devil showed his teeth and answered: "This is the
best place that ever man built for me."