THE VOICE WITHIN

Two angels were travelling. deciding to spend the night in a wealthy man’s mansion, they stopped and assumed human forms. But the family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead, they were given a small space in the basement.

As they made their beds on the cold, hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, he replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night, the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the hospitable couple let the angels sleep in their bed so that they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked his mentor, “How could you have let this happen? The first householder had everything, yet you helped him. The second one had little but was willing to share everything, and you let his cow die!”

The older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it.”

“Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. So you see, things aren’t always what they seem!” Sometimes, that is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way it seems they should.

—The harbinger