XXXV.—THE LORD GOD AS AN OLD MAN.
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.
