This is part 2 of 4

Three men — a carpenter, a tailor, and a maggid — were traveling together and came to a desolate wilderness, and when night fell they made a campfire and prepared to sleep. But for safety’s sake they decided that each one of them would stand guard for a third of the night. The carpenter would take the first shift, the tailor the second, and the maggid the third.

“So it was that the carpenter stood watch while his companions slept. In order to pass the time, he took a piece of wood from a nearby tree, and carved a statue of a girl. By the time he finished the carving, his shift was over, and he woke the tailor to take over while he slept.”

“The tailor awoke and rubbed his eyes, and when he had wiped the sleep away he saw the lovely statue the carpenter had made. And because he liked it very much, he decided to dress it in suitable garb. So he did. He took out his work tools and some pieces of cloth, made a dress, and put it on the statue, and the clothes gave the statue the appearance of life. When he had finished his work, he saw that it was time to wake the maggid. He woke him and went back to sleep. The maggid arose and saw the statue of the girl and was startled, for it had been carved so well, it seemed to be alive. But after he touched it he understood it was the workmanship of his two companions. He said to himself: ‘The statue is so perfect, it would be fit for G-d to breathe the breath of life into it.”‘

“Then the maggid stood and prayed, and called upon the Creator of all to bless the girl with the breath of life. And the Creator of the universe heard his prayer, and turned the statue into a living, life-size human being.”

“When the carpenter and the tailor awoke the next morning, and saw that the statue had become a living girl, each man said: ‘She belongs to me.”

“The carpenter said: “I made her and molded her and gave her shape, therefore I have the greatest right to her.”

“The tailor said: “I dressed her, and my contribution to her human appearance is greater than yours.”

“The maggid said: “I prayed and asked for life to be breathed into her, and that is the main thing; therefore, she belongs to me.”‘

Then the prince who had told this story to the witness said: “So, the question is, who do you think has the greatest right to the girl?”

“It is a difficult question, and I can’t decide it now,” said the witness. “Tomorrow I will put it before our men of judgment, and they will decide.”

“You forget,” said the prince, “that tomorrow I will no longer be alive. For I will be hanged before I hear the verdict.”

Then the princess, who had listened to the tale with great interest, could no longer remain indifferent to this matter of justice. She spoke up and said: “The right of the maggid is the greatest, and therefore the girl should go with him, for it is he who caused her to be given life, and that was decisive in her creation.”

“Thank you, princess,” said the prince, bowing to her. “I am persuaded that your verdict is the just one.”

The next morning the executioner came at dawn and started to drag the prince to the gallows despite his protests, for the executioner assumed that the princess had remained silent, as she always did. It was only when the witness intervened and confirmed that the princess had indeed spoken that the execution was put off, and the young man brought before the king.

“I find it difficult to believe that my daughter has broken her silence after all this time,” said the king. “But we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, and allow you to spend another night with her, in the presence of two reliable witnesses, and we’ll see what happens.”

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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