Long ago.A remote village in a country. There was a priest in that village. He was in charge of the only church in the village. He was very friendly with everyone in the village. He could have been found even if no one else in the village was in danger. He had a good reputation as a good man.One night of severe winter. It's freezing outside. The pastor is arranging to sleep after dinner. At that time there was a knock on the door from outside.

"Who came again so late at night?"He opened the door and saw twelve people standing there. One of them addressed the pastor and said, “We are coming from far away. Please give us a little shelter tonight. ”The pastor was quite surprised but said,“ Of course. All of you come in. ”After the guests came in, he said, "All of you rest, I am arranging your meal."He moved into the inner room. He is extremely worried. Because even if I say I am arranging food, there is nothing in the house except half bread and half bottle of wine. But you can't keep so many people without feeding them.

"All right. Let's see if we can work with what we have. ”After going to the pantry, he was amazed. Because there are twelve large loaves of bread and twelve bottles of high quality wine. He was very surprised. But for then the matter was suppressed. He entertained his guests with bread and wine. The rest of the night passed like this.As the guests were leaving the next morning, the youngest of them asked the pastor, "Do you know who we are?"The pastor replied, "I don't know who you are, but I understand that you are no ordinary person."

The youngest member laughed and said, “You're right. The leader of our group of twelve is God Himself. We are all very happy with you. God will grant you whatever gift you ask for now. After a while everyone will say goodbye to you, but before that you should ask God for your gift. ”The pastor went to God and said, “Lord. If someone sits on the tool in my living room, he shouldn't get up until I tell him to. ”God said, "That's right." Metformin tablet.When the bridegroom returned, the youngest member said, "Did you ask for a bridegroom? You go to God again, you want a bridegroom again."

The pastor went to God again and said, "Lord, if anyone climbs on the apple tree in my backyard, let him not come down until I tell him."God said, "That's right."When the groom returned, the youngest member said, “What did you want it for again? We want you to ask for a gift that is good for you, don't you want all the weird gifts? You go again, go and get a better groom. And remember, the Lord never gives more than three gifts at a time. ”The pastor went to God again and said, "Lord, I will never lose a game of cards."God said, "That's right."

The youngest member and others were very upset when the pastor asked for this gift. Before leaving, the youngest member said, "You are very good as a human being but very stupid. Otherwise, even if you get a chance to get a gift from God, anyone can ask for such a strange gift, I would not believe it if I did not see it today." Anyway, at least you didn't go down without explaining yourself first. "Then many days passed.One day, when the priest was 63, there was a knock on his door.He opened the door and saw a very ugly man standing in front of him.He asked, "Who are you?"

The ugly man said to him, “Let's go, sir. Your time on earth is over. I came from hell to pick you up. I am the devil. ”The pastor said, “It's a good thing you came to get it. It is not possible to leave in such a hurry. You do one thing, I'll sort it out from the inside, and you'll just sit and rest on this tool. "Satan thought, “All right. What's the harm in taking a break when it's too late to go? ”After a while the pastor came out from inside. A smile on his face.Satan said, "Are you ready? Let's go."The devil got up from the tool. But he was surprised to see that he could not get out of the tool in any way.He said to the priest in a very angry voice, "What have you done?"The pastor raised his voice and said to the devil, “The tool is enchanted. You can't get out of it unless I tell you to. "Anger, sadness, the devil can not say a word.After a while he asked the pastor, "What do you want?"

The pastor told him, "The next 300 years will not come near me."Satan thought for a moment and said, "All right."300 years have passed since then. The pastor felt that 300 years had passed. The next day, 300 years later, Satan appeared. He said, "I am no longer entering your house. I will stand in the yard of the house, you get ready."The pastor said, “Stand in the yard? Then do one thing. Grow some apples from my apple tree. Can be eaten on the go. When I leave, who will eat this? ”Satan thought, “It's not bad. This time at least I don't have to sit at home. You can also eat juicy apples from the tree. ”Just think. The devil hurriedly climbed the apple tree and started laying apples.After a while the pastor came and stood in the yard. This time he is smiling.The devil went down from the tree. But already he is stuck with the apple tree.He said angrily to the pastor, "What have you done this time?"The pastor smiled and said, “This apple tree is actually enchanting. You can't get off the tree unless I tell you to. ”

Satan said, "What do you want now?"The pastor said, "I don't want to see your face for the next 300 years."Satan said in silence for a while, "All right."300 years have passed. The pastor thought that 300 years had come to an end. And the very next day, 300 years later, Satan came and appeared. He said, "I'm standing on the street, you get ready."The pastor got ready and came out. Just before leaving, he looked back at the house. He has lived in this house for more than 600 years. A sad emotion engulfed him as he said goodbye.Satan said to him, "Let's go."The journey began. But shortly after the start of the journey, the pastor seemed to be in a hurry.Satan said, "What's the matter?"The pastor said, "Is the path too long?"Satan said, “Yes. Why do you want to know this? ”The pastor said, "Since the path is very long, what if we play cards with occasional rest and rest on the path?"Satan said, “Very good. But I don't play cards without betting, you know? ”The pastor said, “I know. What do you want to bet on? ”Satan said in a mocking tone, "If I win, your soul will be completely mine alone."The pastor said calmly, "What if I win?"Satan said, "I will give you whatever you want."

The pastor said, "Every time I win, you will bring me 12 souls from hell and give them to me."Satan said sarcastically, "Whatever you want."Confidence was overflowing in the devil's voice. Because no one is more skilled at playing cards than the devil.But with the pastor is that third blessing of God.In the first game, Satan saw that he had lost before he realized anything. According to the condition, Satan gave 12 spirits to the priest.Played again, lost again. I had to give 12 souls again.Every time the game is played, the devil loses and at the same time his stubbornness is suppressed. An ordinary mortal man of the mortal world could not understand how he was repeatedly lost in the game of cards. But by then, the hell is about to be emptied by giving the soul at 12 o'clock.There came a time when there were no more souls in hell.Satan said solemnly to the pastor, “I have nothing more to give you if I lose the game with you. I have emptied the hell to win with you. But still I could not win. ”The pastor said, "This is the end of my journey with you."Satan did not answer.

This time the pastor traveled to heaven with hundreds of souls.St. Peter, the gatekeeper of heaven, blocked the way to the gate of heaven.Peter asked the pastor, "Who are you?"After the pastor introduced himself, Peter said, “You can't go in with so many people. If you want to enter, you have to enter alone. ”The pastor said, “All right. I will go in alone, but first ask God for something. ”Peter said, "What?"The pastor said, “God came to my house on a very cold winter night with 11 of his companions. There was no food in my house that day, but I did not make the mistake of entertaining them. But today I have to go to heaven alone because I have brought so many people with me. Do I then think that I am greater than God? ”"I'm leaving right now," said Peter.After a while Peter came back and opened the gates of heaven and said in a serious voice, "The Lord has told everyone to come in."In this way the pastor, by the power of his intellect, took not only himself, but hundreds of souls to heaven.