The Envious Man

Another short Jewish tale. Also written at the age of eleven.

The Envious Man

In a small town near a wood there lived a wise man. This wise man was the second wisest in the town. The Rabbi was the wisest. The man was enraged by this and wanted to be as honoured as the Rabbi. The man started to spy on the Rabbi, from the moment he rose in his bed to the moment he lay down in it. The man saw that very early every morning, the Rabbi took a stroll in the woods. The man decided to make a trap so he woke up earlier that the Rabbi the next morning and ran into the woods. He dug a very deep pit and covered it with leaves. When the Rabbi was taking his stroll in the woods, he fell in the pit. The jealous man had watching from behind a large bush and when he saw the Rabbi fall he ran out of hiding and danced with joy. He covered the pit with leaves again so that any animal could just fall in and start eating the Rabbi. The wise man ran back to the down smirking. When the man reached the town the people started questioning him about the whereabouts of the Rabbi. The wise man told them that he was walking in the woods with the Rabbi when a hungry wolf jumped into their path. The man told the town that he had fled but the Rabbi was eaten alive. The town appointed the wise man to take the place of the Rabbi because of his bravery.
Many years later the wise man was walking in the woods when he walked over a patch of leaves. He had forgotten that many years ago he left a trap there. The man fell through the leaves and into a pit an there he saw the Rabbi, no different to the way he had left him. Above them, a wolf was walking through the woods and fell through the pit. The wolf ate the wise man alive but honoured the Rabbi. The Rabbi climbed on the wolf’s back and the wolf jumped out of the pit. The Rabbi stepped off the wolf’s back and walked back to the town. The Rabbi told the town what had really happened, how Hashem, his G-d, had protected him from harm. The town gave the Rabbi his old honour and served Hashem with more power.