Page:Etta Block - One-act plays from the Yiddish (1923).pdf/163

 with white, pearly wings, who spoke to the fisherman thus: “At the bottom of the river I have lain for thousands of years—thousands of years, since the creation of the world! Not for my own sins did God banish me thither, but for the sin of Adam and Eve, who took not me, but the serpent, to abide with them in the Garden of Eden. And with the eating of the Apple they sullied me. That is why God banished me, for I was created to be the Angel of Love. And that is why men now love with the love of the serpent, with the love that disfigures, that poisons their hearts and their human emotions. The first, . the holy love was cast aside, and nothing now ‘remains of it among humanity but lust! Dear fisher, do not cast me back into the muddy waters! But carry me to your beloved shep- herdess and I will reward you with such good fortune, the like of which none have ever tasted.” “Will you give me a crystal palace for my be- loved, for my dear shepherdess?’ asked the fisherman. ‘Will you give me silver and gold so that I may make her happy, give her a life without hunger and need?” “My love®does not require a palace within which to be happy. Neither does she know hunger nor plenty. Hunger and the lust for silver and gold—that is God’s punishment, because the first lovers sullied love.” The fisherman now understood what the Angel meant. He took him in his arms and pressed him to his heart forever! Forever! And the silver net and the golden weeds he cast back into the river.