Brother Lustig

There was once a great war, and when it came to an end, many soldiers were discharged. Among them was Brother Lustig, who received nothing but a small loaf of ammunition-bread and four coins for his service, though he had served faithfully for many years. With these meager possessions, he set off into the world, his spirits undaunted despite his circumstances.

As he walked along a road, he met a beggar who asked for alms. Brother Lustig, generous by nature, gave him his entire loaf of bread and two of his coins, saying, “I have been a soldier and know the pangs of hunger well. Take these, for you need them more than I.”

He continued on his way until he came to a village where he met a second beggar. This man too asked for charity, and Brother Lustig, still cheerful despite his dwindling resources, gave him one of his remaining coins.

Further along, a third beggar approached him. “What shall I give this one?” thought Brother Lustig. “I have but one coin left.” Nevertheless, he gave his last coin to the beggar, thinking, “I shall find my way somehow. My heart is light, and the world is wide.”

As he walked on, the third beggar called after him, “Brother Lustig! Do you know who I am?”

Brother Lustig turned around in surprise. “How do you know my name, friend?”

The beggar transformed before his eyes, his ragged clothes turning into gleaming robes. “I am Saint Peter,” he revealed. “I have been testing the kindness in your heart, and you have shown great generosity despite your own need. Because of this, I will grant you one wish.”

Brother Lustig thought for a moment and then replied, “I would like a knapsack that has the power to draw into it anything I desire, simply by wishing it so.”

Saint Peter granted his wish, giving him a worn but ordinary-looking knapsack with extraordinary powers. Then he said, “I am traveling to see the world. Would you care to join me?”

Brother Lustig agreed readily, and the two set off together. They traveled through many lands, and whenever they came to a house where they were unwelcome, Brother Lustig would wish for fine food and drink to appear in his knapsack, which they would enjoy in the fields under the open sky.

One evening, they came to a village where a wealthy but miserly man lived in a grand house. When they knocked on his door and asked for shelter, the man turned them away harshly, saying, “My house is not an inn for wanderers!”

As they walked away, Brother Lustig noticed a pale light in the window of a small cottage. “Let us try there,” he suggested.

The cottage belonged to a poor woodcutter and his wife, who welcomed them warmly despite having little to offer. “We have but a small loaf of bread and a jug of thin beer to share,” said the woodcutter’s wife, “but you are welcome to stay the night.”

Brother Lustig smiled. “Do not trouble yourself about food,” he said. “I have something that may help.” He placed his knapsack on the table and whispered his wish. Immediately, the knapsack filled with a feast fit for a king—roasted meats, fresh bread, sweet pastries, and fine wine.

The woodcutter and his wife were amazed as Brother Lustig spread the feast before them. “Eat and drink,” he encouraged them. “There is plenty for all.”

That night, as the travelers prepared to sleep, Saint Peter told Brother Lustig that the woodcutter’s wife was gravely ill though she had hidden her pain during their visit. “Tomorrow I shall heal her,” he said, “but you must tell no one of this power.”

In the morning, Saint Peter passed his hands over the sleeping woman, and the color returned to her cheeks. When she awoke, she felt stronger than she had in years and thanked them profusely for their kindness.

As they continued their journey, they helped many people, with Saint Peter healing the sick and Brother Lustig providing food from his magical knapsack. But after a time, Brother Lustig grew restless.

“I wish to travel on my own for a while,” he told Saint Peter. “The world is large, and I would like to see more of it.”

Saint Peter agreed and gave him another gift before they parted ways. “Take this healing ointment,” he said, handing Brother Lustig a small jar. “It will heal any illness or injury when applied. But use it wisely, for great power comes with great responsibility.”

Brother Lustig accepted the gift gratefully and set off on his own. He traveled from town to town, using his knapsack to provide himself with food and the healing ointment to cure the sick. His fame spread, and soon people were seeking him out for his miraculous cures.

In one kingdom, the king’s daughter was deathly ill. Physicians from far and wide had tried to cure her, but none had succeeded. When the king heard of Brother Lustig’s healing powers, he summoned him to the palace.

“Cure my daughter,” commanded the king, “and half my kingdom shall be yours.”

Brother Lustig examined the princess and recognized that she was beyond the power of his ointment. Remembering how Saint Peter had healed the woodcutter’s wife, he decided to try the same method. He had the princess’s body placed in a cauldron of water, which he set to boil. Then he applied the ointment, expecting her to be healed as the woodcutter’s wife had been.

But instead of recovering, the princess remained lifeless. The king, seeing what had happened, flew into a rage and ordered Brother Lustig to be imprisoned and executed.

As he sat in his cell awaiting his fate, the first beggar whom he had helped—Saint Peter in disguise—appeared before him. “You have misused the gift I gave you,” he admonished. “But because your intentions were good, I will help you once more.”

Saint Peter touched the princess, and she immediately came back to life, her illness completely cured. Then he turned to Brother Lustig and said, “Learn from this. Never attempt to do what is beyond your understanding.”

The king, overjoyed at his daughter’s recovery, released Brother Lustig and offered him great rewards. But Brother Lustig, chastened by his experience, declined the king’s offers and continued his wanderings, using his gifts more cautiously.

Years passed, and Brother Lustig grew old. One day, feeling that his end was near, he set out on the road to heaven. After a long journey, he arrived at the celestial gates, where Saint Peter stood guard.

“Ah, Brother Lustig,” said Saint Peter with a slight frown. “You seek entry to heaven, but I’m afraid I cannot admit you. Though your heart has been kind, you have lived by trickery and cunning.”

“But I shared what I had with those in need,” protested Brother Lustig. “Surely that counts for something?”

“It does,” acknowledged Saint Peter, “but heaven requires more than occasional charity. The doors of heaven must remain closed to you.”

As Saint Peter turned to go inside, Brother Lustig quickly threw his knapsack through the gates, wishing himself inside it. In an instant, he found himself within his knapsack, which was now inside the gates of heaven.

Saint Peter, realizing what had happened, couldn’t help but laugh at Brother Lustig’s final trick. “Very well,” he conceded. “You have outwitted me one last time. Your clever spirit and generous heart have earned you a place here after all.”

And so Brother Lustig, the merry soldier who had given away his last coin to a beggar, found his eternal rest in heaven—not through piety or perfection, but through the same quick wit and good-hearted trickery that had defined his earthly life.

From that day on, whenever Saint Peter encounters a soldier at the gates of heaven, he remembers Brother Lustig and examines the traveler’s knapsack very carefully before making his decision.