Mark the Rich

In a certain kingdom, in a distant land, there once lived a wealthy merchant named Mark the Rich. His estates and treasures were so vast that no one could count them. He lived a life of luxury and merriment, but he was so ungracious that he never allowed a poor man to approach his door.

One day, Mark had a dream in which a voice said, "Make ready, Mark the Rich, and wait. God Himself will be your Guest!" When he woke, he called his wife and ordered a great banquet. He had his entire courtyard covered with scarlet velvet and golden brocade, and at every side path he placed journeymen and servants to keep away all the hungry poor and to drive them off. Then Mark the Rich sat down and waited for the Lord. The hours passed, but no guest arrived.

The poor people heard that there was a great feast at the house of Mark the Rich and gathered around, hoping for alms. But the servants drove them all away. Then one poor beggar, bent with age and dressed in rags, came up to the door. When Mark the Rich saw him from the window, he shouted in a fierce voice, "You sluggards and louts! Have you no eyes? Look at that beast trotting around my courtyard! Get rid of him!"

All the servants rushed out, seized the old man, and pushed him out the back way. But a kind old woman saw him and said, "Come to me, poor old beggar. I will feed you and let you rest." She took him in, fed him, gave him drink, and put him to bed. And so Mark the Rich never met the Lord for whom he had been waiting.

That midnight, the kind woman had a dream. She heard someone knock at the window and ask, "Old and righteous man, are you sleeping here tonight?" "Yes," the old beggar replied. "In a nearby village, a poor peasant has just had a son. How will you reward him?" The poor man said, "He shall become the lord of all the domains of Mark the Rich!"

The next day, the poor old man left his hostess and went on his way. The old woman went to Mark the Rich and told him her dream.

Mark went to the peasant and asked for the baby. "Give him to me. I will adopt him, bring him up, and teach him well. When I die, he shall inherit all my wealth." But his thoughts were far from kind. He took the little boy, went home, and threw him into a snowdrift. "Lie there and freeze! That's how you'll become master of Mark's wealth!" he muttered.

That very night, some hunters who were out hunting hares came across the boy, took pity on him, and brought him home to raise as their own.

Many years passed, and the river flowed on. One day Mark the Rich went hunting with those same hunters and saw the young man. When he heard the story, he realized it was the boy he had thrown away.

So Mark asked the youth to take a letter to his wife. But in the letter, he instructed her to poison the boy "like a dog." The young man set off on his journey. On the way, he met a poor man wearing only a shirt—but this beggar was none other than Christ Himself. He stopped the traveler, took the letter, and held it for a moment. When he returned it, the words had changed. Now the letter told Mark's wife to receive the bearer with all honor and to marry him to their daughter. It was done as the letter commanded.

When Mark the Rich returned home and saw his new son-in-law, he was furious. He said, "This evening, go to my distillery and oversee the work." But secretly he told the workers to throw the young man into the burning cauldron as soon as he appeared. The young man got ready to go, but suddenly he fell ill and had to turn back home. Mark waited, then went himself to see what had become of his son-in-law. In the darkness, the distillers seized him and threw him into the burning cauldron!

And so Mark the Rich met his end, while the boy lived on, having inherited all that had once been Mark's.