Master Pfriem was a short, thin, lively shoemaker who never stayed still for very long. His nose turned up a little, his face was pale with small marks, his gray hair stuck out in all directions, and his bright little eyes jumped about like two tiny birds watching everything around him.
He watched everything, had an opinion about everything, and always believed he knew best. When he walked through the streets, he swung his arms as if rowing a boat. Once he bumped into a girl carrying water, and the pail flew up, splashing him from head to toe. "Stupid thing!" he cried, shaking off the drops. "Could you not see I was coming?"
In his little workshop, Master Pfriem pulled thread so fast and hard that anyone standing too close got poked by his elbow. No apprentice stayed long because he found mistakes in every stitch. "The stitches are not straight!" he would cry one day. "This shoe is too long! That heel is too high!" he complained the next.
If his wife lit the fire early, he jumped out of bed with bare feet shouting, "Do you want to burn the house down? That fire could roast an ox!" When servants chatted while washing, he scolded, "There you stand like geese, chattering and not working! Why use so much soap?"
One day, watching builders across the street, he muttered about their red stone and sandy mortar. He rushed out to tell the carpenters their beams weren't straight, grabbed an axe to show them, then dropped it to scold a peasant about his horses. When he returned, his apprentice handed him a shoe.
"What is this?" cried Master Pfriem. "I told you not to cut shoes so broad! Who would buy this?" The apprentice said quietly, "Master, you cut this shoe yourself and knocked it off the table when you rushed out. I only finished what you began." Master Pfriem had no words to argue.
That night, Master Pfriem had a strange dream. He climbed a shining path to heaven's gates and knocked loudly. "Why is there no knocker?" he grumbled. The apostle Peter opened the door. "I'll let you in," Peter said, "but you must not find fault with everything you see, or you may not enjoy your stay."
Master Pfriem stepped inside heaven's wide, bright spaces filled with soft, gentle light. He saw two angels carrying a long beam slanting instead of straight. "Such a silly way to carry it!" he thought, but bit his tongue. They walked along easily without bumping into anything.
He saw two other angels drawing water into a bucket full of tiny holes. The water ran out on every side! "That is useless!" he thought. Then he wondered, "Maybe they only want to play. Perhaps heaven has time even for work that looks like a game."
He came upon a cart stuck in a deep hollow, loaded with good wishes. An angel harnessed two horses, then another angel brought two more horses—but fastened them behind the cart! Master Pfriem could stay quiet no longer. "What are you doing? Has anyone ever seen a cart pulled from behind?"
At that moment, a shining being firmly guided Master Pfriem back to the gate. As he turned for one last look, he saw the cart rising gently into the air! The four horses had spread wide wings, carrying the cart up and away as lightly as birds. Master Pfriem's eyes grew wide with wonder.
Master Pfriem woke in his own bed, heart beating fast. "Things are arranged differently in heaven than on earth," he said softly. He hurried to his workshop, still lively as ever. But somewhere deep inside, the dream stayed quietly with him, waiting for the day he might finally learn to look and listen before he judged.
