R. Ami says: Come here, my dear son, and see what a wonderful thing it is for people to be truthful. If one makes a promise, he should keep it. This we learn from the story of the weasel and the well. The lesson that we learn is that if a man can put his trust in a weasel, how much more is it meet that he should put his trust in the Holy One, blessed be He!

One day a young damsel, dressed in fine clothes, went out of one town to go to another to visit her father and mother. She lost her way and came to a huge forest, where she wandered on until she came to a desert. She walked on and on till evening. The day had been very hot, and by noon she had reached a deep well. But there was no bucket, only a rope hanging by the side of the well. She was so overcome by thirst

that she took hold of the rope and let herself down to the level of the water at the bottom of the well. After having drunk her fill, she was not able to get up again, and thought to herself, "I shall surely die here," and began crying very bitterly and loudly.

As she was thus weeping and crying, a young man, having also lost his way, passed by. Hearing the cry, he followed it and came to the well.

When he came near he looked into the well, but it was so deep that he could not see what was in it, so he called down, "Who is it that is crying there so bitterly? Are you a human being or are you a demon?"

When the young damsel heard him, she was very glad that a human being had heard her voice, and she answered, "My dear man, I am a friend and a human being."

And told him how she had gotten into the well."

He replied, "If you will grant my request, I will help you."

The damsel said, "Yes."

Then he said to her, "Swear."

She swore that she would grant his request, and he pulled her out.

When she came up, he saw what a beautiful maiden she was and what beautiful

clothes she had on.

Then he said to her again, "Now keep your promise, grant my request and live with me."

She replied, "My dear friend, tell me of what nation you are."

He replied, "I live in that town yonder and am a Cohen."

Then she said, "I also come from that town and am a Jewess and of good family."

Then she said to him: "My dear friend, you are a worthy man, you come from a worthy family, from the priests whom God Himself has chosen, and you want to

lie with me like an animal without a ketubah and without kiddushin! I beg of you, do not do this! but come with me to my father and tell him the whole adventure that has befallen us. But this I say to you that from now on I will consider myself betrothed to you and will not marry any other man but you."

He replied, "But who shall be witness that we are betrothed to each other?"

She said, "The little weasel which you see running along there and the well and the heavens shall be our witnesses that neither of us shall break his promise to the other."

And with these words they took leave of one another, each one going his own way. The young man went to his place and the damsel to hers.

Before parting, they said to each other: "We will meet again when it will be the will of the Lord."

The girl kept her oath a year or two and refused to marry anybody although many matches had been offered to her. She pretended to be out of her mind so that the Shadkanim should not come to her father to arrange a match for her. But she told no one her adventure and kept her oath.

The young man, however, forgot his oath, married another woman and had a child by her.

When the child was six months old, a weasel came and bit its throat, so that it died. She bore another child, which fell into a well and died.

The mother wept bitterly and said: "If my children had died a natural death, I would not grieve so deeply, but seeing that my children have died in such an unusual manner, I am sure that it is on account of some sin which you or I have committed. My dear husband, think very carefully and tell me what you have done."

Then he sighed and told her of the adventure which had befallen him with the damsel.

Then she said, "I see now that it is the work of the Holy One, blessed be He, and we must part, for our children will all die. Go and fulfill the vow which you have sworn."

And they gave each other a divorce.

Then he went to the town where the girl lived, called on her father and asked him to give him his daughter to wife.

The father replied: "How can I give her away in marriage, seeing that she is mad and subject to epileptic fits?"

When the young man heard this, he understood the reason of her pretended madness. And he said to the father, "Give her to me and I will take upon myself to cure her of her illness." Ahd he told him the whole adventure that had befallen her.

When the father of the damsel heard it, he gave her to him as wife. And the girl was very happy, for she knew him as the man to whom she had been betrothed.

They had many children who studied the Torah. To them the verse can be applied: "Mine eyes are upon the faithful of the land" (Ps. 101.6), i.e. God says: "My eyes look upon the faithful of the earth."

Concerning this R. Johanan says, "Whoever acts uprightly in this world, and keeps his promises, will also be judged righteous in the world to come, as it is said in the Bible, 'Truth springeth out of the earth; and righteousness hath looked down from the heavens' (Ps. 85.12).

Therefore if one makes a promise, he must not think that there is no one present who will tell about it. There is always someone present, who has been sent by the Holy One, blessed be He."