There once lived a pious man called Pelimo, who used to say every day: "May an arrow stick

in the eye of Satan," and he cursed him always.

One. day, on the eve of the Day of Atonement, Satan disguised himself as a poor man and came to Pelimo's door and asked him for a piece of bread.

He said, "Dear friend, give me a piece of bread for God's sake. On a holy day like this, when everyone is sitting at home at his table, I must eat my bread in the street."

Thereupon Pelimo took him into the house and gave him a piece of bread.

Then he said again, "On such a holy day as this everyone sits at the table while I must sit outside without a table and eat by myself."

Then Pelimo gave him a seat at the table. As Satan was sitting at the table, he assumed the appearance of a sick person covered with running sores, and the saliva flowed from his mouth.

Then Pelimo said, "Behave properly, why do you act in so disgusting a manner?"

But Satan replied: "Give me also something to drink."

Pelimo gave him a cup of wine. But instead of drinking, he spat into the wine.

He did this spitefully with the intention of insulting Pelimo for cursing him every day, as you have been told.

When Pelimo saw that he had spat into the wine and had dropped the cup, he said to him: "Either drink properly or leave this place!"

Then Satan fell backwards and pretended to be dead, and the rumor spread that Pelimo had killed a man in his house. Pelimo ran away and hid himself in a privy.

When Satan saw how greatly Pelimo was troubled, he rose up again and said to Pelimo: "I am Satan. I disguised myself as a poor man in order to annoy you because you cursed me every day. Therefore curse me no more."

Then Pelimo said: "What should I say then, thou Satan and Yezer ha-Ra'?"

And Satan replied: "Pray to God that He may put away the Yezer ha-Ra' from you, so that he shall not make you stumble and commit sin, as King David did."