Once upon a time a pious man gave a poor man a shilling on the eve of the New Year in the name of God, for it was a year of great dearth. His wife became so angry with him that he was afraid to enter the house. So he went and laid himself down to sleep in the cemetery for fear of his wife. There he heard two damsels, who had recently died, speaking to one another: "Come, let us fly and listen from behind the heavenly curtain what the Lord has decreed for the coming year."

The other replied: "I cannot rise, for I have been buried in a mat of reeds. You go and tell me what you have heard."

So she went by herself, and when she returned, she said: "I heard that all grain that is sown before the middle of Marheshvan will be destroyed by hail."

When the pious man heard this, he sowed his field in the second half of the month. The hail destroyed the corn in all the other fields but the corn of the pious man was not affected.

The next year, the pious man went again to the cemetery to overhear the talk of the damsels. and he heard one of them saying: "Come, let us go and learn what will happen in the world."

But the other replied: "Have I not told you that I cannot rise, for I am tied up in a mat of reeds? You go and tell me what you have heard."

So she went alone, and when she returned, she said: "I have heard that all grain sown after the middle of Marheshvan will be destroyed by hail."

When the pious man heard this, he sowed his seed in the first half of the month, and the hail destroyed all the grain sowed in the second half, but nothing happened to him, because he sowed his seed in the first half of the month.

Then his wife said to him: "Dear husband, how is it that your corn has been spared whilst that of the rest of the world has been destroyed by the hail?"

So he told her the whole story, of what had happened to him and what the damsels had said to one another, and that one of them had not been able to rise because she was buried in a mat of reeds.

Not long afterwards, it happened that the wife of the pious man and the mother of the girl who was buried in the mat of reeds quarreled, as women often do. And the wife of the pious mail threw it up to the woman and said: "Come, I will show you your daughter buried in a mat of reeds."

The third year, the pious man went again to the cemetery in order to overhear the talk of the damsels.

And he heard the one saying to the other: "Come, let us go and hear what will happen this year."

And the other replied, "Say nothing about it, for our conversation has been overheard."