Once upon a time, there was a very poor woman. Her husband had been lying ill in bed for many days and was unable to work, so that unfortunate woman had nothing—absolutely nothing—that midday to feed her many hungry children, who were crying and begging for bread.

To calm them down, she said to them: ‘Be quiet, dear children. I’ll cook you a lovely pot full of chestnuts.’ But because the poor woman had no chestnuts, she secretly and with a sad smile put lots of little stones into the pot. Soon afterwards, the water began to boil and bubble, which was a joy to behold, and the children’s eyes widened with anticipation of the delicious meal. 

“Mother, are the chestnuts ready?” asked the youngest.

“Soon, soon. Just be patient, my children.”

At that very moment, someone knocked at the front door. 

The woman went to open it; there stood a beggar at the door. He looked at her with eyes as bright as stars and pleaded: “Please, kind lady, give me something to eat; I am nearly dying of hunger, have mercy on me!”

“Oh, you poor man! I would love to give you something from the bottom of my heart. But I have nothing myself, absolutely nothing. Just imagine, because my children are so hungry, I’ve been boiling stones and telling them they’re chestnuts,” the woman explained through tears.

“It doesn’t matter, kind lady,” said the beggar. “I can see you have a good heart, and that is the only thing that counts. May God’s blessing be with you.” The beggar looked at her with his shining eyes and then continued on his way.

The woman dried her tears, then went back to the stove, lifted the lid off the pot, and what did she see: it was full of wonderful cooked chestnuts. Overjoyed, she went to fetch the plates from the cupboard, only to find fresh loaves of bread and a fine piece of meat to go with them. She quickly called the children to her, brought the sick man to the table too, and together they gave thanks for this miracle. For the first time in a long time, they all ate their fill, and the man soon recovered. But the people said: The beggar was the Lord God, for he wanders the earth from time to time to test the hearts of men and bring comfort and help to those in need.