#rabbinachmanmoment
5 of 9 of the story of The Seven Beggars

The Beggar with the Twisted Throat

But on the fourth day the children longed for the beggar with the twisted throat, and he came and said"I am here! Once before I blessed you that you might be as I am, and today I bestow upon you this wedding gift: be as I am!

"You believe that I have a twisted throat, but see, my throat is really beautiful and straight, but there are foolish and evil things in this world, and I would not have any of them come into me through my throat,therefore my throat seems twisted. It is really clear and beautiful, and I have a voice that is wonderful in song, for through my throat I can imitate the call and the song of every creature that lives! I have this power from the land of melody, for there is a land where everyone, from the king to the smallest child, is wondrously skilled in music; some play the harp, others the violin, and some play many instruments.

"Once, all of their greatest musicians came together, and each began to boast of his skill: one could play upon a harp, another upon a violin, and still another could play upon a harp and a violin, while there was one who said he could play upon every musical instrument; then a man declared that he could imitate the sound of a harp with his voice,and another could imitate the sound of violins, one could imitate a drum, and still another could make a noise like a cannon.

I too was there, and I said, ‘My voice is more wonderful than all your voices. For if you are such great musicians, can you bring help to the suffering nations?’ And I told them, ‘There are two peoples whose countries lie a thousand miles apart, and when night comes over those lands the people cannot sleep.

For with night, there comes a strange moaning and wailing, so drear,so heart-weary , that the very stones groan and weep. And when the people hear this sound, they too must begin to moan and weep; everynight all the men and women, and even the children of these countries lie awake moaning and weeping with the sorrow that is over them. And you, who are so skilled in music, can you help those people?’

"Then they asked me, ‘Will you lead us there?’. And I said, ‘Yes!’ So they all arose and I led them.We came to one of the countries, and at night we heard the strange moaning; then even the sages from the land of melody wept and moaned, but they could do nothing.

" ‘Can you tell me,’ I said to them, ‘where this sound comes from? ‘ "" ‘ And do you know? ‘ they asked." ‘I know. For there were two beautiful birds that had mated together, and they were the only two of their kind. But once they were lost, one from the other, and they flew everywhere, each seeking its mate, until they became weary , and their hope was gone from them, for they knew they were far from each other.

Each settled alone where it was; one built his nest in his land, and the other built her nest where she was a thousand miles away; now when night comes the two birds begin to lament, each for the other, and it is their moaning lament that the people hear, and they too must keen with the birds, until there is no rest for them at night.’

"The sages would not believe me, but said, ‘Can you take us to the bird’s place? ’I said, ‘I can take you there, but you will not be able to bear the weight of it by night or by day, for at night the lament is so great that you may not come near it, and during the day flocks of birds come to her and to him. to cheer them in their loneliness, and all the birds sing merrily until the joy is so great as to be unbearable: this joy cannot be heard from afar, but if you come near it, you will succumb’.

Then the sages asked, ‘Can you right this thing? ‘ And I told them that I could make my voice like the voice of any living being, and that I also could send my voice to all places on earth, so that it might not be heard where I stood, but would be heard far away."I said to the wise men, ‘Will you go with me to a place that is neither in one land or the other, but lies between them? For from that place I will send my voice with the sound of her voice to him, and I will send my voice with the sound of his voice to her, so that each will hear the other’s voice, they will listen, and tremble, and rise and spread their wings and fly toward the place of the voice,and so they will meet together where I stand.’

"Then I led them to a place that lay between the two countries; the place was in a forest, and the ground was covered with snow. I stood and sang, but the men could hear no sound come from me. Only they heard the sound of a door opening and closing, and they heard the sound of a gun, and they heard the barking of a hound as it ran over the snow for the kill. Yet they saw nothing. But I had sent my voices, and soon there were two pair of wings above us.

Then the men from the land of melody understood how I had brought the two birds together, and they agreed that mine was the most wonderful voice of all, for I could send it wherever I chose; and so to- dayI bestow upon you this gift: that you may be as I am."

He finished speaking, and all the beggars made merry, and sang.