The Flail from Heaven

Synopsis

A peasant was plowing with two oxen when their horns suddenly grew so large he could not lead them home. He sold the animals to a butcher, who had no money and instead traded a measure of turnip-seed, promising one Brabant thaler for each seed if the peasant later brought back the same measure of rapeseed. On the way home, the peasant dropped one seed. The next day the butcher paid him, deducting the missing seed.

Walking past the spot where the seed fell, the peasant found it had grown into a tree that reached the sky. He climbed it and saw angels threshing oats at the top. The tree began to shake as someone chopped it down.

To escape, the peasant twisted a rope from oat chaff. Before descending, he took a hoe and a flail lying in the heavenly fields. He lowered himself into a deep pit, used the hoe to carve steps, and climbed out. He kept the flail as proof of his journey.