Station: [8] Bedroom

Farmer Caspar Heinrich: Was there something? There certainly was some sound. Something is definitely wrong with the cow. Wife, did you hear something? Oh, she`s fast asleep. There! There it is again! Let me see, what is going on here.
An ottoman bed like this is certainly something special. One can see the entire farmhouse hall comfortably from the bed. So let’s see. Hmm ... all quiet now. The calf is not going to be born this week. Even then the beast seems to be a little restless. The dog, though, is very quiet. So there is no stranger or scamp roaming about the house. I better leave the flap a little ajar.
 
I think I can’t sleep now. Perhaps a prayer would help.
“Say yes to my deeds
Lend Your counsel for the best
Beginning, middle and end
Oh Lord turn to the best
Shower me with Your blessings
May my heart be your shelter
Your word be my food
Until I journey to heaven
May God be with us all, amen.”
This is one of the first verses my mother taught me. I still remember how we used to often sing this hymn with the school teacher. My God, that was some time ago.
How bright it is tonight! No wonder, it`s full moon after all. It’s streaming in through the window. I can even recognise my wife’s face peacefully in repose. I can even see the carving on our bed, Adam and Eve at the Tree of Knowledge.
 
Adam and Eve the first two humans stark naked! I always smile when I see it. Such clean carving done lovingly in wood by the engraver! I often think of the Biblical story of Adam, which says he was formed from the dust of the earth and Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. Is all that true?
My wife wanted this carving done here on the bed. She`s my Eve. Sometimes it really is the way it`s described in the Bible: my true helper, my companion who supports me.
The pastor sees many things differently. He loves to polemicize; talks about the original sin and repeatedly points out that after all it was Eve who took the apple, the forbidden fruit, from the snake. And we humans are now left to atone for that. Or else we won’t get a place in heaven after we die. That would then mean goodbye paradise...

Foto: Bielefelder BauernhausMuseum