There was once a king who oppressed the Jews of his kingdom with harsh decrees.
And when the holy Rabbi Adam saw their plight and the cruel deeds of the king, he cast a deep slumber upon him, and caused him to dream. In the dream the king awoke and found that his palace had disappeared, with everyone in it, and that he was lying on his bed at the bottom of a pit. The pit was deep and dark, the smell was rancid, and the light of day was like a roof far above him. The king was overcome with terror, for he did not know what had happened, and he even feared that he might be dead.
Just then the bed on which the king lay began slowly to rise, hoisted up by a rope, until it reached the top of the pit. There the king saw the stern face of a soldier, who pulled the king off the bed and tied his arms and marched him away, without a word of explanation. The king did not understand what was happening to him, and he stumbled along behind the soldier until they reached a castle. There the soldier took him aside, and brought him before the lord of that castle, and told the lord that he had been found trespassing, and was suspected of being a spy. The king tried to explain that he was the ruler of a great kingdom, and that he had been asleep in his own bed, and when he had awakened he had found himself in that deep pit, where the soldier had found him.
There was laughter from all of those present. Then the face of the lord of the castle grew solemn, and he said: It is well known that anyone who is caught trespassing in this kingdom is required to fulfill three demands of the person whose land he has trespassed upon. The penalty for failing to perform any one of these demands is death. When he heard this, the king bowed his head and was silent.
At last he found his voice, and said meekly; What are the three demands? The first, said the lord of the castle, is for you to empty all of the water out of the well in the garden by the break of day. And he handed the king a dipper, with which to empty the water. But when the king looked at that dipper, he saw that it had a hole in it, and could not hold water. Then he knew that a terrible curse had fallen upon him, and it appeared that his life was as good as lost.
Take him to the well, to begin his work, said the lord of the castle. And the king was dragged off into the garden, and left alone beside the well. He lay there, stretched out on the ground, weeping over his fate, which he could not understand. He did not even try to draw up any of the water, for he knew it to be hopeless. Just then a figure emerged from the darkness and approached him. The king looked up and saw an old man with a long white beard standing above him. The old man said: Why are you weeping? And the king recognized that this man was not evil like the others he had met in that place, and he poured out his heart to him, and told him all that had happened.
After the king had finished telling his tale, the old man said:
How do you expect to empty the well if you do not begin to work? And the king was confused, and he said: Did I not tell you that the dipper has a hole in it? Is that true? asked Rabbi Adam, for that is who it was. And he took the dipper in his hand and looked at it, and when he handed it back to the king, it was perfect once more, as if there had never been a hole in it. Then the king put the dipper into the well, and the water came rushing into it, and still it was not full. And even when the water ceased flowing, the dipper was not full, for Rabbi Adam had given it the fullness of the Lord, which is without limits. So it was that the king succeeded in emptying the well that night.
At dawn the lord of the castle arrived with many guards, certain that the king had not succeeded in performing the impossible task. Imagine his surprise when he peered down into the well and saw the muddy bottom, for it was completely empty, and even the spring, which had fed the well, had gone dry. The face of the king turned pale, and he said: I do not know how you have accomplished this first task, but I doubt very much if you will complete the second. And what would that be? asked the king. Simply to build a palace of feathers by dawn tomorrow morning, said the lord of the castle. Then he laughed a terrible laugh, and left the deso late king alone in the garden.
Again the king slumped to the ground and cursed his fate.
And as he lay there weeping, Rabbi Adam again approached him and said: Why are you weeping? The king told him the impossible task that the lord of the castle had given him. But Rabbi Adam told him not to lose hope, and took a whistle out of his pocket. He gave it to the king, and told him to blow on it. The king did so, and all at once there was the beating of a thousand wings all around them, and a flood of feathers began to fall at their feet. Nor did the feathers form uneven piles, but magically arranged themselves into a feather palace, with a fine foundation and many ramps and arches.
Now when dawn arrived, the evil lord of the castle came out. to the garden, certain that he would put the king to death that day. But when he saw the magnificent feather palace, he could not believe his eyes. Then he looked for the king, but he could not find him. So he entered the feather palace, and there inside the bedroom chamber, sleeping on a feather bed, he found him.
And when the lord of the castle saw this, he was enraged, and he said: Wake up, my tired man. I see that you have worked hard all night. So I have decided to give you a long rest. Your task is really quite simple. In fact, anyone could do it. All that is required is that you let your fingernails grow, and cut them once in a while. And when you have filled up a snuffbox with your nail clippings, you shall have fulfilled the three tasks. But until then you must remain my prisoner! And the king, who had been deep asleep, sat up and listened to his terrible sentence. Then he heard a sound that made his blood run cold, and when he looked up he saw a dark metal box being dragged toward him. As he feared, it was a prison the evil lord had made for him. It had been constructed to the measurements of his body, and when he was inside it he could not move at all. There was only a small opening at the top of the box for the king to receive food and water.
So it was that the poor king was imprisoned in that metal prison, and once a day he was fed stale bread and a little water, and once a month the box was opened long enough for the nails of his hands to be cut, and the clippings were dropped into the snuffbox. In this way six terrible months passed, but even so the snuffbox was not even half full. Then one day, after the guard had departed, Rabbi Adam appeared and spoke to the king through the tiny opening in his metal prison. He said: Would you like to get out once again into the light of day? With joy and tears if only I could, said the king, who recognized Rabbi Adam's voice.
And what would be my reward if I freed you? asked Rabbi Adam. I would give you half my kingdom, answered the king.
I do not ask for gold or power, said Rabbi Adam. All I ask is that you sign a decree revoking the harsh decrees against the Jews, and affix your royal seal to it. Yes, yes, said the king, I agree to sign it at once if you can only set me free. Rabbi Adam then touched the lock on the metal prison, and it sprang open, and he released the king. Then, after the king had signed the decree that Rabbi Adam had prepared, and affixed his seal to it, revoking the evil decrees against the Jews, Rabbi Adam gave him a new set of clothing, and led him to safety. Once they were far from the castle grounds, Rabbi Adam took him to an open field, and before long they reached the bed on which the king had been asleep when he had found himself in the pit.
Rabbi Adarn directed the king to lie down on the bed, and when he did, Rabbi Adam lowered it into the pit. And the next thing the king knew was that he awoke and found himself in his palace chamber once more. Greatly relieved, he arose and called for his servants. But when they came in, he could not understand why they did not seem surprised to see him. Then he said: Why don't you ask me how I am? Is there a single faithful servant left among you? Do you not wonder how I escaped after having been held captive for half a year? At last one of the servants found the courage to speak and said: Surely the king must have had a dream, for the king's bodyguards stood guard at his door all night. The king could not understand how the servant could say this, and suddenly he caught sight of the snuffbox sitting on his dresser. He opened it and found that it was half full of nail clippings. This confirmed the events he had just experienced, and he chased the servants from the room. He paced back and forth, and thought of all that had happened to him. And when he remembered how Rabbi Adam had helped him so often, he cried aloud: Of all the faithful servants in my household, is there not one who can serve me as the holy Jew did? Just then a horse-drawn coach approached the palace, and Rabbi Adam stepped out. The king recognized him at once and ran out to greet him. He embraced him and brought him into the palace. When they were both seated, with the servants standing around them, the king said to Rabbi Adam: How can I explain my captivity to my servants, when they believe I spent the entire night sleeping in my own bed? For you were a witness to all that took place. Indeed, without your help my life would have been lost long ago. Then Rabbi Adam said: You have spoken the truth, but your servants are also correct. Listen and I will explain all that has happened to you. Then, amazed and speechless, the king and the servants listened to all that Rabbi Adam said.
When the king announced his evil decree against the Jews, Rabbi Adam began, the heavens were in an uproar, and the king was sentenced to death. During the night, when the king fell asleep, his soul departed from his body and was handed over to the evil spirits to be punished. These appeared to him in the form of the lord of the castle and his soldiers. But I came and argued on his behalf, and so I finally saved his soul. His trials in the castle of the evil lord were the journey of his soul through the various stations, until it returned to him at dawn. The snuffbox half full of nail clippings is a sign of the truth of this experience.
And now, Rabbi Adam continued, the king surely remembers this decree, which he signed. And Rabbi Adam took out the decree, with the king's signature and seal affixed to it, and when the king saw it, he understood the meaning of his dream, and had it announced that the decrees against the Jews had been abolished. And when the Jews of this kingdom heard of Rabbi Adam's accomplishment, they lifted their voices in prayer, and thanked God for His infinite mercy.