According to a well-known, ancient legend, the week before Christmas, Archangel Michael asked his angels to visit the earth. He wanted to know if everything was ready for the celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. He sent angels in pairs. The older angel accompanied the younger one, thanks to which it was possible to get a full picture of what was happening among the Christians.

One of the pairs was sent to Brazil. The angels flew in late one night. With nowhere to sleep, they took refuge in one of the magnificent mansions that can be seen in some neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro.

The owner, a rich man on the verge of bankruptcy (there are many such people in this city) was a zealous Catholic and recognized the golden halo around the angel's heads. But, as he was busy with preparations for the holidays, he asked the guests from heaven to spend the night in the basement.

Although all Christmas greeting cards show snow, in Brazil Christmas falls in the middle of summer. The sun was shining bright, the air saturated with humidity was unbearably stuffy. The angels settled down on the hard floor. They were about to start praying when the elder noticed a crack in the wall. He got up, repaired the crack using his angelic power, and went back to praying. It was so hot that the angels felt like hell.

That night the angels slept very badly, but had to fulfill the mission God had given them. The next day, they wandered around a great city that, in addition to its twelve million inhabitants, was home to beaches, mountains, contrasts, beautiful landscapes and spooky places. The angels finished their report and set off into the countryside as night fell. But they forgot about the passage of time and again had nowhere to spend the night.

When they knocked on the door of the modest house, a woman and a man opened it. These people did not know the medieval engravings of God's messengers and did not recognize the two pilgrims. They told the angels that if they needed shelter, the home was theirs. They prepared dinner, showed the guests their newborn baby and gave his room to the angels. They apologized to guests that they didn't have air conditioning. They couldn't afford it, although it was unbearably hot during the day.

When the angels woke up the next day, the man and woman were crying. Their only property - a cow that gave milk for cheese and was the source of income for the whole family - died in the field. The man and woman were ashamed that they could not prepare breakfast, so they quickly said goodbye to the pilgrims.

As the angels walked along the muddy road, the younger showed his anger.

- I don't understand why it happened! The first man has everything, but you helped him by repairing the wall in his house. But you did nothing to ease the suffering of those poor people who received us so well.

"The truth is not what you think," said the older angel. “While we were in that horrible cellar, I noticed the gold that the previous owner of the property had hidden in the wall. The treasure was visible through the slit. I decided to hide it because the current owner did not help those who were in need. Yesterday, while we were sleeping in the beds that these poor people gave us, I noticed that the third guest had arrived - the angel of death. He was sent to take the baby, but since I've known him for many years, I persuaded him to kill a cow instead of an infant.

Let's remember what happened on this important day. People did not attach importance to the appearance, therefore no one wanted to accept the Mother of God. But the shepherds greeted her and were the first to see the Savior's smile.
Source  Styl.pl