Long ago and far away, a young man full of ideas he’d learned in the city ventured into the wilderness to raise goats. Tired of the city bustle, with its stinks and noises, he knew he’d find the peace he sought in the serenity of the desert. Incapable of giving up human contact altogether, he settled near an old fellow who kept a nice homestead. The land was pleasant: a trickling stream flowed nearby and enough scrub grew to comfortably feed ten men’s goats.

The Householder was well versed in the ways of the wilderness and able to thrive on very little. The young man left plenty of space between them and started to gather stones for his own house. Not long after the young man had arrived the Householder came over to welcome his neighbor.

"What are you doing there, Stone-Gatherer?" he asked.

"I’m collecting stones to fashion a house," the youth answered.

"Hah! One can’t fashion a house!" the elder said.

"What do you mean, old goat, you yourself have a beautiful house."

The old man looked at the Stone-Gatherer with scrutiny.

"Do you mean to tell me you think I built a dwelling such as that?" he said pointing to the rock house in the background.

"Well if you didn’t, how’d you get it?" the young man asked.

The elder, clasped his hands together and looked to the ground penitently, "Many years ago, when I first came into this land, I found the house. The gods had built it for me." The Householder paused and tears welled in his eyes. He went on, impatiently, "How could human hands fashion such a thing as a house? With what does one build such a thing?"

The young man held up two rounded cobbles in his hands, "Well with stones, of course!" He wove his hands back and forth in a stacking motion, "One builds a house by placing stones atop each other and supporting them with mortar. Everyone knows that in the city!"

"Ah… the city. Now I see. You’ve come from the place where men claim the knowledge of gods. You keep on, young one, you’ll come to see that all your ideas are wrong out here. Things such as mountains and houses come from the gods alone. You’ll not get far with your stones! Hah! Atop one another! They’ll fall right down!" The old Householder turned to his land and ambled over chuckling to himself and thoughtfully tugging at the wisps of his beard.

The Stone-Gatherer chuckled too, thinking of a way he could convince the Householder that the house, for all its majesty, is but a collection of stones.

The next day the Stone-Gatherer awoke at dawn and marveled at the fine pile of material he’d amassed. He needed more still and came upon an idea. He looked over at the old fellow’s house and saw that it was quiet. He would have to visit after the sun had risen a bit.

"Good morning," Stone-Gatherer called as he walked over later in the morning.

"Householder, I’ve been thinking. You may be right after all. I mean, all those houses in the city, I can’t say I ever saw one built. Perhaps they were left by the gods. Nevertheless, I’d like to keep on with my attempt, not to anger the gods but just to see what happens."

The old man thought the Stone-Gatherer foolish but decided that the failure would benefit the proud youth.

"Well, go on then, Stone-Gatherer. Give it a try and see what happens!" he said.

"Householder, I need more stones, and I noticed that you have a lot around here, especially in your house. Would it be all right if I gathered some of your stones?"

The old man happily answered, "Well, I don’t see any stones in my house. I just see a house. But if you’d like the stones nearby have all you want. If there’s one thing plentiful in the desert, it’s stones!" The two laughed then talked a while about herding and the nobility of goats.

"Say, youngster, what magic do you have? How is it that you find stones in my house?" he asked.

"It’s no magic, Householder, they’re right there," and he pointed at the wall of the house.

The old fellow looked at his wall but didn’t see stones, he just saw a wall.

"It’s magic, for I still see no stones."

The Stone-Gatherer smiled mischievously but began to feel bad for the old codger. "Are you sure it’s all right that I gather stones here?" he asked.

"Oh, it’s fine. Especially if you have the magic of producing them from my walls!" The Householder thought something strange as he watched the Stone-Gatherer at work but couldn’t quite place his finger on it.

The next morning, about dawn, sunshine woke the Householder. A ray of light had traced a path across his floor and landed square on his eyes as he lay in bed. He was stunned. Never in all his days in the house had such a thing occurred.

The Stone-Gatherer was already up, merrily placing stones and mixing a thick mortar when the Householder arrived.

"Stone-Gatherer, an amazing thing occurred this morning," the old man said.

"What’s that Householder?"

The Householder replied, "the sun, it came right through my wall! In fact, I think it was in the area where you produced your stones!"

"You don’t say, Householder. You mean it came right through your wall?"

"Yes. And it’s still shining through!"

"I’ll drop by later to witness this marvel. I need some more stones anyway," the Stone-Gatherer added.

The youth worked vigorously all day. He had a fine foundation set for his home and the sides of it were already up to his waist when he ran out of stones. He rested a while then visited the Householder.

"I’ve come Householder, show me your miracle."

The Householder, his voice coming from inside the structure, called out,

"Around here. Come, come Stone-Gatherer. Venture around the house."

The youth walked around the house and looking inside the new ‘window’ saw the old fellow standing inside. He was well inside and seemed unsure about the opening.

"Isn’t it something! I can see you! You’re right on the outside of my house!" The old codger cried out excitedly and laughed.

The youth approached boldly and rested his forearms on the sill of the window. He looked the Householder in the eyes, "Is it still all right if I gather stones here, old fellow?"

"Of course, but I can’t understand it. It’s a house but you’re able to produce stones from it! I just don’t understand. Perhaps you have learned the ways of the gods in the city."

The young man chuckled as he took stones from all throughout the house and wondered if the old man had already lost a few too many cobbles.

That evening the Householder had trouble sleeping. The desert winds managed blow through his house and the bright moon penetrated so that it hardly seemed as if he had a house at all anymore! He shivered in his bed. He fell asleep shortly before dawn and awoke a few hours later.

After waking, the sun well in the sky, the Householder decided to visit the Stone-Gatherer to relate more of the strange hauntings in his house. As he walked over to visit the young man he froze in his tracks. There, not more than fifty yards before him, in the same area where the Stone-Gatherer had first settled, stood tall walls. He rushed over to the divine structure and began feeling all around it. Suddenly a voice came out of it.

"Careful with your hands, Householder, the mortar’s still setting."

"Glory of glories, the thing talks, and it has the voice of the Stone-Gatherer!"

"What are you saying! It doesn’t have my voice, I have my voice." The Stone-Gatherer walked around from the inside to see the Householder on his knees crouched before the wall.

"Stone-Gatherer, do you see it with your eyes too! The gods must have been here last night! Why, it’s almost a house!"

"Look you old fool, the gods weren’t anywhere last night. I’ve been building this house for the past two days," answered the Stone-Gatherer, somewhat annoyed.

The old man rose to his feet and gave the Stone-Gatherer a stern look. Holding up his index finger menacingly he struck down with it, "Young man, watch your tongue! The gods will strike you down for claiming such a thing. Why, can’t you see! This is nearly a house! The gods have been at work here!"

Stone-Gatherer, still realizing the depth of the old-man’s ignorance, asked once again, "May I gather some stone’s from your house today, venerable old Householder?"

"Yes, of course. But watch your tongue! I don’t want the gods angry at the both of us."

The winds howled and picked up through the night until the very screech of them woke the shivering old man. He watched in terror as his house shook first this way then that, following the gusts of wind. The walls cracked and mumbled. He heard a loud rush as his roof began caving in. He jumped to his feet and cleared out just before the entire thing came crashing down. Frightened and cold, he nestled up with his goats near the pile of rubble and managed to sleep again.

Shortly after dawn the old man woke and stood in fear before his fallen house. "Surely the gods disfavor me now," he contemplated with shame. He walked around looking at the heap of stones and even picked one up and stared at it questioningly.

"Why when my house dies do I see stones all about?"

While tending his sheep he thought about what sacrifices were necessary to regain the gods’ favor. He decided he must go on a pilgrimage to sacred Mt. Izza. Before leaving, he would say goodbye to the Stone-Gatherer and warn him about the fickle gods of this place.

As he walked over in mid-morning he again stalled in his tracks. Where just walls had been yesterday, now stood an entire house. It was even larger and better looking than his own had been. He rushed over to it and lovingly caressed the fine, solid house. As he looked closely at the walls he noticed how they somehow reminded him of his own.

The Stone-Gatherer awoke and exited his home yawning and stretching.

"Oh, hello, Householder. How are you this fine morning?" he asked.

"Fine for you perhaps, cursed for me. The gods have rained disfavor upon me." He began to weep, "They took away my house… I wanted to say goodbye before I leave to go sacrificing."

The Stone-Gatherer was upset to hear this. "Wait just a minute, old fellow. I want to show you something." He led the Householder into the large dwelling and pointed to a nice room.

The Stone-Gatherer smiled, "I thought your house might fall so I went ahead and built you a fine room within my own house!"

"Oh, no. You don’t understand. The gods disfavor me. If I move into your house they might smash it in as well," he said clubbing his open hand with a fist.

The Stone-Gatherer, thoroughly annoyed with the old-fellow’s antics, thought it time to call the joke.

"Look old-timer, haven’t you noticed that as I’ve been taking the stones your house has diminished."

"Well, I guess the gods did begin to turn on me about the time you started gathering stones."

The Stone-Gatherer went on, "Fine. And haven’t you seen that I’ve built up this house stone by stone?"

"You did gather all those stones and now I don’t see them. In fact, the gods gave you your house about the same time you began working with the stones."

Exasperated, the Stone-Gatherer went on, "But don’t you see? The gods had nothing to do with it! I took the stones from your house, and other stones besides, and I built this house from scratch! This is what houses are! They’re just a bunch of stones arranged in the right way!"

The Householder scowled at the youngster.

"Blasphemous youth! The gods are already angry with me, don’t you want to live in peace? Why, you should thank them for your house and refrain from claiming that you built it with stones! What madness!"

With that the old fellow rushed out, angrily motioning his goats forward, and stormed off towards Mt. Izza in the distance intent on sacrificing for the both of them.