The Fasting Child

I heard of a child, too young to be bound by the rule, who fasted, and with a hundred hardships dragged himself to noon. No tutor took him to school that day; the worship of such a small child seemed a great thing to everyone. His father kissed his eyes, his mother his head, and they showered almonds and coins over him. But once half the day had passed, the fire of hunger began to burn in his stomach. He said to himself: if I eat a few bites, how would my father or mother know the secret? Since the boy kept his eyes on his father and family, he ate in secret and paraded the fast in public. Who would know, when you feel no bond to God, if you stood in prayer without having washed? So this old man is more foolish than that ignorant child, for he keeps up his devotions just for other people. That prayer is a key to the door of hell, the one you stretch out long only in the eyes of the crowd. If your road runs anywhere but toward God, they will fling your prayer mat into the fire.