Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was not friendly to them and refused to let them stay in the comfortable guest bedroom for the night. Instead, they found a corner for them in the cold basement.
When they were making the bed, the older angel noticed a hole in the wall and repaired it conveniently. The younger angel asked why, and the older angel replied, "Some things are not as they seem."
The next night, the two arrived at a very poor peasant's home to stay.
The host couple was very warm to them, took out the only little food they had to entertain the guests, and then gave their own bed to the two angels. Early the next morning, the two angels found the farmer and his wife crying. Their only source of livelihood - a cow - had died.
The younger angel was very angry and questioned the older angel why this happened. The first family had everything, and the older angel still helped them repair the hole in the wall. The second family, despite being so poor, still warmly entertained the guests, but the older angel did not prevent the death of the cow.
"Some things are not as they seem," replied the older angel. "When we spent the night in the basement, I saw through the hole that the wall was filled with gold bars. Because the owner was blinded by greed and unwilling to share his wealth, I filled the hole. Last night, the Angel of Death came to call the farmer's wife, and I let the cow take her place. So some things are not as they seem."