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However Saint Peter does not tolerate greed and selfishness. He believes that human

beings are blessed with food, shelter and warmth of a fireand that they should be ready
to share these comforts with the needy. If they lack the will to share blessings, they

have no rights to enjoy the comforts of human life. Hence,although he is a Saint, he
loses his temper and curses the woman. The selfishness of the stingy woman upsets
and provokes good Saint Peter

Thus, Saint Peter is a dedicated missionary who wants human beings to have positive
human values of mercy and greed.

The little old woman

The woman was living all alone in the cottage. When Saint Peter approached her she
was seen baking cakes. She had a store of cakes but when Saint Peter asked for one

she decides to bake one for him because for her the cakes in her stoke were too big to
be given away.

The old lady had to bake several cakes because of her stingy and uncharitable nature.
However she wasso selfish that she could not part even with her thinnest cake. Her
greedy behavior provoked and angered Saint Peter. He felt that God had blessed her

with food, shelter and warmth of fire. But she was extremely greedy and selfish. This
made Saint Peter conclude that she did not deserve the comforts of human life. So he
cursed her to become a wood pecker and find her food with difficulty. After the curse

was pronounced the woman has driven up the chimney and came out of the top as a
woodpecker. Her clothes had burnt black as coal and become the body of the bird
while her scarlet cap remained as the red plumes of the bird. To this day, the woman
can be seen as woodpecker pecking at the trees.