Here an awkward problem emerged. How could this be done? Was it possible to pick up God in one’s hands or stick Him in one’s pocket? In this connection, one of the little ones recounted: “I was alone in my room. A little lamp was burning near me, and I was sitting in bed saying my evening prayer—very loudly. Something moved in my joined hands. It was soft and warm like a little bird. I couldn’t open my hands, because the prayer wasn’t over yet. But I was very curious and prayed terribly fast. Then when I got to ‘amen’ I went like this”—the little boy stretched out his hands and spread his fingers—“but there was nothing there.”

This they could all imagine. And even Hans didn’t know what to do. Everybody looked at him. And all at once he said, “This is really dumb. Anything could be God. You just have to tell it.” He turned to a red-haired boy standing next to him. “It can’t be an animal. It would run away. But a thing, you see, will stand still. You come into the room day or night, and it’s always there. That could be God.” Little by little the others were convinced. “But we need a small object that you can carry around everywhere with you. Otherwise the whole thing doesn’t make sense. So empty all your pockets.”

Only very odd things appeared: scraps of paper, penknives, erasers, feathers, lengths of string, small stones, screws, whistles, wood shavings, and much else that couldn’t be recognized at a distance or that I don’t have a name for. And all these things lay in the children’s shallow palms as though terrified at the sudden possibility of becoming God, but those among them that were able to shine a little bit shone, so that they might find favor with Hans. The choice hung in the balance for a long time. Finally, in little Resi’s possession was found a thimble, which she had once taken from her mother. It was bright as though made from silver, and because of its beauty, it became God. Hans himself took it, for he was the first in line, and the whole day the children followed him around and were proud of him. It was not easy to agree who would have it the next day, so Hans judiciously then and there set up the schedule for the whole week, so that there would be no disputes.