One day the brethren from the monastery went to Abba Anthony.
Having boarded the ship to sail to it, they found one old man setting off in the same direction. The brothers did not know him. On the ship they talked about the sayings of the holy fathers and words from Scripture, and also talked about their handicrafts. The old man was still silent.
Going out to the pier, they learned that the elder was also going to Abba Anthony. When they came to Anthony, he said to them:
“You have found a good companion in this old man!”
He also said to the elder:
- You have found good brothers too, Abba.
“They are good,” answered the elder, “but their yard does not have a gate: whoever wants to, comes to the stall and unties the donkey.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru