Abba Nikita said about two brothers that they gathered wanting to live together.
One of them thought for himself:
`I will do anything my brother wishes to.`
The other brother thought the same:
`I am going to follow my brother`s will.`
And they lived in this way, with love, for many years
But the enemy seeing that went to separate them and while they were staying on the porch the enemy appeared to one of them as a dove and to the other one as a crow.
One of the monks said to the other one :
`Do you see this dove?`
The other one said:
`It is a crow.`
So they started quarreling one saying a thing and the other one saying another. Standing up they fought until they bleeded to the great joy of the enemy and they separated.
After three days they woke up coming to their senses and making prostrations to one another confessed what each one of them thought that bird they saw was. Becoming aware of the war coming from the enemy they remained together till the end.
Excerpt from The Egyptian Patericon – Abba Nikita
