The Parable of the Young Woman Accused of Being a Witch

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, are not the rights due all persons accused of a crime the same under the law?”

Josh spoke thus:

A bailiff was called to oversee the trial of a woman accused of being a witch.  A mob had gathered around the woman.  She was young and attractive.

“Who accuses this woman of being a witch?” the bailiff asked the crowd.

“I accuse her,” an older man said.  The man was not attractive.

“What has she done to you, old man?” the bailiff asked the older man, “Has she destroyed your crops?”

“I have no crops,” the older man said, “I am a miller.”

“Well, miller,” the bailiff said, “Has she done something to your mill?  To your flour?”

“My mill and my flour are unharmed,” the miller said.

“She has bewitched my husband!” the miller’s wife said, stepping out of the crowd.  The miller’s wife was also not attractive.

“How has she bewitched your husband?” the bailiff asked the miller’s wife.

“She has bewitched his eyes, she has bewitched his heart,” the miller’s wife said, “My husband has not looked at another woman since our betrothal, and now his head is turned every day when this witch passes to the meadow to tend the cattle.”

The bailiff looked at the miller’s wife and looked at the young woman accused of being a witch.  The bailiff concluded that the young woman needed no witchcraft to turn any man’s head, especially any man married to the miller’s wife.

“Have you any evidence?” the bailiff asked the miller and his wife.

“I have told you!” the miller’s wife said, “What more evidence do you need?  Even now, he can’t keep his eyes off her.”

The miller quickly averted his eyes to the ground.

“I demand a trial!” the miller’s wife said.  She moved to her husband’s side.  “We demand a trial!  Don’t we, darling?”

“We demand a trial,” the miller mumbled.

“This is a trial,” the bailiff said.

“We demand a proper trial,” the bailiff’s wife said, “A proper witch’s trial!  We demand she be thrown into the pond!  If she floats, she is a witch and must be burned.  If she sinks, she is innocent.”

“Either way, she dies,” the bailiff said.

“We have the right to a trial!” the miller’s wife said.

“We want a trial!” the crowd chanted, “We want a trial!”

The bailiff raised his hands.

“People!  People!  What is this trial you demand?  The days of such madness are passed!  We do not try innocence and guilt by chance!  We consider the evidence!  We weigh the sides of the argument!  We are a nation of reason!  We are a nation of rational laws!  Our citizens have rights!”

“She’s a foreigner,” the miller’s wife said.

“Is this true?” the bailiff asked the woman accused of being a witch.

The woman accused of being a witch nodded.

“Right, then,” the bailiff said, “The pond it is!”