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Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of the well-known
German composer, was far from being handsome. Along with a
rather short stature, he had a grotesque hunchback.
One day he visited a merchant in Hamburg who had a
lovely daughter named Frumtje. Moses fell hopelessly in love
with her. But Frumtje was repulsed by his misshapen
appearance.
When it came time for him to leave, Moses gathered his
courage and climbed the stairs to her room to take one last
opportunity to speak with her. She was a vision of heavenly
beauty, but caused him deep sadness by her refusal to look
at him. After several attempts at conversation, Moses shyly
asked, "Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?"
"Yes," she answered, still looking at the floor. "And
do you?"
"Yes, I do," he replied. "You see, in heaven at the
birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will
marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to
me. Then the Lord added, 'But your wife will be humpbacked.'
"Right then and there I called out, "Oh Lord, a
humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me
the hump and let her be beautiful."
Then Frumtje looked up into his eyes and was stirred by
some deep memory. She reached out and gave Mendelssohn her
hand and later became his devoted wife.
— From "Chicken Soup for the Soul"
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