Three Fates "Tired and hungry after a journey, I went to bed and had the following dream:
'I went into a kitchen in search of some pudding. Three women were standing in it; one of them as the hostess of the inn and was twisting something about in her hand, as though she was making dumplings. She answered that I must wait till she was ready..'
"In connection with the three women I thought of the three Fates who spin the destiny of man, and I knew that one of the three women was the mother who gives life, and furthermore gives the living creature its first nourishment... When I was six years old and was given my first lessons by my mother, I was expected to believe that we were all made of earth and must therefore return to earth. This did not suit me and I expressed doubts of the doctrine. My mother thereupon rubbed the palms of her hands together - just as she did in making dumplings - and showed me the blackish scales of epidermis produced by the friction as a proof that we were made of earth. My astonishment at this ocular demonstration knew no bounds and I acquiesced in the belief that we all 'owe nature a death'. So they really were Fates that I found in the kitchen when I went into it - as I had so often done in my childhood when I was hungry, while my mother, standing by the fire, had admonished me that I must wait till dinner was ready."