Out to Buy a Bible

THE following experience was printed in the Hamburg (Germany) Abendblatt of May 16, 1957: “I wanted to buy a copy of the ‘Book of Books.’ A Bible. A Luther Bible. I entered a Hamburg bookstore which had three show-windows and six glass display cases. Some 3,000 books, their backs gleaming at me from their tall shelves, were there to meet me; likewise the polite faces of five lady clerks, three salesmen and one lady cashier. ‘What may I do for you?’ I was asked. ‘I would like a Bible,’ I said, ‘just an ordinary Bible.’

“The young lady twitched unexpectedly as might have been expected had I asked for pickled herrings. Then she blushed, smiled a lamenting smile and suggested I go to their competitor. I went. This shop had four show-windows and eight glass display cases. Here, along with 4,000 books glistening at me from their shelves, I discovered two limpid blue pools eying me with reserved attentiveness. The book salesman they belonged to was tall and lanky. ‘What can I do for you?’ he asked unsuspectingly. ‘A Bible,’ I said simply, ‘just an ordinary Bible.’ The man suddenly discovered something lodged in his throat. He coughed loud and long. Then he braved a smile and expressed his regret. If I would like to take the trouble of going to one of his competitors, however, then perhaps . . .

“I took the trouble. In one of the shop’s extremely promising show windows lay a best seller. Die Bibel hat doch recht [The Bible Is Right After All]. This looked like the right place. It just looked that way! My desire for a Bible was stirring up a small panic. ‘We never have any requests for Bibles here,’ stammered the lady clerk. Why she blushed—even way back behind her ears—remains a mystery. I was already at the door when she walked over and told me where I would be able to buy a Bible for sure.

“On my way I tried once again to obtain a Bible in three different bookstores. Each had a stock of half a dozen copies or so of every current French and American best seller. But not a single Bible, the Book of Books, to be found lying dormant on their shelves. Anyone who does not believe my story should try it and find out for himself. It costs nothing. If the story did not have such a serious background, one could almost find it amusing.”