The Son and Daughter of Rebbi Yishmael

The son and daughter of Rebbi Yishmael were taken into captivity and sold as servants to different Roman masters. One day their two masters met and each boasted about the beauty of his servant. They decided that the servant and the maidservant should marry each other and that their children would be divided between the two masters. They placed the young man and the young woman in a room together at night.

The young man sat in one corner and said to himself, “I am a kohen, the son of Kohanim Gedolim. Should I marry a maidservant?” The young woman sat in another corner and said to herself, “I am a kohenes, the daughter of Kohanim Gedolim. Should I marry a servant?” Each sat in a corner and cried the whole night. When morning came they recognized each other, fell on each other and cried until their souls left them.