It was three hundred years before the birth of Christ the Lord, and there lived a mother who had twelve sons, but she was so poor and needy that she did not know how she would be able to keep them alive. She prayed daily to God that he might allow her sons to be together on earth with the promised savior. When her need became even greater she sent them, one after the other, out into the world to seek something to eat.
The oldest one was named Peter. He went forth, and had already walked far, an entire day's journey, when he found himself in a great forest. He looked for a way out, but could not find one, going instead deeper and deeper into the woods. His hunger was so great that he could barely stand upright. He finally became so weak that he had to lie down, and he believed that he was near death.