Lou Andreas-Salomé (1861 - 1937) was a widely traveled writer and essayist from a Russian-German family. She is still famous today for her relationships with Friedrich Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Sigmund Freud. She actively contributed to the development of the intellectual positions of modernity around 1900. In her novels, essays, numerous texts on philosophy and psychoanalysis, as well as a lively correspondence, she engaged with fundamental themes of her time, such as the life reform movement, women's emancipation, reform pedagogy, and the beginnings of modern sociology and psychoanalysis. In her novels and stories, she often depicted the struggles of modern women trying to forge their own paths in a traditional environment. The novella presented here deals with a great life lie: a village pastor revered as a "heavenly pastor" who deceives his congregation.