King Agrippa and the Poor Man Whose Two Turtledoves Came First

(Leviticus 1:17) "And he shall tear it apart by its wings, but he shall not divide it." Rabbi Yochanan said: If this common person smells the odor of burnt wings together with the feathers, his soul is repelled by it, and you say it shall be offered upon the altar? And why all this? So that the altar shall be adorned with the offering of the poor. King Agrippa wished to offer a thousand burnt-offerings in one day. He sent word and said to the High Priest: Let no person offer today except me. A certain poor man came with two turtledoves in his hand. He said to the priest: Offer these for me. He said to him: The king commanded me that no person offer today except him. He said to him: My lord priest, I trap four birds each day; I offer two and support myself from two. If you do not offer them, you cut off my livelihood. He took them and offered them. Agrippa saw in a dream: the offering of the poor man preceded yours. He sent and said to the priest: Did I not command you that no person offer today except me? He said to him: My lord the king, a certain poor man came with two turtledoves in his hand and said to me, Offer these for me. I said to him, The king commanded that no person offer today except him. He said to me, I trap four each day, I offer two and support myself from two; if you do not offer them you cut off my livelihood. Was I not to offer them? He said to him: You did well in all that you did. It happened with a certain ox that they were dragging it to be sacrificed and it would not be led. A poor man came with a bundle of endives in his hand and held it out, and the ox ate it, and so on; it expelled a needle and was led to the offering. The owner of the ox saw in his dream: the offering of the poor man preceded yours. It happened with a certain woman who brought a handful of fine flour, and the priest despised her over it and said: See what these women offer; what is there in this to eat, what is there in this to offer? The priest saw in a dream: Do not despise her, it is as though she offered her own soul. And is this not an argument from the lesser to the greater? If of one who does not offer a soul "soul" is written, then of one who brings a soul, how much more so. If someone brought his meal-offering from Gaul or from Spain or from their neighboring lands, and saw the priest take a handful and eat the rest, and said to him, Woe is me, all this trouble I troubled myself for this -- they all appease him and say to him: If this one, who troubled himself only two steps between the porch and the altar, merited to eat, you who troubled yourself with all this trouble, how much more so.