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| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 17:54:08 -0800 |
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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 17:54:08 -0800 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d329936 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51708 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51708) diff --git a/old/51708-0.txt b/old/51708-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9058910..0000000 --- a/old/51708-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4674 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tolstoi for the young, by Leo Tolstoi - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Tolstoi for the young - Select tales from Tolstoi - -Author: Leo Tolstoi - -Illustrator: Michel Sevier - -Translator: R. S. Townsend - -Release Date: April 9, 2016 [EBook #51708] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOLSTOI FOR THE YOUNG *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - - TOLSTOI FOR THE YOUNG - - [Illustration: IVAN THE FOOL. - - _Frontispiece._] - - - - - TOLSTOI FOR THE - YOUNG - - SELECT TALES FROM TOLSTOI - - Translated from the Russian - By - MRS. R. S. TOWNSEND - - WITH SIX COLOURED PLATES BY MICHEL SEVIER - - LONDON - KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD - NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO. - - 1916 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -IVAN THE FOOL 1 - -WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THERE IS GOD ALSO 56 - -A PRISONER 82 - -EMELIAN AND THE EMPTY DRUM 138 - -THE GREAT BEAR 156 - -THREE QUESTIONS 158 - -THE GODSON 167 - - - - -LIST OF COLOURED PLATES - - -Ivan the Fool _Frontispiece_ - -Where there is Love, there is God also _To face p._ 57 - -A Prisoner 82 - -Emelian and the Empty Drum 138 - -Three Questions 158 - -The Godson 167 - - - - -IVAN THE FOOL - - THE STORY OF IVAN THE FOOL AND HIS TWO BROTHERS SIMON THE WARRIOR - AND TARAS THE POT-BELLIED, AND OF HIS DEAF AND DUMB SISTER, AND THE - OLD DEVIL AND THREE LITTLE DEVILKINS. - - -Once upon a time there lived a rich peasant, who had three sons--Simon -the Warrior, Taras the Pot-bellied, and Ivan the Fool, and a deaf and -dumb daughter, Malania, an old maid. - -Simon the Warrior went off to the wars to serve the King; Taras the -Pot-bellied went to a merchant’s to trade in the town, and Ivan the Fool -and the old maid stayed at home to do the work of the house and the -farm. Simon the Warrior earned a high rank for himself and an estate and -married a nobleman’s daughter. He had a large income and a large estate, -but he could never make both ends meet, for, what he managed to gather -in, his wife managed to squander; thus it was that he never had any -money. - -And Simon the Warrior went to his estate one day to collect his income, -and his steward said to him, “There is nothing to squeeze money out of; -we have neither cattle, nor implements, nor horses, nor cows, nor -ploughs, nor harrows; we must get all these things first, then there -will be an income.” - -Then Simon the Warrior went to his father and said, “You are rich, -father; and have given me nothing, let me have a third of your -possessions and I will set up my estate.” - -And the old man replied, “Why should I? You have brought nothing to the -home. It would be unfair to Ivan and the girl.” - -And Simon said, “Ivan is a fool and Malania is deaf and dumb; they do -not need much, surely.” - -“Ivan shall decide,” the old man said. - -And Ivan said, “I don’t mind; let him take what he wants.” - -Simon took a portion of his father’s goods and moved them to his -estate, and once more he set out to serve the King. - -Taras the Pot-bellied made a great deal of money and married a -merchant’s widow, but still, it seemed to him that he had not enough, so -he too went to his father and said, “Give me my portion, father.” And -the old man was loath to give Taras his portion, and he said, “You have -brought us nothing; everything in the home has been earned by Ivan; it -would be unfair to him and the girl.” - -And Taras said, “Ivan is a fool, what does he need? He cannot marry, for -no one would have him, and the girl is deaf and dumb and does not need -much either.” And turning to Ivan, he said, “Let me have half the corn, -Ivan. I will not take any implements, and as for the cattle, I only want -the grey cob; he is of no use to you for the plough.” - -Ivan laughed. - -“Very well,” he said, “you shall have what you want.” - -And Taras was given his portion, and he carted the corn off to the town -and took away the grey cob, and Ivan was left with only the old mare to -work the farm and support his father and mother. - - -II - -The old Devil was annoyed that the three brothers had not quarrelled -over the matter and had parted in peace. He summoned three little -Devilkins. - -“There are three brothers,” he said, “Simon the Warrior, Taras the -Pot-bellied, and Ivan the Fool. I want them all to quarrel and they live -in peace and goodwill. It is the Fool’s fault. Go to these three -brothers, the three of you, and confound them so that they will scratch -out each others’ eyes. Do you think you can do it?” - -“We can,” they said. - -“How will you do it?” - -“We will ruin them first,” they said, “so that they have nothing to eat, -then we will put them all together and they will begin to fight.” - -“I see you know your work,” the old Devil said. “Go then, and do not -return to me until you have confounded the whole three, or else I will -skin you alive.” - -And the Devilkins set out to a bog to confer on the matter, and they -argued and argued, for each wanted the easiest work, and they decided to -cast lots and each to take the brother that fell to him, and whichever -finished his work first was to help the others. And the Devilkins cast -lots and fixed a day when they should meet again in the bog, in order to -find out who had finished his work and who was in need of help. - -The day arrived and the Devilkins gathered together in the bog. They -began to discuss their work. The first to give his account was the one -who had undertaken Simon the Warrior. “My work is progressing well,” he -said. “To-morrow Simon will return to his father.” - -“How did you manage it?” the others asked him. - -“First of all,” he said, “I gave Simon so much courage that he promised -the King to conquer the whole world. And the King made him the head of -his army and sent him to make war on the King of India. That same night -I damped the powder of Simon’s troops and I went to the King of India -and made him numberless soldiers out of straw. And when Simon saw -himself surrounded by the straw soldiers, a fear came upon him and he -ordered the guns to fire, but the guns and cannon would not go off. And -Simon’s troops were terrified and ran away like sheep, and the King of -India defeated them. Simon was disgraced. He was deprived of his rank -and estate and to-morrow he is to be executed. I have only one day left -in which to get him out of the dungeon and help him to escape home. -To-morrow I shall have finished with him, so I want you to tell me which -of you two is in need of help.” - -Then the second Devilkin began to tell of his work with Taras. “I do not -want help,” he said; “my work is also going well. Taras will not live in -the town another week. The first thing I did was to make his belly grow -bigger and fill him with greed. He is now so greedy for other people’s -goods that whatever he sees he must buy. He has bought up everything he -could lay his eyes on, and spent all his money, and is still buying with -borrowed money. He has taken so much upon himself, and become so -entangled that he will never pull himself out. In a week he will have to -repay the borrowed money, and I will turn his wares into manure so that -he cannot repay, then he will go to his father.” - -“And how is your work getting on?” they asked the third Devilkin about -Ivan. - -“My work is going badly,” he said. “The first thing I did was to spit -into Ivan’s jug of kvas to give him a stomach-ache and then I went into -his fields and made the soil as hard as stones so that he could not move -it. I thought he would not plough it, but the fool came with his plough -and began to pull. His stomach-ache made him groan, yet still he went on -ploughing. I broke one plough for him and he went home and repaired -another, and again persisted in his work. I crawled beneath the ground -and clutched hold of his ploughshares, but I could not hold them--he -pressed upon the plough so hard, and the shares were sharp and cut my -hands. He has finished it all but one strip. You must come and help me, -mates, for singly we shall never get the better of him, and all our -labour will be wasted. If the fool keeps on tilling his land, the other -two brothers will never know what need means, for he will feed them.” - -The first Devilkin offered to come and help to-morrow when he had -disposed of Simon the Warrior, and with that the three Devilkins parted. - - -III - -Ivan had ploughed all the fallow but one strip, and he went to finish -that. His stomach ached, yet he had to plough. He undid the harness -ropes, turned over the plough and set out to the fields. He drove one -furrow, but coming back, the ploughshares caught on something that -seemed like a root. - -“What a strange thing!” Ivan thought. “There were no roots here, yet -here’s a root!” - -He put his hand into the furrow and clutched hold of something soft. He -pulled it out. It was a thing as black as a root and it moved. He looked -closely and saw that it was a live Devilkin. - -“You horrid little wretch, you!” - -Ivan raised his hand to dash its head against the plough, but the -Devilkin squealed, “Don’t kill me, and I’ll do whatever you want me to.” - -“What can you do?” - -“Tell me what you want.” - -Ivan scratched his head. - -“My stomach aches,” he said; “can you make it well?” - -“I can.” - -“Do it, then.” - -The Devilkin bent down, rummaged about with his nails in the furrow and -pulled out three little roots, grown together. - -“There,” he said; “if any one swallows a single one of these roots all -pain will pass away from him.” - -Ivan took the three roots, separated them and swallowed one. His -stomach-ache instantly left him. - -“Let me go now,” the Devilkin begged once more. “I will dive through the -earth and never bother you again.” - -“Very well,” Ivan said; “go, in God’s name.” - -At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone -thrown into water, and there was nothing but the hole left. Ivan thrust -the two remaining little roots into his cap and went on with his -ploughing. He finished the strip, turned over his plough and set off -home. He unharnessed and went into the house, and there was his brother, -Simon the Warrior, sitting at table with his wife, having supper. His -estate had been taken from him; he had escaped from prison and come back -to live with his father. - -As soon as Simon the Warrior saw Ivan, he said to him, “I have come with -my wife to live with you; will you keep us both until I find another -place?” - -“Very well,” Ivan said, “you can live here.” - -When Ivan sat down by the table, the smell of him was displeasing to the -lady and she said to her husband, “I cannot sup together with a -stinking peasant.” - -And Simon the Warrior said, “My lady says you do not smell sweet; you -had better eat in the passage.” - -“Very well,” Ivan said. “It is time for bed anyway, and I must feed the -mare.” - -Ivan took some bread and his coat and went out for the night. - - -IV - -That night, having freed himself of Simon the Warrior, the first little -Devilkin set out to seek Ivan’s Devilkin, to help him plague the Fool as -they had agreed. He came to the fields, looked all round for his mate, -but he was nowhere to be seen; he only found a hole. “I see some -misfortune has happened to my mate; I must take his place. The ploughing -is all finished; I must upset the Fool at the mowing.” - -And the Devilkin went to the meadow and flooded it and trampled the hay -in the mud. - -Ivan awoke at daybreak, put his scythe in order and set out to the -meadow to mow the hay. Ivan swung the scythe once, he swung it twice, -but the scythe grew blunt and would not cut; he had to sharpen it. Ivan -struggled and struggled and struggled. - -“This won’t do,” he said; “I must go home and bring a whetstone and a -hunk of bread. If it takes me a week I’ll not give up until I’ve mowed -it every bit.” - -And the Devilkin grew pensive when he heard these words. - -“The Fool has a temper,” he said; “I can’t catch him this way; I must -think of something else.” - -Ivan returned, sharpened his scythe and began to mow. The Devilkin crept -into the grass, caught hold of the scythe by the heel and pushed the -point into the ground. It was hard for Ivan, but he mowed all the grass, -except a little piece in the swamp. - -The Devilkin crept into the swamp, thinking, “Even if I have to cut my -hands I won’t let him mow that!” - -Ivan came to the swamp. The grass was not thick, but the scythe could -not cut through it. Ivan grew angry and began to mow with all his might. -The Devilkin began to lose hold, seeing that he was in a bad plight, -but he had no time to get away and took refuge in a bush. Ivan swung the -scythe near the bush and cut off half the Devilkin’s tail. He finished -mowing the grass, told the old maid to rake it up and went away to mow -the rye. - -He came to the field with his sickle, but the Devilkin with the clipped -tail was there before him. He had entangled the rye, so that the sickle -could not take it. Ivan went back for his reaping-hook and reaped the -whole field of rye. “Now,” he said, “I must tackle the oats.” - -At these words the Devilkin with the clipped tail thought, “I did not -trip him up with the rye, but I’ll do so with the oats. If only the -morrow would come!” - -In the morning the Devilkin hurried off to the field of oats, but the -oats were all harvested. Ivan had reaped them overnight so that less of -the grain should be wasted. The Devilkin lost his temper at that. - -“He has mutilated and exhausted me, the fool! I’ve never had such -trouble on the battlefield even. The wretch doesn’t sleep and you can’t -get ahead of him. I’ll creep into the stacks of sheaves and rot the -grain.” - -And the Devilkin crept into a stack of sheaves, and began to rot them. -He heated them, grew warm himself and fell asleep. - -Ivan harnessed the mare and set out with his sister to gather in the -sheaves. He stopped by the stack and began to throw the sheaves into the -cart. He had thrown up two sheaves and was going to take up a third, -when the fork dug into the Devilkin’s back. He looked at the prongs and -saw a live Devilkin with his tail clipped, wriggling and writhing and -trying to get away. - -“You horrid little wretch! You here again!” - -“I’m not the same one,” the Devilkin pleaded. “The other was my brother. -I belong to your brother Simon.” - -“Whoever you are you shall share the same fate.” - -Ivan was about to dash it against the cart, when the Devilkin cried out, -“Spare me! I’ll not worry you again, and I’ll do whatever you want me -to.” - -“What can you do?” - -“I can make soldiers out of anything you choose.” - -“What good are they?” - -“You can make them do anything you like. Soldiers can do everything.” - -“Can they play songs?” - -“They can.” - -“Very well; make some, then.” - -And the Devilkin said, “Take a sheaf of rye and bump it upright on the -ground, saying,-- - - My slave bids you be a sheaf no more. - Every straw contained in you, - Must turn into a soldier true.” - -Ivan took the sheaf and banged it on the ground and repeated the -Devilkin’s words. And the sheaf burst asunder and every straw turned -into a soldier and at their head the drummer and bugler were playing. -Ivan laughed aloud. - -“That was clever of you,” he said. “It will amuse Malania.” - -“Let me go now,” the Devilkin begged. - -“Not yet,” Ivan said. “I shall want to make the soldiers out of chaff so -as not to waste the grain. Show me first how to turn the soldiers into a -sheaf again, so that I can thrash it.” - -And the Devilkin said, “Repeat the words-- - - My slave bids every soldier be a straw - And turn into a sheaf once more.” - -Ivan repeated the Devilkin’s words, and the soldiers turned into a sheaf -again. - -And again the Devilkin pleaded, “Let me go.” - -“Very well,” Ivan said, taking him off the prongs. “Go, in God’s name.” - -At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone -thrown into water, and there was nothing but the hole left. - -When Ivan reached home, his other brother, Taras, and his wife were -sitting at table and having supper. Taras could not pay his debts; he -fled from his creditors and came home to his father. As soon as he saw -Ivan he said, “Until I can make some more money, will you keep me and my -wife?” - -“Very well,” Ivan said. “You can live here.” - -Ivan took off his coat and sat down to table. - -And Taras’ wife said, “I cannot sup with a fool; he smells of sweat.” - -Taras the Pot-bellied said, “You do not smell sweet, Ivan; go and eat in -the passage.” - -“Very well,” Ivan said; “it’s time for bed, anyhow, and I must feed the -mare.” - -He took his coat and a piece of bread, and went out. - - -V - -That night, having disposed of Taras, the third little Devilkin came to -help his mates plague Ivan, as they had agreed. He came to the ploughed -field and looked and looked, but could see no one; he only found the -hole. Then he went to the meadow and found a piece of tail in the swamp, -and in the rye-stubble field he found another hole. - -“I see some misfortune has happened to my mates. I must take their -places and tackle the Fool.” - -The Devilkin set out to find Ivan. - -Ivan had finished his work in the fields and had gone into the copse to -cut wood. - -The brothers found it too crowded to live together in their father’s -house and they ordered Ivan to fell timber to build themselves new -houses. - -The Devilkin rushed into the wood and crept into the knots of the trees -to prevent Ivan from felling them. - -Ivan had cut a tree in the right way so that it should fall on to a -clear space, but the tree seemed to be possessed, and fell over where it -was not wanted, and got entangled among the branches. Ivan lopped them -off with his bill-hook and at last, with great difficulty, brought down -the tree. He began to fell another and the same thing was repeated. He -struggled and struggled and succeeded only after great exertion. He -began on a third and the same thing happened. Ivan had intended to fell -fifty trees at least, and he had not managed more than ten, and night -was coming on. Ivan was exhausted, and the steam rose from him and -floated through the wood like a mist; yet still he would not give up. He -felled another tree and his back began to ache so that he could not go -on. He stuck his axe into the trunk of a tree and sat down to rest. - -When the Devilkin realized that Ivan had ceased to work, he rejoiced. -“He is worn out at last,” he thought; “now I can rest too.” And he sat -himself astride on a branch, exulting. - -Ivan rose, took out his axe, flourished it aloft, and brought it down so -heavily that the tree came down with a crash. The Devilkin had no time -to disentangle his legs; the branch broke and pinned down his paw. - -Ivan began to clear the tree and behold! there was a live Devilkin. Ivan -was amazed. - -“You horrid little wretch! You here again!” - -“I am not the same one,” the Devilkin said. “I belong to your brother -Taras.” - -“Whoever you may be, you shall share the same fate.” And Ivan raised -the axe to bring it down on its head, but the Devilkin began to plead. - -“Don’t kill me,” he said, “and I’ll do whatever you want me to.” - -“What can you do?” - -“I can make as much money as you like.” - -“Very well,” Ivan said; “make it, then.” - -And the Devilkin taught him what to do. - -“Take some leaves from this oak and rub them in your hands and gold will -fall to the ground.” - -Ivan took the leaves and rubbed them in his hand and gold rained down. - -“This is well,” he said; “on holidays it will amuse the children.” - -“Let me go,” the Devilkin begged. - -“I don’t mind,” Ivan said, and taking up his axe, he freed the Devilkin -of the branch. “Go, in God’s name.” - -At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone -thrown into water and there was nothing but the hole left. - - -VI - -The brothers built themselves houses and began to live apart. Ivan -finished his work in the fields, brewed some beer and invited his -brothers to a feast. The brothers did not accept his invitation. - -“We do not go to feast with peasants,” they said. - -Ivan treated the peasants and the peasant-women and drank himself until -he got tipsy, and he went into the street and joined the dancers and -singers. He approached the women, and bade them sing his praises. - -“I will give you something you have never seen in your lives,” he said. - -The women laughed and began to sing his praises, and when they had -finished, they said, “Well, give us what you promised.” - -“I will bring it in a moment,” Ivan said, and he took his seed-basket -and ran into the wood. - -The women laughed. “What a fool!” they said, and forgot all about him, -when behold! Ivan returned, his basket full of something. - -“Shall I share it out?” - -“Do.” - -Ivan took up a handful of gold and threw it to the women. Heavens! The -women rushed to pick it up, the peasants after them, snatching it out of -each others’ hands. One old woman was nearly killed in the fray. - -Ivan laughed. - -“You fools!” he said. “Why did you hurt Granny? If you are not so rough -I’ll give you some more.” - -He scattered more gold. The whole village came up. Ivan emptied his -basket. The people asked for more, but he said, “Not now; another time -I’ll give you more. Now let us dance. You play some songs.” - -The women began to play. - -“I don’t like your songs,” Ivan said. - -“Do you know any better ones?” - -“You shall see in a moment.” - -Ivan went into a barn, took up a sheaf, thrashed it, stood it up, and -banged it on the floor, and said-- - - My slave bids you be a sheaf no more. - Every straw contained in you - Must turn into a soldier true. - -And the sheaf burst asunder and turned into soldiers, and the drummers -and buglers played at their head. Ivan asked the soldiers to play some -songs, and led them into the street. The people were amazed. - -When the soldiers had played their songs Ivan took them back into the -barn, forbidding any one to follow. He turned the soldiers into a sheaf -again and threw it on a pile of straw, then he went home and lay down to -sleep in the stables. - - -VII - -Simon the Warrior heard of these things next morning, and went to his -brother. - -“Tell me,” he said, “where did you get the soldiers from, and where did -you take them to?” - -“What does it matter to you?” - -“Matter, indeed! With soldiers one can do anything. One can conquer a -kingdom.” - -Ivan wondered. - -“Really! Then why didn’t you tell me before?” he said. “I will make you -as many soldiers as you like. It is well Malania and I have threshed so -much straw.” - -Ivan took his brother to the barn and said, “Look here, if I make the -soldiers you must take them away at once, for if we have to feed them -they will eat up the whole village in a day.” - -Simon the Warrior promised to take the soldiers away, and Ivan began to -make them. He banged a sheaf on the threshing-floor and a company -appeared. He banged another sheaf and a second company appeared. He made -so many soldiers that they filled the whole field. - -“Are there enough now?” he asked. - -Simon was overjoyed and said, “That will do, Ivan, thank you.” - -“Very well. If you want more, come back and I’ll make them for you. -There is plenty of straw this year.” - -Simon the Warrior soon put his troops in order, and went away to make -war. - -He had no sooner gone than Taras the Pot-bellied came along. He, too, -had heard of yesterday’s affair and he said to his brother, “Tell me -where you get gold money from. If only I could get hold of some I could -make it bring in money from the whole world.” - -Ivan wondered. - -“Really? Then why didn’t you tell me before? I’ll make you as much as -you like.” - -Taras was overjoyed. - -“I shall be satisfied with three baskets full,” he said. - -“Very well; come into the wood,” Ivan said; “but I had better harness -the mare, for you won’t be able to carry it away.” - -They rode into the wood. Ivan began to rub the oak leaves, and made a -heap of gold. - -“Is it enough?” he asked. - -Taras was overjoyed. - -“It will do for the present, thank you, Ivan,” he said. - -“Very well,” Ivan said; “if you want more, come back and I’ll make it -for you. There are plenty of leaves left.” - -Taras the Pot-bellied gathered up a whole cartload of money, and went -off to trade. - -Both brothers had gone--Simon to make war and Taras to trade. And Simon -the Warrior conquered a kingdom, and Taras the Pot-bellied made much -money in trade. - -When the two brothers met they told each other how they had come by -their soldiers and money. - -Simon the Warrior said to his brother, “I have conquered a kingdom for -myself and live well, only I have not enough money to feed my soldiers.” - -And Taras the Pot-bellied said, “I have made a heap of money, only -unfortunately I have no one to guard it.” - -And Simon the Warrior said, “Let us go to our brother Ivan. I will ask -him to make more soldiers and give them to you to guard your money, and -you must ask him to make more money and give it to me to feed my -soldiers.” - -And they came to Ivan. - -And Simon said, “I haven’t enough soldiers, brother. Will you make -another couple of sheaves for me?” - -Ivan shook his head. - -“No,” he said; “I won’t make you any more soldiers.” - -“But you promised you would.” - -“I know I promised, but I won’t make any more.” - -“Why not, you fool?” - -“Because your soldiers killed a man. I will not let you have any more.” - -And he was obstinate, and would not make any more soldiers. - -Then Taras the Pot-bellied asked Ivan the Fool to make him more golden -money. - -Ivan shook his head. - -“No,” he said; “I won’t make any more money.” - -“But you promised.” - -“I know I promised, but I won’t make any more.” - -“Why not, you fool?” - -“Because your money took a cow away from a woman in the village.” - -“But how can that be?” - -“The woman had a cow. The children used to drink the milk, but the -other day they came to beg a little milk of me. ‘But where’s your cow?’ -I asked them, and they said, ‘Taras’ bailiff came and gave mother three -golden coins and she gave him the cow; now we have no milk to drink.’ I -thought you only wanted to play with the golden coins, but you’ve taken -away the cow from the children; I won’t give you any more.” - -And the Fool was obstinate and kept to his word. - -And the brothers went away and deliberated over their difficult -situation in order to find a way out. - -Simon said, “This is what we must do. You give me some of your money to -feed my soldiers, and I’ll give you half my kingdom and soldiers to -guard your money.” - -Taras agreed. The brothers divided their possessions, and both became -kings and both were rich. - - -VIII - -And Ivan lived at home, supporting his father and mother and working in -the fields with his deaf and dumb sister. - -One day Ivan’s yard-dog fell sick. He grew mangy, and was near dying. -Ivan pitied it. He took a piece of bread from his sister, put it in his -cap, carried it out and threw it to the dog. The creases in his cap -parted and out rolled one of the little roots with the bread. The dog -ate it up. As soon as it had swallowed the root it began to jump about -and bark and play and wag its tail. It was quite well again. - -The father and mother were amazed. - -“How did you cure the dog?” they asked. - -And Ivan said, “I had two little roots that could cure any pain, and the -dog swallowed one.” - -It happened at the time that the King’s daughter fell ill, and the King -proclaimed to every town and village that he would reward any man who -could cure her, and that if he were an unmarried man he should have her -for his wife. The news came to Ivan’s village. - -And the father and mother summoned Ivan and said to him, “Have you heard -of the King’s promise? You told us you had a little root that could cure -any sickness; go, cure the King’s daughter, you will then be happy for -life.” - -“Very well,” Ivan said, “I will go.” - -And Ivan prepared himself for the journey, and they dressed him in his -best clothes. When he came out on the doorstep he saw a beggar-woman -with a crippled hand. - -“I heard that you can cure the sick,” she said. “Cure my hand, for I -cannot even put on my own shoes.” - -“Very well,” Ivan said. And he took the little root out of his cap, gave -it to the beggar-woman and told her to swallow it. As soon as she -swallowed it, she recovered, and began to wave her hand. - -The father and mother came out to bid good-bye to Ivan, and they heard -that he had given away his last root and had nothing left with which to -cure the King’s daughter, and they began to scold him. - -“You pity a beggar-woman, yet have no pity for the King’s daughter,” -they reproached him. - -But Ivan was sorry for the King’s daughter. He harnessed the mare, threw -some straw into the cart and got in. - -“Where are you going to, you fool?” - -“To cure the King’s daughter.” - -“But you have nothing to cure her with now.” - -“It doesn’t matter,” he said, and drove away. - -He came to the King’s palace, and as soon as he stepped over the -threshold the King’s daughter got well. - -The King was overjoyed. He ordered Ivan to be brought to him, and -dressed him in fine clothes. - -“You must be my son-in-law,” he said. - -“Very well,” Ivan said. - -And Ivan married the princess. Her father died soon after, and Ivan -became King. - -All three brothers were now kings. - - -IX - -The three brothers lived and reigned. - -The elder brother Simon the Warrior lived well. With his straw soldiers -he gathered together real soldiers. Throughout the whole of his kingdom -he ordered a levy of one soldier for every ten houses, and each soldier -had to be tall and whole of body and clean of face. In this way he -gathered many soldiers and trained them. If any one opposed him he sent -his soldiers off at once and imposed his will, and people began to fear -him. His life was a very goodly one. Whatever he saw and wanted was his. -He sent his soldiers and they brought him all he wanted. - -Taras the Pot-bellied also lived well. He did not lose the money Ivan -had given him, but increased it a hundredfold. He introduced law and -order into his kingdom. He stowed his money away in coffers and levied -taxes on the people. There was a poll-tax, and tolls for walking and -driving, and a tax on shoes and stockings and frills. He got whatever he -wanted. For money people brought him everything, and even worked for -him, for every one wanted money. - -Ivan the Fool, too, did not live badly. As soon as his father-in-law was -dead he took off his royal robes and gave them to his wife to stow away -in a chest. And he put on his coarse linen shirt and breeches and -peasant shoes and began to work once more. - -“It’s so dull for me,” he said. “I’ve got fat, lost my appetite and -can’t sleep.” - -He brought his father and mother and sister to live with him, and began -to work as of old. - -“But you are a king,” people remonstrated. - -“Even a king must eat,” he said. - -One of his ministers came to him and said, “We have no money to pay -salaries.” - -“Don’t pay them, then,” he said. - -“But no one will serve us.” - -“What does it matter? They needn’t. They’ll have more time for work. -There’s the manure to cart; heaps of it lying about.” - -When people came to Ivan for justice and said, “That man stole my -money,” Ivan said, “Never mind; he must have wanted it.” - -And all realized that Ivan was a fool. And his wife said to him, “People -say you are a fool.” - -“What does it matter?” Ivan said. - -His wife reflected awhile, but she was also a fool. - -“Why should I go against my husband?” she said. “Where the needle goes, -the thread follows.” - -So she took off her royal robes, put them away in a chest and went to -Malania to learn to work. When she knew how, she began to help her -husband. - -All the wise left Ivan’s kingdom, and only the fools remained. - -Nobody had money. They lived and worked, fed themselves and others. - - -X - -The old Devil waited and waited for news of the Devilkins. He was -expecting to hear that they had ruined the three brothers, but no news -came. He set out himself to find them. He searched and searched, and -found nothing but three holes. - -“They’ve not been able to manage it, evidently,” he thought. “I must -tackle the job myself.” - -He went to look for the brothers, but they were no longer in their old -places. He found them in their different kingdoms. All three lived and -reigned. The old Devil was annoyed. - -“Now we’ll see what I can do!” he said. - -First of all he went to King Simon. - -He did not go in his own shape, but disguised himself as a general. In -that guise he appeared before King Simon. - -“I have heard that you are a great warrior, King Simon,” he said. “I am -well versed in these things and want to serve you.” - -And King Simon began to ask him all manner of questions, and seeing that -he was a clever man, he took him into his service. - -The new commander instructed King Simon how to collect a large army. - -“First of all,” he said, “we must get more soldiers. There are many idle -people in your kingdom. We must conscript all the young men without -exception, then you will have an army five times as large as the one you -have now. Secondly, we must get new guns and cannons. I will get guns -that will fire a hundred bullets at one shot; they will rain out like -peas. And I will get cannons that will consume with fire either man or -horse or wall; they will burn everything.” - -King Simon listened to the new commander, and enrolled all the young men -as soldiers and built new factories where he manufactured new guns and -cannons, then he made war on a neighbouring king. As soon as he was -faced by the opposing army, King Simon ordered his soldiers to rain -bullets against it and shoot fire from their cannons, in this way wiping -out half the hostile troops. The neighbouring king was alarmed; he -surrendered and gave up his kingdom. King Simon rejoiced. - -“Now,” he said, “I will make war on the King of India.” - -And the King of India heard of King Simon’s doings. He adopted all his -methods, and invented some improvements of his own. He not only enrolled -all the young men as soldiers, but the unmarried women as well, and in -consequence had a larger army than King Simon. And he made guns and -cannons like King Simon’s, and invented machines to fly in the air and -drop explosive bombs from above. - -And King Simon set out to make war on the King of India, thinking he -would beat him as easily as he had beaten the other king, but the scythe -that had cut so well had lost its edge. The King of India did not give -Simon time to open fire, for he sent his women to fly in the air and -drop explosive bombs on Simon’s troops. And the women rained down bombs -from above like borax upon cockroaches and Simon’s troops scattered and -fled, and Simon was left alone. - -The King of India took possession of Simon’s kingdom, and Simon the -Warrior escaped as best he could. - -Having disposed of this brother, the old Devil went to King Taras. - -He changed himself into a merchant and settled in Taras’ kingdom, where -he opened establishments and began to circulate money freely. He paid -high prices for everything, and the people flocked to him for the sake -of the extra profit. And the people came to have so much money that they -were able to settle all their arrears and to pay their taxes at the -proper time. King Taras rejoiced. - -“Thanks to the merchant,” he thought, “I have more money than ever, and -I’ll be able to live better than I used to.” - -And he began making all sorts of new plans, and decided to have a new -palace built for himself. He proclaimed to the people that he wanted -timber and stone and labour, for which he was prepared to pay a high -price. King Taras thought that for his money people would flock to work -for him as of old. But lo! all the timber and stone was taken to the -merchant, and all the labourers flocked to work for him. King Taras -raised his price, and the merchant raised his. King Taras had much -money, but the merchant had more and beat the King. The King’s palace -could not be built. - -King Taras had arranged to make a new garden. When the autumn came he -proclaimed that he wanted men to come and plant his garden, but no one -came, for the people were all digging for the merchant. - -Winter came. King Taras wanted to buy some sable skins for a new coat. -He sent a messenger to buy it, but the messenger returned empty-handed, -and said that there were no sable skins, for the merchant had bought -them all at a higher price, and made himself a sable carpet. - -King Taras wanted to buy some stallions. He sent a messenger, but the -messenger returned and said that the merchant had all the good -stallions; they were carting water for him to make a pond. - -And the King’s plans fell to pieces, for no one would work for him. All -worked for the merchant, and only brought him the merchant’s money to -pay the taxes. - -And the King came to have so much money that he did not know where to -put it all, but he lived badly. The King gave up making plans; he would -have been contented to live quietly somehow, but even that was -difficult. He was hampered on all sides. His cook and coachman and -servants left him to go to the merchant’s. He even went short of food. -When he sent to the market to buy some provisions there were none left, -for the merchant had bought up everything, and the people only brought -the King money for their taxes. - -King Taras lost patience and banished the merchant from his kingdom. The -merchant settled on the very border, and did exactly the same as before, -and for his money the people dragged everything away from the King and -brought it to the merchant. Life became very hard for the King. For -whole days he did not eat, and to make matters worse a rumour went -abroad that the merchant had boasted that he would buy the King -himself. King Taras lost courage, and did not know what to do. - -Simon the Warrior came to him and said, “Will you support me? I have -been beaten by the King of India.” - -King Taras himself was in a sad plight. - -“I haven’t eaten anything myself for two days,” he said. - - -XI - -Having disposed of the two brothers, the old Devil went to Ivan. He -changed himself into a general and came to Ivan, and began to persuade -him to set up a large army. - -“A king should not live without an army,” he said. “Give me the power, -and I’ll collect soldiers from among your people and organize an army.” - -Ivan listened to all he had to say. - -“Very well,” he said, “organize one, then; only teach the soldiers to -sing nice songs, for I like singing.” - -And the old Devil went through Ivan’s kingdom to collect a voluntary -army. To each recruit who should offer himself he promised a bottle of -vodka and a red cap. - -The fools laughed at him. - -“We have plenty of drink,” they said; “we brew it ourselves, and as for -caps, our women can make us any kind we like--embroidered ones and even -ones with fringes.” - -And no one offered himself. - -The old Devil went back to Ivan and said, “Your fools won’t enlist of -their own accord; we’ll have to force them.” - -“Very well; force them, then.” - -And the old Devil proclaimed throughout the kingdom that every man must -enlist as a soldier, and if he fails to do so Ivan will have him put to -death. - -The fools came to the Devil and said, “You tell us that if we won’t -enlist as soldiers the King will have us put to death, but you don’t say -what will happen to us when we become soldiers. People say that soldiers -are killed.” - -“You can’t get over that.” - -When the fools heard this they kept to their decision. - -“We won’t go,” they said. “We’d sooner die at home since we have to die -in either case.” - -“What fools you are!” the old Devil said. “A soldier may or may not be -killed, but if you don’t go King Ivan will have you put to death for -certain.” - -The fools reflected over this; then went to Ivan the Fool and said, “A -general has appeared among us who orders us all to enlist as soldiers. -‘If you go as a soldier,’ he says, ‘you may or you may not be killed, -but if you don’t go, King Ivan will have you put to death for certain.’ -Is it true?” - -Ivan laughed. - -“How can I alone have you all put to death? Had I not been a fool I -would have explained it to you, but I don’t understand it myself.” - -“Then we won’t go,” the fools said. - -“Very well, don’t.” - -The fools went to the general and refused to enlist as soldiers. - -The old Devil saw that his plan would not work, so he went to the King -of Tarakan and wormed himself into his favour. - -“Come,” he said, “let us go and make war on King Ivan. He has no money, -but grain and cattle and all manner of good things he has in abundance.” - -The King of Tarakan prepared to make war. He gathered together a large -army, repaired his guns and cannons and marched across the border on his -way to Ivan’s kingdom. - -People came to Ivan and said, “The King of Tarakan is marching on us -with his army.” - -“Very well; let him,” Ivan said. - -When the King of Tarakan crossed the border he sent his vanguard to find -Ivan’s troops. They searched and searched, but no troops were to be -found anywhere. Should they wait and see if they showed themselves? But -there was no sign of any troops and no one to fight with. The King of -Tarakan sent men to seize the villages. The soldiers came to one village -and the fools--men and women alike--rushed out and stood gaping at them -in wonder. The soldiers began to take away their corn and cattle and -the fools let them have what they wanted, making no resistance. The -soldiers went to another village and the same thing was repeated. And -they marched one day and another, and still the same thing happened. -Everything was given up without any resistance and the fools even -invited the soldiers to stay with them. “If you find it hard to live in -your parts, good fellows, come and settle with us altogether.” And the -soldiers marched from village to village and no troops were to be found -anywhere; the people lived, fed themselves and others; no one offered -any resistance and every one invited them to settle there. - -And the soldiers grew weary of the job and they went back to their King -of Tarakan. - -“We can’t fight here,” they said; “take us to another place. This is not -war; this is child’s-play. We can’t fight here.” - -The King of Tarakan grew angry. He ordered his soldiers to go over the -whole kingdom and lay waste the villages and burn the corn and kill the -cattle. - -“If you won’t do what I tell you,” he said, “I will punish you all.” - -The soldiers were frightened and began to carry out the King’s commands. -They burnt the houses and corn and killed the cattle. The fools made no -resistance, they only wept. The old men wept and the old women and the -little children. - -“Why do you treat us like this?” they said. “Why do you waste the good -things? If you want them, why not take them?” - -And the soldiers grew to loathe their work. They refused to go further -and the troops dispersed. - - -XII - -And the old Devil went away, having failed to bring Ivan to reason by -means of the soldiers. - -The old Devil changed himself into a clean gentleman and came to live in -Ivan’s kingdom, hoping to ruin Ivan by money, as he had done Taras. - -“I want to do you good and teach you common sense,” he said. “I will -build myself a house in your midst and open an establishment.” - -“Very well,” the people said; “you can live here.” - -The clean gentleman spent the night and in the morning he went out to -the square with a bag of gold and a bundle of papers and said, “You all -live like swine. I want to teach you how you ought to live. Build me a -house according to this plan. You will work for me and I will teach you -and pay you in golden money.” And he showed them the gold. - -The fools marvelled. They had no money in circulation, but exchanged -thing for thing, or paid by labour. And they began to exchange things -with the gentleman and to work for his golden coins. And the old Devil, -as in Taras’ kingdom, began to circulate gold, and people brought him -things and worked for him. - -The old Devil rejoiced. - -“At last my plan is beginning to work!” he thought. “I will ruin him as -I ruined Taras, and will get him completely in my power.” - -The fools collected the golden coins and gave them to the women to make -themselves necklaces and to the girls to plait into their hair; the -children even played with the coins in the street. After a while every -one had enough and refused to take more. And the clean gentleman’s house -was not half finished, and the corn and cattle had not yet been stored -up for the year. And the gentleman invited people to come and work for -him to bring him corn and rear his cattle, offering to pay many golden -coins for everything brought and every piece of work done. - -But no one would come and work, and no one would bring him anything, -unless a chance boy or girl brought him an egg in exchange for a golden -coin; and no one else came and he was left without any food. And the -clean gentleman was hungry and went through the village to buy himself -something for dinner. He went into one house and offered a golden coin -for a chicken, but the mistress would not take it. - -“I have many such coins,” she said. - -He went into another place to buy a salt herring, offering a golden -piece. “I don’t want it, my good man,” the mistress said. “I have no -children to play with them, and have three of these pieces already as -curiosities.” - -He went into a peasant’s for some bread. The peasant too would not take -the money. - -“I don’t want it,” he said. “But if you want the bread in Christ’s name, -then wait, and I’ll tell my old woman to cut you some.” - -The old Devil spat on the ground and fled from the peasant. To hear the -word Christ was worse than a knife to him, let alone to take anything in -His name. - -And so he got no bread. All had gold; wherever the old Devil went no one -would give him anything for money, and every one said, “Bring us -something else instead, or come and work, or take it in Christ’s name.” -And the Devil had nothing to offer but money and had no liking for work, -and he could not take anything in Christ’s name. He lost his temper. - -“What more do you want when I offer you money?” he said. “You can buy -anything you like for gold and employ any kind of labour.” - -But the fools did not heed him. - -“We don’t need money,” they said. “We exchange everything in kind and -have no taxes to pay; what good would it be to us?” - -The old Devil went supperless to bed. - -The story reached Ivan the Fool. People came to him and said, “What -shall we do? A clean gentleman has appeared in our midst who likes to -eat and drink well, and dress in fine clothes, but he won’t work and -won’t take anything in Christ’s name; he only offers us golden coins. -People gave him what he wanted until they had enough of these coins, and -now no one gives him anything. What are we to do with him? He may die of -hunger.” - -Ivan listened to what they had to say. - -“He must be fed, certainly. Let him act as a shepherd to you all in -turn.” - -Since there was no way out, the old Devil had to go about shepherding. -He went from house to house until it came to Ivan’s turn. The old Devil -came in to dinner and the deaf and dumb girl was getting it ready. She -had often been deceived by lazy folk who came in early to dinner without -having done their share of work and ate up all the porridge, so she -invented a means of finding out the sluggards by their hands. Those who -had horny hands were put at the table; the others were given the -leavings. The old Devil sat down by the table, but the deaf and dumb -girl seized him by the hands and looked at them to see if they had any -blisters, but they were clean and smooth and the finger nails were long. -The girl grunted and pulled the old Devil away from the table. - -Ivan’s wife said to him, “Don’t be offended, fine gentleman. My -sister-in-law never lets any one sit at the table who hasn’t horny -hands. In good time, when the others have finished, you shall get what -is left.” - -And the old Devil was hurt that in the King’s house they should want to -feed him with the pigs. And he said to Ivan, “What a stupid custom there -is in your kingdom that all people must work with their hands! I -suppose you were too stupid to think of anything else. Do you think it’s -only with the hands people work? Do you know what wise men work with?” - -And Ivan said, “How are we fools to know; we work only with our hands -and backs.” - -“That is because you are fools. I will teach you how to work with the -head, then you will know that it is more profitable than to work with -the hands.” - -Ivan wondered. - -“Really! No wonder people call us fools!” - -And the old Devil said, “Only it’s not easy to work with the head. You -won’t give me any dinner because my hands are smooth, but you don’t know -that it’s a hundred times harder to work with the head. Sometimes one’s -head nearly splits.” - -Ivan grew thoughtful. - -“Why should you torture yourself so, my good man? Wouldn’t it be better -to do the easier work with your hands and back?” - -And the Devil said, “I torture myself because I pity you fools. If I -were not to torture myself you would remain fools for ever. I have -worked with the head and now I’m going to teach you.” - -Ivan wondered. - -“Teach us, then,” he said, “so that when our hands are tired we can work -with the head.” - -The Devil promised to teach them. - -And Ivan proclaimed throughout his kingdom that a clean gentleman had -appeared among them who would teach every one to work with his head and -that it was more profitable to work with the head than with the hands, -and he bade every man come and hear him. - -There was a high tower in Ivan’s kingdom and a steep staircase leading -up to it and there was a turret on the top. And Ivan took the gentleman -up the tower, so that he might be seen by all. - -And the gentleman took his place on the top of the tower and began to -speak, and the fools flocked to look at him. They thought that the -gentleman would really show them how to work with the head instead of -the hands, but he merely told them in words how they could live without -working at all. The fools did not understand him. They stared and -stared, then went home to attend to their own affairs. - -The old Devil stood on top of the tower one day and another, speaking -all the time. He was hungry, but it never occurred to the fools to bring -him some bread up the tower. They thought that if he could work with the -head better than with the hands, he could easily make himself some -bread. The old Devil stood on the tower for another day, still speaking. -The people came and stared at him for a while; then went their ways. - -“Well, has the gentleman begun to work with his head?” Ivan asked. - -“Not yet; he is still jabbering.” - -The Devil stood on the tower for another day and began to grow faint. He -swayed and knocked his head against a pillar. One of the fools saw him -and told Ivan’s wife, who hastened to Ivan at the ploughing. - -“Come, come,” she said. “They say the gentleman has begun to work with -his head.” - -Ivan wondered. - -“Really?” he said, and turning his horse round, he went to the tower. -When he got there, the old Devil, who was quite faint with hunger by -this time, was staggering and knocking his head against the pillars, and -when Ivan came up he fell with a crash down the stairs, counting each -step on the way with a knock of his head. - -“Well,” Ivan said, “the clean gentleman spoke truly when he said that -the head splits sometimes. Blisters on the hands are nothing to this; -after such work there will be bumps on the head.” - -The old Devil fell to the bottom of the stairs and thumped his head -against the ground. Ivan was about to go up and see how much work he had -done, when suddenly the earth opened and the old Devil fell through. -Only a hole was left. - -Ivan scratched his head. - -“You horrid wretch! One of those devils again! The father of the others, -no doubt. What a huge one too!” - -Ivan is living to this day and people flock to his kingdom. His own -brothers have come to him and he supports them. When any one comes and -says, “Feed me,” Ivan says, “Very well, you can live with us; we have -plenty of everything.” Only there is a special custom in his -kingdom--whoever has horny hands comes to table; whoever has smooth ones -eats the leavings. - -[Illustration: WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THERE IS GOD ALSO. - -_To face page 56._] - - - - -WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THERE IS GOD ALSO - - -In the town there was a shoemaker by the name of Martin, who lived in a -basement with a tiny little window looking out into the street. Martin -could see the people pass, and though he only got a glimpse of their -feet, he still knew every one, for Martin could recognize people by -their boots. Martin had lived in that basement for many a long year and -had numbers of acquaintances. There were not many pairs of boots in the -neighbourhood that had not been through his hands at least once or -twice--some for new soles, others for a patch or a stitch, or a second -time for new tops, perhaps. Martin had plenty of work, for he always did -it well; he gave good leather, did not overcharge, and kept true to his -word. If he could do a piece of work for the time it was required, he -took it; if not, he would not deceive his customers and told them so -beforehand. And all knew Martin and he had no lack of work. - -Martin had always been a good man, but as he grew older he began to -think the more about his soul and to draw nearer to God. Martin’s wife -had died when he had still worked for a master, and he was left with a -boy of three years old. Their children never survived; the eldest were -all dead. At first Martin wanted to send his little son to a sister in -the country, but he felt sorry for the child, thinking, “It will be hard -for the poor boy to grow up in a strange family; I will keep him with -me.” - -And Martin left his master and went into lodgings with his little son. -But God had not ordained Martin to be happy in his children. The boy had -no sooner grown up and become a help and a comfort to his father than he -fell sick, tossed about with fever for a week and died. Martin buried -his son and gave himself up to despair. His despair was so great that he -even began to complain against God. Martin was so lonely that many were -the times he prayed to God to let him die, reproaching Him for having -spared an old man like himself and taken his only beloved son. Martin -gave up going to church. - -One day an old countryman came to visit him, who had been on a -pilgrimage for eight years. Martin opened his heart to the old man and -complained about his sorrow. - -“I have no desire to live even,” he said; “I only want to die. That is -all I pray to God about. I am a desperate man now.” - -And the old man said to him, “It is not well what you say, Martin; we -cannot judge the ways of God; they are beyond our understanding. He has -judged it fitting to take away your son and to let you live, so it must -be for the best. You despair because you want to live only for your own -personal pleasure.” - -“And what else should I live for?” Martin asked. - -And the old man said, “You must live for God, Martin. He gave you life -and you must live for Him. When you begin to live for Him and cease to -worry about anything, then all will become easy for you.” - -Martin was silent a while; then asked, “How can one live for God?” - -And the old man said, “We must live for God as Christ taught us. You can -read, can you not? Then buy the Gospels and read them and you will find -out how to live for God. The Gospels tell us everything.” - -Martin took these words to heart. That very day he bought a copy of the -New Testament, printed in large type, and began to read it. - -Martin had intended to read only on holidays, but when he once began he -grew so light-hearted that he read every day. Sometimes he got so -absorbed in his reading that the oil in the lamp burnt low and still he -could not tear himself away. - -Martin read every evening, and the more he read the more clearly he -understood what God required of him and how he was to live for God. And -his heart grew lighter than ever. At one time when he went to bed he -would sigh and moan and think of his boy; now he only said to himself, -“Glory to Thee, glory to Thee, God! Thy will be done!” - -And a change came into Martin’s life. On holidays he used to hang about -the public-houses to drink a cup of tea and did not refuse vodka even -when it came his way. He would drink, as it happened, with some -acquaintance, and though not exactly drunk, would come out of the -public-house in an excited mood and speak vain words, giving back rough -word for rough word. - -But now this had all left him. His life became a peaceful and happy one. - -In the morning he would sit down to his work and keep on for the -necessary time, then he would take the lamp off the wall, put it on the -table, fetch the Bible from a shelf, open it, and sit down to read. And -the more he read, the more he understood, and the serener and lighter -grew his heart. - -One day Martin sat reading until late into the night. He was reading -Luke’s Gospel and had come to the sixth chapter and the verses, “And -unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer also the other; and -him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to -every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask -them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to -them likewise.” - -And he also read the verses where our Lord says, “And why call ye me, -Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me -and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is -like. He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid -the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose, the stream beat -vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it; for it was founded -upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that -without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the -stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of -that house was great.” - -When Martin read these words a feeling of joy entered his heart. He took -off his spectacles, laid them on the Bible, then resting his elbows on -the table, he began to ponder over what he had read. He compared his own -life to the light of these words. “Is my house built on a rock or on -sand?” he thought. “If on a rock it is well. It seems so easy when one -sits alone here, and one thinks one has done all that God commands, but -no sooner does one cease to be on one’s guard than one falls into sin. I -must persevere; it brings such happiness! Help me, oh God!” - -With this thought in his mind, he was about to go to bed, but was loath -to leave his Bible, and went on reading the seventh chapter. He read -about the centurion, the widow’s son, and the answer to John’s -disciples, and he came to the passage where a rich Pharisee invited the -Lord to his house; and about the woman who was a sinner and anointed His -feet and washed them with her tears, and how the Lord comforted her. And -he came to the forty-fourth verse and began to read the words, “And he -turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I -entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she -hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her -head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in, -hath not ceased to kiss my feet; my head with oil thou didst not anoint, -but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.” - -Martin read these verses and thought, “He gave no water for His feet, -and no kiss, and he did not anoint His head with oil.” Once more Martin -took off his spectacles and laid them on the Bible. - -“He must have been like me, that Pharisee. Like me he thought only of -himself--how to get a cup of tea, how to live in warmth and comfort. He -cared only for himself, with never a thought about his guest. And the -Lord Himself was his guest! I wonder if I would act like that if He came -to visit me?” - -And Martin rested his elbows on the table and his head on his hands and -fell into a doze. - -“Martin!” Some one suddenly breathed into his ear. - -Martin started. “Who is that?” he asked, half asleep. - -He turned and looked at the door, but no one was there. He called again -and this time he heard a voice say clearly, “Martin! Martin! Look out -for me in the street to-morrow; I am coming to see you.” - -Martin roused himself, got up from the chair and began to rub his eyes. -He did not know whether he had heard the words in a dream or when awake. -He turned out the lamp and went to bed. - -At daybreak next morning Martin arose, lit the stove, prepared some soup -and porridge, got the samovar ready, put on his apron and sat down at -the window to his work. As he worked he thought of what had happened -yesterday. Now it seemed to him that he had heard the voice in his -dreams, now that he had really heard it when awake. - -“Things like that have happened before,” he thought. - -Martin sat at the window and did not work so much as peer out into the -street, and when an unfamiliar pair of boots came along, he would stoop -down and look up to catch a glimpse of the person to whom they belonged. -A yard-porter passed in new felt boots and a water-carrier; then an old -soldier of Nicholas’ reign came alongside the window, spade in hand. -Martin recognized him by his felt boots. The old man was called Stepan -and a merchant who lived near by kept him out of charity. His duties -were to help the yard-porter. He stopped opposite Martin’s window to -clear away the snow. Martin looked at him and again went on with his -work. - -“What a fool I am getting in my old age,” Martin thought, amused at his -own fancies. “Stepan is shovelling away the snow and I thought it was -Christ come to visit me. Old dotard that I am!” - -Yet after a dozen stitches or so Martin was again drawn to the window. -He looked out and saw that Stepan had leaned his spade against the wall -and was resting and trying to warm himself. The man was old and broken -and had no strength even to clear away the snow. “Why not give him a -cup of tea while the samovar is still on the boil?” Martin thought. And -he put down his awl, rose, brought the samovar to the table, poured out -a cup of tea and tapped on the window. Stepan turned and came up. Martin -beckoned to him and went to open the door. - -“Come in and get warm,” he said; “you must be quite frozen.” - -“Christ save us! but my bones do ache,” Stepan said. Stepan came in, -shook the snow off himself and began to wipe his boots so as not to -dirty the floor, reeling as he did so. - -“Don’t bother to wipe your feet,” Martin said; “I will wipe the floor -afterwards; I am used to that. Come in and sit down. Here is a cup of -tea.” - -And Martin poured out two cups, gave one to his guest, poured some of -his own into a saucer and began to blow on it in order to cool it. - -Stepan finished his cup, turned it upside down in the saucer, put the -remaining bit of sugar on top and began to thank Martin, who could see -that the old man wanted some more. - -“Have another cup,” Martin said and poured out more tea for his guest -and for himself, and as he drank, he kept peering out of the window. - -“Are you expecting some one?” Stepan asked. - -“I? I hardly like to tell you whom I expect. But I wait and wait. A -certain word took possession of my heart. Was it a dream or not, I -cannot tell. It was like this, brother; I was reading the Gospels last -night about Christ our Father and how He suffered on earth. You have -heard tell of it, I daresay.” - -“Yes,” Stepan said, “but we are ignorant folk and cannot read.” - -“Well, I was reading how the Lord walked on earth, how He went to visit -a Pharisee who did not receive Him well. And I wondered, as I read, how -any man could receive the Lord without due honour. ‘Supposing such a -thing were to happen to me,’ I thought, ‘what would I not do to receive -Him? And the Pharisee did nothing!’ Thinking thus I fell asleep, and as -I slept I heard a voice call to me. I rose; the voice seemed to whisper -‘Expect me; I am coming to-morrow.’ I heard it twice. Well, would you -believe it? the idea took hold of my mind, and though I upbraid myself, -I keep on expecting the Lord to come to me.” - -Stepan shook his head, but made no remark. He finished his cup of tea -and laid it down on its side in the saucer, but Martin took it up and -filled it again. - -“Have some more, bless you! I was thinking, too, that our Lord despised -no one when He walked on earth; He was mostly with common folk. He went -about with plain people and chose His disciples from men of our -kind--simple workmen and sinners like ourselves. ‘He who raises -himself,’ He said, ‘shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall -be raised. You call Me Lord,’ he said, ‘and I will wash your feet. He -who would be first,’ He said, ‘let him be the servant of all, because,’ -He said, ‘blessed are the poor, the humble, the meek, the merciful.’” - -Stepan forgot his tea. He was an old man and easily moved to tears; and -as he listened the tears rolled down his cheeks. - -“Have some more,” Martin said, but Stepan crossed himself, thanked -Martin, pushed away his cup and rose. - -“Thank you Martin,” he said; “you have nourished my body and my soul.” - -“You are welcome another time. I shall always be pleased to see you; -come again.” - -Stepan went out; Martin poured himself out a last cup of tea, drank it, -cleared away the dishes and sat down again by the window to work, -stitching the back seam of a boot. As he stitched he peered out of the -window to see if Christ was coming, and he kept on thinking of Him and -His doings and recalling His words. - -Two soldiers passed; one in Government boots, the other in boots of his -own; then the owner of the next house went by in clean goloshes, and a -baker with a basket. All these passed on; then a woman came up in -woollen stockings and coarse country shoes. She went by the window and -stopped by the wall. Martin looked up and saw that she was a stranger, -poorly clad, with a baby in her arms. She was standing with her back to -the wind, trying to wrap up the baby, but there was nothing to wrap it -in. Her garments were summer ones and ragged, too. Through the window -Martin heard the baby crying; the woman tried to comfort it but could -not. - -Martin rose and going out at the door and up the steps, he called to -her. - -“Come this way, my dear!” - -The woman turned to him. - -“Don’t stand in the cold there with the baby; come inside in the warm; -you can make him more comfortable here. Come along!” - -The woman was surprised to see an old man in an apron and spectacles on -his nose inviting her to his room, but she followed him. They descended -the stairs and entered the room. Martin led her to the bed. - -“Come and sit here, my dear,” he said. “It is nearer to the stove; you -can warm yourself and feed the baby.” - -“I haven’t any milk; I have eaten nothing myself since morning,” the -woman said, yet putting the child to the breast. - -Martin shook his head. He got some bread and a cup, opened the oven door -and filled the cup with soup. He then took the porridge-pot out of the -oven, but the porridge was not quite done. He spread a cloth and put the -soup and bread on the table. - -“Sit down and have something to eat, my dear. I’ll look after the baby. -I have had children of my own and know how to nurse them.” - -The woman crossed herself, sat down by the table and began to eat, and -Martin sat on the bed with the baby. He clucked and clucked, but having -no teeth he could not do it well, and the baby would not stop its -crying. And Martin tried to amuse him with his finger. He poked the -finger straight at the baby’s mouth, then drew it back again. He would -not let the child take the finger in its mouth because it was black with -cobbler’s wax. The child looked at the finger, stopped crying and began -to laugh. Martin was pleased. - -As the woman ate she told him about herself, saying who she was and -where she was going. - -“I am a soldier’s wife,” she said. “It is now eight months that my -husband has been taken away and I haven’t heard a word from him. I had a -place as a cook when the child was born, but they would not keep me -after that. I’ve been without a place for three months now and eaten -everything I possessed. I wanted to go as a wet-nurse, but no one would -have me because they said I was too thin. I went to a merchant’s wife -with whom our grandmother is in service and she promised to take me. I -thought she meant at once, but she told me to come next week, and she -lives a long way. I’m quite worn out, and the baby is half-starved. If -our landlady did not take pity on us, I don’t know how we should live.” - -Martin sighed and said, “Have you no warm clothes?” - -“How can I have warm clothes! I pawned my last shawl yesterday for -sixpence!” - -The woman went up to the bed and took the child. Martin rummaged about -among the things hanging on the wall and brought out an old coat. - -“Though it isn’t much of a thing, it will do to wrap up in,” he said. - -The woman looked at the coat; then at the old man. She took the coat and -burst into tears. Martin turned away, crawled under the bed and pulled -out a box. He rummaged about in it and once more sat down facing the -woman. - -And the woman said, “Christ save you, Grandfather. It must have been He -who sent me to your window, otherwise the child and I would have been -starved to death. It was mild when I started, but it’s very cold now. -The dear Lord made you look out of the window and caused you to pity -me.” - -Martin smiled and said, “He did make me, indeed! I was not gazing idly -out of the window, my dear.” - -And Martin told the woman his dream and how he had heard a voice and how -the voice had promised him that the Lord should come and visit him this -day. - -“All things are possible,” the woman said, and she rose, put on the -coat, wrapped the child in it and began to take her leave, thanking -Martin. - -“Take this in Christ’s name,” Martin said, thrusting a sixpence into her -hand. “It will do to take out your shawl.” - -The woman crossed herself, Martin did likewise, then accompanied her to -the door. - -When she had gone Martin ate some soup, cleared the table, and again sat -down to work. But he did not forget the window. As soon as a shadow fell -across it, he looked up to see who it was. Acquaintances passed and -strangers, and nothing particular happened. Suddenly Martin saw an old -apple-woman stop by his window. She was carrying a basket of apples. She -must have sold nearly all, for only a few remained. Over her shoulders -was a bag of chips and shavings, she had collected no doubt in -half-finished houses, and was taking home. The bag made her shoulder -ache it seemed and she wanted to change it over to the other shoulder. -She let it down on the pavement, placed her basket of apples on a post -and shook the bag. As she was doing so a boy in a ragged cap appeared -from somewhere, snatched an apple out of the basket and was about to -slip away when the old woman saw him and caught him by the sleeve. The -boy struggled to get away, but the old woman held him fast with both -hands. She had knocked off his cap and clutched him by the hair. The boy -screamed, the woman cursed. Martin did not wait to put the awl in its -place, but dropped it on the floor and rushed out at the door and -stumbled up the stairs, dropping his spectacles on the way. He ran out -into the street. The old woman was pulling the boy by the hair, cursing -and threatening to take him to the policeman; the boy struggled and -resisted her. “Why do you strike me?” he was saying. “I didn’t take -anything!” - -Martin tried to part them; he took the boy by the hand and said, “Let -him go, Granny. Forgive him for Christ’s sake.” - -“I’ll forgive him so that he won’t forget it for a long time! I’ll take -the rascal to the police-station!” - -Martin began to plead with her. - -“Let him go, Granny; he won’t do it again. Let him go for Christ’s -sake!” - -The old woman released the boy, who was about to run away when Martin -stopped him. - -“Ask Granny to forgive you and don’t do it again in future; I saw you -take the apple.” - -The boy burst into tears and begged the old woman to forgive him. - -“There now, here’s an apple for you,” and Martin took an apple from the -basket and gave it to the boy. “I’ll pay for it, Granny,” he said. - -“You shouldn’t spoil the rascal,” the old woman said. “You ought to give -him something he wouldn’t forget in a week.” - -“Ah, Granny, Granny!” Martin said; “that is how we judge, but God does -not judge like that. If the boy is to be whipped for an apple what do -you suppose we deserve for our sins?” - -The old woman was silent. - -And Martin told her the parable of the Lord who forgave his servant a -large debt and how the servant then seized his own debtor by the throat. -The old woman listened; the boy, too, stood and listened. - -“God bade us forgive,” Martin said, “that we may be forgiven. Forgive -every one, even a thoughtless boy.” - -The old woman shook her head with a sigh. - -“It’s true enough,” she said, “but boys get very spoilt nowadays.” - -“Then we old folk must teach them better,” Martin said. - -“That’s just what I said,” the old woman replied. “I had seven of my -own, but now I’ve only a daughter left.” And the old woman began to tell -him where and how she lived with her daughter and how many grandchildren -she had. “You see,” she said, “I’m old now, yet still I work, for the -sake of the grandchildren. And nice children they are, too. No one is so -kind to me as they. The youngest won’t leave me for any one. It’s -nothing but Granny dear, Granny darling all the time.” - -The old woman had quite softened by now. - -“Children will be children,” she said to Martin in reference to the boy. -“The Lord bless them.” - -She was about to raise her bag on to her shoulder when the boy rushed up -and said, “Let me carry it, Granny; I’m going your way.” - -The old woman shook her head and put the bag on the boy’s shoulder. And -they walked down the street side by side. The old woman had forgotten to -ask Martin to pay for the apple. Martin stood and watched them, -listening to their voices as they talked together. - -When they were out of sight he turned in, found his spectacles on the -stairs quite whole, took up his awl and sat down to his work once more. -After a while he could not see to pass the thread through the holes and -he noticed the lamplighter lighting the street lamps. “I must light up,” -he thought. And he trimmed the lamp, hung it up and went on with his -work. He finished the boot he was doing and turned it over to examine -it. He then put away his tools, cleared up the bits of leather and -thread and awls, took down the lamp, put it on the table and took the -Bible down from the shelf. He wanted to open it at the place he had -marked with a piece of morocco, but it opened at another place. And as -he opened the Gospels Martin recalled his dream of last night. And no -sooner had he thought of it than he seemed to hear some one move behind -him, as though some one were coming towards him. He turned, and it -seemed to him that people were standing in the dark corner, but he could -not make out who they were. And a voice whispered into his ear, “Martin, -Martin, don’t you know me?” - -“Who is it?” Martin asked. - -“It is I,” the voice said. - -And Stepan stepped out of the dark corner, smiling, and vanished like a -cloud, and he was no more. - -“It is I,” the voice said again, and from out the dark corner stepped -the woman with the baby, and she smiled and the child smiled, and they -too vanished. - -“It is I,” said the voice once more, and out stepped the old woman and -boy with an apple in his hand, and both smiled and also vanished. - -And a feeling of gladness entered Martin’s soul. He crossed himself, put -on his spectacles and began to read the Gospel just where it had opened. -At the top of the page were the words, “For I was an hungered, and ye -gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and -ye took me in....” - -And at the bottom of the page he read, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto -one of the least of these brethren, ye have done it unto me.” - -And Martin understood that his dream had come true and that his Saviour -had really come to him that day, and that he had welcomed Him. - - - - -A PRISONER - - -An officer by the name of Jilin served in the army in the Caucasus. - -One day he received a letter from home. It was from his mother, who -wrote, “I am getting old now, and I want to see my beloved son before I -die. Come and say good-bye to me, and when you have buried me, with -God’s grace, you can return to the Army. I have found a nice girl for -you to marry; she is clever and pretty, and has some property of her -own. If you like her perhaps you will marry and settle down for good.” - -Jilin pondered over the letter. It was true; his mother was really -failing fast, and it might be his only chance of seeing her alive. He -would go home, and if the girl was nice, he might even marry. - -He went to his colonel and asked for leave, and bidding good-bye to his - -[Illustration: A PRISONER. - -_To face page_ 82.] - -fellow-officers, gave his men four bucketfuls of vodka as a farewell -treat, and got ready to go. - -There was a war in the Caucasus at the time. The roads were not safe by -day or by night. If a Russian ventured away from his fort, the Tartars -either killed him or took him off to the hills. So it had been arranged -that a body of soldiers should march from fortress to fortress to convoy -any person who wanted to travel. The soldiers marched in front and -behind; the travellers in between them. - -It was summer. At daybreak the baggage-train was loaded behind the fort; -the convoy came out and started along the road. Jilin was on horseback; -his things were on a cart with the baggage-train. - -They had about twenty miles to go. The baggage-train moved along slowly; -now the soldiers would stop, now a wheel came off a cart, now a horse -would refuse to go on, and then everybody had to wait. - -It was already past noon and they had not covered half the distance. It -was hot, dusty, the sun scorching and no shade at all--bare steppe, -with not a tree or a bush the whole way. - -Jilin rode on ahead and stopped to wait until the baggage-train should -catch him up. He heard the signal-horn sounded; the company had stopped -again. Jilin thought, “Why shouldn’t I go on alone without the soldiers? -I have a good horse, and if I come across any Tartars I can easily -gallop away. I wonder if it would be safe?” - -As he stood there thinking it over, another officer, by the name of -Kostilin, rode up with a rifle and said, “Let us go on alone, Jilin. I’m -dreadfully hungry, and the heat’s unbearable. My shirt is wringing wet.” - -Kostilin was a big man and stout; his face was burning red, and the -perspiration poured from his brow. - -Jilin deliberated for a moment and said, “Is your rifle loaded?” - -“It is.” - -“Very well; come along. Only the condition is to be that we don’t -part.” - -And they set off down the road alone. They were riding along the steppe -talking together and keeping a sharp look-out from side to side. They -could see a long way round them. When they left the steppe they came to -a road running down a valley between two hills. And Jilin said, “Let’s -go up on that hill and look about; some Tartars might easily spring out -from the hills and we shouldn’t see them.” - -“What’s the use?” Kostilin said. “We’d better go on.” - -Jilin paid no heed to him. - -“You wait down here,” he said, “and I’ll just go up and have a look.” -And he turned his horse to the left up the hill. Jilin’s horse was a -hunter and carried him up the hill as though it had wings. He had bought -it for a hundred roubles as a colt, and broken it in himself. When he -reached the top of the hill he saw some thirty Tartars a few paces ahead -of him. He turned hastily, but the Tartars had seen him and gave chase -down the hill, getting their rifles out as they went. Jilin bounded -down as fast as the horse’s legs would carry him, crying out to -Kostilin, “Get your rifle ready!” And in thought he said to his horse, -“Get me out of this, my beauty; don’t stumble, or I’m lost. Once I reach -the rifle, they shan’t take me alive!” - -But Kostilin, instead of waiting when he saw the Tartars, set off full -gallop in the direction of the fortress, lashing his horse now on one -side, now on the other, and the horse’s switching tail was all that -could be seen of him in the clouds of dust. - -Jilin saw that it was all up with him. The rifle was gone; with a sword -alone he could do nothing. He turned his horse in the direction of the -convoy, hoping to escape, but six Tartars rushed ahead to cut him off. -His horse was a good one, but theirs were better, and they were trying -to cross his path. He wanted to turn in another direction, but his horse -could not pull up and dashed on straight towards the Tartars. A -red-bearded Tartar on a grey horse caught Jilin’s eyes. He was yelling -and showing his teeth and pointing his rifle at him. - -“I know what devils you are!” Jilin thought. “If you take me alive, -you’ll put me in a pit and have me flogged. I’ll not be taken alive!” - -Though Jilin was a little man, he was brave. He drew his sword and -dashed at the red-bearded Tartar, thinking, “I’ll either ride him down -or kill him with my sword.” - -But he had no time to reach the Tartar; he was fired at from behind and -his horse was hit. It fell to the ground full weight, pinning Jilin’s -leg. He attempted to rise, but two evil-smelling Tartars were already -sitting on him, twisting his arms behind him. He struggled, flung the -Tartars off, but three others leapt from their horses and fell on him, -beating him on the head with the butt ends of their rifles. A mist rose -before his eyes and he staggered. The Tartars seized him, and taking -spare girths from their saddles twisted his hands behind him and tied -them with a Tartar knot and dragged him to the saddle. They knocked off -his cap, pulled off his boots, searched him all over, took his money and -watch and tore his clothes. Jilin looked round at his horse. The poor -creature lay on its side just as it had fallen, struggling with its legs -in the air and unable to get them to the ground. There was a hole in its -head from which the dark blood was oozing, laying the dust for a yard -around. - -One of the Tartars approached it and took off the saddle. As it was -still struggling, he drew a dagger and cut its windpipe. A whistling -sound came from its throat; the horse gave a shudder and died. - -The Tartars took off the saddle and strappings. The red-bearded Tartar -mounted his horse, the others lifted Jilin into the saddle behind him, -and, to prevent his falling off, they strapped him to the Tartar’s -girdle, and took him off to the hills. - -Jilin sat behind the Tartar, rocking from side to side, his face -touching the evil-smelling Tartar’s back. All he could see was the -man’s broad back and sinewy neck, the closely-shaven bluish nape peeping -out from beneath his cap. Jilin had a wound in his head, from which the -blood poured and congealed over his eyes, but he could not shift his -position on the saddle, nor wipe off the blood. His arms were twisted so -far behind his back that his collar-bones ached. They rode over the -hills for some time, then they came to a river which they forded and got -out on to a road running down a valley. Jilin wanted to see where they -were going, but his eyes were matted with blood and he could not move. - -It began to get dark; they forded another river and rode up a rocky -hill; there was a smell of smoke and a barking of dogs. They had reached -a Tartar village. The Tartars got off their horses; the Tartar children -gathered round Jilin, yelling and throwing stones at him. A Tartar drove -them away, took Jilin off the horse and called his servant. A man with -high cheek-bones came up, clad in nothing but a shirt, and that so torn -that his breast was bare. The Tartar gave him some order. The man -brought some shackles, two blocks of oak with iron rings attached, and a -clasp and lock was fixed to one of the rings. - -They untied Jilin’s arms, put on the shackles, took him to a shed, -pushed him in and locked the door. Jilin fell on to a dung heap. He -groped about in the darkness to find a softer place and lay down. - - -II - -Jilin did not sleep the whole of that night. The nights were short. -Through a chink he saw that it was getting light. He got up, made the -chink a little bigger and peeped out. - -He saw a road at the foot of a hill, to the right of which was a Tartar -hut with two trees near it. A black dog lay on the threshold and a goat -and kids were moving about and swishing their tails. Then he saw a young -Tartar woman coming from the direction of the hill. She wore a coloured -blouse and trousers with a girdle round her waist, high boots on her -feet and a kerchief on her head, on which she was carrying a tin pitcher -of water. Her back moved gracefully as she walked; she was leading a -closely-shaven Tartar boy, who wore nothing but a shirt. The Tartar -woman went into the hut with the water; the red-bearded Tartar of -yesterday came out in a silken tunic, a silver-hilted knife stuck in his -girdle and slippers on bare feet. A high, black sheepskin cap was pushed -far back on his head. He stretched himself as he came out and stroked -his red beard. He gave some order to his servant and went away. - -Then two boys rode past. They had been to water their horses and the -horses’ noses were still wet. Some more closely-shaven boys came out, -dressed only in shirts with no trousers. A whole group of them came up -to the shed, and taking up a piece of stick, they thrust it through the -chink. Jilin grunted at them and the boys ran off, yelling, their little -white knees gleaming as they went. - -Jilin was thirsty; his throat was parched. “If only some one would -come,” he thought. Soon the door of the shed opened and the red-bearded -Tartar entered with another, shorter than he, and dark. He had bright -black eyes, a ruddy complexion and a short beard. He had a jolly face, -and was always laughing. This man was dressed better than the first, in -a blue silken tunic, trimmed with braid. The knife in his broad girdle -was of silver, the shoes on his feet were of red morocco, embroidered in -silver thread, and over these he wore a thicker pair of shoes. His cap -was high and of white sheepskin. - -The red-bearded Tartar entered, muttering some angry words. He leant -against the doorpost, playing with his dagger and looking askance at -Jilin, like a wolf. The dark man, quick and lively and moving as if on -springs, came up to Jilin and squatted down in front of him, showing his -teeth. He clapped Jilin on the shoulder and began to jabber something in -his own language, blinking his eyes and clacking his tongue. “Good -Russ! Good Russ!” he said. - -Jilin understood nothing. “I am thirsty; give me some water,” he said. - -The dark man laughed. “Good Russ!” he kept on saying. - -Jilin made signs with his lips and hands that he wanted some water. The -dark man laughed, and putting his head out at the door, he called to -some one “Dina!” - -A little girl came up. She was about thirteen, slight and thin, her face -resembling the dark man’s. She was obviously his daughter. She, too, had -bright, black eyes and a rosy complexion. She was clad in a long blue -blouse with broad sleeves, and loose at the waist--the hem and front and -sleeves were embroidered in red. She wore trousers and slippers and -shoes with high heels over them; she had a necklace round her throat -made out of Russian coins. Her head was bare. Her black plait was tied -with a ribbon, the ends of which were trimmed with silver roubles. - -Her father said something to her. She ran away and came back again with -a tin jug of water. She gave it to Jilin and also squatted down in front -of him, huddled up, so that her shoulders came lower than her knees. She -sat staring at Jilin as he drank, as at some strange animal. - -Jilin handed her back the jug. She took it and bounded out like a wild -goat. Even her father could not help laughing. He sent her off somewhere -else. She ran away with the jug and brought back some unleavened bread -on a round wooden platter, and huddling down in front of him once more, -she again stared at him open-eyed. - -The Tartars went out and locked the door. - -After a while the red-bearded man’s servant came up and called to Jilin. -He too, did not know Russian, only Jilin understood that he wanted him -to go somewhere. - -Jilin followed him limping, for the shackles impeded his walking. He -followed the servant. They came to a Tartar village, consisting of -about ten houses, a Tartar church with a dome on top in the midst of -them. In front of one house stood three saddled horses; some boys were -holding them by their bridles. The dark little Tartar rushed out of this -house and beckoned to Jilin to come to him. He laughed, jabbered -something in his own tongue and went in again. Jilin came to the house. -The room was large, the mud walls smoothly plastered. Near the front -wall lay a pile of brightly coloured feather beds, on the side walls -hung rich rugs with rifles and pistols and swords fastened to them, all -inlaid in silver. At one wall was a small stove on a level with the -earthen floor, which was beautifully clean. In the near corner a felt -carpet was spread on which were rich rugs and down cushions. On these -rugs, in slippers only, sat some Tartars--the dark one, the red-bearded -one and three guests. All had down cushions at their backs. In front of -them, on a wooden platter, were some millet pancakes, some melted butter -in a cup and a jug of Tartar beer. They took the pancakes up with their -fingers, and their hands were all greasy with the butter. - -The dark Tartar jumped up and bade Jilin sit down, not on the rugs, but -on the bare floor. Then he sat down on his rug again, and treated his -guests to more pancakes and beer. The servant made Jilin sit down in the -place assigned to him, took off his overshoes, which he placed by the -door where the other shoes were standing, and sat down on the felt -carpet, nearer to his master. He watched the others eating, his mouth -watering. When the Tartars had finished, a woman came in dressed like -the girl in trousers and a kerchief on her head. She cleared away the -remains, and brought a basin and a narrow-necked jug of water. The -Tartars washed their hands, laid them together, fell on their knees and -said their prayers in their own tongue. When they had finished one of -the guests turned to Jilin and addressed him in Russian. - -“You were captured by Kasi-Mohammed,” he said, indicating the -red-bearded Tartar, “but he has given you to Abdul-Murat.” And he -indicated the dark Tartar. “Abdul-Murat is now your master.” - -Jilin was silent. - -Abdul-Murat now began to speak, pointing at Jilin and laughing. “A -soldier Russ, a good Russ,” he said. - -And the interpreter said, “He wants you to write home asking your people -to send a ransom for you. When the money comes, he will let you go.” - -Jilin reflected and said, “How much does he want?” - -The Tartars deliberated among themselves; the interpreter said, “Three -thousand roubles.” - -“I can’t pay as much as that,” Jilin said. - -Abdul leapt up and began to gesticulate violently. He was saying -something to Jilin, thinking that he would understand. - -“How much will you give?” the interpreter asked. - -After reflection Jilin said, “Five hundred roubles.” - -At this the Tartars all began talking together. Abdul shouted at the -red-bearded Tartar, jabbering away till he foamed at the mouth. The -red-bearded Tartar merely frowned and clacked his tongue. - -They grew silent and the interpreter said, “The master thinks a ransom -of five hundred roubles is not enough. He himself paid two hundred -roubles for you. Kasi-Mohammed was in his debt, and he took you in -payment. He wants three thousand roubles and refuses to let you go for -less. If you won’t pay the money you’ll be flung into a pit and -flogged.” - -“The more you show you’re afraid of them, the worse it is,” Jilin -thought. He leapt to his feet and said, “Tell the dog that if he begins -to threaten me, he shan’t have a farthing! I won’t write home at all! I -was never afraid of you, and I’m not going to be now, you dogs!” - -The interpreter conveyed his words, and again the Tartars began to speak -all at once. - -They jabbered for a long time, then the dark one sprang up and came to -Jilin. - -“Russ,” he said, “_djigit, djigit_ Russ!” (Djigit in their tongue means -brave.) He laughed and said a few words to the interpreter, who turned -to Jilin. - -“Will you give a thousand roubles?” - -Jilin stuck to his own. - -“I won’t give more than five hundred, not if you kill me.” - -The Tartars conferred together, and sent the servant off somewhere, and -when he was gone they stared now at Jilin, now at the door. - -The servant returned, followed by a stout, bare-footed man, in torn -clothes. On his feet were also shackles. Jilin gave an exclamation of -surprise. It was Kostilin. He, too, had been captured then. The Tartars -sat them down side by side, and they began to tell each other of their -experiences, the Tartars looking on in silence. Jilin told Kostilin what -had happened to him, and Kostilin told Jilin that his horse had got -tired, his rifle missed fire, and that this same Abdul had caught him up -and captured him. - -Abdul jumped up and began to speak, pointing at Kostilin. The -interpreter explained that they both belonged to the same master, and -that the one who would produce the money first would be the first to be -set free. - -“See how quiet your comrade is,” he said to Jilin. “You get angry and he -has written home asking to have five thousand roubles sent him. He will -be well fed, and no one will do him any harm.” - -And Jilin said, “My comrade can do what he likes. He may be rich, and I -am not. I won’t go back on my word. You can kill me if you like, but you -get no advantage by that; I won’t write for more than five hundred -roubles.” - -The Tartars were silent. Suddenly Abdul sprang up, took out a pen, ink -and a scrap of paper from a little box, put them in Jilin’s hands and -slapping him on the shoulder, said, “Write.” He had agreed to the five -hundred roubles. - -“One moment,” Jilin said to the interpreter; “tell him that he must feed -and clothe us well, and that he must put us together so that we don’t -feel so lonely, and he must remove our shackles.” - -He looked at Abdul as he spoke and smiled. Abdul too smiled and said, -“You shall have the best of clothes--coats and boots fit to be married -in, and you shall be fed like princes, and you can be together in the -shed if you like, but I can’t take off the shackles because you might -escape. You shall have them removed at night.” He rushed up to Jilin and -slapped him on the shoulder. “Fine fellow! fine fellow!” he said. - -Jilin wrote the letter, but did not address it correctly, so that it -should not reach home. “I will escape, somehow,” he thought. - -Jilin and Kostilin were taken back to the shed. They were given some -straw, a jug of water and bread, two old coats and some worn boots, -evidently taken from the bodies of dead soldiers. At night their -shackles were removed and they were locked in the shed. - - -III - -Thus Jilin and his comrade lived for a month. Their master was always -cheerful. “You, good fellow, Ivan! I, Abdul, good fellow, too!” But he -fed them badly. All the food they got was some unleavened bread of -millet flour, or millet cakes, and sometimes nothing but raw dough. - -Kostilin sent another letter home and did nothing but mope and wait for -the money to arrive. He would sit in the barn day after day, either -counting the days for the letter to come or sleeping. Jilin knew that -his letter would not reach home, but he never wrote another. - -“Where on earth could mother get so much money from?” he thought. “She -lived mostly on what I used to send her, and if she has to procure five -hundred roubles she’ll be quite ruined. With God’s help I’ll get away -myself.” - -So he kept his eyes open, planning how to run away. - -He would walk about the village whistling, or doing something with his -hands, such as modelling dolls out of clay, or plaiting baskets out of -twigs. Jilin was very clever with his hands. - -One day he modelled a doll with a nose, arms and legs and in a Tartar -shirt, and he put this doll on the roof of the shed. The Tartar girls -went to fetch water. The master’s daughter Dina caught sight of the -doll, and called to the others. They put down their pitchers and looked -up laughing. Jilin took down the doll and held it out to them. They -laughed, but dared not take it. He left the doll and went into the shed -to see what would happen. - -Dina ran up, looked about her, snatched up the doll and ran off with it. - -The following morning, at daybreak, Dina came out on the threshold with -the doll. She had bedecked it in bits of red stuff, and was rocking it -to and fro like a baby and singing a lullaby. An old woman came out and -began to scold her. She snatched the doll away from the child and broke -it, and sent Dina off to her work. - -Jilin made another doll--a better one this time--and gave it to Dina. - -One day Dina brought Jilin a jug, and sitting down, she looked up at -him, laughing and pointing to the jug. - -“What is she so pleased about?” Jilin thought. He took up the jug to -have a drink, thinking it was full of water, but it turned out to be -milk. “How nice!” he said, and finished it. Dina was overjoyed. - -“Nice, nice, Ivan!” She jumped up and clapped her hands in glee, then -she seized the jug and ran away. - -After that she brought Jilin milk in secret every day. When the Tartar -women used to make cheese cakes out of goat’s milk, which they baked on -the roof, she would steal some and bring them to him. Once the master -killed a sheep, and Dina brought Jilin a piece of the flesh hidden in -her sleeve. She would throw the things down and run away. - -One day there was a terrible storm; the rain poured down in torrents for -a whole hour. The rivers became turbid. At the ford, the water rose till -it was seven feet high and the current was so strong that it moved the -stones along. Rivulets flowed everywhere and there was a roar in the -hills. After the storm streams flowed down the village everywhere. -Jilin asked his master for a knife, and with it he shaped a small -cylinder and made a wheel out of a piece of board, to which he fixed two -dolls, one on each side. The little girls brought him some bits of stuff -with which he dressed the dolls--one as a peasant, the other as a -peasant woman. He made them fast and set the wheel so that the stream -should work it. When the wheel began to whirl the dolls danced. - -The whole village gathered round--boys and girls and women and men came -to look on, the latter clacking their tongues. - -“Ah, Russ! Ah, Ivan!” they said. - -Abdul had a Russian watch which was broken. He called Jilin and showed -it to him. Jilin said, “Give it to me and I’ll mend it.” - -He took it to pieces with the knife, sorted the pieces out, put them -together again and the watch went quite well. - -The master was pleased and presented him with one of his old tunics, all -in holes. Jilin had to take it, besides, it would come in useful to -cover up with at night. - -From that day Jilin’s fame as a man skilled in handiworks spread fast. -People began to flock to him from distant villages, one bringing the -lock of a rifle or a pistol that wanted mending; another a watch or a -clock. The master gave him some tools--pincers, gimlets and a file. - -One day a Tartar fell ill, and they came to Jilin, saying, “Come and -heal him.” Jilin did not know how to heal the sick, but he went just the -same thinking, “The man will recover of his own accord.” He disappeared -into the shed and mixed up some sand and water. In the presence of the -Tartars he mumbled some words over the mixture, and gave it to the sick -man to drink. Fortunately the Tartar got well. - -Jilin began to understand a little of their tongue. Some of the Tartars -got quite used to him, and when they wanted him would call “Ivan, Ivan!” -Others again looked at him askance as at some wild beast. - -The red-bearded Tartar did not like Jilin. He frowned when he saw him, -and either turned away or cursed. There was another old man, who did -not live in the village, but somewhere at the foot of a hill. He came to -the village only sometimes. Jilin saw him when the man went to the -Mosque to say his prayers. He was short and had a white towel wound -round his cap. His beard and moustaches were clipped and white as down; -his face was wrinkled and brick-red. He had a hooked nose like a hawk’s, -and cruel grey eyes. He had no teeth, but two tusks in front. He would -pass with his turban on his head, leaning on his staff, and peering -round like a wolf. When he saw Jilin he snorted and turned away. - -One day Jilin went to the hills to find out where the old man lived. He -strolled down a path and saw a little garden and a stone wall; within -the stone wall were wild cherry trees and peaches and a hut with a flat -roof. He came a little closer and saw some hives made of plaited straw -and humming bees flying hither and thither. The old man was on his -knees, doing something to the hives. Jilin stood on tiptoe in order to -get a better view; his shackles rattled. The old man turned and gave a -yell and pulling a pistol out of his belt he aimed at Jilin, who just -managed to shield himself behind the stone wall. - -The old man came to the master to complain. The master summoned Jilin -and laughing, asked him, “Why did you go to the old man’s place?” - -“I didn’t mean to do him any harm,” he said. “I only wanted to see how -he lived.” - -The master conveyed his words to the old man. - -But the old man was angry. He jabbered away, showing his tusks, and -shook his fists menacingly at Jilin. - -Jilin could not understand all he said, but he gathered that the old man -was warning the master not to keep any Russians about the place, but to -have them all killed. - -The old man went away. - -Jilin asked the master who the old man was, and the master said, “He is -a great man! He was the bravest of us all, and killed many Russians, -and he was rich, too. He had three wives and eight sons, who all lived -in the same village. The Russians came, destroyed the village, and -killed seven of his sons. One son only remained, and he surrendered to -the Russians. The old man followed them, and also gave himself up. He -lived with the Russians for three months, when he found his son. With -his own hand he killed him and escaped. After that he gave up fighting. -He went to Mecca to pray to God; that is why he wears a turban. Any man -who has been to Mecca is called a _Hadji_ and has to wear a turban. He -does not like you Russians. He wanted me to kill you, but I can’t kill -you because I paid money for you. Besides, I have taken a fancy to you, -Ivan; I would not let you go at all, if I had not given my word.” He -laughed and added in Russian, “You are a good fellow, Ivan, and I, -Abdul, am a good fellow too.” - - -IV - -Jilin lived in this way for a month. During the day he wandered about -the village or busied himself with some handicraft, and at night he dug -in his shed. The digging was difficult because of the stones, but he -worked away at them with his file and at last made a hole beneath the -wall big enough to crawl through. “If only I knew the neighbourhood well -and which way to turn,” he thought; “the Tartars would not tell me.” - -He chose a day when the master was away, left the village after dinner -and went up a hill, hoping to find out the lie of the land from there. -But before the master departed he told one of his boys to look after -Jilin and not let him out of his sight. The boy ran after Jilin, crying, -“Don’t go away! My father told you not to! I’ll call for help!” - -Jilin tried to soothe him. - -“I’m not going far,” he said. “I only want to go to the top of that hill -to find a certain herb with which to cure your people when they are -sick. Come with me; I can’t run away with the shackles on my feet. I’ll -make you a bow and some arrows to-morrow.” - -After some persuasion the boy went with him. The hill did not seem very -far off, but it was difficult to get there shackled as he was. He -struggled and struggled until he got to the top. Jilin sat down and -began to look about him. To the south, beyond the shed, a herd of horses -could be seen in a valley, and at the bottom of the valley was another -village. Beyond the village was a steep hill and another hill beyond -that. Between the two hills was a dark patch that looked like a wood; -hill upon hill rose beyond it, and higher than all rose the snow-capped -mountains as white as sugar, the peak of one standing out above the -rest. To the east and west were other such hills; here and there were -villages in the valleys from which the smoke curled up. “This is all -Tartar country,” he thought. He looked in the direction of Russia--below -was a river, and the village he lived in, surrounded by gardens. On the -river bank, looking as tiny as dolls, sat Tartar women, washing clothes. -Beyond the village was a hill, lower than the one to the south and -beyond that two wooded hills. Between these two hills was a plain and -away in the distance on this plain smoke seemed to rise. Jilin tried to -recollect where the sun rose and set when he lived in the fort. He came -to the conclusion that the fortress must lie in that very valley. -Between these two hills would he have to make his way when he escaped. - -The sun began to set. The snow-clad mountains turned from white to red; -the dark mountains grew darker still; a vapour rose from the valley, and -the plain where he supposed the fortress to be seemed on fire with the -sunset’s glow. Jilin gazed intently; something seemed to quiver in that -plain, like smoke rising from a chimney, and Jilin felt sure that the -Russian fortress was there. - -It was getting late. The Mullah’s cry was heard. The flocks and herds -were driven home; the cows were lowing. The boy kept on begging “Come -home,” but Jilin had no desire to move. - -They returned home. “Now that I know the place I must lose no time in -running away,” Jilin thought. He wanted to escape that very night, for -the nights were dark then; the moon had waned, but as luck would have -it, the Tartars returned that evening. Sometimes when they brought -cattle home they would come back in a jolly mood, but this time there -were no cattle, and on the saddle of his horse they brought back the -red-bearded Tartar’s brother who had been killed. They returned in a -gloomy mood and gathered the village together for the burial. Jilin, -too, came out to look on. They wrapped the body in a sheet and without a -coffin carried it out and laid it on the grass beneath some plane-trees. -The Mullah arrived and the old men; they wrapped towels around their -caps, took off their shoes, and squatted down on their heels before the -body. In front was the Mullah, behind him three old men in turbans, and -behind them three other Tartars. They sat silent, eyes downcast, for a -long time, then the Mullah raised his head and said, “Allah!” (meaning -God). After this word he again bowed his head, and there was another -long silence. They all sat motionless. Again the Mullah raised his head -and said “Allah!” All repeated “Allah!” and again there was silence. The -dead man lay on the grass motionless and the others, too, seemed dead. -Not a single man moved. The only sound to be heard was the rustling of -the leaves on the plane-trees. After a while the Mullah said a prayer; -all rose, and raising the dead man with their hands they carried him -away. They brought him to a pit. It was not an ordinary pit, but -hollowed out under the ground like a vault. They lifted the dead man -under the arms, bent him into a sitting posture and let him down into -the pit, gently, his hands folded in front of him. - -The master’s servant brought some green rushes which they stuffed into -the pit, then they hastily covered it with earth, levelled the ground -properly and placed a stone, upright, at the head of the grave. They -stamped down the soil and once more sat down round the grave side by -side. For a long time they were silent. - -“Allah! Allah!” they sighed and rose. - -The red-bearded Tartar gave some money to the old men, then he took a -whip, struck himself three times on the forehead and went home. - -In the morning Jilin saw the red-bearded Tartar leading a mare out of -the village, followed by three other Tartars. When they left the village -behind them the red-bearded Tartar took off his coat, rolled up his -sleeves--his arms were strong and muscular--and taking out a dagger, he -sharpened it on a whetstone. The other Tartars raised the mare’s head -and he cut her throat. The mare dropped down and he began to skin her -with his big hands. Women and girls came up and washed the entrails. The -mare was cut up and the pieces carried to the red Tartar’s hut, where -the whole village gathered for a funeral feast. - -For three days they ate the mare’s flesh and drank beer in honour of the -dead man. All the Tartars were at home. On the fourth day, about dinner -time, Jilin saw that they were preparing to go away somewhere. The -horses were brought out, they got ready, and about ten of the Tartars, -the red one among them, went away, Abdul remaining at home. There was a -new moon and the nights were still dark. - -“To-night we must escape,” Jilin thought, and he unfolded his plan to -Kostilin. But Kostilin was afraid. - -“How can we run away? We don’t know the way even.” - -“I know the way.” - -“We couldn’t get there in one night.” - -“If we can’t, we can hide in the wood. I’ve got some cakes here for us -to eat. What’s the good of sitting here? If they send your ransom, well -and good, but supposing they can’t raise the money? The Tartars are -getting vicious because our people have killed one of their men. They -will probably kill us.” - -Kostilin reflected. - -“Very well; let us go,” he said. - - -V - -Jilin went down the hole and made it a little bigger so that Kostilin -could crawl through, then they sat down to wait till all grew quiet in -the village. - -When the Tartars had all retired to rest Jilin crawled under the wall -and got outside. “Follow me,” he whispered to Kostilin. - -Kostilin crept into the hole, but his foot hit against a stone and made -a clatter. The master had a speckled watch-dog--a vicious creature it -was, called Ulashin. The dog growled and rushed forward, followed by -other dogs. Jilin gave a low whistle and threw it a cake. Ulashin -recognized him, wagged his tail and ceased his growling. - -The master heard the dog and called from the hut, “_Hait, hait_, -Ulashin!” - -But Jilin stroked the dog by the ears and it did not move. It rubbed -itself against Jilin’s legs and wagged its tail. - -They sat crouching round the corner. All grew quiet; only a sheep was -heard to cough in a barn, and below, the water rippled over the stones. -It was dark; the stars were high in the sky and the new moon looked red -as it set behind the hill, horns upwards. A mist as white as milk lay -over the valley. - -Jilin got up and turning to Kostilin said, “Let us come, brother.” - -They set off, but they had no sooner done so than the Mullah intoned -from the roof “Allah Besmilla! Ilrachman!” That meant that the people -would be going to the Mosque. They sat down again, crouching behind the -wall. For a long time they sat there waiting till the people went past. -All grew quiet again. - -“Now then; with God’s help we must get away,” Jilin said. - -They crossed themselves and started. They went through the yard and -downhill to the river which they forded and came out into the valley. -The mist hung low and dense; above, the stars were visible. By the stars -Jilin could tell the direction they had to take. It was cool in the mist -and walking was easy, only their boots were uncomfortable, being old and -worn out. Jilin cast his off and went bare-foot. He leapt over the -stones, gazing up at the stars. Kostilin began to lag behind. - -“Slower, please,” he said, “these cursed boots hurt my feet.” - -“Take them off and you’ll find it easier.” - -Kostilin too went barefoot, but that was still worse. The stones cut his -feet and he lagged behind more than ever. - -Jilin said to him, “The cuts on your feet will heal up soon enough, but -if the Tartars catch us it will be much more serious; they will kill -us.” - -Kostilin did not say anything, but walked along, groaning. - -They walked along the valley for a long time, when suddenly they heard -the barking of dogs. Jilin stopped and looked about him. He climbed up -the hill on all fours. - -“We mistook our way, and turned to the right. Another Tartar village -lies here; I saw it from the hill the other day. We must turn back and -go to the left up the hill. There must be a wood here.” - -And Kostilin said, “Let us rest a while; my feet are all bleeding.” - -“They’ll get better in good time, brother. Walk more lightly--like -this.” - -And Jilin turned back and went up the hill to the left into the wood. -Kostilin kept on lagging behind and groaning. Jilin remonstrated with -him and walked on ahead. - -They reached the top of the hill, where they found a wood, as Jilin had -surmised. They went into it. The brambles tore the last of their -clothes. At last they found a path and followed it. - -“Stop!” Jilin said. There was a trampling of hoofs on the path. They -listened. It sounded like the trampling of horses’ hoofs, but the sound -ceased. They moved on and again they heard the trampling. They stopped -again, and the sound ceased. Jilin crept nearer and in a patch of light -on the path he saw something standing. It seemed like a horse, yet not -like a horse, and it had something queer on its back that was not a man. -The creature snorted. “What a strange thing!” Jilin thought, and gave a -low whistle. The animal bounded off the path into the thicket and there -was a sound of cracking branches as though a storm had swept through the -wood. - -Kostilin fell to the ground in terror; Jilin laughed, saying, “It’s a -stag. Can’t you hear how it’s breaking the branches with its antlers? We -are afraid of him and he is afraid of us.” - -They went on further. The Great Bear was already setting and the dawn -was not far off. They did not know whether they were going in the right -direction. It seemed to Jilin that the Tartars had brought him along -this path when they captured him and that it was still another seven -miles to the fortress, but he had nothing certain to go by, and at night -one could easily mistake the way. - -Kostilin dropped to the ground and said, “Do what you like, but I can’t -go any further. My legs won’t carry me.” - -Jilin attempted persuasion. - -“It’s no good,” Kostilin said; “I can’t go on.” - -Jilin grew angry and vented his disgust. - -“Then I’m going alone--good-bye.” - -Kostilin jumped up and followed. - -They walked another three miles. The mist grew denser; they could not -see ahead of them and the stars were no longer visible. - -They suddenly heard a trampling of horses coming from the direction in -which they were going. They could hear the horse’s hoofs hit against the -stones. Jilin lay flat down and put his ear to the ground to listen. - -“There is certainly a horseman coming towards us,” he said. They ran off -the path into the thicket and sat down to wait. After a while Jilin -crept out into the path to look. A mounted Tartar was coming along, -driving a cow and humming softly to himself. When he had passed Jilin -turned to Kostilin, “Thank God the danger is over. Come, let us go.” - -Kostilin attempted to rise, but dropped down again. - -“I can’t, I can’t! I’ve no more strength left.” - -The man was heavy and stout and had perspired freely. The heavy mist had -chilled him, tired and bleeding as he was, and made him quite stiff. -Jilin tried to lift him, but Kostilin cried out, “Oh, it hurts!” - -Jilin turned to stone. - -“Why did you shout? The Tartar is still near; he will have heard you,” -he remonstrated, while to himself he thought, “The man is evidently -exhausted; what shall I do with him? I can’t desert him.” “Come,” he -said, “climb on to my back, then, and I’ll carry you if you really can’t -walk.” - -He helped Kostilin up, put his arms under his thighs and carried him on -to the path. - -“For heaven’s sake don’t put your arms round my neck or you’ll throttle -me. Hold on to my shoulders.” - -It was hard work for Jilin; his feet, too, were bleeding and tired. He -bent down now and then to get him in a more comfortable position, or -jerked him up so that he sat higher up, and went on his weary way. - -The Tartar had evidently heard Kostilin’s cry. Jilin heard some one -following behind, calling out in the Tartar tongue. Jilin rushed into -the thicket. The Tartar seized his gun and aimed; the shot missed; the -Tartar yelled and galloped down the path. - -“I’m afraid we’re lost,” Jilin said. “He’ll collect the Tartars to hunt -us down. If we don’t cover a couple of miles before they’ve time to set -out, nothing will save us.” To himself he thought, “Why the devil did I -saddle myself with this block? I should have got there long ago had I -been alone.” - -Kostilin said, “Why should you be caught because of me?” - -“I can’t go alone; it would be mean to desert a comrade.” - -Again he raised Kostilin on to his shoulders and went on. They walked -along for another half-mile. They were still in the wood and could not -see the end of it. The mist had dispersed; the clouds seemed to gather; -the stars were no longer visible. Jilin was worn out. They came to a -spring walled in by stones. He stopped and put Kostilin down. - -“Let us rest a minute or two and have a drink and a bite of this cake. -We can’t be very far off now.” - -He had no sooner lain down to take a drink from the spring than he heard -the stamping of horses behind him. Again they rushed into the thicket to -the right and lay down on a slope. - -They heard a sound of Tartar voices. The Tartars stopped at the very -spot where they had turned off the path. They seemed to confer for a bit -and then set a dog on the scent. There was a crackling among the bushes -and a strange dog appeared. It stopped and began to bark. The Tartars -followed it. They were also strangers. They bound Jilin and Kostilin and -took them off on their horses. - -When they had ridden for about two miles they were met by the master, -Abdul, and two other Tartars. He exchanged some words with the strange -Tartars, after which Jilin and Kostilin were removed to his horses and -he took them back to the village. - -Abdul was no longer laughing, and did not say a word to them. - -They reached the village at daybreak and were placed in the street. The -children gathered round them and threw stones at them and lashed them -with whips, yelling all the time. - -All the Tartars collected in a circle, the old man from the hills among -them. They began to talk; Jilin gathered that they were considering what -was to be done with him and Kostilin. Some said that they should be sent -into the hills, and the old man persisted that they should be killed. -Abdul would not agree to either plan, saying, “I paid money for them and -must get their ransom.” - -The old man said, “They will not pay the ransom; they’ll only do a great -deal of harm. It is a sin to keep Russians. Kill them and have done with -it.” - -The Tartars dispersed. The master came to Jilin and said to him, “If -your ransom does not come in two weeks, I’ll have you flogged, and if -you attempt to run away again, I’ll kill you like a dog. Write home, and -write to the point!” - -They brought them pen and paper and they wrote home. The shackles were -put on them and they were taken behind the Mosque, where there was a -pit of about twelve feet deep, into which they were flung. - - -VI - -Life was very hard for them now. Their shackles were never removed, and -they were never allowed out into the fresh air. Raw dough was thrown -down to them, as one throws a scrap to a dog, and water was let down in -a jug. The stench in the pit was awful and it was damp as well. Kostilin -grew quite ill; he swelled very much and every bone in his body ached. -He either groaned or slept all the time. Jilin, too, was depressed; he -saw that their position was hopeless and did not know how to get out of -it. - -He tried to make a tunnel but there was nowhere to throw the earth, and -when the master saw it, he threatened to kill him. - -One day when he was most downcast, squatting in the pit and thinking of -his freedom, a cake fell from above, then another, and some cherries -rained down. Jilin looked up and saw Dina. She looked at him, laughed -and ran away. - -“I wonder if Dina would help us?” Jilin thought. - -He cleared a space in the pit, dug a little clay and began to make some -dolls. He moulded some men and horses and dogs, thinking, “When Dina -comes, I will throw these up to her.” - -But Dina did not come the next day. Jilin heard a stamping of horses; -some Tartars seemed to have come and all gathered at the Mosque, -shouting and arguing. It was something about the Russians. The voice of -the old man was heard, too. Jilin could not understand all they said, -but he made out that the Russians were near, that the Tartars were -afraid of them and did not know what to do with their prisoners. - -After a while they dispersed. Suddenly Jilin heard a rustling overhead -and saw Dina crouching at the edge of the pit, her knees higher than her -head. She bent over so that the coins at the end of her plaits dangled -over the pit. Her eyes were twinkling like two stars. From her sleeve -she took two cakes made of cheese and threw them down to him. Jilin -picked them up and said, “What a long time it is since you’ve been to -see me! I’ve made you some toys. Look, here they are!” He threw them up -to her one by one. She shook her head and averted her gaze. “I don’t -want them, Ivan,” she said. “They want to kill you, Ivan,” she added, -pointing to her throat. - -“Who wants to kill me?” - -“My father. The old man told him to, but I’m sorry for you.” - -Jilin said, “If you are sorry for me, bring me a long pole.” - -She shook her head, as much as to say that it was impossible. - -He put up his hands and implored her, “Please, Dina! Be a dear and bring -it!” - -“I can’t,” she said; “they’ll catch me at home.” Then she went away. - -In the evening Jilin sat in the pit wondering what would happen. He kept -looking up; the stars were visible, but the moon had not yet risen. The -Mullah’s call was heard, and all grew quiet. Jilin began to doze, -thinking “The child is afraid.” Suddenly some clay dropped on to his -head. He looked up, and saw a long pole poking into the opposite wall of -the pit; it began to slide down. Jilin took hold of it and lowered it -with a feeling of gladness at his heart. It was a stout, strong pole; he -had noticed it many times on the roof of the master’s hut. - -He looked up. The stars were shining high in the sky and above the pit -Dina’s eyes gleamed in the darkness like a cat’s. She leant her head -over the pit and whispered, “Ivan, Ivan!” making signs to him to speak -low. - -“What is it?” Jilin asked. - -“They’ve all gone but two.” - -“Come, Kostilin,” Jilin said; “let us try our luck for the last time; -I’ll help you up.” - -But Kostilin would not listen to him. - -“No,” he said; “it seems that I can’t get away from here. How can I come -when I’ve hardly strength enough to move?” - -“Well, good-bye, then. Don’t think ill of me.” - -He kissed Kostilin, and seizing the pole, he asked Dina to hold it at -the top and swarmed up. Twice he fell back again; the shackles hindered -him. But Jilin persevered and got to the top somehow. Dina clutched hold -of his shirt and pulled at him with all her might, unable to control her -laughter. - -When he clambered out Jilin handed her the pole, saying, “Put it back in -its place, Dina, for if they notice its absence they’ll beat you.” - -Dina dragged the pole away, and Jilin went down the hill. When he got to -the bottom he sat down under its shelter, took a sharp stone and tried -to wrench the lock off the shackles. But the lock was a strong one and -would not give way, and it was difficult to get at it. Suddenly he heard -some one coming downhill, skipping lightly. “It must be Dina again,” he -thought. - -She came up, took the stone and said, “Let me try.” - -She knelt down and tried to wrench the lock off, but her little hands -were as slender as little twigs and there was no strength in them. She -threw the stone down and burst into tears. Jilin made another attempt, -while Dina squatted down beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. - -Jilin looked round; to the left the sky was all red; the moon was -beginning to rise. “I must cross the valley and be under shelter of the -wood before the moon rises,” he thought. He got up and threw away the -stone. “I must go as I am in the shackles. Good-bye, Dina, dear; I shall -always remember you.” - -Dina seized hold of him and groped about his coat with her hand to find -a place to thrust some cakes into. Jilin took the cakes. - -“Thank you, little one,” he said. “There won’t be any one to make you -dolls when I am gone.” He stroked her head. - -Dina burst into tears and, covering her face with her hands, she fled up -the hill, bounding along like a wild goat. The coins in her plait could -be heard jingling in the darkness. - -Jilin crossed himself, took the lock of his shackles in his hand to -prevent a clatter and started on his way, dragging his shackled leg and -gazing at the red in the sky where the moon was rising. This time he -knew the way. He had to go straight on for six miles. If only he could -reach the wood before the moon had quite risen! He forded the river. The -red light over the hill had paled. He walked along the valley, looking -back now and then; the moon was not yet visible. The light grew brighter -and brighter; one side of the valley was quite light. The shadows crept -along the foot of the hill, drawing nearer to him. - -Jilin kept in the shadow. He hurried, but the moon moved faster than he; -the hilltops on the right were already lit up. As he neared the wood, -the moon rose over the hills, all white, and it grew as light as day. -All the leaves on the trees could be seen distinctly. It was still and -light on the hills; there was a dead silence, except for the murmur of -the river below. - -He reached the wood without meeting any one. He chose a dark spot and -sat down to rest. - -When he had rested a while and eaten a cake, he found a stone and once -more tried to wrench the lock of the shackles. He cut his hands, but -could not manage it. He rose and went on his way. After a mile he was -quite worn out and his feet ached terribly. At every dozen steps or so -he stopped. “It can’t be helped,” he thought. “I must drag myself on so -long as my strength holds out, for if I once sit down I shan’t be able -to get up again. I can’t reach the fortress to-night, that is obvious; -as soon as it gets light I’ll hide in the wood and go on again when it -gets dark.” - -He walked the whole night, meeting only two Tartars, but Jilin heard -them from a distance and took refuge behind a tree. - -The moon began to pale; the dew fell; it was near dawn, but Jilin had -not yet reached the end of the wood. “I’ll walk another thirty steps or -so then I’ll creep into the thicket and sit down,” he thought. He -covered the thirty steps and saw that he had come to the edge of the -wood. When he came out it was quite light. Before him stretched the -steppe and to the left, near the foot of a hill, he saw a dying fire -from which the smoke rose and men were sitting about it. - -He looked intently; there was a flash of guns--they were soldiers, -Cossacks! - -Jilin was overjoyed. He summoned his remaining strength and began to -descend the hill, thinking, “God forbid that any mounted Tartar should -see me now in the open field; though near my own people, I could not -escape.” - -The thought had no sooner crossed his mind than he saw three Tartars -standing on a hill, not more than a few yards away. They had seen him -and dashed down towards him. His heart gave a great bound. He waved his -arms and shouted with all his might, “Help, help, brothers!” - -The soldiers heard him; a few Cossacks sprang upon their horses and -dashed forward to cut across the Tartars’ path. - -The Cossacks were far off and the Tartars were near, but Jilin made one -last effort; lifting the shackles with his hand, he ran towards the -Cossacks. He hardly knew what he was doing and crossed himself wildly, -crying, “Help, brothers, help!” - -The Cossacks numbered about fifteen. - -The Tartars grew afraid and stopped in hesitation before they reached -him. Jilin managed to get to the Cossacks. They surrounded him, asking -who he was and where he came from, but Jilin was quite beside himself -and could only repeat, through his tears, “Brothers, brothers!” - -The soldiers came up and crowded round him, one giving him bread, -another porridge, another some vodka to drink, another gave him his -cloak to cover him, and another wrenched off the shackles. - -The officers recognized him and took him to the fortress. His men were -delighted to see him; his fellow-officers gathered about him. - -Jilin told them all that had happened to him and ended by saying, -“That’s how I went home and got married. I wasn’t meant to marry, -evidently.” - -And Jilin remained in the army in the Caucasus. It was not until a month -later that Kostilin was released, after paying a ransom of five thousand -roubles. He was brought back in a half-dead condition. - - - - -EMELIAN AND THE EMPTY DRUM - - -Emelian was a labourer and worked for a master. He was walking through a -field one day on his way to work, when a frog hopped in front of him and -he just missed crushing it by stepping across. Suddenly some one called -to him from behind. He turned, and there stood a beautiful maiden, who -said to him, “Why don’t you marry, Emelian?” - -“How can I, dear maiden? I possess nothing but the clothes I stand up -in, and who would have a husband like that?” - -“Marry me,” the maiden said. - -Emelian looked at her in admiration. - -“I would with pleasure,” he said, “but how should we live?” - -“What a thing to trouble about, - -[Illustration: EMELIAN AND THE EMPTY DRUM.] - -indeed!” the maiden said. “One has only to work the more and sleep the -less and one can always be clothed and fed.” - -“Very well; let us marry, then,” Emelian said. “Where shall we live?” - -“In the town.” - -Emelian and the maiden went to the town. She took him to a little house -on the very edge and they married and set up housekeeping. - -One day the King went for a drive beyond the town, and when passing -Emelian’s gate, Emelian’s wife came out to look at him. When the King -saw her he marvelled. - -“What a beauty!” he thought. He stopped the carriage and called her to -him. - -“Who are you?” he asked. - -“Emelian the peasant’s wife.” - -“How came a beauty like you to marry a peasant?” he asked. “You should -have been a queen.” - -“Thank you for your kind words,” she said; “a peasant husband is good -enough for me.” - -The King talked to her a while and went on his way. When he returned to -the palace Emelian’s wife did not go out of his head for a moment. The -whole night he could not sleep and kept on thinking how he could take -her away from Emelian, but no possible way occurred to him. He summoned -his servants and asked them to think of a way. - -And the servants said to him, “Get Emelian to come and be a labourer in -the palace. We will wear him out with work, then his wife will become a -widow and you can have her.” - -The King followed their advice. He sent a messenger to tell Emelian that -he was to come and be a yard-porter in the palace and bring his wife to -live with him there. - -The messenger came to Emelian and repeated the King’s words. And -Emelian’s wife said to her husband, “It can’t be helped; you must go. -You can work there in the day and return to me at night.” - -Emelian went away. When he came to the palace the King’s steward said to -him, “Why have you come without your wife?” - -“Why should I drag her about with me? She has a home of her own.” - -In the King’s yard Emelian was given enough work for two men. Emelian -set about it, not expecting to get it all finished, but behold! before -evening came it was all done. The steward, seeing that he had got -through the work, gave him four times as much for the morrow. - -Emelian went home. The house was scrubbed and cleaned, the fire lighted, -the bread baked, the supper cooked. His wife was sitting at the table -sewing, waiting for him. She flew to the door to meet him, then laid the -supper and fed him well; afterwards she began to ask him about his work. - -“It’s rather bad,” he said; “they set me tasks beyond my strength; they -wear me out with too much work.” - -“Don’t you think about the work,” she said, “don’t look back to see how -much you have done, nor look ahead to see how much there is left. Just -keep straight on and all will be done in time.” - -Emelian went to bed. In the morning he again set out to the palace. He -began his work and did not look round once, and behold! by evening it -was all finished; he went home when it was still light. - -Again they increased Emelian’s work, but Emelian finished it all in time -and went home for the night as usual. A week passed. The King’s servants -saw that they could not get the better of Emelian by giving him rough -work so they gave him difficult work instead, but even that did not -help. No matter what they set him to do--carpentering, stone-cutting, -thatching--he got everything done in time and went home for the night to -his wife. Another week passed. - -The King summoned his servants and said, “Is it for nothing that I keep -you? Two weeks have passed and still I do not see the fruits of your -work. You promised to wear Emelian out with work and each night from my -window I see him going home singing to himself. Are you making sport of -me, eh?” - -The King’s servants began to excuse themselves. “We are doing the best -we can. We thought at first to wear him out with rough work, but you -can’t get him anyhow. We set him all kinds of tasks, such as sweeping, -but he doesn’t know what it means to be tired. Then we gave him -difficult work, thinking that he wouldn’t have brains enough to do it, -yet still, we couldn’t get the better of him. No matter what the work, -he tackles it and gets it all done in time. He must either be -extraordinarily strong or his wife must be a witch. We are sick of him -ourselves. We want to set him such a task that he cannot possibly do. We -thought of asking him to build a temple in a single day. You must send -for him and command him to build a temple opposite the palace in a -single day, and if he fails to do it, we can cut off his head for -disobedience.” - -The King sent for Emelian. - -“Build me a new temple in the square opposite the palace; by to-morrow -evening it must all be finished. If you do it, I will reward you; if -not, I will cut off your head.” - -Emelian listened to the King’s words; then turned and went his way home. -When he got there he said to his wife, “Make yourself ready, wife; we -must run away or else we are both lost.” - -“Why,” she said, “have you grown so faint-hearted that you want to run -away?” - -“How can I help it when the King commanded me to build a temple -to-morrow before nightfall? If I fail to do it, he will have my head cut -off. There is only one way out. We must run away while there is yet -time.” - -The wife did not approve of his words. - -“The King has many soldiers; we shall not be able to escape them. And -while you have strength enough you must obey the King’s command.” - -“But how can I obey if it’s beyond my strength?” - -“My dear, don’t get excited. Have your supper and go to bed; get up -early in the morning and you’ll manage in good time.” - -Emelian went to bed. His wife woke him in the morning. - -“Go,” she said; “make haste and finish the temple. Here are nails and a -hammer. There is still a day’s work for you left to do.” - -Emelian set out. When he came to the square, there in the middle stood a -new temple not quite finished. Emelian set to work to finish it and by -the evening it was all done. - -The King awoke and looking out of the palace window he saw a new temple -in the square. Emelian was busy around, knocking a nail in here and -there. The King was not pleased with the temple; he was annoyed that he -had no pretext for cutting off Emelian’s head and taking his wife for -himself. - -Again the King summoned his servants. - -“Emelian has done this task too,” he said, “and I have no reason for -cutting off his head. This was not difficult enough; we must give him -something more difficult still. You decide what it shall be, or else -I’ll have your heads cut off first.” - -And the servants bethought them to set Emelian to make a river that was -to wind round the palace and have ships sailing on it. - -The King summoned Emelian and set him the new task. - -“If you could make a temple in a single night,” he said, “you can do -this too. See that it is all finished by to-morrow, or else I shall cut -off your head.” - -Emelian’s spirits fell lower than ever and he went home to his wife in a -sad mood. - -“Why so sad?” asked his wife. “Has the King set you a new task?” - -Emelian told her what it was. - -“We must run away,” he concluded. - -And the wife said, “We cannot escape the soldiers. You must obey.” - -“But how can I?” - -“My dear, don’t worry. Have your supper and go to bed. Get up early in -the morning and all will be ready in time.” - -Emelian went to bed. In the morning his wife woke him. - -“Go to the palace,” she said; “everything is finished. Only by the -harbour, opposite the palace, there is a little mound that wants -levelling; take the spade and level it.” - -Emelian set out. He came to the town and there around the palace a river -flowed with ships sailing on it. Emelian went up to the harbour opposite -the palace and he saw an uneven place and began to level it. - -The King awoke and looking out of his palace window he saw a river where -there was not one before and ships were sailing on it and Emelian was -levelling a little mound with his spade. And the King was alarmed. He -took no pleasure in the river or the ships, he was only annoyed that he -could not cut off Emelian’s head. “There is no task he cannot do,” he -thought. “What shall we do now?” - -And the King summoned his servants and conferred with them. - -“Think of a task,” he said, “that will be beyond Emelian’s strength, for -so far he has done everything we have thought of and I cannot take away -his wife.” - -And the courtiers thought for a long time, then came to the King and -said, “You must summon Emelian and say to him, ‘Go to--I don’t know -where, and bring me--I don’t know what.’ He won’t be able to escape you -then, for wherever he goes you can say it was not the right place and -whatever he brings was not the right thing. Then you can cut off his -head and take away his wife.” - -The King was pleased with the idea. He sent for Emelian and said to him, -“Go to--I don’t know where, and bring me--I don’t know what. And if you -don’t, I’ll cut off your head.” - -Emelian went back to his wife and told her what the King had said. The -wife reflected. - -“Well,” she said. “Be it on the King’s own head what his courtiers have -taught him. We must act with cunning now.” - -She sat and thought it over for a while; then said to her husband, “You -must go a long way to our old grandmother, a peasant soldier’s mother, -and ask her to help you. She will give you something which you must take -straight to the palace and I will be there already. I cannot escape them -now; they will take me by force, but only for a short while. If you do -what grandmother tells you, you will soon set me free.” - -And the wife prepared Emelian for the journey and gave him a bundle and -a spindle. - -“Give grandmother this spindle,” she said; “by this she will know that -you are my husband.” - -And the wife showed him the way. Emelian left the town and saw some -soldiers drilling. He stopped and watched them. The soldiers finished -their drill and sat down to rest. Emelian approached them and asked, -“Can you tell me, mates, how to get to--I don’t know where and bring -back--I don’t know what.” - -The soldiers were perplexed at his words. - -“Who sent you?” they asked. - -“The King,” he said. - -“We too,” they said, “since the day we became soldiers want to go to--we -don’t know where and find--we don’t know what, but we’ve never been able -to find it and so cannot help you.” - -Emelian sat with the soldiers awhile then went on his way. He wandered -and wandered till he came to a wood. In the wood was a cottage and in -the cottage sat an old woman, a peasant soldier’s mother, spinning at -her wheel, and she wept as she spun and moistened her fingers with the -tears that flowed from her eyes. - -“Who are you?” she cried in anger when she saw Emelian. - -Emelian gave her the spindle and said that his wife had sent him. The -old woman instantly softened and began to ask him questions. And Emelian -told her his whole story of how he had married the maiden and gone to -live in the town, and how he had been taken to the King’s as a -yard-porter, and of the work he had done in the palace, and the temple -he had built in a night, and the river and ships he had made, and that -now the King had sent him to--I don’t know where to bring back--I don’t -know what. - -The old woman listened to what he had to say and ceased her weeping. She -began to mutter to herself, “The time has come, I see. Very well,” she -said aloud; “sit down, my son, and have something to eat.” - -Emelian had something to eat and the old woman said to him, “Here is a -ball of thread; roll it before you and follow wherever it leads. You -will have to go a long way, to the very sea. When you come to the sea -you will see a large town. Ask to be allowed to stay the night in the -outermost house and look for what you want there.” - -“But by what signs shall I know it, grandmother?” - -“When you see that which men listen to more than to father or mother, -that will be the thing you want. Seize it and take it to the King. He -will tell you you haven’t brought the right thing, and you must say to -him, ‘If it is not the right thing then I must break it.’ Then strike -this thing; carry it out to the river; break it and throw it into the -water. Then you will get back your wife and dry up my tears.” - -Emelian took leave of the grandmother and went where the ball of thread -took him to. The ball rolled and rolled till it brought him to the sea, -where there was a large town. Emelian knocked at a house and asked to be -allowed to stay the night. The people let him in. He went to bed. In the -morning he woke early and heard the father of the house trying to wake -his son to chop some wood. The son would not listen to him. “It is early -yet,” he said, “there’s plenty of time.” - -And he heard the mother near the stove say, “Do go, my son. Your -father’s bones ache; surely you wouldn’t let him go? Get up.” - -The son only smacked his lips and went to sleep again. He had no sooner -fallen asleep than there was a banging and a rumbling in the street. The -son jumped up, dressed and ran out. Emelian ran out after him to see -what it was that a son obeyed more than father or mother. - -When Emelian got outside he saw a man coming up the street carrying some -round object on his belly that he was beating with sticks. It was this -thing that had made the noise and that the son had obeyed. Emelian -approached and examined it. The thing was round like a small tub with -skin drawn tightly on either side of it. - -“What is this thing called?” he asked. - -“A drum,” they said. - -“Is it empty?” - -“Yes,” they said. - -Emelian wondered and asked the people to give him the thing, but they -would not. Emelian gave up asking and followed the drummer. He walked -about the whole day and when the drummer went to bed at night, Emelian -seized the drum and ran away with it. He ran and ran until he came to -his own town. He wanted to give his wife a surprise, but she was not at -home. She had been taken to the King the day after Emelian had left. - -Emelian went to the palace and asked to be announced as the man who had -gone to--I don’t know where and brought back--I don’t know what. The -King was informed of his return and he ordered Emelian to come to him on -the morrow. Emelian again demanded to see the King, saying, “I have -brought back what I was ordered to; let the King come out to me, or I -will go in to him myself.” - -The King came out. - -“Where have you been?” he asked. - -Emelian told him. - -“That was not the place,” he said. “And what have you brought?” - -Emelian wanted to show him, but the King would not even look. - -“That was not the thing,” he said. - -“If it is not the thing,” Emelian said, “I must break it and let it go -to the devil.” - -Emelian came out of the palace and struck the drum. He had no sooner -done so than all the King’s troops gathered around him. They saluted -Emelian and waited for his commands. From the window of his palace the -King called to the troops, forbidding them to follow Emelian, but the -troops would not listen to the King and followed Emelian. When the King -saw this he ordered Emelian’s wife to be given back to him and he begged -Emelian to give him the drum. - -“I can’t,” Emelian said. “I was told to break it and throw the bits into -the river.” - -Emelian took the drum to the river and the soldiers followed him. -Emelian struck the drum and broke it into little bits which he threw -into the water and the troops all scattered and dispersed. And Emelian -took his wife back home. - -From that day the King left off worrying him and Emelian and his wife -lived happily ever after. - - - - -THE GREAT BEAR - - -A long, long time ago there was a big drought on the earth. All the -rivers dried up and the streams and wells, and the trees withered and -the bushes and grass, and men and beasts died of thirst. - -One night a little girl went out with a pitcher to find some water for -her sick mother. She wandered and wandered everywhere, but could find no -water, and she grew so tired that she lay down on the grass and fell -asleep. When she awoke and took up the pitcher she nearly upset the -water it contained. The pitcher was full of clear, fresh water. The -little girl was glad and was about to put it to her lips, but she -remembered her mother and ran home with the pitcher as fast as she -could. She hurried so much that she did not notice a little dog in her -path; she stumbled over it and dropped the pitcher. The dog whined -pitifully; the little girl seized the pitcher. - -She thought the water would have been upset, but the pitcher stood -upright and the water was there as before. She poured a little into the -palm of her hand and the dog lapped it and was comforted. When the -little girl again took up the pitcher, it had turned from common wood to -silver. She took the pitcher home and gave it to her mother. - -The mother said, “I shall die just the same; you had better drink it,” -and she handed the pitcher to the child. In that moment the pitcher -turned from silver to gold. The little girl could no longer contain -herself and was about to put the pitcher to her lips, when the door -opened and a stranger entered who begged for a drink. The little girl -swallowed her saliva and gave the pitcher to him. And suddenly seven -large diamonds sprang out of the pitcher and a stream of clear, fresh -water flowed from it. And the seven diamonds began to rise, and they -rose higher and higher till they reached the sky and became the Great -Bear. - - - - -THREE QUESTIONS - - -It once occurred to a King that if he knew the right moment when to -begin on any work and the right kind of people to have or not to have -dealings with and the thing to do that was more important than any other -thing, he would always be successful. - -And he proclaimed throughout his kingdom that he would give a great -reward to any one who could tell him what was the right moment for any -action, and who were the most essential of all people, and what was the -most essential thing of all to do. - -Many learned men came to the King and answered his questions in -different ways. - -In answer to the first question some said that to know the right time -for any action, one must draw up a time-table of all the days, months -and years and observe it - -[Illustration: THREE QUESTIONS. - -_To face page_ 158.] - -strictly, then one could do everything at the proper time. Others said -that it was impossible to decide beforehand the proper time for any -action; the only thing one could do was to waste no time in vain -amusements, but to pay attention to what was going on around one, and to -do the thing that came to hand. A third said that however attentive the -King might be to what went on around him, one man alone could not decide -the proper time for every action and that he needed a council of wise -men to advise him. Still a fourth maintained that as certain action had -to be decided at once and could not wait a council the proper thing to -do was to find out beforehand what was going to happen so as to be -always prepared. But as only magicians knew what was going to happen, -then it followed that in order to find out the proper time for any -action one must consult the magicians. - -The second question, too, was answered in various ways. Some said that -the most essential people to the King were his helpers and ministers; -others said priests; still others that the most essential people to the -King were doctors; a fourth party said that the most essential people to -the King were soldiers. - -To the third question about the most important occupation, some declared -it was science, others, the art of war, and others, divine worship. - -The answers being different, the King agreed with none of them and gave -no man the promised reward. But still wishing to find out the answers to -his questions, he resolved to consult a hermit who was famous throughout -the land for his wisdom. - -The hermit lived in a wood which he never left, and received none but -common folk. For this reason the King put on simple garments, and, -dismissing his body-guard before he reached the hermit’s cell, he -climbed down from his horse and went the rest of the way alone and on -foot. - -He found the hermit digging a bed in front of the hermitage. When the -hermit saw the King, he greeted him and went on with his digging. He was -frail and thin and each time he dug his spade into the ground and -turned over a little soil, he gasped for breath. - -The King approached him and said, “I have come, oh, wise hermit, to ask -you to give me the answers to these three questions--what hour must one -remember and not allow to slip by, so as not to regret it afterwards? -What people are the most essential and with whom should one or should -one not have dealings? What things are the most essential to do and -which of those things must one do first of all?” - -The hermit heard what the King had to say, but made no reply. He spat on -his hand and went on with his digging. - -“You are tired,” the King said; “give me the spade and I will do the -digging for you.” - -The King took the spade and began to dig, but after a while he stopped -and repeated his question. The hermit made no reply, but stretched out -his hand for the spade. - -“You rest now,” he said, “and I will work.” - -But the King would not give up the spade and went on with the digging. -One hour passed and another; the sun began to set behind the trees when -the King stuck his spade into the ground and said, “I came to you, wise -man, to find the answers to my three questions. If you cannot answer -them, then tell me and I will go my way home.” - -“Some one is running hither,” the hermit said. “Let us see who it is.” - -The King turned and saw a bearded man running towards them. The man’s -hands were clasped over his stomach and the blood flowed from beneath -them. He fell at the King’s feet and lay motionless, rolling his eyes -and moaning faintly. - -The King and the hermit unfastened the man’s clothes. He had a large -wound in his stomach. The King bathed it as well as he could with his -handkerchief and bandaged it with the hermit’s towel. The blood did not -cease to flow, and several times the King had to remove the bandages, -soaked with warm blood, and rebathe and rebandage the wound. - -When the blood ceased to flow, the wounded man came to himself and -asked for some water. The King brought some fresh water and raised it -to the wounded man’s lips. - -The sun had quite set meanwhile and it began to get cold. The King, with -the hermit’s help, carried the wounded man into the cell and put him on -the bed. The wounded man shut his eyes and went to sleep. The King was -so tired with the walk and the work that he curled up by the door and -fell into a sound sleep. He slept through the whole mild summer night, -and when he awoke in the morning he could not make out where he was and -who was the strange bearded man staring at him from the bed with -glistening eyes. - -“Forgive me,” the bearded man said in a faint voice, when he saw that -the King was awake and observing him. - -“I don’t know you and have nothing to forgive you for,” the King said. - -“You don’t know me, but I know you. I am your enemy who vowed to be -revenged on you for having executed my brother and taken away my -property: I knew that you went alone to the hermit and resolved to kill -you on your way back. But the day passed and you did not come. I lost -patience and came out to find you, when I stumbled upon your body-guard. -They recognized me and wounded me. I escaped from them, but would have -died from loss of blood had you not bound my wound. I wanted to kill you -and you saved my life. If I continue to live I will serve you as your -most faithful slave should you desire it, and I will order my sons to do -likewise. Forgive me.” - -The King was very glad that he had been able to make peace with his -enemy so easily, and not only forgave him but promised to return his -property and to send him his own servants and physician. - -Taking leave of the wounded man the King came out of the cell and sought -for the hermit with his eyes. Before going away he wanted to ask him for -the last time to answer his three questions. The hermit was on his knees -by the beds they had dug yesterday, sowing vegetable seeds. - -The King approached him and said, “For the last time, wise man, I ask -you to answer my questions.” - -“But they are answered already,” the hermit said, squatting on his -emaciated legs and looking at up the King, who stood before him. - -“How?” the King asked. - -“Don’t you see?” the hermit began; “had you not pitied my weakness -yesterday and dug these beds for me and gone back alone, the man would -have attacked you and you would have regretted that you had not stayed -with me. The important hour at the time was when you dug these beds, and -I was the most essential person to you, and the most essential act was -to do me a kindness. And later, when the man ran up, the most important -hour was when you looked after him, for, had you not bandaged his wound, -he would have died without making his peace with you. He was the most -essential man to you at that time, and what you did for him was the most -essential thing to be done. Always bear in mind that the most important -time is _now_, for it is the only time we have any power over -ourselves; the most essential man is the one with whom you happen to be -at the moment, because you can never be sure whether you will ever have -relations with any one else, and the most essential thing to do is a -kindness to that man, for it was for this purpose we were sent into the -world.” - -[Illustration: THE GODSON. - -_To face page_ 167.] - - - - -THE GODSON - - -I - -A son was born to a poor peasant. He rejoiced and went to a neighbour to -ask him to stand as godfather to the boy. The neighbour refused. He did -not want to be godfather to a poor man’s son. So the peasant went to -another neighbour and he, too, refused. He walked from house to house, -but could find no one who would be godfather to his son, so he set out -to another village. On his way he met a stranger, who stopped him and -said, “Good day, peasant; where are you going to?” - -“God has given me a child,” the peasant said, “to gladden my sight in my -youth, to comfort me in my old age and to pray for my soul when I die. -No one in our village will be godfather to him, so I am going to seek -one elsewhere.” - -“Let me be his godfather,” the stranger said. - -The peasant rejoiced. He thanked the stranger and said, “But whom shall -I ask to be his godmother?” - -“Go into the town,” the stranger said; “in the square you will see a -stone house with shop windows; go in and ask the merchant to let his -daughter stand as godmother to your son.” - -The peasant was doubtful. - -“But how can I ask a rich merchant? He will be too proud to let his -daughter come to a poor man like me.” - -“That won’t be your fault; go and ask him. Have everything ready by the -morning and I’ll come to the christening.” - -The peasant went home, then drove into the town to the merchant. He had -no sooner stopped in the yard than the merchant came out. - -“What do you want?” he asked. - -“God has given me a child,” the peasant said, “to gladden my sight in my -youth, to comfort me in my old age and to pray for my soul when I die. -Will you be kind enough to let your daughter come and be godmother to -the child?” - -“When is the christening?” - -“To-morrow morning.” - -“Very well; go, in God’s name. To-morrow my daughter will be at the -church.” - -The next day the godmother and godfather came; the child was christened, -but directly after the christening the godfather disappeared. No one -knew who he was and no one saw him from that day. - - -II - -The child grew up to the parents’ great joy; and he was strong and -industrious and clever and humble. When he was ten years old the parents -sent him to school, and what it took others five years to learn the boy -learnt in one. And there was no one in the village who could teach him -more. - -Easter came round and the boy went to his godmother to give her the -Easter greeting. When he returned home he said, “Father and mother, -where does my godfather live? I should like to give him the Easter -greeting, too.” - -And the father said, “We don’t know where your godfather lives, dear -son. We, too, have worried over that. We have not seen him since you -were christened. We have not heard of him and don’t know where he lives, -nor whether he is alive at all.” - -The boy bowed to his father and mother. - -“Let me go,” he said, “to seek my godfather. I want to find him and give -him the Easter greeting.” - -The father and mother gave their consent and the boy set out to find his -godfather. - - -III - -The boy left the house and set out on his way. About midday he met a -stranger and the stranger stopped and said, “Good day to you, boy. Where -are you going?” - -And the boy said, “I went to my godmother to give her the Easter -greeting and when I returned home I asked my parents where my godfather -lived, because I wanted to give him the greeting too, but my parents -said, ‘We don’t know where your godfather lives, dear son. We have not -heard of him since you were christened and we don’t know anything about -him, or whether he is alive at all.’ And I wanted to see my godfather, -so I am going to find him.” - -“I am your godfather,” the stranger said. - -The boy rejoiced and gave him the Easter greeting. - -“Where are you going to, godfather? If you are going in our direction -come in to us, or if you are going home, may I come with you?” - -And the stranger said, “I have no time to come to you now, because I -have some business in the villages. I shall not be home until to-morrow, -then you can come to me if you like.” - -“But how shall I find you, godfather?” - -“Walk straight towards the east until you come to a wood in the midst of -which you will find a clearing. Sit down to rest in that clearing and -look about you to see what is happening. When you come out of the wood -you will see a garden and in the garden is a house with a golden roof. -That is my house. Go in at the gate; I will meet you there myself.” - -Saying these words the godfather vanished from the godson’s sight. - - -IV - -The boy followed the godfather’s directions. He wandered and wandered -till he came to a wood and found the clearing, and in the midst of the -clearing stood a pine tree to a branch of which a heavy block of oak was -attached with string, and beneath the block was a trough of honey. As -the boy was wondering why the honey and the block were there, a -crackling was heard among the trees and out came a family of bears. The -mother came in front and a yearling and some cubs followed behind. The -mother, sniffing the air, went straight to the trough, the cubs -following. She thrust her muzzle into the honey and called to the cubs -to do the same. They scampered up and thrust in their muzzles. The block -swung back a little and returning, hit against the cubs. When the mother -saw this, she shoved the block away with her paw. The block swung back -further, and returning more forcibly struck one cub on the back, another -on the head. The cubs jumped away, howling with pain. The mother bear -growled, and seizing the block in her fore-paws, flung it away from her -violently. The block flew up high. The yearling ran up to the trough, -thrust his muzzle into the honey, the other cubs followed him, but no -sooner had they got there than the block swung back, struck the yearling -on the head and killed him. The mother-bear growled more angrily as she -seized the block and flung it away with all her might. The block flew -higher than the branch, the string it was tied to even slackened; the -mother-bear and the cubs came up to the trough; the block flew higher -and higher, then stopped and began to descend; the lower it got the -swifter became its course. It crashed down on the mother-bear’s head. -She fell over; her legs twitched and she died. The cubs ran away into -the wood. - - -V - -The boy wondered and went on further. He came to a large garden and in -the garden was a high house with a golden roof. At the gate stood his -godfather, smiling. He greeted his godson, made him come inside the gate -and took him round the garden. He had never even dreamt of such beauty -and joy as there was in that garden. - -The godfather took the boy into the house and he found that more -wonderful still. The godfather showed him all the rooms--one more -beautiful than the other--then he brought him to a sealed door. “Do you -see this door?” he asked. “It is not locked, only sealed. It can be -opened, but I forbid you to do it. You can live here and go where you -like and do what you like; taste of every pleasure; I forbid you only -one thing--to pass that door. But if it should happen that you do go in, -remember what you saw in the wood.” With these words the godfather went -away, and the godson was left alone. His life was so full of pleasure -and such a happy one that when he had been there thirty years it seemed -to him no more than three hours. Thus the thirty years passed and the -godson came to the sealed door, thinking, “I wonder why my godfather -forbade me to go into this room? I will go in and see what is there.” - -He pushed the door; the seal gave way and the door opened. The godson -went in and saw that the room was large and more beautiful than all the -others, and in the middle of it stood a golden throne. The godson -wandered and wandered over the room; then he stopped by the throne, -mounted the steps and sat down. He saw a sceptre by the throne and he -took it up in his hand. He had no sooner touched the sceptre than the -walls of the room rolled asunder. The godson looked about and saw the -whole world and everything people were doing in it. Straight before him -was the sea and ships sailing on it. To the right were foreign lands, -where heathens lived. To the left were Christians, but not Russians. On -the fourth side were our own Russian people. - -“I will look and see what is happening at home,” he said. “I wonder if -the corn is good this year?” - -He looked at his father’s fields and saw the sheaves standing in them. -He began to count the sheaves to see if the harvest had been good, when -he saw a cart coming over the field with a peasant sitting in it. He -looked closer and saw that it was Vasily, a thief. Vasily stopped by the -sheaves and began putting them into the cart. The godson could not -endure this and cried aloud, “Father, they are stealing your sheaves!” - -The father awoke in the night. “I dreamt that some one was stealing my -sheaves,” he said; “I will go and see.” He got upon his horse and rode -out. - -When he got to the fields he saw Vasily and called aloud for help. Some -peasants came up. Vasily was beaten, bound and taken to prison. - -The godson then looked towards the town where his godmother lived and -saw that she had married a merchant. She was lying in bed and her -husband got up to leave her to go to another woman. And the godson -cried aloud to his godmother, “Get up! Your husband is going to do -something wicked!” - -The godmother jumped up, dressed and set out to find her husband. She -brought him to shame, beat the other woman and would not take her -husband back again. - -The godson looked again towards his home and saw his mother lying in the -house and that a robber had stolen in and was breaking open a trunk. The -mother awoke and cried out in terror. The robber raised his axe, and was -about to kill her, but the godson could endure no more; he thrust the -sceptre straight into the robber’s temple and killed him on the spot. - - -VI - -He had no sooner slain the robber than the walls rose up again and the -room became as before. - -The door opened and the godfather entered. He approached the godson, -took him by the hand, led him from the throne and said, “You did not -obey my commands. You did one wrong thing in opening the forbidden -door, another when you mounted the throne and took my sceptre into your -hand, and a third wrong, which has added to the evil in the world. Had -you sat on the throne an hour longer, you would have ruined half -mankind.” - -And the godfather once more led the godson up to the throne and he took -the sceptre in his hand and the walls rolled asunder. - -And the godfather said, “See what you have done to your father. Vasily -sat in prison for a year and learnt every kind of wickedness and came -out completely corrupted. See, he has driven off two of your father’s -horses and is now setting fire to his barns. This is what you have done -to your father.” - -As soon as the godson saw his father’s barns burst into flame the -godfather hid the view from his sight and bade him look in another -direction. - -“See,” he said; “it is now a year since your godmother’s husband left -her, and he goes after other women and his wife has taken to drink and -his former mistress has fallen to still lower depths. This is what you -have done to your godmother.” - -This sight, too, he hid from the godson’s gaze and bade him look towards -his own home. His mother was weeping and saying, “It would have been -better if the robber had killed me than that I should have so many sins -on my soul.” - -“This is what you have done to your mother.” - -This sight, too, the godfather shut out and bade the godson look below. -And he saw two keepers guarding the robber in a dungeon. - -And the godfather said, “This man has killed nine people. He should have -atoned for his sins himself, but in killing him you have taken them upon -your own soul. Now you must answer for all his sins. This is what you -have done to yourself. When the mother-bear first pushed the block aside -she merely disturbed her cubs; when she pushed it a second time, she -killed her yearling; when she pushed it a third time, she was killed -herself. You have done exactly the same. I give you a term of thirty -years. Go into the world and atone for the robber’s sins; if you fail to -do so, you will have to take his place.” - -“But how shall I atone for his sins?” the godson asked. - -And the godfather said, “When you have rid the world of as much evil as -you brought into it, then you will have atoned for your own and the -robber’s sins.” - -And the godson asked, “How can I rid the world of evil?” - -And the godfather said, “Walk straight towards the east until you come -to some fields on which you will find some people. Take note of what -they are doing and teach them what you know, then go on further, -observing everything on the way. On the fourth day you will come to a -wood in which you will find a cell, and in this cell a hermit lives. -Tell this hermit all that has happened and he will instruct you in what -you are to do. When you have done all that the hermit has told you, you -will have atoned for your own and the robber’s sins.” - -With these words the godfather put the godson out at the gate. - - -VII - -And the godson set out, thinking as he walked, “How can I rid the world -of evil? People rid the world of evil by banishing evil men or putting -them in prison or executing them. But how can I rid the world of evil -without taking other men’s sins upon myself?” And the godson wondered -and wondered, but could come to no decision. - -He wandered and wandered till he came to a field on which tall rich corn -was growing, ready to be harvested. And the godson saw a calf that had -strayed in among the corn and he saw men on horseback chasing the calf -this way and that and trampling down the corn. Each time the calf was -about to come out of the corn some one rode up and the calf got -frightened and ran back again, the men after it. In the road stood a -woman, crying, “They will chase my calf to death!” - -And the godson said to the men, “What are you doing? Come out of the -corn and let the woman call to her calf.” - -The men did so. The woman came up to the edge of the field and called to -the calf, who pricked up its ears, listening awhile, then it ran towards -her and buried its nose in her skirts, nearly knocking her down. The men -were glad, and the woman was glad, and the calf, too, was glad. - -The godson went on his way thinking, “I see that evil breeds evil. The -more people try to drive away evil, the more the evil grows, which shows -that it is impossible to drive out evil by evil. But how can one drive -it out? I don’t know. It is well that the calf obeyed its mistress; if -it had not done so, how should we have got it out of the corn?” - -And the godson wondered and wondered, but could come to no decision and -went on further. - - -VIII - -He wandered and wandered till he came to a village where he asked to be -allowed to stay the night at the first house. The mistress let him in. -Besides herself no one was in the house. The mistress was busy -cleaning. - -When the godson came in he climbed on to the stove and began watching to -see what the mistress was doing. She had finished cleaning the floor and -was scrubbing the table. She scrubbed it and wiped it with a dirty -cloth. She rubbed the cloth one way, but the table would not come clean. -The cloth left streaks of dirt. She rubbed it the other way--the first -streaks came out, new ones were made. She rubbed it lengthwise again and -the same thing happened. The dirty cloth rubbed out one streak of dirt -and left another. The godson watched for some time and then said, “What -are you doing, mistress?” - -“Don’t you see that I’m cleaning the house for the festival? I can’t get -the table clean, anyhow. The dirt will not come off and I’m quite worn -out.” - -“You should rinse out the cloth, then wipe the table.” - -The mistress did as he told her and the table came clean. “Thank you,” -she said, “for your lesson.” - -In the morning the godson took leave of the mistress and went on -further. He wandered and wandered till he came to a wood where he saw -some peasants making hoops. He approached them and saw them struggling -and struggling, but they could not bend the wood. He looked closer and -saw that the block on which they were working was not firmly fixed. And -the godson said, “What are you doing, brothers?” - -“Making hoops, as you see. We have steamed the wood twice, yet cannot -bend it. We are quite worn out.” - -“You should fix the block more firmly, mates. It moves round with you as -it is.” - -The peasants did so and their work went smoothly afterwards. - -The godson stayed the night with them, then went on his way. He walked -the whole of that day and the night and just before daybreak he came -upon some shepherds encamped for the night, and joined them. They had -settled their cattle and were trying to light a fire. They took some dry -twigs and lighted them, and not giving them time to burn up, they put -some damp brushwood on top and smothered the fire. The shepherds took -some more dry twigs and lighted them, and again they smothered the fire -with damp brushwood. For a long time they struggled, but could get no -fire. - -And the godson said, “Don’t be in such a hurry to put on the brushwood, -but wait until the twigs have caught well. When the fire gets hot then -you can put on the brushwood.” - -The shepherds did as he told them. When the twigs had caught well, they -put on the brushwood, and in a few minutes they had a blazing fire. - -The godson stayed with them for a while then went on further. He -wondered what these three things he had seen might mean, but could not -understand, nor see the reason of them. - - -IX - -The godson wandered and wandered until nightfall, when he came to a -wood, and in the wood was a cell. He went up to the cell and knocked at -the door. - -A voice from within asked, “Who is that?” - -“A great sinner. I have come to atone for the sins of another.” - -And the hermit asked, “What are these sins you have taken upon -yourself?” - -And the godson told him everything about his godfather and the -mother-bear and the cubs and about the throne in the sealed room, and -about his godfather’s commands, and about the peasants who had trampled -the corn in the field, and the calf that had come to its mistress at her -call. - -“I know now,” he said, “that you cannot drive out evil by evil, but I -don’t know how it can be driven out and I want you to tell me.” - -And the hermit said, “Tell me what else you have seen on the way?” - -The godson told him about the woman and how she had tried to clean the -table, and of the peasants who had tried to make the hoops, and the -shepherds who had tried to light a fire. - -The hermit waited until he had finished, then he went into his cell and -brought out a jagged axe. - -“Come,” he said. - -The hermit walked away from the cell and pointed to a tree. “Cut it -down,” he said. - -The godson felled it. - -“Chop it into three parts.” - -The godson chopped it into three parts. The hermit again went into his -cell and brought out a light. - -“Set fire to those three logs,” he said. - -The godson made a fire and burnt the three logs till only three pieces -of charcoal were left. - -“Now plant them half into the ground, like this.” - -The godson planted them. - -“Do you see a river there by that hill? Fetch some water in your mouth -and water them. Water this one in the way you taught the woman to clean, -this one in the way you taught the hoopers, and this one in the way you -taught the shepherds. When the three pieces of charcoal grow into -apple-trees you will know how to rid the world of evil, and will then -have atoned for your sins.” - -With these words the hermit went into his cell. The godson pondered and -pondered and could not understand what the hermit had said, but he did -what the hermit had told him. - - -X - -The godson went to the river, filled his mouth with water and watered -one piece of charcoal; then he went again and again, until he had -watered the other two. The godson was tired and hungry. He went to the -hermit’s cell to ask for some food. When he opened the door there was -the hermit lying dead on a bench. The godson looked about the cell and -found some rusks, which he ate; then he discovered a spade and went out -to dig a grave for the old man. By night he carried water to water the -pieces of charcoal, and by day he dug the grave. He had no sooner -finished it and was about to bury the hermit, when some people came from -the village to bring the hermit food. - -When the people heard that the hermit was dead they asked the godson to -take his place. They buried the hermit, left the bread with the godson -and went away, promising to bring him more food later on. - -And the godson fell into the hermit’s place and he lived and nourished -himself with the food people brought him, and went on watering the -pieces of charcoal as the hermit had bidden him do. - -The godson lived thus for a year and many people began to visit him. He -grew famous throughout the country as a saint who saved his soul by -carrying water in his mouth from beneath a hill, and watering stumps of -charcoal. People flocked to him. Rich merchants brought him gifts, but -the godson used nothing but what he needed, giving the rest to the poor. - -And the godson began to live thus--for half the day he carried water in -his mouth to water the pieces of charcoal, for the other half he rested -and received people. - -And the godson came to think that he had been told to live thus and that -in this way he would atone for his sins. - -The godson lived thus for another year, not missing a single day for -watering the charcoal, yet not a single piece had begun to sprout. - -One day when he was sitting in his cell he heard a horseman gallop past, -singing to himself. The hermit came out to see what manner of man he -was. And he saw that the man was young and strong and was dressed in -fine clothes and seated on a spirited horse. - -The godson stopped him and asked him who he was and where he was going. -The man pulled up. - -“I am a robber,” he said; “I roam the highway and kill whomever I have a -mind to. The more men I kill the merrier are my songs.” - -The godson was horrified and thought, “How can one destroy evil in such -a man? It is well to talk to the people who come to me; they repent of -their own accord, but this man glories in the evil he does.” The godson -said nothing to him and turned away, thinking, “What shall I do? If this -robber makes up his mind to stay here, he will scare away my people and -no one will come to see me. They will lose some good thereby, and I -shall have nothing to live on.” - -And the godson stopped and said to the robber, “People come to me not to -boast of the evil they do, but to repent and pray for their sins to be -forgiven them. You repent likewise, if you have the fear of God in your -heart, and if you do not seek repentance, go away from this place and do -not come back again, so as not to hinder me or scare away my people. If -you fail to listen to my words God will punish you.” - -The robber laughed. - -“I am not afraid of your God and I won’t listen to you. You are not my -master to order me about. You live by your piety, I by my robbery. We -must all live. Teach the women who come to you, but let me alone. Since -you have dared to mention the name of God to me I will kill two extra -people to-morrow. I would kill you now, only I don’t want to soil my -hands, but take care never to cross my path again.” - -The robber threatened him thus and rode away. He did not come again and -the godson lived in the hermitage as before for another eight years. - - -XI - -One night the godson set out to water his pieces of charcoal and when he -had finished he sat down in his cell to rest. He peered along the path -now and again to see if any visitor was coming, but no one came that -day. The godson sat alone until evening and he grew lonesome and weary -and began to think about his life. He recollected how the robber had -reproached him for living by his piety. He began to look back upon his -life. “I am not living as the hermit told me,” he thought. “The hermit -imposed a penance on me and I have used it as a means of earning my -bread and even gaining fame thereby. I have been so led astray over it -that I am even dull when people do not come to see me, and when they do -come, I rejoice when they praise my saintliness. This is not the way one -must live. I have been blinded by fame. Not only have I not atoned for -past sins but have taken new ones upon myself. I will go away to -another place far into the wood, where the people will not find me, and -I will live alone there and atone for my past sins, taking care not to -commit new ones.” - -Thinking thus the godson took a bag of rusks and a spade, and he left -the cell and set out down a ravine to build himself a mud hut in the -thicket and disappear from people’s sight. - -The godson was walking along with his bag and spade when the robber -jumped out upon him. The godson was afraid and would have run away, but -the robber stopped him. - -“Where are you going?” he asked. - -The godson told him that he wanted to go away from people and bury -himself in a wild part of the wood where no one would come to him. - -The robber wondered. - -“But what will you live on if no one comes to see you?” - -The godson had not thought of that, but now the robber had mentioned it -he remembered that he had to eat. - -“On what God gives,” he said. - -The robber made no reply and went his way. - -“Why didn’t I say anything to him about his life?” the godson thought. -“He may be repentant now. He seemed softer of manner and did not -threaten to kill me to-day.” And he called to the robber saying, “It is -time you repented. You cannot get away from God.” - -The robber turned his horse round, seized a knife from his girdle and -brandished it aloft. The godson took fright and ran away into the wood. - -The robber did not trouble to go after him, he merely said, “I have let -you off twice, old man; take care not to come my way a third time, or -I’ll kill you.” - -With these words the robber rode away. - -That evening the godson went to water his pieces of charcoal and behold! -one of the pieces had sprouted! A young apple-tree had shot forth. - - -XII - -The godson hid himself from the eyes of men and began to live alone. -His rusks were all gone. “I must hunt for some roots,” he thought, but -he had no sooner gone out than he saw a bag of rusks hanging on the -branch of a tree. He took the bag and began to eat. - -When that was all gone he found another bag in the very same place. Thus -the godson lived. He had only one care--his fear of the robber. When he -heard him coming he hid himself, thinking, “If he kills me I shall not -be able to atone for my sins.” - -Another ten years passed. One apple-tree grew up, the other pieces of -charcoal remained as they were before. - -One day the godson went out early to do his watering. He moistened the -soil around the stumps until he was tired and sat down to rest. As he -rested he thought, “I have sinned greatly in fearing death. If it be -God’s will I will atone for my sins by death even.” - -The thought had no sooner occurred to him than he heard the robber come -along cursing at some one. And the godson thought, “Besides God no one -can do me either good or evil.” And he went to meet the robber. He saw -that the robber was not alone. On the saddle, behind him, was another -man, and this man’s hands were bound and his mouth was gagged. The man -made no sound and the robber kept on abusing him. The godson approached -the robber and stopped before his horse. - -“Where are you taking this man to?” he asked. - -“Into the wood. He is a merchant’s son and won’t tell me where his -father’s money is hidden. I will keep him prisoner until he tells me.” - -The robber was about to go on, but the godson would not let him, seizing -the horse by the bridle. - -“Let the man go,” he said. - -The robber grew angry and raised his arm to strike him. - -“Do you want to share his fate? I told you I would kill you. Let go!” - -The godson was not afraid. - -“I won’t let go,” he said. “I’m not afraid of you; I only fear God. He -tells me not to let go. Set the man free.” - -The robber frowned; he seized the knife from his girdle, cut the cords -and released the merchant’s son. - -“Be gone, the two of you!” he said, “and don’t come across my path a -second time!” - -The merchant’s son fled. The robber was about to go, but the godson -stopped him and once more beseeched him to abandon his wicked life. The -robber stood and listened without saying a word, then turned and rode -away. - -In the morning the godson went to water his pieces of charcoal. Behold! -another one had burst forth, another apple-tree had grown! - - -XIII - -Ten more years passed. The godson lived desiring nothing, afraid of -nothing, and a feeling of gladness always at his heart. And he thought -one day, “What blessings the good Lord gives us! And we torment -ourselves for nothing. People should live in joy and happiness.” And he -remembered the evil men suffered and how they tormented themselves and -he grew to pity them. “It is in vain that I live as I do,” he thought; -“I must go among people and tell them what I know.” - -The thought had no sooner occurred to him than he heard the robber come -along, but he took no notice of him, thinking, “What is the use of -talking to that man? He will not understand.” - -This was his first thought, but in a little while he repented of it and -went out in the road. The robber sat on his horse, frowning and looking -at the ground. When the godson saw him, a feeling of pity came over him; -he rushed up and seized the robber’s knee. - -“My dear brother,” he said, “take pity on your soul! Don’t you know that -the spirit of God is in you? You torment yourself and others, and as -time goes on your torments will grow worse, and God loves you and wants -to heap His blessings upon you. Don’t destroy yourself, brother; change -your way of life.” - -The robber frowned and turned away. “Leave me alone,” he said. - -The godson clutched the robber’s knee still firmer and the tears stood -in his eyes. The robber raised his eyes to his, gazed into them for a -long time, then climbed down from his horse and fell on his knees before -the godson. - -“You have subdued me, old man,” he said. “For twenty years I struggled -against you, but you have won. I am powerless before you. Do what you -want with me. When you spoke to me the first time, I grew more hardened -still. I only began to take your words to heart when you went away from -people and I knew that you needed nothing from them. It was then I began -to supply you with rusks.” - -And the godson recollected that the woman had only managed to clean the -table after she had washed the cloth. When he ceased to care for himself -and cleansed his heart, he was able to cleanse the hearts of others. - -And the robber continued, “And my heart turned when I saw that you had -no fear of death.” - -And the godson remembered that the hoopers began to bend the hoops only -when they had made the block firm. When he ceased to fear death and -established his life firmly in God he had been able to subdue this man’s -wild heart. - -And the robber said, “And the heart in me melted altogether when I saw -that you pitied me and wept before me.” - -The godson rejoiced. He led the robber to the place where his pieces of -charcoal were planted and behold! a third apple-tree had grown. And the -godson remembered that when the shepherds had allowed their dry twigs to -catch well, a big fire blazed up. It was only when his heart grew warm -that he had been able to kindle the heart of another. - -And the godson rejoiced that he had now atoned for all his sins. - -He told the robber everything and died. The robber buried him and began -to live as the godson had told him, and to teach other men what he knew. - - Printed in England - by Butler & Tanner Selwood Printing Works Frome, Somerset - - * * * * * - - e-text transcriber note: - - Information was cropped off when the book used as a scan - source was rebound. Emailed University of Southern Mississippi - Libraries, and received confirmation from a librarian there - concerning missing page references on plates: - - 1: The frontispiece has the word "Frontispiece.", in italics, - no bracket, lower left. - 2: The plate which faces page 56 in the TIA copy should face - page 57 (was probably positioned incorrectly when rebound). - 3: For plate facing page 82, bottom right reference reads, - "[To face page 82." - 4: For plate facing page 158, bottom right reference reads, - "[To face page 158." - 5: For the plate facing page 166, the plate actually says - "[To face page 166."--but it faces 167 instead. - - --srjfoo, 2016-02-15 - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tolstoi for the young, by Leo Tolstoi - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOLSTOI FOR THE YOUNG *** - -***** This file should be named 51708-0.txt or 51708-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/7/0/51708/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Townsend. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;} - -.enlargeimage {margin: 0 0 0 0; text-align: center; border: none;} - @media print, handheld -{.enlargeimage - {display: none;} - } - -.hang {text-indent:-4%;font-size:90%; -margin:1% 5% 1% 8%;} - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - -.rt {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -big {font-size: 130%;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;} - - h3 {margin:2% auto 1% auto;text-align:center;clear:both; -font-size:90%;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 50%;margin:5% auto 5% auto;border:4px double gray;} - - table {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;} - - body{margin-left:2%;margin-right:2%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:100%;} - - img {border:none;} - -.caption {font-weight:bold;font-size:80%;} - -.figcenter {margin-top:.5%;margin-bottom:1%;clear:both; -margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - @media print, handheld - {.figcenter - {page-break-before: avoid;} - } - -div.poetry {text-align:center;} -div.poem {font-size:90%;margin:auto auto;text-indent:0%; -display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poem .stanza {margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom:1em;} -.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -</style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tolstoi for the young, by Leo Tolstoi - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Tolstoi for the young - Select tales from Tolstoi - -Author: Leo Tolstoi - -Illustrator: Michel Sevier - -Translator: R. S. Townsend - -Release Date: April 9, 2016 [EBook #51708] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOLSTOI FOR THE YOUNG *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="cb">TOLSTOI FOR THE YOUNG</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="[Image not available: [Image of -the bookcover not available.]" /> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="IM_IVAN_THE_FOOL" id="IM_IVAN_THE_FOOL"></a> -<a name="front" id="front"></a> -<a href="images/i_004_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_004_sml.jpg" width="279" height="500" alt="[Image not available: IVAN THE FOOL. - -Frontispiece." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">IVAN THE FOOL. -<br /> -<small>Frontispiece.]</small></span> -</div> - -<h1> -TOLSTOI FOR THE<br /> -YOUNG</h1> - -<p class="cb">SELECT TALES FROM TOLSTOI<br /> -<br /> -Translated from the Russian<br /> -By<br /> -MRS. R. S. TOWNSEND<br /> -<br /> -WITH SIX COLOURED PLATES BY MICHEL SEVIER<br /> -<br /><br /> -LONDON<br /> -KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., <span class="smcap">Ltd</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">New York</span>: E. P. DUTTON & CO.<br /> -1916</p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#IVAN_THE_FOOL">Ivan the Fool</a></span> </td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_001">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#WHERE_THERE_IS_LOVE_THERE_IS_GOD_ALSO">Where there is Love, there is God also</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_057">57</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#A_PRISONER">A Prisoner</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_082">82</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#EMELIAN_AND_THE_EMPTY_DRUM">Emelian and the Empty Drum</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_138">138</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#THE_GREAT_BEAR">The Great Bear</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_156">156</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#THREE_QUESTIONS">Three Questions</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_158">158</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#THE_GODSON">The Godson</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_167">167</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<h2><a name="LIST_OF_COLOURED_PLATES" id="LIST_OF_COLOURED_PLATES"></a>LIST OF COLOURED PLATES</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td><a href="#IM_IVAN_THE_FOOL">Ivan the Fool</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#front"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><a href="#IM_WHERE_THERE_IS_LOVE_THERE_IS_GOD_ALSO">Where there is Love, there is God also</a> </td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_057"><i>To face p.</i> 57</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><a href="#IM_A_PRISONER">A Prisoner</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_082">82</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><a href="#IM_EMELIAN_AND_THE_EMPTY_DRUM">Emelian and the Empty Drum</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_138">138</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><a href="#IM_THREE_QUESTIONS">Three Questions</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_158">158</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td><a href="#IM_THE_GODSON">The Godson</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_167">167</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="IVAN_THE_FOOL" id="IVAN_THE_FOOL"></a>IVAN THE FOOL</h2> - -<p class="hang">THE STORY OF IVAN THE FOOL AND HIS TWO BROTHERS SIMON THE WARRIOR -AND TARAS THE POT-BELLIED, AND OF HIS DEAF AND DUMB SISTER, AND THE -OLD DEVIL AND THREE LITTLE DEVILKINS.</p> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Once</span> upon a time there lived a rich peasant, who had three sons—Simon -the Warrior, Taras the Pot-bellied, and Ivan the Fool, and a deaf and -dumb daughter, Malania, an old maid.</p> - -<p>Simon the Warrior went off to the wars to serve the King; Taras the -Pot-bellied went to a merchant’s to trade in the town, and Ivan the Fool -and the old maid stayed at home to do the work of the house and the -farm. Simon the Warrior earned a high rank for himself and an estate and -married a nobleman’s daughter. He had a large income and a large estate, -but he could never make both ends meet, for, what he managed to gather -in, his wife managed<a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a> to squander; thus it was that he never had any -money.</p> - -<p>And Simon the Warrior went to his estate one day to collect his income, -and his steward said to him, “There is nothing to squeeze money out of; -we have neither cattle, nor implements, nor horses, nor cows, nor -ploughs, nor harrows; we must get all these things first, then there -will be an income.”</p> - -<p>Then Simon the Warrior went to his father and said, “You are rich, -father; and have given me nothing, let me have a third of your -possessions and I will set up my estate.”</p> - -<p>And the old man replied, “Why should I? You have brought nothing to the -home. It would be unfair to Ivan and the girl.”</p> - -<p>And Simon said, “Ivan is a fool and Malania is deaf and dumb; they do -not need much, surely.”</p> - -<p>“Ivan shall decide,” the old man said.</p> - -<p>And Ivan said, “I don’t mind; let him take what he wants.”</p> - -<p>Simon took a portion of his father’s goods<a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a> and moved them to his -estate, and once more he set out to serve the King.</p> - -<p>Taras the Pot-bellied made a great deal of money and married a -merchant’s widow, but still, it seemed to him that he had not enough, so -he too went to his father and said, “Give me my portion, father.” And -the old man was loath to give Taras his portion, and he said, “You have -brought us nothing; everything in the home has been earned by Ivan; it -would be unfair to him and the girl.”</p> - -<p>And Taras said, “Ivan is a fool, what does he need? He cannot marry, for -no one would have him, and the girl is deaf and dumb and does not need -much either.” And turning to Ivan, he said, “Let me have half the corn, -Ivan. I will not take any implements, and as for the cattle, I only want -the grey cob; he is of no use to you for the plough.”</p> - -<p>Ivan laughed.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” he said, “you shall have what you want.”</p> - -<p>And Taras was given his portion, and he carted the corn off to the town -and took<a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a> away the grey cob, and Ivan was left with only the old mare to -work the farm and support his father and mother.</p> - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>The old Devil was annoyed that the three brothers had not quarrelled -over the matter and had parted in peace. He summoned three little -Devilkins.</p> - -<p>“There are three brothers,” he said, “Simon the Warrior, Taras the -Pot-bellied, and Ivan the Fool. I want them all to quarrel and they live -in peace and goodwill. It is the Fool’s fault. Go to these three -brothers, the three of you, and confound them so that they will scratch -out each others’ eyes. Do you think you can do it?”</p> - -<p>“We can,” they said.</p> - -<p>“How will you do it?”</p> - -<p>“We will ruin them first,” they said, “so that they have nothing to eat, -then we will put them all together and they will begin to fight.”</p> - -<p>“I see you know your work,” the old Devil said. “Go then, and do not -return<a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a> to me until you have confounded the whole three, or else I will -skin you alive.”</p> - -<p>And the Devilkins set out to a bog to confer on the matter, and they -argued and argued, for each wanted the easiest work, and they decided to -cast lots and each to take the brother that fell to him, and whichever -finished his work first was to help the others. And the Devilkins cast -lots and fixed a day when they should meet again in the bog, in order to -find out who had finished his work and who was in need of help.</p> - -<p>The day arrived and the Devilkins gathered together in the bog. They -began to discuss their work. The first to give his account was the one -who had undertaken Simon the Warrior. “My work is progressing well,” he -said. “To-morrow Simon will return to his father.”</p> - -<p>“How did you manage it?” the others asked him.</p> - -<p>“First of all,” he said, “I gave Simon so much courage that he promised -the King to conquer the whole world. And the King made him the head of -his army and<a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a> sent him to make war on the King of India. That same night -I damped the powder of Simon’s troops and I went to the King of India -and made him numberless soldiers out of straw. And when Simon saw -himself surrounded by the straw soldiers, a fear came upon him and he -ordered the guns to fire, but the guns and cannon would not go off. And -Simon’s troops were terrified and ran away like sheep, and the King of -India defeated them. Simon was disgraced. He was deprived of his rank -and estate and to-morrow he is to be executed. I have only one day left -in which to get him out of the dungeon and help him to escape home. -To-morrow I shall have finished with him, so I want you to tell me which -of you two is in need of help.”</p> - -<p>Then the second Devilkin began to tell of his work with Taras. “I do not -want help,” he said; “my work is also going well. Taras will not live in -the town another week. The first thing I did was to make his belly grow -bigger and fill him with greed. He is now so greedy for other people’s -goods that whatever he sees he<a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a> must buy. He has bought up everything he -could lay his eyes on, and spent all his money, and is still buying with -borrowed money. He has taken so much upon himself, and become so -entangled that he will never pull himself out. In a week he will have to -repay the borrowed money, and I will turn his wares into manure so that -he cannot repay, then he will go to his father.”</p> - -<p>“And how is your work getting on?” they asked the third Devilkin about -Ivan.</p> - -<p>“My work is going badly,” he said. “The first thing I did was to spit -into Ivan’s jug of kvas to give him a stomach-ache and then I went into -his fields and made the soil as hard as stones so that he could not move -it. I thought he would not plough it, but the fool came with his plough -and began to pull. His stomach-ache made him groan, yet still he went on -ploughing. I broke one plough for him and he went home and repaired -another, and again persisted in his work. I crawled beneath the ground -and clutched hold of his ploughshares, but I could not hold them—he -pressed upon the plough so hard, and<a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a> the shares were sharp and cut my -hands. He has finished it all but one strip. You must come and help me, -mates, for singly we shall never get the better of him, and all our -labour will be wasted. If the fool keeps on tilling his land, the other -two brothers will never know what need means, for he will feed them.”</p> - -<p>The first Devilkin offered to come and help to-morrow when he had -disposed of Simon the Warrior, and with that the three Devilkins parted.</p> - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Ivan had ploughed all the fallow but one strip, and he went to finish -that. His stomach ached, yet he had to plough. He undid the harness -ropes, turned over the plough and set out to the fields. He drove one -furrow, but coming back, the ploughshares caught on something that -seemed like a root.</p> - -<p>“What a strange thing!” Ivan thought. “There were no roots here, yet -here’s a root!”</p> - -<p>He put his hand into the furrow and<a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a> clutched hold of something soft. He -pulled it out. It was a thing as black as a root and it moved. He looked -closely and saw that it was a live Devilkin.</p> - -<p>“You horrid little wretch, you!”</p> - -<p>Ivan raised his hand to dash its head against the plough, but the -Devilkin squealed, “Don’t kill me, and I’ll do whatever you want me to.”</p> - -<p>“What can you do?”</p> - -<p>“Tell me what you want.”</p> - -<p>Ivan scratched his head.</p> - -<p>“My stomach aches,” he said; “can you make it well?”</p> - -<p>“I can.”</p> - -<p>“Do it, then.”</p> - -<p>The Devilkin bent down, rummaged about with his nails in the furrow and -pulled out three little roots, grown together.</p> - -<p>“There,” he said; “if any one swallows a single one of these roots all -pain will pass away from him.”</p> - -<p>Ivan took the three roots, separated them and swallowed one. His -stomach-ache instantly left him.<a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a></p> - -<p>“Let me go now,” the Devilkin begged once more. “I will dive through the -earth and never bother you again.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said; “go, in God’s name.”</p> - -<p>At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone -thrown into water, and there was nothing but the hole left. Ivan thrust -the two remaining little roots into his cap and went on with his -ploughing. He finished the strip, turned over his plough and set off -home. He unharnessed and went into the house, and there was his brother, -Simon the Warrior, sitting at table with his wife, having supper. His -estate had been taken from him; he had escaped from prison and come back -to live with his father.</p> - -<p>As soon as Simon the Warrior saw Ivan, he said to him, “I have come with -my wife to live with you; will you keep us both until I find another -place?”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said, “you can live here.”</p> - -<p>When Ivan sat down by the table, the smell of him was displeasing to the -lady<a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a> and she said to her husband, “I cannot sup together with a -stinking peasant.”</p> - -<p>And Simon the Warrior said, “My lady says you do not smell sweet; you -had better eat in the passage.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said. “It is time for bed anyway, and I must feed the -mare.”</p> - -<p>Ivan took some bread and his coat and went out for the night.</p> - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>That night, having freed himself of Simon the Warrior, the first little -Devilkin set out to seek Ivan’s Devilkin, to help him plague the Fool as -they had agreed. He came to the fields, looked all round for his mate, -but he was nowhere to be seen; he only found a hole. “I see some -misfortune has happened to my mate; I must take his place. The ploughing -is all finished; I must upset the Fool at the mowing.”</p> - -<p>And the Devilkin went to the meadow and flooded it and trampled the hay -in the mud.</p> - -<p>Ivan awoke at daybreak, put his scythe in order and set out to the -meadow to<a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a> mow the hay. Ivan swung the scythe once, he swung it twice, -but the scythe grew blunt and would not cut; he had to sharpen it. Ivan -struggled and struggled and struggled.</p> - -<p>“This won’t do,” he said; “I must go home and bring a whetstone and a -hunk of bread. If it takes me a week I’ll not give up until I’ve mowed -it every bit.”</p> - -<p>And the Devilkin grew pensive when he heard these words.</p> - -<p>“The Fool has a temper,” he said; “I can’t catch him this way; I must -think of something else.”</p> - -<p>Ivan returned, sharpened his scythe and began to mow. The Devilkin crept -into the grass, caught hold of the scythe by the heel and pushed the -point into the ground. It was hard for Ivan, but he mowed all the grass, -except a little piece in the swamp.</p> - -<p>The Devilkin crept into the swamp, thinking, “Even if I have to cut my -hands I won’t let him mow that!”</p> - -<p>Ivan came to the swamp. The grass was not thick, but the scythe could -not cut through it. Ivan grew angry and began to mow with all his might. -The Devilkin<a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a> began to lose hold, seeing that he was in a bad plight, -but he had no time to get away and took refuge in a bush. Ivan swung the -scythe near the bush and cut off half the Devilkin’s tail. He finished -mowing the grass, told the old maid to rake it up and went away to mow -the rye.</p> - -<p>He came to the field with his sickle, but the Devilkin with the clipped -tail was there before him. He had entangled the rye, so that the sickle -could not take it. Ivan went back for his reaping-hook and reaped the -whole field of rye. “Now,” he said, “I must tackle the oats.”</p> - -<p>At these words the Devilkin with the clipped tail thought, “I did not -trip him up with the rye, but I’ll do so with the oats. If only the -morrow would come!”</p> - -<p>In the morning the Devilkin hurried off to the field of oats, but the -oats were all harvested. Ivan had reaped them overnight so that less of -the grain should be wasted. The Devilkin lost his temper at that.</p> - -<p>“He has mutilated and exhausted me, the fool! I’ve never had such -trouble on<a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a> the battlefield even. The wretch doesn’t sleep and you can’t -get ahead of him. I’ll creep into the stacks of sheaves and rot the -grain.”</p> - -<p>And the Devilkin crept into a stack of sheaves, and began to rot them. -He heated them, grew warm himself and fell asleep.</p> - -<p>Ivan harnessed the mare and set out with his sister to gather in the -sheaves. He stopped by the stack and began to throw the sheaves into the -cart. He had thrown up two sheaves and was going to take up a third, -when the fork dug into the Devilkin’s back. He looked at the prongs and -saw a live Devilkin with his tail clipped, wriggling and writhing and -trying to get away.</p> - -<p>“You horrid little wretch! You here again!”</p> - -<p>“I’m not the same one,” the Devilkin pleaded. “The other was my brother. -I belong to your brother Simon.”</p> - -<p>“Whoever you are you shall share the same fate.”</p> - -<p>Ivan was about to dash it against the cart, when the Devilkin cried out, -“Spare<a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a> me! I’ll not worry you again, and I’ll do whatever you want me -to.”</p> - -<p>“What can you do?”</p> - -<p>“I can make soldiers out of anything you choose.”</p> - -<p>“What good are they?”</p> - -<p>“You can make them do anything you like. Soldiers can do everything.”</p> - -<p>“Can they play songs?”</p> - -<p>“They can.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; make some, then.”</p> - -<p>And the Devilkin said, “Take a sheaf of rye and bump it upright on the -ground, saying,—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">My slave bids you be a sheaf no more.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Every straw contained in you,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Must turn into a soldier true.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Ivan took the sheaf and banged it on the ground and repeated the -Devilkin’s words. And the sheaf burst asunder and every straw turned -into a soldier and at their head the drummer and bugler were playing. -Ivan laughed aloud.</p> - -<p>“That was clever of you,” he said. “It will amuse Malania.”<a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a></p> - -<p>“Let me go now,” the Devilkin begged.</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” Ivan said. “I shall want to make the soldiers out of chaff so -as not to waste the grain. Show me first how to turn the soldiers into a -sheaf again, so that I can thrash it.”</p> - -<p>And the Devilkin said, “Repeat the words—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">My slave bids every soldier be a straw<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And turn into a sheaf once more.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Ivan repeated the Devilkin’s words, and the soldiers turned into a sheaf -again.</p> - -<p>And again the Devilkin pleaded, “Let me go.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said, taking him off the prongs. “Go, in God’s name.”</p> - -<p>At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone -thrown into water, and there was nothing but the hole left.</p> - -<p>When Ivan reached home, his other brother, Taras, and his wife were -sitting at table and having supper. Taras could not pay his debts; he -fled from his creditors and came home to his father. As soon as<a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a> he saw -Ivan he said, “Until I can make some more money, will you keep me and my -wife?”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said. “You can live here.”</p> - -<p>Ivan took off his coat and sat down to table.</p> - -<p>And Taras’ wife said, “I cannot sup with a fool; he smells of sweat.”</p> - -<p>Taras the Pot-bellied said, “You do not smell sweet, Ivan; go and eat in -the passage.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said; “it’s time for bed, anyhow, and I must feed the -mare.”</p> - -<p>He took his coat and a piece of bread, and went out.</p> - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>That night, having disposed of Taras, the third little Devilkin came to -help his mates plague Ivan, as they had agreed. He came to the ploughed -field and looked and looked, but could see no one; he only found the -hole. Then he went to the meadow and found a piece of tail in the swamp, -and in the rye-stubble field he found another hole.<a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a></p> - -<p>“I see some misfortune has happened to my mates. I must take their -places and tackle the Fool.”</p> - -<p>The Devilkin set out to find Ivan.</p> - -<p>Ivan had finished his work in the fields and had gone into the copse to -cut wood.</p> - -<p>The brothers found it too crowded to live together in their father’s -house and they ordered Ivan to fell timber to build themselves new -houses.</p> - -<p>The Devilkin rushed into the wood and crept into the knots of the trees -to prevent Ivan from felling them.</p> - -<p>Ivan had cut a tree in the right way so that it should fall on to a -clear space, but the tree seemed to be possessed, and fell over where it -was not wanted, and got entangled among the branches. Ivan lopped them -off with his bill-hook and at last, with great difficulty, brought down -the tree. He began to fell another and the same thing was repeated. He -struggled and struggled and succeeded only after great exertion. He -began on a third and the same thing happened. Ivan had intended to fell -fifty trees at least, and he had not<a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a> managed more than ten, and night -was coming on. Ivan was exhausted, and the steam rose from him and -floated through the wood like a mist; yet still he would not give up. He -felled another tree and his back began to ache so that he could not go -on. He stuck his axe into the trunk of a tree and sat down to rest.</p> - -<p>When the Devilkin realized that Ivan had ceased to work, he rejoiced. -“He is worn out at last,” he thought; “now I can rest too.” And he sat -himself astride on a branch, exulting.</p> - -<p>Ivan rose, took out his axe, flourished it aloft, and brought it down so -heavily that the tree came down with a crash. The Devilkin had no time -to disentangle his legs; the branch broke and pinned down his paw.</p> - -<p>Ivan began to clear the tree and behold! there was a live Devilkin. Ivan -was amazed.</p> - -<p>“You horrid little wretch! You here again!”</p> - -<p>“I am not the same one,” the Devilkin said. “I belong to your brother -Taras.”</p> - -<p>“Whoever you may be, you shall share<a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a> the same fate.” And Ivan raised -the axe to bring it down on its head, but the Devilkin began to plead.</p> - -<p>“Don’t kill me,” he said, “and I’ll do whatever you want me to.”</p> - -<p>“What can you do?”</p> - -<p>“I can make as much money as you like.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said; “make it, then.”</p> - -<p>And the Devilkin taught him what to do.</p> - -<p>“Take some leaves from this oak and rub them in your hands and gold will -fall to the ground.”</p> - -<p>Ivan took the leaves and rubbed them in his hand and gold rained down.</p> - -<p>“This is well,” he said; “on holidays it will amuse the children.”</p> - -<p>“Let me go,” the Devilkin begged.</p> - -<p>“I don’t mind,” Ivan said, and taking up his axe, he freed the Devilkin -of the branch. “Go, in God’s name.”</p> - -<p>At the mention of God the Devilkin plunged into the ground like a stone -thrown into water and there was nothing but the hole left.<a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a></p> - -<h3>VI</h3> - -<p>The brothers built themselves houses and began to live apart. Ivan -finished his work in the fields, brewed some beer and invited his -brothers to a feast. The brothers did not accept his invitation.</p> - -<p>“We do not go to feast with peasants,” they said.</p> - -<p>Ivan treated the peasants and the peasant-women and drank himself until -he got tipsy, and he went into the street and joined the dancers and -singers. He approached the women, and bade them sing his praises.</p> - -<p>“I will give you something you have never seen in your lives,” he said.</p> - -<p>The women laughed and began to sing his praises, and when they had -finished, they said, “Well, give us what you promised.”</p> - -<p>“I will bring it in a moment,” Ivan said, and he took his seed-basket -and ran into the wood.</p> - -<p>The women laughed. “What a fool!” they said, and forgot all about him, -when<a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a> behold! Ivan returned, his basket full of something.</p> - -<p>“Shall I share it out?”</p> - -<p>“Do.”</p> - -<p>Ivan took up a handful of gold and threw it to the women. Heavens! The -women rushed to pick it up, the peasants after them, snatching it out of -each others’ hands. One old woman was nearly killed in the fray.</p> - -<p>Ivan laughed.</p> - -<p>“You fools!” he said. “Why did you hurt Granny? If you are not so rough -I’ll give you some more.”</p> - -<p>He scattered more gold. The whole village came up. Ivan emptied his -basket. The people asked for more, but he said, “Not now; another time -I’ll give you more. Now let us dance. You play some songs.”</p> - -<p>The women began to play.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like your songs,” Ivan said.</p> - -<p>“Do you know any better ones?”</p> - -<p>“You shall see in a moment.”</p> - -<p>Ivan went into a barn, took up a sheaf, thrashed it, stood it up, and -banged it on the floor, and said—<a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">My slave bids you be a sheaf no more.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Every straw contained in you<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Must turn into a soldier true.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And the sheaf burst asunder and turned into soldiers, and the drummers -and buglers played at their head. Ivan asked the soldiers to play some -songs, and led them into the street. The people were amazed.</p> - -<p>When the soldiers had played their songs Ivan took them back into the -barn, forbidding any one to follow. He turned the soldiers into a sheaf -again and threw it on a pile of straw, then he went home and lay down to -sleep in the stables.</p> - -<h3>VII</h3> - -<p>Simon the Warrior heard of these things next morning, and went to his -brother.</p> - -<p>“Tell me,” he said, “where did you get the soldiers from, and where did -you take them to?”</p> - -<p>“What does it matter to you?”</p> - -<p>“Matter, indeed! With soldiers one can do anything. One can conquer a -kingdom.”</p> - -<p>Ivan wondered.<a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a></p> - -<p>“Really! Then why didn’t you tell me before?” he said. “I will make you -as many soldiers as you like. It is well Malania and I have threshed so -much straw.”</p> - -<p>Ivan took his brother to the barn and said, “Look here, if I make the -soldiers you must take them away at once, for if we have to feed them -they will eat up the whole village in a day.”</p> - -<p>Simon the Warrior promised to take the soldiers away, and Ivan began to -make them. He banged a sheaf on the threshing-floor and a company -appeared. He banged another sheaf and a second company appeared. He made -so many soldiers that they filled the whole field.</p> - -<p>“Are there enough now?” he asked.</p> - -<p>Simon was overjoyed and said, “That will do, Ivan, thank you.”</p> - -<p>“Very well. If you want more, come back and I’ll make them for you. -There is plenty of straw this year.”</p> - -<p>Simon the Warrior soon put his troops in order, and went away to make -war.</p> - -<p>He had no sooner gone than Taras the<a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a> Pot-bellied came along. He, too, -had heard of yesterday’s affair and he said to his brother, “Tell me -where you get gold money from. If only I could get hold of some I could -make it bring in money from the whole world.”</p> - -<p>Ivan wondered.</p> - -<p>“Really? Then why didn’t you tell me before? I’ll make you as much as -you like.”</p> - -<p>Taras was overjoyed.</p> - -<p>“I shall be satisfied with three baskets full,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Very well; come into the wood,” Ivan said; “but I had better harness -the mare, for you won’t be able to carry it away.”</p> - -<p>They rode into the wood. Ivan began to rub the oak leaves, and made a -heap of gold.</p> - -<p>“Is it enough?” he asked.</p> - -<p>Taras was overjoyed.</p> - -<p>“It will do for the present, thank you, Ivan,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said; “if you want more, come back and I’ll make it -for you. There are plenty of leaves left.”<a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a></p> - -<p>Taras the Pot-bellied gathered up a whole cartload of money, and went -off to trade.</p> - -<p>Both brothers had gone—Simon to make war and Taras to trade. And Simon -the Warrior conquered a kingdom, and Taras the Pot-bellied made much -money in trade.</p> - -<p>When the two brothers met they told each other how they had come by -their soldiers and money.</p> - -<p>Simon the Warrior said to his brother, “I have conquered a kingdom for -myself and live well, only I have not enough money to feed my soldiers.”</p> - -<p>And Taras the Pot-bellied said, “I have made a heap of money, only -unfortunately I have no one to guard it.”</p> - -<p>And Simon the Warrior said, “Let us go to our brother Ivan. I will ask -him to make more soldiers and give them to you to guard your money, and -you must ask him to make more money and give it to me to feed my -soldiers.”</p> - -<p>And they came to Ivan.</p> - -<p>And Simon said, “I haven’t enough<a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a> soldiers, brother. Will you make -another couple of sheaves for me?”</p> - -<p>Ivan shook his head.</p> - -<p>“No,” he said; “I won’t make you any more soldiers.”</p> - -<p>“But you promised you would.”</p> - -<p>“I know I promised, but I won’t make any more.”</p> - -<p>“Why not, you fool?”</p> - -<p>“Because your soldiers killed a man. I will not let you have any more.”</p> - -<p>And he was obstinate, and would not make any more soldiers.</p> - -<p>Then Taras the Pot-bellied asked Ivan the Fool to make him more golden -money.</p> - -<p>Ivan shook his head.</p> - -<p>“No,” he said; “I won’t make any more money.”</p> - -<p>“But you promised.”</p> - -<p>“I know I promised, but I won’t make any more.”</p> - -<p>“Why not, you fool?”</p> - -<p>“Because your money took a cow away from a woman in the village.”</p> - -<p>“But how can that be?”</p> - -<p>“The woman had a cow. The children<a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a> used to drink the milk, but the -other day they came to beg a little milk of me. ‘But where’s your cow?’ -I asked them, and they said, ‘Taras’ bailiff came and gave mother three -golden coins and she gave him the cow; now we have no milk to drink.’ I -thought you only wanted to play with the golden coins, but you’ve taken -away the cow from the children; I won’t give you any more.”</p> - -<p>And the Fool was obstinate and kept to his word.</p> - -<p>And the brothers went away and deliberated over their difficult -situation in order to find a way out.</p> - -<p>Simon said, “This is what we must do. You give me some of your money to -feed my soldiers, and I’ll give you half my kingdom and soldiers to -guard your money.”</p> - -<p>Taras agreed. The brothers divided their possessions, and both became -kings and both were rich.</p> - -<h3>VIII</h3> - -<p>And Ivan lived at home, supporting<a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a> his father and mother and working in -the fields with his deaf and dumb sister.</p> - -<p>One day Ivan’s yard-dog fell sick. He grew mangy, and was near dying. -Ivan pitied it. He took a piece of bread from his sister, put it in his -cap, carried it out and threw it to the dog. The creases in his cap -parted and out rolled one of the little roots with the bread. The dog -ate it up. As soon as it had swallowed the root it began to jump about -and bark and play and wag its tail. It was quite well again.</p> - -<p>The father and mother were amazed.</p> - -<p>“How did you cure the dog?” they asked.</p> - -<p>And Ivan said, “I had two little roots that could cure any pain, and the -dog swallowed one.”</p> - -<p>It happened at the time that the King’s daughter fell ill, and the King -proclaimed to every town and village that he would reward any man who -could cure her, and that if he were an unmarried man he should have her -for his wife. The news came to Ivan’s village.<a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a></p> - -<p>And the father and mother summoned Ivan and said to him, “Have you heard -of the King’s promise? You told us you had a little root that could cure -any sickness; go, cure the King’s daughter, you will then be happy for -life.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said, “I will go.”</p> - -<p>And Ivan prepared himself for the journey, and they dressed him in his -best clothes. When he came out on the doorstep he saw a beggar-woman -with a crippled hand.</p> - -<p>“I heard that you can cure the sick,” she said. “Cure my hand, for I -cannot even put on my own shoes.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said. And he took the little root out of his cap, gave -it to the beggar-woman and told her to swallow it. As soon as she -swallowed it, she recovered, and began to wave her hand.</p> - -<p>The father and mother came out to bid good-bye to Ivan, and they heard -that he had given away his last root and had nothing left with which to -cure the King’s daughter, and they began to scold him.</p> - -<p>“You pity a beggar-woman, yet have<a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a> no pity for the King’s daughter,” -they reproached him.</p> - -<p>But Ivan was sorry for the King’s daughter. He harnessed the mare, threw -some straw into the cart and got in.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going to, you fool?”</p> - -<p>“To cure the King’s daughter.”</p> - -<p>“But you have nothing to cure her with now.”</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t matter,” he said, and drove away.</p> - -<p>He came to the King’s palace, and as soon as he stepped over the -threshold the King’s daughter got well.</p> - -<p>The King was overjoyed. He ordered Ivan to be brought to him, and -dressed him in fine clothes.</p> - -<p>“You must be my son-in-law,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Ivan said.</p> - -<p>And Ivan married the princess. Her father died soon after, and Ivan -became King.</p> - -<p>All three brothers were now kings.</p> - -<h3>IX</h3> - -<p>The three brothers lived and reigned.</p> - -<p>The elder brother Simon the Warrior<a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a> lived well. With his straw soldiers -he gathered together real soldiers. Throughout the whole of his kingdom -he ordered a levy of one soldier for every ten houses, and each soldier -had to be tall and whole of body and clean of face. In this way he -gathered many soldiers and trained them. If any one opposed him he sent -his soldiers off at once and imposed his will, and people began to fear -him. His life was a very goodly one. Whatever he saw and wanted was his. -He sent his soldiers and they brought him all he wanted.</p> - -<p>Taras the Pot-bellied also lived well. He did not lose the money Ivan -had given him, but increased it a hundredfold. He introduced law and -order into his kingdom. He stowed his money away in coffers and levied -taxes on the people. There was a poll-tax, and tolls for walking and -driving, and a tax on shoes and stockings and frills. He got whatever he -wanted. For money people brought him everything, and even worked for -him, for every one wanted money.<a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a></p> - -<p>Ivan the Fool, too, did not live badly. As soon as his father-in-law was -dead he took off his royal robes and gave them to his wife to stow away -in a chest. And he put on his coarse linen shirt and breeches and -peasant shoes and began to work once more.</p> - -<p>“It’s so dull for me,” he said. “I’ve got fat, lost my appetite and -can’t sleep.”</p> - -<p>He brought his father and mother and sister to live with him, and began -to work as of old.</p> - -<p>“But you are a king,” people remonstrated.</p> - -<p>“Even a king must eat,” he said.</p> - -<p>One of his ministers came to him and said, “We have no money to pay -salaries.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t pay them, then,” he said.</p> - -<p>“But no one will serve us.”</p> - -<p>“What does it matter? They needn’t. They’ll have more time for work. -There’s the manure to cart; heaps of it lying about.”</p> - -<p>When people came to Ivan for justice and said, “That man stole my -money,”<a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a> Ivan said, “Never mind; he must have wanted it.”</p> - -<p>And all realized that Ivan was a fool. And his wife said to him, “People -say you are a fool.”</p> - -<p>“What does it matter?” Ivan said.</p> - -<p>His wife reflected awhile, but she was also a fool.</p> - -<p>“Why should I go against my husband?” she said. “Where the needle goes, -the thread follows.”</p> - -<p>So she took off her royal robes, put them away in a chest and went to -Malania to learn to work. When she knew how, she began to help her -husband.</p> - -<p>All the wise left Ivan’s kingdom, and only the fools remained.</p> - -<p>Nobody had money. They lived and worked, fed themselves and others.</p> - -<h3>X</h3> - -<p>The old Devil waited and waited for news of the Devilkins. He was -expecting to hear that they had ruined the three brothers, but no news -came. He set out himself to find them. He searched and<a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a> searched, and -found nothing but three holes.</p> - -<p>“They’ve not been able to manage it, evidently,” he thought. “I must -tackle the job myself.”</p> - -<p>He went to look for the brothers, but they were no longer in their old -places. He found them in their different kingdoms. All three lived and -reigned. The old Devil was annoyed.</p> - -<p>“Now we’ll see what I can do!” he said.</p> - -<p>First of all he went to King Simon.</p> - -<p>He did not go in his own shape, but disguised himself as a general. In -that guise he appeared before King Simon.</p> - -<p>“I have heard that you are a great warrior, King Simon,” he said. “I am -well versed in these things and want to serve you.”</p> - -<p>And King Simon began to ask him all manner of questions, and seeing that -he was a clever man, he took him into his service.</p> - -<p>The new commander instructed King Simon how to collect a large army.<a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a></p> - -<p>“First of all,” he said, “we must get more soldiers. There are many idle -people in your kingdom. We must conscript all the young men without -exception, then you will have an army five times as large as the one you -have now. Secondly, we must get new guns and cannons. I will get guns -that will fire a hundred bullets at one shot; they will rain out like -peas. And I will get cannons that will consume with fire either man or -horse or wall; they will burn everything.”</p> - -<p>King Simon listened to the new commander, and enrolled all the young men -as soldiers and built new factories where he manufactured new guns and -cannons, then he made war on a neighbouring king. As soon as he was -faced by the opposing army, King Simon ordered his soldiers to rain -bullets against it and shoot fire from their cannons, in this way wiping -out half the hostile troops. The neighbouring king was alarmed; he -surrendered and gave up his kingdom. King Simon rejoiced.</p> - -<p>“Now,” he said, “I will make war on the King of India.”<a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a></p> - -<p>And the King of India heard of King Simon’s doings. He adopted all his -methods, and invented some improvements of his own. He not only enrolled -all the young men as soldiers, but the unmarried women as well, and in -consequence had a larger army than King Simon. And he made guns and -cannons like King Simon’s, and invented machines to fly in the air and -drop explosive bombs from above.</p> - -<p>And King Simon set out to make war on the King of India, thinking he -would beat him as easily as he had beaten the other king, but the scythe -that had cut so well had lost its edge. The King of India did not give -Simon time to open fire, for he sent his women to fly in the air and -drop explosive bombs on Simon’s troops. And the women rained down bombs -from above like borax upon cockroaches and Simon’s troops scattered and -fled, and Simon was left alone.</p> - -<p>The King of India took possession of Simon’s kingdom, and Simon the -Warrior escaped as best he could.<a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a></p> - -<p>Having disposed of this brother, the old Devil went to King Taras.</p> - -<p>He changed himself into a merchant and settled in Taras’ kingdom, where -he opened establishments and began to circulate money freely. He paid -high prices for everything, and the people flocked to him for the sake -of the extra profit. And the people came to have so much money that they -were able to settle all their arrears and to pay their taxes at the -proper time. King Taras rejoiced.</p> - -<p>“Thanks to the merchant,” he thought, “I have more money than ever, and -I’ll be able to live better than I used to.”</p> - -<p>And he began making all sorts of new plans, and decided to have a new -palace built for himself. He proclaimed to the people that he wanted -timber and stone and labour, for which he was prepared to pay a high -price. King Taras thought that for his money people would flock to work -for him as of old. But lo! all the timber and stone was taken to the -merchant, and all the labourers flocked to work for him. King Taras -raised his price,<a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a> and the merchant raised his. King Taras had much -money, but the merchant had more and beat the King. The King’s palace -could not be built.</p> - -<p>King Taras had arranged to make a new garden. When the autumn came he -proclaimed that he wanted men to come and plant his garden, but no one -came, for the people were all digging for the merchant.</p> - -<p>Winter came. King Taras wanted to buy some sable skins for a new coat. -He sent a messenger to buy it, but the messenger returned empty-handed, -and said that there were no sable skins, for the merchant had bought -them all at a higher price, and made himself a sable carpet.</p> - -<p>King Taras wanted to buy some stallions. He sent a messenger, but the -messenger returned and said that the merchant had all the good -stallions; they were carting water for him to make a pond.</p> - -<p>And the King’s plans fell to pieces, for no one would work for him. All -worked for the merchant, and only brought him<a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a> the merchant’s money to -pay the taxes.</p> - -<p>And the King came to have so much money that he did not know where to -put it all, but he lived badly. The King gave up making plans; he would -have been contented to live quietly somehow, but even that was -difficult. He was hampered on all sides. His cook and coachman and -servants left him to go to the merchant’s. He even went short of food. -When he sent to the market to buy some provisions there were none left, -for the merchant had bought up everything, and the people only brought -the King money for their taxes.</p> - -<p>King Taras lost patience and banished the merchant from his kingdom. The -merchant settled on the very border, and did exactly the same as before, -and for his money the people dragged everything away from the King and -brought it to the merchant. Life became very hard for the King. For -whole days he did not eat, and to make matters worse a rumour went -abroad that the merchant had boasted that he would buy the King -himself.<a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a> King Taras lost courage, and did not know what to do.</p> - -<p>Simon the Warrior came to him and said, “Will you support me? I have -been beaten by the King of India.”</p> - -<p>King Taras himself was in a sad plight.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t eaten anything myself for two days,” he said.</p> - -<h3>XI</h3> - -<p>Having disposed of the two brothers, the old Devil went to Ivan. He -changed himself into a general and came to Ivan, and began to persuade -him to set up a large army.</p> - -<p>“A king should not live without an army,” he said. “Give me the power, -and I’ll collect soldiers from among your people and organize an army.”</p> - -<p>Ivan listened to all he had to say.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” he said, “organize one, then; only teach the soldiers to -sing nice songs, for I like singing.”</p> - -<p>And the old Devil went through Ivan’s kingdom to collect a voluntary -army. To each recruit who should offer himself<a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a> he promised a bottle of -vodka and a red cap.</p> - -<p>The fools laughed at him.</p> - -<p>“We have plenty of drink,” they said; “we brew it ourselves, and as for -caps, our women can make us any kind we like—embroidered ones and even -ones with fringes.”</p> - -<p>And no one offered himself.</p> - -<p>The old Devil went back to Ivan and said, “Your fools won’t enlist of -their own accord; we’ll have to force them.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; force them, then.”</p> - -<p>And the old Devil proclaimed throughout the kingdom that every man must -enlist as a soldier, and if he fails to do so Ivan will have him put to -death.</p> - -<p>The fools came to the Devil and said, “You tell us that if we won’t -enlist as soldiers the King will have us put to death, but you don’t say -what will happen to us when we become soldiers. People say that soldiers -are killed.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t get over that.”</p> - -<p>When the fools heard this they kept to their decision.<a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a></p> - -<p>“We won’t go,” they said. “We’d sooner die at home since we have to die -in either case.”</p> - -<p>“What fools you are!” the old Devil said. “A soldier may or may not be -killed, but if you don’t go King Ivan will have you put to death for -certain.”</p> - -<p>The fools reflected over this; then went to Ivan the Fool and said, “A -general has appeared among us who orders us all to enlist as soldiers. -‘If you go as a soldier,’ he says, ‘you may or you may not be killed, -but if you don’t go, King Ivan will have you put to death for certain.’ -Is it true?”</p> - -<p>Ivan laughed.</p> - -<p>“How can I alone have you all put to death? Had I not been a fool I -would have explained it to you, but I don’t understand it myself.”</p> - -<p>“Then we won’t go,” the fools said.</p> - -<p>“Very well, don’t.”</p> - -<p>The fools went to the general and refused to enlist as soldiers.</p> - -<p>The old Devil saw that his plan would not work, so he went to the King -of Tarakan<a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a> and wormed himself into his favour.</p> - -<p>“Come,” he said, “let us go and make war on King Ivan. He has no money, -but grain and cattle and all manner of good things he has in abundance.”</p> - -<p>The King of Tarakan prepared to make war. He gathered together a large -army, repaired his guns and cannons and marched across the border on his -way to Ivan’s kingdom.</p> - -<p>People came to Ivan and said, “The King of Tarakan is marching on us -with his army.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; let him,” Ivan said.</p> - -<p>When the King of Tarakan crossed the border he sent his vanguard to find -Ivan’s troops. They searched and searched, but no troops were to be -found anywhere. Should they wait and see if they showed themselves? But -there was no sign of any troops and no one to fight with. The King of -Tarakan sent men to seize the villages. The soldiers came to one village -and the fools—men and women alike—rushed out and stood gaping at them -in wonder. The soldiers began to take away<a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a> their corn and cattle and -the fools let them have what they wanted, making no resistance. The -soldiers went to another village and the same thing was repeated. And -they marched one day and another, and still the same thing happened. -Everything was given up without any resistance and the fools even -invited the soldiers to stay with them. “If you find it hard to live in -your parts, good fellows, come and settle with us altogether.” And the -soldiers marched from village to village and no troops were to be found -anywhere; the people lived, fed themselves and others; no one offered -any resistance and every one invited them to settle there.</p> - -<p>And the soldiers grew weary of the job and they went back to their King -of Tarakan.</p> - -<p>“We can’t fight here,” they said; “take us to another place. This is not -war; this is child’s-play. We can’t fight here.”</p> - -<p>The King of Tarakan grew angry. He ordered his soldiers to go over the -whole kingdom and lay waste the villages and burn the corn and kill the -cattle.<a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a></p> - -<p>“If you won’t do what I tell you,” he said, “I will punish you all.”</p> - -<p>The soldiers were frightened and began to carry out the King’s commands. -They burnt the houses and corn and killed the cattle. The fools made no -resistance, they only wept. The old men wept and the old women and the -little children.</p> - -<p>“Why do you treat us like this?” they said. “Why do you waste the good -things? If you want them, why not take them?”</p> - -<p>And the soldiers grew to loathe their work. They refused to go further -and the troops dispersed.</p> - -<h3>XII</h3> - -<p>And the old Devil went away, having failed to bring Ivan to reason by -means of the soldiers.</p> - -<p>The old Devil changed himself into a clean gentleman and came to live in -Ivan’s kingdom, hoping to ruin Ivan by money, as he had done Taras.</p> - -<p>“I want to do you good and teach you common sense,” he said. “I will -build<a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a> myself a house in your midst and open an establishment.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” the people said; “you can live here.”</p> - -<p>The clean gentleman spent the night and in the morning he went out to -the square with a bag of gold and a bundle of papers and said, “You all -live like swine. I want to teach you how you ought to live. Build me a -house according to this plan. You will work for me and I will teach you -and pay you in golden money.” And he showed them the gold.</p> - -<p>The fools marvelled. They had no money in circulation, but exchanged -thing for thing, or paid by labour. And they began to exchange things -with the gentleman and to work for his golden coins. And the old Devil, -as in Taras’ kingdom, began to circulate gold, and people brought him -things and worked for him.</p> - -<p>The old Devil rejoiced.</p> - -<p>“At last my plan is beginning to work!” he thought. “I will ruin him as -I ruined Taras, and will get him completely in my power.”<a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a></p> - -<p>The fools collected the golden coins and gave them to the women to make -themselves necklaces and to the girls to plait into their hair; the -children even played with the coins in the street. After a while every -one had enough and refused to take more. And the clean gentleman’s house -was not half finished, and the corn and cattle had not yet been stored -up for the year. And the gentleman invited people to come and work for -him to bring him corn and rear his cattle, offering to pay many golden -coins for everything brought and every piece of work done.</p> - -<p>But no one would come and work, and no one would bring him anything, -unless a chance boy or girl brought him an egg in exchange for a golden -coin; and no one else came and he was left without any food. And the -clean gentleman was hungry and went through the village to buy himself -something for dinner. He went into one house and offered a golden coin -for a chicken, but the mistress would not take it.</p> - -<p>“I have many such coins,” she said.</p> - -<p>He went into another place to buy a<a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a> salt herring, offering a golden -piece. “I don’t want it, my good man,” the mistress said. “I have no -children to play with them, and have three of these pieces already as -curiosities.”</p> - -<p>He went into a peasant’s for some bread. The peasant too would not take -the money.</p> - -<p>“I don’t want it,” he said. “But if you want the bread in Christ’s name, -then wait, and I’ll tell my old woman to cut you some.”</p> - -<p>The old Devil spat on the ground and fled from the peasant. To hear the -word Christ was worse than a knife to him, let alone to take anything in -His name.</p> - -<p>And so he got no bread. All had gold; wherever the old Devil went no one -would give him anything for money, and every one said, “Bring us -something else instead, or come and work, or take it in Christ’s name.” -And the Devil had nothing to offer but money and had no liking for work, -and he could not take anything in Christ’s name. He lost his temper.</p> - -<p>“What more do you want when I offer<a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a> you money?” he said. “You can buy -anything you like for gold and employ any kind of labour.”</p> - -<p>But the fools did not heed him.</p> - -<p>“We don’t need money,” they said. “We exchange everything in kind and -have no taxes to pay; what good would it be to us?”</p> - -<p>The old Devil went supperless to bed.</p> - -<p>The story reached Ivan the Fool. People came to him and said, “What -shall we do? A clean gentleman has appeared in our midst who likes to -eat and drink well, and dress in fine clothes, but he won’t work and -won’t take anything in Christ’s name; he only offers us golden coins. -People gave him what he wanted until they had enough of these coins, and -now no one gives him anything. What are we to do with him? He may die of -hunger.”</p> - -<p>Ivan listened to what they had to say.</p> - -<p>“He must be fed, certainly. Let him act as a shepherd to you all in -turn.”</p> - -<p>Since there was no way out, the old Devil had to go about shepherding. -He went from house to house until it came to Ivan’s turn.<a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a> The old Devil -came in to dinner and the deaf and dumb girl was getting it ready. She -had often been deceived by lazy folk who came in early to dinner without -having done their share of work and ate up all the porridge, so she -invented a means of finding out the sluggards by their hands. Those who -had horny hands were put at the table; the others were given the -leavings. The old Devil sat down by the table, but the deaf and dumb -girl seized him by the hands and looked at them to see if they had any -blisters, but they were clean and smooth and the finger nails were long. -The girl grunted and pulled the old Devil away from the table.</p> - -<p>Ivan’s wife said to him, “Don’t be offended, fine gentleman. My -sister-in-law never lets any one sit at the table who hasn’t horny -hands. In good time, when the others have finished, you shall get what -is left.”</p> - -<p>And the old Devil was hurt that in the King’s house they should want to -feed him with the pigs. And he said to Ivan, “What a stupid custom there -is in your kingdom<a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a> that all people must work with their hands! I -suppose you were too stupid to think of anything else. Do you think it’s -only with the hands people work? Do you know what wise men work with?”</p> - -<p>And Ivan said, “How are we fools to know; we work only with our hands -and backs.”</p> - -<p>“That is because you are fools. I will teach you how to work with the -head, then you will know that it is more profitable than to work with -the hands.”</p> - -<p>Ivan wondered.</p> - -<p>“Really! No wonder people call us fools!”</p> - -<p>And the old Devil said, “Only it’s not easy to work with the head. You -won’t give me any dinner because my hands are smooth, but you don’t know -that it’s a hundred times harder to work with the head. Sometimes one’s -head nearly splits.”</p> - -<p>Ivan grew thoughtful.</p> - -<p>“Why should you torture yourself so, my good man? Wouldn’t it be better -to do the easier work with your hands and back?”<a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a></p> - -<p>And the Devil said, “I torture myself because I pity you fools. If I -were not to torture myself you would remain fools for ever. I have -worked with the head and now I’m going to teach you.”</p> - -<p>Ivan wondered.</p> - -<p>“Teach us, then,” he said, “so that when our hands are tired we can work -with the head.”</p> - -<p>The Devil promised to teach them.</p> - -<p>And Ivan proclaimed throughout his kingdom that a clean gentleman had -appeared among them who would teach every one to work with his head and -that it was more profitable to work with the head than with the hands, -and he bade every man come and hear him.</p> - -<p>There was a high tower in Ivan’s kingdom and a steep staircase leading -up to it and there was a turret on the top. And Ivan took the gentleman -up the tower, so that he might be seen by all.</p> - -<p>And the gentleman took his place on the top of the tower and began to -speak, and the fools flocked to look at him. They thought that the -gentleman would really<a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a> show them how to work with the head instead of -the hands, but he merely told them in words how they could live without -working at all. The fools did not understand him. They stared and -stared, then went home to attend to their own affairs.</p> - -<p>The old Devil stood on top of the tower one day and another, speaking -all the time. He was hungry, but it never occurred to the fools to bring -him some bread up the tower. They thought that if he could work with the -head better than with the hands, he could easily make himself some -bread. The old Devil stood on the tower for another day, still speaking. -The people came and stared at him for a while; then went their ways.</p> - -<p>“Well, has the gentleman begun to work with his head?” Ivan asked.</p> - -<p>“Not yet; he is still jabbering.”</p> - -<p>The Devil stood on the tower for another day and began to grow faint. He -swayed and knocked his head against a pillar. One of the fools saw him -and told Ivan’s wife, who hastened to Ivan at the ploughing.</p> - -<p>“Come, come,” she said. “They say<a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a> the gentleman has begun to work with -his head.”</p> - -<p>Ivan wondered.</p> - -<p>“Really?” he said, and turning his horse round, he went to the tower. -When he got there, the old Devil, who was quite faint with hunger by -this time, was staggering and knocking his head against the pillars, and -when Ivan came up he fell with a crash down the stairs, counting each -step on the way with a knock of his head.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Ivan said, “the clean gentleman spoke truly when he said that -the head splits sometimes. Blisters on the hands are nothing to this; -after such work there will be bumps on the head.”</p> - -<p>The old Devil fell to the bottom of the stairs and thumped his head -against the ground. Ivan was about to go up and see how much work he had -done, when suddenly the earth opened and the old Devil fell through. -Only a hole was left.</p> - -<p>Ivan scratched his head.</p> - -<p>“You horrid wretch! One of those devils again! The father of the others, -no doubt. What a huge one too!”<a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a></p> - -<p>Ivan is living to this day and people flock to his kingdom. His own -brothers have come to him and he supports them. When any one comes and -says, “Feed me,” Ivan says, “Very well, you can live with us; we have -plenty of everything.” Only there is a special custom in his -kingdom—whoever has horny hands comes to table; whoever has smooth ones -eats the leavings.<a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="IM_WHERE_THERE_IS_LOVE_THERE_IS_GOD_ALSO" id="IM_WHERE_THERE_IS_LOVE_THERE_IS_GOD_ALSO"></a> -<a href="images/i_067_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_067_sml.jpg" width="308" height="500" alt="[Image not available: WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THERE IS GOD ALSO. - -To face page 57.]" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THERE IS GOD ALSO. -<br /> -<small>To face page 57.]</small></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="WHERE_THERE_IS_LOVE_THERE_IS_GOD_ALSO" id="WHERE_THERE_IS_LOVE_THERE_IS_GOD_ALSO"></a>WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THERE IS GOD ALSO</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">In</span> the town there was a shoemaker by the name of Martin, who lived in a -basement with a tiny little window looking out into the street. Martin -could see the people pass, and though he only got a glimpse of their -feet, he still knew every one, for Martin could recognize people by -their boots. Martin had lived in that basement for many a long year and -had numbers of acquaintances. There were not many pairs of boots in the -neighbourhood that had not been through his hands at least once or -twice—some for new soles, others for a patch or a stitch, or a second -time for new tops, perhaps. Martin had plenty of work, for he always did -it well; he gave good leather, did not overcharge, and kept true to his -word. If he could do a piece of work for the time it was required, he -took it;<a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a> if not, he would not deceive his customers and told them so -beforehand. And all knew Martin and he had no lack of work.</p> - -<p>Martin had always been a good man, but as he grew older he began to -think the more about his soul and to draw nearer to God. Martin’s wife -had died when he had still worked for a master, and he was left with a -boy of three years old. Their children never survived; the eldest were -all dead. At first Martin wanted to send his little son to a sister in -the country, but he felt sorry for the child, thinking, “It will be hard -for the poor boy to grow up in a strange family; I will keep him with -me.”</p> - -<p>And Martin left his master and went into lodgings with his little son. -But God had not ordained Martin to be happy in his children. The boy had -no sooner grown up and become a help and a comfort to his father than he -fell sick, tossed about with fever for a week and died. Martin buried -his son and gave himself up to despair. His despair was so great that he -even began to complain against God. Martin was so<a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a> lonely that many were -the times he prayed to God to let him die, reproaching Him for having -spared an old man like himself and taken his only beloved son. Martin -gave up going to church.</p> - -<p>One day an old countryman came to visit him, who had been on a -pilgrimage for eight years. Martin opened his heart to the old man and -complained about his sorrow.</p> - -<p>“I have no desire to live even,” he said; “I only want to die. That is -all I pray to God about. I am a desperate man now.”</p> - -<p>And the old man said to him, “It is not well what you say, Martin; we -cannot judge the ways of God; they are beyond our understanding. He has -judged it fitting to take away your son and to let you live, so it must -be for the best. You despair because you want to live only for your own -personal pleasure.”</p> - -<p>“And what else should I live for?” Martin asked.</p> - -<p>And the old man said, “You must live for God, Martin. He gave you life -and you must live for Him. When you begin<a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a> to live for Him and cease to -worry about anything, then all will become easy for you.”</p> - -<p>Martin was silent a while; then asked, “How can one live for God?”</p> - -<p>And the old man said, “We must live for God as Christ taught us. You can -read, can you not? Then buy the Gospels and read them and you will find -out how to live for God. The Gospels tell us everything.”</p> - -<p>Martin took these words to heart. That very day he bought a copy of the -New Testament, printed in large type, and began to read it.</p> - -<p>Martin had intended to read only on holidays, but when he once began he -grew so light-hearted that he read every day. Sometimes he got so -absorbed in his reading that the oil in the lamp burnt low and still he -could not tear himself away.</p> - -<p>Martin read every evening, and the more he read the more clearly he -understood what God required of him and how he was to live for God. And -his heart grew lighter than ever. At one time when he went to bed he -would sigh and moan and think of<a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a> his boy; now he only said to himself, -“Glory to Thee, glory to Thee, God! Thy will be done!”</p> - -<p>And a change came into Martin’s life. On holidays he used to hang about -the public-houses to drink a cup of tea and did not refuse vodka even -when it came his way. He would drink, as it happened, with some -acquaintance, and though not exactly drunk, would come out of the -public-house in an excited mood and speak vain words, giving back rough -word for rough word.</p> - -<p>But now this had all left him. His life became a peaceful and happy one.</p> - -<p>In the morning he would sit down to his work and keep on for the -necessary time, then he would take the lamp off the wall, put it on the -table, fetch the Bible from a shelf, open it, and sit down to read. And -the more he read, the more he understood, and the serener and lighter -grew his heart.</p> - -<p>One day Martin sat reading until late into the night. He was reading -Luke’s Gospel and had come to the sixth chapter and the verses, “And -unto him that smiteth<a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a> thee on the one cheek, offer also the other; and -him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to -every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask -them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to -them likewise.”</p> - -<p>And he also read the verses where our Lord says, “And why call ye me, -Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me -and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is -like. He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid -the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose, the stream beat -vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it; for it was founded -upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that -without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the -stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of -that house was great.”</p> - -<p>When Martin read these words a feeling of joy entered his heart. He took -off his spectacles, laid them on the Bible, then<a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a> resting his elbows on -the table, he began to ponder over what he had read. He compared his own -life to the light of these words. “Is my house built on a rock or on -sand?” he thought. “If on a rock it is well. It seems so easy when one -sits alone here, and one thinks one has done all that God commands, but -no sooner does one cease to be on one’s guard than one falls into sin. I -must persevere; it brings such happiness! Help me, oh God!”</p> - -<p>With this thought in his mind, he was about to go to bed, but was loath -to leave his Bible, and went on reading the seventh chapter. He read -about the centurion, the widow’s son, and the answer to John’s -disciples, and he came to the passage where a rich Pharisee invited the -Lord to his house; and about the woman who was a sinner and anointed His -feet and washed them with her tears, and how the Lord comforted her. And -he came to the forty-fourth verse and began to read the words, “And he -turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I -entered into thine house, thou gavest me<a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a> no water for my feet; but she -hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her -head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in, -hath not ceased to kiss my feet; my head with oil thou didst not anoint, -but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.”</p> - -<p>Martin read these verses and thought, “He gave no water for His feet, -and no kiss, and he did not anoint His head with oil.” Once more Martin -took off his spectacles and laid them on the Bible.</p> - -<p>“He must have been like me, that Pharisee. Like me he thought only of -himself—how to get a cup of tea, how to live in warmth and comfort. He -cared only for himself, with never a thought about his guest. And the -Lord Himself was his guest! I wonder if I would act like that if He came -to visit me?”</p> - -<p>And Martin rested his elbows on the table and his head on his hands and -fell into a doze.</p> - -<p>“Martin!” Some one suddenly breathed into his ear.<a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a></p> - -<p>Martin started. “Who is that?” he asked, half asleep.</p> - -<p>He turned and looked at the door, but no one was there. He called again -and this time he heard a voice say clearly, “Martin! Martin! Look out -for me in the street to-morrow; I am coming to see you.”</p> - -<p>Martin roused himself, got up from the chair and began to rub his eyes. -He did not know whether he had heard the words in a dream or when awake. -He turned out the lamp and went to bed.</p> - -<p>At daybreak next morning Martin arose, lit the stove, prepared some soup -and porridge, got the samovar ready, put on his apron and sat down at -the window to his work. As he worked he thought of what had happened -yesterday. Now it seemed to him that he had heard the voice in his -dreams, now that he had really heard it when awake.</p> - -<p>“Things like that have happened before,” he thought.</p> - -<p>Martin sat at the window and did not work so much as peer out into the -street,<a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a> and when an unfamiliar pair of boots came along, he would stoop -down and look up to catch a glimpse of the person to whom they belonged. -A yard-porter passed in new felt boots and a water-carrier; then an old -soldier of Nicholas’ reign came alongside the window, spade in hand. -Martin recognized him by his felt boots. The old man was called Stepan -and a merchant who lived near by kept him out of charity. His duties -were to help the yard-porter. He stopped opposite Martin’s window to -clear away the snow. Martin looked at him and again went on with his -work.</p> - -<p>“What a fool I am getting in my old age,” Martin thought, amused at his -own fancies. “Stepan is shovelling away the snow and I thought it was -Christ come to visit me. Old dotard that I am!”</p> - -<p>Yet after a dozen stitches or so Martin was again drawn to the window. -He looked out and saw that Stepan had leaned his spade against the wall -and was resting and trying to warm himself. The man was old and broken -and had no strength even<a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a> to clear away the snow. “Why not give him a -cup of tea while the samovar is still on the boil?” Martin thought. And -he put down his awl, rose, brought the samovar to the table, poured out -a cup of tea and tapped on the window. Stepan turned and came up. Martin -beckoned to him and went to open the door.</p> - -<p>“Come in and get warm,” he said; “you must be quite frozen.”</p> - -<p>“Christ save us! but my bones do ache,” Stepan said. Stepan came in, -shook the snow off himself and began to wipe his boots so as not to -dirty the floor, reeling as he did so.</p> - -<p>“Don’t bother to wipe your feet,” Martin said; “I will wipe the floor -afterwards; I am used to that. Come in and sit down. Here is a cup of -tea.”</p> - -<p>And Martin poured out two cups, gave one to his guest, poured some of -his own into a saucer and began to blow on it in order to cool it.</p> - -<p>Stepan finished his cup, turned it upside down in the saucer, put the -remaining bit of sugar on top and began to thank Martin,<a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a> who could see -that the old man wanted some more.</p> - -<p>“Have another cup,” Martin said and poured out more tea for his guest -and for himself, and as he drank, he kept peering out of the window.</p> - -<p>“Are you expecting some one?” Stepan asked.</p> - -<p>“I? I hardly like to tell you whom I expect. But I wait and wait. A -certain word took possession of my heart. Was it a dream or not, I -cannot tell. It was like this, brother; I was reading the Gospels last -night about Christ our Father and how He suffered on earth. You have -heard tell of it, I daresay.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Stepan said, “but we are ignorant folk and cannot read.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I was reading how the Lord walked on earth, how He went to visit -a Pharisee who did not receive Him well. And I wondered, as I read, how -any man could receive the Lord without due honour. ‘Supposing such a -thing were to happen to me,’ I thought, ‘what would I not do to receive -Him? And the Pharisee did nothing!’<a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a> Thinking thus I fell asleep, and as -I slept I heard a voice call to me. I rose; the voice seemed to whisper -‘Expect me; I am coming to-morrow.’ I heard it twice. Well, would you -believe it? the idea took hold of my mind, and though I upbraid myself, -I keep on expecting the Lord to come to me.”</p> - -<p>Stepan shook his head, but made no remark. He finished his cup of tea -and laid it down on its side in the saucer, but Martin took it up and -filled it again.</p> - -<p>“Have some more, bless you! I was thinking, too, that our Lord despised -no one when He walked on earth; He was mostly with common folk. He went -about with plain people and chose His disciples from men of our -kind—simple workmen and sinners like ourselves. ‘He who raises -himself,’ He said, ‘shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall -be raised. You call Me Lord,’ he said, ‘and I will wash your feet. He -who would be first,’ He said, ‘let him be the servant of all, because,’ -He said, ‘blessed are the poor, the humble, the meek, the merciful.’<a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a> ”</p> - -<p>Stepan forgot his tea. He was an old man and easily moved to tears; and -as he listened the tears rolled down his cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Have some more,” Martin said, but Stepan crossed himself, thanked -Martin, pushed away his cup and rose.</p> - -<p>“Thank you Martin,” he said; “you have nourished my body and my soul.”</p> - -<p>“You are welcome another time. I shall always be pleased to see you; -come again.”</p> - -<p>Stepan went out; Martin poured himself out a last cup of tea, drank it, -cleared away the dishes and sat down again by the window to work, -stitching the back seam of a boot. As he stitched he peered out of the -window to see if Christ was coming, and he kept on thinking of Him and -His doings and recalling His words.</p> - -<p>Two soldiers passed; one in Government boots, the other in boots of his -own; then the owner of the next house went by in clean goloshes, and a -baker with a basket. All these passed on; then a woman came up in -woollen stockings and coarse country shoes. She went by the window and<a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a> -stopped by the wall. Martin looked up and saw that she was a stranger, -poorly clad, with a baby in her arms. She was standing with her back to -the wind, trying to wrap up the baby, but there was nothing to wrap it -in. Her garments were summer ones and ragged, too. Through the window -Martin heard the baby crying; the woman tried to comfort it but could -not.</p> - -<p>Martin rose and going out at the door and up the steps, he called to -her.</p> - -<p>“Come this way, my dear!”</p> - -<p>The woman turned to him.</p> - -<p>“Don’t stand in the cold there with the baby; come inside in the warm; -you can make him more comfortable here. Come along!”</p> - -<p>The woman was surprised to see an old man in an apron and spectacles on -his nose inviting her to his room, but she followed him. They descended -the stairs and entered the room. Martin led her to the bed.</p> - -<p>“Come and sit here, my dear,” he said. “It is nearer to the stove; you -can warm yourself and feed the baby.”<a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a></p> - -<p>“I haven’t any milk; I have eaten nothing myself since morning,” the -woman said, yet putting the child to the breast.</p> - -<p>Martin shook his head. He got some bread and a cup, opened the oven door -and filled the cup with soup. He then took the porridge-pot out of the -oven, but the porridge was not quite done. He spread a cloth and put the -soup and bread on the table.</p> - -<p>“Sit down and have something to eat, my dear. I’ll look after the baby. -I have had children of my own and know how to nurse them.”</p> - -<p>The woman crossed herself, sat down by the table and began to eat, and -Martin sat on the bed with the baby. He clucked and clucked, but having -no teeth he could not do it well, and the baby would not stop its -crying. And Martin tried to amuse him with his finger. He poked the -finger straight at the baby’s mouth, then drew it back again. He would -not let the child take the finger in its mouth because it was black with -cobbler’s wax. The child looked at the finger, stopped crying<a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a> and began -to laugh. Martin was pleased.</p> - -<p>As the woman ate she told him about herself, saying who she was and -where she was going.</p> - -<p>“I am a soldier’s wife,” she said. “It is now eight months that my -husband has been taken away and I haven’t heard a word from him. I had a -place as a cook when the child was born, but they would not keep me -after that. I’ve been without a place for three months now and eaten -everything I possessed. I wanted to go as a wet-nurse, but no one would -have me because they said I was too thin. I went to a merchant’s wife -with whom our grandmother is in service and she promised to take me. I -thought she meant at once, but she told me to come next week, and she -lives a long way. I’m quite worn out, and the baby is half-starved. If -our landlady did not take pity on us, I don’t know how we should live.”</p> - -<p>Martin sighed and said, “Have you no warm clothes?”</p> - -<p>“How can I have warm clothes! I pawned my last shawl yesterday for -sixpence!”<a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a></p> - -<p>The woman went up to the bed and took the child. Martin rummaged about -among the things hanging on the wall and brought out an old coat.</p> - -<p>“Though it isn’t much of a thing, it will do to wrap up in,” he said.</p> - -<p>The woman looked at the coat; then at the old man. She took the coat and -burst into tears. Martin turned away, crawled under the bed and pulled -out a box. He rummaged about in it and once more sat down facing the -woman.</p> - -<p>And the woman said, “Christ save you, Grandfather. It must have been He -who sent me to your window, otherwise the child and I would have been -starved to death. It was mild when I started, but it’s very cold now. -The dear Lord made you look out of the window and caused you to pity -me.”</p> - -<p>Martin smiled and said, “He did make me, indeed! I was not gazing idly -out of the window, my dear.”</p> - -<p>And Martin told the woman his dream and how he had heard a voice and how -the voice had promised him that the Lord<a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a> should come and visit him this -day.</p> - -<p>“All things are possible,” the woman said, and she rose, put on the -coat, wrapped the child in it and began to take her leave, thanking -Martin.</p> - -<p>“Take this in Christ’s name,” Martin said, thrusting a sixpence into her -hand. “It will do to take out your shawl.”</p> - -<p>The woman crossed herself, Martin did likewise, then accompanied her to -the door.</p> - -<p>When she had gone Martin ate some soup, cleared the table, and again sat -down to work. But he did not forget the window. As soon as a shadow fell -across it, he looked up to see who it was. Acquaintances passed and -strangers, and nothing particular happened. Suddenly Martin saw an old -apple-woman stop by his window. She was carrying a basket of apples. She -must have sold nearly all, for only a few remained. Over her shoulders -was a bag of chips and shavings, she had collected no doubt in -half-finished houses, and was taking home. The bag made her shoulder -ache it seemed and she wanted to change it over to the other shoulder.<a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a> -She let it down on the pavement, placed her basket of apples on a post -and shook the bag. As she was doing so a boy in a ragged cap appeared -from somewhere, snatched an apple out of the basket and was about to -slip away when the old woman saw him and caught him by the sleeve. The -boy struggled to get away, but the old woman held him fast with both -hands. She had knocked off his cap and clutched him by the hair. The boy -screamed, the woman cursed. Martin did not wait to put the awl in its -place, but dropped it on the floor and rushed out at the door and -stumbled up the stairs, dropping his spectacles on the way. He ran out -into the street. The old woman was pulling the boy by the hair, cursing -and threatening to take him to the policeman; the boy struggled and -resisted her. “Why do you strike me?” he was saying. “I didn’t take -anything!”</p> - -<p>Martin tried to part them; he took the boy by the hand and said, “Let -him go, Granny. Forgive him for Christ’s sake.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll forgive him so that he won’t forget<a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a> it for a long time! I’ll take -the rascal to the police-station!”</p> - -<p>Martin began to plead with her.</p> - -<p>“Let him go, Granny; he won’t do it again. Let him go for Christ’s -sake!”</p> - -<p>The old woman released the boy, who was about to run away when Martin -stopped him.</p> - -<p>“Ask Granny to forgive you and don’t do it again in future; I saw you -take the apple.”</p> - -<p>The boy burst into tears and begged the old woman to forgive him.</p> - -<p>“There now, here’s an apple for you,” and Martin took an apple from the -basket and gave it to the boy. “I’ll pay for it, Granny,” he said.</p> - -<p>“You shouldn’t spoil the rascal,” the old woman said. “You ought to give -him something he wouldn’t forget in a week.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Granny, Granny!” Martin said; “that is how we judge, but God does -not judge like that. If the boy is to be whipped for an apple what do -you suppose we deserve for our sins?”</p> - -<p>The old woman was silent.<a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a></p> - -<p>And Martin told her the parable of the Lord who forgave his servant a -large debt and how the servant then seized his own debtor by the throat. -The old woman listened; the boy, too, stood and listened.</p> - -<p>“God bade us forgive,” Martin said, “that we may be forgiven. Forgive -every one, even a thoughtless boy.”</p> - -<p>The old woman shook her head with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“It’s true enough,” she said, “but boys get very spoilt nowadays.”</p> - -<p>“Then we old folk must teach them better,” Martin said.</p> - -<p>“That’s just what I said,” the old woman replied. “I had seven of my -own, but now I’ve only a daughter left.” And the old woman began to tell -him where and how she lived with her daughter and how many grandchildren -she had. “You see,” she said, “I’m old now, yet still I work, for the -sake of the grandchildren. And nice children they are, too. No one is so -kind to me as they. The youngest won’t leave me for any one. It’s -nothing but Granny dear, Granny darling all the time.”<a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a></p> - -<p>The old woman had quite softened by now.</p> - -<p>“Children will be children,” she said to Martin in reference to the boy. -“The Lord bless them.”</p> - -<p>She was about to raise her bag on to her shoulder when the boy rushed up -and said, “Let me carry it, Granny; I’m going your way.”</p> - -<p>The old woman shook her head and put the bag on the boy’s shoulder. And -they walked down the street side by side. The old woman had forgotten to -ask Martin to pay for the apple. Martin stood and watched them, -listening to their voices as they talked together.</p> - -<p>When they were out of sight he turned in, found his spectacles on the -stairs quite whole, took up his awl and sat down to his work once more. -After a while he could not see to pass the thread through the holes and -he noticed the lamplighter lighting the street lamps. “I must light up,” -he thought. And he trimmed the lamp, hung it up and went on with his -work. He finished the boot he was doing and turned it over to<a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a> examine -it. He then put away his tools, cleared up the bits of leather and -thread and awls, took down the lamp, put it on the table and took the -Bible down from the shelf. He wanted to open it at the place he had -marked with a piece of morocco, but it opened at another place. And as -he opened the Gospels Martin recalled his dream of last night. And no -sooner had he thought of it than he seemed to hear some one move behind -him, as though some one were coming towards him. He turned, and it -seemed to him that people were standing in the dark corner, but he could -not make out who they were. And a voice whispered into his ear, “Martin, -Martin, don’t you know me?”</p> - -<p>“Who is it?” Martin asked.</p> - -<p>“It is I,” the voice said.</p> - -<p>And Stepan stepped out of the dark corner, smiling, and vanished like a -cloud, and he was no more.</p> - -<p>“It is I,” the voice said again, and from out the dark corner stepped -the woman with the baby, and she smiled and the child smiled, and they -too vanished.<a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a></p> - -<p>“It is I,” said the voice once more, and out stepped the old woman and -boy with an apple in his hand, and both smiled and also vanished.</p> - -<p>And a feeling of gladness entered Martin’s soul. He crossed himself, put -on his spectacles and began to read the Gospel just where it had opened. -At the top of the page were the words, “For I was an hungered, and ye -gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and -ye took me in....”</p> - -<p>And at the bottom of the page he read, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto -one of the least of these brethren, ye have done it unto me.”</p> - -<p>And Martin understood that his dream had come true and that his Saviour -had really come to him that day, and that he had welcomed Him.<a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="A_PRISONER" id="A_PRISONER"></a>A PRISONER</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">An</span> officer by the name of Jilin served in the army in the Caucasus.</p> - -<p>One day he received a letter from home. It was from his mother, who -wrote, “I am getting old now, and I want to see my beloved son before I -die. Come and say good-bye to me, and when you have buried me, with -God’s grace, you can return to the Army. I have found a nice girl for -you to marry; she is clever and pretty, and has some property of her -own. If you like her perhaps you will marry and settle down for good.”</p> - -<p>Jilin pondered over the letter. It was true; his mother was really -failing fast, and it might be his only chance of seeing her alive. He -would go home, and if the girl was nice, he might even marry.</p> - -<p>He went to his colonel and asked for leave, and bidding good-bye to his<a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="IM_A_PRISONER" id="IM_A_PRISONER"></a> -<a href="images/i_095_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_095_sml.jpg" width="284" height="500" alt="[Image not available: A PRISONER. - -To face page 82.]" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A PRISONER. -<br /> -<small>To face page 82.]</small></span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">fellow-officers, gave his men four bucketfuls of vodka as a farewell -treat, and got ready to go.</p> - -<p>There was a war in the Caucasus at the time. The roads were not safe by -day or by night. If a Russian ventured away from his fort, the Tartars -either killed him or took him off to the hills. So it had been arranged -that a body of soldiers should march from fortress to fortress to convoy -any person who wanted to travel. The soldiers marched in front and -behind; the travellers in between them.</p> - -<p>It was summer. At daybreak the baggage-train was loaded behind the fort; -the convoy came out and started along the road. Jilin was on horseback; -his things were on a cart with the baggage-train.</p> - -<p>They had about twenty miles to go. The baggage-train moved along slowly; -now the soldiers would stop, now a wheel came off a cart, now a horse -would refuse to go on, and then everybody had to wait.</p> - -<p>It was already past noon and they had not covered half the distance. It -was<a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a> hot, dusty, the sun scorching and no shade at all—bare steppe, -with not a tree or a bush the whole way.</p> - -<p>Jilin rode on ahead and stopped to wait until the baggage-train should -catch him up. He heard the signal-horn sounded; the company had stopped -again. Jilin thought, “Why shouldn’t I go on alone without the soldiers? -I have a good horse, and if I come across any Tartars I can easily -gallop away. I wonder if it would be safe?”</p> - -<p>As he stood there thinking it over, another officer, by the name of -Kostilin, rode up with a rifle and said, “Let us go on alone, Jilin. I’m -dreadfully hungry, and the heat’s unbearable. My shirt is wringing wet.”</p> - -<p>Kostilin was a big man and stout; his face was burning red, and the -perspiration poured from his brow.</p> - -<p>Jilin deliberated for a moment and said, “Is your rifle loaded?”</p> - -<p>“It is.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; come along. Only the condition is to be that we don’t -part.”<a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a></p> - -<p>And they set off down the road alone. They were riding along the steppe -talking together and keeping a sharp look-out from side to side. They -could see a long way round them. When they left the steppe they came to -a road running down a valley between two hills. And Jilin said, “Let’s -go up on that hill and look about; some Tartars might easily spring out -from the hills and we shouldn’t see them.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the use?” Kostilin said. “We’d better go on.”</p> - -<p>Jilin paid no heed to him.</p> - -<p>“You wait down here,” he said, “and I’ll just go up and have a look.” -And he turned his horse to the left up the hill. Jilin’s horse was a -hunter and carried him up the hill as though it had wings. He had bought -it for a hundred roubles as a colt, and broken it in himself. When he -reached the top of the hill he saw some thirty Tartars a few paces ahead -of him. He turned hastily, but the Tartars had seen him and gave chase -down the hill, getting their rifles out as they went. Jilin<a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a> bounded -down as fast as the horse’s legs would carry him, crying out to -Kostilin, “Get your rifle ready!” And in thought he said to his horse, -“Get me out of this, my beauty; don’t stumble, or I’m lost. Once I reach -the rifle, they shan’t take me alive!”</p> - -<p>But Kostilin, instead of waiting when he saw the Tartars, set off full -gallop in the direction of the fortress, lashing his horse now on one -side, now on the other, and the horse’s switching tail was all that -could be seen of him in the clouds of dust.</p> - -<p>Jilin saw that it was all up with him. The rifle was gone; with a sword -alone he could do nothing. He turned his horse in the direction of the -convoy, hoping to escape, but six Tartars rushed ahead to cut him off. -His horse was a good one, but theirs were better, and they were trying -to cross his path. He wanted to turn in another direction, but his horse -could not pull up and dashed on straight towards the Tartars. A -red-bearded Tartar on a grey horse caught Jilin’s eyes. He<a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a> was yelling -and showing his teeth and pointing his rifle at him.</p> - -<p>“I know what devils you are!” Jilin thought. “If you take me alive, -you’ll put me in a pit and have me flogged. I’ll not be taken alive!”</p> - -<p>Though Jilin was a little man, he was brave. He drew his sword and -dashed at the red-bearded Tartar, thinking, “I’ll either ride him down -or kill him with my sword.”</p> - -<p>But he had no time to reach the Tartar; he was fired at from behind and -his horse was hit. It fell to the ground full weight, pinning Jilin’s -leg. He attempted to rise, but two evil-smelling Tartars were already -sitting on him, twisting his arms behind him. He struggled, flung the -Tartars off, but three others leapt from their horses and fell on him, -beating him on the head with the butt ends of their rifles. A mist rose -before his eyes and he staggered. The Tartars seized him, and taking -spare girths from their saddles twisted his hands behind him and tied -them with a Tartar knot and dragged<a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a> him to the saddle. They knocked off -his cap, pulled off his boots, searched him all over, took his money and -watch and tore his clothes. Jilin looked round at his horse. The poor -creature lay on its side just as it had fallen, struggling with its legs -in the air and unable to get them to the ground. There was a hole in its -head from which the dark blood was oozing, laying the dust for a yard -around.</p> - -<p>One of the Tartars approached it and took off the saddle. As it was -still struggling, he drew a dagger and cut its windpipe. A whistling -sound came from its throat; the horse gave a shudder and died.</p> - -<p>The Tartars took off the saddle and strappings. The red-bearded Tartar -mounted his horse, the others lifted Jilin into the saddle behind him, -and, to prevent his falling off, they strapped him to the Tartar’s -girdle, and took him off to the hills.</p> - -<p>Jilin sat behind the Tartar, rocking from side to side, his face -touching the evil-smelling Tartar’s back. All he could<a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a> see was the -man’s broad back and sinewy neck, the closely-shaven bluish nape peeping -out from beneath his cap. Jilin had a wound in his head, from which the -blood poured and congealed over his eyes, but he could not shift his -position on the saddle, nor wipe off the blood. His arms were twisted so -far behind his back that his collar-bones ached. They rode over the -hills for some time, then they came to a river which they forded and got -out on to a road running down a valley. Jilin wanted to see where they -were going, but his eyes were matted with blood and he could not move.</p> - -<p>It began to get dark; they forded another river and rode up a rocky -hill; there was a smell of smoke and a barking of dogs. They had reached -a Tartar village. The Tartars got off their horses; the Tartar children -gathered round Jilin, yelling and throwing stones at him. A Tartar drove -them away, took Jilin off the horse and called his servant. A man with -high cheek-bones came up, clad in nothing but a shirt, and that so torn -that<a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a> his breast was bare. The Tartar gave him some order. The man -brought some shackles, two blocks of oak with iron rings attached, and a -clasp and lock was fixed to one of the rings.</p> - -<p>They untied Jilin’s arms, put on the shackles, took him to a shed, -pushed him in and locked the door. Jilin fell on to a dung heap. He -groped about in the darkness to find a softer place and lay down.</p> - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Jilin did not sleep the whole of that night. The nights were short. -Through a chink he saw that it was getting light. He got up, made the -chink a little bigger and peeped out.</p> - -<p>He saw a road at the foot of a hill, to the right of which was a Tartar -hut with two trees near it. A black dog lay on the threshold and a goat -and kids were moving about and swishing their tails. Then he saw a young -Tartar woman coming from the direction of the hill. She wore a coloured -blouse and trousers with a<a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a> girdle round her waist, high boots on her -feet and a kerchief on her head, on which she was carrying a tin pitcher -of water. Her back moved gracefully as she walked; she was leading a -closely-shaven Tartar boy, who wore nothing but a shirt. The Tartar -woman went into the hut with the water; the red-bearded Tartar of -yesterday came out in a silken tunic, a silver-hilted knife stuck in his -girdle and slippers on bare feet. A high, black sheepskin cap was pushed -far back on his head. He stretched himself as he came out and stroked -his red beard. He gave some order to his servant and went away.</p> - -<p>Then two boys rode past. They had been to water their horses and the -horses’ noses were still wet. Some more closely-shaven boys came out, -dressed only in shirts with no trousers. A whole group of them came up -to the shed, and taking up a piece of stick, they thrust it through the -chink. Jilin grunted at them and the boys ran off, yelling, their little -white knees gleaming as they went.<a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a></p> - -<p>Jilin was thirsty; his throat was parched. “If only some one would -come,” he thought. Soon the door of the shed opened and the red-bearded -Tartar entered with another, shorter than he, and dark. He had bright -black eyes, a ruddy complexion and a short beard. He had a jolly face, -and was always laughing. This man was dressed better than the first, in -a blue silken tunic, trimmed with braid. The knife in his broad girdle -was of silver, the shoes on his feet were of red morocco, embroidered in -silver thread, and over these he wore a thicker pair of shoes. His cap -was high and of white sheepskin.</p> - -<p>The red-bearded Tartar entered, muttering some angry words. He leant -against the doorpost, playing with his dagger and looking askance at -Jilin, like a wolf. The dark man, quick and lively and moving as if on -springs, came up to Jilin and squatted down in front of him, showing his -teeth. He clapped Jilin on the shoulder and began to jabber something in -his own language, blinking his eyes and<a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a> clacking his tongue. “Good -Russ! Good Russ!” he said.</p> - -<p>Jilin understood nothing. “I am thirsty; give me some water,” he said.</p> - -<p>The dark man laughed. “Good Russ!” he kept on saying.</p> - -<p>Jilin made signs with his lips and hands that he wanted some water. The -dark man laughed, and putting his head out at the door, he called to -some one “Dina!”</p> - -<p>A little girl came up. She was about thirteen, slight and thin, her face -resembling the dark man’s. She was obviously his daughter. She, too, had -bright, black eyes and a rosy complexion. She was clad in a long blue -blouse with broad sleeves, and loose at the waist—the hem and front and -sleeves were embroidered in red. She wore trousers and slippers and -shoes with high heels over them; she had a necklace round her throat -made out of Russian coins. Her head was bare. Her black plait was tied -with a ribbon, the ends of which were trimmed with silver roubles.</p> - -<p>Her father said something to her. She<a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a> ran away and came back again with -a tin jug of water. She gave it to Jilin and also squatted down in front -of him, huddled up, so that her shoulders came lower than her knees. She -sat staring at Jilin as he drank, as at some strange animal.</p> - -<p>Jilin handed her back the jug. She took it and bounded out like a wild -goat. Even her father could not help laughing. He sent her off somewhere -else. She ran away with the jug and brought back some unleavened bread -on a round wooden platter, and huddling down in front of him once more, -she again stared at him open-eyed.</p> - -<p>The Tartars went out and locked the door.</p> - -<p>After a while the red-bearded man’s servant came up and called to Jilin. -He too, did not know Russian, only Jilin understood that he wanted him -to go somewhere.</p> - -<p>Jilin followed him limping, for the shackles impeded his walking. He -followed the servant. They came to a Tartar<a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a> village, consisting of -about ten houses, a Tartar church with a dome on top in the midst of -them. In front of one house stood three saddled horses; some boys were -holding them by their bridles. The dark little Tartar rushed out of this -house and beckoned to Jilin to come to him. He laughed, jabbered -something in his own tongue and went in again. Jilin came to the house. -The room was large, the mud walls smoothly plastered. Near the front -wall lay a pile of brightly coloured feather beds, on the side walls -hung rich rugs with rifles and pistols and swords fastened to them, all -inlaid in silver. At one wall was a small stove on a level with the -earthen floor, which was beautifully clean. In the near corner a felt -carpet was spread on which were rich rugs and down cushions. On these -rugs, in slippers only, sat some Tartars—the dark one, the red-bearded -one and three guests. All had down cushions at their backs. In front of -them, on a wooden platter, were some millet pancakes, some melted butter -in a cup and a jug of Tartar beer.<a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a> They took the pancakes up with their -fingers, and their hands were all greasy with the butter.</p> - -<p>The dark Tartar jumped up and bade Jilin sit down, not on the rugs, but -on the bare floor. Then he sat down on his rug again, and treated his -guests to more pancakes and beer. The servant made Jilin sit down in the -place assigned to him, took off his overshoes, which he placed by the -door where the other shoes were standing, and sat down on the felt -carpet, nearer to his master. He watched the others eating, his mouth -watering. When the Tartars had finished, a woman came in dressed like -the girl in trousers and a kerchief on her head. She cleared away the -remains, and brought a basin and a narrow-necked jug of water. The -Tartars washed their hands, laid them together, fell on their knees and -said their prayers in their own tongue. When they had finished one of -the guests turned to Jilin and addressed him in Russian.</p> - -<p>“You were captured by Kasi-Mohammed,” he said, indicating the -red-bearded<a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a> Tartar, “but he has given you to Abdul-Murat.” And he -indicated the dark Tartar. “Abdul-Murat is now your master.”</p> - -<p>Jilin was silent.</p> - -<p>Abdul-Murat now began to speak, pointing at Jilin and laughing. “A -soldier Russ, a good Russ,” he said.</p> - -<p>And the interpreter said, “He wants you to write home asking your people -to send a ransom for you. When the money comes, he will let you go.”</p> - -<p>Jilin reflected and said, “How much does he want?”</p> - -<p>The Tartars deliberated among themselves; the interpreter said, “Three -thousand roubles.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t pay as much as that,” Jilin said.</p> - -<p>Abdul leapt up and began to gesticulate violently. He was saying -something to Jilin, thinking that he would understand.</p> - -<p>“How much will you give?” the interpreter asked.</p> - -<p>After reflection Jilin said, “Five hundred roubles.”</p> - -<p>At this the Tartars all began talking together. Abdul shouted at the -red-bearded<a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a> Tartar, jabbering away till he foamed at the mouth. The -red-bearded Tartar merely frowned and clacked his tongue.</p> - -<p>They grew silent and the interpreter said, “The master thinks a ransom -of five hundred roubles is not enough. He himself paid two hundred -roubles for you. Kasi-Mohammed was in his debt, and he took you in -payment. He wants three thousand roubles and refuses to let you go for -less. If you won’t pay the money you’ll be flung into a pit and -flogged.”</p> - -<p>“The more you show you’re afraid of them, the worse it is,” Jilin -thought. He leapt to his feet and said, “Tell the dog that if he begins -to threaten me, he shan’t have a farthing! I won’t write home at all! I -was never afraid of you, and I’m not going to be now, you dogs!”</p> - -<p>The interpreter conveyed his words, and again the Tartars began to speak -all at once.</p> - -<p>They jabbered for a long time, then the dark one sprang up and came to -Jilin.</p> - -<p>“Russ,” he said, “<i>djigit, djigit</i> Russ!”<a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a> (Djigit in their tongue means -brave.) He laughed and said a few words to the interpreter, who turned -to Jilin.</p> - -<p>“Will you give a thousand roubles?”</p> - -<p>Jilin stuck to his own.</p> - -<p>“I won’t give more than five hundred, not if you kill me.”</p> - -<p>The Tartars conferred together, and sent the servant off somewhere, and -when he was gone they stared now at Jilin, now at the door.</p> - -<p>The servant returned, followed by a stout, bare-footed man, in torn -clothes. On his feet were also shackles. Jilin gave an exclamation of -surprise. It was Kostilin. He, too, had been captured then. The Tartars -sat them down side by side, and they began to tell each other of their -experiences, the Tartars looking on in silence. Jilin told Kostilin what -had happened to him, and Kostilin told Jilin that his horse had got -tired, his rifle missed fire, and that this same Abdul had caught him up -and captured him.</p> - -<p>Abdul jumped up and began to speak, pointing at Kostilin. The -interpreter<a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a> explained that they both belonged to the same master, and -that the one who would produce the money first would be the first to be -set free.</p> - -<p>“See how quiet your comrade is,” he said to Jilin. “You get angry and he -has written home asking to have five thousand roubles sent him. He will -be well fed, and no one will do him any harm.”</p> - -<p>And Jilin said, “My comrade can do what he likes. He may be rich, and I -am not. I won’t go back on my word. You can kill me if you like, but you -get no advantage by that; I won’t write for more than five hundred -roubles.”</p> - -<p>The Tartars were silent. Suddenly Abdul sprang up, took out a pen, ink -and a scrap of paper from a little box, put them in Jilin’s hands and -slapping him on the shoulder, said, “Write.” He had agreed to the five -hundred roubles.</p> - -<p>“One moment,” Jilin said to the interpreter; “tell him that he must feed -and clothe us well, and that he must put us together so that we don’t -feel so lonely, and he must remove our shackles.”<a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a></p> - -<p>He looked at Abdul as he spoke and smiled. Abdul too smiled and said, -“You shall have the best of clothes—coats and boots fit to be married -in, and you shall be fed like princes, and you can be together in the -shed if you like, but I can’t take off the shackles because you might -escape. You shall have them removed at night.” He rushed up to Jilin and -slapped him on the shoulder. “Fine fellow! fine fellow!” he said.</p> - -<p>Jilin wrote the letter, but did not address it correctly, so that it -should not reach home. “I will escape, somehow,” he thought.</p> - -<p>Jilin and Kostilin were taken back to the shed. They were given some -straw, a jug of water and bread, two old coats and some worn boots, -evidently taken from the bodies of dead soldiers. At night their -shackles were removed and they were locked in the shed.</p> - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Thus Jilin and his comrade lived for a month. Their master was always -cheerful.<a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a> “You, good fellow, Ivan! I, Abdul, good fellow, too!” But he -fed them badly. All the food they got was some unleavened bread of -millet flour, or millet cakes, and sometimes nothing but raw dough.</p> - -<p>Kostilin sent another letter home and did nothing but mope and wait for -the money to arrive. He would sit in the barn day after day, either -counting the days for the letter to come or sleeping. Jilin knew that -his letter would not reach home, but he never wrote another.</p> - -<p>“Where on earth could mother get so much money from?” he thought. “She -lived mostly on what I used to send her, and if she has to procure five -hundred roubles she’ll be quite ruined. With God’s help I’ll get away -myself.”</p> - -<p>So he kept his eyes open, planning how to run away.</p> - -<p>He would walk about the village whistling, or doing something with his -hands, such as modelling dolls out of clay, or plaiting baskets out of -twigs. Jilin was very clever with his hands.<a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a></p> - -<p>One day he modelled a doll with a nose, arms and legs and in a Tartar -shirt, and he put this doll on the roof of the shed. The Tartar girls -went to fetch water. The master’s daughter Dina caught sight of the -doll, and called to the others. They put down their pitchers and looked -up laughing. Jilin took down the doll and held it out to them. They -laughed, but dared not take it. He left the doll and went into the shed -to see what would happen.</p> - -<p>Dina ran up, looked about her, snatched up the doll and ran off with it.</p> - -<p>The following morning, at daybreak, Dina came out on the threshold with -the doll. She had bedecked it in bits of red stuff, and was rocking it -to and fro like a baby and singing a lullaby. An old woman came out and -began to scold her. She snatched the doll away from the child and broke -it, and sent Dina off to her work.</p> - -<p>Jilin made another doll—a better one this time—and gave it to Dina.</p> - -<p>One day Dina brought Jilin a jug, and sitting down, she looked up at -him, laughing and pointing to the jug.<a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a></p> - -<p>“What is she so pleased about?” Jilin thought. He took up the jug to -have a drink, thinking it was full of water, but it turned out to be -milk. “How nice!” he said, and finished it. Dina was overjoyed.</p> - -<p>“Nice, nice, Ivan!” She jumped up and clapped her hands in glee, then -she seized the jug and ran away.</p> - -<p>After that she brought Jilin milk in secret every day. When the Tartar -women used to make cheese cakes out of goat’s milk, which they baked on -the roof, she would steal some and bring them to him. Once the master -killed a sheep, and Dina brought Jilin a piece of the flesh hidden in -her sleeve. She would throw the things down and run away.</p> - -<p>One day there was a terrible storm; the rain poured down in torrents for -a whole hour. The rivers became turbid. At the ford, the water rose till -it was seven feet high and the current was so strong that it moved the -stones along. Rivulets flowed everywhere and there was a roar in the -hills. After the storm streams<a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a> flowed down the village everywhere. -Jilin asked his master for a knife, and with it he shaped a small -cylinder and made a wheel out of a piece of board, to which he fixed two -dolls, one on each side. The little girls brought him some bits of stuff -with which he dressed the dolls—one as a peasant, the other as a -peasant woman. He made them fast and set the wheel so that the stream -should work it. When the wheel began to whirl the dolls danced.</p> - -<p>The whole village gathered round—boys and girls and women and men came -to look on, the latter clacking their tongues.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Russ! Ah, Ivan!” they said.</p> - -<p>Abdul had a Russian watch which was broken. He called Jilin and showed -it to him. Jilin said, “Give it to me and I’ll mend it.”</p> - -<p>He took it to pieces with the knife, sorted the pieces out, put them -together again and the watch went quite well.</p> - -<p>The master was pleased and presented him with one of his old tunics, all -in holes. Jilin had to take it, besides, it would come in useful to -cover up with at night.<a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a></p> - -<p>From that day Jilin’s fame as a man skilled in handiworks spread fast. -People began to flock to him from distant villages, one bringing the -lock of a rifle or a pistol that wanted mending; another a watch or a -clock. The master gave him some tools—pincers, gimlets and a file.</p> - -<p>One day a Tartar fell ill, and they came to Jilin, saying, “Come and -heal him.” Jilin did not know how to heal the sick, but he went just the -same thinking, “The man will recover of his own accord.” He disappeared -into the shed and mixed up some sand and water. In the presence of the -Tartars he mumbled some words over the mixture, and gave it to the sick -man to drink. Fortunately the Tartar got well.</p> - -<p>Jilin began to understand a little of their tongue. Some of the Tartars -got quite used to him, and when they wanted him would call “Ivan, Ivan!” -Others again looked at him askance as at some wild beast.</p> - -<p>The red-bearded Tartar did not like Jilin. He frowned when he saw him, -and either turned away or cursed. There<a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a> was another old man, who did -not live in the village, but somewhere at the foot of a hill. He came to -the village only sometimes. Jilin saw him when the man went to the -Mosque to say his prayers. He was short and had a white towel wound -round his cap. His beard and moustaches were clipped and white as down; -his face was wrinkled and brick-red. He had a hooked nose like a hawk’s, -and cruel grey eyes. He had no teeth, but two tusks in front. He would -pass with his turban on his head, leaning on his staff, and peering -round like a wolf. When he saw Jilin he snorted and turned away.</p> - -<p>One day Jilin went to the hills to find out where the old man lived. He -strolled down a path and saw a little garden and a stone wall; within -the stone wall were wild cherry trees and peaches and a hut with a flat -roof. He came a little closer and saw some hives made of plaited straw -and humming bees flying hither and thither. The old man was on his -knees, doing something to the hives. Jilin stood on tiptoe in order to -get a better view; his<a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a> shackles rattled. The old man turned and gave a -yell and pulling a pistol out of his belt he aimed at Jilin, who just -managed to shield himself behind the stone wall.</p> - -<p>The old man came to the master to complain. The master summoned Jilin -and laughing, asked him, “Why did you go to the old man’s place?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean to do him any harm,” he said. “I only wanted to see how -he lived.”</p> - -<p>The master conveyed his words to the old man.</p> - -<p>But the old man was angry. He jabbered away, showing his tusks, and -shook his fists menacingly at Jilin.</p> - -<p>Jilin could not understand all he said, but he gathered that the old man -was warning the master not to keep any Russians about the place, but to -have them all killed.</p> - -<p>The old man went away.</p> - -<p>Jilin asked the master who the old man was, and the master said, “He is -a great man! He was the bravest of us all, and<a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a> killed many Russians, -and he was rich, too. He had three wives and eight sons, who all lived -in the same village. The Russians came, destroyed the village, and -killed seven of his sons. One son only remained, and he surrendered to -the Russians. The old man followed them, and also gave himself up. He -lived with the Russians for three months, when he found his son. With -his own hand he killed him and escaped. After that he gave up fighting. -He went to Mecca to pray to God; that is why he wears a turban. Any man -who has been to Mecca is called a <i>Hadji</i> and has to wear a turban. He -does not like you Russians. He wanted me to kill you, but I can’t kill -you because I paid money for you. Besides, I have taken a fancy to you, -Ivan; I would not let you go at all, if I had not given my word.” He -laughed and added in Russian, “You are a good fellow, Ivan, and I, -Abdul, am a good fellow too.”</p> - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>Jilin lived in this way for a month. During<a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a> the day he wandered about -the village or busied himself with some handicraft, and at night he dug -in his shed. The digging was difficult because of the stones, but he -worked away at them with his file and at last made a hole beneath the -wall big enough to crawl through. “If only I knew the neighbourhood well -and which way to turn,” he thought; “the Tartars would not tell me.”</p> - -<p>He chose a day when the master was away, left the village after dinner -and went up a hill, hoping to find out the lie of the land from there. -But before the master departed he told one of his boys to look after -Jilin and not let him out of his sight. The boy ran after Jilin, crying, -“Don’t go away! My father told you not to! I’ll call for help!”</p> - -<p>Jilin tried to soothe him.</p> - -<p>“I’m not going far,” he said. “I only want to go to the top of that hill -to find a certain herb with which to cure your people when they are -sick. Come with me; I can’t run away with the shackles on my feet. I’ll -make you a bow and some arrows to-morrow.”<a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a></p> - -<p>After some persuasion the boy went with him. The hill did not seem very -far off, but it was difficult to get there shackled as he was. He -struggled and struggled until he got to the top. Jilin sat down and -began to look about him. To the south, beyond the shed, a herd of horses -could be seen in a valley, and at the bottom of the valley was another -village. Beyond the village was a steep hill and another hill beyond -that. Between the two hills was a dark patch that looked like a wood; -hill upon hill rose beyond it, and higher than all rose the snow-capped -mountains as white as sugar, the peak of one standing out above the -rest. To the east and west were other such hills; here and there were -villages in the valleys from which the smoke curled up. “This is all -Tartar country,” he thought. He looked in the direction of Russia—below -was a river, and the village he lived in, surrounded by gardens. On the -river bank, looking as tiny as dolls, sat Tartar women, washing clothes. -Beyond the village was a hill, lower than the one to the south and -beyond that two wooded<a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a> hills. Between these two hills was a plain and -away in the distance on this plain smoke seemed to rise. Jilin tried to -recollect where the sun rose and set when he lived in the fort. He came -to the conclusion that the fortress must lie in that very valley. -Between these two hills would he have to make his way when he escaped.</p> - -<p>The sun began to set. The snow-clad mountains turned from white to red; -the dark mountains grew darker still; a vapour rose from the valley, and -the plain where he supposed the fortress to be seemed on fire with the -sunset’s glow. Jilin gazed intently; something seemed to quiver in that -plain, like smoke rising from a chimney, and Jilin felt sure that the -Russian fortress was there.</p> - -<p>It was getting late. The Mullah’s cry was heard. The flocks and herds -were driven home; the cows were lowing. The boy kept on begging “Come -home,” but Jilin had no desire to move.</p> - -<p>They returned home. “Now that I know the place I must lose no time in -running away,” Jilin thought. He wanted to<a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a> escape that very night, for -the nights were dark then; the moon had waned, but as luck would have -it, the Tartars returned that evening. Sometimes when they brought -cattle home they would come back in a jolly mood, but this time there -were no cattle, and on the saddle of his horse they brought back the -red-bearded Tartar’s brother who had been killed. They returned in a -gloomy mood and gathered the village together for the burial. Jilin, -too, came out to look on. They wrapped the body in a sheet and without a -coffin carried it out and laid it on the grass beneath some plane-trees. -The Mullah arrived and the old men; they wrapped towels around their -caps, took off their shoes, and squatted down on their heels before the -body. In front was the Mullah, behind him three old men in turbans, and -behind them three other Tartars. They sat silent, eyes downcast, for a -long time, then the Mullah raised his head and said, “Allah!” (meaning -God). After this word he again bowed his head, and there was another -long silence. They all sat motionless.<a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a> Again the Mullah raised his head -and said “Allah!” All repeated “Allah!” and again there was silence. The -dead man lay on the grass motionless and the others, too, seemed dead. -Not a single man moved. The only sound to be heard was the rustling of -the leaves on the plane-trees. After a while the Mullah said a prayer; -all rose, and raising the dead man with their hands they carried him -away. They brought him to a pit. It was not an ordinary pit, but -hollowed out under the ground like a vault. They lifted the dead man -under the arms, bent him into a sitting posture and let him down into -the pit, gently, his hands folded in front of him.</p> - -<p>The master’s servant brought some green rushes which they stuffed into -the pit, then they hastily covered it with earth, levelled the ground -properly and placed a stone, upright, at the head of the grave. They -stamped down the soil and once more sat down round the grave side by -side. For a long time they were silent.</p> - -<p>“Allah! Allah!” they sighed and rose.</p> - -<p>The red-bearded Tartar gave some money<a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a> to the old men, then he took a -whip, struck himself three times on the forehead and went home.</p> - -<p>In the morning Jilin saw the red-bearded Tartar leading a mare out of -the village, followed by three other Tartars. When they left the village -behind them the red-bearded Tartar took off his coat, rolled up his -sleeves—his arms were strong and muscular—and taking out a dagger, he -sharpened it on a whetstone. The other Tartars raised the mare’s head -and he cut her throat. The mare dropped down and he began to skin her -with his big hands. Women and girls came up and washed the entrails. The -mare was cut up and the pieces carried to the red Tartar’s hut, where -the whole village gathered for a funeral feast.</p> - -<p>For three days they ate the mare’s flesh and drank beer in honour of the -dead man. All the Tartars were at home. On the fourth day, about dinner -time, Jilin saw that they were preparing to go away somewhere. The -horses were brought out, they got ready, and about ten of the Tartars,<a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a> -the red one among them, went away, Abdul remaining at home. There was a -new moon and the nights were still dark.</p> - -<p>“To-night we must escape,” Jilin thought, and he unfolded his plan to -Kostilin. But Kostilin was afraid.</p> - -<p>“How can we run away? We don’t know the way even.”</p> - -<p>“I know the way.”</p> - -<p>“We couldn’t get there in one night.”</p> - -<p>“If we can’t, we can hide in the wood. I’ve got some cakes here for us -to eat. What’s the good of sitting here? If they send your ransom, well -and good, but supposing they can’t raise the money? The Tartars are -getting vicious because our people have killed one of their men. They -will probably kill us.”</p> - -<p>Kostilin reflected.</p> - -<p>“Very well; let us go,” he said.</p> - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>Jilin went down the hole and made it a little bigger so that Kostilin -could crawl through, then they sat down to wait till all grew quiet in -the village.<a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a></p> - -<p>When the Tartars had all retired to rest Jilin crawled under the wall -and got outside. “Follow me,” he whispered to Kostilin.</p> - -<p>Kostilin crept into the hole, but his foot hit against a stone and made -a clatter. The master had a speckled watch-dog—a vicious creature it -was, called Ulashin. The dog growled and rushed forward, followed by -other dogs. Jilin gave a low whistle and threw it a cake. Ulashin -recognized him, wagged his tail and ceased his growling.</p> - -<p>The master heard the dog and called from the hut, “<i>Hait, hait</i>, -Ulashin!”</p> - -<p>But Jilin stroked the dog by the ears and it did not move. It rubbed -itself against Jilin’s legs and wagged its tail.</p> - -<p>They sat crouching round the corner. All grew quiet; only a sheep was -heard to cough in a barn, and below, the water rippled over the stones. -It was dark; the stars were high in the sky and the new moon looked red -as it set behind the hill, horns upwards. A mist as white as milk lay -over the valley.<a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a></p> - -<p>Jilin got up and turning to Kostilin said, “Let us come, brother.”</p> - -<p>They set off, but they had no sooner done so than the Mullah intoned -from the roof “Allah Besmilla! Ilrachman!” That meant that the people -would be going to the Mosque. They sat down again, crouching behind the -wall. For a long time they sat there waiting till the people went past. -All grew quiet again.</p> - -<p>“Now then; with God’s help we must get away,” Jilin said.</p> - -<p>They crossed themselves and started. They went through the yard and -downhill to the river which they forded and came out into the valley. -The mist hung low and dense; above, the stars were visible. By the stars -Jilin could tell the direction they had to take. It was cool in the mist -and walking was easy, only their boots were uncomfortable, being old and -worn out. Jilin cast his off and went bare-foot. He leapt over the -stones, gazing up at the stars. Kostilin began to lag behind.</p> - -<p>“Slower, please,” he said, “these cursed boots hurt my feet.”<a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a></p> - -<p>“Take them off and you’ll find it easier.”</p> - -<p>Kostilin too went barefoot, but that was still worse. The stones cut his -feet and he lagged behind more than ever.</p> - -<p>Jilin said to him, “The cuts on your feet will heal up soon enough, but -if the Tartars catch us it will be much more serious; they will kill -us.”</p> - -<p>Kostilin did not say anything, but walked along, groaning.</p> - -<p>They walked along the valley for a long time, when suddenly they heard -the barking of dogs. Jilin stopped and looked about him. He climbed up -the hill on all fours.</p> - -<p>“We mistook our way, and turned to the right. Another Tartar village -lies here; I saw it from the hill the other day. We must turn back and -go to the left up the hill. There must be a wood here.”</p> - -<p>And Kostilin said, “Let us rest a while; my feet are all bleeding.”</p> - -<p>“They’ll get better in good time, brother. Walk more lightly—like -this.”</p> - -<p>And Jilin turned back and went up the hill to the left into the wood. -Kostilin<a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a> kept on lagging behind and groaning. Jilin remonstrated with -him and walked on ahead.</p> - -<p>They reached the top of the hill, where they found a wood, as Jilin had -surmised. They went into it. The brambles tore the last of their -clothes. At last they found a path and followed it.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” Jilin said. There was a trampling of hoofs on the path. They -listened. It sounded like the trampling of horses’ hoofs, but the sound -ceased. They moved on and again they heard the trampling. They stopped -again, and the sound ceased. Jilin crept nearer and in a patch of light -on the path he saw something standing. It seemed like a horse, yet not -like a horse, and it had something queer on its back that was not a man. -The creature snorted. “What a strange thing!” Jilin thought, and gave a -low whistle. The animal bounded off the path into the thicket and there -was a sound of cracking branches as though a storm had swept through the -wood.</p> - -<p>Kostilin fell to the ground in terror;<a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a> Jilin laughed, saying, “It’s a -stag. Can’t you hear how it’s breaking the branches with its antlers? We -are afraid of him and he is afraid of us.”</p> - -<p>They went on further. The Great Bear was already setting and the dawn -was not far off. They did not know whether they were going in the right -direction. It seemed to Jilin that the Tartars had brought him along -this path when they captured him and that it was still another seven -miles to the fortress, but he had nothing certain to go by, and at night -one could easily mistake the way.</p> - -<p>Kostilin dropped to the ground and said, “Do what you like, but I can’t -go any further. My legs won’t carry me.”</p> - -<p>Jilin attempted persuasion.</p> - -<p>“It’s no good,” Kostilin said; “I can’t go on.”</p> - -<p>Jilin grew angry and vented his disgust.</p> - -<p>“Then I’m going alone—good-bye.”</p> - -<p>Kostilin jumped up and followed.</p> - -<p>They walked another three miles. The mist grew denser; they could not -see<a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a> ahead of them and the stars were no longer visible.</p> - -<p>They suddenly heard a trampling of horses coming from the direction in -which they were going. They could hear the horse’s hoofs hit against the -stones. Jilin lay flat down and put his ear to the ground to listen.</p> - -<p>“There is certainly a horseman coming towards us,” he said. They ran off -the path into the thicket and sat down to wait. After a while Jilin -crept out into the path to look. A mounted Tartar was coming along, -driving a cow and humming softly to himself. When he had passed Jilin -turned to Kostilin, “Thank God the danger is over. Come, let us go.”</p> - -<p>Kostilin attempted to rise, but dropped down again.</p> - -<p>“I can’t, I can’t! I’ve no more strength left.”</p> - -<p>The man was heavy and stout and had perspired freely. The heavy mist had -chilled him, tired and bleeding as he was, and made him quite stiff. -Jilin tried to lift him, but Kostilin cried out, “Oh, it hurts!”<a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a></p> - -<p>Jilin turned to stone.</p> - -<p>“Why did you shout? The Tartar is still near; he will have heard you,” -he remonstrated, while to himself he thought, “The man is evidently -exhausted; what shall I do with him? I can’t desert him.” “Come,” he -said, “climb on to my back, then, and I’ll carry you if you really can’t -walk.”</p> - -<p>He helped Kostilin up, put his arms under his thighs and carried him on -to the path.</p> - -<p>“For heaven’s sake don’t put your arms round my neck or you’ll throttle -me. Hold on to my shoulders.”</p> - -<p>It was hard work for Jilin; his feet, too, were bleeding and tired. He -bent down now and then to get him in a more comfortable position, or -jerked him up so that he sat higher up, and went on his weary way.</p> - -<p>The Tartar had evidently heard Kostilin’s cry. Jilin heard some one -following behind, calling out in the Tartar tongue. Jilin rushed into -the thicket. The Tartar seized his gun and aimed; the shot missed;<a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a> the -Tartar yelled and galloped down the path.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we’re lost,” Jilin said. “He’ll collect the Tartars to hunt -us down. If we don’t cover a couple of miles before they’ve time to set -out, nothing will save us.” To himself he thought, “Why the devil did I -saddle myself with this block? I should have got there long ago had I -been alone.”</p> - -<p>Kostilin said, “Why should you be caught because of me?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t go alone; it would be mean to desert a comrade.”</p> - -<p>Again he raised Kostilin on to his shoulders and went on. They walked -along for another half-mile. They were still in the wood and could not -see the end of it. The mist had dispersed; the clouds seemed to gather; -the stars were no longer visible. Jilin was worn out. They came to a -spring walled in by stones. He stopped and put Kostilin down.</p> - -<p>“Let us rest a minute or two and have a drink and a bite of this cake. -We can’t be very far off now.”<a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a></p> - -<p>He had no sooner lain down to take a drink from the spring than he heard -the stamping of horses behind him. Again they rushed into the thicket to -the right and lay down on a slope.</p> - -<p>They heard a sound of Tartar voices. The Tartars stopped at the very -spot where they had turned off the path. They seemed to confer for a bit -and then set a dog on the scent. There was a crackling among the bushes -and a strange dog appeared. It stopped and began to bark. The Tartars -followed it. They were also strangers. They bound Jilin and Kostilin and -took them off on their horses.</p> - -<p>When they had ridden for about two miles they were met by the master, -Abdul, and two other Tartars. He exchanged some words with the strange -Tartars, after which Jilin and Kostilin were removed to his horses and -he took them back to the village.</p> - -<p>Abdul was no longer laughing, and did not say a word to them.</p> - -<p>They reached the village at daybreak and were placed in the street. The -children<a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a> gathered round them and threw stones at them and lashed them -with whips, yelling all the time.</p> - -<p>All the Tartars collected in a circle, the old man from the hills among -them. They began to talk; Jilin gathered that they were considering what -was to be done with him and Kostilin. Some said that they should be sent -into the hills, and the old man persisted that they should be killed. -Abdul would not agree to either plan, saying, “I paid money for them and -must get their ransom.”</p> - -<p>The old man said, “They will not pay the ransom; they’ll only do a great -deal of harm. It is a sin to keep Russians. Kill them and have done with -it.”</p> - -<p>The Tartars dispersed. The master came to Jilin and said to him, “If -your ransom does not come in two weeks, I’ll have you flogged, and if -you attempt to run away again, I’ll kill you like a dog. Write home, and -write to the point!”</p> - -<p>They brought them pen and paper and they wrote home. The shackles were -put on them and they were taken behind the<a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a> Mosque, where there was a -pit of about twelve feet deep, into which they were flung.</p> - -<h3>VI</h3> - -<p>Life was very hard for them now. Their shackles were never removed, and -they were never allowed out into the fresh air. Raw dough was thrown -down to them, as one throws a scrap to a dog, and water was let down in -a jug. The stench in the pit was awful and it was damp as well. Kostilin -grew quite ill; he swelled very much and every bone in his body ached. -He either groaned or slept all the time. Jilin, too, was depressed; he -saw that their position was hopeless and did not know how to get out of -it.</p> - -<p>He tried to make a tunnel but there was nowhere to throw the earth, and -when the master saw it, he threatened to kill him.</p> - -<p>One day when he was most downcast, squatting in the pit and thinking of -his freedom, a cake fell from above, then another, and some cherries -rained down.<a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a> Jilin looked up and saw Dina. She looked at him, laughed -and ran away.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if Dina would help us?” Jilin thought.</p> - -<p>He cleared a space in the pit, dug a little clay and began to make some -dolls. He moulded some men and horses and dogs, thinking, “When Dina -comes, I will throw these up to her.”</p> - -<p>But Dina did not come the next day. Jilin heard a stamping of horses; -some Tartars seemed to have come and all gathered at the Mosque, -shouting and arguing. It was something about the Russians. The voice of -the old man was heard, too. Jilin could not understand all they said, -but he made out that the Russians were near, that the Tartars were -afraid of them and did not know what to do with their prisoners.</p> - -<p>After a while they dispersed. Suddenly Jilin heard a rustling overhead -and saw Dina crouching at the edge of the pit, her knees higher than her -head. She bent over so that the coins at the end of her plaits dangled -over the pit. Her eyes were<a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a> twinkling like two stars. From her sleeve -she took two cakes made of cheese and threw them down to him. Jilin -picked them up and said, “What a long time it is since you’ve been to -see me! I’ve made you some toys. Look, here they are!” He threw them up -to her one by one. She shook her head and averted her gaze. “I don’t -want them, Ivan,” she said. “They want to kill you, Ivan,” she added, -pointing to her throat.</p> - -<p>“Who wants to kill me?”</p> - -<p>“My father. The old man told him to, but I’m sorry for you.”</p> - -<p>Jilin said, “If you are sorry for me, bring me a long pole.”</p> - -<p>She shook her head, as much as to say that it was impossible.</p> - -<p>He put up his hands and implored her, “Please, Dina! Be a dear and bring -it!”</p> - -<p>“I can’t,” she said; “they’ll catch me at home.” Then she went away.</p> - -<p>In the evening Jilin sat in the pit wondering what would happen. He kept -looking up; the stars were visible, but the<a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a> moon had not yet risen. The -Mullah’s call was heard, and all grew quiet. Jilin began to doze, -thinking “The child is afraid.” Suddenly some clay dropped on to his -head. He looked up, and saw a long pole poking into the opposite wall of -the pit; it began to slide down. Jilin took hold of it and lowered it -with a feeling of gladness at his heart. It was a stout, strong pole; he -had noticed it many times on the roof of the master’s hut.</p> - -<p>He looked up. The stars were shining high in the sky and above the pit -Dina’s eyes gleamed in the darkness like a cat’s. She leant her head -over the pit and whispered, “Ivan, Ivan!” making signs to him to speak -low.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” Jilin asked.</p> - -<p>“They’ve all gone but two.”</p> - -<p>“Come, Kostilin,” Jilin said; “let us try our luck for the last time; -I’ll help you up.”</p> - -<p>But Kostilin would not listen to him.</p> - -<p>“No,” he said; “it seems that I can’t get away from here. How can I come -when I’ve hardly strength enough to move?”<a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a></p> - -<p>“Well, good-bye, then. Don’t think ill of me.”</p> - -<p>He kissed Kostilin, and seizing the pole, he asked Dina to hold it at -the top and swarmed up. Twice he fell back again; the shackles hindered -him. But Jilin persevered and got to the top somehow. Dina clutched hold -of his shirt and pulled at him with all her might, unable to control her -laughter.</p> - -<p>When he clambered out Jilin handed her the pole, saying, “Put it back in -its place, Dina, for if they notice its absence they’ll beat you.”</p> - -<p>Dina dragged the pole away, and Jilin went down the hill. When he got to -the bottom he sat down under its shelter, took a sharp stone and tried -to wrench the lock off the shackles. But the lock was a strong one and -would not give way, and it was difficult to get at it. Suddenly he heard -some one coming downhill, skipping lightly. “It must be Dina again,” he -thought.</p> - -<p>She came up, took the stone and said, “Let me try.”<a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a></p> - -<p>She knelt down and tried to wrench the lock off, but her little hands -were as slender as little twigs and there was no strength in them. She -threw the stone down and burst into tears. Jilin made another attempt, -while Dina squatted down beside him and put her hand on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>Jilin looked round; to the left the sky was all red; the moon was -beginning to rise. “I must cross the valley and be under shelter of the -wood before the moon rises,” he thought. He got up and threw away the -stone. “I must go as I am in the shackles. Good-bye, Dina, dear; I shall -always remember you.”</p> - -<p>Dina seized hold of him and groped about his coat with her hand to find -a place to thrust some cakes into. Jilin took the cakes.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, little one,” he said. “There won’t be any one to make you -dolls when I am gone.” He stroked her head.</p> - -<p>Dina burst into tears and, covering her face with her hands, she fled up -the hill, bounding along like a wild goat. The coins<a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a> in her plait could -be heard jingling in the darkness.</p> - -<p>Jilin crossed himself, took the lock of his shackles in his hand to -prevent a clatter and started on his way, dragging his shackled leg and -gazing at the red in the sky where the moon was rising. This time he -knew the way. He had to go straight on for six miles. If only he could -reach the wood before the moon had quite risen! He forded the river. The -red light over the hill had paled. He walked along the valley, looking -back now and then; the moon was not yet visible. The light grew brighter -and brighter; one side of the valley was quite light. The shadows crept -along the foot of the hill, drawing nearer to him.</p> - -<p>Jilin kept in the shadow. He hurried, but the moon moved faster than he; -the hilltops on the right were already lit up. As he neared the wood, -the moon rose over the hills, all white, and it grew as light as day. -All the leaves on the trees could be seen distinctly. It was still and -light on the hills; there was a dead silence, except for the murmur of -the river below.<a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a></p> - -<p>He reached the wood without meeting any one. He chose a dark spot and -sat down to rest.</p> - -<p>When he had rested a while and eaten a cake, he found a stone and once -more tried to wrench the lock of the shackles. He cut his hands, but -could not manage it. He rose and went on his way. After a mile he was -quite worn out and his feet ached terribly. At every dozen steps or so -he stopped. “It can’t be helped,” he thought. “I must drag myself on so -long as my strength holds out, for if I once sit down I shan’t be able -to get up again. I can’t reach the fortress to-night, that is obvious; -as soon as it gets light I’ll hide in the wood and go on again when it -gets dark.”</p> - -<p>He walked the whole night, meeting only two Tartars, but Jilin heard -them from a distance and took refuge behind a tree.</p> - -<p>The moon began to pale; the dew fell; it was near dawn, but Jilin had -not yet reached the end of the wood. “I’ll walk another thirty steps or -so then I’ll creep into the thicket and sit down,” he thought.<a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a> He -covered the thirty steps and saw that he had come to the edge of the -wood. When he came out it was quite light. Before him stretched the -steppe and to the left, near the foot of a hill, he saw a dying fire -from which the smoke rose and men were sitting about it.</p> - -<p>He looked intently; there was a flash of guns—they were soldiers, -Cossacks!</p> - -<p>Jilin was overjoyed. He summoned his remaining strength and began to -descend the hill, thinking, “God forbid that any mounted Tartar should -see me now in the open field; though near my own people, I could not -escape.”</p> - -<p>The thought had no sooner crossed his mind than he saw three Tartars -standing on a hill, not more than a few yards away. They had seen him -and dashed down towards him. His heart gave a great bound. He waved his -arms and shouted with all his might, “Help, help, brothers!”</p> - -<p>The soldiers heard him; a few Cossacks sprang upon their horses and -dashed forward to cut across the Tartars’ path.</p> - -<p>The Cossacks were far off and the Tartars<a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a> were near, but Jilin made one -last effort; lifting the shackles with his hand, he ran towards the -Cossacks. He hardly knew what he was doing and crossed himself wildly, -crying, “Help, brothers, help!”</p> - -<p>The Cossacks numbered about fifteen.</p> - -<p>The Tartars grew afraid and stopped in hesitation before they reached -him. Jilin managed to get to the Cossacks. They surrounded him, asking -who he was and where he came from, but Jilin was quite beside himself -and could only repeat, through his tears, “Brothers, brothers!”</p> - -<p>The soldiers came up and crowded round him, one giving him bread, -another porridge, another some vodka to drink, another gave him his -cloak to cover him, and another wrenched off the shackles.</p> - -<p>The officers recognized him and took him to the fortress. His men were -delighted to see him; his fellow-officers gathered about him.</p> - -<p>Jilin told them all that had happened to him and ended by saying, -“That’s how I went home and got married. I wasn’t meant to marry, -evidently.”<a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a></p> - -<p>And Jilin remained in the army in the Caucasus. It was not until a month -later that Kostilin was released, after paying a ransom of five thousand -roubles. He was brought back in a half-dead condition.<a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="EMELIAN_AND_THE_EMPTY_DRUM" id="EMELIAN_AND_THE_EMPTY_DRUM"></a>EMELIAN AND THE EMPTY DRUM</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Emelian</span> was a labourer and worked for a master. He was walking through a -field one day on his way to work, when a frog hopped in front of him and -he just missed crushing it by stepping across. Suddenly some one called -to him from behind. He turned, and there stood a beautiful maiden, who -said to him, “Why don’t you marry, Emelian?”</p> - -<p>“How can I, dear maiden? I possess nothing but the clothes I stand up -in, and who would have a husband like that?”</p> - -<p>“Marry me,” the maiden said.</p> - -<p>Emelian looked at her in admiration.</p> - -<p>“I would with pleasure,” he said, “but how should we live?”</p> - -<p>“What a thing to trouble about,<a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="IM_EMELIAN_AND_THE_EMPTY_DRUM" id="IM_EMELIAN_AND_THE_EMPTY_DRUM"></a> -<a href="images/i_153_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_153_sml.jpg" width="294" height="500" alt="[Image not available: EMELIAN AND THE EMPTY DRUM.]" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">EMELIAN AND THE EMPTY DRUM.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">indeed!” the maiden said. “One has only to work the more and sleep the -less and one can always be clothed and fed.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; let us marry, then,” Emelian said. “Where shall we live?”</p> - -<p>“In the town.”</p> - -<p>Emelian and the maiden went to the town. She took him to a little house -on the very edge and they married and set up housekeeping.</p> - -<p>One day the King went for a drive beyond the town, and when passing -Emelian’s gate, Emelian’s wife came out to look at him. When the King -saw her he marvelled.</p> - -<p>“What a beauty!” he thought. He stopped the carriage and called her to -him.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Emelian the peasant’s wife.”</p> - -<p>“How came a beauty like you to marry a peasant?” he asked. “You should -have been a queen.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you for your kind words,” she said; “a peasant husband is good -enough for me.”</p> - -<p>The King talked to her a while and went on his way. When he returned to -the<a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a> palace Emelian’s wife did not go out of his head for a moment. The -whole night he could not sleep and kept on thinking how he could take -her away from Emelian, but no possible way occurred to him. He summoned -his servants and asked them to think of a way.</p> - -<p>And the servants said to him, “Get Emelian to come and be a labourer in -the palace. We will wear him out with work, then his wife will become a -widow and you can have her.”</p> - -<p>The King followed their advice. He sent a messenger to tell Emelian that -he was to come and be a yard-porter in the palace and bring his wife to -live with him there.</p> - -<p>The messenger came to Emelian and repeated the King’s words. And -Emelian’s wife said to her husband, “It can’t be helped; you must go. -You can work there in the day and return to me at night.”</p> - -<p>Emelian went away. When he came to the palace the King’s steward said to -him, “Why have you come without your wife?”</p> - -<p>“Why should I drag her about with me? She has a home of her own.”<a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a></p> - -<p>In the King’s yard Emelian was given enough work for two men. Emelian -set about it, not expecting to get it all finished, but behold! before -evening came it was all done. The steward, seeing that he had got -through the work, gave him four times as much for the morrow.</p> - -<p>Emelian went home. The house was scrubbed and cleaned, the fire lighted, -the bread baked, the supper cooked. His wife was sitting at the table -sewing, waiting for him. She flew to the door to meet him, then laid the -supper and fed him well; afterwards she began to ask him about his work.</p> - -<p>“It’s rather bad,” he said; “they set me tasks beyond my strength; they -wear me out with too much work.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think about the work,” she said, “don’t look back to see how -much you have done, nor look ahead to see how much there is left. Just -keep straight on and all will be done in time.”</p> - -<p>Emelian went to bed. In the morning he again set out to the palace. He -began his work and did not look round once, and<a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a> behold! by evening it -was all finished; he went home when it was still light.</p> - -<p>Again they increased Emelian’s work, but Emelian finished it all in time -and went home for the night as usual. A week passed. The King’s servants -saw that they could not get the better of Emelian by giving him rough -work so they gave him difficult work instead, but even that did not -help. No matter what they set him to do—carpentering, stone-cutting, -thatching—he got everything done in time and went home for the night to -his wife. Another week passed.</p> - -<p>The King summoned his servants and said, “Is it for nothing that I keep -you? Two weeks have passed and still I do not see the fruits of your -work. You promised to wear Emelian out with work and each night from my -window I see him going home singing to himself. Are you making sport of -me, eh?”</p> - -<p>The King’s servants began to excuse themselves. “We are doing the best -we can. We thought at first to wear him out with rough work, but you -can’t get him anyhow.<a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a> We set him all kinds of tasks, such as sweeping, -but he doesn’t know what it means to be tired. Then we gave him -difficult work, thinking that he wouldn’t have brains enough to do it, -yet still, we couldn’t get the better of him. No matter what the work, -he tackles it and gets it all done in time. He must either be -extraordinarily strong or his wife must be a witch. We are sick of him -ourselves. We want to set him such a task that he cannot possibly do. We -thought of asking him to build a temple in a single day. You must send -for him and command him to build a temple opposite the palace in a -single day, and if he fails to do it, we can cut off his head for -disobedience.”</p> - -<p>The King sent for Emelian.</p> - -<p>“Build me a new temple in the square opposite the palace; by to-morrow -evening it must all be finished. If you do it, I will reward you; if -not, I will cut off your head.”</p> - -<p>Emelian listened to the King’s words; then turned and went his way home. -When he got there he said to his wife, “Make<a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a> yourself ready, wife; we -must run away or else we are both lost.”</p> - -<p>“Why,” she said, “have you grown so faint-hearted that you want to run -away?”</p> - -<p>“How can I help it when the King commanded me to build a temple -to-morrow before nightfall? If I fail to do it, he will have my head cut -off. There is only one way out. We must run away while there is yet -time.”</p> - -<p>The wife did not approve of his words.</p> - -<p>“The King has many soldiers; we shall not be able to escape them. And -while you have strength enough you must obey the King’s command.”</p> - -<p>“But how can I obey if it’s beyond my strength?”</p> - -<p>“My dear, don’t get excited. Have your supper and go to bed; get up -early in the morning and you’ll manage in good time.”</p> - -<p>Emelian went to bed. His wife woke him in the morning.</p> - -<p>“Go,” she said; “make haste and finish the temple. Here are nails and a -hammer. There is still a day’s work for you left to do.”<a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a></p> - -<p>Emelian set out. When he came to the square, there in the middle stood a -new temple not quite finished. Emelian set to work to finish it and by -the evening it was all done.</p> - -<p>The King awoke and looking out of the palace window he saw a new temple -in the square. Emelian was busy around, knocking a nail in here and -there. The King was not pleased with the temple; he was annoyed that he -had no pretext for cutting off Emelian’s head and taking his wife for -himself.</p> - -<p>Again the King summoned his servants.</p> - -<p>“Emelian has done this task too,” he said, “and I have no reason for -cutting off his head. This was not difficult enough; we must give him -something more difficult still. You decide what it shall be, or else -I’ll have your heads cut off first.”</p> - -<p>And the servants bethought them to set Emelian to make a river that was -to wind round the palace and have ships sailing on it.</p> - -<p>The King summoned Emelian and set him the new task.<a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a></p> - -<p>“If you could make a temple in a single night,” he said, “you can do -this too. See that it is all finished by to-morrow, or else I shall cut -off your head.”</p> - -<p>Emelian’s spirits fell lower than ever and he went home to his wife in a -sad mood.</p> - -<p>“Why so sad?” asked his wife. “Has the King set you a new task?”</p> - -<p>Emelian told her what it was.</p> - -<p>“We must run away,” he concluded.</p> - -<p>And the wife said, “We cannot escape the soldiers. You must obey.”</p> - -<p>“But how can I?”</p> - -<p>“My dear, don’t worry. Have your supper and go to bed. Get up early in -the morning and all will be ready in time.”</p> - -<p>Emelian went to bed. In the morning his wife woke him.</p> - -<p>“Go to the palace,” she said; “everything is finished. Only by the -harbour, opposite the palace, there is a little mound that wants -levelling; take the spade and level it.”</p> - -<p>Emelian set out. He came to the town and there around the palace a river -flowed with ships sailing on it. Emelian went up to the harbour opposite -the palace and he<a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a> saw an uneven place and began to level it.</p> - -<p>The King awoke and looking out of his palace window he saw a river where -there was not one before and ships were sailing on it and Emelian was -levelling a little mound with his spade. And the King was alarmed. He -took no pleasure in the river or the ships, he was only annoyed that he -could not cut off Emelian’s head. “There is no task he cannot do,” he -thought. “What shall we do now?”</p> - -<p>And the King summoned his servants and conferred with them.</p> - -<p>“Think of a task,” he said, “that will be beyond Emelian’s strength, for -so far he has done everything we have thought of and I cannot take away -his wife.”</p> - -<p>And the courtiers thought for a long time, then came to the King and -said, “You must summon Emelian and say to him, ‘Go to—I don’t know -where, and bring me—I don’t know what.’ He won’t be able to escape you -then, for wherever he goes you can say it was not the right place and -whatever he brings was not the<a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a> right thing. Then you can cut off his -head and take away his wife.”</p> - -<p>The King was pleased with the idea. He sent for Emelian and said to him, -“Go to—I don’t know where, and bring me—I don’t know what. And if you -don’t, I’ll cut off your head.”</p> - -<p>Emelian went back to his wife and told her what the King had said. The -wife reflected.</p> - -<p>“Well,” she said. “Be it on the King’s own head what his courtiers have -taught him. We must act with cunning now.”</p> - -<p>She sat and thought it over for a while; then said to her husband, “You -must go a long way to our old grandmother, a peasant soldier’s mother, -and ask her to help you. She will give you something which you must take -straight to the palace and I will be there already. I cannot escape them -now; they will take me by force, but only for a short while. If you do -what grandmother tells you, you will soon set me free.”</p> - -<p>And the wife prepared Emelian for the journey and gave him a bundle and -a spindle.<a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a></p> - -<p>“Give grandmother this spindle,” she said; “by this she will know that -you are my husband.”</p> - -<p>And the wife showed him the way. Emelian left the town and saw some -soldiers drilling. He stopped and watched them. The soldiers finished -their drill and sat down to rest. Emelian approached them and asked, -“Can you tell me, mates, how to get to—I don’t know where and bring -back—I don’t know what.”</p> - -<p>The soldiers were perplexed at his words.</p> - -<p>“Who sent you?” they asked.</p> - -<p>“The King,” he said.</p> - -<p>“We too,” they said, “since the day we became soldiers want to go to—we -don’t know where and find—we don’t know what, but we’ve never been able -to find it and so cannot help you.”</p> - -<p>Emelian sat with the soldiers awhile then went on his way. He wandered -and wandered till he came to a wood. In the wood was a cottage and in -the cottage sat an old woman, a peasant soldier’s mother, spinning at -her wheel, and she wept as she<a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a> spun and moistened her fingers with the -tears that flowed from her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” she cried in anger when she saw Emelian.</p> - -<p>Emelian gave her the spindle and said that his wife had sent him. The -old woman instantly softened and began to ask him questions. And Emelian -told her his whole story of how he had married the maiden and gone to -live in the town, and how he had been taken to the King’s as a -yard-porter, and of the work he had done in the palace, and the temple -he had built in a night, and the river and ships he had made, and that -now the King had sent him to—I don’t know where to bring back—I don’t -know what.</p> - -<p>The old woman listened to what he had to say and ceased her weeping. She -began to mutter to herself, “The time has come, I see. Very well,” she -said aloud; “sit down, my son, and have something to eat.”</p> - -<p>Emelian had something to eat and the old woman said to him, “Here is a -ball of thread; roll it before you and follow wherever it leads. You -will have to go a long<a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a> way, to the very sea. When you come to the sea -you will see a large town. Ask to be allowed to stay the night in the -outermost house and look for what you want there.”</p> - -<p>“But by what signs shall I know it, grandmother?”</p> - -<p>“When you see that which men listen to more than to father or mother, -that will be the thing you want. Seize it and take it to the King. He -will tell you you haven’t brought the right thing, and you must say to -him, ‘If it is not the right thing then I must break it.’ Then strike -this thing; carry it out to the river; break it and throw it into the -water. Then you will get back your wife and dry up my tears.”</p> - -<p>Emelian took leave of the grandmother and went where the ball of thread -took him to. The ball rolled and rolled till it brought him to the sea, -where there was a large town. Emelian knocked at a house and asked to be -allowed to stay the night. The people let him in. He went to bed. In the -morning he woke early and heard<a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a> the father of the house trying to wake -his son to chop some wood. The son would not listen to him. “It is early -yet,” he said, “there’s plenty of time.”</p> - -<p>And he heard the mother near the stove say, “Do go, my son. Your -father’s bones ache; surely you wouldn’t let him go? Get up.”</p> - -<p>The son only smacked his lips and went to sleep again. He had no sooner -fallen asleep than there was a banging and a rumbling in the street. The -son jumped up, dressed and ran out. Emelian ran out after him to see -what it was that a son obeyed more than father or mother.</p> - -<p>When Emelian got outside he saw a man coming up the street carrying some -round object on his belly that he was beating with sticks. It was this -thing that had made the noise and that the son had obeyed. Emelian -approached and examined it. The thing was round like a small tub with -skin drawn tightly on either side of it.</p> - -<p>“What is this thing called?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“A drum,” they said.<a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a></p> - -<p>“Is it empty?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” they said.</p> - -<p>Emelian wondered and asked the people to give him the thing, but they -would not. Emelian gave up asking and followed the drummer. He walked -about the whole day and when the drummer went to bed at night, Emelian -seized the drum and ran away with it. He ran and ran until he came to -his own town. He wanted to give his wife a surprise, but she was not at -home. She had been taken to the King the day after Emelian had left.</p> - -<p>Emelian went to the palace and asked to be announced as the man who had -gone to—I don’t know where and brought back—I don’t know what. The -King was informed of his return and he ordered Emelian to come to him on -the morrow. Emelian again demanded to see the King, saying, “I have -brought back what I was ordered to; let the King come out to me, or I -will go in to him myself.”</p> - -<p>The King came out.</p> - -<p>“Where have you been?” he asked.</p> - -<p>Emelian told him.<a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a></p> - -<p>“That was not the place,” he said. “And what have you brought?”</p> - -<p>Emelian wanted to show him, but the King would not even look.</p> - -<p>“That was not the thing,” he said.</p> - -<p>“If it is not the thing,” Emelian said, “I must break it and let it go -to the devil.”</p> - -<p>Emelian came out of the palace and struck the drum. He had no sooner -done so than all the King’s troops gathered around him. They saluted -Emelian and waited for his commands. From the window of his palace the -King called to the troops, forbidding them to follow Emelian, but the -troops would not listen to the King and followed Emelian. When the King -saw this he ordered Emelian’s wife to be given back to him and he begged -Emelian to give him the drum.</p> - -<p>“I can’t,” Emelian said. “I was told to break it and throw the bits into -the river.”</p> - -<p>Emelian took the drum to the river and the soldiers followed him. -Emelian struck the drum and broke it into little bits which he threw -into the water and the troops<a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a> all scattered and dispersed. And Emelian -took his wife back home.</p> - -<p>From that day the King left off worrying him and Emelian and his wife -lived happily ever after.<a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="THE_GREAT_BEAR" id="THE_GREAT_BEAR"></a>THE GREAT BEAR</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">A long</span>, long time ago there was a big drought on the earth. All the -rivers dried up and the streams and wells, and the trees withered and -the bushes and grass, and men and beasts died of thirst.</p> - -<p>One night a little girl went out with a pitcher to find some water for -her sick mother. She wandered and wandered everywhere, but could find no -water, and she grew so tired that she lay down on the grass and fell -asleep. When she awoke and took up the pitcher she nearly upset the -water it contained. The pitcher was full of clear, fresh water. The -little girl was glad and was about to put it to her lips, but she -remembered her mother and ran home with the pitcher as fast as she -could. She hurried so much that she did not notice a little dog in her -path; she stumbled over it and dropped the pitcher. The dog whined<a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a> -pitifully; the little girl seized the pitcher.</p> - -<p>She thought the water would have been upset, but the pitcher stood -upright and the water was there as before. She poured a little into the -palm of her hand and the dog lapped it and was comforted. When the -little girl again took up the pitcher, it had turned from common wood to -silver. She took the pitcher home and gave it to her mother.</p> - -<p>The mother said, “I shall die just the same; you had better drink it,” -and she handed the pitcher to the child. In that moment the pitcher -turned from silver to gold. The little girl could no longer contain -herself and was about to put the pitcher to her lips, when the door -opened and a stranger entered who begged for a drink. The little girl -swallowed her saliva and gave the pitcher to him. And suddenly seven -large diamonds sprang out of the pitcher and a stream of clear, fresh -water flowed from it. And the seven diamonds began to rise, and they -rose higher and higher till they reached the sky and became the Great -Bear.<a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="THREE_QUESTIONS" id="THREE_QUESTIONS"></a>THREE QUESTIONS</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">It</span> once occurred to a King that if he knew the right moment when to -begin on any work and the right kind of people to have or not to have -dealings with and the thing to do that was more important than any other -thing, he would always be successful.</p> - -<p>And he proclaimed throughout his kingdom that he would give a great -reward to any one who could tell him what was the right moment for any -action, and who were the most essential of all people, and what was the -most essential thing of all to do.</p> - -<p>Many learned men came to the King and answered his questions in -different ways.</p> - -<p>In answer to the first question some said that to know the right time -for any action, one must draw up a time-table of all the days, months -and years and observe it<a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="IM_THREE_QUESTIONS" id="IM_THREE_QUESTIONS"></a> -<a href="images/i_175_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_175_sml.jpg" width="293" height="500" alt="[Image not available: THREE QUESTIONS. - -To face page 158.]" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THREE QUESTIONS. -<br /> -<small>To face page 158.]</small></span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">strictly, then one could do everything at the proper time. Others said -that it was impossible to decide beforehand the proper time for any -action; the only thing one could do was to waste no time in vain -amusements, but to pay attention to what was going on around one, and to -do the thing that came to hand. A third said that however attentive the -King might be to what went on around him, one man alone could not decide -the proper time for every action and that he needed a council of wise -men to advise him. Still a fourth maintained that as certain action had -to be decided at once and could not wait a council the proper thing to -do was to find out beforehand what was going to happen so as to be -always prepared. But as only magicians knew what was going to happen, -then it followed that in order to find out the proper time for any -action one must consult the magicians.</p> - -<p>The second question, too, was answered in various ways. Some said that -the most essential people to the King were his helpers and ministers; -others said priests;<a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a> still others that the most essential people to the -King were doctors; a fourth party said that the most essential people to -the King were soldiers.</p> - -<p>To the third question about the most important occupation, some declared -it was science, others, the art of war, and others, divine worship.</p> - -<p>The answers being different, the King agreed with none of them and gave -no man the promised reward. But still wishing to find out the answers to -his questions, he resolved to consult a hermit who was famous throughout -the land for his wisdom.</p> - -<p>The hermit lived in a wood which he never left, and received none but -common folk. For this reason the King put on simple garments, and, -dismissing his body-guard before he reached the hermit’s cell, he -climbed down from his horse and went the rest of the way alone and on -foot.</p> - -<p>He found the hermit digging a bed in front of the hermitage. When the -hermit saw the King, he greeted him and went on with his digging. He was -frail and thin and each time he dug his spade into the ground and<a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a> -turned over a little soil, he gasped for breath.</p> - -<p>The King approached him and said, “I have come, oh, wise hermit, to ask -you to give me the answers to these three questions—what hour must one -remember and not allow to slip by, so as not to regret it afterwards? -What people are the most essential and with whom should one or should -one not have dealings? What things are the most essential to do and -which of those things must one do first of all?”</p> - -<p>The hermit heard what the King had to say, but made no reply. He spat on -his hand and went on with his digging.</p> - -<p>“You are tired,” the King said; “give me the spade and I will do the -digging for you.”</p> - -<p>The King took the spade and began to dig, but after a while he stopped -and repeated his question. The hermit made no reply, but stretched out -his hand for the spade.</p> - -<p>“You rest now,” he said, “and I will work.”</p> - -<p>But the King would not give up the spade and went on with the digging. -One hour<a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a> passed and another; the sun began to set behind the trees when -the King stuck his spade into the ground and said, “I came to you, wise -man, to find the answers to my three questions. If you cannot answer -them, then tell me and I will go my way home.”</p> - -<p>“Some one is running hither,” the hermit said. “Let us see who it is.”</p> - -<p>The King turned and saw a bearded man running towards them. The man’s -hands were clasped over his stomach and the blood flowed from beneath -them. He fell at the King’s feet and lay motionless, rolling his eyes -and moaning faintly.</p> - -<p>The King and the hermit unfastened the man’s clothes. He had a large -wound in his stomach. The King bathed it as well as he could with his -handkerchief and bandaged it with the hermit’s towel. The blood did not -cease to flow, and several times the King had to remove the bandages, -soaked with warm blood, and rebathe and rebandage the wound.</p> - -<p>When the blood ceased to flow, the wounded man came to himself and -asked<a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a> for some water. The King brought some fresh water and raised it -to the wounded man’s lips.</p> - -<p>The sun had quite set meanwhile and it began to get cold. The King, with -the hermit’s help, carried the wounded man into the cell and put him on -the bed. The wounded man shut his eyes and went to sleep. The King was -so tired with the walk and the work that he curled up by the door and -fell into a sound sleep. He slept through the whole mild summer night, -and when he awoke in the morning he could not make out where he was and -who was the strange bearded man staring at him from the bed with -glistening eyes.</p> - -<p>“Forgive me,” the bearded man said in a faint voice, when he saw that -the King was awake and observing him.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know you and have nothing to forgive you for,” the King said.</p> - -<p>“You don’t know me, but I know you. I am your enemy who vowed to be -revenged on you for having executed my brother and taken away my -property: I knew that you went alone to the hermit and resolved<a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a> to kill -you on your way back. But the day passed and you did not come. I lost -patience and came out to find you, when I stumbled upon your body-guard. -They recognized me and wounded me. I escaped from them, but would have -died from loss of blood had you not bound my wound. I wanted to kill you -and you saved my life. If I continue to live I will serve you as your -most faithful slave should you desire it, and I will order my sons to do -likewise. Forgive me.”</p> - -<p>The King was very glad that he had been able to make peace with his -enemy so easily, and not only forgave him but promised to return his -property and to send him his own servants and physician.</p> - -<p>Taking leave of the wounded man the King came out of the cell and sought -for the hermit with his eyes. Before going away he wanted to ask him for -the last time to answer his three questions. The hermit was on his knees -by the beds they had dug yesterday, sowing vegetable seeds.</p> - -<p>The King approached him and said,<a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a> “For the last time, wise man, I ask -you to answer my questions.”</p> - -<p>“But they are answered already,” the hermit said, squatting on his -emaciated legs and looking at up the King, who stood before him.</p> - -<p>“How?” the King asked.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you see?” the hermit began; “had you not pitied my weakness -yesterday and dug these beds for me and gone back alone, the man would -have attacked you and you would have regretted that you had not stayed -with me. The important hour at the time was when you dug these beds, and -I was the most essential person to you, and the most essential act was -to do me a kindness. And later, when the man ran up, the most important -hour was when you looked after him, for, had you not bandaged his wound, -he would have died without making his peace with you. He was the most -essential man to you at that time, and what you did for him was the most -essential thing to be done. Always bear in mind that the most important -time is <i>now</i>, for it is the only time<a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a> we have any power over -ourselves; the most essential man is the one with whom you happen to be -at the moment, because you can never be sure whether you will ever have -relations with any one else, and the most essential thing to do is a -kindness to that man, for it was for this purpose we were sent into the -world.”<a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="IM_THE_GODSON" id="IM_THE_GODSON"></a> -<a href="images/i_185_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/i_185_sml.jpg" width="283" height="500" alt="[Image not available: THE GODSON. - -To face page 166.]" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE GODSON. -<br /> -<small>To face page 166.]</small></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="THE_GODSON" id="THE_GODSON"></a>THE GODSON</h2> - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p>A son was born to a poor peasant. He rejoiced and went to a neighbour to -ask him to stand as godfather to the boy. The neighbour refused. He did -not want to be godfather to a poor man’s son. So the peasant went to -another neighbour and he, too, refused. He walked from house to house, -but could find no one who would be godfather to his son, so he set out -to another village. On his way he met a stranger, who stopped him and -said, “Good day, peasant; where are you going to?”</p> - -<p>“God has given me a child,” the peasant said, “to gladden my sight in my -youth, to comfort me in my old age and to pray for my soul when I die. -No one in our village will be godfather to him, so I am going to seek -one elsewhere.”<a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a></p> - -<p>“Let me be his godfather,” the stranger said.</p> - -<p>The peasant rejoiced. He thanked the stranger and said, “But whom shall -I ask to be his godmother?”</p> - -<p>“Go into the town,” the stranger said; “in the square you will see a -stone house with shop windows; go in and ask the merchant to let his -daughter stand as godmother to your son.”</p> - -<p>The peasant was doubtful.</p> - -<p>“But how can I ask a rich merchant? He will be too proud to let his -daughter come to a poor man like me.”</p> - -<p>“That won’t be your fault; go and ask him. Have everything ready by the -morning and I’ll come to the christening.”</p> - -<p>The peasant went home, then drove into the town to the merchant. He had -no sooner stopped in the yard than the merchant came out.</p> - -<p>“What do you want?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“God has given me a child,” the peasant said, “to gladden my sight in my -youth, to comfort me in my old age and to pray for my soul when I die. -Will you be kind<a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a> enough to let your daughter come and be godmother to -the child?”</p> - -<p>“When is the christening?”</p> - -<p>“To-morrow morning.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; go, in God’s name. To-morrow my daughter will be at the -church.”</p> - -<p>The next day the godmother and godfather came; the child was christened, -but directly after the christening the godfather disappeared. No one -knew who he was and no one saw him from that day.</p> - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>The child grew up to the parents’ great joy; and he was strong and -industrious and clever and humble. When he was ten years old the parents -sent him to school, and what it took others five years to learn the boy -learnt in one. And there was no one in the village who could teach him -more.</p> - -<p>Easter came round and the boy went to his godmother to give her the -Easter greeting. When he returned home he said, “Father and mother, -where does my godfather live? I should like to give him the Easter -greeting, too.”<a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a></p> - -<p>And the father said, “We don’t know where your godfather lives, dear -son. We, too, have worried over that. We have not seen him since you -were christened. We have not heard of him and don’t know where he lives, -nor whether he is alive at all.”</p> - -<p>The boy bowed to his father and mother.</p> - -<p>“Let me go,” he said, “to seek my godfather. I want to find him and give -him the Easter greeting.”</p> - -<p>The father and mother gave their consent and the boy set out to find his -godfather.</p> - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>The boy left the house and set out on his way. About midday he met a -stranger and the stranger stopped and said, “Good day to you, boy. Where -are you going?”</p> - -<p>And the boy said, “I went to my godmother to give her the Easter -greeting and when I returned home I asked my parents where my godfather -lived, because I wanted to give him the greeting too, but my parents -said, ‘We don’t know where your godfather<a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a> lives, dear son. We have not -heard of him since you were christened and we don’t know anything about -him, or whether he is alive at all.’ And I wanted to see my godfather, -so I am going to find him.”</p> - -<p>“I am your godfather,” the stranger said.</p> - -<p>The boy rejoiced and gave him the Easter greeting.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going to, godfather? If you are going in our direction -come in to us, or if you are going home, may I come with you?”</p> - -<p>And the stranger said, “I have no time to come to you now, because I -have some business in the villages. I shall not be home until to-morrow, -then you can come to me if you like.”</p> - -<p>“But how shall I find you, godfather?”</p> - -<p>“Walk straight towards the east until you come to a wood in the midst of -which you will find a clearing. Sit down to rest in that clearing and -look about you to see what is happening. When you come out of the wood -you will see a garden and in the garden is a house with a golden roof.<a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a> -That is my house. Go in at the gate; I will meet you there myself.”</p> - -<p>Saying these words the godfather vanished from the godson’s sight.</p> - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>The boy followed the godfather’s directions. He wandered and wandered -till he came to a wood and found the clearing, and in the midst of the -clearing stood a pine tree to a branch of which a heavy block of oak was -attached with string, and beneath the block was a trough of honey. As -the boy was wondering why the honey and the block were there, a -crackling was heard among the trees and out came a family of bears. The -mother came in front and a yearling and some cubs followed behind. The -mother, sniffing the air, went straight to the trough, the cubs -following. She thrust her muzzle into the honey and called to the cubs -to do the same. They scampered up and thrust in their muzzles. The block -swung back a little and returning, hit against the cubs. When the mother -saw this, she shoved the block away with<a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a> her paw. The block swung back -further, and returning more forcibly struck one cub on the back, another -on the head. The cubs jumped away, howling with pain. The mother bear -growled, and seizing the block in her fore-paws, flung it away from her -violently. The block flew up high. The yearling ran up to the trough, -thrust his muzzle into the honey, the other cubs followed him, but no -sooner had they got there than the block swung back, struck the yearling -on the head and killed him. The mother-bear growled more angrily as she -seized the block and flung it away with all her might. The block flew -higher than the branch, the string it was tied to even slackened; the -mother-bear and the cubs came up to the trough; the block flew higher -and higher, then stopped and began to descend; the lower it got the -swifter became its course. It crashed down on the mother-bear’s head. -She fell over; her legs twitched and she died. The cubs ran away into -the wood.<a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a></p> - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>The boy wondered and went on further. He came to a large garden and in -the garden was a high house with a golden roof. At the gate stood his -godfather, smiling. He greeted his godson, made him come inside the gate -and took him round the garden. He had never even dreamt of such beauty -and joy as there was in that garden.</p> - -<p>The godfather took the boy into the house and he found that more -wonderful still. The godfather showed him all the rooms—one more -beautiful than the other—then he brought him to a sealed door. “Do you -see this door?” he asked. “It is not locked, only sealed. It can be -opened, but I forbid you to do it. You can live here and go where you -like and do what you like; taste of every pleasure; I forbid you only -one thing—to pass that door. But if it should happen that you do go in, -remember what you saw in the wood.” With these words the godfather went -away, and the godson was left alone. His life was so full of pleasure -and such a happy one that<a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a> when he had been there thirty years it seemed -to him no more than three hours. Thus the thirty years passed and the -godson came to the sealed door, thinking, “I wonder why my godfather -forbade me to go into this room? I will go in and see what is there.”</p> - -<p>He pushed the door; the seal gave way and the door opened. The godson -went in and saw that the room was large and more beautiful than all the -others, and in the middle of it stood a golden throne. The godson -wandered and wandered over the room; then he stopped by the throne, -mounted the steps and sat down. He saw a sceptre by the throne and he -took it up in his hand. He had no sooner touched the sceptre than the -walls of the room rolled asunder. The godson looked about and saw the -whole world and everything people were doing in it. Straight before him -was the sea and ships sailing on it. To the right were foreign lands, -where heathens lived. To the left were Christians, but not Russians. On -the fourth side were our own Russian people.<a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a></p> - -<p>“I will look and see what is happening at home,” he said. “I wonder if -the corn is good this year?”</p> - -<p>He looked at his father’s fields and saw the sheaves standing in them. -He began to count the sheaves to see if the harvest had been good, when -he saw a cart coming over the field with a peasant sitting in it. He -looked closer and saw that it was Vasily, a thief. Vasily stopped by the -sheaves and began putting them into the cart. The godson could not -endure this and cried aloud, “Father, they are stealing your sheaves!”</p> - -<p>The father awoke in the night. “I dreamt that some one was stealing my -sheaves,” he said; “I will go and see.” He got upon his horse and rode -out.</p> - -<p>When he got to the fields he saw Vasily and called aloud for help. Some -peasants came up. Vasily was beaten, bound and taken to prison.</p> - -<p>The godson then looked towards the town where his godmother lived and -saw that she had married a merchant. She was lying in bed and her -husband got up to leave<a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a> her to go to another woman. And the godson -cried aloud to his godmother, “Get up! Your husband is going to do -something wicked!”</p> - -<p>The godmother jumped up, dressed and set out to find her husband. She -brought him to shame, beat the other woman and would not take her -husband back again.</p> - -<p>The godson looked again towards his home and saw his mother lying in the -house and that a robber had stolen in and was breaking open a trunk. The -mother awoke and cried out in terror. The robber raised his axe, and was -about to kill her, but the godson could endure no more; he thrust the -sceptre straight into the robber’s temple and killed him on the spot.</p> - -<h3>VI</h3> - -<p>He had no sooner slain the robber than the walls rose up again and the -room became as before.</p> - -<p>The door opened and the godfather entered. He approached the godson, -took him by the hand, led him from the throne and said, “You did not -obey my commands.<a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a> You did one wrong thing in opening the forbidden -door, another when you mounted the throne and took my sceptre into your -hand, and a third wrong, which has added to the evil in the world. Had -you sat on the throne an hour longer, you would have ruined half -mankind.”</p> - -<p>And the godfather once more led the godson up to the throne and he took -the sceptre in his hand and the walls rolled asunder.</p> - -<p>And the godfather said, “See what you have done to your father. Vasily -sat in prison for a year and learnt every kind of wickedness and came -out completely corrupted. See, he has driven off two of your father’s -horses and is now setting fire to his barns. This is what you have done -to your father.”</p> - -<p>As soon as the godson saw his father’s barns burst into flame the -godfather hid the view from his sight and bade him look in another -direction.</p> - -<p>“See,” he said; “it is now a year since your godmother’s husband left -her, and he goes after other women and his wife has<a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a> taken to drink and -his former mistress has fallen to still lower depths. This is what you -have done to your godmother.”</p> - -<p>This sight, too, he hid from the godson’s gaze and bade him look towards -his own home. His mother was weeping and saying, “It would have been -better if the robber had killed me than that I should have so many sins -on my soul.”</p> - -<p>“This is what you have done to your mother.”</p> - -<p>This sight, too, the godfather shut out and bade the godson look below. -And he saw two keepers guarding the robber in a dungeon.</p> - -<p>And the godfather said, “This man has killed nine people. He should have -atoned for his sins himself, but in killing him you have taken them upon -your own soul. Now you must answer for all his sins. This is what you -have done to yourself. When the mother-bear first pushed the block aside -she merely disturbed her cubs; when she pushed it a second time, she -killed her yearling; when she pushed it a third time, she was killed -herself. You have done<a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a> exactly the same. I give you a term of thirty -years. Go into the world and atone for the robber’s sins; if you fail to -do so, you will have to take his place.”</p> - -<p>“But how shall I atone for his sins?” the godson asked.</p> - -<p>And the godfather said, “When you have rid the world of as much evil as -you brought into it, then you will have atoned for your own and the -robber’s sins.”</p> - -<p>And the godson asked, “How can I rid the world of evil?”</p> - -<p>And the godfather said, “Walk straight towards the east until you come -to some fields on which you will find some people. Take note of what -they are doing and teach them what you know, then go on further, -observing everything on the way. On the fourth day you will come to a -wood in which you will find a cell, and in this cell a hermit lives. -Tell this hermit all that has happened and he will instruct you in what -you are to do. When you have done all that the hermit has told you, you -will have atoned for your own and the robber’s sins.”<a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a></p> - -<p>With these words the godfather put the godson out at the gate.</p> - -<h3>VII</h3> - -<p>And the godson set out, thinking as he walked, “How can I rid the world -of evil? People rid the world of evil by banishing evil men or putting -them in prison or executing them. But how can I rid the world of evil -without taking other men’s sins upon myself?” And the godson wondered -and wondered, but could come to no decision.</p> - -<p>He wandered and wandered till he came to a field on which tall rich corn -was growing, ready to be harvested. And the godson saw a calf that had -strayed in among the corn and he saw men on horseback chasing the calf -this way and that and trampling down the corn. Each time the calf was -about to come out of the corn some one rode up and the calf got -frightened and ran back again, the men after it. In the road stood a -woman, crying, “They will chase my calf to death!”</p> - -<p>And the godson said to the men, “What<a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a> are you doing? Come out of the -corn and let the woman call to her calf.”</p> - -<p>The men did so. The woman came up to the edge of the field and called to -the calf, who pricked up its ears, listening awhile, then it ran towards -her and buried its nose in her skirts, nearly knocking her down. The men -were glad, and the woman was glad, and the calf, too, was glad.</p> - -<p>The godson went on his way thinking, “I see that evil breeds evil. The -more people try to drive away evil, the more the evil grows, which shows -that it is impossible to drive out evil by evil. But how can one drive -it out? I don’t know. It is well that the calf obeyed its mistress; if -it had not done so, how should we have got it out of the corn?”</p> - -<p>And the godson wondered and wondered, but could come to no decision and -went on further.</p> - -<h3>VIII</h3> - -<p>He wandered and wandered till he came to a village where he asked to be -allowed to stay the night at the first house. The mistress let him in. -Besides herself no one<a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a> was in the house. The mistress was busy -cleaning.</p> - -<p>When the godson came in he climbed on to the stove and began watching to -see what the mistress was doing. She had finished cleaning the floor and -was scrubbing the table. She scrubbed it and wiped it with a dirty -cloth. She rubbed the cloth one way, but the table would not come clean. -The cloth left streaks of dirt. She rubbed it the other way—the first -streaks came out, new ones were made. She rubbed it lengthwise again and -the same thing happened. The dirty cloth rubbed out one streak of dirt -and left another. The godson watched for some time and then said, “What -are you doing, mistress?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you see that I’m cleaning the house for the festival? I can’t get -the table clean, anyhow. The dirt will not come off and I’m quite worn -out.”</p> - -<p>“You should rinse out the cloth, then wipe the table.”</p> - -<p>The mistress did as he told her and the table came clean. “Thank you,” -she said, “for your lesson.”<a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a></p> - -<p>In the morning the godson took leave of the mistress and went on -further. He wandered and wandered till he came to a wood where he saw -some peasants making hoops. He approached them and saw them struggling -and struggling, but they could not bend the wood. He looked closer and -saw that the block on which they were working was not firmly fixed. And -the godson said, “What are you doing, brothers?”</p> - -<p>“Making hoops, as you see. We have steamed the wood twice, yet cannot -bend it. We are quite worn out.”</p> - -<p>“You should fix the block more firmly, mates. It moves round with you as -it is.”</p> - -<p>The peasants did so and their work went smoothly afterwards.</p> - -<p>The godson stayed the night with them, then went on his way. He walked -the whole of that day and the night and just before daybreak he came -upon some shepherds encamped for the night, and joined them. They had -settled their cattle and were trying to light a fire. They took some dry -twigs and lighted them, and not giving them time to burn up, they put<a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a> -some damp brushwood on top and smothered the fire. The shepherds took -some more dry twigs and lighted them, and again they smothered the fire -with damp brushwood. For a long time they struggled, but could get no -fire.</p> - -<p>And the godson said, “Don’t be in such a hurry to put on the brushwood, -but wait until the twigs have caught well. When the fire gets hot then -you can put on the brushwood.”</p> - -<p>The shepherds did as he told them. When the twigs had caught well, they -put on the brushwood, and in a few minutes they had a blazing fire.</p> - -<p>The godson stayed with them for a while then went on further. He -wondered what these three things he had seen might mean, but could not -understand, nor see the reason of them.</p> - -<h3>IX</h3> - -<p>The godson wandered and wandered until nightfall, when he came to a -wood, and in the wood was a cell. He went up to the cell and knocked at -the door.<a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a></p> - -<p>A voice from within asked, “Who is that?”</p> - -<p>“A great sinner. I have come to atone for the sins of another.”</p> - -<p>And the hermit asked, “What are these sins you have taken upon -yourself?”</p> - -<p>And the godson told him everything about his godfather and the -mother-bear and the cubs and about the throne in the sealed room, and -about his godfather’s commands, and about the peasants who had trampled -the corn in the field, and the calf that had come to its mistress at her -call.</p> - -<p>“I know now,” he said, “that you cannot drive out evil by evil, but I -don’t know how it can be driven out and I want you to tell me.”</p> - -<p>And the hermit said, “Tell me what else you have seen on the way?”</p> - -<p>The godson told him about the woman and how she had tried to clean the -table, and of the peasants who had tried to make the hoops, and the -shepherds who had tried to light a fire.</p> - -<p>The hermit waited until he had finished,<a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a> then he went into his cell and -brought out a jagged axe.</p> - -<p>“Come,” he said.</p> - -<p>The hermit walked away from the cell and pointed to a tree. “Cut it -down,” he said.</p> - -<p>The godson felled it.</p> - -<p>“Chop it into three parts.”</p> - -<p>The godson chopped it into three parts. The hermit again went into his -cell and brought out a light.</p> - -<p>“Set fire to those three logs,” he said.</p> - -<p>The godson made a fire and burnt the three logs till only three pieces -of charcoal were left.</p> - -<p>“Now plant them half into the ground, like this.”</p> - -<p>The godson planted them.</p> - -<p>“Do you see a river there by that hill? Fetch some water in your mouth -and water them. Water this one in the way you taught the woman to clean, -this one in the way you taught the hoopers, and this one in the way you -taught the shepherds. When the three pieces of charcoal grow into -apple-trees you will know how to rid<a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a> the world of evil, and will then -have atoned for your sins.”</p> - -<p>With these words the hermit went into his cell. The godson pondered and -pondered and could not understand what the hermit had said, but he did -what the hermit had told him.</p> - -<h3>X</h3> - -<p>The godson went to the river, filled his mouth with water and watered -one piece of charcoal; then he went again and again, until he had -watered the other two. The godson was tired and hungry. He went to the -hermit’s cell to ask for some food. When he opened the door there was -the hermit lying dead on a bench. The godson looked about the cell and -found some rusks, which he ate; then he discovered a spade and went out -to dig a grave for the old man. By night he carried water to water the -pieces of charcoal, and by day he dug the grave. He had no sooner -finished it and was about to bury the hermit, when some people came from -the village to bring the hermit food.<a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a></p> - -<p>When the people heard that the hermit was dead they asked the godson to -take his place. They buried the hermit, left the bread with the godson -and went away, promising to bring him more food later on.</p> - -<p>And the godson fell into the hermit’s place and he lived and nourished -himself with the food people brought him, and went on watering the -pieces of charcoal as the hermit had bidden him do.</p> - -<p>The godson lived thus for a year and many people began to visit him. He -grew famous throughout the country as a saint who saved his soul by -carrying water in his mouth from beneath a hill, and watering stumps of -charcoal. People flocked to him. Rich merchants brought him gifts, but -the godson used nothing but what he needed, giving the rest to the poor.</p> - -<p>And the godson began to live thus—for half the day he carried water in -his mouth to water the pieces of charcoal, for the other half he rested -and received people.</p> - -<p>And the godson came to think that he had been told to live thus and that -in this way he would atone for his sins.<a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a></p> - -<p>The godson lived thus for another year, not missing a single day for -watering the charcoal, yet not a single piece had begun to sprout.</p> - -<p>One day when he was sitting in his cell he heard a horseman gallop past, -singing to himself. The hermit came out to see what manner of man he -was. And he saw that the man was young and strong and was dressed in -fine clothes and seated on a spirited horse.</p> - -<p>The godson stopped him and asked him who he was and where he was going. -The man pulled up.</p> - -<p>“I am a robber,” he said; “I roam the highway and kill whomever I have a -mind to. The more men I kill the merrier are my songs.”</p> - -<p>The godson was horrified and thought, “How can one destroy evil in such -a man? It is well to talk to the people who come to me; they repent of -their own accord, but this man glories in the evil he does.” The godson -said nothing to him and turned away, thinking, “What shall I do? If this -robber makes up his mind to stay here,<a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a> he will scare away my people and -no one will come to see me. They will lose some good thereby, and I -shall have nothing to live on.”</p> - -<p>And the godson stopped and said to the robber, “People come to me not to -boast of the evil they do, but to repent and pray for their sins to be -forgiven them. You repent likewise, if you have the fear of God in your -heart, and if you do not seek repentance, go away from this place and do -not come back again, so as not to hinder me or scare away my people. If -you fail to listen to my words God will punish you.”</p> - -<p>The robber laughed.</p> - -<p>“I am not afraid of your God and I won’t listen to you. You are not my -master to order me about. You live by your piety, I by my robbery. We -must all live. Teach the women who come to you, but let me alone. Since -you have dared to mention the name of God to me I will kill two extra -people to-morrow. I would kill you now, only I don’t want to soil my -hands, but take care never to cross my path again.”</p> - -<p>The robber threatened him thus and rode<a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a> away. He did not come again and -the godson lived in the hermitage as before for another eight years.</p> - -<h3>XI</h3> - -<p>One night the godson set out to water his pieces of charcoal and when he -had finished he sat down in his cell to rest. He peered along the path -now and again to see if any visitor was coming, but no one came that -day. The godson sat alone until evening and he grew lonesome and weary -and began to think about his life. He recollected how the robber had -reproached him for living by his piety. He began to look back upon his -life. “I am not living as the hermit told me,” he thought. “The hermit -imposed a penance on me and I have used it as a means of earning my -bread and even gaining fame thereby. I have been so led astray over it -that I am even dull when people do not come to see me, and when they do -come, I rejoice when they praise my saintliness. This is not the way one -must live. I have been blinded by fame. Not only have I not atoned for -past sins<a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a> but have taken new ones upon myself. I will go away to -another place far into the wood, where the people will not find me, and -I will live alone there and atone for my past sins, taking care not to -commit new ones.”</p> - -<p>Thinking thus the godson took a bag of rusks and a spade, and he left -the cell and set out down a ravine to build himself a mud hut in the -thicket and disappear from people’s sight.</p> - -<p>The godson was walking along with his bag and spade when the robber -jumped out upon him. The godson was afraid and would have run away, but -the robber stopped him.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?” he asked.</p> - -<p>The godson told him that he wanted to go away from people and bury -himself in a wild part of the wood where no one would come to him.</p> - -<p>The robber wondered.</p> - -<p>“But what will you live on if no one comes to see you?”</p> - -<p>The godson had not thought of that, but now the robber had mentioned it -he remembered that he had to eat.<a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a></p> - -<p>“On what God gives,” he said.</p> - -<p>The robber made no reply and went his way.</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t I say anything to him about his life?” the godson thought. -“He may be repentant now. He seemed softer of manner and did not -threaten to kill me to-day.” And he called to the robber saying, “It is -time you repented. You cannot get away from God.”</p> - -<p>The robber turned his horse round, seized a knife from his girdle and -brandished it aloft. The godson took fright and ran away into the wood.</p> - -<p>The robber did not trouble to go after him, he merely said, “I have let -you off twice, old man; take care not to come my way a third time, or -I’ll kill you.”</p> - -<p>With these words the robber rode away.</p> - -<p>That evening the godson went to water his pieces of charcoal and behold! -one of the pieces had sprouted! A young apple-tree had shot forth.</p> - -<h3>XII</h3> - -<p>The godson hid himself from the eyes of<a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a> men and began to live alone. -His rusks were all gone. “I must hunt for some roots,” he thought, but -he had no sooner gone out than he saw a bag of rusks hanging on the -branch of a tree. He took the bag and began to eat.</p> - -<p>When that was all gone he found another bag in the very same place. Thus -the godson lived. He had only one care—his fear of the robber. When he -heard him coming he hid himself, thinking, “If he kills me I shall not -be able to atone for my sins.”</p> - -<p>Another ten years passed. One apple-tree grew up, the other pieces of -charcoal remained as they were before.</p> - -<p>One day the godson went out early to do his watering. He moistened the -soil around the stumps until he was tired and sat down to rest. As he -rested he thought, “I have sinned greatly in fearing death. If it be -God’s will I will atone for my sins by death even.”</p> - -<p>The thought had no sooner occurred to him than he heard the robber come -along cursing at some one. And the godson<a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a> thought, “Besides God no one -can do me either good or evil.” And he went to meet the robber. He saw -that the robber was not alone. On the saddle, behind him, was another -man, and this man’s hands were bound and his mouth was gagged. The man -made no sound and the robber kept on abusing him. The godson approached -the robber and stopped before his horse.</p> - -<p>“Where are you taking this man to?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Into the wood. He is a merchant’s son and won’t tell me where his -father’s money is hidden. I will keep him prisoner until he tells me.”</p> - -<p>The robber was about to go on, but the godson would not let him, seizing -the horse by the bridle.</p> - -<p>“Let the man go,” he said.</p> - -<p>The robber grew angry and raised his arm to strike him.</p> - -<p>“Do you want to share his fate? I told you I would kill you. Let go!”</p> - -<p>The godson was not afraid.</p> - -<p>“I won’t let go,” he said. “I’m not<a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a> afraid of you; I only fear God. He -tells me not to let go. Set the man free.”</p> - -<p>The robber frowned; he seized the knife from his girdle, cut the cords -and released the merchant’s son.</p> - -<p>“Be gone, the two of you!” he said, “and don’t come across my path a -second time!”</p> - -<p>The merchant’s son fled. The robber was about to go, but the godson -stopped him and once more beseeched him to abandon his wicked life. The -robber stood and listened without saying a word, then turned and rode -away.</p> - -<p>In the morning the godson went to water his pieces of charcoal. Behold! -another one had burst forth, another apple-tree had grown!</p> - -<h3>XIII</h3> - -<p>Ten more years passed. The godson lived desiring nothing, afraid of -nothing, and a feeling of gladness always at his heart. And he thought -one day, “What blessings the good Lord gives us! And we torment -ourselves for nothing. People should live in joy and happiness.” And he -remembered the evil men suffered and how they tormented<a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a> themselves and -he grew to pity them. “It is in vain that I live as I do,” he thought; -“I must go among people and tell them what I know.”</p> - -<p>The thought had no sooner occurred to him than he heard the robber come -along, but he took no notice of him, thinking, “What is the use of -talking to that man? He will not understand.”</p> - -<p>This was his first thought, but in a little while he repented of it and -went out in the road. The robber sat on his horse, frowning and looking -at the ground. When the godson saw him, a feeling of pity came over him; -he rushed up and seized the robber’s knee.</p> - -<p>“My dear brother,” he said, “take pity on your soul! Don’t you know that -the spirit of God is in you? You torment yourself and others, and as -time goes on your torments will grow worse, and God loves you and wants -to heap His blessings upon you. Don’t destroy yourself, brother; change -your way of life.”</p> - -<p>The robber frowned and turned away. “Leave me alone,” he said.<a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a></p> - -<p>The godson clutched the robber’s knee still firmer and the tears stood -in his eyes. The robber raised his eyes to his, gazed into them for a -long time, then climbed down from his horse and fell on his knees before -the godson.</p> - -<p>“You have subdued me, old man,” he said. “For twenty years I struggled -against you, but you have won. I am powerless before you. Do what you -want with me. When you spoke to me the first time, I grew more hardened -still. I only began to take your words to heart when you went away from -people and I knew that you needed nothing from them. It was then I began -to supply you with rusks.”</p> - -<p>And the godson recollected that the woman had only managed to clean the -table after she had washed the cloth. When he ceased to care for himself -and cleansed his heart, he was able to cleanse the hearts of others.</p> - -<p>And the robber continued, “And my heart turned when I saw that you had -no fear of death.”</p> - -<p>And the godson remembered that the<a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a> hoopers began to bend the hoops only -when they had made the block firm. When he ceased to fear death and -established his life firmly in God he had been able to subdue this man’s -wild heart.</p> - -<p>And the robber said, “And the heart in me melted altogether when I saw -that you pitied me and wept before me.”</p> - -<p>The godson rejoiced. He led the robber to the place where his pieces of -charcoal were planted and behold! a third apple-tree had grown. And the -godson remembered that when the shepherds had allowed their dry twigs to -catch well, a big fire blazed up. It was only when his heart grew warm -that he had been able to kindle the heart of another.</p> - -<p>And the godson rejoiced that he had now atoned for all his sins.</p> - -<p>He told the robber everything and died. The robber buried him and began -to live as the godson had told him, and to teach other men what he knew.</p> - -<p class="c"><small> -Printed in England<br /> -by Butler & Tanner Selwood Printing Works Frome, Somerset<br /> -</small></p> - -<hr /> - -<pre> -e-text transcriber note:<br /> -Information was cropped off when the book used as a scan -source was rebound. Emailed University of Southern Mississippi -Libraries, and received confirmation from a librarian there -concerning missing page references on plates: - -1: The frontispiece has the word "Frontispiece.", in italics, - no bracket, lower left. -2: The plate which faces page 56 in the TIA copy should face - page 57 (was probably positioned incorrectly when rebound). -3: For plate facing page 82, bottom right reference reads, - "[To face page 82." -4: For plate facing page 158, bottom right reference reads, - "[To face page 158." -5: For the plate facing page 166, the plate actually says - "[To face page 166."--but it faces 167 instead. - ---srjfoo, 2016-02-15 -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tolstoi for the young, by Leo Tolstoi - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOLSTOI FOR THE YOUNG *** - -***** This file should be named 51708-h.htm or 51708-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/7/0/51708/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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