Page:Leo Tolstoi - Life Is Worth Living and Other Stories - tr. Adolphus Norraikow (1892).djvu/74

 Rh then said: 'When you shall have learned these three great truths you will be allowed to return to heaven.'

"Hearing these angry words, I flew back to earth to fulfill the Lord's command. I took the woman's soul from her. The babes fell from her arms, and in her struggle with death she crushed the foot of one of the twins. I attempted to soar above the village, wishing to carry the woman's soul to God; but I was seized by a strong wind and my wings were carried away. The soul went alone on its way to heaven, while I dropped to the earth, alighting in the churchyard where you found me."