Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/211

Rh behold forty-one tiny little boys! forty of whom were beautifully plump and rosy, while the forty-first was very thin and seemed delicate.

The peasants then began to think what names they should give all these forty-one boys, and, I must say, found it rather difficult. However, after a great deal of trouble, they at last settled on suitable names for the forty youngsters; but when they came to the forty-first, they were at a loss what name to give him.

"Call him Starveling," said the peasant at last to his wife, "for he looks so weak and half-starved."

Now these forty-one boys began to grow; not by days, but by hours; and were a great help to their parents, doing all the work for them. The forty lads who were so strong and healthy worked in the fields, while Starveling stayed at home and did all the house-work.

At last the hay-making time came, and the forty sons set to work to mow the grass in the fields. They worked for a week, and then returned home to eat, drink, and sleep as long as they could.

"Lazy fellows!" said the father, laughing; "they eat as much as they can and sleep more, but as to work, I don't suppose they have done anything!"

"Better go and see, father," said Starveling; "see whether they have worked before you call them lazy."

The peasant dressed himself the following morning, and went into the meadows to see what his sons had done, and saw, to his astonishment, forty hay-ricks standing in a row.