Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/275

Rh little carriage and pair ready, so that the pigs need not go to the wedding on foot."

When the carriage was ready, they dressed the pig up in the lady's fur coat, and placed it in the carriage with the young ones, and gave the reins to the peasant, who at once rode away homewards.

Now the master of the house, who was away shooting at the time, returned home a few minutes after the peasant had left. His wife ran out to meet him, laughing.

"I am so glad you have returned, my dear!" she said; "as I am longing to have some one to laugh with. Such a funny thing happened while you were away. A peasant came here and began kneeling and bowing before our pigs. He declared that one of them was his wife's sister, and he was asking her and the little ones to come to his son's wedding!"

"Yes," the husband replied; "and did you let her go?"

"Of course I did. I even had the pig dressed in my best shuba and had her put in my own little carriage and pair, and let the peasant drive it himself I think it was nothing but right for me to do so, the peasant was so very polite to the pigs. What do you think, my dear?"

"What do I think? Well this—that the peasant was an ass, and you were another!"

And the good man—like the rest of his sex—thought it was a splendid opportunity for flying into a rage. He told his wife that she had been cheated, and then rushing out of the house, he flung himself upon his horse and galloped off after the peasant, who