Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/277

Rh heaven knows what might happen afterwards; you might lose the bird, and then take your departure too, and I should never see either the falcon or the money!"

"Oh, you incredulous man! Here take the three hundred roubles anyhow!"

The peasant took the money, and at the barin's wish mounted his horse and rode off into the forest, leaving the barin to watch over the empty cap.

He waited and waited; but the peasant did not return, which he thought looked rather queer.

The sun began to set, still no peasant.

"Stop!" thought the barin, "let me look and see whether there really is a falcon under that cap. If there is, then the peasant may possibly return; if not—well, then it is of no use waiting here and wasting my time."

He peeped under the cap, but no falcon was to be seen.

"Ah, the wretch!" he laughed; "I do believe that he was the very same man who cheated my wife out of her carriage and pair, her shuba, and the pigs."

He spat on the ground three times with vexation, and returned home to his wife penitent.

Meanwhile our friend the peasant had long since got safely back to his mother with all his treasures.

"Well, mother mine!" he cried, "this world of ours can certainly boast of some very good natured fools. Just look, without any reason whatever, they gave me three horses, a carriage, three hundred roubles, and a pig with her little ones. Now we can live happily for some time at least, thanks to the stupidity of these people. It really is wonderful!"