Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/289

Rh place, where they saw a wild duck sitting among some reeds, where she had made herself a nest.

"Let us catch that duck!" said the uncle, as he began to creep stealthily up to her. But he did not succeed; he had driven her off her nest in vain. Meanwhile Senka the Little crept on behind his uncle, and contrived to cut off the soles of that worthy's shoes unobserved.

"Well, Senka," laughed the uncle, when he found what his nephew had done, "I thought I was cunning enough, but you beat me out and out."

They went on farther, and very soon saw in the distance three mujiks coming along towards them, leading a bull to market.

"How can we best get that bull, little uncle?" asked Senka.

"Why, you stupid, it is not night? How can any one steal so large a thing in broad daylight?"

"Never mind, uncle, I intend to do it, be it night or day."

"What!" exclaimed the uncle. "Do you actually think that you can be more clever and cunning than I."

"Well, we shall see."

Senka the Little then took off his right boot, and, throwing it into the middle of the road, hid himself and his uncle behind some bushes on the road-side.

The mujiks came up.

"Stop, my brothers!" cried one. "Look here! What a splendid boot this is; quite new, too."

"Yes, it's new enough; but what can we do with it? If there had been a pair of them it would have T