Page:The Complete Works of Lyof N. Tolstoi - 08 (Crowell, 1899).djvu/164

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hatched out some Chickens, and did not know how to take care of them. And so she said to them:—

"Creep into the shell again; when you are in the shell, I will sit on you, as I used to sit on you, and I will take care of you."

The Chickens obeyed their mother, tried to creep into the shell; but they found it perfectly impossible to get into it again, and they only broke their wings.

Then one of the Chickens said to his mother:—

"If we were to remain always in the shell, it would have been better if you had not let us out of it."

had been late in building his nest in a meadow; and when haying-time came, his Mate was still sitting on her eggs.

Early in the morning the peasants came to the meadow, took off their kaftans, whetted their scythes, and went, one after the other, cutting the grass and laying it in windrows.

The Quail flew up to see what the mowers were doing. When he saw that one peasant was swinging his scythe and had just cut a snake in two, he was rejoiced, flew back to his Mate, and said:—

"Don't be afraid of the peasants; they have come out to kill our snakes; for a long time there has been no living on account of them."

But his Mate said:—

"The peasants are cutting grass; and with the grass they cut everything that comes in their way,—either a