Page:The Russian story book, containing tales from the song-cycles of Kiev and Novgorod and other early sources.djvu/267

 As soon as the guests were seated and Vasily had taken his place in the big corner, the black-browed maid brought steaming dishes and foaming tankards and placed them before her master and his bodyguard, but she placed neither food nor drink before the men of Novgorod, who were very hungry, for the wind was keen and the world was white. Now when the citizens saw that they were mocked by Vasily and his bodyguard, and even by the black-browed servant maid, they were spitefully angry and cursed their host and his men, but this only made the four jokers laugh the louder; whereupon the guests arose and crowded out into the snow-covered courtyard rather more hungry than when they came in.

"We will not forget this vile insult," piped one small citizen in a mantle of marten skins with a collar of sables; "why, my neighbour was full of spleen because of my invitation to the lord's castle, and when the story is known his pity and scorn will be much worse to bear than his spleen. But we shall repay Vasily in his own bad coin. Let us make such a feast as the citizens of Novgorod have never seen before, and we will not send Vasily an invitation."

"That is a good thought," said two stout citizens, and they all went home with their heads so high in the air that some of them slipped down on the way upon some slides that certain wicked boys—who would assuredly never grow up to be councillors—had made in the roadway. In a few days the feast was prepared and the invitations were issued, but