Page:The Russian story book, containing tales from the song-cycles of Kiev and Novgorod and other early sources.djvu/306

 a pipe with the blacksmiths." Then he went in and found twenty-five smiths making the anvils ring.

"Good-day to you, brothers," he bellowed, and at the sound of his great voice they ceased their hammering and returned his greeting with proper courtesy.

"Make me a staff of wrought iron," he said, "of a thousand pounds in weight."

"We are willing enough," said the master smith, "to make such a staff, but who will turn the iron?"

"Beat away, my merry men," said Nikita, "and I will turn the iron." So they beat away and Nikita turned the iron; and when the staff was ready, Nikita took it out into the open field. There he threw it skyward to a height of one hundred and fifty feet and let it fall into his hand. As he grasped it with his heroic strength, it bent and broke. Then Nikita went back to the forge, paid the men for their work, threw the broken pieces of the rod away, and rode off with a pleased look upon his face. Before long he caught up again with his companions, and they rode onward for three days longer, whence once more they came to a forge in the open field.

"Go ahead a third time," said Nikita, "and may good go with you. I will go into this forge to smoke a pipe with the blacksmiths."

Within the third forge he found fifty blacksmiths tormenting an old man whom they had stretched out upon a large anvil. Ten of these great fellows were holding him by the beard with pincers and the forty were pounding him on his body with hammers.