Page:Tolstoy - Tales from Tolstoi.djvu/324

Tales from Tolstoi dealers. He joined himself to them, and then he saw that the dealers had let out their cattle to graze, and were lighting a fire. They took dry branches and kindled them, but they did not give them time to burn up, but piled wet twigs on the fire. The twigs hissed and spluttered, and then the fire went out. The cattle-dealers took more dry branches, lighted them, and again piled on wet twigs, and again the fire died out. For a long time they laboured, and all to no purpose—they could not light the fire.

And the godson said, "Be not over hasty in piling on the fuel, but first let the fire burn up merrily. When the flame is clear and strong, then pile on the fuel. And the cattle-dealers did so; they made the fire burn up vigorously, and then they piled on the firewood. The firewood caught, and the whole pile blazed up. So when the godson had stayed with them for a while, he went on further. And the godson thought and thought to himself to what end he had seen these three things—and he could not understand it.

The godson went on and on, and the day passed away. He came to a forest, and in this forest was a cell. The godson went up to the cell and knocked, and a voice out of the cell cried, "Who is there?"

"A great sinner," replied the godson. "I go about to make good the sins of other people."

Then an old man came out of the cell, and said, 274