Page:Tolstoy - Tales from Tolstoi.djvu/325

Rh "What then are these sins of other people that are laid upon thee?"

So the godson told him all. He told him of his godfather, and of the bear and her cubs, and of the throne in the sealed palace, and of what the godfather had commanded him to do, and of how he had seen the muzhiks in the field treading down the corn, and how the calf came to its mistress of its own accord.

"I have understood," said he, "that evil cannot be destroyed by evil; but I cannot understand how then it is to be destroyed. Teach me."

And the old man said, "Tell me now what else thou hast seen on thy way."

And the godson told him of the old woman, and how she washed, and of the muzhiks, and how they bent the hoop, and of the herdsmen, and how they kindled the fire. The old man heard him out, turned back into his cell, and brought out a wretched, worn-out little axe. "Let us go!" said he.

The old man went from his cell along the road, and pointed to a tree. "Strike!" said he. The godson struck away at it, and the tree fell

"Now cut it into three parts."

The godson cut it into three. Then the old man went back into his cell and brought out fire.

"Burn these three fagots," said he.

The godson kindled a fire and burnt the three pieces of wood, and three smouldering firebrands remained.

"Bury them half in the earth, like that."

The godson buried them.

"Look now! at the foot of that mountain is a 275