Page:Tolstoy - Tales from Tolstoi.djvu/330

Tales from Tolstoi perverted am I already, that I feel weary and sad when the people don't come to me. And when the people do come to me, I am only glad because they laud my saintliness. Not so ought I to live. I am entangled in the meshes of human praise. Instead of redeeming my former sins, I add new sins to the old. I will go into the forest, to another place, that the people may not find me. I will live alone, so that I may wipe out the old sins, and not saddle myself with new ones."

Thus thought the godson, and he took his little sack of biscuits and his spade, and went away from his cell into the deep ravine, so that he might dig out for himself a little habitation in the dreary place, and hide himself from mankind.

So the godson set out with his little bag and his spade, when lo! a robber fell upon him. The godson was frightened; he would have run away, but the robber was too quick for him.

"Whither goest thou?" said he.

Then the godson told him that he wished to get away from people, and go into a place whither nobody would follow him; the robber marvelled greatly. "But what wilt thou live upon when people no longer come to thee?" he asked.

Now the godson had not thought of this before, but when the robber asked him this question, he recollected, that there was such a thing as food also.

"I will live upon what God gives me," said he.

The freebooter said nothing, but went on further.

"What is this?" thought the godson. "I said 280