The peasant replied :
“ Of course they would make you carry burdens.”
And the Horse rejoined :
“ Well, don’t I carry burdens for you ? So then it is all the same to me whether I work for you or your enemies.”
XV. THE EAGLE AND THE SOW
AN Eagle built a nest on a tree, and hatched out some eaglets. And a wild Sow brought her litter under the tree.
The Eagle used to fly off after her prey, and bring it back to her young. And the Sow rooted around the tree and hunted in the woods, and when night came she would bring her young something to eat.
And the Eagle and the Sow lived in neighborly fashion.
And a Grimalkin laid his plans to destroy the eaglets and the little sucking pigs. He went to the Eagle, and said :
“ Eagle, you had better not fly very far away. Be-ware of the Sow; she is planning an evil design. She is going to undermine the roots of the tree. You see she is rooting all the time.”
Then the Grimalkin went to the Sow and said :
“ Sow, you have not a good neighbor. Last evening I heard the Eagle saying to her eaglets : ‘ My dear little eaglets, I am going to treat you to a nice little pig. Just as soon as the Sow is gone, I will bring you a little young sucking pig.’ ‘
From that time the Eagle ceased to fly out after prey, and the Sow did not go any more into the forest. The eaglets and the young pigs perished of starvation, and Grimalkin feasted on them.
XVI. THE LOAD
AFTER the French had left Moscow, two peasants went out to search for treasures. One was wise, the other stupid.
They went together to the burnt Part of the city, and found some scorched wool. . They said, “ That will be useful at home.”
They gathered up as much as they could carry, and started home with it.
On the way they saw lying in the street a lot of cloth. The wise peasant threw down the wool, seized as much of the cloth as he could carry, and put it on his shoulders. The stupid one said :
“ Why throw away the wool ? It is nicely tied up, and nicely fastened on.” And so he did not take any of the cloth.
They went farther, and saw lying in the street some ready-made clothes that had been thrown away. The wise peasant unloaded the cloth, picked up the clothes, and put them on his shoulders. The stupid one said :
“ Why should I throw away the wool ? It is nicely tied up and securely fastened on my back.”
They went on their way, and saw silver plate scattered about. The wise peasant threw down the clothes, and gathered up as much of the silver as he could, and started off with it; but the stupid one did not give up his wool, because it was nicely tied up and securely tied on.
Going still farther, they saw gold lying on the road. The wise peasant threw down his silver and picked up the gold; but the stupid one said :
“ What is the good of taking off the wool ? It is nicely tied up and securely fastened to my back.”
And they went home. On the way a rain set in, and the wool became water-soaked, so that the stupid man had to throw it away, and thus reached home empty-handed; but the wise peasant kept his gold and became rich.
XVII. THE BIG OVEN
ONCE upon a time a man had a big house, and in the house there was a big oven; but this man’s family was small only himself and his wife.
When winter came, the man tried to keep his oven going; and in one month he burnt up all his firewood. He had nothing to feed the fire, and it was cold.
Then the man began to break up his fences, and use the boards for fuel. When he had burnt up all of his fences, the house, now without any protection against the wind, was colder than ever, and still they had no firewood.
Then the man began to tear down the ceiling of his house, and burn that in the oven.
A neighbor noticed that he was tearing down his ceiling, and said to him :
“ Why, neighbor, have you lost your mind ? pulling down your ceiling in winter. You and your wife will freeze to death!”
But the man said :
“ No, brother; you see I am pulling down my ceiling so as to have something to heat my oven with. We have such a curious one; the more I heat it up, the colder we are ! “
The neighbor laughed, and said :
“Well, then, after you have burnt up your ceiling, then you will be tearing down your house. You won’t have anywhere to live; only the oven will be left, and even that will be cold ! “
“Well, that is my misfortune,” said the man. “All my neighbors have firewood enough for all winter; but I have already burnt up my fences and the ceiling of my house, and have nothing left.”
The neighbor replied :
“ All you need is to have your oven rebuilt”
But the man said :
“ I know well that you are jealous of my house and my oven because they are larger than yours, and so you advise me to rebuild it.”
And he turned a deaf ear to his neighbor’s advice, and burnt up his ceiling, and burnt up his whole house, and had to go and live with strangers.
Stories Of My Dogs
Translated by Nathan Haskell Dole 1888
Chapter I BULKA
I HAD a bulldog, and his name was Bulka. He was perfectly black, except for the paws of his fore legs, which were white. All bulldogs have the lower jaw longer than the upper, and the upper teeth set into the lower; but in the case of Bulka the lower jaw was pushed so far forward that the finger could be inserted between the upper and lower teeth.
Bulka had a broad face and big, black, brilliant eyes. And his teeth and white tusks were always uncovered. He was like a negro.
Bulka had a gentle disposition and he would not bite; but he was very powerful and tenacious. Whenever he took hold of anything, he set his teeth together and hung on like a rag, and it was impossible to make him let go; he was like a pair of pincers.
One time he was set on a bear, and he seized the bear by the ear, and hung on like a bloodsucker. The bear pounded him with his paws, hugged him, shook him from side to side, but he could not get rid of him; then he stood on his head in his attempts to crush him, but Bulka hung on until they could dash cold water over him.
I took him when he was a puppy, and reared him myself. When I went to the Caucasus, I did not care to take him with me, and I went away noiselessly, and gave orders to keep him chained up.
At the first post-station I was just going to start off with a fresh team, when suddenly I saw something black and bright dashing along the road.
It was Bulka in his brass collar. He flew with all his might toward the station. He leaped up on me, licked my hand, and then stretched himself out in the shadow of the telyega. His tongue lolled out at full length. He kept drawing it back, swallowing the spittle, and then thrusting it out again. He was all panting; he could not get his breath; his sides actually labored. He twisted from side to side, and pounded the ground with his tail.
I learned afterward that, when he found I had gone, he broke his chain, and jumped out of the window, and dashed over the road after my trail, and had thus run twenty versts in the heat of the day.
Chapter II BULKA AND THE WILD BOAR
ONE time in the Caucasus we went boar hunting, and Bulka ran to go with me. As soon as the boar-hounds got to work, Bulka dashed off in the direction of their music and disappeared in the woods.
This was in the month of November; at that time the wild boars and pigs are usually very fat. In the forests of the Caucasus, frequented by wild boars, grow all man-ner of fruits, wild grapes, cones, apples, pears, black-berries, acorns, and rose-apples. And when all these fruits get ripe, and the frost loosens them, the wild swine feed on them and fatten.
At this time of the year the wild boar becomes so fat that he cannot run far when pursued by the dogs. When they have chased him for two hours, he strikes into a thicket and comes to bay there.
Then the hunters run to the place where he is at bay and shoot him. By the barking of the dogs one can tell whether the boar has taken to cover or is still running. If he is running, then the dogs bark with a yelp, as if some one were beating them; but if he has taken to cover, then they bay with a long howl, as if at a man.
In this expedition I had been running a long time through the forest, but without once coming across the track of a boar. At last I heard the protracted howl and whine of the hounds, and I turned my steps in that
