THE STORY OF IVAN THE FOOL AND HIS TWO BROTHERS SIMON THE WARRIOR
AND TARAS THE POT-BELLIED, AND OF HIS DEAF AND DUMB SISTER, AND THE
OLD DEVIL AND THREE LITTLE DEVILKINS.
Once upon a time there lived a rich peasant, who had three sons—Simon
the Warrior, Taras the Pot-bellied, and Ivan the Fool, and a deaf and
dumb daughter, Malania, an old maid.
Simon the Warrior went off to the wars to serve the King; Taras the
Pot-bellied went to a merchant’s to trade in the town, and Ivan the Fool
and the old maid stayed at home to do the work of the house and the
farm. Simon the Warrior earned a high rank for himself and an estate and
married a nobleman’s daughter. He had a large income and a large estate,
but he could ... (From: Gutenberg.org.)
In the town there was a shoemaker by the name of Martin, who lived in a
basement with a tiny little window looking out into the street. Martin
could see the people pass, and though he only got a glimpse of their
feet, he still knew every one, for Martin could recognize people by
their boots. Martin had lived in that basement for many a long year and
had numbers of acquaintances. There were not many pairs of boots in the
neighborhood that had not been through his hands at least once or
twice—some for new soles, others for a patch or a stitch, or a second
time for new tops, perhaps. Martin had plenty of work, for he always did
it well; he gave good leather, did not overcharge, and kept true to his
word. If he could do a piece ... (From: Gutenberg.org.)
An officer by the name of Jilin served in the army in the Caucasus.
One day he received a letter from home. It was from his mother, who
wrote, “I am getting old now, and I want to see my beloved son before I
die. Come and say good-bye to me, and when you have buried me, with
God’s grace, you can return to the Army. I have found a nice girl for
you to marry; she is clever and pretty, and has some property of her
own. If you like her perhaps you will marry and settle down for good.”
Jilin pondered over the letter. It was true; his mother was really
failing fast, and it might be his only chance of seeing her alive. He
would go home, and if the girl was nice, he might even marry.
He went to his colonel and aske... (From: Gutenberg.org.)
A long, long time ago there was a big drought on the earth. All the
rivers dried up and the streams and wells, and the trees withered and
the bushes and grass, and men and beasts died of thirst.
One night a little girl went out with a pitcher to find some water for
her sick mother. She wandered and wandered everywhere, but could find no
water, and she grew so tired that she lay down on the grass and fell
asleep. When she awoke and took up the pitcher she nearly upset the
water it contained. The pitcher was full of clear, fresh water. The
little girl was glad and was about to put it to her lips, but she
remembered her mother and ran home with the pitcher as fast as she
could. She hurried so much that she did not notice a little d... (From: Gutenberg.org.)
It once occurred to a King that if he knew the right moment when to
begin on any work and the right kind of people to have or not to have
dealings with and the thing to do that was more important than any other
thing, he would always be successful.
And he proclaimed throughout his kingdom that he would give a great
reward to any one who could tell him what was the right moment for any
action, and who were the most essential of all people, and what was the
most essential thing of all to do.
Many learned men came to the King and answered his questions in
different ways.
In answer to the first question some said that to know the right time
for any action, one must draw up a time-table of all the days, months
and years and obs... (From: Gutenberg.org.)
I
A son was born to a poor peasant. He rejoiced and went to a neighbor to
ask him to stand as godfather to the boy. The neighbor refused. He did
not want to be godfather to a poor man’s son. So the peasant went to
another neighbor and he, too, refused. He walked from house to house,
but could find no one who would be godfather to his son, so he set out
to another village. On his way he met a stranger, who stopped him and
said, “Good day, peasant; where are you going to?”
“God has given me a child,” the peasant said, “to gladden my sight in my
youth, to comfort me in my old age and to pray for my soul when I die.
No one in our village will be godfather to him, so I am going to seek
one elsew... (From: Gutenberg.org.)
Printed in England
by Butler & Tanner Selwood Printing Works Frome, Somerset
e-text transcriber note:
Information was cropped off when the book used as a scan
source was rebound. Emailed University of Southern Mississippi
Libraries, and received confirmation from a librarian there
concerning missing page references on plates:
1: The frontispiece has the word "Frontispiece.", in italics,
no bracket, lower left.
2: The plate which faces page 56 in the TIA copy should face
page 57 (was probably positioned incorrectly when rebound).
3: For plate facing page 82, bottom right reference reads,
"[To face page 82."
4: For plate facing page 158, bottom right reference reads,
"[To face page 158."
5: For the pla... (From: Gutenberg.org.)
-icon.jpg){kind=icon}
.jpg){kind=small}