Chapter I. INTRODUCTORY, part 5 · page 21 2101"Whom have you chosen?"102"No one as yet."103"Choose me," says the woman.104So as soon as her husband went back to the council (she was a bad sort; he wanted to give her a lesson) he told the elders what she had said.105They immediately chose her as Golova.106Well the woman got along, settled all questions, took bribes, and drank spirits at the peasant's expense.107But the time came to collect the poll-tax.108The Golova couldn't do it, wasn't able to collect it in time.109There came a Cossack, and asked for the Golova; but the woman had hidden herself.110As soon as she learnt that the Cossack had come, off she ran home.111"Where, oh where can I hide myself?" she cries to her husband. "112Husband dear! tie me up in a bag, and put me out there where the corn-sacks are."113Now there were five sacks of seed-corn outside, so her husband tied up the Golova, and set her in the midst of them.114Up came the Cossack and said:115"Ho! so the Golova's in hiding."116Then he took to slashing at the sacks one after another with his whip, and the woman to howling at the pitch of her voice:117"Oh, my father!118I won't be a Golova, I won't be a Golova."119At last the Cossack left off beating the sacks, and rode away.120But the woman had had enough of Golova-ing; from that time forward she took to obeying her husband.121Before passing on to another subject, it may be advisable to quote one of the stories in which the value of a good and wise wife is fully acknowledged.122I have chosen for that purpose one of the variants of a tale from which, in all probability, our own story of "Whittington and his Cat" has been derived.123With respect to its origin, there can be very little doubt, such a feature as that of the incense-burning pointing directly to a Buddhist source.124It is called--125THE THREE COPECKS.126[56]127There once was a poor little orphan-lad who had nothing at all to live on; so he went to a rich moujik and hired himself out to him, agreeing to work for one copeck a year.128And when he had worked for a whole year, and had received his copeck, he went to a well and threw it into the water, saying, "If it don't sink, I'll keep it.129It will be plain enough I've served my master faithfully."130But the copeck sank.131Well, he remained in service a second year, and received a second copeck.132Again he flung it into the well, and again it sank to the bottom.133He remained a third year; worked and worked, till the time came for payment.134Then his master gave him a rouble. "135No," says the orphan, "I don't want your money; give me my copeck."136He got his copeck and flung it into the well.137Lo and behold! there were all three copecks floating on the surface of the water.138So he took them and went into the town.1 2← previousChapter I. INTRODUCTORY, part 4next →Chapter I. INTRODUCTORY, part 6↑ back to Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-loreThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg22373/15/page/2/