The Two Princes, part 2 · page 21 2101The parson darted away as fast as his legs could carry him toward the village, and oh! what a sight he looked as he dashed through the streets!102The people didn't know him, and--scandalized that anybody should run about in rags and tatters so that his whole body could be seen--began to hoot him.103Then the poor man turned aside from the public road, crawled off through the woods, and dashed off through the tall reeds of the gardens, with the dogs after him.104For wherever he went they took him for a robber, and hounded on the dogs.105At last the parson got home, all rags and tatters, so that when his wife saw him she did not know him, but called to the labourers, "Help, help! here's a robber, turn him out!"106They came rushing up with sticks and cudgels, but he began talking to them, and at last they recognized him, led him home, and he told his wife all about Ivan.107The parson's wife was so amazed she could scarce believe it.108In the evening Ivan drove home the oxen, put them into their stalls, gave them straw to eat, and then came into the house himself to have supper.109He came into the house, and the parson said to him, "Come now, Ivan, when thou hast rested a bit, play my wife a little song!"110But as for the parson, he took good care to tie himself first of all to the pillar which held up the roof of the house.111Ivan sat down on the ground near to the threshold and began to play.112The parson's wife sat down on the bench to listen to him while he played; but immediately she leaped up from the bench and began to dance, and she danced with such hearty good-will that the place became too small for her.113Then the Devil seemed to take possession of the cat too, for pussy leaped from under the stove and began to spring and bound about also.114The parson held on and held on to the pillar with all his might, but it was of no use.115He had no power to resist; he let go with his hands, and tugged and tugged till the rope that held him grew slacker and slacker, and then he went dancing round and round the pillar at a furious rate, with the rope chafing his hands and feet all the time.116At last he could endure it no longer, and bawled to Ivan to stop. "117The deuce is in thee!" cried he.118Then Ivan stopped playing, put his fife into his breast-pocket, and went and lay down to sleep.119But the parson said to his wife, "We must turn away this Ivan to-morrow, for he will be the death of ourselves and our cattle!"120Ivan, however, overheard what the parson said to his wife, and getting up early in the morning, he went straight to the parson, and said to him, "Give me one hundred _karbovantsya_, and I'll be off; but if you won't give them to me, I'll play and play till you and your wife have danced yourselves to death, and then I'll take your place and live at mine ease."121The parson scratched himself behind the ears and hesitated; but at last he thought he had better give the money and be quit of him.122So he took the hundred _karbovantsya_ out of his satchel and gave them to Ivan.123Then Ivan played them a parting song, till the parson and his wife fell down to the ground, dead-beat, with their tongues lolling out of their mouths; and then he put his fife into his breast-pocket, and wandered forth into the wide world.1 2← previousThe Two Princes, part 1next →The Magic Egg↑ back to Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk TalesThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg29672/23/page/2/