🧚 Opening, part 16 · page 2

She went and sat down in the barouche and drove home, went up to her husband, and he fixed his eyes on her, and didn’t know his wife.89 “What’s the matter?90 Have you lost your eyesight?” the lady asked.91 “Don’t you see it is I, young and stately; I don’t want to have an old husband.92 Go at once to the smith and ask him to forge you young, and you won’t know yourself!”93

What could the husband do?94 Husbands must obey, and so off he drove.95

In the meantime, the smith had returned home and went to the smithy.96 He went, and there was no sign of his man.97 He looked for him everywhere, asked everybody, questioned them, but it was no good, and all trace had vanished.98 So he set to work by himself and began hammering.99

Then the husband drove up and said straight out to the smith: “Make a young man of me, please!”100

“Are you in your senses, master?101 How can I make a young man of you?”102

“Oh! you know how to!”103

“I really have not any idea!”104

“Liar! fool! swindler!105 Why, you turned my old woman into a young one.106 Do the same by me, otherwise life with her won’t be worth living.”107

“But I have not seen your wife!”108

“Never mind!—your young man saw her, and if he understood how to manage the work, surely you, as the craftsman, understand!109 Set to work quickly, unless you want to taste worse of me and be birched.”110

So the smith had no choice but to transform the master.111 So he quietly asked the coachman what his man had done with the lady, and thought: “Well, I don’t mind!112 I will do the same; it may come out to the same tune, or it may not.113 I must look out for myself.”114

So he stripped the lord to his skin, clutched his legs up with nippers, threw him into the forge, began to blow up the bellows, and burned him to ashes.115 Afterwards he threw the bones—hurled them all into the milk, and began watching would a young master emerge from the bath.116 And he waited one hour, and another hour, and nothing happened, looked at the little tub—all the little bones were floating about all burned to pieces.117

And what was the lady doing?118 She sent messengers to the smithy.119 “When was the master to be turned out?”120 And the poor smith answered that the master had wished her a long life.121 And you may imagine what they thought of this.122 Soon she learned that all the smith had done had been to burn her husband to bits and not to make him young, and she was very angry indeed, sent her body-servants, and ordered them to take the smith to the gallows.123 The order was given, and the thing was done.124 The attendants ran to the smith, laid hold of him, and took him to the gallows.125

Then the same young man who had acted as a hand to the smith came and asked: “Where are they taking you, master?”126

“They are going to hang me!” the smith said.127 And he explained what had happened.128

“Well, never mind, uncle!” said the Unholy Spirit.129 “Swear that you will never strike me with your hammer, and I will secure you such honour as your father had.130 The lady’s husband shall arise young and in full health.”131

The smith swore and made oath that he would never raise the hammer on the devil and would give him every honour.132

Then the workman ran to the smithy, and soon returned with the husband, crying out to the servants to stop and not to hang the smith, for there the master was!133 He then untied the ropes and set the smith free.134

And the youth thereafter never more spat on the devil and beat him with a hammer.135 But his workman vanished and was never seen again.136 The master and mistress lived on and experienced good in their life, and they are still alive, if they are not dead.137

THE PRINCESS WHO WOULD NOT SMILE138

If you think of it, what a big world God’s world is: in it rich and poor folk live, and there is room enough for them all; and the Lord overlooks and judges them all.139 There are fine folk who have holidays, there are wailful folk who must moil; every man has his lot.140

In the Tsar’s palace, in the Prince’s chamber, every day the Princess Without a Smile grew fairer.141 What a life she had, what plenty, what beauty round her!142 There was enough of everything that exists that the soul may desire, but she never smiled, never laughed, and it seemed as though her heart could not rejoice at anything.143

It was a bitter thing for the Tsar her father to gaze at his doleful daughter.144 He used to open his imperial palace to whoever would be his guest.145 “Come,” he said, “come and try to enliven the Princess Without a Smile: any one who succeeds shall gain her as his wife.”146 And as soon as he had said this all folk thronged up at the gates of the palace, driving up from all sides, coming on foot, Tsarévichi and princes’ sons, _boyárs_ and noblemen, military folk and civil.147 Feasts were celebrated, rivers of mead flowed, and the Princess would not smile.148

But, at the other end of the town, in his own little hut, there dwelt an honourable labourer.149 Every morning he used to sweep out the courtyard: every evening he used to pasture the cattle, and he was engaged in ceaseless labour.150 His master was a rich man, a just man, and he did not begrudge pay.151 When the year came to an end he put a purse of money on the table, “Take,” he said, “as much as you like”; and the master went outside.152

The workman went up to the table and thought, “How shall I not be guilty in the eyes of God if I take too much for my labour?”153 So he took only one little coin, put it into the hollow of his hand and thought he would have a little drink.154 So he went to the well, and the coin slipped through his fingers and fell to the bottom.155 So the poor fellow had nothing left.156 Now, anybody else in his place would have cried out, would have become melancholy and angry, might have put his hands up.157 He did nothing of the sort.158 “Everything,” he said, “comes from God.159 The Lord knows what He gives to each man, whose money He divides, from whom He takes the last money.160 Evidently I have given bad care, I have done little work; and now am I to become angry?”161

So he set to work once more.162 And all that his hand touched flew like fire.163 Then, when the term was over, when one year more had gone by, the master again put a purse of money on the table: “Take,” he said, “as much as your soul desires”; and he himself went outside.164