🧚 Opening, part 7 · page 2

As he was going home one day he met a sorry drunkard, who had a hen in his hands.77 “Will you, old man, buy my hen?”78

“What do you want for it?”79

“Give me fifty kopeks for it.”80

“No, brother; take these few pence—that will be enough for you; you will get a pint and can drink it out on your way home and go to sleep.”81

So the drunkard took the pence and gave the old man the hen.82

Then the old man returned home.83 But they were very hungry there; there was not a crust of bread.84 “Here,” he said, as he came in, to his wife, “here is a hen I have bought you.”85

But his wife turned on him fiercely and scolded him.86 “What an old fool you are!87 You must have gone utterly mad: our children are sitting down at home without any bread, and you buy a hen which you must feed!”88

“Hold your tongue, foolish woman; does a hen eat so much?89 Why, she will lay us an egg and will bring us chicks; we can sell the chicks and then buy bread.”90

So the old man made a little nest and he put the hen under the stove.91 In the morning he looked, and the hen had laid a jewel of absolutely natural colours.92 So the old man said to his wife, “Now, old lady; amongst other folks the hens lay eggs, but our hen lays jewels: what shall we do?”93

“Take it into the city; possibly somebody may buy it.”94

So the old man went into the city, went into all the inns by turns and showed his precious stone.95 All the merchants gathered round him and began valuing the stone.96 They valued it and valued it, and it was at last bought for five hundred roubles.97

From that day the old man went on trading in precious stones which his hen laid him, and he very soon became enriched, had himself inscribed into the merchants’ guild, put up a shop, hired apprentices, and set up seafaring ships to carry his wares into foreign lands.98 One day he was going into foreign parts, and he bade his wife have a great heed to the hen: “Treasure her more than your eyes; should she be lost, you shall forfeit your own head.”99

As soon as he had gone the old woman began to think evil thoughts.100 For she was great friends with one of the young apprentices.101

“Where do you get these precious stones from?” the apprentice asked her.102

“Oh, it is our hen that lays them.”103

So the apprentice took the hen, looked, and under the right wing he saw written in gold: “Whoever eats this hen’s head shall become a king, and whoever eats her liver shall spit out gold.”104

So he told the wife, “Bake me the hen for supper.”105

“Oh, my dear friend, how can I?106 My husband will be coming back and will punish me.”107

But the apprentice would not listen to any argument.108 “Bake it,” he said—that was all.109

The next day the old woman got supper ready, made ready to twist the hen’s neck and to roast it for supper with the head and the liver.110 The cook twisted the hen’s neck and put her into the oven, and himself went out.111 But in that time the two little children of the house, who were at school, ran in, looked into the oven, and wanted to nibble.112 The elder brother ate the head and the youngest ate the liver.113

When supper-time came, the hen was put on the table, but when the apprentice saw that both the head and the liver were missing he was very angry, quarrelled with the old woman and went home.114 The old woman followed him and wheedled, but he still insisted: “You bring your children, take their liver out and brains, and give them me for supper; otherwise I will have nothing to do with you.”115

So the old woman put her children to bed, called the cook and bade him take them whilst they were asleep into the wood, there kill them and extract their liver and their brains and get them ready for supper.116 The cook took the children into the slumbrous forest, stopped, and made ready to whet the knife.117

The boys woke up and asked, “Why are you sharpening the knife?”118

“Because your mother has bidden me take out your liver and brains and cook them.”119

“Oh, grandfather, little dove, do not slay us; we will give you all the gold you desire, only pity us and let us free.”120 So the younger brother filled his skirt with gold, and the cook was contented with this and he set them free.121

So the boys went forth into the forest and he turned back.122 Fortunately for him a bitch came his way, so he took her two puppies, took their livers and brains, roasted them and gave them for supper.123 The apprentice was very pleased with the dish, swallowed it all, and became neither a king nor a king’s son, but simply a fool.124

The boys went out of the wood on the broad road, and went whither their eyes gazed—maybe far, maybe short, they went.125 Soon the road divided into two, and a column stood there, and on the column it was written:126

“WHO GOES TO THE RIGHT SHALL RECEIVE A KINGDOM, WHO GOES TO THE LEFT SHALL RECEIVE MUCH OF EVIL AND OF GRIEF, BUT HE SHALL MARRY A FAIR PRINCESS.”127

So the brothers considered this inscription, and decided to go in different directions; the elder went to the right and the younger to the left.128

The elder went on and on, and soon came to an unknown capital city.129 He also saw a mass of people, only they were all mourning and sad.130 So he begged shelter of a poor old widow.131 “Will you protect,” he said, “a foreigner from the dark night?”132

“I should be very glad to have you,” she said, “but I cannot put you anywhere, I am so closely packed.”133

“Do let me in, _bábushka_; I am such a simple youth, just as you are; you can find me some small space, some kind of nook for the night.”134

So the old woman admitted him, and they began to speak.135

“Why, _bábushka_,” the stranger asked, “is there such a throng in the city, why are rooms so dear, and why are the people all mourning and melancholy?”136

“Well, our king has just died, and the _boyárs_ have sent the town-crier out to announce that old and young are to assemble, and each of them is to have a candle, and with the candles they are to go into the cathedral, and whosesoever’s candle lights of itself is to be king.”137

So in the morning the boy got up, washed, prayed to God, said the grace for the bread and salt and the soft bed which his hostess had given him, and went into the cathedral.138 When he got there, if you had been there three years you could not have counted all those people.139 And he took a candle in his hand, and it lit up at once.140 So they all burst upon him and began to blow out his candle, to damp it, but the flame lit all the brighter.141 There was no help for it: they acknowledged him as their king, and dressed him in golden apparel and led him to the palace.142