“A Fairy-Tale” by Leo Tolstoy

Russian Fable

Texts For Chapbook Illustrations 1885

Russian Literature – Children Books – Russian Poetry – Leo Tolstoy – Fables for Children By Leo Tolstoy – A Fairy-Tale – Contents

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A Fairy-Tale

About Iván the Fool and His Two Brothers, Semén the Warrior and Tarás the Paunch, and His Dumb Sister Malánya, and About the Old Devil and the Three Young Devils

1885

I.

In a certain kingdom, in a certain realm, there lived a rich peasant. He had three sons, Semén the Warrior, Tarás the Paunch, and Iván the Fool, and a daughter Malánya, the dumb old maid.

Semén the Warrior went to war, to serve the king; Tarás the Paunch went to a merchant in the city, to sell wares; but Iván the Fool and the girl remained at home, to work and hump their backs.

Semén the Warrior earned a high rank and an estate, and married a lord’s daughter. His salary was big, and his estate was large, but still he could not make both ends meet: whatever he collected, his wife scattered as though from a sleeve, and they had no money.

Semén the Warrior came to his estate, to collect the revenue. His clerk said to him:

“Where shall it come from? We have neither cattle, nor tools: neither horses, nor cows, nor plough, nor harrow. Everything has to be provided, then there will be an income.”

And Semén the Warrior went to his father:

“You are rich, father,” he said, “and you have not given me anything. Cut off a third and I will transfer it to my estate.”

And the old man said:

“You have brought nothing to my house, why should I give you a third? It will be unfair to Iván and to the girl.”

But Semén said:

“But he is a fool, and she is a dumb old maid. What do they need?”

And the old man said:

“As Iván says so it shall be!”

But Iván said:

“All right, let him have it!”

So Semén the Warrior took his third from the house, transferred it to his estate, and again went away to serve the king.

Tarás the Paunch, too, earned much money,—and married a merchant woman. Still he did not have enough, and he came to his father, and said:

“Give me my part!”

The old man did not want to give Tarás his part:

“You,” he said, “have brought nothing to the house, and everything in the house has been earned by Iván. I cannot be unfair to him and to the girl.”

But Tarás said:

“What does he want it for? He is a fool. He cannot marry, for no one will have him; and the dumb girl does not need anything, either. Give me,” he said, “half of the grain, Iván! I will not take your tools, and of your animals I want only the gray stallion,—you cannot plough with him.”

Iván laughed.

“All right,” he said, “I will earn it again.”

So Tarás, too, received his part. Tarás took the grain to town, and drove off the gray stallion, and Iván was left with one old mare, and he went on farming and supporting his father and his mother.