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
VIII.
But Iván remained at home, supporting father and mother, and working the field with the dumb girl.
One day Iván’s watch-dog grew sick: he had the mange and was dying. Iván was sorry for him, and he took some bread from the dumb girl, put it in his hat, and took it out and threw it to the dog. But the cap was torn, and with the bread one of the roots fell out. The old dog swallowed it with the bread. And no sooner had he swallowed it than he jumped up, began to play and to bark, and wagged his tail,—he was well again.
When his father and his mother saw that, they were surprised.
“With what did you cure the dog?”
And Iván said to them:
“I had two roots with which to cure all diseases, and he swallowed one.”
It happened that at that time the king’s daughter grew ill, and the king proclaimed in all the towns and villages that he would reward him who should cure her, and that if it should be an unmarried man, he should have his daughter for a wife. The same was also proclaimed in Iván’s village.
Father and mother called Iván, and said to him:
“Have you heard what the king has proclaimed? You said that you had a root, so go and cure the king’s daughter. You will get a fortune for the rest of your life.”
“All right,” he said. And he got ready to go. He was dressed up, and went out on the porch, and saw a beggar woman with a twisted arm.
“I have heard that you can cure,” she said. “Cure my arm, for I cannot dress myself.”
And Iván said:
“All right!” He took the root, gave it to the beggar woman, and told her to swallow it.
She swallowed it, and was cured at once and could wave her arm. Iván’s parents came out to see him off on his way to the king, and when they heard that he had given away the last root and had nothing left with which to cure the king’s daughter, they began to upbraid him.
“You have taken pity on the beggar woman, but you have no pity on the king’s daughter.”
But he hitched his horse, threw a little straw into the hamper, and was getting ready to drive away.
“Where are you going, fool?”
“To cure the king’s daughter.”
“But you have nothing to cure her with!”
“All right,” he said, and drove away.
He came to the king’s palace, and the moment he stepped on the porch, the king’s daughter was cured.
The king rejoiced, and sent for Iván. He had him all dressed up:
“Be my son-in-law!” he said.
“All right,” he said.
And Iván married the king’s daughter. The king died soon after, and Iván became king. Thus all three brothers were kings.
Russian Literature – Children Books – Russian Poetry – Leo Tolstoy – Fables for Children By Leo Tolstoy – A Fairy-Tale – Contents
Copyright holders – Public Domain Book
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