Short Fiction, Leo Tolstoy [general ebook reader .txt] 📗

for he got. For the sake of money, people brought him everything, and they offered to work for him⁠—for everyone wanted money.

Iván the Fool, also, did not live badly. As soon as he had buried his father-in-law, he took off all his royal robes and gave them to his wife to put away in a chest; and he again donned his hempen shirt, his breeches and peasant shoes, and started again to work.

“It’s dull for me,” said he. “I’m getting fat and have lost my appetite and my sleep.” So he brought his father and mother and his dumb sister to live with him, and worked as before.

People said, “But you are a king!”

“Yes,” said he, “but even a king must eat.”

One of his ministers came to him and said, “We have no money to pay salaries.”

“All right,” says he, “then don’t pay them.”

“Then no one will serve.”

“All right; let them not serve. They will have more time to work; let them cart manure. There is plenty of scavenging to be done.”

And people came to Iván to be tried. One said, “He stole my money.” And Iván said, “All right, that shows that he wanted it.”

And they all got to know that Iván was a fool. And his wife said to him, “People say that you are a fool.”

“All right,” said Iván.

His wife thought and thought about it, but she also was a fool.

“Shall I go against my husband? Where the needle goes the thread follows,” said she.

So she took off her royal dress, put it away in a chest, and went to the dumb girl to learn to work. And she learned to work and began to help her husband.

And all the wise men left Iván’s kingdom; only the fools remained.

Nobody had money. They lived and worked. They fed themselves; and they fed others.

X

The old Devil waited and waited for news from the imps of their having ruined the three brothers. But no news came. So he went himself to inquire about it. He searched and searched, but instead of finding the three imps he found only the three holes.

“Evidently they have failed,” thought he. “I shall have to tackle it myself.”

So he went to look for the brothers, but they were no longer in their old places. He found them in three different kingdoms. All three were living and reigning. This annoyed the old Devil very much.

“Well,” said he, “I must try my own hand at the job.”

First he went to King Simon. He did not go to him in his own shape, but disguised himself as a general, and drove to Simon’s palace.

“I hear, King Simon,” said he, “that you are a great warrior, and as I know that business well, I desire to serve you.”

King Simon questioned him, and seeing that he was a wise man, took him into his service.

The new commander began to teach King Simon how to form a strong army.

“First,” said he, “we must levy more soldiers, for there are in your kingdom many people unemployed. We must recruit all the young men without exception. Then you will have five times as many soldiers as formerly. Secondly, we must get new rifles and cannons. I will introduce rifles that will fire a hundred balls at once; they will fly out like peas. And I will get cannons that will consume with fire either man, or horse, or wall. They will burn up everything!”

Simon the King listened to the new commander, ordered all young men without exception to be enrolled as soldiers, and had new factories built in which he manufactured large quantities of improved rifles and cannons. Then he made haste to declare war against a neighbouring king. As soon as he met the other army, King Simon ordered his soldiers to rain balls against it and shoot fire from the cannons, and at one blow he burned and crippled half the enemy’s army. The neighbouring king was so thoroughly frightened that he gave way and surrendered his kingdom. King Simon was delighted.

“Now,” said he, “I will conquer the King of India.”

But the Indian King had heard about King Simon, and had adopted all his inventions, and added more of his own. The Indian King enlisted not only all the young men, but all the single women also, and got together a greater army even than King Simon’s. And he copied all King Simon’s rifles and cannons, and invented a way of flying through the air to throw explosive bombs from above.

King Simon set out to fight the Indian King, expecting to beat him as he had beaten the other king; but the scythe that had cut so well had lost its edge. The King of India did not let Simon’s army come within gunshot, but sent his women through the air to hurl down explosive bombs onto Simon’s army. The women began to rain down bombs onto the army like borax upon cockroaches. The army ran away, and Simon the King was left alone. So the Indian King took Simon’s kingdom, and Simon the Soldier fled as best he might.

Having finished with this brother, the old Devil went to King Tarás. Changing himself into a merchant, he settled in Tarás’s kingdom, started a house of business, and began spending money. He paid high prices for everything, and everybody hurried to the new merchant’s to get money. And so much money spread among the people that they began to pay all their taxes promptly, and paid up all their arrears, and King Tarás rejoiced.

“Thanks to the new merchant,” thought he, “I shall have more money than ever; and my life will be yet more comfortable.”

And Tarás the King began to form fresh plans, and began to build a new palace. He gave notice that people should bring him wood and stone, and come to work, and he fixed high prices for everything. King Tarás thought people would come in crowds to work as before, but to his surprise