Читать книгу Ivan the Fool and Three Shorter Tales for Living Peaceably - Leo Tolstoy - Страница 7

Part 1

Once upon a time, in a certain province of a certain country, there lived a rich peasant who had three sons: Simon the Soldier, Tarás the Stout, and Iván the Fool, besides an unmarried daughter, Milania, who was deaf and dumb. Simon the Soldier went to the wars to serve the king, Tarás the Stout went to a city and became a merchant, and Iván the Fool stayed at home with the lass to till the ground until his back bent.

Simon the Soldier obtained high rank and an estate, and married a nobleman’s daughter. His pay was large and his estate was large, but yet he could not make ends meet. What the husband earned his wife squandered, and they never had money enough.

So Simon the Soldier went to his estate to collect the income, but his steward said, “Where is any income to come from? We have neither cattle, nor tools, nor horse, nor plow, nor harrow. We must first get all these things and then the money will come.”

Then Simon the Soldier went to his father and said, “You, father, are rich, but have given me nothing. Divide what you have and give me a third part that I may improve my estate.”

But the old man said: “You brought nothing into my house; why should I give you a third part? It would be unfair to Iván and to the girl.”

But Simon answered, “He is a fool, and she is an old maid, and deaf and dumb besides; what’s the good of property to them?”

The old man said, “We will see what Iván says about it.”

And Iván said, “Let him take what he wants.”