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Copy pathENG0_152_Ivanko_Medvedko.txt
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ENG0_152_Ivanko_Medvedko.txt
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In a village, there lived a rich peasant with his wife.
Here again she went to the forest to pick mushrooms, got lost and wandered into a bear's den.
The bear kept her with him,a nd after some time, a long time or a short time, she had a son by him.
This son was a man down to teh waist and a bear below the waist;
his mother called him Ivanko teh Bearlet.
Years went by, and when Ivan grew up he wanted
to go away with his mother and live with the peasants in the village;
The peasant saw his wife and was overjoyed
- he had given up hope that she would ever return.
Then he beheld her son and asked: "And who is this freak?"
His wife told him all that had happened, how she had lived in teh bear's den
and had a son by him and that this son was human to the waist and a bear frmo the waist down.
"Well, Bearlet," said the peasant, go the back yard and slaughter a sheep;
we shall make dinner for you."
"And which one shall I slaughter?"
- "Whichever one stares at you."
Ivanko the Bearlet took a knife, went out to the yard, and called the sheep;
all of them began to stare at him.
He forthwith slaughtered them all, skinned them,
and went to ask the peasant where he should store the skins and their meat.
"What's this?" yelled the peasant.
"I told you to slaughter one sheep, and you have slaughtered them all!"
"No, father, you told me to slaughter them all!"
- "No, father, you toldme to slaughter whichever one stared at me;
but when I came out into the yard all of, them without exception, began to stare at me."
- "You certainly are a clever fellow.
Take the meat and skins intot he barn, and at night guard the door against thieves and dogs."
- "Very well, I will guard it."
It so happened that on that night a storm broke and the rain fell in buckets.
Ivanko the Bearlet broke the door off the barn, took it into the bathhouse, and spent the night there.
Thieves took advantage of the darkness;
they found the barn open and without a guard, so they took whatever they pleased.
Next morning the peasant arose, went to see whether everything was in order, and found that nothing was left;
what the thieves had not taken, the dogs had eaten up.
He looked for the guard, found him in the bathhouse, and began to chide him even more seeraly than the first time.
"But, father, it is not my fault," said Ivanko. "You yourself told me to guard the door, and I did guard it.
Here it is; the thieves did not steal it, nor did the dogs eat it up."
"What can I do with this fool?" thought the peasant to himself.
"If this goes on for a month or two, he will ruin me completely.
I wonder how I can get rid of him."
Then he hit upon an idea;
the next day he saent Ivanko to the lake and told him to wind ropes of sand.
In that lake dwelt many devils, and teh peasant hoped that they would drag him into the water.
Ivanko the Bearlet went to the lake, sat on the shore, and began to wind ropes of sand.
Suddenly a little devil jumped out fo the water and asked:
"What are you doing here, Bearlet?"
"Can't you see? I'm winding ropes; I want to thrash the lake and torment you devils, because you live in our lake but do not pay any rent."
"Wait a while, Bearlet, I'll run and tell my grandfather," said the little devl, and - flop -
he humped into the water.
Five minutyes later he was out again and said:
"Grandfather said that if you can run faster than I, we'll pay the rent;
if not, he told me to drag you down into the lake."
"Aren't you a nimble fellow!" said Ivanko.
"But you cannot hope to run faster than I.
Why, I have a grandson who was born only yesterday, and even he can outrun you.
Do you want to race with him?"
"What grandson?"
"He si lying there behind a bush," said the Bearlet, and cried to a hare,
"Hey, hare, do not fail me!"
The hare darted off into the open field like mad and in a trice vanished from sight;
the devil rushed after him, but it was of no use - he was half a verst behind.
"Now, if you wish," said Ivanko, "race with me. But on one condition - if you lag behind, I will kill you."
"O no!" said the devil, and once more flopped into the water.
AFter a while, he jumped out, carrying his grandfather's ironcrutch, and said:
"Grandfather said that if you can throw this crutch higher than I can, he will pay the rent."
"Well, you throw first!"
The devil threw the crutch so high that it was hardly visible;
it fell back with a terrible rumble and thrust half its length into the groudn.
"Now you throw it," said the devil.
The bearlet took the crutch in his hand and could not even move it.
"Wait a while," he said, "a cloud is coming near, I shall throw the crutch on it."
"O no, that won't do, grandfather needs his crutch!" said the little devil.
He snatched teh crutch and rushed into the water.
After a while, he jumped out again, saying:
"Grandfather saiid that if you carry this horse around teh lake at least on emore time than I can,
he will pay the rent;
If not, you will have to go into the lake."
"Is that suposed to be hard? All right, begin!" answered Ivanko.
The devil heaved the horse on to his back and dragged it around the lake;
he carried it ten times, till he was exhausted and sweat streamed down his snout.
"Well, now it's my turn," said Ivanko.
He mounted his horse and began to ride around the lake;
he rode so long that finally the horse collapse under him.
"Well, brother, how was that?"
he asked the little devil.
"I must admit," said the devil, "that you carried it more times than I, and in what a strange fashion!
Between your legs!
That way I couldn't have carried it even once!
How much rent must we pay?"
"Just fill my hat with gold, and work for a year as my laborer - that's all I want."
The little devil ran to fetch the gold;
Ivanko cut teh bottom out fo his hat and placed it above a deep pti;
the devil kept bringing gold and puring it into the hat.
He worked at this for a whole day and only by evening was the hat filled.
Ivanko the Bearlet got a cart, loaded it with gold coins, had the devil drag it home, and said to the peasant:
"Now be happy, father! Here is a laborer for you, and gold too."