just devoured a
newly-killed pig.'

'Leave off beating him,' said Martin, 'and sell him to me instead.'

'If you choose to buy him,' answered the butchers derisively; 'but for
such a treasure we won't take a penny less than a hundred florins.'

'A hundred!' exclaimed Martin. 'Well, so be it, if you will not take
less;' and, taking the money out of his pocket, he handed it over in
exchange for the dog, whose name was Schurka.

When Martin got home, his mother met him with the question:

'Well, what have you bought?'

'Schurka, the dog,' replied Martin, pointing to his new possession.
Whereupon his mother became very angry, and abused him roundly. He ought
to be ashamed of himself, when there was scarcely a handful of meal in
the house, to have spent the money on a useless brute like that. On the
following day she sent him back to the town, saying, 'Here, take our
last hundred florins, and buy provisions with them. I have just emptied
the last grains of meal out of the chest, and baked a bannock; but it
won't last over to-morrow.'

Just as Martin was entering the town he met a rough-looking peasant who
was dragging a cat after him by a string which was fastened round the
poor beast's neck.

'Stop,' cried Martin; 'where are you dragging that poor cat?'

'I mean to drown him,' was the answer.

'What harm has the poor beast done?' said Martin.

'It has just killed a goose,' replied the peasant.

'Don't drown him, sell him to me instead,' begged Martin.

'Not for a hundred florins,' was the answer.

'Surely for a hundred florins you'll sell it?' said Martin. 'See! here
is the money;' and, so saying, he handed him the hundred florins, which
the peasant pocketed, and Martin took possession of the cat, which was
called Waska.

When he reached his home his mother greeted him with the question:

'Well, what have you brought back?'

'I have brought this cat, Waska,' answered Martin.

'And what besides?'

'I had no money over to buy anything else with,' replied Martin.

'You useless ne'er-do-weel!' exclaimed his mother in a great passion.
'Leave the house at once, and go and beg your bread among strangers;'
and as Martin did not dare to contradict her, he called Schurka and
Waska and started off with them to the nearest village in search of
work. On the way he met a rich peasant, who asked him where he was
going.

'I want to get work as a day labourer,' he answered.

'Come along with me, then. But I must