strange enough stories too, for he
was a very curious kind of man. In the coldest weather, when even the
hardiest soldiers were wrapping themselves up, he would go about in his
shirt sleeves just as if it were summer; and very often he would be up
before any one else in the camp was astir, and startle the first officer
whom he saw coming out of his tent by crowing like a rooster as loud as
he could, just as if to say, "You ought to have been out before." Then,
too, Count and General though he was, dining with the Empress herself
almost every week, and going about the palace as he pleased, he dressed
as plainly as any peasant, and slept on straw like a common soldier.
Once or twice the palace servants, seeing this untidy little fellow
coming up to the grand entrance, took him for a tramp, and wanted to
drive him away; but they soon found out that _that_ would not do.

Another of his queer ways was to try and puzzle any one he met by asking
him all sorts of strange questions, such as how many stars there were in
the sky, how many drops of water in the sea, and so forth. He _did_
puzzle a good many people in this way, but once or twice he got an
answer quite as smart as his questions, and that was just what he liked.

One day a soldier came to him with a dispatch, and Suvoroff, seeing that
he was quite a young, simple-looking fellow, thought it would be good
fun to try his hand upon _him_.

"How many fish are there in the sea?" he asked.

"Just exactly as many as haven't been caught yet," answered the lad at
once.

The General was rather taken aback, but he went on, nevertheless:

"If you were in a besieged town, without food, how would you supply
yourself?"

"From the enemy."

"How far is it from here to the moon?"

"Two of your Excellency's forced marches."

Suvoroff smiled and looked pleased, for he was very proud of being able
to move his men so quickly, and had won many a victory by it.

"Which of your officers do you like best?" was the next question.

"Captain Masloff."

Now this Captain Masloff happened to be a very handsome young fellow,
while Suvoroff himself was frightfully ugly, so he thought he would
catch the soldier in a trap by asking him, "What's the difference
between your captain and myself?"

"Why," said the soldier, looking slyly at him, "my captain can't make me
a corporal, but your Excellency has only to say the word."

The General burst into a loud laugh, and clapping him on the s