e sends for me." So he
bade them bake him a good store of fat pancakes, and set out
accordingly. On the way he heard that his brother had grown rich, and
the farther he went the more he heard of his brother's wealth. Then he
regretted that he had brought all the pancakes with him, so he threw
them away into the ditch. At last he came to his brother's house, and
his brother showed him first one of the coffers full of money and then
the other. Then envy seized upon the rich brother, and he grew quite
green in the face. But his brother said to him, "Look now! I have
buried a lot more money in a water-skin, hard by the river; you may
dig it up and keep it if you like, for I have lots of my own here!"
The rich brother did not wait to be told twice. Off he went to the
river, and began digging up the water-skin straightway. He unfastened
it with greedy, trembling hands; but he had no sooner opened it than
the Unlucky Days all popped out and clung on to him. "Thou art ours!"
said they. He went home, and when he got there he found that all his
wealth was consumed, and a heap of ashes stood where his house had
been. So he went and lived in the place where his brother had lived,
and the Unlucky Days lived with him ever afterward.

THE WONDROUS STORY OF IVAN
GOLIK AND THE SERPENTS

Somewhere, nowhere, in another kingdom, in the Empire of Thrice-ten,
lived--whether 'twas a Tsar and a Tsaritsa, or only a Prince and a
Princess, I know not, but anyhow they had two sons. One day this
prince said to his sons, "Let us go down to the seashore and listen to
the songs of the sea-folk!" So they went. Now the prince wanted to
test the wits of his two sons; he wanted to see which of the twain was
fit for ruling his empire, and which should stand aside and make way
for better men. So they went on together till they came to where three
oaks stood all in a row. The prince looked at the trees, and said to
his eldest son, "My dear son, what wouldst thou make of those trees?"

"What would I make of them, dear father? I would make me good barns
and store-houses out of them. I would cut them down and plane the
timber well, and goodly should be the planks I should make of them."

"Good, my son!" replied the prince, "thou wilt make a careful
householder."

Then he asked his younger son, "And what wouldst thou make out of
these oaks, my son?"

"Well, dear father," said he, "had I only as much power as will, I
would cut down the middle oak,