! This is yet
another devil. He looks like the father of the little ones."

Ivan still lives, and people flock to his kingdom. His brothers come to
him and he feeds them.

To every one who comes to him and says, "Give us food," he replies:
"Very well; you are welcome. We have plenty of everything."

There is only one unchangeable custom observed in Ivan's kingdom: The
man with toil-hardened hands is always given a seat at the table, while
the possessor of soft white hands must be contented with what is left.

A LOST OPPORTUNITY.

"Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother
sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" . . . .
"So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye
from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their
trespasses."--ST. MATTHEW xviii., 21-35.

In a certain village there lived a peasant by the name of Ivan
Scherbakoff. He was prosperous, strong, and vigorous, and was considered
the hardest worker in the whole village. He had three sons, who
supported themselves by their own labor. The eldest was married, the
second about to be married, and the youngest took care of the horses and
occasionally attended to the plowing.

The peasant's wife, Ivanovna, was intelligent and industrious, while her
daughter-in-law was a simple, quiet soul, but a hard worker.

There was only one idle person in the household, and that was Ivan's
father, a very old man who for seven years had suffered from asthma, and
who spent the greater part of his time lying on the brick oven.

Ivan had plenty of everything--three horses, with one colt, a cow
with calf, and fifteen sheep. The women made the men's clothes, and in
addition to performing all the necessary household labor, also worked in
the field; while the men's industry was confined altogether to the farm.

What was left of the previous year's supply of provisions was ample for
their needs, and they sold a quantity of oats sufficient to pay their
taxes and other expenses.

Thus life went smoothly for Ivan.

The peasant's next-door neighbor was a son of Gordey Ivanoff, called
"Gavryl the Lame." It once happened that Ivan had a quarrel with him;
but while old man Gordey was yet alive, and Ivan's father was the head
of the household, the two peasants lived as good neighbors should.
If the women of one house required the use of a sieve or pail, they
borrowed it from the inmates of the o