hirt his wife's wadded nankeen jacket, and over that
he put his own cloth coat. He took the three-rouble note in his
pocket, cut himself a stick to serve as a staff, and started off after
breakfast. "I'll collect the five roubles that are due to me,"
thought he, "add the three I have got, and that will be enough to buy
sheep-skins for the winter coat."

He came to the village and called at a peasant's hut, but the man was
not at home. The peasant's wife promised that the money should be
paid next week, but she would not pay it herself. Then Simon called on
another peasant, but this one swore he had no money, and would only pay
twenty kopeks which he owed for a pair of boots Simon had mended. Simon
then tried to buy the sheep-skins on credit, but the dealer would not
trust him.

"Bring your money," said he, "then you may have your pick of the skins.
We know what debt-collecting is like." So all the business the shoemaker
did was to get the twenty kopeks for boots he had mended, and to take a
pair of felt boots a peasant gave him to sole with leather.

Simon felt downhearted. He spent the twenty kopeks on vodka, and started
homewards without having bought any skins. In the morning he had felt
the frost; but now, after drinking the vodka, he felt warm, even without
a sheep-skin coat. He trudged along, striking his stick on the frozen
earth with one hand, swinging the felt boots with the other, and talking
to himself.

I

"I'm quite warm," said he, "though I have no sheep-skin coat. I've had
a drop, and it runs through all my veins. I need no sheep-skins. I go
along and don't worry about anything. That's the sort of man I am! What
do I care? I can live without sheep-skins. I don't need them. My wife
will fret, to be sure. And, true enough, it is a shame; one works all
day long, and then does not get paid. Stop a bit! If you don't bring
that money along, sure enough I'll skin you, blessed if I don't. How's
that? He pays twenty kopeks at a time! What can I do with twenty kopeks?
Drink it-that's all one can do! Hard up, he says he is! So he may
be--but what about me? You have a house, and cattle, and everything;
I've only what I stand up in! You have corn of your own growing; I have
to buy every grain. Do what I will, I must spend three roubles every
week for bread alone. I come home and find the bread all used up, and I
have to fork out another rouble and a half. So just pay up what you owe,
and no nonsense about