n, and
harvesters are in the habit of biting off the ears of corn, so he
makes a sickle for them, thrusts it into a sheaf and leaves it there.
They take it for a monstrous worm, tie a cord to it, and drag it away
to the bank of the river. There they fasten one of their number to a
log and set him afloat, giving him the end of the cord, in order that
he may drag the "worm" after him into the water. The log turns over,
and the moujik with it, so that his head is under water while his legs
appear above it. "Why, brother!" they call to him from the bank, "why
are you so particular about your leggings? If they do get wet, you can
dry them at the fire." But he makes no reply, only drowns. Finally
Lutonya meets the counterpart of the well-known Irishman who, when
counting the party to which he belongs, always forgets to count
himself, and so gets into numerical difficulties. After which he
returns home.[65]

It would be easy to multiply examples of this style of humor--to
find in the folk-tales current all over Russia the equivalents of
our own facetious narratives about the wise men of Gotham, the old
woman whose petticoats were cut short by the pedlar whose name was
Stout, and a number of other inhabitants of Fool-land, to whom the
heart of childhood is still closely attached, and also of the
exaggeration-stories, the German _Luegenmaehrchen_, on which was founded
the narrative of Baron Munchausen's surprising adventures. But instead
of doing this, before passing on to the more important groups of the
Skazkas, I will quote, as this chapter's final illustrations of the
Russian story-teller's art, an "animal story" and a "legend." Here is
the former:--

THE MIZGIR.[66]

In the olden years, long long ago, with the spring-tide fair and
the summer's heat there came on the world distress and shame.
For gnats and flies began to swarm, biting folks and letting
their warm blood flow.

Then the Spider[67] appeared, the hero bold, who, with waving
arms, weaved webs around the highways and byways in
which the gnats and flies were most to be found.

A ghastly Gadfly, coming that way, stumbled straight into
the Spider's snare. The Spider, tightly squeezing her throat,
prepared to put her out of the world. From the Spider the
Gadfly mercy sought.

"Good father Spider! please not to kill me. I've ever so
many little ones. Without me they'll be orphans left, and from
door to door have to beg their br