nfields the green blades were
growing up so splendidly that it did one's heart good to look at
them.

"Here'll be a good harvest, a right good harvest!" says
Nicholas, "and the Moujik, too, is a good fellow sure enough,
both honest and pious: one who remembers God and thinks
about the Saints! It will fall into good hands--"

"We'll see by-and-by whether much will fall to his share!"
answered Elijah; "when I've burnt up all his land with lightning,
and beaten it all flat with hail, then this Moujik of yours will
know what's right, and will learn to keep Elijah's day holy."

Well, they wrangled and wrangled; then they parted asunder.
St. Nicholas went off straight to the Moujik and said:

"Sell all your corn at once, just as it stands, to the Priest
of Elijah.[445] If you don't, nothing will be left of it: it will all be
beaten flat by hail."

Off rushed the Moujik to the Priest.

"Won't your Reverence buy some standing corn? I'll sell
my whole crop. I'm in such pressing need of money just now.
It's a case of pay up with me! Buy it, Father! I'll sell it
cheap."

They bargained and bargained, and came to an agreement.
The Moujik got his money and went home.

Some little time passed by. There gathered together, there
came rolling up, a stormcloud; with a terrible raining and hailing
did it empty itself over the Moujik's cornfields, cutting
down all the crop as if with a knife--not even a single blade did
it leave standing.

Next day Elijah and Nicholas walked past. Says Elijah:

"Only see how I've devastated the Moujik's cornfield!"

"The Moujik's! No, brother! Devastated it you have
splendidly, only that field belongs to the Elijah Priest, not to
the Moujik."

"To the Priest! How's that?"

"Why, this way. The Moujik sold it last week to the
Elijah Priest, and got all the money for it. And so, methinks,
the Priest may whistle for his money!"

"Stop a bit!" said Elijah. "I'll set the field all right again.
It shall be twice as good as it was before."

They finished talking, and went each his own way. St.
Nicholas returned to the Moujik, and said:

"Go to the Priest and buy back your crop--you won't lose
anything by it."

The Moujik went to the Priest, made his bow, and said:

"I see, your Reverence, God has sent you a misfortune--the
hail has beaten the whole field so flat you might roll a ball
over it. Sinc