an. Well, heralds went about throughout the whole
country, and promulgated the emperor's command everywhere--yea, brigands
seized old people where they chose, and drowned them without mercy.

There were then in a certain place three own brothers, who had an aged
father. When they heard of this edict, they told their father; and their
father said: "My sons, such is the will of God and the will of the
emperor; take me, let me perish at once, only that you, my children, may
live on. I am already with one foot in the grave," "No, our own daddy!
we will die, but we will not give you up," cried the good sons with one
voice, and fell upon his neck; "we will keep you; we will take from our
own mouths, and will nourish you."

The three brothers took their aged father, conducted him into their
cottage, dug under the raised portion of the floor, made up a bed with
sheets and frieze-coats, for straw was scarce, and placed the old man
there, brought him a loaf of bread as black as the holy earth, and
covered him over with the floor. There the old man abode for two or
three months, and his sons brought him clandestinely all they had. The
summer passed without harvest, without mowing. September passed too.
Autumn passed without joy. Winter passed too. Now came spring; the sun
became warm. It was now time to sow, but there was no seed. The world
was large, but there was no seed-corn. When one kind was used up, the
people sowed others, hoping that there would be a crop; but when they
cast it into the holy earth, it rotted there. It seemed as if the end of
the world were come.

Then the three sons went to their father, and asked him: "Daddy, what
shall we do? It's time to sow. God is now sending showers of rain; the
earth is warmed and is crumbling like grits; but of seed there is not a
blessed grain," "Take, my sons, and strip the old roof off the house,
and thresh the bundles and sow the chaff." The lads stripped the house
and barn (anyhow, there was nothing in it), and threshed away till the
sweat ran from their brows, so that they crushed the bundles as small as
poppy-seeds. When they sowed, God gave a blessing; so in a week's time
it became green like rue; in a month's time, in two months' time, there
was corn, ever so much--ever so much, and all manner of seed was found
there: there was rye, there was wheat and barley; yea, maybe, there was
also a plant or two of buckwheat and millet. Wherever you went
throughout the world there