THE
SOLDIER AND DEATH
A RUSSIAN FOLK TALE
TOLD IN ENGLISH BY
ARTHUR RANSOME
January 1920
THE SOLDIER AND DEATH
A soldier served God and the Great Tzar for twenty-five years,earned three dry biscuits, and set off to walk his way home. He kissedhis companions with whom he had served so long, and boasted of thefeasting there would be in the village when he should come marchinghome with all his wars behind him. Singing at the top of his voicehe was as he set off. But as soon as he was alone on the high road,walking through the forest he began to think things over. And hethought to himself: All these years I have served the Tzar and hadgood clothes to my back and my belly full of victuals. And now I amlike to be both hungry and cold. Already I've nothing but three drybiscuits.
Just then he met an old beggar, who stood in the road and crossedhimself and asked alms for the love of God.
The soldier had not a copper piece in the world, so he gave thebeggar one of his three dry biscuits.
He had not gone very far along the road when he met a second beggar,who leant on a stick and recited holy words and begged alms for thelove of God.
The soldier gave him the second of his three dry biscuits.
And then, at a bend in the road, he met a third old beggar, withlong white hair and beard and loathsome rags, who stood shaking[4] by theroadside, and he begged alms for the love of God.
"If I give him my last dry biscuit I shall have nothing left formyself," thought the soldier. He gave the old beggar half of the thirddry biscuit. Then the thought came into his head that perhaps this oldbeggar would meet the other two, and would learn that they had beengiven whole biscuits while he had only been given a half. "He will behurt and affronted," thought the soldier, "and his blessing will be ofno avail." So he gave the old beggar the other half also of the thirdof his three dry biscuits. "I shall get along somehow," thought thesoldier, and was for making forward on his way. But the old beggar putout his hand and stopped him.
"Brother," says the old beggar, "are you in want of anything?"
"God bless you," says the soldier, looking at the beggar's rags, "Iwant nothing from you. You're a poor man yourself."
"Never mind my poverty," says the old beggar. "Just tell me whatyou would like to have, and I am well able to reward you for your kindheart."
"I don't want anything," said the soldier; "but, if you do happen tohave such a thing as a pack of cards about you, I'd keep them in memoryof you, and they'd be a pleasure to me on the long road."
The old beggar thrust his hand into his bosom among his rags, andpulled out a pack of cards.
"Take these," says he, "and when you play with them you'll always bewinner whoever may be playing against you. And here's a flour sack foryou as well. If you meet anything and want to catch it, just open thesack and tell beasts or birds or aught else to get into it, and they'lldo just that, and you can close the sack and do with them what youwill."
"Thank you kindly," says the soldier, throws the s