How Much Land Does a Man Need? (World Classics) by Leo Tolstoy

Author:Leo Tolstoy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, novel, book, bestseller, top10, interactive media, urban romantics
Publisher: Sovereign Classic
Published: 2017-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

VI

While the Bashkírs were disputing, a man in a large fox-fur cap appeared on the scene. They all became silent and rose to their feet. The interpreter said, ‘This is our Chief himself.’

Pahóm immediately fetched the best dressing-gown and five pounds of tea, and offered these to the Chief. The Chief accepted them, and seated himself in the place of honour. The Bashkírs at once began telling him something. The Chief listened for a while, then made a sign with his head for them to be silent, and addressing himself to Pahóm, said in Russian:

‘Well, let it be so. Choose whatever piece of land you like; we have plenty of it.’

‘How can I take as much as I like?’ thought Pahóm. ‘I must get a deed to make it secure, or else they may say, “It is yours,” and afterwards may take it away again.’

‘Thank you for your kind words,’ he said aloud. ‘You have much land, and I only want a little. But I should like to be sure which bit is mine. Could it not be measured and made over to me? Life and death are in God’s hands. You good people give it to me, but your children might wish to take it away again.’

‘You are quite right,’ said the Chief. ‘We will make it over to you.’

‘I heard that a dealer had been here,’ continued Pahóm, ‘and that you gave him a little land, too, and signed title-deeds to that effect. I should like to have it done in the same way.’

The Chief understood.

‘Yes,’ replied he, ‘that can be done quite easily. We have a scribe, and we will go to town with you and have the deed properly sealed.’

‘And what will be the price?’ asked Pahóm.

‘Our price is always the same: one thousand roubles a day.’

Pahóm did not understand.

‘A day? What measure is that? How many acres would that be?’

‘We do not know how to reckon it out,’ said the Chief. ‘We sell it by the day. As much as you can go round on your feet in a day is yours, and the price is one thousand roubles a day.’

Pahóm was surprised.

‘But in a day you can get round a large tract of land,’ he said.

The Chief laughed.

‘It will all be yours!’ said he. ‘But there is one condition: If you don’t return on the same day to the spot whence you started, your money is lost.’

‘But how am I to mark the way that I have gone?’

‘Why, we shall go to any spot you like, and stay there. You must start from that spot and make your round, taking a spade with you. Wherever you think necessary, make a mark. At every turning, dig a hole and pile up the turf; then afterwards we will go round with a plough from hole to hole. You may make as large a circuit as you please, but before the sun sets you must return to the place you started from. All the land you cover will be yours.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.