From far beyond the deep blue sea, from India the Glorious, came
Lord Diuk the son of Stephen. Like a white hawk his ship skimmed
lightly across the heaving waters, and like a white ermine coursing he
rode across the boundless open plain. As he rode jauntily onward his
bow-case and his quiver beat against his hips, and like a flaming arrow
from that same bow was the speed of his good steed, Rough-Coat. His
helmet and his armour were of gleaming silver, his shirt of mail,
close fitting, was of ruddy gold woven in chains as fine as silk from
Samarcand. When he came to a river he asked for no bridge or ford,
for Rough-Coat leapt from shore to shore at a single bound.
Now as Lord Diuk rode onward he hunted, and the foxes, martens,
eagles, geese, white swans and downy ducks knew and told each other
by their cries that a practised hunter was abroad. When an arrow sped
from his bow a shaft of light seemed to rend the heavens, and where
the flaming darts fell to earth a radiance streamed as from the pale
cold moon shining across the white world of the snowy steppe. He shot
three times a hundred arrows and three times one, and though he found
the three hundred shafts he did not find the three; and this appeared
to him to be a very great wonder.
"The three arrows which I have lost," he said to himself, "are of
priceless value. They were made of the graceful reeds and were covered
with gold beaten finer than the parchment of the holy monks, and set
with precious stones so that in their flight they shone like the rays
of the sun at early dawn. The feathers were those of the blue-grey
eagle, which is swifter in its flight than all the birds of the air,
and flies across the deep blue sea to visit its eyrie on the tall
burning white stone which flashes for a thousand miles. Its feathers
are hard to come by, being more precious than satin or cut velvet,
or silk from Samarcand."
Thinking deeply and somewhat depressed at his heavy loss, Diuk once
more mounted Rough-Coat and gave him the rein for home. As he sped
onward he overtook a company of one and thirty wandering pilgrims,
and reining in his horse demanded:
"Ho, there, you greybeards, are you thieves or robbers or travellers,
midnight prowlers or plunderers of churches?"
Then the psalm-singers replied:
"Young Diuk, we are neither thieves, nor robbers, prowlers nor
plunderers of churches, but pilgrims on the long journey from Kiev
town to India the Glorious."
"Is the journey long?" asked Diuk in a more respectful tone.
"We have indeed come a long way from Kiev town," was the quiet
answer. "It is a journey of a year on foot and then three months on
the bosom of the deep blue sea."
With a low reverence to the holy pilgrims, Diuk rode to his home,
which he reached in a short space of time; and on the next day after
having been to vespers he sought out his lady mother.
"Mother mine," he said, "must I stay always at home engaged in
childish pursuits while my manhood calls me, calls me ever and ever
more loudly across the boundless plain? I ought to ride with head
aloft and shoulders squared upon my dapple bay steed Rough-Coat, and
prove my manhood by my fearless deeds. I have seen some fair cities,
but never have I seen Kiev the Great nor beheld with my own eyes the
beauty of the Princess Apraxia whom all men praise. Give me leave,
lady mother, leave and your good blessing, and let me go to Kiev town
at once and now."
Then the mother's heart grew tender, and in her eagerness to keep
him by her side she magnified the dangers of the way and thus, all
unknowing, added to his eagerness to go.
"Alas, my dear son," she said, "you have not yet ridden far across the
boundless plain nor heard the roar of the wild beast and the fierce cry
of the accursed Tatar. Never will you return in safety from the dangers
of the open steppe. As for Kiev, the city of Vladimir, the people of
that place are not worthy to keep company with such as you. They will
look upon you as a purse to be picked, for they are traders, sons of
merchants, traffickers in goods which your forefathers would win with
sword and mace and lance. I will not give you leave and blessing to
go to the Court of Vladimir, that ruler of shop-keepers."
Diuk's eyes had gleamed as his mother spoke of the way in which his
ancestors had won their wealth; and seeing this she tried another
course.
"Besides," she went on quickly, "there are three great barriers on the
way to Kiev city. The first is the barrier of the moving mountains,
which clash together and catch the unwary traveller in their strong
grip. The second is the barrier of the ravenous birds, which will
tear thee and thy good steed to a thousand pieces. The third barrier
is the Mountain Dragon with twelve tails, each with a sting in it. He
will devour you if indeed you have been fortunate enough to pass the
clashing mountains and the ravenous birds."
Each fresh terror which she described added to the young man's
eagerness to set out upon the journey to Kiev town; and having done
reverence to his weeping mother he went to the stable and combed the
coat of his faithful steed with a fine comb of fishes' teeth, as well
as the mane and tail, which brushed the bosom of moist Mother Earth as
he passed on his flight and swept away all traces of his hoofs. Then
he saddled his good horse and plaited bright jewels in his mane,
standing off to admire his handiwork, speaking meanwhile to the animal
in human speech; and in human speech the horse replied to him saying:
"Tear not my sides with spurs, dear master; lash me not with your
whip of silk; tighten not the bridle upon my faithful head; but when
I speed cling to my mane and fear not when I leap from mountain-top
to mountain-top, when I clear a great lake at a bound and a river at
an easy jump. So shall I be your friend and helper as was Cloudfall
to Ilya of Murom the Old Cossáck."
Then Diuk prepared himself for the heroic journey and went to say
farewell to his lady mother, who had wept till her eyes were bright
again, and she was ready to give both leave and blessing to her bold
and fearless son. She gave him also a warning. "My dear son," she said,
"when you come to Kiev town and to the Court of Prince Vladimir and
he makes a banquet in your honour, boast not of your wealth, or of
me your mother." Then she kissed him upon his honey mouth and he rode
away with happy heart. They saw him as he mounted Rough-Coat but they
did not see him as he rode, so swift was his flight--it was only a
wreath of smoke, a pillar of dust far off upon the boundless plain,
and he was gone.
Now in due time he came to the first barrier of the moving mountains,
which, of course, could not always be meeting, but must also part to
meet once more; and watching for the time when they parted, Rough-Coat
darted between them so quickly that they only caught a long hair
from his flowing tail. Then they came to the second barrier of the
ravenous birds, which swooped down upon them. But Rough-Coat dipped
his head and flung up his hind feet so that they pecked only at his
hoofs and found no sweetness in that meal; and with two heroic leaps
the brave steed was far beyond the reach of the pecking birds. Last
of all they came so suddenly upon the barrier of the dragon that
before he could rouse himself and uncoil his stinging tails one by
one Rough-Coat was far beyond the reach of their malice.
So the three terrible barriers were safely passed without the loss of
a single arrow, and Diuk rode onward singing gaily of the great deeds
of Svyatogor and Ilya of Murom the Old Cossáck. On he went across the
boundless open plain until he came to a ring-barked oak on which sat a
raven as black as night, croaking, croaking, croaking. Diuk looked up
with impatience, for in his heart he feared an omen more than clashing
mountains, pecking birds, or dragons with twelve stinging tails.
"Thou bird of evil," he cried, "I will scatter thy sable feathers
upon the open plain. I will spill thy blood upon the ring-barked oak
and give thee over to croaking Death."
But the raven answered him in the speech of Holy Russia, "Shed not my
blood, young Lord Diuk. Ride on across the open steppe and you will
find an adversary worthy of your stout bow and your shining arrows."
This speech filled the heart of the young hero with gladness and with
the hope of meeting an adventure worthy of his ancestry. He rode on
again until he came upon the hoof-prints of a horse deeply marked
on the broad lap of moist Mother Earth, so deeply that it was clear
to all eyes that a hero of mighty stature had recently passed that
way. A few more leaps of Rough-Coat, and Diuk came to a pavilion of
fair white linen embroidered with gold, beside which strayed a shaggy
charger eating fine white Turkish wheat, which was heaped freely upon
the ground for his solace and entertainment.
When Diuk saw this his heart failed him and he said to himself, "My
courage leaves me and I dare not enter that pavilion, for the hero
who sits therein will assuredly cut off my head. But I will place
Rough-Coat by the side of this charger and he also shall stoop to
the wheat. If the two horses eat together in peace, I will take it
as a sign that the hero will do me no harm. But if the horses begin
to quarrel I shall know that it is time for me to return to my lady
mother." For a strange dread and fear was upon the young man who had
set out so boldly but who now felt that he was within the circle of
a spell. And well he might, as we shall see.
The two chargers ate in peace, and Diuk, taking heart again, entered
the pavilion, bowing as he passed the threshold to North, South, East,
and West, and especially to--the owner who slept in one corner with a
terrible snore. Diuk came forward, and looking closer knew at once that
the sleeper was none other than Ilya of Murom the Old Cossáck, wrapt in
one of the deep sleeps for which he was as famous as for heroic deeds.
"Rouse ye, Ilya of Murom," cried Diuk; "it is time to go to royal
Kiev town so as to be present at matins on Easter morn." But Ilya
slept on and snored and stirred not. Again Diuk shouted, and again
without result; but at his third shout the great warrior unclosed his
eyes in a manner which seemed to suggest that he had been sleeping
a hound's sleep and said:
"Ho, stranger, tell me your name and horde." Then Diuk told him all
the truth.
"Why, then," asked Ilya, "have you roused me from my heroic sleep. Do
you wish to go with me out upon the open plain and see which of us
shall carry home the head of the other?"
"Nay," said Diuk in great haste. "Why should I fight with Ilya upon
the open plain? Death will not come to you in battle. As there is
one sun in the daylight sky and one moon in the dark blue heavens,
so there is one Ilya of Murom in Holy Russia."
This speech was courteous enough and fitting for the mouth of a young
hero, and it pleased Ilya mightily. He sprang at once to his nimble
feet, caught Diuk by his white hands, kissed him upon his sugar lips,
and swore with him eternal friendship, making the solemn exchange
of the cross. And Diuk thought no more of home or of his lady mother
and her tears of loneliness.
Then the young hero and the old sat down in the fair pavilion and
ate and drank well but not too well; and when that memorable feast
was ended, Ilya said to Diuk:
"Go now alone upon your way to Kiev town, and if any one there shall
mock at you send me word of it. But do not take your part when the
boasting time shall come."
With a heart full of hope and youthful expectation, Diuk rode on
alone to Kiev town; and when he came there Rough-Coat leapt over the
walls and flew like a whirlwind to the palace of white stone. In the
courtyard Diuk leapt lightly to the ground, planted the butt end of
his spear in the soil, and flung his bridle over the point. Then he
looked up and saw the Princess Apraxia looking out of the window and
said out loudly, "The washerwoman, I suppose." But he also bowed to
her and asked, "Where is Prince Vladimir, the Fair Sun of Kiev?"
Thereupon the Princess Apraxia raised her head with a look of scorn
and passed into the shadow of her apartment; and it was the serving
men in the courtyard who answered the young man's question. "Royal
Vladimir," they said, "is on his way to the Easter Mass." So Diuk
mounted Rough-Coat once again and rode off to the Cathedral. At
the great door he let his horse go free and entered the hall of the
ambassadors, but he did not bow to North, South, East, and West and
especially to any one, but gazed about and scanned the faces of all
the congregation. When the service was over the courteous prince sent
a messenger to invite the strange youth to the palace, and to this
man Diuk replied lightly and by no means courteously:
"You have lately been favoured in these parts with spring weather and
my embroidered garments are befouled with the mire of the plain." This
he said to show his magnificence, for he was splendidly clad, as
befitted his ancestry, and he knew it. So he went to the banquet-hall,
his steed following after him; and when he came within the place
he bowed to Prince Vladimir until his golden curls swept the red
brick floor. Then he stood upright and looked about him, and having
looked he shook his head doubtfully and slightingly, for to his eyes
accustomed to the shining splendour of India the Glorious the palace
was mean beyond compare.
But he sat down with another shake of his head, wondering upon what
meal of frozen oats his fine steed was being regaled and eyeing
with scorn the tables of white oak with their cloths patterned with
drawn-work of white thread, the handiwork of the Princess Apraxia. He
ate and drank well, however, and when he showed more contentment,
Vladimir asked him courteously if it were a long journey from India
the Glorious to Kiev town.
"I set out at vespers on Holy Saturday," said Diuk lightly, "and as
you know, I have been at early Mass in Kiev town this Easter day."
"And can you buy such steeds as yours cheaply in India the
Glorious?" asked Prince Vladimir still courteously.
"Oh," said Diuk lightly still, "we have them at a rouble, or two
roubles, or six roubles, or even seven, but Rough-Coat is priceless
and not to be purchased by the wealthiest trader." Then he thrust
his hands into his belt and stared about the room, while a great hush
fell upon the company.
But one of the heroes of Holy Russia rose slowly to his feet and said
heavily: "My lord, Prince Vladimir, I have travelled far from Kiev town
and have been even to India the Glorious. And I know without hearsay
that by the straight way for heroic travellers it is a journey of
three months, but by the round way for merchants it is a six months'
passage and more, indeed, unless on the way the traveller springs
from horse to horse, making no delay."
To this speech courteous Prince Vladimir said nothing in reply. The
guests looked at each other at a loss for the next event, and then
feeling hungry and thirsty again fell upon the banquet with heroic
strength. But Diuk sat at the board sad and silent until Vladimir
spoke to him.
"What ails your sad heart, bold youth?" he asked gently. "Is the
feast not to your taste? Or do you fear the boasting time which is
surely coming, when you shall have nothing of which you may brag?"
"Prince Vladimir," said Diuk, "I am wealthier far than you are. For
my father left me great riches, and I am used to fine white bread
made from flour of Turkish wheat."
Then courteous Prince Vladimir ordered his servants to bring wine
of the greenest and cakes of wheaten flour. Diuk drank one half of
the wine and poured out the rest upon the table as if its value were
of no account, and some of the dogs licked the drops and then lay
down to sleep. He took off the top crust of the fine wheaten cakes,
ate the middle, and flung the rest to the other dogs. And even yet
courteous Prince Vladimir blamed him not at all.
But another Russian hero sprang to his nimble feet and cried, "What
boorish fellow is this? He is not really Lord Diuk from India the
Glorious, and for the first time to-day this fellow has drunk green
wine and eaten fine wheaten cakes. He is a cow-herd, a fugitive serf
from the castle of some nobleman, who has done his master to death,
dressed himself in his embroidered garments, and stolen his goodly
steed. He is not of noble birth, for as he walked I noticed that he
looked not straight before him but at the shoes upon his feet. He
has come here in order that you, Prince Vladimir, may feast him
honourably and then give him a rich gift in accordance with your
courteous custom."
"I desire no treasure which can be given to me here," cried Diuk,
"for I have wealth untold at home, and rich food and green wine in
abundance. I had heard tales of wonder concerning Kiev city and came
here to test the truth of what I had heard. But it is not with you
as it is with us in India the Glorious."
And even yet Prince Vladimir parted not from his courteous bearing
but said gently:
"Why did you stare about the church at Mass this Easter morning,
instead of reverently bowing your head in the company?"
"I stared about, Prince Vladimir," said the young man, "because I had
heard tales of Kiev churches and of the richness of their beauty. But
in this matter also, it is not with you as it is with us in India
the Glorious. Your churches are of wooden beams with domes of timber,
but ours are of stone with roofs of beaten gold. Our meanest houses
are finer than your palaces of white stone. Your streets are foul
with mire, but ours are cleanly swept and strewn with dry yellow sand.
"The steps of your royal palace," went on Diuk, "are of black stone
with railings of turned wood fastened together with pegs of wood,
and these rough pegs, as I know to my annoyance, catch the flowing
robes of those who mount the steps. But the steps of my palace in
India the Glorious are of smoothest ivory, and are spread with rugs
of silk from Samarcand, while the railings are of polished ruddy gold
on which no speck of dust is allowed to settle.
"The floor of this banquet-hall is of rough, uneven pine planks,
and even these rough boards are a luxury for the high table and the
great corner, while the rest of the hall is paved with coarse red
brick. Your walls and ceiling are unpainted, your tables are of oak,
and the cloths laid upon the most exalted are patterned with drawn
threads. But the floors of our hall are of smooth ash timber in every
part, laid with great evenness, our walls and ceiling are painted in
the richest colours, while our tables are of gold when they are not
of ivory. Over my lady mother's doorway are seventy pictures of holy
saints shining in glorious colours, while you have only ten. From
our churches to the palace are laid pavements of hard smooth wood,
spread with scarlet cloth, but your pathways are so miry that they
soil the embroidered garments of a Prince."
Even yet Prince Vladimir remained courteous, and all he said in
reply was:
"Why did you throw away some of my green wine and a portion of my
wheaten cakes?"
"For a good reason," returned the young lord; "I could not eat your
cakes, for the upper crust has a flavour of pine wood, while the
lower tastes of clay, so that I knew at once that your ovens are
built of brick and your oven brooms are made of pine twigs. But in
our palace in India the Glorious the ovens of my lady mother, which
are under her own care, are made of hard glazed tiles, while her
oven brooms are of silk dipped in honey dew. If a man eats one of my
mother's cakes he leaves no crumb behind, and his whole desire is to
eat more. Your wines taste of damp and their flavour is foul. But my
mother's wine-cellars and their contents are the wonder of India the
Glorious. She has wines which saw the dawn of history, and these are
kept in casks of silver with hoops of gold, which are hung on chains
of brass in bricked-out caves of forty fathoms' depth; and from these
great caves run open pipes underground to let in the fresh sweet air
from the plain; and when the strong winds play about the open ends of
these pipes the silver casks swing to and fro and make a murmur like
that of snowy birds playing upon the bosom of a peaceful lake. So
we have wine which cannot be described but must be tasted, and if a
man drinks one cup thereof he leaves no drop behind, for there are
no dregs in this liquor, and his whole desire is to drink more.
"As for the embroidered garments of my lady mother, the store in her
presses and cupboards cannot be valued. At all times the sewing women
are busy, stitching, stitching, stitching, and when one group grows
weary, another takes up the work. My lady mother's under-robe is set
with precious stones, while the bodice is of cloth of gold; her cap
is covered with fair seed pearls with jewels of marvellous lustre and
priceless value set in front, and as for myself I wear a dress one day,
but woe unto my body-servant if I see it again. Your horses are fed on
frozen oats, but ours are regaled on fine Turkish wheat. Beneath our
palace are twelve deep cellars filled with ruddy gold, white silver,
and fine seed pearls, and the contents of one cellar alone would be
sufficient to buy up the whole of Kiev town and Chernigof as well."
At last Vladimir was a little moved. "I wish that Churilo the Exquisite
were here, for he would know how to reply to your boasting." Even as
he spoke the white oaken doors of the banquet-hall were flung open,
and Churilo the Exquisite entered with a graceful bow to North,
South, East, and West, and especially to Prince Vladimir, but not
at all to Diuk from India the Glorious. But that young man was not
thereby abashed.
"I have heard," he said, "even in far-away India, the fame of
Churilo's beauty, and truly Rumour was no lying wench, for his face
is like the rosebud for redness and his neck like the driven snow for
whiteness. But Rumour lied when she praised his courtesy; for he has
not learnt how to salute his betters."
Then the face of Churilo grew redder than the full-blown rose, and
he cried in anger: "Braggart and boaster, son of a slave. Let us
lay a wager of roubles, a wager of thirty thousand. For the space of
three years you and I shall live in Kiev, and upon every single day of
the year each shall wear fresh clothes of the richest, and upon every
single day ride a horse of a different hue. And the wager shall pass to
him whom all men acclaim as the most glorious. This can I do to uphold
the honour of the court of Prince Vladimir, the Fair Sun of Kiev."
"It is easy for you to wager such a sum and to propose such a test,"
said Diuk somewhat wearily, "for you live at home where your clothes
presses and your stables are full; but I am far from home and have
only one travelling suit which is foul from the mire of the dirty
ways of Kiev town. But I accept your wager."
Then the young lord sat down at the oaken table and called for a
parchment scroll on which he wrote a letter and a list, a letter and
a list for his lady mother far away in India the Glorious. Having
rolled the scroll and sealed it he went out into the court where
Rough-Coat stood pawing the ground impatiently, and placed it in
one of the saddle-bags. "Haste thee home," he said in the quivering
ear of the faithful steed, "home to India the Glorious, and when you
reach the palace of my lady mother neigh loudly so that all may hear."
They saw the good steed while Diuk spoke in his quivering ear, but
they did not see him when he had finished speaking--there was only a
wreath of smoke on the open boundless plain, and he was gone. And when
the good steed came to the palace of his master he neighed loudly,
and the lady mother came out upon the ivory steps holding the railing
of ruddy gold with her right hand and her own heart with her left,
for she saw the empty saddle of Rough-Coat, and thought instantly of
the worst. But the horse neighed again with a joyful note, and when
the grooms felt in the saddle-bag they found the scroll which they
gave to their mistress on bended knee.
Holding herself proudly erect, she read the words which Diuk had
written, and the colour came back to her face and the light of love
to her eyes. "The foolish boy has boasted as I warned him that he
must not do, for there is no need for one to boast whose splendour is
beyond doubt or rival. But I must do what I can to redeem his pledged
word--and it may be that his precious life is endangered." Then she
unbound her golden keys and taking with her a band of sewing maidens,
she unlocked the doors of spacious wardrobes, and packed changes of
lawn and silken raiment sufficient for three years and three days,
and so as to afford three changes for each day; and though the number
of garments was so great the weight of the bales were not too heavy
a burden for Rough-Coat, so fine was the texture of lawn and silk,
each garment having stood the test of being drawn through a finger
ring before it was embroidered with gold or silver or fine seed pearls.
When Rough-Coat was duly loaded, the lady mother threw an old and
much-worn garment over all and said:
"Haste to my precious son, good Rough-Coat, and warn him of your
coming with a neigh."
Before long the young Lord Diuk and Churilo the Exquisite began their
strange contest, riding about Kiev town in new garments and upon a
fresh horse every day. Churilo ordered great herds of horses to be
driven into Kiev from Chernigof, and took much pains to select one
of different hue every morning; but Diuk anointed Rough-Coat each
morning with dew and so changed the colour of its coat. For three
years this peaceful warfare lasted, and then on Easter morning the two
combatants went to early Mass and stood in the porch of the cathedral
side by side, but not too close together.
The garments of Churilo the Exquisite were slashed with ruddy burning
gold and with white gleaming silver. In place of buttons he had clasps
made in the likeness of handsome youths with loops fashioned in the
semblance of lovely maidens. So high were the insteps of his slippers
of green morocco that swallows swooping to the earth might easily
pass under them, while their tips were as sharp as the shoemaker's
awl. His cap was of softest down overshadowing his eyes in front and
his white neck behind. His over-mantle flung back in youthful vanity
was of sables of the richest gloss.
But his opponent stood by his side in the worn garment which his lady
mother had placed on the back of Rough-Coat to protect the bales from
the weather; only, beneath this beggar's robe shone jewels on his
footgear of value greater than that of all Kiev, except for the gems
upon the statues of the Virgin and the Saints in the great cathedral.
Vladimir came and looked at the young men, while Churilo fingered his
clasps and loops as if to draw attention to their exquisite fashioning;
but Diuk looked straight ahead as if he saw right across the open
steppe to the palace of his lady mother in India the Glorious.
Then the Prince spoke in tones of quiet judgment:
"To our mind," he said, "the young Lord Diuk from India the Glorious
has forfeited his wager; for such inventions as these clasps and
loops have never been equalled in the eyes of men."
"The value of the wager," cried Diuk, "is nothing to me, but for my
renown I am jealous enough." Then he threw his worn garment aside
and stood forth in apparel so wondrous that all the watchers fell to
the earth, stunned with the sight of its shining beauty. At the fore
peak of his cap shone the sun like ruddy gold; at the back was the
moon with shining silver rays; between the two points shone a light
as from pearls heaped up in the darkness.
Then he fingered the clasps in front of his embroidered doublet which
were fashioned in the shape of singing birds, and at the touch of
his caressing fingers the birds began to sing. He pulled the loops
at the edges of his coat which were fashioned in the shape of lions
and dragons, and at the touch of his caressing fingers they began to
crawl and leap and hiss and roar. When he had finished the whole of
the company, including Churilo the Exquisite, lay prone upon the floor.
Vladimir was the first to rise, and he gasped out with his hand to
his forehead: "The wager and the renown are yours, goodly youth. Now
cover up your birds and beasts with a garment to which my people are
more accustomed." And Diuk did so; whereupon the people recovered
from their stupefied astonishment and began to praise Diuk for having
outdone Churilo the Exquisite in the ingenuity and richness of his
apparel. And the victor spent the thirty thousand roubles on green
wine for the applauding crowds, which made them applaud him still
more loudly.
Now Churilo the Exquisite was a young man of determination, and even
this defeat did not quench his spirit or his ingenuity. As soon as
he had recovered himself he approached Diuk once again and said with
great respect:
"My Lord Diuk, let us make another wager of another kind. Let us
prove whose horse can leap the broad stream of Mother Dnieper,
which measures two miles across, and let our heads be the stake;
the winner to cut off the head of the loser."
"I have only my travelling nag with me," said Diuk, "but I accept
the challenge." Then he went to Rough-Coat in the stable and told
the good horse in what danger he stood of losing his head.
"That is well," said Rough-Coat, in the speech of Holy Russia, "for
not only will I leap over Mother Dnieper, but I will carry you an
even distance upon the farther shore. I belong to a heroic family,
and my eldest brother is Cloudfall, the shaggy bay steed ridden by
Ilya of Murom the Old Cossáck, while my second brother bears Nikitich
upon his adventures, but my youngest brother is the steed of Churilo
the Exquisite."
Without loss of time Diuk saddled Rough-Coat and rode far out across
the open plain with Churilo by his side, riding step by step but not
too near. Behind them flocked a great crowd of mighty heroes of Holy
Russia, as well as of the townsfolk of Kiev, who had come to watch the
manly contest, which was much more to their taste than an exhibition of
clothing and decoration, however ingenious and splendid they might be.
At last they came to the shore of broad Mother Dnieper, and both the
combatants stood for a moment with their hands to their foreheads
gazing out across the deep water to discover a possible landing-place
on the farther bank. Then said Churilo the Exquisite:
"Do thou leap first, Lord Diuk."
"Nay," answered the other, "do thou leap first, and when we leap
together in India, then will I take the lead."
So Churilo put his horse to the stream. The younger brother of
Rough-Coat left the shore with a courageous leap, but came down with a
great splash in mid-stream. Then Diuk put his horse to the stream. The
younger brother of Cloudfall left the shore with a courageous leap,
cleared the river and an even space on the farther shore, and then
turning quickly leapt back again; and as Rough-Coat soared across
the broad bosom of Mother Dnieper, Diuk stooped and caught Churilo
by his yellow curls.
On the banks of the stream the victor prepared to cut off the head
of the Exquisite; but all the ladies, young and not quite so young,
lovely and not quite so lovely, who had come out from Kiev, implored
him to spare the life of the young man. So Diuk merely gave him a
mighty kick and said:
"Go, Exquisite, to the women to whom you owe your life, and stay with
them; for the men of Holy Russia, to say naught of India the Glorious,
have no need of such as you."
Churilo the Exquisite had not yet parted with the whole of his
ingenuity, and he turned to Prince Vladimir:
"My Lord," he said, "if this young man is a truth-teller, let us
send talesmen who can compute and count to India the Glorious, to
make lists of all his boasted possessions in treasure and goods and
herds and flocks."
"Whom shall we send?" asked Prince Vladimir.
"Let Alyosha go," answered Churilo.
"Nay," said Diuk quickly, "Alyosha shall not go; for he hath greedy
eyes and pilfering fingers, and he will never, I assure you, come back
again to Kiev town." Then he sat down at the table of the banquet hall,
where the whole company was now gathered, and wrote a message upon
a parchment and fastened it to one of his flaming arrows. To this
he whispered a word of direction, and then, fitting it to his bow,
he shot it forth from the open window across the boundless plain. The
winged messenger found Ilya of Murom near the door of his pavilion
where he was resting with Nikitich, and as soon as he had read the
scroll the Old Cossáck said to his wise companion:
"Go thou to Diuk in Kiev town and tell him that, if Nikitich is not
an army in himself, then Ilya will come who is a host."
As soon as he saw Nikitich, Diuk's eyes shone with welcoming
pleasure. "Ah, Nikitich," he said, "you shall go as talesman with two
others to India the Glorious, to make lists of all my possessions in
treasure and goods and herds and flocks.
"Take parchment sufficient for three years and three days," the young
man went on, "and I promise you in prophecy that you will do homage
to my servant-maids, mistaking each of them in turn for my lady
mother." Then he laughed gently as one who wins a fight by putting
aside with naked arm the ponderous mace of his adversary.
The three talesmen set out at once, followed by three waggons heaped
with parchment; and after many wanderings and not a few adventures
Nikitich came to India the Glorious, on the verge of which they climbed
a lofty mountain, from whence they beheld the land lying before them.
"Why, the country burns!" cried Nikitich in fearful amazement. But
when they drew nearer they saw that it was only the glow of the golden
roofs and the temple domes, blended with the colour of the yellow
pathways spread with ruddy scarlet cloth. In the midst they saw the
white stone palace of Diuk, which had three-and-thirty towers, whose
rounded roofs were covered with green copper which is more precious
than fine gold. Round about the gleaming palace spread a lovely garden,
delicious in the coolness of its greenery, planted with all kinds
of fruit trees, and surrounded by a high railing of gold pillars,
set with knots of green copper and broken here and there with gates
of brass. About the pathways of this pleasure-ground and in the
verandahs of the palace walked the loveliest of maidens, attended by
resplendent gallants, who played upon their musical instruments and
sang gay songs of love and valour.
The talesmen were so much struck with wonder and amazement that it
was a long time before they could summon up their courage to enter the
palace garden, at whose gates no guards were set. At last they did so,
and came to the first of the three-and-thirty towers, where they found
an aged woman who looked as if she was the mother of a goodly son. Her
dress was of silver thread mixed with a little silk, and her bearing
had so much dignity that the visitors from Kiev found themselves
bowing down before her almost without knowing what they were doing.
"Hail to thee!" said Nikitich, "thou honourable mother of the young
Lord Diuk."
"I am not my lord's mother," said the ancient woman, "I am the keeper
of his cows."
Then the talesmen were so much filled with vexation and shame that they
left the palace garden and went out into the open plain, where they
pitched a tent and went to bed without saying a word to each other.
On the next morning they came again and drew near to the second of
the three-and-thirty towers, where they found an aged woman of comely
face clad in cloth of silver and gold.
"Hail to thee!" said Nikitich brightly, "thou honourable mother of
the young Lord Diuk."
"I am not my lord's mother," said the aged woman, "I am his
washerwoman."
Swallowing their confusion the three talesmen went on, wondering no
longer that Diuk had mistaken the Princess Apraxia for the washerwoman
of Prince Vladimir; and they fared in the same manner before the
cook, the women of the bedchamber, the baker of cakes, and the nurse,
until the last took pity upon their despair and told them that the
lady mother of their lord had gone to High Mass, and that they would
be able to distinguish her when she left the church by three certain
signs. Before her would come a great army of men armed with shovels,
and then another army with brooms to make all clean on the pathway,
and then a third army laying cloth of brilliant scarlet upon the
tawny sand. Last of all would come the mother of young Lord Diuk,
with a great company of lovely maidens round about her. "And when you
go into the town," the nurse concluded, "you must not salute all the
ancient ladies in fine raiment like mine, for there are so many of us
thus arrayed that we pay little heed to it. And if you do reverence
to all of us your back will remain bent like the bow of Ilya of Murom."
The talesmen went on their wondering way and in due time met the
mother of the young Lord Diuk, preceded and attended as the nurse
had told, and dressed in garments of rich but quiet beauty. Before
her the three men bowed, and in pleasant tones she asked why they
had come to the city.
"Your son sent us as talesmen," was the answer, "to make lists of
all his possessions in treasure and goods and herds and flocks."
"That is beyond your powers," said the lady; "but come first of all
to partake of my hospitality, and then I will show you whatever you
choose to see."
So they went to the feast of rich food and richer wine, and they ate of
the fine wheaten cakes baked by the mother of the young Lord Diuk, and
left no crumb behind. When they were well satisfied, the lady mother
showed them her son's horses; and they took parchment and tried to
count up their value in roubles, but the figures confused their eyes
and vexed them so that they gave up the task. Then she showed them the
shoes of her son; and they took parchment again and tried to tell the
tale of their value, but once more they gave up in despair. After that
she led them to the wine-cellars and to the treasury of trappings for
horses with the same result. At last Nikitich said: "Leave us here,
seated before this single saddle ornamented with all the jewels of
India, and let us compute the value of it alone." The lady graciously
gave her consent; and they stayed three years over their task of
computation, but at the end of that time they had not finished one
tenth of the work.
Then they sent a message to Vladimir which ran:
"Sell Kiev for parchment and Chernigof for ink, and then we shall
perhaps be able to make a beginning of computing the possessions of
the young Lord Diuk."
When Vladimir had read this message he set out with a great company
for India the Glorious, and Diuk went in his train; and when they
came to the palace of the lady mother, they found that not one-tenth
of its splendour had been told to them.
As they stood there, three men came before them whose forms were
withered up like shavings; and they looked long upon them and
very earnestly before they saw that these men were Nikitich and his
companions, who had shrunken from grief at the greatness of their task
and their inability to perform it. But the young Lord Diuk consoled
them and feasted the company right well before they set out, still
in quiet wonder, on their way back to Kiev town.
When they were gone the lady mother turned to her son and asked:
"Did I not speak truth? Was there aught in Kiev or in the train of
Vladimir to compare with India the Glorious?"
"Only one thing, lady mother," said Diuk, who had seen enough of
splendour, "a man and a hero, Ilya of Murom the Old Cossáck. And for
his renown I would barter all the wealth of India the Glorious."