On the next morning his eldest brother, Semén the Warrior, heard of it,
and he went to see Iván.
"Reveal to me," he said, "where did you find those soldiers, and where
did you take them to?"
"What is that to you?" he said.
"What a question! With soldiers anything may be done. You can get a
kingdom for yourself."
Iván was surprised.
"Indeed? Why did you not tell me so long ago?" he said. "I will make as
many for you as you please. Luckily the girl and I have threshed a lot
of straw."
Iván took his brother to the threshing-floor, and said:
"Look here! I will make them for you, but you take them away, or else,
if we have to feed them, they will ruin the village in one day."
Semén the Warrior promised that he would take the soldiers away, and
Iván began to make them. He struck a sheaf against the floor, there was
a company; he struck another, there was a second, and he made such a lot
of them that they took up the whole field.
"Well, will that do?"
Semén was happy, and said:
"It will do. Thank you, Iván."
"All right," he said. "If you need more, come to me, and I will make you
more. There is plenty of straw to-day."
Semén the Warrior at once attended to the army, collected it as was
proper, and went forth to fight.
No sooner had Semén the Warrior left, than Tarás the Paunch came. He,
too, had heard of the evening's affair, and he began to beg his brother:
"Reveal to me, where do you get the gold money from? If I had such free
money, I would with it gather in all the money of the whole world."
Iván was surprised.
"Indeed? You ought to have told me so long ago," he said. "I will rub up
for you as much as you want."
His brother was glad:
"Give me at least three seed-baskets full!"
"All right," he said, "let us go to the woods! But hitch up the horse,
or you will not be able to carry it away."
They went to the woods, and Iván began to rub the oak leaves. He rubbed
up a large heap.
"Will that do, eh?"
Tarás was happy.
"It will do for awhile," he said. "Thank you, Iván."
"You are welcome. If you need more, come to me, and I will rub up some
more,--there are plenty of leaves left."
Tarás the Paunch gathered a whole wagon-load of money, and went away to
trade with it.
Both brothers left the home. And Semén went out to fight, and Tarás to
trade. And Semén the Warrior conquered a whole kingdom for himself,
while Tarás the Paunch made a big heap of money by trading.
The brothers met, and they revealed to one another where Semén got the
soldiers, and Tarás the money.
Semén the Warrior said to his brother:
"I have conquered a kingdom for myself, and I lead a good life, only I
have not enough money to feed my soldiers with."
And Tarás the Paunch said:
"And I have earned a whole mound of money, but here is the trouble: I
have nobody to guard the money."
So Semén the Warrior said:
"Let us go to our brother! I will tell him to make me more soldiers, and
I will give them to you to guard your money; and you tell him to rub me
more money with which to feed the soldiers."
And they went to Iván. When they came to him, Semén said:
"I have not enough soldiers, brother. Make me some more soldiers,--if
you have to work over two stacks."
Iván shook his head.
"I will not make you any soldiers, for nothing in the world."
"But you promised you would."
"So I did, but I will not make them for you."
"Why, you fool, won't you make them?"
"Because your soldiers have killed a man. The other day I was ploughing
in the field, when I saw a woman driving with a coffin in the road, and
weeping all the time. I asked her who had died, and she said, 'Semén's
soldiers have killed my husband in a war.' I thought that the soldiers
would make music, and there they have killed a man. I will give you no
more."
And he stuck to it, and made no soldiers for him.
Then Tarás the Paunch began to beg Iván to make him more gold money. But
Iván shook his head.
"I will not rub any, for nothing in the world."
"But you promised you would."
"So I did, but I will not do it."
"Why, you fool, will you not do it?"
"Because your gold coins have taken away Mikháylovna's cow."
"How so?"
"They just did. Mikháylovna had a cow, whose milk the children sipped,
but the other day the children came to me to ask for some milk. I said
to them: 'Where is your cow?' And they answered: 'Tarás the Paunch's
clerk came, and he gave mother three gold pieces, and she gave him the
cow, and now we have no milk to sip.' I thought you wanted to play with
the gold pieces, and you take the cow away from the children. I will not
give you any more."
And the fool stuck to it, and did not give him any. So the brothers went
away.
They went away, and they wondered how they might mend matters. Then
Semén said:
"This is what we shall do. You give me money to feed the soldiers with,
and I will give you half my kingdom with the soldiers to guard your
money." Tarás agreed to it. The brothers divided up, and both became
kings, and rich men.