Having disposed of the two brothers, the old Devil went to Ivan. He
changed himself into a general and came to Ivan, and began to persuade
him to set up a large army.
“A king should not live without an army,” he said. “Give me the power,
and I’ll collect soldiers from among your people and organize an army.”
Ivan listened to all he had to say.
“Very well,” he said, “organize one, then; only teach the soldiers to
sing nice songs, for I like singing.”
And the old Devil went through Ivan’s kingdom to collect a voluntary
army. To each recruit who should offer himself he promised a bottle of
vodka and a red cap.
The fools laughed at him.
“We have plenty of drink,” they said; “we brew it ourselves, and as for
caps, our women can make us any kind we like--embroidered ones and even
ones with fringes.”
And no one offered himself.
The old Devil went back to Ivan and said, “Your fools won’t enlist of
their own accord; we’ll have to force them.”
“Very well; force them, then.”
And the old Devil proclaimed throughout the kingdom that every man must
enlist as a soldier, and if he fails to do so Ivan will have him put to
death.
The fools came to the Devil and said, “You tell us that if we won’t
enlist as soldiers the King will have us put to death, but you don’t say
what will happen to us when we become soldiers. People say that soldiers
are killed.”
“You can’t get over that.”
When the fools heard this they kept to their decision.
“We won’t go,” they said. “We’d sooner die at home since we have to die
in either case.”
“What fools you are!” the old Devil said. “A soldier may or may not be
killed, but if you don’t go King Ivan will have you put to death for
certain.”
The fools reflected over this; then went to Ivan the Fool and said, “A
general has appeared among us who orders us all to enlist as soldiers.
‘If you go as a soldier,’ he says, ‘you may or you may not be killed,
but if you don’t go, King Ivan will have you put to death for certain.’
Is it true?”
Ivan laughed.
“How can I alone have you all put to death? Had I not been a fool I
would have explained it to you, but I don’t understand it myself.”
“Then we won’t go,” the fools said.
“Very well, don’t.”
The fools went to the general and refused to enlist as soldiers.
The old Devil saw that his plan would not work, so he went to the King
of Tarakan and wormed himself into his favour.
“Come,” he said, “let us go and make war on King Ivan. He has no money,
but grain and cattle and all manner of good things he has in abundance.”
The King of Tarakan prepared to make war. He gathered together a large
army, repaired his guns and cannons and marched across the border on his
way to Ivan’s kingdom.
People came to Ivan and said, “The King of Tarakan is marching on us
with his army.”
“Very well; let him,” Ivan said.
When the King of Tarakan crossed the border he sent his vanguard to find
Ivan’s troops. They searched and searched, but no troops were to be
found anywhere. Should they wait and see if they showed themselves? But
there was no sign of any troops and no one to fight with. The King of
Tarakan sent men to seize the villages. The soldiers came to one village
and the fools--men and women alike--rushed out and stood gaping at them
in wonder. The soldiers began to take away their corn and cattle and
the fools let them have what they wanted, making no resistance. The
soldiers went to another village and the same thing was repeated. And
they marched one day and another, and still the same thing happened.
Everything was given up without any resistance and the fools even
invited the soldiers to stay with them. “If you find it hard to live in
your parts, good fellows, come and settle with us altogether.” And the
soldiers marched from village to village and no troops were to be found
anywhere; the people lived, fed themselves and others; no one offered
any resistance and every one invited them to settle there.
And the soldiers grew weary of the job and they went back to their King
of Tarakan.
“We can’t fight here,” they said; “take us to another place. This is not
war; this is child’s-play. We can’t fight here.”
The King of Tarakan grew angry. He ordered his soldiers to go over the
whole kingdom and lay waste the villages and burn the corn and kill the
cattle.
“If you won’t do what I tell you,” he said, “I will punish you all.”
The soldiers were frightened and began to carry out the King’s commands.
They burnt the houses and corn and killed the cattle. The fools made no
resistance, they only wept. The old men wept and the old women and the
little children.
“Why do you treat us like this?” they said. “Why do you waste the good
things? If you want them, why not take them?”
And the soldiers grew to loathe their work. They refused to go further
and the troops dispersed.