In the dark forests of Russia, where the snow lies on the ground for
eight months in the year, wolves roam about in countless troops; and
it is a fearful thing for the traveller, especially if night overtakes
him, to hear their famished howlings as they approach nearer and nearer
to him.
A Russian nobleman, with his wife and a young daughter, was travelling
in a sleigh over a bleak plain. About nightfall they reached an inn,
and the nobleman called for a relay of horses to go on. The innkeeper
begged him not to proceed. “There is danger ahead,” said he: “the
wolves are out.” The traveller thought the object of the man was to
keep him as a guest for the night, and, saying it was too early in the
season for wolves, ordered the horses to be put to. In spite of the
repeated warnings of the landlord, the party proceeded on their way.
The driver was a serf who had been born on the nobleman’s estate, and
who loved his master as he loved his life. The sleigh sped swiftly over
the hard snow, and there seemed no signs of danger. The moon began to
shed her light, so that the road seemed like polished silver.
Suddenly the little girl said to her father, “What is that strange,
dull sound I heard just now?” Her father replied, “Nothing but the wind
sighing through the trees.”
The child shut her eyes, and kept still for a while; but in a few
minutes, with a face pale with fear, she turned to her father, and
said, “Surely that is not the wind: I hear it again; do you not hear it
too? Listen!” The nobleman listened, and far, far away in the distance
behind him, but distinct enough in the clear, frosty air, he heard a
sound of which he knew the meaning, though those who were with him did
not.
Whispering to the serf, he said, “They are after us. Get ready your
musket and pistols; I will do the same. We may yet escape. Drive on!
drive on!”
The man drove wildly on; but nearer, ever nearer, came the mournful
howling which the child had first heard. It was perfectly clear to
the nobleman that a pack of wolves had got scent, and was in pursuit
of them. Meanwhile he tried to calm the anxious fears of his wife and
child.
At last the baying of the wolves was distinctly heard, and he said to
his servant, “When they come up with us, single you out the leader, and
fire. I will single out the next; and, as soon as one falls, the rest
will stop to devour him. _That_ will be some delay, at least.”
By this time they could see the pack fast approaching, with their long,
measured tread. A large dog-wolf was the leader. The nobleman and the
serf singled out two, and these fell. The pack immediately turned on
their fallen comrades, and soon tore them to pieces. The taste of blood
only made the others advance with more fury, and they were soon again
baying at the sleigh. Again the nobleman and his servant fired. Two
other wolves fell, and were instantly devoured. But the next post-house
was still far distant.
The nobleman then cried to the post-boy, “Let one of the horses loose,
that we may gain a little more time.” This was done, and the horse was
left on the road. In a few minutes they heard the loud shrieks of the
poor animal as the wolves tore him down. The remaining horses were
urged to their utmost speed, but again the pack was in full pursuit.
Another horse was cut loose, and he soon shared the fate of his fellow.
At length the servant said to his master, “I have served you since I
was a child, and I love you as I love my own life. It is clear to me
that we can not all reach the post-house alive. I am quite prepared,
and I ask you to let me die for you.”
“No, no!” cried the master, “we will live together or die together. You
must not, must not!”
But the servant had made up his mind; he was fully resolved. “I shall
leave my wife and children to you; you will be a father to them: you
have been a father to me. When the wolves next reach us, I will jump
down, and do my best to delay their progress.”
[Illustration]
The sleigh glides on as fast as the two remaining horses can drag it.
The wolves are close on their track, and almost up with them. But
what sound now rings out sharp and loud? It is the discharge of the
servant’s pistol. At the same instant he leaps from his seat, and falls
a prey to the wolves! But meanwhile the post-house is reached, and the
family is safe.
On the spot where the wolves had pulled to pieces the devoted servant,
there now stands a large wooden cross, erected by the nobleman. It
bears this inscription: “_Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends._”
_Phrase Exercise._
1. Heroic serf.--2. Famished howlings.--3. Bleak plain.--4. _A
relay_ of horses.--5. _Ordered_ the horses _to be put to_.--6.
Repeated warnings.--7. The moon began _to shed_ her light.--8.
_Pack_ of wolves.--9. Had got scent of them.--10. To calm the
anxious fears.--11. _Baying_ at the sleigh.--12. Instantly
devoured.--13. Fully resolved.--14. To delay their progress.