THE GODFATHER.[1]
"Ye have heard that it hath been said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you: That ye resist not evil."—Matt. v. 38, 39.
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay."—Rom. xii. 19.
I.
A poor muzhik had a son born unto him. The muzhik rejoiced, and went to his neighbour to beg him to be a sponsor for his child. The neighbour refused; he would not be a sponsor to a poor man's child. Then the poor muzhik went to another neighbour, and he refused likewise. He went round the whole village, and nobody would be a sponsor for him. The muzhik set out for another village, and there met him on the road a wayfaring man, and the wayfaring man stopped and greeted him:
"Hail to thee, little muzhik!" cried he, "whither away, in God's name?"
"The Lord has given me a little child," replied the muzhik, "to be the charge of my young manhood, the comfort of my old age, and the beadsman who shall pray for my soul when I am dead; but because
- ↑ Translated from the "Poslyednie Razskazui" (Latest Tales), Berlin 1894.
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