Tales from Tolstoi/The Grain That Was Like an Egg
THE GRAIN THAT WAS LIKE AN EGG.
Once upon a time some children found, in a cleft in the earth, a small substance like an egg, with a slit down the middle of it like a grain of corn. A passer-by, who saw the children playing with it, bought it of them for a pyatak (1¼d.), took it to town, and sold it to the King as a curiosity.
The King called together his wise men, and bade them tell him what manner of thing it was. Was it a grain of corn or a hen's egg? The wise men pondered and pondered, but they could give no answer to the King's question.
There, upon the window-sill, lay the strange substance, and lo! a bird flew down upon it and fell to pecking at it, and she pecked a large hole right into it, wherupon all men marvelled, for they saw that it was a grain of corn. Then the wise men drew nigh again, and they said to the King, "The thing is a grain—of rye."
The King was astonished. He bade the wise men tell him where and when this manner of grain grew. The wise men pondered and pondered. They searched their books and found—nothing. Then they came back to the King and said: "Oh, King! we can give thee no answer. There is nothing written about this thing in our books. We must ask the muzhiks if they, perchance, have heard from their elders where and when such grain was wont to be grown."
And the King sent and commanded that the eldest of the muzhik elders should be brought before him. And they sought out the eldest elder and brought him to the King.
The old man came, all livid and toothless, hobbling painfully along with a crutch under each arm. The King showed him the grain. The old man could scarce see it; but after much poring over it with his eyes and much fumbling at it with his fingers, he half gathered and half guessed what it really was. And the King said to him,
"Dost thou know, oh aged man! where grain like this doth grow? Hast thou ever sown such grain in thy field, or bought of such grain in thy day?"
The old man stood there dumb and silent. His ears were hard of hearing, and his mind slow to understand. At last he made answer to the King.
"Nay!" said he, "I have never sown such grain in my field, nor reaped, nor purchased such in my time. The corn we have bought has always been small of grain. But ask my dad; he, peradventure, may have heard where such grain used to grow."
So the King sent and commanded that the old man's father should be brought before him.
And they found the elder's father and brought him to the King. And the old, old man came on a single crutch. And the King bade them show him the grain of corn. The old man could still see very well. He had no need to look at the grain twice.
And the King called him, saying, "Dost thou know, oh aged man, where such grain was wont to grow? Hast thou ever grown such grain in thy field, or purchased such grain in thy day?"
The old man was somewhat deaf, but he could hear much better than his son.
"Nay," said he, "I have never sown nor reaped grain like this in my field; nor have I ever bought thereof, for, in my day, money was still unknown, and distilling vats likewise. Every man ate of the corn of his own land, and gave to his neighbour according to his needs. I know not where such corn was grown. Our grain was larger, and yielded more than the grain of to-day; but grain such as this I have never seen. I have heard my father say that in his day the corn was better than it was in mine, and the grain larger and fuller. Send and ask him."
And the King sent for the father of the old, old man. They found the patriarch and brought him to the King. The venerable man came to the King without a crutch. He was light of foot, his eyes sparkled, and he spoke plainly. The King showed the grain to the grandfather. He looked at it, and twirled it round between his fingers.
"What!" cried he, "surely this is never that dear old grain of the olden time?" and he bit off a piece of the grain and briskly chewed it. "'Tis the very same, indeed!" cried he.
"Tell me now, old grandfather, where and when was this grain wont to grow? Has thou ever sown such grain in thy field, or did folks buy of such grain in thy day?" And the old man answered and said, "In my day, corn like this grew everywhere. In my day I lived on corn like this, and my family with me. This grain and no other have I sown and reaped and thrashed."
And the King said: "Tell me, old grandfather, wert thou wont to buy this corn or grow it in thine own field?"
The old man smiled. "In my days," said he, "such a sin as buying or selling corn never entered into the mind of man. Of money they knew nothing; everyone could have as much corn as his heart desired."
"But tell me, grandfather," said the King, " where didst thou sow such corn, and where was thy field?"
And the grandfather answered and said: "My field was God's wide world. Wherever my ploughshare fared, there was my field. The soil was free to all, quite free. Folks never said 'This land is mine!' A man's handiwork was all that he called his own."
Then said the King: "There are yet two things that I would fain ask of thee. The first is this: why has such grain ceased to grow now, though it used to grow formerly? The second thing is this: why does thy grandson go on two crutches, thy son but on one, while as to thee, thou art altogether light of foot, and thine eyes sparkle, and thy teeth are sound and strong, and thy speech plain, and pleasant to hearken unto. Tell me, grandfather, what is the meaning of these two things, and why do we not see such things now?"
And the patriarch said: "These two things no longer happen because folks have ceased to live by their labours, and have begun to lust after their neighbours' goods. In olden times they lived not so. In olden times they walked with God, ruled their own households in peace, and envied not the things of others."