began to lose hold, seeing that he was in a bad plight, but he had no time to get away and took refuge in a bush. Ivan swung the scythe near the bush and cut off half the Devilkin's tail. He finished mowing the grass, told the old maid to rake it up and went away to mow the rye.
He came to the field with his sickle, but the Devilkin with the clipped tail was there before him. He had entangled the rye, so that the sickle could not take it. Ivan went back for his reaping-hook and reaped the whole field of rye. "Now," he said, "I must tackle the oats."
At these words the Devilkin with the clipped tail thought, " I did not trip him up with the rye, but I'll do so with the oats. If only the morrow would come!"
In the morning the Devilkin hurried off to the field of oats, but the oats were all harvested. Ivan had reaped them overnight so that less of the grain should be wasted. The Devilkin lost his temper at that.
"He has mutilated and exhausted me, the fool! I've never had such trouble on
