Page:Tolstoy - Ivan the Fool.djvu/88

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A LOST OPPORTUNITY.


"Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" . . . . "So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."—St. Matthew xviii., 21-35.


In a certain village there lived a peasant by the name of Ivan Scherbakoff. He was prosperous, strong, and vigorous, and was considered the hardest worker in the whole village. He had three sons, who supported themselves by their own labor. The eldest was married, the second about to be married, and the youngest too kcare of the horses and occasionally attended to the plowing.

The peasant's wife, Ivanovna, was intelligent and industrious, while her daughter-in-law was a simple, quiet soul, but a hard worker.