Michael nodded his head: "Take the work by all means."
Simon listened to Michael. He undertook to make boots that would neither rot nor shrink. The gentleman called to his lad, and ordered him to take his boot off his left leg; then he held out his foot and said: "Take my measure!"
Simon sewed together a piece of paper about ten vershoks[1] long, had a good look at the gentleman's foot, went down on his knees, wiped his hands neatly on his apron so as not to soil the gentlemanly stockings, and began to take measures. He took the measure of the sole, he took the measure of the instep, he began to measure the calf, but the piece of measuring paper would not do. The leg was very big in the calf, just like a thick beam.
"Take care you don't pinch me in the shins!" said the gentleman.
Simon took yet another piece of paper to measure with. The gentleman sat down, twiddled his toes about in his stockings, looked round at the people in the hut and perceived Michael.
"Who's that you've got there?"
"That is my apprentice. It is he who will stitch the boots."
"Look now!" said the gentleman to Michael, "be careful how you stitch! The boots must last the whole year round." Simon also looked at Michael and saw that Michael was not looking at the gentleman, but was staring "at the corner behind the gentle-
- ↑ A vershok is the sixteenth part of a Russian ell.
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