The Great Serpent

　　There was a man lived in our village once. Levonty， his name was. A mild man， and a hard worker. From the time he was young they kept him in the mines， in Gumeshky， that is. Getting copper. That's how he spent all the years of his youth. Crawled about underground like a worm， never saw the light till he was all pale and wan. Well， we know what it is underground. Damp， darkness and bad air. In the end he lost his strength. The bailiff saw there was no more to be got out of him there so he'd enough kindness to put him to other work - sent him to the Crown gold-fields at Poskakukha. Levonty stated working there， but it didn't help him much. He was a real sick man. The bailiff turned it round in his mind， then he told Levonty： “You're a hard-working muzhik， I've spoken to the Master about ye， and he's going to reward ye. 'Let him work for himself，' the Master said. 'Let him work free， without quit-rent.'”

　　That's what they used to do in those days. When a man was worn out， no good any more， they'd let him work for himself.

　　So now Levonty was turned out， free. Well， he had to eat and feed his family too. And how was he to do it when he'd no farm， nothing at all？ He thought and thought， and then decided to go prospecting， looking for gold. He was used to burrowing in the ground and it didn't take much in the way of tools either. So he looked round， got what he needed and called his boys.

　　“Well lads，” he said， “come with me to look for gold. Mebbe luck will smile on little 'uns， and we won't have to beg our bread.”

　　The boys were still only children， a bit over ten.

　　So off they went， our free prospectors. The father could hardly drag himself along， and the children， little as they were， tailed after.

　　Now in those days there was a good bit of gold along the upper part of the Ryabinovka. So that's the section Levonty asked for. It was easy enough to settle it with the office then. Just say where you wanted to go， and bring in the gold. Of course there was swindling too. What do you expect？ Those in the office saw where the men went and what they brought in. If the takings were good， they'd grab the place. “We'll mine there ourselves， you go somewhere else.” They used the prospectors to find the good spots. Well， and the men， of course， looked out for themselves too. Tried not to show all they got. Brought enough to the office to have something on the books， and sold most of it secretly to the merchants. There were plenty of them， those merchants， and clever - no watchman could ever catch them. So it was trickery all round. The office tried to trick the men， and they repaid in kind. It was the regular thing. Only by chance could you learn where gold was.

　　But they didn't keep anything back from Levonty， they told him all they knew. They could see he wouldn't last long， let him have a little comfort before his end.

　　Levonty came to the Ryabinovka， looked about him a bit and started working. But he'd little strength for it. He could only do a bit， then he had have to sit down half dead to get his breath. And the children， what could they do？ They tried their best， all the same. And so it went on for a week or maybe a bit more， and Levonty saw it was little enough they'd got， not enough for bread， even. What should they do？ As for himself， he kept getting worse and worse， naught but bones he was， but all the same he didn't want to beg his bread， and sling a beggar's wallet on the children too.

　　When Saturday came， he went to the office to deliver the gold he'd washed.

　　“Stop ye here，” he told the boys， “and watch the tools， for there's no sense carrying them back and forth.”

　　So the boys stayed behind at the shanty. One ran down to the Chusovaya， it was quite close. He fished a bit， caught some gudgeon and perch， so they set about making fish soup. They lighted a fire， but soon it got towards evening. And the boys started to be a bit frightened.

　　That was when they saw an old man coming， one from the village. Semyonich， folks called him， but what his surname was I don't know. He'd been a soldier. Folks said that earlier on， when he was young， he'd been reckoned one of the best men round about at the iron furnace. But he gave the bailiff a pert answer one day， and the bailiff ordered them to take him to the fire station - to be flogged， that is. But Semyonich fought back and sent the men spinning - he was a real strong fellow. An iron worker， you know what they're like. Well， they got him down all the same. The firemen were all strapping fellows too， specially chosen. So Semyonich was flogged， and sent away to be a soldier because he'd fought. He came back to the village after twenty-five years， an old man. All his folks had died， and his hut and started living there， quiet as could be， all alone. But all the same， the neighbours got to whispering - something queer about him. He'd a lot of books there. And every evening he'd sit reading them. Folks thought maybe he knew ways of healing sickness， and they started coming to him. But he'd have naught to do with it. “I've no knowledge of that，” he said， “and what healing can there be when you're doing this sort of work？” Then folks thought maybe he'd got some special religion. But that didn't seem right either. He went to church at Christmas and Easter like the other muzhiks， but it didn't look as if he made anything special of it all. And another thing to wonder at - he didn't work， so what did he live on？ He'd a vegetable plot， of course， and an old gun， and fishing tackle. But that's not enough to feed a man. And he'd got money， sometimes he gave a bit to some men. With that he'd his own ways， too. One man might come and ask and beg and offer him something in pledge and promise everything， and still he'd refuse. And another he'd go to himself and say： “Here， Ivan，” or maybe Mikhailo， “take this and get yourself a cow. Ye've a houseful of small children， can't get on your feet.” A strange， crotchety old fellow. Folks said he dealt in black magic. That was mostly because of the books.

　　Well， up came this Semyonich to the boys and greeted them. They were real glad and called him to join them.

　　“Sit down， Grandad， have some of our fish soup.”

　　He didn't refuse， he sat down and tried the soup， and praised it to the skies - fine soup， tasty， well made. He pulled soft fresh bread out of his wallet， broke it and piled up the hunks in front of the boys. They saw the old man liked the soup， saying he'd not had anything so good for a long time. This gave the boys heart， and they ate till they were filled， nearly finished all the bread. And the old man， he kept on with “it's long since I've eaten such soup.”

　　Well， when the boys had finished， Semyonich began asking them how they were doing. They told him all about everything， how their father had been let off task work and was free to work for himself， and how they were washing gold there. Semyonich just kept shaking his head and sighing： “Eh dear， eh dear，” and then he asked： “How much have ye washed？”

　　“About three draws， Father said.”

　　The old man rose.

　　“Well， lads， I'll have to help ye. Only see ye keep still tongues. Not a word. Not to a single soul. . . .” And the way Semyonich looked at the lads， it was fearsome. Like it was some other man. Then he smiled again.

　　“Now then，” he said， “sit ye here by the fire and wait till I come back. There's someone I must talk to a bit. Mebbe he'll help ye. Only mind， see ye aren't scared， or ye'll spoil all. Mind that well.”

　　The old man went away into the woods and the boys were left alone. They looked at each other， but they didn't say a word. Then the elder took courage.

　　“Mind， Brother， don't forget - we mustn't be scared，” he whispered， but his lips were white and his teeth chattered. And the younger one said： “I'm not scared a mite， Brother，” and he was white as a sheet.

　　So they sat there waiting. It was a dark night， and everything very quiet in the woods. They could hear the water ripping in the Ryabinovka. A good time passed， and nobody came， and their fear began to leave them. They put some more twigs on the fire and felt better. Then all of a sudden they heard talking in the woods. Somebody coming， they thought. Who can it be， this time of night？ And it all got fearsome again.

　　Then two men came up to the fire. One was Semyonich， and the other was a stranger， and strangely dressed too. He was all yellow， his tunic and trousers were of gold， that brocade the priests wear， and his wide girdle with a pattern and tassels hanging from it was brocade too， only it shone greenish. His cap was yellow with red flaps on both sides， and his boots were red too. His face was yellow with a big wide beard that fell in tight curls， so tight you could see it would be hard to straighten them. And his eyes were green， like a cat's. But they had a kind look. He was the same height as Semyonich and not stout， but heavy. The earth sank under him where he stood. The boys were so interested they forgot to be afraid， they just sat staring at this man， while he asked Semyonich， joking like： “So these are your free prospectors？ What they find they keep， eh？ Don't have to give it up？”

　　Then he frowned a bit and said， as though he was taking counsel with Semyonich： “But what if we spoil these boys？”

　　Semyonich started saying the boys weren't pampered， they were good lads. But the strange man started again.

　　“All men are shoes from the same last. As long as they're poor and in need， they're decent folk， but let them come upon my golden trail， and evil grows up in them like toadstools， and whence come the spores non can say.”

　　He stood awhile in thought， then he said： “Well， all right， we'll try it. It may work better with children. Though they're good lads， a pity if they're spoiled. The smaller one， he's got thin lips. Might turn out greedy. You must keep an eye on them yourself， Semyonich. Their father's not got long to live. I know him. He's on the edge of the grave， and still trying to yearn a bit. Respects himself， stands on his own feet. But if ye give him riches he'll be spoiled too.”

　　He talked to Semyonich just as if the boys weren't there. Then he turned and looked at them.

　　“Now lads， watch carefully. Note where the trail goes. Along that trail dig on top； don't dig deep， for there you'll find naught.”

　　And as the lads looked - the man wasn't a man any more. All of him down to the belt was a head， and from the belt down was a neck. The head was just exactly as it had been， only big， the eyes were large as goose's eggs， and the neck was a snake's. And the body of a great， huge serpent began to rise up from under the ground till the head was higher than the trees. Then the body bent down right over the fire and stretched out along the ground， and the wonder crawled towards the Ryabinovka while more and more rings of it still kept rising out of the ground. As though there would never be an end of them. And another marvel， the fire went out， yet it became quite light in the glade. But it was not a light like the sun， it was different， and sort of cold. The serpent went to the Ryabinovka and crawled into the water， and at once the water froze on both sides. Then he slid up the other bank， stretched out to an old birch tree standing there and cried： “Mark it！ Here you must dig. 'Twill suffice for orphans. But mind， beware of greed！”

　　As he finished speaking， he seemed to melt away. The water in Ryabinovka babbled again， the fire burned up， only the grass was still white， as though it had been touched by hoarfrost.

　　Then Semyonich explained it all to the boys.

　　“That was the Great Serpent. He is the master of all gold. Where he passes， there it lies. And he can pass over the earth or under the earth， and he can make a ring round as much space as he will. And that's how it sometimes happens； folks find a good vein， and then there's some fraud or fighting， and maybe a man's killed， and the vein's lost. That's because the Serpent came and took away the gold. Or it can be this way. Prospectors find a good place with loose gold and throw away their cares. But then the office suddenly tells them： 'Clear out， we're taking that for the Crown， we'll dig for gold there ourselves.' So they get machines there and drive all the folks to work， but there's no more gold. They dig deep down and out to all sides， but they get naught， just as if it had never been there. That's because the Serpent surrounded that place and lay there a night or two， and all the gold was drawn to him. And try as ye will， ye'll never find where he lay.

　　“He doesn't like trickery and swindling where there's gold， and worst of all he hates to have one man push another down. But those that work for what they need themselves， those he lets alone， and helps them at times， too， like he has you. Only mind， keep silent about it， or ye'll spoil it all. And mind， too， not to be greedy for gold. It wasn't for that he showed it ye. You heard what he said. Mind you don't forget it， that's the main thing. Well， now， lie down and go to sleep， and I'll sit here a bit by the fire.”

　　The children obeyed， they went into the shanty and fell fast asleep at once. When they wakened， it was broad day. The other prospectors had been at work a long time. The boys looked at each other.

　　“Brother， did you see aught last night？” asked one， and the other said： “So you saw it too？”

　　Then they made a pact. They vowed and swore every way they knew， they'd never tell a soul about it all， and they'd never be greedy. After that they started choosing a place to dig. They had a bit of an argument about it.

　　“We ought to start by that birch tree over the Ryabinovka. The place where the Serpent spoke last.”

　　But the younger said： “Nay， that's no good， Brother. That'll be giving away the secret， because the other prospectors will come running to see the send the Ryabinovka's bringing down. Then everyone'll know.”

　　They argued a bit about it. They were sorry Semyonich had gone， there was nobody to ask. And then all of a sudden they saw a birch stuck in the middle of the ashes where the fire had been.

　　“That's the sign Semyonich left us， it must be，” the boys said to themselves， and started digging.

　　And right away， they came on two small nuggets， and the sand was quite different， too， not what it had been before. So at the beginning it all went well for them， couldn't be better. Of course it took a bad turn later……

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