will see whether you can steal her away from
me."

Then he loaded a cart with his property, and set off with his wife to the
house of his father.

As soon as he got home he mixed up in the trough a mess of barley-meal
and wine for the pig, who, after gorging herself with it, became
senselessly drunk. Tim, then, dressing her in a sarafan or woman's long
night-gown, placed her on the petsch or stove in a corner, where she
stretched herself out and lay without motion. He then went to bed with
his wife in the chamber above. They were scarcely asleep when the
thieves arrived, and searched in every nook and corner round about the
house, but not finding what they were in quest of, they repaired to the
kitchen, and, listening, heard something snoring. Forthwith one of them
crept in, and moving about softly touched the swine, but feeling the
nightgown at the same time, he jumped out of the kitchen almost
frightened out of his wits.

"Who are you?" cried his comrade.

"Your brother," he replied. "Oh, I got into such a scrape. The thing
which is snoring in the kitchen is the old beldame, Tim's mother. I took
hold of her by the side, but so softly that I did not wake her, and such
a stench came from her that I really thought I should have fainted. Now,
what to do I don't know--but, stay! I will go and ask my sister where
the swine is. Perhaps she will tell me whilst she is dozing." He then
climbed softly on the top of the chamber, removed a board from the roof,
and, poking his sister gently with his stick, said: "Wife! where did we
put the sow?"

"Don't you remember," said she, "that we placed her in the kitchen, on
the petsch, dressed in a nightgown?"

No sooner did the thief hear this than he sprang like a madman from the
roof, and rushing into the kitchen, dragged off from the petsch the
drunken swine. He and his brother then lugged her away from the house,
and when they had got to some distance, they tied her feet together, and
thrusting a stick under, they carried her off on their shoulders at full
trot. This riding on a stick--which was very different from lying in a
cradle--soon brought the sow to her senses, who began to behave in a very
obstreperous and disagreeable manner, and the faster they went the more
obstreperous and disagreeable did she become. The thieves now began to
repent of the expedient which they had devised for bringing back Tim to
their society; but, fearing to lose two hundred rouble