breeze scattered them over the stubble.
There were not many flowers, only wild asters on the hillside, and
meadow saffron in the valleys, and under the beeches ferns and ivy.
Presently Marushka spied an apple-tree weighted down with ripe fruit.

"There, Marushka," September called, "there are your apples. Gather them
quickly."

Marushka reached up and picked one apple. Then she picked another.

"That's enough, Marushka!" September shouted. "Don't pick any more!"

Marushka obeyed at once. Then she thanked the Months politely, bade them
good-bye, and hurried home.

Holena and her stepmother were more surprised than ever to see Marushka
coming through the snow with red apples in her hands. They let her in
and grabbed the apples from her.

"Where did you get them?" Holena demanded.

"High up on the mountain," Marushka answered. "There are plenty of them
growing there."

"Plenty of them! And you only brought us two!" Holena cried angrily. "Or
did you pick more and eat them yourself on the way home?"

"No, no, my dear sister," Marushka said. "I haven't eaten any, truly I
haven't. They wouldn't let me pick any more than two. They shouted to me
not to pick any more."

"I wish the lightning had struck you dead!" Holena sneered. "I've a good
mind to beat you!"

After a time the greedy Holena left off her scolding to eat one of the
apples. It had so delicious a flavor that she declared she had never in
all her life tasted anything so good. Her mother said the same. When
they had finished both apples they began to wish for more.

"Mother," Holena said, "go get me my fur cloak. I'm going up the
mountain myself. No use sending that lazy little slattern again, for she
would only eat up all the apples on the way home. I'll find that tree
and when I pick the apples I'd like to see anybody stop me!"

The mother begged Holena not to go out in such weather, but Holena was
headstrong and would go. She threw her fur cloak over her shoulders and
put a shawl on her head and off she went up the mountain side.

All around the snow lay deep with no track of man or beast in any
direction. Holena wandered on and on determined to find those wonderful
apples. At last she saw a light in the distance and when she reached it
she found it was the great fire about which the Twelve Months were
seated.

At first she was frightened but, soon growing bold, she elbowed her way
through the circle of men and without so much as saying: "By your