e without spilling any of the
water." Then said the pike: "Listen now, and remember the words I say
to you: At the pike's command, and at my desire, go, buckets, of
yourselves up the hill!" Then the fool repeated after him these words,
and instantly, with the speed of thought, the buckets ran up the hill.
When Emelyan saw this he was amazed beyond measure, and he said to the
pike: "But will it always be so?" "Everything you desire will be
done," replied the pike; "but I warn you not to forget the words I
have taught you." Then Emelyan put the pike into the water and
followed his buckets home.

The neighbours were all amazed and said to one another: "This fool
makes the buckets come up of themselves from the river, and he follows
them home at his leisure." But Emelyan took no notice of them, and
went his way home. The buckets were by this time in the house, and
standing in their place on the foot-bench; so the fool got up and
stretched himself on the stove.

After some time his sisters-in-law said to him again: "Emelyan, why
are you lazying there? Get up and go cut wood." But the fool replied:
"Yes! and you--who are you?" "Don't you see it is now winter, and if
you don't cut wood you will be frozen?" "I am lazy," said the fool.
"What! you are lazy?" cried the sisters. "If you do not go instantly
and cut wood, we will tell our husbands not to give you the red coat,
or the red cap, or the fine red boots!" The fool, who longed for the
red cap, coat, and boots, saw that he must go and cut the wood; but as
it was bitterly cold, and he did not like to come down from off the
stove, he repeated in an undertone, as he lay, the words: "At the
pike's command, and at my desire, up, axe, and hew the wood! and do
you, logs, come of yourselves in the stove!" Instantly the axe jumped
up, ran out into the yard, and began to cut up the wood; and the logs
came of themselves into the house, and laid themselves in the stove.
When the sisters saw this, they wondered exceedingly at the cleverness
of the fool; and, as the axe did of its own accord the work whenever
Emelyan was wanted to cut wood, he lived for some time in peace and
harmony with them. At length the wood was all finished, and they said
to him: "Emelyan, we have no more wood, so you must go to the forest
and cut some." "Ay," said the fool, "and you, who are you, then?" The
sisters replied: "The wood is far off, and it is winter, and too cold
for us to go." But the fool only said