What Men Live By and Other Tales (Version 2)

MP3 Audio CD. What Men Live By and Other Tales (Version 2)

WHAT MEN LIVE BY

A shoemaker named Simon, who had neither house nor land of his own,
lived with his wife and children in a peasant's hut, and earned his
living by his work. Work was cheap, but bread was dear, and what he
earned he spent for food. The man and his wife had but one sheepskin
coat between them for winter wear, and even that was torn to tatters,
and this was the second year he had been wanting to buy sheep-skins for
a new coat. Before winter Simon saved up a little money: a three-rouble
note lay hidden in his wife's box, and five roubles and twenty kopeks
were owed him by customers in the village.

So one morning he prepared to go to the village to buy the sheep-skins.
He put on over his shirt his wife's wadded nankeen jacket, and over that
he put his own cloth coat. He took the three-rouble note in his
pocket, cut himself a stick to serve as a staff, and started off after
breakfast. "I'll collect the five roubles that are due to me,"
thought he, "add the three I have got, and that will be enough to buy
sheep-skins for the winter coat."

He came to the village and called at a peasant's hut, but the man was
not at home. The peasant's wife promised that the money should be
paid next week, but she would not pay it herself. Then Simon called on
another peasant, but this one swore he had no money, and would only pay
twenty kopeks which he owed for a pair of boots Simon had mended. Simon
then tried to buy the sheep-skins on credit, but the dealer would not
trust him.