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0904.wisdom
0904.wisdom
0904.wisdom
Words of Wisdom
Pahom thought, I have to go there and buy land. and inquired how to get to Bashkirs. As soon as he bought many presents in the market he started on his journey and took his servant
with him. On the seventh day, they came to a place where the
Bashkirs had pitched their tents. Pahom met the people and the
chief of the town. He greeted them and distributed the presents
that he had prepared for them. The chief said:
Thank you so much. As the reward for these presents, I will
give you anything you ask for. Dont be shy to ask. We will give
you whatever you want which belongs to us.
Actually, I have never seen this much fertile and wide land. I
would like to have some land here for myself.
Well, let it be so. Choose whatever piece of land you like; we
have plenty of it.
Thank you for your kind words. And what will be the price?
asked Pahom.
Our price is always the same: 1,000 roubles a day.
A day? What measure is that? How many acres would that be?
We do not know how to reckon it out, said the chief. We
sell it by the day. As much as you can go round on your feet in a
day is yours, and the price is 1,000 roubles a day.
But how am I to mark the way that I have gone?
You must start from the spot wherever you want and make
Small Talk 45
your round. Take a spade with you and make a mark on the place
you passed. All the land you cover shall be yours. But, there is
one condition. You may make as large a circuit as you please, but
before the sun sets you must return to the place you started from.
Otherwise, everything will be invalid.
Pahom was delighted. It was decided to start early next morning and they went to bed.
Pahom lay on his bed, but could not sleep. He kept thinking
about the land.
If I walk the whole day, what a large tract I will mark off!
thought he. I will make a big pasture in my newly-acquired land
and build a good cottage.
Pahom lay awake all night, and dozed off only just before
dawn.
Next morning, Pahom went to a hillock with the people from
the town. When they arrived at the hillock, the chief came up to
Pahom and stretched out his arm towards the plain:
See, said he, All this is ours. You may have any part of it
you like.
Pahoms eyes glistened: there was wide land in front of his eyes.
He could see that it was all virgin soil at a glance. The chief took
off his fox-fur cap, placed it on the ground and said:
Start from here, and return here again before the sun sets. All
46 The Good News April 2009
Words of Wisdom
more and to get more land, he stood up and ate some bread and
drank some water. After finishing his lunch, he went on again. At
first he walked easily: the food had strengthened him; but it had
become terribly hot, and he felt sleepy; still he went on, thinking:
An hour to suffer, a life-time to live. He went a long way in this
direction also, and was about to turn to the left again, when he
perceived a damp hollow.
It would be a pity to leave that out, he thought. Flax would
do well there. A desire to get this hollow made him not turn and
he continued on to the hollow. After he made a mark on it, he
looked towards the hillock. The heat made the air hazy: it seemed
to be quivering, and through the haze the people on the hillock
could scarcely be seen.
Ah! thought Pahom, Shall I go back to hillock now? No, as
I go further, there are more and more fertile lands. This is too
early. This is not the time yet.
Pahom stepped faster. To get more land, he proceeded over
the pain. He kept walking without thinking and suddenly he
looked at the sun. It was nearly half way to the horizon and the
sun started to go down. The chiefs saying hit his head.
Before the sun sets, you must return to the place you started
from. Otherwise, everything will be invalid.
No, he thought, I must hurry back in a straight line now. I
48 The Good News April 2009
Words of Wisdom
Words of Wisdom
please and satisfy our flesh. How can I get and use more money?
What shall I drink and eat? How can I have a higher position and
more power? If we can live in this earth forever and our flesh is
everlasting, we might need to live for our flesh. However, once
we are born in this earth, we realize that someday we will face
death. After all, we cannot help but return to dust.
. . . till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken:
for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19)
Let us suppose that Pahom could have gained wide land,
farmed and gotten a big ranch. Still, he cannot help but die some
day and be buried in a six-foot grave. And then, does such a huge
land have any meaning ultimately?
Even though we live in splendor in the world, if there is nowhere to go when we leave this earth, that life would be just in
vain and a stupid one. Nevertheless, today, many people do not
see the end of their life and just live to pursue their own desire
and carnal pleasure in front of their eyes. The truly wise person
is not the one who lives for more enjoyment in this earth but the
one who prepares for the day when he will stand up in front of
God who created his soul.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)
(Condensed from How Much Land Does a Man Need? by Leo Tolstoy)
Small Talk 51