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to fire from cannons and rifles, which of course they were unable to
do. The soldiers, discouraged, retreated in great disorder. Thus Simeon
brought upon himself the terrible disgrace of defeat. His estate was
confiscated, and to-morrow he is to be executed. All that remains for
me to do, therefore," concluded the young devil, "is to release him
to-morrow morning. Now, then, who wants my assistance?"
The second small devil (from Tarras) then related his story.
"I do not need any help," he began. "My business is also all right. My
work with Tarras will be finished in one week. In the first place I made
him grow thin. He afterward became so covetous that he wanted to possess
everything he saw, and he spent all the money he had in the purchase
of immense quantities of goods. When his capital was gone he still
continued to buy with borrowed money, and has become involved in such
difficulties that he cannot free himself. At the end of one week the
date for the payment of his notes will have expired, and, his goods
being seized upon, he will become a bankrupt; and he also will return to
his father."
At the conclusion of this narrative they inquired of the third devil how
things had fared between him and Ivan.
"
Well," said he, "my report is not so encouraging. The first thing I did
was to spit into his jug of quass [a sour drink made from rye],
which made him sick at his stomach. He afterward went to plow his
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