260 COSSACK FAIRY TALES.

was an empty hut—the people who had lived there
had died of hunger. There the whole family
settled down. One day they were all sitting down
there when they heard something in the mountain
erying: “Catch ‘hold! catch hold, catch hold!”
The man went at once into his stable, took down
the bit and reins that remained to him, and climbed up
into the mountain. He looked all about him as he
went, and at last he saw, sitting down, an old goat
with two large horns—it was the Devil himself, but
of course he didn’t know that. So he made a lasso
of the reins, threw them round the old goat, and
began to drag it gently down the mountain side. He
dragged it all the way up the ladder of his barn,
when the goat disappeared, but showers and showers
of money came tumbling through the ceiling. He
collected them all together, and they filled two large
coffers. Then the poor man made the most of his
money, and in no very long time he was well-to-do.
Then he sent some of his people to his rich brother,
and invited him to come and live with him. The
rich brother pondered the matter over. ‘Maybe he
has nothing to eat,” thought he, “and that is why he
sends for me.” So he bade them bake him a good
store of fat pancakes, and set out accordingly. On
the way he heard that his brother had grown rich,
and the further he went the more he heard of his