Items · Michael Chekhov: The Actor is the Theatre

A Tale About Lies, page 1

"A Tale About Lies and How Swiftly They Spread Across the Earth"

A Tale About Lies, page 2: Titus and Father Meager

"Suppose you sold me a young mare and suppose I brought it from you."

A Tale About Lies, page 3

"If it is done honestly and in God's way, then, I suppose, commerce is a godly business."

A Tale About Lies, page 4: The Church of Nicholas the Sinner

"Let the mare remain here, while I fetch my money."

A Tale About Lies, page 5

"Ermil was sitting on a plank above them, dangling beneath the roof as he whitewashed the walls of the church Nicholas the Sinner."

A Tale About Lies, page 6: Ermil and the mare

"The mare jerked and, out of fear, bolted, and carried Ermil out of the yard and into the village street."

A Tale About Lies, page 7: Ermil, the mare, and Baba

"For the mare happened by Ermil's own hut just as his Baba emerged from the gate."

A Tale About Lies, page 8: Baba, Ermil, and the mare

"Ermil, unfortunately, hit his head on the roof of the shed and fell off the mare and lay in the yard motionless."

A Tale About Lies, page 9: Ermil and Baba

"But because of the blow he had suffered, something in Ermil's head had changed and there he lay, eyes blinking, looking at his wife and not saying a word."

A Tale About Lies, page 10

"On the one hand, she pitied Ermil, but on the other, she was desperate to find out what had happened."

A Tale About Lies, page 11: Ermil and Baba

"Three times in the night she turned and whispered to her husband with the same questions, but Ermil's answer was always the same: 'I don't have any idea, I don't have a clue.'"

A Tale About Lies, page 12: Titus

"The red-haired Titus returned with his money."

A Tale About Lies, page 13

"I command you, Titus, go pick up the mare."

A Tale About Lies, page 14: Titus and Father Meager

"They went to investigate -- but there was no mare."

A Tale About Lies, page 15: Father Meager and Titus

"'You took my mare,' Father Meager yelled. 'And now you demand your money back?!'"

A Tale About Lies, page 16

"The sky turned pitch dark, but they remained by the church arguing."

A Tale About Lies, page 17: Father Meager and Titus

"We will ask that man who was whitewashing the church where the mare went... he was here, perhaps he saw something... let him tell us!"

A Tale About Lies, page 18

"But Ermil's Baba thought out a plan."

A Tale About Lies, page 19: Ermil and Baba

"Baba positioned herself behind Ermil, aimed well and hit him square on the back of his head -- on the very same spot Ermil had bumped on the roof of the shed."

A Tale About Lies, page 20

"Ermil was surprised. 'What mare are you talking about?'"

A Tale About Lies, page 21

"'I know nothing about that!' replied his wife. 'The mare stands tied in my shed -- how can anyone sell it but me?'"

A Tale About Lies, page 22: Ermil, Baba, and the mare

"They had not walked more than a few steps when she aimed well and hit Ermil square on the back of his head."

A Tale About Lies, page 23: Ermil

"'I don't have any idea. I don't have a clue.'"

A Tale About Lies, page 24

"Ermil arrived at the church where the priest and the red-haired Titus were waiting for him."

A Tale About Lies, page 25: Titus and Father Meager

"Ermil's Baba instituted her own custom: hitting her husband on the back of his head every morning before he left for work and again when he returned in the evening."

A Tale About Lies, page 26: Father Meager

"Only Ermil's wife enjoyed life, as she waited for the foal to arrive."

A Tale About Lies, page 27

"The little fire inside was gleaming as Titus peered in and saw Ermil's Baba performing her custom over her husband's head."

A Tale About Lies, page 28: Baba, Ermil, and Titus

"'What kind of mare is he talking about?' thought Titus.

A Tale About Lies, page 29: Titus

"And so Titus returned to his hut and sat down and started thinking."

A Tale About Lies, page 30

"He walked under Ermil's windows and peered in, examining everything down to the smallest detail."

A Tale About Lies, page 31: Titus

"No sooner had Ermil returned from work and sat down to eat his supper than his wife -- according to instituted custom -- smacked Ermil back into his smart mode and Titus walked in the door."