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"One would assume that, for as long as there is space on this earth, the end is not in sight."
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"The herd grows bigger, and so does the crowd."
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"So, they started accepting donations. Whoever made a donation was permitted to join the argument."
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"They spent everything they had, till the last kopeck -- until there was nothing left to keep the horses."
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"The mare, in the meantime, brought forth yet another foal."
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"Ermil finished whitewashing the church of Nicholas the Sinner; the mare had long since brought forth a foal; but they continued to argue."
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"'Wait a minute,' said the priest. 'I sold you the mare without a foal -- that was one price.'"
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"They led the mare through the street, with Baba rocking on the tail."
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"She grabbed onto the mare's tail and refused to let go."
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"The red-haired Titus had enough and refused to speak with Baba any longer -- he walked straight into the shed and the others followed."
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"Baba had no idea what kind of trouble awaited her because of Titus' visit."
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"In the morning, she woke cheerful, humming to herself."
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"Baba was astonished that the visit had gone so well."
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"The red-haired Titus began to kiss and to hug Ermil in all kinds of ways."
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"As the red-haired Titus spoke this way, he was nearly in tears, and kept moving closer and closer to Ermil."
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"But Baba's fears were in vain. The red-haired Titus did not let Ermil speak."
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"When Baba saw the red-haired Titus and heard Ermil's words, she began to tremble all over."
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"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."
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"He walked under Ermil's windows and peered in, examining everything down to the smallest detail."
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"And so Titus returned to his hut and sat down and started thinking."
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"'What kind of mare is he talking about?' thought Titus.
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"The little fire inside was gleaming as Titus peered in and saw Ermil's Baba performing her custom over her husband's head."
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"Only Ermil's wife enjoyed life, as she waited for the foal to arrive."
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"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."
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"Ermil arrived at the church where the priest and the red-haired Titus were waiting for him."
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"'I don't have any idea. I don't have a clue.'"
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"They had not walked more than a few steps when she aimed well and hit Ermil square on the back of his head."
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"'I know nothing about that!' replied his wife. 'The mare stands tied in my shed -- how can anyone sell it but me?'"
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"Ermil was surprised. 'What mare are you talking about?'"
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"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."
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"But Ermil's Baba thought out a plan."
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"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!"
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"The sky turned pitch dark, but they remained by the church arguing."
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"'You took my mare,' Father Meager yelled. 'And now you demand your money back?!'"
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"They went to investigate -- but there was no mare."
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"I command you, Titus, go pick up the mare."
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"The red-haired Titus returned with his money."
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"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.'"
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"On the one hand, she pitied Ermil, but on the other, she was desperate to find out what had happened."
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"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."
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"Ermil, unfortunately, hit his head on the roof of the shed and fell off the mare and lay in the yard motionless."
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"For the mare happened by Ermil's own hut just as his Baba emerged from the gate."
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"The mare jerked and, out of fear, bolted, and carried Ermil out of the yard and into the village street."
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"Ermil was sitting on a plank above them, dangling beneath the roof as he whitewashed the walls of the church Nicholas the Sinner."
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"Let the mare remain here, while I fetch my money."
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"If it is done honestly and in God's way, then, I suppose, commerce is a godly business."
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"Suppose you sold me a young mare and suppose I brought it from you."
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"A Tale About Lies and How Swiftly They Spread Across the Earth"
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Publicity portrait of Michael Chekhov as Professor Schuman, Rhapsody, 1952
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Publicity portrait of Michael Chekhov as Dr. Alexander Brulov, Spellbound, 1945
