“Ever since my youth, and I am now middle-aged.”
“Can you keep your children with it?”
“Yes, I do not sow, nor plough, nor mow, nor reap, and no frosts can do me any harm.”
“Right, potter; but there are still misfortunes left in the world.”
“Yes, I know three of them.”
“What are the three?”
“The first is an evil neighbour, the second an evil wife, and the third a weak understanding.”
“Yet now, tell me which is the worst of these evils?”
“The evil neighbour can be escaped; so can the evil wife if one has children enough, but the weak intellect can never be got rid of.”
“Yes, that is true, potter; you are a sensible fellow. Listen! You suit me and I suit you. When there are geese flying over Russia, will you pluck a feather out of them or let them fly by in peace?”