We went for a walk. But before reaching the gate Tolstoi said that he had changed his mind and would return home.
Sophie Andreevna observed:
“He probably regrets having left the blind man.”
And it was true. We walked for a long time, and when we got back Tolstoi was still sitting with the blind man.
Tolstoi said to me later:
“The blind man told me many legends. One of them I never heard before:
“‘Once upon a time Christ and Peter the Apostle walked in the country and saw an old peasant making a fence out of reeds. Christ asked him: “Why, father, are you making such a weak fence of reeds?” and the peasant replied: “I am old, it will last my lifetime.” After that God saw to it that people should not know their age.’ He also told me another legend, which I had heard before but in a different version:
“‘A just old man once lived in the woods. And people came to him and said: “Why do you never go to church?” The old man listened to them and went with them. But while they took a boat to cross the river, the old man walked upon the water. They arrived and went into the church, but inside the church the devils stretched a skin on the floor and wrote down the names of the sinners on it. The old man looked and looked at this, then called the devils bad names, and they wrote his name down. On returning home he was unable to walk upon the water, but had to take the boat.’”
Tolstoi said: