“‘And my hatchet—how about that?’ answered the moujik. ‘Why, it’s I who’ll be chopping you into small pieces!’
“‘Do give it back to me, good man!’ begs the corpse.
“‘I’ll give it when you tell me where you’ve been and what you’ve done.’
“‘Well, I’ve been in the village, and there I’ve killed a couple of youngsters.’
“‘Well, then, tell me how they can be brought back to life.’
“The corpse reluctantly made answer: ‘Cut off the left skirt of my shroud. Take it with you, and when you come into the house where the youngsters were killed, pour some live coals into a pot and put the piece of the shroud in with them, and then lock the door. The lads will be revived by the smoke immediately.’
“The moujik cut off the left skirt of the shroud and gave up the coffin lid. The corpse went to its grave—the grave opened. But just as the dead man was descending into it, all of a sudden the cocks began to crow, and he had not time to get properly covered over. One end of the coffin lid remained standing out of the ground.
“The moujik saw all this and made a note of it. The day began to dawn; he harnessed his horse and drove into the village. In one of the houses he heard cries and wailing. In he went—there lay two dead lads.
“‘Don’t cry,’ said he; ‘I can bring them to life.’