“When Christ is near, water becomes wine;” and with that he skimmed the simmering liquid and lifted a spoonful to his mouth.
“It’s tasty,” said he; “awfully tasty—really amazingly tasty.”
Anna smiled and answered simply, “I’m glad you like it, grandfather.” Grandfather took another spoonful and smacked his lips. “You know,” said he, “this is something quite out of the way; it is very original; I knew it was very good soup, it was speaking so well. I heard its voice far away. It called to me, it sang. What do you say to it, my dear, if I dine with you to-night?”
Anna looked up at him appealingly. “No,” said she, “pass by. We are very poor, and this is all we have to eat; it is too poor for any guest. Dear old man, go away.”
“Oh, no! I don’t think so. This sort of soup a king would be glad to eat. It is the sort kings can’t get. You might even make a great fortune if you sent a sealed tin of this to the Tsar. The Tsar’s cook is a great friend of mine; if you could get on the right side of him you’d never want for a piece of meat to throw in the soup. But I advise you, don’t part with the recipe, it’s worth its weight in gold. And now, what do you say to having me as a boarder? Yes, surely as God rules over everything why shouldn’t I stay here? How much shall I pay? Well, never mind, you make this soup each day and then you can save all the money.”
Anna now felt seriously troubled. An old ragged man could be no help to her; he could not pay her anything, and she would be poorer than before. She pinched up her pretty lips into a bunch, and frowned and shook her head violently; it would never do. “No, grandfather, I couldn’t take you; we are very poor, and you are even poorer than we are.”
Thereupon the old man laughed exuberantly, and his eyes shone like those of Santa Claus.
“I know, I know, I know,” said he.
“What do you know, grandfather?”
The old man laughed again, and then pulled out a large volume, old and rusty-leaved. It was a Bible, and he opened it between the Old Testament and the New, and there were money notes for seven hundred roubles.