"Oh yes I will. You will always give me something, even when you remain hungry yourself."
"What a princess you have become! Yesterday you ate your fill, and now there is no more."
"Listen, Grandfather," said the child after a few moments of reflection. "Have you always lived in the forest?"
Ivan wrinkled his brow and was silent.
"It is jolly in the forest," continued she. "There is no one to beat one. But mother was afraid in it. She said there were wicked and cursed men in the forest. Grandfather, what kind of men are they?"
Ivan's face became still gloomier.
"Who has cursed them, Grandfather? Has God done it? Will they burn in hell?"
The old man laid his hand on the child's ruffled hair.
"May God protect you from them. They are worse than wild animals. An animal, when it is satisfied, can be merciful, but they——" He broke off and stared into the fire.
"Well, what do they do?" the child urged him in her keen curiosity. "Grandfather, what do they do? Are they villains?"