A shoemaker named Simon, who had neither house nor land of his own, lived with his
wife and children in a peasant's hut, and earned his living by his work. Work was
cheap, but bread was dear, and what he earned he spent for food. The man and his
wife had but one sheepskin coat between them for winter wear, and even that was
torn to tatters, and this was the second year he had been wanting to buy sheep-
skins for a new coat. Before winter Simon saved up a little money: a three-rouble
note lay hidden in his wife's box, and five roubles and twenty kopeks were owed
him by customers in the village.
So one morning he prepared to go to the village to buy the sheep-skins. He put on
over his shirt his wife's wadded nankeen jacket, and over that he put his own
cloth coat. He took the three-rouble note in his pocket, cut himself a stick to
serve as a staff, and started off after breakfast. "I'll collect the five roubles
that are due to me," thought he, "add the three I have got, and that will be
enough to buy sheep-skins for the winter coat."
He came to the village and called at a peasant's hut, but the man was not at home.
The peasant's wife promised that the money should be paid next week, but she would
not pay it herself. Then Simon called on another peasant, but this one swore he
had no money, and would only pay twenty kopeks which he owed for a pair of boots
Simon had mended. Simon then tried to buy the sheep-skins on credit, but the
dealer would not trust him.
"Bring your money," said he, "then you may have your pick of the skins. We know
what debt-collecting is like." So all the business the shoemaker did was to get
the twenty kopeks for boots he had mended, and to take a pair of felt boots a
peasant gave him to sole with leather.
Simon felt downhearted. He spent the twenty kopeks on vodka, and started homewards
without having bought any skins. In the morning he had felt the frost; but now,
after drinking the vodka, he felt warm, even without a sheep-skin coat. He trudged
along, striking his stick on the frozen earth with one hand, swinging the felt
boots with the other, and talking to himself.