The Greatest Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy

by Jaico Publishing House

If you get a hard word from any one, keep silent, and his own conscience will accuse him.

And the slaves prided themselves on their master, saying: ‘There is no better lord than ours under the sun. He feeds and clothes us well, and gives us work suited to our strength. He bears no malice, and never speaks a harsh word to any one. He is not like other masters, who treat their slaves worse than cattle: punishing them whether they deserve it or not, and never giving them a friendly word. He wishes us well, does good, and speaks kindly to us. We do not wish for a better life.’

evil allures , but good endures.