Give him to me and I 'll make something of him , and I 'll give you a present of a thousand crowns . Is that a bargain ? ' Ivan scratched his head , and thought , and thought , and then he agreed . Mark counted out the money , wrapped the baby up in a fox skin , laid it in the sledge beside him , and drove back towards home . When he had driven some miles he drew up , carried the child to the edge of a steep precipice and threw it over , muttering , ` There , now try to take my property ! ' Very soon after this some foreign merchants travelled along that same road on the way to see Mark and to pay the twelve thousand crowns which they owed him . As they were passing near the precipice they heard a sound of crying , and on looking over they saw a little green meadow wedged in between two great heaps of snow , and on the meadow lay a baby amongst the flowers . The merchants picked up the child , wrapped it up carefully , and drove on . When they saw Mark they told him what a strange thing they had found . Mark guessed at once that the child must be his godson , asked to see him , and said : ` That 's a nice little fellow ; I should like to keep him . If you will make him over to me , I will let you off your debt . ' The merchants were very pleased to make so good a bargain , left the child with Mark , and drove off . At night Mark took the child , put it in a barrel , fastened the lid tight down , and threw it into the sea . The barrel floated away to a great distance , and at last it floated close up to a monastery . The monks were just spreading out their nets to dry on the shore , when they heard the sound of crying . It seemed to come from the barrel which was bobbing about near the water 's edge . They drew it to land and opened it , and there was a little child ! When the abbot heard the news , he decided to bring up the boy , and named him ` Vassili . ' The boy lived on with the monks , and grew up to be a clever , gentle , and handsome young man . No one could read , write , or sing better than he , and he did everything so well that the abbot made him wardrobe keeper .
Now , it happened about this time XXXXX the merchant , Mark , came to the monastery in the course of a journey .
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