"thanks, thanks, my brave fellows, faithful peasants, tillers of the soil!" exclaimed the tsar archidei gayly. "i see now plainly that all of you are men of trade and i wish to reward you. but now go to your dinner and rest awhile." the six simeons bowed to the tsar very low, prayed to the holy icons and went. they were already seated, had time to swallow each one a tumbler of the strong, green wine, took up the round wooden spoons in order to attack the "stchi," the russian cabbage soup, when lo! the tsar's fool came running and shaking his striped cap with the round bells and shouted: