Spark Neglected Burns the House

There once lived in a village a peasant named Ivan Stcherbakof.

He was comfortably off, in the prime of life, the best worker in the village, and had three sons all able to work.

The eldest was married, the second about to marry, and the third was a big lad who could mind the horses and was already beginning to plough.

Ivan's wife was an able and thrifty woman, and they were fortunate in having a quiet, hard-working daughter-in-law.

There was nothing to prevent Ivan and his family from living happily.