IN a village there lived a bricklayer and a carpenter， both able men and good workers， but they had no luck at all。They had the greatest difficulty in making a living。But hard as was their life and difficult as it was for them to earn enough to keep body and soul together， it was made still harder by new comers。As the world is， people like to employ new men； they believe that the new men can do the work better and cheaper， though this is not often the case。Be that as it may， both the carpenter and the bricklayer lost the little work they had。
Meeting one day， they decided to try their luck elsewhere。They would go to another town and see whether they would not fare better than in their own place。They were good friends， and they decided to journey together。They had both been recently married。So before starting out on their journey， the bricklayer said to the carpenter：
“Hey， brother， how would it be if we tied ourselves by an oath and signed an agreement that if our wives give birth one to a son and the other to a daughter， that these children should marry one another when they grow up。”
“I am quite willing，”replied the other，“to enter into such an agreement。”
No sooner said than done。They both signed the agreement， and then made their preparations for the journey。
Their wives cried and wept， but were told that they need not fear， for both husbands would in time come back， and they would live henceforth a better life than before。The bricklayer and the carpenter then set out。
Not long afterwards the wife of the carpenter gave birth to a girl of a beauty that is rarely seen。Her hair was as black as the feather of the raven， her eyes as dark as blackberries。There was much joy in the house of the carpenter， and the mother was very proud of that little rosebud Dodina。
When the time came for the bricklayer’s wife， she gave birth to something which was like a boy and yet hardly a boy， such a misshapen little creature it was。The mother was greatly upset， almost terrified at the sight of that little bit of a child， and they called it Little Brother Bit。
She took it and wrapped it in the fur of a coat sleeve and put it on the top of the oven。She kept it there all the time warmly wrapped up。
The news of it spread about the place， but no one said anything； they only wondered at that misshapen Little Bit。But this Little Bit was not like other children， for there was something uncanny about him。He was evidently bewitched， for he could soon talk like grown-up people， and seemed to know everything； not only what had happened， but also what would happen， and often told his mother what was going to be。
One day after many years had passed， about eighteen years， Little Bit suddenly said to his mother：
“Go and tell your friend her husband is coming home； he is coming with father。”
His mother went and told her friend， and they made all the necessary preparations for the reception of their husbands。The one was full of joy， for she knew that she would present her husband with a treasure of a daughter， and the other was sad at heart， think-of her Little Bit。But there it was， and nothing could be done。
As Little Bit had foretold， the two men arrived the next day。The carpenter went to his house， and the bricklayer to his。
When the carpenter saw the beautiful daughter that met him， he did not know what to do with himself for joy； he could not look at her enough to feel satisfied。He hugged her and caressed her， and was full of happiness。
Not so in the other home。When the bricklayer came in， he said to his wife：
“Hey， wife， what news？”
“Good news， husband， and bad news。”
When he heard of bad news his heart sank within him， and he asked：“What is it？”
“A boy，”she replied。
“This is good news，”he said；“but is he dead？”
“Oh no， he is worse than dead。”
“Where is he？ Call him， let me see him。”
“Turn round， there he is，”and she took him to the stove and showed him what was lying there wrapped up in a fur。
When the man saw that misshapen little creature he became terrified， but he calmed down， for， after all， just as that Little Bit had become dear to the mother， so he felt it was also his child。He was the father， and， later on， when he began talking to Little Bit， he found out how clever he was， and he soon came to love him， and would spend hours talking to him and hearing all the wisdom that Little Bit possessed。
Some days had elapsed when Little Bit， turning to his father， said：
“Father， the time has come for me to marry。Do you remember the agreement you made with your friend the carpenter？ Go to him and ask him to keep his word to give me his daughter to wife。”
The bricklayer was very much surprised at these words。He knew the answer of the carpenter beforehand， but as Little Bit insisted he had no choice left， and he went to the carpenter。
“What wind brings you here， brother？”
“A good wind，”he replied。
“Let us hope so。Well， what is the matter？”
“The matter is quite simple。Do you remember the agreement we made before we left our wives？”
“What agreement？”
“Do you not remember？ It was to the effect that in case our wives would give birth to a son and a daughter that they should be married when the time for marriage came。”
“Yes，”replied the carpenter，“it is quite true， but how dare you come to me to ask me to give you my daughter， the beauty of the world， to that misshapen little creature！ If your son had been like other human beings， well and good， but not so if he is what he is。”
“That may be，”replied the bricklayer，“but an agreement is an agreement。We made no other conditions。Little Bit or Big Bit， he is my son， and I stand by my agreement。”
