Two Old Men

“Two old men set out to pray to God in old Jerusalem. One was a rich man, his name was Efim Tarasych Shevelev. The other was a poor man, Elisha Bodrov.

Efim was a serious, steady man—he didn’t drink vodka, didn’t smoke or sniff tobacco, and he didn’t curse in black words his whole life. He was strict and firm. For two terms Efim Tarasych served as elder, and settled in without any bribes. His family was large: two sons and a married grandson, and they all lived together. By his build he was healthy, bearded, and straight, and only in his seventh decade gray hair began to break through in his beard. Elisha was an old man neither rich nor poor; earlier he worked at carpentry, and in old age he began to live at home and keep bees…”