What Men Live By, and Other Tales

A kind and humble shoemaker maker called Simon goes out one day to purchase sheep-skins in order to sew a winter coat for his wife and himself to share. Usually, the little money which Simon earns would be spent to feed his wife and children. Simon decides that in order to afford the skins he must go on a collection to receive the five rubles and twenty kopeks owed to him by his customers. As he heads out to collect the money he also borrows a three-rouble note from his wife's money box. While going on his collection he only manages to receive twenty kopeks rather than the full amount. Feeling disheartened by this, Simon rashly spends the twenty kopeks on vodka and starts to head back home drunkenly stumbling and talking to himself cursing the coat dealer. He states that he is warm without the vodka and that he won't make it through the winter without a fur coat.