"Mother of God of Tenderness show me your mercy and give me my own little child to love."

Every day the same prayer.

But the days and weeks passed and Olga Maximova's cheek grew sallow and her heart ached. And the wind blew endlessly across the steppe.

Then, just as the rasputitsa rains came and turned the fields to mire, there came a strange wind out of nowhere bringing a second little winter.

In the morning Olga Maximova Nikolaiova opened the door and looked out at the fresh snow. And there sitting on the doorstep was a cat she had never seen before. A very thin cat.

"Who are you little stranger?" said Olga Maximova. "Come in and warm yourself at the stove my friend."

And the thin cat came in and warmed itself at the stove. And when she heard the thin cat purr, Olga Maximova's heart grew soft and she said, "Are you hungry my friend?"

And she cut a slice of ham and set down a saucer of milk by the stove. And the thin cat ate and drank with a ravenous appetite and lay down and slept the sleep of the dead.