e pond, stood wiping his face with his wide sleeves, and gazed
anxiously at his sister and his mother and breathed deeply, awaiting
his dinner. The old mother, with her sleeves rolled up over her strong
sunburnt arms, was arranging grapes, dried fish, and clotted cream on a
little low, circular Tartar table. The cornet wiped his hands, took off
his cap, crossed himself, and moved nearer to the table. The boy seized
the jug and eagerly began to drink. The mother and daughter crossed
their legs under them and sat down by the table. Even in the shade it
was intolerably hot. The air above the vineyard smelt unpleasant: the
strong warm wind passing amid the branches brought no coolness, but
only monotonously bent the tops of the pear, peach, and mulberry trees
with which the vineyard was sprinkled. The cornet,

[Updater's note: one, possibly two, pages appear to be missing at this
point.]

she felt unbearably hot. Her face was burning, and she did not know
where to put her feet, her eyes were moist with sleepiness and
weariness, her lips parted involuntarily, and her chest heaved heavily
and deeply.

The busy time of year had begun a fortnight ago and the continuous
heavy labour had filled the girl's life. At dawn she jumped up, washed
her face with cold water, wrapped herself in a shawl, and ran out
barefoot to see to the cattle. Then she hurriedly put on her shoes and
her beshmet and, taking a small bundle of bread, she harnessed the
bullocks and drove away to the vineyards for the whole day. There she
cut the grapes and carried the baskets with only an hour's interval for
rest, and in the evening she returned to the village, bright and not
tired, dragging the bullocks by a rope or driving them with a long
stick. After attending to the cattle, she took some sunflower seeds in
the wide sleeve of her smock and went to the corner of the street to
crack them and have some fun with the other girls. But as soon as it
was dusk she returned home, and after having supper with her parents
and her brother in the dark outhouse, she went into the hut, healthy
and free from care, and climbed onto the oven, where half drowsing she
listened to their lodger's conversation. As soon as he went away she
would throw herself down on her bed and sleep soundly and quietly till
morning. And so it went on day after day. She had not seen Lukashka
since the day of their betrothal, but calmly awaited the wedding. She
had got used to their lodger an