ANTONIA’S STORY. January 1842 “Well, you see,” Antonia began, “I haven’t told you yet that we lived in a small town in Finland when I was a child. My mother was a pastor’s daughter, and my father was in the Russian service. I remember, as if in a dream, that my brother, who was five years older than me, and I, were very happy while my mother was alive, and lived well. She was an excellent housewife and assistant... Read more
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DOLL HOUSE January 1842.[1] Winter skidded and covered all the fields and roads with snow. The garden became impassable. The trees stood shaggy, drooping with snow hanging on their branches. The surrounding farmsteads had nestled into the loose snow, and had it not been for their disheveled, bare gardens and the bluish haze in the mornings, the distant villages would have been impossible to distinguish. The windows and doors were caulked, and bright fire crackled... Read more
THE TRIP TO DIKANKA September 1841 Time passed so quickly between studies and pranks that the girls did not even notice that the end of summer had arrived. The oak groves were full of color, the mountain ash and viburnum were turning red, and the pears and apples in the orchards had already been harvested. The Autumn of 1841 was heavenly. Though cold, the bright sun cheerfully illumined the groves and clean-shaven fields where long threads of shiny cobwebs... Read more
VARENIKI Summer 1841 Two days later they were playing in the garden when the hostess, their Little Ukrainian, came up to them, asking them to come to her house and try the delicious cherry vareniki she cooked for the sake of “God’s holiday.” (It was Sunday.) “Vareniki? Ah! What a pity that we can’t!” exclaimed Vera with deep regret. Owing to Vera’s recent illness, and Lelya’s stomachache, the girls were strictly forbidden to eat cherries. Letting them go into... Read more
THE GRAY MONK Summer 1841 One day, not long after their arrival, Vera went to bed very early with a headache. She woke suddenly in the middle of the night, that is, she thought it was the middle of the night, it may have been evening because the cheerful voices of Helena Andreevna and Antonia were heard from the next room, which, for some reason, scared Vera tremendously. It seemed to her as though something terrible had occurred, and she... Read more
IN NEW PLACES Summer 1841 Waking up early the next day, Vera looked out the window and hastily began to get dressed. There was a thick cherry garden in front of the windows, and she began to wake up Lelya so that she could take a walk with her; but as her sister was such a “sleepyhead,” only managed to run around a lot before she got up. They had a nice little house and garden here, very simple,... Read more
CAMP Summer 1841 The horses were now rested and prepared to make the final leg of the journey. Without waiting for any help, they pulled the party up the mountain in half an hour. The coachman spoke the truth. At the top of the mountain fields and forests stretched out before them, and among the greenery of the nearest grove, in a beautiful clearing, the white tents of Colonel Hahn’s battery were pitched. Several officers ran towards them, winded... Read more
ROAD Spring 1841 With the approach of spring, Helena Andreevna began to say that it was time for them to get ready for the journey. She felt sorry for her husband, who missed his family dearly. Colonel Hahn wrote that his battery had been moved to a good place in Little Rossiya, where it is warm. He said it would be a good place for Helena Andreevna to live and begged her to return in the spring. Despite Baba... Read more
REASONING April 1841 On the occasion of the holidays, lessons had not yet begun. The girls sat upstairs in their classroom, near Baba Lena’s office, where the door was open. They were inspecting all the pretty little things Gorov had given them the day before. “Lelya,” asked Vera, “why did Gorov say that he didn’t dare ask for Dede Andrushka when he called us all to the Christmas tree?” “What don’t you understand?” Lelya replied. “A simple merchant would... Read more
YOLKA January 1841 Vera was left speechless with amazed delight when, after sitting alone upstairs in the nursery all day, she saw it from afar, from the corridor, in the middle of the hall all flooded with light! The Christmas tree was beautiful, richly adorned with all sorts of sweets, and decorated with garlands of greenery and flowers (skillfully made by Baba Lena from colored paper and calico.) It was a new tradition introduced to Russia by the Tsarina... Read more
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