The Cook's Wedding and Other StoriesChekhov, Anton Pavlovich
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The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories
Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich
Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich, 1860-1904 -- Translations into English; Russia -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
Pashka undressed and, not without satisfaction began attiring himself
in his new array. When he had put on the shirt, the drawers, and
the little grey dressing-gown, he looked at himself complacently,
and thought that it would not be bad to walk through the village
in that costume. His imagination pictured his mother's sending him
to the kitchen garden by the river to gather cabbage leaves for the
little pig; he saw himself walking along, while the boys and girls
surrounded him and looked with envy at his little dressing-gown.
A nurse came into the ward, bringing two tin bowls, two spoons, and
two pieces of bread. One bowl she set before the old man, the other
before Pashka.
"Eat!" she said.
Looking into his bowl, Pashka saw some rich cabbage soup, and in
the soup a piece of meat, and thought again that it was very nice
at the doctor's, and that the doctor was not nearly so cross as he
had seemed at first. He spent a long time swallowing the soup,
licking the spoon after each mouthful, then when there was nothing
left in the bowl but the meat he stole a look at the old man, and
felt envious that he was still eating the soup. With a sigh Pashka
attacked the meat, trying to make it last as long as possible, but
his efforts were fruitless; the meat, too, quickly vanished. There
was nothing left but the piece of bread. Plain bread without anything
on it was not appetising, but there was no help for it. Pashka
thought a little, and ate the bread. At that moment the nurse came
in with another bowl. This time there was roast meat with potatoes
in the bowl.
"And where is the bread?" asked the nurse.
Instead of answering, Pashka puffed out his cheeks, and blew out
the air.
"Why did you gobble it all up?" said the nurse reproachfully. "What
are you going to eat your meat with?"
She went and fetched another piece of bread. Pashka had never eaten
roast meat in his life, and trying it now found it very nice. It
vanished quickly, and then he had a piece of bread left bigger than
the first. When the old man had finished his dinner, he put away
the remains of his bread in a little table. Pashka meant to do the
same, but on second thoughts ate his piece.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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