KHATUNA. THE GIRL WITH THE DOLL. VLADIMIR GRECHINOV
And this, perhaps, will be worth a hundred rubles. So look, Nazar, I’ll give it to another craftsman! Or, perhaps, you will concede everything for twenty rubles? After all, you need to feed your family,» said the trader with a sly smile.
Nazar scratched his head, looked at his daughter, and with a wave of his hand, agreed.
«The hell with you, Panteley! Take it for twenty! But keep the new big order for me.»
«Of course, of course, Nazar,» Panteley melted into a smile, satisfied with the successful outcome of the bargaining. «Of course, I’ll keep it for you! Who else should I give it to but you?»
After counting out Nazar’s twenty hard-earned rubles he nodded to his boy assistants, who hurriedly began to transfer the goods from the cart to the shed. Nazar said goodbye to Pantelei and led the harnessed horse further along the Bazaar to the rich merchant rows, heading to the pastry shops of the merchant Volobayev, which attracted with their fragrance and colorful wrappers local sweet tooth, who were mostly young women and children. Many of them were not even going to buy anything, but came here just to see and enjoy this entire mouth-watering atmosphere.
Nazar approached to one of the central stores and noticed the clerk Klementiy sitting at a small writing desk, as always, very well-dressed – in a belted snow-white starched shirt, a black silk waistcoat, luxurious expensive trousers and polished boots to shine. It seemed that Klementiy was very busy: he quickly moved the beads of the wooden abacus and immediately wrote down something in the notebook. Seeing Nazar, the assistant approached Klementiy and whispered something to him softly. The clerk turned toward the blacksmith and looked at him with tired eyes over his glasses.
«Ah, Nazar! Good morning! Wait a second!» he said. Then he hurriedly made the last calculations, closed the notebook and went to the counter.
Nazar began to lay out tin boxes on which were depicted ladies in wide-brimmed hats, outlandish birds, fluttering butterflies and dragonflies, delicate buds and large blooming flowers. In the rays of the bright morning sun, they shimmered, merrily playing with all the shades of colors and mother of pearl, attracting the attention of curious passers-by. Klementiy quickly looked at the goods and counted out the previously agreed amount to Nazar. The clerk was a business man and always highly appreciated his time. He had known Nazar for a long time and trusted him completely.
«Your boxes are so good! As always, are pleasing to the eye!» Klementiy said, admiring the product. «By the way, in a month we will bring an even bigger batch of chocolate. Ipatiy Petrovich wants to open additional shops on the market square in Stavropol. So, Nazar, please accept a new order for one hundred boxes: forty small, thirty medium and thirty large. If you make it in time, I’ll add three more rubles on top.»
«I’ll make it in time. I will not let Ipatiy Petrovich down!» Nazar answered, taking his daughter’s hand.
Noticing Ulyana, enthusiastically examining sweets in the showcase, Klementiy smiled, leaned over and pulled out from under the counter a small box, made by Nazar himself, and filled with chocolate.
«Well, help yourself, blue-eyed beauty!» he said, handing out the box to the girl. Ulyana shone with happiness, took the gift with both hands and, unable to resist, opened the lid, grabbed one candy and quickly sent it into her mouth.
«What needs to be said?» Nazar muttered to his daughter.
«Thank you, sir!» Ulyana answered, beaming with joy, and ran to hide the box in the cart.
Nazar bowed to Klementiy and headed further along the trading rows, looking for gifts for his wife and daughters. He bought a festive shawl and beads for Galina and patent leather shoes for the girls, which at that time not every artisan could afford to buy for his children. Nazar was about to return home, when suddenly Ulyana grabbed his hand and exclaimed:
«Daddy, look, what a sarafan3 was bought for a girl! I wish I had one like it!»
The sarafan was really beautiful. It was made of red chintz, decorated with white patterns, embroidered with colored braid and beads. Nazar estimated how much money he still had left, looked at his daughter, sighed heavily, and went to the tradeswoman.
«Good day! What price do you ask for such a sarafan?» Nazar asked the owner of the goods.
«Six rubles, but this was the last one. I’ll bring the same one back only in two weeks,» the saleswoman chattered. «Right now I can offer a few other cuts and colors. It will be cheaper, but without beads and braid.»
«Well, Ulyana, we’ll have to wait two weeks,» Nazar said, stroking his daughter on the head.
Ulyana’s face turned red, grimaced, and bitter tears flowed down her cheeks.
«I don’t want to wait so long!» he girl sobbed.
Not wanting to lose a client, the tradeswoman quickly figured out what to do.
«I live in Nikolina Balka, ten versts from here. At home, I have the same sarafan of the appropriate size. So if you decide, come tomorrow. So be it, I’ll give it to you for five rubles.»
«Well, what can I do,» Nazar sighed. «I have to please my daughter. I’ll come to you tomorrow for a sarafan by noon.»
Having made an agreement with the tradeswoman, the blacksmith got into the cart with his daughter and headed home.
CHAPTER 3. A MEETING
By noon the next day, Nazar, as promised, arrived to Nikolina Balka and bought a gift from the tradeswoman promised to his daughter. But on the way back, something unexpected happened: when leaving the village, the cart suddenly creaked strongly, and then a wheel fell off. Nazar had to spend a lot of time repairing the damage. When at last everything was fixed, he, being late, set off again. Despite the unfortunate incident, Nazar rode along the deserted road in high spirits, whistling and singing a Cossack song. It seemed that the whole steppe around him was singing along with its chirping of birds and the chirping of crickets hiding in the tall grass, which swayed slightly in the light steppe wind. Carried away by the road, Nazar did not immediately notice how dusk had fallen. The birds stopped singing. And almost in the middle of the way, near the hills, in a deserted area, a strong wind suddenly arose, driving from nowhere black heavy thunderclouds. Lightning flashed – and in a few seconds the rainfall began to fall. The horse whinnied in fright and rushed forward.
Suddenly Nazar noticed that a pack of wolves was rapidly approaching him from the side of the hills from a wooded gully. These wolves were almost twice the size of those whom he had ever seen in his life. Their fur stood on end, their eyes, bloodshot, glowed in the dark with bright red lights, and huge fangs were visible from their grinning mouths with tongues hanging to one side. Nazar stood up in the cart at full height and with his hands trembling with fear and horror began to shake the reins and shout to the horse:
«Well, come on, honey, help me out! Faster! Faster! Please! Take me out of here! Do not let die a cruel death!»
The horse, as if understanding its master, galloped as fast as it could, snorting its nostrils and uttering a wheezing sound. The wolves, having caught up with the wagon and ominously clicking their teeth, tried to surround it on both sides. Nazar’s life flashed through his head, he remembered his wife and children who could be left without him. Fear seemed to intoxicate and deafen him. Nazar no longer even looked back at the wolves. In front of him he saw only a horse rushing forward and heard the beating of his heart, which was sometimes drowned out by the sound of the hooves of a faithful friend rushing in terror. Already almost resigned to his terrible fate, the blacksmith caught himself thinking that he was still alive. Nazar turned back and found that those wolves were gone. He was filled with joy. Exhaling a sigh of relief, he slowed down the horse’s pace, but still felt his heart pounding and tearing from his chest.
After
Sarafan is a Russian traditional folk women’s costume.