naughty and someone points
to that mark which your good
old Santa Claus's boot made
on the marble,what will you
say, little sweetheart?
written two letters, and then
had vanished as if the earth
had engulfed her, not a word
nor a sound had come from
her since. So now, whether
the aged mother was milking
the cow at daybreak, or
lighting the stove, or dozing
at night, the tenor of her
thoughts was always the
same: "How is Efimia? Is she
alive and well?" She wanted
to send her a letter, but the
old father could not write,
and there was no one whom
they could ask to write it for
them.
Good-by for a few minutes,
till I come down to the world
and ring the kitchen doorbell.
Your loving Santa Claus
Whom people sometimes call
"The Man in the Moon"
At Christmas Time
By Anton Chekhov
But now Christmas had
come, and Vasilissa could
endure the silence no longer.
She went to the tavern to see
Yegor, the innkeeper's wife's
brother, who had done
nothing but sit idly at home
in the tavern since he had
come &6