Emma Watson Pussy
Books:
Anna Karenina
War And Peace
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on your shoes."
"Why is it you have earth thats not sifted?" said Levin.
"Well, we crumble it up," answered Vassily, taking up some seed
and rolling the earth in his palms.
Vassily was not to blame for their having filled up his cart with
unsifted earth, but still it was annoying.
Levin had more than once already tried a way he knew for stifling
his anger, and turning all that seemed dark right again, and he
tried that way now. He watched how Mishka strode along, swinging
the huge clods of earth that clung to each foot; and getting off
his horse, he took the sieve from Vassily and started sowing
himself.
"Where did you stop?"
Vassily pointed to the mark with his foot, and Levin went forward
as best he could, scattering the seed on the land. Walking was as
difficult as on a bog, and by the time Levin had ended the row he
was in a great heat, and he stopped and gave up the sieve to
Vassily.
"Well, master, when summers here, mind you dont scold me for
these rows," said Vassily.
"Eh?" said Levin cheerily, already feeling the effect of his
method.
"Why, youll see in the summer time. Itll look different. Look
you where I sowed last spring. How I did work at it! I do my
best, Konstantin Dmitrievitch, dye see, as I would for my own
father. I dont like bad work myself, nor would I let another
man do it. Whats good for the masters good for us too. To
look out yonder now," said Vassily, pointing, "it does ones
heart good."
"Its a lovely spring, Vassily."
"Why, its a spring such as the old men dont remember the like
of. I was up home; an old man up there has sown wheat too, about
an acre of it. He was saying you wouldnt know it from rye."
"Have you been sowing wheat long?"
"Why, sir, it was you taught us the year before last. You gave
me two measures. We sold about eight bushels and sowed a rood."
"Well, mind you crumble up the clods," said Levin, going towards
his horse, "and keep an eye on Mishka. And if theres a good
crop you shall have half a rouble for every acre."
"Humbly thankful. We are very well content, sir, as it is."
Levin got on his horse and rode towards the field where was last
years clover, and the one which was ploughed ready for the
spring corn.
The crop of clover coming up in the stubble was magnificent. It
had survived everything, and stood up vividly green through the
broken stalks of last years wheat. The horse sank in up to
the pasterns, and he drew each hoof with a sucking sound out of
the half-thawed ground. Over the ploughland riding was utterly
impossible; the horse could only keep a foothold where there was
ice, and in the thawing furrows he sank deep in at each step.
The ploughland was in splendid condition; in a couple of days it
would be fit for harrowing and sowing. Everything was capital,
everything was cheering. Levin rode back across the streams,
hoping the water would have gone down. And he did in fact get
across, and startled two ducks. "There must be snipe too," he
thought, and just as he reached the turning homewards he met the
forest keeper, who confirmed his theory about the snipe.
Levin went home at a trot, so as to have time to eat his dinner
and get his gun ready for the evening.
Chapter 14
As he rode up to the house in the happiest frame of mind, Levin
heard the bell ring at the side of the principal entrance of the
house.
"Yes, thats someone from the railway station," he thought,
"just the time to be here from the Moscow train...Who could it
be? What if its brother Nikolay? He did say: Maybe Ill go
to the waters, or maybe Ill come down to you." He felt
dismayed and vexed for the first minute, that his brother
Nikolays presence should come to disturb his happy mood of
spring. But he felt ashamed of the feeling, and at once he
opened, as it were, the arms of his soul, and with a softened
feeling of joy and expectation, now he hoped with all his heart
that it was his brother. He pricked up his horse, and riding out
from behind
Anna Karenina page 89 Anna Karenina page 91
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