13 0 Talking Listen and read. Make a new Mark: What time do you get up, Lucy? point dialogue with your friend. Lucy: I get up at seven. What about you? Mark: I get up at six. What do you do then? I have breakfast and then I go to school. Lucy: What about you? Mark: I brush my teeth and then I have breakfast. Lucy: What time do you go to bed? go to bed at nine. C
Now she had opinions of her own, and at supper she talked to Sasha's parents, saying how difficult the lessons were at the schools, but that yet the classical education was better than a commercial one, since with a classical education all careers were open to one, such as being a doctor or an engineer.
Sasha began going to the school. His mother departed to Harkov to her sister's and did not return; his father used to go off every day to inspect cattle, and would often be away from home for three days together, and it seemed to Olenka as though Sasha was entirely abandoned, that he was superfluous, that he was being starved, and she carried him off to her lodge and fixed up for him a little room there.
And for six months Sasha had lived in the lodge with her. Every morning Olenka came into his bedroom and found him fast asleep, sleeping noiselessly with his hand tucked under his cheek. She was sorry to wake him.
"Sashenka," she would say sorrowfully, "get up, darling. It's time for school."
He would get up, dress and say his prayers, and then sit down to breakfast, drink three glasses of tea, and eat two large cracknels and a half a buttered roll. All this time he was hardly awake and a little ill-humoured in consequence.
"You don't quite know your fable, Sashenka," Olenka would say, looking at him as though he were about to set off on a long journey. "What a lot of trouble I have with you! You must work and do your best, darling, and obey your teachers."
"Oh, do leave me alone!" Sasha would say.
Then he would go down the street to school, a little figure, wearing a big cap and carrying a satchel on his shoulder. Olenka would follow him noiselessly.
"Sashenka!" she would call after him, and she would shove into his hand a date or a caramel. When he reached the street where the school was, he would feel ashamed of being followed by a tall, stout woman, he would turn round and say:
"You'd better go home, auntie. I can go the rest of the way alone."
She would stand still and stare after him fixedly till he had disappeared at the school-gate.
Ah, how she loved him! Of her former ties not one had been so deep; never had her soul surrendered to any feeling so spontaneously, so disinterestedly, and so joyously as now that her maternal instincts were aroused. For this little boy with the dimples in his cheeks and the big school cap, she would have given her whole life, she would have given it with joy and tears of tenderness. Why? Who can tell why?
When she had seen the last of Sasha, she returned home, contented and serene, overflowing with love; her face, which had grown younger during the last six months, smiled and beamed; people meeting her looked at her with pleasure.
"Good-morning, Olga Semyonovna, darling. How are you, darling?"
"The lessons at the high school are very difficult now," she would relate at the market. "It's too much; in the first class yesterday they gave him a fable to learn by heart, and a Latin translation and a problem. You know it's too much for a little chap."
And she would begin talking about the teachers, the lessons, and the school books, saying just what Sasha said.
At three o'clock they had dinner together: in the evening they learned their lessons together and cried. When she put him to bed, she would stay a long time making the Cross over him and murmuring a prayer; then she would go to bed and dream of that far-away misty future when Sasha would finish his studies and become a doctor or an engineer, would have a big house of his own with horses and a carriage, would get married and have children. . . . She would fall asleep still thinking of the same thing, and tears would run down her cheeks from her closed eyes, while the black cat lay purring beside her: "Mrr, mrr, mrr."
Sasha started at the school.
His mother has gone to visit her sister in Kharkov and never came back. Because his father was not at home every day, he carried out the inspection of cattle and sometimes absent more than three days, it seemed to Olenka that Sasha was completely abandoned, was treated as if it were superfluous and must be dying of hunger. So she carried it in his part of the house and has allocated a small room for him there.
Every morning Olenka came into his room and found him sleeping with his palm under his cheek, so quietly he slept, it seemed, was not breathing. "It's a shame that we have to Wake him" she thought.
"Sasha," she said sadly. "come on, honey. Time for school"
He got up, dressed, said his prayers, then sat for Breakfast. He drank 3 cups of tea, ate 2 large tortillas and half of the oil roll. He still woke up, so was a little slurred.
"You don't know your fable as you should, Sashenka," said Olenka, looking at him as if he was going on a long journey. "What's you're problem. You need to try harder and learn, darling, and obey your teachers." "Leave me alone, please," said Sasha.
Then he walked down the street to school, a little guy in a big hat and bag behind.
Olenka followed him noisy.
"Sasha" - was the name of it.
He turned, and she shoved a date or a caramel into his hand. When he got to school the streets, he turned around and he was ashamed that he should be tall, stout woman. "Better go home, aunt. The rest of the way I can myself go"
She stopped and watched him until he disappeared into the school doors. Oh, how she loved him! To anybody it was not as strongly attached. Never before she felt so full and happy as it is now. Her maternal instincts woke up. For the little boy who was not hers, for the dimples on his cheeks and his big cap, she would give her life and give with tears of joy. Why? Really why? When she held Sasha in school, she returned home quietly, satisfied, peaceful and filled with love. Her face rejuvenated over the past 6 months, smiled and glowed. People who met her, was happy when I looked at her.
"How are you, Olga Semyonovna, darling? How are you, darling?"
"School is very hard now" she told people on the market. "This is not a joke. Yesterday the first class had a fable to learn by heart, a Latin translation, and that's the problem. As a little boy to do all this?"
And she told about the teacher, the classroom and the textbooks, just repeating what he said about Sasha. In 3 hours they had lunch. In the evening they did his homework together, both complaining how difficult it was. When she was asleep, she stood for a long time, baptizing him and muttering a prayer. And when she lay in bed, dreaming of the distant, misty future when Sasha would finish school and become a doctor or engineer, you will have your big house, with horses and a carriage, marry and he will have children. She fell asleep still thinking about the same things, and tears flowed down her cheeks from closed eyes. And black the cat lay beside her, purring : "MRR, MRR, MRR".