Chapter 6
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18521852

People :
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Author : Leo Tolstoy

Translator : Leo Wiener

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" YuKHVANKA the Shrewd wants to sell a horse," 
Nekhlyiidov read in his note-book, and crossed the street. 
Yukhvanka's hut was carefully thatched with straw from 
the manorial barn, and was constructed of fresh, light 
gray aspen timbers (also from the manorial forest), with 
two shutters painted red, and a porch with a roof, and a 
quaint shingle balustrade of an artistic design. The vestibule and the " cold " hut were also in proper condition ; 
but the general aspect of sufficiency and well-being, 
which this collection of buildings had, was somewhat impaired by the outhouse which leaned against the gate, 
with its unfinished wicker fence and open thatch which 
could be seen from behind it. 
At the same time that Nekhlyudov was approaching the porch from one side, two peasant women came 
from the other with a full tub. One of them was the wife, 
the other the mother of Yukhvanka the Shrewd. The 
first was a plump, red-cheeked woman, with an unusually 
well-developed bosom, and broad, fleshy cheek-bones. She 
wore a clean shirt, embroidered on the sleeves and collar, 
an apron similarly decorated, a new linen skirt, leather 
shoes, glass beads, and a foppish square head-gear made 
of red paper and spangles. 
The end of the yoke did not shake, but lay firmly on 
her broad and solid shoulder. The light exertion which 
was noticeable in her ruddy face, in the curvature of her 
back, and in the measured motion of her arms and legs, 
pointed to extraordinary health and masculine strength. 
Yukhvanka's mother, who was carrying the other end 
of the yoke, was, on the contrary, one of those old women 
who seem to have reached the extreme limit of old age 
and disintegration possible in living man. Her bony 
frame, covered with a black, torn shirt and colorless 
skirt, was so bent that the yoke rested more on her back 
than on her shoulder. Both her hands, with the distorted fingers of which she seemed to cling to the yoke, 
were of a dark brown color, and seemed incapable of 
unbending ; her drooping head, which was wrapped in a 
rag, bore the most monstrous traces of wretchedness and 
old age. From under her narrow brow, which was furrowed in all directions by deep wrinkles, two red eyes, 
bereft of their lashes, looked dimly to the ground. One 
yellow tooth protruded from her upper sunken lip, and, 
shaking continually, now and then collided with her 
sharp chin. The wrinkles on the lower part of her face 
and throat resembled pouches that kept on shaking with 
every motion. She breathed heavily and hoarsely ; but 
her bare, distorted feet, though apparently shuffling with 
difficulty against the ground, moved evenly one after 
the other. 



     From : Wikisource.org

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     Chapter 6 -- Publication : November 30, 1851

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