Lev Tolstoy
A PRISONER IN THE CAUCASUS
A girl came running. She
was a slip of a thing, about thirteen, and facially like the dark-haired man,
who was clearly her father. Like him, she had shining black eyes and a handsome
face. She wore a long blue shirt with wide sleeves and no belt, trimmed with
red along the hem, neck and sleeves. Below this she wore trousers and slippers,
and over the slippers high-heeled shoes. Around her neck was a necklace made by
Russian fifty-kopeck pieces. She was bare-headed and wore her black hair in a
plait tied with a ribbon, on which were hung various pendants and silver ruble.
At her father’s bidding,
she dashed off and came back with a little tin jug. She handed over the water,
then squatted down so low that her shoulders disappeared below her knees, and
stared, wide-eyed, at Zhilin drinking, as though he were some wild animal.
Zhilin handed her the
jug, and she leapt back like a wild goat. Even her father had to laugh. He sent
her away again and she ran off with the empty jug. Soon she returned with some
unleavened bread on a wooden plate and again squatted down with her eyes glued
on Zhilin.
When he had eaten, the
Tatars left, locking the door behind them.
Some time later the
Caucasian servant appeared and said to Zhilin, ‘Aida!’ He didn’t speak
Russian either, but Zhilin understood that he was to go somewhere.
He followed the servant
outside, dragging the shackle. He found himself in a Tatar village, with about
ten houses and a church with a little tower. Three saddled horses were standing
outside one of the houses, their reins held by some boys. The dark Tatar popped
out of the door and beckoned to Zhilin to come over. Then he went inside again,
still laughing and chattering away in his own tongue. Zhilin went in. It was an
attractive room with polished clay walls; some gaily colored feather-beds were
piled up against the facing wall, while the side-walls were hung with expensive
carpets; these carpets, in turn, were decorated with guns, pistols and sabres,
all made of silver. At one wall stood a small stove. The eastern floor was as
clean as a threshing floor, and the whole of one corner was covered with thick
felts, on top of which there were rugs and feather cushions. And sitting on
this rugs, propped up on the cusions and wearing slippers, were five Tatars:
the dark one, the red one, and three guests. In front of them they had a
plateful of millet pancakes, a bowl of molten butter, and jug of Tatar beer, or
boza. There were eating with their hands, which were covered of grease.