MELITONSHISHKIN，abailifffromtheDementyevfarm，exhaustedbythesultryheatofthefir-woodandcoveredwithspiders’websandpine-needles，madehiswaywithhisguntotheedgeofthewood。HisDamka——amongrelbetweenayarddogandasetter——
anextremelythinbitchheavywithyoung，trailedafterhermasterwithherwettailbetweenherlegs，doingallshecouldtoavoidprickinghernose。Itwasadull，overcastmorning。Bigdropsdrippedfromthebrackenandfromthetreesthatwerewrappedinalightmist；therewasapungentsmellofdecayfromthedampnessofthewood。
Therewerebirch-treesaheadofhimwherethewoodended，andbetweentheirstemsandbrancheshecouldseethemistydistance。
Beyondthebirch-treessomeonewasplayingonashepherd’srusticpipe。Theplayerproducednomorethanfiveorsixnotes，draggedthemoutlanguidlywithnoattemptatformingatune，andyettherewassomethingharshandextremelydrearyinthesoundofthepiping。
Asthecopsebecamesparser，andthepineswereinterspersedwithyoungbirch-trees，Melitonsawaherd。Hobbledhorses，cows，andsheepwerewanderingamongthebushesand，snappingthedrybranches，sniffedattheherbageofthecopse。Aleanoldshepherd，bareheaded，inatorngreysmock，stoodleaningagainstthewettrunkofabirch-tree。Hestaredattheground，ponderingsomething，andplayedhispipe，itseemed，mechanically。