In the establishment where he worked he lived with almost every girl in turn, including Aksinya. And it was while he was living with her that on one occasion he gave her a cruel flogging.

As she was healthy and lazy, she liked to sleep very much, and she often fell asleep in the parlor, in spite of the noise that filled it. Seated somewhere in a corner, she would suddenly cease to “lure the guest” with her stupid eyes. They would become fixed upon some object, then her eyelids would slowly droop and cover her eyes, and her lower lip would hang down, baring large white teeth. Comfortable snores would be heard, sending the other girls and the guests into peals of laughter, but the laughter would not wake Aksinya.

This happened frequently. Her mistress scolded her severely and slapped her face, but this did not frighten off sleep: she would cry a little afterwards, and fall asleep again.

Finally Red took matters in hand.

One night, when the girl fell asleep sitting on a divan next to a drunken guest, who was also dozing, Vaska went over to her, and taking her by the hand without a word, led her away with him.

“Are you really going to thrash me?” Aksinya asked him.

“I have to…” said Vaska.

When they came to the kitchen, he told her to undress.

“At least don’t hurt me badly,” the woman begged him.

“Go on, go on.…”

She stripped to her chemise.

“Take it off!” Vaska ordered.

“What a rowdy you are!” the girl sighed, and took off her chemise.

Vaska struck her over the shoulders with a strap.

“Into the court-yard with you!”

“What are you saying? It’s winter.…I’ll be cold.…”

He pushed her out of the kitchen door, led her through the entry, switching her with the strap, and in the court-yard he ordered her to lie down on a heap of snow.

“Vaska…how can you?”

“Go on, go on!”

And pushing her face into the snow, he forced her head down into it, so that her cries should not be heard, and for a long time he struck her with the strap, repeating these words:

“Don’t sleep, don’t sleep, don’t sleep.…”

When he let her go, she sobbed to him through her tears:

“Wait, Vaska! Your time will come.…You will cry too! There is a God, Vaska!”