There was deep snow in the forest. The branches of the trees were laden with snow. Huge lumps of snow kept falling on the ground under the trees. In the middle of this forest was a small hut. It was made up of pine logs cut from the forest. Inside the hut, Maroosia sat with her little brother Vanya and heard the sound of snow falling. They were sitting near the door of the stove. The stove occupied a lot of space in the hut. It also served as their bed. The blankets were kept on the stove in which Vanya and Maroosia rolled up at night and went to sleep. Maroosia and Vanya lived with their grandfather, old Peter. Apart from old Peter, Maroosia and Vanya there were Vladimir, a big black cat, and Bayan, a tall grey wolf-dog. Suddenly, they heard a rumpling of boots in the snow. It was the sound of old Peter stamping his feet to get the snow off his boots.
Old Peter
Suddenly, the door opened. Bayan pushed his way in, and went towards Maroosia and Vanya and licked their hands. He, then, went and lay under the table. The noise of the door had startled Vladimir. Now, old Peter came in. There was a gun on his back and a hare in his hand. The old Peter shook himself and the snow flew off like spray. He hung up his gun and threw the hare on the side of the stove. Laughing, he said to Vanya and Maroosia, “You are warm and comfortable here.” The children jumped up to welcome him. Old Peter opened his long coat and the children plunged into it together and clung to his belt. He closed his sheepskin coat and they yelped. Then, they came out. Vanya and Maroosia enjoyed this and did it every night. Now, the old Peter took off his coat and picked up the samovar from the shelf.
The Supper
Old Peter started preparing supper. He threw the lighted sticks and charcoal, and made a draught to draw the heat. Thereafter, he placed the samovar on the table. The fire cracked inside it. Now, he picked up the bread and cut big lumps out of it. He emptied the saucepan of soup that was boiling on the stove, into a large wooden bowl. While he was preparing the supper, he answered the questions the children asked him. He also cracked a few jokes. The children danced and chuckled. Finally, the supper was ready. All of them dipped their wooden spoons in the bowl and enjoyed the soup. They gave scraps to Vladimir and a bone to Bayan. They had tea with sugar but no milk. Now, it was story time and old Peter prepared another cup of tea for himself. Then, he threw a log of wood into the stove and lit a short little pipe.
The Story Time
Old Peter puffed and the smoke got in his eyes. He wiped them with the back of his hand. While Peter was busy smoking, Vanya and Maroosia snuggled together near the stove. They listened to the crashing of the snow and thought which story to listen today. Now, they felt warm and comfortable with the noise because they were not alone and old Peter was with them. “Today we want to hear a story we’ve never heard before,” said Vanya. “Well,” said old Peter, as he combed his great grey beard with his fingers. He looked at them, blinked his eyes from under his big bushy eyebrows and asked, “Have I told you the story of ‘The Silver Saucer and the Transparent Apple’?” “No, never,” replied Vanya and Maroosia immediately. Old Peter took a last puff and the children wriggled with excitement. He took a sip of his tea and began narrating the story.
