0 The Brothers Karamazov
Ici, Perezvon.’ And Kolya began giving orders to the dog,
who performed all his tricks.
He was a rough-haired dog, of medium size, with a coat
of a sort of lilac-grey colour. He was blind in his right eye,
and his left ear was torn. He whined and jumped, stood and
walked on his hind legs, lay on his back with his paws in
the air, rigid as though he were dead. While this last perfor-
mance was going on, the door opened and Agafya, Madame
Krassotkin’s servant, a stout woman of forty, marked with
small-pox, appeared in the doorway. She had come back
from market and had a bag full of provisions in her hand.
Holding up the bag of provisions in her left hand she stood
still to watch the dog. Though Kolya had been so anxious
for her return, he did not cut short the performance, and
after keeping Perezvon dead for the usual time, at last he
whistled to him. The dog jumped up and began bounding
about in his joy at having done his duty.
‘Only think, a dog!’ Agafya observed sententiously.
‘Why are you late, female?’ asked Krassotkin sternly.
‘Female, indeed! Go on with you, you brat.’
‘Brat?’
‘Yes, a brat. What is it to you if I’m late; if I’m late, you
may be sure I have good reason,’ muttered Agafya, busying
herself about the stove, without a trace of anger or displea-
sure in her voice. She seemed quite pleased, in fact, to enjoy
a skirmish with her merry young master.
‘Listen, you frivolous young woman,’ Krassotkin began,
getting up from the sofa, ‘can you swear by all you hold sa-
cred in the world and something else besides, that you will