“In the fall, the sexton of the village of Kochergina was planning to go with his nine-year-old son to the provincial town of T. He intended to enroll him in the third grade of a religious school. On the very day of departure, the sexton walked around the peasant yards, asking for an arc; from the priest he received a blessing for a long journey and a tar with a brush. His son, Ivan Dekalov, washed and combed, was at that time sleeping on the stove at home...”