Resurrection

His joy in life was so great that it agitated him, and kept him

awake many a night, especially when it was moonlight, so that

instead of sleeping he wandered about in the garden till dawn,

alone with his dreams and fancies.

And so, peacefully and happily, he lived through the first month

of his stay with his aunts, taking no particular notice of their

half-ward, half-servant, the black-eyed, quick-footed Katusha.

Then, at the age of nineteen, Nekhludoff, brought up under his

mother's wing, was still quite pure. If a woman figured in his

dreams at all it was only as a wife. All the other women, who,

according to his ideas he could not marry, were not women for

him, but human beings.

But on Ascension Day that summer, a neighbour of his aunts', and

her family, consisting of two young daughters, a schoolboy, and a

young artist of peasant origin who was staying with them, came to

spend the day. After tea they all went to play in the meadow in

front of the house, where the grass had already been mown. They

played at the game of gorelki, and Katusha joined them. Running

about and changing partners several times, Nekhludoff caught

Katusha, and she became his partner. Up to this time he had liked

Katusha's looks, but the possibility of any nearer relations with

her had never entered his mind.

"Impossible to catch those two," said the merry young artist,

whose turn it was to catch, and who could run very fast with his

short, muscular legs.

"You! And not catch us?" said Katusha.

"One, two, three," and the artist clapped his hands. Katusha,

hardly restraining her laughter, changed places with Nekhludoff,

behind the artist's back, and pressing his large hand with her

little rough one, and rustling with her starched petticoat, ran

to the left. Nekhludoff ran fast to the right, trying to escape

from the artist, but when he looked round he saw the artist

running after Katusha, who kept well ahead, her firm young legs

moving rapidly. There was a lilac bush in front of them, and

Katusha made a sign with her head to Nekhludoff to join her

behind it, for if they once clasped hands again they were safe

from their pursuer, that being a rule of the game. He understood

the sign, and ran behind the bush, but he did not know that there

was a small ditch overgrown with nettles there. He stumbled and

fell into the nettles, already wet with dew, stinging his bands,

but rose immediately, laughing at his mishap.

Katusha, with her eyes black as sloes, her face radiant with joy,

was flying towards him, and they caught hold of each other's

hands.

"Got stung, I daresay?" she said, arranging her hair with her

free hand, breathing fast and looking straight up at him with a

glad, pleasant smile.