Page 211 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

fully digested her delight at his return, and had run out
into the yard to bark, came back wagging her tail, and
crept up to him, bringing in the scent of fresh air, put her
head under his hand, and whined plaintively, asking to be

stroked.
‘There, who’d have thought it?’ said Agafea Mihalovna.
‘The dog now...why, she understands that her master’s
come home, and that he’s low-spirited.’
‘Why low-spirited?’
‘Do you suppose I don’t see it, sir? It’s high time I
should know the gentry. Why, I’ve grown up from a little
thing with them. It’s nothing, sir, so long as there’s health
and a clear conscience.’
Levin looked intently at her, surprised at how well she
knew his thought.
‘Shall I fetch you another cup?’ said she, and taking his
cup she went out.
Laska kept poking her head under his hand. He stroked
her, and she promptly curled up at his feet, laying her head
on a hindpaw. And in token of all now being well and
satisfactory, she opened her mouth a little, smacked her
lips, and settling her sticky lips more comfortably about
her old teeth, she sank into blissful repose. Levin watched
all her movements attentively.

210 of 1759