The Works of Nikolai Gogol, Vol. 1

here. One might scare good people so much that they will start fearing the beekeeper pasichnik one who tends beehives, God forgive me, like the devil himself. It is better that I live, God willing, until the new year and release another book; then it will be possible to frighten people with apparitions from the other world and the wonders that occurred in the old days in our Orthodox land. Among them, it may happen that you will find the little tales of the beekeeper himself, the ones he told to his grandchildren. As long as they listen and read, for I have—if not for the accursed laziness of digging them up—enough material for ten such books.

Yes, I almost forgot the most important thing: when you, gentlemen, set out to visit me, take the route straight along the main road toward Dikanka. I specifically pointed it out on the first page so you might reach our hamlet khutor a small farmstead or independent homestead all the sooner. Regarding Dikanka, I think you have heard enough already. And one must say, the house there is cleaner than any beekeeper’s hut kuren a traditional Cossack dwelling. And as for the garden, it is not worth speaking of: in your Saint Petersburg, surely, one would not find the like.