Although there was no escape from the heat and the mosquitoes swarmed in the cool shadow of the wagons, and her little brother tossing about beside her kept pushing her, Maryanka having drawn her kerchief over her head was just falling asleep, when suddenly their neighbour Ustenka came running towards her and, diving under the wagon, lay down beside her.

‘Sleep, girls, sleep!’ said Ustenka, making herself comfortable under the wagon.

‘Wait a bit,’ she exclaimed, ‘this won’t do!’

She jumped up, plucked some green branches, and stuck them through the wheels on both sides of the wagon and hung her beshmet over them.

‘Let me in,’ she shouted to the little boy as she again crept under the wagon.