Act 1 — SCENE 2. MRS. UNCOUTH, EREMYÉEVNA, TRÍSHKA

Mrs. Uncouth (to Tríshka). You beast, come here. Didn’t I tell you, you thief’s snout, to make the caftan wide enough? In the first place, the child is growing; in the second place, the child is delicate enough, without wearing a tight caftan. Tell me, you clod, what is your excuse?

Tríshka. You know, madam, I never learned tailoring. I begged you then to give it to a tailor.

Mrs. Uncouth. So you have got to be a tailor to be able to make a decent caftan! What beastly reasoning!

Tríshka. But a tailor has learned how to do it, madam, and I haven’t.

Mrs. Uncouth. How dare you contradict me! One tailor has learned it from another; that one from a third, and so on. But from whom did the first tailor learn? Talk, stupid!

Tríshka. I guess the first tailor made a worse caftan than I.

Mitrofán (running in). I called dad. He sent word he’ll be here in a minute.

Mrs. Uncouth. Go fetch him by force, if you can’t by kindness.

Mitrofán. Here is dad.