I came to sing carols, is all.”
“Words aren’t enough to send you off, eh?” And Chub received a painful jab on the shoulder.
“Jeez, you really lay it on,” Chub grumbled, stepping back, and immediately received another blow on the back.
“Off with you,” barked the blacksmith, and slammed the door shut.
“He thinks I won’t find a way to rein him in? I’ll go straight to the chief, he’ll take care of that oaf, no matter he’s a blacksmith and a painter. My back is probably all black and blue. Hmm. If he’s here, that means he’s not home; Solokha must be alone and lonesome. Hmm. Perhaps we could . . . a little. Hmm.” The potential rewards awaiting him at Solokha’s made the bruises and the cold seem less painful, and one could see through the snow that covered his face like shaving foam an anticipatory half smile.
* * *
During the devil’s brief excursion out of and back to the chimney, his little side pouch got untied—and the moon slid out and rose slowly into the sky. The whole world changed. The blizzard died down, the ground lit up like a silvery desert, and even the cold seemed warmer. Bands of girls and boys carrying sacks with treats poured into the streets, and Christmas carols filled the air. What a gorgeous night! How can one describe the fun of mingling with the carolers? It’s nice and warm under the sheepskin, the cold paints the young cheeks brighter, and the devil himself goads youngsters into mischief.
A group of laughing girls with full sacks ran into Oksana’s house and surrounded the beauty, deafening Vakula with laughter and chatter. Everyone wanted to report what happened during their caroling and to show her their booty. Oksana seemed to enjoy herself thoroughly, to Vakula’s annoyance, although he used to be the liveliest caroler in the village. “Ah, Odarka,” the beauty addressed one of her girlfriends, “you’ve got new shoes, and such lovely ones, with gold. You are lucky to have a man who can buy you shoes like that.”
“Just say the word, my beauty,” Vakula said at once. “I’ll bring you shoes a noblewoman hasn’t seen!”
“You? I doubt you can lay your hands on anything I would put on my feet. Maybe you’ll get me what the empress wears, eh?”
The girls burst into laughter.
“That’s right,” the beauty announced proudly. “All of you, be my witness: if Vakula brings me the Tsarina’s shoes, I give you my word I’ll marry him right that moment.” The girls led Oksana away, and Vakula followed them, his head hanging low. “Keep on laughing; am I not a laughingstock? I try to reason and can’t—my mind is gone. Oksana doesn’t love me—so what? Thank God the village is full of girls. She thinks only about clothes; she’ll never make a good wife. No, it’s time I dropped this nonsense.” But some evil spirit kept pushing Oksana’s image and her words about the Tsarina’s shoes into his head; it was all he could think about. Groups of caroling girls and youths proceeded from house to house, but the blacksmith heard and saw nothing of the fun he had once enjoyed more than anyone.
* * *
In the meantime, the devil had thoroughly relaxed at Solokha’s. He covered her arm with kisses, clutched at his heart, sighed and moaned, and finally announced that unless she agreed to satisfy his passion, he’d go and drown himself, ruining his immortal soul. Solokha wasn’t that cruel, and besides, they really were birds of a feather. She greatly enjoyed having a train of suitors, but this evening she expected to be alone, since every prominent villager was going to the deacon’s. Only now this plan changed: no sooner had the devil declared his passion than they heard the voice of Dikanka’s village head demanding to be let in. The hostess rushed to open the door, and the devil promptly jumped into the smallest of the coal sacks.
Having emptied a glass of vodka and shaken off the snow, the village head explained that he hadn’t gone to the deacon’s because of the sudden blizzard, but then the light in Solokha’s house gave him the idea that he might spend a pleasant evening in her company. Before he could finish, though, there was a loud knock, and they heard the deacon’s voice.
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