- Grandma," he said with sincerity, "I'll have your granddaughter... In general, I don't need her. I'd like to wash up, eat and sleep. I am not a boy for a long time.
- Well, look," she said harshly and said, "Go to the sauna. They are waiting for you there.
She opened the door, and Dolokhov saw a small house standing by the forest, which he could have sworn! - He had just not been there yet.
- Dolokhov sighed," he said, "at least to clean his clothes, or else to dress dirty after washing... Where is that stick now?
He went to the house on the wide path, wondering who would trample her like that - a grandmother and granddaughter?
The bathhouse turned out to be a strange place: a wooden house in which it was very hot and humid. A creature that resembled a furry house-elf, unless it was lower and more prizemiste, joyfully rubbing his huge wide palms, with one gesture raked his clothes and pointed to the wooden bench, wet from the hot stones in the corner of steam.
- Honorable," Dolokhov called him out. - And where is the water, shampoo or even soap?
- And you, dear man, lie down, - the creature smiled - and the bride got a bunch of oak branches from where.
- Oh," Dolokhov was surprised, "and then they whipped him like in Durmstrong. So much for the bath!
- Lie down, good boy," repeated the creature. - That's it, with your back up... rest, lie down... The steam will take all the sickness out of you now...
Dolokhov waved his hand and sat down on the bench - it won't be worse anyway!
It was hot and humid around - but breathing was surprisingly easy. Nothing happened - and he, defrosted by this heat, almost dozed off when he heard very satisfied:
- Ooh, and you're going to have a steam bath now!
He lazily turned his head and saw the same hairy creature standing right above him with a broom in his hands.
Who fell on his back with all his strength.
- Have you lost your mind? - Dolokhov yelled, jumping out of the shop - am I a schoolboy?
- Get down on my feet! - the creature barked, suddenly significantly increased in size. - You came here to sweat - so sweat it!
- To fret, not to fall under the spell, - evil barked Dolokhov.
- Well, you're very bad," the creature said in surprise. - Roses without leaves and in saltwater are soaked. A broom is a strange sound, a cross between snorting and snorting. - Lie down on the bench, well done. Because that's how you'll stay here forever - do they sit dirty at the table?
- A broom," said Dolokhov, who reluctantly descended on the bench. - Wreaths of traveling people sweep the floors, not the guests.
- They float brooms in a bath," the creature told him offended, coming closer. - And the floors are completely different. Eh, people," he sighed unexpectedly bitterly. - You've forgotten everything! - He sighed again - and fell down on Dolokhov again.
- Well, I'm sorry," Dolokhov said conciliatory. - I have never been to Russia. I know from my mother's stories only, and there were stories of those...
Bannik - that's what his grandmother called him - kept silent, continuing to groom Dolokhov, and he suddenly realized that it was not unpleasant at all.
There was a strange lightness in the body, which he did not feel... Yes, from his youth, when after Durmstrang's graduation, he had to go through the icy Finnish swamps, the Great Steppe blown by all the winds, and the suffocating heat of the tropics...
- And now get up - and into the lake - the creature finally retreated. - Over there," he opened the door, and Dolokhov was astonished to see a dark water surface behind it, and a narrow path led through the high, thick grass.
- Yeah," he grumbled. - Here you go, Antonin, and a bath... an entire swimming pool, but still walked down the path to the water.
The water turned out to be cold, so what is it, just icy?
- It is necessary to jump! - An angry banner shouted at his back. - It wasn't the same as pushing him in! - He threatened to do so.
Dolokhov jumped - and almost yelled again - the water literally burned him so that his breath intercepted.
And then he felt good. It was as if the world had lightened and found the missing paint - as if the window through which he looked had been washed, and the sky from the pale blue had become piercing blue, and the grass had poured into the lush greenery.
- Get out! - The creature holding something white in his hands screamed at him. - Samovar stands there!
Dolokhov reluctantly came ashore and asked:
- Where are my clothes? Was it naked at the table, or what?
- They burned him in the stove," said the bannick, "and gave him a long white shirt. - Put it on. And go to the hut and wait for you. With pies.
- And pants? - He was outraged.
- You're throwing this nonsense," he said. - They made it up, too... So go. Probably a long one.
It was really long - literally to the heels.
- I wore a black cloak, now I tried on a white shroud," Dolokhov smiled. - It's symbolic, your Morgana.
He put on a shirt and went to the house.
- Hello, good boy! - He heard as soon as he got into the house.
And he went numb when he saw a young girl in a scarlet sarafan. The lush sleeves of the white shirt hid her almost as white as her shoulders, leaving her hands open below her elbow. He had never seen anyone more beautiful than her in his life: clear blue eyes looked affable and open, scarlet lips smiled lightly and tenderly, and thick, in the hand, a bright braid thrown over his shoulder, reached almost to the knees.
The continuation should be...