So you frown, grunt a bit like you just woke up, take your time tearing your rear end away from the bed or the stool, stretch out sweet-like-stre-e-e-e-etch!-scratch your head, spit, and pretend to be mad: "That's the way everything goes with you! Assholes. Can't tend a fire… Can't keep enough coals around for all of you Golubchiks, you know that? Know where you have to go for coals?… Aha… there you have it… These are my own two legs here. You people, you people. Someone else would just give up, wouldn't give you the time of day. You keep coming and coming. Don't have a clue yourselves, why it is you keep coming back… Well then, what is it you need? Coals?" You ask that way, as if you couldn't see for yourself what he needs, and you look stern, and you make a face, as if his breath stinks and you're about to puke. That is your job. That's what the job is.

The Golubchik starts whining again: "Benedikt Karpich, Faaaather, help us out, will you? I'll never forget it… Here, I… some hot pancakes… I brought them… they've only cooled off a little… Forgive me, don't…"

At this point you need to growl under your breath, "Pancakes…" but you don't take them yourself, God forbid-the Golubchik knows, he'll put everything quietly in a corner, and you keep on saying "Pancakes… hmmph"-mean-like, but don't overdo it. So that the voice goes down, into a grumble. And then slowly, taking your sweet time, you scrape up some coals with a shovel and over your shoulder to the Golubchik you say, "Did you bring your pot?"

"Of course, of course, Father, you've really saved my skin," -and then you give him a little bit.

When you've got the governmental approach to things you get respect from people-what a strict Stoker, they say, that's our batiushka, our father, for you-and then there's always little surprises after people leave. As soon as the door closes, you check in the window: Is he gone? And go straight to the package. I wonder what he brought. It might really be pancakes. Maybe lard. A baked egg. Another guy, if he's poor, might have just picked some rusht. It comes in handy too.