“That’sallright；itissmooth“hesaid。“Godgiveyouhealth。That’sallright。“
Theylaidonthetablethreefive-kopeckpiecesandwentoutofthetavern；theoldmanlookedimmovablystraightbeforehimasthoughhewereblind，andperfecttrustfulnesswaswrittenonhisface；butasVasilisacameoutofthetavernshewavedangrilyatthedog，andsaidangrily:
“Ugh，theplague。“
Theoldwomandidnotsleepallnight；shewasdisturbedbythoughts，andatdaybreakshegotup，saidherprayers，andwenttothestationtosendofftheletter。
Itwasbetweeneightandninemilestothestation。