" "Why did you nurse her so long?" "It's our custom; for three fasts..." And the conversation became most interesting to Darya Alexandrovna.

What sort of time did she have? What was the matter with the boy? Where was her husband? Did it often happen? Darya Alexandrovna felt disinclined to leave the peasant women, so interesting to her was their conversation, so completely identical were all their interests.

What pleased her most of all was that she saw clearly what all the women admired more than anything was her having so many children, and such fine ones.

The peasant women even made Darya Alexandrovna laugh, and offended the English governess, because she was the cause of the laughter she did not understand.