The Swing (Bunin)
Division into chapters is editorial.
Playful courtship at the piano
On a summer evening, a young man sat in the drawing room playing the fortepiano. When he heard a young woman approaching on the balcony, he began wildly striking the keys while singing loudly and off-key. He improvised a romantic verse about envying neither gods nor tsars when seeing languid eyes, a slender figure, and dark plaits.
The young woman entered the room wearing a blue sarafan with two long dark plaits down her back, a coral necklace, and blue eyes that smiled in her suntanned face. She playfully asked if his song was about her and if the aria was his own composition. He enthusiastically confirmed it was and resumed his exuberant performance.
"I envy not the gods and stars,
I envy not the regal tsars
When languid eyes do I remark,
A slender figure, plaits so dark!"
She teased him about his poor musical abilities, to which he responded by boasting that he was a renowned painter and as handsome as Leonid Andreyev. He playfully warned that he had come to see her at her own risk. Their banter continued as she mentioned that Tolstoy had said Andreyev was frightening but she wasn't afraid. The young man confidently replied, "We'll see, we'll see!"
When she brought up "Granddad's crutch," the painter dismissed any concerns. He explained that despite being a hero of Sebastopol, her grandfather was only menacing in appearance. He proposed they could run away together, get married, and then throw themselves at the old man's feet for forgiveness, confident that he would burst into tears and forgive them.
Romance on the evening swing
In the twilight before supper, while aromatic rissoles and onions were being fried in the kitchen and the air freshened in the dewy park, the young couple stood opposite each other on a swing at the end of an avenue of trees. The rings of the swing screeched as they flew through the air, with the wind blowing and puffing out the hem of her skirt.
In the twilight, before supper, when aromatic rissoles and onions were being fried in the kitchen and the air was freshening in the dewy park, they stood opposite one another, flying on the swing at the end of the avenue of trees
The painter pulled on the ropes to increase the swinging motion, making frightening eyes at her. She watched him with a flushed face, her expression fixed in senseless joy. As they swung higher, she exclaimed about seeing the first star and the new moon, pointing out the green sky above the lake and the slim crescent moon. In her excitement, she cried out that they might fall.
Flying down from a height, they jumped off onto the ground and sat on the swing's board. They gazed at each other, trying to contain their agitated breathing. The young man confidently told her that she was already in love with him. She hesitantly admitted it might be true but was interrupted by a call to supper. She shouted back that they were coming.
"The first star, the new moon, the green sky, the smell of the dew, the smell from the kitchen – doubtless my favourite rissoles in sour cream again! – and blue eyes and a beautiful, happy face..."
The painter asked her to wait, poetically describing the perfect moment they were sharing: the first star, the new moon, the green sky, the smell of dew, the aroma from the kitchen, and her beautiful blue eyes and happy face. She responded with emotion, saying she didn't think there would ever be an evening happier than this one in her entire life.
First kiss and uncertain future
The young man quoted Dante's words about Beatrice: "In her eyes is the beginning of love, and the end is in the lips." Taking her hand, he asked if the end was indeed in the lips. She closed her eyes and bent toward him with her head lowered. He put his arm around her shoulders with their soft plaits and lifted her face, asking again if the end was in the lips. She whispered, "Yes..."
"Dante said of Beatrice: 'In her eyes is the beginning of love, and the end is in the lips.' And so?" he said, taking her hand. She closed her eyes, bending towards him with her head lowered. He put an arm around her shoulders
As they walked up the avenue afterward, the painter looked down at his feet and contemplated their situation. He asked what they should do now - whether they should go to her grandfather, fall to their knees, and ask for his blessing. However, he questioned what kind of husband he would make. She firmly rejected this idea, saying "anything but that." When he asked what they should do instead, she admitted she didn't know, suggesting they should just let things be as they were, for it wouldn't get any better than this moment.