Wolves (Bunin)
Division into chapters is editorial.
A night journey: young woman and schoolboy
On a warm August night, a chaise traveled along a dusty country road with two young passengers - a young woman from a small estate and a grammar-school boy. The night sky was cloudy with only a few dim stars visible. Summer lightning occasionally illuminated the landscape, revealing the horses, the driver, and the deserted fields ahead.
The previous evening in the village, a wolf had boldly killed a sheep, creating a commotion. Now, as they rode through the darkness, the young woman nervously lit matches and threw them into the night, playfully exclaiming that she was afraid of wolves. The matches briefly illuminated her broad-cheekboned face and the elongated face of her companion.
Now the young miss is chuckling nervously, lighting matches and throwing them into the darkness, crying merrily: "I'm afraid of the wolves!"
As the chaise rocked along, the schoolboy embraced and kissed the young woman on her neck and cheek, seeking her lips. She pushed him away and he loudly asked for the matches back, mindful of the driver on the box. Eventually, she yielded to a long kiss when suddenly the chaise jolted to a stop.
Wolves and fire: the frightening encounter
The driver cried out "Wolves!" as they all noticed a distant glow of fire to their right. The chaise had stopped opposite a small wood that was now silhouetted black against the red glow. The entire field before them flickered in the murky red tremor of flames rushing through the sky. Despite the distance, the fire seemed to be blazing just a kilometer away, growing more furious and encompassing the horizon.
Their eyes are struck by the glow of a fire in the distance... the whole field in front of it is flickering too in the murky red tremor from the flame that is greedily rushing through the sky... becoming more hotly and menacingly furious
By the wall of the wood stood three large wolves, their eyes flashing with an eerie green and red luster that resembled hot syrup of redcurrant jam. The sight of the wolves and the approaching fire created a terrifying scene.
The horses reacted with a loud snort and suddenly bolted wildly to the left, across a ploughed field. The chaise careened violently over the furrows as the driver toppled backward, losing control of the reins.
The wild escape and facial injury
As the horses approached a gully, they reared up again. The young woman, displaying remarkable courage, jumped up and managed to grab the reins from the hands of the panicked driver. In her determination to stop the horses, she threw herself into the driver's box with all her weight.
During this desperate attempt to control the runaway horses, she struck her face against something made of iron and cut her cheek open. The impact left a permanent scar in the corner of her lips, a mark that would remain with her for the rest of her life.
"And I was hot-blooded and reckless, and threw myself to stop them..." Those she was still to loved, as she did more than once in her life, said there was nothing sweeter than that scar, like a delicate, permanent smile.
The incident marked a pivotal moment in her life, creating not only a physical scar but also a lasting memory of that summer night's adventure. The wild escape from the wolves and fire became a defining story in her personal history, one that she would recount many times in the years to come.
Years later: memories and the cherished scar
In later years, whenever someone asked about the scar on her face, the woman would smile with pleasure and dismiss it as "The doings of days long gone!" She fondly recalled that summer from her youth - the dry August days and dark nights, the threshing on the threshing floor, and the fragrant stacks of new straw where she lay with the unshaven schoolboy in the evenings, gazing at falling stars.
She would explain that some wolves had frightened the horses, causing them to bolt, and that she, being hot-blooded and reckless in her youth, had thrown herself forward to stop them. Those who loved her throughout her life often remarked that there was nothing sweeter than that scar, which resembled a delicate, permanent smile on her face.