The Little House in Kolomna by Alexander Pushkin. Short summary

5 seconds

In the house where the widow and her daughter Parasha lived, the cook dies. The girl finds her an inexpensive replacement. After a while it turns out that the new cook cannot cook.

1 minute

Once upon a time, a widow and her daughter Parasha lived in a ramshackle hut. After a while, a large, beautiful house was built in that place.

The author compares the characters to paintings by Rembrandt. The main character of the work likes to sit and be sad at night. On Sundays, she and her mother attend church, where from time to time they meet the Countess. She was similar to Parasha, also young and beautiful. The girls did not have simple characters.

The cook dies and Parasha has to find a new cook. A day later, she brings a girl named Mavra and introduces her as the new cook. The woman agrees to the low pay, but then it becomes known that Mavra can neither sew nor cook.

One day Parasha’s mother returns home from church and sees the new cook shaving her face. She guesses that it is a man. The stranger notices the landlady and, covering his face with his hands, runs away.