A2 · Elementary

The Proposal and The Bear

Name: The Proposal and The Bear
Author: Anton Chekhov (tr. Julius West)

by Anton Chekhov (tr. Julius West) · graded reader

7 chapters
7,225 words
about 56 min
comic plays

Two short comedies by Anton Chekhov. In The Proposal, a nervous man comes to ask for a young woman's hand, but they start arguing about a meadow and a dog. In The Bear, a rude visitor comes to collect a debt from a sad widow, and soon they want to fight a duel.

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Stepan Chubukov was an old landowner. He lived in a big country house with his daughter, Natalya. She was twenty-five years old and not yet married.

One morning, there was a visitor at the door. It was their neighbour, Ivan Lomov. He was a large man, but he was very nervous. That day he was wearing a black evening jacket and white gloves.

Chubukov came to meet him. "My dear friend!" he cried, and he shook Lomov's hand. "Ivan! What a nice surprise! How are you?"

"Thank you," said Lomov. "And how are you?"

"Oh, we are fine. Sit down, please. You should not forget your neighbours, you know. But why are you so dressed up? Evening jacket, gloves... Are you going to a party?"