Lunchtime read: Russian Short Stories

Usually these lunchtime posts are made at my desk as I nibble a sandwich but today I am in another building at an all day meeting so this is being made a lot earlier than usual.

The Lion - Yevgeny Zamyatin
A ballet company is facing a crisis after the Lion, who has to climb onto a rock and then fall off after being speared, turns up drunk so stage hand Petya Zherebyakin offers to step in and after a quick rehearsal gets the part. He rushes off to tell a policewoman who he fancies that he is in a play. She had once mentioned that she would like to fall in love with a famous actor. But as the curtain goes up and he wanders out onto the stage he is struck by fear and as he is meant to fall from the rock he crosses himself before dropping down to the floor. This brings the house down and as the policewoman roars with laughter, along with the rest of the audience, the lion covers his eyes with his paws and cries his heart out.

More in the same vein to come tomorrow…