天刚蒙蒙亮，列文就试图叫醒同伴们。瓦辛卡趴在草堆上，一只穿着袜子的脚伸在外面，睡得那么沉，怎么也叫不醒。奥布朗斯基半睡半醒地嘟囔着，不肯这么早起床。连蜷缩在干草堆里睡觉的拉斯卡也不情愿地站起来，懒洋洋地轮流伸了伸后腿。列文穿上靴子、系好绑腿，拿起猎枪，小心翼翼地打开吱呀作响的谷仓门，走到路上。车夫们还在马车里酣睡，马儿们打着盹。只有一匹马懒洋洋地嚼着燕麦，把鼻子伸进饲料槽里。户外的天色还灰蒙蒙的。
“亲爱的，怎么这么早就起来了？”女主人从屋里走出来，像老朋友一样亲热地招呼他。
“奶奶，去打猎。去沼泽地是走这条路吗？”
“往后院一直走，经过打谷场和麻田，亲爱的，有一条小路。”老妇人光着晒黑的脚，小心翼翼地走在前面，为列文带路，在打谷场边为他推开篱笆门。
“一直走就到沼泽了。昨晚我们家的孩子们把牛赶到那边去了。”
拉斯卡沿着小路欢快地向前跑去。列文迈着轻快迅捷的步伐跟在后面，不停地仰望天空。他希望太阳在他到达沼泽之前不要升起。但太阳没有耽搁。他出门时还明亮照人的月亮，现在只剩下一弯水银般的月牙儿。先前一眼就能看到的朝霞的粉色，现在要仔细寻找才能辨识。远处田野上原本模糊不清的阴影，现在可以清楚地辨认出来——那是一捆捆的黑麦。在太阳升起前看不见的露水，打湿了列文的腿和高过人头的麻田——麻田里花粉已经落尽，露水浸透了他腰带以上的上衣。清晨静谧透明，最细微的声响都清晰可闻。一只蜜蜂像子弹一样嗡嗡地从列文耳边飞过。他仔细看去，发现第二只、第三只。它们都从篱笆后面的蜂箱飞来，穿过麻田，朝沼泽方向消失。小路径直通向沼泽。沼泽很容易辨认——上面升起的雾气，有的地方浓，有的地方淡，芦苇和柳树丛像岛屿一样在雾中摇曳。在沼泽和路边的交界处，歇着一群放夜牧的农家孩子和农人，在晨曦中他们都裹着外套熟睡。离他们不远，有三匹拴着脚绊的马。其中一匹把链子弄得哗啦作响。拉斯卡走在主人身旁，稍稍靠前，不停地回头张望。列文绕过熟睡的农人，走到第一丛芦苇边，检查了枪机，然后把狗放开。一匹膘肥体壮的栗色三岁口的小马看到狗，猛地一惊，甩了甩尾巴，打了个响鼻。其他马也受了惊，用拴着绊索的腿踏着水，发出扑哧扑哧的声音，把蹄子从烂泥里拔出来，冲出沼泽跳跃着跑开了。拉斯卡停下脚步，带着嘲弄的神情看着那些马，又疑问地望向列文。列文拍了拍拉斯卡，吹了声口哨示意它可以开始了。
拉斯卡在脚下摇摆的泥沼里欢快而急切地跑动起来。
它跑进沼泽，闻着熟悉的草根、沼生植物、淤泥的气味，以及混在其中的马粪味，立刻察觉到弥漫在整个沼泽中的一种气味——那种总是让它兴奋不已的浓烈鸟味。在苔藓和沼生植物间，这种气味时强时弱，但很难判断哪个方向更浓。要确定方向，它还得顺着风走得更远一些。拉斯卡感觉不到自己腿脚的移动，以一种僵硬的跳跃姿势飞奔着，以便随时可以停住。它向右转去，避开日出前从东方吹来的风，然后转向迎风。它喷张着鼻孔吸气，立刻感觉到：不只是它们留下的踪迹，而是它们自己就在前面，而且不止一只，是许多只。拉斯卡放慢了速度。它们就在这儿，但确切位置它还无法确定。它正要开始绕圈搜寻，主人的声音却把它引开了。“拉斯卡！这儿？”他指着另一个方向问它。它停下来，好像在问它是不是最好还是按原来的方式做。可他生气地重复了命令，指着一片不可能有任何东西的积水处。它服从了，假装在寻找，想让他高兴，在那里绕了一圈，然后回到原来位置，立刻又嗅到了那股气味。现在他没有妨碍它了，它知道该怎么做，也不看脚下——让它恼火的是，它竟然绊到一个高树桩上栽进水里——但它用那结实灵活的腿撑起身子，开始绕圈，好让自己完全弄清楚。那股气味越来越浓，越来越清晰，突然间它完全明白了——其中一只就在前面，在这丛芦苇后面，离它只有五步远。它停下脚步，整个身体僵立不动。因为腿短，它什么也看不见，但凭气味知道它就在不到五步远的地方。它一动不动站着，越来越清晰地感觉到它的存在，愉快地预想着即将发生的事情。它的尾巴绷得直直的，只有尾尖微微摆动。嘴微微张开，耳朵竖起。它奔跑时一只耳朵翻了边，现在它沉重而谨慎地呼吸着，更加小心地——与其说用头，不如说用眼睛——望向主人。主人正用那它再熟悉不过的面孔走过来，虽然那双眼睛总是让它害怕。他走过来时被树桩绊了一下，在它看来，他走得特别慢。它觉得他走得慢，其实他在跑。
列文注意到拉斯卡那种特殊的姿态——它伏在地上，仿佛在用后爪刨出深深的印记，嘴巴微微张开——他知道它是在指示松鸡了。他内心暗暗祈祷好运气，特别是第一只鸟，便向它跑去。到了它身边，他凭借身高优势，已经能看到它用鼻子嗅到的东西了。在两丛灌木之间的空隙里，在几码之外，他看见了一只松鸡。它转过头，正在谛听。然后轻轻抖了抖羽毛，收起翅膀，笨拙地甩了甩尾巴，消失在转角处。
“去，去！”列文喊道，从后面推了推拉斯卡。
“可我不能去，”拉斯卡想，“我往哪儿去？从这里我能感觉到它们，可要是我往前走，我就会完全不知道它们在哪里、是什么了。”但他用膝盖推了推它，激动地低声说：“去，拉斯卡。”
“好吧，既然他这么希望，我就照做，但我不敢保证结果了。”它想着，便拼命向前冲去，冲进茂密的灌木丛。现在它嗅不到任何气味了，只能看见和听见，却什么也不明白。
离它原来位置十步远的地方，一只松鸡沙哑地叫着，翅膀发出特有的呼呼声，飞了起来。紧接着一声枪响，它白胸脯沉重地摔在湿漉漉的泥地上。另一只鸟没有迟疑，在列文身后没有狗的协助下飞了起来。列文转身时，它已经飞出一段距离，但他的子弹击中了它。第二只松鸡又飞了二十步，向上飞升，像球一样翻滚，重重地摔在干地上。
“这下有得打了！”列文想着，把温热肥硕的松鸡装进猎袋。“嗯，拉斯卡，还满意吗？”
列文装好子弹继续前进时，太阳已经完全升起，虽然被雨云遮住看不见。月亮完全失去了光泽，像一片白云挂在天空。一颗星星也看不见了。先前银光闪闪的莎草，现在像金子一样发亮。静止的水洼都像琥珀一样。草地的蓝色变成了黄绿色。沼泽里的鸟儿啁啾着，在溪流旁和灌木丛间成群结队地飞来飞去——灌木丛上露珠闪烁，投下长长的影子。一只鹰醒了，落在一堆干草上，转动着头，不满地望着沼泽。乌鸦在田野上空飞翔，一个赤脚的孩子正把马群赶到一个老人那里——老人从长外套下爬起来，正在梳头。猎枪的硝烟像牛奶一样白，飘浮在青草上方。
一个男孩跑到列文面前。
“大叔，昨天这里有野鸭！”他朝他喊道，然后远远地跟在他后面。
列文在男孩面前——那男孩显然在表示赞许——一连打中三只沙锥鸟，心里格外高兴。
Waking up at earliest dawn, Levin tried to wake his companions.
Vassenka, lying on his stomach, with one leg in a stocking thrust out,
was sleeping so soundly that he could elicit no response. Oblonsky,
half asleep, declined to get up so early. Even Laska, who was asleep,
curled up in the hay, got up unwillingly, and lazily stretched out and
straightened her hind legs one after the other. Getting on his boots
and stockings, taking his gun, and carefully opening the creaking door
of the barn, Levin went out into the road. The coachmen were sleeping
in their carriages, the horses were dozing. Only one was lazily eating
oats, dipping its nose into the manger. It was still gray out-of-doors.
“Why are you up so early, my dear?” the old woman, their hostess, said,
coming out of the hut and addressing him affectionately as an old
friend.
“Going shooting, granny. Do I go this way to the marsh?”
“Straight out at the back; by our threshing floor, my dear, and hemp
patches; there’s a little footpath.” Stepping carefully with her
sunburnt, bare feet, the old woman conducted Levin, and moved back the
fence for him by the threshing floor.
“Straight on and you’ll come to the marsh. Our lads drove the cattle
there yesterday evening.”
Laska ran eagerly forward along the little path. Levin followed her
with a light, rapid step, continually looking at the sky. He hoped the
sun would not be up before he reached the marsh. But the sun did not
delay. The moon, which had been bright when he went out, by now shone
only like a crescent of quicksilver. The pink flush of dawn, which one
could not help seeing before, now had to be sought to be discerned at
all. What were before undefined, vague blurs in the distant countryside
could now be distinctly seen. They were sheaves of rye. The dew, not
visible till the sun was up, wetted Levin’s legs and his blouse above
his belt in the high growing, fragrant hemp patch, from which the
pollen had already fallen out. In the transparent stillness of morning
the smallest sounds were audible. A bee flew by Levin’s ear with the
whizzing sound of a bullet. He looked carefully, and saw a second and a
third. They were all flying from the beehives behind the hedge, and
they disappeared over the hemp patch in the direction of the marsh. The
path led straight to the marsh. The marsh could be recognized by the
mist which rose from it, thicker in one place and thinner in another,
so that the reeds and willow bushes swayed like islands in this mist.
At the edge of the marsh and the road, peasant boys and men, who had
been herding for the night, were lying, and in the dawn all were asleep
under their coats. Not far from them were three hobbled horses. One of
them clanked a chain. Laska walked beside her master, pressing a little
forward and looking round. Passing the sleeping peasants and reaching
the first reeds, Levin examined his pistols and let his dog off. One of
the horses, a sleek, dark-brown three-year-old, seeing the dog, started
away, switched its tail and snorted. The other horses too were
frightened, and splashing through the water with their hobbled legs,
and drawing their hoofs out of the thick mud with a squelching sound,
they bounded out of the marsh. Laska stopped, looking ironically at the
horses and inquiringly at Levin. Levin patted Laska, and whistled as a
sign that she might begin.
