Volodin looked offended.
"Perhaps," he said, "you know all the good things that are made in your village, but how can you know all the good things that are made in my village, if you've never been there?"
And satisfied that this argument clinched the matter, Volodin laughed, like a sheep bleating.
"In your village they gorge themselves on dead cats," said Peredonov.
"Permit me, Ardalyon Borisitch," said Volodin. "It is possible that in your village they eat dead kittens. We won't talk about it. But surely you've never eaten erli?"
"No, that's true," confessed Peredonov.
"What sort of food is that?" asked Varvara.
"It's this," explained Volodin, "You know what koutia[2] is?"
"Well, who doesn't know?" said Varvara.
"Well, this is what it is," went on Volodin. "Ground koutia, raisins, sugar and almonds. That's erli."