"They come from lack of cleanliness," insisted Oblómof. "What are you talking about?"
"I am not the cause of the uncleanliness."
"But you have mice in your room there running about at night—I hear them."
"I did not invent the mice. There are all kinds of living creatures—mice and cats and fleas—lots of them everywhere."
"How is it that other people don't have moths and bugs?"
Zakhár's face expressed incredulity, or rather a calm conviction that this was not so.
"I have plenty of them," he said without hesitation. "One can't look after every bug and crawl into the cracks after them."
It seemed to be his thought, "What kind of a sleeping-room would that be that had no bugs in it?"
"Now do you see to it that you sweep and brush them out of the corners; don't let there be one left," admonished Oblómof.
"If you get it all cleaned up it will be just as bad again to-morrow," remonstrated Zakhár.