CAAF: From Chekhov's notebooks

Instead of sheets--dirty tablecloths.

The dog walked in the street and was ashamed of its crooked legs.

They were mineral water bottles with preserved cherries in them.

In the bill preserved by the hotel-keeper was, among other things: "Bugs--fifteen kopecks."

He picked his teeth and put the toothpick back into the glass.

A private room in a restaurant. A rich man, tying his napkin round his neck, touching the sturgeon with his fork: "At least I'll have a snack before I die"--and he has been saying this for a long time, daily.

If you wish women to love you, be original, I know a man who used to wear felt boots summer and winter, and women fell in love with him.

Entries quoted by James Wood in his essay "What Chekhov Meant By Life," from The Broken Estate.