Dear Papa!

We are now on school holidays. It's beginning of April but here it thaws only during the day when the sun is out and we have very strong cold winds. I can climb to the roof, only Mama does not allow me to climb because the neighbours complain. I climb on a plank resting against the firewood pile and the roof. Papa, come back home soon. We are doing well, the day before yesterday we went to the cinema and saw "Vesennyi potok", it was very interesting. And today we are going to see "Vasilisa Prekrasnaya". I do not bite my fingernails and they are long. I shall write you about my grades for this term after the holidays, they have not been given to us yet. Papa, I have learnt 11 bars of the Canon. I play Bach. I shall soon be learning Tchaikovsky's "Pokhorony kukly" ^†. I do not play very well but I am studying and I am going to play. Papa, I skied from the highest hills and one of the skis broke and now I cannot ski. Mama and I sawed firewood and I learnt how to split it. Papa, when you are in Moscow send us books, and Mama asks to send the Czerny etudes.

Write us more often. Many many kisses.

Andrei

Marina did not write, she is too lazy to [?], we'll send in another letter.