May Night, or the Drowned Maiden

"May Night, or the Drowned Maiden" (Russian: "Майская ночь, или Утопленница", Mayskaya noch', ili Utoplennitsa, 1831) is the third tale in the collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka by Nikolai Gogol.

Eventually, he married another woman who she discovered was a witch when she cut the paw of a cat that tried to kill her and her stepmother appeared soon after with her hand bandaged.

Then, his son, who is angry at his father for trying to steal Hanna away, and his friends decide to play tricks on the village and start to parade around causing havoc.

He becomes enchanted by the calm night and silvery mist surrounding everything, and then notices in the pond's reflection that the hut appears to be occupied, and a young girl with beautiful skin pops her head out of the window.

The letter seems to be from the local commissar, who requests the mayor clean up his village (asking several things to be done) as well as allowing his son to marry Hanna.