As he walks toward Varenka, Sergey Ivanovitch rehearses what he will say when he asks for her hand in marriage. It is a pretty speech. He approaches the woman he loves; she sees him coming and is glad. She is thronged by the children and only gets up to point out a mushroom to one of them, moving closer to the man she loves. They walk a few steps in silence, and Varenka senses that he wants to speak to her. She guesses what he would like to say and feels both joy and panic.

They have walked far enough away now that no one can hear them, but still Sergey Ivanovitch does not speak. It would have been better if Varenka had remained silent, for after silence it would have been easier for them to speak their hearts. But almost against her will, Varenka asks him an inane question about mushrooms. Sergey Ivanovitch sighs and answers with silence; he is annoyed that Varenka started talking about mushrooms. What he wants to do is get her talking again about her childhood; instead, after a long pause and almost against his will, he responds to her question.

Several minutes have passed and they are farther away from the children. The couple is quite alone. Varenka’s heart is pounding and she feels as if she is turning pale and blushing in alternating moments. To be the wife of a man such as Sergey Ivanovitch would be to her the height of happiness. She is almost certain she is in love with him, but it frightens her that she will have to make her decision in this very moment. She dreads both his speaking and his not speaking.

Sergey Ivanovitch also feels as if it must be said now or not at all. Everything in Varenka’s face betrays her painful suspense; he sees it and feels sorry for her. He knows that saying nothing right now would be a slight to her, so he quickly reviews in his mind all the arguments supporting his decision to ask for her hand in marriage. He even reviews the speech in which he asks her to marry him; but instead of those words, an “utterly unexpected reflection” that occurs to him makes him ask Varenka the difference between the birch mushroom and the white mushroom.

Varenka answers, lips quivering with emotion, and as soon as she speaks they both feel that it is over; what was going to be said will now not be spoken. Their steadily rising emotions begin to subside, and they continue to discuss mushrooms as they walk unconsciously back toward the children. Varenka feels rather upset and ashamed, but she also feels relieved. Once he gets home, Sergey Ivanovitch reviews the entire matter and realizes his previous decision had been a mistaken one. He cannot be false to Marie’s memory.

Now, the delighted children are running to surround Kitty, and Levin has to protect his pregnant wife from their flying arms and legs. Behind the children, Varenka and Sergey Ivanovitch come walking out from the woods. Kitty does not need to ask anyone what has happened; she can see on both their crestfallen faces that her hopes have not come to fruition.