If you like a surprise ending involving dead kittens, this is the story for you.
The story: A young brother and sister are delighted when they discover that their cat has had kittens. But their uncle comes visiting, bringing along his dog, Nero, and when no one is looking, the dog gobbles up the newborn cats.
There’s not much to say about this one. It’s perfectly well written and, as in several other tales in this volume, Chekhov does a good job imagining the world through a child’s eyes.
But the story has one section that feels oddly un-Chekhovian: A pedantic aside:
“Domestic animals play a scarcely noticed but undoubtedly beneficial part in the education and life of children,” says the anonymous narrator, who then goes on at some length to make his point.
This feels like the work of a young and inexperienced writer, one lacking in confidence. I would have guessed this was a story from much earlier in Chekhov’s career – I even wonder if perhaps it’s an old one that he wrote and then set aside, only to dust off and send to the publishers in 1886, when he wanted to make a ruble or two.
READ THIS? READ THAT!
Reading this story in the Constance Garnett collection, amidst a dozen other stories about children and childhood, I can’t help thinking about the chasm dividing rich and poor children in this world. The rich, such as the children in this story, are free to wonder, to play, and especially to look forward with delight. For the poor, there are beatings and privation and fantasies of relief and release: they live in a cruel world.
The contrast is clear, comparing “An Incident” with other stories in this volume: “Vanka,” and “Sleepy,” especially.
A Chekhov Circus 