five o'clock in the morning
The birch ! ' '' Her aunt complained that every one had grown lazy , that no one did anything , and that the estate yielded no profit . Indeed , there was no systematic farming ; they ploughed and sowed a little simply from habit , and in reality did nothing and lived in idleness . Meanwhile there was a running to and fro , reckoning and worrying all day long ; the bustle in the house began at five o'clock in the morning ; there were continual sounds of `` Bring it , '' `` Fetch it , '' `` Make haste , '' and by the evening the servants were utterly exhausted . Auntie Dasha changed her cooks and her housemaids every week ; sometimes she discharged them for immorality ; sometimes they went of their own accord , complaining that they were worked to death . None of the village people would come to the house as servants ; Auntie Dasha had to hire them from a distance . There was only one girl from the village living in the house , Alyona , and she stayed because her whole family -- old people and children -- were living upon her wages .