They were flying straight toward him; the near sound of their cry – something like the sound made when tightly stretched cloth is steadily torn – seemed close to his ears; the long beak and neck of a bird were quite visible, and just as Levin took aim a red flash came from behind the bush where Oblonsky was standing and the bird descended like an arrow and then fluttered up again.
Surgió un segundo relámpago y se oyó una detonación. El ave, moviendo las alas como para sostenerse, se detuvo un momento en el aire y luego cayó pesadamente a tierra.