Like Zamenhof, Grabowski understood the important influence of literature on the development of languages, and especially for Esperanto, which by then was on the way to changing from a language project into a language which would be fully functional in all areas of life. Grabowski was already working on this: in 1888 he published "La Neĝa Blovado," his translation of Pushkin's Russian short story "Метель", known in English variously as "The Blizzard" and as "The Snowstorm"; followed in 1889 by "La Gefratoj," his translation of Goethe's German one-act play "Die Geschwister" (1776), known in English both as "Brother and Sister" and as "The Siblings" — to name just his first two Esperanto publications.