"I'm Katya Semulskaya, and the pre-schoolers are mine. Natasha has the first and second graders, and Ekatarina back there has grades three and four," she said. "The older children are in classroom this period. Would you like to meet them?" I nodded. "Here, have a seat and I'll have them come up one by one." The children were well-behaved, and I got many hugs and kisses as I sat there and met each one. When I had met everyone, and they were sitting on the grass around me, they started begging for a story.

"Oh, I don't know, my Russian skills are not good," I said.

"I'd be happy to...