The Embroidered Towel

"The Embroidered Towel" is one of the most famous story from a short story collection A Young Doctor's Notebook, also known as A Country Doctor's Notebook. Translated by S.E. Torrens.  In "The Embroidered Towel" by Mikhail Bulgakov the young doctor arrives at his new post after a bone-jarring 24-hour wagon ride. He frets about how young he looks, and feels intimidated by the well-stocked pharmacy and medical library his predecessor has left behind. He also worries that he'll have to treat a hernia and won't know what to do - this neurosis is a running joke in the book's initial stories.