本卷收入契诃夫创作于1883年至1884年的短篇小说129篇，其中有不少幽默的名篇佳作，作者以含蓄的笔法、诙谐的语言针砭了当时社会的丑恶现象。《一个文官的死》叙述一个谨小慎微的小官吏看戏时不小心打了个喷嚏，以为会惹将军发火而惶惶不可终日，直至在惊吓中死去，有力地嘲讽了主人公的奴才心理。《变色龙》描写了沙皇专制的俄国一个警官的丑态，他在有权有势者以及他们的家犬面前低三下四、阿庚奉承，对弱小的百姓却张牙舞爪、凶相毕露。小说淋漓尽致地刻画了人间"变色龙"的卑贱心理，是契诃夫送给人世对照自己的一面镜子。 (With 129 short novels composed by Chekhov between 1883 and 1884, this volume has many humorous stories. The author described the ugly phenomenon with his implicit and humorous language. The death of a civil official told a story of a minor and cautious official who accidentally sneezed at the theatre and died in terror for fearing the blame of general. This novel effectively mocked the protagonist's slave mentality. The chameleon described us the story of a flattery police officer under the tsars autocratic system. He flattered in front of influential figures and their dogs and bore his ferocious features for ordinary people. The novel incisively and vividly depicts the humble psychological world of chameleon and is a mirror offered by Chekhov to the world.)