In St Petersburg, Hermann, a young officer, watches his fellow officers play cards every night without ever placing a bet himself. He learns that an old countess is said to know the secret of three cards that always win. To get close to her, he courts Lizaveta, the poor young woman who lives with the countess, and one night he slips into the house.
This short story by Pushkin builds the tension right to the end, and leaves a doubt hanging: chance, madness or the supernatural?
You can read it in one sitting in the language you are learning.
