- Vladimir is not an easy child to get to bed, and has a whole ritual to avoid doing so.
- First, he goes slowly up the staircase toward his bedroom, sliding and wiggling between the the banister and the steps.
- Alternatively, he closes his eyes and lets his mother guide him up the stairs as if he is blind.
- Even after he is handed off to Miss Clayton or Mademoiselle, to be bathed and dressed for bed, he remains wiggly.
- Though there are grand bathrooms, separate from the toilets, little Vladimir (around five here) bathes in a tub off the nursery, his head set against the room's open door, swinging in time with a dripping faucet and the memory of his mother telling him to "step, step, step" as he descended the stairs with his eyes closed.
- After bathing, Vladimir would be led to bed, and his mother would come up for prayers and to say goodnight.