The Beggar (Chekhov)
Short summary
St. Petersburg, late 19th century. A beggar approached Skvortsov claiming to be a former village schoolmaster who needed money for travel to a new teaching position. Skvortsov recognized him as the same man who had previously claimed to be an expelled student.
Angry at the deception, Skvortsov scolded the beggar, who eventually admitted his lies. The beggar, Lushkov, confessed he was a former choir member dismissed for drunkenness who couldn't survive without lying. Skvortsov offered him work chopping wood instead of giving money.
Lushkov continued returning for work, and Skvortsov eventually helped him find a copying job. Two years later, they met by chance at a theater. Lushkov, now employed at a notary's office, thanked Skvortsov for his help but revealed that it was actually Skvortsov's cook who had saved him.
"She always went on in that style, you know. How often she upset herself, and how many tears she shed over me I can't tell you. But what affected me most—she chopped the wood for me! Do you know, sir, I never chopped a single log for you—she did it all!"
The cook's kindness and tears had transformed Lushkov, helping him overcome his alcoholism and change his life completely.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The beggars deception and Skvortsovs indignation
A man approached Skvortsov, a Petersburg lawyer, claiming to be a hungry village schoolmaster who had lost his position through the intrigues of the Zemstvo. He begged for money, saying he needed to travel to the Kaluga province for a new teaching post. Skvortsov looked at the beggar's tattered blue overcoat, muddy eyes, and red patches on his cheeks, feeling he had seen this man before.
Suddenly, Skvortsov remembered meeting this same beggar two days earlier in Sadovoy Street, where the man had claimed to be an expelled student rather than a schoolmaster. When confronted with this contradiction, the beggar tried to maintain his lie, offering to show documents proving he was a schoolmaster.
"It's contemptible, sir! It's a swindle! I'll hand you over to the police, damn you! You are poor and hungry, but that does not give you the right to lie so shamelessly!"
The beggar, trapped in his deception, looked around desperately. Skvortsov was disgusted by the man's exploitation of public sympathy for schoolmasters and students. The beggar's lies offended what Skvortsov valued in himself: kindliness and compassion for the unfortunate. After initially defending himself, the beggar finally admitted he had been lying. He confessed he was actually a former member of the Russian choir who had been dismissed for drunkenness, but claimed he couldn't survive without lying because no one would help him if he told the truth.
The woodchopping challenge and Skvortsovs lesson
Skvortsov angrily told the beggar that he should work instead of begging. When Lushkov claimed he couldn't find work, Skvortsov challenged his excuses. The beggar explained that he couldn't get manual labor because he wasn't qualified for trade positions, wasn't of the right class to be a house porter, and didn't know any factory trades. When Skvortsov suggested chopping wood, Lushkov claimed professional woodchoppers were out of work, but reluctantly agreed to chop wood for Skvortsov himself.
Skvortsov summoned his cook, Olga, and instructed her to take the beggar to the woodshed. From his dining room window, Skvortsov observed as Olga led Lushkov to the shed, unlocked it angrily, and gave him an axe. The beggar sat on a block of wood, looking thoughtful and unwell.
It was evident from his demeanour that he had consented to go and chop wood, not because he was hungry and wanted to earn money, but simply from shame and amour propre, because he had been taken at his word.
Lushkov made feeble attempts to chop the wood. He cautiously drew the axe across a log, but it kept falling over. He seemed afraid of hitting his golosh or chopping off his fingers. By this time, Skvortsov's anger had subsided, and he felt ashamed for forcing this pampered, possibly sick man to do hard work in the cold. Nevertheless, he justified his actions as being for the beggar's own good.
An hour later, Olga reported that the wood had been chopped. Skvortsov gave Lushkov half a rouble and invited him to return on the first of each month for more work. From then on, Lushkov came regularly to perform various tasks around Skvortsov's home, earning thirty to forty kopecks each time, and once receiving an old pair of trousers.
Lushkovs path to employment
When Skvortsov moved to a new residence, he hired Lushkov to help with packing and moving furniture. During this job, Lushkov was sober but gloomy and silent. He barely touched the furniture and walked with his head hanging low behind the furniture vans. He didn't pretend to be busy, merely shivering with cold and appearing embarrassed when the movers laughed at his idleness and ragged coat.
After the move, Skvortsov called for Lushkov and expressed satisfaction at seeing his words had made an impact. Noting that Lushkov was sober and willing to work, Skvortsov gave him a rouble for his efforts. When he learned that Lushkov could write, Skvortsov offered him better work - he wrote a note to a colleague who could provide Lushkov with copying work.
"Skvortsov, pleased that he had put a man in the path of rectitude, patted Lushkov genially on the shoulder, and even shook hands with him at parting."
Lushkov took the letter and left. After that day, he never returned to Skvortsov's yard for work.
The chance meeting and the unexpected truth about Lushkovs redemption
Two years passed. One day, while buying a theater ticket, Skvortsov recognized Lushkov standing beside him at the ticket office. The former beggar was now respectably dressed in a lambskin collar and a shabby cat's-skin cap, purchasing a gallery ticket with kopecks. When Skvortsov greeted him, Lushkov revealed he was now working in a notary's office, earning thirty-five roubles.
Skvortsov expressed joy at Lushkov's transformation, taking credit for setting him on the right path. Lushkov thanked Skvortsov for his kind words and deeds, acknowledging that his visit to Skvortsov's house had saved him. However, he then revealed a surprising truth: it wasn't actually Skvortsov who had saved him, but Olga, the cook.
"Thank you for your kind words and deeds. What you said that day was excellent. I am grateful to you and to your cook, God bless that kind, noble-hearted woman... but it was your cook, Olga, who really saved me."
Lushkov explained that Olga would sit opposite him, lamenting his condition and calling him a "drunkard" and "Godforsaken man." She would cry over him and, most importantly, she actually chopped all the wood for him - Lushkov had never chopped a single log. Her words and noble behavior had brought about a change in his soul that he could never forget. With that revelation, Lushkov said goodbye and headed to the gallery as the bell was about to ring.