The Runaway (Chekhov)
Short summary
A rural Russian setting, early 20th century. Pashka and his mother walked through rain and fields to reach a hospital. After waiting for hours, they were finally admitted. The doctor examined Pashka's infected elbow and scolded his mother for waiting six months before seeking treatment.
The doctor decided Pashka needed surgery and convinced him to stay at the hospital, promising to show him a fox and take him to a fair. Pashka's mother left, promising to return the next day. At the hospital, Pashka was given new clothes and enjoyed a hearty meal. He explored the wards, observing other patients, including a man who died during the night.
Terrified after witnessing the staff removing the dead patient, Pashka fled the hospital in his nightclothes.
He had only one thought—to run, to run! He did not know the way, but felt convinced that if he ran he would be sure to find himself at home with his mother. The sky was overcast, but there was a moon behind the clouds.
Lost and frightened, Pashka spotted a lighted window and saw the friendly doctor inside. Overcome with relief, he collapsed unconscious on the doorstep. When he awoke the next morning, the doctor was scolding him gently, calling him an idiot but with no real anger.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Pashka and his mother arrive at the hospital
Pashka and his mother had traveled a long way to reach the hospital. They walked through rain, across mown fields and forest paths where yellow leaves stuck to Pashka's boots. After waiting for hours in a dark passage, they were finally admitted to the hospital waiting room, where Pashka observed the other patients sitting quietly.
The only thing that caught Pashka's attention was a boy who hopped on one leg. He nudged his mother and giggled, saying it looked like a sparrow, but she hushed him. When a sleepy hospital assistant called them to register, Pashka learned from his mother's answers that his full name was Pavel Galaktionov, he was seven years old, couldn't read or write, and had been ill since Easter.
The doctor examines Pashkas elbow and decides he must stay
Soon after registration, a doctor in a white apron with a towel around his waist walked through the waiting room. As he passed the hopping boy, he scolded him for coming on the wrong day, warning that his leg would be ruined. When Pashka's turn came, his mother led him into the examination room, where the doctor sat tapping a book with a small hammer.
The doctor impatiently ordered Pashka to undress so he could examine the ulcer on his elbow. When Pashka saw the basin of bloodstained slops, he began to cry, but the doctor mocked him for blubbering at his age. After examining the elbow, the doctor sighed and scolded Pashka's mother for waiting six months before bringing the boy for treatment.
"You ought to be beaten, woman, but there is no one to do it," he said. "Why didn't you bring him before? Why, the whole arm is done for. Look, foolish woman. You see, the joint is diseased!"
The doctor explained that ointments and drops would not help, and Pashka needed to stay in the hospital for an operation. To convince the boy, the doctor cheerfully promised to show him a live fox, take him to the fair to buy candy, and catch finches together. Pashka looked questioningly at his mother, who told him to stay. The doctor instructed a woman named Marya Denisovna to take Pashka upstairs to the ward.
First impressions and explorations of hospital life
Pashka was impressed by the hospital's bright yellow walls, lamps, carpet strips, and copper taps. He especially liked the bed with its grey woollen coverlet. The ward contained three beds: one empty, one for Pashka, and one occupied by an old man who constantly coughed and spat into a mug. From his bed, Pashka could see part of another ward with two more patients.
The assistant gave Pashka hospital clothes to wear. After putting on the shirt, drawers, and little grey dressing gown, he admired himself and imagined walking through his village in this outfit, making the other children envious. A nurse brought food, and Pashka eagerly ate the cabbage soup with meat, followed by roast meat with potatoes. He had never eaten roast meat before and found it delicious.
When he had put on the shirt, the drawers, and the little grey dressing-gown, he looked at himself complacently, and thought that it would not be bad to walk through the village in that costume.
Witnessing death and attempting to escape
After eating, Pashka explored the hospital, visiting other wards where he saw various patients, including two with smallpox whose faces looked like heathen idols. He returned to his ward and waited for the doctor to take him to catch finches or visit the fair as promised, but the doctor never came. As evening approached, Pashka grew sad, thinking of his mother, his home, and his peevish grandmother Yegorovna.
During the night, Pashka was awakened by movement in the next ward. In the dim light, he saw three figures around the bed of a patient named Mihailo. They lifted the motionless man and carried him away, with one of them crossing himself and saying Mihailo had died at the wrong time.
Three figures were moving about Mihailo's bed in the dim light of the night-light and the icon lamp... "He's died at the wrong time, the Kingdom of Heaven be his!"
Terrified, Pashka called for his mother and fled from the ward. He ran through various hospital sections, including the smallpox ward and women's wing, until he found the staircase and made his way outside. With only one thought—to run home to his mother—he dashed into the yard. Though it was night and the sky was overcast, there was a moon behind the clouds. Pashka ran aimlessly, stumbling into bushes, becoming disoriented among the white crosses behind the hospital.
Found unconscious outside the doctors window
As Pashka ran past the dark buildings, he spotted a lighted window. Though the bright red patch looked frightening in the darkness, his terror drove him toward it. Looking through the window, he saw the doctor sitting at a table reading a book. Overcome with joy at seeing someone familiar, Pashka tried to call out, but suddenly felt choked and collapsed unconscious on the steps.
"Well, you are an idiot, Pashka! Aren't you an idiot? You ought to be beaten, but there's no one to do it."
When Pashka regained consciousness, it was daylight. The familiar voice of the doctor who had promised him a fair, finches, and a fox was scolding him, calling him an idiot who deserved to be beaten. Despite the harsh words, it was the same voice that had earlier offered him treats and adventures.