Read Turgenev's work Mumu online. Online reading of the book Mumu Ivan Turgenev

In our literature there are many talented writers who lived in the country in different times and eras. One of the grandiose minds of the 19th century was Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. Many of his works have become part of history.

History of writing and publication

One of the most famous stories by I. V. Turgenev is considered to be a story called “Mumu”. He wrote this work in 1852. According to historians, the story is based on real events, which occurred in the house where Ivan Sergeevich’s mother lived in Moscow. The story itself appeared while the author was in prison (Turgenev was arrested for publishing an obituary on Gogol’s death). At that time, anyone who did not comply with censorship was subject to repression and persecution in Russia. At first they wanted to publish the story in the Moscow Collection, but it was closed for non-compliance with censorship. But Turgenev came up with another plan; “Mumu” was published in 1854 in the third issue of the Sovremennik magazine. After the story was published, it was strongly criticized by the government. It was believed that readers might feel sorry for the main character. The editor-in-chief of Sovremennik magazine was even given a warning. But Turgenev brought his plan to life, and many people were able to read Mumu. Later, when trying to release a small collection of Turgenev’s works, it took a long time to obtain permission to publish “Muma” in it. But in 1856, the main censorship department finally gave its permission to print.

Plot of the book

The work “Mumu” is a rather sad story about a deaf-mute man.
At the beginning of the work, the author introduces us to a fairly strong and stocky man whose name was Gerasim.

He moved from the village to Moscow and worked as a janitor for an old lady. Naturally, the main characters of the story are Gerasim and Mumu, a dog that the main character picked up on the street.

The story itself tells about difficult life serfs at that time. One of them was Gerasim. He, a man accustomed to hard work in the village, took a long time to get used to life in the capital and the work of a janitor. Gerasim had a lot of free time left, so he tried to fulfill his duties as carefully as possible, spending more hours on it. Summary “Mumu” tells the reader about the difficult lot of Gerasim, who tried to love first a girl, then a dog, but everything was taken away from him. As a result, he spent the rest of his life alone.

Main characters

The main character of the story is the deaf and dumb big man Gerasim, about whom it was written earlier. In addition to him, there are many different characters in the story: the butler, the lady, the shoemaker, the laundress, and many others. Of all of them, Tatyana can be singled out. This is a girl who works as a laundress; she was about 28 years old, but she already looked like a middle-aged woman. Gerasim liked Tatyana, he gave her various gifts, even protected her from the rest of the servants. But the lady wanted to marry the girl to a court alcoholic who worked as a shoemaker. She ordered the butler to arrange everything, but he was afraid to say something to Gerasim, because in a fit of anger he could destroy the whole house.

Then he told Tatyana everything, she agreed to the wedding, but was also afraid of the main character. Together they deceived Gerasim, the girl pretended to be drunk, and our hero could not stand alcohol. This summary. Mumu appeared after Tatyana and Kapiton (the shoemaker) left Moscow. Gerasim was very worried about the loss of the girl he loved. But on the day of her departure, he met a little puppy, whom he took home and fell in love with, as Turgenev writes. Mumu, as our hero named his pet, grew up and became a wonderful dog that was liked by all the mongrels. But our hero was not able to stay with her for long: a year later the lady saw the dog and ordered him to be brought to her. Mumu was brought in, but when the elderly lady tried to pet her, the dog didn’t like it, she turned her head away and growled. The lady got scared and decided to destroy Gerasim’s pet.

Gerasim's story

If we talk about Gerasim what Turgenev himself writes, we can talk for a long time, so it’s easier to look at the summary of “Mumu”.

The main character of the story personifies all the common people of that time. In Russia, serfs worked hard and for pennies; the nobility did with them whatever they wanted. Gerasim is a man with a difficult life story. Op experienced a lot in life, first he was taken from his native village and placed in an unknown and hostile environment in the capital. Then he fell in love, but the situation turned against him. Further, as Turgenev wrote, Mumu, the little dog he loved so much, had to die at the whim of the old lady. Gerasim drowned her with his own hands and returned to his village. He couldn't love anyone anymore.

Meeting with Mumu

If you tell a brief summary of "Mumu", then the story seems sad and only evokes pity for the main character. It's not that simple.

After the difficult loss of his beloved, our deaf and dumb man found a little happiness for himself, which over time filled the void in his huge heart. The puppy, named Mumu, grew very quickly and always obeyed Gerasim, and most importantly, he loved him very much. The meeting with the dog changed the hero’s whole life. The author showed us that even in the most hard times might happen small miracle which will give meaning to life. Gerasim raised Mumu, played with her and simply lived, in a word, the dog was his world.

Tragic end

Unfortunately, Turgenev's story has a sad and even tragic ending. The lady decided to destroy Mumu because she did not allow herself to be stroked. Gerasim, who simply could not allow someone to harm his favorite, but at the same time could not disobey the owner’s order, decided to kill Mumu with his own hands. No matter how hard it was for our hero, he was able to drown the dog. He tied a rope to her neck and two bricks to it, then threw her into the water.

Over the several years spent in Moscow, Gerasim experienced both love and the bitterness of loss. All these events affected him very strongly, and after the loss of Mumu, he decided to return to his native village.

Even today in many schools different countries study the works of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. He was very talented person, and the story “Mumu”, written by him in 1852, entered the history of literature.

In one of the remote streets of Moscow, in a gray house with white columns,
mezzanine and crooked balcony, there once lived a lady, a widow, surrounded
numerous servants. Her sons served in St. Petersburg, her daughters got married;
she rarely went out and lived in solitude recent years his stingy and
bored old age. Her day, joyless and stormy, has long passed; but also
her evening was blacker than night.
Of all her servants, the most remarkable person was the janitor Gerasim,
a man twelve inches tall, built like a hero and deaf and dumb from
birth. The lady took him from the village, where he lived alone, in a small hut,
separately from his brothers, and was considered perhaps the most serviceable draft man.
Gifted with extraordinary strength, he worked for four people - the work progressed in his
hands, and it was fun to watch him when he was either plowing and leaning
with huge palms on the plow, it seemed, alone, without help. little horses,
ripped open the elastic breast of the earth, or about Peter's day so crushingly
acted with a scythe, so that he could at least sweep away a young birch forest from its roots
down, or deftly and ceaselessly threshed with a three-yard flail, and how
the lever lowered and the long, hard muscles of his shoulders rose.
The constant silence gave solemn importance to his tireless work.
He was a nice guy, and if it weren't for his misfortune, every girl would willingly go
marry him... But they brought Gerasim to Moscow, bought him boots, sewed them
a caftan for the summer, a sheepskin coat for the winter, they gave him a broom and a shovel and determined
his janitor.
At first he really didn’t like his new life. Since childhood he was accustomed to
field work, to village life. Alienated by his misfortune from
community of people, he grew dumb and powerful, like a tree growing in a fertile
earth... Moved to the city, he did not understand what was happening to him, -
I was bored and perplexed, as perplexed as a young, healthy bull, which only
that they took it from the field, where lush grass grew up to his belly, they took it, put it on
carriage railway- and so, dousing his corpulent body with smoke and sparks,
then like wavy steam, they are rushing it now, rushing it with a knock and a squeal, and where
rushing - God knows! Gerasim's activities in his new position seemed like a joke to him
after hard peasant work; and in half an hour everything was ready, and he
again he stopped in the middle of the yard and looked, with his mouth open, at everyone
passing by, as if wishing to get from them a solution to their mysterious
position, then suddenly went somewhere into a corner and, throwing the broom far away and
shovel, threw himself face down on the ground and lay motionless on his chest for whole hours, like
caught animal. But a person gets used to everything, and Gerasim finally got used to
city life. He had little to do; his whole duty was to
to keep the yard clean, bring a barrel of water twice a day,
haul and chop wood for the kitchen and home and keep strangers out at night
guard. And I must say, he diligently fulfilled his duty: in the yard
there were never any wood chips or litter lying around; will it get stuck in dirty times?
somewhere with a barrel a broken water nag given under his command, he
As soon as he moves his shoulder, not only the cart, but the horse itself will be pushed from its place; firewood
Whenever he starts stabbing, his ax rings like glass and they fly at everything
sides of splinters and logs; what about strangers, so after he
one night, having caught two thieves, he knocked their foreheads against each other, and so
tapped that at least don’t take them to the police later, everyone in the neighborhood became very angry
respect him; even those who passed by during the day are no longer scammers at all, but simply
strangers, when they saw the menacing janitor, they waved him off and shouted at him,
as if he could hear their screams. With all the rest of the servants Gerasim
was in a relationship that was not exactly friendly, they were afraid of him, but
short: he considered them his own. They communicated with him by signs, and he
understood, followed all orders exactly, but he also knew his rights, and already
no one dared to sit in his place at the capital. In general, Gerasim had a good temperament
strict and serious, loved order in everything; even the roosters didn’t dare in front of him
fight, otherwise there will be trouble! when he sees it, he immediately grabs your legs and turns them around ten times.
in the air like a wheel and throws it apart. There were also geese in the lady's yard; But
The goose is known to be an important and sensible bird; Gerasim felt for them
respect, followed them and fed them; he himself looked like a sedate gander.
They gave him a closet above the kitchen; he arranged it for himself, according to his own taste:
built a bed in it from oak planks on four logs, truly
heroic bed;
a hundred pounds could have been put on it and it wouldn’t have bent;
under the bed there was a hefty chest; in the corner there was a table of the same
strong quality, and next to the table there is a chair on three legs, so durable and
squat, that Gerasim himself used to pick it up, drop it and grin.
The closet was locked with a lock that resembled a kalach, only black;
Gerasim always carried the key to this lock with him on his belt. He didn't love
so that they would go to him.
So a year passed, at the end of which a small thing happened to Gerasim.
incident.
The old lady with whom he lived as a janitor followed the ancients in everything
customs and kept numerous servants: in her house there were not only
laundresses, seamstresses, carpenters, tailors and seamstresses - there was even one saddler, aka
was considered a veterinarian and a healer for people, was a home healer for
madams, there was, finally, a shoemaker named Kapiton Klimov, a drunkard
bitter. Klimov considered himself a being offended and not appreciated
dignity, an educated and metropolitan man, who would not be in Moscow
live, idle, in some remote place, and if he drank, as he himself put it with
standing up and knocking on his chest, he drank precisely out of grief. Here I come
one day the lady was talking about him with her chief butler, Gavrila, a man
who, judging by his yellow eyes and duck nose alone, is fate itself,
seemed determined to be the person in charge. The lady regretted
the corrupted morality of Kapiton, who had just been found the day before
somewhere on the street.
“Well, Gavrila,” she suddenly spoke, “shouldn’t we marry him, like you?”
do you think? Maybe he'll settle down.
- Why not get married, sir! “It’s possible, sir,” answered Gavrila, “and it will be very possible.”
okay, sir.
- Yes; But who will go for him?
- Of course, sir. However, as you wish, sir. Still, he, so to speak,
may be needed for something; you can't throw him out of the top ten.
- It seems he likes Tatyana?
Gavrila wanted to object, but pressed his lips together.
“Yes!.. let him woo Tatyana,” the lady decided, with pleasure
sniffing the tobacco, do you hear?
“I’m listening, sir,” said Gavrila and left. Returning to my room (she
was in the outbuilding and was almost completely cluttered with forged chests),
Gavrila first sent his wife out, and then sat down at the window and thought.
The lady's unexpected order apparently puzzled him. Finally he stood up and
ordered to call Kapiton. Kapito appeared... But before we hand over
readers their conversation, we consider it useful to tell in a few words who
there was this Tatyana, whom Kapiton had to marry, and why
The lady's command confused the butler.
Tatyana, who, as we said above, held the position of laundress (however,
she, as a skilled and learned laundress, was entrusted with only fine linen), was
a woman of about twenty years old, small, thin, blond, with moles on
left cheek. Moles on the left cheek are considered a bad omen in Rus' -
a foreshadowing of an unhappy life... Tatyana could not boast about her fate.
From early youth she was kept in a black body; she worked for two, and caresses
I’ve never seen any; they dressed her poorly, she received the most
small; It’s as if she didn’t have any relatives: just some old housekeeper,
abandoned in the village due to disrepair, was brought to her by her uncle and other uncles
they were men, that's all. Ode was once known as a beauty, but beauty
she jumped off very soon. She was of a very meek disposition, or rather
to say, intimidated, she felt complete indifference to herself, others
was mortally afraid; I was only thinking about how to finish my work by the deadline,
never spoke to anyone and trembled at the mere name of the lady, although she
I almost didn’t even know it. When Gerasim was brought from the village, she almost
froze with horror at the sight of his huge figure, tried in every possible way not
meet him, she even squinted, it happened when she happened to run past
him, hurrying from the house to the laundry, Gerasim at first did not pay special attention to her
attention, then he began to chuckle when he came across it, then
He began to look at her, and finally did not take his eyes off her at all.
He fell in love with her; whether by a meek facial expression or timidity of movements - God
knows him! One day she was making her way through the yard, carefully lifting
with outstretched fingers, the lady's starched jacket... someone suddenly strongly
grabbed her by the elbow; she turned around and screamed: standing behind her was
Gerasim. Laughing stupidly and mooing affectionately, he handed her a gingerbread cockerel, with
gold leaf on the tail and wings. She wanted to refuse, but he
forcibly shoved it right into her hand, shook his head, walked away and,
turning around, he once again mumbled something very friendly to her. From that day on he
she was haunted: wherever she went, he was right there, walking towards her
towards him, smiles, hums, waves his arms, suddenly pulls out a ribbon from his bosom
and hand it to her, clear the dust in front of her with a broom. The poor girl just didn't know
how should she be and what should she do. Soon the whole house learned about the dumb janitor's tricks;
ridicule, jokes, and cutting words rained down on Tatyana. Over
However, not everyone dared to mock Gerasim:
he didn't like jokes; and they left her alone with him. I'm not glad, but
the girl came under his protection. Like all deaf-mutes, he was very
quick-witted and understood very well when they laughed at him or her. One day
at dinner the wardrobemaid, Tatyana's boss, began to treat her, as they say,
spanked her and drove her to such a state that she, poor thing, didn’t know where to put her eyes and almost
I didn’t cry out of frustration. Gerasim suddenly stood up and extended his huge
hand, placed it on the head of the wardrobemaid and with such gloomy ferocity
looked into her face and she bent over the table. Everyone fell silent. Gerasim
he picked up the spoon again and continued to slurp the cabbage soup. “Look, you deaf devil!” -
They all muttered in an undertone, and the wardrobemaid got up and went into the maid's room. And then in
another time, noticing that Kapiton, the same Kapiton who was just now being discussed
speech, somehow he got too kind with Tatyana, Gerasim called him to
with his finger, he took it into the carriage house and, grabbing by the end what stood in the corner
drawbar, lightly but meaningfully threatened him with it. Since then no one has
spoke to Tatyana. And he got away with it all. True, wardrobemaid, how
as soon as she ran into the maid's room, she immediately fainted and generally so skillfully
acted that on the same day she brought the rude act to the attention of the lady
Gerasima; but the quaint old woman only laughed several times, to
extreme insult to the wardrobemaid, forced her to repeat how, they say, he
bent you down with his heavy hand, and the next day she sent you to Gerasima
ruble She favored him as a faithful and strong watchman. Gerasim is fine
I was afraid of her. but still hoped for her mercy and was already preparing
go to her and ask if she will allow him to marry Tatyana. He
I was just waiting for a new caftan, promised to him by the butler, so that it would be in decent shape
appear before the lady, when suddenly this same lady came up with the idea
marry Tatyana to Kapiton.
The reader will now easily understand the reason for the embarrassment that has seized
by the butler Gavrila after a conversation with the lady. “Mistress,” he thought, sitting
at the window, of course, Gerasima favors (Gavrila knew this well, and that’s why
he indulged him himself), yet he is a dumb creature;
I can’t tell the lady that Gerasim is supposedly courting Tatyana. Yes
and finally, it’s fair, what kind of husband is he? On the other hand, it's worth it
God forgive me, the devil would find out that Tatyana is being passed off as Kapiton, because he’s all in
will break the house, by all means. After all, you can’t talk to him; because he, damn it,
I have sinned, I am a sinner, there is no way to persuade me... really!..”
The appearance of Kapiton interrupted Gavrilin's thread of thoughts. Frivolous
the shoemaker entered, threw his arms back and, cheekily leaning against the outstanding
corner of the wall near the door, placed the right leg crosswise in front of the left and
shook his head. “Here I am. What do you need?
Gavrila looked at Kapiton and tapped his fingers on the window frame.
Kapiton only narrowed his tin eyes a little, but did not lower them,
He even grinned slightly and ran his hand through his whitish hair, which
they were squirming in all directions. Well, yes, I say, I am. What are you looking at?
“Good,” said Gavrila and was silent. - Good, nothing to say!
Kapiton just shrugged his shoulders. “And you’re probably better?” he thought.
to myself.
“Well, look at yourself, well, look,” he continued reproachfully
Gavrila, well, who do you look like?
Kapiton looked calmly at his worn and tattered frock coat,
his patched trousers, he examined his holey ones with special attention
boots, especially the one on the toe of which his right foot so dapperly rested
“leg,” and stared at the butler again.
- What, sir?
“What, sir?” repeated Gavrila. “What, sir?” You also say: what? To hell with you
I look like, I have sinned, sinner, that’s what you look like.
Kapiton blinked his eyes quickly.
“Swear, say, swear, Gavrila Andreich,” he thought again about
myself.
“After all, you were drunk again,” Gavrila began, “and are you going again?” A? Well,
answer then.
- Due to poor health, he was actually exposed to alcoholic beverages, -
Kapiton objected.
- Due to poor health!.. They don’t punish you enough, that’s what; and in St. Petersburg
I was in training... You learned a lot in training. Just eat bread for nothing.
- In this case, Gavrila Andreich, there is only one judge for me:
God himself and no one else. He alone knows what kind of person I am
the essence of this world and whether I really eat bread for nothing. And as for the considerations before
drunkenness, and in this case it is not me who is to blame, but more than one comrade; me himself
he cheated, and even politicized, he left, that is, and I...
- And you, goose, remained on the street. Oh, you crazy man! Well, that's it
“It’s not that,” the butler continued, “but this is what.” Madam... - here he paused, -
The lady wants you to get married. Do you hear? They think you'll settle down
getting married. Understand?
- How can you not understand, sir?
- Well, yes. In my opinion, it would be better to get a good grip on you. Well yes it is
it's their business. Well? do you agree? Kapiton grinned.
- Marriage is a good thing for a person, Gavrila Andreich; and me, with mine
hand, with my very pleasant pleasure.
“Well, yes,” Gavrila objected and thought to himself: “There’s nothing to say,
the man says carefully.” “Only this,” he continued out loud, “the bride
They've found something wrong for you.
- Which one, may I ask?..
- Tatyana.
- Tatyana?
And Kapiton widened his eyes and separated from the wall.
- Well, why are you alarmed?.. Don’t you like her?
- Which is not to your liking, Gavrila Andreich! she's nothing, a worker,
quiet girl... But you yourself know, Gavrila Andrepch, because he’s the one
the goblin, the steppe kikimora, because he’s behind her...
“I know, brother, I know everything,” the butler interrupted him with annoyance. “But...
- For mercy's sake, Gavrila Andreich! because he will kill me, by God he will kill me, like
he'll swat some fly; because he has a hand, after all, if you please,
see what kind of hand he has; after all, he simply has Minin and Pozharsky’s hand.
After all, he, deaf, hits and does not hear how he hits! As if in a dream with fists
waves. And there is no way to calm him down; Why? because you yourself know
Gavrila Andreich, he is deaf and, on top of that, stupid as a heel. After all, this is some kind of
a beast, an idol, Gavrila Andreich, worse than an idol... some kind of aspen: why am I
must I suffer from it now? Of course, I don’t care about anything now:
the man held out, he endured, he became oiled like a Kolomna pot, but still
I, however, am a person, and not some, in fact, insignificant pot.
- I know, I know, don’t describe it...
“Lord my God!” the shoemaker continued fervently, “when will it end?”
when, Lord! I am a wretched man, an inexhaustible wretched man! Fate, my fate,
Big deal! IN in my younger years I was beaten by the German owner, in the best joint
my life bit from my own brother, finally in my mature years this is what
rose to the top...
“Eh, you filthy soul,” said Gavrila. “Why are you spreading yourself?”
right!
- Why, Gavrila Andreich! It's not beatings that I'm afraid of, Gavrila Andreich. Punish
I am the lord within the walls, give me a greeting in front of people, and I am all included
people, but here from whom it comes...
“Well, get out,” Gavrila interrupted him impatiently. Kapiton turned away and
trudged out.
“Suppose he weren’t there,” the butler shouted after him, “you yourself
agree?
“I express it,” Kapiton objected and left. Eloquence never left him
even in extreme cases. The butler walked around the room several times.
“Well, call Tatyana now,” he finally said. After a few
moments later Tatyana came in barely audibly and stopped at the threshold.
“What do you order, Gavrila Andreich?” she said in a quiet voice.
The butler looked at her intently.
“Well,” he said, “Tanyusha, do you want to get married?” Lady of your groom
found it.
- I’m listening, Gavrila Andreich. “And who are they appointing as my groom?” she added.
she is hesitant.
- Kapiton, shoemaker.
- I’m listening, sir.
- He's a frivolous person, that's for sure. But in this case the lady
hopes for you.
- I’m listening, sir.
- One problem... after all, this capercaillie, Garaska, he’s after you
looks after. And how did you charm this bear to you? But he will kill you,
perhaps some kind of bear...
- He will kill, Gavrila Andreich, he will certainly kill.
- He will kill... Well, we will see. How do you say: he will kill! Is he
has the right to kill you, judge for yourself.
- I don’t know, Gavrila Andreich, whether he has it or not.:
- What a hell! After all, you didn’t promise him anything...
- What do you want, sir?
The butler paused and thought:
“You unrequited soul!” “Well, okay,” he added, “we’ll talk to you later.”
you, and now go, Tanyusha; I see you are definitely humble.
Tatyana turned, leaned lightly on the ceiling and left.
“Or maybe the lady will forget about this wedding tomorrow,” I thought
Butler, why am I upset? We'll get this naughty guy down; if
“We’ll let the police know…” “Ustinya Fedorovna!” he shouted in a loud voice
to your wife, put on the samovar, my dear...
Tatyana did not leave the laundry room almost all that day. First she
she cried, then wiped away her tears and went back to work. Kapiton before
late at night I sat in a restaurant with some gloomy-looking friend and
told him in detail how he lived in St. Petersburg with a gentleman who
I would have taken it for everyone, but I was observant of the procedures and, moreover, with one mistake
he was a little arbitrary: he took a lot of hops, but as for the female sex,
he simply reached all the qualities... The gloomy comrade only assented; But
when Kapiton finally announced that, on one occasion, he must tomorrow
lay a hand on himself, the gloomy comrade noticed that it was time to sleep. And they
They parted rudely and silently.
Meanwhile, the butler's expectations did not come true. The lady was so preoccupied with the thought of
Kapiton's wedding, that even at night she only talked about it with one
of her companions, who stayed in her house only in case
insomnia and, like a night cab driver, slept during the day. When Gavrila came to her
After tea with the report, her first question was:
What about our wedding? He, of course, replied that he was going as fast as possible.
better and that Kapiton will come to her today with a bow. Something for the lady
unwell; She did not take care of business for long. The butler returned to his
room and convened a council. The matter definitely required special discussion. Tatiana
I didn’t argue, of course; but Kapiton announced publicly that he had
one head, not two or three... Gerasim sternly and quickly at everyone
looked, did not leave the maiden porch and seemed to guess that
something bad is going on for him. Those gathered (among them was
an old bartender, nicknamed Uncle Tail, to whom everyone respects
asked for advice, although all they heard from him was: this is how it is, yes:
yes, yes, yes) they started by locking it, just in case for safety
Kapiton went to the closet with the water purification machine and began to think strong
Duma Of course, it would have been easy to resort to force; but God forbid! noise will come out
the lady will be worried - trouble! What should I do? We thought and thought and finally came up with something.
It was repeatedly noted that Gerasim could not stand drunkards... Sitting behind
gate, he would turn away indignantly every time. when by
with his unsteady steps and with the peak of his cap on his ear, some
busy person. We decided to teach Tatyana so that she could pretend
drunk and would have walked, staggering and swaying, past Gerasim. Poor girl
she didn’t agree for a long time, but she was persuaded;
Moreover, she herself saw that otherwise she would not get rid of her
admirer. She went. Kapiton was released from the closet: it’s still up to him
concerned. Gerasim was sitting on the nightstand by the gate and poking the ground with a shovel... Because
from all corners, from under the curtains outside the windows they looked at him...
The trick was a success. Seeing Tatyana, he first, after
as usual, he nodded his head with a gentle hum; then he looked closely and dropped it
shovel, jumped up, walked up to her, moved his face right next to her face... She
she staggered even more with fear and closed her eyes... He grabbed her hand,
rushed across the entire yard and, entering with her into the room where the council was meeting, pushed
her straight to Kapiton. Tatyana just froze... Gerasim stood and looked at
her, waved his hand, grinned and walked, stepping heavily, into his closet...
He didn't leave there for a whole day. Postilion Antipka later said that he
through the crack I saw Gerasim, sitting on the bed, putting his hand to his cheek,
quietly, measuredly and only occasionally humming, he sang, that is, swayed, closed his eyes
and shook his head like coachmen or barge haulers when they tighten their
mournful songs. Antipka felt terrified, and he moved away from the crack. When on
the next day Gerasim came out of the closet; there was no particular change in him
notice. He just seemed to become more gloomy, but he didn’t look at Tatyana or Kapiton
didn't pay the slightest attention. That same evening they both had geese under their arms.
went to the lady and got married a week later. On the very day of the wedding Gerasim
did not change his behavior in any way; He just came from the river without water:
he once broke a barrel on the road; and at night, in the stables, he worked so hard
brushed and rubbed his horse, which staggered like a blade of grass in the wind and
swayed from foot to foot under his iron fists.
All this happened in the spring. Another year passed, during which Kapiton
completely became an alcoholic and, like a person absolutely worthless, was
sent with a convoy to a distant village, along with his wife. On the day of departure
At first he was very brave and assured that, wherever they sent him, at least to where
the women wash their shirts and put the rolls on the sky, it won’t go to waste; but then fell
spirit, began to complain that he was being taken to uneducated people, and became so weak
finally, that he couldn’t even put his own hat on; some kind
a compassionate soul pulled it over his forehead, straightened the visor and placed it on top
slammed it. When everything was ready and the men already held the reins in their hands and
They were only waiting for the words: “God bless!” Gerasim came out of his closet and approached
to Tatyana and gave her as a souvenir a red paper handkerchief, which he had bought for
her about a year ago. Tatiana, who had previously endured this with great indifference
moments, all the vicissitudes of her life, here, however, she could not bear it,
she shed tears and, getting into the cart, kissed her three times like a Christian.
Gerasim. He wanted to accompany her to the outpost and first walked next to her
cart, but suddenly stopped on the Crimean Brod, waved his hand and went
along the river.
It was late in the evening. He walked quietly and looked at the water. Suddenly it seemed to him
that something is floundering in the mud near the shore. He bent down and saw
a small puppy, white with black spots, who, despite all his
efforts, could not get out of the water, he struggled, slid and trembled with all his
wet and thin body. Gerasim looked at the unfortunate little dog,
he picked it up with one hand, put it in his bosom and started with big
steps home. He went into his closet, laid the rescued puppy on the bed,
covered him with his heavy overcoat, ran first to the stable for straw, then
to the kitchen for a cup of milk. Carefully throwing back the coat and spreading the straw,
He put the milk on the bed. The poor little dog was only three weeks old, his eyes
she recently cut through; one eye even seemed a little larger than the other;
She did not yet know how to drink from a cup and only trembled and squinted. Gerasim took it
lightly put two fingers behind her head and bent her muzzle towards the milk. Dog
suddenly she began to drink greedily, snorting, shaking and choking. Gerasim
he looked and looked and suddenly laughed... All night he fussed with her,
laid her down, dried her, and finally fell asleep next to her, somehow joyful and
quiet sleep.
No mother cares for her child as much as Gerasim did.
for your pet. (The dog turned out to be a bitch.) At first she was very
weak, frail and ugly, but little by little she managed and straightened out, and
eight months later, thanks to the constant care of his savior,
turned into a very nice dog of the Spanish breed, with long ears,
fluffy tail in the shape of a trumpet and large expressive eyes. She
became passionately attached to Gerasim and did not lag behind him a single step, she kept walking
behind him, wagging her tail. He gave her a nickname - the dumb people know that mooing
they are attracted to the attention of others - he called her Mumu. All the people in her house
fell in love and also called Mumunei. She was extremely smart to everyone
she was affectionate, but she loved only Gerasim. Gerasim himself loved her madly... and
it was unpleasant for him when others stroked her: he was afraid, perhaps, for her,
Whether he was jealous of her, God knows! She woke him up in the morning, pulling him by the floor,
brought to him by the reins an old water carrier, with whom she lived in great friendship,
with importance on her face she went with him to the river, guarded his brooms and
shovels, did not let anyone near his closet. He cut it for her on purpose
hole in her door, and she seemed to feel that only in
She was the complete mistress of Gerasim’s closet, and therefore, upon entering it, she immediately
looking contented, she jumped onto the bed. At night she did not sleep at all, but did not bark
indiscriminately, like some stupid mongrel who, sitting on his hind legs and
raising his muzzle and closing his eyes, he barks simply out of boredom, so, at the stars, n
usually three times in a row - no! Mumu's thin voice was never heard
for nothing: either the stranger came close to the fence, or climbed somewhere
suspicious noise or rustling... In a word, she was an excellent guard. True, there was
besides her, there is an old dog in the yard yellow,
with brown specks, named Volchok, but he never, even at night,
were released from the chain, and he himself, due to his decrepitude, did not at all demand
freedom - lay curled up in his kennel and only occasionally uttered
hoarse, almost silent barking, which immediately stopped, as if
feeling all its futility. Mumu didn’t go to the manor house and when
Gerasim carried firewood into the rooms, always remained behind and impatiently
waited by the porch, pricking up her ears and turning her head now to the right, then suddenly
to the left, at the slightest knock outside the doors...
So another year passed. Gerasim continued his work as a janitor and
I was very pleased with my fate, when suddenly something unexpected happened
circumstance... namely:
one day summer day the lady with her hangers-on walked around
around the living room. She was in good spirits, laughing and joking; the hangers-on laughed and
they joked too, but they didn’t feel much joy: there wasn’t much in the house
loved it when I found a lady happy hour because, first of all, she
then she demanded immediate and complete sympathy from everyone and became angry if
no one's face was beaming with pleasure, and secondly, these flashes in her
did not last long and were usually replaced by a gloomy and sour disposition
spirit. That day she somehow got up happily; the cards showed her four
jack: wish fulfillment (she always used to tell fortunes in the morning), and tea seemed to her
especially tasty, for;
that the maid received verbal praise and a ten-kopeck piece of money. WITH
the lady walked around the living room with a sweet smile on her wrinkled lips and approached
window. There was a front garden in front of the window, and in the middle flowerbed, under
Mumu lay like a pink bush, carefully gnawing on a bone. The lady saw her.
“My God!” she suddenly exclaimed, “what kind of dog is this?”
The hanger-on, to whom the lady turned, rushed about, poor thing, with that
melancholy anxiety that usually takes possession of the subject
by a person when he does not yet know well how to understand the exclamation
boss
“I... I don’t know, sir,” she muttered, “it seems dumb.”
“My God!” interrupted the lady, “she’s a pretty little dog!” Tell her
bring. How long has he had it? How come I haven’t seen her before?.. Tell me
bring her.
The hanger-on immediately fluttered into the hallway. - Man, man! -
she shouted, “bring Mumu quickly!” She's in the front garden.
“And her name is Mumu,” said the lady, “very good name.
- Oh, very much! - objected the hanger-on. - Hurry, Stepan!
Stepan, a burly guy who held the position of footman, rushed at breakneck speed
head into the front garden and wanted to grab Mumu, but she deftly dodged
from under his fingers and, raising her tail, ran at full speed towards Gerasim,
who at that time was knocking out and shaking out a barrel near the kitchen, turning it over
hands like a child's drum. Stepan ran after her and began to catch her
the very feet of her owner; but the agile dog did not fall into the hands of a stranger,
jumped and dodged. Gerasim looked with a grin at all this fuss; finally
Stepan stood up with annoyance and hastily explained to him with signs that the lady,
they say he demands your dog to come to him. Gerasim was a little surprised, but called
Mumu, picked her up from the ground and handed her over to Stepan. Stepan brought it into the living room and
put it on the parquet. The lady began to call her to her in a gentle voice.
Mumu, who had never been in such magnificent chambers before, was very frightened and
rushed to the door, but, pushed away by the obliging Stepan, she began to tremble and
pressed against the wall.
“Mumu, Mumu, come to me, come to the lady,” said the lady, “
come, silly... don't be afraid...
“Come, come, Mumu, to the lady,” the hangers-on repeated, “come.”
But Mumu looked around sadly and did not move from her place.
“Bring her something to eat,” said the lady. “How stupid she is!” To
doesn't suit the lady. What is he afraid of?
“They’re not used to it yet,” said one of them in a timid and touching voice.
hangers-on.
Stepan brought a saucer of milk and placed it in front of Mumu, but Mumu even
she didn’t smell the milk and kept trembling and looking around as before.
- Oh, what are you like! - said the lady, approaching her, bent down and
wanted to stroke her, but Mumu convulsively turned her head and bared her teeth.
The lady quickly pulled her hand back...
There was a moment's silence. Mumu squealed weakly, as if complaining and
apologizing... The lady walked away and frowned. Sudden movement of the dog
scared.
- Ah! - all the hangers-on shouted at once, - did she bite you, save
God! (Mumu has never bitten anyone in her life.) Ah, ah!
“Take her out,” the old woman said in a changed voice. “Nasty
little dog! how evil she is!
And, slowly turning around, she headed to her office. Haunters
timidly looked at each other and started to follow her, but she stopped, it was cold
looked at them and said: “Why is this? because I’m not calling you,” and left,
The hangers-on desperately waved their hands at Stepan; he picked up Mumu and
quickly threw her out the door, right at Gerasim’s feet, and half an hour later in
deep silence already reigned in the house and the old lady was sitting on her sofa
darker than a thundercloud.
What trifles, just think, can sometimes upset a person!
Until the evening the lady was not in good spirits, did not speak to anyone, did not
I played cards and had a bad night. She got it into her head that they didn’t give her cologne
the one that was usually told that her pillow smelled of soap, and
forced the wardrobemaid to sniff all the linen - in a word, she was worried and
“was very excited.” The next morning she ordered to call Gaaril an hour earlier
ordinary.
“Please tell me,” she began as soon as he, not without some
internal babbling, crossed the threshold of her office, - what kind of dog is this?
barked at us in the yard all night? Didn't let me sleep!
“A dog, sir... some kind of dog... maybe a dumb dog, sir,” he said
in a very firm voice.
“I don’t know if it was dumb or someone else, but she didn’t let me sleep.” Yes me and
I’m surprised there’s such an abyss of dogs! I want to know. After all, we have a yard
dog? . .
- Of course, yes, yes. Volchok, sir.
- Well, what else, what else do we need a dog for? Just start some riots.
The eldest is not in the house, that's what. And what does a mute need a dog for? Who allowed him dogs
keep it in my yard? Yesterday I went to the window, and she was lying in the front garden,
some kind of abomination has been brought in, it’s gnawing, and I have roses planted there...
The lady was silent.
- So that she’s not here today... do you hear?
- I’m listening, sir.
- Today. Now go. I’ll call you to report later.
Gavrila left.
Passing through the living room, the butler, for the sake of order, rearranged the bell from
one table to another, quietly blew his nose in the hall duck nose And
went out into the hall. In the hall, Stepan was sleeping on a bunk, in the position of a murdered man.
warrior in a battle painting, frantically stretching out his bare legs from under
coat, which served him instead of blankets: The butler pushed him aside and in an undertone
told him some order, to which Stepan responded with a half-yawn,
half laughing. The butler left, and Stepan jumped up, pulled on his caftan and
boots, went out and stopped at the porch. Less than five minutes later he appeared
Gerasim with a huge bundle of firewood behind his back, accompanied by his inseparable
Mumu. (The lady ordered her bedroom and office to be heated even in the summer.)”
Gerasim stood sideways in front of the door, pushed it with his shoulder and burst into the house with his
burdens. Mumu, as usual, remained to wait for him. Then Stepan, having caught
opportune moment, suddenly rushed at her like a kite at a chicken,
pressed her to the ground with his chest, grabbed her in his arms and, without even putting on his cap, ran out
with her to the yard, got into the first cab he came across and galloped off to Okhotny
row. There he soon found a buyer, to whom he sold it for fifty dollars, in order
only that he keep her on a leash for at least a week, and immediately
returned; but, before reaching the house, he got off the cab and, walking around the yard, with
back alley, jumped over the fence into the yard; he was afraid to go through the gate
go, as if not to meet Gerasim.
However, his concern was in vain: Gerasim was no longer in the yard.
Leaving the house, he immediately missed Mumu;
he didn’t remember that she ever didn’t wait for his return,
started running everywhere, looking for her, calling in his own way... rushed into his
the closet, into the hayloft, jumped out into the street, back and forth... Gone! He turned to
people, with the most desperate signs asked about her, pointing to half-ar

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

In one of the remote streets of Moscow, in a gray house with white columns, a mezzanine and a crooked balcony, there once lived a lady, a widow, surrounded by numerous servants. Her sons served in St. Petersburg, her daughters got married; She rarely went out and lived out the last years of her stingy and bored old age in solitude. Her day, joyless and stormy, has long passed; but her evening was blacker than night.

Of all her servants, the most remarkable person was the janitor Gerasim, a man twelve inches tall, built like a hero and deaf-mute from birth. The lady took him from the village, where he lived alone, in a small hut, separately from his brothers, and was considered perhaps the most serviceable draft man. Gifted with extraordinary strength, he worked for four people - the work was in his hands, and it was fun to watch him when he was either plowing and, leaning his huge palms on the plow, it seemed that alone, without the help of a horse, he was tearing up the elastic chest of the earth, or about Petrov the day had such a crushing effect with its scythe that it could even sweep away a young birch forest from its roots, or it would deftly and non-stop thresh with a three-yard flail, and like a lever the elongated and hard muscles of his shoulders would lower and rise. The constant silence gave solemn importance to his tireless work. He was a nice man, and if it weren’t for his misfortune, any girl would willingly marry him... But they brought Gerasim to Moscow, bought him boots, sewed a caftan for the summer, a sheepskin coat for the winter, gave him a broom and a shovel and assigned him janitor

At first he really didn’t like his new life. Since childhood, he was accustomed to field work and rural life. Alienated by his misfortune from the community of people, he grew up dumb and powerful, like a tree growing on fertile land... Moved to the city, he did not understand what was happening to him - he was bored and perplexed, as a young, healthy bull that has just been taken is perplexed from the field, where the lush grass grew up to his belly, they took him, put him on a railway carriage - and now, showering his corpulent body with smoke and sparks, then with wavy steam, they are now rushing him, rushing with a knock and a squeal, and God knows where they are rushing news! Gerasim's employment in his new position seemed to him a joke after the hard work of the peasants; and after half an hour everything was ready for him, and again he would stop in the middle of the yard and look, with his mouth open, at everyone passing by, as if wanting to get them to solve his mysterious situation, then suddenly he would go somewhere into a corner and, throwing his broom far away and shovel, threw himself face down on the ground and lay motionless on his chest for hours, like a captured animal. But a person gets used to everything, and Gerasim finally got used to city life. He had little to do; His whole duty was to keep the yard clean, bring a barrel of water twice a day, haul and chop firewood for the kitchen and house, keep strangers out, and keep watch at night. And it must be said that he diligently fulfilled his duty: there were never any chips or litter lying around in his yard; if, in a dirty season, a broken water nag given under his command gets stuck somewhere with a barrel, he will only move his shoulder - and not only the cart, but the horse itself will be pushed out of place; Whenever he starts chopping wood, his ax rings like glass, and fragments and logs fly in all directions; and what about strangers, so after one night, having caught two thieves, he hit their foreheads against each other, and hit them so hard that at least he didn’t take them to the police afterwards, everyone in the neighborhood began to respect him very much; Even during the day, those passing by, no longer scammers at all, but simply strangers, at the sight of the formidable janitor, waved them off and shouted at him, as if he could hear their screams. With all the rest of the servants, Gerasim had a relationship that was not exactly friendly - they were afraid of him - but short: he considered them to be his own. They communicated with him by signs, and he understood them, carried out all the orders exactly, but he also knew his rights, and no one dared to sit in his place at the capital. In general, Gerasim was of a strict and serious disposition, he loved order in everything; Even the roosters didn’t dare fight in front of him, otherwise there would be trouble! He sees him, immediately grabs him by the legs, spins him ten times in the air like a wheel, and throws him apart. There were also geese in the lady's yard; but the goose is known to be an important and sensible bird; Gerasim felt respect for them, followed them and fed them; he himself looked like a sedate gander. They gave him a closet above the kitchen; he arranged it for himself, according to his own taste: he built a bed in it from oak boards on four blocks, a truly heroic bed; a hundred pounds could have been put on it - it wouldn’t have bent; under the bed there was a hefty chest; in the corner there was a table of the same strong quality, and next to the table there was a chair on three legs, so strong and squat that Gerasim himself used to pick it up, drop it and grin. The closet was locked with a lock that resembled a kalach, only black; Gerasim always carried the key to this lock with him on his belt. He didn't like people to visit him.

So a year passed, at the end of which a small incident happened to Gerasim.

The old lady, with whom he lived as a janitor, followed ancient customs in everything and kept numerous servants: in her house there were not only laundresses, seamstresses, carpenters, tailors and seamstresses - there was even one saddler, he was also considered a veterinarian and doctor for the people, there was a house doctor for the mistress, and finally, there was one shoemaker named Kapiton Klimov, a bitter drunkard. Klimov considered himself a being offended and not appreciated, an educated and metropolitan man, who would not live in Moscow, idle, in some outback, and if he drank, as he himself expressed himself with emphasis and beating himself on the chest, then he drank just out of grief. So one day the lady and her chief butler, Gavrila, were talking about him, a man who, judging by his yellow eyes and duck nose, fate itself seemed to have destined to be the person in charge. The lady regretted the corrupted morality of Kapiton, who had just been found somewhere on the street the day before.

“Well, Gavrila,” she suddenly spoke, “shouldn’t we marry him, what do you think?” Maybe he'll settle down.

- Why not get married, sir! “It’s possible, sir,” answered Gavrila, “and it will be very good, sir.”

- Yes; But who will go for him?

- Of course, sir. However, as you wish, sir. Still, he, so to speak, may be needed for something; you can't throw him out of the top ten.

– It seems he likes Tatyana?

Gavrila wanted to object, but pressed his lips together.

“Yes!.. let him woo Tatyana,” the lady decided, sniffing the tobacco with pleasure, “do you hear?”

“I’m listening, sir,” said Gavrila and left. Returning to his room (it was in a wing and was almost entirely cluttered with forged chests), Gavrila first sent his wife out, and then sat down by the window and thought. The lady's unexpected order apparently puzzled him. Finally he stood up and ordered Capiton to be called. Kapiton appeared... But before we convey their conversation to the readers, we consider it useful to tell in a few words who this Tatyana was, whom Kapiton had to marry, and why the lady’s command confused the butler.

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

Of all her servants, the most remarkable person was the janitor Gerasim, a man twelve inches tall, built like a hero and deaf and dumb from birth.

The lady took him from the village, where he lived alone, in a small hut, separately from his brothers, and was considered perhaps the most serviceable draft man. Gifted with extraordinary strength, he worked for four people - the work was in his hands, and it was fun to watch him when he was either plowing and, leaning his huge palms on the plow, it seemed that alone, without the help of a horse, he was tearing up the elastic chest of the earth, or about Petrov the day had such a crushing effect with its scythe that it could even sweep away a young birch forest from its roots, or it would deftly and non-stop thresh with a three-yard flail, and, like a lever, the elongated and hard muscles of his shoulders would lower and rise. The constant silence gave solemn importance to his tireless work. He was a nice man, and if it weren’t for his misfortune, any girl would willingly marry him... But they brought Gerasim to Moscow, bought him boots, sewed a caftan for the summer, a sheepskin coat for the winter, gave him a broom and a shovel and assigned him janitor

At first he really didn’t like his new life. Since childhood, he was accustomed to field work and rural life. Alienated by his misfortune from the community of people, he grew up dumb and powerful, like a tree growing on fertile land... Moved to the city, he did not understand what was happening to him, he was bored and perplexed, as perplexed as a young healthy bull that has just been taken from the field , where lush grass grew up to his belly, they took him, put him on a railway carriage, and now, showering his corpulent body with smoke and sparks, then with wavy steam, they are now rushing him, rushing with a knock and a squeal, and God knows where they are rushing ! Gerasim's employment in his new position seemed to him a joke after the hard work of the peasants; in half an hour everything was ready for him, and again he would stop in the middle of the yard and look, with his mouth open, at everyone passing, as if wanting to get them to resolve his mysterious situation, then suddenly he would go somewhere in the corner and, throwing the broom far away and shovel, threw himself face down on the ground and lay motionless on his chest for hours, like a captured animal. But a person gets used to everything, and Gerasim finally got used to city life. He had little to do: his whole duty was to keep the yard clean, bring a barrel of water twice a day, haul and chop wood for the kitchen and house, keep strangers out, and keep watch at night. And I must say, he diligently fulfilled his duty: there were never any wood chips or copies lying around in his yard; if, in a dirty season, a broken water nag given under his command gets stuck somewhere with a barrel, he will only move his shoulder - and not only the cart, but the horse itself will be pushed out of place; Whenever he starts chopping wood, his ax rings like glass, and fragments and logs fly in all directions; and what about strangers, so after one night, having caught two thieves, he hit their foreheads against each other, and hit them so hard that at least don’t take them to the police afterwards, everyone in the neighborhood began to respect him very much; Even during the day, those passing by, no longer scammers at all, but simply strangers, at the sight of the formidable janitor, waved them off and shouted at him, as if he could hear their screams. With all the rest of the servants, Gerasim’s relationship was not exactly friendly - they were afraid of him - but short; he considered them his own. They communicated with him by signs, and he understood them, carried out all the orders exactly, but he also knew his rights, and no one dared to sit in his place at the capital. In general, Gerasim was of a strict and serious disposition, he loved order in everything; Even the roosters didn’t dare fight in front of him, otherwise it would be a disaster! - he sees, immediately grabs you by the legs, spins him around ten times in the air like a wheel and throws you apart. There were also geese in the lady's yard; but the goose is known to be an important and sensible bird; Gerasim felt respect for them, followed them and fed them; he himself looked like a sedate gander. They gave him a closet above the kitchen; he arranged it for himself, according to his own taste, built a bed in it from oak boards on four logs - a truly heroic bed; a hundred pounds could have been put on it - it wouldn’t have bent; under the bed there was a hefty chest; in the corner there was a table of the same strong quality, and next to the table there was a chair on three legs, so strong and squat that Gerasim himself used to pick it up, drop it and grin. The closet was locked with a lock that resembled a kalach, only black; Gerasim always carried the key to this lock with him on his belt. He didn't like people to visit him.

So a year passed, at the end of which a small incident happened to Gerasim.

The old lady, with whom he lived as a janitor, followed ancient customs in everything and kept numerous servants: in her house there were not only laundresses, seamstresses, carpenters, tailors and seamstresses, there was even one saddler, he was also considered a veterinarian and a doctor for people, there was a house doctor for the mistress, and finally, there was one shoemaker named Kapiton Klimov, a bitter drunkard. Klimov considered himself an offended and not appreciated being, an educated and metropolitan man, who would not live in Moscow, idle, in some remote place, and if he drank, as he himself put it, with restraint and beating on his chest, then I was already drinking out of grief. So one day the lady and her chief butler, Gavrila, were talking about him, a man who, judging by his yellow eyes and duck nose, fate itself seemed to have destined to be the person in charge. The lady regretted the corrupted morality of Kapiton, who had just been found somewhere on the street the day before.

“Well, Gavrilo,” she suddenly spoke, “shouldn’t we marry him, what do you think?” Maybe he'll settle down.

- Why not get married, sir! “It’s possible, sir,” answered Gavrilo, “and it will be very good, sir.”

- Yes; But who will go for him?

- Of course, sir. However, as you wish, sir. Still, he, so to speak, may be needed for something; you can't throw him out of the top ten.

– It seems he likes Tatyana?

Gavrilo wanted to object, but pressed his lips together.

“Yes!.. let him woo Tatyana,” the lady decided, sniffing the tobacco with pleasure, “do you hear?”

Of all her servants, the most remarkable person was the janitor Gerasim, a man twelve inches tall, built like a hero and deaf-mute from birth. The lady took him from the village, where he lived alone, in a small hut, separately from his brothers, and was considered perhaps the most serviceable draft man. Gifted with extraordinary strength, he worked for four people - the work was in his hands, and it was fun to watch him when he was either plowing and leaning his huge palms on the plow, it seemed that alone, without the help of a horse, he was tearing up the elastic breast of the earth, or on Peter's Day he acted so devastatingly with his scythe that he could even sweep away a young birch forest from its roots, or he deftly and non-stop threshed with a three-yard flail, and like a lever the elongated and hard muscles of his shoulders lowered and rose. The constant silence gave solemn importance to his tireless work. He was a nice man, and if it weren’t for his misfortune, every girl would have willingly bought his boots for him, sewed a caftan for the summer, a sheepskin coat for the winter, put a broom and a shovel in his hands and appointed him a janitor.

At first he really didn’t like his new life. Since childhood, he was accustomed to field work and rural life. Alienated by his misfortune from the community of people, he grew up dumb and powerful, like a tree growing on fertile land... Moved to the city, he did not understand what was happening to him - he was bored and perplexed, as a young, healthy bull who only that they took him from the field, where lush grass grew up to his belly - they took him, put him on a railway carriage - and now, showering his corpulent body with smoke and sparks, then with wavy steam, they are now rushing him, rushing him with a knock and a squeal, and where rushing - God knows! Gerasim's employment in his new position seemed to him a joke after the hard work of the peasants; in half an hour everything was ready for him, and again he would stop in the middle of the yard and look, with his mouth open, at everyone passing, as if wanting to get them to solve his mysterious situation, then suddenly he would go somewhere in the corner and, throwing the broom far away and shovel, threw himself face down on the ground and lay motionless on his chest for hours, like a captured animal. But a person gets used to everything, and Gerasim finally got used to city life. He had little to do; His whole duty was to keep the yard clean, bring a barrel of water twice a day, haul and chop firewood for the kitchen and house, not let strangers in, and keep watch at night. And it must be said that he diligently fulfilled his duty: there were never any chips or litter lying around in his yard; if, in a dirty season, a broken water nag handed over to his command gets stuck somewhere with a barrel, he will only move his shoulder - and not only the cart, but the horse itself will be pushed out of place; Whenever he starts chopping wood, his ax rings like glass, and fragments of logs fly in all directions; and what about strangers, so after one night, having caught two thieves, he hit their foreheads against each other, and hit them so hard that at least he didn’t take them to the police afterwards, everyone in the neighborhood began to respect him very much; even during the day, those passing by, no longer scammers at all, but simply strangers, at the sight of the formidable janitor, waved them off and shouted at him, as if he could hear their screams. With all the rest of the servants, Gerasim had a relationship that was not exactly friendly - they were afraid of him - but short: he considered them to be his own. They communicated with him by signs, and he understood them, carried out all orders exactly, but he also knew his rights and no one dared to sit in his place at the capital. In general, Gerasim was of a strict and serious disposition, he loved order in everything; Even the roosters didn’t dare fight in front of him, otherwise it would be a disaster! He sees him, immediately grabs him by the legs, spins him ten times in the air like a wheel, and throws him apart. There were also geese in the lady's yard; but the goose is known to be an important and sensible bird; Gerasim felt respect for them, followed them and fed them; he himself looked like a sedate gander. They gave him a closet above the kitchen; he arranged it for himself, according to his own taste, built a bed in it from oak boards on four logs - a truly heroic bed; a hundred pounds could have been put on it - it wouldn’t have bent; under the bed there was a hefty chest; in the corner there was a table of the same strong quality, and next to the table there was a chair on three legs, so strong and squat that Grasim himself used to pick it up, drop it and grin. The closet was locked with a lock that resembled a kalach, only black; Gerasim always carried the key to this lock with him on his belt. He didn't like people to visit him.

So a year passed, at the end of which a small incident happened to Gerasim.

The old lady with whom he lived as a janitor followed ancient customs in everything and kept a large servant; in her house there were not only laundresses, seamstresses, carpenters, tailors and seamstresses - there was even one saddler, he was considered a veterinarian and a doctor for people, there was a house doctor for the lady, and finally there was one shoemaker named Kapiton Klimov , bitter drunkard. Klimov considered himself a being offended and not appreciated, an educated and metropolitan man, who would not live in Moscow, idle, in some outback, and if he drank, as he himself expressed himself with emphasis and beating himself on the chest, then he drank just out of grief. So one day the lady and her chief butler, Gavrila, were talking about him, a man who, judging by his yellow eyes and duck nose, fate itself seemed to have destined to be the person in charge. The lady regretted the corrupted morality of Kapiton, who had just been found somewhere on the street the day before.

“What, Gavrila,” she suddenly spoke, “wouldn’t he marry us, what do you think?” Maybe he'll settle down.

- Why not get married, sir! “It’s possible, sir,” answered Gavrila, “and it will be very good, sir.”

- Yes; But who will go for him?

- Of course, sir. However, as you wish, sir. Still, he, so to speak, may be needed for something; you can't throw him out of the top ten.

- It seems he likes Tatyana?

Gavrila wanted to object, but pressed his lips together.

“Yes!.. let him woo Tatyana,” the lady decided, sniffing the tobacco with pleasure, “do you hear?”

“I’m listening, sir,” said Gavrila and left.

Returning to his room (it was in a wing and was almost cluttered with forged chests), Gavrila first sent his wife out, and then sat down by the window and thought. The lady's unexpected order apparently puzzled him. Finally he stood up and ordered Capiton to be called. Kapiton appeared... But before we convey their conversation to the readers, we consider it useful to tell in a few words who this Tatiana was, whom Kapiton had to marry, and why the lady’s command confused the butler.

Tatyana, who, as we said above, held the position of laundress (however, as a skilled and learned laundress, she was entrusted with only fine linen), was a woman of about twenty-eight, small, thin, blond, with moles on her left cheek. Moles on the left cheek are considered a bad omen in Rus' - a harbinger of an unhappy life... Tatyana could not boast about her fate. From early youth she was kept in a black body; She worked for two people, but never saw any kindness; they dressed her poorly, she received the smallest salary; It was as if she had no relatives: some old housekeeper, left in the village due to unworthiness, was her uncle, and her other uncles were peasants - that’s all. She was once known as a beauty, but her beauty quickly faded away. She was of a very meek disposition, or, better said, intimidated; she felt complete indifference to herself, and was mortally afraid of others; I thought only about how to finish my work on time, never spoke to anyone, and trembled at the mere name of the lady, although she hardly knew her by sight. When Gerasim was brought from the village, she almost froze with horror at the sight of his huge figure, tried in every possible way not to meet him, even squinted her eyes when she happened to run past him, rushing from the house to the laundry. At first Gerasim did not pay much attention to her, then he began to chuckle when he came across her, then he began to look at her, and finally he did not take his eyes off her at all. He fell in love with her; whether by a meek expression on his face, or timidity of movements - God knows! One day she was making her way through the yard, carefully lifting her mistress’s starched jacket on her outstretched fingers... someone suddenly grabbed her tightly by the elbow; She turned around and screamed: Gerasim was standing behind her. Laughing stupidly and mooing affectionately, he handed her a gingerbread cockerel with gold leaf on its tail and wings. She wanted to refuse, but he forcibly shoved it right into her hand, shook his head, walked away and, turning around, once again mumbled something very friendly to her. From that day on, he never gave her any rest: wherever she went, he was right there, walking towards her, smiling, humming, waving his arms, suddenly pulling out a ribbon from his bosom and handing it to her, sweeping the dust in front of her. will clear. The poor girl simply didn’t know what to do or what to do. Soon the whole house learned about the dumb janitor's tricks; ridicule, jokes, and cutting words rained down on Tatyana. However, not everyone dared to mock Gerasim; he didn't like jokes; and they left her alone with him. The Rada is not happy, but the girl came under his protection. Like all deaf-mutes, he was very quick-witted and understood very well when they were laughing at him or her. One day at dinner, the wardrobemaid, Tatyana’s boss, began, as they say, to spank her and got her so angry that she, poor thing, didn’t know where to put her eyes and almost cried with frustration. Gerasim suddenly stood up, extended his huge hand, placed it on the wardrobemaid’s head and looked into her face with such gloomy ferocity that she bent over the table. Everyone fell silent. Gerasim picked up the spoon again and continued to slurp the cabbage soup. “See, deaf devil, goblin!” “Everyone muttered in a low voice, and the wardrobemaid got up and went into the maid’s room. And then another time, noticing that Kapiton, the same Kapiton whom we were now talking about, was somehow too kindly squabbling with Tatyana, Gerasim called him over with his finger, took him to the carriage house and, grabbing the end of the drawbar standing in the corner , lightly but meaningfully threatened him with it. Since then, no one has spoken to Tatyana. And he got away with it all. True, the wardrobemaid, as soon as she ran into the maid’s room, immediately fainted and generally acted so skillfully that on the same day she brought Gerasim’s rude act to the attention of the lady; but the whimsical old woman just laughed, several times, to the extreme insult of the wardrobemaid, forced her to repeat how, they say, he bent you down with his heavy hand, and the next day she sent Gerasim a ruble. She favored him as a faithful and strong watchman. Gerasim was quite afraid of her, but still hoped for her mercy and was about to go to her

The reader will now easily understand the reason for the embarrassment that seized the butler Gavrila after a conversation with the lady. “The lady,” he thought, sitting by the window, “of course, favors Gerasim (Gavrila knew this well, and that’s why he indulged him himself), yet he is a creature wordless; I can’t tell the lady that Gerasim is supposedly courting Tatyana. And finally, it’s fair, what kind of husband is he? But on the other hand, as soon as this, God forgive me, devil finds out that Tatyana is being given away as Kapiton, he will break everything in the house, by all means. After all, you can’t talk to him; After all, he, such a devil, I have sinned, a sinner, there is no way to persuade him... really!..”

The appearance of Kapiton interrupted Gavrilin's thread of thoughts. The frivolous shoemaker entered, threw his arms back and, cheekily leaning against the prominent corner of the wall near the door, placed his right foot crosswise in front of his left and shook his head. “Here I am. What do you need?

Gavrila looked at Kapiton and tapped his fingers on the window frame. Kapiton only narrowed his pewter eyes a little, but did not lower them, he even grinned slightly and ran his hand through his whitish hair, which was ruffling in all directions. “Well, yes, I say, I am. What are you looking at?

“Good,” said Gavrila and was silent. - Good, nothing to say!

Kapiton just shrugged his shoulders. “And you’re probably better?” - he thought to himself.

“Well, look at yourself, well, look,” Gavrila continued reproachfully, “well, who do you look like?”

Capiton calmly looked at his worn and tattered frock coat, his patched trousers, with special attention he examined his holey boots, especially the one on the toe of which his right leg rested so smartly, and again stared at the butler.

- What, sir?

- What, sir? - Gavrila repeated. - What, sir? You also say: what? You look like the devil, I have sinned, sinner, that’s what you look like.

Kapiton blinked his eyes quickly.

“Swear, swear, swear, Gavrila Andreich,” he thought to himself again.

“After all, you were drunk again,” Gavrila began, “right again?” A? Well, answer me.

“Due to poor health, he was indeed exposed to alcohol,” Kapiton objected.

- Due to poor health!.. You are not punished enough - that’s what; and in St. Petersburg you were still an apprentice... You learned a lot in your apprenticeship! Just eat bread for nothing.

“In this case, Gavrila Andreich, I have only one judge: the Lord God himself, and no one else.” He alone knows what kind of person I am in this world and whether I truly eat bread for nothing. And as far as drunkenness is concerned, even in this case it is not me who is to blame, but more than one comrade; He himself deceived me, and even politicized me, he left, that is, and I...

- And you, goose, remained on the street. Oh, you crazy man! Well, that’s not the point,” continued the butler, “but this is what. The lady...” here he paused, “the lady wants you to get married.” Do you hear? They think you'll settle down by getting married. Understand?

- How can you not understand, sir?

- Well, yes. In my opinion, it would be better to get a good grip on you. Well, that's their business. Well? Do you agree?

Kapiton grinned.

— Marriage is a good thing for a person, Gavrila Andreich; and I, for my part, with my very pleasant pleasure.

“Well, yes,” Gavrila objected and thought to himself; “There’s nothing to say,” the man says carefully.” “Only this,” he continued aloud, “they found a bad bride for you.”

- Which one, may I ask?..

- Tatyana.

- Tatyana?

And Kapiton widened his eyes and separated from the wall.

- Well, why are you alarmed?.. Don’t you like her?

- Which is not to your liking, Gavrila Andreich! She’s a good girl, a worker, a quiet girl... But you know it yourself, Gavrila Andreich, because that goblin is a kikimora of the steppe, because he’s behind her...

“I know, brother, I know everything,” the butler interrupted him with annoyance, “but...

- For mercy's sake, Gavrila Andreich! After all, he will kill me, by God he will kill me, like swatting some fly; after all, he has a hand, after all, you deign to see for yourself what kind of hand he has; after all, he simply has Minin and Pozharsky’s hand. After all, he is deaf, he hits and does not hear how he hits! It’s like he’s waving his fists in a dream. And there is no way to calm him down; Why? Because, you yourself know, Gavrila Andreich, he is deaf and, in addition, stupid as a heel. After all, this is some kind of beast, an idol, Gavrila Andreich - worse than an idol... some kind of aspen; Why should I now suffer from him? Of course, now I don’t care about everything: a man held out, endured, oiled himself like a Kolomna pot - still, however, I am a person, and not some truly insignificant pot.

- I know, I know, don’t write it down...

- Oh my God! - the shoemaker continued passionately, - when will the end be? When, Lord! I am a wretched man, an inexhaustible wretched man! Fate, my fate, just think! In my younger years I was beaten by a German master; in the best part of my life I was beaten by my own brother, and finally, in my mature years, this is what I have achieved...

“Oh, you filthy soul,” said Gavrila. - Why are you spreading the word, really!

- Why, Gavrila Andreich! It's not beatings that I'm afraid of, Gavrila Andreich. Punish me, lord within the walls, and give me a greeting in front of people, and I’m still among the people, but here, from whom does it come...

“Well, get out,” Gavrila interrupted him impatiently.

Kapiton turned away and trudged out.

“Suppose he weren’t there,” the butler shouted after him, “do you agree?”

“I express it,” Kapiton objected and left.

Eloquence did not leave him even in extreme cases.

The butler walked around the room several times.

“Well, call Tatyana now,” he said at last.

A few moments later, Tatyana entered, barely audibly, and stopped at the threshold.

- What do you order, Gavrila Andreich? - she said in a quiet voice.

The butler looked at her intently.

“Well,” he said, “Tanyusha, do you want to get married?” The lady has found a groom for you.

- I’m listening, Gavrila Andreich. And who are they appointing as my groom? - she added hesitantly.

- Capiton, shoemaker.

- I’m listening, sir.

- One problem... after all, this capercaillie, Garaska, is looking after you. And how did you charm this bear to you? But he will probably kill you, such a bear...

- He will kill, Gavrila Andreich, he will certainly kill.

- He will kill... Well, we will see. How do you say: he will kill! Does he have the right to kill you, judge for yourself.

“I don’t know, Gavrila Andreich, whether he has it or not.”

- What a hell! After all, you didn’t promise him anything...

- What do you want, sir?

The butler paused and thought:

“You unrequited soul!” “Well, okay,” he added, “we’ll talk to you later, but now go, Tanyusha; I see that you are definitely humble.

Tatyana turned, leaned lightly on the ceiling and left.

“Or maybe the lady will forget about this wedding tomorrow,” the butler thought, “why am I worried? We'll get this naughty guy down; If anything happens, we’ll let the police know...” - Ustinya Fedorovna! - he shouted in a loud voice to his wife, - put on the samovar, my venerable...

Tatyana did not leave the laundry room almost all that day. At first she cried, then she wiped away her tears and went back to work. Kapiton sat in the establishment until very late at night with some gloomy-looking friend and told him in detail how he lived in St. Petersburg with a certain gentleman, who would take everything, but he was observant of the rules and, moreover, made one slight mistake: he took a lot of hops, and as for the female sex, he simply reached all the qualities... The gloomy comrade only assented; but when Kapiton finally announced that, on one occasion, he must lay hands on himself tomorrow, the gloomy comrade remarked that it was time to sleep. And they parted rudely and silently.

Meanwhile, the butler's expectations did not come true. The lady was so preoccupied with the thought of Kapiton's wedding that even at night she only talked about it with one of her companions, who stayed in her house only in case of insomnia and, like a night cab driver, slept during the day. When Gavrila came to her after tea with a report, her first question was: how is our wedding going? He, of course, replied that everything was going as well as possible and that Kapiton would come to her today with a bow. The lady was feeling unwell; She did not take care of business for long. Tatyana did not argue, of course; but Kapiton declared publicly that he had one head, and not two or three... Gerasim looked sternly and quickly at everyone, did not leave the maiden porch and seemed to guess that something bad was afoot for him. Those gathered (among them there was an old barman, nicknamed Uncle Tail, to whom everyone respectfully turned for advice, although all they heard from him was that: this is how it is, yes: yes, yes, yes) began by saying that on just in case, for safety, they locked Capiton in a closet with a water purification machine and resorted to force; but God forbid! There will be noise, the lady will be worried - trouble! What should I do? We thought and thought and finally came up with something. It was repeatedly noted that Gerasim could not stand drunkards... Sitting outside the gate, he would turn away indignantly every time when some loaded man walked past him with unsteady steps and with the visor of his cap on his ear. They decided to teach Tatyana so that she would pretend to be drunk and walk, staggering and swaying, past Gerasim. The poor girl did not agree for a long time, she would not get rid of her admirer. She went. Kapiton was released from the closet: the matter concerned him after all. Gerasim was sitting on the bedside table by the gate and poking the ground with a shovel... People were looking at him from all corners, from under the curtains outside the windows...

The trick was a success. Seeing Tatyana, he first, as usual, nodded his head with a gentle moo; then he took a closer look, dropped the shovel, jumped up, walked up to her, brought his face close to hers... She staggered even more out of fear and closed her eyes... He grabbed her hand, rushed across the entire yard and, entering with her into the room where the council was meeting, he pushed her straight towards Capito. Tatyana just froze... Gerasim stood, looked at her, waved his hand, grinned and walked, stepping heavily, into his closet... He didn’t come out of there for a whole day. Postilion Antipka later said that through a crack he saw Gerasim, sitting on the bed, putting his hand to his cheek, singing quietly, measuredly and only occasionally mooing, that is, swaying, closing his eyes and shaking his head, like coachmen or barge haulers when they draw out their mournful songs. Antitska felt creepy, and he moved away from the crack. When Gerasim came out of the closet the next day, no particular change could be noticed in him. He only seemed to become more gloomy, but did not pay the slightest attention to Tatyana and Kapiton. That same evening, both of them, with geese under their arms, went to the lady and got married a week later. On the very day of the wedding, Gerasim did not change his behavior in any way; Only he arrived from the river without water: he once broke a barrel on the road; and at night in the stable he cleaned and rubbed his horse so diligently that it staggered like a blade of grass in the wind and swayed from foot to foot under his iron fists.

All this happened in the spring. Another year passed, during which Kapiton finally became an alcoholic and, as a decidedly worthless man, was sent with a convoy to a distant village, along with his wife. On the day of departure, at first he was very brave and assured that no matter where they sent him, even to where the women washed their shirts and put rollers on the sky, he would not be lost; but then he lost heart, began to complain that he was being taken to uneducated people, and finally became so weak that he could not even put on his own hat; some compassionate soul pulled it over his forehead, adjusted the visor and slammed it on top. When everything was ready and the men already held the reins in their hands and were only waiting for the words: “With God!”, Gerasim came out of his closet, approached Tatyana and gave her a red paper handkerchief, which he had bought for her a year ago, as a souvenir. . Tatyana, who until that moment had endured all the vicissitudes of her life with great indifference, here, however, could not stand it, burst into tears and, getting into the cart, kissed Gerasim three times in a Christian manner. He wanted to accompany her to the outpost and first walked next to her cart, but suddenly stopped at the Crimean Ford, waved his hand and set off along the river.

It was late in the evening. He walked quietly and looked at the water. Suddenly it seemed to him that something was floundering in the mud near the shore. He bent down and saw a small puppy, white with black spots, who, despite all his efforts, could not get out of the water; he struggled, slid and trembled with his entire wet and thin body. Gerasim looked at the unfortunate little dog, picked it up with one hand, put it in his bosom and took long steps home. He entered his closet, laid the rescued puppy on the bed, covered him with his heavy overcoat, and ran first to the stable for straw, then to the kitchen for a cup of milk. Carefully throwing back his coat and spreading out the straw, he placed the milk on the bed. The poor little dog was only three weeks old, her eyes had recently opened; one eye even seemed a little larger than the other; She did not yet know how to drink from a cup and only trembled and squinted. Gerasim lightly took her head with two fingers and bent her muzzle towards the milk. The dog suddenly began to drink greedily, snorting, shaking and choking. Gerasim looked and looked and suddenly laughed... All night he fussed with her, laid her down, dried her, and finally fell asleep next to her in some kind of joyful and quiet sleep.

No mother cares for her child as much as Gerasim looked after his pet. (The dog turned out to be a bitch.) At first she was very weak, frail and ugly, but little by little she got over it and straightened out, and after eight months, thanks to the constant care of her savior, she turned into a very nice dog of the Spanish breed, with long ears, a bushy tail the shape of a pipe and large expressive eyes. She became passionately attached to Gerasim and did not lag behind him a single step, she kept following him, wagging her tail. He also gave her a nickname - dumb people know that their mooing attracts the attention of others - he called her Mumu. All the people in the house loved her and also called her Mumunei. She was extremely smart, affectionate towards everyone, but she loved only Gerasim. Gerasim himself loved her madly... and it was unpleasant for him when others stroked her: he was afraid, perhaps, for her, whether he was jealous of her - God knows! She woke him up in the morning, pulling him by the floor, brought to him by the reins an old water carrier, with whom she lived in great friendship, with an important look on her face she went with him to the river, guarded his brooms and shovels, and did not let anyone near his closet. He deliberately cut a hole in his door for her, and she seemed to feel that only in Gerasim’s closet she was a complete mistress, and therefore, upon entering it, she immediately jumped onto the bed with a contented look. At night she did not sleep at all, but did not bark indiscriminately, like some stupid mongrel who, sitting on her hind legs and raising her muzzle and closing her eyes, simply barks out of boredom, like at the stars, and usually three times in a row - no! Mumu's thin voice was never heard in vain: either a stranger came close to the fence, or somewhere there was a suspicious noise or rustling... In a word, she was an excellent guard. True, besides her, there was also in the yard an old yellow dog with brown spots named Volchok, but he was never let off the chain, even at night, and he himself, due to his decrepitude, did not at all demand freedom - he lay curled up in his kennel and only occasionally uttered a hoarse, almost silent bark, which he immediately stopped, as if he himself felt all its uselessness. Mumu didn’t go to the manor’s house, and when Gerasim carried firewood into the rooms, she always stayed back and waited impatiently for him at the porch, with her ears pricked up and her head turning first to the right, then suddenly to the left, at the slightest knock at the door...

So another year passed. Gerasim continued his work as a janitor and was very pleased with his fate, when suddenly one unexpected circumstance occurred... namely.

One fine summer day, the lady and her hangers-on were walking around the living room. She was in good spirits, laughing and joking; the hangers-on laughed and joked too, but they didn’t feel much joy: they didn’t really like it in the house when the lady had a happy hour, because, firstly, she then demanded everyone’s immediate and complete sympathy and got angry if anyone her face did not shine with pleasure, and secondly, these outbursts did not last long and were usually replaced by a gloomy and sour mood. That day she somehow got up happily; on the cards she came up with four jacks: fulfillment of wishes (she always told fortunes in the morning) - and the tea seemed especially tasty to her, for which the maid received verbal praise and a ten-kopeck piece of money. With a sweet smile on her wrinkled lips, the lady walked around the living room and went to the window. There was a front garden in front of the window, and in the middle flowerbed, under a rose bush, Mumu lay carefully gnawing on a bone. The lady saw her.

- My God! - she suddenly exclaimed, “what kind of dog is this?”

The hanger-on, to whom the lady turned, rushed about, poor thing, with that melancholy anxiety that usually takes possession of a subordinate person when he still does not know well how to understand the exclamation of his boss.

“I... I don’t know, sir,” she muttered, “it seems dumb.”

- My God! - the lady interrupted, - she’s a lovely little dog! Tell her to be brought. How long has he had it? How come I haven’t seen her before?.. Tell her to be brought.

The hanger-on immediately fluttered into the hallway

- Man, man! - she shouted, - bring Mumu quickly! She's in the front garden.

“And her name is Mumu,” said the lady, “a very good name.”

- Oh, very much! - objected the hanger-on. - Hurry, Stepan!

Stepan, a burly guy who held the position of footman, rushed headlong into the front garden and wanted to grab Mumu, but she deftly wriggled out from under his fingers and, raising her tail, ran at full speed towards Gerasim, who at that time was beating out and shook out the barrel, turning it over in his hands like a child's drum. Stepan ran after her and began to catch her at the very feet of her owner; but the nimble dog did not give in to the hands of a stranger, it jumped and dodged. Gerasim looked with a grin at all this fuss; Finally, Stepan stood up in annoyance and hastily explained to him with signs that the lady, they say, demands your dog to come to her. Gerasim was a little surprised, but he called Mumu, picked her up from the ground and handed her over to Stepan. Stepan brought it into the living room and placed it on the parquet floor. The lady began to call her to her in a gentle voice. Mumu, who had never been in such magnificent chambers before, was very frightened and rushed to the door, but pushed away by the obliging Stepan, she trembled and pressed herself against the wall.

“Mumu, Mumu, come to me, come to the lady,” said the lady, “come, silly... don’t be afraid...”

“Come, come, Mumu, to the lady,” the hangers-on repeated, “come.”

But Mumu looked around sadly and did not move from her place.

“Bring her something to eat,” said the lady. - How stupid she is! does not go to the lady. What is he afraid of?

“They’re not used to it yet,” said one of the hangers-on in a timid and touching voice.

Stepan brought a saucer of milk and placed it in front of Mumu, but Mumu didn’t even smell the milk and kept trembling and looking around as before.

- Oh, what are you like! - said the lady, approaching her, bent down and wanted to stroke her, but Mumu convulsively turned her head and bared her teeth. The lady quickly pulled her hand back...

There was a moment's silence. Mumu squealed weakly, as if complaining and apologizing... The lady walked away and frowned. The sudden movement of the dog startled her.

- Ah! - all the hangers-on shouted at once, - did she bite you, God forbid! (Mumu has never bitten anyone in her life.) Ah, ah!

“Take her out,” the old woman said in a changed voice. - Bad dog! How evil she is!

And, slowly turning around, she headed to her office. The hangers-on timidly looked at each other and started to follow her, but she stopped, looked at them coldly, and said: “Why is this? After all, I’m not calling you,” and left.

The hangers-on desperately waved their hands at Stepan; he picked up Mumu and quickly threw her out the door, right at Gerasim’s feet - and half an hour later a deep silence reigned in the house, and the old lady sat on her sofa gloomier than a thundercloud.

What trifles, just think, can sometimes upset a person!

Until the evening the lady was not in a good mood, did not talk to anyone, did not play cards and had a bad night. She got it into her head that the cologne they served her was not the one they usually served, that her pillow smelled of soap, and made the wardrobe maid smell all her linen - in a word, she was worried and “hot” very much. The next morning she ordered Gavrila to be called an hour earlier than usual.

“Tell me, please,” she began as soon as he, not without some internal babbling, crossed the threshold of her office, “what kind of dog was that barking in our yard all night?” Didn't let me sleep!

“A dog, sir... some kind of... maybe a dumb dog, sir,” he said in a not entirely firm voice.

“I don’t know if it was dumb or someone else, but she didn’t let me sleep.” Yes, I’m surprised why there are so many dogs! I want to know. After all, we have a yard dog?

- Of course, yes, yes. Volchok, sir.

- Well, what else, what else do we need a dog for? Just one to start a riot. The eldest is not in the house - that's what. And what does a mute need a dog for? Who allowed him to keep dogs in my yard? Yesterday I went to the window, and she was lying in the front garden, she had brought some kind of abomination, gnawing, - and I had roses planted there...

The lady was silent.

- So that she’s not here today... do you hear?

- I’m listening, sir.

- Today. Now go. I’ll call you to report later.

Gavrila left.

Passing through the living room, the butler, for the sake of order, moved the bell from one table to another, secretly blew his duck nose in the hall and went out into the hall. In the hallway, in a battle painting, his bare legs were frantically stretched out from under his frock coat, which served him as a blanket. The butler pushed him aside and in a low voice told him some order, to which Stepan responded with a half-yawn, half-laugh. The butler left, and Stepan jumped up, pulled on his caftan and boots, went out and stopped at the porch. Less than five minutes passed when Gerasim appeared with a huge bundle of firewood on his back, accompanied by the inseparable Mumu. (The lady ordered her bedroom and study to be heated even in the summer.) Gerasim stood sideways in front of the door, pushed it with his shoulder and burst into the house with his burden. Mumu, as usual, remained to wait for him. Then Stepan, seizing an opportune moment, suddenly rushed at her like a kite at a chicken, crushed her to the ground with his chest, grabbed her in his arms and, without even putting on a cap, ran out with her into the yard, sat on the first cab he came across and galloped off to Okhotny Ryad. There he soon found a buyer, to whom he sold her for fifty dollars, with the sole condition that he would keep her on a leash for at least a week, and returned immediately; but, before reaching the house, he got off the cab and, going around the yard, from the back alley, jumped over the fence into the yard; He was afraid to go through the gate, lest he might meet Gerasim.

However, his concern was in vain: Gerasim was no longer in the yard. Leaving the house, he immediately missed Mumu; He still didn’t remember that she would ever not wait for his return, he began to run everywhere, looking for her, calling her in his own way... he rushed into his closet, into the hayloft, jumped out into the street - back and forth... She disappeared! He turned to the people, asked about her with the most desperate signs, pointing half an arshin from the ground, drew her with his hands... Some didn’t know exactly where Mumu had gone and just shook their heads, others knew and laughed at him in response, but the butler assumed an extremely important air and began shouting at the coachmen. Then Gerasim ran away from the yard.

It was already getting dark when he returned. From his exhausted appearance, from his unsteady gait, from his dusty clothes, one could assume that he had managed to run around half of Moscow. He stopped in front of the master's windows, looked around the porch, on which seven courtyard people were crowded, turned away and muttered again: “Mumu!” - Mumu did not respond. He walked away. Everyone looked after him, but no one smiled, did not say a word... and the curious postilion Antipka told the next morning in the kitchen that the mute had been groaning all night.

The whole next day Gerasim did not show up, so the coachman Potap had to go get water instead, which the coachman Potap was very dissatisfied with. The lady asked Gavrila whether her order had been carried out. Gavrila replied that it was done. The next morning Gerasim left his closet to work. He came to dinner, ate and left again without bowing to anyone. His face, already lifeless, like that of all deaf-mutes, now seemed to have turned to stone. After lunch he left the yard again, but not for long; he returned and immediately went to the hayloft. The night came, moonlit, clear. Sighing heavily and constantly turning around, Gerasim lay and suddenly felt as if he were being pulled by the floor; he trembled all over, but did not raise his head, even closed his eyes; but then they pulled him again, stronger than before; he jumped up... In front of him, with a piece of paper around her neck, Mumu was spinning. A long cry of joy burst from his silent chest; he grabbed Mumu and squeezed her in his arms; in an instant she licked his nose, eyes, mustache and beard... He stood, thought, carefully climbed down from the hay, looked around and, making sure that no one would see him, safely made his way into his closet. Gerasim had already guessed that the dog did not disappear on its own, that it must have been brought in on the orders of the lady; people explained to him with signs how his Mumu had snapped at her, and he decided to take his own measures. First he fed Mumu some bread, caressed her, put her to bed, then he began to think, and spent the whole night thinking about how best to hide her. Finally, he came up with the idea of leaving her in the closet all day and only visiting her occasionally, and taking her out at night. He tightly plugged the hole in the door with his old overcoat and as soon as it was light he was already in the yard, as if nothing had happened, even retaining (innocent cunning!) the former despondency on his face. It could not have occurred to the poor deaf man that Mumu would give himself away with his squealing: indeed, everyone in the house soon learned that the mute dog had returned and was locked up with him, but, out of pity for him and her, partly, perhaps, fear of him, they didn’t let him scratch the back of his head, but waved his hand. “Well, they say, God bless him! Maybe it won’t reach the lady!” But the mute had never been as zealous as he was that day: he cleaned and scraped the entire yard, weeded out every last weed, with his own hands he pulled out all the pegs in the front garden fence to make sure they were strong enough, and then he hammered them in himself - with a nightingale, he fussed and fussed so much that even the lady paid attention to his zeal. During the day, Gerasim secretly went to see his recluse twice; when night came, he went to sleep with her in the closet, and not in the hayloft, and only in the second hour did he go out for a walk with her clean air. After walking around the yard with her for quite a long time, he was about to return, when suddenly a rustling sound was heard behind the fence, from the side of the alley. Mumu pricked up her ears, growled, walked up to the fence, sniffed and began to bark loudly and piercingly. Some drunken man decided to nest there for the night. At this very time, the lady had just fallen asleep after a long period of “nervous excitement”: these worries always happened to her after a too rich dinner. A sudden barking woke her up; her heart began to beat and froze. “Girls, girls! She spoke. - Girls! The frightened girls jumped into her bedroom. “Oh, oh, I’m dying! - she said, waving her hands sadly. - Again, again this dog!.. Oh, send for the doctor. They want to kill me... Dog, dog again! Oh!" - and she threw her head back, which should have meant fainting. They rushed to get the doctor, that is, the house doctor Khariton. This doctor, whose whole art consisted in the fact that he wore boots with soft soles, knew how to delicately take the pulse, slept fourteen hours a day, the rest of the time he sighed and constantly regaled his lady with cherry laurel drops - this doctor immediately ran in and smoked with burnt feathers and when the lady opened her eyes, he immediately brought her a glass on a silver tray with the treasured voice and began again to complain about the dog, about Gavrila, about her fate, about the fact that everyone abandoned her, a poor old woman, that no one regrets her what's in

Gerasim turned around, saw flashing lights and shadows in the windows and, sensing trouble in his heart, grabbed Mumu under the arm, ran into the closet and locked himself. A few moments later, five people were banging on his door, but, feeling the resistance of the bolt, they stopped. Gavrila came running in a terrible rush, ordered them all to stay here until the morning and keep watch, and then he rushed into the girls' room and through the senior companion Lyubov Lyubimovna, with whom he stole and counted tea, sugar and other groceries, ordered to report to the lady that the dog, to misfortune, she came running from somewhere again, but that tomorrow she would not be alive and that the lady would do a favor not to be angry and calm down. The lady probably would not have calmed down so quickly, but the doctor in a hurry poured forty drops instead of twelve; The power of the cherry laurel worked - after a quarter of an hour the lady was already resting soundly and peacefully; and Gerasim lay, all pale, on his bed and tightly squeezed Mumu’s mouth.

The next morning the lady woke up quite late. Gavrila was waiting for her to awaken in order to give the order for a decisive attack on the Gerasimovo refuge, and he himself was preparing to withstand a strong thunderstorm. But there was no thunderstorm. Lying in bed, the lady ordered to call the eldest hanger-on to her, the lady ordered to call the eldest hanger-on to her.
“Lyubov Lyubimovna,” she began in a quiet and weak voice; she sometimes liked to pretend to be a downtrodden and lonely sufferer; Needless to say, all the people in the house felt very awkward then, “Lyubov Lyubimovna, you see what my position is; Come, my soul, to Gavrila Andreich, talk to him: is some little dog really more valuable to him than peace of mind, the very life of his mistress? “I wouldn’t want to believe this,” she added with an expression of deep feeling, “come, my soul, be so kind as to go to Gavrila Andreich.”

Lyubov Lyubimovna went to Gavrilin’s room. It is unknown what their conversation was about; but after some time a whole crowd of people moved across the courtyard in the direction of Gerasim’s closet: Gavrila stepped forward, holding his cap with his hand, although there was no wind; footmen and cooks walked around him; Uncle Tail looked out of the window and gave orders, that is, he just threw up his hands; Behind everyone, boys were jumping and making faces, half of whom were strangers. On the narrow staircase leading to the closet sat one guard; two others stood at the door, with sticks. They began to climb the stairs and occupied its entire length. Gavrila walked up to the door, banged on it with his fist, and shouted:

- Open it.

A muffled bark was heard; but there was no answer.

- They say open it! - he repeated.

“Yes, Gavrila Andreich,” Stepan noted from below, “after all, he is deaf and cannot hear.”

Everyone laughed.

- How can this be? - Gavrila objected from above.

“And he has a hole in the door,” Stepan answered, “so you can move the stick.”

Gavrila bent down.

“He plugged the hole with some kind of overcoat.”

- And you push the army coat inside.

Here again a dull bark was heard.

“Look, see, it tells itself,” they noticed in the crowd and laughed again.

Gavrila scratched behind his ear.

“No, brother,” he continued at last, “you push through the Armenian yourself if you want.”

- Well, if you please!

And Stepan climbed up, took a stick, stuck his coat inside and began dangling the stick in the hole, saying: “Come out, come out!” He was still swinging the stick when suddenly the door of the closet quickly swung open - all the servants immediately rolled head over heels down the stairs, Gavrila first of all. Uncle Tail locked the window.

“Well, well, well, well,” Gavrila shouted from the yard, “look at me, look!”

Gerasim stood motionless on the threshold. A crowd gathered at the foot of the stairs. Gerasim looked at all these little people in German caftans from above, with his hands slightly on his hips; in his red peasant shirt, he seemed like some kind of giant in front of them. Gavrila took a step forward.

“Look, brother,” he said, “don’t be mischievous with me.”

And he began to explain to him with signs that the lady, they say, certainly demands your dog: give it to him now, otherwise there will be trouble.

Gerasim looked at him, pointed to the dog, made a sign with his hand at his neck, as if tightening a noose, and looked at the butler with a questioning face.

“Yes, yes,” he objected, nodding his head, “yes, certainly.”

Gerasim lowered his eyes, then suddenly shook himself, again pointed at Mumu, who stood near him all the time, innocently wagging her tail and moving her ears with curiosity, repeated the sign of strangulation over his neck and significantly hit himself in the chest, as if announcing that he himself was taking take it upon yourself to destroy Mumu.

“You’re deceiving me,” Gavrila waved back at him.

Gerasim looked at him, grinned contemptuously, hit himself in the chest again and slammed the door.

Everyone looked at each other silently.

- What does this mean? - Gavrila began. - Has he locked himself?

“Leave him, Gavrila Andreich,” said Stepan, “he will do what he promised.” That's how he is... If he promises, it's certain. He's not like our brother. What's true is true. Yes.

“Yes,” they all repeated and shook their heads. - That's true. Yes.

Uncle Tail opened the window and also said: “Yes.”

“Well, perhaps we’ll see,” Gavrila objected, “but we still won’t remove the guard.” Hey you, Eroshka! - he added, turning to some pale man, in a yellow Nankan Cossack, who was considered a gardener - what should you do? Take a stick and sit here, and immediately run to me!

Eroshka took the stick and sat down on the last step of the stairs. The crowd dispersed, except for a few curious people and boys, and Gavrila returned home and, through Lyubov Lyubimovna, ordered the mistress to report that everything had been done, and he himself, just in case, sent a postilion to the visitor. The lady tied a knot in her handkerchief, poured cologne on it, sniffed it, rubbed her temples, drank some tea and, still under the influence of the cherry laurel drops, fell asleep again.

An hour later, after all this alarm, the closet door opened and Gerasim appeared. He was wearing a festive caftan; he led Mumu on a string. Eroshka stepped aside and let him pass. Gerasim headed towards the gate. The boys and everyone in the yard followed him with their eyes, silently. He didn't even turn around; I only put on my hat on the street. Gavrila sent the same Eroshka after him as an observer. Eroshka saw from a distance that he entered the tavern with the dog, and began to wait for him to come out.

They knew Gerasim at the tavern and understood his signs. He asked for cabbage soup with meat and sat down, leaning his hands on the table. Mumu stood next to his chair, calmly looking at him with her intelligent eyes. Her fur was so shiny: it was clear that it had recently been combed. They brought cabbage soup to Gerasim. He crumbled some bread into it, finely chopped the meat and placed the plate on the floor. Mumu began to eat with her usual politeness, barely touching her muzzle to the food. Gerasim looked at her for a long time; two heavy tears suddenly rolled out of his eyes: one fell onto the dog’s steep forehead, the other into the cabbage soup. He shaded his face with his hand. Mumu ate half a plate and walked away, licking her lips. Gerasim got up, paid for the cabbage soup and walked out, accompanied by a somewhat perplexed look from the policeman. Eroshka, seeing Gerasim, jumped around the corner and, letting him pass, went after him again.

Gerasim walked slowly and did not let Mumu off the rope. Having reached the corner of the street, he stopped, as if in thought, and suddenly with quick steps he went straight to the Crimean Ford. On the road, he went into the courtyard of a house to which an outbuilding was attached, and carried out two bricks under his arm. From the Crimean Ford he turned along the shore, reached a place where there were two boats with oars tied to pegs (he had already noticed them before), and jumped into one of them together with Mumu. A lame old man came out from behind a hut erected in the corner of the garden and shouted at him. But Gerasim only nodded his head and began rowing so hard, albeit against the flow of the river, that in an instant he rushed a hundred fathoms. The old man stood, stood, scratched his back, first with his left hand, then right hand and returned, limping, to the hut.

And Gerasim rowed and rowed. Now Moscow is left behind. Meadows, vegetable gardens, fields, groves have already stretched along the banks, and huts have appeared. There was a whiff of the village. He dropped the oars, leaned his head against Mumu, who was sitting in front of him on a dry crossbar - the bottom was flooded with water - and remained motionless, crossing his powerful arms on her back, while the boat was gradually carried back to the city by the wave. Finally, Gerasim straightened up, hurriedly, with some kind of painful anger on his face, wrapped the bricks he had taken with a rope, attached a noose, put it around Mumu’s neck, raised it above the river, last time looked at him... She looked at him trustingly and without fear and lightly waved her tail. He turned away, closed his eyes and unclenched his hands... Gerasim heard nothing, neither the quick squeal of the falling Mumu, nor the heavy splash of water; for him, the noisiest day was silent and soundless, just as not even the quietest night is silent for us, and when he opened his eyes again, the small waves were still rushing along the river, as if chasing each other, they were still splashing against the sides of the boat, and only some wide circles scattered far back and towards the shore.

Eroshka, as soon as Gerasim was out of sight, returned home and reported everything he had seen.

“Well, yes,” Stepan noted, “he’ll drown her.” You can be calm. If he promised anything...

During the day no one saw Gerasim. He didn't have lunch at home. Evening came; Everyone gathered for dinner except him.

- This wonderful Gerasim! - squeaked the fat washerwoman, - is it possible to get dirty like that because of a dog!.. Really!

“Yes, Gerasim was here,” Stepan suddenly exclaimed, scooping up a spoonful of porridge.

- How? When?

- Yes, about two hours ago. Of course. I met him at the gate; He was already walking away from here again, leaving the yard. I wanted to ask him about the dog, but he was obviously not in a good mood. Well, he pushed me; He must have just wanted to put me off like that: don’t bother me, he said, but he brought such an extraordinary bream to my veins, so important, he pressed himself and rubbed the back of his head. “Yes,” he added, “he has a hand, a gracious hand, there’s nothing to say.”

Everyone laughed at Stepan and after dinner went to bed.

Meanwhile, some giant was striding diligently and non-stop along that same T... highway, with a sack over his shoulders and a long stick in his hands. It was Gerasim. He hurried without looking back, hurried home, to his village, to his homeland. Having drowned poor Mumu, he ran to his closet, quickly packed some belongings into an old blanket, tied it in a knot, threw it over his shoulder, and was off. He noticed the road well even when he was being taken to Moscow; the village from which the lady took him lay only twenty-five miles from the highway. He walked along it with some kind of indestructible courage, with desperate and at the same time joyful determination. He walked; his chest opened wide; the eyes greedily and directly rushed forward. He was in a hurry, as if his old mother was waiting for him in his homeland, as if she was calling him to her after a long wandering on a foreign side, among strangers... The day that had just arrived summer night was quiet and warm; on the one hand, where the sun had set, the edge of the sky was still white and faintly reddened by the last glow of the disappearing day; on the other hand, a blue, gray twilight was already rising. The night went on from there. Hundreds of quails thundered all around, corncrakes called to each other... Gerasim could not hear them, nor could he hear the sensitive night whispering of the trees, past which his strong legs carried him, but he felt the familiar smell of ripening rye, which was wafting from the dark fields , felt the wind flying towards him - the wind from his homeland - gently hitting his face, playing in his hair and beard; I saw a white road in front of me - the road home, straight as an arrow; saw countless stars in the sky shining on his path, and like a lion he stood out strong and cheerfully, so that when rising sun illuminated with its wet-red rays the young man who had just left, already thirty-five miles lay between Moscow and him...

Two days later he was already at home, in his hut, to the great amazement of the soldier who was placed there. Having prayed before the images, he immediately went to the elder. The headman was surprised at first; but the haymaking had just begun: Gerasim, as an excellent worker, was immediately given a mowing hand - and he went to mow in the old-fashioned way, to mow in such a way that the peasants were just chilled, looking at his sweep and rakes...

And in Moscow, the day after Gerasim’s escape, they missed him. They went to his closet, ransacked it, and told Gavrila. He came, looked, shrugged his shoulders and decided that the mute either fled or drowned along with his stupid dog. They let the police know and reported to the lady. The lady became angry, burst into tears, ordered him to be found at all costs, assured that she had never ordered the dog to be destroyed, and finally gave Gavrila such a scolding that he just shook his head all day and said: “Well!” Finally, news came from the village that Gerasim had arrived there. The lady calmed down somewhat; At first she gave the order to immediately demand him back to Moscow, but then, however, she announced that she did not need such an ungrateful person at all. However, she herself died soon after; and her heirs had no time for Gerasim: they also dismissed the rest of her mother’s people on rent.

And Gerasim still lives as a bob in his lonely hut; healthy and powerful as before, and works for four as before, and is still important and dignified. But the neighbors noticed that since his return from Moscow he had completely stopped hanging out with women, didn’t even look at them, and didn’t keep a single dog. “However,” the men interpret, “it’s his luck that he doesn’t need a woman’s wife; and a dog - what does he need a dog for? You can’t drag a thief into his yard like a donkey!” This is the rumor about the heroic strength of the mute.