The Beggar

Good morning, dear students! Welcome to today's English lesson. I am so happy to see you all here, ready to learn something new and wonderful. Today, we are going to study a beautiful piece of literature from the famous Russian writer Anton Chekhov. The chapter is titled "The Beggar" and it is from your NCERT Moments textbook for Class 9.

Now, before we begin reading the story, let me tell you a little about Anton Chekhov. He was a Russian playwright and short story writer who lived from 1860 to 1904. He is considered one of the greatest writers of short fiction in history. His stories are known for their simplicity, humor, and deep understanding of human nature. You might have heard of his famous plays like "The Cherry Orchard" or "Three Sisters" which are performed even today all over the world.

So students, let's begin our journey into this touching story. The title itself makes us curious, doesn't it? "The Beggar" — who is this beggar? What happened to him? How did his life change? These are the questions we will answer as we read through the chapter together.

The story begins with a beggar approaching a man named Sergei, who is an advocate or lawyer. The beggar asks for money and tells Sergei a sad story. He says, "Kind sir, have pity; turn your attention to a poor, hungry man! For three days I have had nothing to eat; I haven't five copecks for a lodging, I swear it before God. For eight years I was a village schoolteacher and then I lost my place through intrigues. I fell a victim to calumny. It is a year now since I have had anything to do."

Now students, let me explain some important words here. A "copeck" is a Russian coin, just like our paise in India. One copeck is one hundredth of a rouble, similar to how hundred paise make one rupee. "Calumny" means making false and defamatory statements about someone to damage their reputation. So this beggar is claiming that he was a village schoolteacher for eight years and lost his job because people spread false rumors about him — that is what calumny means.

The beggar also says he needs money to travel to the province of Kaluga where he has been offered a position. He says he is ashamed to ask but circumstances have forced him to beg.

Now Sergei looks at this man carefully. He notices his ragged, fawn-colored overcoat, his dull, drunken eyes, and the red spot on either cheek. Students, when someone has red spots on their cheeks and dull eyes, it often indicates heavy drinking, as we shall soon discover. Sergei feels he has seen this man somewhere before.

Then something interesting happens. Sergei notices the man's overshoes — one is high and the other is low. This odd detail triggers his memory, and he says, "Look here, it seems to me I met you the day before yesterday in Sadovya Street, but you told me then that you were a student who had been expelled, and not a village schoolteacher. Do you remember?"

A "suppliant" or "supplicant" is a person making a humble plea to someone in power. Here, the beggar is the suppliant, begging Sergei for money.

Now the beggar is caught in his lie. He stammers, "N-no, that can't be so," and claims he is really a village schoolteacher and can show his papers. But Sergei becomes angry. He says, "Have done with lying! You called yourself a student and even told me what you had been expelled for. Don't you remember?"

Students, notice how the beggar has been telling different stories to different people. This is what we call lying or in this case, "swindling" — cheating people out of money by making up false stories. Sergei flushes with anger and turns away from the ragged creature with disgust. He says, "This is dishonesty, my dear sir! This is swindling — I shall send the police for you, damn you!"

Now the beggar, caught in his lie, does something very honest. He puts his hand on his heart and tells the truth. He says, "The fact is I was lying! I am neither a student nor a schoolteacher. All that was fiction. Formerly I sang in a Russian choir and was sent away for drunkenness. But what else can I do? I can't get along without lying. No one will give me anything when I tell the truth, what can I do?"

This is a very important moment in the story, students. The beggar admits that he was lying about being a teacher. He was actually a singer in a choir but was fired for drunkenness. He tells Sergei that he lies because no one gives him anything when he tells the truth. This is a sad commentary on society, isn't it? Sometimes we are so suspicious of the poor that we don't believe them even when they tell the truth.

Now Sergei asks him an important question: "What can you do? You ask what you can do? Work! That's what you can do! You must work!"

This is a very powerful moment. Sergei is telling the beggar that instead of lying and begging, he should work. The beggar asks where he can find work, and Sergei offers him a job chopping wood. The beggar agrees reluctantly.

Now students, let me explain what happens next. Sergei calls his cook, Olga, and asks her to take the beggar to the wood-shed to chop wood. The word "mendicant" is another word for beggar, and "perplexity" means being puzzled or confused.

The beggar goes with Olga, but we are told that "it was obvious from his gait that he had not consented to go and chop wood because he was hungry and wanted work, but simply from pride and shame and because he had been trapped by his own words." This means he agreed not because he really wanted to work, but because he was embarrassed at being caught in his lie and didn't know what else to do.

We also learn that "his strength had been undermined by vodka and that he was unhealthy and did not feel the slightest inclination for toil." This tells us that the beggar has been drinking heavily, which has weakened his body and health. "Inclinaton for toil" means willingness to do hard work.

Now Sergei stands at the window of his dining-room and watches what happens in the yard. He sees Olga glaring at the beggar wrathfully, shoving him aside with her elbow, unlocking the shed, and angrily banging the door. Students, can you imagine this scene? Olga is not happy to have this beggar in her kitchen. She treats him rudely.

Then Sergei sees the beggar sitting on a log, lost in thought, with his red cheeks resting on his fists. Olga throws down an axe at his feet, spits angrily, and begins to scold him. The word "irresolutely" means hesitantly or undecidedly. A "billet" is a thick piece of wood.

The beggar tries to chop the wood but fails badly. He taps the wood feebly, it falls down, he tries again, blows on his freezing hands, taps cautiously as if afraid of hitting his overshoe or cutting off his finger — and the wood falls down again. He is clearly not good at this work, either because he is weak from drinking or because he has never done such physical labor before.

Now something important happens. Sergei's anger vanishes. He begins to feel sorry and ashamed of himself for setting a "spoiled, drunken, perhaps sick man to work at menial labour in the cold." This shows that Sergei has a kind heart. He may have been angry at the lies, but now he feels compassion for this unfortunate man.

An hour later, Olga comes in and says the wood has been chopped. Sergei is surprised but says, "Good! Give him half a rouble. If he wants to he can come back and cut wood on the first day of each month. We can always find work for him."

So students, Sergei gives the beggar half a rouble for his work — even though we will later learn that Olga actually did the chopping! And Sergei invites him to come back on the first of each month if he wants work.

Now the story moves forward in time. On the first of the month, the beggar comes again and earns half a rouble, although he can barely stand on his legs. From that day on, he often appears in the yard. Sometimes he shovels snow, sometimes he puts the wood-shed in order, sometimes he beats the dust out of rugs and mattresses. Each time he receives twenty to forty copecks, and once he even gets a pair of old trousers.

A "waif" is a homeless person, and "to shovel" means to remove snow with a shovel, just like we do in India during winter.

Then Sergei moves to another house and hires the beggar to help with packing and hauling furniture. This time the beggar is sober, gloomy, and silent. He hardly touches the furniture, walks behind the wagons hanging his head, doesn't even pretend to be busy. He only shivers in the cold and becomes embarrassed when the carters jeer at him for his idleness, his feebleness, and his tattered, fancy overcoat.

After the moving is over, Sergei sends for him. Sergei says, "Well, I am happy that my words have taken effect," and gives him a rouble. He says, "I see you are sober and have no objection to work. What is your name?"

The beggar says his name is Lushkoff. Now we finally learn the name of our beggar! Sergei offers him cleaner employment — can he write? Lushkoff says yes. Then Sergei gives him a letter to take to a friend the next day for some copying work. He tells him to work hard, not to drink, and remembers what he has been told. This is like a mentor giving advice to someone he is helping.

"Pleased at having put a man on the right path, Sergei tapped Lushkoff kindly on the shoulder and even gave him his hand at parting." Students, this shows that Sergei is genuinely happy to have helped someone improve their life. He treats Lushkoff with respect and kindness.

From that day forth, Lushkoff comes no more to the yard for work. This is interesting — what happened to him? Did he get the copying job? Did it change his life? Let's find out.

Two years pass. One evening, Sergei is standing at the ticket window of a theatre paying for his seat. He notices a little man beside him with a coat collar of curly fur and a worn sealskin cap. This little man timidly asks for a seat in the gallery and pays for it in copper coins.

Now Sergei recognizes him — it is Lushkoff! But look how much he has changed! He is no longer the ragged beggar. He now has a nice fur collar and a cap. Sergei cries out, "Lushkoff, is that you? How are you? What are you doing? How is everything with you?"

And Lushkoff's answer is wonderful: "All right. I am a notary now and am paid thirty-five roubles a month."

Students, can you believe this? The man who was begging in the streets, who couldn't chop wood properly, who was drunk and homeless — is now a notary! A notary is a person authorized to perform legal duties, especially witnessing signatures on documents. He earns thirty-five roubles a month, which is quite good!

Sergei is delighted. He says, "Thank Heaven! That's fine! I am delighted for your sake. I am very, very glad, Lushkoff. You see, you are my godson, in a sense. I gave you a push along the right path, you know. Do you remember what a roasting I gave you, eh? I nearly had you sinking into the ground at my feet that day. Thank you, old man, for not forgetting my words."

A "roasting" here means a scolding, and Sergei is proudly recalling how he scolded Lushkoff that day when he caught him lying.

Now Lushkoff says something very important. He says, "Thank you, too. If I hadn't come to you then I might still have been calling myself a teacher or a student to this day. Yes, by flying to your protection I dragged myself out of a pit."

This means that coming to Sergei was a turning point in his life. If he hadn't met Sergei, he might still be lying and begging. But Sergei gave him a chance, and that helped him climb out of the pit of poverty and misery.

But then Lushkoff says something surprising. He says, "I am very glad, indeed. Thank you for your kind words and deeds. I am very grateful to you and to your cook. God bless that good and noble woman! You spoke finely then, and I shall be indebted to you to my dying day; but, strictly speaking, it was your cook, Olga, who saved me."

Sergei is confused. How can Olga have saved him? And Lushkoff explains: "When I used to come to your house to chop wood she used to begin: 'Oh, you sot, you! Oh, you miserable creature! There's nothing for you but ruin.' And then she would sit down opposite me and grow sad, look into my face and weep. 'Oh, you unlucky man! There is no pleasure for you in this world and there will be none in the world to come. You drunkard! You will burn in hell. Oh, you unhappy one!' And so she would carry on, you know, in that strain. I can't tell you how much misery she suffered, how many tears she shed for my sake."

A "sot" is a habitual drunkard. So Olga called him a drunkard and told him he would burn in hell. This might sound harsh, but wait — there's more.

"But the chief thing was — she used to chop the wood for me. Do you know, sir, that I did not chop one single stick of wood for you? She did it all."

Students, this is the most touching part of the story! Olga, who seemed so angry and rude, was actually doing the work for Lushkoff! She was scolding him, but at the same time, she was doing his work for him. And more than that, she was crying for him, feeling sorry for him, and showing him compassion through her tears and words.

Lushkoff says, "Why this saved me, why I changed, why I stopped drinking at the sight of her I cannot explain. I only know that, owing to her words and noble deeds, a change took place in my heart; she set me right and I shall never forget it."

This is beautiful, isn't it? The harsh words and the tears touched Lushkoff's heart. He realized that someone cared about him, even if it didn't seem like it at first. The combination of scolding and doing his work for him, the tears she shed — all of this changed him. He stopped drinking and started working hard, eventually becoming a notary.

Then Lushkoff says, "However, it is time to go now; there goes the bell." He bows and departs to the gallery. And that is the end of the story.

Now students, I want you to understand the theme of this story. The main message is that kindness and compassion can change a person's life. Sergei gave Lushkoff a chance by offering him work. But it was Olga's unexpected kindness — her scolding that came from the heart, her tears, and her actual help in doing the work — that truly transformed Lushkoff. Sometimes, students, we think we need to be soft and gentle to help others. But Olga's way shows that sometimes tough love, combined with genuine care, can also work wonders.

Now let's look at the glossary words and make sure we understand them all. We have already discussed most of them, but let me go through them once more:

Copeck — Russian coin equal to one hundredth of a rouble, like our paise. Calumny — Making false and defamatory statements to damage someone's reputation. Suppliant or Supplicant — A person making a humble plea to someone in power. Mendicant — Beggar. Swindling — Cheating a person of money. Perplexity — State of being puzzled or bewildered. Irresolutely — Hesitantly, undecidedly. Billet — A thick piece of wood. Waif — A homeless person. Shovel — Remove snow with a shovel. Roasting — Informal word for scolding. Sot — A habitual drunkard.

Now students, let's answer the "Think About It" questions together. These are important for your understanding and also for your exams.

Question 1: Has Lushkoff become a beggar by circumstance or by choice?

Students, let us analyze this carefully. At first, Lushkoff says he lost his job as a village schoolteacher through intrigues and calumny — that is, people spread false rumors about him and he became a victim. But later, he tells the truth: he was actually a singer in a Russian choir and was fired for drunkenness. So we can say that his becoming a beggar was partly by circumstance — he lost his job — but also by his own choice — he chose to drink heavily and was fired. Then, when he couldn't find honest work, he chose to lie and beg instead of working hard. So it is a mixture of both circumstance and choice. However, once he started down the path of lying and drinking, it became very difficult for him to get out of it. This shows how easy it is to fall into bad habits and how hard it is to climb out.

Question 2: What reasons does he give to Sergei for his telling lies?

Lushkoff tells Sergei that he lies because "I can't get along without lying. No one will give me anything when I tell the truth, what can I do?" This is his reason — he believes that people don't give money to beggars who tell the truth, so he has to make up sad stories to get sympathy and money. It's a sad commentary on human nature, but also an excuse. The truth is that lying is wrong, no matter what the reason. But we can understand why someone in his desperate situation might feel compelled to lie.

Question 3: Is Lushkoff a willing worker? Why, then, does he agree to chop wood for Sergei?

Students, at first, Lushkoff is not a willing worker. When he goes to chop wood, we are told that "his strength had been undermined by vodka and that he was unhealthy and did not feel the slightest inclination for toil." He agrees to chop wood mainly because he is trapped by his own words — he can't admit that he was lying about being willing to work. Also, he feels pride and shame. He agreed to the work not because he was hungry and wanted work, but simply from pride and shame because he had been caught in his lie. However, this initial reluctant agreement becomes the starting point of his transformation. Sometimes, students, we need to take the first step even when we don't feel like it, and that step can lead to great changes.

Question 4: Sergei says, "I am happy that my words have taken effect." Why does he say so? Is he right in saying this?

Sergei says this because he sees that Lushkoff has stopped drinking and is now working hard. He sees that Lushkoff has become a notary and is earning thirty-five roubles a month. Sergei believes that his scolding and his offer of work changed Lushkoff's life. He feels proud that his words had such a positive effect.

But is he right? Students, we need to think about this carefully. Sergei does deserve some credit — he gave Lushkoff a chance when others would have just called the police. He offered him work and later gave him a letter for a copying job. However, as we learned from the story, the real transformation came from Olga — her scolding, her tears, and her doing the work for him. So while Sergei is partly right, he is not entirely correct in taking all the credit. The story teaches us that we should be humble about our contributions to others' success, and that sometimes the smallest acts of kindness can have the biggest impact.

Question 5: Lushkoff is earning thirty-five roubles a month. How is he obliged to Sergei for this?

Lushkoff is obliged to Sergei because Sergei gave him the opportunity to change his life. When Lushkoff came to Sergei as a beggar, Sergei could have simply sent him away or called the police. Instead, he offered him work and later gave him a letter that led to a copying job. Without this initial help, Lushkoff might never have found his way to becoming a notary. So Sergei opened the door for Lushkoff, and Lushkoff walked through it. That's why Lushkoff is grateful to Sergei — he gave him a chance when no one else would.

Question 6: During their conversation Lushkoff reveals that Sergei's cook, Olga, is responsible for the positive change in him. How has Olga saved Lushkoff?

This is a beautiful question, students. Olga saved Lushkoff in several ways. First, when he came to chop wood, she did the work for him even while scolding him. He didn't chop even one single stick of wood — she did it all. Second, she scolded him and called him a sot and a drunkard, telling him he would burn in hell. Third, she sat down opposite him, grew sad, looked into his face, and wept for him. She suffered misery and shed tears for his sake.

Now, how did this save him? Lushkoff himself says, "I cannot explain" exactly why it worked. But he knows that "owing to her words and noble deeds, a change took place in my heart; she set me right and I shall never forget it."

Students, this is the power of compassion. Olga's harsh words came from a place of love and concern. Her tears showed that she cared. And her actions — doing his work for him — showed that she was willing to help him even when he couldn't help himself. This combination of tough love and genuine care touched Lushkoff's heart and made him want to change. He stopped drinking and started working hard. So Olga, through her unexpected kindness, saved him.

Now let's look at the "Talk About It" question: How can we help beggars/abolish begging?

This is an important question for discussion, students. Begging is a complex social problem, and there are no easy solutions. Let me share some thoughts with you.

First, we need to understand why people beg. Some people beg because they are genuinely poor and cannot find work. Some beg because they have become trapped in a cycle of poverty and cannot escape. Some beg because of addiction to alcohol or drugs. And some beg because it is an organized crime — there are people who force others to beg and take their money.

So how can we help? One way is to give money to genuine beggars, but this can be risky because we might be supporting organized begging rings. Another way is to give food or clothes instead of money. A third way is to support organizations that work for the welfare of the poor, the homeless, and those recovering from addiction. We can also volunteer our time at shelters and orphanages.

To abolish begging completely, we need to address the root causes — poverty, lack of education, lack of job opportunities, and addiction. Governments need to create more jobs, provide better education, and set up rehabilitation centers for those who need help.

As students, you can start by being kind and compassionate to those less fortunate. You can also create awareness in your communities about the issue of begging and how to help properly. Remember, every small act of kindness counts!

Now for the "Suggested Reading" — the chapter mentions two books: "The Man with the Twisted Lip" by Arthur Conan Doyle and "The Three Sisters" by Anton Chekhov. "The Man with the Twisted Lip" is a Sherlock Holmes story about a man who disappears and is found living as a beggar. "The Three Sisters" is a famous play by Chekhov about three sisters who want to return to Moscow. If you enjoy reading, these are great choices!

Now students, let me give you a brief summary of what we learned today.

In this chapter, we read "The Beggar" by Anton Chekhov. The story is about a man named Lushkoff who was once a singer but lost his job due to drinking. He became a beggar and lied about being a village schoolteacher to get sympathy and money. He met Sergei, an advocate, who caught him in his lie. Instead of calling the police, Sergei offered Lushkoff work chopping wood. Lushkoff agreed reluctantly.

Although Lushkoff couldn't do the work properly, Sergei's cook Olga did the work for him while scolding him and crying for him. This act of tough love and compassion touched Lushkoff's heart. He stopped drinking and started working hard. Two years later, he became a notary earning thirty-five roubles a month.

The story teaches us that kindness and compassion can change a person's life. It also shows that sometimes, the smallest acts of kindness — like Olga's tears and her doing the work — can have the biggest impact. We also learned important vocabulary words like copeck, calumny, suppliant, mendicant, swindling, perplexity, irresolutely, billet, waif, shovel, roasting, and sot.

As for the exercises, we discussed that Lushkoff became a beggar partly by circumstance and partly by choice. He told lies because he believed no one would give him money if he told the truth. He agreed to chop wood mainly out of pride and shame, not because he was a willing worker. Sergei was partly right to feel proud, but the real credit goes to Olga. Lushkoff was obliged to Sergei because he gave him the first opportunity to change his life. And Olga saved Lushkoff through her scolding, tears, and by doing his work for him.

Students, I hope you enjoyed this lesson as much as I enjoyed teaching it. Remember, the message of this story is clear: be kind to others, because you never know how your small act of kindness might change someone's life. Thank you for listening, and I'll see you in the next lesson!