• LEO •
TOLSTOY
COLLECTED
SHORTER
FICTION
(in two volumes)
Written over a period of more than half a century, these stories reflect every aspect of Tolstoy’s art and personality. They cover his experiences as a soldier in the Caucasus, his married life, his passionate interest in the peasantry, his cult of truth and simplicity, and, above all, his growing preoccupation with religion. Ranging in scope from novellas like The Kreutzer Sonata and Hadji Murad to folk-tales only a few pages long, they provide a marvelous opportunity to become closely acquainted with Russia’s great novelist. Aylmer and Louise Maude’s classic translations are supplemented by new translations by Nigel J. Cooper of six stories, including two that have never before appeared in English.
EVERYMAN’S LIBRARY
EVERYMAN,
I WILL GO WITH THEE,
AND BE THY GUIDE,
IN THY MOST NEED
TO GO BY THY SIDE
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK
PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
First included in Everyman’s Library, 2001
Introduction, Bibliography and Chronology Copyright © 2001
by Everyman’s Library
Translations in the Appendix Copyright © 2001 by Nigel J. Cooper
Sixth printing (US)
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by
Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Distributed by Random
House, Inc., New York. Published in the United Kingdom by
Everyman’s Library, Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street,
London EC1V0AT, and distributed by Random House (UK) Ltd.
US website: www.randomhouse.com/everymans
A CIP catalogue reference for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828–1910.
[Short stories. English. Selections]
The collected shorter fiction/Leo Tolstoy; translated by Aylmer Maude
and Nigel J. Cooper; with an introduction by John Bayley.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-81991-8
1. Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910—Translations into English.
I. Maude, Aylmer, 1858–1938. II. Cooper, Nigel J. III. Title.
PG3366.A13 M3 2001 00-053487
891.73’3—dc21
v3.1
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 2
——
Cover
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright
A Spark Neglected Burns the House (1885)
Two Old Men (1885)
Where Love is, God is (1885)
The Story of Iván the Fool (1885)
Stories Written to Pictures (1885)
Evil Allures, but Good Endures
Little Girls Wiser than Men
Ilyás
The Death of Iván Ilých (1886)
The Three Hermits (1886)
The Imp and the Crust (1886)
How Much Land Does a Man Need? (1886)
A Grain as Big as a Hen’s Egg (1886)
The Godson (1886)
The Repentant Sinner (1886)
The Kreutzer Sonata (1889)
Appendix to The Kreutzer Sonata
The Devil (1890)
Father Sergius (1890–98)
The Empty Drum (1891)
Françoise (1892)
A Talk Among Leisured People (1893)
Walk in the Light While There is Light (1893)
The Coffee-House of Surat (1893)
Master and Man (1895)
Too Dear! (1897)
Hadji Murád (1896–1904)
Stories Given to Aid the Persecuted Jews:
Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (1903)
Work, Death and Sickness (1903)
Three Questions (1903)
Fëdor Kuzmích (1905)
Appendix 1: Two Early Stories
Preface
A History of Yesterday (1851)
A Christmas Night (1853)
Appendix 2: Four Late Stories
Preface
After the Ball (1903)
The Forged Coupon (1904)
Alyosha Gorshok (1905)
What For? (1906)
About the Translators
About the Introducer
John Bayley’s introduction and Tolstoy’s shorter fiction 1852–84 appear in Volume 1.
A SPARK NEGLECTED
BURNS THE HOUSE
‘THEN came Peter, and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would make a reckoning with his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not wherewith to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him a hundred pence; and he laid hold on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay what thou owest. So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay that which was due. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceeding sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.’ – Matt. xviii. 21–35.
THERE once lived in a village a peasant named Iván Stcherbakóf. He was comfortably off, in the prime of life, the best worker in the village, and had three sons all able to work. The eldest was married, the second about to marry, and the third was a big lad who could mind the horses and was already beginning to plough. Iván’s wife was an able and thrifty woman, and they were fortunate in having a quiet, hardworking daughter-in-law. There was nothing to prevent Iván and his family from living happily. They had only one idle mouth to feed; that was Iván’s old father, who suffered from asthma and had been lying ill on the top of the brick oven for seven years. Iván had all he needed: three horses and a colt, a cow with a calf, and fifteen sheep. The women made all the clothing for the family, besides helping in the fields, and the men tilled the land. They always had grain enough of their own to last over beyond the next harvest, and sold enough oats to pay the taxes and meet their other needs. So Iván and his children might have lived quite comfortably had it not been for a feud between him and his next-door neighbour, Limping Gabriel, the son of Gordéy Ivánof.