Chapter 67 Part Two - Five

Nekhludoff felt much more at home with children than with grown-ups.He chatted with them casually along the way.The little boy in the pink shirt no longer smiled, but spoke as sensiblely as the older boy. "So, who is the poorest in your village?" asked Nekhludoff. "Who is poor? Mikhaila is poor, Semyon Makarov is poor, and Marfa is terribly poor." "And Anisha, she's even poorer. Anisha doesn't even have a cow, and they're begging," said little Fejika. "She doesn't have a cow, but there are only three of them, and the Marfas have five," retorted the older child.

"But Anisha is a widow after all," insisted the boy in the pink shirt. "You say that Anisha is a widow, and Marfa is the same," the older child continued. "Like a widow, her husband is not at home." "Where is her husband?" asked Nekhludoff. "Prison and feed the lice," replied the older boy, in common people's terms. "Last summer he cut down two young birch trees in his master's woods, and he was sent to jail," the boy in the pink shirt said hastily. "It has been closed for more than five months now, his wife is begging, and there are three children, and a sick old woman," he said in detail.

"Where does she live?" asked Nekhludoff. "Here, I live in this yard," the boy said, pointing to a house.In front of the house stood a very thin, fair-haired boy.The bow-legged boy was standing unsteadily on the path that Nekhludoff was walking on. "Vasika, where have you been, you rascal?" a woman in a blouse as dirty as it was covered in ashes ran out of the hut and shouted.She ran up to Nekhludoff with a frightened expression, picked up the child and ran into the house, as if she was afraid that Nekhludoff would bully him. This was the woman just mentioned, whose husband was imprisoned for cutting down the young birches in the Nekhludoffs' woods.

"And Matrona, is she poor?" asked Nekhludoff, as they approached Matrona's hut. "Why is she poor? She's selling liquor," the skinny boy in the pink shirt replied flatly. Nekhludoff went up to Matrona's hut, dismissed the children, went out into the porch, and went into the room again.Old Matrona's hut was only six arshins long, and if a tall person lay on the bed behind the stove, he would not be able to straighten himself up.Nekhludoff thought: "This is the bed where Katyusha gave birth and fell ill." Matrona's hut was almost filled with a loom.The old woman and her granddaughter are repairing the loom.Nekhludoff bumped his head on the lintel as he entered.The other two children rushed into the cabin after the owner, and stood behind him, grabbing the door frame with their small hands.

"Who are you looking for?" the old woman asked angrily because she was very upset because of something wrong with the loom.Besides, she sells bootleg liquor and is afraid of strangers. "I am a landowner. I want to talk to you." The old woman looked at him carefully without saying a word, and her expression changed immediately. "Oh, my dear, my fool didn't recognize you, I thought you were a passer-by," said Matrona, with affected affection. "Oh, my good master..." "I would like to speak to you alone, preferably in the absence of outsiders," said Nekhludoff, looking at the open door.There were several children standing at the door, and behind the children stood a thin woman.She held a pale doll in her arms.The doll was very frail, but was always smiling, and had on its head a little round cap made of rags.

"What's interesting, I'll let you know how powerful it is, give me the crutch!" The old woman shouted to the people standing at the door. "Close the door, do you hear me?" The children were gone, and the woman with the baby closed the door. "I'm wondering: who is here? It turns out to be the master, our golden treasure, a handsome man who will never tire of seeing him!" said the old woman. "How come you come to our poor place, and you don't think it's dirty here. Oh, you are as beautiful as a diamond! Come, sir, sit here, just sit on this low cabinet," she said, wiping the low cabinet with her apron. "I thought some ghost had slipped in. It turned out to be the boss, the good master, the benefactor, the good man who supported us. You have to forgive me for being stupid, I was blind."

Nekhludoff sat down.The old woman stood in front of him, with her right hand resting on her cheek, her left hand grasping the sharp right elbow, and spoke in a singing voice: "Master, you are getting old too. I think you were really a fresh and tender burdock back then, but now, you can hardly recognize it! You must be too worried." "I've come to ask you something. Do you remember Katyusha Maslova?" "Kagherina? Why don't you remember, she is my niece... Why don't you remember, how many tears I shed for her, how many tears I shed! I know all about that. My lord, who before God Haven't done any crime? Who hasn't broken the law before the emperor? Young people, that's how it is. After drinking coffee and tea, the devil is fascinated. You know, the devil is very powerful. What can you do! You didn't throw her away, you gave her money, a whole hundred roubles. But what has she done? She's just stupid and has no sense. If she'd listened to me, she'd get along too. Although she It's my niece, and I have to tell you the truth, this girl is not straight. I got her a good job later, but she didn't obey, and even scolded her boss. Can we people scold the master? Well, they fired her. Then she went to the forester's house, and she got by, but she quit."

"I want to know about the child. Didn't she give birth to a child with you? Where is the child?" "I did a lot of trouble for the doll, my good lord. She was so ill that I thought she'd never get up again. So I baptized the baby and sent him to the foundling-house Well, the mother is about to die, why bother the little darling's soul. Anyone else would have left the baby alone, wouldn't have given him food, and let him die. But I think it's better Take some effort and send him to the nursery. Fortunately, I still have some money, so I sent someone to send him there."

"Do you have a registration number?" "The number is there, but he died at that time. She said he died as soon as it was delivered." "Who is she?" "That woman who lives in Skorodnoe. She does it. Her name is Malania, and she's dead now. She's a clever woman, and she works very well! The dolls are sent to her home." , she kept them at home and fed him. After feeding them for a while, she collected a few more and sent them away. Oh, my good lord! When she got three or four, she sent them together. She is very smart in doing this. : First make a big cradle, like a bunk bed, with dolls on top and bottom. There are handles on the cradle. She put four dolls at once so that their feet are facing each other, and their heads are not touching their heads, so as not to They bumped into each other, so four of them were sent away at a time. She also stuffed some fake nipples in the doll's mouth so they wouldn't argue."

"What happened next?" "Later, Katerina's doll was sent away just like that. She raised him at home for two weeks. The doll fell ill in her home." "Is the doll pretty?" asked Nekhludoff. "It's very pretty, and I couldn't find a better-looking doll than him. He looks exactly like you," said the old woman, blinking one eye. "How could he be so weak? Probably because he was poorly fed?" "Where is the hell! It's just a show. It's no wonder, and it's not your own child. As long as it is alive when it is delivered. The woman said that he died as soon as he was sent to Moscow. She didn't even prove it. I brought them all back, and the procedures are complete, she is really a smart woman."

That was all Nekhludoff asked about his children.