📌Chapter 9 – The Beggar
A poor beggar named Lushkoff asks a lawyer Sergei for money. He tells lies about being a student or a schoolteacher. Sergei catches his lies and scolds him. He tells him to work instead of begging.
Sergei asks him to chop wood. The beggar agrees out of shame, not willingness. But in reality, Sergei’s cook, Olga, does the woodcutting for him. She scolds him, cries for him, and prays that he will change.
Every month, Lushkoff comes for small jobs—shoveling snow, carrying things—but he never really works; Olga quietly does the work.
Slowly, because of Olga’s kindness, scolding, and tears, Lushkoff begins to change. He stops drinking and becomes serious about life.
Two years later, Sergei meets him in a theatre. Lushkoff is now a notary earning 35 roubles a month. Sergei thinks he changed because of his (Sergei’s) advice, but Lushkoff reveals the truth:
“Sir, it was not you. It was your cook, Olga.
Her tears and kindness changed me.
She chopped all the wood for me.
She saved my soul.”
Lushkoff becomes a good person because someone believed in him and cared for him.
📌 2. Hindi
एक भिखारी लुश्कॉफ वकील सर्जेई से पैसे मांगता है और झूठ बोलता है कि वह कभी शिक्षक या छात्र था।
सर्जेई उसे पकड़ लेता है और scold करता है। वह कहता है कि भिखारी बनकर नहीं, काम करके जीना चाहिए।
सर्जेई उसे लकड़ी काटने का काम देता है। लुश्कॉफ शर्म से “हाँ” बोलता है, लेकिन वह बहुत कमजोर और बीमार था—वह लकड़ी नहीं काट सकता था।
असल में, सर्जेई की कुक ओल्गा ही सारा काम करती थी।
वह लुश्कॉफ को डांटती, रोती, उसे दुखी महसूस कराती और उसकी हालत देखकर दया करती।
धीरे-धीरे, ओल्गा की दया, मेहनत और आँसू लुश्कॉफ के दिल को बदल देते हैं।
वह शराब छोड़ देता है, मेहनत करने लगता है, और अपनी जिंदगी ठीक कर लेता है।
दो साल बाद, वह एक नोटरी बन जाता है और 35 रूबल महीना कमाता है।
सर्जेई खुश होता है कि उसकी बातें काम आईं।
लेकिन लुश्कॉफ कहता है —
“मुझे ओल्गा ने बदला है। उसने मेरे लिए लकड़ी काटी और उसके प्यार ने मुझे सुधार दिया।”
📌 Word Meanings
| Word | Meaning (Hindi) |
|---|---|
| mendicant | भिखारी |
| calumny | झूठा आरोप |
| suppliant | विनती करने वाला |
| swindling | धोखाधड़ी |
| perplexity | उलझन |
| irresolutely | अनिश्चित तरीके से |
| billet | लकड़ी का मोटा टुकड़ा |
| waif | घर-बार से बेघर व्यक्ति |
| roasting | डांटना |
| sot | शराबी |
| obliged | आभारी / बाध्य |
| feebleness | कमजोरी |
| notary | सरकारी दस्तावेज़ लिखने/सत्यापित करने वाला अधिकारी |
📌 4. NCERT Questions with Easy Answers
Q1. Has Lushkoff become a beggar by circumstance or choice?
Answer:
By circumstance.
He lost his job because of false accusations and then fell into drinking and poverty.
Q2. What reasons does he give for telling lies?
Answer:
He says people don’t help if he tells the truth, so he lies to survive.
Q3. Is Lushkoff a willing worker? Why does he agree to chop wood?
Answer:
No, he is not a willing worker.
He agrees only out of shame and because Sergei caught his lies.
Q4. Sergei says, “I am happy my words have taken effect.” Is he right?
Answer:
Partly yes, but mostly no.
The real change was done by Olga, not Sergei.
Sergei only offered work; Olga’s kindness transformed him.
Q5. How is Lushkoff obliged to Sergei?
Answer:
Sergei gave him the first chance to work, stopped him from begging, and sent him to better jobs.
Q6. How did Olga save Lushkoff?
Answer:
- She scolded him out of care
- She cried for him
- She chopped all the wood for him
- She felt his pain
- Her kindness touched his heart
She helped him regain confidence and leave drinking forever.