the beggar summary for 8 marks
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One day advocate Sergei came across a beggar. He was dressed in very poor clothes. He was crying and requested Sergei to have pity on him. Ile told Sergei that he had the offer of a position in Kaluga, but he did not have money to get there. So he wanted some money to pay for the fare. Sergei looked at the beggar closely. Suddenly he remembered that he had seen him the previous day in Sadovya Street. Then he had told him that he was a student and had been expelled for not paying his fees. At first, the beggar denied the charge. But when Sergei rebuked him, he admitted that he earned his living by lying. He told Sergei that his name was Lushkoff and that he was out of work. Sergei refused to give him alms. But he said that he would give him work of chopping wood. He brought Lushkoff home. He called his maidservant Olga and told her to take him into the woodshed and get some wood chopped. Sergei could see from a room that Lushkoff was weak as well as unwilling to do the chopping work. However, after one hour, Olga came and told Sergei that the wood had been chopped. Sergei gave Lushkoff half a rouble.
After getting wood chopped, Sergei was happy that he had helped a man. He had reformed a beggar. He told Lushkoff that he could come on the first of every month and chop wood for money. Thus Lushkoff came on the first of every month. Although he was so weak that he could hardly stand on his legs, yet there was always work for him and he did it. Sometimes, it was chopping of wood. At other times, he had to shovel snow, or to put the woodshed in order. Sometimes, he was asked to beat the dust out of mattresses and rugs. Every time he received from twenty to forty copecks. One day Sergei moved to another house. He hired Lushkoff to help in packing and hauling of furniture. This time, he was silent and sober. After the work was done, Sergei offered to find better work for him. Ile wrote a letter to one of his friends. He gave this letter to Lushkoff and told him that he would find the job of copying the written matter. In this way, Sergei helped Lushkoff. He was pleased at having put a man on the right path.
After that Sergei did not come across Lushkoff for two years. Then one day, he came across Lushkoff standing at the ticket window of a theatre, paying for a scat. He was wearing a coat collar of curly fur and sealskin cap. Sergei recognised him. Lushkoff told him that now he was a notary and was paid thiry five roubles a month Sergei was pleased to hear this. He congratulated Lushkoff for standing on own feet in life. At this, Lushkoff disclosed something to him. He said that it was not because of him, but his maidservant because at he had reformed himself. When he used to come to his house to chop wood, he could not do so because he was weak and inexperienced Then Olga would take pity on him and chop the wood for him. He told Sergei that he never chopped a single stick. It was all done by Olga. Her kindness transformed him. He stopped drinking and started earning his living by work. In this way, Olga’s kindness had changed his life.
This character reminds the readers that hope should not be lost because of even the most depraved recover if they get appropriate and selfless support.
This is a story about a beggar, Lushkoff who used to beg as a school teacher ora student. He met an advocate named Sergei who offered him a job at his house. Sergei asked Lushkoff to chop woods for him. He asked his servant, Olga, to look after him. Lushkoff was very weak. He could not do any work. Olga found him incapable of chopping the wood. She rebuked him but she was very sympathetic to him. She wept for him. Olga decided to help him. She worked in his place and informed Sergei that he had done his work. She made him get half a rouble. Sergei asked Lushkoff to come to work on the first of every month. Lushkoff was always rebuked by Olga for his inefficiency. But it was Olga only who helped him in his work. Once Sergei asked Lushkoff to help in the shifting of the house, he looked weak and unhealthy. Sergei thought that he should not put him to hard work and decided to send him to his friends for an easier job. Lushkoff got a more respectable job. After two years, Sergei met Lushkoff in a theatre. He was well-dressed and look healthier. He had become a notary and was earning thirty-five roubles a month. Sergei felt good. Lushkoff thanked Sergei for his kind words and deed. He disclosed that it was Olga who helped and set him right. He would never forget her. Olga’s words and actions had brought a change in him. She made him quit drinking. Lushkoff expressed his gratitude towards Sergei and Olga. He bade him goodbye and departed for work.