Notes For All Chapters English Moments Class 9
Written by: Anton Chekhov
About the Story
The story is about a beggar named Lushkoff and his transformation from a drunken liar into a respectable working man.
It shows how kindness, sympathy, and honest work can change a person’s life.
Two people – Sergei, an advocate, and Olga, his cook – play an important role in reforming Lushkoff.
Main Characters
1. Sergei – A kind and practical lawyer who believes in hard work. He wants to help the beggar by giving him work instead of money.
2.Lushkoff – A poor beggar who lies to people to get money. He reforms his life after receiving kindness and sympathy.
3.Olga – Sergei’s cook. She helps Lushkoff silently by chopping wood for him and weeping for his condition. Her compassion brings real change in him.
Summary of the Story
1. The Beggar’s Lie
A poor man in a ragged, fawn-coloured overcoat begs money from Sergei, an advocate.
He says he is a village schoolteacher who lost his job because of false accusations.
Sergei remembers seeing him two days earlier, pretending to be a student.
When Sergei questions him, the man admits he was lying.
He confesses that he used to sing in a choir but was dismissed for drunkenness.
He explains that he lies to survive because nobody helps him when he tells the truth.
2. Sergei Offers Work
Sergei becomes angry at first but then decides to help him through work.
He tells the beggar to chop wood at his house.
The beggar agrees out of shame and pride, not because he really wants to work.
3. Olga Helps Lushkoff
Sergei’s cook, Olga, takes the beggar to the woodshed.
She looks angry and scolds him but later feels pity.
She chops the wood for him herself, while the beggar sits weakly nearby.
Sergei, thinking the beggar has done the work, gives him half a rouble and tells him he can come again on the first day of each month.
4. Lushkoff Starts Working
The beggar begins visiting regularly.
He does small tasks like shovelling snow, cleaning rugs, and carrying furniture.
He receives small payments (from twenty to forty copecks) and sometimes even old clothes.Gradually, he starts living a better life.
When Sergei moves to a new house, he asks Lushkoff to help in packing and carrying furniture.
Lushkoff now appears sober (not drunk), but he still feels weak and shy.After the work, Sergei gives him one rouble and offers him copying work with a friend, since Lushkoff can write.
5. Lushkoff Becomes a Notary
Two years later, Sergei meets Lushkoff at a theatre.
He looks clean, well-dressed, and confident.
Lushkoff tells Sergei that he now works as a notary and earns thirty-five roubles a month.
Sergei feels happy and proud, believing his advice helped Lushkoff reform.
6. The Truth About His Change
Lushkoff thanks Sergei but says that the real person who changed him was Olga, the cook.
He reveals that she used to scold and cry for him every time he came to work.
She even chopped the wood for him, although he took the money.
Her tears, sympathy, and kindness touched his heart and made him give up drinking.
He says that her goodness and pain reformed him completely.
End of the Story
Lushkoff, once a drunken liar, becomes a self-respecting and honest man.
Sergei is proud of helping him, but the true credit goes to Olga, whose kind heart and compassion saved Lushkoff from ruin.
Theme of the Story
- Kindness and compassion can change people more than punishment.
- Honest work gives a person self-respect and dignity.
- True humanity lies in helping others sincerely.
- Even a person who has fallen can reform with love and understanding.
good try but can be somewhat shorter