Chekhov Collection - Bedtime Stories for Middle School Students [VIII]

Author: (Russia) Chekhov
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Jewish Moiseyka is the neighbor to the left of Ivan Dmitriy, and the neighbor to the right is a farmer, fat and round, with a vacant face devoid of any expression or trace of thought. He is a lazy, gluttonous, and dirty brute, long since losing the ability to think and feel. A sour smell constantly emanates from him. Whenever making the beds, Nikita always beats him fiercely, using all his strength, without caring about his fists. At this moment, what is truly terrifying is not that he is beaten—something anyone could get used to—but that the idiot shows no reaction: no sound, no movement, not even a blink of an eye, just a slight sway of the body, like a heavy wooden barrel. The fifth patient in the sixth ward, the last one, is a petty bourgeois who used to work sorting letters at the post office. He is a small, blond man with a kind face and a mischievous expression. From his clever, calm eyes and bright, cheerful gaze, it seems he is quite cunning and harbors a very important, pleasant secret. He hides something under his pillow and mattress and never takes it out to show anyone—not out of fear of being robbed or stolen, but simply out of embarrassment. Sometimes he walks to the window, with his back to the other patients, putting something on his chest and looking down at it repeatedly. If someone approaches him at that moment, he panics and quickly pulls the thing from his chest. However, it’s not difficult to guess his little secret. He often tells Ivan Dmitriy, "You should congratulate me, my superior has submitted a petition to award me the Second Stanislav Medal. The Second Medal is usually awarded only to foreigners, but for some reason, they are making an exception for me." He laughs and shrugs, still bewildered, "Honestly, I really didn’t expect that." "I know nothing about such things," Ivan Dmitriy darkly declares. "But what do you think I will receive next?" The former post office sorter asks, squinting his eyes cunningly. "I’m sure I’ll get a Swedish 'North Star' medal. It’s worth the effort. It’s a white cross with a black ribbon. It’s gorgeous." Life in this shack is more monotonous than anywhere else. Every morning, except for the paralyzed patient and the fat farmer, the patients wash their faces in a large wooden tub in the front hall, using their hospital gowns as towels. After that, they drink tea in tin cups with metal handles, which Nikita brings from the main hospital building. Each person is allowed only one cup. At noon, they drink sauerkraut soup and porridge, and at night, they eat the leftover porridge from lunch. During the time between meals, they either lie down, sleep, or gaze out the window or walk around the room. Day after day, like this. Even the medals the former post office sorter mentioned haven’t changed. New patients are rarely seen in the sixth ward. The doctors no longer admit new psychiatric patients, and few people in the world visit mental hospitals anyway. The barber Semyon Lazarych comes here every two months. As for how he gives the madmen haircuts and how Nikita helps him, how the patients get into a frenzy when the tipsy, cheerful barber arrives—we prefer not to describe it. Besides the barber, no one has ever come here to visit. The patients are destined to see only Nikita all day long. However, recently, a rather strange rumor has been spreading in the main hospital building. It’s said that the doctors have started visiting the sixth ward frequently.