How Steel Was Tempered - World Classic Novel (Full Color Translation Version)

Author: (Soviet) Ostrovsky
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: "Everyone who came here to make up for the exam before the holiday, stand up." The fat priest glared fiercely at all the students. He wore a long robe, a heavy cross around his chest, and his face was stretched long. At this moment, four boys and two girls, a total of six students, stood up. The priest stared fiercely at them, and the children looked extremely scared. "The two girls, sit down," the priest signaled to the two girls. The two girls sighed deeply and sat down. "You guys, come here!" Father Vasily stood up and walked to the front of these boys. "You bunch of goofballs, who smokes?" "Father, we don’t smoke," the four children were very scared and lowered their voices. The priest was very angry, his face flushed red. "What? You don’t smoke, little ones, don’t try to fool me, who put the cigarette ash in the dough? Well, let me see if you really don’t smoke! Empty your pockets! Quickly! Fast! Do you hear? Quickly empty all your pockets!" Three of the children emptied their pockets and placed the contents on the table. The priest carefully checked all the seams, looking for evidence, but in the end, he found nothing. So, he turned to the child who hadn’t emptied his pockets. This child had big, dark eyes that sparkled, looking particularly spirited. He wore a gray shirt, blue pants, and had a patched knee. "Why are you standing there like a blockhead?" The child tried to suppress his inner anger and said in a hoarse voice, "I don’t have pockets." "Hmph—no pockets! Don’t think I don’t know who did this! Do you think you can still stay here in peace? Dear, you’re wrong again. Last time, if it weren’t for your mother begging me, I would have kicked you out. This time, I won’t spare you. Get out of here, now!" As he spoke, he forcefully grabbed the child’s ear and shoved and pushed him out of the classroom. The priest’s actions stunned all the students, and the atmosphere in the classroom immediately became tense. Among all the students in the classroom, only one person—Seryozha Bruzzhak—knew the reason why Pavlo Korchagin was punished. That day, six students came to the priest’s house to make up for the exam because they failed the test. Pavlo had sprinkled a small amount of cigarette ash in the dough at the priest’s house, which was being prepared for Easter. After Pavlo was kicked out, he sat on the last step. He knew: his mother worked as a cook in the tax inspector’s house, bustling from morning to evening, and still worrying about him. Now, how could he answer his mother? How could he face her with his head held high? Pavlo was extremely upset. What could he possibly do now? He thought: This damn priest, it’s all his fault. If I hadn’t sprinkled the cigarette ash on him back then, things would be different. It was that Seryozha who told me to do it. He said, "Sprinkle some cigarette ash on that hateful guy." So we did, but he got away with it, while I’m definitely going to be expelled this time. In fact, Pavlo had long-standing conflicts with the priest. Once, Pavlo fought with his classmate Mishka Levchukov and was punished by the priest, left behind, and not allowed to eat lunch. But the teacher was afraid he might cause trouble alone in the classroom, so he arranged him in the back row of the upper-grade classroom. The thin, black-shirted upper-grade teacher was explaining to the students about the Earth, celestial bodies, saying that the Earth had existed for millions of years and that stars were similar to the Earth. Pavlo was shocked because the Bible said otherwise. He wanted to stand up and speak, but in the end, he didn’t dare because of his fear. Pavlo’s mother was a devout believer, and she often told Pavlo about the teachings in the Bible. So, he firmly believed that the world was created by God, not millions of years ago, but very recently. Pavlo had a good memory, and in Bible class, he always scored full marks because he could skillfully memorize and recite all the prayers. He could even recite the New and Old Testaments, and even remember exactly which day God created what, word for word, clearly. Pavlo was still very skeptical about this matter, and he decided to ask the priest for clarification. During Bible class, as soon as the priest sat down, Pavlo raised his hand and asked, "Father, the Bible says the Earth has existed for 5,000 years, but why does the upper-grade teacher say the Earth has existed for millions of years?" "Nonsense! Who said that? That’s how you study the Bible?" The priest’s response was sharp and terrifying. Then, he grabbed both of Pavlo’s ears and, after that, he rammed his head against the wall. Soon, Pavlo was dizzy and disoriented. He was then punished to stand in the hallway. Because of this incident, his mother scolded him severely the next day. The next day, his mother brought him to school and asked the priest for forgiveness, hoping he could return to class. From then on, Pavlo grew to resent and hate the priest, but he was also very afraid of him. Pavlo never allowed anyone to bully him, not even a slight insult, and he couldn’t forgive this incident, which made him deeply resent the priest. From then on, Father Vasily often bullied him, frequently punishing him for minor things, keeping him out of class for weeks, making him stand at the corner of the room, and preventing him from answering questions in class. This led to him failing the exam, forcing him to go to the priest’s house to make up for it before Easter. It was in the priest’s kitchen that Pavlo sprinkled cigarette ash into the dough the priest had prepared for Easter. Although no one saw it at the time, the priest knew it must have been Pavlo who did it.