The work of a wonderful doctor to read. Wonderful Doctor

The following story is not the fruit of idle fiction. Everything that I described really happened in Kiev about thirty years ago and is still sacred, down to the smallest details, in the legends of the family in question. For my part, I only changed the names of some of the characters in this touching story and gave the oral story a written form.

Grisha, and Grisha! Look, little pig ... Laughs ... Yes. And in his mouth! .. Look, look ... grass in your mouth, by God, grass! .. Here's a thing!

And two boys, standing in front of a huge, solid glass window of a grocery store, began to laugh uncontrollably, pushing each other in the side with their elbows, but involuntarily dancing from the cruel cold. For more than five minutes they had been stuck in front of this magnificent exhibition, which excited their minds and stomachs alike. Here, illuminated by the bright light of hanging lamps, towered whole mountains of strong red apples and oranges; there were regular pyramids of tangerines, delicately gilded through the tissue paper enveloping them; huge smoked and pickled fish stretched out on the dishes, with ugly open mouths and bulging eyes; below, surrounded by garlands of sausages, juicy cut hams with a thick layer of pinkish bacon flaunted ... Countless jars and boxes of salted, boiled and smoked snacks completed this spectacular picture, looking at which both boys forgot for a minute about the twelve-degree frost and the important task assigned on them as a mother, - an assignment that ended so unexpectedly and so deplorably.

The older boy was the first to break away from contemplation of the charming sight. He tugged at his brother's sleeve and said sternly:

Well, Volodya, let's go, let's go ... There is nothing here ...

At the same time, suppressing a heavy sigh (the eldest of them was only ten years old, and besides, both had not eaten anything in the morning except empty cabbage soup) and throwing their last, greedy-loving glance at the gastronomic exhibition, the boys hurriedly ran down the street. Sometimes, through the foggy windows of a house, they saw a Christmas tree, which from a distance seemed like a huge cluster of bright, shining spots, sometimes they even heard the sounds of a cheerful polka ... But they courageously drove away from themselves the seductive thought: to stop for a few seconds and cling to the glass with an eye.

As the boys walked, the streets became less crowded and darker. Fine shops, shining Christmas trees, trotters racing under their blue and red nets, squealing of runners, festive animation of the crowd, cheerful hum of shouts and conversations, frost-stained laughing faces of elegant ladies - everything was left behind. Wastelands stretched, crooked, narrow alleys, gloomy, unlit hills ... Finally they reached a ramshackle dilapidated house that stood alone; the bottom of it - the basement itself - was stone, and the top was wooden. Walking around the narrow, icy and dirty courtyard, which served as a natural cesspool for all residents, they went downstairs to the basement, walked in the dark common corridor, groped for their door and opened it.

For more than a year the Mertsalovs have lived in this dungeon. Both boys had long since gotten used to these smoky walls crying from dampness, and to the wet scraps drying on a rope stretched across the room, and to this terrible smell of kerosene fumes, children's dirty linen and rats - the real smell of poverty. But today, after all that they saw on the street, after this festive glee that they felt everywhere, their little children's hearts contracted with acute, childish suffering. In the corner, on a wide dirty bed, lay a girl of about seven; her face was burning, her breathing was short and difficult, her wide, shining eyes looked intently and aimlessly. Near the bed, in a cradle suspended from the ceiling, a baby was screaming, grimacing, straining and choking. A tall, thin woman, with an emaciated, tired face as if blackened with grief, knelt beside the sick girl, straightening her pillow and at the same time not forgetting to nudge the swinging cradle with her elbow. When the boys entered and after them white clouds of frosty air rushed into the basement, the woman turned her worried face back.

Well? What? she asked abruptly and impatiently.

The boys were silent. Only Grisha noisily wiped his nose with the sleeve of his coat, which was made from an old cotton robe.

Did you take the letter? .. Grisha, I'm asking you, did you give the letter?

So what? What did you say to him?

Yes, everything is as you taught. Here, I say, is a letter from Mertsalov, from your former manager. And he scolded us: "Get out, he says, from here ... You bastards ..."

Who is this? Who spoke to you? .. Speak plainly, Grisha!

The doorman was talking ... Who else? I say to him: "Take, uncle, the letter, pass it on, and I'll wait for the answer down here." And he says: "Well, he says, keep your pocket ... The master also has time to read your letters ..."

Well, what about you?

I told him everything, as you taught, said: "There is, they say, there is nothing ... Mashutka is sick ... She is dying ..." I say: "As dad finds a place, he will thank you, Savely Petrovich, by God, he will thank you." Well, at this time the bell rings as soon as it rings, and he says to us: “Get the hell out of here as soon as possible! So that your spirit is not here! .. ”And he even hit Volodka on the back of the head.

And he hit the back of my head, ”said Volodya, who was following his brother’s story with attention, and scratched the back of his head.

The older boy suddenly began anxiously rummaging in the deep pockets of his robe. Finally pulling out the crumpled envelope from there, he put it on the table and said:

Here it is, a letter ...

Mother did not ask any more. Long time in the stuffy, dank room, only the frantic cry of a baby and a short rapid breathing Waving, more like continuous monotonous moans. Suddenly the mother said, looking back:

There is borscht there, left from dinner ... Maybe you would have eaten? Only cold - there is nothing to warm it up with ...

At this time in the corridor someone heard uncertain steps and the rustling of a hand, looking for a door in the darkness. The mother and both boys - all three even pale with intense anticipation - turned in this direction.

Mertsalov entered. He wore a summer coat, a summer felt hat and no galoshes. His hands were swollen and blue from the frost, his eyes sagged, his cheeks stuck around his gums, like a dead man's. He did not say a single word to his wife, she did not ask him a single question. They understood each other by the despair they read in each other's eyes.

In this terrible, fatal year, misfortune after misfortune persistently and mercilessly rained down on Mertsalov and his family. At first he himself contracted typhoid fever, and all their meager savings were spent on his treatment. Then, when he recovered, he learned that his place, the modest place of a house manager for twenty-five rubles a month, was already occupied by another ... A desperate, convulsive pursuit of odd jobs, correspondence, an insignificant place, pledge and re-pledging of things began, sale any household rags. And then the children went to get sick. Three months ago one girl died, now the other lies in the heat and unconscious. Elizaveta Ivanovna had to take care of the sick girl at the same time, breastfeed the little one and go almost to the other end of the city to the house where she washed her clothes every day.

All today I have been busy trying to squeeze out at least a few kopecks from somewhere for Mashutka's medicine by means of inhuman efforts. To this end, Mertsalov ran almost half of the city, begging and humiliating himself everywhere; Elizaveta Ivanovna went to her mistress, the children were sent with a letter to the gentleman whose house was ruled by Mertsalov ... But everyone tried to make excuses either with festive chores or lack of money ... Others, such as the former patron's doorman, simply drove the petitioners from the porch ...

For ten minutes no one could utter a word. Suddenly Mertsalov quickly got up from the chest on which he was still sitting, and with a decisive movement pushed his frayed hat deeper onto his forehead.

Where are you going? Elizaveta Ivanovna asked anxiously.

Mertsalov, already grasping the door handle, turned around.

Anyway, sitting won't help, ”he replied hoarsely. - I'll go again ... At least I'll try to beg for alms.

Going out into the street, he walked aimlessly forward. He was not looking for anything, he was not hoping for anything. He has long gone through that burning time of poverty, when you dream of finding a wallet with money on the street or suddenly receive an inheritance from an unknown second cousin's uncle. Now he was possessed by an uncontrollable desire to run anywhere, to run without looking back, so as not to see the silent despair of a hungry family.

Begging for alms? He has already tried this remedy twice today. But the first time some gentleman in a raccoon coat read him an admonition that he must work, not beg, and the second time he was promised to be sent to the police.

Unbeknownst to himself, Mertsalov found himself in the center of the city, at the fence of a dense public garden. Since he had to go up the hill all the time, he was out of breath and felt tired. Mechanically he turned into the gate and, passing a long alley of lindens covered with snow, sank down on a low garden bench.

It was quiet and solemn here. The trees, wrapped in their white robes, dozed in motionless grandeur. Sometimes a piece of snow fell from the upper branch, and one could hear how it rustled, falling and clinging to other branches. The deep silence and great calm that guarded the garden suddenly awakened in Mertsalov's tormented soul an intolerable thirst for the same calmness, the same silence.

“I ought to lie down and fall asleep,” he thought, “and forget about my wife, about hungry children, about the sick Mashutka.” Putting his hand under the vest, Mertsalov felt a rather thick rope that served as his belt. The thought of suicide was quite clear in his head. But he was not horrified by this thought, not for a moment shuddered before the darkness of the unknown.

"Rather than perishing slowly, isn't it better to take a shorter path?" He was about to get up in order to fulfill his terrible intention, but at that time at the end of the alley there was heard the creak of footsteps, distinctly heard in the frosty air. Mertsalov turned in this direction angrily. Someone walked along the alley. At first, the light of a flashing and extinguishing cigar was seen. Then Mertsalov little by little could make out an old man of small stature, in a warm hat, a fur coat and high galoshes. Having reached the bench, the stranger suddenly turned sharply towards Mertsalov and, slightly touching his hat, asked:

Will you let me sit here?

Mertsalov deliberately turned away sharply from the stranger and moved to the edge of the bench. About five minutes passed in mutual silence, during which the stranger smoked a cigar and (Mertsalov felt it) looked askance at his neighbor.

What a glorious night, ”the stranger suddenly spoke up. - Frosty ... quiet. What a beauty - Russian winter!

But I bought some presents for my friends, '' the stranger continued (he had several parcels in his hands). - Yes, on the way I could not resist, I made a circle to go through the garden: it’s very good here.

Mertsalov was generally a meek and shy person, but at the last words of the stranger, he was suddenly seized by a surge of desperate anger. With a sharp movement he turned towards the old man and shouted, absurdly waving his arms and gasping for breath:

Presents! .. Presents! .. Presents for familiar kids! .. And I ... and I, my dear sir, at the present moment my kids are dying of hunger at home ... Presents! ate ... Presents! ..

Mertsalov expected the old man to rise and leave after these disordered, angry screams, but he was mistaken. The old man brought his intelligent, serious face with gray tanks closer to him and said in a friendly but serious tone:

Wait ... don't worry! Tell me everything in order and as short as possible. Maybe together we can come up with something for you.

There was something so calm and trustworthy in the stranger's extraordinary face that Mertsalov immediately, without the slightest concealment, but terribly agitated and in a hurry, conveyed his story. He talked about his illness, about the loss of his place, about the death of the child, about all his misfortunes, right up to the present day. The stranger listened, not interrupting him with a word, and only looked more and more inquiringly into his eyes, as if wishing to penetrate into the very depths of this sore, indignant soul. Suddenly, with a quick, very youthful movement, he jumped up from his seat and grabbed Mertsalov by the arm. Mertsalov also got up involuntarily.

Let's go! - said the stranger, pulling Mertsalov by the hand. - Let's go soon! .. Your happiness that you met with the doctor. Of course, I can't vouch for anything, but ... let's go!

In about ten minutes Shimmer and the doctor were already entering the basement. Elizaveta Ivanovna lay on the bed next to her sick daughter, her face buried in the dirty, oily pillows. The boys were eating borscht, sitting in the same places. Frightened by the long absence of their father and the immobility of their mother, they cried, smearing tears over their faces with dirty fists and pouring them profusely into the smoked iron pot. Entering the room, the doctor took off his coat and, remaining in an old-fashioned, rather shabby coat, went up to Elizaveta Ivanovna. She didn’t even look up at his approach.

Well, full, full, dear, - the doctor spoke up, affectionately stroking the woman on the back. - Get up! Show me your patient.

And just like recently in the garden, something affectionate and convincing that sounded in his voice made Elizaveta Ivanovna instantly get out of bed and unquestioningly fulfill everything that the doctor said. Two minutes later Grishka was already lighting the stove with wood, which the wonderful doctor sent to the neighbors for, Volodya was fanning the samovar with all his might, Elizaveta Ivanovna was wrapping Mashutka with a warming compress ... A little later Mertsalov also appeared. For three rubles, received from the doctor, he managed to buy tea, sugar, rolls during this time and get hot food from the nearest tavern. The doctor was sitting at the table and was writing something on a piece of paper, which he tore out from his notebook. After finishing this lesson and depicting some kind of hook below instead of a signature, he got up, covered what he had written with a tea saucer and said:

With this piece of paper you will go to the pharmacy ... let's take a teaspoon in two hours. This will cause the baby to cough up ... Continue the warming compress ... In addition, even if your daughter has done better, in any case, invite Dr. Afrosimov tomorrow. This is a good doctor and good man... I'll warn him right now. Then goodbye gentlemen! God grant that the coming year will treat you a little more leniently than this one, and most importantly - never lose heart.

After shaking hands with Mertsalov and Elizaveta Ivanovna, who still had not recovered from amazement, and patting Volodya's open mouth in passing on the cheek, the doctor quickly thrust his legs into deep galoshes and put on his coat. Mertsalov came to his senses only when the doctor was already in the corridor, and rushed after him.

Since it was impossible to make out anything in the darkness, Mertsalov shouted at random:

Doctor! Doctor, wait! .. Tell me your name, doctor! Let my children pray for you at least!

And he moved his hands in the air to catch the invisible doctor. But at this time, at the other end of the corridor, a calm old voice said:

NS! Here are some other trifles invented! .. Come back home soon!

When he returned, a surprise awaited him: under the tea saucer, along with the miraculous doctor's recipe, lay several large banknotes ...

That same evening, Mertsalov learned the name of his unexpected benefactor. On the pharmacy label, attached to the vial with the medicine, in the clear hand of the pharmacist, it was written: "According to the prescription of Professor Pirogov."

I heard this story, and more than once, from the lips of Grigory Yemelyanovich Mertsalov himself - the very Grishka who, on the Christmas Eve I described, shed tears into a smoky iron pot with empty borscht. Now he occupies a rather large, responsible post in one of the banks, reputed to be a model of honesty and responsiveness to the needs of poverty. And each time, ending his story about the wonderful doctor, he adds in a voice trembling from hidden tears:

From then on, like a beneficent angel descended into our family. Everything has changed. At the beginning of January, my father found a place, Mashutka got to her feet, my brother and I managed to be attached to the gymnasium at the state expense. It was just a miracle that this holy man performed. And we have seen our wonderful doctor only once since then - this is when he was transported dead to his own estate, Cherry. And even then they did not see him, because something great, powerful and holy that lived and burned in the wonderful doctor during his lifetime, extinguished irrevocably.

A. I. Kuprin

Wonderful Doctor

The following story is not the fruit of idle fiction. Everything that I described really happened in Kiev about thirty years ago and is still sacred, down to the smallest detail, in the legends of the family that will be discussed. For my part, I only changed the names of some of the characters in this touching story and gave the oral story a written form.

- Grisha, and Grisha! Look, little pig ... Laughs ... Yes. And in his mouth! .. Look, look ... grass in your mouth, by God, grass! .. Here's a thing!

And two boys, standing in front of a huge, solid glass window of a grocery store, began to laugh uncontrollably, pushing each other in the side with their elbows, but involuntarily dancing from the cruel cold. For more than five minutes they had been stuck in front of this magnificent exhibition, which excited their minds and stomachs alike. Here, illuminated by the bright light of hanging lamps, towered whole mountains of strong red apples and oranges; there were regular pyramids of tangerines, delicately gilded through the tissue paper enveloping them; huge smoked and pickled fish stretched out on the dishes, with ugly open mouths and bulging eyes; below, surrounded by garlands of sausages, flaunted juicy cut hams with a thick layer of pinkish bacon ... Countless jars and boxes of salted, boiled and smoked snacks completed this spectacular picture, looking at which both boys forgot for a minute about the twelve-degree frost and the important task entrusted to on them as a mother, - an assignment that ended so unexpectedly and so deplorably.

The older boy was the first to break away from contemplation of the charming sight. He tugged at his brother's sleeve and said sternly:

- Well, Volodya, let's go, let's go ... There is nothing here ...

At the same time, suppressing a heavy sigh (the eldest of them was only ten years old, and besides, both had not eaten anything in the morning, except empty cabbage soup) and throwing their last greedy-loving glance at the gastronomic exhibition, the boys hurriedly ran down the street. Sometimes, through the foggy windows of a house, they saw a Christmas tree, which from a distance seemed like a huge cluster of bright, shining spots, sometimes they even heard the sounds of a cheerful polka ... But they courageously drove away from themselves the seductive thought: to stop for a few seconds and cling to the glass with an eye.

As the boys walked, the streets became less crowded and darker. Fine shops, shining Christmas trees, trotters racing under their blue and red nets, the screeching of runners, the festive revival of the crowd, the cheerful hum of shouts and conversations, the frosty laughing faces of elegant ladies - everything was left behind. Wastelands, crooked, narrow alleys, gloomy, unlit hills stretched out ... Finally they reached a ramshackle dilapidated house that stood alone; the bottom of it - the basement itself - was stone, and the top was wooden. Walking around the cramped, icy and dirty courtyard, which served as a natural cesspool for all residents, they went down to the basement, walked in a common corridor in the dark, groped for their door and opened it.

For more than a year the Mertsalovs have lived in this dungeon. Both boys had long since gotten used to these smoky walls crying from dampness, and to the wet pieces drying on a rope stretched across the room, and to this terrible smell of kerosene fumes, children's dirty linen and rats - the real smell of poverty. But today, after all that they saw on the street, after this festive glee that they felt everywhere, their little children's hearts contracted with acute, childish suffering. In the corner, on a wide dirty bed, lay a girl of about seven; her face was burning, her breathing was short and difficult, her wide, shining eyes looked intently and aimlessly. Near the bed, in a cradle suspended from the ceiling, a baby was screaming, grimacing, straining and choking. A tall, thin woman, with an emaciated, tired face as if blackened with grief, knelt beside the sick girl, straightening her pillow and at the same time not forgetting to nudge the swinging cradle with her elbow. When the boys entered and after them white clouds of frosty air rushed into the basement, the woman turned her worried face back.

A. I. Kuprin

Wonderful Doctor

- Grisha, and Grisha! Look, little pig ... Laughs ... Yes. And in his mouth! .. Look, look ... grass in your mouth, by God, grass! .. Here's a thing!

And two boys, standing in front of a huge, solid glass window of a grocery store, began to laugh uncontrollably, pushing each other in the side with their elbows, but involuntarily dancing from the cruel cold. For more than five minutes they had been stuck in front of this magnificent exhibition, which excited their minds and stomachs alike. Here, illuminated by the bright light of hanging lamps, towered whole mountains of strong red apples and oranges; there were regular pyramids of tangerines, delicately gilded through the tissue paper enveloping them; huge smoked and pickled fish stretched out on the dishes, with ugly open mouths and bulging eyes; below, surrounded by garlands of sausages, flaunted juicy cut hams with a thick layer of pinkish bacon ... Countless jars and boxes of salted, boiled and smoked snacks completed this spectacular picture, looking at which both boys forgot for a minute about the twelve-degree frost and the important task entrusted to on them as a mother, - an assignment that ended so unexpectedly and so deplorably.

The older boy was the first to break away from contemplation of the charming sight. He tugged at his brother's sleeve and said sternly:

- Well, Volodya, let's go, let's go ... There is nothing here ...

- Well? What? She asked abruptly and impatiently.

The boys were silent. Only Grisha noisily wiped his nose with the sleeve of his coat, which was made from an old cotton robe.

- Did you take the letter? .. Grisha, I'm asking you, did you give the letter?

- So what? What did you say to him?

- Yes, everything is as you taught. Here, I say, is a letter from Mertsalov, from your former manager. And he scolded us: "Get out, he says, from here ... You bastards ..."

- Who is it? Who spoke to you? .. Speak plainly, Grisha!

- The doorman was talking ... Who else? I say to him: "Take, uncle, the letter, pass it on, and I'll wait for the answer down here." And he says: "Well, he says, keep your pocket ... The master also has time to read your letters ..."

- Well, what about you?

- I told him everything, as you taught, said: "There is, they say, there is nothing ... Mashutka is sick ... She is dying ..." I say: "As dad finds a place, he will thank you, Savely Petrovich, by God, he will thank you." Well, at this time the bell rings as soon as it rings, and he says to us: “Get the hell out of here as soon as possible! So that your spirit is not here! .. ”And he even hit Volodka on the back of the head.

“And he hit the back of my head,” said Volodya, who was following his brother’s story with attention, and scratched the back of his head.

Current page: 1 (total of the book has 1 pages)

A. I. Kuprin
Wonderful Doctor

- Grisha, and Grisha! Look, little pig ... Laughs ... Yes. And in his mouth! .. Look, look ... grass in your mouth, by God, grass! .. Here's a thing!

And two boys, standing in front of a huge, solid glass window of a grocery store, began to laugh uncontrollably, pushing each other in the side with their elbows, but involuntarily dancing from the cruel cold. For more than five minutes they had been stuck in front of this magnificent exhibition, which excited their minds and stomachs alike. Here, illuminated by the bright light of hanging lamps, towered whole mountains of strong red apples and oranges; there were regular pyramids of tangerines, delicately gilded through the tissue paper enveloping them; huge smoked and pickled fish stretched out on the dishes, with ugly open mouths and bulging eyes; below, surrounded by garlands of sausages, flaunted juicy cut hams with a thick layer of pinkish bacon ... Countless jars and boxes of salted, boiled and smoked snacks completed this spectacular picture, looking at which both boys forgot for a minute about the twelve-degree frost and the important task entrusted to on them as a mother, - an assignment that ended so unexpectedly and so deplorably.

The older boy was the first to break away from contemplation of the charming sight. He tugged at his brother's sleeve and said sternly:

- Well, Volodya, let's go, let's go ... There is nothing here ...

- Well? What? She asked abruptly and impatiently.

The boys were silent. Only Grisha noisily wiped his nose with the sleeve of his coat, which was made from an old cotton robe.

- Did you take the letter? .. Grisha, I'm asking you, did you give the letter?

- So what? What did you say to him?

- Yes, everything is as you taught. Here, I say, is a letter from Mertsalov, from your former manager. And he scolded us: "Get out, he says, from here ... You bastards ..."

- Who is it? Who spoke to you? .. Speak plainly, Grisha!

- Well, what about you?

“And he hit the back of my head,” said Volodya, who was following his brother’s story with attention, and scratched the back of his head.

The older boy suddenly began anxiously rummaging in the deep pockets of his robe. Finally pulling out the crumpled envelope from there, he put it on the table and said:

- Here it is, a letter ...

Mother did not ask any more. For a long time in the stuffy, dank room, only the frantic cry of a baby and the short, rapid breathing of Mashutka, more like continuous monotonous groans, could be heard. Suddenly the mother said, looking back:

- There is borscht, left from dinner ... Maybe you should have eaten? Only cold - there is nothing to warm it up with ...

Mertsalov entered. He wore a summer coat, a summer felt hat and no galoshes. His hands were swollen and blue from the frost, his eyes were sunken, his cheeks were sticking around his gums, like a dead man's. He did not say a single word to his wife, she did not ask him a single question. They understood each other by the despair they read in each other's eyes.

For ten minutes no one could utter a word. Suddenly Mertsalov quickly got up from the chest on which he was still sitting, and with a decisive movement pushed his frayed hat deeper onto his forehead.

- Where are you going? Elizaveta Ivanovna asked anxiously.

Mertsalov, already grasping the door handle, turned around.

“All the same, sitting won't help,” he replied hoarsely. - I'll go again ... At least I'll try to beg for alms.

Begging for alms? He has already tried this remedy twice today. But the first time some gentleman in a raccoon coat read him an admonition that he must work, and not beg, and the second time he was promised to be sent to the police.

Unbeknownst to himself, Mertsalov found himself in the center of the city, at the fence of a dense public garden. Since he had to go up the hill all the time, he was out of breath and felt tired. Mechanically he turned into the gate and, passing a long avenue of lindens covered with snow, sank down on a low garden bench.

“I ought to lie down and fall asleep,” he thought, “and forget about my wife, about hungry children, about the sick Mashutka.” Putting his hand under the waistcoat, Mertsalov felt a rather thick rope that served as his belt. The thought of suicide was quite clear in his head. But he was not horrified by this thought, not for a moment shuddered before the darkness of the unknown.

"Rather than perishing slowly, isn't it better to take a shorter path?" He was about to get up in order to fulfill his terrible intention, but at that time at the end of the alley there was heard the creak of footsteps, distinctly heard in the frosty air. Mertsalov turned in this direction angrily. Someone was walking along the alley. At first, a light was seen flashing, then extinguishing a cigar. Then Mertsalov little by little could make out an old man of small stature, in a warm hat, a fur coat and high galoshes. Having reached the bench, the stranger suddenly turned sharply towards Mertsalov and, slightly touching his hat, asked:

- Will you let me sit here?

“What a glorious night,” the stranger suddenly spoke up. - Frosty ... quiet. What a beauty - Russian winter!

“But I bought some presents for my friends,” the stranger continued (he had several parcels in his hands). - Yes, on the way I could not resist, I made a circle to go through the garden: it’s very good here.

- Presents! .. Presents! .. Presents for familiar kids! .. And I ... and I, my dear sir, at the present moment my kids are dying of hunger at home ... Presents! did not eat ... Presents! ..

- Wait ... don't worry! Tell me everything in order and as short as possible. Maybe together we can come up with something for you.

There was something so calm and trustworthy in the stranger's extraordinary face that Mertsalov immediately, without the slightest concealment, but terribly agitated and in a hurry, conveyed his story. He talked about his illness, about the loss of his place, about the death of a child, about all his misfortunes, right up to the present day. The stranger listened, not interrupting him with a word, and only more and more inquiringly and intently looked into his eyes, as if wishing to penetrate into the very depths of this sore, indignant soul. Suddenly, with a quick, very youthful movement, he jumped up from his seat and grabbed Mertsalov by the arm. Mertsalov also got up involuntarily.

- Let's go! - said the stranger, pulling Mertsalov by the hand. - Let's go soon! .. Your happiness that you met with the doctor. Of course, I can't vouch for anything, but ... let's go!

- Well, full, full, dear, - the doctor spoke up, affectionately stroking the woman on the back. - Get up! Show me your patient.

- With this piece of paper you will go to the pharmacy ... let's take a teaspoon in two hours. This will cause the baby to cough up ... Continue the warming compress ... In addition, even if your daughter has done better, in any case, invite Dr. Afrosimov tomorrow. He is a good doctor and a good person. I'll warn him right now. Then goodbye gentlemen! God grant that the coming year will treat you a little more leniently than this one, and most importantly - never lose heart.

After shaking hands with Mertsalov and Elizaveta Ivanovna, still not recovering from amazement, and patting Volodya's open mouth in passing on the cheek, the doctor quickly thrust his legs into deep galoshes and put on his coat. Mertsalov came to his senses only when the doctor was already in the corridor, and rushed after him.

Since it was impossible to make out anything in the darkness, Mertsalov shouted at random:

- Doctor! Doctor, wait! .. Tell me your name, doctor! Let my children pray for you at least!

And he moved his hands in the air to catch the invisible doctor. But at this time, at the other end of the corridor, a calm old voice said:

- NS! Here are some other trifles invented! .. Come back home soon!

When he returned, a surprise awaited him: under the tea saucer, along with the miraculous doctor's recipe, lay several large banknotes ...

That same evening, Mertsalov learned the name of his unexpected benefactor. On the pharmacy label, attached to the vial with the medicine, in the clear hand of the pharmacist was written: "According to the prescription of Professor Pirogov."

I heard this story, and more than once, from the lips of Grigory Yemelyanovich Mertsalov himself - that very Grishka who, on the Christmas Eve I described, shed tears into a smoky pot with empty borscht. Now he occupies a rather large, responsible post in one of the banks, reputed to be a model of honesty and responsiveness to the needs of poverty. And each time, finishing his story about the wonderful doctor, he adds in a voice trembling from hidden tears:

- Since then, like a beneficent angel descended into our family. Everything has changed. At the beginning of January, my father found a place, Mashutka got to her feet, my brother and I managed to be attached to the gymnasium at the state expense. It was just a miracle that this holy man performed. And we have seen our wonderful doctor only once since then - this is when he was transported dead to his own estate, Cherry. And even then they did not see him, because that great, powerful and holy that lived and burned in the wonderful doctor during his lifetime, extinguished irrevocably.

- Grisha, and Grisha! Look, little pig ... Laughs ... Yes. And in his mouth! .. Look, look ... grass in your mouth, by God, grass! .. Here's a thing!

And two boys, standing in front of a huge, solid glass window of a grocery store, began to laugh uncontrollably, pushing each other in the side with their elbows, but involuntarily dancing from the cruel cold. For more than five minutes they had been stuck in front of this magnificent exhibition, which excited their minds and stomachs alike. Here, illuminated by the bright light of hanging lamps, towered whole mountains of strong red apples and oranges; there were regular pyramids of tangerines, delicately gilded through the tissue paper enveloping them, stretched out on the dishes, with ugly open mouths and bulging eyes, huge smoked and pickled fish; below, surrounded by garlands of sausages, flaunted juicy cut hams with a thick layer of pinkish bacon ... Countless jars and boxes of salted, boiled and smoked snacks completed this spectacular picture, looking at which both boys forgot for a minute about the twelve-degree frost and the important task entrusted to on them as a mother, - an assignment that ended so unexpectedly and so deplorably.

The older boy was the first to break away from contemplation of the charming sight. He tugged at his brother's hand and said sternly:

- Well, Volodya, let's go, let's go ... There is nothing here ...

As the boys walked, the streets became less crowded and darker. Fine shops, shining Christmas trees, trotters racing under their blue and red nets, the screeching of runners, the festive revival of the crowd, the cheerful hum of shouts and conversations, the frosty laughing faces of elegant ladies - everything was left behind. Wastelands stretched, crooked, narrow alleys, gloomy, unlit hillsides ... Finally they reached a ramshackle dilapidated house that stood apart: the bottom of it - the basement itself - was stone, and the top - wooden. Walking around the cramped, icy and dirty courtyard, which served as a natural cesspool for all residents, they went down to the basement, walked in a common corridor in the dark, groped for their door and opened it.