THE BEGGAR

The Beggar

The beggar begs. He lies. Skvortsov the lawyer confronts the beggar on his lies. Tells him he should go find a job. The beggar tells him there is no job for him to do. Finally Skvortsov offers the beggar the opportunity to chop some wood for him. Luckily for the beggar he is taken to Olga the cook who despises him.

The cook holds nothing back She tells him what a pathetic lazy drunkard he is and how he'll be going to hell and most importantly after finishing haranguing him the cook takes some pity and chops the wood for him.

And that is what saves Lushkov the beggar. Talk is cheap. The fact that the cook chops the wood for him shows Lushkov what real compassion is all about. Maybe Olga chops the wood because she feels guilty after lambasting the beggar - whatever the reason -- the fact that she takes some action gives her words credibility.

The lawyer wants to pat himself on the back for saving the beggar but without the real actions of the cook the beggar would still be begging.

And without running into Lyshkov in the theater the lawyer would never have learned the truth  He would be thinking  he deserves credit for helping -- when in fact it was the cook who had no interest in flattering herself on her charity that provides the crucial hand.

How many Olgas are out doing vital work who never get any credit and how many Skvortsovs are out there thinking they are saving the world?