A Lost Opportunity

by Leo Tolstoy

In a small village there was a peasant by the name of Ivan Scherbakov. He was prosperous and strong and the hardest worker in the whole village. He had three sons. The eldest was married, the second about to be married and the youngest took care of the horses and, occasionally, the ploughing. The peasant's wife, Ivanovna, was intelligent and industrious, while her daughter-in-law was a simple, quiet, hard worker.

There was only one person in the house who did no work and that was Ivan's father, a very old man who for seven years had suffered from asthma and spent most of his time lying near the fire.

Ivan had plenty of everything – three horses, a cow with a calf and fifteen sheep. The women made the men's clothes and, on top of doing the housework, also worked in the field. What was left of last year's supplies was more than they needed and they sold enough crops to pay their taxes.

The peasant's next-door neighbour was Gordey Ivanov’s son, called Gavryl. Once, Ivan had a quarrel with him but, while old man Gordey was alive and Ivan's father was the head of the family, the two peasants lived as good neighbours. If the women of one house needed something, they borrowed it from the other. The same was true of the men. They lived more like one family, sharing everything with the other, and perfect harmony existed between the two families.

If a calf got into the garden of one of the farmers, the other happily drove it back. In the same way, they had no secrets from each other. The doors of their houses and barns had no locks, because they were so sure of each other's honesty. That’s how the old people lived.

In time the children started farming too. It soon became clear that they would not get along as peacefully as the old people had done, because they began quarrelling without the slightest reason. A hen belonging to Ivan's daughter-in-law started laying eggs which the young woman collected each morning. She made daily visits to the barn where, under an old wagon, she was sure to find an egg. One day the children frightened the hen and she flew into their neighbour's garden and laid her egg there. Ivan's daughter-in-law heard the hen, but was too busy to look for it then. When evening came and she had finished her work, she went to the barn, and as usual looked under the old wagon, expecting to find an egg. But there was none.

Disappointed, she returned to the house and asked her mother-in-law if she had taken it. "Your pretty hen laid her egg in our neighbours' garden and afterwards flew back again to ours."

She went to the neighbours' house, where she met an old woman who asked her what she wanted.

Ivan's daughter-in-law replied: "You see, my hen flew into your garden this morning. Did she lay an egg there?"

"We didn’t see any," the old woman replied. "We have our own hens and they’ve been laying for a very long time. We only hunt for our own eggs. Another thing I want to tell you: we don’t go into other people's gardens to look for their eggs."

Now this greatly angered the young woman and she replied in the same way she had been spoken to, only using stronger language. The neighbour replied angrily too and, finally, the women began to abuse each other. It happened that old Ivan's wife, on her way to get water, heard the argument and joined the others, taking her daughter-in-law's side. She reminded her neighbour of many disagreeable things which had happened (and many which had not) between them. In fact, she lost control of herself and ran around like a mad woman. Then all the women began to shout at the same time.

Gavryl's wife had by this time joined in the fight and he came to rescue her. Ivan and his son, seeing that their women were losing, joined in the argument and a fight followed. Ivan was the strongest peasant in the village and it did not take him long to break up the crowd. During the fight, Ivan tore out a lot of Gavryl's beard. By this time, a large crowd of peasants had gathered and it was only with the greatest difficulty that they persuaded the two families to stop quarrelling.

That was the beginning. Gavryl took the part of his beard which Ivan had torn out and went to the police to make a complaint against Ivan. Holding up the hair, he said, "I didn’t grow this for Ivan to tear out!" Gavryl's wife went round the neighbours, telling them they must not repeat what she told them, but that Ivan was going to be sent to Siberia. And so the quarrel went on.

The poor old grandfather, sick with asthma and lying near the fire all the time, tried to get them to live in peace but they would not listen to his good advice. He said to them: "You children are making a fuss about nothing. Think what a little thing has caused all this trouble – one egg. If our neighbours' children picked it up, nobody would worry. One egg is worth so little and we can all live without it."

Ivan's daughter-in-law interrupted him and said, "But they called us terrible names."

The old grandfather spoke again, saying: "Well, even if they called you bad names, it would be better to return good for evil." He continued: "You had a fight. These things sometimes happen but you should say sorry and bury your differences. If you don’t, it’ll be worse for you in the end."

The younger members of the family, still obstinate, refused to listen to the old man's advice. Ivan refused to go to his neighbour, as the grandfather asked, saying: "I didn’t tear out Gavryl's beard. He did it himself and his son tore my shirt and trousers."

Ivan went to court and began a case against Gavryl. While the neighbours were arguing, each suing the other, a bolt from Gavryl's wagon got lost and the women from Gavryl's house accused Ivan's son of stealing it.

They said: "We saw him pass by our window at night, on his way to where the wagon was standing. And my friends”, said one of them, “told me Ivan's son had offered to sell it at the pub."

So, they went to court again.

While the heads of the families were trying to settle their differences in court, the quarrels at home continued and often ended in fighting. Even the little children followed the example. The women, when they met at the river to do the family washing, spent the time abusing each other.

At first, the men were happy just to accuse each other of stealing and so on. But they soon began to take one another's property without asking permission and so things started disappearing from both houses and could not be found.

Ivan Scherbakov and Gavryl at last took their troubles to the village meeting, as well as the court. One time Gavryl would succeed in getting Ivan fined and, if he couldn’t pay, he’d be locked up for a few days. Then it would be Ivan's turn to get Gavryl punished. If anything went wrong with one, he immediately accused his neighbour of trying to ruin him and looked for revenge without stopping to find out what had really happened. This lasted for six years.

Ivan's father, the sick old man, constantly repeated his good advice: "What are you doing, my children? Can’t you pay more attention to your business and control your anger against your neighbours? It’s no use living like this because the angrier you get against each other, the worse it is for you."

Again though, nobody listened to the old man.

At the beginning of the seventh year, a daughter-in-law of Ivan's was at a wedding, where she openly accused Gavryl of stealing a horse. Gavryl was in no mood to forgive this and he hit the woman so hard that she had to stay in bed for more than a week. She was so ill they thought she might die.

Ivan, glad of a new opportunity to complain about his neighbour, made a complaint at the courthouse, this time hoping to get rid of Gavryl by having him sent to Siberia. But the court would not consider it because, by that time, the injured woman was walking about and as well as ever. So, Ivan, not satisfied with the decision, had the case moved to the court, where he used every possible means to win the case. He gave presents to the mayor and his secretary and got a guilty verdict against Gavryl. The sentence was that Gavryl was to be beaten on his bare back and the punishment was to take place in public outside the courthouse.

When Ivan heard the sentence he looked at Gavryl to see what effect it would have on him. Gavryl turned very white when he heard he was to be treated with such indignity and left the room without a word. Ivan followed him out and, as he reached his horse, he heard Gavryl saying: "Very well. My back will burn, but something will burn in Ivan's house before long." Ivan immediately returned to the court and, going up to the judges, said: "He’s threatening to burn my house and everything in it."

A messenger was sent to look for Gavryl, who was soon found and again brought to the judges.

"Is it true," they asked, "that you said you’d burn Ivan's house and everything in it?"

Gavryl replied: "I did not say anything of the kind. You can beat me but it seems that only I have to suffer for the truth, while he," pointing to Ivan, "is allowed to do and say what he pleases." Gavryl wanted to say something more but the words refused to come and so he turned his face towards the wall in silence.

The sight of so much suffering moved even the judges to feel sorry for him and, worried by Gavryl's continued silence, they said, "He may do both his neighbour and himself some terrible injury."

"See here, my brothers," said one old judge, looking at Ivan and Gavryl as he spoke, "I think you'd better try to arrange this matter peacefully. You, Gavryl, did wrong to hit a woman. It was a lucky thing for you that she didn’t die! It won’t do either of you any good to go on living as you are at present. Go, Gavryl, and make friends with Ivan; I’m sure he’ll forgive you and we’ll forget the verdict."

But their words fell on stony ground.

"I’m fifty years old," said Gavryl, "and have a married son and, even when I was a child, my father never beat my back but now I’m forced to suffer the shame of a public beating. Well, he’ll remember this."

It was a long way from the court to the homes of the two neighbours and Ivan arrived late. The women had already gone out for the cattle and he found no-one there. The men had not yet returned from the field so that everything was quiet. Going into the room, Ivan sat on a wooden bench and soon became lost in thought. He remembered how, when Gavryl first heard the sentence, he grew very pale and turned his face to the wall.

Ivan thought of the disgrace he had brought on Gavryl and wondered how he would feel if he had to suffer the same sentence. His thoughts were interrupted by his father’s coughing. The old man, seeing Ivan, sat on the bench beside him, looking at him as though ashamed. He continued to cough as he asked, "Well, did they sentence him?"

"Yes, they sentenced him to a public beating," replied Ivan.

The old man sadly shook his head and said: "This is very bad, Ivan, and what’s the meaning of it all? It’s very bad but not so bad for Gavryl as for you. How will his sentence help you?"

"He won’t hit a woman again," Ivan replied.

"What won’t he do? He doesn’t do anything worse than what you do all the time!"

This conversation made Ivan very angry and he shouted: "Well, what did he do? He beat a woman nearly to death and now he threatens to burn my house!"

The old man said: "You, Ivan, are strong and free to go wherever you please, while I’ve been lying for years next to the fire. You think you know everything and that I know nothing. But you are still a child and, as such, you can’t see that a kind of madness controls your actions and blinds you. You always think about others’ sins and forget your own. I know what Gavryl did was wrong, but do you think that all the wrong in the world is the work of one man? No! It needs two people to do much evil in this world. You see only the bad in Gavryl's character, but you are blind to the evil in your own."

The old man, after a pause, continued: "Who tore Gavryl's beard? Who dragged him into court? And yet you try to put all the blame on him. You’re behaving very badly yourself and, for that reason, you are wrong. I lived in peace with Gavryl's father all the time we were neighbours. We were always the best of friends."

The old man went on: "You are a peasant and the head of the house and so the responsibility for this trouble rests with you. What an example you set your wife and children by constantly quarrelling with your neighbour! Only a short time ago your little boy, Taraska, was swearing at his aunt Arina and his mother only laughed at it. Is that right? You are to blame for all this. You say one unkind word to me and I’ll reply with two. You slap my face once, and I’ll hit you twice. No, son. If anyone says an unkind word to you, it’s better not to answer at all, but if you reply, speak politely, and his conscience will accuse him and he will regret his unkindness to you. Aren’t I right?"

Ivan remained silent but his father's words went deep into his heart.

The old man coughed and continued: "Think of all the money you’ve spent going to court and the time lost in going back and forth, and what have you got from it? Your sons are men now and are able to work for you. You can enjoy life and be happy. With the help of your children, you could become rich. But now your property, instead of increasing, is gradually getting smaller, and why? It’s because of your pride. When you and your boys need to go to the field to work, your enemy calls you to court. Why did your crops fail this year? Weren’t you quarrelling with your neighbour instead of planting? You’ve just returned from the town, where you have shamed your neighbour. You’ve got him sentenced, but in the end the punishment will fall on you. Oh! my child, it would be better for you to work on the farm and train your boys to be good farmers and honest men."

Ivan still remained silent.

The old father continued: "Take an old man's advice. Drive back to the court and withdraw all these complaints against your neighbour. Tomorrow go to him, invite him to your house. Forgive and forget and advise your women and children to do the same."

Ivan felt easier in his heart, as he thought: "The old man speaks the truth," but he didn’t know how to put his father's advice into practice.

The old man said to Ivan: "Go, Ivan; don’t wait! Put out the fire before it grows because then it may be impossible."

Ivan's father wanted to say more to him but was prevented by the arrival of the women who came into the room chattering. They had already heard of Gavryl's sentence and of how he threatened to set fire to Ivan's house. They found out all about it and, in telling it to their neighbours added their own versions of the story, with the usual exaggeration.

They started to quarrel with Gavryl's women. They explained how Gavryl's daughter-in-law had threatened to get the help of an important landowner and that the school teacher was writing to the Czar himself against Ivan, explaining in detail how he stole the bolt and destroyed Gavryl's garden, asking for half of Ivan's land to be given to them.

Ivan listened calmly to their stories, but he was soon angry once more and forgot his intention of making peace with Gavryl.

As Ivan was always busy about the house, he did not stop to speak to the women, but immediately left the room, walking towards the barn. Before he had finished his work, the sun had set and the boys had returned from their ploughing. Ivan met them and asked about their work, helping them to put things in order. He’d planned to do more, but it became too dark and he had to leave it till the next day. He fed the cattle, however, and went into the house for his supper.

By this time he had forgotten all about Gavryl and what his father had said to him. Yet, as he opened the door, he heard sounds of quarrelling from his neighbour's house.

"What do I want with that devil?" shouted Gavryl to someone. "He deserves to be killed!"

Ivan stopped and listened for a moment and then entered his own home. His daughter-in-law was working, while the old woman was preparing the supper. The eldest son was repairing his shoes. The other son was sitting by the table reading a book. Everything was clean and tidy and his family happy. The only dark shadow was Ivan's trouble with his neighbour.

Ivan came in and, angrily throwing aside a cat which lay sleeping on the bench, swore at the women. He looked very sad and serious and, sitting in a corner of the room, started to repair something. He could not forget Gavryl, however – the threatening words he used in court and those which Ivan had just heard.

Presently Taraska came in and, after having his supper, put on his sheepskin coat and, taking some bread with him, returned to watch over his horses for the night. Ivan went with him as far as the veranda. The night was dark and cloudy and a strong wind was blowing. Ivan helped his son on his horse.

Ivan stood for a few moments looking around him and listening as Taraska rode down the village street. He heard him meet other boys, who rode as well as Taraska, and soon all were lost in the darkness.

Ivan remained standing by the gate in a gloomy mood, as he could not stop thinking of Gavryl's words: "Something will burn in Ivan's house before long."

"He is so desperate," thought Ivan, "that he may set fire to my house regardless of the danger to his own. Everything is dry and he may run from the back of his own building, start a fire, and get away unseen. I wish I could catch him."

This thought so worried Ivan that he decided not to return to his house, but went out and stood on the street corner.

"I guess," thought Ivan to himself, "I’ll take a walk around and examine everything carefully because who knows what he may do?"

Ivan moved very cautiously round to the back of his buildings, not making the slightest noise. Just as he reached the house, he looked towards the fence and saw something moving towards the corner of the house opposite where he was standing. He stepped back quickly and hid in the shadow. Ivan stood and listened, but everything was quiet. Not a sound could be heard except the wind through the trees. So thick was the darkness that it was at first impossible to see more than a few metres.

After a time, however, he got used to the dark. The plough stood just where he had put it. He could also see the opposite corner of the house.

He looked in every direction, but no-one was in sight and he thought to himself that his imagination must have played a trick on him, making him think someone was moving when there really was no-one there.

Still, Ivan was not satisfied and decided to look around again. Again, he moved so cautiously that he could not hear even the sound of his own footsteps. He had removed his shoes so that he could move noiselessly. When he reached the corner of the barn, it again seemed to him that he saw something moving, this time near the plough; but it quickly disappeared. By this time Ivan's heart was beating very fast and he was standing listening when a sudden flash of light lit up the spot and he could clearly see a man with his back turned towards him, lighting some straw which he held in his hand! Ivan's heart began to beat even faster and he became terribly excited, walking up and down, but without making a noise.

Ivan said: "Well, now, he can’t get away because he’ll be caught in the act."

Ivan had taken a few more steps when suddenly a bright light flamed up, but not in the same spot he had seen the man sitting. Gavryl had lit the straw and, running to the barn, held it under the roof, which began to burn. By the light of the fire he could see his neighbour standing.

Ivan jumped at Gavryl, saying: "I’ll tear you to pieces! You won’t get away from me this time!"

But Gavryl ran away past the buildings.

Ivan, now terribly excited, shouted, "You won’t escape!" and started to follow him. But just as he reached him and was about to grab his coat, Gavryl jumped to one side, and Ivan fell to the ground.

While Ivan was trying to stand up again, Gavryl reached his house, but Ivan followed so quickly that he caught up with him before he could enter. Just as he was about to catch him, he was hit on the head with a stone. Bright sparks danced before Ivan’s eyes, while he moved from side to side like a drunk man, until finally everything went dark and he fell to the ground unconscious.

When he recovered, Gavryl was nowhere to be seen, but everything around him was as light as day. Strange sounds came from the direction of his house and, turning his face, he saw that his barns were on fire. The back sides of both were already destroyed and the flames were moving towards the front. Fire, smoke and bits of burning straw were being carried by the high wind over to his house and he expected to see it burst into flames every moment.

Ivan cried out, "I should have stopped chasing him to put out the burning straw!"

Ivan tried to warn his people but his lips refused to move. He tried to run but he couldn’t. After several attempts he managed to take one or two steps, when he again began to fall. It was some moments before he made another attempt but, after considerable effort, he finally reached the barn. The back of it was completely destroyed by this time and the corner of his house had already caught fire.

A crowd had gathered, but they found it impossible to save their homes and so they carried everything to a place of safety. They drove the cattle into neighbouring fields and left someone to care for them.

The wind carried the sparks from Ivan's house to Gavryl's and it caught fire and was destroyed as well. The wind continued to increase and the flames spread to both sides of the street until, in a very short time, more than half the village was burned.

Ivan's family had great difficulty getting out of the burning building but the neighbours rescued the old man and carried him to safety, while the women escaped in only their nightclothes. Everything was burned, including the cattle and all the farm equipment. The women lost their clothes, which had taken years to buy or make. Not even the chickens survived.

Gavryl, however, was more fortunate than Ivan and saved his cattle and a few other things.

The village was burning all night.

Ivan stood near his home, gazing sadly at the burning building and he kept constantly repeating to himself: "I should have taken away the burning straw." But when he saw his home fall in, in spite of the terrible heat he jumped into the middle of it and carried out a burnt log. The women, seeing him, were afraid that he would lose his life and called to him to come back, but he would not pay any attention to them and went a second time to get a log. Still weak from the terrible blow on the head which Gavryl had given him, he was overcome by the heat, and fell into the middle of the burning house. Fortunately, his eldest son saw him fall and, rushing into the fire, managed to get hold of him and carry him out. Ivan's hair, beard, and clothing were entirely burnt off. His hands were also terribly injured but he seemed indifferent to pain.

"Grief drove him mad," the people said.

The fire was dying now, but Ivan still stood where he could see it and kept repeating to himself, "I should have put out the burning straw.”

The morning after the fire, a villager sent his son to Ivan to tell him that his father was dying and wanted to see him to say good-bye.

In his grief, Ivan had forgotten all about his father and could not understand what was said to him. In a dazed way he asked: "What father?"

The man again repeated his father's message to Ivan. "Your father is at our house dying and he wants to see you. Won't you come now, Uncle Ivan?" the boy said.

Finally Ivan understood, and followed the man.

When Ivan's father was carried from the fire, he was slightly injured by burning straw falling on him just as he reached the street. He was taken to a villager's house far away from his home, where it was safe.

When Ivan arrived, the old man was lying on a bench holding a lighted candle in his hand, waiting to die. Hearing a noise, he turned his face towards the door and, when he saw it was his son, he tried to move. He whispered: "Well, Ivan, didn’t I tell you before what would happen? Who set the village on fire?"

"He did it. I caught him. I saw him put the burning straw in the barn. Instead of running after him, I should have taken the straw away and then there would have been no fire."

"Ivan," said the old man, "I am dying. Remember you will also have to die. Who did this dreadful thing? Whose mistake was it?"

Ivan gazed at his dying father’s face and was silent. He was too upset to speak.

"Who did it?" the old man continued.

It was only now that the truth began to dawn on Ivan and that he realized how stupidly he had behaved. He fell on his knees before his father and, crying like a child, said:

"My dear father, forgive me. I am the guilty one!"

"What are you going to do," replied the old man, "now that you have no home?"

Ivan cried and said: "I don’t know how we’ll live now."

The old man closed his eyes and made a movement with his lips. Slowly opening his eyes, he whispered:

"You will be happy and prosperous again."

The old man was now silent for a while and then, smiling sadly, he continued:

"See here, Ivan, don’t speak about this trouble and do not tell anyone who set the village on fire. Forgive one sin of your neighbour's and God will forgive two of yours."

Taking the candle with both hands, Ivan's father passed quietly away.

Ivan for once accepted his father's advice. He did not say anything about Gavryl and no-one ever learned how the fire started.

Ivan felt better about his old enemy, thinking that much of the fault was his own.

Gavryl was greatly surprised that Ivan did not tell all the villagers and, at first, he was very afraid of him, but he soon got over this feeling.

The two peasants stopped quarrelling and their families followed their example. While they were building new houses, both families lived beneath the same roof and when they moved into their new homes, Ivan and Gavryl lived as good neighbours as their fathers had done.

Ivan remembered his dying father's words: a fire should be put out before it starts to spread. He lived well and peacefully and became prosperous again.

Let’s, therefore, have peace, live in brotherly love and kindness and we’ll be happy.