Anton Pavlovich Chekhov 



   Joy

    It was twelve o'clock at night. 
    Mitya Kuldarov, with excited face and ruffled hair,  flew into his parents' 
flat, and hurriedly ran through all the rooms.  His parents had already gone to 
bed. His sister was in bed, finishing the last page of a novel.  His  schoolboy 
brothers were asleep. 
    "Where have you come from?" cried his parents in amazement.  "What  is  the 
matter with you? 
    "Oh, don't ask! I never expected it; no, I never expected it!  It's... it's 
positively incredible!" 
    Mitya laughed and sank into an armchair, so overcome by happiness  that  he 
could not stand on his legs. 
    "It's incredible! You can't imagine! Look!" 
    His sister jumped out of bed and, throwing a quilt round her,  went  in  to 
her brother. The schoolboys woke up. 
    "What's the matter? You don't look like yourself!" 
    "It's because I am so delighted, Mamma! Do you know, now all  Russia  knows 
of me! All Russia! Till now only you knew that there  was  a registration clerk 
called Dmitry Kuldarov, and now all Russia knows it! Mamma! Oh, Lord!" 
    Mitya jumped up, ran up and down all the rooms, and then sat down again. 
    "Why, what has happened? Tell us sensibly!" 
    "You live like wild beasts, you don't  read  the  newspapers  and  take  no 
notice of what's published, and there's so much  that  is  interesting  in  the 
papers. If anything happens it's all known at  once,  nothing  is  hidden!  How 
happy I am! Oh, Lord! You know it's only  celebrated  people  whose  names  are 
published in the papers, and now they have gone and published mine!" 
    "What do you mean? Where?" 
    The papa turned pale. The mamma glanced  at  the  holy  image  and  crossed 
herself. The schoolboys jumped out of bed and, just  as  they  were,  in  short 
nightshirts, went up to their brother. 
    "Yes! My name has been published! Now all Russia  knows  of  me!  Keep  the 
paper, mamma, in memory of it! We will read it sometimes! Look!" 
    Mitya pulled out of his pocket a copy of the paper, gave it to his  father, 
and pointed with his finger to a passage marked with blue pencil. 
    "Read it!" 
    The father put on his spectacles. 
    "Do read it!" 
    The mamma glanced at the holy image and crossed herself. The  papa  cleared 
his throat and began to read:  "At eleven o'clock on the evening of the 29th of 
December, a registration clerk of the name of Dmitry Kuldarov..." 
    "You see, you see! Go on!" 
    "... a registration clerk of the  name  of  Dmitry  Kuldarov,  coming  from 
the beershop in Kozihin's  buildings  in  Little  Bronnaia  in  an  intoxicated 
condition..." 
    "That's me and Semyon Petrovitch... It's  all  described  exactly!  Go  on! 
Listen!" 
    "... intoxicated condition, slipped and fell under  a  horse  belonging  to 
a sledge-driver, a  peasant  of  the  village  of  Durikino  in  the  Yuhnovsky 
district, called Ivan Drotov. The frightened horse, stepping over Kuldarov  and 
drawing the sledge over him, together with a  Moscow  merchant  of  the  second 
guild called Stepan Lukov, who was in it,  dashed  along  the  street  and  was 
caught by some house-porters. Kuldarov, at first in an  unconscious  condition, 
was taken to the police station and there examined by the doctor. The  blow  he 
had received on the back of his head..." 
    "It was from the shaft, papa. Go on! Read the rest!" 
    "... he had received on the back of his head turned out not to be  serious. 
The incident was duly reported. Medical aid was given to the injured man..." 
    "They told me to foment the back of my head with cold water. You have  read 
it now? Ah! So you see. Now it's all over Russia! Give it here!" 
    Mitya seized the paper, folded it up and put it into his pocket. 
    "I'll run round to the Makarovs and show it to them... I must  show  it  to 
the Ivanitskys too, Natasya  Ivanovna,  and  Anisim  Vassilyitch...  I'll  run! 
Good-bye!" 
    Mitya put on his cap with its cockade and, joyful and triumphant, ran  into 
the street. 

    1883

_______________________________________________________________________________

   Notes
    A registration clerk: the lowest rank in the Russian civil service. 

_______________________________________________________________________________