Full text of Gorky's childhood

Winter went and spring came, and we parted.

Uncle Yakov was assigned to the city and Mikhail was assigned to the other side of the river.

Grandpa bought a very interesting big house in Polewoy Street: downstairs is a pub with an attic above, and outside the back garden is a valley full of willows.

"Look, these are good whips!"

Grandpa said as he walked, standing on the melting snow and pointing to the note on the tree, he blinked cunningly:

"You will soon learn to read, and by that time, the whip will be more useful."

The house is full of tenants. Grandpa only left himself a room upstairs, and grandma and I lived on the top floor.

The window on the top floor faces the street. On the night of the festival, you can see crowds of drunks coming out of the pub, staggering and shouting.

Sometimes when they are thrown out of the booth, they roll on the ground, get up and squeeze into the booth.

Crash, creak, creak, and "ouch" suddenly sounded, and they began to fight!

It's so fun to stand in front of the upstairs window and watch all this!

Every morning, my grandfather will go to the dyehouse of two children to help.

He always looks tired and angry when he comes back at night.

Grandma cooks at home, dresses and grows flowers in the garden. Every day, she is very busy.

She smoked snuff, sneezed with relish, wiped the sweat on her face and said:

"Oh, thank the virgin, everything has become so beautiful!

"Alesha, the baby we are looking for, how peaceful we are!"

Peace?

I don't feel calm at all!

All day long, the tenants in the yard come and go, and the women in the neighbor's house often come to talk about this and that. I don't know what I'm busy with, but someone always shouts:

"Akulena Ivanovna!"

Aculina Ivanovna is so kind to everyone and cares for everyone in every way.

She put the tobacco into her nose with her thumb, carefully wiped her nose and fingers with a red square handkerchief, and then opened her mouth.

"My wife, guard against long lice, will often take a bath and take a mint steam bath!

"It doesn't matter if you have tinea scabies. Just put a spoonful of clean goose oil, a little mercury and three or two drops of silver on the plate, grind it with a broken external magnetic field for 7 times and rub it on your body!

"Never use wood or bone to grind, because mercury will be destroyed; You can't use copper or silver utensils, it will hurt your skin. "

Sometimes, she hesitated a little and then said:

"Aunt, please go to Petraeus to find Asaf. I can't answer your question. "

She delivers babies for others, mediates family disputes, treats children, and recites Dream of the Virgin (it is said that women can make good luck by reciting! ) introduce some common sense of daily life:

"When the melon should be pickled, it will tell you that it is not rustic.

"Gowasu after fermentation is delicious. Don't sweeten it. Just put some raisins. If you put sugar, sprinkle it in the bucket and put half a sugar at most.

"Yogurt has many practices:

There are Spanish, Danube and Caucasian flavors ... "

I followed her around the yard all day to visit her. Sometimes she sits in other people's homes for hours, drinking tea and telling all kinds of stories.

I always follow her, almost becoming her tail.

In this period of life, except for this busy old lady, my mind is blank.

Once I asked my grandmother:

"Can you witchcraft?

On reflection, she smiled and said:

"Witchcraft is a science, it is difficult, I can't, I can't read!

"Look at your grandpa, how smart he is. He can read. The virgin didn't make me smart! "

Then she told her story:

"I was an orphan since I was a child, and my mother was poor and disabled!

"When she was a daughter, she was scared by the landlord. At night, she jumped out of the window and broke half her body!

"Her right hand has shrunk. This is a fatal blow to a woman who sells lace for a living!

"The landlord drove her away. She wandered about begging for a living. People at that time were richer than they are now. Carpenters and lace weavers in Ba Laha are very kind.

"Every autumn, my mother and I will stay in the city and beg. When Archangel Gaffry waved away the winter, we moved on and went wherever we wanted.

"I've been to Murom, I've been to Uribe, I didn't go upstream on the Volga River, and I didn't walk quietly on the Oka River.

"After spring and summer, wandering on the earth is really a beautiful thing! The grass is fluffy, the flowers are in full bloom, and they breathe the sweet and warm air freely!

"Sometimes, my mother will close her blue eyes and sing. Flowers and trees harden their ears and stop inside. The earth is listening to her singing!

"Wandering life is really fun, but as I grow up, my mother feels a little embarrassed to lead me to beg everywhere.

"So, we live in Nacheng, Ba Laha. She goes to the streets to beg from door to door every day. Every holiday, she will go to the church gate and wait for people's charity.

"As for me, I sit at home and learn to knit lace. I study hard and want to learn it in order to help my mother.

"In more than two years, I know that all needs have a name, and people know that they come to me for handicrafts:' Hey, Cuglia, knit me one!' I am very happy, just like Chinese New Year!

"This is, of course, my mother taught me. Although she has only one hand, she can't do it, but she is good at pointing. You know, a good teacher is more important than anything else!

"I can't help feeling a little embarrassed for him. I said,' Mom, you don't have to beg any more, I can feed you!' She said, shut up, you know, this is money for your dowry! "Later, your grandfather appeared. He is a young man on a business trip, only 22 years old, and he became the foreman of a big ship!

"Her mother gave me a careful examination. She thinks my hands are smart and I am a beggar's daughter, so I am honest.

"She sells bread, she is fierce ..." Well, don't remember this, why do you want to remember the bad guys? God knows best. "

Speaking of this, she smiled. My nose trembled ridiculously and my eyes sparkled, which made me feel particularly kind.

I still remember that on a quiet night, my grandmother and I had tea at my grandfather's house.

Grandpa is in poor health. He sits on the bed without a shirt and a towel on his shoulder. He wipes his sweat every once in a while.

His voice is dumb, he is short of breath, his eyes are dark green, Kong Zi is purple, and his ears are horribly red!

He went to get the cup, his hands were shaking.

At this time, others have become docile.

"Why don't you add sugar to me?"

His tone is like a spoiled child, grandma gently but firmly told him:

"You should drink honey!"

He gasped and sipped hot tea:

"Look at me, don't let me die!"

"Come on, I'll be careful!"

"Well, if I die now, I feel as if I have never lived!"

"Well, lie down and forget it."

He closed his eyes and was silent for a long time. Suddenly, it seems that a needle can make children behave themselves, don't you think? "

So he began to criticize the suitable girls in the city.

Grandma didn't say anything, just sitting there drinking black tea cup by cup.

I sat by the window and looked up at the sunset glow on the horizon-at that time, my grandfather forbade me to play outside because I seemed to have made some mistakes.

Beetles are buzzing around the birch trees in the garden.

Cooper was working in the yard next door when the local bell rang.

And the sound of sharpening knives.

In the valley outside the garden, children are running around in the bushes, and the noise keeps coming.

A melancholy at dusk comes to my mind and I really want to go out to play.

Suddenly, grandpa patted me and enthusiastically wanted to teach me to read. He has a small new book in his hand, and I don't know where it came from.

"Come on, kid, you cheekbones guy, what's this word?"

I answered.

Oh, yes! What about this? "

I answered again.

"No, asshole!"

His roar kept ringing in the room:

"By the way, how about this?

"No, asshole!

By the way, how about this?

"By the way, how about this?

"No, asshole!"

Grandma chimed in:

"Old man, why don't you lie down for a while?"

"You leave me alone! He feels comfortable only when I teach him to read, otherwise he is always thinking!

"Well, read on, Alexei!"

Grandpa put his hot arm around my neck, and the book was in front of me. He crossed my shoulder and lit the letters with his fingers.

His sour taste, sweat smell and roasted onion smell make me breathless.

But he just yelled at those letters one by one!

"3eMJI" is like a bug, "like Gregory with a hunchback" and "like grandma and me, grandpa has all the letters in the alphabet.

He turned his mother's watch upside down and asked his nephew to read aloud, asking questions backwards and backwards, confusing the questions.

I'm excited too. My head is sweaty, but I can shout my voice out.

He may feel funny, clap his chest, cough, crumple his books and say in a hoarse voice:

"Old woman, you listen to how high this boy's voice is!

"Hey, hey, you astrakhan fawning guy, what are you shouting?

What are you yelling about? "

"You didn't shout ..."

I thought he was happy to see grandma again.

Grandma supported the table with ribs, put her fist against the ribs, and smiled and said:

"Well, stop shouting!"

Grandpa said gently:

"I shouted because I was in poor health, and you? Why? "

Before I could answer, he shook his head and said to his grandmother:

"The dead Natalie said he had a bad memory, but that's not necessarily true! Look, he remembers the way like a horse!

"Well, keep reading with your nose up!"

I read aloud again.

Finally, he smiled and pushed me out of bed.

"Well, take this book away!

"Tomorrow, you must read all the letters to me. If there is no problem, I will give you five kopecks!"

I reached for the book.

But he pulled me into his arms and said gloomily:

"Alas, your mother abandoned you and suffered in the world, little devil!"

Grandma was a shake:

"Grandpa, why do you mention this?"

"I really don't want to say it, but my heart is too uncomfortable! What a good girl, on that road ... "

He suddenly pushed me away and said:

"Go and play, don't take to the streets, just in the yard and garden ..."

I flew into the garden and climbed the mountain.

Wild children threw stones at me from the valley, and I fought back excitedly.

"Oh, that boy came and skinned him!" When they saw me from a distance, they shouted.

One person can hit a large group, especially that large group, and the stones thrown out hit the bushes, so happy.

This kind of war will do no harm to anyone and will not leave any enmity.

I read quickly, and my grandfather cares about me more and more, and seldom hits me.

According to the previous standards, in fact, he should hit me more often: because as I grow up day by day, I begin to break grandpa's rules and behaviors more and more, but he often just scolds me.

I think he must have dialed the wrong number when he hit me earlier. It doesn't make sense.

I told him the idea.

He held my chin, raised my head, blinked, dragged a long cavity to ask:

"What-what?" Then he smiled:

"You pagan! How do you know how many times I hit you? Get out! "

But he grabbed my shoulder and looked me in the eye:

"Well, I said, are you smart or stupid?"

"I don't know ..."

"Don't know?

"Well, I'll tell you. Learn to be precise. Stupidity is stupidity, and diligence is cleverness! Sheep are stupid, but monkeys are smart!

"Well, remember! Go and play ... "

Soon I can spell poetry, usually after drinking tea, I will read hymns.

I pointed at the book with a stick, moving and reading, which was very boring.

"The sage is Uncle Yakov, right?"

Give you a neck turn and let you know who is a saint! "Grandpa gas MCE blowing nostrils.

I'm used to his angry appearance and feel a little fake.

Listen, am I right? After a while, he forgot the pleasure just now:

"He was King David when he sang, but he acted like a vicious Absalom!

-

-classic see the old testament:

King David is the king of Israel, and Absalom is his son. He killed his brother, took his father's place, and later died in defeat.

"Ah, you can sing and dance, talk sweetly, jump and jump, how far can you jump?"

I stopped reading poetry, listened carefully and looked at his gloomy face.

He squinted over my head and looked out of the window. His eyes trembled with melancholy.

"Grandpa!"

"Ah?"

"Tell a story!"

"Lazy, look!" He rubbed his eyes as if he had just woken up.

But I think he prefers jokes to poems. However, he memorized almost all the poems, and he vowed to read aloud a few verses before going to bed every day, just like praying in church.

I begged him again and again, but he finally gave in.

"All right, all right! Poetry is always alive, I want to accept the judgment of God ... "

Said, and he went to the old Anton chair fragrant flowers on the back of a chair, looking at the ceiling, about the past:

"A long time ago, a group of robbers came. My grandfather's father went to the police, and the bandits caught up with him, hacked him to death with a sabre and threw him under the big clock.

"At that time, I was still very young.

"I remember it was in 18 12, when I was just 12 years old. More than 30 French prisoners came to Barahona.

"They are all short and ragged, even worse than beggars. I'm freezing. I can't stand it.

"The old white star was surrounded and wanted to kill them. The soldiers refused to be escorted and sent the old white star home.

"But later, everyone became familiar with these French people. They are happy people and often sing.

"Later, a large group of nobles came from Niger. They all came in three carriages.

Some of them abused the French in a bad manner, while others spoke to them kindly in French, gave them clothes and paid them back.

"An elderly Frenchman shouted:' Napoleon really made the French suffer! You see, the Russians are so kind that even the master pities us. .........................................................................................................................................................

There was silence for a while. He touched a brief nod with his hand, trying to recall the past years:

"The city swept by the raging snowstorm in winter is so cold that it is freezing to death!

"At this time, French prisoners will run to the window of our house to jump, make noise and knock on the glass. They asked my mother for hot bread.

"My mother sells bread.

She handed the bread out of the window, and the Frenchman grabbed it and held it in his arms. Just baked! They immediately glued it to the meat!

"Many French people are frozen to death, and they are not used to such cold weather.

"There is a bathroom in our garden. There are two Frenchmen, an officer and an orderly. The paramedic's name is Milan.

"This police officer is very thin and skinny, wearing a female coat that only reaches the knees. He is very kind, but he likes to throw cold water on it.

"My mother stole beer to sell. He always drinks after buying and sings after drinking.

"He learned some Russian and often said,' Ah, you are not white here, but black and fierce!' We can understand what he said.

"Yes, we are not in the lower reaches of the Volga River, where it is much warmer. After crossing the Caspian Sea, it doesn't snow all year round.

"Snow and winter are not mentioned in the Gospels and Acts, and Jesus lived there …" Well, after reading the poem, let's look at the Gospels! "

He fell silent, as if asleep, staring sideways out of the window, which made him thinner.

"Go ahead!" I said carefully.

"Oh, great!" He shook it, and then said:

French! They are human beings, no less than us. They call my mother Madam, which means' madam'. Ah, madam, madam, but our wife can take five pints of flour at a time.

Her inexhaustible energy is almost something to shoot. When I was 20 years old, she couldn't catch my hair and shook it effortlessly.

"Orderly Milan especially likes horses. He often goes to the yards of families and gestures to wash horses!

"At first, everyone was afraid of his bad idea. Later, the old man took the initiative to find him: Mi Lang, wash the horse!

"This time, he will follow with his head down with a smile.

"He is a guy with red hair and a big nose, and his lips are particularly thick. Managing horses is his specialty, and it is also necessary to treat horses.

"Later, he became a horse doctor in Nigeria, and soon he went crazy and was killed.

"The next spring, the officer was ill. On the anniversary of Nicholas, the goddess of spring, he sat by the window with a heavy heart, stuck his head out and died.

"I secretly cry because he is very kind to me. He often tugs at my ear and says some French words that I don't understand.

"The closeness between people is not something that money can buy. I want to learn French from him, but my mother won't let me. She took me to the priest, who beat me up and sued the police officer.

"Well, baby, it was too difficult at that time. You didn't catch up, others take the blame for you ... "

It was completely dark.

Grandpa seems to suddenly become bigger in the dark, with cat-like light in his eyes, intense and fanatical tone, and much faster speech.

He talked about his childhood in this way, which violated his usual cautious and thoughtful state.

I don't like him very much. He didn't mean to remember it, but it was indelibly imprinted on my memory.

He recalled the past blindly. There are no fairy tales or stories in his mind, only the past. He doesn't like being asked questions, but I insist on asking him:

"Oh, who do you recommend, French or Russian?"

"Then who knows? I have never seen how the French live in their own homes! "

"So, what about the Russians?"

"There are good ones and not bad ones."

"Maybe people in the slave age were not good. At that time, people were tied with ropes.

"Now, free, but even the bread and salt are poor.

"Lords nature is not very charitable, but they are very smart. Of course, there are idiots with head pockets. He takes whatever you put in it. "

"Are Russians energetic?"

"There are many Hercules, but only strength is useless, and we must be agile, because no matter how strong we are, we can't beat horses!"

"Why did the French attack?"

"That's the emperor's business, we don't know."

"What did Napoleon do?"

He is an ambitious man. He wants to conquer the world and let all people live the same life. No master, no servant, no rank, everyone is equal, just by different names.

"Of course, there is only one belief. This is nonsense! Let's just say that only lobsters look alike, and there are different kinds of fish: trout and catfish can't get along, and sturgeon and herring can't be friends.

"Russia also has Napoleonic factions, such as Racine Stepan, Timofeev, Bugatsch, Ye Mirjan, Ivanov ..."

He looked at me wait for a while, his eyes wide open, as if it was the first time he saw me.

This is a little unpleasant.

He never talked to me about my father and mother.

Grandma often walks in when we are talking.

She sat in the corner for a long time without saying a word, as if she were not there.

But she will suddenly gently insert:

"Master, don't you remember, we went to Mount Loma, how nice?

What year was that? "

Grandpa wanted to think, seriously answer:

"Yes, that was before the mold epidemic, that is, the year when the Aulagne people were arrested in the Woods?"

"Yes, yes!" "That's right!"

I asked again:

"What does Mr. Lang do? Why did they escape to the Woods? "

Grandpa said patiently:

"They are all ordinary old people who escaped from rural materials in the factory."

"How to catch them?"

"Just like children playing hide-and-seek, some people run and some people chase." When he caught it, he whipped it with a tree stick, whipped it with a whip, broke its nose and broke a seal on its forehead as a sign of punishment. "

"Why?"

"It's hard to say, this is not what we need to know."

Grandma said again:

"Master, do you remember? After the fire ... "

Grandpa asked very seriously:

"What fire?"

They began to recall the past together and forgot me.

They recalled sentence by sentence in a low voice, as if they were singing. They are all unpleasant songs: disease, sudden death, fire, fighting, beggars, masters ... "You saw it all!"

Grandpa complained.

"What also can't forget!

"Do you remember the spring after giving birth to Huiwalia?"

"Oh, it's 1848, the year of the expedition to Hungary. On the second day of Christmas, I took my godfather Tihon to the war ... "I haven't heard from him since then ..." Grandma sighed.

"Isn't it! However, since that year, God's grace has been coming to our family.

"Alas, Vavala ..."

"Come on, old man!"

Grandpa Yin face:

"What line? Our hard work has been in vain, and none of these children are promising! "

He shouted a little uncontrollably, cursing his daughter and waving his thin fist at his grandmother:

"It's all yours! You spoil them, smelly old woman! "

He howled, ran to the icon and beat his chest:

"God, how deep is my evil lane? Why? "

His face was full of tears and his eyes were fierce.

Grandma drew a cross and comforted him in a low voice:

"You don't do this! God knows why! You see, not many people are better than our children!

"The old man, everything is like this. It's noisy and chaotic. All parents are suffering the same pain, not just you ... "

These words seemed to stabilize his mood, and he sat on the bed as if asleep.

If I went back to the top floor to sleep with my grandmother as usual, I would be fine, but this time my grandmother wanted to comfort him more and went to bed.

Grandpa jerked over and punched grandma in the face.

Grandma tripped and almost fell. She put her hand on the bleeding wound on her lips and whispered:

You little fool! "

Then he spat at his feet.

He gave a roar and raised his hand:

"I'm going to kill you!"

"What a fool!"

Grandma added, and then walked unhurriedly to the door.

Grandpa rushed to her, and she brought the door and almost hit him in the face.

"Smelly old woman!"

Grandpa held the door frame with his hand and scratched it hard.

I can hardly believe what I saw. This is the first time he hit my grandmother in front of me. I feel ashamed!

He was still holding on to the door frame, and it took him a long time to turn around in pain. He walked slowly into the middle of the room, knelt down, leaned forward, straightened up again, and beat his chest:

"God, God ..."

I ran out at once.

Grandma is gargling on the top floor.

"Does it hurt?"

She spit the water into the dirty bucket and said quietly:

"Nothing, just a broken lip!"

Why is he like this? "

She looked out the window and said:

He always feels that everything is unsatisfactory and always loses his temper. ..... "You are quick to sleep, don't think about these ..."

I asked her again, and she said sternly:

"Why don't you listen? Go to sleep! "

She sat by the window, sucking her lips and spitting into her handkerchief.

I went to bed, undressed and looked at her.

The starlight shone out of the blue window above her head.

The street is quiet and the room is dark.

She came over and touched my head:

"Sleep. I went to see him ... "Don't be too close to me. Maybe it's my fault ... go to bed! " "

She kissed me and left.

My heart is very