Полное собрание сочинений. Том 37. Произведения 1906–1910 гг. The hostelry. Лев Толстой

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      НЕОПУБЛИКОВАННОЕ, НЕОТДЕЛАННОЕ И НЕОКОНЧЕННОЕ

      * THE HOSTELRY

      There was a benevolent man who wished to do as much good as he could to men, and he bethought himself that the best way to do this was to....[1] an inn in such a place where many people passed and of furnishing it with all that could be of use or give pleasure to men. So he arranged a hostelry with comfortable rooms, good stoves, fuel, lighting, store-rooms full of every kind of provisions, vegetables and all sorts of refreshment, also beds, every kind of clothes, underwear and boots in such quantities as to suffice for a great quantity of people.

      Having arranged all this the benefactor wrate very distingly a direction how to use his hostelry and all the thing that where gathered in it. This decretion the benefactor nailed on the entrance door so that every man should see it. In the direction it was writen that every man who entered the hostelry might stay in it as long as it was good for him and might eate and drink at his heart content and use all what was gathered in the inn clothes or boots or kind of provisions. The sole condition which was required from the travelers was that they schould take only what they needed presently and that they should help each other and leaving the hostelry made things tidy as before their arrival.

      Having arranged all this and written and hanged on the door this direction the benefactor himself retired.

      But it came to pass that when people came ent the hostelry they ded not look at the direction and began to use all the goods that where at their desposal without thinking of other people and triing to get all the thinges allthough not needed all everybody for himself.[2] They took began to quarrel between themselve over the goods. In snatching goods from each other spoiled them and sometime spoiled things aut of selfish spite in order that others schould not get them.

      So that havend spoiled everything in the inn, they began to sutler from cold and hunger, and from the injuries they themselves had inflicted on each other, and abused their host for having prepared too little goods, for not having placed caretakers, tor having allowed all sorts of bad men to enter. Others said that there egisted no anybody to abuse and that the hostelry had no master and had come into egistence (by itself) and that a bad damned place.

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