IT was the beginning of November. There had been a hard frost, eleven degrees Reaumur, without snow, but a little dry snow had fallen on the frozen ground during the night, and a keen dry wind was lifting and blowing it along the dreary1 streets of our town, especially about the market-place. It was a dull morning, but the snow had ceased.
Not far from the market-place, close to Plotnikov’s shop, there stood a small house, very clean both without and within. It belonged to Madame Krassotkin, the widow of a former provincial2 secretary, who had been dead for fourteen years. His widow, still a nice-looking woman of thirty-two, was living in her neat little house on her private means. She lived in respectable seclusion3; she was of a soft but fairly cheerful disposition4. She was about eighteen at the time of her husband’s death; she had been married only a year and had just borne him a son. From the day of his death she had devoted5 herself heart and soul to the bringing up of her precious treasure, her boy Kolya. Though she had loved him passionately6 those fourteen years, he had caused her far more suffering than happiness. She had been trembling and fainting with terror almost every day, afraid he would fall ill, would catch cold, do something naughty, climb on a chair and fall off it, and so on and so on. When Kolya began going to school, the mother devoted herself to studying all the sciences with him so as to help him, and go through his lessons with him. She hastened to make the acquaintance of the teachers and their wives, even made up to Kolya’s schoolfellows, and fawned7 upon them in the hope of thus saving Kolya from being teased, laughed at, or beaten by them. She went so far that the boys actually began to mock at him on her account and taunt8 him with being a “mother’s darling.”
But the boy could take his own part. He was a resolute9 boy, “tremendously strong,” as was rumoured10 in his class, and soon proved to be the fact; he was agile12, strong-willed, and of an audacious and enterprising temper. He was good at lessons, and there was a rumour11 in the school that he could beat the teacher, Dardanelov, at arithmetic and universal history. Though he looked down upon everyone, he was a good comrade and not supercilious13. He accepted his schoolfellows’ respect as his due, but was friendly with them. Above all, he knew where to draw the line. He could restrain himself on occasion, and in his relations with the teachers he never overstepped that last mystic limit beyond which a prank14 becomes an unpardonable breach15 of discipline. But he was as fond of mischief16 on every possible occasion as the smallest boy in the school, and not so much for the sake of mischief as for creating a sensation, inventing something, something effective and conspicuous17. He was extremely vain. He knew how to make even his mother give way to him; he was almost despotic in his control of her. She gave way to him, oh, she had given way to him for years. The one thought unendurable to her was that her boy had no great love for her. She was always fancying that Kolya was “unfeeling” to her, and at times, dissolving into hysterical18 tears, she used to reproach him with his coldness. The boy disliked this, and the more demonstrations19 of feeling were demanded of him, the more he seemed intentionally21 to avoid them. Yet it was not intentional20 on his part but instinctive22 — it was his character. His mother was mistaken; he was very fond of her. He only disliked “sheepish sentimentality,” as he expressed it in his schoolboy language.
There was a bookcase in the house containing a few books that had been his father’s. Kolya was fond of reading, and had read several of them by himself. His mother did not mind that and only wondered sometimes at seeing the boy stand for hours by the bookcase poring over a book instead of going to play. And in that way Kolya read some things unsuitable for his age.
Though the boy, as a rule, knew where to draw the line in his mischief, he had of late begun to play pranks23 that caused his mother serious alarm. It is true there was nothing vicious in what he did, but a wild mad recklessness.
It happened that July, during the summer holidays, that the mother and son went to another district, forty-five miles away, to spend a week with a distant relation, whose husband was an official at the railway station (the very station, the nearest one to our town, from which a month later Ivan Fyodorovitch Karamazov set off for Moscow). There Kolya began by carefully investigating every detail connected with the railways, knowing that he could impress his schoolfellows when he got home with his newly acquired knowledge. But there happened to be some other boys in the place with whom he soon made friends. Some of them were living at the station, others in the neighbourhood; there were six or seven of them, all between twelve and fifteen, and two of them came from our town. The boys played together, and on the fourth or fifth day of Kolya’s stay at the station, a mad bet was made by the foolish boys. Kolya, who was almost the youngest of the party and rather looked down upon by the others in consequence, was moved by vanity or by reckless bravado24 to bet them two roubles that he would lie down between the rails at night when the eleven o’clock train was due, and would lie there without moving while the train rolled over him at full speed. It is true they made a preliminary investigation25, from which it appeared that it was possible to lie so flat between the rails that the train could pass over without touching26, but to lie there was no joke! Kolya maintained stoutly27 that he would. At first they laughed at him, called him a little liar28, a braggart29, but that only egged him on. What piqued30 him most was that these boys of fifteen turned up their noses at him too superciliously31, and were at first disposed to treat him as “a small boy,” not fit to associate with them, and that was an unendurable insult. And so it was resolved to go in the evening, half a mile from the station, so that the train might have time to get up full speed after leaving the station The boys assembled. It was a pitch-dark night without a moon. At the time fixed32, Kolya lay down between the rails. The five others who had taken the bet waited among the bushes below the embankment, their hearts beating with suspense33, which was followed by alarm and remorse34. At last they heard in the distance the rumble35 of the train leaving the station. Two red lights gleamed out of the darkness; the monster roared as it approached.
“Run, run away from the rails,” the boys cried to Kolya from the bushes, breathless with terror. But it was too late: the train darted36 up and flew past. The boys rushed to Kolya. He lay without moving. They began pulling at him, lifting him up. He suddenly got up and walked away without a word. Then he explained that he had lain there as though he were insensible to frighten them, but the fact was that he really had lost consciousness, as he confessed long after to his mother. In this way his reputation as “a desperate character,” was established for ever. He returned home to the station as white as a sheet. Next day he had a slight attack of nervous fever, but he was in high spirits and well pleased with himself. The incident did not become known at once, but when they came back to the town it penetrated37 to the school and even reached the ears of the masters. But then Kolya’s mother hastened to entreat38 the masters on her boy’s behalf, and in the end Dardanelov, a respected and influential39 teacher, exerted himself in his favour, and the affair was ignored.
Dardanelov was a middle-aged40 bachelor, who had been passionately in love with Madame Krassotkin for many years past, and had once already, about a year previously41, ventured, trembling with fear and the delicacy42 of his sentiments, to offer her most respectfully his hand in marriage. But she refused him resolutely43, feeling that to accept him would be an act of treachery to her son, though Dardanelov had, to judge from certain mysterious symptoms, reason for believing that he was not an object of aversion to the charming but too chaste44 and tender-hearted widow. Kolya’s mad prank seemed to have broken the ice, and Dardanelov was rewarded for his intercession by a suggestion of hope. The suggestion, it is true, was a faint one, but then Dardanelov was such a paragon45 of purity and delicacy that it was enough for the time being to make him perfectly46 happy. He was fond of the boy, though he would have felt it beneath him to try and win him over, and was severe and strict with him in class. Kolya, too, kept him at a respectful distance. He learned his lessons perfectly; he was second in his class, was reserved with Dardanelov, and the whole class firmly believed that Kolya was so good at universal history that he could “beat” even Dardanelov. Kolya did indeed ask him the question, “Who founded Troy?” to which Dardanelov had made a very vague reply, referring to the movements and migrations47 of races, to the remoteness of the period, to the mythical48 legends. But the question, “Who had founded Troy?” that is, what individuals, he could not answer, and even for some reason regarded the question as idle and frivolous49. But the boys remained convinced that Dardanelov did not know who founded Troy. Kolya had read of the founders50 of Troy in Smaragdov, whose history was among the books in his father’s bookcase. In the end all the boys became interested in the question, who it was that had founded Troy, but Krassotkin would not tell his secret, and his reputation for knowledge remained unshaken.
After the incident on the railway a certain change came over Kolya’s attitude to his mother. When Anna Fyodorovna (Madame Krassotkin) heard of her son’s exploit, she almost went out of her mind with horror. She had such terrible attacks of hysterics, lasting51 with intervals52 for several days, that Kolya, seriously alarmed at last, promised on his honour that such pranks should never be repeated. He swore on his knees before the holy image, and swore by the memory of his father, at Madame Krassotkin’s instance, and the “manly” Kolya burst into tears like a boy of six. And all that day the mother and son were constantly rushing into each other’s arms sobbing53. Next day Kolya woke up as “unfeeling” as before, but he had become more silent, more modest, sterner, and more thoughtful.
Six weeks later, it is true, he got into another scrape, which even brought his name to the ears of our Justice of the Peace, but it was a scrape of quite another kind, amusing, foolish, and he did not, as it turned out, take the leading part in it, but was only implicated54 in it. But of this later. His mother still fretted55 and trembled, but the more uneasy she became, the greater were the hopes of Dardanelov. It must be noted56 that Kolya understood and divined what was in Dardanelov’s heart and, of course, despised him profoundly for his “feelings”; he had in the past been so tactless as to show this contempt before his mother, hinting vaguely57 that he knew what Dardanelov was after. But from the time of the railway incident his behaviour in this respect also was changed; he did not allow himself the remotest allusion58 to the subject and began to speak more respectfully of Dardanelov before his mother, which the sensitive woman at once appreciated with boundless59 gratitude60. But at the slightest mention of Dardanelov by a visitor in Kolya’s presence, she would flush as pink as a rose. At such moments Kolya would either stare out of the window scowling61, or would investigate the state of his boots, or would shout angrily for “Perezvon,” the big, shaggy, mangy dog, which he had picked up a month before, brought home, and kept for some reason secretly indoors, not showing him to any of his schoolfellows. He bullied62 him frightfully, teaching him all sorts of tricks, so that the poor dog howled for him whenever he was absent at school, and when he came in, whined63 with delight, rushed about as if he were crazy, begged, lay down on the ground pretending to be dead, and so on; in fact, showed all the tricks he had taught him, not at the word of command, but simply from the zeal64 of his excited and grateful heart.
I have forgotten, by the way, to mention that Kolya Krassotkin was the boy stabbed with a penknife by the boy already known to the reader as the son of Captain Snegiryov. Ilusha had been defending his father when the schoolboys jeered65 at him, shouting the nickname “wisp of tow.”
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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fawned
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| v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的过去式和过去分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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supercilious
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| adj.目中无人的，高傲的；adv.高傲地；n.高傲 | |
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prank
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| n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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intentional
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| adj.故意的，有意（识）的 | |
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intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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pranks
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| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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braggart
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| n.吹牛者；adj.吹牛的，自夸的 | |
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piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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superciliously
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| adv.高傲地；傲慢地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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paragon
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| n.模范，典型 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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migrations
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| n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 ) | |
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mythical
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| adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的 | |
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frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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54
implicated
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| adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的 | |
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55
fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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bullied
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| adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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