Gone Astray (Chekhov)
Short summary
A Russian village, nighttime. Two lawyers, Kozyavkin and Laev, returned from the station slightly drunk. They arrived at what Kozyavkin believed was his cottage, where his wife Verotchka should have been waiting.
Finding the window open, Kozyavkin tossed in his cape and portfolio, then climbed inside to surprise his wife. Instead, he discovered the cottage was full of chickens and a turkey. Confused, he searched for his belongings while Laev waited outside, increasingly impatient and thirsty.
As Kozyavkin continued his frantic search, disturbing the fowls, Laev fell asleep outside from exhaustion. Soon, dogs began barking, and the cottage's actual owners appeared with a lantern. They confronted Kozyavkin about disturbing their chickens and breaking eggs.
"The cries of men and fowls mingle with the barking of dogs, and the voice of Kozyavkin rises above the chaos of confused sounds: ‘You shut up! I’ll pay. I’ll show you whom you have to deal with!’"
Kozyavkin discovered he had mistaken the village entirely. Instead of Rottendale where his cottage was located, they had wandered into Sicklystead, three miles away. As voices gradually subsided, Laev felt someone shaking his shoulder, waking him from his slumber.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Two lawyers journey from the station
In a dark country village at one o'clock in the morning, two lawyers named Kozyavkin and Laev arrived after walking four miles from the station. Both men were in high spirits and slightly unsteady on their feet as they made their way toward the cottages. Kozyavkin expressed relief at finally reaching their destination, complaining about the long walk and the absence of transportation.
Laev complained of exhaustion and extreme thirst, eager to get to bed as quickly as possible. Kozyavkin, however, insisted they would first have supper and wine before retiring. He enthusiastically described the joys of married life, anticipating the warm welcome his wife Verotchka would give him upon his return home.
"Ah, my dear fellow, it’s a fine thing to be married! You don’t understand it, you cold-hearted wretch! I shall be home in a minute, worn out and exhausted... A loving wife will welcome me, give me some tea..."
Arrival at what Kozyavkin believes is his cottage
The two friends approached one of the cottages, which Kozyavkin confidently identified as his own. He remarked on the beautiful views they would see the next day. Noticing that the windows were dark, he assumed his wife had grown tired of waiting and gone to bed. He pushed open an unbolted window and tossed his cape and portfolio inside.
Feeling overheated and playful, Kozyavkin decided to serenade his wife. He began singing about the midnight moon and tender breezes, encouraging Laev to join him in Schubert's Serenade. His performance was cut short by a coughing fit. He called for Verotchka to tell Aksinya to unlock the gate for them, insisting that she must be awake.
"The moon floats in the midnight sky... Faintly stir the tender breezes... Faintly rustle in the treetops... Sing, sing, Alyosha! Verotchka, shall we sing you Schubert’s Serenade?"
When there was no response, Kozyavkin grew increasingly frustrated. He attempted to climb through the window but fell down. Laev suggested that perhaps Verotchka was truly asleep, but Kozyavkin insisted she was just playing a schoolgirl prank. He asked Laev to give him a boost so he could climb through the window.
Kozyavkin climbs through the window and discovers chickens
With Laev's assistance, Kozyavkin managed to climb through the window and disappeared into the darkness inside. A minute later, Laev heard Kozyavkin calling for Vera and exclaiming in disgust that he had put his hand into something unpleasant. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound, flapping wings, and the desperate cackling of fowl.
"There is a rustling sound, a flapping of wings, and the desperate cackling of a fowl... ‘A nice state of things,’ Laev hears. ‘Vera, where on earth did these chickens come from? Why, the devil, there’s no end of them!’"
Two hens flew out of the window, cackling loudly as they fluttered down the village street. Kozyavkin called out to Laev in a distressed voice, admitting they had made a mistake. He explained that there were many chickens inside and he must have mistaken the house. He complained about the birds being everywhere and mentioned that a turkey had pecked his cheek.
Laev urged his friend to hurry out before they were accused of stealing chickens. Kozyavkin replied that he was searching for his cape and portfolio but couldn't find them among the old rags inside. He asked Laev to throw him a match, but Laev had none. Kozyavkin lamented their predicament, insisting he couldn't leave without his belongings.
"I can’t understand a man’s not knowing his own cottage," says Laev indignantly. "Drunken beast... If I’d known I was in for this sort of thing I would never have come with you."
Laev waits outside as the search for belongings continues
A large rooster flew crowing over Laev's head. Exhausted, thirsty, and with his head dropping forward, Laev sat down on a stone. Five minutes passed, then ten, then twenty, while Kozyavkin continued rummaging among the hens. When Laev asked how much longer he would be, Kozyavkin replied that he had found the portfolio but lost it again.
The cackling of the fowls grew louder, seeming to circle around Laev's head like owls. Overwhelmed with fatigue and irritation, he began to doze off, thinking bitterly about how Kozyavkin had promised him wine and comfort but instead made him walk from the station only to listen to chickens. As he drifted to sleep, he heard Kozyavkin triumphantly announce that he had found the portfolio and would soon find the cape.
"The beast!" he thinks. "He invited me to stay, promising me wine and junket, and then he makes me walk from the station and listen to these hens..."
Confrontation with the residents and authorities
Through his sleep, Laev heard dogs barking - first one, then a second, and a third. The barking blended with the cackling of the fowls into a cacophony. Someone approached Laev and questioned him. Then he sensed someone climbing over his head into the window, followed by knocking and shouting. A woman in a red apron stood beside him with a lantern, asking him questions.
Laev heard Kozyavkin protesting, insisting he was a lawyer and offering his visiting card as proof of his identity. A man with a husky bass voice accused Kozyavkin of disturbing his fowls and smashing eggs, including turkey poults that were about to hatch. The man dismissed Kozyavkin's card as irrelevant to the damage caused.
"You’ve disturbed all my fowls, you’ve smashed the eggs! Look what you’ve done. The turkey poults were to have come out today or tomorrow, and you’ve smashed them. What’s the use of your giving me your card?"
The revelation of being in the wrong village
As the confrontation continued, Kozyavkin insisted that he had a cottage in the area and that everyone knew him. He demanded they call for the elder who would recognize him. The cottage owner responded that they knew all the summer visitors but had never seen Kozyavkin before. He added that a constable would be arriving shortly.
Kozyavkin declared that he had owned a cottage in Rottendale for five years. The cottage owner then revealed the shocking truth: they were not in Rottendale at all, but in Sicklystead. Rottendale was three miles away, beyond the match factory. Stunned by this revelation, Kozyavkin exclaimed that he must have taken the wrong turning.
"Whew! Do you take this for the Dale? This is Sicklystead, but Rottendale is farther to the right, beyond the match factory. It’s three miles from here." "Bless my soul! Then I’ve taken the wrong turning!"
Gradually, the voices died down. Laev felt someone shaking his shoulder, bringing the night's misadventure to an end.