An Honest Thief by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Short summary

5 seconds

An old soldier tells the author about his friend, a drunken official. One day he stole a soldier’s pants, but he couldn’t survive the shame. The drunkard became seriously ill and repented before he died.

1 minute

The author’s cook asks him to let a good man live in his apartment. It turns out to be a retired soldier Astafy Petrovich. One day, right in front of the author, cook and ex-soldier, a thief breaks into the house, and commits theft.

Astafiy Petrovich is shocked and tells a story that once happened to him.

He took in the drunken official Emelya. The retired soldier tried to persuade him to quit drinking and get a job.

One day Astafiy Petrovich was missing his undershirts. He asked Emelya, but he was offended and left. Astafiy Petrovich was very worried about his friend and waited for his return.

Emelya came back a few days later seriously ill. Before he died he confessed to stealing his undershirts. To atone for the theft, Emelya left Astafy Petrovich the only thing he had — a shabby overcoat.