Ilyás by Leo Tolstoy. Short summary

5 seconds

Bashkir Ilyas and his wife worked for half a century to get rich. But then they lost their flocks and property and went to live as workers with a neighbor. And there they found happiness and peace of mind.

1 minute

Ilyas, a Bashkir, was not rich. But he was industrious, worked hard with his wife, so that his flocks became large. The fame of Ilyas spread. He received all the guests as he should, gave them food and drink. Noble people began to know him.

Ilyas had two sons and a daughter. He married all of his children and bequeathed a part of his property to them. But Ilyas began to have a streak of bad luck. He had a cattle epidemic, a shortage of grass for fodder, and attacks of the Kirghiz — so his herds diminished.

His daughter and one son died, and the other went away with his family to a distant land. Ilyas, 70 years old, and his old woman were left alone.

Their neighbor, Mukhamedshakh, took them in. The old men worked according to their abilities. One day guests came to Muhamedshah from afar. Worker Ilyas served the food.

Muhamedshah said who his employees were. One of the guests wanted to mock and asked how Ilyas now remembered the rich life. Ilyas’s wife answered for him.

When they were rich, there was no peace for them. All they thought about how to increase their wealth. And now they devote time to each other and do not quarrel.