Summary—Chapter 1: Kolya Krasotkin
It is the beginning of November—a dull, cold day just
before the start of Dmitri’s trial. Kolya Krasotkin is a thirteen-year-old
boy who was once a friend of Ilyusha. Kolya loves dogs and likes
to train his dog, Perezvon, to do tricks. Kolya is two years older
than Ilyusha, and has a somewhat blustery and impertinent nature.
He appears to be conceited, but he is actually a loyal friend, and
likes looking out for children younger than himself.
Summary—Chapter 2: Kids
At present, Kolya is watching two children while their
mother, a tenant of his mother, is away. He is anxious, however,
because he wants to go visit Ilyusha. Ilyusha has fallen ill and
may be near death. Alyosha has convinced the other boys to visit
him every day, but Kolya has yet to visit him once. He has not met
Alyosha yet either.
Summary—Chapter 3: A Schoolboy
At last, a servant returns to the house, and Kolya hurries
to Ilyusha’s house with Perezvon in tow.
Outside Ilyusha’s house, Kolya meets his friend Smurov,
who is disappointed that he brought Perezvon. Smurov says that the
other boys were hoping he would bring Zuchka, a dog that Ilyusha
has apparently been desperate to see. Kolya contemptuously declares that
he does not know where Zuchka is, and he asks Smurov to send Alyosha
out to him before he goes in to see Ilyusha.
Summary—Chapter 4: Zuchka
Alyosha comes out to meet Kolya, impressing him immediately
by speaking to him as an adult and not talking down to him. As they speak,
Kolya is increasingly taken with Alyosha’s unself-conscious wisdom
and his unaffected manner of speech. Kolya tells Alyosha about his
history with Ilyusha. He says that when the other boys used to pick
on Ilyusha, Kolya was impressed by the fact that Ilyusha always
fought back bravely, even thought he was undersized. Kolya eventually
decided to protect Ilyusha, and they became good friends. But Ilyusha
sometimes resented Kolya’s influence over him and sometimes did
things out of spite just to rebel against Kolya. Once, for instance,
Ilyusha performed a cruel trick some of the boys had learned from
Smerdyakov—feeding a dog a piece of bread with a pin hidden in it.
Kolya, enraged, tried to punish Ilyusha. In the ensuing scuffle,
Ilyusha stabbed Kolya with a knife, thus ending their friendship,
though Kolya says he does not hold a grudge. The injured dog was
named Zuchka, and no one seems to know whether it lived or died.
Alyosha tells Kolya that Ilyusha believes his illness was caused
by God’s wrath over his treatment of Zuchka.
Summary—Chapter 5: At Ilyusha’s Bedside
Alyosha and Kolya go inside, where Kolya impresses
Ilyusha’s mother by bowing to her. The pale and bedridden Ilyusha
is thrilled to see Kolya, but all the boys around the bed are disappointed
that he was unable to bring Zuchka. Kolya mocks Ilyusha about Zuchka,
asking how any dog could possibly have survived eating a pin for
an appetizer. Then, he calls for Perezvon, and when Perezvon
runs into the room, Ilyusha cries out that it is Zuchka. Kolya did
find Zuchka, and then gave the dog a different name so that no one
would spoil his surprise for Ilyusha.
