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Welcome to Short Stories with Peter from YOURENGLISH TOOLBOX.
I am Peter. An old banker will unlock a room thathas been sealed for 15 years.
He enters because one promise is about to destroyhim.
On the table, he finds a letter that changes themeaning of freedom, wealth, and victory.
This is The Bet by Anton Chekhov, first publishedin Russian in 1889.
This is a new English abridgment adapted for B1-B2learners.
By YOUR ENGLISH TOOLBOX, it was a dark autumnnight.
The banker walked from one end of his study to theother while rain struck the windows.
He was remembering a dinner party he had given 15years earlier.
That evening, his guests had argued about thedeath penalty and life imprisonment.
Execution ends a life at once, but prison takes itaway year by year.
A young lawyer of 25 disagreed.
If I had to choose, I would rather live in prisonthan die.
The banker lost his temper and struck the tablewith his fist.
I bet you two million that you could not stayalone for five years.
Then I will stay for 15.
The lawyer put 15 years of freedom at stake, andthe banker put two million at stake.
The lawyer moved into a small lodge in thebanker's garden.
He could not leave, see another person, hear ahuman voice, or receive news from outside.
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He could request books, food, wine, and musicthrough a little window.
If he crossed the threshold even a few minutesearly, he would lose the bet.
During the first year, the sound of his pianofilled the garden day and night.
He read love stories and adventures, but his notesrevealed terrible loneliness.
In the second year, the music stopped, and heasked for classic literature.
In the fifth year, he drank wine, wept, and toreup pages he had written.
Then he began to study languages, history,philosophy, science, and religion.
Hundreds of books passed through the littlewindow.
The years passed, and the prisoner continued tostick it out.
Now only one night remained.
At midnight, the lawyer would be free, and thebanker would have to pay him.
But the banker was no longer rich.
Years of careless speculation had left him on theverge of bankruptcy.
If I pay him, I am ruined.
Then a terrible solution entered his mind.
If the prisoner died before midnight, there wouldbe no payment.
At three in the morning, the banker took the oldkey from his safe and crossed the wet garden.
The watchman was nowhere to be seen.
The seals on the lodge door were still unbroken.
Through the small window, the banker saw a thinman asleep beside a candle.
Open books covered the table and the floor.
The banker unlocked the door and stepped inside.
He could end the prisoner's life quietly and savehis fortune.
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Then he noticed a letter on the table.
Tomorrow I will receive my freedom and the rightto live among people again.
For fifteen years, books have allowed me totravel, to love, to learn, and to see the wonders
of the world.
But they have also taught me how temporary wealth,beauty, and power are.
I now turn my back on the two million that onceseemed like paradise.
To prove it, I will leave this room five minutesbefore the agreed time and lose the bet.
The banker put the letter down.
He kissed the sleeping man's head and left thelodge in tears.
The watchman reported that the lawyer had climbedout of the window and disappeared.
He had left only minutes before winning thefortune.
The banker was saved from bankruptcy, but he feltashamed of the man he had become.
He locked the lawyer's letter in his safe.
Beside the money it had made worthless, thelanguage of the story follows the same movement as
the bet.
From possession to rejection.
To have something at stake means that you risklosing something important.
The banker has his money at stake, while thelawyer has his freedom at stake.
To stick something out means to continue through adifficult situation until the end.
The lawyer appears ready to stick out all fifteenyears, although he finally leaves by choice.
On the verge of means extremely close to a new andoften serious situation.
The banker is on the verge of bankruptcy when thefinal night begins.
To turn your back on something means to reject orabandon it deliberately.
The lawyer turns his back on the fortune he oncedesired.
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The lawyer's argument also gives us the usefulpattern, would rather do one thing than do
another.
He says that he would rather live in prison thandie.
After hearing the ending, which man do you thinkis truly free?
You can find the complete transcript, translationsin several languages, and a vocabulary guide on
our website.
Your English toolbox.
There is a direct link to the episode page and allits resources in this episode description.
This was The Bet by Anton Chekhov.
Newly abridged in English for B1-B2 learners.
By your English toolbox.
I am Peter. Thank you for listening.
