Three Deaths

"Three Deaths: A Tale" (Russian: Три смерти, Tri smerti) is a short story by Leo Tolstoy first published in 1859.

As the husband and the doctor discuss privately the noblewoman's unfavorable outlook, the posting-master's daughter, Masha, and her friend, Aksusha, run out to look at the Lady Shirkinskaya, vocally noting her sickly appearance.

In fear that the noblewoman won't live through the journey, the husband suggests postponing and turning back home.

Inside the common room of the posting-station, a sick man introduced as Uncle Hvedor (a mispronunciation of Fyodor) lies on top of the stove.

Having gathered his strength, Uncle Hvedor replies that he will give his boots to the post-driver on the condition that he buys him a headstone for his grave.

Proclaiming God's mercifulness, the noblewoman beckons her husband closer and commands him to send for the medicine the priest mentioned earlier.

After the tree crashes down, its neighbors look more beautiful in the new free space; their branches rustle sublimely over the fallen body.

The story affirms the ideal of man leading a simple, authentic life alongside nature through its portrayal of attitudes toward death.

The author himself gave a thorough interpretation of his work in a letter to A.A. Tolstoy:[3] "My thought was: three creatures died -- a noblewoman, a muzhik,[4] and a tree.