Characters

Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna, landowner.

Anya, her daughter, 17 years old.

Varya, her stepdaughter, 24 years old.

Gaev Leonid Andreevich, brother of Ranevskaya.

Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich, merchant.

Trofimov Petr Sergeevich, student.

Simeonov-Pishchik Boris Borisovich, landowner.

Charlotte Ivanovna, governess.

Epikhodov Semyon Panteleevich, clerk.

Dunyasha, housemaid.

Firs, footman, old man 87 years old.

Yasha, a young footman.

passerby.

station master.

Postal official.

Guests, servants.

The action takes place in the estate of L. A. Ranevskaya.

Act one

The room, which is still called the nursery. One of the doors leads to Anna's room. Dawn, soon the sun will rise. It's already May, cherry trees are blooming, but it's cold in the garden, it's a matinee. The windows in the room are closed.

Enter Dunyasha with a candle and Lopakhin with a book in hand.

Lopakhin. The train arrived, thank God. What time is it now?

Dunyasha. Two soon. (Extinguishes the candle.) It's already light.

Lopakhin. How late was the train? Two hours at least. (Yawns and stretches.) I'm good, what a fool I made! I came here on purpose to meet him at the station, and suddenly I overslept… I fell asleep while sitting. Annoyance ... If only you would wake me up.

Dunyasha. I thought you left. (Listens.) It looks like they are already on their way.

Lopakhin (listens). No ... get luggage, then yes ...

Pause.

Lyubov Andreevna lived abroad for five years, I don’t know what she has become now ... She is a good person. Easy, simple person. I remember when I was a boy of about fifteen, my late father - he then traded here in the village in a shop - hit me in the face with his fist, blood came out of my nose ... Then we came together for some reason to the yard, and he was drunk. Lyubov Andreevna, as I remember now, still young, so thin, led me to the washstand, in this very room, in the nursery. “Don’t cry, he says, little man, he will heal before the wedding ...”

Pause.

Little man... My father, it's true, was a man, but here I am in a white waistcoat and yellow shoes. With a pig's snout kalashny row... Just now he is rich, there is a lot of money, but if you think and figure it out, then a peasant is a peasant ... (Flips through the book.) I read this book and didn't understand anything. Read and fell asleep.

Pause.

Dunyasha. And the dogs did not sleep all night, they can smell that the owners are coming.

Lopakhin. What are you, Dunyasha, such a ...

Dunyasha. Hands are shaking. I will faint.

Lopakhin. You are very gentle, Dunyasha. And you dress like a young lady, and your hair too. You can not do it this way. We must remember ourselves.

Included Epikhodov with a bouquet: he is in a jacket and in brightly polished boots that creak strongly; entering, he drops the bouquet.

Epikhodov (raises bouquet). Here the gardener sent, he says, put it in the dining room. (Gives Dunyasha a bouquet.)

Lopakhin. And bring me kvass.

Dunyasha. I'm listening. (Leaves.)

Epikhodov. Now it's a matinee, the frost is three degrees, and the cherry is all in bloom. I can't approve of our climate. (Sighs.) I can not. Our climate cannot help just right. Here, Ermolai Alekseich, allow me to add, I bought myself boots the day before, and I dare to assure you, they creak so that there is no possibility. What to grease?

Lopakhin. Leave me alone. Tired.

Epikhodov. Every day some misfortune happens to me. And I don’t grumble, I’m used to it and even smile.

Dunyasha enters, serves Lopakhin kvass.

I will go. (Bumps into a chair, which falls over.) Here… (As if triumphant.) You see, sorry for the expression, what a circumstance, by the way ... It's just wonderful! (Leaves.)

Dunyasha. And to me, Ermolai Alekseich, I confess, Epikhodov made an offer.

Lopakhin. BUT!

Dunyasha. I don’t know how ... He is a meek person, but only sometimes, as soon as he starts talking, you won’t understand anything. And good, and sensitive, just incomprehensible. I seem to like him. He loves me madly. He is an unhappy man, every day something. They tease him like that with us: twenty-two misfortunes ...

Introducing summary Chekhov's works Cherry Orchard by Action.

The play" The Cherry Orchard"contains 4 actions that take place in the estate of L.A. Ranevskaya.

Cherry Orchard Summary by Action

Brief retelling by actions:

The first act of the play The Cherry Orchard” unfolds in the early May dawn in the room, “which is still called the nursery.”

The second act of The Cherry Orchard takes place in nature, not far from the old church, which offers a beautiful view of the cherry orchard and the city visible on the horizon.

The third act of the play begins in the evening in the living room. Music is playing in the house, couples are dancing. It is there that a dispute arises that for the sake of love you can lose your head.

The fourth act of Chekhov's play takes place in an empty nursery, where luggage and other things are waiting to be taken out in the corner. The sound of trees being cut down can be heard from the street.

At the end of the play, the house is closed. After that, the lackey Firs appears, who was simply forgotten in the confusion. He understands that the house is already closed, and he was simply forgotten. True, he is not angry with the owners, but simply lies down on the sofa and soon dies.

There is a sound of a broken string and ax hitting a tree. Curtain.

The Cherry Orchard - summary read

The work of A.P. Chekhov - "The Cherry Orchard" begins with the scenes of waiting for all the hostesses of the estate. The hostess is Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna, a landowner. She went abroad five years ago, after the death of her husband and the tragic death of her beloved little son.

lyric piece in four steps Anton Pavlovich Chekhov describes such a season as spring, the time when cherry trees bloom and delight the eyes of others with all their beauty. All the characters who are waiting at home for the arrival of the hostess are very worried and worried, because very soon this beautiful garden should be sold in payment of all those debts that have accumulated during the absence of the hostess and during the time that she lived in Paris and spent money on herself to please. In addition to her husband and son, Ranevskaya has a seventeen-year-old daughter, Anya, with whom the owner of the estate has lived with her for the past five years abroad. In the estate itself, after the departure of Lyubov Andreevna, her native Leonid Andreevich Gaev and her adopted daughter, a twenty-four-year-old girl, whom everyone called simply Varya, remained. Over the past five years, Ranevskaya from a rich secular ladies turned into a poor woman with a bunch of debts behind her back. All this happened because Lyubov Andreevna always and everywhere wasted money and never saved on anything. Six years ago, Ranevskaya's husband died from drunkenness. However, the wife is not very upset by this fact and soon falls in love with another person and converges with him. In addition to all the misfortunes that have already happened to Lyubov Andreevna, she tragically dies little son Grisha drowned in the river. Ranevskaya is simply unable to endure such a terrible grief and sees no other way out, how to quickly escape abroad. Her lover, unable to live without her, followed her. However, the troubles of Lyubov Andreevna do not end there. Soon her lover became very ill, and Ranevskaya simply had no choice but to settle him in her dacha near Menton and almost never leave his bed for three years and constantly look after him. However, all the lover's love was just a deception, because as soon as the dacha had to be sold for debts and moved to Paris, he simply took, robbed and abandoned Ranevskaya.

Leonid Andreevich Gaev and Ranevskaya's adopted daughter Varya meet Lyubov Andreevna and Anya at the station. In the estate, the mistress and her daughter are impatiently maid Dunyasha and family friend, merchant Yermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin. The father of this same Lopakhin was in previous years a serf of the Ranevskys. Yermolai Alekseevich himself became rich, but still believes that wealth did not affect his character and life prerogatives in any way. The merchant considers himself an ordinary, simple man without special requirements. Also on the occasion of the arrival of the landlady herself, the clerk Epikhodov comes to the estate of the landowner. The clerk is the same person with whom something constantly happens and who, jokingly, with a grain of truth, was nicknamed "twenty-two misfortunes."

Carriages are approaching the estate. The Ranevsky estate is filled with people who are all in pleasant excitement. Each of those in the house speaks about his own, while paying little attention to the problems and desires of others. Lyubov Andreevna walks all over the estate, examines all the rooms, and through tears of joy recalls the past, the very moments that gave her so much joy and warmth. The play also described some love stories. For example, the maid Dunyasha, upon the arrival of the young lady, is simply impatient to tell that Epikhodov himself made a marriage proposal to her. Ranevskaya's daughter Anya advises her sister Varya to marry Lopakhin, and Varya, in turn, dreams of marrying Anya to a very rich man. The governess Charlotte Ivanovna, being a very strange and eccentric person, boasts to everyone about her wonderful dog. Neighbor landowner Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik asks for a loan from Ranevskaya. The very old and most faithful servant Firs can no longer hear anything, and all the time he mutters quietly something under his breath.

Merchant Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin reminds Lyubov Ranevskaya that her estate should be sold at auction in the near future. The merchant sees the only way out of this situation in dividing the land into small plots, which can then be leased to summer residents. This kind of proposal by Lopakhin is very surprising to Ranevskaya. She cannot understand how it is even possible to cut down her beloved and wonderful cherry orchard. Lopakhin, in turn, really wants to stay longer with Ranevskaya. The merchant turns out to be madly in love with Lyubov Andreevna. Gaev makes a welcoming speech to the century-old "respected" closet, but then, embarrassed, begins to talk again, while using all sorts of his favorite billiard words.

Ranevskaya does not immediately recognize the former teacher of her drowned seven-year-old son, Petya Trofimov. In her eyes, the teacher has changed a lot, has become less beautiful, has become one of those people who study all their lives, but most often do not apply the knowledge they have received. The meeting with Petya awakens in the landowner the memories of her little drowned son Grisha, whose teacher was Trofimov.

Leonid Andreevich Gaev, left alone with Varya, and taking this opportunity, tries to talk about all important matters who fell upon them for recent times. Gaev also recalls a very rich aunt who lives in Yaroslavl, who, however, does not like them. All her dislike is due to the fact that Lyubov Andreevna did not marry a nobleman, and besides everything else, she did not behave modestly both in financial matters and in secular life. Leonid Andreevich loves his sister very much, but still calls her a woman of easy virtue, which in turn causes Ani's strong dissatisfaction. Gaev makes certain plans for the future life path all his family members. He really wants his sister to ask Lopakhin for money so that Anya goes to Yaroslavl. Simply put, he wants to do everything possible to ensure that the estate is not sold. Gaev even swears in all this. Grumpy, but the most devoted servant Firs, finally takes his master, like a child, to his chambers and puts him to bed. Anya wholeheartedly believes that her uncle will be able to solve all the problems they have, she is happy and calm.

Lopakhin, in turn, does not deviate a single step from his magnificent plan and continues to persuade Ranevskaya and Gaev to accept his magnificent plan for further actions. Ranevskaya, Gaev and Lopakhin all had breakfast together in the city and on the way home they decided to stop in a field near the chapel. At the same time, a little earlier, on the same bench near the chapel, Epikhodov tried to explain himself to Dunyasha. But to his disappointment, Dunyasha had already preferred the cynical and young lackey named Yasha to him. The owners of the estate, namely Ranevskaya and Gaev, in a conversation with Lopakhin, do not seem to hear him at all and talk about completely different things. All persuasion and begging lead to nothing, Lopakhin wants to leave, because it does not make sense to continue this conversation with such unbusinesslike, strange and frivolous people. However, Lyubov Andreevna asks him to stay, because she really likes Lopakhin's company.

After that, Anya, Varya and Petya Trofimov come to Ranevskaya, Gaev and Lopakhin. Ranevskaya starts talking about such human quality as pride, about the features of this quality and the types of people who have this quality of human character. Trofimov is sure that there is no point in pride. He believes that it is better for an unhappy and rude person to start working than to continue to admire himself. Petya simply condemns the very intelligentsia, which is completely incapable of work. He condemns those people who only know how to philosophize importantly, and ordinary men are treated simply simply, like animals. Lopakhin also participates in this conversation. Because of the peculiarity of his life, he is at work day and night. In his work, he encounters a large number of people, but among this mass there are very few decent people. On this topic, small disputes and certain demagoguery occur between the participants in the conversation. Lopakhin does not finish, Ranevskaya interrupts him. It can be concluded that most of participants in the conversation do not want or do not know how to listen to each other. After all the arguments, there is a deaf silence, in which a rather distant sad sound of a broken string is heard.

Shortly after this lively conversation everyone starts to fall apart. Left alone with each other, Anya and Trofimov were very glad to have the opportunity to talk together, without Varya. Trofimov tells Anya that it is simply necessary to extinguish in oneself all those feelings that people call love. He tells her about such a human condition as freedom, that it is simply necessary to live in the present. But in order to know all the delights of life, one must first atone for all the bad things that were done in the past through suffering and labor. Happiness is already very close, and if they don’t see it and don’t experience it, then others will definitely see that very happiness and freedom.

The most important and responsible day is coming - the day of trading - the twenty-second of August. On this day, in the evening, a special evening was planned at the estate - a ball. Even a Jewish orchestra was invited to this event. There were times when only generals and barons danced at balls on the estate. And now, as Fiers notes, postal officials and stationmasters are barely going to this event. Charlotte Ivanovna entertains all those present at this event in every possible way with her tricks. The owner of the estate, Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, is anxiously awaiting the return of her brother. The Yaroslavl aunt, despite all her hatred for the landowner, nevertheless sent fifteen thousand. However, this amount was not enough to buy the entire estate.

The former teacher dead son Ranevskaya Petya Trofimov did his best to calm Ranevskaya. He persuaded her not to think about the garden anymore, that it was finished long ago, you just need to face the truth. Lyubov Andreevna found herself in a very difficult situation, both financial and spiritual. The hostess asks not to condemn her, but on the contrary - to regret. Without cherry orchard her life loses all meaning. All the time while Ranevskaya is on the estate, she receives telegrams from Paris every day. At first, she just tore them right away, but then the next ones began to read and also then tear. The same runaway lover, whom she still loved to this day, in each of the letters begged her to come back to Paris. Although Petya does not want to cause Ranevskaya even more pain, he still condemns her for her love for such a petty scoundrel, a nonentity. Offended and very angry, Ranevskaya, with all her upbringing, could not restrain herself, takes revenge on Trofimov. She calls him a freak ugly person and miserable cleaners. Ranevskaya pays attention to the fact that people just need to love and fall in love. Petya, having heard this addressed to him, wants to leave, but soon decides to stay, dances with Ranevskaya, who asked him for forgiveness.

A tired Gaev and a joyful Lopakhin appear on the threshold of the ballroom. Gaev immediately goes to his room without saying anything. The Cherry Orchard still turns out to be sold, and the same Lopakhin bought it. new owner the estate is very happy, because at the auction he managed to surpass the rich Deriganov, giving ninety thousand in excess of the debt. Lopakhin proudly picks up the keys that were thrown on the floor by proud Varya. Now his main desire is for the music to continue to play and for everyone to see how Ermolai Lopakhin rejoices that it is he who is now the owner of this whole beautiful cherry orchard.

After the news that the garden was sold, Anya had no choice but to comfort her crying mother. The daughter assured her mother that even though the garden was sold, life did not end there and they still had a whole life ahead of them. Anya was sure that in their lives there would still be new garden, more luxurious than what was sold, and what awaits them is a calm, moderate life, in which there will still be a lot of reasons for joy.

The house, which recently belonged to Ranevskaya, gradually became empty. All those who lived there, saying goodbye to each other, began to disperse. Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich is going to Kharkov for the winter, Trofimov Petya returns to Moscow again, to his university and continues to live life as a bosom student. Lopakhin and Petya exchange several barbs with each other at parting. Although Trofimov calls Lopakhin a predatory person, he still sees in him a person who is capable of tender feelings, who can enter into the situation of others and who subtly feels those around him. Lopakhin, out of the kindness of his soul, even offers Trofimov money for the journey. He, of course, refuses. He believes that this type of handout is like a powerful hand, which, for the sake of its subsequent profit, is now ready to assist common man. Trofimov is simply sure that a person should always be free and independent of someone or something, no one and nothing should interfere with him on the path to achieving his life goals.

After the sale of the cherry orchard, Ranevskaya and Gaev even cheered up, as if a weight had fallen from their shoulders, they stopped carrying this heavy burden. If earlier they were agitated, experienced constant suffering, now they have completely calmed down. Mrs. Ranevskaya's future plans include life in Paris for those very cash sent by my aunt. Ranevskaya's daughter Anya is inspired. She believes that right now she begins absolutely new life, in which she must graduate from high school, find a job, work, read books, in general, she is simply sure that a new wonderful world will open before her. Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik, on the contrary, instead of asking for money, on the contrary, distributes debts. It turned out that the British found white clay on his land.

All heroes lyric play settled down differently. Gaev has now become a bank servant. Lopakhin promises to find a new place for Charlotte with all his might. Varya got a job as a housekeeper to the Ragulin family. Epikhodov, in turn, was hired by Lopakhin and remains on the estate to serve the new owner. The elderly Firs should be sent to the hospital for further care and treatment. However, Gaev thinks, and he has reason to believe that all people, one way or another, leave us, we just suddenly become unnecessary to each other.

Between lovers Varya and Lopakhin, finally, such a long-awaited explanation should occur. FROM long time ago Varya is already being teased by everyone around and is called Madame Lopakhin, while laughing at the fact that she is still not one. Varya, as a timid girl, cannot propose, even though she really likes Ermolai Alekseevich. Lopakhin, too, was no longer satisfied with the current situation, he wanted to end it as soon as possible and explain himself to Varya already. He spoke well of Vara, was completely ready to put an end to this matter once and for all. Ranevskaya, who was also aware of the situation, decides to arrange a meeting for them. However, at the meeting, Lopakhin, still not daring to explain himself, leaves Varya, using the first pretext for this.

The play "The Cherry Orchard" ends on a sad note, when all the people who met in the estate leave it, while locking all the doors to the castle. It would seem that all the inhabitants of the estate cared for and helped the old Firs, but still he remains completely alone. No one even remembered that he needed treatment, rest and care. And even after that, old Firs remains a man and sincerely worries, because Leonid Andreevich went into such a cold in a thin coat, and not in a warm fur coat. Due to his age and condition, he lies down to rest and lies motionless, as if accepting and understanding his further fate without a fight. The sound of a broken string will be heard. There comes a deaf pitch silence, which is interrupted only by the barely audible somewhere in the distance, in the very center of the cherry orchard, the blows of an ax knocking on a tree.

⚿ Cherry Orchard Summary of Actions.
⚿ The Cherry Orchard as a play about the past, present and future of Russia.

Comedy in 4 acts

Characters

Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna, landowner.

Anya, her daughter, 17 years old.

Varya, her adopted daughter, aged 24.

Gaev Leonid Andreevich, brother of Ranevskaya.

Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich, merchant.

Trofimov Petr Sergeevich, student.

Simeonov-Pishchik Boris Borisovich, landowner.

Charlotte Ivanovna, governess.

Epikhodov Semyon Panteleevich, clerk.

Dunyasha, housemaid.

Firs, footman, old man 87 years old.

Yasha, a young footman.

passerby

station master

Postal official

Guests, servants

The action takes place in the estate of L. A. Ranevskaya.

Act one

The room, which is still called the nursery. One of the doors leads to Anna's room. Dawn, soon the sun will rise. It's already May, cherry trees are blooming, but it's cold in the garden, it's a matinee. The windows in the room are closed.

Enter Dunyasha with a candle and Lopakhin with a book in his hand.

Lopakhin. The train arrived, thank God. What time is it now?

Dunyasha. Two soon. (Extinguishes the candle.) It's already light.

Lopakhin. How late was the train? Two hours, at least. (Yawns and stretches.) I'm good, what a fool I made! I came here on purpose to meet him at the station, and suddenly I overslept… I fell asleep while sitting. Annoyance ... If only you would wake me up.

Dunyasha. I thought you left. (Listens.) It looks like they are already on their way.

Lopakhin(listens). No ... get luggage, then yes ...

Pause.

Lyubov Andreevna lived abroad for five years, I don’t know what she has become now ... She is a good person. Easy, simple person. I remember when I was a boy of about fifteen, my late father - he then traded here in the village in a shop - hit me in the face with his fist, blood came out of my nose ... Then we came together for some reason to the yard, and he was drunk. Lyubov Andreevna, as I remember now, still young, so thin, led me to the washstand, in this very room, in the nursery. “Don’t cry, he says, little man, he will heal before the wedding ...”

Pause.

Little man... My father, it's true, was a man, but here I am in a white waistcoat and yellow shoes. With a pig's snout in a kalashny row ... Only now he is rich, there is a lot of money, but if you think and figure it out, then a peasant is a peasant ... (Flips through the book.) I read this book and didn't understand anything. Read and fell asleep.

Pause.

Dunyasha. And the dogs did not sleep all night, they can smell that the owners are coming.

Lopakhin. What are you, Dunyasha, such a ...

Dunyasha. Hands are shaking. I will faint.

Lopakhin. You are very gentle, Dunyasha. And you dress like a young lady, and your hair too. You can not do it this way. We must remember ourselves.

Epikhodov enters with a bouquet; he is in a jacket and in brightly polished boots that creak strongly; entering, he drops the bouquet.

Epikhodov(raises bouquet). Here the gardener sent, he says, put it in the dining room. (Gives Dunyasha a bouquet.)

Lopakhin. And bring me kvass.

Dunyasha. I'm listening. (Leaves.)

Epikhodov. Now it's a matinee, the frost is three degrees, and the cherry is all in bloom. I can't approve of our climate. (Sighs.) I can not. Our climate cannot help just right. Here, Ermolai Alekseich, allow me to add, I bought myself boots the day before, and I dare to assure you, they creak so that there is no possibility. What to grease?

Lopakhin. Leave me alone. Tired.

Epikhodov. Every day some misfortune happens to me. And I don’t grumble, I’m used to it and even smile.

Dunyasha enters, serves kvass to Lopakhin.

I will go. (Bumps into a chair, which falls over.) Here… (As if triumphant.) You see, sorry for the expression, what a circumstance, by the way ... It's just wonderful! (Leaves.)

Dunyasha. And to me, Ermolai Alekseich, I confess, Epikhodov made an offer.

Lopakhin. BUT!

Dunyasha. I don’t know how ... He is a meek person, but only sometimes, as soon as he starts talking, you won’t understand anything. And good, and sensitive, just incomprehensible. I seem to like him. He loves me madly. He is an unhappy man, every day something. They tease him like that with us: twenty-two misfortunes ...

Lopakhin(listens). Looks like they are coming...

Dunyasha. They're coming! What is it with me ... all turned cold.

Lopakhin. They go, in fact. Let's go meet. Will she recognize me? Haven't seen each other for five years.

Dunyasha(in excitement). I'm going to fall... Oh, I'm going to fall!

"The Cherry Orchard". Performance based on the play by A.P. Chekhov, 1983

You can hear two carriages pulling up to the house. Lopakhin and Dunyasha leave quickly. The stage is empty. There is noise in the neighboring rooms. Firs, who had gone to meet Lyubov Andreevna, hurriedly passes across the stage, leaning on a stick; he is in an ancient livery and a tall hat; something speaks to itself, but not a single word can be made out. The background noise gets louder and louder. Voice: “Let's go through here ...” Lyubov Andreevna, Anya and Charlotte Ivanovna with a dog on a chain, dressed in travel clothes. Varya in a coat and scarf, Gaev, Simeonov-Pishchik, Lopakhin, Dunyasha with a bundle and an umbrella, servants with things - they all go across the room.

Anya. Let's go here. Do you remember what room this is?

Lyubov Andreevna(joyfully, through tears). Children's!

Varya. How cold, my hands are numb. (Lyubov Andreevna.) Your rooms, white and purple, are the same, Mommy.

Lyubov Andreevna. Children's, my dear, beautiful room ... I slept here when I was little ... (Crying.) And now I'm like a little... (He kisses his brother, Varya, then again his brother.) And Varya is still the same, she looks like a nun. And I recognized Dunyasha ... (Kisses Dunyasha.)

Gaev. The train was two hours late. What is it? What are the orders?

Charlotte(Pishchiku). My dog ​​eats nuts too.

Pishchik(surprised). You think!

Everyone leaves except Anya and Dunyasha.

Dunyasha. We waited… (Takes off Ani's coat and hat.)

Anya. I did not sleep on the road for four nights ... now I am very cold.

Dunyasha. You left during Great Lent, then there was snow, there was frost, and now? My darling! (Laughs, kisses her.) I’ve been waiting for you, my joy, my little light… I’ll tell you now, I can’t stand one minute…

Anya(sluggishly). Something again...

Dunyasha. The clerk Epikhodov proposed to me after the Saint.

Anya. You are all about the same... (Fixes her hair.) I lost all my pins... (She is very tired, even staggers.)

Dunyasha. I don't know what to think. He loves me, he loves me so!

Anya(looks at his door, tenderly). My room, my windows, like I never left. I'm home! Tomorrow morning I will get up and run to the garden... Oh, if only I could sleep! I did not sleep all the way, anxiety tormented me.

Dunyasha. On the third day Pyotr Sergeyevich arrived.

Anya(happily). Petya!

Dunyasha. They sleep in the bathhouse, they live there. I'm afraid, they say, to embarrass. (Glancing at his pocket watch.) We ought to wake them up, but Varvara Mikhailovna didn't tell them to. You, he says, don't wake him up.

Varya enters, with a bunch of keys on her belt.

Varya. Dunyasha, coffee as soon as possible ... Mommy asks for coffee.

Dunyasha. This minute. (Leaves.)

Varya. Well, thank God, they arrived. You are at home again. (caressing.) My darling has arrived! Beauty has arrived!

Anya. I suffered.

Varya. I imagine!

Anya. I left on Holy Week, when it was cold. Charlotte talks all the way, doing tricks. And why did you force Charlotte on me...

Varya. You can't go alone, my dear. At seventeen!

Anya. We arrive in Paris, it's cold there, it's snowing. I speak French terribly. Mom lives on the fifth floor, I come to her, she has some French, ladies, an old priest with a book, and it's smoky, uncomfortable. I suddenly felt sorry for my mother, so sorry, I hugged her head, squeezed her hands and could not let go. Mom then caressed everything, cried ...

Varya(through tears). Don't talk, don't talk...

Anya. She had already sold her dacha near Menton, she had nothing left, nothing. I didn't even have a penny left, we barely got there. And mom doesn't understand! We sit down at the station to dine, and she demands the most expensive thing and gives the lackeys a ruble for tea. Charlotte too. Yasha also demands a portion, it's just terrible. After all, my mother has a footman Yasha, we brought him here ...

Varya. I saw a scoundrel.

Anya. Well, how? Did you pay interest?

Varya. Where exactly.

Anya. My God, my God...

Varya. In August, the estate will be sold ...

Anya. My God…

Lopakhin(looks in the door and hums). Me-e-e… (Leaves.)

Varya(through tears). That's what I would give him... (Threatens with fist.)

Anya(hugs Varya, quietly). Varya, did he propose? (Varya shakes her head negatively.) After all, he loves you ... Why don't you explain what you are waiting for?

Varya. I don't think we can do anything. He has a lot to do, he is not up to me ... and does not pay attention. God is with him at all, it’s hard for me to see him ... Everyone talks about our wedding, everyone congratulates, but in reality there is nothing, everything is like a dream ... (In a different tone.) Your brooch looks like a bee.

Anya(sadly). Mom bought this. (Goes to his room, speaks cheerfully, like a child.) And in Paris I hot-air balloon flew!

Varya. My darling has arrived! Beauty has arrived!

Dunyasha has already returned with a coffee pot and is making coffee.

(Standing near the door.) I go, my dear, the whole day doing housework and dreaming all the time. If I had married you off as a rich man, then I would have been calmer, I would have gone to the desert, then to Kyiv ... to Moscow, and so I would have walked all over the holy places ... I would have walked and walked. Grace!..

Anya. The birds are singing in the garden. What time is it now?

Varya. Must be the third. It's time for you to sleep, darling. (Entering Anna's room.) Grace!

Yasha enters with a blanket, a travel bag.

Yasha(walks across the stage, delicately). Can you go through here?

Dunyasha. And you don't recognize you, Yasha. What did you become abroad.

Yasha. Hm... And who are you?

Dunyasha. When you left here, I was like... (Points from the floor.) Dunyasha, Fyodor Kozoedov's daughter. You do not remember!

Yasha. Hmm... Cucumber! (He looks around and hugs her; she screams and drops her saucer. Yasha quickly leaves.)

Dunyasha(through tears). Broke the saucer...

Varya. This is good.

Anya(leaving his room). You should warn your mother: Petya is here ...

Varya. I ordered him not to wake up.

Anya(thoughtfully.) Six years ago my father died, and a month later my brother Grisha, a pretty seven-year-old boy, drowned in the river. Mom couldn’t bear it, she left, left without looking back ... (Starts.) How I understand her, if she knew!

Pause.

And Petya Trofimov was Grisha's teacher, he can remind ...

Enter Firs; he is wearing a jacket and a white vest.

Firs(goes to the coffee pot, anxiously). The lady will eat here ... (Puts on white gloves.) Ready for coffee? (Strictly Dunyasha.) You! What about cream?

Dunyasha. Oh my god… (Quickly leaves.)

Firs(bustles around the coffee pot). Oh you fool... (Mumbling to himself.) They came from Paris... And the master once went to Paris... on horseback... (Laughs.)

Varya. Firs, what are you talking about?

Firs. What would you like? (Joyfully.) My lady has arrived! Waited! Now even die... (Crying for joy.)

Enter Lyubov Andreevna, Gayev, Lopakhin and Simeonov-Pishchik; Simeonov-Pishchik in a fine cloth coat and trousers. Gaev, entering, makes movements with his arms and torso, as if playing billiards.

Lyubov Andreevna. Like this? Let me remember... Yellow in the corner! Doublet in the middle!

Gaev. I'm cutting into the corner! Once upon a time, you and I, sister, slept in this very room, and now I am already fifty-one years old, oddly enough ...

Lopakhin. Yes, time is ticking.

Gaev. Whom?

Lopakhin. Time, I say, is running out.

Gaev. And it smells like patchouli in here.

Anya. I'll go to sleep. Goodnight, mother. (Kisses mother.)

Lyubov Andreevna. My beloved child. (Kisses her hands.) Are you glad you're at home? I won't come to my senses.

Anya. Farewell, uncle.

Gaev(kisses her face and hands). The Lord is with you. How you look like your mother! (Sister.) You, Lyuba, were exactly like that at her age.

Anya offers her hand to Lopakhin and Pishchik, goes out and shuts the door behind her.

Lyubov Andreevna. She was very tired.

Pishchik. The road is a long one.

Varya(Lopakhin and Pishchik). Well, gentlemen? The third hour, it's time and honor to know.

Lyubov Andreevna(laughs). You are still the same, Varya. (He draws her to him and kisses her.) I'll drink coffee, then we'll all leave.

Firs puts a pillow under her feet.

Thank you dear. I'm used to coffee. I drink it day and night. Thanks my old man. (Kisses Firs.)

Varya. See if all the things have been brought... (Leaves.)

Lyubov Andreevna. Is this me sitting? (Laughs.) I want to jump, wave my arms. (He covers his face with his hands.) And suddenly I'm sleeping! God knows, I love my homeland, I love dearly, I could not look out of the car, I kept crying. (Through tears.) However, you need to drink coffee. Thank you, Firs, thank you, my old man. I'm so glad you're still alive.

Firs. The day before yesterday.

Gaev. He is hard of hearing.

Lopakhin. I now, at five o'clock in the morning, go to Kharkov. Such an annoyance! I wanted to look at you, talk ... You are still the same gorgeous.

Pishchik(breathing heavily). She even got prettier ... Dressed in Parisian fashion ... my cart, all four wheels, disappear ...

Lopakhin. Your brother, that's Leonid Andreevich, says about me that I'm a boor, I'm a kulak, but it makes absolutely no difference to me. Let him speak. I would only like you to believe me as before, that your amazing, touching eyes look at me as before. Merciful God! My father was a serf of your grandfather and father, but you, in fact, you once did so much for me that I forgot everything and love you like my own ... more than my own.

Lyubov Andreevna. I can't sit, I can't... (Jumps up and walks around in great agitation.) I won’t survive this joy… Laugh at me, I’m stupid… My closet… (Kisses the closet.) My table.

Gaev. And without you here the nanny died.

Lyubov Andreevna(sits down and drinks coffee). Yes, the kingdom of heaven. They wrote to me.

Gaev. And Anastasius died. Petrushka Kosoy left me and now lives in the city with the bailiff. (Takes a candy box out of his pocket and sucks.)

Pishchik. My daughter, Dashenka ... bows to you ...

Lopakhin. I want to tell you something very pleasant, cheerful. (Glancing at the clock.) I’m leaving now, there’s no time to talk ... well, yes, I’ll say it in two or three words. You already know that your cherry orchard is being sold for debts, auctions are scheduled for August 22, but don't worry, my dear, sleep well, there is a way out ... Here is my project. Attention please! Your estate is only twenty versts from the city, near Railway, and if the cherry orchard and the land along the river are divided into summer cottages and then leased out for summer cottages, then you will have at least twenty-five thousand a year income.

Gaev. Sorry, what nonsense!

Lyubov Andreevna. I don't quite understand you, Yermolai Alekseich.

Lopakhin. You will charge the dacha owners at the very least twenty-five rubles a year for a tithe, and if you announce it now, I will guarantee anything, you will not have a single free patch left until the autumn, everything will be sorted out. In a word, congratulations, you are saved. The location is wonderful, the river is deep. Only, of course, you need to clean up, clean up ... for example, say, demolish all the old buildings, this house, which is no longer good for anything, cut down the old cherry orchard ...

Lyubov Andreevna. Cut down? My dear, I'm sorry, you do not understand anything. If there is anything interesting, even remarkable, in the whole province, it is only our cherry orchard.

Lopakhin. The only remarkable thing about this garden is that it is very large. Cherry is born every two years, and even that has nowhere to go, no one buys.

Gaev. And in " encyclopedic dictionary is mentioned about this garden.

Lopakhin(looking at the clock). If we think of nothing and come to nothing, then on the twenty-second of August both the cherry orchard and the whole estate will be auctioned off. Make up your mind! There is no other way, I swear to you. No and no.

Firs. In the old days, forty or fifty years ago, cherries were dried, soaked, pickled, jam was cooked, and it happened ...

Gaev. Shut up, Firs.

Firs. And, it used to be, dried cherries were sent by carts to Moscow and Kharkov. There was money! And dried cherries were then soft, juicy, sweet, fragrant… The method was then known…

Lyubov Andreevna. Where is this method now?

Firs. Forgot. Nobody remembers.

Pishchik(Lyubov Andreevna). What's in Paris? How? Did you eat frogs?

Lyubov Andreevna. Ate crocodiles.

Pishchik. You think...

Lopakhin. Until now, there were only gentlemen and peasants in the village, but now there are more summer residents. All towns, even the smallest ones, are now surrounded by dachas. And we can say that in twenty years the summer resident will multiply to extraordinary. Now he only drinks tea on the balcony, but it may happen that on his one tithe he will take care of the household, and then your cherry orchard will become happy, rich, luxurious ...

Gaev(outraged). What nonsense!

Varya and Yasha enter.

Varya. Here, mommy, two telegrams for you. (Selects a key and clangs open an antique cupboard.) Here they are.

Lyubov Andreevna. This is from Paris. (Tears telegrams without reading.) Paris is over...

Gaev. Do you know, Lyuba, how old is this closet? A week ago, I pulled out the bottom drawer, and I looked, and the numbers were burned there. The wardrobe was made exactly one hundred years ago. What is it? BUT? We could celebrate an anniversary. An inanimate object, but still, after all, a bookcase.

Pishchik(surprised). One hundred years ... Just think! ..

Gaev. Yes... It's a thing... (Feeling closet.) Dear, respected closet! I salute your existence, which for more than a hundred years has been directed towards the bright ideals of goodness and justice; your silent call to fruitful work has not weakened for a hundred years, supporting (through tears) in the generations of our kind cheerfulness, faith in a better future and educating in us the ideals of goodness and social self-consciousness.

Pause.

Lopakhin. Yes…

Lyubov Andreevna. You're still the same, Lenya.

Gaev(slightly confused). From the ball to the right into the corner! I cut in the middle!

Lopakhin(looking at the clock). Well, I have to go.

Yasha(gives Lyubov Andreevna medicine). Maybe take some pills now...

Pishchik. There is no need to take medicines, my dear ... they do no harm or good ... Give it here ... dear. (He takes pills, pours them into his palm, blows on them, puts them in his mouth and drinks kvass.) Here!

Lyubov Andreevna(scared). Yes, you are crazy!

Pishchik. I took all the pills.

Lopakhin. What an abyss.

Everyone laughs.

Firs. They were with us at Svyatoy, they ate half a bucket of cucumbers ... (Mumbling.)

Lyubov Andreevna. What is it about?

Varya. She's been muttering like that for three years now. We are used to.

Yasha. Advanced age.

Charlotte Ivanovna, in a white dress, very thin, tight-fitting, with a lorgnette at her belt, passes across the stage.

Lopakhin. Excuse me, Charlotte Ivanovna, I haven't had time to say hello to you yet. (Tries to kiss her hand.)

Charlotte(withdrawing hand). If you let me kiss your hand, then you will later wish on the elbow, then on the shoulder ...

Lopakhin. I'm not lucky today.

Everyone laughs.

Charlotte Ivanovna, show me the trick!

Lyubov Andreevna. Charlotte, show me the trick!

Charlotte. No need. I wish to sleep. (Leaves.)

Lopakhin. See you in three weeks. (He kisses Lyubov Andreevna's hand.) For now, goodbye. It's time. (Gaev.) Goodbye. (Kissing Pishchik.) Goodbye. (Gives her hand to Varya, then to Firs and Yasha.) Don't want to leave. (Lyubov Andreevna.) If you think about dachas and decide, then let me know, I'll get fifty thousand on loan. Think seriously.

Varya(angrily). Yes, finally leave!

Lopakhin. I'm leaving, I'm leaving... (Leaves.)

Gaev. Ham. However, sorry ... Varya is marrying him, this is Varya's fiance.

Varya. Don't talk too much, uncle.

Lyubov Andreevna. Well, Varya, I will be very glad. He is a good man.

Pishchik. A man, you must tell the truth ... worthy ... And my Dashenka ... also says that ... different words He speaks. (Snores, but wakes up immediately.) But still, my dear lady, lend me... a loan of two hundred and forty rubles... to pay the interest on the mortgage tomorrow...

Varya(scared). No, no!

Lyubov Andreevna. I really don't have anything.

Pishchik. There will be. (Laughs.) I never lose hope. Now, I think, everything is gone, he died, but lo and behold, the railway passed through my land, and ... they paid me. And there, look, something else will happen not today or tomorrow ... Dashenka will win two hundred thousand ... she has a ticket.

Lyubov Andreevna. Coffee is drunk, you can rest.

Firs(brushes Gaev, instructively). Again, they put on the wrong trousers. And what am I to do with you!

Varya(quiet). Anya is sleeping. (Quietly opens the window.) The sun is up, it's not cold. Look, mommy: what wonderful trees! My God, air! The starlings sing!

Gaev(opens another window). The garden is all white. Have you forgotten, Luba? This long avenue goes straight, straight, like an outstretched belt, it glitters in moonlit nights. Do you remember? Didn't forget?

Lyubov Andreevna(looks out the window at the garden). Oh, my childhood, my purity! I slept in this nursery, looked from here at the garden, happiness woke up with me every morning, and then it was exactly like that, nothing has changed. (Laughs with joy.) All, all white! Oh my garden! After a dark, rainy autumn and a cold winter, you are young again, full of happiness, the angels of heaven have not left you ... If only I could remove a heavy stone from my chest and shoulders, if I could forget my past!

Gaev. Yes, and the garden will be sold for debts, oddly enough ...

Lyubov Andreevna. Look, the dead mother is walking through the garden ... in a white dress! (Laughs with joy.) That's her.

Gaev. Where?

Varya. The Lord is with you, mommy.

Lyubov Andreevna. Nobody, I thought. To the right, at the turn to the gazebo, a white tree leaned over like a woman...

Enter Trofimov, in a worn student uniform, with glasses.

What an amazing garden! White masses of flowers, blue sky...

Trofimov. Lyubov Andreevna!

She looked back at him.

I will only bow to you and leave immediately. (He kisses his hand warmly.) I was ordered to wait until the morning, but I did not have the patience ...

Lyubov Andreevna looks on in bewilderment.

Varya(through tears). This is Petya Trofimov...

Trofimov. Petya Trofimov, former teacher your Grisha ... Have I really changed so much?

Lyubov Andreyevna embraces him and weeps softly.

Gaev(embarrassed). Full, full, Lyuba.

Varya(crying). She said, Petya, to wait until tomorrow.

Lyubov Andreevna. Grisha my... my boy... Grisha... son...

Varya. What to do, mommy. God's will.

Trofimov(softly, through tears). Will be, will be...

Lyubov Andreevna(quietly crying). The boy died, drowned ... For what? For what, my friend? (Quiet.) Anya is sleeping there, and I'm talking loudly ... making a fuss ... Well, Petya? Why are you so mad? Why are you getting old?

Trofimov. In the carriage, one woman called me this: shabby gentleman.

Lyubov Andreevna. You were then just a boy, a sweet student, and now your hair is not thick, glasses. Are you still a student? (Goes to the door.)

Trofimov. I must be a perpetual student.

Lyubov Andreevna(kisses brother, then Varya). Well, go to sleep... You've grown old too, Leonid.

Pishchik(follows her). So, now to sleep ... Oh, my gout. I'll stay with you ... I would, Lyubov Andreevna, my soul, tomorrow morning ... two hundred and forty rubles ...

Gaev. And this one is all mine.

Pishchik. Two hundred and forty rubles ... to pay interest on the mortgage.

Lyubov Andreevna. I have no money, my dear.

Pishchik. I'll give it back, dear ... The amount is trifling ...

Lyubov Andreevna. Well, all right, Leonid will give it... You give it, Leonid.

Gaev. I'll give it to him, keep your pocket.

Lyubov Andreevna. What to do, give... He needs... He will give.

Lyubov Andreevna, Trofimov, Pishchik and Firs leave. Gaev, Varya and Yasha remain.

Gaev. My sister has not lost the habit of wasting money. (Yashe.) Move away, my dear, you smell like chicken.

Yasha(with a grin). And you, Leonid Andreevich, are still the same as you were.

Gaev. Whom? (Ware.) What did he say?

Varya(Yashe). Your mother came from the village, since yesterday she has been sitting in the servants' room, wants to see...

Yasha. God bless her!

Varya. Ah, shameless!

Yasha. Very necessary. I could come tomorrow. (Leaves.)

Varya. Mom is the same as she was, she has not changed at all. If she had the will, she would give everything away.

Gaev. Yes…

Pause.

If a lot of remedies are offered against any disease, it means that the disease is incurable. I think, I strain my brains, I have a lot of funds, a lot, and, therefore, in essence, not a single one. It would be nice to receive an inheritance from someone, it would be nice to pass off our Anya as a very rich person, it would be nice to go to Yaroslavl and try your luck with the aunt countess. My aunt is very, very rich.

Varya(crying). If only God could help.

Gaev. Do not Cry. My aunt is very rich, but she does not like us. My sister, firstly, married a barrister, not a nobleman ...

Anya (joyfully, through tears) appears at the door.em

She married a non-nobleman and behaved, one might say, very virtuously. She is good, kind, nice, I love her very much, but no matter how you think of mitigating circumstances, nevertheless, I must admit, she is vicious. It is felt in her slightest movement.

Varya(in a whisper). Anya is at the door.

Gaev. Whom?

Pause.

Surprisingly, something got into my right eye ... I began to see badly. And on Thursday, when I was in the district court...

Anya enters.

Varya. Why aren't you sleeping, Anya?

Anya. Can't sleep. I can not.

Gaev. My baby. (Kisses Anya's face and hands.) My child... (Through tears.) You are not my niece, you are my angel, you are everything to me. Believe me, believe...

Anya. I believe you, uncle. Everyone loves you, respects you ... but, dear uncle, you need to be silent, only be silent. What did you just say about my mother, about your sister? Why did you say that?

Gaev. Yes Yes… (She covers her face with her hand.) In fact, it's terrible! My God! God save me! And today I gave a speech in front of the closet ... so stupid! And only when I finished, I realized that it was stupid.

Varya. Really, uncle, you should be silent. Be silent, that's all.

Anya. If you remain silent, then you yourself will be calmer.

Gaev. I am silent. (Kisses Anna and Varya's hands.) I am silent. Only here about business. On Thursday I was in the district court, well, the company agreed, a conversation began about this and that, the fifth or tenth, and it seems that it will be possible to arrange a loan against bills to pay interest to the bank.

Varya. If the Lord would help!

Gaev. I'll go on Tuesday and talk again. (Ware.) Do not Cry. (But not.) Your mother will talk to Lopakhin; he, of course, will not refuse her ... And when you have a rest, you will go to Yaroslavl to the countess, your grandmother. This is how we will act from three ends - and our business is in the bag. We'll pay the interest, I'm sure... (Puts a lollipop in his mouth.) By my honor, whatever you want, I swear, the estate will not be sold! (Excited.) I swear by my happiness! Here's my hand, then call me a lousy, dishonorable person if I let you go to the auction! I swear with all my being!

Anya(calm mood returned to her, she is happy). How good you are, uncle, how smart! (Hugs uncle.) I'm calm now! I am calm! I'm happy!

Firs enters.

Firs(reproachfully). Leonid Andreich, you are not afraid of God! When to sleep?

Gaev. Now. You go, Firs. I'm going to undress myself. Well, kids, bye-bye ... Details tomorrow, now go to bed. (Kisses Anya and Varya.) I am a man of the eighties… This time is not praised, but still I can say that for my convictions I got a lot in my life. No wonder the man loves me. The man needs to know! You need to know what...

Anya. You again, uncle!

Varya. You, uncle, shut up.

Firs(angrily). Leonid Andreich!

Gaev. I'm coming, I'm coming... Lie down. From two sides to the middle! I put clean... (He leaves, Firs trotting after him.)

Anya. I am now calm. I don’t want to go to Yaroslavl, I don’t love my grandmother, but still I am calm. Thanks uncle. (Sits down.)

Varya. Need sleep. I'll go. And here without you there was dissatisfaction. As you know, only old servants live in the old servants' quarters: Yefimyushka, Polya, Yevstigney, and, well, Karp. They began to let in some rogues to spend the night - I said nothing. Only now, I hear, they spread a rumor that I ordered them to be fed only peas. From stinginess, you see... And that's all Yevstigney... Well, I think. If so, I think, then wait. I call Evstigney ... (Yawns.) It comes ... How are you, I say, Yevstigney ... you are such a fool ... (Looking at Anya.) Anechka!..

Pause.

I fell asleep!.. (Takes Anna by the arm.) Let's go to bed ... Let's go! .. (Guides her.) My baby fell asleep! Let's go to…

They go. Far beyond the garden, a shepherd plays the flute. Trofimov walks across the stage and, seeing Varya and Anya, stops.

Shh... She's sleeping... sleeping... Let's go, dear.

Anya(quietly, half asleep). I'm so tired... all the bells... Uncle... dear... and mother and uncle...

Varya. Let's go baby, let's go... (They go to Anna's room.)

Trofimov(in tenderness). Sweetheart! My spring!

The estate of the landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya. Spring, cherry trees bloom. But the beautiful garden is soon to be sold for debts. For the past five years, Ranevskaya and her seven-year-old daughter Anya have lived abroad. Ranevskaya's brother Leonid Andreevich Gaev and her adopted daughter, twenty-che-you-rex-year-old Varya, remained on the estate. Ranevskaya's affairs are bad, there are almost no funds left. Lyubov Andreevna always littered the money. Her husband died six years ago from drunkenness. Ranevskaya fell in love with another person, got along with him. But soon, her little son Grisha died tragically, drowning in the river. Lyubov Andreevna, unable to endure grief, fled abroad. The lover followed after her. When he fell ill, Ranevskaya had to settle him at her dacha near Menton and take care of him for three years. And then, when he had to sell the dacha for debts and move to Paris, he robbed and abandoned Ranevskaya.

Gaev and Varya meet Lyubov Andreevna and Anya at the station. At home, the maid Dunyasha and the familiar merchant Yermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin are waiting for them. Lopakhin's father was a serf of the Ranevs, he himself got rich, but he says about himself that he remained "a peasant a peasant." The clerk Epikhodov arrives, a man with whom something constantly happens and who is called "twenty-two misfortunes."

Finally, the carriages are coming up. The house is filled with people, everyone is in a pleasant excitement. Everyone speaks about his own. Lyubov Andreevna looks at the rooms and through tears of joy recalls the past. The maid Dunyasha can't wait to tell the young lady that Epikhodov made her an offer. Anya herself advises Varya to marry Lopa-khin, and Varya dreams of marrying Anya to the god of that person. Charlotte Ivanovna, a strange and eccentric governess, boasts of her amazing dog, a neighbor, the landowner Simeonov-Pishchik, asks for a loan. He hears almost nothing and all the time mutters something old faithful servant Firs.

Lopakhin reminds Ranevskaya that the estate should soon be sold at auction, the only way out is to break the land into plots and lease them to summer residents. Ranev's proposal to Lopa-khin surprises: how can you cut down her favorite wonderful cherry orchard! Lopa-Khin wants to stay longer with Ranevskaya, whom he loves "more than his own," but it's time for him to leave. Gaev addresses a welcoming speech to the hundred-year-old “much-respect-to-my” closet, but then, skon-fu-zhenny, again begins to senselessly pronounce his favorite -lenny billiard words.

Ranevskaya does not immediately recognize Petya Trofimov: so he changed, became uglier, the “dear student” turned into an “eternal student”. Lyubov Andreevna cries, remembering her little drowned son Grisha, whose teacher was Trofimov.

Gaev, left alone with Varya, tries to talk about business. There is a rich aunt in Yaroslavl, who, however, does not like them: after all, Lyubov Andreevna did not marry a nobleman, and she did not behave “very kindly”. Gaev loves his sister, but still calls her "vicious", which causes Ani's displeasure. Gaev continues to build projects: his sister will ask Lopakhin for money, Anya will go to Yaroslavl - in a word, they will not allow the estate to be sold, Gaev even swears about it. Grumbling Firs finally takes the master, like a child, to sleep. Anya is calm and happy: her uncle will arrange everything.

Lopakhin does not cease to persuade Ranevskaya and Gaev to accept his plan. The three of them tomorrow-kali in the city and, returning, stayed in the field near the chapel. Just here, on the same bench, Epikhodov tried to explain himself to Dunyasha, but she had already preferred the young cynical footman Yasha to him. Ranevskaya and Gaev do not seem to hear Lopa-khin and are talking about completely different things. So, having not convinced “easy-thinking, non-business, strange” people of anything, Lopakhin wants to leave. Ranevskaya asks him to stay: with him "it's still more fun."

Anya, Varya and Petya Trofimov arrive. Ranevskaya starts talking about the "proud man." According to Trofimov, there is no point in pride: a rude, unhappy person should not admire himself, but work. Petya condemns the intelligentsia, incapable of work, those people who philosophize importantly, and treat men like animals. Lopakhin enters the conversation: he just works “from morning to evening”, dealing with large capitals, but more and more he is convinced that there are few decent people around. Lopakhin does not finish, he is interrupted by Ranevskaya. In general, everyone here does not want and does not know how to listen to each other. There is silence, in which the distant sad sound of a broken string is heard.

Soon everyone disperses. Left alone, Anya and Trofimov are glad to have the opportunity to talk together, without Varya. Trofimov convinces Anya that one must be “above love”, that the main thing is freedom: “all of Russia is our garden”, but in order to live in the present, you must first redeem the past with suffering and labor. Happiness is near: if not they, then others will definitely see it.

The twenty-second of August is coming, the day of trading. It was on this evening, quite inopportunely, that a ball was being held at the estate, and a Jewish orchestra was invited. Once upon a time, generals and barons danced here, and now, as Firs complains, both the postal official and the head of the station “are not willing to go.” Charlotte Ivanovna entertains guests with her tricks. Ranevskaya anxiously awaits the return of her brother. The Yaroslavl aunt nevertheless sent fifteen or twenty thousand, but they are not enough to buy the estate.

Petya Trofimov “calms” Ranevskaya: it’s not about the garden, it’s been over for a long time, you have to face the truth. Lyubov Andreevna asks not to condemn her, to have pity: after all, without a cherry orchard, her life loses its meaning. Every day Ranevskaya receives telegrams from Paris. At first she tore them up immediately, then - after reading them first, now she doesn't vomit anymore. "This wild man", whom she still loves, begs her to come. Petya condemns Ranevskaya for her love for "a petty scoundrel, nothingness." Angry Ranevskaya, not holding back, takes revenge on Trofimov, calling him a “funny eccentric”, “ugly”, “clean”: “You have to love yourself ... you have to fall in love!” Petya, horrified, tries to leave, but then stays, dancing with Ranevskaya, who asked for his forgiveness.

Finally, the confused, joyful Lopakhin and the tired Gaev appear, who, without saying anything, immediately goes to his room. The Cherry Orchard was sold and Lopakhin bought it. The “new landowner” is happy: he managed to outbid the rich Deri-ga-nov at the auction, giving ninety thousand in excess of the debt. Lopakhin picks up the keys thrown on the floor by proud Varya. Let the music play, let everyone see how Yermolai Lopakhin “suffices with an ax in the cherry orchard”!

Anya comforts her crying mother: the garden has been sold, but there is a whole life ahead. There will be a new garden, more luxurious than this, "quiet deep joy" awaits them ...

The house is empty. Its inhabitants, having said goodbye to each other, disperse. Lopakhin is going to Kharkov for the winter, Trofimov is returning to Moscow, to the university. Lopakhin and Petya exchange barbs. Although Trofimov calls Lopakhin a “predatory beast”, necessary “in the sense of metabolism”, he still loves in him “tender, subtle soul". Lopakhin offers Trofimov money for the journey. He refuses: no one should have power over the "free man", "in the forefront" to "higher happiness".

Ranev-skaya and Gaev even got better after the sale of the cherry orchard. Previously, they were worried, suffering, and now they calmed down. Ranevskaya is going to live in Paris for the time being on the money sent by her aunt. Anya is inspired: a new life begins - she will graduate from the gymnasium, she will work, read books, a “wonderful new world” will open before her. Suddenly, out of breath, Simeonov-Pishchik appears, and instead of asking for money, on the contrary, he distributes debts. It turned out that the English found white clay on his land.

Everything is arranged differently. Gaev says that now he is a bank servant. Lopakhin promises to find a new job for Charlotte, Varya got a job as a housekeeper to the Ragulins, Epikhodov, hired by Lopakhin, remains on the estate, Firs must be sent to the hospital. But still, Gaev sadly says: “Everyone is leaving us ... we suddenly became unnecessary.”

An explanation must finally take place between Varya and Lopa-khin. For a long time, Varya has been teased by "Madame Lopa-khina." Varya likes Yermolai Alekseevich, but she herself cannot make an offer. Lopakhin, who also speaks beautifully about Var, agrees to "put an end to it right away" with this matter. But, when Ranevskaya arranges their meeting, Lopakhin, without deciding, leaves Varia, using the very first preposition.

“Time to go! On the road! - with these words, they leave the house, locking all the doors. Only old Firs remains, about whom, it would seem, everyone took care, but whom they forgot to send to the hospital. Firs, sighing that Leonid Andreevich went in a coat, and not in a fur coat, lies down to rest and lies motionless. The same sound of a broken string is heard. “There is silence, and only one can hear how far in the garden they knock on wood with an ax.”

Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna, landowner.

Anya, her daughter, 17 years old.

Varya, her adopted daughter, aged 24.

Gaev Leonid Andreevich, brother of Ranevskaya.

Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich, merchant.

Trofimov Petr Sergeevich, student.

Simeonov-Pishchik Boris Borisovich, landowner.

Charlotte Ivanovna, governess.

Epikhodov Semyon Panteleevich, clerk.

Dunyasha, housemaid.

Firs, footman, old man 87 years old.

Yasha, a young footman.

passerby.

station master.

Postal official.

Guests, servants.

The action takes place in the estate of L. A. Ranevskaya.

Act one

The room, which is still called the nursery. One of the doors leads to Anna's room. Dawn, soon the sun will rise. It's already May, cherry trees are blooming, but it's cold in the garden, it's a matinee. The windows in the room are closed.

Enter Dunyasha with a candle and Lopakhin with a book in hand.

Lopakhin. The train arrived, thank God. What time is it now?

Dunyasha. Two soon. (Extinguishes the candle.) It's already light.

Lopakhin. How late was the train? Two hours at least. (Yawns and stretches.) I'm good, what a fool I made! I came here on purpose to meet him at the station, and suddenly I overslept… I fell asleep while sitting. Annoyance ... If only you would wake me up.

Dunyasha. I thought you left. (Listens.) It looks like they are already on their way.

Lopakhin(listens). No ... get luggage, then yes ...

Pause.

Lyubov Andreevna lived abroad for five years, I don’t know what she has become now ... She is a good person. Easy, simple person. I remember when I was a boy of about fifteen, my late father - he then traded here in the village in a shop - hit me in the face with his fist, blood came out of my nose ... Then we came together for some reason to the yard, and he was drunk. Lyubov Andreevna, as I remember now, still young, so thin, led me to the washstand, in this very room, in the nursery. “Don’t cry, he says, little man, he will heal before the wedding ...”

Pause.

Little man... My father, it's true, was a man, but here I am in a white waistcoat and yellow shoes. With a pig's snout in a kalashny row ... Only now he is rich, there is a lot of money, but if you think and figure it out, then a peasant is a peasant ... (Flips through the book.) I read this book and didn't understand anything. Read and fell asleep.

Pause.

Dunyasha. And the dogs did not sleep all night, they can smell that the owners are coming.

Lopakhin. What are you, Dunyasha, such a ...

Dunyasha. Hands are shaking. I will faint.

Lopakhin. You are very gentle, Dunyasha. And you dress like a young lady, and your hair too. You can not do it this way. We must remember ourselves.

Included Epikhodov with a bouquet: he is in a jacket and in brightly polished boots that creak strongly; entering, he drops the bouquet.

Epikhodov(raises bouquet). Here the gardener sent, he says, put it in the dining room. (Gives Dunyasha a bouquet.)

Lopakhin. And bring me kvass.

Dunyasha. I'm listening. (Leaves.)

Epikhodov. Now it's a matinee, the frost is three degrees, and the cherry is all in bloom. I can't approve of our climate. (Sighs.) I can not. Our climate cannot help just right. Here, Ermolai Alekseich, allow me to add, I bought myself boots the day before, and I dare to assure you, they creak so that there is no possibility. What to grease?

Lopakhin. Leave me alone. Tired.

Epikhodov. Every day some misfortune happens to me. And I don’t grumble, I’m used to it and even smile.

Dunyasha enters, serves Lopakhin kvass.

I will go. (Bumps into a chair, which falls over.) Here… (As if triumphant.) You see, sorry for the expression, what a circumstance, by the way ... It's just wonderful! (Leaves.)

Dunyasha. And to me, Ermolai Alekseich, I confess, Epikhodov made an offer.

Lopakhin. BUT!

Dunyasha. I don’t know how ... He is a meek person, but only sometimes, as soon as he starts talking, you won’t understand anything. And good, and sensitive, just incomprehensible. I seem to like him. He loves me madly. He is an unhappy man, every day something. They tease him like that with us: twenty-two misfortunes ...

Lopakhin(listens). Looks like they are coming...

Dunyasha. They're coming! What is it with me ... all turned cold.

Lopakhin. They go, in fact. Let's go meet. Will she recognize me? Haven't seen each other for five years.

Dunyasha(in excitement). I'm going to fall... Oh, I'm going to fall!

You can hear two carriages pulling up to the house. Lopakhin and Dunyasha leave quickly. The stage is empty. There is noise in the neighboring rooms. Through the stage, leaning on a stick, hastily passes Firs who went to meet Lyubov Andreevna; he is in an ancient livery and a tall hat; something speaks to itself, but not a single word can be made out. The background noise gets louder and louder. Voice: "Let's go here..." Lyubov Andreevna, Anya and Charlotte Ivanovna with a dog on a chain, dressed in a travel way. Varya in a coat and scarf, Gaev, Simeonov-Pishchik, Lopakhin, Dunyasha with knot and umbrella, servant with things - everyone goes through the room.

Anya. Let's go here. Do you remember what room this is?

Lyubov Andreevna(joyfully, through tears). Children's!

Varya. How cold, my hands are numb. (Lyubov Andreevna.) Your rooms, white and purple, are the same, Mommy.

Lyubov Andreevna. Children's, my dear, beautiful room ... I slept here when I was little ... (Crying.) And now I'm like a little... (He kisses his brother, Varya, then again his brother.) And Varya is still the same, she looks like a nun. And I recognized Dunyasha ... (Kisses Dunyasha.)