Chapter 5 By Ilusha’s Bedside

In the crowded Snegiryov room, boys gather to comfort bedridden Ilusha. Kolya Krassotkin, long absent, arrives formally greeting the family, then struggles to hide his shock at Ilusha’s decline. He pointedly mentions the lost Zhutchka, heightening Ilusha’s pain, and despite Alyosha’s signals, insists on calling in his dog Perezvon.

When Perezvon appears, Ilusha recognizes him as Zhutchka. Kolya jubilantly explains he found and secretly trained the stray, arguing the dog could not have swallowed the pin. The boys cheer; Ilusha embraces Zhutchka, and even Madame Snegiryov warms to the lively scene. Kolya demonstrates tricks and produces a small bronze cannon; with the captain’s help they fire a tiny charge, thrilling everyone. Ilusha, at once generous and anxious, lets his mother keep the cannon with Kolya’s blessing.

Buoyed by success, Kolya boasts of homemade gunpowder, a railway stunt, and the infamous market goose incident, while the captain flatters him. He spars intellectually with the boys, humiliates Kartashov over “who founded Troy,” and declaims that universal history and classical languages are dulling “police measures,” though he studies them to keep a promise to his mother. Alyosha’s reserved silence both steadies and subtly reproves Kolya’s showing off.

As the visit peaks, a distinguished Moscow doctor sent by Katerina Ivanovna arrives. The family hastily composes itself; the boys withdraw, and Kolya promises to return after the examination, leaving Ilusha clinging to Zhutchka as hope briefly replaces his despair.