Alyosha the Pot

"Alyosha the Pot" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy and a masterpiece of rare perfection. Alyosha, a young child who lives in a village and obtained the nickname "the Pot" from an incident where he broke a pot in his youth, is sent to live with a merchant''s family as a servant. He falls in love with Ustinja, a young girl who cooks for the merchant''s family. Eventually he asks Ustinja to marry him...