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The Lottery Ticket - Anton Chekhov
Ivan Dmitritch and his wife Masha belong to a middle-class family. He lives contentedly with an income of twelve hundred. One day he is reading a newspaper after supper and Masha is clearing the table. She asks him to look for winning lottery numbers. She tells him that the number is 9499 26.
Though he doesn’t believe in luck, Ivan looks up and finds the series number 9499. Overwhelmed, he drops the paper and thinks about the seventy-five thousand prize money. The couple is happy and starts daydreaming about spending the money. They dream about a new house, traveling and repaying some debts. Both of them plan to spend the money.
Ivan thinks that his wife would be stingy with the money while travelling with him. He is dejected by the idea of his wife having all that lottery money. Similarly, Masha thinks that her husband is after money. Ater all, it is her lottery ticket. She starts hating Ivan for wanting all her money. Even before checking the last two numbers, they have already spent the money and started hating each other.
At last, the husband searches if the number is 26. It is not. It is 46. They do not win. Soon the husband and wife come back down to earth. This story tells us how money can spoil human relations and trust.
