On the edge of the road stood oak. Probably ten times older birches, who made up the forest, he was ten times thicker, and two times above each birch. It was a huge, twist of oak, with broken, long ago, visible, bitches and broken bows, overgrown with old sores. With his huge clumsily, asymmetrically embarrassed with hands and fingers, he was old, angry and contemptuous freak standing between smiling birchings. Only he one did not want to obey the charm of spring and did not want to see neither spring, nor the sun.
"Spring, and love, and happiness! - As if he spoke this oak. - And how not to get tired of you all the same stupid senseless deception! All the same thing, and all the deception! There is neither spring, no sun, nor happiness. Won see, the crushed dead ate sit, always the same, and won and I spread my broken, encouraged fingers, where they grew up from the back, from the sides. As grown - it stands, and I do not believe your hopes and deceptions. "
Prince Andrei looked at this oak several times, driving through the forest, as if he was waiting for something from him. Flowers and grass were under oak, but he is still still frowning, motionless, ugly and stubbornly, stood in the midst of them.
"Yes, he is right, a thousand times right this oak," said Prince Andrei, - let others, young, are again amenable to this deception, and we know life - our life is over! »A whole new number of thoughts of hopeless, but sad and pleasant in connection with this oak arose in the soul of Prince Andrew. During this trip, he as if he again thought of all his life and came to the same, soothing and hopeless, the conclusion that he had nothing to start, that he had to live her life, without making evil, was not worried and nothing wishing .
