The stories “The Kreutzer Sonata,” “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” “Father Sergius,” and “The Horse-Story (Holstomer)” reveal another facet of the writer’s talent—the masterful craft of short prose. In them, Tolstoy appears not only as a great writer, but also as a great teacher of life. “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” (1886) is, without exaggeration, one of the most significant works in world literature about death—about how the approaching, inevitable end can transform a person who, in general, is quite unremarkable beyond recognition, and open to his fading gaze the “true” light and the truth of life. “The Horse-Story (Holstomer)” (1886) is a philosophical parable; the narrative is conducted by an old gelding, and the humanized horse turns out to be far more “human” than its owners. “The Kreutzer Sonata” (1890)—initially banned by censorship for its “scandalous character”—is Tolstoy’s story about the destructive force of jealousy, which can even lead to murder. “Father Sergius” (1911) is a story about temptation, about the secret devil living in each of us, and about the attempt to expel this devil from oneself, to run away from it. Very personal for the writer, it reflected his ideas about faith and redemption at the end of his life.