In the edition of the great Russian writer Nikolai Semenovich Leskov [1831–1895] is included the famous novella “The Hare’s Fight.” The work included in this edition is included in the programs for grades 5–11 of secondary schools, for classroom and at-home work.
For one sad incident, for quite a long time I visited a hospital for nervous patients, which in plain spoken language is called a “mad house,” and which it truly is. With the exception of a small number of the patients, all the ill people in this establishment are considered “mad” and “not responsible,” meaning they do not answer for their words or for their actions.
Coming here to see one of these patients, I somehow, without noticing, befriended not only him but many others, among whom there were interesting people—interesting in the sense that their madness was almost imperceptible, yet they were undoubtedly mad… N. S. Leskov “The Hare’s Fight.”