The great Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, is probably best known for his epic novels, “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina,” but he also wrote many short stories. In 1885,  Tolstoy first published The Three Questions as part of the collection, What Men Live By, and Other Tales. As an aside, one source suggests that the story was later republished to raise funds for the victims of the Kishinev pogrom of 1903 after Tolstoy had written an open letter to the tsar accusing his government of being responsible for the massacre, but scant information makes it difficult to corroborate the claim.

The Three Questions centers on a king who wanted to find the answers to what he considered the three most important questions in life:

When is the right time?

Who are the right people?

What is the most important thing to do?

The King surmised that if he had the answers to these questions, he would never fail in anything. Tolstoy’s answer was this:

“Remember that there is only one important time and it is Now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is always the person with whom you are, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future? The most important pursuit is making that person, the one standing at your side, happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life.”

Author, Jon J. Muth, wrote a variation based on Tolstoy’s original story, and a short video of it appears below. Be sure to look at the dog!

This is a marvelous children’s story, and in fact, Karen, one of our readers, wrote that it was one of the books she used in summer school this year. The school children were shocked to learn that the Borzoi in the story is a real breed of dog, and Karen crafted a tangental lesson on what a Borzoi is, and its old name.  Children don’t forget these stories, and now Karen’s students know what a Borzoi is!