Not everyone likes epic poems by Nekrasov, because they are not easy to understand. The fact is that the theme of the peasant village is outdated, and few know the significance of archaisms two centuries ago. In order to make studying the work of this poet easier and more enjoyable, we publish the very shortest content of his work “Peasant Children” for the reader's diary.
(233 words) The main character arrives at the cottage. After arrival, the lord falls asleep in the barn due to tiresome walking. Waking up, he discovers a string of rogues spying on him. These are peasant children. They vigorously discuss it.
The narrator reflects on the happy and carefree life of young children, on a campaign for mushrooms in the forest with his comrades. The author also recalls a large forest harvest, when the kids again gathered to look for mushrooms, but in the forest ripe nuts, raspberries, etc. He lists the pranks and games of young workers: either dangerous jokes with a snake, or hunting for berries. But then the author shows the other side of the coin: his heroes from childhood learn hard service, their parents shoulder a mountain of work. In winter, the main character managed to meet a small but very hardworking boy. He was carrying firewood that his father chopped, but the kid was only 6 years old! The hunter is offended by the fact that the heirs of the Russian land, both in the heat and in the fierce cold, need to drag logs from the forest. The protagonist considers childhood to be the best moment in everyone’s life, and it’s sad that the children will know the need early. But he all hopes that the heroes will be able to enjoy this time, when they can still experience the joys and entertainments of free life among forests and fields.
The author returns to the beginning when the children find him sleeping in a barn. His dog shows tricks to young viewers, but it is raining. Everyone escaped to the village, except for the main character and his friend Fingal, who wait for the weather in the barn, and then go hunting.
