About the book: 1881 / The life of the shepherd boy Vanka is hard and hopeless. One joy in his life is loneliness in nature, one friend is the dog Volchok. But then a young teacher, inspired by the ideas of the populists, comes to the Volga village where Vanka vegetates. For the first time the boy learned greetings and affection, for the first time the light of knowledge shone before him... The only story of a writer who died early (at the age of 25). Text of the publication “Russian Thought”, No. 9, 1881 in modern spelling.