In which a young boy awakens to the stern yet kind attentions of his tutor, Karl Ivanitch, whose peculiar habits and quiet solitude inspire both irritation and sympathy in the child's heart. Amid the ordered humdrum of their lessons and daily routine, the boy contemplates the contrast between childhood's playful freedom and the strict discipline imposed in the schoolroom, observing the small details of his surroundings with gentle wistfulness.