Taught a Lesson

Characters

• Stepan's wife — A village wife who argues for the nursery: The one village woman who speaks for the nursery at the meeting and, after the fire, rallies the village to help.
• The town woman — An agitator from town: Opens the women's meeting, speaks of the freedom October brought, and proposes a nursery.
• Sergei — The peasant whose house burns down: His house burns down at harvest from the children's roll-ups; the next year the whole village builds him a new one.
• Pazet — The boy who drowns: One of the boys left unwatched at harvest; drowns in the river.
• Troshka — The village crier: Goes from window to window with a stick, calling the women to the meeting.
• Old Tropim's wife — An old woman: Answers with the proverb that once the time is past no one rings the bell: the old cannot learn now.