Children on a Country Road by Franz Kafka. Short summary

5 seconds

In the short story, the author recalls his carefree childhood spent at his parents’ house. Kafka tells how he spent all day outside with the other boys.

1 minute

The author is sitting on a small swing in his parents’ garden, and life is boiling around him. Children run by, birds fly by.

Here the author is eating dinner at home by candlelight. Children running by look in the window and call him for a walk. The boy goes out into the evening gloom. For the children, there is neither day nor night. Tinkling, the boys gallop down the street and sprint out onto the road.

A few of the boys go down into the ditch and from there look at the others. A fight ensues, after which the tired children lie down on the cool grass. Once you turn on your right side and put your fist under your head, you are blissfully sleepy.

The moon rose higher, and a mail carriage drove by. The boys immediately jumped up and ran after it. They stopped in front of a bridge across the brook. A passenger train rushed past. The boys sang a jolly song, their backs to the passing carriages.

Finally, it’s time to go home. The author runs toward home, on the way looking back at the distant city, sparkling with lights all night. The boy thinks that the people there never sleep.