Dream by Maxim Gorky. Short summary

5 seconds

The narrator rides a steamboat and meets a girl. He has a dream that the ship is on fire. He jumps into the water and grabs the same board as the girl. To save himself, the man is willing to drown her.

1 minute

The narrator rides a steamboat. On deck, he sees a girl he really likes. He is talking to her when suddenly he hears screams that a fire has started. The steamer is on fire.

The distraught people throw themselves into the water, pushing and crushing each other. Mothers throw their children overboard, hoping they will escape. People tear out planks and try to save themselves on them.

The narrator jumps into the water and grabs some kind of board. It begins to sink. It turns out that the girl that the young man likes so much has grabbed hold of it at the other end.

He has no intention of giving up and giving up the board to the girl. Just as he was about to rip the board from her, the girl lets go and drowns.

Suddenly the narrator wakes up. He sees the girl again, rejoices and is surprised that he did not drown her.