The happiest man in Kodno by Sholem Aleichem. Short summary

5 seconds

One day the narrator was riding on a train, where he saw an unusual man. The latter’s name was Reb Alter. The fellow traveler told the protagonist an interesting story that impressed him.

1 minute

The narrator liked to ride the train in the fall when it was raining outside the window. He considered it his primary task at the time to take a seat at the window and examine the person he caught his eye.

At one time an unusual person sat down with the man he was describing and began to tell him his story. The mysterious individual gave his name — Alter — and added that he lived in the settlement of Codne.

According to Alter, one day the daughter of a local rich man named Borodenko began to have feelings for his son, after which she became ill due to unhappy love. An experienced medical specialist was invited to the girl. Soon the disease struck Alter’s son as well. The narrator’s companion decided to ask the doctor to examine the boy, and after many adventures, he finally succeeded.

The story of the man living in Codnah was very much liked by the protagonist. The latter called Alter the happiest man and regretted not having a camera with him, which would have allowed him to capture the passenger.