Vanka by Anton Chekhov. Short summary

5 seconds

Vanya writes a letter to his grandfather and asks him to take it home. On the envelope he writes «To his grandfather’s village,» not realizing that the letter will not reach him.

1 minute

On Christmas night, nine-year-old Vanya writes a letter to his grandfather. Three months ago he had moved to Moscow and become an apprentice to the cobbler Alyakhov.

The boy begins his letter with congratulations to his grandfather, and then tells of his hard lot in a strange house. Vanya is insulted, scolded by the shoemaker and his wife, and the apprentices send him out for a drink. The boy does a lot of housework while starving.

Vanya recalls in his letter his happy life in the village, his cheerful grandfather, their dogs Viun and Kashtanka. The boy remembers the pre-holiday preparations and the kindly granny.

Vanya very much asks his grandfather to come and pick him up from the cobbler’s house. On the envelope the boy writes: «To his grandfather’s village, Konstantin Makarovich.» Vanya has no idea that the letter without an address will not reach him and, happy in his sleep, sees his grandfather reading his message to the cooks.