In a small but beautiful forest that grew on ravines and around the old pond, there is an old guardhouse - a black, rickety hut with a humpbacked roof. One winter, the master, who owns the forest, lodges in the guardhouse of an old retired soldier nicknamed Kukushka.

The cuckoo was begging for a long time, but now he was lucky - the master appointed him a salary, gave some clothes and some provisions. Now Cuckoo has to ensure that the men do not cut down the landlord's forest.

The rickety hut does not bother the Cuckoo.

Anyone who walked in the rain, wind and snow to fight, every hut will seem cozy and cheerful.

The old man moves to the guardhouse with a cat, a rooster and two dogs - his Murzik and the lordly gypsy. Soon after putting the hut in order, he melts the stove, dines and falls asleep. He does not hear a wolf running past a guardhouse at night, "intending to settle for a long time next door to Cuckoo - in one of the deaf and hidden gullies."

The cuckoo lives happily and calmly in the forest. Sometimes he comes to the master "to ask for a little money." Barin is dissatisfied with Cuckoo's work - recently three oak trees were cut in the forest. The cuckoo promises to look at both and tries to blame the manager. To curry favor, he promises the sons of the master, Mitya and Kolya, to catch a pair of cubs for them. The cuckoo does not know that the lord intends to keep it only until the summer.

The old man never had his own house, he was a foster, for which they nicknamed him Cuckoo. In childhood, he was a backup, in his youth, a shepherd, then he was taken into the ranks of soldiers. Returning, Cuckoo got married and tried to live a normal life, but nothing came of it. Cuckoo was lazy and “unlucky,” he was expelled from all work, and after a year of such a life his wife left him.

The result was that he began to be hired only for the most insignificant service - in gardens, in gardens, in night watchmen.

Gradually, he began to fight, to lead a wandering life.

Having experienced both hunger and cold, Cuckoo rejoices in his new life. In the forest, he was not afraid or bored - he had long been accustomed to loneliness.

Once, walking around the forest, Cuckoo notices a huge she-wolf. He realizes that somewhere nearby is a wolf den, and wolves will soon appear. After waiting for the flood, Cuckoo begins the search for burrows and abandons his main responsibilities.

Having got the wolf cubs, Cuckoo brings them to Kolya and Mitya. The animals are solemnly planted in a pit, and the Cuckoo describes to the boys how hard he got them. The master also listens with interest to the story, and Kukushka, having drunk a glass of vodka, happily returns home.

Near the guardhouse, the cuckoo is met by the clerk. While the old man mined wolf cubs, six birches disappeared from the forest. The enraged clerk swings, knocks the hat off Cuckoo, and he pretends to be sick. Barin fails to figure out who and what is to blame, and he sends another worker to guard the forest, and Kukushka allows him to stay in the guardhouse for now.

The cuckoo remains and all day indifferently lies on the stove.Then he swears with the employee who hit Murzik, collects the bag and leaves.

Whether he was actually as badly ill as he said is unknown; ... but there is no doubt that he was very old, yellowed and lost weight in these two weeks.

In the summer, the Cuckoo decides to visit the "Barchuk" and the cubs. The guys tell him that only one wolf cub survived, and Cuckoo persuades them to let the beast go. He tells the boys that he has no home, no children, no wife, and that he himself looks like such a lonely wolf cub: “My animal is living. I will certainly freeze this winter. ”

Pitying Kukushka, Mitya and Kolya ask him for a pair of well-worn shirts for his father, to which the master adds vodka, a piece of cake and a “quarter of money”. The old man helps the boys release the wolf cub out of the pit and leaves.

In winter, Kukushka’s prediction comes true - before Christmas time he is found frozen in a meadow near a forest. Apparently, he wanted to spend the night in the guardhouse, where he was once so well. The children are not told about this, and they soon forget about the wolfs and the Cuckoo.