: The military man recalls how, in a moment of extreme need, a mentally retarded person gave him his coppers.

Two men are sitting in a small round square. Suddenly, a tall man walks past a square and rolls a wheelchair. In a chair sits a boy of about twenty with the face of an idiot. One of the men, Zimin, deeply and sincerely sympathizes with the patient. The second objection is that idiots should not be spared, because they are not people. They do not have the feelings that distinguish a person from an animal.

Zimin recalls how he once came to Petersburg to take exams at the General Staff Academy. The only person he knew there was a distant relative. The woman lived in a small room, which served her and the kitchen, with her son Stepan, demented from birth. Stepan could say a few words, understood his name, asked for food. In a secluded corner Stepan kept his money - a few coppers that he would not let anyone touch. Zimin often visited her and suddenly decided to try to cure Stepan according to the method of a Swiss doctor, since the patient had some ideas about the outside world. Despite the efforts of Zimin, the development of Stepan did not advance, although the patient, who at first was afraid of a stranger, fell in love with Zimin and like a dog licked his hands and boots.

Having failed exams, Zimin returned to the regiment.He was left without money. Tormented by shame and hunger, he decided to borrow money from the only person he knew. The poor woman herself did not know what to live on, and then Stepan handed Zimin his coppers.

After that, Zimin does not dare to refuse blissful in human dignity.