The Story of Tim

In a quiet Russian village, an aging couple worries about their only son Tim, a lively fifer with no practical skill. Determined to find him a livelihood, the father debates whether a blacksmith’s forge or a tailor’s shop would suit his lad, while his wife argues for something more refined—perhaps a goldsmith or painter.

Their quarrel ends with a promise to bind Tim to the first master they meet, and with ten roubles in hand they set off. By chance the pair encounter two brothers who claim to be master tailors yet secretly run a roving band of highwaymen; the old man, naïve but hopeful, hands over his meagre payment and follows the rogues to a hidden wood where they clothe Tim in fine garments and present him with a pike and knife for his first “lesson.”

As night falls, Tim’s new mentors test his courage with the crude weapons, leaving the young apprentice to decide whether brute strength or cleverness will serve him better. Listeners are treated to a witty, folkloric tale that blends slapstick bravado with subtle commentary on ambition and family.