Set in mid-autumn, the story follows Arno Tali, a new student recovering from scarlet fever, as he joins the parish school in Paunvere. On his very first day, he sits beside Joosep Toots, a lively troublemaker whose mischievous energy feeds his love of pranks and stories about Native Americans. Arno soon meets Teele, a classmate who lives near his family’s farm, and she becomes his first love, awakening a gentle warmth and romantic imagination that colors his days at school.
The classroom buzzes with a cast of vivid characters. There’s the sunny yet naïve Tõnisson, and the whiny, tattling Georg-Adniel Kiir, who often becomes the target of Toots’ schemes. One memorable prank has Toots drunkenly crash a baby’s christening, turning chaos into noise with a gramophone before slipping away, leaving Kiir to pick up the pieces. In another moment, Toots drags a hungover Kiir into an icy bath and steals his clothes, a stunt that tests the patience of the parish clerks and the limits of discipline. Only the compassionate teacher Laur can momentarily rein in Toots through patient persuasion, offering a fragile balance to the rambunctious spirit in the classroom.
As the seasons turn, the school finds itself in occasional skirmishes with the local children of German landlords who attend a nearby school. In one clash, Toots turns the tide by branding the German opponents with red-hot tools, while in another altercation, Tõnisson endures a harsher punishment at the hands of boys armed with whips. Seeking revenge, Tõnisson sinks a raft used by the Germans, but suspicion falls on bell-ringer Kristian Lible. Arno, who has grown close to Lible, uncovers the truth and convinces Tõnisson to confess. When Arno tries to report the incident, teacher Laur steps in, resolving the matter so that Lible is cleared, Tõnisson avoids expulsion, and Arno narrowly escapes the stigma of being called a tattler.
Winter arrives and the river freezes into a dangerous playground. Toots convinces the students to skate on the thin ice, and Teele slips beneath the surface. Arno makes a heroic but costly effort to save her, plunging in after her as the ice gives way. Both are pulled to safety by Lible, yet Arno falls ill in the aftermath, the illness a quiet reminder of how fragile joy can be.
As more students arrive for the next term, Jaan Imelik and his servant Jüri Kuslap join the class. Imelik is a carefree musician with a gift for the kannel, and he quickly wins Teele’s attention, causing her to forget her feelings for Arno. Back at school, Teele asks Imelik to play a lively tune, while Toots drags her into a dance, teasingly calling her “Tali’s fiancée.” Arno watches, too shy to intervene, as Teele and Imelik’s playful moment results in an accidental clash that knocks over the parish clerk. When Arno tries to mend things with Teele, she brushes him aside, leaving him feeling defeated and more distant.
With spring returning, the school term ends and the students head back home. Teele, still drawn to Imelik, reaches out to rekindle their bond after Imelik leaves without a proper goodbye, but Arno has already grown wiser and more disengaged from old affections, having moved on from his initial devotion to Teele. The story closes on a note of bittersweet growth: the friendships, rivalries, and tender moments that shaped Arno’s early adolescence linger in his memory, even as he steps into a newer phase of life.
