"Vaikka kokee, eipä hylkää herra" / Tosikuvaus erään kansanlapsen elämäntaistelusta

The narrator recounts a poor rural childhood marked by repeated crop failures, debt and the forced sale of family property, which plunges the household into hardship. Early exposure to devout religious practice and earnest childhood attempts at piety shape moral thinking and provide communal gatherings, while strict parental discipline and domestic tensions foster resentment and hardship. Work from a young age, seasonal labor and a growing passion for playing a kantele offer small consolations and stimulate a hunger for learning. Eventually the family relocates seeking better prospects, and the account follows the narrator's maturation amid poverty, faith and the search for opportunity.