الفقراء دائمًا أغنياء بالأطفال، وفي أوساخ هذا الشارع وحفره تتجمع جماعاتهم من الصباح حتى المساء، جياعًا عراةً متّسخين. الأطفال زهور الأرض الحيّة، لكنّ هؤلاء بدَوْا كزهورٍ ذبلت قبل أوانها، لأنها نبتت في تربةٍ لا غذاء صحيّا فيها.

“The poor are always rich in children, and in the dirt and ditches of this street there are groups of them from morning to night, hungry, naked and dirty. Children are the living flowers of the earth, but these had the appearance of flowers that have faded prematurely, because they grew in ground where there was no healthy nourishment.”Maxim Gorky — The Maxim Gorky MEGAPACK®: 61 Classic Novels and Stories (2017)