The narrator involves the old man in a conversation and asks where he comes from. The old man tells him that he was taking care of animals in his native town, but is worried now whether they might survive the artillery attack. The old man wears steel rimmed spectacles, which do not fit to a shepherd or herdsman. The man is seventy-six years old, he cannot walk any further, he is too weak and does not stop worrying about the animals he left behind. The narrator asks him about the animals and finds out that the man has left a cat, four pairs of pigeons and two goats. He comforts the old man by mentioning that the cat and the birds will be fine and will take care of themselves.