Allegretto quasi Andante: At a moderately quick tempo, close to Andante (walking pace).

Con una certa espressione parlante: With a certain speaking or narrative expression.

This piece is in compound ternary form. The middle section (from m. 21) develops material from the main section, contributing to the overall unity and making it a very tastefully composed miniature. A nostalgic atmosphere pervades, evoking the image of a mother reading a story to a young child by their bedside. The end of the coda suggests an innocent child falling asleep, filling one with a sense of happiness. As indicated at the beginning with "Con una certa espressione parlante," the piece is written not with a song-like melody, but with an expression closer to recitative (recitativo). (Indeed, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, "Tempest," Op. 31-2, published in the same year, contains actual recitative passages). Beethoven was capable of speaking through sound alone, and indeed, he spoke more eloquently through sound than through words.