Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy

In MASTER AND MAN, wealthy landowner Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov takes along one of his peasants, Nikita, for a short journey to see the owner of forest, which he wishes to purchase. As the weather worsens, Vasili wants to push on, and they soon become lost in the woods. With Nikita dying from hypothermia, Vasili at first resolves to abandon him, then undergoes a spiritual transformation. He returns to Nikita, hoping to save him.