The moon floats outside the window. Round. Big. Cold. She swims fast. As if pushing the clouds and breaks out into space again.
It just looks like she's floating. If the moon were swimming, so fast, it would have disappeared around the corner of the house long ago. And the moon is visible all the time, and, therefore, these are the clouds floating towards it.
And the sky around is endless, dark and slightly incomprehensible, like everything that has no end and edge. If you look away from the moon, look at one point for a long time, you can see the stars. The larger ones are calm. And the smallest - flashing, like lights on a holiday in the evening. There are no stars near the moon, except for one - large and cold, like the moon itself.
The moon lights up the sky and the city - rooftops, walls, trees, sidewalks and people going to the movies. But roofs, walls, and trees, and sidewalks, and people, and even cars, which Sasha loves to look at during the day, are completely uninteresting in the moonlight, as if lifeless.
Maybe winter makes them so?
Winter is already starting. Snowball lies on the roofs and in the autumn, not yet quite yellow grass of the lawns, and on the branches of trees, and in some places on the sidewalks. But the snow has fallen everywhere, and at the cinema it glitters in the light of bright lights. And there, at the cinema, it's fun.
For some reason, Sasha does not believe that the moon is shining everywhere now. Is it over the sea? She shines here, above his street. And that's not everywhere.
Or maybe she shines everywhere, but in other places the lights clog her light. The cinema lights are on. And further; near the square, where in the summer a blue fountain beats into the sky. And even further, where the windows of a new factory sparkle, as big as a whole city, and quiet, as if it were not a factory at all. It is so quiet not in the city, but in the pioneer camp after lights out. There, in the camp, Sasha lived for three summers. And on the sea...
Ver! And what is it, the sea?
Well, that's how I knew that you were not thinking about that again! Problems must be solved! Problems! Vera looks up from her notebook and looks reproachfully at Sasha. - And about the sea then ...
Sasha himself understands. Moves away from the window, sits down, takes the textbook:
I know... Now... "There are an unknown number of pheasants and rabbits in the cage," he mutters. - It is only known that there are 35 heads and 94 legs in a cage. Find out the number of pheasants and the number of rabbits.
Sasha chews on a pencil.
Sasha has dark eyes and blond hair with swirls at the back of her head. Whirlwinds stick out, although Sasha smoothes them every minute with her palms. And in the daytime, Sasha's eyes are not at all dark, but blue, with blueness. And during the day he has freckles on his nose. Only they are not big at all. You won't even notice them at night.
Vera has no freckles, although her nose is snub-nosed, very suitable for freckles. Vera's hair has a reddish-gold tint. Some strands are lighter, others are darker. It is they who burn out at sea in the summer. And Vera's face is not that funny, not that serious - you won't understand. It's like she's trying to be serious when she's really not serious.
But Sasha doesn't see her face now. And the moon that swims behind the misted window, no longer sees.
He no longer chews on the pencil, but runs it over the blotting paper.
Finally asks:
And what are these pheasants?
Vera again tries to speak demandingly and seriously. The dimples under the eyes turn into wrinkles, the lips are pursed:
Well, what does it matter! Pheasants! Rabbits! Pipes! Numbers are important. They need to be addressed!
I know, Sasha agrees.
He is jealous of Vera. Somehow she does a great job with arithmetic. She takes only numbers from it, adds them up, multiplies them, subtracts them. But Sasha is not like that at all. If the problem is about the train, he starts thinking about this train. If about the ship - about him. The words in the puzzles confuse Sasha. And then he remembers: after all, this is a task - and well, in a hurry!
Now Sasha is ashamed. He runs his pencil over the blotter. And really: what does the pheasants have to do with it? Heads - thirty-five. Legs - ninety-four. Each rabbit has four legs. Each pheasant...
Have you really seen pheasants? Vera suddenly asks. - And at the zoo?
Sasha is happy. At least find out what kind of animal this is - a pheasant and how many legs it has. For some reason, the pheasant gets confused with the carp, but what kind of legs does the carp have? Fish!
I have been at the zoo for a long time, before school, - Sasha admits. - With pa ... - He does not finish, and he does the right thing: what's the point of telling Vera with whom he was at the zoo before school. Five years ago. Five years! For a long time!
Pheasant - a suborder of chicken. Pheasants have very beautiful plumage, long and wide tails. All of them are brightly colored. Our domestic chickens are descended from pheasants. We went through this...
Sasha is now clear. Since chickens, then pheasants are not carp and they have two legs.
Well, to explain all this at once!
I know, - Sasha says and takes on the task. “35 heads, 94 legs… Rabbits have four legs. Pheasants have two ... "
A few minutes later he asks:
Twelve and twenty three?
There are twenty-three pheasants, Vera clarifies.
Pheasants! Are there twelve rabbits?
Well done, I thought you...
Well, you don't know how to think, - Vera says not very decisively and, in order not to offend Sasha, explains: - Over problems.
And Sasha is already muttering the following problem:
“The father is twenty-four years older than the son. How old is the son if in three years he will be five times younger than his father?
Sasha rereads the puzzle several times. Then he looks out the window for a long time. The windows are fogged up, and the moon blurs, glitters with droplets of moisture on the window, is reflected in the white window sill covered with oil paint.
Blue and red lights glow from the side of the cinema. Probably freezing. That's why the window fogged up.
Faith is busy with her task. She is sitting at the table next to Sasha and as if turning away from him. Her hair falls on her forehead and on the fist with which she props her head. A golden fluff gleams on a tanned arm, and on the left cheek - Sasha sees - also a fluff. There are no more wrinkles, only dimples under the eyes.
- “The father is twenty-four years older than his son ...” - Sasha rereads and begins to draw something in a notebook.
No longer in pencil, but in ink. Exactly in the cells. One line - through three cells. The second one is higher - in five cells. Even higher - a small one - in two. The lines connect at an oblique angle to the left and right. Two new ones go up. These are masts. They have flags. Below on the board are three mugs and a hook. There are portholes and an anchor on every ship, and even more so on a military one.
Sasha closes her eyes, trying to see the sea. He no longer thinks about the ship. He wants to imagine the sea on which the ship is sailing. But you can't draw the sea in a notebook. And than…
Well, that's what I knew! What have you done! Vera threw up her hands. - It is necessary to turn away - and you already! Yes, right in the notebook...
I will rewrite! Sasha promises guiltily. - I know…
He rewrites the torn page for a long time. Tries.
You are wonderful! Vera says more peacefully. - Be careful, be careful!
Well, I'll go! It's time! - Sasha gets up when everything is rewritten, and Vera does not seem to make any remarks.
Will you come tomorrow?
We'll be at school tomorrow...
So in the evening...
I'll come in the evening, - Sasha promises, pulling on his coat and getting lost from the fact that Vera's parents are watching TV. Say goodbye to them or not? Sasha does not know, but just in case, he sticks his head into the dark dining room: - Goodbye!
Be healthy, Sasha! Verin's father says.
Goodbye! - confirms Verina's mother.
And then you are bad with tasks, - Vera instructively remarks.
I know it's bad, - Sasha agrees. And he himself thinks: “She never told me about the sea.”
Why is he weird?
When Vera's father laughs, he pouts his lips in a funny way and his mustache jumps. Or twitch. But it's the same thing.
Because he thinks about something all the time, about an outsider! Vera says.
If a person thinks, this is not the worst, - the father notices. - And in my opinion, he is a very serious and interesting guy. And it’s very good that you were instructed to deal with him ... I would be happy if I were you! ..
Yes, I don't say anything. Only…
What is "only"?
For some reason, he always asks me not about tasks, but about the sea. And he draws ships in notebooks.
It means that a person has a dream, and this is also not bad. How do you think?
Faith agrees. You have to agree with your parents.
But she still cannot understand Sasha.
He is incomprehensible and not like all the other guys. Others, ordinary ones, make noise, argue, fight, laugh at the girls, cheat, suggest and, of course, don’t think about anything special. And Sasha is quiet. And Sasha thinks. And all the time he asks about the sea. Isn't it wonderful?
True, Vera herself told Sasha that every summer she goes to the sea. Ever since I was sick before school. The disease has long passed, but trips to the sea remained. As my mother says: "For prevention." And as dad says: "Oh, this health season for me." But dad is joking. He himself likes to be at sea.
Vera also loves these trips. And Vera likes the fact that they live in a small village, and not in some sanatorium or boarding house. And I like the fact that there is a real border outpost near the village. In the evenings, the border guards illuminate the sea with searchlights and the patrol walks along the beach, where boys, girls and a few adults swim during the day. And once, two years ago, the border guards saved Vera from real death. That's what dad says. Vera developed a purulent appendicitis, and the head of the outpost himself undertook to deliver her on a border boat to the city, to the hospital. And although it was a long time ago, Vera still greets the head of the outpost. And when he meets Vera, he always jokes:
“How is the service, pioneer? Is everything all right? Otherwise, my dreadnought is at your disposal!”
"Everything is fine! The service is on!" Vera answers.
Next summer, Vera will again go to the sea and again see the cheerful head of the outpost and his "dreadnought". Vera does not know much about ships, but she knows that the small, fast border boat, on which she once went to the hospital, is on guard duty at sea every evening. The boat has a strong searchlight and even a cannon. Vera heard how she hooted during the exercises. And there are exercises every summer.
In the summer, Vera will go to the sea again. When you finish fifth grade.
... And yet Sasha is wonderful. He says that he has some kind of unusual crab.
Or maybe she just doesn't know much about Sasha. After all, they study together for only three months. Prior to this, Vera did not go to this school and lived far from here, on the other side of the city.
Sasha values crab more than anything else. Never had he cherished a single toy, a single book, like this crab. And after mom tore up dad's photos and even those where he was with Sasha, the crab has to be hidden. Sasha keeps it neatly wrapped in a rag in a box, and hides the box in the lowest drawer of the desk and covers it with textbooks. Mom doesn't go there.
Six times a week after school, Sasha takes out the box and looks at the crab. This crab is real, from the sea. Goggle-eyed, with unequal claws, large mustaches and paws: long, shorter and even shorter - very small. And dad has the same crab on his cap, only not real, but smaller and golden. Sasha remembers his father's cap and the crab on it. And this, real, dried, dad brought when Sasha began to study in the third grade. And then he said:
"Whatever happens, don't forget me, son!"
Sasha never saw dad again. My father moved to another place, but he and his mother did not go there. At first, dad sent long letters. Mom read them, for some reason laughed, sometimes grumbled and immediately tore.
Sasha asked several times:
Why aren't we with dad?
You don't have a father anymore! Mom said. - Kill it once and for all on your nose! Absolutely no!
Sasha is used to obeying his mother, but how is it - "hack on the nose"? But when mom says...
Forget daddy's words "do not forget me, son!" Sasha could not, but he did not ask his mother about anything else.
Mom herself no longer remembered about her father. She only asked:
Was there no translation today?
Translation is money. When mom is not at home, the postman leaves Sasha or only a piece of paper in the mailbox. With her mother goes to the post office and receives money. When mom is at home, the postman immediately gives her the money. Transfers come every month.
Who is this money from? Sasha once asked.
Doesn't matter! Mom answered vaguely. - It's none of your business!
On Mondays, Sasha doesn't get crab. Mom is at home on Mondays. She has a day off. And Sasha has a special day on Mondays. After school, he can walk in the yard or even go to the cinema. And the cinema is nearby, and just from Monday the pictures change in it ...
It has been snowing for the third day in a row. The city has become white and truly wintery. The windows are frost-bitten and you can't see anything through them. No moon and no sky. And if you go outside, there is no moon. The sky was covered with clouds. They hang over the city - low, low. Snow is falling from the clouds.
The frozen window is very beautiful. Behind him sparkle the evening lights of the street and cinema. The lights flicker and the patterns on the glass change endlessly. Turn yellow, turn white, turn blue, turn yellow again.
Today Sasha does not look at the window and does not ask Vera about anything. And Vera, on the contrary, wants to talk.
“Maybe dad is right? Vera thinks. - If a person thinks and if he has a dream... It's probably good when a person has a dream. What is my dream?"
Vera spins in her chair and finally can't stand it:
Why are you silent?
I am not silent, says Sasha. - I decide…
Yesterday Sasha grabbed a deuce in arithmetic. Whether you like it or not, you have to do something.
And Sasha solves one problem after another.
What answer? Vera asks.
Four hundred seventy three thousand six hundred insects.
Right! And in the second?
Eighty-four pioneers.
Verina's mother comes in:
Are you engaged?
Yep, Vera says.
Get busy, get busy, I'm just a minute...
Then Verin's father comes home from work. Together with him, the smells of winter burst into the room - frost, snow, wind. And for some reason, needles, as if a New Year tree was brought into the house, although there is still almost a month before the New Year.
It's warm here, like on the Black Sea coast! And on the street! .. Well, I won’t, I won’t interfere! ..
He quietly walks into the next room.
And it snows all the time outside. And the wind howls with whistling and hooting. And somewhere nearby, iron rumbles. This is a car sign dangling from the gate of the house.
Vera painfully waits for Sasha to solve the last problem.
Well, how much?
Ten coats, Sasha says uncertainly.
But Vera doesn't seem to care about the puzzles anymore, and Sasha looks at her in surprise:
What? Wrong?
Right! Why?
No, I just thought you'd say, "Wrong."
And the sea is big. Beauties! Vera suddenly says. - Just like the sky!
Like this? With the moon? - Sasha nods at the window.
Why - with the moon? Not only! Vera continues. - When there is a moon, then there is a moonlit path on the sea ... It is also beautiful. And better with the sun. The sun shines over the sea, and the water in the sea is blue-blue and glitters. Even my eyes hurt! And warmth! And the people around, and nothing is visible beyond the sea. It's so endless!
Sasha's face brightens.
And yet ... More gulls are circling, and sit on the water, and swim. Ride the waves like ducks. And when a steamboat goes far, far away, the seagulls fly away to it and circle over it for a long, long time. They say that they can fly for many kilometers behind the steamer...
More? - Verina's fantasy seems to be ending. But now she recalls: - Yes, sometimes dolphins swim close, close to the shore and play like children in the sun. Dive, jump! .. Only this is rare. Dad says that all the dolphins were almost killed ...
Vera is silent for several minutes. Maybe she feels sorry for these dolphins, or she just remembers something else ...
I already told you all this,” Vera finally says. - About cicadas, and about mountains, and how we caught crabs with the boys. Why do you always ask me about the sea?
So ... - Sasha says vaguely. - It's interesting.
Suddenly Vera says:
Do you know when the sea is beautiful? When the storm The whole sea roars and waves, waves, on the shore! The splashes fly and fall apart! And the waves keep coming and coming. And the water in the sea is muddy-muddy. Fright!
Sasha listens to Vera, frozen in place. Only the mouth is half open.
Sometimes it's stormy for two or three days, and then suddenly you wake up in the morning - silence! Vera continues. - You can barely hear how the sea splashes. And you will enter the water - transparent! And sand at the bottom, and stones, and algae - everything is visible. Dive, open your eyes under water - beauty! I can watch underwater for a long time.
And what about the boat? Sasha asks.
What boat?
Well, borderline. With this head of the outpost. When the storm is how?
Well! They swim in any weather. What is it to them! You know how brave they are!
Now Sasha is thinking about something. Silent. Then he suddenly asks:
Is the water really salty there? In the sea?
Actually, it's salty, until you get used to it, - says Vera, - but you get used to it and don't notice what it is like. In a day, you know how much you swallow it! While swimming and diving. Wow!
Well, what is she anyway? How salty is the soup?
Faith shrugs.
How's the soup? No, probably. Or maybe like soup ... Only water with iodine. There is a lot of iodine in sea water ... Do you know what I came up with? Let me ask mom and dad to take you with us. And you ask your parents. For next year. Let's go together! You know how great it will be! A?
I don't know, Sasha says. - Don't know…
Previously, with her father, Sasha's mother did not work. But that was a long time ago. Now my mother works in a tent in the market. Sasha was there. In the tent they sell scarves, scarves, stockings, buttons and all sorts of other things. All this is called haberdashery.
On ordinary days, mom has no time. She leaves early. Before Sasha goes to school.
When he leaves, he punishes:
Come - do not forget to put the soup. And on the second - fry the potatoes. With meat. Yes, do not forget to remove the foam from the soup ... And go to sleep ... See for yourself what. You can use vermicelli or…
Sasha learned to cook. What can you learn in three years? Previously, my mother prepared everything herself in the morning: she poured water into the pan, salted it, put meat, onions and carrots. Sasha could only put the pan on the gas and make sure that the water did not run away. And wait for the soup to cook. Mom also peeled potatoes in the morning - for soup and for the second, and even cutlets prepared in advance. Now Sasha does everything himself. Learned. Used to.
As he returns from school, he will have a bite to eat, he will look at the crab - and for business. First he cooks, then he cleans. By five o'clock he will even have time to put the plates on the table.
Last year, Sasha set two plates: for himself and for his mother. Mom often came not alone. First with Uncle Kolya. Then with Uncle Vasya. But neither Uncle Kolya nor Uncle Vasya ever dined, although they sat for a long time.
Sasha usually ate with his mother, and then said:
"Well, I'll go..."
“Go, go, son,” Mom agreed.
Sasha went to the guys or walked along the street until nine o'clock. At nine he returned, and mother was already alone. And they watched TV and drank tea. Their TV is small, but with a lens - everything is clearly visible in it.
Now Uncle Yasha comes to my mother - old, fat, with a sweaty bald head and hanging red cheeks. Uncle Kolya and Uncle Vasya were not like that at all. And Uncle Yasha is always in a hurry, but he always has lunch and drinks with his mother. Mom drinks little, and Uncle Yasha drinks a lot and sometimes gets completely drunk.
Then mom puts him on the sofa and says with annoyance:
"Get some rest..."
Sasha is afraid of him. He is afraid because he looks scary. He is afraid because Uncle Yasha is drunk. And he is also afraid for some incomprehensible conversations that Sasha has heard more than once.
“And why are you hooked on the kid? Uncle Yasha said. - Once asks, demands, give. If you don’t want to forever - while you are young, not to someone else! ”
“I told you: I won’t give it back! To spite him - I will not give it back! Mom answered. - And that's it!
“I suppose you regret alimony?” Uncle Yasha continued.
“At least alimony. And that's enough about it!" Mom got angry.
“As you know. I want you well, so that your hands are untied, ”Uncle Yasha sighed sympathetically.
Now Sasha does not have lunch with her mother. He eats alone, before she arrives, and when Uncle Yasha appears, he says:
"Well, I'll go..."
Now Sasha is well. No need to walk the streets, especially when the weather is bad. He takes notebooks, books and goes to the next entrance, to Vera. Sasha is pleased that Vera was assigned to work with him.
And so today.
Well, I'll go! Sasha says. - Dinner is...
Go go son! Mom agrees.
Uncle Yasha smiles and says not to his mother, but to him, Sasha:
And for some reason you are running like a trained one! Would eat, drink. Here I am for you...
He rummages in his coat pocket for a long time, takes out three chocolates, shifts them from hand to hand, as if weighing them, and finally hands one to Sasha:
Damn sweetie!
I finally figured it out,” Mom says.
Well enough, enough! Uncle Yasha grumbles peacefully.
Sasha has already slammed the door and runs down the stairs. The chocolate appears to have fallen. There, in the hallway. He does not need it, this chocolate bar! Need not!
Every night Sasha has the same dream. Dream with continuation. About the sea...
Sasha sees the sea either quiet and sunny and infinitely large, or vice versa - small and round, like a pond in their pioneer camp, if you look at it not from the shore, but from the sky ...
Or maybe he sees the sea from the sky, having risen high, high above him on an airplane or on a rocket? You can see the shores of this sea. White shores with white beautiful houses and white-white, like sugar, sand.
And behind the houses there are mountains with sharp, as if specially made peaks, and eagles are circling above them. What prey are they looking for? Little green lizards or seagulls that sway like ducks on the sea? Or dolphins? But there are no dolphins now. They were all killed. Vera said so. She knows. She goes to the sea every year...
Where is Vera now? Yes, there she is! Vaughn floats in the waves and plays by diving under the water. Probably, she opened her eyes again under water and looks at the seabed? Faith can do this for a long time ...
Sasha also tries to look at the bottom to see the sand, and stones, and algae, and crabs among them. He just needs to open his eyes, like Vera. And he tries to open them, but his eyes do not open ...
This is because he is sleeping. And at night, waking up, it is always difficult to open your eyes. But why is Vera not visible now? ..
"Ver! Faith!" - Sasha calls.
And at the same moment a young dolphin appears above the water. He jumps merrily, beats the water with his tail and laughs:
"We weren't killed! Look, they didn’t interrupt!
So, it was not Vera, but a dolphin. It is necessary to tell Vera that he saw a dolphin. Tomorrow, at the first lesson. After all, she and Vera are sitting on the same desk ...
And suddenly the sea darkens. And white houses, and white sand, and white shores turn into a real snowfall. Snow falls over the sea, covering the water and the sun ...
A huge moon appears over the sea. She's hot. She wipes her bald head and red cheeks with a handkerchief and says, almost shouts to the whole sea:
"Sweetie!"
And Sasha does not understand at all why the moon is so hot. It's cold, it's cold all around. And Sasha is cold. He got wet to the skin under this snowfall, and then the sea is so cold ...
But now the spotlight beam cuts through the darkness. A shot rumbles. Another one. Is it a storm? Or teachings? No! This is a fast boat rushing along the waves to help him, Sasha!
"Whatever happens, don't forget me, son!" Sasha hears.
“I haven't forgotten! Did not forget! - whispers Sasha. But first Vera. Faith is there, in the sea!”
Dad is standing on the captain's bridge - big, strong, and on his head is a cap with a golden "crab". And dad smiles, and wipes his face from sea spray, and looks at Sasha with round, like beads, guilty eyes.
"Hold on, son! he agrees. “Of course, Vera first.”
Then Sasha and Vera sit for a long time on the warm shore. Sasha plays in the sand, and Vera frowns her forehead, trying to be serious:
“Well, what does it matter? Dolphins! Storms! Seagulls! Numbers matter! They need to be dealt with!"
“I know,” Sasha says.
And he solves problems for a long, long time, until the morning. About pipes and insects. About costumes and pioneers who went on a campaign. About pheasants and rabbits that have thirty-five heads and ninety-four legs...
"Right! Right!" Vera says.
And it's all good if she says so. There is no sea. And mom is already bothering Sasha:
Don't forget to boil the soup... And for the second... See for yourself. And get better...
What if you really try? There is salt. Iodine in the first aid kit. Take water straight from the tap.
Sasha takes out a basin, puts it under the tap. The water is freezing. In the sea, even in winter, probably much warmer.
"I'll warm it up!" Sasha decides.
A burner flares up under the pelvis. Sasha twists the water with his finger. At first, the finger freezes, but bubbles appear along the edges of the pelvis. There are more and more of them. And the finger is now warmer. Sasha puts his whole arm into the water. Fine!
You don't have to cook soup today. Just boil. On the second pasta is possible. So soon. Well, sweep the room and a small corridor - a couple of trifles.
"I'll make it!" Sasha decides.
The water has already warmed up. Sasha turns off the burner and removes the basin. Here, on the chair. Then he takes salt and a spoon. One canteen is probably not enough. He drops two spoons of salt and three, stirs the water, tastes it on his tongue. No, the soup is saltier too! Maybe two more spoons. It seems to be enough. Salty!
How much iodine?
To start half a bubble. Stir! A little bit more!
Sasha's fingers turn brown. Probably from a cork. It's not a problem. Wash off!
Sasha goes into the room, carefully takes out a box of crab from the bottom drawer of the table. Then he takes out the crab and, before taking it to the kitchen, looks at it for a long time. Yesterday was Monday, and Sasha didn't see the crab. And the crab is as beautiful as the day dad brought it!
Sasha does not go to the kitchen, but runs. He even mutters something under his breath - either he sings, or he rhymes: “There is a lot of salt in the sea, in the sea, in the sea! There is a lot of iodine in the sea, good weather!”
Sasha has been able to rhyme for a long time. Even in kindergarten he knew how, and after, too.
Come on, let's swim in the real sea! - says Sasha, lowering the crab into the water.
The water in the basin really smells like the sea - iodine, salt and warmth. And the crab looks like a revived one: it seems that he spreads his claws and moves his mustache. And the beads of his dark eyes glitter in the water.
Let's! Let's! Sasha shouts, moving the crab. - Dare! Don't be afraid! Like in the sea!
He plays, forgetting about everything in the world. And about time. And about the fact that there is an entrance door and a bell. And the bell rings with might and main. But Sasha does not hear him. He doesn’t hear the lock click, and his mother’s words: “I don’t understand where he could have gone!” He doesn't hear either.
Are you crazy! What have you done!
Mom looks with horror at the wet floor, at Sasha's brown hands and the dark liquid in the basin.
Have you already arrived? - Sasha does not understand where her mother came from and why Uncle Yasha is smiling at the door.
And only at that moment, when mom grabs the basin and brings it to the sink, Sasha comes to her senses.
Mother! Mommy! Please do not! Please ... - Sasha mutters. - What have you done! What have you done! - He's already screaming.
Sasha takes a crab claw that has come off from the sink and a smaller one, and cries like he hasn’t cried for a long, long time, or maybe never:
What have you done! What are you ... I asked you ... So I asked, mommy ...
Do not Cry! Better wash up! - says mom. - The devil knows what!
Eka is unseen! - Uncle Yasha laughs. - Be something valuable. A dozen crayfish with a beer - I understand. And that's a crab! Plus a scarecrow.
... An hour passes, another, and Sasha is still lying on the sofa, burying his face in the roller, no longer crying, but only sighing and shuddering.
Something irreparable has happened. It is unlikely that he can explain to himself what. Sasha feels this, and therefore he is not at all ashamed - neither of his eleven years, nor of the fact that he is a boy ...
And mother and uncle Yasha, having dined and drunk, have tea and talk peacefully about something.
Why are you yesterday?
Vera was waiting for Sasha at the gate to the school and was completely cold.
And now he finally appeared, almost the very last.
I couldn't, - Sasha mutters.
Let's run, otherwise the call is now, - says Vera. And already on the move he adds with regret: - And yesterday I wanted to tell you more about the sea. I completely forgot before. How we went to Falcon Bay and burned a fire there, and dad ...
You don't need anything about the sea, - Sasha suddenly says and repeats: - Don't!
How is it not necessary? Vera stopped in surprise.
Don't want! Sasha says stubbornly. - I don't want any more!
It was. And it might have continued for a very long time. And it is not known what would have ended. But changes often happen in life, and it's good when these changes are for the better. So Sasha had such a change. Long awaited change. And not today...
And today ... The sea splashes near the station. Children and adults are walking on the beach, and seagulls are circling over the sea, and ships are standing on the roads. And above them and over the whole sea - this is the most important thing - the sun is shining. Small compared to the sea and big, hot as the sea itself. And it is not known what attracts people more - the sea or the sun. Both the sea and the sun are equally majestic, unique, alive ...
The distant ambulance has not yet reached the station of the seaside town, but Sasha's father is looking at his watch more and more often. So, here it is...
And you refused to take flowers in vain, ”he says to his son.
Sasha - long, or rather lanky, on a par with his father and just as tanned - is embarrassed and mutters:
Well, that's inconvenient, dad! How can you not understand!
Look, look how you know! the father agrees.
Sasha is already confused. He hates meetings, seeing off, all sorts of congratulations and other solemn things, when you don’t know how to behave, where to put your hands, what to say, and in general the only thing you dream about is that it all ends soon. He still lacks a bouquet in his hands!
He is waiting, worrying, as everyone is waiting and worrying now on the platform. Sasha is trying to pull herself together. This train should come faster! Well, what's so special about meeting friends!
The train slowly emerges from behind the turn, and the excitement, as luck would have it, does not pass. The whole platform is already buzzing and the windows of the cars are screaming, and someone is already rushing along the long train, jumping on the steps. And all this is like in the movies and in reality.
And finally:
Sasha! Kirill Nikanorych!
This is Vera shouting from the car window.
Sasha and the Lieutenant Colonel, who had been calm until that moment in naval uniform, also began to run somewhere, jumped on the bandwagon and squeezed with difficulty into the vestibule. Then everything is packed: climbing through is unthinkable, and Vera is already shouting to them through other people's heads from the depths of the corridor:
We ourselves! Wait below!.. On the platform!..
When they get out of the car, the hardest part begins. Vera greets Sasha. Sasha - with Vera's mother and with Vera. Vera's mother is with Sasha's father. Then ... God, how long, chaotic and yet touching it all is. Eyes sparkle, although no one is kissing, but simply shaking hands.
Well, how is the service, pioneer? Is everything all right? - Sasha's father puts his hand to the visor.
Everything is fine! Vera laughs. - Only not a pioneer anymore, Kirill Nikanorych ...
Really Komsomol?
Komsomol! Vera confirms.
Congratulations! And mine too ... - Father nods at Sasha.
Why didn't you write? How long, Sasha? Vera is surprised.
The second day... And you?
Second week.
Now it starts all over again - shaking hands and “Congratulations! Congratulations! Thank you! Thank you! Congratulations!"
Well, why are we standing? - finally says Sasha's father. - My dreadnought is at your disposal.
Is it all that?
And that one and not that one! They got something newer and stronger for business, but this one is for walking now. - The lieutenant colonel smiles and straightens his cap with a golden "crab".
They make their way along the platform, cross the tracks and go down to a small pier, where there is a boat - a former border boat, a former patrol boat. But the boat is still nothing - it is alive, and even the watchman is on the alert:
Hello! With arrival! Caution! Like this! Caution!
Let's go aft,” Sasha says as the people and suitcases seem to be settling in.
The motor is rattling. Having foamed the water, the boat moves forward.
So what is the sea like? Vera asks and for some reason laughs.
The boat leaves the bay. Now only the coast stretches to the right. To the left and ahead is water. Not water, but the sea.
Here it is again, - Vera says dreamily. So good, I don't even want to talk.
Sasha agrees:
But I also don't want to be silent. And they talk about different things, and ask, and answer, and more and more about what they wrote to each other more than once during this year. And earlier. And even earlier. Because talking about the sea is difficult. How difficult it is to talk about what you have long been accustomed to and what has become accustomed to.
Do you remember how you asked me once about him? Vera recalls.
They seem to be thinking about the same thing.
- “Teplotische”, “beautiful”, “fear”, - says Sasha, and both laugh. - Four years! A lot of!
They fall silent again and look at the sea. It is quiet today, the boat is moving smoothly, and the sun has stopped in the sky, and the air is salty, thick, only a little fresh.
There are no adults nearby, and Sasha finally decides:
I've been thinking here about what to give you for your arrival. In general, I gave away everything in these three summers: stones, turtles, crabs, hedgehogs, and shells ... And now ... In general, I want to give you a song. Just don't laugh! My. I composed it myself. No music, really. Want?
Keywords: Sergei Baruzdin, What is it like, the sea?
Sergei Alekseevich Baruzdin
What is it, the sea?
The moon floats outside the window. Round. Big. Cold. She swims fast. As if pushing the clouds and breaks out into space again.
It just looks like she's floating. If the moon were swimming, so fast, it would have disappeared around the corner of the house long ago. And the moon is visible all the time, and, therefore, these are the clouds floating towards it.
And the sky around is endless, dark and slightly incomprehensible, like everything that has no end and edge. If you look away from the moon, look at one point for a long time, you can see the stars. The larger ones are calm. And the smallest - flashing, like lights on a holiday in the evening. There are no stars near the moon, except for one - large and cold, like the moon itself.
The moon lights up the sky and the city - rooftops, walls, trees, sidewalks and people going to the movies. But roofs, walls, and trees, and sidewalks, and people, and even cars, which Sasha loves to look at during the day, are completely uninteresting in the moonlight, as if lifeless.
Maybe winter makes them so?
Winter is already starting. Snowball lies on the roofs and in the autumn, not yet quite yellow grass of the lawns, and on the branches of trees, and in some places on the sidewalks. But the snow has fallen everywhere, and at the cinema it glitters in the light of bright lights. And there, at the cinema, it's fun.
For some reason, Sasha does not believe that the moon is shining everywhere now. Is it over the sea? She shines here, above his street. And that's not everywhere.
Or maybe she shines everywhere, but in other places the lights clog her light. The cinema lights are on. And further; near the square, where in the summer a blue fountain beats into the sky. And even further, where the windows of a new factory sparkle, as big as a whole city, and quiet, as if it were not a factory at all. It is so quiet not in the city, but in the pioneer camp after lights out. There, in the camp, Sasha lived for three summers. And on the sea...
Ver! And what is it, the sea?
Well, that's how I knew that you were not thinking about that again! Problems must be solved! Problems! Vera looks up from her notebook and looks reproachfully at Sasha. - And about the sea then ...
Sasha himself understands. Moves away from the window, sits down, takes the textbook:
I know... Now... "There are an unknown number of pheasants and rabbits in the cage," he mutters. - It is only known that there are 35 heads and 94 legs in a cage. Find out the number of pheasants and the number of rabbits.
Sasha chews on a pencil.
Sasha has dark eyes and blond hair with swirls at the back of her head. Whirlwinds stick out, although Sasha smoothes them every minute with her palms. And in the daytime, Sasha's eyes are not at all dark, but blue, with blueness. And during the day he has freckles on his nose. Only they are not big at all. You won't even notice them at night.
Vera has no freckles, although her nose is snub-nosed, very suitable for freckles. Vera's hair has a reddish-gold tint. Some strands are lighter, others are darker. It is they who burn out at sea in the summer. And Vera's face is not that funny, not that serious - you won't understand. It's like she's trying to be serious when she's really not serious.
But Sasha doesn't see her face now. And the moon that swims behind the misted window, no longer sees.
He no longer chews on the pencil, but runs it over the blotting paper.
Finally asks:
And what are these pheasants?
Vera again tries to speak demandingly and seriously. The dimples under the eyes turn into wrinkles, the lips are pursed:
Well, what does it matter! Pheasants! Rabbits! Pipes! Numbers are important. They need to be addressed!
I know, Sasha agrees.
He is jealous of Vera. Somehow she does a great job with arithmetic. She takes only numbers from it, adds them up, multiplies them, subtracts them. But Sasha is not like that at all. If the problem is about the train, he starts thinking about this train. If about the ship - about him. The words in the puzzles confuse Sasha. And then he remembers: after all, this is a task - and well, in a hurry!
Now Sasha is ashamed. He runs his pencil over the blotter. And really: what does the pheasants have to do with it? Heads - thirty-five. Legs - ninety-four. Each rabbit has four legs. Each pheasant...
Have you really seen pheasants? Vera suddenly asks. - And at the zoo?
Sasha is happy. At least find out what kind of animal this is - a pheasant and how many legs it has. For some reason, the pheasant gets confused with the carp, but what kind of legs does the carp have? Fish!
I have been at the zoo for a long time, before school, - Sasha admits. - With pa ... - He does not finish, and he does the right thing: what's the point of telling Vera with whom he was at the zoo before school. Five years ago. Five years! For a long time!
Pheasant - a suborder of chicken. Pheasants have very beautiful plumage, long and wide tails. All of them are brightly colored. Our domestic chickens are descended from pheasants. We went through this...
Sasha is now clear. Since chickens, then pheasants are not carp and they have two legs.
Well, to explain all this at once!
I know, - Sasha says and takes on the task. “35 heads, 94 legs… Rabbits have four legs. Pheasants have two ... "
A few minutes later he asks:
Twelve and twenty three?
There are twenty-three pheasants, Vera clarifies.
Pheasants! Are there twelve rabbits?
Well done, I thought you...
Well, you don't know how to think, - Vera says not very decisively and, in order not to offend Sasha, explains: - Over problems.
And Sasha is already muttering the following problem:
“The father is twenty-four years older than the son. How old is the son if in three years he will be five times younger than his father?
Sasha rereads the puzzle several times. Then he looks out the window for a long time. The windows are fogged up, and the moon blurs, glitters with droplets of moisture on the window, is reflected in the white window sill covered with oil paint.
Blue and red lights glow from the side of the cinema. Probably freezing. That's why the window fogged up.
Faith is busy with her task. She is sitting at the table next to Sasha and as if turning away from him. Her hair falls on her forehead and on the fist with which she props her head. A golden fluff gleams on a tanned arm, and on the left cheek - Sasha sees - also a fluff. There are no more wrinkles, only dimples under the eyes.
- “The father is twenty-four years older than his son ...” - Sasha rereads and begins to draw something in a notebook.
No longer in pencil, but in ink. Exactly in the cells. One line - through three cells. The second one is higher - in five cells. Even higher - a small one - in two. The lines connect at an oblique angle to the left and right. Two new ones go up. These are masts. They have flags. Below on the board are three mugs and a hook. There are portholes and an anchor on every ship, and even more so on a military one.
Sasha closes her eyes, trying to see the sea. He no longer thinks about the ship. He wants to imagine the sea on which the ship is sailing. But you can't draw the sea in a notebook. And than…
Well, that's what I knew! What have you done! Vera threw up her hands. - It is necessary to turn away - and you already! Yes, right in the notebook...
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A man lived in our house. Big or small, it's hard to say. From diapers, he grew up a long time ago, but he has not yet grown to school.
And the man's name was Alyoshka.
Alyoshka knew how to do everything. And eat, and sleep, and walk, and play, and speak different words.
When he sees his father, he says:
When she sees her mother, she says:
He sees a car on the street, he says:
Well, if he wants to eat, he will say:
Mother! I want to eat!
One day my father went on business to another city. A few days later, my father sent a letter home.
The mother read the letter. And Alyoshka decided to read it. He took the letter in his hands, twisted it this way and that, but he could not understand anything.
The mother sat down at the table. She took paper and a pen. I wrote back to my father.
And Alyoshka also decided to write a letter to dad. He took a pencil, paper, sat down at the table. I began to drive with a pencil on paper, and on it only scribbles are obtained.
So it turned out that Alyoshka can’t do everything, he doesn’t know everything.
The easiest thing
Long wait for school. Alyoshka decided to learn to read himself. He took out a book.
And it turned out that reading is the easiest thing.
He sees - the house is drawn in the book, he says:
Sees a horse, says:
Alyoshka was delighted, he ran to his father:
Fine! - said the father. - Let's see how you read.
Father showed Alyoshka another book.
What's this? - asked.
Alyoshka sees - in the picture the beetle is drawn with an umbrella, and something is written under it.
This is a beetle with an umbrella, - Alyoshka explained.
This is not a beetle with an umbrella at all, - said the father, - but a helicopter.
Father turned the page:
And what's that?
And this, - Alyoshka answers, - is a ball with horns and legs.
This is not a ball with horns and legs, but a satellite, - said the father.
Then he handed Alyoshka another book:
Now read this one!
Alyoshka opened the book - there is not a single picture in it.
I can't, - he said, - here without pictures.
And you read the words, - advised the father.
I don’t know how to say words, Alyoshka admitted.
That's it! - said the father.
And he said nothing more.
A bucket of water
Previously, this happened more than once: the mother will ask Alyoshka for something - bring salt from the next room or pour water from a cup - and Alyoshka will pretend that he did not hear, and continues to play. Mother will get up, bring the salt herself, pour out the water herself, and that's it!
But one day Alyoshka went for a walk. He just came out of the gate, how very lucky he was. A huge dump truck is standing right next to the sidewalk, the driver has opened the hood: he is digging into the engine.
What a five-year-old boy will miss the opportunity to look at the car once again!
And Alyoshka did not miss it! He stopped, his mouth opened, looking. I saw a shiny bear on the radiator, the steering wheel in the driver's cab and even touched the wheel, which is taller than Alyoshka himself ...
Meanwhile, the driver slammed the hood: apparently, he fixed everything that was needed in the engine.
Will the car run now? Alyoshka asked.
It won’t go until we fill it with water,” the driver answered, wiping his hands. “By the way, where do you live?” Close, far?
Close, - answered Alyoshka. - Quite near.
That's good! - said the driver. - Then I'll borrow some water from you. You dont mind?
I don't mind! Alyoshka said.
The driver took an empty bucket from the cab and they went home.
I brought my uncle to borrow water, - Alyoshka explained to his mother, who opened the door for them.
Come in, please, - said the mother and led the driver into the kitchen.
The driver took a full bucket of water, and Alyoshka brought his own - a small one - and poured it too.
They returned to the car. The driver poured water from his bucket into the radiator.
And my! Alyoshka said.
And yours! - said the driver and took Alyoshka's bucket. - Now everything is all right. And thanks for the help! Come on!
The car roared like a beast, shuddered and drove off.
Alyoshka stood with his empty bucket on the sidewalk and looked after her for a long time. And then he returned home and said:
Mother! Let me help you!
Have they replaced my son? - mother was surprised. - I don't recognize him!
No, they didn't, it's me! Alyoshka reassured her. - I just want to help you!
The right nail
In the morning my mother said to my father:
In the evening, hammer, please, nails in the kitchen. I need to hang ropes.
Father promised.
Mother was at home that day.
She went to the store.
You play while, son, - she asked. - I'll be right back.
I’ll play, Alyoshka promised, and as soon as his mother left, he went to the kitchen.
He took out a hammer, nails and began to hammer them one by one into the wall.
Scored ten!
"Now that's enough," Alyoshka thought, and began to wait for his mother.
Mother returned from the store.
Who hammered so many nails into the wall? she wondered as she entered the kitchen.
I, - Alyoshka said proudly, - so as not to wait until dad scores.
I didn't want to upset Alyoshka's mother.
Let's do this, - she suggested, - we will take out these nails. They are not needed. But here you will hammer one nail for me, more. He will be useful to me. Fine?
Fine! Alyoshka agreed.
The mother took the tongs and pulled out ten nails from the wall. Then she gave Alyoshka a chair, he climbed on it and hammered a big nail higher.
This is the most needed nail, - said the mother and hung a saucepan on it.
Now Alyoshka, as soon as he enters the kitchen, looks at the wall: is there a saucepan hanging?
So, it is true that he hammered the most necessary nail.
How Alyoshka got tired of studying
Alyoshka is seven years old. He went to school to learn to read and write properly.
The school year has not ended yet, winter has only just begun to appear in the autumn days, and Alyoshka already knows how to read, and write, and even knows how to count. A book can be read if it is printed in large letters, write words on paper, add numbers.
Once he sat in a lesson, looked out the window, and the sun shone straight in Alyoshka's face. In the sun, Alyoshka is always snub-nosed: he wrinkled his nose and his nose became like a Chinese apple. And suddenly Alyoshka felt that he was tired of studying. He can read, write, too, and add numbers. What else!
Alyoshka got up from his desk, took his briefcase and went to the exit.
Where are you going? the teacher asked.
Home! Alyoshka answered. - Goodbye!
He came home and said to his mother:
I won't go to school anymore!
And what will you do?
Like what? Well... I will work.
How by whom? Well, how do you, for example ...
And Alyoshka's mother worked as a doctor.
Okay, my mother agreed. - Then you have a small task. Prescribe medicine for a patient who has the flu.
And the mother gave Alyoshka a small piece of paper on which recipes are written.
And how to write it? What medicine is needed? Alyoshka asked.
Write in Latin letters, - explained the mother. - And what kind of medicine, you yourself should know. You're a doctor!
Alyoshka sat over a piece of paper, thought and said:
I don't really like this job. I'm better, like dad, I'll work.
Well, come on, like a dad! - agreed mother.
The father returned home. Alyoshka - to him.
I won't go to school anymore, he says.
And what will you do? asked the father.
I will work.
How are you! Alyoshka said.
And Alyoshka's father works as a foreman at the very factory where "Moskvichs" are made.
Very good, my father agreed. - Let's work together. Let's start with the easiest.
He took out a large sheet of paper folded into a tube, unfolded it and said:
Here is a blueprint for a new car. It has errors. Look what and tell me!
Alyoshka looked at the drawing, and this is not a car, but something completely incomprehensible: lines converge and diverge, arrows, numbers. You won't understand anything here!
I can't! Alyoshka confessed.
Then I'll work myself, - said the father, - and you can rest for now!
Father bent over the drawing, his face became thoughtful, serious.
Dad! And why do you have Christmas trees on your face? - Alyoshka asked.
These are not Christmas trees, but wrinkles, - said the father.
And why are they?
Because I studied a lot, fought, worked a lot, - said my father. It's only idlers who have smooth skin.
Alyoshka thought, thought and said:
I guess I'll go back to school tomorrow.
When people rejoice
At school, children were often told:
You must be able to work well. To work so that people would later say: these are the golden hands of our guys!
Alyoshka loved carpentry. His father bought him a carpentry machine and tools.
Alyoshka learned how to work - he made himself a scooter. A good scooter turned out, it’s not a sin to boast!
Look, - he said to his father, - what a scooter!
Not bad! - answered the father.
Alyoshka - in the yard, to the guys:
Look what a scooter I made!
Nothing scooter! - said the guys. - Ride!
Alyoshka rode and rode on his scooter - no one looks at him. Tired of him. He dropped the scooter.
In the spring, at school, the guys had to grow seedlings, so that later, when it gets completely warm, they could plant them in the yard.
The teacher said:
The high school students promised to make boxes for us. As soon as they are ready, we will take care of the seedlings.
And Alyoshka returned home, got the boards and decided to make the boxes himself. Think! This is not a scooter. As easy as pie.
On Saturday, Alyoshka worked all Sunday, and on Monday he brought two boxes to school, just enough for two windows.
The guys saw the boxes.
Wow! - they said. - You have golden hands!
The teacher saw and was also delighted:
Well, you have golden hands! Well done!
Alyoshka came home, and his mother said to him:
I am very pleased with you, son! I met your teacher, comrades, and everyone says that you have golden hands.
In the evening, the mother told the father about this, and he also praised his son.
Dad! - Alyoshka asked. - And why, when I made a scooter, no one praised me, no one said that I had golden hands? Are they talking now? After all, a scooter is harder to make!
But because you made the scooter for yourself alone, and the boxes for everyone, - said the father. - People are happy!
Polite bull
A goby was grazing at the edge of the forest. Small, a month old, but quite dense and lively.
The steer was tied with a rope to a peg driven into the ground, and so, tied, he walked in circles all day. And when the rope was too tight, not letting the steer go, he raised his muzzle with an uneven white star on his forehead and pulled in an unsteady, rattling voice: “Mmmm!”
Every morning, children from the kindergarten, who were resting in the neighborhood, passed by the bull.
The steer stopped nibbling the grass and nodded his head affably.
Say hello to the bull, - said the teacher.
The guys greeted in chorus:
Hello! Hello!
They spoke with the bull, as with the elder, on "you".
Then the guys, going for a walk, began to bring the bull-calf various delicacies: a piece of sugar, or a rich bun, or just bread. The steer willingly took a treat right from the palm of his hand. And the bull's lips are soft, warm. So, it happened, it would pleasantly tickle your palm. He eats and nods his head: “Thanks for the treat!”
To health! - the guys will answer and run for a walk.
And when they return, the polite bull-calf again affably nods his head to them:
"Mmmm!"
Goodbye! Goodbye! - the guys answered in chorus.
This was repeated every day.
But one day, going for a walk, the guys did not find the bull in the same place. The hole was empty.
The guys were worried: did something happen? They began to call the bull. And suddenly, from somewhere in the forest, a familiar voice was heard:
"Mmmm!"
Before the guys had time to come to their senses, a bull-calf ran out from behind the bushes, tail up. Behind him was a rope with a peg.
The teacher took a rope and drove a peg into the ground.
And then run away, she said.
And again the bull, as before, greeted the guys:
"Mmmm!"
Hello! Hello! - the guys answered, treating the bull with bread.
The next day the same thing happened again. At first the bull was not there, and then, when he appeared, a rope with a peg pulled out was pulled behind him. And again the teacher had to tie the bull.
Have you seen a bull-calf around here? - asks. - A black one, with an asterisk on his forehead.
Seen! Seen! the guys shouted.
He is in place, at the edge, - said the teacher. I tied him up there.
Here are miracles! the woman shrugged. - The second day I tie the bull in a new place, and find it in the old one. I can't figure out why he loves it so much!
He probably got used to my guys, - the teacher laughed. Your bull is polite, he greets us every day.
Don't take him away from us! - began to ask the guys. - We are friends with him!
Yes, if friends ask, you have to leave! the woman agreed. Once he made friends with the guys ...
The next morning the guys went to the forest. At the edge of the forest, as before, a goby was waiting for them.
Hello! Hello! the guys shouted.
And the happy bull nodded his head in response to them:
"Mmmm!"
Two-meter misfortune
In Odessa, I wanted to find my old front-line comrade, who was now serving as a long-distance sailor. I knew that the ship on which he sails had just returned from a foreign voyage.
When I arrived at the port, it turned out that the ship had already unloaded and its crew had been written off to the shore yesterday. I found out the address of my friend in the port authority and went to his house.
In a new house on Khalturin Street, I went up to the third floor and called. Nobody answered me. I called again.
In the depths of the apartment there was a door creak, laughter. A female voice called out:
Who's there?
I said through the closed door who I need.
Come in later! We can't open it for you! We're under arrest here.
I thought I was being played. And completely stupid! If a comrade is not at home, why not open the door and say it in a human way?
Having gone downstairs, I wandered around the city for about an hour, and already more curiosity than necessity again led me to a strange apartment. I called again and heard the creak of the door, laughter and the question:
Who's there?
I had to repeat why I came.
Again laughter, and the same answer. Only more polite:
Please come back a little later. Your friend will be back soon. And here we are, right, under arrest and cannot go out into the corridor. You see, a two-meter misfortune has settled in us ...
Frankly, I was completely confused. Either they're really fooling around with me, or it's something funny. In order not to miss my friend, I began to walk near the entrance.
Finally I see it's coming. We hugged for joy, and here I could not stand it anymore.
What do you have in your apartment? - I ask. - What arrested? What kind of two-meter misfortune?
He laughed.
I knew it! - speaks. - These are my neighbors who are afraid to leave the room. And what are they afraid of when he is small and completely harmless? Yes, and I locked him in the room. He spoke to them and calmed them down. And they tell me: he can crawl under the door ...
Wait, what are you talking about? I asked. - Who is small? Who is harmless?
Yes, boa. Two years total. Only two meters long! my friend explained to me. - In the port one of the kids was presented. So the captain instructed me to attach him to the zoo. It was late yesterday, so I went to negotiate now. He spent the night at my house. That's all. I'll take it now.
A few minutes later, my friend and I were already walking towards the zoo. My friend carried the boa around his neck like a wreath. And it’s true, the boa turned out to be a completely harmless creature. He did not try to escape, but only occasionally hissed and opened his mouth.
True, passers-by shied away from us. But in vain. They had nothing to fear.
cold hedgehog
It was late autumn in the last year of the war. There were battles on Polish soil.
One night we settled in the forest. They lit a fire and warmed up tea. Everyone went to bed, and I stayed on duty. Two hours later I was to be relieved at the post by another soldier.
I sat with a machine gun by the dying fire, looked at the coals, listened to the rustles of the forest. The wind rustles the dry leaves and whistles in the bare branches.
Suddenly I hear a rustle. Like someone is crawling on the ground. I wake up. I have my machine ready. I listen - the rustle is silent. Sat down again. It rustles again. Somewhere very close to me.
What an opportunity!
I looked down at my feet. I see - a bunch of dry foliage, but as if alive: it moves by itself. And inside, in the leaves, something snorts, sneezes. Good sneezes!
I took a closer look: a hedgehog. A muzzle with small black eyes, upright ears, leaves are pricked on dirty yellow needles. The hedgehog dragged the leaves closer to the warm place where the fire was, moved his nose along the ground, sneezed several times. Apparently, he caught a cold.
It's time for my shift. The Kazakh Akhmetvaliev took over the post of soldier. He saw a hedgehog, heard how he sneezes, and well, scold me:
- Oh, it's not good! Hey, not good! Sit and watch calmly. Maybe he has the flu or inflammation. Look, everything is trembling. And the temperature is probably too high. You need to take him into the car, treat him, and then release him into the wild ...
So we did. They put the hedgehog along with a bunch of leaves in our camping "gazik". And Akhmetvaliev got some warm milk the next day. Pzhik drank milk, warmed up and fell asleep again. During the whole journey he sneezed several times and stopped - he got better. So all winter in our car and lived!
And when spring came, we released him into the wild. For fresh grass. And what a day it was! Bright, sunny! A real spring day!
Only it was already in Czechoslovakia. After all, we met spring and victory there.
bee attack
I lived as a child in a village in the Yaroslavl region. He was pleased with everything: the river, the forest, and complete freedom.
Often sat with the guys at night by the fire.
But there was one "but". This is the "but" I want to talk about.
The owner of the house in which we lived had several hives with bees.
They say that bees are peaceful creatures, if they are not offended. And it is true: our bees did not bite anyone, did not touch. Nobody but me.
As soon as I left the hut, some bee would definitely bite me. And there were days when I was stung several times.
“You indulge a lot,” your mother said, “so they bite you.”
“I don’t play around at all,” I justified myself. I don't touch them at all.
“What an attack! I thought. “Maybe they got me mixed up with someone else?” After all, other bees do not sting me - in the forest, in the field - but their own ... "
Time passed, and there was not a day that I escaped this bee misfortune. Now I have a bump under my eye, now on my cheek, now on the back of my head, and once a bee stung me in the back, and I was completely exhausted: even then you can’t scratch the bitten place - you can’t reach it with your hand.
I wanted to ask our host why the bees don't like me, but I was afraid. “He will also think that I really offend them. How can I prove to him that I don’t touch them at all? But the bee, they say, after it stings, dies. So many of them died through my fault.
But it turned out that I still did not avoid talking with the owner. And well, otherwise he would have been tormented all summer.
One evening I was sitting at the table, all bitten, having dinner. The owner entered the room and asked:
- Have you been bitten by bees again?
“Bite,” I say. “Just don’t think that I teased them. I don't go near the hives...
The owner shook his head in disbelief.
“Strange,” he says. They are meek...
And I see myself looking at me.
- Do you like onions? he suddenly asks. “You smell like onions.”
I was glad that they didn’t scold me for bees, and I answer:
- Yes, I love it a lot! Every day, I probably eat a kilo of green onions. With salt and black bread. You know how delicious!
“Here, brother, that’s why they bite you,” the owner laughed. “My bees just can’t stand the smell of onions. In general, bees are very picky about different smells. There are those who don't like cologne or kerosene, but mine don't like onions.
You will have to refrain from onions.
Since that day, I have not eaten a single onion arrow all summer. Even if he came across in the soup, he still threw it away. I was afraid that the bees would bite.
And they really stopped stinging me. Once I even stood next to the hives when the combs were taken out of them, and then the bees did not touch me!
Meet in the middle of what? Saransk, Novosibirsk or Petrozavodsk??? While choosing, I can not understand what will be more convenient :(
Baruzdin S. Pioneer Svetlana. art.Bychkov M.A. Petrozavodsk Karelia 1982 23c softcover, regular format. Delivery within the Russian Federation is free (no extra charges)
Condition: satisfactory, no title page
Baruzdin S. Pioneer Svetlana. We read it ourselves. thin. Korovin O. M. D. L. 1978 32c softcover, slightly enlarged. format. Delivery within the Russian Federation is free (no extra charges)
(Seller: BS - Orlik, Karelia, Petrozavodsk.) Price 115 rubles. Order
Condition: good, stamp
Baruzdin S. Pioneer Svetlana. rice. Bychkov M. Petrozavodsk Karelia 1982 24s soft typ. format. Delivery within the Russian Federation is free (no extra charges)
(Seller: BS - Orlik, Karelia, Petrozavodsk.) Price 115 rubles. Order
Condition: choir
Baruzdin S. Svetlana is a pioneer. rice. Bychkov M. Petroz-k Karelia 1982 24s soft binding, usual Delivery in the Russian Federation is free (no additional payments)
(Seller: BS - Orlik, Karelia, Petrozavodsk.) Price 150 rubles. Order
Condition: choir
Baruzdin S.A. Svetlana is a pioneer. art.M.A.Bychkov M Children's literature 1978. 24s softcover, slightly less. format. Delivery within the Russian Federation is free (no extra charges)
(Seller: BS - Orlik, Karelia, Petrozavodsk.) Price 115 rubles. Order
Condition: chor.
Baruzdin S. Pioneer Svetlana. (Stories). Drawings by O. Korovin. M. Children's literature. 1978 32 p. Softcover, slightly enlarged format.
(Seller: BS - Kurenkovich, Saransk.) Price 65 rubles. Order
Stories about the life and study of a third grade girl. Series: Reading.
Condition: Excellent.
Baruzdin S. A. Svetlana-pioneer. Hood stories. Korovin O. Ser. we read ourselves M Det Lit 1978 32c Softcover, Regular size.
(Seller: BS - kilrO, Sortavala.) Price 115 rubles. Order
illust
Condition: Almost good
Baruzdin S. Pioneer Svetlana. series Reading for yourself. M. Det.Lit. 1978 30s. softcover, enlarged format.
(Seller: BS - Vasilich, Moscow.) Price 10 rubles. Order
stories for children.hud.Korovin O.
Condition: good.
Baruzdin S. About different differences. Poems, stories, short stories, fairy tales. Drawings by R. Pavlov, S. Savochkin, R. Melnikov, A. Gilev, M. Tkachev, R. Gabrielyan, G. Filatov. Chelyabinsk South Ural book publishing house 1965 194 p. Hardcover, regular format.
(Seller: BS - Hobbit, Saratov.) Price 300 rubles. Order
The first edition of stories and poems by S. Baruzdin. Contents: The Tale of the Tram, Big Svetlana, Svetlana is a Pioneer, Svetlana is our Seidesh, Who is studying today, Ravi and Shashi, Poems about a camel, Behemoth, Hands, Misunderstanding, How Snowball got to India, Step by step, Alyoshka from our house , A fairy tale that never ends.
Condition: Satisfactory, also missing the last page with the output data and there are prints of the disbanded library.
Baruzdin S. About different differences. Poems, novels, short stories, fairy tales Chelyabinsk South Ural book publishing house 1965 196 pages hardcover, regular format.
(Seller: BS - ALEX-A, Perm.) Price 300 rubles. Order
Condition: good, bruised ribs
Baruzdin S. About different differences. Poems, stories, short stories, fairy tales. Chelyabinsk South Ural book publishing house 1965 194 p., illus. hardcover, regular format.
(Seller: BS - bergam, Mari El.) Price 300 rubles. Order
Contents: The Tale of the Tram, Big Svetlana, Svetlana is a Pioneer, Svetlana is our Seidesh, Who is studying today, Ravi and Shashi, Poems about a camel, Behemoth, Hands, Misunderstanding, How Snowball got to India, Step by step, Alyoshka from our house , A fairy tale that never ends. Drawings by R. Pavlov, S. Savochkin, R. Melnikov, A. Gilev, M. Tkachev, R. Gabrielyan, G. Filatov.
Condition: block - very good, binding - good, worn edges, dedicatory inscription on the flyleaf.
See: see
Baruzdin S. Svetlana is a pioneer. Series: Reading. Drawings by O. Korovin. m. Children's literature. 1978. 16 pp. ill. Publisher's soft cover Enlarged format.
(Seller: BS - gornitsa, Novosibirsk.) Price 100 rubles. Order
Story.. With black and white drawings.
Condition: Excellent.
See: see see
Children's literature: Fairy tales, poems and fables
Baruzdin S. Pioneer Svetlana. Hood. O. Korovin M. Children's literature 1978 32s. Softcover, slightly enlarged format.
(Seller: BS - Bansarov, Nizhny Novgorod region, Sarov) Price 35 rubles. Order
Condition: Satisfactory
