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Boris Zhitkov
Stories about animals

Jackdaw

My brother and sister had a hand jackdaw. She ate from the hands, was given to stroke, flew away into the wild and flew back.

That time the sister began to wash. She took the ring off her hand, put it on the washbasin, and lathered her face with soap. And when she rinsed the soap, she looked: where is the ring? And there is no ring.

She called out to her brother:

- Give me the ring, don't tease! Why did you take it?

“I didn’t take anything,” the brother replied.

His sister quarreled with him and wept.

Grandma heard.

– What do you have here? - speaks. - Give me glasses, now I will find this ring.

Rushed to look for points - no points.

“I just put them on the table,” Grandma cries. - Where do they go? How can I put a needle in now?

And screamed at the boy.

- This is your business! Why are you teasing grandma?

The boy got offended and ran out of the house. He looks, - and a jackdaw flies over the roof, and something glitters under her beak. I looked closer - yes, these are glasses! The boy hid behind a tree and began to look. And the jackdaw sat on the roof, looked around to see if anyone could see, and began to push glasses on the roof with her beak into the crack.

Grandma came out onto the porch, says to the boy:

- Tell me, where are my glasses?

- On the roof! the boy said.

Grandma was surprised. And the boy climbed onto the roof and pulled out his grandmother's glasses from the crack. Then he pulled out the ring. And then he took out glasses, and then a lot of different money pieces.

The grandmother was delighted with the glasses, and the sister gave the ring and said to her brother:

- Forgive me, I thought of you, and this is a jackdaw-thief.

And reconciled with my brother.

Grandma said:

- These are all of them, jackdaws and magpies. What glitters, everything is dragged.

Evening

The cow Masha goes to look for her son, the calf Alyoshka. Don't see him anywhere. Where did he disappear to? It's time to go home.

And the calf Alyoshka ran, got tired, lay down in the grass. The grass is tall - Alyoshka can not be seen.

The cow Masha was frightened that her son Alyoshka was gone, and how she hums with all her strength:

Masha was milked at home, a whole bucket of fresh milk was milked. They poured Alyoshka into a bowl:

- On, drink, Alyoshka.

Alyoshka was delighted - he had wanted milk for a long time - he drank everything to the bottom and licked the bowl with his tongue.

Alyoshka got drunk, he wanted to run around the yard. As soon as he ran, suddenly a puppy jumped out of the booth - and bark at Alyoshka. Alyoshka was frightened: it must be a terrible beast, if it barks so loudly. And he started to run.

Alyoshka ran away, and the puppy did not bark anymore. Quiet became a circle. Alyoshka looked - no one was there, everyone went to sleep. And I wanted to sleep. I lay down and fell asleep in the yard.

The cow Masha also fell asleep on the soft grass.

The puppy also fell asleep at his booth - he was tired, he barked all day.

The boy Petya also fell asleep in his bed - he was tired, he ran all day.

The bird has long since fallen asleep.

She fell asleep on a branch and hid her head under the wing so that it would be warmer to sleep. Also tired. She flew all day, catching midges.

Everyone is asleep, everyone is sleeping.

Only the night wind does not sleep.

It rustles in the grass and rustles in the bushes.

About the monkey

I was twelve years old and in school. Once during the break, my comrade Yukhimenko comes up to me and says:

“Do you want me to give you a monkey?”

I didn’t believe it - I thought he would arrange some kind of trick for me, so that sparks would fall from his eyes, and he would say: this is the “monkey”. I'm not like that.

“Okay,” I say, “we know.

“No,” he says, “really. Living monkey. She is good. Her name is Yasha. And dad is angry.

- On whom?

- Yes, on us with Yashka. Take it away, he says, where you know. I think it's best for you.

After class we went to him. I still didn't believe. Did you really think I would have a live monkey? And kept asking what she was like. And Yukhimenko says:

- You'll see, don't be afraid, she's small.

Indeed, it was small. If it stands on its paws, then no more than half a yard. The muzzle is wrinkled, old woman, and the eyes are lively, shiny. The coat on it is red, and the paws are black. Like human hands in black gloves. She was wearing a blue vest.

Yukhimenko shouted:

- Yashka, Yashka, go, what will I give!

And put his hand in his pocket. The monkey yelled, “Ai! ouch! - and in two jumps Yuhimenka jumped into her arms. He immediately put it in his overcoat, in his bosom.

“Let's go,” he says.

I didn't believe my eyes. We walk down the street, we carry such a miracle, and no one knows what is in our bosom.

Dear Yukhimenko told me what to feed.

- Eat everything, come on. Sweet loves. Candy is a disaster! Dorvetsya - certainly devoured. Tea likes liquid and to be sweet. You are on top of her. Two pieces. Do not give a bite: he will eat sugar, but he will not drink tea.

I listened and thought: I won’t spare her even three pieces, she’s pretty, like a toy person. Then I remembered that she didn't even have a tail.

“You,” I say, “cut off her tail to the very root?”

“She is a monkey,” says Yukhimenko, “they don’t grow tails.”

We came to our house. Mom and girls were sitting at dinner. Yukhimenko and I entered right in our overcoats.

I speak:

- And who do we have!

Everyone turned around. Yukhimenko opened his overcoat. No one has yet managed to make out anything, but Yashka will jump from Yukhimenko to her mother on her head; pushed his legs - and on the sideboard. I laid down all my mom's hair.

Everyone jumped up and shouted:

- Oh, who, who is it?

And Yashka sat down on the sideboard and builds muzzles, champs, bares his teeth.

Yukhimenko was afraid that now they would scold him, and hurry to the door. They didn’t even look at him - everyone looked at the monkey. And suddenly the girls all unanimously tightened:

- How pretty!

And my mom did all the hair.

- Where does it come from?

I looked back. Yukhimenko is no more. So I am the owner. And I wanted to show that I know how to deal with a monkey. I put my hand in my pocket and shouted, as Yukhimenko had done earlier:

- Yashka, Yashka! Go, I'll give you something!

Everyone was waiting. But Yashka didn’t even look - he began to itch a little and often with a black paw.

Until the very evening, Yashka did not go down, but jumped on top: from the sideboard to the door, from the door to the closet, from there to the stove.

In the evening my father said:

- You can’t leave her like that for the night, she will turn the apartment upside down.

And I started catching Yashka. I'm to the buffet - he's on the stove. I brushed him out of there - he jumped on the clock. The clock ticked and began. And Yashka is already swinging on the curtains. From there - to the picture - the picture squinted - I was afraid that Yashka would throw himself at a hanging lamp.

But then everyone gathered and began to chase Yashka. They threw balls, spools, matches at him, and finally cornered him.

Yashka pressed himself against the wall, bared his teeth and clicked his tongue - he began to frighten. But they covered him with a woolen scarf and wrapped him up, tangled him up.

Yashka floundered, shouted, but he was soon twisted so that only one head remained sticking out. He turned his head, blinked his eyes, and it seemed that he was about to cry from resentment.

Don't swaddle the monkey every night! Father said:

- Bind. For the vest and to the leg, to the table.

I brought a rope, felt for a button on Yashka's back, threaded the rope into a loop and tied it tightly. Yashka's vest on his back was fastened with three buttons. Then I brought Yashka, as he was, wrapped up, to the table, tied the rope to the leg, and only then unwound the scarf.

Wow, how he started to jump! But where can he break the rope! He shouted, got angry and sat sadly on the floor.

I took sugar from the cupboard and gave it to Yashka. He grabbed a piece with his black paw and stuck it in his cheek. This made his entire face curl up.

I asked Yashka for a paw. He held out his pen to me.

Then I saw what pretty black marigolds she had on. Toy live pen! I began to stroke the paw and I think: just like a baby. And tickled his hand. And the baby somehow pulls its paw - once - and me on the cheek. I did not even have time to blink, but he slapped me in the face and jumped under the table. Sat down and grins. Here is the baby!

But then they sent me to sleep.

I wanted to tie Yashka to my bed, but they didn't let me. I kept listening to what Yashka was doing, and thought that he absolutely needed to arrange a bed so that he could sleep like people and cover himself with a blanket. I would put my head on a pillow. I thought and thought and fell asleep.

In the morning he jumped up - and, without getting dressed, to Yashka. No Yashka on a rope. There is a rope, a vest is tied to a rope, but there is no monkey. I see that all three buttons on the back are undone. It was he who unbuttoned his vest, left it on the rope, and he fought. I search around the room. I stomp with bare feet. Nowhere. I got scared. Well, how did he run away? Didn't stay a day, and here you are! I looked at the cabinets, in the stove - nowhere. He ran away to the street. And it's cold outside - it'll freeze, poor thing! And it got cold. I ran to get dressed. Suddenly I see something moving in my bed. The blanket moves. I even shuddered. That's where he is! It was cold for him on the floor, he ran away to my bed. Crawled under the covers. And I slept and did not know. Yashka, awake, was not shy, gave himself up, and I put a blue vest on him again.

When they sat down to drink tea, Yashka jumped up on the table, looked around, immediately found a sugar bowl, launched his paw and jumped on the door. He jumped so easily that he seemed to be flying, not jumping. The monkey has fingers on its feet, like on hands, and Yashka could grab with his feet. He did just that. He sits like a child, in someone's arms and folded his hands, and he himself pulls something from the table with his foot.

He pulls off a knife and, well, jump with a knife. This is to take away from him, and he will run away. Tea was given to Yashka in a glass. He hugged the glass like a bucket, drank and smacked. I don't mind sugar.

When I left for school, I tied Yashka to the door, to the handle. This time I tied a rope around his waist so that he could not break loose. When I came home, I saw from the hallway what Yashka was doing. He hung on the doorknob and rolled on the doors like a merry-go-round. It pushes off the jamb and rides to the wall. He kicks his foot into the wall and rides back.

When I sat down to prepare my lessons, I put Yashka on the table. He really liked to bask near the lamp. He was dozing like an old man in the sun, swaying and squinting as I poked the pen into the ink. Our teacher was strict, and I wrote the page neatly. I did not want to get wet, so as not to spoil it. Left to dry. I come and see: Yakov is sitting on a notebook, dipping his finger into the inkwell, grumbling and drawing ink Babylons according to my writing. Oh you bastard! I almost cried with grief. Rushed at Yashka. Yes, where! He's on the curtains - all the curtains are stained with ink. That's why Yuhimenkin's dad was angry with them and Yashka ...

But once my dad got angry with Yashka. Yashka picked off the flowers that stood on our windows. Tear off the leaf and tease. Father caught and blew Yashka. And then he tied him as a punishment on the stairs that led to the attic. Narrow ladder. And the wide one went down from the apartment.

Father goes to work in the morning. He cleaned himself up, put on his hat, and went down the stairs. Clap! The plaster is falling. Father stopped, shook it off his hat. I looked up - no one. Just went - bang, again a piece of lime right on the head. What's happened?

And I could see from the side how Yashka was operating. He broke lime from the wall, laid it out along the edges of the steps, and lay down himself, hid on the stairs, just above his father's head. Only his father went, and Yashka quietly pushed the plaster from the step with his foot and tried it on so deftly that it was right on his father’s hat - it was he who took revenge on him because his father had blown him up the day before.

But when the real winter began, the wind howled in the pipes, the windows filled up with snow, Yashka became sad. I warmed him up, pressed him to me. Yashka's muzzle became sad, sagging, he squealed and clung to me. I tried to put it in my bosom, under my jacket. Yashka immediately settled down there: he grabbed his shirt with all four paws and hung there as if he was stuck. He slept there without opening his paws. You'll forget another time that you have a living belly under your jacket, and you'll lean on the table. Yashka will now scrape my side with her paw: she lets me know to be careful.

Once on Sunday the girls came to visit. Sat down for breakfast. Yashka quietly sat in my bosom, and he was not at all noticeable. At the end, sweets were handed out. As soon as I began to unfold the first one, suddenly from behind my bosom, right from my stomach, a shaggy hand stretched out, grabbed the candy and back. The girls screamed in fear. And it was Yashka who heard that they were rustling paper, and guessed that they were eating sweets. And I tell the girls: “This is my third hand; With this hand, I stick sweets right into the stomach, so as not to mess around for a long time. But everyone already guessed that it was a monkey, and from under the jacket one could hear how the candy crunched: it was Yashka nibbling and munching, as if I were chewing on my stomach.

Yashka was angry with his father for a long time. Yashka reconciled with him because of the sweets. My father had just given up smoking and instead of cigarettes he carried small sweets in his cigarette case. And every time after dinner, my father opened the tight lid of the cigarette case with his thumb, fingernail, and took out sweets. Yashka is right there: sitting on his knees and waiting - fidgeting, stretching. So the father once gave the whole cigarette case to Yashka; Yashka took it in his hand, and with the other hand, just like my father, he began to pick the lid with his thumb. His finger is small, and the lid is tight and tight, and nothing comes out of Yashenka. He howled in annoyance. And the candies are rattling. Then Yashka grabbed his father by the thumb and with his fingernail, like a chisel, began to pick off the lid. This made my father laugh, he opened the lid and brought the cigarette case to Yashka. Yashka immediately launched his paw, grabbed a full handful, quickly into his mouth and ran away. Not every day is such happiness!

We had a doctor friend. Loved to chat - trouble. Especially at lunch. Everyone’s already finished, everything on his plate is cold, then he’ll just miss it - pick it up, hastily take a sip of two pieces:

- Thank you, I'm full.

One time he was having lunch with us, he poked a fork into a potato and brandished this fork - he says. Dispersed - do not appease. And Yasha, I see, climbs up the back of the chair, quietly crept up and sat down at the doctor's shoulder. Doctor says:

“And, you see, it’s just…” And he stopped the fork with potatoes near his ear – for one moment of everything. Yashenka softly took the potato with her sweetheart and removed it from the fork - carefully, like a thief.

- And imagine ... - And poke an empty fork into your mouth. He was embarrassed - he thought, shook off the potatoes, when he waved his arms, looks around. But Yashka is no longer there - he sits in the corner and cannot chew potatoes, he scored his whole throat.

The doctor himself laughed, but still he was offended by Yashka.

Yashka made a bed in a basket: with a sheet, a blanket, a pillow. But Yashka did not want to sleep like a human: he wound everything around himself in a ball and sat like this all night. They sewed a dress for him, green, with a cape, and he became like a shorn girl from an orphanage.

That time I hear a ringing in the next room. What's happened? I make my way quietly and see: Yashka is standing on the windowsill in a green dress, he has a lamp glass in one hand, and a hedgehog in the other, and he cleans the glass with a hedgehog with a frenzy. He was so furious that he did not hear me enter. It was he who saw how the windows were cleaned, and let's try it ourselves.

And then you leave him in the evening with a lamp, he turns away the fire with a full flame - the lamp smokes, soot flies around the room, and he sits and growls at the lamp.

The trouble was with Yashka, at least put him in a cage! I scolded him and beat him, but for a long time I could not be angry with him. When Yashka wanted to please, he became very affectionate, climbed onto his shoulder and began to search in his head. It means he loves you very much.

He needs to beg for something - sweets there or an apple - now he will climb onto his shoulder and carefully begin to sort through his hair with his paws: he searches and scratches with a fingernail. He does not find anything, but pretends to have caught an animal: he bites something from his fingers.

Once a lady came to visit us. She thought she was beautiful. Discharged. Everything is so silky and rustling. There is not a hairstyle on the head, but a whole arbor of hair twisted right up - in curls, in ringlets. And on the neck, on a long chain, a mirror in a silver frame.

Yashka cautiously jumped up to her on the floor.

- Oh, what a pretty monkey! the lady says. And let's play with Yashka with a mirror.

Yashka caught the mirror, turned it around - jumped on his knees to the lady and began to try the mirror on the tooth.

The lady took away the mirror and held it in her hand. And Yashka wants to get a mirror. The lady carelessly stroked Yashka with her glove and slowly pushes him off her knees. So Yashka decided to please, to flatter the lady. Jump on her shoulder. He firmly grabbed the lace with his hind legs and took up his hair. He dug up all the curls and began to search.

The lady blushed.

- Go, go! - speaks.

It wasn't there! Yashka tries even harder: he scratches with his nails, clicks his teeth.

This lady always sat down in front of the mirror to admire herself, and sees in the mirror that Yashka has disheveled her, she almost cries. I moved to the rescue. Where there! Yashka clutched his hair with all his strength and looked at me wildly. The lady pulled him by the collar, and Yashka twisted her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror - a stuffed animal. I swung, frightened off Yashka, and our guest grabbed her head and - through the door.

“Disgrace,” he says, “disgrace!” And didn't say goodbye to anyone.

“Well,” I think, “I’ll keep it until spring and give it to someone if Yukhimenko doesn’t take it. I got so much for this monkey!”

And now spring has come. It got warmer. Yashka came to life and played even more pranks. He really wanted to go outside, to be free. And our yard was huge, about a tithe. In the middle of the yard was a heap of state-owned coal, and around warehouses with goods. And from the thieves the watchman kept a whole pack of dogs in the yard. Dogs are big and mean. And all the dogs were commanded by the red dog Kashtan. Whoever Chestnut growls at, all the dogs rush at. Whom Chestnut will miss, and the dogs will not touch. And someone else's dog was beaten by Kashtan with a running chest. He strikes, knocks her down and stands over her, growls, and she is already afraid to move.

I looked out the window - I see there are no dogs in the yard. Give, I think, I'll go, I'll take Yashenka out for a walk for the first time. I put a green dress on him so that he would not catch a cold, put Yashka on my shoulder and went. As soon as I opened the doors, Yashka jumped to the ground and ran around the yard. And suddenly, out of nowhere, the whole pack of dogs, and Chestnut in front, right on Yashka. And he, like a little green doll, stands small. I already decided that Yashka was gone - now they will tear it apart. Chestnut poked his head towards Yashka, but Yashka turned to him, sat down, took aim. The chestnut stood a step away from the monkey, grinned and grumbled, but did not dare to rush at such a miracle. The dogs all bristled and waited for Chestnut.

I wanted to rush to the rescue. But suddenly Yashka jumped and at one moment sat down on Chestnut's neck. And then the wool flew in shreds from Chestnut. Yashka beat on the muzzle and eyes, so that the paws were not visible. Howled Chestnut, and in such a terrible voice that all the dogs rushed in all directions. Chestnut started to run headlong, and Yashka sits, clutching his feet into the wool, holding on tightly, and with his hands tears Chestnut by the ears, pinching the wool in tatters. The chestnut has gone mad: it rushes around the coal mountain with a wild howl. Three times Yashka ran around the yard on horseback and jumped onto the coal on the move. Climbed slowly to the top. There was a wooden box there; he climbed onto the booth, sat down and began scratching his side as if nothing had happened. Here, they say, I - I do not care!

And Chestnut - at the gate from a terrible beast.

Since then, I boldly began to let Yashka out into the yard: only Yashka from the porch - all the dogs at the gate. Yashka was not afraid of anyone.

Carts will come to the yard, they will fill the whole yard, there is nowhere to go. And Yashka flies from cart to cart. The horse jumps on its back - the horse tramples, shakes its mane, snorts, and Yashka slowly jumps to another. The drivers only laugh and wonder:

“Look how Satan is jumping. Look you! Whoo!

And Yashka - on the bags. Looking for slits. He sticks his paw in and feels what is there. He feels where the sunflowers are, sits and immediately clicks on the cart. It happened that Yashka would grope for nuts. He will fill his cheeks and with all four hands he tries to warm up.

But Jacob found an enemy. Yes, what! There was a cat in the yard. Nobody. He lived at the office, and everyone fed him scraps. He got fat, became big, like a dog. He was evil and scratchy.

And once in the evening Yashka was walking around the yard. I couldn't call him home. I see a cat went out into the yard and jumped onto a bench that stood under a tree. Yashka, as he saw the cat, went straight to him. He sat down and walked slowly on four paws. Directly to the bench and does not take his eyes off the cat. The cat picked up its paws, hunched its back, and got ready. And Yashka crawls closer and closer. The cat's eyes widened, backing away. Yashka on the bench. The cat is all back to the other side, to the tree. My heart stopped. And Yakov is crawling on the bench towards the cat. The cat already shrunk into a ball, crept up all over. And suddenly - jump, but not on Yashka, but on a tree. He clung to the trunk and looked down at the monkey. And Yashka is still the same way to the tree. The cat scratched himself higher - he was used to escaping in the trees. And Yashka on the tree, and all slowly, aims at the cat with black eyes. The cat, higher, higher, climbed onto a branch and sat down on the very edge. See what Yashka will do. And Yakov crawls along the same branch, and so confidently, as if he had never done anything else, but only caught cats. The cat is already on the very edge, barely holding on to a thin branch, swaying. And Yakov crawls and crawls, tenaciously turning over with all four handles. Suddenly the cat jumped from the very top onto the pavement, shook himself and ran away at full speed without looking back. And Yashka from the tree after him: “Yau, yau,” - in some terrible, bestial voice - I have never heard such a thing from him.

Now Jacob has become quite the king in the court. At home, he didn’t want to eat anything, he only drank tea with sugar. And since he ate so much raisins in the yard that they barely left him. Yashka groaned, tears in his eyes, and looked capriciously at everyone. At first, everyone was very sorry for Yashka, but when he saw that they were messing with him, he began to break and scatter his arms, throw his head back and howl in different voices. We decided to wrap him up and give him castor oil. Let him know!

And he liked the castor oil so much that he began to yell for more. He was swaddled and was not allowed into the yard for three days.

Yashka soon recovered and began to rush into the yard. I was not afraid for him: no one could catch him, and Yashka jumped around the yard for days on end. At home it became calmer, and I flew less for Yashka. And when autumn came, everyone in the house unanimously:

- Wherever you want, take your monkey away or put it in a cage, and so that this Satan does not rush throughout the apartment.

They said how pretty, but now, I think, Satan has become. And as soon as the study began, I began to look in the class for someone to fuse Yashka. Finally he found a comrade, called him aside and said:

- Do you want me to give you a monkey? I live.

I don’t know to whom he then fused Yashka. But at first, when Yashka was gone in the house, I saw that everyone was a little bored, although they did not want to admit it.

© Ill., Semenyuk I.I., 2014

© AST Publishing House LLC, 2014

All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet and corporate networks, for private and public use, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Petya lived with his mother and sisters on the top floor, and the teacher lived on the bottom floor. That time my mother went to swim with the girls. And Petya was left alone to guard the apartment.

When everyone left, Petya began to try his homemade cannon. She was from an iron tube. Petya filled the middle with gunpowder, and there was a hole in the back to light the gunpowder. But no matter how hard Petya tried, he could not set it on fire in any way. Petya was very angry. He went into the kitchen. He put chips into the stove, poured them with kerosene, put a cannon on top and lit it: “Now it will probably shoot!”

The fire flared up, buzzed in the stove - and suddenly, how a shot would bang! Yes, such that all the fire was thrown out of the stove.

Petya got scared and ran out of the house. Nobody was at home, nobody heard anything. Petya ran away. He thought that maybe everything would go out on its own. And nothing faded. And it flared up even more.

The teacher was walking home and saw smoke coming from the upper windows. He ran to the post, where a button was made behind the glass. This is a call to the fire department.

The teacher broke the glass and pressed the button.

The fire brigade rang. They quickly rushed to their fire trucks and rushed at full speed. They drove up to the pole, and there the teacher showed them where the fire was burning. The firefighters had a pump on the car. The pump began to pump water, and firefighters began to fill the fire with water from rubber pipes. Firefighters put ladders to the windows and climbed into the house to find out if there were people left in the house. There was no one in the house. The firemen began to take things out.

Petya's mother came running when the whole apartment was already on fire. The policeman did not let anyone close, so as not to interfere with the firefighters. The most necessary things did not have time to burn down, and the firemen brought them to Petya's mother.

And Petya's mother kept crying and saying that, probably, Petya burned down, because he was nowhere to be seen.

And Petya was ashamed, and he was afraid to approach his mother. The boys saw him and forcibly brought him.

The firefighters put out the fire so well that nothing on the lower floor burned down. The firefighters got into their cars and drove away. And the teacher let Petya's mother live with him until the house was repaired.

On an ice floe

In winter, the sea is frozen. The fishermen of the collective farm gathered on the ice to fish. We took the nets and rode on a sledge on the ice. Andrey the fisherman also went, and with him his son Volodya. We went far, far away. And wherever you look, everything is ice and ice: the sea is so frozen. Andrei and his comrades drove the farthest. They made holes in the ice and began to launch nets through them. The day was sunny and everyone had fun. Volodya helped untangle the fish from the nets and was very happy that a lot was being caught.

Already large heaps of frozen fish lay on the ice. Volodin's father said:

"That's enough, it's time to go home."

But everyone began to ask to stay overnight and catch again in the morning. In the evening they ate, wrapped themselves more tightly in sheepskin coats, and went to bed in the sleigh. Volodya snuggled up to his father to keep him warm, and fell asleep soundly.

Suddenly at night the father jumped up and shouted:

Comrades, get up! Look, what a wind! There would be no trouble!

Everyone jumped up and ran.

- Why are we rocking? Volodya shouted.

And the father shouted:

- Trouble! We were torn off and carried on an ice floe into the sea.

All the fishermen ran on the ice floe and shouted:

- Tore off, tore off!

And someone shouted:

- Gone!

Volodya cried. During the day, the wind became even stronger, the waves splashed on the ice floe, and all around was only the sea. Papa Volodin tied a mast out of two poles, tied a red shirt at the end and set it up like a flag. Everyone looked to see if there was a steamer anywhere. From fear, no one wanted to eat or drink. And Volodya lay in the sleigh and looked into the sky: if the sun would peep. And suddenly, in a clearing between the clouds, Volodya saw a plane and shouted:

- Airplane! Airplane!

Everyone started shouting and waving their hats. A bag fell off the plane. It contained food and a note: “Hold on! Help is coming! An hour later, a steamboat arrived and reloaded people, sledges, horses and fish. It was the head of the port who found out that eight fishermen were carried away on the ice floe. He sent a ship and a plane to help them. The pilot found the fishermen and on the radio told the captain of the ship where to go.

The girl Valya was eating fish and suddenly choked on a bone. Mom screamed:

- Eat the peel soon!

But nothing helped. Tears flowed from Vali's eyes. She could not speak, but only wheezed, waving her arms.

Mom got scared and ran to call the doctor. And the doctor lived forty kilometers away. Mom told him on the phone to come as soon as possible.

The doctor immediately gathered his tweezers, got into the car and drove to Valya. The road ran along the coast. On one side there was the sea, and on the other side there were steep cliffs. The car raced at full speed.

The doctor was very afraid for Valya.

Suddenly, ahead of one rock crumbled into stones and covered the road. It became impossible to go. It was still far away. But the doctor still wanted to walk.

Suddenly a horn sounded from behind. The driver looked back and said:

“Wait, doctor, help is coming!”

And it was a truck in a hurry. He drove up to the rubble. People jumped out of the truck. They removed the pump machine and rubber pipes from the truck and ran the pipe into the sea.

The pump worked. He sucked water from the sea through a pipe, and then drove it into another pipe. From this pipe, water flew out with terrible force. It flew out with such force that people could not hold the end of the pipe: it shook and thrashed so. It was screwed to an iron stand and the water was directed straight at the collapse. It turned out as if they were shooting water from a cannon. The water hit the landslide so hard that it knocked clay and stones and carried them into the sea.

The entire collapse was washed away by water from the road.

- Hurry, let's go! the doctor shouted to the driver.

The driver started the car. The doctor came to Valya, took out his tweezers and removed a bone from his throat.

And then he sat down and told Valya how the road had blocked up and how the hydroram pump had washed away the landslide.

How one boy drowned

One boy went fishing. He was eight years old. He saw logs on the water and thought it was a raft: they lay so tightly one to the other. “I’ll sit on a raft,” the boy thought, “and from the raft you can cast a fishing rod far!”

The postman walked by and saw that the boy was walking towards the water.

The boy took two steps along the logs, the logs parted, and the boy could not resist, fell into the water between the logs. And the logs converged again and closed over him like a ceiling.

The postman grabbed his bag and ran with all his might to the shore.

He kept looking at the place where the boy had fallen, so that he knew where to look.

I saw that the postman was running headlong, and I remembered that the boy was walking, and I see that he was gone.

At the same moment I set off to where the postman was running. The postman stood at the very water's edge and pointed to one place with his finger.

He did not take his eyes off the logs. And he just said.

Children's literature should always contain inspiration and talent at its core. Boris Stepanovich Zhitkov, first of all, proceeded from the conviction that it should never appear as a supplement to adult literature. After all, most of the books that children will definitely read are a textbook of life. The invaluable experience that children gain by reading books has exactly the same value as real life experience.

The child always strives to copy the heroes of a literary work or openly does not like them - in any case, literary works allow you to directly and very naturally merge into real life, take the side of good and fight evil. That is why Zhitkov wrote stories about animals in such a wonderful language.

He very clearly understood that any book that was read by a child would remain in his memory for the rest of his life. It is thanks to this that the stories of Boris Zhitkov quickly give children a clear idea of ​​the interconnectedness of generations, the valor of enthusiasts and workers.

All Zhitkov's stories are presented in prose format, but the poetic nature of his narratives is clearly felt in any line. The writer was convinced that without the memory of his childhood, it makes little sense to create literature for children. Zhitkov clearly and vividly teaches children to determine where good and bad are. He shares his invaluable experience with the reader, strives to most accurately convey all his thoughts, tries to attract the child to active interaction.

The writer Boris Zhitkov created stories about animals in such a way that they vividly reflect all of his rich and sincere inner world, his principles and moral ideals. For example, in the wonderful story "About the Elephant" Zhitkov talks about respect for other people's work, and his story "Mongoose" clearly conveys the energy, strength and accuracy of the Russian language. On our website, we tried to collect as many of his works as possible, so you can read Zhitkov's stories, as well as see their entire list, absolutely free of charge.

All the work of the beloved writer is inextricably linked with thoughts about children and care for their upbringing. Throughout his short life, he communicated with them, and, like a professional researcher, studied how his fairy tales and stories affect sensitive and kind children's souls.

We lived on the sea, and my dad had a good boat with sails. I knew how to walk on it perfectly - both on oars and under sails. And still, my dad never let me into the sea alone. And I was twelve years old. One day, my sister Nina and I found out that my father was leaving home for two days, and we started to go on a boat to the other side; and on the other side of the bay stood a very pretty house...

I really wanted to have a real, live mongoose. Your own. And I decided: when our steamer comes to the island of Ceylon, I will buy myself a mongoose and give all the money, no matter how much they ask. And here is our ship off the island of Ceylon. I wanted to quickly run to the shore, quickly find where they are sold, these animals. And suddenly a black man comes to us on the ship (there people are all ...

RED COMMANDER

My mother was driving to the city with little guys in a cart. Here they have entered
street, suddenly the horses were frightened of something and carried.
The coachman pulled the reins with all his strength, fell off completely back - nothing
the horses do not smell, they carry at full speed, the britzka is about to turn over.
The mother of the children embraced and shouted:
- Oh, hold on, hold on!
And passers-by shied away, huddled up to the houses and shouted:
- Hold on! Hold on!
I meet a carter with a hay cart.
The driver was frightened, quickly turned aside, almost overturned his cart and
shouts: "Hold! Hold!" And the britzka rushes, the horses gallop like crazy.
The chaise is about to break, and everyone will fly onto the stone pavement from all over.
expansion.
Suddenly, a red commander on horseback rode around the corner. And the chaise right on
it is carried. The commander understood what was the matter. Didn't shout anything, but turned
his horse and stood in front of the carriage.
Everyone was watching, waiting for the commander to gallop away, how close the mad
horses! And the commander is standing, and the horse under him does not move. That's completely
a britzka flies - suddenly the horses came to their senses and began to. A little bit to the commander
arrived.
And the commander pushed the horse with his foot and rode on.

FLOWER

The girl Nastya lived with her mother. Once Nastya was presented in a pot
flower. Nastya brought home and put it on the window.
- Fu, what an ugly flower! Mom said. - His leaves are like tongues,
Yes, even with thorns. Probably poisonous. I won't water it.
Nastya said:
- I'll water it myself. Maybe he will have beautiful flowers.
The flower grew big, big, but did not think to bloom.
- It must be thrown away, - said my mother, - from him there is no beauty, no joy.
When Nastya fell ill, she was very afraid that her mother would throw away the flower or
will not water and it will dry out.
Mom called the doctor to Nastya and said:
- Look, doctor, my girl is still ill and now she is completely taken ill.
The doctor examined Nastya and said:
- If you took out the leaves of one plant. They are like puffed up and with spikes.
- Mommy! Nastya screamed. - This is my flower. Here he is!
The doctor looked and said:
- He is. Boil the leaves from it, and let Nastya drink. And she
get better.
“But I wanted to throw it away,” my mother said.
Mom began to give these leaves to Nastya, and soon Nastya got out of bed.
- Here, - said Nastya, - I took care of him, my flower, and he
saved
And since then, my mother has spread a lot of these flowers and always gave Nastya a drink.
of them medicine.

SOAP

One boy kept wanting to know if soap floats. That's when he came to
kitchen. And in the kitchen there was a bucket full of water, and next to it was a new bar of soap.
The boy looked around and saw that no one was there. He took soap, put it in water and let it go.
Soap - Yurk! And under the water. The boy was frightened that he drowned the soap. Ran out of the kitchen
and didn't tell anyone.
Everyone went to bed, and no one missed the new soap.
The next morning, mother began to put the samovar. He sees: there is not enough water in the bucket.
She threw everything into the samovar and quickly into the water to top up the samovar.
Everyone sat down at the table to drink tea. Mother brought the samovar to the table.
The samovar boils. Everyone looks - what a miracle! Bubbles are bubbling from under the lid, and
more and more. Look - and the whole samovar is in foam.
Suddenly the boy began to cry and shouted:
- I thought it was floating! - And told how it was.
- Ah, - said my mother, - that means I'm with soap and water in the samovar
splashed out and then topped up fresh.
The father said to the boy:
- You'd better try it in a plate than drown it in a bucket. And cry
nothing. Now I have to go to work without tea, and you see, I don't cry.
The father patted his son on the shoulder and went to work.

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Three brothers were walking in the mountains along the road. They were going down. It was evening, and below they
have already seen how the window in their house lit up.
Suddenly clouds gathered, it immediately became dark, thunder boomed, and it began to rain.
The rain was so heavy that water flowed down the road, like in a river.
Senior said:
- Wait, here is a rock, it will cover us a little from the rain.
All three sat down under a rock and waited.
The youngest, Akhmet, was tired of sitting, he said:
- I will go. Why be afraid? Close to home. I don't want to be here with you
get wet. I will have supper and sleep in a dry bed.
- Do not go - you will be lost, - said the elder.
- I'm not a coward, - said Ahmet and went out from under the rock.
He boldly walked along the road - he did not care about water.
And the water was already tossing stones and rolling them down after itself. The stones were catching up with
Akhmet was beaten on the legs during dispersal. He started to run.
He wanted to see the light in the house ahead, but the rain was so pouring that nothing
was not visible ahead.
"Won't you come back?" thought Ahmed. But I felt ashamed: I boasted - now
his brothers laugh.
Then lightning flashed, and such thunder struck, as if all the mountains were cracked and
fell down. When the lightning flashed, Ahmet didn't know where he was.
"Oh, I think I'm lost," thought Akhmet and was frightened.
His legs were beaten with stones, and he walked more quietly.
He walked very quietly and was afraid to stumble. Suddenly hit again
lightning, and Ahmet saw that right in front of him was a cliff and a black abyss.
Ahmet just sat down on the ground out of fear.
“Here,” thought Akhmet, “if I took another step, I would fall down and
I'd be crushed to death."
Now he was afraid to go back. And suddenly there is a break again and
abyss.
He sat on the wet ground, and cold rain poured down on him from above.
Ahmed thought:
“It’s good that I didn’t take another step: I would have disappeared altogether.”
And when morning came and a thunderstorm passed, the brothers found Akhmet. He was sitting on
edge of the abyss and all numb from the cold.
The brothers did not say anything to him, but picked him up and took him home.

HOW SASHA SCARED MOM

Mom went to the market, and she told me:
- Lock yourself on the hook and don't let anyone in, otherwise, look, thieves-robbers
will come.
I didn’t lock myself up, but when my mother left, I took a washcloth, ruffled it and tied it up -
came out like a beard.
Then he took out coal from the stove and smeared his mustache under his nose. On my head
I put on my dad's shirt. I looked in the mirror and see that I have become very scary.
Then I put a stool in the passage. He put boots in front of the stool, himself
I put on my father's sheepskin coat, I took an ax in my hand and climbed onto a stool.
I waited for a long time, suddenly I hear: my mother is coming. She pulled the door, the door and
opened. As she saw that she was so big and with an ax, she became
doors.
I raised my ax hand and said:
- I'm a robber.
Suddenly my mother laughed and said:
- You are not a robber at all, but Sasha. And she pushed me off the stool. - Ugh,
how frightened!
And this is why she found out that I have a thin voice. Then she said to
I didn’t dare any more - after all, it means I was frightened.

BEARD

One old man was walking through the ice at night. And it was quite approaching the shore, as
suddenly the ice broke, and the old man fell into the water. And there was a steamer at the shore, and with
of the steamer, an iron chain went into the water to the anchor.
The old man reached the chain and began to climb it. Got out a bit, tired and
began to shout: "Save!"
The sailor on the ship heard, looked, - and on the anchor chain someone
clinging and screaming.
The sailor did not think for a long time, found the rope, grabbed the end in his teeth and
climbed down the chain to save the old man.
- Here, - says the sailor, - tie the rope, grandfather, I'll pull you out.
And grandpa says:
- You can’t pull me: my beard is frozen to the iron.
The sailor took out a knife.
- Cut off, - he says, - grandfather, beard.
- No, - says the grandfather. How can I be without a beard?
“You won’t hang on your beard until spring,” said the sailor, snatched
stabbed his beard, tied the old man around and pulled him out with a rope.
Then the sailor brought him to a warm cabin and said:
- Undress, grandfather, go to bed, and I'll warm you tea.
- What tea, - says the grandfather, - if I am now without a beard. - And cried.
“You are funny, grandfather,” said the sailor. - You almost disappeared completely, but
why spare a beard if it grows.
The old man pulled off his wet clothes and lay down in a warm bed.
And in the morning he said to the sailor:
- Your truth: a beard will grow, and without you I would be lost.

HOW THE BOY DRONKED

I walked along the shore and watched the carpenters build the pier. huge
logs floated in the water tightly one to one. They were taken out of the water and slaughtered
into the bottom, so that a whole log fence stuck out of the water. Suddenly it seemed to me
that where the piles floated, something flashed. I didn't know what, but I ran there.
I kept my eyes on this place and ran with all my might.
And from the side I saw out of the corner of my eye: just there the telegraph operator was running. Runs with
all legs and holding on to the stomach. He had a bag with telegrams on his belt, and
he was afraid they would fall out.
The telegraph operator also looked in the same place where I looked. The earth is scree there
descended to the water, and piles floated on the water - tightly, like a raft. telegraph operator
he didn’t say a word to me, but only pointed his finger, put his feet on the scree and
extended his hand. I didn't say a word either, but took the telegraph operator firmly by the
hand, and he lay down on the piles and put his hand between them - in the very place where
we both watched without taking our eyes off it.
I began to fumble with my hand in the water. And suddenly little fingers caught me and
gripped my hand tightly. I grabbed too. And then the telegraph operator pulled
me to the shore. The piles parted, and after my hand a small hand came out,
and behind it is a head, and we pulled the boy out. He was red, seven years old. He blinked
eyes and said nothing. The carpenters arrived. One took the boy, picked it up and
shook above the ground. The boy poured out water from his mouth. They put him on his feet and
asked: how did he drown? The boy said that he wanted to walk on the piles, and they
underfoot parted, and he fell with his head between them. And then they got together
above him like a ceiling. And now he cried:
- Where's my hat? Where is the rod! I won't go home without a hat.
Everyone began to laugh: say thank you for staying alive, and you about the hat
crying.
I found his fishing rod and began to look for his hat in the water. Grabbed and pulled out.
But it was an old bast shoe. Then he hooked it again, and it was a wet cap.
The boy began to feel sorry for her that she was wet. I went. And when I looked back, boy
kept holding his cap and crying.
The telegraph operator waved his hand, looked to see if there were any telegrams, and hurried
away.

HARMONIC

One uncle had an accordion. He played it very well, and I
came to listen. He hid it and did not give it to anyone. The accordion was very
good, and he was afraid that they would break it. And I really wanted to try.
Once I came when my uncle was having dinner. He finished eating, and I became
ask to play. And he said:
- What game! I want to sleep.
I began to beg and even cried. Then the uncle said:
- Okay, just a little.
And he took out an accordion from the chest. Played a little, put the accordion on the table,
and he himself fell asleep on the bench.
I thought: "That's when happiness came to me. I'll quietly take the accordion and
I'll try it in the yard."
I got used to it, grabbed the accordion by the handle and pulled. And how she barks at
all voices are alive. Frightened, I withdrew my hand. Then the uncle jumped up.
- You, - he says, - what is it!
And to me, yes, by the hand.
Then I cried and told the whole truth.
- Well, - said the uncle, - do not cry: if you have such a desire, come, I
I will teach you.
I came, and my uncle showed me how to play. I have learned and now
I play very well.

FIRE

Petya lived with his mother and sisters on the top floor, and lived on the bottom floor.
teacher. That time my mother went to swim with the girls. And Petya was left alone
guard the apartment.
When everyone left, Petya began to try his homemade cannon. She was from
iron tube. Petya stuffed gunpowder in the middle, and there was a hole in the back so that
ignite gunpowder. But no matter how hard Petya tried, he could not set it on fire in any way. Peter
very angry. He went into the kitchen. He put chips in the Stove, watered them
kerosene, put a cannon on top and lit it. "Now it will probably shoot!"
The fire flared up, buzzed in the stove - and suddenly, how a shot would bang! Yes
such that all the fire from the stove was thrown out.
Petya got scared and ran out of the house. Nobody was at home, nobody did anything
heard. Petya ran away. He thought that maybe everything would go out on its own.
And nothing faded. And it flared up even more.
The teacher was walking home and saw smoke coming from the upper windows. He ran to
a column where a button was made behind the glass. This is a call to the fire department. Teacher
broke the glass and pressed the button.
The fire brigade rang. They quickly rushed to their fire trucks
and ran at full speed. They drove up to the post, and there the teacher showed them
where it burns The firefighters had a pump in their cars. The pump started to pump water, and
firefighters began to fill the fire with water from rubber pipes. Firefighters assigned
stairs to the windows and climbed into the house to find out if there were people left in the house.
There was no one in the house. The firemen began to take things out.
Petya's mother came running when the whole apartment was already on fire. Policeman
He didn’t let anyone close so as not to interfere with the firefighters.
The most necessary things did not have time to burn down, and the firemen brought them to Petina
mom.
And Petya's mother was crying and saying that, probably, Petya burned down,
because it is nowhere to be seen.
And Petya was ashamed, and he was afraid to approach his mother. The boys saw him
forcibly brought.
The firefighters put out the fire so well that nothing on the lower floor burned down.
The firefighters got into their cars and drove away. And the teacher let Petya's mother go
live at home until the house is repaired.FLOOD

In our country there are such rivers that do not flow all the time in one place.
Such a river will either rush to the right, flow to the right, then after a while,
as if she was tired of leaking here, suddenly crawls to the left and floods her left
shore. And if the bank is high, the water will wash it away. The steep bank will collapse into
river, and if there was a house on the cliff, then the house will fly into the water.
A tugboat was sailing along such a river and pulling two barges. steamer
stopped at the pier to leave one barge there, and then to him from the shore
the chief came and said:
- Captain, you go further. Be careful not to run aground: the river
has gone strongly to the right and is now flowing along a completely different bottom. And now she's coming
more and more to the right and floods and washes away the shore.
- Oh, - said the captain, - my house is on the right bank, almost at the water's edge.
His wife and son remained there. Why didn't they manage to escape?
The captain ordered the machine to be launched at full speed. He hurried to
home and was very angry that the heavy barge was delaying the move.
The steamer sailed a little, when suddenly they demanded it to the shore with a signal.
The captain anchored the barge and steered the steamer ashore.
He saw that thousands of people with shovels and wheelbarrows were hurrying on the shore -
they carry earth, pour a wall to prevent the river from flooding the shore. Carry on
camels wooden logs to drive them into the shore and strengthen the wall. A
a machine with a high iron hand walks along the wall and scoops it up with a bucket
earth.
People ran up to the captain and asked:
- What's in the barge?
"Stone," said the captain.
Everyone shouted:
- Oh, how good! Let's come here! And then look out, now the river will break
wall and blur all our work. The river will rush to the fields and wash away all the crops.
There will be hunger. Hurry, hurry, let's stone!
Then the captain forgot about his wife and son. He started the steamer that is
spirit and brought the barge under the very shore.
People began to drag the stone and strengthened the wall. The river has stopped
didn't go. Then the captain asked:
- Do you know how it is at my house?
The chief sent a telegram, and soon the answer came. They also worked there
all the people that they were, and saved the house where the captain's wife lived with her son.
- Here, - said the chief, - here you helped ours, and there comrades
saved yours.HOW THE STEAMBOAT sank

There was a war. People were afraid that the enemies would not sail to their land on military
ships. Warships from cannons can smash everything on the shore. And then
can bring soldiers with them and land them ashore.
So, so that warships are afraid to approach the shore, at sea
they let in big round iron boxes. This box is designed in such a way that if
a steamer touches it, it will immediately explode. Yes, with such force that
will certainly make a hole in the steamer. And the steamer will begin to fill with water, and
then he might drown.
These boxes are called mines. So that the mines do not take away anywhere and that they
stood near the shore in the water, they are tied with a wire rope to heavy
anchors. Anchors lie firmly on the bottom and hold mines. To not have them on top
it can be seen that the wire rope is made shorter, so that the mine sits under water, but
not very deep. The steamer will not pass over it, it will certainly hook it with the bottom. When
fought, many warships ran into mines. Mines exploded and
sunk ships.
But now the war is over. The mines were taken out of the water. And when they calculated
it turned out that not all were taken out. A few mines still remain in the sea. They couldn't
find. Simple steamships, not military ones, began to sail on the sea. Simple steamers
transported people and goods from port to port, from country to country.
One ship was carrying cargo. It was summer and the weather was calm.
The steamer passed by the fishermen, and from the steamer everyone watched how the fishermen
they raise nets and see if there are many fish caught.
Suddenly there was such a blow, like thunder. The ship shook, and from under the side
soared into the air a sheaf of water above the mast. It was the ship that pushed the mine, and it
exploded. The ship began to sink rapidly.
The fishermen left their nets, sailed in boats to the steamer and took all the people.
The captain did not want to leave for a long time. He felt sorry for the ship. He thought that
maybe the steamer can somehow be saved and it won't sink. But everyone saw
that the ship would still sink. And the captain was taken by force into the boat.
The ship went to the bottom along with the cargo.

HOW THE STEAMBOAT IS RAISE FROM THE BOTTOM

The ship sank to the bottom and lay down, leaning on its side. He had a big
hole, and it was all filled with water.
The water was where the car is; water was in the cabins where people lived;
water was in the holds where the goods lay. Little fish came in to look, no
whether to profit.
The captain knew very well the place where his ship sank. There was not
very deep: divers could go down there. The ship decided to raise!
A rescue ship came and began to lower the divers under the water.
Divers are all dressed in rubber suits: water does not pass through them. chest and
the collar of this suit is copper. The diver's head is covered with copper
cap. This cap is screwed onto the collar. And in a copper cap there is
glass window - for the diver to look. And it goes into this cap
rubber pipe, air is pumped into it from above so that a diver under water can
breathe.
Divers tied huge cans - pontoons to the steamer. In these pontoons
let air through the pipes. The pontoons floated up, pulling the steamer with them.
When the ship surfaced, everyone rejoiced, and most of all the captain. steamer
taken in tow for repairs. There was only one person on it. This is the captain
I wanted to get on my ship as soon as possible. Twenty days they repaired the steamer - and
made a hole.

FIRE IN THE SEA

One steamer went to sea with a cargo of coal. The ship needed three more days
go to the place. Suddenly a mechanic from the engine room ran up to the captain and
said:
- We got very bad coal, it caught fire in our hold.
- Fill it with water! - said the captain.
- Late! replied the assistant captain. - It got very hot. This is all
like pouring water on a hot stove. There will be as much steam as in steam
boiler.
The captain said:
“Then plug the room where the coal burns so tightly that it is
like a sealed bottle. And the fire will go out.
- Will try! - said the assistant captain and ran to order.
And the captain turned the ship straight to the shore - to the nearest port. He gave in
this port a telegram on the radio: "My coal caught fire. I'm going at full speed to
you." And from there they answered: "Hold on as long as you can. Help is coming."
Everyone on the ship knew that their coal had caught fire, and they tried to
could, clog this coal so that air does not pass to it. But already
heated wall, which separated the coal. Everyone already knew that now
the fire will break out and there will be a terrible fire.
And from the sea telegrams came by radio from three rescue ships, which
they rush to help at full speed.
The captain's assistant climbed up the mast to see from a height where
steamships. The steamers were not seen for a long time, and the sailors already thought that they would have to
lower the boats and leave the ship.
Suddenly a flame burst out of the hold and such a fire rose that the boats
couldn't get through. Everyone screamed in horror. Only the assistant was not afraid
the captain who stood on the mast.
He pointed into the distance. And everyone saw that there, in the distance, they were in a hurry
three ships. People were delighted, rushed to put out the fire themselves, as best they could. A
as rescue boats approached, so many fire engines were set in motion,
that soon extinguished the entire fire.
Then they took the steamer to the port, and in the port they repaired it, and a month later it
went further.

ON THE ICE ICE

In winter, the sea is frozen. The fishermen of the collective farm gathered on the ice to fish.
We took the nets and rode on a sledge on the ice. The fisherman Andrey also went, and with him
son Volodya. We went far, far away. And wherever you look, everything is ice and
ice: that's how frozen the sea is. Andrei and his comrades drove the farthest. done
holes in the ice and nets were launched through them. The day was sunny
it was fun. Volodya helped untangle the fish from the nets and was very glad that
caught a lot. Already large heaps of frozen fish lay on the ice. Volodin's father
said:
- That's enough, it's time to go home.
But everyone began to ask to stay overnight and catch again in the morning.
In the evening they ate, wrapped themselves more tightly in sheepskin coats, and went to bed in the sleigh. Volodya
snuggled up to his father to keep warm, and fell asleep soundly.
Suddenly at night the father jumped up and shouted:
- Comrades, get up! Look, what a wind! There would be no trouble!
Everyone jumped up and ran.
- Why are we rocking? shouted Volodya.
And the father shouted:
- Trouble! We have been torn off and carried on an ice floe into the sea.
All the fishermen ran on the ice floe and shouted:
- Tore off, tore off!
And someone shouted:
- Gone!
Volodya cried. During the day, the wind became even stronger, the waves splashed on
ice floe, and all around was only the sea. Papa Volodin tied a mast out of two poles,
tied a red shirt at the end and put it up like a flag. Everyone looked, no
see where the steamer. From fear, no one wanted to eat or drink. And Volodya
lay in the sleigh and looked up into the sky to see if the sun would peep. And suddenly in the clearing
between the clouds Volodya saw the plane and shouted:
- Airplane! Airplane!
Everyone started shouting and waving their hats. A bag fell off the plane. It contained
food and a note: "Hold on! Help is coming!" An hour later the ship came and
reloaded people, sledges, horses and fish. It was the harbormaster who found out
that on the ice floe carried away eight fishermen. He sent a steamer to help them and
airplane. The pilot found the fishermen and on the radio told the captain of the ship where
go.

MAIL

In the north, where the Nenets live, even in the spring, when the snow has already melted everywhere,
frosts are still standing and there are strong blizzards.
Once in the spring, a Nenets postman had to carry mail from one
Nenets village to another. Not far away - only thirty kilometers.
The Nenets have very light sleds - sleds. In them they harness deer. deer
they rush in a whirlwind, faster than any horses.
The postman came out in the morning, looked at the sky, crushed the snow with his hand and thought:
"There will be a snowstorm from noon. And now I'll harness and have time to slip through earlier
blizzards."
He harnessed four of his best deer, put on a little coat - fur
robe with a hood, fur boots and picked up a long stick. With this stick
he will drive the deer so that they run faster.
The postman tied the mail tighter to the sled, jumped on the sleigh, sat sideways
and let the deer go wild.
He was already leaving the village, when suddenly his sister met him. She waved
hands and shouted:
- Stop!
The postman was angry, but he stopped anyway. The sister began to ask
the postman, so that he would take her daughter with him to her grandmother. The postman shouted:
- Hurry! And then there will be a blizzard.
But the sister fussed for a long time while she fed and collected the girl. Postman
put the girl in front of him, and the deer rushed off. And the postman still drove them,
to get through the blizzard.
Halfway through, the wind began to blow - straight ahead. There was sun and snow
shone, and then it suddenly got dark, the snow swirled, and it was not even visible
front deer.
The deer began to get stuck in the snow and stopped.
The postman unharnessed the deer, put the sleigh upright, tied his
a long stick, and tied a girl's pioneer tie to the end of the stick. And you
he trampled on the place near the sleigh, put the mail there, put the deer in, lay down and clung to
to them with a girl. They were soon covered with snow, and the postman dug out under the snow
cave, and it came out like a snow house. It was quiet and warm there.
And in the village where the postman was going, they saw that there was a snowstorm, but he was not, and
They asked on the phone if he had left. And everyone understood that the postman was captured
blizzard. Waiting for the blizzard to pass.
The next day, the blizzard did not subside, but the snow flew lower. on reindeer
it was impossible to go looking for the postman, only snowmobiles could get through. They -
like a house on skids, but they run forward because they have a motor. Motor
turns a propeller, such as that of an airplane.
A doctor, a driver and two people with shovels got into the snowmobile. And snowmobiles
ran along the road where the postman was driving.
Suddenly, over a low snowstorm, as if a flag from the water, they saw a stick with
pioneer tie.
The aerosleigh pulled up and stopped. Now they dug up the postman,
girl and deer. The postman immediately asked:
- Have you brought food? The girl is crying.
“Even hot,” said the doctor, and carried the girl to the snowmobile.
While the postman and the girl warmed up, a blizzard passed.

THE ADVENTURES OF "PARTIZAN"

The factory made a steamboat. It was built on the shore and now they are lowering it
in water.
They named the ship - "Partizan".
The Partizan, completely ready, stands at the pier, and a load is placed in it. To him
appointed to go to the Arctic Ocean. The ice never melts there. There in the distance
island people are waiting for the steamer. They need boards to build a house
need flour, sugar, vegetables, milk. "Partizan" carries them even a live cow.
"Partizan" is in a hurry. If winter catches him, he won't get out
out of the ice without the help of an icebreaker and not go back.
The machine is running at full speed. "Partizan" goes day and night. At night
lights are lit: white on the masts, and on the sides red and green, to
oncoming steamers did not run into him.
Suddenly a terrible storm arose. It became difficult to move forward. Huge waves
rushed to the ship. But the "Partizan" was a strong and strong ship: she was going
through the wind and waves, forward and forward. The captain knew: on a distant island
people are waiting. If he is late and the winter captures him on the way, they will be left without
of bread.
But then the captain saw: a sailing ship was dying at sea. Need to save
of people! They threw a rope from the Partizan, and on the sailboat they attached it to
mast. A basket was tied to a rope, and in it people were dragged to
"Partizan". Everyone was rescued and moved on. Everything quickly, quickly!
Already halfway passed "Partizan" safely. But then he went up to the sea
fog. You can’t see anything around, as if you are swimming in milk. "Partizan" is coming
slowly and honks in a horn, so as not to collide. Suddenly very close
another ship appeared. The captain wanted to turn, but it was too late.
The oncoming ship hit the "Partizan" in the side and punched a large hole.
But the Partizan did not sink. The hole was in the side above the water. I had to
go to the port to mend the hole. The captain asked to be repaired soon.
It was necessary to be in time for a distant island before winter. In place of the hole they put
new iron sheet, and "Partizan" again became like new.
Now "Partizan" was in a hurry more than before and still did not have time: the ice
surrounded him on all sides.
Do not break through the "Partizan" ice.
But then the steamer-icebreaker helped him. The icebreaker does not care about ice. He his
breaks and makes a channel among the ice, similar to a river with ice banks.
The Partizan followed the icebreaker along this river.
So the Partizan followed the icebreaker to the island, where people had been waiting for it for a long time.
The captain told everything that happened to him on the way. And everyone was glad that the ship
still came before winter. They began to unload sugar, flour, boards, and the cow
brought down the gangway. Then the ship was loaded with animal skins, walrus tusks
- everything that was caught and shot for a whole year.
It was already frosty in the north when Partizan went home.
A frosty storm hit the ship at sea, the waves swept over the deck, and
the water froze. The ship could capsize due to the weight of the ice. People chipped
ice for three days and three nights without rest and saved the Partizan.
The closer to home, the warmer it got. And when they came home, it was
It was already quite warm and the sun was shining. The ship was adorned with flags. On the pier
people met him; they waved their hats and cheered. Everyone was glad that
"Partizan" did not freeze in the ice.
He delivered everything needed to the people on the island. And brought a lot from there
furs and skins, and seal fat, and salted fish, and walrus tusks, and even
live white bear for the zoo.COLLAPSE

The girl Valya was eating fish and suddenly choked on a bone. Mom screamed:
- Eat the peel soon!
But nothing helped. Valya had tears in her eyes. She could not
to speak, but only wheezed, waved her hands. Mom got scared and ran to call
the doctors. And the doctor lived forty kilometers away. Mom told him on the phone
so that he comes soon. The doctor immediately gathered up his tweezers, sat down in
car and drove to Valya. The road ran along the coast. On one side was the sea
and on the other side are steep cliffs. The car raced at full speed. Doctor very
I was afraid for Valya. Suddenly there was a roar ahead, and the driver stopped the car. This
one rock crumbled into stones and covered the road. It became impossible to go, and
the doctor almost cried. There was still a long way to go. But the doctor still wanted
walk. Suddenly a horn sounded from behind. The driver looked back and said:
- Wait, doctor, help is coming!
And it was a truck in a hurry. He drove up to the rubble. jumped out of the truck
People. They removed the pump machine and rubber pipes from the truck. And held a pipe
in the sea. The pump worked. He sucked water from the sea through a pipe, and then drove it into
another pipe. From this pipe, water flew out with terrible force. She is with such
flew out with force that people could not hold the end of the pipe: so it shook and
fought. It was screwed to an iron stand and the water was directed straight at the collapse.
It turned out as if they were shooting water from a cannon. The water hit so hard
a landslide that knocked down clay and stones and carried them into the sea. The whole collapse is water
washed off the road.
- Hurry, let's go! the doctor shouted to the driver.
The driver started the car. The doctor came to Valya, took out his tweezers and took out
a bone from the throat. And then he sat down and told Valya how the road had blocked up and how
a hydraulic ram pump washed away the collapse.

SMOKE

Nobody believes it. And the firemen say:
- Smoke is worse than fire. A person runs away from fire, but is not afraid of smoke and climbs
into it. And there it suffocates. And yet - nothing is visible in the smoke. Can't see where
run, where are the doors, where are the windows. Smoke eats eyes, bites in the throat, stings in the nose.
And firefighters put masks on their faces, and air enters the mask through a tube. IN
such a mask can be in smoke for a long time, but still nothing is visible.
And once firefighters extinguished the house. Residents ran out into the street. Senior
the fireman shouted:
- Well, count, is it all?
One tenant was missing.
And the man shouted:
- Our Petka stayed in the room!
The senior firefighter sent a man in a mask to find Petka. The man entered
room.
There was no fire in the room yet, but it was full of smoke. The masked man ransacked
the whole room, all the walls and shouted with all his might through the mask:
- Petka, Petka! Come out, you'll burn! Give voice!
But no one answered. The man heard that the roof was falling, got scared and
gone.
Then the head fireman got angry:
- Where is Petka?
“I searched all the walls,” the man said.
- Get the mask! - shouted the elder.
The man began to take off his mask. The elder sees: the ceiling is already on fire. Wait
once.
And the elder did not wait; dipped his mitten into the bucket, stuck it in his mouth and
jumped into the smoke.
He immediately threw himself on the floor and began to fumble. Stumbled on the couch and thought:
"Probably, he hid in there, there is less smoke."
He reached under the sofa and felt for his legs. The chief fireman grabbed them and
pulled out of the room.
He pulled the man out onto the porch. This was Petka. And the fireman stood
staggered. So the smoke caught him.
Just then the ceiling collapsed and the whole room caught fire.
Petka was taken aside and brought to his senses. He told that with
fear huddled under the sofa, plugged his ears and closed his eyes. And then he doesn't remember
was.
And the senior fireman took the mitten in his mouth in order to get through the wet
a rag in the smoke is easier to breathe.
After the fire, the elder said to the fireman:
- Why did you rummage around the walls? He will not be waiting for you at the wall. When it's silent
So, it means that he suffocated and is lying on the floor. I would search the floor and beds, right away
would have found.

Page 1 of 7

Jackdaw

My brother and sister had a hand jackdaw. She ate from the hands, was given to stroke, flew away into the wild and flew back.
That time the sister began to wash. She took the ring off her hand, put it on the washbasin, and lathered her face with soap. And when she rinsed the soap, she looked: where is the ring? And there is no ring.
She called out to her brother:
- Give me the ring, don't tease! Why did you take it?
“I didn’t take anything,” the brother replied.
His sister quarreled with him and wept.
Grandma heard.
- What do you have here? - speaks. - Give me glasses, now I will find this ring.
Rushed to look for points - no points.
“I just put them on the table,” the grandmother cries. - Where do they go? How can I put a needle in now?
And screamed at the boy.

- This is your business! Why are you teasing grandma?
The boy got offended and ran out of the house. He looks - and a jackdaw flies over the roof, and something glitters under her beak. I looked closer - yes, these are glasses! The boy hid behind a tree and began to look. And the jackdaw sat on the roof, looked around to see if anyone could see, and began to push glasses on the roof with her beak into the crack.
Grandma came out onto the porch, says to the boy:
- Tell me, where are my glasses?
- On the roof! - said the boy.
Grandma was surprised. And the boy climbed onto the roof and pulled out his grandmother's glasses from the crack. Then he pulled out the ring. And then he took out glasses, and then a lot of different money pieces.
The grandmother was delighted with the glasses, and the sister gave the ring and said to her brother:
- Forgive me, I thought of you, and this is a jackdaw-thief.
And reconciled with my brother.
Grandma said:
- That's all they are, jackdaws and magpies. What glitters, everything is dragged.

Evening

The cow Masha goes to look for her son, the calf Alyoshka. Don't see him anywhere. Where did he disappear to? It's time to go home.
And the calf Alyoshka ran, got tired, lay down in the grass. The grass is tall - you can't see Alyoshka.
The cow Masha was frightened that her son Alyoshka was gone, and how she hums with all her strength:
- Moo!
Alyoshka heard his mother's voice, jumped to his feet and went home with all his might.
Masha was milked at home, a whole bucket of fresh milk was milked. They poured Alyoshka into a bowl:
- On, drink, Alyoshka.
Alyoshka was delighted - he had wanted milk for a long time - he drank everything to the bottom and licked the bowl with his tongue.

Alyoshka got drunk, he wanted to run around the yard. As soon as he ran, suddenly a puppy jumped out of the booth - and bark at Alyoshka. Alyoshka was frightened: it must be a terrible beast, if it barks so loudly. And he started to run.
Alyoshka ran away, and the puppy did not bark anymore. Quiet became a circle. Alyoshka looked - there was no one, everyone went to sleep. And I wanted to sleep. I lay down and fell asleep in the yard.
The cow Masha also fell asleep on the soft grass.
The puppy also fell asleep at his booth - he was tired, he barked all day.
The boy Petya also fell asleep in his bed - he was tired, he ran all day.
The bird has long since fallen asleep.
She fell asleep on a branch and hid her head under the wing so that it would be warmer to sleep. Also tired. She flew all day, catching midges.
Everyone is asleep, everyone is sleeping.
Only the night wind does not sleep.
It rustles in the grass and rustles in the bushes.

About the monkey

I was twelve years old and in school. Once during the break, my comrade Yukhimenko comes up to me and says:
- Do you want me to give you a monkey?
I didn’t believe it - I thought he would arrange some kind of trick for me, so that sparks would fall from his eyes, and he would say: this is the “monkey”. I'm not like that.
- All right, - I say, - we know.
“No,” he says, “really. Living monkey. She is good. Her name is Yasha. And dad is angry.
- On whom?
- Yes, on us with Yashka. Take it away, he says, where you know. I think it's best for you.
After class we went to him. I still didn't believe. Did you really think I would have a live monkey? And kept asking what she was like. And Yukhimenko says:
- You'll see, don't be afraid, she's small.
Indeed, it was small. If it stands on its paws, then no more than half a yard. The muzzle is wrinkled, old woman, and the eyes are lively, shiny. The coat on it is red, and the paws are black. Like human hands in black gloves. She was wearing a blue vest.
Yukhimenko shouted:
- Yashka, Yashka, go, what will I give!
And put his hand in his pocket. The monkey yelled, “Ai! ouch! - and in two jumps Yuhimenka jumped into her arms. He immediately put it in his overcoat, in his bosom.
“Let's go,” he says.
I didn't believe my eyes. We walk down the street, we carry such a miracle, and no one knows what is in our bosom.
Dear Yukhimenko told me what to feed.
- Eat everything, give everything. Sweet loves. Candy is a disaster! Dorvetsya - certainly devoured. Tea likes liquid and to be sweet. You are on top of her. Two pieces. Do not give a bite: he will eat sugar, but he will not drink tea.
I listened and thought: I won’t spare her even three pieces, she’s pretty, like a toy person. Then I remembered that she didn't even have a tail.
- You, - I say, - cut off her tail to the very root?
- She is a monkey, - says Yukhimenko, - they don't grow tails.
We came to our house. Mom and girls were sitting at dinner. Yukhimenko and I entered right in our overcoats.
I speak:
- And who do we have!
Everyone turned around. Yukhimenko opened his overcoat. No one has yet managed to make out anything, but Yashka will jump from Yukhimenko to her mother on her head; pushed his legs - and on the sideboard. I laid down all my mom's hair.
Everyone jumped up and shouted:
- Oh, who, who is it?
And Yashka sat down on the sideboard and builds muzzles, champs, bares his teeth.
Yukhimenko was afraid that now they would scold him, and hurry to the door. They didn’t even look at him - everyone looked at the monkey. And suddenly the girls all unanimously tightened:
- How pretty!
And my mom did all the hair.
- Where does it come from?
I looked back. Yukhimenko is no more. So I am the owner. And I wanted to show that I know how to deal with a monkey. I put my hand in my pocket and shouted, as Yukhimenko had done earlier:
- Yashka, Yashka! Go, I'll give you something!
Everyone was waiting. But Yashka did not even look - he began to itch finely and often with a black paw.
Until the very evening, Yashka did not go down, but jumped on top: from the sideboard to the door, from the door to the closet, from there to the stove.
In the evening my father said:
- You can’t leave her like that for the night, she will turn the apartment upside down.
And I started catching Yashka. I'm to the buffet - he's on the stove. I brushed him from there - he jumped on the clock. The clock ticked and began. And Yashka is already swinging on the curtains. From there - to the picture - the picture squinted - I was afraid that Yashka would throw himself at a hanging lamp.
But then everyone gathered and began to chase Yashka. They threw balls, spools, matches at him, and finally cornered him.
Yashka pressed himself against the wall, bared his teeth and clicked his tongue - he began to frighten. But they covered him with a woolen scarf and wrapped him up, tangled him up.
Yashka floundered, shouted, but he was soon twisted so that only one head remained sticking out. He turned his head, blinked his eyes, and it seemed that he was about to cry from resentment.
Don't swaddle the monkey every night! Father said:
- Bind. For the vest and to the leg, to the table.
I brought a rope, felt for a button on Yashka's back, threaded the rope into a loop and tied it tightly. Yashka's vest on his back was fastened with three buttons. Then I brought Yashka, as he was, wrapped up, to the table, tied the rope to the leg, and only then unwound the scarf.
Wow, how he started to jump! But where can he break the rope! He shouted, got angry and sat sadly on the floor.
I took sugar from the cupboard and gave it to Yashka. He grabbed a piece with his black paw and stuck it in his cheek. This made his entire face curl up.
I asked Yashka for a paw. He held out his pen to me.
Then I saw what pretty black marigolds she had on. Toy live pen! I began to stroke the paw and I think: just like a baby. And tickled his hand. And the baby somehow pulls the paw - one - and me on the cheek. I did not even have time to blink, but he slapped me in the face and jumped under the table. Sat down and grins. Here is the baby!

But then they sent me to sleep.
I wanted to tie Yashka to my bed, but they didn't let me. I kept listening to what Yashka was doing, and thought that he absolutely needed to arrange a bed so that he could sleep like people and cover himself with a blanket. I would put my head on a pillow. I thought and thought and fell asleep.
In the morning he jumped up - and, without getting dressed, to Yashka. No Yashka on a rope. There is a rope, a vest is tied to a rope, but there is no monkey. I see that all three buttons on the back are undone. It was he who unbuttoned his vest, left it on the rope, and he fought. I search around the room. I stomp with bare feet. Nowhere. I got scared. Well, how did he run away? Didn't stay a day, and here you are! I looked at the cabinets, in the stove - nowhere. He ran away to the street. And it's cold outside - it'll freeze, poor thing! And it got cold. I ran to get dressed. Suddenly I see something moving in my bed. The blanket moves. I even shuddered. That's where he is! It was cold for him on the floor, he ran away to my bed. Crawled under the covers. And I slept and did not know. Yashka, awake, was not shy, gave himself up, and I put a blue vest on him again.
When they sat down to drink tea, Yashka jumped up on the table, looked around, immediately found a sugar bowl, launched his paw and jumped on the door. He jumped so easily that he seemed to be flying, not jumping. The monkey has fingers on its feet, like on hands, and Yashka could grab with his feet. He did just that. He sits like a child, in someone's arms and folded his hands, and he himself pulls something from the table with his foot.
He pulls off a knife and, well, jump with a knife. This is to take away from him, and he will run away. Tea was given to Yashka in a glass. He hugged the glass like a bucket, drank and smacked. I don't mind sugar.
When I left for school, I tied Yashka to the door, to the handle. This time I tied a rope around his waist so that he could not break loose. When I came home, I saw from the hallway what Yashka was doing. He hung on the doorknob and rolled on the doors like a merry-go-round. It pushes off the jamb and rides to the wall. He kicks his foot into the wall and rides back.
When I sat down to prepare my lessons, I put Yashka on the table. He really liked to bask near the lamp. He was dozing like an old man in the sun, swaying and squinting as I poked the pen into the ink. Our teacher was strict, and I wrote the page neatly. I did not want to get wet, so as not to spoil it. Left to dry. I come and see: Yakov is sitting on a notebook, dipping his finger into the inkwell, grumbling and drawing ink Babylons according to my writing. Oh you bastard! I almost cried with grief. Rushed at Yashka. Yes, where! He's on the curtains - he stained all the curtains with ink. That's why Yuhimenkin's dad was angry with them and Yashka ...
But once my dad got angry with Yashka. Yashka picked off the flowers that stood on our windows. Tear off the leaf and tease. Father caught and blew Yashka. And then he tied him as a punishment on the stairs that led to the attic. Narrow ladder. And the wide one went down from the apartment.
Father goes to work in the morning. He cleaned himself up, put on his hat, and went down the stairs. Clap! The plaster is falling. Father stopped, shook it off his hat. Looked up - no one. Just went - bang, again a piece of lime right on the head. What's happened?
And I could see from the side how Yashka was operating. He broke lime from the wall, laid it out along the edges of the steps, and lay down himself, hid on the stairs, just above his father's head. Only his father went, and Yashka quietly pushed the plaster from the step with his foot and tried it on so cleverly that it was right on his father's hat - it was he who took revenge on him because his father had blown him the day before.
But when the real winter began, the wind howled in the pipes, the windows filled up with snow, Yashka became sad. I warmed him up, pressed him to me. Yashka's muzzle became sad, sagging, he squealed and clung to me. I tried to put it in my bosom, under my jacket. Yashka immediately settled down there: he grabbed his shirt with all four paws and hung there as if he was stuck. He slept there without opening his paws. You'll forget another time that you have a living belly under your jacket, and you'll lean on the table. Yashka will now scrape my side with her paw: she lets me know to be careful.
Once on Sunday the girls came to visit. Sat down for breakfast. Yashka quietly sat in my bosom, and he was not at all noticeable. At the end, sweets were handed out. As soon as I began to unfold the first one, suddenly from behind my bosom, right from my stomach, a shaggy hand stretched out, grabbed the candy and back. The girls screamed in fear. And it was Yashka who heard that they were rustling paper, and guessed that they were eating sweets. And I tell the girls: “This is my third hand; With this hand, I stick sweets right into the stomach, so as not to mess around for a long time. But everyone already guessed that it was a monkey, and from under the jacket one could hear how the candy crunched: it was Yashka nibbling and munching, as if I were chewing on my stomach.