Victor Dragunsky Deniskins stories - this is the book we will analyze in detail today. I'll give summary several stories, I will describe three films made based on these works. And I will share a personal review based on my impressions with my son. Whether you are looking for a good copy for your child or working on a reading diary with your younger student, I think in any case you will be able to find useful information in the article.

Hello dear readers blog. The book itself was purchased by me more than two years ago, but my son initially did not accept it. But at almost six years old, he listened with delight to stories from the life of the boy Denis Korablev, laughing heartily at the situations. And at 7.5 I was reading avidly, laughing and retelling the stories my husband and I liked. Therefore, I would immediately advise you not to rush into entering this wonderful book. The child must grow to perceive it correctly, and then you can rest assured that it will make an indelible impression on him.

About the book Deniskin's stories by Viktor Dragunsky

Our copy was published by Eksmo publishing house in 2014. The book has a hard cover, stitched binding, 160 pages. Pages: dense snow-white offset, on which bright, large pictures are absolutely not visible. In other words, the quality of this publication is ideal, I can confidently recommend it. The book by Victor Dragunsky Deniska's stories is pleasant to hold in your hands. Having opened the cover, the child immediately finds himself in the world of adventures that await him on its pages. The illustrations made by Vladimir Kanivets accurately reflect the events of the stories. There are a lot of pictures, they are on every spread: large ones - on the entire page and small ones - several on the spread. Thus, the book becomes a real adventure that the reader experiences together with its main characters. Buy at Labyrinth, Ozone.

Deniskin's stories were included in the 100 books for schoolchildren recommended by the Ministry of Education, which once again confirms the advice on reading these works in younger years school age or close to it. The text in the book is a good size for both a child and a parent who cares about their eyesight.

Click on photo to enlarge

Deniska's stories - contents

Victor Dragunsky wrote a series of stories about a boy Denis Korablev, who literally grows up before the reader’s eyes. What are they talking about?

At first we see Deniska as a sweet preschooler: inquisitive, sentimental. Then as a schoolboy primary classes, who applies his inquisitive mind in various experiments, draws conclusions from his not always ideal behavior, and ends up in funny situations. The main character of the stories was the son of the writer. Father watching him interesting childhood, through his experiences, created these beautiful works. They were first published in 1959, and the actions described in the book took place in the 50-60s of the last century.

What was included in this copy? Yes, quite a lot! I was very pleased with the list.

Now, let's talk about several works individually. This will help you make your choice if you have never read the book. Or he will help fill out the reading diary for grades 2-3; it is usually during this period that summer reading is assigned.

About filling out the reader's diary

I’ll explain in just a few words: my son keeps notes about what he read, and I’ll write down his opinion in the article.
An example of such work was when my son worked with the work “Winter”.

IN reader's diary child there are lines: start and end date of reading, number of pages, author. I don’t see any point in entering this data here, because your student will read on other dates, in a different format. The author's name is the same in all the works we are talking about today. At the end a drawing is made. If you and your child read the story online, a spread of the book will help you, from which you can make a sketch if you wish. In what genre were “Deniska’s stories” written? This information may be needed when filling out the diary. Genre: literary cycle.

So, let's limit ourselves to the description:

• Name;
• plot (summary);
• main characters and their characteristics;
• What did you like about the work?

Deniska's stories – Amazing day

In the story, the guys assemble a rocket to fly into space. Thinking through all the details of its structure, they came up with a very impressive design. And although the friends understood that this was a game, they almost quarreled when deciding who would be the astronaut. It's great that their game ended well! (Parents have the opportunity to discuss safety measures here.) The fact is that the boys put New Year's firecrackers into the samovar pipe to simulate the takeoff of a rocket. And inside the rocket barrel there was an “astronaut”. Luckily for him, the fuse cord did not work and the explosion occurred after the boy left the “rocket”.

The events that Viktor Dragunsky described in this story took place on the day when German Titov flew into space. People listened to the news on the loudspeaker on the streets and rejoiced at such a great event - the launch of the second astronaut.

From the entire book, my son singled out this work, since his interest in astronomy does not fade to this day. Our lesson can be viewed in a separate article.

Name:
Amazing day
Summary:
The children wanted to build a rocket and launch it into space. They found a wooden barrel, a leaky samovar, a box, and at the end they brought pyrotechnics from home. They played cheerfully, each had their own role. One was a mechanic, another was a chief engineer, the third was a boss, but everyone wanted to be an astronaut and go on a flight. Denis became him and he could have died or remained disabled if the fuse cord had not gone out. But everything ended well. And after the explosion, everyone learned that the second cosmonaut, German Titov, had been launched into space. And everyone was happy.

Guys living in the same yard. Alenka is a girl in red sandals. Teddy bear - best friend Deniski. Andryushka is a red-haired boy of six years old. Kostya is almost seven. Denis - he came up with a plan for a dangerous game.

I liked the story. It’s good that although the boys quarreled, they found a way to continue the game. I'm glad no one exploded in the barrel.

Victor Dragunsky Deniska's stories - No worse than you circus people

In the story “No Worse than You Circus People,” Denis, who lived with his parents in the center of Moscow, unexpectedly finds himself in the front row of the circus. He had with him a bag of tomatoes and sour cream, which his mother had sent for. In the chair next to him sat a boy, who turned out to be the son of circus performers, who was used as a “spectator from the audience.” The boy decided to play a trick on Deniska and invited him to switch places. As a result, the clown picked up the wrong boy and carried him under the circus big top. And tomatoes fell on the heads of the spectators. But everything ended well and our hero visited the circus more than once.

Review in the reader's diary

Name:
No worse than you circus people.
Summary:
While returning from the store, Deniska accidentally ends up at a circus performance. Next to him, in the first row, sat a circus boy. The guys argued a little, but then he suggested that Denis move to his seat so that the performance of the clown Pencil could be better seen. And he disappeared. The clown suddenly grabbed Deniska and they flew high above the arena. It was scary, and then the purchased tomatoes and sour cream flew down. It was the circus boy Tolka who decided to joke like that. In the end, the guys talked and remained friends, and Aunt Dusya took Denis home.
Main characters and their characteristics:
Denis is almost 9 years old and his mother already sends him alone to the grocery store. Aunt Dusya is a kind woman, a former neighbor who works in a circus. Tolya is a circus boy, he is cunning and his jokes are evil.
What I liked about the work:
I liked this story. There's a lot in it funny phrases: “she screamed in a whisper”, “she shook like a chicken on a fence.” It was funny to read about flying with a clown and falling tomatoes.

Deniska's stories – Girl on the ball

In the story “The Girl on the Ball” Denis Korablev watched interesting circus performance. Suddenly a girl appeared on stage who captured his imagination. Her clothes, her movements, her sweet smile - everything seemed beautiful. The boy was so fascinated by her performance that after it nothing seemed interesting. Arriving home, he told his father about the beautiful circus Thumbelina and asked him to go with him next Sunday to see her together.

The whole essence of the work can be reflected in this passage. How wonderful first love is!

And at that moment the girl looked at me, and I saw that she saw that I saw her and that I also saw that she saw me, and she waved her hand at me and smiled. She waved and smiled at me alone.

But as usual, parents have other things to do. Friends came to my father and a Sunday outing
canceled for another week. Everything would be fine, but it turned out that Tanechka Vorontsova left with her parents for Vladivostok and Denis never saw her again. It was a small tragedy, our hero even tried to persuade his dad to fly there on a Tu-104, but in vain.

Dear parents, I advise you to ask your young readers why, in their opinion, dad was silent all the time on the way home from the circus and at the same time squeezed the child’s hand. Dragunsky completed the work very correctly, but not everyone can understand its ending. We adults, of course, know the reason for the restraint of a man who realized the tragedy of his son in love, which occurred because of his unfulfilled promise. But it is still difficult for children to get into the recesses of an adult soul. Therefore, a conversation with explanations should be held.

Reader's diary

Name:
Girl on the ball.
Summary:
Denis and his class came to a performance at the circus. There he saw a very beautiful girl performing on the ball. She seemed to him the most unusual of all the girls and he told his dad about her. Dad promised to go and watch the show together on Sunday, but plans changed because of Dad's friends. Deniska couldn't wait until next Sunday to go to the circus. When they finally arrived, they were told that tightrope walker Tanyusha Vorontsova had left with her parents for Vladivostok. Deniska and dad left without finishing the performance and returned home sad.
Main characters and their characteristics:
Deniska - he studies at school. His dad loves the circus, his work involves drawings. Tanya Vorontsova – beautiful girl performing in the circus.
What I liked about the work:
The story is sad, but I still liked it. It’s a pity that Deniska couldn’t see the girl again.

Victor Dragunsky Deniskin's stories – Arbuzny Lane

The story “Watermelon Lane” cannot be ignored. It is perfect for reading on the eve of Victory Day, and simply for explaining to preschoolers and younger schoolchildren, themes of hunger during the war.

Deniska, like any child, sometimes does not want to eat this or that food. The boy is almost eleven years old, he plays football and returns home very hungry. It would seem that he could eat a bull, but mom puts milk noodles on the table. He refuses to eat and discusses this with his mother. And dad, hearing his son’s rednecks, returned his thoughts to his childhood, when there was a war and he really wanted to eat. He told Denis a story about how during a famine, near one store, he was given a broken watermelon. He ate it at home with a friend. And then the series of hungry days continued. Denis’s father and his friend Valka went to the alley near the store every day, hoping that they would bring watermelons and one of them would break again...

Our little hero I understood my father’s story, he really felt it:

I sat and also looked out the window where dad was looking, and it seemed to me that I could see dad and his friend right there, how they trembled and waited. The wind beats on them, and the snow too, and they tremble, and wait, and wait, and wait... And this just made me feel terrible, and I grabbed my plate and quickly, spoon by spoon, swallowed it all, and tilted it then he went to his room, and drank the rest, and wiped the bottom with bread, and licked the spoon.

My review of the first book about the war that I read to my child can be read at. Also on the blog there is good selection and a review for primary school age.

Deniska's stories films

While reading the book to my son, I remembered that as a child I watched children’s films with similar plots. A lot of time passed, but I still took the risk of looking. I found it quickly enough and to my own surprise in large quantities. I will present to your attention three films that my boy and I watched. But I want to warn you right away that reading a book cannot be replaced by a film, since in films plots are sometimes mixed from different stories.

Children's film – Funny stories

I’ll start with this film, since it contains stories from the book I described. Namely:

• Amazing day;
• It is alive and glowing;
• The secret becomes clear;
• Motorcycle racing along a steep wall;
• Dog Thieves;
• From top to bottom, diagonally! (this story is not in our book).

Children's film Deniska's stories – Captain

This film is only 25 minutes long and is based on the story “Tell Me About Singapore”. My son and I simply laughed until we cried when we read it in our book, but when watching the film we did not feel this humorous situation. At the end, the plot with the uncle-captain is supplemented from the story “Chicky-Bryk”, where Deniska’s dad showed magic tricks and Mishka believed in magic so much that he threw his mother’s hat out the window. In the film he does the same trick. main character with a captain's hat.

Children's film Deniska's stories

Although this film has the same name as our book, it does not contain a single story from it. To be honest, we liked him the least. This musical film, where there are few words and many songs. And since I did not read these works to the child, he was not familiar with the plot. Stories included here:

• Exactly 25 kilos;
• Healthy thought;
• Grandmaster Hat;
• Twenty years under the bed.

To summarize, I will say that Victor Dragunsky Deniska’s stories are a book that is easy to read, unobtrusively teaches and educates, and gives the opportunity to laugh. It shows the multifaceted children's friendship, it is not embellished, it recognizes the actions of real children. My son and I liked the book and I am very glad that he has finally grown up to it.

Deniskins' stories by Dragunsky. Viktor Yuzefovich Dragunsky was born on December 1, 1913 in New York, into a Jewish family of emigrants from Russia. Soon after this, the parents returned to their homeland and settled in Gomel. During the war, Victor's father died of typhus. His stepfather was I. Voitsekhovich, a red commissar who died in 1920. In 1922, another stepfather appeared - Jewish theater actor Mikhail Rubin, with whom the family traveled all over the country. In 1925 they moved to Moscow. But one day Mikhail Rubin went on tour and did not return home. What happened remains unknown.
Victor started working early. In 1930, already working, he began to attend the “Literary and Theater Workshops” of A. Diky. In 1935, he began performing as an actor at the Transport Theater (now the N.V. Gogol Theater). At the same time, Dragunsky was engaged literary work: wrote feuilletons and humoresques, came up with sideshows, skits, variety monologues, circus clownery. Got closer to circus performers and even worked in a circus for some time. Gradually the roles came. He played several roles in films (the film “The Russian Question”, directed by Mikhail Romm) and was accepted into the Film Actor’s Theater. But in the theater with its huge troupe, which included famous movie stars, young and not so famous actors I didn’t have to count on constant employment in performances. Then Dragunsky had the idea of ​​​​creating a small amateur troupe inside the theater. True, such a troupe could be called conditionally an amateur performance - the participants were professional artists. Many actors responded with pleasure to the idea of ​​​​creating a parody “theater within a theater.” Dragunsky became the organizer and director of the literary and theatrical parody ensemble “Blue Bird,” which existed from 1948 to 1958. Actors from other Moscow theaters also began to come there. Gradually, the small troupe gained significance and repeatedly performed at the House of Actors (then: All-Russian Theater Society), where at that time Alexander Moiseevich Eskin was director. The funny parody performances were such a resounding success that Dragunsky was invited to create a similar group with the same name in Mosestrad. For productions in “The Blue Bird”, together with Lyudmila Davidovich, he composed lyrics for several songs, which later became popular and acquired a second life on the stage: “Three Waltzes”, “Wonder Song”, “Motor Ship”, “Star of My Fields”, “ Berezonka."
During the Great Patriotic War Dragunsky was in the militia.
Since 1940 he has published feuilletons and humorous stories, later collected in the collection Iron Character (1960); writes songs, sideshows, clowneries, skits for the stage and circus.
Since 1959, Dragunsky has been writing funny stories about the fictional boy Denis Korablev and his friend Mishka Slonov under the general title “Deniska’s Stories”, based on which the films “Funny Stories” (1962), “Girl on the Ball” (1966) were released. , “Deniska’s stories” (1970), “In secret to the whole world” (1976), “ Amazing Adventures Denis Korablev" (1979), short films "Where is it seen, where is it heard", "Captain", "Fire in the outbuilding" and "Spyglass" (1973). These stories brought their author enormous popularity, and it was with them that his name became associated. The name Deniska was not chosen by chance - that was the name of his son.
In addition, Dragunsky was the screenwriter of the film " Magic power art (1970)", in which Deniska Korablev is also featured as a hero.
However, Viktor Dragunsky wrote prose works for adults too. In 1961, the story “He Fell on the Grass” about the very first days of the war was published. Its hero, a young artist, like the author of the book himself, despite the fact that he was not drafted into the army due to disability, enlisted in the militia. The story “Today and Everyday” (1964) is dedicated to the life of circus workers, the main character of which is a clown; This is a book about a person who exists in spite of time, who lives in his own way.
But most famous and popular are Deniska’s stories for children.
In the 1960s, books from this series were published in large numbers:
"Girl on a Ball"
« Enchanted letter»,
« childhood friend»,
"Dog Thief"
"Twenty years under the bed"
“The magical power of art”, etc.
In the 1970s:
"Red ball in the blue sky"
« Colorful stories»,
"Adventure" etc.
The writer died in Moscow on May 6, 1972.
The widow of V. Dragunsky Alla Dragunskaya (Semichastnaya) published a book of memoirs: “About Victor Dragunsky. Life, creativity, memories of friends”, LLP “Chemistry and Life”, Moscow, 1999.

One evening I sat in the yard, near the sand, and waited for my mother. She probably stayed late at the institute, or at the store, or maybe stood at the bus stop for a long time. Don't know. Only all the parents in our yard had already arrived, and all the kids went home with them and were probably already drinking tea with bagels and cheese, but my mother was still not there...

And now the lights began to light up in the windows, and the radio started playing music, and dark clouds moved in the sky - they looked like bearded old men...

And I wanted to eat, but my mother was still not there, and I thought that if I knew that my mother was hungry and was waiting for me somewhere at the end of the world, I would immediately run to her, and would not be late and not made her sit on the sand and get bored.

And at that time Mishka came out into the yard. He said:

- Great!

And I said:

- Great!

Mishka sat down with me and picked up the dump truck.

- Wow! - said Mishka. - Where did you get it? Does he pick up sand himself? Not yourself? And he leaves on his own? Yes? What about the pen? What is it for? Can it be rotated? Yes? A? Wow! Will you give it to me at home?

I said:

- No, I won’t. Present. Dad gave it to me before he left.

The bear pouted and moved away from me. It became even darker outside.

I looked at the gate so as not to miss when my mother came. But she still didn’t go. Apparently, I met Aunt Rosa, and they stand and talk and don’t even think about me. I lay down on the sand.

Here Mishka says:

- Can you give me a dump truck?

- Get off it, Mishka.

Then Mishka says:

“I can give you one Guatemala and two Barbados for it!”

I speak:

— Compared Barbados to a dump truck...

- Well, do you want me to give you a swimming ring?

I speak:

- It's burst.

- You will seal it!

I even got angry:

- Where to swim? In the bathroom? On Tuesdays?

And Mishka pouted again. And then he says:

- Well, it wasn’t! Know my kindness! On!

And he handed me a box of matches. I took it in my hands.

“You open it,” said Mishka, “then you will see!”

I opened the box and at first I didn’t see anything, and then I saw a small light green light, as if somewhere far, far away from me a tiny star was burning, and at the same time I was holding it in my hands.

“What is this, Mishka,” I said in a whisper, “what is this?”

“This is a firefly,” said Mishka. - What, good? He's alive, don't think about it.

“Bear,” I said, “take my dump truck, would you like it?” Take it forever, forever! Give me this star, I’ll take it home...

And Mishka grabbed my dump truck and ran home. And I stayed with my firefly, looked at it, looked and couldn’t get enough of it: how green it was, as if in a fairy tale, and how even though it was close, in the palm of my hand, it was shining as if from afar... And I couldn’t breathe evenly , and I heard my heart beating, and there was a slight tingling in my nose, as if I wanted to cry.

And I sat like that for a long time, a very long time. And there was no one around. And I forgot about everyone in this world.

But then my mother came, and I was very happy, and we went home. And when they started drinking tea with bagels and feta cheese, my mother asked:

- Well, how's your dump truck?

And I said:

- I, mom, exchanged it.

Mom said:

- Interesting! And for what?

I replied:

- To the firefly! Here he is, living in a box. Turn out the light!

And mom turned off the light, and the room became dark, and the two of us began to look at the pale green star.

Then mom turned on the light.

“Yes,” she said, “it’s magic!” But still, how did you decide to give such a valuable thing as a dump truck for this worm?

“I’ve been waiting for you for so long,” I said, “and I was so bored, but this firefly, it turned out to be better than any dump truck in the world.”

Mom looked at me intently and asked:

- And in what way, in what way is it better?

I said:

- How come you don’t understand?! After all, he is alive! And it glows!..

V. Dragunsky “What I love

I really like to lie on my stomach on my dad’s knee, lower my arms and legs and hang on my knee like laundry on a fence. I also really like to play checkers, chess and dominoes, just to be sure to win. If you don't win, then don't.

I love listening to a beetle digging around in a box. And on a day off I like to crawl into my dad’s bed in the morning to talk to him about the dog: how we will live more spaciously, and buy a dog, and work with it, and feed it, and how funny and smart it will be, and how she will steal sugar, and I will wipe up the puddles after her, and she will follow me like a faithful dog.

I also like to watch TV: it doesn’t matter what they show, even if it’s just tables.

I like to breathe with my nose into my mother's ear. I especially love to sing and always sing very loudly.

I really love stories about red cavalrymen and how they always win.

I like to stand in front of the mirror and grimace as if I were Parsley from puppet theater. I also really love sprats.

I love reading fairy tales about Kanchila. This is such a small, smart and mischievous doe. She has cheerful eyes, and small horns, and pink polished hooves. When we live more spaciously, we will buy ourselves Kanchilya, he will live in the bathroom. I also like to swim where it’s shallow so that I can hold onto the sandy bottom with my hands.

I like to wave a red flag at demonstrations and blow the “go away!” horn. I really like making phone calls. I love to plan, saw, I know how to sculpt the heads of ancient warriors and bison, and I sculpted a wood grouse and the Tsar Cannon. I love to give all this.

When I read, I like to chew on a cracker or something else. I love guests.

I also really love snakes, lizards and frogs. They're so clever. I carry them in my pockets. I like to have a snake on the table when I have lunch. I love it when grandma shouts about the frog: “Take away this disgusting thing!” - and runs out of the room.

I love to laugh... Sometimes I don’t feel like laughing at all, but I force myself, squeeze out laughter - and look, after five minutes it really becomes funny.

When I have good mood, I love to jump. One day my dad and I went to the zoo, and I was jumping around him on the street, and he asked:

-What are you jumping about? And I said:

- I jump that you are my dad!

He got it!

I love going to the zoo! There are wonderful elephants there. And there is one baby elephant. When we live more spaciously, we will buy a baby elephant. I'll build him a garage.

I really like to stand behind the car when it snorts and sniff the gasoline.

I like to go to cafes - eat ice cream and wash it down with sparkling water. It makes my nose ache and tears come to my eyes.

When I run down the hallway, I like to stomp my feet as hard as I can.

I love horses very much, they have such beautiful and kind faces.

I love a lot of things!

V. Dragunsky “...And what I don’t like!”

What I don’t like is having my teeth treated. As soon as I see a dental chair, I immediately want to run to the ends of the world. I also don’t like to stand on a chair and read poetry when guests come.

I don’t like it when mom and dad go to the theater.

I can’t stand soft-boiled eggs, when they are shaken up in a glass, crumbled into bread and forced to eat.

I also don’t like it when my mother goes for a walk with me and suddenly meets Aunt Rose!

Then they only talk to each other, and I just don’t know what to do.

I don’t like wearing a new suit - I feel like wood in it.

When we play red and white, I don't like being white. Then I quit the game, and that's it! And when I'm red, I don't like to be captured. I'm still running away.

I don't like it when people beat me.

I don’t like to play “loaf” when it’s my birthday: I’m not little.

I don't like it when guys wonder.

And I really don’t like it when I cut myself, in addition to smearing my finger with iodine.

I don’t like that it’s cramped in our hallway and adults scurry back and forth every minute, some with a frying pan, some with a kettle, and shout:

- Children, don’t move around under your feet! Be careful, my pan is hot!

And when I go to bed, I don’t like the chorus singing in the next room:

Lilies of the valley, lilies of the valley...

I really don’t like that boys and girls on the radio speak in old lady voices!..

V. Dragunsky “The Enchanted Letter”

Recently we were walking in the yard: Alyonka, Mishka and me. Suddenly a truck drove into the yard. And on it lies a Christmas tree. We ran after the car. So she drove up to the building administration, stopped, and the driver and our janitor began to unload the tree. They shouted at each other:

- Easier! Let's bring it in! Right! Leveya! Get her on her butt! Make it easier, otherwise you’ll break off the whole spitz.

And when they unloaded, the driver said:

“Now we need to register this tree,” and he left.

And we stayed near the Christmas tree.

She lay there big, furry, and smelled so deliciously of frost that we stood there like fools and smiled. Then Alyonka took hold of one twig and said:

- Look, there are detectives hanging on the tree.

"Detective"! She said it wrong! Mishka and I just rolled around. We both laughed equally, but then Mishka began to laugh louder to make me laugh.

Well, I pushed it a little so he wouldn't think I was giving up. Mishka held his stomach with his hands, as if he was in great pain, and shouted:

- Oh, I'll die of laughter! Detective!

And, of course, I turned up the heat:

- The girl is five years old, but she says “detective”... Ha-ha-ha!

Then Mishka fainted and groaned:

- Oh, I feel bad! Detective... And he began to hiccup:

- Hick!.. Detective. Hic! Hic! I'll die of laughter! Hic!

Then I grabbed a handful of snow and began to apply it to my forehead, as if I had already developed a brain infection and had gone crazy. I yelled:

- The girl is five years old, she’s getting married soon! And she is a detective.

Apyonka’s lower lip curled so that it went behind her ear.

- I said it right! It’s my tooth that has fallen out and is whistling. I want to say “detective”, but I whistle “detective”...

Mishka said:

- What a miracle! Her tooth fell out! Three of them have fallen out and two are wobbly, but I still speak correctly! Listen here: giggles! What? It’s really great - huh-kee! This is how it comes out easily for me: giggles! I can even sing:

Oh, green hyhechka,

I'm afraid I'll inject myself.

But Alyonka will scream. One is louder than the two of us:

- Wrong! Hooray! You say hi-ki, but we need detective work!

- Precisely, that there is no need for detective work, but rather giggles.

And let's both roar. All you can hear is: “Detective!” - “Giggles!” - “Detective!”

Looking at them, I laughed so much that I even got hungry. I walked home and kept thinking: why were they arguing so much, since they were both wrong? It's a very simple word. I stopped and said clearly:

- No detective work. No naked, but briefly and clear: Fyfki!

Victor Dragunsky

Deniska's stories

Part one

It's alive and glowing

What I love

I really like to lie on my stomach on my dad’s knee, lower my arms and legs and hang on my knee like laundry on a fence. I also really like to play checkers, chess and dominoes, just to be sure to win. If you don't win, then don't.

I love listening to a beetle digging around in a box. And on a day off I like to crawl into my dad’s bed in the morning to talk to him about the dog: how we will live more spaciously, and buy a dog, and work with it, and feed it, and how funny and smart it will be, and how she will steal sugar, and I will wipe up the puddles after her, and she will follow me like a faithful dog.

I also like to watch TV: it doesn’t matter what they show, even if it’s just tables.

I like to breathe with my nose into my mother's ear. I especially love to sing and always sing very loudly.

I really love stories about red cavalrymen and how they always win.

I like to stand in front of the mirror and grimace, as if I were Parsley from the puppet theater. I also really love sprats.

I love reading fairy tales about Kanchila. This is such a small, smart and mischievous doe. She has cheerful eyes, and small horns, and pink polished hooves. When we live more spaciously, we will buy ourselves Kanchilya, he will live in the bathroom. I also like to swim where it’s shallow so I can hold onto the sandy bottom with my hands.

I like to wave a red flag at demonstrations and blow the “go away!” horn.

I really like making phone calls.

I love to plan, saw, I know how to sculpt the heads of ancient warriors and bison, and I sculpted a wood grouse and the Tsar Cannon. I love to give all this.

When I read, I like to chew on a cracker or something else.

I love guests.

I also really love snakes, lizards and frogs. They're so clever. I carry them in my pockets. I like to have a snake on the table when I have lunch. I love it when grandma shouts about the frog: “Take away this disgusting thing!” - and runs out of the room.

I love to laugh. Sometimes I don’t feel like laughing at all, but I force myself, I force laughter out of myself - and look, after five minutes it really becomes funny.

When I'm in a good mood, I like to jump. One day my dad and I went to the zoo, and I was jumping around him on the street, and he asked:

What are you jumping about?

And I said:

I jump that you are my dad!

He got it!

I love going to the zoo! There are wonderful elephants there. And there is one baby elephant. When we live more spaciously, we will buy a baby elephant. I'll build him a garage.

I really like to stand behind the car when it snorts and sniff the gasoline.

I like to go to cafes - eat ice cream and wash it down with sparkling water. It makes my nose tingle and tears come to my eyes.

When I run down the hallway, I like to stomp my feet as hard as I can.

I love horses very much, they have such beautiful and kind faces.

I love a lot of things!

... and what I don’t like!

What I don’t like is having my teeth treated. As soon as I see a dental chair, I immediately want to run to the ends of the world. I also don’t like to stand on a chair and read poetry when guests come.

I don’t like it when mom and dad go to the theater.

I can’t stand soft-boiled eggs, when they are shaken up in a glass, crumbled into bread and forced to eat.

I also don’t like it when my mother goes for a walk with me and suddenly meets Aunt Rose!

Then they only talk to each other, and I just don’t know what to do.

I don’t like wearing a new suit - I feel like wood in it.

When we play red and white, I don't like being white. Then I quit the game and that's it! And when I'm red, I don't like to be captured. I'm still running away.

I don't like it when people beat me.

I don’t like to play “loaf” when it’s my birthday: I’m not little.

I don't like it when guys wonder.

And I really don’t like it when I cut myself, in addition to smearing my finger with iodine.

I don’t like that it’s cramped in our hallway and adults scurry back and forth every minute, some with a frying pan, some with a kettle, and shout:

Children, don't get under your feet! Be careful, my pan is hot!

And when I go to bed, I don’t like the chorus singing in the next room:

Lilies of the valley, lilies of the valley...

I really don’t like that boys and girls on the radio speak in old lady voices!..

“It’s alive and glowing...”

One evening I sat in the yard, near the sand, and waited for my mother. She probably stayed late at the institute, or at the store, or maybe stood at the bus stop for a long time. Don't know. Only all the parents in our yard had already arrived, and all the kids went home with them and were probably already drinking tea with bagels and cheese, but my mother was still not there...

And now the lights began to light up in the windows, and the radio began to play music, and dark clouds moved in the sky - they looked like bearded old men...

And I wanted to eat, but my mother was still not there, and I thought that if I knew that my mother was hungry and was waiting for me somewhere at the end of the world, I would immediately run to her, and would not be late and not made her sit on the sand and get bored.

And at that time Mishka came out into the yard. He said:

Great!

And I said:

Great!

Mishka sat down with me and picked up the dump truck.

Wow! - said Mishka. - Where did you get it? Does he pick up sand himself? Not yourself? And he leaves on his own? Yes? What about the pen? What is it for? Can it be rotated? Yes? A? Wow! Will you give it to me at home?

I said:

No, I won't. Present. Dad gave it to me before he left.

The bear pouted and moved away from me. It became even darker outside.

I looked at the gate so as not to miss when my mother came. But she still didn’t go. Apparently, I met Aunt Rosa, and they stand and talk and don’t even think about me. I lay down on the sand.

Here Mishka says:

Can you give me a dump truck?

Get off it, Mishka.

Then Mishka says:

I can give you one Guatemala and two Barbados for it!

I speak:

Compared Barbados to a dump truck...

Well, do you want me to give you a swimming ring?

I speak:

Yours is broken.

You'll seal it!

I even got angry:

Where to swim? In the bathroom? On Tuesdays?

“It’s alive and glowing...”

One evening I sat in the yard, near the sand, and waited for my mother. She probably stayed late at the institute, or at the store, or maybe stood at the bus stop for a long time. Don't know. Only all the parents in our yard had already arrived, and all the kids went home with them and were probably already drinking tea with bagels and cheese, but my mother was still not there...

And now the lights began to light up in the windows, and the radio began to play music, and dark clouds moved in the sky - they looked like bearded old men...

And I wanted to eat, but my mother was still not there, and I thought that if I knew that my mother was hungry and was waiting for me somewhere at the end of the world, I would immediately run to her, and would not be late and not made her sit on the sand and get bored.

And at that time Mishka came out into the yard. He said:

Great!

And I said:

Great!

Mishka sat down with me and picked up the dump truck.

Wow! - said Mishka. - Where did you get it? Does he pick up sand himself? Not yourself? And he leaves on his own? Yes? What about the pen? What is it for? Can it be rotated? Yes? A? Wow! Will you give it to me at home?

I said:

No, I won't. Present. Dad gave it to me before he left.

The bear pouted and moved away from me. It became even darker outside.

I looked at the gate so as not to miss when my mother came. But she still didn’t go. Apparently, I met Aunt Rosa, and they stand and talk and don’t even think about me. I lay down on the sand.

Here Mishka says:

Can you give me a dump truck?

Get off it, Mishka.

Then Mishka says:

I can give you one Guatemala and two Barbados for it!

I speak:

Compared Barbados to a dump truck...

Well, do you want me to give you a swimming ring?

I speak:

Yours is broken.

You'll seal it!

I even got angry:

Where to swim? In the bathroom? On Tuesdays?

And Mishka pouted again. And then he says:

Well, it was not! Know my kindness! On!

And he handed me a box of matches. I took it in my hands.

“Open it,” said Mishka, “then you will see!”

I opened the box and at first I didn’t see anything, and then I saw a small light green light, as if somewhere far, far away from me a tiny star was burning, and at the same time I myself was holding it in my hands.

“What is this, Mishka,” I said in a whisper, “what is this?”

“This is a firefly,” said Mishka. - What, good? He's alive, don't think about it.

Bear,” I said, “take my dump truck, would you like it?” Take it forever, forever! Give me this star, I’ll take it home...

And Mishka grabbed my dump truck and ran home. And I stayed with my firefly, looked at it, looked and couldn’t get enough of it: how green it is, as if in a fairy tale, and how close it is, in the palm of your hand, but it shines as if from afar... And I couldn’t breathe evenly, and I heard my heart beating and there was a slight tingling in my nose, as if I wanted to cry.

And I sat like that for a long time, a very long time. And there was no one around. And I forgot about everyone in this world.

But then my mother came, and I was very happy, and we went home. And when they started drinking tea with bagels and feta cheese, my mother asked:

Well, how's your dump truck?

And I said:

I, mom, exchanged it.

Mom said:

Interesting! And for what?

I replied:

To the firefly! Here he is, living in a box. Turn out the light!

And mom turned off the light, and the room became dark, and the two of us began to look at the pale green star.

Then mom turned on the light.

Yes, she said, it’s magic! But still, how did you decide to give such a valuable thing as a dump truck for this worm?

“I’ve been waiting for you for so long,” I said, “and I was so bored, but this firefly, it turned out to be better than any dump truck in the world.”

Mom looked at me intently and asked:

But why, why exactly is it better?

I said:

How come you don’t understand?! After all, he is alive! And it glows!..

The secret becomes clear

I heard my mother say to someone in the hallway:

-... The secret always becomes clear.

And when she entered the room, I asked:

What does this mean, mom: “The secret becomes clear”?

“And this means that if someone acts dishonestly, they will still find out about him, and he will be ashamed, and he will be punished,” said my mother. - Got it?.. Go to bed!

I brushed my teeth, went to bed, but did not sleep, but kept thinking: how is it possible that the secret becomes apparent? And I didn’t sleep for a long time, and when I woke up, it was morning, dad was already at work, and mom and I were alone. I brushed my teeth again and started eating breakfast.

First I ate the egg. This is still tolerable, because I ate one yolk, and chopped the white with the shell so that it was not visible. But then mom brought a whole plate of semolina porridge.

Eat! - Mom said. - Without any talking!

I said:

I can’t see the semolina porridge!

But mom screamed:

Look who you look like! Looks like Koschey! Eat. You must get better.

I said:

I'm choking on her!..

Then my mother sat down next to me, hugged me by the shoulders and asked tenderly:

Do you want us to go with you to the Kremlin?

Well, of course... I don’t know anything more beautiful than the Kremlin. I was there in the Faceted Chamber and in the Armory, I stood near the Tsar Cannon and I know where Ivan the Terrible was sitting. And there’s a lot of interesting stuff there too. So I quickly answered my mother:

Of course, I want to go to the Kremlin! Even very!

Then mom smiled:

Well, eat all the porridge and let's go. In the meantime, I'll wash the dishes. Just remember - you have to eat every last bit!

And mom went into the kitchen.

And I was left alone with the porridge. I spanked her with a spoon. Then I added salt. I tried it - well, it’s impossible to eat! Then I thought that maybe there was not enough sugar? I sprinkled it with sand and tried it... It got even worse. I don't like porridge, I tell you.

And it was also very thick. If it were liquid, then it would be a different matter; I would close my eyes and drink it. Then I took it and added boiling water to the porridge. It was still slippery, sticky and disgusting. The main thing is that when I swallow, my throat itself contracts and pushes this mess back out. It's a shame! After all, I want to go to the Kremlin! And then I remembered that we have horseradish. It seems you can eat almost anything with horseradish! I took the whole jar and poured it into the porridge, and when I tried a little, my eyes immediately popped out of my head and my breathing stopped, and I probably lost consciousness, because I took the plate, quickly ran to the window and threw the porridge out onto the street. Then he immediately returned and sat down at the table.

At this time my mother entered. She looked at the plate and was delighted:

What a guy Deniska is! I ate all the porridge to the bottom! Well, get up, get dressed, working people, let's go for a walk to the Kremlin! - And she kissed me.

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