Humorous tales of a dragoon. Deniska's stories

05.07.2019

Page 1 of 60

"HE IS 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 for a long time at the bus stop. 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 will not give. 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...
And Mishka:
- Well, do you want me to give you a swimming ring?
I speak:
- It's broken.
And Mishka:
- 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 was not! Know my kindness! On the!
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 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 was, as if in a fairy tale, and how close it was, in the palm of my hand, but 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 answered:
- 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 why, why exactly is it better?
I said:
- How come you don’t understand?! After all, he is alive! And it glows!..

Victor Yuzefovich Dragunsky

Deniska's stories

About my dad

When I was little, I had a dad. Victor Dragunsky. Famous children's writer. But no one believed me that he was my dad. And I shouted: “This is my dad, dad, dad!!!” And she started to fight. Everyone thought he was my grandfather. Because he was no longer very young. I am a late child. Younger. I have two older brothers - Lenya and Denis. They are smart, learned and quite bald. But they know much more stories about dad than I do. But since it was not they who became children’s writers, but me, they usually ask me to write something about dad.

My dad was born a long time ago. In 2013, on the first of December, he would have turned one hundred years old. And he was born not just anywhere, but in New York. This is how it happened - his mother and father were very young, got married and left the Belarusian city of Gomel for America, for happiness and wealth. I don’t know about happiness, but things didn’t work out for them at all with wealth. They ate exclusively bananas, and in the house where they lived there were huge rats running around. And they returned back to Gomel, and after a while they moved to Moscow, to Pokrovka. There, my dad did poorly at school, but he loved to read books. Then he worked at a factory, studied to be an actor and worked at the Satire Theater, and also as a clown in a circus and wore a red wig. This is probably why my hair is red. And as a child, I also wanted to become a clown.

Dear readers!!! People often ask me how my dad is doing and ask me to ask him to write something else - bigger and funnier. I don’t want to upset you, but my dad died a long time ago, when I was only six years old, that is, more than thirty years ago. That's why I remember very few incidents about him.

One such case. My dad loved dogs very much. He always dreamed of having a dog, but his mother did not allow him, but finally, when I was five and a half years old, a spaniel puppy named Toto appeared in our house. So wonderful. Eared, spotted and with thick paws. He had to be fed six times a day, like infant, which made mom a little angry... And then one day my dad and I come from somewhere or are just sitting at home alone, and we want to eat something. We go to the kitchen and find a saucepan with semolina porridge, and it is so tasty (I generally hate semolina porridge) that we eat it right away. And then it turns out that this is Totosha’s porridge, which his mother specially cooked in advance to mix with some vitamins, as puppies should. Mom was offended, of course. A disgrace is a children's writer, an adult, and he ate puppy porridge.

They say that in his youth my dad was terribly cheerful, he was always inventing something, the coolest and wittiest people in Moscow were always around him, and at home it was always noisy, fun, laughter, celebration, feasting and solid celebrities. Unfortunately, I no longer remember this - when I was born and grew up a little, my dad was very sick with hypertension, high blood pressure, and it was impossible to make noise in the house. My friends, who are now quite grown-up aunties, still remember that I had to walk on tiptoe so as not to bother my dad. They didn’t even allow me to see him, so that I wouldn’t disturb him. But I still got to him, and we played - I was a frog, and dad was a respected and kind lion.

My dad and I also went to eat bagels on Chekhov Street, there was this bakery with bagels and a milkshake. We were also at the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, we were sitting very close, and when the clown Yuri Nikulin saw my dad (and they worked together in the circus before the war), he was very happy, took the microphone from the ringmaster and sang “The Song about Hares” especially for us. .

My dad also collected bells, we have a whole collection at home, and now I continue to add to it.

If you read “Deniska’s Stories” carefully, you understand how sad they are. Not all, of course, but some – just very much so. I won’t say which ones now. Read it for yourself and feel it. And then we’ll check. Some people are surprised, they say, how did an adult manage to penetrate into the soul of a child, speak on his behalf, as if it were told by the child himself?.. But it’s very simple - dad remained a little boy all his life. Exactly! A person does not have time to grow up at all - life is too short. A person only has time to learn to eat without getting dirty, to walk without falling, to do something, to smoke, to lie, to shoot from a machine gun, or vice versa - to heal, to teach... All people are children. Well in as a last resort- Almost all. Only they don't know about it.

Of course, I don’t remember much about my dad. But I can write all sorts of stories - funny, strange and sad. I got this from him.

And my son Tema is very similar to my dad. Well, he looks like a spitting image! In the house in Karetny Ryad, where we live in Moscow, there live elderly pop artists who remember my dad when he was young. And that’s what they call Tema – “Bred of Dragoons.” And Tema and I love dogs. Our dacha is full of dogs, and those that are not ours just come to us for dinner. One day some striped dog came, we treated him to cake, and he liked it so much that he ate it and barked with joy with his mouth full.

Ksenia Dragunskaya

“It’s alive and glowing...”

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 will not give. 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.

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 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.

I said:

- No I will not give. 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 broken.

- 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 the!

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 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 was, as if in a fairy tale, and how close it was, in the palm of my hand, but 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 is your dump truck?

And I said:

- I, mom, exchanged it.

Mom said:

- Interesting! And for what?

I answered:

- 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!..

Glory to Ivan Kozlovsky

I only have A's on my report card. Only in penmanship is a B. Because of the blots. I really don't know what to do! Blots always jump off my pen. I only dip the very tip of the pen into ink, but the blots still jump off. Just some miracles! Once I wrote a whole page that was pure, pure, and delightful to look at—a real A page. In the morning I showed it to Raisa Ivanovna, and there was a blot in the very middle! Where did she come from? She wasn't there yesterday! Maybe it was leaked from some other page? Don't know…

And so I have only A's. Only a C in singing. This is how it happened. We had a singing lesson. At first we all sang in chorus “There was a birch tree in the field.” It turned out very beautifully, but Boris Sergeevich kept wincing and shouting:

– Pull out your vowels, friends, pull out your vowels!..

Then we began to draw out the vowels, but Boris Sergeevich clapped his hands and said:

– A real cat concert! Let's deal with each one individually.

This means with each individual separately.

And Boris Sergeevich called Mishka.

Mishka went up to the piano and whispered something to Boris Sergeevich.

Then Boris Sergeevich began to play, and Mishka quietly sang:

Like on thin ice

A little white snow fell...

Well, Mishka squeaked funny! This is how our kitten Murzik squeaks. Is that really how they sing? Almost nothing can be heard. I just couldn't stand it and started laughing.

Then Boris Sergeevich gave Mishka a five and looked at me.

He said:

- Come on, laugher, come out!

I quickly ran to the piano.

- Well, what will you perform? – Boris Sergeevich asked politely.

I said:

- Song civil war“Lead us, Budyonny, boldly into battle.”

Boris Sergeevich shook his head and began to play, but I immediately stopped him.

Victor Dragunsky "Knights"

When the rehearsal of the boys' choir ended, the singing teacher Boris Sergeevich said:

- Well, tell me, which of you gave your mother what on March 8th? Come on, Denis, report.

I said:

— I gave my mother a pincushion on March 8th. Beautiful. Looks like a frog. I sewed for three days and pricked all my fingers. I made two of these.

— We all sewed two. One to my mother, and the other to Raisa Ivanovna.

- Why is this all? - asked Boris Sergeevich. - Have you conspired to sew the same thing for everyone?

“No,” said Valerka, “it’s in our “Skillful Hands” circle - we go through the pads. First the little devils passed by, and now the little pillows.

- What other devils? - Boris Sergeevich was surprised.

I said:

- Plasticine! Our leaders Volodya and Tolya from the eighth grade spent six months with us. As soon as they come, they say: “Make devils!” Well, we sculpt, and they play chess.

“It’s crazy,” said Boris Sergeevich. - Pads! We'll have to figure it out! Stop! - And he suddenly laughed cheerfully. - How many boys do you have in the first “B”?

“Fifteen,” said Mishka, “and there are twenty-five girls.”

At this point Boris Sergeevich burst out laughing.

And I said:

— In general, in our country there are more female population than male population.

But Boris Sergeevich waved me off.

- That's not what I'm talking about. It’s just interesting to see how Raisa Ivanovna receives fifteen pillows as a gift! Okay, listen: how many of you are going to congratulate your mothers on May Day?

Then it was our turn to laugh. I said:

- You, Boris Sergeevich, are probably joking, it was not enough to congratulate you on May.

- But what’s wrong is that you need to congratulate your mothers on May Day. Otherwise, it’s ugly: congratulations only once a year. And if you congratulate every holiday, it will be like a knight. Well, who knows what a knight is?

I said:

— He is on a horse and in an iron suit.

Boris Sergeevich nodded.

- Yes, it was like that for a long time. And when you grow up, you will read a lot of books about knights, but now, if they say about someone that he is a knight, then this means that they mean a noble, selfless and generous person. And I think that every pioneer should definitely be a knight. Raise your hands, who's the knight here?

We all raised our hands.

“I knew it,” said Boris Sergeevich, “go, knights!”

We went home. And on the way Mishka said:

- Okay, I’ll buy mom some sweets, I have money.

And so I came home, and there was no one at home. And I was even annoyed. For once I wanted to be a knight - but there’s no money! And then, as luck would have it, Mishka came running, in his hands an elegant box with the inscription: “May Day.”

Mishka says:

- Done, now I’m a knight for twenty-two kopecks. Why are you sitting?

- Bear, are you a knight? - I said.

“Knight,” says Mishka.

- Then lend it.

The bear was upset.

- I spent every penny.

- What to do?

“Search,” says Mishka. - After all, twenty kopecks is a small coin, maybe there’s at least one somewhere, let’s look for it.

And we crawled around the whole room - behind the sofa, and under the closet, and I shook out all my mother’s shoes, and even picked her finger in the powder. Not anywhere.

Suddenly Mishka opened the cupboard:

- Wait, what is this?

- Where? - I say. - Oh, these, these are bottles. Don't you see? There are two wines here: one bottle is black and the other is yellow. This is for guests, guests will come to us tomorrow.

Mishka says:

- Eh, if only your guests had come yesterday, and you would have had money.

- How is that?

- And the bottles? - says Mishka. - Yes, they always give money for empty bottles. On the corner. It's called "Glass Container Reception"!

I speak:

- Why were you silent before? Now we will settle this matter! Give me the compote jar, there’s one on the window.

Mishka handed me the jar, and I opened the bottle and poured blackish-red wine into the jar.

“That’s right,” said Mishka, “what will happen to him?”

“Of course,” I said. - Where is the second one?

“Come here,” says Mishka, “does it matter?” And this wine, and that wine.

“Well, yes,” I said. “If one were wine and the other kerosene, then it’s impossible, but this way, please, it’s even better.” Hold the jar.

And we poured the second bottle in there too.

I said:

- Put it on the window! So. Cover it with a saucer, and now let's run!

And we set off.

For these two bottles they gave us 24 kopecks. And I bought my mother some sweets. They gave me two more kopecks in change.

I came home cheerful, because I became a knight, and as soon as mom and dad arrived, I said:

“Mom, I’m a knight now.” Boris Sergeevich taught us!

Mom said:

- Come on, tell me!

I told her that tomorrow I would surprise my mother.

Mom said:

- Where did you get the money?

And I said:

- Mom, I handed over the empty dishes. Here's two kopecks in change.

Then dad said:

- Well done! Give me two kopecks for the machine!

We sat down to dinner.

Then dad leaned back in his chair and smiled:

- I would like a compote.

“Sorry, I didn’t have time today,” said mom.

But dad winked at me:

- And what's that? I noticed it a long time ago.

And he went to the window, took off the saucer and took a sip straight from the can. Well, that's what happened! Poor dad coughed as if he had drunk a glass of nails.

- What it is? What kind of poison is this?!

I said:

- Dad, don't be scared! It's not poison. These are two of your wines!

Here dad staggered a little and turned pale.

- What two wines?! - he shouted louder than before.

“Black and yellow,” I said, “that were in the buffet.” Most importantly, don’t be scared.

Dad ran to the buffet and opened the door.

Then he blinked his eyes and began rubbing his chest.

He looked at me with such surprise, as if I was not an ordinary boy, but some blue or speckled boy.

I said:

- Are you surprised, dad? I poured your two wines into a jar, otherwise where would I get empty dishes? Think by yourself!

Mom screamed:

And she fell on the sofa.

She started laughing, so hard that I thought she would feel bad.

I couldn’t understand anything, and dad shouted:

- Do you want to laugh? Well, laugh! By the way, this knight of yours will drive me crazy, but I’d better beat him out first so that he forgets his knightly manners once and for all.

And dad began to pretend that he was looking for a belt.

- Where is he? - Dad shouted. - Give me this Ivanhoe here! Where did he go?

And I was behind the bookcase. I've been there for a long time just in case. And then dad was very worried about something.

He shouted:

— Is it ever heard of pouring collectible black “Muscat” from the 1954 vintage into a jar and diluting it with Zhiguli beer?!

And mom was literally sour with laughter.

She barely said:

- After all, it’s him... With the best intentions... After all, he’s... A Knight... I’ll die... from laughter.

And she continued to laugh.

And dad rushed around the room a little more and then, out of the blue, came up to mom.

He said:

- How I love your laughter.

And he leaned over and kissed his mother.

And then I calmly crawled out from behind the closet.

Victor Dragunsky "Girl on a Ball"

Once we went to the circus as a whole class. I was very happy when I went there, because I was almost eight years old, and I had only been to the circus once, and that was a very long time ago. The main thing is that Alyonka is only six years old, but she has already managed to visit the circus three times. This is very disappointing. And now the whole class came to the circus, and I thought how good it was that I was already big and now, this time, I would see everything properly. And at that time I was little, I did not understand what a circus was. That time, when the acrobats entered the arena and one climbed on the head of the other, I laughed terribly, because I thought that they were doing this on purpose, for laughs, because at home I had never seen grown men climbing on each other. And this didn’t happen on the street either. So I laughed out loud. I didn’t understand that these were artists showing their dexterity.

And at that time I looked more and more at the orchestra, how they played - some on the drum, some on the trumpet - and the conductor waves his baton, and no one looks at him, but everyone plays as they want. I really liked it, but while I was looking at these musicians, there were artists performing in the middle of the arena. And I didn’t see them and missed the most interesting thing. Of course, I was still completely stupid that time. And so we came as a whole class to the circus. I immediately liked that it smelled something special and that there were bright pictures, and there is light all around, and in the middle lies beautiful carpet, and the ceiling is high, and there are various shiny swings tied there. And at that time the music started playing and everyone rushed to sit down, and then they bought a popsicle and began to eat. And suddenly, from behind the red curtain, a whole squad of people came out, dressed very beautifully - in red suits with yellow stripes. They stood on either side of the curtain, and their boss in a black suit walked between them. He shouted something loudly and a little incomprehensibly, and the music began to play quickly, quickly and loudly, and the artist-juggler jumped into the arena, and the fun began! He threw balls, ten or a hundred at a time, upward and caught them back. And then he grabbed a striped ball and began to play with it. He knocked him with his head, and with the back of his head, and with his forehead, and rolled him on his back, and pressed him with his heel, and the ball rolled all over his body, as if magnetized. It was very beautiful. And suddenly the juggler threw this ball towards us, into the audience, and then a real commotion began, because I caught this ball and threw it at Valerka, and Valerka threw it at Mishka, and Mishka suddenly took aim and, for no reason at all, threw it straight at the conductor, but didn’t hit him, but hit the drum! Bamm! The drummer got angry and threw the ball back to the juggler, but the ball didn’t get there, it just hit one beautiful woman in her hair, and she didn’t end up with a hairstyle, but a fringe. And we all laughed so hard that we almost died. And when the juggler ran behind the curtain, we couldn’t calm down for a long time. But then a huge blue ball was rolled out into the arena, and the guy who was announcing came to the middle and shouted something in an unintelligible voice. It was impossible to understand anything, and the orchestra again started playing something very cheerful, only not as fast as before.

And suddenly a little girl ran into the arena. I have never seen such small and beautiful ones. She had blue, blue eyes and long eyelashes around them. She was in a silver dress with an airy cloak, and she had long arms, she waved them like a bird and jumped onto this huge blue ball that was rolled out for her. She stood on the ball. And then she suddenly ran, as if she wanted to jump off it, but the ball spun under her feet, and she rode it like she was running, but in fact she was riding around the arena. I have never seen such girls. They were all ordinary, but this one was something special. She ran around the ball with her little legs, as if on a flat floor, and the blue ball carried her on itself, she could ride it straight, and backward, and to the left, and wherever you wanted! She laughed merrily when she ran like she was swimming, and I thought that she was probably Thumbelina, she was so small, sweet and extraordinary. At this time she stopped, and someone handed her various bell-shaped bracelets, and she put them on her shoes and hands and again began to slowly spin around on the ball, as if dancing. And the orchestra began to play quiet music, and one could hear the golden bells on the girls’ long arms ringing subtly. And it was all like in a fairy tale. And then they turned off the light, and it turned out that the girl, in addition, could glow in the dark, she slowly floated in a circle, and glowed, and rang, and it was amazing - I have never seen anything like that in my entire life.

And when the lights came on, everyone clapped and shouted “bravo”, and I also shouted “bravo”. And the girl jumped off her ball and ran forward, closer to us, and suddenly, as she ran, she turned over her head like lightning, and again, and again, and ever forward and forward. And it seemed to me that she was about to break against the barrier, and I suddenly got very scared, and jumped to my feet, and wanted to run to her to pick her up and save her, but the girl suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, spread out her long arms, the orchestra fell silent, and she stood and smiled. And everyone clapped with all their might and even stamped their feet. And at that moment this 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. And again I wanted to run to her, and I stretched out my hands to her. And she suddenly blew a kiss to us all and ran away behind the red curtain, where all the artists were running away. And a clown with his rooster entered the arena and began to sneeze and fall, but I had no time for him. I kept thinking about the girl on the ball, how amazing she was and how she waved her hand and smiled at me, and I didn’t want to look at anything else. On the contrary, I closed my eyes tightly so as not to see this stupid clown with his red nose, because he was spoiling my girl for me, she still seemed to me on her blue ball. And then they announced an intermission, and everyone ran to the buffet to drink lemonade, and I quietly went downstairs and approached the curtain from where the artists were coming out. I wanted to look at this girl again, and I stood by the curtain and looked to see if she would come out. But she didn't come out.

And after the intermission, the lions performed, and I didn’t like that the tamer kept dragging them by their tails, as if they were not lions, but dead cats. He forced them to move from place to place or laid them on the floor in a row and walked over the lions with his feet, as if on a carpet, and they looked as if they were not allowed to lie down quietly. It was not interesting, because a lion has to hunt and chase a bison in the endless pampas, filling the surroundings with a menacing roar that makes the native population tremble, but what happens is that it’s not a lion, but I just don’t know what.

And when it was over and we went home, I kept thinking about the girl on the ball.

And in the evening dad asked:

- Well, how? Did you like the circus?

I said:

- Dad! There's a girl at the circus. She is dancing on a blue ball. So nice, the best! She smiled at me and waved her hand! To me alone, honestly! Do you understand, dad? Let's go to the circus next Sunday! I'll show it to you!

Dad said:

- We'll definitely go. I love the circus!

And mom looked at both of us as if she was seeing us for the first time.

And a long week began, and I ate, studied, got up and went to bed, played and even fought, and still every day I thought, when will Sunday come and dad and I will go to the circus, and I will again see the girl in the ball, and show her dad, and maybe dad will invite her to visit us, and I’ll give her a Browning pistol and draw a picture of a ship with full sails.

But on Sunday dad couldn't go. His comrades came to him, they delved into some drawings, and shouted, and smoked, and drank tea, and sat until late, and after them my mother had a headache.

And dad told me when we were cleaning:

- Next Sunday, I take an oath of Loyalty and Honor.

And I looked forward to the next Sunday so much that I don’t even remember how I lived another week. And dad kept his word, he went with me to the circus and bought tickets to the second row, and I was glad that we were sitting so close, and the performance began, and I began to wait for the girl to appear on the ball. But the person who announces kept announcing various other artists, and they came out and performed in different ways, but the girl still did not appear. And I was literally trembling with impatience, I really wanted dad to see how extraordinary she was in her silver suit with an airy cape and how deftly she ran around the blue ball. And every time the announcer came out, I whispered to dad:

- Now he will announce it!

But, as luck would have it, he announced someone else, and I even began to hate him, and I kept telling dad:

- Come on! This is nonsense vegetable oil! This is not it!

And dad said, without looking at me:

- Don't interfere. It is very interesting! That's it!

I thought that dad apparently doesn’t know much about the circus, since it’s interesting to him. Let's see what he sings when he sees the girl on the ball. He'll probably jump two meters high in his chair.

But then the announcer came out and shouted in his deaf-mute voice:

- Ant-rra-kt!

I just couldn’t believe my ears! Intermission! And why? After all, in the second section there will only be lions! Where is my girl on the ball? Where is she? Why doesn't she perform? Maybe she got sick? Maybe she fell and had a concussion?

I said:

- Dad, let's quickly find out where the girl is on the ball!

Dad replied:

- Yes Yes! Where is your tightrope walker? Something is missing! Let's go buy some software!..

He was cheerful and happy.

He looked around, laughed and said:

- Oh, I love... I love the circus! This very smell... It makes my head spin...

And we went into the corridor. There were a lot of people milling about, and they were selling candies and waffles, and there were photographs of different tiger faces hanging on the walls, and we

We wandered around a bit and finally found the controller with the programs. Dad bought one from her and started looking through it.

But I couldn’t stand it and asked the controller:

— Tell me, please, when will the girl perform in the ball?

She said:

- Which girl?

Dad said:

— The program shows tightrope walker T. Vorontsova. Where is she?

I stood and was silent.

The controller said:

- Oh, are you talking about Tanechka Vorontsova? She left. She left. Why are you late?

I stood and was silent.

Dad said:

“We haven’t known peace for two weeks now.” We want to see tightrope walker T. Vorontsova, but she’s not there.

The controller said:

- Yes, she left... Together with her parents... Her parents are “Bronze People - Two-Yavors.” Maybe you've heard? It's a pity... We just left yesterday.

I said:

- You see, dad...

He said:

“I didn’t know she would leave.” What a pity... Oh, my God!.. Well... Nothing can be done...

I asked the controller:

- Does this mean it’s true?

She said:

I said:

- Where, no one knows?

She said:

- To Vladivostok.

There you go. Far. Vladivostok. I know it is located at the very end of the map, from Moscow to the right.

I said:

- What a distance.

The controller suddenly hurried:

- Well, go, go to your seats, the lights are already turning off!

Dad picked up:

- Let's go, Deniska! Now there will be lions! Shaggy, growling - horror! Let's run to see!

I said:

- Let's go home, dad.

He said:

- Just like that...

The controller laughed. But we went to the wardrobe, and I handed over the number, and we got dressed and left the circus. We walked along the boulevard and walked like this for quite a long time, then I said:

— Vladivostok is at the very end of the map. If you travel there by train, it will take you a whole month...

Dad was silent. Apparently he had no time for me. We walked a little more, and I suddenly remembered about the planes and said:

- And on the TU-104 in three hours - and there!

But dad still didn’t answer. He walked silently and held my hand tightly.

When we went out onto Gorky Street, he said:

— Let's go to the Ice Cream cafe. Let's make two servings each, shall we?

I said:

- I don’t want something, dad. He said:

— They serve water there, it’s called “Kakheti.” I have never drank better water anywhere in the world.

I said:

- I don’t want to, dad.

He didn't try to persuade me. He quickened his pace and squeezed my hand tightly. It even hurt me. He walked very quickly, and I could barely keep up with him. Why was he walking so fast? Why didn't he talk to me? I wanted to look at him. I raised my head. He had a very serious and sad face.

Victor Dragunsky "The Glory of Ivan Kozlovsky"

I only have A's on my report card. Only in penmanship is a B. Because of the blots. I really don't know what to do!

Blots always jump off my pen. I only dip the very tip of the pen into ink, but the blots still jump off. Just some miracles!

Once I wrote a whole page that was pure, pure, and delightful to look at—a real A page. In the morning I showed it to Raisa Ivanovna, and there was a blot in the very middle! Where did she come from? She wasn't there yesterday! Maybe it was leaked from some other page? Don't know...

And so I only have A's.

Only a C in singing.

This is how it happened.

We had a singing lesson.

At first we all sang in chorus “There was a birch tree in the field.”

It turned out very beautifully, but Boris Sergeevich kept wincing and shouting:

- Pull your vowels, friends, pull your vowels!..

Then we began to draw out the vowels, but Boris Sergeevich clapped his hands and said:

- A real cat concert! Let's deal with each one individually.

This means with each individual separately.

And Boris Sergeevich called Misha.

Misha went up to the piano and whispered something to Boris Sergeevich.

Then Boris Sergeevich began to play, and Misha quietly sang:

As if a little white snow fell on thin ice...

Well, Mishka squeaked funny! This is how our kitten Murzik squeaks when I put him in the kettle. Is that really how they sing?

Almost nothing can be heard. I just couldn't stand it and started laughing.

Then Boris Sergeevich gave Misha a high five and looked at me.

He said:

- Come on, laugher, come out!

I quickly ran out to the piano.

- Well, what will you perform? - Boris Sergeevich asked politely.

I said:

— Song of the Civil War “Lead us, Budyonny, boldly into battle.”

Boris Sergeevich shook his head and began to play, but I immediately stopped him.

- Please play louder! - I said.

Boris Sergeevich said:

- You won't be heard.

- Will. And how!

- Boris Sergeevich began to play, and I took in more air and then burst out with all my might to my beloved:

High in the clear sky

The scarlet banner flutters...

I really like this song. I can see the blue, blue sky, it’s hot, the horses are clattering their hooves, they have beautiful purple eyes, and a scarlet banner is flying in the sky.

At this point I even closed my eyes with delight and shouted as loud as I could:

We are racing there on horseback,

Where is the enemy visible?

And in a delightful battle...

I screamed loudly, probably, it was heard on the other street:

A swift avalanche!

We are rushing forward!.. Hurray!..

Reds always win!

Retreat, enemies! Give it!!!

I pressed my fists on my stomach, it came out even louder, and I almost burst:

We crashed into Crimea!

Then I stopped because I was all sweaty and my knees were shaking.

And although Boris Sergeevich was playing, he was somehow leaning towards the piano, and his shoulders were also shaking...

I said:

- Well, how?

- Monstrous! - Boris Sergeevich praised.

— Good song, Truth? - I asked.

“Good,” said Boris Sergeevich and covered his eyes with a handkerchief.

“It’s just a pity, you played very quietly, Boris Sergeevich,” I said, “you could have been even louder.”

“Okay, I’ll take it into account,” said Boris Sergeevich. “Didn’t you notice that I played one thing, and you sang a little differently?”

“No,” I said, “I didn’t notice it!” Yes, it doesn’t matter. I just needed to play louder.

“Well,” said Boris Sergeevich, “since you didn’t notice anything, let’s give you a three for now.” For diligence.

How about a three?! I was even taken aback. How can this be? Three is very little! The bear sang so quietly and then he got an A...

I said:

- Boris Sergeevich, when I rest a little, I’ll be able to get even louder, don’t think so. I didn't have a good breakfast today. Otherwise I can sing so hard that everyone’s ears will be covered. I know one more song. When I sing it at home, all the neighbors come running and ask what happened.

- What is this? - asked Boris Sergeevich.

“Compassionate,” I said and started:

I loved you:

Love still, perhaps...

But Boris Sergeevich hastily said:

“Okay, okay, we’ll discuss all this next time.”

And then the bell rang.

Mom met me in the locker room. When we were about to leave, Boris Sergeevich approached us.

“Well,” he said, smiling, “perhaps your boy will be Lobachevsky, maybe Mendeleev.” He may become Surikov or Koltsov, I would not be surprised if he becomes known to the country, as Comrade Nikolai Mamai or any boxer is known, but I can assure you absolutely firmly of one thing: he will not achieve the fame of Ivan Kozlovsky. Never!

Mom blushed terribly and said:

- Well, we'll see about that later!

And when we walked home, I kept thinking:

“Does Kozlovsky really sing louder than me?”

Victor Dragunsky “You must have a sense of humor”

One day Mishka and I were doing homework.

We put notebooks in front of us and copied.

And at that time I was telling Mishka about lemurs, what they have big eyes, like glass saucers, and that I saw a photograph of a lemur, how he holds a fountain pen, himself small-small and terribly cute.

Then Mishka says:

- Did you write it?

I speak:

“You check my notebook,” says Mishka, “and I’ll check yours.”

And we exchanged notebooks.

And as soon as I saw what Mishka wrote, I immediately began to laugh.

I look, and Mishka is also rolling, he’s just turned blue.

I speak:

- Why are you rolling around, Mishka?

- I'm rolling that you wrote it off incorrectly! What are you doing?

I speak:

- And I say the same thing, only about you. Look, you wrote: “The moses have arrived.” Who are these “Mozes”?

The bear blushed:

- Moses are probably frosts. And you wrote: “Natal winter.” What is it?

“Yes,” I said, “it’s not “natal”, but “has arrived.” There's nothing you can do about it, you have to rewrite it. It's all the lemurs' fault.

And we began to rewrite.

And when they rewrote it, I said:

- Let's set tasks!

“Come on,” said Mishka.

At this time dad came.

He said:

- Hello, fellow students...

And he sat down at the table.

I said:

“Here, dad, listen to the problem I’ll give Mishka: I have two apples, and there are three of us, how can we divide them equally among us?”

The bear immediately pouted and began to think. Dad didn’t pout, but he also thought about it. They thought for a long time.

I then said:

-Are you giving up, Mishka?

Mishka said:

- I give up!

I said:

- So that we all get equally, we need to make a compote from these apples. - And he began to laugh: - Aunt Mila taught me this!..

The bear pouted even more. Then dad narrowed his eyes and said:

“And since you’re so cunning, Denis, let me give you a task.”

“Let’s ask,” I said.

Dad walked around the room.

“Well, listen,” he said. — One boy is studying in first grade “B”. His family consists of four people. Mom gets up at seven o'clock and spends ten minutes getting dressed. But dad brushes his teeth for five minutes. Grandma goes to the store as much as mom gets dressed, plus dad brushes his teeth. And grandpa reads the newspapers, how long does grandma go to the store minus what time does mom get up.

When they are all together, they begin to wake up this boy from first grade "B". This takes time from reading grandpa's newspapers plus grandma's going to the store. When a boy from first grade “B” wakes up, he stretches for as long as his mother gets dressed plus his father brushes his teeth. And he washes himself as much as his grandfather’s newspapers divided by his grandmother’s. He is late for class by as many minutes as he stretches plus washes his face minus his mother's getting up multiplied by his father's teeth.

The question is: who is this boy from the first “B” and what threatens him if this continues? All!

Then dad stopped in the middle of the room and began to look at me.

And Mishka laughed at the top of his lungs and began to look at me too.

They both looked at me and laughed.

I said:

“I can’t solve this problem right away, because we haven’t gone through this yet.

And I didn’t say another word, but left the room, because I immediately guessed that the answer to this problem would turn out to be a lazy person and that such a person would soon be kicked out of school. I left the room into the corridor and climbed behind the hanger and began to think that if this task was about me, then it was not true, because I always get up quite quickly and stretch for a very short time, just as much as needed. And I also thought that if dad wants to make up stories about me so much, then please, I can leave home straight into the virgin lands. There will always be work there, people are needed there, especially young people. I will conquer nature there, and dad will come with a delegation to Altai, see me, and I will stop for a minute and say: “Hello, dad!” - and I’ll go on to conquer.

And he will say:

“Hello from your mother...”

And I will say:

“Thank you... How is she doing?”

And he will say:

"Nothing".

And I will say:

“Perhaps she forgot her only son? »

And he will say:

“What are you talking about, she’s lost thirty-seven kilos! That’s how bored he is!”

He saw me and said:

- Oh, there you are! What kind of eyes do you have? Have you really taken this task personally?

He picked up his coat and hung it back and said further:

- I made it all up. There is no such boy in the world, let alone in your class!

And dad took me by the hands and pulled me out from behind the hanger.

Then he looked at me intently again and smiled:

“You need to have a sense of humor,” he told me, and his eyes became cheerful and cheerful. - But this is a funny task, isn’t it? Well! Laugh!

And I laughed.

And he too.

And we went into the room.

Here are all Dragunsky’s books - a list of his titles best works. But first, let’s learn a little about the author himself. Viktor Yuzefovich Dragunsky was born in 1913 and became known in the USSR as a famous writer and recognizable actor.

His most famous series of books is Deniska's Stories, which has been reprinted many times since its first publication half a century ago.

Dragunsky devoted his entire youth to working in the theater and circus, and this work did not always bear fruit. The little-known actor could not get serious roles and tried to find a calling in related fields.

The author's first stories were published in 1959, and they became the basis for the future series. The name for the series was not chosen by chance - the writer initially wrote stories for his nine-year-old son Denis. The boy became the main character in his father's stories.

Beginning in the 1960s, the stories became so popular that the publishing house could not even cope with the volume. And the popularity of the main character Denis Korablev was transferred to films.

So, directly the list with descriptions of those very cult stories Dragunsky.

The magical power of art (Collection)

Deniska's stories: how everything really happened

For three generations now they have been admiring Dragunsky’s stories about the boy Deniska Korablev. During the character’s childhood, life was completely different: the streets and cars, shops and apartments looked different. In this collection you can read not only the stories themselves, but also the explanations of the famous author’s son, Denis Dragunsky. He openly shares what really happened to him and what was his father’s invention. Further

Deniska's stories (collection)

Deniska lives her Soviet life– loves, forgives, makes friends, overcomes insults and deceptions. His life is incredible and filled with adventure. He has the most close friend Bear, with whom Denis went to the masquerade; They play pranks together in class, go to the circus and encounter unusual events.