In the land of unlearned lessons - Geraskina L. - Domestic writers

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On the day when all this started, I was unlucky from the very morning. We had five lessons. And at each one they called me. And I got a bad mark in every subject. I probably got four deuces because I didn’t answer the way the teachers would have liked. But the fifth grade was completely unfair. For some kind of water cycle in nature.

I wonder what you would answer to this question from the teacher:

– Where does the water go that evaporates from the surface of lakes and rivers, seas, oceans and puddles?

I don't know what you would answer. But it is clear to me that if water evaporates, then it is no longer there. It’s not for nothing that they say about a person who suddenly disappeared somewhere: “He evaporated.” This means “he disappeared.” But Zoya Filippovna, our teacher, for some reason began to find fault and ask unnecessary questions:

-Where does the water go? Or maybe it doesn’t disappear after all? Maybe you will think carefully and answer properly?

I think I answered as it should. Zoya Filippovna, of course, did not agree with me. I have long noticed that teachers rarely agree with me. They have such a negative minus.

Mom opened the door silently. But this did not make me happy. I knew that she would feed me first, and then...

I ate and tried not to look at my mother. I thought, could she really be able to read in my eyes about all five deuces at once?

Kuzya the cat jumped from the windowsill and spun around at my feet. He loves me very much and caresses me not at all because he expects something tasty from me. Kuzya knows that I came from school, and not from the store, which means I couldn’t bring anything but bad grades.

The phone rang. Hooray! Aunt Polya called. She won't let her mom get off the phone in less than an hour.

“Sit down to your homework immediately,” my mother said and picked up the phone.

I had to go to my room and sit down for my homework.

I started solving a problem about some diggers. Before I had time to write out the conditions, the loudspeaker began to speak. I could have distracted myself a little and listened... But whose voice did I hear? Voice of Zoya Filippovna! She gave advice to the kids on the radio on how to prepare for exams. I had no intention of preparing. I had to turn off the radio.

I opened the problem book again. Five diggers dug a trench of one hundred linear meters in four days... What could you come up with for the first question?

He began to reason. Five diggers dug a trench of one hundred linear meters. Shoulder straps? Why are meters called linear meters? Who is driving them?

I started thinking about this and came up with a tongue twister: “A driver in uniform drove with a running meter.”

It would be nice to call the driver Paganel!

– What should we do with the diggers? Maybe multiply them by meters or divide the meters by diggers?..

...

Here is an introductory fragment of the book.
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L. Geraskina
In the land of unlearned lessons
On the day when all this started, I was unlucky from the very morning. We had five lessons. And at each one they called me. And I got a bad mark in every subject. Only five deuces per day! I probably got four deuces because I didn’t answer the way the teachers would like, but they gave me the fifth deuce completely unfairly.
It’s even funny to say why I was slapped with this unfortunate deuce. For some kind of water cycle in nature.
I wonder what you would answer to this question from the teacher:
- Where does the water that evaporates from the surface of lakes, rivers, seas, oceans and puddles go?
I don’t know what you would answer, but it is clear to me that if the water evaporates, then it is no longer there. It’s not for nothing that they say about a person who suddenly disappeared somewhere: “He evaporated.” This means "he disappeared." But Zoya Filippovna, our teacher, for some reason began to find fault and ask unnecessary questions:
-Where does the water go? Or maybe it doesn’t disappear after all? Maybe you will think carefully and answer properly?
I think I answered properly anyway. Zoya Filippovna, of course, did not agree with me. I have long noticed that teachers rarely agree with me. They have such a negative minus.
Who wants to rush home if you're carrying a whole bunch of twos in your briefcase? For example, I don’t feel like it. That's why I went home an hour later, taking a tablespoon. But no matter how slowly you walk, you will still come home. It's good that dad is on a business trip. Otherwise, the conversation would immediately begin that I have no character. Dad always remembered this as soon as I brought a deuce.
- And who are you? - Dad was surprised. - No character at all. You can’t pull yourself together and study well.
“He has no will,” my mother added and was also surprised: “Who would it be?”
My parents have a strong character and a strong will, but for some reason I don’t. That’s why I didn’t dare to immediately drag myself home with five deuces in my briefcase.
To stall for more time, I stopped at all the shops along the way. In the bookstore I met Lyusya Karandashkina. She is my neighbor twice: she lives in the same house with me, and in class she sits behind me. There is no peace from her anywhere - neither at school, nor at home. Lucy had already had lunch and ran to the store to get some notebooks. Seryozha Petkin was also here. He came to find out if new stamps had been received. Seryozha buys stamps and imagines himself as a philatelist. But in my opinion, any fool can collect a stamp collection if he has money.
I didn’t want to meet the guys, but they noticed me and immediately began discussing my bad grades. Of course, they argued that Zoya Filippovna acted fairly. And when I pinned them against the wall, it turned out that they also did not know where the evaporated water went. Zoya probably would have slapped them with a deuce for this - they would have immediately started singing something else.
We argued, it seemed a little noisy. The saleswoman asked us to leave the store. I left immediately, but the guys stayed. The saleswoman immediately guessed which of us was better educated. But tomorrow they will say that I caused the noise in the store. Perhaps they will also babble that I stuck my tongue out at them at parting. What, one might ask, is bad here? Anna Sergeevna, our school doctor, is not at all offended by this, she even asks the boys to stick their tongues out at her. And she already knows what is good and what is bad.
When I was kicked out of the bookstore, I realized that I was very hungry. I wanted to eat more and more, but I wanted to go home less and less.
There was only one store left on the way. Uninteresting - economic. It smelled disgustingly of kerosene. I had to leave him too. The seller asked me three times:
- What do you want here, boy?
Mom opened the door silently. But this did not make me happy. I knew that she would feed me first, and then...
It was impossible to hide the deuces. Mom said a long time ago that she reads in my eyes everything that I want to hide from her, including what is written in my diary. What's the point of lying?
I ate and tried not to look at my mother. I thought if she could read in my eyes about all five deuces at once.
Kuzya the cat jumped from the windowsill and spun around at my feet. He loves me very much and caresses me not at all because he expects something tasty from me. Kuzya knows that I came from school, and not from the store, which means I couldn’t bring anything but bad grades.
I tried to eat as slowly as possible, but it didn’t work because I was so hungry. Mom sat opposite, looked at me and was terribly silent. Now, when I eat the last spoonful of compote, it will begin...
But the phone rang. Hooray! Aunt Polya called. She won't let her mother go off the phone in less than an hour?
“Sit down to your homework immediately,” my mother ordered and picked up the phone.
For lessons when I'm so tired! I wanted to relax for at least an hour and play in the yard with the guys. But my mother held the phone with her hand and said that I should count my shopping trip as a vacation. That's how she can read eyes! I'm afraid that she will read about the deuces.
I had to go to my room and sit down for my homework.
- Clean up your desk! - Mom shouted after me.
It's easy to say - take it away! Sometimes I'm just surprised when I look at my desk. How many items can fit on it? There are torn textbooks and four-sheet notebooks, pens, pencils, and rulers. They are, however, crowded with nails, screws, scraps of wire and other necessary things. I really love nails. I have them in all sizes and different thicknesses. But for some reason mom doesn’t like them at all. She has thrown them away many times, but they come back to my desk like boomerangs. Mom is angry with me because I like nails more than textbooks. And who is to blame? Of course, not me, but the textbooks. You don't have to be so boring.
This time I got the cleaning done quickly. He pulled out the desk drawer and shoveled all his things in there. Fast and convenient. And the dust is immediately erased. Now it was time to start studying. I opened the diary, and deuces flashed in front of me. They were so noticeable because they were written in red ink. In my opinion, this is wrong. Why write a two in red ink? After all, everything good is also marked in red. For example, holidays and Sundays in the calendar. You look at the red number and you’re happy: you don’t have to go to school. Five can also be written in red ink. And three, two and count - only in black! It’s amazing how our teachers can’t figure this out themselves!
As luck would have it, there were a lot of lessons. And the day was sunny, warm, and the boys were kicking a ball in the yard. I wonder who stood at the gate instead of me? Probably Sashka again: he’s been aiming for my place at the gate for a long time. This is ridiculous. Everyone knows what kind of shoemaker he is.
Kuzya the cat settled on the windowsill and from there, as if from the stands, watched the game. Kuzka hasn’t missed a single match, and mom and dad don’t believe that he’s a real fan. And in vain. He even likes to listen when I talk about football. Doesn't interrupt, doesn't leave, even purrs. And cats purr only when they feel good.
I was given rules on unstressed vowels. We had to repeat them. I didn't do this, of course. There is no use repeating what you don’t know anyway. Then I had to read about this very water cycle in nature. I remembered Zoya Filippovna and decided to better tackle the problem.
There was nothing pleasant here either. Some diggers were digging some kind of trench for some unknown reason. Before I had time to write out the conditions, the loudspeaker began to speak. We could take a little break and listen. But whose voice did I hear? The voice of our Zoya Filippovna! Little did I get tired of her voice at school! She gave advice to the kids on the radio on how to prepare for exams, and told how our best student Katya Pyaterkina does it. Since I had no intention of studying for the exams, I had to turn off the radio.
The task was very difficult and stupid. I was almost beginning to guess how it should be solved, but... a soccer ball flew into the window. It was the guys who called me into the yard. I grabbed the ball and was about to climb out through the window, but my mother’s voice caught up with me on the windowsill.
- Vitya! You are doing homework?! - she shouted from the kitchen. There, something was boiling and grumbling in a frying pan. Therefore, my mother could not come and give me what I was entitled to for escaping. For some reason, she really didn’t like it when I went out through the window and not through the door. I would be nice if my mother came in!
I got down from the windowsill, threw the ball to the guys and told my mother that I was doing my homework.
I opened the problem book again. Five diggers dug a trench of one hundred linear meters in four days. What can you come up with for the first question? I was almost starting to think again, but I was interrupted again. Lyuska Karandashkina looked out the window. One of her pigtails was tied with a red ribbon, and the other was loose. And this is not just today. She does this almost every day. Either the right braid is loose, then the left one is loose. It would be better if she paid more attention to her hairstyle than to other people’s bad looks, especially since she has plenty of her own. Lucy said that the problem about the diggers was so difficult that even her grandmother could not solve it. Happy Lyuska! And I don’t have any grandmother.
- Let's decide together! - Lyuska suggested and climbed into my room through the window.
I refused. Nothing good would come of this. It's better to do it yourself.
He began to reason again. Five diggers dug a trench of one hundred linear meters. Shoulder straps? Why are meters called linear meters? Who is driving them?
I began to think about this and composed a tongue twister: “A driver in uniform drove with a running meter...” Then my mother screamed again from the kitchen. I caught myself and began to shake my head violently in order to forget about the driver in uniform and return to the diggers. Well, what should I do with them?
- It would be nice to call the driver Paganel. What about the diggers? What to do with them? Maybe multiply them by meters?
“There’s no need to multiply,” objected Lucy, “you won’t know anything anyway.”
To spite her, I still multiplied the diggers. True, I didn’t learn anything good about them, but now it was possible to move on to the second question. Then I decided to divide the meters into diggers.
“There’s no need to divide,” Lucy intervened again. “I’ve already divided.” Nothing works.
Of course, I didn’t listen to her and divided her. It turned out to be such nonsense that I began to look for the answer in the problem book. But, as luck would have it, the page with the answer about the diggers was torn out. I had to take full responsibility upon myself. I've changed everything. It turned out that the work had to be done by one and a half diggers. Why one and a half? How do I know! After all, what do I care how many diggers dug this very trench? Who even digs with diggers now? They would take an excavator and finish the trench right away. And the work would be done quickly, and the schoolchildren would not be fooled. Well, be that as it may, the problem is solved. You can already run to the guys. And, of course, I would have run, but Lyuska stopped me.
- When will we learn poetry? - she asked me.
- What poems?
- What kind? Forgot? And "Winter. The Peasant Triumphant"? I can't remember them at all.
“That’s because they are uninteresting,” I said. “Those poems that the boys wrote in our class are immediately remembered.” Because they are interesting.
Lyusya didn’t know any new poems. I read them to her as a keepsake:
We study all day long
Laziness, laziness, laziness
Tired of it!
We should run and play
I would like to kick the ball across the field
This business!
Lucy liked the poems so much that she immediately memorized them. Together we quickly defeated the “peasant.” I was about to slowly climb out of the window, but Lyusya remembered again - they must insert the missing letters into the words. Even my teeth began to ache with frustration. Who is interested in doing useless work? The letters in the words skip, as if on purpose, the most difficult ones. In my opinion, this is dishonest No matter how much I wanted to, I had to insert it.
P..friend of my harsh days,
My decrepit little girl.
Lucy assures that Pushkin wrote this poem to his nanny. Her grandmother told her this. Does Pencilhead really think I’m such a simpleton? So I will believe that adults have nannies. Grandma just laughed at her, that’s all.
But what about this “p...other”? We consulted and decided to insert the letter “a” when suddenly Katya and Zhenchik burst into the room. I don’t know why they decided to come close. In any case, I didn’t invite them. All that was needed was for Katya to go to the kitchen and report to my mother how many deuces I had picked up today. These nerds looked down on me and Lyusa because they studied better than us. Katya had bulging round eyes and thick braids. She was proud of these braids as if they had been given to her for good academic performance and excellent behavior. Katya spoke slowly, in a singsong voice, did everything efficiently and was never in a hurry. And there’s simply nothing to tell about Zhenchik. He hardly spoke on his own, but only repeated Katya’s words. His grandmother called him Zhenchik, and she took him to school like a little boy. That's why we all started calling him Zhenchik. Only Katya called him Evgeniy. She loved to do things right.
Katya greeted her as if we had not seen each other today, and said, looking at Lyusya:
- Your braid has come unraveled again. It's messy. Comb your hair.
Lucy butted her head. She didn't like to comb her hair. She didn't like it when people commented on her. Katya sighed. Zhenchik also sighed. Katya shook her head. Zhenchik also shook.
“Since you’re both here,” said Katya, “we’ll pull you two up.”
- Pull up quickly! - Lucy shouted. - Otherwise we don’t have time. We haven't done all our homework yet.
- What was your answer to the problem? - Katya asked, exactly like Zoya Filippovna.
“One and a half diggers,” I answered deliberately very rudely.
“Wrong,” Katya calmly objected.
- Well, let it be wrong. What do you care! - I answered and made a terrible grimace at her.
Katya sighed again and shook her head again. Zhenchik, of course, too.
- She needs it more than anyone else! - Lyuska blurted out.
Katya straightened her braids and said slowly:
- Let's go, Evgeny. They are also rude.
Zhenchik got angry, blushed and scolded us on his own. We were so surprised by this that we didn’t answer him. Katya said that they would leave right away, and this would only make things worse for us, since we would remain weak.
“Goodbye, quitters,” Katya said affectionately.
“Goodbye, lazybones,” Zhenchik squeaked.
- Fair wind at your back! - I barked.
- Goodbye, Pyaterkins-Chetverkins! - Lyuska sang in a funny voice.
This was, of course, not entirely polite. After all, they were in my house. Almost there. Polite - impolite, but I still put them out. And Lyuska ran away after them.
I was left alone. It's amazing how much I didn't want to do my homework. Of course, if I had a strong will, I would have done it to spite myself. Katya probably had a strong will. It will be necessary to make peace with her and ask how she acquired it. The Pope says that every person can develop will and character if he struggles with difficulties and despises danger. Well, what should I fight with? Dad says - lazily. But is laziness a problem? But I would gladly despise danger, but where can you get it?
I was very unhappy. What is misfortune? In my opinion, when a person is forced by force to do something that he does not want at all, this is misfortune.
Boys were screaming outside the window. The sun was shining and there was a very strong smell of lilac. I felt the urge to jump out the window and run to the guys. But my textbooks were on the table. They were torn, stained with ink, dirty and terribly boring. But they were very strong. They kept me in a stuffy room, forced me to solve a problem about some antediluvian navvies, insert missing letters, repeat rules that no one needed, and do much more that was not at all interesting to me. I suddenly hated my textbooks so much that I grabbed them from the table and threw them as hard as I could onto the floor.
- Get lost! Tired of it! - I shouted in a voice that was not my own.
There was such a roar as if forty thousand iron barrels had fallen from a high building onto the pavement. Kuzya rushed from the window sill and pressed himself to my feet. It became dark, as if the sun had gone out. But it was just shining. Then the room lit up with a greenish light, and I noticed some strange people. They wore robes made of crumpled paper covered with blots. One had a very familiar black spot on his chest with arms, legs and horns. I drew exactly the same horned legs to a blot that I put on the cover of a geography textbook.
The little people stood silently around the table and looked at me angrily. Something had to be done immediately. So I politely asked:
-Who will you be?
“Take a closer look, maybe you’ll find out,” answered the little man with the blot.
“He’s not used to looking at us carefully, period,” another man said angrily and threatened me with his ink-stained finger.
I got it. These were my textbooks. For some reason they came to life and came to visit me. If only you had heard how they reproached me!
- No one, anywhere on the globe, in any degree of latitude or longitude, handles textbooks the way you do! - Geography shouted.
- You're pouring exclamation mark ink on us. “You draw all sorts of nonsense and an exclamation point on our pages,” Grammar cried.
- Why did you attack me like that? Are Seryozha Petkin or Lyusya Karandashkina better students?
- Five deuces! - the textbooks shouted in unison.
- But I prepared my homework today!
- Today you solved the problem incorrectly!
- I didn’t understand the zones!
- I didn’t understand the water cycle in nature!
Grammar was the one who was fuming the most.
- Today you did not repeat the exclamation mark on unstressed vowels. Not knowing your native language dash disgrace comma misfortune comma crime exclamation point.
I can't stand it when people shout at me. Especially in chorus. I'm offended. And now I was very offended and replied that I would somehow live without unstressed vowels, and without the ability to solve problems, and even more so without this very cycle.
At this point my textbooks went numb. They looked at me with such horror, as if I had been rude to the school principal in their presence. Then they started whispering and decided that they needed me immediately, what do you think? Punish? Nothing like this! Save! Weirdos! From what, one might ask, to save?
Geography said it was best to send me to the Land of Unlearned Lessons. The little people immediately agreed with her.
- Are there any difficulties and dangers in this country? - I asked.
“As many as you like,” Geography answered.
- The whole journey consists of difficulties. “It’s as clear as two and two are four,” added Arithmetic.
“Every step there threatens life with an exclamation mark,” Grammar tried to scare me.
It was worth thinking about. After all, there will be no dad, no mom, no Zoya Filippovna!
No one will stop me every minute and shout: “Don’t walk! Don’t run! Don’t jump! Don’t peek! Don’t tell me! Don’t spin around on your desk!” - and a dozen more different “nots” that I can’t stand.
Maybe on this journey I will be able to develop my will and acquire character. If I return from there with character, my dad will be surprised!
- Or maybe we can come up with something else for him? - asked Geography.
- I don’t need another! - I shouted. - So be it. I will go to this dangerously difficult country of yours.
I wanted to ask them if I would be able to strengthen my will there and acquire character so much that I could voluntarily do my homework. But he didn't ask. I was shy.
- It's decided! - said Geography.
- The answer is correct. We won’t change our minds,” added Arithmetic.
“Go immediately, period,” Grammar finished.
“Okay,” I said as politely as possible. - But how to do this? Trains probably don’t go to this country, planes don’t fly, ships don’t sail.
“We will do this comma,” said Grammar, “as we always did in Russian folk tales.” Let's take a ball of dots...
But we didn’t have any tangle. Mom didn't know how to knit.
- Do you have anything spherical in your house? - asked Arithmetic, and since I did not understand what “spherical” was, she explained: It’s the same as round.
- Round?
I remembered that Aunt Polya gave me a globe on my birthday. I suggested this globe. True, it is on a stand, but it’s not difficult to tear it off. For some reason Geography was offended, waved her hands and shouted that she would not allow it. That the globe is a great visual aid! Well, and all that other stuff that didn’t go to the point at all. At this time, a soccer ball flew through the window. It turns out that it is also spherical. Everyone agreed to count it as a ball.
The ball will be my guide. I have to follow him and keep up. And if I lose it, I won’t be able to return home and will forever remain in the Land of Unlearned Lessons.
After I was placed in such a colonial dependence on the ball, this spherical one jumped onto the windowsill of its own accord. I climbed after him, and Kuzya followed me.
- Back! - I shouted to the cat, but he didn’t listen.
“I’ll go with you,” my cat declared in a human voice.
“Now let’s go with an exclamation point,” said the grammarian. - Repeat after me:
You fly, soccer ball,
Don't skip or gallop,
Don't go astray
Fly straight to that country
Where do Vitya's mistakes live?
So that he is among the events
Full of fear and anxiety,
I could help myself.
I repeated the verses, the ball fell off the windowsill, flew out of the window, and Kuzya and I flew after it. Geography waved goodbye to me and shouted:
- If things get really bad for you, call me for help. So be it!
Kuzya and I quickly rose into the air, and the ball flew in front of us. I didn't look down. I was afraid my head would spin. So as not to be too scary, I didn’t take my eyes off the ball. I don’t know how long we flew. I don't want to lie. The sun was shining in the sky, and Kuzya and I rushed after the ball, as if we were tied to it with a rope and it was dragging us in tow. Finally the ball began to descend, and we landed on a forest road. The ball rolled, jumping over stumps and fallen trees. He didn't give us any respite. Again, I can’t say how long we walked. The sun never set. Therefore, you might think that we walked for only one day. But who knows if the sun ever sets in this unknown country?
It’s so good that Kuzya followed me! How good it is that he began to talk like a person! He and I chatted all the way. However, I didn’t really like that he talked too much about his adventures: he loved to hunt mice and hated dogs. I loved raw meat and raw fish. Therefore, most of all I chatted about dogs, mice and food. Still, he was a poorly educated cat. It turned out that he didn’t understand anything about football, but he watched because he generally likes to watch everything that moves. This reminds him of hunting mice. So, he only listened to football out of politeness.
We walked along a forest path. A high hill appeared in the distance. The ball went around it and disappeared. We were very scared and rushed after him. Behind the hill we saw a large castle with a tall gate and a stone fence. I took a closer look at the fence and noticed that it consisted of huge interlocking letters.

End of free trial.

Full of dangers, the adventures of the ignorant and lazy Viktor Perestukin in the Land of Unlearned Lessons, where he finds himself after receiving five bad marks in one school day. There he was able to see from the outside and correct his mistakes in arithmetic, science, history, spelling and geography.

The story brings the child to the idea of how important it is to do well at school, and all the knowledge gained will definitely be useful in life.

Read a summary of Geraskin in the Land of Unlearned Lessons

Lazy and poor student Viktor Perestukin considers studying at school a boring and useless activity. He doesn't listen to the teacher in class and doesn't do his homework. His parents told Vita many times that he had no character, willpower or ability to overcome difficulties. Vitya agrees, but believes that he has nowhere to find difficulties to strengthen his character.

One day, on a particularly bad day at school, Victor gets five D's. Returning home from school, the boy tries to hide this from his discerning mother and immediately after lunch goes to his room to do his homework. He really wants to kick the ball in the yard, but he needs to solve a problem, learn a poem, and repeat the rules of the Russian language. Vitya throws his textbooks onto the floor with hatred. Suddenly the light fades, the room is illuminated with a greenish light and textbooks - Arithmetic, Grammar and Geography - appear before the boy. After consulting, the books decide to send Vitya for re-education to the Land of Unlearned Lessons, where difficulties and dangers are encountered at every step. Vita likes this idea; he wants to develop willpower and character. Geography promises to come to his aid in the most desperate situation.

Together with his favorite cat Kuzya, Vitya finds himself in the Land of Unlearned Lessons in front of the locked gates of a beautiful castle. You can enter inside only by spelling the words “key” and “lock” correctly. The boy knows the correct spelling rule, and the doors to the castle open.

Soon they reach the throne room of His Majesty the Imperative Verb. Old lady Comma complains about Vitya, whom the fourth-grader never put in the right place, and demands severe punishment for him. The verb wants to judge fairly. He asks to see Victor’s Russian language notebook. Unfortunately, there are only twos and blots. Vita is asked to do some spelling examples, but he doesn't do a good job. In addition, he states that no one needs a comma at all. The verb gets angry and pronounces a sentence on Perestukin: “Execution cannot be pardoned!” Vitya is scared, his only way to escape is to put the comma correctly in this sentence. It turns out that the comma can be vitally important. Vitya thinks hard, reasons, and finds the right solution. Now the verdict sounds like this: “You can’t execute, you can have mercy!” Having cheered up, the heroes continue their journey.

All around is sun-scorched earth, dried-out forest, dying animals. What happened? The camel they met says that it was Viktor Perestukin’s fault. A careless student did not learn his homework and declared in class that water that evaporates from the surfaces of rivers, seas and oceans disappears without a trace. Vita is ashamed of his ignorance and feels sorry for the animals. To save them, you need to remember the water cycle in nature! It is very difficult. The drought tries to interfere with the boy, but, finally, Vitya remembers how rain is formed. Nature comes to life, and the boy and the cat move on.

On their way, a strange city appears with round, square and triangular houses. At the city walls, little people Plus and Minus sell soda for correct answers to math questions. To his shame, out of the entire multiplication table, Vitya only remembers 2x2. Here Perestukin meets a navvy, from whom only legs without a body are left, a tailor, unjustly imprisoned for theft, old pioneers who have been meeting each other halfway for 60 years, and a tired cyclist traveling at a speed of 100 km/h. They all suffered because of the lazy Vitya, who stupidly and incorrectly solved arithmetic problems. He has to correct his mistakes! But the problem with the cyclist doesn’t work out, and Vitya quickly rides away on his bike.

The adventure is not over. Now the travelers want to be eaten by a cow, which Vitya called in class a carnivore, and a polar bear, which got lost. To save himself, the fourth grader quickly remembers that the cow is, of course, a herbivore! The little cow begins to happily graze in the meadow. But where the north is, the boy does not know and cannot return the bear home.

Suddenly, Ivan the Terrible’s guardsmen appear on the horizon and Vitya is taken to the governor. War is approaching, Napoleon's troops are advancing on Rus'. Victor understands that this is also his fault, because he blurted out this in history class. The situation is heating up, but Vitya, fortunately, remembers the date of the Patriotic War with the French - 1812. Bonaparte could not fight with Ivan the Terrible!

Continuing the path between two mountains, Victor hears plaintive screams. On the icy mountain on the right, a little black boy and a monkey are shivering from the cold, and on the mountain on the left, a small Chukchi and a polar bear are dying from the heat. With them is the cat Kuzya, who will not return to his owner until Vitya remembers everything about geographical zones. But he was reading a book about spies when the teacher was talking about it! You can't remember what you never knew. Vitya calls Geography for help. With her help, everyone ends up at home: the black boy with the monkey, the Chukchi with the polar bear, and Vitya with Kuzya.

The trip to the Land of Unlearned Lessons benefited Vita Perestukin. He began to study better and promised to fight his laziness. Schoolwork no longer seems boring to him. And the kids in the class really enjoyed the story about his adventures!

Picture or drawing by Liya Geraskina - In the land of unlearned lessons

Other retellings for the reader's diary

Summary of Nosov Living Flame
Summary of the Terence Brothers
The story of old Mikion, deprived of the joy of fatherhood. He lived alone all his life, while fate measured out double happiness for his brother, Demea - two sons, Ctesiphon and Aeschines.
Summary of The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins
In the distant future, there was a state divided into several districts (regions). To intimidate residents and for their own entertainment, the authorities organized the Hunger Games in the country, held every year.
Summary of Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes
The book is narrated from the first person - the main character. The novel is not just a story, but a story made up of entries in the diary of a 37-year-old hero.
Summary Ostrovsky We will count our own people
The play begins with a scandal between mother and daughter. The girl Lipa demands that a groom be found for her, because she is bored. The name is a matchmaker, but her task is very difficult: give your daughter a noble groom, give your father a rich one, and give your mother a courteous one.

On the day when all this started, I was unlucky from the very morning. We had five lessons. And at each one they called me. And I got a bad mark in every subject. Only five deuces per day! I probably got four deuces because I didn’t answer the way the teachers would have liked, but the fifth deuce was given completely unfairly.

It’s even funny to say why I was slapped with this unfortunate deuce. For some kind of water cycle in nature.

I wonder what you would answer to this question from the teacher:

— Where does the water that evaporates from the surface of lakes, rivers, seas, oceans and puddles go?

I don’t know what you would answer, but it is clear to me that if the water evaporates, then it is no longer there. It’s not for nothing that they say about a person who suddenly disappeared somewhere: “He evaporated.” This means “he disappeared.” But Zoya Filippovna, our teacher, for some reason began to find fault and ask unnecessary questions:

-Where does the water go? Or maybe it doesn’t disappear after all? Maybe you will think carefully and answer properly?

I think I answered properly anyway. Zoya Filippovna, of course, did not agree with me. I have long noticed that teachers rarely agree with me. They have such a negative minus.

Who wants to rush home if you're carrying a whole bunch of twos in your briefcase? For example, I don’t feel like it. That's why I went home an hour later, taking a tablespoon. But no matter how slowly you walk, you will still come home. It's good that dad is on a business trip. Otherwise, the conversation would immediately begin that I have no character. Dad always remembered this as soon as I brought a deuce.

- And who are you like? - Dad was surprised. - No character at all. You can’t pull yourself together and study well.

“He has no will,” my mother added and was also surprised: “Who would it be?”

My parents have a strong character and a strong will, but for some reason I don’t. That’s why I didn’t dare to immediately drag myself home with five deuces in my briefcase.

To stall for more time, I stopped at all the shops along the way. In the bookstore I met Lyusya Karandashkina. She is my neighbor twice: she lives in the same house with me, and in class she sits behind me. There is no peace from her anywhere - neither at school, nor at home. Lucy had already had lunch and ran to the store to get some notebooks. Seryozha Petkin was also here. He came to find out if new stamps had been received. Seryozha buys stamps and imagines himself as a philatelist. But in my opinion, any fool can collect a stamp collection if he has money.

I didn’t want to meet the guys, but they noticed me and immediately began discussing my bad grades. Of course, they argued that Zoya Filippovna acted fairly. And when I pinned them against the wall, it turned out that they also did not know where the evaporated water went. Zoya probably would have slapped them with a deuce for this - they would have immediately started singing something else.

We argued, it seemed a little noisy. The saleswoman asked us to leave the store. I left immediately, but the guys stayed. The saleswoman immediately guessed which of us was better educated. But tomorrow they will say that I caused the noise in the store. Perhaps they will also babble that I stuck my tongue out at them at parting. What, one might ask, is bad here? Anna Sergeevna, our school doctor, is not at all offended by this, she even asks the boys to stick their tongues out at her. And she already knows what is good and what is bad.

When I was kicked out of the bookstore, I realized that I was very hungry. I wanted to eat more and more, but I wanted to go home less and less.

There was only one store left on the way. Uninteresting - economical. It smelled disgustingly of kerosene. I had to leave him too. The seller asked me three times:

- What do you want here, boy?

Mom opened the door silently. But this did not make me happy. I knew that she would feed me first, and then...

It was impossible to hide the deuces. Mom said a long time ago that she reads in my eyes everything that I want to hide from her, including what is written in my diary. What's the point of lying?

I ate and tried not to look at my mother. I thought if she could read in my eyes about all five deuces at once.

I tried to eat as slowly as possible, but it didn’t work because I was so hungry. Mom sat opposite, looked at me and was terribly silent. Now, when I eat the last spoonful of compote, it will begin...

But the phone rang. Hooray! Aunt Polya called. She won't let her mom get off the phone in less than an hour.

“Sit down to your homework immediately,” my mother ordered and picked up the phone.

For lessons when I'm so tired! I wanted to relax for at least an hour and play in the yard with the guys. But my mother held the phone with her hand and said that I should count my shopping trip as a vacation. That's how she can read eyes! I'm afraid that she will read about the deuces.

I had to go to my room and sit down for my homework.

- Clean up your desk! - Mom shouted after him.

It's easy to say - take it away! Sometimes I'm just surprised when I look at my desk. How many items can fit on it? There are torn textbooks and four-sheet notebooks, pens, pencils, and rulers. They are, however, crowded with nails, screws, scraps of wire and other necessary things. I really love nails. I have them in all sizes and different thicknesses. But for some reason mom doesn’t like them at all. She has thrown them away many times, but they come back to my desk like boomerangs. Mom is angry with me because I like nails more than textbooks. And who is to blame? Of course, not me, but the textbooks. You don't have to be so boring.

This time I got the cleaning done quickly. He pulled out the desk drawer and shoveled all his things in there. Fast and convenient. And the dust is immediately erased. Now it was time to start studying. I opened the diary, and deuces flashed in front of me. They were so noticeable because they were written in red ink. In my opinion, this is wrong. Why write a two in red ink? After all, everything good is also marked in red. For example, holidays and Sundays in the calendar. You look at the red number and you’re happy: you don’t have to go to school. Five can also be written in red ink. And three, two and count - only in black! It’s amazing how our teachers can’t figure this out themselves!

As luck would have it, there were a lot of lessons. And the day was sunny, warm, and the boys were kicking a ball in the yard. I wonder who stood at the gate instead of me? Probably Sashka again: he’s been aiming for my place at the gate for a long time. This is ridiculous. Everyone knows what kind of shoemaker he is.

Kuzya the cat settled on the windowsill and from there, as if from the stands, watched the game. Kuzka hasn’t missed a single match, and mom and dad don’t believe that he’s a real fan. And in vain. He even likes to listen when I talk about football. Doesn't interrupt, doesn't leave, even purrs. And cats purr only when they feel good.

I was given rules on unstressed vowels. We had to repeat them. I didn't do this, of course. There is no use repeating what you don’t know anyway. Then I had to read about this very water cycle in nature. I remembered Zoya Filippovna and decided to better tackle the problem.

There was nothing pleasant here either. Some diggers were digging some kind of trench for some unknown reason. Before I had time to write out the conditions, the loudspeaker began to speak. We could take a little break and listen. But whose voice did I hear? The voice of our Zoya Filippovna! Little did I get tired of her voice at school! She gave advice to the kids on the radio on how to prepare for exams, and told how our best student Katya Pyaterkina does it. Since I had no intention of studying for the exams, I had to turn off the radio.

The task was very difficult and stupid. I was almost beginning to guess how to solve it, but... a soccer ball flew into the window. It was the guys who called me into the yard. I grabbed the ball and was about to climb out through the window, but my mother’s voice caught up with me on the windowsill.

- Vitya! You are doing homework?! - she shouted from the kitchen. There, something was boiling and grumbling in a frying pan. Therefore, my mother could not come and give me what I was entitled to for escaping. For some reason, she really didn’t like it when I went out through the window and not through the door. I would be nice if my mother came in!

I got down from the windowsill, threw the ball to the guys and told my mother that I was doing my homework.

I opened the problem book again. Five diggers dug a trench of one hundred linear meters in four days. What can you come up with for the first question? I was almost starting to think again, but I was interrupted again. Lyuska Karandashkina looked out the window. One of her pigtails was tied with a red ribbon, and the other was loose. And this is not just today. She does this almost every day. Either the right braid is loose, then the left one is loose. It would be better if she paid more attention to her hairstyle than to other people’s bad looks, especially since she has plenty of her own. Lucy said that the problem about the diggers was so difficult that even her grandmother could not solve it. Happy Lyuska! And I don’t have any grandmother.

- Let's decide together! - Lyuska suggested and climbed into my room through the window.

I refused. Nothing good would come of this. It's better to do it yourself.

He began to reason again. Five diggers dug a trench of one hundred linear meters. Shoulder straps? Why are meters called linear meters? Who is driving them?

I began to think about this and composed a tongue twister: “A driver in uniform drove with a running meter...” Then my mother screamed again from the kitchen. I caught myself and began to shake my head violently in order to forget about the driver in uniform and return to the diggers. Well, what should I do with them?

“It would be nice to call the driver Paganel.” What about the diggers? What to do with them? Maybe multiply them by meters?

“There’s no need to multiply,” objected Lucy, “you won’t find out anything anyway.”

To spite her, I still multiplied the diggers. True, I didn’t learn anything good about them, but now it was possible to move on to the second question. Then I decided to divide the meters into diggers.

“There’s no need to divide,” Lucy intervened again. “I’ve already divided.” Nothing works.

Of course, I didn’t listen to her and divided her. It turned out to be such nonsense that I began to look for the answer in the problem book. But, as luck would have it, the page with the answer about the diggers was torn out. I had to take full responsibility upon myself. I've changed everything. It turned out that the work had to be done by one and a half diggers. Why one and a half? How do I know! After all, what do I care how many diggers dug this very trench? Who even digs with diggers now? They would take an excavator and finish the trench right away, and the work would be done quickly, and the schoolchildren would not be fooled. Well, be that as it may, the problem is solved. You can already run to the guys. And, of course, I would have run, but Lyuska stopped me.

- When will we learn poetry? - she asked me.

- What poems?

- What kind? Forgot? A “Winter. The peasant is triumphant"? I can't remember them at all.

“That’s because they are uninteresting,” I said. “Those poems that the boys wrote in our class are immediately remembered.” Because they are interesting.

Lyusya didn’t know any new poems. I read them to her as a keepsake:

We study all day long

Laziness, laziness, laziness

We should run and play

I would like to kick the ball across the field -

This business!

Lucy liked the poems so much that she immediately memorized them. Together we quickly defeated the “peasant.” I was about to slowly climb out of the window, but Lyusya remembered again - they must insert the missing letters into the words. Even my teeth began to ache with frustration. Who is interested in doing useless work? The letters in the words skip, as if on purpose, the most difficult ones. I don't think it's fair. No matter how much I wanted to, I had to insert it.

P..friend of my harsh days,

My decrepit little girl.

Lucy assures that Pushkin wrote this poem to his nanny. Her grandmother told her this. Does Karandashkina really think I’m such a simpleton? So I will believe that adults have nannies. Grandma just laughed at her and that’s all.

But what about this “p...other”? We consulted and decided to insert the letter “a” when suddenly Katya and Zhenchik burst into the room. I don’t know why they decided to come close. In any case, I didn’t invite them. All that was needed was for Katya to go to the kitchen and report to my mother how many deuces I had picked up today. These nerds looked down on me and Lyusa because they studied better than us. Katya had bulging round eyes and thick braids. She was proud of these braids as if they had been given to her for good academic performance and excellent behavior. Katya spoke slowly, in a singsong voice, did everything efficiently and was never in a hurry. And there’s simply nothing to tell about Zhenchik. He hardly spoke on his own, but only repeated Katya’s words. His grandmother called him Zhenchik, and she took him to school like a little boy. That's why we all started calling him Zhenchik. Only Katya called him Evgeniy. She loved to do things right.

Katya greeted her as if we had not seen each other today, and said, looking at Lyusya:

“Your braid has come undone again.” It's messy. Comb your hair.

Lucy butted her head. She didn't like to comb her hair. She didn't like it when people commented on her. Katya sighed. Zhenchik also sighed. Katya shook her head. Zhenchik also shook.

“Since you’re both here,” said Katya, “we’ll pull you two up.”

- Pull up quickly! - Lucy shouted. - Otherwise we don’t have time. We haven't done all our homework yet.

- What was your answer to the problem? - Katya asked, exactly like Zoya Filippovna.

“One and a half diggers,” I answered deliberately very rudely.

“Wrong,” Katya calmly objected.

- Well, let it be wrong. What do you care! - I answered and made a terrible grimace at her.

Katya sighed again and shook her head again. Zhenchik, of course, too.

- She needs it more than anyone else! - Lyuska blurted out.

Katya straightened her braids and said slowly:

- Let's go, Evgeny. They are also rude.

Zhenchik got angry, blushed and scolded us on his own. We were so surprised by this that we didn’t answer him. Katya said that they would leave right away, and this would only make things worse for us, since we would remain weak.

“Goodbye, quitters,” Katya said affectionately.

“Goodbye, lazybones,” Zhenchik squeaked.

- Fair wind at your back! - I barked.

- Goodbye, Pyaterkins-Chetverkins! - Lyuska sang in a funny voice.

This was, of course, not entirely polite. After all, they were in my house. Almost there. Polite is impolite, but I still put them out. And Lyuska ran away after them.

I was left alone. It's amazing how much I didn't want to do my homework. Of course, if I had a strong will, I would have done it to spite myself. Katya probably had a strong will. It will be necessary to make peace with her and ask how she acquired it. The Pope says that every person can develop will and character if he struggles with difficulties and despises danger. Well, what should I fight with? Dad says - lazily. But is laziness a problem? But I would gladly despise danger, but where can you get it?

I was very unhappy. What is misfortune? In my opinion, when a person is forced by force to do something that he does not want at all, this is misfortune.

Boys were screaming outside the window. The sun was shining and there was a very strong smell of lilac. I felt the urge to jump out the window and run to the guys. But my textbooks were on the table. They were torn, stained with ink, dirty and terribly boring. But they were very strong. They kept me in a stuffy room, forced me to solve a problem about some antediluvian navvies, insert missing letters, repeat rules that no one needed, and do much more that was not at all interesting to me. I suddenly hated my textbooks so much that I grabbed them from the table and threw them as hard as I could onto the floor.

- Get lost! Tired of it! - I shouted in a voice that was not my own.

There was such a roar as if forty thousand iron barrels had fallen from a high building onto the pavement. Kuzya rushed from the window sill and pressed himself to my feet. It became dark, as if the sun had gone out. But it was just shining. Then the room lit up with a greenish light, and I noticed some strange people. They wore robes made of crumpled paper covered with blots. One had a very familiar black spot on his chest with arms, legs and horns. I drew exactly the same horned legs to a blot that I put on the cover of a geography textbook.

The little people stood silently around the table and looked at me angrily. Something had to be done immediately. So I politely asked:

-Who will you be?

“Take a closer look, maybe you’ll find out,” answered the little man with the blot.

“He’s not used to looking at us carefully, period,” another man said angrily and threatened me with his ink-stained finger.

I got it. These were my textbooks. For some reason they came to life and came to visit me. If only you had heard how they reproached me!

“Not in any degree of latitude and longitude does anyone anywhere on the globe handle textbooks like you do!” - Geography shouted.

- You're pouring ink on us! “You draw all sorts of nonsense on our pages,” Grammar cried.

- Why did you attack me like that? Are Seryozha Petkin or Lyusya Karandashkina better students?

- Five deuces! - the textbooks shouted in unison.

- But I prepared my homework today!

- Today you solved the problem incorrectly!

- I didn’t understand the zones!

— I don’t understand the water cycle in nature!

Grammar was the one who was fuming the most.

- Today you didn’t repeat unstressed vowels! Not knowing your native language is a shame, a misfortune, a crime!

I can't stand it when people shout at me. Especially in chorus. I'm offended. And now I was very offended and replied that I would somehow live without unstressed vowels, and without the ability to solve problems, and even more so without this very cycle.

At this point my textbooks went numb. They looked at me with such horror, as if I had been rude to the school principal in their presence. Then they started whispering and decided that they needed me immediately, what do you think? Punish? Nothing like this! Save! Weirdos! From what, one might ask, to save?

Geography said it was best to send me to the Land of Unlearned Lessons. The little people immediately agreed with her.

—Are there any difficulties and dangers in this country? - I asked.

“As many as you like,” Geography answered.

— The whole journey consists of difficulties. “It’s as clear as two and two are four,” added Arithmetic.

- Every step there threatens your life! - Grammar tried to intimidate me.

It was worth thinking about. After all, there will be no dad, no mom, no Zoya Filippovna!

No one will stop me every minute and shout: “Don’t go! Do not run! Do not jump! Don't peek! Don't tell me! Don’t turn around on your desk!” - and a dozen more different “no”s that I can’t stand.

Maybe on this journey I will be able to develop my will and acquire character. If I return from there with character, dad will be surprised!

“Maybe we can come up with something else for him?” - asked Geography.

- I don’t need another! - I shouted. - So be it. I will go to this dangerously difficult country of yours.

I wanted to ask them if I would be able to strengthen my will there and acquire character so much that I could voluntarily do my homework. But he didn't ask. I was shy.

- It's decided! - said Geography.

- The answer is correct. We won’t change our minds,” added Arithmetic.

“Leave immediately,” Grammar finished.

“Okay,” I said as politely as possible. - But how to do this? Trains probably don’t go to this country, planes don’t fly, ships don’t sail.

“We will do this,” said Grammar, “as we always did in Russian folk tales.” Let's take a ball...

But we didn’t have any tangle. Mom didn't know how to knit.

— Do you have anything spherical in your house? - Arithmetic asked, and since I didn’t understand what “spherical” was, she explained: “It’s the same as round.”

- Round?

I remembered that Aunt Polya gave me a globe on my birthday. I suggested this globe. True, it is on a stand, but it’s not difficult to tear it off. For some reason Geography was offended, waved her hands and shouted that she would not allow it. What a globe is a great visual aid! Well, and all that other stuff that didn’t go to the point at all. At this time, a soccer ball flew through the window. It turns out that it is also spherical. Everyone agreed to count it as a ball.

The ball will be my guide. I have to follow him and keep up. And if I lose it, I won’t be able to return home and will forever remain in the Land of Unlearned Lessons.

After I was placed in such a colonial dependence on the ball, this spherical one jumped onto the windowsill of its own accord. I climbed after him, and Kuzya followed me.

- Back! — I shouted to the cat, but he didn’t listen.

“I’ll go with you,” my cat said in a human voice.

“Now let’s go,” said the grammarian. - Repeat after me:

You fly, soccer ball,

Don't skip or gallop,

Don't go astray

Fly straight to that country

Where do Vitya's mistakes live?

So that he is among the events

Full of fear and anxiety,

I could help myself.

I repeated the verses, the ball fell off the windowsill, flew out of the window, and Kuzya and I flew after it. Geography waved goodbye to me and shouted:

“If things get really bad for you, call me for help.” So be it!

Kuzya and I quickly rose into the air, and the ball flew in front of us. I didn't look down. I was afraid my head would spin. So as not to be too scary, I didn’t take my eyes off the ball. I don’t know how long we flew. I don't want to lie. The sun was shining in the sky, and Kuzya and I rushed after the ball, as if we were tied to it with a rope and it was dragging us in tow. Finally the ball began to descend, and we landed on a forest road. The ball rolled, jumping over stumps and fallen trees. He didn't give us any respite. Again, I can’t say how long we walked. The sun never set. Therefore, you might think that we walked for only one day. But who knows if the sun ever sets in this unknown country?

It’s so good that Kuzya followed me! How good it is that he began to talk like a person! He and I chatted all the way. However, I didn’t really like that he talked too much about his adventures: he loved to hunt mice and hated dogs. I loved raw meat and raw fish. Therefore, most of all I chatted about dogs, mice and food. Still, he was a poorly educated cat. It turned out that he didn’t understand anything about football, but he watched because he generally likes to watch everything that moves. It reminds him of hunting mice. This means that he only listened to football out of politeness.

We walked along a forest path. A high hill appeared in the distance. The ball went around him and disappeared. We were very scared and rushed after him. Behind the hill we saw a large castle with tall gates and a stone fence. I took a closer look at the fence and noticed that it consisted of huge interlocking letters.

My dad has a silver cigarette case. There are two intertwined letters carved on it - D and P. Dad explained that this is called a monogram. So this fence was a complete monogram. It even seems to me that it was not stone, but from some other material.

On the gate of the castle hung a lock weighing about forty kilograms. On both sides of the entrance stood two strange people. One was bent over so that it seemed as if he was looking at his knees, and the other was straight as a stick.

The bent one held a huge pen, and the straight one held the same pencil. They stood motionless, as if lifeless. I came closer and touched the bent one with my finger. He didn't move. Kuzya sniffed them both and stated that, in his opinion, they were still alive, although they did not smell like humans. Kuzya and I called them Hook and Stick. Our ball was rushing into the goal. I approached them and wanted to try to push the lock. What if it's not locked? Hook and Stick crossed a pen and pencil and blocked my path.

- Who are you? - Hook asked abruptly.

And Palka, as if he had been pushed in the sides, shouted at the top of his voice:

- Oh! Oh! Oh oh! Ahah!

He politely replied that I was a fourth grade student. He twisted the hook with its head. The stick opened up as if I had said something very bad. Then Hook glanced sideways at Kuzya and asked:

- And you, the one with the tail, are also a student?

Kuzya was embarrassed and remained silent.

“This is a cat,” I explained to Hook, “he’s an animal.” And animals have the right not to study.

- Name? Surname? - Hook interrogated.

“Prestukin Victor,” I answered, as if at a roll call.

If only you could see what happened to Stick!

- Oh! Oh! Alas! That! Most! Oh! Oh! Alas! — he shouted without a break for fifteen minutes straight.

I'm really tired of this. The ball took us to the Land of Unlearned Lessons. Why should we stand at her gates and answer stupid questions? I demanded that they immediately give me the key to unlock the lock. The ball moved. I realized that I was doing the right thing.

Stick handed over a huge key and shouted:

- Open up! Open up! Open up!

I inserted the key and wanted to turn it, but that was not the case. The key wouldn't turn. It became clear that they were laughing at me.

Hook asked if I could spell the words “lock” and “key” correctly. If I can, the key will immediately open the lock. Why not be able to! Just think, what a trick! It is unknown where the chalkboard came from and hung right in the air in front of my nose.

- Write! - Palka shouted and handed me the chalk.

I immediately wrote: “key…” and stopped.

It was good for him to shout, and if I don’t know what to write next: CHICK or CHECK.

Which is correct - key or key? The same thing happened with the “lock”. LOCK or LOCK? There was a lot to think about.

There is some kind of rule... What rules of grammar do I even know? I started to remember. It seems that it is not written after hissing ones... But what does hissing have to do with it? They don't fit here at all.

Kuzya advised me to write at random. If you write it wrong, you will correct it later. Is it really possible to guess? This was good advice. I was about to do just that, but Palka shouted:

- It is forbidden! Ignoramus! Ignorant! Alas! Write! Straightaway! Right! “For some reason he didn’t say anything calmly, but just shouted everything out.”

I sat down on the ground and began to remember. Kuzya hovered around me all the time and often touched my face with his tail. I shouted at him. Kuzya was offended.

“You shouldn’t have sat down,” said Kuzya, “you won’t remember anyway.”

But I remembered. To spite him I remembered. Perhaps this was the only rule I knew. I didn’t think that it would ever be so useful to me!

— If in the genitive case of a word a vowel is dropped out of the suffix, then CHECK is written, and if it is not dropped out, CHIC is written.

This is not difficult to check: nominative - padlock, genitive - padlock. Yeah! The letter fell out. So that’s right - lock. Now it’s very easy to check the “key”. Nominative - key, genitive - key. The vowel remains in place. This means you need to write “key”.

Stick clapped his hands and shouted:

- Wonderful! Lovely! Amazing! Hooray!

I boldly wrote on the board in large letters: “LOCK, KEY.” Then he easily turned the key in the lock, and the gate swung open. The ball rolled forward, and Kuzya and I followed it. Stick and Hook trailed behind.

We walked through empty rooms and found ourselves in a huge hall. Here, someone wrote grammar rules in large, beautiful handwriting right on the walls. Our journey started very successfully. I easily remembered the rule and opened the lock! If all the time I encounter only such difficulties, I have nothing to do here...

At the back of the hall, an old man with white hair and a white beard sat on a high chair. If he were holding a small Christmas tree in his hands, he could be mistaken for Santa Claus. The old man's white cloak was embroidered with shiny black silk. When I took a good look at this cloak, I saw that it was all embroidered with punctuation marks.

A hunched old woman with angry red eyes was hovering near the old man. She kept whispering something in his ear and pointing at me with her hand. We didn't like the old woman right away. She reminded Kuza of her grandmother Lucy Karandashkina, who often beat him with a broom because he stole sausages from her.

“I hope you will roughly punish this ignoramus, Your Majesty, Imperative Verb!” - said the old lady.

The old man looked at me importantly.

- Stop doing that! Don't be angry, Comma! - he ordered the old woman.

It turns out it was Comma! Oh, and she was seething!

- How can I not be angry, Your Majesty? After all, the boy has never once put me in my place!

The old man looked at me sternly and beckoned with his finger. I went.

Comma fussed even more and hissed:

- Look at him. It is immediately obvious that he is illiterate.

Was it really noticeable on my face? Or could she also read eyes, like my mother?

- Tell me how you study! - Verb ordered me.

“Tell me it’s good,” Kuzya whispered, but I was somehow shy and replied that I was studying like everyone else.

- Do you know grammar? - Comma asked sarcastically.

“Tell me that you know very well,” Kuzya prompted again.

I nudged him with my foot and replied that I knew grammar as well as anyone else. After I used my knowledge to open the lock, I had every right to answer like that. And in general, stop asking me questions about my grades. Of course, I didn’t listen to Cousin’s stupid tips and told her that my grades were different.

- Different? - Comma hissed. - But we’ll check this now.

I wonder how she could do this if I didn’t take the diary with me?

- Give us the documents! - the old woman screamed in a disgusting voice.

Little men with identical round faces ran into the hall. Some had black circles embroidered on their white dresses, others had hooks, and still others had both hooks and circles. Two little men brought in some kind of huge blue folder. When they unfolded it, I saw that it was my Russian language notebook. For some reason she became almost as tall as me.

The comma showed the first page on which I saw my dictation. Now that the notebook had grown, he looked even uglier. An awful lot of red pencil corrections. And how many blots!.. I probably had a very bad pen then. Under the dictation there was a deuce, looking like a big red duck.

- Deuce! - Comma announced gloatingly, as if even without her it was not clear that this was a two and not a five.

The verb ordered to turn the page. The people turned over. The notebook moaned pitifully and quietly. On the second page I wrote a summary. It seems that it was even worse than the dictation, because there was a stake under it.

- Turn it over! - ordered the Verb.

The notebook groaned even more pitifully. It's good that nothing was written on the third page. True, I drew a face on it with a long nose and slanting eyes. Of course, there were no mistakes here, because under the face I wrote only two words: “This Kolya.”

- Turn over? - Comma asked, although she clearly saw that there was nowhere to turn further. The notebook only had three pages. I tore out the rest to make pigeons out of them.

“That’s enough,” ordered the old man. - How did you, boy, say that your grades are different?

- May I meow? - Kuzya suddenly came out. “I beg your pardon, but it’s not my master’s fault.” After all, in the notebook there are not only twos, but also a one. This means that the marks are still different.

Comma giggled, and Stick shouted in delight:

- Ah! Oh! Killed me! Oh! Fun! Smart ass!

I was silent. It's unclear what happened to me. Ears and cheeks were burning. I couldn't look the old man in the eyes. So, without looking at him, I said that he knows who I am, but I don’t know who they are. Kuzya supported me. In his opinion, it was foul play. The verb listened to us attentively, promised to show all his subjects and introduce them to them. He waved the ruler - music started playing, and little men with circles on their clothes ran out into the middle of the hall. They began to dance and sing:

We are precise guys

We are called Dots.

To write correctly,

We need to know where to place us.

You need to know our place!

Kuzya asked if I knew where they should be placed. I replied that sometimes I put it correctly.

The verb waved the ruler again, and the Dots were replaced by little men with two commas embroidered on their dresses. They held hands and sang:

We are funny sisters

Inseparable Quotes.

If I open the phrase, - one sang, -

“I’ll close it right away,” said another.

Quotes! I know them! I know and I don't like it. If you put them, they say, don’t, if you don’t put them, they say, this is where you should have put quotation marks. You'll never guess...

After Quotes came Hook and Stick. Well, what a funny couple they were!

Everyone knows me and my brother,

We are expressive signs.

I am the most significant -

Interrogative!

And Palka sang very briefly:

I'm the most wonderful -

Exclamatory!

Interrogative and Exclamation! Old friends! They were a little better than the other signs. They had to be placed less often, so they were used less often. They were still nicer than that evil hunchback Comma. But she was already standing in front of me and singing in her creaky voice:

Even though I'm just a dot with a tail,

I am small in stature,

But I need grammar

And important for everyone to read.

All people, without a doubt,

Of course they know that

What's important

Has a Comma.

Even Kuzya’s fur stood on end from such impudent singing. He asked my permission to tear off the tail of the Comma and turn it into a Dot. Of course, I did not allow him to misbehave. Maybe I myself wanted to say something to the old woman, but I had to restrain myself somehow. Be rude, and then they won’t let you out of here. And I’ve wanted to leave them for a long time. Ever since I saw my notebook. I approached Glagol and asked him if I could leave. The old man didn’t even have time to open his mouth when Comma began to squeal throughout the entire room:

- Never! Let him first prove that he knows the spelling of unstressed vowels!

Immediately she began to come up with various examples.

Luckily for me, a huge dog ran into the hall. Kuzya, of course, hissed and jumped on my shoulder. But the dog had no intention of attacking him. I bent down and stroked her red back.

- Oh, you love dogs! Very good! - Comma said sarcastically and clapped her hands. Immediately the black board hung in the air in front of me again. On it was written in chalk: “F... tank.”

I quickly realized what was going on. I took chalk and wrote the letter “a”. It turned out: “Dog.”

Comma laughed. The verb furrowed his gray eyebrows. The exclamator oohed and oohed. The dog bared its teeth and growled at me. I was afraid of her evil face and ran. She chased after me. Kuzya hissed desperately, clinging to my jacket with his claws. I realized that I had inserted the letter incorrectly. He returned to the board, erased the “a” and wrote “o”. The dog immediately stopped growling, licked my hand and ran out of the hall. Now I will never forget that dog is spelled with an “o”.

- Maybe only this dog is spelled with an “o”? - Kuzya asked. - And all the others with an “a”?

“The cat is as ignorant as his owner,” Comma giggled, but Kuzya objected to her that he knew dogs better than she did. From them, in his opinion, one can always expect any meanness.

While this conversation was going on, a ray of sunlight peered through the high window. The room immediately brightened.

- Ah! Sun! Wonderful! Lovely! - the exclamator shouted joyfully.

“Your Majesty, sun,” Comma whispered to the Verb. - Ask an ignoramus...

“Okay,” Verb agreed and waved his hand. On the black board the word “dog” disappeared and the word “so..ntse” appeared.

- Which letter is missing? - Questioner asked.

I read it again: “So..ntse.” In my opinion, nothing is missing here. Just a trap! And I won’t fall for it! If all the letters are in place, why insert extra ones? What happened when I said this! Comma laughed like crazy. Exclamation cried and broke his hands. The verb frowned more and more. The sun's ray disappeared. The hall became dark and very cold.

- Ah! Alas! Oh! Sun! I'm dying! - yelled Exclamation.

- Where is the sun? Where is the warmth? Where is the light? - Questioner asked continuously, as if wound up.

- The boy made the sun angry! - the Verb thundered angrily.

“I’m freezing,” Kuzya cried and clung to me.

- Answer how to spell the word “sun”! - ordered the Verb.

In fact, how do you spell the word “sun”? Zoya Filippovna always advised us to change the word so that all the dubious and hidden letters would come out. Maybe try it? And I started shouting: “Sun! Sun! Solar!" Yeah! The letter "l" came out. I grabbed the chalk and quickly wrote it down. At the same moment the sun peeked into the hall again. It became light, warm and very cheerful. For the first time I realized how much I love the sun.

- Long live the sun with the letter “l”! - I sang cheerfully.

- Hooray! Sun! Light! Joy! Life! - shouted Exclamation.

I spun around on one leg and also began shouting:

To the cheerful sun

Hello from school!

Without our dear sun

There is simply no life.

- Shut up! - Verb barked.

I froze on one leg. The fun immediately disappeared. It even became somehow unpleasant and scary.

“Victor Perestukin, a fourth-grade student who came to us,” the old man said sternly, “discovered a rare, ugly ignorance.” He showed contempt and dislike for his native language. For this he will be severely punished. I retire for sentencing. Put Perestukin in square brackets!

The verb is gone. Comma ran after him and kept saying as he walked:

- No mercy! Just no mercy, Your Majesty!

The little men brought large iron brackets and placed them to my left and right.

“This is all very bad, master,” Kuzya said seriously and began wagging his tail. He always did this when he was dissatisfied with something. - Is it possible to sneak out of here?

“That would be very nice,” I answered, “but you see that I’m under arrest, put in brackets, and we’re being guarded.” In addition, the ball lies motionless.

- Poor! Unhappy! - Exclamation groaned. - Oh! Oh! Alas! Alas! Alas!

-Are you scared, boy? - Questioner asked.

These are the weirdos! Why should I be scared? Why should you feel sorry for me? “There’s no need to anger the strong,” said Kuzya. — One cat I know named Kisa had a habit of angering the chain dog. What nasty things she said to him! And then one day the dog broke free from the chain and weaned her off this habit forever.

The good signs became more and more worried. The exclamation point insisted that I did not understand the danger that hung over me. The interrogative asked me a bunch of questions and in the end asked if I had any request.

What is it to ask for? Kuzya and I consulted and decided that now was the time to have breakfast. The signs explained to me: I will get everything I want if I write my wish correctly. Of course, the board immediately jumped out and hung in front of me. To avoid mistakes, Kuzya and I discussed this issue again. The cat couldn't think of anything more delicious than amateur sausage. I prefer the Poltava one. But in the words “amateur” and “Poltava” you can make a lot of mistakes. So I decided to just ask for sausages. But eating sausage without bread is not very tasty. And so, to begin with, I wrote on the board: “Blap.” But Kuzya and I didn’t see any bread.

- Where is your bread?

- It's written incorrectly! - the signs answered in unison.

- Don’t know how to spell such an important word! - the cat grumbled.

You'll have to eat sausage without bread. Nothing to do.

I took the chalk and wrote in large words: “Sausage.”

- Wrong! - the signs shouted.

I erased it and wrote: “Kalbosa.”

- Wrong! - the signs screamed.

I erased it again and wrote: “Sausage.”

- Wrong! - the signs screamed. I got angry and threw the chalk. They were just making fun of me.

“We ate both bread and sausage,” Kuzya sighed. — It’s not clear why boys go to school. Didn't they teach you how to spell at least one edible word correctly?

I could probably spell one edible word correctly. I erased “sausage” and wrote “onion.” Points immediately appeared and brought in peeled onions on a platter. The cat was offended and snorted. He didn't eat onions. I didn't like him either. And I was hungry terribly. We started chewing onions. Tears flowed from my eyes.

Suddenly a gong sounded.

- Do not Cry! - shouted Exclamation. - There is still hope!

- How do you feel about the Comma, boy? - Questioner asked.

“For me, it’s not needed at all,” I answered frankly. - You can read without it. After all, when you read, you don’t pay any attention to commas. But when you write and forget to put it on, you will certainly get it.

The exclamator became even more upset and began to groan in every possible way.

- Do you know that a comma can decide a person’s fate? - Questioner asked.

- Stop telling fairy tales, I'm not little!

“The owner and I are no longer kittens,” Kuzya supported me.

Comma and several Dots entered the hall, carrying a large folded sheet of paper.

“This is a sentence,” Comma announced.

The dots unfolded the sheet. I've read:

VERDICT in the case of the ignoramus Viktor Perestukin:

YOU CANNOT EXECUTE AND HAVE PARSONY.

- You can’t execute! Have mercy! Hooray! Have mercy! — Exclamation One rejoiced. - You can’t execute! Hooray! Wonderful! Generously! Hooray! Wonderful!

- Do you think it’s impossible to execute? — Questioner asked seriously. Apparently he had great doubts.

What are they talking about? Who should be executed? Me? What right do they have? No, no, this is some kind of mistake!

But Comma looked at me sarcastically and said:

— The signs misunderstand the verdict. You must be executed, you cannot be pardoned. This is how it should be understood.

- Execute for what? - I shouted. - For what?

- For ignorance, laziness and lack of knowledge of the native language.

“But it’s clearly written here: you can’t execute.”

- This is unfair! “We will complain,” Kuzya yelled, grabbing the comma by the tail.

- Ah! Oh! Terrible! I won't survive! - Exclamation groaned.

I felt scared. Well my textbooks dealt with me! This is how the promised dangers began. They simply did not allow the person to look around properly - and please, they immediately handed down a death sentence. Whether you want it or not, you can handle it yourself. There is no one to complain to. No one will protect you here. Neither parents nor teachers. Of course, there are no police or courts here either. Just like old times. Whatever the king wanted, he did. In general, this king, His Majesty the Verb of the Imperative Mood, should also be eliminated as a class. He controls all the grammar here!

The exclamator broke his hands and kept shouting some interjections. Small tears rolled from his eyes. The interrogative pestered the comma:

- Is there really nothing you can do to help the unfortunate boy?

They were nice guys after all, these signs!

The comma broke a little, but then she replied that I could help myself if I knew where to put the comma in the sentence.

“Let him finally understand the meaning of a comma,” the hunchback said importantly. “A comma can even save a person’s life.” So let Perestukin try to save himself if that’s what he wants.

Of course I wanted it!

Comma clapped her hands, and a huge clock appeared on the wall. The hands showed five minutes to twelve.

“Five minutes to think,” the old woman creaked. - Exactly at twelve, the comma should be in place. At twelve o'clock and one minute it will be too late.

She put a large pencil in my hand and said:

The clock immediately began to knock loudly and count down the time: “Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.” They leak a few times and the minute is gone. And there are only five of them.

“They will,” I rejoiced. -Where should I put the comma?

- Alas! Decide youself! - Exclamation cried.

Kuzya ran up to him and began to caress him.

“Tell me, tell my master where to put this damned comma,” Kuzya begged. - Tell me, they ask you as a person!

- Can you give me a hint? - Comma squealed. - In no case! With us, hints are strictly prohibited!

And the clock was ticking. I looked at them and was stunned: they had already knocked for three minutes.

- Call Geography! - Kuzya yelled. - Aren't you afraid of death?

I was afraid of death. But... what then about strengthening the will? Should I despise danger and not fear it? And if I chicken out now, where will I find danger again later? No, this doesn't suit me at all. You can't call anyone. What will I really say to Geography? “Hello, dear Geography! Sorry for disturbing you, but, you know, I’m a little adrift...”

And the clock was ticking.

- Hurry up, boy! - shouted Exclamation. - Oh! Oh! Alas!

- Do you know that there are only two minutes left? - Questioner asked anxiously.

Kuzya purred and grabbed the hem of Comma with his claws.

“You want the boy to die,” the cat hissed angrily.

“He deserved it,” answered the old woman, tearing off the cat.

- What should I do? — I accidentally asked out loud.

- Reason! Reason! Oh! Alas! Reason! - shouted Exclamation. Tears flowed from his sad eyes.

It’s a good thing to reason when... If I put a comma after the word “execute,” it will be like this: “Execute, you cannot pardon.” So it turns out that you can’t pardon? It is forbidden!

- Alas! Oh! Misfortune! You can't have mercy! - Exclamation sobbed. - Execute! Alas! Oh! Oh!

- Execute? - Kuzya asked. - This doesn't suit us.

“Boy, can’t you see that there’s only one minute left?” — Questioner asked through tears.

One last minute... And what happens next? I closed my eyes and began to think quickly:

— What if you put a comma after the words “cannot be executed”? Then it will turn out: “You can’t execute, you can have mercy.” This is what we need! It's decided. I bet.

I went to the table and drew a big comma in the sentence after the word “impossible.” At the same minute the clock struck twelve times.

- Hooray! Victory! Oh! Fine! Wonderful! - Exclamation jumped joyfully, and with him Kuzya.

The comma immediately became better.

- Remember that when you give your head work, you always achieve your goal. Do not be angry with me. Better be friends with me. When you learn to put me in my place, I won't cause you any trouble.

I firmly promised her that I would learn.

Our ball moved, and Kuzya and I hurried.

- Goodbye, Vitya! - the punctuation marks shouted after him. - We will meet again on the pages of books, on the pages of your notebooks!

- Don't confuse me with your brother! - shouted Exclamation. - I always exclaim!

“Won’t you forget what I always ask?” - Questioner asked.

The ball rolled out of the goal. We ran after him. I looked around and saw that everyone was waving at me. Even the important Verb looked out of the castle window. I waved to them all with both hands at once and rushed to catch up with Kuzya.

The Exclamation One's cries could still be heard for a long time. Then everything fell silent, and the castle disappeared behind the hill.

Kuzya and I followed the ball and discussed everything that had happened to us. I was very glad that I did not call Geography, but saved myself.

“Yes, it turned out well,” agreed Kuzya. — I remember a similar story. One cat I know named Troshka worked in the meat department of a self-service store. He never waited for the seller to become generous and throw him a makeweight. Troshka served himself: he treated himself to the best piece of meat. This cat always said: “No one will take care of you as much as you do.”

What a nasty habit Kuzya had - ten times a day telling all sorts of ugly stories about some tattered cats and kittens. To ennoble Kuzya, I began to tell him about friendship between people and animals. For example, he himself, Kuzya, behaved like a loyal friend when I was in trouble. Now I can rely on him. The cat purred as he walked. Apparently he likes to be praised. But then he remembered some red cat named Froska, who said: “For the sake of friendship, I’ll give away my last mouse.” It became clear to me that it would not be possible to improve it. Kuzya is an unyielding animal. Even Zoya Filippovna herself could not do anything with him. I decided to tell him another useful story that I heard from my dad.

I told Kuza how cats and dogs became man’s friends, how man chose them over other wild animals. And what did my cheeky cat answer me? In his opinion, the man chose the dog himself - and made a terrible mistake. Well, as for the cat... with the cat, everything was completely different: it was not the man who chose the cat, but, on the contrary, the cat chose the man.

Cousins’ reasoning angered me so much that I fell silent for a long time. If I had continued to talk to him, he would have gone so far as to declare not man, but a cat, the king of nature. No, I had to take my cousin’s upbringing seriously. Why didn't I think about this before? Why didn't I think about anything before? The comma said that if I give my head a job, it will always work out. And it's true. I thought then at the gate, I remembered a rule that I had almost forgotten, and it came in handy for me. This also helped me when I, with a pencil in my hands, decided where to put a comma. I probably would never fall behind in class if I thought about what I was doing. Of course, to do this, you need to listen to what the teacher says in class, and not play tic-tac-toe. Am I dumber than Zhenchik, or what? If I steel my will and pull myself together, it remains to be seen who will have the best grades by the end of the year.

It would be interesting to see how Katya would cope in my place. It’s good that she didn’t see me in the castle at Verb. There would be talk... No, I’m still glad that I visited this country. Firstly, I will now always spell the words “dog” and “sun” correctly. Secondly, I realized that I still need to learn the rules of grammar. They may come in handy on occasion. And thirdly, it turned out that punctuation marks are really necessary. Now, if they gave me a whole page to read without punctuation, would I be able to read it and understand what is written there? I would read and read without taking a breath until I choked. What's good? Besides, I wouldn't understand much from such a reading.

So I thought to myself. There was no need to tell Kuza all this. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t immediately notice that the cat began to complain about the heat. In fact, it became very hot. To cheer up Kuzya, I started singing a song, and Kuzya picked up:

We walk merrily

We sing a song.

We despise danger!

Oh, how I wanted to drink, but there was not a single stream anywhere. Kuzya was languishing with thirst. I myself would give a lot for a glass of soda with syrup. Even without syrup... But one could only dream about it...

We walked past the bed of a dry river. At the bottom, like in a frying pan, there were dry fish lying around.

-Where did the water go? - Kuzya asked pitifully. - Are there really no decanters, no teapots, no buckets, no taps here? Don't have all these useful and good things from which water is obtained?

I was silent. My tongue seemed to be dry and would not move.

And our ball kept rolling. He stopped only in a clearing scorched by the sun. A bare, twisted tree stuck out in the middle of it. And around the clearing the bare forest creaked with dry black branches.

I sat down on a mound covered with yellowed leaves. Kuzya jumped onto my lap. Oh, how thirsty we were! I didn't even know it was possible to be so thirsty. All the time I seemed to see a cold stream. It flows so beautifully from the tap and sings cheerfully. I remembered our crystal jug, and even the droplets on its crystal barrels.

I closed my eyes and, as if in a dream, I saw Aunt Lyubasha: on the corner of our street she was selling sparkling water. Aunt Lyubasha was holding a glass of cold water with cherry syrup. Oh, this glass! Even if it’s without syrup, even if it’s not carbonated... What a glass! I could drink a whole bucket now.

Suddenly the mound beneath me began to move. Then he began to grow and sway strongly.

- Hold on, Kuzya! - I screamed and rolled down.

“The slides here are crazy,” Kuzya grumbled.

“I’m not a hill, I’m a camel,” we heard someone’s plaintive voice.

Our “slide” stood up, shook off the leaves, and we actually saw a camel. Kuzya immediately arched his back and asked:

“Aren’t you going to eat the boy and his faithful cat?”

The camel was very offended.

“Don’t you know, cat, that camels eat grass, hay and thorns?” - he asked Kuzya mockingly. “The only trouble I can do to you is to spit on you.” But I'm not going to spit. I am busy. Even I, a camel, am dying of thirst.

“Please don’t die,” I asked the poor camel, but he only moaned in response.

“No one can endure thirst longer than a camel.” But the time comes when the camel stretches out its legs. Many animals have already died in the forest. There are still living ones, but they too will die if they are not rescued immediately.

Quiet moans came from the forest. I felt so sorry for the unfortunate animals that I forgot a little about the water.

- Is there anything I can do to help them? - I asked the camel.

“You can save them,” answered the camel.

“Then we’ll run into the forest,” I said.

The camel laughed with joy, but Kuzya was not happy at all.

“Think about what you’re saying,” the cat hissed displeasedly. - How can you save them? What do you care about them?

“You’re selfish, Kuzya,” I told him calmly. “I’ll definitely go save them.” The camel will tell me what needs to be done, and I will save them. And you, Kuzya...

I was just about to tell Kuza what I thought about his prank when something loudly crackled next to me. The crooked tree straightened its dry branches and turned into a wrinkled, thin old woman in a torn dress. There were dry leaves stuck in her tangled hair.

The camel moved aside with a groan. The old woman began to look at Kuzya and me. I wasn’t scared at all, even when she boomed in a bass voice:

Who is screaming here, disturbing the peace?

Bad boy, who are you?

“Don’t say that you are Perestukin,” Kuzya whispered in fear. - Say that you are Serokoshkin.

- You yourself are Serokoshkin. And my last name is Perestukin, and I have nothing to be ashamed of.

As soon as the old woman heard this, she immediately changed, bent in half, made a sweet smile, and this made her even nastier. And suddenly... she began to praise me in every possible way. She praised, I was surprised, and the camel moaned. She said that it was I, Victor Perestukin, who helped her turn the green dry forest into dry logs. Everyone is struggling with drought, only I, Viktor Perestukin, turned out to be her best friend and assistant. It turns out that I, Viktor Perestukin, said the magic words in class...

“I knew it,” Kuzya screamed desperately. “You, master, probably blurted out something inappropriate.”

“Your master,” the camel groaned, “blurted out in class that the water that evaporates from the surface of rivers, lakes, seas and oceans disappears.”

“The water cycle in nature,” I remembered. - Zoya Filippovna! Fifth deuce!

The old woman straightened up, put her hands on her hips and began to boom:

He was right when he said that forever

The hated water will disappear

And all living things will disappear without a trace.

For some reason this scarecrow spoke only in poetry. Her words made me want to drink even more. Moans were heard again from the forest. The camel came up to me and whispered in my ear:

- You can save the unfortunate... Remember the water cycle, remember!

It's easy to say - remember. Zoya Filippovna kept me at the blackboard for an hour, and even then I couldn’t remember anything. - You must remember! - Kuzya was angry. “It’s your fault that we suffer.” After all, it was you who said stupid words in class.

- What nonsense! - I shouted angrily. -What can words do?

The old woman creaked with her dry branches and again began to speak in verse:

This is what the words did:

The grass has dried into hay,

The rain won't fall anymore

The animals stretched out their paws

The waterfalls have dried up,

And all the flowers dried up.

This is what I need -

The kingdom of dead beauty.

No, it was unbearable! It seems like I really did something. We still have to remember the cycle. And I started muttering:

- Water evaporates from the surface of rivers, lakes, seas...

The old woman was afraid that I would remember, and started dancing, so much so that dry branches and leaves flew in all directions. She spun around in front of me and shouted:

I hate water

I can't stand rain.

Withered nature

I love you to death.

My head was spinning, I wanted to drink more and more, but I didn’t give up and remembered with all my might:

- Water evaporates, turns into steam, turns into steam and...

The old woman ran up to me, waved her hands in front of my nose and began to hiss:

At this very moment

Oblivion will come upon you,

Everything I knew and taught

You forgot, you forgot, you forgot...

What was I arguing with the old woman about? Why was he angry with her? I don't remember anything.

- Remember, remember! - Kuzya shouted desperately, jumping on his hind legs. - You said, you remembered...

- What were you talking about?

- About the fact that steam turns...

- Oh yes, steam!.. - I suddenly remembered everything: - The steam cools, turns into water and falls to the ground as rain. It's raining!

Suddenly clouds rolled in, and large drops immediately fell to the ground. Then they began to fall more and more often - the ground darkened.

The leaves of the trees and the grass turned green. Water ran merrily along the river bed. A waterfall gushed loudly from the top of the cliff. The joyful voices of animals and birds were heard from the forest.

Me, Kuzya and the camel, soaked through, danced around the frightened Drought and shouted to her right in her gnarled ears:

Rain, rain, pour heavily!

Perish, villainous Drought!

It will rain for a long time,

The animals will drink a lot.

The old woman suddenly bent over, spread her arms and again turned into a dry, twisted tree. All the trees rustled with fresh green leaves, only one tree - Drought - stood bare and dry. Not a single drop of rain fell on him.

Animals ran out of the forest. They drank plenty of water. The hares jumped and tumbled. The foxes waved their red tails. The squirrels were jumping along the branches. The hedgehogs rolled around like balls. And the birds chirped so deafeningly that I could not understand a word of all their chatter. My cat was seized with calf delight. You would have thought that he had drunk himself on valerian.

- Drink! Lak it! - Kuzya shouted. - It was my master who made it rain! It was I who helped the owner get so much water! Drink! Lak it! Drink as much as you like! The owner and I treat everyone!

I don’t know how long we would have had fun like this if a terrible roar had not been heard from the forest. The birds have disappeared. The animals immediately ran away, as if they were not there. Only the camel remained, but he too trembled with fear.

- Save yourself! - the camel shouted. - This is a polar bear. He got lost. He wanders here and scolds Viktor Perestukin. Save yourself!

Kuzya and I quickly buried ourselves in a pile of leaves. The poor camel didn't have time to escape.

A huge polar bear fell into the clearing. He moaned and fanned himself with a branch. He complained about the heat, growled and cursed. Finally he noticed the camel. We lay breathless under the wet leaves, saw everything and heard everything.

- What is it? - the bear roared, pointing his paw at the camel.

- Sorry, I’m a camel. Herbivore.

“I thought so,” said the bear with disgust. — Humpbacked cow. Why were you born such a freak?

- Sorry. I won't do it again.

- I'll forgive you if you tell me where north is.

“I’ll be very happy to tell you if you explain to me what the north is.” Is it round or long? Red or green? What does it smell and taste like?

The bear, instead of thanking the polite camel, attacked him with a roar. He ran with all his long legs into the forest. In a minute both disappeared from sight.

We crawled out of the pile of leaves. The ball moved slowly, and we wandered after it. I was very sorry that because of this rude bear we lost such a good guy as a camel. But Kuzya did not regret the camel. He still continued to brag that we “made water” with him. I didn't listen to his chatter. I was thinking again. So this is what the water cycle means in nature! It turns out that the water doesn't actually disappear, it just turns into steam, and then cools and falls back to the ground as rain. And if it completely disappeared, then little by little the sun would dry everything out and we, people, animals, and plants would dry up. Like those fish that I saw at the bottom of a dry river. That's it! It turns out that Zoya Filippovna gave me a bad mark for my work. The funny thing is that in class she told me the same thing, more than once. Why didn’t I understand and remember? Probably because I listened and didn’t hear, looked and didn’t see...

The sun was not visible, but it was still getting hot. I felt thirsty again. But, although the forest on the sides of our path was green, we did not see the river anywhere.

We went. Everyone kept walking and walking. Kuzya managed to tell me a dozen stories about dogs, cats and mice. It turns out that he is closely acquainted with Lyuska’s cat named Topsy. It always seemed to me that Topsy was kind of lethargic and unplayful. In addition, she meowed very whinily and disgustingly. She won't shut up until you give her something. And I don't like beggars. Kuzya told me that Topsy is also a thief. Kuzya swore that it was she who stole a large piece of pork from us last week. My mom thought at him and whipped him with a wet kitchen towel. It wasn’t as painful for Kuza as it was offensive. And Topsy ate so much stolen pork that she even got sick. Lucy's grandmother took her to the veterinarian. When I come back, I’ll open Lyuska’s eyes to her cute cat. I will definitely expose this same Topsy.

While talking, we didn’t notice how we approached some wonderful city. The houses there were round, like a circus tent, or square, or even triangular. There were no people visible on the streets.

Our ball rolled onto the street of a strange city and froze. We approached a large cube and stopped in front of it. Two round little men in white robes and caps were selling sparkling water. One seller had a plus on his cap, and the other had a minus.

“Tell me,” Kuzya asked timidly, “is your water real?”

“Positively real,” answered Plus. - Would you like to have a drink?

Kuzya licked his lips. We were very thirsty, but the problem was that I didn’t have a penny, and Kuzya even more so.

“I don’t have money,” I admitted to the sellers.

“And here we sell water not for money, but for correct answers.”

Minus narrowed his eyes slyly and asked:

- Seven nine?

“Seven nine... seven nine...” I muttered, “I think thirty-seven.”

“I don’t think so,” said Minus. - The answer is negative.

“Give it to me for free,” Kuzya asked. - I'm a cat. And you don't have to know the multiplication table.

Both sellers took out some papers, read them, leafed through them, looked through them, and then announced to Kuza in unison that they had no order to give illiterate cats water for free. Kuza only had to lick his lips.

A cyclist rode up to the kiosk.

- Quickly, water! - he shouted, without getting off the bike. - I'm in a hurry.

- Seven seven? - asked Minus and handed him a glass of sparkling rose water.

- Forty nine. — The racer answered, drank some water as he went, and sped off.

I asked the sellers who he was. Plus said that this is a famous racer who checks homework in arithmetic.

I was terribly thirsty. Especially when there were vessels with cool rose water in front of my eyes. I couldn’t resist and asked to ask another question.

- Eight nine? - asked Minus and poured water into a glass. It hissed and became covered with bubbles.

- Seventy six! - I blurted out, hoping that I would hit it.

“Past,” said Minus and splashed out the water. It was terribly unpleasant to watch how the wonderful water was absorbed into the ground.

Kuzya began to rub himself against the legs of the sellers and humbly ask them to ask his owner an easy, the easiest question that any quitter and loser could answer. I shouted at Kuzya. He fell silent, and the sellers looked at each other unamusedly.

- Two by two? — Plus asked smiling.

“Four,” I answered angrily. For some reason I was very ashamed. I drank half a glass and gave the rest to Kuza.

Oh, how good the water was! Even Aunt Lyubasha never sold one like this. But there was so little water that I couldn’t even tell what kind of syrup it was with.

The racer appeared on the road again. He pedaled quickly and sang:

Singing, rides, rides,

A young racer is riding.

On your bike

He circled the globe.

He flies faster than the wind

Will never get tired

Hundreds of thousands of kilometers

It brushes off without difficulty.

A cyclist rode past and nodded his head. It seemed to me that he was being brave in vain and insisting on his indefatigability. I was just about to tell Kuza about this when I noticed that the cat was very frightened by something. His fur stood on end, his tail became fluffy, his back arched. Are there really dogs here?

- Hide, hide me quickly! - Kuzya begged. - I'm afraid... I see...

I looked around, but didn't notice anything on the road. But Kuzya was trembling and insisted that he saw... legs.

-Whose legs? - I was surprised.

“The fact of the matter is that it’s a draw,” the cat answered, “I’m very afraid when the legs are on their own, without the owner.”

Indeed,… legs came out onto the road. These were large male legs in old shoes and dirty work trousers with bulging pockets. There was a belt at the waist of the trousers, and there was nothing above it.

The legs came towards me and stopped. I felt somehow uneasy.

- Where is everything else? - I decided to ask. - What is above the waist?

The feet trampled silently and froze.

- Excuse me, are you living legs? - I asked again.

My legs swayed back and forth. They probably wanted to say yes. Kuzya purred and snorted. His legs scared him.

“These are dangerous Legs,” he hissed quietly. “They ran away from their master.” Decent Legs never do that. These are not good Legs. This is a homeless person...

The cat didn't have time to finish. Right Leg gave him a big kick. Kuzya flew to the side with a squeal.

- You see, you see?! - he yelled, shaking off the dust. - These are evil Legs, move away from them!

Kuzya wanted to go around Legs from behind, but they contrived and kicked him. The cat screamed until he was hoarse from resentment and pain. To calm him down, I took him in my arms and began scratching his chin and forehead. He loves it very much.

A man in overalls came out of the triangular house. He was wearing exactly the same trousers and shoes as Legs. The man came closer to the Legs and said:

“Don’t go too far from me, comrade, you’ll get lost.”

I wanted to know who grabbed half of this comrade’s torso.

“Didn’t the tram run over him?” - I asked.

“He was a digger like me,” the man answered sadly. “And it wasn’t the tram that ran him over, but fourth-grade student Viktor Perestukin.”

It was too much! Kuzya whispered to me:

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to get out of here as quickly as possible?”

I looked at the ball. He lay quietly.

“Grown-ups are ashamed to tell lies,” I reproached the digger. - How could Vitya Perestukin run over a person? These are fairy tales.

The digger just sighed.

- You don’t know anything, boy. This Victor Perestukin solved the problem, and it turned out that it took one and a half diggers to dig the trench. So only half of my friend remained...

Then I remembered the problem about linear meters. The digger sighed heavily and asked if I had a good heart. How was I supposed to know this? Nobody talked to me about this. True, my mother sometimes claimed that I had no heart at all, but I didn’t believe it. Still, something is knocking inside me.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

“If you had a kind heart,” the navvy said sadly, “you would take pity on my poor friend and try to help him.” You just need to solve the problem correctly, and he will again become what he was before.

“I’ll try,” I said, “I’ll try... What if I can’t?!”

The digger rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. The solution to the problem was written on it in my handwriting. I thought about it. What if nothing works out again? What if it turns out that the trench was dug by one and a quarter of the diggers? Then there will be only one leg left of his comrade? I even felt hot from such thoughts.

Then I remembered Comma's advice. This calmed me down a little. I will think only about the problem, I will solve it slowly. I will reason as the Exclamation One taught me.

I looked at Plus and Minus. They winked mockingly at each other with identical round eyes. They probably didn't let me get drunk!.. I stuck my tongue out at them. They were not surprised or offended. They probably didn't understand.

- What is your opinion about the boy, Brother Minus? - asked Plus.

“Negative,” answered Minus. - What about yours, brother Plus?

“Positive,” Plus said sourly.

I think he was lying. But after their conversation, I was determined to cope with the task. I started to decide. Think only about the task. He reasoned, reasoned, reasoned until the problem was solved. Well, I was so happy! It turned out that digging the trench required not one and a half, but two whole diggers.

- That turned out to be two diggers! - I announced the solution to the problem.

And then Legs immediately turned into a digger. It was exactly the same as the first one. They both bowed to me and said:

In work, in life and work

We wish you good luck.

Learn always, learn everywhere

And solve problems correctly.

Plus and Minus tore their caps off their heads, threw them into the air and cheerfully shouted:

- Five five is twenty five! Six six is thirty six!

- You are my savior! - shouted the second digger.

- Great mathematician! - his comrade admired. - If you meet Viktor Perestukin, tell him that he is a quitter, a stupid and evil boy!

“Whoever, he’ll definitely pass it on,” Kuzya scoffed.

I had to promise that I would. Otherwise the diggers would never have left.

Of course, it was not good that they scolded me in the end, but still I was very pleased that I myself solved this difficult problem. After all, even Lyuska’s grandmother could not solve it, although she is the most capable of arithmetic of all the grandmothers in our class. Maybe my character has already begun to develop? That would be great!

The cyclist rode by again. He no longer sang or drank. It was clear that he could barely stay in the saddle.

Kuzya suddenly arched his back and hissed.

- What happened to you? Legs again? - I asked.

“Not legs, but paws,” answered the cat, “but there is an animal on the paws.” Let's hide...

Kuzya and I rushed to a small round house with a lattice window. The door was locked, and we had to hide under the porch. There, lying under the porch, I remembered that I should despise danger, and not hide. I was about to look out, but I saw our old friend on the road - a polar bear. I had to get out, but... it was very scary. Even tamers are afraid of polar bears.

Our polar bear seemed even angrier than when we first met. He sighed, growled, scolded me, died of thirst, looked for the north.

We hid until he passed the house. Kuzya began to ask why I could have annoyed the terrible beast so much. Weird Kuzya. If only I knew this myself.

“The polar bear is an angry and merciless beast,” Kuzya frightened me. - I wonder if he eats cats?

“Perhaps, if he eats, it’s only sea cats,” I told Kuza in order to calm him down a little. But I didn’t know for sure.

Actually, it's time to get out of here. There was nothing to do here. But the ball lay there and we had to wait.

From the round house, under the porch of which we were hiding, a plaintive groan came. I came closer.

“Please don’t get involved in any stories,” Kuzya asked me.

I knocked on the door. An even more pitiful groan was heard. I looked out the window and saw nothing. Then I started pounding on the door with my fist and shouting loudly:

- Hey, who's there?!

“It’s me,” came the answer. - Innocently convicted.

-Who are you?

“I’m an unfortunate tailor, I was accused of theft.”

Kuzya jumped around me and demanded that I not get involved with the thief. And I was interested to find out what the tailor stole. I began to question him, but the tailor did not want to confess and insisted that he was the most honest man in the world. He claimed that he had been slandered.

-Who slandered you? - I asked the tailor.

“Viktor Perestukin,” the prisoner answered impudently.

What is it really? Either half a navvy, or a thief tailor...

- This is not true, not true! - I shouted out the window.

“No, really, really,” the tailor whined. - Listen here. As the head of a sewing workshop, I received twenty-eight meters of fabric. I had to find out how many suits could be made from it. And to my grief, this same Perestukin decides that I must sew twenty-seven suits out of twenty-eight meters and also have one meter left over. Well, how can you sew twenty-seven suits when just one suit is three meters long?

I remembered that it was for this task that I received one of five deuces.

“This is nonsense,” I said.

“Yes, it’s nonsense for you,” the tailor whined, “but based on this decision they demanded twenty-seven suits from me.” Where would I get them from? Then I was accused of theft and put behind bars. - Don’t you have this task with you? - I asked.

“Of course there is,” the tailor rejoiced. “They handed it to me along with a copy of the verdict.”

Through the bars he handed me a paper. I unfolded it and saw the solution to the problem written in my hand. Completely wrong decision. I first divided units, and then tens. That's why it turned out so stupid. I didn’t even have to think much to correct the decision. I told the tailor that he only had to make nine suits.

At that moment the door opened on its own and a man ran out. He had large scissors hanging from his belt and a tape measure hanging from his neck. The man hugged me, jumped on one leg and shouted:

— Glory to the great mathematician! Glory to the great little unknown mathematician! Shame on Viktor Perestukin!

Then he jumped again and ran away. His scissors clinked and the centimeter fluttered in the wind.

A barely alive cyclist rode onto the road. He was out of breath, and then suddenly he fell off the bike! I rushed to pick him up, but there was nothing I could do. He wheezed and rolled his eyes. “I’m dying, I’m dying at my post,” the cyclist whispered. “I cannot carry out this terrible decision. Oh, boy, tell the schoolchildren that the death of the cheerful racer is on the conscience of Viktor Perestukin. Let them avenge me...

- Not true! - I was indignant. - I never destroyed you. I don't even know you!

- Ah... So you are Perestukin? - said the racer and stood up. “Come on, lazybones, solve the problem correctly, otherwise you’ll have a bad time.”

He thrust a piece of paper with the task into my hands. While I was reading the problem statement, the racer grumbled:

- Decide, decide! You will learn from me how to subtract meters from people. You race my cyclists at a hundred kilometers per hour.

Of course, at first I tried to solve the problem. I reasoned as best I could, but so far nothing worked. To be honest, I really didn’t like that the driver treated me so rudely. When someone asks me to help, it’s one thing, but when they force me, it’s another. And in general, try to think for yourself when people next to you are stomping their feet in anger and scolding you to the hilt. The racer was preventing me from thinking with his angry chatter. I didn’t even want to talk. Of course, I had to pull myself together, but apparently I had not yet developed enough will for this.

It ended with me throwing the piece of paper and saying:

- The task does not work out.

- Oh, it doesn’t work out?! - the racer growled. “Then you’ll sit where you let the tailor out from!” You sit there and think until you decide.

I didn't want to go to prison. I started to run. The racer rushed after me. Kuzya jumped onto the roof of the prison and from there abused the racer in every possible way. He compared him to all the ferocious dogs he had ever met in his life. Of course, the racer would have caught up with me if not for the cat. Kuzya threw himself at his feet right from the roof. The rider fell. I didn’t wait for him to get up, I jumped on his bike and rode down the road.

The racer and Kuzya disappeared from sight. I drove a little further and got off the bike. We had to wait for Kuzya and find the ball. In the confusion, I forgot to see where he was. I threw the bike into the bushes, and I turned into the forest and sat down under a tree to rest. When it gets dark, I decided, I’ll go look for my cat. It was warm and quiet. Leaning against a tree, I quietly fell asleep. When I opened my eyes, I saw that an old woman was standing next to me, leaning on a stick. She was wearing a blue short skirt and a white blouse. Her gray braids had puffy bows made of white nylon ribbons. All our girls wore such ribbons. But what surprised me most was that a red pioneer tie was dangling from her wrinkled neck.

- Grandma, why are you wearing a pioneer tie? - I asked.

- From the fourth.

- And I’m from the fourth... Oh, how my legs hurt! I have walked many thousands of kilometers. Today I finally have to meet my brother. He comes towards me.

- Why are you walking for so long?

- Oh, it's a long and sad story! — the old lady sighed and sat down next to me. — One boy was solving a problem. From two villages, the distance between which is twelve kilometers, a brother and sister came out to meet each other...

I just felt a pain in the pit of my stomach. I immediately realized that there was nothing good to expect from her story. And the old woman continued:

— The boy decided that they would meet in sixty years. We submitted to this stupid, evil, wrong decision. And so everything goes, we go... We are exhausted, we have grown old...

She probably would have complained and talked about her journey for a long time, but suddenly an old man came out from behind the bushes. He was wearing shorts, a white blouse and a red tie.

“Hello, sister,” muttered the old pioneer.

The old woman kissed the old man. They looked at each other and cried bitterly. I felt very sorry for them. I took the problem from the old lady and wanted to solve it. But she just sighed and shook her head. She said that only Viktor Perestukin should solve this problem. I had to admit that Perestukin is me. I wish I hadn't done this!

“Now you will come with us,” the old man said sternly.

“I can’t, my mother won’t let me,” I fought back.

“Did our mother allow us to leave home without asking for sixty years?”

So that the old pioneers would not disturb me, I climbed a tree and began to decide there. The problem was trivial, not like the one about the racer. I dealt with it quickly.

- You were supposed to meet in two hours! - I shouted from above.

The old men immediately turned into pioneers, and they were very happy. I climbed down from the tree and had fun with them. We held hands, danced and sang:

We are no longer gray,

We are young guys.

We are not old people now

We are students again.

We have completed the task.

There's no need to walk anymore!

We are free. This means -

You can sing and dance!

My brother and sister waved goodbye to me and ran away.

I was left alone again and began to think about Kuza. Where is my poor cat? I remembered his funny advice, stupid cat stories, and I became increasingly sad... All alone in this incomprehensible country! We had to find Kuzya as soon as possible.

Plus I lost the ball. This tormented me. What if I can never return home? What awaits me? After all, something terrible can happen here every minute. Should I call Geography?

He walked and counted very slowly. The forest was getting thicker. I wanted to see my cat so much that I could not resist and shouted loudly:

And suddenly a loud meow came from somewhere. I was very happy and began to call the cat loudly.

- Where are you? I can not see you.

“I don’t see anything myself,” Kuzya complained. - Look up.

I raised my head and began to carefully examine the branches. They swayed and made noise. Kuzi was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly I noticed a gray bag among the foliage. Something was stirring inside him. I immediately climbed the tree, got to the bag and untied it. Groaning and snorting, disheveled Kuzya tumbled out of there. We were very happy with each other. We were so happy that we almost fell out of the tree. Then, when we got off him, Kuzya talked about how the racer caught him, put him in a bag and hung him on a tree. The racer is very angry with me. He looks for his bike everywhere. If the racer catches us, he will certainly put us in jail for an unsolved problem and stealing a bicycle.

We began to get out of the forest. We came out to a small clearing where a beautiful tall tree grew. Buns, saits, bagels and pretzels hung on its branches.

Breadfruit! When I said in class that buns and bagels grow on the breadfruit tree, everyone laughed at me. What would the guys say now if they saw this tree?

Kuzya found another tree on which forks, knives, and spoons grew. Iron tree! And I talked about him. Then everyone laughed too.

Kuza liked breadfruit more than iron. He sniffed the rosy bun. He really wanted to eat it, but he didn’t dare.

“Eat it and you’ll turn into a dog,” Kuzya grumbled. “In a strange country you have to be careful of everything.”

And I tore off a bun and ate it. It was warm, tasty, with raisins. When we had refreshed ourselves, Kuzya began to look for a sausage tree. But such trees did not grow here. While we were eating buns and chatting, a large horned cow came out of the forest and stared at us. Finally we saw a kind pet. Not a ferocious bear, not even a camel, but a sweet village Burenka.

- Hello, dear little cow!

“Hello,” the cow said indifferently and came closer. She looked at us carefully. Kuzya asked why she liked us so much.

Instead of answering, the cow came even closer and bent her horns. Kuzya and I looked at each other.

What are you going to do, cow? - Kuzya asked.

- Nothing special. I'll just eat you.

- You're crazy! - Kuzya was surprised. — Cows don't eat cats. They eat grass. Everyone knows this! “Not all,” the cow objected. — Viktor Perestukin, for example, doesn’t know. He said in class that a cow is a carnivore. That's why I started eating other animals. She's already eaten almost everyone here. Today I'll eat a cat, and tomorrow I'll eat a boy. You can, of course, eat both at once, but in this situation you have to be economical.

I have never met such a nasty cow. I tried to prove to her that she should eat hay and grass. But she doesn’t dare eat a person. The cow lazily waved her tail and repeated her thoughts:

“I’ll eat you both anyway.” I'll start with the cat.

We were arguing so heatedly with the cow that we did not notice how a polar bear appeared near us. It was already too late to run.

- Who are they? - the bear barked.

“The owner and I are traveling,” Kuzya squeaked in fear.

The cow intervened in our conversation. She stated that Kuzya and I were her prey and she would not give us up to the bear. In the best case, since she does not want to enter into conflict, the bear can bite the boy, but the cat is out of the question. She was determined to eat it herself. Apparently she thought the cat was tastier than the boy. Nothing to say, cute pet!

Before the bear had time to answer the cow, a noise was heard from above. Leaves and broken branches rained down on us. A huge and strange bird was perching on a thick branch. She had long hind legs, short front legs, a thick tail and a pretty face without any beak. Two clumsy wings protruded from her back. Birds in a flock rushed around her and screamed anxiously. This was probably the first time they had seen such a bird.

-What kind of ugly thing is this? - the bear asked impolitely.

And the cow asked if she could eat it. Bloodthirsty creature! I wanted to throw a stone at her.

- Is this a bird? - Kuzya asked in surprise.

“There are no such big birds,” I answered.

- Hey, on the tree! - the bear roared. - Who are you?

- You're lying! — the bear got angry. - Kangaroos don't fly. You are a beast, not a bird.

The cow also confirmed that the kangaroo is not a bird. And then she added:

— Such a carcass is perched on a tree and pretends to be a nightingale. Get down, impostor! I will eat you.

The kangaroo said that before she really was an animal, until one kind wizard declared her a bird during a lesson. After that, she grew wings and began to fly. Flying is fun and enjoyable!

The envious cow was angered by the kangaroo's words.

- Why are we listening to her? - she asked the bear. - Let's eat it better.

Then I grabbed a huge fir cone and hit the cow right in the nose.

- How bloodthirsty you are! - I reproached the cow.

- It's nothing you can do. This is all because I am a carnivore.

I liked the funny kangaroo. She was the only one who didn’t scold me or demand anything.

- Listen, kangaroo! - the bear roared. - Have you really become a bird?

Kunguru swore that she told the truth. Now she's even learning to sing. And then she began to sing in a funny voice:

Such happiness to dream about

We can only in a dream:

Suddenly she became a bird.

I enjoy flying!

I was a kangaroo

I'll die like a bird!

- Disgrace! — the bear was indignant. - Everything has turned upside down. Cows eat cats. Animals fly like birds. Polar bears are losing their native north. Where has this been seen?

The cow mooed dissatisfied. She didn’t like this order either. Only the kangaroo was happy with everything. She said that she was even grateful to the kind Victor Perestukin for such a transformation.

- Perestukin? - the bear asked menacingly. - I hate this boy! In general, I don't like boys!

And the bear rushed at me. I quickly climbed the iron tree. Kuzya rushed after me. The kangaroo shouted that it was shameful and ignoble to pursue a defenseless human cub. But the bear began to shake the tree with its paws, and the cow with its horns. The kangaroo could not see such injustice, flapped its wings and flew away.

“Don’t try to sneak away, cat,” the cow mooed from below. “I even learned to catch mice, and they are harder to catch than a cat.”

The iron tree swayed more and more. Kuzya and I threw knives, forks, and spoons at the bear and cow.

- Get off! - the animals screamed.

It was clear that we would not last long. Kuzya begged me to urgently call Geography. To tell the truth, I already wanted to do this myself. You should have seen the bared, greedy face of the cow! She didn’t look at all like the beautiful cow that was painted on the creamy chocolate. And the bear was even scarier.

- Call Geography quickly! - Kuzya yelled. - I'm afraid of them, I'm afraid!

Kuzya frantically clung to the branches. Am I really as cowardly as a cat?

- No, we will still hold out! — I shouted to Kuza, but I was mistaken.

The iron tree swayed, creaked, and iron fruits fell from it in a hail, and Kuzya and I fell with them.

“Uh-oh,” the bear growled. - Now I’ll deal with you!

The cow demanded that hunting rules be followed. She gives up the boy to the bear, and the cat belongs to her.

The last time I decided to try to persuade the cow:

- Listen, brownie, you should still eat grass, not cats.

- Can not do anything. I'm a carnivore.

“You’re not a carnivore at all,” I argued in despair. - You... you... artiodactyl.

- So what?.. I can be artiodactyl and carnivorous.

- No, no!.. You are a hay-eater... a fruit-eater...

- Stop talking nonsense! - the bear interrupted me. - Better remember where north is.

“Just a minute,” I asked the bear. - You, cow, are a herbivore! Herbivore!

As soon as I said this, the cow mooed pitifully and immediately began to greedily nibble the grass.

- Finally, juicy grass! - she was happy. “I’m so tired of gophers and mice.” They make my stomach worse. I am still a cow, I love hay and grass.

The bear was very surprised. He asked the cow: what will happen to the cat now? Will the cow eat it or not?

The cow was offended. She's not crazy enough to eat cats yet. Cows never do this. They eat grass. Even children know this.

While the cow and the bear were arguing, I decided to use a stratagem. I’ll deceive the bear: I’ll tell him that I know where the north is, and then I’ll sneak away along the road with Kuzya.

The bear waved his paw at the cow and again began to demand that I show him the north. I broke down a little for the sake of appearances, and then promised to show...

And suddenly I saw our ball! He rolled towards me himself, found us himself! This was very helpful.

The three of us - me, Kuzya and the bear - went after the ball. The nasty cow didn't even say goodbye to us. She missed the grass so much that she couldn’t tear herself away from it.

It was no longer as fun and pleasant for us to walk as before. There was a bear puffing and grumbling next to me, and I still had to figure out a way to get rid of him. This turned out to be not an easy task, because he did not believe me at all and did not take his eyes off me.

Oh, I wish I knew where the north is! And my dad gave me a compass, and they explained it a hundred times in class, but no, I didn’t listen, I didn’t learn it, I didn’t understand.

We kept walking and walking, but I couldn’t think of anything yet. Kuzya quietly grumbled that my military trick had failed and that I needed to escape from the bear without any cunning.

Finally, the bear announced that if I don’t show him the north, then when we get to that tree, he will tear me apart. I lied to him that it was very close to the north from that tree. What else could I do?

We kept walking and walking, but we couldn’t get to the tree. And when we finally got there, I said that I wasn’t talking about this tree, but about that one! The bear realized that he was being deceived. He bared his teeth and prepared to jump. And at this most terrible moment, a car suddenly jumped out of the forest right at us. The frightened bear roared and ran such a hundred-meter dash as has probably never been seen at any Olympics. A moment - and Mishka was gone.

The car stopped abruptly. There were two people sitting in it, dressed exactly as I had once seen in the opera “Boris Godunov,” which was broadcast on TV. The one who was turning the steering wheel had a falcon on his shoulder with a cap pulled down over his eyes, and the other had the same falcon clinging to a long leather mitten with its claws. Both were bearded, only one was black and the other was red. In the back seat of the car lay two brooms decorated with... dog heads. We all looked at each other in amazement and were silent.

Kuzya was the first to wake up. With a desperate squeal, he started running and flew up like a rocket to the top of a tall pine tree. The bearded men got out of the car and approached me.

-Who is this? - asked the black-bearded man.

“I’m a boy,” I answered.

- Whose person are you? - the red-bearded man asked.

“I’m telling you: I’m a boy, not a man.”

Blackbeard carefully examined me from all sides, then felt my knitted T-shirt, turned his head in surprise and exchanged glances with redbeard.

“It’s kind of wonderful,” he said with a sigh, “and the shirt looks like... from overseas... So whose are you going to be, hovering?”

— I told you in Russian: I am a boy, a student.

“You’ll come with us,” the red-bearded man ordered. “We’ll show you to the king himself.” Apparently, you are one of the blessed, and he loves the blessed.

No, these bearded men are eccentrics! They dug up some other king, they talk about some blessed ones. I knew only one of the blessed ones - St. Basil's Cathedral. This was the name of the builder of the temple. But what does this have to do with me?

- Haven’t you read the story? - I asked the bearded men. - Which king are you going to show me to? The kings are long gone. The last Russian Tsar was liquidated back in 1917... as a class,” I added, so that it would be clearer for them, these ignoramuses.

The bearded men clearly didn’t like my performance. They frowned and came even closer.

— Are you talking like thieves? — the black-bearded man advanced menacingly. - Twist his hands!

Red quickly untied his sash, pulled my hands behind my back and threw me into the car. Before I had time to utter a word, she roared and took off. The head of Kuzi flashed through the dust, running after him and screaming something desperately. I only heard one word:

"Geography!"

All clear. Kuzya asked me to call Geography, and I thought that our affairs were not so bad. You can still wait.

The bearded men were probably driving me along a very bad road. The car was tossed, shook and rocked. Of course, it was not asphalt.

A bell was heard ringing. I raised my head and saw St. Basil's Cathedral. They immediately hit me in the ear, and I dived to the bottom. The car pulled up to a large old house. I was led up steep, narrow stairs for a long time. Then they untied my hands and pushed me into a large room with a vaulted ceiling. Along the walls, instead of chairs, there were wide oak benches. The middle of the room was occupied by a large table covered with a heavy red tablecloth. There was nothing on him except his phone.

A fat and also bearded man was sitting at the table. He snored loudly and whistlingly. But my bearded men did not dare to wake him up. We stood there in silence until the phone rang. The fat man woke up and barked into the phone in a deep voice:

- The guardsman on duty is listening... The Tsar is not there... Where, where... I went to the sites. The boyar exterminates, and distributes the land to the guardsmen... He is not late, but delayed... Just think - a meeting!.. Wait, the bar is not great... That's it! Agreed!

And the guardsman on duty hung up. He stretched and yawned so hard that he dislocated his jaw. Redbeard ran up to him and quickly set his jaw back into place. The duty officer immediately fell asleep, and only a new call made him open his eyes.

“They rang,” he grumbled, picking up the phone, “just like at a telephone exchange.” Well, what else? You are told there is no king.

He slammed his pipe down, yawned again, but this time carefully, and stared at us.

-Who is this? - he asked, pointing at me with a thick finger decorated with a huge ring.

My bearded men bowed low and told how they caught me. It was very strange listening to them. They spoke as if they were speaking Russian, and at the same time I did not understand many words. I, in their opinion, was either blessed or wonderful.

- Wonderful? — the guardsman on duty said slowly. - Well, if he’s wonderful... he’s a fool. And you go!

My bearded men bowed once again and left, and I remained face to face with the guardsman on duty. He sniffed importantly, looked at me and drummed on the table with his thick finger.

A boy in a long caftan and red boots entered the room. The fat man on duty jumped up quickly and bowed low to him. The boy did not answer his greeting.

“You shouldn’t come here, Tsarevich,” said the guardsman on duty, “this is the sovereign’s office.”

“Don’t drive me away, slave,” the boy interrupted him and stared at me with great surprise.

I winked at him. He was even more surprised. I wanted to stick my tongue out at him, but decided against it. Suddenly he gets offended. But I didn’t want that. Although they called him “prince,” I liked him. His face was sad and kind. So he could tell me what's what here. But we didn’t have to get to know each other better. Some scary old woman ran in and dragged the boy away with a scream. He, poor thing, didn’t even have time to utter a word.

The guardsman on duty began to examine me again. I decided to say hello to him just in case. Politeness never hurts business.

“Hello, comrade guardsman on duty,” I said as civilly as possible.

The fat man suddenly turned purple and barked:

- At your feet, puppy!

I looked around, but didn't see any puppy.

- Where is the puppy? - I asked him

- You're a puppy! - the guardsman roared.

“I’m not a puppy,” I objected firmly. - I'm a boy.

- To your feet, I say! “He was just choking with anger.”

These legs were given to him! And what did he mean by this? This needed to be clarified urgently.

- Excuse me, which legs?

- Touched! — the duty officer sighed, took out a huge handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his face. His cheeks turned pale. - Blessed.

A breathless young guardsman burst into the office.

- The Emperor has returned! - he blurted out from the threshold - Angry, passion! And Malyuta Skuratov is with him! Requires an attendant!

The fat man jumped up, crossed himself in fear and turned white.

Both of them flew out of the office like a whirlwind and stomped up the stairs. I was left alone. I had to think and figure out this whole story. What a pity that my Kuzi is not with me! Completely, completely alone, and there is no one to consult with. I sat down in the chair and took a deep breath.

The boyar entered the office with a mail bag on his shoulder. He asked where the guardsman on duty was. I told him that the guardsman on duty was summoned by the tsar, who was angry about something. The postman crossed himself in fear. I thought that he would leave immediately, but he hesitated and asked if I could read and write. I replied that I could sign. The postman handed me the book and I signed it. Then he handed me a rolled-up piece of paper and announced that it was a message from Prince Kurbsky. Having said that the message should be given to the guardsman on duty, the postman left. Out of boredom, I turned the phone around and with great difficulty began to parse Prince Kurbsky’s message. It was very difficult to read this message, but I still somehow read that countless hordes of Napoleon Buonaparte were moving towards Rus'. That's it! All these adventures are not enough, but war is still looming!

Someone is persistently scratching at the door. Mice? No, they couldn't scratch that loudly. I pulled the heavy large door handle towards me, and my dear Kuzya ran into the room.

The cat was terribly out of breath and covered in dust. His fur was ruffled. He didn't have time to get close. I've never seen him so sloppy.

“I barely got to you, master,” Kuzya said in a tired voice. “They almost killed me with dogs.” And where did we end up? Some strange people! They don't respect animals at all. I met a red cat named Masha. So this is just some kind of savage! I asked her where the veterinary hospital was (I wanted to run in so that they would smear some iodine on my wound: one damned mongrel still grabbed my leg), so, can you imagine, this same red-haired woman, it turns out, doesn’t even know what a “veterinary hospital” is! Even the cats here speak something different from ours. Run, master, run! And as soon as possible!

Kuzya and I began to discuss an escape plan. It was bad that our ball was lost, and even if we managed to escape, we would not know in which direction to move. But we had to hurry. The guardsman on duty could return every minute, unless, of course, the tsar pierced him through with a stick, as he did with his son. And then we were threatened with war...

Kuzya started his old song again:

- Call Geography!

Kuzya demanded that I stop pretending to be a hero. According to him, we have already overcome many difficulties, and we have been exposed to more dangers than necessary to develop will and character. Maybe he was right, but I didn’t want to end my journey like that. It's like lying down on your own two shoulder blades.

During our argument, shots suddenly rang out. The real shooting began. What's happened? There was some commotion, noise, screams were heard, and the window was illuminated by the glow of a fire.

- Well, that's it! - I shouted in despair. - The French are advancing! It made me want to say something like that in class!

- I knew these were your tricks! - Kuzya shouted fiercely and even snorted at me, which had never happened before. “Even I understand that it’s a shame not to know the history of one’s homeland, it’s a shame to confuse time and events.” You poor loser!

The noise and shots did not stop. The phone buzzed endlessly. Frightened boyars and guardsmen ran into the office. They were all shouting something and shaking their long beards. I went cold with fear. The war has begun! And only I was to blame for this. This could not be hidden. I jumped up on the table and shouted at the top of my voice:

- Stop! Listen! It's my fault that the French are advancing. I'll try to fix everything now!

The boyars became silent.

- What is your fault, lad? - the oldest of them asked sternly.

- I said in class that Ivan the Terrible fought with Bonaparte! For this they gave me a couple. If I remember in what year Napoleon started the war with Russia, all this will disappear. There will be no war! I'll stop her.

- Stop the war immediately, boy! - the old man demanded even more sternly. - Stop it before our sovereign executes you.

And everyone started shouting in unison:

- Speak up, or we’ll hang you!

- On the rack! He will remember it vividly!

Good job - he’ll remember! You can remember what you forgot, but how can you remember what you don’t know? No, I couldn't remember anything. Should I blurt out something at random again? This is not an option. You can make even more terrible mistakes. And I admitted that I couldn’t remember.

Everyone rushed at me with a roar and, of course, would have dragged me off the table and torn me to pieces if the guards had not burst into the office with guns at the ready. Everything was covered in smoke.

- Call Geography! Do not want? Then at least call dad!

And it dawned on me!

- I remembered! I remembered! - I shouted. - It was the Patriotic War of one thousand eight hundred and twelve!

And immediately everything became quiet... Everything around turned pale... melted... A cloud of blue smoke enveloped me and Kuzya, and when it cleared, I saw that I was sitting under a tree in the forest, and my Kuzya was curled up on my lap. The ball lay at my feet. It was all very strange, but we were already accustomed to strange things in this strange country. I probably wouldn’t be surprised if I even turned into an elephant, and Kuzya into a tree. Or vice versa.

“Please explain to me,” the cat asked, “how did you remember something you didn’t know?”

— When dad got a new phone at work, mom couldn’t remember it, and dad told her: “But it’s so simple!” The first three digits are the same as those of our home telephone, and the last four are the year of the Patriotic War - one thousand eight hundred and twelve.” When you asked me to call dad, I remembered this. Clear? Now I will firmly remember this, and when I return home, I will definitely read and learn everything about Ivan the Terrible. I will find out in detail about all his sons, especially about Fedya. In general, it’s great, Kuzya, that I was able to help myself. Do you know how nice it is to solve a problem correctly yourself? It's like scoring a goal.

“Or catch a mouse,” Kuzya sighed.

The ball moved and rolled quietly across the grass. Kuzya and I followed him. Our journey continued.

“Still, it’s very interesting here,” I said. - Every minute some adventure awaits us.

“And it’s always either unpleasant or dangerous,” Kuzya grumbled. “As for me, I’m fed up.”

- But how many extraordinary things we have seen here! All the guys will envy me when I tell them about this Land of Unlearned Lessons. Zoya Filippovna will call me to the board. There will be silence in the class, only the girls will ooh and ahh. Maybe Zoya Filippovna will even invite the director to listen to my story.

- Do you really think that anyone will believe you? - Kuzya asked. - They’ll just laugh at you!

- Why?

- Do people believe in what they have not seen with their own eyes? And then, no one can confirm your words.

- And you? I'll take you to class with me. Just the fact that you can speak like a human being...

- Bear! - Kuzya shouted.

An angry polar bear jumped out of the forest right at us. Steam was pouring out of it. The mouth was grinning, and huge teeth were exposed. This was the end... But Kuzya, my dear Kuzya!..

- Farewell, master! - Kuzya shouted. - I'm running away from you to the north!

And the cat began to run, and the bear rushed after him with a roar. Cousin's stratagem was a success. He saved me.

I wandered after the ball. It was very sad without Kuzya. Maybe the bear caught up with him and tore him to pieces? It would be better if Kuzya did not come to this country with me.

So that I wouldn’t feel so lonely and sad, I sang:

You're walking through a deserted country

And sing a song to yourself.

The road doesn't seem difficult

When you go with a friend.

And you don't know that he's a friend

And you don't want to be friends with him.

But only if you lose him -

How sad life becomes.

I really missed Kuza. No matter what the cat said - stupid or funny, he always wished me well and was a loyal friend.

The ball stopped. I looked around. To my right was a mountain covered with snow and ice. At the top of it, under a snow-covered fir tree, sat, shivering from the cold and huddled close to each other, a black child and a monkey. Snow fell on them in large flakes.

Looked to the left. And there was a mountain, but the snow did not fall here. On the contrary, the hot sun shone over the mountain. Palm trees, tall grass, and bright flowers grew on it. A Chukchi and my familiar polar bear were sitting under a palm tree. Will I never get rid of him? I approached the foot of Cold Mountain and immediately froze. Then I ran to the foot of Hot Mountain, and I felt so stuffy that I wanted to take off my T-shirt. Then I ran out into the middle of the road. It was good here. Neither cold nor hot. Fine.

Moans and screams were heard from the mountains.

“I’m shaking all over,” the black boy complained. - Cold white flies sting me painfully! Give me the sun! Drive away the white flies!

“I’ll soon melt like seal fat,” cried the little Chukchi. - Give me at least a little snow, at least a piece of ice!

The polar bear roared so loudly that it drowned out everyone:

- Give me the north at last! I'll boil in my own skin!

The little black boy noticed me and said:

- White boy, you have a kind face. Save us!

- Have pity! - the little Chukchi begged.

-Who drove you there? - I shouted to them from below.

- Victor Perestukin! - the boys, the bear and the monkey answered in unison. — He mixed up geographical zones. Save us! Save!

- I can not! I need to find my cat first. Then, if I have time...

“Save us,” the monkey squeaked. - Save it, and we will give you your cat.

- Is Kuzya with you?

- Do not believe? Look! - the bear barked.

And immediately my cat appeared on Zharkaya Mountain.

- Kuzya! Kss, kss, kss,” I called the cat. I was jumping for joy.

- I'm dying from the heat, save me! - Kuzya wheezed and disappeared.

- Hold on! I'm coming to you!

I began to climb the mountain. I smelled heat like from a huge oven.

I looked back and saw the cat already on Kholodnaya Gora, next to the monkey. Kuzya was shivering from the cold.

- I'm frozen. Save!

- Hold on, Kuzya! I run to you!

Having quickly escaped from Hot Mountain, I began to climb the ice to another mountain. I was overcome with cold.

The cat was already standing on Zharkaya Mountain with the bear. I slid down the ice into the middle of the road. It became clear to me that they would not give me Kuzya.

- Give me my cat!

- Tell me: in what zones should we live?

- Don't know. When the teacher was talking about geographical zones, I was reading a book about spies.

The animals, hearing my answer, roared, and the boys began to cry. The bear threatened to tear me to pieces, and the monkey promised to scratch out my eyes. Kuzya wheezed and gasped. I felt terribly sorry for them all, but what could I do? I promised them to learn all the seas and oceans, continents, islands and peninsulas. But they demanded one thing: I had to remember geographical zones.

- I can not! I can not! - I screamed desperately and covered my ears with my fingers.

It immediately became quiet. When I pulled my fingers out, I heard Kuzya’s voice:

- I'm dying... Farewell, master...

I couldn't let Kuza die. And I shouted:

- Dear Geography, help!

- Hello, Vitya! - someone said next to me.

I looked back. My geography textbook stood in front of me.

-You can’t remember geographical zones? What nonsense! You know that. Well, in what zone does a monkey live?

“Tropical,” I answered as confidently as if I knew about it before.

- And the polar bear?

- Beyond the Arctic Circle.

- Great, Vitya. Now look to the right, then to the left.

That's exactly what I did. Now a little black man was sitting on Hot Mountain, eating a banana and smiling. The monkey climbed onto a palm tree and made funny faces. Then I looked at Cold Mountain. There was a polar bear lounging on the ice. Finally, the heat stopped tormenting him. The little Chukchi waved his fur mitten at me.

- Where is my Kuzya?

- I'm here.

The cat sat quietly at my feet, wrapping its tail around its paws. Geography asked me what I wanted: to continue my journey or to return home?

“Home, home,” Kuzya purred and narrowed his green eyes.

- Well, what about you, Vitya?

I also wanted to go home. But how to get there? My ball has disappeared somewhere.

- Now that I'm with you. “The geography textbook said calmly, “No ball is needed.” I know all the roads in the world.

Geography waved its hand, and Kuzya and I rose into the air. They got up and immediately landed at the threshold of our house. I ran into my room. How I miss home!

Hello, table and chairs! Hello walls and ceiling!

And here is my cute table with scattered textbooks and nails.

- It’s so good, Kuzya, that we are already home!

Kuzya yawned, turned away and jumped onto the windowsill.

“Tomorrow you will go to school with me and confirm my story about the Land of Unlearned Lessons.” OK?

Kuzya lay down on the windowsill and began waving his tail. Then he jumped to his feet and began to look out the window. I looked out too. Topsy, Lucy Karandashkina’s cat, walked importantly through the yard.

“Listen to me,” I said sternly to Kuza. - Tomorrow you... Why don’t you answer? Kuzya!

The cat remained stubbornly silent. I pulled his tail. He meowed and jumped off the windowsill. All! I realized that I would never hear a single word from him again.

The geography textbook was probably standing outside the door. I ran out to invite him into the house.

- Come in, dear Geography!

But there was no one outside the door. There was a book lying on the threshold. This was my geography textbook.

How could I forget about her! How dare you, without asking, fly to the Land of Unlearned Lessons! Poor mommy! She was terribly worried.

Mom entered the room. My dear, the best, most beautiful, kindest mother in the world. But she didn't seem at all worried.

“Were you worried about me, mommy?”

She looked at me in surprise and attentively. This is probably because I rarely call her mommy.

“I’m always worried about you,” Mom answered. “The exams are coming soon, and you’re preparing so poorly.” My grief!

- Mommy, my dear mommy! I will no longer be your grief!

She leaned over and kissed me. She rarely did this either. Probably because I... Oh well! And so it is clear.

Mom kissed me again, sighed and went to the kitchen. It left behind a delicious smell of fried chicken. As she was leaving, she turned on the radio, and I heard: “Teacher of school number twelve Zoya Filippovna Krasnova and student of this school Katya Pyaterkina took part in the program. The program for children is over."

What's happened? No, it can't be! Is it possible that during the time the radio broadcast was on, I managed to visit... So that’s why my mother didn’t notice anything!

I took the diary and read again what lessons were assigned for tomorrow. Corrected the problem about the diggers, correctly solved the problem about the tailor.

Lyuska Karandashkina appeared with her braid loose. I didn’t want to tell her about my journey... but I couldn’t resist. Told. Of course she didn't believe it. I was very angry with her.

The next day after school we had a class meeting. Zoya Filippovna asked the underperforming children to tell us what was preventing them from studying well. Everyone came up with something. And when it was my turn, I directly said that no one was bothering me.

Or rather, one person is interfering. And this person is myself. But I will fight with myself. All the guys were surprised because I had never promised to fight myself before. Zoya Filippovna asked why and how I came up with this.

- I know! I know! He visited the Land of Unlearned Lessons.

The guys started making noise and asked me to tell them about this trip. I refused. They won't believe me anyway. But the guys promised to believe me if it was interesting. I broke down a little more, and then asked those who wanted to eat to leave and not interfere, because I would talk for a very long time. Of course, everyone wanted to eat, but no one left. And I started telling everything from the very beginning, from the day when I got five deuces. The guys sat very quietly and listened.

I was talking and kept glancing at Zoya Filippovna. It seemed to me that she was about to stop me and say: “Enough of your inventing, Perestukin, it would be better if you taught your lessons like a person.” But the teacher was silent and listened carefully. The guys didn’t take their eyes off me, sometimes they laughed quietly, especially when I talked about Cousin’s stories, sometimes they got worried and frowned, sometimes they looked at each other in surprise. They would listen again and again. But I had already finished my story, and they were still silent and looked at my mouth.

- OK it's all over Now! Are you silent? I knew you wouldn't believe me.

The guys started talking. All at once, vying with each other, they said that even if I came up with it, I came up with it so cool, so interesting that you can believe it.

- Do you believe it, Zoya Filippovna? — I asked the teacher and looked her straight in the eyes. If I had made all this up, would I have dared to ask her like that?

Zoya Filippovna smiled and stroked my head. It was absolutely amazing.

- I believe. I believe that you, Vitya, will study well.

And it's true. I have become a better student now. Even the right Katya said that I was improving. Zhenchik confirmed this. But Lyuska still grabs a deuce and walks around with her braid down.

I passed the exams and moved on to the fifth grade. True, sometimes I really want to talk to Kuzya, to remember what happened to us during our trip to the Land of Unlearned Lessons. But he is silent. I even began to love him a little less. Recently I even told him: “Well, Kuzya, whether you like it or not, I’ll still get a dog. Shepherd!

Kuzya snorted and turned away.

Current page: 1 (book has 3 pages in total) [available reading passage: 1 pages]

Liya Geraskina
In the Land of Unlearned Lessons

* * *

I wonder what you would answer to this question from the teacher:

– Where does the water go that evaporates from the surface of lakes and rivers, seas, oceans and puddles?

-Where does the water go? Or maybe it doesn’t disappear after all? Maybe you will think carefully and answer properly?

I think I answered as it should. Zoya Filippovna, of course, did not agree with me. I have long noticed that teachers rarely agree with me. They have such a negative minus.

Mom opened the door silently. But this did not make me happy. I knew that she would feed me first, and then...

I ate and tried not to look at my mother. I thought, could she really be able to read in my eyes about all five deuces at once?

The phone rang. Hooray! Aunt Polya called. She won't let her mom get off the phone in less than an hour.

“Sit down to your homework immediately,” my mother said and picked up the phone.

I had to go to my room and sit down for my homework.

I was given rules on unstressed vowels. We had to repeat them. I didn't do this, of course. It's useless to repeat what you don't know anyway. Then I had to read about this very water cycle in nature. I remembered Zoya Filippovna, a bad student, and decided to do better arithmetic. There was nothing pleasant here either. I started solving a problem about some diggers. Before I had time to write out the conditions, the loudspeaker began to speak. I could have distracted myself a little and listened... But whose voice did I hear? Voice of Zoya Filippovna! She gave advice to the kids on the radio on how to prepare for exams. I had no intention of preparing. I had to turn off the radio.

I opened the problem book again. Five diggers dug a trench of one hundred linear meters in four days... What could you come up with for the first question?

He began to reason. Five diggers dug a trench of one hundred linear meters. Shoulder straps? Why are meters called linear meters? Who is driving them?

I started thinking about this and came up with a tongue twister: “A driver in uniform drove with a running meter.”

It would be nice to call the driver Paganel!

– What should we do with the diggers? Maybe multiply them by meters or divide the meters by diggers?..

It turned out to be such nonsense that I began to look for the answer in the problem book. But, as luck would have it, the page with the answer about the diggers was torn out. I had to take full responsibility upon myself. I've changed everything. It turned out that the work had to be done by one and a half diggers. Why one and a half? But in the end, what do I care how many diggers dug this very trench? Who even digs with diggers now? They would take an excavator and immediately finish with the trenches. And the work would have been done soon, and the schoolchildren would not have been bothered. Well, be that as it may, the problem is solved.

Boys were screaming outside the window. The sun was shining and there was a very strong smell of lilac. I felt the urge to jump out the window and run to the guys. But my textbooks were on the table. They were torn, stained with ink, dirty and boring. And they were very strong. They kept me in a stuffy room, forced me to solve a problem about some antediluvian navvies, fill in the missing letters and do much more, which was not at all interesting to me. I suddenly hated my textbooks so much that I grabbed them off the table and threw them on the floor.

And suddenly there was such a roar, as if forty thousand iron barrels had fallen from a high building onto the pavement. Kuzya rushed from the window sill and pressed himself to my feet. It became dark. But just now the sun was shining outside the window. Then the room lit up with a greenish light, and I noticed some strange people. They wore robes made of crumpled paper covered with blots. One had a very familiar black spot on his chest with arms, legs and horns. I drew exactly the same horned legs on a blot that I put on the cover of a geography textbook.

The little people stood silently around the table and looked at me angrily. Something had to be done immediately. So I politely asked:

-Who will you be?

“Take a closer look, maybe you’ll find out,” answered the little man with the blot.

“He’s not used to looking at us carefully, period,” another man said angrily and threatened me with his ink-stained finger.

I got it. These were my textbooks. For some reason they came to life and came to visit me. If only you had heard how they reproached me!

“No one anywhere on the globe, no matter the degree of latitude or longitude, handles textbooks like you do!” - Geography shouted.

“You’re throwing exclamation mark ink on us.” “You paint all sorts of nonsense with an exclamation mark on our pages,” Grammar cried.

- Why did you attack me like that? Are Seryozha Petkin or Lyusya Karandashkina better students?

- Five deuces! - the textbooks shouted in unison.

- But I prepared my homework today!

– Today you solved the problem incorrectly!

– I didn’t understand the zones!

– I don’t understand the water cycle in nature!

Grammar was boiling the most:

– Today you did not repeat the exclamation mark on unstressed vowels. Not knowing your native language dash disgrace comma misfortune comma crime exclamation point.

I can't stand it when people shout at me. I'm offended. And now I was very offended and replied that I would somehow live without stressed vowels and without the ability to solve problems, and even more so without this very cycle.

At this point my textbooks immediately went numb. They looked at me with such horror, as if I had been rude to the school principal in front of them. Then they began to whisper and decided that I needed to be punished immediately, do you think? Nothing like that - save! Weirdos? From what, one might ask, to save?

Geography said it was best to send me to the Land of Unlearned Lessons. The people immediately agreed with her.

– Are there any difficulties and dangers in this country? – I asked.

“As many as you like,” Geography answered.

– The whole journey consists of difficulties. “It’s as clear as two and two are four,” added Arithmetic.

– Every step there threatens with an exclamation point! - exclaimed Grammar.

It was worth thinking about. After all, there will be no dad, no mom, no Zoya Filippovna!

No one will stop you every minute and shout: “Don’t go! Do not run! Do not touch! Don't peek! Don't tell me! Don’t turn around on your desk!” And a dozen other “no’s” that I can’t stand. Maybe on this journey I will be able to develop my will and acquire character. If I return from there with character, my dad will be surprised!

- Or maybe we can come up with something else for him? - Geography asked.

- I don’t need another! – I shouted. - So be it. I’m going to this dangerously difficult country of yours.

I wanted to ask them if I would be able to strengthen my will there and acquire character so much that I could voluntarily do my homework, but I didn’t ask. Changed my mind.

“Okay,” said Geography, “it’s decided.”

- The answer is correct. We won’t change our minds,” added Arithmetic.

“Go immediately, period,” Grammar finished.

“Okay,” I said as politely as possible. - But how to do this? Trains probably don’t go to this country, planes don’t fly, ships don’t sail.

“We will do this, comma,” said Grammar, “as we always did in Russian folk tales, dot.” Let's take a ball of dots.

But we didn’t have any tangle. My mother didn't know how to knit.

– Do you have anything spherical in your house? - Arithmetic asked, since I didn’t understand what “spherical” was, she explained: “It’s the same as round.”

Round? I remembered that Aunt Polya gave me a globe on my birthday. I suggested this globe. True, it is on a stand, but it’s not difficult to tear it off. For some reason Geography was offended, waved her arms and shouted that she wouldn’t allow it. That the globe is a great visual aid! Well, and all sorts of other things that didn’t go to the point at all. At this time, a soccer ball flew through the window. It turns out that it is also spherical. Everyone agreed to count it as a ball.

The ball will be my guide. I have to follow him and keep up. And if I lose him, I won’t be able to return home. After I was placed in such a colonial dependence on the ball, this spherical one jumped onto the windowsill by itself. I climbed after him, and Kuzya followed me.

- Back! – I shouted to the cat, but he didn’t listen.

“I’ll go with you,” my cat said in a human Russian voice.

Geography waved goodbye to me and shouted:

“If things get really bad for you, call me for help.” So be it, I’ll help you out!

Kuzya and I jumped from the windowsill and immediately began to quickly rise into the air, and the ball flew in front of us. I didn't look down. I was afraid my head would spin. So that it wouldn’t be so scary, I didn’t take my eyes off the ball. I don’t know how long we flew. I don't want to lie. The sun was shining in the sky, and Kuzya and I were rushing after the ball, as if we were tied to it with a rope and it was dragging us in tow.

Finally the ball began to descend, and we landed on a forest road. The ball rolled, jumping over stumps and fallen trees. He didn't give us any respite. Again, I can’t say how long we walked. The sun never set. Therefore, you might think that we walked for only one day. But who knows if the sun even sets in this unknown country.

We walked along a forest path. A high hill appeared in the distance. The ball went around him and disappeared. We were very scared and rushed after him.

Behind the hill we saw a large castle with tall gates and a stone fence.

On the gate of the castle hung a lock weighing about forty kilograms. On both sides of the entrance stood two strange men. One was bent over so that it seemed as if he was looking at his knees, and the other was straight as a stick.

- Who are you? – Hook asked abruptly.

And Stick, as if he had been pushed in the sides, screamed at the top of her voice:

- Ox! Ax! Ox, ox! Ahah!

He politely replied that I was a fourth grade student. He twisted the hook with its head. The stick opened up as if I had said something very bad. Then Hook glanced sideways at Kuzya and asked:

- And you, the one with the tail, are also a student?

Kuzya was embarrassed and remained silent.

“This is a cat,” I explained to Hook, “he’s an animal.” And animals have the right not to study.

- Name? Surname? – Hook interrogated.

“Prestukin Victor,” I answered, as if at a roll call.

If only you could see what happened to Stick!

- Oh? Oh! Alas! That! Most! Oh! Oh! Alas! – he shouted without a break for fifteen minutes straight. I'm really tired of this. The ball brought us to the Land of Unlearned Lessons. Why should we stand at her gates and answer stupid questions? I demanded that they immediately give me the key to unlock the lock. The ball moved. I realized that I was doing the right thing.

Stick handed me a huge key and shouted:

- Open up! Open up! Open up!

I inserted the key and wanted to turn it, but that was not the case. The key wouldn't turn. It became clear that they were laughing at me.

Hook asked if I could spell the words “lock” and “key” correctly. If I can, the key will immediately unlock the lock. Why not be able to! Just think, what a trick. Out of nowhere, a blackboard appeared and hung right in the air right in front of my nose.

- Write! - Palka shouted and handed me the chalk.

I immediately wrote: key... and stopped.

It was good for him to shout, but what if, I don’t know what to write next: CHICK or CHECK? Which is correct: KEY or KLUCHEK? The same thing happened with the lock. LOCK or LOCK? There was a lot to think about!

Kuzya advised me to write at random. If you write it wrong, you will correct it later. Is it really possible to guess? This was good advice. I was about to do just that, but Palka shouted:

- It is forbidden! Ignoramus! Ignorant! Oh! Alas! Write! Straightaway! Right! “For some reason he didn’t say anything calmly, he just shouted everything out.”

I sat down on the ground and began to remember. Kuzya hovered around me all the time and often touched my face with his tail. I shouted at him. Kuzya was offended.

“You shouldn’t have sat down,” said Kuzya, “you still won’t remember.”

But I remembered. To spite him I remembered! Perhaps this was the only rule I knew. I didn’t think that it would ever be so useful to me!

– If in the genitive case a vowel is dropped at the end of a word, then CHECK is written, and if it is not dropped, CHIK is written.

This is not difficult to check: nominative - padlock; genitive - padlock. Yeah! The letter fell out. So, that’s right – LOCK. Now it’s very easy to check the “key”. Nominative – key, genitive – key. The vowel remains in place. This means you need to write “key”.

Stick clapped his hands and shouted:

- Wonderful! Lovely! Amazing! Hooray!

I boldly wrote on the board in large letters: LOCK. KEY. Then he easily turned the key in the lock, and the gate swung open. The ball rolled forward, and Kuzya and I followed it. Stick and Hook trailed behind.

Our journey started very successfully. I easily remembered the rule and opened the lock! If all the time I encounter only such difficulties, I have nothing to do here...

We walked through tall, empty rooms and found ourselves in a huge hall.

At the back of the hall, an old man with white hair and a white beard sat on a high chair. If he was holding a small Christmas tree in his hands, he could be mistaken for Santa Claus.

A hunched Comma with angry red eyes was hovering near the old man. She kept whispering something in his ear and pointing at me with her hand.

“I hope you will roughly punish this ignorant, Your Majesty the Imperative Verb!” - said Comma.

The old man looked at me importantly.

- Stop doing that! Don't be angry, Comma! - the old man ordered.

- How can I not be angry, Your Majesty? After all, the boy has never put me in my place!

The old man looked at me sternly and beckoned with his finger. I went.

Comma fussed even more and hissed:

- Look at him. It is immediately obvious that he is illiterate.

Was it really noticeable on my face? Or could she also read eyes, like my mother?

“Tell me how you study,” Verb ordered me.

“Tell me it’s good,” Kuzya whispered. But I was somehow shy and replied that I was studying like everyone else.

- Do you know grammar? – Comma asked sarcastically.

“Tell me that you know very well,” Kuzya prompted again.

I nudged him with my foot and replied that I knew grammar as well as anyone else. After I used my knowledge to open the lock, I had every right to answer like that. And in general, stop asking questions! But the evil Comma desperately needed to find out what grades I had. Of course, I didn’t listen to Cousin’s stupid tips and told her that my grades were different.

- Different? - Comma hissed. – But we’ll check this now.

I wonder how she could do this if I didn’t take the diary with me?

- Give us the documents! - Comma screamed in a disgusting voice.

Little men with identical round faces ran into the hall. Some had black circles embroidered on their white dresses, others had hooks, and still others had both hooks and circles. Two little men brought in some kind of blue folder. When they unfolded it, I saw that it was my Russian language notebook.

The comma showed the first page on which I saw my dictation. An awful lot of red pencil corrections. And how many blots!.. I probably had a very bad pen then. Under the dictation there was a deuce, looking like a big red duck.

- Deuce! - Comma announced gloatingly, as if even without her it was not clear that this was a two and not a five.

- Turn it over! - ordered the Verb.

- Turn over? - Comma asked, although she clearly saw that there was nowhere to turn further. The notebook only had three pages. I tore out the rest to make pigeons out of them.

“That’s enough,” ordered the old man. - How did you, boy, say that your grades are different?

- May I meow? – Kuzya suddenly came out. “I beg your pardon, but it’s not my master’s fault.” After all, in the notebook there are not only twos, but also a one. This means that the marks are still different.

Comma giggled, and Stick shouted in delight:

- Ax! Ox! Killed me! Fun! Oh! Smart ass!

I was silent. It's unclear what happened to me. Ears and cheeks were burning. I couldn't look the old man in the eyes. So, without looking at him, I said that I don’t know who I am. Kuzya supported me. In his opinion, it was foul play. The verb listened to us attentively, promised to show all his subjects and introduce them to them. He waved the ruler - music started playing, and little men with circles on their clothes ran out into the middle of the hall. They began to dance and sing:

- We are precise guys,
We are called dots.
To write correctly,
We need to know where to place us.
You need to know our place!

Kuzya asked if I knew where they should be placed. I replied that sometimes I put them correctly.

The verb waved the ruler again, and the dots were replaced by little men, on whose dresses two commas were embroidered. They held hands and sang:

- We are cheerful sisters,
Inseparable Quotes.
If I open the phrase, one sang,
“I’ll close it right away,” said another.

Quotes! I know them! I know and I don't like it. If you put them up, they say there’s no need; If you don’t put it, they say this is where you should have put quotation marks. You'll never guess...

After Quotes came Hook and Stick. Well, what a funny couple they were!

- Everyone knows me and my brother,
We are expressive signs.
I am the most significant -
Interrogative!

And Palka sang very briefly:

- I am the most wonderful -
Exclamatory!

Interrogative and exclamation! Old friends! They were a little better than the other signs. They had to be placed less often, so they were used less often. They were still nicer than that evil Comma. But she was already standing in front of me and singing in her creaky voice:

- Even though I’m just a dot with a tail,
I am small in stature.
But grammar needs me
And I am important for reading.

Even Kuzya’s fur stood on end from such impudent singing. He asked me for permission to tear off the tail of the Comma and turn it into a dot. Of course, I did not allow him to misbehave. Maybe I myself wanted to say something to Comma, but I have to restrain myself somehow. Be rude, and then they won’t let you out of here. And I’ve wanted to leave them for a long time. Ever since I saw my notebook. I approached Verb and asked him if I could leave. The old man didn’t even have time to open his mouth when Comma began to squeal throughout the entire room:

- Never! Let him first prove that he knows the spelling of unstressed vowels!

Immediately she began to come up with all sorts of examples.

Luckily for me, a huge dog ran into the hall. Kuzya, of course, hissed and jumped on my shoulder. But the dog had no intention of attacking him. She cheerfully waved her tail and caressed her. I bent down and stroked her red back.

- Oh, you love dogs! Very good! – Comma said sarcastically and clapped her hands. Immediately the black board hung in the air in front of me again. On it was written in chalk: “F... tank.”

I quickly realized what was going on. I took chalk and wrote the letter “a”. It turned out: “Dog.”

“Maybe only this dog is spelled with an “o,” asked Kuzya, “and all the others with an “a”?

“The cat is as ignorant as his owner,” Comma giggled, but Kuzya objected to her that he knew dogs better than she did. From them, in his opinion, one can always expect any meanness.

While this conversation was going on, a ray of sunlight peered through the high window. The room immediately brightened.

- Ah! Sun! Wonderful! Lovely! – Exclamation One shouted joyfully.

“Your Majesty, sun,” Comma whispered to the Verb. - Ask an ignoramus...

“Okay,” Verb agreed and waved his hand. On the black board the word “Dog” disappeared and the word “So...ntse” appeared.

– Which letter is missing? – Questioner asked.

I read it again: “So...ntse.” In my opinion, nothing is missing here. If all the letters are in place, why insert extra ones? What happened when I said this! Comma laughed like crazy. Exclamation cried and broke his hands. The verb frowned more and more. The sun's ray disappeared. And the hall became dark and very cold.

- Ax! Alas! Ox! Sun! I'm dying! - yelled Exclamation.

-Where is the sun? Where is the warmth? Where is the light? – the Interrogative asked continuously, like a wounded one.

- The boy made the sun angry! – the Verb thundered angrily.

“I’m freezing,” Kuzya cried and huddled close to me.

– Answer how to spell the word “sun”! - ordered the Verb.

The letter "l" came out. I grabbed the chalk and quickly wrote it down. At the same moment the sun peeked into the hall again. It became light, warm and very cheerful. For the first time I realized how much I love the sun.

– Long live the sun with an “l”! – I sang cheerfully.

- Hooray! Sun! Light! Joy! Life! - shouted Questioner.

I spun around on one leg and also began shouting:

– Our greetings to the cheerful school sun! We simply cannot live without our dear sun.

- Shut up! - Verb barked.

I froze on one leg. The fun immediately disappeared. It even became somehow unpleasant and scary.

The verb is gone. Comma ran after him and kept saying as he walked:

- No mercy! Just no mercy, Your Majesty!

The little men brought large iron brackets and placed them to my left and right.

“This is all very bad, master,” said Kuzya and began wagging his tail. He always did this when he was dissatisfied with something. - Is it possible to sneak out of here?

“That would be very nice,” I answered, “but you see that I am arrested, put in brackets and we are being guarded.” In addition, the ball lies motionless.

- Poor! Unhappy! - Exclamation groaned. - Oh! Oh! Alas! Alas! Alas!

-Are you scared, boy? – Questioner asked.

These are the weirdos! Why should I be scared? Why should you feel sorry for me?

“There’s no need to anger the powerful,” Kuzya said seriously. – One cat I know had the habit of angering the watchdog. What nasty things she said to him! And then one day the dog broke the chain and weaned her off this habit forever.

What is it to ask for? Kuzya and I consulted and decided that now was the time to have breakfast. The signs explained to me: I will get everything I want if I write my wish correctly. Of course, the board immediately jumped out and hung in front of me. In order not to make a mistake, Kuzya and I discussed this issue again. The cat couldn't think of anything more delicious than amateur sausage. I prefer the Poltava one. But in the words “amateur” and “Poltava” you can make a lot of mistakes. So I decided to simply write “sausage”. But eating sausage without bread is not very tasty. And so, to begin with, I wrote on the board: “Blap.” But Kuzya and I didn’t see any bread. We were deceived.

-Where is your bread?

- It's written incorrectly! – the signs answered in unison.

– Don’t know how to spell such an important word! - the cat grumbled.

I took the chalk and wrote in large words: “Sausage.”

- Wrong! - the signs shouted. I erased it and wrote: “Kalbosa.”

- Wrong! - the signs screamed.

I erased it again and wrote: “Sausage.”

- Wrong! - the signs screamed.

I got angry and threw the chalk. They were just making fun of me.

“We ate bread and sausage,” Kuzya sighed. “It’s not clear why boys go to school.” Didn't they teach you how to spell at least one edible word correctly?

I could probably spell one edible word correctly. I erased “sausage” and wrote “onion”. The dots immediately appeared and brought in peeled onions on a dish. The cat was offended and snorted. He didn't eat onions. I didn't like him either. And I was hungry terribly. We started chewing onions. Tears flowed from my eyes.

Suddenly a gong sounded.

- Do not Cry! - shouted Exclamation. – There is still hope!

- How do you feel about the Comma, boy? – Questioner asked.

“For me, it’s not needed at all,” I answered frankly. – You can read without it. After all, when you read, you don’t pay any attention to commas. But when you write and forget to put it in, you will certainly get it.

The exclamator became even more upset and began to groan in every possible way.

– Do you know that a comma can decide a person’s fate? – Questioner asked.

– Stop telling fairy tales, I’m not little.

“The owner and I are no longer kittens,” Kuzya supported me.

Comma and several Dots entered the hall, carrying a large folded sheet of paper.

“This is a sentence,” Comma announced.

The dots unfolded the sheet. I've read:

SENTENCE
in the case of the ignoramus Viktor Perestukin:
YOU CANNOT EXECUTE AND HAVE PARSONY.

- You can’t execute! Have mercy! Hooray! Have mercy! – Exclamation One was delighted. - You can’t execute! Hooray! Wonderful! Generously! Hooray! Wonderful!

– Do you think it’s impossible to execute? – Questioner asked seriously. Apparently he had great doubts.

What are they talking about? Who should be executed? Me? What right do they have? No, no, this is some kind of mistake!

But Comma looked at me sarcastically and said:

– The signs misunderstand the verdict. You must be executed, you cannot be pardoned. This is how it should be understood.

- Execute for what? – I shouted. - For what?

– For ignorance, laziness and lack of knowledge of the native language.

“But it’s clearly written here: you can’t execute.”

- This is unfair! We will complain,” Kuzya yelled, grabbing Comma by the ponytail.

- Ax! Ox! Alas! Terrible! I won't survive! - Exclamation groaned.

I felt scared. Well my textbooks dealt with me! This is how the promised dangers began. They simply did not allow the person to look around properly and, please, immediately handed down a death sentence. Whether you want it or not, you can handle it yourself. There is no one to complain to. No one will protect you here. Neither parents nor teachers. Of course, there are no police or courts here either.

- What should I do? – I accidentally asked out loud.

- Reason! Reason! Oh! Alas! Reason! - shouted Exclamation. Tears flowed from his sad eyes.

It’s a good thing to talk about when... But still I decided to try.

– Execution cannot be pardoned... If I put a comma after the word “execute”, it will be like this: “Execute cannot be pardoned.” So it turns out that you can’t pardon?

- Alas! Oh! Misfortune! You can't have mercy! - Exclamation sobbed. - Execute! Alas! Oh! Oh!

- Execute? – Kuzya asked. – This doesn’t suit us.

“Boy, can’t you see that there’s only one minute left?” – Questioner asked through tears.

One last minute... And what happens next? I closed my eyes and began to think quickly:

– What if you put a comma after the words “cannot be executed”? Then it will turn out: “You can’t execute, you can have mercy.” This is what I need! It's decided. I bet.

I went to the table and drew a large comma in the sentence after the word “impossible.” At the same minute the clock struck twelve times.

- Hooray! Victory! Oh! Fine! Wonderful! - Exclamation jumped joyfully, and with him Kuzya.

The comma immediately became better:

– Remember that when you give your head work, you always achieve your goal. Do not be angry with me. Better be friends with me. When you learn to put me in my place, I won't cause you any trouble.

I firmly promised her that I would learn.

Our ball moved, and Kuzya and I hurried.

- Goodbye, Vitya! - the punctuation marks shouted after him. We will meet again on the pages of books, on the pages of your notebooks!

Attention! This is an introductory fragment of the book.

If you liked the beginning of the book, then the full version can be purchased from our partner - the distributor of legal content, LitRes LLC.

In the land of unlearned lessons - Geraskina L. - Domestic writers

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Read a summary of Geraskin in the Land of Unlearned Lessons

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Liya Geraskina In the Land of Unlearned Lessons

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SENTENCE

in the case of the ignoramus Viktor Perestukin:

YOU CANNOT EXECUTE AND HAVE PARSONY.

Liya Geraskina
In the Land of Unlearned Lessons