Boris Zhitkov. Stories for children. Stories about animals - Zhitkov B Boris Zhitkov the shortest stories

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

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

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

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

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

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

We lived at sea and my dad had a nice boat with sails. I knew how to walk on it - both on oars and under sails. And all the same, dad never let me go to sea alone. And I was twelve years old. Once, my sister Nina and I learned that my father was leaving home for two days, and we started to go to the other side in a boat; and on the other side of the bay there was a very pretty house ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We lived at sea and my dad had a nice boat with sails. I knew how to walk on it - both on oars and under sails. And all the same, dad never let me go to sea alone. And I was twelve years old. Once, my sister Nina and I learned that my father was leaving home for two days, and we started to go to the other side in a boat; and on the other side of the bay there was a very pretty house ...

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

RED COMMANDER

Mother went to the city with the little guys in a chaise. They have already entered
the street, suddenly the horses got scared of something and carried.
The coachman pulled the reins with all his might, fell off completely back - nothing
the horses do not smell, they carry at full speed, the chaise is about to turn over.
The mother of the children hugged her and shouts:
- Oh, hold, hold!
And passers-by scamper to the sides, huddle up to houses and shout themselves:
- Hold! Hold on!
Towards a carter with a cart of hay.
The carter got scared, quickly to the side, almost overturned his wagon and
shouts: "Hold! Hold!" And the chaise rushes, the horses gallop like mad.
The chaise is about to break, and everyone will fly to the stone pavement from all over
scattering.
Suddenly, a red commander on horseback rode around the corner. And the chaise is right on
it rushes. The commander understood what the matter was. Shouted nothing, but turned
his horse and stood in front of the chaise.
Everyone looked, waited for the commander to gallop away, how close the madmen would fly
horses! And the commander is standing, and the horse does not move under him. That's really quite
a chaise swooped in - suddenly the horses came to their senses and began to. A little bit before the commander
arrived.
And the commander pushed the horse with his foot and drove on.

FLOWER

The girl Nastya lived with her mother. Once Nastya was presented in a pot
flower. Nastya brought it home and put it on the window.
- Fu, what an ugly flower! - said my mother. - The leaves are like tongues,
and even with thorns. Probably poisonous. I won't water it.
Nastya said:
- I'll water myself. Maybe his flowers will be beautiful.
The flower grew big, big, but did not even think to bloom.
- He must be thrown away, - said my mother, - from him neither beauty nor joy.
When Nastya fell ill, she was very afraid that her mother would throw the flower away or
will not water and it will dry out.
Mom called the doctor to Nastya and said:
- Look, doctor, my little girl is still ill and now she is completely ill.
The doctor examined Nastya and said:
“If you could get the leaves of one plant. They are both inflated and spiked.
- Mommy! - shouted Nastya. - This is my flower. Here it is!
The doctor looked and said:
- He is. Cook the leaves from it, and let Nastya drink. And she
will recover.
“I wanted to throw it away,” Mom said.
Mom began to give these leaves to Nastya, and soon Nastya got out of bed.
- Here, - said Nastya, - I took care of him, my flower, and he
saved
And since then, my mother has planted many of these flowers and always gave Nastya a drink
of them is a medicine.

SOAP

One boy all wanted to know if the soap was floating. Once he came to
kitchen. And in the kitchen there was a bucket full of water, and next to it was a new bar of soap.
The boy looked around and saw: no one was there. He took the soap, put it in the water and let it go.
Soap - yurk! And under the water. The boy was frightened that he drowned the soap. Ran away from the kitchen
and didn't tell anyone.
Everyone went to bed, and no one missed the new soap.
The next morning, mother began to put on the samovar. He sees: there is not enough water in the bucket.
She poured everything into the samovar and more quickly with water to top up the samovar.
So they all sat down at the table to drink tea. Mother brought the samovar to the table.
The samovar is boiling. Everyone is looking - what a miracle! Bubbles bubble up from under the lid, and
more and more. Lo and behold - and the whole samovar is in foam.
Suddenly the boy began to cry and shouted:
- I thought it was floating! - And he told how it was.
- Ah, - said my mother, - this means I have water in the samovar with soap
splashed out and refilled with fresh sweat.
The father said to the boy:
- You'd rather try in a plate than drown it in a bucket. And cry
nothing. Now I have to go to work without tea, and you see - I'm not crying.
The father patted his little son on the shoulder and went to work.

IN THE MOUNTAINS

Three brothers were walking along the road in the mountains. They went down. It was evening, and below they
have already seen how the window in their house was lit up.
Suddenly clouds gathered, it became immediately dark, thunder struck, and rain began to pour down.
The rain was so heavy that water flowed down the road like in a river.
The elder said:
- Wait, here is a rock, it will cover us a little from the rain.
All three sat down under a rock and waited.
The youngest, Akhmet, got tired of sitting, he said:
- I will go. Why be cowardly? Not far from home. I do not want to be here with you
get wet. I will have supper and sleep in a dry bed.
- Don't go - you will be lost, - said the elder.
- I'm not a coward, - said Akhmet and came out from under the rock.
He walked boldly along the road - he did not care for water.
And the water was already moving the stones and rolling them down behind it. The stones were catching up with
They beat Akhmet in the legs to disperse. He started to run.
He wanted to see the light in the house ahead, but the rain was pouring down so that nothing
there was no sign ahead.
"Shouldn't I return?" - thought Akhmet. But I felt ashamed: I boasted - now
his brothers will laugh.
Then lightning flashed, and thunder struck, as if all the mountains had cracked and
fell down. When lightning illuminated, Akhmet did not know where he was.
"Oh, I think I'm lost," thought Akhmet and got scared.
His feet were stoned and he walked quieter.
He walked very quietly and was afraid to stumble. Suddenly hit again
lightning, and Akhmet saw that there was a cliff and a black abyss right in front of him.
Akhmet sat down on the ground out of fear.
"Here," thought Akhmet, "if I took another step, I would fall down and
crashed to death. "
Now he was afraid to go back too. What if there is a cliff again and
abyss.
He was sitting on the wet ground, and a cold rain was pouring down on him from above.
Akhmet just thought:
"It's good that I didn't take one more step: I would have disappeared altogether."
And when morning came and the thunderstorm passed, the brothers found Akhmet. He sat on
the edge of the abyss and was all numb from the cold.
The brothers did not say anything to him, but lifted him up and took him home.

HOW SASHA SCARED MOTHER

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

BEARD

One old man walked through the ice at night. And he was already quite approaching the shore, as
suddenly the ice broke and the old man fell into the water. And there was a steamer at the shore, and from
the steamer went an iron chain into the water to the anchor.
The old man reached the chain and began to climb on it. I got out a little, tired and
began to shout: "Save!"
The sailor on the steamer heard, looked, - and on the anchor chain someone
hooked on and screams.
The sailor did not think long, found a rope, grabbed the end in his teeth and
climbed down the chain to save the old man.
- On, - says the sailor, - rope, tie, grandfather, I will pull you.
And grandfather says:
- You can't pull me: my beard is frozen to the iron.
The sailor took out a knife.
- Cut off, - he says, - the grandfather, the beard.
- No, - says the grandfather. - How can I be without a beard?
- You won't hang on your beard until spring, - said the sailor,
stabbed his beard, tied the old man and pulled him on the rope.
Then the sailor brought him into a warm cabin and said:
- Take off your clothes, grandfather, and go to bed, and I'll warm you up some tea.
- What tea, - says the grandfather, - if I have no beard now. - And he began to cry.
“You're funny, grandfather,” said the sailor. - You almost completely disappeared, but
why pity a beard if it grows.
The old man pulled off his wet clothes and lay down in a warm bed.
And the next morning he said to the sailor:
- Your truth: a beard will grow, and without you I would have disappeared.

LIKE A BOY DROWNED

I walked along the shore and watched the carpenters build the pier. Tremendous
the logs floated in the water tightly one to one. They were taken out of the water and slaughtered
into the bottom, so that a whole fence of logs protruded from the water. Suddenly it seemed to me
that where the piles floated, something flashed. I didn't know what, but ran there.
I did not take my eyes off this place and ran with all my might.
And from the side I saw out of the corner of my eye: just there the telegraph operator was running. Runs from
all legs and holds on to the stomach. He had a bag of telegrams on his belt, and
he was afraid they would fall out.
The telegraph operator was also looking at the place where I was looking. The earth is screeted there
descended to the water, and piles floated on the water - tightly like a raft. Telegraph operator
he did not say a word to me, but only pointed his finger, strengthened his feet on the talus and
held out his hand. I didn’t say a word either, but took the telegraph operator firmly by
hand, and he lay down on the piles and put his hand between them - in the very place where
we both looked, not taking our eyes off.
I began to fumble with my hand in the water. And suddenly little fingers fell to me and
gripped my hand tightly. I grabbed too. And then the telegraph operator pulled
me to the shore. The piles parted, and a small hand came out after my hand,
and behind it was the head, and we pulled out the boy. He was red-haired, about seven years old. He blinked
eyes and did not say anything. The carpenters came up. One took the boy, raised and
shook above the ground. The boy gushed out water from his mouth. They put him on his feet and
asked: how did he drown? The boy said that he wanted to walk on the piles, and they
they parted under their feet, and he fell with his head between them. And then we agreed
above it like a ceiling. And immediately he began to cry:
- Where is my hat? Where is the fishing rod! I'm not going home without a hat.
Everyone began to laugh: say thank you for staying alive, and you about the hat
crying.
I found his fishing rod and started looking for his hat in the water. Hooked and pulled.
But it was an old bast shoe. Then I hooked it up again, and it was a wet cap.
The boy began to feel sorry for her that she was wet. I went. And when I looked back, boy
he kept his cap and cried.
The telegraph operator waved his hand, looked to see if there were any telegrams, and hurried
away.

HARMONIC

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

FIRE

Petya lived with his mother and sisters on the upper floor, and lived on the lower floor.
teacher. Once my mother went swimming with the girls. And Petya was left alone
guard the apartment.
When everyone was gone, Petya began to try his homemade cannon. She was from
iron tube. Petya filled the middle with gunpowder, and there was a hole in the back so that
light gunpowder. But no matter how hard Petya tried, he could not set it on fire in any way. Peter
very angry. He went to the kitchen. I put chips on the Slab, poured them
kerosene, put the cannon on top and lit it. "Now I suppose it will shoot!"
The fire flared up, hummed in the stove - and suddenly a shot banged out! Yes
such that all the fire was thrown out of the stove.
Petya got scared and ran out of the house. No one was home, no one was nothing
heard. Petya ran away. He thought that maybe everything would go out on its own.
And nothing went out. And it flared up even more.
The teacher was walking home and saw smoke coming from the upper windows. He ran to
the column where the button was made behind the glass. This is a call to the firemen. Teacher
broke the glass and pressed the button.
The firemen rang. They quickly rushed to their fire trucks
and rushed off with all their might. They drove up to the post, and there the teacher showed them
where it burns. The firefighters had a pump on their cars. The pump began to pump water, and
firefighters began to pour water from rubber pipes into the fire. Firefighters assigned
stairs to the windows and climbed into the house to find out if there were people left in the house.
There was no one in the house. Firefighters began to take things out.
Petya's mother came running when the whole apartment was already on fire. Militiaman
did not let anyone close, so as not to interfere with the firefighters.
The most necessary things did not have time to burn, and the firefighters brought them to Petya
mom.
And Petya's mother kept crying and said that Petya must have burned out,
because he is nowhere to be seen.
But Petya was ashamed, and he was afraid to approach his mother. The boys saw him and
forcibly brought.
The firefighters put out so well that nothing burned down on the lower floor.
The firefighters got into their cars and drove back. And the teacher let Petya's mom go
live with yourself until the house is repaired.FLOOD

In our country there are such rivers that they do not flow in one place all the time.
Such a river will rush to the right, flow to the right, then after a while,
as if she was tired of the leak here, suddenly crawl to the left and flood her left
Coast. And if the bank is high, the water will wash it away. The steep bank will collapse into
the river, and if there was a house on the cliff, it will fly into the water and the house.
A tugboat was sailing along such a river and dragged two barges. Steamer
stopped at the pier to leave one barge there, and then to him from the shore
the boss came and said:
- Captain, you will move on. Be careful not to run aground: river
has gone strongly to the right and now flows on a completely different bottom. And now she's coming
more and more to the right and floods and undermines the coast.
“Oh,” said the captain, “my house is on the right bank, almost at the water's edge.
His wife and son remained there. What if they didn't have time to escape ?!
The captain ordered to start the car at full speed. He hurried to
his home and was very angry that the heavy barge was delaying its progress.
The steamer sailed a little, when suddenly he was called to the shore with a signal.
The captain anchored the barge and steered the steamer towards the shore.
He saw that on the shore thousands of people with shovels and wheelbarrows were in a hurry -
they carry earth, fill up a wall so as not to let the river flood the bank. Carried on
camels used wooden logs to drive them into the bank and strengthen the wall. A
a machine with a high iron arm walks along the wall and shovels on it with a bucket
the ground.
People ran to the captain and asked:
- What's in the barge?
“A stone,” said the captain.
Everyone shouted:
- Oh, how good! Let's come here! Look, now the river will break through
wall and wash out all our work. The river will rush into the fields and wash away all the crops.
There will be hunger. Hurry, hurry, let's get the stone!
Here the captain forgot about his wife and son. He started the steamer that is
spirit and brought the barge to the very shore.
People began to carry the stone and strengthened the wall. The river stopped and farther
did not go. Then the captain asked:
- Do you know how it is at my place?
The chief sent a telegram, and soon the answer came. They worked there too
all the people who were, and saved the house where the captain's wife lived with her son.
- Here, - said the chief, - here you helped ours, and there comrades
saved yours.How the steamer drowned

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

HOW THE STEAMER WAS RISE FROM THE BOTTOM

The steamer sank to the bottom and lay down, leaning to one side. He had a big
hole, and it was all filled with water.
The water was where the car was; water was in the cabins where people lived;
the water was in the holds where the goods lay. Little fish came in for a glimpse, no
whether to profit from anything.
The captain knew very well the place where his steamer had sunk. There was no
very deep: divers could go down there. They decided to lift the steamer!
A rescue steamer came and began to lower the divers under the water.
The divers are all dressed in rubber suits: water does not pass through them. Chest and
the collar of this suit is copper. The diver's head is covered with copper
cap. This cap is screwed onto the collar. And in the copper cap there is
glass window - for the diver to watch. And yet this cap goes
a rubber pipe, air is pumped into it from above so that a diver under water can
breathe.
Divers tied huge cans - pontoons to the steamer. Into these pontoons
let air through the pipes. The pontoons sailed upward, and pulled the steamer with them.
When the steamer surfaced, everyone was delighted, and most of all the captain. Steamer
they were taken in tow to be repaired. There was only one person on it. This is the captain
rather wanted to go to his steamer. The steamer was repaired for twenty days - and
repaired the hole.

FIRE AT SEA

One steamer was sailing with a cargo of coal. The steamer needed three more days
go to the place. Suddenly a mechanic from the engine room ran to the captain and
said:
- We got a very bad coal, it caught fire in our hold.
- So fill it with water! - said the captain.
- Late! - answered the captain's mate. - Very hot. It's all
is like pouring water on a hot stove. There will be as much steam as in a steam room
boiler.
The captain said:
- Then seal up the room where the coal is burning, so tightly that
like in a corked bottle. And the fire will go out.
- Will try! - said the mate and ran to give orders.
And the captain turned the steamer straight to the shore - to the nearest port. He gave in
this port a telegram on the radio: "I have coal on fire.
you. "And from there they answered:" Hold on as long as you can. Help is coming. "
Everyone on the steamer knew that their coal was on fire, and they tried, who as
could seal this coal so that air would not pass to it. But already
the wall that separated the coal was heated. Everyone already knew that now
the fire will burst out and there will be a terrible fire.
And from the sea telegrams came over the radio from three rescue steamers that
they rush to the rescue at full speed.
The captain's mate climbed onto the mast in order to quickly see from a height where
steamers. The steamers were not visible for a long time, and the sailors already thought that they would have to
to lower the boats and leave the steamer.
Suddenly a flame burst out of the hold and a fire broke out that
it was impossible to pass. Everyone screamed in horror. Only the assistant was not scared
captain, who was standing on the mast.
He pointed into the distance with his hand. And everyone saw that there, in the distance, they were in a hurry
three steamers. People were delighted, rushed to extinguish the fire themselves, as best they could. A
rescue steamers as they approached, so many fire engines were set in motion,
that the whole fire was soon extinguished.
Then they took the steamer to the port, and in the port they repaired it, and a month later he
went on.

ON ICE

In winter, the sea froze over. The whole collective farm fishermen gathered on the ice to fish.
We took the nets and rode a sleigh on the ice. The fisherman Andrey also went, and with him he
little son Volodya. We went far, far away. And wherever you look, everything is ice and
ice: the sea is so frozen. Andrey and his comrades drove the farthest. Have done
nets began to be launched in the ice of holes and through them. The day was sunny, everyone
it was fun. Volodya helped to get the fish out of the nets and was very happy that
caught a lot. Already large heaps of frozen fish lay on the ice. Volodin's dad
said:
- Enough, it's time to go home.
But everyone began to ask to stay overnight and catch again in the morning.
In the evening we ate, wrapped ourselves tightly in sheepskin coats and went to sleep in the sleigh. Volodya
clung to my father to keep it warm, and fell fast asleep.
Suddenly at night, my father jumped up and shouted:
- Comrades, get up! Look, what a wind! There would be no trouble!
Everyone jumped up and ran.
- Why does it shake us? - Volodya shouted.
And the father shouted:
- Trouble! We were torn off and carried on an ice floe into the sea.
All the fishermen ran on the ice and shouted:
- Torn off, torn off!
And someone shouted:
- Lost!
Volodya began to cry. During the day, the wind became even stronger, the waves splashed on
an ice floe, and all around was the sea. Volodin's dad tied a mast from two poles,
tied a red shirt at the end and set it like a flag. Everybody looked, not
whether to see where the steamer. No one wanted to eat or drink out of fear. And Volodya
lay in the sleigh and looked at the sky: if the sun was looking. And suddenly in the clearing
Volodya saw an airplane between the clouds and shouted:
- Airplane! Airplane!
Everyone started shouting and waving their hats. A bag fell from the plane. It was
food and a note: "Hold on! Help is coming!" An hour later a steamer came and
overloaded people, sleighs, horses and fish. The harbor master found out
which carried away eight fishermen on the ice. He sent a steamer to help them and
airplane. The pilot found the fishermen and on the radio told the captain of the steamer where
go.

MAIL

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

THE ADVENTURE OF "PARTIZAN"

The ship was built at the factory. It was built on the shore and now it is being lowered
in water.
The ship was named "Partizan".
The "Partizan", completely ready, stands at the pier, and a load is put into it. His
appointed to go to the Arctic Ocean. The ice never melts there. There in the distant
on the island people can't wait for the steamer. They need boards to build a house
need flour, sugar, vegetables, milk. "Partizan" even brings them a live cow.
"Partizan" is in a hurry. If winter catches him, he won't get out
out of ice without the help of an icebreaker and not go back.
The machine is running at full speed. "Partizan" goes day and night. At night
lights are lit: white on the masts, and on the sides red and green, so that
the oncoming steamers did not bump into him.
Suddenly a terrible storm arose. It became difficult to go forward. Huge waves
rushed to the steamer. But the "Partizan" was a strong and strong steamer: it went
through the wind and waves all forward and forward. The captain knew: on a distant island
people are waiting. If he is late and is captured on the way by winter, they will be left without
of bread.
But then the captain saw: a sailing ship was dying at sea. Need to save
of people! A rope was thrown from the Partizan, and on the sailboat they attached it to
mast. They tied a basket to a rope, and in it they dragged people onto
"Partizan". All were rescued and moved on. All soon, soon! ..
Already halfway through "Partizan" has passed safely. But then he went up to the sea
fog. Nothing can be seen around, as if you are floating in milk. "Partizan" is coming
slowly and hums in a beep, so as not to collide. When suddenly very close
another steamer appeared. The captain wanted to turn, but it was too late.
The oncoming steamer hit the Partizan in the side and punched a large hole.
But the Partizan did not sink. The hole was in the side above the water. Had to
go to the port to make a hole. The captain asked to be repaired as soon as possible.
It was necessary to make it to a distant island before winter. In place of the hole they put
a new sheet of iron, and "Partizan" became like new again.
Now "Partizan" was in a hurry more than before and still did not have time: ice
surrounded him on all sides.
Do not break the ice for the "Guerrilla".
But then the icebreaker steamer helped him. The icebreaker does not care about ice. He is his
breaks and makes a channel among the ice, similar to a river with icy banks.
The Partizan followed the icebreaker along this river.
So the "Partizan" followed the icebreaker to the island, where people had been waiting for it for a long time.
The captain told everything that happened with him on the way. And everyone was happy that the steamer
still came before winter. They began to unload sugar, flour, boards, and the cow.
brought down the gangway. Then animal skins and walrus tusks were loaded onto the ship.
- everything that was caught and shot for a whole year.
It was already freezing in the north when the "Partizan" went home.
In the sea, a frosty storm hit the ship, waves swept the deck, and
the water froze. The steamer could turn over from the weight of the ice. People chopped off
ice for three days and three nights without rest and saved the "Partizan".
The closer to home, the warmer it became. And when they came home, it was
already quite warm and the sun was shining. The steamer was decorated with flags. At the pier
people greeted him; they waved their hats and shouted "hurray." Everyone was glad that
"Partizan" is not frozen in the ice.
He delivered everything the people needed on the island. And from there I brought a lot
furs and skins, and seal oil, and salted fish, and walrus tusks, and even
live white bear for the zoo.The collapse

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

SMOKE

Nobody believes it. And the firefighters say:
- Smoke is more terrible than fire. A person runs away from fire, but he is not afraid of smoke and climbs
into it. And there suffocates. And yet - nothing is visible in the smoke. Can't see where
run where the doors are, where are the windows. The smoke eats the eyes, bites in the throat, stings in the nose.
And firefighters put masks on their faces, and air goes into the mask through a tube. V
such a mask can be in the smoke for a long time, but still nothing is visible.
And once the firemen were extinguishing the house. The tenants ran out into the street. Older
the fireman shouted:
- Well, count, is that all?
One tenant was missing.
And the man shouted:
- Our petka stayed in the room!
The senior firefighter sent a masked man to find Petka. Man entered
room.
There was no fire in the room yet, but it was full of smoke. The masked man ransacked
the whole room, all the walls and shouted with all his might through the mask:
- Petka, Petka! Come out and burn! Give a voice!
But nobody answered. The man heard that the roof was falling, was frightened and
gone.
Then the senior firefighter got angry:
- Where is Petka?
“I ransacked all the walls,” the man said.
- Give me a mask! - shouted the elder.
The man began to remove the mask. The elder sees: the ceiling is already on fire. Wait
once.
And the elder did not wait; dipped the mitten into the bucket, stuffed it into his mouth and
threw himself into the smoke.
He immediately threw himself on the floor and began to fumble. Bumped into the sofa and thought:
"He's probably huddled in there, there is less smoke."
He reached under the sofa and felt for his legs. The senior firefighter grabbed them and
pulled out of the room.
He pulled the man out onto the porch. This was Petka. And the fireman stood and
staggered. So the smoke gagged him.
And just then the ceiling collapsed, and the whole room caught fire.
Petka was carried to the side and brought to his senses. He said that with
fear huddled under the sofa, covered his ears and closed his eyes. And then he doesn't remember that
It was.
And the senior firefighter took a mitten in his mouth, which through a wet
a cloth in the smoke is easier to breathe.
After the fire, the elder said to the firefighter:
- What were you rummaging along the walls? He will not be waiting for you at the wall. If it is silent
so he suffocated and was lying on the floor. I would ransack the floor and the bunk, right away
I would have found it.

Animal stories to read in elementary school. Boris Zhitkov's stories about animals. Stories for extracurricular reading in elementary school. Stories about an elephant, stories about dogs, stories about a cow and a calf.

Boris Zhitkov. Evening

The cow Masha is going to look for her son, a calf Alyoshka. You can't see him anywhere. Where did he go? It's time to go home.

And the calf Alyoshka ran over, tired, lay down in the grass. The grass is high - you can't see Alyoshka.

The cow Masha was frightened that her son Alyoshka was gone, but how he will blur that there is strength:

At home, Masha was milked, they drank a whole bucket of fresh milk. We poured Alyoshka into a bowl:

- Drink, Alyoshka.

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

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

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

Masha the cow fell asleep on the soft grass.

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

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

And the bird has long since fallen asleep.

She fell asleep on a branch and hid her head under the wing so that it was warmer to sleep. I'm tired too. I flew all day, caught midges.

Everyone fell asleep, everyone is asleep.

Only the night wind does not sleep.

It rustles in the grass and rustles in the bushes.

Boris Zhitkov. Hunters and dogs

Early in the morning the hunter got up, took a gun, cartridges, a bag, called his two dogs and went to shoot hares.

There was a bitter frost, but there was no wind at all. The hunter was skiing and warmed up from walking. He felt warm.

The dogs ran ahead and chased the hares to the hunter. The hunter shot deftly and filled five of them. Then he noticed that he had gone far.

“It's time to go home,” thought the hunter. - You can see traces from my skis, and before it gets dark, I will follow the tracks home. I’ll cross the ravine, and there it’s not far. ”

He went downstairs and saw that in the ravine it was black-black from jackdaws. They were sitting right in the snow. The hunter realized that the matter was amiss.

And rightly so: he had just left the ravine when the wind blew, it started snowing, and a blizzard began. There was nothing to be seen ahead, the tracks were covered with snow. The hunter whistled to the dogs.

If the dogs do not lead me out onto the road, he thought, I am lost. I do not know where to go, I will get lost, it will bring me in snow, and I will freeze. "

He let the dogs go ahead, and the dogs will run off five steps - and the hunter cannot see where to follow them. Then he took off his belt, untied all the straps and ropes that were on him, tied the dogs by the collar and let them go forward. The dogs dragged him, and he came to his village on skis, like on a sleigh.

He gave each dog a whole hare, then took off his shoes and lay down on the stove. And he kept thinking:

"If it weren't for the dogs, I would have disappeared today."

Boris Zhitkov. How an elephant saved its owner from a tiger

The Indians have tame elephants. One Indian went with an elephant to the forest for firewood.

The forest was deaf and wild. The elephant trampled the owner's way and helped to cut down trees, and the owner loaded them onto the elephant.

Suddenly the elephant stopped obeying its owner, began to look around, shake its ears, and then raised its trunk and roared.

The owner also looked around, but did not notice anything.

He became angry with the elephant and beat him on the ears with a branch.

And the elephant bent its trunk with a hook to lift the owner onto his back. The owner thought: "I will sit on his neck - so it will be even more convenient for me to rule them."

He sat down on the elephant and began whipping the elephant over the ears with a branch. And the elephant backed up, stomped and twisted its trunk. Then he froze and became alert.

The owner raised a branch to hit the elephant with all his might, but suddenly a huge tiger jumped out of the bushes. He wanted to attack the elephant from behind and jump on its back.

But he hit the wood with his paws, the wood fell. The tiger wanted to jump another time, but the elephant had already turned, grabbed the tiger with its trunk across the belly, squeezed it like a thick rope. The tiger opened its mouth, stuck out its tongue and shook its paws.

And the elephant already lifted him up, then slammed down on the ground and began to trample with his feet.

And the elephant's legs are like pillars. And the elephant trampled the tiger into a cake. When the owner came to his senses from fear, he said:

- What a fool I am to beat an elephant! And he saved my life.

The owner took out of the bag the bread he had prepared for himself and gave it all to the elephant.

Boris Zhidkov. About the elephant

We were approaching India by steamer. They should have come in the morning. I changed from watch, got tired and could not fall asleep: I kept thinking how it would be there. It’s as if a whole box of toys were brought to me as a child, and only tomorrow you can open it. I kept thinking - in the morning, I'll immediately open my eyes - and Indians, black, come around, mumbling incomprehensibly, not like in the picture. Bananas right on the bush

the city is new - everything will stir, play. And elephants! The main thing is that I wanted to see the elephants. I couldn’t believe that they were not there as in the zoological one, but simply walked, carried: there was such a huge rushing down the street!

I could not sleep, my legs were itching with impatience. After all, you know, when you go by land, it is not at all the same: you see how everything is gradually changing. And then for two weeks the ocean - water and water - and immediately a new country. Like the curtain in the theater was raised.

In the morning, they stomped on the deck, buzzed. I rushed to the porthole, to the window - it was ready: the white city stood on the shore; port, ships, near the side of the boat: they are black in white turbans - their teeth are shining, they are shouting something; the sun shines with all its might, presses, it seems, presses with light. Then I went crazy, suffocated right: as if I were not me and all this is a fairy tale. I didn't want to eat anything in the morning. Dear comrades, I will stand for two watches at sea for you - let me go ashore as soon as possible.

The two of us jumped out onto the shore. In the port, in the city, everything is boiling, boiling, people are pounding, and we are like crazy and do not know what to watch, and we do not go, but as if we are carrying something (and after the sea it is always strange to walk along the coast). We look - a tram. We got on the tram, we don't really know why we are going, if only further, we went crazy. The tram is rushing us, we gaze around and did not notice how we drove to the outskirts. Doesn't go further. We got out. Road. Let's go along the road. Let's come somewhere!

Here we calmed down a bit and noticed that it was great hot. The sun is above the dome itself; the shadow of you does not lie, but the whole shadow is under you: you walk, and you trample your shadow.

Decently already passed, people did not begin to meet, we look - towards the elephant. There are four guys with him - they are running alongside along the road. I couldn’t believe my eyes: we hadn’t seen a single one in the city, but here it was easy to walk along the road. It seemed to me that I had escaped from the zoological one. The elephant saw us and stopped. It became creepy for us: there are no big ones with him, the guys are alone. And who knows what is on his mind. Motanet once with a trunk - and you're done.

And the elephant probably thought so about us: some extraordinary, unknown are coming - who knows? And he did. Now he bent the trunk with a crochet hook, the elder boy got on the hook on this one, like on a bandwagon, holding his trunk with his hand, and the elephant sent it carefully onto his head. He sat there between the ears, as if on a table.

Then the elephant, in the same order, sent two more at once, and the third was small, probably four years old - he was wearing only a short shirt, like a bra. The elephant gives him a trunk - go, they say, sit down. And he does different freaks, laughs, runs away. The elder shouts to him from above, and he jumps and teases - you can't take it, they say. The elephant did not wait, lowered its trunk and went - pretended that he did not want to look at his tricks. He walks, shakes his trunk regularly, and the boy curls around his feet, grimaces. And just when he was not expecting anything, the elephant suddenly had a trunks! Yes, so clever! Caught him behind his shirt and lifts him up carefully. The one with his hands, feet, like a bug. No really! None of you. He raised the elephant, carefully lowered it on his head, and there the guys accepted him. There, on an elephant, he still tried to fight.

We drew level, we walk by the side of the road, and the elephant from the other side and looks at us attentively and cautiously. And the guys are also staring at us and whispering among themselves. They sit as if at home on the roof.

Here, I think, it's great: they have nothing to be afraid of there. If the tiger came across, the elephant would catch the tiger, grab it across the belly with its trunk, squeeze it, throw it above the tree and, if it doesn’t pick it up on its fangs, it will still stomp with its feet until it tramples it into a cake.

And then he took the boy, like a booger, with two fingers: carefully and carefully.

The elephant walked past us: we look, turns off the road and flooded into the bushes. Bushes are dense, thorny, growing like a wall. And he - through them, as through weeds - only the branches crunch, - climbed over and went to the forest. He stopped near a tree, took a branch with his trunk and bent down to the guys. They immediately jumped to their feet, grabbed a branch and rob something from it. And the little one jumps up, tries to grab it too, fiddles as if he was not on an elephant, but on the ground. The elephant let go of a branch and bent down the other. Again the same story. At this point, the little one, apparently, entered the role: he completely climbed on this branch, so that he also got it, and works. Everyone finished, the elephant started up the branch, and the little one, we see, flew away with the branch. Well, we think he's gone - he flew now like a bullet into the forest. We rushed there. No, where is there! Do not crawl through bushes: thorny, and dense, and confused. We look, the elephant in the leaves fumbles with its trunk. He groped this little one - he apparently clung to it like a monkey - took him out and put him in his place. Then the elephant came out onto the road ahead of us and went back. We follow him. He walks and from time to time looks around, looks askance at us: why, they say, are some people walking behind? So we followed the elephant to the house. Around the wattle. The elephant opened the gate with its trunk and cautiously slipped into the courtyard; there he lowered the guys to the ground. In the courtyard of the Hindu, something began to shout at him. She did not immediately notice us. And we are standing, looking through the fence.

The Hindu woman yells at the elephant, - the elephant reluctantly turned and went to the well. Two pillars are dug at the well, and between them is a view; a rope is wound on it and a handle is on the side. We look, the elephant grabbed the handle with its trunk and began to twirl: it turns as if empty, pulled out - a whole bucket there on a rope, ten buckets. The elephant rested the root of its trunk on the handle so that it would not turn, bent its trunk, picked up a bucket and, like a mug of water, put it on the side of the well. Baba got some water, she also made the guys carry it - she was just doing the washing. The elephant again lowered the bucket and twisted the full one up.

The hostess began to scold him again. The elephant threw the bucket into the well, shook its ears and walked away - did not get more water, went under the shed. And there, in the corner of the courtyard, a canopy was made on flimsy posts - just the elephant could crawl under it. On top of the reeds are thrown some long leaves.

Here is just a Hindu, the owner himself. Saw us. We say - they came to see the elephant. The owner knew a little English, asked who we were; everything points to my Russian cap. I say Russians. And he didn't even know what Russians were.

- Not British?

“No,” I say, “not the British.

He was delighted, laughed, immediately became different: he called to him.

And the Indians hate the British: the British have long conquered their country, they are in charge there and the Indians are kept under their heels.

I'm asking:

- Why isn't the elephant coming out?

- And this is he, - he says, - offended, and, therefore, not in vain. Now he won't work at all until he leaves.

We look, the elephant came out from under the shed, through the gate - and away from the yard. We think now it will completely go away. And the Indian laughs. The elephant went to the tree, leaned on its side and rubbed itself well. The tree is healthy - everything walks right up and down. He itches like a pig on a fence.

He scratched himself, collected dust in the trunk and where he scratched, dust, earth as it blows! Once, and again, and again! He cleans this so that nothing starts up in the folds: all his skin is hard, like a sole, and in the folds it is thinner, and in southern countries there is a lot of biting insects.

After all, look what: it does not itch against the posts in the barn, so as not to break it, it even makes its way carefully there, and walks to the tree to itch. I say to a Hindu:

- How smart he is!

And he laughs.

“Well,” he says, “if I had lived for a hundred and fifty years, I would have learned the wrong thing. And he, - points to the elephant, - nursed my grandfather.

I looked at the elephant - it seemed to me that the Hindu was not the owner here, but the elephant, the elephant was the most important here.

I'm talking:

- Do you have an old one?

- No, - he says, - he is one and a half hundred years old, he is at the right time! I have a baby elephant over there, his son - he is twenty years old, just a child. By the age of forty, it is just beginning to come into effect. Wait, the elephant will come, you will see: he is small.

An elephant came, and with her a baby elephant - the size of a horse, without fangs; he followed his mother like a foal.

The Hindu children rushed to help their mother, began to jump, to gather somewhere. The elephant went too; the elephant and the baby elephant are with them. The Indian explains that to the river. We are with the guys too.

They were not shy of us. Everyone tried to speak - they have their own way, we speak Russian - and laughed all the way. The little one pestered us most of all - he put on all my cap and shouted something funny - maybe about us.

The air in the forest is fragrant, spicy, thick. We walked through the forest. We came to the river.

Not a river, but a stream - fast, so it rushes, so the bank gnaws. To the water a snatcher in an arshin. The elephants entered the water and took the baby elephant with them. They put water on his chest, and the two of them began to wash him. They will collect sand with water from the bottom into the trunk and, as from the gut, water it. It's great - only the spray is flying.

And the guys are afraid to get into the water - the current hurts too fast, it will carry away. They jump on the shore and start throwing stones at the elephant. He doesn't care, he doesn't even pay attention - he washes his baby elephant. Then, I looked, I took some water into the trunk and suddenly, as he turned on the boys and one would blow a stream directly into the belly, he sat down. He laughs, pours out.

Wash the elephant again. And the guys even harder to pester him with pebbles. The elephant only shakes its ears: do not bother, they say, you see, there is no time to indulge! And just when the boys did not wait, they thought - he would blow water on the elephant, he immediately turned his trunk and into them.

Those are happy, somersault.

The elephant came ashore; The baby elephant extended its trunk like a hand. The elephant braided its trunk about his and helped him to get out on the scraper.

All went home: three elephants and four children.

The next day I asked where you can see the elephants at work.

At the edge of the forest, by the river, a whole city of hewn logs is fenced off: stacks are standing, each one high in a hut. One elephant stood there. And it was immediately obvious that he was already quite an old man - the skin on him was completely sagging and coarse, and his trunk was dangling like a rag. Ears of some kind. I saw another elephant coming from the forest. A log is swinging in the trunk - a huge hewn log. It must be a hundred pounds. The porter is waddling heavily, coming up to the old elephant. The old man picks up the log from one end, and the porter lowers the log and moves with his trunk to the other end. I look: what are they going to do? And the elephants together, as if on command, lifted the log on their trunks up and carefully laid it on the pile. Yes, so smooth and correct - like a carpenter on a building.

And not a single person near them.

Later I found out that this old elephant is the main artel worker: he has already grown old in this work.

The porter went slowly into the forest, and the old man hung up his trunk, turned his back to the pile and began to look at the river, as if he wanted to say: "I'm tired of this and would not look."

And the third elephant with a log is coming out of the forest. We are where the elephants came from.

It's a shame to tell what we saw here. Elephants from forest mines dragged these logs to the river. In one place by the road there are two trees on the sides, so much so that an elephant with a log cannot pass. The elephant will reach this place, lower the log to the ground, tuck its knees, tuck the trunk and with the very nose, the very root of the trunk, pushes the log forward. The earth, stones fly, rubs and plows the ground, and the elephant crawls and shoves. It can be seen how difficult it is for him to crawl on his knees. Then he will get up, catch his breath and not immediately grab the log. Again he will turn him across the road, again on his knees. He puts the trunk on the ground and rolls the log onto the trunk with his knees. How the trunk does not crush! Look, he's got up again and carries. A log on a trunk swings like a heavy pendulum.

There were eight of them - all the elephants-carriers - and each had to shove the log with his nose: people did not want to cut down those two trees that stood on the road.

It became unpleasant for us to watch the old man pushing at the pile, and it was a pity for the elephants that crawled on their knees. We stood for a short time and left.

Boris Stepanovich Zhitkov

ANIMAL STORIES

The brother and sister had a tame jackdaw. She ate from her hands, let herself be stroked, flew free and flew back.

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

She shouted to her brother:

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

I didn’t take anything, ”my brother answered.

The sister quarreled with him and cried.

Grandma heard.

What have you got here? - is talking. - Give me glasses, now I will find this ring.

Everyone rushed to look for glasses - no glasses.

I just put them on the table, - the grandmother cries. - Where can they go? How am I now threading a needle?

And she screamed at the boy:

It's your business! Why are you teasing grandma?

The boy was offended and ran out of the house. He looked - and a jackdaw was flying over the roof, and something glittered under its beak. Looked closely - yes, these are glasses! The boy hid behind a tree and began to look. And the jackdaw sat on the roof, looked around to see if anyone could see, and began to shove the glasses on the roof with its beak into the slot.

Grandmother came out onto the porch, said to the boy:

Tell me where are my glasses!

On the roof! the boy said.

The grandmother was surprised. And the boy climbed onto the roof and pulled out of his grandmother's glasses. Then he pulled out the ring. And then he took out the glass, and then there are many different pieces of money. The grandmother was delighted with the glasses, and the sister - the ring and said to her brother:

Forgive me, I was thinking at you, and this is a thief jackdaw.

And she made up with her brother.

Grandma said:

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

Zoo (excerpt)

HOW WE GO TO THE ZOOM AGAIN

And my stomach ached a little. Only I didn’t say anything to my mother, because I was afraid that my mother would not take me to the zoo again.

Mom said:

You see how it is with you! Here we have not seen elephants.

And I said:

And we'll go.

Mom said:

With such a scandalous boy, I do not want to go.

And she went to fill the bath with water.

And when I went to bed, I asked my mother to give me a bear to sleep with me. And I began to walk on the bed as a bear, like those bears in the zoo. And I also made him climb.

And my mother said:

Now you won't sleep. You can't go to the zoo.

I hid the bear under the blanket and bit by bit with it. And then he fell asleep. And when I got up and then when I was drinking tea, suddenly my mother said:

Don't dig! Quit soon. We're on our way now.

Mom began to put on her hat, and we went very soon. Mom said that we were going straight to watch the elephants. And we went to the zoo.

And at the zoo, my mother took my hand and said:

If you scandalize, I will immediately go back. So know it.

And we went very soon. I even ran, because my mother was walking very soon. And we came where the elephants are.

ELEPHANTS

I saw that there the earth goes up a little. And there is a very big elephant standing there.

He's like lifeless. He didn't do anything at first, so I thought it was really lifeless. And he is alive. He began to twist his trunk. It is from his head that the trunk is coming out. And the trunk reaches the very ground. And he can twist his trunk as he likes. And crochet. And whatever you like. He collected dust from the ground into his trunk, then blew all the dust onto his back. And the belly was also blowing dust.

I kept saying:

And I was told that it was he so that no fleas would bite him.

He has no hair, but just thick skin. And all the skin is in folds. And on his head he has big ears. The ears are so big, right over the head. And he shakes and claps them. And the eyes are very small.

And everyone said that he was very strong and could turn a car over with his trunk. And if he gets very angry, it costs him nothing to kill a person. He can grab a man's leg with his trunk and slap him on the ground. Only he is very kind.

And the elephant stood, stood and suddenly went to us. He went down to us. And I was a little scared. Suddenly he will come to us and start killing us all with his trunk! And he walked quietly. His legs are very thick, just like pillars. And the toes are on the feet, but not visible, but only one of the nails are very short.

And I thought it was his little hooves sticking out of his leg. And these are the nails. He can wear down anyone with such a foot.

And I became afraid. And he said to my mother quietly:

I'm afraid. Why is he coming here?

And one uncle heard me speak and said loudly:

He is afraid that the elephant is coming at us! Ha ha ha!

And everyone began to show that there was a path around there. And it is made of stone. And she's covered in nails. There the nails are pointed upwards. The elephant cannot cross it, because he will break his leg. And it will not reach us.

HOW THE ELEPHANT BATHED

They put me on a fence so that I could see how this path was made. Down there, beyond this path, there is water. And the elephant went straight to this water. I thought he was thirsty, but he didn't. He wanted to swim. He completely got into this water. So there was only one head at the top. And a little back.

And then he began to collect water with a trunk and pour it on his back. Just like firefighters are pouring fire. And then I saw that the elephant was still walking. Only he is less than that. And I was told that he is small, that he is still a boy. And he has two white teeth sticking out in front of his trunk.

I said:

Oh, what teeth!

And everyone began to laugh and shout to me:

These are fangs! These are fangs!

And I said:

Why doesn't the big one?

Nobody said anything, only one uncle said that the elephant was a mother. And that "here your mother has no mustache, so that elephant has no fangs." Elephant tusks do not exist. And this elephant took water in her trunk and how it blows water on us! So they all ran.

Everyone laughed a lot, and so did I.

LIKE AN ELEPHANT DRINKS

Then my uncle came running, looking after the elephants. The elephant threw water directly into him, and the uncle shouted at her:

Do not spoil!

And then the little elephant went upstairs. And there was a big trough. And there was water in this trough. He began to draw water into the trunk, and then bent the trunk into his mouth and blew out this water there. He has done that many times. And then he got drunk.

This is how they drink it with water. Water is poured into this trough. And I asked what they give him to eat. And everyone knew what he was eating. Everyone said that he eats hay, that he eats potatoes, and eats carrots, and sugar. And he doesn't eat meat. And he is very meek.

And my mother said:

Meek, meek, but I splattered my whole dress!

Mom took my hand and led me. Mom said:

The dress needs to dry out. I don't want to go stuffed. Let's sit here in the sun.

Mom sat down on the bench and told me to sit down and not get dusty, because dust sticks to a wet dress.

ABOUT PREDATORS

I told my mom:

Let's go! I want to watch the tiger.

And my mother said that she would not go anywhere wet.

Mom was very angry at the elephants that they splashed her.

Petya asked me what my name was. I said that Alyosha and what else is called Pochemuchka - for the fact that I keep asking: “Why?”. And I didn’t tell Pete “why”, but asked about the tiger - if he could bite people.

Petya said that he could not, because the tiger was sitting in an iron cage. And then he not only people, but a horse can eat. Even a bull can be eaten. The bear is strong, and the tiger will also eat the bear.

And I said:

How was he driven into a cage, if he can seize everyone?

And Petya laughed and said:

They are not here, they live far away. Trappers catch them. They catch them in the net. And they are very afraid when they are caught. The tiger only eats that raw meat.

And I said:

The eagle also eats raw meat.

And Petya says:

All those who cannot live without raw meat are all predators.

And I said:

Hitchhikers?

And Petya said:

Not hiccups, but predators.

I said:

Well, yes, which are strong and biting. They eat everyone.

And Petya said:

It's not that strong. Here is a strong bull, but he does not eat anyone. He only eats grass.

And then Petya shouted:

Well, yes! And the elephant? He is the strongest of all. But he won't eat any meat crumbs.

Mom said:

And what nonsense! The dog eats meat, but not a predator at all.

And Petya said:

No predator. And the dog is a predator, and the wolf is a predator, and the fox is a predator, and the cat is also a predator.

Mom said:

You yourself are a predator!

And Petya said:

I'm not a predator because my teeth are different. The predator has all its teeth, and it cannot rub grass with its teeth, but I can. And I can rub all sorts of roots. And I can grind the grains. And the predator has teeth like a saw.

Mom told Petya that he drank himself. And then she said:

Well, let's go. Where are your predators?

ABOUT THE TIGER AND ABOUT THE LION