N artyukhova big birch summary. Big birch (stories)

29.07.2020

"Big Birch": Children's Literature; Moscow; 1988
ISBN ISBN 5-8-001145-9
annotation
The book includes stories, the main theme of which is the relationship between parents and children. The stories are warmed by kindness, gentle humor, spiritual purity.
Stories:
Quite the same
We've arrived!
big birch
porcelain steps
Girlfriends
Nina Artyukhova
Big birch (stories)
Quite the same

Mom closed her suitcase and put on her hat.
“Here,” she said, “Nikolai and Andryusha, listen carefully. Here, in the left drawer, are spare ribbons. I went to the store on purpose today, bought four meters.
- Four meters? Dad was surprised. - Honey, why so many? Is it really a meter in each pigtail?
They lose a lot. As I said, it's stock. Here, Nicholas, look here. Two meters blue and two pink. Pink is for Varya, and blue is for Valya. Please don't confuse.
“Don’t worry, honey, we’ll do everything. Let me, how, how did you say? For Vali? That is, for Vari?
Mom repeated patiently:
- Pink - for Varya, and for Vali - blue.
“But, mother, I know,” Andryusha said.
“Wait a minute, Andryushka…” Papa drew his eyebrows together and repeated several times: “Valya is blue… Varya is pink.” Wa-l-la ... goal-lu ... goal-luba ... Var-r-rya - p-pink! Wonderful! Very easy to remember!
- Let's check it out! Andryusha said. - Dad, who is this?
“With blue pigtails, that means Valya,” dad answered firmly.
- And who is this? Valya asked, pointing to her little sister.
- And this one with pink pigtails means Varya!
- I remember! Remembered! The boys shouted happily. - Mother! Finally remembered!
The fact is that Valya and Varya were twins and so similar to each other that only one mother could distinguish them without ribbons. In addition, dresses and fur coats - everything they had was also the same.
And dad just recently returned from a distant northern expedition and all the time confused his little girls. Of course, he knew how similar the twins were, but still, every time he saw them side by side, he shook his head and said:
- No, it's amazing! Well, they are exactly the same!
Dad glanced at his watch and took Mom's coat off the hanger.
“Please don’t worry, we won’t confuse anything, we’ll do everything right.” Besides, you're only leaving for two weeks! If several times we mistakenly call Valya Varya, nothing special ...
- Nikolay! - Mom put her right hand past the sleeve and said sadly: - So you forgot everything, everything! After all, I repeated to you several times: the doctor told Valya to walk as much as possible, but Varya was completely forbidden and the medicine was three times a day ...
- I do remember! Dad answered in a guilty voice. - From this bottle. Don't worry, honey.
- We'll do everything! finished Andryusha.
And my mother left. It was on Saturday. On Sunday it was possible not to rush to get up, so everyone overslept. The twins, however, were the first to jump up, who, even on weekdays, had absolutely nowhere to hurry. By the time dad came out of the bathroom, smoothing his wet hair, Varya had already lost her left pink ribbon.
“It doesn't matter,” Dad said, “we have a large supply. How much to cut? Is half a meter enough? Come here girls, I'll comb your hair.
“Daddy,” Andryusha asked, “can you do the braiding?”
- Hope so. I have successfully completed over difficult tasks.
Light soft hair obediently parted.
“You don’t braid like that, dad,” Andryusha said after a minute.
- No, yes.
- No not like this. Mom weaves a ribbon with her hair, and you just tied a bow on the ponytail - and that's fine.
“Doesn't matter,” Dad said, “it's even prettier that way. You see how big my bows are, and my mother has nothing left for bows.
- But it's stronger.

- That's it, Andrey, enough criticism to induce. What did mom say? Walk as much as possible. Drink milk, take Valyushka and go. And Varya and I will clean up.
After cleaning and walking, dad and Andryusha cooked dinner, washed the dishes and scraped with knives for a long time and cleaned the burnt frying pan. Finally, dad said “wow” and lay down on the sofa with a book in his hands. However, very soon the book slammed shut on its own, dad's eyes also closed on their own, and dad fell asleep. He was awakened by loud voices.
- Dad! Andryusha shouted. The twins are lost!
Dad jumped up as if on a combat alarm:
- Who? .. Where? .. But here they are! Is it possible, Andryushka, to frighten a person like that!
- That is, they were not lost, but confused. We played hide-and-seek... And under the tables, and under the hanger - well, all four ribbons were touched somewhere. I told you that you don't braid like that!
- Valya! Varya! Come here!
Two absolutely identical daughters stood in front of dad, looked at him with the same cheerful eyes, and even they were disheveled in exactly the same way.
- Doesn't matter! Dad laughed. - We have three and a half meters of these ribbons. Now I remember well: blue - Vale, and Vare ...
- Oh, dad, dad! Well, how do you distinguish them now - which one?
- Yes, very simple! After all, they know how to talk. Big girls... What's your name?
- Wai.
- And you?
- Wai.
The twins also burred in exactly the same way. Dad thought:
- We do it carelessly ... What can we do, Andryushka? After all, it’s time for Varya to take her medicine, and for Valya to walk as much as possible!

There was a familiar cough behind the door.
- Grandfather! - the guys shouted joyfully. Grandfather greeted everyone and began to wipe his glasses:
- Do you need to walk, you say? So I came early to take a walk with Valechka. I promised my mom too.
- You came just in time, Konstantin Petrovich! Dad said. - You see, we have ... that is ... Well, in short, the twins are mixed up! “And I told my grandfather what had happened.”
How are you, Nicholas? Grandfather looked at his father reproachfully. - Native, one might say, father, and relatives, one might say, mixed up daughters.
- What to do, Konstantin Petrovich, to blame, of course! Why, when I left, they were quite a bit sensitive. Excuse me, Konstantin Petrovich! And you yourself? Native, you can say grandfather? And relatives, one might say, granddaughters ... Come on, where is Valya? Where is Varya? Which one?
Grandfather slowly put on his glasses and looked at his granddaughters:
– Hmm! Ahem!.. N-yes! That is... Ahem!.. Ahem!.. My glasses are rather weak! Not in the eyes anymore. If only my glasses were stronger...
Andryusha laughed the loudest.
“And already you, Andrey, are completely ashamed,” said dad, “and you didn’t go anywhere, you see them every day ...
- Yes, yes, - grandfather supported dad, - without glasses, and your eyes are young, and relatives, one might say, sisters ...
- What am I? Andryusha justified himself. - I'm nothing. I could distinguish them very well before the illness: Varya was fatter. And in the hospital, they lost weight in different ways and became exactly the same!
Dad resolutely approached the sideboard, took a vial of medicine.

“Come on, Varya,” he said, “come here, it’s time to drink your medicine.” Girls! Who did I give the medicine to this morning?
Valya and Varya looked at each other and said nothing.
- Oh, dad! Andryusha whispered. Will they say? Who wants to take medicine? It's bitter.
"Well," said Dad, "let's try something different." Come on, daughters, who will now go for a walk with grandfather as much as possible? Valya, come here, I'll braid your pigtails and put on a fur coat.
He waved the blue ribbons. The girls looked at each other again, their faces became sad, but both were silent.
- What's the matter, Andryusha? Dad asked softly. Why doesn't Valya answer now? After all, they like to walk with their grandfather, don't they?
“Of course they do,” Andryusha answered. That's why Valya is silent. Varya stays at home, but Valya feels sorry for her!
- Well done, this Valya! Dad said approvingly. - I respect her.
- And Varya? Andryusha asked. - You know, dad, perhaps, if it were the other way around ... Varya - to walk, and Valya - to drink medicine ... Dad, stop! Grandpa, stop! I know what to do!
Andryusha ran to the buffet.
“Here,” he said, very pleased, and took out a vase in which there was a large gingerbread. - Only one left. Just what we need! Take it! he handed the gingerbread to one of the girls. - Divide it in half, take it for yourself and give it to your sister!
The twins smiled alike, also very pleased. The girl took the gingerbread and carefully broke it.
The gingerbread broke, however, not quite in half, one piece turned out to be noticeably larger than the other. The girl kept this piece for herself, and handed the smaller one to her sister.
- Varya! Andryusha shouted with a laugh. - Here is Varya! Weave a pink ribbon soon! This is Varya!
“I don’t understand anything,” my father said.
- You saw, dad, she took more for herself! Well, if Valya shared, it would be exactly like in a pharmacy! And even if it broke unevenly, she would still leave less for herself, and Varya more. She is like that with us! Grandfather! Go for a walk with Valya! Dad! Give Varya medicine!
Andryusha laughed, the twins began to cry, grandfather, smiling, went for a walk with Valya.
And dad was upset. He sat Varya on his knees, diligently weaving pink ribbons into her blond hair - weaving it like a mother's so that they would not be lost - and mournfully saying:
- Oh, daughter, daughter! And I thought you were exactly the same!

We've arrived!

Seryozha and Yura went to the forest for mushrooms. The day was hot, to the forest "it was necessary to go through almost the entire village, and Seryozha had to take his three-year-old sister Lyalya with him - there was no one to leave her at home with.
Therefore, when they returned home, Yura carried both baskets of mushrooms, and Seryozha carried Lyalya on his back, supporting him with his hands from below.
The boys talked about ice cream, about the North Pole, about the need to have time to swim at least twice today.
- And I - swim! Lyalya said.
“What are you, Lyalechka,” Seryozha answered. - You are small, small ones cannot swim in the river.
Lala didn't say anything. Grasping her brother's neck with plump arms with dimples on her elbows, pressing her rosy cheek against Serezha's soft nape, Lyalya enjoyed peace.
How long seemed the road to the forest - and how nice to come back. Swinging a little, trees, houses, fences float past ... You don’t need to move your legs, everything moves by itself, goes back ... Lyalya first narrowed her eyes ... then she completely closed them.
- Lyalya! Serezha said in a hushed voice. - Don't put your hands on my throat!
He pushed her up a little to free her neck. Lyalya took her hands away for a second and pressed her other cheek against the back of Serezha's head. Then, with a calm sigh, she squeezed Seryozhin's neck even tighter and screwed up her eyes again.
Now it was not houses and trees that floated by, but a street overgrown with goose grass, a well, a puddle near it, the jagged tracks of a tractor on the ground.
When the guys fall asleep, they become heavier. This is known to all, although it is impossible to check on the scales.
Seryozha immediately felt that his sister dozed off.
- Lyalya! he said sternly. - Lyalya, don't sleep! Let's go home now!
Again he tried to free his throat.
“You shouldn’t have taken it,” Yura grumbled.
- And where is it? Mom is not at home.
- He would take us.
“Nothing,” said Seryozha, “now we’ll get there soon.”
But it was getting harder and harder to get going. And the house is still far away, the familiar red roof will either appear from behind other houses, or hide at the turn.
Lyalya, hot as a mustard plaster, warms the back of the head and back.
Seryozha walked more and more slowly. Finally, he stopped and carefully lowered his little sister to the ground.
“Get down, Lyalka, she’s completely strangled!” Now you're walking on your own.
But Lyalya held out both hands to him and demanded:
- On the handles!
“It’s a shame, Lyalya,” said Seryozha, “a big girl, but you are asking for hands.”
Lyalya objected in a vindictive voice:
- Swimming - small, but on the handles - big ?!
Seryozha laughed, delighted with his sister's intelligence.

- Look you! How smart she is! Really, Yura?
But Yura did not want to admire Lyalkin's mind:
- She is spoiled, not smart. Spank - and that's it, it will go like a pretty one. Would you give it to me to raise ...
Lyalya was not scared at all. She knew perfectly well that Seryozha himself would never spank her and would not give Yura up for education. So she stamped her foot and repeated:
- On the handles!
- Baby, I'm tired.
- And I'm tired.
- It's very hot, Lyalka, well, you are completely!
- And I'm hot.
Yura put both baskets of mushrooms on the ground and gloomily suggested:
- Let me take it.
- I do not want to Yura for education, I want to you!
It's amazing how easily and quickly little girls start crying. It seemed that they opened two water taps and ... Where do they get so many tears from?
Seryozha measured the distance to the red roof with a wistful look.
- Spank - and that's it! Yura repeated.
- You know, Lyalya, - said Seryozha, - this is how we will do it ...
He took a few steps back and squatted down, leaning back. Turned to his sister
- Go!
The water faucets closed instantly. Lyalya ran forward, smiling happily.
She was already raising her arms to wrap a tight ring around Seryozhin's neck...
And Seryozha suddenly jumped like a frog - hop-hop-hop - jumped up and ran back a few steps, a little further than the first time. He squatted down again:
- Go!
Lyalya stood stunned, not knowing whether to cry or, on the contrary, start laughing. But ... Seryozha jumped very funny. Plus, it's very close. Now, now she will catch up with him ...
Jump! Jump! Jump!
Again, Lyalya did not have time to sit on her horse. The horse jumped like a frog, then jumped to its feet and rushed on.
This time Seryozha did not even squat down, he simply bent over, resting his hands on his knees. He knew that this would be enough. And Lyalya knew that a fun, fun game was about to begin.
With a laugh, she caught up with her brother and held out both little hands up, already knowing what would happen next.
This is true. Jumped, ran, bent over...
- Go!
- Go! Lala screamed.
They were "driving" so fast that Yura could hardly keep up with them with two baskets. They even forgot that they are hot.
Having finally reached his gate, Seryozha stopped, out of breath:
- We've arrived!
- We've arrived! - Lyalya repeated joyfully, flying at him from a running start.

big birch

- They're coming! They're coming! - shouted Gleb and began to descend from the tree, puffing and breaking branches.
Alyosha looked down. There were summer residents from the train. Long-legged Volodya, of course, walked ahead of everyone.
The gate creaked. Gleb rushed forward.
Alyosha pressed his cheek against the linden trunk. He immediately became small and unnecessary. Gleb and Volodya will talk about books that Alyosha has not read, about films that Alyosha is still too early to watch. Then they go into the forest. Together. They won’t take Alyosha, although he picks mushrooms better than Gleb, runs faster than Gleb, and climbs trees so well that he was even called a monkey for his dexterity. Alyosha felt sad: the days off brought him nothing but grief.
“Hello, Glebushka,” Volodya said. - Where's the slut?
"Monkey" was an honorary nickname, but every word can be twisted in such a way that it turns out to be insulting.
“He is sitting on a linden tree,” Gleb laughed. - Volodya, I also climbed this linden tree, almost to the very top.
“I willingly believe,” Volodya answered mockingly. “Even infants can climb this linden tree without outside help!
After such words, sitting on a lime tree became uninteresting. Alyosha got down to the ground and went to the house.
- Here is a birch growing behind your fence, - continued Volodya, - this is really a real tree.
Volodya went out the gate.
- Hey you, Alyoshka! he shouted. - You can’t climb a big birch!
“My mother won’t let me,” Alyosha answered gloomily. “She says that every tree has to come down sooner or later, and going down is often more difficult than climbing up.
- Oh, you mama's boy!
Volodya threw off his sandals, jumped onto a high stump near a tree and climbed up, clasping the trunk with his arms and legs.
Alyosha looked at him with undisguised envy. Green lush branches grew on the birch only at the very top, somewhere under the clouds. The trunk was almost smooth, with occasional protrusions and fragments of old boughs. High above the ground, it was divided into two trunks, and they rose to the sky, straight, white, slender. Volodya had already reached the fork and was sitting, dangling his legs, clearly "exhibiting".
"Get in here, you bastard!" he didn't hesitate. - What kind of monkey are you if you are afraid to climb trees?
“He doesn’t have a tail,” Gleb said, “it’s hard for him.
“Tailless monkeys also climb well,” Volodya objected. - It’s good to cling to the branches with the tail, but here there are almost no branches. Alyoshka can't climb without branches.
- Not true! Alyosha couldn't resist. - I'm halfway up the pole.
Why is it only halfway?
- His mother does not allow him to go higher.
Alyosha flared his nostrils and went to the far corner of the garden.

Volodya showed off a little more on the birch. But there was no one else to tease, and he did not dare to climb higher along the smooth trunk and began to descend.
- Let's go for mushrooms, Gleb, okay? Carry baskets.
Alyosha silently looked after them. So they crossed the ravine and ran to the forest, merrily waving their baskets.
Mom went out to the terrace:
- Alyosha, do you want to go with me to the station?
It would be nice to walk around and see the steam locomotives. But Alyosha has just been called mama's son. He couldn't walk through the whole village almost by the hand with his mother, when Volodya and Gleb went together into the forest, like real men!
“I don't want to,” he said. - I'll stay at home. Mom left. Alyosha looked at the big birch, sighed, and sat down on a bench near the fence.
Volodya and Gleb returned only for dinner. After dinner they spread a blanket in the garden and lay down to read. Mom went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
“You should lie down too, Alyosha,” she said. Alyosha sat down on the end of the blanket and looked into the book over Gleb's shoulder.
"Don't breathe in my ear," he muttered. - And it's hot without you!
Then Alyosha got up, went out the gate and went up to a big birch. Looked around. There was no one on the path. He climbed up the tree, clinging to every ledge of the bark, to every twig. At the bottom, the trunk was too thick, Alyosha could not wrap his legs around it.
“He is fine, long-legged! he thought angrily. “But I’ll climb higher!”
And he moved higher and higher. The tree was not as smooth as it seemed from the ground. There was something to cling to with your hands, something to put your foot on.

Quite the same

Mom closed her suitcase and put on her hat.
“Here,” she said, “Nikolai and Andryusha, listen carefully. Here, in the left drawer, are spare ribbons. I went to the store on purpose today, bought four meters.
- Four meters? Dad was surprised. - Honey, why so many? Is it really a meter in each pigtail?
They lose a lot. As I said, it's stock. Here, Nicholas, look here. Two meters blue and two pink. Pink is for Varya, and blue is for Valya. Please don't confuse.
“Don’t worry, honey, we’ll do everything. Let me, how, how did you say? For Vali? That is, for Vari?
Mom repeated patiently:
- Pink - for Varya, and for Vali - blue.
“But, mother, I know,” Andryusha said.
“Wait a minute, Andryushka…” Papa drew his eyebrows together and repeated several times: “Valya is blue… Varya is pink.” Wa-l-la ... goal-lu ... goal-luba ... Var-r-rya - p-pink! Wonderful! Very easy to remember!
- Let's check it out! Andryusha said. - Dad, who is this?
“With blue pigtails, that means Valya,” dad answered firmly.
- And who is this? Valya asked, pointing to her little sister.
- And this one with pink pigtails means Varya!
- I remember! Remembered! The boys shouted happily. - Mother! Finally remembered!
The fact is that Valya and Varya were twins and so similar to each other that only one mother could distinguish them without ribbons. In addition, dresses and fur coats - everything they had was also the same.
And dad just recently returned from a distant northern expedition and all the time confused his little girls. Of course, he knew how similar the twins were, but still, every time he saw them side by side, he shook his head and said:
- No, it's amazing! Well, they are exactly the same!
Dad glanced at his watch and took Mom's coat off the hanger.
“Please don’t worry, we won’t confuse anything, we’ll do everything right.” Besides, you're only leaving for two weeks! If several times we mistakenly call Valya Varya, nothing special ...
- Nikolai! - Mom put her right hand past the sleeve and said sadly: - So you forgot everything, everything! After all, I repeated to you several times: the doctor told Valya to walk as much as possible, but Varya was completely forbidden and the medicine was three times a day ...
- I do remember! Dad answered in a guilty voice. - From this bottle. Don't worry, honey.
- We'll do everything! finished Andryusha.
And my mother left. It was on Saturday. On Sunday it was possible not to rush to get up, so everyone overslept. The twins, however, were the first to jump up, who, even on weekdays, had absolutely nowhere to hurry. By the time dad came out of the bathroom, smoothing his wet hair, Varya had already lost her left pink ribbon.
“It doesn't matter,” Dad said, “we have a large supply. How much to cut? Is half a meter enough? Come here girls, I'll comb your hair.
“Daddy,” Andryusha asked, “can you do the braiding?”
- Hope so. I had to successfully complete more complex tasks.
Light soft hair obediently parted.
“You don’t braid like that, dad,” Andryusha said after a minute.
- No, yes.
- No not like this. Mom weaves a ribbon with her hair, and you just tied a bow on the ponytail - and that's fine.
“Doesn't matter,” Dad said, “it's even prettier that way. You see how big my bows are, and my mother has nothing left for bows.
- But it's stronger.

End of free trial.

Nina Artyukhova

Big birch (stories)

Quite the same

Mom closed her suitcase and put on her hat.

“Here,” she said, “Nikolai and Andryusha, listen carefully. Here, in the left drawer, are spare ribbons. I went to the store on purpose today, bought four meters.

- Four meters? Dad was surprised. - Honey, why so many? Is it really a meter in each pigtail?

They lose a lot. As I said, it's stock. Here, Nicholas, look here. Two meters blue and two pink. Pink is for Varya, and blue is for Valya. Please don't confuse.

“Don’t worry, honey, we’ll do everything. Let me, how, how did you say? For Vali? That is, for Vari?

Mom repeated patiently:

- Pink - for Varya, and for Vali - blue.

“But, mother, I know,” Andryusha said.

“Wait a minute, Andryushka…” Papa drew his eyebrows together and repeated several times: “Valya is blue… Varya is pink.” Wa-l-la ... goal-lu ... goal-luba ... Var-r-rya - p-pink! Wonderful! Very easy to remember!

- Let's check it out! Andryusha said. - Dad, who is this?

“With blue pigtails, that means Valya,” dad answered firmly.

- And who is this? Valya asked, pointing to her little sister.

- And this one with pink pigtails means Varya!

- I remember! Remembered! The boys shouted happily. - Mother! Finally remembered!

The fact is that Valya and Varya were twins and so similar to each other that only one mother could distinguish them without ribbons. In addition, dresses and fur coats - everything they had was also the same.

And dad just recently returned from a distant northern expedition and all the time confused his little girls. Of course, he knew how similar the twins were, but still, every time he saw them side by side, he shook his head and said:

- No, it's amazing! Well, they are exactly the same!

Dad glanced at his watch and took Mom's coat off the hanger.

“Please don’t worry, we won’t confuse anything, we’ll do everything right.” Besides, you're only leaving for two weeks! If several times we mistakenly call Valya Varya, nothing special ...

- Nikolay! - Mom put her right hand past the sleeve and said sadly: - So you forgot everything, everything! After all, I repeated to you several times: the doctor told Valya to walk as much as possible, but Varya was completely forbidden and the medicine was three times a day ...

- We'll do everything! finished Andryusha.

And my mother left. It was on Saturday. On Sunday it was possible not to rush to get up, so everyone overslept. The twins, however, were the first to jump up, who, even on weekdays, had absolutely nowhere to hurry. By the time dad came out of the bathroom, smoothing his wet hair, Varya had already lost her left pink ribbon.

“It doesn't matter,” Dad said, “we have a large supply. How much to cut? Is half a meter enough? Come here girls, I'll comb your hair.

“Daddy,” Andryusha asked, “can you do the braiding?”

- Hope so. I had to successfully complete more complex tasks.

Light soft hair obediently parted.

“You don’t braid like that, dad,” Andryusha said after a minute.

- No, yes.

- No not like this. Mom weaves a ribbon with her hair, and you just tied a bow on the ponytail - and that's fine.

“Doesn't matter,” Dad said, “it's even prettier that way. You see how big my bows are, and my mother has nothing left for bows.

- But it's stronger.

- That's it, Andrey, enough criticism to induce. What did mom say? Walk as much as possible. Drink milk, take Valyushka and go. And Varya and I will clean up.

After cleaning and walking, dad and Andryusha cooked dinner, washed the dishes and scraped with knives for a long time and cleaned the burnt frying pan. Finally, dad said “wow” and lay down on the sofa with a book in his hands. However, very soon the book slammed shut on its own, dad's eyes also closed on their own, and dad fell asleep. He was awakened by loud voices.

- Dad! Andryusha shouted. The twins are lost!

Dad jumped up as if on a combat alarm:

- Who? .. Where? .. But here they are! Is it possible, Andryushka, to frighten a person like that!

- That is, they were not lost, but confused. We played hide-and-seek... And under the tables, and under the hanger - well, all four ribbons were touched somewhere. I told you that you don't braid like that!

- Valya! Varya! Come here!

Two absolutely identical daughters stood in front of dad, looked at him with the same cheerful eyes, and even they were disheveled in exactly the same way.

- Doesn't matter! Dad laughed. - We have three and a half meters of these ribbons. Now I remember well: blue - Vale, and Vare ...

- Oh, dad, dad! Well, how do you distinguish them now - which one?

- Yes, very simple! After all, they know how to talk. Big girls... What's your name?

- And you?

The twins also burred in exactly the same way. Dad thought:

- We do it carelessly ... What can we do, Andryushka? After all, it’s time for Varya to take her medicine, and for Valya to walk as much as possible!

There was a familiar cough behind the door.

- Grandfather! - the guys shouted joyfully. Grandfather greeted everyone and began to wipe his glasses:

- Do you need to walk, you say? So I came early to take a walk with Valechka. I promised my mom too.

- You came just in time, Konstantin Petrovich! Dad said. - You see, we have ... that is ... Well, in short, the twins are mixed up! “And I told my grandfather what had happened.”

How are you, Nicholas? Grandfather looked at his father reproachfully. - Native, one might say, father, and relatives, one might say, mixed up daughters.

- What to do, Konstantin Petrovich, to blame, of course! Why, when I left, they were quite a bit sensitive. Excuse me, Konstantin Petrovich! And you yourself? Native, you can say grandfather? And relatives, one might say, granddaughters ... Come on, where is Valya? Where is Varya? Which one?

Grandfather slowly put on his glasses and looked at his granddaughters:

– Hmm! Ahem!.. N-yes! That is... Ahem!.. Ahem!.. My glasses are rather weak! Not in the eyes anymore. If only my glasses were stronger...

Andryusha laughed the loudest.

“And already you, Andrey, are completely ashamed,” said dad, “and you didn’t go anywhere, you see them every day ...

- Yes, yes, - grandfather supported dad, - without glasses, and your eyes are young, and relatives, one might say, sisters ...

- What am I? Andryusha justified himself. - I'm nothing. I could distinguish them very well before the illness: Varya was fatter. And in the hospital, they lost weight in different ways and became exactly the same!

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Nina Mikhailovna Artyukhova
big birch

Alyosha pressed his cheek against the linden trunk. He immediately became small and unnecessary. Gleb and Volodya will talk about books that Alyosha has not read, about films that Alyosha is still too early to watch. Then they go into the forest. Together. They won’t take Alyosha, although he picks mushrooms better than Gleb, runs faster than Gleb, and climbs trees so well that he was even called a monkey for his dexterity. Alyosha felt sad: the days off brought him nothing but grief.

“Hello, Glebushka,” Volodya said. - Where's the slut?

"Monkey" was an honorary nickname, but after all, every word can be mangled in such a way that it turns out to be insulting.

“He is sitting on a linden tree,” Gleb laughed. - Volodya, I also climbed this linden tree, almost to the very top.

“I willingly believe,” Volodya answered mockingly. “Even infants can climb this linden tree without outside help!

After such words, sitting on a lime tree became uninteresting. Alyosha got down to the ground and went to the house.

- Here is a birch growing behind your fence, - continued Volodya, - this is really a real tree.

Volodya went out the gate.

- Hey you, Alyoshka! he shouted. - You can’t climb a big birch!

“My mother won’t let me,” Alyosha answered gloomily. “She says that you have to come down from every tree sooner or later, and going down is often more difficult than climbing up.

- Oh, you mama's boy!

Volodya threw off his sandals, jumped onto a high stump near a tree and climbed up, clasping the trunk with his arms and legs.

Alyosha looked at him with undisguised envy. Green lush branches grew on the birch only at the very top, somewhere under the clouds. The trunk was almost smooth, with occasional protrusions and fragments of old boughs. High above the ground, it was divided into two trunks, and they rose to the sky, straight, white, slender. Volodya had already reached the fork and was sitting, dangling his legs, clearly "exhibiting".

"Get in here, you bastard!" he didn't hesitate. - What kind of monkey are you if you are afraid to climb trees?

“He doesn’t have a tail,” Gleb said, “it’s hard for him.

“Tailless monkeys also climb well,” Volodya objected. - It’s good to cling to the branches with the tail, but here there are almost no branches. Alyosha can't climb without branches.

- Not true! Alyosha couldn't resist. - I'm halfway up the pole.

Why is it only halfway?

- His mother does not allow him to go higher.

Alyosha flared his nostrils and went to the far corner of the garden.

Volodya showed off a little more on the birch. But there was no one else to tease, and he did not dare to climb higher along the smooth trunk and began to descend.

- Let's go for mushrooms, Gleb, okay? Carry baskets. Alyosha silently looked after them. So they crossed the ravine and ran to the forest, merrily waving their baskets. Mom went out to the terrace:

- Alyosha, do you want to go with me to the station? It would be nice to walk around and see the steam locomotives. But Alyosha has just been called a sissy. He couldn't walk through the whole village, almost hand in hand with his mother, when Volodya and Gleb went together into the forest, like real men!

“I don't want to,” he said. - I'll stay at home.

Mom left. Alyosha looked at the big birch, sighed and sat down on a bench near the fence.

Volodya and Gleb returned only for dinner. After dinner they spread a blanket in the garden and lay down to read. Mom went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

“You should lie down too, Alyosha,” she said. Alyosha sat down on the end of the blanket and looked into the book over Gleb's shoulder.

- Don't breathe in me

end of introduction

Attention! This is an introductory section of the book.

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- They're coming! They're coming! - shouted Gleb and began to descend from the tree, puffing and breaking branches.

Alyosha looked down. There were summer residents from the train. Long-legged Volodya, of course, walked ahead of everyone.

The gate creaked. Gleb rushed forward.

“Hello, Glebushka,” Volodya said. - Where's the slut?

"Monkey" was an honorary nickname, but every word can be twisted in such a way that it turns out to be insulting.

“He is sitting on a linden tree,” Gleb laughed. - Volodya, I also climbed this linden tree, almost to the very top.

“I willingly believe,” Volodya answered mockingly. “Even infants can climb this linden tree without outside help!

After such words, sitting on a lime tree became uninteresting. Alyosha got down to the ground and went to the house.

- Here is a birch growing behind your fence, - continued Volodya, - this is really a real tree.

Volodya went out the gate.

- Hey you, Alyoshka! he shouted. - You can’t climb a big birch!

“My mother won’t let me,” Alyosha answered gloomily. “She says that every tree has to come down sooner or later, and going down is often more difficult than climbing up.

- Oh, you mama's boy!

Volodya threw off his sandals, jumped onto a high stump near a tree and climbed up, clasping the trunk with his arms and legs.

"Get in here, you bastard!" he didn't hesitate. - What kind of monkey are you if you are afraid to climb trees?

“He doesn’t have a tail,” Gleb said, “it’s hard for him.

“Tailless monkeys also climb well,” Volodya objected. - It’s good to cling to the branches with the tail, but here there are almost no branches. Alyoshka can't climb without branches.

- Not true! Alyosha couldn't resist. - I'm halfway up the pole.

Why is it only halfway?

- His mother does not allow him to go higher.

Alyosha flared his nostrils and went to the far corner of the garden.

Volodya showed off a little more on the birch. But there was no one else to tease, and he did not dare to climb higher along the smooth trunk and began to descend.

- Let's go for mushrooms, Gleb, okay? Carry baskets.

Alyosha silently looked after them. So they crossed the ravine and ran to the forest, merrily waving their baskets.

Mom went out to the terrace:

- Alyosha, do you want to go with me to the station?

It would be nice to walk around and see the steam locomotives. But Alyosha has just been called mama's son. He couldn't walk through the whole village almost by the hand with his mother, when Volodya and Gleb went together into the forest, like real men!

“I don't want to,” he said. - I'll stay at home. Mom left. Alyosha looked at the big birch, sighed, and sat down on a bench near the fence.

Volodya and Gleb returned only for dinner. After dinner they spread a blanket in the garden and lay down to read. Mom went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

“You should lie down too, Alyosha,” she said. Alyosha sat down on the end of the blanket and looked into the book over Gleb's shoulder.

"Don't breathe in my ear," he muttered. - And it's hot without you!

Then Alyosha got up, went out the gate and went up to a big birch. Looked around. There was no one on the path. He climbed up the tree, clinging to every ledge of the bark, to every twig. At the bottom, the trunk was too thick, Alyosha could not wrap his legs around it.

“He is fine, long-legged! he thought angrily. “But I’ll climb higher!”

And he moved higher and higher. The tree was not as smooth as it seemed from the ground. There was something to cling to with your hands, something to put your foot on.

A little more, a little more - and he will reach the fork. You can take a break there.

That's it! Alyosha mounted as Volodya sat in the morning. However, you can't get too carried away. They can see him, call his mother. Alyosha stood up and looked up. The right barrel was higher than the left. Alyosha chose him, wrapped his arms and legs around him, and climbed on.

“It’s not difficult at all…” he muttered through gritted teeth. - And I don’t need a tail at all, Glebushka! But you, Glebushka, would do well to have a ponytail!

It was fun to look down at the roof of the dacha, at the trees in the garden, at the beloved linden, which seemed small, soft and fluffy from here. The earth was pushed down and opened wide. Behind the garden, a ravine became visible, and a field beyond the ravine, and a forest. A chimney of a distant brick factory emerged from behind a hillock. And only when he reached the first green branches on the top of the birch, Alyosha felt that he was very hot and that he was very tired.

Gleb looked up from his book and lazily raised his head: “Again, this Alyoshka has climbed somewhere!”

He looked at the linden, at the roof of the house.

"No, it's somewhere much higher." Gleb got up, interested.

"Let's go, Volodya, let's look for him," he said.

- Yes, well, him! Volodya waved him off. Gleb went to the fence.

He looked at the birch and gasped.

Mom stood in the kitchen with a towel over her shoulder, wiping the last cup. Suddenly, the frightened face of Gleb appeared at the window.

- Aunt Zina! Aunt Zina! he shouted. - Your Alyoshka has gone crazy!

- Zinaida Lvovna! Volodya looked through another window. - Your Alyoshka climbed a big birch!

- Because he can break! Gleb continued in a weeping voice. And it will break...

The cup slipped from my mother's hands and clattered to the floor.

- ... to smithereens! - Gleb finished, looking with horror at the white shards.

Mom ran out onto the terrace, went up to the gate:

- Where is he?

- Yes, on the birch.

Mom looked at the white trunk, where it split in two. Alyosha was not there.

Stupid jokes guys! she said and walked towards the house.

No, we're telling the truth! shouted Gleb. He's up there at the very top! Wherever the branches are!

Mom finally figured out where to look. She saw Alyosha.

She measured with her eyes the distance from his branch to the ground, and her face became almost as white as this smooth birch trunk.

- Crazy! Gleb repeated.

- Shut up! Mom said quietly and very sternly. “Go home, both of you, and sit there.

She walked up to the tree.

“Well, Alyosha,” she said, “are you well?”

Alyosha was surprised that his mother was not angry and spoke in such a calm, gentle voice.

“It's good here,” he said. “But I’m very hot, mommy.

- It's nothing, - said my mother, - sit down, rest a little and start descending. Just don't rush. Slowly… Have a rest? she asked after a minute.

- Rested.

- Well, then get down.

Alyosha, holding on to a branch, was looking for somewhere to put his foot.

At this time, an unfamiliar summer resident appeared on the path. He heard voices, looked up and shouted in fright and angrily:

"Where have you gone, you wretched boy!" Get down now!

Alyosha shuddered and, without calculating his movements, put his foot on a dry twig. The twig crackled and rustled down to my mother's feet.

“Not like that,” Mom said. - Get on the next branch.

Then she turned to the summer resident:

– Do not worry, please, he is very good at climbing trees. He's a good guy for me!

The small, light figure of Alyosha slowly descended. Climbing up was easier. Alyosha is tired. But below was his mother, giving him advice, speaking kind, encouraging words.

The earth was closing in and shrinking. You can no longer see either the field behind the ravine or the factory chimney. Alyosha reached the fork.

“Shut up,” Mom said. - Well done! Well, now put your foot on this knot... No, not there, that dry one, right here, to the right... So, so. Do not rush.

The ground was very close. Alyosha hung on his hands, stretched out and jumped onto the high stump from which he began his journey.

He stood red, flushed, and with trembling hands shook off the white dust of birch bark from his knees.

The fat, unfamiliar summer resident grinned, shook his head, and said:

- Oh well! You will be a parachutist!

And my mother grabbed her thin, brown from sunburn, scratched legs and shouted: