Михаил Белиловский - Чудо веточка

Who is to know how long Ham would have been playing if the light hadn't suddenly turned on. The small beast was frightened and disappeared deep into the Papa's boot.

Mama had lit the lamp. Half asleep, she was waking Papa,

"Dear, I can't believe it! Our son decided to play the piano himself. Now I hope he likes it. He will be playing! Our Johnny is a clever boy!"

"You're probably right," grumbled Papa, waking and feeling displeased, "but why so late at night?"

This thought compelled Mama and Papa, not realizing what the matter was, to jump up from the bed. First, they darted to the living room and didn't realize their son was hurrying to his room.

Meanwhile, Johnny was lying in his bed absolutely quiet with open eyes. He just wasn't frightened, but surprised of the piano sounds. He merely guessed what happened.

"Sweety," started Mama, "because of all that, I think the hamster's place has to be in the cage. Otherwise, it will prevent you from doing schoolwork and playing the piano."

Johnny frowned.

"Am I wrong?" Mama demanded.

"Please, Mama, don't take offense. I don't like playing the piano. Let me play the flute. My teacher began teaching me to play a little."

"I hope you know that the piano is the main instrument of almost any orchestra. You can use it for many more melodies. Sorry, my darling, you are wrong. I don't have anything against the flute, but it's nonsense to stop playing the piano. Your teacher plays the flute and piano, too."

However, Johnny tried to get his way, "The flute can be used in any place - at home, in the street, and even in the forest."

Ham sat in Papa's boot, heard everything, and thought, if a person doesn't like playing the piano, why make him do it? Let him play the flute if he enjoys it. It may be much better.

The small beast thought during the night and decided to somehow express his thoughts to Mama. But how would he do it?

Ham did it like a hamster could. It was so...

A fine sunny morning had set in. Mama drank coffee in the kitchen and read the big newspaper very attentively. The small creature emerged secretly onto the table and slipped quickly between the pages so that he was invisible.

At that moment, Mama heard a rustle of the paper. She raised her head and, with what she suddenly saw, threw down the paper with terror. The newspaper pages were billowing and moving to and fro like a sea surf. Mama almost dropped her cup. She looked with wide open eyes and cried,

"Gracious me! What is happening? Look everybody, the page is moving by itself!!! This is really magic!" Mama stammered as she turned pale and held her heart with her hand.

But, in the next moment, she noticed a small tail swinging cheerily from behind the remote edge of the page, and she smiled brightly. Johnny and Papa smiled, too.

It's difficult to say whether the small beast was able to thus tell his trouble about Johnny. Anyway, Ham liked the following conversation that he heard. This happened after everybody calmed down, and Johnny asked his parents,

"Please, have pity on him. He is too bored. Let's buy a squirrel wheel for our hamster!"

"What's that?" Papa asked.

"It's a wheel the pet runs inside of and turns, but stays in once place."

"OK, I agree to look for such a wonder," said Mama. Johnny had a kindly mother!

Thus, the wheel was bought and put by the window. What an unexpected surprise for the whole family when the small, clever beast suspiciously approached the unknown thing, touched the wheel with his sharp nose, and suddenly stood stock-still looking at how it began to turn. But the real wonder came later. The hamster himself climbed up the wheel rungs and, with a gaze of amazement, quickly rushed to attempt to reach the peak. However, it was in vain. Ham was running, nevertheless, staying at almost the same place. The hard toiler was panting, puffing, and snorting very loudly,

"Puff-piff, puff-ffrr!" and he moved so quickly that the wheel was invisible.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon. The hamster that had been running since early in the morning had not had one break. He was very tired and his strength had run out. But small Ham did not give in. He tried to keep his spirits up in such a song,

"Oh, stairs up, oh, stairs up, oh how they're a lot,

My feet escape, my feet escape, and heart beats hard,

Not so lightly, not so lightly rotates the hugest wheel,

If I could reach a darling peak, it would be, oh, the biggest deal!"

So, he was running and happy.

Somebody emerged and called to him.

"Hello, chap! What are you doing?"

At the sill of the opened window was running to and fro a very brisk squirrel. It would run and suddenly curdle, run and curdle. And its tail was bending like a saxophone.

"Please, don't bother me! I'm very busy!" the hamster snapped and continued puffing like a locomotive.

"Hruph-hruph-puph..."

The squirrel jumped up on the edge of the top of window and hung with his head down.

"Stupid cuss, listen to what I have to say to you."

"I...pruph-truph...don't want to listen to you!"

The catchy squirrel thought of what to do and screamed,

"Be careful!!! Stop!!! A big bee is sitting on your belly! Stop, bulky guy!"

The scared hamster stumbled over and fell down the stairs. The untwisted wheel continued to rotate, turning him with his short tail back up, then stopped. Ham could not hold himself and flew to the floor.

The squirrel sprang to him and said,

"Now listen to me. Try to keep your spirits up, ninny! Don't dream of touching the top of the wheel! It's quite impossible. Do you not believe me?"

"How do you know?"

"My grandmother told me long ago that people invented this wheel to amuse themselves. They like to see how we uselessly try to get to the top. For us it's much better to be running in the forest. If you still want to climb up high, we can do it more easily. Let's go!"

With much difficulty the squirrel urged the hamster, and, after several times, they strolled through the wonderful woods with tall, powerful green pines and oaks. Sunny glades were strewn with plenty of various colored flowers, over which soared beautiful butterflies waving their decorated wings.

The hamster was so amazed at such a striking landscape that big tears formed in his eyes.

The squirrel didn't lie to the hamster. It was really simple and easy climbing high toward the trunk of the tree. There they chose a long, flexible branch waving from the wind.

"Look what a wonderful scenery is around," the squirrel said, delighted, and continued, "There in the South early in the morning behind the mountains the sun rises. It sets on the other side in West straight over the ocean."

"Indeed, it's very nice," Ham agreed.

He watched, fascinated, how the ocean waves glittered like silver, then how the woodpecker furiously knocked with his long beak the nearest tree trunk, and was abstract of a small spider who dropped on the shiny web past his nose.

There was real beauty throughout the forest. Nevertheless, something was constantly bothering the hamster.

"I feel sorry for Johnny," said Ham on the branch. He thought, his parents force him to play the piano. Will it only be so? Besides, I left home, and Johnny will look for me.

"What are you thinking about? Why are you so gloomy?" the squirrel asked, surprised.

Ham snapped,

"I like to be gloomy there! That's all!"

"But I don't like that! I like to be merry!" the squirrel shouted aggressively and jumped up high like a bullet over the boughs to the radiant heavens.

Meanwhile, the echo carried her words through the woods for a long time,

"Iii liiike tooo beee meeerryyy!"

The squirrel returned to her friend and gasped out,

"I meant to amuse you, but you're still sad."

"Do you understand me?" In vexation Ham turned away from his companion and asked her sadly, "Tell me, please, what do you do the whole day here?"

"What? I leap from one twig to another, eating nuts and hiding the rest for winter."

"That's all?"

The squirrel thought one minute, then drew close to the hamster and mysteriously whispered to him,

"That's not all. But don't tell anybody."

"OK, I'm listening," answered Ham, thinking inside, what kind of secrets might the squirrel have?

"Don't rush me. I have to decide whether or not I'm going to tell you."

The crafty squirrel decided to wait a while and not reveal at once the big mystery.

"No, I can't tell you now."

"Well, I may have to live without your mystery anyhow."

"But it's really wrong! To live without any wonder is the same as being dead."

"Hurry up!" creaked the hamster at once, "What a show off! Do you think only you have a lot of prodigy and hugger-mugger?!"

"However, my mystery is unique. No one in the world has such a wonder like mine."

"Really? One can hardly believe."

"Let's go!"

"Have it your way! Let's go! It's something to do."

They climbed the hillside. Then the squirrel said quietly and mysteriously,

"It's here."

"What is here?"

"You will soon hear."

Ham looked around. Several withering trees stood nearby, but nothing special.

"Well? Where is your hiding place?"

"Be quiet and listen, please."

They sat and waited for some time. Then, all of a sudden, a breeze blew and a gentle trill resounded.

"Tra-lia, tra-lia-lia..."

Sometimes it was quiet, sometimes it was louder.

"Ha!" cried the hamster, "It's a nestling that fell out of the nest and is crying! What a miracle!"

"You don't believe it? In vain. Please, approach this withered twig with small holes in its side."

Ham drew close to the twig and was thrilled. As soon as the wind began to blow, it played like a flute.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Ham shouted joyfully and began running around the tree.

"Are you crazy?" the squirrel began shouting, "Have you been bitten by a fly?"

"I need this twig-flute, very badly..." Ham continued to rejoice loudly.

"No, no! I can't give it to you. It's my secret. My..."

The squirrel was indignant and took a stroll with her luxuriant tail across the hamster's muzzle so that Ham could not see for some time. But the artful pet ran and poked the squirrel on the side.

"Stop! Don't dare fight!" Johnny suddenly appeared from behind the dense brush woods with a long twig in his hand. "Dear Ham, I have been searching for you for a long time, and I've found you at last."

Johnny approached the two bullies.

"Look both of you. I also have a twig. I cut it here and made a nice flute. Let's sing together!"

"Let's!" Ham rejoiced that Johnny had found him and would be playing the flute.

"Let's!" the squirrel rejoiced that her marvel would stay in place.

And they advanced through the forest with a song.

"My beloved twig was supple and green,

I jumped, flew very high,

The twig suddenly faded, I was mean,

But I livened and played by the wind."

The squirrel was singing, Johnny was playing the flute, and Ham was grunting lively.

Now Ham would be rolling his wheel again and, sooner or later, achieve the darling peak.

The end.

Russian English translator

Leah Dugue