D. N. Mamin-Siberiak

“ All this the Canary saw. The Crow, however, was not afraid of either cats or hawks. She often had a notion to have a taste of a young bird herself. At first, the Canary could not believe this, but she really did see this with her own eyes. A flock of sparrows were chasing the Crow, chattering and screaming.
"Let her go! Let her go!" screamed [ 120] the sparrows, beside themselves, flying over the Crow's nest in a frenzy. "This is awful! This is real robbery!"
The Crow hid deep in her nest and the Canary saw with horror a bleeding sparrow, dead. ”

“ They listened and couldn't believe their own ears, for there never had been anything like a rabbit, unafraid of anything or anybody before.
"Oh, you Cock-Eye," called one, "do you mean to say you aren't even afraid of a wolf?" [ 5]
"Not even a wolf, nor a fox, nor a bear. I am afraid of no one," said Cock-Eye.
Now this was altogether too amusing. The little rabbits giggled, covering their faces with their front paws. The kind old mother rabbits laughed and even the wise old rabbits, who had had a taste of the paws of the fox, and had felt the fangs of the wolf, smiled. ”

“ The little boats looked like flies.
Everything was lovely—so nice. Way yonder was the shore, low, yellow, sandy. It was the mouth of some huge river and near it gleamed a city all white, as if built of sugar. Still beyond, one saw a dead [ 178] desert, where stood the Pyramids. Lady Bug descended upon the bank of the river. Upon it grew tall Papyrus and among them were Lilies, wonderful, delicate.
"Your home is very lovely," said Verotchka to the Lilies. "Does winter never come here to you?"
"What is winter?" asked the Lilies, wonderingly.
"Winter is the time snow falls," said Verotchka. ”

“ The sun is gaily peeping into all the windows as if inviting the flies into the garden. You would think summer was returning. And what happens? The trustful flies fly through the ventilator into the garden. True, the sun is shining, but it gives no heat. They try to return to the house but the ventilator has been closed. Thus many flies perished in the cold autumn nights. ”

“ This was the same Sparrow [ 187] who had quarreled with Stickelback. Verotchka knew him at once.
"Hello, Master Sparrow!" she said.
"Is that you, Verotchka? Why, hello!"
Sparrow Squabbler hopped on one leg, winked knowingly with one eye and said to the old man:
"Why, this is Verotchka, who wants to be the Queen. I myself heard her say that."
"Do you want to be a Queen, Little One?" asked the Old Man.
"Yes, very much, Grandfather," said Verotchka.
"Very well," said the wise old man. "There is nothing simpler. Every Queen is a woman and every woman a Queen. ”

“ Just let him find another Turkey Gobbler like me!"
"There is not another like you," said Turkey Hen.
"Of course not," said her husband.
"In reality, cereal is nothing. It is not a question of cereal, but of Matryona. Am I not right? As long as there is Matryona there will be cereal. Everything in the world depends upon Matryona—oats, cereal, grains and crusts of bread." ”

“ The Chimney-Sweep made a move to offer his crust to the snipe, but the crust had disappeared. While Yasha was talking, Master Sparrow grabbed the crust and flew away with it.
"The rascal! The scamp!" shouted the birds and the fishes indignantly, starting in pursuit of the thief.
The crust was heavy and Master Sparrow could not fly far with it. He was caught just beyond the river. Birds, large and small, threw themselves upon the thief. It was a real battle. They were all tearing the bread to bits and the crumbs fell into the river. These the fishes grabbed. ”

“ Sleep, Verotchka, sleep, my pretty one, and father will tell you these stories. I think they are all here. The Siberian cat, Vasca; the shaggy village dog, Postoika; the gray mousie-gnawers; the cricket behind the stove; the iridescent starling in the cage; and the cock, the bully.
Sleep, Verotchka, the story begins. The full moon in the heaven looks into the window. The cock-eyed rabbit hops [2] on his haunches and the wolf's eyes flash yellow fire lights. The bear, Mishka, is sucking his paw, and the old sparrow flies up to the window, pecks the pane with his bill, and asks, "How soon, now?" ”

“ The first snow had fallen! The ground was covered with a brilliant, white, shining sheet. [ 99]
"Oh, this must be winter!" Our Fly knew at once. "Winter is all white, like a piece of sugar."
Then our Fly noticed that all the other flies had disappeared. The poor things could not survive the first frost and dropped off to sleep wherever they happened to be. In former days, our Fly would have felt very sorry for them. But now she thought, "This is splendid. Now I am really the only one. No one will eat my jam, my sugar, my crumbs. ”

“ Then they swarmed in a thick cloud over the pool, playing tag, flying and squeaking.
Our little Cacinella was almost overcome with joy and completely forgot the angry drone and the serious caterpillar.
"Oh how nice," she gurgled with delight. "It's all mine—the sun, the grass, the water. I cannot understand why the others were so angry. It is all mine, but I [ 21] don't interfere with anybody's life. I let them fly and buzz and be happy. It doesn't bother me." ”

“ Oh, how I do love cereal! I think I could eat nothing but cereal the rest of my life. I even dream of cereal sometimes."
Turkey Hen liked to complain when she was hungry and she demanded sympathy from Turkey Gobbler. Compared with other birds, she looked like an old woman, humping her back and coughing. She even walked with a broken gait, as if her legs didn't belong to her.
"Yes, it would be nice to have some cereal," said Turkey Gobbler, agreeing with her. "But a wise bird never scrambles [ 137] for food. Am I not right? If my master does not feed me, then I die of hunger. ”

“ They might hear us and then both of us would get it," pleaded little Rabbit, peeping through the tiny hole in Slipper's toe. "What a rascal that Petrooshka is! He beats everyone and shouts loudest of all. He's a fine guest, I must say! You know I hardly got away from Wolf. My! it's horror, just to think of it! Just see Duckling with her tiny legs up. Poor thing! She must be dead."
"How foolish you are, little Rabbit," said Slipper. "All the dolls have fainted and so has Duckling."
They fought and fought and fought until Vanka drove away all the guests except the Dolls. ”

“ The Canary felt very sorry for the poor Crow whom no one loved. It must be very hard to live under such circumstances.
On the whole, there were many enemies. [ 119] For instance, Vaska, with his oily eyes, watching the birds and always feigning sleep. The Canary saw with her own eyes how he caught a young inexperienced sparrow; one could only see the feathers flying, and hear the bones crackling. ”

“ Moorka, astonished in his turn. "To-day, I am hungry again. Meow."
"Why don't you catch mice if you're hungry? Lazy! That's what you are!"
"Talking is very easy. I'd like to see you catch a mouse," Moorka defended himself. "However, I always try hard. Who caught a mouse last week? Who had a scratch the full length of his nose? That's the kind of rat I almost caught. Then she grabbed hold of my nose. It's easy to talk of catching mice. Indeed!"
After eating his liver, Moorka would sit somewhere near the stove where it was warm, close his eyes and doze sweetly. ”

“ When she returned to her corner she cried, thinking of last summer's gladness. There had been so many merry flies. How foolish she had been to desire to be left alone. That had been a great mistake.
The winter seemed endless and Last Fly was beginning to think that summer would never return. She wished to die and she wept quietly. Surely human beings invented winter. They always [ 104] seemed to think of things that harmed flies. Perhaps it was Aunt Olga who had hidden away the summer, as she did sugar and jam. Last Fly was almost dead with despair when something unexpected happened. ”

“ It is very rude to enter a house and then to insult the master. You must admit that a Turkey Gobbler is a very dignified and imposing bird. There is surely no comparison between him and a Gray Porcupine. [ 146]
Suddenly, everybody sided with Turkey Gobbler and there arose a terrific clatter.
"Porcupine probably thinks that all of us are foolish," said Rooster, flapping his wings.
"He insulted all of us! If any one is foolish, it is surely the Porcupine himself," said Gander, stretching his neck. ”

“ Each day brought more and more flies. They fell into the milk, crawled into the soup and into the ink-well, they buzzed and they whirled and annoyed everyone. Our Little Fly grew up into a big fly. On several occasions she almost perished. The first time her legs stuck in jam and she was just able to free herself. ”

“ It's very simple and everybody knows it. You're a Cock and he's a Cock. Only he is a very, very common Cock, while you are a real beyond-the-sea Indian Cock. That's why he screams with envy. Every bird wishes to be an Indian Cock. Khe! Khe!"
"But that's hard to be, mother. Ha! ha! ha! Some ambition for a common little Rooster to become a Turkey Gobbler! No, sir. That never can be!" said Turkey Gobbler.
Turkey Hen was a very modest, kind bird. She was always worried when Turkey Gobbler quarreled with anyone. ”

“ Little Slipper could resist no longer. She crept out from under the couch and whispered to little Broom:
"I love you very much, little Broom."
Little Broom closed her eyes softly and sighed: she loved to be loved. She was such a modest little Broom, never boasting as others do,—for instance, Matryona Ivanovna, Anya, and Katya. These dollies [ 48] always liked to make fun of other people's failings, saying:
"Clown has but one leg. Petrooshka's nose is too long. Carl Ivanovitch is bald. Gypsy is like a firebrand."
But Vanka, the birthday child, was criticized most of all. ”

“ And Mosquito Long-Nose [ 38] just trumpeted, "I'll eat you up! I'll eat you up! I'll eat you up!"
Completely exhausted, Mishka knew that he was beaten, but he was ashamed to leave the marsh. He sat on his haunches, but all he could do was to blink his eyes.
He was saved from further shame by a Wise Frog. She came hopping along from under a bush and seeing Mishka in such difficulty, she said:
"Why do you bother yourself needlessly, Master Mishka? Don't waste your time with these nasty little mosquitoes. They aren't worth it."
"They really are not," cried the bear joyfully. ”

“ For instance, the [ 117] starling; it comes like a mad thing no one knows whence, stays through the summer, and flies away again. There are also the swallows, the bluebirds and nightingales, but one can't really count all this rubbish. There isn't a single really desirable bird. Why, just as soon as there is a cold breeze, all of them seem to fly away, the Lord knows where."
In reality, the Crow and the Canary did not understand each other. The Canary could not understand a life of freedom; the Crow could not understand a life of captivity. ”

“ Turkey Gobbler bent close to Porcupine's ear and whispered:
"I want to tell you a horrible secret. But only on one condition—don't breathe it to a soul. It is true ... I am a little ashamed to talk about myself ... but how can I help it? I am the wisest bird! At times, it even embarrasses me, but as the wise Russians say, 'You can't hide an awl in a sack.' Please not a word of this to anyone!"
[153]
THE STORY OF LITTLE MILK, LITTLE CEREAL AND GRAY KITTEN, MOORKA I IT was wonderful. It was wonderful that it happened every day. ”

“ A bear came into our marsh, stretched himself out full length and fell asleep. And as he lay down, he crushed five hundred of us; and as he opened his mouth, he swallowed a hundred of us. Some trouble, brothers. We hardly escaped being crushed to death ourselves."
Mosquito Long-Nose grew furiously angry—angry at the bear and at the foolish mosquitoes, who were shouting to no purpose. ”

“ When Master Sparrow came to the ice-hole for a drink, he would call, "Hey, Master Stickelback! Are you still alive?"
"I am," Master Stickelback would answer sleepily. "But I want to stay asleep all the time. It isn't very nice here. Everybody is asleep."
"It isn't much better where I live," said Sparrow. "But we must be patient. At [ 70] times the wind is very cruel. There is no sleep then. I hop along on one leg to keep warm, while people watching me say, 'What a gay little sparrow!' If only warm days would come! ”

“ Help!" piped the Canary pitifully. "I will never do it again. It is better to die of hunger than to live in a cage."
The Canary now thought that there was nothing in the whole world nicer than the Crow's nest. Of course, it was cold and occasionally one had no food. But there [ 127] was freedom. One could fly about wherever one pleased. She wept, waiting for the boys to come to put her into the cage. But as luck would have it, the Crow passed by that very moment and spied the Canary in difficulty. ”

“ Pray don't touch my grass. To tell you the truth, I don't like it. So many of you fly about here. You are all such light-minded creatures; while I, Caterpillar, am a serious person. To be frank, everything is mine. I crawl along a blade of grass and I eat it up. I get into a flower and I eat that up. Good day." [ 17]
[ 18]
II
[ 19]
IN a few hours, little Cacinella learned many things. She learned that besides the sun, the blue sky and the green grass, there are angry drones, serious caterpillars, thorns on flowers—all of which made one sad. ”

“ Look at my own wife, Matryona Ivanovna! Isn't she splendid? She is as fond of tea as a duck is of water."
"We will find some tea for her, Master Petrooshka, and we are always glad to see good company," said Vanka. "Please sit down, Matryona Ivanovna. Carl Ivanovitch, pray be seated."
Then came Mr. Bear with Mr. Rabbit, Gray Billy Goat and Waddling Duckling, Mr. Rooster and Mr. Wolf. There was plenty of room for everyone.
The last to arrive was Verotchka's Slipper with Verotchka's Broom. They looked around and found all seats occupied.
"Never mind. I'll stand in the corner," said Broom. ”

“ The next to arrive were two Dolls; one, blue-eyed Anya with a slightly damaged nose; the other, black-eyed Katya with [ 42] one arm missing. Both came in very modestly and sat down on the toy couch.
"Let us see the treat Vanka has for us," said Anya, "I think he boasts too much. The music isn't bad, but I have my doubts about the treat."
"Anya, you are always grumbling," said Katya, chidingly.
"And you are always ready to argue," said Anya.
The Dollies had a little argument and were just about to quarrel, when a much worn Clown hobbled in on one leg, and made peace. ”