Once in winter, a lot of snow fell in Prostokvashin. So many that it was impossible even to leave the house.

- What do we do? - asks Uncle Fyodor.

“Nothing,” the cat says. - We will sit at home until the food runs out.

They sat for a day, sat for two, sat for three. That's it, the food has run out.

Uncle Fedor says:

- It is necessary to start a tr-tr Mitya, go for food.

yells Matroskin. - I kept talking about Tr-tr Mitya - it was such a special tractor that worked not on gasoline, but on food: on potatoes there, on cucumbers, on cutlets.

They climbed out into the street through the window, snow around to the waist. We somehow got to the barn and started the tractor.

- Let's go! - says Uncle Fedor.

- Stop! - the cat shouts. - The most important thing was forgotten. - He returned to the barn and for some reason took a fishing rod.

Uncle Fyodor drives to the right, to where there is a large grocery store, and Mitya drives in the other direction. Towards the village cafe. They bake pancakes there.

OK. We drove up, went to a cafe, ate pancakes.

- Now we need to give pancakes to the tractor. Otherwise he will not budge, - say Uncle Fyodor and Sharik.

- Look what you've thought up! - the cat is angry. - Feed the tractor with pancakes! You put more cakes in the tank for him.

- How to be? - asks Uncle Fyodor.

- And here's how, - says Matroskin. - I thought of everything.

He sat down on a tractor, hooked the last pancake on a fishing rod and hung it in front of the tractor's nose. The tractor followed him and reached out. So they are up grocery store arrived.

“Now it’s another matter,” said Matroskin. - Now we'll feed him.

And he poured half a bag of buckwheat into the tractor tank.

Matroskin always saved everything. He especially saved food. Because he has seen everyone in life.

Who's there?

It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the Murzilka magazine, - he replies.

Galchonok asks again:

Who's there?

The postman says again:

Only nobody opens the door. The postman knocked again and again hears:

Who's there? Who is that there?

Nobody. It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the Murzilka magazine.

And so they went on all day.

Who's there?

It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the Murzilka magazine.

Who's there?

It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the Murzilka magazine.

Towards the end, Pechkin became ill. They tortured him completely. He sat down on the porch and began to ask himself:

Who's there?

And the daw in response:

It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the Murzilka magazine.

Pechkin asks again:

Who's there?

And the little daw answers again:

It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the Murzilka magazine.

When Uncle Fyodor and Matroskin and Sharik came home, they were very surprised. The postman sits on the porch and says the same thing: "Who is there?" yes "Who is there?" And from the house the same thing is heard:

It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the Murzilka magazine ... It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the Murzilka magazine.

Barely they brought the postman to their senses and gave him tea. And when he found out what the matter was, he did not take offense. He just waved his hand and put two extra sweets in his pocket.

Chapter Seven
TR-TR MITYA

A postcard was included in the magazine Pechkin brought. And the card says:

...

“We ask you to be at home tomorrow. A tractor has been received in your name. Boss railway station Nesidorov ".

Below it was also printed in beautiful letters:

...

IN OUR COUNTRY

A LOT OF RAILWAYS!

This made everyone happy. Especially Sharika. And they began to wait for the tractor.

Finally he was brought in in a big car and parked near the house. The driver asked Uncle Fyodor to sign and gave him an envelope. The envelope contained a letter and a special book on how to handle a tractor. The letter read:

...

“Dear Uncle Fedor (boy)!

You asked me to send you a tractor that is not quite real and not quite a toy, and that it was funny. We are sending you one. The most fun in the factory. This is a prototype model. He does not need gasoline. He works on products.

Please send your feedback on the tractor to our factory.

...

FACTORY OF IRON TRACTOR PRODUCTS.

TR-TR MITYA PRODUCT. 20 h.p.

He read it and says:

Can not understand anything. What is "tr-tr"? What is "ly sy"?

What's incomprehensible here? - says the cat. - It's just like a watermelon. "Tr-tr" is abbreviated as "tractor". And “Mitya” means “Model of Engineer Tyapkin”. Who wrote you a letter.

And what does twenty "ly sy" mean? - asks Uncle Fyodor.

- "Ly sy" is horse power. This means that he will pull twenty horses if they pull in one direction, and he in the other.

So how much hay does he need? - Sharik gasped.

And he doesn't need hay. It says right there: he works on products.

Uncle Fyodor was even surprised:

And how do you, Matroskin, know everything? And about surnames, and about tractors, and about "ly sy"?

And you will live with mine, - the cat replies, - and you will know not that. And where did I not live! And from some owners, and from others, and in the library, and even in the savings bank. I may have seen so much in my life that there is enough for a whole cat encyclopedia. Actually, you are lounging here, but my cow is not milked, my Murka.

He left. And the boy and Sharik began to start tr-tr. They started pouring soup into the tractor and stuffing cutlets. Directly into the tank. The tractor will rumble!

They got into it and drove through the village. Mitya drove, drove through the village, then he stopped at one house!

What is he? - asks Uncle Fyodor. - Maybe the fuel ran out?

Nothing is over. He just smelled that it smells like pies.

What other pies?

Ordinary. They bake pies in that house.

So what should we do now?

I don't know, says Sharik. - Only it smells so delicious that I don't want to go either.

Wow, I bought a tractor! - says Uncle Fyodor. - So we will stop near all the houses? And at the canteens. This is not a tractor, but some kind of hippopotamus. Tr-tr - eight holes! So that it was empty for him, engineer Tyapkin!

So they had to go into the house, ask for pies. Matroskin, when he found out about this, got angry with Uncle Fyodor:

I told you not to buy anything, and you all are not listening! Yes, we can't feed this tr-tr now!

But then the cat calmed down:

Well, nothing, Uncle Fyodor, do not be discouraged. It's good that you have me. We can handle your tractor. Let's keep a sausage on a fishing rod in front of him. He will go for a sausage and we will be lucky.

And so they did. And soon the tractor began to improve. He was actually funny. The cabin is plastic, blue, and the wheels are iron. And it was necessary to lubricate it not with machine oil, but with sunflower oil.

But then the cow Murka added to their worries.

Chapter Eight
HOP COLOR

The cow Murka, which the cat bought, was stupid and spoiled. But she gave a lot of milk. So many that more and more every day. All the buckets of milk were there. All banks. And even in the aquarium there was milk. The fish swam in it.

One day Uncle Fyodor woke up, looking, and in the washstand, not water, but yogurt was poured. Uncle Fedor called the cat and said:

What are you doing? How can I wash my face now?

The cat answers gloomily:

You can wash in the river too.

Yes? How about in winter? Also in the river?

And in winter you don't need to wash at all. There is snow all around, you won't get dirty. And in general, some people wash their faces with their tongues.

Some even eat mice, - says Uncle Fyodor. - So that there is no curdled milk in the sink!

The cat thought and said:

OK. I'll run a little calf. Let him eat curdled milk.

And in the afternoon again news. And also with Murka. For some reason she comes from the pasture on her hind legs. And there is a flower in my mouth. She walks to herself, puts on her hips and sings:

I remember I was still young
Our army was marching somewhere ...

Only she does not know how to speak, and she succeeds:

Moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo,
Moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo ...

And the cloud over her head is like a hat. Sharik asks:

Why was she so happy? Maybe she's having a holiday or something?

5

Chapter 6
Little daw Hvatayka

So Uncle Fyodor began to live in the village. And the people in the village loved him. Because he didn’t mess around, he was doing business all the time or playing. And then he had more worries. People learned that he loved animals, and began to bring him different animals. Whether the chick fights off the flock, or the hare gets lost, they immediately take him - and to Uncle Fyodor. And he fiddles with them, treats them and lets them loose.

Once they got a daw. The eyes are like buttons, the nose is thick. Angry-angry.

Uncle Fyodor fed him and put him on the cupboard. And they called the little daw Hvataika: whatever he sees, he drags everything onto the closet. He will see matches - on the wardrobe. He will see a spoon - on the cabinet. He even dragged the alarm clock onto the closet. And you can't take anything from him. Immediately Grab wings to the sides, hisses and pecks. He has a whole warehouse on his closet. Then he grew up a little, recovered and began to fly out the window. But in the evening he always returned. And not empty-handed. Either the key from the cabinet will take away, then the lighter, then the child's mold. Once he even brought a pacifier. Probably, some kid was sleeping in a stroller on the street, and Khvatika flew up and pulled out a pacifier.

Uncle Fyodor was very afraid for the dag: bad people could shoot him with a gun or hit him with a stick.

And the cat decided to accustom the little daw to business:

- What are we feeding him in vain! Let it be useful.

And he began to teach the little daw to talk. All day I sat beside him and said:

- Who's there? Who's there? Who's there?

Sharik asks:

- What, you have nothing to do? You'd better learn a song or a poem.

The cat answers:

- I can sing songs myself. Only there is no benefit from them.

- And what is the use of your "ktotam"?

- And such. We will go into the forest for firewood, and there will be no one left at home. Anyone can enter the house and take something away. And so a man comes, starts knocking on the door, the little daw asks: "Who is there?" A person will think that someone is at home and will not steal anything. Is that clear?

- But you yourself said that we have nothing to steal, - argues Sharik. - You didn't even want to take me.

- It used to be nothing, - the cat explains, - but now we have found the treasure.

Sharik agreed with the cat and also began to teach the little daw "ktotama". They taught him for a whole week, and finally the little daw learned. As soon as someone knocks on the door or floods on the porch, Khvatayka immediately asks:

- Who's there? Who's there? Who is that there?

And that's what came of it. Once Uncle Fyodor, the cat and Sharik went to the forest to pick mushrooms. And there was no one at home except the little daw. Then the postman Pechkin comes. He knocked on the door and hears:

- Who's there?

- It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the magazine "Murzilka" - he replies.

Galchonok asks again:

- Who's there?

The postman says again:

Only nobody opens the door. The postman knocked again and again hears:

- Who's there? Who is that there?

- Nobody. It's me, postman Pechkin. He brought the magazine "Murzilka".

And so they went on all day.

- Who's there?

- It's me, postman Pechkin. He brought the magazine "Murzilka".

- Who's there?

- It's me, postman Pechkin. He brought the magazine "Murzilka".

Towards the end, Pechkin became ill. They tortured him completely. He sat down on the porch and began to ask himself:

- Who's there?

And the daw in response:

- It's me, postman Pechkin. He brought the magazine "Murzilka".

Pechkin asks again:

- Who's there?

And the little daw answers again:

- It's me, postman Pechkin. He brought the magazine "Murzilka".

When Uncle Fyodor and Matroskin came home with Sharik, they were very surprised. The postman sits on the porch and says the same thing: "Who is there?" yes "Who is there?"

And from the house the same thing is heard:

- It's me, postman Pechkin. Brought the magazine "Murzilka" ... It's me, postman Pechkin. He brought the magazine "Murzilka".

Barely they brought the postman to their senses and gave him tea. And when he found out what was the matter, he did not take offense. He just waved his hand and put the two extra sweets in his pocket.

Chapter 7
Tr-tr Mitya

A postcard was included in the magazine that Pechkin brought. And the card says:

We ask you to be at home tomorrow. A tractor has been received in your name.

railway station

Nesidorov.

Below it was also printed in beautiful letters:

IN OUR COUNTRY

A LOT OF RAILWAYS!

This made everyone happy. Especially Sharika. And they began to wait for the tractor.

Finally he was brought in in a big car and parked near the house. The driver asked Uncle Fyodor to sign and gave him an envelope. The envelope contained a letter and a special book on how to handle a tractor. The letter read:

Dear Uncle Fedor (boy)!

You asked me to send you a tractor that is not quite real and not quite a toy, and so that it is funny. We are sending you one. The most fun at the factory. This is a prototype model. He does not need gasoline. He works on products.

Please send your feedback on the tractor to our factory.

With best regards -

engineer Tyapkin

(the inventor of the tractor).

FACTORY

IRON TRACTOR PRODUCTS

TR-TR MITYA PRODUCT. 20 l. With.

He read it and says:

- Can not understand anything. What is "tr-tr"? What is "ly sy"?

- What is there incomprehensible? - says the cat. - It's just like a watermelon. "Tr-tr" is abbreviated as "tractor". And “Mitya” means “Model of engineer Tyapkin”. Who wrote you a letter.

- And what does twenty "ly sy" mean? - asks Uncle Fyodor.

- "Ly sy" is horse power. This means that he will pull twenty horses if they pull in one direction, and he in the other.

- So how much hay does he need? - Sharik gasped.

- And he doesn't need hay. It says right there: he works on products.

Uncle Fyodor was even surprised:

- And how do you, Matroskin, know everything? And about surnames, and about tractors, and about "ly sy"?

- And you live with mine, - the cat answers, - and you will not know that. And where did I not live! And from some owners, and from others, and in the library, and even in the savings bank. I may have seen so much in my life that there is enough for a whole cat encyclopedia. Actually, you are lounging here, but my cow has not been milked, my Murka.

He left. And the boy and Sharik began to start tr-tr. They started pouring soup into the tractor and stuffing cutlets. Directly into the tank. The tractor will rumble!

They got into it and drove through the village. Mitya drove, drove through the village, then he stopped at one house!

- What is he? - asks Uncle Fyodor. - Maybe the fuel ran out?

- It's not over. He just smelled that it smells like pies.

- What other pies?

- Ordinary. They bake pies in that house.

- And what should we do now?

“I don’t know,” says Sharik. - Only it smells so delicious that I don't want to go either.

- Wow, I bought a tractor! - says Uncle Fedor. - So we will stop near all the houses? And at the canteens. This is not a tractor, but some kind of hippopotamus. Tr-tr - eight holes! So that it was empty for him, engineer Tyapkin!

So they had to go into the house, ask for pies. Matroskin, when he found out about this, got angry with Uncle Fyodor:

- I told you not to buy anything, but you still don’t listen! Yes, we can't feed this tr-tr now!

But then the cat calmed down:

- Well, nothing, Uncle Fedor, do not be discouraged. It's good that you have me. We can handle your tractor. Let's keep a sausage on a fishing rod in front of him. He will go for a sausage and we will be lucky.

And so they did.

And soon the tractor began to improve. He was actually funny. The cabin is plastic, blue, and the wheels are iron. And it was necessary to lubricate it not with machine oil, but with sunflower oil.

But then the cow Murka added to their worries.

Chapter 8
Hops bloom

The cow Murka, which the cat bought, was stupid and spoiled. But she gave a lot of milk. So many that more and more every day. All the buckets of milk were standing. All banks. And even in the aquarium there was milk. The fish swam in it.

One day Uncle Fyodor woke up, looking, and in the sink, not water, but yogurt was poured. Uncle Fyodor called the cat and said:

- What are you doing? How can I wash my face now?

The cat answers gloomily:

- You can wash in the river too.

- Yes? How about in winter? Also in the river?

- And in winter you don't need to wash at all. There is snow all around, you won't get dirty. And in general, some people wash their faces with their tongues.

“Some people eat mice too,” says Uncle Fyodor. - And so that there is no curdled milk in the sink!

The cat thought and said:

- Okay. I'll run a calf. Let him eat curdled milk.

And in the afternoon again news. And also with Murka. For some reason she comes from the pasture on her hind legs. And there is a flower in my mouth. She walks to herself, puts on her hips and sings:

I remember that I was still young
Our army was marching somewhere ...

Only she does not know how to speak words, and she succeeds:

Moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo,
Moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo ...

And a cloud over her head, like a hat. Sharik asks:

- Why is she so happy? Maybe she's having some kind of holiday or something?

- What holiday? - says Uncle Fedor.

- Maybe her birthday. Or kefir day. Or maybe cow New Year.

- What does the New Year have to do with it? - says Matroskin. - She just ate henbane or hops.

And how the cow scatters - and a head fuck in the wall! Barely managed to drive her into the barn. Matroskin went to milk her. Five minutes later he comes out, and something strange happened to him. He has a sailor suit in the front like an apron, and a pouch on his head like a helmet. And he sings something absurd:

I am a sailor
I walk in the open
Day after day,
From the wave to the wave!

Obviously, he tasted the milk funny. Sharik says to Uncle Fedor:

- At first, our cow has gone mad, and now the cat has gone mad. We ought to call an ambulance.

“We’ll wait a little longer,” says Uncle Fyodor. - Maybe they will come to their senses.

What is there in yourself! Murka in the barn Oginsky's polonaise began to hum:

Moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo!
Moo-moo-moo-moo!

And the cat actually pulled something strange:

We lived with a grandmother
Two happy geese:
One gray,
Another white -
Petya and Marusya! -

and also head against the wall - boo!

At this point, Uncle Fyodor was worried:

- On you, Sharik, two kopecks. Run and call an ambulance on the machine.

The ball ran away, and the cat and the cow began to come to their senses. They stopped singing and humming. The cat grabbed his head and said:

- Wow, our cow gives milk! From it only make condensed milk and throw it to the enemies in the war. So that they go crazy and climb out of the trenches.

And here the postman Pechkin goes to them. So rosy and joyful.

- Look what article I read in the newspaper. About one boy. His eyes are brown and his hair is sticking up in front, as if a cow had licked him. And the height is one meter twenty.

- So what? - says the cat. - You never know such boys!

- Maybe a lot, - the postman replies, - only this boy left the house. And the parents are worried about what happened to him. And even a prize was promised to whoever finds it. Maybe they'll give you a bicycle. And I just need a bicycle, deliver mail. I even brought a meter: I will measure your master.

The ball, as he heard, grabbed his heart. If Pechkin will measure Uncle Fedor, then he will take him home - what will they do with the cat? They will disappear!

And the cat was not taken aback and says:

- It is always possible to measure. Drink some milk first. I just milked a cow. My Murka.

The postman agrees:

- I'll drink milk with pleasure. Milk is very healthy. They even write about it in the newspapers. Give me the biggest mug.

The cat ran into the house and soon brought him the largest mug. He poured milk into it and gives it to Pechkin. Pechkin as he drinks, as he goggles his eyes! How to sing:

When I served as a coachman at the post office,
I was young, I had strength! -

and also head on the wall - a knock!

And the little daw from the house asks:

- Who's there? Who is that there?

The postman replies:

- It's me, postman Pechkin! I brought you a meter. I will measure your milk. Give me the biggest mug!

And then the ambulance arrived. Two orderlies come out and ask:

- Who's crazy here?

Pechkin replies:

- This house has gone crazy! It rushes at me.

The orderlies took him by the arms and took him to the car. And they say:

- Now the hops are blooming. A lot of people go crazy. Especially the cows.

When they left, Uncle Fyodor said to the cat:

- You pour this milk somewhere. So that there will be no trouble again.

And the cat is sorry to pour it out. He decided to give milk to the tractor. Mitya. With the car, they say, nothing will happen. Tractors don't go crazy. And he poured all the milk into the tank. Straight from the bucket.

Mitya stood, stood, then how to rumble - and at the cat! The cat threw the bucket and quickly on the tree! And Mitya became a bucket of football to play. I played, I played until I turned it into a cake. Oh yes, the model of engineer Tyapkin!

And then he went to the village to misbehave. Hilling weeds and chasing chickens. And all sorts of songs hum. In the end, he even climbed to swim. Almost stalled. He got out somehow ashore, he felt ashamed. He drove up to the house, stood in place, did not look at anyone. He scolds himself.

Uncle Fyodor was very angry with Matroskin and put him in a corner:

- Next time, do as you are told.

The ball laughed at the cat all the time.

But Uncle Fyodor Sharik said:

- OK OK. There is nothing to laugh at a person when he is standing in the corner.

Of course, Matroskin was a cat, not a man. But for Uncle Fyodor he was just like a person.

And with this cow there were still adventures. And not a little.

Chapter 9
Your son is Uncle Farik

The next day, Uncle Fyodor decided to write a letter home. So that dad and mom do not worry about him. Because he loved them very much. And they did not know where he was and what was wrong with him. And of course we were worried.

Uncle Fyodor sits and writes:

My mom and dad!

I live well. Just great. I have my own house. It's warm. It has one room and a kitchen. And recently we found a treasure and bought a cow. And the tractor - tr-tr Mityu. The tractor is good, only he does not like gasoline, but he loves soup.

Mom and Dad, I miss you very much. Especially in the evenings. But I won't tell you where I live. Otherwise you will take me away, and Matroskin and Sharik will disappear.

But then Uncle Fyodor saw that the village guys were launching a snake in the field. And Uncle Fyodor ran to them. And he told the cat to finish the letter for him. The cat took a pencil and began to write:

And we also have a warm stove. I love to rest on it so much! My health is not very good: either my paws ache, or my tail falls off. Because, my dear dad and mom, my life was difficult, full of hardships and exclusions. But things are different now. And I have a sausage, and fresh milk is in a bowl on the floor. Drink - I don't want to. I don't even want to see mice. I just catch them for fun. Either with a fishing rod, or with a vacuum cleaner I pull out of the minks and carry them out into the field. And during the day I like to climb onto the roof. And there I goggle, straighten my mustache and sunbathe like crazy. I lick my lips in the sun and dry.

Then the cat heard that the mice in the underground were scratching. He shouted to Sharik and ran to the underground with a vacuum cleaner. He took a pencil ball in his teeth and began to dribble further:

And the other day I started to shed. Old wool is falling off me - at least don't go into the house. But the new one grows - clean, silky! Just karakul. And I'm a little hoarse, too. There are many passers-by, you have to bark at all. You go down for an hour, you go down for two hours, and then I don’t bark, but a whistle and some kind of gurgling.

Dear dad and mom, you just don’t recognize me now. My tail is crocheted, my ears are erect, my nose is cold and my hair is increased. Now I can even sleep on the snow in winter. Now I go to the store myself. And all the sellers know me. They give me bones for free ... So don't worry about me. I've become so healthy, right - wow! If I get to the exhibition, all the medals are guaranteed for me. For beauty and ingenuity.

Goodbye.

Your son is Uncle Sharik.

Then he wanted to correct the word "Sharik" to "Fedor". And it turned out something incomprehensible at all:

Goodbye.

Your son is Uncle Farik.

He and Matroskin sealed the letter, wrote the address, and Sharik took it in his mouth to the mailbox.

But the letter from the box has not yet arrived at the address. Because the postman Pechkin was in the isolation ward. At first he didn't want to stay there. He said that it was not he who lost his mind, but the house of Uncle Fedor, who began to butt.

And then he liked it in the isolation ward. There was no need to deliver the letters, and the food was good. And he also met an accountant there. The children brought this accountant to the hospital. And he raised Pechkin all the time. He said:

- Pechkin, don't jump on the bed!

- Pechkin, don't lean out the window!

- Pechkin, don't throw cutlets at your comrades!

Although Pechkin did not stick out from anywhere, he did not jump anywhere and did not throw any cutlets at his comrades.

But Uncle Fyodor Pechkin was offended. He spoke like this:

- Some people keep dogs at home and cats, but I don't even have a bicycle.

But that was later. In the meantime, he was in the isolation ward and the letter was in the mailbox.

Chapter 10
The ball goes to the forest

Uncle Fyodor and the cat lived in the house.

And Sharik kept running around the site or sitting in a booth. And he spent the night there. He only came to the house for lunch or so, to visit. And then one day he sits in his booth and thinks: “The cat bought himself a cow. Uncle Fedor is a tractor. Am I the worst of all, or what? It's time for me to buy a gun for happiness. As long as there is money. "

Uncle Fyodor kept discouraging him from buying a gun - sorry for the animals. And the cat tried to dissuade him - he was sorry for the money. And the dog doesn't want to listen.

- Move away, - he says, - to the side! The instinct wakes up in me! Beasts - they were created to be hunted. I didn’t understand this before, because I didn’t live well! And now I have recovered, and I was pulled into the forest with terrible force!

He went to the store and bought a gun. I bought cartridges and bought a hunting bag so that I could put all sorts of animals there.

- Wait for me, - he says, - in the evening. I'll shoot you something tasty.

He left the village and went into the forest. He sees that the collective farmer is riding on a cart. The collective farmer says:

- Sit down, hunter, I'll give you a lift.

The ball sat on the cart, dangling its paws. And the collective farmer asks:

- And how do you, friend, shoot? Good?

- And how! - says Sharik.

- And if I throw my hat, will you get into it?

The ball got up on its hind legs and prepared the gun.

“Throw,” he says, “your hat. Now there will be nothing left of her. Some holes.

The driver took off his cap and threw it into the air.

High, high, under the clouds.

Ball ka-ak baba-a-hen!

The horse will get scared!

And - to run!

The cart, of course, is behind her.

The ball on his feet could not resist the surprise and flew upside down from the cart. As for the road - splash! Wow the hunt begins!

I came to the forest and saw a hare sitting in a clearing. The dog loaded the gun, prepared the bag and began to sneak up.

- Now I’m going to hit him!

The hare saw him - and run. The ball is behind him. But he tripped over something and got entangled in the bag. In which you have to carry prey. He sits in a bag and thinks: “Wow, the hunt is starting! What is it, I'm going to carry myself home now ?! It turns out that I am a hunter, am I a trophy? That will be a laugh ... "

I got out of my bag and followed the trail. The gun is behind the back, nose to the ground. He ran to a narrow river and saw: the hare was galloping on the other side. The dog shot a gun in his teeth and swam - don't leave the hare! And the gun is heavy - about to drown Sharik. Sharik looks, and he is already at the bottom.

“What does this come out of? - the dog thinks. - It's not hunting, it's already fishing! "

He decided to throw the gun and surface as soon as possible.

“Well, nothing, unfortunate hare, I'll show you some more! I'll get you without a gun! I'll kick your ears! You will learn how to mock the hunters! "

He pops up, pops up, but he does not pop up in any way. He got tangled up in a gun belt and in a bag.

That's it, the end of the Ball!

But then he felt that someone pulled him up by the collar, towards the sun. And it was an old beaver, he was building a dam nearby.

He pulled out Sharik and said:

- I have nothing to do, just pull different dogs out of the water!

The ball answers:

- And I didn’t ask to get me out! I may not have drowned at all. Maybe I was snorkeling! I have not yet decided what I was doing there, at the bottom.

And it’s so bad yourself — at least shout the guard. And the water from it pounds like a fountain, and it’s ashamed to raise your eyes to the beaver. Still would! He went to hunt animals, and instead they saved him from death.

He walks home along the shore. Dull like a wet chicken. He drags a shotgun on a strap and thinks to himself: “Something I’m eagerly not doing well. First I fell off the cart. Then I got confused in my hunting bag. And in the end he almost drowned altogether. I don't like this kind of hunt. I'd rather fish. I will buy myself fishing rods, a net. I'll take a sausage sandwich and sit on the shore. I will be a fishing dog, not a hunting dog. And I don't want to shoot animals. I will only save them. "

Only it is easy to say, but difficult to do. After all, he was born a hunting dog, and not some other.

Chapter 11
Beaver

And Uncle Fyodor and Matroskin are sitting at home. They are waiting for the ball from the hunt. Uncle Fyodor makes a bird feeder, and the cat does the housekeeping: he sews buttons and darns socks.

It was already dark outside the window when Sharik arrived. He lifted his bag and shook the animal out on the table. The animal is small, fluffy, sad eyes and a shovel tail.

- This is who I brought.

- Where did you get it? - asks Uncle Fyodor.

- I pulled it out of the river. He was sitting on the bank, saw me and into the river - jump! With a fright. I barely caught him. Otherwise he would have drowned. After all, he is still small.

The cat listened, listened and says:

- Eh you, you bastard! It's a beaver! He lives in water. This is his home. You, one might say, pulled him out of the house!

The dog answers:

- Who knew him that he lives in water? I thought he wanted to drown! See how wet I am!

- And I don’t want to watch! - says the cat. - I'm also a hunter, he doesn't know anything about animals! - And climbed onto the stove.

And the beaver sits, goggles at everyone. Doesn't understand anything. Uncle Fyodor gave him boiled milk. The beaver drank milk, and his eyes began to close.

- Where can I put him to sleep? The boy asks.

- As where? - says the dog. - If he lives in water, he must be put in a basin.

- You yourself need to put in the basin! - shouts Matroskin from the stove. - To make you wiser a little!

The dog was completely upset:

- You yourself said that he lives in water.

“He only swims in the water, but he lives in a house on the shore,” the cat explains.

Then Uncle Fyodor took the beaver and put it in the closet, in the boot box. And the beaver fell asleep at once. And Sharik also went to sleep in his booth. He was not used to lying on the beds. He was a country dog, not spoiled.

In the morning, Uncle Fyodor woke up and hears: something strange in the house. As if someone is sawing wood: dr-dr ... dr-dr ...

And again: dr-dr ... dr-dr ...

He got out of bed and sees the horror of what. Not a house with them, but a carpentry workshop. There are shavings, wood chips and sawdust all around. And the dinner table was gone. In a pile of shavings, a beaver sits and grinds the leg of the dining room.

The cat dangled its paws from the stove and said:

- Look what your Sharik suits us. We'll have to buy a new table now. It's good that I removed all the dishes from the table. We would be left without plates! With only forks.

They called Sharik.

- Look what you are doing to us!

- And if he sawed through my bed, - says Uncle Fyodor, - I would have crashed right to the floor in the middle of the night. Thank you!

He gave Sharik a hunting bag and said:

- Run to the river, right without breakfast, and take the beaver to the place where you took it. Look, don't catch anyone out of the river anymore! We are not any millionaires!

Sharik put the beaver in his bag and ran without speaking. He himself was already not happy that he had caught the beaver. And the parents of the beaver were very happy and did not scold Sharik. They realized that it was not out of malice that he stole their little son - through a misunderstanding. So everything ended very well. I just had to buy a new table.

But from that time on, Sharik was depressed. He wants to hunt in the forest - and that's it! And when he comes out with a gun, he sees the little animal - he cannot shoot, even though you cry! He will come from the forest - he does not eat, does not drink: melancholy gnaws at him. He became dead, tortured - worse than ever!