D rodari adventures of the blue arrow. Journey of the Blue Arrow - Gianni Rodari. Opinions and ratings

Chapter I. SIGNORA FIVE MINUTES BARONESS

The fairy was an old lady, very well-bred and noble, almost a baroness.

“They call me,” she sometimes muttered to herself, “just the Fairy, and I don’t protest: after all, you need to have leniency towards the ignorant.” But I'm almost a baroness; decent people know this.

“Yes, Signora Baroness,” the maid assented.

“I’m not a 100% baroness, but I’m not so far short of her.” And the difference is almost invisible. Is not it?

- Invisible, Signora Baroness. And decent people don’t notice her...

It was just the first morning of the new year. All night long the Fairy and her maid traveled across the rooftops, delivering gifts. Their dresses were covered with snow and icicles.

“Light the stove,” said the Fairy, “you need to dry your clothes.” And put the broom in its place: now for a whole year you don’t have to think about flying from roof to roof, especially with such a north wind.

The maid put the broom back, grumbling:

- Nice little thing - flying on a broom! This is in our time when airplanes were invented! I already caught a cold because of this.

“Prepare me a glass of flower infusion,” the Fairy ordered, putting on her glasses and sitting down in the old leather chair that stood in front of the desk.

“Right now, Baroness,” said the maid.

The fairy looked at her approvingly.

“She’s a little lazy,” thought the Fairy, “but she knows the rules of good manners and knows how to behave with the lady of my circle. I will promise her to increase her salary. In fact, of course, I won’t give her an increase, and there’s not enough money anyway.”

It must be said that the Fairy, for all her nobility, was rather stingy. Twice a year she promised the old maid an increase in wages, but limited herself to promises alone. The maid had long been tired of listening only to words; she wanted to hear the clink of coins. Once she even had the courage to tell the Baroness about this. But the Fairy was very indignant:

– Coins and coins! - she said, sighing, - Ignorant people only think about money. And how bad it is that you not only think, but also talk about it! Apparently, teaching you good manners is like feeding a donkey sugar.

The fairy sighed and buried herself in her books.

- So, let's bring the balance. Things are not good this year, there is not enough money. Of course, everyone wants to receive good gifts from the Fairy, and when it comes to paying for them, everyone starts bargaining. Everyone tries to borrow money, promising to pay it back later, as if the Fairy were some kind of sausage maker. However, today there is nothing particularly to complain about: all the toys that were in the store have sold out, and now we will need to bring new ones from the warehouse.

She closed the book and began to print out the letters she found in her mailbox.

- I knew it! – she spoke. – I risk getting pneumonia delivering my goods, and no thanks! This one didn't want a wooden saber - give him a pistol! Does he know that the gun costs a thousand lire more? Another, imagine, wanted to get an airplane! His father is a doorman for the courier secretary of a lottery employee, and he only had three hundred lire to buy a gift. What could I give him for such pennies?

The fairy threw the letters back into the box, took off her glasses and called:

- Teresa, is the broth ready?

- Ready, ready, Signora Baroness.

And the old maid handed the baroness a steaming glass.

– Did you pour a drop of rum in here?

- Two whole spoons!

– One would be enough for me... Now I understand why the bottle is almost empty. Just think, we bought it only four years ago!

Sipping the boiling drink in small sips and managing not to get burned, as only old gentlemen can do.

The fairy wandered around her little kingdom, carefully checking every corner of the kitchen, the store and the small wooden staircase that led to the second floor, where there was a bedroom.

How sad the store looked with drawn curtains, empty display cases and cabinets, littered with boxes without toys and piles of wrapping paper!

“Prepare the keys to the warehouse and a candle,” said the fairy, “we need to bring new toys.”

- But, Signora Baroness, do you want to work even today, on the day of your holiday? Do you really think that anyone will come shopping today? After all, New Year's Eve, Fairy Night, has already passed...

– Yes, but until next New Year’s Eve there are only three hundred and sixty-five days left.

I must tell you that Fairy's store remained open throughout the year and its windows were always lit. Thus, children had enough time to fall in love with this or that toy, and parents had time to make their calculations in order to be able to order it.

And besides, there are also birthdays, and everyone knows that children consider these days very suitable for receiving gifts.

Now do you understand what the Fairy does from the first of January until the next New Year? She sits behind the window and looks at passers-by. She looks especially carefully at the faces of children. She immediately understands whether they like or dislike the new toy, and if they don’t like it, she removes it from the display and replaces it with another.

Oh, gentlemen, now something has come over me! It was like this when I was little. Who knows if the Fairy now has this store with a window filled with toy trains, dolls, rag dogs, guns, pistols, Indian figurines and puppets!

I remember it, this Fairy shop. How many hours did I spend at this display case, counting toys! It took a long time to count them, and I never managed to count to the end because I had to take the milk I bought home.

Chapter II. THE SHOW STINDOW IS FILLING

The warehouse was in the basement, which was located in the car; once under the store. The fairy and her maid had to go up and down the stairs twenty times to fill the cabinets and display cases with new toys.

Already on the third voyage, Teresa was tired.

“Signora,” she said, stopping in the middle of the stairs with a large bunch of dolls in her hands, “Signora Baroness, my heart is beating.”

“That’s good, my dear, that’s very good,” answered the Fairy, “it would be worse if it didn’t beat anymore.”

“My legs hurt, Signora Baroness.”

“Leave them in the kitchen, let them rest, especially since you can’t carry anything with your feet.”

- Signora Baroness, I don’t have enough air...

“I didn’t steal it from you, my dear, I have enough of my own.”

And indeed, it seemed that the Fairy never got tired. Despite her advanced age, she jumped up the steps as if dancing, as if she had springs hidden under her heels. At the same time, she continued to count.

“These Indians bring me an income of two hundred liras each, perhaps even three hundred liras.” Nowadays Indians are very fashionable. Don't you think this electric train is just a miracle?! I will call him Blue Arrow and I swear I will quit trading if from tomorrow hundreds of childish eyes do not devour him from morning to evening.

Indeed, it was a wonderful train, with two barriers, with a station and the Main Station Manager, with the Driver, and the Train Manager in glasses. After lying in the warehouse for so many months, the electric train was completely covered with dust, but the Fairy wiped it thoroughly with a cloth, and the blue paint sparkled like the water of an Alpine lake: the entire train, including the Station Master, the Train Manager and the Driver, was painted with blue paint.

When the Fairy wiped the dust from the Driver's eyes, he looked around and exclaimed:

– Finally I see! I feel like I was buried in a cave for months. So when do we leave? I'm ready.

“Calm down, calm down,” the Train Manager interrupted him, wiping his glasses with a handkerchief. - The train will not move without my order.

“Count the stripes on your beret,” said a third voice, “and you will see who is the eldest here.”

The Train Master counted his stripes. He had four. Then he counted the Station Master's stripes - five. oskazkah.ru - oskazkax.ru The Head of the Train sighed, hid his glasses and became quiet. The Station Master walked back and forth across the display window, waving the baton used to signal departure. A regiment of tin riflemen with a brass band and a Colonel lined up in the square in front of the station. A whole artillery battery headed by the General was located a little to the side.

Behind the station was a green plain and scattered hills. On the plain around the chief, whose name was Silver Feather, the Indians set up camp. At the top of the mountain, the cowboys on horseback held their lasso at the ready.

An airplane suspended from the ceiling swayed above the roof of the station: The pilot leaned out of the cockpit and looked down. I must tell you that this Pilot was made in such a way that he could not rise to his feet: he had no legs. It was the Sitting Pilot.

Next to the airplane hung a red cage with a Canary, whose name was Yellow Canary. When the cage was slightly rocked, the Canary sang.

In the window there were also dolls, a Yellow Bear, a rag dog named Button, paints, a “Construction Set,” a small theater with three Marionettes, and a fast two-masted sailboat. The Captain was nervously pacing the captain's bridge of the sailing ship. Out of absent-mindedness, only half of his beard was glued on to him, so he carefully hid the beardless half of his Face so as not to look like a freak.

The Station Master and the Half-Bearded Captain pretended not to notice each other, but perhaps one of them was already planning to challenge the other to a duel to decide the question of supreme command in the display case.

The dolls were divided into two groups: some sighed for the Station Master, others cast gentle glances at the Half-bearded Captain, and only one black doll with eyes whiter than milk looked only at the Sitting Pilot and no one else.

Concerning rag dog, then he would happily wag his tail and jump for joy. But he could not show these signs of attention to all three, and he did not want to choose just one, so as not to offend the other two. Therefore, he sat quietly and motionless, and he looked a little stupid. His name was written in red letters on the collar: "Button." Maybe it was called that because it was small, like a button.

But then an event occurred that immediately made one forget both jealousy and rivalry. Just at that moment, the Fairy raised the curtain, and the sun poured into the window in a golden cascade, causing terrible fear in everyone, because no one had seen it before.

– One hundred thousand deaf whales! – the Half-Bearded Captain barked. - What's happened?

- For help! For help! – the dolls squealed, hiding behind each other.

The general ordered to immediately turn the guns towards the enemy in order to be ready to repel any attack. Only Silver Feather remained unperturbed. He took the long pipe out of his mouth, which he did only in exceptional cases, and said:

- Don't be afraid, toys. This is the Great Spirit - the Sun, everyone's friend. Look how cheerful the whole square was, rejoicing at his arrival.

Everyone looked at the display case. The square really sparkled under the rays of the sun. The jets of the fountains seemed fiery. A gentle warmth penetrated through the dusty glass into the Fairy's shop.

- A thousand drunken whales! – the Captain muttered again. - I’m a sea wolf, not a sun wolf!

The dolls, chatting happily, immediately began to sunbathe.

However, the sun's rays could not penetrate into one corner of the display case. The shadow fell right on the Machinist, and he became very angry:

“It had to happen that it was I who ended up in the shadows!”

He looked outside the window, and his keen eyes, accustomed to staring at the tracks for hours during long trips, met a pair of huge, wide-open eyes of a child.

One could look into those eyes, the way one looks into a house when there are no curtains on the windows. And, looking into them. The driver saw great childish sadness.

“Strange,” thought the Machinist of the Blue Arrow. – I have always heard that children are cheerful people. All they know is that they laugh and play from morning to evening. And this one seems sad to me, like an old man. What happened to him?"

The sad boy looked at the display window for a long time. His eyes filled with tears. From time to time, tears rolled down the cheek and disappeared on the lips. Everyone in the window held their breath: no one had ever seen eyes from which water would flow, and this surprised everyone very much.

- A thousand lame whales! - exclaimed the Captain. – I will record this event in the logbook!

Finally, the boy wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket, walked to the door of the store, grabbed the handle and pushed the door.

There was a dull ringing of a bell, which seemed to be complaining, calling for help.

Chapter III. THE HALF-BEARDED CAPTAIN IS EXCITED

“Signora Baroness, someone has entered the store,” the maid said.

The fairy, who was combing her hair in her room, quickly went down the stairs, holding hairpins in her mouth and pinning her hair as she went.

“Whoever it is, why doesn’t he close the door?” - she muttered. “I didn’t hear the bell, but I immediately felt a draft.

For the sake of dignity, she put on her glasses and entered the shop with small, slow steps, as a real signora should walk, especially if she is almost a baroness. But, seeing in front of her a poorly dressed boy who was crumpling his blue beret in his hands, she realized that the ceremonies were unnecessary.

- Well? What's the matter? - With all her appearance, the Fairy seemed to want to say: “Speak quickly, I don’t have time.”

“I... Signora...” the boy whispered.

Everyone in the window froze, but nothing was heard.

- What did he say? – whispered the Train Manager.

- Shh! – ordered the Station Master. - Do not make noise!

- My boy! - exclaimed the Fairy, who felt herself beginning to lose patience, as whenever she had to talk to people unaware of her noble titles. – My dear boy, I have very little time. Hurry up or leave me alone, or better yet, write me a good letter.

“But, signora, I already wrote to you,” the boy whispered hastily, afraid of losing courage.

- Oh, that's how it is! When?

- About a month ago.

- Let's see. What is your name?

– Monty Francesco.

- Quardicciolo...

- Hm... Monty, Monty... Here, Francesco Monti. Indeed, twenty-three days ago you asked me for an electric train as a gift. Why only the train? You could ask me for an airplane or an airship, or even better - an entire air fleet!

“But I like the train, Signora Fairy.”

- Oh, my dear boy, do you like the train?! Do you know that two days after your letter your mother came here...

- Yes, it was I who asked her to come. I asked her this way: go to the Fairy, I have already written everything to her, and she is so kind that she will not refuse us.

– I’m neither good nor bad. I work, but I can't work for free. Your mother didn't have money to pay for the train. She wanted to leave me an old watch in exchange for the train. But I can’t see them, these watches! Because they make time move faster. I also reminded her that she still had to pay me for the horse she borrowed last year. And for the top taken two years ago. Did you know about this?

No, the boy didn't know that. Mothers rarely share their troubles with their children.

“That’s why you didn’t get anything this year.” Do you understand? Don't you think I'm right?

“Yes, signora, you’re right,” Francesco muttered, “I just thought you forgot my address.”

– No, on the contrary, I remember him very well. You see, here I have it written down. And one of these days I will send my secretary to you to take money for last year’s toys.

The old maid who was listening to their conversation, hearing that she was called secretary, almost fainted and had to drink a glass of water to catch her breath.

– What an honor for me, Signora Baroness! - she said to her mistress when the boy left.

- Okay, I’ll bury you! – the Fairy muttered rudely. - In the meantime, hang a sign on the door: “Closed until tomorrow” so that other annoying visitors do not come.

- Maybe we should lower the curtain?

- Yes, perhaps lower it. I see that there will not be good trading today.

The maid ran to follow orders. Francesco was still standing at the store, with his nose buried in the window, and waited without knowing what. The curtain almost hit him on the head as it came down. Francesco buried his nose in the dusty curtain and began to sob.

In the window, these sobs produced an extraordinary effect. One after another, the dolls also began to cry and cried so much that the Captain could not stand it and cursed:

- What kind of monkeys! We've already learned to cry! “He spat on the deck and grinned: “A thousand oblique whales!” Cry over a train! Yes, I wouldn’t trade my sailboat for all the trains of everyone railways peace.

The Great Chief Silver Feather took his pipe out of his mouth, which he had to do every time he wanted to say something, and said:

- Captain Halfbeard doesn't tell the truth. He is very excited about the poor white child.

- What am I? Explain to me, please, what does “excited” mean?

- This means that one side of the face is crying, and the other is ashamed of it.

The captain chose not to turn around, since his beardless half of his face was actually crying.

- Shut up, old rooster! - he shouted. “Or I’ll come down and pluck you like the Christmas turkey!”

And for a long time he continued to spew out curses, so flowery that the General, deciding that war was about to begin, ordered the cannons to be loaded. But Silver Feather took the pipe into his mouth and fell silent, and then even dozed off sweetly. By the way, he always slept with a pipe in his mouth.

Chapter IV. THE STATION MANAGER DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO

The next day Francesco returned, and his sad eyes were again fixed on the Blue Arrow. He came both on the second day and on the third. Sometimes he would stop at the display case for just a few minutes and then, without looking back, he would run away. Sometimes I stood in front of the display window for long hours. His nose was pressed against the glass, and his light brown forelock hung down onto his forehead. He looked affectionately at the other toys, but it was clear that his heart belonged to the wonderful train.

The Station Master, the Train Manager and the Driver were very proud of this and looked around with an important look, but no one was offended at them for this.

All the inhabitants of the display case were in love with their Francesco. Other children came and also looked at the toys for a long time, but the inhabitants of the display case hardly noticed them. If Francesco didn't show up at the usual time. The Station Master walked nervously back and forth along the rails, casting anxious glances at his watch. The captain cursed. The seated Pilot leaned out of the airplane, risking falling, and the Silver Feather forgot to smoke, so his pipe went out every minute, and he spent whole boxes of matches to relight it.

And so all the days, all the months, all the year.

The fairy received whole stacks of letters every day, which she carefully read, making notes and calculations. But there were so many letters that it took half a day just to open the envelopes, and in the window they realized that Boxing Day was approaching - New Year.

Poor Francesco! Every day his face became more and more sad. Something had to be done for him. Everyone was waiting for the Head of the Blue Arrow Station to offer something, suggest some idea. But he just took off and put on his beret with five stripes or looked at the toes of his boots, as if he was seeing them for the first time.

Chapter V. THE IDEA OF A BUTTON

The idea - who would have thought - was given by a rag dog - Poor Button. Nobody ever paid attention to him, because, firstly, it was difficult to understand what breed he was, and secondly, he was silent all the time, like a fish. Button was timid and afraid to open his mouth. If any thought came into his head, he thought for a long time before telling it to his friends. But who could he be talking to? The dolls were too elegant gentlemen to pay attention to a dog belonging to God knows what breed. The lead soldiers would not refuse to talk to him, but the officers, of course, would not allow them to do so. In general, everyone had some reason not to notice the rag dog, and he was forced to remain silent. And do you know what came of it? He has forgotten how to bark...

So this time, when he opened his mouth to explain his brilliant idea to them, such a strange sound was heard, halfway between a cat's meow and a donkey's bray, that the entire storefront burst into laughter.

Only Silver Feather did not laugh, because redskins never laugh. And when the others had finished laughing, he took the pipe out of his mouth and said:

- Sirs, listen to everything that Button says. The dog always talks a little and thinks a lot. Who thinks a lot, says a wise thing.

Hearing the compliment, Button blushed from head to tail, cleared his throat and finally explained his idea.

- This boy... Francesco... Do you think he will receive any gift from the Fairy this year?

“I don’t think so,” answered the Station Master. “His mother doesn’t come here anymore, and she doesn’t write letters anymore—I always keep a close eye on the mail.”

“Well,” continued Button, “it also seems to me that Francesco will not receive anything.” But to tell you the truth, I wouldn't want to go to any other boy.

“Me too,” muttered the Yellow Bear, scratching the back of his head.

“We too,” said the three Puppets, who all spoke in unison.

“What will you say,” the dog continued, “if we give him a surprise?”

- Ha ha ha, surprise! – the dolls laughed. - Which one?

“Shut up,” ordered the Captain, “women should always keep quiet.”

“I beg your pardon,” shouted the Sitting Pilot, “don’t make so much noise, otherwise you won’t hear anything above!” Let the Button do the talking.

“We know his name,” said Button when silence was restored. - We know his address. Why don't we all go to him?

- To whom? – asked one of the dolls.

- To Francesco.

There was silence for a moment, then a lively discussion unfolded: everyone shouted their own, not listening to what others were saying.

- But this is a riot! – exclaimed the General. “There’s no way I can afford something like that.” I suggest you obey my orders!

- And go where the Fairy takes us? Then Francesco will not receive anything this year either, because his name is written in the debt book...

- A thousand whales!..

“However,” the Station Master intervened, “we know the address, but we don’t know the road.”

“I thought about it,” Button whispered timidly, “I can find the way by instinct.”

Now it was necessary not to chat, but to make a decision. Everyone looked towards the Artillery General.

For some time the General, scratching his chin, paced in front of his five cannons lined up in battle formation, then said:

- Fine. I will cover the movement with my troops. Frankly, I don’t really like being under the command of the old Fairy either...

- Hurray! - the artillerymen shouted.

The riflemen's band began to play a march capable of raising the dead, and the Engineer turned on the locomotive's whistle and blew it until everyone was almost deaf.

The hike was scheduled for the next New Year's Eve. At midnight, the Fairy was supposed to come to the store, as usual, to fill her basket with toys... But the display case would be empty.

– Imagine what kind of face she will have! – the Captain grinned, spitting on the deck of his sailboat.

And the next evening...

Chapter VI. NEXT EVENING

The first thing the toys had to solve was how to get out of the store. It turned out that they were unable to cut through the curtain, as the Chief Engineer had suggested. And the store door was locked with three locks.

“I thought about that too,” said Button.

Everyone looked with admiration at the little rag puppy, who had been thinking for a whole year without saying a single word.

– Do you remember the warehouse? Remember the pile of empty boxes in the corner? Well, I was there and discovered a hole in the wall. On the other side of the wall is a cellar with a ladder that leads to the street.

- And how do you know all this?

“We dogs have this disadvantage of sticking our noses everywhere.” Sometimes this disadvantage can be useful.

“Very good,” the General objected sharply, “but I can’t imagine how you can lower artillery into the warehouse down all these stairs.” A Blue Arrow? Have you ever seen a train going down stairs?

Silver Feather took the pipe out of his mouth. Everyone fell silent expectantly.

“White people always quarrel and forget the Sitting Pilot.”

What do you mean by this, great leader?

The seated pilot transports everyone on the airplane.

Indeed, this was the only way to go down to the warehouse. The Sitting Pilot liked the proposal:

– A dozen flights – and the transition is made!

The dolls were already looking forward to the pleasure of traveling on an airplane, but Silver Feather disappointed them:

- He who has legs does not need wings.

Thus, everyone who had legs went down themselves, and the artillery, wagons and sailboat were transported by plane.

But the Captain refused to leave the bridge even during the flight. To the envy of the General and the Station Master, who were descending the steep steps, the Captain was flying above their heads.

The last one to come down was the Motorcyclist-Acrobat. For him, riding his motorcycle down the stairs was like drinking a glass of water.

He was still halfway there when a maid shouted from the store:

- Help, help! Signora Baroness, thieves, robbers!

- All the toys were stolen from the display case!

But the Chief Engineer of “Constructor” had already broken through the warehouse door, and the fugitives rushed into a corner littered with a heap of empty boxes. As soon as they disappeared, the footsteps of two old women were heard, who hastily ran down the stairs and poked their noses into the locked door.

- Quickly, the keys! - the Fairy shouted.

“The lock won’t open, Signora Baroness.”

- They locked themselves from the inside! Well, they can't get out of there. We'll have to sit here and wait until they give up.

Needless to say. The fairy was a brave old lady. But this time her courage was useless. Our fugitives, following the Button, who showed the way, had already crossed the mountain of empty boxes and, one after another, made their way through a hole in the wall into the neighboring basement.

This was not the first time for Blue Arrow to go through tunnels. The Station Master and the Train Manager took seats next to the Driver, the smallest dolls, who were already getting tired, sat down in the carriages, and the wonderful train, whistling softly, entered the tunnel.

It was more difficult to drag a sailboat through the hole, which could only move on water. But the “Constructor” workers took care of this. They instantly built a cart on eight wheels and loaded the ship and the Captain onto it.

They made it just in time.

The fairy, tired of waiting, pushed the door open with her shoulder and began to search the warehouse.

-What a strange story! – trembling with fear, the old woman muttered.

- There is no one, Signora Baroness! – the maid squealed, clinging to her mistress’s skirt in fear.

– I see that myself. And there is no need to tremble.

“I’m not trembling, Signora Baroness.” Maybe an earthquake is to blame?

“The Blue Arrow has disappeared,” the Fairy whispered sadly. – Disappeared without leaving any traces.

Let's leave the poor old women for a while and follow our friends. They had no idea what adventures awaited them ahead. I know them all from beginning to end. Some of them are scary, some are funny, and I will tell you everything in order.

Chapter VII. YELLOW BEAR GETS OUT AT THE FIRST STOP

Immediately on the other side of the wall, adventures began. The General raised the alarm. As you may have already noticed, the General had an ardent temperament and constantly got involved in all sorts of quarrels and incidents.

“My guns,” he said, twirling his mustache, “my guns are rusty.” It takes a little war to clean them out. It may be small, but you still need to shoot for at least a quarter of an hour.

This thought stuck in his head like a nail. As soon as the fugitives found themselves behind the wall of the warehouse. The general drew his sword and shouted:

- Alarm, alarm!

- What’s the matter, what happened? - the soldiers asked each other, who had not yet noticed anything.

“There’s an enemy on the horizon, can’t you see?” All to guns! Load the guns! Prepare to shoot!

An incredible commotion arose. The artillerymen lined up their cannons in battle formation, the riflemen loaded their guns, the officers shouted commands in sonorous voices and, imitating the General, twirled their mustaches.

- A thousand deaf and dumb whales! – the Captain barked from the height of his sailboat. - Order to immediately drag several cannons aboard my ship, otherwise they will let me sink.

The Blue Arrow driver took off his beret and scratched the back of his head:

“I don’t understand how you can go to the bottom here.” In my opinion, the only water here is in the washbasin, and there is a stone floor all around.

The Station Manager looked at him sternly.

“If Signor General says that the enemy has appeared, that means that it really is so.”

- I saw it, I saw it too! - shouted the Sitting Pilot, flying a little forward.

- What you see?

- The enemy! I'm telling you that I saw it with my own eyes!

The frightened dolls hid in the Blue Arrow carriages. Doll Rose complained:

- Oh, gentlemen, now the war will begin! I just styled my hair, and who knows what will happen to my hairstyle now!

The general ordered the alarm to sound.

- Shut up everyone! - he commanded. “Because of your chatter, the soldiers do not hear my orders.”

He was about to open fire when suddenly Button’s voice was heard.

- Stop! Please stop!

- What is it? Since when did dogs begin to command troops? Shoot him immediately! – ordered the General.

But Button was not afraid.

- Please, I beg you, hang up! I assure you, this is not really an enemy. It's just a baby, a sleeping baby!

- Child?! – exclaimed the General. – What does a child do on the battlefield?

- But, Signor General, we are not on the battlefield - that’s the whole point. We're in the basement, can't you see? Sirs, I will ask you to look around. We are, as I said, in a basement from which you can go outside. It turns out that this basement is inhabited. And in the depths of it, where the fire is burning, there is a bed, and in the bed a boy is sleeping. Do you really want to wake him up with shots?

- The dog is right. I see the child and not see the enemy.

“This is, of course, some kind of trick,” the General insisted, not wanting to give up the battle. “The enemy pretended to be an innocent and unarmed creature.

But who listened to him now?

Even the dolls came out of their hiding places and looked into the dimness of the basement.

“It’s true, it’s a child,” said one.

“This is an ill-mannered child,” said the third, “he sleeps and holds his finger in his mouth.”

In the basement, near the walls, there was old, tattered furniture, a tattered straw mattress lay on the floor, a basin with a broken edge, an extinguished fireplace, and a bed in which a child slept. Apparently his parents went to work, or maybe they were begging, and the child was left alone. He went to bed, but did not turn off the small kerosene lamp that stood on the nightstand. Perhaps he was afraid of the dark, or perhaps he liked to look at the large, wavering shadows that the lamp cast on the ceiling. And, looking at these shadows, he fell asleep.

Our brave General was endowed with a rich imagination: he mistook a kerosene lamp for the lights of an enemy camp and raised the alarm.

– A thousand newborn whales! – thundered the Half-Bearded Captain, nervously stroking the beardless half of his chin. “And I thought that a pirate ship had appeared on the horizon.” But unless my telescope deceives me, this child does not look like a pirate. He has no grappling hooks, no black eyepatch, no black pirate flag with a skull and crossbones. It seems to me that this brigantine is floating peacefully in the ocean of dreams.

The seated Pilot flew to reconnaissance right to the bed, flew two or three times directly over the boy, who waved his hand in his sleep, as if driving away an annoying fly, and, returning, reported:

- There is no danger, Signor General. The enemy, excuse me, I meant to say, the child fell asleep.

“Then we will take him by surprise,” the General announced.

But this time the cowboys were indignant:

– Capture the child? Is this really what our lassos are designed for? We catch wild horses and bulls, not children. On the first cactus we will hang anyone who dares to harm a child!

With these words, they set their horses into a gallop and surrounded the General, ready to lasso him at any moment.

“I was just saying that,” the General grumbled. - You can’t even joke a little. You have no imagination!

The column of fugitives approached the bed. I will not assure you that all hearts beat calmly. Some dolls had not yet recovered from the fright and were hiding behind others, for example, behind the back of the Yellow Bear. His little brain made of sawdust thought very slowly. He did not perceive the events taking place immediately, but in the order of their sequence. If it was necessary to understand two things at the same time, the Yellow Bear immediately began to have a terrible headache. But he had good eyesight. He was the first to see that a small sleeping boy was mistaken for the enemy. The little bear immediately had the desire to jump on the bed and play with him. He didn’t even think about the fact that sleeping boys don’t play with bear cubs, even toy ones.

On the nightstand next to the lamp lay a piece of paper folded into four. On one side of it in capital letters the address was written.

“I guarantee you that this is a coded message,” said the General, who already suspected the boy of being an enemy spy.

“Perhaps,” agreed the Station Manager. - But, one way or another, we still couldn’t read it. It is not addressed to us. Do you see? It says here: "Signora Fairy."

“Very interesting,” said the General. – The letter is addressed to Signora Fairy, that is, our mistress. Or maybe the boy is telling her information about us? Maybe he was watching us? We must read this letter at all costs!

“You can’t,” the Station Manager persisted. – This is a violation of postal secrecy.

But, oddly enough, this time Silver Feather agreed with the General.

“Read it,” he said unexpectedly and put his pipe into his mouth again.

This turned out to be enough. The general climbed onto a chair, unfolded the piece of paper, cleared his throat, as if he was about to announce a decree about the beginning of the war, and began to read:

“Signora Fairy, I heard about you for the first time this year; I had never received gifts from anyone before. This evening I do not put out the lamp and hope to see you when you come here. Then I will tell you what kind of toy I would like to get. I'm afraid to fall asleep and that's why I'm writing this letter. I beg you, Signora Fairy, do not refuse me: I am a good boy, that’s what everyone says, and I will be even better if you make me happy. Otherwise, why should I be a good boy? Your Giampaolo."

The toys held their breath, and only one doll sighed so much that everyone turned around and looked at her, and she became very embarrassed.

– What does it mean to become bad? – asked the doll Rose.

But no one answered her, and the other dolls pulled her skirt to keep her quiet.

“Something needs to be done,” said the Station Master.

“A volunteer is needed,” the Colonel prompted.

At this time, a strange cough was heard. When people cough like that, it means they want to say something, but are afraid.

- Speak up boldly! - shouted the Pilot, who was always the first to see what happened from above.

“So,” said the Yellow Bear, coughing again to hide his embarrassment, “to tell the truth, I don’t like too long trips.” I'm already tired of wandering around the world and would like to rest. Don't you think I could stay here?

Poor Yellow Bear! He wanted to pass himself off as a cunning man, he wanted to hide his kind heart. Who knows why people with good hearts always try to hide it from others?

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, “or I’ll turn into a red bear.” It seems to me that on this bed I can have a wonderful nap waiting for the dawn, and you will wander the streets in such cold and look for Francesco.

“Okay,” said the Captain, “stay here.” Children and bears live together because they have at least one thing in common: they always want to play.

Everyone agreed and began to say goodbye. Everyone wanted to shake the Yellow Bear's paw and wish him happiness. But at this time a loud, long beep was heard. The Station Master raised his whistle to his lips, the Train Master shouted:

- Hurry, gentlemen, to the carriages! Train departs! On to the carriages, gentlemen!

The dolls, afraid to fall behind the train, created an unimaginable commotion.

The shooters settled on the roofs of the carriages, and the Captain's sailboat was loaded onto the platform.

The train started moving slowly.

The basement door was open and opened into a dark, narrow alley. The Yellow Bear Cub, perched near the pillow, next to Giampaolo's head, looked with some sadness at his comrades, who were slowly moving away. The little bear sighed so much that the boy’s hair moved as if from a breath of wind.

“Hush, hush, my friend,” Little Bear said to himself, “don’t wake him.”

The boy did not wake up, but a slight smile flashed on his lips.

“He’s dreaming,” Little Bear said to himself. - He sees in a dream that right now the Fairy passed near him, putting a gift on his chair, and the breeze raised by her long skirt ruffled his hair. I'm willing to bet that's what he's seeing now. But who knows what gift the Fairy will give him in a dream?

And so the Little Bear embarked on a trick that would never have occurred to you: he leaned down to the boy’s ear and quietly began to whisper:

– The fairy has already come and left you the Yellow Bear. Wonderful Little Bear, I assure you! I know him well, because I have seen him in the mirror so many times. A key sticks out of his back to wind up the spring, and when it is wound up, Little Bear dances, like bears dance at fairs and in the circus. Now I'll show you.

With great difficulty, the Yellow Bear reached the spring and wound it up. At that same moment, he felt that something strange was happening to him. At first a shiver ran down Little Bear’s back, and he felt incredibly cheerful. Then a trembling ran through his legs, and they themselves began to dance.

Yellow Bear has never danced so well. The boy laughed in his sleep and woke up laughing. He batted his eyelashes to get used to the light, and when he saw the Yellow Bear, he realized that the dream had not deceived him. While dancing, Little Bear winked at him, as if saying: “You’ll see, we’ll be friends.”

And for the first time in his life Giampaolo felt happy.

Chapter VIII. CHIEF ENGINEER CONSTRUCTS A BRIDGE

The alley went uphill, but Blue Arrow easily overcame the rise and drove out into a large square just in front of the Fairy's store. The driver leaned out of the window and asked:

-Which direction should we go now?

Right all the time! - the General shouted. – Frontal attack is the most best tactic to overthrow the enemy!

-What enemy? – asked the Station Master. – Please stop your inventions. On the train, you are a passenger like everyone else. It's clear? The train will go where I say!

“Okay,” replied the Engine Driver, “but speak quickly, because we are about to crash into the sidewalk.”

- So, to the right! – said the Station Manager.

And the Blue Arrow turned right at full speed. The seated Pilot flew at a height of two meters from the ground so as not to lose sight of the train. He tried to climb higher, but almost stumbled upon the tram wires.

Silent cowboys and Indians galloped to the right and left of the train and looked like bandits surrounding it.

“Hm-hm,” said the General incredulously, “I’ll bet my epaulets against the holey soldo that this journey will not end well.” These riders have a very unreliable appearance. At the first stop I will move to the platform where my guns are located.

Just at that moment, Button's screams were heard. Obviously, he sensed some kind of danger. But it was already too late. The driver did not have time to brake, and the Blue Arrow entered a deep puddle at full speed. The water rose almost to the level of the windows. The dolls got very scared and moved to the switchers, onto the roofs of the cars.

“We’re on the ground,” said the Machinist, wiping sweat from his face.

“You mean we’re in the water,” the Captain corrected. “There’s nothing left to do but launch my sailboat into the water and take everyone on board.”

But the sailboat was too small. Then the Chief Engineer proposed to build a bridge.

“Before the bridge is built, we will be caught,” the Captain said, shaking his head.

However, there was no other choice. The Konstruktor workers, under the leadership of the Chief Engineer, began to build the bridge.

“We will lift the Blue Arrow with a crane and place it on the bridge,” the Engineer promised, “the passengers won’t even have to get out.”

With these words, he cast a proud glance at the dolls. They looked at him with admiration. Only the Nera doll remained faithful to her Pilot and did not take her eyes off him.

It is snowing. The water level in the puddle began to rise, and the Engineer’s complex calculations were nullified.

“It’s not an easy thing to build a bridge during a flood,” the Engineer said through clenched teeth. “But we’ll still try.”

To speed up work. The Colonel placed all his riflemen at the disposal of the Engineer. The bridge rose over the water. In the dark snowy night one could hear the clink of iron, the blows of hammers, and the creaking of wheelbarrows.

The Indians and cowboys crossed the pool on horseback and camped on the other side. Far below you could see a red dot, which either faded away or flashed brightly, like a firefly. It was the Silver Feather pipe.

Looking out of the carriage windows, passengers watched this red light, which shone like a distant hope.

The Three Puppets said in unison:

- It looks like a star!

These were sentimental Puppets: they managed to see the stars even on a snowy night. And perhaps they were happy, right?

But then shouts of “Hurray” began to ring out. The Chief Engineer's men and riflemen reached the shore - the bridge was ready!

A crane lifted the Blue Arrow and placed it on the bridge, which, like all railroad bridges, already had rails in place. The Station Master raised the green signal, giving the signal for departure, and the train moved forward with a slight grinding sound.

But before he could drive a few meters, the General raised the alarm again:

– Put out all the lights! There's an enemy plane above us!

– A thousand crazy whales! – exclaimed the Half-Bearded Captain. – Eat my beard if it’s not a Fairy!

With a menacing roar, a huge shadow descended onto the square. The fugitives could already distinguish the Fairy's broom and the two old women sitting on it.

The fairy, I must tell you, has almost come to terms with the loss of her best toys. She collected all the toys left in the closets and warehouse and went along her usual route, flying out of the chimney on a broom as always.

But she had not yet reached half the square when the exclamation of the maid forced her to turn back.

- Signora Baroness, look down!

- Where? Ah, I see, I see!.. But these are the headlights of the Blue Arrow!

“It seems to me that this is exactly so, Baroness.”

Wasting no time, the Fairy turned the handle of her broom to the southwest and dived straight into the light reflected in the water of the puddle.

This time the General raised the alarm not in vain. The lights were turned off. The driver turned on the engine at full speed and in an instant crossed the bridge. The platform on which the Captain's sailboat stood and the last two carriages barely had time to hit solid ground when the bridge collapsed with a roar.

Someone suggested that the Fairy began to bomb the bridge, but it turned out that it was the General, without warning anyone, who mined the bridge and blew it up.

“I’d rather swallow it piece by piece than leave it to the enemy!” – he exclaimed, twirling his mustache. The fairy had already descended almost to the water itself and was approaching the Blue Arrow with great speed.

- Quickly turn left! - one of the cowboys shouted.

Without waiting for the Station Master to confirm the order, the Driver turned left, so quickly that the train almost broke in half, and entered the dark entrance, in which the light of the Silver Feather pipe flickered.

The Blue Arrow was placed as close to the wall as possible, the entrance door was closed and bolted.

– I wonder if she saw us? – whispered the Captain.

But the Fairy did not notice them.

- Strange! – she muttered at that moment, describing circles over the square. – You might think that they were swallowed by the earth: there are no traces anywhere... Blue Arrow was the best toy in my store! – the Fairy continued with a sigh. “I don’t understand anything: maybe they ran away from thieves and are looking for a way home?” Who knows! But let's not waste time. Get to work! We have countless gifts to distribute. - And, turning the broom to the north, she disappeared into the snowfall.

Poor old lady! Imagine yourself in her place: her store was robbed just on New Year’s Eve, and she knows that in thousands of houses on this day, children hang a stocking on the fireplace so that in the morning they will find a Fairy’s gift in it.

Yes, there is something to grab your head for!.. And on top of that there is this snow: it hits you in the face, covers your eyes and ears. What a night, my lords, what a night!

Chapter IX. GOODBYE ROSE DOLL!

It’s as dark as an ink bottle here,” said the Station Master.

“The enemy can arrange any trap for us here,” the General added. -

Perhaps it's better to turn on the headlights.

The driver turned on the Blue Arrow's headlights. The fugitives looked around. They were in a hallway cluttered with empty fruit boxes. It was the entrance to a fruit store.

The dolls got out of the carriages, gathered in a corner and made an incredible noise there.

- A thousand chattering whales! – the Half-Bearded Captain grumbled. “These girls can’t keep quiet for a minute.”

- Oh, there's someone here! – the Rose doll exclaimed in her sweet voice, like the trill of a clarinet.

“It also seems to me that there are people here,” said the Machinist. – But who could have come up with the stupid idea of ​​sitting in the entrance on such a cold night? As for me, I would give the wheel of my locomotive for a good bed with a hot water bottle at my feet.

“It’s a girl,” the dolls spoke.

- Look, she's sleeping.

- How cold she was! She has icy skin.

The bravest dolls extended their hands to feel how cold the girl’s skin was. They did this very quietly, afraid to wake the girl, but she did not wake up.

- How ragged she is! Maybe she had a fight with someone?

“Or maybe her friends beat her, and now she’s afraid to return home in such dirty and torn clothes?”

Imperceptibly they began to speak louder, but the girl did not hear anything, remaining motionless and white as snow. She clasped her hands under her chin, as if wanting to warm herself, but her hands were also icy.

“Let’s try to warm her up,” suggested the doll Rose.

She gently touched the girl’s hands with her little hands and began to rub them. Useless. The girl's hands were like two pieces of ice. One shooter came down from the roof of the carriage and approached the girl.

“Uh-uh,” he drawled, glancing at the little girl, “I’ve seen a lot of girls like that...”

- Do you know her? - asked the dolls.

– Do I know her? No, I don’t know this particular one, but I’ve met people similar to her. This is a girl from a poor family, and that's all.

-Like the boy from the basement?

- Even poorer, even poorer. This girl has no home. The snow caught her outside, and she took refuge in the entrance so as not to die from the cold.

– Is she sleeping now?

“Yes, he’s sleeping,” answered the soldier. “But she has a strange dream.”

- What are you trying to say?

“I don’t think she’ll ever wake up.”

- Don't talk nonsense! – the doll Rose resolutely objected. – Why shouldn’t she wake up? But I will stay here until she wakes up. I'm already tired of traveling. I'm a house doll and I don't like wandering the streets at night. I will stay with this girl and when she wakes up, I will go with her.

The Rose doll has completely transformed. Where has her stupid and boastful appearance gone, which so irritated the Half-bearded Captain! An amazing fire lit up in her eyes, and they became even bluer.

- I'll stay here! – Rose repeated decisively. “Of course, it’s not good for Francesco, but actually I don’t think he’s upset by my absence.” Francesco is a man, and he won’t even know what to do with the doll. You give him my regards and he will forgive me. And then, who knows, maybe this girl will go to visit Francesco, take me with her, and we will see each other again.

But why did she talk and talk endlessly, as if her throat was full of words and she had to throw them out so as not to choke?

Because she didn't want others to talk. She was afraid to hear a negative answer, afraid that she would have to leave the lonely girl in the dark entrance in such cold weather. But no one objected to her. Button went out to investigate from the entrance and, returning, announced that the road was clear and they could hit the road.

One by one, the fugitives boarded the train. The Head of the Station ordered us to travel with the lights turned off, just in case.

Blue Arrow slowly moved towards the exit.

- Bye Bye! – the toys whispered to the doll Rose.

The three Puppets all leaned out of the window together.

- Goodbye! - they shouted in unison. – We want to cry, but you know that this is impossible. We are made of wood and we have no heart. Goodbye!

And the Rose doll had a heart. In truth, she had never felt it before. But now, left alone in a dark, unfamiliar entrance, she felt deep, rapid beats in her chest and realized that it was her heart beating. And it beat so hard that the doll could not utter a word.

Through her heartbeats, she barely heard the sound of the wheels of the departing train. Then the noise died down and it seemed to her that someone said: “You won’t see your friends again, little one.”

She became very scared, but the fatigue and anxiety suffered during the journey made themselves felt. The Rose doll closed her eyes. And why was there any need to keep them open? After all, it was so dark that she couldn’t even see the tip of her nose. Closing her eyes, she quietly fell asleep.

That’s how the gatekeeper found them in the morning: hugging like sisters, a frozen girl and a doll Rose were sitting on the floor.

The doll did not understand why all these people had gathered in the entrance, and looked at them in bewilderment. Real live carabinieri came, so big it was simply terrifying.

The girl was carried into the car and driven away. The Rose doll still did not understand why the girl did not wake up: after all, she had never seen the dead before.

One carabinieri took her with him and carried her to the commander. The commander had a girl, and the commander took a doll for her.

But the doll Rose did not stop thinking about the frozen girl near whom she spent New Year's Eve. And every time she thought about her, she felt her heart freeze.

Chapter X. HEROIC DEATH OF A GENERAL

Lowering his muzzle to the very ground. The button ran in front of the locomotive. Snow covered the pavement with a thick blanket. It became more and more difficult to find the smell of Francesco’s torn shoes under the snow. Button often stopped, looked around hesitantly, went back, changed direction.

“Perhaps Francesco stopped here to play?” - the dog said to himself. “That’s why the tracks are so confusing.”

The driver, squinting his eyes, slowly drove the train behind the Button. Passengers on the train began to freeze.

“We need to go faster,” the Captain hurried. “I’m afraid that with this move we will only arrive next year or we will be crushed by the first tram in the morning.”

The tracks went in zigzags, and the Blue Arrow had to climb onto the sidewalks, descend from them, describe curves across squares, and cross the same street three or four times.

- What a way to wander the streets! – the Station Master grumbled. “They teach and teach children that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but as soon as they go outside, they immediately begin to wander around in a circle.” Take this Francesco: on a ten-meter journey, he crossed the street ten times. I'm surprised he didn't get hit by a car.

Button tirelessly searched for traces of Francesco in the snow. He felt almost no cold or fatigue, and on the way he mentally spoke to Francesco, as if he could hear him: “We are all coming to you, Francesco! It will be a wonderful surprise for you. You will see".

He was so carried away by his mental conversation with Francesco that he did not notice that the traces had disappeared somewhere. He scoured in all directions, but could not find them. The trail ended here, in the middle of this narrow, dimly lit street, and not in front of the entrance or somewhere on the sidewalk.

“Incredible! - thought Button. “Couldn’t he have risen into the air?”

- What happened there? - shouted the General, who imagined enemies everywhere.

“The button will never find traces of Francesco,” the Machinist said calmly.

There was a general groan. The dolls already saw themselves buried under the snow in the middle of the street.

– A thousand frozen whales! - exclaimed Half-Beard. – This is just what we lacked!

- It was stolen! – the General said excitedly.

-Who was stolen?

- Child, damn it! Our Francesco! His tracks reach the middle of the street and end there. What does this mean?

“The child was lifted into the air, thrown into the car and taken away.

- But who could have stolen it? Who needs a child?

Sitting Pilot came to the rescue. He offered to fly on reconnaissance, and since no one could come up with anything better, the Pilot's offer was accepted. The plane gained altitude. For some time he was still visible in the faint light of a street lamp, but now he disappeared from view, and soon the noise of the engine died down.

“I guarantee that the boy was stolen,” the General continued to insist. “This means that danger threatens all of us.” Come to me, soldiers! Load up your cannons quickly, place them along the train and get ready to open fire!

The artillerymen grumbled:

- May he catch a cold! Charge and discharge all night! And the charges are already wet and will not explode even if they are thrown into Vesuvius!

- Be silent! – the General shouted at them.

The gunners, standing motionless on the roofs of the cars, looked down on their brothers, who were sweating, carrying heavy guns.

“Lucky artillerymen! - thought the shooters. “They’re working, but we’re already covered in snow up to our knees.” It won’t be long before we turn into snow statues!”

The musicians were also in despair: snow had accumulated in the pipes and clogged them.

Then something incomprehensible happened: as soon as the first cannon was removed from the platform, it disappeared under the snow. The second one fell through, as if there was a lake underneath it. The earth also swallowed the third cannon. In short, as soon as the cannon was lowered from the platform, it disappeared under the snow.

- What is this... This is... - the General was speechless from surprise and indignation. He knelt down and began to tear apart the snow with his hands.

And then everything became clear. It turned out that the cannons were placed directly on a hole covered with snow and they fell into the water that gurgled under the snow.

The general remained on his knees, as if struck by lightning. He tore off his beret, began to tear the hair on his head, and perhaps would have torn off his skin if he had not heard that the artillerymen were laughing.

- Unhappy ones! The best, only guns of our army fell into the enemy’s trap, and you laugh! Don't you understand that we are now unarmed? Everyone is under arrest! Upon your return to the barracks, you will all appear before a military tribunal!

The gunners immediately assumed a serious look, but continued to tremble with barely suppressed laughter.

“Not so bad,” they thought, “at least we won’t have to load and unload the guns anymore!” Let Signor General shout as much as he pleases. We’re fine without guns: less work.”

The general seemed to have aged twenty years. His hair turned white, perhaps also because he took off his beret and snow fell on his head at a speed of a centimeter per second.

The stones would shed tears at this scene! But, unfortunately, the stones could not see this: after all, they themselves were under the snow.

- Everything is over! - the General sobbed. - It's over! I have nothing else to do!

He felt as if he had been eating a wonderful cake and suddenly, somehow, all the sweetness had disappeared, and he found himself chewing something like tasteless cardboard. Without guns, the General's life was tasteless, like food without salt.

He continued to kneel motionless, not paying attention to all requests, and did not even shake off the snow.

“Signor General, snow is falling on you,” the artillerymen noticed and wanted to shake the snow off his shoulders.

– Leave me, leave me alone!

- After all, the snow will completely cover you. He has already reached his knees.

- Doesn't matter.

- Signor General, the snow is already up to your chest.

– I don’t feel cold. My heart is now colder than snow.

In an instant, the General was almost completely covered in snow. For some time his mustache was still visible, but then it disappeared. Instead of the General, there was a snow statue, a statue of a kneeling General, clutching his hands to the edges of the hole into which his guns had fallen. Poor General, what a disaster!

In my opinion, he did not deserve such a fate, although he desired it. No one stopped him from getting up, shaking off the snow and taking refuge in the carriage. Being a General, he had the right to travel in a first class carriage. However, he chose to turn into a snow statue.

But let's leave the General to his cold fate. Farewell, Signor General! We won't forget you.

I'm good! I’m wasting time on the General’s wake when the passengers of the Blue Arrow are in serious trouble. This time we are talking about the Cat. A real, not toy Cat, the size of two whole Blue Arrow cars.

While we were all looking at the General and our thoughts were occupied with his self-sacrifice, a terrible predator quietly crept up in the snow, looked at everyone with her green eyes and chose prey.

Have you forgotten about the Canary in the Cage, who jumped on his spring and sang “chick-chick” all the time? Well, I’ll just add that the cage with the Canary was hung outside the Blue Arrow’s window. Actually, the cage was supposed to hang in the carriage, but Canary got so tired of everyone with her incessant singing that the cage was hung outside.

The cat noticed the careless Canary and decided to feast on her.

“I’ll break the cage with one blow of my paw,” she thought.

And so it happened.

“With one more blow I will silence the Canary,” thought the Cat.

But it didn't work out that way.

The canary felt the sharp claws slide along its wings and let out a desperate “chick-chick.”

Then something cracked, clicked - and the straightened spring hit the aggressor painfully on the nose.

Half-blind from pain and frightened by an unexpected blow - who could have expected such energetic defense from Canary? - The cat got away. The cowboys tried to pursue her for some time, but their horses fell into the snow and could not run quickly.

Yes, this time the Cat received a blow to the nose instead of prey. But poor Canary lay in the snow, all mutilated.

A steel spring protruded from under her wings. The open beak fell silent forever.

Within minutes, Blue Arrow lost two of its passengers.

The third - the Seated Pilot - at that moment was flying to an unknown location in his plane. Or maybe a gust of wind had already hit him against the chimney? Or did he collapse to the ground under the weight of snow clinging to the weak wings of his plane? Who knows?

The canary was buried under the snow with military honors. The shooters shook the snow out of their pipes and played a funeral march. To tell the truth, the sound of the trumpets was somehow cold: it seemed that the music was coming from afar, from a neighboring street. But still it was better than nothing.

However, Canary's story does not end there. Her Blue Arrow friends do not know the rest of the story, because after burying Canary they resumed their night march. But I stayed here for a while and saw the night watchman get off his bicycle, the wheel of which had collided with the Canary’s cage.

The night watchman picked it up, hung it from the bicycle and then, right in the middle of the street, tried to set the spring. What two skillful hands can’t do! A few minutes later the Canary’s “chick-chick” sounded, a little muffled, but this made it even more cheerful and carefree.

“My son will like her,” thought the night watchman. “I’ll tell him that the Fairy gave me the Canary.” I’ll say that I met her on the street at night and she conveyed her greetings and wishes for a cheerful, happy life.”

That's what the night watchman thought. Maybe he was thinking about something else, but I don’t have time to tell you about it, because I have to continue the story of the adventures of the Blue Arrow.

Chapter XI. FLIGHT OF A SEATED PILOT

- Are we all here? No, the Sitting Pilot is missing, who went in his airplane to search for traces of Francesco. It was a dangerous flight: the weather was completely unflying.

Trying to stay in the middle of the street so as not to get tangled in electrical wires or bump into a building. The seated Pilot thought with envy about the Fairy:

“I wonder how this old lady flies on her broom, if I’m on a plane of the latest design and every minute I risk crashing to the ground?.. I would like to know,” the valiant aviator continued to himself, “which way should I head now? Nothing is visible either above or below, neither to the left nor to the right, and I don’t believe that Francesco left any traces in the clouds. In my opinion, we need to go lower."

He began to descend, but immediately had to gain altitude again so as not to land on the head of the night watchman, who was quickly riding along the street on his bicycle. Perhaps it was the same watchman who found the Canary.

The fairy was an old lady, very well-bred and noble, almost a baroness.

“They call me,” she sometimes muttered to herself, “just the Fairy, and I don’t protest: after all, you need to have leniency towards the ignorant.” But I'm almost a baroness; decent people know this.

“Yes, Signora Baroness,” the maid assented.

“I’m not a 100% baroness, but I’m not so far short of her.” And the difference is almost invisible. Is not it?

- Invisible, Signora Baroness. And decent people don’t notice her...

It was just the first morning of the new year. All night long the Fairy and her maid traveled across the rooftops, delivering gifts. Their dresses were covered with snow and icicles.

“Light the stove,” said the Fairy, “you need to dry your clothes.” And put the broom in its place: now for a whole year you don’t have to think about flying from roof to roof, especially with such a north wind.

The maid put the broom back, grumbling:

- Nice little thing - flying on a broom! This is in our time when airplanes were invented! I already caught a cold because of this.

“Prepare me a glass of flower infusion,” the Fairy ordered, putting on her glasses and sitting down in the old leather chair that stood in front of the desk.

“Right now, Baroness,” said the maid.

The fairy looked at her approvingly.

“She’s a little lazy,” thought the Fairy, “but she knows the rules of good manners and knows how to behave with the lady of my circle. I will promise her to increase her salary. In fact, of course, I won’t give her an increase, and there’s not enough money anyway.”

It must be said that the Fairy, for all her nobility, was rather stingy. Twice a year she promised the old maid an increase in wages, but limited herself to promises alone. The maid had long been tired of listening only to words; she wanted to hear the clink of coins. Once she even had the courage to tell the Baroness about this. But the Fairy was very indignant:

– Coins and coins! - she said, sighing, - Ignorant people only think about money. And how bad it is that you not only think, but also talk about it! Apparently, teaching you good manners is like feeding a donkey sugar.

The fairy sighed and buried herself in her books.

- So, let's bring the balance. Things are not good this year, there is not enough money. Of course, everyone wants to receive good gifts from the Fairy, and when it comes to paying for them, everyone starts bargaining. Everyone tries to borrow money, promising to pay it back later, as if the Fairy were some kind of sausage maker. However, today there is nothing particularly to complain about: all the toys that were in the store have sold out, and now we will need to bring new ones from the warehouse.

She closed the book and began to print out the letters she found in her mailbox.

- I knew it! – she spoke. – I risk getting pneumonia delivering my goods, and no thanks! This one didn't want a wooden saber - give him a pistol! Does he know that the gun costs a thousand lire more? Another, imagine, wanted to get an airplane! His father is a doorman for the courier secretary of a lottery employee, and he only had three hundred lire to buy a gift. What could I give him for such pennies?

The fairy threw the letters back into the box, took off her glasses and called:

- Teresa, is the broth ready?

- Ready, ready, Signora Baroness.

And the old maid handed the baroness a steaming glass.

– Did you pour a drop of rum in here?

- Two whole spoons!

– One would be enough for me... Now I understand why the bottle is almost empty. Just think, we bought it only four years ago!

Sipping the boiling drink in small sips and managing not to get burned, as only old gentlemen can do.

The fairy wandered around her little kingdom, carefully checking every corner of the kitchen, the store and the small wooden staircase that led to the second floor, where there was a bedroom.

How sad the store looked with drawn curtains, empty display cases and cabinets, littered with boxes without toys and piles of wrapping paper!

“Prepare the keys to the warehouse and a candle,” said the fairy, “we need to bring new toys.”

- But, Signora Baroness, do you want to work even today, on the day of your holiday? Do you really think that anyone will come shopping today? After all, New Year's Eve, Fairy Night, has already passed...

– Yes, but until next New Year’s Eve there are only three hundred and sixty-five days left.

I must tell you that Fairy's store remained open throughout the year and its windows were always lit. Thus, children had enough time to fall in love with this or that toy, and parents had time to make their calculations in order to be able to order it.

And besides, there are also birthdays, and everyone knows that children consider these days very suitable for receiving gifts.

Now do you understand what the Fairy does from the first of January until the next New Year? She sits behind the window and looks at passers-by. She looks especially carefully at the faces of children. She immediately understands whether they like or dislike the new toy, and if they don’t like it, she removes it from the display and replaces it with another.

Oh, gentlemen, now something has come over me! It was like this when I was little. Who knows if the Fairy now has this store with a window filled with toy trains, dolls, rag dogs, guns, pistols, Indian figurines and puppets!

I remember it, this Fairy shop. How many hours did I spend at this display case, counting toys! It took a long time to count them, and I never managed to count to the end because I had to take the milk I bought home.

Chapter II. THE SHOW STINDOW IS FILLING

The warehouse was in the basement, which was located in the car; once under the store. The fairy and her maid had to go up and down the stairs twenty times to fill the cabinets and display cases with new toys.

Already on the third voyage, Teresa was tired.

“Signora,” she said, stopping in the middle of the stairs with a large bunch of dolls in her hands, “Signora Baroness, my heart is beating.”

“That’s good, my dear, that’s very good,” answered the Fairy, “it would be worse if it didn’t beat anymore.”

“My legs hurt, Signora Baroness.”

“Leave them in the kitchen, let them rest, especially since you can’t carry anything with your feet.”

- Signora Baroness, I don’t have enough air...

“I didn’t steal it from you, my dear, I have enough of my own.”

And indeed, it seemed that the Fairy never got tired. Despite her advanced age, she jumped up the steps as if dancing, as if she had springs hidden under her heels. At the same time, she continued to count.

“These Indians bring me an income of two hundred liras each, perhaps even three hundred liras.” Nowadays Indians are very fashionable. Don't you think this electric train is just a miracle?! I will call him Blue Arrow and I swear I will quit trading if from tomorrow hundreds of childish eyes do not devour him from morning to evening.

Indeed, it was a wonderful train, with two barriers, with a station and the Main Station Manager, with the Driver, and the Train Manager in glasses. After lying in the warehouse for so many months, the electric train was completely covered with dust, but the Fairy wiped it thoroughly with a cloth, and the blue paint sparkled like the water of an Alpine lake: the entire train, including the Station Master, the Train Manager and the Driver, was painted with blue paint.

When the Fairy wiped the dust from the Driver's eyes, he looked around and exclaimed:

– Finally I see! I feel like I was buried in a cave for months. So when do we leave? I'm ready.

A fairy tale about the adventures of toys that escaped from a fairy's store. They rush to a very poor boy, Francesco, to become his New Year's gift. Dolls, toys and puppets hit the road on the Blue Arrow toy train. IN big world they will see a lot of injustice and grief, they will understand that there are many poor children in the world, except Francesco, who will also be left without a gift...

Journey of the Blue Arrow read

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Journey of the Blue Arrow

Gianni Rodari

Journey of the Blue Arrow

SIGNORA FIVE MINUTES BARONESS

The fairy was an old lady, very well-bred and noble, almost a baroness.

They call me,” she sometimes muttered to herself, “simply Fairy, and I don’t protest: after all, you need to have leniency towards the ignorant. But I'm almost a baroness; decent people know this.

Yes, Signora Baroness,” the maid agreed.

I'm not a 100% Baroness, but I'm not so far short of her. And the difference is almost invisible. Is not it?

Unnoticed, Signora Baroness. And decent people don't notice her...

It was just the first morning of the new year. All night long the Fairy and her maid traveled across the rooftops, delivering gifts. Their dresses were covered with snow and icicles.

“Light the stove,” said the Fairy, “you need to dry your clothes.” And put the broom in its place: now for a whole year you don’t have to think about flying from roof to roof, especially with such a north wind.

The maid put the broom back, grumbling:

Nice little thing - flying on a broom! This is in our time when airplanes were invented! I already caught a cold because of this.

“Prepare me a glass of flower infusion,” the Fairy ordered, putting on her glasses and sitting down in the old leather chair that stood in front of the desk.

“Right now, Baroness,” said the maid.

The fairy looked at her approvingly.

“She’s a little lazy,” thought the Fairy, “but she knows the rules of good manners and knows how to behave with the lady of my circle. I will promise her to increase her salary. In reality, of course, I won’t increase her, and there’s not enough money anyway.” .

It must be said that the Fairy, for all her nobility, was rather stingy. Twice a year she promised the old maid an increase in wages, but limited herself to promises alone. The maid had long been tired of listening only to words; she wanted to hear the clink of coins. Once she even had the courage to tell the Baroness about this. But the Fairy was very indignant:

Coins and coins! - she said, sighing, “Ignorant people only think about money.” And how bad it is that you not only think, but also talk about it! Apparently, teaching you good manners is like feeding a donkey sugar.

The fairy sighed and buried herself in her books.

So, let's bring the balance. Things are not good this year, there is not enough money. Of course, everyone wants to receive good gifts from the Fairy, and when it comes to paying for them, everyone starts bargaining. Everyone tries to borrow money, promising to pay it back later, as if the Fairy were some kind of sausage maker. However, today there is nothing particularly to complain about: all the toys that were in the store have sold out, and now we will need to bring new ones from the warehouse.

She closed the book and began to print out the letters she found in her mailbox.

I knew it! - she spoke. - I risk getting pneumonia delivering my goods, and no gratitude! This one didn't want a wooden saber - give him a pistol! Does he know that the gun costs a thousand lire more? Another, imagine, wanted to get an airplane! His father is the doorman of the courier secretary of a lottery employee, and he only had three hundred lire to buy a gift. What could I give him for such pennies?

The fairy threw the letters back into the box, took off her glasses and called:

Teresa, is the broth ready?

Ready, ready, Signora Baroness.

And the old maid handed the baroness a steaming glass.

Did you put a drop of rum in there?

Two whole spoons!

One would be enough for me... Now I understand why the bottle is almost empty. Just think, we bought it only four years ago!

Sipping the boiling drink in small sips and managing not to get burned, as only old gentlemen can do. The fairy wandered around her little kingdom, carefully checking every corner of the kitchen, the store and the small wooden staircase that led to the second floor, where there was a bedroom.

How sad the store looked with drawn curtains, empty display cases and cabinets, littered with boxes without toys and piles of wrapping paper!

Prepare the keys to the warehouse and a candle, - said the fairy, - you need to bring new toys.

But, Madam Baroness, do you want to work even today, on the day of your holiday? Do you really think that anyone will come shopping today? After all, New Year's Eve, Fairy Night, has already passed...

Yes, but until next New Year's Eve there are only three hundred and sixty-five days left.

I must tell you that Fairy's store remained open throughout the year and its windows were always lit. Thus, children had enough time to fall in love with this or that toy, and parents had time to make their calculations in order to be able to order it.

And besides, there are also birthdays, and everyone knows that children consider these days very suitable for receiving gifts.

Now do you understand what the Fairy does from the first of January until the next New Year? She sits behind the window and looks at passers-by. She looks especially carefully at the faces of children. She immediately understands whether they like or dislike the new toy, and if they don’t like it, she removes it from the display and replaces it with another.

Oh, gentlemen, now something has come over me! It was like this when I was little. Who knows if the Fairy now has this store with a window filled with toy trains, dolls, rag dogs, guns, pistols, Indian figurines and puppets!

I remember it, this Fairy shop. How many hours did I spend at this display case, counting toys! It took a long time to count them, and I never managed to count to the end because I had to take the milk I bought home.

THE SHOW STINDOW IS FILLING

The warehouse was in the basement, which was located in the car; once under the store. The fairy and her maid had to go up and down the stairs twenty times to fill the cabinets and display cases with new toys.

Already on the third voyage, Teresa was tired.

Signora,” she said, stopping in the middle of the stairs with a large bunch of dolls in her hands, “Signora Baroness, my heart is beating.”

“That’s good, my dear, that’s very good,” answered the Fairy, “it would be worse if it didn’t beat anymore.”

My legs hurt, Signora Baroness.

Leave them in the kitchen, let them rest, especially since you can’t carry anything with your feet.

Signora Baroness, I don't have enough air...

I didn’t steal it from you, my dear, I have enough of my own.

And indeed, it seemed that the Fairy never got tired. Despite her advanced age, she jumped up the steps as if dancing, as if she had springs hidden under her heels. At the same time, she continued to count.

These Indians bring me an income of two hundred liras each, perhaps even three hundred liras. Nowadays Indians are very fashionable. Don't you think this electric train is just a miracle?! I will call him Blue Arrow and I swear I will quit trading if from tomorrow hundreds of childish eyes do not devour him from morning to evening.

Indeed, it was a wonderful train, with two barriers, with a station and the Main Station Manager, with the Driver, and the Train Manager in glasses. After lying in the warehouse for so many months, the electric train was completely covered with dust, but the Fairy wiped it thoroughly with a cloth, and the blue paint sparkled like the water of an Alpine lake: the entire train, including the Station Master, the Train Manager and the Driver, was painted with blue paint.

When the Fairy wiped the dust from the Driver's eyes, he looked around and exclaimed:

Finally I see! I feel like I was buried in a cave for months. So when do we leave? I'm ready.

Calm down, calm down,” the Train Manager interrupted him, wiping his glasses with a handkerchief. - The train will not move without my order.

Count the stripes on your beret,” said a third voice, “and you will see who is the eldest here.”

The Train Master counted his stripes. He had four. Then he counted the Station Master's stripes - five. The Train Manager sighed, hid his glasses and became quiet. The Station Master walked back and forth across the display window, waving the baton used to signal departure. A regiment of tin riflemen with a brass band and a Colonel lined up in the square in front of the station. A whole artillery battery headed by the General was located a little to the side.

Behind the station was a green plain and scattered hills. On the plain around the chief, whose name was Silver Feather, the Indians set up camp. At the top of the mountain, the cowboys on horseback held their lasso at the ready.

An airplane suspended from the ceiling swayed above the roof of the station: The pilot leaned out of the cockpit and looked down. I must tell you that this Pilot was made in such a way that he could not rise to his feet: he had no legs. It was the Sitting Pilot.

Page 3 of 8

Chapter VII. YELLOW BEAR GETS OUT AT THE FIRST STOP

Immediately on the other side of the wall, adventures began. The General raised the alarm. As you may have already noticed, the General had an ardent temperament and constantly got involved in all sorts of quarrels and incidents.

“My guns,” he said, twirling his mustache, “my guns are rusty.” It takes a little war to clean them out. It may be small, but you still need to shoot for at least a quarter of an hour.

This thought stuck in his head like a nail. As soon as the fugitives found themselves behind the wall of the warehouse. The general drew his sword and shouted:

- Alarm, alarm!

- What’s the matter, what happened? - the soldiers asked each other, who had not yet noticed anything.

“There’s an enemy on the horizon, can’t you see?” All to guns! Load the guns! Prepare to shoot!

An incredible commotion arose. The artillerymen lined up their cannons in battle formation, the riflemen loaded their guns, the officers shouted commands in sonorous voices and, imitating the General, twirled their mustaches.

- A thousand deaf and dumb whales! – the Captain barked from the height of his sailboat. - Order to immediately drag several cannons aboard my ship, otherwise they will let me sink.

The Blue Arrow driver took off his beret and scratched the back of his head:

“I don’t understand how you can go to the bottom here.” In my opinion, the only water here is in the washbasin, and there is a stone floor all around.

The Station Manager looked at him sternly.

“If Signor General says that the enemy has appeared, that means that it really is so.”

- I saw it, I saw it too! - shouted the Sitting Pilot, flying a little forward.

- What you see?

- The enemy! I'm telling you that I saw it with my own eyes!

The frightened dolls hid in the Blue Arrow carriages. Doll Rose complained:

- Oh, gentlemen, now the war will begin! I just styled my hair, and who knows what will happen to my hairstyle now!

The general ordered the alarm to sound.

- Shut up everyone! - he commanded. “Because of your chatter, the soldiers do not hear my orders.”

He was about to open fire when suddenly Button’s voice was heard.

- Stop! Please stop!

- What is it? Since when did dogs begin to command troops? Shoot him immediately! – ordered the General.

But Button was not afraid.

- Please, I beg you, hang up! I assure you, this is not really an enemy. It's just a baby, a sleeping baby!

- Child?! – exclaimed the General. – What does a child do on the battlefield?

- But, Signor General, we are not on the battlefield - that’s the whole point. We're in the basement, can't you see? Sirs, I will ask you to look around. We are, as I said, in a basement from which you can go outside. It turns out that this basement is inhabited. And in the depths of it, where the fire is burning, there is a bed, and in the bed a boy is sleeping. Do you really want to wake him up with shots?

- The dog is right. I see the child and not see the enemy.

“This is, of course, some kind of trick,” the General insisted, not wanting to give up the battle. “The enemy pretended to be an innocent and unarmed creature.

But who listened to him now?

Even the dolls came out of their hiding places and looked into the dimness of the basement.

“It’s true, it’s a child,” said one.

“This is an ill-mannered child,” said the third, “he sleeps and holds his finger in his mouth.”

In the basement, near the walls, there was old, tattered furniture, a tattered straw mattress lay on the floor, a basin with a broken edge, an extinguished fireplace, and a bed in which a child slept. Apparently his parents went to work, or maybe they were begging, and the child was left alone. He went to bed, but did not turn off the small kerosene lamp that stood on the nightstand. Perhaps he was afraid of the dark, or perhaps he liked to look at the large, wavering shadows that the lamp cast on the ceiling. And, looking at these shadows, he fell asleep.

Our brave General was endowed with a rich imagination: he mistook a kerosene lamp for the lights of an enemy camp and raised the alarm.

– A thousand newborn whales! – thundered the Half-Bearded Captain, nervously stroking the beardless half of his chin. “And I thought that a pirate ship had appeared on the horizon.” But unless my telescope deceives me, this child does not look like a pirate. He has no grappling hooks, no black eyepatch, no black pirate flag with a skull and crossbones. It seems to me that this brigantine is floating peacefully in the ocean of dreams.

The seated Pilot flew to reconnaissance right to the bed, flew two or three times directly over the boy, who waved his hand in his sleep, as if driving away an annoying fly, and, returning, reported:

- There is no danger, Signor General. The enemy, excuse me, I meant to say, the child fell asleep.

“Then we will take him by surprise,” the General announced.

But this time the cowboys were indignant:

– Capture the child? Is this really what our lassos are designed for? We catch wild horses and bulls, not children. On the first cactus we will hang anyone who dares to harm a child!

With these words, they set their horses into a gallop and surrounded the General, ready to lasso him at any moment.

“I was just saying that,” the General grumbled. - You can’t even joke a little. You have no imagination!

The column of fugitives approached the bed. I will not assure you that all hearts beat calmly. Some dolls had not yet recovered from the fright and were hiding behind others, for example, behind the back of the Yellow Bear. His little brain made of sawdust thought very slowly. He did not perceive the events taking place immediately, but in the order of their sequence. If it was necessary to understand two things at the same time, the Yellow Bear immediately began to have a terrible headache. But he had good eyesight. He was the first to see that a small sleeping boy was mistaken for the enemy. The little bear immediately had the desire to jump on the bed and play with him. He didn’t even think about the fact that sleeping boys don’t play with bear cubs, even toy ones.

On the nightstand next to the lamp lay a piece of paper folded into four. On one side of it was written the address in large letters.

“I guarantee you that this is a coded message,” said the General, who already suspected the boy of being an enemy spy.

“Perhaps,” agreed the Station Manager. - But, one way or another, we still couldn’t read it. It is not addressed to us. Do you see? It says here: "Signora Fairy."

“Very interesting,” said the General. – The letter is addressed to Signora Fairy, that is, our mistress. Or maybe the boy is telling her information about us? Maybe he was watching us? We must read this letter at all costs!

“You can’t,” the Station Manager persisted. – This is a violation of postal secrecy.

But, oddly enough, this time Silver Feather agreed with the General.

“Read it,” he said unexpectedly and put his pipe into his mouth again.

This turned out to be enough. The general climbed onto a chair, unfolded the piece of paper, cleared his throat, as if he was about to announce a decree about the beginning of the war, and began to read:

“Signora Fairy, I heard about you for the first time this year; I had never received gifts from anyone before. This evening I do not put out the lamp and hope to see you when you come here. Then I will tell you what kind of toy I would like to get. I'm afraid to fall asleep and that's why I'm writing this letter. I beg you, Signora Fairy, do not refuse me: I am a good boy, that’s what everyone says, and I will be even better if you make me happy. Otherwise, why should I be a good boy? Your Giampaolo."

The toys held their breath, and only one doll sighed so much that everyone turned around and looked at her, and she became very embarrassed.

– What does it mean to become bad? – asked the doll Rose.

But no one answered her, and the other dolls pulled her skirt to keep her quiet.

“Something needs to be done,” said the Station Master.

“A volunteer is needed,” the Colonel prompted.

At this time, a strange cough was heard. When people cough like that, it means they want to say something, but are afraid.

- Speak up boldly! - shouted the Pilot, who was always the first to see what happened from above.

“So,” said the Yellow Bear, coughing again to hide his embarrassment, “to tell the truth, I don’t like too long trips.” I'm already tired of wandering around the world and would like to rest. Don't you think I could stay here?

Poor Yellow Bear! He wanted to pass himself off as a cunning man, he wanted to hide his kind heart. Who knows why people with good hearts always try to hide it from others?

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, “or I’ll turn into a red bear.” It seems to me that on this bed I can have a wonderful nap waiting for the dawn, and you will wander the streets in such cold and look for Francesco.

“Okay,” said the Captain, “stay here.” Children and bears live together because they have at least one thing in common: they always want to play.

Everyone agreed and began to say goodbye. Everyone wanted to shake the Yellow Bear's paw and wish him happiness. But at this time a loud, long beep was heard. The Station Master raised his whistle to his lips, the Train Master shouted:

- Hurry, gentlemen, to the carriages! Train departs! On to the carriages, gentlemen!

The dolls, afraid to fall behind the train, created an unimaginable commotion.

The shooters settled on the roofs of the carriages, and the Captain's sailboat was loaded onto the platform.

The train started moving slowly.

The basement door was open and opened into a dark, narrow alley. The Yellow Bear Cub, perched near the pillow, next to Giampaolo's head, looked with some sadness at his comrades, who were slowly moving away. The little bear sighed so much that the boy’s hair moved as if from a breath of wind.

“Hush, hush, my friend,” Little Bear said to himself, “don’t wake him.”

The boy did not wake up, but a slight smile flashed on his lips.

“He’s dreaming,” Little Bear said to himself. - He sees in a dream that right now the Fairy passed near him, putting a gift on his chair, and the breeze raised by her long skirt ruffled his hair. I'm willing to bet that's what he's seeing now. But who knows what gift the Fairy will give him in a dream?

And so the Little Bear embarked on a trick that would never have occurred to you: he leaned down to the boy’s ear and quietly began to whisper:

– The fairy has already come and left you the Yellow Bear. Wonderful Little Bear, I assure you! I know him well, because I have seen him in the mirror so many times. A key sticks out of his back to wind up the spring, and when it is wound up, Little Bear dances, like bears dance at fairs and in the circus. Now I'll show you.

With great difficulty, the Yellow Bear reached the spring and wound it up. At that same moment, he felt that something strange was happening to him. At first a shiver ran down Little Bear’s back, and he felt incredibly cheerful. Then a trembling ran through his legs, and they themselves began to dance.

Yellow Bear has never danced so well. The boy laughed in his sleep and woke up laughing. He batted his eyelashes to get used to the light, and when he saw the Yellow Bear, he realized that the dream had not deceived him. While dancing, Little Bear winked at him, as if saying: “You’ll see, we’ll be friends.”

And for the first time in his life Giampaolo felt happy.

Chapter VIII. CHIEF ENGINEER CONSTRUCTS A BRIDGE

The alley went uphill, but Blue Arrow easily overcame the rise and drove out into a large square just in front of the Fairy's store. The driver leaned out of the window and asked:

-Which direction should we go now?

Right all the time! - the General shouted. – A frontal attack is the best tactic to overthrow the enemy!

-What enemy? – asked the Station Master. – Please stop your inventions. On the train, you are a passenger like everyone else. It's clear? The train will go where I say!

“Okay,” replied the Engine Driver, “but speak quickly, because we are about to crash into the sidewalk.”

- So, to the right! – said the Station Manager.

And the Blue Arrow turned right at full speed. The seated Pilot flew at a height of two meters from the ground so as not to lose sight of the train. He tried to climb higher, but almost stumbled upon the tram wires.

Silent cowboys and Indians galloped to the right and left of the train and looked like bandits surrounding it.

“Hm-hm,” said the General incredulously, “I’ll bet my epaulets against the holey soldo that this journey will not end well.” These riders have a very unreliable appearance. At the first stop I will move to the platform where my guns are located.

Just at that moment, Button's screams were heard. Obviously, he sensed some kind of danger. But it was already too late. The driver did not have time to brake, and the Blue Arrow entered a deep puddle at full speed. The water rose almost to the level of the windows. The dolls got very scared and moved to the switchers, onto the roofs of the cars.

“We’re on the ground,” said the Machinist, wiping sweat from his face.

“You mean we’re in the water,” the Captain corrected. “There’s nothing left to do but launch my sailboat into the water and take everyone on board.”

But the sailboat was too small. Then the Chief Engineer proposed to build a bridge.

“Before the bridge is built, we will be caught,” the Captain said, shaking his head.

However, there was no other choice. The Konstruktor workers, under the leadership of the Chief Engineer, began to build the bridge.

“We will lift the Blue Arrow with a crane and place it on the bridge,” the Engineer promised, “the passengers won’t even have to get out.”

With these words, he cast a proud glance at the dolls. They looked at him with admiration. Only the Nera doll remained faithful to her Pilot and did not take her eyes off him.

It is snowing. The water level in the puddle began to rise, and the Engineer’s complex calculations were nullified.

“It’s not an easy thing to build a bridge during a flood,” the Engineer said through clenched teeth. “But we’ll still try.”

To speed up work. The Colonel placed all his riflemen at the disposal of the Engineer. The bridge rose over the water. In the dark snowy night one could hear the clink of iron, the blows of hammers, and the creaking of wheelbarrows.

The Indians and cowboys crossed the pool on horseback and camped on the other side. Far below you could see a red dot, which either faded away or flashed brightly, like a firefly. It was the Silver Feather pipe.

Looking out of the carriage windows, passengers watched this red light, which shone like a distant hope.

The Three Puppets said in unison:

- It looks like a star!

These were sentimental Puppets: they managed to see the stars even on a snowy night. And perhaps they were happy, right?

But then shouts of “Hurray” began to ring out. The Chief Engineer's men and riflemen reached the shore - the bridge was ready!

A crane lifted the Blue Arrow and placed it on the bridge, which, like all railroad bridges, already had rails in place. The Station Master raised the green signal, giving the signal for departure, and the train moved forward with a slight grinding sound.

But before he could drive a few meters, the General raised the alarm again:

– Put out all the lights! There's an enemy plane above us!

– A thousand crazy whales! – exclaimed the Half-Bearded Captain. – Eat my beard if it’s not a Fairy!

With a menacing roar, a huge shadow descended onto the square. The fugitives could already distinguish the Fairy's broom and the two old women sitting on it.

The fairy, I must tell you, has almost come to terms with the loss of her best toys. She collected all the toys left in the closets and warehouse and went along her usual route, flying out of the chimney on a broom as always.

But she had not yet reached half the square when the exclamation of the maid forced her to turn back.

- Signora Baroness, look down!

- Where? Ah, I see, I see!.. But these are the headlights of the Blue Arrow!

“It seems to me that this is exactly so, Baroness.”

Wasting no time, the Fairy turned the handle of her broom to the southwest and dived straight into the light reflected in the water of the puddle.

This time the General raised the alarm not in vain. The lights were turned off. The driver turned on the engine at full speed and in an instant crossed the bridge. The platform on which the Captain's sailboat stood and the last two carriages barely had time to hit solid ground when the bridge collapsed with a roar.

Someone suggested that the Fairy began to bomb the bridge, but it turned out that it was the General, without warning anyone, who mined the bridge and blew it up.

“I’d rather swallow it piece by piece than leave it to the enemy!” – he exclaimed, twirling his mustache. The fairy had already descended almost to the water itself and was approaching the Blue Arrow with great speed.

- Quickly turn left! - one of the cowboys shouted.

Without waiting for the Station Master to confirm the order, the Driver turned left, so quickly that the train almost broke in half, and entered the dark entrance, in which the light of the Silver Feather pipe flickered.

The Blue Arrow was placed as close to the wall as possible, the entrance door was closed and bolted.

– I wonder if she saw us? – whispered the Captain.

But the Fairy did not notice them.

- Strange! – she muttered at that moment, describing circles over the square. – You might think that they were swallowed by the earth: there are no traces anywhere... Blue Arrow was the best toy in my store! – the Fairy continued with a sigh. “I don’t understand anything: maybe they ran away from thieves and are looking for a way home?” Who knows! But let's not waste time. Get to work! We have countless gifts to distribute. - And, turning the broom to the north, she disappeared into the snowfall.

Poor old lady! Imagine yourself in her place: her store was robbed just on New Year’s Eve, and she knows that in thousands of houses on this day, children hang a stocking on the fireplace so that in the morning they will find a Fairy’s gift in it.

Yes, there is something to grab your head for!.. And on top of that there is this snow: it hits you in the face, covers your eyes and ears. What a night, my lords, what a night!

Chapter IX. GOODBYE ROSE DOLL!

It’s as dark as an ink bottle here,” said the Station Master.

“The enemy can arrange any trap for us here,” the General added. -

Perhaps it's better to turn on the headlights.

The driver turned on the Blue Arrow's headlights. The fugitives looked around. They were in a hallway cluttered with empty fruit boxes. It was the entrance to a fruit store.

The dolls got out of the carriages, gathered in a corner and made an incredible noise there.

- A thousand chattering whales! – the Half-Bearded Captain grumbled. “These girls can’t keep quiet for a minute.”

- Oh, there's someone here! – the Rose doll exclaimed in her sweet voice, like the trill of a clarinet.

“It also seems to me that there are people here,” said the Machinist. – But who could have come up with the stupid idea of ​​sitting in the entrance on such a cold night? As for me, I would give the wheel of my locomotive for a good bed with a hot water bottle at my feet.

“It’s a girl,” the dolls spoke.

- Look, she's sleeping.

- How cold she was! She has icy skin.

The bravest dolls extended their hands to feel how cold the girl’s skin was. They did this very quietly, afraid to wake the girl, but she did not wake up.

- How ragged she is! Maybe she had a fight with someone?

“Or maybe her friends beat her, and now she’s afraid to return home in such dirty and torn clothes?”

Imperceptibly they began to speak louder, but the girl did not hear anything, remaining motionless and white as snow. She clasped her hands under her chin, as if wanting to warm herself, but her hands were also icy.

“Let’s try to warm her up,” suggested the doll Rose.

She gently touched the girl’s hands with her little hands and began to rub them. Useless. The girl's hands were like two pieces of ice. One shooter came down from the roof of the carriage and approached the girl.

“Uh-uh,” he drawled, glancing at the little girl, “I’ve seen a lot of girls like that...”

- Do you know her? - asked the dolls.

– Do I know her? No, I don’t know this particular one, but I’ve met people similar to her. This is a girl from a poor family, and that's all.

-Like the boy from the basement?

- Even poorer, even poorer. This girl has no home. The snow caught her outside, and she took refuge in the entrance so as not to die from the cold.

– Is she sleeping now?

“Yes, he’s sleeping,” answered the soldier. “But she has a strange dream.”

- What are you trying to say?

“I don’t think she’ll ever wake up.”

- Don't talk nonsense! – the doll Rose resolutely objected. – Why shouldn’t she wake up? But I will stay here until she wakes up. I'm already tired of traveling. I'm a house doll and I don't like wandering the streets at night. I will stay with this girl and when she wakes up, I will go with her.

The Rose doll has completely transformed. Where has her stupid and boastful appearance gone, which so irritated the Half-bearded Captain! An amazing fire lit up in her eyes, and they became even bluer.

- I'll stay here! – Rose repeated decisively. “Of course, it’s not good for Francesco, but actually I don’t think he’s upset by my absence.” Francesco is a man, and he won’t even know what to do with the doll. You give him my regards and he will forgive me. And then, who knows, maybe this girl will go to visit Francesco, take me with her, and we will see each other again.

But why did she talk and talk endlessly, as if her throat was full of words and she had to throw them out so as not to choke?

Because she didn't want others to talk. She was afraid to hear a negative answer, afraid that she would have to leave the lonely girl in the dark entrance in such cold weather. But no one objected to her. Button went out to investigate from the entrance and, returning, announced that the road was clear and they could hit the road.

One by one, the fugitives boarded the train. The Head of the Station ordered us to travel with the lights turned off, just in case.

Blue Arrow slowly moved towards the exit.

- Bye Bye! – the toys whispered to the doll Rose.

The three Puppets all leaned out of the window together.

- Goodbye! - they shouted in unison. – We want to cry, but you know that this is impossible. We are made of wood and we have no heart. Goodbye!

And the Rose doll had a heart. In truth, she had never felt it before. But now, left alone in a dark, unfamiliar entrance, she felt deep, rapid beats in her chest and realized that it was her heart beating. And it beat so hard that the doll could not utter a word.

Through her heartbeats, she barely heard the sound of the wheels of the departing train. Then the noise died down and it seemed to her that someone said: “You won’t see your friends again, little one.”

She became very scared, but the fatigue and anxiety suffered during the journey made themselves felt. The Rose doll closed her eyes. And why was there any need to keep them open? After all, it was so dark that she couldn’t even see the tip of her nose. Closing her eyes, she quietly fell asleep.

That’s how the gatekeeper found them in the morning: hugging like sisters, a frozen girl and a doll Rose were sitting on the floor.

The doll did not understand why all these people had gathered in the entrance, and looked at them in bewilderment. Real live carabinieri came, so big it was simply terrifying.

The girl was carried into the car and driven away. The Rose doll still did not understand why the girl did not wake up: after all, she had never seen the dead before.

One carabinieri took her with him and carried her to the commander. The commander had a girl, and the commander took a doll for her.

But the doll Rose did not stop thinking about the frozen girl near whom she spent New Year's Eve. And every time she thought about her, she felt her heart freeze.