"Can we go to the garden and to the zoo?" asked the boy.
"OK. Let's go to the garden first," said the Minister and smiled.
The garden was very beautiful. Alyosha saw many bright little stones of all colours on the roads. There were many small lamps on every tree. But the trees looked a little strange. They were red, green, brown, white and blue. Alyosha came up to one of the trees and touched it.
"Oh! These are not real trees," he said. "But they are very nice."
"This is moss," said the Minister. "But it is taller and thicker than in your forests. The King bought this moss far from here. He gave a lot of money for it."
From the garden they went into the King's zoo. Here Alyosha saw wild animals in gold cages.
"Oh, there's a rat in the cage over there! It's funny," thought the boy. But he didn't say that to the Minister.
After the walk Alyosha and his friend came back for supper. In the big hall the boy saw a table with cakes and fruit on gold plates. There were gold bottles and glasses there too.
"Eat what you like," said the Minister, "but you can't take anything with you."
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry," said Alyosha. "Please, tell me about your people," asked Alyosha.
"We live under your school. Nobody knows about us because we don't go out now. Many years ago we often went out. People could see us then. Now we always stay under the ground. Many of your people can't keep a secret. When somebody says a word about us, we go away at once. We go far, far away. It's always a problem to leave our things and go somewhere with all our children and animals. Do you understand me? You saved my life, Alyosha. I asked the King to let me take you here. You know how we live. We don't want to go away from this place. We like it here. So please don't tell anybody about us."
"I promise to keep your secret," said Alyosha. "But tell me, dear Blacky, why are you a hen? And why are you so afraid of the old Dutch ladies?"
Blacky started saying something, but Alyosha's sleepy eyes closed. He woke up in the morning in his bed.
Helpful Words & Notes
What do I ask for? — Что бы мне попросить?
hemp seed — конопляное семечко.
Let's = Let us — Давай.
over there — вон там.
I'm not hungry — мне не хочется есть.
keep a secret — хранить тайну.
Exercises
1 Match the two parts of the sentences.
1) Alyosha wanted
2) The King wanted
3) Alyosha asked Blacky
4) Alyosha promised
a) to keep Blacky's secret.
b) to know his homework without learning it.
c) to thank Alyosha for saving his minister.
d) to take him to the garden and to the zoo.
2 Complete the sentences.
1) A little boy brought a gold plate with ___.
a) an apple seed
b) a gold key
c) a hemp seed
2) The Minister and Alyosha went to ___ first.
a) the garden
b) the zoo
c) the library
3) Alyosha saw ___ in a gold cage.
a) a horse
b) two rats
c) a rat
3 Fill in the words.
1) I want to know my ___ without reading it.
2) You can always get good ___ without studying.
3) Thank you for the ___, sir.
4) The King bought this ___ far from here. He gave a lot of ___ for it.
5) Many of your people can't keep a ___.
6) It's always a ___ to leave our things and go somewhere with all our children and animals.
4 Complete the chart.
Alyosha went to the bedroom. But he didn't take the book. He started looking for the hemp seed. First he looked in all his pockets. Then he looked under the bed. No seed!
"It may be in the yard," Alyosha thought. "I played there yesterday. I lost it there. But how can I get it back? I can't leave the room now."
The boy decided to call Blacky.
"Dear Blacky!" he said. "Dear Minister! Please, come to me. Give me another seed!"
But Blacky didn't come. Alyosha sat down on a chair and started crying again. Soon it was time for dinner. The door opened. The headmaster came into the bedroom.
"Do you know the lesson now?" he asked Alyosha.
"No," said the boy.
"Then learn it!" said the headmaster angrily. He left the bedroom. Soon he came again. He brought Alyosha a glass of water and a piece of bread.
Alyosha started reading his book. He tried hard to learn the text by heart. But it was hard for him now.
He stopped studying long time ago. In the evening he knew only two pages.
It was time to go to bed. The boys came into the bedroom. With them came the headmaster again.
"Alyosha, do you know the lesson?" he asked.
"Only two pages," said Alyosha.
"I see. Then you can learn it in the morning," said the headmaster. "Sorry, but no breakfast for you. Only some bread and water again."
The headmaster left. Alyosha tried to speak to the other boys. But his friends didn't like him any longer. So no one said a word to him. Alyosha went to bed in tears. But he couldn't sleep. He was very sad.
"Blacky doesn't want to see me either," he thought.
Suddenly the sheet started moving.
"Blacky! Blacky!" said Alyosha in a low voice.
The sheet moved once more. Then the black hen flew up on the boy's bed. Alyosha was very happy to see his friend.
"Oh, Blacky!" he said. "Why didn't you come? I am your friend."
"Yes," said the hen. "I know. You are my friend. And you saved me from the cook. You were a good boy then. Everyone liked you. But now… you are awful!"
Alyosha started crying. Blacky spoke to him for a long time. She asked him to become a nice, kind boy again. In the end the hen told him:
"I must leave you now, Alyosha. Here is your hemp seed. You lost it in the yard. Our King doesn't take his present away from you. But you should become a good boy. And remember your promise. Don't tell anyone about us, Alyosha!"
Alyosha took the hemp seed from the hen.
"Dear Blacky, thank you for your help. Don't worry. I promise to become better in the morning."
"It is not easy. Remember that," said the hen. "I'm sorry, I must go now. Good-bye, Alyosha!"
Alyosha looked at the hemp seed. He was happy again.
"I can say twenty pages of the text without a mistake now. And it is very easy to become better," he thought.
The next morning the headmaster told Alyosha to come to the classroom.
"Do you know your lesson?" he said.
"Yes, I do," said the boy quickly.
And he said his lesson without any mistakes. Then he looked at the headmaster and the boys. The headmaster didn't like Alyosha's proud smile.
"You know your lesson now," said the headmaster. "But why didn't you want to say it yesterday?"
"I didn't know it yesterday," said Alyosha.
"Didn't you?" said the headmaster. "Yesterday evening you knew two pages. You told me that. And today you know all twenty pages without any mistakes! When did you learn them?"
Alyosha said in low voice:
"I learned them in the morning."
But then the children shouted:
"No! He didn't look at the book this morning."
Alyosha said nothing.
"Answer me!" the headmaster said. "When did you learn the lesson?"
Alyosha didn't know what to say.
Helpful Words & Notes
He tried hard — Он очень старался.
in tears — в слезах.
Exercises
1 Answer the questions.
1) Did Alyosha start learning his lesson at once?
2) What did Alyosha have for dinner?
3) How many pages did Alyosha know in the evening?
4) What did Blacky give Alyosha?
5) What did Alyosha promise to Blacky?
6) What happened at the next History lesson?