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Chapter first. SHORTIES FROM FLOWER CITY

In one fairy-tale city there lived short people. They were called shorties because they were very small. Each short one was the size of a small cucumber. It was very beautiful in their city. Flowers grew around every house: daisies, daisies, dandelions. There, even the streets were named after flowers: Kolokolchikov Street, Daisies Alley, Vasilkov Boulevard. And the city itself was called the Flower City. He stood on the bank of a stream.

The short people called this stream the Cucumber River because many cucumbers grew along the banks of the stream.

There was a forest across the river. The short ones made boats from birch bark, swam across the river and went into the forest to buy berries, mushrooms, and nuts. It was difficult to collect the berries, because the short ones were tiny, and to get the nuts you had to climb a tall bush and even carry a saw with you. Not a single short man could pick a nut with his hands - they had to be cut with a saw. Mushrooms were also cut with a saw. They cut the mushroom down to the very roots, then saw it into pieces and drag it home piece by piece.

The shorties were not all the same: some of them were called babies, and others were called babies. The kids always wore either long trousers untucked or short pants with waistbands, and the little ones loved to wear dresses made of colorful, bright material. The kids did not like to fuss with their hairstyles, and therefore their hair was short, and the little ones had long hair, almost to their waists. The little ones loved to do different beautiful hairstyles; they braided their hair in long braids, wove ribbons into the braids, and wore bows on their heads. Many kids were very proud of being kids, and were almost not friends with the kids at all. And the little ones were proud of the fact that they were little ones, and they also didn’t want to be friends with the little ones. If some little girl met a baby on the street, then, seeing him from afar, she immediately crossed to the other side of the street. And she did well, because among the kids there were often those who could not calmly walk past the little one, but would definitely say something offensive to her, even push her, or, even worse, pull her braid. Of course, not all kids were like that, but it wasn’t written on their foreheads, so the little ones thought it was better to cross to the other side of the street in advance and not get caught. For this, many kids called the little ones imaginaries - they’ll come up with such a word! - and many little kids called the kids bullies and other offensive nicknames.

Some readers will immediately say that all this is probably fiction, that such babies do not exist in real life. But no one says that they happen in life. In life this is one thing, but in a fairy-tale city it is completely different. Anything can happen in a fairytale city.

Sixteen short children lived in one house on Kolokolchikov Street. The most important of them was a short little boy named Znayka. He was nicknamed Znayka because he knew a lot. And he knew a lot because he read different books. These books lay on his table, and under the table, and on the bed, and under the bed. There wasn't a place in his room where there weren't books. Reading books made Znayka very smart. Therefore, everyone obeyed him and loved him very much. He always dressed in a black suit, and when he sat down at the table, put his glasses on his nose and started reading some book, he completely looked like a professor.

In the same house lived the famous doctor Pilyulkin, who treated short people for all diseases. He always wore a white robe and wore a white cap with a tassel on his head. The famous mechanic Vintik also lived here with his assistant Shpuntik; lived Sakharin Sakharinich Syrupchik, who became famous for his love of sparkling water with syrup. He was very polite. He liked it when they called him by his first and patronymic name, and did not like it when someone simply called him Syrup. The hunter Pulka also lived in this house. He had a small dog, Bulka, and also had a gun that shot corks. There lived the artist Tube, the musician Guslya and other kids: Toropyzhka, Grumpy, Silent, Donut, Rasteryayka, two brothers - Avoska and Neboska. But the most famous among them was a baby named Dunno. He was nicknamed Dunno because he knew nothing.

This Dunno wore a bright blue hat, canary yellow trousers and an orange shirt with a green tie. He generally loved bright colors. Dressed up as such a parrot, Dunno wandered around the city all day long, made up various fables and told everyone. In addition, he constantly offended the little ones. Therefore, the little ones, seeing his orange shirt from a distance, immediately turned in the opposite direction and hid in their homes. Dunno had a friend named Gunka, who lived on Daisy Street. Dunno could chat with Gunka for hours. They quarreled among themselves twenty times a day and made peace twenty times a day.

In particular, Dunno became famous after one story.

One day he was walking around the city and wandered into a field. There wasn't a soul around. At this time the cockchafer was flying. He blindly ran into Dunno and hit him on the back of the head. Dunno rolled head over heels to the ground. The beetle immediately flew away and disappeared into the distance. Dunno jumped up, began to look around and see who hit him. But there was no one around.

“Who hit me?” thought Dunno. “Maybe something fell from above?”

He raised his head and looked up, but there was nothing above either. Only the sun shone brightly above Dunno’s head.

“So something fell on me from the sun,” Dunno decided. “Probably a piece came off from the sun and hit me on the head.”

He went home and met an acquaintance whose name was Steklyashkin.

This Steklyashkin was a famous astronomer. He knew how to make magnifying glasses from broken bottle shards. When he looked at different objects through magnifying glasses, the objects seemed larger. From several such magnifying glasses, Steklyashkin made a large telescope through which one could look at the Moon and the stars. Thus he became an astronomer.

Listen, Steklyashkin,” Dunno told him. “You understand the story: a piece came off from the sun and hit me on the head.”

What you. Dunno! - Steklyashkin laughed. - If a piece came off from the sun, it would crush you into a cake. The sun is very big. It is larger than our entire Earth.

“It can’t be,” answered Dunno. - In my opinion, the sun is no bigger than a plate.

It only seems so to us because the sun is very far from us. The sun is a huge hot ball. I saw this through my pipe. If even a small piece came off from the sun, it would destroy our entire city.

Look! - Dunno answered. - I didn’t even know that the sun was so big. I’ll go tell our people - maybe they haven’t heard about it yet. But you still look at the sun through your pipe: what if it’s actually chipped!

Dunno went home and told everyone he met along the way:

Brothers, do you know what the sun is like? It is larger than our entire Earth. That's what it is! And now, brothers, a piece has come off from the sun and is flying straight towards us. Soon it will fall and crush us all. It's terrible what will happen! Go ask Steklyashkin.

Everyone laughed because they knew that Dunno was a talker. And Dunno ran home as fast as he could and let’s shout:

Brothers, save yourself! The piece is flying!

What piece? - they ask him.

Piece, brothers! A piece came off from the sun. Soon it will flop - and everyone will be finished. Do you know what the sun is like? It is larger than our entire Earth!

What are you making up?

I'm not making anything up. Steklyashkin said this. He saw through his pipe.

Everyone ran out into the yard and began to look at the sun. They looked and looked until tears flowed from their eyes. It began to seem to everyone, blindly, that the sun was actually pockmarked. And Dunno shouted:

Save yourself who can! Trouble!

Everyone began to grab their things. Tube grabbed his paints and brush, Guslya grabbed his musical instruments. Doctor Pilyulkin rushed around the house and looked for a first aid kit, which was lost somewhere. Donut grabbed galoshes and an umbrella and was already running out the gate, but then Znayka’s voice was heard:

Calm down, brothers! There's nothing wrong. Don't you know that Dunno is a talker? He made it all up.

Made it up? - Dunno shouted. - Go ask Steklyashkin.

Everyone ran to Steklyashkin, and then it turned out that Dunno had actually made up everything. Well, there was a lot of laughter here! Everyone laughed at Dunno and said:

We are surprised how we believed you! - It’s as if I’m not surprised! - Dunno answered. - I believed it myself.

That's how wonderful this Dunno was.

Chapter two. HOW UNZNAYKA WAS A MUSICIAN

If Dunno took on something, he did it wrong, and everything turned out topsy-turvy for him. He learned to read only in letters, and could only write in block letters. Many said that Dunno had a completely empty head, but this is not true, because how could he think then? Of course, he didn’t think well, but he put his shoes on his feet, and not on his head - this also requires consideration.

Dunno was not so bad. He really wanted to learn something, but did not like to work. He wanted to learn right away, without any difficulty, and even the smartest little guy couldn’t get anything out of this.

Toddlers and little girls loved music very much, and Guslya was a wonderful musician. He had various musical instruments and often played them. Everyone listened to the music and praised it very much. Dunno was jealous that Guslya was being praised, so he began to ask him:

Teach me to play. I also want to be a musician.

“Study,” Guslya agreed. -What do you want to play?

What is the easiest thing to learn?

On the balalaika.

Well, give me the balalaika, I’ll try it.

Guslya gave him a balalaika. Dunno strummed the strings. Then he says:

No, the balalaika plays too quietly. Give me something else, louder.

Guslya gave him a violin. Dunno began to stroke the strings with his bow and said:

- Isn’t there anything even louder?

There is still a pipe,” answered Guslya.

Let's bring it here, let's try it.

Guslya gave him a large copper trumpet. Dunno, how the trumpet will blow into it, how it will roar!

This is a good tool! - Dunno was happy. - Plays loudly!

Well, learn the trumpet if you like,” Guslya agreed.

Why should I study? “I can do that already,” Dunno answered.

No, you don’t know how yet.

I can, I can! Listen here! - Dunno shouted and began to blow into the trumpet with all his might: - Boo-boo-boo! Goo-goo-goo!

“You just blow, and don’t play,” Guslya answered.

How can I not play? - Dunno was offended. - I play very well! Loud!

Oh you! It's not about being loud here. It needs to be beautiful.

That’s how it turns out beautifully for me.

And it’s not at all beautiful,” said Guslya. - You, I see, are not at all capable of music.

You are not capable of it! - Dunno got angry. - You're just saying that out of envy. You want to be the only one listened to and praised.

“Nothing like that,” said Guslya. - Take the trumpet and play as much as you want if you think you don’t need to study. Let them praise you too.

Well, I'll play! - Dunno answered.

He began to blow into the trumpet, and since he did not know how to play, his trumpet roared, and wheezed, and squealed, and grunted. Guslya listened and listened... Finally he got tired of it. He put on his velvet jacket, put a pink bow around his neck, which he wore instead of a tie, and went on a visit.

In the evening, when all the kids were gathered at home. Dunno again took up the pipe and began to blow into it as much as he could:

Boo-boo-boo! Doo-doo-doo!

What's that noise? - everyone shouted.

“This is not noise,” answered Dunno. - This is me playing.

Stop it now! - Znayka shouted. - Your music makes my ears hurt!

This is because you are not used to my music yet. Once you get used to it, your ears won’t hurt.

And I don’t want to get used to it. I really need it!

But Dunno did not listen to him and continued to play:

Boo Boo Boo! Hrrrr! Hrrrr! Viu! Viu!

Stop it! - all the kids attacked him. - Get out of here with your nasty pipe!

Where should I go?

Go to the field and play there.

So in the field there will be no one to listen.

Do you really need someone to listen?

Necessarily.

Well, go outside, the neighbors will hear you there.

Dunno went outside and began to play near the neighboring house, but the neighbors asked him not to make noise under the windows. Then he went to another house - they drove him out from there too. He went to the third house - they began to drive him out of there, but he decided to spite them and play. The neighbors got angry, ran out of the house and chased him. He forcibly ran away from them with his pipe.

Since then Dunno stopped playing the trumpet.

“They don’t understand my music,” he said. - They haven’t grown up to my music yet. When they grow up, they will ask, but it will be too late. I won't play anymore.

Chapter three. HOW NAZNAYKA WAS AN ARTIST

Tube was a very good artist. He always dressed in a long blouse, which he called a “hoodie.” It was worth looking at Tube when he, dressed up in his robe and throwing his long hair back, stood in front of the easel with a palette in his hands. Everyone immediately saw that this was a real artist.

After no one wanted to listen to Neznaykin’s music, he decided to become an artist. He came to Tube and said:

Listen, Tube, I also want to be an artist. Give me some paints and a brush.

The tube was not greedy at all; he gave Dunno his old paints and a brush. At this time, his friend, Gunka, came to Dunno.

Dunno says:

Sit down, Gunka, now I’ll draw you.

Gunka was delighted, quickly sat down on a chair, and Dunno began to draw him. He wanted to portray Gunka more beautifully, so he drew him a red nose, green ears, blue lips and orange eyes. Gunka wanted to see his portrait as soon as possible. Because of impatience, he could not sit quietly in his chair and kept spinning around.

“Don’t turn around, don’t turn around,” Dunno told him, “otherwise it won’t work out as expected.”

Is it similar now? - asked Gunka.

“Very similar,” answered Dunno and painted a mustache on him with purple paint.

Come on, show me what you got! - Gunka asked when Dunno finished the portrait.

Dunno showed.

Am I really like that? - Gunka shouted in fright.

Of course he is. What else?

Why did you draw a mustache? I don't have a mustache.

Well, they will grow up someday.

Why is your nose red?

This is to make it more beautiful.

Why is your hair blue? Do I have blue hair?

Blue,” answered Dunno. - But if you don't like it, I can make green ones.

No, this is a bad portrait,” said Gunka. - Let me tear it up.

Why destroy a work of art? - Dunno answered.

Gunka wanted to take the portrait from him, and they began to fight. Znayka, Doctor Pilyulkin and the rest of the kids came running at the noise.

Why are you fighting? - they ask.

“Here,” Gunka shouted, “you judge us: tell me, who is drawn here?” Really, it's not me?

Of course, not you,” the kids answered. - There’s some kind of scarecrow drawn here.

Dunno says:

You didn't guess because there is no signature here. I’ll sign now and everything will be clear.

He took a pencil and signed under the portrait in block letters: “GUNKA.” Then he hung the portrait on the wall and said:

Let it hang. Everyone can watch, no one is prohibited.

All the same,” said Gunka, “when you go to bed, I will come and destroy this portrait.”

“And I won’t go to bed at night and will keep watch,” answered Dunno.

Gunka was offended and went home, but Dunno actually didn’t go to bed that night.

When everyone fell asleep, he took paints and began to draw everyone. He drew the donut so fat that he didn’t even fit in the portrait. I drew a toropyzhka on thin legs, and for some reason I drew a dog’s tail on the back. He depicted the hunter Pulka riding on Bulka. Dr. Pilyulkin drew a thermometer instead of a nose. Znayka doesn’t know why he drew donkey ears. In a word, he portrayed everyone in a funny and absurd way.

By morning, he hung these portraits on the walls and wrote inscriptions under them, so that it turned out to be a whole exhibition.

Doctor Pilyulkin woke up first. He saw the portraits on the wall and began to laugh. He liked them so much that he even put pince-nez on his nose and began to look at the portraits very carefully. He approached each portrait and laughed for a long time.

Well done, Dunno! - said Doctor Pilyulkin. - I have never laughed so much in my life!

Finally he stopped near his portrait and asked sternly:

And who is this? Is it really me? No, it's not me. This is a very bad portrait. You better take it off.

Why film? “Let him hang,” answered Dunno.

Doctor Pilyulkin was offended and said:

You, Dunno, are obviously sick. Something happened to your eyes. When have you ever seen me have a thermometer instead of a nose? I'll have to give you castor oil at night.

Dunno really didn’t like castor oil. He got scared and said:

No no! Now I see for myself that the portrait is bad.

He quickly took down Pilyulkin’s portrait from the wall and tore it up.

Following Pilyulkin, the hunter Pulka woke up. And he liked the portraits. He almost burst out laughing looking at them. And then he saw his portrait, and his mood immediately deteriorated.

“It’s a bad portrait,” he said. - Doesn't look like me. Take it off, otherwise I won’t take you hunting with me.

Dunno and the hunter Pulka had to be removed from the wall. This happened to everyone. Everyone liked the portraits of others, but did not like their own.

The last one to wake up was Tube, who, as usual, slept the longest. When he saw his portrait on the wall, he became terribly angry and said that it was not a portrait, but a mediocre, anti-artistic daub. Then he tore the portrait from the wall and took away the paints and brush from Dunno.

There was only one portrait of Gunkin left on the wall. Dunno took it off and went to his friend.

Would you like me to give you your portrait, Gunka? And for this you will make peace with me,” Dunno suggested.

Gunka took the portrait, tore it into pieces and said:

Okay, peace. Only if you draw one more time, I will never put up with it.

“And I will never draw again,” answered Dunno. - You draw and draw, but no one even says thank you, everyone just swears. I don't want to be an artist anymore.

Nikolay Nosov

The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends

Chapter first

Shorties from Flower City

In one fairy-tale city there lived short people. They were called shorties because they were very small. Each short one was the size of a small cucumber. It was very beautiful in their city. Flowers grew around every house: daisies, daisies, dandelions. There, even the streets were named after flowers: Kolokolchikov Street, Daisies Alley, Vasilkov Boulevard. And the city itself was called the Flower City. He stood on the bank of a stream. The short people called this stream the Cucumber River because many cucumbers grew along the banks of the stream.

There was a forest across the river. The short ones made boats from birch bark, swam across the river and went into the forest to pick berries, mushrooms, and nuts. It was difficult to collect the berries, because the short ones were tiny, and to get the nuts you had to climb a tall bush and even carry a saw with you. Not a single short man could pick a nut with his hands - they had to be cut with a saw. Mushrooms were also cut with a saw. They cut the mushroom down to the very roots, then saw it into pieces and drag it home piece by piece.

The shorties were not all the same: some of them were called babies, and others were called babies. The kids always wore either long trousers untucked or short pants with waistbands, and the little ones loved to wear dresses made of colorful, bright material. The kids didn’t like to mess with their hair, and that’s why their hair was short, and the little ones had long hair, almost to their waists. The little ones loved to do different beautiful hairstyles; they braided their hair in long braids, wove ribbons into the braids, and wore bows on their heads. Many kids were very proud of being kids, and were almost not friends with the kids at all. And the little ones were proud of the fact that they were little ones, and they also didn’t want to be friends with the little ones. If some little girl met a baby on the street, then, seeing him from afar, she immediately crossed to the other side of the street. And she did well, because among the kids there were often those who could not calmly walk past the little one, but would definitely say something offensive to her, even push her, or, even worse, pull her braid. Of course, not all kids were like that, but it wasn’t written on their foreheads, so the little ones thought it was better to cross to the other side of the street in advance and not get caught. For this, many kids called the little ones imaginaries - they’ll come up with such a word! - and many little kids called the kids bullies and other offensive nicknames.

Some readers will immediately say that all this is probably fiction, that such babies do not exist in real life. But no one says that they happen in life. In life this is one thing, but in a fairy-tale city it is completely different. Anything can happen in a fairytale city.

Sixteen short children lived in one house on Kolokolchikov Street. The most important of them was a short little boy named Znayka. He was nicknamed Znayka because he knew a lot. And he knew a lot because he read different books. These books lay on his table, and under the table, and on the bed, and under the bed. There wasn't a place in his room where there weren't books. Reading books made Znayka very smart. Therefore, everyone obeyed him and loved him very much. He always dressed in a black suit, and when he sat down at the table, put his glasses on his nose and started reading some book, he completely looked like a professor.

In the same house lived the famous doctor Pilyulkin, who treated short people for all diseases. He always wore a white robe and wore a white cap with a tassel on his head. The famous mechanic Vintik also lived here with his assistant Shpuntik; lived Sakharin Sakharinich Syrupchik, who became famous for his love of sparkling water with syrup. He was very polite. He liked it when they called him by his first and patronymic name, and did not like it when someone simply called him Syrup. The hunter Pulka also lived in this house. He had a small dog, Bulka, and also had a gun that shot corks. There lived the artist Tube, the musician Guslya and other kids: Toropyzhka, Grumpy, Silent, Donut, Rasteryayka, two brothers - Avoska and Neboska. But the most famous among them was a baby named Dunno. He was nicknamed Dunno because he knew nothing.

This Dunno wore a bright blue hat, canary yellow trousers and an orange shirt with a green tie. He generally loved bright colors. Dressed up as such a parrot, Dunno wandered around the city all day long, made up various fables and told everyone. In addition, he constantly offended the little ones. Therefore, the little ones, seeing his orange shirt from a distance, immediately turned in the opposite direction and hid in their homes. Dunno had a friend named Gunka, who lived on Daisy Street. Dunno could chat with Gunka for hours. They quarreled among themselves twenty times a day and made peace twenty times a day.

In particular, Dunno became famous after one story.

One day he was walking around the city and wandered into a field. There wasn't a soul around. At this time the cockchafer was flying. He blindly ran into Dunno and hit him on the back of the head. Dunno rolled head over heels to the ground. The beetle immediately flew away and disappeared into the distance. Dunno jumped up, began to look around and see who hit him. But there was no one around.

“Who hit me? - thought Dunno. “Maybe something fell from above?”

He raised his head and looked up, but there was nothing above either. Only the sun shone brightly above Dunno’s head.

“So something fell on me from the sun,” Dunno decided. “A piece of the sun probably came off and hit me on the head.”

He went home and met an acquaintance whose name was Steklyashkin.

This Steklyashkin was a famous astronomer. He knew how to make magnifying glasses from fragments of broken bottles. When he looked at different objects through magnifying glasses, the objects seemed larger. From several such magnifying glasses, Steklyashkin made a large telescope through which one could look at the Moon and the stars. Thus he became an astronomer.

Listen, Steklyashkin,” Dunno told him. “You understand the story: a piece came off from the sun and hit me on the head.”

What you. Dunno! - Steklyashkin laughed. - If a piece came off from the sun, it would crush you into a cake. The sun is very big. It is larger than our entire Earth.

“It can’t be,” answered Dunno. - In my opinion, the sun is no bigger than a plate.

It only seems so to us because the sun is very far from us. The sun is a huge hot ball. I saw this through my pipe. If even a small piece came off from the sun, it would destroy our entire city.

Look! - Dunno answered. - I didn’t even know that the sun was so big. I’ll go tell our people - maybe they haven’t heard about it yet. But you still look at the sun through your pipe: what if it’s actually chipped!

Dunno went home and told everyone he met along the way:

Brothers, do you know what the sun is like? It is larger than our entire Earth. That's what it is! And now, brothers, a piece has come off from the sun and is flying straight towards us. Soon it will fall and crush us all. It's terrible what will happen! Go ask Steklyashkin.

Everyone laughed because they knew that Dunno was a talker. And Dunno ran home as fast as he could and let’s shout:

Brothers, save yourself! The piece is flying!

What piece? - they ask him.

Piece, brothers! A piece came off from the sun. Soon it will flop - and everyone will be done for. Do you know what the sun is like? It is larger than our entire Earth!

What are you making up?

I'm not making anything up. Steklyashkin said this. He saw through his pipe.

Everyone ran out into the yard and began to look at the sun. We looked and looked until tears flowed from our eyes. It began to seem to everyone, blindly, that the sun was actually pockmarked. And Dunno shouted:

Save yourself who can! Trouble!

Nikolay Nosov

The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends

Chapter first

Shorties from Flower City

In one fairy-tale city there lived short people. They were called shorties because they were very small. Each short one was the size of a small cucumber. It was very beautiful in their city. Flowers grew around every house: daisies, daisies, dandelions. There, even the streets were named after flowers: Kolokolchikov Street, Daisies Alley, Vasilkov Boulevard. And the city itself was called the Flower City. He stood on the bank of a stream. The short people called this stream the Cucumber River because many cucumbers grew along the banks of the stream.

There was a forest across the river. The short ones made boats from birch bark, swam across the river and went into the forest to pick berries, mushrooms, and nuts. It was difficult to collect the berries, because the short ones were tiny, and to get the nuts you had to climb a tall bush and even carry a saw with you. Not a single short man could pick a nut with his hands - they had to be cut with a saw. Mushrooms were also cut with a saw. They cut the mushroom down to the very roots, then saw it into pieces and drag it home piece by piece.

The shorties were not all the same: some of them were called babies, and others were called babies. The kids always wore either long trousers untucked or short pants with waistbands, and the little ones loved to wear dresses made of colorful, bright material. The kids didn’t like to mess with their hair, and that’s why their hair was short, and the little ones had long hair, almost to their waists. The little ones loved to do different beautiful hairstyles; they braided their hair in long braids, wove ribbons into the braids, and wore bows on their heads. Many kids were very proud of being kids, and were almost not friends with the kids at all. And the little ones were proud of the fact that they were little ones, and they also didn’t want to be friends with the little ones. If some little girl met a baby on the street, then, seeing him from afar, she immediately crossed to the other side of the street. And she did well, because among the kids there were often those who could not calmly walk past the little one, but would definitely say something offensive to her, even push her, or, even worse, pull her braid. Of course, not all kids were like that, but it wasn’t written on their foreheads, so the little ones thought it was better to cross to the other side of the street in advance and not get caught. For this, many kids called the little ones imaginaries - they’ll come up with such a word! - and many little kids called the kids bullies and other offensive nicknames.

Some readers will immediately say that all this is probably fiction, that such babies do not exist in real life. But no one says that they happen in life. In life this is one thing, but in a fairy-tale city it is completely different. Anything can happen in a fairytale city.

Sixteen short children lived in one house on Kolokolchikov Street. The most important of them was a short little boy named Znayka. He was nicknamed Znayka because he knew a lot. And he knew a lot because he read different books. These books lay on his table, and under the table, and on the bed, and under the bed. There wasn't a place in his room where there weren't books. Reading books made Znayka very smart. Therefore, everyone obeyed him and loved him very much. He always dressed in a black suit, and when he sat down at the table, put his glasses on his nose and started reading some book, he completely looked like a professor.

In the same house lived the famous doctor Pilyulkin, who treated short people for all diseases. He always wore a white robe and wore a white cap with a tassel on his head. The famous mechanic Vintik also lived here with his assistant Shpuntik; lived Sakharin Sakharinich Syrupchik, who became famous for his love of sparkling water with syrup. He was very polite. He liked it when they called him by his first and patronymic name, and did not like it when someone simply called him Syrup. The hunter Pulka also lived in this house. He had a small dog, Bulka, and also had a gun that shot corks. There lived the artist Tube, the musician Guslya and other kids: Toropyzhka, Grumpy, Silent, Donut, Rasteryayka, two brothers - Avoska and Neboska. But the most famous among them was a baby named Dunno. He was nicknamed Dunno because he knew nothing.

This Dunno wore a bright blue hat, canary yellow trousers and an orange shirt with a green tie. He generally loved bright colors. Dressed up as such a parrot, Dunno wandered around the city all day long, made up various fables and told everyone. In addition, he constantly offended the little ones. Therefore, the little ones, seeing his orange shirt from a distance, immediately turned in the opposite direction and hid in their homes. Dunno had a friend named Gunka, who lived on Daisy Street. Dunno could chat with Gunka for hours. They quarreled among themselves twenty times a day and made peace twenty times a day.

In particular, Dunno became famous after one story.

One day he was walking around the city and wandered into a field. There wasn't a soul around. At this time the cockchafer was flying. He blindly ran into Dunno and hit him on the back of the head. Dunno rolled head over heels to the ground. The beetle immediately flew away and disappeared into the distance. Dunno jumped up, began to look around and see who hit him. But there was no one around.

“Who hit me? - thought Dunno. “Maybe something fell from above?”

He raised his head and looked up, but there was nothing above either. Only the sun shone brightly above Dunno’s head.

“So something fell on me from the sun,” Dunno decided. “A piece of the sun probably came off and hit me on the head.”

He went home and met an acquaintance whose name was Steklyashkin.

This Steklyashkin was a famous astronomer. He knew how to make magnifying glasses from broken bottle shards. When he looked at different objects through magnifying glasses, the objects seemed larger. From several such magnifying glasses, Steklyashkin made a large telescope through which one could look at the Moon and the stars. Thus he became an astronomer.

Listen, Steklyashkin,” Dunno told him. “You understand the story: a piece came off from the sun and hit me on the head.”

What you. Dunno! - Steklyashkin laughed. - If a piece came off from the sun, it would crush you into a cake. The sun is very big. It is larger than our entire Earth.

“It can’t be,” answered Dunno. - In my opinion, the sun is no bigger than a plate.

It only seems so to us because the sun is very far from us. The sun is a huge hot ball. I saw this through my pipe. If even a small piece came off from the sun, it would destroy our entire city.

Look! - Dunno answered. - I didn’t even know that the sun was so big. I’ll go tell our people - maybe they haven’t heard about it yet. But you still look at the sun through your pipe: what if it’s actually chipped!

Dunno went home and told everyone he met along the way:

Brothers, do you know what the sun is like? It is larger than our entire Earth. That's what it is! And now, brothers, a piece has come off from the sun and is flying straight towards us. Soon it will fall and crush us all. It's terrible what will happen! Go ask Steklyashkin.

Everyone laughed because they knew that Dunno was a talker. And Dunno ran home as fast as he could and let’s shout:

Brothers, save yourself! The piece is flying!

What piece? - they ask him.

Piece, brothers! A piece came off from the sun. Soon it will flop - and everyone will be done for. Do you know what the sun is like? It is larger than our entire Earth!

What are you making up?

I'm not making anything up. Steklyashkin said this. He saw through his pipe.

Everyone ran out into the yard and began to look at the sun. They looked and looked until tears flowed from their eyes. It began to seem to everyone, blindly, that the sun was actually pockmarked. And Dunno shouted:

Save yourself who can! Trouble!

Everyone began to grab their things. Tube grabbed his paints and brush, Guslya grabbed his musical instruments. Doctor Pilyulkin rushed around the house and looked for a first aid kit, which was lost somewhere. Donut grabbed galoshes and an umbrella and was already running out the gate, but then Znayka’s voice was heard:

Calm down, brothers! There's nothing wrong. Don't you know that Dunno is a talker? He made it all up.

Made it up? - Dunno shouted. - Go ask Steklyashkin.

Everyone ran to Steklyashkin, and then it turned out that Dunno had actually made up everything. Well, there was a lot of laughter here! Everyone laughed at Dunno and said:

We are surprised how we believed you!

And I don’t seem to be surprised! - Dunno answered. - I believed it myself.

That's how wonderful this Dunno was.

Chapter two

How Dunno was a musician

If Dunno took on something, he did it wrong, and everything turned out topsy-turvy for him. He learned to read only in letters, and could only write in block letters. Many said that Dunno had a completely empty head, but this is not true, because how could he think then? Of course, he didn’t think well, but he put his shoes on his feet, and not on his head - this also requires consideration.

Dunno was not so bad. He really wanted to learn something, but did not like to work. He wanted to learn right away, without any difficulty, and even the smartest little guy couldn’t get anything out of this.

Toddlers and little girls loved music very much, and Guslya was a wonderful musician. He had various musical instruments and often played them. Everyone listened to the music and praised it very much. Dunno was jealous that Guslya was being praised, so he began to ask him:

Teach me to play. I also want to be a musician.

“Study,” Guslya agreed. -What do you want to play?

What is the easiest thing to learn?

On the balalaika.

Well, give me the balalaika, I’ll try it.

Guslya gave him a balalaika. Dunno strummed the strings. Then he says:

No, the balalaika plays too quietly. Give me something else, louder.

Guslya gave him a violin. Dunno began to stroke the strings with his bow and said:

Isn’t there anything even louder?

There is still a pipe,” answered Guslya.

Let's bring it here, let's try it.

Guslya gave him a large copper trumpet. Dunno will blow into it, the trumpet will roar!

This is a good tool! - Dunno was happy. - Plays loudly!

Well, learn the trumpet if you like,” Guslya agreed.

Why should I study? “I can do that already,” Dunno answered.

No, you don’t know how yet.

I can, I can! Listen here! - Dunno shouted and began to blow into the trumpet with all his might: - Boo-boo-boo! Goo-goo-goo!

“You just blow, and don’t play,” Guslya answered.

How can I not play? - Dunno was offended. - I play very well! Loud!

Oh you! It's not about being loud here. It needs to be beautiful.

That’s how it turns out beautifully for me.

And it’s not at all beautiful,” said Guslya. - You, I see, are not at all capable of music.

You are not capable of it! - Dunno got angry. - You're just saying that out of envy. You want to be the only one listened to and praised.

“Nothing like that,” said Guslya. - Take the trumpet and play as much as you want if you think you don’t need to study. Let them praise you too.

Well, I'll play! - Dunno answered.

He began to blow into the trumpet, and since he did not know how to play, his trumpet roared, and wheezed, and squealed, and grunted. Guslya listened and listened... Finally he got tired of it. He put on his velvet jacket, put a pink bow around his neck, which he wore instead of a tie, and went on a visit.

In the evening, when all the kids were gathered at home. Dunno again took up the pipe and began to blow into it as much as he could:

Boo-boo-boo! Doo-doo-doo!

What's that noise? - everyone shouted.

“This is not noise,” answered Dunno. - This is me playing.

Stop it now! - Znayka shouted. - Your music makes my ears hurt!

This is because you are not used to my music yet. Once you get used to it, your ears won’t hurt.

And I don’t want to get used to it. I really need it!

But Dunno did not listen to him and continued to play:

Boo Boo Boo! Hrrrr! Hrrrr! Viu! Viu!

Stop it! - all the kids attacked him. - Get out of here with your nasty pipe!

Where should I go?

Go to the field and play there.

So in the field there will be no one to listen.

Do you really need someone to listen?

Necessarily.

Well, go outside, the neighbors will hear you there.

Dunno went outside and began to play near the neighboring house, but the neighbors asked him not to make noise under the windows. Then he went to another house - they drove him out from there too. He went to the third house - they began to drive him out of there, but he decided to spite them and play. The neighbors got angry, ran out of the house and chased him. He forcibly ran away from them with his pipe.

Since then Dunno stopped playing the trumpet.

“They don’t understand my music,” he said. - They haven’t grown up to my music yet. When they grow up, they will ask, but it will be too late. I won't play anymore.

Chapter Three

How Dunno was an artist

Tube was a very good artist. He always dressed in a long blouse, which he called a “hoodie.” It was worth looking at Tube when he, dressed up in his robe and throwing his long hair back, stood in front of the easel with a palette in his hands. Everyone immediately saw that this was a real artist.

After no one wanted to listen to Neznaykin’s music, he decided to become an artist. He came to Tube and said:

Listen, Tube, I also want to be an artist. Give me some paints and a brush.

The tube was not greedy at all; he gave Dunno his old paints and a brush. At this time, his friend, Gunka, came to Dunno.

Dunno says:

Sit down, Gunka, now I’ll draw you.

Gunka was delighted, quickly sat down on a chair, and Dunno began to draw him. He wanted to portray Gunka more beautifully, so he drew him a red nose, green ears, blue lips and orange eyes. Gunka wanted to see his portrait as soon as possible. From impatience, he could not sit quietly in his chair and kept spinning around.

“Don’t turn around, don’t turn around,” Dunno told him, “otherwise it won’t work out as expected.”

Is it similar now? - asked Gunka.

“Very similar,” answered Dunno and painted a mustache on him with purple paint.

Come on, show me what you got! - Gunka asked when Dunno finished the portrait.

Dunno showed.

Am I really like that? - Gunka shouted in fright.

Of course he is. What else?

Why did you draw a mustache? I don't have a mustache.

Well, they will grow up someday.

Why is your nose red?

This is to make it more beautiful.

Why is your hair blue? Do I have blue hair?

Blue,” answered Dunno. - But if you don’t like it, I can make green ones.

No, this is a bad portrait,” said Gunka. - Let me tear it up.

Why destroy a work of art? - Dunno answered.

Gunka wanted to take the portrait from him, and they began to fight. Znayka, Doctor Pilyulkin and the rest of the kids came running at the noise.

Why are you fighting? - they ask.

“Here,” Gunka shouted, “you judge us: tell me, who is drawn here?” Really, it's not me?

Of course, not you,” the kids answered. - There’s some kind of scarecrow drawn here.

Dunno says:

You didn't guess because there is no signature here. I’ll sign now and everything will be clear.

He took a pencil and signed under the portrait in block letters: “GUNKA.” Then he hung the portrait on the wall and said:

Let it hang. Everyone can watch, no one is prohibited.

All the same,” said Gunka, “when you go to bed, I will come and destroy this portrait.”

“And I won’t go to bed at night and will keep watch,” answered Dunno.

Gunka was offended and went home, but Dunno actually didn’t go to bed that evening.

When everyone fell asleep, he took paints and began to draw everyone. He drew the donut so fat that he didn’t even fit in the portrait. I drew a toropyzhka on thin legs, and for some reason I drew a dog’s tail on the back. He depicted the hunter Pulka riding on Bulka. Dr. Pilyulkin drew a thermometer instead of a nose. Znayka doesn’t know why he drew donkey ears. In a word, he portrayed everyone in a funny and absurd way.

By morning, he hung these portraits on the walls and wrote inscriptions under them, so that it turned out to be a whole exhibition.

Doctor Pilyulkin woke up first. He saw the portraits on the wall and began to laugh. He liked them so much that he even put pince-nez on his nose and began to look at the portraits very carefully. He approached each portrait and laughed for a long time.

Well done, Dunno! - said Doctor Pilyulkin. - I have never laughed so much in my life!

Finally he stopped near his portrait and asked sternly:

And who is this? Is it really me? No, it's not me. This is a very bad portrait. You better take it off.

Why film? “Let him hang,” answered Dunno.

Doctor Pilyulkin was offended and said:

You, Dunno, are obviously sick. Something happened to your eyes. When have you ever seen me have a thermometer instead of a nose? I'll have to give you castor oil at night.

Dunno really didn’t like castor oil. He got scared and said:

No no! Now I see for myself that the portrait is bad.

He quickly took down Pilyulkin’s portrait from the wall and tore it up.

Following Pilyulkin, the hunter Pulka woke up. And he liked the portraits. He almost burst out laughing looking at them. And then he saw his portrait, and his mood immediately deteriorated.

“It’s a bad portrait,” he said. - Doesn't look like me. Take it off, otherwise I won’t take you hunting with me.

Dunno and the hunter Pulka had to be removed from the wall. This happened to everyone. Everyone liked the portraits of others, but did not like their own.

The last one to wake up was Tube, who, as usual, slept the longest. When he saw his portrait on the wall, he became terribly angry and said that it was not a portrait, but a mediocre, anti-artistic daub. Then he tore the portrait from the wall and took away the paints and brush from Dunno.

There was only one portrait of Gunkin left on the wall. Dunno took it off and went to his friend.

Would you like me to give you your portrait, Gunka? And for this you will make peace with me,” Dunno suggested.

Gunka took the portrait, tore it into pieces and said:

Okay, peace. Only if you draw one more time, I will never put up with it.

“And I will never draw again,” answered Dunno. - You draw and draw, but no one even says thank you, everyone just swears. I don't want to be an artist anymore.

Chapter Four

How Dunno composed poetry

After Dunno failed to become an artist, he decided to become a poet and write poetry. He had a poet acquaintance who lived on Dandelion Street. This poet's real name was Pudik, but, as you know, all poets are very fond of beautiful names. Therefore, when Pudik began to write poetry, he chose a different name for himself and began to be called Tsvetik.

One day Dunno came to Tsvetik and said:

Listen, Tsvetik, teach me to write poetry. I also want to be a poet.

Do you have any abilities? - asked Tsvetik.

Of course have. “I’m very capable,” answered Dunno.

This needs to be checked,” Tsvetik said. - Do you know what rhyme is?

Rhyme? No, I do not know.

Rhyme is when two words end the same way,” Tsvetik explained. - For example: duck is a joke, shortbread is a walrus. Understood?

Well, say a rhyme with the word "stick".

“Herring,” answered Dunno.

What kind of rhyme is this: stick - herring? There is no rhyme in these words.

Why not? They end the same way.

“That’s not enough,” Tsvetik said. - The words need to be similar so that it turns out smoothly. Listen: a stick is a jackdaw, a stove is a candle, a book is a cone.

Got it, got it! - Dunno shouted. - A stick is a jackdaw, a stove is a candle, a book is a cone! That's great! Ha ha ha!

Well, come up with a rhyme for the word “tow,” said Tsvetik.

Shmaklya, - answered Dunno.

What kind of schmuck? - Tsvetik was surprised. - Is there such a word?

Isn't it?

Of course not.

Well, then the bastard.

What kind of bastard is this? - Tsvetik was surprised again.

Well, when they tear something, that’s what you get, dunno explained.

“You’re lying,” said Tsvetik, “there is no such word.” We need to choose words that exist, and not invent them.

What if I can’t find another word?

This means you have no talent for poetry.

Well, then figure out for yourself what kind of rhyme it is,” answered Dunno.

Now,” agreed Tsvetik.

He stopped in the middle of the room, folded his arms on his chest, tilted his head to the side and began to think. Then he raised his head up and began to think, looking at the ceiling. Then he grabbed his own chin with his hands and began to think, looking at the floor. Having done all this, he began to wander around the room and quietly muttered to himself:

Tow, tow, tow, tow, tow, tow... - He muttered for a long time, then said: - Ugh! What is this word? It's some word that doesn't rhyme.

Here you go! - Dunno was happy. - He himself asks words that have no rhyme, and also says that I am incapable.

Well, capable, capable, just leave me alone! - said Tsvetik. - I have a headache. Write in such a way that there is meaning and rhyme, that’s poetry for you.

Is it really that simple? - Dunno was surprised.

Of course it's simple. The main thing is to have the ability.

Dunno came home and immediately began to write poetry. All day long he walked around the room, looking first at the floor, then at the ceiling, holding his chin with his hands and muttering something to himself.

Finally the poems were ready, and he said:

Listen, brothers, what poems I wrote.

Come on, come on, what are these poems about? - everyone became interested.

“I made this up about you,” Dunno admitted. - Here are the first poems about Znayka: Znayka went for a walk to the river, Jumped over a sheep.

What? - Znayka shouted. - When did I jump over a sheep?

Well, it’s only said that way in poetry, for rhyme,” Dunno explained.

So, because of a rhyme, you will invent all sorts of lies about me? - Znayka boiled.

Of course, - answered Dunno. - Why should I make up the truth? There is no need to create the truth, it already exists.

Try it again, you'll find out! - Znayka threatened. - Well, read what you wrote about others?

“Listen to Toropyzhka,” said Dunno. Toropyzhka was hungry and swallowed a cold iron.

Brothers! - Toropyzhka shouted. - What is he making up about me? I didn't swallow any cold iron.

“Don’t shout,” answered Dunno. - I just said for rhyme that the iron was cold.

But I didn’t swallow any iron, neither cold nor hot! - shouted Toropyzhka.

“And I’m not saying that you swallowed a hot one, so you can calm down,” answered Dunno. - Listen to the poems about Avoska: Avoska has a sweet cheesecake under her pillow. Avoska went to his bed, looked under the pillow and said:

Liars! There is no cheesecake here.

“You don’t understand anything about poetry,” Dunno answered. - It is only for rhyme that they say that it lies, but in reality it does not lie. I also wrote something about Pilyulkin.

Brothers! - Doctor Pilyulkin shouted. - We must stop this mockery! Are we really going to calmly listen to Dunno lying about everyone here?

Enough! - everyone shouted. - We don't want to listen anymore! These are not poems, but some kind of teases.

Only Znayka, Toropyzhka and Avoska shouted:

Let him read! Since he read about us, let him read about others.

No need! We do not want! - the others shouted.

Well, since you don’t want to, then I’ll go read to the neighbors,” said Dunno.

What? - everyone shouted here. -Are you still going to shame us in front of the neighbors? Just try it! Then you don’t have to return home.

“Okay, brothers, I won’t,” Dunno agreed. - Just don't be angry with me.

Since then, Dunno decided not to write poetry anymore.

Chapter Five

How Dunno rode in a carbonated car

The mechanic Vintik and his assistant Shpuntik were very good craftsmen. They looked alike, only Vintik was a little taller, and Shpuntik was a little shorter. Both wore leather jackets. Wrenches, pliers, files and other iron tools were always sticking out of their jacket pockets. If the jackets weren’t leather, the pockets would have come off long ago. Their hats were also leather, with canned glasses. They wore these glasses while working so as not to get dust in their eyes.

Vintik and Shpuntik sat in their workshop all day long and repaired primus stoves, pots, kettles, frying pans, and when there was nothing to repair, they made tricycles and scooters for short people.

One day, Vintik and Shpuntik did not say anything to anyone, they locked themselves in their workshop and began to make something. For a whole month they sawed, planed, riveted, soldered and showed nothing to anyone, and when the month passed, it turned out that they had made a car.

This car ran on soda water and syrup. There was a seat for the driver in the middle of the car, and a tank of sparkling water was placed in front of it. Gas from the tank passed through a tube into a copper cylinder and pushed an iron piston. The iron piston, under the pressure of gas, moved back and forth and turned the wheels. At the top above the seat was a jar of syrup. The syrup flowed through the tube into the tank and served to lubricate the mechanism.

These carbonated cars were very common among short people. But the car that Vintik and Shpuntik built had one very important improvement: a flexible rubber tube with a tap was attached to the side of the tank so that you could drink sparkling water on the go without stopping the car.

Toropyzhka learned to drive this car, and if someone wanted to go for a ride, Toropyzhka took it for a ride and did not refuse anyone.

Syrupchik loved to ride in a car most of all, since during the trip he could drink as much carbonated water with syrup as he wanted. Dunno also loved to ride in a car, and Toropyzhka often took him for rides. But Dunno wanted to learn how to drive a car himself, and he began to ask Toropyzhka:

Let me drive the car. I also want to learn how to manage.

“You won’t be able to,” said Toropyzhka. - It's a car. You need to understand this.

What else is there to understand? - Dunno answered. - I saw how you manage. Pull the handles and turn the steering wheel. It's simple.

It only seems simple, but in reality it is difficult. You yourself will kill yourself and crash your car.

Okay, Toropyzhka! - Dunno was offended. - If you ask me for anything, I won’t give it to you either.

One day, when Toropyzhka was not at home, Dunno climbed into a car that was parked in the yard and began to pull the levers and press the pedals. At first he couldn’t do anything, then suddenly the car snorted and drove off. The shorties saw this through the window and ran out of the house.

What are you doing? - they shouted. - You'll kill yourself!

“I won’t kill myself,” Dunno answered and immediately ran into a doghouse that stood in the middle of the yard.

Fuck-fuck! The booth crumbled to pieces. It’s good that Bulka managed to jump out, otherwise Dunno would have crushed him too.

Look what you've done! - Znayka shouted. - Stop now!

Dunno got scared, wanted to stop the car and pulled some lever. But the car, instead of stopping, drove even faster. There was a gazebo on the road. Fuck-ta-ra-rah! The gazebo fell into pieces. Dunno was covered from head to toe with wood chips. One board caught him on the back, another cracked him on the back of the head.

Dunno grabbed the steering wheel and started turning. The car rushes around the yard, and Dunno screams at the top of his lungs:

Brothers, open the gate quickly, otherwise I’ll break everything in the yard!

The shorties opened the gate, Dunno drove out of the yard and rushed down the street. Hearing the noise, short men ran out from all the yards.

Beware! - Dunno shouted to them and rushed forward.

Znayka, Avoska, Vintik, Doctor Pilyulkin and other little guys ran after him. But where is it? They couldn't catch up with him.

Dunno drove all over the city and didn’t know how to stop the car.

Finally the car drove up to the river, fell off a cliff and rolled head over heels. Dunno fell out of it and remained lying on the shore, and the carbonated car fell into the water and drowned.

Znayka, Avoska, Vintik and Doctor Pilyulkin grabbed Dunno and carried him home. Everyone thought he was already dead.

At home they put him on the bed, and only then Dunno opened his eyes. He looked around and asked:

Brothers, am I still alive?

Alive, alive,” answered Doctor Pilyulkin. - Just please lie still, I need to examine you.

He undressed Dunno and began to examine her. Then he said:

Marvelous! All the bones are intact, only there are bruises and a few splinters.

“It was my back that got caught on the board,” said Dunno.

“We’ll have to pull out the splinters,” Pilyulkin shook his head.

Does it hurt? - Dunno was scared.

No, not at all. Here, let me, I’ll take out the biggest one now. - A-ah-ah! - Dunno shouted.

What you? Does it hurt? - Pilyulkin was surprised.

Of course it hurts!

Well, be patient, be patient. It only seems so to you.

No, it doesn't seem like it! Ah ah ah!

Why are you screaming as if I’m cutting you? I'm not cutting you.

Hurt! He himself said that it didn’t hurt, but now it hurts!

Well, hush, hush... There is only one splinter left to pull out.

Ay, don't! No need! I'd rather be with a splinter.

You can’t, it’ll break out.

Whoops!

Well, that's it. Now you just need to anoint it with iodine.

Does it hurt?

No, iodine doesn't hurt. Lie still.

Don't yell, don't yell! You love to drive a car, but you don’t like to be patient a little!

Ay! It burns!

It will burn and stop. Now I'll put a thermometer on you.

Oh, no need for a thermometer! No need!

It will hurt!

Yes, the thermometer doesn't hurt.

You keep saying it doesn’t hurt, but then it hurts.

What a weirdo! Haven't I ever set a thermometer for you?

Never.

Well, now you’ll see that it doesn’t hurt,” Pilyulkin said and went to get a thermometer.

Dunno jumped out of bed, jumped out of the open window and ran to his friend Gunka. Doctor Pilyulkin returned with a thermometer, looking - there is no Dunno.

So treat such a patient! - Pilyulkin grumbled. - You treat him, treat him, and he jumps out the window and runs away. Where does this fit!

Chapter Six

How Znayka came up with a hot air balloon

Znayka, who loved to read, read a lot in books about distant countries and various travels. Often, when there was nothing to do in the evening, he would tell his friends about what he had read in books. The kids loved these stories very much. They liked to hear about countries that they had never seen, but most of all they liked to hear about travelers, since various incredible stories happen to travelers and the most extraordinary adventures happen.

After hearing such stories, the kids began to dream about going on a trip themselves. Some suggested hiking, others suggested sailing along the river in boats, and Znayka said:

Let's make a hot air balloon and fly in the balloon.

Everyone really liked this idea. The little ones had never flown in a hot air balloon before, and all the kids found it very interesting. No one, of course, knew how to make balloons, but Znayka said that he would think it over and then explain.

And so Znayka began to think. He thought for three days and three nights and came up with the idea of ​​making a rubber ball. The short guys knew how to get rubber. In the city they grew flowers similar to ficus trees. If you make a cut on the stem of such a flower, white juice begins to flow out of it. This juice gradually thickens and turns into rubber, from which you can make balls and galoshes.

When Znayka came up with this idea, he told the kids to collect rubber juice. Everyone began to bring juice, for which Znayka prepared a large barrel. Dunno also went to collect juice and met his friend Gunka on the street, who was playing jumping rope with two kids.

Listen, Gunka, what a trick we came up with! - said Dunno. - You, brother, will burst with envy when you find out.

“But I won’t burst,” Gunka answered. - I really need to burst!

You'll burst, you'll burst! - Dunno assured him. - Such a thing, brother! You never saw it in a dream.

What is this thing? - Gunka became interested.

Soon we will make an air bubble and go traveling.

Gunka became jealous. He also wanted to show off something, and he said:

Just think, a bubble! But I made friends with the kids.

With what babies?

But with these,” said Gunka and pointed his finger at the little ones. - This baby’s name is Mushka, and this one’s name is Button.

Mushka and Button stood at a distance and looked warily at Dunno.

Dunno looked at them from under his brows and said:

Ah, that's how it is! You're friends with me!

I am friends with you and with them too. It does not interfere.

No, it interferes, - answered Dunno. - Whoever is friends with little ones is a little one. Quarrel with them now!

Why should I quarrel?

And I say, quarrel! Or I'll quarrel with you myself.

Well, quarrel. Just think!

So I’ll quarrel, but I’ll kick your Mushka and Button!

Dunno clenched his fists and rushed to the little ones. Gunka blocked his way and hit him on the forehead with his fist. They began to fight, and Mushka and Button got scared and ran away.

So, because of these little ones, you hit me in the forehead with your fist? - Dunno shouted, trying to hit Gunka on the nose.

Why do you offend them? - asked Gunka, waving his fists in all directions.

Just think, what kind of defender was found! - Dunno answered and hit his friend on the top of the head with such force that Gunka even crouched down and rushed to run away.

I'm at odds with you! - Dunno shouted after him.

Well, please! - Gunka answered. - You yourself will be the first to come to reconcile.

But you'll see that I won't come! We'll fly on a bubble to travel.

You'll fly from the roof to the attic!

You will fly from the roof to the attic! - Dunno answered and went to collect rubber juice.

When the barrel was filled with rubber juice, Znayka stirred it thoroughly and told Shpuntik to bring the pump that was used to inflate car tires. He attached a long rubber tube to this pump, doused the end of the tube with rubber juice and ordered Shpuntik to slowly pump air into the pump. The tongue began to pump, and immediately a bubble began to form from the rubber juice, just as soap bubbles are obtained from soapy water. Znayka constantly coated this bubble on all sides with rubber juice, and Shpuntik continuously pumped air, so the bubble gradually inflated and turned into a large ball. Znayka didn’t even have time to coat him from all sides now. Then he ordered that the rest of the kids also apply the anointing. Everyone immediately got down to business. Everyone found work near the ball, but Dunno just walked around and whistled. He tried to stay away from the ball, looked at it from a distance and said:

The bubble will burst! Now, now it will burst! Ugh!

But the ball did not burst, but became bigger and bigger every minute. Soon it swelled so big that the kids had to climb a nut bush that grew in the middle of the yard to coat the top and sides of the ball.

The work of inflating the balloon lasted two days and stopped when the balloon became the size of a house. After this, Znayka tied the rubber tube that was at the bottom with a string so that air would not escape from the ball, and said:

Now the ball will dry, and you and I will move on to other work.

He tied the ball with a rope to a walnut bush so that it would not be blown away by the wind, and then divided the kids into two groups. He ordered one detachment to collect mulberry cocoons in order to unwind them and make silk threads. From these threads he ordered them to weave a huge net. Znayka ordered another detachment to make a large basket from thin birch bark.

While Znayka and his comrades were doing this work, all the residents of the Flower City came and looked at the huge ball, which was tied to a walnut bush. Everyone wanted to touch the ball with their hands, and some even tried to lift it.

The ball is light, they said, and you can easily lift it up with one hand.

“He’s light, he’s light, but, in my opinion, he won’t fly,” said the kid, named Topik.

Why won't it fly? - asked the others.

How will he fly? If he could fly, he would fly up, but he just lies on the ground. This means that even though it is light, it is still heavy,” answered Topik.

The shorties thought.

Hm! Hm! - they said. - The ball is light, but still heavy. It's right. How will he fly?

They began to ask Znayka, but Znayka said:

Be patient a little. You will see everything soon.

Since Znayka did not explain anything to the short ones, they began to doubt even more. Topik walked throughout the city and spread ridiculous rumors.

What force can lift the ball up? - he asked and answered himself:

There is no such power! Birds fly because they have wings, and a rubber bubble won't fly up. He can only fly down.

In the end, no one in the city believed in this idea. Everyone just laughed, walked up to Znayka’s house, looked at the ball from behind the fence and said:

Look, look! It's flying! Ha ha ha!

But Znayka did not pay attention to these ridicule. When the silk net was ready, he ordered it to be placed on top of the ball. They stretched the net and covered the ball from above.

Look! - the short men shouted from behind the fence. - The ball is caught with a net. They are afraid that it will fly away. Ha ha ha!

Znayka ordered to pick up the ball with a rope from below, tie it to a branch of a walnut bush and pull it up.

Now Toropyzhka and Shpuntik climbed onto the bush with a rope and began to pull the ball up. This made the audience very happy.

Ha ha ha! - they laughed. - It turns out that this is a ball that needs to be pulled upward on a rope. How will it fly if you have to lift it on a rope?

“It will fly like that,” answered Topik. - They will sit on top of the ball and start pulling the rope - and the ball will fly.

When the ball was raised above the ground, the net at its edges hung down, and Znayka ordered a basket of birch bark to be tied to the corners of the net. The basket was rectangular. There was a bench on each side of it, and each bench could accommodate four kids.

The basket was tied to the net at four corners, and Znayka announced that the work of building the ball was finished. Toropyzhka imagined that it was already possible to fly, but Znayka said that parachutes still needed to be prepared for everyone.

Why parachutes? - asked Dunno.

What if the balloon bursts! Then you'll have to jump with parachutes.

The next day, Znayka and his comrades were busy making parachutes. Everyone made a parachute for themselves from dandelion fluffs, and Znayka showed everyone how to do it.

Residents of the city saw that the ball was hanging motionless on a branch, and said to each other:

It will hang like that until it bursts. There will be no flight.

Well, why aren't you flying? - they shouted from behind the fence. - You have to fly before the balloon bursts.

“Don’t worry,” Znayka answered them. - The flight will take place tomorrow at eight o'clock in the morning.

Many laughed, but some began to doubt.

What if they actually fly! - they said. - We must come tomorrow and see.

Chapter Seven

Preparing for your trip

The next morning, Znayka woke up his friends early. Everyone woke up and began to prepare to go. Vintik and Shpuntik put on their leather jackets. Hunter Pulka put on his favorite leather boots. The tops of these boots were above the knees and fastened at the top with buckles. These boots were very comfortable for traveling. Toropyzhka put on his zipper suit. This costume should be described in detail. Toropyzhka, who was always in a hurry and did not like to waste time, came up with a special suit for himself that did not have a single button. It is known that when dressing and undressing, most of the time is spent on buttoning and unbuttoning buttons. Toropyzhka’s costume did not have separate shirts and trousers: they were combined into one piece in the style of overalls. This jumpsuit was fastened at the top with one button, which was on the back of the head. As soon as this button was unfastened, the whole suit, in some incomprehensible way, fell off the shoulders and fell at lightning speed to the feet.

Fat Donut put on his best suit. What Donut appreciated most about suits was the pockets. The more pockets there were, the better the suit was considered. His best suit had seventeen pockets. The jacket consisted of ten pockets: two pockets on the chest, two slanted pockets on the stomach, two pockets on the sides, three pockets inside and one secret pocket on the back. The trousers had two pockets in the front, two pockets in the back, two pockets on the sides and one pocket at the bottom, on the knee. In ordinary life, such seventeen-pocket suits with a pocket on the knee can only be found among cameramen.

Syrupchik dressed up in a checkered suit. He always wore checkered suits. And his trousers were checkered, and his jacket was checkered, and his cap was checkered. Seeing him from afar, the short ones always said: “Look, look, there’s a chessboard.” Avoska dressed up in a ski suit, which he considered very convenient for traveling. Neboska put on a striped sweatshirt, striped leggings, and wrapped a striped scarf around his neck. In this suit he was all striped, and from a distance it seemed that this was not Neboska at all, but an ordinary striped mattress. In general, everyone dressed in whatever they could, only Rasteryika, who had a habit of throwing his things anywhere, could not find his jacket. He also put his cap somewhere and, no matter how much he looked, he could not find it anywhere. In the end, he found his winter hat with earflaps under the bed.

The artist Tube decided to draw everything he saw during his trip. He took his paints and brush and put them in the balloon's basket in advance. Guslya decided to take his flute with him. Doctor Pilyulkin took the camp first aid kit and also put it in the basket, under the bench. This was very prudent, since during the trip someone could get sick.

It was not yet six o'clock in the morning, and almost the entire city had already gathered around. Many short people who wanted to watch the flight sat on fences, on balconies, on the roofs of houses.

Toropyzhka was the first to climb into the basket and choose the most convenient place for himself. Dunno followed him.

Look, - the spectators gathered around shouted, - they are already starting to sit down!

Why did you get into the basket? - said Znayka. - Get out, it's still early.

Why early? “You can already fly,” answered Dunno.

You understand a lot! The balloon must first be filled with warm air.

Why warm air? - asked Toropyzhka.

Because warm air is lighter than cold air and always rises. When we fill the balloon with warm air, the warm air will rise up and drag the balloon upward,” Znayka explained. - Uh, that means we still need warm air! - Dunno drawled, and he and Toropyzhka climbed out of the basket.

Look,” someone shouted on the roof of a neighboring house, “they’re crawling back out!” We decided not to fly.

Of course, they changed their minds, they answered from the other roof. - Is it possible to fly on such a ball! They are just fooling the public.

At this time, Znayka ordered the short ones to fill several bags with sand and put them in the basket. Now Toropyzhka, Silent, Avoska and other kids began to pour sand into bags and put them in the basket.

What are they doing? - the audience asked each other in bewilderment.

For some reason they put sandbags in the basket.

Hey, why do you need sandbags? - shouted Topik, who was sitting astride the fence.

“But we’ll get up and throw it on your heads,” answered Dunno.

Of course, Dunno himself didn’t know what the bags were for. He just made it up.

You rise first! - Topik shouted.

Little Mikrosha, who was sitting on the fence next to Topik, said:

They must be afraid to fly and want sandbags to fly instead.

People around laughed:

Of course they are afraid! Why should they be afraid? The ball won't fly anyway.

“Or maybe he’ll fly again,” said one of the little girls, who were also looking through the cracks of the fence.

While they were arguing around, Znayka ordered a fire to be lit in the middle of the yard, and everyone saw Vintik and Shpuntik take out a large copper cauldron from their workshop and put it on the fire. Vintik and Shpuntik made this boiler long ago to heat the air. The boiler had a tightly closed lid with a hole in it. A pump was attached to the side to pump air into the boiler. This air was heated in the boiler and, already hot, came out through the upper hole in the lid.

Of course, none of the spectators could guess what the cauldron was for, but everyone made their own assumptions.

“They probably decided to cook themselves some soup to have breakfast before the trip,” said the little girl named Romashka.

“What do you think,” answered Mikrosha, “and you would probably have a snack if you were going on such a long journey!”

Of course,” agreed Romashka. - Maybe this is the last time...

What is the last time?

Well, they will eat for the last time, and then they will fly, the balloon will burst and they will crash.

Don’t be afraid, it won’t burst,” Topik told her. “In order to burst, you have to fly, but you see, he’s been hanging around here for a whole week and isn’t flying anywhere.”

End of free trial.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Nosov

Adventures of Dunno

THE ADVENTURES OF UNZNAYKA AND HIS FRIENDS

CHAPTER FIRST

Shorties from Flower City

In one fairy-tale city there lived short people. They were called shorties because they were very small. Each short one was the size of a small cucumber. It was very beautiful in their city. Flowers grew around every house: daisies, daisies, dandelions. There, even the streets were named after flowers: Kolokolchikov Street, Daisies Alley, Vasilkov Boulevard. And the city itself was called the Flower City. He stood on the bank of a stream. The short people called this stream the Cucumber River because many cucumbers grew along the banks of the stream.

There was a forest across the river. The short ones made boats from birch bark, swam across the river and went into the forest to pick berries, mushrooms, and nuts. It was difficult to collect the berries, because the short ones were tiny, and to get the nuts you had to climb a tall bush and even carry a saw with you. Not a single short man could pick a nut with his hands - they had to be cut with a saw. Mushrooms were also cut with a saw. They cut the mushroom down to the very roots, then saw it into pieces and drag it home piece by piece.

The shorties were not all the same: some of them were called babies, and others were called babies. The kids always wore either long trousers untucked or short pants with waistbands, and the little ones loved to wear dresses made of colorful, bright material. The kids didn’t like to mess with their hair, and that’s why their hair was short, and the little ones had long hair, almost to their waists. The little ones loved to do different beautiful hairstyles; they braided their hair in long braids, wove ribbons into the braids, and wore bows on their heads. Many kids were very proud of being kids, and were almost not friends with the kids at all. And the little ones were proud of the fact that they were little ones, and they also didn’t want to be friends with the little ones. If some little girl met a baby on the street, then, seeing him from afar, she immediately crossed to the other side of the street. And she did well, because among the kids there were often those who could not calmly walk past the little one, but would definitely say something offensive to her, even push her, or, even worse, pull her braid. Of course, not all kids were like that, but it wasn’t written on their foreheads, so the little ones thought it was better to cross to the other side of the street in advance and not get caught. For this, many kids called the little ones imaginaries - they’ll come up with such a word! - and many little kids called the kids bullies and other offensive nicknames.

Some readers will immediately say that all this is probably fiction, that such babies do not exist in real life. But no one says that they happen in life. In life this is one thing, but in a fairy-tale city it is completely different. Anything can happen in a fairytale city.

Sixteen short children lived in one house on Kolokolchikov Street. The most important of them was a short little boy named Znayka. He was nicknamed Znayka because he knew a lot. And he knew a lot because he read different books. These books lay on his table, and under the table, and on the bed, and under the bed. There wasn't a place in his room where there weren't books. Reading books made Znayka very smart. Therefore, everyone obeyed him and loved him very much. He always dressed in a black suit, and when he sat down at the table, put his glasses on his nose and started reading some book, he completely looked like a professor.

In the same house lived the famous doctor Pilyulkin, who treated short people for all diseases. He always wore a white robe and wore a white cap with a tassel on his head. The famous mechanic Vintik also lived here with his assistant Shpuntik; lived Sakharin Sakharinich Syrupchik, who became famous for his love of sparkling water with syrup. He was very polite. He liked it when they called him by his first and patronymic name, and did not like it when someone simply called him Syrup. The hunter Pulka also lived in this house. He had a small dog, Bulka, and also had a gun that shot corks. There lived the artist Tube, the musician Guslya and other kids: Toropyzhka, Grumpy, Silent, Donut, Rasteryayka, two brothers - Avoska and Neboska. But the most famous among them was a baby named Dunno. He was nicknamed Dunno because he knew nothing.

This Dunno wore a bright blue hat, canary yellow trousers and an orange shirt with a green tie. He generally loved bright colors. Dressed up as such a parrot, Dunno wandered around the city all day long, made up various fables and told everyone. In addition, he constantly offended the little ones. Therefore, the little ones, seeing his orange shirt from a distance, immediately turned in the opposite direction and hid in their homes. Dunno had a friend named Gunka, who lived on Daisy Street. Dunno could chat with Gunka for hours. They quarreled among themselves twenty times a day and made peace twenty times a day.

In particular, Dunno became famous after one story.

One day he was walking around the city and wandered into a field. There wasn't a soul around. At this time the cockchafer was flying. He blindly ran into Dunno and hit him on the back of the head. Dunno rolled head over heels to the ground. The beetle immediately flew away and disappeared into the distance. Dunno jumped up, began to look around and see who hit him. But there was no one around.

“Who hit me? - thought Dunno. “Maybe something fell from above?”

He raised his head and looked up, but there was nothing above either. Only the sun shone brightly above Dunno’s head.

“So something fell on me from the sun,” Dunno decided. “A piece of the sun probably came off and hit me on the head.”

He went home and met an acquaintance whose name was Steklyashkin.

This Steklyashkin was a famous astronomer. He knew how to make magnifying glasses from fragments of broken bottles. When he looked at different objects through magnifying glasses, the objects seemed larger. From several such magnifying glasses, Steklyashkin made a large telescope through which one could look at the Moon and the stars. Thus he became an astronomer.

Listen, Steklyashkin,” Dunno told him. “You understand the story: a piece came off from the sun and hit me on the head.”

What you. Dunno! - Steklyashkin laughed. - If a piece came off from the sun, it would crush you into a cake. The sun is very big. It is larger than our entire Earth.

“It can’t be,” answered Dunno. - In my opinion, the sun is no bigger than a plate.

It only seems so to us because the sun is very far from us. The sun is a huge hot ball. I saw this through my pipe. If even a small piece came off from the sun, it would destroy our entire city.

Look! - Dunno answered. - I didn’t even know that the sun was so big. I’ll go tell our people - maybe they haven’t heard about it yet. But you still look at the sun through your pipe: what if it’s actually chipped!

Dunno went home and told everyone he met along the way:

Brothers, do you know what the sun is like? It is larger than our entire Earth. That's what it is! And now, brothers, a piece has come off from the sun and is flying straight towards us. Soon it will fall and crush us all. It's terrible what will happen! Go ask Steklyashkin.

Everyone laughed because they knew that Dunno was a talker. And Dunno ran home as fast as he could and let’s shout:

Brothers, save yourself! The piece is flying!

What piece? - they ask him.

Piece, brothers! A piece came off from the sun. Soon it will flop - and everyone will be done for. Do you know what the sun is like? It is larger than our entire Earth!

What are you making up?

I'm not making anything up. Steklyashkin said this. He saw through his pipe.

Everyone ran out into the yard and began to look at the sun. We looked and looked until tears flowed from our eyes. It began to seem to everyone, blindly, that the sun was actually pockmarked. And Dunno shouted:

Save yourself who can! Trouble!

Everyone began to grab their things. Tube grabbed his paints and brush, Guslya grabbed his musical instruments. Doctor Pilyulkin rushed around the house and looked for a first aid kit, which was lost somewhere. Donut grabbed galoshes and an umbrella and was already running out the gate, but then Znayka’s voice was heard:

Calm down, brothers! There's nothing wrong. Don't you know that Dunno is a talker? He made it all up.

Made it up? - Dunno shouted. - Go ask Steklyashkin.

Everyone ran to Steklyashkin, and then it turned out that Dunno had actually made up everything. Well, there was a lot of laughter here! Everyone laughed at Dunno and said:

We are surprised how we believed you!

And I don’t seem to be surprised! - Dunno answered. - I believed it myself.

That's how wonderful this Dunno was.

CHAPTER TWO

How Dunno was a musician

If Dunno took on something, he did it wrong, and everything turned out topsy-turvy for him. He learned to read only in letters, and could only write in block letters. Many said that Dunno had a completely empty head, but this is not true, because how could he think then? Of course, he didn’t think well, but he put his shoes on his feet, and not on his head - this also requires consideration.

Dunno was not so bad. He really wanted to learn something, but did not like to work. He wanted to learn right away, without any difficulty, and even the smartest little guy couldn’t get anything out of this.

Toddlers and little girls loved music very much, and Guslya was a wonderful musician. He had various musical instruments and often played them. Everyone listened to the music and praised it very much. Dunno was jealous that Guslya was being praised, so he began to ask him:

Teach me to play. I also want to be a musician.

“Study,” Guslya agreed. -What do you want to play?

What is the easiest thing to learn?

On the balalaika.

Well, give me the balalaika, I’ll try it.

(estimates: 7 , average: 2,14 out of 5)

Title: The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends

About the book “The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends” Nikolai Nosov

There is probably not a single person in the post-Soviet space who is not familiar with this short man - a freckled boy in a wide-brimmed hat and yellow bell-bottoms - Dunno.

“The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends” is not just a classic, it is one of those works that has become so firmly entrenched in our lives that often we can’t even remember who wrote it. And it was written in 1954 by the wonderful Soviet writer Nikolai Nosov. Although, by and large, Nikolai Nosov is not the “father” of Dunno. This character, like Murzilka, by the way, was invented in the mid-19th century by the Canadian artist Palmer Cox. And Russian children were introduced to it by the writer Anna Khvolson in the book “The Kingdom of Little Ones” back in 1889. But Nikolai Nosov certainly breathed life into him.

We don’t know where Dunno comes from in the Flower City. However, it immediately brings chaos into the measured life of its inhabitants. For example, he scares everyone with stories about a piece that came off the sun and falls to Earth. Dunno is a liar and a braggart, he knows nothing and doesn’t want to learn anything. But he is so kind, charming, and open that it is simply impossible to perceive him as a negative character. Nikolai Nosov himself wrote that Dunno is a very ordinary child, restless, a little lazy, cunning, but with excellent inclinations that he has to develop. But the rest of the characters in the book “The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends” are simply amazing. Vintik and Shpuntik, Gulka, the poet Tsvetik, the doctor Pilyulkin, the little girls Sineglazka and Snezhinka - they are all very lively, with their own characteristics and characters.

It is very interesting to read about the relationships between babies and toddlers. A mixture of wary interest, mutual contempt and tender friendship - just like in any children's group! But the separate existence of babies and toddlers and the subsequent rapprochement of their “worlds” also reflected the realities of the time. During the war, separate education for boys and girls was introduced in Moscow, Leningrad and large regional centers. Later, the reform was considered not very successful, and it was in 1954 that separate education was abolished - male and female schools were combined.

The idea for the fairy tale “The Travels of Dunno and His Friends” was born in 1952. On the train on the way to Minsk, for the anniversary of Yakub Kolas, Nosov spoke about the shorties to the Ukrainian children's writer, editor of the magazine "Barvinok" Bogdan Chaly. Then these were only outlines, but Chaly liked it, and he immediately invited the writer to publish the story in Periwinkle. In 1953-54, “The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends” were published in Periwinkle as individual chapters were written. And only then did they come out as a whole book.

After the success of the first book, Nikolai Nosov wrote sequels: “Dunno on the Moon” and “Dunno in the Sunny City.” The annotation to the book says that it is intended for primary schoolchildren aged 6-10 years. But, in fact, even children can read Dunno.

On our website about books, you can download the site for free without registration or read online the book “The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends” by Nikolai Nosov in epub, fb2, txt, rtf, pdf formats for iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle. The book will give you a lot of pleasant moments and real pleasure from reading. You can buy the full version from our partner. Also, here you will find the latest news from the literary world, learn the biography of your favorite authors. For beginning writers, there is a separate section with useful tips and tricks, interesting articles, thanks to which you yourself can try your hand at literary crafts.

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