Читать «Чудо веточка» онлайн - страница 6

However, Johnny tried to get his way, "The flute can be used in any place - at home, in the street, and even in the forest."

Ham sat in Papa's boot, heard everything, and thought, if a person doesn't like playing the piano, why make him do it? Let him play the flute if he enjoys it. It may be much better.

The small beast thought during the night and decided to somehow express his thoughts to Mama. But how would he do it?

Ham did it like a hamster could. It was so...

A fine sunny morning had set in. Mama drank coffee in the kitchen and read the big newspaper very attentively. The small creature emerged secretly onto the table and slipped quickly between the pages so that he was invisible.

At that moment, Mama heard a rustle of the paper. She raised her head and, with what she suddenly saw, threw down the paper with terror. The newspaper pages were billowing and moving to and fro like a sea surf. Mama almost dropped her cup. She looked with wide open eyes and cried,

"Gracious me! What is happening? Look everybody, the page is moving by itself!!! This is really magic!" Mama stammered as she turned pale and held her heart with her hand.

But, in the next moment, she noticed a small tail swinging cheerily from behind the remote edge of the page, and she smiled brightly. Johnny and Papa smiled, too.

It's difficult to say whether the small beast was able to thus tell his trouble about Johnny. Anyway, Ham liked the following conversation that he heard. This happened after everybody calmed down, and Johnny asked his parents,

"Please, have pity on him. He is too bored. Let's buy a squirrel wheel for our hamster!"

"What's that?" Papa asked.

"It's a wheel the pet runs inside of and turns, but stays in once place."

"OK, I agree to look for such a wonder," said Mama. Johnny had a kindly mother!

Thus, the wheel was bought and put by the window. What an unexpected surprise for the whole family when the small, clever beast suspiciously approached the unknown thing, touched the wheel with his sharp nose, and suddenly stood stock-still looking at how it began to turn. But the real wonder came later. The hamster himself climbed up the wheel rungs and, with a gaze of amazement, quickly rushed to attempt to reach the peak. However, it was in vain. Ham was running, nevertheless, staying at almost the same place. The hard toiler was panting, puffing, and snorting very loudly,

"Puff-piff, puff-ffrr!" and he moved so quickly that the wheel was invisible.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon. The hamster that had been running since early in the morning had not had one break. He was very tired and his strength had run out. But small Ham did not give in. He tried to keep his spirits up in such a song,

"Oh, stairs up, oh, stairs up, oh how they're a lot,

My feet escape, my feet escape, and heart beats hard,