Vladislav Krapivin. Flying tales - BiblioGuide. Vladislav Petrovich Krapivin flying tales Krapivin flying tales

In the spring, Aleshkin’s parents received a new apartment. Good, on the fifth floor. From the window you could see the entire block with large houses, and then the old houses at the end of the street. The street was called Planernaya.

Previously, there was a sports airfield on this site. In the summer it was overgrown with field porridge, plantain and all sorts of grass that no one knows the name of. At the edge of the airfield, wormwood grew thickly. In the wormwood there was a truck with a motor winch. The winch wound a thin cable onto a drum and pulled colorful gliders into the sky. Just like boys fly kites on strings.

Alyosha was told about this by the guys who lived here before, in old houses. And Valerka Yakovlev told a completely amazing story: as if one day a real plane landed at the airfield. It was a two-seater airplane with orange wings, a silver fuselage and red numbers on the side. Apparently, something happened in the engine and it was necessary to urgently descend, but the pilot did not know where it would be more convenient to sit down. He circled and circled over the airfield. Then Valerka ran onto the field, fell on the grass and spread his arms in the shape of a “T”. The letter "T" is a landing sign. Valerka showed how it is better for the plane to approach the wind. The pilot landed the car, rummaged around in the engine, and then asked:

Do you want me to give you a ride?

Valerka said, of course, that he wanted to, and the pilot put him in the back seat and made three circles over the field. None of the guys believed Valerka, not even the old-timers. But Alyoshka believed. He liked to believe everything interesting and good.

He then often recalled this story and slowly became envious. And once Alyosha even dreamed of something similar. Not quite similar, but also a plane in a field. A warm night with large stars hung over the field, and only the sunset strip glowed near the horizon. On it, the heads and stems of tall grass stood out in a black pattern. There was a small plane there. And Alyoshka ran towards him waist-deep in the grass, in a hurry and very afraid that the plane would fly away without him.

Then Alyosha came up with the following poems:

I dreamed that a plane was waiting for me -

Night plane without lights.

The pilot is nervous in the cockpit,

An extinguished cigarette butt chews angrily

And he frowns more and more.

And I'm in a hurry, I'm running to the plane.

More like the anxiety of a night flight.

Pilot says:

“I'm in a damn hurry.

Sit down quickly, let's fly.

Please put on your parachute:

There will be dangers along the way."

Which?

I didn’t have time to find out anymore

Awoke…

Outside the windows the morning city was noisy,

And the dream did not return...

These were serious poems, and Alyoshka wrote them down in a thick notebook. He wrote down all his poems there, which turned out to be serious. For example, about a dog, how it got lost and could not find its owner, about a boy who is forcibly taught to play the violin, but he wants to be not a musician, but a traveler.

Well, and various others.

Alyoshka did not show the notebook to anyone. I was shy. And in general it was his secret. In addition, on one of the last pages he wrote the following lines:

It’s clear that you won’t really show such a poem.

But in general, Alyoshka did not hide the fact that he could write poetry. Some funny lines for a wall newspaper or a rhyme for playing hide-and-seek, please.

And once he wrote poems about the prince. About the prince from the fairy tale “Cinderella”. Because of these poems, he quarreled with Olympiada Viktorovna. This is where the story begins about traveling with the Green Ticket, about Alyoshka and the Pilot, and about many amazing things.

Olympiada Viktorovna led the children's drama club. The drama club practiced in the red corner of the building administration. This was called “working with children in the community.” Olympiada Viktorovna was a pensioner. Before that, she worked in the theater for a long time. Costume designer. She could have worked as an artist, but one problem prevented her: in her entire life, Olympiada Viktorovna did not learn to pronounce the letter “r”. Instead of "r" she got something between "v" and "y". For example, she talked to mechanic Uncle Yura like this:

Bezaboisie! When will the bataueys be repaired? It’s impossible to miss a corner indoors!

Uncle Yura, not a timid and even impudent man, cowered at such words and muttered:

Will be done. I'll report to the manager today. Just a second.

And Olimpiada Viktorovna, straight, tall and stern, continued:

I can’t instill in children a feeling of pvekuas when the room is dry! We will blame the pvemeev, and you will be to blame!

At the last word, she pointed a thin, pencil-sharpened finger after Uncle Yura, as if she wanted to pierce the unfortunate mechanic through and through.

The drama club was preparing to stage the play “Cinderella”. Cinderella was played by Masha Berezkina. Well, the one the poems are about. She and Alyoshka studied at the same school: Alyoshka in the fifth “B”, and Masha in the fifth “A”. The classes are different, and Alyoshka could not get to know her properly at school. And Masha rarely appeared in the yard, because she also studied music and figure skating.

And when the summer holidays began, Alyoshka found out that Masha had signed up for the drama club, and he immediately signed up too.

He really hoped that Olympiada Viktorovna would give him the role of a prince. The fact is that the prince in the play had to fight with swords against the robbers who wanted to kidnap Cinderella. And Alyoshka knew how to fight. At the school where he studied before, there was a fencing section, and he studied there a little (it’s a pity that he had to leave).

But Olympiada Viktorovna said that Alyoshka would play a guard at the gates of the royal palace. And she appointed a completely different boy as prince. He is taller than Alyoshka and older, he has already entered the eighth grade.

For some reason everyone liked this prince. They said that he had “excellent acting skills.” Alyoshka did not notice any such data. But when the prince was dressed in a prince’s suit, Alyoshka saw that he was too thin and his legs were slightly crooked. And he doesn't know how to carry a sword. Alyoshka went backstage and said in a low voice:

Puinz is quivo-legged... The sword hangs like an umbrella on a floor lamp.

And then he heard laughter. It was Masha who laughed. It turns out she was nearby. She laughed quietly, but cheerfully. And then she took Alyoshka by the elbow and said so well:

Oh, Alyoshka, stop being upset. It hurts because of some prince. I’ll have to play half a play with him, but I can’t bear it.

Alyoshka immediately believed that there would be a fairy tale.
After all, he was a poet, albeit a small one.
And all the poets - both small and big -
deep down they believe in fairy tales.
V. Krapivin. "Pilot for special assignments"

This feeling is familiar to anyone who remembers childhood. Over the years, people forget what it’s like to fly, but then, in childhood, everyone without exception knows how to fly, and not only in their dreams. It even seems that there is nothing so complicated about it; An old threadbare carpet from a dusty closet will do, or a kite soaring high in the sky, or a small paper airplane, or a simple dandelion: blow on it and you’ll fly...

Vladislav Krapivin has many successes - any writer can envy him. Not everyone manages to create so many good books in their life - books that have made the glory of Russian children's literature: “The Side Where the Wind is”, “The Boy with a Sword”, “On the Night of the Big Tide”, “The Musketeer and the Fairy”, “Three from the Square” Carronade", "Crane and Lightning", "Dovecote on the Yellow Glade", "Islands and Captains". But even among them there are very special ones - readers keep such books “closer to their hearts”, as the most precious, most intimate.

You believe “Flying Tales” immediately and unconditionally. Looking at the dazzling, lemon-yellow cover, like summer and the sun, you immediately understand what awaits you. Not just a fairy tale, no. You are about to fly, and everything inside is filled with delight and awe.

At some point, the line between fairy tale and reality blurs, and you think in amazement: was it really a dream, was it really real? And Alyosha’s amazing journey after the sailing boat, and the incredible flights of Olezhka and Vitalka, two best, two most faithful friends? Moreover, as time passes, it suddenly begins to seem as if this happened not to them, not to book characters born of the talent of a wonderful writer, but as if...

Hemingway once said: “All good books are similar in that they are more believable than reality, and when you finish reading, you are left with the feeling that everything described happened to you, and then - that it belongs to you: good and evil, delight, repentance, sorrow, people, places and even the weather".

The stories included in this collection appeared with an interval of three years: in 1973 (“Pilot for Special Assignments”) and 1976 (“Magic Carpet”). It was then that Krapivin increasingly began to turn to fiction, and even grumbling voices were heard reproaching the writer for departing from the “truth of life” and plunging into the abyss of fiction. But who knows whether a fairy tale ultimately turns out to be truer than reality itself?

In the story “The Flying Carpet,” an exceptionally powerful move was found, which from the very first lines convinces the reader of the reality of the events taking place: this is a fairy tale-memory. The story is told from the perspective of an adult, remembering his childhood, and in it - among other things - a magic flying carpet. A thorough narrator describes all the miracles down to the smallest detail, but sometimes a shadow of doubt seems to flicker in the author’s speech: did it happen or not? “In childhood, many people have their own magic carpet,- says wise Aunt Valya. - Those who can find..." And at this moment the fairy tale ceases to be just a figment of the imagination, acquiring a different, deeper meaning. A writer, with good reason, may be upset or even offended if someone calls his story a fiction, just as Green was offended by Olesha when he said about his novel “The Shining World”: “This is a symbolic novel, not a fantasy one! It’s not a person flying at all, it’s the soaring of the spirit!”.

Unlike “The Shining World,” Krapivin’s stories, for all their genuine drama, usually end happily:"Nobody crashed,- with these words Krapivin concludes another of his winged fairy tales - “A plane named Seryozhka.” -No one fell to their death.

Nobody. Honestly…"

And this also contains the highest truth of the fairy tale.

The first illustrators of the fairy tales included in this book were two of Krapivin’s favorite artists: Evgenia Sterligova and Evgeny Medvedev. But Evgeny Alekseevich was dissatisfied with his work on “The Flying Carpet” for the magazine “Pioneer” and even asked to remove all the color “pictures” taken from there from Vladislav Krapivin’s official website, allowing only two black and white sheets, later made for the Sverdlovsk collection, to remain. As for Evgenia Ivanovna, she can rightfully be called the best illustrator of “Flying Tales”.

Truly this is an amazing unity of writer and artist: the sunny collection, published in 1978 by Children's Literature and now repeated by the Meshcheryakov Publishing House, without exaggeration, is one of the most integral and harmonious Krapivin books. In the heartfelt, emotional and at the same time restrained (in two colors) drawings, Sterligova managed to capture the very essence of “Flying Tales”, their noble romantic spirit, creating a special lyrical atmosphere, from which any even somewhat sensitive heart ache so strongly.

“...We have complete mutual understanding,- Vladislav Petrovich said about his co-author, - in many ways the same vision of the world, and those “countries” in which we live in our imagination are very similar, in my opinion...” Such a rare harmony between the writer and the artist is probably explained by the fact that for a long time Krapivin and Sterligova lived in the same city, former Sverdlovsk, and now Yekaterinburg, lived not far from each other and countless times combined their creative efforts not only for book publications, but also for publications in the local magazine “Ural Pathfinder”.

Thanks to Evgenia Ivanovna, this popular literary and artistic magazine acquired that unique appearance for which its old files are now so highly valued among second-hand book dealers. “The Ural Pathfinder” willingly published many wonderful writers - from the Urals, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Novosibirsk: the Strugatsky brothers, Kir Bulychev, Sever Gansovsky, Vladimir Savchenko, Olga Larionova, Dmitry Bilenkin, Sergei Drugal, Gennady Prashkevich - who was never illustrated Evgenia Sterligova over the years of close cooperation with the magazine (once she even made an unexpected confession: “I am not an artist, I am a drawing reader”). But the Sterligov-Krapivin tandem undoubtedly turned out to be the strongest and most durable.

Evgenia Ivanovna’s greatest success came from her illustrations for Krapivin’s fairy tales and fantasy, although she also designs his realistic prose. But even in it, the artist vigilantly looks out for the features of the ideal, sublime, romantic, each time emphasizing them, making them larger, more visible, persistently bringing them to the fore. Art critics are right when they say that straightforward illustration is alien to her: she always draws “on a theme,” freely mixing the real and the fantastic, and draws, first of all, the mood diffused in the text, thus giving it a special airiness, wingedness, and flight. And therefore it is not surprising that her personal exhibition, held in 2008, was called exactly that - “Flying Tales of Evgenia Sterligova.”

Those who are just beginning to get acquainted with the work of Vladislav Krapivin may find the following publications useful:

• Vladislav Krapivin: “Literature is not a stadium” / interview with D. Baikalov // If. - 2008. - No. 10. - P. 272–275.
• Vladislav Krapivin: “I am writing about what hurts” / the conversation was led by N. Bogatyreva // Reading together. - 2008. - No. 11. - P. 6–7.
• Krapivin V. A few words to the readers / V. Krapivin // Krapivin V. Collected works: in 9 volumes - Ekaterinburg: 91, 1992–1993. - T. 1/2. - P.5-11.
• Councils of elders: Vladislav Krapivin / [interview with L. Danilkin] // Poster. - 2013. - No. 1. - P. 54–59.
• Baruzdin S. About Vladislav Krapivin / S. Baruzdin // Baruzdin S. Notes on children's literature / S. Baruzdin. - Moscow: Children's literature, 1975. - P. 258–262.
• Bogatyreva N. Vladislav Krapivin / N. Bogatyreva // Literature at school. - 2009. - No. 11. - P. 20–22.
• Kazantsev S. Drummers, forward! / S. Kazantsev // Krapivin V. Dovecote on the yellow meadow / V. Krapivin. - Moscow: Children's literature, 1988. - P. 5–7.
• Marchenko S. And we need swords! / S. Marchenko // Krapivin V. Shadow of the Caravel / V. Krapivin. - Sverdlovsk: Central Ural Book Publishing House, 1988. - P. 564–571.
• Pavlov A. Commander’s Sails: a noble mentor of young knights / A. Pavlov // Teacher’s newspaper. - 2007. - January 16. - P. 20.
• Razumnevich V. Be the first to stand up for the truth: about the books of Vladislav Krapivin / V. Razumnevich // Razumnevich V. With a book on life / V. Razumnevich. - Moscow: Education, 1986. - P. 199–207.
• Solomko N. Preface / N. Solomko // Krapivin V. Favorites: in 2 volumes / V. Krapivin. - Moscow: Children's literature, 1989. - T. 1. - P. 3–6.
• Shevarov D. Honest books and faithful squires / D. Shevarov // First of September. - 2002. - December 17. - P. 7.

In the spring, Aleshkin’s parents received a new apartment. Good, on the fifth floor. From the window you could see the entire block with large houses, and then the old houses at the end of the street. The street was called Planernaya.

Previously, there was a sports airfield on this site. In the summer it was overgrown with field porridge, plantain and all sorts of grass that no one knows the name of. At the edge of the airfield, wormwood grew thickly. In the wormwood there was a truck with a motor winch. The winch wound a thin cable onto a drum and pulled colorful gliders into the sky. Just like boys fly kites on strings.

Alyosha was told about this by the guys who lived here before, in old houses. And Valerka Yakovlev told a completely amazing story: as if one day a real plane landed at the airfield. It was a two-seater airplane with orange wings, a silver fuselage and red numbers on the side. Apparently, something happened in the engine and it was necessary to urgently descend, but the pilot did not know where it would be more convenient to sit down. He circled and circled over the airfield. Then Valerka ran onto the field, fell on the grass and spread his arms in the shape of a “T”. The letter "T" is a landing sign. Valerka showed how it is better for the plane to approach the wind. The pilot landed the car, rummaged around in the engine, and then asked:

Do you want me to give you a ride?

Valerka said, of course, that he wanted to, and the pilot put him in the back seat and made three circles over the field. None of the guys believed Valerka, not even the old-timers. But Alyoshka believed. He liked to believe everything interesting and good.

He then often recalled this story and slowly became envious. And once Alyosha even dreamed of something similar. Not quite similar, but also a plane in a field. A warm night with large stars hung over the field, and only the sunset strip glowed near the horizon. On it, the heads and stems of tall grass stood out in a black pattern. There was a small plane there. And Alyoshka ran towards him waist-deep in the grass, in a hurry and very afraid that the plane would fly away without him.

Then Alyosha came up with the following poems:

I dreamed that a plane was waiting for me -

Night plane without lights.

The pilot is nervous in the cockpit,

An extinguished cigarette butt chews angrily

And he frowns more and more.

And I'm in a hurry, I'm running to the plane.

More like the anxiety of a night flight.

Pilot says:

“I'm in a damn hurry.

Sit down quickly, let's fly.

Please put on your parachute:

There will be dangers along the way."

Which?

I didn’t have time to find out anymore

Awoke…

Outside the windows the morning city was noisy,

And the dream did not return...

These were serious poems, and Alyoshka wrote them down in a thick notebook. He wrote down all his poems there, which turned out to be serious. For example, about a dog, how it got lost and could not find its owner, about a boy who is forcibly taught to play the violin, but he wants to be not a musician, but a traveler.

Well, and various others.

Alyoshka did not show the notebook to anyone. I was shy. And in general it was his secret. In addition, on one of the last pages he wrote the following lines:

It’s clear that you won’t really show such a poem.

But in general, Alyoshka did not hide the fact that he could write poetry. Some funny lines for a wall newspaper or a rhyme for playing hide-and-seek, please.

And once he wrote poems about the prince. About the prince from the fairy tale “Cinderella”. Because of these poems, he quarreled with Olympiada Viktorovna. This is where the story begins about traveling with the Green Ticket, about Alyoshka and the Pilot, and about many amazing things.

Olympiada Viktorovna led the children's drama club. The drama club practiced in the red corner of the building administration. This was called “working with children in the community.” Olympiada Viktorovna was a pensioner. Before that, she worked in the theater for a long time. Costume designer. She could have worked as an artist, but one problem prevented her: in her entire life, Olympiada Viktorovna did not learn to pronounce the letter “r”. Instead of "r" she got something between "v" and "y". For example, she talked to mechanic Uncle Yura like this:

Bezaboisie! When will the bataueys be repaired? It’s impossible to miss a corner indoors!

Uncle Yura, not a timid and even impudent man, cowered at such words and muttered:

Will be done. I'll report to the manager today. Just a second.

And Olimpiada Viktorovna, straight, tall and stern, continued:

I can’t instill in children a feeling of pvekuas when the room is dry! We will blame the pvemeev, and you will be to blame!

At the last word, she pointed a thin, pencil-sharpened finger after Uncle Yura, as if she wanted to pierce the unfortunate mechanic through and through.

The drama club was preparing to stage the play “Cinderella”. Cinderella was played by Masha Berezkina. Well, the one the poems are about. She and Alyoshka studied at the same school: Alyoshka in the fifth “B”, and Masha in the fifth “A”. The classes are different, and Alyoshka could not get to know her properly at school. And Masha rarely appeared in the yard, because she also studied music and figure skating.

And when the summer holidays began, Alyoshka found out that Masha had signed up for the drama club, and he immediately signed up too.

He really hoped that Olympiada Viktorovna would give him the role of a prince. The fact is that the prince in the play had to fight with swords against the robbers who wanted to kidnap Cinderella. And Alyoshka knew how to fight. At the school where he studied before, there was a fencing section, and he studied there a little (it’s a pity that he had to leave).

But Olympiada Viktorovna said that Alyoshka would play a guard at the gates of the royal palace. And she appointed a completely different boy as prince. He is taller than Alyoshka and older, he has already entered the eighth grade.

For some reason everyone liked this prince. They said that he had “excellent acting skills.” Alyoshka did not notice any such data. But when the prince was dressed in a prince’s suit, Alyoshka saw that he was too thin and his legs were slightly crooked. And he doesn't know how to carry a sword. Alyoshka went backstage and said in a low voice:

Puinz is quivo-legged... The sword hangs like an umbrella on a floor lamp.

And then he heard laughter. It was Masha who laughed. It turns out she was nearby. She laughed quietly, but cheerfully. And then she took Alyoshka by the elbow and said so well:

Oh, Alyoshka, stop being upset. It hurts because of some prince. I’ll have to play half a play with him, but I can’t bear it.

I beg you, citizens, to calm down. And don't touch the boy. It is under the protection of Fairy Tales...

And then? - asked Alyoshka, because the Pilot fell silent.

Then this man led me to a large room. There are different maps on the walls and all sorts of devices. He sat me in a chair and asked: “Do you want an apple?” I thought and said: “I want.” Because I really wanted to eat. I began to chew an apple, and he said: “There is one thing, Anton. Very serious. A little girl is sick and could die. She was home alone and ate something she shouldn’t eat. But no one knows what exactly, and the doctor cannot understand what to treat her for. We need help."

Of course, I’m silent, because I’m not even a doctor at all. And he says again: “There was a stuffed monkey there next to the girl. She saw everything, but she doesn’t know how to speak. Understood me?"

But I didn’t understand anything. He began to explain that far in the northwest there is a magical forest and there lives a sorcerer who can talk to toys. He asks me: “Can you take the monkey there so that the sorcerer can talk to it?”

He asked Anton:

Can you? - and looked into his eyes very seriously. - Not afraid?

Antoshka was not afraid of flying and was not very afraid of the sorcerer. He was just surprised:

Are there no adult pilots?

The man in the blue uniform grinned:

You see... To fly into a fairy forest, you must first believe that it exists in the world. None of the adult pilots believes in fairy tales.

Do you think I believe? - said Antoshka.

I know. Otherwise, you and your friends wouldn’t have come up with your own Antarctica.

“Okay,” Antoshka said and didn’t argue anymore. What if the girl really dies? Then no fairy tales will help.

He put a stuffed one-eyed monkey in the back seat. The mechanics filled the tank with fuel. And Antoshka set off on his second flight.

Found the sorcerer? - asked Alyoshka.

There was no need for a sorcerer. This monkey spoke right on the plane.

Well, yes. Said the girl ate two tubes of shaving cream and her monkey's glass eye.

Cured?

Of course... Only I immediately had to fly to the Dark Lake. There, at the underwater school, the mermaids had a hole in the roof, and they demanded a diver.

Well, how are they, mermaids?... - Alyoshka asked, shuddering.

Yes, like all girls. They giggle and make faces. Even worse than the Red Riding Hoods.

Didn't you tickle?

I would tickle them! Just in case, I took this stick...

Further? The Chief Controller put me on the list of pilots. I said that I would fly on Special Assignments, because I already had experience and the car was reliable... They gave me a tablet. They made a uniform, but I don’t like it: it’s cloth, it’s scratchy, the collar hurts my neck like a grater...

Are you glad you became a pilot?

Anton shrugged. Then he smiled:

Like when... Once we had a math test, and I didn’t boom-boom. And suddenly the duty officer shouts at the door: “Topolkova to the director!” And there is a package from the Chief Dispatcher: urgent flight. It turned out great. Only Vera Severyanovna grumbled.

So you fly all year round, not just in the summer?

All year round... But when you fly to Skazka, it’s almost always summer there. See, that's why I'm tanned. - The pilot laughed and jumped up.

Wait,” Alyoshka said cautiously. - And the most important thing? Did you fly to the guys?

Antoshka stopped laughing.

Chapter Ten

That's what happened.

He flew to the Blue Hills and found Arkashka. Arkashka’s round face broke into a smile.

Wow! Anton! Are you here for good or for a visit?

“I’m behind you,” said Antoshka. - We're flying to the guys. I have a plane. Real, honestly!

Arkashka didn’t seem very surprised.

Where from? Was it built in the House of Pioneers? And in our technical circle they make robots. Do you want me to show you?

“Later,” said Anton. - Arkashka... Well, what are you doing? Let's quickly fly to Timka and Danilka.

Arkashka sighed:

You see, I have a club class at two o’clock.

Arkashka... - Anton said quietly. - What about Antarctica?

Arkashka sighed again and looked at his watch.

You know? You fly to Timka first. You make an agreement with him, and then come for me.

Well... - said Anton.

Tim played the violin. Music came from the window. From afar you could hear how well Tim played.

He saw Anton at the door, lowered the bow and quietly asked:

Antoshka... is this really you?

Do you want to return to Antarctica? - said Anton. - I have a plane. Honestly.

Tim looked at him, then at the violin.

Can I take it with me? Will anything happen to her at altitude?

We'll wrap it up. “And I will fly carefully,” said Anton.

And then the famous Timin’s dad entered the room.

Antosha,” he said, “can I talk to you man to man?” In a personal meeting.

Of course, Uncle Vitya,” said Antoshka.

They went out into the corridor. Uncle Vitya excitedly adjusted his braces on his round belly and spoke:

You see... I also understand what friendship is. What are favorite places, favorite games, and so on. Yes... But Tim is so passionate about music. He's doing well. He already played in a real concert. He can't be distracted. Music lessons require daily work.

Antoshka wanted to cry, but he restrained himself and said:

Well…

We will always be glad to see you! - Tim’s dad shouted after him.

Anton landed his plane on the lawn behind the village vegetable gardens. I asked the boys and found Danilka’s house.

Danilka sat on the porch and sculpted a cheerful large crocodile out of clay. Antoshka didn’t have time to say anything. Danilka stood up and quickly turned around, as if someone had called him. He smiled only a little, but his eyes and even his freckles simply shone.

“Well,” he said. - I told everyone. I knew, honestly, honestly, I knew that you would come. Even my mother didn’t believe it, but I still knew... What are you on?

By plane... No, really! I'm not joking, Danilka, don't think about it. There is a small plane. Let's fly to Antarctica!

Danilka was still smiling, but no longer cheerful.

“If it’s by plane, I can’t,” he said. - They won't allow it.

But this is a very safe plane!

Not in this case. The doctor won't allow it. It turns out that I have a heart... Well, some kind of illness has become attached to me. That’s why we moved to the village, it’s calmer here. They don’t even let me run, and I’m not even allowed to go to heights. If I violate the regime, I will have to have surgery. I’m not afraid of the operation, but my mother is terribly worried.

What can I say? If your heart stops, no fairy tale will help. And Antoshka, trying his best to smile, said:

Don't worry. I'll be arriving. Often…

He arrived. And to Danilka, and to Arkashka, and to Tima. And everyone was happy with him. But the guys there, in new places, made new friends - those who are always close, nearby. But the pilot Antoshka Topolkov could not be around for long. Because there were Special Instructions in the world.

“...That’s how I fly,” he said to Alyoshka. - It's been a whole year already. Reserved forests, distant kingdoms...

Interesting, right?

It can be interesting. It can be even scary, and sometimes it’s fun... But it doesn’t matter...

What does it matter?

Well, you see... you don’t need any magical lands if you are alone. It's boring to be alone in them.

Why are you alone? - Alyoshka objected. - You always fly with a passenger.

So what? The passenger will fly to the place and leave. Everyone has their own fairy tale, their own path. I fly according to other people’s fairy tales, but I don’t seem to have my own. It's over.

Do you think it's over?

Certainly. Antarctica is no longer there, I haven’t gathered the guys... But the best fairy tale is when you find a friend.

“That’s true,” said Alyoshka. - You know what, Pilot? You need a co-pilot.