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WHO IS STRONGER
Father had three sons. All of them grew up. Every boy was taller, stronger and more handsome than the other one.
One day their father decided to examine their wisdom. He put his hand on elder son’s shoulder and asked:
– My son, can you tell me who is stronger – you or me?
The elder son looked at his father and said:
– Of course, dad, I am stronger than you.
Father took his hand away and asked again:
– Do think well, my son. Am I stronger or you?
His son again repeated the same answer.
Father put his hand on the shoulder of the second boy and asked:
– My son, can you tell me who is stronger – you or me?
The second son looked at his father and said:
– Of course, dad, I am stronger than you.
Father took his hand away and asked again:
Do think well, my son. Am I stronger or you?
His son again repeated the same answer.
Father said nothing and came to his younger son. He put his hand on the shoulder of the younger son and asked:
– My son, can you tell me who is stronger – you or me?
The second son looked at his father and said:
– Of course, dad, I am stronger than you.
Father took his hand away and asked again:
– Do think well, my son. Am I stronger or you?
His younger son answered without thinking long:
– Probably you are stronger, dad.
Father smiled, but did not show his joy:
– Now tell me, my son, why have you changed your mind?
– Dear dad, I was stronger because your hand was on my shoulder at first and I felt your strength as mine.
BACK FROM THE FOREST
Once my grandson asked me to take him to the forest to gather mushrooms. And I took him with me.
My grandson grew up in a big city. It was for the first time he was in the forest. Everything was new and interesting for him there. He stopped in every step, looked around, listened to the whispering of leaves, twinkling of birds and asked many questions. We gathered many mushrooms. I was secretly looking at my grandson. He was very tired. He did not complain but was barely able to drag his feet. He did not ask questions any more.
Suddenly he asked:
– Granddad, what kind of trees are these?
It seemed he saw those trees just at that moment.
– They are pine-trees – I answered.
I thought he was going to ask again. But he was going quietly hanging his head. There was only one tree on our way. It was a huge tree with lots of branches. We sat under its shadow to have a rest. My grandson asked again:
– What is this tree, Granddad?
– This is a pine-tree. – I said. – Don’t you know it?
– Really? – He looked at me doubtfully.
– Why do you ask?
– It does not look like a pine-tree.
– Why?
– The pine-trees are high and straight in the forest. But this one has wide branches.
I liked my grandson’s ability of observation:
– You are very attentive – I said. – The pine-trees grow very closely in the forest. They have to rise higher in order to reach the sun. This is their struggle for life. Have you seen branches in down part of the tree, which dried in the shadow? Sometimes you have to sacrifice something in order to remain alive. But there is much space, fresh air and sunlight here.
My grandson asked without thinking:
– As city and village?
– What do you mean? – I did not understand anything.
My grandson explained:
– Look here, granddad. The skyscrapers were built very closely to each other in the city. They are as high as pine-trees in the forest. They always try to rise higher to the sky. But villages have much space and the houses are not high here.
THE FRIENDS OF THE NATURE
It was early spring. The school-garden was very crowded. The schoolchildren were busy on watering trees, cutting their dried branches and cleaning irrigation ditches.
Suddenly the pupil of the seventh form Nadir began to boast:
– Our class is the leader in every task.
His classmates endorsed him:
– We are the real friends of the nature.
The pupils of the eighth form objected to them:
– In any case, you cannot be compared with us.
Hearing it, the other children began to object to them. All of them tried to prove that they were real friends of the nature.
The director of the school was informed about it. He consulted with teachers to solve the problem fairly. A special commission was organized. Then the director told the children:
– Don’t worry. The commission will determine the real friend of the nature in the end of the school year.
The schoolchildren began to compete after this news.
At last, the school year came to an end. The commission announced the pupils of the fifth form as winners. They awarded with new textbooks solemnly.
Most of the children did not expect such a decision. That was why the director had to give explanation:
– Children, it is fact that the pupils of the fifth form planted less trees than other classes. But they protected their textbooks better than others. So the pupils of the next fifth form will be able to use their books easily in a new school year. To take care of books means to take care of trees, to protect the nature and to be the true friend of the nature. Publishing of these books needs much paper. The paper is get by the destruction of trees and forests.
The children had never thought about it.
AZER’S SPARROWS
It was early spring. The breath of spring spread everywhere. The people wore their light clothes. Everywhere was green and trees blossomed.
Azer was playing under the big mulberry tree all day long. He had a cap all winter on his head. Every time he threw his cap higher and higher. Next time when he threw it, the cap did not fall down. He looked up in surprise. His cap hung on the branch of the tree.
Azer was a little boy. He could not climb up the tree. He tried to take the cap down from the tree throwing stones on the branches. But he could not.
Azer had a cat. He called the cat and showed his cap on the tree:
– Climb up and bring me the cap.
The cat climbed up the mulberry tree scratching with its claws the trunk of the tree full of cracks. But the cat was afraid of approaching the cap. The branch was very thin. The cat tried to touch the cap with its front paws but could not.
As the days were getting warm Azer had no need to wear the cap. That was why he forgot about it.
One day, Azer’s family had a tea – time under the mulberry tree. His father looked upwards when the twinkling of sparrows was heard in the tree. He noticed the cap among the green leaves.
– Whose is this cap?
Azer was frightened. He did not want to be reproached. But he told how the cap appeared on the tree. His father called the elder son and said:
– Climb up the tree and take the cap.
Azer’s brother climbed up the mulberry tree as quickly as a cat. When he touched the cap, a sparrow flew out of the cap. The sparrow began to twitter with targeting voice and fly around the cap. Another sparrow joined to it and the birds started twittering loudly together.
Azer’s brother was at a loss:
– Daddy, sparrows nestled in the cap. They laid eggs in it.
– Don’t touch then. Come down. – His father said.
Not long after the twittering of nestlings with yellow beaks spread over the garden. Azer was looking at them untiringly.
One day, Azer heard the loud noise of sparrows. He came to the tree quickly and saw his cat on the tree near the nest of the sparrows. The cat stared at the nestlings with watering mouth. But the cat could not approach the nestlings as parent sparrows tried to push it with their beaks, making loud noise.
– Heyy… Mastan, what are you doing there? – Azer shouted in excitement. – Come down! Be quick!
The cat obeyed unwillingly and did not approach nestlings any more.
The nestlings had wings very soon. The parent sparrows taught them to fly.
Azer showed them to children and said proudly:
– They are my sparrows!
WHAT DO FISH WANT?
Rustam and Aydin were in the third form.
Once they passed by the pet shop. They entered the shop as soon as they saw parrots in the cage through the window. There were different types of birds in the pet shop. But the multicolored fish in the aquarium attracted their attention much more. The fish were moving with their tails and swimming by the help of their flippers so fast that the children looked at them with great interest.
In the evening Rustam told his father about the fish which he saw in the pet shop with his friend Aydin:
– Dad, buy aquarium and fish for me.
Father fulfilled his dream. Aydin also asked his father about it.
Some days passed since that day. Aydin came to Rustam after lessons. He looked at the fish in the aquarium, which was in the corridor. He took some feed from the bowl and poured into the water. But the fish did not touch it. Aydin asked:
– Your fish do not need feed.
– I have just fed them.
Aydin said:
– But my fish are very insatiable ones. They are eating whole day, but do not satiate.
– Don’t pamper them. Otherwise, they will not be able to move.
– What can I do? They want to eat. They look at me with open mouth.
Friends came to Aydin’s house. His fish were swimming over the water with open mouth. Sometimes they rose their heads out of the water, as they wanted to eat. There was enough feed in the aquarium. But the water was very dirty. It became dirtier when fish moved quickly. Aydin showed the fish and said:
– Do you see how insatiable they are?…
When he wanted to take feed for them, Rustam said:
– Wait a little! Don’t you really know what your fish want?
Aydin looked at his friend in surprise:
– Of course, feed…
Rustam shook his head:
– No, they do not need feeding.
– What do they want then?
– Bring the textbook “Nature science” to me.
Aydin brought the book. Rustam looked for the unit dedicated to fish and found it. There was such a note there: while remaining in the aquarium for a long time the water becomes dirty and oxygen decreases in the structure of water. The breathing of fish becomes hard. That’s why they rise over the water to breath easily.
– Why have you forgotten this fact so fast? We had this lesson a week ago. – Rustam reproached his friend.
Aydin blushed with shame. He did not learn that lesson a week ago.
BOZLAR
We were the quests in Ashgabad at a young, famous talented Turkman artist by name Nuryaghdi. I cannot forget the portrait of a dog even today, which I saw in his workshop. That portrait, painted with oil on a big canvas, was hung in the center of the workshop. The long-wooled grey dog with cut off ears, had been created by the artist masterly, was staring at the door with its black extraordinarily expressive eyes. It seemed that the dog tried to assess the visitor with its big clever eyes if a newcomer was a friend or an enemy.
Later I saw the dog’s photo on the wall of Nuryaghdi’s house. I had read much and seen many films about dogs. I had also heard much about monuments, erected to the honor of dogs. They gained this respect with devotion to their owners. I wondered, for which services did that dog become favorite one of the family?!
I looked around but could not see the dog there. At last, I had to ask Nuryaghdi pointing on the picture:
– Is this your dog?
He looked attentively at the painting as if he saw it for the first time and said:
– It was our dog. It died two years ago. By the way, it was my savior.
At that moment, the old, thin, round-shouldered man appeared at the door. He had rare short white beard. He had a striped aragchin (national cap with ornamental embroidery) on his head. There was a smile in his Asian eyes.
Nuryaghdi crossed his hands on his breast and introduced me the man who greeted us.
– Let me introduce you my father. It will be better, if my father tells you about Bozlar. By the way, he is the only eyewitness of that accident who remained alive. The old man told us an accident:
– “I remember that accident as if it happened today. We lived in the suburb, far from the center of the city. There was a holiday in our old tumble-down patrimonial hut. Our first child – my son was born that day. This very unfortunate Nuryaghdi. Our nearest and dearest had just gone away when it was getting dark. Suddenly my wife rushed in horrified. She was weeping, beating her knees and tearing her hair:
– Oh, man, the stones fell upon us, the stones fell upon us…
To say the truth, I did not understand anything. What did she want to say? We had just said good-bye to our quests and returned home joyfully. I got angry and shouted at my wife:
– Damn it, woman! What is the matter? Speak quietly!
My wife was trembling and weeping:
– The child disappeared from his cradle.
I felt dull ache on my head hearing it:
– What do you say, woman? Аre you out of your mind?
I ran into the room. The cradle was empty. We were looking for the child everywhere, but could not find him. I was at loss. Had the child been stolen? It was impossible. Nobody was able to come nearer our house because of the fear of Bozlar. Even birds did not fly over the house. Bozlar was very keen-nosed dog. I believed Bozlar as I believed myself. I always entrusted Bozlar with our life. If not, did I keep it in the yard and feed?
But at that moment it was evident that I should not have trusted it. How did it happen that the child had been stolen, when there were so many people at home but Bozlar was not aware of it?
I immediately called Bozlar. As soon as the dog heard my voice, it hurried to me shaking with tail. The dog was out of breath. Bozlar was excited for some reason. The dog did not keep eyes from the hill in front of our house. It laid under my feet and whined. I was out of my mind to understand the dog’s strange actions and perlexed look.
I took Bozlar to the room and showed the empty cradle of my son imitating the baby’s crying. Then I ordered Bozlar:
– Look for, Bozlar, look for the baby and find him. Be quick!..
Bozlar was not well-groomed, hand-reared domestic animal. It never entered the house through the threshold. I made a little dog-hole for Bozlar in the yard and the dog lived there. But it was very clever dog. It was sensitive dog and always devoured my every word.
Bozlar began to run barking and I followed the dog. I found the baby on the hill, which was in front of our house. He was safe and sound. He was in deep sleep. I thought that someone wanted to steal the child but could not, because Bozlar noticed and prevented.
It was very strange. When I was going to take the baby home, Bozlar again began barking and whining. The dog prevented me to move getting under my feet. I thought that Bozlar was showing its joy.
My wife met us in the path with tears of happiness on her eyes. She embraced the baby kissing and caressing.
Bozlar did the same with my wife getting under her feet. The dog did not let her move.
I was so foolish thinking that someone stole my baby. Who could do it? I did not remember that I had any enemy. I did never do harm to anybody. Doubt began to creep in, as I had no idea.
Not long after the baby disappeared again. I went out just to make sure. Darkness was creeping up when I noticed the silhouette crawling to the hill. That was Bozlar. The dog was carrying my son Nuryaghdi in its mouth. I was surprised. What was the matter? Why did the dog carry the baby to the hill? For what purpose the dog that had never entered the house, that day carried the baby from home?..
When I took the baby away from Bozlar, the dog again prevented me getting under my feet and barking. It did not openly let me take the baby home. The dog was fussing about something, smelling the air and howling loudly. But I didn't know what all the fuss was about!
I thought that the poor dog run amuck. If so, I would be able to kill it. I kicked the poor thing a little bit and tied with cord to the pillar. The dog could not get calm. It was digging the ground. I was horrified because of Bozlar’s terrible howling. We could not sleep turning to the left and right. At last, my wife said:
– Man, go and set the dog free from cord. It will let neither us nor neighbors sleep till the morning.
I got up grumbling:
– Bad dog! I’ll show you!…
The dog did not let me approach. I was going to beat it with a spade but felt sorry for poor animal. At last, I took it to the dog-hole with kind words and closed the door, which I had made of reed. I put a big pillar behind the door in order the dog could not open it.
Bozlar was angry with me but I did not pay attention to it. To tell the truth, I was in a bad mood. I went to bed but the dog did not stop howling.
Suddenly I opened my eyes by the stab of pain. The big log had fallen on my head. My hand became bloody when I touched my head. My head was badly wounded. At that moment, I felt that someone was pulling my shirt. That was Bozlar. The dog tried to help me to stand up. My wife was moaning under the logs near to us. There was shouting for help everywhere. At first, I did not understand anything. I came to myself, threw the logs aside and stood up.
Our house was thrown down. We were remained alive thankful to the iron heads of the beds. I helped my wife to draw herself up. She was still moaning. She forgot about her pain as soon as she remembered her baby. She began to shout and cry. I turned the house upside down but could not find the child. Bozlar, was still observing me, suddenly understood that we were looking for something. It whined and ran away towards the hill. It was calmed down.
My son was in deep sleep on the hill unaware of the world.
His swaddling bands were in blood. That was the place of dog’s mouth and teeth. I ran towards Bozlar. The dog’s mouth was full of blood.
When I turned back, I was horrified seeing our housing estate ruined. All houses destroyed. The well-known Ashgabad earthquake ruined our housing estate. There was a slum on its place.
It turned out Bozlar knew about that terrible disaster in advance.
When the dog wanted to open the door it gnawed the reed which cut its mouth, entered the house through the opened window. Then Bozlar took the baby from the cradle and carried him to the hill.
SALTY WATER
Zaur’s father used to go to the nearest lake in for fishing at weekends. Once he took Zaur with himself.
They made tent on the bank of the lake. Father was fishing and Zaur was walking around. There was a little river near the lake. It was flowing into the lake. Everything was new and interesting for Zaur there.
In the afternoon, they made a bonfire to cook fish soup. Father gave him a bucket to bring water.
Zaur walked down along the river. He thought that there was much water in the lake.
Father wanted to drink a glass of water before making soup. When he wanted to drink, he coughed.
– Where have you brought water from, sonny?
– From the lake. – Zaur answered.
Father shook his head and said:
– It is my fault. I had to tell you know beforehand about it. You had to bring water from the river.
Zaur was surprised:
– What is the difference? Water is water everywhere …
– There is a great difference, sonny. The water of the lake is salty. It is impossible to drink it.
Zaur did not believe his father. He tasted the water. It was really, salty. He was interested and asked his father:
– Why is the water of the lake salty, dad?
– Because, the lake water evaporates for centuries but the salt in the composition of water remains. It makes the water of the lake salty.
– Are all the lakes salty, dad?
– No, my son. There are many lakes with drinkable water. But they have flowing water. It means that the rivers, which flow into the lake, bring salt with them. But the rivers, springing from lake, carry the salt with them. This lake does not have flow.
– And what about seas and oceans?
– There is much salt in the water of seas and oceans.
Father poured the water out of the bucket. When he wanted to walk down for bringing water, Zaur prevented:
– Let me bring water, dad.
He took the buckets and ran to the river.
CONFESSION
I had just returned from work. I was lying on the sofa and having rest after dinner. My little daughter carefully approached and began walking around me. I grasped that she wanted to say me something.
– Can I massage your knees, dad? –She started to massage my knee without waiting my answer. I sometimes massaged my knees because of pain in them.
I knew that she used trickery. She was going to ask me something.
– Dad, why do they make such bad pens?..
Now everything was clear to me.
– Which pens, my girl?.. – I asked.
– The pens which you write with.
– I wonder how do they make them?
– So-so… – She drew her voice.
– But how?..
As she saw that my patience gave out, she said:
– They break down while touching them.
I understood that she did something bad. That was why she was going to give advance notice me.
– Which pen is it? Which part of the pen have you broken?
– The back of it.
– Bring it me.
I was not mistaken. That was my pen. She had taken it from my writing-table.
– Do you see, dad? How badly it was made!
The little girl was trying to deny her guilt.
– Why did you yake it without permission, daughter?..
– So what? Must it break?
I was about to lose my temper.İ could restrain my anger in time. What did it mean? It had already happened. And nobody was guilty in it. Neither those who made this pen nor my little daughter. I was so engaged in my work and I could not notice that my daughter had already grown up. She was already interested in paper and pen. What is wrong here? It meant that I would not forbid her taking pens without permission. I had to teach her using pen and paper correctly.
– You are right, my girl, – I said. This pen was not made very well. I’ll give you the new one. It will never break.
– Really?..– My daughter was glad to hear it.
– Of course!..
– Do you know, dad, I did not want it to break off.
My little daughter repented very much. That was a kind of confession in her mind.
– I believe you. – I said. – You will be more careful after this.
– All right, dad! – She jumped and embraced me. – You are the best father!..
I was deeply moved by her action. I did not absolutely feel sorry for broken pen.
AN ELEPHANT OR AN ANT?
Elnur was going back home with his little brother Elmir from the Zoo. His brother asked him on the way:
– Elnur, I wonder, the elephant is stronger or the ant?
– Even babies know this!.. – Elnur laughed ironically.
– Then tell me, which of them is stronger, tell me! – Elmir insisted.
– Of course, an elephant! Didn’t you see, how huge is it?! – Elnur said with assurance.
– No, you are not right!.. – Elmir objected to him.
Elnur stopped:
– What? Do you think that the ant is striong?..
– Of course, the ant is!.. – Elmir said.– Don’t you know it?
Elnur got angry and gave a slap on his brother’s head.
– Are you out of your mind? How can you compare such a huge animal with the little ant? Do you know how the elephant is strong? It can uproot even big trees in the forests with its trunk. But the ant cannot carry even the little grain.
– I say that the ant is stronger than elephant!-Elmir insisted on his mind.
Elnur flew into a rage:
– But the ant is not even the size of an elephant’s claw!
– So what? The case is not in size!..
– Well, in what is the case then?..
– I don’t know. – Elmir could not explain him the reason. – But dad always says so.
– What does dad say?..
– He says that the ant is stronger than the elephant.
– Do you believe him? He thinks that you are naive.
– No, he was serious.
– What makes you think so?