As if by magic (8+)
There were three sons in one family. Two elder brothers were hardworking guys. Whatever they took on, they would see to it that a task is completed. And the third - Emelya – the worst lazybones in nature. The eldest sons grew up, chose professions they liked, and settled down to married life. Parents couldn't delight sufficiently in them.
The youngest son remained ignorant: he barely finished school, he could read only syllables, he could barely count within a hundred. It would be half the trouble if his studies didn’t work out, but even physically didn’t he want to do anything. He lay on the couch all day long, watching TV. And, he prided himself in knowing about all the news in the world; he visited almost all countries (though only virtually, on TV).
Sometimes he asked his parents tricky questions, and then laughed at them, calling them “old fogy.” Once, he asked his mother:
- Do you know what piranhas are?
The mother replied:
- These are probably women who feast all the time.
“You’re ignorant, mom,” Emelya laughed, “piranhas are fish.” They are very dangerous sea predators.
- Do you know which country has the tallest skyscraper? - he asked his father.
“I think America does, it is the richest country in the world,” the father answered.
“You are incompetent, father,” Emelya mocked at his father. - The tallest skyscraper is 828 meters, which is 163 floors. It is located in the city of Dubai, in the country called the United Arab Emirates. - I'm the smartest of all! - Emelya boasted.
“Maybe smarter, but it’s of no use,” his parents answered him. - We feed you and provide you with clothes. Soon we will grow completely old and will not be able to work. How will you live without us with your mind? “You’ll die of hunger,” the mother grumbled.
“Ah, ah... I’ll squeak through,” Emelya answered cheerfully and carelessly.
“Well, well,” the father groaned. “It wouldn’t hurt to come up with something a long time ago. Look, you’ve already grown a beard, and yet you’re still being a couch potato”, lamented his parents.
Emelya had not paid attention to his parents’ words for a long time.
One summer, Emelya’s mother asked:
- Will you at least go to the river and catch some fish? The weather is good. “Lying on the sofa or on the shore of the lake- it’s all the same”, thought Emelya.
Emelya scratched the back of his head, thought awhile and eventually agreed. Why not lie on the grass on the shore of the lake, admire the bright sun and listen to the chirping of the birds?
And so, Emelya threw out a fishing rod, and he lay down on the grass and began to wait. Whether Emelya lay on the shore for a long time or not, it doesn’t matter. He lay there and lay there, already beginning to fall asleep. Suddenly he saw that the fishing rod has somehow come to life. As if someone took the bait. Emelya somehow surprisingly quickly jumped to his feet and pulled at the fishing rod. A large pike literally jumped out of the water and flew into the air. “It will be good fish soup” – it flashed through his mind, and immediately the fish ended up in the bucket.
- Wait a little. Now I’ll catch some more fish, and we’ll go home. - Just as he was about to throw the fishing rod into the river again, he heard:
- Ah, ah... I don’t feel well...! Let me go…!
Emelya looked around, but saw no one. Suddenly he heard again:
- Let me go, Emelyushka...
- What a miracle! - Emelya exclaimed. – Is it possible for the pike to speak in a human voice?
The pike repeated:
- Let me go, Emelyushka. I will serve you well.
“So you say,” Emelya grinned. “You got frightened, so you started talking in your fright.” Never mind... You’ll quickly forget the Russian language in my mother’s saucepan. You will be silent, like a fish.
- I wish you wouldn’t be doing that, Emelyushka. Ask me for anything at all. “I will fulfill your every wish,” the pike begged.
- Can I have a whole bucket of fish? - Emelya said sarcastically.
Immediately, fish began to jump out of the water, so that he barely had time to catch them into the bucket.
- Unbelievable! - Emelya exclaimed. “There’s fish here enough for a whole week.” Mom will be happy,” he rejoiced. – Let it be so, I’ll let you go. There are more than enough fish.
Emelya reached out to the pike to release it, but then he thought twice: “Has anybody seen such a thing as a talking pike?! N-o-o way! I'll take her home. I’ll put her into the basin, let her chat with the parents. Let her fulfill their petty desires and leave me alone. I already have everything.” - He didn’t have time to finish his thought when he heard:
“I can’t live in captivity and I only fulfill the wishes of the one who caught me.” Let me go back to the lake, and I will fulfill all your wishes. You should only tell:
- By will of the Pike, do as I like, I want this and that. I'll do it in a blink of an eye.
- Okay, you have persuaded me. You can swim away. Just don’t you even try to deceive me,” Emelya threatened the pike and released her into the river. And he picked up a bucket full of fish and went home. The villagers, seeing Emelya, were surprised:
- Emelya got up from a sofa and caught some fish.
And mother was especially pleased. The soup turned out to be delicious. And so, Emelya lies on the sofa and thinks: “Shall I ask the pike for something? If she fulfills my wish, it’s good, if she doesn’t fulfill it, it doesn’t matter.”
Emelya was jealous of his brothers, especially because they had iPhones. When talking to someone, they looked so important and businesslike. Emela wanted to get an iPhone, and a cooler one than his brothers had. He said quietly:
- By will of the Pike, do as I like, I wish for an iPhone of the latest model.
As soon as he uttered the words, an iPhone appeared in his hands. Emelya could only open his mouth in surprise: “The pike hasn’t deceived me. A fish is a fish, but she keeps her word!”
And now, Emelya lies on the sofa and from morning to night he watches, listens and has fun with his new little device. He even forgot about the pike for a while, until one day his mother asked him to go to the grocery store.
He remembered about the pike. And he decided to ask the pike to fulfill his mother’s wish, but then he thought that it would be cooler if he drove his own car to the store. “Let her fulfill my wish. It should not be in vain that I gave her life!” Emelya thought, and then said quietly:
- By will of the Pike, do as I like, I want to have my own car!
Emelya looked out of the window, and there was a magnificent car in front of the house. The sides and the hood were shining in the sun. The car was new, as if it had just come off the assembly line.
Emelya got into the car and drove to the store as quick as the wind. The store, however, was very close - only 500 meters, but for lazy Emelya, a speed of 40 kilometers per hour was an impressive speed. However, this was not the main thing, but the fact that he was driving past the neighboring houses. The neighbors, seeing Emelya driving a real car, all as one, shot out onto the street to discuss the incredible news. For the second time a week, Emelya surprised everyone.
And Emelya thinks: “If the pike continues to be so obedient, then I can become rich and famous, but for now I want to relax on the golden sands by the Black Sea,” which is what he asked the pike that very minute.
The Pike, unlike many others, kept her promises, without delays or procrastination. Instantly Emelya found himself on the shore of the Black Sea. Beach, sand, sea - what more could a person who had never seen the sea wish for? For several days Emelya lived as if in paradise, not remembering the pike at all, but one day, looking closely at the beautiful house and villas that stood near the sea, he thought: “It would be great to have a luxurious villa on the shore of the Black Sea.” He thought so and immediately remembered the pike: “I gave her life - let her give me a villa.”
The pike instantly fulfilled his wish. And Emelya found himself in a house with a beautiful view of the sea on a luxurious sofa. Looking at the ceiling, he saw a delightfully beautiful crystal chandelier on the ceiling, which shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. There was an unusual silence in the house – there was neither the grumbling of the mother, nor the groaning of the father - as if he was alone in the whole wide world. Emelya thought: “If only I had a beautiful wife, then I would be happy.”
He hastened to express his request to the pike.
And so, Emelya prepared to meet a beautiful young girl, he even got up from the sofa. He sees the pike sitting in a chair and looking at him, with one fin hanging down and another one leaning on the armrest:
- Are you stunned by my request?! - Emelya exclaimed, - or didn’t you hear it?!
“I heard everything, but I won’t fulfill your request,” the pike answered calmly.
- And why is that? Maybe the beautiful young girl is you? Should I break your spell? - Emelya tried to express his guess.
This circumstance did not appeal to him at all. Having a beautiful wife is good, but who will fulfill his desires then? However, the pike anticipated his worried thoughts:
- I'm not a beautiful maiden. I'm a pike. But I will not fulfill your desire. While you were relaxing and sunbathing on the shore of the Black Sea, your neighbor Ivan caught me. I can only fulfill a desire of one of you.
“My desire, of course,” Emelya hastened to speak out. - I caught you first
- No. I thought so - you both caught me, but your desires are more extensive and limitless each time. And Ivan immediately told me that he didn’t need anything - he had a car, he built a house, and he had a job he enjoys. He just wanted to release me out of pity. I persuaded him to voice at least one of his most cherished desires. He was quick to name it...
“Let me guess,” Emelya interrupted the pike. - He wants to become a billionaire!
- You are wrong! - the pike grinned. - Ivan wantedlove to always live in his house, he wanted his children to always respect the elders...
- What a fool Ivan is! The more money a person has, the more he is loved and respected,” Emelya objected.
- I won’t argue with you. Just let me go. “I have already done a lot for you,” the pike said.
- Uh-uh, no-no! - Emelya objected. - I won’t let you go.
He wanted to grab the pike, but suddenly the pike, the villa with the sea view and the sea itself disappeared. He found himself on his old, shabby sofa. There was no car parked outside the window, no iPhone lying on the old nightstand near the sofa.
- Oh, you damned fish! Are you trying to make jokes with me? Now I’ll catch you and pull out all your fins, and even throw you into a saucepan and make soup out of you. - So he ran to the river, swearing and cursing the pike.
He ran on foot because he had become fat and clumsy because of idleness. Approaching the river, he called the pike:
- Pike, pike, swim to the shore, we have something to talk about.
The pike didn't have to wait long. She swam to the shore:
- I’m listening to you, Emelya, the one who I have dealt with.
Emelya, wishing to catch a pike, dived into the water headlong, but it doesn’t work that way. The pike was smart, fast, agile, not like this bumpkin - Emelya. She quickly evaded, easily flapping her fins. And Emelya, like an axe, sank to the bottom.
The trouble is that, though he lived not far from the river, he never learned how to swim. He was too lazy to even go into the water so that he wouldn’t have to get out of it later.
Emelya feels that it was the end of it. He remembered about the pike. He didn’t let her go, which meant she had to continue to fulfill his requests, and, barely holding his breath under water so as not to drown, he mentally prayed:
- Pike, dear, help! Save me! I beg you one last time.
And the pike answers him:
- Choose - either death on the bottom of the river, or get up from the couch and start working.
“Wo...,” Emelya opened his mouth, but almost choked. The pike was smart and guessed what Emelya wanted to say. Immediately he found himself on his favorite sofa. Only his clothes were completely wet.
Emelya got up from the sofa, changed his clothes and left the house. He sees his father repairing the gate.
- Father, can I help you? - he turned to his father.
The father looked at his son in surprise and silently held out a hammer and nails. Emelya scratched the back of his head just like his father, figured out what to do and how to do it, and got to work. Then he repaired the fence and carried the jars of jam, that the mother had prepared for the winter, into the cellar. He did a lot of things that day.
The father looked upon him with wonder, and the mother giggled quietly:
“You should have thrown a bucket of cold water on him a long time ago to cool his head and make him think in the right direction.”
“God willing, he’ll come to his senses now,” the father chuckled to himself quietly.
Author’s note:
Dream, my dears, but don’t forget, dreams should not go separately from your action.
There were three sons in one family. Two elder brothers were hardworking guys. Whatever they took on, they would see to it that a task is completed. And the third - Emelya – the worst lazybones in nature. The eldest sons grew up, chose professions they liked, and settled down to married life. Parents couldn't delight sufficiently in them.
The youngest son remained ignorant: he barely finished school, he could read only syllables, he could barely count within a hundred. It would be half the trouble if his studies didn’t work out, but even physically didn’t he want to do anything. He lay on the couch all day long, watching TV. And, he prided himself in knowing about all the news in the world; he visited almost all countries (though only virtually, on TV).
Sometimes he asked his parents tricky questions, and then laughed at them, calling them “old fogy.” Once, he asked his mother:
- Do you know what piranhas are?
The mother replied:
- These are probably women who feast all the time.
“You’re ignorant, mom,” Emelya laughed, “piranhas are fish.” They are very dangerous sea predators.
- Do you know which country has the tallest skyscraper? - he asked his father.
“I think America does, it is the richest country in the world,” the father answered.
“You are incompetent, father,” Emelya mocked at his father. - The tallest skyscraper is 828 meters, which is 163 floors. It is located in the city of Dubai, in the country called the United Arab Emirates. - I'm the smartest of all! - Emelya boasted.
“Maybe smarter, but it’s of no use,” his parents answered him. - We feed you and provide you with clothes. Soon we will grow completely old and will not be able to work. How will you live without us with your mind? “You’ll die of hunger,” the mother grumbled.
“Ah, ah... I’ll squeak through,” Emelya answered cheerfully and carelessly.
“Well, well,” the father groaned. “It wouldn’t hurt to come up with something a long time ago. Look, you’ve already grown a beard, and yet you’re still being a couch potato”, lamented his parents.
Emelya had not paid attention to his parents’ words for a long time.
One summer, Emelya’s mother asked:
- Will you at least go to the river and catch some fish? The weather is good. “Lying on the sofa or on the shore of the lake- it’s all the same”, thought Emelya.
Emelya scratched the back of his head, thought awhile and eventually agreed. Why not lie on the grass on the shore of the lake, admire the bright sun and listen to the chirping of the birds?
And so, Emelya threw out a fishing rod, and he lay down on the grass and began to wait. Whether Emelya lay on the shore for a long time or not, it doesn’t matter. He lay there and lay there, already beginning to fall asleep. Suddenly he saw that the fishing rod has somehow come to life. As if someone took the bait. Emelya somehow surprisingly quickly jumped to his feet and pulled at the fishing rod. A large pike literally jumped out of the water and flew into the air. “It will be good fish soup” – it flashed through his mind, and immediately the fish ended up in the bucket.
- Wait a little. Now I’ll catch some more fish, and we’ll go home. - Just as he was about to throw the fishing rod into the river again, he heard:
- Ah, ah... I don’t feel well...! Let me go…!
Emelya looked around, but saw no one. Suddenly he heard again:
- Let me go, Emelyushka...
- What a miracle! - Emelya exclaimed. – Is it possible for the pike to speak in a human voice?
The pike repeated:
- Let me go, Emelyushka. I will serve you well.
“So you say,” Emelya grinned. “You got frightened, so you started talking in your fright.” Never mind... You’ll quickly forget the Russian language in my mother’s saucepan. You will be silent, like a fish.
- I wish you wouldn’t be doing that, Emelyushka. Ask me for anything at all. “I will fulfill your every wish,” the pike begged.
- Can I have a whole bucket of fish? - Emelya said sarcastically.
Immediately, fish began to jump out of the water, so that he barely had time to catch them into the bucket.
- Unbelievable! - Emelya exclaimed. “There’s fish here enough for a whole week.” Mom will be happy,” he rejoiced. – Let it be so, I’ll let you go. There are more than enough fish.
Emelya reached out to the pike to release it, but then he thought twice: “Has anybody seen such a thing as a talking pike?! N-o-o way! I'll take her home. I’ll put her into the basin, let her chat with the parents. Let her fulfill their petty desires and leave me alone. I already have everything.” - He didn’t have time to finish his thought when he heard:
“I can’t live in captivity and I only fulfill the wishes of the one who caught me.” Let me go back to the lake, and I will fulfill all your wishes. You should only tell:
- By will of the Pike, do as I like, I want this and that. I'll do it in a blink of an eye.
- Okay, you have persuaded me. You can swim away. Just don’t you even try to deceive me,” Emelya threatened the pike and released her into the river. And he picked up a bucket full of fish and went home. The villagers, seeing Emelya, were surprised:
- Emelya got up from a sofa and caught some fish.
And mother was especially pleased. The soup turned out to be delicious. And so, Emelya lies on the sofa and thinks: “Shall I ask the pike for something? If she fulfills my wish, it’s good, if she doesn’t fulfill it, it doesn’t matter.”
Emelya was jealous of his brothers, especially because they had iPhones. When talking to someone, they looked so important and businesslike. Emela wanted to get an iPhone, and a cooler one than his brothers had. He said quietly:
- By will of the Pike, do as I like, I wish for an iPhone of the latest model.
As soon as he uttered the words, an iPhone appeared in his hands. Emelya could only open his mouth in surprise: “The pike hasn’t deceived me. A fish is a fish, but she keeps her word!”
And now, Emelya lies on the sofa and from morning to night he watches, listens and has fun with his new little device. He even forgot about the pike for a while, until one day his mother asked him to go to the grocery store.
He remembered about the pike. And he decided to ask the pike to fulfill his mother’s wish, but then he thought that it would be cooler if he drove his own car to the store. “Let her fulfill my wish. It should not be in vain that I gave her life!” Emelya thought, and then said quietly:
- By will of the Pike, do as I like, I want to have my own car!
Emelya looked out of the window, and there was a magnificent car in front of the house. The sides and the hood were shining in the sun. The car was new, as if it had just come off the assembly line.
Emelya got into the car and drove to the store as quick as the wind. The store, however, was very close - only 500 meters, but for lazy Emelya, a speed of 40 kilometers per hour was an impressive speed. However, this was not the main thing, but the fact that he was driving past the neighboring houses. The neighbors, seeing Emelya driving a real car, all as one, shot out onto the street to discuss the incredible news. For the second time a week, Emelya surprised everyone.
And Emelya thinks: “If the pike continues to be so obedient, then I can become rich and famous, but for now I want to relax on the golden sands by the Black Sea,” which is what he asked the pike that very minute.
The Pike, unlike many others, kept her promises, without delays or procrastination. Instantly Emelya found himself on the shore of the Black Sea. Beach, sand, sea - what more could a person who had never seen the sea wish for? For several days Emelya lived as if in paradise, not remembering the pike at all, but one day, looking closely at the beautiful house and villas that stood near the sea, he thought: “It would be great to have a luxurious villa on the shore of the Black Sea.” He thought so and immediately remembered the pike: “I gave her life - let her give me a villa.”
The pike instantly fulfilled his wish. And Emelya found himself in a house with a beautiful view of the sea on a luxurious sofa. Looking at the ceiling, he saw a delightfully beautiful crystal chandelier on the ceiling, which shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. There was an unusual silence in the house – there was neither the grumbling of the mother, nor the groaning of the father - as if he was alone in the whole wide world. Emelya thought: “If only I had a beautiful wife, then I would be happy.”
He hastened to express his request to the pike.
And so, Emelya prepared to meet a beautiful young girl, he even got up from the sofa. He sees the pike sitting in a chair and looking at him, with one fin hanging down and another one leaning on the armrest:
- Are you stunned by my request?! - Emelya exclaimed, - or didn’t you hear it?!
“I heard everything, but I won’t fulfill your request,” the pike answered calmly.
- And why is that? Maybe the beautiful young girl is you? Should I break your spell? - Emelya tried to express his guess.
This circumstance did not appeal to him at all. Having a beautiful wife is good, but who will fulfill his desires then? However, the pike anticipated his worried thoughts:
- I'm not a beautiful maiden. I'm a pike. But I will not fulfill your desire. While you were relaxing and sunbathing on the shore of the Black Sea, your neighbor Ivan caught me. I can only fulfill a desire of one of you.
“My desire, of course,” Emelya hastened to speak out. - I caught you first
- No. I thought so - you both caught me, but your desires are more extensive and limitless each time. And Ivan immediately told me that he didn’t need anything - he had a car, he built a house, and he had a job he enjoys. He just wanted to release me out of pity. I persuaded him to voice at least one of his most cherished desires. He was quick to name it...
“Let me guess,” Emelya interrupted the pike. - He wants to become a billionaire!
- You are wrong! - the pike grinned. - Ivan wantedlove to always live in his house, he wanted his children to always respect the elders...
- What a fool Ivan is! The more money a person has, the more he is loved and respected,” Emelya objected.
- I won’t argue with you. Just let me go. “I have already done a lot for you,” the pike said.
- Uh-uh, no-no! - Emelya objected. - I won’t let you go.
He wanted to grab the pike, but suddenly the pike, the villa with the sea view and the sea itself disappeared. He found himself on his old, shabby sofa. There was no car parked outside the window, no iPhone lying on the old nightstand near the sofa.
- Oh, you damned fish! Are you trying to make jokes with me? Now I’ll catch you and pull out all your fins, and even throw you into a saucepan and make soup out of you. - So he ran to the river, swearing and cursing the pike.
He ran on foot because he had become fat and clumsy because of idleness. Approaching the river, he called the pike:
- Pike, pike, swim to the shore, we have something to talk about.
The pike didn't have to wait long. She swam to the shore:
- I’m listening to you, Emelya, the one who I have dealt with.
Emelya, wishing to catch a pike, dived into the water headlong, but it doesn’t work that way. The pike was smart, fast, agile, not like this bumpkin - Emelya. She quickly evaded, easily flapping her fins. And Emelya, like an axe, sank to the bottom.
The trouble is that, though he lived not far from the river, he never learned how to swim. He was too lazy to even go into the water so that he wouldn’t have to get out of it later.
Emelya feels that it was the end of it. He remembered about the pike. He didn’t let her go, which meant she had to continue to fulfill his requests, and, barely holding his breath under water so as not to drown, he mentally prayed:
- Pike, dear, help! Save me! I beg you one last time.
And the pike answers him:
- Choose - either death on the bottom of the river, or get up from the couch and start working.
“Wo...,” Emelya opened his mouth, but almost choked. The pike was smart and guessed what Emelya wanted to say. Immediately he found himself on his favorite sofa. Only his clothes were completely wet.
Emelya got up from the sofa, changed his clothes and left the house. He sees his father repairing the gate.
- Father, can I help you? - he turned to his father.
The father looked at his son in surprise and silently held out a hammer and nails. Emelya scratched the back of his head just like his father, figured out what to do and how to do it, and got to work. Then he repaired the fence and carried the jars of jam, that the mother had prepared for the winter, into the cellar. He did a lot of things that day.
The father looked upon him with wonder, and the mother giggled quietly:
“You should have thrown a bucket of cold water on him a long time ago to cool his head and make him think in the right direction.”
“God willing, he’ll come to his senses now,” the father chuckled to himself quietly.
Author’s note:
Dream, my dears, but don’t forget, dreams should not go separately from your action.