Черная курица, или Подземные жители / The Black Hen
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"Blacky! Blacky!" said Alyosha in a low voice.
The sheet moved once more. Then the black hen flew up on the boy's bed. Alyosha was very happy to see his friend.
"Oh, Blacky!" he said. "Why didn't you come? I am your friend."
"Yes," said the hen. "I know. You are my friend. And you saved me from the cook. You were a good boy then. Everyone liked you. But now… you are awful!"
Alyosha started crying. Blacky spoke to him for a long time. She asked him to become a nice, kind boy again. In the end the hen told him:
"I must leave you now, Alyosha. Here is your hemp seed. You lost it in the yard. Our King doesn't take his present away from you. But you should become a good boy. And remember your promise. Don't tell anyone about us, Alyosha!"
Alyosha took the hemp seed from the hen.
"Dear Blacky, thank you for your help. Don't worry. I promise to become better in the morning."
"It is not easy. Remember that," said the hen. "I'm sorry, I must go now. Good-bye, Alyosha!"
Alyosha looked at the hemp seed. He was happy again.
"I can say twenty pages of the text without a mistake now. And it is very easy to become better," he thought.
The next morning the headmaster told Alyosha to come to the classroom.
"Do you know your lesson?" he said.
"Yes, I do," said the boy quickly.
And he said his lesson without any mistakes. Then he looked at the headmaster and the boys. The headmaster didn't like Alyosha's proud smile.
"You know your lesson now," said the headmaster. "But why didn't you want to say it yesterday?"
"I didn't know it yesterday," said Alyosha.
"Didn't you?" said the headmaster. "Yesterday evening you knew two pages. You told me that. And today you know all twenty pages without any mistakes! When did you learn them?"
Alyosha said in low voice:
"I learned them in the morning."
But then the children shouted:
"No! He didn't look at the book this morning."
Alyosha said nothing.
"Answer me!" the headmaster said. "When did you learn the lesson?"
Alyosha didn't know what to say.
Helpful Words & Notes
He tried hard—
in tears— в слезах.
Exercises
1 Answer the questions.
1) Did Alyosha start learning his lesson at once?
2) What did Alyosha have for dinner?
3) How many pages did Alyosha know in the evening?
4) What did Blacky give Alyosha?
5) What did Alyosha promise to Blacky?
6) What happened at the next History lesson?
2 Put the sentences in the right order.
1) It was time to go to bed.
2) Alyosha said his lesson without any mistakes.
3) Blacky asked Alyosha to become a nice, kind boy again.
4) Alyosha started looking for the hemp seed.
5) The headmaster didn't like Alyosha's proud smile.
6) Alyosha tried hard to learn the text by heart.
7) The headmaster brought Alyosha a glass of water and a piece of bread.
3 Match the opposites.
4 Choose right: do, did, didn't.
1) No, he ____ look at the book this morning.
2) When ____ you learn all the pages?
3) Why ____ you want to say it yesterday?
4) Alyosha, ____ you know the lesson now?
5 Say why:
1) Alyosha could learn only two pages.
2) The other boys didn't want to be Alyosha's friend any longer.
3) Blacky talked to Alyosha for a long time.
6 Is it easy for you learn something by heart? What do you usually learn by heart?
Chapter 8
The headmaster was very angry. He said:
"You are a clever boy, Alyosha. But yesterday you were very naughty. And you are naughty today. I am going to punish you for that."
It was a terrible thing for Alyosha.
"Boys!" said the headmaster to the other children. "Don't speak to Alyosha." The headmaster took the birch. Alyosha ran up to the headmaster in tears:
"Please, don't do it. I promise to become better!"
"Why didn't you think about it before?" asked the headmaster.
The other boys asked the headmaster to forgive Alyosha.
"Very well," said the headmaster, "I forgive you. But first you must say when you learned the lesson."
Alyosha was very unhappy. He forgot his promise to the King and his minister. He told the headmaster about the black hen. He told him about the knights and the underground people.
The headmaster stopped the boy.
"What!" he cried angrily. "You're trying to tell me a story about a hen now! That is too much. No, children. I must punish this boy!"
The headmaster punished Alyosha. After that the boy went to the bedroom. It was a terrible time for him. Alyosha put his hand in his pocket. The hemp seed wasn't there. The boy started crying again.
That evening he went to bed with the other children. But he couldn't sleep.
"I must become better. I was so bad," he thought. "And I can't get the hemp seed back now."
Suddenly the sheet moved. Alyosha closed his eyes. He was afraid of seeing Blacky.
"Only yesterday I promised her to become better. What can I tell her now?" he thought.