I ENVY THE POWER OF LIFE AND THE ENERGY OF THESE FLOWERS GROWN THROUGH THE ASPHALT.

You have probably seen grass breaking through the asphalt. This amazing phenomenon can be observed at every step: a soft, weak blade of grass breaks through hard asphalt. Maybe the asphalt cracks for some other physical reason, and the plants grow through the crack? Maybe a seed germinates in a small amount of soil on the surface of the asphalt, and then destroys the asphalt with its roots? And if, nevertheless, a blade of grass breaks through the asphalt, then by what forces?

How does a weak blade of grass break through the asphalt?

Initially, the seeds actively absorb water, swell and begin to germinate. Huge hydrostatic pressure arises in the cells of the seedlings, which allows them to overcome the thickness of the earth, and if necessary, the asphalt.

Plants have special adaptations that help them break through the ground. A sprout of corn, for example, breaks through the ground with tightly folded leaves, like an awl. Plants with a massive top (bean sprouts) overcome the resistance of the soil with the end of the stem bent twice. In castor beans, the stem is twisted in a loop to lift the clod of earth lying on top.

Swelling pea seeds are even used by anatomists to separate the bones of the human skull, which are connected by a jagged suture, and this requires a very large force.

Seed sprouts show pressure up to seven atmospheres.

Desert champignons break through the hard asphalt-like crust of desert takyrs. Common champignons break through concrete and asphalt pavements of roads and sidewalks, concrete floors of garages and warehouses. In 1968, a large family of champignons broke through the asphalt in the very center of Moscow, near the Bolshoi Theater. The hyphae of some fungi are capable of drilling into thin plates of marble, limestone, and gold. This penetration is purely mechanical, due only to the enormous intracellular pressure of the developing hyphae. During the growth period, the turgor pressure in mushrooms greatly increases, the tissues of the fruiting body become extremely elastic. This pressure reaches seven atmospheres and is equal to the pressure in the tires of a ten-ton dump truck.

This world is beautiful
This world is cruel
Broke through the asphalt
Little sprout.

"Hands" pulls to the sky,
Rises to the top
Tearing through the stalk
Suffocate the shell.

That's the way fate is
Opposite to go.
He was born in the city
And not in the spacious steppe.

It doesn't scare him
He boldly goes forward
Where there is a piece of heaven
Among the iron heights.

And the city retreats
He didn't have to argue.
mighty strong tree
Born in that city.

The germ of chastity is thin
Words strengthen nipples
A strange cold runs through the body
And the woman is torn to pieces.

Opening bodily sprats
Tomato stained knives
Not many can be trusted
Only those who flow from love.

Patting heartily on the ass
Dreaming of big feelings
Giving each other forever
Let out a frenzy cry.

There is the eternal torment of intercourse
There is a female, ordinary cry.
Primal matter hunger
Forced zeal, a dead end.

The secondary soul of obsession
Satiation with a solid body ...

Through a lethargic dream
Began to trace the summer
With a pack of empty cigarettes
I imagined until dawn.

Memory will create mirages
As if in mockery, in the desert
Instead of cold water
A glass of alcohol was offered.

By the way came etude
Worth throwing or not worth
Smoke came out of my ears
I'll make tea, tea will help.

Enough apathy, Scythian!
Bitterness in the head, like in a jug
She's spacious, fresh
It's hard to get to this day.

Mind tired of tasks
Glitter pyramids, pharaohs
The power to divinely lie
To...

Through time and distance
The planet's ball flies into the darkness.
He drinks the warmth of a shining star
That she could become the sun for him.

Becoming a home to the human tribe,
He gave them a place to live.
But to live closely, on it is huge,
They, a small body, great evil.

And the cosmos looks indifferent,
The earth's ball is small, negligible in it.
And eternity will take our souls,
When we leave the body.

And vain vanity,
In the bodies of the born will be life.
And the rank in this world is mortal,
Don't be proud of your height.

Through the times...

Living at home, I especially loved the evening, when everyone went to bed and there was silence. Only in the kitchen the light was on - the woman and mother were completing the last cleaning, and from there a cozy strip of light fell through the curtains into the dark room.

I lay on my bed and listened to the silence of my home. Muffled voices in the kitchen flew through an affectionate light slumber... If I had a presentiment that the house would soon disappear from my life forever, I would probably try to remember every wall, every crack on it, every petal in the garden and every piece of land in the garden...

One autumn day, sitting in a stroller, I saw a box of colored pencils and a notebook on the chest of drawers. I was surprised by this “unplanned” purchase and asked:

Mom, who did you buy this for?

Mother was just making my bed. Slowly turning around, she answered in embarrassment:

We bought this for you. You will go to school soon. You will learn ... to read, write ...

I felt a gliding chill inside, something in her intonation alerted me. And, no matter how hard I tried, I could not imagine what this school would be like.

After that, the father went to the home for disabled children to see what needs to be brought there. At first, he and my mother even wanted to deliver my bed there. But it turned out that there are suitable beds.

It was decided to take only two of my strollers - a walker for walking and a baby carriage, in which I sat all the time. It was an ordinary stroller, which my father slightly modified as I grew up.

Household began to behave very strange. Grandmother almost stopped coming up to me, and grandfather tried to disappear somewhere for the whole day. I keenly felt the changes, but could not find their cause. As an adult, I realized: they knew perfectly well where I'll get there and what will it be there completely helpless child. They felt guilty, embarrassed and ashamed, but the decision had already been made...

Where were they taking me?!

When my parents got ready to transport me, it was a gloomy October outside the window. There was no clear picture left in my memory, there was something fuzzy, gray, blurry, like a half-erased page ... Late in the evening, my father and I drove to the Bochaty station, not far from the orphanage.

I remember how he carried me in his arms from the station, how I clung to his shoulder and fell silent with fear. We approached a dark wooden hut, father knocked on the door, from there the lock creaked and the doors were flung open.

I was carried into a room and placed on an untidy bed in the reception room, to which everyone who worked that day had fled. This specialized orphanage was organized quite recently, and each incoming child aroused incredible curiosity of the staff. And then young healthy parents handed over a child, somewhat strange in their movements. When I was lying down, the strangeness was invisible, only if you take a closer look at the position of the arms and legs. And so on the bed lay a completely ordinary frightened six-year-old girl.

Lying on the "reception" bed, I looked at the dirty, not whitewashed walls for a long time, turned my eyes to strangers and calmly waited for my father to talk to everyone, take me in his arms and say: "Well, daughter, now let's go home." And we'll go back to the station, get on the train, and soon we'll be home.

But things turned out differently. The people around me parted, and my mother, who had arrived early to arrange everything, entered the waiting room. She was wearing a government robe, washed so that the multi-colored pattern of the fabric was barely visible. She began to hastily undress me, looking away. After waiting for my mother to take off my outer clothes, my father came up, leaned over, kissed me and wanted to leave. But with my hand I involuntarily knocked off his hat, and he hesitated, picking it up from the floor. And when he left, everyone noticed how tears were running down his cheeks. Of course, I didn’t remember this, and I didn’t see his face then, one nanny told me this when I grew up.

Then my mother took me in her arms and carried me along a long gray corridor. She went into the ward, put me on a free bed, asked them to move the second bed to her so that I would not fall, and silently left. And then the lights were turned off. In the semi-darkness, I began to look at the silhouettes. There were many beds, all of which had ghost children. A hefty girl with a head cut like a sheep’s was rushing about the ward - that is, her head was cut in shreds, islands of hair stuck out in places, skin was visible in places.

From a completely unfamiliar environment and fear, I did not understand anything and did not feel anything. It even seemed to me that I had died, and only my eyes remained alive, which involuntarily studied a completely incomprehensible place.

A thick autumn night fell outside the window, it became quiet in the ward, and this alien silence, not at all like at home, helped to get out of the stupor. All night I peered into the darkness and waited that, quietly opening the door, my mother would come in, sit on my bed and console me. Cause I feel so bad!

In the morning, as soon as the nannies began to check the children in order to re-bed those who wet themselves, I roared like a beluga, clearly realizing that I had been abandoned. The girl with the sheep's head, who had rushed about the ward the day before, began to rush along the aisle between the beds like a mad beast. She looked so wild and ugly in the gray state chamber that, probably, nothing more terrible could be imagined for me.

The nannies stopped by my bunk and began to console me:

- Well, why are you crying? Look how many girlfriends you have here. There Luda, the same as you, lies and does not cry.

The nannies lifted Lyuda up and led her by the arms to my bunk. It was a girl who also could not walk on her own, and when the nannies led her, I noticed that she only stepped on her toes. Even from her face, I realized that they rarely approached her and even more rarely raised her. Luda smiled, but this made me even sadder, I turned away and roared again. I had never cried so long, and from the long crying my mouth was dry and my lips were swollen.

After some time, the nannies entered the ward again and began to deliver breakfast. A woman came up with a bowl of porridge, but I turned away. And the woman indifferently moved away from me, not even offering tea, which I would not refuse.

I no longer had tears, they ended, I cried everything out, and I only howled thinly, like a half-dead puppy. And then a girl, sheared like a sheep, jumped up to my bunk and barked:

- What are you yelling at? All day yelling and yelling! They brought her to our head!

It seemed as if a stone had been thrown at me; no one at home cursed so angrily. My howl immediately stopped from fear, but the body continued to shudder silently. I don’t remember whether I suffered until dinner time or whether I fell asleep anyway.

I only remember that when my mother finally came, as soon as I saw her, I again sobbed out loud. She took me on her knees and began to soothe me, shaking me and saying:

- Don't cry, look how many girls are here, and none of them are crying. Dad and I will come to you, we will take you to visit for the weekend ...

- I don't want to visit, I want to go home!!! I yelled, choking on tears.

In those moments, my mother seemed to me somehow new, alien - either because of the official dressing gown that she was wearing, or because she talked to me in a completely new way. She gave me water to drink, wanted to feed me dinner, but I became stubborn and did not want to unhook from her, and she could not tear my twisted fingers off her.

- Tom, I need to finish your stroller - sheathe it. And how will you sit in an uncovered stroller? I'll go around it now, and it will be comfortable for you to sit on it. And then I will have to go home, Olga is alone there, she also misses me and also cries without me.

While my mother was admonishing me, I noticed that she calls me not German, at home, but Toma. Apparently, the beloved German stayed at home, and here, in the orphanage, they gave the unnecessary Tom ... Either by that time I was completely weakened from sobs, or I agreed with the arguments of my mother, or I was sobered by the appeal of "Tom" instead of "German", but I let her go.

Have you seen the miracle yet?
Never seen a miracle?
That's the trouble - I did not see a miracle!
So go and have a look.
You will see a miracle
Amazing Miracle:
Where the store "Dishes"
Near house number three,
Through the asphalt at the crossroads
The birch breaks through.
(Roman Sef)

You must have seen when a timid sprout of grass appears in the middle of the asphalt, a young shoot of a tree or a flower blooms. Stop for a moment and think what force makes a weak plant to make its way through hard ground and break a stone.

Or maybe the sprout did not break through the asphalt at all, but successfully used the existing crack to climb up? What if it was the wind that brought the seed into the asphalt crack, and it, stuck there, found enough earth and moisture to germinate? Or did "little Hercules" raise the stone block himself?

To understand this, we note that the seeds could germinate, hitting the paved section of the road in various ways:

1. With the help of the wind. This is how dandelion, poplar, maple, plantain reproduce. There is always enough dust on the roadsides - it is enough for a bush of some small plant to settle there.

2. Clinging to animal hair, bird feathers or people's clothes, along with dirt on car tires, etc. (for example, prickly burdock blossoms).

3. Traveling in the digestive systems of animals and birds (viburnum, wild rose, oak).

Seeds can"punch through» asphalt and from below, if:

1. The plant reproduces with the help of rhizomes (wheatgrass, euphorbia vine, plantain).

2. Seeds fell under the asphalt during road repairs, especially if they have the ability to “preserve” and germinate a few years after they were covered with asphalt and cracks appeared in it.

Interesting! Up to 1500 seeds ripen from one blue cornflower flower. In a dry state, they remain viable for three to ten years. The seeds of ginseng, orchis, lily of the valley have the same properties. While in the soil, they create a natural seed bank and wait for favorable conditions (defects in the asphalt - why not) to germinate.

However, 10 years is far from the limit. In Manchuria, a case is known of the germination of lotus seeds, which have lain for several hundred years in deep silty layers of soil.

You are probably already impatient to find out what kind of magical power pushes a tiny sprout to exploits? I answer - fluid pressure inside cells.

Once in warm, moist soil saturated with oxygen, the seeds actively absorb water and swell. The absorption of water occurs with great force. For example, cocklebur absorbs water with a pressure of 1000 atmospheres.

The pulling of water from a moist environment (soil) into a dry seed or sprout cell is called osmosis.

Due to the increase in the amount of water, hydrostatic pressure arises in the cells of the plant, which makes it elastic and resistant. Botanists call this pressure turgor(translated from Latin - "filling").

It is turgor that supports the leaves and stem of the plant, giving it hardness and strength. That is why the sprout becomes so bold that it can even break through asphalt, and its roots easily break through hard earth and stones. When the level of turgor decreases, the plant wilts.

Due to the enormous internal pressure - turgor - ordinary champignons become so elastic that they can destroy not only asphalt, but also, for example, the cement floor of warehouses. The hyphae of some fungi easily destroy thin marble and gold plates.

Seeds are often tricked using various methods to germinate faster and hold onto the ground more firmly. When other seeds obediently wait until the rain fills them with silt or someone accidentally tramples them into the soil, the seeds of wild oat and feather grass, like a drill, burrow into the ground on their own and sprout roots.

The corn sprout easily cuts through the ground with densely folded leaves. And the root, meanwhile, rushes deep into. Legumes sprout, bent in half, as if they want to double the strength of the stem. And the castor bean sprout even forms a loop to lift the clod of earth "over your head."

Germinated seeds behave like wedges: they find weak spots in the soil, press on them and push the particles of the earth apart. The thicker the stem becomes, the wider the crack.

It is curious that mankind used the wedge in ancient times. Bronze wedges were used by the ancient Egyptians to break off blocks of stone for the construction of the pyramids.

The use of wooden wedges is also known. One of these was hammered into a stone and poured with water until it swelled. Wet wood pressed with such force that it simply tore apart the rock. Doesn't this remind you of anything? That's right, it also breaks stones and a sprout that seeks to break out of the ground.

So we learned how a fragile sprout breaks through the firmament. In the end, I just want to add that during the preparation of the material, not a single asphalt surface was damaged. =)

Lyolka has a secret! No, not some kind of children's secret, when "secret to the whole world", but the real sacral.

This word - "sacred" she heard from her dad. Dad likes to express himself intelligently, he is a polyglot. Mom calls him that. And what kind of dad is a poly-glot if he does not swallow fields, but books? It would be correct to call him a "book reader".
Dad said that if you have some kind of secret that you cannot entrust to anyone, then it is sacred.
- No one at all? Lyolka was surprised. “And even you and your mother?”
- No one at all! - Father answered seriously, hiding a chuckle in the corners of his eyes. - This is its sacredness, which means - closeness. And if such a secret is told to someone, then it will immediately die, disappear. It must be kept deep in the soul.

These adults are strange! They say something, but they don’t finish something, and you go figure out what’s what. The fact that the soul is the keeper of secrets and mysteries, dad said. And he did not explain anything how to hide them in this soul, and where it is located.
“The soul is not a pocket,” Lelka reasoned, returning home from kindergarten with her dad. “Where I should look for this invisible soul, and how something can be hidden there, is not clear.” But since dad said so be it.
And Lyolka hid her secret deep in her soul in order to save her life. Even to her silent friends who know how to keep secrets: the one-eyed teddy bear, the gray hare and the Katya doll, she did not tell anything, fearing that someone would accidentally overhear.
This circumstance upset her very much - it is very difficult to keep a secret in oneself. She gnaws from the inside, does not allow to live in peace, and tries to break out. Well, there is simply no strength to carry it in yourself! And Lelka didn’t just wear it, but “carried it”. She heard this word from her mother when they went to the grocery store.
- Mom, - she asked, looking back at the pregnant woman who was passing by, swaying heavily from side to side, - why does aunt have such a big belly?
“She is carrying a child,” the mother replied, glancing sideways.
- Why bring it up?
- To grow up and gain strength. Otherwise, he will be born very small and weak, so he may die.
How do babies get into the tummy? - asked Lyolka and, looking at her mother, she saw how she flushed and quickly turned her face away.
- Maaaam, how are you? Tell!
“This is a secret under seven locks,” my mother blurted out quickly. You have a secret, and so do I!
This circumstance puzzled Lyolka somewhat. If everyone hides everything from each other, life will not be interesting at all.
- Maaaam ... Come on - "swing on the swing"! You tell me your secret, and I'll tell you mine.
- Aren't you afraid that your secret will die if you tell about it? – slyly squinting, she asked.
- He will die ... - Lyolka sighs sadly. She did not want this at all, but it was also very curious to find out her mother's secret. What to do? And she decided to find out everything from her dad.

Having run into the apartment, she was delighted - dad was already at home! Here you can ask him everything without revealing your secret. Especially since he is a bookworm. And bookworms know everything! She jumped up to him on the sofa and, hugging him, pressed her cheek against his shoulder.
- Dad, tell me: where do babies come from?
Father, continuing to read the newspaper, replied:
- From the mother's tummy.
- How do they get there?
Dad, for some reason, was so confused that he dropped the newspaper from his hands. He leans down and takes a long time to pick her up off the floor.
- Well ... you see, baby, there are a lot of angels in the sky, - he began, finally picking up the ill-fated newspaper. - They are invisible: the angels see us, but we do not see them. So, when mom and dad love each other very much, then an angel flies into mom's tummy. There he lives and grows for nine months. And if an angel in heaven has beloved friends with whom he does not want to part, then two angels can fly into the tummy at once, and sometimes even three. They make little people, these are newborn babies.
- I used to be an angel too?
- Certainly!
Lyolka thought and confidently declared:
- It’s good that they didn’t find me in cabbage and didn’t bring me a stork.
Dad was surprised
- Why is it good?
- Well... if they found me in the cabbage, then I would be a "foundling". And if the stork brought it, then I would be a “foundling”.
- Well, yes! And so it turns out: you are our angel in the flesh, - said dad and laughed out loud. She laughed too. She was also pleased that she was an angel - and this is very nice - and that she found out her mother's secret without revealing her own.
How much longer she would bear this secret, Lyolka did not know. Suddenly her life changed so that it was no longer up to secrets. Rather, the secret remained, did not go away, but hid very, very far away for the time being.

There was an unusually tense silence in the house. Lyolka felt it right away. And when dad came home, he and mom talked about something for a long time in the kitchen behind the closed door.
They always did that when they needed to keep a secret. And this is very embarrassing! For some reason, adults do not understand that the child is also a member of the family, and family matters should be discussed together. Lyolka pouted her lips and waited for them to finally be secretive. In the end, she could not stand it and tiptoed to the kitchen door.
You shouldn't have signed this order! Mom almost screamed in a choked voice.
- I'm a combat officer! Lyolya heard her father's firm voice. You knew who you were marrying.
- I was married to the defender of the Fatherland. And no one attacks our Fatherland! Why do you have to shed blood for someone else's kishlak... or, whatever it is, an aul?! Why do you need this Afghan?!
- This is an international duty ... - Dad's voice suddenly softened. - Calm down, dear! Everything will be fine! You will not have time to notice how I will return ...
Lyolka looked through the crack in the door and saw mom and dad kissing. "Reconciled!" She breathed a sigh of relief. But then I heard something that almost fell near the door to the floor.
- You and I dreamed that we would also give birth to a son, - she heard her mother's quiet voice. - And now ... I don’t know if our dream is destined to come true.
Lelka, frightened that the door would suddenly open, and her parents would catch her in the pose of a curious Varvara, eavesdropping on other people's conversations, quietly retired to a large room.
“That's it, soooo! - she thought in surprise, climbing up on the sofa with her feet. “Mom wanted to give birth to dad’s son, but I didn’t tell anyone about this brother!” She closed her eyes and imagined her mother walking around with a big, big belly, waddling from side to side like a duck. “It’s a pity that the angel didn’t fly into mom’s tummy,” Lyolya sighed sadly. - I would have a brother, and I would play with him, walk, feed him with a spoon. It's much more interesting than feeding the silent dolls."
But now was not up to it. From the overheard conversation, she realized that dad was leaving for the war. The military is for that and the military to fight. But there bombs explode, bullets whistle nasty, and sometimes they even kill. But this is no longer a joke!
Lelka from infancy, as she remembers herself, could not stand films about the war.

One day, he and dad were sitting on the couch watching a movie on TV. Right at her, terribly rumbling and clanking caterpillars, there was a German tank with a swastika.
And then the tank, turning its muzzle towards her, kaaaaaak bangs, but right into Lelka! She shuddered, and with her eyes widened in horror, she watched how smoke went from the muzzle of the cannon, and bloodied people fell to the ground. She screams: “Maaaaama !!!”, and then the bedspread on the sofa became wet.

Since then, Lelya has not watched films about the war, and does not even want to hear anything about it.
“I will never marry a military man! Even if he is very handsome, and even if he gives me chocolates or the most expensive toys, I still won’t marry him. I don't want him to go to war. It's right that mom swears at dad. I'd be pissed off too." She grabbed the bear, which was lying forgotten in the corner of the sofa, and pressed it to her.

The father entered the room. He was unusually concentrated, and without looking at his daughter, he took out a large travel bag from the closet and began to put his things into it.
- Paaaap, - Lyolya called softly, - are you leaving?
- What? .. - father blinked his eyes in confusion. - Yes, baby, I'm leaving.
- How long?
- I think no.
- Dad, why are you lying to me? If you are leaving for a short time, then you take with you only a small suitcase - a diplomat.
“Yes… you’re right, this time I won’t be around much longer… But I’ll try to get back as soon as possible.”
He took an electric razor from the chest of drawers and, coiling the cord, put it in the box.
- Where are you going? The daughter continued to ask.
- On a business trip.
Lelya knew what a "business trip" was. Dad left the house more than once, and on such occasions my mother always went sad and sighed heavily: “Oh, these are his business trips. How they bored me!
But before, they didn’t swear because of this, and dad didn’t go so confused. And then ... he will put things together, then he will pull them out, then he will look for something and shift it.
- Dad, where on a business trip?
- Long away…
- How far is it? she didn't hesitate.
- I can't tell you that.
- A military secret? Lyolka guessed.
- Yes, baby, a military secret, - answered the father, remembering that he forgot to put a towel in the bag. - Do you know where my mother put my favorite towel? Well, the one with blue stripes.
Lyolka got up from the sofa and went to the kitchen:
- Now I'll ask my mother.
She couldn't wait to find out why her mother didn't come out of the kitchen, and why it was so quiet there. She opened the door and walked over to the kitchen table. Mom kneaded the dough. “Probably wants to bake pies for dad on the road,” thought Lyolya and was about to ask her where the towel was, when she saw droplets of tears on her eyelashes. It was very strange!

Mom never cried, even when dad left for a long time. And here from the eyelashes: drip-drip ... drip-drip. Tears first accumulated, then tangled in long eyelashes and, when they had already become quite large, like shiny and transparent beads, fell directly onto the dough.
Mom was crying silently. How does it happen?! When Lyolka was very upset about something, she cried aloud, aloud, so that everyone could hear. So sweeter crying. And to like this, silently ... it's much harder and bitter.
"Mom," she called softly. - Dad can't find his favorite towel. Where is it?
- A! – thought the mother and answered out of place. We are going to eat pies now.
But Lyolka did not want to eat pies with mother's tears at all. With cabbage or potatoes, whatever. But not with tears! “That's why adults quarrel, and then go upset and cry?” - She immediately stinged in her eyes and lost her appetite.
- Dad asks: where is his favorite towel?
“On the top shelf of the closet,” she heard back.
“In the closet, on the top shelf,” Lyolya conveyed her mother’s words to her father, who was sitting on the sofa with drooping shoulders.
She sat down next to him.
- Dad, why is mom crying?
Because she doesn't want me to leave.
- Well, are you coming back? she asked, looking at her father with her huge gray eyes.
- Yes, of course, baby ... I will definitely return, - he answered and tightly pressed his daughter to him. - About a month later...
She began to count the days after her father's departure. Mom explained that a month is thirty days. Every morning, Lyolka ran to the wall calendar and crossed out one number at a time, and then together with her mother, they counted how much was left.

Waiting for dad was unbearably difficult! To make time run faster, it must be adjusted. She heard somewhere that time can drag on for a long time, or it can fly by quickly. It depends on what you are doing at the moment. And it was necessary to do something interesting. Taking out her album and colored pencils from the bedside table, Lyolya began to draw a picture of how dad returned home, and she meets him with flowers. On the top side of the piece of paper, she printed “No to war” in block letters and next to it put a bold exclamation mark “!”.

But not a month or two later, dad did not return.
One day, some people in military uniforms came. Behind closed doors, she and her mother talked about something for a long time, and Lyolka understood only a few words from the overheard conversation: he was missing ... the search yielded nothing ... the withdrawal of our troops began ...
Mom went silent, quiet, and at night sobs were heard from her room. To questions about dad, she answered: “He is on a business trip. And when this business trip ends, and dad will return, is unknown. ”
“What kind of business trip is this? - Lyolka racked her head, putting the dolls to bed. - There is no mail at all? Why can't dad even write a letter or a postcard? It was very disappointing that her birthday passed without her dad, and he didn’t even call and send a gift. Dad promised to give her skates of the Snow Maiden. These are not some kind of skates, but skates from the Snow Maiden herself - the granddaughter of Santa Claus. And she was waiting for this gift, dreaming of going out on the ice in them.
True, her birthday is in the summer, but before winter she would just learn to walk in them and lace them correctly. But it’s even more offensive that the First of September is coming soon, and the pope is still gone and gone. “Well, where did he disappear to? Lyolya asked her dolls, a bear and a bunny. - Where?". But they looked at her with cheerful beady eyes, indifferent to her grief.

Chapter 4

Days dragged on after days, and somehow the First of September crept up imperceptibly. Lyolka with huge lush white bows, in full dress and with a bouquet of white asters, was going to school. Or rather, she didn’t walk, but trudged indifferently. Her mother carried her bag.

The first of September is probably a holiday, but for Lelka this day was not a holiday at all. She wanted her father to take her to school by the hand. With him somehow calmer and more fun. And here is mom! And not some mother there, but a teacher. She works at the same school where Lyolka is forcibly dragged. This means that mom will know about all her pranks and tricks. And this is somehow completely uninteresting! And she dragged herself to this nasty school without any mood or desire.
But the benevolent teacher and the restless gang of classmates gave school life some meaning. Learning became interesting.

At the same desk with her they put a tall, freckled girl with red mop of hair named Liza. But in the class they immediately began to call her “Liska”. Elizabeth, having learned about this, first pouted her lips, and then thought and declared publicly:
- I like this. Call me "Lisa"!
And Lelka, as the smallest in the class, was nicknamed Button. And she didn't get angry either. Button, so Button!
Together with Lisa, they go from school and chirp cheerfully about something. In a matter of minutes, Lelka learned everything about Lisa: where she lives, who her parents are and what kind of brother she has.
- Why are you silent? Tell us about yourself, - a friend asks with interest.
Lyolka, having adjusted her knapsack, looked at the passing cars and answered reluctantly:
- Yes, what to tell? You know my mother, she works with high school students. And dad...
Lyolka hesitated. Here's how to explain to a stranger that dad is on a "business trip." That's what it's called after all. And in fact?
- Dad is fighting abroad... but it's a military secret.
Lisa's eyes widened.
- You're lying!!!
- True ... only he went missing.
Lyolka's lips trembled, and Liza, throwing a quick glance at her friend, decided to change the subject:
- Listen, I have a secret! Do you want me to tell you? - she grabbed Lelka and dragged her into her yard. Look, I have a secret here.
She ran up to the lilac and swept away the withered grass at its roots with her hand. In the hole, under a piece of glass, were hidden colored buttons, beads, and old brooches.
- Well, how? Like? Lisa asked proudly.
- I like it ... - Lelka answered uncertainly. But is it a secret? Every girl has these secrets.
- So what?! Lisa frowned. She was offended that her friend did not share her joy. She angrily covered her little secret with foliage and twigs:
- But I have a secret, and you do not!
- And here it is!
- Don't lie! Lizka teased. - You have no secret!
- I'm not lying. There is! But she must not be given to anyone, otherwise she will die.
- You're a liar! - fired a friend. - I don't hang out with liars.
She took her satchel and went to the entrance. Lyolka was afraid that Lisa would be offended. “What if she tells the whole class that I’m a liar? An anxious thought flashed by. “Then no one will be friends with me.”
- Liska... Lisa! she called. - All right, so be it. I'll tell you!
Elizabeth immediately turned around and, like a fox on the hunt, began to sneak up on her friend. Her eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity.
- Is there really a secret?
- There is ... - Lelka sighed. - I've been keeping it for a long time. But I really want to tell it to someone.
Liza climbed onto a bench and, putting on an air of indifference, began to dangle her legs:
Well, if you don't want to, you don't have to tell. What is it to me?
Lyolka sat down next to her and thought. “If I tell my secret, she will die. If I don't, our friendship will die. How to be?
This puzzle was too much for a little girl who had just started school. Now, if dad was nearby - a bookworm, then you could ask him. And so ... you have to make your own decision. She thought for a moment and waved her hand.
- Okay! I'll tell you. And it is not interesting to bear the secret alone.
Girlfriend immediately moved closer, pricking up her ears.
- You see, Liska, I really, really want to learn how to play the piano and become a real musician ... well, such that I can travel around the world. Dad and I were at a sif... synphonic concert...
“Symphonic,” Elizabeth corrected her.
- Well, yes ... at the symphony. And there was a pianist playing the piano. How she played, Liska! I was covered in pimples. Her beautiful hands fluttered like butterfly wings. And the music is just amazing. It was so good! - Lyolka told so inspiredly that her friend listened with bated breath. - This music then I dreamed many times. Can you imagine? When I told my dad about this, he bought me a record. I listened to it when no one was at home. I imagined that I was sitting at the piano ... - she suddenly realized herself. Don't tell anyone, or they'll laugh at me...
She was surprised:
- What's so funny?
Lyolka felt her lower lip trembling, and in order not to burst into tears, she hurried to bite it:
- Nuuuu ... understand? I asked my mother to buy a piano, and she said that I would never make a musician ... A bear stepped on my ear, there is no hearing. And I have never seen bears ... only in the circus ...
No matter how she fastened, but from her light eyelashes, tears-beads fell down one after another. Lyolka learned to cry silently.
- Do not Cry! Elizabeth frowned. - And then I, too, burst into tears.
- And I'm not crying, - Lyolka sniffled with her nose, wiping her tears.
- Hmm ... - thought Lisa. - Is this your secret?
- Yes. I want to become a famous pianist.
- No hearing?
“No hearing,” the little dreamer nodded sadly and grinned. - "Earless musician"! Funny, right?
- Not good. Come on, let's go to my mother, - Elizabeth jumped off the bench and took her satchel.
- Why to your mother, Liska?! Lyolka got scared.
- What are you scared of? - She was surprised and pulled her friend along. - She graduated from a music school and works in a kindergarten as a music worker. Ask her what to do with your secret.

Chapter 5

Liska's mother, Svetlana Petrovna, set the table and invited her friends to dinner.
Liza ate the rich cabbage soup with sour cream on both cheeks, and Lyolya indifferently picked her plate with a spoon. She didn't know where to start the conversation, but she had to start somehow. Let Svetlana Petrovna be just a musical worker in a kindergarten, and play for every kid. But she is still a real musician. And the words suddenly disappeared somewhere, and Lyolka could not find them in any way. She glanced hopefully at Liska. She nodded her head, sensing her gaze.
Mom, we have business for you!
- Deeelo?! Svetlana Petrovna smiled. - I wonder what it is? You eat-eat! I also have pancakes. Lelya, why are you lagging behind Lisa?
- She can't eat, Mom. Worries!
- Worries? Lisa's mother looked at the little guest in surprise. - What happened to you?
Lyolka blushed and lowered her head.
A friend hurried to her rescue:
- She dreams of becoming a famous pianist...
- O! Good dream. What's the problem?
“A bear stepped on her ear,” Liska blurted out and began to eat pancakes.
Svetlana Petrovna began to peer intently at the girl:
- Lelya, what about the parents?
- And her father is abroad, and her mother considers it pampering. She refused to buy a piano, - Lisa blurted out the secret of her friend and did not even blink an eye.
Lyolka looked at her accusingly: “I, too, am a friend. A secret around the world! I won’t tell her anything else, ”she pouted her lips.
- Without an ear for music ... Hmm, this is not an easy task, - Svetlana Petrovna plunged into deep thought. - Although ... I'll write you now the address of the music school. You go and talk to the director Tatyana Semyonovna. She is a good woman - a teacher with great experience. But ... it is advisable to go with mom.
Lyolka lowered her head low so that no one could see how large tears fell from her eyes:
- Mom won't go. She said, "There are no earless musicians."
Svetlana Petrovna shook her head and, having written the director's address and name on a piece of paper, handed it to Lyolka.
- Talk to her again. Maybe she will agree... Just hurry up! The school year has already begun, you're already late. But if there is a shortage in the school, they can take it. Although ... there is little hope that they will accept without a hearing. But trying is not torture. There are exceptions to the rules! In the meantime, you don’t have your own piano, you can come to study with us, I will help you.
Lyolka flushed and smiled gratefully: “What a good mother Liska has! And also a musician. With such a mother, I would definitely become a real pianist. The spoon immediately perked up, and the fragrant cabbage soup disappeared in a matter of seconds. And in pursuit of the cabbage soup ran into the mouth and pancakes with apple jam.

Chapter 6

Lyolka, inspired by hope, flew home as if on wings.
- Mom, I just talked with Aunt Sveta - Liska's mother ... She works as a musician in a kindergarten, - she blurted out from the doorway, throwing her satchel on the floor. - She promised to work with me if you enroll me in a music school.
- All this is nonsense and a whim, - my mother answered calmly, setting the table. Go eat and wash the dishes after you. I need to check notebooks.
- Maaam, - Lyolka felt how joy disappears somewhere. - I beg you: let's go to school! Aunt Sveta wrote the address of the school and the name of the principal.
- I'm not going anywhere with you. What else did you think of? You have no hearing, and I have money to pay for education. Do you know how much a piano costs? No, no, don't even think about it! I'm not going to be led by your whims.
- This is not a whim, mom, but a dream!
- All this is a whim, nonsense and a whim! Mom answered in a firm teacher's voice. “It would be better if you learned to sew, cook and knit.” It's much more useful. Better to be a good dressmaker than a bad pianist.
Mom went into the room and, sitting down at the desk, pushed a huge pile of notebooks towards her. She immersed herself in reading.
Lyolka, having remained in the hallway, slid down the wall to the floor: “If only there was a dad! He would understand me. And so… When is he coming back?”

Liska, noticing that her girlfriend had been walking around like a lost woman for several days, began to ask:
- So, did you talk to your mom?
- I talked...
- So what?
“Nothing ... everything is the same,” Lelka waved her hand. - A whim, he says, this is a whim.
“Bad,” Liska sympathized. - Need to come up with something.

But there was no need to invent anything. Everything worked out by itself.
Lyolka, having come to school the next day, was greeted with laughter and hooting. A healthy Mishka Savechkin walked at her growling and clubfoot, and the whole class laughed:
- Come on, Mishka! Get in her ear! Button is an earless musician. Haha!
Liska sat at her desk with the most innocent look. Lyolka jumped up to her, choking with indignation:
- You... you know who? Traitor!
- So what? Elizabeth shrugged. - Just think, because of some nonsense upset.
- I'm not friends with you anymore! - Lyolka turned around and went to the end of the class, where there was an unoccupied desk.
- I don't understand what's so funny? For example, I also have no musical ear. And I know that many do not have it, - the handsome Ruslan confidently stated. - Button, sit at my desk! Don't be friends with this Lisa anymore. It's mean to give out other people's secrets! He looked accusingly at Lisa.
Lisa blushed and, burying herself in her textbook, pretended to read. Everyone immediately fell silent. The boys respected Ruslan. He has an older brother, a world boxing champion, and is friends with Nikolai Valuev himself. Yes, and Ruslan himself has been going to the sports section since the age of four, it’s better not to mess with him. And each of the girls dreamed of being with him at the same desk. After all, he was the cutest boy in the class. But Ruslan preferred solitude. From the very first day he occupied an empty desk and kept to himself.
Lelka was grateful to Ruslan for his support. He is the only one who got it right. She sat down beside him, her eyes surveying the hushed classroom with a triumphant look.

After school, she walked home no longer with the talkative Liska, but with the silent and strong Ruslan. He was carrying both heavy schoolbags full of textbooks.
What's up with that rumor? Tell! Let's come up with something together.
Lyolka looked at her new friend and realized from his serious eyes that he could be trusted. She did not notice how she blurted out everything: about the symphony concert, which made a strong impression on her; and about the pope, missing; and about a mother who does not want to believe in her dream; and about Lizka's mother, a musician, who offered her help.
Ruslan listened attentively, did not interrupt. And when she finished her story, he said:
- It's great when, when there is a dream! I was also not taken to the sports section ...
- Didn't take it? You?! Lyolka gasped. - Why?
- According to doctors. Parents said that I was born very sickly and weak, - Ruslan smiled. - You should have seen their faces when I told them that I want to be just like my older brother.
He clenched his hand into a fist.
- Feel my biceps, Button! - and caught himself. "Doesn't it hurt you that I call you that?"
"Nah," she smiled and jabbed her finger into his hard biceps. - Wow! And how did you persuade them to enroll you in the section?
- No way! I went and signed up. At first they didn't know anything... - Ruslan chuckled. - And when they found out, my mother almost fainted, and my father screamed so that it was heard on the street.
How did they calm down? My mom wouldn't let me.
- My brother came and told me: “We must achieve our goal. The most important thing is not to give up! And then not only others, you will not respect yourself. ”
Lyolka nodded her head and thought: “The mockery at school will not stop if you continue to be cowardly. Ruslan is brave. He was not afraid! I need to muster up the courage and go to the music school. They won't eat me there."

The gray-haired Tatyana Semyonovna was sitting in the director's office. Above her head was a frame with a diploma, which announced that she was "Honored Teacher of the RSFSR." Someone knocked softly on the door.
- Come in! she shouted, and began to watch in surprise as a little girl timidly squeezed into the office through the half-open door.
- What do you want, baby?
- I… this. I want to learn from you...
- Why are you alone? You have to come with your parents. And the school year has already begun. You're already late.
No matter how hard Lelka tried to hold on, tears still gushed in a stream:
- I want to study ... and my mother ... - she cried, - she doesn’t want to write me down.
- Why? The headmistress was surprised.
- There is no money for studies and ... a piano, - Lyolka was already sobbing excitedly.
- Well, well, what are you doing? - Tatyana Semyonovna got excited. - Why cry something? Get in! Yes, sit down, - she forcibly seated the sobbing girl on a chair. You can sign up for any club. Embroidery, for example, or knitting.
- I ... do not want to knit. I ... love music, - Lelka choked with tears.
- What, so much?
- Yeah!
- Fine, fine. Do not Cry! Now let's think of something.
Tatyana Semyonovna looked out the door and called out to the watchman:
- Invite Lydia Sergeevna to me, please.
The teacher of the music school entered the office. The director briefly explained the situation to her and asked:
- Check, Lidochka, this is a miracle of nature. Who knows, maybe it will be of good use. And I'll leave for a minute.
Tatyana Semyonovna left, and the teacher brought the crying girl to the piano and said:
- Now we will check your musical ear ...
Lelka felt her eyes darken, the ground under her feet opened up, and she flew into the abyss...
Lidia Sergeevna, noticing how pale the girl turned, joked:
- What are you so afraid of? It does not hurt! I will play now, and you clap to the beat of the music ...
- Why? Lyolka was surprised.
- So it is necessary. To test your rhythmic ear.
- I'm not going to play the drum, but the piano.
"Good joke," the teacher smiled. - And yet - began!
Lyolka had a poor understanding of what she was told, even worse, what she was doing, but when the headmistress returned to the office, Lidia Sergeevna shrugged her shoulders and spread her hands in disappointment: nothing.

Tatyana Semyonovna released her and, taking Lyolka by the hand, led her to her chair. Sitting down, she carefully looked the girl in the eyes and said:
- I'm sorry, but I can't help. You have no natural gifts, no talent, no vocation for music.
- What natural data?
The director took her hands and brought them closer to her eyes.
- See how short your fingers are. You can't take an octave from C to C. A real pianist should have long fingers. Understand?
Lelya shook her head negatively.
- They will grow up!
- Well, OK. What about hearing?
- Appear! That is, it will develop, - Lelka, like a drowning man, clutched at straws. “I will try very, very hard.
- And who will pay for the education? And what will you do if you don't have an instrument at home?
This argument finished off the little dreamer completely. There was no more strength to hold back, and she cried out in despair:
- If ... if you do not take me, I will complain about you to the Goron!
Lyolka, whose mother is a teacher, heard this word from her more than once. But she was sure that Gorono is a terrible and evil uncle, whom all teachers are afraid of.
- To whom will you complain about us? Goron?! - the headmistress burst into such laughter that a surprised watchman looked through the half-open door.
- Go, go away, - Tatyana Semyonovna waved her hands at the girl, - until I burst with laughter.
And turning to the watchman:
- Not! Have you ever seen such impudence? Came alone without parents... I have no talent for music... And it's threatening... ha-ha! that he will complain to the Goron. It's necessary! Oh, I have tears in my eyes from laughing.

Lyolka jumped out of the director's office as if stung, and, passing through the foyer, plopped down on a chair at the exit, feeling shattered to smithereens.
She is completely, completely unsuitable for music! Her dream did not come true. It was so unfair, insulting and bitter that the annoyed Lelka, without expecting anything from herself, roared at the top of her voice, sobbing, not embarrassed by anyone.
The frightened watchman hurried to the director's office:
- Do something with her, Semyonovna? A? Howls, hearty, as for the dead. The child is small. It's a pity! Semyonovna, why are you silent?
Tatyana Semyonovna sat thoughtfully, leaning back in her chair.
- If only we all were so eager to learn, who has both talent and natural abilities ... - she said, when suddenly, looking at her diploma of "Honored Teacher", she started up and grabbed the phone. - I think I know what to do! Tell that howler: let her sit there, don't leave.

Chapter 8

The front door swung open and an old, wizened and nimble woman hurried in. A small old-fashioned hat, a pointed nose, and thick horn-rimmed glasses made the old woman look like Shapoklyak. She, adjusting her glasses on her nose, nodded to the watchman, who was knitting something intently, trotted over to the sobbing Lyolka with quick steps and flopped down next to a nearby chair:
- Well, ma'am, tell me? What happened?
Lyolka looked askance at the unfamiliar old woman and sobbed:
- Do not ... take!
- Do you want to study? A twinkle flashed in the old woman's eyes.
- Yeah! Lelya nodded and wiped her wet nose with her fist.
- Tell me, colleague...
At the word "colleague" the watchman burst out laughing.
- Nothing funny! - Depicting severity, the old woman pulled her up. - I am a former pianist, and this young lady is the future one. So we are colleagues.
- Are you a pianist? Lelka was startled. - You're not kidding?
- What are the jokes? - the old woman perked up. - If you become my student, then we will study at my house. There and see my photos and awards. But... first, young lady, you will have to learn how to use a handkerchief.
She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and handed it to the tearful girl:
- They wiped the snot, straightened the back and quickly answered the question: What prompted you to such a grandiose feat?
- What ... "feat"? - Wiping her wet face and nose, Lelka asked again.
- Like what? You raised the whole school to its feet, demanding that you be enrolled. So I'm trying to find out: why did you want to study music?
The girl looked into the eyes of the old woman and felt kindness emanating from her. It immediately became calm, as if there was a native grandmother nearby. Lyolka did not remember her grandmother: neither her face, nor her voice, nor the color of her eyes. She only remembered that next to her it was somehow especially warm and good.
She thought: “Why did I want to study music?”. More recently, she dreamed of a stage, a beautiful sparkling concert dress, trips around the world, bouquets of flowers and thunderous applause. And now it all seemed so nonsense, stupid and completely unimportant.
- I want to learn how to play magic music so that people have ... pimples on the skin! she blurted out quite unexpectedly.
The watchman buried herself in her knitting, shaking all over with laughter.
- I'm sorry, what?! Puppyryshki??? Did I misheard? - the old woman's eyes widened, and the glasses slipped to the very tip of her nose. - What is it like?
And Lyolka told her about that symphony concert at which she was with her dad.
- I listened, as if spellbound ... It was some kind of magical music. I have a navel ... well, this ... goosebumps ran all over my body. It was so great! she finished her story. Her eyes glowed with delight.
The old woman, adjusting her glasses on her nose, peered intently at the girl. Finally, she said:
- Hmm ... pimples are a serious argument! Serious! She nodded her head and stood up. - All right, I'll go ask the director for you. Oh yes! My name is Margarita Abramovna. “Margarita”, by the way, is a pearl, a pearl, let it be known to you!
- And me - Lyolka ... Oh, Olga Turgor.
- Turgor?! Do you know what your last name means?
- Not...
- “Turgor” is a huge pressure that helps a small fragile sprout to break through the thickness of the asphalt. Scientists say that it is equal to the tire pressure of a 10-ton dump truck.
- I don't know… - the girl shrugged. “My parents never told me about it.
- Well, OK. Sit here, young lady, I'll go to the headmaster.

Minutes passed after minutes. Lelke they seemed like an eternity. She fiddled nervously with her wet handkerchief.
“Don’t worry like that, dear,” the watchman reassured her. - If the director called Abramovna, then everything will be fine. Do you know who Margarita Abramovna is? Not? Oooooh! This is the best teacher. Don't look that she's so... funny. In fact, she is a "Merited Teacher"! High-flying birds fluttered out of her hands.
- What is it like? Lyolka could not concentrate at all.
- Well-known musicians, composers ... they say she has some kind of wonderful teaching methodology. If she studies with you, then you will become a real pianist.
- Truth? Lela breathed out.
“True, true,” the janitor nodded her head and continued her knitting.

At last the door opened, and Tatyana Semyonovna called out to her:
- Come in!
Lyolka got up and uncertainly entered the director's office. Margarita Abramovna sat victoriously on a chair.
- Sit next to your teacher! So, so, - the headmaster began, waiting for the girl to sit on a chair. - Tomorrow you will bring your “Birth Certificate”. Understood? For now, we're taking you on a two-month trial period. You will study with Margarita Abramovna. She is now retired and gives music lessons at home. In two months there will be an attestation commission… - having caught the uncomprehending look of the girl, the director hurried to explain. Well, it's kind of like an exam. If you play at least a scale, we will officially enroll you in the school.
- What about paying? Lyolka asked timidly.
- You don't have to pay. You will study on a budgetary basis - for free. But the demand from you will be strict. If you start loafing, skipping and getting deuces, then we will transfer you to a paid basis or expel you. Understood?
- Understood! Lelka flushed with joy. “I will try very, very hard.
- Let's see! The headmistress chewed her lips. - Well, everything. Dare!
Lyolka jumped up and almost squealed from the happiness that overwhelmed her:
- Thank you! I will learn to play the piano! Hooray!!!
Margarita Abramovna smiled, and the director, shaking her hand, whispered:
- All hope for your magical technique, mother. And the girl is adorable!

Chapter 10

Lyolka, still not fully believing in her luck, walks down the street next to Margarita Abramovna.
- You will not be upset, colleague, if I switch to "you" with you? Are we already friends? the teacher asked.
- Do not upset. What should I call you?
- You can call me "Margo", but not "Shapoklyak"! I can’t stand this mischievous old woman, who looks so much like me, - and, imitating Shapoklyak, she sang in a thin, rattling voice: “Whoever helps people is wasting time! Haha! Good deeds, you can not become famous! Ha ha ha!"
Lyolka is filled with ringing laughter. Oh, well, this old Shap is funny ... oh, Margot! Cheerful such, humorous!

It’s hard to believe that all the worries are over and now you can breathe deeply. It’s autumn outside, and butterflies flutter in her soul: the sun shines gently in spring, and the sparrows chirp merrily, and the people they meet smile kindly.
What a pretty granddaughter you have! – admiring a woman passing by.
Lyolka looks at her teacher with curiosity, what will she answer? She proudly glances at her “granddaughter” and proclaims:
- And then! No one has these!
The happy girl breaks into a smile.
It's great that she has her own teacher! Now she will really learn to play the piano, and not strum on a toy, and even with the missing keys.

Thank you! she can't stand it. She is overwhelmed with joy, she is torn out. “I thought you didn’t agree to work with me.
- Apparently, detonka, it's time to pay my debts, - Margarita Abramovna says mysteriously and adds:
- Let's sit on the bench. The weather is wonderful today. Indian summer!
- For what debts? Lyolka sits down next to the teacher, looking into her face.
- But listen! I was in the same position as you. I arrived at school very late. We came to the city from the countryside. There were no music schools there.
- So what? Lyolka fidgets with impatience.
- Well, - Margarita Abramovna sighs, plunging into distant memories. “Where we used to live, there was a war going on. It was dangerous to stay. The whole family and we moved here - to the Far East. Our relatives lived here. And I, just like you, was somehow on occasion at a symphony concert, and I, just like you, have pimples on my skin, - she grins, noticing the girl's embarrassment.
- Yes Yes! The real pimples. All skin covered with goosebumps! And so I decided to study music. But as? My mother has seven of us on benches, my father is fighting the Nazis at the front. And you have to pay for school. And without a piano, you can’t practice at home.
- So what? How did you do?
- But just like you: came and made a fuss! I roar, I shout: “Take me!”. The whole school came running, they didn't know what to do with me. One teacher took pity on me and began to study with me. And what to do if a bear stepped on my ear? ..
Lyolka jumped up like that:
- Like a bear?! Did he come to you too?
- Yes, yes, baby, I, too, was deaf and had all sorts of talents. See how similar our destinies are!
- And how did you study? The girl's surprise knew no bounds.
- But! I got lucky with the teacher. In those days, there was a brilliant music teacher Semyonova. She developed a special technique by which she taught people like you and me - "non-rumors". And even a deaf person would have learned to play a musical instrument from her.
- How can that be? Directly - deaf?! Lyolka is surprised.
- I speak figuratively. The possibilities of the human body are endless and not fully understood. But you will need dedication. That is, you should love music and activities more than life. Understand?
Lolka nods her head in the affirmative:
- So what? Have you become a famous pianist without hearing and talents?!
- Why? Everything then appeared: and the ear developed, and the talent manifested itself. This is the magic technique my teacher had. I graduated from school with a gold medal, and a music school with a red diploma, and a conservatory ...
- Also with red?
- Nooooo, with a simple one. By the way, according to this method, special exercises have been developed by Semyonova, thanks to which short fingers begin to grow faster than in ordinary children.
- How does it grow?! Lelka does not believe her ears. – How can this be?
- Well, why do you think ballerinas have long necks? Do you think they were born that way? Not! This is all thanks to special classes. They pull their shoulders down, and their heads - by the crown - up. So gradually the neck begins to lengthen. Here we will lengthen your fingers ...
- Doesn't it hurt? Lyolka gets scared.
- Not! the teacher laughs. Her voice rattles like an old bell. “These are just exercises.
- And I will learn from ... this ... how is it? Methodology?
- Well, yes! I was taught, now I will teach you, and then you will pass on your experience to others.
- Have you traveled the whole world, Margo Abramovna?
- The whole world, my girl, - the teacher sighs dreamily. - I was in Paris ... Oh, Parrrij-Parrij - the city of love! she says, burring in French fashion. - Ah, I had such a stormy romance there ... - but, looking at the girl, he catches himself. “Here, the old fool is talking. What am I bringing my child? All right, let's go!

Lyolka is the happiest person in the world! There are probably others who are also happy, but it seemed to her that she was the best.
She has the best teacher in the world! They work with her in the best way! She successfully passed this ates ... testis ... but what about him? Well, these adults came up with a difficult word! In short, the probationary period is over, she passed the entrance exam, and now she is not a “test subject”, but a student.
And the happiest girl in the world jumps back home from the music school, where she successfully passed her first exam. Director Tatyana Semyonovna praised her and even patted her on the head, calling her "clever". And Margot said: “You are a capable girl! If things go on like this, then you will become “exceptional” from our “exception to the rule”. Lyolka did not understand what this meant, but it was still pleasant.

The girl is so happy that it's even scary. Margo Abramovna warned: “Look, do not spill your happiness!”. And Lyolka, from her little bitter experience, already knew that when you reveal a secret to someone, she dies. And she hid her happiness deep, deep in her soul, in its farthest corner and locked it there. Now this is her sacred secret, which neither Liska the traitor, nor Ruslan - her faithful friend, nor even her mother - no one will know that Lelka is already a real student of a music school.
You could tell dad, but he himself is not there, and there is no news from him. I should tell my mother about this, but Lyolka is afraid that she will be scolded. She disobeyed her mother, went against her will, and this ... Oh, it's better not to think about it, otherwise you immediately want to cry.

Running home, she took off her uniform, quickly changed and sat down for lessons. Soon mom will return from work and will definitely check her notebooks. And Lyolka diligently displays letters and numbers so that everything is beautiful and neat.
But the tired mother, having come home, did not praise her. She only cast an absent-minded glance at the copybook and asked:
- Where have you been all day? I had a free hour. I ran home, you were not there.
- I signed up for a circle ... in the House of Creativity, - she lied and blushed. She can't lie.
- What are you doing over there? Mom asked as she set the table.
- They teach me to play the piano ... - the girl all shrunk into a ball.
- You go again? I told you: get this nonsense out of your head!
- Why "nonsense"? .. They told me that I have ... abilities.
The mother waved her hand.
- Okay, go eat! I already set the table.
Lyolka's lie turned out to be good. Now she could safely run to a music school twice a week and once to her teacher's home, where they studied additionally. And mom was no longer worried about her: let the child go to the House of Creativity rather than hang around the street idle.

Chapter 12

The first quarter has slipped by imperceptibly, the second is already coming to an end. New Years is soon! Both at home and at school there was a smell of pine needles and tangerines. In the teacher's room, packages are rustling, gifts are being prepared from Santa Claus, and at home, mom decorates the Christmas tree with some mysterious look.
Lelka loved this holiday very much and had no idea that the Snow Maiden had already given her her snow-white skates. Previously, it was curious to find out what would be hidden under the tree, but now it’s not up to it. Preparations for the festive concert were in full swing at the music school. She and Margot prepared a study...

Finally, the day has come when Lelka will perform in front of the public as a pianist. Of course, she is not quite a real pianist yet, but the stage, the audience and the piano are not pretend. So, she is no longer just a student, but an artist!
And she, having come running from school, puts on her most beautiful white dress with a lace fluffy skirt. She looks like a little ballerina in this dress. Mom sewed it for the New Year - a ticket to the House of Culture for the Yolka had already been bought. This dress is now useful, as well as possible. Lyolka neatly braids her hair, puts on a fur coat with a hood, fastens her boots and, taking silver shoes with her, hurries to the concert. Well, mom doesn’t see that she is without a hat, and on her feet there are only white nylon tights. Here it would be!

There is a tall Christmas tree in the decorated foyer, music sounds and a festive mood is felt in the air. The assembly hall of the school is gradually filled with invited guests. Most of them are parents of students.
The curtain opens and a high school student enters the stage. He wishes everyone a Happy New Year and announces the beginning of the concert. The belated spectators rush to take their seats, and soon silence falls in the hall.
The first student speaks ... applause is heard, then the second ... the third ... the fourth, and finally they announce:
- Olga Turgor - 1st grade student! Etude Gnesina.
Lyolya comes on stage all in white lace, glances at her beloved teacher, sitting in the front row, and goes to the piano...
Oh yes! She forgot to bow! He turns to the audience, makes a bow and ... suddenly notices his mother among the audience. Not! It can't be! How did mom find out about the concert? Lyolka froze in place.
Bangs were heard from the hall, and someone shouted:
- Come on, Snowflake, be bold!
And she can't muster up the courage. On wadded legs, he goes to the piano, sits down on the end of a chair and cannot remember a single note. All notes are gone.

Everything! This is a failure! She will be expelled from school, and her mother will say that her whole idea with music was stupidity and whim. Tears spouted from her eyes, and the frightened girl has no idea what her mother is experiencing at that moment.
And Margarita Abramovna came to her mother at work two hours before the concert and told her what a talented daughter she had, and that the presence of parents at such an important event is essential for the child to feel that he is supported and believed in him. The dumbfounded mother, having taken time off from work, rushed for a bunch of flowers and now sits in the 3rd row, wiping her palms sweaty from excitement with a handkerchief. And now her daughter, being in front of the piano, sheds tears. How can she help her? What can be done here? Bitter thoughts flash through my head one after another: “It's because of me that my child cannot play! It was me, with my unwillingness to believe in her dream, that I forced her to lie, to hide about classes at a music school. Lord, what a horror! She was about to get up and leave the hall, when she suddenly heard a ringing:
- Dad!!!
Lyolka, jumping up, looks with wide-open eyes in surprise to where the entrance to the auditorium is located. Dad is standing near the door and, smiling, waves his hand to her:
- Baby, play!
Lyolya immediately sits down, wipes her eyes with her palms and begins to play with her soul, with her mood, as she was taught. She tries very hard! After all, you need to play in such a way that even from the simplest etude, goosebumps run down the back of the audience ...
When the music stopped, the audience burst into thunderous applause. A joyful mother presented her with a bouquet of flowers, and her father ran up, grabbed the little pianist and threw her up high! Hooray!!!
This is how an ordinary girl, whose ear was stepped on by a nasty bear, turned from an “exception to the rule” into an “exceptional one”.

Lelka walks home from the music school, tightly holding the hands of her mother and father. With happy eyes, she watches how light snowflakes dance in the air to the magical waltz of Tchaikovsky, softly sounding in her soul.