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Japanese fairy tales about a monkey (2 tales). monkey with cut tail

One king had three sons. Two princes grew up handsome, but the third was ugly and clumsy, everyone looked at him with disdain. Two brothers had been married for a long time, but no one wanted to marry the third. However, this did not upset the prince at all. He loved to ride horses and archery. Every day the prince mounted his horse, took his bow and rode off into the forest. He soon became such a skilled shooter and horseman that no one could compare with him. Then he asked his father for permission and went traveling.

One day the prince lost his way and ended up in the land of monkeys. The monkeys grabbed him and brought him to their king.

The monkey king liked the strong and dexterous young man. He invited the prince to stay with him and showed him royal honors. On festive table the king ordered the rarest and most delicious forest fruits to be served. The prince liked it with the monkey king. He stayed with him for quite a long time and every day, together with the king and his entourage, he went into the forest to hunt birds and collect fruits.

The king had a daughter. The princess knew many secrets of witchcraft, because in fact she was a fairy who took the form of a monkey. She fell in love with the prince, and he, seeing that the monkey was obedient, dexterous and efficient, responded to her feeling. The king arranged a wedding for the lovers.

Soon after the wedding, the couple asked the monkey king for permission to go to the capital. When the prince brought his wife home, the king-father and brothers immediately disliked the monkey. Her brothers and their wives ridiculed her, but the prince and his wife did not seem to be upset by this at all. They did not notice the ridicule and still loved each other dearly.

Meanwhile, hostility towards the prince and his monkey wife grew every day. The king and brothers only thought about how to drive them away, but could not find a suitable excuse. The king puzzled himself for a long time and, finally, one fine day he ordered to call all his sons and wives to him.

“I want to call my friends to a feast,” he announced, “each of you must prepare a hundred different dishes. Whoever can cook the tastiest will receive a reward, and whoever is the worst, I will drive him out of the capital.

The prince's older brothers and their wives were not embarrassed when they listened to the king's order. They returned home and sent servants so that they, sparing no expense, bought more rare and tasty things. Then they ordered them to prepare a hundred different dishes for the royal table.

The third prince returned home in great anxiety. He didn’t have the same money as his brothers, and he thought about his wife that since she was a monkey, of course she couldn’t cook. But the monkey calmed the prince and promised that he would fulfill his father's wish.

When the appointed day approached, the monkey turned to his fairy friends for help. Two hundred fairies came to help her and each cooked an unusually tasty dish.

Everyone was amazed. The king was secretly angry, but still was forced to keep his promise and give the third prince and his wife a reward.

The next time a new idea was born in the king's head. He again called all his sons and wives to him:

I need Nice dress, - he said, - and so that it would be just right. The dress must be made of the most expensive fabric that no one in the world has, and you must sew it without the slightest flaw. But I don’t allow you to try on my old dresses; all the work must be done by eye. Who can sew good dress- will receive a reward, and whoever fails, I will drive him away.

The first and second prince and their wives decided that this job would not be difficult to cope with. Sparing no expense, they hired weavers and tailors.

Then they bribed the king's bodyguards to secretly take measurements of his favorite dress, ordered the tailors to sew according to this measurement, and had no doubt that they would be able to please the king.

The third prince, as the first time, was sad and upset, but his wife just laughed and promised her husband that the dress would be ready by the appointed time, so that he should not be sad about anything.

At home, the monkey, using magic, became invisible, entered the king’s bedroom, and took his exact measurements. After this, she asked the fairies to bring her heavenly brocade and satin and sew a dress of unprecedented beauty for the king. When the king put on this dress, it turned out that it fit perfectly. So the third prince and his wife were again winners in the competition.

This time the king became even more angry. The angrier he became, the more he wanted to finally get rid of his unloved son and daughter-in-law. He came up with a new trick and again called his sons and their wives to him.

My daughters-in-law, he said, are members royal family and therefore they must be the most beautiful. I give you until tomorrow to dress up and come here again in the morning. I will hand over the throne to the husband of the one who turns out to be the most beautiful, and I will drive the ugliest one and her husband out of the capital.

The first and second prince and their wives did not worry about their fate. They were confident that they were not in danger of expulsion. Everyone thought that the most he risked was not getting the throne.

No one doubted that the loser in this competition would be the monkey - after all, no matter how much a monkey decorates itself, it still cannot compare in beauty with a human.

The Third Prince was very worried. He wanted to talk to his wife about how they could continue to live if their father really drove them away, but she laughed in response as if nothing had happened. The monkey told her husband not to worry about anything and said that everything would end well.

The next morning, the wives of the first and second princes, magnificently decorated, appeared, accompanied by their husbands, before the king. Both of them were eagerly awaiting the third daughter-in-law to come out. The third prince wanted not to come at all, but his wife insisted, and he had to take her to the royal palace. On the way, the prince reproached her for her recklessness, but the monkey cheerfully answered him:

Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!

They approached the gates of the palace, and then the monkey suddenly turned into the most beautiful woman in the world. Her dress sparkled, as if it was woven from gold and silver threads. The wives of the first and second princes next to her looked no better than owls next to a pheasant.

Now only everyone realized that in front of them was a fairy who wore the guise of the daughter of the monkey king. From then on, the king, the senior princes and their wives - no one dared to treat the third prince and his wife with disdain. Soon the king handed over his throne to them. However, after becoming king and queen, they were still kind to people, just like in those days when they were hated and despised for their ugly appearance.

It's me, the deer. But I did it by accident,” the deer spoke plaintively. - I was very hot. So I lay down to take a nap under the fig tree. I was just dozing off when suddenly something hit me on the nose. Yes, it hurts so much! I ran away. I didn't notice that pumpkin. My legs are entangled in the stem, I’m trying to pull! That's when the stem broke.

Angry, I showed Tiger what I was capable of. I dug up the hill with my horns so much that lumps of earth scattered in different directions! I uprooted and scattered all the trees around - let the Tiger know that I am not afraid to engage in single combat with him! Let him see what a strong skin and strong bones I have! The tiger got cold feet and ran away. And after that, my anger went away. There is only one anxiety left in my soul, because now I have an enemy - wild animal, who also does not dare to attack from the front. Yes, even if he were not wild, it would still be difficult! It’s bad when the enemy does not dare to attack openly. Even though he is dexterous, he won’t dare to do this, he will definitely pounce from behind!

The monkey planted the green top, and the turtle planted the lower half of the stem with roots. The monkey chuckled to himself: “My banana will bear fruit faster - there are so many leaves on it!” But what really happened? The top that she planted began to wither and soon completely withered. The stem planted by the turtle grew and soon gave leaves. A little time passed, and fruits appeared on it. Every day they became heavier and finally began to turn yellow. Then the monkey climbed onto the top of the turtle's banana and began to feel the fruit.

And the rich man turned around to grab the poor man, but the beggar disappeared somewhere. No one noticed when he managed to escape. The rich miser became even more angry. He grabbed the whip with which he punished the chain dogs and began to whip the slave. In vain the girl begged for mercy. The rich man beat her mercilessly.

There was a time when all animals, birds and insects could speak. The grasshopper lived in the field even then. And the monkey decided to evict him. “You are small and should live in the mountains,” she said to the Grasshopper, “but I’m big, I’m supposed to live in the field.” “My mother gave birth to me in the field,” objected the Grasshopper, “that’s why I live here, but I won’t go to the mountains!” - If you don’t want to leave on good terms, we’ll fight. Whoever turns out to be stronger will live in the field

Waving his long tail, the fox ran away. But she ran away not far away. The monkey climbed the tree and saw that the fox was quietly sneaking across the meadow towards the sleeping horse. The horse worked all day, was very tired and therefore slept soundly. The fox crept up to her and carefully tied his tail with hers. And then she chose a fatter place and sunk her teeth into the horse’s croup.

Somehow it happened that the monkey was the only monkey in the forest. That's why she didn't have monkey friends since childhood. But there were other friends: Panther, Crocodile and Raccoon.
One day Monkey looked around and thought: “Everyone loves Panther. And I love Panther because she is big and strong. Why do you love me? I'm welcome. I’ll become like a Panther.”
The next morning she went out into the common clearing, pompously protruding with all four paws and then squeezing and unclenching her thin fingers.
“What are you doing, Monkey?” the animals asked her.
-I? “I’m big and strong now,” answered the Monkey. The animals laughed, but the Monkey was offended and ran away.
Here she sits on her oak tree (there was only one oak tree in this forest) and reflects: “Apparently, it doesn’t work out for me to be big and strong. But here is the Crocodile, for example. Everyone loves the Crocodile, and I love the Crocodile because he is green, beautiful and a little scary. Why do you love me? There's nothing to love me for. I will be like a Crocodile."
The next morning, the Monkey covered herself with leaves and hung a whole armful of marsh grass and bells to her ears. So she came out into the common clearing. The animals were scared at first, but then they recognized the Monkey and laughed:
- Monkey, is that you?! Ha ha ha! What are you wearing?! Ha ha ha!
The monkey didn’t even answer this time. She ran to her oak tree, picking off leaves and bells along the way and scattering them.
“Why?” she muttered, “why is everyone laughing at me?” I tried to become big and strong - and they didn't like me. I tried to become beautiful - they didn’t like me either. But everyone loves Panther! And everyone loves Crocodile! And Raccoon! And I love the Raccoon for...for... - But no matter how much Monkey wondered, she could not understand why everyone loves the raccoon so much.
Then, although it was late at night, she climbed down from the tree and wandered towards the Raccoon. He lived almost at the other end of the forest, near the river, and Monkey trudged along the gullies for a long time, stumbling over the roots, as if deliberately exposed by the trees.
The raccoon did not sleep. He sat by the water and splashed his paws on it, causing very interesting circles to diverge.
“Raccoon!” Monkey called after catching her breath. The raccoon turned around.
-Ah, Monkey! Why do not you sleep?
-Raccoon, I need to ask you a question. Can?
“Ask me,” the Raccoon was surprised.
-Listen, Raccoon, tell me. Here you are, my friend. Do you love me?
“I love you, of course, Monkey,” answered the Raccoon, “what a question!”
“And for what?” she asked, already sobbing, “for what, huh?..
The raccoon was confused and, hugging Monkey by the shoulders, stroked her ear, wet from tears, with one paw.
“...And the moon in the sky is so bright that if I were a wolf, I would certainly howl,” the raccoon suddenly said and fell silent again, only stroking the Monkey’s head in silence.

I was twelve years old and in school. One day during recess my friend Yukhimenko came up to me and said:

Do you want me to give you a monkey?

I didn’t believe it - I thought he was going to pull some kind of trick on me, so that sparks would fly out of my eyes, and say: this is the “monkey.” I'm not like that.

Okay, I say, we know.

No, he says, really. Live monkey. She is good. Her name is Yashka. And dad is angry.

On whom?

Yes to me and Yashka. Take it away, he says, wherever you want. I think it's best for you.

After classes we went to see him. I still didn't believe it. Did I really think I would have a live monkey? And he kept asking what she was like. And Yukhimenko says:

You'll see, don't be afraid, she's small.

Indeed, it turned out to be small. If it stands on its paws, it will be no more than half an arshin. The muzzle is wrinkled, like an old woman, and the eyes are lively and shiny. Its fur is red and its paws are black. It’s like human hands in black gloves. She was wearing a blue vest.

Yukhimenko shouted:

Yashka, Yashka, go, whatever I'll give you!

And he put his hand in his pocket. The monkey screamed: “Ay! ah!” - and in two leaps she jumped into Yukhimenka’s arms. He immediately put it in his overcoat, in his bosom.

Let's go, he says.

I couldn't believe my eyes. We walk down the street, carrying such a miracle, and no one knows what we have in our bosom.

Dear Yukhimenko told me what to feed.

He eats everything, come on. Loves sweets. Candy is a disaster! If he gets his way, he will definitely overeat. He likes his tea to be liquid and sweet. You're giving her a hard time. Two pieces. Don’t give him a bite: he’ll eat the sugar and won’t drink the tea.

I listened to everything and thought: I won’t spare her even three pieces, she’s so cute, like a toy man. Then I remembered that she didn’t have a tail either.

“You,” I say, “cut off her tail at the very root?”

“She’s a macaque,” says Yukhimenko, “they don’t grow tails.”

We arrived at our home. Mom and the girls were sitting at lunch. Yukhimenka and I walked in straight in our greatcoats.

I speak:

And who do we have!

Everyone turned around. Yukhimenko opened his overcoat. No one had time to make out anything yet, but Yashka was about to jump from Yukhimenka onto his mother’s head; pushed with his legs and onto the buffet. I ruined my mother’s entire hairstyle.

Everyone jumped up and shouted:

Oh, who, who is it?

And Yashka sat down on the sideboard and made faces, slurped, and bared his teeth.

Yukhimenko was afraid that they would scold him now, and quickly went to the door. They didn’t even look at him - everyone looked at the monkey. And suddenly the girls all began to sing in one voice:

How pretty!

And mom kept fixing her hair.

Where does it come from?

I looked back. Yukhimenka is no longer there. So, I remained the owner. And I wanted to show that I know how to handle a monkey. I put my hand in my pocket and shouted, as Yukhimenko did earlier:

Yashka, Yashka! Go, I'll give you what!

Everyone was waiting. But Yashka didn’t even look - he began to itch slightly and often with his black little paw.

Until the evening, Yashka did not go downstairs, but jumped from top to bottom: from the sideboard to the door, from the door to the closet, and from there to the stove.

In the evening my father said:

You can’t leave her like that overnight, she’ll turn the apartment upside down.

And I started catching Yashka. I go to the buffet - he goes to the stove. I brushed him out of there and he jumped on the clock. The clock swayed and began to swing. And Yashka is already swinging on the curtains. From there - at the painting - the painting looked sideways - I was afraid that Yashka would throw himself at the hanging lamp.

But then everyone had already gathered and began to chase Yashka. They threw balls, spools, matches at him and finally drove him into a corner.

Yashka pressed himself against the wall, bared his teeth and clicked his tongue - he began to scare. But they covered him with a woolen scarf and wrapped him up, entangling him.

Yashka floundered and screamed, but they soon twisted him around so that only his head was left sticking out. He turned his head, blinked his eyes, and seemed like he was about to cry out of resentment.

You can't swaddle a monkey every night! Father said:

Bind. For the vest and to the leg, to the table.

I brought the rope, felt the button on Yashka’s back, threaded the rope into the loop and tied it tightly. Yashka’s vest on the back was fastened with three buttons. Then I brought Yashka, wrapped up as he was, to the table, tied a rope to his leg, and only then unwound the scarf.

Wow, how he started jumping! But where can he break the rope? He screamed, got angry and sat down sadly on the floor.

I took sugar from the cupboard and gave it to Yashka. He grabbed a piece with his black paw and tucked it behind his cheek. This made his whole face twist.

I asked Yashka for a paw. He handed me his pen.

Then I noticed what pretty black nails she had on. Toy living pen! I began to stroke the paw and thought: just like a child. And tickled his palm. And the baby jerks his paw - once - and hits me on the cheek. I didn’t even have time to blink, and he slapped me in the face and jumped under the table. He sat down and grinned. Here comes the baby!

But then they sent me to bed.

I wanted to tie Yashka to my bed, but they didn’t let me. I kept listening to what Yashka was doing and thought that he definitely needed to make a crib so that he could sleep like people and cover himself with a blanket. I would put my head on a pillow. I thought and thought and fell asleep.

In the morning he jumped up and, without getting dressed, went to see Yashka. There is no Yashka on the rope. There is a rope, a vest is tied to the rope, but there is no monkey. I look, all three buttons on the back are undone. It was he who unbuttoned the vest, left it on the rope, and tore himself. I search around the room. I spank bare feet. Nowhere. I was scared. How did you escape? I haven’t spent a day, and here you are! I looked at the cabinets, into the stove - nowhere. He ran away into the street. And it’s frosty outside - you’ll freeze, poor thing! And I myself became cold. I ran to get dressed. Suddenly I see something moving in my bed. The blanket moves. I even shuddered. Here he is! It was he who felt cold on the floor, and he ran away and onto my bed. Huddled under the blanket. But I was asleep and didn’t know. Yashka, half asleep, did not act shy, he gave himself into my hands, and I put the blue vest on him again.

When they sat down to drink tea, Yashka jumped up on the table, looked around, immediately found a sugar bowl, put his paw in and jumped on the door. He jumped so easily that he seemed to be flying without jumping. The monkey's feet had fingers like hands, and Yashka could grab with his feet. He did just that. He sits like a child, with his hands folded in someone’s arms, while he himself pulls something off the table with his foot.

He'll steal the knife and jump around with the knife. This is to be taken away from him, but he will run away. Yashka was given tea in a glass. He hugged the glass like a bucket, drank and smacked. I didn't skimp on the sugar.

When I left for school, I tied Yashka to the door, to the handle. This time I tied a rope around his waist so that he couldn’t fall off. When I came home, I saw from the hallway what Yashka was doing. He hung on the door handle and rode on the doors like on a carousel. He pushes off from the door frame and goes all the way to the wall. He pushes his foot into the wall and goes back.

When I sat down to prepare my homework, I sat Yashka on the table. He really liked to warm himself near the lamp. He dozed like an old man in the sun, swayed and, squinting, watched as I poked the pen into the ink. Our teacher was strict, and I wrote the page cleanly. I didn't want to get wet so as not to spoil it. Left it to dry. I come and see: Yakov is sitting on a notebook, dipping his finger into the inkwell, grumbling and drawing ink Babylons according to my writing. Oh, you rubbish! I almost cried with grief. He rushed at Yashka. Where! He stained all the curtains with ink. That’s why Yukhimenkin’s dad was angry with him and Yashka...

But once my dad got angry with Yashka. Yashka was picking off the flowers that stood on our windows. He rips off a leaf and teases. Father caught and beat Yashka. And then he tied him as punishment on the stairs that led to the attic. A narrow staircase. And the wide one went down from the apartment.

Here is the father going to work in the morning. He cleaned himself up, put on his hat, and went down the stairs. Clap! The plaster falls. Father stopped and shook off his hat. I looked up - no one. As soon as I started walking, bang, another piece of lime hit my head. What's happened?

And from the side I could see how Yashka was operating. He broke the mortar from the wall, laid it out along the edges of the steps, and lay down, hiding on the stairs, just above his father’s head. As soon as his father went, Yashka quietly pushed the plaster off the step with his foot and tried it on so deftly that it was right on his father’s hat - he was taking revenge on him for the fact that his father had bullied him the day before.

But when did it start real winter, the wind howled in the chimneys, the windows were covered with snow, Yashka became sad. I kept warming him and holding him close to me. Yashka’s face became sad and saggy, he squealed and huddled closer to me. I tried to put it in my bosom, under my jacket. Yashka immediately settled down there: he grabbed the shirt with all four paws and hung like he was glued to it. He slept there without opening his paws. Another time you will forget that you have a living belly under your jacket and lean on the table. Yashka is now scratching my side with his paw: he’s letting me know to be careful.

One Sunday the girls came to visit. We sat down to have breakfast. Yashka sat quietly in my bosom, and he was not noticeable at all. At the end, sweets were distributed. As soon as I began to unwrap the first one, suddenly a furry hand stretched out from my bosom, right from my stomach, grabbed the candy and went back. The girls squealed in fear. And Yashka heard that they were rustling paper, and guessed that they were eating sweets. And I tell the girls: “This is my third hand; with this hand I put candy right in the stomach so as not to fuss for a long time.” But everyone already guessed that it was a monkey, and from under the jacket they could hear the crunching of the candy: it was Yashka gnawing and chomping, as if I were chewing with my stomach.

Yashka was angry with his father for a long time. Yashka reconciled with him because of the sweets. My father had just quit smoking and instead of cigarettes he carried small sweets in his cigarette case. And every time after dinner my father opened the tight lid of his cigarette case thumb, fingernail, and took out candy. Yashka is right there: sitting on his knees and waiting - fidgeting, stretching. So the father once gave the entire cigarette case to Yashka; Yashka took it in his hand, and with the other hand, just like my father, he began to pick at the lid with his thumb. His finger is small, and the lid is tight and dense, and nothing comes of Yashenka. He howled with frustration. And the candies rattle. Then Yashka grabbed his father by the thumb and with his fingernail, like a chisel, he began to pick out the lid. This made my father laugh, he opened the lid and brought the cigarette case to Yashka. Yashka immediately put his paw in, grabbed a full handful, quickly put it in his mouth and ran away. Not every day is such happiness!

We had a doctor friend. He loved to chat - it was a disaster. Especially at lunch. Everyone has already finished, everything on his plate is cold, then he’ll just pick at it and hastily swallow two pieces:

Thank you, I'm full.

Once he was having lunch with us, he poked his fork into the potatoes and waved this fork, he said. I'm going crazy - I can't stop it. And Yasha, I see, climbs up the back of the chair, quietly crept up and sat down at the doctor’s shoulder. Doctor says:

And you see, here it’s just... - And he stopped the fork with potatoes near his ear - for just one moment. Yashenka quietly grabbed the potatoes with his little paw and took them off the fork - carefully, like a thief.

And imagine... - And poke an empty fork into your mouth. He thought embarrassed, shook off the potatoes as he waved his arms, and looked around. But Yashka is no longer sitting in the corner and can’t chew the potatoes, he’s stuffed his whole throat.

The doctor himself laughed, but still was offended by Yashka.

Yashka was given a bed in a basket: with a sheet, blanket, and pillow. But Yashka did not want to sleep like a human being: he wrapped everything around himself in a ball and sat like a stuffed animal all night. They sewed him a little green dress with a cape, and he looked like a short-haired girl from an orphanage.

Now I hear a ringing in the next room. What's happened? I make my way quietly and see: Yashka is standing on the windowsill in a green dress, in one hand he has a lamp glass, and in the other there is a hedgehog, and he is furiously cleaning the glass with the hedgehog. He got into such a rage that he didn’t hear me enter. He saw how the glass was cleaned, and let’s try it ourselves.

Otherwise, if you leave him in the evening with a lamp, he will turn the fire on full flame; the lamp smokes, soot flies around the room, and he sits and growls at the lamp.

Trouble has happened to Yashka, at least put him in a cage! I scolded him and beat him, but for a long time I could not be angry with him. When Yashka wanted to be liked, he became very affectionate, climbed onto his shoulder and began searching his head. This means he already loves you very much.

He needs to beg for something - candy or an apple - now he climbs onto his shoulder and carefully starts running his paws through his hair: searching and scratching with his nails. He doesn’t find anything, but pretends to have caught the beast: he bites something off his fingers.

One day a lady came to visit us. She thought she was beautiful. Discharged. Everything is so silky and rustling. There is not a hairstyle on the head, but a whole arbor of hair twisted - in curls, in ringlets. And on the neck, on a long chain, is a mirror in a silver frame.

Yashka carefully jumped up to her on the floor.

Oh, what a cute monkey! - says the lady. And let's play with the mirror with Yashka.

Yashka caught the mirror, turned it over, jumped onto the lady’s lap and began to try the mirror on his teeth.

The lady took the mirror away and held it in her hand. And Yashka wants to get a mirror. The lady casually stroked Yashka with her glove and slowly pushed him off her lap. So Yashka decided to please, to flatter the lady. Jump on her shoulder. He grabbed the lace tightly with his hind paws and took hold of his hair. I dug out all the curls and began to search.

The lady blushed.

Let's go, let's go! - speaks.

Not so! Yashka tries even harder: he scrapes with his nails and clicks his teeth.

This lady always sat opposite the mirror to admire herself, and she sees in the mirror that Yashka has disheveled her - she almost cries. I went to the rescue. Where there! Yashka grabbed his hair as hard as he could and looked at me wildly. The lady pulled him by the collar, and Yashka twisted her hair. I looked at myself in the mirror - a stuffed animal. I swung, scared Yashka, and our guest grabbed her head and - through the door.

A disgrace, he says, a disgrace! - And I didn’t say goodbye to anyone.

“Well,” I think, “I’ll keep it until spring and give it to someone if Yukhimenko doesn’t take it. I got so much for this monkey!”

And now spring has come. It's warmer. Yashka came to life and did even more mischief. He really wanted to go out into the yard and be free. And our yard was huge, about the size of a tithe. In the middle of the yard there was a mountain of government coal, and around there were warehouses with goods. And the guards kept a whole pack of dogs in the yard to protect against thieves. The dogs are big and angry. And all the dogs were commanded by the red dog Kashtan. Whoever Kashtan growls at, all the dogs rush at him. Whoever Kashtan lets through, the dogs will not touch. And Kashtan was beating someone else's dog with his chest running. He’ll hit her, knock her off her feet, and stand over her, growling, but she’s afraid to move.

I looked out the window and saw that there were no dogs in the yard. Let me think, I’ll go and take Yashenka for a walk for the first time. I put a green dress on him so that he wouldn’t catch a cold, put Yashka on my shoulder and went. As soon as I opened the doors, Yashka jumped to the ground and ran across the yard. And suddenly, out of nowhere, the whole pack of dogs, and Kashtan in front, straight towards Yashka. And he, like a little green doll, stands small. I’ve already decided that Yashka is missing - they’ll tear him apart now. Kashtan leaned towards Yashka, but Yashka turned to him, crouched down, and took aim. Kashtan stood a step away from the monkey, bared his teeth and grumbled, but did not dare to rush at such a miracle. The dogs all bristled and waited for Chestnut.

I wanted to rush to the rescue. But suddenly Yashka jumped and at one moment sat on Kashtan’s neck. And then the wool flew off Chestnut in shreds. Yashka hit him in the face and eyes, so that his paws were not visible. Kashtan howled, and in such a terrible voice that all the dogs scattered. Kashtan started to run headlong, and Yashka sat, grabbed the wool with his feet, held on tightly, and with his hands tore Kashtan by the ears, pinched the wool into shreds. The chestnut has gone crazy: it rushes around the coal mountain with a wild howl. Yashka ran around the yard on horseback three times and jumped onto the coal as he went. I slowly climbed to the very top. There was a wooden booth; he climbed onto the booth, sat down and began scratching his side as if nothing had happened. Here, they say, I don’t care!

And Kashtan is at the gate from a terrible beast.

Since then, I boldly began to let Yashka out into the yard: only Yashka from the porch, all the dogs go into the gate. Yashka was not afraid of anyone.

Carts will arrive in the yard, the whole yard will be clogged, there will be nowhere to go. And Yashka flies from cart to cart. He jumps onto the horse's back - the horse tramples, shakes its mane, snorts, and Yashka slowly jumps over to the other. The cab drivers just laugh and are surprised:

Look how Satan is jumping. Look! Wow!

And Yashka goes for bags. Looking for cracks. He sticks his paw in and feels what’s there. He finds where the sunflowers are, sits and immediately clicks on the cart. It happened that Yashka would find the nuts. He hits you on the cheeks and tries to grab them with all four hands.

But then Jacob found an enemy. Yes what! There was a cat in the yard. No one's. He lived at the office, and everyone fed him scraps. He grew fat and became as big as a dog. He was angry and scratchy.

And then one evening Yashka was walking around the yard. I couldn’t call him home. I see the cat came out into the yard and jumped onto the bench that stood under the tree. When Yashka saw the cat, he went straight to him. He crouches down and walks slowly on all fours. Straight to the bench and never takes his eyes off the cat. The cat picked up its paws, hunched its back, and got ready. And Yashka is crawling closer and closer. The cat widened his eyes and backed away. Yashka on the bench. The cat is still backing to the other edge, towards the tree. My heart sank. And Yakov crawls along the bench towards the cat. The cat had already shrunk into a ball and was all drawn up. And suddenly - he jumped, not on Yashka, but on a tree. He grabbed onto the trunk and looked down at the monkey. And Yashka still makes the same move towards the tree. The cat was scratched higher - he was used to saving himself in trees. And Yashka is up the tree, and still slowly, aiming at the cat with his black eyes. The cat climbed higher, higher, onto the branch and sat down on the very edge. He looks to see what Yashka will do. And Yakov crawls along the same branch, and so confidently, as if he had never done anything else, but only caught cats. The cat is already on the very edge, barely holding on to a thin branch, swaying. And Yakov crawls and crawls, tenaciously moving all four arms. Suddenly the cat jumped from the very top onto the pavement, shook himself and ran away at full speed without looking back. And Yashka from the tree followed him: “Yau, yau,” in some terrible, animal voice - I’ve never heard that from him.

Now Jacob has become a complete king in the courtyard. At home he didn’t want to eat anything, he just drank tea with sugar. And once I was so full of raisins in the yard that I could barely put them down. Yashka moaned, had tears in his eyes, and looked at everyone capriciously. At first everyone felt very sorry for Yashka, but when he saw that they were messing with him, he began to break down and throw his arms around, throw back his head and howl at different voices. They decided to wrap him up and give him castor oil. Let him know!

And he liked the castor oil so much that he started yelling for more. He was swaddled and not allowed into the yard for three days.

Yashka soon recovered and began rushing into the yard. I wasn’t afraid for him: no one could catch him, and Yashka jumped around the yard all day long. It became calmer at home, and I had less trouble with Yashka. And when autumn came, everyone in the house unanimously said:

Wherever you want, put your monkey away or put it in a cage, and so that this Satan doesn’t run around the whole apartment.

They said how pretty she was, but now I think she’s become Satan. And as soon as the training began, I began to look in the class for someone who could fuse Yashka. He finally found a comrade, called him aside and said:

Do you want me to give you a monkey? I'm alive.

I don’t know to whom he later sold off Yashka. But for the first time, after Yashka was no longer in the house, I saw that everyone was a little bored, although they didn’t want to admit it.

I was twelve years old and in school. One day during recess my friend Yukhimenko came up to me and said:

- Do you want me to give you a monkey?

I didn’t believe it - I thought he was going to pull some kind of joke on me so that sparks would fly out of my eyes, and say: “This is a “monkey.” I'm not like that.

“Okay,” I say, “we know.”

“No,” he says, “really.” Live monkey. She is good. Her name is Yashka. And dad is angry.

- On whom?

- Yes, on me and Yashka. Take it away, he says, wherever you want. I think it's best for you.

After classes we went to see him. I still didn't believe it. Did I really think I would have a live monkey? And he kept asking what she was like. And Yukhimenko says:

- You'll see, don't be afraid, she's small.

Indeed, it turned out to be small. If it stands on its paws, it will be no more than half an arshin. The muzzle is wrinkled, like an old woman, and the eyes are lively and shiny. Its fur is red and its paws are black. It's like human hands in black gloves. She was wearing a blue vest.

Yukhimenko shouted:

- Yashka, Yashka, go! What will I give!

And he put his hand in his pocket. The monkey screamed: “Ay, ah!” - Yukhimenko jumped into her arms in two leaps. He immediately put it in his overcoat, in his bosom.

“Let’s go,” he says.

I couldn't believe my eyes. We walk down the street, carrying such a miracle, and no one knows what we have in our bosom.

Dear Yukhimenko told me what to feed.

- Everyone eats, everyone, come on. Loves sweets. Candy is a disaster. If he gets too full, he will definitely overeat. He likes his tea to be liquid and sweet. You're giving her a hard time. Two pieces. Don’t give him a bite: he’ll eat the sugar and won’t drink the tea.

I listened to everything and thought: I won’t spare her even three pieces, she’s so cute, like a toy man. Then I remembered that she didn’t have a tail either.

“Did you,” I say, “cut off her tail at the very root?”

“She’s a macaque,” says Yukhimenko, “they don’t grow tails.”

We arrived at our home. Mom and the girls were sitting at lunch. Yukhimenka and I walked in straight in our greatcoats.

I speak:

- Who do we have?

Everyone turned around. Yukhimenko opened his overcoat. No one had time to make out anything yet, but Yashka was about to jump from Yukhimenka onto his mother’s head; pushed with his legs - and onto the buffet. I ruined my mother’s entire hairstyle.

Everyone jumped up and shouted:

- Oh, who, who is it?

And Yashka sat down on the sideboard and made faces, slurped, and bared his teeth.

- How pretty!

And my mother kept fixing her hair.

- Where does it come from?

I looked back. Yukhimenka is no longer there. So, I remained the owner. And I wanted to show that I know how to handle a monkey. I put my hand in my pocket and shouted, as Yukhimenko did earlier:

- Yashka, Yashka! Go, I'll give you what!

Everyone was waiting. But Yashka didn’t even look - he began to itch slightly and often with his black little paw.

Until the evening, Yashka did not go downstairs, but jumped over the top from the sideboard to the door, from the door to the closet, and from there to the stove.

In the evening my father said:

“You can’t leave her like that overnight, she’ll turn the apartment upside down.”

And I started catching Yashka. I go to the buffet - he goes to the stove. I brushed him out of there - he jumped on the clock. The clock swayed and began to swing. And Yashka is already swinging on the curtains. From there towards the painting, the painting looked sideways - I was afraid that Yashka would throw himself at the hanging lamp.

But then everyone had already gathered and began to chase Yashka. They threw balls, spools, matches at him and finally drove him into a corner.

Yashka pressed himself against the wall, bared his teeth and clicked his tongue - he began to scare. But they covered him with a woolen scarf and wrapped him up, entangling him.

You can't swaddle a monkey every night!

Father said:

- Tie it down. For the vest - and to the leg, to the table.

I brought the rope, felt the button on Yashka’s back, threaded the rope into the loop and tied it tightly. Yashka's vest on the back was fastened with three buttons. Then I brought Yashka, wrapped up as he was, to the table, tied a rope to his leg, and only then unwound the scarf.

Wow, how he started jumping! But where could he break the rope! He screamed, got angry and sat down sadly on the floor.

I took sugar from the cupboard and gave it to Yashka. He grabbed a piece with his black paw and tucked it into his cheek. This made his whole face twist.

I asked Yashka for a paw. He handed me his pen.

Then I noticed what pretty black nails she had on. Toy living pen. I began to stroke the paw and thought: just like a child. And tickled his palm. And the baby jerks his paw and hits me on the cheek. I didn’t even have time to blink, and he slapped me in the face and jumped under the table. He sat down and grinned. Here comes the baby!

But then they sent me to bed.

In the morning he jumped up and, without getting dressed, went to see Yashka. There is no Yashka on the rope. There is a rope, a vest is tied to the rope, but there is no monkey. I see all three buttons on the back are undone. It was he who unbuttoned the vest, left it on the rope, and tore himself. I search around the room. I spank with my bare feet. Nowhere. I was scared. How did you escape? I haven’t spent a day, and here you are! I looked at the cabinets, into the stove - nowhere. He ran away into the street. And it’s frosty outside—you’ll freeze, poor thing. And I myself became cold. I ran to get dressed. Suddenly I see something moving in my bed. The blanket moves. I even shuddered. Here he is! It was he who felt cold on the floor, and he ran away and onto my bed. Huddled under the blanket. But I was asleep and didn’t know. Yashka, half asleep, did not act shy, he gave himself into my hands, and I put the blue vest on him again.

When they sat down to drink tea, Yashka jumped up on the table, looked around, immediately found a sugar bowl, put his paw in and jumped on the door. He jumped so easily that it seemed like he was flying without jumping. The monkey's feet had fingers like hands, and Yashka could grab with his feet. He did just that. He sits like a child, in someone’s arms, folding his arms, while he himself pulls something from the table with his foot.

When I sat down to prepare my homework, I sat Yashka on the table. He really liked to warm himself near the lamp. He dozed like an old man in the sun, swayed and, squinting, watched me

I poke the pen into the ink. Our teacher was strict, and I wrote the page cleanly. I didn't want to get wet so as not to spoil it. Left it to dry. I come and see: Yakov is sitting on a notebook, dipping his finger into the inkwell, grumbling and drawing ink Babylons according to my writing. Oh, you rubbish! I almost cried with grief. He rushed at Yashka. Where! He stained all the curtains with ink. That’s why Yukhimenkin’s dad was angry with him and Yashka...

But once my dad got angry with Yashka. Yashka was picking off the flowers that stood on our windows. He tears off a leaf and teases. Father caught and beat Yashka. And then he tied him as punishment on the stairs that led to the attic. A narrow staircase. And the wide one went down from the apartment.

Here is the father going to work in the morning. He cleaned himself up, put on his hat, and went down the stairs. Clap! The plaster falls. Father stopped and shook off his hat. I looked up - no one. As soon as he went, bang, another piece of lime right on his head. What's happened?

And from the side I could see how Yashka was operating. He broke some mortar from the wall, laid it out along the edges of the steps, and lay down, hiding on the stairs, just above his father’s head. As soon as his father went, Yashka quietly pushed the plaster off the step with his foot and tried it on so deftly that it fit right into his father’s hat - he was taking revenge on him for the fact that his father had bullied him the day before.

But when real winter began, the wind howled in the chimneys, the windows were covered with snow, Yashka became sad. I kept warming him and holding him close to me. Yashka’s face became sad and saggy, he squealed and huddled closer to me. I tried to put it in my bosom, under my jacket. Yashka immediately settled down there: he grabbed the shirt with all four paws and hung like he was glued to it. He slept there without opening his paws. Another time you’ll forget that you have a living belly under your jacket and lean against the table. Yashka is now scratching my side with his paw: he’s letting me know to be careful.

One Sunday the girls came to visit. We sat down to have breakfast. Yashka sat quietly in my bosom, and he was not noticeable at all. At the end, sweets were distributed. As soon as I began to unwrap the first one, suddenly a furry hand stretched out from my bosom, right from my stomach, grabbed the candy and went back. The girls squealed in fear. And Yashka heard that they were rustling paper, and guessed that they were eating sweets. And I tell the girls: “This is my third hand; I put candy directly into my stomach with this hand so I don’t have to fuss for a long time.” But everyone already guessed that it was a monkey, and from under the jacket they could hear the crunching of the candy: it was Yashka gnawing and chomping, as if I were chewing with my stomach.

Yashka was angry with his father for a long time. Yashka reconciled with him because of the sweets. My father had just quit smoking and instead of cigarettes he carried small sweets in his cigarette case. And every time after dinner, my father opened the tight lid of the cigarette case with his thumb and fingernail, and took out candy. Yashka is right there: sitting on his knees and waiting - fidgeting, stretching. So my father once gave the entire cigarette case to Yashka. Yashka took it in his hand, and with the other hand, just like my father, he began to pick at the lid with his thumb. His finger is small, and the lid is tight and dense, and nothing comes of Yashenka. He howled with frustration. And the candies rattle. Then Yashka grabbed his father’s thumb and with his nail, like a chisel, began to pick off the lid. This made my father laugh, he opened the lid and brought it to Yashka. Yashka immediately put his paw in, grabbed a full handful,

quickly put it in your mouth and run away. Not every day is such happiness!

We had a doctor friend. He liked to talk - it was a disaster. Especially at lunch. Everyone has already finished, everything on his plate is cold, then he will just grab it - pick at it, hastily swallow two pieces.

- Thank you, I'm full.

Once he was having lunch with us, he poked his fork into the potatoes and waved this fork - he said. I'm going crazy - I can't stop it. And Yashka, I see, climbs up the back of the chair, quietly crept up and sat down at the doctor’s shoulder. Doctor says:

“And you see, it’s just here...” And he stopped the fork with the potatoes near his ear - for just one moment.

Yashenka quietly grabbed the potatoes with his little paw and took them off the fork - carefully, like a thief. And the doctor goes on:

- And imagine... - And poked an empty fork into your mouth. He was embarrassed - he thought, shook off the potatoes as he waved his hands, and looked around.

But Yashka is no longer there - he sits in the corner and cannot chew the potatoes, he has stuffed his whole throat.

The doctor himself laughed, but still was offended by Yashka.

Otherwise, if you leave him with a lamp in the evening, he will turn the fire on full flame - the lamp smokes, soot flies around the rooms, and he sits and growls at the lamp.

Trouble has happened to Yashka, you can even put him in a cage. I scolded him and beat him. But I couldn’t be angry with him for a long time. When Yashka wanted to be liked, he became very affectionate, climbed onto his shoulder and began searching his head. This means that he loves you very much.

He needs to beg for something - candy or an apple - now he climbs onto his shoulder and carefully begins to run his paws through his hair: he searches and scratches with his nails. He doesn’t find anything, but pretends to have caught the beast: he bites something off his fingers.

One day a lady came to visit us. She thought she was beautiful. Discharged. Everything is so silky and rustling. There is not a hairstyle on the head, but a whole arbor of hair twisted in curls, in ringlets. And on a long chain around her neck is a mirror in a silver frame.

Yashka carefully jumped up to her on the floor.

- Oh, what a cute monkey! - says the lady. And let's play with the mirror with Yashka.

Yashka caught the mirror, turned it over, jumped onto the lady’s lap and began to try the mirror on his teeth.

- Let's go, let's go! - speaks.

Not so! Yashka tries even harder: he scrapes with his nails and clicks his teeth.

This lady always sat in front of the mirror to admire herself, and when she sees in the mirror that Yashka has disheveled her, she almost cries. I went to the rescue. Where there! Yashka grabbed his hair as hard as he could and looked at me wildly. The lady pulled him by the collar, and Yashka twisted her hair. I looked at myself in the mirror - a stuffed animal. I swung my hand, scared Yashka away, and our guest grabbed her head and hit the door.

“It’s a disgrace,” he says, “a disgrace!” “And I didn’t say goodbye to anyone.”

“Well,” I think, “I’ll keep it until spring and give it to someone if Yukhimenko doesn’t take it. I got so much for this monkey.”

I looked out the window and saw that there were no dogs in the yard. Let me, I think, I’ll go and take Yashenka for a walk for the first time. I put a green dress on him so that he wouldn’t catch a cold, put him on my shoulder and went. As soon as I opened the doors, Yashka jumped to the ground and ran across the yard. And suddenly, out of nowhere, the whole pack of dogs, and Kashtan in front, straight towards Yashka. And he’s like a little green doll, standing small. I already decided that Yashka was missing - they would tear him apart now. Kashtan poked his head towards Yashka. But Yashka turned to him, sat down, and took aim. Kashtan stood a step away from the monkey, bared his teeth and grumbled, but did not dare to rush at such a miracle. The dogs all bristled and waited for Chestnut.

And Kashtan is at the gate from a terrible beast.

Since then, I boldly began to let Yashka out into the yard: only Yashka from the porch - all the dogs go into the gate. Yashka was not afraid of anyone..

- Look how Satan is jumping. Look! Wow!

And Yashka goes for bags. Looks for cracks. He sticks his paw in and feels what’s there. He finds where the sunflowers are, sits and immediately clicks on the cart. It happened that Yashka would find the nuts. He hits you on the cheeks and tries to grab them with all four hands.

But then Jacob found an enemy. Yes what! There was a cat in the yard. No one's. He lived at the office, and everyone fed him scraps. He grew fat and became as big as a dog. He was angry and scratchy.

And then one evening Yashka was walking around the yard. I couldn’t call him home. I see the cat came out into the yard and jumped onto the bench that stood under the tree. As soon as Yashka saw the cat, he went straight to him. He crouches down and walks slowly on all fours. Straight to the bench and never takes his eyes off the cat. The cat picked up its paws, hunched its back, and got ready. And Yashka is crawling closer and closer. The cat widened his eyes and backed away. Yashka is on the bench. The cat is all the way back to the other edge, towards the tree. My heart sank. And Yakov crawls along the bench towards the cat. The cat had already shrunk into a ball and was all drawn up. And suddenly - he jumped, not on Yashka, but on a tree. He grabbed the trunk and looked down at the monkey. And Yashka still makes the same move towards the tree. The cat was scratched higher - he was used to saving himself in trees. And Yashka is up the tree, still slowly, aiming at the cat with his black eyes. The cat climbed higher, higher, onto the branch and sat down on the very edge. He looks to see what Yashka will do. And Yakov crawls along that branch and so confidently, as if he had never done anything else, but only caught cats. The cat is already on the very edge, barely holding on to a thin branch, swaying. And Yakov crawls and crawls, tenaciously fingering all four arms. Suddenly the cat jumped from the very top onto the pavement, shook himself and ran away at full speed without looking back. And Yashka from the tree followed him: “Yay, yay!” - in some terrible, bestial voice - I’ve never heard anything like that from him.

And he liked the castor oil so much that he started yelling for more. He was swaddled and not allowed into the yard for three days.

Yashka soon recovered and began rushing into the yard. I wasn't afraid for him. No one could catch him, and Yashka jumped around the yard all day long. It became calmer at home, and I had less trouble with Yashka. And when autumn came, everyone in the house unanimously said:

- Wherever you want, take your monkey or put it in a cage. And so that this Satan does not rush around the entire apartment.

They said how pretty she was, but now I think she’s become Satan. And as soon as the training began, I began to look in the class for someone who could fuse Yashka.

He finally found a comrade, called him aside and said:

- Do you want me to give you a monkey? I'm alive.

I don’t know to whom he later sold off Yashka. But for the first time, after Yashka was no longer in the house, I saw that everyone was a little bored, although they didn’t want to admit it.

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