The Tale of a Pirate Ship - Mikhail Khanin. The Tale of the Little Lonely Fish and the Big Blue Sea

There lived an old man and an old woman. They had three sons - the two older ones were known as wise men, and everyone called the younger one a fool. The old woman loved the elders - she dressed cleanly, fed deliciously. And the younger one walked around in a holey shirt, chewing a black crust.
“He, the fool, doesn’t care: he doesn’t understand anything, he doesn’t understand anything!”

One day, the message reached that village: whoever builds a ship for the king, so that he can sail on the seas and fly under the clouds, the king will marry his daughter to him. The older brothers decided to try their luck.
“Let us go, father and mother!” Perhaps one of us will become the king's son-in-law!

The mother of the eldest sons equipped, baked white pies for them on the road, fried and boiled chicken and goose:
- Go, sons!

The brothers went to the forest, began to chop and cut trees. They chopped and sawed a lot. And they don't know what to do next. They began to argue and scold, just look, they will grab each other's hair.
An old man came up to them and asked:
- Because of what you, good fellows, argue and scold? Maybe I can tell you a word for your benefit?

Both brothers attacked the old man - they did not listen to him, cursed him with bad words and drove him away. The old man left.
The brothers also quarreled, ate all their supplies that their mother gave them, and returned home with nothing ... As they arrived, the younger one began to ask:
- Let me go now!

Mother and father began to dissuade him and hold him back:
“Where are you going, fool, the wolves will eat you along the way!”
And the fool, know your own, repeats:
- Let go - I'll go, and don't let go - I'll go!

They see mother and father - you can’t cope with him in any way. They gave him a loaf of black dry bread for the road and escorted him out of the house.
The fool took an ax with him and went into the forest. He walked and walked through the forest and spotted a tall pine tree: this pine tree rests on the top of the clouds, it is just right for three to clasp it.

He cut down a pine tree, began to clean it of branches. An old man approached him.
“Hello,” he says, “baby!”
— Hello, grandfather!
- What are you doing, child, why did you cut down such a big tree?
“But, grandfather, the tsar promised to marry his daughter to the one who builds a flying ship for him, and I’m building it.”
“But can you make such a ship?” This is a tricky business, perhaps, and you can’t handle it.
— Tricky is not tricky, but you have to try: you look, and I'll manage! So you came by the way: old people are experienced, knowledgeable. Maybe you can give me some advice. The old man says:
- Well, if you ask for advice to give you, listen: take your ax and cut off this pine tree from the sides: like this!

And he showed me how to trim.
The fool of the old man obeyed - he hewed a pine tree as he showed. He trims, a wonder is given: the ax walks on its own, and walks!
“Now,” says the old man, “finish the pine from the ends: like this and like that!”

The fool does not miss the words of the old man: as the old man shows, so he does. When he finished his work, the old man praised him and said:
- Well, now it’s not a sin to take a break and have a bite to eat.
“Oh, grandfather,” says the fool, “there is food for me, this stale loaf. How about something to feed you? You won't bite my treat, will you?
“Come on, child,” says the old man, “give me your loaf here!”

The fool gave him a piece of bread. The old man took it in his hands, examined it, felt it, and said:
- Not so callous your knucklehead!
And gave it to the fool. The fool took a loaf - he does not believe his eyes: the loaf has turned into a soft and white loaf.
As they ate, the old man says:
- Well, now let's adjust the sails!

And he took out a piece of canvas from his bosom. The old man shows, the fool tries, he does everything conscientiously - and the sails are ready, adjusted.
“Get in your ship now,” the old man says, “and fly where you need to go.” Yes, look, remember my order: on the way, put into your ship everyone you meet!
Here they said goodbye. The old man went on his way, and the fool got on the flying ship, spreading the sails. The sails were inflated, the ship soared into the sky, flew faster than a falcon. It flies a little lower than walking clouds, a little higher than standing forests...

The fool flew and flew and sees: a man lies on the road - he crouched with his ear to the damp earth. He went down and said:
- Hello, uncle!
- Nice, well done!
— What are you doing?
- I listen to what is happening on the other side of the earth.
“What is going on there, uncle?”
- Vociferous birds sing and fill up there, one better than the other!
— What you, what hearing! Get on my ship, let's fly together.

Rumor did not begin to dissuade, boarded the ship, and they flew on.
They flew and flew, they see - a man is walking along the road, walking on one leg, and the other leg is tied to his ear.
- Hello, uncle!
- Nice, well done!
- What are you jumping on one leg?
- Yes, if I untie the other leg, then in three steps I will step over the whole world!
- You're so fast! Sit down with us.

The speeder did not refuse, climbed onto the ship, and they flew on.
How many, how few flew by, lo and behold - there is a man with a gun, aiming. And what he aims at is unknown.
- Hello, uncle! Who are you aiming at - neither the beast nor the bird is visible around.
- What are you! Yes, and I will not shoot close. I aim at the black grouse that sits on a tree a thousand miles away. Here's a shot at me.
"Come with us, let's fly together!"

He sat down and shot, and they all flew on. They flew and flew, and they see: a man is walking, carrying a huge bag of bread behind his back.
- Hello, uncle! Where are you going?
I'm going to get some bread for my dinner.
What else do you need bread for? Your bag is already full!
- Whats up! Put this bread in my mouth and swallow it. And to eat my fill, I need a hundred times so much!
- Look what you are! Get on the ship with us, let's fly together.

Look: a man is walking near a large lake, shaking his head.
- Hello, uncle! What are you looking for?
I'm thirsty, so I'm looking for somewhere to get drunk.
“Yes, there is a whole lake in front of you. Drink to your heart's content!
- Yes, this water will only take me one sip. The fool wondered, his comrades marveled and said:
- Well, do not worry, there is water for you. Get on the ship with us, we will fly far, there will be a lot of water for you!
Opivalo got into the ship, and they flew on. How many flew - it is not known, they only see: a man is walking into the forest, and behind him is a bundle of brushwood.
- Hello, uncle! Tell us: why are you dragging brushwood into the forest?
“And this is not a simple brushwood. If you scatter it, an entire army will immediately appear.
- Sit down, uncle, with us!

And this one sat down with them. They flew on.
They flew and flew, looking: an old man was walking, carrying a sack of straw.
- Hello, grandfather, gray-haired little head! Where are you taking the straw?
- To the village.
“Isn’t there enough straw in the village?”
- There is a lot of straw, but there is no such one.
- What is yours like?
- And here's what: if I scatter it in a hot summer - and it will become cold at once: snow will fall, frost will crackle.
- If so, your truth: you will not find such straw in the village. Sit down with us!

Kholololo climbed into the ship with his sack, and they flew on.
They flew and flew and flew to royal palace. The king at that time was sitting at dinner. He saw a flying ship and sent his servants:
- Go ask: who flew on that ship - what overseas princes and queens?
The servants ran to the ship and saw that ordinary men were sitting on the ship.
The royal servants did not even ask them: who are they and where did they come from. They returned and reported to the king:
- Anyway! There is not a single prince on the ship, not a single prince, and all the black bones are simple peasants.

What would you like to do with them? “It’s shameful to give us a daughter for a simple peasant,” the tsar thinks. “We need to get rid of such suitors.”
He asked his courtiers - princes and boyars:
- What should we do now, how to be?
They advised:
- It is necessary for the groom to set various difficult tasks, perhaps he will not solve them. Then we turn from the gate and show him!
The king was delighted, immediately sent servants to the fool with the following order:
- Let the groom get us, until our royal dinner is over, living and dead water!

Fool thought:
- What am I going to do now? Yes, I won’t find such water in a year, and maybe all my life.
- What am I for? Skorokhod says. - I'll take care of you in a moment.
He untied his leg from his ear and ran for distant lands to a distant kingdom. He collected two jugs of living and dead water, and he himself thinks: “There is a lot of time left ahead, let me sit a little - I will have time to return!”
I sat down under a thick, spreading oak, and dozed off ...
The royal dinner is coming to an end, but Skorokhod is no more.

Everyone on the flying ship was sunbathing - they did not know what to do. And Slukhalo put his ear to the damp earth, listened and said:
- What a sleepy and dormant! Sleeping under a tree, snoring with might and main!
"Now I'll wake him up!" Shooter says. He grabbed “his gun, took aim and fired at the oak tree, under which Skorokhod was sleeping. Acorns fell from the oak - right on Skorokhod's head. He woke up.
- Father, yes, no way, I fell asleep!
He jumped up and at the same moment brought jugs of water:
- Get it!

The king got up from the table, looked at the jugs and said:
Maybe this water isn't real?
They caught a rooster, tore off its head and sprinkled it with dead water. The head instantly grew. They sprinkled it with living water - the rooster jumped to its feet, flapped its wings, “ka-ka-river!” shouted.
The king became annoyed.
“Well,” he says to the fool, “you have fulfilled this task of mine. I'll ask you another one now! If you are so dexterous, eat with your matchmakers in one sitting twelve fried bulls and as many loaves as are baked in forty ovens!
The fool was saddened, he said to his comrades:
“Yes, I can’t even eat one bread for the whole day!”
- What am I for? says Eating. “I can manage the bulls and their bread alone. There will be little more!

The fool told the king to say:
- Drag bulls and loaves. Will eat!
They brought twelve fried bulls and as many loaves as were baked in forty ovens. Let's eat the bulls - one after the other. And the bread is so in the mouth and throws loaf after loaf. All carts were empty.
- Let's do it again! yells. Why so little stock? I just got a taste!
And the king has no more bulls, no more loaves.
“Now,” he says, “a new order for you: to drink forty barrels of beer at a time, each barrel of forty buckets.
“Yes, I won’t even drink one bucket,” the fool says to his matchmakers.
- What a sadness! Opivalo replies. - Yes, I'll drink all their beer alone, it won't be enough!

Rolled forty barrels-forty. They began to scoop up beer in buckets and serve it to Opival. He takes a sip - the bucket is empty.
- What are you bringing me with buckets? Opivalo says. “So we’ll go for a whole day!”
He lifted the barrel and emptied it at once, without rest. Picked up another barrel and it rolled away. So all forty barrels and drained.
“Is there,” he asks, “more beer?” I didn't get drunk enough! Don't get your throat wet!
The king sees: nothing can take a fool. Decided to kill him with cunning.
“Okay,” he says, “I’ll marry my daughter to you, get ready for the wedding!” Just before the wedding, go to the bathhouse, wash yourself, evaporate well.
And ordered to heat the bath. And the bath was all cast iron.

For three days the bath was heated, red-hot. She radiates with fire-heat, you can’t approach her for five fathoms.
- How will I wash? - says the fool. - I'll burn alive.
"Don't be sad," Hollow replies. - I'll go with you!
He ran to the king and asked:
“Will you allow me and my fiancé to go to the bathhouse too?” I'll spread straws for him so that he doesn't get his heels dirty!

King what? He allowed: “That one will burn, that both!”
They brought the fool with Kholodila to the bathhouse, locked him up there. And Kholodila scattered straw in the bath - and it became cold, the walls were covered with frost, the water froze in the cast irons.
Some time passed, the servants opened the door. They look, but the fool is alive and well, and the old man too.
“Oh, you,” says the fool, “yes, you can’t bathe in your bathhouse, but can you ride on a sleigh!”

The servants ran to the king. Reported: so, they say, and so. The king rushed about, did not know what to do, how to get rid of the fool.
I thought and thought and ordered him:
“Put a whole regiment of soldiers in front of my palace in the morning. If you put it up, I'll give you my daughter. If you don't put it out - I'll drive it out!
And on his own mind: “Where can a simple peasant get an army? He won't be able to do this. Then we will kick him out in the neck!”

The fool heard the royal order - he says to his matchmakers:
- You rescued me, brothers, from trouble more than once or twice ... And now what are we going to do?
- Oh, you found something to be sad about! - says the old man with brushwood. - Yes, I will put up at least seven regiments with generals! Go to the king, tell him - he will have an army!

The fool came to the king.
- I will fulfill, - he says, - your order, only for the last time. And if you make excuses, blame yourself!
Early in the morning the old man called the fool with brushwood and went out into the field with him. He scattered the bundle, and a myriad army appeared - both on foot, and on horseback, and with cannons. The trumpeters blow the trumpets, the drummers beat the drums, the generals give orders, the horses beat the ground with their hooves ... The fool stood in front, led the army to the royal palace. He stopped in front of the palace, ordered the trumpets to be blown louder, the drums to be beaten harder.
The king heard, looked out the window, from fear became whiter than the canvas. He ordered the governors to withdraw their army, to go to war against the fool.

The governors led out the tsarist army, began to shoot and shoot at the fool. And the bad soldiers march like a wall, the royal army is crushed like grass. The governors were frightened and ran back, followed by the entire royal army.
The tsar got out of the palace, crawls on his knees in front of the fool, asks to accept expensive gifts and marry the princess as soon as possible.

The fool says to the king:
"Now you're not our pointer!" We have our mind!
He drove the king away and never ordered to return to that kingdom. And he married the princess.
The princess is a young and kind girl. She has no fault!
And he began to live in that kingdom, to do all sorts of things.

On our wonderful planet at the same time of the year you can find places where it is very cold or vice versa - very hot. For example, when in January snow lies in Russia and cold winds blow, the sun shines in Indonesia and green palm trees grow. And it's wonderful!

Once, just in January, I was lucky enough to get from cold, snowy Siberia to a blooming and hot tropical island. I settled in a small house by the ocean. Every morning I ate fresh fruit for breakfast and relaxed on the white sand beach.

By lunchtime, when the sun began to scorch mercilessly, I took a scuba gear and plunged into the clear waters. Swimming at shallow depths, I noted the diversity of underwater life, enjoyed the splendor of colors and shades, and observed the behavior of colorful fish.

And once, when I sat down on an underwater rock to rest, a very beautiful little fish swam up to me and poked its nose into my glass mask.

- Oh! - said the fish.

- Hello. I answered.

“Sorry,” the fish said again and swam away from me.

She was very beautiful - with a silver face, black scales on the sides of the body and graceful yellow-red fins and tail.

I wanted to get to know her better, and I extended my hand to her

"Sit down, please, I won't hurt you." What is your name?

The fish turned its tail in indecision and swam a little away from me. But then she became curious, and she approached.

“My name is Glitternos. Hello.

- Hello. And my name is Storyteller.

The fish sat comfortably in my palm and looked at me and my equipment - scuba, breathing tubes and a mask.

Do you understand our language? she asked.

I nodded.

- Certainly! After all, I am a Storyteller, and all storytellers perfectly understand the language of animals, birds and fish.

The fish thought for a moment and asked:

Do you also understand the language of insects?

I smiled behind the mask.

- Certainly! It is not difficult to understand insects either.

The fish suddenly fluttered from the palm of my hand and stopped in front of my face, quiveringly moving its fins.

“Then tell the water bug not to touch our eggs!” And let him live in his own stream and not come to our beach!

I was surprised. I had never dealt with water beetles before, and I doubted that he could have gone from the stream to the ocean and swum so far. But I promised Glitternose that when I saw the beetle, I would definitely reprimand him.

The fish and I chatted a little more, and then I began to run out of oxygen in the cylinders. I said goodbye to Glitternose.

- Come visit us tomorrow! she called after me.

All the following days, I invariably met with Glitternose. She told me about sea life and the inhabitants of the deep, and I told her about people and human traditions. Glitternose was also interested in my equipment, devices and activities. We had a very interesting time.

But every time I ran out of oxygen, I had to say goodbye to the fish

And then one day Glitternose said to me:

Why do you always swim home? You could live in water.

I was very surprised. Man, as you know, cannot breathe underwater. I told the fish about it.

She laughed.

You people are so funny!

- Why? I asked.

“Because you think it’s impossible and don’t believe in yourself!”

Frankly, I was very puzzled by her words, and I decided not to continue the conversation. He offered to talk about it tomorrow, and he himself went to the house to think.

In the evening, I sat in a comfortable chair on the beach, drank a delicious fruit cocktail, admired the picturesque sunset and thought. After all, in some ways the fish was right - we people tend to build obstacles for ourselves and not believe in our own strengths.

The next day we swam with Glitternose again in the transparent depths of the ocean and talked about something insignificant. And when I started to get ready to go home, she stopped me.

- Drop your scuba gear! the fish demanded. And breathe like me.

I was very frightened, but still I took off my scuba gear. He carefully pulled the breathing tube out of his mouth and removed his mask.

"Now breathe in the water!" shouted Blingnose. - And don't be afraid!

I was very afraid that the water would fill my lungs and I might drown. My hands even trembled a little, but I believed Glitternose.

I threw all my equipment on the rocks, closed my eyes and took a deep breath!

And nothing happened!

I opened my eyes, looked around, and boldly breathed in again.

Glitternose swam nearby in those seconds and laughed loudly.

- You see now! Everything is fine!

- Yes! Yes! I shouted jubilantly. - Everything is fine!

My whole body was filled with energy, I was literally bursting with joy, and I tumbled in the water like a little dolphin.

It turned out that scuba diving is much easier! I felt weightless, like a cloud, and swam great distances without noticing fatigue.

Glitternose accompanied me.

“Sail with me into the depths,” she suddenly suggested. "I'll show you a secret!"

“With pleasure,” I agreed. – I really want to swim in the ocean endlessly!

We sailed for a very long time in the deep blue haze of the ocean. Around were underwater rocks and stones. All the fish that we met on our way did not even pay attention to me, as if we had known each other for a thousand years. But I still politely greeted everyone.

Finally, we sailed into a very deep cave, which from afar seemed like a huge hole in the ocean floor.

Swimming carefully to the edge of this abyss, Glitternose said to me:

This is where my secret is kept. Promise you won't tell anyone!

I gave an honest human word that I would not betray the secrets of the fish.

“Then follow me!” Shouted Glitternose and darted into the dark blue underwater twilight with lightning speed.

And I fearlessly followed her.

When we swam into a deep cave, it suddenly became dazzling light! From everywhere, as far as the eye could see, from all corners of the cave, billions of luminous points began to appear. It was plankton - microscopic crustaceans that exuded a bluish-pink soft light. This sight was magical and unforgettable - as if luminous waves rolled into this deep-sea hall and scattered along the walls! I even became dumb with admiration. I literally don't have enough words to describe what I saw. And then I noticed that I was surrounded by thousands of fish like Glitternos - I saw them by the radiance reflected from the scales.

“Hello, my fellow Glitter Noses! I shouted cheerfully.

And the answer was a cheerful laugh - the fish liked my joke.

My fish introduced me, I waved to this colorful society.

“Now,” said my Glitternose, “you will learn my secret.

Another fish swam up to me (it was larger than all the others) and introduced itself:

“I am the king of this cave!” We brought you here because you will soon be our brother. We always choose a new brother for ourselves, every year. And this year you have been honored with such a great honor.

I confess I did not understand anything, but I was very pleased. Probably, the king meant that I also became a little fish - I learned to breathe under water and understand the language of underwater inhabitants.

I whispered to my guide:

“Glitternose, explain to me the words of your king, please?”

But my fish just smiled slyly and wagged its tail. Instead, the king of the cave answered - obviously, he heard my question:

— The most talented fish live in our cave! And you will enter our society, our family. It will happen very soon!

And after these mysterious words, the king of the cave disappeared into the depths. I looked at Glitternose in bewilderment, and she flicked my nose with a soft fin.

“I don’t understand anything,” I said.

“You don’t need to understand anything,” my fish answered, “you are a Storyteller and you yourself got into a real Fairy Tale!” Let's go!

She drew me out of a magical, colorful cave. I did not even have time to say goodbye to its inhabitants, but I think they are not offended by me for this.

I would be very happy to tell the whole world what a miracle happened to me later, but I can’t ... After all, I gave my word to Glitternos.

We floated to the surface and swayed in blue, warm waves. I experienced strong impressions from what I saw at depth and smiled, I did not want to say anything. Something wonderful happened to me, and on the advice of the fish, I did not begin to comprehend what I saw.

We rocked on the waves for about an hour and were silent.

Then the fish swam close to me and said quietly:

- You're very happy man! You have learned our shared secret. Now you have become part of our family, and it's time for me to return to my ordinary life… Goodbye.

And suddenly something flashed brightly in the sea below us and very quickly went out. Glitter-nosed disappeared ... I called her for a long time, looked around, dived deep, swam in the sea, but, alas ... The fish was gone.

And when I swam out of the depths and tried to get ashore, I suddenly discovered that instead of legs I had a beautiful and patterned tail, and instead of hands - graceful, colorful fins. And I myself completely turned into a small, beautiful fish. I had a big silver glitter on my nose.

And I stayed in the water.

A lot of time has passed...

Once I was swimming in warm coastal waters and suddenly I saw a big man with scuba gear. A man dived into the ocean and looked sea ​​urchins and stars.

I swam very close to him, looked into his eyes through the glass of the mask and said hello:

- Hello! My name is Glitternos, what's yours?

The man smiled and answered me:

- Hello! Very nice. My name is Storyteller...

People lived on a distant island. They settled there many years ago, built secure houses, harvested fruits, hunted animals, fished, cultivated the land and grew vegetables. But then one day the tide did not leave the island as usual, but rather began to arrive even stronger. Of course, the inhabitants soon noticed this and were very frightened. The elders thought for a long time what this meant and what should be done now. And after a week of disputes, they went out to their people and said:

The spirits of the sea want to take the island for themselves, it's time for us to look for a new land. From this day on, let all the men of the island begin to build a large ship in which we will go to seek shelter. Time is getting shorter every day, so women should start collecting things and stocking up on provisions.

The inhabitants of the island began to obediently carry out the order of the elders. They cut down the most powerful trees that grew on the island and began to build a ship on which they hoped to escape from a terrible death. The islanders worked for a whole month without sleep and rest, and, finally, their ship was ready. The last preparations for the journey were left behind, and all the inhabitants boarded the ship. At dawn, the ship sailed from the shores of his native island. The sea gladly received the guests in its open spaces, it gently cradled the ship and carried it to new lands. For many years it gave its gifts to the islanders. Fishermen fished, divers took jewels from the sea. Now the sea promised them the hope of salvation.

And now, after five days of sailing, the travelers saw a small island. One of the islanders named Gamal said: "Do not anger the Spirits of the Sea, they graciously allowed us to swim to a new haven, let's stay on this land." But the travelers passed by because the island seemed too small to them. The islanders did not even stop at the first shelter and did not find out if the land was habitable.

The sea stirred under the ship as the ship continued on its way. The second island seemed too rocky to the sailors, and they again decided to continue sailing. And again, Gamal asked the travelers to stop at the second shelter. His request went unanswered. The sea turned gloomy and scattered in waves in all directions. But people this time did not pay attention to the mood of the sea spirits.

When a third island appeared on the horizon, a terrible storm began at sea. The sky was covered with a huge black cloud. The waves either lifted the ship up, then mercilessly threw it into the very abyss. The ship tossed from side to side. The sea either circled him in place, then covered him with waves. Again Gamal asked to turn the ship back to the second island, but no one heard him. And then the biggest wave still covered the ship, and it went to the bottom. As soon as the sea took its prey, it immediately calmed down. The sun's rays broke through the melting clouds in the sky. Some passengers were able to escape. Those who were stronger immediately swam in the direction of the second island, but the sea did not want to let them back. Not even a mile away, they were lost in the whirlpool. Gamal also managed to escape, but, despite the serious injuries received during the shipwreck, he did not immediately rush to escape alone, but began to look for who else needed help. Several children, elderly islanders and women tried to swim alongside him. Of course, Gamal saw what befell those who sailed to the island, but he, first of all, thought about how to help those who could not stay on the water. The sea took pity on the people, and raised empty barrels and logs from the bottom. Gamal helped the unfortunate to cling to the saving load, and then asked for forgiveness from the Spirits of the Sea for his people. The sea forgave the defeated travelers, and the waves carried them to the second island.

old ship

There was an old ship in the world, so old that all its sides were rusted and hurt mercilessly, and its voice became so hoarse that it could hum every other time. The whole team loved their Ship very much, they constantly repaired it, tinted it, sewed up holes, cleaned pipes. Over the past three years, he only once went to sea, and then only a short distance. Just walked along the coast from one port to another to carry some cargo. They didn’t strain him much, but they couldn’t part with him either. Although the strict naval authorities have long been talking about writing it off.

He was very worried about this, often crying at night. Therefore, when the sailors came in the morning, yesterday's patches were again covered with rust, and some even fell off completely. The sailors did not understand anything and again mended, patched and tinted his poor sides. Most of all, the ship loved the Captain, almost as old as himself. The Captain had a bad heart and he was constantly drinking some kind of pills, because recently he had some kind of grief, which he never spoke about on board the ship, not wanting to further upset him.

One night, when only the sailors on duty were left on the Ship, he felt some stirring in his hold. Looking in with his inner eye, he saw hordes of rats that somehow moved too hastily towards the exit. Then he realized that this was the end, because everyone knows that rats leave the ship before his death. He had one familiar rat that gave him less trouble than others. He asked her to gnaw through the ropes and make sure that the sailors left the ship at least for a while (although he knew that this was almost impossible).

There were two sailors on the ship, and the rats, after conferring, did not find anything better than to throw one of them overboard. The second in a panic began to run around the deck, screaming, calling for help, throwing all the lifebuoys into the water, and then he himself jumped to save his drowning comrade. At that moment, the ship, whose ropes had already been gnawed by rats, slowly began to move away from the shore. His plan was to go further out to sea and drown himself there. He turned on the engines himself, set the course himself, and gave himself the command "Full speed ahead!" He learned all this over many years of swimming with people. Both sailors looked at the departing ship in bewilderment, not daring to swim close to it, as they could be sucked in by the propellers and they would die.

And the ship was picking up speed. The salty wind, interspersed with spray, whipped him on the sides and some kind of feeling of freedom filled him from the hold to the tip of the mast. The sea was calm and gentle. The stars in the dark sky formed like an arrow, showing the ship the way. Having sailed almost to the middle of the sea, as it seemed to him, he was already ready, turning off the engine, to go to the bottom. But then suddenly, out of nowhere, a flock of dolphins swam up to him and began to ask for help. They squealed so much that the ship could hardly understand that some child was in trouble not far away. He, of course, abandoned selfish plans and hurried to the aid of to a stranger. Dolphins showed him the way, and the star arrow, as it were, confirmed it.

Suddenly, the ship saw something like land ahead. Either a small island, or an atoll, or just a piece of land sticking out in the middle of the sea. The dolphins said that this is exactly the place where they called him. Swimming closer to the shore, he saw that a little boy was lying near the water and was hardly breathing. The most important thing now was to drag the baby aboard the ship. But how can this be done if the dolphins have no hands, and the ship even more so. Dolphins, wise animals, turned the boy on his back and gently lowered him into the water. One of the dolphins gently swam under his back and, supported by a couple of dolphins on the sides, hurried to the ship, which, because of the shallows, could not come close to the shore. Without thinking twice, the ship lowered the boat into the water, into which the dolphins transferred the boy, and again raised it on board. In the boat, someone had forgotten a warm blanket, which came in handy now.

The ship quickly turned around and started the engines that had not yet had time to cool down, rushed back to its friends who remained on the shore, to its Captain. He hoped that the people would save the boy if he got there in time. The return trip seemed to him three times faster. And now, in the distance, the lights of the native port have already flashed. The ship gave a horn of joy, and, most surprisingly, the sound turned out to be loud and clear, as it was in his first years of life. From amazement, the ship gave a whistle now constantly, in order to enjoy the "heavenly music" again and again.

The closer he came to the shore, the more clearly he saw people who were running around the pier in confusion, waving their hands, shouting something, there was a strange expression on all their faces, as if they all saw something strange and incomprehensible. Suddenly, among all the faces, he saw his captain, with tears streaming down his cheeks. "What happened? Is it because of me that such a commotion?" thought the ship. He moored and immediately sailors jumped on board, ran to the boat, got the boy out of it, and handed him to the shore, where doctors and ambulances were already standing. The doctors put the boy on a stretcher, examined him, and one doctor said that if a little more, he would not have survived, but now there is hope for salvation. The car doors slammed shut and the boy was taken to the hospital.

The ship felt so tired and contented that it did not immediately begin to reach the sailors' conversations. Only when the Captain came on board, knelt down and began to kiss the deck, was he very surprised. And the Captain, through tears, thanked God that his grandson remained alive and his ship also remained alive, and even younger by fifty years. Understanding nothing, he looked into the water surface and saw that he was not that old junk that went into the sea to drown, but a new, sparkling ship that didn’t hurt anything, and that rust and rats hadn’t touched yet. As soon as he remembered about the rats, they immediately appeared. They headed straight for the hold. Only one of his barn acquaintances lingered at the entrance and told him that the Captain almost lost his mind when he did not see the ship in its place, and the sailors told him with fear that they had seen its receding stern. Most recently, the Captain lost his grandson. He sent him on a yacht to the sea to ride with friends and they disappeared. True, after a while, all the friends returned and said that the yacht had sunk, and they were picked up by a ship passing by. Only the Captain's grandson remained unfound. And then there's his good old Ship somewhere arbitrarily left without telling anyone. There was something to freak out about. But everyone experienced an even greater shock today, when some Ship from a distance began to send sound signals: "The boy is in the boat!" No one but the Captain recognized the old Ship.

The boy was saved in the hospital, and when he grew up, he became the same captain as his grandfather. And guess what ship he's on?

There was a small boat. He really wanted to have a friend - a purple baby elephant. But the country in which the colorful elephants lived was beyond a deep and restless sea.
The ship wanted to cross the sea and bring a baby elephant to him.
Large ships began to dissuade him:
- The sea is stormy, even for us it is not easy to cross it. Wait, grow up more, it is easier for a big ship to cross the deep sea. You also need to learn how to determine the path by the stars and know how to behave during a storm.
The ship did not listen to the advice of the big ships and said:
- I want a purple baby elephant! Now or never! And why is it that that ship over there has a pink baby elephant and I can't have my purple one?
The big ships replied:
- Do as you like. You are your own boss...
And the boat began to prepare for sailing to the country of colorful elephants. But he failed to get strong sails, because there were not enough coins to buy them. I had to borrow sails from an old schooner, which was no longer allowed to travel long distances. The rest of the equipment wasn't great either. But the ship was a brave ship and did not change its mind.
And then one early morning, he raised his sails and set sail.
The first day of the trip everything was fine. The calm green sea gently passed the boat from wave to wave, and the sun's rays played blind man's blind in the clear water.
On the second day, the first signs of bad weather appeared. The sun from time to time covered the clouds, and the sea became blue. The waves got bigger and bigger and looked like big lizards with ridged backs.
On the third day of sailing, the sea was already lead-gray, and the waves looked like huge monsters!
It is not difficult to imagine what the ship had to do. Spinning in funnels between huge shafts, he could not do anything, and the only thing he managed to do was not to drown. Soon the small boat lost its sails, he did not have time to lower them and the sails were torn by a strong wind. And without sails, the ship became completely uncontrollable.
The terrible storm continued for another three days. The ship was completely exhausted, but by some miracle managed to stay afloat, straining the last of its strength. And so, when he was ready to give up, the wind began to subside and the storm quickly subsided. The waves stopped beating the ship, they stroked it with soft paws and whispered softly:
- Well done! Bold ship!
The danger has passed. But what was the boat like after the storm? Yes, he looked - worse than ever. The sails are torn, there is a hole in the stern, and, worst of all, the starboard side almost draws water, despite the fact that the sea is completely calm.
What was the boat to do? There are no sails, no oars... Farewell to the dream of a purple baby elephant! And how do you get home?
There was only one way out - to ask the wind to bring the boat home.
And suddenly the boat saw the land in the distance, the very one on which the multi-colored elephants lived! He was very happy and even jumped for joy on the water, so much so that he swayed and the “lame” board again scooped up water. But the ship did not pay any attention to this and immediately began to ask the wind to drive it to the shore of the country of colorful elephants. But the wind did not answer. Then the boat boldly asked the wind to bring the elephant right to the deck! The wind blew a little and whispered slowly:
- Do you really want this?
- Yes! Yes! - shouted the ship, - how can I not want to, all my life I dreamed of a purple baby elephant!
- The wind asked again:
- Can you swim back without killing yourself and the baby elephant?
- Yes, I will swim! the ship replied.
“Well, have it your way,” the wind uttered and blew harder, then even harder, and the boat saw a purple, yes, purple baby elephant approaching from the shore!
- How amazing! Finally, I will have a baby elephant, my own! - the boat shouted delightedly and stood up more steadily, so that it would be easier for the baby elephant to land on the deck.
And that was the last thing he could do.
The baby elephant gently stood on the deck with all four legs, affably waved his big ears, twirled his little tail, raised his long trunk and sparkled with mischievous eyes!
But the small boat could not bear the weight of the baby elephant, turned over and went to the bottom with a friend.
This would have all ended if the green wave, having taken pity, had not carried the ship and the baby elephant, wet and frightened, onto the sandy shore.