I've been studying for a long time. Then there were still gymnasiums. And teachers then put marks in the diary for each lesson asked. They put some points - from five to one inclusive.
And I was very young when I entered the gymnasium, in the preparatory class. I was only seven years old.
And I didn't know anything yet about what happens in gymnasiums. And for the first three months I walked literally like a fog.
- And then one day the teacher told us to memorize the poem:
A month of fun shines over the village,
The white snow sparkles with a blue light...
And I didn't learn that poem. I didn't hear what the teacher said. I didn't hear because the boys who were sitting behind me were slapping me with a book on the back of my head, then rubbing ink on my ear, then pulling me by my hair, and when I jumped out of the blue, they put a pencil or an inset under me. And for that reason, I was sitting in the classroom scared and even freaked out and listening to what else the boys behind me were up to.
And the next day, the teacher, as an spite, called me and told me to read the given poem by heart.
Not only did I not know it, but I did not even know that there were such poems in the world. But I didn't dare to tell my teacher that I didn't know these poems because of shyness. And completely stunned, he stood at his desk, not saying a word.
But then the boys began to tell me these verses. And thanks to that I started to whisper what they were whispering to me.
At the time, I had a chronic runny nose, and I couldn't hear with one ear, so I could barely understand what they were telling me.
I said something else in the first few lines. But when it came to saying, "The cross under the clouds is like a candle burning," I said: "The crackling under the boots hurts like a candle.
There was laughter among the disciples. And the teacher laughed too. He said:
- Give me your diary! I'll put one in there for you.
And I cried because it was my first unit and I didn't know what it was for yet.
After class, my little sister Lelia came to get me to go home together.
On the way out, I took out my diary from the backpack, unfolded it on the page where the unit was placed, and told Lela:
- Lelia, what is this? My teacher put it to me for the poem "Funny shines a month over the village".
- Lelia looked at me and laughed. She said:
- Minya, this is bad! It was for you that the teacher slapped the one in Russian. It is so bad that I doubt that your father will give you a photographic apparatus for your birthdays, which will be in two weeks.
- I said:
- And what to do?
- Lelia said:
- One of our students took two pages in her diary, where she had one. Her father spit his fingers, but he couldn't peel off and never saw what was there.
- I said:
- Lelia, it is not good to deceive parents!
Lelia laughed and went home. And I walked into the city garden in a sad mood, sat down on the bench there and looked at the one with horror when I unfolded my diary.
Don't lie to Zoshchenko
I've been in the garden for a long time. Then I went home. But when I came to the house, I remembered that I left my diary on the bench in the garden. I ran back. But my diary was no longer in the garden on the bench. I was scared at first, and then I was glad I didn't have a diary with that horrible unit anymore.
Don't lie to me about the story
I came home and told my father I'd lost my diary. And Lelia laughed and winked at me when I heard those words.
The next day, the teacher found out I had lost my diary and gave me a new one.
I unfolded this new diary hoping that this time there was nothing wrong with it, but there was one against the Russian language again, even more fatty than before.
And then I felt so angry that I threw this diary behind the bookcase that was standing in our classroom.
Two days later, when the teacher found out that I didn't have this diary, he filled out a new one. And, except for the one in Russian, he gave me an "F" on my behavior there. And he said that my father should definitely look through my diary.
- When I met Lelia after class, she told me:
- It wouldn't be a lie if we temporarily taped the page. And a week after your name, when you get the camera, we'll take it off and show Dad what was there.
I really wanted a camera, and I and Lelia glued the corners of the unfortunate page of the diary.
- In the evening, my dad said:
- Come on, show me your diary! I wonder if you picked up any units.
Dad started to look at the diary, but he didn't see anything bad there, because the page was glued.
And when Dad was looking at my diary, suddenly someone called on the stairs.
- Some woman came in and said:
- The other day I was walking in the city garden and found the diary on the bench. I got an address from my last name and brought it to you so you could tell me if your son had lost the diary.
Don't lie to me about Zoshchenko's story
Dad looked at the diary and when he saw the one there, he understood. He did not shout at me. He only said quietly:
- People who go to lie and deception, funny and comical, because sooner or later their lies will always be discovered. And there were no cases in the world
Don't lie to me about Zoshchenko's story
Dad looked at the diary and when he saw the one there, he understood. He did not shout at me. He only said quietly:
- People who go to lie and deception, funny and comical, because sooner or later their lies will always be discovered. And there was no chance that any of the lies would remain unknown.
- I, red as a cancer, stood in front of Dad, and I was ashamed of his quiet words. I said:
- Tell you what: I threw another diary of mine, my third one, with a unit, behind the bookcase at school.
Instead of getting even angrier at me, Dad smiled and shone. He grabbed my arms and started kissing me.
- He said:
- That you confessed to it made me very happy. You confessed to something that might have remained unknown for a long time. And it gives me hope that you will no longer lie. And for that, I'll give you a camera.
When Lelia heard these words, she thought that Daddy was crazy in his mind and now she is giving gifts to everyone not for a fiver, but for a few.
- And then Lelia came up to Daddy and said:
- Daddy, I also got an "F" in physics today because I didn't learn a lesson.
But Leli's expectations were not met. Dad got angry with her, kicked her out of his room and told her to sit down for the books immediately.
And that night, when we went to bed, there was an unexpected phone call.
It was my teacher who came to see my dad. And I told him:
- We had a cleaning service in class today, and we found your son's diary behind the bookcase. How do you like this little liar and cheater who left his diary so you wouldn't see it?
- Dad said:
- I have already heard about this diary from my son personally. He himself confessed to me. So there is no reason to think that my son is an incorrigible liar and deceiver.
- The teacher told Dad:
- Ah, that's how. You already know that. In that case, it was a misunderstanding. I'm sorry. Good night.
And I, lying in my bed, when I heard these words, cried bitterly. And I gave myself my word to always tell the truth.
And I really always do that and now I do. Ah, it can be very difficult sometimes, but my heart is funny and calm.