Alla Drabkina. the girl who wanted to dance

A long time ago in the city of St. Petersburg there lived a girl whose name was Aurora. She was born into the family of a merchant and seamstress. They had three daughters in the family. The most eldest daughter was a singer and performed in the theater. The middle daughter was a weaver and made very beautiful clothes for many people. And Aurora really wanted to become a ballerina and once asked her parents to send her to ballet.
The next day, Aurora's dream came true. She came to ballet and began to learn it. At first the classes seemed very difficult to her, because she had never done ballet, but then she began to get the most difficult movements, and she really liked ballet. The teachers loved Aurora very much because she was very kind, sweet and never envied anyone. And Aurora herself was a slender, beautiful and very artistic girl.
But what would dancing be without various competitions? Every year there were many ballet competitions, and Aurora really wanted to participate in them, but every year she was not accepted anywhere, and Aurora was very upset. But they didn’t take her because she didn’t do much ballet. Those girls who had been training for many years were taken to competitions.
One day, after yet another recruitment for a competition, Aurora came home very upset because she was not accepted again. She went into her room, looked out the window, played with dolls and saw that it was already getting dark outside. Then Aurora decided to go to bed. She had just dozed off when she was awakened by a knock on the window. Aurora was very frightened and opened her eyes. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the handsome balloon, and a very beautiful fairy was sitting on it. Aurora got out of bed and approached the fairy. The fairy told Aurora: “I am a good sorceress from fairyland, and my name is Aliana. If you fly with me in a hot air balloon, your dream of dancing on the big theater stage will come true. But there is one condition. You must teach the people of my country to dance ballet.” Aurora loved her family very much and asked: “What about my family, how will they live without me, will they lose me?” Hearing this, the fairy smiled and said: “Don’t worry, your family won’t lose you, because in my magical land time moves slower than in yours. You will go to my country for a day, and only one night will pass in your country. And in the morning you will already be home. “Aurora liked all this, she sat in the balloon next to the fairy, and they flew together to a magical land. They flew into the sky and disappeared behind dark clouds. A few minutes later they were already in a beautiful, spacious and bright magical land. Then they landed on a soft green field near the fairy's house. After that, Aliana took Aurora to the inhabitants of her magical country. The residents behaved as if they had known the guest for a long time. When it began to get dark in the magical land, the sorceress settled Aurora in her house.
The next day, Aliana woke up, fed Aurora and took her to the main square of the magical land. And on the square there was already a crowd of people who wanted to learn how to dance ballet. Aurora stood in the middle of the stage and began to show the residents various movements. The inhabitants of the magical land really liked ballet, and they studied it with pleasure.
When classes ended, Aurora returned home to Aliana. The fairy thanked Aurora for her ballet lessons and gave her magic pointe shoes in memory of the magical land. When Aurora puts on these pointe shoes, she will dance more beautifully than anyone else. Aurora was very happy with this gift. She thanked Aliana and asked the fairy to take her home. Aliana and Aurora went outside, boarded a balloon and began to rise into the air, and when they looked down, they saw a lot of people below who were waving to Aurora. Soon they disappeared into the clouds and a few minutes later Aurora saw her house, which they were approaching. When they flew up to Aurora's window, Aliana said goodbye to Aurora and flew to her country, and Aurora quietly climbed into the window of her room and went to bed. But she couldn’t sleep for a long time because she was thinking about everything that happened to her today. But she still fell asleep.
The next morning, Aurora woke up and happily remembered everything from yesterday. But there was no time to dream, because she had to get ready for ballet classes. She came to class and found out that today they would recruit the best ballerinas for the best performance. When the jury chose the ballerinas for the performance, Aurora was wearing lucky pointe shoes that Aliana gave her. Aurora danced the best, and the jury was simply amazed by her. When the jury announced the results, main role Aurora was approved and she was very happy about it! And Aurora’s long-awaited dream of dancing in a big theater came true!
And when Aurora became an adult girl, she was very famous in St. Petersburg. And when Aurora had grandchildren and granddaughters, she gladly told them her fate, and they especially loved stories about Aliana.
This is where the fairy tale ends.

Task 15.3. OGE. Essay-reasoning

Text
(1) The famous artist performed at the school where she previously studied. (2) She was asked to dance. (3) She began to spin, cast a spell, her face became beautiful. (4) The guys looked at her with their mouths open...
(5) In the first row sat a girl with her face thrown back. (6) She sat like that because if you don’t throw your face back, you might cry, and she was ashamed to cry in front of everyone.
(7) The artist finished dancing and noticed a girl in the front row who was having difficulty holding back her tears.
(8) The artist felt something so familiar in the girl’s face that she kept her gaze on her, although she understood that it was indecent to look at a person about to cry. (9) Then notes began to arrive with various questions. (10) The artist did not respond to one note (“I want to dance, but I was not accepted into the circle. And I’m also ugly. What should I do?”).
(And) The ballerina did not want to answer this question in front of everyone, besides, it seemed to her that she knew who wrote the note: the face of the girl from the first row, which seemed familiar to her, was so expectant!
(12) The artist said:
(13) - There is another note from the girl. (14) Let her come to me later.
(15) Having said this, the artist realized that she was not mistaken and had completely correctly guessed who wrote the note - this is how the face of the spectator from the first row lit up.
(16) The girl caught up with her on the street.
(17) “I wrote the note,” she said.
(18) - I know. I saw your face.
(19) - And have you noticed that I’m ugly?
190
(20) - It seems to you.
(21) - I want to dance, but they won’t take me. (22) They say that I’m not fit, but I can’t help but dance.
(23) - So dance to your health.
(24) - But they don’t accept me!
(25) “They didn’t accept me either,” said the artist.
(26) - So how do you dance so well now?
(27) - I always wanted to dance. (28) Because this is the main thing. (29) Shall we go and visit me?
(30) The artist was preparing dinner and thinking about the girl who also wants to dance. (31)Where did she see this face?
(32) Then she remembered how she herself was a girl and how she, too, was not accepted into the choreographic circle.
(33) Zoya (that was her name in childhood) danced at home alone. (34) She liked to dance, so she came to the school club, where she danced some kind of polka. (Zb) The choreographer praised her, and then began to test her legs for flexibility. (Zb) It was very painful, Zoya bit her lip, but still cried. (37) She was not accepted.
(38) In a circle at the House of Culture, the choreographer also said that you can’t dance with such weak legs, but there was a woman who allowed Zoyka to attend the classes.
(39) Coming home, Zoyka stood in front of the mirror and commanded herself:
(40) - First position! Hands!
(41) My knees did not obey. (42) Hands with absurdly splayed fingers rowed the air.
(43) Then she started playing modern music and danced as best she could. (44) Then Zoyka joined a drama club, where she danced as she wanted. (45) Finally, she was accepted into the theater institute, because she knew for sure: in this world she could only be an artist. (46) The people who examined her probably felt it...
(47) The artist prepared dinner and entered the living room.
(48) The guest girl flew around the room to the music, her face was painfully happy. (49) And the artist suddenly realized where she knew this face from.
(50) She took out the old album and found what she was looking for. (51) The artist looked first at the photograph, then at the embarrassedly frozen girl.
(52) - Look! - she said.
(53) The girl looked into the album and backed away.
(54) - Who is this? - she whispered.
(55) - This is me at your age.
(56) - But how did you become so beautiful?
(57) - I always wanted to dance, that’s all.
(58) - I want to dance too!
(59) The artist looked at the girl and thought that she would certainly dance. (bO) The girl was very similar to her, little Zoya, and someone had to help her...
(61) The girl who wanted to dance, jumped and ran home. (62) She danced and twirled. (63) And the golden leaves curled around her and danced with her. (64) And the girl was so huge that it never happens even in a dream. (65) It was impossible.
(According to A. Drabkina)

Option 1
- this is a feeling of great joy. Jubilation and delight are related concepts. Happy man as if gaining wings.
In A. Drabkina’s text, the famous actress gives an unknown girl a feeling of happiness, restoring her hope that she can become a real artist and can dance. The girl “jumped and ran home” (sentence 61), “danced and twirled” (sentence 63)!
Happiness can also be called a person’s reaction to some long-awaited miracle. I am happy because I have a younger brother. When I saw this baby, I realized that I already loved him very much, and I was infinitely happy!
I think everyone knows the feeling of happiness. This is one of the most vivid and pleasant experiences in life.

Option 2
In my understanding, happiness is a feeling of delight, pleasure from life. Happiness can be brought by a dream come true, new hope, good news, a joyful event.
In the story I read by A. Drabkina, the girl experienced real happiness: she again found hope that she could dance on stage, she believed in herself thanks to the lesson of the famous actress. The girl is overwhelmed by this feeling, and it is conveyed to the reader in a figurative description of the falling leaves: the leaves were golden, they even danced with her (sentence 63). The girl was spinning (sentence 62) while she ran home; she really can be called happy.
This state is familiar to the most famous artist (sentences 48, 49), because once she, having become a ballerina, also experienced happiness.
I can conclude that this feeling largely depends on whether your deepest desire will come true.

Option 3
In my opinion, happiness is the highest manifestation of pleasure. This feeling is the opposite of despondency and melancholy. A happy person feels bliss caused by some positive news or the feeling that life is wonderful.
Let's see how the feeling of happiness is conveyed in a story about a famous actress and a girl, her fan. When the actress gives the little spectator confidence, she begins to dance (sentence 48). The feeling of happiness was so strong that the author calls it “huge” (sentence 64), “impossible” (sentence 65).
A Russian proverb says: they don’t run from happiness, they catch up with happiness. And that's true! After all, we all want to experience happiness again and again.
Therefore, it is fair to conclude that the desire to experience happiness is one of the main goals of a person.

Stories and stories about children, about serious moral problems that they have to solve: whether they respect you in the class and why; can a person live outside the group; Is lying evil or innocent fantasy?

“Magic Apples” is Alla Drabkina’s first book for children. Drabkina is a very young writer, but she already has a very serious book for adults - “Foundry Bridge” - and another one is being prepared for publication...

But this book is for children!

Read it, and you will feel how important it is for the writer to understand you - her hero. With what pleasure she argues, listens and expresses her opinion to you.

Why? Maybe because he respects you very much and believes that a lot depends on you. After all, if you, boy or girl, defeat lies, injustice, evil, then later, in the world of adults, there will be one more real person...

Magic apples

In spring, grass grows everywhere. There would be a handful of dust and a small seed. Grass makes its way out of the asphalt, through the crevices of stones, and even grows on roofs.

In the spring, Lyuska fantasizes more than usual. She makes up dreams. For example, she came up with this:

And today I dreamed of the sea... As if there were big, big golden fish there... They are crowded in the sea from each other, there is no way to swim, they scrape side by side, and from them scales fly to the shore - also golden. And I’m standing on the shore - covered in golden scales...

Everyone knows that Lyuska never dreamed of anything like this, but no one accuses her - she does it very interestingly.

Then the other guys start inventing all sorts of dreams. Larisa says that she dreamed of a new dress, well, exactly like her mother’s, only small, and all the people on the street seemed to faint when they saw her in this new dress.

Annotation

Stories and stories about children, about serious moral problems that they have to solve: whether they respect you in the class and why; can a person live outside the group; Is lying evil or innocent fantasy?

Alla Veniaminovna Drabkina

Stories

Magic apples

The girl who wanted to dance

An exceptional person

Notes of a former poor student

1. Why I stopped being a poor student

2. Who is Zhuravlina (A short excursion into the history of our class)

3. How I caught a spy

4. Magnifying glass

5. People's Artist

6. Farewell

Try it, lie! (story)

Alla Veniaminovna Drabkina

Magic apples

“Magic Apples” is Alla Drabkina’s first book for children. Drabkina is a very young writer, but she already has a very serious book for adults - “Foundry Bridge” - and another one is being prepared for publication...

But this book is for children!

Read it, and you will feel how important it is for the writer to understand you - her hero. With what pleasure she argues, listens and expresses her opinion to you.

Why? Maybe because he respects you very much and believes that a lot depends on you. After all, if you, boy or girl, defeat lies, injustice, evil, then later, in the world of adults, there will be one more real person...

Stories

Magic apples

In spring, grass grows everywhere. There would be a handful of dust and a small seed. Grass makes its way out of the asphalt, through the crevices of stones, and even grows on roofs.

In the spring, Lyuska fantasizes more than usual. She makes up dreams. For example, she came up with this:

And today I dreamed of the sea... As if there were big, big golden fish there... They are crowded in the sea from each other, there is no way to swim, they scrape side by side, and from them scales fly to the shore - also golden. And I’m standing on the shore - covered in golden scales...

Everyone knows that Lyuska never dreamed of anything like this, but no one accuses her - she does it very interestingly.

Then the other guys start inventing all sorts of dreams. Larisa says that she dreamed of a new dress, well, exactly like her mother’s, only small, and all the people on the street seemed to faint when they saw her in this new dress.

Leshka, of course, dreams that he was accepted into the USSR national football team as a goalkeeper and took a penalty kick with his head.

And yet, they don’t succeed like Lyuska: their dreams are too similar to their daytime dreams. And Lyuska says:

Then this dolphin swims up to me and asks: “Why are you crying?” And I say: “I don’t know how to swim...”

What good would fish scales and a dolphin do her? Just for a while a new game appears - in dolphins. Lyuska and Leshka, of course, are dolphins: they are dressed in such a way that they can lie on the floor in the corridor and pretend that they are swimming; and Larisa, of course, is a mermaid. She hangs herself with tulle curtains and walks on tiptoe.

Lyuska dictates who should do and say what. Leshka obeys - he is generally flexible, but Larisa does not want to obey. She definitely wants everyone to swoon over her beauty in every game.

Lyuska doesn’t know how to argue with Larisa: Larisa has a louder voice and is in a class higher than Lyuska. She always makes Leshka faint, and Leshka asks a thousand times what he should do. And everyone rushes to ride a horse and fire a machine gun, and Lariska gets angry.

In general, when Lyuska and Leshka play alone, without Larisa, they do better. They lasso mustangs, hunt tigers and boa constrictors, free blacks from slavery and climb palm trees for coconuts. And they don’t need any fainting.

But they rarely have to play without Larisa: all three live in the same apartment, and when Larisa hears that they are starting some kind of game, no force will force her to sit in her room. So Leshka has to faint, and Lyuska has to be a servant. How much can you invent when you are just a servant?

They live in very big apartment with a long narrow corridor, an abundance of all sorts of niches and storage rooms. During the day, almost all the residents are at work - and the apartment belongs to the three of them, you can run, make noise and jump as you want; in the evening, when everyone returns, you can climb into one of the niches and tell all sorts of stories. Larisa loves scary things, Leshka loves about the war, and Lyuska again talks about nothing.

With the arrival of spring, she begins to think about where she will go. He says that he and his mother were invited to Central Asia to visit, that peaches and grapes grow there, smart turtles crawl and cute donkeys walk. Lyuska promises to bring from Central Asia a whole suitcase of turtles to raise and raise them in the whole apartment. Not only Leshka, but also Larisa are excited about this idea and everyone asks if Lyuska bought a ticket to Central Asia.

Then Lyuska changes her mind and heads to the tundra. Woolen deer live in the tundra. If you find a thread from these deer and pull it, then the whole deer can be unraveled like an old mitten and wound around a ball, and then knitted into a warm sweater and a hat with a pom-pom. Of course, she will bring everyone a ball of wool to knit matching sweaters and hats.

But Lyuska doesn’t go to the tundra either...

The school year has long ended, long ago Larisa’s parents ordered tickets to the Black Sea, and the Leshkins – to the village, only Lyuska doesn’t have any tickets, and her mother is still not allowed on vacation.

Hooray! - says Larisa. - I'm going to the Black Sea. I’ll have enough of these... what’s their name... dolphins, we’ll eat some grapes, I’ll come back all tanned, and my hair will fade and become just like a blonde’s... Then everyone will faint...

Lyuska is silent. She has nothing to answer. But one day... This is just a wonderful case.

“I met the Straw Man,” she says.

How is it with Straw?

Very simple. He was all made of straw. A hat made of straw, a mustache made of straw, eyebrows... It was raining, and his mustache dripped like a roof. I wanted ice cream, but I didn’t have money. He bought me ice cream and said: “Here is a straw for you, when you need me, burn the straw. I will come and fulfill your desire." - And Lyuska really showed the straw.

“Well, burn,” said Larisa.

Lyuska grinned.

For what? I don't have a real desire yet. When I think of it, I’ll burn it...

So Larisa drove off to her Black Sea with nothing.

But Lyuska and Leshka played Straw Man and various wishes for a long time.

They became very good friends during this time: they read together, went to the Tauride Garden to catch newts. They caught him and immediately released him. That's how Lyuska came up with the idea of ​​letting go.

“You think that they are small and weak,” she whispered, “but you will see that something will happen to you, and they will help you.” They are smart, they understand everything...

Leshka listened with his mouth open and released the newts back into the pond... Then they walked home along the melted asphalt and saw how the air trembled from the heat.

“I’ll leave soon,” Leshka began, but immediately fell silent. He didn’t want to tease Lyuska, because she had even stopped inventing things about the tundra and Central Asia.

Leshka is a good person, you can be friends with him. Every time they wash their faces from the same tap at night, they agree that they will be friends all their lives. And to make it work better, they shake each other’s hands and then break them. Lyuska says that this is simply necessary to maintain friendship.

Sometimes they, tightly holding hands, spin around in the hallway until they are completely exhausted, and then fall in different directions and laugh.

It’s a pity that you can’t go to the village with me,” says Leshka.

It’s okay,” Lyuska consoles him, “just be sure to bring me a little sparrow or, better yet, a little crow: he can be taught to speak...

We'll call him Karl...

Or Clara.

We will carry it with us to school...

Yeah. And we’ll teach you how to give hints...

Well, of course, the crow is small, no one will notice it...

Be sure to bring the little crow...

Lyuska became very lonely when Leshka left. Of course, it was possible to go to the city pioneer camp, but Lyuska didn’t like it there. The boys were kind of angry and just tried to hit me. Lyuska doesn’t know how to fight back - she has to run away, and who likes that?

It's better to be alone.

Walk wherever you want, do whatever you want. Only alone, of course, it’s not as interesting as with the guys.

But you can imagine that you are not alone. The green terry towel is a tame boa constrictor, you can put it in your mother's old bag and release it if you are attacked by evil pirates. You can be sure that the pirates will be in trouble.

Lyuska's travels are full of dangers, every day she goes further and further towards the place called the Leningrad - Sortirovochnaya station. One day she enters the locomotive depot and sees locomotives hanging there - this is how they take a break from long journeys. Cheerful, grimy people are swarming around them, fixing something and tightening nuts. None of these people get angry and kick Lyuska out into the street; once she even hides in the depot from the pursuit of two one-eyed cyclops who want to shoot her with a slingshot.

Lyuska silently glides around the depot and imagines that all these locomotives are hers, that she can sit on any of them and drive off wherever her eyes take her.

And there, in “Leningrad - Sortirovochnaya”, there is a little grass and dandelions, but how much does Lyuska need when she herself is so small?

...Mom comes only in the evening, she looks at Lyuska guiltily, and Lyuska immediately understands that there is nothing new and they are still not going anywhere.

But once…

“We’re going to Pargolovo to our dacha,” says my mother.

At night, Lyuska really dreams about Pargolovo. In this very Pargolovo, centuries-old oak trees grow, and among them there are white holiday daisies, and you can pick them as much as you want, and no one will shout at you and say that it was planted.

Lyuska begins to prepare for her departure as soon as...

The girl who wanted to dance

The famous artist performed at the school where she previously studied. Therefore, the artist was very worried, even though she was used to performing. After all, there were still teachers at the school who taught her. And the school itself, the walls, even some special smell, the smell of this particular school, which she remembered from childhood - all this worried her. She remembered the stage where she first performed with a single quatrain. She was at a loss then, and when it was her turn to read, for some reason she became hoarse and could not utter a word. It’s good that Natasha Soltsova, who remembered the text, helped her out.

Before the performance, an old physics teacher approached the artist and said, smiling:

Of course, you won’t tell your children that you studied well in physics?

No, what are you...

I’m just joking so that you know about my presence...

And the artist suddenly thought that she could speak more simply without being afraid of the teachers.

“I don’t know what to tell you guys,” she began. - I can `t talk. I studied at this school. And good people studied with me. And every time I get new role, I remember school, my teachers and comrades... I remember almost everyone, sometimes I even play one of them. An actor must have a good memory.

How did you get into theater institute?

I climbed onto the wall.

How is it - on the wall?

And they gave me this sketch - to pretend that I was climbing a wall. They said that if I didn’t climb in, they wouldn’t take me. And I climbed in...

“Art requires sacrifice,” one of the girls said importantly.

Everyone laughed.

“I don’t think so,” said the artist. - My whole life would have been a sacrifice if I had not become an actress. Art is pleasure and the greatest happiness. Happiness comes first for me.

Tell me, please, how long did it take you to learn to dance?

I've been dancing all my life.

From the age of four, right?

All life.

Dance for us, please,” asked the singing teacher. - I'll play for you!

The artist thought that dancing was much easier than talking. And she agreed. The singing teacher sat down at the piano and began to play a waltz from the play “The Little Mermaid.” The actress shook her head like a girl and started dancing. At first, her movements were a little constrained, because she was always nervous on this school stage, but then she obeyed the music, as if she had forgotten about the audience, she began to spin, bewitched, her face became beautiful and significant. She danced, no, she just flew around the stage.

The guys looked at her with their mouths open, and no one said anything. Words were useless, that was clear to everyone.

In the front row sat a girl with her face thrown back. She sat like that because if she didn’t throw her face back, she might cry. And she was ashamed to cry in front of everyone.

The artist finished dancing and smiled shyly and perplexedly. She always felt embarrassed after finishing the dance, and her face trembled. But she did notice a girl in the front row who was struggling to hold back her tears. The artist felt something familiar in the girl’s face, so familiar that she kept her gaze on her, although she understood that it was indecent to look at a person about to cry.

But in the performance you danced completely differently,” said the singing teacher.

Yes. I always dance differently...

And why?

Don't know. It depends on a lot of things. From the mood, from the weather... - The artist threw up her hands, not knowing how to explain everything more simply.

Then notes began to arrive. The notes asked what needs to be done in order to become an actor, whether the future actor must be an excellent student, and whether her latest role matches her character.

She said that anyone who really wants it can be an actor, but that it is very difficult to want it, that it is not necessary to be an excellent student, but it is desirable, that the role of the Little Mermaid does not coincide with her character.

The artist did not respond to one note.

Here is this note: “I want to dance, but I wasn’t even accepted into the circle. And I'm also ugly. What to do?"

For some reason, the artist did not want to answer this question in front of everyone, and besides, it seemed to her that she knew who wrote the note, because the face of the girl from the first row, which seemed familiar to her, was so expectant! The artist said:

There is another note here, from one girl. Let her come to me later.

Having said this, the artist realized that she was not mistaken and had correctly guessed who wrote the note - that’s how the girl’s face from the first row lit up.

The girl caught up with her on the street.

“I wrote the note,” she said.

I'm not blind. I saw your face.

And have you noticed that I'm ugly?

It seems to you. I like your face.

But my knees... Do you see how terrible my knees are? I want to dance, but they won’t take me. They say my knees are sticking out. And then they started bending my leg back, and it hurt. They say I'm no good. And I can't help but dance.

So dance to your health.

But they don't accept me.

“They didn’t accept me either,” the artist said sadly.

Why, didn’t you study?

Only already at the institute. And even then I always got a C in dance.

So how do you dance so well now?

I've always wanted to dance.

You say so often you wanted...

Because that's the main thing. And in general, let's go visit me. And we'll dance together.

You? With me?!!

Certainly. I have a lot of records at home.

The girl beamed with such happiness. She did not notice that the artist was no less happy than she was. The artist did not have children, but she loved them very much. At school she was even a pioneer leader in her junior year. And she envied the teachers, scolded herself for not becoming a teacher, although she felt that teaching was no easier than acting. That's why she was glad to meet a girl who wanted to dance.

She really liked the girl's face. It seemed to her that she had seen this face before: thick-lipped and defenseless. For some reason I wanted to protect a person with such a face.

On the way, they stopped at a store and bought dumplings, cakes, condensed milk and sweets. Then we went to a fish store and bought herring for a cat named Pepita.

The artist lived in a large communal apartment. As they walked along the corridor, they met an ugly elderly woman.

The cat is screaming like crazy again! You’re walking around somewhere again,” she said angrily.

The cat was very small, just a kitten. She was sleeping on her rug, and only when she smelled the fish, she woke up and rushed to the net with herring.

I'll go cook dinner for Pepita and me, and you can listen to the music. Here is the record player, here are the records.

The artist came out, and the girl choreographed Hungarian dances by Brahms and began playing with the cat.

The artist was preparing dinner and thinking about a girl who wants to dance. Where had she seen this face? Why did you pay attention to the girl? Then she remembered how she herself was a girl and how she, too, was not accepted into the choreographic circle, because her knees stuck out and it hurt her when the choreographer bent her leg back.

...She began to dance herself. But first she came up with plays. Children from all over the yard played them. True, she got the worst roles, because she never knew how to command, and power was in the hands of Vika Sedova. Vika was very beautiful and therefore very proud. She wouldn't tolerate anyone else playing the leading roles. Vika lived in the same apartment with her, and during the day, when the adults went to work, their apartment turned into a theater. Two blankets representing a curtain were hung across the corridor; all the chairs and stools in the apartment were placed in front of the curtain, on which the audience sat. At first there were few spectators, but then, when all the nannies and grandmothers heard about the performances, they began to show up with their children, and sometimes even left their children in the “theater” while they went off on business. When the repertoire was exhausted, Zoika (that was the artist’s name) immediately composed a new play, and Vika quickly distributed the roles, because she believed that only she could do it. She, of course, took the main roles for herself, and gave Zoya secondary ones, and if not secondary ones, then ones in which she had to be ugly. Once, however, Zoyka played the main role - a black girl nicknamed Snowball, but this was only because Vika did not want to stain her face with burnt cork. The audience loved this performance the most.

The kids really liked how little Snowball suddenly snatched a red tie from his pocket and, waving the tie in front of the evil racist teacher’s nose, shouted:

Never! We will never be slaves!

However, Vika was irritated by the success of this performance, and one day, when the black Snowball was saying the final words, she swung her hand and hit Zoya in the face with all her might. Then their neighbor Seryozhka, who played the son of a millionaire, jumped onto the stage and slapped Vika quite heavily in the face. Vika was a strong girl, older than Seryozhka, and taller. In addition, she knew how and loved to fight, not caring about the consequences. Seryozhka would never have dealt with Vika if it weren’t for the audience. They didn’t like the evil racist teacher who was beating the black kid Snowball, so they rushed towards the fighters, and Vika got hit hard.

After this incident, Vika stopped talking to everyone, and concerts were organized without her participation. She tried to interfere with the concerts, but Seryozhka and Vitka Petukhov managed to lock her in the bathroom several times so as not to interfere. Then everyone somehow made peace, and life went on as before. True, Vika no longer fought on stage, but she commanded, as before. She, for example, believed that she could sing, although the janitor Aunt Masha, who went to performances, once said out loud that Vika’s singing was like the howling of the wind in a chimney. (After this, Vika stole Aunt Masha’s broom.) Zoyka, and the other kids, no longer wanted to organize concerts and write plays. Zoya sat at home, played sad records and danced alone. She liked to dance and even seemed to be a good dancer. That's why she decided to join a choreography club.

First of all, she came to the school circle. They played some kind of polka for her, she danced it diligently. The choreographer praised her, and then began to twist her legs, testing them for flexibility. It was very painful, Zoya bit her lip, but still cried.

It won’t work,” the choreographer said coldly.

Then Zoyka went to a children's club at the House of Culture. There, too, she first danced the polka, and then cried again when her legs were twisted. In vain she begged the choreographer to allow her to at least attend the classes - she was inexorable. She said that with such knees and weak legs you can’t dance. She said that she did not see any prospects for Zoya.

Only in the House of Pioneers was there a woman who allowed Zoyka to attend classes, although she never let her go on stage. She generally remembered Zoya only when the other guys lost their rhythm and sense of music. Then she said:

Look at Zoya! Even though she does everything ugly, she hears the music.

Coming home from school, Zoyka stood in front of the large mirror and commanded herself:

Plie! Batman plie! Grand batman plie! Balance, balance! First position! Second position! Hands!

My knees did not obey. They stuck out. Hands with absurdly splayed fingers paddled the air. The shoulders were tense.

Then she started Anitra’s dance and danced as best she could. She knew who Anitra was. This is a terrible, predatory woman, the one because of whom Peer-Gynt forgot about Solveig. Well, even if this terrible Anitra’s knees stick out, someone like her doesn’t need much grace. But the music is fast-paced, magical, the kind that makes you forget about everything in the world and just dance, dance. Zoyka also loved to dance “Walpurgis Night”. There are also all sorts of devils and witches, from whom perfect knees and all sorts of positions are not required.

Natasha Soltsova, who also studied at the House of Pioneers in the choreographic circle, left for another city. Before leaving, she gave Zoyka her magnificent white tutu, painted with golden maple leaves. This tutu was made for Natasha by her mother, who was an artist. All the girls in the circle were jealous of the tutu, but Natasha gave it to Zoyka because they were friends and also because Natasha’s mother loved Zoyka very much and even painted Zoyka’s portrait.

Zoya was embarrassed to come to the circle in this pack. She hid the pack in her desk cabinet and only put it on when no one was home. But my knees were sticking out! It seemed that here it was, lightness, the music carried you, you couldn’t feel your feet under you, you were spinning, you didn’t know what, you were flying! And suddenly - a mirror. And in the mirror is the wooden man Pinocchio.

One day, when Zoyka was dancing in her magnificent tutu, she did not notice Vika enter.

What is that on you? - Vika asked with trepidation.

The pack... - Zoya was confused.

Let me put it on, okay?

Zoya did not know how to refuse. Vika tried on the tutu and decided that she couldn’t live without ballet. She went to the next club lesson with Zoya. After this lesson, Zoyka had to leave the circle, because Vika told the whole yard how clumsy Zoyka is, how the head of the circle scolds her all the time, how she doesn’t know how to do anything, but at the same time she still dares to put on a magnificent tutu.

Vika was accepted into the circle immediately. Her knees didn’t stick out, she didn’t feel pain when her legs were twisted, she immediately learned all the positions...

Well, why do you need this pack? - said Vika. - You'll never dance anyway! Let me wear it!

She did not return the pack to Zoyka. A wonderful pack, painted with golden leaves! The most beautiful pack in the world.

Then Zoyka entered the drama club. The circle was led by a very young and very kind artist. Zoya played Cinderella, sang and danced at the royal ball, and no one shouted terrible words like “plie” or “first position.” She just sang and danced as she wanted. Then she was accepted into the theater institute because she climbed the wall. If she had been ordered to crawl into the eye of a needle, she would have done that too, because she knew that in this world she could only be an artist. The people who admitted her to the institute probably felt it...

The artist cooked dumplings and herring for Pepita and went to her room. The guest girl danced a Hungarian dance. She flew around the room, her face was painfully happy. And the artist suddenly realized where she knew this face from. She ran to the desk, took out an old plush album, and quickly began flipping through the pages until she found what she was looking for. She looked first at the photograph, then at the embarrassedly frozen girl.

Look! - she said.

The girl looked into the album and backed away.

Who is this? - the girl whispered.

This is me at your age.

But how did you become so beautiful?

I always wanted to dance, that's all.

I want to dance too!

Then take off your shoes and listen to me. We will dance to the music of Mozart. This music at first seems very joyful and morning, but it is not about joy, not only about joy, but rather about the memory of joy. She is like a dream of happiness. The happiness that we dream of is always enormous. Happy dreams must be remembered. Dance as you feel... Remember best dreams. Dance, girl!

The artist looked at the girl and thought that the girl would certainly dance. This girl looked like her, little Zoya, and someone definitely had to help her.

There was a knock on the door. An elderly neighbor entered the room.

Stomp again? - she said. - Because of you, my pies don’t rise.

Listen, Vika,” said the artist, “after all, there are ten meters from my room to the kitchen.”

So what! - said the neighbor. - They still don’t rise!

And she left.

Am I stomping? - the girl was surprised. - I'm not even wearing shoes!

“We went to school together,” said the artist, “and once she was accepted into a dance club. And she was very beautiful, truly beautiful. Only she didn't want to dance. She didn't want anything at all. And people who don’t want anything grow old very quickly and become ugly. Now do you understand what I was telling you?

I have a tutu. She is very happy. Come here, I’ll see how I can sew it in so that it fits you...

The girl who wanted to dance ran home. No, she didn't run. She danced and twirled. And golden leaves flew up from the autumn sidewalk, curled around her, danced with her. And the girl’s happiness was so great that it never happens even in a dream. It was impossible happiness. The girl not only wanted to dance, she was already dancing!