Mikhail Zoshchenko read the adventures of a monkey. Mikhail Zoshchenko - The Adventures of a Monkey: A Tale

The devastating resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the magazines “Zvezda” and “Leningrad” in 1946, which led to the persecution of Akhmatova and Zoshchenko, is known to everyone. But not everyone knows why exactly they were showered

The devastating decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the magazines “Zvezda” and “Leningrad” in 1946, which caused persecution and, is known to everyone. But not everyone knows why exactly the cones fell on Mikhail Mikhailovich’s head. The formal occasion was the children's story "The Adventures of a Monkey", first published in "Murzilka"

The story is like this. Published in the December issue of the magazine “Murzilka” for 1945, a very funny, and most importantly, completely innocent children’s story “The Adventures of a Monkey” was then republished in three books and, without the author’s knowledge, reprinted by the magazine “Zvezda”.
Here is a fragment of this work, which later served as a bone of contention:

“...And in the yard at that time one boy, a teenager, a certain Alyosha Popov, was chopping wood.
He's chopping wood and suddenly he sees a monkey. And he really loved monkeys. And all my life I dreamed of having some kind of monkey with me. And suddenly, please.
Alyosha took off his jacket and covered the monkey with it, which hid in a corner on the stairs.
The boy brought it home. I fed her. I gave him tea. And the monkey was very happy. But not really. Because Alyosha’s grandmother immediately disliked her. She yelled at the monkey and even wanted to hit its paw. All because when they were drinking tea and grandma put her bitten candy on a saucer, the monkey grabbed this grandma’s candy and stuffed it into her mouth. Well - a monkey. Not a human. If he takes anything, it won’t be in front of his grandmother. And this one is right in the presence of my grandmother. And, of course, it brought her almost to tears.
Grandma said:
- In general, it is extremely unpleasant when some kind of macaque with a tail lives in an apartment. She will scare me with her inhuman appearance. Will jump on me in the dark. He will eat my sweets. No, I categorically refuse to live in the same apartment with a monkey. One of us two must be in the zoological garden. Do I really have to go to the zoological garden...
Alyosha said to his grandmother:
- No, grandma, you don’t need to go to the zoo. I guarantee you that the monkey will not eat anything else from you. I will teach her to eat from a spoon. And drink tea from a glass. As for jumping, I can’t stop her from climbing the lamp that hangs on the ceiling. From there, of course, she can jump on your head. But, most importantly, don’t be alarmed if something happens.”

To the average reader, this is just a story for children... But it's all a matter of interpretation! If you look closely, you can see in the content of the story something that you wouldn’t dream of in a nightmare.
The Secretary of the Central Committee in his infamous report stated: “If you read more closely and think about the story “The Adventures of a Monkey,” you will see that Zoshchenko gives the monkey the role of the highest judge of our social order and forces him to read something like morality to the Soviet people. The monkey is presented as a kind of intelligent principle, which is given the ability to establish assessments of human behavior. Zoshchenko needed a depiction of the life of Soviet people, deliberately ugly, caricatured and vulgar, in order to put into the mouth of the monkey a vile, poisoned anti-Soviet maxim about the fact that it is better to live in a zoo than in the wild, and that it is easier to breathe in a cage than among Soviet of people".
After this report and the resolution issued after it, this story becomes “criminal”, and with it all of Zoshchenko’s work becomes “criminal”. The writer, whom everyone knew - from yesterday’s educational program participant to an academician, who had not lost his fame for two decades, was branded in the resolution as “vulgar,” “a hooligan” and “a scumbag of literature,” “mocking Soviet people.” He was expelled from the Writers' Union and deprived of food cards, which was an urgent need in the first post-war year. His name, having received the status of a swear word, fell out of literary use. Many thought that he himself also fell out of life. But he lived another twelve painful years.

read the texts of short works and stories by Mikhail Zoshchenko

Monkey Adventures

In one city in the south there was a zoological garden. A small zoological garden in which there were one tiger, two crocodiles, three snakes, a zebra, an ostrich and one monkey, or, simply put, a monkey. And, of course, various little things - birds, fish, frogs and other insignificant nonsense from the animal world.

At the beginning of the war, when the Nazis bombed this city, one bomb hit the zoo. And there it exploded with a huge deafening crash. All the animals are surprised.

Moreover, three snakes were killed - all at once, which, perhaps, is not such a difficult fact, and, unfortunately, an ostrich.

The other animals were not harmed, and, as they say, they only escaped with fright.

Of all the animals, the monkey was the most frightened. Her cage was overturned by an air wave. This cage has fallen from its perch. The side wall is broken. And our monkey fell out of the cage straight onto the garden path.

She fell onto the path, but did not remain motionless, following the example of people accustomed to military action. Vice versa. She immediately climbed the tree. From there she jumped onto the fence. From the fence to the street. And, like crazy, she ran.

He runs and probably thinks: “Eh, no, he thinks, if they throw bombs here, then I don’t agree.” And that means that he has the strength to run through the streets of the city. And she runs so fast, it’s as if dogs are grabbing her heels.

She ran through the whole city. She ran out onto the highway. And he runs along this highway away from the city. Well - a monkey. Not a human. Doesn't understand what's what. Sees no point in staying in this city.

I ran and ran and got tired. Overtired. She climbed a tree. I ate a fly to strengthen my strength. And a couple more worms. And she fell asleep on the branch where she was sitting.

And at this time a military vehicle was driving along the road. The driver saw a monkey in a tree. I was surprised. He quietly crept up to her. He covered it with his overcoat. And he put him in his car. I thought: “It would be better for me to give her to some of my friends than for her to die here from hunger, cold and other wartime hardships.” And that means he went with the monkey.

Arrived in the city of Borisov. I went about my official business. And he left the monkey in the car. Told her:

Wait for me here, honey. Be right back.

But the monkey did not wait. She got out of the car through the broken glass and went for a walk through the streets.

And now she walks down the street looking so cute. Walking, pacing, tail raised. The people, of course, are surprised and want to catch her. But catching her is not so easy. She is lively, agile, runs fast. So they didn’t catch her, but only tortured her with futile running.

She was exhausted, tired and, of course, wanted to eat.

Where can she eat in the city? There is nothing edible on the streets. She can’t go into the dining room with her tail. Or to a co-op. Moreover, she has no money. No discount. She does not have food cards. Nightmare.

Still, she went to one cooperative. I felt that there was something there. And there they sold vegetables to the population - carrots, rutabaga and cucumbers.

She dropped into this store. He sees a big queue. No, she didn’t stand in line. And she didn’t push people aside to get to the counter. She ran straight over the customers' heads to the saleswoman. She jumped up on the counter. She didn’t ask how much a kilo of carrots cost. But she just grabbed a whole bunch of carrots and, as they say, that was it. She ran out of the store, happy with her purchase. Well - a monkey. Doesn't understand what's what. Sees no point in remaining without food.

Of course, there was a noise in the store, a commotion, a commotion. The audience screamed. The saleswoman who was hanging rutabaga almost fainted from surprise. And, indeed, you can get scared if suddenly something so furry with a tail is jumping nearby, instead of an ordinary, normal buyer. And on top of that, he doesn’t pay any money.

The public rushed after the monkey into the street. And she runs and chews and eats carrots as she goes. Doesn't understand what's what.

And then the boys run ahead of everyone. The adults are behind them. And a policeman runs behind and blows his whistle.

And suddenly, out of nowhere, a dog jumped out. And she also chased our monkey. Moreover, such an impudent person not only yaps and barks, but actually strives to grab the monkey with his teeth.

Our monkey ran faster. She runs and probably thinks: “Oh, he thinks he left the zoo in vain. It's easier to breathe in a cage. I will definitely return to the zoo at the first opportunity.”

And so she runs as fast as she can, but the dog doesn’t lag behind and is about to grab her.

And then our monkey jumped onto some fence. And when the dog jumped up to grab at least the monkey’s leg, the monkey hit him on the nose with all her strength with a carrot. And it hit him so painfully that the dog screamed and ran home with his broken nose. She probably thought: “No, citizens, I’d rather lie quietly at home than catch a monkey for you and experience such troubles.”

Long story short, the dog ran away and our monkey jumped into the yard.

And in the yard at that time one boy, a teenager, a certain Alyosha Popov, was chopping wood.

He's chopping wood and suddenly he sees a monkey. And he really loved monkeys. And all my life I dreamed of having some kind of monkey with me. And suddenly - please.

Alyosha took off his jacket and covered the monkey with it, which hid in a corner on the stairs.

The boy brought it home. I fed her. I gave him tea. And the monkey was very pleased. But not really. Because Alyosha’s grandmother immediately disliked her. She yelled at the monkey and even wanted to hit its paw. All because, when they were drinking tea and grandma put her bitten candy on a saucer, the monkey grabbed this grandma’s candy and stuffed it into her mouth. Well - a monkey. Not a human. If he takes anything, it won’t be in front of his grandmother. And this one is right in the presence of my grandmother. And, of course, it brought her almost to tears.

Grandma said:

In general, it is extremely unpleasant when some kind of macaque with a tail lives in an apartment. She will scare me with her inhuman appearance. Will jump on me in the dark. He will eat my sweets. No, I categorically refuse to live in the same apartment with a monkey. One of us two must be in the zoological garden. Do I really have to go to the zoological garden? No, it would be better if she was there. And I will continue to live in my apartment.

Alyosha said to his grandmother:

No, grandma, you don’t need to go to the zoo. I guarantee you that the monkey will not eat anything else from you. I will raise her as a person. I will teach her to eat from a spoon. And drink tea from a glass. As for jumping, I can’t stop her from climbing the lamp that hangs on the ceiling. From there, of course, she can jump on your head. But most importantly, don’t be alarmed if something happens. Because this is just a harmless monkey, accustomed to jumping and galloping in Africa.

The next day Alyosha went to school. And he asked his grandmother to look after the monkey. But the grandmother did not look after her. She thought: “Here, I’ll start looking after every monster.” And with these thoughts, my grandmother deliberately fell asleep in the chair.

And then our monkey climbed out through the open window into the street. And she walked along the sunny side. It is unknown - maybe she wanted to take a walk, but maybe she decided to look into the store again to buy something for herself. Not for money, but like that.

And at that time an old man was passing along the street. Disabled Gavrilych. He went to the bathhouse and in his hands carried a large basket containing soap and linen.

He saw a monkey and at first he didn’t even believe his eyes that it was a monkey. He thought that he had imagined it, since he had drunk a glass of beer beforehand.

Here he looks at the monkey in surprise. And she looks at him. Maybe he thinks: “What kind of scarecrow is this with a basket in his hands?”

Finally, Gavrilych realized that this was a real monkey, and not an imaginary one. And then he thought: “Let me catch her.” I’ll take it to the market tomorrow and sell it there for a hundred rubles. And with this money I’ll drink ten glasses of beer in a row.” And with these thoughts, Gavrilych began to catch the monkey, saying: “Kys, kys, kys... come here.”

No, he knew that this was not a cat, but he did not understand in what language he should speak to her. And only then did I realize that this was a higher creature from the world of animals. And then he pulled out a piece of sugar from his pocket, showed it to the monkey and said to her, bowing:

Beautiful monkey, would you like to eat a piece of sugar?

She says: “Please, I wish...” That is, in fact, she didn’t say anything, because she doesn’t know how to speak. But she just came up, grabbed this piece of sugar and began to eat it.

Gavrilych took her in his arms and put her in his basket. And in the basket it was warm and cozy. And our monkey didn’t jump out of there. Perhaps she thought: “Let this old stump carry me in his basket. It’s even interesting.”

At first Gavrilych thought of taking her home. But then he didn’t want to return home. And he went with the monkey to the bathhouse. I thought: “It’s even better that I go to the bathhouse with her. I'll wash her there. She will be clean and nice. I'll tie a bow around her neck. And they will give me more for it in the market.”

And so he and his monkey came to the bathhouse. And he began to wash with her.

And it was very hot in the bathhouse - just like in Africa. And our monkey was very pleased with such a warm atmosphere. But not really. Because Gavrilych lathered her with soap, and the soap got into her mouth. Of course, it’s tasteless, but not so bad that you scream, scratch and refuse to wash. In general, our monkey began to spit, but then the soap got into her eye. And this made the monkey completely mad. She bit Gavrilych's finger, broke free from his hands and, like mad, jumped out of the bathhouse.

She jumped out into the room where people were undressing. And there she scared everyone. Nobody knew that it was a monkey. They see something round, white, covered in foam jump out. First he rushed to the sofa. Then onto the stove. From stove to box. From a box onto someone's head. And back to the stove.

Some nervous visitors screamed and began to run out of the bathhouse. And our monkey ran out too. And she went down the stairs.

And there, below, there was a cash register with a window. The monkey jumped into this window, thinking that it would be calmer there and, most importantly, there would be no such fuss and jostling. But there was a fat cashier sitting at the cash register who gasped and squealed. And she ran out of the cash register screaming:

Guard! Looks like a bomb hit my cash register! Give me some valerian!

Our monkey is tired of all this screaming. She jumped out of the cash register and ran down the street.

And so she runs down the street, all wet, covered in soapy foam. And people are running after her again. The boys are ahead of everyone. The adults are behind them. And for the adults there is a policeman. And behind the policeman is our elderly Gavrilych, shabbily dressed, with boots in his hands.

But then again, out of nowhere, the dog jumped out, the same one that was chasing her yesterday.

But this time the dog did not chase her. The dog just looked at the running monkey, felt a strong pain in his nose and did not run, even turned away.

Meanwhile, our boy, Alyosha Popov, returned from school and did not find his beloved monkey at home. He was very upset. And even tears appeared in his eyes. He thought that now he would never see his sweet, beloved monkey again.

And out of boredom and sadness, he went out into the street. He's walking down the street, so melancholic. And suddenly he sees people running. No, at first he did not think that they were running after his monkey. He thought they were fleeing thanks to an air raid raid. But then he saw his monkey, all wet and covered in soap. He rushed towards her. He grabbed her in his arms. And he held her close so as not to give her to anyone.

And then all the running people stopped and surrounded the boy.

But then our elderly Gavrilych emerged from the crowd. And, showing everyone his bitten finger, he said:

Citizens, don’t tell this guy to pick up my monkey, which I want to sell at the market tomorrow. This is my own monkey that bit my finger. Everyone look at this swollen finger of mine. And this is proof that I am telling the truth.

Boy Alyosha Popov said:

No, this is my monkey. You see how willingly she came into my arms. And this is also proof that I am telling the truth.

But then another person emerges from the crowd - the same driver who brought the monkey in his car. He says:

No, dear ones, this is not your or your monkey. This is my monkey because I brought it. But I’m leaving again for my military unit and therefore I will give the monkey to the one who holds it so lovingly in his hands, and not to the one who wants to mercilessly sell it at the market for the sake of his drink. The monkey belongs to the boy.

And then the whole audience clapped their hands. And Alyosha Popov, beaming with happiness, hugged the monkey even tighter. And he solemnly carried her home.

Gavrilych, with his bitten finger, went to the bathhouse to wash himself.

And from then on, the monkey began to live with the boy Alyosha Popov. She still lives with him. Recently I went to the city of Borisov. And he deliberately went to Alyosha’s to see how she was living there. Oh, she lives well! She's not running away. She became very obedient. He wipes his nose with a handkerchief. And he doesn’t take other people’s candies. So now grandma is very happy, is not angry with her and no longer wants to go to the zoological garden.

When I entered Alyosha’s room, the monkey was sitting at the table. She sat as important as a cashier at the cinema. And I ate rice porridge with a teaspoon.

Alyosha told me:

I raised her as a person, and now all children and even some adults can follow her example.
............................
Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko

a zoological garden in which there were one tiger, two crocodiles, three snakes, a zebra, an ostrich and one monkey, or, simply put, a monkey. And, of course, various little things - birds, fish, frogs and other insignificant nonsense from the animal world.
At the beginning of the war, when the Nazis bombed this city, one bomb hit the zoo. And there it exploded with a huge deafening crash. All the animals are surprised.
Moreover, three snakes were killed - all at once, which, perhaps, is not such a difficult fact, and, unfortunately, an ostrich.
The other animals were not harmed and, as they say, only escaped with fright.
Of all the animals, the monkey was the most frightened. Her cage was overturned by an air wave. This cage has fallen from its perch. The side wall is broken. And our monkey fell out of the cage straight onto the garden path.
She fell onto the path, but did not remain motionless, following the example of people accustomed to military action. Vice versa. She immediately climbed the tree. From there she jumped onto the fence. From the fence to the street. And, like crazy, she ran.
He runs and probably thinks. “Eh, no,” he thinks, “if they throw bombs here, then I don’t agree.” And that means that she has the strength to run through the streets of the city, and she runs so fast, as if dogs were grabbing her by the heels.
She ran through the whole city. She ran out onto the highway. And he runs along this highway away from the city. Well - a monkey. Not a human. Doesn't understand what's what. Sees no point in staying in this city.
I ran and ran and got tired. Overtired. She climbed a tree. I ate a fly to strengthen my strength. And a couple more worms. And she fell asleep on the branch where she was sitting.
And at this time a military vehicle was driving along the road. The driver saw a monkey in a tree. I was surprised. He quietly crept up to her. He covered it with his overcoat. And he put him in his car. I thought: “It would be better for me to give her to some of my friends than for her to die here from hunger, cold and other wartime hardships.” And that means he went with the monkey.
Arrived in the city of Borisov. I went about my official business. And he left the monkey in the car. Told her:
- Wait for me here, honey. Be right back.
But the monkey did not wait. She got out of the car through the broken glass and went for a walk through the streets.
And now she walks down the street looking so cute. Walking, pacing, tail raised. The people, of course, are surprised and want to catch her. But catching her is not so easy. She is lively, agile, runs fast. So they didn’t catch her, but only tortured her with futile running.
She was exhausted, tired and, of course, wanted to eat.
And in the city, where can she eat? There is nothing so edible on the streets. She can’t go into the dining room with her tail. Or to a co-op. Moreover, she has no money. No discount. She does not have food cards. Nightmare.
Still, she went to one cooperative. I felt that there was something there. And there they sold vegetables to the population - carrots, rutabaga and cucumbers.
She dropped into this store. He sees a big queue. No, she didn’t stand in line. And she didn’t push people aside to get to the counter. She ran straight over the customers' heads to the saleswoman. She jumped onto the counter. She didn’t ask how much a kilo of carrots cost. But she just grabbed a whole bunch of carrots and, as they say, that was it. She ran out of the store happy with her purchase. Well - a monkey. Doesn't understand what's what. Sees no point in remaining without food.
Of course, there was a noise in the store, a commotion, a commotion. The audience screamed. The saleswoman who was hanging rutabaga almost fainted from surprise. And, indeed, you can get scared if suddenly something so furry with a tail is jumping nearby, instead of an ordinary, normal buyer. And on top of that, he doesn’t pay any money.
The public rushed after the monkey into the street. And she runs and chews and eats carrots as she goes. Doesn't understand what's what.
And then the boys run ahead of everyone. The adults are behind them. And a policeman runs behind and blows his whistle.
And suddenly, out of nowhere, a dog jumped out. And she also chased our monkey. Moreover, such an impudent person not only yaps and barks, but actually strives to grab the monkey with his teeth.
Our monkey ran faster. She runs and probably thinks: “Eh,” he thinks, “I shouldn’t have left the zoo. It’s easier to breathe in the cage, I’ll definitely return to the zoo at the first opportunity.”
And so she runs as fast as she can, but the dog doesn’t lag behind and is about to tear her down.
And then our monkey jumped onto some fence. And when the dog jumped up to grab the monkey at least by the leg, it hit him on the nose with all his might with a carrot. And it hit him so painfully that the dog screamed and ran home with his broken nose. She probably thought: “No, citizens, I’d rather lie quietly at home than catch a monkey for you and experience such troubles.”
Long story short, the dog ran away and our monkey jumped into the yard.
And in the yard at that time one boy, a teenager, a certain Alyosha Popov, was chopping wood.
He's chopping wood and suddenly he sees a monkey. And he really loved monkeys. And all my life I dreamed of having such a monkey with me. And suddenly, please.
Alyosha took off his jacket and covered the monkey with this jacket, which hid in a corner on the stairs.
The boy brought it home. I fed her. I gave him tea. And the monkey was very pleased. But not really. Because Alyosha’s grandmother immediately disliked her. She yelled at the monkey and even wanted to hit its paw. All because when they were drinking tea and grandma put her bitten candy on a saucer, the monkey snatched this grandma’s candy and stuffed it into her mouth. Well - a monkey. Not a human. Even if he takes anything, it won’t be in front of his grandmother. And this one is right in the presence of my grandmother. And, of course, it brought her almost to tears.
Grandma said:
- In general, it is extremely unpleasant when some kind of macaque with a tail lives in an apartment. She will scare me with her inhuman appearance. Will jump on me in the dark. He will eat my sweets. No, I categorically refuse to live in the same apartment with a monkey. One of us two must be in the zoological garden. Do I really have to go to the zoological garden? No, it would be better if she was there. And I will continue to live in my apartment.
Alyosha said to his grandmother:
- No, grandma, you don’t need to go to the zoo. I guarantee you that the monkey will not eat anything else from you. I will raise her as a person. I will teach her to eat from a spoon. And drink tea from a glass. As for jumping, I can’t stop her from climbing the lamp that hangs on the ceiling. From there, of course, she can jump on your head. But most importantly, don’t be alarmed if something happens. Because this is just a harmless monkey, accustomed to jumping and galloping in Africa.
The next day Alyosha went to school. And he asked his grandmother to look after the monkey. But the grandmother did not look after her. She thought: “Here, I’ll start watching for every monster.” And with these thoughts, my grandmother deliberately fell asleep in the chair.
And then our monkey climbed out through the open window into the street. And she walked along the sunny side. It is unknown - maybe she wanted to take a walk, but maybe she decided to look into the store again to buy something for herself. Not for money, but like that.
And at that time an old man was passing along the street. Disabled Gavrilych. He went to the bathhouse and in his hands carried a large basket containing soap and linen.
He saw a monkey and at first he didn’t even believe his eyes that it was a monkey. He thought that he had imagined it, since he had drunk a glass of beer beforehand.
Here he looks at the monkey in surprise. And she looks at him. Maybe he thinks: “What kind of scarecrow is this with a basket in his hands?”
Finally, Gavrilych realized that this was a real monkey, and not an imaginary one. And then he thought: “Let me catch her.” I’ll take it to the market tomorrow and sell it there for a hundred rubles. And for this money I’ll drink ten glasses of beer in a row.” And with these thoughts, Gavrilych began to kiss the monkey, saying: “Kys, kys, kys... come here.”
No, he knew that this was not a cat, but he did not understand in what language he should speak to her. And only then did I realize that this was a higher creature from the world of animals. And then he pulled out a piece of sugar from his pocket, showed it to the monkey and said to her, bowing:
- Beautiful monkey, would you like to eat a piece of sugar?
She says: “Please, I wish”... That is, in general, she didn’t say anything,
because she can't speak. But she just came up, took this piece of sugar and began to eat it.
Gavrilych took her in his arms and put her in his basket. And in the basket it was warm and cozy. And our monkey didn’t jump out of there. Perhaps she thought: “Let this old stump carry me in his basket. It’s even interesting.”
At first Gavrilych thought of taking her home. But then he didn’t want to return home. And he went with the monkey to the bathhouse. I thought: “It’s even better that I go to the bathhouse with her. I'll wash her there. She will be clean and nice. I'll tie a bow around her neck. And they will give me more for it in the market.”
And so he and his monkey came to the bathhouse. And he began to wash with her.
And in the bathhouse it was very hot - just like in Africa. And our monkey was very pleased with such a warm atmosphere. But not really. Because Gavrilych lathered her with soap, and the soap got into her mouth. Of course, it’s not tasty, but it’s not so tasty that you scream, scratch and refuse to wash. In general, our monkey began to spit, but then the soap got into her eye. And this made the monkey completely mad. She bit Gavrilych's finger, broke free from his hands and, like mad, jumped out of the bathhouse.
She jumped out into the room where people were undressing. And there she scared everyone. Nobody knew it was a monkey. They see something round, white, covered in foam jump out. First he rushed to the sofa. Then onto the stove. From stove to box. From a box onto someone's head. And back to the stove.
Some visitors screamed and began to run out of the bathhouse. And our monkey ran out too. And she went down the stairs.
And there, below, there was a cash register with a window. The monkey jumped into this window, thinking that it would be calmer there and, most importantly, there would be no such fuss and jostling. But there was a fat cashier sitting at the cash register who gasped and squealed. And she ran out of the cash register screaming:
- Guard! Looks like a bomb hit my cash register. Give me some valerian.
Our monkey is tired of all this screaming. She ran out of the cash register and ran down the street.
And so she runs down the street, all wet, covered in soapy foam. And people are running after her again. The boys are ahead of everyone. The adults are behind them. And for the adults there is a policeman. And behind the policeman is our elderly Gavrilych, shabbily dressed, with boots in his hands.
But then again, out of nowhere, the dog jumped out, the same one that was chasing her yesterday.
But this time the dog did not chase her. The dog just looked at the running monkey, felt a strong pain in his nose and did not run, even turned away.
Meanwhile, our boy Alyosha Popov, returning from school, did not find his beloved monkey at home. He was very upset. And even tears appeared in his eyes. He thought that now he would never see his sweet, beloved monkey again.
And out of boredom and sadness, he went out into the street. Walking down the street, so melancholic. And suddenly he sees people running. No, at first he did not think that they were running after his monkey. He thought they were fleeing thanks to an air raid raid. But then he saw his monkey, all wet and covered in soap. He rushed towards her. He grabbed her in his arms. And he held it close to himself so as not to give it to anyone.
And then all the running people stopped and surrounded the boy.
But then our elderly Gavrilych emerged from the crowd. And, showing everyone his bitten finger, he said:
- Citizens, don’t tell this guy to pick up my monkey, which I
I want to sell it on the market tomorrow. This is my own monkey that bit my finger. Everyone look at this swollen finger of mine. And this is proof that I am telling the truth.
Boy Alyosha Popov said:
- No, this is my monkey. You see how willingly she came into my arms. And this
also proof that I am telling the truth.
But then another person came out of the crowd - the same driver who brought the monkey in his car. He says: - No, dear ones, this is not your monkey. This is my monkey because I brought it. But I’m leaving again for my military unit And therefore I will give the monkey to the one who holds it so lovingly in his hands, and not to the one who wants to mercilessly sell it at the market for the sake of his drink. The monkey belongs to the boy.
And then the whole audience clapped their hands. And Alyosha Popov, beaming with joy, hugged the monkey even tighter. And he solemnly carried her home.
Gavrilych, with his bitten finger, went to the bathhouse to wash himself.
And from then on, the monkey began to live with the boy Alyosha Popov. She still lives with him. Recently I went to the city of Borisov. And he deliberately went to Alyosha’s to see how she was living there. Oh, she lives well! She's not running away. She became very obedient. He wipes his nose with a handkerchief. And he doesn’t take other people’s candies. So now grandma is very happy, is not angry with her and no longer wants to go to the zoological garden.
When I entered Alyosha’s room, the monkey was sitting at the table. She sat as important as a cashier at the cinema. And I ate rice porridge with a teaspoon.
Alyosha told me:
“I raised her as a person, and now all children, and even some adults, can follow her example.”

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Adventures of a Monkey (story)

In one city in the south there was a zoological garden. A small zoological garden in which there were one tiger, two crocodiles, three snakes, a zebra, an ostrich and one monkey, or, simply put, a monkey.
And, of course, various little things - birds, fish, frogs and other insignificant nonsense from the animal world.
At the beginning of the war, when the Nazis bombed this city, one bomb hit the zoo. And there it exploded with a huge deafening crash. Surprisingly for all the animals.
Moreover, three snakes were killed - all at once, which, perhaps, is not such a difficult fact. And, unfortunately, an ostrich.
The other animals were not harmed. And, as they say, they only got away with fright.
Of the animals, the one that was most frightened was the monkey. Her cage was overturned by an air wave. This cage has fallen from its perch. The side wall is broken. And our monkey fell out of the cage straight onto the garden path.
She fell onto the path, but did not remain motionless, following the example of people accustomed to military action. Vice versa. She immediately climbed the tree. From there she jumped onto the fence. From the fence to the street. And, like crazy, she ran.
He runs and probably thinks: “Oh no,” he thinks, “if they throw bombs here, then I don’t agree.” And it means that he has the strength to run through the streets of the city. And she runs so fast, it’s as if the dogs are grabbing her by the heels.
She ran through the whole city. She ran out onto the highway. And he runs along this highway away from the city. Well - a monkey. Not a human. Doesn't understand what's what. Sees no point in staying in this city.

I ran and ran and got tired. Overtired. She climbed a tree. I ate a fly to strengthen my strength. And a couple more worms. And she fell asleep on the branch where she was sitting.
And at this time a military vehicle was driving along the road. The driver saw a monkey in a tree. I was surprised. He quietly crept up to her. He covered it with his overcoat. And he put him in his car. I thought: “It would be better for me to give her to some of my friends than for her to die here from hunger, cold and other hardships.” And that means I went with the monkey.
Arrived in the city of Borisov. I went about my official business. And he left the monkey in the car. Told her:
- Wait for me here, honey. Be right back.
But our monkey did not wait. She got out of the car through the broken glass and went for a walk through the streets.
And here she goes, like a cute little thing, down the street, walking, strutting, with her tail in the air. The people, of course, are surprised and want to catch her. But catching her is not so easy. She is lively, agile, runs fast on her four arms. So they didn’t catch her, but only tortured her with futile running.
She was exhausted, tired and, of course, wanted to eat.
Where can she eat in the city? There is nothing edible on the streets. She can’t go into the dining room with her tail. Or to a co-op. Moreover, she has no money. No discount. She does not have food cards. Nightmare.
Still, she went to one cooperative. I felt that there was something there. And there they sold vegetables to the population - carrots, rutabaga and cucumbers.
She dropped into this store. He sees a big queue. No, she didn’t stand in line. And she didn’t push people aside to get to the counter. She ran straight over the customers' heads to the saleswoman. She jumped up on the counter. I didn’t ask how much a kilo of carrots cost. And I just grabbed a whole bunch of carrots. And as they say, it was like that. She ran out of the store, happy with her purchase. Well - a monkey. Doesn't understand what's what. Sees no point in remaining without food.

Of course, there was a noise, a commotion, a commotion in the store. The audience screamed. The saleswoman who was hanging rutabaga almost fainted from surprise. And indeed, you can get scared if suddenly, instead of an ordinary, normal buyer, something furry with a tail is jumping nearby. And on top of that, he doesn’t pay any money.
The public rushed after the monkey into the street. And she runs and chews carrots and eats them as she goes. Doesn't understand what's what.
And then the boys run ahead of everyone. The adults are behind them. And a policeman runs behind and blows his whistle.
And suddenly, out of nowhere, a dog jumped out. And she also chased our monkey. At the same time, such an impudent person not only yaps and barks, but actually strives to grab the monkey with her teeth.

Our monkey ran faster. She runs and probably thinks: “Eh,” he thinks, “I shouldn’t have left the zoo. It's easier to breathe in a cage. I will definitely return to the zoo at the first opportunity.”
And so she runs as fast as she can, but the dog doesn’t lag behind and is about to grab her.
And then our monkey jumped onto some fence. And when the dog jumped up to grab at least the monkey’s leg, the monkey hit him on the nose with all her strength with a carrot. And it hit him so painfully that the dog screamed and ran home with his broken nose. She probably thought: “No, citizens, I’d rather lie quietly at home than catch a monkey for you and experience such troubles.”
Long story short, the dog ran away and our monkey jumped into the yard.
And in the yard at that time one boy, a teenager, a certain Alyosha Popov, was chopping wood.
He's chopping wood and suddenly he sees a monkey. And he really loved monkeys. And all my life I dreamed of having some kind of monkey with me. And suddenly - please.
Alyosha took off his jacket and covered the monkey with it, which hid in a corner on the stairs.
The boy brought it home. I fed her. I gave him tea. And the monkey was very pleased. But not really. Because Alyosha’s grandmother immediately disliked her. She yelled at the monkey and even wanted to hit its paw. All because when they were drinking tea and grandma put her bitten candy on a saucer, the monkey grabbed this grandma’s candy and stuffed it into her mouth. Well - a monkey. Not a human. Even if he takes anything, it won’t be in front of his grandmother. And this one is right in the presence of my grandmother. And of course, it brought her almost to tears.
Grandma said:
– In general, it’s extremely unpleasant when some kind of macaque with a tail lives in an apartment. She will scare me with her inhuman appearance. Will jump on me in the dark. He will eat my sweets. No, I categorically refuse to live in the same apartment with a monkey. One of us two must be in the zoological garden. Do I really have to go to the zoological garden? No, it would be better if she was there. And I will continue to live in my apartment.

The main character of Mikhail Zoshchenko’s story “The Adventure of a Monkey” from the series “Stories about War” is a monkey who lived in the zoo of a southern city. When the Great Patriotic War began, a bomb fell on the territory of the zoo. Because of the explosion, the cage in which the monkey lived overturned and the monkey got out to freedom. Frightened, she ran away from the zoo and soon found herself outside the city. There she was seen and picked up by a truck driver.

The driver, having reached the city of Borisov, went on business, and left the monkey in the cab of the car. But the monkey did not sit still, she got out of the car and went for a walk around the city.

Soon she felt hungry. Then she ran into one of the stores that sold groceries. The monkey grabbed a bunch of carrots and ran away. A real chase began after the carrot thief, in which both children and adults participated. The dog also chased the monkey.

The dog almost managed to grab the monkey, but it turned around and jumped onto the fence. The dog began to jump up, trying to grab the monkey, and then the monkey deftly hit the dog on the nose with a carrot.

After this, the monkey jumped from the fence into the yard of a house where the boy Alyosha Popov was chopping wood. Alyosha loved animals, and he managed to catch a monkey. Alyosha brought the monkey home so that it would live here, but his grandmother was against this because the monkey stole candy from her during dinner.

When Alyosha went to school the next day, his grandmother opened the window and the monkey ran out into the street. There she was caught by the disabled Gavrilych. He decided to sell the monkey at the market, but first he went to the bathhouse with it. The monkey didn’t like it in the bathhouse and ran away, causing another commotion. And again the chase began after her.

It ended with the monkey running straight towards Alyosha Popov. Alyosha grabbed the monkey in his arms. The disabled Gavrilych approached him and began to demand that he give the monkey back to him. But Alyosha refused to give up the monkey, insisting that it belonged to him. Then the driver of the car, who was the first to find the monkey, came out of the crowd and said that the traveler should live with a boy who clearly loved her and would take good care of her and would never sell her to anyone.

Since then, the monkey has been living at Alyosha’s house. She learned to sit at the table and eat rice porridge with a spoon.

This is the summary of the story.

The main idea of ​​Zoshchenko’s story “The Adventure of the Monkey” is that the war brought troubles and misfortunes not only to people, but also to animals. A bomb that fell on the zoo killed many animals and made a monkey homeless. And only the participation of kind people allowed the monkey to find a new home and a new family.

The story teaches you to be attentive and caring towards animals, especially such exotic ones as monkeys.

In the story, I liked the car driver, who, although he was the first to find the monkey, decided to give it to the boy Alyosha, realizing that he would take good care of it.

What proverbs fit Zoshchenko’s story “The Adventure of a Monkey”?

There is no such thing as a good war.
And the dog remembers the good old times.
Leave it in good hands.