“Ivanov?” asked Doctor Nebolit. “Ivanov,” answered Vova. “And how did you guess?” asked Vova. “I didn’t guess, I simply asked,” answered Nebolit. “Well then, come into the office, Vova Ivanov, take off your jacket and sit down, tell me why you are so sad today?”
“I don’t want to go to school. Today MariVanna promised a maths test and a Russian dictation. And I’m lazy!” “A hard case!” said Nebolit sympathetically. “And maybe there is something that you are not lazy about?” Nebolit continued to ask. “There is one occupation I am not lazy about…. sitting on the fence and eating sweets! And in general, I want to be little!” “Ah! Well that is a fixable matter!” answers the doctor. “British scientists very recently invented two medicines: one medicine for rejuvenation, and another for growing up. They are called accordingly the Green and Red pills. I’ll write a prescription now and you’ll be able to buy them at the nearest pharmacy.”
Vova thanked the doctor for the prescription and ran to the nearest pharmacy. He holds out the prescription to the pharmacist, she reads it carefully and asks, for whom are you buying the medicine? Vova thought for a minute, and then says: “The Green pill for grandfather, he needs to get a little younger, and the Red one for myself, so I grow up faster!” Vova bought two pills with the “bread” money, walks toward school and thinks, with what money will I buy bread? I’ll have to explain to mama that I lost the money.
“Ah, come what may, I’ll swallow the Green pill now!” And he swallowed it, and hid the red one in his jacket pocket. After five minutes he felt he was walking more slowly than usual. He dragged himself to school for the third lesson. He began to take off his jacket, noticed that the sleeves had become so long, sat at the desk — his legs dangled, they didn’t reach the floor. His classmates look toward him in surprise and are silent.
Then MariVanna comes into the class, looks at Vova and says: “Boy, who did you come to school with? It’s too early for you to sit at a desk. Go home, rest! Come to school in about three years!” Vovka was glad that MariVanna did not recognise him, “hurrah, so I won’t write the test and dictations! So the pill works! Now I can walk as much as I want, sit on the fence, eat sweets!”
He ran joyfully out of school and, tangled in his own jacket, fell head first into a snowdrift, cannot get out, kicks his legs, cannot shout either — his face is in the snow! Luckily a passer-by was nearby, helped, pulled Vovka out of the snowdrift, began putting the school satchel on his shoulders (in those days they did not go to school with backpacks). And this passer-by says to him: “Grow up quickly, little one, you’ll become a cosmonaut!” (in those times oh how we lacked cosmonauts in our country!) To be continued…