Hey come on out short story
He-y, Come On Ou-t Summary
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“He-y, Come On Ou-t!” is a 1971 short story by Japanese science fiction writer Shinichi Hoshi.
- After a typhoon, a group of villagers discover an apparently bottomless hole where an old shrine had stood. One man calls, “He-y, come on ou-t!” and throws a pebble into the hole.
- A businessman turns the hole into a disposal site, and nuclear waste, garbage, and all sorts of unwanted things from the nearby city are thrown in.
- One day a workman in the now-pristine city hears a voice from above calling, “He-y, come on ou-t!” A pebble then falls from the sky.
Last Updated on June 14, 2021, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 726
In the aftermath of a typhoon, the inhabitants of a small village are surveying the damage that has been sustained. A landslide has caused an old shrine to be swept away. The villagers debate how long the shrine has existed; nobody can remember when it was built, and there is some argument about where exactly it was located. It is suggested that the shrine should be rebuilt immediately.
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While the arguments about the shrine are ongoing, one of the villagers notices a hole about a meter wide. The hole appears to be enormously deep and is completely dark inside. One young man leans into the hole and shouts, "He-y, come on ou-t!" but there is no echo to be heard.
He then throws a pebble into the hole, despite the warnings of another man who protests that a curse might result.
Unsure what to do, the villagers build a fence around the hole out of some trees and then return to their village. Some people suggest that they should simply rebuild the shrine to cover the hole again, but they cannot reach any agreement on the matter. Meanwhile, news of the very deep hole has spread, and the next day a car arrives from the local newspaper, carrying a scientist with it. Concessionaires and policemen also turn up to look at the hole and to prevent those who are simply curious from falling in.
A reporter lowers a weight into the hole on the end of a rope. The rope goes quite a long way into the hole but eventually runs out, and the reporter is then unable to pull it back out of the hole.
Next, the scientist sends for an extremely powerful bullhorn with the intention of checking what sort of echo it makes. However, although he tries all the options on his bullhorn, he is unable to produce an echo, despite turning the horn up to its highest possible volume.
It is as if the sound is simply consumed by the hole.
This leaves the scientist baffled, but, unwilling to betray his confusion, he simply says that the hole should be filled in. A waiting concessionaire tells the mayor that he will take on the task of filling in the hole. In response to the mayor's comment that they need to build a new shrine over the hole, the concessionaire says that he will build a new shrine, with a meeting hall attached, and will position it more conveniently close to the village.
The villagers are in favor of this idea, so the concessionaire is allowed to begin filling the hole. He has the shrine and meeting hall built for the villagers and then solicits permission from the government to offer the hole as a disposal opportunity. Nuclear power plants bid for the right to dispose of their waste in the hole: the villagers are initially apprehensive about this but capitulate when it becomes clear that they will be offered a share in the profits. There is also a new road built between the village and the hole.
Next, other things begin to be thrown into the hole, such as classified documents from the Foreign Ministry, but there is no sign that the hole is actually being filled. More and more things are thrown into the hole, such as animals who have been experimented upon with diseases, and rubbish which would otherwise have been thrown into the ocean.
City-dwellers begin to think of the hole as a way of getting rid of things without having to think about the consequences of their actions. The hole can solve all their problems: criminals throw evidence into the hole, while the police can use the hole to dispose of counterfeit money. The hole gradually takes away all of the "filth" from the city, leaving it more beautiful than it has ever been before.
One day, a workman is sitting at the top of a new building which is in the process of being built. He hears out of the sky the sound of a voice shouting, "He-y, come on ou-t!"
Unable to see the source of the voice, the workman decides that he must have imagined it.
A pebble then falls out of the sky and passes him, but he is enraptured by the beauty of the city before him and does not notice the pebble.
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“Hey, Come On Out!” by Shinichi Hoshi Multiple-Choice Reading Test
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More fromShining Scholar EducationThis 31-question multiple-choice reading comprehension and analysis test on the short story “Hey, Come On Out!” by Shinichi Hoshi has questions from different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised). It will test students’ literal and interpretive understanding of the selection including: plot development, characterization, author’s purpose, point of view, making inferences, vocabulary, literary devices, figurative language, and other elements of literature.
Questions are modeled after standardized tests (SAT, ACT, and state tests) to familiarize students with the structure and vocabulary of standardized test questions. Questions are spaced 1.5 lines apart for comfortable reading. The questions also encourage students to go back and re-read key parts of the selection, a crucial skill for comprehension and improving reading stamina. Answer key included. Editable MS Word Doc. You can use this product for years and years! Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated!
Objectives/US Standards (SUGGESTED) (From Corestandards.com):
Students are expected to:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.1
Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
This lesson is student-centered, meaning:
--it allows you to become a facilitator!
--happier teachers!
--happier students!
--happier administrators!
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Questions & Answers
Stories of the finalists of the second season of the competition
Dudko Maria.
Keys
So... Tick... So...
The voice of the old grandfather clock from the hallway already met me, but I could not open the door. Well, where are these keys?... Really lost? Only this was not enough, and so the day didn't work out!.. Ah, no, that's it...
The clock struck eight when I stepped on the creaky parquet of the hallway. How I missed the quietness of my apartment! I just wanted to fall apart on a shabby sofa, and lie there until the morning ... But instead, I trudged to the computer. While the old unit, inherited from the dinosaurs, turned on, I made myself coffee. Today you will need more than one mug. Article for the night, and inspiration from gulkin's nose. They also threaten to make layoffs at work. You can not delay, otherwise the dismissal cannot be avoided. And it would not be bad to update the blog, otherwise the last subscribers will soon scatter. Eh…
I worked in the editorial office of a magazine that was in demand in our district, and in the city in general.
The editor - Fedot Stepanovich - always put only the best into print.
The best. Yes. It means not me. For some reason, lately my writing has not been impressive at all. Even myself. Honestly, not surprised. It looks like I've lost the spark, like there was nothing to write about. It's funny somehow: I live in a metropolis, where something happens every day, but I look as if into a void. Other people's problems ceased to excite, everyone here is a drop in the ocean. So my news is gray, alien, distant and unnecessary, in general, to no one.
What did I write about? As I then still thought, about the important. About eternal, to some extent. I noticed that the people around were so closed that they seemed to stop seeing each other, let alone feel and understand. Everyone at some point withdraws into himself and loses the key to the door he entered. Locks up the heart. Puts on a mask. Indifferent. And silently walks along the gray stones of the pavement...
I just wanted to be heard.
.. I thought I would become the key to the world on this side of the mask. I will help those in need with my word, I will teach people to listen and hear, I will save the world... But it seems that something went wrong. And now... Now I don't even know how to save myself. So in response I get the cry of tearing paper and the famous last warning from the lips of Fedot Stepanych. Last chance. Tomorrow I will not come with a sensation - that's it. Well... It looks like it's time to forget about your reasoning for a while and plunge into the world of human intrigues. Write what will be read. What is expected of me. No not like this. What do you expect from an article in our magazine.
What are the stone jungles talking about these days? What is the wind of change carrying along their paved paths? The most discussed topic was a series of strange deaths, however, as is usually the case. For a long time now, criminals taken into custody have been dying one after another. The most different: from simple pickpockets to almost murderers, adults and still teenagers of fourteen years.
Most of them haven't even been sentenced yet. And they all have the same diagnosis - poisoning. What is still a mystery. This happened with some frequency in different parts of the city, but most often in our police department. And, by pure chance, none other than my older brother, officer Yuri Diskarin, worked there.
How I could use his help now... But no. My brother and I don't get along. And they never got along. It just so happened ... Probably, we are just too different. Yurik is secretive, distrustful. He never told me anything, he preferred to do everything himself, and I felt that he did not need me at all. I must have been a little jealous of my brother. He is successful, just the pride of the family, and I grab the last chance to stay at work.
...Grabbing for one last chance to stay at work. Although ... You can try to find out about the high-profile case first hand, so to speak. This, for sure, would interest Fedot Stepanych, but he would have to turn to his brother for help.
Yeah ... And once again become a loser in the eyes of a whole family. Hell no! Even for the sake of work, I will not ask for the help of this person!
Well, nothing. I prepared, collected materials, now I will write and saved! I manage myself. If only I could make it in the morning…
GO!!!
The sound took me by surprise. It was a signal that the factory was over, from the old watch in the corridor. The matter is fixable. I got up, went to the clock, opened the lid and reached for the key with a familiar gesture. Only the key was missing. What's the strange thing? In my house, I valued order, but such incidents simply unsettled ... What should I do now, look for this lost key? Looks like I'll have to...
Casting a sad glance at the computer, I began to remember where I could put this old piece of iron. So I have already climbed several shelves, looked into the boxes and ...
What is this? There was an envelope in the dresser. And, if I was ready to see the key to the winding mechanism among the socks, with my absent-mindedness, then there’s no strange message at all.
Although, maybe I'm too naive? Oh, I don't like it all...
Naturally, I opened the envelope and immediately recognized Yurik's handwriting.
"I'm not sure I wasn't followed. Check your mail. I never forgot your birthday!
Yu.»
What jokes? I knew that it was necessary to take away the keys from him when he moved in! Wait, there's something on the back...
"KeyHole4u..."
I scanned the hastily written lines again. The text seemed devoid of meaning and meant nothing to me.
What is he? For henbane, it seems, it’s not the season ... Just in case, I checked the calendar and made sure that my birthday is not today and not even in the coming days. The only thing that made sense was to check your email.
What am I doing with my time? Before my hand could close the text editor, a window popped up asking if I really wanted to do it. Here, even it is mocking...
I actually received one letter in the mail.
So, why is Yurik doing this: invading my house with a strange note and tweeting on the Internet at the same time? After all, isn't it easier to call? Of course, I would not jump with delight when something would make our little star descend to mere mortals, but why reinvent the wheel?
So I thought as I sipped my cold coffee while waiting for the text to load. Finally, the following lines loomed before my eyes:
“Hello, Egor.
I know you'll be surprised by my letter, but I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't really serious. I wanted to call, but my new phone didn't have your number. My number hasn't changed, if you're interested...
Let's get down to business. We need to talk. But the conversation must be face to face. Come today at nine at the intersection of Pskovskaya and Myasnaya, there, in the courtyard of house 26, I will be waiting for you.
It's about a series of prisoner deaths. Correction, about a series of murders.
.. I thought it might interest you, I'll explain everything at the meeting, if, of course, you show up... your guilt. But I ask you to believe me one single time. You are my last key to hope. I expect you to read this letter and come.
Your brother Yuri Diskarin
Hmm…
Everything is more and more wonderful, as the heroine of a famous fairy tale used to say…
I re-read the message several times to make sure that I had really ceased to understand anything. Except, perhaps, for the fact that some kind of mystery lies in this whole affair, and Yurka for me now is the key to all answers. Besides, since he himself calls me to talk, I will not fail to interview the lead investigator ... Unless, of course, this is a stupid attempt at a joke ... But it is unlikely that he would write to me for fun.
And what, now it's raining again, right?.. But he came home! Okay, I’ll figure it out quickly, and I’ll have another six hours for the article .
.. I glanced at the clock, belatedly remembering that this was pointless. Another advertising message comes to the phone, helpfully suggesting that I need to go out if I want to be in time for a meeting. Having extinguished the monitor that had just woken up and abruptly grabbed my raincoat, which had not yet dried out after a day's walk, I jumped out into the entrance.
Only at the car I hesitated a little. Isn't it too easy for me to fit in? Just a couple of minutes ago, I was sure that for the sake of my brother I would not lift an eyebrow, and for my own sake I would not mess with him. What did this message do to me?
It filled me with a sense of self-importance. Finally, something depended on me, on me alone! Probably, I was driven by the desire to prove that I was worth something ... But I didn’t want to admit such motives. From this, an incomprehensible annoyance settled in my head, but I stubbornly explained it only by the spent time taken away from writing the article.
Stopping at the appointed place, I looked at my watch. Another full five minutes ... It was possible to leave later, although ... as if it would give me something. Around no one like Yuri.
An unpleasant, vile fog reigned in the street. I hid from him in the car.
The sun has long since set behind the clouds, and the city has lit its fires. Lanterns, not stars. I sometimes thought about how this noisy world lacked stars. Each of them is unique, even though there are billions of them in the darkness of the sky. It's the same with people, isn't it? But we almost purposely forget about that, therefore we hide from condemning burning looks from the depths of the immense.
And just now the thought flashed through my head: how often do I myself think about others? It would seem that constantly ...
I digressed from philosophical reflections to look at the time. Five minutes. There was no one even humanoid in sight, the yard was empty.
Ten... I'm checking my phone, mail.
Not a line about being late.
Twenty! No, it's not serious anymore! I shouldn't have come... Nervously dialing a number, preparing a scathing speech. In response, only long beeps are heard. Okay... Let's wait... You never know. He's got a job too... Trying to calm down seems to be working until I remember that damned article not started at all! Where the hell are these fools?!
"I'm waiting another fifteen minutes and I'm leaving" - I angrily type a message and press "Send" furiously.
Time is running out and the message hasn't even been read! Twenty-five minutes... thirty... Still silence. There is no point in waiting any longer.
To clear my conscience, I call again. A melodious female voice is heard from the handset:
- The device of the called subscriber is turned off or is out of network coverage ... - the lady says, slowly repeating the phrase in English.
- Damn you! .. - hissing irritably, I throw the phone on the next seat. - So.
.. Okay... I warned you, I waited... waited longer than promised. Now you can go home with a clear conscience.
As I looked down the road, I was surprised to find myself not so much angry as nervous. It pissed me off even more…
***
There was less and less time left for work, and I continued to pace the apartment. Usually such a calm creak of the floorboards now mocked my poor hearing with all its might. It was by no means the article that occupied my thoughts, despite the fact that they would not forgive me if I screwed up such material...
Minutes passed slowly. I felt them even without the usual ticking of the clock. OK. I will be frank with myself, because my strength is no more, and then to work! All this is strange! What exactly? That I couldn't get through. Yura does not turn off the phone and diligently monitors its charge, he should always be in touch, should I, as a brother, know about this. Also this line from that note, it is no coincidence that it is the very first .
..
So... don't panic. What the hell is this blockhead in general so businesslike settled in my head?! Anything happens. Everything! Article. Only an article.
By an effort of will, I managed to sit down in front of the monitor and even write a couple of lines before I again plunged into thought. And yet... what could have happened?..
***
The days raced by like clockwork, but not mine. I never found the key, and I haven’t tried, to be honest, since that evening. They froze, showing half past nine, as if that day had not yet passed. I didn't show up for work the next morning. I don’t believe it myself... how could I put everything on the altar for the sake of a person whom I was mortally envious of, whose disappearance I dreamed of... the one whom I had known all my life and with whom I was still connected invisibly?!..
And the apartment! Oh... if the old me had seen what my temple of comfort had turned into... however, he would have shot himself right away, leaving behind only the gloomy aesthetics of a broken creator.
.. All the tables were cluttered with dirty mugs and fast food packages. The entire floor is full of shoe marks. Here and there were meticulously compiled lists of those with whom my brother could communicate, where he could go, who could wish him harm...
But none of that mattered anymore...
“- Yegor Diskarin? - I heard a calm male voice from my phone this morning.
- Yes. I answered nervously.
- The police are bothering you - my heart threatened to break my chest. It must be from stress and lack of sleep ... And in the meantime, in my head: "If only they could find ...".
- Your brother was found today at noon, - a slight pause, as if to realize what was said, - He is dead. The circumstances of death are being investigated. - just as calmly, as if nothing had happened, the man on the other end of the wire continues. - We offer our condolences. Today you should come to the department ... "
Followed by instructions and occasional questions to which I answered things like “yes”, “no” and “understood”.
Be afraid of your desires. Found...
I spent the next half day in the same department. Some papers, some formalities, a funeral... And a conversation.
From that conversation I learned something that struck me. Yura was suspect. They said that he killed the prisoners by slipping poison into their food or something like that. There was not much evidence, so they only planned to arrest him, but now the main version of my brother's death is suicide during an attempt to escape from justice. What heresy… But at that moment I could not object anything. Exactly like believing even a single word.
And now I'm back in my home again. Devastated, with only one thought in his head: “he is no more”…
What are words? A set of letters, a set of sounds, nothing more... But some become keys. This key with three heavy teeth will open one of the most terrible doors: the door of despair and pain. Maybe I should have phrased it a little more bluntly? But as? What would it change? There is only one key, no matter how you decorate it, and there is only one door, and you are standing on the threshold.
You can't go back. And the castle succumbed. Started...
I look around the apartment with a detached look, slowly falling into a rage.
- Damn! - comes out of the chest. How long have I not uttered this word, - Damn! - I repeat louder, clasping my hands sharply. My whole army of mugs is flying down to the sound of glass. A blanket of scribbled sheets covers them from above.
- Dunce! Brat! Freak! I scream, not remembering myself.
- Look... Look what you've done, you bastard! I lost everything because of you! Inspiration! Work! Dreams! How can I pay my bills now? I've wasted so much time on you, damn it, even the key to the clock... - the silence hurt my ears, so I continued to throw empty phrases, trying to throw out everything that had accumulated inside me. My voice broke, growled and wheezed, turned into hysterical laughter, and I didn’t even understand why I was so angry ... At myself?
Yes… I was jealous of my brother in black! The pride of the family, a great future, office authority, lofty goals, a dream job - everything I wanted to hear about myself, I heard about Yurashi! I remained his little brother, always second, always underestimated.
It was an axiom that everything was easy for him. But for some reason it did not occur to me that we were actually brothers. Our conditions were the same. And I seemed to be blind, I did not see what he had to go through. And what did I do when I got tired of being a shadow? Exactly. He erected that very wall, the wall of indifference. I didn't care. And there is one more drop in the ocean. It was not Yura who closed himself off from me, but I from him. And what did it lead to? “He is no more,” and I can’t even say with certainty that I’m not the brother of the killer! And all because I don't know! I don’t know how he lived all these years, I don’t know what was going on in his soul, I don’t know if he called me to stop the rumors in the bud, or to repent of what he had done even a little to his own creature, albeit such a vile one, how I ... And I will probably never know, my key to this secret is forever lost ... What a blockhead I am ... What are all my arguments about feelings, words, stars, but all about the same keys worth now! How could I have changed the world when I myself could not find those vices for which I reproached mankind?! That's why my articles weren't being read.
When changing the world, start with yourself, otherwise everything is empty words. Gray, alien, distant and unnecessary, in general, no one ... Such words will not become keys ... Keys ... I return to them over and over again. Oh, this world is really crazy about them! We have the keys to everything, they are even where we don’t think to find them, because they have entered our lives so deeply that everything now rests on them alone, and we don’t even notice. Yes, and life itself is like a constant picking of locks! But even that is not important. The important thing is that there is no key leading from There. This is what gives meaning to all other keys. No matter how hard I try, I won't start Yurik's time again like the old clock. But who knows from what doors, I would have taken him away, if only I was there ... It's a pity, I realized it too late ...
- I'll never sit down to write again... - I said to myself, almost delirious, barely recognizing my own hoarse voice. After that, I fell asleep and didn’t think about anything anymore.
***
I spent the next day almost without getting up. Only in the evening I somehow tried to eliminate the consequences of my yesterday's insanity ... But the attempt was nipped in the bud, as soon as the very note that I found among the socks caught my eye ... Surprisingly, all the time while I was busy looking for my brother, I almost did not remember her, as a thing that does not carry any meaning in itself. But there were so many questions connected with it! I re-read it. As expected, nothing new appeared ... And yet ... Why was she needed?
I immersed myself in memories of the day when I lost the key to the clock, which was so silent for the last week… It seems that since that time I have not turned on the computer… How is it, my old man?
The legacy of the ancestors, as expected, grumbled and buzzed at my long absence, but in the end it had mercy and opened my e-mail page for me. Yurik's letter has not disappeared anywhere. I didn't reread it. One thing is a note with unclear text, and another is an invitation to a meeting that was not destined to take place .
..
"Check your mail..." echoed in my ears. The sudden realization made me jump. What if... This strange text on the back is nothing but a username?..
What nonsense... I'm chasing again, I don't know what... Stupid assumption! But my hands are unstoppable...
Hurrying out of my account, I entered the characters into the appropriate box. But you need a password... Password... Another stupid thought... "I never forgot your birthday!" I enter.
Only one digit changed on the monitor, but I didn't believe it. This eternity could not last for one miserable minute.
- It worked… - I said, looking into this luminous box in a frenzy. Another account. And only one letter.
The entire apartment fell into absolute silence as I read what was written here.
“Egor, I knew that you would solve my message! Help out, brother! I need you, we all need you!
For several months now I have been busy with the death of several criminals in custody.
These are not just deaths, Yegor, these are murders. I'm sure I got very close to the solution. I have two prime suspects. But there's a problem. Both of them are my work colleagues. And I don't know if any of them acted alone or in concert. In other words, I don't know who in the police force I can trust with regards to this case.
Also, I notice that I am being watched. Apparently, the attacker feels that I got too close, and will soon try to eliminate me. Well, that's what I use to pinpoint the culprit. How? I told one of us about our upcoming meeting. If I guessed right, and he's not a criminal, then you don't have to read this, I'll tell you everything myself. But, if I made a mistake, and you are still reading this, then most likely I am already dead ...
Brother, now only you can solve this case. And only you can I trust him. To this letter I will attach documents in which my evidence is collected, there you will find the details of the plan, all the names, all the evidence.
Publish them in your journal, let everyone know, and then the villains will have nowhere to go! I hope for you. I know you won't let me down..."0041
For some reason, my heart skipped a beat. Brother... I won't let you down!
***
Never say never. For the next few days, I did not let go of the keyboard. I know, I promised myself, for writing, no, no, but the last, last time! For Yurik! This will be my best article...
And it really became the best. Where did I get it from? Just my blog would not be enough for such an important mission. So I had to visit Fedot Stepanovich. I almost begged him on my knees to read my work. But he still read it. Read it and put it on the first page!
A few days later I had to go to our police station again. There, of course, there are again formalities, thanks, apologies ... But they did not interest me. He was arrested. I wanted to talk to him. With a killer. I wanted to look into his eyes. For help in solving the case, I was even allowed to do so.
I was taken to a special room. He sat opposite me and froze with his cold gaze. But there was nothing in the eyes... He was... Empty. However, the first one spoke.
- Because I saw how souls died, - he answered my question before I could ask him, - Every criminal who was brought here did not set foot on this path from a good life. The world has treated them cruelly. It's wild, but for some, crime is still a way to survive. Not for everyone... But I didn't talk to everyone. Do you know why? Because they don't listen, you know? And when I talked to them in this very room, they just wanted to be heard ... And I listened to them, watching how the eyes on the contrary go out, and how hopelessness penetrates into the very heart. They had not yet been sentenced, but they no longer believed that something could be changed. Outcasts of humanity. They could only hide in themselves and wait for the end. Then I gave them the key to freedom. An ampoule with poison, as the end of all torment.
You won't understand, must be...
- And now, being in their place, would you like the same? I asked quietly. My interlocutor was silent. And I continued, - Do you know why? Because there is no key from there. As long as you're alive, you can still fix it...
We talked with him for a while, and then I went out into the street. It was already getting dark and the lights were on. The downpour threw fragments of stars right under my feet, and they flared for a moment with earthly human light, breaking on the wet asphalt. I silently walked along the gray stones of the pavement, finally throwing off my indifferent mask. Raindrops on my cheeks from something became salty. His image stood before my eyes. Indifference. The way I saw him once on Bolotnaya Square - not seeing, not hearing, impregnable. The source of human vices. I wanted to run away from him, and I even ran, as if it could help. God! Who would have known that it hurts so much to open your heart to the world! The dialogue with the murderer still sounded in his thoughts, and his brother's voice echoed in his soul.
But, if you were already hiding from all this behind a wall of indifference, then only after going through this pain you can go back, again know the truth. Insults, murders, wars... How many more lives will be shed before each of us conquers this evil in ourselves? The hearts of the people are closed and the key is lost. But what can I do?..
I thought about it already at the entrance, slowly going up the stairs. Perhaps... No, but I promised myself... And yet...
Keys. I could turn words into keys. I could write again. Opening people's hearts and helping to cope with pain. No, I'm not going back to the editorial office. No articles. I will write a book. I can't shut up now. "It's decided!" I thought as I opened the door. But first…
Slowly, slowly, I picked up the key from the floor. He opened the glass door. Inserted into the well. And turned. The voice of the old grandfather clock in the hallway greeted me again. He said, fix it ...
Tick... Tick... Tick.
..
Let's Be Friends - Fairy Tale House
The fairy tale "Let's be friends" tells about a donkey who was very lonely because he had no friends. But one day he got lucky!
A sad donkey wandered through the forest with his head down. He was sad because he had no friends at all!
The bear played hide and seek with the fox all the time. The wolf had fun with the owl, they whispered all the time, then the owl hooted loudly, and the wolf laughed hoarsely. The hare and the beaver were constantly arguing over who would chew what faster. And even ants with wasps came up with activities for themselves, building houses in a race!
But the donkey is always alone. The fact is that when he was born, everyone already had friends. And no one wanted to take him to their group. So he wandered downcast from morning to evening through the forest. Then, he came home, looked sadly out the window, sighed heavily and went to bed.
So today, the donkey, as usual, sadly looked out the window.
Then, sighing, he got up and clapped his hooves to the bath, where he brushed his teeth and went to bed. But before the donkey fell asleep, someone squeaked right next to his ear:
- Hey donkey! Let's be friends!
The donkey opened his eyes and saw that a mosquito was flying right at his nose. The mosquito quickly moved its wings and hummed loudly, piercingly.
— Why are you silent? the mosquito asked, “Or am I not your friend because I’m small?”
The donkey rubbed his eyes and sat on the bed and said embarrassedly:
— I'm sorry if I offended you. You just took me by surprise! After all, no one wanted to be friends with me before!
The mosquito stopped buzzing loudly and sat on the headboard and said:
— You know how I understand you! And no one is friends with me, because everyone thinks that I will drink their blood!
— Isn't that right? the donkey was surprised.
— Why, of course not! - the mosquito indignantly crossed its legs on its chest, - Remember, only female mosquitoes drink blood.
And then, they do it only in order to lay eggs! And we, males, feed on the nectar of flower plants.
— Really?! The donkey's eyes widened in surprise.
- Yeah! - confirmed the mosquito, - In general, now that you know that not all mosquitoes are bloodsuckers, what do you say? Let's be friends?
— Come on, of course! - the donkey was delighted, - I will be very, very glad to become your friend!
…
As a result, this unexpected acquaintance grew into a real friendship! In addition, the mosquito and the donkey had such a great time together that soon other animals themselves began to ask to play with them. However, neither the donkey nor the mosquito were against any company, because they perfectly remembered how sad it is if no one is friends with you!
Therefore, if you are having fun playing and someone else suddenly wants to join you, do not rush to push away! After all, in the place of this person could be you. It is much more pleasant to expand the circle of friends by taking a new person into the company.
