50
N. N. Nosov. «Фантазёры»
Textbook: pp. 199–204
GoalN. N. Nosov's story «Фантазёры»: imagination versus lying.
New words
фантазёр · xayolparastложь · yolg‘onправда · haqiqatрассказывать · hikoya qilmoq
Explanation
«Фантазёры» is one of Nosov's most famous stories. In it Mishutka and Stasik make up funny tall tales (небылицы) for each other, deceiving nobody, as if telling fairy tales. The neighbour boy Igor cannot invent anything, but he boasts that yesterday he ate the jam himself, blamed his little sister Ira and “gained” from it. Mishutka and Stasik call him a liar and share their ice cream with upset Ira. The author shows that imagining is one thing, and a lie that harms someone is another.
Worked examples
«Фантазёры» (a short retelling). «Мишутка и Стасик сочиняли друг другу смешные небылицы. Потом пришёл Игорь. Он рассказал, как съел варенье, а маме сказал, что это сделала Ира. Ире попало от мамы. Мальчики назвали Игоря обманщиком и поделились мороженым с Ирой. Выдумывать для смеха можно, а обманывать нельзя.» (Mishutka and Stasik made up funny tall tales for each other. Then Igor came. He told how he had eaten the jam and told his mum that Ira did it. Ira got into trouble with Mum. The boys called Igor a liar and shared their ice cream with Ira. You may invent things for fun, but you must not deceive.)
Words: «фантазия», «сочинять», «обман», «спорить». Proverb: «Ложь имеет короткие ноги» (a lie has short legs; it soon gets caught).
Class activity
“Guess”. Each pupil makes up two Russian sentences: one true, one imagined. The others guess: «Это правда!» or «Это фантазия!»
Practice
1
Name the characters.
Мишутка, Стасик, Игорь
2
Who is a «фантазёр»?
a dreamer who invents things
3
How are imagination and lying different in the story?
Imagination deceives nobody, but a lie harms someone.
4
Why can a lie harm people even if it looks funny?
People believe it, make wrong decisions, and trust is lost.