☰ Contents · Russian language

Dragunsky: “It’s Alive and It Glows”

Lessons 42 · 1 lessons · G. T. Gasilova, Yu. Yu. Musurmanova. Russian Language, Grade 6 (for schools with Uzbek and other languages of instruction). 2nd revised edition. “O‘zbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi”, Tashkent, 2017
42

V. Yu. Dragunsky. “Он живой и светится” (It’s Alive and It Glows)

Textbook, pp. 148–149
GoalUnderstand V. Yu. Dragunsky’s story «Он живой и светится»: the boy Deniska, his choice and its meaning.
New words
светлячок · yong‘in qurti (yaltiroq qo‘ng‘iz)самосвал · o‘yinchoq yuk mashinasiкоробочка от спичек · gugurt qutisiзвёздочка · yulduzcha
Explanation

Viktor Yuzefovich Dragunsky (1913–1972) was a Soviet writer famous for the series «Денискины рассказы» (Deniska’s Stories). In them Deniska is a curious, sincere boy. In «Он живой и светится» Deniska waits for his mother in the yard, lonely and bored. His neighbour Mishka admires the toy dump truck (самосвал) that Deniska’s father gave him, but Deniska refuses to give it. Then Mishka gives him a firefly (светлячок) in a matchbox. Deniska is amazed: it is a green light like a faraway star. He swaps the toy and forgets the whole world. When his mother asks, he says: “I swapped it… because it is alive and it glows!” His mother is surprised that he gave away such a valuable toy, but Deniska explains that the firefly is a living wonder. The main idea: the wonders of life can be worth more than an expensive toy. The story is told in the first person, so the feelings look sincere.

Worked examples
«Живая звёздочка» (summary in my own words). «Вечером мальчик ждал маму во дворе. Ему было скучно и немного грустно. Сосед очень хотел поиграть с его новым самосвалом, но мальчик не дал. Тогда сосед показал коробочку, в которой жил светлячок. Мальчик был так поражён, что сразу отдал самосвал. Мама поняла сына: живое чудо дороже игрушки.» (In the evening the boy waited for his mother in the yard. He felt bored and a little sad. A neighbour badly wanted to play with his new dump truck but the boy refused. Then the neighbour showed a box in which a firefly lived. The boy was so amazed that he gave up the truck at once. Mum understood her son: a living wonder is worth more than a toy.)
Vocabulary: «светлячок» (firefly), «менять» (to swap), «чудо» (a wonder), «ценный» (valuable).
Class activity

“My wonder”. Pupils write 2–3 sentences about their own “wonder” (a favourite toy, a natural phenomenon): «Для меня чудо — это …». Then the class debates “toy or wonder?”

Practice
1
What did Deniska swap and for what?
2
Which word shares the root of «светлячок»?
3
Why did Deniska tell his mother «Он живой и светится!»?
4
Why did his mother not scold him? What would you have done in his place?