Mitya is a little toddler who only recently learned to walk and can't speak yet, but he loves to sing very much. He often taps a small wooden stick on a colourful xylophone, playing amusing melodies. Little Mitya has many musical instruments. He likes loud maracas, which look so much like baby rattles, and also a small toy tambourine.
But the most important instrument in the little one's collection was always a large transparent drum. Mitya enjoyed not only tapping it with small sticks, but also peering inside. The lid and bottom of the drum were transparent, and looking from one side, you could see right through it.
One day Mitya's cousin Gosha came to visit. He was much older than the toddler and was already in first grade. Every time Mitya saw Gosha, he would smile widely and start babbling happily. He liked that Gosha always came up with interesting games. This time was no exception.
As soon as Gosha spotted the large transparent drum, a plan formed. He and Mitya were to become real scuba divers. They just needed to remove the top lid from the drum and put it on their heads.
Little Mitya quickly caught on to the fun game. He really enjoyed putting on the drum and being a scuba diver, and as soon as he took the drum off his head, he would babble happily: "Peek-a-boo" and hide again. When it was Gosha's turn, he put on the improvised "scuba gear" and transformed with meticulous precision: he held his breath, lay down on the floor and vigorously moved his legs, imagining fins on them.
The game turned out to be great fun and the boys got so absorbed that they didn't even notice when a large family dog named Korzhik came to them. Although Korzhik was several heads taller than Gosha, and certainly taller than Mitya, he was about the same age as the boys in dog years—he was a puppy. A cheerful, active pup happily supported any game the children played.
And this time he couldn't miss out on the fun. At first he simply watched as the boys played with the drum, but as soon as they got distracted for a moment, he approached the instrument and licked it all over with his big wet tongue. The boys, seeing this, laughed even harder.
Korzhik wants to be a scuba diver too! — Gosha shouted and happily began putting the drum on the dog's head.
Korzhik was very surprised by this game, but he clearly liked it. As soon as Gosha put the drum on him, he grabbed it with his teeth and wagged his tail. And then what happened, happened. Korzhik, delighted, began to chew the drum while the boys watched in shock. Soon only the sticks remained of the instrument. Just at that moment, Mum came into the room. She saw Korzhik eating the drum and was very upset. She was about to scold the dog, but Gosha said:
Don't frighten Korzhik, he just wanted to become a scuba diver!
So you fed him the drum? — Mum asked in surprise.
Gosha told her how it all happened. At first Mum was very upset that the boys had broken the drum, since Mitya loved playing it so much. But hearing the story about the scuba divers, she couldn't help but laugh.
Oh you little underwater explorers, where have you ever seen a dog with a scuba tank? — Mum asked.
That means Korzhik is the first scuba-diving dog in the world! — Gosha said proudly.
From that day on, Korzhik got a new nickname around the house. Everyone started calling him the chief scuba diver. He really liked this and always wagged his tail happily when he heard his new title.
And Mum bought Mitya a new large drum, only this time not transparent, so it couldn't be mistaken for a scuba tank again.
