There once lived a very sporty and inventive young ground squirrel named Kilsus. Kilsus came into the world not like other children, but upside down, and his mother gave him such a strange name. Read his name backwards from end to beginning, and you'll understand everything.
After waking from winter hibernation, Kilsus stretched lazily in bed: "What a wonderful dream I had! I must tell my friends about it!". He quickly jumped out of bed, washed up, nimbly did a set of exercises and headed outside.
Kilsus squinted from the bright sun, and a light breeze blew pleasantly cool air on him. There was still some snow here and there, but on the open meadows the first grass was already sprouting. This is where the friends met. Squirrels and ground squirrels hugged, patted each other on the shoulder, and shook paws.
Kilsus, how happy I am to see you!
Greeted her friend with open arms, the squirrel Strelochka.
Me too, very, very much! I've missed you so much!
Then Kilsus boasted:
I had such an unusual dream, as if I had gone back in time to Tsar Peter the First himself. He showed me his favourite royal game of throwing a bat – a stick, where you need to knock down structures. Each structure has its own name: "cannon", "fork", "star". The rule is simple: you need to use as few bats as possible when knocking out the figures. Oh, and how cleverly the tsar beat the boyars.
Will you show us how to play this "royal game"?
Asked Pestik.
What do we need for that?
Pushka wondered.
We need a flat meadow, ours will do. We'll draw a square 2 by 2 metres – that will be the town. We'll need 5 identical logs to build town figures from. We also need 2 bats.
But why two? There's only one town?
Strelochka didn't understand.
Each player throws twice. The Tsar taught me – "The bat should not fly like a 'sharpened stick' from above, but rather creep along and with a twist hit the town. Here skill and tactics are important, like in war!"
Kilsus built the first figure "cannon" in the town, importantly stepped back 13 metres from the town – this is the line, aimed carefully, took a swing, and with a deep twist of his body threw the bat, but it flew over the target.
Friends looked at the "tsar's favourite" in bewilderment.
Bad luck.
Sighed Kilsus. He threw the bat from the half-line (6.5 m), but also unsuccessfully.
Maybe I'll have better luck? Let me try.
Asked Strelochka, but she only knocked part of the figure out of the town. All the friends tried to knock out the figure, but nothing worked:
I had no luck either.
They said with a sigh.
Kilsus, did the tsar tell you what to do to win? Maybe there's some other secret here that we don't know. Why can't we knock out the figures?
Asked Pushka.
No, he didn't say anything like that. Maybe I didn't see the dream to the end?
So what do we do now? The game is interesting, but we can't play it!
Strelochka regretted.
Kilsus, dear, sleep a bit more, ask the tsar for the secret of the town game!
Begged the squirrel Pushka. All the friends, with pleading eyes, supported her.
All right then. I'll go visit the tsar again.
Kilsus agreed and, after drinking mint tea to help him fall asleep quickly, went to bed.
The ground squirrel tossed and turned in bed for a long time, sleep wouldn't come. Then he decided to count sheep. He imagined them floating past him in slow motion. And when the 235th sheep floated by, Kilsus saw a shepherd boy.
Excuse me, could you tell me where the tsar lives?
Not far, there are the tsar's chambers on that hill!
The boy answered with a bow. The ground squirrel ran forward with all his might.
The tsar is building a fleet, we're not allowed to let anyone through!
The guards announced, blocking Kilsus's path.
The ground squirrel, sadly hanging his head, wandered on, not knowing where he was going. He had gone far from the royal court. Suddenly he heard cheerful shouts: "Throw more accurately! Hurrah! Got it! Set up the next figure!"
The ground squirrel followed the noise and soon saw peasant children playing town on a hillock, and the shepherd boy he already knew. Kilsus was very surprised: "I thought only tsars played such a game". The children knocked out the figures from the town very skilfully. Kilsus came closer.
Come and play with us!
Called the shepherd boy to Kilsus.
No, no, I don't know how!
Everyone can play with us, are you a foreigner? Where are you from and where are you going?
Well, I went to see the tsar, wanted to find out the secret of the "Town" game, what do you need to do to win? But they wouldn't let me see him.
Well, anyone knows that – you need to PRACTISE!
Laughed loudly the peasant's son and the boys continued:
Not many people get it right the first time, I studied for a long time. In our Vyatka province, we call this game "wooden dolls"!
And I'm from Chernihiv province, we call it "piglets"!
And in our Omsk region we call them "ryukhis", "chukhis" or "chushkis"!
And I call it TOWN!
A loud voice of the tsar rang out and Kilsus woke up.
Before him, surrounding the bed, stood his friends.
Well? What did the tsar say?
His friends rushed to him.
Nothing special really, he said that to everyone who learns to play well, he will visit in a dream and have tea with each one, and now, everyone to training!
