For all schoolchildren from first graders to graduates, the favourite school time is holidays. Autumn, winter, spring and especially summer. The first autumn holidays are what students look forward to the most. After all, nobody wants to start studying again after a long summer.
Autumn slush outside the window is no obstacle to having a good rest with friends. It gets dark early, there are plenty of lessons at the beginning of the year, and even more homework. That's why the last few days before the holidays seem to drag on forever. Because the more you wait for something, the harder it is to wait for it.
Gosha is in fifth grade. He already knows quite a bit about mathematics, Russian language, literature and history. And of course he loves studying, but he always looks forward to holidays more than the other kids.
Every year a week before the holidays, Gosha draws a special calendar in which he marks how many days have passed and how many are left. This year was no exception. A huge calendar on an A3 sheet hung right above the boy's bed, so that every morning when he woke up, he could mark the arrival of a new day, bringing the long-awaited holiday closer.
He remembered well how yesterday before bed he looked at the calendar and understood that tomorrow was the last day before the break. Gosha couldn't sleep that night for a long time. His head was already spinning with the events of tomorrow, when he would go to school for the last time before the holidays, see his teachers and some friends, and then…
The morning alarm rang loudly and clearly. At first Gosha wanted to lie in bed a bit longer, but remembering what day it was, he woke up instantly and cheerfully left the room. Today nothing could spoil his mood, neither the family cat that bit his leg, nor the tea he spilled at breakfast.
After finishing his morning chores, Gosha packed his schoolbag, put on his school uniform for the last time and was about to head to school when he decided to take one last look at his favourite little calendar. Entering the room, he was surprised to find that the calendar was not on the wall. Gosha called out to his mum, who was having tea in the kitchen:
Mum, do you know where my calendar went?
What calendar, Gosha? — his mum replied, — Hurry up, it's almost nine o'clock, you'll be late for school again.
Gosha didn't argue with his mum, but the missing calendar was very unusual news for him. Although even this news couldn't spoil the boy's mood. He left the house with a smile and headed to school.
The school day dragged on unusually long. Lessons followed one after another and only one thought warmed Gosha all this time:
