Chapter #1. Meeting the Wizard
This story happened on an ordinary spring day. Vanya had just finished all his lessons and had no idea what to do with himself. He had been counting on going for a walk with Vasky, but his friend was held up at school, and the other kids were nowhere to be seen.
"What bad luck!" thought the boy, sitting on a bench and tossing pebbles at sparrows—fortunately, they were quick enough, and the boy wasn't a very good shot.
Eh, Vanya, aren't you ashamed of bullying little creatures!
But I… I'm not doing anything wrong.
The boy was startled. An elderly man with grey hair was sitting beside him. He hadn't noticed him arrive—he hadn't just appeared out of thin air!
Do you know my mother?
Vanya asked in a fallen voice, worried that the old man would now tattle on him!
Unfortunately, I know you far too well, and I have no intention of tattling!
The grandfather answered calmly.
Well, how? How do you know my thoughts? Are you a psychic?
No, just a wizard.
You're joking—wizards don't exist!
Vanya laughed.
They do, my boy, they do! I remember you as a little child, how good you were, but now it seems to me you've simply forgotten what it means to be human!
And who am I, in your opinion—maybe a potato or some beetle?
Vanya was starting to get angry. The old man was certainly strange, but he was clearly not a wizard, just a madman, and the boy decided it was time to leave.
Goodbye, I have to go!
The boy stood up and was about to leave when he heard behind him:
But if I perform a miracle, will I stop being a madman in your eyes?
What kind of miracle?
Well, for example, such a small trifle!
The grandfather snapped his fingers, and an ice cream cup appeared in his hand.
Not bad for a madman?
The grandfather asked, holding out the cup to the boy.
I'm sorry, the boy said sheepishly, I've never met a wizard before and I insulted you!
The grandfather snapped his fingers, and the cup disappeared.
Oh, Vanya, Vanya! What a wonderful child you were, you loved nature, but now… oh!
Respected wizard, I beg your pardon, but you're repeating yourself. I haven't done anything wrong!
What do you mean? Who was throwing stones at the sparrows?
The old man was surprised.
"He knows that too!" thought the boy to himself, but aloud he said:
But I didn't hit any! I was just playing!
That's rich! And if someone did that to you? Would you like it?
The grandfather was indignant.
Absolutely not! "Man is the king of nature!"
The boy noted.
Wouldn't you like to feel what those you've hurt feel?
The grandfather suddenly suggested.
How so?
Well, for example, you and a friend lure a stray dog, and then chase it with a stick, or scare yard cats, or…
Yes, I understand, I understand. But I still can't figure out, respected wizard, why you're so concerned about these creatures. They can't think or feel—they just have instincts. They'll forget about us in two minutes, whether we're people or not!
That's exactly what you're going to find out!
The wizard suddenly cried out and snapped his fingers. Vanya began to shrink. He wanted to object, but instead of words, only sounds like growling came out.
You'll become a boy again only when you understand what it means to be human!
He heard, as if from far away.
Chapter 2. In a Dog's Skin!
Everything around looked different. Vanya was in the yard, in the same spot, but the colours! He saw everything differently, and he was shorter. His hand itched terribly. And then he discovered with horror that he was standing on all fours, and he didn't have hands—he had paws! In a puddle, he saw his reflection: yes, he was now a stray dog!
"This is actually funny!" thought the boy. Fear was replaced by curiosity, and then he saw Zoya, his best friend's little sister.
"I'll go say hello and ask about Vasky. Zoya will be so surprised by a talking dog!"
Vanya decided.
Approaching the girl, who was sitting in a sandbox building sand castles with her back to him, Vanya spoke in a friendly manner:
Hi there, little one, where's Vasky?
The boy even smiled, or at least he thought he did.
The girl, hearing a growl behind her, turned around in fright. A yard dog was looking at her, baring its teeth.
He seemed enormous to her. The little girl was so frightened that she burst into tears. Vanya wanted to calm her down, to tell her it was him, but something hit him painfully on the leg—or rather, on the paw. It was his friend Vasky! The boy, hearing Zoya's cries, rushed to help and immediately threw a stone at the dog, which seemed to him to be about to hurt his sister. But the rescuer hit the animal's paw. Vanya hurried away, hurt and offended: some friend he turned out to be, throwing stones! And it didn't seem so funny now when someone was throwing stones at you!
Come here, my good boy!
Suddenly he heard a gentle voice. It was Uncle Borya, a well-known joker. The boy loved laughing at his jokes.
Come on, come here!
The neighbour called again. He was holding something in his hand. He beckoned to Vanya-the-dog and put it on the ground.
Vanya's stomach rumbled, and only now did the boy realize how hungry he was.
"Oh, I should have listened to Grandma and eaten before rushing outside!" thought the boy. "Still, I have a nice neighbour—kind! Eating from the ground isn't very pleasant, but I'm a dog now, not dining from fine china!"
The boy even smiled to himself mentally, remembering his grandmother's favourite word—"dining." Oh, if only she were here now!
Uncle Borya stepped back a reasonable distance from such a tasty morsel, so Vanya-the-dog could approach without fear of being hit, and he decided to try. But what was this strange taste of sausage?
It was so salty and peppery with all sorts of spices that Vanya, spitting out the unfortunate piece, stuck out his tongue and breathed heavily. He looked like a fire-breathing dragon now, not a boy or a dog.
Apparently, it looked funny from the side: he heard loud adult laughter and children's laughter. Uncle Borya stood aside laughing, and nearby some boys were laughing too. They had all played Cossacks and Robbers with Vanya, but now he was a yard dog, that's all. And then Vanya suddenly remembered with bitterness that he had laughed like that not long ago. How could he have forgotten!
The neighbour was quite the joker, and for some reason, he found it amusing to call an animal over, treat it to an over-salted, over-peppered piece of sausage, and laugh while watching its reaction. Vanya had found it amusing too, but not now!
"I'm so thirsty!" And then Vanya saw a small puddle. In another situation, he wouldn't have considered it an option, but not now, when his mouth was burning like he was a fire-breathing dragon!
After quenching his thirst, the boy-dog caught the gaze of a cat. It was sitting on a bench looking so pleased that Vanya understood: the mangy thing was laughing at him. But now I'll chase you, and yes, it will be fun!" With a cry of "You won't get away!" he rushed at the cat. The cat hissed and scratched his paw painfully. Vanya let out a yelp: "Now you'd better watch out, you mangy thing!"
Chasing the cat, he suddenly thought that things weren't so bad after all—he could chase a cat!
And then again…
Chapter 3. I'm a Cat!
"Something's happening to me again…" the boy had just thought when the cat he was chasing stopped and rushed at him. Vanya ran for his life, and who knows, maybe it was rabid? Would a normal cat chase a dog? But when Vanya flew up a birch tree in a whirlwind, he understood—he was no longer a dog! The pursuer remained below, and the boy, examining himself carefully, realized: now he was a cat, a street cat!
Okay, I'm getting tired of this, wizard. Where are you?
The boy called quietly.
But there was only silence in response. An old woman sighed: "Oh, how the kitty is meowing. The poor thing is stuck!"
Then Vanya thought with horror: "It's true, how am I going to get down? I've really gotten myself into a mess! So, what do I know about cats? That they land on all four paws, so everything should be fine. Wait! BUT I'M NOT A CAT, I'M AN ENCHANTED BOY! WIZARD, WIZARD!"
But again, silence. From the side, it looked like a street cat was meowing pitifully in a tree.
Backing up carefully, Vanya began to descend slowly, but those few minutes seemed like an eternity! His paws had just touched the ground when he was roughly grabbed.
Kitty!
He heard above his ear.
"Oh no!" flashed through Vanya's mind.
Now he could see that it was Alyosha, the neighbour's little boy, who had grabbed him. Vanya had always found it amusing how the little boy squeezed cats, but not now! Sticky fingers gripped him unpleasantly, and Vanya was ready to scratch the annoying kid when Alyosha's grandmother came running up:
Ugh, ugh, Alyosha! Let go of that cat—it's full of fleas!
"You're full of fleas!" Vanya wanted to answer, but he didn't have time. He was thrown to the ground, and that's when all four paws came in handy!
Chapter 4. I'm a Sparrow!
Climbing onto a bench, the boy decided to think about what to do next.
"The wizard told me I need to be human. But I am human! Well, I was until I met this weirdo! What if he can hear me? GRANDFATHER, I DIDN'T MEAN TO OFFEND YOU!"
Then Vanya's attention was caught by a sparrow—a tiny, silly little thing hopping right nearby.
"I've always wanted to catch a bird! When else would I do it if not now!" And Vanya was already next to the little sparrow, who was so startled by the sight of a cat that he didn't even think of flying away.
"I'll just touch it, that's all!" Vanya didn't even think that he no longer had a hand but a paw with claws!
And then something pecked him painfully on the head. It was the mother sparrow! The attack was fierce. Vanya hurried away, but then he realized again: something was happening. He felt himself shrinking, and he saw the old cat pursuer rushing toward him.
This time Vanya already guessed that he was now a sparrow himself, so hiding in a tree wasn't an option—he couldn't fly! So he tried to hide in a small crack in the wall where the cat couldn't possibly squeeze through.
He hopped as much as his little legs allowed, and managed to hide in the shelter just as an enormous paw reached after him. But fortunately for Vanya, no matter how hard the cat tried, it couldn't reach him.
Vanya had no watch and didn't know how long he sat in his shelter. It seemed like an eternity! Carefully peeking out and making sure no one was around, Vanya saw a beautiful butterfly.
"I wonder if butterflies are afraid of sparrows?"
He wanted so badly to pull at its wing. The boy-sparrow was already nearby when…
Chapter 5. And Who Am I?
"What, again?" But then Vanya thought that being a butterfly might not be so bad, and he could try to fly. But to his horror, he discovered that he had no wings!
"So if I'm not a butterfly, who am I?" But his mental dialogue was interrupted by something incomprehensible and enormous, right nearby.
"What are these pillars?" the boy thought in horror when this enormous thing was right next to him and almost crushed him. He hid behind a pebble and then realized—those were legs, and they weren't enormous at all. He was just too small!
"Very funny, Grandfather Wizard, and will my next transformation be into a microbe?"
Vanya wanted to add something else when suddenly an enormous hand grabbed him, and he heard a familiar voice:
"Look at this little bug—Vanya will like it!"
"Vasky, it's me—Vanya!" But his friend couldn't hear or understand him, and instead of words, there was only buzzing.
"Sit here for now," the boy said, pushing a matchbox toward him.
"Oh no, Vasky wants to put me in there! No!" But his friend didn't understand.
The matchbox was dark and cramped, and Vanya suddenly felt sad that his best friend didn't understand him. The boy began to remember all the bugs he had caught alone or with his friend, the sparrows he had thrown stones at, the cats and dogs that he and Vasky loved to bully. And he wanted to cry.
He understood that all these living creatures, which were much smaller in size, felt pain and fear. And how terrifying the yard boys must seem to them sometimes, including him and Vasky.
"Forgive me all," whispered Vanya. "I probably deserve to sit in this matchbox!"
The boy felt himself falling asleep. He seemed to be falling into something and didn't know what would happen next.
Chapter 6. Being Human!
Vanya opened his eyes and found himself sitting in the yard on the same bench where he had met the wizard.
His clothes were covered in dust, and a fresh scratch reminded him that it hadn't all been a dream. The boy wanted to tell the grandfather that he understood everything, but the old man was nowhere to be found. However, Vasky was already hurrying toward him.
Hi, where were you? I want to show you something!
A bug?
Yeah… But how did you… never mind, look! Where is it?
Vasky stared at the empty box with his mouth open, and Vanya suddenly found it so funny that he burst out laughing.
Indeed, it was a funny situation—the bug had been him! Vasky looked at him and laughed too.
A couple of minutes later, Vanya was already telling his friend about his unusual transformations. Vasky smiled at first, but then became more and more serious. When his friend finished his story, he said:
I'm sorry about the stone and the matchbox. I didn't know it was you! And I saw that grandfather too, but he suddenly disappeared, like he vanished into thin air! I thought I was imagining things. But it turns out I wasn't—miracles do happen!
The boys never saw the wizard grandfather again, and they didn't need to. They no longer bullied their smaller brothers and sisters. And the wizard is somewhere nearby, maybe even on your street, watching to make sure we don't forget: we should treat others the way we want to be treated. That's what it means to be human!
