|
Придёт синенький волчок
The Blue Wolf
Nina Dashevskaya
Translated by Dalia Roshal
Davy hadn’t been given any new plushies for what felt like a hundred years. Still, his parents gave him books about space and construction kits for model rockets. That’s why Davy was more interested in otherworldly life and civilization than anything else. He was sure that somewhere in space there was non-human intelligent life! The universe was constantly expanding. He was certain that this meant there was alien life somewhere in the universe.
Overall, Davy was obsessed with idea of alien life forms, and he wasn’t at all interested in plush dogs and plush cats. There was, of course, his giraffe Copenhagen who slept on the back of Davy’s couch. But to Davy, Copenhagen wasn’t a toy. He was more than that, better than that. He was - Copenhagen, and that was enough for Davy!
That was why Davy couldn’t understand why he had picked up a strange creature and was dragging her through the entire store. She was like a sausage with legs. Triangular ears, a zippered mouth, small black eyes. She was a wolf, a small one. Her name was Wolfie. But why was she - that color?! She was the color of the sky, the sky when there were still many months of summer vacation left. She was a wolf with ultramarine fur.
Davy’s mother asked, “Davy, what are you doing? Why do you need this?”
They had come to the store for a new desk for their computer. Sometimes, stores can be strange - you come in for a desk and you see a wolf. But Davy told himself he couldn’t just say, “Let’s buy this wolf!” After all, he wasn’t little anymore.
So he said, “Mom, it’s our neighbor Samantha Wolf’s birthday. Maybe we should get it for her? It’s a wolf, after all.”
“THIS wolf? This ugly thing?”
Davy began to understand something. Maybe, Davy didn’t need this wolf named Wolfie, but one thing was for sure - Wolfie needed him. She needed Davy more than anything. And she cost three dollars, the same as an ice cream cone.
“Mom, it’s so hot. Can we have some ice cream, please?”
“Okay,” his mother agreed, “Get one for me, too!” She gave him six dollars and directed him to the exit and to the ice cream store next door.
In three minutes, Davy waited outside the store holding one ice cream cone.
His mother saw him and her mouth fell open in surprise. She asked, “Did you eat your ice cream already?”
Davy nodded.
“You’ll catch cold! Just swallowing it, without chewing, there’s no enjoyment in eating ice cream like that!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t catch cold,” Davy mumbled honestly, petting Wolfie, who was sitting in his pocket.
That evening, Davy took Wolfie out of his pocket and set her down next to Copenhagen, his giraffe.
He introduced his plushies to each other: “Copenhagen, this is Wolfie. Wolfie, this is Copenhagen.”
Copenhagen asked, “Why is she blue?”
Davy didn’t have time to come up with an answer, and Wolfie replied, with a wink of her stitched eye, “On my planet, all wolves are blue.”
Nina Dashevskaya
Translated by Dalia Roshal
Davy hadn’t been given any new plushies for what felt like a hundred years. Still, his parents gave him books about space and construction kits for model rockets. That’s why Davy was more interested in otherworldly life and civilization than anything else. He was sure that somewhere in space there was non-human intelligent life! The universe was constantly expanding. He was certain that this meant there was alien life somewhere in the universe.
Overall, Davy was obsessed with idea of alien life forms, and he wasn’t at all interested in plush dogs and plush cats. There was, of course, his giraffe Copenhagen who slept on the back of Davy’s couch. But to Davy, Copenhagen wasn’t a toy. He was more than that, better than that. He was - Copenhagen, and that was enough for Davy!
That was why Davy couldn’t understand why he had picked up a strange creature and was dragging her through the entire store. She was like a sausage with legs. Triangular ears, a zippered mouth, small black eyes. She was a wolf, a small one. Her name was Wolfie. But why was she - that color?! She was the color of the sky, the sky when there were still many months of summer vacation left. She was a wolf with ultramarine fur.
Davy’s mother asked, “Davy, what are you doing? Why do you need this?”
They had come to the store for a new desk for their computer. Sometimes, stores can be strange - you come in for a desk and you see a wolf. But Davy told himself he couldn’t just say, “Let’s buy this wolf!” After all, he wasn’t little anymore.
So he said, “Mom, it’s our neighbor Samantha Wolf’s birthday. Maybe we should get it for her? It’s a wolf, after all.”
“THIS wolf? This ugly thing?”
Davy began to understand something. Maybe, Davy didn’t need this wolf named Wolfie, but one thing was for sure - Wolfie needed him. She needed Davy more than anything. And she cost three dollars, the same as an ice cream cone.
“Mom, it’s so hot. Can we have some ice cream, please?”
“Okay,” his mother agreed, “Get one for me, too!” She gave him six dollars and directed him to the exit and to the ice cream store next door.
In three minutes, Davy waited outside the store holding one ice cream cone.
His mother saw him and her mouth fell open in surprise. She asked, “Did you eat your ice cream already?”
Davy nodded.
“You’ll catch cold! Just swallowing it, without chewing, there’s no enjoyment in eating ice cream like that!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t catch cold,” Davy mumbled honestly, petting Wolfie, who was sitting in his pocket.
That evening, Davy took Wolfie out of his pocket and set her down next to Copenhagen, his giraffe.
He introduced his plushies to each other: “Copenhagen, this is Wolfie. Wolfie, this is Copenhagen.”
Copenhagen asked, “Why is she blue?”
Davy didn’t have time to come up with an answer, and Wolfie replied, with a wink of her stitched eye, “On my planet, all wolves are blue.”
