Спасти Кощея / Save Koschei, стр. 13

– Then draw a forest, which you’re doing adorably. Let it be a fairy tale forest, though. – he nodded, pleased with himself and a found decision. The art school principal often friendly admonished him for departures from the 40

educational programme, but always admitted that it gave amazing results – the finalists of his courses were said to be the best in their field.

The girl looked at him thoughtfully but didn’t object. And the teacher continued:

– Today you won’t have time to complete the work on the given topic.

You can only make markings, think over the plot. So this very task will be your homework as well. Please, take your priming canvases, they’ve already dried out. But please, don’t cheat in the search of the best canvas like last time.

They’re all signed with your names. Go ahead! – and again he clapped his hands cheerfully, making it clear that students can start working.

The girl looked at the new, absolutely blank canvas and thoughtfully ran her little fingers down the chin.

The teacher often told her that she’s among his most talented students, and that drawing nature is what she does the best. Well, then she will cope with this task without much difficulty. And the sense of a fairy-tale…The imagination of her audience will add it, if they want to see a fairy-tale. After all, everyone finds what they want in what they’ve seen…

The girl was boldly applying the lines of the future forest to the snow-white canvas. She knew it well enough – every autumn she went there with her parents for mushrooms. So pleasant memories helped her, encouraging and inspiring to draw.

The bell rang soon – at this school lessons alternated with breaks. The girl pried herself away from the sketch and glanced at the clock gloomily. Time flies when you’re doing what you like – and she liked drawing.

Having finished her other home tasks in the evening, she started working again. She was looking at the dozens of touches she had done with a pencil and shifting her gaze to the palette, was thinking about the shades of green she 41

should use for this painting. She was only nine, but since she turned five she didn’t leave her brush for a minute. And when it was impossible to take the brushes with her (for example, at PE lessons), she always had a little notebook and favourite stub of a pencil with her. Sometimes classmates laughed at her.

But what could she do? Drawing was her biggest weakness, and her greatest talent.

The girl started putting the paint in sure brush strokes when suddenly the painted forest turned covered with mist. She stepped away, blinked a few times, as she thought her eyes were just playing tricks on her, and started working again. But the forest turned misty once more. It seemed that nothing worked, and the painted trees sprawled out into different directions, completely disobeying the brush in the hand of the young artist.

– What a fuss! – the girl shouted. The hard work had lasted for several hours, and the wood on the canvas was still «unsettling» naughtily.

Eventually, she got angry and threw the canvas on the floor.

– There’s no such thing as magic! – the girl muttered angrily. – Then what should I draw?!

She was going to stamp the canvas with a blurring forest on it, when suddenly… she fell in. Yes, that’s right, in the truest sense of the word she fell in her own canvas and ended up in the forest. But this forest wasn’t familiar to her.

42

43

Chapter 2

– What a miracle! – the girl resented and laughed, realizing what she had said. – I guess I was just very tired and fell asleep. I'll try to wake up.

She stretched out, blinked and rubbed her eyes with her hands. But the dream did not disappear anywhere. The girl frowned.

– But this can’t be happening! – she stubbornly stuck her chin out with her habitual gesture and looked around. – Mo-om ... – the girl moaned diffidently, - Da-ad…

But there was no response. Close enough came a heavy sound:

– Hoo… – scared, the girl shuddered unwittingly.

– Bear? – she asked somebody and looked about again. – Well, it would be wonderful to draw a bear from life… – the girl was trying to put on a brave face hoping it was just a dream and nothing bad could happen to her.

But she heard the same dreaded «hoo» again and it seemed even closer.

Then, something heavy fell to the ground with such a loud sound that the earth began to tremble.

«What if that beast is injured and needs help?» – the girl thought and made a step forward timidly, running back in her mind over all the mother’s lessons about which herb to use for different maladies. Whenever they went with mom and dad for mushrooms, mom took her daughter to the forest, showing different herbs and telling about the diseases they treat. She was telling about how rich nature is with healing medicines. After all, the forest is a real first aid kit for its inhabitants.

Meanwhile, the girl got close enough and looked out from behind the trees.

– Oh dear! – she exclaimed, unable to restrain herself. In front of her, in the clearing, there was a grimy broken-backed house nailed-up with boards and 44

sheet