Rodari Gianni

The Adventures of Cipollino

Gianni Rodari

The Adventures of Cipollino

CHAPTER FIRST,

in which Cipollone crushes Prince Lemon's leg

Cipollino was the son of Cipollone. And he had seven brothers: Cipolletto, Cipollotto, Cipolloccia, Cipolluccia and so on - the most suitable names for an honest onion family. They were good people, I must say frankly, but they were just unlucky in life.

What can you do: where there are onions, there are tears.

Cipollone, his wife and sons lived in a wooden shack slightly larger than a garden seedling box. If rich people happened to find themselves in these places, they wrinkled their noses with displeasure and grumbled: “Ugh, he’s carrying onions!” - and ordered the coachman to go faster.

One day, the ruler of the country himself, Prince Lemon, was going to visit the poor outskirts. The courtiers were terribly worried whether the onion smell would hit His Highness's nose.

What will the prince say when he smells this poverty?

You can spray the poor with perfume! - suggested the Senior Chamberlain.

A dozen Lemon soldiers were immediately sent to the outskirts to perfume those who smelled of onions. This time the soldiers left their sabers and cannons in the barracks and shouldered huge cans of sprayers. The cans contained: floral cologne, violet essence and even the best rose water.

The commander ordered Cipollone, his sons and all his relatives to leave the houses. The soldiers lined them up and sprayed them thoroughly from head to toe with cologne. This fragrant rain gave Cipollino, out of habit, a severe runny nose. He began to sneeze loudly and did not hear the drawn-out sound of a trumpet coming from afar.

It was the ruler himself who arrived on the outskirts with his retinue of Limonov, Limonishek and Limonchikov. Prince Lemon was dressed all in yellow from head to toe, and a golden bell jingled on his yellow cap. The court Lemons had silver bells, while the Limon soldiers had bronze bells. All these bells rang incessantly, so that the result was magnificent music. The whole street came running to listen to her. The people decided that a traveling orchestra had arrived.

Cipollone and Cipollino were in the front row. They both received a lot of pushes and kicks from those who were pressing from behind. Finally, poor old Cipollone could not stand it and shouted:

Back! Siege back!..

Prince Lemon became wary. What is it?

He approached Cipollone, stepping majestically with his short, crooked legs, and looked sternly at the old man:

Why are you shouting “back”? My loyal subjects are so eager to see me that they are rushing forward, and you don’t like it, do you?

Your Highness,” the Senior Chamberlain whispered in the prince’s ear, “it seems to me that this man is a dangerous rebel.” He needs to be taken under special supervision.

Immediately one of the Limonchik soldiers pointed a telescope at Cipollone, which was used to observe troublemakers. Every Lemonchik had such a pipe.

Cipollone turned green with fear.

Your Highness,” he muttered, “but they’ll push me in!”

And they will do great,” Prince Lemon thundered. - Serves you right!

Here the Senior Chamberlain addressed the crowd with a speech.

“Our beloved subjects,” he said, “His Highness thanks you for the expression of devotion and for the zealous kicks with which you treat each other. Push harder, push with all your might!

But they’ll knock you off your feet, too,” Cipollino tried to object.

But now another Lemonchik pointed a telescope at the boy, and Cipollino considered it best to hide in the crowd.

At first, the back rows did not press too hard on the front rows. But the Senior Chamberlain looked so fiercely at the careless people that in the end the crowd became agitated, like water in a tub. Unable to withstand the pressure, old Cipollone spun head over heels and accidentally stepped on the foot of Prince Lemon himself. His Highness, who had significant calluses on his feet, immediately saw all the stars of heaven without the help of the court astronomer. Ten Lemon soldiers rushed from all sides at the unfortunate Cipollone and handcuffed him.

Cipollino, Cipollino, son! - the poor old man called, looking around in confusion, as the soldiers took him away.

Cipollino at that moment was very far from the scene of the incident and did not suspect anything, but the onlookers scurrying around already knew everything and, as happens in such cases, they knew even more than what actually happened.

It’s good that he was caught in time, the idle talkers said. - Just think, he wanted to stab His Highness with a dagger!

Nothing like that: the villain has a machine gun in his pocket!

Machine gun? In the pocket? This cannot be!

Can't you hear the shooting?

In fact, it was not shooting at all, but the crackling of festive fireworks arranged in honor of Prince Lemon. But the crowd was so frightened that they shied away from the Lemon soldiers in all directions.

Cipollino wanted to shout to all these people that in his father’s pocket there was not a machine gun, but only a small cigar butt, but, after thinking, he decided that you still couldn’t argue with the talkers, and wisely remained silent.

Poor Cipollino! It suddenly seemed to him that he began to see poorly, this is because huge tears welled up in his eyes.

Get back, stupid! - Cipollino shouted at her and clenched his teeth so as not to burst into tears.

The tear got scared, backed away and never showed up again.

In short, old Cipollone was sentenced to imprisonment not only for life, but also for many, many years after death, because Prince Lemon's prisons also had cemeteries.

Cipollino secured a meeting with the old man and hugged him tightly:

My poor father! You were put in jail like a criminal, along with thieves and bandits!..

“What are you saying, son,” his father interrupted him affectionately, “but the prison is full of honest people!”

Why are they in prison? What bad did they do?

Absolutely nothing, son. That's why they were jailed. Prince Lemon doesn't like decent people.

Cipollino thought about it.

So, going to prison is a great honor? - he asked.

It turns out that it is so. Prisons are built for those who steal and kill, but for Prince Lemon it’s the other way around: the thieves and murderers are in his palace, and honest citizens are in prison.

“I also want to be an honest citizen,” said Cipollino, “but I just don’t want to go to prison.” Just be patient, I'll come back here and free you all!

Aren't you relying on yourself too much? - the old man smiled. - This is not an easy task!

But you'll see. I will achieve my goal.

Then some Limonilka from the guard appeared and announced that the meeting was over.

Page 15 of 29

CHAPTER 16: The Adventures of Mr. Carrot and the Dog Hold and Grab

Mister Carrot...

Wait a minute: who is Mr. Carrot? We haven't had a conversation about this person yet. Where did he come from? What does he need? Is he big or small, fat or skinny?

Now I will explain everything to you.

Having made sure that there was no trace of the fugitives, Prince Lemon ordered to comb all the surrounding areas. The lemons armed themselves with rakes and diligently combed the fields and meadows, forests and groves to find our friends. The soldiers worked day and night and raked up a whole bunch of pieces of paper, brushwood and dry snake skin, but they did not even catch the shadow of Cipollino and his friends.

- Loafers! - the ruler raged. “They just broke the rake and left all the teeth in the forest.” You should have knocked out all your teeth for this!

The soldiers trembled and chattered their teeth in fear. For several minutes all I could hear was “knock-knock-knock” - as if hail was falling.

One of the courtiers Limonov advised:

“I think we should contact a search specialist.”

- What kind of bird is this?

- Simply put, detective. Now, if, for example, you, Your Highness, have lost a button, please contact the detective bureau, and the detective will find it for you in no time. The same will happen if your Highness’s battalion of soldiers disappears or prisoners escape from custody. The detective has only to put on special glasses, and he will instantly discover what you have lost.

- Well, if so, send for a detective!

“I know a very suitable foreign specialist in this area,” the courtier suggested. — His name is Mr. Carrot.

Mister Carrot... So that's who he is, Mister Carrot! While he has not yet arrived at the castle, I will tell you how he is dressed and what color his mustache is. However, I can’t tell you anything about the mustache for the simple reason that skinny red Mr. Carrot doesn’t have a mustache. But he has a sniffer dog called Hold-Grab. She helps him carry his tools. Mr. Carrot never sets off on a journey without taking with him a dozen telescopes and binoculars, hundreds of compasses and a dozen cameras. In addition, he carries a microscope, a butterfly net and a bag of salt with him everywhere.

- Why do you need salt? - the ruler asked him.

“With your Highness’s permission, I pour salt on the tail of the hunted game, and then I catch it with this device that looks like a huge butterfly net.”

Prince Lemon sighed:

“I’m afraid you won’t need salt this time: as far as I know, the escaped prisoners didn’t have tails...”

“The case is very serious,” said Mr. Carrot sternly. - If they don’t have tails, how can you catch them by the tail? Where should they put salt? With your Highness's permission, you should not have allowed the prisoners to escape from prison at all. Or at least I should have fixed their tails before they escaped so my dog ​​could catch them.

“I saw in the movies,” the nobleman who advised him to contact the detective intervened again, “that sometimes fugitives are caught without the help of salt.”

“It’s an outdated system,” said Mr. Carrot with a look of contempt.

- Fact, fact! “Very, very outdated system,” the dog repeated.

This dog had one peculiarity: she often repeated the words of her owner, adding to them her own personal thoughts, which usually boiled down to the words: “Very, very, very,” “very, very,” or “fact, fact.”

“However, I also have another way of catching fugitives,” said Mr. Carrot.

- Fact, fact! “We have very, very many ways,” the dog confirmed, wagging its tail importantly.

- You can use pepper instead of salt.

- Right, right! - Prince Lemon approved with delight. “Pour pepper in their eyes and they’ll give up right away, I have no doubt about it.”

“I think so too,” Cavalier Tomato noted cautiously. “But before we use pepper, we probably need to find the fugitives first.” Is not it?

“It’s a little more difficult,” said Mr. Carrot, “but with the help of my instruments I think I’ll try.”

Mr. Carrot was a learned detective; he did nothing without the help of his tools. Even going to bed, he armed himself with three compasses: one, the largest, to find the stairs, another, smaller one, to determine where the bedroom door was, and a third, even smaller one, to find the bed in the bedroom.

Cherry, as if by chance, walked along the corridor, wanting to look at the famous detective and his dog.

Imagine his surprise when he saw Mr. Carrot and the dog stretched out on the floor, looking at the compass lying in front of them!

“Excuse me, honorable gentlemen,” Cherry inquired, “I would like to know: what are you doing lying on the floor?” Maybe you are trying to find traces of fugitives on the carpet and use a compass to determine in which direction they fled?

- No, I'm just looking for my bed, sir. Anyone can find a bed with the naked eye, but a specialist detective must carry out the search scientifically, using appropriate technology. As you know, the magnetized compass needle always points north. This property allows me to accurately find the location of my bed.

However, following the instructions of his compass, the detective unexpectedly hit his head on the mirror, and since he was a die-hard type, he crushed the glass into a thousand pieces. In this case, his dog suffered the most. One of the fragments cut off a good half of her tail, leaving only a pathetic stump.

“Our calculations were obviously wrong,” said Mr. Carrot.

- Fact, fact! “Very, very, very wrong,” the dog agreed, licking the stump of its tail.

“So,” said the detective, “we need to look for another road.”

- Fact, fact! “We must look for another road,” the dog barked. “Maybe other roads don’t end with mirrors.”

Putting aside his compass, Mr. Carrot armed himself with one of his powerful marine telescopes. He put it to his eye and began to turn it left and right.

- What do you see, master? - asked the dog.

— I see a window: it is closed, there are red curtains on it, and in each frame there are fourteen multi-colored glasses.

- A very, very important discovery! - the dog exclaimed. - Fourteen and fourteen is twenty-eight. If we go in this direction, at least fifty-six fragments will fall on our heads, and as for me, I don’t know what will remain of my tail!

Mr. Carrot pointed the telescope in the other direction.

- What do you see now, master? - the dog asked worriedly.

— I see some kind of metal structure. Very interesting design. Imagine: three legs connected at the top by a metal ring, and on top of the structure is a white roof, apparently enameled.

The dog was shocked by his owner's discoveries.

“Signor,” she said, “if I’m not mistaken, then no one has ever found enameled roofs anywhere before.” Is not it?

“Yes,” answered Mr. Carrot, not without pride. “A true detective can discover extraordinary things even in the most ordinary circumstances.”

The owner and the dog crawled towards a metal structure with a white roof. Having covered a distance of ten steps, they approached the mysterious structure and crawled under it so awkwardly that the enamel roof toppled over.

They barely had time to come to their senses and understand what had happened when they were suddenly doused with cold rain.

The detective and the dog froze in place, fearing new surprises. They were afraid to move, and meanwhile streams of cold water flowed down Mr. Carrot's face, his dog's face, and both of them down his back, stomach and sides.

“I suppose,” muttered Mr. Carrot displeasedly, “that we simply knocked over the enamel basin that was standing on the washbasin.”

Then Mr. Carrot finally stood up and dusted himself off after an unexpected shower. His faithful companion followed his example. After this, the detective easily found the bed, from which he was two steps away, and solemnly walked towards it, continuing to utter thoughtful remarks like the following:

- What can you do! Our profession is fraught with risk. True, whole streams of cold water fell on our heads, but we found what we were looking for: a bed.

- Fact, fact! A lot of water has passed under the bridge! - the dog remarked for its part. She was particularly unlucky that evening: wet, cold, with her tail cut off, she fell asleep on the floor, resting her head on her owner’s wet shoes.

Mr. Carrot snored all night and woke up with the first rays of the sun.

- Hold it, grab it, let's get to work! - he called.

“Master, I’m ready,” the dog answered, jumping up and sitting on the stump of its tail.

Mr. Carrot couldn't wash himself that morning because he spilled all the water intended for washing. The dog was content with licking his whiskers, and then licked his owner's face. Having thus refreshed themselves, they went out into the park and began searching.

The famous detective began by taking out of his bag a bag containing ninety tiny barrels with numbers, such as are used when playing lotto.

He asked the dog to pull out a number. The dog put his paw into the bag and pulled out number seven.

“So we need to take seven steps to the right,” Mr. Carrot decided.

They took seven steps to the right and fell into the nettles.

The stump of the dog’s tail burned like fire, and Mr. Carrot’s nose turned so red that it looked like a pod of Turkish pepper.

“We must have made a mistake again,” suggested the learned detective.

- Fact, fact! - the dog sadly confirmed.

- Let's try another number.

- Let's try! - the dog agreed.

This time number twenty-eight came out, and Mr. Carrot decided that he needed to move twenty-eight steps to the left.

We took twenty-eight steps to the left and fell into a pool where goldfish were swimming.

- Help! I'm drowning! - Mr. Carrot screamed, floundering in the water and scaring the goldfish.

Maybe he really would have drowned, but a faithful dog grabbed him by the collar with his teeth in time and dragged him to dry land.

They sat down on the edge of the pool. One of them was drying clothes, the other was drying wool.

“I made a very important discovery in the pool,” said Mr. Carrot, not at all embarrassed.

- Oh-very, oh-very important! - the dog chimed in. “You and I discovered that the water is very, very wet.”

- No, that’s not it. I came to the conclusion that the prisoners we are looking for dived to the bottom of this pool, dug an underground passage here and thus eluded their pursuers.

Mr. Carrot called Cavalier Tomato and suggested that he release the water from the pool and then dig up the bottom to find an underground passage. But Signor Tomato resolutely refused this proposal. He stated that, in his personal opinion, the fugitives had taken the simpler and easier route, and asked Mr. Carrot to direct his search in a different direction.

The famous detective sighed and hung his head.

- Here's people's gratitude! - he said. “I work by the sweat of my brow, take one cold bath after another, and the local authorities, instead of helping my work, obstruct me at every step.

Fortunately, Cherry was passing by the pool at that time, as if by chance. The detective stopped him and asked if he knew of any other way out of the park other than the secret underground gallery dug by the fugitives under the goldfish pool.

“Well, of course, I know,” Cherry answered. - This is a gate.

Mr. Carrot thanked the boy warmly and, accompanied by the dog, who was still snorting and shaking himself after the cold bath, went to look for the gate using the compass he never parted with.

Cherry followed him, as if out of idle curiosity.

When the detective finally left the park and headed towards the forest, the boy put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.

Mr. Carrot turned to him quickly:

-Who are you calling, young man? Probably my dog?

- No, no, Mr. Carrot, I just let one sparrow I know know that there are bread crumbs prepared for him on the windowsill.

“You have a kind soul, signorino.” - With these words, Mr. Carrot bowed to Cherry and went on his way.

As you can easily guess, someone soon responded to Cherry’s whistle with a whistle, but not so loud, but slightly muffled. Following this, at the edge of the forest, to the right of the detective, the branches of a bush swayed. Cherry smiled: his friends were on alert - he warned them in time about the appearance of Mr. Carrot and his dog.

But the detective also noticed how the bushes were moving. He threw himself to the ground and froze. The dog followed his example.

- We're surrounded! - the detective whispered, spitting from the dust that had filled his nose and mouth.

- Fact, fact! - the dog barked. - We're surrounded!

“Our task,” Mr. Carrot continued in a whisper, “is becoming more difficult and dangerous every minute.” But we must catch the fugitives at all costs.

- Catch, catch! - the dog responded quietly.

The detective pointed his mountain binoculars at the bushes and began to carefully examine them.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone else in the bush,” he said. — The villains retreated.

- What villains? - asked the dog.

- Those that were hiding in the thickets and moving the branches. We can only follow their tracks, and these tracks will certainly lead us to their den.

The dog never ceased to admire his master’s resourcefulness.

Meanwhile, the people hiding in the bushes were actually retreating, making their way quite energetically through the thickets. As a matter of fact, no one was visible, and only the branches of the bush were still slightly swaying in the places where they passed. But Mr. Carrot now had no doubt that the fugitives were hiding in the bushes, and he firmly decided to track them down.

After a hundred meters, the path led the detective and the dog into the forest. Mr. Carrot and Hold-Grab walked a few steps and stopped under the shade of an oak tree to rest and assess the situation.

The detective pulled a microscope out of the bag and began to carefully examine the dust on the path.

- No traces, master? - the dog asked impatiently.

- Not the slightest.

At that moment, a long whistle was heard again, and then muffled screams were heard:

- Oh-ho-ho-ho!

Mr. Carrot and the dog rushed to the ground again.

The scream was repeated two or three times. Without a doubt, the mysterious people were giving each other signals.

“We’re in danger,” Mr. Carrot said calmly, taking out a device that looked like a butterfly net.

- Fact, fact! - the dog responded like an echo.

“The criminals cut off our escape route and began a flanking maneuver to attack us from behind. Have a pepper shaker ready. As soon as they appear, we put pepper in their eyes and cover them with netting.

“The plan is very bold,” the dog barked, “but I heard that villains sometimes have guns... What if they start shooting when captured?”

- Damn it! - said Mr. Carrot. - Frankly, I didn’t think about this.

At that moment, a few steps from the detective and the dog, still prostrate on the ground, a strangled voice was heard:

- Mr. Carrot! Mister Carrot!

- This way, Mr. Carrot! To me! - the same voice continued to call.

The dog dared to express his guess.

“I think,” she barked, “there’s something very mysterious going on here.” The woman is in serious danger. Maybe she is in the hands of bandits who want to make her their hostage. I think we need to free her at all costs.

“We can’t do other things,” said Mr. Carrot, angry at the inappropriate interference of his zealous assistant. “We came here to detain, arrest, not free someone.” We have a precise and clear goal. We can't do the exact opposite of what we're paid to do. Remember that your name is Hold-Grab, and do your job!

At that moment, a plaintive, pleading cry was heard again from behind the bushes:

- Mr. Carrot! Yes, help! For God's sake, help!

“A woman asks for my help,” he thought, “and I refuse to help her? I don’t have a heart, or what?”

He anxiously felt the left side of his chest under his jacket and sighed with relief: his heart was in place and was beating even faster than usual.

Mr. Carrot jumped to his feet and, accompanied by his dog, began to run north, keeping his eyes on the compass.

Suddenly, suppressed laughter was heard from behind him.

The detective stopped in anger and began to look for the unknown person who allowed herself to laugh so impudently behind his back. Finding no one among the bushes, Mr. Carrot flashed his eyes and shouted, trembling all over with noble indignation:

- Laugh, laugh, you vile criminal! He who laughs last laughs best!

The "criminal" snorted again, and then choked on a sudden coughing fit.

The fact is that Radish slapped him hard on the back at that moment so that he would stop laughing. This funny boy was none other than little Bean, the son of the rag picker Bean. Clearing his throat, he stuffed the handkerchief into his mouth and continued to laugh for his own pleasure, without breaking the silence.

“You want to ruin everything we managed to do!” - Radish whispered angrily. - Stop snorting now!

- How can you not laugh at him! - Bean Man barely said, holding back his laughter.

“You’ll still have time to laugh,” whispered Radish, “but for now let’s go and try not to lose sight of the detective.”

Mr. Carrot and his dog were still running north - in the direction from which they could hear the rustling of retreating footsteps and the sound of a struggle. They thought they were pursuing a whole gang of villains sneaking through the bush. But in fact, they were chasing two kids - Potato and Tomatic, who were pretending to fight each other. From time to time the girl stopped and shouted in a thin voice:

- Help! Help, sir detective! Bandits kidnapped me! I beg you, release me!

You probably guessed that the guys making their way through the bushes had one task: to distract the detective and his dog as far as possible from the cave in which Cipollino and his friends were hiding. But that wasn’t all the guys had in mind.

At that moment, when the detective’s dog was already preparing to overtake the fleeing people and grab one of them by the calves, something very strange happened to it.

- Oh heaven, I'm flying! Farewell, dear master! - All she had time to bark.

And she really quickly flew up. The rope loop lifted the frightened dog to the very top of the oak tree and pulled him tightly to a thick branch.

When the detective, who was only a few steps behind her, came out from behind the bush, there was no trace of the dog.

- Hold-Grab! - he called. - Hold-Grab!

No answer.

“Probably the mean dog was chasing some hare again.” For ten years I still couldn’t wean her off her old habit!

Not hearing a sound in response, he called again:

- Hold-Grab!

- I'm here, master! Here! — a strangled voice answered him plaintively from somewhere above.

The detective raised his head and through the leaves of the oak tree he saw his dog somewhere between the upper branches of the tree.

- What are you doing over there? - he asked sternly. - Nothing to say, I found time to climb trees! What do you think, you and I are playing with toys? Get down immediately! The bandits don't wait. If we lose track of them, who will free the captive?

- Master, don't be angry! Now I’ll explain everything to you...” the dog squealed, trying in vain to free himself from the trap.

- There is nothing to explain here! - continued the indignant Mr. Carrot. “Even without your lies, I understand perfectly well that you don’t want to chase bandits and you prefer to chase squirrels on tree branches.” But it won’t be in vain for you! I, the most famous detective in Europe and America, cannot keep in my service a slacker who will not miss a single tree without succumbing to the temptation to climb it. Needless to say, a suitable place for my assistant!.. Farewell! You are fired.

- Master, master, let me say a word!

“Say what you want, but I don’t intend to listen to you.” I have more important things to do. I must do my duty, and nothing will stop me on this path. And you can chase squirrels as much as your heart desires. I wish you to find a more fun position and a less strict owner. And I’ll find a more frivolous assistant for myself. Just yesterday I spotted a nice dog named Mastino in the park. He is just like me: an honest, modest and worthy dog. It will probably never occur to him to hunt for caterpillars on oak trees... So, goodbye, frivolous and unfaithful dog! We won't see each other again.

Hearing such insults and reproaches, the poor dog burst into bitter tears.

- Master, master, be careful on the way, otherwise the same thing will happen to you as to me!

- Stop these stupid jokes, you old fool! I have never climbed any trees in my life. And, of course, I’m not going to follow your example, forgetting my direct responsibilities...

But at the very moment when Mr. Carrot was making this indignant speech, he felt something grab him across the body with such force that his breathing was interrupted.

He heard the spring click and felt that he was flying upward, pushing apart the foliage of the very oak tree on the top of which his dog was located. When this short flight was over, the detective saw her tail in front of him. Just like the dog, Mr. Carrot was pulled tightly to the trunk by a strong rope.

“I told you, I told you,” the dog repeated plaintively, wagging its stump of tail. - And you didn’t want to listen to me...

Mr. Carrot made extraordinary efforts to maintain his dignity in such an awkward position.

“You didn’t tell me anything, absolutely nothing!” - he muttered through his teeth.

“Your duty was to warn me about the trap, instead of wasting time on empty chatter!”

The dog bit his tongue so as not to respond to the unfair reproach. She perfectly understood her master’s state of mind and did not want to enter into an argument with him.

“So we’re trapped,” said Mr. Carrot thoughtfully. “Now we have to figure out how to get out of it.”

- It won't be so easy for you! - a thin voice was heard from somewhere below.

He looked down, expecting to see scary bandits with knives in their teeth and among them a captive princess, but instead he saw a group of guys rolling on the ground laughing.

These were Radish, Potato, Bean and Tomato. They laughed, hugged and danced under the branches of the oak tree, singing a song that they immediately came up with:

Doo-doo-doo! Doo-doo-doo!

Joy and fun!

Two dogs on an oak tree

Hanging nearby...

“Signors,” said the famous detective, frowning his brows, “be kind enough to explain who you are and what you are happy about.”

“We are not gentlemen,” answered Bean, “we are bandits!”

- And I am a poor prisoner!

“Now help me get down to the ground, otherwise I will be forced to take the most severe measures.” Do you hear?

- Fact, fact! “Very severe measures,” barked the dog, furiously waving the stump of its tail.

“I think it is unlikely that you will be able to take severe measures as long as you remain in this position,” said Radish.

“And we’ll try to keep you hanging as long as possible,” Tematic added.

Mr. Carrot fell silent, not knowing what to answer. He realized that things were getting serious.

“The situation is clear, but rather hopeless,” he whispered in his dog’s ear.

- Fact, fact! Oh-very clear, but completely hopeless! - the dog sadly confirmed.

“We are captured by a gang of guys,” the detective continued. - What a shame for me! Besides, apparently, these guys conspired with the fugitives to trap us so that we would lose their tracks.

- Fact, fact! We agreed! - the dog confirmed. “I’m just amazed at how cleverly they set up this trap!”

The detective’s faithful assistant would, of course, be even more surprised if she knew that Cherry had set the trap with his own hands. He read many adventure books and knew all sorts of hunting tricks.

So he figured out how to trap the detective, without resorting to the help of Cipollino this time.

As you can see, his idea was a great success. From behind the bush he now glanced furtively at the two trapped predators and was very pleased with his invention.

“So we have temporarily disabled two dangerous enemies,” he thought and went home, joyfully rubbing his hands.

And Radish and the rest of the guys went to the cave to tell Cipollino about everything. But they found no one in the cave - it was empty, the ashes of the fire had cooled. Apparently the fire had not been lit for at least two days.

Page 1 of 30

Adventures of Cipollino:CHAPTER 1: In which Cipollone crushed Prince Lemon's leg

Cipollino was the son of Cipollone. And he had seven brothers: Cipolletto, Cipollotto, Cipolloccia, Cipolluccia and so on - the most suitable names for an honest onion family. They were good people, I must say frankly, but they were just unlucky in life.
What can you do: where there are onions, there are tears.
Cipollone, his wife and sons lived in a wooden shack slightly larger than a garden seedling box. If rich people happened to find themselves in these places, they wrinkled their noses with displeasure and grumbled: “Ugh, that sounds like a bow!” - and ordered the coachman to go faster.
One day, the ruler of the country himself, Prince Lemon, was going to visit the poor outskirts. The courtiers were terribly worried whether the onion smell would hit His Highness's nose.
- What will the prince say when he smells this smell of poverty?
- You can spray the poor with perfume! - suggested the Senior Chamberlain.
A dozen Lemon soldiers were immediately sent to the outskirts to perfume those who smelled of onions. This time the soldiers left their sabers and cannons in the barracks and shouldered huge cans of sprayers. The cans contained: floral cologne, violet essence and even the best rose water.
The commander ordered Cipollone, his sons and all his relatives to leave the houses. The soldiers lined them up and sprayed them thoroughly from head to toe with cologne. This fragrant rain gave Cipollino, out of habit, a severe runny nose. He began to sneeze loudly and did not hear the drawn-out sound of a trumpet coming from afar.
It was the ruler himself who arrived on the outskirts with his retinue of Limonov, Limonishek and Limonchikov. Prince Lemon was dressed all in yellow from head to toe, and a golden bell jingled on his yellow cap. The court Lemons had silver bells, while the Limon soldiers had bronze bells. All these bells rang incessantly, so that the result was magnificent music. The whole street came running to listen to her. The people decided that a traveling orchestra had arrived.
Cipollone and Cipollino were in the front row. They both received a lot of pushes and kicks from those who were pressing from behind. Finally, poor old Cipollone could not stand it and shouted:
- Back! Siege back!..
Prince Lemon became wary. What is it?
He approached Cipollone, stepping majestically with his short, crooked legs, and looked sternly at the old man:
- Why are you shouting “back”? My loyal subjects are so eager to see me that they are rushing forward, and you don’t like it, do you?
“Your Highness,” the Senior Chamberlain whispered in the prince’s ear, “it seems to me that this man is a dangerous rebel.” He needs to be taken under special supervision.
Immediately one of the Limonchik soldiers pointed a telescope at Cipollone, which was used to observe troublemakers. Every Lemonchik had such a pipe.
Cipollone turned green with fear.
“Your Highness,” he muttered, “but they’ll push me in!”
“And they will do great,” thundered Prince Lemon. - Serves you right!
Here the Senior Chamberlain addressed the crowd with a speech.
“Our beloved subjects,” he said, “His Highness thanks you for the expression of devotion and for the diligent kicks with which you treat each other.” Push harder, push with all your might!
“But they’ll knock you off your feet, too,” Cipollino tried to object.
But now another Lemonchik pointed a telescope at the boy, and Cipollino considered it best to hide in the crowd.
At first, the back rows did not press too hard on the front rows. But the Senior Chamberlain looked so fiercely at the careless people that in the end the crowd became agitated, like water in a tub. Unable to withstand the pressure, old Cipollone spun head over heels and accidentally stepped on the foot of Prince Lemon himself. His Highness, who had significant calluses on his feet, immediately saw all the stars of heaven without the help of the court astronomer. Ten Lemon soldiers rushed from all sides at the unfortunate Cipollone and handcuffed him.
- Cipollino, Cipollino, son! - the poor old man called, looking around in confusion, as the soldiers took him away.
Cipollino at that moment was very far from the scene of the incident and did not suspect anything, but the onlookers scurrying around already knew everything and, as happens in such cases, they knew even more than what actually happened.
“It’s good that he was caught in time,” said idle talkers. - Just think, he wanted to stab His Highness with a dagger!
- Nothing of the kind: the villain has a machine gun in his pocket!
- Machine gun? In the pocket? This cannot be!
- Don’t you hear the shooting?
In fact, it was not shooting at all, but the crackling of festive fireworks arranged in honor of Prince Lemon. But the crowd was so frightened that they shied away from the Lemon soldiers in all directions.
Cipollino wanted to shout to all these people that his father did not have a machine gun in his pocket, but only a small cigar butt, but, after thinking, he decided that you still couldn’t argue with the talkers, and wisely remained silent.
Poor Cipollino! It suddenly seemed to him that he began to see poorly - this is because huge tears welled up in his eyes.
- Get back, stupid! - Cipollino shouted at her and clenched his teeth so as not to roar.
The tear got scared, backed away and never showed up again.
* * *
In short, old Cipollone was sentenced to imprisonment not only for life, but also for many, many years after death, because Prince Lemon's prisons also had cemeteries.
Cipollino secured a meeting with the old man and hugged him tightly:
- My poor father! You were put in jail like a criminal, along with thieves and bandits!..
“What are you saying, son,” his father interrupted him affectionately, “but the prison is full of honest people!”
- Why are they imprisoned? What bad did they do?
- Absolutely nothing, son. That's why they were jailed. Prince Lemon doesn't like decent people.
Cipollino thought about it.
- So, going to prison is a great honor? - he asked.
- It turns out that it is so. Prisons are built for those who steal and kill, but for Prince Lemon it’s the other way around: the thieves and murderers are in his palace, and honest citizens are in prison.
“I also want to be an honest citizen,” said Cipollino, “but I just don’t want to go to prison.” Just be patient, I'll come back here and free you all!
- Aren't you relying on yourself too much? - the old man smiled. - This is not an easy task!
- But you'll see. I will achieve my goal.
Then some Limonishka from the guard appeared and announced that the meeting was over.
“Cipollino,” the father said in parting, “now you are already big and can think about yourself.” Uncle Chipolla will take care of your mother and brothers, and you go to wander around the world, learn some wisdom.
- How can I study? I don’t have books, and I don’t have money to buy them.
- It doesn’t matter, life will teach you. Just keep your eyes open - try to see through all sorts of rogues and swindlers, especially those who have power.
- And then? What should I do then?
- You will understand when the time comes.
“Well, let’s go, let’s go,” Limonishka shouted, “enough chatting!” And you, ragamuffin, stay away from here if you don’t want to go to jail yourself.
Cipollino would have responded to Limonishka with a mocking song, but he thought that it was not worth going to jail until you had time to properly get down to business.
He kissed his father deeply and ran away.
The next day he entrusted his mother and seven brothers to the care of his good uncle Cipolla, who was a little more fortunate in life than the rest of his relatives - he served somewhere as a gatekeeper.
Having said goodbye to his uncle, mother and brothers, Cipollino tied his things in a bundle and, attaching it to a stick, set off on his way. He went wherever his eyes led him and must have chosen the right road.
A few hours later he reached a small village - so small that no one even bothered to write its name on the pillar or on the first house. And this house was, strictly speaking, not a house, but some kind of tiny kennel, which was only suitable for a dachshund. An old man with a reddish beard sat at the window; he looked sadly at the street and seemed to be very preoccupied with something.

Gianni Rodari - the author of "The Adventures of Cipollino", "Tales on the Telephone", "The Journey of the Blue Arrow" - became famous throughout the world thanks to his optimism, cheerfulness and irrepressible imagination. The kind Italian storyteller managed to instill in the souls of children a belief in goodness and justice, but at the same time he talked about real life, in which there is evil and cruelty. Gianni never lost his imagination, and he taught the children to dream and believe in miracles.

Poor and hungry childhood

The author of “The Adventures of Cipollino” was born in 1920 in the family of a baker and servants. He was not spoiled by either food or luxury, but from a young age the boy stood out for his rich imagination. Gianni was very gifted, he learned to play the violin, wrote poetry, painted, dreaming of becoming a famous painter in the future. Trouble overtook the family when Rodari was 9 years old. His father was very giving to everyone. One day during a heavy downpour, he took out a small kitten from a huge puddle and brought it home. The pet remained alive, but the father fell ill with pneumonia and soon died.

The author of the fairy tale “The Adventure of Cipollino” went to work as a primary school teacher at the age of 17. Rodari's students were incredibly lucky because he gave his students a lot of joy. Children built houses from letters and composed fairy tales together with their mentor. Even as an adult, Gianni knew how to dream and fantasize; at heart he remained the same child who believed in miracles, and this helped him write bright, colorful and memorable works.

A sharp pen and a sincere belief in justice

The author of “The Adventures of Cipollino” fought against oppression all his life, he fought against the fascists with weapons in his hands, and fought for justice with sharp words, working as a correspondent for the newspaper “Unity.” Rodari also taught us to fight evil. Thanks to the dedication of the honest master Vinogradinka, the smart Cipollino, and the kind professor Grusha, the country of vegetables gained freedom, and children from all over the world liked “The Adventures of Cipollino.”

The author was always cheerful, cheerful, and constantly inventing something. Gianni Rodari called his fairy tales toys consisting of words. Bright and memorable characters are etched in children’s memories and taught them to distinguish between truth and lies, good and evil. Absolutely all fairy tales are filled with goodwill and optimism, instilling faith that justice will prevail, and the author played a big role in this. “The Adventures of Cipollino”, “Gelsomino in the Land of Liars”, “Jeep on TV” have become world-famous and beloved works for children.

Good storyteller

Rodari always sought to develop the imagination of children. Of course, this does not mean that absolutely everyone with whom he worked became writers, artists and musicians, but the ability to dream makes a person kinder, freer and stronger; Gianni did not want children to be “slaves” in the future. He even wrote a textbook, “The Grammar of Fantasy,” especially for parents, from which children learned to develop their creative abilities. Rodari's fairy tales are filled with kindness, wisdom and optimism, which is why they have attracted interest from more than one generation of young readers.

In world fiction, there are many fairy tales for children that have their own authorship. Among them is this wonderful one, beloved by many children in Russia - about the mischievous and cheerful Chipollino, the onion boy. Along with other fairy-tale characters, his image forever won the attention and trust of the children as the embodiment of the romance of justice and strong friendship. And the fairy tale was so loved by children that it became a reference book for several generations of Russians and is still, along with such books as “The Adventure of Pinocchio” or “Little Red Riding Hood,” for example, included in the circle of active children’s reading.

Who wrote "Cipollino"

Despite the popularity of this work, some children do not know who the author of the fairy tale is, and some think that it is a folk tale. And there is a certain amount of truth in this. After all, it involves ingenuity and courage, kindness and naivety of the folk characters of Italy. But, despite some stylization, it has a specific authorship. Who wrote "Cipollino"? The author of this work is Gianni Rodari. The fate of the future writer and fighter for communist ideals was not easy.

The one who wrote the fairy tale "Cipollino"

Gianni was the son of a simple Italian baker. His father Giuseppe left the world when little Rodari was only ten years old. The writer spent his childhood in the village of Varesotto. It is known that from childhood the boy was fond of music (playing the violin) and reading books, grew up sickly and fell ill quite often. He studied at the seminary for three years and attended classes at the Faculty of Philology in Milan. Having studied, the one who wrote “Cipollino” became a teacher (at the age of 17 he began teaching in rural primary schools).

Participation in the anti-fascist resistance

During the war, Gianni is exempt from military service due to poor health. Having embraced the ideas of communism, he participated in the anti-fascist resistance and in 1944 joined the Italian Communist Party.

Post-war years

After World War II, Gianni Rodari worked as a columnist for Unita, the newspaper of the Italian communists. And in 1950 he was appointed editor of a children's magazine. In 1951 he published his first children's poetry collection, which was called “The Book of Fun Poems.” And then - his own fairy tale, known in the future.

Russian translation of the work

Now many people know who wrote “Cipollino”. But in 1953, when the fairy tale first appeared in the USSR in Potapova’s translation, few people had heard of the young Italian author. But the work immediately fell in love with both young readers and literary critics. Books with pictures are published in millions of copies. And at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in 1961 they shot a cartoon based on the work. In 1973 - the fairy tale film “Cipollino” (where the author played himself, a storyteller-inventor). The work became so popular that it was included in the school curriculum for Soviet schoolchildren. Gianni Rodari, the one who wrote "Cipollino", repeatedly comes to the USSR, where he is treated with love and respect.

World famous

In 1970, the children's writer entered the circle of the most read authors for children and received a very prestigious award named after another storyteller - Andersen. She brought him truly worldwide fame. And the cheerful and fair onion boy became one of the favorite heroes of children all over the planet. His books (not only “The Adventure of Cipollino”, but also children’s poems, stories and other works) are published in many languages ​​of the world, and children always read them with great pleasure. In our country, Rodari’s poems saw the light of day in equally talented translations by Marshak, Akim, and Konstantinova.

Club of Merry Men

In the Soviet Union, the main character of the work of the same name became a member of the imaginary Club of Merry Men (established by the magazine “Veselye Kartinki”), which consists of children’s favorite characters from books, films, and cartoons.