boy quickly filled with crucian carp. They became interested, and they, forgetting about pride, approached him, to learn about eccentricity. The boy looked up from the water’s surface, raised his temperamental eyes and answered to the greeting.
“Where are you from, boy?”
The boy thought that he might be asked to leave from here, and he pricked up his ears, clenched his fists, ready to defend his place.
“I’m from the city,” he answered, pulling at the rods. – We recently moved here from Kharkov.
– What is your name?
“Igor,” he answered, then added. – Surname – Wolf.
– What kind of balls do you have?
“It’s from semolina,” Igor answered. “I helped them in
kerosene – the fish reaches for the smell.
“Has your father taught you this?”
“No,” Igor shook his head. – I searched and found an experienced fisherman. His name is Uncle Thema. He told me. – In the air came the rumble of an approaching plane. The boy already jumped, forgetting about the fishing pole. Aircraft with red stars under their wings flew over their heads. The stunned boy looked at it for a long time antil the plane has not disappeared from view. He lowered his head.
“It’s a MiG-15 jet fighter,” he said to the peasants in the course of his thoughts, then added, “it can fly at a speed of thousands of kilometers per hour. – Having seen the equiblowing on the faces of the fishermen, he tempered his admiration and droped finger pointing to the sky. – Try kerosene and you will succeed.
The peasants, returning to their seats, continued the discussion.
“Heroes grow out of these,” said one. – “Little yet, but already independent. Not like my Igor, lobother.
“Maybe he’s older than your boy,” suggested a man.
The first rose to his full height, turned to the side of the boy and asked loudly.
– Igor, and how old are you?
Nine.
The man raised his eyebrows and pressed his lips.
– Did you hear? And my eleven, – with regret said he. – “From this, Lyova, a real man will grow up.” Remember him – Igor Wolf. Pour it in!\
Igor was born on April 12, 1937 in the Ukraine in the city Zmiev of the Kharkov region. His father Peter was an engineer and was directed to work in Ussuriisk Primorsky Territory.
In 1941, his family decided to move closer to relatives by sending all household containers things. And all of a sudden, on June 22, 1941, war was rampant. The container has left, and the family had been remained on a place without personal belongings and household utensils – plates, a teapot with bare beds, without a table and bedside tables. And his father left to the front. So Igor had to wake up from early childhood to assume the responsibility of the elders: to fish, collect mushrooms, berries to help his mother and survive himself- “street” childhood, which tempered his character, from whose world and physical condition preceded him age.
In the early 50’s the family moved to Kursk. Igor’s mother often was ill, and the household was on Igor.
The physics lesson ended when the doors of the ninth class entered two men in the army uniform. The one who is older, asked the teacher for permission to apply to the students. He began to walk along the board back and forth with hands on his back before opened his mouth.
“We are from the flying club, we teach the guys to fly,” he said. – Now we form a new group and if among you there is a husband-bold, who would like to associate themselves with aviation I want you to raise hands.
Igor’s hand soared first and how much he wanted to enter the club, has become a sufficient argument when selecting from a dozen “brave”. Igor came running home to please his mother andto reveal his decision to join the flying club.
Mom coughed, and the cough dragged on. Igor immediately poured warm water in a glass and handed it to her.
– Igor. I do not want you to become a military man,” her mother said.
– Why?
Did not you hear how your uncle complained to the service
in the army?
“He’s a tankman and he’s tired of sniffing diesel.”
– And what about airplanes, not diesel fuel?
“No, there’s kerosene.”
– What’s the difference? Igor was sad.
“The smell is familiar,” he mumbled, unambiguously remembering his duty from childhood: follow a kerosene lamp and refuel it.
Mother lowered her head.
“I’m sorry, son,” her mother said. “A lot of that you do the house-work, I must do it, but, as you can see, I am ill and can not…
Do not apologize, Mom.” I am not talking about that.
– Well, if you want, go – I’m not going all my life on hiding you around the house, “my mother said and immediately burst on a new cough. Warm water did not help. Igor did not want to go against the mother’s decision, but also a happya turned-up event to learn how to fly a plane did not want to miss.
But the will of his mother was stronger: by family Council Igor went to Kharkov to the artillery academy named after Stalin. Have begun examinations, barracks life and drill step. New friends, among whom he found and like him, found themselves at the academy at will of parents.
– Thank God, there is one exam, – with a sigh, said Dima, a new acquaintance of Igor.
They were on the third floor of the building among the barracksfuss.
“I do not care,” said Igor. – I’ll do it- bad, I’ll not do it – it’s bad too.
Why is that so?”
“I do not want to be an artilleryman, even if I do.” If I do not do it, I do not want to upset my mother. I want to fly in airplanes, Dima. “He poked his head out the window and dreamily looked at the sky. – I want to soar among the clouds, I want to slideabove the treetops, I want to swim in the blue of the sky. You are one in the sky free like a bird…
“I want it too,” Dima echoed him, inspired by the hypnotictical attraction of words. – I also want to. – He, too, shoved his head out the window, and at that moment they heard the sound of a He began to grow, and friends simultaneously saw the plane that flashed in the rays of the sun, which flew straight to him. After a while, the plane disappeared over the roof of the building.and the buzz ceased. Friends with open mouths froze, looking at each other.
– O key. I decided
