in the drawing developed before it. Work it demanded the accuracy of calculations and special technical knowledge.
Vukol climbed on a chair, laid down on a table all breast. The pencil left ranks of interesting, various signs on paper.
– What is it? – the son asked once.
– Figures! – absent-mindedly the father answered. Having looked at the son, thought and added: – You want, I will teach you to figures?
– I want! – Vukol was joyfully delivered on a chair.
Elizar put work aside.
– Well, look: this stick – one, here with a head and a tail – two, and this big-bellied – the three!
The father densely and largely drew figures, and Vukol remembered them at once. It seemed to it that they as people, everyone has the person: the three – thick, with a pointed nose – is similar to a duck, the five – cheerful, six – with a pot-belly and a small head, eight – as the dealer on a market, and the nine – the same six, only down a head – ridiculous.
Having examined the pupil, the teacher was surprised.
– Э, the brother and you are retentive? And you want to know letters?.
Letters were even more entertaining: the father drew them and shaded as though cut out from a tree, such Vukol saw on signs. The artist drew long, lovingly trimming with a soft pencil each drawing. While drew, Vukol remembered all alphabet.
– Well, it is enough for today! tomorrow I will ask you – as call each letter if you do not forget – I will learn you to read.
And then told mother:
– I will try on new, by a sound method which began to be applied only recently! much easier and leaves rather!
Thus Vukol’s training in the diploma began. Soon he already read magic fairy tales.
And here at Vukol desire with own hand to draw heroes, athletes, supernatural beauties such by what they were presented to it for the first time was.
Model of picturesque art the picture printed in paints, hanging on a wall of their room in a frame under glass seemed to it: “The Bay of Naples has a family of fishermen”. There everything was fine: the azure waves running on the sandy coast, a bright sun and in particular the reclining fisherman’s daughter. Hair at it dense, black, on hair a scarlet bandage, a dark face, thinly and gently outlined, fine and proud. Vukol represented it as live, and she seemed to him one of those beauties because of whom in basten fairy tales knights and heroes made the surprising feats. Someone forgot this picture at Elizar when he lived in Siberia.
There passed two more years.
Behind a partition there lived the mail carrier with the krivoglazy wife, a young soldatka and the master of musical instruments – it and the musician: the man of huge growth, with a big fair-haired beard, doing violins. Will make, will play and will sell, then begins to make new. In the evenings the master went to theater to play in orchestra. Often it played and at home. Vukol listened to his game for hours and hours. The musician showed it receptions of a game. Then announced Elizara:
– At your fellow perfect ear appeared! Give I позаймусь with it! Yes, here still that: children it is necessary on the stage! There is “The Russian wedding”! Release with me Vukol: the fifty-kopeck piece on gingerbreads or on books will receive and start up orchestra listens. Who knows? Perhaps bread will be for it later.
Vukol had no concept about theater and went there mainly because of an opportunity to earn a fifty-kopeck piece.
The building was theater old, a strange look. Got together with the musician illegally there and came to be behind the scenes. There was a turmoil, narrowness, noise and abuse.
The scene which it was visible between the scenes represented an interior of very strange room with stranger people: boyars and boyars in bright suits of country breed talked unnaturally loudly, and from the underground doghouse someone prompted to them loud whisper.
Vukol with greed watched at all this from the scenes waiting, what will be farther. It together with other children was dressed in a color kosovorotka with a corbel, by wide trousers and yellow boots, with a hare soft pad spread and powdered cheeks and prepared all for an exit.
On the stage it was noisy: boyars drank from empty wooden gilded ladles, the striped clown in a yellow cap with bells played a balalaika without strings, and actually played violins in orchestra, then on a scene at the opened door pushed out children and Vukol together with them. All of them sat down on a floor along a linen wall which began to hesitate when Vukol tried to lean against it a back, strong holding an own cap in hand.
Directly against a scene the enormous dark hole filled with the audience blackened. Vukol very much was embarrassed, feeling awkwardly before such big confluence of people.
Bright light of a set of the lamps throwing the light only on the stage blinded him. Heart is disturbing fought for nervousness, hands and legs grew cold.
Nothing could be understood from this what boyars shouted of and sang to the sound of music the orchestra driving the bows in a low hole over which, sitting on a high chair, raged, swinging a small stick, the uneasy person in a suit having a tail. It was unknown why released on the stage of children in a special dress, and when time to leave came, Vukol so began to bustle that forgot a cap on a floor, but the old woman who remained on the stage in an elegant sundress threw it behind the scenes, having told: “take a cap” though the underground person who was looking out of the doghouse did not prompt it these words.
Home Vukol was turned back together with the musician late at night when in a svetelka all slept, except his mother who was patiently waiting for return of the little actor.
After this case of Vukol called in theater to step on the stage in different representations, and soon he became the person: all actors and actresses knew it.
Changed clothes and made up, he participated in theatrical processions, was the queen’s page, jumped among little imps or angels with white wings.
It was always unpleasant to step on the stage, but free minutes of expectation of the exit he fell in love to watch and listen from the scenes to the events on the stage.
During the winter Vukol saw a set of various representations – ridiculous, sad and terrible.
The play “Prince Serebryany” seemed the fairy tale in persons. “Thirty years, or the player’s Life” concerned. But here put “Auditor”, and Vukol to tears laughed together with public of theater. Looking from the scenes at the mad father offended by ignoble children – the king Lear – cried with pity. The execution of “Maria Stewart” shook. On “Richard Tretyem” blood was paralyzed in veins with fright.
In theater human life – misfortunes, sufferings, quarrels, tears, crimes, murders and suicides was represented. Even in vaudevilles comic actresses played барынь, fainting because of pure trifles.
– I do not love actresses! – sincerely Vukol’s mother spoke. – Slightly what now crack in a faint, is also ready! And here at us in the village and slykhy not to hear about
