"We need Fedya ourselves," the little girl replied firmly.

"No, tell me, why do you need Fedya?" Dad and mom have four guys without him," Rivva Borisovna could not stop talking.

"We have degenerated it for ourselves, so we need it!" Lyubochka snapped. "We won't."

Yes, the children actually considered themselves participants in the acquisition of a younger brother. How many times have they heard from their father the words: "Bend down, pick up everything yourself, it's hard for mom." When leaving, my father always said: "Help your mother as much as you can. Mom needs to be protected, she has a child inside," and the children vied with each other, not waiting for my orders. And when Fedya was brought home, the children considered it happiness to serve him in some way: to hold the bottle while he sucked, to hold the baby's head while bathing, to remove diapers from the rope, etc. When Fedya was sitting in his crib at seven months, the elders were instructed to make sure that he did not fall, lift the baby, cover him with pillows, entertain Fedya with his games. One day the boys shouted to me from above (the kitchen was downstairs):

"Mom, Fedya seems to want to come to you, he's crying. He misses us, he doesn't look at our games, we'll bring him to you now!

"No," I said, "don't carry it, it's dangerous for you to walk up the stairs with Fedya: if you fall, you'll drop it..." In twenty minutes I'll be free from the kitchen and come up to you myself, amuse him with something for now.

I hear laughter, rumble... And when I went up to the nursery, I gasped: the blankets were on the floor, and the guys were wet with sweat.

"Mom, we've come up with some fun!" We began to somersault over our heads. And Fedyushka as soon as he sees us upside down, he bursts into laughter. Look, Mom!

"Well done," I said, "now we can go to dinner." Just make the beds, otherwise dad doesn't like mess.

"Will he come soon?" After all, he wanted to do it at four o'clock.

"What if he's released earlier?" Get out.

By the time their father arrived, the children always collected toys, swept the floor - in general, they put things in order. The father, having blessed the children who met him, always looked through the rooms. The guys stared at him, waiting for praise. "Well done, order," my father said. "Did you go out today?" Why aren't wet felt boots on the radiator?"

To earn the praise of my father was happiness. He caressed, kissed the children, was especially gentle with Kolya. At night, Kolya often moved from his sofa to his father's side. What for? Kolya said: "I get scared at night in the dark. I'll move over to my dad, feel his fluffy bore-doo, then I'll sleep peacefully."

The word of the priest was law for the children, it did not even occur to them to disobey their father. However, Fedyushka began to show willfulness early, with which he had to fight. Perhaps this was a consequence of the presence of Natalia Ivanovna, in whose behavior the sensitive child sometimes noticed protests.