A.F. Losev

LIFE

© The text is printed according to the edition: A.F. Losev. "Life" (Novels, stories, letters). Publishing house JSC "Komplekt", St. Petersburg, 1993.

Content

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II

It was not this wisdom of life that I was waiting for

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I

People often remember their childhood with love. I also remember him with love. I was surrounded by the care and affection of my mother. A cloudless, happy childhood was and remains some kind of golden dream, some kind of unrealizable paradise. But then there was Mishka, a neighbor boy, my playmate and early study, my age. He was a child, but he had one strange habit, I would even say, passion. Sometimes, when a puppy or kitten was born in their house, his favorite pastime was to pull out the hairs of these animals and break their legs. Breaking is not a joke, but in earnest. The poor animals squeaked and howled all over the yard and remained crippled.

"Mishka, you bastard," I told him. "Aren't you ashamed, fool?" Tortured the kitten again!

"Yes, it's me... so...

"Fool!"

"It's none of your business. "I'll tell your mother.

"And I'll tell her before you do."

A happy, affectionate, soft, cloudless childhood, but only this damned Mishka.

Once in Michael's house, a bitch gave birth to as many as eight cubs. Mishka was jubilant. He did not torture the puppies while they were blind, sleeping one on top of the other in one soft and warm heap.

"It's too early!" Mishka said. "Let them grow up. He was anticipating his happiness and was extremely patient.