Flamy the Dragonet

Translated from Russian by Jane H. Buckingham

Translation edited by Shona Brandt

Illustrations by Viktoria Timofeeva

Part One
Flamy the Dragonet

Chapter One
The Bunnies’ Birthday

Late in the evening, when Masha was already asleep, the plush bunnies Sineus and Truvor^[1] were celebrating their first birthday in a box under her bed. The bunnies were twins, and if it were not for a spot of watercolour on Sineus’ ear and black threads sewn on Truvor’s tail, it would not be possible to tell them apart.

The cat Muffin, the doll Olga, and the red-haired baby boy doll Pookar were the bunnies’ guests.

Olga was not a slender Barbie, but a respectable Russian doll with strong arms and legs and big blue eyes. When she was turned upside down, she got scared and cried, “Ma-ma!” There is nothing surprising about that. If you, dear reader, were turned upside down, you would also begin to call for mama or even a policeman. Olga did everything in the world correctly. She would always say “thank you” and “please” and only occasionally mixed them up. “Thank give me candy!” or “Please you for lunch!” came out of Olga then.

The bunnies’ other guest, the red-haired baby boy doll Pookar, belonged to the type that always walks around with undone laces, scraped knees, and a black eye. His red hair was tousled, his turned-up nose looked at the world with two cheerful holes, and freckles were scattered across his cheek.

Pookar was dressed in a denim jacket with a lot of pockets: two at the bottom, two on top, and one at the back. Masha, the seven-year-old girl in whose room the toys lived, made him the jacket. It had many pockets, but there is only one Pookar and he could never remember where he put things.

The bunnies Sineus and Truvor were fidgeting on their stools. “When will Birthday come? Why hasn’t he?”

“He’s probably delayed in school,” Pookar decided.

“What is school?” The bunnies were curious.

“Well… er… how to tell you, doll? School is a place where there are many girls, and they pounce on you and squeeze you all the time. I went there with Masha,” Pookar bragged.

The cat Muffin shivered. “Brr! They squeeze! I can’t stand it. They smudge your fur and then you have to lick it clean!”

“But I liked it! Squeezes are nicer than baths. Besides, baths are simply a waste of the gift of time because you get dirty later all the same,” Pookar stated.

“Phew, what a slob you are!” The doll Olga wrinkled her nose.

Pookar was offended. “You’re a slob! Now I’ll hit you on the forehead!” he said.

“Not nice to hit girls!” the cat Muffin reminded him.

“So it’s not nice!” Pookar agreed. “But fun!”

Olga threatened Pookar with an impressive fist. “Just let him try! I’m a big doll, but he’s a mere undersized baby doll, almost a tumbler!”

The quarrel could easily have turned into a fight, but then the bunnies intervened. “Aren’t you ashamed? Today’s our birthday!” they said and, looking at each other, sulked again. Sineus and Truvor did everything synchronously.

Pookar and Olga turned red and made peace for some time. In fact, they were good friends, and that they squabbled – so who does not squabble? Just that Pookar’s character was mean, and Olga, I must say, was no sweetheart either.

“You promised that Birthday will come to us today… But he’s still not here! Turns out you tricked us!” the bunnies said and began to sniffle a bit.

If you look at it, they had a good reason for this. And it is true what nonsense had occurred: the guests argued and almost came to blows, the table was not set, and Birthday was still not there. The only thing left to do was cry.

Pookar simple-mindedly decided to console them. “Follow the example quietly, rabbit hats! Feet together, ears apart! And all smile promptly! Whoever cries, retrains at the pet shop to become a porpoise!” he said.

Sineus and Truvor, always taking everything literally, started to tremble just in case, and were ready to hide under their stools.

“Stop it, Pookar! And you get out, come on! Birthday comes when everybody sits down at the table and begins to drink tea. It’s always so,” the cat Muffin calmed the bunnies.

Sineus and Truvor quieted down and obediently wiped each other’s wet nose. The doll Olga put the kettle on and pulled out candies. The bunnies attacked the chocolate at once and smudged themselves all the way up to their ears.

Pookar looked at the candy with squeamish thoughtfulness. He had tucked away a whole jar of jam even before dinner. “I don’t want any!” he stated.

“Nobody’s offering them to you,” Olga remarked casually.

“Is that so, doll? Then I’ll take it just to spite you!” Pookar said and started to stuff candies into his pockets.

In the meantime, the kettle was boiling.

“Tea’s ready. Who will pour it?” Olga asked.

The bunnies roused themselves happily. They were filled with responsibility.

“We will! We will!” they shouted and toppled the kettle onto Olga’s knees. Fortunately, dolls are less afraid of boiling water than people.

“We poured tea! Just as you asked!” Sineus and Truvor boasted.

Olga looked with horror at the wet hem of her dress. “You don’t pour it there, fool…eh-eh…little fools!”

“Oh! We have no tea! Birthday won’t come now. Sorry, Olga! We’re so unhappy!” The bunnies started to cry.

The cat Muffin slapped their paws encouragingly. “Nonsense! We can boil more water. Pookar and I will get water from the aquarium!”

The aquarium, which the cat loved to contemplate thoughtfully, stood on Masha’s desk. Here Pookar could not restrain himself and proposed to boil the entire aquarium instead of getting the water with the kettle.

“The fishes! What will happen to them?” Olga asked fearfully.

Pookar shrugged. “Nothing will happen to them. Muffin will eat the fishes. Well-made tea with fish is her favourite dish.”

Muffin pondered seriously. “It wouldn’t be bad, of course, but Masha would be upset. She likes the fishes. Besides, if I were to eat them now, then my hope of eating them later will disappear,” she said uncertainly.

“Well, best enemy of the dog, you convinced me! We won’t boil the aquarium. Just take a little bit of water. The fishes won’t be worse off. Let’s go, cat!” Pookar agreed easily, heading to the table.

His compliance alarmed Olga. “No! I’ll go with you. Otherwise, you’ll play some mean trick without me!” she said with suspicion.

“Eh, no! We’ll manage somehow! Roaming at night isn’t something for a girl. Besides, you have big feet and you stomp. And watch you don’t eat all the candy; I know you, send us off as you have your eyes on them,” said Pookar.

Olga flared up and pounced on him. “Oh, you bad baby doll! Some day you’ll bug me and I’ll rip all your ears off! Then let Masha sew them back on!”

Pookar spat sullenly. “With threads?” he said.

“With threads.”

“The ears?”

“The ears.”

Pookar looked at her for a long time and then shook his head. “Phooey, doll, what sickly fantasies you have!” he said.

Then Pookar climbed onto the cat, and Muffin crept out stealthily from under the bed.

* * *

You, of course, notice how terrible a room becomes at night. The most familiar things look sinister. A shirt on the back of a chair flutters and resembles a person, who came in for no known reason, found a seat, and sits and looks at you for some reason. The light outside the window casting sinister shadows on the walls? The rustling in the closet?

Muffin and Pookar were also afraid at first and they immediately wanted to turn back. However, after watching closely, they saw that the room looked calm and sleepy. On the bed, curled up under a blanket, Masha was sleeping and having good dreams. The fishes were sleeping in the aquarium on the table. The flowers were sleeping in the pots on the windowsill. Life is indeed not so terrible if you examine it.

The cat Muffin leaped onto the desk with the grace of a truck transporting scrap metal. She was a domestic cat and consequently rather clumsy. Still, it was good that no one woke up.

Once on the desk, Pookar climbed down from the cat, picked up the kettle, and began to get water from the aquarium. He also accidentally scooped up a couple of fish and had to put them back.

“Push their way in here, how brash! No shame, no conscience! Just like me!” Pookar grumbled. One would think that he did not come to the fishes with a kettle, but they to him.

The cat Muffin jumped down from the desk, managing not to spill the water, and they were both in the box with the toys a minute later. Everybody sat at the table and started to have tea with cake. Olga had made the cake on the play stove earlier during the day, but hid it so that Pookar would not find it. Muffin did not have cake, in order to keep her figure. She declared that one needed to be careful with cakes, and that one of the cats she knew had put on so much weight that she got stuck in the doorway.

The centre of the cake with a single candle because the bunnies were only a year old, went to Sineus and Truvor. They swelled up like a balloon and blew out the candle for luck. Everyone pulled the bunnies’ ears and gave them gifts. The cat Muffin gave them carrots, Pookar a fat book of Russian fairy tales. Olga had made for the bunnies warm knitted hats with openings for the ears.

Then everyone was again busy with the cake. It turned out to be surprisingly tasty.

“I approve, doll! This time you’ve clearly managed something edible by accident,” Pookar praised Olga. “Only you dumped too many calories in there.”

“No calories there! Only flour, sugar, eggs, and nothing more,” Olga took offence.

“Wait a minute! Let’s find out… You say that there are no calories but I feel that there are. It means they squeezed in there on the sly when you turned away.”

Sineus and Truvor started to tremble. “Oh! We’re scared!”

“Admit it, Pookar! You just made up those calories!” Olga was mad. She could not stand it when they questioned her culinary skill.

Pookar narrowed his eyes. “Made it up?! What is Masha’s mama struggling with, then? What is it she’s scared of like fire?”

“She’s scared of calories. What else if not calories!” Muffin stopped washing for a moment.

Pookar stared triumphantly at Olga and bent over the cake. “Listen, bunnies! Work them big ears. Something’s scratching in there. It’s all of them, calories! They’re going to war!”

The doll Olga blinked her blue eyes. “Oh! What will happen to us now?”

“That’s just it,” Pookar threw up his hands. “Well, so be it, I’ll save you from the evil of calories. They don’t scare courageous me. I’ll eat the whole cake by myself.”

Pookar was already stretching his hands to the cake, but Muffin said, “Don’t believe him, little fools! He tricked you. Calories aren’t dangerous for slim little kids, but Masha’s mama can do perfectly well without them. Otherwise, soon only the handkerchiefs from her whole wardrobe will fit her.”

Chapter Two
A Big Trip Around a Small Apartment

Pookar loved to discover new corners of the apartment, the ones which none of the toys had wandered to earlier. He was not one that could sit in one place for three days or even three minutes. He had to be constantly running somewhere, arranging something, exploring something. In short, this was the most restless baby boy doll in the world.

One spring morning, when Masha had gone to school and her parents to work, the doll Olga was teaching the bunnies Sineus and Truvor the alphabet. Olga herself already knew the alphabet and could write all of the letters except W.

“This is the letter A,” Olga showed them. “It looks like A… Understand? This is the letter U, it looks like U.” Olga was a born teacher.

“And the letter D looks like D?” the bunnies asked.

“I think so,” the doll answered after some hesitation. “Say what you like, but education doesn’t pass you by without a trace.”

The lid of a box moved aside and Pookar appeared in full field dress. He was dressed in a sheepskin coat buttoned up to the chin and on his head was a pot. He was holding a bottle-opener in his hands, in case he met jars of jam along the way.

“Hello, hello!” he shouted to the bunnies.

“Hi, Pookar! Where are you going?” the bunnies responded.

“I’m going on a hike. I’m thinking of exploring a couple of new continents and finding out along the way where these greedy people hide their candies.”

“How interesting! We’re coming with you,” Sineus and Truvor exclaimed.

“But we’re learning the alphabet,” Olga objected.

“Great discoveries won’t wait while you learn some letters. No time to lose. Humanity suffers!” Pookar declared. He had a determined look. The pot on his head looked like a knight’s helmet. The hero was so eager towards a feat. Even Olga was fascinated, let alone the bunnies!

They decided to set off on the journey without delay and all together. If great discoveries could not wait, then the discoverer could even less so. Pookar was consumed with impatience, shifting from foot to foot and itching for adventures.

As for Olga, despite being seized by all the excitement, she managed to make a couple of dozen sandwiches for the road. Olga was a smart girl doll and knew that brave heroes needed nourishing food.

Then the friends took to the field. Pookar, with the bottle-opener in hand, stepped in front. Behind him hopped the bunnies. The doll Olga brought up the rear, loaded with a backpack of sandwiches.

It is possible to find quite a few new things everywhere if the search is done well. Even in the usual three-room apartment with a separate washroom, glassed-in balcony, kitchen, and closet, miracles sometimes happen. Anyone who has ever done general cleanup at least once in life learns this. From somewhere out of non-existence crop up things that seemed to have been lost long ago: old shirts with change in the pockets, books without covers, combs, all kinds of knick-knacks, and much, much more.

“Hey, Pookar!” Olga shouted, catching up with him and tugging his sleeve. “What are we discovering this time? We’ve likely climbed over all the rooms.”

“The closet? I don’t know what more is in it: secrets or jars of jam! Those and others are just waiting to be discovered!” Pookar yelled excitedly. He started waving his hands and brushed against Sineus’ nose with the bottle-opener.

After waiting until the bunny had stopped whining, Pookar motioned everyone to come closer. “A terrible secret is even connected with this closet!” he whispered, looking around mysteriously. Sineus and Truvor squirmed with curiosity.

“Someone is living in the closet! I heard sighs and a cough. Probably some distant relative, locked up in the closet and forgotten. And she barricaded herself and waits to pounce on somebody!”

“M-maybe we won’t go there?” The bunnies were trembling.

Olga looked sideways at Pookar with distrust. “You made it all up, Pookar! You’re a known dreamer and liar!”

Pookar sulked. “Well, doll… time will tell. Someday I’ll be famous and you’ll be ashamed that you underestimated me.”

It was dark in the hallway. Only a few rays of light shone through the cracks. Dust danced in the air. It first flew to the ceiling, then, sticking together in light white flakes, settled on the floor. It seemed like it was snowing.

“A-a-a-ahchoo!!” One of the bunnies sneezed, seemingly Truvor. The explorers gave a start and sat down in surprise.

Pookar put a finger to his lips. “S-shhh! The storage relative will hear us!” The bunnies nodded obediently, and even Olga, opening her mouth to object to Pookar, for some reason kept quiet.

Sneaking along the hallway, the brave travellers reached the closet. No sound reached them from there.

“We’ll explore!” Pookar whispered, pressing his ear to the door. “The relative must be hiding… And then – HUM! – she’ll attack!” Pookar showed precisely how wild uncontrolled relatives rush. It looked so promising that Sineus and Truvor clung to each other and started crying.

“Somehow I hear nothing! She must be lurking so quietly that she isn’t even breathing! We know these tricks! What a sly one! Let’s scare her away!” Pookar suggested.

On Pookar’s signal, everyone started to yell as they could. “Awooo!” Olga howled. “Oho-ho-ho!” the bunnies shouted softly, hoping in the depths of their souls that there was no trace of any relative in the closet. “Hoo-hoo-hoo!” Pookar made a deep scary sound. “Hoo-hoo-hoo!”

Nothing happened, only dust whirled around in the corners. Pookar got up on his toes and reached for the doorknob. The door creaked. The toys went inside. The bunnies hung on firmly to the doll Olga’s dress and pulled with all their strength, they were so scared.

“Don’t get under foot, little cowards! There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of,” Olga straightened them out.

It was dark in the small room. It smelled of old things and mothballs. Glass jars of jam gleamed on the upper shelves. Pookar switched on a flashlight. The ray picked out the frightened bunnies and Olga’s white apron from the darkness.

Sineus took a step to the side and bumped his foot painfully. “Mama! Something’s here!” he squeaked.

Fumbling with the flashlight, Pookar found a big wooden trunk. It looked very old. It was unclear how the trunk could come to be in a city apartment on the ninth floor.

“Wow!” Pookar was delighted. “Well, a trunk! How did it manage to hide from me for so long?”

Olga carefully passed a hand over the lid of the trunk, accented with copper. “This is great-grandma’s trunk. Masha told me. It was brought from the village and never opened. The key was lost.”

“Gosh! Where’s my beloved bottle-opener? Want to bet I can break open this mysterious box in a jiffy?” Pookar was filled with enthusiasm.

“You always want to break everything!” Olga threw up her hands.

It was impossible to stop Pookar. He took a run, picked up the bottle-opener, and made up his mind with a running start to bash the lock of the trunk. The bunnies hid behind the doll Olga and peeped out from beneath her skirt. The moment Pookar hit the lock with the opener, someone sneezed in the trunk so that the lid jumped. Pookar dropped the bottle-opener. Olga and the bunnies sat down on the floor in surprise.

“Someone’s in the trunk! L-let’s r-run!” the bunnies whispered.

“Probably just a m-moth sneezed from the mothballs,” Pookar surmised.

“Ahchoo!” the sneeze repeated itself. The friends froze.

“As I said, a relative’s in there! Let’s smoke her out!” Pookar whispered.

“Don’t! Let’s go! We’re scared! We want to go home!” Sineus and Truvor in a panic grabbed Pookar’s sleeve.

Olga sighed. She wavered to come to some decision. “All the same, it’s probably better to find her. It’s somewhat uncomfortable living in the same apartment and still not being acquainted,” she decided.

The doll approached the trunk and softly knocked on it. “Excuse me, please, but we know that you’re inside. Could you look out for a minute and not frighten us?” Someone stirred in the trunk.

“Shy!” whispered Olga. “Probably a very shy relative… Listen, you can’t spend all your time in the closet! Do you want to live in the room with us?”

“What’s with you? Our place is already so crowded. There’s barely enough room for us, and you’re inviting someone! What if she agrees?” Pookar hissed at her.

The lid of the trunk creaked and rose up a little. Big yellow eyes glowed through the crack. The bunnies trembled and tried to escape, but they bumped into each other and sprawled on the floor. Pookar and Olga were also scared, but curiosity was stronger.

“Hello! How do you do? Who are you and where did you come from?” A bass buzzed from the trunk.

“And who are you?” Pookar and Olga asked.

“I’m Flamy! I live here.”

“I’m Pookar… This is Olga… And this is Sineus and Truvor. They’re bunnies and big cowards.”

“I see, I see… All bunnies are cowards…” The new friend climbed out of the trunk.

Pookar shone the flashlight on him and gasped in surprise: a green scaly head on a short neck, awkward legs spread out, small wings, and a flexible tail with notches. He was the size of a medium-sized dog.

“I don’t understand… what are you, a crocodile?” Pookar asked with a puzzled look.

“What crocodile? A dragon!!! A real one!” Olga exclaimed.