Little Bear and Other Stories / Маленький медвежонок и другие рассказы. 3-4 классы Лобел Арнольд

The Journey

There was a mouse who wanted to visit his mother.

So he bought a car and drove to his mother’s house.

He drove and drove and drove until the car broke.

But at the side of the road there was a person who was selling roller skates.

So the mouse bought two roller skates and put them on.

He rolled and rolled and rolled until the wheels broke.

But at the side of the road there was a person who was selling boots.

So the mouse bought two boots and put them on.

He marched and marched and marched until there were big holes in the boots.

But at the side of the road there was a person who was selling sneakers.

So the mouse bought two sneakers and put them on.

He ran and ran and ran until the sneakers tore.

So he took the sneakers off and walked and walked and walked until his feet hurt.

But at the side of the road there was a person who was selling feet.

So the mouse took off his old feet and put on the new feet.

He ran all the way to his mother’s house.

When he got there, his mother was glad to see him.

She hugged him and kissed him, and she said, “Hello, my son. You look fine, and what nice new feet you have!”

The Old Mouse

There was an old mouse who went for a walk every day.

The old mouse did not like children. When he saw them on the street, he shouted, “Go away, horrible things!”

One day the old mouse was walking on the street.

Suddenly, his belt broke, and his pants fell down.

Some ladies passed by.

“Help! Help!” cried the old mouse.

But the ladies shouted, “Your pants have fallen down!”

And they ran away.

The old mouse ran home and cried, “Help me!”

But his wife said, “You look silly in your underpants,” and she hit him on the head.

The old mouse began to cry.

Some children passed by.

“Poor old mouse,” they said, “we will help you. Here is some chewing gum. It will hold your pants very well.”

The old mouse took the chewing gum.

“Look!” cried the old mouse. “My pants are up! This chewing gum is great. My pants will never fall down again.”

The pants never fell down again.

And after that the old mouse was always kind to children when he went for a walk.

Bees and the Mud

A mouse was walking through the forest.

A nest of bees fell from a tree. It landed on the top of his head.

“Bees,” said the mouse, “fly away! I do not want a nest of bees on my head.”

But the bees said, “We like your ears, we like your nose, we like your whiskers. Oh yes, this is a fine place for our nest. We will never fly away.”

The mouse was sad. He did not know what to do.

The bees buzzed very loudly.

The mouse walked on. He came to a muddy swamp.

“Bees,” said the mouse, “I have a nest, too. It is my home. If you want to stay on my head, come home with me.”

“Oh yes,” said the bees. “We like your ears, we like your nose, we like your whiskers. We will be glad to come home with you.”

“Very well,” said the mouse. He stepped into the mud up to his knees.

“Here is my front door,” said the mouse.

“Oh yes,” said the bees.

The mouse stepped into the mud up to his waist.

“Here is my living room,” said the mouse.

“Oh yes,” said the bees.

The mouse stepped into the mud up to his chin.

“Here is my bedroom,” said the mouse.

“Oh yes,” said the bees.

“And now I will go to sleep,” said the mouse.

He put his head into the mud.

“Oh no!” said the bees. “We like your front door. We like your living room. We like your bedroom. But no, no, no, we do not like your bed!”

The bees flew away.

And the mouse went home to take a bath.

The Bath

Once there was a mouse who was very dirty, so he took a bath. The water filled up the bathtub.

But the mouse was still dirty, so he let the water run onto the floor. The water filled up the bathroom.

But the mouse was still dirty, so he let the water run out of the window. The water filled up the street.

But the mouse was still dirty, so he let the water run into the house next door.

The people in the house next door cried, “Turn off the water! We already had our bath today!”

But the mouse was still dirty, so he let the water run all over the whole town.

The people in the town cried, “Turn off the water! You are very clean now!”

The mouse said, “Yes, you are right. I am clean now.”

So he turned off the water. The town was all wet.

But the mouse did not care. He dried himself with a big towel.

And then he went to sleep.

Two Big Stones

Two big stones sat on the side of a hill. Grass and flowers grew there.

“This side of the hill is nice,” said the first stone. “But what is on the other side of the hill?”

“We do not know. We never will,” said the second stone.

One day a bird flew by.

“Bird, can you tell us what is on the other side of the hill?” asked the stones.

The bird flew high in the sky. He flew over the hill.

He came back and said, “I can see towns and castles. I can see mountains and valleys. It is a wonderful sight.”

The first stone said, “All those things are on the other side of the hill.”

“How sad,” said the second stone. “We cannot see them. We never will.”

The two stones sat on the side of the hill. They felt sad for one hundred years.

One day a mouse walked by.

“Mouse, can you tell us what is on the other side of the hill?” asked the stones.

The mouse climbed to the top of the hill and looked down.

He came back and said, “I can see earth and stones. I can see grass and flowers. It is a wonderful sight.”

The first stone said, “The bird told us a lie. That side of the hill looks just like this side of the hill.”

“Oh good!” said the second stone. “We feel happy now. We always will.”

The Crickets

One night a mouse woke up.

There was a loud sound outside her window.

“What is that?” asked the mouse.

She opened her window and saw a cricket.

“What did you say?” asked a cricket. “I cannot hear you and make my music at the same time.”

“I want to sleep,” said the mouse. “I do not want your music.”

“What did you say?” asked the cricket. “You want more music? I will find a friend.”

Soon there were two crickets playing music.

“Please stop the music,” said the mouse. “I cannot hear it anymore.”

“What did you say?” asked the cricket. “You want to hear more music? We will find another friend.”

Soon there were three crickets playing music.

“You must stop the music!” said the mouse. “I am tired. I cannot take it much more.”

“What did you say?” asked the cricket. “You want much more music? We will find many friends.”

Soon there were ten crickets playing music.

“Stop!” cried the mouse. “Your music is too loud!”

“What? Not loud?” asked the cricket. “We can play the music louder!”

So the ten crickets played the music very loudly.

“Please!” shouted the mouse. “I want to sleep! GO AWAY!”

“Go away?” asked the cricket. “Why didn’t you say it before?”

“We will go away and play our music somewhere else,” said the ten crickets.

They went away and played their music somewhere else.

And the mouse went back to sleep.