A favorite writer of children and adults all over the world - this can be said about R. Bradbury. “Dandelion Wine” (chapter summaries are offered below) tells about the extraordinary adventures of Douglas and Tom Spalding, as well as their friends.

Immersion in childhood

Like most of the writer's other books, Dandelion Wine usually evokes words of gratitude from readers. Most often, in reviews of the story, readers write that they really liked the work, since they, like the heroes, also had to spend the summer months at the dacha or in the village. Most people are familiar with both this delight from the taste of ripe strawberries and the feeling of fear next to a wild ravine. For some, other memories are important. Some note that while reading, it’s as if you are immersed in the time of your childhood and again feel the joy of being involved in everything that happens around you. Many people made bright yellow wreaths from dandelion flowers, and photographs capturing this moment served in winter as much a reminder of summer as a glass of a wonderful drink for heroes.

Let's try to figure out what the power of this work with such a simple name is.

Summer begins

Twelve-year-old Doug woke up on the fourth floor of his grandfather's tower early one June morning. His first thoughts were that there were countless summer days ahead, filled with adventures and secrets. This is how the story “Dandelion Wine” begins.

The summary further describes the magic that the main character performs. Douglas blew with all his might and the street lights went out. The stars gradually disappeared, and the light began to come on in the windows. Then the boy’s order came: “Everyone get up!” And immediately the house came to life and was filled with the smell of pancakes and the noise of numerous relatives who had come to stay. And acquaintances appeared on the street, busy with their daily affairs. Finally the sun rose, and Douglas began to smile, like a real wizard. The summer of 1928 began in such an unusual way. “It will be great!” - thought the boy.

In the forest

The Spalding family had several traditions. The first of them is to collect wild grapes. Here's how Ray Bradbury talks about it.

“Dandelion Wine,” a summary of the chapters of which you are reading, is an example of how majestic and unique the nature of the Earth is. The boys and their father walked forward in search of grapes and strawberries. The man continually pointed out to his sons some feature in the world around him, for example, the lacy foliage of trees with their tops reaching into the sky. But Douglas still felt as if something mysterious was happening around him. But when he put his hands into the vineyard bush, the spell was broken. And then the boy kept waiting for this something huge and unusual to appear again.

Over breakfast, which seemed unusually delicious in nature, Tom discovered a secret: he had been writing down everything that happened to him for a long time. Up to, for example, how many apples he ate in his life. The father just laughed. Doug will remember this when he decides to keep his diary, as Bradbury’s story “Dandelion Wine”, a summary of which is given in the article, will further tell.

Alive!

While picking grapes, Tom told his brother about a snowflake that he had been keeping in the freezer since winter. And suddenly he noticed that Douglas seemed to freeze. With a war cry, Tom attacked him, and a fight ensued between them. However, she only spurred the furious wave that captured Doug. At that moment the boy realized that he was alive! And now it will stay with him forever. This is how the author of the story “Dandelion Wine,” Ray Bradbury, describes Doug’s wonderful condition. The summary of the episode is this: his fingers trembled, turned pink, and when the boy extended his hand to the sun, it reminded him of a bright red flag. The ears were filled with sighs of the wind, and the world around began to shimmer with multi-colored colors. Douglas felt as if he was inhaling ice and exhaling fire. Every part of the body felt the beating of the heart pounding in the chest. And the hero shouted several times with his inner voice: “I’m alive! I existed for twelve years and only now I realized it!” After that, he enjoyed carrying full buckets home, and the feeling of fatigue brought him only pleasure. For another thirty minutes, Douglas felt with his whole being the world around him, which seemed to be imprinted on his body, Bradbury notes.

Dandelion wine

In the morning, grandfather went out onto the porch and looked around. Then he gave the command to his grandchildren to collect the golden balls and carry them to the press. The boys immediately got to work, as it was time to make real dandelion wine. The summary of this scene continues the theme of magic. When the fragrant juice ran into clay jugs, Douglas thought that they would first let it ferment, then bottle it. And then, on a cold January day, this piece of sun and summer will perform a real miracle. The healing balm will cure any disease. The snow will suddenly melt and green grass will appear in its place. And butterflies flutter above her. Even the sky will become blue. All the charm of summer will fit into one glass with a clear and fragrant drink. This is what Ray Bradbury emphasizes - dandelion wine.

Brief history of the shoes

Two summer rituals have been completed. Next up is the next one. And now Douglas, as if enchanted, stands alone. He saw canvas tennis shoes in a store window. Light and as alive as himself. The boy almost realized how quickly they were carrying him forward. But you can’t explain to your father that old shoes, although still good-looking, have long ago lost this ability. And so Doug decides. A brief summary will tell you what exactly it is about.

“Dandelion Wine” (you can judge from the chapters how resourceful and decisive the main character was) continues with a description of the boy’s meeting with the owner of a shoe store. Douglas brought him a few coppers and nickels - all that had been saved - and told him a wonderful story about how much happiness the tennis shoes sold in his store could bring to a person. After listening to the guest, Mr. Sanderson was amazed: how could he not know this himself! And while Douglas was waiting for a list of errands (so he had to work off the cost of a new thing), the magic tennis shoes already seemed to be carrying him forward.

Tradition four: swing

Every summer there is a time and place for every activity, as R. Bradbury writes in his work. “Dandelion Wine” (the summary, unfortunately, allows us to introduce the reader only to the most important episodes) includes a description of the tradition of hanging swings on the veranda. First, grandfather comes out here and carefully examines the rings. Then he makes sure that the weather is already warm enough and it will be possible to spend the evenings here. And so, when the swing is strengthened, Douglas and grandfather sit on it and begin to swing. Finally, the grandmother comes out with a bucket of water and washes the veranda. Then rocking chairs and light chairs appear, and gradually the whole family gathers. It will be like this all summer. Unhurried conversations accompanied by the crackling of grasshoppers, visits from neighbors and the screams of children playing in the twilight near the veranda.

Happiness machine

Leo Aufman is a hero who receives a lot of attention in the work “Dandelion Wine” by Ray Bradbury. A brief summary of his story is as follows. With his grandfather's advice, Aufman decided to invent a happiness machine. He devoted all his time to her, and his acquaintances closely monitored the progress of the work. When Leo, grown up, tired (he hadn’t left the garage for two weeks), but pleased with himself, finally appeared on the threshold of his own house late in the evening, Lina’s wife, instead of congratulating him, began to reproach him for his inattention. But the real trouble came later. The next night the man woke up to find his son sobbing. It turned out that the boy decided to watch the machine of happiness. But instead of the expected joy, I experienced mental pain. The same thing happened with Lina: her husband convinced her to get into the car before she and her children left this house forever - this is exactly the decision the desperate woman came to. At first Aufman heard her laughter and words of delight. But soon they were replaced by crying. The effect of the happiness machine was not at all what its creator expected. At first, the person was truly transported into the world of his dreams. But then the realization came that real life cannot be changed so easily. And sooner or later you will have to get out of this box. This story is very instructive.

“Dandelion Wine,” a summary of which you are reading, shows that a person experiences true happiness only next to close and beloved people, in the circle of his family. The realization of this came to the hero when his car burned down, and he suddenly saw his wife and children through the window. They were doing ordinary things, but everything about them was real and alive.

Mrs Bentley

The author introduces several short stories into the story. One of them is the story of an old woman who has lived alone for a long time. One day she went outside and saw two girls and a boy lying on freshly cut grass. It was Tom and Lina Aufman's two daughters. Mrs. Bentley treated the children to ice cream, and a conversation began between them. A seventy-two-year-old woman said that she was once a little girl. This caused indignation in Jane, who took it all as a mockery. Old people could never be small - the girl was sure of this and therefore accused Mrs. Bentley of lying.

The poor woman couldn't sleep all night. And in the morning she called the children again and showed them the comb, the ring and the photograph - in it she was still a child. But this did not convince Jane, who thanked the old woman for the gifts and left. And Mrs. Bentley was still trying to comprehend what had happened. She finally came to the conclusion that her dead husband was right. He believed that time moves forward and the past cannot be returned. Therefore, you cannot keep his signs all your life. You need to let go of the past as if it no longer belongs to you. And the next day Mrs. Bentley and her children burned the trash accumulated over many years. And then they ate ice cream again, and the old lady already agreed that she could never be little. And that she was always seventy-two years old. So the heroine of Bradbury’s story “Dandelion Wine” (the summary proves this) accepted life as it is. Now she and the children have become good friends.

Time Machine

That's what the boys called old Colonel Freeley, who was confined to a wheelchair. When Douglas, Tom and Charlie visited him, the old man was transported into the distant past and talked about his experiences. He no longer remembered much. Something came to mind in fragments. But despite this, the boys listened to him without moving. They felt as if they were being transported back to the time of the North-South War or watching what was happening on the stage of a Boston variety show. This immersion in the past turned into a real adventure for them.

Later, the colonel's children will forbid allowing children to see him, and Freeley will be left alone. His friend was far away, and the old man called him every day to talk. He died like that - with a pipe in his hands. For the boys, this death was a huge loss. It seemed as if an entire era had passed from their lives along with the colonel.

The last tram

One afternoon, Mr. Tridden stopped his car in the middle of the block and called out to the guys. He informed them that today the tram was making its last trip as it was being replaced by a bus. And he invited the children to ride with him.

A trip on a tram was considered by the residents of the town to be the same integral tradition as anything else, notes the author of the work “Dandelion Wine.” The summary of this country walk is as follows.

Mr. Tridden drove the car toward the valley. The tram moved along its own path, and the children enjoyed the surrounding view and the leisurely ride. We had a small picnic outside the city, during which we munched on delicious sandwiches and listened to stories from the counselor. They also felt the unique smell of the tram and thought about the future. And already in the city, each of the guys stood on the bandwagon for a long time before leaving it for good. Thus, a sign of the times that had existed for decades disappeared from the lives of the heroes.

Farewell to a friend

John Hough was the same age as Douglas. They had been friends for a long time and spent a lot of time playing together and thinking about life for a long time. And suddenly John announced: in the evening he was leaving forever, since his father had found a job in another city. Doug was taken aback by the news. How is this possible? After all, they have so much to do ahead! They talked about all sorts of nonsense that seemed most important at that moment. And Douglas tried to stop time by moving the hands on the clock. But life has its own ways, and this day is over. This is how the story “Dandelion Wine” continues.

The summary of the last meeting of friends makes a somewhat painful impression. In the evening the children gathered to play with statues. And suddenly Douglas himself volunteered to drive. According to the rules, he could make a wish, which the player was obliged to fulfill. After waiting the allotted time, the boy went to his frozen friend and gave the order: stand like this for three hours. But soon it was necessary to go to the station, and John could not wait that long. He said goodbye quickly. He simply walked up to Douglas from behind, touched him on the shoulder, and said, “Bye!” - and then disappeared. It seemed to the hero that for several minutes he heard the sound of John’s steps behind him. But in reality it was his own heartbeat. He still couldn’t calm down, and when he went up onto the porch, he suddenly shouted into the darkness: “John, you are my enemy! Never come again." And already in the house he turned to Tom: “Promise that you will never disappear from my life.” The first separation from a loved one was such a strong shock for the hero.

Illness

Something bad happened to Douglas that summer: he became seriously ill. It seemed to him that he was melting and melting. And ghosts swirled around, generated by the boy’s experiences and inflamed imagination. And again Tom experienced great fear for his brother, as when Douglas played in the ravine until late and he and his mother went to look for him. Oddly enough, it was not the doctor who helped the boy, but the rag-picker Mr. Jonas. He brought two bottles filled with a mixture of miraculous substances. But the main thing was that Mr. Jonas collected them especially for a friend. Inhaling the vapors immediately helped Douglas overcome the illness, probably caused by the intense heat and the knowledge that August was ending. So the author makes it clear that often the love and care of others can be more effective than any medicine.

Summer is over

The day Douglas and Tom saw pencils for sale, they realized: school was coming soon. Which means summer is almost over. Together with grandfather, who had picked the last yellow flowers, they went down to the basement. There was dandelion wine on the shelves. A brief summary of three summer months flashed before their eyes. Each bottle was associated with some event. Here you can purchase tennis shoes. This is a happiness machine. And there is a tram and the stories of the old colonel. There was also a story with a lawnmower and a green car, a witch and a Murderer, “Madame Tarot” and “Bandits and Detectives”... “I will always remember this summer,” said Tom.

And in the evening, like three months ago, all three stood on the veranda again. It was cool here now, and Grandma had been thinking about hot coffee rather than ice tea in recent days. And at night, Douglas spent the night for the last time this year on the fourth floor of his grandfather’s tower. Before going to bed, he went to the window and extended his hands forward. But the commands were now completely different: everyone undress, brush their teeth, turn off the lights...

It's all over. But the past will remain in memory. And if you forget something, just go down to the basement. There is a date written on each bottle, and the bright yellow drink will instantly transport you to any day of the summer of 1928.

This is how the story “Dandelion Wine” ends. The summary (reader reviews confirm this) makes it clear that this work by R. Brabury is one of the brightest and most cheerful in the writer’s work.

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Aliens or...?

They often say about Sphynxes that they came from another planet, because the appearance of cats of these breeds is painfully unique: a bald skull and huge eyes. Everything is according to the canons, so to speak, only green skin is missing, but who among you can guarantee that this is not foundation?

Despite their popularity among the civilian population (this was the plan for the capture), no one really knows anything about the sphinxes. Even that there are five breeds of sphinxes themselves. And that sphinxes are not always naked. And that they are not at all the same as in static pictures on the Internet. I'm writing this article because Chicken is holding a knife to my throat and telling me that more people need to know how wonderful and wonderful this breed really is!

So, while the majority is inclined to believe that sphinxes are aliens, I argue that inside our little worm lives and lives at least one, or even two, of the seven great Demons of the Deadly Sins. This is roughly how artists should actually depict Greed and Gluttony:

I close my eyes and see, as if in reality, how a small bald grinning face crawls out from the very depths of Hell to devour people’s hearts and everything that it meets on its way. Otherwise, I cannot explain this cat’s devilish appetites for everything from food to games. Can your cat run after bells for 54 minutes without stopping, and then persistently demand more?

Sphinxes (any kind) are generally for people who are not afraid of difficulties. And for those like us, who naively believed that these were energy-saving animals that hung out on the battery all day. So, they hang out in one place for about 10 minutes at most. And in general, the inhabitants of the depths of hell do not need sleep, they simply pretend so as not to arouse suspicion for the time being. The chicken sleeps about 2-3 hours a day when I'm at home. And especially after I’ve spoiled her with games (an hour and a half). For another 2 hours a day (in 10-minute bursts) she can simply lie with her eyes closed. The rest of the time there is active activity in the house. I’m starting to suspect that a hadron collider is being built in the dressing room, because it’s very suspiciously rustling there quite often.

When purchasing a sphinx, be prepared that it will live on any more or less horizontal or inclined surface in your home. Possessing the grace of a potato in everyday life, the Sphynx manages to balance while hanging from a curtain with one claw, standing with one foot on your TV, etc. If the sphinx is theoretically able to reach your stretch ceiling... congratulations, you don't have a stretch ceiling.

To keep a Sphynx at home, you must be the life of the party. Because you now have the company for life. Would you like some tea? His tail is already in your mug. Have you decided to read a book? You shouldn't have decided that. Locked in the toilet? Or will stand as if someone was killed and grandmothers from all over the yard have come to lament pitifully at your door. Did you open the door to the toilet? Now the sphinx importantly inspects the surroundings from your head. Do you think I'm exaggerating?

In general, if you are not a fan of long heart-to-heart conversations, the Sphinx is not for you. They love to talk. A lot, loudly, with feeling, trying in every possible way to explain to you what they want right now. After a week, you begin to distinguish between three types of MRAU. After a month, your vocabulary includes at least ten phrases in cat. After two months, you are able to conduct a constructive dialogue.

They will talk to you for any reason, from “let me eat”, ending with “I’m tired” and “let’s go and show you what”. Sometimes you get the impression that the sphinx does not speak human language solely for physiological reasons, and if not for this, you would learn a lot of new things about yourself.

Sphinxes cannot be denied intelligence at all. Not only are the creatures of hell or aliens poorly acquainted with our reality, and they need to study everything thoroughly, for example, turning over bottles of water and trying to get into the toilet... But they are also very smart. Sphinxes are great at remembering commands, so theoretically you could have a trained demon. The ability to build logical chains and draw conclusions cannot be denied to them either. Do something once, and the Sphynx will remember it for life. Which, by the way, unlike many cats, does not always have negative consequences. For example, various care procedures can be done over time without fixing them in a blanket.

The chicken is able to distinguish between the types of our clothes, can turn on the lights with a remote control (for the fourth day in a row I woke up to the fact that the house was suspiciously light), scroll through the Instagram feed, turn off devices it does not like, stop videos on YouTube, bring toys and calculate the weak points of the human body ( They wake me up with a bite on my nostril).

Oh, by the way! They are erect. Sphynxes love to sit, like gophers, on their hind legs, but even more they love to stand and walk on their hind legs. If we saw the gopher's stance for the first time in 2 months, then here are examples of upright walking before our eyes every day. Has anyone been looking for a lost branch of evolution? I found.

If all of the above suits you and doesn’t scare you, then here are some really unpleasant facts about sphinxes.

1) Sphynxes need to be bathed. Moreover, unlike other cats, they tolerate this procedure better. Some are even avid swimmers. Sphynxes need to be bathed once every 1-2 months, depending on the degree of skin contamination. And after swimming, be sure to dry it with a towel so as not to catch a cold. Get your shampoo and terry towels ready!

2) Sphynxes need to clean their ears and eyes regularly. How come you've never done this with a regular cat? And now you will do it every 3 days! Due to the lack of hair and eyelashes, Sphynx cats develop a brown coating on their ears and eyes, which must be cleaned off regularly using special cat lotions.

3) You need to monitor the diet of sphinxes. On the one hand, it is better to give them more food than ordinary cats, because they spend a very large amount of energy on developing plans to take over the world by heating their bodies. On the other hand, they are prone to obesity, which, of course, is good for exhibition, but bad for their general condition.

4) Sphynx cats have pimples and blackheads. Due to the fact that the skin sweats and there is no protection from dirt, sphinxes are susceptible to such unpleasant things. The tail is especially often covered with black dots. Acne must be removed strictly by a veterinarian. As you get older, your skin will still get dirty one way or another.

5) Sphynxes are allergic and require a lot of attention to their diet. Food for them should be purchased at least of super-premium quality and carefully monitor how often the animal itches, whether rashes suddenly appear on the skin, etc.

And sphinxes are not bald. And you can even make them hairy yourself.
They are born either naked or hairy. Hollowborns have rubbery skin and are considered the best of the litter. Others go completely bald by age 2. But there are also sphinxes with a velor cover; they remain velvety all their lives. And with a brush cover that looks more like grandma's old blanket.
And if you want to experiment, you can feed your naked demon vitamins with biotin, and it will very soon grow into thin, soft fur.

If all of the above does not scare you away, then it’s time to learn about the types of aliens.

1. Canadian Sphynx

He came to this mortal earth first. He became the key and portal for all other demons to enter.

Being the first, the Canadian Sphynxes have the most pronounced alien appearance. They have a small head, huge, wide-set eyes and low-set ears. They are never completely naked, always covered with barely noticeable fluff, especially on the face. The Canadian Sphynx can be easily distinguished by its excessive wrinkling. They are wrinkled literally everywhere, but especially on the head, they look like an old grumpy grandmother.

2. Don Sphynx

The Don Sphynx took into account all the mistakes of its ancestor and chose a less pronounced appearance. And he hasn’t started landing in Canada yet. They are not so wrinkled, there are folds only on the forehead, groin and armpits. Very often they are born naked and with their eyes already open. They often have incredible blue eyes in which you drown and submit to the will of the great mind.

3. Elves

If you've always dreamed of Dobby crawling away, then here's your chance.
In general, the elves were called upon to become a strike force that would finally and irrevocably enslave the earthlings by force of arms and unbending will... but upon landing they were crushed by a ship, and what happened was what happened...

Actually, they were called elves for the unusual shape of their ears.

4. Peterbalds

The product of an evil genius who decided that crossing an Oriental and a Sphynx would be a great idea. This is how naked orientals were born: twice as active, sociable and clingy as an ordinary sphinx. An improved model designed to wreak havoc and horror in your one-room apartment. Recommended for use as a weapon of mass destruction.

5. Bambino

Understated Sphinx. He lives a short life and suffers from a lot of illnesses. The product of an evil NEGENIUS who decided it was funny. Highly not recommended for purchase.

All of these breeds are actually variants of the same one, resulting from crossbreeding. They can be knitted with each other, but it is better not to show the results to anyone.

And finally, I'll smash a few into smithereens myths about sphinxes:

1. They are always cold

The cold is not about the Sphinx. Yes, they love to bask in the warmth, yes they love to hang out on the radiator, yes, they need more food to fuel the hellish fire inside... But they don’t need clothes to keep warm. They feel great at room temperature and can even walk outside in winter (but in clothes, of course). Sphinxes are dressed in T-shirts and sweaters in apartments purely for aesthetic reasons.

2. They get everything dirty with sweat.

If your Sphynx is overgrown with scabs because you haven’t bathed him once in a year, then this is no longer his problem. A Sphynx with normal skin secretion, which is washed once every month or two, will not stain anything. Their skin is not oily to the touch, it is no different from the skin of a clean child. And they don't smell like anything other than the actual smell of leather if you bury your face directly into it.

3. Sphynxes don’t itch or play with each other.

They itch and play, and suddenly at home you have a nightstand filled with chlorhexidine.

4. Sphinxes are evil and merciless

Yes, I am often asked this. In fact, Sphynx cats are the kindest and most sociable cats in the world. They get along with both people and other animals. They are extremely human-oriented and simply cannot live without human communication. If the sphinx does not lie on you for at least three hours a day, your life has been in vain. They only look like grumpy grandmothers, but in fact these little demons are the very embodiment of love.

Year of writing:

1957

Reading time:

Description of the work:

The story “Dandelion Wine” was written by Ray Bradbury in 1957. Partially this work can be called autobiographical. At first, Bradbury planned to make the book longer, but the editor suggested that he publish only part of it and then write a sequel. Surprisingly, the sequel was released only in 2006, entitled “Summer, Farewell!”

Twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding woke up in his grandfather's tower, the tallest building in the town of Greentown. He looked out the window as the wizard waved his hands, and the town began to wake up. The lanterns came on, the lights came on in the windows, “the huge house below came to life.” The first day of summer 1928 began.

That morning, Douglas, his father and his younger brother Tom went into the forest to collect wild grapes. The boy felt that something huge and unknown was approaching him. It washed over the boy like a gigantic wave, and for the first time in his life he felt alive, felt his muscles contracting and hot blood running through his veins. Douglas returned home, intoxicated by this feeling.

Soon the dandelions bloomed. The children collected golden flowers into bags, for each of which grandfather paid ten cents. The dandelions were dragged into the cellar and poured out under the press. The “juice of the beautiful hot month” fell into clay jugs, then grandfather allowed it to ferment thoroughly and poured it into clean ketchup bottles. Each bottle of dandelion wine seemed to hold one long summer day, and during the long winter saved the entire huge Douglas family from colds. For the boy, picking dandelions was his first summer rite.

After collecting dandelions, Douglas met with friends John Hough and Charlie Woodman. The “summer boys” set off on wanderings around the city and its environs. The favorite place for games was a deep ravine, full of wonders and untrodden paths, dividing Greentown into two parts. Douglas was irresistibly attracted to the “secret war of man against nature,” visible only near the ravine.

The time has come for the second summer ritual. Returning from the cinema with his parents in the evening, Douglas saw tennis shoes in the store window and realized that he definitely had to get them. Last year's shoes were no good - they no longer had magic, they could not fly Douglas “over the trees, over the rivers and houses.” Only brand new shoes could do this. The father, however, refused to buy them. The next day Douglas showed up at old Mr. Sanderson's shoe store. The boy's savings were not enough for tennis shoes, and he agreed to work for Mr. Sanderson all summer. The old man did not demand such sacrifices from the boy, he only asked him to carry out a few small tasks.

That same evening, Douglas bought a yellow-bound notebook and divided it into two halves. He called one “Rituals and Customs.” This part recorded events that happened every summer. The second part of the notebook, called “Discoveries and Revelations,” was intended for things that were happening for the first time, as well as for everything old that was perceived in a new way. Douglas and Tom diligently filled out this notebook every evening.

On the third day of summer, another ritual took place - grandfather hung a swing on the veranda. From now on, the Spalding family will spend all summer evenings here, taking a break from the heat of the day.

Once, walking with his grandchildren past a tobacco shop, the grandfather advised the men gathered there not to discuss weapons of destruction, but to create a machine of happiness. City jeweler Leo Aufman took on this difficult task.

Meanwhile, the discovery overtook Tom. One day Douglas did not return home for a long time. It was already getting dark, and the alarmed mother, taking Tom by the hand, went to look for her eldest son in the ravine, where the terrible Murderer was hiding. Tom felt his mother’s hand trembling and realized that “every person for himself is the only one in the world,” and “this is the fate of all people,” and death is when someone close does not return home. There was dead silence in the ravine, and Tom thought that something terrible was about to happen, but then he heard the voices of Douglas and his friends, and the darkness receded.

Grandpa loved to wake up to the sound of a lawnmower. But one day, a young newspaperman, Bill Forester, who regularly mowed the Spaldings' lawn, decided to sow it with grass that did not require regular mowing. Upon learning of this, grandfather became incredibly angry and paid Forester to remove the damned seeds away.

The jeweler's wife Lina believed that people did not need a machine of happiness, but Leo spent days and nights in the garage trying to create it. He didn't speak to his children for two weeks, and his wife gained ten pounds. But the happiness machine was ready. Her quiet voice attracted passers-by, children and dogs. At night, Leo heard his son crying, who had secretly been in the car, and in the morning, an angry Lina began to divide the property. Having collected her things, she wanted to look at the machine of happiness. The woman climbed into a huge orange box and the machine showed her something that would never happen in her life, and something that had long passed. Lina called her husband’s invention a “machine of grief.” She understood that now she would always be drawn to this sparkling world of illusions. Wanting to understand what his mistake was, Leo climbed into the car himself, and then it caught fire and burned to the ground. And in the evening, Leo looked out the window of his house and saw a real machine of happiness - his children playing peacefully, and his wife busy preparing dinner.

Mrs. Helen Bentley was a thrifty woman. She never threw away anything that came into her hands. Putting old records, railway tickets and her children's dresses into huge black chests, it was as if she was trying to preserve and bring back the past. One day Mrs. Bentley saw two girls and a boy on her lawn - Alice, Jane and Tom Spaulding. She treated the children to ice cream and tried to tell them about her childhood, but the children did not believe that such a terribly old miss was once a little girl. She was very offended, reached into her chests and found a comb and a ring that she had used as a child, as well as a photograph of herself as a child. However, the children again did not believe her. They decided that the old woman had stolen these things from the girl shown in the photo, and took them for themselves. At night, Mrs. Bentley remembered how her late husband once persuaded her to throw away all her old things. “Be what you are, put an end to what you were,” he said. In the morning, she gave the children her old toys, dresses and jewelry, and burned the rest in the backyard. And then the children became friends with the old missus and often enjoyed ice cream with her. In Discoveries and Revelations, Douglass wrote that old people were never children.

Charlie Woodman discovered a time machine. She turned out to be Colonel Freeley. One day, Charlie brought his friends to his house, and they made an amazing trip to the Wild West, in the era of cowboys and Indians. Colonel Freeley could only travel into the past, since the “time machine” was his memory. Children often came to the colonel and were carried away fifty or seventy years into the past.

The green battery-powered car was sold to Miss Fern and Miss Roberta by a visiting salesman. They decided to buy her because Fern had pain in her legs and could not make long walks or visits. For a whole week, the sisters drove around Greentown in an electric car until the unfortunate Mr. Quarterman fell under their wheels. They fled the crime scene and hid in the attic of their house. Douglas Spalding saw it all. He went to the old women to tell them that Mr. Quarterman was alive and well, but they did not open the boy. He conveyed his message through Frank, their bachelor brother, but the old women did not understand anything and decided to abandon the Green Machine forever, which was a terrible loss for the “summer boys.”

One day, the leader of the city tram decided to give Douglas, Tom and Charlie a free ride. This was the last run of the old tram - it was closed, and a bus was launched around the city. Once upon a time, the tram traveled far, taking townspeople to country picnics, and now the counselor decided to remember the half-forgotten route. The boys spent a long summer day saying goodbye to the old tram.

John Howe was for Douglas Spalding "the only deity who dwelt in Greentown, Illinois, in the twentieth century." One fine summer day, John announced that his father had been offered a job eighty miles out of town and was leaving for good. John was afraid that over time he would forget both the faces of his friends and the houses of Greentown. To stretch out the remaining time, the boys decided to sit and do nothing, but the day still flew by too quickly. In the evening, playing hide and seek and statues, Douglas tried his best to hold John, but he failed - Hough left on the nine o'clock train. Going to bed, Douglas asked Tom never to leave him alone.

The postman's wife, Elmira Brown, was convinced that Clara Goodwater had bewitched her. It was not for nothing that this woman ordered books about magic by mail, after which various troubles happened to Elmira - she tripped, broke her ankle, or tore an expensive stocking. Mrs. Brown believed that it was because of Clara that she was not elected chairman of the Honeysuckle Women's Club. On the day of the next meeting of the club, Elmira decided to respond to witchcraft with witchcraft. She prepared a terrible-looking potion, and for support she took with her a “pure soul” - Tom Spaulding. The potion he drank did not help - the ladies again voted for Clara Goodwater. Meanwhile, the potion began to take effect, causing Elmira to vomit. She rushed to the ladies' room, but mixed up the doors and rolled down the stairs, counting all the steps. Mrs. Brown was surrounded by ladies, led by Clara. After reconciliation, accompanied by a sea of ​​tears, she happily gave up her post to Elmira. In fact, Clara was buying “witchcraft” books for her nephew, and Ellmira did not need to bewitched - she was already considered the most clumsy lady in Greentown.

And then the day came when ripe apples began to fall from the trees. Children were no longer allowed to visit the “time machine” - the daughters and sons hired a very strict nurse for Colonel Freeley. Now, in order to remember the past, the old man called his friend in Mexico City, and he let him listen to the sounds of a distant city that awakened memories. The nurse hid the phone, but the colonel found it and called again. That's how he died - with a telephone receiver in his hand. For Douglas, an entire era died with the colonel.

After the second harvest of dandelions was harvested, Bill Forester invited Douglas to try some unusual ice cream. Sitting at a table in a pharmacy, they noticed ninety-five-year-old Helen Loomis enjoying vanilla ice cream. That day Bill spoke to Helen for the first time. Once he saw an old photograph of her and fell in love, not knowing that the beautiful girl depicted in it had long since grown old. He discovered that Helen was still very smart, and they were interested in talking in the shade of the trees in her garden. At one time she did not marry, then she traveled a lot, and now he traveled according to her memory. These were two souls destined for each other, who had missed each other in time. Helen hoped that they would meet in the next life. She died at the end of August, leaving Bill a farewell letter, which he never opened.

While enjoying the “fruit ice,” the children remembered the Murderer. He was born, raised and lived his life in Greentown. This monster kept the whole city in fear, lying in wait and killing young girls. One day Lavinia Nebbs went to the cinema with her friends. Crossing the ravine, the girls saw another victim of the Murderer and called the police. Despite being very frightened, they still went to the cinema. The session ended late, Lavinia’s house was located behind a ravine, and her friends began to persuade her to spend the night with one of them. But Lavinia was a stubborn and independent girl, she went home, where she lived completely alone. Finding herself in a ravine, she heard footsteps - someone was sneaking behind her. Not remembering herself from fear, she climbed over the ravine, ran into her house and locked the door, but before Lavinia had time to catch her breath, she heard someone’s quiet cough next to her. Undeterred, the girl grabbed the scissors, stabbed the Murderer with them, and called the police. All the boys in Greentown regretted that the most terrible urban legend had come to an end. Finally, they decided that the man who was carried out of Lavinia’s house did not at all resemble the Murderer, which meant that they could continue to be afraid.

Great-grandmother was an energetic and tireless woman. All her life she cleaned, cooked, sewed and washed, without sitting still for a second, but now “she stepped back from the board of life,” as if summing up the results. She slowly walked around the whole house, and then went up to her room, lay down under the cool sheets and died. Saying goodbye to her large family, the great-grandmother said that only work that brings pleasure is good. In his yellow notebook, Douglas wrote: if cars break down and people die, then Douglas Spalding must die someday.

The glass attraction box with the fortune teller has been in the Gallery for a long time. Douglas believed that the witch was once alive. She was turned into a wax doll and forced to write predictions on cards. Realizing that he would someday die, Douglas lost his peace. He couldn't even watch his favorite Westerns because they had cowboys and Indians killing each other. Only the witch calmed him down by predicting a “long and cheerful life.” Now the boy was often drawn to the Gallery, to the eternal and unchanging machines and panoramas, repeating the same actions over and over again. And then one day the sorceress broke down - instead of predictions, she began to give out empty cards. Tom said that the machine had run out of ink, but Douglas believed that it was because of the owner of the Gallery, Mr. Dark. Holding a blank card over the fire, Douglas saw the word “save” in French and decided to free the wax-covered fortune teller. Having lost the amount in the Gallery that was enough for Mr. Dark to buy a drink, and waiting until nightfall, the brothers went to save the fortuneteller. They saw a drunken Mr. Dark trying to get the machine to work and then using a baton to break his glass booth. Then he collapsed to the floor, and the brothers grabbed the wax doll and ran away. Mister Dark caught up with them near the ravine. He grabbed the doll, threw it into the very middle of the ravine and walked away, muttering curses under his breath. Douglas sent Tom to fetch his father, and he himself climbed into the ravine for the fortuneteller. The father helped his sons drag it to the garage. Tom offered to see what was inside the fortuneteller, but Douglas was only going to open it when he turned fourteen.

Mr. Nad Jonas's van roamed the streets of Greentown around the clock. People found things they wanted in the van and filled it with things they didn't need for someone else to find. Mr. Jonas was considered an eccentric, although he had a clear mind. Years ago, he grew tired of the Chicago business, moved to Greentown, and “now spent the rest of his days in seeing that some people could have what others no longer needed.” It was a terrible heat when Douglas became seriously ill. He was covered with ice all day to relieve the heat, and in the evening he was taken out into the garden. Having learned about the misfortune from Tom, Mr. Jonas came to see Douglas, but his mother did not allow the stranger to see his sick son. He made his way to the boy late at night and gave him a bottle with the purest northern air taken from the Arctic atmosphere, and another with the salty wind of the Aran Islands and Dublin Bay, menthol, camphor and an extract of all cool fruits. After inhaling the contents of the bottles, Douglas began to recover, and in the morning a cool summer rain began to fall.

Grandma was a great cook. In the kitchen, where she managed almost blindly, primordial chaos reigned, from which amazing dishes were born. One day, Aunt Rose came to stay with the Spaldings. This overly energetic woman took it upon herself to clean up her grandmother’s kitchen. Salt, cereals and spices were placed in brand new jars, pots and pans were lined up on the shelves, and the kitchen sparkled with cleanliness and order. The aunt ended her hectic activity by purchasing a cookbook and new glasses for her grandmother. That evening the whole family, led by grandfather, expected something unprecedented and unique for dinner, but the food turned out to be inedible - having received a new kitchen, grandmother forgot how to cook. Aunt Rose was sent home, but this did not improve the deplorable situation of the Spaldings. And then Douglas came up with a way to return his grandmother’s culinary talent. Getting up at night, he turned the kitchen upside down, returning the previous chaos, replaced new glasses with old ones and burned the cookbook. Hearing the noise, the grandmother came into the kitchen and started cooking.

Summer ended when school supplies appeared in the window of a stationery store. Grandfather collected the last dandelions and removed the swing from the veranda. Douglas spent the last night in his grandfather's tower. Looking out the window late at night, he waved his hands like a magician, and the city began to turn off the lights. The boy was not sad that it was all over, because in the cellar there were ninety bottles of dandelion wine preserved during the summer.

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A teenager named Douglas opens his eyes early in the morning and discovers that he is in a tower that belongs to his grandfather and is the tallest building in the small town where the boy lives. The boy waves his hands, and from that moment a new summer season begins in the surrounding area.

Having gone to the grape harvest with his father and younger brother Tom, Douglas feels himself overcome by some previously unknown sensations that frighten him a little, but at the same time fill him with a special, life-giving force. Dandelions begin to bloom, and the children diligently collect them in bags, because for each of these bags, grandfather gives them a small fee. Next, the elderly man processes the dandelions under pressure and allows their juice to ferment properly, after which he bottles it. This wine is an excellent remedy for treating colds; during the winter it saves the entire Douglas family from illness. The boy treats picking dandelions as a traditional summer ritual, the first of those that must be performed.

After completing this work, the teenager meets with his comrades Charlie and John, and the friends, as usual in the summer, begin to wander around the area, most of all the guys are interested in the ravine, in which they expect to find many more interesting mysteries and secrets. Then Douglas, returning home in the evening after visiting the cinema, sees summer tennis shoes in the store window. The boy feels that he simply needs them, because last year’s shoes had already run out of magic, and these shoes could no longer provide the boy with a real flight over all the local trees and rivers, as he dreams of.

However, Douglas's father refuses to buy his son new shoes, considering such an expense to be completely unnecessary. The next morning, the teenager turns to a shopkeeper who sells shoes and finds out that his personal savings are not enough to buy new clothes. The guy agrees to work for an elderly merchant throughout the summer, but he says that the boy must only complete a few minor tasks in exchange for the new thing he desires.

Having purchased a large notebook, Douglas divides it into two parts. In one, he outlines ordinary rituals that are already familiar to him, performed every summer. In the second half, the guy writes down the discoveries he made during the new summer period. Another ritual is the swing, which the grandfather soon hangs on the veranda so that in the evening his family members can at least get some rest from the brutal heat of the day. One day, Douglas's grandfather also gives advice to the men he knows to stop discussing new types of weapons, and instead try to invent a machine that brings happiness. Leo Aufman, a jeweler by profession, takes on this difficult task.

At the same time, little Tom, Douglas' brother, makes an important discovery for himself. One day, his older brother takes too long to return home from a walk, and the mother is forced to look for the teenager along with her younger son. It is on this evening that the boy learns that death occurs when someone close to him no longer returns, but hearing the voices of Douglas and his comrades, Tom calms down.

At the same time, Lina Aufman, the jeweler’s wife, believes that her husband was completely in vain in developing the notorious machine of happiness. Leo does not pay any attention to his wife and children for two weeks, but he still manages to create the desired unit.

At night, the man hears the bitter sobs of his son, who secretly climbed into this car; the next day, infuriated, Lina is going to leave her husband. However, the woman still decides to look at the invention, and the device shows her something that has already irrevocably ended for her, and something that will never happen in her life. Lina calls the device a “grief machine,” and Leo tries to understand where he went wrong. The man himself gets inside the device, but at this moment his invention completely burns out. It becomes clear to Aufman what true happiness is when he sees his children playing and his wife preparing dinner for the whole family.

Douglas and his friends begin to regularly visit the old colonel, who willingly shares with them stories about bygone times, Indians and cowboys. For this person, his memory serves as a real “time machine”.

That same summer, the boy loses his great-grandmother, an extremely energetic and active woman, whom she remains until the very end, despite her very advanced years. After her death, Douglas bitterly writes in his notebook that he, too, will someday have to die, since cars inevitably break down sooner or later, and any person inevitably dies.

During the hottest summer months, the teenager becomes seriously ill. Mr. Nad Jonas, a van driver with whom Douglas' friends and the boy himself also periodically communicated, comes to visit the boy, but the mother does not allow this man to go to her son. But a man makes his way to the patient late at night, he brings Douglas bottles of fresh Arctic air and salty ocean wind. After taking just a couple of breaths from this bottle, the boy begins to recover, and the next morning the townspeople greet the pouring rain with great relief.

Douglas's grandmother is an unsurpassed cook, and the woman prepares magnificent dishes from inspiration, without thinking about what exactly and how she is doing. One day, a certain aunt named Rose, a very pedantic person who loves order in everything, comes to visit the whole family. This lady takes on the task of transforming the kitchen familiar to grandma, she puts all the seasonings in new and beautiful jars, all the frying pans and pots are lined up in even rows on the shelves, Rose also buys grandma a thick cookbook and stronger glasses.

As evening approaches, family members expect some amazing, delicious dinner, but this time the food turns out to be completely indigestible for the first time in many years, and the grandmother admits in despair that she simply forgot how to cook, having received a kitchen unfamiliar to her. Douglas's loved ones demand that Aunt Rose leave immediately, but her disappearance does not change the situation; the grandmother still cannot prepare even the simplest things.

Then the boy has an idea on how to correct the current situation. At night, he literally turns the kitchen upside down, returning the chaos that previously reigned there. The teenager exchanges the newly purchased glasses for old ones, familiar to his grandmother, and burns the cookbook given by Aunt Rosa. Hearing the noise he makes, an elderly woman comes into the kitchen and immediately begins the cooking process with enthusiasm.

Summer is ending, and the guys notice it by a number of signs. The stationery store begins to sell supplies needed for school, and grandfather removes the swing from the veranda. Douglas spends the night in his beloved tower for the last time this year. In the evening, the boy, looking out the window, waves his hands, and the lights in the city gradually go out. However, the teenager is not upset that the holiday period is ending, because in his grandfather’s cellar there are 90 bottles of wine made from dandelions, each of which preserves one of the past summer days.

Illustration by Tomislav Tikulin

Very briefly

Two boys, their friends and relatives test the Machine of Happiness, catch the terrible Murderer, save a wax fortuneteller and make wine from dandelions - a concentrate of summer days.

Twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding woke up in his grandfather's tower, the tallest building in the town of Greentown. He looked out the window as the wizard waved his hands, and the town began to wake up. The lanterns came on, the lights came on in the windows, “the huge house below came to life.” The first day of summer 1928 began.

That morning, Douglas, his father and his younger brother Tom went into the forest to collect wild grapes. The boy felt that something huge and unknown was approaching him. It washed over the boy like a gigantic wave, and for the first time in his life he felt alive, felt his muscles contracting and hot blood running through his veins. Douglas returned home, intoxicated by this feeling.

Soon the dandelions bloomed. The children collected golden flowers into bags, for each of which grandfather paid ten cents. The dandelions were dragged into the cellar and poured out under the press. The “juice of the beautiful hot month” fell into clay jugs, then grandfather allowed it to ferment thoroughly and poured it into clean ketchup bottles. Each bottle of dandelion wine seemed to hold one long summer day, and during the long winter saved the entire huge Douglas family from colds. For the boy, picking dandelions was his first summer rite.

After collecting dandelions, Douglas met with friends John Hough and Charlie Woodman. The “summer boys” set off on wanderings around the city and its environs. The favorite place for games was a deep ravine, full of wonders and untrodden paths, dividing Greentown into two parts. Douglas was irresistibly attracted to the “secret war of man against nature,” visible only near the ravine.

The time has come for the second summer ritual. Returning from the cinema with his parents in the evening, Douglas saw tennis shoes in the store window and realized that he definitely had to get them. Last year's shoes were no good - they no longer had magic, they could not fly Douglas “over the trees, over the rivers and houses.” Only brand new shoes could do this. The father, however, refused to buy them. The next day Douglas showed up at old Mr. Sanderson's shoe store. The boy's savings were not enough for tennis shoes, and he agreed to work for Mr. Sanderson all summer. The old man did not demand such sacrifices from the boy, he only asked him to carry out a few small tasks.

That same evening, Douglas bought a yellow-bound notebook and divided it into two halves. He called one “Rituals and Customs.” This part recorded events that happened every summer. The second part of the notebook, called “Discoveries and Revelations,” was intended for things that were happening for the first time, as well as for everything old that was perceived in a new way. Douglas and Tom diligently filled out this notebook every evening.

On the third day of summer, another ritual took place - grandfather hung a swing on the veranda. From now on, the Spalding family will spend all summer evenings here, taking a break from the heat of the day.

Once, walking with his grandchildren past a tobacco shop, the grandfather advised the men gathered there not to discuss weapons of destruction, but to create a machine of happiness. City jeweler Leo Aufman took on this difficult task.

Meanwhile, the discovery overtook Tom. One day Douglas did not return home for a long time. It was already getting dark, and the alarmed mother, taking Tom by the hand, went to look for her eldest son in the ravine, where the terrible Murderer was hiding. Tom felt his mother’s hand trembling and realized that “every person for himself is the only one in the world,” and “this is the fate of all people,” and death is when someone close does not return home. There was dead silence in the ravine, and Tom thought that something terrible was about to happen, but then he heard the voices of Douglas and his friends, and the darkness receded.

Grandpa loved to wake up to the sound of a lawnmower. But one day, a young newspaperman, Bill Forester, who regularly mowed the Spaldings' lawn, decided to sow it with grass that did not require regular mowing. Upon learning of this, grandfather became incredibly angry and paid Forester to remove the damned seeds away.

The jeweler's wife Lina believed that people did not need a machine of happiness, but Leo spent days and nights in the garage trying to create it. He didn't speak to his children for two weeks, and his wife gained ten pounds. But the happiness machine was ready. Her quiet voice attracted passers-by, children and dogs. At night, Leo heard his son crying, who had secretly been in the car, and in the morning, an angry Lina began to divide the property. Having collected her things, she wanted to look at the machine of happiness. The woman climbed into a huge orange box and the machine showed her something that would never happen in her life, and something that had long passed. Lina called her husband’s invention a “machine of grief.” She understood that now she would always be drawn to this sparkling world of illusions. Wanting to understand what his mistake was, Leo climbed into the car himself, and then it caught fire and burned to the ground. And in the evening, Leo looked out the window of his house and saw a real machine of happiness - his children playing peacefully, and his wife busy preparing dinner.

Mrs. Helen Bentley was a thrifty woman. She never threw away anything that came into her hands. Putting old records, railway tickets and her children's dresses into huge black chests, it was as if she was trying to preserve and bring back the past. One day Mrs. Bentley saw two girls and a boy on her lawn - Alice, Jane and Tom Spaulding. She treated the children to ice cream and tried to tell them about her childhood, but the children did not believe that such a terribly old miss was once a little girl. She was very offended, reached into her chests and found a comb and a ring that she had used as a child, as well as a photograph of herself as a child. However, the children again did not believe her. They decided that the old woman had stolen these things from the girl shown in the photo, and took them for themselves. At night, Mrs. Bentley remembered how her late husband once persuaded her to throw away all her old things. “Be what you are, put an end to what you were,” he said. In the morning, she gave the children her old toys, dresses and jewelry, and burned the rest in the backyard. And then the children became friends with the old missus and often enjoyed ice cream with her. In Discoveries and Revelations, Douglass wrote that old people were never children.

Charlie Woodman discovered a time machine. She turned out to be Colonel Freeley. One day, Charlie brought his friends to his house, and they made an amazing trip to the Wild West, in the era of cowboys and Indians. Colonel Freeley could only travel into the past, since the “time machine” was his memory. Children often came to the colonel and were carried away fifty or seventy years into the past.

The green battery-powered car was sold to Miss Fern and Miss Roberta by a visiting salesman. They decided to buy her because Fern had pain in her legs and could not make long walks or visits. For a whole week, the sisters drove around Greentown in an electric car until the unfortunate Mr. Quarterman fell under their wheels. They fled the crime scene and hid in the attic of their house. Douglas Spalding saw it all. He went to the old women to tell them that Mr. Quarterman was alive and well, but they did not open the boy. He conveyed his message through Frank, their bachelor brother, but the old women did not understand anything and decided to abandon the Green Machine forever, which was a terrible loss for the “summer boys.”

One day, the leader of the city tram decided to give Douglas, Tom and Charlie a free ride. This was the last run of the old tram - it was closed, and a bus was launched around the city. Once upon a time, the tram traveled far, taking townspeople to country picnics, and now the counselor decided to remember the half-forgotten route. The boys spent a long summer day saying goodbye to the old tram.

John Howe was for Douglas Spalding "the only deity who dwelt in Greentown, Illinois, in the twentieth century." One fine summer day, John announced that his father had been offered a job eighty miles out of town and was leaving for good. John was afraid that over time he would forget both the faces of his friends and the houses of Greentown. To stretch out the remaining time, the boys decided to sit and do nothing, but the day still flew by too quickly. In the evening, playing hide and seek and statues, Douglas tried his best to hold John, but he failed - Hough left on the nine o'clock train. Going to bed, Douglas asked Tom never to leave him alone.

The postman's wife, Elmira Brown, was convinced that Clara Goodwater had bewitched her. It was not for nothing that this woman ordered books about magic by mail, after which various troubles happened to Elmira - she tripped, broke her ankle, or tore an expensive stocking. Mrs. Brown believed that it was because of Clara that she was not elected chairman of the Honeysuckle Women's Club. On the day of the next meeting of the club, Elmira decided to respond to witchcraft with witchcraft. She prepared a terrible-looking potion, and for support she took with her a “pure soul” - Tom Spaulding. The potion he drank did not help - the ladies again voted for Clara Goodwater. Meanwhile, the potion began to take effect, causing Elmira to vomit. She rushed to the ladies' room, but mixed up the doors and rolled down the stairs, counting all the steps. Mrs. Brown was surrounded by ladies, led by Clara. After reconciliation, accompanied by a sea of ​​tears, she happily gave up her post to Elmira. In fact, Clara was buying “witchcraft” books for her nephew, and Ellmira did not need to bewitched - she was already considered the most clumsy lady in Greentown.

And then the day came when ripe apples began to fall from the trees. Children were no longer allowed to visit the “time machine” - the daughters and sons hired a very strict nurse for Colonel Freeley. Now, in order to remember the past, the old man called his friend in Mexico City, and he let him listen to the sounds of a distant city that awakened memories. The nurse hid the phone, but the colonel found it and called again. That's how he died - with a telephone receiver in his hand. For Douglas, an entire era died with the colonel.

After the second harvest of dandelions was harvested, Bill Forester invited Douglas to try some unusual ice cream. Sitting at a table in a pharmacy, they noticed ninety-five-year-old Helen Loomis enjoying vanilla ice cream. That day Bill spoke to Helen for the first time. Once he saw an old photograph of her and fell in love, not knowing that the beautiful girl depicted in it had long since grown old. He discovered that Helen was still very smart, and they were interested in talking in the shade of the trees in her garden. At one time she did not marry, then she traveled a lot, and now he traveled according to her memory. These were two souls destined for each other, who had missed each other in time. Helen hoped that they would meet in the next life. She died at the end of August, leaving Bill a farewell letter, which he never opened.

While enjoying the “fruit ice,” the children remembered the Murderer. He was born, raised and lived his life in Greentown. This monster kept the whole city in fear, lying in wait and killing young girls. One day Lavinia Nebbs went to the cinema with her friends. Crossing the ravine, the girls saw another victim of the Murderer and called the police. Despite being very frightened, they still went to the cinema. The session ended late, Lavinia’s house was located behind a ravine, and her friends began to persuade her to spend the night with one of them. But Lavinia was a stubborn and independent girl, she went home, where she lived completely alone. Finding herself in a ravine, she heard footsteps - someone was sneaking behind her. Not remembering herself from fear, she climbed over the ravine, ran into her house and locked the door, but before Lavinia had time to catch her breath, she heard someone’s quiet cough next to her. Undeterred, the girl grabbed the scissors, stabbed the Murderer with them, and called the police. All the boys in Greentown regretted that the most terrible urban legend had come to an end. Finally, they decided that the man who was carried out of Lavinia’s house did not at all resemble the Murderer, which meant that they could continue to be afraid.

Great-grandmother was an energetic and tireless woman. All her life she cleaned, cooked, sewed and washed, without sitting still for a second, but now “she stepped back from the board of life,” as if summing up the results. She slowly walked around the whole house, and then went up to her room, lay down under the cool sheets and died. Saying goodbye to her large family, the great-grandmother said that only work that brings pleasure is good. In his yellow notebook, Douglas wrote: if cars break down and people die, then Douglas Spalding must die someday.

The glass attraction box with the fortune teller has been in the Gallery for a long time. Douglas believed that the witch was once alive. She was turned into a wax doll and forced to write predictions on cards. Realizing that he would someday die, Douglas lost his peace. He couldn't even watch his favorite Westerns because they had cowboys and Indians killing each other. Only the witch calmed him down by predicting a “long and cheerful life.” Now the boy was often drawn to the Gallery, to the eternal and unchanging machines and panoramas, repeating the same actions over and over again. And then one day the sorceress broke down - instead of predictions, she began to give out empty cards. Tom said that the machine had run out of ink, but Douglas believed that it was because of the owner of the Gallery, Mr. Dark. Holding a blank card over the fire, Douglas saw the word “save” in French and decided to free the wax-covered fortune teller. Having lost the amount in the Gallery that was enough for Mr. Dark to buy a drink, and waiting until nightfall, the brothers went to save the fortuneteller. They saw a drunken Mr. Dark trying to get the machine to work and then using a baton to break his glass booth. Then he collapsed to the floor, and the brothers grabbed the wax doll and ran away. Mister Dark caught up with them near the ravine. He grabbed the doll, threw it into the very middle of the ravine and walked away, muttering curses under his breath. Douglas sent Tom to fetch his father, and he himself climbed into the ravine for the fortuneteller. The father helped his sons drag it to the garage. Tom offered to see what was inside the fortuneteller, but Douglas was only going to open it when he turned fourteen.

Mr. Nad Jonas's van roamed the streets of Greentown around the clock. People found things they wanted in the van and filled it with things they didn't need for someone else to find. Mr. Jonas was considered an eccentric, although he had a clear mind. Years ago, he grew tired of the Chicago business, moved to Greentown, and “now spent the rest of his days in seeing that some people could have what others no longer needed.” It was a terrible heat when Douglas became seriously ill. He was covered with ice all day to relieve the heat, and in the evening he was taken out into the garden. Having learned about the misfortune from Tom, Mr. Jonas came to see Douglas, but his mother did not allow the stranger to see his sick son. He made his way to the boy late at night and gave him a bottle with the purest northern air taken from the Arctic atmosphere, and another with the salty wind of the Aran Islands and Dublin Bay, menthol, camphor and an extract of all cool fruits. After inhaling the contents of the bottles, Douglas began to recover, and in the morning a cool summer rain began to fall.

Grandma was a great cook. In the kitchen, where she managed almost blindly, primordial chaos reigned, from which amazing dishes were born. One day, Aunt Rose came to stay with the Spaldings. This overly energetic woman took it upon herself to clean up her grandmother’s kitchen. Salt, cereals and spices were placed in brand new jars, pots and pans were lined up on the shelves, and the kitchen sparkled with cleanliness and order. The aunt ended her hectic activity by purchasing a cookbook and new glasses for her grandmother. That evening the whole family, led by grandfather, expected something unprecedented and unique for dinner, but the food turned out to be inedible - having received a new kitchen, grandmother forgot how to cook. Aunt Rose was sent home, but this did not improve the deplorable situation of the Spaldings. And then Douglas came up with a way to return his grandmother’s culinary talent. Getting up at night, he turned the kitchen upside down, returning the previous chaos, replaced new glasses with old ones and burned the cookbook. Hearing the noise, the grandmother came into the kitchen and started cooking.

Summer ended when school supplies appeared in the window of a stationery store. Grandfather collected the last dandelions and removed the swing from the veranda. Douglas spent the last night in his grandfather's tower. Looking out the window late at night, he waved his hands like a magician, and the city began to turn off the lights. The boy was not sad that it was all over, because in the cellar there were ninety bottles of dandelion wine preserved during the summer.