- A Note on Three Contemporary Soviet Children's Stories
Unlike much Soviet children's literature in forme" years, several recent Soviet stories for children contain no economic propaganda. Examples are "He is alive and glows"1 by Viktor Dragunskij, "Monster mushroom"2 by Kazimira Poljakova, and "Girl on the ball,"3 also by Viktor Dragunskij.
"He is alive and glows" describes one episode in the life of a small boy. He sits near the sandbox waiting for his mother to take him home after work. The story moves from his feelings of self pity to the unfolding of how this one little boy, alone in the falling darkness, finds one way to fill up the hungry time of waiting for the comforts of home, family and food.
He feels miserable and neglected: " . . . if I knew my mommy wanted to eat and was waiting for me somewhere at the edge of the world, I would run to her immediately and wouldn't be late and wouldn't make her sit by a sandbox and be bored."4 He is joined by another child who tries to borrow his new dump truck. The other child doesn't count as company or comfort. He is barely tolerated; his questions are curtly answered. Our miserable boy has thoughts only of his mother's arrival. He sits and stares at the gate. The other child makes several offers of trades for the dump truck and finally offers his firefly. The trade is made and the other child leaves. The firefly is alive and glows, and the little boy is so charmed by the wonder of it that he forgets to watch the gate for his mother.
A bunny hears about "Monster mushroom" as he hops by a scout leader reading to children at a young pioneer camp. He is so excited by the news that he hops on before hearing the rest of the story. He tells his neighbors, the skeptical squirrels, about it. He tells them that in the tundra there are monster mushtooms bigger than birch or willow trees. They don't believe it, so he decides to go there and bring back a sample.
He makes a basket three times as big as himself. With the help of the Old Man of the Woods he is transported to and from the tundra just by wishing it. [End Page 221] There he discovers that mushrooms are bigger than birch and willow trees, but only because the trees are stunted by the severity of the weather. He first experiences a feeling of disappointment. Then he is cheered by the thought that he has learned something new. He brings back samples to show those sassy squirrels that mushrooms do indeed grow bigger than birch or willow trees in the tundra.
The fantastic and the magical interact with the real world in the happy way of pure fantasy. The magic bunny finds the life of the children at the pioneer camp intriguing and informative, but what could a magic bunny learn from mere mortals? The Old Man of the Woods has magic gifts to bestow and words of wisdom for all seekers. One would think that he himself would be much more interesting than information concerning the size of birch trees in the tundra: "The Old Man of the Woods appeared in a green caftan made from Mrry moss and wearing acorn slippers. His beard came down to the very ground."5 However, the real problem of the moment is to ascertain certain perhaps useful facts concerning arctic vegetation. But the bunny finds a talking birch tree up in the tundra, no less! This story can be considered didactic only in the most extended sense of the term. It is a chase after reality for the sheer fun of it.
"The girl on a ball" is a simple story, beautifully told. Its theme is not simple or childish, however, or even limited to childhood. It is about one of the few very moving experiences of life. In every life there are the inevitable tragedies of death and loss as well as the rare emotional glories which are usually called love but which might...