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WHAT MISHA LIKES

One day Misha and I went to the room where we have our singing lessons. Boris Sergeyevich was at the piano, playing softly. Misha and I sat down on the windowsill, so's not to bother him, but he didn't notice us anyway. He went on playing. All kinds of musical sounds kept slipping out from under his fingers, splashing all over and making the whole thing sound warm and sunny. I liked what he was playing and could've just sat there listening to him, but he soon stopped playing. He put down the top of the piano, saw us, smiled and said,

"Ah, look who's here? You look like two sparrows perched on a twig. Well, what's new?"

"What was that you were playing, Boris Sergeyevich?" I asked.

"Chopin. I like his music very much."

"That's because you're our singing teacher. That's why you like all kinds of songs."

"That wasn't a song. I like songs, too, but that was not a song. The piece I was playing goes by a much greater name."

"What's that?"

"Mu-sic. Chopin was a great composer. He wrote wonderful music. And music is something I love more than anything else on earth." He looked at me closely and said, "Now you tell me what you like. Best of all."

"I like a lot of things."

I told him about all the things I like: dogs, sawing wood, baby elephants, red cavalrymen, the little antelope with pink hooves, ancient warriors, cool stars, horses' faces and a lot more.

He listened and looked very serious. Then he said, "Indeed! I never knew. Actually, you're still a very small boy, but you like so many things. Why, I'd say it was the entire world!"

Then Misha butted in. He pouted and said, "I like still more things than Dennis does!"

Boris Sergeyevich laughed. "You don't say? Well, now it's your turn. You tell me about all the things you like."

Misha fidgeted on the windowsill, cleared his throat and said,

"I like buns, rolls, cakes and pies. I like bread, pastries, gingerbread and poppy-seed cakes. Crackers and biscuits, meat pies, fruit pies, cabbage rolls and rice rolls. I like cheesecake buns, especially if they're fresh, but stale ones are all right, too. I like oatmeal cookies and vanilla wafers.

"I like anchovies, salmon, pickled pike, catfish in tomato sauce, sardines, eggplant sauce, fried squash and fried potatoes.

"I love bologna and can eat a whole kilo of it, and all kinds of salamies, hard and soft. I like buttered noodles and elbow macaroni, and spaghetti, and cheese that has holes in it and cheese that doesn't, and cheese with a yellow rind, and cheese with a red rind.

"I like cottage cheese patties, and just plain cottage cheese, salted or sweetened. I like grated apples with sugar and just plain apples, and if they're peeled, then I like to eat the apple first and then the peel.

"I like fried liver, meatballs, herring, split-pea soup, green peas, boiled meat, caramels, sugar, tea, jam, soda pop, seltzer, boiled eggs, hard-boiled eggs and even raw eggs. I like sandwiches with all kinds of fillings, especially if you put a big layer of mashed potatoes on the bread. There... Then there's halvah. I know everybody loves it as much as I do. I also like roast duck, roast goose and roast turkey. Oh, yes! I'm crazy about ice cream I like every single kind of ice cream that was ever invented."

Misha looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. He looked tired. But Boris Sergeyevich was staring at him and so he continued in a mumble, "Gooseberries, carrots, smoked salmon, turnips, borshch, meat pies, though I already said meat pies, broth, bananas, persimmons, stewed fruit, frankfurters, salami, though I already said salami..."

Misha's motor ran down and he stopped. You could see he was waiting for Boris Sergeyevich to say something nice, but Boris Sergeyevich looked sort of angry. He seemed to be waiting for Misha to go on, but Misha didn't. So they both just stared at each other, and each one was waiting for the other to say something.

Finally, Boris Sergeyevich said, "Well, Misha, I can see there's a lot that you like, but everything you like is all in the same category: it's all edible. So it seems you like a whole supermarket full of food and nothing else. But what about people? Whom do you love? Or, perhaps, some animal?"

Misha looked embarrassed. "Oh, I nearly forgot!" he said. "I also like kittens. And Grandma!"


 
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