Опубликовано 13.04.2009

Once upon a time in a far-away city there lived a small family: Mother and her little daughter. They lived a poor and difficult life and they were very lonely. Mother worked from early morning till late in the afternoon. That's why in the daytime the girl's life was passing boringly: neither her Teddy bear, nor her shaggy hare and her rag-doll, made by her Mother could amuse her.

And it was only in the afternoon when Mother came back from work, the girl was really happy. You see, every afternoon Mother took her little girl out for walks in the nearest park.

In the city park reigned noise, running about and gaiety. And more than that there lived a restless talkative Magpie in that park. Once when the Magpie flew up quite near to the people she began chirping.

«Crack-crack-crack, today when the sun was setting behind the trees, an amazing thing had happened! …

Crack-crack-crack! While flying past a rusty pipe I saw such a thing!»…

Mother smiled and asked the Magpie,

«Oh! What did you see there? Tell us everything»

And the Magpie began cracking even faster,

«Crack-crack-crack, I am flying and see: there is a large wooden trunk in the middle of a dusty road and next to it is sitting -a Sorceress! Crack-crack-crack and she is puffing like an old steam — engine. She got tired, an old swindler dragging the heavy trunk to the forest».

The Magpie imitating the Sorceress pouted her lips, goggled her eyes and puffed exactly like a steam-engine.

The girl burst into ringing laughter and Mother asked, «I wonder, what is there in that trunk?»

«Crack-crack-crack, what a curious person you are! „, coquetly assumed a dignified air the Magpie and at once began cracking faster and faster“. The gold is in the trunk! Oh, there it is!

Bewitching treasures stolen from the Yaga! Crack-crack-crack, such an envious Sorceress, such a greedy creature! She can't stand not having something another has! «

After a long talk the Magpie flapped her wings, flew off the branch and disappeared in the distance to the nearest forest, eager to spy and to overhear the Sorceress.

Mother and the little girl went home. The sun had already set behind the trees, the park became empty-the time for evening fairytales has come.

After putting the girl to bed and covering her with a warm blanket Mother quietly said, „Sleep, my kitten, and I will tell you a new fairytale“.

And in that late evening the Sorceress envied somebody else's piece of fortune.

While looking into magic mirror reflecting everything happening in the world, she screwed her face into wrinkles with anger when she saw a cosy small room where Mother was telling a kind fairytale to her halfsleeping daughter.

„Ha“, she said knitting her brows with displeasure. She was chewing a fading dandelion.

Not so long ago the Sorceress became a vegetarian. After giving up eating fresh warms, leeches and toads, she varied her magic menu just for a change by leaves of plantain, roots of burdock and dandelion.

„This family lives quietly and joyfully“, muttered greedy for somebody else's happiness the Sorceress. Despite their poverty and loneliness, these two people never despair of their life, never grant, never whimper «.

The Sorceress was downright angry. And she was about ready to conjure some terrible evil when somebody knocked at the door of her forest dwelling.

„What do you want?“, asked the Sorceress her unknown guest roughly. But behind the closed door on the branch of the tree the Magpie was sitting.

She was eager to see at least some of the secret dirty tricks of the Sorceress and the Magpie didn't lose sight of her even for a moment.

The Magpie decided to work her way into the witch's lair under any cause. And she pitifully, very pitifully cracked, «Crack, crack, crack! I've been flying for a long time from the city and I've got very tired. And you see, I've lost my way in the forest. Let me in, I beg you. Feed me with some bread! Give me some water to drink! «

The Sorceress however was not only greedy but quick-witted as well: she recognized the cracking of the restless Magpie immediately. And more than that, she could never stand self-invited guests to appear at all. Those guests attracted her away from her important and urgent business, that is from her witchcraft.

Not opening the door the Sorceress shouted to the Magpie, «Fly away, you pushful chatterer! Otherwise I will turn you into a toad and eat you! «

She was so angry that she was ready to break her diet.

The Magpie got afraid and flew off the branch. But as she was quite curious she didn't leave for good and got a place on a tall bough of the next tree and lent her attentive ear to what was happening. She thought that the Sorceress would somehow blab out her dark intentions.

And the Witch didn't waste time, she became wild with anger. She lighted the oven hottly, put a large copper on it and threw a golden coin stolen from the Yaga's trunk into it.

She opened a thick book at page needed and began conjuring strictly according to the witches' prescriptions.

On hearing the terrible invocations of the Sorceress the Magpie headlong flew to the city to warn the girl's Mother about the danger that threatened them. But however hard the Magpie hurried, the conjuring reached the small family faster.

Having returned home from work the next day, Mother entered the girl's room, turned on the light and on the floor, next to the sofa she saw a little mewing kitten.

Mother immediately realized what a trouble had happened in the house and burst into tears. But a little later she wiped tears from her face and pronounced in a low voice, „ One should not despair of that! It s impossible to help the kiddy-cat by tears“

Mother affectionately flattered the fluffy hair of the kitten. Then she fed the kitten with milk. They played hide-and-seek together. When It became quite dark she put the kitten to bed covering it with a blanket. And then she told it an evening fairytale. After listening attentively to the new story, the kitten yawned widely and sweetly fell asleep snuggling up to Mother's side.

„If I only could become a cat! A big grey cat“, Mother thought the whole night through looking at the sleeping kitten rolled itself up into a ball.

„Then my little girl and I could have become a real family“, she thought.

A new day woke up. Bright sunlight flew into the open window ready to meet the sun. The room was filled with a golden radiance out of which suddenly the Enchantress appeared.

The Enchantress went up to Mother and said sweetly, «I know what has happened to your girl. Alas! It is beyond my power to help your daughter being bewitched. The Sorceress's witch -craft proved to be very strong.

But I did hear that you would like to become a cat, too.

„Is that really so?“

„Yes, that's so“, was the answer.

The kind Enchantress looked at Mother with great attention and went on, „I know the city where only cats live. There's everything in that city for your kitten to grow healthy, joyful and happy. But not anyone can enter that town. One has to do somebody good, that is three good and kind things“, said the Enchantress and disappeared.

Mother opened her eyes and saw a small purring sleepy kitten on the bed by her side. „It's a dream… I had an amazing dream“, decided Mother.

„Ha! That's fine! This perfect fool thinks that she had a dream“, burst out laughing the Sorceress looking into the magic mirror. She didn't forget about the small family and now while watching them intently she rejoiced at their misfortune.

In the mirror she saw Mother getting ready to go to work. After filling a saucer with milk for her kitten and leaving on the floor a skein of bright thread for him to play with, she put on her coat, took her big bag and left the house.

„Why has she taken her shopping-bag and not a small ladies' one?“ worried the Sorceress immediately. What have I missed, what have I overlooked? «

She quickly ran over the threshold and looked around. On the branch of the nearest tree she saw the Magpie who goggling her eyes with curiosity was eager to watch and to see everything. The Sorceress asked her as sweetly as she could, „My dear Magpie, my friend, perhaps you know why the girl's Mother is going to work with her shopping-bag“.

Certainly the Magpie knew: being a bird with an inquiring mind and attracted by everything, she always wanted to be well-informed about the most important events. The Magpie was about to tell the Sorceress all the details of the affairs but suddenly even unexpectedly for herself she shut up her talkative beak. She understood that the Sorceress was preparing a next villainous act for the suffering family. Besides she didn't forgive the Sorceress who hadn't let her in and drove her away. She never forgot deep mortifications.

„Crack! Crack! Crack! How should I know what's what. I'm not aware of that at all,“ cracked the Magpie, flew off the branch and off she went.

But it was quite easy to explain everything. On Fridays Mother bought food for an old woman living in the neighbourhood and always took her shopping-bag for that. It was just Friday that day.

The Sorceress threatened with her fist after vanishing from sight Magpie. The door slammed behind her. Then she ran up to the magic mirror and buried her long nose in it.

Having left the house Mother saw that on the young birch growing near the porch a branch was broken. Some rowdy-dowdy made a cruel action and now pleading for help the birch was holding out her sick branch towards Mother.

Mother took off her silk scarf from her neck, carefully tied the branch with it and patted the birch.

„How horrible“, shouted the Sorceress in a dreadful voice. She didn't grudge her silk, her scarf for the birch! The only one!

At the crossing Mother helped another Mum to cross the road. The woman was wheeling a large perambulator holding her baby tearing himself away from his Mum in one hand and a large shopping-bag in another one.

«What an awful thing she is doing!

What a terrible deed», shouted the Sorceress stamping her feet and dashing around her bewitching dwelling.

Being busy with hard work Mother didn't notice the day flew by. Before she returned home she did some shopping, bought some food she needed for her neighbour and called on her way back.

Just at that moment a terrible scream was heard at the Sorceress dwelling.

The Sorceress in impotant anger was tearing her hair and was threateningly swinging her arms. Quite by accident she was caught in a large sorcery copper, which swang, fell down and broke into thousands of smallest pieces.

Having returned home and opened the door Mother saw the Enchantress who as she thought had come to her in her sleep.

«Welcome to the Cats' City!», said the Enchantress sweetly.

At the next moment the room filled with bright sunlight and the Enchantress, the little kitten and a big grey cat vanished in it.

«Mum, look! What a beautiful enchanting City!», mewed the kitten.

And Mother-cat answered, «Let's go and I'll show you our new house and I'll introduce you to your new friends»

And they both Mother and her daughter started along a wide road leading to the Cats' City.

The City was waiting for them.