1.12 How Daddy tested his strength
A bedtime story from 'When Daddy was a little boy' by Alexander Raskin
A story from a dad’s childhood, narrated to his daughter, written in 1961. Read the introduction below.
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HOW DADDY TESTED HIS STRENGTH
When Daddy was little he had many friends. They played together every day. Sometimes they quarrelled and even fought. Then they would make up again. But there was one boy who never fought. His name was Vova Nazarov.
He was a short, sturdy boy. His father was a cavalryman. And Vova liked to talk about Budyonny, his father's famous commander. He would tell the other boys how brave he was and how he had fought the White Guards.
He was never afraid of generals, or colonels, or bullets, or swords. Vova knew all about Budyonny's horse and sword as well. He was forever saying: "When I grow up, I'll be like Budyonny."
Little Daddy liked to visit Vova. It was always fun at his house. Vova was always busy. He had to go to the store for bread, chop wood for the stove, sweep the floor and wash the dishes.
Little Daddy saw that everyone in the family loved Vova. Often, Vova's father would speak to him as if he were grown-up:
"Whom shall we invite for dinner on Sunday, Vova?"
"Do you think the wood will last till spring, Vova?"
And Vova always knew what to answer.
If one of Vova's friends came to visit, they would sit him down and treat him to something nice. Then everyone would play games. Little Daddy was always sorry that it was never as much fun at his house as it was at Vova's. He and Vova were good friends. But he could not understand why Vova never liked to fight.
Little Daddy asked him: "Are you afraid to fight?"
And Vova said: "What's the use of fighting against your own side?"
Once, the boys were arguing about who was the strongest of all. One of the boys said: "I'm not afraid of anyone bigger than me! I can throw you all around like a bunch of puppies! Just look at my muscles!"
Another boy said: "I'm so strong I can't even believe it myself. Especially my left hand. It's made of steel."
The third boy said: "If you want to see how strong I really am, you have to make me mad. Then you'd better keep away, 'cause then I'm not responsible for what I do."
Little Daddy said: "There's no sense arguing with you. I know I'm stronger than the whole bunch of you."
They kept on boasting, but Vova Nazarov never said a word.
Then one of the boys said: "I know what: let's wrestle! Whoever wins is the strongest of all."
The boys agreed. They began wrestling. Everyone wanted to wrestle with Vova. He never fought and they all thought he was very weak.
Vova didn't want to wrestle at first. But when the boy whose left hand was made of steel grabbed him, Vova became angry and tossed him to the ground in a second. Then the boy who had threatened to throw them all around like puppies found himself lying on his back on the ground. Next came the boy who became strong when you made him mad. He kept on shouting that he wasn't mad yet, but Vova had him on the ground already. Then Vova laid little Daddy out flat. Since they were good friends, he made believe it was hardest of all to get Daddy down.
"Vova, you're the strongest of all! Why didn't you ever say anything?" the boys asked.
Vova laughed and said: "What's the use of boasting?"
And the boys had nothing to say. But from then on they stopped boasting about their strength, and little Daddy realised that it takes more than boasting to be really strong. Now he liked Vova more than ever.
Many years passed. Little Daddy has grown up. He moved to another city and doesn't know where Vova is. But he is sure Vova has become a fine man.
THE END
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