1.15 How Daddy went to the cinema
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.
Receive a bedtime tale from this long-lost collection at 8 PM IST every night from now till February 3rd, 2023.
HOW DADDY WENT TO THE CINEMA
When Daddy was little, they wouldn't let him go to the cinema. They said: "You're too young. There's lots of time. There's nothing for you to see there anyway."
That's what Grandpa and Grandma said.
And his aunt would add: "If you ask me, the cinema is nothing but a hotbed of infection. There's nothing but measles, scarlet fever and whooping cough there, to say nothing of diphtheria."
And Auntie would be off on a long lecture about diphtheria.
In vain did little Daddy beg them to let him go. They wouldn't even listen when he said that all his friends had been going to the cinema for ages and none of them had got measles, scarlet fever or whooping cough, to say nothing of diphtheria.
The answer was always the same: "When you go to school, it won't matter any more. We can't keep you from being infected then. You can go as often as you like then."
Little Daddy saw all the latest films, as presented by his friends. The boys would show him how Douglas Fairbanks galloped through The Mark of Zorro, how he fenced, how he appeared in a black mask and slayed all his enemies. They imitated Charlie Chaplin and the comedian Igor Ilyinsky, tall and skinny Pat and small, roly-poly Pataschon. They tried their best. They galloped around on each other's backs, imitating the famous cowboy William Hart. Then little Daddy heard the grown-ups say that Mary Pickford had a charming smile1.
"What kind of a smile does she have?" little Daddy would ask his friends. One of the boys showed him just how Mary Pickford smiled. He tried very hard, and all the boys said he smiled much better than Mary Pickford. All the more so since she had been smiling for so many years and got paid for it, while this was only his second day at it and he was doing it free, for a friend.
Little Daddy knew that the boys were trying to help him, but all this only made him want to go to the cinema more than ever.
The happy day finally arrived. Little Daddy became a schoolboy. The very first Sunday the teacher took the class to see a matinée perfomance of Little Red Devils. Little Daddy had read the book. He wanted to see the young scouts, the terrible Makhno and all the exciting and wonderful adventures on the screen.
The cinema was very close to little Daddy's house. Even Uncle Vitya knew where it was. That's why he was there before little Daddy, who was late, and had time to make friends with the rest of the class. The teacher took a liking to him, too.
When little Daddy saw his little brother there he didn't say a word. He grabbed him by the ear and dragged him off. Little Uncle Vitya howled so that the three sweets he had in his mouth fell out. The girls in Daddy's class had been treating him and little Uncle Vitya was a very polite boy. If someone wanted to give him a sweet he never refused.
Little Uncle Vitya cried so hard that all the children in little Daddy's class took his side. Even the teacher said, "Let him come with us, I'll be responsible for him."
At this, little Daddy let go of his brother's ear. Everyone went inside. Children were rushing through the doors from all directions. Happy little Uncle Vitya was hopping ahead of everyone like a rabbit. Naturally, he tripped and fell. Little Daddy was right behind him. He stumbled over his younger brother and fell on top of him. And the whole class, which was rushing in behind them, fell as one man on top of them. It was all very heavy. Especially for those who were on the bottom of the pile.
And little Uncle Vitya, who had been hopping like a rabbit, now squealed like a piglet. Little Daddy howled, too. Just then Daddy's teacher and two other teachers from another school came running to the rescue. They stopped the crowd. picked up little Daddy and little Uncle Vitya. Both of them were black and blue and so they were sent home as casualties.
At the sight of them Auntie cried joyously, "See? I told you so!"
After that little Daddy wasn't allowed to go to the cinema for a very long time. They finally did let him go, though, and he saw Little Red Devils. And many other films as well. He still loves the cinema. So does Uncle Vitya.
THE END
Enjoyed this story?
Want to enhance your reading habit with us?
Thank you for reading :) - Project Bibliotherapy
Mary Pickford’s smile :)