The Blue Cup

A father with his little daughter set off on a hike without deciding whether they should go back home—while somewhere nearby, in the fields, the drills of Red Army soldiers thunder on, and the familiar quiet turns out to be deceptive.

This is a story about a day filled with events and reflections that leads both of them to the most important conclusion: no matter how circumstances unfold, they must be sure to return to mom.

“Blue Cup” is one of Arkady Gaidar’s most moving texts. It is about love, but it contains far more: here there is also a sense of the coming war, and a conversation about death, and religion, and betrayal, and friendship.

A father and a girl walk along village roads, observing the simple peaceful life around them—wide, alive, everyday.

But this life isn’t really that calm: the shadow of fascism reaches these places, and in the fields one can hear shell bursts and the noise of military training.

For the little Svetlana, this day becomes a real test and discovery, and—most importantly—for her and for her father—the understanding that they must absolutely return home to mom.

For primary school age.