Ordinary Matters

An extraordinary boy deserves admiration. Yes— he knows and can do so much that you can listen to him with your mouth open! And he really wants to be praised (both by his mom and by his teacher), but adults— for some reason — don’t do it. And it’s all because, in their opinion, he has a “terrible temper” and is always getting into all sorts of stories. Plus he’s constantly pushing his friend Vasya to skip classes or tease Slavina’s grandmother...

But what about the others? Look at all those ordinary lazybones and pranksters, bullies. Is it really so good to be an ordinary boy— to go to school, sit quietly in class, and listen to the teacher? Ordinary schoolboys go to school when they aren’t sick, and they have ordinary friends. But you could be the strongest and knock down all the cowards and fools. That must be great. And being the most capable is also wonderful.

Ordinary boys become ordinary adults, go to work and the store, slam doors, ride the elevator, wash dishes... But maybe, all of us wanted at least once to become extraordinary. How would our life change then? But… do we really need that for sure?

The great humor master Viktor Golovkin makes the listeners not only laugh at Slavik’s antics and thoughts, but also feel sympathy for this boy.

The novella includes three parts— “This Boy,” “Ordinary Matters,” and “Good Intentions.”