Dunno's Adventures

by Nikolai Nosov

Translated by Margaret Wettlin
freebooksforkids.net
Illustrated by Viktor & Kira Grigorievs

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Chapter Twenty-Two
THE ADVANTAGES OF MECHANIZATION

Next morning Cornflower went to the hospital and told Honeysuckle that the boys who had been let out were not fighting and making trouble, but were helping pick apples and behaving themselves very well indeed.

"I'm very glad," said Honeysuckle, "that you've found a means of keeping them busy. I beg you to put Prob'ly and Scatterbrain to work too. They're to be let out today."

"Couldn't you let some of the others out, too?" asked Cornflower.

"It's too bad to keep them cooped up when they might be doing something useful."

"Yesterday I let you have P'raps and Swifty before their time was up," said Honeysuckle drily. "Isn't that enough for you?"

"No, it isn't."

"Well, then, I might let you have Mums. He's very meek and never pesters me with questions."

"And who else?"

Honeysuckle put on her spectacles and examined the list.

"I might let Roly-Poly and Treacly-Sweeter out. They, too, are very well-behaved. Although, when you come to think of it, Roly-Poly really ought to be kept in on account of his eating so many sweets. I haven't been able to break him of that bad habit. It wouldn't be so bad if he just ate them, but he stuffs them in all his pockets besides and even hides them under his pillow. Oh, well, perhaps the fresh air will take away his appetite. I ought to keep Treacly-Sweeter here too, on account of his drinking so much syrup and soda-
water. But I suppose I'll let them both out — on account of their being so well-behaved."

Once more Honeysuckle examined the list.

"It's too soon to let Shot out," she said. "His ankle's still swollen. He's my only real patient, you know."

"What about Grumps?" said Cornflower.

"Never! I wouldn't let him out for anything!" cried Honeysuckle. "He's such a nasty chap! Always grumbling and complaining. He gets on everybody's nerves. Let him stay where he is for being such a grumbler. Of course, I'd be only too glad to get rid of him, and of that insufferable Pillman, too, who calls himself a doctor and is always trying to prove my methods wrong."

"Let them both out if they're such a nuisance," said Cornflower.

"Not for the world! Do you know what that horrid Pillman said to me today? He said I made people sick instead of well! How do you like that? You can be sure I'll keep him here just as long as I can. And Grumps too."

And so the only ones Cornflower succeeded in having let out along with Prob'ly and Scatterbrain were Mums, Roly-Poly, and Treacly-Sweeter; Grumps and Dr. Pillman were left behind, as was Shot. Shot said not a word, for his leg still hurt him, but Grumps and Dr. Pillman were ready to tear their
hair in rage, and they said if they weren't let out by evening they'd run away.

Long before sun-up the next morning Bendum, Twistum, and Pretzel were up and at work on the car. They worked for hours before the engine at last gave a sputter and got going. When it was going smoothly they gave the car a trial run. They drove it round the house a few times, raising clouds of dust, then through the gate and down the street. Soon they came in sight of the Mites who were apple-picking. Swifty, Scatter-brain, P'raps and Prob'ly were up in an apple-tree; Trills, Mums and Flitty were up in a pear-tree. Girl-Mites were rolling apples in all directions. Dunno was running about shouting orders at everybody.

"Five of you here, five over there," he cried. "Take this apple next. Back, confound you! Can't you see that that pear's about to fall? Hey, you, up there! Warn us when your pears are falling! Out of the way or I'll skin you alive!"

The work would have gone on just as well without all this shouting, but Dunno did not think so.

Treacly-Sweeter and Roly-Poly were pushing a pear that went in every direction but the one they wanted it to go in. As you know, a pear is not shaped like an apple. It is shaped so that if you push it, it goes round in a circle without getting anywhere. This particular pear had got bruised in falling. It was all mushy, and the more Roly-Poly and Treacly-Sweeter pushed it, the mushier it got. They were soon smeared all over with sticky juice, and they spent more time licking their fingers than pushing the pear.

"Why aren't you getting anywhere with that pear?" called out Dunno. "Maybe you think of making syrup out of it? I'll give you a taste of syrup!"

Bendum and Twistum stopped the car to watch the pickers.

Dunno's Adventures

"Hey, Dunno!" cried Bendum, "why don't you mechanize the work?"

"As if I didn't have trouble enough with all these apples without any mechanization!" said Dunno crossly. "Where am I to get mechanization?"

"Here's one car at your service," said Pretzel. "Is that what you call mechanization-working with machines?"

"Certainly it is. We'll haul your apples and pears for you."

"That's an idea!" said Dunno. "Here, drive under this tree and we'll drop an
apple right into the car."

"Wait, that won't do," said Bendum. "If you let the apples drop from the tree into the car, you'll bruise the apples and break the car."

"Do you expect us to carry down each apple?"

"Why carry them? Let them down on a rope."

"Good!" exclaimed Dunno. "Hey, bring me a rope!" he called out.

The rope was quickly brought. Dunno took it and fumbled with it a while, not
knowing what to do with it. Suddenly he made a face as if a bright idea had struck him and handed the rope to Bendum.

"Well, get busy," he said.

Bendum threw one end of the rope over a limb of the apple-tree and told Swifty to tie it to the stem of an apple. He gave other end to some girls who were standing near by and told them to hold on tight.

"Now saw through the stem," he called to Swifty.

Dunno's Adventures

When the stem was sawn through, the apple dangled at the end of the rope. Bendum told Pretzel to drive the car directly under the apple. When that was done the girl-Mites let out the rope and the apple came down slowly into the car. The rope was untied and the car took the apple to the house.

"Let's bring the other car," said Pretzel to Bendum.

They got into their car and made for the garage.

A few minutes later the fruit-pickers had two cars to work with.

"See the advantages of mechanization?" said Dunno proudly. "You girl-Mites would never have thought of anything as smart as that!"

Dunno's Adventures