"Valentin Katayev. The Cottage in the Steppe (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

establishment Vasily Petrovich would find full scope for" his abilities as a
brilliant teacher and for his love of the great Russian literature. As a
believer in European methods of education he was sure that he and Vasily
Petrovich would understand one another. As for the formalities, he did not
doubt for a minute that he would get the consent of the Minister of
Education to have Vasily Petrovich officially accredited, since a public
gymnasium was one thing, and a private school something else again. Nor did
Faig conceal the fact that one of the reasons which had prompted him to
engage Vasily Petrovich was that by so doing he would raise the standard of
the school in the eyes of the liberal circles of Odessa society; another was
that it would be a challenge to the government, since, according to Faig,
Vasily Petrovich's famous speech on the occasion of Tolstoi's death had won
him a definite political reputation.
All this was strange and flattering to Vasily Petrovich, although he
winced at the mention of his political reputation. And when Faig added, "You
shall be our standard-bearer," Vasily Petrovich even felt a little
frightened. However, Faig's proposition was accepted, and life in the Bachei
family underwent a miraculous change.
Faig had paid Vasily Petrovich for six months in advance. The sum was
larger than the family had ever dreamed of. Now, whenever Vasily Petrovich
ventured forth, the neighbours watched him enviously from their windows and
said:
"Look, there goes Bachei, the one Faig has taken on."
Once again Vasily Petrovich began to think in terms of a trip abroad.
And at long last, after weighing up his resources and consulting Auntie for
the twentieth time, he decided: we're going!




THE SAILOR'S OUTFIT




Spring, which came early, was warm and glorious. Easter passed and left
pleasant memories. Soon it was examination time, a time Petya always
associated with the brief May thunderstorms, fiery flashes of purple
lightning, the lilac in bloom in the school garden, the dry air of the empty
class-rooms with the desks moved close together and the clouds of chalk
dust, pierced by the warm rays of the afternoon sun that remained suspended
in the air after the last exam.
They began preparing for the trip during examination time. Switzerland,
a country that had always had a special place in Vasily Petrovich's heart,
was their main objective. However, it was decided that they should first go
to Naples by sea, and then cross Italy by rail. This indirect route would be
slightly more expensive, but it would give them the chance to visit Turkey,
Greece, the islands of the Aegean Sea and Sicily, they would be able to see
all the sights of Naples, Rome, Florence, and Venice; then, funds
permitting, they might even pay a brief visit to Paris. Vasily Petrovich had