Remember the first lines of “Moidodyr” by Korney Chukovsky, how did a crooked-leg and lame washstand run out of my mother’s bedroom? As a child, we took him very seriously and did not ask unnecessary questions either to ourselves or to adults. Yes, everything around us is alive: a wash basin, cups, and a kettle ... But with age, this bright, clean, unclouded world begins to gradually fade, fade, turning into a banal fiction. However, not all. There are rare exceptions. One of them is the writer Mikhail Osorgin. Pensne is a story about the wonderful world of “revived” things in the life of an adult.
main characters
The story of Mikhail Osorgin “Pensne” was written on behalf of the author. But here, in the first line, he introduces the reader to the true protagonists - things. Watches, books, a glass, a thermometer, a coat ... The list goes on and on, but it’s not worth it - we are well aware of it. But do we know each other well? Things, definitely, yes. And we? Do we know that they live their own lives? The author does not even doubt it and is sure that the reader is with him. After all, it is impossible not to hear the endless running of the clock. One cannot help but see how the spread scissors yell. And only an inconspicuous person will deny that the teapot is the most good-natured comedian, and the hanging coat always has some kind of “pathetic little soul and light drunkenness”.
Passion for travel
We continue the summary of Pensne. Of particular interest are some movements of things. Usually we explain them with our absent-mindedness, forgetfulness, or even ordinary theft. But no, this cannot be. In the life of things, there is a certain passion for travel. Some go away for a minute, others for an hour, two, and still others for a day, a week, a month. There are exceptional cases when they disappear forever, such as the historical work of Titus Livius or the blue diamond. But these are still historical cases. However, on the example of small objects - a box of matches, a pencil, buttons - it is easier to catch the external signs of this independence. We read further the humorous story created by M. Osorgin, “Pensne.” The main characters will surprise us more than once.
Mysterious disappearance
The same striking case occurred with the author and with pince-nez. Once he was sitting in an armchair, reading peacefully, not suspecting anything. I got to the new chapter and decided to wipe the glass, took out a handkerchief, and looking - pince-nez was gone. Inspection of the place of disappearance was the most thorough. Pockets, clothes, all the recesses in the chair, the sheets in the book, and the floor were checked. Moreover, the search was carried out in the next room, and even in the bathroom. A week passed, but the author continued to search. Some laughed at him, others tried to sincerely help. The servant swept out all possible and impossible specks of dust. She reached the back stairs - but, alas, the fugitive was never found.
The Return of the "Prodigal"
The summary of Pensne, the story of M. Osorgin, does not end there. After some time, when a new pince-nez was already sitting on his nose, the author was sitting in the same chair, but with a different book. As usual, he took a simple pencil to draw out the most intelligent places, and suddenly the pencil falls. Still unpleasantly impressed by the recent escape, he rushed after the new “runaway”. But fear turned out to be false. The pencil lay calmly on the floor, and next to it, pressed against the wall, two glasses glittered.
It can, of course, be argued that this is simply an absurd omission, oversight, distraction. But the miserable look of the “fugitive”, his guilty gleaming with muddy, dusty glass, said the opposite. Pensne went on an independent trip. It walked and had fun, and had fun for a long time, until it was tired and exhausted. Here comes the end of the summary "Pensne".
By the way, pince-nez ended its life tragically - it fell, and its glass shattered into small fragments. Maybe this is an accident, or maybe "suicide." After all, the author subjected him to public shame when he made him stand by the wall all day, and showed the “runaway” to all his friends, acquaintances and servants ...
I would like to remind you that the brief summary of “Pensne” - a wonderful story by Mikhail Osorgin - cannot convey the original humor of the writer, his unique, subtle figurative comparisons. Therefore, reading the original is highly recommended.