Summary of gutta-percha. Gutta-percha boy. Tale (1883), abridged

It happened on the fifth day of Maslenitsa. People crowded around the circus building. The morning show has just finished. And suddenly a snowstorm broke out, and a serious one. Everything was mixed up: people, horses, sleighs. Noise, din.

At the circus, the performers were resting after the performance. Someone completely took off his costume and washed off his makeup, while others sat in chairs in this guise as they performed. Among them is Edwards the Clown. The director made comments on the performances of the artists in the morning. Equestrian Brown was especially punished for her daughter’s unsuccessful hoop jumping.

Clown Edwards listened to this sadly. He began to have an attack of melancholy. These attacks often occurred in this wonderful artist, a favorite of the public. And the director knew that this clown mood would soon end in binge drinking. But I hoped that this would happen after the end of the season. And Edwards was worried about the gutta-percha boy, a student of the gymnast Becker, a rude and cruel person.

Edwards entered the acrobat's room and saw Goliath - Becker and a thin, pale boy, whom the posters called gutta-percha. The clown felt sorry for the boy, he begged the gymnast to give him a rest. But Becker was inexorable: we must prepare for the evening department, he will rest during Lent.

The gutta-percha boy, whose name was Petya, was afraid of his master. He often beat him and fed him poorly. Petya wore rags.

The boy got to Becker in the following way. Petya was born into a poor family. Her mother worked odd jobs, and her father was a doorman. As soon as Petya grew up a little, his father left them, and then the news of his death came. The mother got married again, but unsuccessfully. The husband beat both her and the boy. We lived from hand to mouth. After their stepfather abandoned them, their mother soon dies.

Petya was left alone in this world. An old lady he knew took him in. And sometimes Aunt Varya, my mother’s friend, took me to her place. But they lived poorly; it was difficult for them to feed the boy. And Varvara decided to accommodate him. In the house where she lived, several rooms were rented by circus workers. So the aunt brought Petya to the gymnast. He roughly grabbed the boy, squeezed him between his knees and began to test the boy’s muscle strength and flexibility. Petya felt pain and fear. He cried. But Becker had already decided everything.

That's how Petya ended up in the circus. He got used to his new unusual life. Many circus performers treated him well and fed him. Especially Edwards the Clown. And the boy dreamed of working with him. But these were just dreams.

Becker forced the boy to rehearse every day and perform various exercises, which made his whole body hurt. If something didn’t work out, the gymnast would grab Petya with his huge hands and forcefully bend his torso, arms, and legs. The boy screamed in pain. Even if he performed a trick well, the acrobat Becker never praised him.

One day a clown gave Petya a puppy. The boy looked after him. But one day the dog fell under Becker’s feet. He kicked the puppy, and the little dog remained motionless in the corner of the room. Petya sobbed inconsolably. All in all, he was an unhappy child.

The children of Count Listomirov were preparing to go to the circus in the evening. They lived richly.

Little Pavel's room was full of toys. And recently he was given a beautiful dog, which he really asked for, without fleas. Pavlik's sisters' names were Vera and Zinochka. Vera was especially beautiful: big blue eyes, fluffy ash hair. Zina looked ugly in comparison. The younger children were called by various pet names. Pavlik was Poof, Bulka. Zina was often called Zizi. Only the older sister was called Verochka and nothing else. She loved to read and even composed a fable.

The children were looking forward to their trip to the circus. Together with Aunt Sonya, they looked at the poster, where their attention was attracted by the words: Gutta-percha boy. They wanted to see him so much.

Finally, we got into the carriage and went to the show. The circus was crowded.

The action has begun. Then the clowns came out, then a rider with an acrobat girl. But the muscular Becker appeared in the arena, and with him a blond, thin boy. Everyone watched their performance with bated breath. And here's the main trick. A long pole on the athlete's stomach.

A boy climbs up a pole. Performs several exercises. And so he bends, his hands slip, and the boy falls down. The hall froze. Vera cried loudly, she called the boy. Becker hides behind the scenes, and Petya, spread out in the arena, is carried away.

Returning home, the children could not calm down for a long time. Verochka felt especially bad: she was an impressionable child. The night passed restlessly. She shuddered and sobbed in her sleep.

Edwards looked at the gutta-percha boy lying with his head bandaged. He was delirious. The clown cried, unable to hold back his tears. And when he got to his room, he drank a bitter drink without waiting for the end of the circus season.

The next day, the circus performances continued, but the gutta-percha boy did not perform. He left this earth.

Gutta-percha boy

Behind the scenes of the circus there are a crowd of artists, cheerful and carefree people. Among them stands out a not too young bald man, whose face is thickly painted with white and red. This is the clown Edwards, who has entered a “period of melancholy”, followed by a period of heavy drinking. Edward is the main decoration of the circus, his bait, but the behavior of the clown is unreliable, any day he can break down and drink.

The director asks Edwards to hold out for at least two more days, until the end of Maslenitsa, and then the circus will close for the duration of Lent.

The clown gets off with meaningless words and looks into the restroom of the acrobat Becker, a brute, muscular giant.

Edwards is not interested in Becker, but in his pet, the “gutta-percha boy,” the acrobat’s assistant. The clown asks permission to take a walk with him, proving to Becker that after rest and entertainment the little artist will work better. Becker is always irritated by something and doesn’t want to hear about it. He threatens the already quiet and silent boy with a whip.

The story of the “gutta-percha boy” was simple and sad. He lost his mother, an eccentric and overly loving cook, in the fifth year of his life. And with his mother at times he had to go hungry and freeze, but he still did not feel lonely.

After the death of her mother, her fellow countrywoman, the laundress Varvara, arranged the fate of the orphan by assigning him an apprenticeship to Becker. At the first meeting with Petya, Karl Bogdanovich roughly and painfully felt the boy, stripped naked, frozen in pain and horror. No matter how much he cried, no matter how much he clung to the washerwoman’s hem, Varvara gave him full possession to the acrobat.

Petya's first impressions of the circus, with its diversity and noise, were so strong that he screamed all night and woke up several times.

Learning acrobatic tricks was not easy for the frail boy. He fell and hurt himself, and not once did the stern giant encourage Petya or caress him, and yet the child was only eight years old. Edwards alone showed him how to perform this or that exercise, and Petya was drawn to him with all his soul.

One day a clown gave Petya a puppy, but the boy’s happiness was short-lived. Becker grabbed the little dog against the wall, and she immediately gave up the ghost. At the same time, Petya earned a slap in the face. In a word, Petya was “not so much a gutta-percha as an unhappy boy.”

And in the children's rooms of Count Listomirov a completely different atmosphere reigns. Everything here is adapted for the convenience and fun of children, whose health and mood are carefully monitored by the governess.

On one of the last days of Maslenitsa, the count's children were especially animated. Still would! Aunt Sonya, their mother's sister, promised to take them to the circus on Friday.

Eight-year-old Verochka, six-year-old Zina and a five-year-old chubby little boy nicknamed Puff are trying their best to earn the promised entertainment with exemplary behavior, but cannot think about anything other than the circus. The literate Verochka reads a circus poster to her sister and brother, in which they are especially intrigued by the gutta-percha boy. Time passes very slowly for children.

The long-awaited Friday is finally coming. And now all the worries and fears are behind us. Children take their seats long before the show starts. They are interested in everything. The children look with genuine delight at the rider, the juggler and the clowns, anticipating a meeting with the gutta-percha boy.

The second part of the program begins with the release of Becker and Petit. The acrobat attaches to his belt a heavy gilded pole with a small crossbar at the top. The end of the pole reaches right under the dome. The pole sways, the audience sees how difficult it is for the giant Becker to hold it.

Petya climbs up the pole, now he is almost invisible. The audience applauds and starts shouting that the dangerous act should be stopped. But the boy must still hook his feet onto the crossbar and hang upside down.

He performs this part of the trick, when suddenly “something flashed and spun<...>At that same second, the dull sound of something falling into the arena was heard.”

The attendants and artists pick up the small body and quickly carry it away. The orchestra plays a cheerful tune, clowns run out, somersaulting...

The upset audience begins to crowd towards the exits. Verochka screams hysterically and sobs: “Ay, boy! boy!”

At home, children can hardly be calmed down and put to bed. At night, Aunt Sonya looks at Verochka and sees that her sleep is restless, and a tear has dried on her cheek.

And in a dark, deserted circus, on a mattress lies a child tied in rags with broken ribs and a broken chest.

From time to time Edward appears from the darkness and bends over the small acrobat. It is felt that the clown has already entered a period of heavy drinking; it is not for nothing that an almost empty decanter can be seen on the table.

Everything around is plunged into darkness and silence. The next morning, the poster did not indicate the number of the “gutta-percha boy” - he was no longer in the world.

Brief summary of D. V. Grigorovich’s story “The Gutta-percha Boy” for 5th grade.

Behind the scenes of the circus there are a crowd of artists, cheerful and carefree people. Among them stands out a not too young bald man, whose face is thickly painted with white and red. This is the clown Edwards, who has entered a “period of melancholy”, followed by a period of heavy drinking. Edwards is the main decoration of the circus, his bait, but the clown's behavior is unreliable, any day he can break down and drink.

The director asks Edwards to hold on for at least two more days, until the end of Maslenitsa, and then the circus will close for the duration of Lent.

The clown gets off with meaningless words and looks into the restroom of the acrobat Becker, a brute, muscular giant.

Edwards is not interested in Becker, but in his pet, the “gutta-percha boy,” the acrobat’s assistant. The clown asks permission to take a walk with him, proving to Becker that after rest and entertainment the little artist will work better. Becker is always irritated by something and doesn’t want to hear about it. He threatens the already quiet and silent boy with a whip.

The story of the “gutta-percha boy” was simple and sad. He lost his mother, an eccentric and overly loving cook, in the fifth year of his life. And with his mother at times he had to go hungry and freeze, but he still did not feel lonely.

After the death of her mother, her fellow countrywoman, the laundress Varvara, arranged the fate of the orphan by assigning him an apprenticeship to Becker. At the first meeting with Petya, Karl Bogdanovich roughly and painfully felt the boy, stripped naked, frozen in pain and horror. No matter how much he cried, no matter how much he clung to the washerwoman’s hem, Varvara gave him full possession to the acrobat.

Petya's first impressions of the circus, with its diversity and noise, were so strong that he screamed all night and woke up several times.

Learning acrobatic tricks was not easy for the frail boy. He fell, hurt himself, and not once did the stern giant encourage Petya or caress him, and yet the child was only eight years old. Only Edwards showed him how to perform this or that exercise, and Petya was drawn to him with all his soul.

One day a clown gave Petya a puppy, but the boy’s happiness was short-lived. Becker grabbed the little dog against the wall, and she immediately gave up the ghost. At the same time, Petya earned a slap in the face. In a word, Petya was “not so much a gutta-percha as an unhappy boy.”

And in the children's rooms of Count Listomirov a completely different atmosphere reigns. Everything here is adapted for the convenience and fun of children, whose health and mood are carefully monitored by the governess.

On one of the last days of Maslenitsa, the count's children were especially animated. Still would! Aunt Sonya, their mother's sister, promised to take them to the circus on Friday.

Eight-year-old Verochka, six-year-old Zina and a five-year-old chubby little boy nicknamed Puff are trying their best to earn the promised entertainment with exemplary behavior, but cannot think about anything other than the circus. The literate Verochka reads a circus poster to her sister and brother, in which they are especially intrigued by the gutta-percha boy. Time passes very slowly for children.

The long-awaited Friday is finally coming. And now all the worries and fears are behind us. Children take their seats long before the show starts. They are interested in everything. The children look with genuine delight at the rider, the juggler and the clowns, anticipating a meeting with the gutta-percha boy.

The second part of the program begins with the release of Becker and Petit. The acrobat attaches to his belt a heavy gilded pole with a small crossbar at the top. The end of the pole reaches right under the dome. The pole sways, the audience sees how difficult it is for the giant Becker to hold it.

Petya climbs up the pole, now he is almost invisible. The audience applauds and starts shouting that the dangerous act should be stopped. But the boy must still hook his feet onto the crossbar and hang upside down.

He performs this part of the trick, when suddenly “something flashed and spun, and at the same second the dull sound of something falling into the arena was heard.”

The attendants and artists pick up the small body and quickly carry it away. The orchestra plays a cheerful tune, clowns run out, somersaulting...

The upset audience begins to crowd towards the exits. Verochka screams hysterically and sobs: “Ay, boy! boy!"

At home, it is difficult to calm children down and put them to bed. At night, Aunt Sonya looks at Verochka and sees that her sleep is restless, and a tear has dried on her cheek.

And in a dark, deserted circus, on a mattress lies a child tied in rags with broken ribs and a broken chest.

From time to time Edwards appears from the darkness and bends over the small acrobat. It is felt that the clown has already entered into a binge; it is not for nothing that an almost empty decanter can be seen on the table.

Everything around is plunged into darkness and silence. The next morning, the poster did not indicate the number of the “gutta-percha boy” - he was no longer in the world.

Behind the scenes of the circus there are a crowd of artists, cheerful and carefree people. Among them stands out a not too young bald man, whose face is thickly painted with white and red. This is the clown Edwards, who has entered a “period of melancholy”, followed by a period of heavy drinking. Edwards is the main decoration of the circus, his bait, but the clown's behavior is unreliable, any day he can break down and drink.

The director asks Edwards to hold on for at least two more days, until the end of Maslenitsa, and then the circus will close for the duration of Lent.

The clown gets off with meaningless words and looks into the restroom of the acrobat Becker, a brute, muscular giant.

Edwards is not interested in Becker, but in his pet, the “gutta-percha boy,” the acrobat’s assistant. The clown asks permission to take a walk with him, proving to Becker that after rest and entertainment the little artist will work better. Becker is always irritated by something and doesn’t want to hear about it. He threatens the already quiet and silent boy with a whip.

The story of the “gutta-percha boy” was simple and sad. He lost his mother, an eccentric and overly loving cook, in the fifth year of his life. And with his mother at times he had to go hungry and freeze, but he still did not feel lonely.

After the death of her mother, her fellow countrywoman, the laundress Varvara, arranged the fate of the orphan by assigning him an apprenticeship to Becker. At the first meeting with Petya, Karl Bogdanovich roughly and painfully felt the boy, stripped naked, frozen in pain and horror. No matter how much he cried, no matter how much he clung to the washerwoman’s hem, Varvara gave him full possession to the acrobat.

Petya's first impressions of the circus, with its diversity and noise, were so strong that he screamed all night and woke up several times.

Learning acrobatic tricks was not easy for the frail boy. He fell, hurt himself, and not once did the stern giant encourage Petya or caress him, and yet the child was only eight years old. Only Edwards showed him how to perform this or that exercise, and Petya was drawn to him with all his soul.

One day a clown gave Petya a puppy, but the boy’s happiness was short-lived. Becker grabbed the little dog against the wall, and she immediately gave up the ghost. At the same time, Petya earned a slap in the face. In a word, Petya was “not so much a gutta-percha as an unhappy boy.”

And in the children's rooms of Count Listomirov a completely different atmosphere reigns. Everything here is adapted for the convenience and fun of children, whose health and mood are carefully monitored by the governess.

On one of the last days of Maslenitsa, the count's children were especially animated. Still would! Aunt Sonya, their mother's sister, promised to take them to the circus on Friday.

Eight-year-old Verochka, six-year-old Zina and a five-year-old chubby little boy nicknamed Puff are trying their best to earn the promised entertainment with exemplary behavior, but cannot think about anything other than the circus. The literate Verochka reads a circus poster to her sister and brother, in which they are especially intrigued by the gutta-percha boy. Time passes very slowly for children.

The long-awaited Friday is finally coming. And now all the worries and fears are behind us. Children take their seats long before the show starts. They are interested in everything. The children look with genuine delight at the rider, the juggler and the clowns, anticipating a meeting with the gutta-percha boy.

The second part of the program begins with the release of Becker and Petit. The acrobat attaches to his belt a heavy gilded pole with a small crossbar at the top. The end of the pole reaches right under the dome. The pole sways, the audience sees how difficult it is for the giant Becker to hold it.

Petya climbs up the pole, now he is almost invisible. The audience applauds and starts shouting that the dangerous act should be stopped. But the boy must still hook his feet onto the crossbar and hang upside down.

He performs this part of the trick, when suddenly “something flashed and spun, and at the same second the dull sound of something falling into the arena was heard.”

The attendants and artists pick up the small body and quickly carry it away. The orchestra plays a cheerful tune, clowns run out, somersaulting...

The upset audience begins to crowd towards the exits. Verochka screams hysterically and sobs: “Ay, boy! boy!"

At home, it is difficult to calm children down and put them to bed. At night, Aunt Sonya looks at Verochka and sees that her sleep is restless, and a tear has dried on her cheek.

And in a dark, deserted circus, on a mattress lies a child tied in rags with broken ribs and a broken chest.

From time to time Edwards appears from the darkness and bends over the small acrobat. It is felt that the clown has already entered into a binge; it is not for nothing that an almost empty decanter can be seen on the table.

Everything around is plunged into darkness and silence. The next morning, the poster did not indicate the number of the “gutta-percha boy” - he was no longer in the world.

In this article we will describe the plot of the work, the author of which is D. V. Grigorovich. which we will consider is a story created in 1883. It is included in the school literature curriculum.

Clown Edwards

What is Grigorovich telling us about (“The Gutta-percha Boy”)? A summary of the main events is as follows. The performers crowd behind the scenes of the circus. They are cheerful and carefree people. One bald man, no longer quite young, stands out among them. His face is thickly covered in red and white paint. named Edwards. He entered his "period of melancholy." This period is followed by another - heavy drinking. Clown Edwards is the main decoration of the circus, its original bait. However, his behavior is unreliable. He can drink any day.

The director asks the clown not to drink at least until the end of Maslenitsa, after which the circus must close, since it does not work during Lent. He gets rid of the director with meaningless phrases.

Acrobat Becker and boy Petya

Next, Grigorovich (“The Gutta-percha Boy”) introduces us to other characters in the story. The main characters of the work are Edwards, Becker and Petya. We have already met the first of them. To introduce the other two to the reader, the author describes the following scene.

Edwards looks into the closet of Becker, the acrobat. He is a muscular and brute giant. It is not Becker himself that interests Edwards, but the “gutta-percha boy” Petya, his pet, the acrobat’s assistant. Edwards asks if he can go out with him. He proves to Becker that the little artist will work better after entertainment and rest. The acrobat, always irritated by something, does not even want to hear about it. He threatens the boy with a whip.

How Petya started working in the circus

The story of this quiet boy is sad and simple. At the age of five, he lost his mother, an overly loving and eccentric cook. With her, he often had to freeze and go hungry. However, the boy still did not feel lonely.

After the mother died, the washerwoman Varvara, her fellow countrywoman, arranged the fate of the child. The boy was assigned to study with Becker. When Karl Bogdanovich first met Petya, he painfully and roughly felt him, stripped naked, frozen in horror and pain. The boy cried and did not want to go to Becker, but Varvara gave him to the acrobat, no matter how much he clung to her hem.

Petya's life in the circus

The impressions of meeting the circus with its noise and diversity greatly shocked Petya. So much so that the boy screamed all night and woke up several times. It was not easy for Petya, a frail child, to learn various acrobatic tricks. He often fell and hurt himself. At the same time, the stern acrobat never approved of him or caressed him. But Petya was only seven years old. Only Edwards the Clown treated him favorably. He showed the boy how to do various exercises. And the child was drawn to Edwards.

Clown Gift

Next, D. V. Grigorovich tells us about one sad event in the life of a child. The gutta-percha boy received a gift from the clown. One day he brought him a puppy and gave it to the child. However, the happiness was short-lived. The acrobat grabbed the puppy against the wall, and it died immediately. At the same time, the boy received a slap in the face. Petya was, one might say, not so much a gutta-percha child as an unhappy one.

Children of Count Listomirov

A completely different atmosphere reigned in the children's rooms belonging to Count Listomirov. Dmitry Grigorovich describes them in detail. The gutta-percha boy could not even dream of such conditions. Everything in these rooms has been designed for the fun and comfort of children. A hired governess carefully monitored their mood and health. The count's children were especially animated on one of the last Maslenitsa days. Their mother's sister, Aunt Sonya, promised them that she would take them to the circus. We just had to wait until Friday.

An eight-year-old girl, Vera, a six-year-old Zina, and a chubby five-year-old Butuz (his nickname is Puff) tried to earn a trip to the circus with their exemplary behavior. They could not think of anything else except the upcoming entertainment. The literate Vera read the circus poster to her brother and sister. The children were especially intrigued by the gutta-percha boy. They couldn't wait to see him soon. Time passed very slowly for them, as noted by D. V. Grigorovich (“The Gutta-percha Boy”).

Performance

Friday has finally arrived. All fears and worries are already behind us. Children take their seats long before the show starts. They look with delight at the clowns, the juggler and the rider. The children can't wait to see the gutta-percha boy.

With Petit and Becker leaving, the second section begins. The acrobat attaches to his belt a gilded pole, on top of which there is a small crossbar. The end of this pole rushes under the very dome. He hesitates and the audience sees how difficult it is for Becker to hold him down.

Incident at the circus

The story that Grigorovich created (“The Gutta-percha Boy”) is already approaching its finale. A summary of further events is as follows. The boy Petya climbs up the pole. The child is practically invisible now. The audience applauds and shouts that it is time to stop such a dangerous act. However, the boy still has to catch the bar with his feet and hang upside down.

Petya copes with this too. But then the gutta-percha boy breaks down and falls down into the arena. The artists and attendants pick up Petya and quickly carry him away. In order to hush up this incident, the orchestra begins to play a cheerful tune. Clowns tumble onto the stage.

The public is upset. People make their way to the exits. Verochka screams and cries. She feels sorry for the boy. The children are returning home. It took a lot of work to calm the boys down and put them to bed. Aunt Sonya drops by to see Vera at night. She sees that the girl’s sleep is restless. A tear dried on Verochka’s cheek.

Final Events

Meanwhile, a child with a broken chest and broken ribs lies on a mattress in a deserted dark circus. The gutta-percha boy is tied with rags. Edwards the Clown appears from time to time from the darkness. He leans over the child. It is clear that Edwards has already entered a drinking streak. There is a decanter on the table, almost empty.

Everything is plunged into silence and darkness. The next morning, the number of the “gutta-percha boy” was no longer indicated on the poster. The child had died by then.

Grigorovich prepared such a sad ending for us. “The Gutta-percha Boy,” the summary of which we have just outlined, gives us a lot to think about.