An Alien in Wonderland – Пришелец в Стране Чудес
There are a lot of planets in the space. Some of them are inhabited. The inhabitants of one nameless planet wanted it to be the most wonderful in the Universe and they spent all the time thinking about it.
Once they learned that the Earth was inhabited too. They also learned that on the Earth there was a great country-Russia, and in Russia there was a region of wonders called Kuzbass.
— Why don`t we bring those wonders to our planet? — suggested one of the inhabitants.
…So one day an UFO landed on the Earth, in Russia, in Region 42. An Alien came out of the UFO. The purpose of his visit was to discover the wonders of Kuznetskland. He was also ordered to take the pictures and, if possible, the samples of the wonders for making ones similar to them on his home planet.
The first to meet the Alien was a small red creature with a furred tail.
— Who are your?-asked the Alien.
— I am a Squirrel. And who are you?
— I am an Alien from
— Of course, it`s a FOREST,- the Squirrel said without thinking. — Our FORESTS are very thick. They are called TAIGA. There are so many wonderful trees, bushes, flowers, berries, mushrooms and nuts there. And what fresh air theyhave! It gives us strength and health. It’s a real wonder!
— Thank you, Squirrel! – the Alien took the photos and the samples of the FOREST and went on.
Suddenly he heard a quiet moan:
— Help… help…
He went toward the moan and saw another creature lying on the stones and shining in the sunrays.
— Who are you? — asked the Alien.
— I am a Fish. And who are you?
— I am an Alien from a faraway star. We like your planet very much, especially your Kuznetskland. We dream to make our planet similar to it. Maybe after that it will be the most wonderful in the Universe. For this we need the photos and the samples of the wonders in which, as far as we know, your region is rich. Please, tell me, Fish, what these wonders are.
— I’ll tell you. But first help
me. Put me into the water or I’ll die.The Alien took the Fish to theriver flowing nearby. Flop! — and the Fish disappeared in the water shining in the sun.
— The greatest wonder, — came out of the depth,- is RIVERS! Our RIVERS are clean and clear. For us they are the most wonderful in the world. We have many RIVERS and all of them flow into the main and the most important RIVER of Kuzbass called the TOM.
— Thank you, Fish! — the Alien took the pictures of the RIVER with its beautiful banks, took some water and went on.
Soon he saw a strange creature with a lamp on its forehead.
— Who are you? — asked the Alien.
— I am a Man. And who are you?
— I am an Alien from a faraway star. We like your planet very much, especially your Kuznetskland. We dream to make our planet similar to it and hope that it will be the most wonderful in the Universe. For this we need the photos and the samples of the wonders in which, as far as we know, your region is rich. Could you tell me, Man, what these wonders are?
— Wonders? In our region there are a lot of wonders indeed. One of them is COAL.
— What is COAL?
— COAL gives us heat and light.
— Heat and light? But the Sun gives us heat and light too! So COAL is the Sun, isn’t it?
— The Sun is above the Earth and COAL is inside the Earth.
— I must take its sample by all means! Where do you get COAL? — the Alien wondered.
— See this lamp on my forehead? I am a miner. Miners extract COAL. Our work is very hard and dangerous. But the profession of a miner is the most popular and honourable in our region, you know. I am very proud of my father, grandfather and great-grandfather who were miners too!
— May I take a piece of COAL to my planet?
— Of course, you may. Take it, please, — the Man gave the Alien a black shining stone.
— Thank you very much, Man, — the Alien looked happy. — Now that I have got a small sun, I can go back to my planet. Good bye!
— Wait a minute, — the Man stopped him. — I’d like to tell you something else. You know, FORESTS, RIVERS and COAL are really great treasures of Kuznetskland. But you haven’t got the main wonder yet. The Alien looked at the Man in surprise.
— Yes, yes. The main wonder of Kuznetskland is its PEOPLE, their LOVE for their homeland and their LABOUR which makes it more beautiful.
“I don’t understand anything”, — thought the Alien and said:
— O. K. May I … may I …take pieces of all these things?
— I am afraid not,- the Man laughed.- But I can give you a piece of advice. You can make your planet the most wonderful in the Universe if you really love it and work hard for its sake…
…In the dark blue sky full of stars the UFOwas flying. It was the Alien going back to his home planet where the inhabitants didn’t know how to make their planet the most wonderful in the Universe. He was carrying away the greatest wonder of the mysterious Kuznetskland — a piece of human SOUL – which was to help them in it.
And on the Earth the Man was looking up at the sky thinking that perhaps soon there will appear a star called Kuzbass and pride overfilled him.