Tommy Grimes was sometimes a good boy, sometimes a bad boy, but when he was bad, he was very bad. And then his mother told him:
- Oh, Tommy, Tommy, be smart. Don't run away from our street, otherwise Mr. Mike will take you away!
But still, when Tommy was a bad boy, he always ran away from his street. And then one day he didn’t have time to turn the corner when Mr. Mike grabbed him, put him upside down in a bag and carried him to him.
Mister Mike came home, took Tommy out of the bag, put him on the floor and felt his arms and legs.
“Yes, a bit harsh,” Mr. Mike shook his head. “Well, it doesn’t matter, I don’t have anything else for dinner, and if I boil you well, it won’t be so bad.” Oh, Lord, I forgot about the roots! And without them you will be completely tasteless. Sally! Can you hear? Come here, Sally! - he called Mrs. Mike.
Mrs. Mike came out of the other room and asked:
- What do you want, dear?
“Here’s a boy—this is for dinner,” said Mr. Mike. - Only I forgot about the roots. Keep an eye on him while I go get them.
“Don’t worry, honey,” answered Mrs. Mike, and Mr. Mike left.
Then Tommy Grimes asks Mrs. Mike:
“Does Mr. Mike always eat boys for dinner?”
“Often, baby,” Mrs. Mike answers him, “if the boys behave badly and come across him on the road.”
- Tell me, do you have anything else for dinner besides me? Well, at least some pudding? - asks Tommy.
- Oh, how I love pudding! - Mrs. Mike sighed. “But I very rarely have to eat it.”
- Do you know, my mother is making pudding today! said Tommy Grimes. “And she, of course, will give you a piece if I ask her.” Should I run and bring it to you?
- Yes, you are a smart boy! - Mrs. Mike was delighted. “Just make sure you don’t hesitate, be sure to be back in time for dinner.”
Tommy ran away and was glad that he got off so cheaply.
And for many, many days after that he was as good a boy as one could ever dream of. And I never, not once, ran away from my street.
But he couldn’t always remain good! And then one fine day he ran around the corner again. And it just had to happen that before he was on the other street, Mr. Mike grabbed him, put him in a bag and carried him home.
He dragged Tommy to him, shook him out of the bag and immediately recognized him.
“Uh,” he says, “you’re definitely the same boy who played a bad joke on us!” You won't be able to do this again! Now I will watch over you myself. Come on, get under the sofa!
Poor Tommy had to climb where he was told, and Mr. Mike sat down on the sofa and began to wait for the water in the boiler to boil. He waited and waited, but the water still did not boil, so finally Mr. Mike got tired of it, and he said:
- Hey you, down there! Stick your foot out here, I'll tie it so you can't sneak away this time.
Tommy stuck his leg out, and Mr. Mike unfastened his belt and tied it tightly to the oak table with a belt. Then he called:
- Sally! Sally, darling!
But no one answered. Then Mr. Mike went into the next room to look for Mrs. Mike, and while he was looking, Tommy got out from under the sofa and rushed to the door. After all, he stuck out from under the sofa not his leg, but the sofa leg.
And so Tommy Grimes returned home again and never, ever ran around the corner again until he grew up big and was allowed to walk everywhere alone.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru