Her revenge Katya came to her desk and gasped: the desk drawer was pulled out, her new paints were thrown away, her paintbrushes were dirty, and there were puddles of brown water all over the desktop. "Alesha!" Katya called out. "Alesha!" With her hands covering her face, she bursted into tears. Alesha's round head appeared from the door frame. His cheeks and his nose were stained with the paints. "I did nothing to you!" he said quickly. Katya chased her little brother to punch him, but he jumped through the open window into the garden. "I will get my revenge!" she screamed with tears on her eyes. Alesha climbed a tree like a little monkey and hung onto the branch mocking his sister. "Such a crybaby you are! It's only the paints!" "I will make you cry, too!" she yelled. "You will cry so hard!" "Me crying?" he laughed and began to climb even higher. "Try to catch me first!" Suddenly, he stumbled and hung on the thin branch. It crackled and broke. Alesha fell. Katya run out to the garden. She momentary forgot about her ruined paints and about their fight. "Alesha!" she shouted. "Alesha!" Her little brother was sitting on the ground with his hands on his head and watched her with startled expression. "Get up! Get up!" But Alesha said nothing, just squeezed his eyes and shrank. "Can't you?" she asked, scared, and examined his knees. "Hold on to me". She put her arm around his shoulders and carefully helped him to get up. "Are you hurt?" Alesha shook his head and suddenly began to cry. "What, can't you stand?" Katya asked. He cried even harder and pressed himself closer against his sister. "I will never... ever... take your paints again!" - Originally written by V. Oseeva, 1940s

Blue leaves Katya had two green pencils. Lena had none. So Lena asked Katya: "Can I borrow the green pencil?" And Katya answered: "I should ask my mother first". The next day, when both girls came to the school, Lena asked: "Did your mother allow you that?" Katya let out a sigh and said: "Yes, she did, but I haven't asked my brother". "Well, then ask your brother, too", Lena said. The next day Katya came to the school. "So what, did your brother allow it?" "He did. But I'm afraid that you would break my pencil". "I will be very careful", Lena said. "You better watch out", Katya said, "Don't point it, don't press with it too hard, don't put it into your mouth. And don't draw too much". "All I need to draw is some green leaves on the trees and some green grass here and there", Lena said. "That's a whole lot", Katya said and frowned with an annoyed expression on her face. Lena looked at her and left without taking a pencil. Surprised, Katya ran after her. "What's wrong? Take it!" "I don't need it", Lena answered. Later in class the teacher asked: "Lena, dear, why do you have blue leaves on your trees?" "I don't have a green pencil". "Then why didn't you borrow it from your friend?" Lena said nothing. Katya flushed and said: "I offered it to her, but she didn't take". The teacher looked at both of them closely and said: "The thing is that you should offer the right way, so the person would take it". - Originally written by V. Oseeva, 1940s

Who's the owner? There was a big black dog called Bug. Two pioneers, Kolya and Vanya, picked him up from the street. He had have a broken leg. Kolya and Vanya treated the dog together, and when he fully recovered, they both wanted to be he's only owner. But because they can't decide who should be Bug's owner, every debate they had constantly ended with a fight. Once they walked through the forest. Bug was running ahead of them. The boys kept arguing. "That's my dog", Kolya said, "I saw him first and I picked him up!" "No, he's mine!" Vanya answered angrily. "I bandaged his paw and I fed him". No one was going to give in. "Mine! Mine!" both of them yelled. Suddenly, two giant sheep-dogs flung out from the yard of the woodsman. They attacked Bug, and he fell to the ground. Vanya climbed the nearest tree huriedly and shouted to his camrade: "Escape!" But Kolya grabbed a stick and run to help Bug. The noise caused the woodsman to come, and he made his sheep-dogs get away. "Who's the owner of this dog?" he yelled angrily. "It's me", Kolya said. Vanya was silent. - Originally written by V. Oseeva, 1940s

Note #3 Three comrades Once Vitya lost his breakfast. When the recreation began, all the other kids started to eat their breakfast as Vitya just stood aside. "Why aren't you eating?" Kolya asked. "I lost my breakfast..." "That's a pity", Kolya said while biting off a big chunk of a white bread. "It takes a long time before lunch!" "Where have you lost it?" Misha asked. "I don't know..." Vitya answered and turned away. "I guess it laid in your pocket, you should have put it in your bag", Misha said. Only Volodya said nothing. He came to Vitya, broke his sandwich into two parts and handed one part over his comrade. "Here, take it!" - Originally written by V. Oseeva, 1940s

Note #2 Random sentences with the new words 1) After all the readings of the devices were finally studied, the scientist was ready to make the first supposition about the nature of their total oblivion to everything. 2) Under some bizarre unknown circumstances, the highest branches of the trees in this wood just burnt up in one single moment. 3) I will not relieve you of your duties, assuming that you do them properly. 4) He's paid enough to afford a new house. 5) She was well-known for her hyperbolized restraint.

Note #1 "in time" movie review Our hero is surprisingly talented in many skills like gambling, driving, shooting and arm wrestling, and only the last one was properly explained. Also he has a good taste, speach and manners despite being raised in the lowest society. But I could even deal with all of that except just one thing: there's no even tiniest hint of the uncertainty in his behaviour, so the wealthy people take him for one of their kind almost without questions. How did he managed to keep his dignity among all these desperate poor people? They never really tell us that. I just don't believe that a man raised in ghetto wouldn't lose his mind after he has got an enormous amount of money and saw the golden palaces for the first time in his life. Even the slightest, even for a moment, he should have. His behaviour looks pretty much unrealistic for me. Next, the girl. Her face is dull and boring. And I think the director of the movie has the same opinion, or else why woud she always show her only advantage? I mean, her tall slim legs. She wears unholy short dresses during the whole goddamn movie. Aside from this, it's hard to recall something else about her. Cillian is the main reason I watched this movie till the very end, actually. Funny thing: he's the only one adult character in the movie. Justin and the girl act like some rebellious teenagers. By the way, I find it amasing how, despite being oh so very intellegent and even educated, Justin doesn't know a thing about inflation. Spain, XVI century, American gold, inflation, no? Nothing? Okay then. It doesn't even matter, it's just... the way they struggle dispite The Great Evil System (the most favourite cliche of teenager movies) is so childish and outdated it can only be a comedy. But here it's meant to be taken seriously. I wonder who wrote all the deaths of the movie. They are so silly! I nearly stopped watching the movie after that tearjerker scene with the mother's death. It was so over-sweety and so overlong that I laughed, I really did. Seems to me like all the deaths (the mother's, the silly friend's we never really get a chance to know, etc) were made just for getting rid of the characters who hinder the plot. I don't believe these deaths, they only made me raise my brows mistrustfully. But in the end, I rather liked this movie than didn't. It has some rather impressive moments and a whole interesting idea. And, more importantly, it has Cillian Murphy!