Bradbury Veld read the analysis. Wendy and Peter are the bad kids from the Veld story. III. What did the story make you think?

"I Sing the Body Electric" (1969; collection of short stories) "All Hallows' Eve" (The Halloween Tree; 1972; story in the form of a fairy tale) "From the Dust Returned" (2001; novel)

The works of the science fiction writer "451 degrees Fahrenheit" ("Farenheit 451"; a dystopian story, 1951) "Dandelion Wine" ("Dandelion Wine"; the story is largely autobiographical, 1957) "The Cure for Melancholy" (A Medicine for Melancholy;) The Machineries of Joy (1964; short story collection) R Is for Rocket (1962; short story collection)

"WINE FROM DANDELIONS" The novel is compiled from the stories of the years. Many of them were subsequently reprinted in R. Bradbury's collections.

Questions for the lesson What was the name of the house that George bought? What could the Children's Room do? Why did George and Lydia decide to turn off the room and leave the house? What do Peter and Wendy look like? How did the children react to the father's decision? How does Wendy feel at the end? What did the Nursery teach the children?

Reviews of Veld's story from the Internet viv And it was written half a century before computer games, before the concept of virtual reality, before problems with children who do not want to read and play computer games for hours ... (...) And there is one terrible thought in this story: “Long before you understand what death is, you already wish death on someone.

Kkk72 Memorable, very imaginative story. Lions in the African savannah just stand before your eyes! How difficult it is sometimes to resolve the conflict between fathers and children! How often any trifle can lead to a serious offense, and an offense to a terrible tragedy! Tsyrilla Only from the third reading did I get the basic meaning of the children repeatedly killing their parents in the room until they were killed in reality.

Children - on the one hand, are a symbol of purity and innocence, closeness to nature and sensitivity to the truth. But in children there is both rigidity and anger, children are aggressive, and the danger they pose if their energy is not directed to creation is quite real. Like the children in the story "The Veld" who killed their parents when they deprived them of their favorite pastimes.

Bradbury has a story "All Summer in One Day" - where a girl who is bored without the sun is stuffed into a dark closet by her fellow students so that she misses two hours of sunlight, pouring onto rainy Venus once every seven years. They are jealous of her because she recently flew in from Earth, and there are rumors that she will be sent there again soon. Children become angry if they are unhappy.

A person must be alive - feeling, thinking and responsible for his actions. Materials used raybradbury.ru/ ria serpentus.io.ua/album Fi trinixy.ru/72831-sbyvshiesya-predskazaniya- reya-bredberi-1-kartink... shki.net/comment.php?id= ray bradbury - The most interesting ray bradbury's blogs - The Most Interesting Blogs

Conclusion of the work of Ray Bradbury Veld

Answers:

Bradbury foresaw much of what we see in life today. His classic novel "451 Fahrenheit" is a prediction of the onset of obscurantism in totalitarian states. "Veld" is a prediction of the general insanity on the Internet (which did not exist at that time!), virtual reality, aggressive computer games, the prediction of alienation and hostility of people even in families. Children actually grow up not in a family, not with their parents, but in the virtual world of predators, for them, father and mother are just a means to satisfy the thirst for exciting primitive instincts. This savagery of the young generation is brought in the story to a fantastic, conditional level: predators escaping (on the orders of children who are tired of their parents' remarks) from the screen wall attack their parents and, judging by their terrible cries, devour them. So this fantastic story is a wise warning to mankind. The impression, of course, is terrible.

Children have committed a crime that cannot be justified. Having committed the murder of their parents, Peter and Wendy killed themselves, their own soul. Until they figured it out. This is what a talented science fiction writer made us think about. Bradbury warns readers about the danger of manifestation of evil, cruelty and violence, from indifference, from the pursuit of material goods, which give only imaginary happiness, teaches critical reflection on their actions.

Ray Bradbury raises the problem of the relationship between children and parents in his story "Veld". The heroes of the story are two ten-year-old children Peter and Wendy and their parents Lydia and George.

Parents, loving their children and wanting to please them, bought them a wonderful room in their "House of Happiness", all the walls of which were computer monitors. The room could reproduce on its walls any landscape, any pictures and scenes that the children could only imagine. And, in general, this house did all the work for its inhabitants: it cooked, cleaned, washed, washed them, tied their shoelaces, did everything to make their life as comfortable as possible.

It would seem that a great and very convenient idea. Time that was spent on everyday worries is now freed up and can be spent on ...

And then, quite unexpectedly, a problem arose. It turned out that there was nothing to spend free time on.

Both mother Lydia and father George began to feel unnecessary, they had nothing to occupy themselves with, they became nervous and unbalanced.

The kids got even worse. It turned out that the room completely ousted their parents from their daily lives and their hearts. Mom and dad were no longer needed by children, because the mechanical house did everything much faster and better than living people.

Why did something go wrong?

The first to feel that something went wrong were the parents. They intuitively guessed that the whole thing was in the room and even turned it off for several hours. The children began a terrible hysteria and hatred for their parents arose in their souls. There was now an African veld in the room all the time, and terrible heart-rending cries were heard from there. The lions living in the veld constantly ate something and the vultures after the bloody meal circled over the bones of the victims for a long time.

Parents decide to start a new, normal life, without robots, automatons and fictitious reality. From now on, they will do everything themselves. But when children are told about this, they become hysterical, they cannot imagine life without a room.

For them, “It is enough to look, listen and smell! There are no other worthwhile activities."

The children persuade George and Lydia to turn on the room for a minute and lock them in there. The lions come to life and eat their parents, and it becomes clear whose cries were heard from the nursery in recent months, because the children so often imagined the death of their parents that it became a reality.

Can anyone fix it?

Are children to blame for their cruelty? Why was such an outcome possible? Parents spoiled their children, spending not their time and mental strength on them, but only their money. Children's souls, not feeling a human relationship to themselves, became automata themselves, they, like their parents, only wanted to consume without thinking and without making any effort.

With his story, Ray Bradbury drew attention to the problem of misunderstanding between children and parents, unwillingness to think and take part in the fate of each other.

All of us who have read this story need to reconsider our relationships with loved ones, do not spare our spiritual warmth for them, and everything will work out, love and mutual understanding will not allow us to at least to some extent repeat the fate of the heroes of the story.

Moral problems of R. Bradbury's story "Veld"

As an argument for composing the USE format

Very often, students who have carefully studied classical Russian literature in order to resort to its masterpieces in the exam, find themselves in a difficult situation when the text proposed for analysis turns to such ultra-new issues as, for example, the influence of the Internet on a teenager.

- What a pity that Pushkin chatted only in handwritten albums! Eh, he didn't know the Internet… – a blue-eyed tenth-grader lamented recently, reflecting on the text by A. Ivanova. (Text in Appendix 1, task 24 in the same place, or former B 8)

The question, of course, is debatable, but the teacher still faces the task of helping future graduates and suggesting the right work, which will be remembered only if it touches the reader to the core. One of these works, in our opinion, may be the story of R. Bradbury "Veld" (Text in Appendix 2)

There are many ways to get acquainted with this work: both home reading and loud reading in the classroom - each teacher chooses his own path. The only thing we categorically do not accept is reading a work in brief and watching a movie.

During the classes build as follows:

1. Discussion. For questions.

– Can this story be considered absolutely fantastic, or can some details of this story have a connection with reality?(Realistic is the psychology of spoiled teenagers who are ready to sacrifice the lives of their own parents for the sake of their interests)

– How do you assess the relationship between children and parents? If in these relations there is a place for sincerity? Love?

– What predetermined such development of parent-child relations?(The desire for comfort, inattention of adults to the interests of children, spoiled)

– What place in the story is given to the image of a “smart home”?

– On the basis of what visual possibilities is the fabric of the story built?(hyperbolization, irony, the rapid development of events, the method of predicting events, etc.)

2. Building a cluster.

– plot

– Figurative storytelling system

– Emotional Plan of the Reader(How do the feelings and emotions of the reader change during the acquaintance with the story?)

3. Definition of the main problem raised in the story. The author raises, first of all, questions of morality, the value of human life, selfishness, cruelty, etc.

4. Reading the text of A. Ivanova. Exercise:

Mark in the margins those places in the text that intersect ideologically and emotionally with the story "Veld"

5. Completing the task after the text

6. Identification of the problem raised in the text, making a comment, formulating the position of the author. (Writing assignment)

7. Discussion written by students.

8. Formulation of one's own position and argumentation with the help of the analyzed story.

9. Summing up the lesson. Reflection.

Annex 1

(1) In the past few years, one more has been added to the usual fears of parents. (2) Increasingly, teenagers scare us with an addiction to virtual communication. (3)Here are examples of complaints.
“(4) You can’t drag children away from the computer. (5) They sit for days. (6) Some ICQ, agents, chats, forums ... "
“(7) I don’t understand what pleasure this can be. (8) But the son is sitting at the monitor, laughing at something, or even hitting the table with his fist. (9) It seems to me that he is going crazy - talking to himself.
“(10) I used to play video games, it took a lot of time, I abandoned my lessons, and now it’s completely out of hand - as if he’s not at home. (11) All day long on the Web, he says, they have a party there ... "
(12) Something like this begins the conversation of worried parents with teachers and psychologists. (13) Then the details are clarified: along with the enthusiasm for computer conversations, academic performance began to fall, the child spends all the time at home, sitting and looking at the screen. (14) The teenager does not do homework, does not help around the house, does not go outside, does not play sports.
(15) Instead of talking on the phone and walking late into the night, more and more children communicate with each other via the Internet. (16) In fact, we have heard similar complaints before, only the evil did not come from the computer, but from the phone or TV. (17) The current "computer" children are the descendants of their "television" parents.
(18) How was this problem solved when today's parents were teenagers? (19) Most likely, they just grew out of it ... (20) They may object to me that not everyone spent endless hours at the TV screen; someone already in his youth clearly knew what he would do in life. (21) Many became responsible early, because some had younger brothers and sisters, some were influenced by the example of responsible adults, and some did not know how and why. (22) And although the parents seriously feared for their future, they became completely independent people, with different professions and destinies, many families ...
(23) Why am I saying all this? (24) To the fact that television turned out to be not dangerous in itself. (25) No matter how insulting it is for someone to realize their own “backwardness”, they will have to come to terms with the fact that the Internet has become a part of our life and will not go anywhere. (26) The ability to navigate in it and use its capabilities becomes a condition for a successful life in many ways. (27) From an unlimited source of information, it has also turned into a trading network, a method of communication, a means of education ... (28) Will there be more. (29) We should learn from children. (30) I, too, once had to go through a period of irritation and discontent. (31) And now, with the help of her son, she has become quite good at navigating in the virtual space. (32) It happens, too, “you can’t pull it off” ...
(33) Online spending time is perfectly acceptable for teenagers. (34) Most likely, this harmless hobby lies within the age norm. (35) Although in some cases it is necessary to analyze the situation. (Z6) If virtual communication has become an all-consuming passion, a teenager has become withdrawn or aggressive, his vocabulary is poor, or there are other symptoms that concern you, you should not postpone a visit to a specialist. (37) It is only important to consider: the fight will have to be waged not with a computer, but with the reasons that gave rise to addiction.
(According to A. Ivanova*)

24. “Telling about what worries parents of teenagers today, the author uses such a device as _______ (sentences 4-6, 7-9, 10-11), as well as such a syntactic device as _______ (in sentences 13, 14) . The use of a lexical device such as _______ ("going crazy" in sentence 9, "out of hand" in sentence 10) emphasizes the parents' concern about the situation. With the help of such a technique as _______ (sentences 18-19, 23-24), A. Ivanova seeks to attract readers to reflection. "

List of terms:

1) litote

2) term

3) phraseological unit

4) quoting

5) rhetorical question

6) epithet

7) parceling

8) rows of homogeneous members

9) question-answer form of presentation

Appendix 2

RAY BREDBURY "WELD"

Georgie, please see the nursery.

What's with her?

Don't know.

So what's the deal?

Nothing, I just want you to look at it or invite a psychiatrist, let him look.

And what about the psychiatrist?

You know very well. - standing in the middle of the kitchen, she looked at the stove, which, busily buzzing, prepared dinner for four herself. - You see, the nursery has changed, it is not at all the same as before.

Okay, let's see.

They walked down the corridor of their soundproof house, like "All for happiness", which became them in thirty thousand dollars (with full furnishings), - the house that clothed them, fed them, groomed them, rocked them, sang and played for them. When there were five steps to the nursery, something clicked, and a light came on in it. And in the corridor, as they walked, one by one, the lamps went on and off smoothly, automatically.

Well, said George Hadley.

They stood on the floor of the children's room covered with reed matting. One hundred and forty-four square meters, height - ten meters; it cost fifteen thousand. "Children should get all the best," George said at the time.

Silence. Empty, as in a forest clearing on a sultry afternoon. Smooth 2D walls. Before the eyes of George and Lydia Hadley, they began to melt, buzzing softly, as if going into a transparent distance, and the African veld appeared - three-dimensional, in colors, like a real one, down to the smallest pebble and blade of grass. The ceiling above them turned into a distant sky with a hot yellow sun.

George Hadley felt sweat break out on his forehead.

We'd better get away from the sun, - he suggested, - it's too natural. And in general, I don’t see anything like that, everything seems to be in order.

Wait a minute, you'll see, - said the wife.

At that moment, the hidden odorophones went into action and sent a wave of scents to the two people standing in the sun-scorched veld. The thick, nostril-drying smell of withered grass, the smell of a nearby pond, the acrid, pungent smell of animals, the smell of dust that swirled in the hot air, like a cloud of red pepper. And here are the sounds: the distant clatter of antelope hooves on the elastic turf, the rustling tread of crouching predators.

A silhouette floated across the sky, and a shadow flickered across George Hadley's upturned sweaty face.

Look, lions, over there, in the distance, over there, over there! We went to the watering hole. You see, they ate something there.

Some kind of animal. - George Hadley protected his inflamed eyes with his palm from the blinding sun - a zebra ... Or a giraffe ...

Now it’s impossible to be sure, it’s too late,” he answered jokingly. “I see only gnawed bones and vultures picking up scraps.

The lions were slowly approaching. And George Hadley admired the genius of the designer who created this room. A miracle of perfection - for an absurdly low price. All homeowners should be like this! Of course, sometimes they repel with their clinical thoughtfulness, even frighten, cause an unpleasant feeling, but most often they serve as a source of fun not only for your son or daughter, but also for yourself when you want to have fun with a short walk to another country, change the situation. Like now, for example!

Here they are, fifteen feet away, the lions, so believable - yes, so terrifyingly, so insanely believable that you can feel your skin tickled by hard synthetic fur, and the smell of hot skins in your mouth tastes like dusty upholstery, their yellowness shines in your eyes with the yellowness of a French tapestry ... The yellow color of a lion's skin, withered grass, noisy lion's breathing in a quiet midday hour, the smell of meat from an open mouth wet with saliva.

The lions stopped, staring with eerie yellow-green eyes at George and Lydia Headley.

Watch out! Lydia screamed.

The lions charged at them.

Lydia rushed headlong to the door, George involuntarily ran after her. And here they are in the corridor, the door is slammed, he laughs, she cries, and each is puzzled by the reaction of the other.

George!

Lydia! My poor, dear, sweet Lydia!

They almost got us!

Walls, Lydia, glowing walls, that's all. Do not forget. Of course, I do not argue, they look very believable - Africa in your living room! - but this is only a high-impact color three-dimensional film and psycho-recording projected onto a glass screen, odorophones and stereo sound. Here, take my handkerchief.

I'm scared. - she came up and clung to him with her whole body, crying softly. - It's too plausible. Tell Wendy and Peter not to read about Africa anymore. And lock up the kids' room for a few days until I get over my nerves.

You know how difficult it is with Peter. A month ago I punished him by locking the children's room for a few hours - what happened! Yes, and Wendy too ... The nursery is everything for them.

She needs to be locked up, and no favors.

OK. He reluctantly closed the heavy door. You're overtired, you need to rest.

I do not know. She blew her nose and sat down in a chair, which immediately rocked softly. Perhaps I have too little to do. Perhaps there is too much time left for reflection. Why don't we lock up the whole house for a few days, go somewhere.

They ate alone. Wendy and Peter went to a special stereo carnival on the other side of town and told home via videophone that it would be late to be back, no need to wait for them. Concerned, George Headley watched the automatic table spew hot dishes from its mechanical bowels ...

"Children's," thought George Headley. This sun... He still felt its rays on his neck And these lions. And the smell of blood. it is amazing how accurately the nursery captures the telepathic emanation of the psyche of children and embodies any of their wishes. As soon as they think about lions - please, here they are. Imagine zebras - here are zebras. And the sun. And giraffes. And death.

That's it. He mechanically chewed the food that the table had prepared for him. Thoughts about death. Wendy and Peter are too young for such thoughts. And yet, is it a matter of age. Long before you understand what death is, you already wish death on someone. At the age of two, you shoot people with a scarecrow... But this is... A hot, boundless African veld...

….

Where are you going?

He didn't answer her. Absorbed by his thoughts, he walked, accompanied by a wave of light, to the nursery. He put his ear to the door. From there came the roar of a lion.

He unlocked the door and flung it open. At the same moment, a distant cry reached his ears. Again the roar of the lions... Silence.

George Hadley stood alone in the steppes. African Lions, looking up from their meal, looked at him. A complete illusion of real animals - if not for the open door through which he could see, at the far end of the dark corridor, like a framed portrait, his wife absentmindedly having dinner.

Go away, he said to the lions.

They didn't listen.

He knew the layout of the room very well. It is enough to send a mental order, and it will be executed.

Let Aladdin appear with his lamp,” he barked. Still veld, and all the same lions...

Well, room, go! I need Aladdin.

No impression. The lions were nibbling something, shaking their shaggy manes.

Aladdin!

He returned to the dining room.

The damned room, - he said, - has broken down, does not obey.

Or CANNOT obey, - answered Lydia. “Because the kids have been thinking about Africa and lions and murder for so many days that the room is stuck on one combination.

Maybe.

Or maybe Peter got her stuck.

FORCED?

Opened the mechanism and tweaked something.

Peter doesn't understand the mechanism.

For a ten-year-old boy, he is not stupid at all. His IQ...

And still...

Hello mom! Hello, dad!

The Hadleys turned around. Wendy and Peter entered the hallway, mint-coloured cheeks, bright blue eyes, their jumpers reeking of the ozone they bathed in in the helicopter.

You just made it in time for dinner, the parents said together.

We ate strawberry ice cream and sausages, - the children answered, waving their hands. - But we will sit with you at the table.

Just about, come here, tell me about the nursery, ”George Headley called them.

The brother and sister looked at him in surprise, then at each other.

Children's?

About Africa and everything else,” my father continued with mock good nature.

I don't understand, Peter said.

Your mother and I have just made a trip to Africa: Tom Swift and his Electric Lion, George Headley chuckled.

There is no Africa in the nursery,” Peter protested in an innocent voice.

Come on, Peter, we know.

I don't remember any Africa. Peter turned to Wendy. - And you?

No.

Well, run, check and tell us.

She obeyed her brother.

Wendy, come back! called George Hadley, but she had already gone. The light followed her like a swarm of fireflies. He realized too late that he had forgotten to lock the nursery.

Wendy will look and tell us,” said Peter.

What should I tell when I saw it myself.

I'm sure, father, you're wrong.

I'm not wrong, let's go.

But Wendy is back.

There is no Africa,” she reported breathlessly.

We'll check it out now," said George Hadley.

Together they went down the corridor and opened the door to the nursery.

A wonderful green forest, a wonderful river, a purple mountain, sweet singing, and in the foliage - a charming mysterious Rima, on whose long flowing hair, multi-colored butterflies fluttered like revived flowers. No African veld, no lions. Only Rima, singing so delightfully that involuntarily tears appear in her eyes.

George Hadley carefully examined the new painting.

Go to sleep, he told the children.

They opened their mouths.

You heard?

They went to the pneumatic chamber and flew like dry leaves up the shaft to their bedrooms.

George Hadley crossed the clearing ringing with bird voices and picked up something in a corner near where the lions stood. Then he slowly returned to his wife.

What is it in your hand?

My old wallet,” he replied and handed it to her.

The wallet smelled of withered grass and lions. There were drops of saliva on it, and teeth marks, and blood stains on both sides.

He closed the nursery door and locked it securely.

George was still awake at midnight, and he knew that his wife was also awake.

So you think Wendy switched it? she finally asked in the darkness.

Certainly.

Turned the veld into a forest and called Rima in place of the lions?

Yes.

But why?

Don't know. But until I find out, the room will be locked.

How did your wallet get there?

I don’t know,” he answered, “I don’t know anything, only one thing: I already regret that we bought this room for the children. And without that they are nervous, and then there is such a room ...

Its purpose is to help them get rid of their neuroses.

Oh, is it so ... - he looked at the ceiling.

We gave the children everything they asked for. And what we get as a reward - disobedience, secrets from parents ...

Who said: "Children are a carpet, sometimes you have to step on them" ... We never raised a hand against them. Let's be honest - they became unbearable. They come and go as they please, they treat us as if we were their offspring. We spoil them, they spoil us.

They've changed since - remember, two or three months ago - when you forbade them to fly a rocket to New York.

I explained to them that they are still small for such a journey.

I explained, and I see how they have become worse towards us since that day.

Here's what I'm going to do: tomorrow I'll invite David McClean and ask him to take a look at this Africa.

But there is no Africa, now there is a fabulous country and Rome.

It seems to me that by then it will be Africa again.

A moment later, he heard screams.

One... the other... Two people were shouting downstairs. Then the roar of the lions.

Wendy and Peter are awake, his wife told him.

He listened with a pounding heart.

Yes, he replied. - They got into the children's room.

Those screams... they remind me of something.

Indeed?

Yes, I'm scared.

And hard as the beds worked, they could not rock the Hadleys for another hour. The night air smelled of cats.

Father, said Peter.

Yes?

Peter looked at the toes of his boots. He had long avoided looking at his father, and at his mother too.

Have you locked the nursery forever?

It depends...

From what? Peter asked sharply.

From you and your sister. If you don't get too carried away with this Africa, you will alternate it with ... let's say Sweden, or Denmark, or China.

I thought we could play whatever we want.

Of course, within reason.

What's wrong with Africa, father?

So you still admit that you called Africa!

I don't want the nursery locked," Peter said coldly. - Never.

So let me tell you that we're actually going to leave this house for a month. Let's try to live by the golden principle: "Everyone does everything himself."

Terrible! So I have to lace my own boots, without an automatic lacer? Brush your teeth, comb your hair, wash yourself?

Don't you think that would even be nice for a change?

It will be disgusting. I was not pleased at all when you removed the automatic painter.

I wanted you to learn how to draw, son.

For what? Just look, listen and smell! There are no other jobs worth doing.

Okay, go play Africa.

So you've decided to shut down our house soon?

We thought about it.

I advise you to think again, father.

But-but, son, no threats!

Great. And Peter went to the nursery.

I'm not late? David McClean asked.

Breakfast? suggested George Hadley.

Thanks, I already. Well, so what's the matter?

David, do you understand the psyche?

As if.

So, please check our nursery. A year ago you went into it - did you notice anything special then?

It seems not. The usual manifestations of aggression, here and there a touch of paranoia inherent in children who believe that their parents are constantly harassing them. But nothing, absolutely nothing serious.

They went out into the corridor.

I locked the nursery, - the father of the family explained, - and at night the children still got into it. I didn't intervene so you could see what they were up to.

Terrible screams came from the nursery.

That's it, said George Hadley. - Interesting, what do you say?

They entered without knocking. The cries fell silent, the lions were devouring something.

Come on. children, go into the garden, - ordered George Hadley - No, no, do not change anything, leave the walls as they are. March!

Left alone, the men carefully looked at the lions, which huddled at a distance, greedily destroying their prey.

I wish I knew what it was,” said George Hadley. “Sometimes I think I see... What do you think, if you bring strong binoculars...”

David McClean chuckled dryly.

Hardly...

He turned, looking at all four walls one by one.

How long has this been going on?

A little over a month.

Yes, it's an uncomfortable feeling.

I want facts, not feelings.

My friend George, find me a psychiatrist who would observe at least one fact. He hears what he is told about sensations, that is, something very indefinite. So, I repeat: this is depressing. Rely on my instinct and my hunch. I always feel when trouble is brewing. There is something very bad going on here. I advise you to completely turn off this damned room and bring your children to me for procedures for at least a year every day.

Has it come to this?

I'm afraid, yes. Initially, these nurseries were conceived, in particular, so that we, doctors, could study the psychology of the child from the pictures on the walls and correct it without examination. But in this case, the nursery, instead of getting rid of destructive inclinations, encourages them!

Have you felt this before?

I felt only that you spoil your children more than others. And now the nut has been tightened. What happened?

I didn't let them into New York.

More?

He removed several machine guns from the house, and a month ago he threatened to lock the nursery if they did not do their homework. And I really locked it up for a few days, so that they knew that I was not joking.

Aha!

Does this tell you anything?

All. In place of the Christmas grandfather came beech. Children prefer Christmas grandfather. A child cannot live without attachments. You and your wife have allowed this room, this home, to take your place in their hearts. The children's room became mother and father for them, turned out to be much more important in their life than real parents. Now you want to lock her up. No wonder there is hatred here. Here - even the sky radiates it. And the sun. George, you need to change your lifestyle. Like many others - too many - comfort has become the main thing for you. Yes, if something breaks in the kitchen tomorrow, you will die of hunger. You won't be able to crack your own eggs! Still, I advise you to turn everything off. Start a new life. This will take time. Nothing, in a year we will make good children out of bad ones, you'll see.

Wouldn't it be too much of a shock for the kids to suddenly lock up the nursery forever?

The lions have finished their bloody feast.

The lions stood at the edge of the forest, looking at both men.

Now I feel persecuted,” McClean said. - Let's go. Never liked those damn rooms. They get on my nerves.

And lions are just like real ones, right? George Hadley said. - You don't admit the possibility...- ...that they can become real?

I don't think so.

Any defect in the design, switching in the circuit or something else?

No.

They went to the door.

I don't think the room wants to be turned off,” said George Hadley.

Nobody wants to die, not even a room.

I wonder: does she hate me for my decision?

Everything here is saturated with paranoia, - David McClean answered. - Tangible. Hey! He bent down and picked up the bloody scarf. - Is yours?

No. George's face hardened. - This is Lydia.

Together they went to the switchboard and turned on the switch that killed the children's room.

The children were hysterical. They screamed, jumped, threw things, yelled, sobbed, cursed.

You don't dare do that to the children's room, you don't!

They threw themselves on the sofa in tears.

George, said Lydia Headley, turn the nursery on for a few minutes. You can't do it all of a sudden.

Lydia, the room is off and will stay off. And anyway, it's time to end this damned house. The more I look at all this disgrace, the more disgusted I am. And so we contemplated our mechanical electronic navel for too long. God knows we need a change of scenery!

And he began to walk from room to room, turning off the talking clock, stoves, heating, shoe shines, mechanical sponges, washcloths, towels, massage therapists and all other machines that came to hand.

The house seemed to be full of the dead. It was as if they were in a graveyard of mechanisms. Silence. The buzzing of the latent energy of machines, ready to spring into action at the first push of a button, had ceased.

Don't let them do it! Peter yelled, raising his face to the ceiling, as if addressing the house, the children's room - Don't let your father kill everything. He turned to his father. - Why do I hate you!

Insults won't accomplish anything.

If only you were dead!

We have been dead for a long time. Now let's start living for real. From now on we will live.

Wendy was still crying. Peter joined her again.

Well, just a little more, just a minute, just a minute! they shouted.

George, his wife told him, it won't hurt them.

Okay, okay, just shut up. For one minute, mind you, then I'll turn it off completely.

Daddy, daddy, daddy! the children sang, smiling through their tears.

And then - holidays. David McClean will be back in half an hour, he will help us get ready and take us to the airfield. I went to get dressed. Turn on the nursery for one minute, Lydia, do you hear - no more than one minute.

The children, chatting merrily, hurried to the nursery with their mother, and George, flying up the air shaft, began to dress. A minute later, Lydia appeared.

I will be glad when we leave this house,” she sighed.

Did you leave them in the nursery?

I also need to get dressed. Oh, this terrible Africa. And what do they see in her?

Never mind, we'll be on our way to Iowa in five minutes. Lord, what a force drove us into this house .. What prompted us to buy this nightmare!

Pride, money, stupidity.

Perhaps it's better to go down before the guys are again carried away by their damn menagerie.

Dad, mom, hurry, come here, hurry!

They went down the shaft and rushed down the corridor at a run. The children were nowhere to be seen.

Wendy! Peter!

They broke into the nursery. In the desert veld - no one, not a soul, except for the lions looking at them.

Peter! Wendy!

The door slammed shut.

George and Lydia Headley rushed to the exit.

Open the door! shouted George Hadley, tugging at the handle. Why did you lock her up? Peter! He pounded on the door with his fists. - Open!

Don't let them turn off the nursery and the whole house.

Mr and Mrs George Hadley were knocking on the door.

What stupid jokes, kids! It's time for us to go. Mr. McClean is about to come and...

And then they heard...

Lions on three sides in the yellow grass of the veld, the rustle of dry stems under their paws, the rumble in their throats.

Lions.

Mr. Headley looked at his wife, then together they turned to face the predators, who slowly, crouching to the ground, crept up to them.

Mr and Mrs Hadley screamed.

And suddenly they understood why the screams they heard before seemed so familiar to them.

Here I am, - said David McClean, standing on the threshold of the children's room. - Oh, hi!

He looked in surprise at the two children who were sitting in the clearing eating lunch. Behind them was a pool and a yellow veld; overhead is the hot sun. He had sweat on his forehead.

Where are the father and mother?

The children turned to him with a smile.

They will come now.

Okay, it's time to go.

Mr. McClean noticed lions in the distance - they were fighting among themselves because of something, then they calmed down and lay down with prey in the shade of trees.

Shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, he took a closer look.

The lions finished eating and one by one went to the watering place.

A shadow passed over Mr. McClean's flushed face. Lots of shadows. Vultures descended from the dazzling sky.

A cup of tea? Wendy's voice sounded in the silence.

A wonderful story about our time. Bradbury foresaw that the emergence and mass distribution of electronics, gadgets and toys would negatively affect, first of all, the child's psyche.

What we are seeing more and more often in films and news is that people play computer games and then boldly take up arms and shoot innocent people without remorse. They confuse reality and play. Children are the audience of the greatest risk, since it is easier to take control of their minds, they have more free time and a desire to learn. This is how we hand over children into the hands of electronic gods.

Go play in the room! Don't interfere! Mom is busy! We bought you new toys, what else do you want?!

Familiar exclamations?! Hmm, only a few do not say so now. And millions of people are already being treated for gambling addiction.

The Veld is an arid plateau. Whether this is an allegory or not, we will not find out, but this is how the human brain appears to me from the inside after hundreds of hours of mindless computer games. The Veld story encourages adults to spend more time with children, and this is the best thing we can do for them.

So I will not delay my review, but I will go and play with my daughter!

Georgie, please see the nursery.

What's with her?

Don't know.

So what's the deal?

Nothing, I just want you to look at it or invite a psychiatrist, let him look.

And what about the psychiatrist?

Okay, let's see.

They walked down the corridor of their soundproof house, like: "Everything for happiness", which became them in thirty thousand dollars (with full furnishings), - a house that clothed them, fed them, groomed them, rocked them, sang and played for them. When there were five steps to the nursery, something clicked, and a light came on in it. And in the corridor, as they walked, one by one, the lamps went on and off smoothly, automatically.

Well, said George Hadley.

They stood on the floor of the children's room covered with reed matting. One hundred and forty-four square meters, height - ten meters; it cost fifteen thousand. “Children should get all the best,” George said at the time.

George Hadley felt sweat break out on his forehead.

We'd better get away from the sun, - he suggested, - it's too natural. And in general, I don’t see anything like that, everything seems to be in order.

Wait a minute, you'll see, - said the wife.

A silhouette floated across the sky, and a shadow flickered across George Hadley's upturned sweaty face.

Look, lions, over there, in the distance, over there, over there! We went to the watering hole. You see, they ate something there.

Some kind of animal. - George Hadley protected his inflamed eyes with his palm from the blinding sun, - a zebra ... Or a giraffe ...

Now it’s impossible to be sure, it’s too late,” he answered jokingly. “I see only gnawed bones and vultures picking up scraps.

Didn't you hear the scream? she asked.

So a minute ago?

Didn't hear anything.

The lions were slowly approaching. And George Hadley - once again - admired the genius of the designer who created this room. A miracle of perfection - for an absurdly low price. All homeowners should be like this! Of course, sometimes they repel with their clinical thoughtfulness, even frighten, cause an unpleasant feeling, but most often they serve as a source of fun not only for your son or daughter, but also for yourself when you want to have fun with a short walk to another country, change the situation. Like now, for example!

Here they are, fifteen feet away, the lions, so believable - yes, so terrifyingly, so insanely believable that you can feel your skin tickled by hard synthetic fur, and the smell of hot skins in your mouth tastes like dusty upholstery, their yellowness shines in your eyes with the yellowness of a French tapestry ... The yellow color of a lion's skin, withered grass, a noisy lion's breath in a quiet midday hour, the smell of meat from an open mouth wet with saliva.

The lions stopped, staring with eerie yellow-green eyes at George and Lydia Headley.

Watch out! Lydia screamed.

The lions charged at them.

Lydia rushed headlong to the door, George involuntarily ran after her. And here they are in the corridor, the door is slammed, he laughs, she cries, and each is puzzled by the reaction of the other.

Lydia! My poor, dear, sweet Lydia!

They almost got us!

I'm scared. - she came up and clung to him with her whole body, crying softly. - You've seen? Did you feel? It's too plausible.

Listen Lydia...

Tell Wendy and Peter not to read about Africa anymore.

Of course of course. He stroked her hair. - Do you promise?

Of course.

And lock up the kids' room for a few days until I get over my nerves.

You know how difficult it is with Peter. A month ago I punished him by locking the children's room for a few hours - what happened! Yes, and Wendy too ... The nursery is everything for them.

She needs to be locked up, and no favors.

OK. He reluctantly closed the heavy door. You're overtired, you need to rest.

Are you saying you're ready to fry me an egg?

Yes. She nodded.

And darn my socks?

Yes. - Impetuous nod, eyes full of tears.

And do the cleaning?

Yes of course!

And I thought that's why we bought this house, so that we don't have to do anything ourselves?

That's it. I don't seem to be here for anything. The house is a wife, and a mother, and a maid. How can I compete with the African veld, how can I bathe and wash children as quickly and cleanly as an automatic bath does? I can not. And it's not just about me, it's about you too. Lately you've become terribly nervous.

I probably smoke too much.

You look like you don't know where to put yourself in this house. You smoke a little more than usual every morning, you drink a little more than usual in the evenings, and you take more sleeping pills than usual at night. You also begin to feel unwanted.

Me?.. - he was silent, trying to look into his own soul and understand what was happening there.

Oh Georgie! She glanced past him at the door of the children's room. - These lions... They can't get out of there, can they?

He also looked at the door - it shuddered, as if from a blow from within.

Of course not, he replied.

They ate alone. Wendy and Peter went to a special stereo carnival on the other side of town and told home via videophone that it would be late to be back, no need to wait for them. Concerned, George Headley watched as the automatic table spewed hot dishes from its mechanical bowels.

We forgot the ketchup, he said.

“Children's…” thought George Hadley. “Well, it’s really harmless for children to live without her for a while. Everything needs a measure. And they, it is quite clear, are too fond of Africa. This is the sun ... He still felt its rays on his neck - like the touch of a hot paw. And those lions. And the smell of blood. it is amazing how accurately the nursery captures the telepathic emanation of the psyche of children and embodies any of their wishes. As soon as they think about lions - please, here they are. Imagine zebras - here are zebras. And the sun. And giraffes. And death.

But this... Hot, boundless African veld... terrible death in the claws of a lion. Again and again death.

Where are you going?

He didn't answer her. Absorbed by his thoughts, he walked, accompanied by a wave of light, to the nursery. He put his ear to the door. From there came the roar of a lion.

He unlocked the door and flung it open. At the same moment, a distant cry reached his ears. Again the roar of the lions... Silence.

He entered Africa. How many times in the last year had he opened the door and met Alice in Wonderland, or the False Turtle, or Aladdin with his magic lamp, or Jack the Pumpkin Head of Oz, or Dr. Dolittle, or a cow jumping over the moon, very much like to the real one - all these wonderful inhabitants of an imaginary world. How many times has he seen a Pegasus flying in the sky, or pink fountains of fireworks, or heard angels singing. And now in front of him is a yellow, red-hot Africa, a huge furnace that is full of murder. Maybe Lydia is right. Maybe we really need to part with a fantasy for a while, which has become too real for ten-year-olds. Of course, it is very useful to exercise a person's imagination. But if the ardent childhood fantasy is carried away by some one motive? .. It seems that for the last month he has heard the roar of a lion. I even felt a sharp smell of predators in my office, but due to being busy I didn’t pay attention ...

Go away, he said to the lions.

They didn't listen.

He knew the layout of the room very well. It is enough to send a mental order, and it will be executed.

Let Aladdin appear with his lamp,” he barked. Still veld, and all the same lions...

Well, room, go! I need Aladdin.

No impression. The lions were nibbling something, shaking their shaggy manes.

Aladdin!

He returned to the dining room.

The damned room, - he said, - has broken down, does not obey.

Or what?

Or CANNOT obey, - answered Lydia. “Because the kids have been thinking about Africa and lions and murder for so many days that the room is stuck on one combination.

Maybe.

Or maybe Peter got her stuck.

FORCED?

Opened the mechanism and tweaked something.

Peter doesn't understand the mechanism.

For a ten-year-old boy, he is not stupid at all. His IQ...

And still…

Hello mom! Hello, dad!

The Hadleys turned around. Wendy and Peter entered the hallway, mint-coloured cheeks, bright blue eyes, their jumpers reeking of the ozone they bathed in in the helicopter.

You just made it in time for dinner, the parents said together.

We ate strawberry ice cream and sausages, - the children answered, waving their hands. - But we will sit with you at the table.

Just about, come here, tell me about the nursery, ”George Headley called them.

The brother and sister looked at him in surprise, then at each other.

Children's?

About Africa and everything else,” my father continued with mock good nature.

I don't understand, Peter said.

Your mother and I have just made a trip to Africa: Tom Swift and his Electric Lion, George Headley chuckled.

There is no Africa in the nursery,” Peter protested in an innocent voice.

Come on, Peter, we know.

I don't remember any Africa. Peter turned to Wendy. - And you?

Well, run, check and tell us.

She obeyed her brother.

Wendy, come back! called George Hadley, but she had already gone. The light followed her like a swarm of fireflies. He realized too late that he had forgotten to lock the nursery.

Wendy will look and tell us,” said Peter.

What should I tell when I saw it myself.

I'm sure, father, you're wrong.

I'm not wrong, let's go.

But Wendy is back.

There is no Africa,” she reported breathlessly.

We'll check it out now," said George Hadley.

Together they went down the corridor and opened the door to the nursery.

George Hadley carefully examined the new painting.

Go to sleep, he told the children.

They opened their mouths.

You heard?

They went to the pneumatic chamber and flew like dry leaves up the shaft to their bedrooms.

What is it in your hand?

My old wallet,” he replied and handed it to her.

The wallet smelled of withered grass and lions. There were drops of saliva on it, and teeth marks, and blood stains on both sides.

He closed the nursery door and locked it securely.

George was still awake at midnight, and he knew that his wife was also awake.

So you think Wendy switched it? she finally asked in the darkness.

Certainly.

Turned the veld into a forest and called Rima in place of the lions?

But why?

Don't know. But until I find out, the room will be locked.

How did your wallet get there?

Its purpose is to help them get rid of their neuroses.

Oh, is it so ... - he looked at the ceiling.

We gave the children everything they asked for. And what we get as a reward - disobedience, secrets from parents ...

Who said this: “Children are a carpet, sometimes they need to be stepped on” ... We never raised a hand against them. Let's be honest - they became unbearable. They come and go as they please, they treat us as if we were their offspring. We spoil them, they spoil us.

They've changed since - remember, two or three months ago - when you forbade them to fly a rocket to New York.

I explained to them that they are still small for such a journey.

I explained, and I see how they have become worse towards us since that day.

Here's what I'm going to do: tomorrow I'll invite David McClean and ask him to take a look at this Africa.

But there is no Africa, now there is a fabulous country and Rome.

It seems to me that by then it will be Africa again.

A moment later, he heard screams.

One... another... Two people were shouting downstairs. Then the roar of the lions.

Wendy and Peter are awake, his wife told him.

He listened with a pounding heart.

Yes, he replied. - They got into the children's room.

Those screams... they remind me of something.

Indeed?

Yes, I'm scared.

And hard as the beds worked, they could not rock the Hadleys for another hour. The night air smelled of cats.

Father, said Peter.

Peter looked at the toes of his boots. He had long avoided looking at his father, and at his mother too.

Have you locked the nursery forever?

It depends…

From what? Peter asked sharply.

From you and your sister. If you don't get too carried away with this Africa, you will alternate it with ... let's say Sweden, or Denmark, or China.

I thought we could play whatever we want.

Of course, within reason.

What's wrong with Africa, father?

So you still admit that you called Africa!

I don't want the nursery locked," Peter said coldly. - Never.

So let me tell you that we're actually going to leave this house for a month. Let's try to live by the golden principle: "Everyone does everything himself."

Terrible! So I have to lace my own boots, without an automatic lacer? Brush your teeth, comb your hair, wash yourself?

Don't you think that would even be nice for a change?

It will be disgusting. I was not pleased at all when you removed the automatic painter.

I wanted you to learn how to draw, son.

For what? Just look, listen and smell! There are no other jobs worth doing.

Okay, go play Africa.

So you've decided to shut down our house soon?

We thought about it.

I advise you to think again, father.

But-but, son, no threats!

Great. And Peter went to the nursery.

I'm not late? David McClean asked.

Breakfast? suggested George Hadley.

Thanks, I already. Well, so what's the matter?

David, do you understand the psyche?

As if.

So, please check our nursery. A year ago you went into it - did you notice anything special then?

They went out into the corridor.

I locked the nursery, - the father of the family explained, - and at night the children still got into it. I didn't intervene so you could see what they were up to.

Terrible screams came from the nursery.

That's it, said George Hadley. - Interesting, what do you say?

They entered without knocking.

The cries fell silent, the lions were devouring something.

Come on. children, go into the garden, - ordered George Hadley - No, no, do not change anything, leave the walls as they are. March!

Left alone, the men carefully looked at the lions, which huddled at a distance, greedily destroying their prey.

I wish I knew what it was,” said George Hadley. - Sometimes it seems to me that I see ... What do you think, if you bring strong binoculars ...

David McClean chuckled dryly.

Hardly…

He turned, looking at all four walls one by one.

How long has this been going on?

A little over a month.

Yes, it's an uncomfortable feeling.

I want facts, not feelings.

Has it come to this?

Have you felt this before?

I felt only that you spoil your children more than others. And now the nut has been tightened. What happened?

I didn't let them into New York.

Does this tell you anything?

Wouldn't it be too much of a shock for the kids to suddenly lock up the nursery forever?

The lions have finished their bloody feast.

The lions stood at the edge of the forest, looking at both men.

Now I feel persecuted,” McClean said. - Let's go. Never liked those damn rooms. They get on my nerves.

And lions are just like real ones, right? George Hadley said. You don't allow the possibility...

- ... that they can become real?

I don't think so.

Any defect in the design, switching in the circuit or something else?

They went to the door.

I don't think the room wants to be turned off,” said George Hadley.

Nobody wants to die, not even a room.

I wonder: does she hate me for my decision?

Everything here is saturated with paranoia, - David McClean answered. - Tangible. Hey! He bent down and picked up the bloody scarf. - Is yours?

No. George's face hardened. - This is Lydia.

Together they went to the switchboard and turned on the switch that killed the children's room.

The children were hysterical. They were screaming, jumping, throwing things. They yelled, sobbed, scolded, rushed about the rooms.

You don't dare do that to the children's room, you don't!

Settle down, kids.

They threw themselves on the sofa in tears.

George, said Lydia Headley, turn the nursery on for a few minutes. You can't do it all of a sudden.

It's too cruel.

Insults won't accomplish anything.

If only you were dead!

We have been dead for a long time. Now let's start living for real. We are accustomed to being the subject of concern for all kinds of automata - from now on we will live.

Wendy was still crying. Peter joined her again.

Well, just a little more, just a minute, just a minute! they shouted.

George, his wife told him, it won't hurt them.

Okay, okay, just shut up. For one minute, mind you, then I'll turn it off completely.

Daddy, daddy, daddy! the children sang, smiling through their tears.

The children, chatting merrily, hurried to the nursery with their mother, and George, flying up the air shaft, began to dress. A minute later, Lydia appeared.

I will be glad when we leave this house,” she sighed.

Did you leave them in the nursery?

I also need to get dressed. Oh, this terrible Africa. And what do they see in her?

Never mind, we'll be on our way to Iowa in five minutes. Lord, what power drove us into this domra.. What prompted us to buy this nightmare!

Pride, money, stupidity.

Perhaps it's better to go down before the guys are again carried away by their damn menagerie.

Dad, mom, hurry, come here, hurry!

They went down the shaft and rushed down the corridor at a run. The children were nowhere to be seen.

Wendy! Peter!

They broke into the nursery. In the desert veld - no one, not a soul, except for the lions looking at them.

Peter! Wendy!

The door slammed shut.

George and Lydia Headley rushed to the exit.

Open the door! shouted George Hadley, tugging at the handle. Why did you lock her up? Peter! He pounded on the door with his fists. - Open!

Don't let them turn off the nursery and the whole house.

Mr and Mrs George Hadley were knocking on the door.

What stupid jokes, kids! It's time for us to go. Mr. McClean is coming and...

And then they heard...

Lions on three sides in the yellow grass of the veld, the rustle of dry stems under their paws, the rumble in their throats.

Mr. Headley looked at his wife, then together they turned to face the predators, who slowly, crouching to the ground, crept up to them.

Mr and Mrs Hadley screamed.

And suddenly they understood why the screams they heard before seemed so familiar to them.

Here I am, - said David McClean, standing on the threshold of the children's room. - Oh, hi!

He looked in surprise at the two children who were sitting in the clearing eating lunch. Behind them was a pool and a yellow veld; overhead is the hot sun. He had sweat on his forehead.

Where are the father and mother?

The children turned to him with a smile.

They will come now.

Okay, it's time to go.

Mr. McClean noticed lions in the distance - they were fighting among themselves because of something, then they calmed down and lay down with prey in the shade of trees.

Shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, he took a closer look.

The lions finished eating and one by one went to the watering place.

A shadow passed over Mr. McClean's flushed face. Lots of shadows. Vultures descended from the dazzling sky.