– Green! – granddaughter answered playfully.

– You haven’t guessed, you haven’t guessed! – smiled granny, – Now this sweet is mine. Guess what color this sweet is?

– Maybe red? – Katya asked hopefully.

– Attagirl! This sweet is yours! – said Baba Galya giving “Red poppy” to her.

Katushka unwrapped the chocolate sweet with joy, bit off a piece and took tea with an appetite.

– Now I want to make play, – said granddaughter taking the bag. – Guess what color this sweet is?

– Yellow!

– So cunning you are, Baba! I won’t have sweets so if you play like that! Well, here you are! – and she gave “Pineapple” sweet to her grandmother. – Listen, Ba, you wanted to tell me how you had gone to get a Christmas tree with brother…

– Ah,…yes! – pronounced Baba Galya chewing her aromatic sweet.

Whengrandmotherstaredtellingaboutherchildhood, Katusha was narrowing her eyes and imagining that little Galochka – Alochka –is a girl from nursery, that they often walk holding their hands, that they’ve been friends for a long time and they share the most intimate secrets. And everybody says: surprising the way Katusha and Alochka are alike: their smiles, figures and vivacity of characters!

Lookingatthesparklinginterestinthegranddaughter’s eyes, grandmother continued.

It was winter in one small village in the Urals where was located my grandfather’s military base. Dad was at work, and we with my brother Vasya and mother were preparing for the New Year. I was about ten years old, Vasya – about fi Well, we decided with my brother while mum was cooking lunch to go and fetch a Christmas tree. Of course, we said nothing to our mum, we just took our skis, dad’s handsaw and headed towards the forest that was next to us – over the fi We went from one tree to another and couldn’t possibly fi an appropriate one.

– Do you like this one? – Alochka asked her brother once again.

– Nope. It’s clooked, – answered scrupulous Vasya mispronouncing the sound “r”.

– Well, you’re right. Let’s move on, – sighed Alochka. – And this one, look, is it good? – asked sister hoping to win his approval.

– That’s is too small, Petka has a bigger one! – answered one meter tall chief having bent the brows.

– Petka, Petka! And how long are are we going to climb snowbanks? Do you know that the sunset is soon? Maybe, mum is already looking for us, and we haven’t chosen a tree yet, – elder sister started to resent, – but what tree do you want? You don’t know yourself! I’ll cut down the first available tree and we’ll go home, you see! – said Alochka almost switching to yelling.

– With cones, – grumbled Vaska.

– What?

– With cones, downy and big, – lisped younger brother strictly specifying the necessary qualities for the tree.

Aloshka stopped near a tall tree and raised her head up.

– So, commander. Be here, I’m going to get a tree with cones. Look, this one is good? – Alochka asked Vasya pointing at the very top of the huge, old, branchy spruce that was full of cones.

– Yes! – brother cried joyfully.

Determined Alochka climbed up. Soon, Vasya lost sight of her. He had fun walking in the forest, but it was getting colder and colder to stand and to wait for sister.

– Ala, you finif soon? – younger brother started whimpering. – I am cold…what are you doing there for such a long time?

– I am sawing. I am also cold, but I stay patient. Isn’t that you who want to have a beautiful Christmas tree with cones at the top? – he heard the sister’s voice from somewhere above.

After a while a plaintive voice of the operation commander peeped.

– Galka, get down, I don’t want these curfed cones, I hear wolves earn… it’s getting dark, I’m so cold… I’m scared…