"Dunno in the Sunny City" by Nikolai Nosov, summary

Nikolai Nosov’s fairy tale novel was written in 1958. This book is a heartwarming story about the clash of a naive fairy tale hero with an automated society. A moral conflict arises from the careless use of magic in a world of precise science. The fairy tale was successfully adapted into a stop-motion animated miniseries. The series aired in 1976 and 1977.

This text is the second book in the famous trilogy about the shorties. The series opens with the story "The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends." The series concludes with "Dunno on the Moon."

Dreams of Magic and the Beginning of the Journey

After returning from Green City, Dunno becomes engrossed in reading fairy tales. He begins to dream of a magic wand. His friend Button tells him an important rule: to obtain a magical item, he must perform three good deeds in a row. These deeds must be completely selfless. Dunno’s attempts to perform good deeds fail. His rude nature and constant expectation of a reward hinder him.

One day, Dunno accidentally performs three good deeds selflessly. He takes pity on his dog, Bulka. He protects an old man he doesn’t know from the dog. He politely apologizes to the old man. The old man turns out to be a real wizard. The wizard hands Dunno a wooden magic wand. The old man sternly warns him: three bad deeds will permanently deprive the wand of its magical power.

Dunno demonstrates the artifact to Button. They materialize several scoops of ice cream. Then Dunno wishes for a car. The car is similar to the design of mechanics Vintik and Shpuntik. Dunno instantly gains the ability to drive a car. The friends are joined by a short, dirty-looking man named Pachkulya Pyostrenny. Pachkulya follows the rule of never washing his face and never being surprised by anything. After forcing Pyostrennya to wash himself, the trio sets off on their journey. At a fork in the road, they turn toward Sunny City.

Wonders of automation

Along the way, the heroes encounter a steamship. Then, they narrowly avoid a collision with a passenger train due to an argument between Dunno and Motley. Dunno steers the car straight across the sleepers in front of the locomotive. The car safely slides down a slope. On a wooden bridge, the heroes escape a traffic jam. Dunno waves his wand. The car flies over the obstacle, temporarily gaining wings.

Approaching Sunny City, travelers are amazed by the colorful, round fields. Machine operator Kalachik demonstrates the radio-controlled agricultural combines "Tsirkulina," "Planetarka," and "Radiolaria." These machines plow, sow, weed, and harvest crops automatically. The equipment is controlled remotely from a central station. Communication is maintained via television screens.

Getting to know the Sunny City

The wide streets of Sunny City are striking. The friends see a plethora of cars, autohorses, spiral walkers, and tube-flyers. The locals spend a lot of time outdoors. Residents play sports and watch performances in puppet theaters with double-sided stages. While staring at the firefighters’ house, Dunno drops his hat. Little Leaf, reading as he walks, bumps into him. A quarrel ensues. Dunno uses his magic wand and transforms Leaf into an ordinary donkey. Passersby remain oblivious to the incident.

The travelers stay at the Malvasia Hotel. They are greeted by a smiling receptionist, Lilia, via a system of television screens. The rooms are equipped with wardrobes and vacuum cleaners for air-powered cleaning of clothes. There’s a sophisticated system of automatic showers. The friends dine with the help of a magic tablecloth.

At night, Dunno is tormented by his revived conscience. He engages in an internal dialogue with the voice of his conscience. Trying to drown it out, he listens to fairy tales from the locker. Then he wakes up Motley. Dunno asks Motley to scold him and hit him with his fist.

The Donkey Problem and Carminatives

Her friend Bukovka is searching unsuccessfully for the missing Leaflet. Together, they organized a neighborhood book theater to promote reading. The next day, Dunno reads the newspaper. It reports on the arrest of a stray donkey and its shipment to the zoo. The friends go to the zoo. Dunno finds three different donkeys there. Dunno doesn’t know which donkey is Leaflet. He turns all three animals into short animals, one after another.

The newly minted runts are named Pegasik, Brykun, and Caligula. They retain their donkey-like habits. The trio wears loose greenish-yellow trousers and jackets with narrow sleeves. Pegasik douses Dunno and Knopochka with a garden hose. A scuffle ensues. Policeman Svistulkin arrives and takes Dunno to the police station. The station is equipped with television screens to monitor intersections. Left alone in a locked room, Dunno waves his wand. The hero destroys the walls of the station and escapes.

Excursions and riots

Having escaped pursuit, the friends meet the architect Kubik. The architect talks about rotating tower buildings and unusual projects. Later, they meet the engineer Klyopka. The engineer loves to drive fast in a bouncing amphibious car. Klyopka shows them a clothing factory. An actress and craftsman named Karasik works there. The artists Igolochka and Nitochka create new fabric patterns. The furniture factory produces plastic and inflatable items. The television factory produces flat-screen TVs.

Meanwhile, policeman Svistulkin, shell-shocked by a brick, wanders into someone else’s apartment by mistake. The apartment belongs to drivers Korzhik and Shutilya. The policeman falls asleep for a day. Leaving his owners at night, Svistulkin trips over a rope pulled tight by wind-driven donkeys. He ends up in the hospital with Dr. Kompressik. Because of the ID card they found in someone else’s jacket, the doctors mistake him for Korzhik.

A crisis is brewing in Sunny City. The behavior of the former donkeys is fueling a trend for boorishness and hooliganism. The press calls these hooligans "windbags." Ordinary residents are adopting the donkeys’ habits. Residents throw water at each other, push each other, and break equipment. The windbags inject cacophony into the music. Theater director Shtuchkin seats spectators on stage and sprinkles sawdust on them. The police are losing control of the situation.

Conflict resolution

Dunno is engrossed in playing chess automatons in Chesstown. Button and Motley are strolling through Happytown. They’re testing out the Ferris wheel. They’re riding atomic car seats and self-propelled ball skates. The skates are controlled by mental signals. Soon, the mischief of the hooligans reaches its peak. They puncture the friends’ boat and mock them at the theater. Button demands they leave town immediately.

Button reads Professor Kozyavkin’s article. The professor writes that windbags descended from donkeys. Dunno admits his mistake to Button. The location of the real Leaf is revealed. Leaf has been in the circus all this time. The friends try to restore the windbags to their original form. Dunno discovers his magic wand is missing. A monkey snatched it from the zoo and threw it on the cage floor.

That night, Dunno and Motley sneak into the zoo. They enter the wrong cage and wake up the lion. The next morning, the friends return to the zoo. They find the wand in a cleaning lady’s trash can. At the circus, the heroes discover an unpleasant truth. The wand has lost its magic power. Dunno has committed three bad deeds: he bewitched Leaf, he bewitched three donkeys, and he teased a monkey.

The friends are in despair. Suddenly, the good wizard appears. The old man explains the true meaning of magic: a magic wand is unnecessary if one has strong and good intentions. The wizard grants the heroes’ wishes. The donkeys return to the zoo. Leaflet becomes short and reunites with Bugovka. During the Mitten Festival, the friends exchange mittens with passersby and Whistleboy.

The heroes say goodbye to Sunny City. An automated taxi takes them back. Motley falls asleep in the seat. In the morning, the travelers get off in their native Flower City. Button advises Dunno to wish for intelligence, not magic. The girl is offended when Dunno foolishly assumes Button is in love. Thus ends Dunno’s journey.