"Vitya Maleev at School and at Home" by Nikolai Nosov, summary Automatic translate

Nikolai Nosov’s novella describes the everyday school life, adolescence, and friendship of ordinary fourth-graders. Written in 1951, this book is a vivid exploration of child psychology, where self-correction occurs through the influence of a group and the realization of personal responsibility for one’s actions. The work won the third-degree Stalin Prize in 1952. In 1954, director Viktor Eisymont adapted the text into the successful feature film "Two Friends."

The beginning of the school year

Summer break ends, and Vitya Maleev joyfully marches into fourth grade. He runs into old friends — Gleb Skameikin, Vanya Pakhomov, the Pioneer leader Volodya, and the homeroom teacher Olga Nikolaevna. Soon, a new student, Kostya Shishkin, appears in the classroom; due to a mix-up, he had sat out his first lesson with the fifth-graders. The boys become deskmates.

Vitya struggles with schoolwork. Over the summer, he managed to forget his basic multiplication tables. At the blackboard, the boy experiences enormous cognitive difficulties when solving problems about carpenters and has become accustomed to relying entirely on the whispers of his classmates. Homework also suffers. Unlike his younger sister, Lika, who completes homework immediately after school, Vitya sits down to his notebooks late at night after grueling soccer matches. His tired brain refuses to function, and his father’s attempts to apply his teaching skills and explain the rules of calculation to his son result in mutual irritation.

School incidents

Discipline in the classroom is deteriorating. An unknown artist draws a smoking sailor in charcoal on a freshly whitewashed wall. Kostya Shishkin copies Vitya’s grammar exercise and leaves a huge blot in someone else’s notebook. School principal Igor Alexandrovich gives a stern lecture about respecting state funds. Soon, Igor Grachev takes the blame for the damaged wall and paints over his drawing.

Gleb Skameikin, elected class monitor, declares a strict crackdown on cheating. A satirical cartoon of Vitya with oversized ears appears in the school wall newspaper. To quickly have the cartoon removed, Maleev writes a vow to improve. His words are far from his actions. Soon, Vitya gets a D in arithmetic, and Shishkin gets a D in Russian. His classmates are once again ridiculed in the wall newspaper. At a class meeting, the students heatedly discuss their academic performance. Vitya publicly pledges to study hard to get good grades, while Kostya reluctantly joins the initiative.

Attempts at self-regulation

Maleev employs self-control techniques and resolves to develop willpower. He refuses a sweet pastry, trying to develop self-control, but is swayed by a sudden football match. Trying to improve his math, the boy turns to Alik Sorokin, an excellent student, for help. Alik explains the material confusingly, but consistently beats Vitya at chess, accompanying his victories with caustic taunts. A hurt Maleev finds an old chess textbook, applies academic strategies to seize the initiative, and begins confidently crushing Sorokin on the board. Math, however, remains an insurmountable obstacle.

The school’s amateur performance evening is approaching. Vanya Pakhomov is preparing a dramatic skit from Alexander Pushkin’s poem. Vitya and Kostya decide to add some realism to the performance. They bring an old mattress, rip it open, and Lika helps sew the right patterns. Stuffing a cardboard head with hay and attaching a tail made of bast, the boys create a stunning bay horse. Taking to the stage disguised as an ungulate, the friends begin sneezing, twitching their cardboard ears, and shuffling their feet. Their awkward behavior ruins the serious performance. The first term ends sadly — both friends receive F’s on their report cards.

Independence and new hobbies

During the November holidays, Vitya felt excruciatingly ashamed in front of his parents for his poor grades. The boy firmly resolved to learn to think analytically. Struggling for a long time over a problem involving tin buckets and axes, he applied the method of successive elimination, eliminating unnecessary variables. With a little logical help from Vanya Pakhomov, he understood the solution algorithm. Soon, Vitya successfully explained a complex problem about nuts to his sister Lika, visualizing the bulging pockets on paper. Having figured out the overlooked rules, Vitya re-solved the entire old third-grade problem book. His grades skyrocketed, and he was accepted onto the basketball team.

Kostya Shishkin demonstrates a complete lack of discipline. He keeps mice, hedgehogs, and guinea pigs at home. One day, the boy brings home a stray dog named Lobzik. His mother categorically demands that the animals be removed from the apartment. Kostya gives the small rodents to friends and secretly houses the dog in the cold attic.

The whole school class goes to the circus. They watch in awe as acrobats, trained bears, a clown, and daring motorcyclists ride inside an iron ball. They are especially amazed by a dog barking in response to math problems.

Consequences of deception

Inspired by circus arts, Shishkin tries to become a juggler. While practicing with an enamel basin, he breaks a windowpane. The boys secretly borrow a diamond glass cutter from Vasya Erokhin, attempting to cut a new piece from the hallway window, but only end up shattering the fragile material and earning a stern reprimand from their mother upon her return.

Kostya is terrified of school dictations and regularly feigns illness. His mother writes a note of excuse, but soon uncovers her son’s ruse and refuses to condone his truancy. Without an ID, Shishkin is afraid to go to school. Vitya lies to Olga Nikolaevna about his friend’s severe cold.

Kostya spends his days hiding in the cold streets. He decides to drop out of school and work in the circus. The boy tries to develop a conditioned reflex in Lobzik, demanding that he bark in response to numbers shown to him and rewarding the dog with sugar. The dog barks inappropriately, and Vitya, in desperation, gets down on all fours, setting the right example. Maleev is deeply affected by his deception. From a conversation with his sister, he clearly understands that covering up his friend’s lie is dishonest.

Exposure and assistance

His classmates decide to visit their "seriously ill" friend. Kostya jumps into bed with his shoes on, but the others quickly expose him as a fake. Lenya Astafyev finds Shishkin doing a handstand against the wall. Olga Nikolaevna suddenly enters the room. Vitya frankly admits to lying. The teacher sternly explains to the children the harmfulness of their actions.

The next day, the boys are summoned by the principal. Igor Alexandrovich conducts a long, educational talk. He officially assigns Vita to become Kostya’s personal tutor. The principal shatters any illusions about circus animals — the dogs respond to the trainer’s subtle movements, ignoring the mathematics itself.

Vitya tutors his struggling classmate daily. He makes Kostya rewrite sloppy grammar exercises and apply forgotten rules. Shishkin learns to control his impulsiveness, although the jumping letters in his notebook often betray his poor concentration.

Success and awareness

Following the director’s advice, Kostya successfully trains Lobzik to shut up with a snap of his fingers. At the school New Year’s party, the boys perform an act featuring a "learned mathematician dog." Dressed in brightly colored caps, they create a real sensation. The performance goes smoothly, although Vitya nearly stumbles while mentally calculating the cost of a bottle and cork.

During winter break, the friends take on administrative responsibilities, becoming class librarians. They organize publications in a special journal, fix torn bindings, and design propaganda posters. Shishkin enforces strict sanitary controls on readers, forcing them to wash their hands and recount the plots of confiscated books in detail. Library responsibility makes the boy remarkably focused.

Kostya works diligently on spelling. For a long time, he gets straight Cs, but he perseveres. A well-deserved B finally appears in his report card. At a class meeting, Olga Nikolaevna joyfully announces the complete absence of underachievers. Vitya clearly grasps the lesson he’s learned — true friendship requires high standards of comrades. In the spring, the boys successfully complete fourth grade with excellent grades, and Vitya decides to write a detailed story about his experiences.