The Bronze Bird

Sequel to Kortik, originally published in the magazine Ionust' (Youth); it appeared in book form in 1957. The idea for the work came from a marble inkstand decorated with a bronze bird that stood on Rybakov's desk. The stand broke when he was moving to a new residence, and he saw that the bird was hollow. The thought occurred to him that the bird would be a good hiding place. In this work, Misha Poliakov has become a Youth Pioneer leader.