A boy was riding for a fall!?

April 2013

 

Novodevichy convent, Moscow, 2013

When I got to the Novodevichy convent in Moscow, it was closed, so I could only see the outside of the building.  It looked like a country house standing on a rise and enclosed by high walls and towers.  Parts of the buildings had been repaired or rebuilt as they were slightly different in colour and style from the rest.  There was a narrow side path beside the convent leading down to another path, which encircled a small lake with ducks, there was a line of trees around the lake. 

The lake at convent, Moscow, 2013

High tower at the convent, Moscow, 2013



There were some children playing on the path; a little boy of around four years old was holding a scooter.  Grinning with delight, he asked his dad to look at him.  He put his hands on handlebars and one leg on the scooter, and got ready to set off from the middle of the slope.  As the scooter ran faster, it began to wobble.  His eyes opened wild and he became very nervous.  He struggled to get control of his scooter and looked at the lake, afraid he would fall in.  I would have run to him and given him a hand or asked him to turn his handlebars, but I was standing a little too far away and did nothing.  As he got to the end of the path, he turned slightly to the side and fell onto the ground beside a tree.  His dad walked up to him and helped him to get up. The boy did not cry or even appear to be bad temper.  He joyfully pushed his toy back to the same place and played another time.  He made it this time and controlled his scooter well.  He was determined to get it right.



A beautiful creature at the convent,
Moscow, 2013

Novodevichy convent, Moscow, 2013