The story is included in the collection "Girl from the Earth." The narration is conducted on behalf of Professor Seleznev.

Chapters 1 and 2

Professor Seleznev, a space biologist and an employee of the Moscow zoo, promised his daughter Alice to take her on an expedition to collect rare animals if the girl finishes second grade well and does not do anything stupid. Everything went well, but just before the holidays, Alice and her classmates stole a nugget from the school museum to make it a lure and catch a giant pike.

Fortunately, nothing happened. At the end of the XXI century, a nugget weighing 1.5 kilograms was no longer a great value. Alice's alien and earthly friends bombarded her house with gold nuggets, and the girl’s participation in the expedition was saved.

For several weeks, Professor Seleznev and the crew of the Pegasus spacecraft — the brave, courageous captain Poloskov and the gloomy red-bearded pessimist, mechanic Zeleny — were preparing for the expedition. The professor hardly saw Alice. Finally, everything necessary was sunk, but Poloskov could not lift the Pegasus from the surface of the Earth - the ship was too heavy.

It turned out that Alice hid two classes of children in the nooks of the ship so that they could get to the moon and watch a football match for the Galactic Sector Cup. Forty-three “hares” were caught, and “Pegasus” went to the moon.

Chapters 3-6

On the moon, Professor Seleznev met his old friend, archaeologist Gromoseku. Despite his menacing appearance — many tentacles, a huge, toothy mouth and two-meter-tall growth — Gromoseka was a kind and slightly naive creature. Upon learning that Seleznev was sent on an expedition for rare animals, Gromozeka told him about the planet named after the Three Captains.

Once, three captains - one from Earth, the second from Mars and the third from the planet Fix - were famous throughout the galaxy. They explored deep space and saved entire planets from space pirates. Now their paths have diverged. The first one worked on Venus, the second one disappeared in the middle of nowhere, and the third one went to a neighboring galaxy. In their honor, they founded a museum on a small planet.

Gromozeka decided that Seleznev would come in handy the diaries of captains who must have met unusual animals, and advised him to speak with the museum overseer Dr. Verkhovtsev.

On the way to the planet of the Three Captains, Pegasus delivered cargo to the scouts of Lesser Arcturus. Scouts said that recently Dr. Verkhovtsev flew to them and was interested in the drawings of the “Blue Gull” - the ship of the Second Captain, one of a kind. It seemed very strange to them. In parting, the scouts presented Seleznev with tadpoles - huge amphibians. In the ship they grew to enormous size, and then tiny frogs hatched from them.

Finally, the Pegasus arrived on the planet of the Three Captains. Near the museum, travelers saw a huge monument depicting captains. A bird with two beaks and a crown of feathers sat on the shoulder of the First, and an unusual bush grew at the feet of the Third.

Dr. Verkhovtsev, “a man who looked like a good old woman” in an old-fashioned hat, did not want to show Captain's diaries to Seleznev. Trying to help Seleznev, the doctor remembered the Empty Planet, where all animals strangely disappear; about sklissy from the planet Shishineru and about the singing bushes, one of which is carved on the monument. Verkhovtsev did not say anything about a bird with two beaks, he did not show diaries and assured that he had not been to the Small Arcturus. Seleznev decided that the doctor for some reason did not trust them.

Having left the museum planet, travelers headed for the eighth satellite of Aldebaran and found bushes that not only sang, begging for water, but also could walk. The smallest bush attached to Alice. The girl watered him with compote, and during the trip the bush completely spoiled.

Chapters 7-10

Travelers found the empty planet with difficulty - it was hiding behind a cloud of cosmic dust. They were prompted by a woman hunting a living nebula in this sector of space, which, according to Professor Seleznev, does not exist.

The empty planet turned out to be very mysterious. On the day of its arrival, its rivers and seas were teeming with fish, the next day the fish disappeared, but many birds appeared, then the animals replaced the birds. Finally, Alice guessed that one species of animals inhabits the Empty Planet, whose representatives can turn into anyone.

Then the expedition headed to the planet Bluk, where there was the largest bazaar for collectors in this sector of the galaxy. Local residents, earflaps, carefully examined the Pegasus and said that some man had nearly destroyed the planet. He sold worms that fed on air and multiplied rapidly, and the inhabitants of Bluk nearly died from suffocation. Now, earflaps have to check all the starships that arrived from the solar system. Looking at the photograph of the criminal, travelers recognized Dr. Verkhovtsev. Another ear-ears complained that someone had exterminated their favorite birds - talkers.

The Pegasus crew stayed at a hotel for earthlings. There, Professor Seleznev and Alice accidentally noticed Dr. Verkhovtsev, who immediately hid from them. The receptionist complained about the bad behavior of this guest and reported his room number. The room was empty. Coming out of it, travelers came across a very fat man. The fat man said that the person living here recently left and, probably, went to the bazaar.

Seleznev and Alice also went to the bazaar, where the professor got into trouble several times, confusing the sellers with the animals they sold. Alice went to a dwarf merchant who was selling invisible fish that could not even be captured. Seleznev decided that this was a fraud, but he had to pay for the fish, which, according to the seller, the professor dismissed, trying to catch. Cushioned, the dwarf gave Alice a weightless invisible hat.

Then they helped the alien alike a two-headed snake to catch an animal that ran away from it - an indicator that expressed its emotions by changing color. Seleznev wanted to buy an indicator, but the animal wished to be presented, which the mistress did.

Acquainted with a family of ushans who wanted to buy a talker, Seleznev decided that this rare bird, able to fly among the stars, would also be useful to the Moscow zoo. He and Alice searched the entire bazaar, bought eighteen rare animals, but they did not find the talker.

Finally, they met a frightened ushan selling a talker. The wounded bird itself flew to him. Some elderly man in a hat, very similar to Dr. Verkhovtsev, was trying to get Ushan to sell him a talker. He refused, and all kinds of misfortunes fell upon him. Unable to stand it, the ushan carried the talker to the bazaar. The travelers were not afraid of trouble and bought a talker - a large bird with two beaks and a crown of feathers, similar to the one that sat on the shoulder of the First Captain.

On the way to the hotel, the bird began to speak. Travelers found out that it was the talker of the First Captain - the bird spoke in his voice. Suddenly a fat man from a hotel found them. Seeing the talker, he demanded it for himself and lagged behind only when he saw police officers with ushans. Then Dr. Verkhovtsev caught up with them and also tried to get a talker. Seleznyov had to call for help Poloskov, who flew on a boat and took them to the Pegasus.

Chapters 11 and 12

Travelers were already on the Pegasus when they knocked on the hatch. It was a fat man.He called himself Veselchak U, apologized and presented Seleznev with a very rare diamond turtle.

The team had already decided to fly behind the sklisses to the planet Sheshinera, when suddenly the talker spoke again. It turned out that the First captain gave the bird to the Second, so that he sent the talker for help, if it was difficult. The bird remembered everything, to the last word, and the captains knew how to make her speak. The govorun slowly said: "Head for the Medusa system." It turned out that it was there that the Second Captain was in trouble. Poloskov decided to fly to the aid of the captain, although Zeleny predicted all kinds of troubles.

On the way, the Pegasus still visited Sheshinera. As soon as the spaceship boarded the spaceport, miracles began - some green men got into the refrigerator on a locked ship and pulled all the pineapples away. It turned out that these are the inhabitants of the planet. They invented pills that allow you to travel into the past and the future, and now loitered in time. They knew that in the future Alice would intercede for them before Poloskov, so they went back in time and boldly took pineapples. The men solemnly met Alice, who still knew nothing about them.

The Pegasus left Sheshinera, capturing a skliss that looked like a cow with long webbed wings, and turned to the Medusa system.

Chapters 13 and 14

The Pegasus didn’t get into the Medusa system right away. Poloskov received a distress signal from the planet Shelezyak. Once Shelezyaka was an ordinary planet with water, atmosphere, animals and plants, but then it was inhabited by robots from a crashed spaceship. Robots consumed all water and minerals, the atmosphere disappeared, and animals and plants became extinct. Now the robots were struck by an epidemic - they could not move.

Travelers found the duty robot and drove it to the Pegasus. The mechanic Green found the cause of the epidemic: someone poured diamond crumbs into the lubrication of robots.

The robot recognized the talker - this wounded bird flew to Shelezyaka from the Medusa system, and the robots replaced her with a prosthesis wing. Then a small spaceship descended onto the planet, which needed mending. Its owner - a man in a hat - found out that the robots had cured and released the talker, and was terribly angry. Then a man was seen near the storage with engine oil, after which the epidemic began. Apparently, here business was not complete without Verkhovtsev.

Leaving the barrel with clean grease for the robots, the travelers rushed to the Medusa system. The first planet of the system was full of mirages. Professor Seleznev found that mirages were created by local animals that looked like round pebbles. These animals showed everything that they saw both in reality and in the imagination of visitors to the planet. Among the mirages, travelers noticed Dr. Verkhovtsev and Veselchak U - they shook hands, and then argued about something. Then they saw a mirage of Blue Gulls flying away from the planet.

Govorun said what to look for on the third planet, and Pegasus went to her.

Chapters 15-18

There were many animals and plants on the third planet. There was even a terrible croc bird the size of a small plane. She confused Alice, dressed in a yellow fluffy jumpsuit, with her chick and carried her to the nest, where the girl found a piece of saucer with the inscription "Blue Seagull".

Especially a lot on the nameless planet of flowers. Govorun led the travelers to a perfectly round meadow, covered with fine grass, around which mirror flowers grew. They brought a bouquet of these flowers to the ship. Soon the films that made up the convex mirror cores began to die. It turned out that the flowers recorded everything that happened around them. In the resulting “opposite film”, Seleznev with friends again saw Verkhovtsev and Veselchak U.

Green decided to cut off the film layer to see a more distant past, but a curious indicator pushed the mechanic under his elbow, and the flower was ruined. At this time, a roar came from the wardroom - someone destroyed the remaining flowers, and the talker disappeared.Soon the bird showed up. She rolled a diamond turtle in front of her. The animal turned out to be a spy robot. That it destroyed the flowers.

Chapters 19-24

Poloskov decided to ferry Pegasus to a clearing with mirror flowers. Before the start, near the Pegasus, a ship descended, from which Verkhovtsev ran out. Strips immediately lifted the starship and put him in the middle of the meadow, where there were no flowers anymore. Landing, the Pegasus fell right into the lair of the space pirates.

In the same dungeon, similar to a huge concrete pan with a lid, there was also the Second Captain's spaceship, the Blue Gull. Here appeared pirates - Verkhovtsev and Veselchak U. For four years they tried to force the Second to leave. Now the pirates threatened that they would torture the travelers if the captain did not give them some galaxies.

Before leaving the ship, the Second told his story. Once upon a time, three captains cleared the galaxy of pirates, but some of them survived and waited for the opportunity to take revenge. The captains parted, but soon the Second received a message from the Third: he was returning from a neighboring galaxy with the formula of absolute fuel - the galaxy - which was given to him by local residents. The pirates intercepted the message and trapped both captains. Pirates cut the ship of the Third, and he was in their paws. The second closed in his invulnerable spaceship, but managed to send a talker for help. He knew that the First would seek him - such was the agreement between them.

Having finished the story, the Second promptly jumped off the ramp and opened fire on pirates. And then the First appeared in the dungeon, accompanied by ... another doctor Verkhovtsev.

Help brought Alice and the talker. In her bag, the girl found an invisible hat, presented to her on the planet Bluk. Invisible, Alice got out of the dungeon, and a talker led her through the complicated paths. In one of the dark alleys, Alice found a grill, behind which someone moaned.

Help - First and Verkhovtseva - Alice found right near the exit. Captains quickly neutralized the pirates. A pirate disguised as Verkhovtsev turned out to be a rat-like insect from the dead planet Crocrys, which looked like a large insect. The pirate so spoiled the reputation of Dr. Verkhovtsev that he ceased to trust people. He suspected something was wrong, told everything to the First One and began to follow the expedition of Seleznev, which led him to this planet. Seleznev provided the Rat with the strongest cage.

Travelers were about to fly away when Alice remembered the prisoner of the underground dungeon. The Third turned out to be half-dead from illness and hunger. With great difficulty, Professor Seleznev brought him back to life.

Both spaceships were already standing on the surface of the planet when a third starship descended from the sky towards them, behind which a strange gray cloud was reaching. This was the wife of the First, who nevertheless caught a living nebula. While the nebula was packed into a network, Veselchak U tried to escape, and a bird croc carried him away.

The last time travelers gathered at the lunar base. The captains decided to explore the neighboring galaxy, and Alice asked for it, then, when she grows up. She promises to take her father with her: "Biologists are needed on any expedition."