Boris Kampov-Polevoy
During the summer the children made friends with a certain Mr. Zur, an original character and owner of the Menemsha store. The old man liked children and whenever they came to his shop to buy candy, salted nuts or a bag of popcorn, they always used to stay there for a while and discuss the weather, politics and all sorts of events with him. Mr. Zur used to talk to children as though they were grownups, and this contributed a lot to his popularity. When they arrived at the summer resort, the first thing the children did was to run to their old friend’s shop and there, as they were eating fresh cracking popcorn, they told him the staggering news—they had published a magazine.
“A magazine? And how much costs one copy of your magazine, gentlemen?” inquired Mr. Zur in a businesslike manner.
The children exchanged quick glances. Somehow they had not arrived at the thought that their magazine could be sold.
“It costs nothing, sir,” David started saying.
“No, no, it costs one dollar,” the quick-witted Mikey interrupted his brother as this new aspect of their hobby began to dawn upon him. “One dollar.”
“It’s rather expensive, gentlemen. However, I enjoy reading, and so I will buy one copy,” replied the old shopkeeper and handed over a dirty green bill to the journalists. They were left quite speechless by this development.
The business was continued. Realizing that there 79 were quite a few funny people among the dwellers in that summer resort and wishing to please his little friends, old Zur took over the newsstand sale of their publication on a commission basis. He even displayed the magazine in his shop window. To his astonishment, the whole of the first issue was sold out. Four more followed. By the end of the summer, the boys’ income, after deduction of expenses and commissions, amounted to roughly $50. The children gave this money—not without some regret, to be truthful—to the local fishermen whose boats had been shattered against the rocks of the coast by a passing hurricane.