: Two boys, their friends and relatives experience the Machine of Happiness, catch the terrible Murderer, save the wax forecaster and make wine from dandelions - a concentrate of summer days.

Twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding woke up in his grandfather's tower - the tallest building in Greentown. He looked out the window, as the wizard waved his hands, and the town began to wake up. Lights were lit, lights were lit in the windows, "the huge house below came to life." The first day of the summer of 1928 began.

That morning, Douglas with his father and younger brother Tom went to the forest to pick up wild grapes. The boy felt something huge and unknown approaching him. It surged over the boy like a gigantic wave, and for the first time in his life he felt alive, felt his muscles contract, and hot blood ran through his veins. Douglas was returning home, intoxicated by this sensation.

Soon dandelions blossomed. Children collected golden flowers in bags, for each of which grandfather paid ten cents. Dandelions were pulled into the cellar and spilled out under the press. “Juice of a wonderful hot month” fell into clay jugs, then grandfather gave him a good ferment and poured it into clean ketchup bottles. Each bottle of dandelion wine seemed to contain one long summer day, and during the long winter saved the whole Douglas family from colds. For the boy, collecting dandelions was the first summer rite.

Gathering dandelions, Douglas met with friends John Hough and Charlie Woodman. "Summer Boys" set off on a journey through the city and its environs. The favorite place of the games was a deep ravine full of wonders and paths that divided Greentown into two parts. Douglas was irresistibly attracted to the “secret war of man with nature,” visible only near the ravine.

The time has come for the second summer ceremony. Returning in the evening with his parents from the cinema, Douglas saw tennis shoes in the shop window and realized that he should definitely get them. Last year’s shoes were no good - they no longer had magic, they couldn’t rush through Douglas “above the trees, above the rivers and houses”. Only brand new shoes were capable of this. Father, however, refused to buy them. The next day, Douglas arrived at the shoe store of old Mr. Sanderson. The boy did not have enough money for tennis shoes, and he agreed to work with Mr. Sanderson all summer. The old man did not demand such sacrifices from the boy, he only asked to carry out several minor assignments.

That evening, Douglas bought a yellow-bound notebook and divided it into two halves. One he called "Rites and Ordinances." In this part, events occurring every summer were recorded. The second part of the notebook, called "Discoveries and Revelations", was intended for what happens for the first time, as well as for everything old, but perceived in a new way. This notebook Douglas and Tom diligently filled every evening.

On the third day of summer, another ceremony took place - grandfather hung a swing on the veranda. From now on, the Spalding family will spend all summer evenings here, resting from the heat of the day.

Once, walking with his grandchildren past a tobacco shop, grandfather advised the men gathered there not to discuss the weapons of destruction, but to create a machine of happiness. The city jeweler Leo Aufman undertook this difficult matter.

Meanwhile, the discovery overtook Tom. One day, Douglas did not return home for a long time. It was getting dark already, and the alarmed mother, taking Tom by the hand, went to look for the eldest son in the ravine, where the terrible Murderer was hiding.Tom felt his mother’s hand tremble, and realized that “each person for himself is the only one in the world,” and “this is the fate of all people,” and death is when someone close does not return home. Dead silence reigned in the ravine, and it seemed to Tom that something terrible would happen now, but then he heard the voices of Douglas and his friends, and the darkness receded.

Grandfather loved to wake up to the sound of a lawn mower. But one day, a young newspaper man, Bill Forester, who regularly mowed the Spalding's lawn, decided to plant it with grass that does not require regular mowing. Upon learning about this, my grandfather was incredibly angry, and paid Forester to take the damned seeds away.

The jeweler’s wife Lina believed that people do not need a happiness machine, but Leo spent days and nights in the garage trying to create it. He did not talk with his children for two weeks, and his wife grew ten pounds. But the car of happiness was ready. Her quiet voice attracted passers-by, children and dogs. At night, Leo heard his son crying, who had secretly been in the car, and in the morning the angry Lina began to share property. Having gathered things, she wished to look at the car of happiness. The woman climbed into a huge orange box and the car showed her something that would never be in her life, and that had long passed. Lina called her husband’s invention “a sorrow machine”. She understood that now she would always be pulled into this sparkling world of illusions. Wanting to understand what his mistake was, Leo climbed into the car himself, and then it caught fire and burned to the ground. In the evening, Leo looked out the window of his house, and saw a real machine of happiness - his children, playing peacefully, and his wife, busy preparing dinner.

Mrs. Helen Bentley was a frugal woman. She never threw away what fell into her hands. Folding old plates, train tickets and her children's dresses in huge black chests, she seemed to be trying to save and restore the past. Once Mrs. Bentley saw on her lawn two girls and a boy - Alice, Jane and Tom Spaulding. She treated the children with ice cream and tried to tell them about her childhood, but the children did not believe that such a terribly old miss was once a little girl. She was very offended, climbed into her chests and found a comb and a ring that she used in childhood, as well as her baby photo. However, the children again did not believe her. They decided that the old woman had stolen these things from the girl in the photo, and took them to herself. At night, Mrs. Bentley remembered how the late husband had once persuaded her to throw away all the old things. “Be what you are, put an end to what you were,” he said. In the morning, she gave the children her old toys, dresses and jewelry, and burned the rest in the backyard. And then the children made friends with the old Mrs. and often enjoyed ice cream with her. In Revelations and Revelations, Douglas wrote that old people were never children.

Charlie Woodman discovered a time machine. She turned out to be Colonel Freelay. Once Charlie brought his friends to his house, and they made an amazing journey to the Wild West, in the era of cowboys and Indians. Colonel Freelay could travel only in the past, since the "time machine" was his memory. Children often came to the colonel and were carried away fifty or seventy years into the past.

Miss green Fern and Miss Roberta sold the green car on the battery by a traveling salesman. They dared to buy her because Fern had sore legs, and she could not make long walks and visits. For a whole week, the sisters traveled around Greentown on an electric car, until they got the unfortunate Mr. Quaterman under the wheels. They escaped from the scene of the crime and hid in the attic of their home. Douglas Spaulding saw everything. He went to the old women to report that Mr. Quaterman was alive and well, but they did not reveal to the boy. He transmitted his message through Frank, their bachelor brother, but the old women did not understand anything and decided to permanently abandon the Green Machine, which was a terrible loss for the “summer boys”.

Once, a city tram counselor decided to take Douglas, Tom, and Charlie for free. This was the last flight of the old tram - it was closed, and a bus was allowed in the city. Once the tram went far, drove the townspeople to out-of-town picnics, and now the counselor decided to recall the half-forgotten route. The boys spent a long summer day saying goodbye to the old tram.

John Haw was for Douglas Spalding "the only deity who lived in Greentown, Illinois, in the twentieth century." One fine summer day, John announced that his father was offered a job eighty miles from the city, and he was leaving forever. John was afraid that over time he would forget both the faces of his friends and Greentown’s home. To stretch the remaining time, the boys decided to sit and do nothing, but the day still rushed too quickly. In the evening, playing hide and seek and statues, Douglas tried his best to keep John, but nothing came of it - Half left by a nine-hour train. Going to bed, Douglas asked Tom to never leave him alone.

The postman's wife Elmira Brown was convinced that she was bewitched by Clara Goodwater. No wonder this woman ordered books about magic by mail, after which various troubles happened with Elmira - she stumbled, broke her ankle or tore an expensive stocking. Mrs. Brown believed that it was because of Clara that she was not elected chairman of the Honeysuckle women's club. On the day of the next club meeting, Elmira decided to respond with witchcraft to witchcraft. She prepared a terrible-looking potion, and for support she took with her a "pure soul" - Tom Spaulding. Drunk the potion did not help - the ladies again voted for Clara Goodwater. The potion, meanwhile, began to act, causing Elmira to vomit. She rushed into the ladies room, but mixed up the doors and rolled down the stairs, counting all the steps. Mrs. Brown was surrounded by ladies led by Clara. After reconciliation, accompanied by a sea of ​​tears, she joyfully lost her post to Elmira. In fact, Clara bought "witchcraft" books for her nephew, and Ellmir did not need to bewitch - she was already considered the most awkward lady of Greentown.

And then the day came when ripe apples began to fall from the trees. Children were no longer allowed to the “time machine” - daughters and sons hired a very strict nurse for Colonel Friel. Now, to recall the past, the old man called his friend in Mexico City, and he gave him to listen to the sounds of a distant city, waking up memories. The nurse hid the phone, but the colonel found it and called again. He died - with a handset in his hand. For Douglas, an entire era died with the colonel.

After the second crop of dandelions was harvested, Bill Forester invited Douglas to try an unusual ice cream. Sitting at a table in the pharmacy, they noticed the ninety-five-year-old Helen Loomis, who was happy to gobble up vanilla ice cream. That day, Bill spoke to Helen for the first time. Once he saw her old photograph and fell in love, not knowing that the beautiful girl depicted on her had long been old. He found that Helene was still very smart, they were interested in talking in the shade of the trees of her garden. At one time, she did not get married, then she traveled a lot, and now he traveled through her memory. These were two souls destined for each other, spread across time. Helen hoped that they would meet in the next life. At the end of August, she died, leaving Bill a farewell letter that he never opened.

Enjoying “fruit ice”, the children remembered the Murderer. He was born, raised and lived his age in Greentown. This monster kept the whole city in awe, stalking and killing young girls. Once, Lavinia Nebbs went with her friends to the movies. Crossing the ravine, the girls saw another murderer of the murderer and called the police. Despite the strong fright, they still went to the cinema. The session ended late, the house of Lavinia was behind a ravine, and the girlfriends began to persuade her to spend the night with one of them. But Lavinia was a stubborn and independent girl, she went home, where she lived completely alone. Once in the ravine, she heard footsteps - someone was creeping behind her.Not remembering herself from fear, she climbed over the ravine, ran into her house and locked the door, but Lavinia did not have time to take a breath, when she heard someone else's quiet cough. Not bewildered, the girl grabbed the scissors, pierced the murderer with them, and called the police. All the boys in Greentown regretted that the worst urban legend had come to an end. Finally, they decided that the man who had been taken out of the house of Lavinia did not at all look like a murderer, which meant that one could continue to be afraid.

Great-grandmother was an energetic and indefatigable woman. All her life she cleaned, cooked, sewed and washed, not sitting still for a second, but now "she stepped back from the board of life", as if summing up. She slowly walked around the whole house, and then went up to her room, lay down under the cool sheets and died. Saying goodbye to a large family, the great-grandmother said that only work that brings pleasure is good. In his yellow notebook, Douglas wrote: if cars break down and people die, then Douglas Spaulding must someday die.

A glass drawer with a fortune teller stood in the Gallery for a long time. Douglas believed that the witch was once alive. She was turned into a wax doll and forced to write predictions on maps. Realizing that he would someday die, Douglas lost his peace. He could not even watch his favorite westerns, because there cowboys and Indians kill each other. Only the witch reassured him, betraying the prediction of a "long and cheerful life." Now the boy was often drawn to the Gallery, to the eternal and unchanging automata and panoramas, repeating the same actions over and over again. And then one day the sorceress broke down - instead of predictions, she began to issue empty cards. Tom said the machine was out of ink, but Douglas thought it was due to the owner of the Gallery, Mr. Dark. Holding an empty card over the fire, Douglas saw the word "save" in French, and decided to free the waxed diviner. After losing in the Gallery the amount that Mr Dark had enough to drink, and waiting for the night, the brothers went to rescue the fortuneteller. They saw a drunk Mr. Gloom trying to get the machine to work, and then he smashed his glass box with a club. Then he collapsed to the floor, and the brothers grabbed a wax doll and rushed to the hut. Mr. Gloom caught up with them near the ravine. He grabbed the doll, threw it into the very middle of the ravine and left, grumbling under the nose of a curse word. Douglas sent Tom for his father, and he climbed into the ravine for the fortuneteller. The father helped her sons drag her to the garage. Tom offered to see what the fortuneteller had inside, but Douglas was going to open it only when he was fourteen.

The van of Mr. Nad Jonas drove through the streets of Greentown round the clock. People found things in the van that had long been dreamed of, and filled it with unnecessary things so that someone else could find them. Mr. Jonas was considered an eccentric, although his mind was clear. Many years ago, he was tired of things in Chicago, he moved to Greentown and "and now spent the rest of his days worrying that some people could get what others no longer need." It was a terrible heat when Douglas became seriously ill. He was covered with ice all day to remove the heat, and in the evening they carried him out into the garden. Learning from Tom about the misfortune, Mr. Jonas came to see Douglas, but his mother did not let the stranger to her sick son. He made his way to the boy late at night and gave him a bottle with the cleanest northern air taken from the atmosphere of the Arctic, and another one with the salty wind of the Aran Islands and Dublin Bay, menthol, camphor and extract of all cool fruits. Breathing in the contents of the bottles, Douglas began to recover, and in the morning it began to cool summer rain.

Grandma was a great cook. In the kitchen, where she hosted almost blindly, pristine chaos reigned, from which amazing dishes were born. One day, Aunt Rose came to visit the Spaldings.This excessively energetic woman undertook to clean up her grandmother's kitchen. Salt, cereals and spices were laid out in brand new cans, pots and pans lined up on shelves, and the kitchen sparkled with cleanliness and order. Her aunt ended her purchase of a cookbook and new glasses for her grandmother. That evening, the whole family, headed by grandfather, was expecting something unprecedented and unique for dinner, but the food was inedible - having received a new kitchen, my grandmother forgot how to cook. Aunt Rose was sent home, but this did not correct the deplorable situation of the Spaldings. And then Douglas figured out how to return grandmother culinary talent. Getting up at night, he turned the kitchen upside down, returning to the previous chaos, replaced new glasses with old ones and burned the cookbook. Hearing the noise, a grandmother appeared in the kitchen and began to cook.

Summer ended when school supplies appeared in the window of the stationery store. Grandfather collected the last dandelions and removed the swing from the veranda. Douglas slept for the last time in his grandfather's tower. Looking out the window late at night, he, like a wizard, waved his hands, and the city began to turn out the lights. The boy was not sad that everything had passed, because ninety bottles of dandelion wine with canned summer days were stored in the cellar.