It was a first book I read being a child. Nikolay Nosov "Dunno on tha Moon".
Znayka discovers that his moon rock (that he obtained from his previous travel to the Moon) creates a no gravity zone when interacting with a magnetic field. He uses this knowledge to build a rocket ship that will go to the moon much more easily because of being virtually weightless. However, Dunno and Ponchik are not allowed to go; Dunno, because of his undisciplined behavior, and Ponchik, because of his inability to cope with non-gravity effects. The night before the rocket launch, Dunno and Ponchik sneak into the ship and accidentally launch the rocket.
When they arrive on the moon, Dunno and Ponchik become separated and Dunno falls through a cave and discovers a whole
separate society of mites living inside the moon. However, unlike on Earth, these mites
do not have "giant food" (that is, their fruit and vegetables are sized in proportion to the mites, rather than to normal humans like on Earth). The moon society is a corrupt capitalistic state: the millionaires control all the factories and squander their money away on unnecessary luxuries, the police is violent, corrupt, and stupid, everyday citizens struggle to survive and live in rat infested barracks
.
Dunno
gets thrown into jail for not having money to pay for his meal at a restaurant and is mistaken for a wanted criminal by the stupid police officers. In jail he meets Miga - a fast-talking schemer, and Kozlik - a poor, gentle worker. Upon getting released from jail, Miga introduces Kozlik and Dunno to Zhulio - another con man, and the four decide
to start a company selling stocks to raise money to get "giant seeds" from Dunno's rocket ship
and plant them on the moon. The
stocks sell well and soon the four friends have lots of money.
However, some of the local millionaire businessmen are worried that giant food will mean that poor workers can get richer and the millionaires may lose money. Their leader, Spruts, convinces Miga and Zhulio
to steal the money and run leaving Dunno and Kozlik jobless and penniless.
Meanwhile, Ponchik finds the same cave and also goes inside the moon. However, he quickly discovers salt and opens his own business making and selling it. He becomes a millionaire but then becomes bankrupt when the price of salt becomes too low. Then Ponchik becomes an average worker.
Dunno and Kozlik work odd jobs but are still starving and living in poverty in a rat infested basement. Kozlik gets bit by a rat and becomes sick. Just then, Dunno gets a job as a dog nanny for a rich woman and makes enough money for a doctor for Kozlik who slowly recovers, but the rich woman finds out that Dunno took her dogs to the rat infested basement and fires him. Dunno and Kozlik then end up living on the street. Since Kozlik has lost his hat and Dunno lost his shoes they are breaking the law and get sent to Fool's Island which has a toxic gas that turns all the people there into sheep which are then sheared for their wool.
Later Dunno's friends come to Moon with giant seeds, which results in elimination of poverty and establishment of a communism-like economical system.
Thats all folks. Sleep tight
