Ln Tolstoy to read fairy tales. Aleksey Nikolaevich Tolstoy's fairy tales
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Fairy tale: Magpie's tales
Magpie
Behind the viburnum bridge, on a raspberry bush, honey rolls grew and gingerbread with filling. Every morning a white-sided magpie flew in and ate gingerbread.
He eats, cleans his sock and flies away to feed the children with gingerbread.
Once the titmouse asks the magpie:
Where, aunty, are you carrying stuffed gingerbread? My kids would love to eat them too. Point me to this good place.
And in the middle of nowhere, the white-sided magpie answered, she deceived the titmouse.
You're not telling the truth, aunty, squeaked the titmouse-bird, in the devil's pockets there are only pine cones lying around, and even those are empty. Tell me I'll keep watching.
The magpie-white-sided was frightened, greedy. She flew to the raspberry bush and ate both honey rolls and gingerbread with filling, all clean.
And the magpie's stomach got sick. Forcefully dragged home. Sorochat pushed aside, lay down and groans ...
What's wrong with you, auntie? asks the titmouse. Or what hurts?
I worked, the magpie groans, I am exhausted, my bones hurt.
Well, that's it, but I thought something else, from something else I know the remedy: the herb Sandrit, it heals from all pains.
Where does sandrite grass grow? pleaded the White-flanked Magpie.
And in the middle of nowhere, the titmouse bird answered, covered the children with its wings and fell asleep.
“The devil has only pine cones on his kulizhka,” thought the magpie, and they were empty, too, and she became homesick: the white-sided woman’s stomach ached very much.
And from the pain and longing on the stomach of the magpie, all the feathers crawled out, and the magpie became a blue-faced.
From greed.
mouse
A mouse runs across the pure snow, behind the mouse there is a path where paws stepped in the snow.
The mouse does not think anything, because in her head the brain is smaller than a pea.
I saw a mouse in the snow pine cone, grabbed it with a tooth, scratched it and kept looking with a black eye to see if there was a polecat.
And the evil ferret will follow the mouse tracks, sweep the snow with its red tail.
The mouth gaped open just about to rush at the mouse ... Suddenly the mouse scratched its nose on a bump, but with a fright dive into the snow, only wagged its tail. And there is none.
The polecat even gritted its teeth in annoyance. And he wandered, the ferret wandered through the white snow. Furious, hungry better not get caught.
And the mouse didn’t think anything about this case, because in the head of the mouse brain is less than a pea. So that.
Goat
In the field of tyn, under the tyn is a dog's head, in the head a fat beetle sits with one horn in the middle of its forehead.
A goat was walking past, saw a tyn, ran away, and as soon as it was enough in the head, the tyn grunted, the horn of the goat flew off.
That's it, the beetle said, it's more convenient with one horn, come to live with me.
The goat climbed into the dog's head, only tore off the muzzle.
You don’t even know how to climb, said the beetle, opened its wings and flew.
The goat jumped after him on the tyn, fell off and hung on the tyn.
The women went past the tyna to rinse the linen, took off the goat and beat it with rolls.
The goat went home without a horn, with a tattered muzzle, with crumpled sides.
Shel was silent.
Laughter, and nothing more.
and
The calf saw the hedgehog and said:
I will eat you!
The hedgehog did not know that the calf did not eat hedgehogs, got scared, curled up in a ball and snorted:
Try.
With its tail up, a stupid calf jumped up, trying to butt, then spread its front legs and licked the hedgehog.
Oh oh oh! the calf roared and ran to the mother cow, complaining.
The hedgehog bit my tongue.
The cow raised her head, looked thoughtfully, and again began to tear the grass.
And the hedgehog rolled into a dark hole under a rowan root and said to the hedgehog:
I defeated a huge beast, it must be a lion!
And the glory went about the courage of Yezhov for blue lake, behind the dark forest.
We have a hedgehog hero, the animals spoke in a whisper with fear.
Fox
A fox slept under an aspen and saw thieves' dreams.
The fox is sleeping, is it still not sleeping for animals.
And they took up arms against the fox, the hedgehog, the woodpecker and the crow.
The woodpecker and the crow flew forward, and the hedgehog rolled after them.
A woodpecker and a crow sat on an aspen tree.
Knock-knock-knock, the woodpecker tapped on the bark with its beak.
And the fox had a dream that a terrible man was waving an ax and was approaching her.
The hedgehog runs up to the pine, and the crow calls to him:
Carr hedgehog!.. Carr hedgehog!..
“Eat chicken, the crow thinks, the damned man guessed.”
And behind the hedgehog, the hedgehog and the hedgehogs roll, puff, roll over ...
Carr hedgehogs! crow yelled.
"Sentry, knit!" thought the fox, but as soon as he wakes up he will jump up, and hedgehogs with needles in his nose ...
Chopped off my nose, death came, gasped the fox and run.
A woodpecker jumped on her and let's gouge the fox's head. And the crow after: "Carr."
Since then, the fox no longer went into the forest, did not steal.
The killer survived.
In the hut of the Baba Yaga, on a wooden shutter, nine cockerels are carved. Red heads, golden wings.
The night will come, the treewomen and kikimoras will wake up in the forest, they will start hooting and messing around, and the cockerels will also want to stretch their legs.
They jump off the shutters into the damp grass, bend their necks and run in. Pinch grass, wild berries. The goblin will be caught, and the goblin will be pinched on the heel.
Rustle, running through the forest.
And at dawn, the Baba Yaga will rush in with a whirlwind on a mortar with a crack and shout to the cockerels:
Get back, you bastards!
The cockerels do not dare to disobey and, although they do not want to, they jump on the shutter and become wooden, as they were.
But at dawn the Baba Yaga did not appear - the stupa got stuck in the swamp along the way.
Radehonki roosters; ran to a clean sack, flew up to a pine tree. They took off and gasped.
Marvelous wonder! The sky burns with a scarlet strip over the forest, flares up; the wind runs through the leaves; dew settles.
And the red stripe spills, clears up. And then the fiery sun came out.
It is light in the forest, the birds sing and rustle, the leaves rustle on the trees.
The roosters were breathtaking. They flapped their golden wings and sang - crow! With joy.
And then they flew beyond the dense forest to an open field, away from Baba Yaga.
And since then, at dawn, cockerels wake up and crow:
Kukureku, Baba Yaga is gone, the sun is coming!
Behind the viburnum bridge, on a raspberry bush, honey rolls grew and gingerbread with filling. Every morning a white-sided magpie flew in and ate gingerbread.
He eats, cleans his sock and flies away to feed the children with gingerbread.
Once the titmouse asks the magpie:
Where, auntie, do you carry gingerbread with filling? My kids would love to eat them too. Point me to this good place.
And the devil is in the middle of nowhere, - answered the white-sided magpie, deceived the bird.
You are not telling the truth, aunty, - the titmouse-bird squeaked, - in the devil's pockets there are only pine cones lying around, and even those are empty. Tell me, I'll watch anyway.
The magpie-white-sided was frightened, greedy. She flew to the raspberry bush and ate both honey rolls and gingerbread with filling, all clean.
And the magpie's stomach got sick. Forcefully dragged home. Sorochat pushed aside, lay down and groans ...
What's wrong with you, auntie? - asks the titmouse-bird. - Or what hurts?
I worked, - the magpie groans, - I got tired, my bones hurt.
Well, that's it, but I thought something else, from something else I know the remedy: the herb Sandrit, it heals from all pains.
Where does Sandrit grass grow? - pleaded forty-white-sided.
And the devil is in the middle of nowhere, - the titmouse bird answered, covered the children with its wings and fell asleep.
“The devil has only pine cones in his pockets,” thought the magpie, “and those are empty,” and she became homesick: the white-sided woman had a very painful stomach.
And with pain and longing on the stomach of the magpie, all the feathers crawled out, and the magpie became a blue-faced one.
From greed.
Cat Vaska
Vaska the cat's teeth were broken from old age, and the hunter Vaska the cat was great at catching mice.
He lies all day on a warm stove and thinks - how to fix his teeth ...
And he thought up, and having thought up, he went to the old sorceress.
Grandmother, - the cat purred, - put your teeth on me, but I broke off sharp, iron, bone ones a long time ago.
Okay, - says the sorceress, - for this you will give me what you catch the first time.
The cat swore, took iron teeth, ran home.
He can not wait at night, walks around the room, sniffing out mice.
Suddenly, as if something flashed, the cat rushed, yes, apparently, he missed.
Went - again darted.
"Wait!" - thinks the cat Vaska, stopped, squinted his eyes and turned, but suddenly, as he jumped, spun around and grabbed his tail with iron teeth.
Out of nowhere, an old witch appeared.
Come on, - he says, - tail by agreement. - The cat purred, meowed, shed tears. Nothing to do. He gave up his tail. And the cat became stubby. He lies on the stove for whole days and thinks: “Damn them, iron teeth, to hell!”
A snowdrift flies through the snow, sweeps a snowdrift on a snowdrift ... A pine tree creaks on the mound:
Oh, oh, my bones are old, the night has played out, oh, oh.
Under a pine tree, pricking up his ears, sits a hare.
Why are you sitting, - the pine groans, - the wolf will eat you, - you would run away.
Where should I run, it’s white all around, all the bushes are covered with snow, there’s nothing to eat.
And sometimes you scratch.
Nothing to look for, - said the hare and lowered his ears.
Oh, my old eyes, - the pine grunted, - someone is running, it must be a wolf, - there is a wolf.
The hare darted around.
Hide me, grandma...
Oh, oh, well, jump into the hollow, oblique.
The hare jumped into the hollow, and the wolf runs up and shouts to the pine tree:
Tell me, old woman, where is the scythe?
How do I know, robber, I'm not guarding the hare, there the wind is clearing up, oh, oh ...
The wolf threw a gray tail, lay down at the roots, put his head on his paws. And the wind whistles in the branches, grows stronger ...
I won’t endure, I won’t endure, - the pine creaks.
The snow fell thicker, a shaggy snowstorm swooped in, picked up white snowdrifts, and threw them on a pine tree.
The pine tree tensed, grunted and broke ..
The gray wolf, falling, was hurt to death ...
The blizzard covered them both.
And the hare jumped out of the hollow and jumped wherever his eyes looked.
“I’m an orphan,” thought the hare, “I had a grandmother-pine, and that one was covered with snow ...”
And trifling hare tears dripped into the snow.
Gray sparrows sat on a bush and argued - which of the animals is more terrible.
And they argued so that they could shout louder and fuss. The sparrow cannot sit still: he is overcome by longing.
There is nothing worse than a ginger cat, - said the crooked sparrow, which was once scratched by a cat last year with its paw.
The boys are much worse, - the sparrow answered, - they constantly steal eggs.
I already complained about them, - squeaked another, - to the bull Semyon, I promised to gore.
What boys, - shouted a thin sparrow, - you will fly away from them, but just get caught on the tongue of a kite, the trouble is how afraid of him! - and the sparrow began to clean his nose on a knot.
And I'm not afraid of anyone, - suddenly a very young sparrow chirped, - neither a cat, nor boys. And I'm not afraid of a kite, I'll eat everyone myself.
And while he was speaking thus, a large bird flew low over the bush and cried out loudly.
Sparrows, like peas, fell, and some flew away, and some crouched, while the brave sparrow, lowering its wings, ran across the grass. The big bird clicked its beak and fell on the sparrow, and he, twisting around, without memory, dived into the hamster hole.
At the end of the hole, in a cave, an old motley hamster slept curled up. Under his nose lay a pile of stolen grain and mouse paws, and behind him hung a warm winter coat.
“Caught,” thought the little sparrow, “I died ...”
And knowing that if not he, then they would eat him, he fluffed himself up and, jumping up, pecked the hamster in the nose.
What does it tickle? - said the hamster, opening one eye and yawning. - And it's you. Hungry, you can see, little one, on - peck at the grains.
Sparrow became very ashamed, he squinted his black eyes and began to complain that a black kite wanted to devour him.
Hm, - said the hamster, - oh, he is a robber! Well, let’s go, he’s my godfather, to catch mice together, - and climbed forward from the hole, and the little sparrow, small and unhappy, and he shouldn’t have been completely brave.
Current page: 1 (total book has 2 pages) [available reading excerpt: 1 pages]
Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy
Forty tales
Petushki
In the hut of the Baba Yaga, on a wooden shutter, nine cockerels are carved. Red heads, golden wings.
The night will come, the treewomen and kikimoras will wake up in the forest, they will start hooting and messing around, and the cockerels will also want to stretch their legs.
They jump off the shutters into the damp grass, bend their necks and run in. Pinch grass, wild berries. The goblin will be caught, and the goblin will be pinched on the heel.
Rustle, running through the forest.
And at dawn, the Baba Yaga will rush in with a whirlwind on a mortar with a crack and shout to the cockerels:
"Get back, you bastards!"
The cockerels do not dare to disobey and, although they do not want to, they jump on the shutter and become wooden, as they were.
But at dawn the Baba Yaga did not appear - the stupa got stuck in the swamp along the way.
Radehonki roosters; ran to a clean sack, flew up to a pine tree. They took off and gasped.
Marvelous wonder! The sky burns with a scarlet strip over the forest, flares up; the wind runs through the leaves; dew settles.
And the red stripe spills, clears up. And then the fiery sun came out.
It is light in the forest, the birds sing and rustle, the leaves rustle on the trees.
The roosters were breathtaking. They flapped their golden wings and sang - crow! With joy.
And then they flew beyond the dense forest to an open field, away from Baba Yaga.
And since then, at dawn, cockerels wake up and crow:
- Kukureku, Baba Yaga is gone, the sun is coming!
Magpie
Behind the viburnum bridge, on a raspberry bush, honey rolls grew and gingerbread with filling. Every morning a white-sided magpie flew in and ate gingerbread.
He eats, cleans his sock and flies away to feed the children with gingerbread.
Once the titmouse asks the magpie:
- Where, aunty, do you carry gingerbread with filling? My kids would love to eat them too. Point me to this good place.
“And the devil is in the middle of nowhere,” answered the white-sided magpie, deceiving the bird.
“You’re not telling the truth, aunty,” the titmouse bird squeaked, “there are only pine cones lying around in the middle of nowhere, and even those are empty. Tell me, I'll follow.
The magpie-white-sided was frightened, greedy. She flew to the raspberry bush and ate both honey rolls and gingerbread with filling, all clean.
And the magpie's stomach got sick. Forcefully dragged home. Sorochat pushed aside, lay down and groans ...
- What's wrong with you, auntie? - asks the titmouse-bird. Or what hurts?
“I worked hard,” the magpie groans, “I am exhausted, my bones hurt.
- Well, that's it, but I thought something else, for something else I know a remedy: the herb Sandrit, heals from all pains.
“Where does Sandrit grass grow?” the white-sided magpie pleaded.
“And in the middle of nowhere,” answered the titmouse bird, covering the children with its wings and falling asleep.
“The devil has only pine cones in his pockets,” thought the magpie, “and those are empty,” and she became homesick: the white-sided woman’s stomach hurt very much.
And with pain and longing on the stomach of the magpie, all the feathers crawled out, and the magpie became a blue-faced one.
From greed.
Cat Vaska
Vaska the cat's teeth were broken from old age, and the hunter Vaska the cat was great at catching mice.
He lies all day on a warm stove and thinks - how to fix his teeth ...
And he thought up, and having thought up, he went to the old sorceress.
- Grandmother, - the cat purred, - put your teeth on me, but I broke off sharp, iron, bone ones a long time ago.
- All right, - says the witch, - for this you will give me what you catch the first time.
The cat swore, took iron teeth, ran home.
He can not wait at night, walks around the room, sniffing out mice.
Suddenly, as if something flashed, the cat rushed, yes, apparently, he missed.
Went - again darted.
"Wait!" - thinks the cat Vaska, stopped, squinted his eyes and turned, but suddenly, as he jumped, spun around and grabbed his tail with iron teeth.
Out of nowhere, an old witch appeared.
“Come on,” he says, “the tail is by agreement.” - The cat purred, meowed, shed tears. Nothing to do. He gave up his tail. And the cat became - stubby. He lies on the stove for whole days and thinks: “Damn them, iron teeth, to hell!”
Hare
A snowdrift flies through the snow, sweeps a snowdrift on a snowdrift ... A pine tree creaks on the mound:
- Oh, oh, my bones are old, the night has played out, oh, oh.
Under a pine tree, pricking up his ears, sits a hare.
- Why are you sitting, - the pine groans, - the wolf will eat you, - you would have run away.
- Where should I run, it's white all around, all the bushes are covered with snow, there is nothing to eat.
- And you sometimes, scratch.
“There is nothing to look for,” said the hare and lowered his ears.
“Oh, my old eyes,” the pine groaned, “someone is running, it must be a wolf, the wolf is.
The hare darted around.
- Hide me, grandmother ...
- Oh, oh, well, jump into the hollow, oblique.
The hare jumped into the hollow, and the wolf runs up and shouts to the pine tree:
- Tell me, old woman, where is the scythe?
- How do I know, robber
end of introduction
Behind the viburnum bridge, on a raspberry bush, honey rolls grew and gingerbread with filling. Every morning a white-sided magpie flew in and ate gingerbread.
He eats, cleans his sock and flies away to feed the children with gingerbread.
Once the titmouse asks the magpie:
Where, auntie, do you carry stuffed gingerbread? My kids would love to eat them too. Point me to this good place.
And the devil is in the pockets, - answered the white-sided magpie, deceived the titmouse.
You are not telling the truth, aunty, - the titmouse-bird squeaked, - the devil has only pine cones lying around on the couch, and even those are empty. Tell me, I'll watch anyway.
The magpie-white-sided was frightened, greedy. She flew to the raspberry bush and ate both honey rolls and gingerbread with filling, all clean.
And the magpie's stomach got sick. Forcefully dragged home. Sorochat pushed aside, lay down and groans ...
What's wrong with you, auntie? - asks the titmouse. - Or what hurts?
I worked, - the magpie groans, - I got tired, my bones hurt.
Well, that's it, but I thought something else, from something else I know the remedy: the herb Sandrit, it heals from all pains.
Where does sandrite grass grow? - pleaded Magpie-white-sided.
And the devil is in the middle of nowhere, - answered the little titmouse, covered the children with her wings and fell asleep.
“The devil has only pine cones on his kulizhka,” the magpie thought, “and those are empty,” and she felt homesick: the white-sided woman had a very painful stomach.
And from the pain and longing on the stomach of the magpie, all the feathers crawled out, and the magpie became a blue-faced one.
From greed.
MOUSE
A mouse runs across the pure snow, behind the mouse there is a path where paws stepped in the snow.
The mouse does not think anything, because in her head her brain is smaller than a pea.
A mouse saw a pine cone in the snow, grabbed it with a tooth, scratched it and kept looking with its black eye to see if there was a polecat.
And the evil ferret will follow the mouse tracks, sweep the snow with its red tail.
The mouth gaped open - it was about to throw itself at the mouse ... Suddenly the mouse scratched its nose on a bump, and out of fright - dived into the snow, only wagged its tail. And there is none.
The polecat even gritted its teeth - that's an annoyance. And he wandered, the ferret wandered through the white snow. Furious, hungry - better not get caught.
And the mouse didn’t think anything about this case, because in the head of the mouse brain is less than a pea. So that.
GOAT
In the field - tyn, under the tyn - a dog's head, in the head a fat beetle sits with one horn in the middle of the forehead.
A goat was walking past, saw a tyn, - he ran away, and as soon as his head was enough, - the tyn grunted, the goat's horn flew off.
That's it, - the beetle said, - with one horn it's more convenient, come to live with me.
The goat climbed into the dog's head, only tore off the muzzle.
You don’t even know how to climb, - said the beetle, opened its wings and flew.
The goat jumped after him on the tyn, fell off and hung on the tyn.
The women walked past the tyna - to rinse the linen, took off the goat and beat it with rollers.
The goat went home without a horn, with a tattered muzzle, with crumpled sides.
Walked - was silent Laughter, and only.
HEDGEHOG
The calf saw the hedgehog and said:
I will eat you!
The hedgehog did not know that the calf did not eat hedgehogs, got scared, curled up in a ball and snorted:
Try.
Lifting his tail, a stupid body-foot jumped up, trying to butt, then he spread his front legs and licked the hedgehog.
Oh oh oh! - the calf roared and ran to the mother cow, complaining.
- The hedgehog bit my tongue.
The cow raised her head, looked thoughtfully, and again began to tear the grass.
And the hedgehog rolled into a dark hole under a rowan root and said to the hedgehog:
I defeated a huge beast, it must be a lion!
And the glory of Yezhov's courage went beyond the blue lake, beyond the dark forest.
We have a hedgehog - a hero, - the animals said in a whisper with fear.
FOX
A fox slept under an aspen and saw thieves' dreams.
The fox is sleeping, is it not sleeping - all the same, there is no life for animals from it.
And they took up arms against the fox - a hedgehog, a woodpecker and a crow The woodpecker and the crow flew forward, and the hedgehog rolled after.
A woodpecker and a crow sat on an aspen tree.
Knock-knock-knock, - the woodpecker tapped with its beak on the bark.
And the fox had a dream - as if a terrible man was waving an ax, he was getting close to her.
The hedgehog runs up to the pine tree, and the crow calls to him:
Carr hedgehog!.. Carr hedgehog!..
“Eat chicken,” the crow thinks, “the damned man guessed.”
And after the hedgehog, the hedgehog and the hedgehogs roll, puff, roll over ...
Carr hedgehogs! yelled the crow.
"Sentry, knit!" - the fox thought, but as soon as he wakes up, he jumps up, and hedgehogs her with needles in the nose ...
They chopped off my nose, death came, - the fox gasped and - run.
A woodpecker jumped on her and let's gouge the fox's head. And the crow after: "Carr."
Since then, the fox no longer went into the forest, did not steal.
The killer survived.
HARE
A snowdrift flies through the snow, sweeps a snowdrift on a snowdrift ... A pine tree creaks on the mound:
Oh, oh, my bones are old, the night has played out, oh, oh ...
Under a pine tree, pricking up his ears, sits a hare.
Why are you sitting, - the pine groans, - the wolf will eat you. - would run away.
Where should I run, it's white all around, all the bushes are covered with snow, there's nothing to eat...
And sometimes you scratch.
Nothing to look for, - said the hare and lowered his ears.
Oh, my old eyes, - the pine grunted, - someone is running, it must be a wolf, - there is a wolf.
The hare darted around.
Hide me, grandma...
Oh, oh, well, jump into the hollow, oblique.
The hare jumped into the hollow, and the wolf runs up and shouts to the pine tree:
Tell me, old woman, where is the scythe?
How do I know, robber, I'm not guarding the hare, there the wind is clearing up, oh, oh ...
The wolf threw a gray tail, lay down at the roots, put his head on his paws. And the wind whistles in the branches, grows stronger ...
I won’t endure, I won’t endure, - the pine creaks.
The snow fell thicker, a shaggy snowstorm swooped in, picked up white snowdrifts, and threw them on a pine tree.
The pine tree tensed up, grunted and broke... The gray wolf, falling, was beaten to death...
The blizzard covered them both. And the hare jumped out of the hollow and jumped wherever his eyes looked.
“I’m an orphan,” thought the hare, “I had a grandmother pine, and that one was covered with snow ...”
And trifling hare tears dripped into the snow.
CAT VASKA
Vaska the cat's teeth were broken from old age, and the hunter Vaska the cat was great at catching mice.
He lies all day on a warm stove and thinks - how to fix his teeth ...
And he thought it over, and having thought it up, he went to the old sorceress.
Grandmother, - the cat purred, - put your teeth on me, but I broke off sharp, iron, bone ones a long time ago.
Okay, - says the sorceress, - for this you will give me what you catch the first time.
The cat swore, took iron teeth, ran home. He can not wait at night, walks around the room, sniffing out mice.
Suddenly something flashed, the cat rushed, yes, apparently, he missed.
Went - rushed again.
“Wait a minute! - thinks the cat Vaska, stopped, squinted his eyes and turned, but suddenly, as he jumped, spun around and grabbed his tail with iron teeth.
Out of nowhere, an old witch appeared.
Come on, - says the tail by agreement. The cat purred, meowed, shed tears. Nothing to do. He gave up his tail. And the cat became stubby. He lies on the stove for whole days and thinks: “Damn them, iron teeth, to hell!”
OWL AND CAT
A white owl lived in an oak hollow - a harrier bird, the owl had seven cubs, seven native sons.
Once at night she flew away - to catch mice and get drunk on eggs.
And a wild forest cat was walking past the oak. The cat heard the squeaking of the owls, climbed into the hollow and ate them - all seven.
Having eaten, right there, in a warm nest, he curled up and fell asleep.
An owl flew in, looked with round eyes, sees - the cat is sleeping. I got it.
The cat didn’t understand and let the owl go. They lay down side by side in a hollow. Owl and says:
Why, you, cat, mustache in the blood?
Hurt, godfather, licked the wound.
And why do you, cat, have a stigma in fluff?
The falcon ruffled me, I forcibly left him.
And why are your eyes burning, cat?
The owl hugged the cat with her paws and drank his eyes. She wiped her beak on wool and shouted:
Sowyat! Seven, seven.
Sowyat! The cat ate.
SAGE
Chickens walk on the green grass-ant, a white rooster stands on the wheel and thinks: will it rain or not?
Bowing his head, he looks at the cloud with one eye and thinks again.
A pig scratches on the fence.
The devil knows, - the pig grumbles, - today the watermelon peels were again given to the cow.
We are always satisfied! the chickens said in unison.
Fools! the pig grunted. - Today I heard how the hostess swore to feed the guests with chicken.
How, how, how, how, what is it? - chirped chickens.
They will turn your heads - that’s “how what is it,” grumbled the pig and lay down in a puddle.
The rooster looked down thoughtfully and said:
Chickens, don't be afraid, you can't escape fate. And I think it will rain. How are you, pig?
But I don't care.
My God, - the chickens started talking, - you, rooster, indulge in idle talk, and meanwhile they can cook soup out of us.
The rooster was amused, he flapped his wings and crowed.
Me, a rooster, in soup - never!
The chickens were worried. At this time, the hostess came out to the threshold of the hut with a huge knife and said:
It doesn't matter - it's old, we'll weld it.
And went to the rooster. The rooster looked at her, but proudly continued to stand on the wheel.
But the hostess came up, extended her hand ... Then he felt an itch in his legs and ran very fast: the farther, the faster.
The chickens scattered, and the pig pretended to be asleep.
“Will it rain or won’t it? - thought the cock, when he, caught, was carried to the threshold to chop off his head.
And, as he lived, so he died - a sage.
GANDER
White geese are walking from the river along the frozen grass, in front of them an evil gander stretches its neck, hisses:
If someone gets me, I'll pinch.
Suddenly a shaggy jackdaw flew low and shouted:
What a swim! The water has frozen.
Shushura! - the goose hisses.
The goslings roll behind the goose, and behind the old goose. The goose wants to lay an egg, and she despondently thinks: “Where should I, looking at the winter, carry the egg?”
And the caterpillars bend their necks to the right and pinch the sorrel, and bend their necks to the left and pinch them.
A shaggy jackdaw flies backwards sideways on the grass, shouting:
Go away, geese, quickly, they sharpen knives at the cellar, they prick pigs, and they will get to you, geese.
A goose on the fly, with a spike, snatched a feather from its tail for a jackdaw, and the goose swayed:
Flip-tail, yelling - you're scaring my children.
Sorrel, sorrel, - the caterpillars whisper, - froze, froze.
The geese passed the dam, they were walking past the garden, and suddenly a naked pig was running towards them along the road, shaking its ears, and a worker was running after it, rolling up its sleeves.
The worker got the hang of it, grabbed the pig by its hind legs and dragged it over the frozen bumps. And the gander of the worker by the calves with a twist, pinched, grabbed with a grip.
The caterpillars ran away, looking, bending their heads. The goose, groaning, trotted off to the frozen swamp.
Go, go, - shouted the gander, - everyone is after me!
And the geese rushed half-fly into the yard. In the poultry yard the cook was sharpening her knives, the gander ran up to the trough, drove away the chickens and ducks, ate himself, fed the children, and, coming in from behind, pinched the cook.
Oh you! gasped the cook, and the gander ran away and shouted:
Geese, ducks, chickens, all follow me!
The gander ran up the hillock, waved its white wing and shouted:
Birds, everything, no matter how much we have, we fly over the sea! Let's fly!
Under the clouds! cried the caterpillars.
High, high! - cocaly chickens.
The wind blew. The gander looked at the cloud, ran up and flew away.
The caterpillars jumped after him and immediately fell - they had a lot of goiters. The turkey shook his bluish nose, the chickens fled with fear, the ducks, crouching, quacked, and the goose was upset, burst into tears - she was all swollen.
How can I, how can I fly with an egg!
The cook ran up, drove the birds into the yard. And the goose flew up to the cloud. past the triangle wild geese floated. They took the wild geese of the gander with them across the sea. And the goose shouted:
Goo-wuxi, chickens, ducks, don’t remember whether they are ...
MUSHROOMS
The brother's name was Ivan, and the sister's name was Pigtail. Their mother was angry: she would put her on a bench and tell her to be silent. Sitting is boring, flies bite or Pigtail pinches - and fuss began, and mother pulls up her shirt and - slap ...
To go into the forest, even walk on your head there - no one will say a word ...
Ivan and Kosichka thought about this and into the dark forest and fled.
They run, climb trees, somersault in the grass - such a screech has never been heard in the forest.
By noon, the children calmed down, tired, and wanted to eat.
I would like to eat,” Pigtail whimpered.
Ivan began to scratch his stomach - to guess.
We will find a mushroom and eat it, - said Ivan. - Let's go, don't whine.
They found a boletus under an oak tree and only aimed to pluck it. The pigtail whispered:
Or maybe the fungus hurts if it is eaten?
Ivan began to think. And asks:
Borovik, but boletus, does it hurt you if you are?
Ivan and Pigtail went under the birch, where the birch grew, and they ask him:
And you, boletus, if you eat, does it hurt?
It hurts terribly, - the boletus answers.
Ivan and Pigtail were asked under the boletus aspen, under the pine - white, in the meadow - camelina, dry milk mushroom and wet milk mushroom, bruise-malyavka, skinny honey agaric, butterfish, chanterelle and russula.
It hurts, it hurts, the mushrooms squeak.
And the wet breast even slapped his lips:
What did you attach to me, well, yours to the devil ...
Well, - says Ivan, - my stomach failed me.
And Pigtail gave a roar. Suddenly, a red mushroom crawls out from under the rotten leaves, as if sprinkled with sweet flour - dense, beautiful.
Ivan da Pigtail gasped:
Pretty mushroom, can I eat you?
You can, kids, you can, with pleasure, - the red mushroom answers them in a pleasant voice, so it climbs into your mouth.
Ivan and Kosichka sat down over it and just opened their mouths - suddenly mushrooms fly out of nowhere: boletus and boletus, boletus and white, skinny honey agaric and bruise-malyavka, wet milk mushroom and dry milk mushroom, buttermilk, chanterelles and russula, and let's red mushroom to pound - to pound:
Oh, poison, fly agaric, to burst you, you thought of poisoning the kids ...
Only flour flies from Amanita.
I wanted to laugh, yells Amanita ...
We will laugh at you! - mushrooms scream and piled up so much that a wet place remained from Amanita - burst.
And where it remains wet, there even the grass withered from the fly agaric poison ...
Well, now, kids, open your mouths for real, - said the mushrooms.
And all the mushrooms to Ivan and Kosichka, one after another, jumped into the mouth - and were swallowed.
Ivan and Kosichka ate to the heap and immediately fell asleep.
And in the evening a hare came running and took the children home. The mother saw Ivan and Pigtail, was delighted, let go of just one slap, and even then loving, and gave the hare a cabbage leaf:
Eat, drummer!
WEDDING
The rook sits on a branch by the pond. A dry leaf floats on the water, in it is a snail.
Where are you going, auntie? - the rook cries to her.
On the other side, dear, to the cancer for the wedding.
Okay, swim.
A spider on long legs runs through the water, becomes, ridges and flies further.
And where are you going?
I saw a spider in a rook with a yellow mouth, got scared.
Don't touch me, I'm a sorcerer, I'm running to the wedding cancer.
The tadpole sticks its mouth out of the water, moves its lips.
Where are you, tadpole?
I breathe, tea, you see, now I want to turn into a frog, I’ll jump to the cancer for the wedding.
A green dragonfly flies over the water.
Where are you, dragonfly?
I’m flying to dance, rook, to cancer for the wedding ...
“Oh, you, what a thing,” the rook thinks, “everyone is in a hurry to go there.”
The bee buzzes.
And you, bee, to cancer?
To cancer, - the bee grumbles, - to drink honey and mash.
A red-finned perch swims, and a rook prayed to him:
Take me to the crab, red-feathered one, I'm not a master of flying yet, take me on your back.
Why, you weren't called, fool.
Anyway, take a look...
Okay, - said the perch, stuck out a steep back from the water, the rook jumped on it, - they swam.
And on the other side, on a hummock, an old crayfish was celebrating a wedding. Rachikha and rachata moved their mustaches, looked with their eyes, clicked their claws like scissors.
A snail crawled along a bump, whispered to everyone - gossiped.
The spider was amused - he mowed hay with his paw. A dragonfly crackled with rainbow wings, rejoiced that she was so beautiful that everyone loved her.
The frog puffed out its belly and sang songs. Three minnows and a ruff danced.
Cancer groom held the bride by the mustache, fed her a fly.
Eat, said the groom.
I don't dare, - the bride answered, - I'm waiting for my uncle's perch ...
The dragonfly screamed:
Perch, perch swims, but what a terrible one he is with wings.
The guests turned around... A perch raced across the green water, and on it sat a black and winged monster with a yellow mouth.
What started here ... The groom left the bride, giving water; behind him - crayfish, frog, ruff and minnows; the spider died, lay on its back; the dragonfly crackled, flew away by force.
A perch swims up - empty on a bump, one spider lies and that one is like a dead one ...
He threw the rook perch on a bump, swears:
Well, what have you done, you fool... No wonder they didn't want to call you, you fool...
The rook opened his yellow mouth even wider, and it remained so - a fool a fool for the whole century.
PORTOS
Once upon a time there were three troubled granddaughters: Leshka, Fomka and Nil. All three of them had only little blue trousers, and even those had a rotten fly.
You can’t share them and it’s inconvenient to put them on - the shirt sticks out of the fly like a hare’s ear.
Woe without porters: either a fly will bite under the knee, or the children will be whipped with a twig, so deftly, you won’t comb the broken place until the evening.
Lyoshka, Fomka and Nil are sitting on the bench and crying, and the portches are hanging on a carnation by the door.
A black cockroach comes and says to the boys:
We cockroaches always go without trousers, come live with us.
The eldest answers him - Neil:
You, cockroaches, but you have a mustache, but we don’t, we won’t go to live with you.
The mouse comes running.
We, - he says, - do the same thing without trousers, go live with us, with mice.
The middle one answers her - Fomka:
You, mice, the cat eats, we will not go to the mice.
A red bull comes; he stuck his horned head out the window and said:
And I go without trousers, go live with me.
They feed you, bull, with hay - is that food? We will not go to live with you, - the younger one answers - Leshka.
Three of them are sitting, Lyoshka, Fomka and Nil, rubbing their eyes with their fists and roaring. And the porters jumped off the carnation and said with a bow:
We, rotten ones, don’t have to deal with such picky people - yes, sniff into the canopy, and from the canopy out the gate, and from the gate to the threshing floor, but across the river - remember your name.
Then Lyoshka, Fomka and Nil repented, they began to ask forgiveness from a cockroach, a mouse and a bull.
The bull forgave, gave them an old tail - to drive away the flies. The mouse forgave, brought sugar - to give to the children, so that it would not be very painful to whip with a twig. But the black cockroach didn’t forgive for a long time, then he still softened up and taught cockroach wisdom:
Though some are rotten, but still ports.
ANT
An ant crawls, dragging straw.
And the ant crawls through the mud, swamp and shaggy bumps; where a ford, where a straw from edge to edge will be thrown over and along it and will get over.
Tired ant, on the legs of dirt - pudoviki, mustache soaked. And over the swamp fog creeps, thick, impassable - you can’t see the zgi.
An ant got off the road and began to rush from side to side - looking for a firefly ...
Firefly, firefly, turn on the flashlight.
And the firefly itself just right to lie down - die - there are no legs, crawling on the belly is not debatable.
I won’t keep up with you, - the firefly groans, - I would climb into the bell, you can do without me.
I found a bell, a firefly crawled into it, lit a flashlight, the bell shines through, the firefly is very pleased.
The ant got angry and began to gnaw on the stem of the bell.
And the firefly leaned over the edge, looked and began to ring the bell.
And the animals ran to the ringing and into the light: water beetles, snakes, mosquitoes and mice, half-mouse butterflies. They led the ant to drown in impassable mud.
The ant cries, begs:
Do not rush me, I will give you ant wine.
The animals took out a dry leaf, the ant poured wine into it; animals drink, praise.
They got drunk, squatted off. And the ant - to run.
The animals raised their chirping, noise and ringing and woke up the old bat. She slept under the balcony roof, upside down. She stretched out her ear, broke loose, dived from the top of her head to the bright bell, covered the animals with her wings and ate them all.
That's what happened on a dark night, after rain, in swampy swamps, in the middle of a flower bed, near the balcony.
COCKS
In the hut of the Baba Yaga, on a wooden shutter, nine cockerels are carved. Red heads, golden wings.
The night will come, the treewomen and kikimoras will wake up in the forest, they will start hooting and messing around, and the cockerels will also want to stretch their legs.
They jump off the shutters into the damp grass, their necks are bent and run. Pinch grass, wild berries. The goblin will be caught, and the goblin will be pinched on the heel.
Rustle, running through the forest. And at dawn, the Baba Yaga will rush in with a whirlwind on a mortar with a crack and shout to the cockerels:
Get back, you bastards!
The cockerels do not dare to disobey and, although they do not want to, they jump into the shutter and become wooden, as they were.
But once the Baba Yaga did not appear at dawn, the stupa got stuck in the swamp.
Radehonki roosters; ran to a clean sack, flew up to a pine tree. They took off and gasped.
Marvelous wonder! The sky burns with a scarlet strip over the forest, flares up; the wind runs through the leaves; dew settles.
And the red stripe spills, clears up. And then the fiery sun came out.
It is light in the forest, the birds sing and rustle, the leaves rustle on the trees.
The roosters were breathtaking. They flapped their golden wings and sang - crow! With joy.
And then they flew beyond the dense forest to an open field, away from Baba Yaga.
And since then, at dawn, cockerels wake up and crow.
Kukureku, Baba Yaga is gone, the sun is coming!
GELDING
There lived a gray gelding in the yard of the old man, good, thick, the lower lip was a shovel, and the tail is better and not needed, like a pipe, there was no such tail in the whole village.
The old man does not look enough at the gray one, he praises everything. One night the gelding sniffed out that they were threshing oats on the threshing floor, went there, and ten wolves attacked the gelding, caught him, ate his tail, - the gelding kicked, kicked, kicked, galloped home without a tail.
In the morning the old man saw a short gelding and grieved - without a tail it’s the same as without a head - it’s disgusting to look at. What to do?
The old man thought and sewed on the gelding's wash tail.
And the gelding is a thief, again at night he climbed into the threshing floor for oats.
Ten wolves are right there; again they caught the gelding, grabbed it by the bast tail, tore it off, devoured and choked - the bast does not climb into the wolf's throat.
And the gelding kicked back, rode off to the old man and shouted:
Run to the threshing floor quickly, the wolves are choking on a washcloth.
The old man grabbed the stake and ran. Looks - at the current ten gray wolves sitting and coughing.
The old man - with a stake, the gelding - with a hoof and hit the wolves.
The gray howled, they began to ask for forgiveness.
Well, - says the old man, - I'll forgive you, only sew on the gelding's tail. - The wolves howled again and sewed.
The next day, the old man came out of the hut, let me, he thinks, I’ll look at the gray one; I looked, and the tail of the gelding was crocheted - wolf.
The old man gasped, but it's too late: the kids are sitting on the fence, rolling around, cackling.
Grandfather grows wolf tails for horses.
And since then the old man has been nicknamed the tail.
CAMEL
A camel entered the barnyard and groans:
Well, a new worker has already been hired, and he only strives to burn his hump with a stick - it must be a gypsy.
So you, lanky, and it is necessary, - answered the brown gelding, - looking at you is sickening.
Nothing sickening, tea I also have four legs.
A dog has four legs, but is she a beast? - said the cow dejectedly. - Barks and bites.
And you don’t go to the dog with mugs, ”the gelding answered, and then he waved his tail and shouted to the camel:
Well, you lanky, get the hell out of the deck!
And the deck was littered with a delicious mess. The camel looked at the gelding with sad eyes, went to the fence and began to eat empty chewing gum. The cow said again:
The camel is spitting very much, even if he is dead ...
I'm dead! the sheep gasped all at once.
And the camel stood and thought how to arrange it in order to respect it in the barnyard of steel.
At this time, a sparrow flew into the nest and squeaked in passing:
What a terrible camel you are, right!
Aha! - the camel guessed and roared, as if a board had been broken where.
What are you, - said the cow, - crazy?
The camel stretched out its neck, ruffled its lips, and shook it with skinny cones:
And look how scary I am ... - and jumped up.
The gelding, the cow and the sheep stared at him... Then, as they shied away, the cow mooed, the gelding, sticking out its tail, galloped off into the far corner, the sheep huddled together.
Camel ruffled his lips, shouted:
Well, look!
Everyone here, even the dung beetle, was rushed out of the yard out of fright.
The camel laughed, went up to the mess and said:
It would have been like that for a long time. Nothing is done without the mind. Now let's eat...
POT
By nightfall, the cook was exhausted, fell asleep on the floor near the stove and began to snore so much - the cockroaches died with fear, splashed around, from the ceiling and from the walls.
A blue light flickered in the lamp above the table. And then in the stove the damper moved of its own accord, a pot-bellied pot of cabbage soup crawled out and removed the lid.
Hello honest people.
Hello, - importantly answered the kvass.
Hee, hee, - the clay pan trembled, - hello! - and pecked his nose.
A rolling pin squinted on the baking sheet.
I don't like mean conversations, - she said loudly, - oh, someone's sides itch.
The baking sheet dived into the stove on the hearth.
Don't touch it, said the pot.
A thin poker wiped its dirty nose and sniffled:
Again you swear, there is no Ugomon on you; you dangle, dangle all day, and at night they won’t let you sleep.
Who called me? Ugomon chirped under the stove.
It’s not me, but the poker, it’s she who went down the back of the cook today, ”said the rolling pin.
The poker darted:
And not me, but the grip, the owner himself went to the cook with the grip.
The gripper, his horns spread, dozed in a corner, grinning. The pot puffed out his cheeks and said:
I announce to you that I no longer want to cook cabbage soup, I have a crack in my side.
Ah, fathers! - the poker went wild.
It doesn't hurt, - answered the rolling pin.
The baking sheet jumped out of the stove and whined:
A crack, putty, dough also helps.
Anoint with dough, - said the kvass.
A gnawed spoon jumped off the shelf, scooped up the dough and anointed the pot.
It doesn't matter, - said the pot, - I'm tired, I'll burst and smeared.
Kvashnya began to swell and click with bubbles - she laughed.
So, - said the pot, - I, honest people, want to plop down on the floor and split.
Live, uncle, - the baking sheet yelled, - it’s not for me to cook cabbage soup.
Ham! - barked the rolling pin and rushed. As soon as the baking sheet bounced off, only the rolling pin knocked off the sock.
Fathers, fight! - darted the poker.
A salt shaker rolled out of the stove and sang:
Does anyone need to be salted?
You will have time, you will have time to annoy, - the pot answered sadly: it was old and wise.
My dear pots!
The pot hurried, removed the lid.
Farewell, honest people, now I will break.
And he really wanted to jump from the hearth, when suddenly, half-awake, the foolish grip grabbed him with his horns and waved him into the oven.
The pan jumped behind the pot, the shutter closed by itself, and the rolling pin rolled off the pole and hit the cook on the head.
Stay away from me, stay away ... - the cook murmured. I rushed to the stove - everything is in place, as it was.
In the window, the matinee glimmered like skimmed milk.
It's time to flood, - said the cook and yawned, she even turned out all over.
And when she opened the damper, there was a pot in the oven, split into two halves, cabbage soup spilled, and a strong and sour spirit went through the hut.
The cook just threw up her hands. And she got it at breakfast!
CHICKEN GOD
The peasant plowed and turned out a round stone with a coulter, there was a hole in the middle of the stone.
Ege, - said the man, - yes, this is a chicken god.
He brought it home and said to the hostess:
I found the chicken god, hang it in the chicken coop, the chickens will be safer.
Baba obeyed and hung a stone by the washcloth in the chicken coop, near the perch.
The chickens came to spend the night, they saw the stone, they all bowed at once and cackled:
Father Perun, protect us with your hammer, a thunderous stone from the night, from sickness, from dew, from fox tears.
They cackled, closed their eyes with a white membrane and fell asleep.
At night, night blindness entered the chicken coop, wants to starve the chickens out.
The stone swayed and hit night blindness - it remained in place.
Behind night blindness, a fox crawled in, shedding tears from pretense, she got used to grabbing a rooster by the neck, - a stone hit the fox on the nose, the fox rolled up with its paws.
By morning, a black thunderstorm has come, thunder is crackling, lightning is blazing - they are about to hit the chicken coop.
And the stone on the washcloth was enough for the perch, the hens fell, ran up awake in all directions.
Lightning fell into the chicken coop, but it did not hurt anyone - there was no one there.
In the morning, a peasant and a woman looked into the chicken coop and marveled:
So the chicken god - the chickens are whole.
PAINTING
The pig wanted to paint a landscape. I went up to the fence, rolled in the mud, then rubbed my dirty side against the fence - the picture is ready.
The pig moved away, narrowed its eyes and grunted. Then the starling jumped up, jumped, peeped and said:
Bad, boring!
How? - said the pig and frowned - drove the starling away.
The turkeys came, nodded their necks, said:
So cute, so cute!
And the turkey shuffled its wings, pouted, even blushed and barked:
What a great work!..
A skinny dog came running, sniffed the picture, said:
Thumbs up, with feeling, go on - and raised his hind leg.
But the pig did not even want to look at him. The pig lay on its side, listened to praise and grunted.
At this time, the painter came, kicked the pig with his foot and began to smear the fence with red paint.
The pig squealed, ran to the barnyard:
My painting disappeared, the painter smeared it with paint ... I will not survive the grief! ..
Barbarians, barbarians ... - the dove purred.
Everyone in the barnyard groaned, gasped, consoled the pig, and the old bull said:
She's lying... she'll survive.
MASHA AND MICE
Sleep, Masha, - says the nanny, - do not open your eyes in a dream, otherwise the cat will jump into your eyes.
What cat?
Black, with claws.
Masha immediately closed her eyes. And the nanny climbed onto the chest, groaned, fidgeted and started sleepy songs with her nose. Masha thought that the nurse was pouring oil from her nose into the lamp.
I thought and fell asleep. Then frequent, frequent stars poured out outside the window, the moon crawled out from behind the roof and sat on the chimney ...
Hello, stars, - said Masha.
The stars are spinning, spinning, spinning. Masha looks - they have tails and paws. - These are not stars, but white mice run around the moon.
Suddenly, a chimney smoked under the moon, the ear came out, then the whole head - black, mustachioed.
The mice darted and hid all at once. The head crawled away, and a black cat jumped softly through the window; dragging his tail, he walked with long steps, closer, closer to the bed, sparks poured from the wool.
“I just don’t want to open my eyes,” Masha thinks.
And the cat jumped on her chest, sat down, rested his paws, stretched out his neck, looking.
Masha's eyes open themselves.
Nanny, - she whispers, - nanny.
I ate the nanny, - says the cat, - I ate the chest.
Masha is about to open her eyes, the cat presses his ears... Yes, how he sneezes.
Masha shouted, and all the mouse-stars appeared out of nowhere, surrounded the cat; the cat wants to jump on the Machine's eyes - the mouse is in the mouth, the cat eats mice, chokes, and the moon itself slid down the pipe, swam to the bed, the baby's handkerchief is on the moon and his nose is thick ...
Nanny, - Masha cries, - the cat ate you ... - And sat down.
There is no cat, no mice, and the moon floats far behind the clouds.
On the chest, a fat nanny sings sleepy songs with her nose.
“The cat spat out the nanny and spat out the chest,” thought Masha and said:
Thank you, month, and you, clear stars.
LYNX, MAN AND BEAR
A man cuts down a pine tree, white chips fall on the summer needles, a pine tree trembles, and a yellow lynx sits on its very top.
The lynx’s business is bad, she has nowhere to jump and she says in a wooden voice, like a pine tree:
Don't cut me down, man, I'll be useful to you.
The man was surprised, wiped his sweat and asked:
And what are you, pine, useful to me?
But the bear will come running, and you will climb on me.
The man thought:
And if, say, there is no bear right now?
No, look back...
A man turned around, a bear behind him, and his mouth gaped. The peasant gasped and climbed up a pine tree, followed by a bear, and a lynx towards him.
The man's stomach hurt with fear.
Nothing to do, eat me, - says the man, - just let me smoke a pipe.
Well, smoke, - the bear barked, got down to the ground and sat on its hind legs.
A peasant clung to a knot, tore the tow out of his hat, struck a flint and flared up, a quick fire started running.
And the man yelled:
Ah, ah, missed the fire!
The lynx and the bear got scared and ran away. And the little man went home, laughing all the time.
GIANT
There was a small town by the stream under a bush. People lived in small houses. And everything was small for them - the sky, and the sun the size of a Chinese apple, and the stars.
Only the stream was called - okiyan-sea and bush - dense forest.
IN dense forest three animals lived - Krymza the two-toothed, Indrik the beast, and the Rhinoceros.
The little people feared them more than anything in the world. No life from animals, no peace.
And the king of a small town called out a cry:
There will be a good fellow to defeat the animals, for this I will give him half the kingdom and my daughter Kuzyava-Muzyava the Beautiful as a wife.
The trumpeters trumpeted for two days, the people went deaf - no one wants to answer with their heads.
On the third day, an ancient elder comes to the king and says:
No one will do such a thing, tsar, except for the terrible giant hero, who is now sitting by the sea-okiya and catching a whale, send ambassadors to him.
The king equipped the ambassadors with gifts, the ambassadors went gilded and important.
They walked and walked in the thick grass and saw a giant; he sits in a red shirt, his head is fiery, he puts a snake on an iron hook.
The ambassadors shuddered, fell on their knees, squeaking. And that giant was the granddaughter of the millers, Petkaryzhy, a mischievous and fisherman.
Petka saw the ambassadors, sat down, his mouth gaped. The ambassadors gave Petka gifts - poppy seeds, a fly's nose, and forty altyns in money and asked for help.
Okay, - said Petka, - take me to the animals.
The ambassadors brought him to a rowan bush, where a mouse nose sticks out of a hill.
Who is this? - Petka asks.
The most terrible Krymza is two-toothed, the ambassadors squeak.
Petka meowed like a cat, the mouse thought it was a cat, got scared and ran away.
And behind the mouse, the beetle bristles, strives to butt with a horn.
And who is this?
The rhinoceros, - the ambassadors answer, - dragged all our children away.
Petya grabbed a rhinoceros by the back, but by the bosom! Rhino scratched.
And this is Indrik the beast, - said the ambassadors.
Indrik the beast crawled onto Petka's hand and bit his finger.
Petka got angry:
You ant bite! - And drowned Indrik-beast in the ocean-sea.
Well? - said Petka and akimbo.
Here he was the king and princess Kuzyava-Muzyava the Beautiful and the people fell at their feet.
Ask what you want!
Petka scratched the cropped nape:
When I run away from the mill, can I play with you?
Play, but lightly, - the king squeaked.
I don't hate it.
Petka stepped over the town and ran to finish the fish. And in the town all the bells rang.
BEAR AND LESHIY
In a dense forest, under a spruce, a goblin lives in a hole.
He has everything topsy-turvy - a short fur coat is put on backwards, the right mitten is on his left hand, his feet are forward with heels and there is no right ear.
Starts blowing his nose, punching green eyes goblin and cackle. Or it will begin to clap your hands.
And the goblin's palms are wooden. Once his bast shoe was torn, not a single sticky tree grows around. And the goblin went to the apiary.
Tear barks, and he says:
Fight, fight hard
Lyko, my sticky. In the apiary of the beekeeper lived Mishka-vostry and knew all the ins and outs about the goblin.
Mishka heard - the lindens are rustling, got out of the hut, looks - he peeled off all the sticky goblin, goes back, waves his bast and cackles, and, leaning out from behind the pine tree, laughs for a month.
Mishka crept from bush to bush to the spruce itself, slipped ahead of the owner into a dark hole and hid in the moss.
The goblin lit a torch, began to weave bast shoes from raw bast.
He smirks with horse lips, whistles, and Mishka whispers:
Fight, fight hard, Lyko, my sticky.
Goblin shakes:
Who is here?
Mishka got out of the corner, hands on his hips and says:
You can only scare me, but you won’t do anything, but I’ll tell you: sheep’s face, sheep’s wool.
The goblin cried:
Do not ruin me, Misha, I will do everything for you.
Well, - says Mishka, - make grandfather's bees golden, and crystal beehives.
Mishka went to the apiary and sees ... Mishka's grandfather is standing, as if they grabbed him with a sack from around the corner ...
What a marvel?.. Crystal hives shimmer, pure gold bees fly and meadow flowers bend under them.
This, grandfather, the goblin did, - says Mishka.
What goblin? Oh, you robber, laugh at the old man, here I am with a twig ...
And the goblin went to other forests - he didn’t like it.
POLKAN
The dog Polkan is basking in the spring sun.
He put his muzzle on his paws, moves his ears - drives away flies.
The dog Polkan is dozing, but at night, when they put him on a chain, there is no time for sleep.
The night is dark, and everything seems to be - someone is sneaking along the fence.
You rush, you yelp, - there is no one. Or his tail on the ground catches, like a dog; there is no one, but knocks ...
Well, you’ll howl with anguish, and pull up over there, behind the barn, someone’s thin voice will fill up.
Or it will start winking over the eye, the eye is round and yellow.
And then you smell wolf hair under your nose. You back into the booth, growl.
And the crooks are always standing outside the gate, all night. The crook is not scary, but annoying - why is it worth it.
You can’t see something at night ... oh, ho ... The dog yawned long and sweetly and snapped a fly along the way.
Sleep would. He closed his eyes, and a bright night appeared to the dog.
Above the gate stands a whole month - you can get it with your paw. Scary. The gate is yellow.
And suddenly three wolf heads poked out of the gateway, licked their lips and hid.
“Trouble,” the dog thinks, wants to howl and cannot.
Then the three heads above the gate rose, licked their lips and hid.
“I’m lost,” the dog thinks.
The gates slowly opened, and three crooks with wolf heads entered.
They walked around the yard and started stealing everything.
We'll steal the cart, - the crooks said, they grabbed it, they stole it.
And we’ll steal the well, - they grabbed it, and both the crane and the well disappeared.
The dog can neither bark nor run.
Well, - say the crooks, - now the most important thing!
"What's the most important thing?" thought the dog and fell to the ground in anguish.
There he is, there he is, the crooks whispered.
Crooks sneak up on the dog, squat, look into the eyes.
With all his strength, the dog gathered and rushed along the fence, around the yard.
Two crooks followed him, and the third ran in, sat down and opened his mouth. The dog swooped into its toothy mouth and waved.
Phew, af, tyaf, tyaf ...
The dog woke up ... lies on its side and often, often moves its feet.
He jumped up, barked, ran to the cart, sniffed, ran to the well, sniffed - everything was in place.
And out of shame, the dog Polkan tucked his tail and sideways into the kennel and climbed.
AXE
The ax went for wood. He taps on the burnt stumps, chuckles:
My will: if I want - I'll cut it down, if I want - I'll pass by, I'm the boss here.
And in the forest a birch grew, cheerful, curly, to the joy of old trees. And they called her Lyulinka.
I saw a birch ax and began to swagger:
Curly, I'll give you a curl, start chopping, only chips will fly ...
The birch was scared.
Don't cut me, axe, it will hurt me.
Come on, cry!
The birch wept with golden tears, lowered the branches.
The rain made me a bride, I want to live.
An iron ax laughed, ran into a birch - only white chips flew.
The trees became sullen, and whispering about the evil deed went all over the dark forest, right up to the viburnum bridge.
He cut down an ax, a birch tree fell down and, as it was, lay down, curly, in green grass, in blue flowers.
He grabbed her ax and dragged her home. And go ax through viburnum bridge.
Bridge to him and says:
Why are you playing naughty in the forest, cutting down my sisters?
Be quiet, fool, - the ax snapped, - I will get angry and I will cut you down.
He did not spare his back, grunted, and the viburnum bridge broke. The ax splashed into the water and sank.
And the birch Lyulinka swam down the river into the ocean-sea.
SPARROW
Gray sparrows sat on a bush and argued - which of the animals is more terrible.
And they argued so that they could shout louder and fuss. The sparrow cannot sit still: he is overcome by longing.
There is nothing worse than a ginger cat, - said the crooked sparrow, which was once scratched by a cat last year with its paw.
The boys are much worse, - the sparrow answered, - they constantly steal eggs.
I already complained about them, - another squeaked, - to the bull Semyon, I promised to gore.
What boys, - shouted a thin sparrow, - you will fly away from them, but just get caught on the tongue of a kite, the trouble is how afraid of him! - and the sparrow began to clean his nose on a knot.
And I'm not afraid of anyone, - suddenly a very young sparrow chirped, - neither a cat, nor boys. And I'm not afraid of a kite, I'll eat everyone myself.
And while he was speaking thus, a large bird flew low over the bush and cried out loudly.
Sparrows, like peas, fell, and some flew away, and some crouched, while the brave sparrow, lowering its wings, ran across the grass. The big bird clicked its beak and fell on the sparrow, and he, twisting around, without memory, dived into the hamster hole.
At the end of the hole, in a cave, an old motley hamster slept curled up. Under his nose lay a pile of stolen grain and mouse paws, and behind him hung a warm winter coat.
“Caught,” thought the little sparrow, “I died ...”
And knowing that if not he, then they would eat him, he fluffed himself up and, jumping up, pecked the hamster in the nose.
What does it tickle? - said the hamster, opening one eye and yawning. - And it's you. Hungry, you can see, little one, on - peck at the grains.
Sparrow became very ashamed, he squinted his black eyes and began to complain that a black kite wanted to devour him.
Hm, - said the hamster, - oh, he is a robber! Well, let’s go, he’s my godfather, to catch mice together, - and climbed forward from the hole, and the little sparrow, jumping behind, thought what a small and unfortunate little sparrow he was, and he shouldn’t have been completely brave.
Come here, come, - the hamster said sternly, climbing out into the wild.
The little sparrow stuck its fidgety head out of the hole and froze: in front of him sat on two paws black bird by opening his mouth. Sparrow closed his eyes and fell down, thinking that he had already been swallowed. And the black bird croaked merrily, and all the sparrows around it fell on their backs from laughter - it was not a kite, but an old crow's aunt ...
What a boast, - said the hamster to the little sparrow, - you should be whipped, but oh well, go and bring a fur coat and more grains.
The hamster put on a fur coat, sat down and began to whistle songs, and sparrows and crows danced in front of the hole in the clearing.
And the sparrow left them in the thick grass and, out of shame and annoyance, gnawed its claws, out of a bad habit.
FIREBIRD
Princess Maryana had a nanny Daria.
Darya went to the market, bought a canary bird and hung it on the window. Princess Maryana lies in bed and asks:
Nanny, what is the name of the bird?
Canary.
And why?
Because hemp seed is eaten.
Where is her home?
In the sun
Why did she come to me?
To sing songs to you so that you don't cry.
What if I pay?
The bird will shake its tail and fly away.
It was a pity for the princess to part with the bird, Maryana rubbed her eyes and began to cry.
And the bird shook its tail, opened the cage, sniffed out the window and flew away.
Daria began to wipe her eyes with an apron to Princess Maryana and said:
Don't cry, I'm running away, I'll call the giant Venka, he'll catch a bird for us.
The tall giant Venka came, about four eyes - two eyes are visible, but two are not visible.
Venka stood and said:
I want to eat.
Daria brought him a pot of porridge. The giant ate the porridge and ate the pot, found the nanny's shoes and ate the shoes - he was so hungry - he wiped his mouth and ran away.
The giant comes running to Maryanin's garden, and in the garden, on an apple tree, a canary bird sits and pecks red apples. The giant thinks: what should he grab first - an apple or a bird?
And while he was thinking, a fierce bear appeared and said:
Why are you catching a canary bird? I will eat you.
And the bear began to scrape the ground with his paw. The giant was frightened, sat down on the house and tucked his legs, and the bird sniffed into the bushes and flew away over the lake.
The giant was upset and began to think how he could outwit the bear; came up with it, he got frightened on purpose and shouted:
Oh, the red bull is running, oh, I'm afraid!
The bear was afraid of only one red bull in the world, immediately lay on its side and stuck its muzzle into the bushes - hid.
And the giant from the roof of tears and ran to the lake. The lake was long - not to cross, but on the other side a bird sits on a branch.
The giant was quick-witted, immediately lay down on the shore and began to drink the lake.
Drank, drank, drank, drank, drank, drank, drank, drank, drank, drank, drank and drank the whole lake with the frogs.
He got on all fours and ran after the bird across the dry bottom.
In the evenings, the frogs got used to croaking, and they began to croak loudly in the giant's stomach.
The giant was frightened, began to call the stork. The white stork woke up; he stood on one leg on a dry stump; He rubbed his eyes, waited for the moon to rise so that it could be seen better, flew up to the giant and said:
Open your mouth.
The giant opened his mouth, the stork stuck his head in, caught the frog and swallowed it.
Then the frog king screams from his stomach:
Drive away the white stork, I'll give you a chest, you won't catch the birds without it.
The giant knew that the frog king was honest, he closed his mouth and said:
Go away, white stork, you've had enough tea.
And the frog king crawled out into the giants' mouths, handed a crystal chest with his paw and explained:
There is a cloud in the chest, in the cloud there is lightning on one side, on the other - rain, first threaten, then open, the bird will catch itself.
And the bird flies through the dark ravine and through high mountain, and the giant climbs through the ravine, and runs up the mountain, puffs, he was so tired - and he stuck out his tongue, and the bird stuck out his tongue.
The giant shouts to the bird:
Princess Maryana ordered to catch you, stop, otherwise I will open the chest ...
The giant's bird did not obey, it only stamped its foot on the branch.
Then the giant opened the chest. A gray cloud flew out of the chest, rushed to the bird and grumbled.
The bird was frightened, screamed plaintively and darted into the bushes.
And a cloud climbed into the bushes. A bird at the root, and a cloud at the root.
The bird soared into the sky, and the cloud was even higher, but how it rolled like thunder and struck the bird with lightning - bang!
The bird turned over, canary feathers fell from it, and suddenly six golden wings and a peacock's tail grew on the bird.
A bright light went from the bird throughout the forest. The trees rustled, the birds woke up.
Night mermaids jumped into the water from the shore. And the animals cried out in different voices:
Firebird, Firebird!!!
And the cloud puffed up and doused the Firebird with wet rain.
The rain soaked the golden wings of the Firebird and the peacock's tail, she folded her wet wings and fell into the thick grass.
And it got dark, you couldn't see anything. The giant rummaged through the grass, grabbed the Firebird, put it in his bosom and ran to Princess Maryana. Princess Maryana was picky, pouted her lips with the frying pan, spread her fingers and whimpered:
I, nanny, don't want to sleep without a canary bird.
Suddenly a giant ran up and placed the Firebird on the window.
And the room is as bright as day. The firebird in the giant's bosom dried up, now spread its wings and sang:
I'm not afraid of the bear
I'll hide from the fox
I'll fly away from the eagle
Will not catch up in two wings,
And I'm only afraid of tears
At night the rain and grew,
And I will run away from them
For forests and seas.
I am the sister of the Light-Sun,
And my name is Firebird.
The Firebird sang, then she made terrible eyes and said:
That's what, never, Maryana, don't whine, listen to nanny Daria, then every night I will fly to you, sing songs, tell fairy tales and show colored pictures in a dream.
The Firebird crackled its wings and flew away. Daria rushed after the giant again, and the giant stood in the garden - one foot in the pond, the other on the roof, and the frogs croaked in the stomach.
Princess Maryana did not cry anymore, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Maryana knew that every night the Firebird would fly to her, sit on the bed and tell fairy tales.
Voracious Shoe
In the nursery behind the chest lay a bear - they threw him there, he lived.
On the table stood tin soldiers with guns at the ready.
In the corner in a box lived dolls, an old steam locomotive, a fireman with a barrel, a wild horse without a head, a rubber dog, and a lost dog - the box is full.
And under the bed lay Nyankin's old shoe and asked for porridge.
When the nanny lit the night light on the wall, said "oh, sins" and fell on the chest, then a wintering mosquito flew off the eaves and blew into the pipe that was attached to his nose:
To war, to war!
And immediately soldiers jumped out of the table, a soldier's general on a white horse and two cannons.
A bear crawled out from behind the chest, spreading its four paws.
A lid jumped off a box in the corner, a steam locomotive drove out and two dolls on it - Tanya and Manka, a fireman rolled a barrel, a rubber dog pressed his stomach and barked, a dog that got lost sniffed the floor and scraped with its hind legs, a horse without a head neighed that nothing she couldn't see, and instead of her head a stocking was sticking out.
And after all, Nyankin's shoe crawled out from under the bed and begged:
Kashi, porridge, porridge!
But no one listened to him, because everyone ran to the soldiers, who, like the bravest, rushed forward to the pot-bellied chest of drawers.
And under the chest of drawers lay a terrible picture. The picture was drawn mug with one hand.
Everyone looked under the chest of drawers, the dolls were cowardly, but no one moved under the chest of drawers, and the dolls said:
They just scared us in vain, we'll go and drink tea.
And suddenly everyone noticed that there was no mug in the picture, but the mug was hiding behind the leg of the chest of drawers.
The dolls immediately fell unconscious, and the engine took them under the bed, the horse reared up, then on its front legs, and a stocking fell out of its neck, the dogs pretended to be looking for fleas, and the general turned away - he became so scared, and commanded the remnants troops:
With bayonets!
The brave soldiers rushed forward, and the mug crawled out to meet and made scary face: her hair stood on end, her red eyes spun, her mouth crawled up to her ears, and yellow teeth clicked in it.
The soldiers at once stuck thirty bayonets in the face, the general struck from above with a saber, and from behind they grabbed two cannons in the face with bombs.
Nothing could be seen in the smoke. When the white cloud rose to the ceiling, crumpled and torn soldiers, guns and the general lay on the floor in one heap. And the mug ran around the room on her hands, twisted and gnashed her teeth.
Seeing this, the dogs fell with their paws up, asking for forgiveness, the horse kicked, the nanny's shoe stood like a fool with his mouth open, only the fireman with the barrel was not afraid of anything, he was the "Red Cross" - and they did not touch him.
Well, now it's my turn, - said the bear; he was sitting behind everyone on the floor, and now he jumped up, opened his mouth and ran on soft paws after the mug.
The mug rushed under the bed - and the bear under the bed, the mug for the pot - and the bear for the pot.
The mug rolled out into the middle of the room, sat down, and when the bear ran up, jumped up and bit off his paw.
The bear howled and climbed behind the chest. There was only one face; on left hand leaned on, threatened with her right hand and said:
Well, now I'll take care of the kids, or should I start with the nanny?
And the mug began to creep up on the nurse, but she saw - the light on the floor, turned to the window, and in the window stood the whole moon, clear, terrible, and, without blinking, looked at the mug.
And the mug began to back away from fear, backing right on the nurse's shoe, and the shoe opened its mouth wider and wider.
And when the face backed away, the shoe smacked and swallowed the face.
Seeing this, a fireman with a barrel rolled up to all the wounded and killed and began to pour water on them.
The general, and soldiers, and cannons, and dogs, and dolls came to life from the fire water, the bear's paw healed, the wild horse stopped kicking and again swallowed the stocking, and the mosquito flew off the eaves and blew the end.
And everyone quickly jumped to their places. And the shoe also asked for water, but this did not help either. The shoe dragged itself to the chest of drawers and said:
It hurts you, erysipelas, tasteless.
He strained, flattened himself, spat out his face and darted under the bed.
And the face forcibly climbed into the picture and more from under the chest of drawers with a foot, only sometimes at night, when a bear runs past the chest of drawers or dolls ride on a steam locomotive, it rolls its eyes, scares.
SNOW HOUSE
The wind is blowing, spinning White snow and inflicts it with high snowdrifts at each hut.
And from each snowdrift the boys on the sled move out; boys can ride everywhere, and fly down to the river on an ice rink with a tumbler, and somersault from the straw tumblers - you can’t just go behind Averyanov’s hut, which is in the middle of the village.
At Averyanova's hut there was a tall snowdrift, and on it the Konchan boys stand and threaten to let out red drool.
Averyanov’s son, Petechka, is the worst of all: the end boys threaten, and their own shout: you are Konchan, we will split your cheekbones into four parts, and no one will accept him to play.
Petechka became bored, and he began to dig a hole in a snowdrift in order to climb in alone and sit. For a long time Petechka dug straight, then he began to climb to the side, and when he got to the side, he arranged the ceiling, walls, a couch, sat down and sits.
The blue snow shines through from all sides, it crunches, it is quiet and good in it. None of the boys have such a house.
Petechka stayed until his mother called for supper, got out, filled up the entrance with clods, and after dinner lay down on the stove under a sheepskin coat, dragged the gray cat by the paw and said in his ear:
I’ll tell you what, Vasya, I’ll tell you - my house is the best, do you want to live with me?
But the cat Vasya did not answer anything and, purring for show, turned around and sniffed under the stove - to sniff out mice and in the underground - to whisper with the brownie.
The next morning, Petechka had just climbed into the snowy house, when he heard snow crunching, then clods flew from the side, and a small peasant in such a red beard that only his eyes were visible crawled out of the wall. The peasant shook himself off, sat down near Petechka and made him a goat.
Petechka laughed, asking for more to be done.
I can’t, - the peasant answers, - I’m a brownie, I’m afraid to scare you very much.
So now I was afraid of you anyway, - Petechka answers.
Why be afraid of me: I feel sorry for the kids; only you have so many people in your hut, and even a calf, and such a heavy spirit - I can’t live there, I sit in the snow all the time; and the cat Vasya just now says to me: Petechka, they say, what kind of house he built.
How will we play? Petechka asked.
I don't know; I would like to sleep; I will call my daughter, she will play, and I will take a nap.
The brownie pressed his nostril and how he whistled ... Then a ruddy girl jumped out of the snow, in a mouse coat, black-browed, blue-eyed, her pigtail sticks out, tied with a washcloth; The girl laughed and shook hands.
The brownie lay down on the couch, groaned, and said:
“Play, kids, just don’t push me in the side,” and he immediately began to snore, and the brownie’s daughter says in a whisper:
Let's play show.
Come on, - Petechka answers. - And how is it? Something is scary.
And you, Petechka, imagine that you are wearing a red silk shirt, you are sitting on a bench and near a pretzel.
I see, - says Petechka and reached for a pretzel.
And you are sitting, - the brownie's daughter continues and closed her eyes herself, - and I will sweep the hut, the cat Vasya rubs against the stove, it's clean with us, and the sun is shining. So we gathered and ran into the forest for mushrooms, barefoot on the grass. The rain started to fall and soaked all the grass in front of us, and again the sun peeped through ... they ran to the forest, and there were apparently invisible mushrooms ...
How many of them, - said Petechka and his mouth gaped, - are red, and there is a boletus, but is it possible? They are not filthy, represented by mushrooms?
You can eat; now let's go swimming; roll on your side from the slope; look, the water is clear in the river, and you can see the fish at the bottom.
Don't you have a pin? Petechka asked. - I would now catch a minnow on a fly ...
But then the brownie woke up, thanked Petechka, and left for dinner with his daughter.
The next day the brownie's daughter came running again, and with Petechka they came up with God knows what, wherever they had been, and so they played every day.
But then winter broke, it caught up with damp clouds from the east, a wet wind blew, the snow blew, settled, the manure turned black in the backyards, rooks flew in, circled over the still bare branches, and the snowy house began to thaw.
Petechka climbed in there by force, he even got wet all over, but the brownie's daughter does not come. And Petechka began to whimper and rub his eyes with his fists; then the brownie's daughter looked out of a hole in the wall, spread her fingers and said:
Phlegm, nothing to touch; Now, Petechka, I have no time to play; so much work - hands fall off; And yes, the house is gone.
Petechka roared in a bass voice, and the brownie's daughter clapped her hands and said:
You're stupid, that's who. Spring is coming; She's better than any show. - Yes, and shouts to the brownie: come, they say, here.
Petechka yells, does not let up. The brownie immediately appeared with a wooden shovel and scattered the whole house - from him, he says, only dampness - he took Petechka by the hands, ran to the backyards, and there was already a red horse standing; he jumped on a brownie horse, put Petechka in front, his daughter behind, slapped the horse with a shovel, the horse galloped and quickly drove down the hill through the melted snow to the forest. And in the forest, from under the snow, cold streams run, climbing free green grass, pushes thawed leaves; ravines groan, rustle like water; still bare birch trees are covered with buds; hares came running, scraping winter wool with their paws, somersaulting; geese fly in the blue sky...
Ay, mermaids, ay, mavka sisters, you have plenty of sleep!
The forest echoed, and from all sides, like spring thunder, mermaid voices responded.
Let's run to the Mavkas, - the brownie's daughter says, - they will give you a red shirt, a real one, not like in a snowy house.
We would like to take a cat, - says Petechka.
Looks, and the cat appeared, the tail is a pipe and the eyes of thieves are burning.
And the three of them ran into the dense thicket to the mermaids to play, only not in representations, but in real spring games: swinging in the trees, laughing for the whole forest, waking sleepy animals - hedgehogs, badgers and a bear - and under the sun on a steep bank to lead funny round dances .
FOFKA
The nursery was covered with new wallpaper. The wallpaper was very good, with colorful flowers.
But no one overlooked - neither the clerk who tried the wallpaper, nor the mother who bought them, nor the nanny Anna, nor the maid Masha, nor the cook Domna, in a word, no one, not a single person, overlooked this.
The painter glued a wide strip of paper at the very top, along the entire cornice. Five sitting dogs were drawn on the strip, and in the middle of them was a yellow chicken with a pompomushka on its tail. Nearby again sitting in a circle five dogs and a chicken. There are again dogs and a chicken with a pompushka nearby. And so along the whole room under the ceiling sat five dogs and a chicken, five dogs and a chicken ...
The painter pasted on the strip, climbed down the stairs and said:
But he said it in such a way that it was not just “well, well,” but something worse. Yes, and the painter was an extraordinary painter, so smeared with chalk and different colors that it was difficult to make out whether he was young or old, whether he was a good person or a bad person.
The painter took the ladder, stomped down the corridor with heavy boots and disappeared through the back door - only they saw him.
And then it turned out: my mother had never bought such a strip with dogs and chickens.
But - there is nothing to do. Mom came to the nursery and said:
Well, very nice - dogs and chicken - and told the children to go to bed.
Our mother had two of us children, me and Zina. We lay down to sleep. Zina says to me:
You know? And the chicken's name is Fofka.
I'm asking:
How is Fofka?
And so, you'll see for yourself.
We couldn't sleep for a long time. Suddenly Zina whispers:
Are your eyes open?
No, screwed up.
Can't you hear anything?
I pricked up both ears, I hear - crackles somewhere, squeaks. I opened a crack in one eye, I looked - the lamp was blinking, and shadows were running along the wall, like balls. At this time, the lamp crackled and went out.
Zina immediately crawled under the covers with me, we closed ourselves with our heads. She says:
Fofka drank all the oil in the lamp.
I'm asking:
And why did the balls jump on the wall?
It was Fofka who ran away from the dogs, thank God they caught him.
In the morning we woke up, we looked - the lamp was completely empty, and upstairs, in one place, near Fofka's beak - a drop of oil.
We immediately told all this to my mother, she did not believe anything, laughed. The cook Domna laughed, the maid Masha laughed too, and only the nurse Anna shook her head.
In the evening, Zina says to me again:
Did you see the babysitter shake her head?
Will there be something? The nurse is not the kind of person to shake his head in vain. Do you know why we have Fofka? In punishment for our pranks with you. That's why the nurse shook her head. Let's better remember all the pranks, otherwise it will be even worse.
We began to remember. Remembered, remembered, remembered and confused. I speak:
Do you remember how we took a rotten board at the dacha and laid it across the stream? There was a tailor in glasses, we Shout: "Go, please, across the board, it's closer here." The board broke and the tailor fell into the water. And then Domna stroked his stomach with an iron, because he sneezed.
Zina says:
It's not true, it didn't happen, we read it, it was done by Max and Moritz.
I speak:
Not a single book will write about such a nasty prank. This is what we did.
Then Zina sat down on my bed, pursed her lips and said in a disgusting voice:
And I say: they will write, and I say: in a book, and I say: you fish at night.
This, of course, I could not bear. We got into a fight right now. Suddenly someone bit me terribly painfully on the nose. I look, and Zina holds on to her nose.
What are you? I ask Zina. And she answers me in a whisper:
Fofka. It was he who pecked.
Then we realized that we would not live from Fofka. Zina immediately began to cry. I waited and also roared. The nanny came, took us to our beds, said that if we did not fall asleep this very minute, then Fofka would peck off our whole nose to the very cheek.
The next day we climbed in the hallway behind the closet. Zina says:
Fofka needs to be finished off.
They began to think about how we could get rid of Fofka. Zina had money - for decals. Decided to buy buttons. They took time off for a walk and ran straight to the Bee shop. There, two high school students from the preparatory course bought pictures for pasting. A whole bunch of these wonderful pictures lay on the counter, and Mrs. "Bee" herself, with her cheek tied up, admired, regretting parting with them. And yet we asked Mrs. "Bees" buttons for all thirty kopecks.
Then they returned home, waited for father and mother to leave the yard, crept into the office, where there was a wooden lacquered staircase from the library, and dragged the staircase to the nursery.
Zina took the box with the buttons, climbed up the stairs to the very ceiling and said:
Repeat after me: my brother Nikita and I give our word of honor never to be naughty, and if we are naughty, then not very much, and even if we are very naughty, we ourselves will demand that they do not give us sweets either at lunch or at dinner, not at four o'clock. And you, Fofka, go away, mind, mind, perish!
And when we both said it loudly in one voice, Zina pinned Fofka with a button to the wall. And so she pinned it quickly and deftly - she didn’t utter a word, didn’t jerk her foot. There were sixteen Fofoks in all, and Zina pinned them all with buttons, and anointed the noses of each dog with jam.
Since then, Fofka is no longer afraid of us. Although late last night there was fuss on the ceiling, squeaking and scratching, but Zina and I fell asleep peacefully, because the buttons were not some buttons, but bought from Mrs. "Bee".
