Smirnova Maria Borisovna, educator MBDOU CRR DS №393.
Purpose:   the formation of the foundations of morality and correct behavior in children of younger preschool age.
Tasks:
  - To form a friendly attitude towards each other, the foundations of morality.
  - Foster an interest in oral folk art, instill an interest in fairy tales.
  - Teach children the basics of proper behavior in kindergarten.
  - To form in children the ability to listen, empathize, analyze the actions of heroes.
Description:   The material is intended for teachers of preschool institutions and parents of children of younger preschool age, age category of children: 2-4 years.
Purpose:   for reading in preschool, reading at home.
  "Why do we need fairy tales?
  What is the person looking for in them?
  Maybe good and affection.
  Maybe yesterday's snow.
In a fairy tale, joy wins,
  Fairy tale teaches us to love.
  In the tale, the beasts come to life,
  Start talking.
  In a fairy tale, everything is fair:
  Both the beginning and the end.
  The brave prince leads the princess,
  Certainly under the crown.
  Snow White and Mermaid,
  Old dwarf, good gnome -
  Leave us a fairy tale sorry
  Like a cozy sweet home.
Read fairy tales to children!
  Teach them to love.
  Maybe in this world
  It will be easier for people to live. "
  Nikolaev Polina

An instructive tale is the magic that has been realized.

Plunging into the world of amazing characters, children learn the basics of morality and correct behavior ... Children love fairy tales very much. And the unobtrusive form of obtaining knowledge is the main reason why in the modern world this trend is gaining popularity.

Listening to a fairy tale, a child subconsciously absorbs important information for him, learns to communicate and interact, determines the boundaries of good and bad deeds ... An instructive tale helps not to be afraid to make decisions, and at the same time, warns against possible mistakes.

From century to century, the wisest words evolved into small but meaningful stories that allow children to better understand life ... The educational component contained in an instructive tale cannot be replaced by anything, and the main thing is always to remember - sometimes even a small story with meaning can change your whole life!

Fairy tale for children "True Friends"

Once upon a time, there were friends, a girl, Masha and a boy, Seryozha, and they went to one kindergarten. The first girl Masha, in a red dress, white sandals and with a big beautiful bow in her hair, came to the kindergarten. To me, Masha, pressed the doll to Lyalya - she did not part with her for a minute! Masha loved her doll very much and wanted to be like her. The teacher came in and invited Masha with the doll Lyalya to play with her in the group. Masha said mom and dad: "Bye, I went, play!", And fun ran into the group.

But before she could plant a doll at the table, a boy approached her - his name was Seryozha. Masha liked Seryozha - he was good, he always shared toys, and often rolled her doll Lyalya in his big red truck. Sergei came up, and said to Masha: "Hello, Masha, let's take your doll Lyalya to wash and wash the hands." Masha gladly agreed.

They put the pupa in the truck, and Sergei, taking Masha by the handle, carefully drove Lyalya to wash. When they came to the sink, the guys opened the taps, took the soap, washed their hands well, made a “soap mitten”, rinsed their hands with water, washed them, and dried their hands and face each with their own towel. Then, they helped Puppet Lala wash. They looked in the mirror, and together happily exclaimed: "What we are all clean! WE ARE REAL FRIENDS!".

  Fairy tales "Magic word - sorry"

Once, the girl Masha and the boy Seryozha played in a group. Seryozha was fun running, playing with other boys, while Masha was putting the doll Lyalya to sleep. Suddenly, she heard a sound ... Masha listened. This is the birds outside the window happily chirping! The girl Masha looked at them like that, admired that she did not notice how Seryozha, carried away by the game, knocked her down. Masha fell and cried ...

She hurt her leg. Sergei was scared for Masha, and instantly stopped. He sat down next to her, took her hand, and said: "Sorry for me, Masha, I did not want to push you, I just ran very hard and did not have time to stop ... Sorry, I am very sorry!".

Masha looked at Serezha carefully, and saw how upset he was. Then, she smiled at him: “It's okay! You apologized, but“ Sorry ”is a magic word, and as soon as you said it, it immediately became easier for me!”. Seryozha smiled at Masha back, and helped her up. So, holding hands, they went to play ...

Tales for class 2

• Fairy tales 2nd grade Once upon a time there was a crucian, Once upon a time there was a grandmother

Russian folk tales

• White feathers
• Girl Snow Maiden V. Dahl
• Children of Santa Claus
• Wintering animals processed by A.N. Tolstoy
• Ivan the Peasant Son and Miracle Yudo
• Porridge from the ax. Arranged by A. Nechaev
• Boy with a finger processing A.N. Tolstoy
• Wise maiden
• Scared bear and wolves
• Nikita Kozhemyaka (from the collection of A. Afanasyev)
• Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka Russian folk tale. Arranged by A. N. Tolstoy
• Sivko-Burko (from the collection of A. Afanasyev)
• The Tale of Ivan the Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf (from the collection by A. Afanasyev)
• Snow Maiden. (In the processing of L. Tolstoy)
• Snow Maiden. Russian folk tale Processing I. Karnaukhova
• Three rolls and one steering wheel retelling of I. Franko
• Fear has big eyes. (In the retelling of M. Serova)
• Havroshechka processing A.N. Tolstoy
• The Frog Princess (from the collection of A. Afanasyev)

Tales of the peoples of the world

• Live and learn. Croatian folk tale. Retelling L. Yakhnin
• Apart - bad, together - good. Mordovian folk tale. Processing E. Pomerantseva
• Two sloths. Serbian folk tale. Retelling L. Yakhnin
• Good peasant (Japanese fairy tale), translation by N. Feldman
• Friendly brothers. Korean folk tale. Translate. Lee
• Golden fish Indian folk tale. Translation by N. Gurov
• Willow germ (Japanese fairy tale), translation by N. Feldman
• How Brother Rabbit made Brother Lisa, Brother Wolf and Brother Bear catch the moon (the tale of African Americans in the USA), translation 3. Kanevsky
• As Jack went to look for happiness. English folk tale translated by N. Sheresyovskaya
• As a boy to the North wind for his flour went. Norwegian folk tale. Translation E.Surits
• As a rooster, the fox deceived (a Latvian fairy tale), translation 3. Transdanubian.
• How different nations appeared (Dolgan fairy tale), translation by V. Glotser, G. Snegirev.
• How friendship is verified. Lezgin folk tale. Retelling N. Kasheeva
• Spikelet. Ukrainian folk tale in the treatment of S. Mogilyov
• Who is stronger? (African tale)
• Cuckoo. Nenets folk tale. Arranged by V. Vinokurova, Yu. Sem
• Lees Mykkel and the Bamse bear. Norwegian folktale in translation and processing by F. Zolotarevskaya
• The Golden Toupee boy and the Golden Spit girl (Lithuanian fairy tale), translation 3. Transdanubian.
• Wise girl (Kyrgyz fairy tale), translated by M. Bogdanova
• Wise old man (Tatar tale), translated by G. Sharipova
• Adventures of the wild cat Simba (African tale), translated by Y. Chubkov
• Why the hare's lip is cut (Estonian fairy tale), translation 3. Transdanubian
• The tale of stupidity (Ukrainian fairy tale), translated by S.Ya. Marshak
• The tale of three pigs. English folk tale translated by N. Sheresyovskaya
• Quarrel of birds. (Indian tale)
• Happy boy. Iranian folk tale. Translation in Arsenyev
• Three daughters. Tatar folk tale. Retelling V. Boyarinov
• Tail. (Chukchi tale)
• Honest boy (Korean fairy tale), translation by E. Katasonova

Author's tales

• P. Bazhov. Silver Hoof
• Garshin Vsevolod Mikhailovich Frog traveler
• Boris Zakhoder Tale
• P. Ershov. The Little Humpbacked Horse
• Mamin-Sibiryak, Dmitry Narkisovich Alyonushkin's fairy tales, Tip, Tale about the brave Hare - Long Ears, Slant Eyes, Short Tail, Tale about Komar Komarovich - Long Nose and about Shaggy Misha - Short Tail, Tale about Sparrow Vorobey and Yer and Mike, Shorter Tail, Tale about Sparrow Vorobey and Yer and Mnyu, Short Tail, Tale about Sparrow and Sparrow
• B. Odoevsky. Moroz Ivanovich
• Permyak Evgeny Andreevich Markel-homemade
• Pushkin Alexander Sergeevich The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish
• Ushinsky Konstantin Dmitrievich Gus and crane, Two plows, Morning rays, Lisa Patrichevna, Mena
• Shvarts Evgeniy Lvovich New Adventures of Puss in Boots
• Charles Perrot Puss in Boots Translated by T. Gabbe and A. Lyubarskaya, Little Red Riding Hood
• Hans Christian Andersen The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling, Five from one pod (Translated from the Danish A. Ganzen)
• The brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm the Frog King, or Iron Heinrich (translated by A. Ganzen), Little Men (Translated from German by A. Vvedensky), Seven Bravets (Translated from German by A. Vvedensky), Bremenian Musicians Translated by A. Vvedensky
• Joel Harris Uncle Remus's Tales, Brother Rabbit and Brother Fox, Smolyanoye Scarecrow, Like Brother Rabbit Outwitted The Brother Fox, Failure of Brother Wolf, Like Brother Wolf In Trouble

There was a hedgehog Shurshunchik. He lived deep, deep in the forest and only occasionally went out into the clearing to bask in the sun. Shurshunchik in the mornings collected mushrooms. There is a hedgehog in the forest, suddenly a fungus on the way will meet, put it on its back and drags it back into the hole.

Once, Shurshunchik wandered in search of mushrooms in a pasture where people grazed cows. He saw a hedgehog of people, was frightened, curled up in a ball, released needles and lies, sniffs.

That day, children and adults grazed cows in the meadow. Children noticed an unusual spiny tangle lurking next to the bushes. It became interesting to them that it. And Shurshunchik lies and does not move. An adult shepherd came up to the children and told them that they had found a real forest hedgehog with long, very long dark brown needles on their backs, which were painted a cream color on the tops. The children liked the beautiful hedgehog, they wanted to take him home. The rustle, as if sensing their desire, sniffed, puffed, snuffled. But the children did not even listen to him: they put a hedgehog in a hat, so as not to inject, and carried it home.

Shurshunchik scared scary. He did not understand where he was being carried. He did not want to leave his native forest at all. Soon the hedgehog was brought into the house and laid on the floor. The grandmother looked at the children's find and angrily shook her head: “It was not necessary to bring a hedgehog out of the forest home! He lives well in the forest. He can't live with us. ” Grandma sighed, sighed so nothing to do. She poured milk in a bowl to a hedgehog and went about her business.

But Shurshunchik did not want to crawl out of his prickly needles for a long time: everything was lying and puffing. He waited for a hedgehog night. He felt the smell of milk, drank a little, so let's walk around the room: “Top-top! Top-top! ”Yes, so loud that grandmother woke up. And Shurshunchik resembles, resembles and again puts on thorns, but not approaching him.

So Shurshunchik lived in the people's house for two days, until his grandmother carried him back to the forest. Shurshunchik was delighted, having felt native smells, rushed home. Along the way, he met a magpie and told her what it was like for people to live, and forty years later she told me the story. I told you about it.

Maths lessons

Multiplication table by 2

Hedgehog Shurshunchik every summer preparing for winter. He collected mushrooms throughout the forest and put them in boxes pre-woven from branches. Every autumn Shurshunchik counted the number of mushrooms collected, and he had a hard time. The hedgehog was well able to count up to one hundred, he counted mushrooms one by one. Sometimes the harvest of mushrooms was large, and the hedgehog counted the mushrooms in the boxes until late at night.

From the magpie he learned that there is a multiplication table that can greatly simplify the counting of mushrooms. Forty promised to visit Shurshunchik sometime in the evening and teach him to use the multiplication table. The hedgehog was looking forward to visit the magpie. And so she came.

Shurshunchik showed magpie boxes with collected mushrooms. The bird looked at them carefully. The hedgehog's boxes were the same: there were two of them, and they contained six mushrooms each, which fit in two rows of three mushrooms. It turned out that the width of the box was exactly two mushrooms, and its length - three.

Whisper, mushrooms in one box just count, if you multiply the number of mushrooms that fit across the width of the box, the number of mushrooms that are located along its width. That is, you need to multiply two by three, the result will be six. Let's decipher with you what it means to multiply two by three. This means that you fold the number two three times. See: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6.

And, really, - said Shurshunchik, pulling a needle on the top of his paw.

Imagine if you had exactly two mushrooms in your box. The width of the box would then be two mushrooms, and its length one. You would multiply two by one and get two. Two times one means that the number two is repeated only once: 2 = 2.

I do not have such small drawers, forty. I have only two boxes in which six mushrooms can be placed, and each time I have to count the number of mushrooms in these boxes one by one, taken separately one autumn each time! - Shurshunchik puffed.

Do not worry, Shurshunchik, we will calculate the number of mushrooms in these two boxes. Now we know how to quickly calculate the number of mushrooms in each of them!

But this again will have to fold! - grumbled hedgehog, sadly dropping his eyes on the floor.

Not at all! You can multiply! You know that the number of mushrooms in the boxes is the same and it is six! And there are only two drawers! You just multiply two by six and find out the number of mushrooms in two boxes at once! - said forty.

Shurshunchik thought. He did not yet know how much two will be multiplied by six and how one can decipher these numbers. And forty, meanwhile, was drawing on the wall of the room the secret code of the multiplication table:

When Shurshunchik looked at the wall, he instantly found the answer: to multiply two by six it turned out to be twelve. And for sure! It was just the time that he usually collected his collected mushrooms after a painstaking calculation!

Hedgehog decided for himself to learn the magic multiplication table, which so well helped him count the mushrooms collected in autumn!

Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, "The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich"

In ancient times, when the spells were still helping, there lived a king in the world; all the daughters were beautiful with him, but the youngest was so beautiful that even the sun, which had been seen a lot in its lifetime, was surprised, shining on her face.

Near the royal castle there was a large dense forest, and there was a well in that forest under the old linden tree; and now, on hot days, the younger princess went out into the forest, sat on the edge of a cold well, and when she got bored, she took the golden ball, threw it up and caught it - that was her favorite game.

But one day, having thrown her golden ball, she did not have time to catch him, he fell to the ground and rolled straight into the well. The royal eye did not let go of the golden ball, but it disappeared, and the well was so deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. Then the princess cried, and began to cry more and more, and could not be comforted in any way.

Here she grieves about her ball and suddenly hears - someone says to her:

- What's wrong, princess? You cry so much that you can soften a stone.

“Oh, it's you, old croon,” she said, I was crying about my golden ball that fell into the well.

- Calm down, why cry, - says the frog, - I will help you. And what will you give me if I find your toy?

“Anything you want, dear little frog,” answered the princess. “My dresses, pearls, precious stones, and in addition to the gold crown I wear.”

The frog tells her:

“I don’t need your dresses, pearls, or precious stones, and I don’t want your gold crown; but if you loved me and made friends with me, and we would play together, and I would sit next to you at the table, eat from your golden plate, drink from your little cup and sleep with you in bed, - if you I promise all this, I instantly jump down and get you your golden ball.

- Yes, yes, I promise you everything you want, just get me my ball! - And she thought to herself: “What is there a stupid little frog talking? He sits in the water among the frogs and croaks - where can he be a man comrade! ”

Having received a promise from her, the frog dived into the water, sank to the very bottom, swam up quickly, holding the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. Seeing her beautiful toy again, the princess was very happy, picked it up from the ground and ran away.

- Wait, wait! - shouted the little frog. - Take me with you, because I can't keep up with you!

But what about the fact that he loudly shouted after her his “qua-qua”? She did not want to listen to him, hurrying Home. And then I completely forgot about the poor frog, and he had to go down to his well again.

The next day she sat down with the king and courtiers. mi at the table and began to eat from her golden plate. Suddenly - the top slap-slap - someone climbs the marble staircase and, climbing upstairs, knocks on the door and says:

- Young Queen, open the door for me!

She ran to have a look, who could knock on her. He opens the door, sees a frog sitting in front of her. Instantly, she slammed the door and sat down again at the table, but she became so scared. The king noticed how much her heart beats and says:

- My child, why are you so scared? I do not have a giant who hid behind the door and wants to kidnap you?

“Ah, no,” said the princess, “this is not a giant at all, but a vile frog.

- What does he want from you?

—Ah, dear father, yes, I sat yesterday in the forest at the well and played, and my golden ball fell into the water. I cried bitterly, and the frog got him to me and began to demand that I take him as comrades, and I promised him - but I never thought that he could get out of the water. But now he has come and wants to come in here.

Meanwhile, the frog knocked again and clicked:

Hello my dear

Open the door!

Really forgot

What promised yesterday

Remember at the well?

Hello my dear

Open the door!

Then the king said:

- You must fulfill your promise. Go and open the door for him.

She went, opened the door, and here the frog jumped into the room, jumped after her, ran up to her chair, sat down and said:

- Take and plant me next to you.

She did not dare, but the king ordered her to fulfill his wish. She sat the frog on a chair, and he began to ask for it on the table; She put him on the table, and he says:

“Now, bring me closer to your golden plate, we will eat with you.”

Although she did this, it was obvious that she was very reluctant.

He took the frog for food, and the princess and a piece in the throat does not climb. Finally he says:

I ate full and tired - now take me to your bedroom, make me a silk bed for me, and lie down with you to sleep together.

How the princess cried here — it was scary for the cold frog, she was afraid to touch him, and he was still going to sleep with her in a beautiful, clean bed. The king got angry and said:

Whoever helped you in trouble, is no good to neglect.

Then she took the frog with two fingers, carried him to her bedroom, planted it in the corner, and she lay down on the bed. And he jumped and said:

I'm tired, I want to sleep too, - take me to your place, otherwise I will complain to your father.

The princess got angry here and hit him hard against the wall.

Well now, you nasty frog, calm down!

But as soon as he fell to the ground, he suddenly turned into a queen with beautiful, tender eyes. And since that time, according to the will of her father, he has become her dear friend and husband. He told her that he was bewitched by an evil witch, and no one could free him from the well, except for her alone, and that tomorrow they would go to his kingdom.

Here they went to bed and fell asleep. And the next morning, they were only awakened by the sun, a coach with eight white horses came up to the palace, and they had white sultans on their heads, and a harness made of gold chains, and stood at the back of the servant of the prince, but he was faithful Heinrich. When his master was turned into a frog, the faithful Heinrich grieved and grieved so much that he ordered to bind his heart with three iron bands so that it would not break from grief and sorrow.

And the young king had to go to his kingdom in this carriage. The faithful Heinrich laid a young man on the carriage, and he himself stood on the heels and was glad that his master had got rid of the evil curse.

Here they passed part of the road, suddenly the prince hears - something cracked behind. He turned and shouted:

- Heinrich, cracked carriage!

- The point, sir, is not the case here,

This hoop from the heart slept,

What melancholy squeezed,

When you lived in the well

Yes, the frogs were friends.

Here again and again something cracked along the way, the prince thought that the carriage had cracked, but those were hoops that had flown from the heart of faithful Heinrich because his owner had got rid of the evil spell and the pack was happy again.

Rudyard Kipling "A cat that walked by itself"

Listen, my dear boy, listen, listen, understand, because it happened, because it happened, because it was still in that distant time when the Tame Animals were Wild Animals.

The dog was wild, and the horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild - and they were all wild predicates and wildly roamed the Wet and Wild Forests.

But the wildest was the Wildcat - she wandered where she wanted and walked on her own.

The man, of course, was also wild, terribly wild, terribly wild. And he would never have become tame if it were not for the Woman. It was she who announced to him — at the first meeting — that she did not like his wild life. She vividly found him to live in a cozy, dry Cave, because it was much better to sleep in the Cave than to wallow in the open air on a pile of damp leaves. She sprinkled clean sand on the floor and made an excellent bonfire in the depths of the Cave.

Then she hung the skin of the Wild Horse tail down at the entrance to the Cave and told the Man:

- Wipe your feet, dear, before you enter: now we have a household.

That evening, my dear boy, they dined on the Wild Sheep, roasted on hot stones, seasoned with wild garlic and wild pepper. Then they ate wild duck stuffed with wild rice, wild apples and wild carnation; then wild bulls cartilage; then wild cherries and wild pomegranates. Then the Man, very happy, went and fell asleep by the fire, and the Woman sat down to conjure: she loosened her hair, took the shoulder mutton bone, very flat and very smooth, and began to look intently at the divorces passing through the bone. Then she threw logs into the fire and pulled the song. It was the world's first witchcraft, the first magic song.

And all the Wild Beasts gathered in the Wet and Wild Forest; huddled together in one herd and, looking at the light of fire, did not know what it was.

But the Wild Horse stamped his wild foot and said wildly:

- Oh my friends! O my Foes! My heart feels: not for good they lit up a man and a woman in a big cave a big fire. No, this is not good!

Wild Dog raised his wild nose, sniffed the smell of roast lamb, and said wildly:

- I'll go see, and then tell. It seems to me that there is not so bad. Cat, come with me!

“Well, no,” answered the Cat. - I, Cat, go where I like and walk by itself.

“Well, then I’m not a friend to you,” said Wild Dog and ran to the Cave with all his might. But he didn’t even walk ten steps, and the Cat already thought: “I, Cat, go where I like and walk on my own. Why don't I go there and see how and what? After all, I will go of my own will. ”

And she quietly ran after the Dog, stepping softly, pleasantly, and climbed into a place where she could hear absolutely everything.

When the Wild Dog approached the Cave, he raised his horse-skinned nose with a wild nose and began to revel in the wonderful smell of lamb roast, and the Woman conjuring a bone heard a rustle and said, laughing:

- Here, the first has come. You are a wild creature from the Wild Forest, what do you need here?

And the Wild Dog answered:

- Tell me, oh my Enemy, my Enemy's Wife, that it smells so tender among these Wild Forests?

And the woman bent down and lifted a bone from the floor, and threw it to the Wild Dog, and said:

- You, from the Wild Forest Wild Creature, taste, sip this bone.

The Wild Dog took this bone in his wild teeth, and it turned out to be the most delicious that he had gnawed before, and he addressed the Woman with these words:

“Listen, O my Enemy, the Wife of my Enemy, rather throw me another similar bone.

And the Woman answered him:

- You, from the Wild Forest Wild Creature, go help my Man to go for prey, watch this Cave at night, and I will give you as many bones as you need.

“Ah,” said the Cat, listening to their conversation, “this is a very intelligent Woman, although, of course, she is not smarter than me.

The Wild Dog got into the Cave, laid the head of the Woman on his knees and said:

- Oh my friend, my friend's wife, okay. I am ready to help your Man to hunt, I will watch your Cave at night.

“Ah,” said the Cat, listening to their conversation, “what a fool this Dog is!”

And she walked away, wading through the Wild Forest and wildly wagging her wild tail. But about everything she saw, did not say a word to anyone.

Waking up, the man asked:

“What is Wild Dog doing here?”

And the woman answered:

- His name is no longer the Wild Dog, but the First Friend, and he will be our friend forever and ever. As you go hunting, take it with you.

The next evening, the Woman cut a large bundle of grass in the flood plains and laid it out to dry by the fire, and when the smell of the freshly mown hay came from the grass, she sat at the entrance to the Cave, made a bridle of horse skin and stared at the shoulder sheep Bone - on a wide, large scapula, - again began to conjure and sang a magic song.

It was Second Witchcraft and Second Magic Song.

And again all the Wild Beasts gathered in the Wild Forest and, looking from a distance into the fire, interpreted that such a thing could happen to the Wild Dog. And Wild Horse stomped wildly on his wild foot and said:

- I'll go see, and then tell you why the Wild Dog did not return. Cat, do you want to go together?

“No,” answered the Cat, “I, the Cat, wander wherever I want and walk on my own.” Go alone.

But in fact, she quietly sneaked behind the Wild Horse, stepping softly, very gently, and climbed into such a place where it was heard absolutely everything.

The Woman's horse heard the tramp of the horses, heard the Wild Horse sneaking towards her, stepping on its long mane, laughed and said:

- And here comes the second one! You, from the Wild Forest are the Wild Creature, what do you need here?

Wild Horse replied:

- You, my Enemy, the Wife of my Enemy, answer me rather, where is the Wild Dog?

The woman laughed, picked up a lamb shoulder from the floor, looked at her and said:

- You, from the Wild Forest Wild Creature, you didn’t come here for the Dog, but for the hay, for this delicious grass.

Wild Horse, kicking and stepping on his long mane, said:

- It's true. Give me hay!

The woman answered:

“You, from the Wild Forest are the Wild Creature, bow your wild head and carry what I will wear on you, wear it without removing it forever and ever, and you will eat this marvelous grass three times a day.

“Ah,” said the Cat, listening to their conversation, “this Woman is very clever, but certainly not smarter than me.”

And Wild Horse bent his wild head, and the Woman threw on her newly woven bridle, and he breathed his wild breath right on the Woman's legs and said:

O my Lady, O my Lord's Wife, for this wonderful grass I will be your eternal slave!

“Ah,” said the Cat, listening to their conversation, “what a fool he is, this Horse!”

And again she threw herself into the thicket of the Wild Forest, wildly wagging her wild tail. But I did not say a word to anyone I heard.

When the Dog and the Man returned from the hunt, the Man said:

“What is Wild Horse doing here?”

And the woman answered:

- Not Wild Horse is already his name, but the First Servant, as he will carry us from place to place forever and ever. When you are ready to hunt, sit on top of him.

The next day, approached the Cow Cave. She, too, was wild and had to lift her wild head high so as not to catch wild horns on wild trees. The cat sneaked after her and hid in the same way as before; and everything happened just as before; and the Cat said the same thing before; and when the Wild Cow in exchange for the beautiful grass promised its milk to the Woman, the Cat rushed into the Wild Forest and wildly wagged a wild tail, again, just as before.

And about everything that I heard, I did not say a word to anyone.

And when the Dog, the Man and the Horse returned from the hunt and the Man asked, just like before, what the Wild Cow is doing here, the Woman answered exactly the same as before:

- Now not the Wild Cow is her name, but the Warehouse Good Food. She will give us white fresh milk for ever and ever, and I am ready to go after her while you, and our First Friend, and our First Servant will be in the woods while hunting.

In vain, the Cat waited all day for someone from the Wild Beasts to come to the Cave: no one else came from the Wet Wild Forest. So the Cat, unwittingly, had to wander alone, by itself. And then she saw the Woman who sat and milked the Cow. And she saw the light in the Cave and smelled the smell of white fresh milk.

And she said to the Woman:

- You, my Enemy, Wife of my Enemy! Tell me: have you seen the Cows?

The woman laughed and said:

- You, from the Wild Forest Wild Creature, go to yourself in the Forest to pick you up, have a good time! I no longer need servants or friends. I already braided my braid and hid the magic bone.

And the Wildcat answered:

- I am not a friend or servant. I, Cat, go where I like and walk on my own, and so I decided to come to you in the Cave.

And the Woman asked her:

“Why didn't you come with First Friend the first night?”

The cat got angry and said:

- It must be that the Wild Dog has already told you about my fables!

The woman laughed and said:

- You, the Cat, walk by itself and go where you like. You yourself say that you are not a servant and not a friend. Get out of here by yourself wherever you want!

The cat pretended to be offended and said:

“Is it sometimes impossible for me to come to you in the Cave and warm myself by a hot fire?” And don't you ever let me eat white fresh milk? You are so clever, you are so beautiful - no, even though I am a Cat, and you will not be cruel to me.

The woman said:

- I know that I am clever, but that I am beautiful - I did not know. Let's make a deal. If I ever praise you, you can enter the Cave.

And if you praise me twice? - asked Cat.

“Well, that won't happen,” the Woman said. “But if that happens, come in and sit by the fire.”

—- And what if you praise me three times? - asked Cat.

“Well, that won't happen,” the Woman said. - But if this happens, come and get milk three times a day until the end of the century!

The cat arched her back and said:

- You, the Curtain at the entrance to the Cave, and you, the Fire in the Shubin Cavern, and you, the Dairy Krynki, standing by the Fire, I take you to witnesses: remember what my Enemy said, the wife of my Enemy!

And, turning, went into the Wild Forest, wildly wagging wild tail.

When that evening the Dog, the Man and the Horse returned from the hunt to the Cave, the Woman did not say a word to them about her contract with the Cat, since she was afraid that they would not like it.

The cat went far away and hid in the Wild Forest for so long that the Woman forgot and thought about her. Only Bat, hanging upside down at the entrance to the Cave, knew where the Cat was hiding, and every evening flew to that place and informed the Cat all the news.

One evening she arrives at the Cat and says:

- And in the Cave - Mladenchik! He is quite, very small. So pink, fat and tiny. And he really likes the woman.

“Great,” said the Cat. - And what does Mladenchik like?

“Soft and smooth,” Bat replied. How to go to sleep, he takes something warm in the little hands and falls asleep. Then he likes to play with him. That's all he likes.

“Great,” said the Cat. - If so, then my hour has come.

The next evening, Cat made her way to the Cave in the Wild Forest and stayed nearby until the morning. In the morning the Dog, the Man and the Horse went hunting, and the Woman took up cooking. The child cried and tore her from work. She took him out of the Cave and gave him pebbles to play, but he did not let up.

Then the Cat stretched out a plump paw, and stroked the Child on the cheek, and purred, and went to rub on his knee, and his chin tickled his tail. The child laughed, and the Woman, hearing his laugh, smiled.

Then exclaimed Bat - a small Bat, hanging upside down at the entrance to the Cave:

- O my Mistress, the Wife of my Master, the Mother of the Master's Son! The Wild Creature came from the Wild Forest and how gloriously she plays with your Child!

“Thanks to the Wild Creature,” the Woman said, straightening her back. “I have so much work, and she has done me a great service.”

And so, dear boy, she did not have time to utter it, as at that very minute and at that very moment - boo, boo! - the horse's skin falls, its tail hanging down from the entrance to the Cave (she remembered that the Woman had a contract with the Cat), and the Woman did not have time to pick it up, and the Cat was already sitting in the Cave, sat down more comfortably and sat.

- You, my Enemy, you, the Wife of the Enemy of mine, you, the Mother of my Enemy, - said the Cat, - look: I'm here. You praised me - and here I will sit in the Cave forever and ever. But still remember: I, the Cat, go where I like and walk on my own.

The woman became very angry, but bit her tongue and sat down behind the spinning wheel.

But the Child began to cry again, because the Cat left him; and the Woman could not relieve him: he fought, kicked and turned blue from screaming.

“You, my Enemy, you, the Enemy's Wife, you, my Enemy's Mother,” said the Cat, “listen to what I tell you: take a piece of thread from the one you spin, tie your spindle to it, and I I will conjure to you that the Child will laugh this minute and will laugh as loudly as she cries Now.

“Okay,” said the Woman. - I already completely lost my head. But remember: I will not thank you.

She tied a clay spindle to a string and pulled him across the floor, and the Cat ran after him, and grabbed him, and tumbled, and threw him on her back, and caught him with her hind legs, and deliberately let him go, and then rushed after her, - and so the Child laughed even louder than he cried; he crawled behind the Cat throughout the Cave and frolicked until he was tired. Then he fell asleep with the Cat, without letting her go.

- And now, - said the Cat, - I will sing a song for him, lull him for an hour.

And as she went to purr now louder, now quieter, now quieter, now louder, - The child fell into a deep sleep. The woman looked at them and said with a smile:

- It was a good job! Whatever it is, yet you are clever, Cat.

She didn’t have time to finish - pffff! - the smoke from the Fire clouds overflowed in the Cave: it was he who remembered that the Woman and the Cat had a contract. And when the smoke cleared, it looked like the Cat was sitting by the fire, she sat down more comfortably and sat.

- You, my Enemy, you, the Wife of the Enemy of mine, you, the Mother of my Enemy, - said the Cat, - look: I'm here. You again praised me, and here I am, at the warm hearth, and from here I will not leave for ever and ever. But still remember: I, the Cat, go where I like and walk on my own.

The woman became very angry, let her hair loose, threw firewood into the fire, took out a sheep's bone and went on to conjure again, so that somehow, for the third time, not to praise this Cat.

But, dear boy, she conjured without sound, without a song - and now in the Cave it became so quiet that some Mouse-Mouse jumped out of the corner and quietly ran on the floor.

“You, my Enemy, you, the Wife of my Enemy, you, Mother of my Enemy,” said the Cat, “did you provoke the Mouse with your witchcraft?”

- Ah ah ah! Not! - the Woman screamed, dropped the bone, jumped on the stool standing by the fire, and quickly picked up her hair so that the Mouse would not run up on them.

“Well, if you haven't cast a spell on her,” said the Cat, “it won't be bad for me to eat her.”

- Of course of course! - The woman said, braiding her braid. - Eat it quickly, and I will be grateful to you forever.

In one jump Cat caught the Mouse, and the Woman exclaimed heartily:

- Thank you a thousand times! The First Friend Himself catches Mice not as fast as you. You must be very clever.

Do not have time to finish, how - bang! - at the very same moment and at the same second Krynka with milk, standing at the hearth, cracked in half, - she cracked in half, because she remembered what agreement the Woman had with the Cat. And the Woman did not have time to get off the bench, look, and the Cat is already lapping from one shard of this Krynka white fresh milk.

You, my Enemy, you, the Wife of my Enemy, you, Mother of my Enemy, - said the Cat, - look: I am here. For the third time you praised me: give me more white milk, three times a day, for ever and ever. But still remember: I, the Cat, go where I like and walk on my own.

And the Woman laughed, and putting down a bowl of white fresh milk, said:

- O Cat! You are rational, as a person, but remember: our contract was concluded when neither Dog nor Men was at home; I do not know what they will say, as they return home.

“What do I care?” - said the Cat. - I would just have a place in the Cave and three times a day more white fresh milk, and I will be very pleased. No Dogs, no Men touch me.

The same evening, when the Dog and the Man returned from the hunt to the Cave, the Woman told them everything as it is about her contract with the Cat, and the Cat sat by the fire and smiled very pleasantly.

And the man said:

- All this is good, but it would not be bad for her to make a contract with me. Through me she will make him with all the Men who will be after me.

He took a pair of boots, took a flintlock ax (total three items), brought log and a small ax from the yard (total five), put it all in a row and said:

- Come and we will make a contract. You live in the Cave forever and ever, but if you forget to catch the Mice, look at these objects: there are five of them, and I have the right to throw any of them at you, and all Men will follow me as well.

The woman heard this and said to herself:

- Yes, the Cat is smart, and the Man is smarter.

The cat counted all the things - they were quite heavy - and said:

- Okay! I will catch Mice forever and ever, but still I, Cat, go where I like and walk on my own.

“Walk, walk,” the Man said, “but not where I am.” If you meet my eyes, I will immediately throw at you either with a boot or with a log, and so will all the Men who will be after me.

Then the Dog spoke and said:

- Wait a minute. Now it’s my turn to conclude a contract, through me the contract will be concluded with all other Dogs who will live after me. - He bared his teeth and showed them to the Cat. “If, while I’m in the Cave, you’ll be unkind with the Child,” he continued, “I’ll chase you until I catch you, and when I catch you, I will bite you.” And so will all the Dogs, who will live after me forever and ever.

The woman heard it and said to herself:

- Yes, this Cat is smart, but not smarter than Dogs.

The cat counted dog teeth, and they seemed to her very sharp. She said:

- Well, while I'm in the Cave, I will be affectionate with the Child, unless the Child becomes too painful to carry me by the tail. But do not forget: I, Cat, go where I like and walk by itself.

“Walk, walk,” said the Dog, “but not where I am.” But not that, just to meet you, I immediately bark, lay upon you and drive you up to the tree. And so will all the dogs that will live after me.

And immediately, without losing a minute, the Man threw the Cat at two boots and a flint hatchet, and the Cat rushed out of the Cave, and the Dog ran after her and drove her up the tree - and from that Day, my boy, and today three Men out of five, - if they are real Men, - are thrown various objects at the Cat, no matter where they catch their eye, and all Dogs, - if they are real Dogs, - every one of them, drive her up to the tree. But the Cat is true to its contract. While she is in the house, she catches mice and affectionately with children, unless the children drag her by the tail too painfully. But a little will catch a minute, a little night will come and the moon will rise, but now she says: “I, Cat, go where I want and walk by myself”, and runs into the thicket of the Wild Forest, or climbs on the wet Wild Trees, or climbs on the wet Wild Roofs and wildly waving their wild tail.

Vladimir Odoyevsky "Moroz Ivanovich"

We don’t get anything without effort, -

No wonder the old proverb is.

Two girls lived in the same house: the Needlewoman and the Lenivice, and with them the nanny. The needlewoman was a smart girl, got up early, dressed herself without a nurse, and got out of bed, got down to business: she heated the stove, kneaded bread, huddled the hut, fed the rooster, and then went to the well for water. Meanwhile, Lenivice lay in bed; It has long been called by the end of the afternoon, but she is still stretching herself: she rolls over from side to side; Can it really be boring to lie, so wake up: "Nanny, put on my stockings, nanny, tie up shoes"; and then he will say: “Nanny, is there any buns?” He gets up, jumps, and sits down to the window of the flies to count how much he flew in and how many flew away. As Lenivits will count everyone, he doesn’t know what to embark on and what to do; she would be in bed - yes, she did not want to sleep; she would eat - yes, I do not want to eat; she would have to count to the window of the flies - and even that she was tired; sits miserable and cries and complains of all that she is bored, as if others are to blame.

In the meantime, the Needlewoman turns back, strains the water, pours into the jars; yes even some kind of fun: if the water is unclean, so roll a sheet of paper, put coals into it and fill large sand, put that paper in a jug and pour water into it, but know water passes through the sand and through coal and a capel in a clean jug like crystal; and then the Needlewoman will start to knit stockings or chop handkerchiefs, and not even sew shirts and tailoring and even a hand-made song will tighten; and she was never bored, because she didn’t have time to be bored: after that, then after another matter, here, look, and evening, - the day passed.

Once with the Needlewoman misfortune happened: she went to the well for water, lowered the bucket on the rope, and the rope broke off, the bucket fell into the well. How to be here? The poor Needlewoman burst into tears and went to the nanny to talk about her misfortune and misfortune, and Praskovya’s nanny was so strict and angry, says:

- Itself did trouble itself and correct. The bucket itself drowned itself and take it.

There was nothing to do; the poor Needlewoman went again to the well, grabbed the rope and descended to the very bottom.

Only here a miracle happened to her. She had barely gone down — she was looking: in front of her, the stove, and in the stove there was a pie, so rosy, crispy; sits, glances and says:

- I’m completely ready, reddened, fried with sugar and raisins; whoever takes me out of the stove, he will go with me.

The needlewoman, without delaying at all, grabbed a scapula, took out a pie and put it in his bosom.

- We, apples, bulk, ripe, feed on the root of the tree, washed with cold water; whoever shatters us from the tree will take us for himself.

The needlewoman went up to the tree, shook him by the knot, and the golden apples just poured into her apron.

- BUT! - he said - great, Needlewoman; thank you for bringing me the pie: a long time ago I did not eat anything hot.

Then he planted the Needlewoman beside him, and together they had breakfast with a pie, and ate gold apples.

“I know why you came,” said Moroz Ivanovich, “you put the bucket into my student; I will give you a bucket, only you will serve me for three days; you will be smart, you are better; you will be lazy, you are worse. And now, ”added Moroz Ivanovich,“ to me, the old man, it’s time to rest; come and make me a bed, so look for a good feather bed.

The needlewoman obeyed ... They went to the house. The house of Moroz Ivanovich was made of ice: both the doors, and the windows, and the floor were icy, and the walls were removed by snow stars; the sun shone on them, and everything in the house shone like diamonds. On the bed by Moroz Ivanovich, instead of a feather bed, snow was fluffy; it's cold, and there was nothing to do. The needlewoman began to whip up the snow so that the old man could sleep more softly, and meanwhile her poor hands were stiff and the fingers turned white, like poor people, that in winter they rinse underwear in the hole; and it is cold, and the wind is in the face, and the laundry is frozen, the stake is worth it, but there is nothing to be done - poor people work.

“Nothing,” said Moroz Ivanovich, “just rub your fingers with snow, and they will go away, you will not be happy.” I'm a good old man; look at my wonders.

Then he raised his snow-covered feather bed with a blanket, and the Needlewoman saw green grass bursting under the feather-bed. Needlewoman felt sorry for poor weed.

“You say,” she said, “that you are a good old man, and why are you keeping green grass under a snowy featherbed, are you not releasing God?”

- I don’t release it because it’s not time yet; the grass has not yet entered into force. A good little peasant sowed her in the fall, she would ascend, and if it were stretched out, then the winter would have captured it and by the summer the grass would not have ripened. Here I am, ”continued Moroz Ivanovich,“ and covered the young green with my snow feather bed, and he also laid it on it so that the snow would not be blown away by the wind, but spring would come, the snow feather bed would melt, the grass would kick in, and there, look, look out and grain , and the peasant will collect the grain and bring it to the mill; the miller grains the grain, and there will be flour, and from flour you, Needlewoman, will bake bread.

“Well, tell me, Moroz Ivanovich,” said the Needlewoman, “why are you sitting in a well, then?”

“I then sit in the well that spring is coming,” said Moroz Ivanovich. - I feel hot; and you know that in the summer in the well it is cold, because of that the water in the well is cold, even in the midst of the hottest summer.

“Why did you, Moroz Ivanovich,” the Needlewoman asked, “in the winter you walk along the streets and knock on the windows?”

“And then I knock on the windows,” answered Moroz Ivanovich, “so as not to forget to heat the furnaces and close the pipes in time; but not that, because I know there are such sluts that they will heat the stove, and they will not close the pipe or close it and close it, but not at the time when not all the embers have burned out, but because of the coal in the upper room, people have a headache, green in the eyes; you can even die from the fumes. And then I also knock on the window so that people would not forget that they are sitting in a warm room or putting on a warm fur coat, and that there are poor women in the world who are cold in winter and who don’t have fur coats, and there’s nothing to buy firewood; then I knock on the window so that people do not forget to help poor women.

Here the good Moroz Ivanovich patted the Needlewoman on the head and went to rest on his snow bed.

The needlewoman, meanwhile, tidied up everything in the house, went to the kitchen, made the food, repaired the old man's dress, and scattered the linen.

The old man woke up; I was very pleased with everyone and thanked the Needlewoman. Then they sat down to lunch; the table was beautiful, and the ice cream which the old man made himself was especially good.

So the Needlewoman lived with Moroz Ivanovich for three whole days.

On the third day, Moroz Ivanovich said to the Needlewoman:

- Thank you, you are a clever girl; well you old man, he comforted me, but I will not stay in your debt. You know: people get money for needlework, so here's your bucket, and I poured a whole handful of silver patches into a bucket; besides, here to you, as a souvenir, a diamond — to pin a kerchief.

The needlewoman thanked, pinned a diamond, took the bucket, went back to the well, grabbed the rope and came to the light of God.

She had just begun to approach the house like a rooster, whom she always fed, saw her, was delighted, flew up to the fence and shouted:

Kukureku, cuckoos!

At the Needlewoman in a bucket of coppers!

When the Needlewoman came home and told everything that was with her, the nurse was very surprised, and then she added:

- You see, Leninitsa, what people get for needlework. Go to the old man and serve him, work: tidy up his room, cook in the kitchen, dress the clothes and darn, and you will earn a handful of pennies, but it will be by the way: we have little money for the holiday.

Lenivice didn’t like to go to the old man to work. But she wanted to get the pennies, and so did the diamond pin.

Here, following the example of the Needlewoman, Leniwitz went to the well, grabbed the rope, and boo straight to the bottom.

Looks: and in front of her stove, and in the stove sits a pie, so rosy, crisp; sits, glances and says:

- I’m completely ready, reddened, fried with sugar and raisins; whoever takes me will go with me!

And Lenizvitsa to him in reply:

- Yes, how not so! I tire myself, lift the scapula and reach into the stove; you want, he'll jump out.

- We, apples, bulk, ripe; feed on the root of the tree, wash ourselves with the icy dew; whoever shatters us from the tree will take us for himself.

- Yes, no matter how wrong! - answered Lenivica. - I have to bore myself, raise the handles, pull out the branches, I’ll have time to type how they get themselves!

And Lenivice passed by them. Here she came to Moroz Ivanovich. The old man was still sitting on an icy bench, and bit snowballs.

“What do you want, girl?” - he asked.

“I came to you,” answered Leniwitz, “to serve for the job.”

“You said it fine, girl,” answered the old man, “for the work of the money follows; just see what else your work will be. Go and beat my feather bed, and then make the dish, so make my dress, and lift the laundry.

I went Lenivice, and my dear thinks:

“I will tire myself with my fingers and shiver! Perhaps the old man will not notice and fall asleep on an unbroken feather bed. ”

The old man really did not notice or pretended that he did not notice, lay down in bed and fell asleep, and Lenizvita went to the kitchen.

She came to the kitchen, and she doesn’t know what to do. She loved to eat, but she did not even think about how the food was prepared; and she was too lazy to look.

Here she looked around: greens, meat, fish, vinegar, mustard, and kvass lay in front of her, all in order. So she thought, she thought, cleaned up the greens somehow, cut the meat and fish, and not to give herself any great work, then everything was washed and unwashed, and put it in the pan: greens, meat, and fish, and mustard, and vinegar, and even poured kvass, while she herself thinks: “Why bother yourself, do you have to cook every single thing? After all, everything will be in the stomach together. ”

Here the old man woke up asking for lunch. Lazywicz dragged him a saucepan, as it is, even the tablecloths did not suspend. Moroz Ivanovich tried, frowned, and the sand crunched on his teeth.

“You cook well,” he remarked, smiling. - Let's see what your other job will be.

Laziness tasted, and immediately spat out, Indo vomited her; and the old man groaned, groaned, and began to cook the food himself and made dinner for the glory, so Lenizvitch licked his fingers, eating someone else's cooking.

After dinner, the old man again lay down to rest, but he recalled Lenivice that his dress was not repaired and the underwear was not worn.

Laznica got hopeless, but there was nothing to do: she began to take off her dress and underwear; Yes, and here is the trouble: Leninitsa sewed a dress and lingerie, but she didn’t ask about how to sew it; she took a needle, but inadvertently injected; so threw her.

And the old man again, as if he did not notice anything, he called Leninitza over to eat, and he even put her to bed.

And Lenivice is what she likes; thinks to himself:

“And so it will pass. The sister was free to accept the work: the good old man, he would give me a penny penny for nothing. ”

On the third day Lenivitsa comes and asks Moroz Ivanovich to let her go home and reward her for her work.

- Yes, what was your job? - asked the old man. “If the truth has gone, then you must pay me, because you did not work for me, but I served you.”

- Yes, of course! - answered Lenivica. “I’ve lived with you for three days.”

- You know, darling, - the old man answered, - what can I tell you: to live and serve the difference, and the work is the work of ros. Note this: forward is useful. But, by the way, if your conscience doesn’t bother you, I will reward you: and what your work is, that’s your reward.

With these words, Moroz Ivanovich gave Lenivice a very big silver ingot, and in his other hand a very big diamond. Lenivice was so glad that she grabbed both and, without even thanking the old man, ran home.

Came home and brags:

“Here,” he says, “that I earned: not a sister of a couple, not a handful of pennies and not a small diamond, but a whole silver bar, you see how heavy, and a diamond almost with a fist ... It can be for the holiday update buy ...

Before she could finish speaking, the silver bar melted and poured onto the floor; he was nothing more than mercury, which froze from the bitter cold; At the same time, the diamond began to thaw, and the rooster jumped up to the fence and shouted loudly:

Kukureku, kukrykulka!

Lenikitsy has an icicle in her hands!

And you, dear children, think, guess: what is true here, what is not true; what is said indeed, that by the side; what a joke for the sake of admonition, and what a hint. Yes, and then see that not for any work and good reward happens; and reward happens inadvertently, because work and good are good in themselves and are suitable for any business; so god arranged. Just don’t leave someone else’s good and work without a reward, but for the time being your reward is learning and obedience.

Hans Christian Andersen "Flint"

A soldier was walking along the road: one-two! one two! Satchel behind, saber on its side. He went home from the war. On the way he met an old witch, ugly, disgusting: her lower lip hung to her very chest.

- Hello, servant! - she growled. - Oh, what a glorious saber you have! And what a great knapsack! Here is a brave soldier! Well, now I’ll give you the money, as much as you want.

- Thank you, old witch! Said the soldier.

“See that old tree over there?” Said the witch, pointing at a tree that stood nearby. - Inside it is empty. Climb up - you will see a hollow, go down into it to the very bottom. Before you come down, I will tie you with a rope around my belt, and when you shout to me, I will pull you out.

- But why should I go there? The soldier asked.

- For the money! - answered the witch. - You need to know that when you get to the bottom, you will see a large underground passage; it burns more than three hundred lamps, so there is quite light. Then you will see three doors; you can open them, the keys stick out outside. Enter the first room; in the middle of the room you will see a large chest, and there is a dog on it; her eyes are as big as a teacup. But do not be afraid! I'll give you my blue checkered apron, and you spread it on the floor, come quickly and grab the dog; Put her on the apron, open the chest and take money out of it. In this chest are only coppers; if you want silver, go to another room; There is a dog sitting there with eyes like a mill wheel, but don't be scared, put it on your apron and take the money. And if you want gold, you will get him as much as you can carry, you just have to go to the third room. The dog that sits there on a wooden chest has eyes with a round tower. This dog is very angry, you can believe me! But you and her not to be afraid. Plant it on my apron, and she will not touch you, and you take yourself the gold you want!

- It would be not bad! Said the soldier. “But what will you take with me for this, old witch?” After all, you don’t do anything for me.

“I won't take a penny,” the witch replied. “Just bring me the old flint,” my grandmother forgot when he went down there last time.

- Well, tie me with a rope! - ordered the soldiers.

- Done! Said the witch. - And here is my blue checkered apron!

The soldier climbed into a tree, climbed into the hollow, and, as the witch said, found himself in a large passage, where hundreds of lamps were burning.

Here he opened the first door. Oh! There was a dog with eyes like tea cups, and gawked at the soldier.

- Well done! Said the soldier, and, putting the dog on the witch's apron, scooped up a pocket of copper money, then he closed the chest, put the dog on him, and went into another room. Truth told the witch! There sat a dog with eyes like mill wheels.

- Well, there is nothing to stare at me, otherwise they will get sick! Said the soldier and set the dog on a witch's apron.

Seeing a huge pile of silver in the chest, he threw away all the coppers and stuffed both his pockets and a satchel with silver. Then he moved to the third room. Well, monster! The dog that was sitting there had eyes no less than the Round Tower and were spinning like wheels.

- Good evening! - said the soldier and took under the visor.

He had never seen such a dog.

However, he did not look at it for long, but he took it and put it on an apron, then opened the chest. Oh god How much gold was there! He could have bought all of Copenhagen on him, all the sugar pigs from the sweet merchants, all the tin soldiers, all the wooden horses and all the knights in the world! There was a lot of money. The soldier threw away the silver money and so filled his pockets, the satchel, hat and boots with gold that he could barely move. Well, finally he was at the money! He again put the dog on the chest, then slammed the door, lifted his head and shouted:

- Bring me, old witch!

- Flint? The witch asked.

- Oh damn, I almost forgot! - the soldier answered, went and took a fire.

The witch pulled him upstairs, and he found himself again on the road, only now his pockets, and his boots, and his satchel, and his cap were filled with gold.

- Why do you need this flint? The soldier asked.

- None of your business! - answered the witch. - Got money, and that's enough with you! Well, give me a flint!

- As if not so! Said the soldier. - Say the minute you need it, but I will not pull out the saber and cut off your head.

- I will not say! - rested the witch.

Well, the soldier took it and cut off her head. The witch fell down dead on the ground, and he tied all the money into her apron, put the knot on his back, put the flint in his pocket and went straight to the city.

This city was rich. The soldier stopped at the most expensive inn, occupied the best rooms and ordered all his favorite dishes - after all, he had now become rich!

The servant who was cleaning the visitors' shoes was surprised that such a rich gentleman had such bad boots, but the soldier had not yet managed to acquire new ones. However, the next day, he bought himself good boots and expensive clothes.

Now the soldier has become a real master, and he was told about all the sights of the city, about the king and his lovely daughter, the princess.

- How to see her? The soldier asked.

- It's impossible! - answered him. “She lives in a huge copper castle surrounded by high walls with towers.” No one, except the king himself, dares to enter the castle or leave there, because the king was predicted that his daughter would marry a very simple soldier, and the king could not like that.

"I wish I could look at her!" Thought the soldier.

Who would let him ?!

Now he has healed merrily: he went to theaters, went to ride to the royal garden, and gave a lot of money to the poor. And it was very good of him, because he knew from himself how difficult it was to sit without a penny in his pocket! Now he was rich, well dressed and made many friends; they all called him a glorious little, a true gentleman, and he liked it very much. But since he only spent all the money, and there was nowhere to take the new ones, in the end he only had two coins left! I had to move from good rooms to a tiny closet under the roof, clean my own boots and even patch them; now none of his friends visited him, - it was very high to rise to him!

Once, on a dark evening, a soldier was sitting in his closet; he did not even have money for a candle. And suddenly he remembered the tiny little candle, which he took along with the flint in the dungeon, where the witch led him. The soldier took a flint and a candle, but as soon as he hit the flint, carving the fire, the door swung open, and a dog appeared before him with eyes like tea cups, the same one he saw in the dungeon.

- Anything, sir? She barked.

- That's the story! Said the soldier. - Flame. It turns out, an interesting little thing: now I can get everything I want! Hey you, get me some money! - he ordered the dog, - and ... once - her trace was gone; two — she was there again, and in her teeth she was holding a large purse full of copper coins! Then the soldier realized what a miracle he had flint. Striking the flint once - is the dog that sat on the chest with the copper money; hit two - is the one that sat on silver; if you hit three, she resorts on gold.

The soldier again moved into good rooms and began to wear rich clothes, and all his friends immediately recognized him and firmly loved him again.

Once it occurred to him: “How silly it is that you cannot see the princess! Such a beauty, they say, but what's the use? The whole century is sitting in a copper castle, behind high walls with towers! Will I never be able to look at her with even one eye? Well, where's my flint? "- and he hit the flint once. At that very moment, a dog appeared to him with eyes like tea cups.

“Now, the truth is night,” said the soldier, “but I wanted to see the princess to death, even for a moment!”

The dog was right behind the door, and the soldier did not have time to come to his senses when she returned with the princess. The princess sat on the back of the dog and slept. She was a miracle as good - everyone would immediately see that this is a real princess; and the soldier could not resist and kissed her - he was a brave warrior, a real soldier.

Then the dog carried the princess back; and at her morning tea, the princess told the king and queen what she had today had a wonderful dream about the dog and the soldier: that she was riding a dog, and the soldier kissed her.

- That's the story! - exclaimed the queen. The next night, in the bedroom of the princess, an old woman maid of honor was ordered to investigate whether it was a dream or a reality.

And the soldier again wanted to see the pretty princess to death. And here at night the dog appeared again, grabbed the princess and rushed off with her at full speed towards the soldier; but the old woman-maid of honor put on waterproof boots and set off after her. Seeing that the dog had disappeared with the princess in one big house, the maid of honor thought: “Now I know where to find them!” - drew a large cross on the gate and went home to sleep. But the dog on the way back noticed this cross, now she took a piece of chalk and made crosses at all the gates in the city. It was cleverly invented: now the maid of honor could not find the right gate, since all the others also had white crosses.

Early in the morning the king and queen, the old lady-maid of honor, and all the officers went to find out where the princess had gone at night.

- That's where! - said the king, seeing the first gate with a cross.

- No, that's where, hubby! - objected queen, noticing a cross on the other gate.

“The cross is both here and here ...” the courtiers roared when they saw crosses on other gates. Then everyone realized that they did not get confused.

But the queen was a clever woman - she could not only drive around in carriages. So she took a big golden scissors, cut a piece of silk fabric into several pieces of fabric and sewed a tiny pretty little bag; She poured some buckwheat into that sack and tied it onto her daughter's back, and then cut a hole in it so that the grain fell onto the road the princess would take.

At night, the dog appeared again, put the princess on her back and ran to the soldier, and the soldier fell in love with the princess so much that he began to regret why he was not a prince - he wanted so much to marry her.

The dog did not even notice that all along the road, from the palace itself to the window of the soldier, where she had jumped up with the princess, behind her was pouring grain. Early in the morning the king and queen found out where their daughter had gone, and the soldier was put in prison. How dark and dreary it was! They put him in there and said: “They will hang you tomorrow morning!” It was not fun to hear that. But he had forgotten his house at the inn.

In the morning, the soldier went to the small window of his cell and began to look through the iron grate into the street: people were pouring in crowds out of the city to watch the soldiers hang; beat drums, passed the shelves. All were running; the boy-shoemaker in a leather apron and shoes also ran. He was hopping, and one shoe slipped from his foot and knocked right into the wall, near which the soldier stood, looking through the grille.

- Hey, where are you in a hurry? Said the soldier to the boy. - Without me, it will not do! But if you run away to where I lived before, behind my fire, you will get four coins. Only alive!

The boy was not averse to receiving four coins and went off with an arrow after a flint, gave it to the soldier, and ... but now we find out what happened next!

Outside the city was built a huge gallows, and around were soldiers and many hundreds of thousands of people. The king and queen sat on a luxurious throne directly against the judges and the royal council.

The soldier was already standing on the stairs, and they were going to throw a rope around his neck, but he said that before they executed the criminal, they always fulfill some of his innocent desire. And he would love to smoke a pipe, because this will be his last pipe in this world!

The king did not dare to refuse such a request, and the soldier pulled out his flint. He hit the flint one, two, three - and before him appeared all three dogs: a dog with eyes like tea cups, a dog with eyes, like mill wheels, and a dog with eyes like a Round Tower.

- Come on, help me get rid of the loop! - the soldier ordered them.

And the dogs rushed to the judges and to the entire royal council: they grabbed him by the legs, that by the nose, and threw up. All fell and shattered!

- Do not! The king shouted, but the biggest dog grabbed him along with the queen and threw them after the others. Then the soldiers were frightened, and all the people shouted:

- Serving, be our king and marry a beautiful princess!

And here the soldier was put in the royal carriage. The carriage rolled, and all three dogs danced in front of her and shouted "Hurray!" The boys whistled, their fingers thrust into their mouths, the soldiers saluted. The princess came out of her copper castle and became the queen, with which she was very pleased. The wedding feast lasted a whole week; the dogs also sat at the table and stared.

Yevgeny Schwartz "The Tale of Lost Time"

There was a boy named Petya Zubov. He studied in the third grade of the fourteenth school and all the time lagged behind, both in Russian written, and in arithmetic, and even in singing.

- I will make it! - He said at the end of the first quarter. - In the second you all catch up.

And the second came - he was hoping for a third. So he was late, he was behind, he was behind, and he was late and did not hurt. All "have time" yes "have time."

And once Petya Zubov came to school, as always, with a delay. Ran into the locker room. Slapped the portfolio on the fence and shouted:

- Aunt Natasha! Take my little coat!

And aunt Natasha asks from somewhere because of the hangers:

- Who is calling me?

- It's me. Petya Zubov, - the boy answers.

“I myself am surprised,” Petya answers ... “Suddenly, hoarse, out of the blue.

Aunt Natasha came out from behind the hangers, looked at Petya and screamed:

Petya Zubov was also scared and asked:

- Aunt Natasha, what's wrong with you?

- Like what? - answers aunt Natasha. - You said that you are Petya Zubov, and in fact you must be his grandfather.

- What kind of grandfather am I? - asks the boy. - I am Petya, third grade student.

- Yes, you look in the mirror! - says aunt Natasha.

The boy looked in the mirror and almost fell. Petya Zubov saw that he had become a tall, thin, pale old man. Wrinkles covered the face with a mesh.

Petya looked at himself, looked, and his gray beard shook.

He shouted in a bass:

Mama! - and ran out of school. He runs and thinks:

"Well, if mom doesn't recognize me, then everything is lost."

Petya ran home and rang three times. Mom opened the door for him.

She looks at Petya and is silent. And Peter is silent too. It is worth, putting his gray beard, and almost crying.

- Who do you, grandfather? Mom finally asked.

- You will not recognise me? - whispered Petya.

“Sorry, no,” Mom replied.

Poor Petya turned away and went wherever they looked.

He goes and thinks:

“What a lonely, miserable old man I am. No mother, no children, no grandchildren, no friends ... And most importantly, he did not have time to learn anything. The real old ones are those or doctors, or masters, or academics, or teachers. And who needs me when I'm only a third-grade student? I will not even get a pension, because I have only worked for three years. Yes, and how he worked - for twos and threes. What will happen to me? Poor old man! Unhappy I'm a boy! What will all this end? ”

Hack Peter thought and walked, walked and thought, and he did not notice how he went out of the city and into the forest. And he walked through the forest until it got dark.

“It would be nice to have a rest,” thought Petya, and suddenly he saw that there was a house whitening behind the Christmas trees. Peter entered the house - there are no owners. It is worth winning the room table. Above it hangs a kerosene lamp. There are four stools around the table. The walk is ticking on the wall. And in the corner of the mountain piled hay.

Peter laid down in the hay, dug into it deeper, warmed up, quietly cried, lost his beard in tears and fell asleep.

Petya wakes up - the room is bright, the kerosene lamp is lit under the glass. And around the table are guys - two boys and two girls. Large, copper-clad accounts lie in front of them. The guys count and mumble.

- Two years, and even five, and even seven, and even three ... This is for you, Sergey Vladimirovich, and these are yours, Olga Kapitonovna, and these are for you, Marfa Vasilievna, and these are yours, Panteley Zakharovich.

What are these guys? Why are they so gloomy? Why do they groan and groan and sigh like real old men? Why call each other by name and patronymic? Why did they gather at night here, in a lonely forest hut?

Measurement Petya Zubov, not breathing, catches every word. And he was afraid of what he heard.

Not boys and girls, but evil wizards and evil sorceresses sat at the table! That’s how, it turns out, it’s made in the world: a person who is wasting his time in vain does not notice how old he is. And evil wizards have discovered this and let's catch guys who are wasting their time. And then the wizards caught Petya Zubov, and one more boy, and two more girls, and turned them into old men. Poor children have grown old and did not notice this themselves - after all, a person who wastes time does not notice how old he is. And the time lost by the guys was taken by the wizards themselves. And the wizards became small children, and the children became old old men.

How to be?

What to do?

Surely not to return the lost youth to the guys?

The wizards counted the time, they already wanted to hide the bills on the table, but Sergey Vladimirovich, the main player of them, did not allow it. He took the bills and went to the walkers. He twisted the arrows, pulled the weights, listened to how the pendulum was ticking, and again clicked on the scores. He believed, he believed, whispered, whispered, until he showed the midnight walk. Then Sergey Vladimirovich knuckles mixed up and checked again how much he got.

Then he called the wizards to him and spoke quietly:

- Lord wizards! You know, the guys we turned into old people today can still look younger.

- How? Exclaimed the wizards.

“I'll tell you now,” answered Sergey Vladimirovich.

He tiptoed out of the house, circled around him, came back, locked the door and turned the hay with a stick.

Petya Zubov froze like a mouse.

But the kerosene lamp was dim, and the evil wizard did not see Petit. He called the other wizards closer to him and spoke softly:

- Unfortunately, this is the case in the world: a person can be saved from any misfortune. If the guys we turned into old men, tomorrow will find each other, come at exactly twelve o'clock at night here and turn the arrow on seventy-seven laps back, then the children will become children again, and we will perish.

The wizards were silent.

Then Olga Kapitonovna said:

“How do they know all this?”

And Panteley Zakharovich grumbled:

- They will not come here by twelve o'clock at night. At least for a minute, yes late.

And Marfa Vasilyevna mumbled:

- Yes, where should they go! Where are they? These lazy people up to seventy-seven and cannot be counted, they will immediately fail.

“That's the way it is,” answered Sergey Vladimirovich. - But still, for now, keep your ears open. If the guys get to the walkers, the arrows are touched - then we don’t budge. Well, for now there is nothing to lose time - we go to work.

And the wizards, having hidden the scores on the table, ran like children, but at the same time groaned, groaned and sighed, like real old men.

Petya Zubov waited until the steps subsided in the forest. Got out of the house. And without losing time in vain, hiding behind trees and bushes, he ran and rushed off to the city to look for old schoolchildren.

The city has not woken up yet. It was dark in the windows, empty on the streets, only the police stood on their posts. But dawn broke. The first trams rang out. And finally Petya Zubov saw an old woman walking slowly along the street with a large basket.

Petya Zubov ran up to her and asked:

- Tell me, please, grandmother, - you are not a schoolgirl?

- I'm sorry, what? - asked the old woman sternly.

- You are not a third grader? - whispered Peter timidly.

And the old woman will sound like her feet and how she will threaten Petya with a basket. Yele Petya feet carried away. He caught his breath a little - he went on. And the city is already quite awake. Trams are flying, people are rushing to work, trucks roar - rather, we should rather hand over cargo to shops, factories, and railways. Janitors clean the snow, sprinkle sand on the panel to prevent pedestrians from slipping, falling, not losing time in vain. How many times did Petya Zubov see all this and only now I understood why people are so afraid not to be in time, be late, fall behind.

Petya is looking around, looking for old people, but does not find a suitable one. Old men run through the streets, but it’s immediately obvious that they are real, not third-graders.

Here is an old man with a briefcase. Probably a teacher. Here's an old man with a bucket and a brush - this is a painter. Here the red fire truck rushes, and in the car the old man - the chief of fire protection of the city. This one, of course, never wasted time in my life.

Petya walks, wanders, and young old people, old children — no, no, no. Life around is in full swing. He alone, Petya, fell behind, was late, did not have time, is not fit for anything, is not needed by anyone.

Exactly at noon, Petya went into a small public garden and sat down on a bench to rest.

And suddenly he jumped up.

He saw: an old woman sits close on another bench and cries.

Petya wanted to run up to her, but he did not dare.

- I'll wait! He said to himself. - See what she will do next.

And the old woman stopped crying suddenly, sits, talks with her legs. Then she took out a newspaper from one pocket and a piece of sieve with raisins from another. The old woman opened a newspaper - Petya gasped for joy: “Pioneer truth”! - and the old woman began to read and eat. Raisin picks out, and he does not touch sitny.

The old woman looked at the ball from all sides, wiped it diligently with a handkerchief, got up, went slowly to the tree and let's play treshki.

Peter rushed to her through the snow, through the bushes. Runs and screams:

- Grandmother! Honestly, you are a schoolgirl!

The old woman jumped for joy, grabbed Petya by the hands and answers:

- Right, right! I am a third grade student Marusya Pospelova. And who are you?

Petya Maruse told who he is. They took hands, ran to look for other comrades. Looking for an hour, another, third. Finally we entered the second courtyard of a huge house. And they see: an old woman is jumping behind a woodshed. I drew classes on asphalt with chalk and jumps on one leg, chasing a pebble.

Peter and Marus rushed to her.

- Grandmother! Are you a schoolgirl?

“School girl,” the old woman replies. - Pupil of the third grade Nadya Sokolova. And who are you?

Peter and Marusia told her who they are. All three took the hands, ran to look for the last of his comrade.

But he fell through the earth. Wherever the old men went - both in the courtyards, in the gardens, in the children's theaters, in the children's cinema, and in the House of Entertaining Science - the boy disappeared, and that’s all.

And time passes. It was already getting dark. Already in the lower floors of the houses the lights came on. Ending day.

What to do? Is it all gone?

Suddenly Marusya shouted:

- Look! Look!

We looked at Petya and Nadya, and this is what they saw - the tram will fly, the ninth number. And on the "sausage" hanging old man. Cap famously pulled over his ear, beard fluttering in the wind. The old man goes and whistles. Comrades are looking for him, got off his feet, and he rolls himself all over the city and never blows!

The guys rushed for the tram after. Fortunately for them, a red fire was lit at the crossroads, the tram stopped.

The guys "sausage" grabbed the floor, pulled off the "sausage".

- Are you a schoolboy? - ask.

- And how? - he answers. - Pupil of the second class Zaitsev Vasya. What do you want?

The guys told him who they are.

In order not to waste time, they all four got on the tram and drove out of town to the forest.

Some schoolchildren rode in the same tram. They got up, give way to our old men.

- Please sit down, grandparents. - Old men were embarrassed, they blushed and refused.

And the students, as if on purpose, were polite, well-mannered, asking for old people, persuading:

- Yes, sit down! You have worked for your long life, tired. Sit down now, rest.

Here, fortunately, the tram approached the forest, our old men jumped off and ran into the thicket.

But then they waited for their new trouble. They lost in the woods.

Night came, dark-dark. Old men wander through the forest, fall, stumble, and find no roads.

- Oh, time, time! - says Peter. - - runs ° but runs. Yesterday I did not notice the way back to the house - I was afraid of losing time. And now I see that sometimes it is better to spend a little time, then save it.

The old men were completely exhausted. But, fortunately for them, the wind blew, the sky cleared from the clouds, and the full moon shone in the sky.

Petya Zubov climbed onto a birch tree and saw that he, the little house, in two steps whitened its walls, the windows shone among thick Christmas trees.

Petya went downstairs and whispered to his comrades:

- Hush! Not a word! Follow me!

Guys crawled through the snow to the house. Looked carefully out the window. The walk shows five minutes to twelve. Wizards lie in the hay, protect the stolen time.

- They are sleeping! - said Marusya.

- Hush! - whispered Petya.

The guys quietly opened the door and crawled to the walkers. At one minute to twelve they got up at the clock. Exactly at midnight, Peter extended his hand to the arrows and, one, two, three, twirled them back, from right to left.

The wizards jumped up with a cry, but they could not budge. Stand and grow. Here they turned into adults, gray hair gleaming in their temples, wrinkled cheeks.

“Lift me up,” cried Petya. - I'm doing small, I do not get to the shooter! Thirty one, thirty two, thirty three!

They picked up comrades Petya in his arms. On the fortieth turn of the shooters, the wizards became decrepit, hunched over old men. They were bending closer and closer to the ground, they were getting lower and lower. And on the seventy-seventh and last turn of the shooter, the evil wizards cried out and disappeared, as if they were not in the world.

They looked at each other and laughed with joy. They became children again. They took the battle, miraculously, they returned the lost time to nothing.

They were saved, but you remember: a person who is wasting his time in vain does not notice how old he is.

Rudyard Kipling "Baby Elephant"

It's only now, my dear boy, the Elephant has a trunk. And before, long ago, the Elephant had no trunk. There was only a nose, sort of like a flat cake, a little black and the size of a shoe. This nose was hanging in all directions, but still it wasn’t good: can one lift something from the ground with such a nose?

But at that very time, a long time ago, one such Elephant lived, or, rather, the Little Elephant, who was terribly curious, and who, it happened, would never see, he pestered everyone with questions. He lived in Africa, and he molested the whole of Africa with questions.

He molested Strausikha, his lanky aunt, and asked her why her feathers grow on her tail like this, and not that way, and the lanky aunt Strausiha gave him a cuff with her firm-legged leg. He pestered his long-legged uncle Giraffe and asked him why he had spots on his skin, and his long-legged uncle Giraffe gave him a cuff with his hard hoof.

And he asked his fat aunt Behemoth, why she had such red eyes, and the fat aunt Behemoth gave him a cuff with her fat, full-bodied hoof.

But this did not discourage him from curiosity.

He asked his hairy uncle Baboon why all the melons are so sweet, and the hairy uncle Baboon gave him a cuff with his hairy, hairy paw.

But this did not discourage him from curiosity.

Whatever he saw, whatever he heard, whatever sniffed, whatever he touched, he immediately asked about everything and immediately received cuffs from all his uncles and aunts.

But this did not discourage him from curiosity.

And it so happened that one fine morning, shortly before the equinox, this very Little Elephant — bored and pestered — asked about one such thing that he had never asked about. He asked:

- What does Crocodile eat at dinner?

All scared and loudly shouted:

- Shhhhhhh!

And immediately, without a faraway word, the cuffs began to pour on him.

They beat him for a long time, without a break, but when they had finished beating, he immediately ran up to the bird Kolokolo, who was sitting in the prickly blackthorn, and said:

- My father was pounding me, and my mother was pounding me, and all my aunts were pounding me, and all my uncles were pounding me for my curiosity that was unbearable, and yet I really wanted to know what Crocodile was eating at dinner?

And the little bird Kolokolo said in a sad and loud voice:

- Go to the shore of the sleepy, fetid, dull-green river Limpopo; its shores are covered with trees, which cause fever at all. There you will know everything.

The next morning, when nothing remained of the equinoxes, this curious Little Elephant gathered bananas — as much as a hundred pounds! - and sugarcane - also a hundred pounds! - and seventeen greenish melons, from those that crunch on the teeth, put all this on the shoulders and, wishing their dear relatives to remain happily, set off.

- Goodbye! He said to them. - I go to the sleepy, fetid, dull-green river Limpopo; its shores are covered with trees, which cause a fever at all, and there I am by all means find out what the Crocodile eats at dinner.

And the kinsmen once again thoroughly bloated him goodbye, although he extremely politely asked them not to worry.

And he left them, a bit shabby, but not very surprised. He ate melons along the way, and threw the crusts on the ground, as he had nothing to pick up these crusts. From the city of Graham, he went to Kimberley, from Kimberley to Khamova land, from Khamova land to the east and north and all the way was treated to melons, until finally he came to the sleepy, fetid, muddy-green river Limpopo, surrounded by just such trees, about what the bird called Kolokolo told him.

And you need to know, my dear boy, that until that very week, until that very day, until that very hour, until that very minute, our curious Little Elephant never saw the Crocodile and did not even know what it was. Imagine his curiosity!

The first thing that caught his eye was the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent, entwined around some rock.

- Excuse me, please! - said baby elephant extremely courteous. - Did you meet a Crocodile somewhere nearby? It's so easy to get lost here!

- Did I meet a Crocodile? - contemptuously asked Two-Colored Python, Rocky Serpent. - Found what to ask!

- Excuse me, please! - continued the baby elephant. “Can you tell me what the Crocodile is eating at dinner?”

Here the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent, could no longer hold back, quickly turned around and gave the Elephant a cuff with a huge tail. And his tail was like a threshing flail and covered with scales.

- Here are the wonders! - said baby elephant. - Not only did my father beat me, and my mother beat me, and my uncle beat me, and my other uncle, the Baboon, beat me, and my aunt kicked me, and my other aunt, The Hippo, beat me, and everything as if they were pounding me for my terrible curiosity, - here, as I see, the same story begins.

And he very politely said goodbye to the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent, helped him to wind around the rock again and went on further; his order was patched, but he didn’t really marvel at it, but again he took up the melons and threw the crusts on the ground again - because, I repeat, what would he have begun to raise them? - and soon came upon some kind of log, lying on the very shore of the sleepy, fetid, dull-green river Limpopo, surrounded by trees, which were catching up on everyone the fever.

But in fact, my dear boy, it was not a log, it was a Crocodile. And Crocodile winked with one eye - like this!

- Excuse me, please! - the Elephant pet turned to him extremely courteously. - Did you happen to meet a Crocodile somewhere nearby in these places?

The crocodile winked with another eye and stuck his tail half out of the water. The baby elephant (again, very courteously!) Stepped back because he did not want to get a new cuff.

- Come here, my baby! - said Crocodile. - You, in fact, why is it necessary?

- Excuse me, please! - said baby elephant extremely courteous. - My father was pounding me, and my mother was pounding me, my lanky aunt, Ostrich was pounding me, and my long-legged uncle Giraffe was pounding me, my other aunt, the fat Hippo, pounding me, and my other uncle, hairy Baboon, pounded me, and Python The bicolor, Rocky Serpent, that just pounded me painfully, very painfully, and now — not in anger, tell you — I would not want to be pounded again.

“Come here, my baby,” said the Crocodile, “because I am the Crocodile.”

And he began to shed crocodile tears to show that he really is a crocodile.

Baby elephant terribly happy. He caught his breath, he fell to his knees and shouted:

- I need you! I have been looking for you for so many days! Tell me, please, rather, what do you eat at dinner?

- Come closer, I whisper in your ear.

The elephant bent its head close-to the toothed, fanged crocodile mouth, and Crocodile grabbed it by its little nose, which until this very week, until that very day, before that very hour, until that very minute, was no more than a shoe.

“It seems to me,” said the Crocodile, and said through clenched teeth, like this, “it seems to me that today I will have a little elephant on my first meal.”

The little elephant, my dear boy, did not like it terribly, and he spoke through his nose:

- Pusdide bha, bde ochid boldo! (Let me in, it hurts me so much!)

Here the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent, approached him and said:

- If you, oh my young friend, do not immediately otpryanesh back how much you have your strength, then my opinion is that you do not have time to say "one, two, three!", As a result of your conversation with this leather bag he called the Crocodile) you will get there, in that transparent water jet ...

Bicoloured Pythons, Rocky Snakes, always say like this.

The little elephant sat on its rear legs and began to pull back. He pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose began to stretch. And the Crocodile retreated away into the water, licked it like whipped cream, with heavy blows of the tail and also pulled, and pulled, and pulled.

And the little elephant's nose stretched out, and the little elephant spread all four legs, such tiny elephant legs, and pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and his nose kept pulling. And the Crocodile beat with its tail, like a paddle, and also pulled, and pulled, and the more he pulled, the longer the elephant's nose was stretched, and it was painful for the nose, too!

Suddenly, the Little Elephant felt his legs slipping on the ground, and he screamed through his nose, which had become almost five feet in length:

- Dovoldo! Osdavide! I'm more than God! (Enough! Leave! I can no longer!)

Hearing this, the Bicolor Python, the Rocky Serpent, rushed down from the rock, wrapped itself in a double knot around the Elephant's hind legs and said:

- O inexperienced and frivolous traveler! We need to push as much as possible, for my impression is that this warship with a lively screw and an armored deck (he called the Crocodile so much) wants to ruin your future ...

Bicoloured Pythons, Rocky Snakes, are always expressed as follows.

And here Snake pulls, Pups puppy, but Crocodile pulls. Pulls, pulls, but since the Little Elephant and the Bicolor Python, the Rocky Serpent, are pulling harder, the Crocodile must finally release the little Elephant's nose, and the Crocodile flies back with such a splash that is heard all over Limpopo.

And the Baby Elephant both stood and sat down and hit very painfully, but still managed to say to the Bicoloured Python, Rocky Snake, thank you, and then began to care for his extended nose: he wrapped him with coldish leaves of bananas and lowered him into the water of the sleepy, dull-green river Limpopo, so that he is a little cold.

- Why are you doing this? Said the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent.

- Excuse me, please! - said baby elephant. - My nose has lost its former appearance, and I expect it to become short again.

“You’ll have to wait a long time,” said the Bicolor Python, the Rocky Serpent. - That is surprising, how others do not understand their own benefits!

The little elephant sat over the water for three days and waited for everything to see if his nose would become shorter. However, the nose did not become shorter, and - not only that - because of this nose, the eyes of the Elephant became slightly oblique.

Because, my dear boy, you, I hope, have already guessed that the Crocodile pulled the little elephant's nose into the most real trunk - exactly the same as all the current Elephants.

By the end of the third day, some kind of fly flew in and stung the Elephant in the shoulder, and he, not noticing what he was doing, raised his trunk and slammed a fly.

- Here's your first benefit! Said the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent. “Well, judge for yourself: could you do something like this with your old pin nose?” By the way, would you like a snack?

And the Baby Elephant, not knowing how it had come out, reached out with its trunk to the ground, plucked a good tuft of grass, slapped them on its front legs to shake off the dust from it, and immediately put it in its mouth.

- So much for the second benefit! Said the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent. - Would you try to do this with your old pin nose! By the way, have you noticed that the sun has become too hot?

- Perhaps so! - said baby elephant.

And without knowing how it happened to him, he scooped up his trunk from the sleepy, fetid, muddy-green river of Limpopo a little bit of mud, and slapped it on his head; wet mud got into a cake, and the whole stream of water flowed out of the elephant's ears.

- Here is your third benefit! Said the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent. - Would you try to do this with your old pin nose! And by the way, what do you think now about the cuffs?

“Sorry, please,” said the little elephant, “but I really don't like cuffs.”

- And blow someone else? Said the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent.

- This is me with joy! - said baby elephant.

- You still do not know your nose! Said the Bicoloured Python, the Rocky Serpent. - It's just a treasure, not a nose. Build in anyone.

- Thank you, - said the little elephant, - I will take this into account. And now I have to go home. I will go to my dear relatives and check my nose.

And the little elephant went across Africa, amusing and wagging its trunk.

He wants fruit - he tears them straight from the tree, but does not stand and does not wait, as before, for them to fall to the ground. He wants some weed - he is tearing it straight from the ground, and not thumping on his knees, as has happened. Flies bother him - he will tear a branch from a tree and wave it like a fan. The sun is baking - it will lower its trunk into the river, and here on its head is a cold, wet gag. It is boring for him alone to idle around Africa - he plays the trunk of a song, and his trunk is much louder than hundreds of copper pipes.

He deliberately turned off the road in order to find the Hippopotamus fat woman (she was not even his relative), to properly break her off and check whether the Bicolor Python, Rocky Serpent, told him the truth about his new nose. After walking along the same road, he picked up the melon crusts that he had scattered on the way to Limpopo, because he was a Tightly Skinned Skin.

It was already dark when one evening he came home to his dear relatives. He turned the trunk into a ring and said:

- Hello! How are you?

They were terribly happy for him and immediately said in one voice:

- Come on, come here, we will give you a cuff for your unbearable curiosity!

- Oh, you! - said baby elephant. - You understand a lot in cuffs! Here I understand something in this matter. Want to show?

And he turned his trunk, and immediately two of his dear brothers flew upside down from him.

- We swear by bananas! - they shouted. - Where are you so pricked up and that you have with your nose?

“This nose is new to me, and the Crocodile gave it to me on the sleepy, smelly, dull-green river Limpopo,” said the Little Elephant. - I started a conversation with him about what he eats at dinner, and he gave me a new nose as a souvenir.

- Grungy nose! - Said the hairy, hairy Uncle Baboon.

“Perhaps,” said the little elephant. - But useful!

And he grabbed the hairy Uncle Baboon by the hairy leg and, after swinging, threw it into the wasp's nest.

And so this angry little elephant sold out, that he broke off all of them to one of his dear relatives. He beat them, beat them, so it became hot for them, and they looked at him with amazement. He pulled almost all of her feathers out of the tail of the long-haired aunt Ostrich; he grabbed a leggy uncle Giraffe by the hind leg and dragged him through the thorny bushes; he woke up Behemoth, when she slept after dinner, with a loud cry, and began to blow bubbles right into her ear, but did not allow anyone to offend the bird Kolokolo.

Things reached the point that all his relatives — who used to be, who later — went to the sleepy, fetid, dull-green river of Limpopo, surrounded by trees, catching all the fever, so that they would give them a Crocodile along the same nose.

When he returned, no one else gave the cuck-ups to anyone anymore, and from that time, my boy, on all the Elephants that you will ever see, and on those that you will never see, everyone has exactly the same trunk as this one. curious little elephant.

Charles Perrot "Sleeping Beauty"

There was a king with a queen, and they were childless. This so grieved them, so grieved that it was impossible to tell. They drank all sorts of waters, gave vows, went to a pilgrimage, whatever they did, nothing helped. However, the queen did get pregnant and gave birth to a daughter.

They celebrated rich christenings. They invited all the sorceresses to godmothers, who only lived in the kingdom (there were seven of them), so that, according to the custom of the then sorceresses, each of them made some promise to the little princess and was thus endowed with all sorts of good qualities.

After baptizing the princess, the whole company returned to the royal palace, where they prepared a luxurious treat for the sorceresses. Behind the instrument of each of them they laid a magnificent case of pure gold, in which were a spoon, a fork and a knife, studded with diamonds and rubies. They were already sitting at the table, when suddenly an old witch entered the hall, who was not invited, because for more than fifty years she hadn’t shown up from her tower and everyone considered her to be Dying or enchanted.

The king ordered to supply her with a device, but there was no place to take for her, like for other wizards, a case made of pure gold, because only seven of these cases were ordered, according to the number of seven godmothers. The old hag imagined that this was done to her in mockery, and began to grumble through her teeth.

One of the young wizards, who was sitting near the old woman, heard her mutter. Realizing that the sorceress could make a bad princess some little princess, immediately after dinner she went and hid behind the canopy of the bed in order to speak after all and thus have the opportunity to correct the evil that the sorceress does.

Soon the sorceresses began to tell their promises to the princess. The youngest promised that she would be more beautiful than anyone in the world; the second is that she will be as intelligent as an angel; the third is that she will be a master of all trades; fourth - that she will be great to dance; the fifth - that her voice will be nightingale, and the sixth - that she will play all kinds of instruments with great skill.

When the turn reached the old witch, she shook her head (more from anger than from old age) and said that the princess would pierce her hand with a spindle and from this she would die. From such a terrible prediction, all the guests trembled, and no one could hold their tears.

But then the young sorceress came out from behind the curtains and said loudly:

- Calm down, the king with the queen! Your daughter will not die! True, it is not in my power to cancel at all what the old witch has threatened: the princess will pierce her hand with a spindle. But she will not die from this, but will only fall asleep in a deep sleep that will last a hundred years. Then the young prince will come and wake her up.

However, despite this promise, the king, for his part, tried to eliminate the misfortune that was prophesied by the sorceress. To this end, he now issued a decree that, on pain of death, for non-execution, forbade everyone in the kingdom to use the spindle or even just keep the spindle in his house.

After about fifteen or sixteen years, the king and the queen went to their amusement castle. There, the princess, running through the rooms and climbing from one floor to another, climbed up just under the roof, where, she sees, the old woman sits in a garret and twirls her spindle. This kind old woman had never heard that the king imposed a strict prohibition on the spindle.

- What are you, grandmother, doing? - asked the princess.

“I'm here, child,” answered the old woman, who did not know her.

- Oh, how nice it is! Said the princess again. - How are you spinning? Let me see, honey, maybe I can too?

But as soon as she took the spindle, so now she pierced herself with the hand and fell unconscious.

The old lady got scared and let's scream. People came running from all sides, began to splash the princess in the face with water, untie her, clap her hands, rub her whiskey with vinegar - no, the princess does not come to herself. Then the king, who also came to the noise, recalled the prophecy of the sorceresses, and seeing that fate could not be missed, when her sorcerers had predicted, ordered the princess to be placed in the best rest of the palace on a bed of brocade, gold and silver.

Similarly, the angel was lying princess, so she was beautiful, for fainting did not spoil the color of her face: her cheeks were scarlet, sponges like corals. Only the eyes closed ... But even breathing proved that she was alive. The king ordered not to disturb the dream of the princess until the hour came for her to wake up.

When this misfortune happened to the princess, the good sorceress - the one that saved her life, replacing death with a hundred-year-old sleep - was in a certain Kingdom, in a distant state, about forty thousand miles from there, but she was brought to this minute by the news of a dwarf in seven-lee boots ( these were those boots that snagged seven miles with each sweep). The sorceress immediately set out on the road and in an hour arrived at the castle in a chariot of fire drawn by dragons.

The sorceress approved all the orders of the king, but since she saw far ahead, she reasoned that when she woke up a hundred years later, the princess would be very unhappy if she found herself alone in the old castle. Therefore, the sorceress did this.

With her magic wand she touched everyone who was in the castle (except the king and queen), touched the stats of ladies, maids of honor, maids, courtiers, officers; touched butlers, cooks, cooks, Cossacks, Guards, janitors, pages, chamber attendants; She also touched horses in a stable with horsemen, large palace dogs and Sharik, a little princess dog who was lying next to her on the bed.

As soon as she touched them, everyone fell asleep at once, and everyone had to wake up with her mistress in order to serve her when she needed their services. Even the spits in the furnace, covered with partridges and pheasants, and they fell asleep, and the fire too. All this was fulfilled in one minute: the sorceresses know how to conjure well.

Then the king and queen kissed his dear daughter, left the castle and ordered that no one dare to come close to him. However, this did not need to be ordered, because after a quarter of an hour so many large and small trees, a wild rose and blackthorn mixed up with one another grew around the castle, that neither man nor beast could make their way through them. The castle completely hid behind this forest, only the tops of the towers were visible, and that from afar. Apparently, the same kind sorceress arranged this, so that the princess’s sleep would not be disturbed by idle onlookers.

A hundred years after that, the king’s son, who ruled the kingdom at that time and came from a different family name, was hunting in this direction and, seeing the tops of the towers from behind a dense forest, asked what it was? All answered him in their own way. One said that it was an old castle, where an evil spirit is found, the other insisted that here the witches celebrate the Sabbath. Most argued that a cannibal lives here, grabbing small children and dragging them into his lair, where he eats them without fear, for no man can chase him, only he knows how to get through the dense forest.

Korolevich did not know what rumor to believe, when an old peasant suddenly approached him and said:

- Prince-prince! Years ago, with a tail of fifty, I heard from my father that the princess of beauty, undescribed, was in the castle, that she would rest there for a hundred years, and that in a hundred years her betrothed young queen would wake her.

From such speeches, the young prince burnt into flame. I thought to him that he had to decide the fate of the princess. And, thirsting for love and glory, he wanted to immediately try his luck.

As soon as he came to the forest, so all the big Trees, wild rose and blackthorn themselves parted, Giving him a way. He went to the castle, which was visible at the end of a large alley, where he entered. It seemed surprising to the prince that none of the retinue could follow him, for as soon as he passed, the trees now moved as before. However, he continued to go forward: the young and in love prince was not afraid of anything. Soon he got to the big courtyard, where everything presented itself to the gaze in a terrible form: everywhere was silence, everywhere people and animals were lying ... However, looking at the red noses and crimson faces of the doormen, the prince realized that they had not died, but had only fallen asleep. And not quite emptied glasses of wine showed that they fell asleep for a glass. From there, the prince went into the second courtyard, lined with marble: climbed the stairs, entered the guard room, where the guard stood with two rifles on his shoulders. He passed many rooms in which the court cavaliers and ladies slept while lying and standing. Finally, he entered into a gilded peace and saw on a bed with an open canopy a most beautiful sight: the princess was not fifteen, not sixteen years old, and the dazzling, heavenly charm.

Korolevich approached in embarrassment and, admiring, he knelt beside the girl. At that very moment, the vow had an end. The princess woke up and, looking at him with such a tender look, which one could not expect from the first date, said:

“Is that you, Prince Prince?” How long have I been waiting for you!

In admiration, the prince did not know how to express his joy and gratitude. His speeches were incoherent, therefore they came to the princess after the heart: the less red words, the more love. In all likelihood, the good sorceress, in the continuation of her long sleep, prepared her for a date with pleasant dreams. One way or another, for four hours they spoke among themselves, and they did not express even half of what was in their hearts.

Meanwhile, everyone in the palace woke up with the princess and went about their business. And since they slept for a long time, everyone wanted to eat. The senior lady of the state, also hungry, like everyone else, loudly reported to the princess that dinner was ready.