Latvian fairy tales. All books about: “fairy tales of the Baltic peoples...

One day a fox found a fish, dragged it to the heap and began to eat. A hungry wolf walks past and sees; the fox eats fish. He approached her and said:
- Great, godfather! - Hello, kumanek, hello! - the fox answers.
- Kuma, give me at least one fish! - asks the wolf.
- Go ahead, godfather, catch it yourself! - the fox answers him. “I put a lot of work into getting this fish.”
“I don’t know how, godfather,” says the wolf, “teach me!”
- So be it - I’ll teach you! You see: near the village there is a lake, and in that lake there is an ice hole. Sit by the ice hole and dip your tail into the water, and you’ll catch fish overnight.

Once upon a time there lived a rich peasant, his name was Peteris. He had a farm laborer, also Peteris. To avoid confusion, people called the owner big Peteris, and the farmhand little Peteris. The farmhand has served his master faithfully for ten years now, but has not yet received a half-ruble.
Little Peteris took the owner to court for this. The court could not reconcile them, so the case moved to another court, then even higher, until it reached the king himself. And so the king appointed a day when both the owner and the farmhand should appear before his court.
On the appointed day, early in the morning, both Peteris set off for the capital. They walked a little, and little Peteris saw an ant on the road. He was about to step on the ant, but it begged:
- Have pity on me, don’t push me. I will thank you for this.

One man was plowing a field. His horse is tired and can barely pull. The man got angry: “May the wolf eat you!” Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf. He comes up to the man and says: “Well, give me your horse, I’ll eat it!” The man was taken aback, widened his eyes, and then answered: “Wait, I’ll finish plowing, then eat.”
The wolf sits and waits. As soon as the man finished plowing, the wolf was right there. The man tells him:
- How can you eat a horse with wool? Let's go to my house, I'll scald her with boiling water - the fur will come off and the meat will taste better.

Once upon a time there lived two brothers. One was rich and the other was poor. The rich man could not stand his poor brother. It happened somehow, the poor man had run out of all his bread, and he would have been glad to buy bread, but the trouble was - he didn’t have a penny to his name. He went to his rich brother for help. But only the rich man saw that his brother was approaching his house, threw a moldy pork ham through the window and shouted to the poor man to get out of hell:
“If you sell a ham there, you’ll make money!”

A lark flies over the barn and sings merrily. The crow asks him:
- Lark, lark, why are you so cheerful?
- How can I not be cheerful - the chicks are in the nest!
- Oh, lark, show me your chicks! The lark showed her the chicks. The crow tells him:
- Lark, lark, give me your children to study!
- Take it, take it, learning is a great thing!

Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman, and they had no children. They somehow sit at the table and grieve:
– God would send us a child, even as tall as a hedgehog!
As soon as they said this, a little hedgehog crawls out from behind the stove and says:
- I am your son!
The old men took the hedgehog as their son and raised him.
When the hedgehog grew up, the mother said:
- If I had a bigger son, he would herd pigs. But such a small pig can be trampled, that’s the problem.

Dying, the father left three testaments to his son: “Don’t go to visit often, otherwise they will stop respecting you; don’t change horses at the market, otherwise you’ll be left with your own two; Don’t take a wife from afar, otherwise you’ll get a bad one!”

The son nodded his head and remembered his father’s words. When the father died, the son decided to test his father's covenants.

In ancient times, one father had four children - one son and three daughters. The daughters diligently looked after their widowed father, and his son tirelessly treated him to the most delicious dishes. My father lived happily in his declining years with such kind children. He used to say: “As long as you, children, begin to live peacefully and amicably, Laima herself will smile at you. You, son, when I die, don’t get married right away, but get your sisters married first. If you listen to me, you will go far in life.”

Since time immemorial, the life and work of every people have been accompanied by oral folk poetic creativity. In diverse artistic forms it expressed the folk wisdom, thoughts and aspirations of many generations. In the past, folk art represented the most important form of ideology for the masses. Nowadays it provides very valuable material for studying the historical development of the people, social relations And various sides everyday life We will always be captivated artistic values And poetic world images in the works of folk talents. Latvian folklore has a particularly rich history, with its roots deep in the life of the people. This is largely due to historical destinies Latvians. The normal formation and development of the Latvian nation was interrupted by the invasion of the German crusaders into the Baltic lands. The 13th century in the history of the Latvian people is a century of fierce struggle of Latvian tribes against well-armed hordes of knights. Since the end of the 13th century, the peoples of the Baltic states have been under the cruel yoke of German feudal lords. Over the centuries, the boundaries of feudal states on the territory of Latvia changed, some rulers replaced others, but the economic and spiritual power of foreign feudal lords and their minions - ministers of the Christian Church over the Latvian people remained unchanged. Only Great October socialist revolution helped the Latvian people finally throw off the shackles of almost 700 years of enslavement. For many centuries, Latvians were almost completely excluded from participation in deciding the political and economic destinies of their homeland and were deprived of the opportunity to develop their national culture, including written literature. Until the 19th century, when the first books of Latvian writers appeared, oral artistic creativity was the only form of reflection of all life and work experience of the Latvian people, an exponent of their hopes for a better future. One of the main motives in the works of Latvian folklore is the working person’s desire for freedom and hatred of oppressors and exploiters. Richness and variety folk art Latvians were discovered in the second half of the 19th century, when work began on collecting and systematizing all genres of folklore. A stream of recordings poured in from all corners of Latvia folk songs, fairy tales, legends and other folklore materials. The first collection of Latvian folk tales in Russian was published in 1887 in Moscow by teacher and writer F. Brivzemniek. The 148 fairy tales included in the collection were only a small part of the wealth of narrative folklore that was revealed by end of the 19th century century. With the active help and support of the Russian scientific community, in 1903, a 7-volume edition of Latvian fairy tales and legends (“Latvieshu tautas teikas un pasakas”, 1891–1903), collected by the folk teacher and passionate lover of folk poetry A. Lerch-Puskaitis, was completed. The collection of narrative folklore continued in subsequent years. At the end of 1924, the Latvian Folklore Repository was founded, where several thousand folk tales had accumulated over the course of 15 years. About 8,000 Latvian fairy tales and legends were published in a 15-volume collection (“Latvieshu pasakas un teikas”, 1925–1937), prepared by folklorist and literary critic P. Šmit. Currently, the collection and study of works of folk art in the republic is managed by the folklore sector of the Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR. The scientific archive of the sector stores about 2.7 million records of folklore materials, including approximately 90 thousand fairy tales and legends. IN post-war years Every summer, scientific expeditions go to the regions of Latvia to collect folklore, in particular fairy tales, material and study the role of folk art in the life of the people at the present time. In the years Soviet power The publication of Latvian folklore of all genres in both Latvian and Russian is widely carried out. Most full edition Latvian folk tales in Russian is the three-volume collection “Latvian Folk Tales”, published by the publishing house “Zinatne”. Folk tales undoubtedly occupy the most important place among the materials of narrative folklore. Throughout the centuries, the images and plots of fairy tales have embodied folk wisdom, ethical and aesthetic ideals, life experience people, the desire to understand and explain the patterns of the surrounding world. The ethical and aesthetic values ​​of folk tales can still be used in education today. younger generation. For researchers of the material and spiritual culture of the people, fairy tales are an indispensable source of information about historical events, captured through the prism of the people's consciousness, about the formation and development of the worldview of the people. In Latvian literary criticism, folk tales are usually divided into three main groups: short allegorical tales about animals, very diverse fairy tales and everyday tales - humorous and novelistic. Each of these varieties of the fairy tale genre has its own characteristics, manifested both in the content and in the use of means artistic expression. There are few tales about animals in Latvian folklore, but they are different interesting story and can provide valuable information about the long and complex path of development of the fairy tale genre. Modern storytellers classify tales about animals as children's folklore, perceiving them either as simple funny jokes, or as fables with educational content. However, fairy tales about animals did not always have only such narrow goals and such limited meaning in the life of the people. In the motifs and plots of the Latvian animal epic, more or less clear echoes of ancient mythological views can be traced, various observations of the animal world, the natural environment around humans and the ideological views of the working people during the period of feudal oppression are reflected. The totality of all these centuries-old layers forms the basis of the content of fairy tales about animals. If we add to this the rather strong influence of the animal epics of neighboring peoples (Russians, Lithuanians, Belarusians) and medieval fable literature, then the diversity of Latvian fairy tales about animals will become clear. Materials from narrative folklore indicate that tales about animals were widespread already in ancient times as works of a magical nature. The folklore of many peoples preserves stories about the magical emergence of the living world, the connections between man and animals and their common affairs. These stories are not yet fairy tales; they express the desire to use magical means and the power of words to influence the forces of nature that are incomprehensible and hostile to humans. Many animal tales developed from stories mythological content about the totem of the clan - an animal that was considered the patron and benefactor of members of the clan. These stories were told primarily before a hunt to ensure success. In Latvian folklore, echoes of mythological beliefs are preserved in tales about the connections between man and animals, in particular with the bear. Often stories are told about the joint affairs of man and beast; their relationship is often based on an agreement that is binding on both parties. Undoubtedly, along with myths about animals, in the early stages of human development, simple stories about various animals, their habits, and stories of hunters were common, in which realistic observations of wildlife were intertwined with fiction. In these stories, man is already stronger than the beast; The life experience and knowledge of a person defeats an animal that has only physical strength. These manifestations creative imagination people formed the basis of fairy tales and determined them further development as a type of folk artistic creativity. Subsequently, stories about animals and their relationships with humans gradually lose their connection with mythological and magical views. With the development of society, the naive perception of nature as a hostile anthropomorphized creature disappears. Tales about animals are born in literally words. In them, the depiction of images and the development of the plot are based on more accurate observations of natural phenomena. The appearance, behavior and lifestyle of a particular animal in fairy tales are used to create an artistic image of a bearer of certain moral qualities and character. For example, traits such as guile and gluttony formed the basis of the image sly fox. Animals in fairy tales are not only endowed with human speech, but generally live and act like people. In conditions of class contradictions, the ethical views of the people begin to appear more and more clearly in fairy tales. During the period of feudalism, the plots of fairy tales become allegorical pictures of social trends and contradictions of their time. Fairytale images animals are perceived by the people as symbols of representatives of various social groups, expressing class contradictions. In fairy tales, animals work for their master. When he drives them out, the wolf, who dared to demand payment for their work, receives a stone in the throat. old dog after expulsion he becomes a shoemaker to earn his bread. In some versions, all the grief and joy is shared with the animals by a person - an elderly farm laborer, kicked out of the house by his owner. The motif is about an oppressed worker striving for free life without masters and masters, very common in Latvian folklore. Condemnation of feudal exploitation and hatred of evil and stingy owners sound very convincing in these tales. Denial of evil and confidence in the victory of good forces is the leading thought of all fairy tales whose plots depict struggle. strong predator with a small animal. The last one in fairy tales always comes out victorious. The ideology of folk storytellers is very clearly manifested in fairy tales where humans act together with animals. If a person acts as the master and enslaver of his subordinates - animals and birds, all the sympathies of the storyteller are on the side of the animals. In stories where there is no such social opposition, the main ideological content fairy tales become a glorification of the wisdom and work skills of man. Despite the physical strength of animals, man’s wit and his ability to use specific circumstances for his own good win out. In their ideological orientation, fairy tales about animals are close to magical and everyday tales about the struggle of a peasant boy with the devil. A separate group in Latvian folklore is formed by tales about forest and domestic birds. The themes and images of these tales reflect judgments about human character, permeated with criticism of negative phenomena everyday life And public life. Thus, in the fairy tale about how a dove learned to build a nest, haste and negligence in work are condemned. Most fairy tales in this group are characterized by etiological motives: they explain the emergence of certain animal traits, which brings these tales closer to legends. The group of fairy tales about animals also includes fables about various plants and natural phenomena, the images of which serve as the basis for an allegorical tale of an educational or ethical nature.

Quite often, people ask me how a Russian fairy tale differs from a Latvian one. Is there a difference in our mentality? What images bring up in a child a Baltic-calm person who is confident that the highest good is hard work? Here is my small collection of Latvian fairy tales in Russian, which I will periodically update. There is no traditional Baba Yaga and Ivan the Fool here, and the stories are usually more instructive in nature, but this does not make the fairy tales any worse.

GRANDFATHER'S MITTEEN

One winter morning, an old man went into the forest to buy firewood. On the way, he wanted to smoke. He found a pipe in his bosom, pulled out a pouch of tobacco, took out a flint and began to strike a fire.
He was striking and striking fire, and did not even notice that he had lost his mitten.
The Fly was flying, saw the mitten and climbed into it. She's very cold!
And once she’s warmed up in her mitten, let’s dance with joy that the frost won’t get her now.
A mouse ran through the forest. And I also didn’t know where to hide from the cold. She ran up to the mitten and asked:
-Who's dancing in a mitten here?
– I am the Queen Fly. Who are you?
- I am Little Mouse. Let me warm up!
- Get in, warm yourself!
The mouse got into the mitten. And then they both began to dance.
A bunny was running along the road. Runs and trembles from the cold. I saw a mitten:
- Who is this dancing in a mitten?
- The Queen Fly is dancing, the Little Mouse is dancing. And who are you?
– I am the White-tailed Bunny. Let me warm up!
- OK. Get in and warm yourself!
The bunny got into the mitten. And now all three of them are dancing.
A wolf was running through the forest. He runs, doesn’t know where to hide from the frost. I saw a mitten:
- Hey, who's dancing there in a mitten?
- The Queen Fly, the Little Mouse, and the White-tailed Bunny are dancing. And who are you?
- I am the Wolf-Sharp-Eared. Let me warm up!
- OK. Get in and warm yourself!
The wolf got into the mitten. And now all four are dancing.
A Bear was walking through the forest, looking for somewhere to hide from the frost. I saw a mitten.
-Who dances in a mitten? - he roared.
- The Queen Fly, the Little Mouse, the White-tailed Bunny, the Pointy-Eared Wolf are dancing. And who are you?
- And I am the Bear - Big Kosmach. Let me in to warm up!
- OK. Get in and warm yourself!
The bear got into the mitten. And then all five of them started dancing.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rooster. He goes and shouts at the top of his lungs:
- Ku-ka-re-ku! Ku-ka-re-ku! Ku-ka-re-ki! Ku-ka-re-ki! And they heard something in their mitten:
- Run Run! Run! Run!
They rushed out of the mitten, so much so that they tore the entire mitten to shreds. And they ran away in all directions. Fly - under the canopy, Mouse - in the underground, Bunny - in the oats, Wolf - in the bushes, Bear - in the forest.
And the old man was left with only one mitten. But he takes care of this mitten and doesn’t take his eyes off it. After all, his glove is full of fairy tales. And if he loses her, then what winter evenings will he tell?

WHERE DAUGAVA CAME FROM

It was a long, long time ago, in time immemorial. Then both animals and birds lived without any work, did nothing, did not care about anything. And out of boredom and idleness they often quarreled and fought.
And so, to put an end to all the discord, they decided to do important work - dig big river, Daugava.
Only the Oriole, the bird that calls for rain, did not want to dig the river.
– Why do I need water on earth? Heavenly water is enough for me!
But the animals and birds did not judge and dress for long. They immediately got to work. And they worked not out of fear, but out of conscience.
The hare ran ahead, showing the way to the river. But everyone knows that the Hare does not know how to run straight, it runs and loops.
That’s why the Daugava is not straight, but is all twisted.
The fox hurried after him and outlined the banks of the Daugava with her fluffy tail.
A mole-digger was laying out a channel. The Badger followed the Mole and widened the riverbed. The bear is like the most important strongman - after all, it’s not for nothing that he is the most important strongman! - dragged earth from the riverbed and dumped it in heaps. And now you can see on the banks of the Daugava quite a few mountains and hillocks that the Bear created.
And all the other animals and birds worked as hard as they could. And all the quarrels were forgotten.
And when they dug the Daugava, they gathered to see what kind of river they got. Yes, they immediately checked who worked how.
Mole and Bear didn’t even have time to shake off the dirt - they worked so hard.
“You are the most hardworking among us,” everyone told them.
animals and birds, so you can always wear your work clothes with honor!
Since then, Bear and Mole have been wearing dark fur coats.
The wolf, who dug with his paws and helped with his fangs, had his paws and muzzle left forever black. Let everyone know how well the Wolf worked.
Goose and Duck were also praised for their diligence. They were allowed to swim and wash in the river as much as they wanted.
And other birds, who worked less diligently, were only allowed to drink from the river.
At this time, the Oriole, calling for rain, was still jumping and whistling among the branches.
“I have such a beautiful yellow outfit,” she justified herself, “I couldn’t do this dirty work in my festive clothes!”
Then the animals and birds became angry with her.
– May Oriole never drink clean water neither from the river nor from the pond. Let him quench his thirst with a stream of rain or drops of dew that appear on the forehead of a lying stone!
That is why Oriole now has to suffer from thirst. And when other birds, anticipating a thunderstorm, fall silent, the Oriole screams pitifully and pitifully, the call does not come out, asks for rain.
Raven was also lazy and did not go with others to dig the Daugava. In those days, Raven was completely white. And so that they wouldn’t notice from his white feathers that he wasn’t working, Raven went and rolled out in the mud. Came completely black. Here, they say, I’m all in the ground, don’t think that I’m some kind of couch potato!
And he went into the water to wash himself. But the animals and birds figured out his trick and drove him away from the river.
Since then, Raven has remained black.

GAUIA

Once upon a time, in ancient times, the giant Alaukst gave birth to a daughter, Gauya.
“Run, daughter, to the sea,” her father told her. Gauya ran out into the meadow, turned around, and spun in different directions. She glanced casually at young Ines, who was sleeping, veiled in the morning fog and covered with his seven islands. And she answered as bluntly as she could:
– It’s too early for me to go to sea. I’m still young, I want to frolic, spin around the meadows and groves!
And she did not rush to the sea, like all obedient rivers, but turned her face to the sun and ran towards it.
On the way Gauya came across many rivers and streams. And she invited everyone with her.
– What kind of joy is it to flow along with all the waters? Let's spin, dance, jump over dams and obstacles while we are young!
Gauja ran away from the sea, towards the sun. And the further she ran, the wider and deeper she became, the more strength and beauty she gained. Her youthful mischief gradually subsided.
Near the villages of Leia near the Gauja, dark pools have already appeared, in which the anxiety of the depths lurks.
Finally, Gauja made the last turn in her whimsical dance, came to her senses and went to the sea. This place is called Gauijona.

SPIDER AND FLY

In ancient times, life on earth was very difficult because there was no fire. As soon as the sun sets, you can’t see anything and it’s cold. People, however, knew that there was fire in the very depths of hell. But no one could go down there and get fire.
In those days, the world was ruled by one and only king.
The king had such power that not only people obeyed his orders, but also all animals, insects and every other living creature that was on earth and in the air.
One day the king announced a big reward for anyone who would go down into the heat and bring out the fire. Many tried, but not a single person could get fire.
Still, the king decided to get fire for the people at all costs. He called all his advisers and ordered them to come up with an even greater reward for the hero who would bring fire to earth.
The advisors thought for a long time and finally decided: whoever brings the fire can eat for free at any table forever and ever.
The messengers spread this news throughout the world, announcing it not only to people, but also to animals, birds, and insects. Many heroes embarked on a dangerous journey, but no one could endure the fire from the terrible depths. But then the Spider heard the royal news and immediately decided to make fire. He hastily began to twist ropes so that he could use them to descend to the underworld. When the ropes were ready, the Spider, without saying a word to anyone, went to hell.
Having reached the edge of hell, the daredevil tied the end of the rope to a strong oak root and sank to the very bottom of hell, got close to the fire, grabbed a burning brand, rushed like a whirlwind back to his rope and safely climbed up.
Although the Spider knew how to climb deftly, still, rising from such depths, and even with a burden, he was very tired. Finding himself on the ground, the Spider lay down to rest a little, and put the fire nearby. The spider just wanted to take a little nap, but sleep overcame him and he fell fast asleep.
The time had come to drive out the cattle, but the Spider was still sleeping. And then the Fly, who was flying back and forth nearby, was hit by a strange smell in her nose. She looked around and suddenly saw miracles in the sieve: a fiery brand was burning near the Spider!
The fly realized that it was the Spider who brought the fire out of hell. So what did she do?
“Does such a sleepyhead know how to handle fire? He will sleep like that until the fire goes out. And gratitude will be more useful to me than to him!” - she decided. And, quickly grabbing the firebrand, the Fly flew away. She brought the king a firebrand and said:
- Receive, lord, fire! At the risk of my life, I took him out of the heat. Give me the promised reward!
The king was very happy. He organized a feast in honor of Mukha and gave her the following certificate: forever and ever, Mukha can dine at all tables.
The spider woke up only towards the end of the day. Looks like the firebrand has disappeared! The Spider got excited and ran around. He asks everyone if anyone has seen the thief. And everyone laughed at the Spider: was he crazy, or what? After all, it has long been known that it was the Fly that brought the fire out of the heat itself at the risk of its life.
Hearing about this, the Spider really almost went crazy with resentment. He began to shout at the top of his voice:
- Fly thief! Fly thief! She robbed me! It was I who brought the fire out of the inferno, and only I am entitled to the promised reward!
Many believed the Spider’s story, but only shook their heads: it was too late, because the Fly had already received a diploma. This offended Spider even more. Falling and stumbling, barely catching his breath, the Spider dragged himself to the king to tell how the Fly had robbed him.
The fly sat in a place of honor, right hand king. The spider began to tell how it happened.
“The Spider keeps lying,” said the Fly. “Is there at least one who has seen the Spider with fire?” No one!
The king wanted to judge the dispute fairly and demanded that the Spider present evidence. And if he can’t prove it, then let him not show his face again. Then the Spider said that the rope along which he descended and with which he raised the fire upward was probably still hanging on the edge of hell.
Royal envoys rushed to check, but there was no rope. It probably caught fire from a firebrand when the Spider was crawling out of hell, and burned.
Now nothing could be proven.
And the Spider left with nothing, cursing the Fly and once again vowing to take revenge on her forever.
Since that time, spiders have been weaving webs and catching flies. And the flies are still feeding on all the tables.

HOW THE DOVE LEARNED TO MAKE A NEST

The Dove did not know how to build a nest and went to Drozd to learn. Drozd was in this matter great master. When the Dove arrived, the Thrush had just begun to build his beautiful nest. At first, the Dove watched Drozd’s work very carefully, but when the base of the nest was ready and the edges began to rise little by little, the Dove became bored. He decided that he had nothing left to learn and began shouting:
- I can! I can! I can!
He flapped his wings and flew away. And he didn't even say thank you.
The next day the Dove itself began to build a nest. He made the bottom of the nest, but he doesn’t know what to do next.
Then the Dove again flew to Drozd and began to beg that Drozd would show him once again how to build a nest.
But Drozd replied:
“You’ve already boasted that you know how to build, so you’ll be able to finish the job without me.”
So the Dove’s nest still stands unfinished. However, the Dove will boast:
- I can! I can!
But in fact, he doesn’t know how!

TABLE IN THE FOREST

Once upon a time there lived an old man. He knew how to make kneading dough well, and that’s what he fed himself on.
However, he had little work. And so it happened that the poor old man ran out of his last bread.
Then the rich neighbor says to him:
“Make me a new kneading bowl, and I’ll give you some bread.” The old man hollowed out a large bowl from the log.
And he took her to a neighbor’s farm.
The road was long, the day was hot, the burden was heavy. The old man had sweat running down his face in streams.
Fortunately, there was a dense oak forest on the way. This is where you can catch your breath.
The old man sat down on the grass, wiped the sweat from his face and thought:
“And where should I rush? The neighbor is probably sleeping after lunch now. Wouldn’t it be wiser for me to rest here in the coolness and take a little nap?”
I thought so and stretched out on the grass. And he covered himself with the sauerkraut so that she wouldn’t be dragged away.
The Hare ran past. He saw the kneading bowl and was surprised:
“There’s such a good table, but there’s nothing on it!” Soon the Fox came running. She sat down next to the Hare and was also surprised:
– Such a beautiful table, but there’s nothing on it! A little later the Wolf came:
– Such a wide table, but there’s nothing on it!
The Bear immediately stomped in. He sat down next to the Wolf and was also surprised:
– Such a strong table, but there’s nothing on it! They sit by the kneading bowl and are amazed. Finally the Hare
said:
- So, are we just going to sit at an empty table? Let's get some food and have a feast.
“I know a nice tree in the forest,” said the Bear. “It has honey in its hollow, like a beehive.” So I’ll drag this tree.
“And I know a fat sheep in the neighbor’s barn,” said the Wolf, “so I’ll drag it in!”
“And I know a good gander in the neighbor’s yard,” the Fox licked her lips, “so I’ll bring him.”
“And I know an excellent head of cabbage in the neighbor’s garden,” cried the Hare, “so I’ll get it!”
And everyone hurried after their prey. The shadow of the oak tree had not moved even an inch, but the Bear had already dragged the tree with honey into the hollow. He clanged it so loudly next to the kneading plant that there was a crackling sound in the forest.
Soon the Wolf came running with a ram over his shoulder. The Fox trotted with a gander under her arm. The Hare also galloped up with a head of cabbage.
They sat down around the table and gathered to feast. But as soon as they took the first piece into their mouths, the old man moved under the kneading bowl.
- Uh! – the Bear roared. “Who moves the table?” Nobody responded.
We started eating again. But then the old man under the sauerkraut turned over on the other side.
“Uh!” grumbled the Wolf. “Who rocks the table?” Nobody responded. They started eating again, but the old man could no longer lie under the kneading bowl.
“Uh!” shouted the Fox. “Who’s shaking the table?” Nobody responded. The animals began to eat again.
But the old man had already rested, slept well, and it was time for him to get up. He stood up and lifted the bowl.
- Hey! - the Hare squealed. - Yes, something is wrong here! Let's run, brothers!
And they ran away in all directions.
And the old man got meat, honey, goose, and cabbage.
Moreover, the neighbor gave bread for the dough. Now he has plenty of all kinds of food in his house.

RAM AND WOLF

One day the Wolf met a Ram and said:
- I'll eat you now!
Baran answers him:
- Why should you bother yourself? Stand under the mountain, open your mouth, and I will run off the mountain and jump straight into your throat!
The wolf agreed. He stood under the mountain, opened his mouth and waited. The Ram ran up and hit the Wolf with all his might in his open mouth, so much so that he immediately fell to the ground and lay unconscious. And Baran set off on his way as soon as his legs carried him.
The Wolf lay down, came to his senses, stands and thinks: “I wonder if the Ram remains in me or has he slipped right through me?”

COCKER AND CHEN

The Cockerel and the Chicken went into the forest to buy nuts. The cockerel flew up to Oreshina, to the very top, and the chicken remained at the bottom.
The cockerel picks the nuts and throws them down, picks them and throws them. And the Chicken picks them up and puts them in a pile.
But then the Cockerel picked a nut, threw it down, and hit the Hen right in the eye.
- What a problem! - the Cockerel was scared. - How unfortunate it turned out!
But the Chicken no longer hears anything, runs home and screams.
She met a gentleman.
- Why are you shouting?
- Yes, just like that, like throwing a nut right in the eye!
-Who threw the nut?
- The cockerel threw it!
- These are miracles! - said the master. - Where is this Cockerel? Let him come to my estate.
The cockerel came to the master's estate. Barin asks:
- Why are you throwing nuts?
“I wouldn’t have rushed, but Oreshina would have swayed!”
- Oh, so that’s how it happened? OK. Let Oreshina come to my estate.
Oreshina came to the estate. Barin asks:
- Why did you sway? Because of you, the Chicken got a nut in the eye.
– I wouldn’t sway. Yes, the neighbor's Goat began to gnaw on my bark. How could I not sway!
- OK. Then let the Goat come to my estate.
The goat came to the estate. Barin asks:
“Why did you gnaw Oreshina’s bark?”
- Would I really be gnawing? But the shepherd didn’t tend me at all. What could I do?
“Then call the shepherd to my estate.” The shepherd came. The master asks: “Why didn’t you herd the Goat?” Look what Oreshina looks like - all gnawed off!
- So I would pass! But the hostess promised to give me some flatbread with me, but she didn’t give me anything. And I remained hungry.
- OK. Where is the mistress? Let him come to my estate.
The hostess has arrived. Barin asks:
- Why didn’t you give the shepherd some cakes?
- "Not given"! But wouldn’t I, dear master, give him some flatbreads? But everything turned out all wrong for me: The wicked pig ate the yeast. And without yeast - what kind of flatbreads?
The master is tired of looking for someone to blame.
- Well, then let the Pig take care of the Chicken! -he said.
That's where the trial ended.

HOW THE CRANE TEACHED THE FOX TO FLY

The fox knew all the tricks and wisdom. I just couldn’t fly. She began to ask the Crane to teach her to fly.
The Crane took the Fox by the collar and lifted him into the air. They flew high into the sky. Then it occurred to the Fox that she already knew how to fly.
- Well, that's enough! - she screams. - Let me go! The Crane let her go, and the Fox flew to the ground and straight onto a stump. She sees a stump, flies and shouts:
- Hey, get out of the way!
But the stump stands there and doesn’t hear anything. And the Fox slammed, so much so that she stretched out her tail. Since then, not a single fox ever tries to fly. But to this day they all still walk with their tails outstretched.

TALE OF THE GOLDEN AX

Once upon a time there were two brothers: one rich, the other poor.
The rich man did not know how to spend the day, he disappeared from boredom from idleness. He lived in contentment and did not have to work.
And the poor man earned his bread through hard work: chopping wood. And all he had was one axe.
One day a poor brother was cutting down trees on the river bank. The ax slipped out of his hands, fell into the pool and sank to the bottom. The poor guy didn't know what to do. He sat down on the shore and cried out of grief.
So he sat and cried for a long time. And suddenly, out of nowhere, a little gray-haired old man approached him.
“Don’t cry,” he said, “I will help you.” What has happened with you? The poor man told about his misfortune. The old man reassured him:
“I’ll pull your ax out of the river.”
He went down to the pool, stuck his hand into the water, and pulled out a silver ax.
- It's your?
“No,” answered the poor man.
The old man put his hand into the water again and pulled out a golden ax.
- Maybe this one?
- No, not this one either.
Then the old man pulled out a simple ax from the river.
- This one is mine! - said the poor man and gratefully took the ax.
He immediately wanted to get to work. But the old man said:
– If a simple ax can feed your family, then these axes will probably do more for you!
And he gave the poor man his axes - gold and silver.
From that day on, the poor man's life got better and better. Only a year has passed, and he has already become as rich as
his rich brother. And he built a house as beautiful as his brother’s.
As soon as the house was ready, the rich brother appeared.
“I’m surprised,” he said, “how did you manage to get rich?”
The poor brother told everything as it happened.
Then the rich man rushed home like the wind, grabbed an ax and ran into the forest. He came to the river bank, hit the tree once or twice, threw the ax into the pool and began to cry and roar throughout the whole forest.
Soon the old man appeared:
- Why are you crying so bitterly?
The rich man told about his misfortune. The old man put his hand into the water and pulled out a silver ax from the pool.
- Is yours?
- This is my! Come here, it's mine!
The old man gave him a silver axe. Then he took out a gold one:
- It's your?
- My! - the rich brother shouted.
The old man also took out an iron ax. The rich man grabbed all three axes and set off home. And he didn't even say thank you.
But the rich brother walked and walked through the forest, but there was no end to the forest. Night has already come. Then he realized that he was lost, and, without hesitation, went to bed.
“I’ll find the way in the morning.”
And at night that same old man came to him and said:
“You wanted a lot, but got little.” Now you will know how people live in poverty.
He said it and disappeared. And he took away his axes.
In the morning, the rich brother woke up and couldn’t understand: where is he?
It was another whole day, and all around was forest and forest. Exhausted, hungry. And again night came, and he still did not find the road.
The rich brother wandered through the forest for many days. Then he recognized both hunger and cold, until finally, barely alive, he reached home.

BERLEST AND SMOLYANK

Once Beryosta boasted in front of a resinous log:
– I burn brightly, cheerfully! And you, Smolyanok, are just smoking.
“Okay, neighbor, okay,” replied Smolyanok, “why should I argue with you?” Let's go to the road and listen to which of us people will praise more.
“That’s right,” Beryosta agreed.
Beryosta and Smolyanok lay down by the road. Soon travelers appeared on the road - father and son. The day was cold, and both of them were frozen.
“Father, look,” the son rejoiced, “the birch bark is lying there.” The birch bark will immediately flare up. Let's light a fire and warm ourselves up.
“No, son, there is something better here,” the father answered, “you see, the Smolyanka is lying there.” Birch bark soon lights up, but quickly goes out. And smolyanok burns long and hot.
- What are you talking about, father! There is no need to light the birch bark, it will immediately flare up!
- Well, then you take the birch bark, and I’ll take the smolyanka. Let's see which of us is right.
And so they did.
The son took the birch bark. Birch bark immediately flared up and jumped up laughing:
- Hey, Smolyanok, follow me!
The birch bark jumped high, but immediately curled up and went out. The fire burned out, but there was no heat left.
Then the father lit a pitch log. The Smolyanok flared up slowly, smoked, smoked. But when it flared up, it burned hotly and for a long time.
At this point the son didn’t argue anymore.
- Yes, father, your truth: birch bark soon catches fire, but there is no heat from it.

MUSHROOM AND OAK

A mushroom grew near an oak stump.
He grew up and raised his hat. And the stump sent out a thin shoot of young Oak. Mushroom grumbles: “This runt is not ashamed to almost sit on my head.” Couldn't he have found another place? It's so cramped here!
“Grow, grow,” answered Dubok. “If there is not enough space for you, I will move further away.”
The next day, Mushroom began to complain again:
“In this cramped space there’s simply nowhere to straighten your hat!”
“Don’t complain,” Dubok reassured him, “there’s still enough space!”
And on the third day, the Mushroom grew old and fell over on its side. “That’s all your arrogance,” thought Dubok. “You don’t need that much space.”

EVERYONE IS THE FORMER OF HIS OWN HAPPINESS

Once upon a time there lived an old blacksmith in a village. His forge was as old as he was.
In that village, from time immemorial, there was a custom: on New Year's Eve, all the villagers went to the blacksmith with pieces of lead to tell fortunes. They poured molten lead into cold water, and then watched what would happen, whether there would be happiness or not. Because without happiness, no matter how small it may be, a person cannot live.
And so it is today - the forge is full of people, and everyone has a piece of lead in their hands. Everyone was waiting for midnight. At midnight the blacksmith poured coal into the forge and began to blow the bellows. When the coals in the forge became red hot, the blacksmith gave the people an iron ladle so that everyone could melt lead in this ladle and pour out their own happiness. But now it was the turn of the blacksmith himself. He threw the lead into a ladle, melted it, poured it into the water and waited until the lead cooled. And when he took it out of the water, he saw that nothing happened.
- Eh! – exclaimed the blacksmith. “Since I don’t have happiness, then I forge my own happiness!”
He put a piece of iron in the fire, heated it and began to forge it so that everything around rumbled. Soon the head appeared, then the shoulders, torso, legs. Human!
The blacksmith took the iron man out of the fire and threw him into the water. And soon the boy’s head poked out of the water. He climbed out of the trough himself.
Before the blacksmith had time to look back, the Iron Boy was already standing next to his father, swinging a large hammer and forging so that sparks flew in all directions.
When the boy was three years old, he forged a club weighing thirty pounds and walked around the world.
The day passed, the night passed, until he reached a house. Deciding to rest, he threw his club onto the rubble, and the club pierced the rubble and fell into the cellar.
The iron boy bent down, stuck his hand into the hole, and pulled out a club. Then he entered the house and asked to spend the night. But as soon as the boy lay down on the bed, it fell apart under him. However, the Iron Boy didn’t even bat an eye – he was sleeping, and that’s all. In the morning he got up and moved on.
On the way he met an old man. The old man asked:
“Help me, son, thresh the master’s bread for me.” I have no strength, but our master is the devil himself!
The boy agreed and went to the barn. There he threshed as much bread in one hour as the old man could not have done in a day.
The boy managed and said:
- And now I’ll scare your master!
He took his club and slammed it against the wall of the master's castle. First the turrets tilted, and then the whole castle collapsed. And the master stayed there.
Then people asked:
- Who will be the master now?
“You are your own masters now,” answered the Iron Boy.
– But who will rule us?
The boy waved his iron club and said: “Everyone is the architect of his own happiness!” And left. Since then there have been no masters in that country.

FOX AND THRUSH

The blackbird has built its nest on small tree and brought out the chicks.
One day the Fox came up to this tree and said:
- Others are already sowing, but my plow has not yet been made! I want to cut down this tree for a plow. Drozd began to ask:
- Wait, Fox, don’t cut the tree. After all, on it is my nest with small children.
“Give me one chick,” said the Fox, “then I won’t chop it down.”
Drozd was about to give away the chick, but which one would you give? And it’s a pity for this, and it’s a pity for that...
While they were bargaining, Grandma Crow flew up and said to Drozd:
- Don’t worry, Drozdok, let him chop. But where is her ax?
The fox showed its tail and began to hit the tree with it. But then Drozd himself saw that she couldn’t do anything with her tail. And he didn’t give the Fox a single chick.
The Fox got angry and decided to teach the smart Crow a lesson. She lay down under the mountain and pretended to be dead.
The Crow flew in, sat on the Fox's head and began to think whether to peck in the eye or not.
Then the cunning Fox grabbed the Crow.
The crow began to ask:
“Do whatever you want with me, just don’t do what they did to my grandfather.”
– What did they do with your grandfather?
“They put it in the wheel hub and let it go downhill!” “Oh,” thought the Fox, beside herself with anger, “that’s exactly what I’ll do to you.
She took the wheel, put Verona in the hub and started the wheel downhill.
The crow was put into the wheel on one side, and it jumped out on the other and, flying up onto a birch tree, said:
– Too much anger always clouds the mind.

FOREST BEAR AND MARKY MOUSE

The Forest Bear slept all winter in his snowy den and sucked his paw. And he dreamed of summer and honeycombs full of honey.
The Mischievous Mouse lived in a hole nearby. One day she accidentally ran into a bear's den and got lost there and got into the Bear's ear.
The bear woke up, covered his ear with his paw and caught the Prankster.
– My ear is a hole for you, or what? Now I’ll crush you like a raspberry!
“Don’t push me, Mishka,” the Prankster began to plead plaintively, “it’s better to let me go, I’ll be useful to you!”
Forest Bear laughed at the Prankster: what use could she be for him? But he still let me go.
Little time has passed.
One day a bear dark night crawled out of the den, wandered through the forest, and fell into a trap. He tried as hard as he could to get out of the loop, but he couldn’t break free. The end has come for the Forest Bear!
The bear's roar woke up the Mischievous Mouse. She jumped out of her hole to see: why is the Bear roaring so much? She looks, and her strong neighbor is trapped.
The mouse ran up, gnawed through the noose and freed the Bear.
Since then, the Forest Bear always invites the Mischievous Mouse to stay in his den and even allows him to bask in his shaggy ear.

LOAF

One man had such a son that in the seventh year of his life he still couldn’t walk: he was so lazy that he couldn’t handle it! Laughter, and that's all. But what can you do? The father made a cart, put his son in it, like some kind of sack, and began to carry him around the yards, begging.
In one hut the owner put a loaf of bread on the table and said:
- You, father, are not allowed to take bread. And you, son, if you can, take it. If you cannot or do not want to, then remain without eating.
My son was very hungry that day. He fiddled with the cart for a long time until he pulled out one leg, and then the other.
“Well, thank God, I’ve already gotten out of the cart,” my father whispered.
- Rest, rest, son, otherwise you won’t get overextended! - They laugh all around.
Lo and behold, my son is already near the table!
But the loaf was not given to him. He suddenly fell off the table and rolled, and his son followed him. And now both of them are outside the door!..
In the yard, my son is running, trying to grab a loaf of bread. But the daring loaf is not given and tortured the poor fellow so much that his whole back is wet. And in the end the loaf disappeared completely, as if it had sunk into the water!
It’s a pity that the loaf disappeared somewhere, but my son learned to run.
The father rejoices:
- This bread cured your laziness!
From that day on, the son began to walk a lot and work deftly. And in the end he grew up to be a good, hard-working person.

SON WITH VERSHOK

One peasant had a son no more than an inch tall. Therefore, his father named him Spryditis - Son of an inch. But even though this boy was about the size of an inch, he had a lot of courage. He used to say to himself:
- If I, such a not very tall man, don’t have courage, what will I achieve then?
One day Spriditis decided to look White light. I took my feet in my hands, as they say, and went. He walked and walked and found himself in a large forest.
“How great it is here! Let me stretch out to my full length and lie down for a minute!” – thought Spriditis.
I did as I decided. But will they allow a person to rest? The king of that country was hunting in the forest. And - what a klutz! – he ran past and almost crushed the boy’s heels.
- Listen, little frog, get up! – he shouted. “Are you sleeping on the road?” The hare will scare you here!
The king screams, Spriditis does not hear anything - he snores and snores. Then the king called the hunters and ordered them all to shoot at once to scare the baby. But he only moved his little finger and was still sleeping. The king ordered to shoot a second time. The boy moved his leg, and that was all. He sleeps as he slept. The king ordered to shoot a third time. Then the boy jumped up.
- Why did you bother me? – he shouted angrily. “As soon as I hit you in the ear, you’ll all fly head over heels from here!”
The king burst out laughing.
- Hey, hey, baby! Tell me, which grasshopper are you not afraid to show your fist to?
- Don't talk about grasshoppers, talk better about bears! And don’t ask which one, but rather ask how many. And if you don’t believe me, then give me whatever bear you want, then you’ll see. And you will be glad to ask me to be your son-in-law!
The king laughs and bursts into tears.
“Listen, braggart, I promise you my daughter,” he says. “But if you don’t overcome the bear, you will receive the rod.”
In the morning the king showed the bear's den. Let the baby go and measure his strength with the bear. Spryditis picked up some pebbles in his pocket and walked away. And the den was not far from the forest guardhouse.
Spriditis took out one pebble and threw it at the bear. The bear woke up. The boy threw a second pebble and hit the bear in the ear. The bear grumbled. Spriditis threw the third pebble - a sizable pebble - and hit the bear in the nose. The bear roared and jumped up.
The boy ran away and went straight to the guardhouse. The bear roars behind him. Spryditis was about to run into the guardhouse, but he tripped and - whack! – stretched out on the threshold. The bear jumped over him with a running start. Then the kid jumped up, ran out of the guardhouse and slammed the door.
Bot for you! For the bear - a trap, and for the baby - a royal daughter.
The king just shrugs:
- Tell me, how did you manage to deal with the bear?
- How did you manage? What is there to ask! He didn’t hit, he didn’t stab, he took the bear by the ear and threw him into the guardhouse. Now all of you go together and try to let him out, if only you have a little courage!
The king is surprised. But my daughter still won’t give it up. How can you give such a short man his only daughter?
But since Spryditis is such a hero, then first let him free the royal forest from the twelve robbers who live there. Then he will receive the royal daughter.
Spriditis again filled his pockets with stones and went into the forest. There he climbed a tree and waited. At midnight twelve thieves came, sat under that tree, drinking, eating, talking.
The chieftain poured himself some wine and wanted to drink it. At that time Spriditis threw a stone at him and hit the robber right in the forehead.
- Hey, stop joking! - the chieftain shouted, looking angrily at his comrades.
But as soon as he threw his head back to drink the wine, the boy again threw a stone at him. And it hit me right in the eye.
The chieftain shouted with rage:
- If anyone thinks that I am blind, let him beware!
The robbers are alarmed, they look at each other like wolves, they will not understand anything.
The chieftain again raised the cup to his lips. And the kid again threw a stone at him - the heaviest pebble.
At this point the chieftain pulled out his sword and rushed at his comrades. The robbers jumped up, drew their swords, and the slaughter began: everyone was fighting and slashing among themselves! And then they took up pistols. And in the end everyone ended up dead.
Then Spryditis climbed down from the tree, led the king into the forest and showed that the work was done: all twelve robbers were killed.
The king shrugs his shoulders and asks:
– How did you manage to defeat such villains?
- How did you manage? What is there to ask! He hit one on the ear and he hit the ground; gave it to the second one - he stretched out; gave it to the third - he somersaulted. And then I easily dealt with the rest.
The king is surprised. But the daughter still won’t give it up: how can you give an heiress to such a kid?
But the little boy has now become completely brave.
– Where is your royal word? - he shouts. The king sees that there is nowhere to go, and he came up with another reason: let Spriditis drive the enemy away from his land, then he will receive the king’s daughter.
The boy agrees. Let the king give him a white horse with a long mane and white clothes. Then he will cope with the enemy. Required - Done. The son, as tall as an inch, saddled a white, long-maned horse and dressed in white clothes. And he galloped towards the enemy army, shouting in a loud voice:
- He who comes with a sword will fall by the sword!
The enemies see - the saddled one flies towards them White horse and says human voice. They decided that this horse was magical, got scared and took off running.
At this point the king could think of nothing else. He gave his daughter to the baby. But Spriditis doesn’t need a royal daughter. The king kept his word - and okay. But Spriditis does not want to live in idleness. He will rest and again go around the world to perform feats.

HEDGEHOG AND HARE

Two Hedgehog brothers conspired to play a prank on their neighbor, the Long-Eared Hare.
At the edge of the forest there was a deep ravine.
The hedgehogs stood at different ends of the ravine.
“Listen, Long-Eared!” one Hedgehog shouted. “You always boast that you run the fastest.” But I will overtake you.
“Let them tear off my mustache, but I won’t believe it,” answered the Hare.
- Uh, what’s there, I’ll believe it, I won’t believe it! Let's argue. If you overtake me, then tear out ten needles from my fur coat; If I overtake you, I will tear out ten hairs from your mustache. Agree?
- Certainly! Only I feel sorry for your fur coat.
- And I want your mustache! Well, then you, Long Ears, run along the top of the ravine, and I’ll run at the bottom.
The hare rushed by like a whirlwind. I reached the end of the ravine - lo and behold, the Hedgehog is already here! And shouts to the Hare:
- Listen, where have you been for so long? I'm frozen waiting for you. Bring on the mustache! - No, no, Hedgehog, this time I was unlucky. Let's run back again.
- Okay, let's run!
The hare rushed off again like a whirlwind. But at the other end of the ravine I met the Hedgehog again. The Hedgehog shouts to the Hare:
- Listen! Why are you making me freeze? Bring on the mustache!
- No, no, no, Hedgehog, let’s run one more time, then come what may!
- Okay, let's run.
The hare ran like a whirlwind. And at the other end of the ravine the Hedgehog is waiting for him again:
- Give me the mustache! I'm not joking with you anymore. There was nothing to do, I had to give it up. The Hedgehog pulled out ten hairs from the Hare's mustache. He stuck five hairs into his brother near the stigma and five hairs into himself.
Since then, all hedgehogs have had a hare's whiskers above their lips.

A poor man came to the master and asked him to give him something to eat.
The master ordered to feed him. A large bowl of soup was poured for the poor man. When the poor man has eaten the soup, the master asks:
- You want more?
“Thank you, I’m full,” answered the poor man.
Then the master ordered a good piece of meat to be brought to the poor man.
The poor man ate the meat too.
-Will you eat something else? - asked the master.
“Do whatever you want, master,” answered the poor man, “but I can’t do it anymore.”
But the master ordered a full bowl of sweet porridge to be served to the poor man.
The poor man ate the porridge too.
Then the master stood up and hit him on the ear.
-Why are you lying to me? You say you're full, but whatever they give you, you eat again!
There was an empty box in the master's yard. The poor man filled it with stones to the top and asked the master:
– Is the box full or not?
“It’s full,” the master answers.
The poor man also poured sand into the box.
- Is it full now?
-You don’t see that you’re full! - the master answers. The poor man took a bucket of water and also poured it into the box. And then he went up to the master and hit him on the ear.
- As you are to me, so am I to you. I couldn't tell when I was full. But you couldn’t answer when the box became full.

HOW THE STUPID SON WENT TO RIGA

One peasant had three sons: two were smart, and the third was a fool. Smart sons my father sent me to study pottery. And he left the fool at home - let him lie on the stove.
When the father died, the older potter brothers took over their father's farm and removed the fool from all matters. After all, he doesn’t understand anything!
“Well, I can’t figure it out, I still can’t figure it out,” the fool thinks. And he doesn't argue with them.
And the smart brothers got down to business. They crumpled and ruffled flax, fired pots - they didn’t refuse to work, as long as the money was good. And we agreed among ourselves not to give money to the fool. And he can work without money, for grub.
So the brothers made pots, the whole fence is hung with pots. It's time to take it to Riga. They put these pots on a cart and sent their younger brother to the market.
- Sell the pots, and make sure you bring everything home. How more money If you bring it, so much the better.
The fool began to argue:
- How will I bring all the money? I also need some expenses!
“Whoever doesn’t know how to earn money from grub, how dare he also spend money?” - the brothers answered him. “Don’t touch our money!”
“Okay,” said the fool, “I won’t touch your money.” I won't even look at them!
And he left.
In Riga, at the market, buyers approach him:
- How much are you asking for the pots?
– What can I ask for? I was told not to touch the money. And I don’t even want to look at them. Take pots for free!
- Oh, you empty head!
Buyers heard that the pots are free, so let’s carry them. They tore them right out of my hands. Evening is still far away, but the cart is already empty. And the fool, whistling, goes home.
He hadn’t even reached the gate yet, and the brothers were already coming towards him.
- Fool, where is the money?
- Where's the money? In Riga.
– Where did you put the pots if the money is in Riga?
– And pots in Riga. They take them there by the cartload. In great demand. But they won’t give us any money until we deliver all the pots.
The brothers heard that the residents of Riga were selling pots in great demand, so they didn’t ask anything more. They load the pots onto a cart and send the fool to Riga again. One cart will be delivered, and they already have another one ready. And the fool goes and goes to Riga with pots. What's his business? The brothers order it, and he carries it.
So he carried and carried pots all summer and all autumn. Now winter has come, and the snow has piled up, and the fool went with the last cart.
“Oh, what a shame,” the fool thinks, “now I have to bring money for all the pots. If I don’t bring it, my brothers won’t let me live. But I want to live in the world!”
He is driving back home from Riga - he has no pots, no money.
And now - happiness, where are you from? - He hears some noise in the bushes. He drove closer and saw: robbers, robbers, or whoever they were - on the road you don’t recognize everyone! - they hide something in a snowdrift.
The fool thinks:
“Why should I get involved with people like that? Let them hide it. And when they leave, it will be my turn.”
The robbers buried something in the snow and left. And the fool rummaged in the snowdrift, looked, and there was a large box full of silver. Well? He put the box on the sleigh and went home.
The fool came home and poured caps full of silver for the brothers. And he left the rest of the money in the box, threw his straw mattress on the stove and slept again as he had slept.
The smart brothers, seeing how much money the fool brought them, felt guilty before him. And here
They allowed him something that they would never have agreed to before: to get married!
Well, if you get married, then get married. No fool would contradict his older brothers!
And so the older brothers started a wedding. They steam, they cook, they prepare a feast. And the fact that there is no bride is not enough grief for them. And when should you look for a bride? We also need to go to Cesis to get some butter. Maybe somewhere along the way they will find some stupid girl for this fool.
The brothers left. And the fool went to heat the bathhouse and brew beer. He heated and heated the bathhouse, and heated it so hot that the beer went wild, knocked the cap into the ceiling and spilled all over the floor. What would a wedding be without beer? The whole thing fell apart.
But the following fall the wedding no longer fell apart. The fool found himself a bride and celebrated the wedding himself. And then he lived so wisely that even smart brothers came to him for advice.
This is what happens when you consider yourself stupider than someone else!

FOREST PIPE

One evening the forester was returning home from hunting.
On the road he met some tall gentleman. But even though this gentleman was dressed up in lordly clothes, the forester still noticed that he had one horse’s leg, the other a rooster’s, and behind him a long cow’s tail. The forester immediately realized what kind of gentleman he was.
- Good evening, Mr. Devil! - he said.
“Good evening, forester,” answered the devil. “Where have you been?”
- I was hunting ducks.
-Have you shot a lot?
- I shot three ducks.
– Who will you take them to?
- To the Riga gentlemen.
- So-so! What is that hanging on your back, forester? - asked the devil, pointing to the gun.
- And this is my pipe.
- I would like to smoke from your pipe. Will you allow me, forester?
- Willingly, please. Take the mouthpiece in your teeth, and now I’ll give you some light.
The devil put the barrel of a gun in his teeth, and the forester immediately pulled the trigger. A shot rang out.
The devil shuddered and squinted. He spat out a fraction and shouted:
- What strong tobacco you smoke! - Yes, away from the forester, off to the side and into the thicket!
And the forester never came across him on the road again.

THE MAN AND THE PASTOR

One day a man was listening to a sermon in church.
The pastor told the peasants:
“You have to give your last to the church, and for this God will reward you tenfold.” Arriving home, the man told his wife what sermon he had heard in church.
“I think tomorrow we should take our cow and give it to the pastor.”
“Today you have become either too smart or too stupid,” said the wife, “or rather, you have no intelligence at all.”
“I’m not smart and I’m not a fool,” the husband answered. “The pastor said that God will reward you tenfold for what you give.” So, if I give away my only cow, then
soon I will have ten in return. This is how we will get out of poverty.
“Do as you want,” said the wife. “Just make sure that the children don’t have to die of hunger.”
The man thought for a long time. But in the morning I still took my last cow to the pastor. Returning home, he began to wait for God to reward him tenfold.
He waits and waits, but he can’t wait.
And then one day a man sees that the pastor’s flock has wandered into his pen.
He ran out immediately, closed the gate of the pen and began counting the cows. Just ten. And the eleventh is his Pestrukha.
A man calls his wife:
“You see, little wife, the pastor was telling the truth!” What happiness has befallen us!
After a while, the pastor's farmhands come running and demand that the man return the cows.
But the man doesn’t want to listen to them:
– The pastor in the church himself said that God will reward you tenfold if you give your last. I gave the pastor my only cow, and now I have ten in return. And the eleventh is my own. I don't have a single extra cow.
The farmhands see that they will not get anything good from the peasant. They went and told the pastor that the man didn’t give away cows. The pastor himself arrives.
-Will you give up my cows or not?
“I don’t have your cows,” the man answers. “I only have those that God sent.” You yourself said in church that God will reward you tenfold. That time I gave you my only cow, and now I have ten in return. And the eleventh is my Pestrukha.
- Don't talk, you slacker! – the pastor shouted. “Answer: will you give the cows away or not?”
- What? - the man was surprised. - Why should I give away my cows? Where have you seen this?
- OK. Then I'll complain to the judge about you.
Previously, the court had this order: whoever came to the judge first won the case.
The man is thinking: how can he be the first to get to the judge? He knows that the judge will not let him in first. Will wait until the pastor arrives.
The man thought and wondered. And finally I came up with it.
He put on an old caftan, hung his bag over his shoulder and walked like a beggar.
The judge did not suspect anything and let him in to spend the night. And the man rejoices:
“Now I will defeat the pastor!”
He lies down in the corner, but does not sleep - he listens to what the judge and his wife are talking about.
Around midnight someone knocked on the door. The judge went to open it. The man hears - the pastor has arrived.
Now he lies and listens to what the judge and the pastor are talking about.
And in the morning the man got up and left quietly, so that no one would guess what kind of beggar had spent the night here.
At the trial, the pastor says to the man:
- Now you will return the cows to me. I was the first to appear before the judge.
“Uh, no,” the man answers. “I was the one who came first.” I’ve been with the judge since yesterday evening and even spent the night. I heard what the judge was talking about with his wife, I also heard how you arrived and what you and the judge talked about. If you want, I can repeat it.
So the man pinned the judge to the wall. The judge realized what kind of beggar he was. And he had to decide the case in favor of the man. The pastor lost his cows. And the man lived happily ever after.

WE EAT JOKINGLY, JOKINGLY AND WORKING!

The owner was bringing a cauldron of stew to the mowers.
The boiler in the cart is shaking, swaying - zhvang, zhvang! The stew in the cauldron gurgles - glug, glug, glug! – and over the edge.
And the owner whips and whips the horse with a whip. He just wants to get to the mowing as quickly as possible. The cart rumbles, the boiler tilts.
The stew is splashing over the edge. And the mowers look at the sun and wait for lunch.
The owner arrived at the meadow. He hurries the mowers - eat quickly. But the cauldron is empty, the stew along the way is gurg-glug, and it’s all gurgled out.
- What do you eat when you have nothing to dip your spoon in?
– And this time you will eat just like that, as a joke. Next time I’ll close the boiler with a lid!” says the owner.
There is nothing to do, the mowers ate just like that, as a joke. We washed down our lunch with water from the river and settled down to rest.
We rested and went out to mow again. The mowers walk in a line, waving their scythes through the air.
The owner saw this and shouted:
- Hey! How do you mow?
– We eat as a joke, and work as a joke! - answered the mowers.

A long time ago in one country there was a custom of killing old people who were no longer able to work. The old people were taken into the forest and left to be eaten by bears and wolves.
And no one dared to leave their old parents at home - everyone vigilantly ensured that the law of their ancestors was sacredly carried out.
At that time, there lived in this country an old gray-haired man. He had a son, and the son had his own son. And so the old man’s son began to notice that his father could no longer work properly.
“It’s time for father to leave this world,” the son decided. He took the sled, tied his father to it and took him into the forest. And the little grandson ran behind.
The son took his father into the thicket, overturned the sled into the snow and said:
– Let him lie with the sled! But his lively son immediately shouted:
- No, I won’t leave my sled here!
– What do you need such a useless sled for?
- And if I don’t have a sled, then how will I take you to the forest when you get old?
Hearing this, the old man's son became thoughtful.
“My son promises me the same end that I prepared for my father. No, that’s not good!”
And he took his father back home. At dusk, having entered the yard, he immediately hid his father in the cellar so that the neighbors would not see. And every day he brought him food and drink there.
That year, a widespread disease attacked the cattle. Horses, cows, sheep, pigs began to die... Then the old father gave his son advice:
- Keep the barn clean. Separate sick animals from healthy ones. Give the sick animal such and such medicine.
The old man’s son kept almost all the livestock. And the neighbors lost a lot of livestock. And everyone was surprised: where did he get such happiness?
There was a custom in that country to slaughter a lot of cattle on the autumn holiday. People ate meat and celebrated for several days in a row.
The old man again gave advice to his son:
- Do without feasts today. There are few livestock left, they must be saved.
The son obeyed. And when spring came, he could plow the field, because both his horses and oxen remained intact. And others had neither oxen nor horses - they ate everything during the holidays. There is nothing to plow the field with. And so soon there was famine in the country.
The old man, sitting in the cellar, noticed that things were bad in the village: his son began to give him only barley bread, and even then not enough. One day he asked his son:
- Why don’t you give me a single piece of rye bread anymore?
“We have a severe hunger,” the son answered, “and what’s especially bad is not that there is nothing to eat, but that there is nothing to sow the field with.”
“These are difficult times,” the old man sighed, “but don’t be sad, my son.” You will have seeds.
- Where from?
- Take half the roof off the barn, thresh the old straw, there are still a lot of grains in it.
The son did just that. I took half the roof off the barn, threshed the old straw and got a bag of rye.
He immediately went down to his father’s cellar and told him about his joy: he had threshed a whole bag of grain from old straw.
Then the father said:
“Now take the other half of the roof off the barn and thresh it.”
The son removed the other half of the roof from the barn, threshed the old straw and again received a whole sack of grain.
- Now sow the rye! - said the father.
The son sowed rye. The bread turned out good. And they themselves are full, and there are seeds for next year enough.
The neighbors could not understand where this young peasant got seeds in such hungry times? They decided that he had a dragon who was dragging all sorts of good things into his yard. They started spying on his house. And they found out that he was hiding his old father in the cellar. And they immediately went to complain to the king.
The king called the culprit to the castle and asked:
- It's true that you violated ancient custom and left his weak father alive?
The peasant replied:
- I confess, I’m guilty!
“How dare you, in times of famine, feed an old man who doesn’t work?”
– A person needs not only a job, but also advice. Without my father's advice, my wife, children and I would have died of hunger.
- How so? You had an extra mouth to feed!
- Ah, king! Smart advice always justifies such an expense.
And he told how he acted on the advice of his old father.
Now the king realized that without good advice people cannot get by and that only the real adviser is the one who has seen and experienced more in his lifetime.
And then the king passed a law: no longer should old people be taken into the forest to be devoured by animals, and children should take care of their helpless parents until the last minute of their lives.

DEAR MEASURE OF RYE

HOW A MAN FLYED ON WILD GEESE

A man sowed peas on the shore of a lake. And then one day he sees that his pea field has been trampled. I started watching: who is walking on the field? And I noticed that every morning at dawn wild geese fly here.
What should a man do?
I thought and wondered - it was so bad. If you shoot, then best case scenario If you hit one, the others will fly away; if you hit one with a stick, then maybe you’ll kill one, or maybe not.
“Wait a minute,” the man finally decided, “I’ll buy honey, buy vodka, mix it together and leave it in the trough next to the peas.
No sooner said than done.
By morning a large flock of geese arrived. We ate our fill of peas, then went to the trough and drank. We ate some more and drank some more. And they ate and drank until they fell down - they became drunk.
The man was just waiting for this: he took a rope and tied all the geese by the paws. And I already wanted to cut them one by one. But as soon as he took out the knife, the geese screamed, they all flapped their wings at once and rose into the air. And they took the man with them.
Flying over the lake. The man is afraid: lest he fall or drown! Flying over the forest. I'm afraid again: lest I hang from a tree!
They flew like this for quite a long time. Suddenly a man sees a moss swamp below.
“It’s not scary to fall here,” he thought.
He let go of the rope, and - bang! - into the swamp.
The geese heard him thump and decided that someone was shooting at them. They cackled even louder and flew forward even faster. And the man fell like a stone into the swamp and sank almost to his waist into the quagmire.
He began to climb out, but the more he climbed, the deeper he sank. In the end, he got so stuck that he couldn’t budge.
One day sits in the swamp, another day sits - there is no
salvation. He is tormented by thirst, tormented by hunger, but what can he do? He sits as he sat, there is no help from anywhere.
But then a magpie flew to the swamp. It circles overhead, chirps, grabs the man by the hair, but is unable to help. Luckily, a wolf ran past. He looks at what strange hummock is sticking out in the swamp? He ran up and sniffed. And the man, without hesitation, grabbed the wolf by the tail and jumped out of the quagmire in one fell swoop!
And from that time on, the wild geese continued to fly in a line, as if they were tied to a rope.

FATHER'S INHERITANCE

One rich peasant had three sons and two daughters. The father married off his daughters and married his younger sons. And when he himself became old and weak, he gave the farm to his eldest son.
He lived like this, lived for some time, and then the eldest son got tired of it: why is his father getting in the way? Let him, they say, go live with other brothers. They say they can't wait for him.
The father, not thinking anything bad, went to his middle son.
The middle son fed him for some time. But then the wife began to grumble: after all, there was an extra mouth. A year had not passed before the father was told here: let him go to his youngest son.
The father went to his youngest son.
I lived for a month, and here my daughter-in-law is even more angry: she has a mouth like your barnyard - it never closes.
- Why doesn’t he live with his eldest son, to whom he gave all his property and house?
The old father could not bear the insult and went to his daughters.
He will live with one for a few weeks, he will live with another for a little while. And, there is nothing to do, again he becomes a burden - he must leave.
So the father wandered from one to another. His old caftan is worn out, but no one even thinks about a new one. It's a shame to appear in front of people.
And then one day the old man met his old friend.
He asks:
- Why are you, neighbor, so ragged? After all, recently you were a wealthy owner!
Then the old man told his friend everything as it was. Too early he gave the farm to his son and divided the property. Now he has to beg himself, he walks around with a beggar’s staff. Beloved children have become strangers, callous. They would rather feed a dog than give bread to an old father...
The friend listened to the old man’s story and said:
– Don’t worry, I’ll help you! Just be smarter in future, then you'll roll like cheese in butter. Listen to what I tell you. I have an old chest in my cage, I’ll give it to you.
- What do I need a chest for? For ridicule?
- Yes, listen! Have as many keys made for the chest as you have children. When you arrive at one of them, start turning the key! When they ask you what the key is, don't tell the truth. Say that this is the key to your goods, and the goods are kept in a safe place. So, they say, when I die, then you will receive it as an inheritance...
The father listened to friendly advice. He took the chest and made five keys for it.
Then he went to his eldest son and, as if by accident, began to play with a shiny key that hung in his vest buttonhole.
The son saw this and asked what kind of key he had.
- This is the key to my wealth. When I die, everything will be yours. And I can give you the key now - keep it for your health! When I am near death, then I will tell you where the chest of goods is kept.
Hearing these words, the son and daughter-in-law became so attentive to the old father that their hearts rejoiced! When the father wanted to go for a walk on Sunday, the eldest son gave him his new suit and said:
- Well, are you going to walk? I'll harness the horse.
And he drove his father like a master. The younger brothers and sisters saw this. And they thought:
“Hey, my father is probably not so poor if his older brother honors him like that! For nothing he won’t give his father his new suit and he won’t be as lucky as the master!”
Now they are all vying with each other to invite their father - let him come and live with them...
Now the only thing the old man lacked was bird's milk.
The youngest son called a tailor and ordered his father to sew a new suit from the finest cloth. The middle one went to the shoemaker and ordered his father to make new boots. And the eldest son sewed him a fur coat. They dressed my father from head to toe like a master and fed him to his fill. In a word, he lived his old age as if at a wedding.
A few years later the old man fell ill. Dying, he told the children that his chest was kept in the volost court, and the keys, they say, were in everyone’s hands
The children gave their father a rich funeral so that he would not be ashamed before the world. And the next morning they called the judges, the clerk and the volost foreman, placed a policeman with a naked saber near the chest and opened the chest in order to legally divide all the goods among themselves.
But what do you think? They opened the chest, and there was nothing in it! Only at the bottom lies a beggar’s staff and a note that says:
“The old man must be beaten with this staff because he failed to instill conscience and honor in his children.”

BLACK MIKELIS

Once upon a time there lived a poor peasant. His house was so old that it was scary to cross the threshold. The leaky roof was leaning, the rain poured through. The man had a horse, but if he moved the empty cart, then say thank you. The same cow and heifer - you had to push them to get up from the ground. But the hut is full of children. Running around half naked late autumn Yes, they chew a cracker or a baked potato.
Winter has come, and there is not a log of firewood in the house. The man put a stale piece of bread in a sack and went into the forest to chop wood. I chopped up some fagot and decided to have a snack. I looked around, but there was no bag. What's happened? I want to eat - I can’t bear it. The man got angry:
- What the hell stole my bag?
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a smart gentleman appeared in front of him - as if he had fallen from the sky.
– Why are you so upset? – asked the smart gentleman.
- They stole my bread! - the man answered.
- Oh no no no! What unscrupulous thieves! Surely it wasn’t my guys who took the bread?
The master whistled loudly:
- Hey, Yuri, Eshki, Brenchi, Mikelis! Where are you? Then the little devils came running to him - both big and small. The man realized what kind of gentleman he was. And the master asked:
- All here?
– There is no one black Mikelis!
But then black Mikelis crawled out of the bushes.
“Didn’t you steal the bag of bread from this poor man?” asked the master.
- I.
- If so, you will serve this guy as punishment. whole year for free.
The smart gentleman said this and immediately disappeared along with the little devils. And black Mikelis grabbed an ax and started chopping wood, so much so that the whole forest began to shake. And the owner, they say, let him go home.
By evening, Mikelis had piled up a huge woodpile in the forest. In the morning he asked the man for a horse to bring firewood. The man had a pathetic little horse. Well, whatever it is, I gave it like that.
Mikelis loaded a huge cart, even the runners began to crack. He urges the horse, but it can’t even move. Then Mikelis threw the horse onto the cart, harnessed himself to the sleigh and easily dragged it home.
The next day, black Mikelis didn’t even take a horse - he dragged almost half the forest on himself; The whole yard was filled with logs.
After that, he brought a whole mountain of logs and built a man new house. And then he asks:
- What, you don’t need money at all?
- How unnecessary! – said the man. “But who will give it to me?”
Black Mikelis grinned:
- Fine. Let's go to the forest!
We arrived in the forest and began to tear up the moss. They tore half a cartload of lichen from stumps and trunks and half a cartload of soft swamp moss. With a full cart we went to the city. While we were driving, the moss on the cart turned into fine, thin wool. People were surprised and stopped the cart:
- Oh, what great wool! What is the price? So much and so much.
Buyers paid and did not haggle. And we didn’t get to the city - all the wool was sold. Now the man already has money.
In the end, black Mikelis had nothing to do with the man.
“I’ll go to the baron, ask for a plot of forest and I’ll clear it for arable land!”
- OK. Go. The baron gave the land, and he himself thought: “How much can such a peasant clear?”
But black Mikelis took it, how he clung to the work! The baron didn’t even have time to look back, but the forest was already uprooted, the arable land was plowed and sown. The barley grew like a grove, and the wheat grew taller than one’s head. The Baron felt so sorry, so sorry that he gave up the land. Apparently the land was very good!
“I can’t give this bread away for free,” he said. “I won’t give it away for anything!”
- No, no! - answered black Mikelis - But the baron will not refuse to give me one fagot for work and for sowing?
- Yes, yes, willingly! - said the baron.
What about black Mikelis? He tore up several cartloads of bast and twisted such a rope that the man couldn’t even lift the end of it. With this rope, black Mikelis went to the estate, tied the entire harvest into one armful, put it on his back and brought it to his owner.
Black Mikelis threshed the bread, poured it into the bins and said to the peasant:
“Eat your fill of bread and live as best you can.” And I'm leaving - my term of service is over!

THE WISE DIGER

One day the king was walking along the road. He sees a man digging a ditch. The king asked:
– Do you earn a lot?
“I make good money,” answered the navvy, “and I pay off the old debt and put it towards the interest.” And I also eat fried food!
The king was surprised:
- How do you manage to do so much? The digger replied:
“I feed my father, which means I’m paying off an old debt.” Feeding and educating my son means I’m putting money towards interest. At lunch I eat fried herring - isn't it fried?
- Right!
The king rejoiced at the wisdom of the navvy and went home to the palace. There he asked his officers the same riddle that he had just been asked.
The officers puzzled for a long time - no one guessed right! Only one person managed to solve the riddle. And the king immediately promoted him to general.
What about the digger? This makes him neither hot nor cold.
They didn’t make him a general!

Has Russia really brought only troubles to the peoples of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as is now claimed in the Baltic states? Why are Russian people’s rights now being infringed upon, the graves of Soviet soldiers are being desecrated, and monuments are being erected to SS men? Has enmity always reigned between Russia and the Baltic peoples? Why did the Baltic states serve as a bridge either for peaceful ties between the West and Russia, or for an attack on our country? Analyzing events thousand years of history, famous domestic historian Yu.V. Emelyanov in his book gives answers to these and other questions...

Tales from a Travel Suitcase Svyatoslav Sakharnov

The book includes folk tales South-East Asia and Japan, as well as English, African and Cuban tales collected by the author during his travels to various countries. Of significant interest is the retelling of the great Indian epic Ramayana included in the collection - “The Tale of Rama, Sita and the Flying Monkey Hanuman.”

Sword of Prince Vyachka Leonid Daineko

The action of L. Daineko’s novel “The Sword of Prince Vyachka” dates back to the end of the 12th century. -early XIII centuries, when the Polotsk land united in its composition most modern Belarus. The bloody war waged by Polotsk together with the peoples of the Baltic states against the crusaders rushing to the east forms the basis of the work.

The funniest zaviral stories Yuri Viira

Yuri Borisovich Viira - famous children's writer. His stories were regularly published on the pages of the best magazines for children, and the writer himself was called “the capital’s Andersen.” This book is the most complete collection of the author's works. This included the cycles: “Zaviral Stories”, “Balcony”, “Gazebos”, the main characters are an inquisitive girl and her dad, with whom there is never a dull moment; also “Tales of the Peoples of the World”, the amazingly lyrical cycle “White Hedgehog by the White Sea”. They are united by a subtle, lively, childlike, spontaneous humor, unsurpassed...

Epic of the Predator. Collection Leonid Kaganov

This book can be called fantasy. With exactly the same basis as the books of Borges, Murakami or Cortazar. This book can be called classic Russian prose. With the same right as the stories of Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov. This book can be called humorous. Just like the books of Zoshchenko, Hasek or Mark Twain. But all this is Leonid Kaganov. If you haven't read it yet, then you're probably just illiterate. Sergey Lukyanenko The collection includes: Tales of the Peoples of the World, The Fourth Tier, Make a Wish, Rednecks, The First Purge, Thirty-Five, Dollar, Epic of the Predator,…

Fairy tales and myths of the peoples of Chukotka and Kamchatka Author unknown

This book is the first wide publication of fairy tales and myths of the peoples of Chukotka and Kamchatka, accompanied by a folklore preface and comments. The collection includes myths, tales about animals, everyday life and fairy tales of the Asian Eskimos, Chukchi, Kerek, Koryak and Itelmen. At the end of the publication there is an ethnographic information about these peoples, a dictionary is given geographical names, untranslatable words and terms used in fairy tales and myths. The collection is intended for an adult reader. Comp., preface. and approx. G. A. Menovshchikov

The glutton king. Turkmen folk tales Turkmen Fairy Tale

Fairy tales of the Turkmen people are rightfully very popular among readers of any age and have successfully undergone reprints. This collection includes such interesting tales as “The Glutton Tsar”, “Two Mergens”, “Mamed”, “The Clever Old Man”, etc. For younger children school age The Glutton Tsar Three Bulls The Language of Animals The Tale of the Fox Bread from Dzhugara Two Mergens Mamed Smart Old Man Don’t set fire - you’ll burn yourself, don’t dig a hole - you’ll please yourself Widow’s son

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Tales and legends of Bengal Author unknown - Epics, myths, legends and tales

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INTRODUCTION

Since time immemorial, the life and work of every nation has been accompanied by oral folk poetry. In diverse artistic forms it expressed folk wisdom, thoughts and aspirations of many generations. In the past, folk art represented the most important form of ideology for the masses. Nowadays, it provides very valuable material for studying the historical development of the people, social relations and various aspects of life. We will always be captivated by artistic values ​​and the poetic world of images in the works of folk talents. Latvian folklore has a particularly rich history, with its roots deep in the life of the people. This is largely due to the historical destinies of Latvians. The normal formation and development of the Latvian nation was interrupted by the invasion of the German crusaders into the Baltic lands. The 13th century in the history of the Latvian people is a century of fierce struggle of Latvian tribes against well-armed hordes of knights. Since the end of the 13th century, the peoples of the Baltic states have been under the cruel yoke of German feudal lords. Over the centuries, the boundaries of feudal states on the territory of Latvia changed, some rulers replaced others, but the economic and spiritual power of foreign feudal lords and their minions - ministers of the Christian Church over the Latvian people remained unchanged. Only the Great October Socialist Revolution helped the Latvian people to finally throw off the shackles of almost 700 years of enslavement. For many centuries, Latvians were almost completely excluded from participation in deciding the political and economic destinies of their homeland and were deprived of the opportunity to develop their national culture, including written literature. Until the 19th century, when the first books by Latvian writers appeared, oral art was the only form of reflection of the entire life and work experience of the Latvian people, an expression of their hopes for a better future. One of the main motives in the works of Latvian folklore is the working person’s desire for freedom and hatred of oppressors and exploiters. The richness and diversity of Latvian folk art was discovered in the second half of the 19th century, when work began on collecting and systematizing all genres of folklore. A stream of recordings of folk songs, fairy tales, legends and other folklore materials poured out from all corners of Latvia. The first collection of Latvian folk tales in Russian was published in 1887 in Moscow by teacher and writer F. Brivzemniek. The 148 tales included in the collection were only a small part of the wealth of narrative folklore that was revealed by the end of the 19th century. With the active help and support of the Russian scientific community, in 1903, a 7-volume edition of Latvian fairy tales and legends (“Latvieshu tautas teikas un pasakas”, 1891–1903), collected by the folk teacher and passionate lover of folk poetry A. Lerch-Puskaitis, was completed. The collection of narrative folklore continued in subsequent years. At the end of 1924, the Latvian Folklore Repository was founded, where several thousand folk tales had accumulated over the course of 15 years. About 8,000 Latvian fairy tales and legends were published in a 15-volume collection (“Latvieshu pasakas un teikas”, 1925–1937), prepared by folklorist and literary critic P. Šmit. Currently, the collection and study of works of folk art in the republic is managed by the folklore sector of the Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR. The scientific archive of the sector stores about 2.7 million records of folklore materials, including approximately 90 thousand fairy tales and legends. In the post-war years, every summer scientific expeditions travel to the regions of Latvia to collect folklore, in particular fairy tale, material and study the role of folk art in the life of the people at the present time. During the years of Soviet power, the publication of Latvian folklore of all genres in both Latvian and Russian languages ​​was widely carried out. The most complete publication of Latvian folk tales in Russian is the three-volume collection “Latvian Folk Tales”, published by the publishing house “Zinatne”. Folk tales undoubtedly occupy the most important place among the materials of narrative folklore. For centuries, the images and plots of fairy tales have embodied folk wisdom, ethical and aesthetic ideals, the life experience of the people, and the desire to understand and explain the laws of the world around them. The ethical and aesthetic values ​​of folk tales can still be used today in educating the younger generation. For researchers of the material and spiritual culture of the people, fairy tales are an indispensable source of information about historical events, captured through the prism of the people's consciousness, about the formation and development of the people's worldview. In Latvian literary criticism, folk tales are usually divided into three main groups: short allegorical tales about animals, very diverse fairy tales and everyday tales - humorous and novelistic. Each of these varieties of the fairy tale genre has its own characteristic features, manifested both in the content and in the use of means of artistic expression. There are few tales about animals in Latvian folklore, but they have an interesting plot and can provide valuable information about the long and complex development of the fairy tale genre. Modern storytellers classify fairy tales about animals as children's folklore, perceiving them either as simple funny jokes or as fables with educational content. However, fairy tales about animals did not always have only such narrow goals and such limited meaning in the life of the people. In the motifs and plots of the Latvian animal epic, more or less clear echoes of ancient mythological views can be traced, various observations of the animal world, the natural environment around humans and the ideological views of the working people during the period of feudal oppression are reflected. The totality of all these centuries-old layers forms the basis of the content of fairy tales about animals. If we add to this the rather strong influence of the animal epics of neighboring peoples (Russians, Lithuanians, Belarusians) and medieval fable literature, then the diversity of Latvian fairy tales about animals will become clear. Materials from narrative folklore indicate that tales about animals were widespread already in ancient times as works of a magical nature. The folklore of many peoples preserves stories about the magical emergence of the living world, the connections between man and animals and their common affairs. These stories are not yet fairy tales; they express the desire to use magical means and the power of words to influence the forces of nature that are incomprehensible and hostile to humans. Many tales about animals developed from stories of mythological content about the totem of the clan - an animal that was considered the patron and benefactor of members of the clan. These stories were told primarily before a hunt to ensure success. In Latvian folklore, echoes of mythological beliefs are preserved in tales about the connections between man and animals, in particular with the bear. Often stories are told about the joint affairs of man and beast; their relationship is often based on an agreement that is binding on both parties. Undoubtedly, along with myths about animals, in the early stages of human development, simple stories about various animals, their habits, and stories of hunters were common, in which realistic observations of wildlife were intertwined with fiction. In these stories, man is already stronger than the beast; The life experience and knowledge of a person defeats an animal that has only physical strength. These manifestations of human creative imagination formed the basis of fairy tales and determined their further development as a type of folk art. Subsequently, stories about animals and their relationships with humans gradually lose their connection with mythological and magical views. With the development of society, the naive perception of nature as a hostile anthropomorphized creature disappears. Fairy tales about animals are born in the literal sense of the word. In them, the depiction of images and the development of the plot are based on more accurate observations of natural phenomena. The appearance, behavior and lifestyle of a particular animal in fairy tales are used to create an artistic image of a bearer of certain moral qualities and character. For example, traits such as guile and gluttony formed the basis for the image of a sly fox. Animals in fairy tales are not only endowed with human speech, but generally live and act like people. In conditions of class contradictions, the ethical views of the people begin to appear more and more clearly in fairy tales. During the period of feudalism, the plots of fairy tales become allegorical pictures of social trends and contradictions of their time. Fairy-tale images of animals are perceived by the people as symbols of representatives of various social groups, expressing class contradictions. In fairy tales, animals work for their master. When he drives them out, the wolf, who dared to demand payment for their work, receives a stone in the throat. After being expelled, the old dog becomes a shoemaker to earn his bread. In some versions, all the grief and joy is shared with the animals by a person - an elderly farm laborer, kicked out of the house by his owner. The motif of an oppressed worker striving for a free life without masters and masters is very common in Latvian folklore. Condemnation of feudal exploitation and hatred of evil and stingy owners sound very convincing in these tales. Denial of evil and confidence in the victory of good forces is the leading thought of all fairy tales, the plots of which depict the struggle of a strong predator with a small animal. The last one in fairy tales always comes out victorious. The ideology of folk storytellers is very clearly manifested in fairy tales where humans act together with animals. If a person acts as the master and enslaver of his subordinates - animals and birds, all the sympathies of the storyteller are on the side of the animals. In stories where there is no such social opposition, the main ideological content of the tale becomes the glorification of human wisdom and work skills. Despite the physical strength of animals, man’s wit and his ability to use specific circumstances for his own good win out. In their ideological orientation, fairy tales about animals are close to magical and everyday tales about the struggle of a peasant boy with the devil. A separate group in Latvian folklore is formed by tales about forest and domestic birds. The themes and images of these tales reflect judgments about human character, permeated with criticism of the negative phenomena of everyday life and public life. Thus, in the fairy tale about how a dove learned to build a nest, haste and negligence in work are condemned. Most fairy tales in this group are characterized by etiological motives: they explain the emergence of certain animal traits, which brings these tales closer to legends. The group of fairy tales about animals also includes fables about various plants and natural phenomena, the images of which serve as the basis for an allegorical tale of an educational or ethical nature.