“There is no more beautiful story in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet...” Why do heroes die?

Goals. Help students understand the meaning of W. Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet"; develop a skill expressive reading; learn to compare works different types art; improve the skill of analyzing a dramatic work; consolidate the concepts of “plot”, “exposition”, “commencement”, “culmination”, “denouement”; broaden one's horizons, develop aesthetic sensitivity, and develop an interest in Shakespeare's work.

Epigraphs for the lesson:

Love is always beautiful and desirable,
Especially when it's unexpected.
(W. Shakespeare)

Love stronger than death and the fear of death, only by it, only by love does life hold and move. ( I. S. Turgenev)

Equipment. Portraits of Shakespeare, illustrations for the tragedy of Savva Brodsky, audio tape recorder, phonogram - fragments from S. Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet", video recorder, TV, audio cassette - fragments from F. Zeffirelli's film "Romeo and Juliet".

During the classes

The teacher's word: the plot of tragedy in art

In the world of literature, there are names of heroes that are familiar to everyone, even if a person has not read the work itself. These names have become symbols of some eternal values: honor, nobility, devotion, love. Neither people nor death have power over them.

At the end of the 16th century, more precisely, in 1596, the English playwright William Shakespeare created a play that became immortal and gave birth to a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev, an opera by Charles Gounod, and many drawings. Its plot was rethought by the Czech writer Karel Capek, a poem about the heroes of the tragedy was created by the Russian poet of the 20th century Margarita Aliger, there are a number of film adaptations of the tragedy, one of the most colorful belongs to the Italian director Franco Zeffirelli...

The most interesting thing is that W. Shakespeare did not come up with the plot of this play himself, but borrowed it from the ancient Roman poet Ovid, who told the story of Pyramus and Thisbe in the collection “Metamorphoses” (transformations). Few people remember Ovid and his heroes, but we use the names of Romeo and Juliet as symbols of devotion and selfless love.

What is the secret of Shakespeare's talent? Today we will try to answer this question.

Conversation with the class

1. Where does the play begin? Which character appears on stage? Didn't you find this surprising?

(In the prologue, the choir comes on stage and in its speech briefly tells the plot of the entire play.)

Let's read the prologue.

Teacher's word. In ancient times in ancient tragedies there was such a character - a choir, consisting of a group of actors. He expressed the author’s opinion, expressed his attitude to what was happening, and commented on events. Shakespeare used this technique of ancient authors to immediately set the audience up for tragedy.

2. Determine the theme of the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”.

(This work is about the cruelty of the world, about the power of love, about growing up young heroes.)

3. Where does the action take place?

(The events take place in Italy, in Verona and Mantua.)

4. What do we learn about Verona’s life at the very beginning of the work?

(In this city, the enmity of two families has been going on for many years, the reason for it has long been forgotten; the ruler of Verona and the residents have long been tired of this confrontation, since it brings a lot of trouble, but blood is still shed.)

Let's listen to a fragment from Sergei Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet", called "Montagues and Capulets".

(Phonogram.)

5. What mood do you think is embodied in this music?

(Students' answers.)

Teacher. This was the theme of enmity, the excerpt is called “The Montagues and the Capulets.”

6. So, what is unusual about the situation that appears before us in the play?

(The work depicts how members of warring families, the youngest representatives of the Montague and Capulet families, fall in love with each other. Their feeling can overcome enmity.)

7. Remember what a plot is and highlight its elements in W. Shakespeare’s tragedy.

(The plot is the system of events in the work. The exposition is a depiction of the clash between the Montagues and the Capulets, the conversation between Benvolio and Romeo, preparations for the ball in the Capulet house. The plot is the meeting of Romeo and Juliet at the Capulet ball and the birth of love. The climax is the scene in the crypt, when each the hero, considering his lover dead, decides to die. The denouement is the story of brother Lorenzo and the reconciliation of families.)

8. What is the way to characterize characters in a dramatic work?

(The way to characterize the characters of a dramatic work is their monologues and dialogues, actions, reviews of them by other characters and author’s remarks - the author’s explanations of the text regarding the situation, behavior characters, their appearance.)

9. Let's see how the images of the main characters are created, who change under the influence of their love. What does Romeo say about love at the beginning of the tragedy, before meeting Juliet?

Empty burden, heavy fun,
A discordant collection of slender forms,
Cold heat, mortal health,
Sleepless sleep, which is deeper than sleep.
This is what it is, and worse than ice and stone
My love, which is hard for me.
(Act I. Scene 1)

What is love? Madness from fumes
Playing with fire leads to fire
An ignited sea of tears,
Thought - for the sake of thoughtlessness,
Mixing poison and antidote.
(Act I. Scene 1)

I've lost myself and I'm not here.
Romeo is gone. Romeo won't be found.
(Act I. Scene 1)

10. Why does the hero speak so much about love? What's the matter?

(Romeo admits that he is in love with a certain Rosaline, who does not respond to his feelings, and this makes him suffer.)

11. When do we first meet Juliet? What is it about?

(The first meeting with the heroine occurs in the scene of Juliet’s conversation with her mother, who informs the girl about Count Paris’s attention to her. The mother asks her daughter to pay attention to young groom, to which Juliet replies:

Do not know yet. We need to do a test.
But this is only for you.
(Act I. Scene 3)

The young heroine has not yet thought about love, about marriage, she is calm.)

12. Remember how old Juliet is?

(We learn about the heroine’s age from the speech of her nurse: “She is not yet fourteen years old.”)

Let's listen to an excerpt from S. Prokofiev's ballet, called "Juliet the Girl".

(Perhaps the playwright wanted to emphasize that love can come at any age, the main thing is that a person is ready to love. He chooses a young heroine to show the strength of feeling: Juliet behaves boldly and decisively.)

14. How and where does the feeling of young heroes flare up?

(Love arises suddenly during chance meeting Romeo and Juliet at the Capulets' ball, where the hero came in the hope of meeting Rosaline. It is important that the characters fall in love without knowing each other's names. When they find out the truth, it doesn't stop them.)

(Video fragment from F. Zeffirelli’s film “Romeo and Juliet” - meeting.)

15. Read excerpts from the text in which the characters talk about their impressions of each other.

Its radiance eclipsed the torches...
I am the embodiment of hateful force
Inopportunely, out of ignorance, I fell in love.
What can the times promise me?
When am I so passionate about the enemy?
(Act II. Scene 5)

16. What interferes with their love?

(The love of the heroes is hampered by the enmity of their families.)

17. How does love affect the heroes: how do Romeo and Juliet behave before and after they meet?

(Romeo, before meeting Juliet, speaks a lot and beautifully about his love for Rosaline. When he meets the Capulet daughter, he begins to act, since real feeling requires determination. From a dreamy young man, he turns into a brave one, courageous man capable of making decisions and being responsible for their actions.

Juliet goes through the same path, she changes even more: at first she was a submissive daughter, now she rebels and fights for her love.

Love in tragedy appears as great educator: heroes grow up, make important decisions, take responsibility.)

18. How do the young heroes feel about the feud between their families? What event played fatal role in the fate of heroes?

(They evaluate each other not by name, but by qualities. “When Romeo was not called Romeo, he would keep all his sweet virtues...” says Juliet.

They do not understand the enmity that interferes with the connection. Due to the rudeness and bloodthirstiness of the heroine's cousin Tybalt, who killed Romeo's friend Mercutio, the hero finds himself expelled from Verona.)

19. Did Romeo want Tybalt to die? Why?

(Romeo did not want to fight with Capulet: having fallen in love, he looks at the world differently, in Tybalt he sees a relative of his young wife and does not wish him harm.)

20. What do the heroes see as the meaning of life?

(For them highest value is love. Therefore, they cannot remain in the world alone without the other, so they choose death. Even their words are similar.

Juliet taking the medicine given to her Friar Lorenzo, exclaims: “And I drink to your health, Romeo!”

Before dying, Romeo, drinking poison, says: “I drink to you, love!”)

21. Why do heroes die?

(The world they live in is not yet ready for harmony, reconciliation, kindness and love.)

Let's turn to the text: read the denouement (from the story of Friar Lorenzo).

22. Is there any point in the death of heroes?

(After the death of the young spouses, the warring families are reconciled. The death of the children convinces the parents that their enmity is a terrible relic of time and they are punished for evil.)

23. Let's turn to our epigraphs. Do they correspond to the content of our lesson?

(The young heroes of W. Shakespeare joyfully met their love, which entered their lives unexpectedly. They could not live without each other, preferring death, but their death opened the eyes of their parents; Shakespeare showed that love is really stronger than death.)

Summarizing

Teacher. Tragedy is dramatic work, which depicts the hero’s collision with the world, his death and the collapse of his ideal. But in Shakespeare’s play there is no tragedy of love, the feelings of the heroes triumph, although they themselves die defending their ideal.

Traditionally, Shakespeare's translators always present the last phrase as follows:

There is no sadder story in the world,

But, I think, we can offer our own version of the final line, because the story of young heroes lives on for centuries, leaving no one indifferent, and the names of Romeo and Juliet evoke in us the most enthusiastic feelings, respect for their perseverance and fidelity.

There is no more beautiful story in the world,
Than the story of Romeo and Juliet.

Homework. Write a review about W. Shakespeare's tragedy.

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Galina Danilova

There is no more beautiful story in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet

Open

He got up early, his wife was still sleeping, took the things he had collected and quietly left the room. In the bathroom, I shaved, washed my face, then looked at myself in the mirror for a few minutes, patting my right and left cheeks to cheer myself up. In the morning he liked to eat a hearty meal, put the water on for the dumplings, when it boiled, he threw them in and began cutting bread and sausage, poured coffee into a cup, and waited for the kettle to boil.

There was such silence in the apartment, it seemed to him that he was doing everything very loudly. My wife slept lightly and could wake up at any moment. He didn’t want to start grumbling, she was irritable, and was often sick.

After breakfast, I took out a bottle of vodka and a bag of groceries from the refrigerator. I went down the elevator, it was drizzling outside, it was cool and chilly. He headed towards the garage, the guard in the booth waved his hand and smiled at him. I stopped near my garage, opened it, and turned on the light. His blue Audi was shining. The car was clean. He rarely used it. He had a car with a driver at his disposal while on duty.

He left the garage and drove to the dacha for the first time this season.

Open Vyacheslav Petrovich, former employee Ministry of Foreign Affairs, retired lieutenant colonel, intelligence officer of the state security service, and currently the head of the security service of the Stability company, went to the dacha to negotiate with Pyotr Vasilyevich Syroezhkin, a stove maker, about laying a fireplace stove in his house.

He worked at Stabilnost for three years. For the first time in his life, he worked in a commercial company. In the old days, he worked for his homeland, as he believed. I believed in the ideology of my country when I was young, I was sure that I was doing everything right. But the country fell apart and we had to rebuild, change concepts and ideology, adapt to other ideas. It wasn’t easy, but, like it or not, you have to live, therefore, you have to change your outlook on life.

Now he worked for the owner. I couldn’t understand what his company was doing; they grabbed onto everything in sight: construction, trade, there was a department for repairing refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, sewing machines, a real estate department had recently appeared, and some other small, incomprehensible work was being done with foreign partners. It seems they even wanted to build a gas station and were looking for appropriate place. I recently learned that negotiations have begun on the construction of a waste recycling plant.

At first he was annoyed by this diversity, but then he decided not to attach any importance to it, it was easier to live this way. He is no longer an intelligence officer and is not going to analyze everything that happens, give reports and get worked up over nonsense.

The company was headed by director Igor Mikhailovich Shvedov, an economist by training, young, he was 37 years old.

Open did not understand his approach to some issues, he really wanted to give advice, he even tried when he delved into the matter, but they quickly made it clear to him not to mind his own business. Young people have completely different views, now they need space for business, they will consult with specialists, not former intelligence officers.

Gradually, he realized that young people had a different approach to business; they shouldn’t interfere with their advice, but they should conscientiously do their job, which was assigned to him, and not pay attention to everything that was happening in the company.

He loved order and was demanding of his subordinates. He had 10 guards under his command, serving three structural divisions of Shvedov.

An emergency occurred last week. A security guard in the garage where the director's car was parked overnight discovered an explosive device attached under the driver's door, near the front wheel. At one o'clock in the morning the security guard called Otkryty and asked him to come urgently.

The open one was irritated, woke up at night, what's the matter!

When he arrived at the scene, the guard explained everything. Otkryty was afraid of what could happen, he quickly called the Ministry of Emergency Situations, called Shvedov in the morning and explained the situation. He quickly arrived, invited the guard, talked with him privately, thanked him, and gave him money in an envelope. On the contrary, Igor Mikhailovich was dissatisfied with Open and harshly said that if something like this happened again, he would be fired.

After analyzing what happened, they came to the conclusion that someone attached the explosive device in the evening, when the car was parked without a driver, and the security guard let the car in and did not inspect it.

Open wanted to propose starting an investigation without delay, but they did not understand him and did not support his initiatives. Shvedov limited himself to ordering increased vigilance and strict monitoring of everything.

He was afraid to show that he was scared. Someone was settling scores with him, he had to analyze and figure out for himself where the wind was blowing. Someone warned him.

Open was offended and decided that they did not trust him, Shvedov would probably look for detectives on the side. This is his personal business - let him pay. It is clear that he does not want to talk about his affairs. Someone intimidated Igor Mikhailovich. As luck would have it, the security guard stopped near the car, his shoelace came undone, he bent down to tie it and noticed a device under the front door. If there had been an explosion, the guy would have been hurt. It is not yet known whether he would have survived.

These were the thoughts that were spinning in Vyacheslav Petrovich’s head as he drove his car along an empty highway. His soul was not at peace.

Having arrived at the dacha, I did not park the car in the garage and was planning to leave in the evening.

I took my bags and headed towards the house, opening the gate. The area looked gray, the ground was wet, the snow had barely melted, the grass and trees were bare, bushes grew along the fence, two-storey house stood in the middle of the site, there was a barn on the right, and a bathhouse at the far end. Opening the door, he entered a spacious hall that smelled of dampness and dust. He entered the kitchen. He put the bags on the table, took out a bottle of vodka, took out a bag of groceries, cut off half a loaf of sausage, took cheese, a loaf of bread, and a can of sprat. He decided to immediately go to Syroezhkin, we agreed in advance. It’s better not to go to Syroezhkin without a bottle of vodka. Before the case, he liked to wet the “process” so that it would go better.

* * *

Pyotr Vasilyevich Syroezhkin had been living at the dacha for several days. He was waiting for the Open, they agreed to meet. He was upset. Someone got into his house and broke out the window on the right, on the veranda. When he walked along the site, he did not notice anything, but when he entered the veranda, he saw broken glass, the table was overturned, stools were lying on the floor with their legs up, newspapers and magazines were falling down, things from the hanger were thrown onto the floor. He entered the room, the closet was open and things were thrown out of it. Curtains hung on the windows. From the street it was not noticeable that someone had climbed onto the veranda, so the watchman did not notice what had happened. Otherwise I would have called.

Galina Danilova

There is no more beautiful story in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet

Open

He left the garage and drove to the dacha for the first time this season.

Open Vyacheslav Petrovich, a former employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a retired lieutenant colonel, an intelligence officer for the state security service, and currently the head of the security service of the Stability company, went to the dacha to negotiate with Pyotr Vasilyevich Syroezhkin, a stove maker, about laying a fireplace stove in his house.

Now he worked for the owner. I just couldn’t understand what his company was doing, they were busy with everything: construction, trade, there was a department for repairing refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, sewing machines, a real estate department had recently appeared, and some other small, incomprehensible work was being done with foreign partners. It seems they even wanted to build a gas station and were looking for a suitable place. I recently learned that negotiations have begun on the construction of a waste recycling plant.

The company was headed by director Igor Mikhailovich Shvedov, an economist by training, young, he was 37 years old.

He loved order and was demanding of his subordinates. He had 10 guards under his command, serving three structural divisions of Shvedov.

The open one was irritated, woke up at night, what's the matter!

Open

He left the garage and drove to the dacha for the first time this season.

The company was headed by director Igor Mikhailovich Shvedov, an economist by training, young, he was 37 years old.

He loved order and was demanding of his subordinates. He had 10 guards under his command, serving three structural divisions of Shvedov.

The open one was irritated, woke up at night, what's the matter!

He was afraid to show that he was scared. Someone was settling scores with him, he had to analyze and figure out for himself where the wind was blowing. Someone warned him.

Open was offended and decided that they did not trust him, Shvedov would probably look for detectives on the side. This is his personal business - let him pay. It is clear that he does not want to talk about his affairs. Someone intimidated Igor Mikhailovich. As luck would have it, the security guard stopped near the car, his shoelace came undone, he bent down to tie it and noticed the device under the front door. If there had been an explosion, the guy would have been hurt. It is not yet known whether he would have survived.

These were the thoughts that were spinning in Vyacheslav Petrovich’s head as he drove his car along an empty highway. His soul was not at peace.

Having arrived at the dacha, I did not park the car in the garage and was planning to leave in the evening.

I took my bags and headed towards the house, opening the gate. The site looked gray, the ground was wet, the snow had barely melted, the grass and trees were bare, bushes grew along the fence, a two-story house stood in the middle of the site, there was a barn on the right, and a bathhouse at the far end. Opening the door, he entered a spacious hall that smelled of dampness and dust. He entered the kitchen. He put the bags on the table, took out a bottle of vodka, took out a bag of groceries, cut off half a loaf of sausage, took cheese, a loaf of bread, and a can of sprat. He decided to immediately go to Syroezhkin, we agreed in advance. It’s better not to go to Syroezhkin without a bottle of vodka. Before the case, he liked to wet the “process” so that it would go better.

* * *

Pyotr Vasilyevich Syroezhkin had been living at the dacha for several days. He was waiting for the Open, they agreed to meet. He was upset. Someone got into his house and broke out the window on the right, on the veranda. When he walked along the site, he did not notice anything, and when he entered the veranda, he saw broken glass, the table was overturned, stools were lying on the floor with their legs up, newspapers and magazines were falling down, things from the hanger were thrown onto the floor. He entered the room, the closet was open and things were thrown out of it. Curtains hung on the windows. From the street it was not noticeable that someone had climbed onto the veranda, so the watchman did not notice what had happened. Otherwise I would have called.

Pyotr Vasilyevich was on administrative leave without pay for two months. He worked at the company in the assembly shop, which was closed for three months. He was sure that this was just the beginning, that he would spend the whole summer at the dacha. Perhaps the company will close and you will have to look for work. They were paid a small compensation, like unemployment benefits.

He stayed at home for a month, then decided to go to the dacha and see how things were going there.

I didn’t expect this to happen at the dacha: I began to restore order: I removed discarded things from the floor, and put the table in the middle. Having opened the cabinet, I discovered that two pots, plates, teapot. The bed linen disappeared from the closet, but they left one sheet and duvet cover, took a padded jacket and his wife’s old coat.

But he was glad that nothing was taken from the barn, although there was something to take there. In addition to shovels, rakes, a bicycle, good boards, jars of jam and pickles, there was a large bottle of moonshine, which he treasured very much. There was also glass in the barn. He began to measure the place on the veranda where the glass had been broken.

Getting up the next morning, I lit the stove and began sewing a button to my jacket. He was caught doing this by Otkryty, for whom Pyotr Vasilyevich was waiting.

“Greetings to the stove maker,” he timidly entered and looked around, “I just don’t understand, something is wrong with you.” Am I right or wrong?

- Very right! – Syroezhkin quickly stood up and extended his hand. - They robbed us poor people. Two days ago I arrived at the dacha, and here on the veranda the glass was broken, things were thrown out of the closet, newspapers, magazines, stools were lying around. But they would have taken what they needed, and why waste it! And they found someone to rob! You might think I'm rich. The rich have something to take, but they took my dishes, not all of them, of course. A padded jacket, a coat and all sorts of small things. It turns out that we, the poor, suffer the most. What should we poor people do, how should we live? And why did these bastards come into my house?

“The rich are also robbed and killed by their competitors,” Open looked at Syroezhkin with sympathy.

- Sit down, Vyacheslav Petrovich, the stools were not taken away or broken. It’s good that the furniture was not taken out and burned. You could say I was lucky. Something stopped them. We climbed onto the veranda from the side, and you wouldn’t notice it right away, the glass was knocked out.

“I didn’t think you were in such trouble!” – he wondered whether Syroezhkin would be involved in his business. “Maybe I came at the wrong time, but we agreed.” This is why I came, if it doesn’t suit me, then I’ll leave.

“Come on, what do you mean it’s not up to you,” Pyotr Vasilyevich objected hotly. – We agreed – that means it’s covered. I didn’t think when I came here that such a problem would happen to me. I installed the glass, found a spare one in the barn to stop the wind, and lit the stove while it was still cold.

“If that’s the case, then we need to discuss the issue,” Open took out half a liter from the bag and began to take out the snack.

-What generosity of soul! – Syroezhkin rubbed his hands and ran to the cabinet for glasses. “You showed up on time with the drink, otherwise I was starting to turn sour, a person’s grief is deafening.” And now is the time to pour out the trouble. Not all the dishes were taken out, the mugs and glasses remained, the plates were eaten, as if they knew that people would drink and send curses at them.

“Now let’s drown your grief and come to me, I’ll show you the drawing and shape of the stove - fireplace, and you’ll look at the place where you need to do the work.” You need to calculate how much material, tiles, etc., you know.

– Stove-fireplace, interesting, needed creativity, - Pyotr Vasilyevich uncorked the bottle and began to pour.

- And you, Petya, can you handle it? – Vyacheslav Petrovich took the glass.

- You ask me good experience, I recently made a stove for a friend of mine at their dacha, we’re happy with it. If you don’t believe me, you can handle it with them.

“Let’s get down to business,” he raised his glass and drank a little.

“And you’re slacking, scout,” Syroezhkin winked.

Open

He left the garage and drove to the dacha for the first time this season.

The company was headed by director Igor Mikhailovich Shvedov, an economist by training, young, he was 37 years old.

He loved order and was demanding of his subordinates.

He had 10 guards under his command, serving three structural divisions of Shvedov.

The open one was irritated, woke up at night, what's the matter!

He was afraid to show that he was scared. Someone was settling scores with him, he had to analyze and figure out for himself where the wind was blowing. Someone warned him.

Open was offended and decided that they did not trust him, Shvedov would probably look for detectives on the side. This is his personal business - let him pay. It is clear that he does not want to talk about his affairs. Someone intimidated Igor Mikhailovich. As luck would have it, the security guard stopped near the car, his shoelace came undone, he bent down to tie it and noticed the device under the front door. If there had been an explosion, the guy would have been hurt. It is not yet known whether he would have survived.

These were the thoughts that were spinning in Vyacheslav Petrovich’s head as he drove his car along an empty highway. His soul was not at peace.

Having arrived at the dacha, I did not park the car in the garage and was planning to leave in the evening.

* * *

Pyotr Vasilyevich Syroezhkin had been living at the dacha for several days. He was waiting for the Open, they agreed to meet. He was upset. Someone got into his house and broke out the window on the right, on the veranda. When he walked along the site, he did not notice anything, and when he entered the veranda, he saw broken glass, the table was overturned, stools were lying on the floor with their legs up, newspapers and magazines were falling down, things from the hanger were thrown onto the floor. He entered the room, the closet was open and things were thrown out of it. Curtains hung on the windows. From the street it was not noticeable that someone had climbed onto the veranda, so the watchman did not notice what had happened. Otherwise I would have called.

He stayed at home for a month, then decided to go to the dacha and see how things were going there.

I didn’t expect this to happen at the dacha: I began to restore order: I removed discarded things from the floor, and put the table in the middle. Having opened the cabinet, I discovered that two pots, plates, and a teapot had been taken away. The bed linen disappeared from the closet, but they left one sheet and duvet cover, took a padded jacket and his wife’s old coat.

Getting up the next morning, I lit the stove and began sewing a button to my jacket. He was caught doing this by Otkryty, for whom Pyotr Vasilyevich was waiting.

“Greetings to the stove maker,” he timidly entered and looked around, “I just don’t understand, something is wrong with you.” Am I right or wrong?

“The rich are also robbed and killed by their competitors,” Open looked at Syroezhkin with sympathy.

“If that’s the case, then we need to discuss the issue,” Open took out half a liter from the bag and began to take out the snack.

“The stove-fireplace is interesting, we need a creative approach,” Pyotr Vasilyevich uncorked the bottle and began to pour.

- And you, Petya, can you handle it? – Vyacheslav Petrovich took the glass.

– You ask, I have good experience, I recently made a stove for friends at their dacha, they are happy. If you don’t believe me, you can handle it with them.

“Let’s get down to business,” he raised his glass and drank a little.

“And you’re slacking, scout,” Syroezhkin winked.

“I can’t drink, I have to return late in the evening, and probably early tomorrow morning.” You yourself know how strict the roads are, but you drink, don’t pay attention to me.

“Then I take my words back,” Syroezhkin cut off a piece of sausage and put it on the bread, quickly knocking over the glass. - Oh, how good, I pleased you, Petrovich. You understand, there is nothing to drink. Without work for a month, and with such grief, I just want to knock over a pile.

“I understand, I understand,” Vyacheslav Petrovich sympathized. – Do you still have more urgent orders or will you start with mine?

“There are, of course, orders, but not urgent,” Syroezhkin lied. – work will begin during the season. And now you see for yourself, almost no one is there. Silence. I still have some work to do at the site, I’ll live here for a week, and then I’ll go home. Mine will be upset about what happened here.

– You don’t have a phone, let me call yours and tell you everything.

- No need, I’ll show up and report. For now, let them sleep peacefully.

– As you wish, it’s my job to offer, and yours to refuse. What does the watchman say?

- What will he say - he didn’t see or hear anything. We also pay them money.

- He is a watchman, not a security guard, there is little demand from him. Now rich partnerships hire police or private security guards, they are paid well, and you can ask them. But our watchman is not paid enough, what can we get from him?

“I don’t know whether you want it or not, Petrovich, but I’ll pour you more,” he extended his hand to the bottle.

- It’s your business, just a little, but let’s come to me and see what’s what on the spot.

“Let’s go now,” Syroezhkin was delighted, quickly drank and ate sausage. - What a delicious sausage, dear, I haven’t eaten one like this for a long time.

- That’s okay, I refueled a little and let’s come to me on the spot to solve problems.

Syroezhkin put on the jacket and rubber boots in which he arrived. They went out, it was drizzling outside, and walked in silence. Open regretted that he gave him a drink right away; he should have done it later, when the issue had been resolved.

The fireplace stove had to be placed in a large room, next to front door there was a staircase leading to the second floor; there were three small rooms: for the son and for visitors.

When they entered, Open showed where to start laying out the fireplace. Syroezhkin approved the choice, explaining that this is the narrowest place between the roof and the attic and from here the pipe should be led to the roof.

“Now I’ll bring the book and show you what my plan is,” Open One rejoiced. – Is it possible and difficult to implement it?

He left the room and returned with a book.

- See if you like it or not. I want this one,” he showed which sample he liked. - It is my choice.

Syroezhkin took the book, sat down in a chair and began to look at the drawings: “Yes, this option is perhaps the most suitable, others have some cut corners, but in this drawing the fireplace is too low. And here on reinforced concrete consoles. Are we going to build on the foundation?”

- How else? Will classic version, no consoles,” Open was glad that his option was approved.

“I think so too,” Syroezhkin stood up and walked over to the place where the fireplace should have been located. - We need to take measurements.

– I have a meter ruler, I’ll bring it now.

A few minutes later he returned with a ruler. Pyotr Vasilyevich began to measure and write down the dimensions. Then he looked at the drawing that Open had chosen. Together they began to discuss its size.

“We will have one smoke collector and it will go like this,” he began to show the direction.

“How much material I need and what kind, I need to calculate,” Vyacheslav Petrovich began to write down.

“I’m wondering,” Syroezhkin thought. – There are 34–36 rows of bricks to the ceiling. What height should the fireplace be?

– 120 centimeters, and the stove must have a niche so that it can be used, heated or cooked. My wife wants it so much, she reaches for the old stuff.

– Clearly, the calculation is as follows: for a stove you will need 200–250 bricks, for a fireplace 80–90 ordinary bricks, and you also need 100–110 refractory bricks. Ten kilograms of ordinary clay, five buckets of sand, you need to buy a fire door, roofing felt for waterproofing - 2 sheets, a smoke valve, a blower door...

- Wait, wait, don’t rush, I’ll write it down now.

Open took out a sheet of paper from the closet and began to write down.

“You can buy sand and clay here from the locals, they will sell it cheaper,” Syroezhkin advised. “You’ll buy the bricks yourself and deliver them.” The work, I’ll tell you, is not easy, you’re saving on me. If you find guys from the company, they'll charge you a fair amount, I'll pay less, I won't have to pay taxes. I'll find out how much the companies charge, then we'll agree on a price.

“I know approximately,” Open One thought. - But their prices vary.

“Let’s figure it out, we can also tile the fireplace,” suggested Syroezhkin, “it will be beautiful.” You can choose the tile according to your taste, but that will also cost you.

- Okay, I understand everything. Would you like me to treat you to some tea, I have some in the thermos?

– I won’t refuse, but something stronger would be better.

“There’s no strong one, you have some left,” he looked displeased.

They went to the kitchen. Opened it, he took out a thermos, cut sausage, instant coffee and tea bags. Syroezhkin chose coffee.

- Help yourself, Vasilyevich, we’ve discussed everything, it’s time to get down to business.

- Don’t delay. I'll ask you this question. Tell me honestly, you were a scout. That's what they say about you here. Is this a dangerous business? You collected information from the enemy camp and were followed. They could have killed you! I didn’t communicate with intelligence, I only watched films.

“No, no one was going to kill me,” he laughed, “I don’t remember that.” Difficult tasks I didn’t perform, I was coherent. Each of us worked at a certain level. As for danger, it can happen anywhere where there is none! You were robbed!

- And that’s true! It’s clear that you’re keeping a secret and don’t want to talk about your business. Go ahead, I can’t tell you secrets until I die. This is the way we live - all secrets are revealed later. And yours will be opened someday. But we won't live to see that. As for justice, it has never existed and never will exist, under any system. Take the two of us, for example. This is how you live: home full bowl. What kind of furniture, refrigerator, carpets. They passed you by and didn’t approach you. You have something to take. And I, poor thing, was robbed, how do I understand this? The poor reached out to the poor. But they didn’t rob people like you.

- I agree, there is no justice. Judging by your reasoning, the rich should come to me to take everything from me, and the poor will rob you. There are different types of thieves, what can you say...

“I don’t want to say anything,” Syroezhkin interrupted him, “there are also great specialists among them.” The question is, how to find them? Could you find them or not? If everything was taken away from you, would you get down to business? You have intelligence experience!

“I didn’t deal with robbers,” Otkryty began to justify himself. – These are other identification technologies. If I put in the effort, I think I could find those who robbed me.

– Would you have found mine? – Syroezhkin did not let up. - You're a scout!

– Perhaps I would find yours, but it would cost... you understand. You use this money for yourself new house build it. Is it worth your junk?

– For you, this is junk, but for me, honestly acquired things. I didn't steal them. Still, I can’t imagine you in intelligence. Do you know languages?

– I know: German, English and worse Spanish.

– Were you accepted as one of their own everywhere? Honestly. You are Russian, and they consider you German.

- Yes, they did. So you criticize me, but I don’t know your work, that’s why I turn to you, let you earn money, and in general, forgive me, Vasilyevich. I have a lot to do. We need to tidy up the house a little after winter. With you, I almost solved all the issues. We'll start working soon. We still need to sort things out in the barn. I'll be back late in the evening.

-Aren't you going to stay here?

- No, it’s cold, it’s uncomfortable to be alone. Tomorrow is Sunday, but they might call me to work.

– Yes, work must be valued and held on to. You hold on tight. And if you were asked to resign, what could you do?

– I think I can do translations.

“That’s also true, you’ll sit by the fireplace and translate,” he suddenly changed and asked timidly, “listen, don’t blame me, I’ll take some more sausages from you, if you don’t mind.” It’s tight here for groceries, you know, there’s no store nearby...

“Take it, take it, here’s some more bread, I can’t take it with me,” the Open One encouraged him. - What talk if you still live here.

Syroezhkin took the sausage and bread and left. The open one accompanied him to the gate.

I returned home, changed clothes and went to the barn to clean up the mess and make room for cement and bricks. The barn had not been sorted out for many years, I didn’t know where to start. There are things that a wife needs, but if she throws them away, she will be angry. He found a large bag and began putting bottles, rags, a broken radio, and old bags into it. The bag quickly filled, he took another.

I collected three bags, one went into the trunk, and took the old broken children's bicycle there, so that later on the way I could throw it in the trash. He fiddled around for a long time, returned to the house, walked through the rooms, began to look, if anything had been taken away, it would have been a pity. I imagined that I would come next time, and the windows were broken, the furniture was broken, the TV, refrigerator, and cabinets were taken away.

Leaving the house, he began to convince himself that this would not happen to him. Homeless people climbed into Syroyezhkin’s place. They might also come to see him... no, it’s better not to think about it.

It was already dark when he left. After driving a few kilometers, I stopped at containers where I should have thrown the package and bicycle. Breathing a sigh of relief, I thought that I would have to throw away a lot more things.

He drove and thought how much he wished that his eldest son and his wife had come to the dacha. They would take a steam bath, drink beer, and have a barbecue. The son rarely appeared at the dacha. He spent weekends at his wife’s dacha with her parents. His wife did not like her mother-in-law and avoided communicating with her. Sometimes he regretted that his son got married, left and became almost a stranger. When he threw away the children's bicycle that his son was riding, he thought with bitterness that he was throwing away a tiny piece of his son's childhood. He taught him to ride a bike and generally paid him a lot of attention. And now they hardly communicate.

And yet he dreamed that when he got a fireplace stove, his son would definitely come. They will sit by the fireplace, drink beer with shrimp, talk about all sorts of trifles and rejoice that they are finally together.

What a pity that Borka hardly calls him, making excuses that he doesn’t like talking on the phone: it’s inconvenient at work, and in the evening he returns late and is tired. Nothing, nothing, when Borka has his own children, he will definitely change his attitude towards his father. In the meantime, he’s young and doesn’t understand much. He wastes his life on all sorts of vanity, and his parents live on their own.