Fairy tales and parables of Leonardo da Vinci. About a wonderful transformation

The best parables. Big Book. All countries and eras Mishanenkova Ekaterina Aleksandrovna

Parables of Leonardo da Vinci

Parables of Leonardo da Vinci

Stone and road

Once upon a time there was a great man in the world beautiful stone. The stream flowing past polished its sides to a shine, which sparkled in the sun. But over time, the stream dried up, and the stone continued to lie on the hillock. All around him there was ample space for tall grasses and bright wildflowers.

From above, the stone could clearly see the paved road running below, along the side of which pebbles and cobblestones were piled up. Left alone without the usual murmur of a cheerful stream, the stone increasingly began to look longingly down at the road, where activity always reigned. One day he felt so sad that he could not stand it and exclaimed:

- I can’t live forever alone! What good are herbs and flowers? It makes more sense to live side by side with my brothers on the road, where life is in full swing.

Having said this, he moved from his habitual place and rolled headlong downwards until he found himself on the road among stones just like him. Who hasn’t walked or driven along the road! And the wheels of carts with iron rims, and the hooves of horses, cows, sheep, goats, and smart boots with jackboots, and strong peasant shoes lined with nails.

The stone ended up in the crush of the road, where it was roughly thrown aside, trampled, crushed, doused with streams of mud, and sometimes it was stained up to its ears with cow dung.

Where did it go? former beauty! Now he sadly looked up at the hillock where he once lay peacefully among fragrant flowers and herbs. He had no choice but to vainly dream of regaining his lost peace. It’s not for nothing that they say: “We don’t keep what we have, and when we lose it, we cry.”

Likewise, people sometimes thoughtlessly leave remote rural corners, rushing to noisy, crowded cities, where they immediately find themselves at the mercy of vanity, unquenchable thirst and endless difficulties and worries.

Donkey

At the appointed time, the donkey came to water. But the ducks on the pond were so loud and playful, flapping their wings, that they muddied all the water.

Although the donkey was tormented by unbearable thirst, he did not drink and, moving aside, began to wait patiently. Finally the ducks calmed down and, coming ashore, walked away. The donkey approached the water again, but it was still muddy. And he walked away again with his head down.

- Mom, why doesn’t he drink? – asked the curious frog, interested in the donkey’s behavior. “He’s come to the pond twice now and left with nothing.”

“And all because,” answered the mother frog, “that the donkey would rather die of thirst than touch dirty water. He will wait patiently until the water clears and becomes clear.

- Oh, how stubborn he is!

“No, son, he is not so much stubborn as he is patient,” explained the frog. – The donkey is ready to endure all the hardships and sorrows. And anyone who himself lacks endurance and patience calls him stubborn.

Caterpillar

Sticking to the leaf, the caterpillar watched with interest as the insects sang, jumped, galloped, raced, flew... Everything around was in constant motion. And only she, the poor thing, was denied a voice and was not allowed to run or fly. With great difficulty she could only crawl. And while the caterpillar clumsily moved from one leaf to another, it seemed to it that it was making a trip around the world.

And yet she did not complain about fate and did not envy anyone, realizing that everyone should mind their own business. So she, the caterpillar, had to learn how to weave thin silk threads in order to make a strong cocoon house from them.

Without further consideration, the caterpillar diligently set to work and by the required time was wrapped from head to toe in a warm cocoon.

- Everything has its turn! – she heard in response. – Have a little patience, and you’ll see.

When the time came and she woke up, she was no longer the same clumsy caterpillar. Deftly freeing herself from the cocoon, she was surprised to notice that she had grown light wings, generously colored in bright colors. Having cheerfully waved them, she, like a fluff, fluttered from the leaf and flew, dissolving in the blue haze.

Paper and ink

There were identical sheets of blank paper in a stack on the desk. But one day one of them turned out to be completely covered with hooks, dashes, curls, and dots. Apparently, someone took a pen and, dipping it in ink, wrote words on the sheet of paper and painted it with drawings.

“Why did you need to subject me to such unheard-of humiliation?” - the saddened piece of paper asked the inkwell standing on the table. “Your indelible ink has stained my whiteness and ruined the paper forever!” Who will need me like this now?

- Don't push! – the inkwell answered affectionately. “They didn’t want to humiliate you or tarnish you at all, they just made the necessary record.” And now you are no longer a simple piece of paper, but a written message. From now on, you store a person’s thought, and this is your direct purpose and great value.

The good inkwell turned out to be right. While cleaning up his desk one day, a man saw randomly scattered sheets of paper, yellowed with age. He collected them and was about to throw them into the burning fireplace, when he suddenly noticed that same “stained” piece of paper. Throwing away the dusty pieces of paper as unnecessary, the man carefully placed the scribbled piece of paper in the desk drawer in order to preserve it as a message of reason.

Cedar

A cedar grew in one garden. Every year he matured and became taller and more handsome. Its lush crown towered royally above the other trees and cast a thick shadow on them. But the more he grew and stretched upward, the more exorbitant arrogance grew in him. Looking down on everyone with contempt, he once shouted imperiously:

- Take this pathetic hazel away! - And the tree was cut down at the root.

- Free me from the proximity of the obnoxious fig tree! “She bothers me with her stupid appearance,” the capricious cedar ordered another time, and the fig tree suffered the same fate.

Satisfied with himself, proudly swaying his branches, the arrogant handsome man did not let up:

– Clear the area around me of old pears and apple trees! - and the trees were used for firewood.

So the restless cedar ordered to destroy all the trees one by one, becoming the sovereign master in the garden, from whose former beauty only stumps remained.

But one day a strong hurricane struck. The arrogant cedar resisted him with all its might, holding tightly to the ground with its powerful roots. And the wind, not meeting any other trees on its way, freely pounced on the lonely standing handsome man, mercilessly breaking, crushing and bending him down. Finally, the tormented cedar could not withstand the furious blows, cracked and fell to the ground.

Snake Wits

Sensing danger, the ducks flew together over the lake. From the height it was clearly visible that the entire shore was swarming with long-tailed reptiles with a prickly scaly crest on their heads and strong clawed paws. Unlike ordinary dragons, they lacked membranous wings. But they were distinguished by incredible malice and deceit. Such a creature looks at everything - everything around withers, wherever it steps - the grass does not grow.

Hunger drove these reptiles to the shore of the lake, where all kinds of living creatures were found in abundance among the reed thickets. Frustrated that the prey slipped out from under their noses, the creatures decided to cross to the other side.

They were capable of everything, but they had not learned to swim. How to be? Then one of them came up with a cunning idea: to wrap their long tails tightly around each other, forming a kind of raft.

No sooner said than done. And so the screaming monsters swam, paddling together with their paws and raising their heads high. It seemed as if Satan himself had tied them with a rope.

Flying over the swimming reptiles, the leader of the duck school shouted:

- Look! This is what can be achieved through unity and ingenuity.

Having united, evil is capable of all sorts of tricks in order to survive and do its dirty work. It wouldn’t hurt to do good things just as resourcefully and boldly.

Flint and steel

Having once received a strong blow from a flint, the flint indignantly asked the offender:

- Why did you attack me like that? I don't know you. You're apparently confusing me with someone. Please leave my sides alone. I don't harm anyone.

“Don’t be angry in vain, neighbor,” the flint said with a smile in response. “If you have a little patience, you will soon see what a miracle I will bring out of you.”

At these words, the flint calmed down and began to patiently endure the blows of the flint. And finally, fire was carved out of it, capable of performing true miracles. So the patience of the flint was justly rewarded.

Misadventures of the Lion

Waking up at dawn, the king of beasts stretched sweetly and headed straight to the river. For the sake of order, he roared powerfully, notifying all the small animals that usually gather at a watering hole and muddy the water about his approach. Suddenly he stopped, hearing an unusual noise. Turning around, the lion saw that a hot horse was rushing towards him at full speed, followed by an empty rattle rattling, bouncing on the stones.

The lion jumped into the nearest bushes and closed his eyes in fear. Never in his life had he seen such an outlandish, rattling animal.

After sitting in the bushes and recovering a little from fright, the lion came out of the thickets, looking around, and with a cautious gait again headed towards the watering hole.

But before he could walk a few steps, a piercing cry struck his ears. Somewhere nearby a loud rooster was crowing. The lion stopped dead in his tracks, and began to tremble slightly.

Because of the tall grass, the lion could only see a trembling fiery crest and hear an unfamiliar cry: “Ku-ka-re-ku!” Not remembering himself from fear and forgetting about thirst, the disgraced king of beasts rushed off into the thicket of the forest.

Apparently, Leo sometimes has unlucky days, when everything goes topsy-turvy and misadventures lurk at every step.

Vine and peasant

The vine could not get enough of it, seeing how in the spring the peasant carefully dug up the earth around it, trying not to touch the tender roots with a spade, how he lovingly looked after it, tied it up, put up strong supports so that it could grow freely. In gratitude for such care, the vine decided to give the person juicy, fragrant clusters at all costs.

When it was time to harvest the grapes, the vine was completely covered with large tassels. The thrifty owner cut them all off one by one and carefully placed them in a basket. Then, after thinking, he dug up stakes and supports and used them for firewood.

And the poor vine had no choice but to grieve from an undeserved insult and freeze all winter on the bare ground. But on next year she was no longer so generous, and the short-sighted peasant paid severely for his greed.

Moon and oyster

The oyster was head over heels in love with the moon. As if spellbound, she spent hours looking with loving eyes at the night star. A voracious crab sitting in ambush noticed that every time the moon emerges from behind the clouds, the gaping oyster opens its shell, forgetting about everything in the world. And he decided to eat it.

One night, as soon as the moon had risen and the oyster, as usual, was staring at it with its mouth open, the crab picked up a pebble with its claw and, contrivingly, threw it inside the shell. amateur moonlight I tried to slam the doors of the mother-of-pearl dwelling, but it was too late - a thrown pebble prevented the poor thing.

A similar fate awaits everyone who does not know how to keep their innermost feelings secret. There will always be eyes and ears eager for other people's secrets.

Lumerpa

Among the desert mountains of Asia lives a miracle bird. She has a gentle melodious voice, and her flight is full of beauty and grandeur. Whether a bird soars in the sky or rests on a rock, it does not cast a shadow because its down and feathers sparkle bright light, like the sun's rays. Even after death, she does not disappear without a trace, for her flesh is not subject to decay, and her brilliant plumage continues to emit light, as before.

But if anyone tries to take possession of this wondrous radiance by plucking out even one feather of a bird, the light will instantly dim, and the daring daredevil will immediately go blind from black envy.

The name of this rare bird is Lumerpa, which means “luminous.” It is like true glory, living incorruptibly for centuries. No one can belittle or appropriate it.

Little Bear and the Bees

Before the bear had time to leave on business, her restless son, forgetting about his mother’s order to stay at home, skipped into the forest. There is so much expanse and unfamiliar alluring smells here! Not like in a cramped, stuffy den. Overjoyed, the bear cub began to chase butterflies until he came across a large hollow, from which there was such a strong smell of something tasty that it tickled his nose.

Taking a closer look, the kid discovered that there were apparently no bees here. Some flew with a menacing buzz around the hollow, like sentries, while others flew in with prey and, darting inside, flew back into the forest.

Fascinated by this spectacle, the curious bear cub could not resist the temptation. He was impatient to quickly find out what was going on inside the hollow. First he put his wet nose in there and sniffed, and then he put his paw in and felt something warm and sticky. When he pulled his paw out, it was covered in honey. Before he had time to lick the sweet paw and close his eyes with pleasure, a cloud of ferocious bees flew at him, which pierced his nose, ears, mouth... From unbearable pain, the bear cub howled and began to desperately defend himself, crushing the bees with his paws. But they stung even more. Then he began to roll on the ground, trying to drown out the burning pain, but this did not help.

Not remembering himself from fear, the baby took off running towards the house. All bitten, he ran to his mother in tears. The she-bear scolded him for pampering, and then washed the bitten areas with cold spring water.

From that time on, the little bear knew for sure that he had to pay bitterly for sweets.

The Miller and the Donkey

Once, among friends, a noble gentleman, reputed to be a bookworm and an entertaining storyteller, began to passionately prove that he had supposedly lived in this world more than once before. In order to give more weight to his words, he even referred to famous saying ancient sage and scientist Pythagoras.

But one of the friends kept making fun of the narrator, inserting sarcastic remarks, and preventing him from finishing the story. Completely angry, admirer ancient philosophy decided to reason with the scoffer and declared:

“To prove that I’m right, I remember that in that distant time, you, ignoramus, were a simple miller.”

These words clearly touched a nerve with his friend, but he was not one of those who needed to be pulled by the tongue.

- Who's arguing with you? “You’re absolutely right, as always,” he replied. “Should I not remember that in those days it was you, my friend, who was the same donkey who carried bags of grain to my mill?”

Ant and wheat grain

The wheat grain remaining on the field after the harvest was impatiently waiting for the rain to bury itself deeper in damp earth in anticipation of the coming cold weather. An ant running past noticed him. Delighted with the find, he, without hesitation, put the heavy prey on his back and crawled with difficulty to the anthill. In order to get to the house before dark, the ant crawled without stopping, and the luggage weighed more and more heavily on its weary back.

- Why are you straining yourself? Leave me here! - the wheat grain begged.

“If I leave you,” the ant answered, breathing heavily, “we will be left without food for the winter.” There are many of us, and everyone is obliged to earn a living in order to increase the reserves in the anthill.

Then the grain thought and said:

“I understand your concerns as an honest worker, but you also need to understand my situation.” Listen to me carefully, smart ant!

Satisfied that he could catch his breath a little, the ant threw the heavy burden off his back and sat down to rest.

“So know,” said the grain, “there is a great life-giving power within me, and my purpose is to give birth.” new life. Let's make an amicable agreement with you.

- What kind of agreement is this?

- Here's what it is. If you don’t drag me into the anthill and leave me here in my native field,” the grain explained, “then in exactly a year I will reward you.” – The surprised ant shook his head in disbelief. - Believe me, dear ant, I’m telling the absolute truth! If you give up on me now and wait, then later I will reward your patience a hundredfold, and your anthill will not be at a loss. In exchange for one you will receive one hundred of the same grains.

The ant thought, scratching the back of his head: “One hundred grains in exchange for one. Yes, such miracles only happen in fairy tales.”

- How will you do this? – he asked, bursting with curiosity, but still not believing.

- Trust me! - answered the grain. - This is the great mystery of life. Now dig a small hole, bury me, and come back again in the summer.

At the agreed time, the ant returned to the field and saw a large ear in place of the grain. The grain of wheat kept its promise.

Seine

And once again the seine brought a rich catch. The fishermen's baskets were filled to the brim with chubs, carp, tench, pike, eels and a variety of other food. Entire fish families, with their children and household members, were taken to market stalls and prepared to end their existence, writhing in agony on hot frying pans and in boiling cauldrons.

The remaining fish in the river, confused and overcome with fear, not even daring to swim, buried themselves deeper in the mud. How to live further? You can't handle the net alone. He is thrown daily into the most unexpected places. He mercilessly destroys the fish, and eventually the entire river will be devastated.

– We must think about the fate of our children. No one but us will take care of them and deliver them from this terrible obsession,” reasoned the minnows who had gathered for a council under a large snag.

– But what can we do? – the tench asked timidly, listening to the speeches of the daredevils.

- Destroy the net! – the minnows responded in unison.

On the same day, the all-knowing, nimble eels spread the news of the bold decision along the river. All fish, young and old, were invited to gather tomorrow at dawn in a deep, quiet pool, protected by spreading willows.

Thousands of fish of all colors and ages swam to the appointed place to declare war on the net.

– Listen carefully, everyone! - said the carp, who more than once managed to gnaw through the nets and escape from captivity. - The net is as wide as our river. To keep it upright under water, lead weights are attached to its lower nodes. I order all the fish to split into two schools. The first should lift the sinkers from the bottom to the surface, and the second flock will firmly hold the upper nodes of the net. The pikes are tasked with chewing through the ropes with which the net is attached to both banks.

With bated breath, the fish listened to every word of the leader.

“I order the eels to immediately go on reconnaissance!” - continued the carp. “They have to find out where the net is thrown.”

The eels went on a mission, and schools of fish huddled near the shore in agonizing anticipation. Meanwhile, the minnows tried to encourage the most timid and advised not to panic, even if someone fell into the net: after all, the fishermen would still not be able to pull him ashore.

Finally the eels returned and reported that the net had already been abandoned about a mile down the river. And so, in a huge armada, schools of fish swam to the goal, led by the wise carp.

- Swim carefully! - the leader warned. – Keep your eyes open so that the current doesn’t drag you into the net. Use your fins as hard as you can and brake on time!

A seine appeared ahead, gray and ominous. Seized by a fit of anger, the fish boldly rushed to attack.

Soon the seine was lifted from the bottom, the ropes holding it were cut by sharp pike teeth, and the knots were torn. But the angry fish did not calm down and continued to attack the hated enemy. Grasping the crippled, leaky net with their teeth and working hard with their fins and tails, they dragged it in different directions and tore it into small pieces. The water in the river seemed to be boiling.

The fishermen talked for a long time, scratching their heads, about mysterious disappearance seine, and the fish still proudly tell this story to their children.

Walnut and bell tower

Having acquired a nut somewhere, a satisfied crow flew to the bell tower. Having made herself comfortable there and holding the prey with her paw, she began to furiously peck with her beak to get to the tasty grain. But either the blow was too strong, or the crow made a mistake, the nut suddenly slipped out of her paw, rolled down and disappeared into a crevice in the wall.

- Oh, good intercessor wall! - the nut sobbed tearfully, still not recovering from the cruel blows of the crow’s beak. - Don’t let me die, have pity on me! You are so strong and majestic, you have such a beautiful bell tower. Don't drive me away!

The bells hummed dully and disapprovingly, warning the wall not to trust the insidious nut, as it could prove dangerous to it.

– Don’t leave me, orphan, in trouble! – the nut continued to lament, trying to shout over the angry roar of the bells. “I was about to leave my birth branch and fall on the damp ground, when suddenly the villainess appeared. Finding myself in the beak of a voracious crow, I made a vow to myself: if I managed to avoid death, I would spend the rest of my days quietly and calmly in some hole.

The nut's passionate speeches moved the old wall to tears. Despite the warning of the bells, she decided to show the nut hospitality and leave it in the crack where it had rolled.

However, over time, the nut recovered from the fright, got comfortable and took root, and they began to bite into the hospitable wall. Soon the first shoots emerged from the crevice. Together they stretched upward and gained strength. A little more time passed, and the young shoots of the hazel tree were already proudly towering above the bell tower itself. The wall especially suffered from the roots. Tenacious and assertive, they grew ever larger, crushing and loosening the old masonry, and mercilessly pushing bricks and stones away.

Too late, the wall realized how insidious the unprepossessing, pathetic nut turned out to be with his vows to live quieter than water and lower than the grass. Now she had no choice but to reproach herself for her gullibility and bitterly regret that at one time she had not listened to the voice of the wise bells.

Hazel

In the large garden behind the fence, fruit trees grew in good harmony and peace. In the spring they were drowned in a milky pink boil, and by the end of summer they were bending under the weight of ripe fruits. By chance, a hazel tree found its way into this friendly working family, which soon grew wildly and began to think of itself.

“Why on earth would I hang around in the garden behind the fence?” – he grumbled dissatisfied. “I’m not going to live here as a recluse at all.” Let my branches spread over the fence into the street so that the whole neighborhood knows what wonderful nuts I have!

And the hazel tree began to persistently climb the high fence in order to appear in all its glory before passers-by.

When the time came and its branches were completely strewn with nuts, everyone who was not too lazy began to pick them off. And if the hands couldn’t reach it, sticks and stones were used.

Soon, the beaten and broken hazel tree lost not only its fruits, but also its leaves. Its crippled branches hung lifelessly over the fence like whips, and in the dense greenery of the garden were apples, pears, and peaches filled with juice.

Donkey on ice

Having wandered through the fields until dusk, the donkey was so tired that he was unable to drag himself to his stall. The winter that year was harsh - all the roads were icy.

- There is no more urine. “I’ll rest here for a while,” said the completely exhausted donkey and stretched out on the ice.

Out of nowhere a nimble sparrow flew up and chirped in his ear:

- Donkey, wake up! You are not on the road, but on a frozen pond.

But the donkey was so sleepy that he could no longer hear anything. Yawning sweetly, he fell fast asleep, and soon steam poured out of his nostrils. Under the influence of heat, the ice began to melt little by little until it broke off with a crash. Finding himself in the cold water, the donkey immediately woke up and began to call for help. But it was already too late, and the poor fellow choked.

You should never disdain good advice, especially when you are in an unfamiliar place.

Panther

- Mother! - screamed the out of breath monkey, jumping onto the branch of a tall tree. “I just met a lioness.” How beautiful she is!

The mother monkey parted the branches and looked at the animal, frozen in anticipation of prey.

“This is not a lioness, but a panther,” my mother explained. – Take a closer look at the color of her skin.

- Yes, she’s just a sight for sore eyes! “You can’t take your eyes off it,” exclaimed the monkey. “Everything seems to be strewn with black roses.”

And indeed, from afar it seemed that marvelous double flowers suddenly bloomed among the grass that had turned yellow from the heat.

“The panther knows how attractive she is, and uses her beauty as bait,” continued the mother monkey. – Seeing the stranger’s bright attire, the bewitched animals follow her and become easy prey for the predator. And beauty sometimes serves for evil deeds.

Spider and swift

Three times the spider was forced to stretch its silvery web between the trees, and each time, flying at low level, the mocking swift tore its web with its wing.

- Why are you stopping me from working? – the spider asked indignantly. - Am I a hindrance to you?

- Yes, you are the very embodiment of deceit! - the swift chirped in response. “And your invisible web is a deadly trap for insects.”

- Should you, brother, say such words? – the spider marveled. - Why are you better than me? For days on end you run around with your beak open and grab right and left the same insects that you are now so worried about. For you, this activity is like fun. I work as hard as I can, weaving thin threads and weaving them into lace. As a reward for my zeal and honest work, I receive prey when it falls into the net.

Each person is ready to judge the other, looking at the world from his own bell tower.

Peach

In one garden there grew next to a hazel tree peach. Every now and then it glanced with envy at its neighbor's branches, generously strewn with nuts.

- Why does he have so many fruits, and I have so few? – the foolish tree did not stop grumbling. – Is this fair? Let me have the same number of peaches! How am I worse than him?

– Don’t covet someone else’s! – an old plum tree growing nearby once told him. – Don’t you see what a strong trunk and flexible branches the hazel tree has? Instead of grumbling and envying in vain, try to grow good, juicy peaches.

But the peach tree, blinded by black envy, did not want to listen to good advice plums, and no arguments had any effect on him. It immediately ordered its roots to dig deeper into the ground and extract as much life-giving juices and moisture as possible. It ordered the branches not to skimp on the ovary, and the flowers to turn into fruits. When the flowering time passed, the tree found itself hung with ripening fruits to the very top.

Filled with juice, the peaches grew heavier day by day, and the branches were unable to support their weight.

And then one day the tree groaned from the strain, the trunk broke with a crash, and the ripe peaches fell to the ground, where they soon rotted at the foot of the imperturbable hazel tree.

Captive owl

- Freedom! Long live freedom! - the blackbirds shouted, the first to see how the peasant caught the villainous owl, who at night kept the entire forest bird brethren in fear.

Soon the joyful news spread throughout the area that the owl had been caught and caged in a peasant's yard. And the man caught the owl with intent. Having planted it as bait, he set a snare for the curious birds.

- Gotcha, villain! – the birds made fun, densely clinging to the fence, bushes and trees.

The most desperate and courageous ones flew close to the cage, trying to painfully pinch an enemy so formidable just yesterday.

- And they found justice for you! Now you won't destroy our nests.

To get a closer look at the captive owl, the birds pushed and pressed on each other until they themselves fell into the trap.

Bee and drones

- There is no authority over you, you slackers! – the worker bee somehow couldn’t stand it, trying to reason with the drones flying around the hive in vain. – You just shouldn’t work. Shame on you! Everywhere you look, everyone is working, stocking up for future use. Take, for example, a tiny ant. Small, but smart. He works hard all summer, trying not to miss a single day. After all, winter is just around the corner.

– I found someone to use as an example! - one of the drones snapped, bored with the bee’s instructions. - Yes, your vaunted ant destroys the seeds of every harvest. This little thief drags every little thing into his anthill.

Don’t feed the slacker bread, but let him reason, and you won’t deny him the ability to denigrate others. He is always ready to find an excuse for his own worthlessness.

Warmth of the Heart

The two young ostriches were beside themselves with grief. Every time the female began to hatch the eggs, they burst under the weight of her body.

Desperate to achieve their goal, they decided to go for advice to a smart, experienced ostrich who lived on the other side of the desert. They had to run for many days and nights until they reached their goal.

- Help us! - they both begged. - Give some sense and teach us, unfortunate ones, how to hatch eggs! No matter how hard we tried, we were never able to get offspring.

After listening carefully to their sad story, the smart ostrich said in response:

- This is a difficult matter. In addition to desire and effort, something else is needed here.

- What? – both ostriches exclaimed at once. – We agree to everything!

– If so, listen and remember! The most important thing is warmth of the heart. You must treat the laid egg with love, constantly taking care of it as if it were your most valuable asset. Only the warmth of your hearts can breathe life into him.

Inspired by hope, the ostriches set off on their way back. When the egg was laid, the female and male began to carefully care for it, not taking their eyes off it, full of love and tenderness.

Many days passed like this. Both ostriches could barely stand on their feet from constant vigil. But their faith, patience and efforts were rewarded. One day, something shook in the egg, it cracked and split, and the fluffy head of a tiny ostrich peeked out of the shell.

Falcon and goldfinches

Returning from the hunt, the falcon, to his greatest surprise, discovered two goldfinches in his own nest, sitting side by side with his fledgling chicks. He was not in a good mood because the hunt on that stormy day was unsuccessful: only dead animals were caught. And falcons, as you know, would rather die of hunger, but would never feed on carrion.

At the sight of the uninvited guests, he became even more angry and wanted to take out his frustration on them and tear them to shreds, but thought better of it in time. Even in anger, it is inappropriate for a falcon to offend defenseless little birds.

-Where did you come from here? – the owner of the nest asked menacingly.

“We got lost in the forest during the rain,” one of the goldfinches squeaked barely.

The predator shot an angry look at him. He was bursting with anger and tormented by hunger. Trembling with fear, the two goldfinches clung to each other and did not dare to breathe or utter a word. Both were fat and well-fed, but so helpless and pitiful that the proud falcon was unable to pounce on them. He just closed his eyes and turned away so as not to give in to temptation.

- Go away! – the predator ordered loudly. - So that your spirit is not here!

And when they flew away headlong, the falcon turned to its hungry chicks and said:

– Our destiny is large prey. It is better to starve than to allow yourself to be preyed upon by an innocent bird.

Justice

- There is no justice in the world! – the mouse squeaked pitifully, miraculously escaping from the claws of the weasel.

- How long will you endure lies! – the weasel shouted indignantly, barely having time to hide in a narrow hollow from the cat.

- There is no life from arbitrariness! - the cat meowed, jumping onto a high fence and looking warily at the yard dog lurking below.

- Calm down, friends! - said the wise owl, sitting in a cage in a peasant’s yard. – There is some truth in your complaints about life. But does justice rightfully belong to any one of you?

At these words, the mouse looked out of the hole, the weasel poked its nose out of the hollow, the cat settled comfortably on the fence, and the dog sat down on hind legs.

“Justice,” the owl continued, “is the highest law of nature, according to which reasonable agreement is established between all those living on earth. All animals, birds, fish and even insects live according to this wise law. Look how friendly a swarm of bees lives and works.

The owl was indeed right. Anyone who has ever seen a hive knows that the queen bee reigns supreme there, disposing of everything and everyone with greatest mind and equitably distributing responsibilities among members of a large bee colony. Some bees' main concern is collecting nectar from flowers, while others work in honeycombs; some guard the hive, driving away annoying wasps and bumblebees, others take care of maintaining cleanliness. There are bees that must care for the queen without leaving her even a step. When the queen gets old, the strongest bees carefully carry her on themselves, and the most experienced and knowledgeable ones treat her with all sorts of medicines. And if even one bee violates its duty, inevitable punishment awaits it.

In nature, everything is wise and thought out, everyone should mind their own business, and in this wisdom lies the highest justice of life.

Son's gratitude

One morning, two old hoopoe, a male and a female, felt that this time they would not fly out of the nest. A thick veil covered their eyes, although the sky was cloudless and the day promised to be sunny. But both of them saw only a cloudy haze and could no longer distinguish anything around them. The birds were old and weak. The feathers on the wings and tail became dull and broke like old branches. The strength was running out.

The old hoopoes decided not to leave the nest anymore and wait together last hour, who will not be slow to appear.

But they were mistaken - their children appeared. At first, one of the sons appeared, accidentally flying past. He noticed that the old parents were unwell and had a hard time alone, and flew to notify the other brothers and sisters.

When all the young hoopoes were gathered near their father’s house, one of them said:

– From our parents we received the greatest and priceless gift- life. They fed and raised us, sparing neither strength nor love. And now, when both are blind, sick and no longer able to feed themselves, it is our sacred duty to cure them and nurse them back to health!

After these words, everyone got down to business together. Some immediately began building a new, warmer nest, others went to catch bugs and worms, and the rest flew into the forest.

Soon a new nest was ready, where the children carefully moved their old parents. To warm them, they covered the old people with their wings, just as a hen warms her unhatched chicks with her own warmth. Then the parents got drunk spring water, fed and carefully plucked matted fluff and old brittle feathers. Finally, the rest of the hoopoes returned from the forest, bringing in their beaks a herb that healed blindness. Everyone began to heal the sick with the juice of the miraculous herb. But the treatment was slow, and we had to be patient, replacing each other and not leaving the parents alone for a minute.

And then a joyful day came when the father and mother opened their eyes, looked around and recognized all their children. So the sons, gratitude and love, healed their parents, restoring their sight and strength.

Poplar

It is known that poplar grows faster than many trees. Its shoots stretch upward right before our eyes, outstripping all other plants in the area in growth.

One day, a young poplar came up with the idea of ​​​​getting a girlfriend in life. He chose the vine that he liked.

– What a strange whim! - his brothers dissuaded him. “With this beautiful vine you will suffer grief.” What do you need it for? Our job is to grow upward, and we are not given anything else.

But the stubborn poplar insisted on its own. The ardent lover connected with the young vine and allowed her to hug him tightly, which he was incredibly happy about. Having received strong support, the vine began to quickly grow and bear fruit. Seeing that the vine had taken root well, tenaciously twining around the trunk, the savvy peasant began to trim the poplar branches in the spring so that they would not pull the vine up with them, and it would be more convenient for him to collect bunches of ripe grapes in the fall.

Where has the former stateliness of the poplar gone? He rounded up, lost his former ardor and resigned himself to fate. It stands tall, with pruned branches, serving as a support for its fertile friend. And his brothers, having thrown up their thick crowns, rustle their leaves carefree.

The Charter obliges

It is known that in certain time monks must strictly observe fasting for a year. On such days, the monastery charter prohibits them from eating meat and any other fatty foods. True, when monks are on the road or are engaged in almsgiving, then, as an exception, they are not forbidden to eat everything that fate sends down.

Once on the road on their monastic business, two monks wandered off the road to take a rest and have a snack at an inn, where chance brought them together with a passing merchant.

The owner of the inn was so poor that he could offer nothing to the guests except a pitiful, skinny chicken no larger than a pigeon. When the chicken was ready, the owner took it off the spit and served it to the table whole, hoping that the diners would share it equally among themselves.

Looking at the fried chicken and immediately realizing that it was barely enough for one eater, the cunning merchant said, turning to the monks:

“It seems to me, holy brethren, that now is the height of Lent. Is not it? I don't want you to break the law because of me. So be it, I’ll take the sin upon myself and deliver you from the chicken.

The monks had no choice but to agree with the scoundrel. They did not go into detail and explain to the merchant that some concessions are possible for wandering monks.

Kupchina devoured a whole chicken with great pleasure and gnawed all the bones, while his two dining companions had to be content with a slice of bread and a piece of cheese.

After the meal, all three set off. The monks walked because of poverty, and the merchant because of his stinginess. They waved a lot until they found themselves in front of a wide river that blocked their path.

According to the custom of old times, the tallest and youngest of the monks, who was barefoot, put the fat merchant on his back and carried him ford across the river.

But, having reached the middle of the ford, the monk suddenly remembered the strict regulations of the monastery charter and stopped in bewilderment. Bending under the weight of the burden, he raised his head up and asked the merchant, who was sitting comfortably on his back with his shoes and a travel bag in his hands:

- Tell me, my dear! Don't you have any money on you?

- What the stupid question! – he marveled. “It’s time for you, brother, to know that not a single self-respecting merchant would ever go to long journey without money.

- I'm really sorry! - said the monk. “But our charter forbids us to carry money on us.”

And with these words he threw the merchant into the water. Soaked to the skin, all red with shame and annoyance, the roguish merchant was forced to agree that he got it right from the monks for the earlier trick with the chicken.

Oyster and mouse

Somehow an oyster fell into a net and, along with a rich catch, ended up in a fisherman’s hut.

“Inevitable death awaits us all here,” she thought sadly, seeing how her fellow sufferers were suffocating without water and struggling in their death throes in a heap dumped on the floor.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a mouse appeared.

- Listen, good mouse! - the oyster begged. - Do me a favor, take me to the sea!

The mouse looked at it with a knowing look: the oyster was unusually large and beautiful, and its meat must be juicy and tasty.

“Okay,” the mouse answered readily, deciding to take advantage of the easy prey, which, as they say, fell into its own hands. “But first you must open the doors of your shell so that it will be easier for me to carry you to the sea.” Otherwise I won't be able to deal with you.

The cheat spoke so convincingly and soulfully that the oyster, delighted with her agreement, did not smell the trick and trustingly opened up. The mouse immediately stuck its narrow muzzle inside the shell to grab the meat with its teeth. But in her haste she forgot to be careful, and the oyster, sensing something was wrong, managed to slam its doors shut, clamping the rodent’s head tightly, like a trap.

The mouse squealed loudly in pain, and the cat who was nearby heard the squeak, caught up with the deceiver in one jump and grabbed her.

As they say, be smart, be smart, and watch your tail.

Tongue and teeth

Once upon a time there was a boy who suffered from a serious illness, to which adults are sometimes susceptible - he talked incessantly, without knowing how to stop.

“What kind of punishment is this tongue?” the teeth grumbled. - When will he calm down and be silent for a while?

- What do you care about me? - the tongue answered brazenly. - Chew to your health and keep quiet. That's the whole story for you! We have nothing in common. I won’t allow anyone to interfere in my personal affairs, much less meddle with stupid advice!

And the boy continued to chatter incessantly, inappropriately and inopportunely. The tongue was at the height of bliss, pronouncing more and more sophisticated words, although it did not have time to thoroughly understand their meaning.

But one day the boy got so carried away by chatter that, without knowing it, he got into trouble. In order to somehow get out of trouble, he allowed his tongue to tell a deliberate lie. Then their teeth couldn’t stand it – their patience ran out. They closed at once and bit the liar very painfully. The tongue turned purple from the blood that came out, and the boy cried from shame and pain.

7. LEONARDO DA VINCI And I will die a very old man, showered with honors, and kings will mourn me. I'm Leonardo da Vinci. Manly Wade Wellman, “Twice in Time” Some very respectable scientists have proposed introducing the term “Leonardo da Vinci effect” to refer to