There was an old man with an old woman; they had three sons: two smart, the third - Ivan the Fool. The smart ones grazed the sheep in the field, but the fool did nothing, he sat on the stove and caught flies.
At one time an old woman cooked arzhan dumplings and said to the fool:
Na-ko, take these dumplings to the brothers; let them eat.
She poured out a full pot and gave it to him; he went to his brothers. The day was sunny; As soon as Ivanushka came out of the village, he saw his shadow on the side and thought:
“What kind of person is this? He walks beside me, not a step behind: right, he wanted dumplings? And he began to throw dumplings at his shadow, and so he threw them all away; looks, and the shadow goes all the way.
Eka insatiable womb! - said a fool with a heart and let a pot at her - shards scattered in different directions.
Here comes empty-handed to the brothers; they ask him:
Why are you a fool?
I brought you lunch.
Where is lunch? Come on live.
Yes, you see, brothers, I don’t know what kind of person became attached to me along the way and ate everything!
What kind of person?
Here he is! And now it's standing right next to it!
Brothers, well, scold him, beat him, beat him; beat them off and forced the sheep to graze, while they themselves went to the village to dine.
The fool began to graze; sees that the sheep are scattered across the field, let's catch them and tear out their eyes. He caught everyone, gouged out everyone's eyes, gathered the herd into one heap and sits radёhonek for himself, as if he had done the job. The brothers had lunch and returned to the field.
What have you done, you fool? Why is the herd blind?
What about their eyes? As you left, brothers, the sheep scattered apart, and I came up with an idea: I began to catch them, collect them in a heap, tear out my eyes - how tired I was!
Wait, you're still not so smart! - the brothers say and let's treat him with fists; the order did get the fool for nuts!
Not much time has passed, the old people sent Ivanushka the Fool to the city to buy housework for the holiday. Ivanushka bought everything: he bought a table, and spoons, and cups, and salt; a whole cart heaped all sorts of things. He goes home, and the horse is so, to know, unsuccessful: lucky - no luck!
“But what,” Ivanushka thinks to himself, “after all, the horse has four legs and the table also has four, so the table will run by itself.”
He took the table and put it on the road. He rides and rides, whether close or far, and the crows hover over him and all croak.
“You know, the sisters want to eat and eat, because they shouted so!” thought the fool. He put the dishes with dishes on the ground and began to regale:
Dove sisters! Eat for health.
And he keeps moving forward and forward.
Ivanushka rides through the copse; along the way, all the stumps are burnt.
“Oh,” he thinks, the guys are without hats; after all, they will freeze, hearty ones! ”
I took pots and pots on them. Here Ivanushka drove to the river, let's water the horse, but she still does not drink.
“Know, he doesn’t want to be without salt!” - and well, salt the water. He poured out a full bag of salt, the horse still does not drink.
Why don't you drink, wolf meat? Did I pour out a bag of salt for nothing?
He grabbed her with a log, but right in the head - and killed on the spot. Ivanushka had one purse with spoons left, and he carried it on himself. It goes - the spoons back and rattle like this: break, break, break! And he thinks that the spoons say: “Ivanushka the fool!” - he threw them away and, well, stomp and say:
Here's Ivanushka the Fool! Here's Ivanushka the Fool! They even thought of teasing, useless ones! He returned home and said to his brothers:
Redeemed everything, brothers!
Thank you, fool, but where are your purchases?
And the table runs away, yes, you know, lagged behind, the sisters eat from the dishes, pots and pots put on the heads of the guys in the forest, salted the swill of the horse with salt; and spoons tease - so I left them on the road.
Go, fool, hurry up! Pick up everything you've scattered along the way!
Ivanushka went into the woods, removed the troughs from the burnt stumps, knocked out the bottoms, and put on a batog a dozen different troughs, both large and small. Carries home. His brothers broke him off; we went to the city ourselves for shopping, and left the fool to housekeeping. The fool listens, but the beer in the tub ferments and ferments.
Beer, don't wander! Don't tease the fool! Ivanushka says.
No, beer does not obey; he took it and let it all out of the tub, sat down in the trough himself, drove around the hut and sang songs.
The brothers arrived, became very angry, took Ivanushka, sewed him into a sack and dragged him to the river. They put a sack on the shore, and they themselves went to inspect the hole.
At that time, some gentleman rode past in a troika of browns; Ivanushka and well shout:
They put me in the voivodeship to judge and dress, but I can neither judge nor dress!
Wait, fool, - said the master, - I know how to judge and dress up; get out of the hood!
Ivanushka got out of the sack, sewed up the master there, and he himself got into his cart and drove out of sight. The brothers came, lowered the sack under the ice and listened; and it gurgles in the water.
Know, burka catches! - said the brothers and wandered home.
Towards them, out of nowhere, Ivanushka rides in a troika, rides and boasts:
Here are a hundred horses I caught! And still there was a Sivko - so glorious!
The brothers became envious; say to the fool:
Now sew us into a sack and lower us quickly into the hole! Sivko won't leave us...
Ivanushka the Fool lowered them into the hole and drove home to finish the beer and remember the brothers.
Ivanushka had a well, there was dace fish in the well, and my fairy tale is over.
Ivan the Fool fairy tale
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Once upon a time there was Ivanushka the Fool, a handsome man, and whatever he does, everything turns out funny with him - not like people do.
One peasant hired him as a worker, and he and his wife were going to the city; wife and says to Ivanushka:
- You stay with the children, look after them, feed them!
- With what? Ivanushka asks.
- Take water, flour, potatoes, crumble and cook - there will be stew!
The man orders:
- Guard the door so that the children do not run away into the forest!
The man left with his wife; Ivanushka climbed onto the bed, woke the children, dragged them to the floor, sat down behind them himself and said:
- Well, here, I'm looking for you!
The children sat for some time on the floor - they asked for food; Ivanushka dragged a tub of water into the hut, poured half a sack of flour into it, a measure of potatoes, blabbed everything with a yoke and thought aloud:
- And who needs to be crushed?
The children heard - they were afraid:
- He, perhaps, will crush us!
And quietly ran out of the hut.
Ivanushka looked after them, scratched his head, thinking: “How am I going to look after them now? Moreover, the door must be guarded so that she does not run away!
He looked into the tub and said:
- Cook, stew, and I'll go look after the children!
He took the door off its hinges, put it on his shoulders, and went into the woods; suddenly the Bear steps towards him - he was surprised, growls:
- Hey, you, why are you carrying a tree into the forest?
Ivanushka told him what happened to him, - the Bear sat on hind legs and chuckles:
- What a fool you are! I'll eat you for this!
And Ivanushka says:
- You'd better eat the children, so that next time they obey their father-mother, they don't run into the forest!
The bear laughs even harder, and rolls on the ground with laughter!
- Never seen such a stupid! Come on, I'll show you to my wife!
He took him to his lair. Ivanushka goes, touching the pines with the door.
- Yes, you throw it! Bear says.
- No, I am true to my word: I promised to guard, so I will guard!
They came to the lair. The bear says to his wife:
- Look, Masha, what a fool I brought you! Laughter!
And Ivanushka asks the Bear:
- Aunt, have you seen the children?
- Mine are at home, sleeping.
- Well, show me, are they mine?
The bear showed him three cubs; He says:
- Not these, I had two.
Here the Bear sees that he is stupid, also laughs:
- Why, you had human children!
- Well, yes, - said Ivanushka, - you can sort them out, little ones, what whose!
- That's funny! - the Bear was surprised and says to her husband: - Mikhailo Potapych, we will not eat him, let him live among our workers!
- Okay, - the Bear agreed, - even though he is a man, he is painfully harmless!
The Bear gave Ivanushka a basket, orders:
- Come on, pick some wild raspberries - the kids will wake up, I'll treat them to delicious treats!
- Okay, I can do it! Ivanushka said. - And you guard the door!
Ivanushka went to the forest raspberries, picked up a basket full of raspberries, ate his fill himself, goes back to the bears and sings at the top of his lungs:
Oh how embarrassing
Ladybugs!
Is it the case - ants
Or lizards!
Came to the lair, shouting:
- Here it is, raspberry!
The cubs ran up to the basket, growling, pushing each other, somersaulting, very happy!
And Ivanushka, looking at them, says:
- Ehma, it's a pity that I'm not a Bear, otherwise I would have children!
The bear and his wife are laughing.
- Oh, my fathers! - the Bear growls, - yes, you can’t live with him, you will die of laughter!
- That's what, - says Ivanushka, - you guard the door here, and I'll go look for the kids, otherwise the owner will ask me!
And the Bear asks her husband:
- Misha, you could help him!
- We need to help, - the Bear agreed, - he is very funny!
Probably, there is not a single Russian-speaking person who could not immediately remember at least one of which - Ivan is a fool. And everyone can also describe this hero: Ivan is the youngest son in the family, unlucky, lazy and good-natured. It’s better not to ask him for anything, otherwise, and even then only after much persuasion, Ivanushka will make everything worse than ever! But why, then, at the end of the fairy tale, it is he who will get all the best and half the kingdom in addition? Let's try to figure this out.
Tales about Ivan the Fool: a list
The best way to help us understand the character of the hero is the tales themselves, or rather, their retelling. Let us take only three of them, so to speak, the most typical.
- "Salt". A fairy tale about the merchant's son Ivan, who once set off on a ship with boards and boards, got to an unknown land during a storm and, finding salt there, went to trade it. Having successfully sold everything, he managed to take away the royal daughter as well. But the older brothers did not yawn, they threw Ivan into the ocean, and they themselves divided his prey. Yes only good hero and then he was lucky: he took him home, right behind festive table, giant. And the father, having learned about the unworthy behavior of the elder brothers, drove them out of sight, and married the youngest to the princess.
- "The Tale of Ivan the Fool". In this tale, Ivan the Fool tracks down three horses that trample the grass in the royal garden. The mouse helps him in this. good fellow generously fed. Three horses - silver, gold and diamond - become the property of Ivanushka. But! As he was for all the fool behind the stove, he remained: he did not confess his prey to anyone! Later, when it was necessary, by order of the king, to jump to the balcony of the princess, he began to do this in turn, on each horse. And again he returned to the stove: what can you do - a fool ?! Only when they found him and brought him to Ivan the Fool and the princess began to live together. True, not in the wards themselves, but in the goose barn. And only three wars, which Ivan won on his magical horses, proved to the whole kingdom that he was not a fool at all, but simply very modest and real hero! For this, Ivan became king.
- "The Fool and the Birch". In this tale, the fool is real, because he tried to sell the bull he inherited to an old dry birch he met in the forest. And he gave her a loan! And for two days I went for money, all waiting for the return. And only on the third - he could not stand it, he hit the trunk with an ax, and there - a treasure hidden by robbers! Well, fools - happiness!
There are also fairy tales about Ivan the Fool, their names can be continued endlessly: “Horse, tablecloth and horn”, “Ivan Bykovich”, “Humpbacked Horse”, “Sivka-Burka”, “ Ivan the peasant son and Miracle Yudo”, etc.
Why did people like the image of Ivan so much?
Why is Ivan the Fool a hero of fairy tales? Why is the Russian people imbued with such love for him? Is it because the Slavs are generally characterized by sympathy for the orphans and the poor, a kind of Christian pity? You can talk about this for a long time.
After all, the people, who lived for many centuries in poverty and hopelessness, probably felt like the same unloved younger son - Ivan the Fool, deceived by fate. Although, in defiance of this, not only a fairy tale, but life itself taught - not the truly fool who, sitting on the stove, measures the ashes with a hat, spits at the ceiling or sells the bull to the birch, but the one who, conceited, does not hear the world around him, is not connected with him together. Pride is a sin and will be punished!
Faith in miracles creates miracles
Ivan in his actions is guided not by logic, but only by intuition. Where can one get intuition for a person who always knows what, where and how much? How to develop it in the narrow framework of decency and canons? The law is not written for a fool, and if it is written, then it is not read, and so on ... This means that our Ivan will choose the most illogical, the most “wild” of all options, but, as it turns out later, leading to good luck. After all, nothing prevents him from listening to intuition, and most importantly, hearing it!
Remember the fairy tale where Ivan worked for three years as a priest, and when he was offered a choice of a bag of coins or a bag of sand for labor, our hero, based only on his understandable logic, chose sand? Fool, and only!
But on the way home, he met a fire in the forest, in which a beautiful girl was burning, and then the sand came in handy! Ivan covered them with fire, saved the girl, and she, being a sorceress, became his devoted wife and assistant.
By the way, why do you think the sorceress chose Ivan for herself? Yes, probably, all for the same reason: this person knows how to act not by the rules, but by listening to the heart. Who, if not a sorceress, can appreciate such a talent!
Features of the character of a fairy-tale hero
pay attention to important qualities character of our protagonist. All Russian fairy tales about Ivan the Fool describe him not just stupid, but naive. For him, every new day is an opportunity to live anew, that is, not to reproach himself endlessly for voluntary and involuntary previous mistakes (and he doesn’t remember them!), but to start everything from a new leaf. Isn't that what the followers of all kinds of philosophical and religious currents are striving for?
In other words, Ivan the Fool proves every time that from human knowledge and skills in life depend very little, that is, they are secondary and cannot play the main, decisive role in the fate of a person. Remember the saying of the greatest Lao Tzu: "Smart people are not scientists, and scientists are not smart."
And Ivan in fairy tales is always absolutely open to higher knowledge. He, even setting off on a journey, as a rule, "goes where his feet are" or "where his eyes look." He thus immediately discards common sense(with whom his older brothers never part until the end of the tale) and this only benefits. It turns out that not everything in our lives obeys this very common sense!
Reflection in the image of Ivan the Fool of pagan traditions
Some researchers closely associated the image of Ivan with those preserved in folklore. pagan traditions. For example, A. A. Durov emphasized in his dissertation that the Russians folk tales Ivan the Fool adorns himself not only because of his narrow-mindedness, but because the pagans, it turns out, called everyone undergoing the initiation rite that way.
And the essence here was precisely in the peculiarities of the behavior of the neophyte: he had to forget his former life, abandon rationality in actions. It was this "stupidity" that became the hallmark of a person who wanted to turn from a "baking booby" into a real man.
Remember: in a fairy tale, at the beginning of it, Ivan is a laughingstock who, sitting at the stove, sorry for the quote, “winds snot on his fist.” And in the end - this is a successful, lucky young man. So the initiation is over!
And if you look at it from the other side?
Perhaps the image of the simpleton Ivan the Fool reveals only the dream of the people about supernatural powers able to help anyone? And some researchers believe that Ivanushka is a poetic dream, reflecting the dream of a carefree, cheerful life, which will still lead to both happiness and wealth.
In the essay “Ivan the Fool. The Roots of the Russian Folk Faith” A. Sinyavsky even grieves about the people who have chosen such a protagonist for themselves. After all, fools in fairy tales are dirty, skinned, unwashed, not having a penny for their souls, and lazy to the point of insanity. But to play the pipe or compose songs - they are much more than that. This total laziness frightens the author of the essay, because it allegedly proves that a Russian person, expecting the blessings of life from above, forgets about his personal responsibility.
Evg. Trubetskoy, in his discussion of the fabulous Fool, claims that the habit of shifting responsibility onto the “broad shoulders of St. Nicholas the Pleasant” is the scourge Slavic character, which lulls his energy and robs him of the will to win.
Attitude in the fairy tale of living creatures to Ivan the Fool
But it should be noted that it is not laziness or narrow-mindedness that has attracted loyal admirers to Ivan for so many centuries, but his kindness, gullibility and straightforwardness. This hero does not skimp on good word and the matter: he will let go, having delivered from misfortune, a living being, will take pity on the wanderer or old woman, and they will all repay him in the same coin afterwards.
Such a hero as Ivan the Fool, and Gray wolf will help, and pike, and dog, and cat. Before him, all barriers make way - because he is not afraid that this may not happen!
Remember the path to success indicated in the movie "Magicians": "I see the goal - I see no obstacles"? This is exactly what happens to Ivanushka in every fairy tale. He sees no obstacles to chopping off the twelve heads of the Serpent Gorynych or turning into a beautiful prince, dipping into a vessel with rejuvenating water. He trusts in God and receives according to his faith!
There are more options for the origin of the offensive nickname Ivan
Or maybe Ivan was known as a fool not because of the peculiarities of his mind? The guy was just unlucky - he was born the third in the family, which means that all the inheritance left from the father will be taken by the eldest sons, and the youngest will be left with nothing. Is it because Ivan is a fool that he has already been bypassed from a young age?
There is another option as to why Ivanushka wears this offensive nickname. The point is that in Ancient Rus' children were given two names. One, received at baptism, was kept secret (remember the proverb: “they call it a name, but they call it a duck”?), And the second was deliberately unsightly, even frightening, so that evil spirits would not want to take the child or do something bad to him: after all, and so the baby is no longer good! And children lived in Russian villages who carried up to 13 years strange names: Strashko, Ailment, Rottooth, Blackmouth, etc.
Often children were named in order of birth: Pervak (or First), Drugak (Second, Other), Tretyak, Chetvertak and so on, according to the number of heirs. So, some researchers believe that the Fool is a transformed, modified name Drugak. Well, perhaps the Fools were such only in the order of birth ...
The image of Ivan the Fool in child psychology
Speaking of such an ambiguous image in Russian culture, it is important to note that fairy tales about Ivan the Fool are also effective method child psychotherapy. After all, the child naturally feels timid before the future: how he will fit into adulthood? After all, he knows and can do so little! And the fairy tale reassures him: “Do not be afraid, and they turned out to be not like that at the top!” The tale says: “The main thing is to take the first step, trusting inner voice and then you will get even more than you expect!”
And the child, pushed by the success of such a hero as Ivan the Fool, goes, no longer afraid, into adulthood, equipped with important experience: there is no such bottom from which it would not be possible to rise, there is no such misfortune that could not be overcome.
By the way, every child and fabulous Ivan always open to wonder. Maybe that's why miracles happen to them all the time? And the tale about the Fool, in fact, is also about how to forget excessive "cleverness" if you strive to win.
So who is this lover
Researchers believe that the tales about Ivan the Fool carry a certain strategy that does not come from standard postulates that call for always acting wisely, but, on the contrary, is based on the search for original, illogical and unexpected solutions. But they are successful!
Hidden in Ivan the Fool an ideal person- true to his word, honest and devoid of personal interest. After all, he has a negative attitude towards wealth (received as an addition to his wife), despite the fact that at the end of the tale he always owns it.
This state of affairs is quite understandable by the fact that the desire for wealth is, from the point of view of the Russian people, always a sign of self-interest, greed, and therefore cannot be a quality positive person. And since Ivanushka is the embodiment of something ideal, then he simply must be unmercenary, who does not know the value of money and does not seek to earn it.
Why does God love fools?
Although the statement given in the subheading seems illogical at first glance, there is still logic in it. Judge for yourself: after all, the Fool has no one else to rely on! No one else can help him! And he won't help himself either. All that remains is the hope of God's providence.
In addition, Ivan the Fool, in which fairy tales he would not appear, is always full of extraordinary confidence only in this. He does not listen to human advice and does not learn anything from own experience, but he is absolutely open to Providence - and it never fails such a hero!
And not only Fools, but also quite reasonable heroes of fairy tales, the Lord brings them out of a difficult situation for them, as soon as they find themselves at a crossroads - they don’t know where to go. That is, behind each of them there is an invisibly image of Ivan the Fool, his passive, open to perception state, which helps to make the only right choice and win in the struggle for life.
The image of the Fool in literature and cinema
Ivan the Fool, capable of "breaking" with himself all the frames and decency, so closely surrounded ordinary person, took deep roots in Russian literature and cinema. F. M. Dostoevsky, and A. N. Ostrovsky, and N. S. Leskov, and M. Gorky, and many others used this image in their time. famous writers and poets.
Indeed, in his mouth you can put something that the “noble” hero will never say, and his actions make the viewer be in constant tension and continuously follow the development of the plot.
Art proves to us: it is Fools that are truly free people. They are not bound by conventions, their actions defy logic, and everything they do is Right way to the Miracle.
And thank God that Fools are indestructible! Otherwise, miracles would simply leave us, and the world, accordingly, would dry up through the efforts of "wise men" and pragmatists.
If in order for there to be a place for Magic in the world, they are necessary, then each of us can and should from time to time put on the cap of the protagonist of the fairy tale about Ivan the Fool. The names that we give to this action are always the same - this is life!
God loves fools for a reason. And fools are not just lucky. Oh, this Ivan: fool, lazy, dirty. And why only this impractical, extra person becomes the main fabulous lucky?
Why is everyone helping him? Why beautiful princess falls in love with him?.. And not just falls in love, but gets married and at the wedding feast wipes the snot flowing with three streams on her fool-husband?!
for fun
The image of a stupid and successful younger brother is a wandering one. It is also found orally folk art European nations, in Chinese folklore, legends North American Indians, tales of African, Australian and northern tribes. But only on Russian soil did he become so popular: Ivan the Fool is perhaps our main fairy tale hero. A fact that may seem at least strange, in fact, reveals more than weighty reasons.
The first of the reasons for the popularity of Ivan the Fool is his comicality. After all, one of the main tasks of a fairy tale is to entertain the listener. And the storyteller (many of whom were buffoons) does everything to make the peasants listening to him on a rainy evening in a tavern or a stuffy afternoon in line at the mill have as much fun as possible!
The buckets go by themselves, the stove travels around the city and crushes people, the club itself beats the royal messengers. The situations are stupid, grotesque, because in their center is a fool. And, at the same time, the situations are typical for folk culture of laughter: we can easily find them in popular European fairy tales or scientific papers on the nature of laughter. With certain reservations, Ivan the Fool himself can be called a buffoon.
Fool oppressed
No less important social aspect the image of a fool. He is the younger brother of patriarchal family living in a common household. He has practically no rights. In essence, he last man in this world. That is why, with undisguised pleasure, the peasants listened to how this oppressed hero, unmercenary, dealt with the mighty of the world moreover: not only with older brothers, but even with important officials, princes and - what is there - the king himself.
But a fairy tale would not be a fairy tale if it were reduced to a single search for social justice. According to some theories, the tale of younger brother is a reflection of the medieval peasant family(residual phenomena of this mode could be found in late XIX century). Or rather: the peculiarity of fairy tales about the younger brother was due to the inheritance law that existed at that time, according to which, when dividing the property of the deceased head of the family most of farms departed younger son. But in the case when the heirs continued to run a joint household, the eldest remained the head of the family.
Also in the fairy tale: the older brothers have more rights within the family compared to Ivan, but as soon as a conflict occurs between them, forcing Ivan to leave (even for a while) the boundaries of the family, “luck” passes to him, and at the end of the fairy tale it is he becomes the owner of all "earthly goods".
Fool - holy fool
The third reason for love for Ivan is his resemblance to holy fools. There is nothing surprising in such a comparison, if we recall that one of the synonyms for the word "holy fool" in Dahl's dictionary is "fool". Ivan is a fool, that is, a madman, although his image combines the features of both holy fools-madmen and ascetics who fooled around "for Christ's sake."
Foolishness was basically anti-aesthetic, gravitating toward the ugly. Etymologically, “holy fool” goes back to the word “ugly”. Ivan the Fool is also described as a freak: he always lies on the stove, dirty, tattered, rubbing snot on his face.
Ivan is related to the holy fools by the paradoxical nature of his speech: “What,” Ivanushka thinks to himself, “after all, the horse has four legs and the table also has four, so the table will run away by itself.” In addition to the obvious comicality, there is something more in such statements. Ivan turns phenomena upside down, as did the holy fools, who spoke in riddles, or even babbled nonsense. In this way, the blessed "cleansed" the eternal truths from everyday husks and the monotony of rituals. It was as if they were shaking a dusty carpet to make it brighter and cleaner. Or - they put back on their feet the problem that stood on their heads.
The nature of Ivan's laziness is also interesting. It is remarkable that his practical, active brothers, in spite of all efforts, cannot achieve the goal. And Ivan seems to be doing nothing: he lies on the stove and enjoys the fruits of the labors of magical assistants. But in a fairy tale, it is not laziness in itself that is glorified. If the brothers are guided by reason, then Ivan is driven by instinct: he goes where his eyes look, his legs lead, etc. The practical in a fairy tale is opposed to the intuitive. And the second wins: because Ivan does not live by his powerless mind, but relies on God's will.
Fool - Priest
The connection of the fool with the other world is obvious: it is not for nothing that he lies on the stove, which is both the center of the house (the center of the world) and the connection with the dead. No wonder it is he who is helped by magical animals - the very ones that in primitive times were totem. No wonder in many fairy tales he is the only speaking character, sometimes speaking nonsense. Remembering that fairy tale was born from the ritual, we can restore the role of Ivan in it. He is a person who communicates with the gods, that is, a priest. Therefore, the other world helps him, therefore he turns out to be the main character in the fairy tale, in every sense of the word.
In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived an old man with an old woman. They had three sons, the third was named Ivan the Fool. The first two are married, and Ivan the Fool is single; two brothers did business, managed the house, plowed and sowed, the third did nothing. Once, his father and daughter-in-law began to send Ivan to the field to plow up a little more than 1 arable land. The guy went, came to the arable land, harnessed his horse, rode with a plow once or twice, he sees: there are no mosquitoes and midges in the account; he grabbed a whip, lashed the horse's side, killed them without a quote; hit on another, killed forty pauts 2 and thinks: “After all, I killed forty heroes in one swing, but there is no estimate for a small fry 3!”.
He took them all, put them in a heap and covered them with horse feces; he did not plow himself, unharnessed his horse, went home. He comes home and says to his daughters-in-law and mother: “Give me a canopy 4 and a saddle, and you, father, give me the saber that you have hanging - it has rusted on the wall. What kind of a man am I! I have nothing".
They laughed at him and gave him some kind of split tyurik 5 instead of a saddle; our guy attached girths to it and put it on a thin mare. Instead of a canopy, the mother gave some old dubas 6 ; he took even that, but he took the saber from his father, went, turned it, got ready and went. He reaches Rosstani 7 - and he was still a little literate - he wrote on a pillar: strong heroes Ilya Muromets and Fedor Lyzhnikov would come to such and such a state to a strong and powerful hero who killed forty heroes at one swing, but there is no small fry estimate , and rolled them all with a stone.
Precisely, after him, the hero Ilya Muromets arrives, sees the inscription on the pillar: “Ba,” he says, “a strong man drove, mighty hero: it is not good to disobey. I went, they would catch up with Vanyukha; I didn’t get far, took off my hat and bowed: “Hello, strong, mighty hero!” And Vanyukha does not break his hat, he says: “Great, Ilyukha!” Let's go together. Not long after, Fyodor Lyzhnikov came to the same pole, he sees that it is written on the pole, it is not good to disobey: Ilya Muromets has passed! - and he went there too; I didn’t get far to Vanyukha either - they take off their hats and say: “Hello, strong, mighty hero!” But Vanyukha does not break his hats. “Great,” he says, “Fedyunka!”
All three went together; come to one state, stopped at the royal meadows. The bogatyrs set up tents for themselves, and Vanyukha unrolled his club; the two heroes tangled the horses with silk fetters, and Vanyukha plucked a rod from a tree, twisted it and confused his mare. Here they live. The king saw from his tower that some people were poisoning his beloved meadows, they would immediately send off his neighbor to ask what kind of people? He came to the meadows, approached Ilya Muromets, they asked what kind of people they were and how they dared to trample the royal meadows without asking? Ilya Muromets replied: “None of our business! Ask out the eldest - a strong, mighty hero.
The ambassador approached Vanyukha. He shouted at him, did not give the word to say: “Get out, while you’re still alive, and tell the king that a strong, mighty hero came to his meadows, who killed forty heroes at one swing, but there was no estimate for a small fry, and rolled him down with a stone, yes Ilya Muromets and Fyodor Lyzhnikov are with him, and demand that the tsar's daughter be married. He told this to the king. The tsar had enough according to the records: Ilya Muromets and Fedor Lyzhnikov are there, and the third one, who kills forty heroes at one swing, is not in the records. Then the king ordered to gather an army, capture three heroes and bring to him. Where to grab? Vanyukha saw how the army began to approach closer; he shouted: “Ilyukha! Go and drive them away, what kind of people? - he lies, stretched out and look like an owl.
Ilya Muromets, at that word, jumped on his horse, drove, not so much beaten with his hands, but trampled with his horse; nailed everyone, left only one pagans 8 to the king. The king heard this misfortune, gathered more strength and sent to catch the heroes. Ivan the Fool shouted: “Fedyunka! Go get that bastard off!" He jumped on a horse, nailed everyone, leaving only the pagans.
What is the king to do? Things are bad, the heroes beat the strength; the tsar became thoughtful and remembered that a strong hero Dobrynya lives in his kingdom. He sends a letter to him, asking him to come and defeat the three heroes. Dobrynya has arrived; the tsar met him on the third balcony, and Dobrynya rode up to the balcony on a level with the tsar: that's what he was like! Hello, we talked. He went to the royal meadows. Ilya Muromets and Fyodor Lyzhnikov saw that Dobrynya was coming towards them, got scared, jumped off their horses and get out of there - they stole it. But Vanyukha did not have time. While he was having his mare, Dobrynya rode up to him, and he laughs, what kind of strong, mighty hero is this? Small, skinny! He bent his head to Vanyukha himself, looking at him, and admiring him. Vanyukha, somehow, did not become timid, drew his saber, and cut off his head.
The king saw this, got scared: “Oh,” he says, “the hero killed Dobrynya; trouble now! Go quickly, call the hero to the palace. For Vanyukha came such an honor that the priests forbid! The carriages are the best, the people are all complaining. Planted and brought to the king. The king treated him and gave his daughter; they got married, and now they live, they chew bread.
I was here, I drank honey; flowed down the mustache, did not get into the mouth. They gave me a cap, and they began to push; they gave me a caftan, I go home, and the titmouse flies and says: “Yes blue is good!” I thought: “Throw it off and put it down!” I took it off, and put it down. This is not a fairy tale, but a saying, a fairy tale ahead!
1 Measure of the earth.
2 Paut - horsefly or gadfly.
3 Sokha - a measure of land, which was paid in the old days. The expression "small fry" means here: of the lowest rank.
4 Canopy - thick canvas, sewn in several strips.
5 Tyurik - a thick canvas sewn in several strips.
6 A kind of clothing similar to a sundress and so named because it is dyed in oak leaf.
7 Rosstani - a place where one road splits into two, a crossroads.
8 Gentile (language) - messenger.
9 Navershny - riding on horseback.
