Name: Ivan the Fool (Ivanushka the Fool)

A country: Russia

Creator: Slavic folklore

Activity: peasant son

Family status: married

Ivan the Fool: Character Story

Only a lazy Russian peasant, lying on the stove, is able to suddenly achieve fame, have a beautiful wife and half a kingdom in addition. This is how the Russians joke, remembering their favorite hero of fairy tales - Ivan the Fool. But the character is not as simple as it seems. The peasant guy is dexterous and savvy, and wears the nickname "to avert eyes."

History of creation and image

The origin of the hero of Russian fairy tales is still a mystery. Researchers folk art are of the opinion that the image migrated from mythology, and there are many reasons for this. In legends different peoples The world has its own Ivan the Fool: a lucky but narrow-minded comical hero is found in African, European, North American and even Chinese fairy tales. True, he received such grandiose fame and recognition only on Russian soil - in Slavic fairy tales Ivan is almost always in charge acting character.

Causes folk love simple and understandable. Ivan the Fool plays the role of a buffoon, entertaining the audience with ridiculous behavior. In his arsenal are magical things designed to make the image even funnier: the stove itself travels around the village, buckets walk, even the cudgel has the intellect and will - it itself beats the messengers of the king. Grotesque situations centered on the fool are a typical story in folk culture of laughter.

Researchers also attribute the quality of a priest to the character. Ivan the Fool is the youngest of three brothers, but he is the only one of the fabulous trinity who speaks in riddles and puzzles over them. To a young man help totem animals. Yes, and the stove on which the fool lies is a symbolic object: the center of the house, the family hearth, the “portal” to the spirits of the dead. All this suggests that the origins of the character lie in the festive rituals that were performed by the priests in Rus'. Ivan is considered a person who easily communicates with higher and otherworldly forces, receives support from them.

The character is referred to the so-called tricksters - pranksters, deceivers and jokers, carrying people useful (for example, fire, moral values, new skills), but at the same time doing a bunch of stupid things that promise nothing but trouble.

Fool in literally Ivan's words are hard to name. On the contrary, the actions of the character are accompanied by exceptional cunning and ingenuity. In any test, he emerges victorious, rises to the top of fame, marries a maiden of royal blood, due to which he grows rich. There are also versions about the origin of the epithet. According to one of them, "fool" is explained family traditions those times when the hero arose: the younger offspring were not supposed to inherit, that is, they were left with a nose.

Perhaps the prefix to the name serves as a talisman, which in ancient times was given to newborns in order to protect them from the evil eye and dark forces(It was believed that evil spirits simply would not find a person who had a “fake” name).

The image of a savvy guy is not hindered by his ability in versification and music: in fairy tales, Ivan the Fool often sings excellently, plays the harp and pipe, skillfully knows how to distort words, compose jokes and jokes.

Biography and plot

Ivan the Fool was born in peasant family, but, as fairy tales tell, the hero was not lucky with his mind. The youngest of the three brothers is a useless person, "neither steal nor guard", he also did not make a homely owner. The character spends his days on the stove. However, it is he who manages to find happiness and fortune due to the ability to deftly get out of the alterations and achieve his goals.

Fairy tales initially featured two storylines. In the first, after the death of his father, the hero receives a magical horse, which he is forced to hide from his brothers. On horseback, the guy goes through a string of trials, solves riddles and marries a princess. After the marriage, Ivan is waiting for another portion of exploits. He takes out living water, rejuvenating apples, a pig with a golden bristle and eventually ascends to the throne.

In the second plot, Ivan the Fool tries to track down a thief who visits the garden every night and tramples the grass. The prankster appears in the face of a mare or a Firebird. Ivan pities the captured animal, granting him freedom, and in return receives a reward - a wonderful horse or a feather. In the case of the Firebird, the tsar sends Ivan in search of a magical feathered bird, promising the hand and heart of his own daughter as a reward.

These two storylines have gone through various interpretations over time, turning into new works. IN modern versions even a pike appears, which Ivan allegedly caught (it is not clear how the fish migrated from the fairy tale about Emelya). IN everyday fairy tales Ivan the Fool acts as an independent character, looking for, meets with and.

To the most popular Russian folk tales introducing this resourceful hero, relate:

• "Horse, tablecloth and horn"
• "Sivka-Burka"
• "Ivan - a peasant son and Miracle Yudo"

Folklore stylization of a fairy tale with Ivan in leading role presented in 1834. They say, after reading the work of the Tobolsk writer, he exclaimed:

“Now this kind of writing can be left to me!”

Ershovsky Ivan the Fool is lazy, simple, but brave and smart. With the help of animals, including, the young man catches the Firebird, delivers the Tsar Maiden to the royal court, finds her ring at the bottom of the sea. And at the end reaches dizzying success- marries a girl and becomes king himself.

Screen adaptations

Ivan the Fool often appears in films. In 1941, he presented a fairy tale based on the work of Yershov to Soviet children. The main role was played by the actor Pyotr Aleinikov.

And a year earlier, the film "Vasilisa the Beautiful" by the same director was successfully shown in the cinemas of the country. In Ivan there reincarnated.

Another Russian film "How Ivan the Fool went for a miracle" became a brilliant adaptation of folk tales. In a color picture produced in 1977, the hero fights for the love of the merchant's daughter Nastya.

Director Nadezhda Kosheverova in her work involved famous actors- (Nastenka), (grandmother Barbara), ().

Relatively recently, another film adaptation with Ivan the Fool in the title role saw the light - “ Real fairy tale» (2011). fabulous image tried on .

A character close to Ivan the Fool lives in Russian folk art -. The hero is also the third son in the family, the lack of intelligence is replaced by harassment from the brothers. Ivan Tsarevich has to look for rejuvenating apples, living water and the Firebird. The young man also passes the test and eventually takes the throne. IN fairy world modern children are fascinated by the cartoon "Ivan Tsarevich and Gray wolf”, which was filmed in three parts, the last one was released in 2016.

Until now, the image of Ivan the Fool continues to be exploited by directors, writers and poets, as well as homegrown authors. Modern interpretation plots of folk art theatrical performance“The Tale of Ivan the Fool, Baba Yaga and the Flying Boots”, and at adult corporate parties they like to play a scene called “How Ivan the Fool Decided to Get Married”.

In the creativity of every nation there is a fool. The French analogue of Ivan the Fool, Jean the simpleton, communicates with the statue of the saint; in the Netherlands, the narrow-minded hero of fairy tales bargains with a crucifix. In the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, a character appears who argues with frogs over money.

Quotes

“Hut, hut, stand back to the forest, front to me!”

"Run, gray wolves, flock, black crows, you are King Geston fresh meat sent."

“I have this apple tree not for sale, but cherished, and this is the covenant: if you chop off a finger on your hand and give them to me, then I will give you the apple trees.”

“They put me in the voivodeship to judge and dress, but I don’t know how to judge or dress!”

“Yes, you see, brothers, I don’t know what kind of person became attached to me along the way and ate everything!”

“But what, after all, the horse has four legs and the table also has four, so the table will run by itself.”

"Cook, stew, and I'll go look after the children!"

One of the most popular heroes Russian fairy tales Ivan the Fool is considered a favorite subject of dispute among literary critics and folklore researchers. And this is not surprising - the character is the main character of many folk tales, they pity him, but envy him, laugh at him, but sincerely rejoice. Who is Ivan the Fool and what is his fate in the Russian epic?

Fool or smart?

Is Ivan such a fool? In fact, even his name at the very beginning did not have a negative connotation, as it has become now. Previously, even before the adoption of Christianity, children were called fictitious names for a very long time so that the devils could not take their souls. One of these names was "Drugak" from the word "other". Later, for convenience in pronunciation, "drugak" became "fool". But the usual meaning for the word "fool" came only in the 17th century.

In addition, the task of the storytellers was not to make Ivan a fool. It was just a poor peasant boy, a little lazy, but very smart. Able to lie all day on the stove, not work and nothing to lose because of it.

The mysterious image of Ivan the Fool

If you remember, in Russian folklore there is another Ivan, but with a completely different character. Ivan Tsarevich, whom every reader would like to be much more like, is initially born in a rich house, has willpower, intelligence and good physical training. Despite the fact that just to achieve his goal, he does more and better, for some reason they sympathize with him much less. Why is that?

The thing is that each of us has a bit of laziness in his character. No matter how much you want to become strong, savvy and responsible, the opportunity to get everything without much effort has always attracted more. And in general, the image of Ivan the Fool is much closer in mentality to the Russian people. It is generally accepted that Russians are very lucky and even despite their stupidity, perhaps even excessive laziness, they are able to get what they want in any situation. Albeit with some difficulties and hardships.

There are plenty of tales about Ivan the Fool - these are Ivan Utrenik and Sivka Burka, even modern literature uses the prototype of the Russian folk hero. Dunno on the Moon, The Little Humpbacked Horse. All these heroes have three main features in common:

1. Unselfishness
2. Lack of vanity
3. Peasant (poor origin)

This is the real keeper of important human qualities: kindness, fidelity and love for the native land.

For this, Ivan the Fool loved, loves and continues to love the Russian people. For his sincerity and real mind, which manifests itself not in cunning and the desire to cash in at the expense of others, but in ingenuity.

Ivan the Fool - the meaning of fairy tales and the strategy of Ivan the Fool!

Plan:
- The meaning of the name "fool"
- An example of Ivan's actions (in fairy tales)
- Ivan always acts stupidly (and in relation to himself too)
— Alternative logic of Ivanushka the Fool
- The essence of the strategy is not in logic, but in intuition!
- The moral of the fairy tales about Ivanushka is a fool (why does he always win)?
- The secret is innocence
— Application in Everyday life tactics of Ivan the Fool

- The meaning of the name "fool"

Eat different versions origin of this name:

1) Due to the fact that the third son does not receive an inheritance
When the time comes to divide the inheritance, it will go to the older brothers, and the younger one will be left with a nose, in the cold. If you stick to this version, it turns out that the nickname for Ivan is assigned not so much by the mind, but by the property status.

2) Name-amulet
Offensive nicknames were used by the people: Ivan the Fool, or Mishka Oblique, or some other Crooked, and so on. Moreover, the parents themselves gave the child offensive nicknames, and not at all because they wanted to mock him. They had their own logic. According to her, an unsightly name helped to protect the child from evil spirits, which are much more likely to spoil everything beautiful and good. And what can be spoiled when the child is already a fool? AND devilry switched to someone else.

It turns out that the prefix "fool" could refer not to mental capacity Ivanushka the Fool, but simply protected him from the evil eye and damage. And then this custom was forgotten, and in the fairy tale everything remained as it is.

- An example of Ivan's actions (in fairy tales)

With the brains of Ivan, indeed, how to say, not very much. He is given some simple instructions, for example, to go to the fair and return with new clothes, and he takes and throws things on the road. Here is what is said about this in one of the tales:
“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 was such, 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, 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; put dishes with dishes on the ground and began to regale: “Sisters, doves, eat to your health!”.

- Ivan always acts stupidly (and in relation to himself too)

He does not only react to other people's orders. He treats his own interests the same way. In one of the tales, Ivan the Fool worked for the priest for three years, and when he offered him a choice of pay, a bag of coins or a bag of sand, the fool took the sand. Well, who is he after that, you ask?

— Alternative logic of Ivanushka the Fool

On the other hand, the strange logic of the actions of Ivan the Fool strikes. The impression that the hero is not just stupid, but even completely out of his mind. And yet, at the end of the tale, this madman always wins: either he wants to be left alone, or he suddenly acquires a huge fortune, or marries a king's daughter or a sorceress.

This happened just in that fairy tale where Ivan the Fool took for his three years of work not a bag of money, but a bag of sand. When he was walking home with this ridiculous salary, he saw a fire in the forest in which a beautiful maiden was burning. Ivan covered the fire with sand, and the girl, who turned out to be a sorceress, married him and began to help in business.

How can it be that she chose not a hero, not a prince, but a complete fool? Because he's not that stupid. He simply acts, completely ignoring all existing rules.

- The essence of the strategy is not in logic, but in intuition!

The fool is guided not by logic, but by intuition, which a mere mortal, surrounded by hundreds of frames, does not have and will not have, the smart one who knows exactly what is what, and therefore miracles never happen to him.

Ivan is completely open to a miracle, and miracles happen to him all the time. Another Russian proverb - "God loves fools" (or "fools are lucky") - just about this. Fools give themselves up to chance and are not afraid of the consequences, because they simply do not think about them.

- The moral of the fairy tales about Ivanushka is a fool (why does he always win)?

The tale says: don't be afraid, just take a step forward, trust inner voice, even if he says stupid things, and everything will turn out better than you expect. Then it turns out that the fairy tale about the fool is a story about how you need to forget your excessive rationality if you want to win.

Then the explanation for the popularity of fairy tale fools is that they are actually sages in disguise. Some researchers compared Ivanushka the Fool with Socrates, who exclaimed: “I only know that I know nothing,” or with Lao Tzu who said: "Smart people are not scientists, scientists are not smart."

A fool is a philosophical figure, calling to give up any ideas about the world in order to freely get the experience of merging with it, to gain knowledge about it, but not from books, but in the process of playing.

- The secret is innocence

And finally last secret The popularity of fools is that they are extremely rarely consciously evil or cruel.

- Application in everyday life of the tactics of Ivan the Fool

This is very important question! By personal example, I was convinced of the great practical value actions in the style of "Ivanushka the Fool".

Action algorithm:
1) Arrange days for yourself when you will only do what you want to do (what your intuition tells you). Not mind, not logic, not personal gain, but INTUITION. On this day, you live with feelings!
2) Do mindless (illogical actions). For example, write with your left hand (if you are right-handed). Go for a walk (to the store) along the "stupid" route. Those. over a longer and longer route.
3) Walk "back to front" (at least a few steps).

What will it all give?
Mind and psyche calms down. New sensations and thoughts appear. Stupid actions suppress logic and sharpen our intuition (our subconscious).
I began to feel much better! Therefore, I always try to use the “Ivan the Fool strategy” on walks. And, from time to time I arrange days for myself that I completely spend like Ivan the Fool!

What do you advise!

Probably, there is not a single Russian-speaking person who could not immediately recall at least one fairy tale, the hero 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.

1. "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.
2. "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 the royal chambers did Ivan the Fool and the princess begin 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 a very modest and courageous person. real hero! For this, Ivan became king.
3. "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 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 movements 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 in his dissertation emphasized that Ivan the Fool adorns Russian folk tales with 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 the gray wolf will help, and the pike, and the dog, and the 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 because he was already 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 about 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 your 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 fairy tale about the Fool is actually a fairy tale also about how to forget excessive "cleverness" if you strive to win.

So who is this favorite fairy-tale hero?

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 fairy tales The Lord takes them out of a difficult situation, as soon as they find themselves at a crossroads - they do not 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 the 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!

The Russian folk tale Ivan the Fool says that fools are always lucky, Although Ivan was a fool, he won Dobrynya and married the royal daughter, and he managed to command the Russian heroes Ilya and Fedka. Read an interesting fairy tale about Ivan the Fool.

"Ivan the Fool" Russian folk tale

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 some more 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 another, killed forty pouts and thinks:
- After all, I killed forty heroes in one swing, but there is no estimate for a small fry!
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 and a saddle, and you, father, give me a saber that hangs on your wall - 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 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; he took even that, but took the saber from his father, went, turned it, got ready and went. He reaches the Rosstans - and he was still a little literate - he wrote on a pillar: strong heroes Ilya Muromets and Fyodor 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 down with a stone.
Precisely, after him, the hero Ilya Muromets arrives, sees the inscription on the pillar:
- Ba, - he says, - a strong one drove, mighty hero: it is not good to disobey.
I went, they would catch up with Vanyukha; did not get far, took off his hat and bowed:

But Vanyukha does not break his hat, he says:
- Hello, 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, they say:
- Hello, strong, mighty hero!
But Vanyukha does not break his hats.
- Great, - 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 a word to say:
- Get out, while alive, and tell the tsar that a strong, mighty hero came to his meadows, who killed forty heroes in one swing, but there was no estimate for a small fry, and rolled with a stone, but Ilya Muromets and Fyodor Lyzhnikov with him, and demands from king's daughter 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 chase 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 them all, leaving only the pagans 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 out!
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 go from 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, looks at him, and admires him. Vanyukha, somehow, did not become timid, drew his saber, and cut off his head.
The king saw this and was frightened:
- 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:
- Xin da is good!
I thought:
- Put it down!
I took it off, and put it down. This is not a fairy tale, but a saying, a fairy tale ahead!