Online reading of the book Black Hen, or Underground Inhabitants Black Hen, or Underground Inhabitants. Anthony Pogorelsky Black Hen

Anthony Pogorelsky and his fairy tale "The Black Hen, or Underground inhabitants". Part 1

Anthony Pogorelsky - a wonderful Russian writer early nineteenth century. His famous work"Black Hen, or Underground Dwellers" is one of the first literary tales in Russian prose. He himself called it a fairy tale. The fairy tale became a favorite reading for children and entered the golden fund of children's literature. However, like many other works intended for children (“The Adventures of Alice” by L. Carroll, “The Golden Key” by A.N. Tolstoy, “ Blue bird” by M. Maeterlinck, etc.), it flickers with many meanings, and behind a simple plot with naive morality, another, more complex narrative is guessed.

"The Black Hen" Pogorelsky wrote in 1825-1826, and it was published in 1829 and indeed became one of the first books in Russian literature in many ways - and one of the first literary fairy tales, and one of the first mystical-fiction works, and the first author's work of literature for children. The methods of introducing the fantastic, the combination of the fantastic and the real in the work, the play on the motif of a dream, the historical principle at the heart of the story - all these Pogorelsky's findings would later be used by other Russian writers.

Anthony Pogorelsky, as you know, is the pseudonym of the writer, whose real name is Alexei Alekseevich Perovsky. The writer's father, Count Alexei Kirillovich Razumovsky, was a famous statesman at the court of Catherine II, and her mother, Maria Mikhailovna Sobolevskaya (later by her husband, Denisiev), was a simple bourgeois. A wealthy nobleman, A.K. Razumovsky achieved the title of nobility for his illegitimate children and left them an inheritance.

The family was exclusively literary. A.K. Razumovsky himself served as one of the prototypes of the old Count Bezukhov in L. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace". He was in correspondence with I.A. Pozdeev, from which Tolstoy wrote in his novel the image of the freemason Bazdeev. Based on the memoirs of V. Perovsky, brother of Alexei Perovsky, about his adventures in Moscow captured by the French and meeting with General Davout, a part of L. Tolstoy's novel about Pierre's adventures in burned Moscow was written. In addition, V. Perovsky, who in 1833 was the military governor of Orenburg, met with Pushkin when he, collecting materials for the "History Pugachev rebellion”, visited Orenburg.

Pogorelsky's nephew, whom he loved very much and educated, Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, became an outstanding Russian poet, writer and playwright. Three other nephews, the sons of Olga's sister - the Zhemchuzhnikovs - left a bright mark in literature, creating a parody image of Kozma Prutkov.

"The Black Hen" was composed by Perovsky for his nephew Alyosha Tolstoy, who became a kind of double of his uncle - he had the same name and was at the same age as the hero of the work, in which the features of the author himself are guessed. The creation of the fairy tale was influenced by the work of Hoffmann, whose works Perovsky read, most likely in Germany, where he was transferred to the service in 1814. Here he got acquainted with the first collections of stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann "Fantasy in the manner of Callot" (1814), "Night stories" (1816). The fairy tale is influenced by others German romantics, in particular Thicke, as well as the famous English satirist writer Swift.

From the very first paragraphs of the work, two basic principles of the writer's work are manifested, which are actualized in the fairy tale - the combination of the fantastic with the real and the principle of historicism.

The fabulous “once upon a time” at the beginning of the tale is accompanied by the exact address and description of St. Petersburg, and the author creates two images of the city - one in a historical perspective - this is St. Petersburg at the end of the eighteenth century - and the second - modern to the narrator. He writes about how the city has become prettier, how its appearance has changed:“At that time, our Petersburg was already famous throughout Europe for its beauty, although it was still far from what it is now. At that time, there were no cheerful shady alleys on the avenues of Vasilievsky Island: wooden scaffolding, often knocked together from rotten boards, took the place of today's beautiful sidewalks. St. Isaac's Bridge, narrow and uneven at that time, presented a completely different view than it is now; and St. Isaac's Square itself was not at all like that. Petersburg then was not what it is now.

In these words, one can feel both love for St. Petersburg and pride in the capital, which in a relatively short period of time (only forty years) has changed and become one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Speaking about St. Petersburg in the historical sense, Pogorelsky, in addition to the past and present (which for the reader of the fairy tale is already the historical past), implicitly creates a third projection - the city of the future (which for the reader is the present), continuing the motif of the perfection and power of St. Petersburg. In love with hometown which is also the capital mighty empire, a patriotic feeling is manifested, which was fully inherent in Pogorelsky.

With the outbreak of the war of 1812, Perovsky, like many other young nobles, was seized by a general patriotic impulse and joined the army: he was enrolled in the 3rd Ukrainian Cossack Regiment. The father categorically forbade Perovsky to take part in hostilities, threatening, in case of disobedience, to deprive his son of material support and property. Perovsky answered his father, albeit in the best romantic traditions of that time, but, nevertheless, very sincerely: “Can you think, count, that my heart is so low, my feelings are so vile, that I will decide to leave my intention not for fear of losing your love, but for fear of losing my property? These words will never be blotted out of my thoughts...

Such behavior and mood of feelings speak not only of the patriotism of the writer, who bravely fought against the French both in the ranks of the regular army and in the partisan detachments - Pogorelsky was in the army until 1816 - but also about the special nobility and purity of thoughts of this man. Participation in historical events, certainly gave the writer a sense of belonging to big story developed in him a philosophical attitude to life. Philosophical notes sound already at the very beginning of the tale: “... the time will come when our traces will be wiped off the face of the earth! Everything passes, everything disappears in our mortal world ... ".

The historical milestones in the story are marked by several periods - the times of Peter I, whom the old Dutch women knew and even talked to, the end of the eighteenth century, when the events described in the fairy tale took place; the time corresponding to the moment of the narrative (the 30s of the nineteenth century), and, finally, the conditional future, when "our traces will be wiped off the face of the earth." Such a temporary composition helps to stretch the threads from the past to the future, to show their unity and interconnection, the inclusion of each character in historical process. In addition, it is one of the ways to introduce fantasy into reality: centenary old women, born at the end of the seventeenth century, are part of the past, which becomes legendary and, to some extent, fantastic - it’s not for nothing that you need to go through their room to get into fairy world. Dutch old women are connected with the theme of Masonic initiation: as you know, Peter I was accepted into Masonic Lodge while traveling in Holland. Pogorelsky himself was also a Freemason who joined the lodge of the Three Swords in Dresden. He had repeatedly made attempts to enter into Freemasonry before, but his father, himself a prominent and influential Freemason, prevented this. Be that as it may, but in Dresden, during a foreign campaign, Pogorelsky realized his dream.

Masonic motifs occupy a significant place in The Black Hen. One of the heroes of the tale is the minister of the underground kingdom. However, in daytime earthly life, for some reason, he appears in the form of a chicken. True, this hen is not ordinary: according to the cook, she does not lay eggs and does not hatch chickens. Why does the minister appear in the form of a chicken, and not, say, in the form of a rooster, which would be more logical from the point of view of common sense? But the fact is that the symbolism of the chicken lays the meanings necessary for the writer, which the concept of the rooster could distort, and the very title of the tale immediately reminds the initiates of another landmark book.

"Black Hen" - a grimoire containing information about the creation of talismans and magic rings. Using these items, people allegedly could achieve unheard of strength. But main secret, which the book reveals, is the creation of a certain "Black Hen", also known as the "goose that lays the golden eggs". Such a chicken could bring enormous wealth to the owner.

The symbolism of the chicken is ambivalent. On the one hand, she personifies reproduction, maternal care, and also providence. She is a symbol parental love: fearful by nature, the chicken becomes a heroine, protecting her offspring - she fearlessly attacks anyone who tries to harm her babies.

In Christianity, a hen with chickens personifies Christ with his flock. The chicken is the embodiment of all-forgiving love, a symbol of the kindness and cordiality of the Almighty, pouring out these blessings even to the soulless and immoral people who have not overcome their passions: “Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem! I would like to gather your children together as often as a mother hen gathers her chickens under her wings, But you don't want to! (From the symbol dictionary)

diligent hen allegorical image"seven liberal arts"symbolizes grammar, which is associated with assiduous and painstaking work (in a fairy tale, this symbolism is associated with the motive of learning).

An ordinary chicken, considered a close-minded bird, in fairy tales can lay a golden egg, which is an allegory of a treasure associated with higher powers (including underground wealth - Alyosha ends up with underground inhabitants). The concept of "treasure" also has figurative sense- refers to the spiritual wealth of a person: “Do not lay up treasures for yourself on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up treasures for yourself in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break through and do not steal” (Mat. 6:19-20)

On the other hand, in symbolic dictionaries, the Black Hen is a servant of the devil, or even one of his manifestations.

It is not for nothing that the black chicken is Alyosha. This is a receptive, sensitive boy with a subtle and gentle soul with a rich imagination. He keenly feels his loneliness, which develops in him daydreaming, a desire to see Magic world. He is waiting for a meeting with the wonderful. In the most everyday occurrences and the realities of the world around him, he feels the breath of the mysterious: the holes in the fence seem to him purposely made by the sorceress, and the alley - a fabulous space in which extraordinary events must happen. His fantasies are also associated with a love of reading. Alyosha reads German fairy tales and chivalric novels. One of the main cycles of the German chivalric romance is the cycle of Parzival and the Holy Grail. It is directly related to some of the Masonic ideas about the perfection of the spirit.

Pogorelsky shows the sensitive soul of the boy, which, as it were, vibrates, feeling the breath of two worlds - real and fictional.

Pogorelsky in the book " black hen or underground inhabitants” tells about the men's boarding school, where the boy Alyosha is studying among the children. School days were pleasant for him, but as the weekend approached, he alone remained in the boarding house, because his parents lived very far from the city and could not come for him.
On such days Alyosha felt lonely. All he had to do was feed the chickens running around in the yard. He called the most affectionate black one Chernushka.

When the cook of the boarding house tried to catch his pet for the holiday, the boy saved her, giving for this the golden imperial, which he got as a gift from his grandmother.

Once, through a dream, Alyoshenka heard someone's voice. It was Chernushka who called him, promising to show him something good. She led the boy to a locked door, which she opened with a flap of her wings. The hen asked the boy not to touch anything. As they passed into the hall, they were attacked by knights who jumped down from the walls of the room. Having become huge, Chernushka boldly fought with the knights, Alyosha fainted from fear.

Further in the book “Black Hen or Underground Dwellers”, Chernushka introduces Alyosha to the king of little people, who, for saving his minister, rewarded him with the gift of learning lessons with the help of a seed, asking him not to tell anyone about them.

From that time on, Alyosha easily recited all the lessons, but his behavior worsened. But, one day, not finding the seeds, Alyosha could not learn the lesson, for which he was punished. Chernushka saved him by returning the grain.

Once Alyosha was forced to tell the teacher how he knew the lessons. They did not believe him, but he lost a friend. Blackie, saying goodbye, asked the boy to correct his behavior.

The fairy tale “The Black Hen or Underground Inhabitants” ends with the fact that Alyosha has changed in better side, but lost the gift of knowing the lessons without cramming.

Here you can download the book "Black Hen or Underground Dwellers" for free and without registration in fb2, ePub, mobi, PDF, txt format

About forty years ago, in St. Petersburg on Vasilyevsky Island, in the First Line, there lived the owner of a men's boarding school, who still probably remains in fresh memory for many, although the house where the boarding house was located has long been gave way to another, not in the least similar to the former. At that time, our Petersburg was already famous throughout Europe for its beauty, although it was still far from what it is now. At that time, there were no cheerful shady alleys on the avenues of Vasilievsky Island: wooden scaffolding, often knocked together from rotten boards, took the place of today's beautiful sidewalks. St. Isaac's Bridge, narrow and uneven at that time, presented a completely different view than it is now; and even St. Isaac's Square itself was not like that at all. Then the monument to Peter the Great from St. Isaac's Square was separated by a ditch; The Admiralty was not planted with trees, the Horse Guards Manege did not adorn the square with its beautiful present facade - in a word, Petersburg then was not what it is now. Cities have, by the way, the advantage over people that they sometimes become more beautiful with age ... However, that is not the point now. Another time and on another occasion, perhaps I will talk with you at greater length about the changes that have taken place in St. Petersburg during my century, but now let us turn again to the boarding house, which forty years ago was located on Vasilyevsky Island, in the First Line.

The house, which you now - as I already told you - will not find, was about two floors, covered with Dutch tiles. The porch through which they entered it was wooden and jutted out onto the street. From the passage a rather steep staircase led to the upper dwelling, which consisted of eight or nine rooms, in which the owner of the boarding house lived on one side, and the classrooms on the other. Dormitories, or children's bedrooms, were located on the lower floor, right side the canopy, and on the left lived two old Dutch women, each of whom was over a hundred years old and who had seen Peter the Great with their own eyes and even talked to him. At the present time, it is unlikely that in the whole of Russia you will meet a person who would have seen Peter the Great; the time will come when our traces will be wiped off the face of the earth! Everything passes, everything disappears in our mortal world... but that's not the point now.

Among the thirty or forty children who studied at that boarding school, there was one boy named Alyosha, who was then no more than 9 or 10 years old. His parents, who lived far, far away from Petersburg, brought him to the capital two years before, sent him to a boarding school and returned home, paying the teacher the agreed fee for several years in advance. Alyosha was a smart little boy, he studied well, and everyone loved and caressed him. However, despite that, he was often bored in the boarding house, and sometimes even sad. Especially at first he could not get used to the idea that he was separated from his relatives. But then, little by little, he began to get used to his position, and there were even moments when, playing with his comrades, he thought that it was much more fun in a boarding school than in parental home. In general, the days of training passed quickly and pleasantly for him, but when Saturday came and all his comrades hurried home to their relatives, then Alyosha bitterly felt his loneliness. On Sundays and holidays, he was alone all day, and then his only consolation was reading books, which the teacher allowed him to borrow from his small library. The teacher was a German by birth, at that time in German literature the fashion for chivalric novels and fairy tales dominated, and this library for the most part consisted of books of this kind.

So, Alyosha, still at the age of ten, already knew by heart the deeds of the most glorious knights, at least as they were described in the novels. His favorite pastime in long winter evenings, Sundays and other public holidays it was mentally transported back to ancient, bygone centuries... Especially at a vacant time, such as, for example, about Christmas or on the bright Sunday of Christ, when he was separated from his comrades for a long time, when he often spent whole days sitting in solitude - young imagination he wandered through the knight's castles, through the terrible ruins or through the dark, dense forests.

I forgot to tell you that this house had a fairly spacious courtyard, separated from the alley by a wooden fence made of baroque planks. The gates and gates that led into the alley were always locked, and therefore Alyosha never managed to visit this alley, which aroused his curiosity greatly. Whenever they allowed him to play in the yard during his rest hours, his first movement was to run up to the fence. Here he stood on tiptoe and stared intently into the round holes with which the fence was littered. Alyosha did not know that these holes came from the wooden nails with which the barges had previously been hammered together, and it seemed to him that some kind sorceress had purposely drilled these holes for him. He kept expecting that someday this sorceress would appear in the alley and give him a toy through a hole, or a talisman, or a letter from papa or mama, from whom he had not received any news for a long time. But, to his extreme regret, no one even looked like a sorceress.

Alyosha's other occupation was to feed the hens, who lived near the fence in a house specially built for them and played and ran around in the yard all day long. Alyosha got to know them very briefly, knew everyone by name, broke up their fights, and the bully punished them by sometimes not giving them anything for several days in a row from the crumbs, which he always collected from the tablecloth after lunch and dinner. Among chickens, he especially liked the black crested one, called Chernushka. Chernushka was more affectionate towards him than the others; she even sometimes allowed herself to be stroked, and therefore Alyosha brought the best pieces to her. She was of a quiet disposition; she rarely walked with others and seemed to love Alyosha more than her friends.

One day (it was during vacations, between New Year's Eve and Epiphany—it was a beautiful and unusually warm day, no more than three or four degrees below zero) Alyosha was allowed to play in the yard. That day the teacher and his wife were in great trouble. They gave dinner to the director of the schools, and even the day before, from morning until late in the evening, everywhere in the house they washed the floors, dusted and waxed mahogany tables and chests of drawers. The teacher himself went to buy provisions for the table: Arkhangelsk white veal, a huge ham, and Kiev jam from Milyutin's shops. Alyosha also contributed to the preparations to the best of his ability: he was forced to cut out a beautiful net for a ham from white paper and decorate with paper carvings specially bought six wax candles. On the appointed day, in the morning, the hairdresser appeared and showed his skill over the curls, the toupee, and the long plait of the teacher. Then he set to work on his wife, pomaded and powdered her curls and chignon, and piled on her head a whole conservatory of different colors, between which two diamond rings skillfully placed, once presented to her husband by her parents of students, shone. At the end of her headdress, she threw on an old, worn-out cloak and set off to take care of the housework, while observing sternly so that her hair did not somehow deteriorate; and for this she herself did not enter the kitchen, but gave orders to her cook, standing in the doorway. In necessary cases, she sent her husband there, whose hair was not so high.

In the course of all these worries, our Alyosha was completely forgotten, and he took advantage of this to play in the yard in the open. As was his custom, he went first to the wooden fence and looked for a long time through the hole; but even that day almost no one passed along the alley, and with a sigh he turned to his amiable hens. Before he had time to sit down on a log and just began to beckon them to him, when he suddenly saw a cook beside him with big knife. Alyosha never liked this cook—an angry and quarrelsome little chick. But since he noticed that she was the reason for the decrease in the number of his hens from time to time, he began to love her even less. When one day he accidentally saw in the kitchen one pretty cockerel, very beloved by him, hung by the legs with his throat cut, he had horror and disgust for her. Seeing her now with a knife, he immediately guessed what it meant, and feeling with sorrow that he was unable to help his friends, he jumped up and ran far away.

Alyosha, Alyosha! Help me catch a chicken! shouted the cook, but Alyosha began to run even faster, hid by the fence behind the chicken coop, and did not notice how tears rolled out of his eyes one after another and fell to the ground.

For a long time he stood by the chicken coop, and his heart was beating strongly, while the cook ran around the yard - she beckoned the hens: “Chick, chick, chick!” - she scolded them in Chukhonian.

Suddenly Alyosha's heart beat even faster: he heard the voice of his beloved Chernushka! She cackled in the most desperate way, and it seemed to him that she was crying:

Where, where, where, kuduhu!

Alyosha, save Chernukha!

Kuduhu, kuduhu,

Black, Black, Black!

Alyosha could not remain in his place any longer. Sobbing loudly, he ran to the cook and threw himself on her neck at the very moment when she had already caught Chernushka by the wing.

- Dear, dear Trinushka! he cried, bursting into tears. “Please don’t touch my Chernukha!”

Alyosha threw himself on the cook's neck so unexpectedly that she let go of Chernushka, who, taking advantage of this, flew up in fear to the roof of the barn and continued clucking there. But now Alyosha could hear her teasing the cook and shouting:

Where, where, where, kuduhu!

You didn't catch Chernukha!

Kuduhu, kuduhu!

Black, Black, Black!

Meanwhile the cook was beside herself with vexation.

— Rummal, go! she shouted. “That’s it, I’ll fall to the cassainu and plow. Shorn kuris must be rehabilitated... He is lazy... He doesn't make eggs, he doesn't sit around like a baby.

Then she wanted to run to the teacher, but Alyosha would not let her go. He clung to the skirts of her dress and begged so touchingly that she stopped.

- Darling, Trinushka! he said. “You are so pretty, clean, kind... Please leave my Chernushka!” Look what I'll give you if you're kind!

Alyosha took out of his pocket the imperial, which made up all his estate, which he guarded more than his own eyes, because it was a gift from his kind grandmother. The cook looked at gold coin, looked around the windows of the house to make sure that no one saw them, and held out her hand for the imperial. Alyosha was very, very sorry for the imperial, but he remembered Chernushka and firmly gave the precious gift.

Thus Chernushka was saved from a cruel and inevitable death.

As soon as the cook retired to the house, Chernushka flew off the roof and ran up to Alyosha. She seemed to know that he was her deliverer: she circled around him, flapped her wings and cackled in a cheerful voice. All morning she followed him around the yard like a dog, and it seemed as if she wanted to tell him something, but she could not. At least he couldn't make out her clucking.

About two hours before dinner, guests began to gather. They called Alyosha upstairs, put on him a shirt with a round collar and finely pleated cambric cuffs, white trousers, and a wide blue silk sash. Long Brown hair, which hung almost to the waist, were thoroughly combed, divided into two even parts and shifted in front - on both sides of the chest. So dressed up then children. Then they taught him how he should shuffle his foot when the director entered the room, and what he should answer if any questions were put to him. At another time, Alyosha would have been very glad to see the director, whom he had long wanted to see, because, judging by the respect with which the teacher and teacher spoke of him, he imagined that it must be some famous knight in brilliant armor and in helmet with large feathers. But this time this curiosity gave way to the thought that occupied him exclusively then: about the black hen. He imagined everything, how the cook ran after her with a knife, and how Chernushka clucked different voices. Moreover, he was very annoyed that he could not make out what she wanted to tell him, and he was so drawn to the chicken coop ... But there was nothing to do: he had to wait until dinner was over!

Finally the director arrived. His arrival was announced by the teacher, who had been sitting at the window for a long time, looking intently in the direction from which they were waiting for him. Everything began to move: the teacher rushed headlong out of the door to meet him below, at the porch; the guests rose from their seats. And even Alyosha forgot about his hen for a moment and went to the window to watch how the knight would get off his zealous horse. But he did not manage to see him: the director had already managed to enter the house. At the porch, instead of a zealous horse, stood an ordinary cab sleigh. Alyosha was very surprised by this. “If I were a knight,” he thought, “then I would never ride a cab, but always on horseback!”

Meanwhile all the doors were thrown wide open; and the teacher began to squat in anticipation of such an honorable guest, who soon afterwards appeared. At first it was impossible to see him behind the fat teacher who was standing at the very door; but when she, having finished her long greeting, sat down lower than usual, Alyosha, to extreme surprise, saw from behind her ... not a feathered helmet, but simply a small bald head, white powdered, the only ornament of which, as Alyosha later noticed, was little bundle! When he entered the drawing room, Alyosha was even more surprised to see that, despite the simple gray tailcoat that the director wore instead of shiny armor, everyone treated him with unusual respect.

However, however strange all this seemed to Alyosha, however pleased he might have been at another time with the unusual decoration of the table, on this day he did not pay much attention to it. The morning incident with Chernushka kept wandering in his head. Dessert was served: various kinds of jams, apples, bergamots, dates, wine berries and walnuts; but here, too, he did not for one moment cease to think of his little hen. And as soon as they got up from the table, he, with a heart trembling with fear and hope, approached the teacher and asked if he could go and play in the yard.

“Go on,” answered the teacher, “but don’t stay there long, it will soon become dark.”

Alyosha hurriedly put on his red bekesha with squirrel fur and a green velvet cap with a sable band around it and ran to the fence. When he arrived there, the hens had already begun to gather for the night and, sleepy, were not very happy with the crumbs they had brought. Only Chernushka did not seem to feel the desire to sleep: she merrily ran up to him, flapped her wings and began to cackle again. Alyosha played with her for a long time; Finally, when it got dark and it was time to go home, he himself closed the chicken coop, making sure in advance that his dear hen sat on the pole. When he came out of the chicken coop, it seemed to him that Chernushka's eyes glowed in the dark like stars, and that she was saying to him quietly:

Alyosha, Alyosha! Stay with me! Alyosha returned to the house and spent the whole evening sitting alone in the classrooms, while in the other half of the hour until eleven the guests stayed and played whist on several tables. Before they parted, Alyosha went downstairs to the bedroom, undressed, got into bed, and put out the fire. For a long time he could not sleep. Finally, sleep overcame him, and he had just managed to talk to Chernushka in a dream, when, unfortunately, he was awakened by the noise of departing guests. A little later, the teacher, who had seen off the director with a candle, entered his room, looked to see if everything was in order, and went out, locking the door with a key.

It was a monthly night, and through the shutters, which were not tightly closed, a pale ray of the moon fell into the room. Alyosha lay with open eyes and for a long time he listened to how, in the upper dwelling, above his head, they went around the rooms and put the chairs and tables in order.

Finally, everything calmed down. He glanced at the bed next to him, slightly illuminated by the moonlight, and noticed that the white sheet, hanging almost to the floor, moved easily. He began to peer more closely: he heard something scratching under the bed, and a little later it seemed that someone was calling him in a low voice:

Alyosha, Alyosha!

Alyosha was scared! He was alone in the room, and it immediately occurred to him that there must be a thief under the bed. But then, judging that the thief would not have called him by name, he cheered up a little, although his heart trembled. He sat up a little in bed and saw even more clearly that the sheet was moving, even more distinctly heard someone say:

Alyosha, Alyosha! Suddenly the white sheet lifted up, and from under it came out ... a black hen!

— Ah! It's you, Chernushka! Alyosha exclaimed involuntarily. — How did you get here?

Nigella flapped her wings, flew up to him on the bed and said in a human voice:

It's me, Alyosha! You are not afraid of me, are you?

Why should I be afraid of you? he answered. - I love you; only it is strange to me that you speak so well: I did not know at all that you could speak!

“If you are not afraid of me,” continued the hen, “then follow me: I will show you something pretty.” Get dressed soon!

- How funny you are, Chernushka! Alyosha said. How can I dress in the dark? I can’t find my dress now, I can’t even see you!

“I’ll try to help it,” said the hen. Here she cackled in a strange voice, and suddenly from somewhere came small candles in silver chandeliers, no larger than Alyoshin's little finger. These shackles ended up on the floor, on the chairs, on the windows, even on the washstand, and the room became so light, so light, as if it were daylight. Alyosha began to dress, and the hen gave him a dress, and in this way he was soon completely dressed.

When Alyosha was ready, Chernushka cackled again, and all the candles disappeared.

- Follow me! she told him.

And he boldly followed her. It was as if rays came out of her eyes, which illuminated everything around them, although not as brightly as small candles. They went through the front.

"The door is locked with a key," said Alyosha; but the hen did not answer him: she flapped her wings, and the door opened of itself.

Then, having passed through the passage, they turned to the rooms where the hundred-year old Dutch women lived. Alyosha had never visited them, but he had heard that their rooms were decorated in the old fashioned way, that one of them had a big gray parrot, and the other had a gray cat, very smart, that could jump through a hoop and give a paw. He had long wanted to see all this, and therefore he was very glad when the hen flapped her wings again, and the door to the old woman's chambers opened. In the first room Alyosha saw all kinds of antique furniture:

carved chairs, armchairs, tables and chests of drawers. The large couch was made of Dutch tiles, on which people and animals were painted in blue ant. Alyosha wanted to stop to examine the furniture, and especially the figures on the couch, but Chernushka would not let him. They entered the second room, and. then Alyosha was delighted! In a beautiful golden cage sat a large gray parrot with a red tail. Alyosha immediately wanted to run up to him. Blackie didn't let him in again.

"Don't touch anything here," she said. - Beware of waking the old ladies!

It was only then that Alyosha noticed that next to the parrot was a bed with white muslin curtains, through which he could make out an old woman lying with eyes closed; she looked like wax to him. In another corner stood a bed exactly the same, where another old woman slept, and next to her sat a gray cat, washing herself with her front paws. Passing by her, Alyosha could not resist asking her for her paws... Suddenly she meowed loudly, the parrot puffed up and began to shout loudly: “Fool! fool!" At that very moment it was visible through the muslin curtains that the old women had risen in bed. Chernushka hurried away, and Alyosha ran after her, the door behind them slammed hard ... And for a long time it was heard how the parrot shouted: “Fool! fool!"

- Aren `t you ashamed! said Chernushka when they left the old women's rooms. You must have awakened the knights...

What knights? Alyosha asked.

“You will see,” replied the hen. - Do not be afraid, however, nothing, follow me boldly.

They went down the stairs, as if into a cellar, and walked for a long, long time along various passages and corridors, which Alyosha had never seen before. Sometimes these corridors were so low and narrow that Alyosha was forced to bend down. Suddenly they entered a hall lit by three large crystal chandeliers. The hall had no windows, and on both sides hung on the walls knights in shining armor, with large feathers on their helmets, with spears and shields in iron hands. Blackie walked in front on tiptoe and Alyosha ordered to follow her quietly, quietly ... At the end of the hall there was a large door made of light yellow copper. As soon as they approached her, two knights jumped down from the walls, struck their shields with spears and rushed at the black hen. Blackie raised her crest, spread her wings and suddenly became big, big, taller than the knights, and began to fight with them! The knights strongly attacked her, and she defended herself with her wings and nose. Alyosha felt frightened, his heart fluttered violently, and he fainted.

When he came to himself again, the sun shone through the shutters on the room, and he lay in his bed. Neither Chernushka nor the knights were in sight. Alyosha could not come to his senses for a long time. He did not understand what had happened to him at night: did he see everything in a dream, or did it really happen? He dressed and went upstairs, but he couldn't get out of his head what he had seen the previous night. He looked forward impatiently to the moment when he would be able to go out to play in the yard, but all that day, as if on purpose, it snowed heavily, and it was impossible even to think of leaving the house.

At dinner, the teacher, among other conversations, announced to her husband that the black hen had hidden herself in some unknown place.

“However,” she added, “it’s not a big problem if she were to disappear: she was assigned to the kitchen a long time ago. Imagine, darling, that since she was in our house, she has not laid a single testicle.

Alyosha almost burst into tears, although it occurred to him that it would be better for her not to be found anywhere than for her to end up in the kitchen.

After dinner Alyosha was again alone in the classrooms. He constantly thought about what had happened the previous night, and could not console himself in any way at the loss of the dear Chernushka. Sometimes it seemed to him that he must certainly see her the next night, despite the fact that she had disappeared from the chicken coop. But then it seemed to him that this was an unrealizable business, and he again plunged into sadness.

It was time to go to bed, and Alyosha eagerly undressed and got into bed. Before he had time to look at the next bed, again illuminated by the quiet moonlight, the white sheet stirred, exactly as it had the day before ... Again he heard a voice calling him: "Alyosha, Alyosha!" - and a little later Blackie came out from under the bed and flew up to him on the bed.

- Oh, hello, Chernushka! he exclaimed, overjoyed. “I was afraid I would never see you again. Are you well?

“I’m well,” answered the hen, “but I almost fell ill due to your grace.

— How is it, Chernushka? Alyosha asked, frightened.

“You are a good boy,” the hen continued, “but at the same time you are windy and never obey from the first word, and this is not good!” Yesterday I told you not to touch anything in the old ladies' rooms, despite the fact that you could not resist asking the cat for a paw. The cat woke up the parrot, the parrot of the old women, the old women of the knights - and I could hardly cope with them!

"I'm sorry, dear Chernushka, I won't go ahead!" Please take me there again today; you will see that I will be obedient.

"All right," said the hen, "we'll see!" The hen clucked like the day before, and the same small candles appeared in the same silver chandeliers. Alyosha got dressed again and went after the hen. Again they entered the chambers of the old women, but this time he did not touch anything. When they passed through the first room, it seemed to him that the people and animals painted on the couch were making various funny grimaces and beckoning him to them; but he deliberately turned his back on them. In the second room, the old Dutch women, just as the day before, lay in their beds, as if they were made of wax;

the parrot looked at Alyosha and blinked his eyes, the gray cat again washed her face with her paws. On the dressing table in front of the mirror Alyosha saw two porcelain Chinese dolls, which he had not seen the day before. They nodded their heads to him, but he remembered Chernushka's order and passed without stopping, but he could not resist bowing to them in passing. The dolls immediately jumped off the table and ran after him, all nodding their heads. He almost stopped - they seemed so funny to him, but Chernushka looked at him with an angry look, and he came to his senses. The dolls accompanied them to the door, and seeing that Alyosha was not looking at them, they returned to their places,

Again they went down the stairs, walked along the passages and corridors and came to the same hall, lit by three crystal chandeliers. The same knights hung on the walls, and again, when they approached the door of yellow copper, two knights came down from the wall and blocked their way. It seemed, however, that they were not as angry as the day before; they could hardly drag their legs like autumn flies, and it was evident that they were holding their spears through force ... Nigella grew large and fluffed up; but as soon as she struck them with her wings, they fell apart—and Alyosha saw that they were empty armor! The brass door opened of its own accord, and they went on. A little later they entered another hall, spacious but low, so that Alyosha could reach the ceiling with his hand. This hall was lit by the same small candles that he had seen in his room, but the chandeliers were not silver, but gold.

Here Chernushka left Alyosha.

"Stay here a little," she told him, "I'll be right back." Today you were smart, although you acted carelessly, bowing to porcelain dolls. If you had not bowed to them, the knights would have remained on the wall. However, today you did not wake up the old women, and therefore the knights had no strength. - After this Chernushka left the hall.

Left alone, Alyosha attentively began to examine the room, which was very richly decorated. It seemed to him that the walls were made of Labrador, such as he had seen in the mineral room in the boarding house; the panels and doors were of pure gold. At the end of the hall, under a green canopy, on an elevated place, stood armchairs of gold. Alyosha admired this decoration very much, but it seemed strange to him that everything was in the smallest form, as if for small dolls.

While he was examining everything with curiosity, a side door, which he had not noticed before, opened, and in came a multitude of small people, no more than half a yard tall, in smart colorful dresses. Their appearance was important: some of them looked like soldiers, others - civil officials. They all wore round, feathered hats like Spanish hats. They did not notice Alyosha, walked decorously through the rooms, and spoke loudly to each other, but he could not understand what they were saying. For a long time he looked at them in silence and just wanted to go up to one of them and ask how the big door at the end of the hall opened ... everyone fell silent, stood in two rows against the walls and took off their hats. In an instant the room became still brighter, all the little candles burned even brighter, and Alyosha saw twenty little knights in gold armor, with crimson feathers on their helmets, entering in pairs in a quiet march. Then, in deep silence, they stood on either side of the chairs. A little later, a man entered the hall with a majestic posture, on his head with a crown shining precious stones. He wore a light green robe lined with mouse fur, with a long train carried by twenty little pages in crimson dresses. Alyosha guessed at once that it must be the king. He bowed low to him. The king answered his bow very affectionately and sat down in golden armchairs. Then he ordered something to one of the knights standing near, who, going up to Alyosha, announced to him that he approached the armchairs. Alyosha obeyed.

“I have long known,” said the king, “that you are a good boy; but on the third day you did a great service to my people and for that you deserve a reward. My chief minister informed me that you saved him from an inevitable and cruel death.

- When? Alyosha asked in surprise.

“Third day in the yard,” answered the king. "Here's the one who owes you his life."

Alyosha glanced at the one pointed out by the king, and then only noticed that between the courtiers stood small man dressed all in black. On his head he had a special kind of crimson cap, with teeth on top, worn a little to one side, and around his neck a white handkerchief, very starched, which made it look a little bluish. He smiled tenderly, looking at Alyosha, to whom his face seemed familiar, although he could not remember where he had seen it.

No matter how flattering it was for Alyosha that they attributed to him such Noble act but he loved the truth, and therefore, bowing low, he said:

"Mr. King!" I can't take personally what I've never done. On the third day, I had the good fortune to save from death not your minister, but our black hen, which the cook did not like because she did not lay a single egg ...

- What are you saying! the king interrupted him angrily. - My minister is not a chicken, but an honored official!

Here the Minister came closer, and Alyosha saw that it was indeed his dear Chernushka. He was very happy and asked the king for an apology, although he could not understand what it meant.

- Tell me, what do you want? continued the king. If I can, I will certainly fulfill your request.

- Speak boldly, Alyosha! the Minister whispered in his ear.

Alyosha fell into thought and did not know what to wish for. If they had given him more time, he might have thought of something good; but as it seemed impolite to him to keep the king waiting, he hastened to reply.

“I would like,” he said, “that, without studying, I would always know my lesson, no matter what I was asked.

“I didn’t think you were such a lazy person,” replied the king, shaking his head. But there is nothing to be done, I must fulfill my promise.

He waved his hand, and the page brought up a golden dish, on which lay one hemp seed.

“Take this seed,” said the king. “As long as you have it, you will always know your lesson, no matter what you are given, with the condition, however, that you, under no pretext, say a single word to anyone about what you have seen here or will see in the future. The slightest indiscretion will forever deprive you of our favors, and will cause us a lot of trouble and trouble.

Alyosha took the hemp seed, wrapped it in paper and put it in his pocket, promising to be silent and modest. The king after that got up from his chair and left the hall in the same order, first ordering the minister to treat Alyosha as best as possible.

As soon as the king left, all the courtiers surrounded Alyosha and began to caress him in every possible way, expressing their gratitude for the fact that he had saved the minister. They all offered their services to him: some asked if he would like to take a walk in the garden or see the royal menagerie, others invited him to hunt. Alyosha did not know what to decide; finally, the minister announced that he himself would show the underground curiosities to the dear guest.

First he took him to a garden arranged in the English style. The paths were littered with large multicolored pebbles, reflecting the light from countless small lamps with which the trees were hung. Alyosha liked this shine extremely.

“These stones,” said the minister, “you call them precious. These are all diamonds, yachts, emeralds and amethysts.

“Oh, if only our paths were strewn with this!” Alyosha exclaimed.

“Then they would be of little value with you, as they are here,” answered the minister.

The trees also seemed to Alyosha remarkably beautiful, although, moreover, very strange. They were of different colors: red, green, brown, white, blue and purple. When he looked at them with attention, he saw that they were nothing but various kinds of moss, only taller and thicker than usual. The minister told him that this moss was ordered by the king for a lot of money from distant countries and from the very depths of the globe.

From the garden they went to the menagerie. There they showed Alyosha wild animals, which were tied on golden chains. Peering more closely, he saw to his surprise that these wild beasts were nothing but large rats, moles, ferrets, and similar beasts living in the ground and under floors. This seemed very funny to him, but out of courtesy he did not say a word.

Returning to the rooms after a walk, Alyosha found a laid table in the large hall, on which various kinds of sweets, pies, pastes and fruits were arranged. The dishes were all of pure gold, and the bottles and glasses were carved from solid diamonds, yahonts and emeralds.

“Eat whatever you like,” said the minister, “you are not allowed to take anything with you.”

Alyosha dined very well that day, and therefore he did not feel like eating at all.

“You promised to take me hunting with you,” he said.

“Very well,” replied the Minister. — I think the horses are already saddled.

Then he whistled, and grooms entered, leading sticks in reins, whose knobs were carved and represented horse heads. The minister jumped on his horse with great agility. Alyosha was let down much more than the others.

“Be careful,” said the minister, “that the horse does not throw you off: she is not one of the most meek.”

Alyosha inwardly laughed at this, but when he took the stick between his legs, he saw that the minister's advice was not useless. The stick began to dodge and play under him like a real horse, and he could hardly sit still.

Meanwhile, the horns sounded, and the hunters began to gallop at full speed through various passages and corridors. For a long time they galloped like this, and Alyosha did not lag behind them, although he could hardly restrain his furious stick ... Suddenly, from one side corridor jumped out several rats, such big ones as Alyosha had never seen; they wanted to run past; but when the minister ordered them to be surrounded, they stopped and began to defend themselves bravely. Despite, however, they were defeated by the courage and skill of the hunters. Eight rats lay down on the spot, three fled, and one, rather seriously wounded, the minister ordered to be cured and taken to the menagerie. At the end of the hunt, Alyosha was so tired that his eyes closed involuntarily. For all that, he wanted to talk about a lot with Chernushka, and he asked permission to return to the hall from which they had left to hunt. The Minister agreed to this; they rode back at a great trot, and upon their arrival in the hall, gave the horses to the grooms, bowed to the courtiers and hunters, and sat opposite each other on the chairs they had brought.

“Tell me, please,” Alyosha began, “why did you kill the poor rats that don’t bother you and live so far from your home?”

“If we hadn’t exterminated them,” said the minister, “they would soon have driven us out of our rooms and destroyed all our food supplies. In addition, mice and rat furs are in our high price because of their lightness and softness. Some noble persons are allowed to use them with us.

“Tell me, please, who are you?” Alyosha continued.

Have you never heard that our people live underground? the minister replied. - True, not many people manage to see us, but there were examples, especially in the old days, that we went out into the world and showed ourselves to people. Now this rarely happens, because people have become very immodest. And we have a law that if the one to whom we showed ourselves does not keep this a secret, then we are forced to immediately leave our place of residence and go far, far, to other countries. You can easily imagine that our king would not be happy to leave all the local establishments and move with a whole people to unknown lands. And so I earnestly ask you to be as modest as possible; for otherwise you will make us all unhappy, and especially me. Out of gratitude, I begged the king to call you here; but he will never forgive me if, due to your indiscretion, we are forced to leave this region ...

- I'm giving you honestly that I will never talk about you to anyone," Alyosha interrupted him. “Now I remember what I read in a book about gnomes who live underground. They write that in a certain city a shoemaker became very rich in a very short time, so that no one understood where his wealth came from. Finally, they somehow found out that he sewed boots and shoes for the dwarves, who paid him very dearly for it.

“Perhaps that is true,” replied the Minister.

“But,” Alyosha said to him, “explain to me, dear Chernushka, why, as a minister, you appear in the world in the form of a chicken, and what connection do you have with old Dutch women?”

Chernushka, wishing to satisfy his curiosity, began to tell him many things in detail, but at the very beginning of her story Alyosha's eyes closed, and he fell sound asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he lay in his bed. For a long time he could not come to his senses and did not know what to do ...

Blackie and minister, king and knights, Dutch women and rats - all this was mixed up in his head, and he forcibly put everything he had seen the previous night in order in his mind. Remembering that the king had given him a hemp seed, he hastily rushed to his dress and indeed found in his pocket a piece of paper in which a hemp seed was wrapped. We shall see, he thought, whether the king will keep his word! Classes start tomorrow, and I haven’t had time to learn all my lessons yet.”

The historical lesson especially bothered him: he was asked to memorize several pages from Shrek world history and he didn't know a single word yet!

Monday came, boarders arrived, and classes began. From ten o'clock to twelve o'clock the landlord himself taught history. Alyosha's heart was beating violently... While it was his turn, he felt several times the piece of paper with the hemp seed in his pocket... Finally he was summoned. With trepidation, he approached the teacher, opened his mouth, not yet knowing what to say, and unmistakably, without stopping, said the given. The teacher praised him very much; Alyosha, however, did not accept his praise with the pleasure he had previously felt on such occasions. An inner voice told him that he did not deserve this praise, because this lesson did not cost him any work.

For several weeks the teachers could not praise Alyosha. He knew all the lessons, without exception, perfectly, all the translations from one language to another were without errors, so that one could not be surprised at his extraordinary success. Alyosha was inwardly ashamed of these praises: he was ashamed that they set him up as an example to his comrades, when he did not deserve it at all.

During this time, Chernushka did not come to him, despite the fact that Alyosha, especially in the first weeks after receiving a hemp seed, did not miss almost a single day without calling her when he went to bed. At first he was very sad about it, but then he calmed down with the thought that she was probably busy with important business in her rank. Subsequently, the praises with which everyone showered him, so occupied him that he rarely thought about her.

Meanwhile, the rumor about his extraordinary abilities soon spread throughout the whole of St. Petersburg. The director of the schools himself came several times to the boarding school and admired Alyosha. The teacher carried him in his arms, for through him the boarding house entered into glory. Parents came from all over the city and molested him so that he would take their children to himself, in the hope that they would be the same scientists as Alyosha. Soon the boarding house was so full that there was no room for new boarders, and the teacher and the teacher began to think about renting a house, much more spacious than the one in which they lived.

Alyosha, as I said above, was at first ashamed of praises, feeling that he did not deserve them at all, but little by little he began to get used to them, and finally his vanity reached the point that he accepted, without blushing, the praises that he was showered with. . He began to think a lot about himself, put on airs in front of other boys and imagined that he was much better and smarter than all of them. Alyosha's temperament from this completely deteriorated: from a kind, sweet and modest boy, he became proud and disobedient. His conscience often reproached him for this, and inner voice he said to him: “Alyosha, don’t be proud! Do not ascribe to yourself that which does not belong to you; thank fate for giving you advantages against other children, but do not think that you are better than them. If you do not correct yourself, then no one will love you, and then, with all your learning, you will be the most unfortunate child!

Sometimes he took the intention to improve, but, unfortunately, pride was so strong in him that he drowned out the voice of conscience, and he grew worse day by day, and day by day his comrades loved him less.

Moreover, Alyosha became a terrible rascal. Having no need to repeat the lessons that were assigned to him, he, at the time when other children were preparing for classes, engaged in pranks, and this idleness spoiled his temper even more. Finally, everyone was so fed up with his bad temper that the teacher seriously began to think about the means for correcting such a bad boy and for this he gave him lessons twice and thrice as large as others; but that didn't help at all. Alyosha did not study at all, but nevertheless he knew the lesson from beginning to end, without the slightest mistake.

One day the teacher, not knowing what to do with him, asked him to memorize twenty pages by the next morning and hoped that he would at least be quieter that day.

Where! Our Alyosha did not even think about the lesson! That day he purposely played more naughty than usual, and the teacher threatened him in vain with punishment if he did not know the lesson the next morning. Alyosha inwardly laughed at these threats, being sure that the hemp seed would certainly help him.

The next day, at the appointed hour, the teacher picked up the book from which Alyosha was given a lesson, called him to him and ordered him to say the assignment. All the children turned their attention to Alyosha with curiosity, and the teacher himself did not know what to think when Alyosha, despite the fact that he had not repeated the lesson at all the day before, boldly got up from the bench and went up to him. Alyosha had no doubt that this time too he would succeed in demonstrating his extraordinary ability;

he opened his mouth ... and could not utter a word!

- Why are you silent? the teacher told him. - Speak a lesson.

Alyosha blushed, then turned pale, blushed again, began to wrinkle his hands, tears welled up in his eyes from fear ... All in vain! He could not utter a single word, because, hoping for a hemp seed, he did not even look at the book.

What does this mean, Alyosha? the teacher shouted. Why don't you want to talk?

Alyosha himself did not know what to attribute such strangeness to, put his hand into his pocket to feel the seed ... But how to describe his despair when he did not find it! Tears flowed like hail from his eyes ... He wept bitterly, and yet he could not say a word.

Meanwhile, the teacher was losing patience. Accustomed to the fact that Alyosha always answered accurately and without stammering, he considered it impossible that Alyosha did not know at least the beginning of the lesson, and therefore attributed the silence to his obstinacy.

“Go to the bedroom,” he said, “and stay there until you know the lesson perfectly.

They took Alyosha to the lower floor, gave him a book, and locked the door with a key.

As soon as he was left alone, he began to look everywhere for a hemp seed. He fumbled for a long time in his pockets, crawled on the floor, looked under the bed, sorted out the blanket, pillow, sheets - all in vain! Nowhere was there even a trace of the kind grain! He tried to remember where he might have lost it, and finally became convinced that he had dropped it some day before, while playing in the yard. But how to find it? He was locked in a room, and even if they had been allowed to go out into the yard, it would probably have served nothing, for he knew that chickens were tasty for hemp and its grain, it’s true that one of them managed to peck ! Desperate to find him, he decided to call Chernushka to his aid.

- Dear Chernushka! he said. Dear Minister! Please come to me and give me another seed! I'll be more careful in the future.

But no one answered his requests, and he finally sat down on a chair and again began to weep bitterly.

Meanwhile it was time for dinner; The door opened and the teacher entered.

Do you know the lesson now? he asked Alyosha.

Alyosha, sobbing loudly, was forced to say that he did not know.

“Well, stay here until you learn!” - said the teacher, ordered to give him a glass of water and a piece of rye bread and left him alone again.

Alyosha began to repeat by heart, but nothing entered his head. He had long lost the habit of studying, and how to get twenty printed pages out of it! No matter how much he worked, no matter how much he strained his memory, but when evening came, he did not know more than two or three pages, and even that was bad. When it was time for the other children to go to bed, all his comrades rushed into the room at once, and the teacher came with them again.

Alyosha, do you know the lesson? - he asked. And poor Alyosha answered through tears:

I only know two pages.

“So, apparently, tomorrow you will have to sit here on bread and water,” the teacher said, wished the other children a good sleep and left.

Alyosha stayed with his comrades. Then, when he was a kind and modest child, everyone loved him, and if he happened to be punished, then everyone pitied him, and this served him as a consolation. But now no one paid any attention to him: everyone looked at him with contempt and did not say a word to him. He decided himself to start a conversation with one boy, with whom he had been very friendly in the old days, but he turned away from him without answering. Alyosha turned to another, but the other did not want to talk to him either, and even pushed him away from him when he spoke to him again. Here the unfortunate Alyosha felt that he deserved such treatment from his comrades. Shedding tears, he lay down on his bed, but could not sleep.

For a long time he lay in this way and with sorrow recalled the past. happy days. All the children already enjoyed a sweet dream, only he could fall asleep! “And Chernushka left me,” thought Alyosha, and tears again flowed from his eyes.

Suddenly ... the sheet next to the bed moved like it was on the first day when the black hen appeared to him. His heart began to beat faster... He wanted Chernushka to come out from under the bed again, BUT he didn't dare to hope that his wish would come true.

- Blackie, Blackie! he finally said in an undertone.

The sheet lifted and a black hen flew up onto the bed next to him.

— Oh, Chernushka! said Alyosha, beside himself with joy. - I did not dare to hope that I would see you. Have you forgotten me?

“No,” she answered, “I cannot forget the service you rendered, although the Alyosha who saved me from death is not at all like the one I now see in front of me. You were a kind boy then, modest and courteous, and everyone loved you, but now... I don't recognize you!

Alyosha wept bitterly, and Chernushka continued to give him instructions. She talked to him for a long time and with tears begged him to reform. Finally, when daylight was already beginning to appear, the hen said to him:

"Now I must leave you, Alyosha!" Here is the hemp seed you dropped in the yard. In vain did you think that you had lost it irretrievably. Our king is too generous to deprive you of it for your imprudence. Remember, however, that you have given your word of honor to keep secret everything that you know about us... Alyosha, do not add to your present bad qualities even worse - ingratitude!

Alyosha enthusiastically took his kind seed from the legs of a hen and promised to use all his strength to improve!

“You will see, dear Chernushka,” he said, “that today I will be completely different.

“Don’t think,” Chernushka replied, “that it’s so easy to get rid of vices when they have already taken over us. Vices usually enter through the door and exit through the crack, and therefore, if you want to correct yourself, you must constantly and strictly look after yourself. But goodbye, it's time for us to part!

Alyosha, left alone, began to examine his grain and could not stop admiring it. Now he was completely calm about the lesson, and yesterday's grief left no traces in him. He thought with joy how everyone would be surprised when he unmistakably recited twenty pages - and the thought that he would again gain the upper hand over his comrades who did not want to talk to him caressed his vanity. Although he did not forget about correcting himself, he thought that it could not be as difficult as Chernushka said. “As if it doesn’t depend on me to improve! he thought. - One has only to want, and everyone will love me again ... "

Alas, poor Alyosha did not know that in order to correct himself, it was necessary to begin by putting aside pride and excessive self-confidence.

When the children gathered in the classrooms in the morning, Alyosha was called up. He went with a cheerful and triumphant air.

Do you know your lesson? the teacher asked, looking at him sternly.

“I know,” Alyosha answered boldly.

He began to speak and spoke all twenty pages without the slightest mistake and stop. The teacher was beside himself with surprise, and Alyosha looked proudly at his comrades!

Alyoshin's proud appearance did not escape from the teacher's eyes.

“You know your lesson,” he said to him, “it’s true, but why didn’t you want to say it yesterday?”

"I didn't know him yesterday," Alyosha answered.

- It can not be! interrupted his teacher. “Yesterday evening you told me that you knew only two pages, and even that was bad, but now you have said all twenty without error!” When did you learn it?

“I learned it this morning!” But then suddenly all the children, upset by his arrogance, shouted in one voice:

“He’s not telling the truth, he didn’t even take books in his hands this morning!”

Alyosha shuddered, lowered his eyes to the ground, and did not say a word.

- Answer me! the teacher continued. When did you learn your lesson?

But Alyosha did not break the silence: he was so struck by this unexpected question and the hostility shown to him by all his comrades that he could not come to his senses.

Meanwhile, the teacher, believing that he did not want to say the lesson the day before out of obstinacy, considered it necessary to severely punish him.

“The more natural abilities and talents you have,” he said to Alyosha, “the more modest and obedient you should be. God did not give you a mind for that, so that you use it for evil. You deserve punishment for yesterday's stubbornness, and today you have increased your guilt by lying. Lord! continued the teacher, turning to the boarders. - I forbid all of you to talk to Alyosha until he is completely corrected. And since, probably, for him it is small punishment, then order the rod to be brought.

They brought rods... Alyosha was in despair! For the first time since the boarding school existed, they were punished with rods, and who was Alyosha, who thought so much about himself, who considered himself better and smarter than everyone else! What a shame!..

He, sobbing, rushed to the teacher and promised to completely improve ...

“You should have thought about it before,” was his reply.

Alyosha's tears and repentance touched his comrades, and they began to ask for him. And Alyosha, feeling that he did not deserve their compassion, began to weep even more bitterly.

Finally the teacher was brought to pity.

- Fine! - he said. - I will forgive you for the sake of the request of your comrades, but so that you confess your guilt in front of everyone and announce when you have learned the assigned lesson.

Alyosha completely lost his head: he forgot the promise made to the underground king and his minister, and began to talk about the black hen, about knights, about little people...

The teacher did not let him finish.

- How! he exclaimed in anger. “Instead of repenting of your bad behavior, you still took it into your head to fool me by telling a fairy tale about a black hen? .. This is too much. No, children, you see for yourself that it is impossible not to punish him!

And poor Alyosha was whipped!

With bowed head, with a torn heart, Alyosha went downstairs to the bedrooms. He was like a dead man... shame and remorse filled his soul! When, after a few hours, he calmed down a bit and put his hand in his pocket... there was no hemp seed in it! Alyosha wept bitterly, feeling that he had lost him irrevocably!

In the evening, when the other children came to bed, he also went to bed, but he could not sleep at all! How he repented of his bad behavior! He resolutely accepted the intention to improve, although he felt that it was impossible to return the hemp seed!

Around midnight the sheet next to the next bed moved again... Alyosha, who had been happy about this the day before, now closed his eyes... he was afraid to see Chernushka! His conscience troubled him. He remembered that only yesterday evening he had told Chernushka so convincingly that he would certainly correct himself, and instead... What would he say to her now?

For some time he lay with his eyes closed. He heard the rustling of the sheet being lifted... Someone came up to his bed - and a voice, a familiar voice, called him by name:

Alyosha, Alyosha!

But he was ashamed to open his eyes, and meanwhile tears rolled from them and flowed down his cheeks...

Suddenly, someone pulled on the blanket. Alyosha involuntarily glanced: Chernushka was standing in front of him - not in the form of a chicken, but in a black dress, in a crimson hat with teeth and a starched white neckerchief, just as he had seen her in the underground hall.

- Alyosha! the minister said. - I see that you are not sleeping ... Farewell! I came to say goodbye to you, we will not see each other again!

Alyosha sobbed loudly.

- Goodbye! he exclaimed. - Goodbye! And if you can, forgive me! I know that I am guilty before you; but I am severely punished for that!

- Alyosha! the minister said through tears. - I forgive you; I cannot forget that you saved my life, and I love you all, although you have made me unhappy, perhaps forever!.. Farewell! I am allowed to see you for the shortest time. Even during this night, the king with his whole people must move far, far from these places! Everyone is in despair, everyone is shedding tears. We lived here for several centuries so happily, so peacefully!

Alyosha rushed to kiss the minister's little hands. Grabbing his hand, he saw something shining on it, and at the same time some unusual sound struck his ears.

- What it is? he asked in astonishment. The minister raised both hands, and Alyosha saw that they were bound with a golden chain. He was horrified!

“Your indiscretion is the reason that I am condemned to wear these chains,” said the minister with a deep sigh, “but don’t cry, Alyosha! Your tears can't help me. Only you can console me in my misfortune: try to improve and be again the same kind boy as you were before. Farewell for the last time!

The minister shook hands with Alyosha and hid under the next bed.

- Blackie, Blackie! Alyosha shouted after him, but Chernushka did not answer.

All night he could not close his eyes for a minute. An hour before dawn he heard something rustling under the floor. He got out of bed, put his ear to the floor, and for a long time heard the sound of small wheels and the noise, as if many small people were passing by. Between this noise was also heard the wailing of women and children and the voice of Minister Chernushka, who shouted to him:

Farewell, Alyosha! Farewell forever!

The next day, in the morning, the children woke up and saw Alyosha lying unconscious on the floor. He was lifted up, put to bed, and sent for a doctor, who announced that he had a high fever.

Six weeks later, Alyosha, with the help of God, recovered, and everything that happened to him before his illness seemed to him a heavy dream. Neither the teacher nor his comrades reminded him of a word either about the black hen or about the punishment to which he had been subjected. Alyosha himself was ashamed to talk about it and tried to be obedient, kind, modest and diligent. Everyone fell in love with him again and began to caress him, and he became an example for his comrades, although he could no longer memorize twenty printed pages suddenly, which, however, he was not asked.

Black Hen, or Underground Inhabitants

About forty years ago, in St. Petersburg on Vasilyevsky Island, in the First Line, there lived the owner of a men's boarding house, who still probably remains in fresh memory for many, although the house where the boarding house was located has long been gave way to another, not in the least similar to the former. At that time, our Petersburg was already famous throughout Europe for its beauty, although it was still far from what it is now. At that time, there were no cheerful shady alleys on the avenues of Vasilyevsky Island: wooden scaffolding, often knocked together from rotten boards, took the place of today's beautiful sidewalks. St. Isaac's Bridge, narrow and uneven at that time, presented a completely different view than it is now; and even St. Isaac's Square itself was not like that at all. Then the monument to Peter the Great was separated from St. Isaac's Square by a ditch; The Admiralty was not planted with trees, the Horse Guards arena did not decorate the square with its beautiful present facade - in a word, Petersburg then was not what it is now. Cities have, by the way, the advantage over people that they sometimes become more beautiful with age ... However, that is not the point now. Another time and on another occasion, perhaps I will talk with you at greater length about the changes that have taken place in St. Petersburg during my century, but now let us turn again to the boarding house, which forty years ago was located on Vasilyevsky Island, in the First Line.
The house, which you now - as I already told you - will not find, was about two floors, covered with Dutch tiles. The porch through which they entered it was wooden and jutted out onto the street. From the passage a rather steep staircase led to the upper dwelling, which consisted of eight or nine rooms, in which the owner of the boarding house lived on one side, and on the other were the classrooms. The dormitories, or children's bedrooms, were on the lower floor, on the right side of the passage, and on the left lived two old Dutch women, each of whom was over a hundred years old and who had seen Peter the Great with their own eyes and even talked to him. At the present time, it is unlikely that in the whole of Russia you will meet a person who would have seen Peter the Great; the time will come when our traces will be wiped off the face of the earth! Everything passes, everything disappears in our mortal world... but that is not the point now.
Among the thirty or forty children who studied at that boarding school, there was one boy named Alyosha, who was then no more than 9 or 10 years old. His parents, who lived far, far from St. Petersburg, brought him to the capital two years before, sent him to a boarding school and returned home, paying the teacher the agreed fee for several years in advance. Alyosha was a smart, sweet boy, he studied well, and everyone loved and caressed him. However, despite that, he was often bored in the boarding house, and sometimes even sad. Especially at first, he could not get used to the idea that he was separated from his relatives. But then, little by little, he began to get used to his position, and there were even moments when, playing with his comrades, he thought that it was much more fun in a boarding school than in his parents' house. In general, the days of training passed quickly and pleasantly for him, but when Saturday came and all his comrades hurried home to their relatives, then Alyosha bitterly felt his loneliness. On Sundays and holidays, he was alone all day, and then his only consolation was reading books, which the teacher allowed him to borrow from his small library. The teacher was a German by birth, at that time the fashion for chivalric novels and fairy tales dominated in German literature, and this library for the most part consisted of books of this kind.
So, Alyosha, being still at the age of ten, already knew by heart the deeds of the most glorious knights, at least as they were described in the novels. His favorite pastime on long winter evenings, on Sundays and other holidays, was mentally transferred to ancient, bygone centuries ... Especially at a vacant time, such as about Christmas or on the bright Sunday of Christ, when he was separated for a long time from his comrades when he often spent whole days sitting in solitude, his youthful imagination wandered through knight's castles, through terrible ruins or through dark, dense forests.
I forgot to tell you that a rather spacious courtyard belonged to this house, separated from the alley by a wooden fence made of baroque planks. The gate and gate that led into the lane were always locked, and therefore Alyosha never managed to visit this lane, which greatly aroused his curiosity. Whenever they allowed him to play in the yard during rest hours, his first movement was to run up to the fence. Here he stood on tiptoe and stared intently into the round holes with which the fence was littered. Alyosha did not know that these holes came from the wooden nails with which the barges had previously been knocked together, and it seemed to him that some kind sorceress had purposely drilled these holes for him. He kept expecting that someday this sorceress would appear in the alley and give him a toy through a hole, or a talisman, or a letter from papa or mama, from whom he had not received any news for a long time. But, to his extreme regret, no one even looked like a sorceress.

Alyosha's other occupation was to feed the hens, who lived near the fence in a house specially built for them and played and ran around in the yard all day. Alyosha got to know them very briefly, knew everyone by name, broke up their fights, and the bully punished them by sometimes not giving them anything for several days in a row from the crumbs, which he always collected from the tablecloth after lunch and dinner. Among the hens, he especially loved the black crested one, called Chernushka. Chernushka was more affectionate towards him than the others; she even sometimes allowed herself to be stroked, and therefore Alyosha brought the best pieces to her. She was of a quiet disposition; she rarely walked with others and seemed to love Alyosha more than her friends.
One day (it was during vacations, between the New Year and Epiphany - the day was beautiful and unusually warm, no more than three or four degrees below zero) Alyosha was allowed to play in the yard. That day the teacher and his wife were in great trouble. They gave dinner to the director of the schools, and even the day before, from morning until late in the evening, everywhere in the house they washed the floors, dusted and waxed mahogany tables and chests of drawers. The teacher himself went to buy provisions for the table: Arkhangelsk white veal, a huge ham, and Kiev jam from Milyutin's shops. Alyosha also contributed to the preparations to the best of his ability: he was forced to cut out a beautiful net for a ham from white paper and decorate six specially bought wax candles with paper carvings. On the appointed day, in the morning, the hairdresser appeared and showed his skill over the curls, the toupee, and the long plait of the teacher. Then he set about his wife, pomaded and powdered her curls and chignon, and piled on her head a whole conservatory of different colors, between which two diamond rings skillfully placed, once presented to her husband by her parents of students, shone. At the end of her headdress, she threw on an old, worn-out coat and went off to do chores around the house, observing strictly at the same time so that her hairdo would somehow not deteriorate; and for this she herself did not enter the kitchen, but gave orders to her cook, standing in the doorway. In necessary cases, she sent her husband there, whose hair was not so high.
In the course of all these worries, our Alyosha was completely forgotten, and he took advantage of this to play in the yard in the open. As was his custom, he went first to the wooden fence and looked for a long time through the hole; but even that day almost no one passed along the alley, and with a sigh he turned to his amiable hens. Before he had time to sit down on a log and just began to beckon them to him, when he suddenly saw a cook with a large knife beside him. Alyosha never liked this cook - an angry and quarrelsome little chick. But since he noticed that she was the reason that from time to time the number of his hens decreased, he began to love her even less. When one day he accidentally saw in the kitchen one pretty cockerel, very beloved by him, hung by the legs with his throat cut, he had horror and disgust for her. Seeing her now with a knife, he immediately guessed what it meant, and feeling with sorrow that he was unable to help his friends, he jumped up and ran far away.
- Alyosha, Alyosha! Help me catch a chicken! shouted the cook, but Alyosha began to run even faster, hid by the fence behind the chicken coop and did not notice how tears rolled out of his eyes one after another and fell to the ground.
For a long time he stood at the chicken coop, and his heart was beating strongly, while the cook ran around the yard - she beckoned the chickens: “Chick, chick, chick!” - she scolded them in Chukhonian.
Suddenly Alyosha's heart beat even faster: he heard the voice of his beloved Chernushka! She cackled in the most desperate way, and it seemed to him that she was crying:

Where, where, where, where!
Alyosha, save Chernukha!
Kuduhu, kuduhu,
Black, Black, Black!

Alyosha could not remain in his place any longer. Sobbing loudly, he ran to the cook and threw himself on her neck at the very moment when she had already caught Chernushka by the wing.
- Dear, dear Trinushka! he cried, bursting into tears. - Please don't touch my Chernukha!
Alyosha threw himself on the cook's neck so unexpectedly that she let go of Chernushka, who, taking advantage of this, flew up in fear to the roof of the shed and continued to cackle there. But now Alyosha could hear her teasing the cook and shouting:

Where, where, where, where!
You didn't catch Chernukha!
Kuduhu, kuduhu!
Black, Black, Black!

Meanwhile the cook was beside herself with vexation.
- Rummal go! she shouted. - That's it, I'll fall cassainu and plow. Shorn kuris must be rehabilitated ... He is lazy ... He does not make eggs, he does not sit on the syplatka.
Then she wanted to run to the teacher, but Alyosha did not let her go. He clung to the skirts of her dress and begged so touchingly that she stopped.
- Darling, Trinushka! he said. - You are so pretty, clean, kind ... Please leave my Nigella! Look what I'll give you if you're kind!
Alyosha took out of his pocket the imperial, which made up all his estate, which he took care of more than his own eyes, because it was a gift from his kind grandmother. The cook glanced at the gold coin, scanned the windows of the house to make sure no one could see them, and held out her hand for the imperial. Alyosha was very, very sorry for the imperial, but he remembered Chernushka - and firmly gave the precious gift.
Thus Chernushka was saved from a cruel and inevitable death.
As soon as the cook retired to the house, Chernushka flew off the roof and ran up to Alyosha. She seemed to know that he was her deliverer: she circled around him, flapped her wings and cackled in a cheerful voice. All morning she followed him around the yard like a dog, and it seemed as if she wanted to tell him something, but she could not. At least he couldn't make out her clucking.
About two hours before dinner, guests began to gather. Alyosha was called upstairs, they put on him a shirt with a round collar and cambric cuffs with small folds, white trousers and a wide blue silk sash. His long blond hair, which hung almost to his waist, was carefully combed, divided into two even parts and shifted in front - on both sides of his chest. So dressed up then children. Then they taught him how he should shuffle his foot when the director entered the room, and what he should answer if any questions were put to him. At another time, Alyosha would have been very glad to see the director, whom he had long wanted to see, because, judging by the respect with which his teacher and teacher spoke of him, he imagined that it must be some famous knight in brilliant armor and in helmet with large feathers. But this time, this curiosity gave way to the thought that occupied him exclusively then: about the black hen. He kept imagining how the cook ran after her with a knife, and how Chernushka cackled in different voices. Moreover, he was very annoyed that he could not make out what she wanted to tell him, and he was so drawn to the chicken coop ... But there was nothing to do: he had to wait until dinner was over!
Finally the director arrived. His arrival was announced by the teacher, who had been sitting at the window for a long time, looking intently in the direction from which they were waiting for him.
Everything began to move: the teacher rushed headlong out of the door to meet him below, at the porch; the guests rose from their seats. And even Alyosha forgot about his hen for a minute and went to the window to see how the knight would get off his zealous horse. But he did not manage to see him: the director had already managed to enter the house. At the porch, instead of a zealous horse, stood an ordinary cab sleigh. Alyosha was very surprised by this. “If I were a knight,” he thought, “then I would never ride a cab, but always on horseback!”
Meanwhile all the doors were thrown wide open; and the teacher began to squat in anticipation of such an honorable guest, who soon afterwards appeared. At first it was impossible to see him behind the fat teacher who was standing at the very door; but when she, having finished her long greeting, sat down lower than usual, Alyosha, to extreme surprise, saw from behind her ... not a feathered helmet, but just a small bald head, white powdered, the only decoration of which, as Alyosha noticed later, was a small bun ! When he entered the drawing room, Alyosha was even more surprised to see that, despite the simple gray tailcoat that the director wore instead of shiny armor, everyone treated him with unusual respect.
However, however strange all this seemed to Alyosha, however pleased he might have been at another time with the unusual decoration of the table, on this day he did not pay much attention to it. The morning incident with Chernushka kept wandering in his head. Dessert was served: various kinds of jams, apples, bergamots, dates, wine berries and walnuts; but here, too, he did not for one moment cease to think of his little hen. And as soon as they got up from the table, he, with a heart trembling with fear and hope, approached the teacher and asked if he could go and play in the yard.
“Go on,” answered the teacher, “but don’t stay there for long, it will soon become dark.”
Alyosha hurriedly put on his red bekesha with squirrel fur and a green velvet cap with a sable band around it and ran to the fence. When he arrived there, the hens had already begun to gather for the night and, sleepy, were not very happy with the brought crumbs. Only Chernushka did not seem to feel the desire to sleep: she merrily ran up to him, flapped her wings and began to cackle again. Alyosha played with her for a long time; Finally, when it became dark and it was time to go home, he himself closed the chicken coop, making sure in advance that his dear hen sat on the pole. When he came out of the chicken coop, it seemed to him that Chernushka's eyes glowed in the dark like little stars, and that she was saying to him quietly:
- Alyosha, Alyosha! Stay with me!
Alyosha returned to the house and spent the whole evening alone in the classrooms, while at the other half hour until eleven the guests stayed and played whist on several tables. Before they parted, Alyosha went to the lower floor, into the bedroom, undressed, got into bed and put out the fire. For a long time he could not sleep. Finally, sleep overcame him, and he had just managed to talk to Chernushka in a dream, when, unfortunately, he was awakened by the noise of departing guests.
A little later, the teacher, who had seen off the director with a candle, entered his room, looked to see if everything was in order, and went out, locking the door with a key.
It was a monthly night, and through the shutters, which were not tightly closed, a pale ray of the moon fell into the room. Alyosha lay with his eyes open and listened for a long time to how, in the upper dwelling, above his head, they went from room to room and put chairs and tables in order.
Finally, everything calmed down. He glanced at the bed next to him, slightly illuminated by the moonlight, and noticed that the white sheet, hanging almost to the floor, moved easily. He began to look more closely: he heard something scratching under the bed, and a little later it seemed that someone was calling him in a low voice:
- Alyosha, Alyosha!
Alyosha was scared! He was alone in the room, and it immediately occurred to him that there must be a thief under the bed. But then, judging that the thief would not have called him by name, he cheered up somewhat, although his heart trembled.
He sat up a little in bed and saw even more clearly that the sheet was moving, even more clearly heard someone say:
- Alyosha, Alyosha!

Suddenly the white sheet lifted up, and from under it came out ... a black chicken!
- Ah! It's you, Chernushka! Alyosha exclaimed involuntarily. - How did you get here?
Nigella flapped her wings, flew up to him on the bed and said in a human voice:
- It's me, Alyosha! You are not afraid of me, are you?
Why should I be afraid of you? he answered. - I love you; only it is strange to me that you speak so well: I did not know at all that you could speak!
“If you are not afraid of me,” continued the hen, “then follow me: I will show you something pretty.” Get dressed soon!
- What you, Chernushka, ridiculous! Alyosha said. - How can I dress in the dark? I can’t find my dress now, I can’t even see you!
“I’ll try to help it,” said the hen.
Here she cackled in a strange voice, and suddenly small candles in silver chandeliers came from somewhere, no more than a small finger from Alyoshin. These shackles ended up on the floor, on the chairs, on the windows, even on the washstand, and the room became so light, so light, as if by day. Alyosha began to dress, and the hen gave him a dress, and in this way he was soon completely dressed.
When Alyosha was ready, Chernushka cackled again, and all the candles disappeared.
- Follow me! she told him.
And he boldly followed her. It was as if rays came out of her eyes, which illuminated everything around them, although not as brightly as small candles. They went through the front.
“The door is locked with a key,” said Alyosha.
But the hen did not answer him: she flapped her wings, and the door opened of itself ... Then, passing through the passage, they turned to the rooms where the hundred-year-old old Dutch women lived. Alyosha had never visited them, but he had heard that their rooms were decorated in the old fashion, that one of them had a big gray parrot, and the other had a gray cat, very smart, that could jump through a hoop and give a paw. He had long wanted to see all this, and therefore he was very glad when the hen flapped her wings again, and the door to the old woman's chambers opened.
In the first room Alyosha saw all kinds of antique furniture: carved chairs, armchairs, tables and chests of drawers. The large couch was made of Dutch tiles, on which people and animals were painted in blue ant. Alyosha wanted to stop to examine the furniture, and especially the figures on the couch, but Chernushka would not let him.

They entered the second room, and then Alyosha was delighted! In a beautiful golden cage sat a large gray parrot with a red tail. Alyosha immediately wanted to run up to him. Blackie didn't let him in again.
"Don't touch anything here," she said. - Beware of waking the old ladies!
It was only then that Alyosha noticed that next to the parrot was a bed with white muslin curtains, through which he could make out an old woman lying with her eyes closed; she looked like wax to him. In another corner stood a bed exactly the same, where another old woman slept, and next to her sat a gray cat, washing herself with her front paws. Passing by her, Alyosha could not resist asking her for paws ... Suddenly she mewed loudly, the parrot puffed up and began to shout loudly: “Fool! fool!" At that very moment it was visible through the muslin curtains that the old women had risen in bed. Chernushka hurried away, and Alyosha ran after her, the door behind them slammed hard ... And for a long time it was heard how the parrot shouted: “Fool! fool!"
- Aren `t you ashamed! - said Chernushka, when they left the old women's rooms. You must have awakened the knights...
- What knights? Alyosha asked.
“You will see,” replied the hen. - Do not be afraid, however, nothing, follow me boldly.
They went down the stairs, as if into a cellar, and walked for a long, long time along various passages and corridors, which Alyosha had never seen before. Sometimes these corridors were so low and narrow that Alyosha was forced to bend down. Suddenly they entered the hall, lit by three large crystal chandeliers. The hall had no windows, and on both sides hung on the walls knights in shining armor, with large feathers on their helmets, with spears and shields in iron hands.
Chernushka walked on tiptoe in front and Alyosha ordered to follow her quietly, quietly ...
At the end of the hall was a large door of light yellow copper. As soon as they approached her, two knights jumped off the walls, hit their shields with spears and rushed at the black hen.

Blackie raised her crest, spread her wings and suddenly became big, big, taller than the knights, and began to fight with them!
The knights strongly attacked her, and she defended herself with her wings and nose. Alyosha became frightened, his heart fluttered violently, and he fainted.
When he came to himself again, the sun illuminated the room through the shutters, and he lay in his bed. Neither Chernushka nor the knights were in sight. Alyosha could not come to his senses for a long time. He did not understand what had happened to him at night: did he see everything in a dream, or did it really happen? He dressed and went upstairs, but he couldn't get out of his head what he had seen the previous night. He looked forward impatiently to the moment when he would be able to go and play in the yard, but all that day, as if on purpose, it snowed heavily, and it was impossible even to think of leaving the house.
At dinner, the teacher, between other conversations, announced to her husband that the black hen had hidden herself in some unknown place.
“However,” she added, “it’s not a big deal if she were to disappear: she was assigned to the kitchen a long time ago. Imagine, darling, that since she was in our house, she has not laid a single testicle.
Alyosha almost burst into tears, although it occurred to him that it would be better for her not to be found anywhere than for her to end up in the kitchen.
After dinner Alyosha was again left alone in the classrooms. He constantly thought about what had happened the previous night, and could not console himself in any way at the loss of the dear Chernushka. Sometimes it seemed to him that he must certainly see her the next night, despite the fact that she had disappeared from the chicken coop. But then it seemed to him that this was an unrealizable business, and he again plunged into sadness.
It was time to go to bed, and Alyosha eagerly undressed and got into bed. Before he had time to look at the next bed, again illuminated by a quiet moonlight, a white sheet stirred, exactly as it had the day before ... Again he heard a voice calling him: "Alyosha, Alyosha!" - and a little later Blackie came out from under the bed and flew up to him on the bed.
- Oh, hello, Chernushka! he exclaimed, overjoyed. I was afraid that I would never see you again. Are you well?
- Healthy, - answered the hen, - but she almost fell ill due to your mercy.
- How is it, Chernushka? Alyosha asked, frightened.
“You are a good boy,” the hen continued, “but at the same time you are windy and never obey from the first word, and this is not good!” Yesterday I told you not to touch anything in the old ladies' rooms, despite the fact that you couldn't resist asking the cat for a paw. The cat woke up the parrot, the parrot of the old women, the old women of the knights - and I could hardly cope with them!
- I'm sorry, dear Chernushka, I won't go ahead! Please take me there again today; you will see that I will be obedient.
- Well, - said the hen, - we'll see!
The hen clucked like the day before, and the same small candles appeared in the same silver chandeliers. Alyosha dressed again and went after the hen. Again they entered the chambers of the old women, but this time he did not touch anything.
When they passed through the first room, it seemed to him that the people and animals painted on the couch were making various funny grimaces and beckoning him to them; but he deliberately turned his back on them. In the second room, the old Dutch women, just as the day before, lay in their beds, as if they were made of wax; the parrot looked at Alyosha and batted his eyes, the gray cat again washed her face with her paws. On the dressing table in front of the mirror Alyosha saw two porcelain Chinese dolls, which he had not noticed the day before. They nodded their heads to him, but he remembered Chernushka's order and passed without stopping, but he could not resist bowing to them in passing. The dolls immediately jumped off the table and ran after him, still nodding their heads. He almost stopped - they seemed so funny to him, but Chernushka looked at him with an angry look, and he came to his senses. The pupae escorted them to the door, and seeing that Alyosha was not looking at them, they returned to their places,
Again they went down the stairs, walked along the passages and corridors and came to the same hall, lit by three crystal chandeliers. The same knights hung on the walls, and again, when they approached the door of yellow copper, two knights came down from the wall and blocked their way. It seemed, however, that they were not as angry as the day before; they could hardly drag their legs like autumn flies, and it was clear that they were holding their spears through force ...
Nigella grew big and fluffed up; but as soon as she hit them with her wings, they fell apart - and Alyosha saw that they were empty armor! The brass door opened of its own accord, and they went on.
A little later they entered another hall, spacious but low, so that Alyosha could reach the ceiling with his hand. This hall was lit by the same small candles that he had seen in his room, but the chandeliers were not silver, but gold.
Here Chernushka left Alyosha.
"Stay here a little," she told him, "I'll be right back." Today you were smart, although you acted carelessly, bowing to porcelain dolls. If you had not bowed to them, the knights would have remained on the wall. However, today you did not wake up the old women, and therefore the knights had no strength. - After this Chernushka left the hall.
Left alone, Alyosha attentively began to examine the room, which was very richly decorated. It seemed to him that the walls were made of Labrador, such as he had seen in the mineral room in the boarding house; the panels and doors were of pure gold. At the end of the hall, under a green canopy, on an elevated place, there were chairs made of gold. Alyosha admired this decoration very much, but it seemed strange to him that everything was in the smallest form, as if for small dolls.
While he was examining everything with curiosity, a side door opened, which he had not noticed before, and a multitude of little people entered, no more than half a yard tall, in smart multi-colored dresses. Their appearance was important: some of them looked like soldiers, others - civil officials. They all wore round, feathered hats like Spanish hats. They did not notice Alyosha, walked decorously around the rooms, and spoke loudly to each other, but he could not understand what they were saying.
He looked at them for a long time in silence and just wanted to go up to one of them and ask how the big door at the end of the hall opened ... everyone fell silent, stood in two rows against the walls and took off their hats.

In an instant the room became still brighter, all the small candles lit up even brighter, and Alyosha saw twenty little knights in gold armor, with crimson feathers on their helmets, entering in pairs in a quiet march. Then, in deep silence, they stood on either side of the chairs. A little later, a man entered the hall with a majestic posture, on his head with a crown shining with precious stones. He wore a light green robe lined with mouse fur, with a long train carried by twenty little pages in crimson dresses.
Alyosha guessed at once that it must be the king. He bowed low to him. The king answered his bow very affectionately and sat down in golden armchairs. Then he ordered something to one of the knights standing near, who, approaching Alyosha, announced to him that he approached the chairs. Alyosha obeyed.
“I have long known,” said the king, “that you are a good boy; but on the third day you did a great service to my people and for that you deserve a reward. My chief minister informed me that you saved him from an inevitable and cruel death.
- When? Alyosha asked in surprise.
- The third day in the yard, - answered the king. "Here's the one who owes you his life."
Alyosha glanced at the one pointed out by the king, and then only noticed that between the courtiers stood a small man dressed all in black. On his head he had a special kind of crimson cap, with teeth on top, worn a little to one side, and around his neck a white handkerchief, very starched, which made it look a little bluish. He smiled tenderly, looking at Alyosha, to whom his face seemed familiar, although he could not remember where he had seen it.
No matter how flattering Alyosha was that such a noble deed was attributed to him, he loved the truth and therefore, bowing low, said:
- Mister King! I can't take personally what I've never done. On the third day, I had the good fortune to save from death not your minister, but our black hen, which the cook did not like because she did not lay a single egg ...
- What are you saying! interrupted the king in anger. - My minister is not a chicken, but an honored official!
Here the minister came closer, and Alyosha saw that it was indeed his dear Chernushka. He was very happy and asked the king for an apology, although he could not understand what it meant.
- Tell me, what do you want? continued the king. If I can, I will certainly fulfill your request.
- Speak boldly, Alyosha! the minister whispered in his ear.
Alyosha thought about it and did not know what to wish for. If they had given him more time, he might have thought of something good; but as it seemed impolite to him to keep the king waiting, he hastened to reply.
- I would like, - he said, - that, without studying, I always knew my lesson, no matter what I was asked.
“I didn’t think you were such a lazy person,” replied the king, shaking his head. - But there is nothing to do, I must fulfill my promise.
He waved his hand, and the page brought up a golden dish, on which lay one hemp seed.
“Take this seed,” said the king. “As long as you have it, you will always know your lesson, no matter what you are given, with the condition, however, that you, under no pretext, say a single word to anyone about what you have seen here or will see in the future. The slightest indiscretion will forever deprive you of our favors, and will cause us a lot of trouble and trouble.
Alyosha took the hemp seed, wrapped it in paper and put it in his pocket, promising to be silent and modest. The king after that got up from his chair and left the hall in the same order, first ordering the minister to treat Alyosha as best as possible.
As soon as the king left, all the courtiers surrounded Alyosha and began to caress him in every possible way, expressing their gratitude for the fact that he had saved the minister. They all offered their services to him: some asked if he would like to take a walk in the garden or see the royal menagerie, others invited him to hunt. Alyosha did not know what to decide; finally, the minister announced that he himself would show the underground curiosities to the dear guest.
First he led him into a garden arranged in the English style. The paths were littered with large multicolored pebbles, reflecting the light from countless small lamps with which the trees were hung. Alyosha liked this shine extremely.
“These stones,” said the minister, “you call them precious. These are all diamonds, yachts, emeralds and amethysts.
- Oh, if only we had paths strewn with this! Alyosha exclaimed.
“Then they would be of little value to you as they are here,” answered the minister.
The trees also seemed to Alyosha remarkably beautiful, although, moreover, very strange. They were of different colors: red, green, brown, white, blue and purple. When he looked at them with attention, he saw that they were nothing but various kinds of moss, only taller and thicker than usual. The minister told him that this moss was ordered by the king for a lot of money from distant countries and from the very depths of the globe.

From the garden they went to the menagerie. There they showed Alyosha wild animals, which were tied on golden chains. Peering more closely, he saw to his surprise that these wild beasts were nothing but large rats, moles, ferrets, and similar beasts living in the ground and under floors. This seemed very funny to him, but out of courtesy he did not say a word.
Returning to the rooms after a walk, Alyosha found a set table in the large hall, on which various kinds of sweets, pies, pastes and fruits were arranged. The dishes were all of pure gold, and the bottles and glasses were carved from solid diamonds, yahonts and emeralds.
- Eat whatever you like, - said the minister, - you are not allowed to take anything with you.
Alyosha dined very well that day, and therefore he did not feel like eating at all.
“You promised to take me hunting with you,” he said.
“Very well,” replied the minister. - I think the horses are already saddled.
Then he whistled, and grooms entered, leading sticks in reins, whose knobs were carved and represented horse heads. The minister jumped on his horse with great agility. Alyosha was let down much more than the others.
- Take care, - said the minister, - that the horse does not throw you off: she is not one of the most meek.
Alyosha inwardly laughed at this, but when he took the stick between his legs, he saw that the minister's advice was not useless. The stick began to dodge and play around under him, like a real horse, and he could hardly sit up.
Meanwhile, the horns sounded, and the hunters began to gallop at full speed through various passages and corridors. For a long time they galloped like this, and Alyosha did not lag behind them, although he could hardly restrain his mad stick ...

Suddenly, from one side corridor jumped out several rats, such big ones as Alyosha had never seen; they wanted to run past; but when the minister ordered them to be surrounded, they stopped and began to defend themselves bravely. Despite, however, they were defeated by the courage and skill of the hunters. Eight rats lay down on the spot, three fled, and one, rather seriously wounded, the minister ordered to be cured and taken to the menagerie.
At the end of the hunt, Alyosha was so tired that his eyes closed involuntarily. For all that, he wanted to talk about a lot with Chernushka, and he asked permission to return to the hall from which they had left to hunt. The Minister agreed to this.
They rode back at a great trot, and upon their arrival in the hall, gave the horses to the grooms, bowed to the courtiers and hunters, and sat opposite each other on the chairs they had brought.
“Tell me, please,” began Alyosha, “why did you kill the poor rats that don’t bother you and live so far from your home?”
“If we hadn’t exterminated them,” said the minister, “they would soon have driven us out of our rooms and destroyed all our food supplies. In addition, mouse and rat furs are highly priced because of their lightness and softness. Some noble persons are allowed to use them with us.
- Tell me, please, who are you? Alyosha continued.
Have you never heard that our people live underground? - answered the minister. - True, not many people manage to see us, but there were examples, especially in the old days, that we went out into the world and showed ourselves to people. Now this rarely happens, because people have become very immodest. And we have a law that if the one to whom we showed ourselves does not keep this a secret, then we are forced to immediately leave our place of residence and go far, far, to other countries. You can easily imagine that our king would not be happy to leave all the local establishments and move with a whole people to unknown lands. And so I earnestly ask you to be as modest as possible; for otherwise you will make us all unhappy, and especially me. From blessings

About forty years ago, in St. Petersburg on Vasilyevsky Island, in the First Line, there lived the owner of a men's boarding house, who still probably remains in the fresh memory of many, although the house where the boarding house was located has long been gave way to another, not in the least similar to the former. At that time, our Petersburg was already famous throughout Europe for its beauty, although it was still far from what it is now. At that time, there were no cheerful shady alleys on the avenues of Vasilievsky Island: wooden scaffolding, often knocked together from rotten boards, took the place of today's beautiful sidewalks. St. Isaac's Bridge, narrow and uneven at that time, presented a completely different view than it is now; and even St. Isaac's Square itself was not like that at all. Then the monument to Peter the Great was separated from St. Isaac's Square by a ditch; The Admiralty was not planted with trees, the Horse Guards arena did not decorate the square with its beautiful present facade - in a word, Petersburg then was not what it is now. Cities have, by the way, the advantage over people that they sometimes become more beautiful with age ... However, that is not the point now. Another time and on another occasion, perhaps I will talk with you at greater length about the changes that have taken place in St. Petersburg during my century, but now let us turn again to the boarding house, which forty years ago was located on Vasilyevsky Island, in the First Line.

The house, which you now - as I already told you - will not find, was about two floors, covered with Dutch tiles. The porch through which they entered it was wooden and jutted out onto the street. From the passage a rather steep staircase led to the upper dwelling, which consisted of eight or nine rooms, in which the owner of the boarding house lived on one side, and the classrooms on the other. The dormitories, or children's bedrooms, were on the lower floor, on the right side of the passage, and on the left lived two old Dutch women, each of whom was over a hundred years old and who had seen Peter the Great with their own eyes and even talked to him. At the present time, it is unlikely that in the whole of Russia you will meet a person who would have seen Peter the Great; the time will come when our traces will be wiped off the face of the earth! Everything passes, everything disappears in our mortal world... but that's not the point now.

Among the thirty or forty children who studied at that boarding school, there was one boy named Alyosha, who was then no more than 9 or 10 years old. His parents, who lived far, far away from Petersburg, brought him to the capital two years before, sent him to a boarding school and returned home, paying the teacher the agreed fee for several years in advance. Alyosha was a smart little boy, he studied well, and everyone loved and caressed him. However, despite that, he was often bored in the boarding house, and sometimes even sad. Especially at first he could not get used to the idea that he was separated from his relatives. But then, little by little, he began to get used to his position, and there were even moments when, playing with his comrades, he thought that it was much more fun in a boarding school than in his parents' house. In general, the days of training passed quickly and pleasantly for him, but when Saturday came and all his comrades hurried home to their relatives, then Alyosha bitterly felt his loneliness. On Sundays and holidays, he was alone all day, and then his only consolation was reading books, which the teacher allowed him to borrow from his small library. The teacher was a German by birth, at that time the fashion for chivalric novels and fairy tales dominated in German literature, and this library for the most part consisted of books of this kind.

So, Alyosha, still at the age of ten, already knew by heart the deeds of the most glorious knights, at least as they were described in the novels. His favorite pastime on long winter evenings, on Sundays and other holidays, was mentally transferred to ancient, bygone centuries... with his comrades, when he often spent whole days sitting in solitude - his youthful imagination wandered through knight's castles, through terrible ruins or through dark, dense forests.

I forgot to tell you that this house had a fairly spacious courtyard, separated from the alley by a wooden fence made of baroque planks. The gates and gates that led into the alley were always locked, and therefore Alyosha never managed to visit this alley, which aroused his curiosity greatly. Whenever they allowed him to play in the yard during rest hours, his first movement was to run up to the fence. Here he stood on tiptoe and stared intently into the round holes with which the fence was littered. Alyosha did not know that these holes came from the wooden nails with which the barges had previously been hammered together, and it seemed to him that some kind sorceress had purposely drilled these holes for him. He kept expecting that someday this sorceress would appear in the alley and give him a toy through a hole, or a talisman, or a letter from papa or mama, from whom he had not received any news for a long time. But, to his extreme regret, no one even looked like a sorceress.

Alyosha's other occupation was to feed the hens, who lived near the fence in a house specially built for them and played and ran around in the yard all day long. Alyosha got to know them very briefly, knew everyone by name, broke up their fights, and the bully punished them by sometimes not giving them anything for several days in a row from the crumbs, which he always collected from the tablecloth after lunch and dinner. Among chickens, he especially liked the black crested one, called Chernushka. Chernushka was more affectionate towards him than the others; she even sometimes allowed herself to be stroked, and therefore Alyosha brought the best pieces to her. She was of a quiet disposition; she rarely walked with others and seemed to love Alyosha more than her friends.

One day (it was during vacations, between the New Year and Epiphany - it was a beautiful and unusually warm day, no more than three or four degrees below zero) Alyosha was allowed to play in the yard. That day the teacher and his wife were in great trouble. They gave dinner to the director of the schools, and even the day before, from morning until late in the evening, everywhere in the house they washed the floors, dusted and waxed mahogany tables and chests of drawers. The teacher himself went to buy provisions for the table: Arkhangelsk white veal, a huge ham, and Kiev jam from Milyutin's shops. Alyosha also contributed to the preparations to the best of his ability: he was forced to cut out a beautiful net for a ham from white paper and decorate six specially bought wax candles with paper carvings. On the appointed day, in the morning, the hairdresser appeared and showed his skill over the curls, the toupee, and the long plait of the teacher. Then he set to work on his wife, pomaded and powdered her curls and chignon, and piled on her head a whole conservatory of different colors, between which two diamond rings skillfully placed, once presented to her husband by her parents of students, shone. At the end of her headdress, she threw on an old, worn-out cloak and set off to take care of the housework, while observing sternly so that her hair did not somehow deteriorate; and for this she herself did not enter the kitchen, but gave orders to her cook, standing in the doorway. In necessary cases, she sent her husband there, whose hair was not so high.

In the course of all these worries, our Alyosha was completely forgotten, and he took advantage of this to play in the yard in the open. As was his custom, he went first to the wooden fence and looked for a long time through the hole; but even that day almost no one passed along the alley, and with a sigh he turned to his amiable hens. Before he had time to sit down on a log and just began to beckon them to him, when he suddenly saw a cook with a large knife beside him. Alyosha never liked this cook - an angry and quarrelsome little chick. But since he noticed that she was the reason for the decrease in the number of his hens from time to time, he began to love her even less. When one day he accidentally saw in the kitchen one pretty cockerel, very beloved by him, hung by the legs with his throat cut, he had horror and disgust for her. Seeing her now with a knife, he immediately guessed what it meant, and feeling with sorrow that he was unable to help his friends, he jumped up and ran far away.

Alyosha, Alyosha! Help me catch a chicken! shouted the cook, but Alyosha began to run even faster, hid by the fence behind the chicken coop, and did not notice how tears rolled out of his eyes one after another and fell to the ground.

For a long time he stood by the chicken coop, and his heart was beating strongly, while the cook ran around the yard - she beckoned the hens: “Chick, chick, chick!” - she scolded them in Chukhonian.

Suddenly Alyosha's heart beat even faster: he heard the voice of his beloved Chernushka! She cackled in the most desperate way, and it seemed to him that she was crying:

Where, where, where, kuduhu!

Alyosha, save Chernukha!

Kuduhu, kuduhu,

Black, Black, Black!

Alyosha could not remain in his place any longer. Sobbing loudly, he ran to the cook and threw himself on her neck at the very moment when she had already caught Chernushka by the wing.

Dear, dear Trinushka! he cried, bursting into tears. - Please don't touch my Chernukha!

Alyosha threw himself on the cook's neck so unexpectedly that she let go of Chernushka, who, taking advantage of this, flew up in fear to the roof of the barn and continued clucking there. But now Alyosha could hear her teasing the cook and shouting:

Where, where, where, kuduhu!

You didn't catch Chernukha!

Kuduhu, kuduhu!

Black, Black, Black!

Meanwhile the cook was beside herself with vexation.

Rummal go! she shouted. - That's it, I'll fall cassainu and plow. Shorn kuris must be rehabilitated... He is lazy... He doesn't make eggs, he doesn't sit around like a baby.

Then she wanted to run to the teacher, but Alyosha would not let her go. He clung to the skirts of her dress and begged so touchingly that she stopped.

Darling, Trinushka! he said. - You're so pretty, clean, kind... Please leave my Chernushka! Look what I'll give you if you're kind!

Alyosha took out of his pocket the imperial, which made up all his estate, which he guarded more than his own eyes, because it was a gift from his kind grandmother. The cook glanced at the gold coin, scanned the windows of the house to make sure no one could see them, and held out her hand for the imperial. Alyosha was very, very sorry for the imperial, but he remembered Chernushka - and firmly gave the precious gift.

Thus Chernushka was saved from a cruel and inevitable death.

As soon as the cook retired to the house, Chernushka flew off the roof and ran up to Alyosha. She seemed to know that he was her deliverer: she circled around him, flapped her wings and cackled in a cheerful voice. All morning she followed him around the yard like a dog, and it seemed as if she wanted to tell him something, but she could not. At least he couldn't make out her clucking.

About two hours before dinner, guests began to gather. They called Alyosha upstairs, put on him a shirt with a round collar and finely pleated cambric cuffs, white trousers, and a wide blue silk sash. His long blond hair, which hung almost to his waist, was carefully combed, divided into two even parts and shifted in front - on both sides of his chest. So dressed up then children. Then they taught him how he should shuffle his foot when the director entered the room, and what he should answer if any questions were put to him. At another time, Alyosha would have been very glad to see the director, whom he had long wanted to see, because, judging by the respect with which the teacher and teacher spoke of him, he imagined that it must be some famous knight in brilliant armor and in helmet with large feathers. But this time this curiosity gave way to the thought that occupied him exclusively then: about the black hen. He kept imagining how the cook ran after her with a knife, and how Chernushka cackled in different voices. Moreover, he was very annoyed that he could not make out what she wanted to tell him, and he was so drawn to the chicken coop ... But there was nothing to do: he had to wait until dinner was over!

Finally the director arrived. His arrival was announced by the teacher, who had been sitting at the window for a long time, looking intently in the direction from which they were waiting for him. Everything began to move: the teacher rushed headlong out of the door to meet him below, at the porch; the guests rose from their seats. And even Alyosha forgot about his hen for a moment and went to the window to watch how the knight would get off his zealous horse. But he did not manage to see him: the director had already managed to enter the house. At the porch, instead of a zealous horse, stood an ordinary cab sleigh. Alyosha was very surprised by this. “If I were a knight,” he thought, “then I would never ride a cab, but always on horseback!”

Meanwhile all the doors were thrown wide open; and the teacher began to squat in anticipation of such an honorable guest, who soon afterwards appeared. At first it was impossible to see him behind the fat teacher who was standing at the very door; but when she, having finished her long greeting, sat down lower than usual, Alyosha, to extreme surprise, saw from behind her ... not a feathered helmet, but simply a small bald head, white powdered, the only ornament of which, as Alyosha later noticed, was little bundle! When he entered the drawing room, Alyosha was even more surprised to see that, despite the simple gray tailcoat that the director wore instead of shiny armor, everyone treated him with unusual respect.

However, however strange all this seemed to Alyosha, however pleased he might have been at another time with the unusual decoration of the table, on this day he did not pay much attention to it. The morning incident with Chernushka kept wandering in his head. Dessert was served: various kinds of jams, apples, bergamots, dates, wine berries and walnuts; but here, too, he did not for one moment cease to think of his little hen. And as soon as they got up from the table, he, with a heart trembling with fear and hope, approached the teacher and asked if he could go and play in the yard.

Come on, - the teacher answered, - just don’t be there for long, it will soon become dark.

Alyosha hurriedly put on his red bekesha with squirrel fur and a green velvet cap with a sable band around it and ran to the fence. When he arrived there, the hens had already begun to gather for the night and, sleepy, were not very happy with the crumbs they had brought. Only Chernushka did not seem to feel the desire to sleep: she merrily ran up to him, flapped her wings and began to cackle again. Alyosha played with her for a long time; Finally, when it got dark and it was time to go home, he himself closed the chicken coop, making sure in advance that his dear hen sat on the pole. When he came out of the chicken coop, it seemed to him that Chernushka's eyes glowed in the dark like stars, and that she was saying to him quietly:

Alyosha, Alyosha! Stay with me! Alyosha returned to the house and spent the whole evening sitting alone in the classrooms, while in the other half of the hour until eleven the guests stayed and played whist on several tables. Before they parted, Alyosha went downstairs to the bedroom, undressed, got into bed, and put out the fire. For a long time he could not sleep. Finally, sleep overcame him, and he had just managed to talk to Chernushka in a dream, when, unfortunately, he was awakened by the noise of departing guests. A little later, the teacher, who had seen off the director with a candle, entered his room, looked to see if everything was in order, and went out, locking the door with a key.

It was a monthly night, and through the shutters, which were not tightly closed, a pale ray of the moon fell into the room. Alyosha lay with his eyes open and listened for a long time to how, in the upper dwelling, above his head, they went from room to room and put chairs and tables in order.

Finally, everything calmed down. He glanced at the bed next to him, slightly illuminated by the moonlight, and noticed that the white sheet, hanging almost to the floor, moved easily. He began to peer more closely: he heard something scratching under the bed, and a little later it seemed that someone was calling him in a low voice:

Alyosha, Alyosha!

Alyosha was scared! He was alone in the room, and it immediately occurred to him that there must be a thief under the bed. But then, judging that the thief would not have called him by name, he cheered up a little, although his heart trembled. He sat up a little in bed and saw even more clearly that the sheet was moving, even more distinctly heard someone say:

Alyosha, Alyosha! Suddenly the white sheet lifted up, and from under it came out ... a black hen!

Oh! It's you, Chernushka! Alyosha exclaimed involuntarily. - How did you get here?

Nigella flapped her wings, flew up to him on the bed and said in a human voice:

It's me, Alyosha! You are not afraid of me, are you?

Why should I be afraid of you? he answered. - I love you; only it is strange to me that you speak so well: I did not know at all that you could speak!

If you're not afraid of me," continued the hen, "then follow me: I'll show you something pretty. Get dressed soon!

What are you, Chernushka, funny! Alyosha said. - How can I dress in the dark? I can’t find my dress now, I can’t even see you!

I will try to help this, - said the hen. Here she cackled in a strange voice, and suddenly from somewhere came small candles in silver chandeliers, no larger than Alyoshin's little finger. These shackles ended up on the floor, on the chairs, on the windows, even on the washstand, and the room became so light, so light, as if it were daylight. Alyosha began to dress, and the hen gave him a dress, and in this way he was soon completely dressed.

When Alyosha was ready, Chernushka cackled again, and all the candles disappeared.

Follow me! she told him.

And he boldly followed her. It was as if rays came out of her eyes, which illuminated everything around them, although not as brightly as small candles. They went through the front.

The door is locked with a key,” said Alyosha; but the hen did not answer him: she flapped her wings, and the door opened of itself.

Then, having passed through the passage, they turned to the rooms where the hundred-year old Dutch women lived. Alyosha had never visited them, but he had heard that their rooms were decorated in the old fashioned way, that one of them had a big gray parrot, and the other had a gray cat, very smart, that could jump through a hoop and give a paw. He had long wanted to see all this, and therefore he was very glad when the hen flapped her wings again, and the door to the old woman's chambers opened. In the first room Alyosha saw all kinds of antique furniture:

carved chairs, armchairs, tables and chests of drawers. The large couch was made of Dutch tiles, on which people and animals were painted in blue ant. Alyosha wanted to stop to examine the furniture, and especially the figures on the couch, but Chernushka would not let him. They entered the second room, and. then Alyosha was delighted! In a beautiful golden cage sat a large gray parrot with a red tail. Alyosha immediately wanted to run up to him. Blackie didn't let him in again.

Don't touch anything here, she said. - Beware of waking the old ladies!

It was only then that Alyosha noticed that next to the parrot was a bed with white muslin curtains, through which he could make out an old woman lying with her eyes closed; she looked like wax to him. In another corner stood a bed exactly the same, where another old woman slept, and next to her sat a gray cat, washing herself with her front paws. Passing by her, Alyosha could not resist asking her for her paws... Suddenly she meowed loudly, the parrot puffed up and began to shout loudly: “Fool! fool!" At that very moment it was visible through the muslin curtains that the old women had risen in bed. Chernushka hurried away, and Alyosha ran after her, the door behind them slammed hard ... And for a long time it was heard how the parrot shouted: “Fool! fool!"

Aren `t you ashamed! - said Chernushka, when they left the old women's rooms. - You must have awakened the knights...

What knights? Alyosha asked.

You will see, - answered the hen. - Do not be afraid, however, nothing, follow me boldly.

They went down the stairs, as if into a cellar, and walked for a long, long time along various passages and corridors, which Alyosha had never seen before. Sometimes these corridors were so low and narrow that Alyosha was forced to bend down. Suddenly they entered a hall lit by three large crystal chandeliers. The hall had no windows, and on both sides hung on the walls knights in shining armor, with large feathers on their helmets, with spears and shields in iron hands. Blackie walked in front on tiptoe and Alyosha ordered to follow her quietly, quietly ... At the end of the hall there was a large door made of light yellow copper. As soon as they approached her, two knights jumped down from the walls, struck their shields with spears and rushed at the black hen. Blackie raised her crest, spread her wings and suddenly became big, big, taller than the knights, and began to fight with them! The knights strongly attacked her, and she defended herself with her wings and nose. Alyosha felt frightened, his heart fluttered violently, and he fainted.

When he came to himself again, the sun shone through the shutters on the room, and he lay in his bed. Neither Chernushka nor the knights were in sight. Alyosha could not come to his senses for a long time. He did not understand what had happened to him at night: did he see everything in a dream, or did it really happen? He dressed and went upstairs, but he couldn't get out of his head what he had seen the previous night. He looked forward impatiently to the moment when he would be able to go out to play in the yard, but all that day, as if on purpose, it snowed heavily, and it was impossible even to think of leaving the house.

At dinner, the teacher, among other conversations, announced to her husband that the black hen had hidden herself in some unknown place.

However, - she added, - the trouble is not great, even if she disappeared: she was assigned to the kitchen a long time ago. Imagine, darling, that since she was in our house, she has not laid a single testicle.

Alyosha almost burst into tears, although it occurred to him that it would be better for her not to be found anywhere than for her to end up in the kitchen.

After dinner Alyosha was again alone in the classrooms. He constantly thought about what had happened the previous night, and could not console himself in any way at the loss of the dear Chernushka. Sometimes it seemed to him that he must certainly see her the next night, despite the fact that she had disappeared from the chicken coop. But then it seemed to him that this was an unrealizable business, and he again plunged into sadness.

It was time to go to bed, and Alyosha eagerly undressed and got into bed. Before he had time to look at the next bed, again illuminated by the quiet moonlight, the white sheet stirred, exactly as it had the day before ... Again he heard a voice calling him: "Alyosha, Alyosha!" - and a little later Blackie came out from under the bed and flew up to him on the bed.

Oh, hello, Chernushka! he exclaimed, overjoyed. I was afraid that I would never see you again. Are you well?

Healthy, - answered the hen, - but she almost fell ill by your grace.

How is it, Chernushka? Alyosha asked, frightened.

You are a good boy, - continued the hen, - but at the same time you are windy and never obey from the first word, and this is not good! Yesterday I told you not to touch anything in the old ladies' rooms, despite the fact that you couldn't resist asking the cat for a paw. The cat woke up the parrot, the parrot of the old women, the old women of the knights - and I could hardly cope with them!

I'm sorry, dear Chernushka, I won't go ahead! Please take me there again today; you will see that I will be obedient.

Well, - said the hen, - we'll see! The hen clucked like the day before, and the same small candles appeared in the same silver chandeliers. Alyosha got dressed again and went after the hen. Again they entered the chambers of the old women, but this time he did not touch anything. When they passed through the first room, it seemed to him that the people and animals painted on the couch were making various funny grimaces and beckoning him to them; but he deliberately turned his back on them. In the second room, the old Dutch women, just as the day before, lay in their beds, as if they were made of wax;

the parrot looked at Alyosha and blinked his eyes, the gray cat again washed her face with her paws. On the dressing table in front of the mirror Alyosha saw two porcelain Chinese dolls, which he had not seen the day before. They nodded their heads to him, but he remembered Chernushka's order and passed without stopping, but he could not resist bowing to them in passing. The dolls immediately jumped off the table and ran after him, all nodding their heads. He almost stopped - they seemed so funny to him, but Chernushka looked at him with an angry look, and he came to his senses. The dolls accompanied them to the door, and seeing that Alyosha was not looking at them, they returned to their places,

Again they went down the stairs, walked along the passages and corridors and came to the same hall, lit by three crystal chandeliers. The same knights hung on the walls, and again, when they approached the door of yellow copper, two knights came down from the wall and blocked their way. It seemed, however, that they were not as angry as the day before; they could hardly drag their legs like autumn flies, and it was evident that they were holding their spears through force ... Nigella grew large and fluffed up; but as soon as she struck them with her wings, they fell apart - and Alyosha saw that they were empty armor! The brass door opened of its own accord, and they went on. A little later they entered another hall, spacious but low, so that Alyosha could reach the ceiling with his hand. This hall was lit by the same small candles that he had seen in his room, but the chandeliers were not silver, but gold.

Here Chernushka left Alyosha.

Stay here for a while, she told him, I'll be right back. Today you were smart, although you acted carelessly, bowing to porcelain dolls. If you had not bowed to them, the knights would have remained on the wall. However, today you did not wake up the old women, and therefore the knights had no strength. - After this Chernushka left the hall.

Left alone, Alyosha attentively began to examine the room, which was very richly decorated. It seemed to him that the walls were made of Labrador, such as he had seen in the mineral room in the boarding house; the panels and doors were of pure gold. At the end of the hall, under a green canopy, on an elevated place, stood armchairs of gold. Alyosha admired this decoration very much, but it seemed strange to him that everything was in the smallest form, as if for small dolls.

While he was examining everything with curiosity, a side door, which he had not noticed before, opened, and in came a multitude of small people, no more than half a yard tall, in smart colorful dresses. Their appearance was important: some of them looked like soldiers, others - civil officials. They all wore round, feathered hats like Spanish hats. They did not notice Alyosha, walked decorously through the rooms, and spoke loudly to each other, but he could not understand what they were saying. For a long time he looked at them in silence and just wanted to go up to one of them and ask how the big door at the end of the hall opened ... everyone fell silent, stood in two rows against the walls and took off their hats. In an instant the room became still brighter, all the small candles lit up even brighter, and Alyosha saw twenty little knights in gold armor, with crimson feathers on their helmets, entering in pairs in a quiet march. Then, in deep silence, they stood on either side of the chairs. A little later, a man with a majestic posture entered the hall, on his head with a crown shining with precious stones. He wore a light green robe lined with mouse fur, with a long train carried by twenty little pages in crimson dresses. Alyosha guessed at once that it must be the king. He bowed low to him. The king answered his bow very affectionately and sat down in golden armchairs. Then he ordered something to one of the knights standing near, who, going up to Alyosha, announced to him that he approached the armchairs. Alyosha obeyed.

I have long known, said the king, that you are a good boy; but on the third day you did a great service to my people and for that you deserve a reward. My chief minister informed me that you saved him from an inevitable and cruel death.

When? Alyosha asked in surprise.

The third day in the yard, - answered the king. "Here's the one who owes you his life."

Alyosha glanced at the one pointed out by the king, and then only noticed that between the courtiers stood a small man dressed all in black. On his head he had a special kind of crimson cap, with teeth on top, worn a little to one side, and around his neck a white handkerchief, very starched, which made it look a little bluish. He smiled tenderly, looking at Alyosha, to whom his face seemed familiar, although he could not remember where he had seen it.

No matter how flattering it was for Alyosha that such a noble deed was attributed to him, he loved the truth and therefore, bowing low, said:

Lord King! I can't take personally what I've never done. On the third day, I had the good fortune to save from death not your minister, but our black hen, which the cook did not like because she did not lay a single egg ...

What are you saying! interrupted the king in anger. - My minister is not a chicken, but an honored official!

Here the Minister came closer, and Alyosha saw that it was indeed his dear Chernushka. He was very happy and asked the king for an apology, although he could not understand what it meant.

Tell me what do you want? continued the king. If I can, I will certainly fulfill your request.

Speak boldly, Alyosha! the minister whispered in his ear.

Alyosha fell into thought and did not know what to wish for. If they had given him more time, he might have thought of something good; but as it seemed impolite to him to keep the king waiting, he hastened to reply.

I would like, - he said, - that, without studying, I would always know my lesson, no matter what I was asked.

I didn't think you were such a lazy person," replied the king, shaking his head. - But there is nothing to do, I must fulfill my promise.

He waved his hand, and the page brought up a golden dish, on which lay one hemp seed.

Take this seed, said the king. “As long as you have it, you will always know your lesson, no matter what you are given, with the condition, however, that you, under no pretext, say a single word to anyone about what you have seen here or will see in the future. The slightest indiscretion will forever deprive you of our favors, and will cause us a lot of trouble and trouble.

Alyosha took the hemp seed, wrapped it in paper and put it in his pocket, promising to be silent and modest. The king after that got up from his chair and left the hall in the same order, first ordering the minister to treat Alyosha as best as possible.

As soon as the king left, all the courtiers surrounded Alyosha and began to caress him in every possible way, expressing their gratitude for the fact that he had saved the minister. They all offered their services to him: some asked if he would like to take a walk in the garden or see the royal menagerie, others invited him to hunt. Alyosha did not know what to decide; finally, the minister announced that he himself would show the underground curiosities to the dear guest.

First he took him to a garden arranged in the English style. The paths were littered with large multicolored pebbles, reflecting the light from countless small lamps with which the trees were hung. Alyosha liked this shine extremely.

These stones, - said the minister, - you call them precious. These are all diamonds, yachts, emeralds and amethysts.

Oh, if only our paths were strewn with this! Alyosha exclaimed.

Then they would be of little value to you as they are here, - answered the minister.

The trees also seemed to Alyosha remarkably beautiful, although, moreover, very strange. They were of different colors: red, green, brown, white, blue and purple. When he looked at them with attention, he saw that they were nothing but various kinds of moss, only taller and thicker than usual. The minister told him that this moss was ordered by the king for a lot of money from distant countries and from the very depths of the globe.

From the garden they went to the menagerie. There they showed Alyosha wild animals, which were tied on golden chains. Peering more closely, he saw to his surprise that these wild beasts were nothing but large rats, moles, ferrets, and similar beasts living in the ground and under floors. This seemed very funny to him, but out of courtesy he did not say a word.

Returning to the rooms after a walk, Alyosha found a laid table in the large hall, on which various kinds of sweets, pies, pastes and fruits were arranged. The dishes were all of pure gold, and the bottles and glasses were carved from solid diamonds, yahonts and emeralds.

Eat whatever you like, - said the minister, - you are not allowed to take anything with you.

Alyosha dined very well that day, and therefore he did not feel like eating at all.

You promised to take me hunting with you,” he said.

Very well, said the minister. - I think the horses are already saddled.

Then he whistled, and grooms entered, leading sticks in reins, whose knobs were carved and represented horse heads. The minister jumped on his horse with great agility. Alyosha was let down much more than the others.

Take care, - said the minister, - that the horse does not throw you off: it is not one of the most meek.

Alyosha inwardly laughed at this, but when he took the stick between his legs, he saw that the minister's advice was not useless. The stick began to dodge and play under him like a real horse, and he could hardly sit still.

Meanwhile, the horns sounded, and the hunters began to gallop at full speed through various passages and corridors. For a long time they galloped like this, and Alyosha did not lag behind them, although he could hardly restrain his furious stick ... Suddenly, from one side corridor jumped out several rats, such big ones as Alyosha had never seen; they wanted to run past; but when the minister ordered them to be surrounded, they stopped and began to defend themselves bravely. Despite, however, they were defeated by the courage and skill of the hunters. Eight rats lay down on the spot, three fled, and one, rather seriously wounded, the minister ordered to be cured and taken to the menagerie. At the end of the hunt, Alyosha was so tired that his eyes closed involuntarily. For all that, he wanted to talk about a lot with Chernushka, and he asked permission to return to the hall from which they had left to hunt. The Minister agreed to this; they rode back at a great trot, and upon their arrival in the hall, gave the horses to the grooms, bowed to the courtiers and hunters, and sat opposite each other on the chairs they had brought.

Tell me, please, - began Alyosha, - why did you kill the poor rats that do not bother you and live so far from your home?

If we had not exterminated them, - said the minister, - they would soon have driven us out of our rooms and would have destroyed all our food supplies. In addition, mouse and rat furs are highly priced because of their lightness and softness. Some noble persons are allowed to use them with us.

Yes, tell me, please, who are you? Alyosha continued.

Have you never heard that our people live underground? - answered the minister. - True, not many people manage to see us, but there were examples, especially in the old days, that we went out into the world and showed ourselves to people. Now this rarely happens, because people have become very immodest. And we have a law that if the one to whom we showed ourselves does not keep this a secret, then we are forced to immediately leave our place of residence and go far, far, to other countries. You can easily imagine that our king would not be happy to leave all the local establishments and move with a whole people to unknown lands. And so I earnestly ask you to be as modest as possible; for otherwise you will make us all unhappy, and especially me. Out of gratitude, I begged the king to call you here; but he will never forgive me if, due to your indiscretion, we are forced to leave this region ...

I give you my word of honor that I will never talk about you with anyone, - Alyosha interrupted him. “Now I remember what I read in a book about gnomes who live underground. They write that in a certain city a shoemaker became very rich in a very short time, so that no one understood where his wealth came from. Finally, they somehow found out that he sewed boots and shoes for the dwarves, who paid him very dearly for it.

Perhaps that is true, - answered the minister.

But,” Alyosha said to him, “explain to me, dear Chernushka, why, as a minister, you appear in the world in the form of a chicken, and what connection do you have with old Dutch women?”

Chernushka, wishing to satisfy his curiosity, began to tell him many things in detail, but at the very beginning of her story Alyosha's eyes closed, and he fell sound asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he lay in his bed. For a long time he could not come to his senses and did not know what to do ...

Blackie and minister, king and knights, Dutch women and rats - all this was mixed up in his head, and he forcibly put everything he had seen the previous night in order in his mind. Remembering that the king had given him a hemp seed, he hastily rushed to his dress and indeed found in his pocket a piece of paper in which a hemp seed was wrapped. We shall see, he thought, whether the king will keep his word! Classes start tomorrow, and I haven’t had time to learn all my lessons yet.”

The history lesson especially bothered him: he was asked to memorize a few pages from Shrek's world history, and he still did not know a single word!

Monday came, boarders arrived, and classes began. From ten o'clock to twelve o'clock the landlord himself taught history. Alyosha's heart was beating violently... While it was his turn, he felt several times the piece of paper with the hemp seed in his pocket... Finally he was summoned. With trepidation, he approached the teacher, opened his mouth, not yet knowing what to say, and - unmistakably, without stopping, said the given. The teacher praised him very much; Alyosha, however, did not accept his praise with the pleasure he had previously felt on such occasions. An inner voice told him that he did not deserve this praise, because this lesson did not cost him any work.

For several weeks the teachers could not praise Alyosha. He knew all the lessons, without exception, perfectly, all the translations from one language to another were without errors, so that one could not be surprised at his extraordinary success. Alyosha was inwardly ashamed of these praises: he was ashamed that they set him up as an example to his comrades, when he did not deserve it at all.

During this time, Chernushka did not come to him, despite the fact that Alyosha, especially in the first weeks after receiving a hemp seed, did not miss almost a single day without calling her when he went to bed. At first he was very sad about it, but then he calmed down with the thought that she was probably busy with important business in her rank. Subsequently, the praises with which everyone showered him, so occupied him that he rarely thought about her.

Meanwhile, the rumor about his extraordinary abilities soon spread throughout the whole of St. Petersburg. The director of the schools himself came several times to the boarding school and admired Alyosha. The teacher carried him in his arms, for through him the boarding house entered into glory. Parents came from all over the city and molested him so that he would take their children to himself, in the hope that they would be the same scientists as Alyosha. Soon the boarding house was so full that there was no room for new boarders, and the teacher and the teacher began to think about renting a house, much more spacious than the one in which they lived.

Alyosha, as I said above, was at first ashamed of praises, feeling that he did not deserve them at all, but little by little he began to get used to them, and finally his vanity reached the point that he accepted, without blushing, the praises that he was showered with. . He began to think a lot about himself, put on airs in front of other boys and imagined that he was much better and smarter than all of them. Alyosha's temperament from this completely deteriorated: from a kind, sweet and modest boy, he became proud and disobedient. His conscience often reproached him for this, and an inner voice told him: “Alyosha, don’t be proud! Do not ascribe to yourself that which does not belong to you; thank fate for giving you advantages against other children, but do not think that you are better than them. If you do not correct yourself, then no one will love you, and then, with all your learning, you will be the most unfortunate child!

Sometimes he took the intention to improve, but, unfortunately, pride was so strong in him that he drowned out the voice of conscience, and he grew worse day by day, and day by day his comrades loved him less.

Moreover, Alyosha became a terrible rascal. Having no need to repeat the lessons that were assigned to him, he, at the time when other children were preparing for classes, engaged in pranks, and this idleness spoiled his temper even more. Finally, everyone was so fed up with his bad temper that the teacher seriously began to think about the means for correcting such a bad boy and for this he gave him lessons twice and thrice as large as others; but that didn't help at all. Alyosha did not study at all, but nevertheless he knew the lesson from beginning to end, without the slightest mistake.

One day the teacher, not knowing what to do with him, asked him to memorize twenty pages by the next morning and hoped that he would at least be quieter that day.

Where! Our Alyosha did not even think about the lesson! That day he purposely played more naughty than usual, and the teacher threatened him in vain with punishment if he did not know the lesson the next morning. Alyosha inwardly laughed at these threats, being sure that the hemp seed would certainly help him.

The next day, at the appointed hour, the teacher picked up the book from which Alyosha was given a lesson, called him to him and ordered him to say the assignment. All the children turned their attention to Alyosha with curiosity, and the teacher himself did not know what to think when Alyosha, despite the fact that he had not repeated the lesson at all the day before, boldly got up from the bench and went up to him. Alyosha had no doubt that this time too he would succeed in demonstrating his extraordinary ability;

he opened his mouth ... and could not utter a word!

Why are you silent? the teacher told him. - Speak lesson.

Alyosha blushed, then turned pale, blushed again, began to wrinkle his hands, tears welled up in his eyes from fear ... All in vain! He could not utter a single word, because, hoping for a hemp seed, he did not even look at the book.

What does this mean, Alyosha? the teacher shouted. - Why don't you want to talk?

Alyosha himself did not know what to attribute such strangeness to, put his hand into his pocket to feel the seed ... But how to describe his despair when he did not find it! Tears flowed like hail from his eyes ... He wept bitterly, and yet he could not say a word.

Meanwhile, the teacher was losing patience. Accustomed to the fact that Alyosha always answered accurately and without stammering, he considered it impossible that Alyosha did not know at least the beginning of the lesson, and therefore attributed the silence to his obstinacy.

Go to the bedroom, he said, and stay there until you know the lesson perfectly.

They took Alyosha to the lower floor, gave him a book, and locked the door with a key.

As soon as he was left alone, he began to look everywhere for a hemp seed. He fumbled for a long time in his pockets, crawled on the floor, looked under the bed, sorted out the blanket, pillow, sheets - all in vain! Nowhere was there even a trace of the kind grain! He tried to remember where he might have lost it, and finally became convinced that he had dropped it some day before, while playing in the yard. But how to find it? He was locked in a room, and even if they had been allowed to go out into the yard, it would probably have served nothing, for he knew that chickens were tasty for hemp and its grain, it’s true that one of them managed to peck ! Desperate to find him, he decided to call Chernushka to his aid.

Dear Chernushka! he said. Dear Minister! Please come to me and give me another seed! I'll be more careful in the future.

But no one answered his requests, and he finally sat down on a chair and again began to weep bitterly.

Meanwhile it was time for dinner; The door opened and the teacher entered.

Do you know the lesson now? he asked Alyosha.

Alyosha, sobbing loudly, was forced to say that he did not know.

Well, stay here until you learn! - said the teacher, ordered to give him a glass of water and a piece of rye bread and left him alone again.

Alyosha began to repeat by heart, but nothing entered his head. He had long lost the habit of studying, and how to get twenty printed pages out of it! No matter how much he worked, no matter how much he strained his memory, but when evening came, he did not know more than two or three pages, and even that was bad. When it was time for the other children to go to bed, all his comrades rushed into the room at once, and the teacher came with them again.

Alyosha, do you know the lesson? - he asked. And poor Alyosha answered through tears:

I only know two pages.

So, apparently, tomorrow you will have to sit here on bread and water, - said the teacher, wished the other children a good sleep and left.

Alyosha stayed with his comrades. Then, when he was a kind and modest child, everyone loved him, and if he happened to be punished, then everyone pitied him, and this served him as a consolation. But now no one paid any attention to him: everyone looked at him with contempt and did not say a word to him. He decided himself to start a conversation with one boy, with whom he had been very friendly in the old days, but he turned away from him without answering. Alyosha turned to another, but the other did not want to talk to him either, and even pushed him away from him when he spoke to him again. Here the unfortunate Alyosha felt that he deserved such treatment from his comrades. Shedding tears, he lay down on his bed, but could not sleep.

For a long time he lay in this way and with sorrow recalled the past happy days. All the children already enjoyed a sweet dream, only he could fall asleep! "And Chernushka left me," thought Alyosha, and tears again flowed from his eyes.

Suddenly ... the sheet next to the bed moved like it was on the first day when the black hen appeared to him. His heart began to beat faster... He wanted Chernushka to come out from under the bed again, BUT he didn't dare to hope that his wish would come true.

Chernushka, Chernushka! he finally said in an undertone.

The sheet lifted and a black hen flew up onto the bed next to him.

Ah, Chernushka! said Alyosha, beside himself with joy. - I did not dare to hope that I would see you. Have you forgotten me?

No, she answered, I cannot forget the service you rendered, although the Alyosha who saved me from death is not at all like the one I now see in front of me. You were a kind boy then, modest and courteous, and everyone loved you, but now... I don't recognize you!

Alyosha wept bitterly, and Chernushka continued to give him instructions. She talked to him for a long time and with tears begged him to reform. Finally, when daylight was already beginning to appear, the hen said to him:

Now I must leave you, Alyosha! Here is the hemp seed you dropped in the yard. In vain did you think that you had lost it irretrievably. Our king is too generous to deprive you of it for your imprudence. Remember, however, that you gave your word of honor to keep secret everything that you know about us ... Alyosha, don’t add even worse things to your current bad qualities - ingratitude!

Alyosha enthusiastically took his kind seed from the legs of a hen and promised to use all his strength to improve!

You will see, dear Chernushka, - he said, - that today I will be completely different.

Do not think, - answered Chernushka, - that it is so easy to correct vices when they have already taken over us. Vices usually enter through the door and exit through the crack, and therefore, if you want to correct yourself, you must constantly and strictly look after yourself. But goodbye, it's time for us to part!

Alyosha, left alone, began to examine his grain and could not stop admiring it. Now he was completely calm about the lesson, and yesterday's grief left no traces in him. He thought with joy how everyone would be surprised when he unmistakably recited twenty pages - and the thought that he would again gain the upper hand over his comrades who did not want to talk to him caressed his vanity. Although he did not forget about correcting himself, he thought that it could not be as difficult as Chernushka said. “As if it doesn’t depend on me to improve! he thought. - One has only to want, and everyone will love me again ... "

Alas, poor Alyosha did not know that in order to correct himself, it was necessary to begin by putting aside pride and excessive self-confidence.

When the children gathered in the classrooms in the morning, Alyosha was called up. He went with a cheerful and triumphant air.

Do you know your lesson? the teacher asked, looking at him sternly.

I know,” Alyosha answered boldly.

He began to speak and spoke all twenty pages without the slightest mistake and stop. The teacher was beside himself with surprise, and Alyosha looked proudly at his comrades!

Alyoshin's proud appearance did not escape from the teacher's eyes.

You know your lesson, - he said to him, - it's true, but why didn't you want to say it yesterday?

I didn't know him yesterday, Alyosha answered.

It can not be! interrupted his teacher. “Yesterday evening you told me that you knew only two pages, and even that was bad, but now you said all twenty without error!” When did you learn it?

I learned it this morning! But then suddenly all the children, upset by his arrogance, shouted in one voice:

He's not telling the truth, he didn't pick up any books this morning!

Alyosha shuddered, lowered his eyes to the ground, and did not say a word.

Answer! - continued the teacher. - When did you learn your lesson?

But Alyosha did not break the silence: he was so struck by this unexpected question and the hostility shown to him by all his comrades that he could not come to his senses.

Meanwhile, the teacher, believing that he did not want to say the lesson the day before out of obstinacy, considered it necessary to severely punish him.

The more naturally you have abilities and talents,” he said to Alyosha, “the more modest and obedient you should be. God did not give you a mind for that, so that you use it for evil. You deserve punishment for yesterday's stubbornness, and today you have increased your guilt by lying. Lord! continued the teacher, turning to the boarders. - I forbid all of you to talk to Alyosha until he is completely corrected. And since this is probably a small punishment for him, then order the rod to be brought.

They brought rods... Alyosha was in despair! For the first time since the boarding school existed, they were punished with rods, and who was Alyosha, who thought so much about himself, who considered himself better and smarter than everyone! What a shame!..

He, sobbing, rushed to the teacher and promised to completely improve ...

You should have thought about it before, - was his answer.

Alyosha's tears and repentance touched his comrades, and they began to ask for him. And Alyosha, feeling that he did not deserve their compassion, began to weep even more bitterly.

Finally the teacher was brought to pity.

Fine! - he said. - I will forgive you for the sake of the request of your comrades, but so that you confess your guilt in front of everyone and announce when you have learned the assigned lesson.

Alyosha completely lost his head: he forgot the promise made to the underground king and his minister, and began to talk about the black hen, about knights, about little people...

The teacher did not let him finish.

How! he exclaimed in anger. - Instead of repenting of your bad behavior, you still took it into your head to fool me by telling a fairy tale about a black hen? .. This is too much. No, children, you see for yourself that it is impossible not to punish him!

And poor Alyosha was whipped!

With bowed head, with a torn heart, Alyosha went downstairs to the bedrooms. He was like a dead man... shame and remorse filled his soul! When, after a few hours, he calmed down a bit and put his hand in his pocket... there was no hemp seed in it! Alyosha wept bitterly, feeling that he had lost him irrevocably!

In the evening, when the other children came to bed, he also went to bed, but he could not sleep at all! How he repented of his bad behavior! He resolutely accepted the intention to improve, although he felt that it was impossible to return the hemp seed!

Around midnight the sheet next to the next bed moved again... Alyosha, who had been happy about this the day before, now closed his eyes... he was afraid to see Chernushka! His conscience troubled him. He remembered that only yesterday evening he had told Chernushka so convincingly that he would certainly correct himself, and instead... What would he say to her now?

For some time he lay with his eyes closed. He heard the rustling of the sheet being lifted... Someone came up to his bed - and a voice, a familiar voice, called him by name:

Alyosha, Alyosha!

But he was ashamed to open his eyes, and meanwhile tears rolled from them and flowed down his cheeks...

Suddenly, someone pulled on the blanket. Alyosha involuntarily glanced: Chernushka was standing in front of him - not in the form of a chicken, but in a black dress, in a crimson cap with teeth and a white starched neckerchief, exactly as he had seen her in the underground hall.

Alyosha! - said the minister. - I see that you are not sleeping... Farewell! I came to say goodbye to you, we will not see each other again!

Alyosha sobbed loudly.

Goodbye! he exclaimed. - Goodbye! And if you can, forgive me! I know that I am guilty before you; but I am severely punished for that!

Alyosha! the minister said through tears. - I forgive you; I cannot forget that you saved my life, and I love you all, although you have made me unhappy, perhaps forever!.. Farewell! I am allowed to see you for the shortest time. Even during this night, the king with his whole people must move far, far from these places! Everyone is in despair, everyone is shedding tears. We lived here for several centuries so happily, so peacefully!

Alyosha rushed to kiss the minister's little hands. Grabbing his hand, he saw something shining on it, and at the same time some unusual sound struck his ears.

What it is? he asked in astonishment. The minister raised both hands, and Alyosha saw that they were bound with a golden chain. He was horrified!

Your indiscretion is the reason that I am condemned to wear these chains, - said the minister with a deep sigh, - but do not cry, Alyosha! Your tears can't help me. Only you can console me in my misfortune: try to improve and be again the same kind boy as you were before. Farewell for the last time!

The minister shook hands with Alyosha and hid under the next bed.

Chernushka, Chernushka! Alyosha shouted after him, but Chernushka did not answer.

All night he could not close his eyes for a minute. An hour before dawn he heard something rustling under the floor. He got out of bed, put his ear to the floor, and for a long time heard the sound of small wheels and the noise, as if many small people were passing by. Between this noise was also heard the wailing of women and children and the voice of Minister Chernushka, who shouted to him:

Farewell, Alyosha! Farewell forever!

The next day, in the morning, the children woke up and saw Alyosha lying unconscious on the floor. He was lifted up, put to bed, and sent for a doctor, who announced that he had a high fever.

Six weeks later, Alyosha, with the help of God, recovered, and everything that happened to him before his illness seemed to him a heavy dream. Neither the teacher nor his comrades reminded him of a word either about the black hen or about the punishment to which he had been subjected. Alyosha himself was ashamed to talk about it and tried to be obedient, kind, modest and diligent. Everyone fell in love with him again and began to caress him, and he became an example for his comrades, although he could no longer memorize twenty printed pages suddenly, which, however, he was not asked.