N. M. Karamzin
Beautiful princess and happy carla
An old fairy tale, or a new caricature
Russian literary tale / Comp. and note. N. A. Listikova. -- M.: Sov. Russia, 1989. Oh, you ugly sons of mankind, ugly creations of a playful nature! you, who in no way can serve as a model for the artist when he wants to represent the elegance of the human form! you who complain about nature and say that she has not given you ways to please and has blocked for you the source of the sweetest pleasure in life - the source of love! do not despair, my friends, and believe that you can still be amiable and loved, that the helpful Zephyrs today or tomorrow can bring you some lovely Psysha, who will rush into your arms with delight and say that there is nothing sweeter than you on earth. light. Listen to the next story. In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived The king is a good man father of a single daughter, a beautiful princess, dear to the heart of a parent, lovable to every sensitive heart, rare, incomparable. When The king is a good man dressed in rich scarlet, crowned with a ruby-sapphire crown, he sat on a high throne among the multitude of people and, holding a golden scepter in his right hand, judged his subjects with truth; when, sighing from the depths of his heart, he pronounced the sentence of due punishment, then appeared beautiful princess, she looked directly into the eyes of her parent, raised her white hand, extended it to the judge, and the cloudy face of justice suddenly lit up with the sun of mercy, the guilty, saved by her, swore in his soul to be from that time a good subject of the good king. Did the poor man approach Princess? she helped him; did the sad one shed tears? she consoled him. All the orphans in the spacious area good man king they called her mother, and even those whom nature itself oppressed, the unfortunate, deprived of health, were relieved by her healing hand, for Princess she knew perfectly the science of healing, the secret powers of herbs and minerals, the growth of heaven and the springs of the underground. Such was the soul Princess. Her bodily beauty was described by all the poets of those times as the best work of skillful nature, and the poets were then not such flatterers as they are now; they did not call black white, dwarfs a giant and ugliness an example of harmony. In an ancient book depository I managed to find one of these descriptions; here is the correct translation of it: "Not so pleasant is the full moon rising in the sky between countless stars, as our dear princess, walking through the green meadows with her girlfriends; the rays of the bright moon do not shine so beautifully, silvering the wavy edges of the gray clouds of the night, as the golden hair on her shoulders shines; she walks like a proud swan, like a beloved daughter of heaven; ethereal azure, on which the star of love shines, the evening star, is the image of her incomparable eyes, thin eyebrows, like rainbows, bend over them, her cheeks are like white lilies, when the morning dawn paints them with its scarlet color; when tender lips are opened beautiful princess, two rows of the purest pearls tempt the eye; two mounds covered with eternal mist... But who can describe all her beauties?" The winged goddess, called Glory, was in those days just as talkative as she is now. Flying across the entire sunflower, she told miracles about beautiful princess and couldn't talk about it. From far away, princes came to see her beauty, pitched high tents in front of the stone palace good man king and came to him with a bow. He knew the reason for their visit and rejoiced heartily, wishing a worthy husband for his dear daughter. They saw beautiful Princess and ignited with love. Each of them spoke To the king of a good man: "The king is a good man! I have come from far away lands, the farthest kingdom; my father owns an innumerable people, a beautiful land; our towers are high, silver and gold shine in them, multi-colored velvets are cast. Tsar! give me your daughter!" - "Seek her love!" - he answered, and all the princes remained in his palace, drank and ate at the oak table, behind the tablecloth swearing together with king and with Tsarevna. Each of them looked with touching eyes at the beautiful woman, and with his eyes said very clearly: "Princess! love me!" You need to know that lovers in the old days were timid and bashful, like red girls, and did not dare to speak verbally with the mistress of their hearts. In our times they are much bolder, but eloquence of eyes has now lost almost all its power. Admirers beautiful princess They used yet another way of expressing their passion, a way that has also gone out of fashion with us. Namely, every night they went under the window Princess towers, played the banduras and sang in a low voice plaintive songs composed by the poets of their lands; each verse ended with deep sighs, which even a stony heart could touch and soften to tears. When five, six, ten, twenty lovers met there at the same time, then they cast lots on who should sing first, and each in turn began to sing the anguish of the heart; others, clasping their hands, walked up and down and looked at the window Tsarevnino, which, however, was not opened to any of them. Then they all returned to their tents and in a deep sleep they forgot the grief of love. Days, weeks and months passed in this way. Beautiful Princess she glanced at one and the other, at a third and a fourth, but nothing could be seen in her eyes but cold indifference to her suitors, princes and queens. Finally they all started King good man and they unanimously demanded that his beautiful daughter solemnly declare which of them is pleasing to her heart. “We have lived long enough in your stone palace,” they said, “we ate your bread and salt and sweet honey, we emptied more than one barrel; it’s time for us to return to our countries, to our fathers, mothers and sisters. The king is a good man! we want to know which of us will be your son-in-law." Tsar He answered them with these words: “Dear guests! If you lived in my palace for several years, then, of course, you would not bore the owner, but I don’t want to keep you against your will and I’ll go right now to Princess. I can't force her to do anything; but whoever she chooses, he will receive for her the whole kingdom of mine as a dowry and will be my son and heir: ". Tsar went to the tower to his daughter. She sat at the embroidery frame and sewed with gold, but when she saw her parent, she got up and kissed his hand. He sat down beside her and said to her in gentle words: "My dear, sensible daughter, beautiful princess! you know that I have no children but you, the light of my eyes; our race must reign in future ages: it's time for you to think about the bridegroom. The princes have been living with us for a long time and are seduced by your beauty, choose a spouse from them, my daughter, and comfort your father! Princess she sat for a long time in silence, her blue eyes downcast to the ground; at last she lifted them and directed them at her parent, then two brilliant tears rolled down from her scarlet cheeks, like two raindrops, wafted from a rose by a breath of marshmallow. “My dear parent!” she said in a tender voice. only about pleasing my parent. I can’t discredit the princes in any way, but let me, let me stay in my girlish chamber! The king is a good man shed a tear. "I am a tender father, not your tyrant," he answered princess-- prudent parents can to rule the inclinations of their children, but they can neither excite nor change them; so a skillful helmsman steers the ship, but cannot say to the silence: become the wind! or east wind: be Western!" The king is a good man embraced his daughter, went out to the princes and said to them with a sad look and with all possible courtesy that beautiful princess does not want to leave his girlish chamber for any of them. All the princes were despondent, thoughtful, and hung their heads, for each of them hoped to be a husband beautiful princess. One wiped himself with a white handkerchief, the other looked at the ground, the third covered his eyes with his hand, the fourth pinched his dress, the fifth stood leaning against the stove and looked at his nose, like an Indian Brahmin pondering the nature of the human soul, the sixth ... But what at that moment he did the sixth, the seventh and others, about which the annals are silent. Finally, they all sighed—so loudly that the stone walls almost shook—and in a languid voice thanked the host for the treat. In an instant, the white tents in front of the palace disappeared, the princes mounted their horses and sadly rushed at full speed, each on his own way; the dust rose in a column and fell back into place. Everything became quiet and peaceful in the royal palace, and The king is a good man he set about his ordinary business, which was to rule his subjects, as a father rules children, and to spread prosperity in the country subject to him - a difficult task, but holy and pleasant! However, the hospitable man is rarely without guests, and soon after the departure of the princes, a wandering astrologer, gymnosophist, magician, Chaldean, in a high hat, on which the moon and stars were depicted, came to the king, lived with him for several weeks, took him to the table beautiful princess, as a courteous gentleman should, he drank and ate philosophically, that is, for five, and incessantly talked about moderation and abstinence. The king treated him kindly, asked him about the events of the world, about the stars of heaven, about the ores of the underground, about the birds of the air, and found pleasure in his conversation. To the credit of this knight-errant, it must be said that he had many historical, physical and philosophical information, and the human heart was not quite for him gibberish letter, that is, he knew people and often guessed from their eyes their innermost feelings and thoughts. At the present time they would call him - I don’t know what, but in those days they called him a sage. It is true that every new age brings with it a new conception of this word. Gen sage, finally getting ready to ride away good man king said these words to him: "In gratitude for your kindness,-- (and to your good table,- he could have said), - I will reveal to you an important secret, important for your heart. The king is a good man! Nothing is hidden from my wisdom, nor is your daughter's soul hidden from her, beautiful princess. Know that she loves and wants to hide her love. A plant that blooms in darkness vegetates and loses its beauty; love is the color of the soul. I can't say more. I'm sorry!" He shrugged. king hand, went out, sat on a donkey and rode to another land. The king is a good man stood in amazement and did not know what to think about the words of the sages: whether to believe them or not to believe, when suddenly princess, congratulated her father on a good morning and asked if he slept peacefully last night? "Very restless, my dear daughter!" The king is a good man.-- My soul was disturbed by various unpleasant dreams, of which one remained in my memory. It seemed to me that I, along with many people, came to a wild cave in which mortals learned the future. Each of us wanted to ask fate about something; each in turn entered the gloomy grotto, lit by a single lamp, and wrote a question on the wall, a minute later the answer was depicted in the same place in fiery letters. I wanted to know, will I have cute grandchildren soon? and to my horror I saw these words: maybe never. My hand was trembling, but I wrote other questions: Does my daughter have a heart of stone? will she never love? Another reply followed: She already loves, but does not want to reveal her love and collapses in secret. Then tears rolled down from my eyes; my touched heart poured out in tender complaints against you, beautiful princess! What have I done to deserve such insincerity, such incredulity? Will the father be the enemy of his beloved daughter? Can I resist your heartfelt choice, dear Princess? Haven't your desires always been my law? Didn't I rush in my old age for that butterfly that you praised? Didn't I water the flowers that you liked with my own hand? Here Princess she wept, seized her father's hand, kissed it fervently, and said: "Father! father!" She looked into his eyes and went to her chamber. "So the wise man told me the truth," thought The king is a good man She could not hide her inner movement. Cruel! did I think ... And why hide it? Why not say which of the princes captured her heart? Perhaps he is not as rich, not as distinguished as the others; but do I really need wealth and nobility? Have I not enough silver and gold? Will he not be glorified by his wife? We need to find out everything." He at that moment decided to go to beautiful princess, went to the door of her chamber and heard the voice of a man who said: "No, beautiful princess! your father will never agree to recognize me as his son-in-law!" The parent's heart trembled violently. He opened the door ... But what pen will describe his feelings now? Princess who, shedding tears, showered him with passionate kisses! The king was petrified. Beautiful Princess threw herself on her knees before him and said to him in a firm voice: “My parent! Kill me or give me for a dear, dear, priceless Karl! I will never be the wife of another. My soul lives by his soul, my heart by his heart. In life and in death we inseparable." Meanwhile, the karla stood calmly and looked at the king with reverence, but without timidity. The king was motionless and silent for a long time. Finally, exclaiming: "What do I see? What do I hear?" He fell into an armchair. Princess hugged his knees. He looked at her in such a way that the beautiful woman could not bear this look and lowered her eyes to the ground. "You, you..."' His voice trailed off. He looked at Carla, jumped up, slammed the door and left. "How, how could beautiful princess fall in love with a humpbacked dwarf?" the reader will ask, or not ask. The great Shakespeare says that the reason for love happens without a reason: well said for a poet! inclination, apparently incredible. Ancient chronicles, in an explanation of such a moral phenomenon, say the following. The courtier of Karl was an excellently intelligent man. Seeing that his wayward nature had brought him into the world a little freak, he decided to replace bodily shortcomings with spiritual beauties, began to study with the greatest diligence, read ancient and modern authors, and, like the Athenian rhetorician Demosthenes, went to the seashore to speak to the waves of magnificent speeches composed by him.Thus, he soon acquired this great, this precious art, which wins the hearts of people and makes the most insensitive person cry and laugh , that talent and that art with which the Thracian Orpheus captivated animals, and birds, and forests, and stones, and rivers, and winds - - eloquence! Moreover, he had a pleasant voice, played the harp and guitar well, sang touching songs of his own composition and could wonderfully enliven canvas and paper, depicting on them either the heroes of antiquity, or the perfection of female beauty, or crystal streams, overshadowed by tall willows and calling for sweet slumber of a weary shepherd with a shepherdess. Soon the rumor about the merits and talents of the wonderful Karla spread throughout the city and throughout the state. Everyone was looking for his acquaintances: both old and young, both men and women - in a word, the smart dwarf had entered a great fashion. An important service rendered by him to the fatherland ... But this will be discussed elsewhere. When beautiful princess was still no more than ten or twelve years old, the smart Karla went to her in the tower to tell tales about beneficent fairies and evil wizards, under the names of the first he described the holy virtues that make a person happy, under the names of the latter, disastrous vices, which with their poisonous breath turn the blooming valley of life into a vale of darkness and death. Princess she often shed tears, listening to the sorrowful adventures of the amiable princes and princesses, but joy shone on her beautiful face when, having finally overcome the numerous temptations of fate, they enjoyed all the fullness of earthly bliss in the arms of love. Loving the stories of the eloquent dwarf, she inconspicuously fell in love with the narrator, and her penetrating eyes opened in him those touching features of sweet sensitivity that adorned his romantic heroes. Her heart made, so to speak, a tender habit with his heart, from which it had learned to feel. The very appearance of Karla became pleasing to her, for this appearance was in her eyes the image of a beautiful soul; and it soon seemed to the princess that he could not be handsome, who was taller than twenty-five inches and who did not have a hump in front and behind. What belongs to our hero, he, not having blind pride, did not think that Princess she could be captivated by him, and therefore he himself was almost indifferent to her charms, for love is not born without hope. But when, in a moment of lively sympathy, the beautiful woman said to him: “I love you!”, when suddenly a field of such bliss opened up to him, about which he had never dared to dream before, then deep-hidden sparks instantly flared up in his soul. In delight he fell on his knees before Tsarevna and exclaimed in the sweet ecstasy of the heart: you are mine! It is true that he soon came to his senses, remembered her high family, remembered himself and covered his face with his hands, but the Princess kissed him and said: "I'm yours or nobody's!" Maiden shyness did not allow her to open up to her parent in her passion. "This love beautiful princess although to a clever, but ugly dwarf,” says one of the scoffers of that time, “he brings to mind that king of antiquity who fell mortally in love with frog eyes and, having called the wise men of his state, asked them what was most kind? "Blossoming Youth"- answered one after a long reflection; "The beauty",- answered the other; "Science",- answered the third; "Royal Grace" answered the fourth with a low bow, and so on. The king sighed, burst into tears and said: "No, no! Kindest of all-- frog eyes!" Now let's turn to our story. We said that The king is a good man slammed the door and left the princess's chamber, but they did not say where. So, let it be known to readers that he went into his chamber, locked himself there alone, thought, thought, and finally called the carla to him, then beautiful princess, spoke with them for a long time and with fervor, but how and what, history is silent about that. The next day it was announced throughout the city that The king is a good man wants to speak with the people, and the people surrounded the palace on all sides, so that there was nowhere for the apple to fall. The king went out onto the balcony, and when exclamations: "Long live our good sovereign!" fell silent, asked his subjects: "Friends, do you love the Princess?" Thousands of voices answered: "We love beautiful!" Tsar. Would you like her to choose her husband? Thousands of voices. Oh! We wish you heartily! He must be your heir The king is a good man! We will love him as we love you and your daughter. Tsar. But will you be happy with her choice? Thousands of voices. Who is nice princess, he is nice to your subjects too! At that moment the curtain rose on the balcony, beautiful princess in snow-coloured clothes, with loose hair that fluttered like golden linen on her shoulders, she looked like the sun at the crowds of people, and millions of wild people would submit to this look. Karla stood beside her, calmly and majestically looking at the agitated people, tenderly and passionately at Princess. Thousands exclaimed: "Long live the beautiful!" The king, pointing to the carla, said: "Here he is, the one whom Princess she swears to love forever and with whom she wants to unite forever!" Everyone was amazed, then they began to buzz like bumblebees, and said to each other: "Is it possible, is it possible ... Did we hear something? How can this be? She is beautiful, she is the king's daughter, and he is a dwarf, a hunchback, not a king's son!" "I love him",-- said princess, and after these words, Karl seemed to the people almost handsome. "Are you surprised," continued The king is a good man- but that's the way it is. I thought for a long time and finally give my blessing. However, you know that he has merit; you have not forgotten, perhaps, the important service rendered by him to the fatherland. When the barbarians under the command of their gigantic king, like a formidable storm, approached our state; when the sickle fell from the hands of a frightened peasant and the pale shepherd fled in horror from his flock, then the young dwarf, alone and unarmed, with an olive branch appeared in the enemy camp and sang the sweet song of peace; tenderness was depicted on the faces of the barbarians, their king threw the sword from his hand, embraced the singer, took his branch and said: "We are friends!" Then this formidable giant was my peaceful guest, and thousands of him left our country. "What reward you?" I then asked the young Karla. "by your grace" he answered with a smile. Now..." Then all the people exclaimed with one voice: "May he be the husband of the beautiful Princess! May he reign over us!" Solemn music thundered, choirs and hymns thundered, The king is a good man He folded the hands of his lovers, and the marriage took place with all the magnificent rites. Karla lived happily ever after with his beautiful wife. When The king is a good man after an active life, he died a blissful death, that is, he fell asleep, like a weary wanderer falls asleep at the sound of a stream in a green meadow, then his son-in-law, wearing a sapphire-ruby crown and with a golden scepter, sat on a high throne and promised the people to reign with truth. He fulfilled his vow, and impartial history called him one of the best rulers on earth. His children were beautiful, like a mother, and intelligent, like a parent.
NOTES
N. M. Karamzin was born in 1766 near Buzuluk in the family of a Simbirsk middle-class nobleman. He studied in private boarding schools in Simbirsk and Moscow. In 1802, Karamzin founded the journal Vestnik Evropy; in 1818 he was elected a member of the Russian Academy. Karamzin is the largest representative of Russian sentimentalism, who influenced the development of the Russian literary language. Acting as a poet, prose writer and critic, he played a significant role in the preparation of the classical period of Russian literature. In the 19th century, together with Derzhavin and Zhukovsky, he was one of the national classics - Pushkin's predecessors. Karamzin gained enormous fame, already in his lifetime, as the greatest historian of the entire 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. In his twelve-volume "History of the Russian State", as Pushkin aptly put it, "ancient Russia seemed to be found by Karamzin as America by Columbus." The fairy tale "The Beautiful Princess and the Happy Charles" is printed according to the ed.: Karamzin N. M. Notes of an Old Moscow Resident.-- M., 1986.
O you ugly sons of mankind, ugly creations of a playful nature! you, who in no way can serve as a model for the artist when he wants to represent the elegance of the human form! you who complain about nature and say that she has not given you ways to please and has blocked for you the source of the sweetest pleasure in life - the source of love! do not despair, my friends, and believe that you can still be amiable and loved, that the helpful Zephyrs today or tomorrow can bring you some lovely Psysha, who will rush into your arms with delight and say that there is nothing sweeter than you on earth. light. Listen to the next story.
In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived The king is a good man father of a single daughter, a beautiful princess, dear to the heart of a parent, lovable to every sensitive heart, rare, incomparable. When The king is a good man dressed in rich scarlet, crowned with a ruby-sapphire crown, he sat on a high throne among the multitude of people and, holding a golden scepter in his right hand, judged his subjects with truth; when, sighing from the depths of his heart, he pronounced the sentence of due punishment, then appeared beautiful princess, she looked directly into the eyes of her parent, raised her white hand, extended it to the judge, and the cloudy face of justice suddenly lit up with the sun of mercy, the guilty, saved by her, swore in his soul to be from that time a good subject of the good king. Did the poor man approach Princess? she helped him; did the sad one shed tears? she consoled him. All the orphans in the spacious area good man king they called her mother, and even those whom nature itself oppressed, the unfortunate, deprived of health, were relieved by her healing hand, for Princess she knew perfectly the science of healing, the secret powers of herbs and minerals, the growth of heaven and the springs of the underground. Such was the soul Princess. Her bodily beauty was described by all the poets of those times as the best work of skillful nature, and the poets were then not such flatterers as they are now; they did not call black white, dwarfs a giant and ugliness an example of harmony. In an ancient book depository I managed to find one of these descriptions; Here is the correct translation of it:
“Not so pleasant is the full moon rising in the sky between countless stars, as our dear princess, walking through the green meadows with her girlfriends; the rays of the bright moon do not shine so beautifully, silvering the wavy edges of the gray clouds of the night, as the golden hair on her shoulders shines; she walks like a proud swan, like a beloved daughter of heaven; ethereal azure, on which the star of love shines, the evening star, is the image of her incomparable eyes, thin eyebrows, like rainbows, bend over them, her cheeks are like white lilies, when the morning dawn paints them with its scarlet color; when tender lips are opened beautiful princess, two rows of the purest pearls tempt the eye; two mounds, covered with eternal mist… But who can describe all her beauties?”
The winged goddess, called Glory, was in those days just as talkative as she is now. Flying across the sunflower, she told wonders about beautiful princess and couldn't talk about it. From far away, princes came to see her beauty, pitched high tents in front of the stone palace good man king and came to him with a bow. He knew the reason for their visit and rejoiced heartily, wishing a worthy husband for his dear daughter. They saw beautiful Princess and ignited with love. Each of them spoke To the king of a good man: “The king is a good man! I have come from far away lands, the farthest kingdom; my father owns an innumerable people, a beautiful land; our towers are high, silver and gold shine in them, multi-colored velvets are cast. Tsar! give me your daughter!” “Seek her love!” - he answered, and all the princes remained in his palace, drank and ate at the oak table, behind the tablecloth swearing together with king and with Tsarevna. Each of them looked with touching eyes at the beautiful woman, and with his eyes said very clearly: “Princess! Love me!" You need to know that lovers in the old days were timid and bashful, like red girls, and did not dare to speak verbally with the mistress of their hearts. In our times they are much bolder, but eloquence of eyes has now lost almost all its power. Admirers beautiful princess They used yet another way of expressing their passion, a way that has also gone out of fashion with us. Namely, every night they went under the window Princess towers, played the banduras and sang in a low voice plaintive songs composed by the poets of their lands; each verse ended with deep sighs, which even a stony heart could touch and soften to tears. When five, six, ten, twenty lovers met there at the same time, then they cast lots on who should sing first, and each in turn began to sing the anguish of the heart; others, clasping their hands, walked up and down and looked at the window Tsarevnino, which, however, was not opened to any of them. Then they all returned to their tents and in a deep sleep they forgot the grief of love.
Days, weeks and months passed in this way. Beautiful Princess she glanced at one and the other, at a third and a fourth, but nothing could be seen in her eyes but cold indifference to her suitors, princes and queens. Finally they all started King good man and they unanimously demanded that his beautiful daughter solemnly declare which of them is pleasing to her heart. “We have lived long enough in your stone palace,” they said, “we ate your bread and salt and emptied more than one barrel of sweet honey; time to return to our countries, to our fathers, mothers and sisters. The king is a good man! we want to know which of us will be your son-in-law.” Tsar answered them with these words: “Dear guests! if you had lived in my palace for several years, then, of course, you would not have bored the owner, but I don’t want to keep you against your will and I’ll go right now to Princess. I can't force her to do anything; but whoever she chooses, he will receive for her the whole kingdom of mine as a dowry and will be my son and heir: ". Tsar went to the tower to his daughter. She sat at the embroidery frame and sewed with gold, but when she saw her parent, she got up and kissed his hand. He sat down beside her and said to her in gentle words: “My dear, sensible daughter, beautiful princess! you know that I have no children but you, the light of my eyes; our race must reign in future ages: it's time for you to think about the bridegroom. The princes have been living with us for a long time and are seduced by your beauty, choose a spouse from them, my daughter, and console your father! Princess she sat for a long time in silence, her blue eyes downcast to the ground; at last she lifted them and directed them at her parent, then two brilliant tears rolled down from her scarlet cheeks, like two raindrops, wafted from a rose by a breath of marshmallow. “My dear parent! she said in a gentle voice. - I will have time to grieve married. Oh! and birds love freedom, but a married woman does not have it. Now I live and rejoice; I have no worries, no sorrow; I only think about pleasing my parent. I can’t discredit the princes in any way, but let me, let me stay in my girlish chamber!” The king is a good man shed a tear. “I am a gentle father, not your tyrant,” he answered princess, - prudent parents can to rule the inclinations of their children, but they can neither excite nor change them; so a skillful helmsman steers the ship, but cannot say to the silence: become the wind! or east wind: be Western! The king is a good man embraced his daughter, went out to the princes and said to them with a sad look and with all possible courtesy that beautiful princess does not want to leave his girlish chamber for any of them. All the princes were despondent, thoughtful, and hung their heads, for each of them hoped to be a husband beautiful princess. One wiped himself with a white handkerchief, the other looked at the ground, the third covered his eyes with his hand, the fourth pinched his dress, the fifth stood leaning against the stove and looked at his nose, like an Indian Brahmin pondering the nature of the human soul, the sixth ... the sixth, the seventh and others did the minute, the annals are silent about that. Finally, they all sighed so hard that the stone walls almost shook, and in a languid voice thanked the host for the treat. In an instant, the white tents in front of the palace disappeared, the princes mounted their horses and sadly rushed at full speed, each on his own way; the dust rose in a column and fell back into place.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin
Beautiful princess and happy carla
An old fairy tale, or a new caricature
O you ugly sons of mankind, ugly creations of a playful nature! you, who in no way can serve as a model for the artist when he wants to represent the elegance of the human form! you who complain about nature and say that she has not given you ways to please and has blocked for you the source of the sweetest pleasure in life - the source of love! do not despair, my friends, and believe that you can still be amiable and loved, that the helpful Zephyrs today or tomorrow can bring you some lovely Psysha, who will rush into your arms with delight and say that there is nothing sweeter than you on earth. light. Listen to the next story.
In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived The king is a good man father of a single daughter, a beautiful princess, dear to the heart of a parent, lovable to every sensitive heart, rare, incomparable. When The king is a good man dressed in rich scarlet, crowned with a ruby-sapphire crown, he sat on a high throne among the multitude of people and, holding a golden scepter in his right hand, judged his subjects with truth; when, sighing from the depths of his heart, he pronounced the sentence of due punishment, then appeared beautiful princess, she looked directly into the eyes of her parent, raised her white hand, extended it to the judge, and the cloudy face of justice suddenly lit up with the sun of mercy, the guilty, saved by her, swore in his soul to be from that time a good subject of the good king. Did the poor man approach Princess? she helped him; did the sad one shed tears? she consoled him. All the orphans in the spacious area good man king they called her mother, and even those whom nature itself oppressed, the unfortunate, deprived of health, were relieved by her healing hand, for Princess she knew perfectly the science of healing, the secret powers of herbs and minerals, the growth of heaven and the springs of the underground. Such was the soul Princess. Her bodily beauty was described by all the poets of those times as the best work of skillful nature, and the poets were then not such flatterers as they are now; they did not call black white, dwarfs a giant and ugliness an example of harmony. In an ancient book depository I managed to find one of these descriptions; Here is the correct translation of it:
“Not so pleasant is the full moon rising in the sky between countless stars, as our dear princess, walking through the green meadows with her girlfriends; the rays of the bright moon do not shine so beautifully, silvering the wavy edges of the gray clouds of the night, as the golden hair on her shoulders shines; she walks like a proud swan, like a beloved daughter of heaven; ethereal azure, on which the star of love shines, the evening star, is the image of her incomparable eyes, thin eyebrows, like rainbows, bend over them, her cheeks are like white lilies, when the morning dawn paints them with its scarlet color; when tender lips are opened beautiful princess, two rows of the purest pearls tempt the eye; two mounds, covered with eternal mist… But who can describe all her beauties?”
The winged goddess, called Glory, was in those days just as talkative as she is now. Flying across the sunflower, she told wonders about beautiful princess and couldn't talk about it. From far away, princes came to see her beauty, pitched high tents in front of the stone palace good man king and came to him with a bow. He knew the reason for their visit and rejoiced heartily, wishing a worthy husband for his dear daughter. They saw beautiful Princess and ignited with love. Each of them spoke To the king of a good man: “The king is a good man! I have come from far away lands, the farthest kingdom; my father owns an innumerable people, a beautiful land; our towers are high, silver and gold shine in them, multi-colored velvets are cast. Tsar! give me your daughter!” “Seek her love!” - he answered, and all the princes remained in his palace, drank and ate at the oak table, behind the tablecloth swearing together with king and with Tsarevna. Each of them looked with touching eyes at the beautiful woman, and with his eyes said very clearly: “Princess! Love me!" You need to know that lovers in the old days were timid and bashful, like red girls, and did not dare to speak verbally with the mistress of their hearts. In our times they are much bolder, but eloquence of eyes has now lost almost all its power. Admirers beautiful princess They used yet another way of expressing their passion, a way that has also gone out of fashion with us. Namely, every night they went under the window Princess towers, played the banduras and sang in a low voice plaintive songs composed by the poets of their lands; each verse ended with deep sighs, which even a stony heart could touch and soften to tears. When five, six, ten, twenty lovers met there at the same time, then they cast lots on who should sing first, and each in turn began to sing the anguish of the heart; others, clasping their hands, walked up and down and looked at the window Tsarevnino, which, however, was not opened to any of them. Then they all returned to their tents and in a deep sleep they forgot the grief of love.
Days, weeks and months passed in this way. Beautiful Princess she glanced at one and the other, at a third and a fourth, but nothing could be seen in her eyes but cold indifference to her suitors, princes and queens. Finally they all started King good man and they unanimously demanded that his beautiful daughter solemnly declare which of them is pleasing to her heart. “We have lived long enough in your stone palace,” they said, “we ate your bread and salt and emptied more than one barrel of sweet honey; time to return to our countries, to our fathers, mothers and sisters. The king is a good man! we want to know which of us will be your son-in-law.” Tsar answered them with these words: “Dear guests! if you had lived in my palace for several years, then, of course, you would not have bored the owner, but I don’t want to keep you against your will and I’ll go right now to Princess. I can't force her to do anything; but whoever she chooses, he will receive for her the whole kingdom of mine as a dowry and will be my son and heir: ". Tsar went to the tower to his daughter. She sat at the embroidery frame and sewed with gold, but when she saw her parent, she got up and kissed his hand. He sat down beside her and said to her in gentle words: “My dear, sensible daughter, beautiful princess! you know that I have no children but you, the light of my eyes; our race must reign in future ages: it's time for you to think about the bridegroom. The princes have been living with us for a long time and are seduced by your beauty, choose a spouse from them, my daughter, and console your father! Princess she sat for a long time in silence, her blue eyes downcast to the ground; at last she lifted them and directed them at her parent, then two brilliant tears rolled down from her scarlet cheeks, like two raindrops, wafted from a rose by a breath of marshmallow. “My dear parent! she said in a gentle voice. - I will have time to grieve married. Oh! and birds love freedom, but a married woman does not have it. Now I live and rejoice; I have no worries, no sorrow; I only think about pleasing my parent. I can’t discredit the princes in any way, but let me, let me stay in my girlish chamber!” The king is a good man shed a tear. “I am a gentle father, not your tyrant,” he answered princess, - prudent parents can to rule the inclinations of their children, but they can neither excite nor change them; so a skillful helmsman steers the ship, but cannot say to the silence: become the wind! or east wind: be Western! The king is a good man embraced his daughter, went out to the princes and said to them with a sad look and with all possible courtesy that beautiful princess does not want to leave his girlish chamber for any of them. All the princes were despondent, thoughtful, and hung their heads, for each of them hoped to be a husband beautiful princess. One wiped himself with a white handkerchief, the other looked at the ground, the third covered his eyes with his hand, the fourth pinched his dress, the fifth stood leaning against the stove and looked at his nose, like an Indian Brahmin pondering the nature of the human soul, the sixth ... the sixth, the seventh and others did the minute, the annals are silent about that. Finally, they all sighed so hard that the stone walls almost shook, and in a languid voice thanked the host for the treat. In an instant, the white tents in front of the palace disappeared, the princes mounted their horses and sadly rushed at full speed, each on his own way; the dust rose in a column and fell back into place.
