Reading the work is a flint. Flint - Hans Christian Andersen. The Elephant and the Ant

On September 2, 1805, in the small Danish town of Odense on the island of Funen, a son, Hans Christian, was born into a shoemaker's family. A wild, inexhaustible imagination is, perhaps, the only thing that distinguished little Andersen from his peers. She was the one for the boy with a magic wand, at the wave of which the walls of a cramped, wretched closet moved apart, and a box of soil on the gutter under the window, where onions and parsley grew, turned into a blooming, fragrant garden. Perhaps, thanks to the boy’s indefatigable imagination, theater becomes his strongest hobby. Having no money for a ticket, Hans was most often content with a theater poster, which he received from a peddler as a reward for his help.

At home, huddled in a corner, the boy would open it, and a performance created by his imagination would begin.

Playing his own theater was not limited to theater posters; Hans also had his own puppet theater, which his father made for him. The love for the theater turned out to be so powerful that fourteen-year-old Andersen, only in order to watch the performances of the capital's Royal Theater, decides to leave his hometown. Without money, without recommendations, Andersen arrived in Copenhagen on September 6, 1819.

As soon as Hans found himself in the capital, he immediately rushed to the square where the Royal Theater building was located. Having run around it several times, Andersen, enchanted, stood for a long time at the doors of the theater, as if expecting a miracle.

But the miracle did not happen today, nor tomorrow, nor in a month. Quite the contrary. From the heavens of his fantasy, the young man descended to earth. Time passed, and Andersen had neither a profession nor a job. They didn’t take him to the theater. But Andersen did not lose heart.

He decided to become a playwright. Working astonishingly quickly, he wrote three plays in one year. The theater management returned them back “due to the complete illiteracy” of the author. Yes, seventeen-year-old Andersen, although he studied at a school for the poor and read a lot of books, did not know the basic rules of grammar.

Andersen was twenty-four years old. The only source The pen became his source of income. Andersen translates plays, writes opera librettos, and poems. In 1829, using his own hard-earned money, he published his first book. And in 1931, Andersen left Denmark, discovering another passion in himself - the passion for travel. England, Germany, Italy, Greece, France, Sweden. A short respite at home, and then back on the road.

Andersen's fame as a writer grew every year. Among Andersen's friends are the English novelist Dickens, the German poet Heine, the Norwegian playwright Bjornson, the German composer Mendelssohn, and the Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen.

But no matter what Andersen wrote - poems, novels, travel essays or plays - nothing could compare with his fairy tales. In them he found his true recognition. That's when his wonderful gift - imagination - came in handy. “It often seems to me that every fence, every flower tells me: “Look at me, and you will have a fairy tale about me.” Andersen only had to look at an old street lamp, a piece of glass, ordinary scissors, or admire a modest daisy - and stories were born, one more amazing than the other. A story about a simple piece of wood floating in a street ditch could tell about joyful and sad, funny and touching.

The heroes of Andersen's fairy tales are people, animals, toys and the most inconspicuous things. Sometimes they found themselves taking part in fantastic adventures. More often than not, their life was ordinary, familiar. And they lived not in a fairy-tale, imaginary country, but in houses with peaked roofs, which still stand on the streets of Andersen’s native Copenhagen.

The tales of the great storyteller do not always have happy, prosperous endings, and sometimes even the “galoshes of happiness” cannot help. But Andersen’s modest heroes, even when dying, win victories over hypocrisy, meanness and envy. Sensitive to everything good and beautiful, Andersen became merciless, ridiculing and condemning anger and cruelty, arrogance and talkativeness, spiritual emptiness and uselessness.

Today you will hear one of Andersen's first fairy tales - “Flint” (1835) - a magical story about how a daring soldier became a king.
T. Pavlova

A soldier was walking along the road: one-two! one-two! A satchel behind his back, a saber at his side; he was on his way home from the war. On the road he met an old witch - ugly, disgusting: underlip hung right up to her chest.

Hello, serviceman! - she said. - What a nice saber you have! And what a big backpack! What a brave soldier! Well, now you will get as much money as your heart desires.

Thank you, old witch! - said the soldier.

See that old tree over there? - said the witch, pointing to a tree that stood nearby. - It's empty inside. Climb up, there will be a hollow there, and you go down into it, to the very bottom! Before that, I will tie a rope around your waist, you shout to me, and I will pull you out.

Why should I go there? - asked the soldier.

For the money! - said the witch. - Know that when you get to the very bottom, you will see a large underground passage; There are more than a hundred lamps burning in it, and it is completely light there. You will see three doors; You can open them, the keys are sticking out. Enter the first room; in the middle of the room you will see a large chest, and on it a dog: her eyes are like tea cups! But don't be afraid! I will give you my blue checkered apron, spread it on the floor, and quickly come up and grab the dog, put it on the apron, open the chest and take as much money from it as you can. There are only coppers in this chest; if you want silver, go to another room; there sits a dog with eyes like mill wheels! But don’t be scared: put her on the apron and take the money for yourself. If you want, you can get as much gold as you can carry; just go to the third room. But the dog that sits there on the wooden chest has eyes - each with a round tower (“Round Tower” - “Rundetaarn” is one of the most tall buildings Copenhagen and plays among the Danes, in the sense of comparison, the same role as in our country, for example, “Ivan the Great”. Note transl.). This is a dog! Feisty-disgusting! But don’t be afraid of her: put her on my apron, and she won’t touch you, and you take as much gold as you want!

It wouldn't be bad! - said the soldier. - But what will you take from me for this, old witch? Is there anything you need from me?

I won't take a penny from you! - said the witch. - Just bring me an old flint; my grandmother forgot it there when she came down for the last time.

Well, tie a rope around me! - ordered the soldier.

Ready! - said the witch. - And here is my blue checkered apron!

The soldier climbed the tree, went down into the hollow and found himself, as the witch said, in a large passage where hundreds of lamps were burning.

So he opened the first door. Oh! There sat a dog with eyes like teacups, staring at the soldier.

Well done! - said the soldier, put the dog on the witch’s apron and filled his pocket full of copper money, then closed the chest, put the dog on it again and went into another room. Ay-ay! There sat a dog with eyes like mill wheels.

You shouldn't stare at me, your eyes will hurt! - said the soldier and put the dog on the witch’s apron. Seeing a huge pile of silver in the chest, he threw out all the coppers and filled both pockets and the backpack with silver. Then the soldier went to the third room. Wow, you're abyss! This dog had eyes like two round towers and spun like wheels.

My regards! - said the soldier and lifted his visor. He had never seen such a dog before.

However, he did not look at her for a long time, but took her and sat her on the apron and opened the chest. Fathers! How much gold was there! He could buy all of Copenhagen with it, all the sugar pigs from the sweets merchant, all the tin soldiers, all the wooden horses and all the whips in the world! There would be enough for everything! The soldier threw the silver money out of his pockets and backpack and filled his pockets, backpack, hat and boots with gold so much that he could barely move. Well, finally he had money! He put the dog on the chest again, then slammed the door, raised his head and shouted:

Drag me, old witch!

Did you take the flint? - asked the witch.

Oh damn, I almost forgot! - said the soldier, went and took the flint.

The witch pulled him up, and he again found himself on the road, only now his pockets, boots, knapsack, and cap were filled with gold.

Why do you need this flint? - asked the soldier.

None of your business! - answered the witch. - I got the money, and that's enough for you! Well, give me the flint!

No matter how it is! - said the soldier. “Now tell me why you need it, otherwise I’ll pull out my saber and cut off your head.”

I will not say! - the witch stubbornly resisted.

The soldier took and cut off her head. The witch fell down dead, and he tied all the money in her apron, put the bundle on his back, put the flint in his pocket and walked straight into the city.

The city was wonderful; the soldier stopped at the most expensive inn, occupied the best rooms and demanded all his favorite dishes - now he was a rich man!

The servant who cleaned the visitors' shoes was surprised that such a rich gentleman had such bad boots, but the soldier had not yet had time to get new ones. But the next day he bought himself good boots and a rich dress. Now the soldier became a real master, and he was told about all the miracles that were here in the city, and about the king, and about his lovely daughter, the princess.

How can I see her? - asked the soldier.

This is absolutely impossible! - they told him. - She lives in a huge copper castle, behind high walls with towers. No one except the king himself dares to enter or leave there, because the king was predicted that his daughter would marry a simple soldier, and kings do not like this!

“I wish I could look at her!” - thought the soldier.

Who would let him?!

Now he lived a happy life: he went to the theaters, went for rides in the royal garden and helped the poor a lot. And he did well: he knew from his own experience how bad it was to be penniless! Now he was rich, dressed beautifully and made a lot of friends; they all called him a nice fellow, a real gentleman, and he liked it very much. So he spent and spent money, but again there was nowhere to take it from, and in the end he only had two money left! I had to move from good rooms to a tiny closet under the very roof, clean my own boots and even patch them; none of his friends visited him - it was too high to climb to him!

One evening, a soldier was sitting in his closet; It was already completely dark, and he had no money for a candle; he remembered about the small cinder in the flint, which he took into the dungeon where the witch had lowered him. The soldier took out a flint and cinder, but as soon as he hit the flint, the door swung open, and in front of him was a dog with eyes like teacups, the same one he had seen in the dungeon.

Anything, sir? - she barked.

That's the story! - said the soldier. - Flint, it turns out, is a curious little thing: I can get whatever I want! Hey, get me some money! - he said to the dog. One - there’s no trace of her, two - she’s right there again, and in her teeth she has a large purse filled with copper! Then the soldier realized what a wonderful flint he had. If you hit the flint once, a dog appears that was sitting on a chest with copper money; if you hit two, the one who was sitting on the silver appears; if you hit three, the dog that was sitting on the gold comes running.

The soldier again moved to good rooms, began to walk around in a smart dress, and all his friends immediately recognized him and loved him terribly.

So it occurs to him: “How stupid it is that you can’t see the princess. She’s such a beauty, they say, but what’s the point? After all, she sits all her life in a copper castle, behind high walls with towers. Will I really never be able to look at her with at least one eye? Come on, where’s my flint?” And he hit the flint once - at the same moment a dog with eyes like teacups stood in front of him.

Now, however, it’s already night,” said the soldier. - But I was dying to see the princess, at least for one minute!

The dog was immediately out the door, and before the soldier had time to come to his senses, she appeared with the princess. The princess sat on the dog's back and slept. She was amazingly good; everyone would immediately see that this was a real princess, and the soldier could not resist and kissed her - he was a brave warrior, a real soldier.

The dog carried the princess back, and over morning tea the princess told the king and queen about the amazing dream she had last night about a dog and a soldier: as if she was riding a dog, and the soldier kissed her.

That's the story! - said the queen.

And the next night, an old lady-in-waiting was assigned to the princess’s bedside - she had to find out whether it was really a dream or something else.

And the soldier was again dying to see the lovely princess. And then at night the dog appeared again, grabbed the princess and ran off with her at full speed, but the old lady-in-waiting put on waterproof boots and set off in pursuit. Seeing that the dog had disappeared with the princess in one big house, the maid of honor thought: “Now I know where to find them!” - She took a piece of chalk, put a cross on the gate of the house and went home to sleep. But the dog, when he carried the princess back, saw this cross, also took a piece of chalk and put crosses on all the gates in the city. This was cleverly thought out: now the maid of honor could not find the right gate - there were white crosses everywhere.

Early in the morning the king and queen, the old lady-in-waiting and all the officers went to see where the princess had gone at night.

That's where! - said the king, seeing the first gate with a cross.

No, that's where it goes, hubby! - the queen objected, noticing the cross on the other gate.

Yes, the cross is here too! - others made a noise, seeing crosses on all the gates. Then everyone realized that they would not achieve any sense.

But the queen was a smart woman, she knew how not only to drive around in carriages. She took large golden scissors, cut a piece of silk fabric into shreds, sewed a tiny pretty bag, poured small buckwheat into it, tied it on the princess’s back and then cut a hole in the bag so that the cereal could fall onto the road along which the princess was driving.

The dog did not even notice that cereals were falling after her all along the road, from the palace itself to the soldier’s window, where she jumped with the princess. In the morning, the king and queen immediately found out where the princess had gone, and the soldier was sent to prison.

How dark and boring it was there! They put him there and said: “Tomorrow morning you will be hanged!” It was very sad to hear this, and he forgot his flint at home, in the inn.

In the morning, the soldier went to the small window and began to look through the iron bars onto the street: people were pouring out of the city in crowds to watch how the soldier would be hanged; Drums beat, regiments passed by. Everyone was in a hurry, running. A boy shoemaker in a leather apron and shoes was also running. He was skipping along, and one shoe flew off his foot and hit right against the wall where the soldier stood and looked out the window.

Hey, what's your hurry! - the soldier said to the boy. - It won’t work without me! But if you run to where I lived, for my flint, you will receive four coins. Only alive!

The boy was not averse to receiving four coins, he took off like an arrow for the flint, gave it to the soldier and... Now let's listen!

A huge gallows was built outside the city, with soldiers and hundreds of thousands of people standing around. The king and queen sat on a luxurious throne directly opposite the judges and the entire royal council.

The soldier was already standing on the stairs, and they were going to throw a rope around his neck, but he said that before executing a criminal, they always fulfill some of his wishes. And he would really like to smoke a pipe - this will be his last pipe in this world!

The king did not dare refuse this request, and the soldier pulled out his flint. He hit the flint once, twice, three times - and all three dogs appeared before him: a dog with eyes like tea cups, a dog with eyes like mill wheels, and a dog with eyes like a round tower.

Come on, help me get rid of the noose! - ordered the soldier.

And the dogs rushed at the judges and the entire royal council: one by the legs, another by the nose and up several fathoms, and they all fell and were smashed to pieces!

No need! - the king shouted, but the most big dog she grabbed him and the queen and threw them up after the others. Then the soldiers got scared, and all the people shouted:

Servant, be our king and take the beautiful princess for you!

The soldier was placed in the royal carriage, and all three dogs danced in front of it and shouted “hurray.” The boys whistled with their fingers in their mouths, and the soldiers saluted. The princess left her copper castle and became queen, with which she was very pleased. The wedding feast lasted a whole week; The dogs also sat at the table and stared.

Illustrations: Vilhelm Pedersen

A soldier was walking along the road: one-two! one-two! A satchel behind his back, a saber at his side; he was walking home from the war. On the road he met an old witch - ugly, disgusting: her lower lip hung down to her chest.

- Hello, serviceman! - she said. - What a nice saber you have! And what a big backpack! What a brave soldier! Well, now you will get as much money as your heart desires.

- Thank you, old witch! - said the soldier.

— Do you see that old tree over there? - said the witch, pointing to a tree that stood nearby. - It's empty inside. Climb up, there will be a hollow there, and you go down into it, to the very bottom! But before that, I will tie a rope around your waist, you shout to me, and I will pull you out.

- Why should I go there? - asked the soldier.

- For money! - said the witch. - Know that when you get to the very bottom, you will see a large underground passage; There are more than a hundred lamps burning in it, and it is completely light there. You will see three doors; You can open them, the keys are sticking out. Enter the first room; in the middle of the room you will see a large chest, and on it a dog: her eyes are like tea cups! But don't be afraid! I will give you my blue checkered apron, spread it on the floor, and quickly come up and grab the dog, put it on the apron, open the chest and take as much money from it as you can. There are only coppers in this chest; if you want silver, go to another room; there sits a dog with eyes like mill wheels! But don’t be scared: put her on the apron and take the money for yourself. If you want, you can get as much gold as you can carry; just go to the third room. But the dog that sits there on the wooden chest has eyes - each one as big as a round tower. This is a dog! Feisty-disgusting! But don’t be afraid of her: put her on my apron, and she won’t touch you, and you take as much gold as you want!

- It wouldn’t be bad! - said the soldier. “But what will you take from me for this, old witch?” Is there anything you need from me?

- I won’t take a penny from you! - said the witch. “Just bring me an old flint; my grandmother left it there when she came down for the last time.”

- Well, tie a rope around me! - the soldier ordered.

- Ready! - said the witch. - And here is my blue checkered apron! The soldier climbed the tree, went down into the hollow and found himself as she said

witch, in a large passage where hundreds of lamps were burning.

So he opened the first door. Oh! There sat a dog with eyes like teacups, staring at the soldier.

- Well done! - said the soldier, put the dog on the witch’s apron and filled his pocket full of copper money, then closed the chest, put the dog on it again and went into another room. Ay-ay! There sat a dog with eyes like mill wheels.

“You shouldn’t stare at me, your eyes will hurt!” - said the soldier and put the dog on the witch’s apron. Seeing a huge pile of silver in the chest, he threw out all the coppers and filled both pockets and the backpack with silver. The soldier then went into the third room. Wow, you're abyss! This dog had eyes like two round towers and spun like wheels.

- My regards! - said the soldier and lifted his visor. He had never seen such a dog before.

- Pull me, old witch!

— Did you take the flint? - asked the witch.

- Oh damn, I almost forgot! - said the soldier, went and took the flint.

The witch pulled him up, and he again found himself on the road, only now his pockets, boots, knapsack, and cap were filled with gold.

- Why do you need this flint? - asked the soldier.

- None of your business! - answered the witch. - I got the money, and that's enough for you! Well, give me the flint!

- No matter how it is! - said the soldier. “Now tell me why you need it, otherwise I’ll pull out my saber and cut off your head.”

- I will not say! - the witch insisted.

The soldier took and cut off her head. The witch fell down dead, and he tied all the money in her apron, put the bundle on his back, put the flint in his pocket and walked straight into the city.

The city was wonderful; the soldier stopped at the most expensive inn, occupied the best rooms and demanded all his favorite dishes - now he was a rich man!

The servant who cleaned the visitors' shoes was surprised that such a rich gentleman had such bad boots, but the soldier had not yet had time to acquire new ones. But the next day he bought himself good boots and a rich dress. Now the soldier became a real master, and he was told about all the miracles that were here in the city, and about the king, and about his lovely daughter, the princess.

- How can I see her? - asked the soldier.

- This is absolutely impossible! - they told him. “She lives in a huge copper castle, behind high walls with towers. No one except the king himself dares to enter or leave there, because the king was predicted that his daughter would marry a simple soldier, and kings do not like this!

“I wish I could look at her!” - thought the soldier.

Who would let him?!

One evening, a soldier was sitting in his closet; It was already completely dark, and I remembered about the small cinder in the flint, which I took into the dungeon, where the witch lowered it. The soldier took out a flint and cinder, but as soon as he hit the flint, the door swung open, and in front of him was a dog with eyes like teacups, the same one he had seen in the dungeon.

- Anything, sir? she barked.

- That's the story! - said the soldier. - It turns out that flint is a curious little thing: I can get whatever I want! Hey, get me some money! - he said to the dog. One - there’s no trace of her, two - she’s right there again, and in her teeth she has a large purse filled with copper! Then the soldier realized what a wonderful flint he had. If you hit the flint once, a dog appears that was sitting on a chest with copper money; if you hit two, the one who was sitting on the silver appears; if you hit three, the dog that was sitting on the gold comes running.

The soldier again moved into good rooms, began to walk around in a smart dress, and all his friends immediately recognized him and fell in love with him terribly.

So it comes to his mind: “How stupid it is that you can’t see the princess. She’s such a beauty, they say, but what’s the point? After all, she’s been sitting all her life in a copper castle, behind high walls with towers. Am I really never going to be able to look at her?” at least with one eye? Come on, where is my flint?" And he hit the flint once - at the same moment a dog with eyes like teacups stood in front of him.

“Now, really, it’s already night,” said the soldier. “But I was dying to see the princess, at least for one minute!”

The dog was immediately out the door, and before the soldier had time to come to his senses, she appeared with the princess. The princess sat on the dog's back and slept. She was amazingly good; everyone would have immediately seen that this was a real princess, and the soldier could not resist kissing her - he was a brave warrior, a real soldier.

- That's the story! - said the queen.

And the next night, an old lady-in-waiting was assigned to the princess’s bedside - she was supposed to find out whether it was really a dream or something else.

And the soldier was again dying to see the lovely princess. And then at night the dog appeared again, grabbed the princess and ran off with her at full speed, but the old lady-in-waiting put on waterproof boots and set off in pursuit. Seeing that the dog had disappeared with the princess in one big house, the maid of honor thought: “Now I know where to find them!” She took a piece of chalk, put a cross on the gate of the house and went home to sleep. But the dog, when he carried the princess back, saw this cross, also took a piece of chalk and put crosses on all the gates in the city. This was cleverly thought out: now the maid of honor could not find the right gate - there were white crosses everywhere.

Early in the morning the king and queen, the old lady-in-waiting and all the officers went to see where the princess had gone at night.

- That's where! - said the king, seeing the first gate with a cross.

- No, that's where it goes, hubby! - the queen objected, noticing the cross on the other gate.

- Yes, the cross is here too! - others made a noise, seeing crosses on all the gates. Then everyone realized that they would not achieve any sense.

At night the dog appeared again, put the princess on her back and carried her to the soldier; The soldier fell in love with the princess so much that he began to regret why he was not a prince - he so wanted to marry her. The dog did not even notice that cereals were falling after her all along the road, from the palace itself to the soldier’s window, where she jumped with the princess. In the morning, the king and queen immediately found out where the princess had gone, and the soldier was sent to prison.

How dark and boring it was there! They put him there and said: “Tomorrow morning you will be hanged!” It was very sad to hear this, and he forgot his flint at home, in the inn.

- Hey, what's your hurry! - the soldier said to the boy. “The whole thing won’t get done without me!” But if you run to where I lived, for my flint, you will receive four coins. Only alive!

The boy was not averse to receiving four coins, he took off like an arrow for the flint, gave it to the soldier and... Now let's listen!

The king did not dare refuse this request, and the soldier pulled out his flint. He hit the flint once, twice, three times - and all three dogs appeared before him: a dog with eyes like teacups, a dog with eyes like mill wheels, and a dog with eyes like a round tower.

- Well, help me get rid of the noose! - the soldier ordered.

And the dogs rushed at the judges and the entire royal council: one by the legs, another by the nose and up several fathoms, and they all fell and were smashed to pieces!

- No need! - the king shouted, but the largest dog grabbed him and the queen and threw them up after the others. Then the soldiers got scared, and all the people shouted:

- Servant, be our king and marry the beautiful princess!

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

Plot

A soldier was returning from the war. On the way I met an ugly old woman (witch). The witch asked the soldier to climb into the hollow of an old tree and promised that he would find a lot of money there that he could take for himself. But only the money is in three chests, each of which is in a separate room. On each of the chests sits a dog, each more terrifying than the other. The first has eyes like tea cups, the second - like mill wheels, and the third, the most terrible, has each eye as big as a Round Tower. And the witch told the soldier how to deal with the dogs so that they would not cause harm. And for herself, she asked me to bring her an old flint.

The soldier climbed into the hollow and found three rooms there, in each room there was a chest, on each chest there was a dog. I collected as much money as I could. I took the flint. And when he got out, he couldn’t help but wonder why the old woman needed an old flint, but didn’t need money. But the old woman doesn’t speak. The soldier got angry and hacked her to death with his saber. And he himself went to the city where the princess lived. But no one could see this princess, because there was a prediction about her that she would marry a simple soldier. And she was locked in a high tower to prevent this from happening.

The soldier quickly spent all the money and then remembered the flint. The flint turned out to be magical. It could call dogs from the dungeon in the hollow. And dogs could fulfill any wish.

The soldier asked the dog to bring the princess to him. The dog brought the princess three times. The princess liked the soldier and he liked her too.
The third time, the king tracked down where the princess had gone. He ordered the soldier to be captured and executed the next morning. But the flint helped the soldier out again. The dogs saved him. And since, while saving the soldier, they killed the king, the inhabitants of the city asked the soldier to become their king, and the princess asked him to marry her.

The soldier became king and married the princess.

Film adaptations

“Flint” / Fyrtøjet - 1946, Denmark, director: Svend Methling, the first Danish feature-length cartoon
“Flint” / Elddonet - 1951, Sweden, director: Helg Hagerman
“Flint” / Das Feuerzeug - 1958, Germany (GDR), director: Siegfried Hartmann
On March 2, 1970, the premiere of the film “An Old, Old Tale” (1968, USSR, director: Nadezhda Kosheverova), based on three fairy tales by G.-H. Andersen's "Flint", "The Swineherd" and "Fool Hans".
“Flint” / Křesadlo - 1985, Czechoslovakia, director: Dagmar Doubkova
“Flint” / Fyrtøjet - 1993, Denmark, director: Mikhail Baditsa, short cartoon
“Flint” / Fyrtøjet - 2005, Denmark, director: Jørgen Bing, short cartoon
“Flint” - 2009, Russia, director: Maria Parfenova, cartoon
“Duch nad zlato” - 2013, Czech Republic, director: Zdenek Zelenka

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Notes

External links

. Original text in Danish ().
About publications and translation in Russian (since 1898) on the website
. V. Begicheva. Journal "Science and Religion", No. 2012-01
on the website book-illustration.ru
on the website book-illustration.ru
on the website book-illustration.ru



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An excerpt characterizing Flint (fairy tale)

Pierre sat down by the fire and began to eat the mess, the food that was in the pot and which seemed to him the most delicious of all the foods that he had ever eaten. While he greedily bent over the pot, picking up large spoons, chewing one after another and his face was visible in the light of the fire, the soldiers silently looked at him.
-Where do you want it? You tell me! – one of them asked again.
– I’m going to Mozhaisk.
- Are you now a master?
- Yes.
- What’s your name?
- Pyotr Kirillovich.
- Well, Pyotr Kirillovich, let’s go, we’ll take you. In complete darkness, the soldiers, together with Pierre, went to Mozhaisk.
The roosters were already crowing when they reached Mozhaisk and began to climb the steep city mountain. Pierre walked along with the soldiers, completely forgetting that his inn was below the mountain and that he had already passed it. He would not have remembered this (he was in such a state of loss) if his guard, who went to look for him around the city and returned back to his inn, had not encountered him halfway up the mountain. The bereitor recognized Pierre by his hat, which was turning white in the darkness.
“Your Excellency,” he said, “we are already desperate.” Why are you walking? Where are you going, please?
“Oh yes,” said Pierre.
The soldiers paused.
- Well, have you found yours? - said one of them.
- Well, goodbye! Pyotr Kirillovich, I think? Farewell, Pyotr Kirillovich! - said other voices.
“Goodbye,” said Pierre and headed with his driver to the inn.
“We have to give it to them!” - Pierre thought, taking his pocket. “No, don’t,” a voice told him.
There was no room in the upper rooms of the inn: everyone was occupied. Pierre went into the yard and, covering his head, lay down in his carriage.

As soon as Pierre laid his head on the pillow, he felt that he was falling asleep; but suddenly, with the clarity of almost reality, a boom, boom, boom of shots was heard, groans, screams, the splashing of shells were heard, the smell of blood and gunpowder, and a feeling of horror, the fear of death, overwhelmed him. He opened his eyes in fear and raised his head from under his overcoat. Everything was quiet in the yard. Only at the gate, talking to the janitor and splashing through the mud, was some orderly walking. Above Pierre's head, under the dark underside of the plank canopy, doves fluttered from the movement he made while rising. Throughout the yard there was a peaceful, joyful for Pierre at that moment, strong smell of an inn, the smell of hay, manure and tar. Between two black canopies a clear starry sky was visible.
“Thank God this isn’t happening anymore,” thought Pierre, covering his head again. - Oh, how terrible fear is and how shamefully I surrendered to it! And they... they were firm and calm all the time, until the end... - he thought. In Pierre's concept, they were soldiers - those who were at the battery, and those who fed him, and those who prayed to the icon. They - these strange ones, hitherto unknown to him, were clearly and sharply separated in his thoughts from all other people.
“To be a soldier, just a soldier! - thought Pierre, falling asleep. – Enter into this common life with your whole being, imbued with what makes them so. But how to throw off all this unnecessary, devilish, all the burden of this outer man? At one time I could have been this. I could run away from my father as much as I wanted. Even after the duel with Dolokhov, I could have been sent as a soldier.” And in Pierre’s imagination flashed a dinner at a club, at which he called Dolokhov, and a benefactor in Torzhok. And now Pierre is presented with a ceremonial dining room. This lodge takes place in the English Club. And someone familiar, close, dear, sits at the end of the table. Yes it is! This is a benefactor. “But he died? - thought Pierre. - Yes, he died; but I didn't know he was alive. And how sorry I am that he died, and how glad I am that he is alive again!” On one side of the table sat Anatole, Dolokhov, Nesvitsky, Denisov and others like him (the category of these people was as clearly defined in Pierre’s soul in the dream as the category of those people whom he called them), and these people, Anatole, Dolokhov they shouted and sang loudly; but from behind their shout the voice of the benefactor could be heard, speaking incessantly, and the sound of his words was as significant and continuous as the roar of the battlefield, but it was pleasant and comforting. Pierre did not understand what the benefactor was saying, but he knew (the category of thoughts was just as clear in the dream) that the benefactor was talking about goodness, about the possibility of being what they were. And they surrounded the benefactor on all sides, with their simple, kind, firm faces. But although they were kind, they did not look at Pierre, did not know him. Pierre wanted to attract their attention and say. He stood up, but at the same moment his legs became cold and exposed.

- Hello, serviceman! - she said. - What a nice saber you have! And what a big backpack! What a brave soldier! Well, now you will get as much money as your heart desires.

- Thank you, old witch! - said the soldier.

- Why should I go there? - asked the soldier.

- It wouldn’t be bad! - said the soldier. “But what will you take from me for this, old witch?” Is there anything you need from me?

- I won’t take a penny from you! - said the witch. “Just bring me an old flint; my grandmother left it there when she came down for the last time.”

- Well, tie a rope around me! - the soldier ordered.

- Ready! - said the witch. - And here is my blue checkered apron! The soldier climbed the tree, went down into the hollow and found himself, as the witch said, in a large passage where hundreds of lamps were burning.

So he opened the first door. Oh! There sat a dog with eyes like teacups, staring at the soldier.

- My regards! - said the soldier and lifted his visor. He had never seen such a dog before.

However, he did not look at her for a long time, but took her, sat her on the apron and opened the chest. Fathers! How much gold was there! He could buy all of Copenhagen with it, all the sugar pigs from the sweets merchant, all the tin soldiers, all the wooden horses and all the whips in the world! There would be enough for everything! The soldier threw the silver money out of his pockets and backpack and filled his pockets, backpack, hat and boots with gold so much that he could barely move. Well, finally he had money! He put the dog on the chest again, then slammed the door, raised his head and shouted:

- Pull me, old witch!

— Did you take the flint? - asked the witch.

- Oh damn, I almost forgot! - said the soldier, went and took the flint.

The witch pulled him up, and he again found himself on the road, only now his pockets, boots, knapsack, and cap were filled with gold.

- Why do you need this flint? - asked the soldier.

- None of your business! - answered the witch. - I got the money, and that's enough for you! Well, give me the flint!

- No matter how it is! - said the soldier. “Now tell me why you need it, otherwise I’ll pull out my saber and cut off your head.”

- I will not say! - the witch insisted.

The soldier took and cut off her head. The witch fell down dead, and he tied all the money in her apron, put the bundle on his back, put the flint in his pocket and walked straight into the city.

The city was wonderful; the soldier stopped at the most expensive inn, occupied the best rooms and demanded all his favorite dishes - now he was a rich man!

- How can I see her? - asked the soldier.

“I wish I could look at her!” - thought the soldier.

Who would let him?!

- Anything, sir? she barked.

The soldier again moved into good rooms, began to walk around in a smart dress, and all his friends immediately recognized him and fell in love with him terribly.

“Now, it’s true, it’s already night,” said the soldier. “But I was dying to see the princess, at least for one minute!”