The story of the wise minnow. Encyclopedia of fairy-tale heroes: "The Wise Minnow"

The Wise Minnow The Tale of Saltykov-Shchedrin read

And the young minnow had a mind. He began to use this mind and saw: no matter where he turned, he was cursed. All around, in the water, everything big fish they swim, and he is the least of them all; Any fish can swallow him, but he cannot swallow anyone. And he doesn’t understand: why swallow? Cancer can cut it in half with its claws, water flea- to dig into the spine and torture to death. Even his brother the gudgeon - and when he sees that he has caught a mosquito, the whole herd will rush to take it away. They’ll take it away and start fighting with each other, only they’ll crush a mosquito for nothing.

And the man? - what kind of malicious creature is this! no matter what tricks he came up with to destroy him, the minnow, in vain! And the seine, and the nets, and the tops, and the net, and, finally... the fish! It seems that what could be more stupid than oud? - A thread, a hook on a thread, a worm or a fly on a hook... And how are they put on?.. in the most, one might say, unnatural position! Meanwhile, it is on the fishing rod that most minnows are caught!

His old father warned him more than once about uda. “Most of all, beware of the fish!” he said, “because even though it’s the stupidest projectile, with us minnows, what’s stupid is truer. They’ll throw a fly at us, as if they want to take advantage of us; "That's death!"

The old man also told how he once almost hit his ear. At that time they were caught by a whole artel, the net was stretched across the entire width of the river, and they were dragged along the bottom for about two miles. Passion, how many fish were caught then! And pikes, and perches, and chubs, and roaches, and loaches - even couch potato bream were lifted from the mud from the bottom! And we lost count of the minnows. And what fears he, the old minnow, suffered while he was being dragged along the river - this cannot be said in a fairy tale, nor described with a pen. He feels that he is being taken, but does not know where. He sees that he has a pike on one side and a perch on the other; he thinks: just about now, either one or the other will eat him, but they don’t touch him... “There was no time for food at that time, brother!” Everyone has one thing on their mind: death has come! but how and why she came - no one understands. Finally they began to close the wings of the seine, dragged it to the shore and began to throw fish from the reel into the grass. It was then that he learned what ukha was. Something red flutters on the sand; gray clouds run upward from him; and it was so hot that he immediately became limp. It’s already sickening without water, and then they give in... He hears a “bonfire,” they say. And on the “bonfire” something black is placed on this one, and in it the water, like in a lake, shakes during a storm. This is a "cauldron", they say. And in the end they began to say: put fish in the “cauldron” - there will be “fish soup”! And they started throwing our brother there. When a fisherman slams a fish, it will first plunge, then jump out like crazy, then plunge again and become quiet. “Uhi” means she tasted it. They tossed and tossed at first indiscriminately, and then one old man looked at him and said: “What good is this baby for fish soup? Let it grow in the river!” He took him by the gills and let him into free water. And he, don’t be stupid, goes home with all his might! He came running, and his minnow was looking out of the hole, neither alive nor dead...

And what! No matter how much the old man explained at that time what fish soup was and what it consisted of, however, even when brought into the river, rarely did anyone have a sound understanding of fish soup!

But he, the gudgeon-son, perfectly remembered the teachings of the gudgeon-father, and he even reeled it into his mustache. He was an enlightened minnow, moderately liberal, and very firmly understood that living life is not like licking a whorl. “You have to live so that no one notices,” he said to himself, “or else you’ll just disappear!” - and began to get settled. First of all, I came up with a hole for myself so that he could climb into it, but no one else could get in! He dug this hole with his nose for a whole year, and during that time he took on so much fear, spending the night either in the mud, or under the water burdock, or in the sedge. Finally, however, he dug it out to perfection. Clean, neat - just enough for one person to fit in. The second thing, about his life, he decided this way: at night, when people, animals, birds and fish are sleeping, he will exercise, and during the day he will sit in a hole and tremble. But since he still needs to drink and eat, and he doesn’t receive a salary and doesn’t keep servants, he will run out of the hole around noon, when all the fish are already full, and, God willing, maybe he’ll provide a booger or two. And if he doesn’t provide, he will lie down in a hole hungry and tremble again. For it is better not to eat or drink than to full stomach lose your life.

That's what he did. At night I did exercise, in moonlight He swam, and during the day he climbed into a hole and trembled. Only at noon will he run out to grab something - but what can you do at noon! At this time, a mosquito hides under a leaf from the heat, and a bug buries itself under the bark. Absorbs water - and the Sabbath!

He lies in the hole day and day, doesn’t get enough sleep at night, doesn’t finish eating, and still thinks: “It seems that I’m alive? Oh, something will happen tomorrow?”

He falls asleep, sinfully, and in his sleep he dreams that he has a winning ticket and he won two hundred thousand with it. Not remembering himself with delight, he will turn over on the other side - and lo and behold, half of his snout has stuck out of the hole... What if at that time the little puppy was nearby! After all, he would have pulled him out of the hole!

One day he woke up and saw: a crayfish was standing right opposite his hole. He stands motionless, as if bewitched, his bony eyes staring at him. Only the whiskers move as the water flows. That's when he got scared! And for half a day, until it got completely dark, this cancer was waiting for him, and meanwhile he kept trembling, still trembling.

Another time, he had just managed to return to the hole before dawn, he had just yawned sweetly, in anticipation of sleep - he looked, out of nowhere, a pike was standing right next to the hole, clapping its teeth. And she also guarded him all day, as if she had had enough of him alone. And he fooled the pike: he didn’t come out of the bark, and it was a sabbath.

And this happened to him more than once, not twice, but almost every day. And every day he, trembling, won victories and victories, every day he exclaimed: “Glory to you, Lord! Alive!”

But this is not enough: he did not marry and did not have children, although his father had a large family. He reasoned like this: “Father could have lived by joking! At that time, the pikes were kinder, and the perches did not covet us small fry. And although he once got into the ear, there was an old man who rescued him! "Nowadays, as the fish in the rivers have increased, and the gudgeons are in honor. So there’s no time for family here, but how to just live for yourself!"

And the wise minnow lived in this way for more than a hundred years. Everything was trembling, everything was trembling. He has no friends, no relatives; neither he is to anyone, nor anyone is to him. He doesn’t play cards, doesn’t drink wine, doesn’t smoke tobacco, doesn’t chase red girls - he just trembles and thinks one thing: “Thank God! I think he’s alive!”

Even the pikes, in the end, began to praise him: “If only everyone lived like this, the river would be quiet!” But they said it on purpose; they thought that he would recommend himself for praise - here, they say, I am! then bang! But he did not succumb to this trick either, and once again, with his wisdom, he defeated the machinations of his enemies.

How many years have passed since the hundred years is unknown, only the wise minnow began to die. He lies in a hole and thinks: “Thank God, I am dying by my own death, just like my mother and father died.” And then he remembered the pike’s words: “If only everyone lived like this wise minnow lives...” Well, really, what would happen then?

He began to think about the mind that he had, and suddenly it was as if someone whispered to him: “After all, this way, perhaps, the entire piscary race would have died out long ago!”

Because, to continue the minnow family, first of all you need a family, and he doesn’t have one. But this is not enough: in order for the gudgeon family to strengthen and prosper, for its members to be healthy and vigorous, it is necessary that they be raised in their native element, and not in a hole where he is almost blind from the eternal twilight. It is necessary that the minnows receive sufficient nutrition, so that they do not alienate the public, share bread and salt with each other and borrow virtues and other excellent qualities from each other. For only such a life can improve the gudgeon breed and will not allow it to be crushed and degenerate into smelt.

Those who think that only those minnows can be considered worthy citizens who, mad with fear, sit in holes and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless minnows. They give no warmth or cold to anyone, no honor, no dishonor, no glory, no infamy... they live, take up space for nothing and eat food.

All this seemed so clearly and clearly that suddenly a passionate hunt came to him: “I’ll crawl out of the hole and swim like a goldeneye across the entire river!” But as soon as he thought about it, he became frightened again. And he began to die, trembling. He lived and trembled, and he died - he trembled.

His whole life flashed before him instantly. What joys did he have? Who did he console? Who did you give good advice to? to whom kind word said? whom did you shelter, warm, protect? who has heard of him? who will remember its existence?

And he had to answer all these questions: “No one, no one.”

He lived and trembled - that's all. Even now: death is on his nose, and he is still trembling, he doesn’t know why. His hole is dark, cramped, there is nowhere to turn, not a ray of sunlight can look in, and there is no smell of warmth. And he lies in this damp darkness, blind, exhausted, useless to anyone, lying and waiting: when will starvation finally free him from a useless existence?

He can hear other fish darting past his hole - perhaps, like him, gudgeons - and not one of them takes an interest in him. Not a single thought will come to mind: “Let me ask the wise minnow, how did he manage to live for more than a hundred years, and not be swallowed by a pike, not crushed by a crayfish with his claws, not caught by a fisherman with a hook?” They swim past, and maybe they don’t even know that in this hole there is a wise minnow life process completes!

And what’s most offensive: I haven’t even heard anyone call him wise. They simply say: “Have you heard about the dunce who doesn’t eat, doesn’t drink, doesn’t see anyone, doesn’t share bread and salt with anyone, and only saves his hateful life?” And many even simply call him a fool and a disgrace and wonder how the water tolerates such idols.

He thus scattered his mind and dozed off. That is, it wasn’t just that he was dozing, but that he had already begun to forget. Death whispers rang in his ears, and languor spread throughout his body. And here he had the same seductive dream. It’s as if he won two hundred thousand, grew by as much as half an arshin and swallows the pike himself.

And while he was dreaming about this, his snout, little by little, came out of the hole entirely and stuck out.

And suddenly he disappeared. What happened here - whether the pike swallowed him, whether the crayfish was crushed with a claw, or he himself died of his own death and floated to the surface - there were no witnesses to this case. Most likely, he died himself, because what sweetness is it for a pike to swallow a sick, dying gudgeon, and what’s more, a “wise” one?

Once upon a time there lived an “enlightened, moderately liberal” minnow. Smart parents, dying, bequeathed to him to live, looking at both. The gudgeon realized that he was in danger of trouble from everywhere: from big fish, from neighboring minnows, from a man (his own father was once almost boiled in his ear). The gudgeon built a hole for himself, where no one except him could fit, swam out at night for food, and during the day “trembled” in the hole, did not get enough sleep, was malnourished, but did his best to protect his life. The minnow has a dream about a winning ticket worth 200 thousand. Crayfish and pike lie in wait for him, but he avoids death.

The gudgeon has no family: “he would like to live on his own.” "And he lived wise minnow it's been like this for over a hundred years. Everything was trembling, everything was trembling. He has no friends, no relatives; neither he is to anyone, nor anyone is to him. He doesn’t play cards, doesn’t drink wine, doesn’t smoke tobacco, doesn’t chase hot girls—he just trembles and thinks only one thing: “Thank God! seems to be alive! Even pikes praise the gudgeon for its calm behavior, hoping that it will relax and they will eat it. The gudgeon does not succumb to any provocation.

The gudgeon lived for a hundred years. Reflecting on the pike’s words, he understands that if everyone lived like him, the minnows would disappear (you can’t live in a hole and not in your native element; you need to eat normally, have a family, communicate with your neighbors). The life he leads contributes to degeneration. He belongs to the “useless minnows”. “They give no one warmth or cold, no one honor or dishonor, no glory or infamy... they live, they take up space for nothing and eat food.” The gudgeon decides once in its life to crawl out of its hole and swim normally along the river, but gets scared. Even when dying, the gudgeon trembles. No one cares about him, no one asks his advice on how to live a hundred years, no one calls him wise, but rather a “dumb” and “hateful.” In the end, the gudgeon disappears to God knows where: after all, even the pikes don’t need it, sick, dying, and even wise.

Once upon a time there lived a smart minnow. This minnow's parents were smart, and when the time came for them to die, they bequeathed to him to live, but to keep an eye out. He realized that he was in danger of trouble all around and everywhere.

Then the gudgeon decided to build himself a hole so that, out of curiosity, no one would fit there except the gudgeon. It just so happened that at night he swam out to feed, and during the day he stayed in the hole and rested. So the gudgeon didn’t get enough sleep, didn’t finish eating, and took care of its life, trying.

He has no family, but the wise gudgeon lived for more than a hundred years. He was alone in the whole world and trembling. And he had neither friends nor relatives. He doesn't play cards, doesn't drink wine, doesn't smoke tobacco, and doesn't chase girls. The gudgeon trembles and is glad that he is alive.

The pikes praise the gudgeon for its calm behavior and wait for it to relax, then they will eat it. But the gudgeon does not give in to any persuasion. The gudgeon thinks that if everyone lived like him, there would be no gudgeons. He belongs to the useless minnows. From such minnows there is no benefit to anyone, no dishonor, no disgrace, they only live and eat food for nothing.

The gudgeon decided to crawl out of the hole and swim along the river. But it's scary. Nobody cares about him. And no one calls him wise. The gudgeon suddenly disappears to God knows where, and the pikes don’t need him, sick and dying, but still wise.

And the young minnow had a mind. He began to use this mind and saw: no matter where he turned, he was cursed. All around, in the water, all the big fish are swimming, but he is the smallest of all; Any fish can swallow him, but he cannot swallow anyone. And he doesn’t understand: why swallow? A cancer can cut it in half with its claws, a water flea can bite into its spine and torture it to death. Even his brother the gudgeon - and when he sees that he has caught a mosquito, the whole herd will rush to take it away. They’ll take it away and start fighting with each other, only they’ll crush a mosquito for nothing.

And the man? - what kind of malicious creature is this! no matter what tricks he came up with in order to destroy him, the minnow, in vain! And the seine, and the nets, and the tops, and the net, and, finally... the fish! It seems that what could be more stupid than oud? - A thread, a hook on a thread, a worm or a fly on a hook... And how are they put on?.. in the most, one might say, unnatural position! Meanwhile, it is on the fishing rod that most gudgeons are caught!

The old man also told how he once almost hit his ear. At that time they were caught by a whole artel, the net was stretched across the entire width of the river, and they were dragged along the bottom for about two miles. Passion, how many fish were caught then! And pikes, and perches, and chubs, and roaches, and loaches - even couch potato bream were lifted from the mud from the bottom! And we lost count of the minnows. And what fears he, the old gudgeon, suffered while he was being dragged along the river - this cannot be told in a fairy tale, nor can I describe it with a pen. He feels that he is being taken, but does not know where. He sees that he has a pike on one side and a perch on the other; he thinks: just about now, either one or the other will eat him, but they don’t touch him... “There was no time for food at that time, brother!” Everyone has one thing on their mind: death has come! but how and why she came - no one understands. Finally they began to close the wings of the seine, dragged it to the shore and began to throw fish from the reel into the grass. It was then that he learned what ukha was. Something red flutters on the sand; gray clouds run upward from him; and it was so hot that he immediately became limp. It’s already sickening without water, and then they give in... He hears a “bonfire,” they say. And on the “bonfire” something black is placed on this one, and in it the water, like in a lake, shakes during a storm. This is a "cauldron", they say. And in the end they began to say: put fish in the “cauldron” - there will be “fish soup”! And they started throwing our brother there. When a fisherman slams a fish, it will first plunge, then jump out like crazy, then plunge again and become quiet. “Uhi” means she tasted it. They tossed and tossed at first indiscriminately, and then one old man looked at him and said: “What good is this baby for fish soup? Let it grow in the river!” He took him by the gills and let him into free water. And he, don’t be stupid, goes home with all his might! He came running, and his gudgeon was looking out of the hole, neither alive nor dead...

But he, the gudgeon-son, perfectly remembered the teachings of the gudgeon-father, and even reeled it into his mustache. He was an enlightened minnow, moderately liberal, and very firmly understood that living life is not like licking a whorl. “You have to live so that no one notices,” he said to himself, “or else you’ll just disappear!” - and began to get settled. First of all, I came up with a hole for myself so that he could climb into it, but no one else could get in! He dug this hole with his nose for a whole year, and during that time he took on so much fear, spending the night either in the mud, or under the water burdock, or in the sedge. Finally, however, he dug it out to perfection. Clean, neat - just enough for one person to fit in. The second thing, about his life, he decided this way: at night, when people, animals, birds and fish are sleeping, he will exercise, and during the day he will sit in a hole and tremble. But since he still needs to drink and eat, and he doesn’t receive a salary and doesn’t keep servants, he will run out of the hole around noon, when all the fish are already full, and, God willing, maybe he’ll provide a booger or two. And if he doesn’t provide, he will lie down in a hole hungry and tremble again. For it is better not to eat or drink than to lose life with a full stomach.

That's what he did. At night he exercised, swam in the moonlight, and during the day he climbed into a hole and trembled. Only at noon will he run out to grab something - but what can you do at noon! At this time, a mosquito hides under a leaf from the heat, and a bug buries itself under the bark. Absorbs water - and the Sabbath!

He lies in the hole day and day, doesn’t get enough sleep at night, doesn’t finish eating, and still thinks: “It seems that I’m alive? Oh, something will happen tomorrow?”

And this happened to him more than once, not twice, but almost every day. And every day he, trembling, won victories and victories, every day he exclaimed: “Glory to you, Lord! Alive!”

But this is not enough: he did not marry and did not have children, although his father had a large family. He reasoned like this: “Father could have lived by joking! At that time, the pikes were kinder, and the perches did not covet us small fry. And although he once got into the ear, there was an old man who rescued him! "Nowadays, as the fish in the rivers have increased, and the minnows are in honor. So there is no time for family here, but how to just live for yourself!"

And the wise gudgeon lived in this way for more than a hundred years. Everything was trembling, everything was trembling. He has no friends, no relatives; neither he is to anyone, nor anyone is to him. He doesn’t play cards, doesn’t drink wine, doesn’t smoke tobacco, doesn’t chase red girls - he just trembles and thinks one thing: “Thank God! I think he’s alive!”

How many years have passed since the hundred years is unknown, only the wise gudgeon began to die. He lies in a hole and thinks: “Thank God, I am dying by my own death, just like my mother and father died.” And then he remembered the pike’s words: “If only everyone lived like this wise minnow lives...” Well, really, what would happen then?

He began to think about the mind he had, and suddenly it was as if someone whispered to him: “After all, this way, perhaps, the entire gudgeon race would have died out long ago!”

Because, to continue the gudgeon family, first of all you need a family, and he doesn’t have one. But this is not enough: in order for the gudgeon family to strengthen and prosper, so that its members are healthy and vigorous, it is necessary that they are raised in their native element, and not in a hole where he is almost blind from the eternal twilight. It is necessary that the minnows receive sufficient nutrition, so that they do not alienate the public, share bread and salt with each other and borrow virtues and other excellent qualities from each other. For only such a life can improve the gudgeon breed and will not allow it to be crushed and degenerate into smelt.

Those who think that only those minnows can be considered worthy citizens are those who, mad with fear, sit in holes and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless minnows. They give no warmth or cold to anyone, no honor, no dishonor, no glory, no infamy... they live, take up space for nothing and eat food.

His whole life flashed before him instantly. What joys did he have? Who did he console? Who did you give good advice to? Who did you say a kind word to? whom did you shelter, warm, protect? who has heard of him? who will remember its existence?

And he had to answer all these questions: “No one, no one.”

He can hear other fish darting past his hole - perhaps, like him, minnows - and not one of them takes an interest in him. Not a single thought will come to mind: “Let me ask the wise minnow, how did he manage to live for more than a hundred years, and not be swallowed by a pike, not crushed by a crayfish with his claws, not caught by a fisherman with a hook?” They swim past, and maybe they don’t even know that in this hole the wise gudgeon completes its life process!

And while he was dreaming about this, his snout, little by little, came out of the hole entirely and stuck out.

And suddenly he disappeared. What happened here - whether the pike swallowed him, whether the crayfish was crushed with a claw, or he himself died of his own death and floated to the surface - there were no witnesses to this case. Most likely, he himself died, because what sweetness is it for a pike to swallow a sick, dying gudgeon, and what’s more, a “wise” one?

On the river bottom for a long time there lived a gudgeon. From his father and mother, he received instructions that he needed to take care of himself so as not to end up in a fish soup or become food for another fish. The gudgeon carefully followed the advice of his loved ones, but no matter which direction he looked, there were large fish everywhere that could have eaten him in a matter of seconds, because they were many times larger, and the gudgeon was the smallest and would not have eaten anyone on its own. Another important danger is humans. How many fishing methods a person came up with just to catch a gudgeon, this frightened the underwater inhabitant.

Most of all, my father paid warnings about the fish oud, because it was very easy to fall for it, especially if you caught it with flies, a tasty morsel for minnows. How much fear my father experienced in his life. He had been in a seine where they even lost count of the number of fish caught. Such stories did not leave the young minnow indifferent. Even in the seine it was impossible not to worry, because there was a pike on one side and a perch on the other. Both of them could eat it in an instant. But no one began to eat, since it was not before lunch. Everyone was being taken somewhere, but no one knew where.

Only thoughts of death flashed through my head. When they were dumped on the grass, my father learned for the first time what fish soup was. Like the smallest fish, the gudgeon was sent back to the river to grow up. He was not at a loss and immediately rushed home to his relatives. The younger minnow decided not to tempt fate and live his life so that no one would even notice him, so that he would not end up anywhere. The gudgeon worked for a whole year to build a hole for itself. Only he could fit in this hole. During construction, I experienced a lot of stress when it was necessary to spend the night in mud or under algae. But finally the home for one was ready.

The gudgeon has completely planned out its leisure time: when everyone is awake, it will tremble in its hole, but at night it will swim out and feed. At night there is the least danger around. I came up with a rule for myself: it’s better to be hungry than to hit someone in the belly.

The minnow had wonderful dreams about winning large quantity money, but when he woke up, he realized that his head was sticking out of the hole, this realization made the gudgeon feel uneasy, because someone could pull him out and eat him. No one even called him wise, it was only irony, pointing to a unique philosophy of life.

So the gudgeon died in its fear, but no one knows the real reason death, because no one knew about his existence. He just disappeared. In his entire life, the gudgeon has accomplished nothing, and all his ambitions were only in his dreams. Was his fear worth spending all his time alone with his anxious thoughts? He never acquired a family, friends, or a minimal social circle, and his dreams of money remained unfulfilled.

You can use this text for reader's diary

Saltykov-Shchedrin. All works

Ram-Nepomnyashchy
The wise minnow
Chizhikovo Mountain

The wise minnow. Picture for the story

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Once upon a time there lived a minnow. Both his father and mother were smart; Little by little, the arid eyelids lived in the river and did not get caught either in the fish soup or in the pike. They ordered the same for my son. “Look, son,” said the old minnow, dying, “if you want to chew your life, then keep your eyes open!”
And the young minnow had a mind. He began to use this mind and saw: no matter where he turned, he was cursed. All around, in the water, all the big fish are swimming, but he is the smallest of all; Any fish can swallow him, but he cannot swallow anyone. And he doesn’t understand: why swallow? A cancer can cut it in half with its claws, a water flea can bite into its spine and torture it to death. Even his brother the gudgeon - and when he sees that he has caught a mosquito, the whole herd will rush to take it away. They’ll take it away and start fighting with each other, only they’ll crush a mosquito for nothing.
And the man? - what kind of malicious creature is this! no matter what tricks he came up with to destroy him, the minnow, in vain! And the seine, and the nets, and the tops, and the net, and, finally... the fish! It seems that what could be more stupid than oud? - A thread, a hook on a thread, a worm or a fly on a hook... And how are they put on?.. in the most, one might say, unnatural position! Meanwhile, it is on the fishing rod that most minnows are caught!
His old father warned him more than once about uda. “Most of all, beware of the fish!” he said, “because even though it’s the stupidest projectile, with us minnows, what’s stupid is truer. They’ll throw a fly at us, as if they want to take advantage of us; "That's death!"
The old man also told how he once almost hit his ear. At that time they were caught by a whole artel, the net was stretched across the entire width of the river, and they were dragged along the bottom for about two miles. Passion, how many fish were caught then! And pikes, and perches, and chubs, and roaches, and loaches - even couch potato bream were lifted from the mud from the bottom! And we lost count of the minnows. And what fears he, the old minnow, suffered while he was being dragged along the river - this cannot be said in a fairy tale, nor described with a pen. He feels that he is being taken, but does not know where. He sees that he has a pike on one side and a perch on the other; he thinks: just about now, either one or the other will eat him, but they don’t touch him... “There was no time for food at that time, brother!” Everyone has one thing on their mind: death has come! but how and why she came - no one understands. Finally they began to close the wings of the seine, dragged it to the shore and began to throw fish from the reel into the grass. It was then that he learned what ukha was. Something red flutters on the sand; gray clouds run upward from him; and it was so hot that he immediately became limp. It’s already sickening without water, and then they give in... He hears a “bonfire,” they say. And on the “bonfire” something black is placed on this one, and in it the water, like in a lake, shakes during a storm. This is a "cauldron", they say. And in the end they began to say: put fish in the “cauldron” - there will be “fish soup”! And they started throwing our brother there. When a fisherman slams a fish, it will first plunge, then jump out like crazy, then plunge again and become quiet. “Uhi” means she tasted it. They tossed and tossed at first indiscriminately, and then one old man looked at him and said: “What good is this baby for fish soup? Let it grow in the river!” He took him by the gills and let him into free water. And he, don’t be stupid, goes home with all his might! He came running, and his minnow was looking out of the hole, neither alive nor dead...
And what! No matter how much the old man explained at that time what fish soup was and what it consisted of, however, even when brought into the river, rarely did anyone have a sound understanding of fish soup!
But he, the gudgeon-son, perfectly remembered the teachings of the gudgeon-father, and he even reeled it into his mustache. He was an enlightened minnow, moderately liberal, and very firmly understood that living life is not like licking a whorl. “You have to live so that no one notices,” he said to himself, “or else you’ll just disappear!” - and began to get settled. First of all, I came up with a hole for myself so that he could climb into it, but no one else could get in! He dug this hole with his nose for a whole year, and during that time he took on so much fear, spending the night either in the mud, or under the water burdock, or in the sedge. Finally, however, he dug it out to perfection. Clean, neat - just enough for one person to fit in. The second thing, about his life, he decided this way: at night, when people, animals, birds and fish are sleeping, he will exercise, and during the day he will sit in a hole and tremble. But since he still needs to drink and eat, and he doesn’t receive a salary and doesn’t keep servants, he will run out of the hole around noon, when all the fish are already full, and, God willing, maybe he’ll provide a booger or two. And if he doesn’t provide, he will lie down in a hole hungry and tremble again. For it is better not to eat or drink than to lose life with a full stomach.
That's what he did. At night he exercised, swam in the moonlight, and during the day he climbed into a hole and trembled. Only at noon will he run out to grab something - but what can you do at noon! At this time, a mosquito hides under a leaf from the heat, and a bug buries itself under the bark. Absorbs water - and the Sabbath!
He lies in the hole day and day, doesn’t get enough sleep at night, doesn’t finish eating, and still thinks: “It seems that I’m alive? Oh, something will happen tomorrow?”
He falls asleep, sinfully, and in his sleep he dreams that he has a winning ticket and he won two hundred thousand with it. Not remembering himself with delight, he will turn over on the other side - and lo and behold, half of his snout has stuck out of the hole... What if at that time the little puppy was nearby! After all, he would have pulled him out of the hole!
One day he woke up and saw: a crayfish was standing right opposite his hole. He stands motionless, as if bewitched, his bony eyes staring at him. Only the whiskers move as the water flows. That's when he got scared! And for half a day, until it got completely dark, this cancer was waiting for him, and meanwhile he kept trembling, still trembling.
Another time, he had just managed to return to the hole before dawn, he had just yawned sweetly, in anticipation of sleep - he looked, out of nowhere, a pike was standing right next to the hole, clapping its teeth. And she also guarded him all day, as if she had had enough of him alone. And he fooled the pike: he didn’t come out of the bark, and it was a sabbath.
And this happened to him more than once, not twice, but almost every day. And every day he, trembling, won victories and victories, every day he exclaimed: “Glory to you, Lord! Alive!”
But this is not enough: he did not marry and did not have children, although his father had a large family. He reasoned like this: “Father could have lived by joking! At that time, the pikes were kinder, and the perches did not covet us small fry. And although he once got into the ear, there was an old man who rescued him! Nowadays, as the fish in the rivers have increased, and gudgeons are caught in honor.
And the wise minnow lived in this way for more than a hundred years. Everything was trembling, everything was trembling. He has no friends, no relatives; neither he is to anyone, nor anyone is to him. He doesn’t play cards, doesn’t drink wine, doesn’t smoke tobacco, doesn’t chase red girls - he just trembles and thinks one thing: “Thank God! I think he’s alive!”
Even the pikes, in the end, began to praise him: “If only everyone lived like this, the river would be quiet!” But they said it on purpose; they thought that he would recommend himself for praise - here, they say, I am! then bang! But he did not succumb to this trick either, and once again, with his wisdom, he defeated the machinations of his enemies.
How many years have passed since the hundred years is unknown, only the wise minnow began to die. He lies in a hole and thinks: “Thank God, I am dying by my own death, just like my mother and father died.” And then he remembered the pike’s words: “If only everyone lived like this wise minnow lives...” Well, really, what would happen then?
He began to think about the mind that he had, and suddenly it was as if someone whispered to him: “After all, this way, perhaps, the entire piscary race would have died out long ago!”
Because, to continue the minnow family, first of all you need a family, and he doesn’t have one. But this is not enough: in order for the gudgeon family to strengthen and prosper, for its members to be healthy and vigorous, it is necessary that they be raised in their native element, and not in a hole where he is almost blind from the eternal twilight. It is necessary that the minnows receive sufficient nutrition, so that they do not alienate the public, share bread and salt with each other and borrow virtues and other excellent qualities from each other. For only such a life can improve the gudgeon breed and will not allow it to be crushed and degenerate into smelt.
Those who think that only those minnows can be considered worthy citizens who, mad with fear, sit in holes and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless minnows. They give no warmth or cold to anyone, no honor, no dishonor, no glory, no infamy... they live, take up space for nothing and eat food.
All this seemed so clearly and clearly that suddenly a passionate hunt came to him: “I’ll crawl out of the hole and swim like a goldeneye across the entire river!” But as soon as he thought about it, he became frightened again. And he began to die, trembling. He lived and trembled, and he died - he trembled.
His whole life flashed before him instantly. What joys did he have? Who did he console? Who did you give good advice to? Who did you say a kind word to? whom did you shelter, warm, protect? who has heard of him? who will remember its existence?
And he had to answer all these questions: “No one, no one.”
He lived and trembled - that's all. Even now: death is on his nose, and he is still trembling, he doesn’t know why. His hole is dark, cramped, there is nowhere to turn, not a ray of sunlight can look in, and there is no smell of warmth. And he lies in this damp darkness, blind, exhausted, useless to anyone, lying and waiting: when will starvation finally free him from a useless existence?
He can hear other fish darting past his hole - perhaps, like him, gudgeons - and not one of them takes an interest in him. Not a single thought will come to mind: “Let me ask the wise minnow, how did he manage to live for more than a hundred years, and not be swallowed by a pike, not crushed by a crayfish with his claws, not caught by a fisherman with a hook?” They swim past, and maybe they don’t even know that in this hole the wise minnow completes its life process!
And what’s most offensive: I haven’t even heard anyone call him wise. They simply say: “Have you heard about the dunce who doesn’t eat, doesn’t drink, doesn’t see anyone, doesn’t share bread and salt with anyone, and only saves his hateful life?” And many even simply call him a fool and a disgrace and wonder how the water tolerates such idols.
He thus scattered his mind and dozed off. That is, it wasn’t just that he was dozing, but that he had already begun to forget. Death whispers rang in his ears, and languor spread throughout his body. And here he had the same seductive dream. It’s as if he won two hundred thousand, grew by as much as half an arshin and swallows the pike himself.
And while he was dreaming about this, his snout, little by little, came out of the hole entirely and stuck out.
And suddenly he disappeared. What happened here - whether the pike swallowed him, whether the crayfish was crushed with a claw, or he himself died of his own death and floated to the surface - there were no witnesses to this case. Most likely, he died himself, because what sweetness is it for a pike to swallow a sick, dying gudgeon, and what’s more, a “wise” one?

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