Shchedrin short stories. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin - fairy tales

M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Photo. 1980s

THE TALE OF HOW ONE MAN FEED TWO GENERALS *

Yes, there were two generals, and since both were frivolous, they soon, at the behest of a pike, at my will, found themselves on a desert island.

Generals served all their lives in some kind of registry note_3; there they were born, brought up and grew old, therefore, they did not understand anything. They didn’t even know any words, except: “Receive the assurance of my perfect respect and devotion.”

The registry was abolished as unnecessary and the generals were released into the wild. Left behind by the state, they settled in St. Petersburg, in Podyacheskaya Street, in different apartments; each had his own cook and received a pension. Only suddenly they found themselves on a desert island, woke up and saw: both were lying under the same blanket. Of course, at first they did not understand anything and began to talk as if nothing had happened to them.

- Strange, Your Excellency, I had a dream today, - said one general, - I see that I live on a desert island ... I said this, but all of a sudden it jumps up! Another general also jumped up.

- God! yes, what is it! Where are we! Both cried out in unnatural voices.

And they began to feel each other, as if not in a dream, but in reality such an opportunity happened to them. However, no matter how hard they tried to convince themselves that all this was nothing more than a dream, they had to be convinced of the sad reality.

In front of them on one side was the sea, on the other side lay a small piece of land, behind which was the same boundless sea. The generals cried for the first time after they closed the registry.

They began to look at each other and saw that they were in nightgowns, and around their necks they had an order of note_4 hanging around their necks.

- Now it would be good to drink coffee! - said one general, but he remembered what an unheard-of thing had happened to him, and for the second time he began to cry.

What are we going to do, though? he continued through tears, “if you write a report now, what good will come of it?”

- That's what, - answered another general, - go you, Your Excellency note_5, to the east, and I will go to the west, and in the evening we will meet again at this place; maybe we'll find something.

They began to look for where the east is and where the west is. They remembered how the boss once said: “If you want to find the east, then stand with your eyes to the north, and in right hand you will get what you want." They began to look for the north, stood this way and that, tried all the countries of the world, but since they had served in the registry all their lives, they did not find anything.

- Here's what, Your Excellency: you go to the right, and I to the left; that way it will be better! - said one general, who, in addition to the registrar, served as a teacher of calligraphy at the school of military cantonists note_6 and, therefore, was smarter.

No sooner said than done. One general went to the right and saw that trees were growing, and there were all sorts of fruits on the trees. The general wants to get at least one apple, but they all hang so high that they have to climb. I tried to climb - nothing came of it, I just tore my shirt off. The general came to the stream, he sees: the fish there, as if in a cage on the Fontanka, are teeming and teeming.

“Here, if only some kind of fish and on Podyacheskaya!” - thought the general, and even his face changed from appetite.

The general went into the forest - and there the hazel grouse whistled, the black grouse lek, the hares ran.

- God! some food! some food! - said the general, feeling that he was already starting to feel sick.

There was nothing to do, I had to return to the agreed place empty-handed. He comes, and another general is already waiting.

“Well, Your Excellency, did you provide something?”

- Yes, I found the old issue of Moskovskie Vedomosti, and nothing more!

The generals went to bed again, but they could not sleep on an empty stomach. Either they are worried about who will receive a pension for them, or they recall the fruits they saw during the day, fish, hazel grouse, black grouse, hares.

- Who would have thought, Your Excellency, that human food, in its original form, flies, swims and grows on trees? one general said.

“Yes,” answered another general, “to confess, and I still thought that rolls would be born in the same form as they are served with coffee in the morning!”

- So, if, for example, someone wants to eat a partridge, he must first catch it, kill it, pluck it, roast it ... But how to do all this?

– How to do all this? - like an echo, repeated the other general.

They fell silent and began to try to sleep; but hunger decisively drove away sleep. Fritillaries, turkeys, piglets flashed before my eyes, juicy, slightly browned, with cucumbers, pickles note_7 and other salad.

- Now I think I would eat my own boot! one general said.

- Gloves are also good when they are worn for a long time! the other general sighed.

Suddenly, both generals looked at each other: an ominous fire shone in their eyes, their teeth chattered, a dull growl flew out of their chests. They began to slowly crawl towards each other and in the blink of an eye went berserk. Shreds flew, there was a screech and a gasp; the general, who was a teacher of calligraphy, bit off an order from his comrade and immediately swallowed note_8. But the sight of flowing blood seemed to bring them to their senses.

- The power of the cross is with us! - they both said at once, - because that way we will eat each other! And how did we get here! who is the villain who played such a thing on us!

- It is necessary, Your Excellency, to amuse ourselves with some conversation, otherwise we will have a murder here! one general said.

- Get started! replied another general.

- How, for example, do you think why the sun rises first and then sets, and not vice versa?

- You are a strange person, Your Excellency: but you also get up first, go to the department note_9, write there, and then go to bed?

- But why not allow such a rearrangement: first I go to bed, I see various dreams and then I get up?

- Hm ... yes ... And, to be honest, as I served in the department, I always thought this way: “Now it’s morning, and then it will be day, and then they will serve dinner - and it’s time to sleep!”

But the mention of dinner both plunged into despondency and stopped the conversation at the very beginning.

“I heard from a doctor that a person can eat his own juices for a long time,” one general began again.

- How so?

- Yes, sir. Their own juices seem to produce other juices, these, in turn, still produce juices, and so on, until, finally, the juices stop altogether ...

Fascinating fairy tales by Saltykov-Shchedrin are loved by both adults and children. The fact is that they are not like others, as they are rich in vivid images and original plots. The author actually founded a new genre of political fairy tale, in which he combined elements of fantasy with events. real life. All the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are created on the basis of the traditions of Russian and Western European folklore, they are permeated with satire, the elements of which Shchedrin learned from the great fabulist Krylov.

Tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin read

In all his works, Saltykov-Shchedrin raises the problem of class inequality. His fairy tales also tell about this in an allegorical form. Here the collective image of the oppressed working people embodies the positive main character- a kind harmless animal or a person whom the author simply calls "man". Shchedrin shows lazy and evil rich people in the images of predators or people representing the highest ranks (for example, generals).

Moreover, the author endows the man with kindness, intelligence, ingenuity, generosity and diligence. He clearly sympathizes with him and in his person all the poor people who are forced to work hard for rich tyrants all their lives. The peasant treats his masters with irony, without losing, however, his own dignity.

Also with sympathy in his fairy tales, Saltykov-Shchedrin describes kind, cute animals that suffer from evil predatory brethren. He endows the animals with human traits, making the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin even more interesting to read. And the thoughtful reader, having laughed enough at the comical deeds of animals, quickly realizes that everything happens in the life of people in exactly the same way, and that existing reality sometimes cruel and unfair.

The well-known writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin was a truly great creator. As an official, he masterfully denounced the ignorant nobles and praised the simple Russian people. Tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the list of which includes more than a dozen, are the property of our classical literature.

"Wild Landlord"

All Mikhail Evgrafovich's fairy tales are written with sharp sarcasm. With the help of heroes (animals or people), he ridicules not so much human vices as the stupidity of higher ranks. The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the list of which would be incomplete without the story of the wild landowner, help us to see the attitude of the nobles of the 19th century towards their serfs. The story is short, but it makes you think about many serious things.

The landowner with a strange name Urus Kuchum Kildibaev lives for his own pleasure: he gathers a rich harvest, has luxurious housing and a lot of land. But one day he got tired of the abundance of peasants in his house and decided to get rid of them. The landowner prayed to God, but he did not heed his requests. He began to mock the peasants in every possible way, began to crush them with taxes. And then the Lord took pity on them, and they disappeared.

At first, the stupid landowner was happy: now no one bothered him. But later he began to feel their absence: no one prepared food for him, no one cleaned the house. The visiting generals and police officer called him a fool. But he did not understand why they treated him like that. As a result, he became so wild that he even became like an animal: he was overgrown with hair, climbed trees, and tore his prey with his hands and ate.

Saltykov-Shchedrin skillfully portrayed the satirical guise of the vices of a nobleman. The fairy tale "The Wild Landowner" shows how stupid a person can be who does not understand that he lived well only thanks to his peasants.

In the finale, all the serfs return to the landowner, and life flourishes again: meat is sold in the market, the house is clean and tidy. Yes, but Urus Kuchum never returned to its former appearance. He still hums, missing his former wild life.

"Wise Gudgeon"

Many from childhood remember the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the list of which is not small: “How a man fed two generals”, “A bear in the province”, “Kissel”, “Konyaga”. True, we begin to understand the real meaning of these stories when we become adults.

Such is the tale "The Wise Gudgeon". He lived all his life and was afraid of everything: cancer, a water flea, a man, and even his own brother. Parents bequeathed to him: "Look at both!" And the scribbler decided to hide all his life and not come across anyone's eyes. And he lived like that for more than a hundred years. I haven't seen or heard anything in my entire life.

The tale of Saltykov-Shchedrin "The Wise Minnow" makes fun of stupid people who are ready to live their whole lives in fear of any danger. Now the old fish-man thought about what he lived for. And he became so sad because he did not see the white light. Decided to emerge from behind his driftwood. And after that no one saw him.

The writer laughs that even a pike will not eat such an old fish. The minnow in the work is called wise, but this is undoubtedly because it is extremely difficult to call him smart.

Conclusion

The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin (listed above) have become a real treasure trove of Russian literature. How clearly and wisely the author describes human shortcomings! These stories have not lost their relevance in our time. In this they resemble fables.