Russian fairy tales for children 5 6 years old. Short bedtime stories

C. Perrault “Riquet with a Tuft”

Once upon a time there lived a queen who gave birth to a son so ugly that for a long time they doubted whether he was human. The sorceress who was present at his birth assured that everything would turn out for the better, since he would be very smart; she even added that thanks to the special gift he received from her, he would be able to endow his entire mind to the person whom he loved more than anything in the world.

This somewhat consoled the poor queen, who was very upset that she had given birth to such an ugly baby. True, as soon as this child learned to babble, he immediately began to say the sweetest things, and in all his actions there was so much intelligence that one could not help but admire him. I forgot to say that he was born with a small tuft on his head, and that’s why he was nicknamed: Rike with the tuft. Rike was the name of his entire family.

Seven or eight years later, two daughters were born to the queen of one of the neighboring countries. The one that was born first was as beautiful as day; the queen was so pleased that those around her were afraid that she might become ill from too much joy. The same sorceress who was present at the birth of Rike with a tuft was also with her and, in order to dampen her joy, announced that the little princess would have no intelligence at all and that no matter how beautiful she was, she would be so stupid. This upset the queen very much, but a few minutes later she was even more upset: she gave birth to a second daughter, and she turned out to be extremely ugly.

“Don’t kill yourself like that, madam,” the sorceress told her, “your daughter will be rewarded with other qualities, and she will have so much intelligence that people will not notice the lack of beauty in her.”

“God willing,” answered the queen, “but is it not possible to make the eldest, so beautiful, become a little wiser?”

“As for the mind, madam, I can’t do anything for her,” said the sorceress, “but I can do everything when it comes to beauty, and since there is no such thing that I would not do for you, she will receive from My gift is to impart beauty to someone she likes.

As both princesses grew up, their perfections multiplied, and everywhere there was only talk about the beauty of the elder and the intelligence of the younger. It is also true that over the years their shortcomings have also intensified. The youngest grew stupid right before our eyes, and the eldest became more and more stupid every day. She either did not answer anything when asked about anything, or said nonsense. In addition, she was so clumsy that if she rearranged any porcelain things on the fireplace, she would certainly break one of them, and when she drank water, she always poured half the glass onto her dress.

Although beauty is a great virtue in a young lady, the youngest daughter has always had greater success than the eldest. At first everyone rushed to the beauty to look at her and admire her, but soon everyone went to the one who was smart, because it was pleasant to listen to her; one could only be surprised that after a quarter of an hour, even earlier, no one remained near the eldest, and all the guests surrounded the youngest. The eldest, although she was very stupid, noticed this and would not regret giving all her beauty if only to be half as smart as her sister. The queen, no matter how reasonable she was, still sometimes could not resist reproaching her daughter for her stupidity, and the poor princess almost died from grief from this.

Once in the forest, where she went to cry about her misfortune, a man of a very ugly and unpleasant appearance, dressed, however, very magnificently, approached her. It was the young Prince Riquet with the tuft: having fallen in love with her from the portraits that were distributed all over the world, he left his father’s kingdom for the pleasure of seeing her and talking with her. Delighted to meet her here all alone, he walked up to her and introduced himself as respectfully and politely as he could. He greeted her as befits, and then, noticing that the princess was very sad, he said to her:

“I don’t understand, madam, why a person as beautiful as you can be so sad?” Although I can boast that I have seen many beautiful people, I must say that I have not seen one whose beauty resembles yours.

“You are so kind, sir,” the princess answered him and could not think of anything else.

“Beauty,” continued Riquet with a tuft, “is such a great blessing that it can replace everything else for us, and when you possess it, then, it seems to me, nothing can particularly sadden us.”

“I would prefer,” said the princess, “to be as ugly as you, but to be smart, instead of to be so beautiful, but so stupid.”

“Nothing, madam, is such a sure sign of intelligence as the thought of its absence, and such is its nature that the more you have, the more you lack it.”

“I don’t know,” said the princess, “I only know that I’m very stupid, and that’s why sadness is killing me.”

“If only this upsets you, madam, I can easily put an end to your sadness.”

- How will you do this? - asked the princess.

“It is in my power, madam,” said Riquet with a tuft, “to endow with all my intelligence the person whom I love more than anything in the world.” And since this person is you, madam, now it depends on you alone to become smart, if only you agree to marry me.

The princess was completely puzzled and did not answer.

“I see,” said Rike with a tuft, “that this proposal confuses you, but I am not surprised and give you a whole year so that you can make a decision.”

The princess was so lacking in intelligence, and at the same time she so badly wanted to have it, that she imagined that this year would never end - and so she accepted the offer made to her. Before she had time to promise Rika that she would marry him exactly in a year, she felt completely different than before. Now she could say whatever she wanted with amazing ease, and speak intelligently, easily and naturally. At that very moment she began a kind and easy conversation with Prince Riquet and showed her intelligence in him with such brilliance that Riquet wondered with a tuft whether he had not given her more intelligence than he had left for himself.

When she returned to the palace, the whole court did not know what to think about such a sudden and extraordinary transformation: just as everyone had previously been accustomed to hearing nothing but nonsense from her, they were now so surprised by her sensible and infinitely witty speeches. The whole court was so happy that it is impossible to imagine; only the younger sister was not very pleased, because, no longer superior to her sister in intelligence, next to her she seemed just a nasty freak.

The king began to listen to the advice of his eldest daughter and often discussed business in her chambers. As the rumor of this change spread everywhere, young princes from all the neighboring kingdoms began to try to earn her love, and almost all asked for her hand; but none of them seemed smart enough to her, and she listened to them without promising anyone anything. But then a prince came to her so powerful, so rich, so smart and so handsome that the princess could not help but feel affection for him. Her father, noticing this, said that he would let her choose the groom and that the decision depended only on her. The smarter a person is, the more difficult it is to make a decision in such a matter, and therefore, thanking her father, she asked to give her time to think.

By chance, she went for a walk in the very forest where she met Prince Rike, so that in freedom she could think about what to do. Walking there in deep thought, she suddenly heard a dull noise under her feet, as if some people were walking, running, fussing. Listening carefully, she made out the words. Someone said: “Bring me this pot!” And someone else: “Give me that pot.” And the third: “Put some wood on the fire.” At that same moment, the earth opened up, and under her feet the princess saw a large kitchen, which was filled with cooks, cooks and everyone else, without whom it would be impossible to prepare a luxurious feast. A crowd of twenty or thirty people separated from them; These were the spinners, they headed to one of the alleys, settled down there around a long table and, with lard needles in their hands, wearing hats with fox tails on their heads, began to work together, singing a euphonious song. The princess, surprised by this sight, asked them for whom they were working.

“This, madam,” answered the most prominent of them, “is for Prince Rike, tomorrow is his wedding.”

The princess was even more surprised and, suddenly remembering that today was exactly one year since the day she promised to marry Prince Rike, she could barely stand on her feet. She did not remember this because, when she made the promise, she was still stupid, and, having received from the prince the intelligence that he gave her, she forgot all her stupidity.

She continued her walk, but had not even gone thirty steps when Rike appeared before her with a tuft, full of courage, in a magnificent outfit, well, in a word, like a prince preparing for a wedding.

“You see, madam,” he said, “I religiously kept my word and I have no doubt that you also came here to fulfill your promise and make me the happiest among people by giving me your hand.”

“I confess to you frankly,” answered the princess, “I have not yet made the decision that you would like, and I don’t think I ever will.”

- You surprise me, madam! - Rike with a tuft told her.

“I believe,” answered the princess, “and of course, if I were dealing with a rude or stupid person, I would be in great difficulty.” “The princess’s word is sacred,” he would tell me, “and you must marry me, since you promised me!” But I’m talking to the smartest person in the whole world, and therefore I’m sure that I can convince you. You know that when I was still stupid, I still did not dare to marry you - so how do you want it now, possessing the mind that you gave me and from which I became even more selective than was before, I made a decision that I couldn’t make even at that time? If you really were going to marry me, then it was in vain that you saved me from my stupidity and taught me to understand everything.

“If a stupid person, as you just said,” objected Rike with a tuft, “would be allowed to reproach you for betraying your word, then why, madam, do you not allow me to do the same when it comes to the happiness of my life?” What is the point in smart people being in a worse position than those who have no intelligence at all? Are you saying this, you, who have so much intelligence and who so wanted to become wiser? But let's get back to business. Apart from my ugliness, what don't you like about me? Are you dissatisfied with my race, my mind, my character, my behavior?

“Not at all,” answered the princess, “I like everything about you that you just listed.”

“If so,” said Rike with a tuft, “I am very glad, because you can make me the happiest of mortals.”

- How can this be? - the princess was surprised.

“It will be so,” answered Prince Rike, “if you love me so much that you wish it, and so that you, madam, have no doubts, know: from the same sorceress who, on my birthday, awarded me a magical gift and allowed me to endow with intelligence.” any person I please, you have also received a gift - you can make handsome the one you love and whom you want to honor with this grace.

“If so,” said the princess, “I sincerely wish that you become the most beautiful and most amiable prince in all the land, and, as far as it is in my power, I bring you beauty as a gift.”

Before the princess had time to utter these words, Prince Rike had already turned into the most handsome, slender and most amiable person I have ever seen.

Others claim that the sorceress’s spell had nothing to do with it, that only love brought about this transformation. They say that the princess, having reflected on the constancy of her admirer, on his modesty and on all the wonderful properties of his mind and soul, ceased to notice how ugly his body was, how ugly his face was: his hump now began to give him a certain special importance, in his In her terrible limp, she now saw only the manner of leaning slightly to one side, and this manner delighted her. They even say that his eyes now seemed even more brilliant to her because they had braids, as if she saw in them an expression of passionate love, and his big red nose acquired for her some mysterious, even heroic features.

Be that as it may, the princess promised Rika to marry him immediately, if only he received her father's consent. The king, having learned how highly his daughter ranks Prince Rike, who was also known to him as a very smart and sensible prince, was glad to see his son-in-law in him. The wedding was celebrated the next day, as Riquet with the tuft had foreseen, and in full accordance with the orders that he had given long before.

C. Perrault “The Sorceress”

Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters; the eldest was so similar to her in face and character that, as they say, she would not have separated them. They were both so proud and unfriendly that, it seems, no one would agree to live with them. The youngest, on the contrary, took after her father in meekness and politeness, and besides, she was an extraordinary beauty. Every person likes what is like him; the mother was crazy about her eldest daughter, and felt an insurmountable disgust for the younger one. She forced her to work from morning to evening and did not allow her to have dinner at the table, but sent her to the kitchen.

Twice a day the poor thing had to walk on the water, three miles from home, and bring from there a large heavy jug, full to the top. One day, while she was at the well, a beggar approached her and asked her to give her a drink. “If you please, my dear,” the beauty answered, she rinsed the jug, scooped up water from the cleanest part of the source and gave it to her, and she supported the jug with her hand so that the old woman could drink more easily. The old woman took a sip of water and said: “You are so beautiful and so kind and polite that I can’t help but give you a gift. (This old woman was a sorceress who turned into a beggar in order to test the good character of a young girl.) And my gift to you will be that every time you utter a word, either a flower or a precious stone will fall out of your mouth.” .

The beauty returned home, and her mother began to scold her for having waited so long at the well.

- Excuse me, mother; “I was definitely a little slow,” she answered and immediately dropped two roses, two pearls and two large diamonds from her mouth.

- What I see! - the old woman exclaimed in surprise. “Pearls and diamonds are falling out of her mouth!” Where did this grace come to you, my daughter? — (She called her daughter for the first time in her childhood.)

The poor thing told me everything sincerely, dropping a diamond at every word.

- That's how it is! - the widow objected. “So I’ll send my daughter there now.” Come here, Pear, look what falls out of your sister’s mouth when she speaks! I suppose you too would like to have the same gift! You should follow the water to the source, and if a beggar asks you to drink water, fulfill her request with all politeness and courtesy.

- Here's another! - the angry woman objected. - I’m the type to walk on water, of course!

“I want you to walk on the water,” the mother objected, “and this very minute.”

She went, but grumbled all the time. She took with her the most beautiful silver decanter that was ever in their house. Before she had time to approach the source, she saw a lady extremely richly dressed; this lady came out of the forest, approached her and asked her to give her a drink. It was the same sorceress who had appeared to her sister, but this time she took on the appearance and entire appearance of a princess in order to experience the extent to which this girl’s character was bad and unfriendly.

- Did I come here to give water to others! — the proud woman answered rudely. “Isn’t it just for you that I brought this silver decanter from home?” Vish K 9. KN. I'm a lady! You can scoop it up with your own hand if you’re so thirsty.

- How ignorant you are! - the sorceress answered in a calm voice, without any anger, however. “Well, if you did this to me, I’ll give you a gift, and it will consist in the fact that with every word you say, a snake or a toad will fall out of your mouth.”

Mother, as soon as she saw her Pear from a distance, immediately shouted:

- Well. what, daughter?

- Well, mother? - she answered, and two snakes and two toads jumped out of her mouth.

“Oh heaven,” exclaimed the old woman, “what do I see!” It's all because of my sister - that's true... Well, just wait! I'm her!

She rushed to beat the poor thing, her second daughter, but she ran away and hid in the neighboring forest. The king's son, returning from a hunt, met her there and, struck by her beauty, asked her what she was doing in the forest and why she was crying.

- Ah, sir! - she answered. “Mother drove me out of the house,” and with these words several pearls and diamonds fell out of her mouth.

The king's son was surprised and immediately asked what this meant. She told him her adventure. The king's son immediately fell in love with her and, realizing that such a gift was worth any dowry, took her to his father's palace and married her.

And her sister brought herself to such a state that everyone hated her and even her own mother drove her away, and the unfortunate woman, rejected by everyone, died alone in the forest from grief and hunger.

Brothers Grimm "The Frog King, or Iron Henry"

In the old days, when you only had to think about something and your wish was immediately fulfilled, there lived a king. He had several daughters, one more beautiful than the other. But the youngest was considered the most beautiful: even the sun, which had seen many miracles, was surprised when it illuminated her face.

Near the royal castle there grew a dense dark forest, and in it, under an old linden tree, a well was dug. Often on hot days the youngest princess came to the forest and sat down in the coolness by the well. When she got bored, she entertained herself with her favorite game: tossing and catching a golden ball.

And then one day the golden ball thrown by the queen did not hit her outstretched hand, but hit the ground, rolled straight into the well and, alas, disappeared into the water. The well was so deep that its bottom could not be seen. The princess began to cry and could not console herself.

- Why are you crying, beauty? Your grief will melt even a stone.

The princess looked around and saw a frog sticking his fat ugly head out of the well.

“I’m grieving, old water-slapper, because of my golden ball that fell into your well,” answered the girl.

- Calm down, princess, I will help your grief. But what will you give me if I get the toy? - asked the frog.

- Whatever you want, dear frog: my dresses, pearls and semi-precious stones, even a gold crown...

“I don’t need your dresses, or your pearls and semi-precious stones, or your golden crown.” Promise to love me and take me with you everywhere: I will play with you, sit next to you, eat from your golden plate, drink from your cup, sleep in your bed. Only then will I go down into the well and get the golden ball,” said the frog.

“I promise, just give me back my toy.”

But the princess thought to herself: “What stupidity! Let the watersplash sit in the well with its own kind and croak. Where can a frog be a man’s comrade!”

The little frog disappeared into the water, sank to the very bottom and a few moments later swam out again, holding a ball in his mouth. The princess was delighted, picked up the toy and ran away from the well.

- Wait, wait, princess! - the frog shouted after her. - Take me with you, I won’t be able to keep up with you.

But where is it? The frog called to the girl in vain; the fugitive did not listen to him. She returned to the palace and forgot to think about the poor little frog, who dived back into the well without eating.

The next day, when the king and his daughters sat down at the table, suddenly everyone heard: splash, splash, splash. Someone walked along the marble steps of the stairs, got to the door and said:

“Little princess, open for me!”

The girl jumped up and, opening the door, saw a frog behind it. She got scared, quickly slammed the door and returned to the table. But the king noticed that something was wrong with his daughter and asked:

-What are you afraid of, daughter? Is it possible that a giant is standing outside the door and wants to kidnap you?

- Not a giant, but a vile frog! - answered the princess.

- What does he need from you?

- Oh, dear father, yesterday I was playing by a well in the forest and dropped a golden ball into the water. I cried so much that the frog took pity on me and took out a toy, but demanded that I be inseparable from him. I promised, but I didn’t think that he could come out of the water. And now the frog is waiting at the door...

Then there was another knock on the door, and a voice said:

- Princess, princess!

Why don't you open it?

I forgot my promise

By the cool waters of a well?

Queen, princess,

Why don't you open it?

The king strictly ordered his daughter:

- What you promised, you must fulfill. Go and open the door for the frog!

The princess opened the door, the frog jumped into the room and, following on the heels of the girl, jumped to the table and croaked: “Pick me up!” The princess hesitated, but her father looked at her sternly, and the girl, lowering her head, sat the frog on the table. But everything was not enough for him.

“Move your golden dish closer to me,” said the frog, “we’ll eat together.”

What to do? The princess had to fulfill this request of the guest. The little frog gobbled up the food on both cheeks, but the young housewife couldn’t get a piece down her throat. Finally the little frog had eaten and said:

“I’m tired, take me to your room and put me in a downy bed, it’s time for us to sleep.”

The princess burst into tears, it was unpleasant for her to let the cold and slippery frog into her bed. But the king became angry and said:

“Whoever helped you in trouble is not for you to despise.”

The girl took the frog with two fingers, carried it to her and threw it into the corner. But when she got into bed, a little frog crawled up and croaked:

“I’m tired, I also want to sleep.” Put me on the bed, otherwise I'll complain to your father!

The princess got angry, grabbed the frog and threw him with all her might right against the wall. And then the vile frog turned into a stately prince. He said that an evil witch turned him into a frog and no one except the king’s youngest daughter was able to break his spell.

And by the will of the king, the youngest daughter became the young man’s wife, and they decided to go to the native kingdom of the former frog.

The next morning a carriage pulled by eight white horses drove up to the porch. The horses' harness was all made of gold chains, decorated with plumes of white ostrich feathers. At the rear of the carriage stood the prince's faithful servant. The servant's name was Heinrich.

When his owner was turned into a frog, the devoted Henry was so sad that he ordered three iron hoops to be made and chained his heart in them so that it would not be torn apart from grief. Now the servant was happy that his master was freed from the evil spell.

Henry put the young people into the carriage, and they set off. The travelers drove part of the road when the prince suddenly heard a crash, as if something had broken off. He turned around and exclaimed:

- What crunched there, Heinrich? Is the carriage really broken?

And the faithful servant answers him:

- No! The carriage is intact, my lord. And this

The iron hoop on my heart broke:

It has suffered, lord, for

That you were imprisoned in a cold well

And he is doomed to remain a frog forever.

And two more times something crunched during the journey - this was the breaking of the hoops on the heart of faithful Henry, because his master was now freed from the spell and happy.

3. Topelius “Three ears of rye”

It all started on New Year's Eve.

There lived a rich peasant in one village. The village stood on the shore of a lake, and in the most prominent place stood the rich man’s house - with outbuildings, barns, sheds, behind blind gates.

And on the other bank, near the forest edge, huddled a small house, open to all the winds. But the wind couldn’t get hold of anything here.

It was cold outside. The trees were crackling from the frost, and clouds of snow were swirling over the lake.

“Listen, master,” said the rich man’s wife, “let’s put at least three ears of rye on the roof for the sparrows!” After all, today is a holiday, New Year.

“I’m not so rich as to throw away so much grain to some sparrows,” said the old man.

“But that’s the custom,” the wife began again. - They say it’s fortunate.

“And I’m telling you that I’m not so rich as to throw grain to the sparrows,” the old man said abruptly.

But the wife did not let up.

“Perhaps the poor man who lives on the other side of the lake,” she said, “didn’t forget about the sparrows on New Year’s Eve.” But you sow ten times more grain than he does.

- Don't talk nonsense! the old man shouted at her. “I already feed a lot of mouths.” What else did you come up with - throw away the grain to the sparrows!

“That’s how it is,” sighed the old woman, “but it’s a custom...

“Well, here’s what,” the old man interrupted her, “know your job, bake bread and take care that the ham doesn’t burn.” And sparrows are not our concern.

And so in a rich peasant house they began to prepare for the New Year - they baked, fried, stewed, and boiled. The table was literally bursting with pots and bowls. Only the hungry sparrows that jumped on the roof did not get a single crumb. In vain they circled over the house - not a single grain, not a single crust of bread was found.

And in the poor house on the other side of the lake, it was as if they had forgotten about the New Year. The table and stove were empty, but a rich treat was prepared for the sparrows on the roof - three whole ears of ripe rye.

“If only we had threshed these ears of corn and not given them to the sparrows, we would have had a holiday today!” What kind of cakes I would bake for the New Year! - said the poor peasant’s wife with a sigh.

- What kind of flatbreads are there! - the peasant laughed. - Well, how much grain could you thresh from these ears! Just in time for a sparrow feast!

“And that’s true,” the wife agreed. - But still...

“Don’t grumble, mother,” the peasant interrupted her, “I saved some money for the New Year.” Gather the children quickly, let them go to the village and buy us fresh bread and a jug of milk. We will also have a holiday - no worse than the sparrows!

“I’m afraid to send them at this time,” said the mother, “after all, wolves roam here...”

“It’s okay,” said the father, “I’ll give Johan a strong stick, with this stick he will scare away any wolf.”

And so little Johan and his sister Nilla took a sled, a bread bag, a milk jug, and a huge stick just in case and went to the village on the other side of the lake.

When they returned home, dusk had already deepened.

The blizzard created large snowdrifts on the lake. Johan and Nilla dragged the sled with difficulty, continually falling into deep snow. But the snow kept falling and falling, the snowdrifts grew and grew, and it was still far from home.

Suddenly, in the darkness in front of them, something moved. The man is not a man, and does not look like a dog. And it was a wolf - huge, thin. It opened its mouth, stood across the road and howled.

“Now I’ll drive him away,” said Yukhan and swung his stick.

But the wolf didn’t even move from his spot. Apparently, he wasn’t at all frightened by Johan’s stick, but he didn’t seem to be going to attack the children either. He only howled even more pitifully, as if he was asking for something. And oddly enough, the children understood him perfectly.

“Uh-oh, what a cold, what a fierce cold,” the wolf complained, “my wolf cubs have absolutely nothing to eat!” They will starve!

“It’s a pity for your wolf cubs,” said Nilla, “but we ourselves have nothing but bread.” Here, take two fresh loaves for your wolf cubs, and two will be left for us.

“Thank you, I will never forget your kindness,” said the wolf, grabbed two loaves of bread with his teeth and ran away.

The children tied the bag with the remaining bread tighter and, stumbling, wandered on.

They had walked only a short distance when they suddenly heard someone treading heavily behind them in the deep snow. Who could it be? Johan and Nilla looked around. And it was a huge bear. The bear growled something in its own way, and at first Johan and Nilla could not understand it. But soon they began to make out what he was saying.

“Mor-r-roz, what a mor-r-roz,” the bear growled. - All the r-r-r-streams froze, all the r-r-rivers froze...

- Why are you wandering around? - Johan was surprised. “I would sleep in my den like other bears and dream.”

— My cubs are crying and asking for water. And all the rivers froze, all the streams froze. How can I get my cubs to drink?

- Don’t worry, we’ll pour you some milk. Give me your bucket!

The bear offered a birch bark bucket, which he held in his paws, and the children poured half a jug of milk for him.

“Good children, good children,” muttered the bear and went on its way, swaying from paw to paw.

And Johan and Nilla went their separate ways. The load on their sleds became lighter, and now they moved faster through the snowdrifts. And the light in the window of their house was already visible through the darkness and snowstorm.

But then they heard some strange noise overhead. It was neither wind nor blizzard. Johan and Nilla looked up and saw an ugly owl. She beat her wings with all her might, trying to keep up with the children.

- Give me the bread! Give me the milk! - the owl shouted in a creaky voice and had already spread out its sharp talons to grab its prey.

- I’ll give it to you now! - said Yuhan and began to swing the stick with such force that the owl’s feathers flew in all directions.

The owl had to get away before its wings were completely broken off.

And the children soon reached home. They shook off the snow, pulled the sled onto the porch and entered the house.

- Finally! - the mother sighed joyfully. - Why didn’t I change my mind! What if, I think, they meet a wolf...

“That’s who we met,” said Johan. “Only he didn’t do anything bad to us.” And we gave him some bread for his wolf cubs.

“We also met a bear,” said Nilla. “He’s not scary at all either.” We gave him milk for his cubs.

— Did you bring anything home? Or did you treat anyone else? - asked the mother.

- Another owl! We treated her to a stick! - Johan and Nilla laughed. “And we brought home two loaves of bread and half a jug of milk.” So now we will have a real feast!

The time was already approaching midnight, and the whole family sat down at the table. The father cut the bread into slices, and the mother poured milk into the mugs. But no matter how much the father cut off the loaf, the loaf still remained intact. And there was as much milk left in the jug as there was.

- What miracles! - Father and mother were surprised.

- That's how much we bought! - Johan and Nilla said and offered their mugs and bowls to their mother.

Exactly at midnight, when the clock struck twelve, everyone heard someone scratching at the small window.

So what do you think? A wolf and a bear were stomping around the window, putting their front paws on the window frame. Both grinned cheerfully and nodded cordially to their owners, as if wishing them a Happy New Year.

The next day, when the children ran to the table, two fresh loaves and half a jug of milk stood as if untouched. And this happened every day. And when spring came, the cheerful chirping of the sparrows seemed to attract the sun's rays to the poor peasant's small field, and he had a harvest such as no one had ever harvested. And no matter what business the peasant and his wife took up, everything went well and went smoothly in their hands.

But for the rich peasant, the farm went wrong. The sun seemed to avoid his fields, and his bins became empty.

“It’s all because we don’t take care of what is good,” the owner lamented. - Give to this, lend to this. We are famous for being rich! Where's the gratitude? No, we are not so rich, wife, we are not so rich as to think about others. Drive all the beggars out of the yard!

And they drove away everyone who approached their gates. But they still had no luck in anything.

“Maybe we eat too much,” said the old man.

And he ordered them to be prepared for the table only once a day. Everyone sits there hungry, but there is no increase in wealth in the house.

“That’s right, we eat too fatty,” said the old man. - Listen, wife, go to those on the other side of the lake and learn how to cook. They say you can add fir cones to bread and cook lingonberry green soup.

“Well, I’ll go,” said the old woman and set off.

She returned in the evening.

- What, have you gained some sense? - asked the old man.

“I’ve had enough,” said the old woman. “But they don’t add anything to the bread.”

- So, have you tried their bread? Surely, they keep their bread away from guests.

“No,” the old woman replies, “whoever comes to them, they seat them at the table and give them something to eat.” The stray dog ​​will be fed too. And always from a good heart. That is why they are lucky in everything.

“It’s wonderful,” said the old man, “I’ve never heard of people getting rich because they help others.” Well, okay, take a whole loaf and give it to the beggars on the highway. Yes, tell them to move away to all four directions.

“No,” the old woman said with a sigh, “that won’t help.” We must give from a good heart...

- Here's another! - the old man grumbled. - Not only are you giving what you have, it’s also from the good heart!.. Well, okay, give from the good heart. But the only agreement is this: let them work it out later. We are not so rich as to give away our goods for free.

But the old woman stood her ground:

- No, if you give it, it will be without any agreement.

- What is it! “The old man almost choked with frustration. - Give away what you have acquired for free!

“So if it’s for anything, it won’t be from the heart,” the old woman insisted.

- Wonderful things!

The old man shook his head doubtfully. Then he sighed heavily and said:

- Listen, wife, there is a small sheaf of unmilked rye left on the threshing floor. Take out three ears of corn and save them for the sparrows for the New Year. Let's start with them.

E. Nesbitt “Good Little Edmond”

Edmond was a boy. People who didn't like him said he was the most annoying boy they had ever met; but his grandmother and other friends insisted that he simply had a very inquisitive mind. His grandmother often even added that he was the best of all the boys in the world. But she was very old and very kind.

Edmond loved most of all to find out and examine everything. His inquisitive mind led him to take apart clocks and see what made them tick, to rip locks off doors to find out what made them hold. Edmond was also exactly the boy who cut open the rubber ball, wanting to see what made it bounce; It’s clear that he saw absolutely nothing, just like you yourself when you did the same experiment.

He completely independently invented a very ingenious and new lantern, made of a turnip and a glass, and when he took a candle from a candlestick that stood in his grandmother's bedroom and inserted it into the lantern, the latter gave a magnificent light.

The next day he had to go to school, where he was whipped for skipping classes without permission, despite the fact that he quite frankly explained that he was too busy building a lantern and therefore did not have time to go to school.

But the next day Edmond got up very early and took with him the breakfast that his grandmother had prepared for him for school: two hard-boiled eggs and an apple pie, he also took his lantern and went straight as an arrow flies to the mountains, with the intention of exploring the caves .

It was very dark in the caves, but his lantern illuminated them brilliantly; and these were wonderfully interesting caves with stalactites, stalagmites, various fossils and all those things that you can read about in educational books for children. But at this time Edmond was not at all interested in all this. He longed to know what made the sounds that frightened people so much, and there was nothing in the caves that could explain this question to him.

After wandering around for a while, he sat down in the largest of the caves and began to listen carefully; it seemed to him that he was able to distinguish three different types of sounds. Firstly, some heavy, rumbling sound was heard, as if some very fat old gentleman was sleeping after dinner; at the same time a second, quieter kind of roar was heard; then some more clucking and ticking could be heard, similar to what a chicken as tall as a haystack might make.

“It seems to me,” Edmond remarked to himself, “that clucking is closest to me!”

He rose from his seat and began to examine the caves again. But he found nothing and only during the last walk around he noticed some kind of hole in the wall of the cave, approximately halfway up its height. Being a boy, he, of course, climbed up and crawled into it; the hole turned out to be the entrance to a rocky corridor. Now the cackling sound was much louder than before, but the roar could barely be heard.

- Finally, I will open something! - Edmond said and walked on.

The corridor twisted and turned this way and that, but Edmond bravely moved on.

“My lantern is burning better and better,” he remarked a little later, but the next minute he became convinced that not all the light was coming from his lantern. It was some kind of pale yellow light penetrating into the corridor quite far ahead, through something that looked like a crack in the door.

“It’s probably fire inside the earth,” said Edmond, who couldn’t help but learn about it at school.

But quite unexpectedly, the light ahead flickered faintly and went out—the clucking also stopped.

The next second Edmond turned the corner and found himself in front of a rocky door. The door was not tightly closed. He entered and found himself in a round cave, shaped like the dome of a church. In the middle of the cave there was a recess that looked like a huge basin for washing, and in the middle of this basin sat a very large pale creature. This creature had a human face, a vulture's body, large feathered wings, a snake's tail, a cock's comb, and neck feathers.

-What kind of creature are you? - Edmond asked.

“I am a poor halogryph, dying of hunger,” answered the pale creature in a very weak voice, “and I will die soon!” Ah, I know that I will die! My fire has gone out! I can’t even imagine how this happened; I probably fell asleep. Once a century I have to stir it seven times with my tail to keep it burning, and my watch must be wrong. And now I'm dying.

I think I have already told you that Edmond was a very kind boy.

“Be comforted,” he said. - I will light your fire!..

With these words he left and returned a few minutes later with a huge armful of dry branches from the pine trees growing on the mountain, and with the help of them and a couple of textbooks that he had forgotten to lose until now and which, through an oversight, had been kept intact in his pocket, he made a fire around the entire halogrif. The firewood flared up brightly, and, a little later, something caught fire in the basin, and Edmond saw that there was some kind of liquid that burned like alcohol. Now the halogriff stirred it with its tail and flapped its wings at it; some liquid splashed onto Edmond's hands and burned them quite badly. But the halogriff became rosy, strong and cheerful; his crest turned red, his feathers sparkled, and he stood up and shouted “Ku-ka-ka-ka-ka!” - very loud and clear.

Edmond's kind heart rejoiced when he saw that his new acquaintance's health had improved so much.

- Don't thank me - I'm delighted that I could help you! - he said as the halogriff began to thank him.

- But what can I do for you? - asked the strange creature.

“Tell me some stories,” Edmond asked.

- About what? - asked the halogriff.

“What really exists, but what the schools don’t know,” Edmond said.

And then the halogriff began to tell him about mines and treasures, about geological formations, about gnomes, fairies and dragons, about glaciers and the Stone Age, about the beginning of the world, about the unicorn and the Phoenix and about white and black magic.

And Edmond ate hard-boiled eggs and pie and listened. And when he got hungry again, he said goodbye to the halogriff and went home. But the next day he came again for new stories, just like the next and the next; This went on for quite some time.

In a completely different part of the mountain, he found a dark passage, all covered with copper on all sides, which made it look like the inside of a huge telescope, and at the very end of it he saw a bright green door. On the door was a brass plaque that read: “Mistress D. (knock and ring)” and a white note that read: “Wake me up at three o’clock.” Edmond had a watch; they were given to him on his birthday, that is, two days ago; he hadn't yet had time to take them apart to see what made them go, so they were still going. He looked at them now. It was a quarter to three.

Haven't I already told you that Edmond was a very kind boy? He sat down on the brass step by the door and waited until three o'clock. Then he knocked and rang; There was some rumbling and puffing from behind the door. The large door swung open quickly, and Edmond barely had time to hide behind it when a huge yellow dragon appeared, crawling down the copper corridor like a large worm, or rather like a monstrous millipede.

Edmond slowly crawled out after him and saw the dragon stretched out among the rocks in the sun; the boy sneaked past the huge animal, rushed down the mountain into the city and burst into the school shouting:

- A big dragon is crawling here! Someone has to do something or we'll all die!

He pointed out the window, and everyone could see a huge yellow cloud rising to the sky above the mountain.

Edmond sneaked out of the school and ran as fast as he could across town to warn his grandmother; but she was not at home. Then he ran out the back gate of the city and rushed to the mountain to tell the halogriff about everything and ask him to help the grief.

At the entrance to the halogryph's cave, Edmond stopped, almost choking, and looked back at the city. As he ran, he felt his little legs tremble and buckle under him as the shadow of a huge cloud fell on him. Now he stood again between the warm earth and the blue sky and looked down on the green plain dotted with fruit trees, red-tiled farms and fields of golden grain. In the midst of this plain lay the gray city, with its strong walls, in which loopholes were made for archers, and with square towers, with holes through which molten lead could be poured on the heads of strangers, with its bridges, bell towers, a calm river bordered by willows and alder trees, and a beautiful green square in the middle of the city, where on holidays the residents sat, smoking their pipes and listening to the military band.

Edmond saw it all clearly; but he also saw a yellow dragon crawling along the valley, leaving a black trail behind it, as everything burned in its path; and he noticed that this dragon was many times larger than the entire city.

- Oh, my poor, dear grandmother! - Edmond exclaimed, for he had a very kind heart, which I should have told you about earlier.

The yellow dragon crawled closer and closer to the city, licking its greedy lips with a long red tongue, and Edmond knew that at school the teacher was still diligently teaching the boys and still did not believe his story at all.

Meanwhile, the dragon opened its mouth wider and wider. Edmond closed his eyes as tightly as he could, because the good boy was still frightened by the thought of seeing a terrible sight.

When he opened his eyes again, the city no longer existed - in the place where he had previously stood, empty space could be seen; the dragon licked his lips and curled up into a ball for an afternoon nap, like your cat does after finishing with a mouse. Edmond barely caught his breath twice, then ran into the cave to tell the halogriff about everything that had happened.

“Well,” the halogriff said thoughtfully, having listened to the whole story to the end, “what’s next?”

“It seems to me that you didn’t quite understand me,” Edmond said meekly, “the dragon swallowed the whole city.”

- Is this some kind of misfortune? - asked the halogriff.

“But I live there,” Edmond remarked in bewilderment.

“Don’t be sad,” said the halogriff, turning in his fiery puddle to warm his other side, frozen due to the fact that Edmond, as usual, forgot to close the cave door, “you can live here with me.”

“I’m afraid that you still didn’t quite clearly understand my words,” Edmond began to explain again with great patience. “You see, my grandmother remained in the city, and I cannot bear the thought that I would have to lose her in this way.”

“I don’t know what it is, a grandmother,” remarked the halogriff, who, apparently, began to get tired of this conversation, “but if it’s property to which you attach any importance...”

- Yes, of course, I do! - Edmond exclaimed, finally losing patience. - Oh, please help me! Tell me what should I do?

“If I were you,” said his friend, stretching in a puddle of fire so that the waves covered him up to his chin, “I would find the little dragon and bring him here.”

- But why? - Edmond asked. He had acquired the habit of asking “why” at school, and the teacher always found it extremely annoying. As for the halogryph, he did not intend to tolerate anything like that even for a minute.

- Oh, don't talk to me! - exclaimed the halogryph irritably, splashing in the flames. - I give you good advice; follow it or not, as you wish, I will no longer care about you. If you bring me the baby dragon here, I'll tell you what to do next. If not, then no!

And the halogriff wrapped the flame more tightly around his shoulders, buried himself in it as if in a blanket, and prepared to fall asleep.

This was the best way to deal with Edmond, but until now no one had thought to try it.

He stood for a minute, looking at the halogriff; he looked at him out of the corner of his eye and began to snore very loudly, and Edmond realized once and for all that his friend would not allow him to joke with himself. From that moment on, he felt deep respect for the halogryph and immediately went to do what he was ordered, perhaps for the first time in his life.

He bravely rushed into the caves and searched and wandered and wandered and searched, until finally he found a third door in the mountain, on which was written: “The child is sleeping.” Near the door there were fifty pairs of copper shoes, and no one could see them without guessing at the same moment what kind of legs they were made for, since in each shoe there were five holes for the five claws of the dragonet. There were fifty pairs of them, because the dragon looked like its mother and had a hundred legs - no more and no less. He belonged to a species called in learned books the Centipede Dragon.

Edmond was greatly frightened, but suddenly he remembered the gloomy expression in the eyes of the halogryph, and the stubborn determination expressed in his snoring still resounded in his ears, despite the snoring of the dragonet, which in itself was also worth something. He somehow gathered his courage, opened the door and shouted loudly:

- Hey, you little dragon! Get out of bed now!

The little dragon stopped snoring and said in a sleepy voice:

- It's too early!

- Mom, in any case, ordered you to get up; Well, get up now, do you hear? - Edmond ordered, his courage increased by the fact that the baby dragon had not yet eaten him.

The baby dragon sighed, and Edmond could hear him getting out of bed. The next minute he began to crawl out of his room and put on his shoes. He was much smaller than his mother and no taller than the small chapel.

- Hurry up! - Edmond said when the little dragon began to clumsily fiddle with the seventeenth shoe, which for some reason could not put on for a long time.

“Mom said that I should never dare to go out without shoes,” the little dragon apologized, and Edmond had to help him put them on. This took a long time and was far from pleasant.

Finally the little dragon announced that he was completely ready; Edmond, having forgotten his fear, said:

- In that case, let's go! - and they went back to the halogryph.

“Here he is,” Edmond announced, and the halogriff immediately woke up and very politely asked the little dragon to sit down and wait.

“Your mother will come now,” the halogriff noted, stirring his fire.

The little dragon sat down and began to wait, but all the time he watched the fire with hungry, greedy eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he finally couldn’t bear it, “but I’m used to eating a small cup of fire every morning as soon as I wake up, and now I feel like I’m a little weaker.” Will you allow me?

He extended a claw towards the halogriff's pelvis.

“Of course not,” the halogriff answered sharply, “and where were you brought up?” Weren't you taught that "you should never ask for everything you see?" A?

“Excuse me, please,” said the little dragon humbly, “but I’m really terribly hungry.”

The halogriff beckoned Edmond to the edge of his pelvis and whispered something in his ear for so long and convincingly that the hair on one side of the sweet boy’s head was completely burned off. But he never even once interrupted the halogriff to ask him “why.” And when the whispering ended, Edmond, who, as I may have already mentioned, had a kind heart, said to the little dragon:

“If you are really hungry, poor creature, I can show you where the whole mass of fire is.”

Having reached the proper place, Edmond stopped.

Here, in the floor, one could see a round iron lid, like those that cover spare water taps, only much larger. Edmond picked it up by a hook embedded in one of its edges; a stream of hot air escaped from the hole, almost suffocating him. But the little dragon came very close, looked into the hole with one eye and remarked:

- It smells very tasty, doesn’t it?

“Yes,” replied Edmond, “the fire that burns inside the earth is preserved here.” There’s a whole abyss of it there and it’s completely ready. Wouldn't it be better for you to go down there and start breakfast; How do you think?

So, the little dragon squeezed through the hole and began to crawl faster and faster along the inclined shaft that leads to the fire inside the earth. And Edmond, this time strangely doing exactly what he was told, caught the tip of the dragonet's tail and stuck an iron hook into it, so that the dragonet could not move further.

So, we see the baby dragon, tightly held by his own stupid tail, and Edmond, who, with an extremely important and businesslike look and, obviously, very pleased with himself, was hurrying back to the halogryph.

- And now? - he asked.

“Well, now,” answered the halogriff, “go to the opening in the cave and laugh so loudly that the dragon can hear you.”

Edmond almost asked “why?”, but stopped in time and only remarked:

- He won't hear me...

- Well, great! - answered the halogriff, “probably you know better than me,” and he began to wrap himself in the fire. Edmond, of course, immediately did as he was ordered.

When he began to laugh, his laughter was repeated by the hundred-voice echo of the caves, so that it could seem that a whole castle full of giants was laughing.

The dragon, who had lain down to sleep in the sun, woke up and said in an angry voice:

-What are you laughing at so much?

- Over you! - Edmond exclaimed, continuing to laugh.

The dragon endured as best he could, but, like everyone else, he could not bear to be laughed at, and so after a while he trudged up the mountain very, very slowly, since he had eaten a hearty lunch, and asked again:

Then the good halogriff shouted:

- Over you! You ate your own baby dragon—swallowed it along with the city. Your very own baby dragon! Ha ha ha!

And Edmond became so bold that he also timidly repeated - “Ha-ha-ha!”

- That's the story! - the dragon was horrified. “No wonder it seemed to me as if the city was slightly stuck in my throat.” I have to take it out of my throat and examine it more carefully!

With these words, he began to cough and coughed up his throat, and the city found itself on the mountainside.

Edmond ran back to the halogryph, who told him what to do next. So, before the dragon had time to scan the entire city to make sure that his offspring was not there, the voice of the most pitifully howling dragon came from inside the mountain. Edmond pinched his tail with all his might with an iron cap, similar to the cap of spare water taps. The dragon heard this howl and became alarmed.

- What finally happened to the little one? He's not here! - With these words, he stretched out like a thread and crawled up the mountain to look for his little dragon.

The halogriff continued to laugh at the top of his lungs, and Edmond continued to pinch the dragonet's tail and, a little later, the head of a large dragon, stretched out into an unusually long thread, found itself at a round hole with an iron lid. His tail was a mile or two outside the mountain. When Edmond heard him approaching, he pinched the baby dragon's tail one last time, then lifted the lid and stood behind it so that the large dragon could not see him. Then he took the baby dragon's tail off the hook, and the old dragon looked through the hole just in time to see his baby dragon's tail disappear at the bottom of the smooth sloping gallery, to the accompaniment of a final cry of pain. Whatever the dragon's other shortcomings, he, in any case, had highly developed parental feelings. He threw himself headfirst into the hole and quickly slid down after his baby. Edmond watched as his head disappeared, and then everything else. The dragon was so long and stretched so thin that it took a whole night.

When the last link of the dragon's tail disappeared, Edmond quickly closed the iron lid. He was a good boy, as you have already noticed, and he was pleased with the thought that now both the dragon and his little dragon would have plenty of their favorite delicacy for eternity.

He thanked the halogriff for his kindness and returned home in time to have breakfast and get to school by nine o'clock.

The next day it occurred to Edmond that he could prove to the people the veracity of his stories by showing them the halogriff, and he actually persuaded some of the inhabitants of the city to go with him into the caves; but the halogriff locked himself in his room and did not want to open the door, so Edmond gained nothing by this except extra reproaches.

And poor Edmond could not object a word, although he knew how unfair these reproaches were.

The only person who believed him was his grandmother. But she was very old and very kind and always claimed that he was the best of the boys.

This whole long story had only one good result. Edmond has changed a lot. He argues much less now and has agreed to become an apprentice to a locksmith so that someday in the future he will be able to pick the lock of the Halogriff's front door and learn some more of the interesting things that other people have no idea about.

But now he was completely old, and he still could not open this door.

K. Chapek “The Case of Leshim”

Quite a few years ago, I tell you, Leshy lived in the forest on Krakorka. And he was, you need to know, one of the most disgusting monsters that can ever be found in the world.

A man is walking through the forest at night - and suddenly someone somewhere whoops, screams, yells, whines or laughs terribly. It is clear that the person will be scared to death. Such horror will attack him that he runs, not feeling his feet under him - and just look, he will give his soul to God out of fear.

This is what Leshy did on Krakorka year after year; and he instilled such fear that people were afraid to show their noses there at dusk.

And then one day a strange man comes to my hospital - his mouth is up to his ears, even sewn up, his throat is tied with some kind of rag - and begins to sniffle, wheeze, snore, hiss, grunt and creak. You can't understand a single word!

“So what do you have?” - I ask.

“Mr. Doctor,” this fellow wheezes, “with your permission, I seem to be hoarse.”

“I see that,” I say. “Who are you and where are you from?”

The patient, after hesitating a little, admitted:

“I, with your permission, am none other than the Goblin from Mount Krakorki.”

"A! - I say. - So you are that scoundrel, that shameless one who scares people in the forest? Serves you right, damn it, you've lost your voice! And do you still think that I will treat your fari- and laryngitis or gotar kartans, that is, I wanted to say, catarrhs ​​of the larynx, so that you can continue to scream and yell in the forest and cast spells on people? No, no, wheeze

and wheeze to your health, at least you will give people peace!”

And, imagine, here this Leshy prayed:

“For God’s sake, Mr. Doctor, I beg you, heal my throat! I will behave well, I will not scare people.”

“That’s what I advise you,” I say. “You tore your throat with your screaming, and that’s why you lost your voice, okay?” For you, my dear fellow, scaring people in the forest is the most inappropriate thing for you: the forest is cold and damp, and your respiratory tract is too delicate. I don’t know, I don’t know what to do with you... Qatar could still be cured, but you would have to stop scaring people forever and move somewhere far away from the forest, otherwise nothing will help you.”

My goblin was embarrassed and scratched his head.

“This matter is difficult. How will I live if I stop scaring? I don’t know any other craft other than yelling and screaming, and that’s while I have a voice.”

“Yes, my dear,” I tell him, “with such a rare throat as yours, I would go to the opera as a singer, or as a market trader, or as a circus barker. It's just a shame that such a powerful, outstanding voice is lost in the wilderness. Have you thought about this? The city would probably appreciate you more.”

“I sometimes thought about this myself,” Leshy admitted. “Well, we’ll try to settle somewhere else, only, of course, when the voice returns!”

And so I, my colleagues, lubricated his larynx with iodine, ordered him to gargle with potassium permanganate and calcium chloride and prescribed streptocide internally and a compress on the neck externally. Since then, Leshy has not been heard from Krakorka. Apparently, he actually moved to another place and stopped scaring people.

One woman had a stepdaughter and her own daughter. This woman loved her daughter, but could not even look at her stepdaughter. And all because Marushka was much more beautiful than her Golena. Marushka, patient and submissive, had to do all the work: wash and cook, spin and weave, mow the grass and look after the cow. And all Golena did was dress up and sit on the heap. Only Golena became uglier every day, and Marushka more beautiful. So the stepmother and Golena decided to drive Marushka out of the world. No sooner said than done.

One day in mid-January, Shin wanted snowdrops.

- Go, Marushka, into the forest and pick me some snowdrops. I'll pin them to my belt.

- Oh, little sister, how could such a thing come into your head? Where have you seen flowers growing under the snow? - Marushka cried.

- Do you want to argue with me? Please obey! Bring snowdrops, otherwise it will get worse! - Golena threatened, and the stepmother put Marushka out the door and locked all the locks.

Marushka cried even more bitterly and went into the forest. And there the snow is waist-deep, dark, scary, cold. Marushka wandered through the forest for a long time, got stuck in snowdrifts, and was completely frozen. Only suddenly I saw in the distance between the trees, as if a light was glowing. She turned towards the light and came to a high mountain. On that mountain a large fire is burning, there are twelve stones around the fire, and twelve people are sitting on those stones. Three are old men in silver fur coats, white-haired and white-bearded, three are younger - in golden cloaks, three more are even younger - in colorful, multi-colored clothes, and the last three - the youngest and most beautiful - in green. They sit silently and look at the fire. And it was twelve months. Big January, with a staff in his hand, sat above everyone else.

Marushka was scared at first, but then she became bolder:

- Why did you come to the forest in such frost?

“For snowdrops,” answered Marushka.

- Who goes for snowdrops in winter?! Flowers do not grow in winter.

- I know. Yes, my sister and stepmother ordered to bring them snowdrops from the forest, otherwise they threatened to beat me,” said Marushka. - Do you know, good people, where I can find flowers?

Then Big January stood up from his stone and approached the very young month:

- Brother Mart, sit in my place!

March sat down in January's place, took the staff, waved it over the fire - and the fire rose higher, the snow began to quickly melt, the buds on the branches swelled, the rare grass turned green, and the buds of daisies turned pink in the grass. Spring has come. Snowdrops bloomed under the bushes, and before Marushka had time to recover from surprise, the entire clearing in front of her seemed to be covered with a flower carpet.

- Collect quickly, Marushka! - the month of March hurried her.

Marushka began to collect flowers and picked a large bouquet. Then she thanked the month brothers and ran home.

Golena was surprised, and so was her stepmother when they saw that Marushka had not returned home empty-handed.

-Where did you find the narwhal? - they ask.

- In the forest on the mountain. There's a whole clearing of snowdrops there.

Golena took the flowers, pinned them to her belt, smelled them herself, gave them to her stepmother to smell, but didn’t offer them to her sister.

The next day, Shin wanted berries:

- Go, Marushka, into the forest and bring me some berries.

- Oh, little sister, how could such a thing come into your head? Where have you seen berries grow under the snow? - Marushka cried.

- Do you want to argue with me? Bring some berries, otherwise it will get worse! - Golena shouted at her, and her stepmother pushed Marushka out the door and locked all the locks.

Nothing to do. Marushka cried even more bitterly and went into the forest. And there the snow is deep, dark, cold. Marushka wandered through the forest for a long time, when suddenly she saw a light in the distance, the one she saw yesterday. She was happy and went to this light. She came to a huge fire, and twelve months again sat around that fire. And Big January is above all.

- Hello, good people! Let me warm myself by your fire, I’m very cold.

Big January nodded his head and asked:

- Why did you come to the forest again?

- For berries.

“It’s winter now, and berries don’t grow in winter,” said January.

“I know,” Marushka answered sadly, “but Golen’s sister and stepmother ordered them to bring berries from the forest, otherwise they threatened to beat them.” Help me, good people, find the berries!

Big January stood up, walked up to the month that was sitting opposite, gave him the staff in his hands and said:

- Brother June, sit in my place.

June sat down on the highest stone and waved his staff over the fire. The fire rose higher, the snow melted, the earth turned green, the trees were covered with leaves, the birds began to sing, the flowers bloomed. Summer has come. It was as if someone had scattered white stars in the grove. The white stars began to turn into berries, and before Marushka had time to recover from her amazement, the berries were ripe.

- Collect quickly, Marushka! - said June.

Marushka was delighted, quickly got to work and soon had a full apron ready. Then she thanked the month brothers and ran home.

Golena was surprised, and so was her stepmother when they saw that Marushka had brought an apron full of berries.

- Where did you collect it? — attacked Golen’s sister.

- In the forest on the mountain. There's a whole clearing of them there.

Golena took the berries, ate her fill, the stepmother ate too, but Marushka was not offered even a berry.

The next day Shin wanted apples:

- Go, Marushka, into the forest - for apples.

- Oh, sister, where will apples come from in the forest in winter? - the unfortunate Marushka begged.

- Do you want to argue with me? If you don't bring home red apples, blame yourself! - Golena threatened. And the stepmother pushed Marushka out the door and locked all the locks.

Nothing to do. Marushka wandered into the forest.

The snow is deep in the forest, there are no paths anywhere. Only Marushka was no longer confused. She immediately ran to the mountain, where a hot fire was burning, and twelve months were sitting around. And Big January is above all.

- Hello, good people! Let me warm myself by your fire, I’m very cold.

Big January nodded and asked:

- Why did you come to the forest again?

“For red apples,” answered Marushka.

“But it’s winter now, and apples don’t grow in winter.”

“I know,” Marushka answered sadly, “but Golena’s sister and stepmother ordered them to bring apples from the forest, otherwise they threatened to beat them.” Tell me, good people, where can I get them?

Big January stood up, went up to one of the brothers who were sitting in golden cloaks, gave him a staff and said:

- Brother September, sit in my place!

The month of September sat down on the highest stone and waved his staff over the fire. The fire flared up with a red flame, the snow melted, the leaves on the trees first turned green, then turned yellow. The wild carnations grew red along the slopes. Then Marushka saw an apple tree, and on it were ripe apples.

Marushka shook the apple tree and one apple fell. She shook it again and another apple fell.

- Hurry up! - the month September shouted to her.

Marushka picked up two fallen apples, thanked the moon brothers and ran home.

Golena was surprised, and so was her stepmother when they saw that Marushka had brought apples.

-Where did you find the narwhal?

- In the forest on the mountain. The entire apple tree there is strewn with them.

- Why didn’t you bring more? She probably ate everything herself along the way?

“Oh, sister, I haven’t even tried a bite.” She shook the apple tree - one apple fell, shook it again - the second one fell. And they didn’t let me pick any more.

Golena and her stepmother ate both apples. And they seemed so tasty and sweet to them, well, they had never tasted anything like that in their lives.

This is what Golena says:

- Give me a fur coat and a scarf, mother, I’ll go to the forest myself to get apples.

As she said, she did so.

And in the forest the snow is deep, and there is no path anywhere. Golena was confused for a long time until she saw a light in the distance. It was a bonfire of twelve months. Golena was scared at first, but then she grew bolder, went up to the fire without asking, and began to warm her hands.

Big January frowned and asked:

-What do you want in the forest?

- What do you care, old man? - Golena snapped.

January frowned more than ever, waved his staff over the fire, and the fire began to burn very low. The sky darkened, thick snow fell, as if someone had torn a feather bed above, a north wind blew in and rustled in the branches. A blizzard swirled around Golen, and she lost her way home forever.

The stepmother waited for her daughter, waited, but never came. “Apparently, she liked the apples, so she can’t tear herself away,” she thought, put on her fur coat, took the basket and went into the forest. She walked and walked, searched and searched, until she froze.

Marushka was left at home alone. I cleaned up, cooked dinner, fed the cow, but Golena and her stepmother still did not return. “As if something bad wouldn’t happen to them!” - she became worried. Only she didn’t have to see either Golena or her stepmother again. Marushka was left alone in the small house. And soon a groom was found for her. And they lived together happily ever after.

Italian fairy tale "The Sloth"

A hard-working peasant, Bastiano, lived in a village. And his wife, on the contrary, was lazy, lazy.

One morning Bastiano got ready to go to the forest to buy firewood and said to his wife:

“I know, Lina, that you don’t enjoy your work, but, please, make sure that the chickens don’t eat our grain.”

“Lean on me, hubby.” I won’t let even a single chicken come close to the field.

She actually sat down on the edge of the field under a fig tree and decided to keep an eye on the chickens. But they calmly pecked at the crumbs of bread far from the wheat field. And the sun had already risen to its zenith and was burning mercilessly. Lina thought that nothing bad would happen if she took a nap for a minute. She closed her eyes and immediately fell fast asleep.

A cicada sitting on a fig tree began to sing and cluck:

Lina has been sleeping for a long time.

And the chickens in the field peck the grain.

Lena the couch potato will have a hard time,

When Bastiano returns from work.

But Lina had already seen her tenth dream. She had no idea that chickens actually trampled and pecked wheat. And when she finally woke up, the chickens had eaten so much that they couldn’t move their paws.

- Oh, trouble! The harvest is gone! - Lina wailed. But, however, just as she despaired, she quickly consoled herself: “But our chickens will be fat and big, like geese.”

She drove the chickens into the chicken coop, and again sat down in the shade to take a nap.

And the cicada began to sing and crackle again:

The chickens will sit on their roost,

The fox will come and eat them all.

Bastiano will return home,

Lina will get it later or sooner.

But after Lina had driven the chickens into the coop, she was so tired from this hard work that she was fast asleep again and did not hear anything. But as soon as I woke up, I quickly ran to the chicken coop to look at the chickens. And there the fox was already gnawing the last wing of the last chicken.

- Oh, you red-haired cheat! - Lina cried and quickly slammed the window through which the fox crawled into the chicken coop.

“It’s not so bad,” she thought. — The fox, of course, ate all the chickens. But now she's trapped. Let's sell her fur skin and buy a whole brood of little chickens. And a couple of geese to boot. It’s good that everything turned out this way.”

So she calmed herself down and returned to the shade of her favorite fig tree. There she fell into a sweet dream.

And the restless cicada sings and creaks:

Fox is locked up

But the dog is about to tear her apart.

Oh, it’s going to be tough for Lina,

But Lina just dreamed that she was carrying chickens from the market. She smiled in her sleep and heard nothing.

Then she was awakened by a terrible noise and fuss in the chicken coop. She looked through the window and saw a large gray dog ​​chasing a fox. As soon as he smelled the fox, he ran to the chicken coop, dug a hole under the wall and crawled inside.

- Calm down, stupid dog! - Lina shouted. She burst into the chicken coop and grabbed the dog by the withers. And the fox, without wasting any time, slipped out, and that was all they saw. But Lina had no time for her now. “Very good,” she thought. “The husband will go hunting with this dog and shoot dozens of foxes.”

Lina tied the dog to the fence and, pleased with herself, hurried to her place under the fig tree.

But the cicada doesn’t stop:

You sleep, and the boys are right there.

They will untie the dog and take him away.

Oh, it's going to be tough for you,

When Bastiano returns home.

She sang and poured out, but all in vain. Lina was fast asleep and didn’t hear anything.

And then Bastiano returned from the forest. Lina perked up and joyfully ran out to meet him.

“Is everything all right with us,” asks Bastiano, “is the wheat in the field safe?”

- Oh, hubby, as soon as I turned away for a second, those damned chickens ate all the grain! But they became as big and fat as your geese.

“This problem is not a problem,” said Bastiano. - Let's sell chickens and buy grain.

- No matter how it is, dear hubby. The fox ate the chickens. But I'm not a failure! She locked the chicken coop and caught the fox.

“So much the better,” nodded Bastiano. - Let's sell the fox skin. It's in price these days.

- Yes, the red skin was good! Only the fox, such a cheat, ran away. A huge dog got into the chicken coop and tore at it so much that it ruined the whole skin. But I caught this dog. You will go hunting with him into the forest, there are foxes there, apparently and invisible.

- Well, let's go and look at this dog.

They came to the fence, but there was no dog. While Lina was sleeping, the boys ran past, saw the dog, untied it and took it away.

And their trace has long since disappeared.

What do you think Bastiano did? Do you think he's angry? Right. And how!

Japanese fairy tale “The most beautiful dress in the world”

In the old days, long ago, the raven had white-white feathers. He wanted to dress up.

So the raven flew to the owl.

In those days, the owl was a dyer. She painted dresses for all the birds in whatever color they wanted: red, blue, turquoise, yellow... There was no end to customers.

- Madam Owl! Lady Owl! Paint my outfit in the most beautiful color. I want to amaze the whole world with my beauty.

- Uh-huh, uh-huh, I can! - the owl agreed. - Do you want a blue dress like a heron? Do you want a patterned outfit like a falcon? Do you want a motley one, like a woodpecker?

- No, choose a completely unprecedented color for me, so that no other bird has such an outfit!

The raven shook off its white plumage and flew away.

The owl thought and thought about what color was the most unprecedented, and painted the raven’s feathers black—black, blacker than ink.

A raven flew in and asked:

- Did I get a good row?

He put on his new dress and looked in the mirror. I looked and gasped! From his head to his very tail he became black and black, and you couldn’t even tell where his eyes were or where his nose was.

- What color did you dye my feathers, r-robber?! - the raven screamed.

The owl began to make excuses:

“You yourself wanted me to paint your outfit an unprecedented color.”

- Wait, I’ll catch you - I’ll r-tear you to shreds! Now we are enemies forever! - The raven croaked angrily.

From then on, as soon as he sees an owl, he rushes at it.

That is why the owl hides in a hollow during the day. She does not appear in the light while the raven is flying.

Japanese fairy tale "Fire Tarot"

In the old days, in ancient times, there lived a girl named O-Kiku. One day she was walking in the field behind her house and suddenly saw a large hole in the ground turning black. And where did she come from?!

O-Kiku leaned over the hole and looked into the depths. It's dark there and you can't see anything. The girl was overcome with curiosity. She went down into the pit and found herself in the underworld. O-Kiku walks along a long, long road, and along the road grow beautiful flowers, never seen on earth. How far or how little has she walked, and suddenly she sees a black gate standing.

O-Kiku knocked on the gate: don-don-don! A young man came out to meet her, handsome in appearance, but pale to the point of blue, with not a trace of blood in his face. He invited her to come into the house.

“My name,” he says, “is Fire Tarot, and this is the kingdom of fire.” My father was the ruler of this kingdom, but he died, and since then the devils have haunted me. I endure cruel torments, and I don’t know who will free me from them.

The girl took pity on the Fire Tarot and stayed with him. The next morning the young man got ready to leave and punished her:

“Don’t even try to peek where I’m going.” Wait for me here in this room. Nowhere from-, don’t come out here.

He pushed the door aside, closed it behind him again, and went deeper into the house.

And in the farthest chambers someone is making noise, making noise, and rattling iron. O-Kiku couldn’t stand it and looked out quietly. And what did she see? The terrible devils stripped the young man naked, stretched him out on an iron grate and hung him over a huge fireplace. A young man writhes in the flames. When there was almost no life left in him, the elder devil ordered:

- That's enough for today.

The devils took the young man out of the fire.

The girl almost lost her mind from horror. She slowly closed the door and returned back to the room.

The next morning the young man said to her:

“Today I will again spend the whole day in the distant chambers of the house.” You obviously feel sad alone... Take a walk in the garden, there is something to admire there. Here are thirteen keys to thirteen storerooms. You can unlock twelve storerooms, but do not enter the thirteenth. My late father also forbade it to be opened. I've never been there myself. Do you hear? Don't you dare open the thirteenth door! - With these words, the Fire Tarot handed the girl a bunch of black keys, and he again went into the inner chambers.

With sadness in her heart, O-Kiku went out into the yard. There are thirteen stone storerooms standing side by side in the courtyard. The girl wanted to see what was hidden in them. She unlocked the first storeroom with the key. And when I saw what was in it, I forgot everything in the world.

The New Year was celebrated in the first storeroom. Many little people in ceremonial capes with coats of arms decorated New Year's pines, and tiny girls in festive outfits tossed balls with feathers. It was fun and noisy there.

It was February in the second storeroom. Plum trees were blooming, fragrant. Tiny boys flew kites in the wind.

What was in the third pantry? The Peach Blossom Festival was celebrated there. Girls as tall as a finger, smart and cheerful, admired the beautifully dressed dolls the size of peas.

The April sun was shining in the fourth storeroom. Gray-bearded dwarfs, leading their grandchildren by the hand, ceremoniously walked to the temple on the occasion of the birth of Buddha.

And in the fifth storeroom? O-Kik couldn't wait to look into the fifth storeroom. It was warm May there. In the blue sky, colorful carps swam like alive, and tiny boys, singing merrily, covered the roofs of houses with blooming irises. In the state rooms there were warrior dolls the size of a fingernail.

In the sixth storeroom the sun shone hotter. On the banks of a transparent river, caring dwarf housewives were diligently washing clothes. And across the river one could see rice fields. Peasants and peasant women, so small that you could fit each one in the palm of your hand, sang songs as they planted rows of green rice sprouts.

O-Kiku unlocked the door to the seventh storeroom and saw a clear starry sky. It was the evening of the “Meeting of Two Stars.” The dwarf children tied thin strips of multi-colored paper with the inscription “Heavenly River” and many other decorations to bamboo leaves.

Having looked enough, O-Kiku unlocked the door to the eighth pantry. It was the night of the autumn full moon1. Tiny children admired the bright moon, and in front of them on the tables lay colorful piles of apples and pears no larger than wild strawberries. The moon, like a large round tray, gazed intently from the sky at the rice balls.

O-Kiku looked into the ninth storeroom. Everything was red and gold. The dwarfs, leaning on their staves, leisurely walked through the mountains. Either they climbed a steep slope, or descended into a deep valley, admiring the autumn maples.

It was the turn of the tenth pantry. It was October there. The dwarfs, having climbed the trees, shook the branches with all their might, and ripe chestnuts rained down to the ground. It was fun to watch the children collect them in baskets.

O-Kiku opened the eleventh pantry. A cold wind blew towards her. The whole ground was covered with a fine scattering of the first frost. Dried persimmons and radishes hung under each fence. Tiny peasants threshed rice, rejoicing at the rich harvest.

In the twelfth pantry there was a kingdom of snow. Everywhere you look there are deep snowdrifts. Children are having fun, playing in the snow, making snowmen...

Here is another storage room. But the Fire Tarot strictly forbade opening the thirteenth door. O-Kiku holds the black key in his hand... And he is not ordered to enter, but he wants to. The girl thinks: should she open it or not, but step by step, step by step, she gets closer to the door, as if something is pulling her...

The girl put the key in the keyhole and tried to turn it, but the lock was rusty and wouldn’t budge. With difficulty she unlocked the door and entered the pantry. This storeroom was not like all the others. There were no dwarfs or festive spectacles in it. O-Kiku found herself in a richly decorated chamber. She looked around and saw: on a shelf in the front niche there was a box covered with black varnish. O-Kiku wanted to see what was hidden in it. The girl opened the lid and looked in. There are two red balls in the box. It’s like they’re made of glass, but only soft. What could it be? O-Kiku put the box in her bosom and ran out of the pantry.

The sun has already risen high. The girl wanted to drink. She sees a stream running in the garden. O-Kiku leaned over the stream and scooped up a handful of water. In the clear water, as in a mirror, coastal trees were visible, and on one of them something colorful was moving. The girl raised her head: a huge snake wrapped itself around a pine branch and looked at her, eyes sparkling!

Not remembering herself from fear, O-Kiku jumped over the stream and began to run. And at that very moment, a box in her bosom opened slightly, one ball rolled out and fell into the stream. But the girl was frightened and did not notice anything.

She ran into the house, and the Fire Tarot was coming towards her. She tells him what miracles she saw in twelve storerooms, but not a word about the thirteenth. The young man listens to her and smiles.

Suddenly there was a sound of stomping and noise. A gang of devils poured out from the depths of the house. O-Kiku shook with fear, and the devils bowed low to her and said:

- Good evening! Thanks to you, we found one of the eyes of our main military leader. The snake told us everything... Our commander ordered that you both appear before him.

The devils took the young man and the girl to their leader. And he has only one single eye sparkling in his forehead with red fire, instead of the other there is an empty socket.

- Thank you very much! - the main devil bowed his horns in front of them. “It’s been several decades since your late father, a young man, became angry with me for one unkind deed and deprived me of both eyes.” Since then I have walked blind for many years. In retaliation for this, I tortured you mercilessly. But today I have great joy: one eye has been found. Give me the second one too. I won't bother you anymore. If I have both eyes, I don’t need any treasures. I’ll give you everything, just give me back my second eye!

He listens to the Fire Tarot and understands nothing. He asked the girl:

“You didn’t hide anything from me?”

“Yes, to tell the truth, I violated your ban and opened the thirteenth pantry.” And in it stood a box with two red balls... I didn’t know that these were the eyes of the devil. I put the box in my bosom, but I saw a snake near the stream and, I don’t know how, dropped one ball into the water.

The commander of the devils rejoiced:

- Here, here, this very eye. Give me another one, I beg you!

The girl took the box out of her bosom and gave the devil the second red ball, and the devil immediately inserted it into his empty eye socket. Both his eyes sparkled like two lights.

To celebrate, he presented O-Kika and the Fire Tarot with countless treasures.

A young man and a girl got married. They lived a happy life: after all, every day they could admire all the seasons.

An invaluable source of wisdom and inspiration for a child. In this section you can read your favorite fairy tales online for free and give children the first most important lessons of world order and morality. It is from the magical narrative that children learn about good and evil, and also that these concepts are far from absolute. Each fairy tale presents its short description, which will help parents choose a topic that is relevant to the child’s age and give him a choice.

Fairy tale title	Source	Rating
Vasilisa the Beautiful	Russian traditional	341906
Morozko	Russian traditional	227677
Aibolit	Korney Chukovsky	973341
The Adventures of Sinbad the Sailor	Arabian tale	220523
Snowman	Andersen H.K.	127855
Moidodyr	Korney Chukovsky	963297
Porridge from an ax	Russian traditional	256046
The Scarlet Flower	Aksakov S.T.	1379606
Teremok	Russian traditional	373750
Fly Tsokotukha	Korney Chukovsky	1014099
Mermaid	Andersen H.K.	417274
Fox and crane	Russian traditional	202736
Barmaley	Korney Chukovsky	444041
Fedorino grief	Korney Chukovsky	746336
Sivka-Burka	Russian traditional	183133
Green oak near Lukomorye	Pushkin A.S.	751884
Twelve months	Samuel Marshak	785001
The Bremen Town Musicians	Brothers Grimm	268509
Puss in Boots	Charles Perrault	409566
The Tale of Tsar Saltan	Pushkin A.S.	621093
The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish	Pushkin A.S.	571585
The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights	Pushkin A.S.	280398
The Tale of the Golden Cockerel	Pushkin A.S.	235787
Thumbelina	Andersen H.K.	182313
The Snow Queen	Andersen H.K.	237474
Fast walkers	Andersen H.K.	28662
sleeping Beauty	Charles Perrault	95742
Little Red Riding Hood	Charles Perrault	224806
Tom Thumb	Charles Perrault	153910
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	Brothers Grimm	158362
Snow White and Alotsvetik	Brothers Grimm	42215
The wolf and the seven Young goats	Brothers Grimm	134242
Hare and hedgehog	Brothers Grimm	127308
Mrs. Metelitsa	Brothers Grimm	87646
Sweet porridge	Brothers Grimm	182764
Princess on the Pea	Andersen H.K.	107152
Crane and Heron	Russian traditional	28337
Cinderella	Charles Perrault	305821
The Tale of a Stupid Mouse	Samuel Marshak	321029
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves	Arabian tale	128929
Aladdin's magic lamp	Arabian tale	215359
Cat, rooster and fox	Russian traditional	121641
Chicken Ryaba	Russian traditional	304239
Fox and cancer	Russian traditional	86502
Fox-sister and wolf	Russian traditional	76662
Masha and the Bear	Russian traditional	257856
The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise	Russian traditional	83358
Snow Maiden	Russian traditional	52506
Three piglets	Russian traditional	1770425
ugly duck	Andersen H.K.	123431
Wild Swans	Andersen H.K.	53982
Flint	Andersen H.K.	73150
Ole Lukoje	Andersen H.K.	116926
The Steadfast Tin Soldier	Andersen H.K.	46285
Baba Yaga	Russian traditional	125041
Magic pipe	Russian traditional	126631
Magic ring	Russian traditional	151018
Grief	Russian traditional	21479
Swan geese	Russian traditional	72283
Daughter and stepdaughter	Russian traditional	22764
Ivan Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf	Russian traditional	64685
Treasure	Russian traditional	47112
Kolobok	Russian traditional	158128
Living water	Brothers Grimm	81843
Rapunzel	Brothers Grimm	131524
Rumplestiltskin	Brothers Grimm	42745
A pot of porridge	Brothers Grimm	75812
King Thrushbeard	Brothers Grimm	26123
little people	Brothers Grimm	58010
Hansel and Gretel	Brothers Grimm	31732
golden goose	Brothers Grimm	39451
Mrs. Metelitsa	Brothers Grimm	21465
Worn out shoes	Brothers Grimm	30965
Straw, coal and bean	Brothers Grimm	27495
twelve brothers	Brothers Grimm	21756
Spindle, weaving shuttle and needle	Brothers Grimm	27405
Friendship between cat and mouse	Brothers Grimm	36600
Kinglet and bear	Brothers Grimm	27705
Royal children	Brothers Grimm	22819
Brave Little Tailor	Brothers Grimm	34870
crystal ball	Brothers Grimm	61212
Queen Bee	Brothers Grimm	39449
Smart Gretel	Brothers Grimm	22098
Three lucky ones	Brothers Grimm	21617
Three spinners	Brothers Grimm	21377
Three snake leaves	Brothers Grimm	21503
Three brothers	Brothers Grimm	21470
The Old Man of the Glass Mountain	Brothers Grimm	21463
The Tale of a Fisherman and His Wife	Brothers Grimm	21460
underground man	Brothers Grimm	29898
Donkey	Brothers Grimm	23711
Ocheski	Brothers Grimm	21114
The Frog King, or Iron Henry	Brothers Grimm	21470
Six swans	Brothers Grimm	24677
Marya Morevna	Russian traditional	43691
Wonderful miracle, wonderful miracle	Russian traditional	41899
Two frosts	Russian traditional	38717
Most expensive	Russian traditional	32567
Wonderful shirt	Russian traditional	38891
Frost and hare	Russian traditional	38526
How the fox learned to fly	Russian traditional	47358
Ivan the Fool	Russian traditional	35565
Fox and jug	Russian traditional	25888
bird tongue	Russian traditional	22453
The soldier and the devil	Russian traditional	21591
Crystal Mountain	Russian traditional	25412
Tricky Science	Russian traditional	28023
Smart guy	Russian traditional	21725
Snow Maiden and Fox	Russian traditional	61386
Word	Russian traditional	21648
Fast messenger	Russian traditional	21500
Seven Simeons	Russian traditional	21527
About the old grandmother	Russian traditional	23473
Go there - I don’t know where, bring something - I don’t know what	Russian traditional	50327
At the behest of the pike	Russian traditional	68312
Rooster and millstones	Russian traditional	21385
Shepherd's Piper	Russian traditional	36212
Petrified Kingdom	Russian traditional	21638
About rejuvenating apples and living water	Russian traditional	35940
Goat Dereza	Russian traditional	33622
Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber	Russian traditional	27178
Cockerel and bean seed	Russian traditional	53084
Ivan - peasant son and miracle Yudo	Russian traditional	27698
Three Bears	Russian traditional	459998
Fox and black grouse	Russian traditional	22990
Tar barrel	Russian traditional	74511
Baba Yaga and berries	Russian traditional	37070
Battle on Kalinov Bridge	Russian traditional	21642
Finist - Clear Falcon	Russian traditional	50605
Princess Nesmeyana	Russian traditional	132093
Tops and roots	Russian traditional	55914
Winter hut of animals	Russian traditional	40349
flying ship	Russian traditional	71447
Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka	Russian traditional	36977
Golden comb cockerel	Russian traditional	44692
Zayushkin's hut	Russian traditional	130135

By listening to fairy tales, children not only acquire the necessary knowledge, but also learn to build relationships in society, relating themselves to one or another fictional character. From the experience of relationships between fairy-tale characters, the child understands that one should not unconditionally trust strangers. Our website presents the most famous fairy tales for your children. Choose interesting fairy tales from the table provided.

Why is it useful to read fairy tales?

The various plots of the fairy tale help the child understand that the world around him can be contradictory and quite complex. Listening to the hero's adventures, children virtually encounter injustice, hypocrisy and pain. But this is how the baby learns to value love, honesty, friendship and beauty. Always having a happy ending, fairy tales help the child to be optimistic and resist various kinds of life's troubles.

The entertainment component of fairy tales should not be underestimated. Listening to fascinating stories has many advantages, for example, compared to watching cartoons - there is no threat to the baby's vision. Moreover, by listening to children's fairy tales performed by parents, the baby learns many new words and learns to correctly articulate sounds. The importance of this is difficult to overestimate, because scientists have long proven that nothing affects the future comprehensive development of a child more than early speech development.

What kinds of fairy tales are there for children?

Fairy tales There are different ones: magical – exciting children’s imagination with a riot of imagination; everyday - telling about simple everyday life, in which magic is also possible; about animals - where the leading characters are not people, but various animals so beloved by children. A large number of such fairy tales are presented on our website. Here you can read for free what will be interesting to your baby. Convenient navigation will help make finding the right material quick and simple.

Read the annotations to give the child the right to independently choose a fairy tale, because most modern child psychologists believe that the key to children’s future love of reading lies in the freedom to choose material. We give you and your child unlimited freedom in choosing wonderful children's fairy tales!

This section contains fairy tales for primary schoolchildren 7-8-9-10 years. It seems to you that the child went to school and became very big. However, he did not stop believing in miracles and magic! By reading the best fairy tales from all over the world, a child learns about the world, learns to believe in himself, and develops imagination and thinking.

At this age, it is very important to consolidate and increase the love for the source of knowledge - books. Therefore, we have selected fairy tales that will understandable and interesting to the child. And illustrations from the best artists will help you love books even more!

read fairy tales for children 7-8-9-10 years old

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In the sweet carrot forest

Kozlov S.G.


A fairy tale about what forest animals love most. And one day everything happened as they dreamed. In the sweet carrot forest read The hare loved carrots most of all. He said: - I would like it in the forest...

Magic herb St. John's wort

Kozlov S.G.


A fairy tale about how the Hedgehog and the Little Bear looked at the flowers in the meadow. Then they saw a flower they didn’t know, and they became acquainted. It was St. John's wort. Magic herb St. John's wort read It was a sunny summer day. - Do you want me to give you something...

Green bird

Kozlov S.G.


A tale about a Crocodile who really wanted to fly. And then one day he dreamed that he turned into a large Green bird with wide wings. He flew over the land and over the sea and talked with different animals. Green...

How to catch a cloud

Kozlov S.G.


A fairy tale about how the Hedgehog and the Little Bear went fishing in the fall, but instead of fish they were bitten by the moon, then stars. And in the morning they pulled the sun out of the river. How to catch a cloud to read When the time has come...

Prisoner of the Caucasus

Tolstoy L.N.


A story about two officers who served in the Caucasus and were captured by the Tatars. The Tatars ordered letters to be written to relatives demanding a ransom. Zhilin was from a poor family; there was no one to pay the ransom for him. But he was strong...

How much land does a person need?

Tolstoy L.N.


The story is about the peasant Pakhom, who dreamed that he would have a lot of land, then the devil himself would not be afraid of him. He had the opportunity to inexpensively buy as much land as he could walk around before sunset. Wanting to have more...

Jacob's dog

Tolstoy L.N.


A story about a brother and sister who lived near a forest. They had a shaggy dog. One day they went into the forest without permission and were attacked by a wolf. But the dog grappled with the wolf and saved the children. Dog …

Tolstoy L.N.


The story is about an elephant who stepped on his owner because he was mistreating him. The wife was in grief. The elephant put his eldest son on his back and began to work hard for him. Elephant read...

What is everyone's favorite holiday? Of course, New Year! On this magical night, a miracle descends on the earth, everything sparkles with lights, laughter is heard, and Santa Claus brings long-awaited gifts. A huge number of poems are dedicated to the New Year. IN …



In this section of the site you will find a selection of poems about the main wizard and friend of all children - Santa Claus. Many poems have been written about the kind grandfather, but we have selected the most suitable ones for children aged 5,6,7 years. Poems about...



Winter has come, and with it fluffy snow, blizzards, patterns on the windows, frosty air. The children rejoice at the white flakes of snow and take out their skates and sleds from the far corners. Work is in full swing in the yard: they are building a snow fortress, an ice slide, sculpting...



A selection of short and memorable poems about winter and New Year, Santa Claus, snowflakes, and a Christmas tree for the younger group of kindergarten. Read and learn short poems with children 3-4 years old for matinees and New Year's Eve. Here …