Works of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The best works of Tolstoy for children. Leo Tolstoy: stories for children Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy famous works

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a famous Russian writer, the greatest novelist of the 19th century, the golden age of Russian literature. Is the author of worldwide famous works, such as the novels "" and "Anna Karenina". Currently considered one of the best authors in the world. His works are filmed, staged in the theater, many modern authors refer to them.

Leo Tolstoy was a representative of the class of the nobility, whose roots were traced back to the times of Peter the Great. The writer had many influential relatives among the representatives of the highest aristocracy. On the part of the mother, who bore the maiden name Volkonskaya, there were also many noble people.

Lev Nikolaevich passionately loved his relatives, especially his grandfather, Ilya Andreevich, who later served as a prototype for one of the heroes of the novel War and Peace.

Childhood and youth of the writer

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in the family estate of Yasnaya Polyana, not far from Tula, in a family of hereditary nobles. Future great writer was the middle son big family with four children. In 1830, little Leo lost his mother, who died of puerperal fever, and seven years later the boy lost his father. So, the guardianship of Tolstoy was taken over by his father's cousin and aunt, after whose death the boy left for Kazan.

Count Leo Tolstoy received his primary education at home, he was taught by French and German tutors. In 1843, the count entered the university in Kazan at the faculty for the study of oriental culture. However, the future beacon of Russian literature failed to cope with the difficulties curriculum, which forced him to transfer to a lighter law school. However, the difficulties did not leave him at this faculty. As a result, Tolstoy was not even able to graduate from the university with a degree.

The young count returned to his native estate, where he began to work on the device Agriculture. True, this undertaking was not crowned with success due to constant departures to Moscow and Tula. However, all this time Tolstoy kept a diary, which inspired him to write many future works. The writer carried the habit of writing down the events that happened to him with him throughout his life.

One day, Leo's elder brother, Nikolai, returning home to spend his vacation, which was due to him as an army officer, convinced his brother to join the troops. So, Leo Tolstoy, in the rank of cadet, went to serve south, to the Caucasus Mountains, from where he was later transferred to Sevastopol, where future writer took part in the Crimean War. The main event of the war, which is also reflected in the works of the author, is the heroic defense of Sevastopol. The work "Sevastopol stories" is dedicated to her.

Literary path of the author

During military service Tolstoy had a lot of free time, and he began to study literary creativity. During periods of calm, the autobiographical work Childhood was written, which became the first book in Tolstoy's trilogy of autobiographical books. Childhood was published in Sovremennik, a popular literary magazine, in 1852. The work received favorable reviews, critics began to put Lev Nikolayevich on a par with such writers as Turgenev, Ostrovsky and Goncharov.

During the Crimean campaign, Tolstoy wrote several more works:

1. "Cossacks". A work about Everyday life at the army outpost. Started on time Crimean War, but completed only in 1862, after the writer left the active troops.
2. "Adolescence". Second book from autobiographical trilogy. Surprisingly, the work was written during the active conduct of hostilities.
3. "Sevastopol stories". In them, the author expresses his attitude to the war, shows its inconsistency. In this cycle, the writer experiments with style, in particular, he changes the narration from the first person, moving to the third. So, in the second story, we see the view of an ordinary soldier on the events taking place.

After the end of the war, Tolstoy left the armed forces and returned to his homeland.

Having gone to the front as an unknown cadet, he returned to St. Petersburg as a recognized literary talent. In 1857, Lev Nikolaevich left for Paris, at that time publishing the final part of the trilogy - "Youth". Returning to his homeland in 1862, he marries the daughter of a doctor, Sofya Andreevna Bers.

A small part of the work was published in the Russky Vestnik magazine in the mid-sixties. It was originally called "1805". Three years later, three more chapters saw the light. In 1869, work on the novel was completed. The product was a huge success.

At the same time, the writer was translating Aesop's fables into Russian. Many more are wondering if Leo Tolstoy wrote stories for children. Just the same, in the period from 1872 to 1875, the author creates children's works "ABC", "Arithmetic", "Fool" (tale-verse) and several books for children's reading.

Late prose

At a certain period of his life, Leo Tolstoy was deeply immersed in religious teachings and wrote many treatises on the essence of faith. However, in the 1880s and 1890s, the author continued to work on fiction. At this time, the writer leaves the genre of the novel. The main story becomes a story with a deep moral. Realism comes to the fore in the works.

So, Late works of Leo Tolstoy include:

Death and legacy

The numerous pilgrimages that Leo Tolstoy made in his old age greatly undermined his health. So, in November 1910, the great writer stopped for an overnight stay at the remote Astapovo railway station. However, the lung disease that had been troubling Tolstoy for some time made itself felt with a sudden aggravation, and on November 20 the greatest Russian writer died. He was buried at the family cemetery in Yasnaya Polyana.

He left behind a wife and ten children, who, however, were provided for the rest of their lives at the expense of Tolstoy's literary royalties.

Leo Tolstoy was considered, is considered and will be considered one of the greatest Russian and world writers. He created truly amazing works. on which more than one generation of young people have grown up. "War and Peace" is a novel that is familiar to almost every person, not only in our country, but throughout the world. The scientific community appreciates Tolstoy as a man with an amazing gift for describing human nature and recreating historical era in all its detail and diversity. study the link.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy - Russian writer and thinker, Count. His homeland is the mother's estate Yasnaya Polyana in the Tula province.

The writer was the fourth child in a noble family. His mother died when he was one year old. Lev Nikolaevich's father was remembered by him for his good-natured character, attachment to hunting and books, he also died very early. A distant relative Ergolskaya, who had a great influence on Tolstoy, took up the upbringing of the children of the Tolstoy family. As the writer said, she taught him the spiritual pleasure of a great feeling - love. Memories famous writer about childhood were always joyful. And the first impressions of noble life found their reflection in the story-autobiography "Childhood".

In 1844, Leo Tolstoy began his studies at Kazan University: first at the Faculty of Philosophy of Oriental Languages, then at the Department of Law. He studied for 2 years in each of these areas and applied for dismissal from the university due to poor health and family circumstances. Tolstoy did not like such studies, his dreams were about a career in painting and music. Then the writer returned to his native estate.

The summer spent in the countryside disappointed Tolstoy with failures in managing on renewed, favorable conditions only for serfs. After that, based on this experience, the story "The Morning of the Landowner" was written. In 1847, in the fall, the writer went to St. Petersburg in order to pass his candidate's exams. At that time, his lifestyle was very variable: he could prepare for exams for days, or he could completely devote himself only to music, his ascetic religious moods alternated with revelry and cards. It was during this period that Tolstoy realized his destiny: he had an irresistible desire to write.

Since 1855, the writer was a member of the Sovremennik circle, which included Nekrasov, Turgenev, Goncharov, Ostrovsky and other famous personalities. He participated in dinners and readings, was involved in writers' conflicts, but feeling like a stranger here, he left this society, as his "Confession" tells.

Tolstoy traveled a lot, he was in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland. Impressions of a trip to the last country became the basis for writing the story "Lucerne". Then the writer returned to Moscow, and after - to Yasnaya Polyana. Thanks to him, more than 20 schools were set up in the vicinity of his native estate and one school for peasant children was opened.

The most famous works are the novels "War and Peace", "Resurrection", "Anna Karenina", the trilogy-autobiography "Childhood" - "Adolescence" - "Youth", the dramas "The Power of Darkness" and "The Living Corpse", the stories "Cossacks "and" Hadji Murad "and many others.

The writer died at the age of 82 in 1910. His funeral became a nationwide event.

Since youth, we have been analyzing the feelings of Andrei Bolkonsky under the sky of Austerlitz, writing an essay on the topic “ Women's images in the novel War and Peace”, we sigh heavily over the episodes of Pierre Bezukhov’s philosophical reflections and leaf through the French speech. But Leo Tolstoy is not only the boring, viscous "War and Peace" and the misunderstood in adolescence "Anna Karenina". In his bibliography, one can find books-pearls of Russian classics and heroes who are changing before our eyes, finding themselves.

Tolstoy is a master of words, a genius of the Russian soul and a literary pillar both of his own and of our time. Lev Nikolayevich's books are sincere, direct, truthful and firm. They are about Russia, about the pain of the Russian people, about passionate experiences and, most importantly, about people. This is exactly the kind of classic you want to read.

Forget about Pierre and Natasha, take any book from our top and then, I assure you, you will completely change your mind about the work of, without exaggeration, the outstanding L.N. Tolstoy.

"Childhood. Adolescence. Youth"

How would it be fashionable to call the trilogy “Childhood. Adolescence. Youth ”tells us about the growing up of Nikolenka Irtenyev. The first story touches with the poetry of childhood a boy who is completely immersed in his inner world as a dreamer. He analyzes himself, sharply notices everything that happens in life, worries about his own loneliness, although he is in the circle of friends and relatives.

The second part is about becoming, about the internal crisis and spiritual rebirth and the search for truth, truth. And it is interesting to follow the growth of the hero, because Nikolenka has already become close to us, fell in love. "Youth" meets us with certainty, we see that Irtenyev chose his own path, was able to find himself in a world full of worries, and now he can fully devote himself to the desire to go honestly, without paying attention to anything, his life path.

The stories are largely autobiographical, written off from Tolstoy himself, but, of course, the author largely relied on the stories of loved ones in order to recreate that atmosphere of growing up in the circle of his family. And it is very difficult to break away from reading, because you are completely immersed in this world of L.N.'s childhood. Tolstoy.

"Resurrection"

A bright, powerful and accusatory novel by Tolstoy, in which he talks about the terrible injustice of the judicial system, about the peasantry, hypocrisy and poverty. Heavy and harsh, this work was subjected to the strictest censorship, it was cut and published in parts, because against the backdrop of the development of the main storylines, we are shown both the bright brilliant atmosphere of the dull and bone nobility and the true life of a simple Russian peasant.

There are two main characters here: Katyusha Maslova, unfairly punished due to a mistake, and the nobleman Nekhlyudov. Together, although in different ways, they go through mental suffering, change internally. Fate links their lives together in a completely random way, and we get a great story that opens our eyes to the life of people of that time.

"After the ball"

The works of Leo Tolstoy are always about the search for morality. And the story "After the Ball" is no exception. Rather, he emphasizes the main leitmotif of the writer's work even more strongly.

Ivan Vasilievich, main character, passionately and deeply in love with the daughter of a colonel, a stately aristocrat with impeccable manners, Varenka.

But one scene destroys everything, tears apart a wonderful feeling, changes Ivan Vasilyevich's attitude towards both Varenka and the colonel. Because his moral guidelines, his soul, cannot survive the cruelty that he faced, which he saw in Varya's father, in the good-natured Colonel Pyotr Vladislavovich.

"Prisoner of the Caucasus"

Zhilin, a Russian officer, an honest man with self-respect, leaves to visit his mother and along the way meets another officer, Kostylin. They continue on their way together and here they meet mountaineers with obviously bad intentions. Zhilina's new acquaintance runs away, leaves his comrade to the mercy of fate, and our brave hero is captured by the Tatars. However, Kostylin is waiting for the same fate. And two officers meet as prisoners in an old barn.

Leo Tolstoy describes two completely different characters. Zhilin is brave in spirit, honest and self-confident, and Kostylin is cowardly, lack of initiative and weak. The author opposes the officers to each other, reveals with the help of the difficult conditions of captivity. And all this in the background Caucasian war. It is interesting to read, because it is here that there is something to think about, because you should never lose heart, no matter how terrible the world around you seems.

"Family happiness"

The family is a spiritual connection between two people, and Leo Tolstoy speaks about this more than once in his work, because this topic is as important to him as the moral development of a person. In Family Happiness, he writes about the importance of family relationships, about the closeness between spouses, and about how love is transformed and becomes something more than just the union of two people in love.

Masha and her sister Sonya were left orphans. For young Mary, the death of her mother was a great test, because all her hopes were destroyed. It was in this year that she was supposed to move from the village to the city, go out into the world and learn the joy of love, courtship. The girl quits all classes and completely surrenders to the blues, until their guardian, Sergei Mikhailovich, appears on the threshold of the orphanage. His arrival absolutely changes Masha, she returns to playing music, studies and falls in love with the sedate Sergei Mikhailovich. But the novel does not end there, because on the way to quiet family happiness, our heroes have a long way to go.

"Kreutzer Sonata"

Interesting in its ambiguity, Tolstoy's work "The Kreutzer Sonata" was banned for publication by censors. And only thanks to Sophia, the wife of the writer, saw the light in the collected works.

Pozdnyshev, the main character, is ambiguous in his moral character, his convictions, expressed with passion, seem strange and ambivalent. He enters into an argument about love, marriage, having his own opinion, backed up by a difficult life drama.

This is a story about burning jealousy, about marriage, and, oddly enough, love. Indeed, in the book before us unfolds the life of people who make each other unhappy. And the most interesting thing is that the author himself expresses his opinion, which can be traced in the words of Pozdnyshev. Tolstoy believes that false conventional morality is to blame and talks about his views on the relationship between a man and a woman, but what will you think after reading the Kreutzer Sonata?

"Death of Ivan Ilyich"

Ivan Ilyich is an ordinary person, even an ordinary one, there are many like him and there is nothing in him that would distinguish him from the many-sided crowd. And only on the verge of death, our hero understands that his life was not lived like that, one might even say it was lived in vain. He put off too much, endured too much, and didn't do what he really wanted.

Tolstoy in his story tells about the mental suffering that a person is able to endure on the verge of death, because it is at this moment that he, a person, realizes, rethinks all his actions, every step he takes. But nothing can be changed. It is only painful to worry about how aimlessly the days passed, in which there was no joy, there were no friends and true unity with the world.

Do not put off reading the book by Leo Tolstoy "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", because it is she who will help you learn from someone else's mistake, to fully understand the meaning of the phrase "tomorrow may not really come."

This is a large-scale work that tells about the life of the Russian noble society in the years Patriotic War, includes many storylines. Here you can also find love stories, and battle scenes, and morally difficult situations, and several human types of that time. The work is very multifaceted, it contains several ideas characteristic of Tolstoy, and all of them are written out with amazing accuracy.

It is known that the work on the work lasted about 6 years, and its initial volume was not 4, but 6 volumes. Leo Tolstoy used huge amount sources to make the events look authentic. He read the works of Russian and French historians, private for the period from 1805 to 1812. However, Tolstoy himself treated his work with a certain degree of skepticism. So, he wrote in his diary: "People love me for those trifles -" War and Peace ", etc., which seem very important to them."

The researchers counted 559 heroes in the novel "War and Peace".

"Anna Karenina" - a tragic love story

Not everyone has read this famous novel, but everyone knows its tragic ending. The name of Anna Karenina has already become a household name in conversations about unhappy love. Meanwhile, Tolstoy shows in the novel not so much the tragedy of events, as, for example, in Shakespeare, but rather a psychological tragedy. This novel is dedicated not to pure and sublime love, which does not give a damn about all conventions, but to the breaking psyche of a secular woman who suddenly finds herself abandoned by everyone because of an “indecent” relationship.

Tolstoy's work is popular because it is relevant at any time. Instead of earlier writers' discussions of ecstatic and bright feelings, it shows the underside of blinding love and the consequences of relationships that are dictated by passion, not reason.

One of the characters in Anna Karenina, Konstantin Levin, is an autobiographical character. Tolstoy put his thoughts and ideas into his mouth.

"Childhood. Adolescence. Youth "- an autobiographical trilogy

Three stories, united by one hero, are partly based on the memoirs of Tolstoy himself. These works are a kind of diary of a growing boy. Despite a good upbringing and care from the elders, the hero is faced with problems that are typical for his age.

As a child, he experiences his first love, prepares for confession with fear, and for the first time encounters injustice. The teenage hero, growing up, learns what betrayal is, and also finds new friends and experiences breaking old stereotypes. In the story "Youth" the hero is faced with social problems, acquires his first mature judgments, enters the university and thinks about his future fate.

Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, stories, fairy tales and fables in prose for children. The collection included not only all famous stories Leo Tolstoy's "Bone", "Kitten", "Bulka", but also such rare works as "Be kind to everyone", "Do not torture animals", "Do not be lazy", "Boy and father" and many others.

Jackdaw and jug

Galka wanted to drink. There was a jug of water in the yard, and the jug only had water at the bottom.
Jackdaw could not be reached.
She began to throw pebbles into the jug and threw so many that the water became higher and it was possible to drink.

Rats and egg

Two rats found an egg. They wanted to share it and eat it; but they see a crow flying and wants to take the egg.
The rats began to think how to steal an egg from a crow. Carry? - do not grab; roll? - can be broken.
And the rats decided this: one lay on its back, grabbed the egg with its paws, and the other drove it by the tail, and, like on a sleigh, dragged the egg under the floor.

bug

Bug was carrying a bone across the bridge. Look, her shadow is in the water.
It came to the mind of the Bug that there was not a shadow in the water, but a Bug and a bone.
She let her bone in to take that one. She didn’t take that one, but her own went to the bottom.

wolf and goat

The wolf sees - the goat is grazing on a stone mountain and he cannot get close to her; he said to her: “You should go down: here the place is more even, and the grass for food is much sweeter for you.”
And the Goat says: “That’s not why you, wolf, are calling me down: you are not about mine, but about your fodder.”

Mouse, cat and rooster

The mouse went for a walk. She walked around the yard and came back to her mother.
“Well, mother, I saw two animals. One is scary and the other is kind.
The mother said: "Tell me, what kind of animals are these?"
The mouse said: “One scary one, walks around the yard like this: his legs are black, his crest is red, his eyes are protruding, and his nose is hooked. When I walked by, he opened his mouth, lifted his leg and began to scream so loudly that I didn’t know where to go from fear!
"It's a rooster," said the old mouse. - He does no harm to anyone, do not be afraid of him. Well, what about the other animal?
- The other lay in the sun and warmed himself. His neck is white, his legs are gray, smooth, he licks his white breast and moves his tail a little, looks at me.
The old mouse said: “You are a fool, you are a fool. It's a cat after all."

Kitten

There were brother and sister - Vasya and Katya; and they had a cat. In the spring, the cat disappeared. The children looked for her everywhere, but could not find her.

Once they were playing near the barn and heard someone meowing in thin voices above their heads. Vasya climbed the stairs under the roof of the barn. And Katya stood and kept asking:

- Found? Found?

But Vasya did not answer her. Finally, Vasya shouted to her:

- Found! Our cat... and she has kittens; so wonderful; come here soon.

Katya ran home, got milk and brought it to the cat.

There were five kittens. When they grew up a little and began to crawl out from under the corner where they hatched, the children chose one kitten, gray with white paws, and brought it into the house. The mother gave away all the other kittens, and left this one to the children. The children fed him, played with him and put him to bed with them.

Once the children went to play on the road and took a kitten with them.

The wind stirred the straw along the road, and the kitten played with the straw, and the children rejoiced at him. Then they found sorrel near the road, went to collect it and forgot about the kitten.

Suddenly they heard someone shouting loudly:

“Back, back!” - and they saw that the hunter was galloping, and in front of him two dogs saw a kitten and wanted to grab him. And the kitten, stupid, instead of running, sat down on the ground, hunched his back and looks at the dogs.

Katya was frightened by the dogs, screamed and ran away from them. And Vasya, with all his heart, set off to the kitten and, at the same time as the dogs, ran up to him.

The dogs wanted to grab the kitten, but Vasya fell on the kitten with his stomach and covered it from the dogs.

The hunter jumped up and drove the dogs away, and Vasya brought the kitten home and no longer took him into the field with him.

old man and apple trees

The old man was planting apple trees. They told him: “Why do you need apple trees? It is a long time to wait for fruit from these apple trees, and you will not eat apples from them. The old man said: "I will not eat, others will eat, they will thank me."

Boy and father (Truth is the most expensive)

The boy was playing and accidentally broke an expensive cup.
Nobody took it out.
Father came and asked:
- Who broke?
The boy shook with fear and said:
- I AM.
Father said:
- Thank you for telling the truth.

Do not torture animals (Varya and siskin)

Varya had a siskin. Chizh lived in a cage and never sang.
Varya came to the chizh. - "It's time for you, siskin, to sing."
- "Let me go free, I will sing all day long."

Don't be lazy

There were two men - Peter and Ivan, they mowed the meadows together. Peter the next morning came with his family and began to clean up his meadow. The day was hot and the grass was dry; in the evening it became hay.
And Ivan did not go to clean, but sat at home. On the third day, Peter brought hay home, and Ivan was just about to row.
By evening it started to rain. Peter had hay, and Ivan had all the grass withered away.

Do not take by force

Petya and Misha had a horse. They began to argue: whose horse?
They began to tear each other's horse.
- "Give me, my horse!" - “No, you give me, the horse is not yours, but mine!”
Mother came, took the horse, and nobody's horse became.

Do not overeat

The mouse gnawed the floor, and there was a gap. The mouse went into the gap, found a lot of food. The mouse was greedy and ate so much that its belly became full. When it was daylight, the mouse went to her, but the belly was so full that she did not go through the gap.

Be good to everyone

The squirrel jumped from branch to branch and fell right on the sleepy wolf. The wolf jumped up and wanted to eat her. The squirrel began to ask: "Let me go." The wolf said: “Okay, I'll let you in, just tell me why you squirrels are so cheerful? I’m always bored, but you look at you, you are there, at the top, all playing and jumping. The squirrel said: “Let me go up the tree first, and from there I will tell you, otherwise I am afraid of you.” The wolf let go, and the squirrel went to the tree and said from there: “You are bored because you are angry. Anger burns your heart. And we are cheerful because we are kind and do no harm to anyone.

respect old people

The grandmother had a granddaughter; before, the granddaughter was sweet and slept all the time, and the grandmother herself baked bread, swept the hut, washed, sewed, spun and wove for her granddaughter; and after that the grandmother became old and lay down on the stove and slept all the time. And the granddaughter baked, washed, sewed, wove and spun for her grandmother.

How my aunt talked about how she learned to sew

When I was six years old, I asked my mother to let me sew. She said: “You are still small, you will only prick your fingers”; and I kept coming. Mother took a red piece of paper from the chest and gave it to me; then she threaded a red thread into the needle and showed me how to hold it. I began to sew, but could not make even stitches; one stitch came out large, and the other fell to the very edge and broke through. Then I pricked my finger and wanted not to cry, but my mother asked me: “What are you?” I couldn't help but cry. Then my mother told me to go play.

When I went to bed, the stitches seemed to me all the time: I kept thinking about how I could learn to sew as soon as possible, and it seemed to me so difficult that I would never learn. And now I've grown big and I don't remember how I learned to sew; and when I teach my girl to sew, I wonder how she can't hold a needle.

Bulka (Officer's story)

I had a muzzle. Her name was Bulka. She was all black, only the tips of her front paws were white.

In all muzzles, the lower jaw is longer than the upper and the upper teeth extend beyond the lower ones; but Bulka's lower jaw protruded so far forward that a finger could be placed between the lower and upper teeth. Bulka's face was wide; eyes large, black and shining; and white teeth and fangs always stuck out. He looked like an arap. Bulka was gentle and did not bite, but he was very strong and tenacious. When he used to get hold of something, he would grit his teeth and hang like a rag, and like a tick, he could not be torn off in any way.

Once they let him attack a bear, and he grabbed the bear's ear and hung like a leech. The bear beat him with his paws, pressed him to himself, threw him from side to side, but could not tear him off and fell on his head to crush Bulka; but Bulka held on to him until they poured cold water on him.

I adopted him as a puppy and fed him myself. When I went to serve in the Caucasus, I did not want to take him and left him quietly, and ordered him to be locked up. At the first station, I was about to sit on another sling, when I suddenly saw that something black and shiny was rolling along the road. It was Bulka in his copper collar. He flew at full speed to the station. He rushed towards me, licked my hand and stretched out in the shade under the cart. His tongue stuck out to the palm of his hand. He then pulled it back, swallowing saliva, then again stuck it out on a whole palm. He was in a hurry, did not keep up with breathing, his sides were jumping. He turned from side to side and tapped his tail on the ground.

I later found out that after me he broke through the frame and jumped out of the window and, right in my wake, galloped along the road and galloped about twenty versts in the heat.

Milton and Bulka (Story)

I got myself a setter for the pheasants. This dog was called Milton: it was tall, thin, speckled in grey, with long beaks and ears, and very strong and intelligent. They did not squabble with Bulka. Not a single dog has ever snapped at Bulka. He would only show his teeth, and the dogs would curl their tails and walk away. Once I went with Milton for pheasants. Suddenly Bulka ran after me into the forest. I wanted to drive him away, but I couldn't. And it was a long way to go home to take him away. I thought that he would not interfere with me, and went on; but as soon as Milton sensed a pheasant in the grass and began to search, Bulka rushed forward and began to poke his head in all directions. He tried before Milton to raise the pheasant. He heard something like that in the grass, jumped, twirled: but his instinct was bad, and he could not find a trace alone, but looked at Milton and ran where Milton was going. As soon as Milton sets off on the trail, Bulka will run ahead. I recalled Bulka, beat him, but could not do anything with him. As soon as Milton began to search, he rushed forward and interfered with him. I already wanted to go home, because I thought that my hunting was spoiled, and Milton figured out better than me how to deceive Bulka. This is what he did: as soon as Bulka runs ahead of him, Milton will leave a trace, turn in the other direction and pretend that he is looking. Bulka will rush to where Milton pointed, and Milton will look back at me, wag his tail and follow the real trail again. Bulka again ran to Milton, ran ahead, and again Milton deliberately took ten steps to the side, deceived Bulka and again led me straight. So all the hunting he deceived Bulka and did not let him ruin the case.

Shark (Story)

Our ship was anchored off the coast of Africa. It was a fine day, with a fresh breeze blowing from the sea; but towards evening the weather changed: it became stuffy and, as if from a melted stove, hot air from the Sahara desert was blowing at us.

Before sunset, the captain went on deck, shouted: “Swim!” - and in one minute the sailors jumped into the water, lowered the sail into the water, tied it and made a bath in the sail.

There were two boys on the ship with us. The boys were the first to jump into the water, but they were cramped in the sail, they decided to swim in a race on the high seas.

Both, like lizards, stretched out in the water and with all their strength swam to the place where there was a barrel above the anchor.

One boy at first overtook his comrade, but then began to lag behind. The boy's father, an old artilleryman, stood on the deck and admired his son. When the son began to lag behind, the father shouted to him: “Do not betray! push!"

Suddenly, from the deck, someone shouted: "Shark!" - and we all saw the back of a sea monster in the water.

The shark swam straight at the boys.

Back! back! come back! shark! shouted the gunner. But the guys did not hear him, they swam on, laughing and shouting even more cheerfully and louder than before.

The artilleryman, pale as a sheet, looked at the children without moving.

The sailors lowered the boat, rushed into it and, bending the oars, rushed with all their might to the boys; but they were still far away from them when the shark was no more than 20 paces away.

The boys at first did not hear what was shouted to them, and did not see the shark; but then one of them looked back, and we all heard a piercing squeal, and the boys swam in different directions.

This squeal seemed to wake the gunner. He took off and ran to the cannons. He turned his trunk, lay down on the cannon, took aim and took the fuse.

We all, no matter how many of us were on the ship, froze with fear and waited for what would happen.

A shot rang out, and we saw that the artilleryman had fallen near the cannon and covered his face with his hands. What happened to the shark and the boys we did not see, because for a moment the smoke clouded our eyes.

But when the smoke dispersed over the water, at first a quiet murmur was heard from all sides, then this murmur became stronger, and, finally, a loud, joyful cry was heard from all sides.

The old artilleryman opened his face, got up and looked at the sea.

The yellow belly of a dead shark rippled over the waves. In a few minutes the boat sailed up to the boys and brought them to the ship.

The Lion and the Dog (True)

Illustration by Nastya Aksenova

In London, they showed wild animals and took money or dogs and cats for food for wild animals.

One man wanted to look at the animals: he grabbed a little dog in the street and brought it to the menagerie. They let him watch, but they took the little dog and threw it into a cage to be eaten by a lion.

The dog tucked its tail between its legs and snuggled into the corner of the cage. The lion walked up to her and sniffed her.

The dog lay on its back, raised its paws and began to wag its tail.

The lion touched her with his paw and turned her over.

The dog jumped up and stood in front of the lion on its hind legs.

The lion looked at the dog, turned its head from side to side and did not touch it.

When the owner threw meat to the lion, the lion tore off a piece and left it for the dog.

In the evening, when the lion went to bed, the dog lay down beside him and laid her head on his paw.

Since then, the dog lived in the same cage with the lion, the lion did not touch her, ate food, slept with her, and sometimes played with her.

Once the master came to the menagerie and recognized his little dog; he said that the dog was his own, and asked the owner of the menagerie to give it to him. The owner wanted to give it back, but as soon as they began to call the dog to take it out of the cage, the lion bristled and growled.

So the lion and the dog lived for a whole year in one cage.

A year later, the dog fell ill and died. The lion stopped eating, but kept sniffing, licking the dog and touching it with his paw.

When he realized that she was dead, he suddenly jumped up, bristled, began to whip his tail on the sides, threw himself on the wall of the cage and began to gnaw the bolts and the floor.

All day he fought, tossed about in the cage and roared, then lay down beside the dead dog and fell silent. The owner wanted to carry away the dead dog, but the lion would not let anyone near it.

The owner thought that the lion would forget his grief if he was given another dog, and let a live dog into his cage; but the lion immediately tore her to pieces. Then he hugged the dead dog with his paws and lay like that for five days.

On the sixth day the lion died.

Jump (True)

One ship went around the world and returned home. The weather was calm, all the people were on deck. Spinning among the people big monkey and entertained everyone. This monkey writhed, jumped, made funny faces, mimicked people, and it was clear that she knew that she was being amused, and therefore dispersed even more.

She jumped up to the 12-year-old boy, the son of the captain of the ship, tore off his hat from his head, put it on and quickly climbed up the mast. Everyone laughed, but the boy was left without a hat and did not know himself whether to laugh or cry.

The monkey sat down on the first rung of the mast, took off his hat and began to tear it with his teeth and paws. She seemed to be teasing the boy, pointing at him and making faces at him. The boy threatened her and shouted at her, but she tore her hat even more angrily. The sailors began to laugh louder, and the boy blushed, threw off his jacket and rushed to the mast after the monkey. In one minute he climbed the rope to the first rung; but the monkey was even more agile and faster than he, at the very moment when he thought to grab his hat, climbed even higher.

So you won't leave me! - shouted the boy and climbed higher. The monkey again beckoned him, climbed even higher, but the boy was already disassembled by the enthusiasm, and he did not lag behind. So the monkey and the boy reached the very top in one minute. At the very top, the monkey stretched out to its full length and, catching the rope with its back hand1, hung its hat on the edge of the last crossbar, and itself climbed to the top of the mast and from there writhed, showed its teeth and rejoiced. From the mast to the end of the crossbar, where the hat hung, was two arshins, so that it was impossible to get it except to let go of the rope and the mast.

But the boy was very angry. He dropped the mast and stepped onto the crossbar. Everyone on deck looked and laughed at what the monkey and the captain's son were doing; but when they saw that he let go the rope and stepped on the crossbar, shaking his arms, everyone froze with fear.

He had only to stumble - and he would have been smashed to smithereens on the deck. Yes, even if he did not stumble, but reached the edge of the crossbar and took his hat, it would be difficult for him to turn around and walk back to the mast. Everyone silently looked at him and waited for what would happen.

Suddenly, some of the people gasped in fear. The boy came to his senses from this cry, looked down and staggered.

At this time, the captain of the ship, the boy's father, left the cabin. He carried a gun to shoot seagulls. He saw his son on the mast, and immediately took aim at his son and shouted: “Into the water! jump into the water now! I'll shoot!" The boy staggered, but did not understand. “Jump or shoot! .. One, two ...” and as soon as the father shouted: “three” - the boy swung his head down and jumped.

Like a cannonball, the boy's body slapped into the sea, and before the waves had time to close it, as already 20 young sailors jumped from the ship into the sea. After 40 seconds - they seemed like debts to everyone - the boy's body surfaced. They grabbed him and dragged him onto the ship. After a few minutes, water poured from his mouth and nose, and he began to breathe.

When the captain saw this, he suddenly screamed, as if something was choking him, and ran to his cabin so that no one would see him crying.

Fire dogs (Falle)

It often happens that in cities, on fires, children remain in houses and cannot be pulled out, because they will hide and remain silent from fright, and it is impossible to see them from the smoke. For this, dogs are trained in London. These dogs live with the firemen, and when the house catches fire, the firemen send the dogs to pull the children out. One such dog in London saved twelve children; her name was Bob.

The house caught fire once. And when the firemen arrived at the house, a woman ran out to them. She cried and said that a two-year-old girl remained in the house. The firemen sent Bob. Bob ran up the stairs and disappeared into the smoke. Five minutes later he ran out of the house and in his teeth carried the girl by the shirt. The mother rushed to her daughter and wept for joy that her daughter was alive. The firemen petted the dog and examined it to see if it was burned; but Bob was rushing back into the house. The firemen thought there was something else alive in the house and let him in. The dog ran into the house and soon ran out with something in his mouth. When the people saw what she was carrying, everyone burst out laughing: she was carrying a big doll.

Bone (True)

Mother bought plums and wanted to give them to the children after dinner. They were on a plate. Vanya never ate plums and kept sniffing them. And he really liked them. I really wanted to eat. He kept walking past the plums. When no one was in the room, he could not resist, grabbed one plum and ate it. Before dinner, the mother counted the plums and sees that one is missing. She told her father.

At dinner, the father says: “Well, children, has anyone eaten one plum?” Everyone said, "No." Vanya blushed like a cancer, and also said: “No, I didn’t eat.”

Then the father said: “What one of you has eaten is not good; but that's not the problem. The trouble is that plums have bones, and if someone does not know how to eat them and swallows a stone, he will die in a day. I'm afraid of it."

Vanya turned pale and said: "No, I threw the bone out the window."

And everyone laughed, and Vanya began to cry.

Monkey and Pea (Fable)

The monkey was carrying two full handfuls of peas. One pea jumped out; the monkey wanted to pick it up and spilled twenty peas.
She rushed to pick it up and spilled everything. Then she got angry, scattered all the peas and ran away.

The Lion and the Mouse (Fable)

The lion was sleeping. The mouse ran over his body. He woke up and caught her. The mouse began to ask him to let her in; she said: "If you let me go, and I will do you good." The lion laughed that the mouse promised to do good to him, and let it go.

Then the hunters caught the lion and tied it to a tree with a rope. The mouse heard the lion's roar, ran up, gnawed through the rope and said: “Remember, you laughed, you didn’t think that I could do good to you, but now you see, sometimes good comes from a mouse.”

Old grandfather and granddaughter (Fable)

The grandfather became very old. His legs could not walk, his eyes could not see, his ears could not hear, he had no teeth. And when he ate, it flowed back from his mouth. The son and daughter-in-law stopped putting him at the table, and let him dine at the stove. They took him down once to dine in a cup. He wanted to move it, but he dropped it and broke it. The daughter-in-law began to scold the old man for spoiling everything in the house and breaking cups, and said that now she would give him dinner in the pelvis. The old man just sighed and said nothing. Once a husband and wife sit at home and look - their little son plays planks on the floor - something works out. The father asked: “What are you doing, Misha?” And Misha said: “It’s me, father, I’m doing the pelvis. When you and your mother are old, to feed you from this pelvis.

Husband and wife looked at each other and wept. They felt ashamed that they had offended the old man so much; and from then on they began to put him at the table and look after him.

Liar (Fable, another name - Do not lie)

The boy guarded the sheep and, as if seeing a wolf, began to call: “Help, wolf! Wolf!" The men come running and see: it's not true. As he did so two and three times, it happened - and a wolf really came running. The boy began to shout: "Here, here, hurry, wolf!" The peasants thought that he was deceiving again, as always, - they did not listen to him. The wolf sees, there is nothing to be afraid of: in the open he cut the whole herd.

Father and Sons (Fable)

The father ordered his sons to live in harmony; they didn't listen. So he ordered to bring a broom and says:

"Break!"

No matter how much they fought, they could not break. Then the father untied the broom and ordered to break one rod at a time.

They easily broke the bars one by one.

Ant and dove (Fable)

The ant went down to the stream: he wanted to get drunk. A wave swept over him and nearly drowned him. Dove carried a branch; she saw - the ant was drowning, and threw a branch into the stream for him. An ant sat on a branch and escaped. Then the hunter set the net on the dove and wanted to slam it shut. The ant crawled up to the hunter and bit him on the leg; the hunter groaned and dropped the net. The dove fluttered and flew away.

Hen and Swallow (Fable)

The chicken found snake eggs and began to hatch them. The swallow saw and said:
"That's it, stupid! You will lead them out, and when they grow up, they will offend you first.

The Fox and the Grapes (Fable)

The fox saw - ripe bunches of grapes were hanging, and began to fit in, as if to eat them.
She fought for a long time, but could not get it. To drown out her annoyance, she says: "Still green."

Two Comrades (Fable)

Two comrades were walking through the forest, and a bear jumped out at them. One rushed to run, climbed a tree and hid, while the other remained on the road. He had nothing to do - he fell to the ground and pretended to be dead.

The bear came up to him and began to sniff: he stopped breathing.

The bear sniffed his face, thought it was dead, and moved away.

When the bear left, he climbed down from the tree and laughs: “Well,” he says, “did the bear speak in your ear?”

"And he told me that - bad people those who run away from their comrades in danger.

The Tsar and the Shirt (Fairy Tale)

One king was sick and said: "I will give half of the kingdom to the one who will cure me." Then all the wise men gathered and began to judge how to cure the king. Nobody knew. Only one wise man said that the king can be cured. He said: if you find a happy person, take off his shirt and put it on the king, the king will recover. The king sent to look for a happy person in his kingdom; but the ambassadors of the king traveled all over the kingdom for a long time and could not find a happy person. There was not a single one that was satisfied with everyone. Who is rich, let him be ill; who is healthy, but poor; who is healthy and rich, but his wife is not good, and who has children not good; everyone is complaining about something. Once, late in the evening, the tsar’s son walks past the hut, and he hears someone say: “Thank God, I’ve worked out, ate and go to bed; what else do I need?" The king's son was delighted, ordered to take off this man's shirt, and give him money for it, as much as he wants, and take the shirt to the king. The messengers came to happy man and wanted to take off his shirt; but the happy one was so poor that he didn't even have a shirt on.

Two brothers (Fairy tale)

The two brothers went on a journey together. At noon they lay down to rest in the forest. When they woke up, they saw that a stone was lying near them and something was written on the stone. They began to disassemble and read:

“Whoever finds this stone, let him go straight into the forest at sunrise. A river will come in the forest: let him swim across this river to the other side. house, and in that house you will find happiness.

The brothers read what was written, and the younger one said:

Let's go together. Maybe we will swim across this river, bring the cubs home and find happiness together.

Then the elder said:

I will not go into the forest for cubs and I do not advise you. First thing: no one knows whether the truth is written on this stone; maybe all this is written for laughter. Yes, maybe we didn't get it right. Second: if the truth is written, we will go into the forest, night will come, we will not get to the river and get lost. And if we find a river, how will we swim across it? Maybe it's fast and wide? Third: even if we swim across the river, is it really easy to take the cubs away from the she-bear? She will tear us up, and instead of happiness, we will disappear for nothing. The fourth thing: even if we manage to carry away the cubs, we will not reach the mountain without rest. But the main thing is not said: what kind of happiness will we find in this house? Perhaps we will find such happiness there, which we do not need at all.

And the younger one said:

I don't think so. In vain they would not write this on a stone. And everything is written clearly. First thing: we won't get in trouble if we try. Second thing: if we do not go, someone else will read the inscription on the stone and find happiness, and we will be left with nothing. The third thing: not to work hard and not to work, nothing in the world pleases. Fourth, I don't want to be thought that I was afraid of something.

Then the elder said:

And the proverb says: "To seek great happiness is to lose little"; and moreover: "Do not promise a crane in the sky, but give a titmouse in your hands."

And the smaller one said:

And I heard: "To be afraid of wolves, not to go into the forest"; moreover: "Water will not flow under a lying stone." For me, I have to go.

The younger brother went, and the older one stayed.

As soon as the younger brother entered the forest, he attacked the river, swam across it and immediately saw a bear on the shore. She slept. He grabbed the cubs and ran without looking back at the mountain. He had just reached the top, - people came out to meet him, they brought him a carriage, took him to the city and made him king.

He reigned for five years. In the sixth year another king came to fight against him, stronger than he; conquered the city and drove it out. Then the younger brother went on wandering again and came to the older brother.

The older brother lived in the village neither richly nor poorly. The brothers rejoiced at each other and began to talk about their lives.

Elder brother says:

So my truth came out: I always lived quietly and well, and you like it and was the king, but I saw a lot of grief.

And the smaller one said:

I do not grieve that then I went into the forest to the mountain; although I feel bad now, but there is something to remember my life, and you have nothing to remember.

Lipunyushka (Fairy tale)

An old man lived with an old woman. They didn't have children. The old man went to the field to plow, and the old woman stayed at home to bake pancakes. The old woman baked pancakes and says:

“If we had a son, he would take pancakes to his father; and now with whom shall I send?"

Suddenly, a little son crawled out of the cotton and said: “Hello, mother! ..”

And the old woman says: “Where did you come from, son, and what is your name?”

And the son says: “You, mother, unspun the cotton and put it in a column, and I hatched there. And call me Lipunyushka. Give, mother, I will take the pancakes to father.

The old woman says: “Will you tell, Lipunyushka?”

I will, mother...

The old woman tied the pancakes in a bundle and gave them to her son. Lipunyushka took the bundle and ran into the field.

In the field he came across a bump on the road; he shouts: “Father, father, transplant me over a hummock! I brought you pancakes."

The old man heard from the field, someone was calling him, went to meet his son, transplanted him over a tussock and said: “Where are you from, son?” And the boy says: “I, father, bred in cotton,” and served pancakes to his father. The old man sat down to have breakfast, and the boy said: “Give me, father, I will plow.”

And the old man says: “You don’t have the strength to plow.”

And Lipunyushka took up the plow and began to plow. He plows and sings songs himself.

The gentleman was driving past this field and saw that the old man was sitting at breakfast, and the horse was plowing alone. The master got out of the carriage and said to the old man: “How is it with you, old man, plows a horse alone?”

And the old man says: "I have a boy plowing there, he sings songs." The master came closer, heard the songs and saw Lipunyushka.

Barin and says: “Old man! sell me the boy." And the old man says: “No, I can’t sell it, I have only one.”

And Lipunyushka says to the old man: "Sell, father, I will run away from him."

The man sold the boy for a hundred rubles. The master handed over the money, took the boy, wrapped him in a handkerchief and put him in his pocket. The master came home and said to his wife: "I brought you joy." And the wife says: “Show me what it is?” The master took a handkerchief from his pocket, unfolded it, but there was nothing in the handkerchief. Lipunyushka ran away to his father a long time ago.

Three Bears (Fairy Tale)

One girl left home for the forest. She got lost in the forest and began to look for her way home, but she did not find it, but came to the house in the forest.

The door was open; she looked at the door, sees: there is no one in the house, and entered. Three bears lived in this house. One bear was a father, his name was Mikhailo Ivanovich. He was big and shaggy. The other was a bear. She was smaller, and her name was Nastasya Petrovna. The third was a little bear cub, and his name was Mishutka. The bears were not at home, they went for a walk in the forest.

There were two rooms in the house: one dining room, the other bedroom. The girl entered the dining room and saw three cups of stew on the table. The first cup, very large, was Mikhail Ivanychev's. The second cup, smaller, was Nastasya Petrovnina; the third, little blue cup, was Mishutkin. Beside each cup lay a spoon: large, medium and small.

The girl took the biggest spoon and drank from the biggest cup; then she took the middle spoon and drank from the middle cup; then she took a small spoon and drank from a little blue cup; and Mishutkin's stew seemed to her the best.

The girl wanted to sit down and sees three chairs at the table: one large one - Mikhail Ivanovich; the other is smaller - Nastasya Petrovnin, and the third, small, with a blue little pillow - Mishutkin. She climbed onto a large chair and fell; then she sat down on the middle chair, it was awkward on it; then she sat down on a small chair and laughed - it was so good. She took the little blue cup on her knees and began to eat. She ate all the stew and began to swing on a chair.

The chair broke and she fell to the floor. She got up, picked up a chair and went to another room. There were three beds: one large - Mikhail Ivanychev; the other middle one is Nastasya Petrovnina; the third is small - Mishenkina. The girl lay down in a large one, it was too spacious for her; lay down in the middle - it was too high; she lay down in a small one - the bed fit her just right, and she fell asleep.

And the bears came home hungry and wanted to have dinner.

The big bear took the cup, looked and roared in a terrible voice:

WHO DRINKED IN MY CUP?

Nastasya Petrovna looked at her cup and growled not so loudly:

WHO DRINKED IN MY CUP?

But Mishutka saw his empty cup and squeaked in a thin voice:

WHO DRINKED IN MY CUP AND DRINKED EVERYTHING?

Mikhail Ivanovich looked at his chair and growled in a terrible voice:

Nastasya Petrovna glanced at her chair and growled not so loudly:

WHO SAT ON MY CHAIR AND PUSHED IT FROM THE PLACE?

Mishutka looked at his broken chair and squeaked:

WHO SIT ON MY CHAIR AND BROKEN IT?

The bears came to another room.

WHO GOT IN MY BED AND KRUGGED IT? roared Mikhail Ivanovich in a terrible voice.

WHO GOT IN MY BED AND KRUGGED IT? Nastasya Petrovna growled, not so loudly.

And Mishenka set up a bench, climbed into his bed and squeaked in a thin voice:

WHO WAS IN MY BED?

And suddenly he saw the girl and squealed as if he was being cut:

There she is! Hold it, hold it! There she is! Ay-ya-yay! Hold on!

He wanted to bite her.

The girl opened her eyes, saw the bears and rushed to the window. It was open, she jumped out the window and ran away. And the bears did not catch up with her.

What is the dew on the grass (Description)

When in sunny morning in the summer you go to the forest, then diamonds are visible in the fields, in the grass. All these diamonds shine and shimmer in the sun in different colors - yellow, red, and blue. When you come closer and see what it is, you will see that these are drops of dew gathered in triangular leaves of grass and glisten in the sun.

The leaf of this grass inside is shaggy and fluffy, like velvet. And the drops roll on the leaf and do not wet it.

When you inadvertently pick off a leaf with a dewdrop, the drop will roll down like a ball of light, and you will not see how it slips past the stem. It used to be that you would tear off such a cup, slowly bring it to your mouth and drink a dewdrop, and this dewdrop seemed tastier than any drink.

Touch and Sight (Reasoning)

Braid the index finger with the middle and braided fingers, touch the small ball so that it rolls between both fingers, and close your eyes yourself. It will look like two balls to you. Open your eyes - you will see that one ball. The fingers deceived, and the eyes were corrected.

Look (best from the side) at a good clean mirror: it will seem to you that this is a window or a door and that there is something behind it. Feel with your finger - you will see that it is a mirror. Eyes deceived, and fingers corrected.

Where does the water from the sea go? (Reasoning)

From springs, springs and marshes, water flows into streams, from streams into rivers, from rivers into large rivers, and from large rivers it flows from the sea. From other sides other rivers flow into the seas, and all rivers have flowed into the seas since the world was created. Where does the water from the sea go? Why doesn't it flow over the edge?

The water from the sea rises in mist; the mist rises higher, and clouds are made from the mist. The clouds are blown by the wind and spread over the earth. From the clouds, water falls to the ground. From the ground flows into swamps and streams. From streams flows into rivers; from rivers to sea. From the sea again the water rises into the clouds, and the clouds spread over the land...