The tale of S.T. Aksakov The Scarlet Flower as a Family Story. Yu to. Runners. sources of the fairy tale "scarlet flower Another fairy tale scarlet flower

Sergey AKSAKOV

THE SCARLET FLOWER

The fairy tale of the housekeeper Pelageya

In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent person.

He had a lot of all kinds of wealth, expensive goods from overseas, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury, and that merchant had three daughters, all three beauties are painted, and the smallest is the best; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and he had no one to love; he loved the older daughters, and loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and was more affectionate towards him.

So that merchant is going on his trade affairs across the sea, to the distant lands, to the distant kingdom, to the thirtieth state, and he says to his dear daughters:

“My dear daughters, my good daughters, my daughters are handsome, I am going on my merchant business to the distant lands, to the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state, and you never know, how much time I drive - I don’t know, and I punish you to live honestly without me and quietly, and if you will live honestly and peacefully without me, then I will bring you such gifts as you yourself want, and I give you three days to think, and then you will tell me what gifts you want. "

They thought for three days and three nights, and they came to their parent, and he began to ask them what kind of gifts they wanted. Eldest daughter she bowed to her father at the feet, and she was the first to say to him:

“Sovereign, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, neither black sable furs, nor Burmese pearls, but bring me a golden crown of gem stones, and so that they have such a light, as from a full month, as from a red sun, and so that it it is light on a dark night, as in the middle of a white day. "

The honest merchant pondered and then said:

“Well, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will bring you such a crown; I know a man across the sea who will get me such a crown; and there is one overseas queen, and it is hidden in a stone pantry, and that pantry is in a stone mountain, three sazhens deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: yes, there is no opposite for my treasury. "

The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said:

“Sovereign, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, no black Siberian sable furs, no Burmytsky pearl necklaces, no jewel crown gold, but bring me a tuvalet made of oriental crystal, whole, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I can see all the beauty of heaven and so that, looking into him, I do not grow old and my maiden beauty would increase. "

The honest merchant pondered and, thinking whether it was not enough, how much time, said to her these words:

“Well, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will get you such a crystal tuvalet; and he also has a daughter of the king of Persia, a young queen, unspeakable beauty, indescribable and unspecified; and that tuvalo was buried in a high stone mansion, and it stands on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain is three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven German locks, and three thousand steps lead to that mansion, and at each step there is a warrior Persian and day and night with a saber bald of damask, and the keys to those iron doors are worn by the princess at her belt. I know such a man across the sea, and he will get me such a tuvalo. Your work as a sister is harder, but there is no opposite for my treasury. "

The younger daughter bowed at her father's feet and says this word:

“Sovereign, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, no black Siberian sables, no Burmytsky necklace, no semi-precious crown, no crystal tovalet, but bring me The Scarlet Flower , which would not be more beautiful in this world ”.

The honest merchant pondered harder than ever. You never know, how much time he thought, I cannot say for certain; having thought it over, he kisses, caresses, plays with his younger daughter, his beloved, and says these words:

“Well, you gave me a job that was heavier than the sisters: if you know what to look for, how not to find, but how to find what you yourself do not know? It's not tricky to find a scarlet flower, but how can I know that it is not more beautiful in this world? I will try, but don’t ask for a hotel ”.

And he sent his daughters, good, handsome, to their maidens' houses. He began to get ready for the journey, on the path, to the distant overseas lands. How long, how much he was going to, I don’t know and don’t know: soon the tale will tell itself, not soon the work will be done. He set off on the road.

Here is an honest merchant traveling on foreign sides, overseas, across unprecedented kingdoms; he sells his goods at exorbitant prices, he buys other people's goods at three or more prices, he exchanges goods for goods and a similar gangway, with the addition of silver and gold; he loads ships with gold treasury and sends them home. He found a cherished present for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. I also found a treasured gift for my middle daughter: a crystal tuvalet, and in it you can see all the beauty of heaven, and, looking into it, the girl's beauty does not age, but increases. He cannot only find a cherished gift for his younger, beloved daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.

In the gardens of the tsar, the royal and the sultan's, he found many scarlet flowers of such beauty that he could neither say in a fairy tale, nor write with a pen; but no one gives him a guarantee that there is no more beautiful flower in this world; and he himself does not think so. Here he goes along the road, along the road with his faithful servants through the loose sands, through the dense forests, and out of nowhere, robbers, Busurmans, Turkish and Indian, flew at him, and, seeing an imminent disaster, the honest merchant throws his rich caravans with his servants faithful and flees into the dark forests. “Let them be devoured by fierce beasts than to fall into the hands of robbers, filthy ones, and live out my life in captivity in captivity.”

He wanders through that dense, impassable, impassable forest, and what goes on, the road becomes better, as if the trees parted in front of him, and the bushes were often parting. Looks back. - you can't stick your hands in, looks to the right - stumps and logs, the hare can't slip through, looks to the left - and even worse. The honest merchant marvels, thinks he can't figure out what kind of miracle is happening to him, but everything goes on and on: he has a long road under his feet. He walks from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: everything around him has died out. Now the dark night has come; at least gouge out an eye around him, but under his feet it is light. Here he goes, read it, until midnight, and he began to see ahead as if a glow, and he thought: "Apparently, the forest is burning, so why should I go there to certain death, inevitable?"

He turned back - you can't go, right, left - you can't go; thrust forward - the road is torny. "Let me stand in one place - maybe the glow will go in the other direction, al away from me, al will go out completely."

So he became, waiting; but it wasn’t there: the glow was coming towards him as if it was getting brighter around him; he thought, thought, and decided to go forward. There are no two deaths, and one cannot be avoided. The merchant crossed himself and went forward. The further it goes, the brighter it becomes, and it has become, read, like a white day, and you cannot hear the noise and crackling of a fireman. At the end, he goes out into a wide clearing and in the middle of that wide clearing there is a house not a house, not a palace, but a royal or royal palace all on fire, in silver and gold and in semi-precious stones, everything is burning and shining, but there is no fire to be seen; the sun is exactly red, it is hard for the eyes to look at it. All the windows in the palace are open, and a consonant music is playing in it, such as he has never heard.

He enters into a wide courtyard, wide open gates; the road has gone from white marble, and on the sides there are fountains of water, high, large and small. He enters the palace by a staircase covered with crimson cloth, with gilded railings; entered the upper room - there is no one; in the other, in the third - there is no one; in the fifth, tenth - there is no one; and the decoration is everywhere royal, unheard of and unprecedented: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth bones.

The honest merchant marvels at such unspeakable wealth, but twice that the owner is not there; not only the owner, and the servant is not there; and the music plays incessantly; and at that time he thought to himself: "Everything is fine, but there is nothing to eat" - and a table rose before him, tidied up: in a bowl of gold and silver there were sugar dishes, and overseas wines and honey drinks. He sat down at the table without hesitation, got drunk, ate his fill, because he had not eaten for a whole day; the food is such that it is impossible to say - just look that you swallow your tongue, and he, walking through the forests and sands, is very hungry; he got up from the table, and there was no one to bow to and to say thanks for the bread for the salt there was no one. Before he had time to get up and look around, the table with the food was gone, and the music was playing incessantly.

And that merchant had three daughters, all three beauties are painted, and the youngest is better than all; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and he had no one to love; he loved the older daughters, and loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and was more affectionate towards him.
So that merchant is going on his trade affairs across the sea, to the distant lands, to the distant kingdom, to the thirtieth state, and he says to his dear daughters:
“My dear daughters, my good daughters, my daughters are handsome, I am going on my merchant business to the distant lands, to the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state, and you never know, how much time I drive - I don’t know, and I punish you to live honestly without me and quietly, and if you will live honestly and peacefully without me, then I will bring you such gifts as you yourself want, and I give you three days to think, and then you will tell me what gifts you want. "
They thought for three days and three nights, and they came to their parent, and he began to ask them what kind of gifts they wanted. The eldest daughter bowed to her father's feet, and the first one says to him:
“Sovereign, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, neither black sable furs, nor Burmese pearls, but bring me a golden crown of gem stones, and so that they have such a light, as from a full month, as from a red sun, and so that it it is light on a dark night, as in the middle of a white day. "
The honest merchant pondered and then said:
“Well, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will bring you such a crown; I know a man across the sea who will get me such a crown; and there is one overseas queen, and it is hidden in a stone pantry, and that pantry is in a stone mountain, three sazhens deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: yes, there is no opposite for my treasury. "
The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said:
“Sovereign, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, no black Siberian sable furs, no Burmytsky pearl necklaces, no jewel crown gold, but bring me a tuvalet made of oriental crystal, whole, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I can see all the beauty of heaven and so that, looking into him, I do not grow old and my maiden beauty would increase. "
Honestly, the merchant pondered, and thinking whether it’s a little time, how much time, he says these words to her:
“Well, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will get you such a crystal tuvalet; and he also has a daughter of the king of Persia, a young queen, unspeakable beauty, indescribable and unspecified; and that tuvalo was buried in a high stone mansion, and it stands on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain is three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven German locks, and three thousand steps lead to that mansion, and at each step there is a warrior Persian and day and night with a saber bald of damask, and the keys to those iron doors are worn by the princess at her belt. I know such a man across the sea, and he will get me such a tuvalo. Your work as a sister is harder, but there is no opposite for my treasury. "
The younger daughter bowed at her father's feet and says this word:
“Sovereign, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, no black Siberian sables, no Burmytsky necklace, no semi-precious crown, no crystal tovalet, but bring me The Scarlet Flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world ”.
The honest merchant pondered harder than ever. You never know, how much time he thought, I cannot say for certain; having thought it over, he kisses, caresses, plays with his younger daughter, his beloved, and says these words:
“Well, you gave me a job that was heavier than the sisters: if you know what to look for, how not to find, but how to find what you yourself do not know? It's not tricky to find a scarlet flower, but how can I know that it is not more beautiful in this world? I will try, but don’t ask for a hotel ”.
And he sent his daughters, good, handsome, to their maidens' houses. He began to get ready for the journey, on the path, to the distant overseas lands. How long, how much he was going to, I don’t know and don’t know: soon the tale will tell itself, not soon the work will be done. He set off on the road.

Here is an honest merchant traveling on foreign sides, overseas, across unprecedented kingdoms; he sells his goods at exorbitant prices, he buys other people's goods at three or more prices, he exchanges goods for goods and a similar gangway, with the addition of silver and gold; he loads ships with gold treasury and sends them home. He found a cherished present for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. I also found a treasured gift for my middle daughter: a crystal tuvalet, and in it you can see all the beauty of heaven, and, looking into it, the maiden beauty does not age, but increases. He cannot only find a cherished gift for his younger, beloved daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.
In the gardens of the tsar, the royal and the sultan's, he found many scarlet flowers of such beauty that he could neither say in a fairy tale, nor write with a pen; but no one gives him a guarantee that there is no more beautiful flower in this world; and he himself does not think so. Here he goes along the road, along the road with his faithful servants through the loose sands, through the dense forests, and out of nowhere, robbers, Busurmans, Turkish and Indian, flew at him, and, seeing an imminent disaster, the honest merchant throws his rich caravans with his servants faithful and flees into the dark forests. “Let them be devoured by fierce beasts than to fall into the hands of robbers, filthy ones, and live out my life in captivity in captivity.”
He wanders through that dense, impassable, impassable forest, and what goes on, the road becomes better, as if the trees parted in front of him, and the bushes were often parting. Looks back. - hands? do not push it, looks to the right - stumps and logs, the hare does not slip obliquely, looks to the left - and even worse. The honest merchant marvels, thinks he can't figure out what kind of miracle is happening to him, but everything goes on and on: he has a long road under his feet. He walks from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: everything around him has died out. Now the dark night has come; at least gouge out an eye around him, but under his feet it is light. Here he goes, read it, until midnight, and he began to see ahead as if a glow, and he thought: "Apparently, the forest is on fire, so why should I go there to certain death, inevitable?"
He turned back - you can't go, right, left - you can't go; thrust forward - the road is torny. "Let me stand in one place - maybe the glow will go in the other direction, al away from me, al will go out completely."
So he became, waiting; but it wasn’t there: the glow was coming towards him as if it was getting brighter around him; he thought, thought, and decided to go forward. There are no two deaths, and one cannot be avoided. The merchant crossed himself and went ahead. The further it goes, the brighter it becomes, and it has become, read, like a white day, and you cannot hear the noise and crackling of a fireman. At the end, he goes out into a wide clearing and in the middle of that wide clearing there is a house not a house, not a palace, but a royal or royal palace all on fire, in silver and gold and in semi-precious stones, everything is burning and shining, but there is no fire to be seen; the sun is exactly red, it is hard for the eyes to look at it. All the windows in the palace are open, and a consonant music is playing in it, such as he has never heard.
He enters into a wide courtyard, wide open gates; the road has gone from white marble, and on the sides there are fountains of water, high, large and small. He enters the palace by a staircase covered with crimson cloth, with gilded railings; entered the upper room - there is no one; in the other, in the third - there is no one; in the fifth, tenth - there is no one; and the decoration is everywhere royal, unheard of and unprecedented: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth bones.
The honest merchant marvels at such unspeakable wealth, but twice that the owner is not there; not only the owner, and the servant is not there; and the music plays incessantly; and at that time he thought to himself: "Everything is fine, but there is nothing to eat" - and a table rose in front of him, tidied up: in a bowl of gold and silver there were sugar dishes, and overseas wines and honey drinks. He sat down at the table without hesitation, got drunk, ate his fill, because he had not eaten for a whole day; the food is such that it is impossible to say - just look that you swallow your tongue, and he, walking through the forests and sands, is very hungry; he got up from the table, and there was no one to bow to and to say thanks for the bread for the salt there was no one. Before he had time to get up and look around, the table with the food was gone, and the music was playing incessantly.
An honest merchant marvels at such a wonderful miracle and such a wondrous marvel, and he walks through the adorned chambers and admires, and he himself thinks: "It would be nice now to sleep and snore" - and he sees in front of him a carved bed, made of pure gold, on crystal legs, with a canopy of silver, with a fringe and pearl tassels; the down jacket on her like a mountain lies, down soft, swan.
The merchant marvels at such a new, new and wonderful miracle; he lies down on a high bed, pulls back the silver curtain and sees that it is thin and soft, like silk. It became dark in the ward, exactly at dusk, and the music seemed to play from afar, and he thought: "Oh, if only I could see my daughters in a dream!" - and fell asleep at the same minute.
The merchant wakes up, and the sun has already risen above the standing tree. The merchant woke up, and suddenly he could not come to his senses: all night he saw his daughters, kind, good and handsome, in a dream, and he saw his eldest daughters: the eldest and middle, that they were merry, cheerful, and one youngest daughter, beloved, was sad; that the eldest and middle daughters have rich suitors and that they are planning to marry without waiting for his father's blessing; the younger daughter, beloved, a beautiful written woman, does not want to hear about suitors until her dear father returns. And it became in his soul both joyful and not joyful.
He got up from the high bed, his dress had been prepared for him, and a fountain of water was beating into a crystal bowl; he dresses, washes, and does not marvel at the new, the miracle: tea and coffee are on the table, and with them a sugar snack. Having prayed to God, he ate, and he began to walk around the wards again, so that he could admire them again in the light of the red sun. Everything seemed to him better than yesterday. Now he sees through the open windows that strange, fertile gardens are planted around the palace and flowers are blooming with beauty indescribable. He wanted to stroll through those gardens.
He descends another staircase made of green marble, copper malachite, with gilded railings, and descends directly into the green gardens. He walks and admires: ripe, ruddy fruits hang on the trees, they themselves beg in their mouths, sometimes, looking at them, drooling; the flowers bloom beautifully, Terry, fragrant, painted with all sorts of paints; unprecedented birds fly: as if on green and crimson velvet, laid out in gold and silver, they sing heavenly songs; fountains of water beat high, and if you look at their height, your head is thrown back; and the spring keys run and rustle over the crystal decks.
An honest merchant walks, marvels; at all such curiosities his eyes fled, and he does not know what to look at and who to listen to. Whether he walked so much, how little time - no one knows: soon the fairy tale will tell, not soon the work will be done. And suddenly he sees, on a hillock of green, a flower blooms in the color of scarlet, a beauty unseen and unheard of, which is not to say in a fairy tale, or to write with a pen. The spirit of an honest merchant is engaged; he fits that flower; the smell from the flower runs smoothly throughout the garden; both hands and feet of the merchant shook, and he spoke in a joyful voice:
"Here is a scarlet flower, which is no more beautiful than the white world, which my younger daughter, beloved, asked me."
And, having said these words, he came up and picked a scarlet flower. At the same moment, without any clouds, lightning flashed and thunder struck, and the earth swayed underfoot, and it rose, as if out of the ground, before the merchant the beast is not a beast, a person is not a person, but some kind of monster, terrible and furry , and he roared in a wild voice:
"What did you do? How dare you pick my favorite flower in my garden? I kept him more than the apple of my eye, and every day I was comforted, looking at him, and you deprived me of all the joy in my life. I am the owner of the palace and the garden, I received you as a dear guest and invited, fed you, gave you drink and put you to bed, and you somehow paid for my goods? Know your bitter fate: you will die an untimely death for your guilt! .. "

And an uncountable number of wild voices from all sides screamed:
"You must die an untimely death!"
The honest merchant didn’t come to grips with fear from fear, he looked around and saw that from all sides, from under every tree and bush, from the water, from the earth, an unclean and innumerable force was crawling towards him, all the horrors are ugly. He fell to his knees in front of the big owner, a furry monster, and spoke in a plaintive voice:
“Oh, you that art, lord honest, beast of the forest, miracle of the sea: how to exalt you - I don’t know, I don’t know! Do not ruin my Christian soul for my innocent immorality, do not order me to be hacked and executed, order me to say a word. And I have three daughters, three beautiful daughters, good and handsome; I promised to bring them a present: the eldest daughter - a semi-precious crown, the middle daughter - a crystal tuvalet, and the youngest daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world. I found a present for the elder daughters, but I could not find a present for the younger daughter; I saw such a present in your garden - a scarlet flower, which is more beautiful in this world, and I thought that such an owner, rich, rich, glorious and powerful, would not feel sorry for the scarlet flower that my younger daughter, beloved, asked for. I confess my guilt before your majesty. Forgive me, foolish and stupid, let me go to my dear daughters and give me a scarlet flower for a present for my youngest, beloved daughter. I will pay you a gold treasury, whatever you demand. "
Laughter rang out through the forest, as if thunder had thundered, and the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, will say to the merchant:
“I don’t need your gold treasury: I have nowhere to put my own. You have no mercy from me, and my faithful servants will tear you to pieces, to small pieces. There is one salvation for you. I will let you go home unscathed, I will reward you with an uncountable treasury, I will give you a scarlet flower, if you give me an honest merchant's word and a record of your hand that you will send one of your daughters, good, handsome, in place of yourself; I will not hurt her, but she will live with me in honor and freedom, as you yourself lived in my palace. It has become boring for me to live alone, and I want to get myself a friend. "
So the merchant fell on the damp earth, shedding fiery tears; and he will look at the forest beast, at the miracle of the sea, and he will remember his daughters, good, handsome, and even more than that, he will scream with a heart-rending voice: the forest beast was painfully terrible, the miracle of the sea. For a long time, an honest merchant is killed and sheds tears, and he will say in a plaintive voice:
“Mr. honest, beast of the forest, miracle of the sea! And what should I do if my daughters, good and handsome, do not want to go to you of their own free will? Can't they bind their hands and feet and send them forcibly? And which way to get to you? I have been traveling to you for exactly two years, and I don’t know which places, which routes ”.
The beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, will speak to the merchant:
“I don’t want a slave: let your daughter come here out of love for you, by her own will and desire; and if your daughters do not go of their own accord and desire, then come yourself, and I will command you to execute you with cruel death. And how to come to me is not your problem; I will give you a ring from my hand: whoever puts it on the right little finger, he will be where he wants, in a single moment. I give you the term to stay at home for three days and three nights. "
The merchant thought, thought a strong thought and came up with this: "It is better for me to see my daughters, to give them my parental blessing, and if they do not want to save me from death, then prepare for death according to Christian duty and return to the forest beast, the miracle of the sea." Falsity was not in his mind, and therefore he told what he had in mind. The beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, already knew them; Seeing his truth, he did not take the record from him, but took off the gold ring from his hand and gave it to the honest merchant.

And only the honest merchant had time to put it on his right little finger, when he found himself at the gates of his wide courtyard; at that time, his rich caravans entered the same gate with a faithful servant, and they brought the treasury and goods three times as much as before. There was a clamor and hubbub in the house, the daughters jumped up from behind their hoops, and they embroidered silk zips in silver and gold; They began to kiss their father, to have mercy, and to call them various affectionate names, and the two older sisters are fawning over their younger sister. They see that the father is somehow unhappy and that he has a secret sadness in his heart. The elder daughters began to question him if he had lost his great wealth; the younger daughter does not think about wealth, and she says to her parent:
“I do not need your riches; wealth is a gain, and you reveal to me your heartbreak. "
And then the honest merchant will say to his daughters, dear, good and useful:
“I have not lost my great wealth, but amassed treasury three or four times; but I have another sorrow, and I will tell you about it tomorrow, and today we will have fun. "
He ordered to bring the travel chests, bound with iron; he got his eldest daughter a golden crown, Arabian gold, does not burn on fire, does not rust in water, with semi-precious stones; pulls out a present for the middle daughter, a tuvalet with oriental crystal; takes out a present for his youngest daughter, a golden jug with a scarlet flower. The eldest daughters went crazy with joy, took their gifts to the high chambers and there they made fun of them in the open space. Only the younger daughter, beloved, seeing the scarlet flower, shook all over and began to cry, as if something had stung her heart. As her father will speak to her, these are the speeches:
“Well, my dear daughter, beloved, do you not take your desired flower? More beautiful than it is not in this world. "
The smaller daughter took the scarlet flower evenly reluctantly, kisses her father's hands, and she herself cries with burning tears. Soon the eldest daughters came running, they tried their father's gifts and could not come to their senses for joy. Then they all sat down at oak tables, at tablecloths they had taken for sugar dishes and honey drinks; they began to eat, drink, chill, comfort themselves with gentle speeches.
In the evening the guests came in large numbers, and the merchant's house was full of dear guests, relatives, saints, hangers-on. Until midnight, the conversation continued, and such was the evening feast, which an honest merchant had never seen in his house, and where it came from, he could not guess, and everyone marveled at that: gold and silver dishes, and outlandish food, which never never seen in the house.
In the morning the merchant called his eldest daughter to him, told her everything that had happened to him, everything from word to word, and asked: does she want to save him from fierce death and go live with the forest beast, the miracle of the sea? The eldest daughter flatly refused and said:
The honest merchant called his other daughter, the middle one, told her everything that had happened to him, everything from word to word, and asked if she wanted to save him from fierce death and go live with the forest beast, the miracle of the sea? The middle daughter flatly refused and said:
"Let that daughter help her father out for whom he got the scarlet flower."
The honest merchant called his younger daughter and began to tell her everything, everything from word to word, and before he could finish his speech, his younger daughter, beloved, knelt before him and said:
“Bless me, my dear sir, my dear father: I will go to the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, and I will begin to live with him. You got me a scarlet flower, and I need to help you out. "
The honest merchant burst into tears, he hugged his youngest daughter, beloved, and says these words to her:
“My dear, good, good-looking, smaller and beloved daughter, may my parental blessing be over you, that you are helping your father out of cruel death and, of your own free will and desire, you go to a life opposite to the terrible forest beast, the miracle of the sea. You will live with him in the palace, in great wealth and freedom; but where is that palace - no one knows, does not know, and there is no way to it for either horse, foot, or sprying beast, or migratory bird. We will not hear from you, no news, and even more so from us. And how can I live out my bitter age, I cannot see your face, I cannot hear your affectionate speeches? I part with you forever and ever, I live you exactly, I bury you in the ground. "
And the younger daughter, beloved, will say to her father:
“Don’t cry, don’t grieve, my dear sir; my life will be rich, free: the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, I will not be afraid, I will serve him with faith and righteousness, fulfill his master's will, and maybe he will take pity on me. Do not mourn me alive, as if dead: maybe God willing, I will return to you. "
An honest merchant cries, weeps, he is not comforted by such speeches.
The older sisters, the big one and the middle one, come running, they started crying all over the house: you see, it hurts them to feel sorry for their younger sister, their beloved; and the younger sister does not even seem sad, does not cry, does not groan, and the unknown is going on a long journey. And he takes with him a scarlet flower in a gilded jug.
The third day and the third night have passed, the time has come for the honest merchant to part, to part with his youngest daughter, beloved; he kisses, pardons her, pours hot tears on her, and puts his parent's blessing of the Cross on her. He takes out the ring of a forest beast, a miracle of the sea, from a forged casket, puts the ring on the right little finger of his youngest, beloved daughter - and she was gone at that very moment with all her belongings.
She found herself in the palace of the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, in high, stone chambers, on a bed of carved gold with crystal legs, on a swan down jacket covered with gold damask, she didn’t leave the place, exactly she lived here for a whole century, she lay evenly rest and woke up. A consonant music began to play, such as she had never heard of when she was born.
She got out of the downy bed and sees that all her belongings and a scarlet flower in a gilded jug are right there, laid out and placed on the tables of green copper malachite, and that in that ward there is a lot of goods and belongings of every kind, there is something to sit and lie on, there is what to dress up, what to look at. And there was one wall all mirrored, and the other gilded wall, and the third wall all silver, and the fourth wall of ivory and mammoth ivory, all stripped down by semi-precious yachons; and She thought: "This must be my bedchamber."
She wanted to inspect the whole palace, and she went to inspect all its high chambers, and she went for a long time, admiring all the wonders; one chamber was more beautiful than the other, and all the more beautiful than, as the honest merchant told her, her dear sir. She took her favorite scarlet flower from a gilded jug; did she go down into the green? gardens, and the birds sang their paradise songs to her, and trees, bushes and flowers waved their tops and bowed evenly before her; fountains of water gushed higher and the springs rustled louder; and she found that high place, an anthill on which an honest merchant plucked a scarlet flower, which is not more beautiful in this world. And she took that scarlet flower out of a gilded jug and wanted to put it back in its former place; but he himself flew out of her hands and grew to the old stalk and blossomed more beautifully than before.

She marveled at such a wonderful miracle, wondrous marvel, rejoiced at her scarlet, cherished flower and went back to her palace chambers; and in one of them there is a table set, and only she thought: “Apparently, the beast of the forest, a miracle of the sea, is not angry with me, and he will be a merciful lord to me,” as words of fire appeared on the white marble wall:

Fedoskino miniature

Vladimir Soloukhin in his essay "Aksakov places"

writes about the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower":

“The main thing in her is kindness and love.

And what bad feelings:

greed, envy, selfishness -

do not triumph, and the black evil is defeated.

How is it defeated? Love

Good,Gratitude.

These qualities live in the soul of a person,

they are the essence of the soul and its best motives.

They are that scarlet flower,

which is sown in the soul of every person,

it is only important that it sprouts and flourishes " .

The pages of the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower", familiar to us from childhood, are also connected with the Aksakov family. We'll just flip through some of them.

It is difficult for a person to experience an old age. It is difficult, feeling aching bones, to get up in the morning, overcoming cutting pains in the abdomen or back and listening to the beat of a worn out heart. It is difficult to leave the house, slowly descending the slippery and steep stairs, which previously did not seem to be slippery or steep ... It is difficult to expect death, knowing that it will come, unwanted, but more than once called in moments of bodily suffering. Most readers do not know that S.T.Aksakov wrote his main works, the famous trilogy "The childhood of Bagrov the grandson," in the midst of such senile, physical and mental labors, overcoming pain, fatigue, blindness and constantly awaiting the near end.

In the fall of 1854, the middle son, Grigory, came from St. Petersburg to Abramtsevo near Moscow, where he lived almost without a break, and brought his five-year-old daughter Olenka with him. It seems that it was then that Sergei Timofeevich in last time felt healthy and young. Joyful, Olenka ran around the house and did not stop in any way: "Grandpa, you promised to go to the river! .. Grandpa, where does the forest Bear live? .. Grandpa, tell a story! .."

And he began to tell her about his childhood games, about old books that he once avidly read in distant Ufa, about his winter and summer trips from city to village and back, about fishing, which he had become interested in almost from infancy, about butterflies, which he caught and collected ... But there was no fairy tale. After staying, Olenka left. Winter has come. On December 26, 1854, she turned six years old, and her grandfather sent her a gift: a poem - completely childish and ingenious in its simplicity:

If God gives strength, About the little birds,

Exactly one year later About the nest of testicles,

Ole, dear granddaughter, beautiful butterflies,

Grandfather will send playful moths,

A small book About the forest Bear,

And she will tell about the white mushroom -

About the flowers of the fields, Olya will become a book ...

His grandfather fulfilled his promise, although not a year later, but a little later, almost before his death. By that time, he was very sick and almost blind, so he did not write himself, but dictated his memories to his daughters.

The book came out with a dedication: “ To my granddaughter Olga Grigorievna Aksakova. "

3. The history of the creation of the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower"

Appendix to the story, but a completely independent work is "The Scarlet Flower" - one of the kindest and wise tales... "The Tale of Pelageya's Housekeeper" - appears in the subtitle.

Somehow to little boy Before going to bed, Serezha Aksakova, the “village Scheherazada”, the housekeeper Pelageya, “prayed to God, went to the pen, sighed several times, according to her habit every time saying:“ Lord, have mercy on us sinners, ”sat down by the stove, got pissed off with one hand and began to speak a little singsong:

“In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent person. He had a lot of all kinds of wealth, expensive goods from overseas, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury; and that merchant had three daughters, all three beauties are painted, and the youngest is the best ... "

Who was this Pelageya? A peasant serf. In her youth, during the Pugachev rebellion with her father, she fled from the cruel treatment of her landlord Alakayev from Orenburg to Astrakhan. She returned to her native place only twenty years after the death of the master. Pelageya was the housekeeper in the Aksakovs' house. In the old days, the housekeeper was in charge of all the food supplies in the house, she kept the keys to all the rooms, and she was also in charge of the domestic servant.

Pelageya knew many fairy tales and was an expert at telling them. Little Seryozha Aksakov often listened to her stories in childhood. Subsequently, the writer, while working on the book "Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson", recalled the housekeeper Pelageya, her wonderful fairy tales and wrote "The Scarlet Flower".

Aksakov himself wrote this to his son Ivan: “I am now busy with an episode in my book: I am writing a fairy tale that I knew by heart in childhood and told everyone for amusement with all the jokes of the storyteller Pelageya. Of course, I completely forgot about her; but now, rummaging through the storeroom of childhood memories, I found in a lot of different trash a handful of fragments of this fairy tale, and as it becomes part of Grandfather's Tales, I began to restore this fairy tale. "

Baranova E.N.

Illustrations by Nadezhda Komarova

A wealthy merchant gathers for business in the distant kingdom, in the thirtieth state. Before leaving, he asks his three daughters what gifts to bring them. The eldest asked for a golden crown, the middle mirror made of crystal, and the youngest - the most beloved - a scarlet flower, which is not more beautiful in the whole wide world.

The merchant travels to overseas countries, buys and sells goods. I have found gifts for the older daughters, but cannot find them for the younger. He sees many scarlet flowers, but no one can guarantee that there is no more beautiful flower in the whole world.

A merchant goes home, and robbers attack his caravan. The merchant threw his goods and ran into the dense forest. A merchant wanders through the forest and suddenly sees a palace in silver, gold, semi-precious stones. He went inside, and there the decoration is royal everywhere, and there is no one. As soon as the merchant thought about the food, a tidied-down table appeared in front of him. The merchant wants to thank the owner for the bread and salt, but there is no one.

The merchant rested, slept, and decided to take a walk in the garden. And in that garden beautiful flowers bloom, unseen birds fly and paradise songs are sung. Suddenly the merchant sees a scarlet flower, unprecedented beauty. The merchant tore off a flower, at the same moment lightning flashed, thunder struck, and a beast appeared before the merchant, not a beast, a person not a person, a terrible and furry monster. The monster roared at the merchant. How he thanked for the hospitality, plucked his scarlet flower, the only joy in his life! The merchant fell to his knees, began to ask for forgiveness, he did not want to be ungrateful, he wanted to bring a present to his beloved daughter. The monster released the merchant, but on the condition that the merchant would send one of his daughters to replace himself. The girl will live in honor and freedom, and no one wants to, so let him come back. The monster gave the merchant a ring: whoever puts it on his right little finger will in an instant find himself where he wishes.

The merchant put on the ring and found himself at home, and caravans with goods entered the gate. The merchant told his daughters about the monster. The older daughters refused to help out their father, only the younger, beloved, agreed. She took a scarlet flower, put a ring on her little finger and found herself in the palace of the monster.

The girl walks through the palace chambers, the green garden, cannot wonder at a wonderful miracle. And fiery inscriptions appear on the walls - this is a monster who talks to a girl like that.

So the girl lives in the palace, every day she tries on new outfits, such that they have no prices, every day the treats are excellent and the fun is different, and most often she talks to the owner. He writes fiery inscriptions on the wall.

The girl wanted to hear the owner's voice. She began to pray to him, to ask him to talk to her. The monster did not agree, he was afraid to frighten the girl with his terrible voice, but the girl begged him. The girl was frightened at first by a terrible, loud voice, but she listened to his gentle words, reasonable speech, and her heart became light. They talk like this all day.

Soon the girl wanted to see her master. For a long time the monster did not agree to appear, he was all afraid that she would be afraid of his disgusting, ugly. The girl persuaded all the same. A forest beast seemed to her. As the beauty saw him, she screamed with fear in a heart-rending voice, fainted. But she mastered her fear, and they began to spend time together.

In a dream the girl dreamed that her father was unwell. She asked the monster for permission to visit her native home. The beast of the forest let her go home, but warned that if she did not return in three days and three nights, he would die of mortal anguish, since he loves her more than himself.

The girl swore that she would return in three days and three nights, put a gold ring on her little finger and found herself in her own home. Her father was unhealthy, he yearned for his beloved daughter. The girl told how she lived in the palace of the monster, the merchant was delighted for his daughter, and her sisters became jealous.

The time has come for the girl to return to the monster. They persuade her sisters to stay, the girl does not give in to persuasion, she cannot betray the forest beast. Her father praised her for such speeches, and the sisters, out of envy, moved all the clocks in the house an hour ago.

The real hour has come, the girl's heart aches, she looks at her watch, and it's too early to return. She could not stand it, put the ring on her little finger and found herself in the palace of the monster. The monster does not meet her. She walks around the palace, calling the owner - there is no answer. And in the garden, neither birds sing, nor fountains. And on the hillock, where the scarlet flower grows, lies a lifeless forest beast. A girl ran up to him, hugged his ugly, disgusting head and screamed in a heart-rending voice: "You get up, wake up, my heart friend, I love you as the desired bridegroom!"

The earth shook, lightning flashed, thunder struck and the girl fainted. When she woke up, she saw herself in a white marble chamber on the throne, around her entourage on her knees and her father and sisters. And next to her sits a prince, a handsome man.

“You fell in love with me in the form of a monster, so love me now in the form of a human. The evil sorceress was angry with my parent, the mighty king, kidnapped me and turned me into a monster. She cursed me to be a monster until a girl in a terrible form loves me. You alone loved me, for my good soul, so be my wife. "

The retinue bowed, and the merchant gave his daughter a blessing for a legal marriage.

The fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" by S. T. Aksakova was included in the supplement to "The Childhood of Bagrov - Grandson". The artistic adaptation of the famous French fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" to Russian traditions brought the author popularity, and is still one of the favorite magic stories of children and adults. The main idea of ​​the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" is the healing power of love.

Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich: a short biography

Sergey Timofeevich Aksakov (1971-1859) - Russian writer, theater and literary critic and statesman, was born in the city of Ufa. Sergey Timofeevich made translations from French, wrote a collection of stories about hunting and fishing, created autobiographical trilogy about Bagrovs, in which he tried to describe his view of the correct moral education the young generation.

The continuation of "Family Chronicles" and "Memoirs" was "Children's Notes of Bagrov - Grandson", in the appendix to which the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" was printed, so beloved by the domestic reader and brought wide popularity to the writer. These three works occupy a worthy place not only in Russian, but also in world literature. A simple and measured description of the life of several generations of an ordinary noble family still arouses the interest of a large circle of readers. "Children's Records" became the author's book about children and for the child.

Most of Aksakov's critical articles were published under false names, pseudonyms, or completely anonymously; such restrictions were imposed on the writer by his service in the censorship department.

The original source of the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" by S. T. Aksakov

Gabrielle Susanne Barbeau de Villeneuve (1695-1755) is a French storyteller who is considered the first author of the famous Beauty and the Beast. The story was printed in 1740. The author's creations are largely forgotten, and the real version of the fairy tale in Europe is printed in an appendix to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.

The source for the story is the tale of the ancient Roman philosopher Apuleius about "Cupid and Psyche". According to myths, Psyche was the youngest princess and even Aphrodite was overshadowed by her beauty. The girl suffered and was alone, because no one saw her inner beauty. The goddess demanded from her son Eros (Cupid) to instill in the girl's heart love for the most vile and rejected creature on earth.

The oracle predicted that the king should take his beloved daughter to the cave and leave at the mercy of an unprecedented monster. The princess was submissive and fulfilled the will of her father, her husband demanded only one thing from her - never to ask about who he was.

Psyche's life was quiet and happy, until the sisters, envious, told her tales about her husband. The princess was afraid for the life of her child and dared to find out if her beloved was really a dragon. She secretly lit a lamp at night and saw Cupid in the place of the monster. Having broken the promise, Psyche was separated from her husband for a long time, and only after overcoming many trials, she earned divine forgiveness and immortality.

The story of the creation of a fairy tale

The author of the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" restored the story according to the promise made to his granddaughter Olya for Christmas. Therefore, it was important for the writer to present the main idea of ​​the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" in a bright and accessible form for kids. In letters to his son Ivan, Sergei Timofeevich explained that he was writing a fairy tale, well known to him from his own childhood. In the estate of Aksakov's parents, a certain housekeeper Pelageya served, in his youth a servant in the house of the Persian ambassadors. Only there a simple and uneducated woman could hear the exquisite fairy tales of the East and Europe.

Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov wrote his books for children, as for real adults, avoiding moralizing, very popular in those days. The writer said that the main thing is the "highly artistic" performance of stories, and direct instructions to a child are very boring to read. Therefore, when the kids are asked what the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" is about, they always very emotionally and with great eagerness begin to retell the events of the story.

The plot and moral of the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower"

According to Aksakov, the merchant's three daughters asked for gifts from distant countries. Having survived the attack of robbers, the merchant finds a wondrous palace, and in his gardens a flower by order youngest daughter... The owner of the magical domain was angry at the act of the ungrateful merchant and promised to execute the thief. The merchant begged for forgiveness and told about his daughters, then the monster decided that if one of the daughters voluntarily replaced her father, he would not take revenge.

The merchant told the children about the adventures, and youngest daughter agreed to save her father. In the enchanted domain, her life was calm and secure, the owner himself called her "an obedient slave." Over time, the heroes fell in love with each other, even the terrible appearance of the monster ceased to frighten the girl. Once a merchant's daughter asked for leave to visit home with the condition to return in three days and nights. The older sisters envied the younger and deceived her for a longer period. Returning, the girl found a dying monster, but the power of her love saved the hero and broke the spell.

The main idea of ​​the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" is power great love able to overcome all obstacles and heal spiritual and physical ailments.

The main characters of "The Scarlet Flower" Aksakov S. T.

The heroes of the fairy tale believe in love and goodness. The merchant's daughter, without hesitation, sacrifices her life for her father. The enchanted monster, although it depends on the girl, does not dare to enslave her and lets her go to her father and sisters. One more main thought the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" is a person's ability to change. Even having committed an unsightly act, intimidating the girl's father, the monster still appears before the readers as noble and honest. The main characters of "The Scarlet Flower" Aksakov ST cause only positive impressions in children.

Performances and film adaptations of the fairy tale

Beautiful fairy tales about the power of pure and selfless love have always become the basis for theatrical performances and film adaptations. In 1952 "Soyuzmultfilm" made an excellent cartoon version of "The Scarlet Flower" for a children's audience. The tape turned out to be so skillfully executed and aroused the interest of children that it was restored in 1987 and re-dubbed in 2001.

In 1949 on stage drama theater named after Pushkin in Moscow, the premiere of the play based on the fairy tale took place. The production is popular to this day.

There are also two film versions of 1977 and "The Tale of a Merchant's Daughter and a Mysterious Flower" 1991. In the 1977 film, an excellent cast was selected (Alexander Abdulov, Alla Demidova and Lev Durov), but the film itself turned out to be rather gloomy. The Tale of 1991 is a joint film project of the USSR, Germany and Belgium. The result of the work was a very high-quality and interesting film adaptation, which, due to the events of 1991, did not receive due attention and fame in the country.