Lefty - Leskov's story. Summary by chapter

First chapter

At the end of hostilities with Napoleon Bonoparte in 1812, the Russian emperor undertook a voyage to Europe.

Everywhere where Alexander Pavlovich, the sovereign of Russia, appeared, amazing things were presented to him, which led him to admiration.

Dissatisfaction was shown by Platov, chieftain from the Don. He stood on the fact that Russian artisans would not yield to foreign ones in anything. The last country on this tour was England.

Second chapter

The British greeted the Russian emperor with a display of their technical innovations. Alexander admired foreign technical innovations and lamented that the Russians were far from the British.

Only Platov stood his ground, arguing that Russian artisans surpassed foreigners in skill, and they have no equal abroad. At that time, the British presented Alexander with a “pistol”, worked by an unknown master, who, according to them, has no equal.

The sovereign was saddened that there were no masters in Rus' capable of creating such a miracle. It was then that Platov opened the lock of the pistol, showed the sovereign the inscription that the master who created the pistol was "Ivan Moskvin in the city of Tula."

The British were embarrassed and decided to create such a technical miracle against which Platov would have nothing to say.

Third chapter

The next morning, the sovereign and Platov were taken to a sugar factory and a cabinet of curiosities, in which mineral stones collected from all over the world and "nymphosoria" were presented.

A flea forged by English craftsmen in full size from steel was presented to the Russian sovereign. After turning the key, the English miracle of technology jumped and danced, for such a miracle the Russian emperor gave the English masters a million. The flea was presented to Alexander.

The sovereign put the flea in a diamond case, lowered it into a snuff box and departed for Russia.

Fourth chapter

The English gift remained with the emperor until his death. Elizaveta Alekseevna, the emperor's wife, became the successor of the gift. By inheritance, the English flea passed to the new emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, Alexander's brother.

The real puzzle was an English gift for the royal family. No one could understand why the emperor kept it for many years. The ataman from Don Platov helped unravel the royal secret. He handed over to the emperor the "melkoskop", which the British had given him. The king looked at the flea through the amazing glass, saw how the metal flea was jumping.

Nikolai Pavlovich was a man who appreciated Russian masters. He gave the task to Platov, to instruct Russian craftsmen to create something more amazing than a mechanical flea.

Fifth chapter

By the will of the sovereign, ataman Platov galloped to Tula, to the arms masters. The Tula gunsmiths promised Platov to fulfill the royal task, but asked to leave the flea to them for a few days. They did not tell Platov why they needed a flea, how they planned to surprise the sovereign. The chieftain went to the Don, providing an amazing flea to the Tula craftsmen.

sixth chapter

“Slanting Lefty”, on whose cheek there are birthmarks, on the temples hair torn out during teaching, with him two more skilled craftsmen, set off from the city without saying a word to anyone. Many decided that the masters could not think of anything and left the city to avoid punishment by taking a snuffbox with a flea.

seventh chapter

Skilled gunsmiths went to the city of Mtsensk, Oryol province, to the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, to ask for advice. They prayed and returned to the village. After returning, no one saw the masters, since they closed themselves in Lefty's house without saying a word to anyone. No matter how hard the neighbors tried to look at the masters, to lure them out of the house, the craftsmen worked day and night, despite the curiosity of the neighbors.

Chapter Eight

After completing the business, Platov returned to the settlement, but did not go to the masters, he sent couriers to them. He sent them one by one, so that the artisans would be delivered to him faster Chapter Nine The work of the artisans by this time was nearing an end. There was no response from the stubborn gunsmiths to the knock of the couriers.

In order to get an answer, Platov's envoys removed the roof from Levsha's hut. The left-hander and his comrades finally finished their work and left the hut. They informed the envoys that they were ready to show their work to Platov to shame the British.

Tenth chapter

The gunsmiths handed Platov a snuffbox with a flea. Platov angrily asked the masters. Where is their work? The masters of arms were offended and answered the ataman that only the sovereign himself could see their work. Levsha Platov was annoyed, the ataman went to Petersburg, taking the master with him. Platov himself went to an appointment with the sovereign, leaving the bound Lefty at the royal chambers.

Eleventh chapter

Entertaining the king with various conversations, the chieftain hoped that the sovereign would not ask about the flea, but the king remembered his order given to Platov about the mechanical flea. The ataman obeyed, told the sovereign that the master's flea had been returned without inventing anything new. Nikolai doubted Platov's words and decided to check why the gunsmiths dared to return the flea.

Twelfth chapter

They brought a snuffbox with a flea to the sovereign, took out a flea, wound it up with a key. It turned out that the flea does not jump. It was difficult to convey Platov's anger. The ataman went down to Leftsha, a deceiver, called him a liar, beat him well. The left-hander stood his ground, insisting that the work of their sovereign should be seen in the "melkoscope".

Thirteenth chapter

They brought Lefty to the sovereign, and he showed what the skill of the gunsmiths was. The Russian craftsmen surpassed the English craftsmen in that they were able to forge an English gift, a mechanical flea. Nicholas was surprised and rejoiced at the skill of his subjects. The Tula artisans surpassed the British!

Fourteenth chapter

Nikolai decided to send Lefty to distant England so that he could present his work to English craftsmen. Gathered a better gunsmith, and sent by courier to the English lands.

Fifteenth chapter

Upon arrival in England, the courier settled Lefty in a hotel, and he himself took a snuffbox with a flea to the English masters. The masters were surprised, and went to get acquainted with the gunsmith who managed to shoe a flea. The British treated Lefty with dishes for three days, and then tried to find out what sciences he had studied. The English craftsmen were surprised that the master studied from the Psalter and the Half Dream Book, but he did not know arithmetic at all.

sixteenth chapter

The courier was sent by the British back to St. Petersburg, and with Lefty they went to their factories and everyone tried to persuade him to stay in England. But the master yearned for his workshop in Tula, and asked to be let go to his homeland. The British sent Lefty to his native land, gave him a gold watch in memory of their meeting, gave him money for the journey, putting him on a ship.

Chapter Seventeen

The way turned out to be long, Lefty got bored and he argued with the half-skipper that he would outdrink him. The disputants drank to the end of the journey, both of them turned out to be sick, but neither of them turned out to win. The half-skipper, upon arrival in Russia, was taken to the British embassy, ​​where he was accommodated with all the comforts. With Lefty, they acted differently: weakened, sick, unable to explain anything, they left him in the quarter.

Chapter eighteen

The Englishman, delivered to the embassy, ​​was immediately shown to the doctor, put in a warm bath, then they gave him a pill and put him to bed. In those places, Lefty was robbed and they decided to find him a place in the hospital, but the master was not accepted anywhere, since he did not have any “tutament”. When they realized that Lefty was no longer a tenant, they took him to the Obukhvinsk hospital for ordinary people, die.

Chapter nineteen

Half the skipper remembered and worried about his new friend. He found the dying Lefty, got him examined by a doctor. Dying, the master gunsmith persuades Martyn-Sokolsky to tell the sovereign that the British do not clean their guns with bricks. The doctor tried to help Lefty convey his words to Count Chernyshev.

Nobody wanted to hear the secret that Lefty found out. They continued to clean the guns with bricks until the start of the war. And the whole secret was that gun barrels quickly became thinner and became unusable.

Chapter Twenty

Now there are no masters like Lefty. To replace the talents and gifts of the machine came, unable to surpass the prowess of the past masters. In the mechanical age, the fabulous masters disappeared altogether, but the memory of them remained in folk legends.

"Lefty" summary, chapter by chapter.
The work of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov “Lefty” also has a second name, which you should still know about in order to understand what the content of the whole tale is. So, the second title of the work sounds like this: “The Tale of the Tula oblique left-hander and steel flea". Now let's take a closer look at each chapter, retelling them. There are 20 chapters in the text, they do not have a title.

Chapter first

Begins with a description of the emperor.
In those times that Nikolai Semenovich Leskov describes, Alexander Pavlovich ruled. It is known from history that it was this emperor who participated in the Congress of Vienna, representing Russia. He was also called Alexander the First and it was he who was on the throne at the time when Russia won the war with Napoleon. But back to the plot of the story.

So, Emperor Alexander Pavlovich ended his participation in the Vienna Council, and he really wanted to travel. Drive through Europe, see what kind of miracles do happen in the world, and in which states they are found.

Alexander I went to travel, traveled a lot of countries and states, and on the road he talked a lot with people, as he was very friendly and talkative, and besides, he also wanted to know about everything, and people really liked it. Those who tried to surprise the sovereign, seeing the genuineness of his feelings, tried to surprise him even more, trying their best.

But he did not travel alone, but with a faithful servant and assistant, Matvey Ivanovich Platov. He was a Don Cossack, had the rank of general and himself participated in battles with Napoleon, where he proved himself heroic. During the journey, nothing could surprise Count Platov, and he tried to influence the emperor. But all the time Platov was drawn to his homeland, where he tried to lure Tsar Alexander I. And every time, seeing how the sovereign began to be surprised and amazed at everything he saw, Platov answered that at home it’s not worse, there are miracles, and masters are more experienced and skilled. And again he remembered the house. The British also found out about this, and they decided to invent so many outlandish things that the sovereign would completely distance himself from his state, admiring their foreign deeds and craftsmen. They prepared for a long time, they invented miracles. And I must say, they succeeded a lot and even some of their tricks were successful. The emperor from admiration could not at times say a word. Platov could not do anything, because where there were a lot of people, they mainly spoke a foreign and unfamiliar language, French, and Matvey Ivanovich could not understand what they were saying. Yes, and this did not bother him, because he was married, and such events, such as salons and balls, somehow interested him little. He paid no attention to conversations, especially those conducted in French, but considered them unnecessary and trifling.

The Don Cossack Platov was calm only until the moment when they suddenly began to call the emperor to look at the wonderful buildings that the British have. For example, factories that were considered soap-and-saw factories, unusual zeughauses, or they wanted to show him their amazing weapons factories.

And here Platov decided for himself that it was enough for him to remain silent, but to agree completely, but it was already worth fighting back with the British, standing up for the skilled Russian peasant. As soon as the Cossack thought about it, as soon as he made this right decision, Emperor Alexander Pavlovich turned to him and said that a trip to one of the armory chambers was scheduled for tomorrow. And not just the armory, the British are going to show the emperor, but to surprise, but have prepared an armory of curiosities for this.

The sovereign also added that the British themselves boasted to him that this museum contains not only the rarest things, but the best exhibits - the perfections that nature has given them. And when the sovereign sees all this, the British promised, he will understand that the Russian people are not at all equal to them and even a match for them - that is not good. Platov did not like this, but he did not become bold and answer something to his sovereign. Instead, he pulled his hat over his forehead so that even his hooked nose simply drowned in her tatters. So, with a half-mast cloak, Platov, gloomy and gloomy, went home.

When Count Platov, puzzled, returned to his apartment where he lived, he immediately came to life and even demanded that the batman bring him immediately from the cellar tinctures, but not easy, but sour vodka, which was made in the Caucasus from grapes and had its name such because it was produced from the city of Kizlyar. When this drink was served to Platov, he immediately drank it and fell asleep, covering himself with his cloak out of habit.

In the second chapter

Platov went with the emperor to watch these weapons miracles. This Kunstkamera was located in a large room, where the corridors were long, and the halls were large, and in one of them there was even a bust of Abolon Polvedersky.

And if the sovereign is surprised at all this, then Platov did not even look at all this, he only twisted his mustache. And what miracles the British did not show to the emperor: wind meters for the sea, tar raincoats, merblue mantons and much more. The sovereign tried to stir up Platov, but he only says that in Russia you can see other, no less significant miracles. When they began to show the sovereign a pistol, and he began to admire, belittling Russian skill, Platov could not stand it and took out a screwdriver special for weapons from his wide trousers. He began to disassemble the pistol, although the British were against it. And when he took out the dog from the pistol, everyone saw an inscription in Russian that Ivan Moskvin from the Russian city of Tula made it.

So Platov embarrassed the British and immediately perked up. And the British decided to surprise the sovereign again, and while they were dancing at the ball, they came up with new miracles.

In the third chapter

The sovereign and Platov decided to visit the Kunstkameras again. Platov, of course, wanted to object to such a trip, but the emperor really wanted to see more miracles. At first they were examining different varieties of sugar in the halls, but then Platov asked to bring "rumor" to the sugar. But the British did not have this, and they heard the word for the first time.

The British were embarrassed, and then they called the emperor with Platov to the last chamber. There they were met by workers with a tray in their hands. How the sovereign and Platov did not look at him, but the tray was empty. The British showed them a tiny speck, only when they took it on their finger, it turned out that it was not a speck at all, but a nymphosoria, which was made of steel and looked like a flea.

But this flea is unusual: in the middle of it there is a little factory and a spring. One has only to turn a small key, as she immediately begins to dance. There is a hole in the flea's tummy, and you need to insert the key there, and then turn it seven times.

Seeing the dance of a flea, the sovereign demanded that the British be given a million in silver for such an invention. And then they decided to give this flea to the emperor, but they didn’t bring the case. They explained this by the fact that the case is state-owned, expensive, made of an unusual diamond nut.

Platov tried to object, but the emperor stopped him. They got the nut by paying another five thousand. The emperor put a flea in a nut, then this nut was placed in his snuffbox made of gold, and the snuffbox itself was then placed in a travel box. The emperor praised the English, but Platov was silent all this time, but he took the small scope with him.

The sovereign decided that there is no equal in the world to the English in art. And they returned home with different thoughts, and Platov also with resentment for the Russian people.

The most important thing from chapter 4 "The Lefty's Tale"

In the fourth chapter

It is told how, after the death of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich, a flea fell into the hands of Empress Elisaveta Alekseevna, but she, having watched her dances, did not pay any attention to her at all. And then she completely passed it on as a legacy for the new emperor.

But the new emperor, Nikolai Pavlovich, also did not pay any attention to the flea at first. Once, while shifting things, he wanted to throw it away, but then he first decided to consult a chemist. Having learned that the thing is not simple, and even not made by Russian people, he decided to find out everything about it. No one knew what it was or where it came from.

It was here that they remembered Platov. The Don Cossack told the whole story and added that it should not be so that some Englishmen had superiority over Russian masters.

And the new emperor did not want to yield to anyone of the Russian master, so he sent Platov to the Tula masters to show these outlandish things.

In the fifth chapter

Platov set off on his journey through Russia and soon he arrived in Tula, where Tula gunsmiths lived. They asked to leave the flea, but give them time to think about how to surprise the sovereign.

Platov gave them two weeks, and left on his own business.

In the sixth chapter

It tells about how Platov left Tula, and the gunsmiths left the city. Among them was a left-hander, who was oblique, but on his face he had birthmark, and her hair was torn out in whole strands. There were many assumptions and rumors about where the masters went. So, some thought that the masters went to Moscow, others believed that they went to Kyiv, and still others decided that they simply fled with the valuable thing of the emperor.

In the seventh chapter

It tells about how the craftsmen went to the Oryol province to bow to the icon of St. Nicholas, and only then get to work. At night, having returned home, they locked themselves in and set to work. For several days they did not leave the house, so they attracted the attention of everyone living in this area. And no matter what reasons they came up with to lure them out, nothing helped. In the eighth chapter Platov returns to see the masters at work. From impatience, he even grinds his teeth. And the Tula masters are in no hurry. And all those sent back do not return, but Platov, out of impatience, already sends simple people from the crowd.

In the ninth chapter tells about how the Tula masters finished their work. This happened at the very moment when Platov had already galloped up to them. No one could get through to the masters, they pulled the shutters and doors so that they cracked, and the bolts flew out. And when the doors opened, such stuffiness blew on everyone that many simply could not stand it and fainted.

Meanwhile, the Tula masters, meanwhile, slowly put on caftans, and in a green case they carried the Platov casket of the emperor, where there was an English flea made of steel.

In the tenth chapter the masters took out the flea, but kept silent about their work. Platov tried to see something, but could not. Therefore, he accused the masters of deceit. They demanded that they be taken to the emperor, where they would show what they had been doing these two weeks and what fine work they had done. But Platov was already angry, seizing the extreme master, a left-hander, by the caftan, threw him into his carriage and rushed off. A day later, a carriage drove up to the court of the emperor in St. Petersburg, and in addition to Platov, there was also a left-hander in it, holding a flea.

In the eleventh chapter it tells how Platov, returning to the emperor's palace, quietly hid the box, threw the left-hander into the fortress casemate, and he himself appeared for a report to the emperor, hoping that he would not ask about the flea.

But the emperor does not forget anything, and at the end of the conversation about how internecine conversations went, he asked what his Russian masters had done with the flea. Plakhov was forced to admit what happened, but the emperor said that his Russian people could not be deceived.

In chapter twelve they took out a flea of ​​the emperor from behind the stove and Platov began to examine it. Finding nothing, the emperor called his daughter Alexandra Nikolaevna, hoping that she could find something unusual, she still looked at the flea. But Alexandra finds nothing.

We decided to get a flea: the music plays, but the flea cannot lift its legs. Plakhov got angry and ran to the left-hander, got him out of the dungeon, began to beat him for the damaged thing. And when he calmed down, the left-hander began to tell him that they should take the smallest microscope and look carefully. They took out a small scope, but Platov sees nothing. And the left-hander tells him to look at the heel of the flea. And then everyone noticed the work of Tula masters. In chapter fourteen everyone began to examine the flea and saw that it was really savvy. And the left-hander began to say that they had not yet seen everything amazing. It soon became clear that the name of the master was also displayed on each horseshoe. But the name of the left-hander was not there, since he did even smaller work, forging carnations.

The sovereign decided to send this flea back to England and the left-hander had to accompany her, following with a courier. They washed the Tula master, dressed him, gave him tea and sent him to London.

In the fifteenth chapter the left-hander made it to London, but was severely starved. And then the British did not immediately begin to feed him, and the left-hander, when he was called to the food reception ward, did not eat all the dishes, saying that they were completely different from Russian dishes.

Seeing a flea savvy, the British began to solder the left-hander. The British began to offer the lefty to stay with them, promising him a lot: they would make him educated and he would be an amazing master. The British barely persuaded the left-hander to stay for a while to stay, and then with the condition that later they would deliver him to St. Petersburg itself.

In chapter sixteen The left-hander visits factories and tries to notice everything, so that later in Russia he can recreate what he saw.

In chapter seventeen The left-hander returns to his homeland, and on the way he gets very drunk.

In chapter eighteen the Englishman, with whom the left-hander drank, was taken to treatment. But the left-hander was taken to the police station in his homeland, they began to demand documents. And then they began to look for a hospital that would be able to accept him without documents.

In chapter nineteen The left-hander died in the hospital, but before that he asked me to tell him not to clean the guns with bricks. But no one listened to his advice.

In chapter twenty it is told that no one remembers the name of the left-hander, but there are no more such masters left in Tula.

Section topic: “Lefty” summary, retelling of the chapters by Nikolai Semenovich Leskov, read the most important thing.

), three Russian craftsmen shod a flea.

One of these craftsmen is Lefty. This is a Tula craftsman who lives in poverty, wears bad clothes, but is a master of his craft. He is a religious and patriotic person. Despite the fact that he is left-handed, has no special education, and even oblique, he performs a very delicate, invisible to the human eye, incredible work.

By order of the king, he goes to England, where he presents a savvy flea and tells what Russian craftsmen are capable of. The British really like this simple talented person. They bombard him with lucrative offers of cooperation, but Lefty, being an honest, disinterested and devoted person to his country, does not agree to their tempting offers. He sees how masters are treated in England, he sees that they are well-fed and well-dressed, but he yearns for his homeland.

Upon returning to Russia, he falls ill, no one, except for his new English friend, takes care of him and does not want to treat him. But even abandoned by the ungrateful tsarist authorities, being dying, he cares and thinks about his country. He asks to convey to the king the cunning of the military affairs of the British.

This hardworking person does not forget about his country for a minute, he worries and cares about his Motherland until his last breath.

Essay Description Lefty

The plot of Leskov's story is revealed around the main character Levsha, who was a master from Tula. The description of the craftsman does not appear immediately, approximately in the middle of the story. The hero is a master blacksmith, he is left-handed, a patriot of his Motherland, very naive, devoted to Tsar Alexander I and Platov. There is a birthmark on his cheek, his eyes squint, but despite this, he does an excellent job with his job.

Left-hander, together with his comrades, Platonov instructed to make a masterpiece, but at the same time using a steel flea. Thus, he wanted to prove to others that not only the British are able to invent non-standard things. For a long time, three masters “puzzled” what to do to surprise the people and decided to shoe a miniature flea. Without special equipment and proper knowledge, they still succeeded. This invention shocked everyone.

After inventing an ingenious product, Lefty goes to England without any documents. The British offered the young man both education and money, but he remained faithful to his homeland and refused everything. Lefty wanted to get home as soon as possible.

Excessive modesty and ruined Lefty. In winter, he refused a cozy cabin, because he considered himself unworthy of such honors. Therefore, he spent the whole journey on deck and fell ill.

Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Lefty was robbed. Having neither money nor documents with him, not a single hospital wanted to accept him, only a hospital for the poor. No one even thought to save the great master, except for the Englishman who brought good doctor. But, unfortunately, it was already too late. Modestly, unknown to anyone, Lefty died. Even in last minutes life, the master wants to convey a message to the king that one should not clean weapons with bricks.

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After the results of the war with Napoleon were summed up, the sovereign Alexander Pavlovich decided to go on a trip to the countries of Europe. Foreigners showed him various unusual things that surprised and delighted the emperor. But Platov, who accompanied him, did not share the enthusiasm of Alexander Pavlovich and argued that Russian masters are much better than foreign ones.

Seeing the technical achievements of the British, Alexander came to the conclusion that the Russians were still far from them. The British showed the emperor a "pistol" made by an unknown master. Platov, however, managed to open it and showed everyone the inscription that the Tula master had made it. The British decided to create such a mechanical miracle, against which Platov could not object.

Alexander was shown an amazing mechanical flea that could dance and jump. The delighted emperor gave the British 1,000,000 rubles, and they presented him with this mechanical miracle. The sovereign put the flea in a case and left for Russia.

Task for Russian masters

Alexander carefully kept this gift, and after his death it passed to his wife, and then the new Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich became the owner of the snuffbox. The Don Cossack Platov told the sovereign what was special about this flea. On the advice of the Cossack, Nikolai took the "melkoskop" and saw her jumping. The emperor sent Platov on a mission to the Russian masters: they had to come up with something more amazing than this donated flea.

Platov went to Tula, where the best gunsmiths lived. The gunsmiths agreed to fulfill the sovereign's will, but asked to leave them a flea for a few days. Despite all attempts, the Cossack failed to find out why they needed it. After Platov's departure, three the best craftsmen, among whom was Lefty, left the city.

The work of Tula masters

These three masters went to Mtsensk to ask for advice from the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. After the prayer, they went back and locked themselves in Lefty's house. Everyone really wanted to look at the work of the masters, but they did not leave the house under any pretext and did not talk to the neighbors.

After the negotiations on the Don, Platov returned to Tula. He sent couriers to the masters. Just at this time, the gunsmiths completed their work. But they did not let couriers. Those, having lost patience, removed the roof from the house. Only then Lefty and his comrades came out and said that they were ready to show their works to Platov.

The result of the work of gunsmiths

Platov began to ask questions about their work, but the masters were offended and said that only the emperor could see the result. The Cossack got angry with them and took Levsha with him to Petersburg. He personally went to Nikolai, and the master tied his hands and left him downstairs.

Platov reported to the emperor that the Tula people could not do anything. Nicholas hesitated. When the flea was brought to him, they saw that it had stopped jumping. Platov was furious: he decided that the gunsmiths had broken the mechanism. Lefty said that the result can be seen in the "melkoskop". After listening to the gunsmith, everyone saw that the Tula craftsmen managed to stuff horseshoes on the legs of fleas. Satisfied, Nikolai decided to send Lefty to England with his work.

Arrival in England and return home

The British were amazed by the skill of the Tula gunsmith. They began to show him various technical innovations and tried to persuade him to stay with them. But Lefty was very homesick. In parting, the British gave money to the master and presented him with a gold watch.

During the voyage, Lefty bet with the half-skipper that he could outdrink him. They drank until the very arrival, but no one was able to win up. The master returned in poor condition, but he was not taken to any hospital without documents. When it became clear that he would not live long, he was taken to the Obukhvinsk hospital for the common people.

The half-skipper was worried about him, and when he found him, he sent a doctor to him. Lefty asked Martyn-Sokolsky to fulfill his last request: to tell the emperor that the British do not clean their guns with bricks. The doctor tries to convey these words to Chernyshev, but he does not listen to him, and the guns are cleaned in this way until the war itself. In the last chapter, the author reflects on the fact that with the development of progress, there are practically no talented masters such as Lefty left. But descendants continue to remember them.

Lefty test

During the trip of the Russian Emperor Alexander Pavlovich to Europe, he is accompanied by the Don Cossack Platov. A warm welcome awaits Alexander everywhere, everyone is trying to surprise the Russian Tsar by demonstrating their various achievements. The British are especially sophisticated, but Platov, like a patriot, tries to convince the autocrat to return to his homeland and not succumb to foreign temptations.

During their visit to the next "Kunstkamera", the British, boasting, bring a gun of their own production, which delighted Alexander. Platov, on the other hand, greatly embarrasses foreigners by disassembling the gun and demonstrating the brand of the Tula master on its inner part.

But still, foreigners manage to impress the tsar and upset Platov - they present a mechanical flea as a gift to the emperor, which can only be seen through a microscope. In addition, this flea can dance when wound up with a key.

After the death of Alexander, the abandoned flea was found by Nicholas I, who inherited the throne. He is offended by the technical superiority of the British, and Platov voluntarily undertakes to give the flea to the Tula masters "for revision".

Tula craftsmen (among them the oblique Left-hander) take on the solution of the problem without initiating anyone, even Platov, into their plans, and disappear from Tula.

Locked in Leftsha's house in Mtsensk, the masters keep their work in the strictest confidence.

Platov, meanwhile, hurries to Tula, from where he left, giving the flea to the workers.

Barely having time to finish the work, the craftsmen return the flea to Platov.

Platov does not find any changes in the craft and becomes furious. He takes with him to St. Petersburg Lefty, who did not even have time to take documents, to answer to the tsar.

At the palace, Platov leaves Levsha under the supervision of the Cossacks and goes to the emperor, in a conversation with whom he expresses doubt that the Tulchans have surpassed the British, but Nikolai wants to verify this personally and orders him to present a flea.

In the palace, too, they do not find changes in the product, and Platov, running out to Lefty, begins to scold him by the hair. The craftsman advises looking at the flea through the most powerful microscope.

The left-hander is dragged to the tsar, because no differences were found even in the microscope. The master points out that you need to look at the paws, namely at their tracks. To the greatest surprise of all, it turns out that the Tula craftsmen have shod a flea.

Lefty is sent to England as a special courier with an iron insect in order to "wipe his nose" to the British.

Abroad, the skill of the Russian master makes a splash, and by all means they try to persuade him to live at home. Lefty stubbornly refuses. Then he is offered to stay to get acquainted with his achievements, with the condition of delivering the master home. Lefty agrees.

Overseas hosts honestly fulfill their promise and introduce the guest to various technical innovations, but he suddenly became interested in the condition of old guns and how their barrels are cleaned. Having received answers to his questions, Lefty is suddenly going home. On the ship, he meets an English sailor.

They drink with the sailor.

Upon arrival home, Lefty gets into the police. There he catches a cold (it was cold), and, having been robbed, he is taken to a hospital for the poor.

An English sailor is looking for a good doctor for Lefty, but too late - he dies. Before his death, the master bequeathed to tell the tsar to forbid cleaning guns with bricks - it was this thought that made the Russian patriot leave England.

In the people's memory, Lefty remained the standard of the master, although his name has not been preserved for history.