TALE OF THE MONTH

Told in 1925 by I. Dibikov on the banks of the Yenisei near the city of Novo-Turukhansk. Recorded and translated by E. Prokofiev.

Collecting Ket folklore in the pre-war years was carried out by N. Karger and G. Korsakov, researchers from the Institute of the Peoples of the North. Almost no material has survived. At present, there are several Ket tales written down by E. Prokofieva.

A long time ago, brother and sister lived on earth. Their parents are dead. They lived as orphans. They grew up, began to live well. Just tired of my brother all around the plague to walk. He wanted to know the world. Became further and further away from the plague. He walks and walks on the earth, everyone looks at who lives where and how he lives: And in the sky, high, high lived a woman-Sun.

She was bored - she lived alone. One day she sees: a man walks the earth, examines everything, looks at the sky. The Sun Woman thought: “What beautiful person walks on the ground, looks at me. I need to get him to heaven. But how to get it? I am high, and the man on earth is low.”

The woman-Sun began to ask the sky for wisdom, how would she get a man. The Sun has such long arms that they can easily reach the earth. In the morning the sun will rise and stretch out its hands. It pulls, pulls, reaches the ground, and it becomes light and warm on the ground. Here this man walks on the earth below, and the Sun stretches his hands to him, the heat pours on him ... “What has become so hot,” the man thought, and lay down on the ground, “it will be easier.” A man is lying on the ground, and the woman-Sun is still stretching her long arms towards him, closer, closer ... she reached out, grabbed it and carried it to her sky.

Man began to live in heaven. He lived for a week and says to the Sun:

It’s not good for me to live here in heaven with you, it’s not good at all. I am an earthly person, I cannot live so high. Let me down to the ground!

He remembered his sister, who had remained downstairs. He was bored, felt sorry for her. “Somehow she lives there alone without me?” The sun answers him:

Why are you going back? Remember how you used to walk the earth and say: “Here, the Sun lives in the sky, it must be good there. I would like to know what kind of woman-Sun is. And now you want to go back to earth.

The man keeps saying:

Let it go! I forgot something on the ground. Let me go, I'll take this forgotten and return.

Don't come back, don't go! Bad on earth evil spirits you will be eaten!

But the man does not listen to her, all his own insists: "Let me go, I'll be back." The sun almost cries

You will not return, evil spirits will eat you on earth again, I will be here alone.

Finally sees, not to persuade her man, decided to let go for a while.

All right, - says the Sun, - I will give you protection from evil spirits that I myself have: a donkey and a scallop, go! The man rejoiced:

Do not cry, Sun, in vain: I will return, I will definitely return.

The woman-Sun stamped her foot - a winged horse appeared. She gave the man this horse, a donkey and a comb. The man sat on the horse and flew. How long he flew - it is not known whether it was two or three years ... He flew to his place, circled over it several times - he found his chum. And during the time he lived in heaven, the evil Khosyadam (sorceress) ate his sister, she herself turned into her.

Here a man on a winged horse descended to the ground, tied the horse to a tree and ran to his plague. He sees that his sister is sitting in the plague. She seemed to rejoice at her brother.

She ran with a pot to the river, brought water, hung the pot on the fire. I began to treat my brother, feed him. She got out of the tent, went up to the horse, cut off his hind leg and put it into the cauldron to boil.

Sitting brother and sister, talking, rejoice. Suddenly my brother saw - a horse's leg was sticking out of the cauldron. He realized that it was not his sister who met him here. I realized that this is an evil Khosyadam. He snatched the horse's leg out of the cauldron and ran to the horse. He mounted a horse, wants to get away from the evil Khosyadam as soon as possible, knows: she will destroy him too, but how can a horse gallop on three legs? What to do? You can’t stick the fourth leg in a hurry! Somehow he stuck the cut off leg to the horse and rode off. And Khosyadam set off in pursuit of him.

The horse is exhausted, it is hard to ride on a bad leg. Fell. The man left his horse and ran. You won't get far without a horse! He looked at the sky, and the woman-Sun looks at him plaintively, sees that he is without a horse. And Khosyadam completely overtakes him, already stretches out his hand, wants to catch him.

The man remembered the touchstone that the woman-Sun had given him, threw it behind him. A large mountain rose from the ground and stood between him and Khosyadam. Khosyadam got angry, scatters stones, gnaws the mountain with his teeth ... And the person goes and goes ... She gnawed through the Khosyadam mountain, hurries, catches up with the person. That's about to grab him.

The man remembered about the second gift of the Sun - a scallop, threw it behind him. Such a taiga has grown: neither pass nor crawl through it. Hosyadada gnaws at the tree, breaks it. And the man goes and goes ... How long he walked is unknown. Cold, hungry, exhausted. And Khosyadam made her way through the taiga, catches up with a person, stretches out her hand, wants to grab it.

If he sees the Sun, it is bad for a person: a little more, and he will be carried away by the Khosyadams. The woman-Sun extended her hand-beam and grabbed the man by the leg, but too late. Evil Khosyadam at the same moment also grabbed the other leg. They pull a person in their own direction. The sun drags him to the sky, the evil Khosyadam - to the earth. They pulled and pulled and tore the man in half. Only the Sun got half without a heart.

The woman-Sun took her half of the man to heaven, and no matter what she did with her, she tried to revive her - but all in vain. It is as if a living person will become a day or two, live and die again. She put an ember instead of a heart - lived for a week and died again. The woman-Sun toiled with him, she became completely crazy, crying. Finally said:

I have no more strength, I can not do anything! Go to the other side of the sky. I won't see you anymore. Only on the longest day of the year will we see each other. I see your eyes, you are mine.

With these words, the woman-Sun threw half of a man without a heart to the other side of the sky, to dark side. So he stayed there and turned into a month. And until now, a cold month walks through the sky, because it does not have a living heart. And they do not see the sun for a whole year. And the other half of the man, with the heart, Khosyadam took with her.

A fairy tale evokes good, warm feelings in each of us. And this is no coincidence. After all, all children love fairy tales, and we were all once children. Each of you, for sure, had a favorite fairy tale, or maybe she still has it ... Read fairy tales to children - this will only make them better, kinder, sincere and even smarter.

And today, in honor of the fact that very little is left before the beginning of spring, we want to offer you fairy tales about spring different writers. We have chosen the best and most interesting and we really hope that they will not leave you and especially your children indifferent.

Tale of Spring

Daria Khokhlova

Mother Nature had four daughters: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The youngest, Spring, was a very fragile, tender girl. Her dress and shoes were made from young shoots, leaves and buds. The older sister, whose name was Leto, was very fond of green color and all her green outfits were adorned with summer flowers. Sister Autumn was an adult, she wore beautiful multi-colored costumes that combined all kinds of colors and adorned her head with a wreath of autumn colors. Winter was the oldest sister. She had a stern disposition, but with her beloved sisters she was as soft as the first fluffy snow. Winter liked to dress only in white dresses and crystal ice shoes.
Once Mother Nature gathered all her daughters and told them: “You are already adults and you can take care of the household yourself. So I'm letting you do your own thing." The sisters were delighted that Mother Nature allowed them to take care of them and began to distribute duties. It was here that they ran into their first difficulties. Everyone wanted to be in charge. Winter said: “I am the eldest and therefore I want everything around to be white and white, so that there are big snowdrifts and then we can make snowmen, skate and jump into snowdrifts.” Autumn says: “I don’t agree what everything is white, but white. And everything will be colorful, bright and festive. We will walk and run through the puddles after a big autumn downpour.” Leto said: “Sisters, what are you arguing, this is all wrong. Here is the green time, the bright sun, colorful flowers - this is a miracle. We will be able to sunbathe all day long, swim in the sea, listen to the chirping of birds, and on dark clear nights look at the stars and sing songs by the fire.” And no one asked the opinion of the youngest sister of Vesna. Everyone decided that she was too small and could not offer anything interesting to them, so she would not be the host.
Since the sisters could not come to one decision, the older sisters decided to take turns housekeeping. But who will be on duty first, and who will be second? And then they decided to cast lots. The first duty fell to Fly. Leto came into her own, and did her job properly. The bright sun shone, the birds sang merrily, everyone swam and sunbathed. It's time for the second sister to be on duty. But who will it be? The lot fell on Autumn. Autumn also tried to show herself a good housewife. She carefully painted everything in different colors and plentifully watered the earth with thunderstorms. Everyone gathered a rich harvest and were pleased and praised Autumn. Now the time has come for the older sister, Zima, to be on duty. She knitted a white duvet cover and covered the ground. She decorated the trees with frost and covered all the reservoirs with ice. The animals in the burrows were warm and cozy under a large cover of snow, all skiing, playing snowballs and having fun until you drop.
Three months have passed and the time has come for Fly to be on duty. But then everyone saw that it was simply impossible. There are no leaves on the trees to be painted green, no grass on the ground, and no flowers to bloom. Butterflies and other insects that have to pollinate the flowers so that more and more of them sleep, the birds have not returned from the south, and there is still ice on the rivers and lakes. There is nothing but white snow, frost and ice. Summer cannot come into its own.
And then the sisters Summer, Autumn and Winter called Mother Nature for help. They asked her to make leaves on the trees, melt the snow and ice, call the birds home, wake up the animals and other inhabitants of the forest, let the grass out of the ground and warm up the sun. But Mother Nature said: “Why are you asking me for help? You have a sister, Spring.” “So she’s still quite small and doesn’t know how to do anything. How can such a baby put everything in its place? the sisters asked. But Mother Nature suggested that they not ask questions, but simply hand over the duty to Spring and they themselves will see everything. And the sisters saw it. Spring first melted snow and ice. Drops rang, streams ran, rooks, swallows and other birds flew in. Buds swelled on trees and bushes, green sprouts began to break out of the ground, snowdrops appeared, gardens blossomed. The air warmed up and became warm and joyful. Butterflies fly everywhere. The birds have chicks. Everything is awake and alive.
Then the older sisters realized how unfair they were towards their younger sister and did not appreciate her abilities and talents. Although she is small, Spring, but remote.

Tale of Spring

Russian folktale

A spring stream runs to the river, rings, rejoices. Suddenly, a large stone stood in his path. The stream beat, beat against him, pushed, pushed - and did not move. A hare came running to drink water. Creek asks:
- Hare, hare, move the stone! I can't run any further!

The hare pushed, pushed the stone, did not move and ran away. A wild boar came running to drink water. Creek asks:
- Boar, boar, move the stone! I can't run any further!
The boar pushed, pushed the stone, did not move and ran away. The bear came to drink water. Creek asks:
- Bear, bear, move the stone! I can't run any further!
The bear pushed, pushed the stone, did not move and left. A mole crawls out of a hole and says:
- Stream! Give me water to drink, I will move the stone.
And the stream to him:
- Where are you, small and blind, move the stone! His hare, boar and bear pushed and pushed and - did not move!
The mole drank water. And let's dig holes under the stone and dig moves. I dug and plowed all the earth under the stone. The stone stirred and - fell into the ground.
The stream rejoiced, rang, murmured, and ran further to the river.

forest thaw

Sergei Kozlov

Ah, what a soft, warm thaw it was!.. Snowflakes swirled, and the forest smelled of spring. The hedgehog was sitting on the porch of his house, sniffing the air and smiling.
“It can’t be,” he thought, “that just yesterday the trees crackled in the forest and the angry Santa Claus creaked under the windows with his big felt boots, but today he is not at all! Where is he?"
And the Hedgehog began to figure out where Santa Claus could hide.
“If he climbed a pine tree,” the Hedgehog reasoned, “then somewhere under the pine tree there are his big boots. After all, even the Little Bear cannot climb a pine tree in felt boots!
If he climbed under the ice, - the Hedgehog continued to think, - then somewhere on the river there must be a hole, and steam must come out of it. Because Santa Claus sits in felt boots at the bottom and breathes. And if he completely left the forest, I will definitely see his traces!
And the Hedgehog put on his skis and ran between the trees. But there were no boots under any tree, he did not see a single hole in the river and did not find any traces anywhere.
- Father Frost! - shouted the Hedgehog. - Recall-and-is! ..
But it was quiet. Only snowflakes were spinning around, and somewhere far, far away the Woodpecker was knocking.
The hedgehog stopped, closed his eyes and imagined beautiful Woodpecker with red feathers and a long nose. The woodpecker sat on the top of a pine tree and from time to time threw its head back, squinted and, as if angry, banged its nose: “knock!” Splashed pine bark and, gently rustling, crumbled into snow ...
“Probably the Woodpecker knows where Santa Claus is,” thought the Hedgehog. “He sits high and can see everything.”
And he ran to the Woodpecker.
- Woodpecker! - the Hedgehog shouted from a distance. - Have you seen Santa Claus?
- Knock Knock! - said Woodpecker. - He left!
- Where are his tracks?
The woodpecker hung his nose to the Hedgehog, squinted, looked at him and said:
- And he left without a trace!
- How? - the Hedgehog was surprised.
- It's very simple! A cloud floated up and sank low, low. Santa Claus first threw boots on him, then climbed himself and swam away ...
- Where? - asked the Hedgehog.
- On Kudykina mountain. Knock-knock! - said the Woodpecker.
And the Hedgehog, reassured, went home and on the way he imagined the snow-covered Kudykina Mountain, on which Santa Claus was walking, probably now, and creaking with his big boots.

clean birds

Sergei Kozlov
(from the cycle of fairy tales about the Hedgehog and the Bear cub)

Most of all, the Hedgehog loved these first truly spring days! There was not a single island of snow left in the forest, thunder rumbled in the sky at night, and although lightning was not visible, real torrential rain rustled until morning.
"The forest is washing away! thought the Hedgehog. - Washed Christmas trees, stumps and edges. And the birds are now flying from the south, and the rain washes their feathers too!
And in the mornings he went out onto the porch and waited for clean, washed birds.
- Haven't arrived yet! Belka said.
- Karrrr! They are tr-r-rudno on the way! - burred the Crow.
And the Hedgehog sniffed the air and said:
- It still smells like clean birds!
And the Woodpecker then took to the very top of the pine to clean his feathers.
“I have to be clean too! he thought. “And then they will fly in and say: why are you so dusty, Woodpecker?”
The hare sat under a bush and washed his ears.
- Take a fir cone! - shouted the Hedgehog. - A spruce cone is better washed!
- And what do you advise to clean my horns? - Asked, going out to the edge in front of the Hedgehog's house, Elk.
- Sand, - said the Hedgehog. - There is nothing better than cleaning the horns with sand. And the Elk went to the bank of the river, lay down near the water and asked the Fox, who was catching fleas in the rapids, to clean his horns.
“It’s inconvenient,” Elk muttered, “birds will fly in, and I have dirty horns ...
- Now! Lis said.
He was cunning and knew how to clean himself. He sat up to his neck in ice water and held in his raised paw a bunch of last year's grass. The fleas froze in the water and now crawled along the paw to this bundle. And when everyone slipped. The fox threw last year's grass into the water, and it was carried away by the current.
- That's all? - said the Fox, climbing ashore. - Where are your horns? The elk lowered his horns, and the Fox began to polish them with sand.
- To shine? - he asked.
- No, - said the Hedgehog. - Shiny horns - ugly. They must be... misty
- That is, so that they do not shine? Lis stated.
“So that they don’t shine,” said the Hedgehog.
And the Elk even snorted - it was so good and pleasant for him.
And the Woodpecker had already completely cleaned out the feathers and was now clean and young.
The hare washed his ears and washed his tail.
And the Hedgehog had already rubbed every needle with a cloth for a long time and was so clean that even the cleanest bird could not tell him that it was cleaner than him!

spring fairy tale

Sergei Kozlov
(from the cycle of fairy tales about the Hedgehog and the Bear cub)

This has never happened to Hedgehog before. Never before had he wanted to sing and have fun for no reason. But now, when the month of May came, he sang and had fun all day long, and if anyone asked him why he sings and has fun. The hedgehog only smiled and began to sing even louder.
- This is because spring has come, - said the Bear cub. - Therefore, the Hedgehog has fun!
And the Hedgehog took a violin out of the closet, called two birds with one stone and said to them:
- Go get your last year's drums and come back to me!
And when the hares came with drums over their shoulders. The hedgehog told them to go behind, and he went first, playing the violin.
- Where is he going? asked the First Hare.
"I don't know," replied the Second.
- Shall we beat the drums? - he asked the Hedgehog.
- No, not yet, - said the Hedgehog. - Don't you see: I play the violin! ..
And so they went through the whole forest.
At the edge in front of a tall pine, the Hedgehog stopped, lifted his muzzle and, without taking his eyes off Squirrel's Hollow, began to play the most tender melody he knew. It was called: "Sad Komarik."
"Pi-pi-pi-pi-i! .." - the violin sang. And the Hedgehog even closed his eyes - he felt so good and sad.
- Why did we stop here? asked the First Hare.
- Don't you understand? - the Hedgehog was surprised. - The Red Sun lives here!
- Shall we beat the drums?
- Wait - grumbled the Hedgehog. - I'll tell you when…
And again he closed his eyes and played "Sad Komarik".
The squirrel sat in the hollow and knew that it was the Hedgehog standing under the pine tree, playing the “Sad Mosquito” and calling her the Red Sun ... But she wanted to listen to the violin longer, and therefore she did not look out of the hollow.
And the Hedgehog played all day until the evening and, when he got tired, nodded his head to the hares - and they quietly drummed so that Squirrel knew that the Hedgehog was still standing below and waiting for her to look out.

How the Hedgehog went to meet the dawn

Sergei Kozlov
(from the cycle of fairy tales about the Hedgehog and the Bear cub)

On spring evenings, everyone dances in the forest: the Hare with the Squirrel, the Woodpecker with the Tit, the Bear cub with the Donkey, and even the old Wolf walks around the old stump and no, no, he will sit down to the music ...
Quack! Quack!” - ducks cry from the river.
"Qua! Qua!” - the frogs echo them.
"Ugh! .." - Owl sighs. He does not like bright spring evenings so much ...
“Here everyone is having fun,” the Hedgehog thinks, walking along the path between two Christmas trees. - Everyone dances and sings. And then they get tired and go to sleep. And I won't sleep! I will walk until the morning, and when the night begins to end, I will go up the hill and meet the dawn ... "
And the moon is already shining in the sky, and the stars are setting in a circle around it, and the Hare falls asleep, the Squirrel hides in the hollow, the Bear cub goes to his home, the Donkey runs past the Hedgehog, the Wolf yawns with all his wolf mouth, and so he falls asleep with his mouth open, and the Hedgehog keeps walking along the path from Christmas tree to Christmas tree, between two pines, and waits for dawn.
"Let me go up the hill!" he says to himself. And along the way, he thinks of what it could be - a spring dawn.
“Green,” the Hedgehog thinks. Everything is green in spring!
And a fresh breeze is blowing on the hill, and the Hedgehog is cold. But he still walks up and down the very top and waits for the dawn.
- Come on! - mutters the Hedgehog. - Where are you? I'm already cold!
And there is no dawn.
“Where is he staying? - thinks the hedgehog. “He must have overslept!”
And he lies down on the ground, curls up in a ball and also decides to sleep a little, and then immediately wake up when the dawn comes.
And falls asleep...
And the dawn comes blue-blue, in white wisps of fog. He blows on the Hedgehog, and the Hedgehog moves his needles.
- Sleeping ... - dawn whispers.
And he starts smiling. And the wider he smiles, the brighter it becomes around.
And when the Hedgehog opens his eyes, he sees the sun. It swims up to its ears in the mist and nods its head at him.

Extraordinary spring

Sergei Kozlov
(from the cycle of fairy tales about the Hedgehog and the Bear cub)

It was the most extraordinary spring of all that the Hedgehog remembered.
The trees blossomed, the grass turned green, and thousands of rain-washed birds sang in the forest. Everything bloomed.
Blue snowdrops bloomed first. And while they were blooming. It seemed to the hedgehog as if there was a sea around his house, and that as soon as he got off the porch, he would immediately drown. And so he sat on the porch for a whole week, drinking tea and singing songs.
Then the dandelions bloomed. They swayed on their thin legs and were so yellow that, waking up one morning and running out onto the porch, the Hedgehog thought that he found himself in yellow-preyellow Africa.
"Can't be! thought the Hedgehog then. “After all, if it were Africa, I would definitely see the Lion!”
And then he darted into the house and slammed the door, because right opposite the porch sat a real Lion. He had a green mane and a thin green tail.
- What is this? - muttered the Hedgehog, looking at the Lion through the keyhole.
And then I guessed that this old stump had put out green shoots and blossomed overnight.
- Everything is flowering! - Going out onto the porch, sang the Hedgehog.
And he took his old stool and put it in a vat of water.
And when I woke up the next morning, I saw that his old stool was blooming with sticky birch leaves.

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Twelve months is Christmas story, which describes New Year holidays. The plot of this fairy tale was loved by many generations. The creator of this fairy tale is S. Marshak. This fairy tale was conceived as a dramatic creation, which was intended to be staged simultaneously in many popular theaters. Even today, this work of art is played out in many schools and kindergartens. Reading this story is very interesting and informative. In the fairy tale, an instructive plot is visible, from which children will learn the necessary and necessary lessons. The magical story told in this tale will teach children to learn all the names for 12 months of the year. This fairy tale will be very useful for your child. Let him fantasize and draw all the characters of the fairy tale in beautiful characteristic outfits. Of course, your baby will develop a visual fantasy.

What the Tale of Twelve Months Teaches

The princess who lives in the kingdom has a very wayward character. She believes that her every whim must be fulfilled. This was one of her desires, that in a fierce, severe, winter cold, snowdrops could begin to bloom. The princess promises to generously reward anyone who fulfills her whim. She issues a decree that in the middle of winter they bring snowdrops for her, which can only bloom in spring. But the whims and whims of the wayward princess knew no bounds. Hearing about this decree, and also about the reward, evil stepmother decides to send for snowdrops not his own daughters, but his stepdaughter. The girl was not her own daughter and therefore her stepmother did not love her. The poor girl did the dirtiest and all the work for her sisters too. The stepmother this time orders to bring snowdrops for her by any means and at any cost. poor girl there was nothing left but to obey his stepmother. She goes to the forest for snowdrops. Already very frozen and very tired girl, by pure chance comes to the clearing. There she sees a fire where they sit and warm themselves for twelve months. Brothers help their stepdaughter find snowdrops for months. The brothers fell in love with this girl for months. The month of April gives her stepdaughter a ring as a keepsake. But this is only the beginning of this story. If you are wondering what happened to the girl and the princess next, then read this tale. Get unforgettable pleasure from reading this fairy tale and its beautiful story.

The text of the fairy tale Tale Twelve months

Do you know how many months in a year?
- Twelve.

And what are their names?
- January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

As soon as one month ends, another immediately begins. And it has never happened before that February came before January left, and May would overtake April. Months go one after another and never meet.
But people say that in the mountainous country of Bohemia there was a girl who saw all twelve months at once. How did it happen? That's how.

In one small village there lived an evil and stingy woman with her daughter and stepdaughter. She loved her daughter, but her stepdaughter could not please her in any way. Whatever the stepdaughter does - everything is wrong, no matter how she turns - everything is in the wrong direction. My daughter lay on the feather bed for whole days, and ate gingerbread, and her stepdaughter had no time to sit down from morning till night: either bring water, or bring brushwood from the forest, or rinse the linen on the river, or weed the beds in the garden. She knew the winter cold, and the summer heat, and the spring wind, and fall rain. That is why, perhaps, she once had a chance to see all twelve months at once.

It was winter. It was the month of January. There was so much snow that it was necessary to shovel it from the doors, and in the forest on the mountain the trees stood waist-deep in snowdrifts and could not even sway when the wind blew over them. People sat in houses and stoked stoves. At such and such a time, in the evening, the evil stepmother opened the door ajar, looked at how the blizzard was sweeping, and then returned to the warm stove and said to her stepdaughter:
- You would go to the forest and pick snowdrops there. Tomorrow is your sister's birthday.

The girl looked at her stepmother: is she joking or is she really sending her into the forest? It's scary now in the forest! And what are snowdrops in the middle of winter? Before March, they will not be born, no matter how much you look for them. You will only disappear in the forest, get bogged down in snowdrifts.

And her sister says to her:
- If you disappear, no one will cry for you. Go and don't come back without flowers. Here's a basket for you.

The girl began to cry, wrapped herself in a tattered scarf, and went out the door. The wind will powder her eyes with snow, tears her handkerchief from her. She walks, barely stretching her legs out of the snowdrifts. It's getting darker all around. The sky is black, it does not look at the earth with a single star, and the earth is a little lighter. It's from the snow. Here is the forest. It's so dark in here you can't see your hands. The girl sat down on a fallen tree and sits. All the same, he thinks where to freeze.

And suddenly a light flashed far between the trees - as if a star was entangled among the branches. The girl got up and went to this light. Drowning in snowdrifts, climbs over a windbreak. “If only,” he thinks, “the light does not go out!” And it does not go out, it burns brighter and brighter. Already there was a smell of warm smoke and it became audible how brushwood crackles in the fire. The girl quickened her pace and went out into the clearing. Yes, it froze.

Light in the clearing, as if from the sun. In the middle of the clearing, a large fire burns, almost reaches the very sky. And people are sitting around the fire - some are closer to the fire, some are farther away. They sit and talk quietly. The girl looks at them and thinks: who are they? They don’t seem to look like hunters, even less like woodcutters: they are so smart - some in silver, some in gold, some in green velvet. She began to count, counted twelve: three old, three elderly, three young, and the last three were still boys.

Young people are sitting near the fire, and old people are at a distance.
And suddenly one old man turned around - the tallest, bearded, eyebrows - and looked in the direction where the girl was standing. She was frightened, wanted to run away, but it was too late. The old man asks her loudly:
- Where did you come from, what do you need here?

The girl showed him her empty basket and said:
- Yes, I need to collect snowdrops in this basket.

The old man laughed.
- Is it snowdrops in January? Wow what did you think!
- I did not invent, - the girl answers, - but my stepmother sent me here for snowdrops and did not tell me to return home with an empty basket. Then all twelve looked at her and began to talk among themselves.

A girl is standing, listening, but she doesn’t understand the words - as if it’s not people talking, but trees making noise.
They talked and talked and were silent.

And the tall old man turned around again and asked:
- What will you do if you do not find snowdrops? After all, before the month of March, they will not look out.
“I’ll stay in the forest,” the girl says. - I'll wait for the month of March. It’s better for me to freeze in the forest than to return home without snowdrops.

She said it and cried. And suddenly one of the twelve, the youngest, cheerful, in a fur coat on one shoulder, got up and went up to the old man:
- Brother January, give me your place for an hour!

The old man stroked his long beard and said:
- I would give in, but not to be Mart before February.
“Okay, really,” grumbled another old man, all shaggy, with a disheveled beard. - Give in, I won't argue! We all know her well: either you will meet her at the hole with buckets, or in the forest with a bundle of firewood. All months it has its own. We must help her.
- Well, be, in your opinion, - said January.

He thumped the ground with his ice staff and spoke.
Do not crack, frosts,
In the reserved forest
By the pine, by the birch
Don't chew on the bark!
Full of crows for you
Freeze,
human habitation
Cool down!

The old man fell silent, and it became quiet in the forest. The trees stopped crackling from the frost, and the snow began to fall thickly, in large, soft flakes.
- Well, now it's your turn, brother, - said January and gave the staff to his younger brother, shaggy February.

He tapped his staff, shook his beard and hummed:
Winds, storms, hurricanes,
Blow with all your might!
Whirlwinds, blizzards and snowstorms,
Play for the night!
Blow loudly in the clouds
Fly over the earth.
Let the snow run in the fields
White snake!

As soon as he said this, a stormy, wet wind rustled in the branches. Snowflakes swirled, white whirlwinds rushed across the ground.
And February gave his ice staff to his younger brother and said:
- Now it's your turn, brother Mart.

The younger brother took the staff and hit the ground. The girl looks, and this is no longer a staff. This is a large branch, all covered with buds. Mart grinned and sang loudly, in all his boyish voice:

Run away, streams,
Spread, puddles,
Get out, ants!
After the winter cold!
Bear sneaking
Through the woods.
The birds began to sing songs
And the snowdrop blossomed.

The girl even threw up her hands. Where did the high drifts go? Where are the ice icicles that hung on every branch! Under her feet is soft spring earth. Around dripping, flowing, murmuring. The buds on the branches have puffed up, and the first green leaves are already peeking out from under the dark peel. The girl looks - she can’t look enough.
- What are you standing for? Mart tells her. - Hurry up, my brothers gave us just one hour.

The girl woke up and ran into the thicket to look for snowdrops. And they are invisible! Under the bushes and under the stones, on the bumps and under the bumps - wherever you look. She took a full basket, a full apron - and rather again to the clearing, where the fire was burning, where the twelve brothers were sitting. And there is already no fire, no brothers ... It is light in the clearing, but not as before. The light is not from the fire, but from the full moon that has risen above the forest.

The girl regretted that there was no one to thank her, and won home. And the month swam after her.
Feeling no legs under her, she ran to her door - and as soon as she entered the house, the winter blizzard hummed again outside the windows, and the moon hid in the clouds.
“Well, what,” her stepmother and sister asked, “have you already returned home?” Where are the snowdrops?

The girl did not answer, she only poured snowdrops out of her apron onto the bench and placed the basket next to her.
Stepmother and sister gasped:
- Where did you get them?

The girl told them everything, as it was. They both listen and shake their heads - they believe and do not believe. It's hard to believe, but there's a whole bunch of snowdrops on the bench, fresh, blue ones. So it blows from them in the month of March!
The stepmother and daughter looked at each other and asked:
- Haven't they given you anything else for months? Yes, I didn't ask for anything else.
- That's a fool, so, a fool! says the sister. - For once I met with all twelve months, but I didn’t ask for anything except snowdrops! Well, if I were you, I'd know what to ask. One - apples and sweet pears, the other - ripe strawberries, the third - white mushrooms, the fourth - fresh cucumbers!
- Smart girl! - says the stepmother. - In winter, there is no price for strawberries and pears. We would sell it and how much money would we get! And this fool dragged snowdrops! Get dressed, daughter, warmly, but go to the clearing. They won’t let you through, even though there are twelve of them, and you are alone.
- Where are they! - the daughter answers, and she herself - hands in sleeves, a scarf on her head.

Her mother screams after her:
- Put on mittens, fasten your coat!

And the daughter is already at the door. Run away into the woods!
Follows in her sister's footsteps, in a hurry. Rather, - he thinks, - to get to the clearing!
The forest is getting thicker, getting darker. The snowdrifts are higher and higher, it stands like a windbreak wall.
Oh, - the stepmother's daughter thinks, - and why did I go into the forest! I would lie at home in a warm bed now, but now go and get cold! You'll still be lost here!

And as soon as she thought this, she saw a light in the distance - as if an asterisk in the branches got tangled. She went to the fire. She walked and walked and went out into the clearing. In the middle of the clearing a large fire is burning, and around the fire twelve brothers are sitting, twelve months old. They sit and talk quietly. The stepmother's daughter came up to the fire itself, did not bow, did not say a friendly word, but chose a place where it was hotter, and began to warm herself. The brothers-months fell silent. It became quiet in the forest. And suddenly the month of January struck the ground with his staff.
- Who are you? - asks. - Where did it come from?
- From home, - the stepmother's daughter answers. - Today you gave my sister a whole basket of snowdrops. So I followed in her footsteps.
“We know your sister,” says the month of January, “but we haven’t even seen you. Why did you complain to us?
- For gifts. Let June, the month, pour strawberries into my basket, but larger. And July is the month of fresh cucumbers and white mushrooms, and the month of August is apples and sweet pears. And September is the month of ripe nuts. And October...
- Wait, - says the month of January. - Do not be summer before spring, and spring before winter. Far from June. I am now the master of the forest, I will reign here for thirty-one days.
- Look, how angry! - says the stepmother's daughter. - Yes, I did not come to you - from you, except for snow and hoarfrost, you will not expect anything. I need the summer months.

The month of January frowned.
- Look for summer in winter! - He speaks.

He waved his wide sleeve, and a snowstorm rose in the forest from the ground to the sky, covering both the trees and the clearing on which the brother-months were sitting. Behind the snow, even the fire was not visible, but only a fire was heard whistling somewhere, crackling, blazing.
The stepmother's daughter was scared. - Stop doing that! - screams. - Enough!
Yes, where is it!
A blizzard is circling her, blinding her eyes, intercepting her spirit. She fell into a snowdrift, and covered her with snow.

And the stepmother waited, waited for her daughter, looked out the window, ran out the door - she was not there, and nothing more. She wrapped herself warmly and went into the forest. Can you really find someone in the thicket in such a snowstorm and darkness!
She walked, walked, searched, searched, until she herself froze. And so they both remained in the forest to wait for the summer. And the stepdaughter lived a long time in the world, grew up big, got married and raised children.

And she had, they say, a garden near the house - and such a wonderful one, such as the world has never seen. Earlier than everyone else, flowers bloomed in this garden, berries ripened, apples and pears poured. In the heat it was cool there, in a snowstorm it was quiet.
- At this hostess all twelve months at once visit! people said.

Who knows - maybe it was.

Once a little boy caught a cold and where he got his feet wet - no one could understand; the weather was quite dry. His mother undressed him, put him to bed and told him to bring a kettle to make elderberry tea - an excellent diaphoretic! At that very moment, a nice, cheerful old man, who lived on the top floor of the same house, entered the room. He was completely alone, he had neither a wife nor children, but he loved children so much, he knew how to tell them such wonderful tales and stories that it was just a miracle.

Well, drink your tea, and then maybe you'll hear a fairy tale! - said the mother.

That's it, if you know some new one! answered the old man, affectionately nodding his head. - But where is our little boy got his feet wet?

Yes, where is it? - said the mother. - No one can understand!

Will there be a fairy tale? the boy asked.

First I need to know if the gutter is deep in the lane where your school is? Can you tell me this?

Just up to my ankle! the boy answers. - But it's in the deepest place!

That's why we have wet feet! - said the old man. “Now I should have told you a fairy tale, but not a single one is ready!

You can compose it right now! - said the boy. - Mom says that no matter what you look at, no matter what you touch, a fairy tale or a story comes out of everything.

Yes, but such fairy tales and stories are no good. The real ones are coming! They will come and knock on my forehead: “Here I am!”

Will one knock soon? the boy asked. Mother laughed, poured some elderberry tea into the teapot and brewed it.

Well, tell me! Tell a story!

Yes, if only she had come! But they are important, they come only when they want to! Stop, he said suddenly. - There she is! Look at the kettle!

The boy looked; the lid of the teapot began to lift, and fresh white elderflowers peeped out from under it, then long green branches grew. They even grew out of the spout of the teapot, and soon there was a whole bush in front of the boy; branches stretched all the way to the bed, parting the curtains. How gloriously blossomed and fragrant the elderberry! From its greenery peeped the gentle face of an old woman, dressed in some kind of amazing dress, green as elder leaves, and all dotted with white flowers. It was not even possible to immediately consider whether it was a dress or just greenery and fresh elderberry flowers.

What is this old woman? the boy asked.

The Romans and Greeks called her Dryad! - said the old man. - But for us this is too tricky a name, and here in Novaya Sloboda she was given a better nickname: Elder Mother. Look at her well and listen to what I will tell!

Just the same large bush covered with flowers grew in the corner of a poor courtyard in Novaya Slobodka. In the afternoon, an old man and an old woman sat under a bush and basked in the sun: an old retired sailor and his wife. The old people were rich in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and soon had to celebrate their golden wedding, but they just did not remember the day and date well. Mother Elderberry looked at them from the greenery, as glorious and friendly as this one above the teapot, and said: “I know the day of your golden wedding!” But the old people were busy talking - they remembered the old days - and did not hear her.

Yes, remember, - said the old sailor, - how we ran and played with you as children! Here, in this very yard, we planted a garden! Do you remember sticking twigs and twigs into the ground?

Yes Yes! - picked up the old woman. - I do remember! We diligently watered these branches; one of them was elderberry, took root, sprouts, and that's how it grew! We old people can now sit in her shadow!

Truth! - continued the husband. - But in that corner stood a vat of water. There we launched my boat, which I myself carved out of wood, How it floated! And soon I set off on a real voyage!

Yes, but before that we went to school and learned a few things! - interrupted the old woman. - And then we were confirmed. We both wept then! And then they joined hands and went to inspect the Round Tower, climbed to the very top and admired the city and the sea from there. After that, we went to Fredriksborg and watched the king and queen ride along the canals in their magnificent yacht.

Yes, and soon I had to embark on a real voyage! I spent many, many years away from my homeland!

How many tears I shed! I thought you were dead and lying at the bottom of the sea! More than once I got up at night to see if the weather vane was turning. The weather vane was spinning, but you still didn’t come! I remember very well how one day, in the middle of a downpour, a scavenger came to our yard. I lived there in the servants and went out with a dustbin, but stopped at the door. The weather was terrible! At that very moment the postman came and handed me a letter from you. This letter had to take a walk around the world! How I grabbed it! .. And immediately began to read. I laughed and cried at the same time... I was so happy! The letter said that you are now in warm lands where coffee grows! This must be a blessed country! You talked about a lot more in your letter, and I seemed to see it all in front of me. The rain was pouring down, and I was still standing in the door with a dustbin. Suddenly someone hugged me around the waist...

Yes, and you gave him such a resounding slap in the face, which is nice!

Because I didn't know it was you! You got your letter! What a brave, handsome you were, and you are still the same now! You had a yellow silk handkerchief sticking out of your pocket, and an oilcloth hat flaunted on your head. Such a dandy! But what a weather it was, and what our street looked like!..

Then we got married! continued the old sailor. - Do you remember? And there our children went: the first little boy; then Marie, Nils, Peter and Hans Christian!

How they grew up and what glorious people they became! Everyone loves them!

Now their children have children! - said the old man. - And what strong men our great-grandchildren are! .. It seems to me that our wedding was just at that time.

Just today! - said the Elder Mother and stuck her head between the old people, but they thought that it was the neighbor nodding her head at them. They sat hand in hand and admired each other. A little later, the children and grandchildren came to them. They knew perfectly well that today was the day of the golden wedding of the old people, and already congratulated them in the morning, but the old people managed to forget about it, although they perfectly remembered everything that happened many years ago. The elderberry was so fragrant, the sun was setting and shining goodbye to the old people right in the faces, flushing their cheeks. The youngest of the grandchildren danced around his grandparents and shouted joyfully that they would have a feast tonight: hot potatoes would be served at dinner! Elder Mother nodded her head and shouted "Hurrah" along with everyone.

Well, it's not a fairy tale at all! - said the boy, when the narrator stopped.

That's what you say, - answered the old man, - but ask Elder Mother!

This is not a fairy tale! - answered the Elder Mother. - But now the fairy tale will begin! The most wonderful fairy tales grow out of reality. Otherwise, my fragrant bush would not have grown out of the teapot.

With these words, she took the boy in her arms; the branches of the elder, covered with flowers, suddenly moved, and the boy and the old woman found themselves as if in a dense arbor, which rushed with them through the air! That was good! The elder mother turned into a lovely little girl, but her dress remained the same - green, all dotted with white flowers. On the girl's chest was a lively elderberry flower, on light-blond curls - a whole wreath of the same flowers. Her eyes were big and blue. Oh, she was so pretty, that just a feast for the eyes! The boy kissed the girl, and both became the same age, the same thoughts and feelings.

Hand in hand, they left the arbor and found themselves in the garden in front of the house. On the green lawn stood his father's cane leaning against a tree. For children, the cane was alive; as soon as you mount it, the shiny knob becomes a magnificent horse's head with a long flowing mane; then four slender strong legs sprang up, and the hot horse sped the children around the lawn.

Now we're going far, far away! - said the boy. - To the manor, where we were last year!

And the children jumped around the lawn, and the girl - we know that it was Elder Mother herself - said:

Well, here we are in the city! Do you see the peasant houses? And those semicircular ledges in the wall that look like gigantic eggs? These are bread ovens. Elder trees stretched their branches over the houses. Here is a rooster roaming the yard! Know yourself raking rubbish and looking for food for chickens! Look how important he is! .. And here we are on a high hill, near the church! What glorious spreading oaks grow around her! One of them half crawled out of the ground with its roots! .. Here we are at the forge! Look how brightly the fire burns, how half-naked people work with heavy hammers! Sparks rain down!.. But further, further, to the manor's estate!

And everything that the girl who sat astride a stick behind the boy said flashed before their eyes. The boy saw all this, and meanwhile they only circled the lawn. Then they went to a side alley and began to arrange a small garden for themselves there. The girl took out a single elder flower from her wreath and planted it in the ground; he took root and sprouts, and soon grew big bush elderberries, just like the old people in Novaya Slobodka, when they were still children. The boy and girl joined hands and also went for a walk, but they did not go to the Round Tower or Frederiksborg Garden; no, the girl hugged the boy tightly, rose into the air with him, and they flew over Denmark. Spring gave way to summer, summer to autumn, and autumn to winter; thousands of pictures were reflected in the eyes and imprinted in the heart of the boy, and the girl kept saying:

You will never forget this!

And the elderberry smelled so sweet, so wonderful! The boy inhaled both the scent of roses and the smell of fresh beeches, but the elderberry smelled stronger and stronger, because its flowers flaunted on the girl’s chest, and he bowed his head to her so often.

How wonderful it is here in the spring! - said the girl, and they found themselves in a fresh, green beech forest; a fragrant white letter bloomed at their feet, lovely pale pink anemones peeped out of the grass. - Oh, if spring reigned forever in the fragrant Danish forests!

How nice it is here in summer! - she said, and they rushed past the old manor with an ancient knight's castle; red walls and pediments reflected in the ponds; swans swam along them, peering into the dark, cool alleys of the garden. The fields were agitated like the sea, red and yellow wild flowers were full of flowers in the ditches, wild hops and blooming bindweed curled along the hedges. And in the evening a round clear moon rose, the sweet aroma of fresh hay rushed from the meadows! This will never be forgotten!

How beautiful it is here in autumn! - the girl spoke again, and the vault of heaven suddenly became twice as high and blue. The forests were full of red, yellow and still green leaves. The hunting dogs are out! Entire flocks of ducks flew screaming over the barrows, where old stones lie, overgrown with blackberries. The sails turned white on the dark blue sea, and the old women, girls and children cleaned the hops and threw them into large vats. The youth sang old songs, and the old women told tales about trolls and brownies. It couldn't be better anywhere!

And how nice it is here in winter! - she said then, and all the trees were covered with frost; their branches turned into white corals. The snow crunched underfoot, as if everyone were wearing new boots, and falling stars fell from the sky, one after another. Christmas trees hung with gifts were lit in the houses; all the people rejoiced and rejoiced. In villages, in peasant houses, violins did not stop, apple crumpets flew into the air, Even the poorest children said: “How good it is in winter!”

Yes OK! The girl showed all this to the boy, and elderberry was fragrant everywhere, a red flag with a white cross fluttered everywhere, the flag under which the old sailor from Novaya Slobidka sailed. And so the boy became a young man, and he also had to go on a long voyage to warm lands where coffee grows.

In parting, the girl gave him a flower from her chest, and he hid it in the psalter. Often he remembered his homeland in a foreign land and opened the book - always in the same place where the flower, given to him as a keepsake, lay! And the more the young man looked at the flower, the fresher it became and the stronger it smelled, and it seemed to the young man that the scent of the Danish forests was reaching him. In the petals of a flower, he imagined the face of a blue-eyed girl; he seemed to hear her whisper: “How nice it is here in spring, summer, autumn and winter!” And hundreds of pictures flashed through his memory.

So many years passed; he grew old and sat with his old wife under a flowering elderberry bush. They held hands and talked about the old days and about their golden wedding, just like their great-grandfather and great-grandmother from Novaya Slobodka. A blue-eyed girl with elder flowers in her hair and on her chest sat in the branches of an elder tree, nodded her head to them and said: “Today is your golden wedding!” Then she took out two flowers from her wreath, kissed them, and they shone first like silver, and then like gold. When the girl laid them on the heads of the old men, the flowers turned into crowns, and the husband and wife sat under a flowering, fragrant bush, like a king and queen.

And so the old man told his wife the story of the Elder Mother, as he himself heard it in childhood, and it seemed to both that in that story there was so much similar to the story of their own lives. And just what was similar in her, they liked most of all.

Yes, that's right! said the girl sitting in the green. - Some call me Elder Mother, some Dryad, but my real name is Remembrance. I am sitting on a tree that keeps growing and growing; I remember everything and I can talk about everything! Show me, do you still have my flower?

And the old man opened the psalter: the elder flower lay so fresh, as if it had just been put there! Remembrance nodded amiably to the old men, who sat in golden crowns, illuminated by the purple evening sun. Their eyes were closed, and ... Yes, the fairy tale ends here!

The boy lay in bed and did not know himself whether he saw all this in a dream or only listened to a fairy tale. The teapot stood on the table, but the elderberry did not grow from it, and the old man was about to leave and soon left.

How lovely! - said the boy. - Mom, I've been to warm climes!

I believe! - said the mother. - After two such cups of strong elderberry tea, it is no wonder to visit warm lands! And she wrapped him up well so that he wouldn't get cold. - You slept nicely while the old man and I sat and argued about whether it was a fairy tale or a true story!

Where is the Elder Mother? the boy asked.

In the teapot! - answered the mother. - And let him sit there!

One day they went out into the street and an argument ensued between them.

- I, - said Winter, - the most important! I will cover the whole earth with fluffy white snow. And when the frosts come, the children will be very happy to see me. They will play snowballs, build slides, make a snowman, ski and skate. funny winter fun- this is amazing! In winter, you can lie on fluffy snow and watch with friends how the first snowflakes fall. And what they are gentle, lacy, while all are very different.

But suddenly the second sister, named Spring, intervened in the conversation. I'll stomp my foot and all your snow will turn into puddles! And the children will be even more happy for me, the spring, because they will be able to jump and run through the puddles, launch boats through the streams. And what delicious icicles! For kids, this is a real treat. The air in spring becomes so warm and light, so the kids would run all day along the street. And the swollen buds on the trees and the first leaves are a real miracle after a long winter.

Here Princess Leto was indignant. Most of all, the children will be happy with me, Princess Leto! The bright sun is shining in the sky, the heat is all around, you can swim and sunbathe! Boys and girls love to collect forest delicacies: different berries and mushrooms. How many different summer games: this is football, and volleyball, and tennis, and you can swim. That will be joy and fun! And what a soft and silky grass - an ant, lie down and rejoice ... I am the most important in our kingdom!

Her sister Autumn did not let the princess finish! She stamped her feet and clapped her hands. I am the brightest, smartest and most beautiful! And how many riches are in my gardens, orchards, forests and fields! All of you never dreamed. Children will be happy to crunch leaves, build huts from them, and also hide in golden, multi-colored leaves! Indescribable beauty.

So the four sisters argued and swore for a long time, finding out who of them was the most important in the kingdom. But suddenly a terrible thunder rumbled and a heavy downpour poured down. All the wet princesses were frightened and decided to make peace. The elder sister Zima offered to reign equally for everyone, three months a year. On this, everyone agreed and began to live together, peacefully and cheerfully!

Since then, peace and tranquility have been forever established in their kingdom. Each princess gladly gave up her place to the next one after her, and no one disturbed the order.