The fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" was written down by the famous Russian writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov (1791 - 1859). He heard it as a child during his illness. The writer talks about this in the story “Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson”:
“Insomnia interfered with my speedy recovery ... On the advice of my aunt, they once called the housekeeper Pelageya, who was a great craftswoman for telling fairy tales and whom even the late grandfather liked to listen to ... Pelageya came, middle-aged, but still white, ruddy ... sat down by the stove and began to talk, a little in a singsong voice: “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state ...”
Is it necessary to say that I did not fall asleep until the end of the tale, that, on the contrary, I did not sleep longer than usual?
The very next day I heard another story about the Scarlet Flower. From then on, until my recovery, Pelageya told me every day one of her many fairy tales. More than others, I remember "The Tsar Maiden", "Ivanushka the Fool", "The Firebird" and "The Serpent Gorynych".
AT last years life, while working on the book “Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson”, Sergei Timofeevich remembered the housekeeper Pelageya, her wonderful fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower” and wrote it down from memory. It was first published in 1858 and has since become our favorite fairy tale.
The Scarlet Flower. Tale of the housekeeper Pelageya
Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov
Illustrator Boris Diodorov
In a kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent person. He had a lot of wealth, expensive overseas goods, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver, and that merchant had three daughters, all three beautiful women, and the smallest is the best; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and there was no one to love him; he loved his older daughters, and he loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and more affectionate to him.
So that merchant is going on his trading business overseas, to distant lands, to a distant kingdom, to a distant state, and he says to his amiable daughters: “My dear daughters, my good daughters, my pretty daughters, I am going on my merchant business. far away, to a faraway kingdom, a faraway state, and you never know, how much time I will travel - I don’t know, and I order you to live honestly and quietly without me, and if you live honestly and peacefully without me, then I will bring you such gifts what you yourself want, and I give you a period of time to think for three days, and then you will tell me what kind of gifts you want.
They thought for three days and three nights and came to their parent, and he began to ask them what kind of gifts they wanted. The eldest daughter bowed at her father's feet and said to him first: “Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver, nor black sable furs, nor pearls, but bring me a golden crown of semi-precious stones, and so that there is such light from them as from a full moon, as from a red sun, and so that it is light from it in the dark night, as in the middle of a white day.
The honest merchant became thoughtful and then said: “Well, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will bring you such a crown; I know a man across the sea who will get me such a crown; and there is one overseas princess, and he is hidden in a stone pantry, and that pantry is in a stone mountain, three fathoms deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: yes, there is no opposite for my treasury.
The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said: “Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black furs of Siberian sable, nor a necklace of Burmitz pearls, nor a semi-precious gold crown, but bring me from oriental crystal, whole, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I see all the beauty of the heavenly and so , looking at him, I did not grow old and my girlish beauty would increase.
The honest merchant became thoughtful and, thinking whether it was not enough, how much time, he said to her these words: “All right, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will get you such a crystal toilette; and the daughter of the king of Persia, a young princess, has a beauty inexpressible, indescribable and unexplained; and that tovalet was buried in a stone, high tower, and it stands on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain is three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven German locks, and three thousand steps lead to that tower, and on each step stands a warrior Persian day and night with a naked damask saber, and the queen wears the keys to those iron doors on her belt. I know such a person across the sea, and he will get me such a toilette. Your work as a sister is harder, but for my treasury there is no contrary.
The younger daughter bowed at the feet of her father and said this word: “Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, or black Siberian sables, or a Burmitsky necklace, or a semi-precious wreath, or a crystal toilette, but bring me a scarlet flower that would not be more beautiful in this world.
The honest merchant became more thoughtful than before. You never know, how much time he thought, I can’t say for sure; thoughtfully, he kisses, caresses, fondles his younger daughter, his beloved, and says these words: “Well, you gave me a job harder than sisters: if you know what to look for, then how not to find, but how to find what you yourself don’t know? It’s not tricky to find a scarlet flower, but how can I find out that there is no more beautiful one in this world? I will try, but don’t look for a hotel.”
And he let his daughters go, good, handsome, into their maiden chambers. He began to get ready to go, to the path, to distant overseas lands. How long, how much he was going to, I do not know and do not know: soon the fairy tale is told, not soon the deed is done. He went on his way, on the road.
Here an honest merchant travels on foreign sides overseas, in kingdoms unseen; he sells his own commodities at exorbitant prices, buys others' commodities at exorbitant prices, he exchanges commodities for commodities and the like, with the addition of silver and gold; The ships are loaded with gold treasury and sent home. He found a treasured gift for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. He also found a treasured gift for his middle daughter: a crystal toilette, and in it all the beauty of the heavenly places is visible, and, looking into it, the girlish beauty does not grow old, but is added. He just cannot find the treasured gift for the smaller, beloved daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.
He found in the gardens of the royal, royal and sultan's many scarlet flowers of such beauty that one cannot say in a fairy tale or write with a pen; Yes, no one gives him guarantees that there is no more beautiful flower in this world; and he doesn't think so either. Here he is going along the road with his faithful servants through loose sands, through dense forests, and, out of nowhere, robbers, Busurman, Turkish and Indian, flew at him, and, seeing the imminent misfortune, the honest merchant abandons his rich caravans with his servants. faithful and flees into the dark forests. “Let the fierce beasts tear me to pieces, than to fall into the hands of robbers, filthy and live out my life in captivity in captivity.”
He wanders through that dense forest, impassable, impassable, and as he goes further, the road becomes better, as if the trees part in front of him, and often the bushes move apart. Looks back. - do not stick your hands in, looks to the right - kick and decks, a slanting hare cannot slip through, looks to the left - and even worse. The honest merchant marvels, he thinks he won’t come up with what kind of miracle is happening to him, but he himself goes on and on: he has a tornado road under his feet. He walks day from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: exactly around him everything died out. Here comes the dark night; around him at least gouge out an eye, but under his feet it is light. Here he goes, read it, until midnight, and he began to see ahead like a glow, and he thought: “It can be seen that the forest is on fire, so why should I go there to certain death, inevitable?”
He turned back - you can’t go, to the right, to the left - you can’t go; leaned forward - the road is torn. "Let me stand in one place - maybe the glow will go in the other direction, al away from me, al will go out completely."
So he became, waiting; Yes, it wasn’t there: the glow seemed to be coming towards him, and as if around him it became brighter; he thought and thought and decided to go forward. There can be no two deaths, but one cannot be avoided. The merchant crossed himself and went forward. The farther it goes, the brighter it becomes, and it became, read, like broad daylight, and you don’t hear the noise and cod of a fireman. At the end, he comes out into a wide clearing and in the middle of that wide clearing stands a house, not a house, a chamber, not a chamber, but a royal or royal palace all on fire, in silver and gold and in semi-precious stones, all burning and shining, but you can’t see the fire; the sun is exactly red, it’s hard to look at it with your eyes. All the windows in the palace are closed, and consonant music is playing in it, such as he has never heard.
He enters into a wide courtyard, through a wide open gate; the road went from white marble, and fountains of water, high, large and small, beat on the sides. He enters the palace by a staircase covered with cloth, with gilded railings; entered the upper room - there is no one; in the other, in the third - there is no one; on the fifth, tenth - there is no one; and the decoration everywhere is royal, unheard of and unseen: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth.
The honest merchant marvels at such unspeakable wealth, and twice as much that there is no owner; not only the master, and there are no servants; and the music plays incessantly; and at that time he thought to himself: "Everything is fine, but there is nothing to eat" - and a table appeared in front of him, cleaned and disassembled: sugar, and overseas wines, and honey drinks stand in gold and silver dishes. He sat down at the table without, got drunk, ate his fill, because he did not eat whole days; the food is such that it is impossible to say - just look that you will swallow your tongue, and he, walking through the forests and sands, is very hungry; he got up from the table, and there was no one to bow to and say thank you for the bread for the salt. Before he had time to get up and look around, the table with food was gone, and the music played incessantly.
The honest merchant marvels at such a wonderful miracle and such a wondrous diva, and he walks around the decorated chambers and admires, and he himself thinks: “It would be nice now to sleep and snore” - and he sees, standing in front of him is a carved bed, made of pure gold, on crystal legs, with a silver canopy, with a fringe and pearl tassels; down jacket on it like a mountain lies, down soft, swan's.
The merchant marvels at such a new, new and wonderful miracle; he lays down on a high bed, pulls the silver canopy and sees that it is thin and soft, like silk. It became dark in the ward, exactly at twilight, and the music seemed to be playing from a distance, and he thought: “Oh, if only I could see my daughters even in a dream!” - and fell asleep at that very moment.
The merchant wakes up, and the sun has already risen above a standing tree. The merchant woke up, and suddenly he couldn’t come to his senses: all night he saw in a dream his amiable, good and pretty daughters, and he saw his elder daughters: the eldest and the middle one, that they were cheerful, cheerful, and sad one daughter was smaller, beloved; that the eldest and middle daughters have rich suitors and that they are going to get married without waiting for his father's blessing; the younger daughter, beloved, a beauty written, does not want to hear about suitors until her dear father returns. And it became in his soul both joyful and not joyful.
He got up from the high bed, everything was prepared for him, and a fountain of water beats into a crystal bowl; he dresses, washes, and does not marvel at a new miracle: tea and coffee are on the table, and with them a sugar snack. Having prayed to God, he ate his fill, and he again began to walk around the wards, so that he could admire them again in the light of the red sun. Everything seemed better to him than yesterday. Here he sees through the open windows, that outlandish, fruitful gardens are planted around the palace, and flowers bloom of indescribable beauty. He wanted to take a walk in those gardens.
He descends another staircase of green marble, of copper malachite, with gilded railings, descends straight into green gardens. He walks and admires: ripe, ruddy fruits hang on the trees, they ask for their own mouths, indus, looking at them, saliva flows; beautiful flowers bloom, Terry, fragrant, painted with all sorts of colors; birds fly like never before: as if lined with gold and silver on green and crimson velvet, they sing songs of paradise; fountains of water are high, indus to look at their height - the head throws back; and the spring keys run and rustle along the crystal decks.
An honest merchant walks, marveling; his eyes wandered at all such curiosities, and he did not know what to look at and whom to listen to. He walked so much, how little time - it is not known: soon the fairy tale is told, not soon the deed is done. And suddenly he sees, on a green hillock, a flower blooms with the color of scarlet, beauty unprecedented and unheard of, which cannot be said in a fairy tale, nor written with a pen. An honest merchant's spirit is engaged; he approaches that flower; the smell of a flower runs smoothly throughout the garden; the merchant's arms and legs trembled, and he exclaimed in a joyful voice: "Here is a scarlet flower, which is not more beautiful than the white light, about which my younger, beloved daughter asked me."
The fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" was written down by the famous Russian writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov. He heard it for the first time in childhood, during his illness. The writer talks about this in the story “Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson”: “Insomnia interfered with my speedy recovery ... On the advice of my aunt, they once called the housekeeper Pelageya, who was a great master of telling fairy tales and whom even the late grandfather liked to listen to ... Pelageya came, middle-aged , but still white, ruddy ... sat down by the stove and began to say, a little in a singsong voice: In a certain kingdom, in a certain state ... Is it necessary to say that I did not fall asleep until the end of the tale, that, on the contrary, I did not sleep longer than usual? The very next day I heard another story about the Scarlet Flower. Sergei Aksakov heard this tale over the course of several years more than a dozen times and subsequently learned it by heart and told it himself. In the subtitle of "The Scarlet Flower" he indicates: "The Tale of the Housekeeper Pelageya" and it was written by Aksakov especially for Olenka's granddaughter.
Once upon a time there was a rich merchant and he had three beautiful daughters, and the youngest was the most beloved of all. He began to gather on trade affairs overseas. The eldest daughters wished for expensive gifts, and the youngest - a scarlet flower. For a long time the merchant wandered around the world in search of a scarlet flower, until he found it in an enchanted castle. He tore it off and in an instant a terrible, shaggy monster appeared. It let the merchant go home, but he or his daughter had to return of his own free will.
So the youngest daughter ended up in a rich palace. She managed to overcome her fear of the monster. And they lived on in peace and harmony. But then Nastenka had a dream that her father was unwell. The monster let her go home for three days. It was necessary to return in time, otherwise the monster would die. The sisters envied that Nastenka lives in wealth.
They put all the clocks back and closed the shutters. At the right time, Nastenka's heart ached. Without waiting for a minute, she returned to the palace. And the beast lay dead near the scarlet flower. “Get up, wake up, I love you like my desired groom!” And the monster turned into a young prince: “I fell in love with a good soul, for my love.” They got married with Nastenka and lived happily ever after.
Compassion is not a feeling; rather, it is a noble disposition of the soul, ready to receive love, mercy, and other virtuous feelings. Alighieri Dante Mercy is goodness that cannot be seen, but can be felt in our deeds, deeds, and thoughts. K.S. Lewis
The main thing in the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" is kindness and love. And the fact that bad feelings: greed, envy, selfishness - do not triumph, and black evil is defeated. What is defeated? Love, Kindness, Gratitude. These qualities live in the human soul, they are the essence of the soul and its best motives. They are that scarlet flower that is sown in the soul of every person, it is only important that it germinates and blossoms. The scarlet flower is a symbol of true transformative love. True love sees the soul of a person, his inner, hidden from the eyes, beauty. Under its influence, a loved one is transformed - it becomes more beautiful, better, kinder. Love, kindness and compassion are the most important human feelings. They can change not only the person we love, but also make the world around them better, cleaner, more beautiful.
1. Modesty suits everyone. 2. Do not drink water from your face. 3. Al color is cute all over the world. 4. All's well that ends well. 5. Earrings for all sisters. 6. Every person is known in action. 7. Where happiness breeds, there envy will be born. 8. Having given the word, hold on, and not having given it, be strong. 9. Pay good for good. 10. The evil one cries out of envy, and the good one out of pity. 11. Children from the same cell are not equal.
This is a fairy tale about mercy, about readiness for self-sacrifice, about true love who endures and overcomes all evil. The theme of loyalty and duty is very relevant today. There are many people in our country who need a sense of compassion and mercy. Everyone needs mercy: the sick, the elderly, the poor, and those who, for various reasons, find themselves in a difficult situation. It is impossible to live without mercy and compassion. Everyone needs it: both those who are helped and those who help.
In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent person. He had a lot of wealth, expensive overseas goods, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury; and that merchant had three daughters, all three beautiful women, and the smallest is the best; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and there was no one to love him; he loved his older daughters, and he loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and more affectionate to him. So that merchant is going on his trading business overseas, to distant lands, to a distant kingdom, to a distant state, and he says to his amiable daughters: “My dear daughters, my good daughters, my pretty daughters, I am going on my merchant business for distant lands, to a distant kingdom, a distant state, and you never know, how much time I will travel - I don’t know, and I punish you to live honestly and quietly without me; and if you will live honestly and humbly without me, then I will bring you such gifts as you yourself want, and I will give you time to think for three days, and then you will tell me what kind of gifts you want. They thought for three days and three nights and came to their parent, and he began to ask them what kind of gifts they wanted. The eldest daughter bowed at her father's feet, and the first one said to him: “You are my dear sir! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black sable furs, nor Burmitz pearls, but bring me a golden crown of semi-precious stones, and so that there is such light from them as from a full moon, as from a red sun, and so that it is from they are light in the dark night, as in the middle of a white day. The honest merchant became thoughtful and then said: “All right, my dear daughter, good and handsome: I will bring you such a crown; I know beyond the sea such a man who will get me such a crown; and one overseas princess has it, and it is hidden in a stone pantry, and that pantry stands in a stone mountain, three sazhens deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: yes, there is no opposite for my treasury. The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said: “Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black furs of Siberian sable, nor a necklace of Burmitz pearls, nor a semi-precious gold crown, but bring me a toilette made of oriental crystal, whole, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I see all the beauty of the heavenly and so that, looking at him, I would not grow old and my girlish beauty would increase. The honest merchant became thoughtful and, thinking whether it was not enough, how much time, he said to her these words: “All right, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will get you such a crystal toilette; and the daughter of the king of Persia, a young princess, has an indescribable, indescribable and unforeseen beauty: and that tuvalet is buried in a stone, high tower, and it stands on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain is three hundred sazhens, behind seven iron doors, for a family German locks, and three thousand steps lead to that tower, and on each step stands a Persian warrior day and night, with a damask saber unsheathed, and the queen wears the keys to those iron doors on her belt. I know such a man overseas, and he will get me such a toilette. Harder is your work as a sister: yes, for my treasury there is no opposite. The younger daughter bowed at the feet of her father and said this word: “Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor Siberian black sables, nor Burmitsky necklaces, nor a semi-precious wreath, nor a crystal toilette, but bring me scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world. The honest merchant became more thoughtful than before. You never know, how much time he thought, I can’t say for sure; thoughtfully, he kisses, caresses, blushes his beloved younger daughter and says these words: “Well, you gave me a job harder than sisters: if you know what to look for, then how not to find it, but how to find what you yourself don’t know? It’s not cunning to find a scarlet flower, but how can I find out that there is no more beautiful one in this world? I will try, but don’t look for a hotel.” And he let his daughters go, good, pretty, into their maiden chambers. He began to get ready to go, to the path, to distant overseas lands. How long, how much he was going to, I do not know and do not know: soon the fairy tale is told, not soon the deed is done. He went on his way, on the road. Here an honest merchant travels on foreign sides overseas, in kingdoms unseen; he sells his goods at exorbitant prices, buys others at exorbitant prices; he exchanges a commodity for a commodity and a similar one, with the addition of silver and gold; The ships are loaded with gold treasury and sent home. He found a treasured gift for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. He also found a treasured gift for his middle daughter: a crystal toilette, and in it all the beauty of the heavenly places is visible, and, looking into it, the girlish beauty does not grow old, but is added. He just cannot find the cherished gift for the smaller beloved daughter, a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in the world. He found in the gardens of the royal, royal and sultan's many scarlet flowers of such beauty that one cannot say in a fairy tale or write with a pen; Yes, no one gives him guarantees that there is no more beautiful flower in this world; and he doesn't think so either. Here he is riding along the road, with his faithful servants, over loose sands, through dense forests, and out of nowhere robbers, Busurman, Turkish and filthy Indian infidels, flew at him; and, seeing the imminent misfortune, the honest merchant abandons his rich caravans with his faithful servants and runs into the dark forests. “Let the fierce beasts tear me to pieces, than to fall into the hands of robbers, filthy and live out my life in captivity, in captivity.” He wanders through that dense forest, impassable, impassable, and as he goes further, the road becomes better, as if the trees part in front of him, and often the bushes move apart. He looks back - he can’t stick his hands in, he looks to the right - kicks and decks, the hare can’t slip through, he looks to the left - and even worse. The honest merchant marvels, he thinks he won’t come up with what kind of miracle is happening to him, but he himself goes on and on: he has a tornado road under his feet. He walks day from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: exactly around him everything died out. Then the dark night came: all around him, at least gouge out his eye, but under his feet it was light. Here he goes, read it, until midnight, and he began to see ahead like a glow, and he thought: “You can see the forest is burning, so why should I go there to certain death, inevitable?” He turned back - you can’t go, to the right, to the left - you can’t go; leaned forward - the road is torn. “Let me stand in one place, maybe the glow will go the other way, or get away from me, or it will go out completely.” So he became, waiting; Yes, it wasn’t there: the glow seemed to be coming towards him and seemed to become brighter around him; he thought and thought and decided to go forward. There can be no two deaths, one cannot be avoided. The merchant crossed himself and went forward. The farther it goes, the brighter it becomes, and it became, read, like broad daylight, and you don’t hear the noise and cod of a fireman. In the end, he comes out into a wide clearing, and in the middle of that wide clearing stands a house not a house, a hall not a hall, but a royal or royal palace, all in fire, in silver and gold and in semi-precious stones, all burning and shining, but you can’t see the fire ; exactly the sun is red, Indo hard to look at his eyes. All the windows in the palace are closed, and consonant music is playing in it, such as he has never heard. He enters into a wide courtyard, through a wide open gate; the road went from white marble, and high fountains of water, large and small, beat on the sides. He enters the palace by a staircase lined with crimson cloth, with gilded railings; entered the upper room - there is no one; in another, in the third - there is no one, in the fifth, tenth - there is no one; and the decoration everywhere is royal, unheard of and unseen: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth. The honest merchant marvels at such unspeakable wealth, and twice as much that there is no owner; not only the owner, and there are no servants; and the music plays incessantly; and at that time he thought to himself: “Everything is fine, but there is nothing to eat,” and a table appeared in front of him, cleaned, sorted out: in dishes of gold and silver, sugar and overseas wines and honey drinks stand. He sat down at the table without hesitation: he got drunk, ate his fill, because he had not eaten for a whole day; the food is such that it is impossible to say - just look that you will swallow your tongue, and he, walking along the woods and sands, is very hungry; he got up from the table, and there was no one to bow to and say thank you for the bread for the salt. Before he had time to get up and look around, the table with food was gone, and the music played incessantly. The honest merchant marvels at such a wonderful miracle and such a marvelous diva, and he walks around the decorated chambers and admires, and he himself thinks: “It would be nice now to sleep and snore,” and he sees that there is a carved bed in front of him, of pure gold, on crystal legs. , with a silver canopy, with a fringe and pearl tassels; down jacket on it like a mountain lies, down soft, swan's. The merchant marvels at such a new, new and wonderful miracle; he lays down on a high bed, pulls the silver canopy and sees that it is thin and soft, like silk. It became dark in the ward: exactly at twilight, and the music seemed to be playing from afar, and he thought: “Ah, if only I could see my daughters even in a dream,” and fell asleep for the same minute.
The Scarlet Flower is a beautiful, magical and kind children's story about unconditional devotion and love that defeats unbelief and evil. The fairy tale The Scarlet Flower was created by S. Aksakov for a children's collection in 1858. The main character, a kind-hearted girl, asked her father to bring her a scarlet flower from a distant wandering. Fulfilling the request of his beloved, the father picks a flower in the garden of a wondrous beast. In order to avoid punishment, the father has to send his daughter to the monster, who later turns out to be an enchanted prince. Girls will especially like reading the fairy tale The Scarlet Flower - they are fascinated by stories about love. It is recommended to read the story before going to bed, because it is written in a melodious and lyrical vernacular, which has a slightly lulling nature.Why should you read the fairy tale Scarlet Flower?
Reading the fairy tale The Scarlet Flower is useful and instructive for children. She will explain to the crumbs that love has no price, that there are no barriers to unfeigned feelings, and that the love of parents is the most precious gift. But the most important lesson of this children's fairy tale is that external beauty is by no means the main dignity of a person: the most important thing is hidden inside. Our intentions and actions, our feelings - this is what determines the true beauty of a person.Publication year: 1858
Added: 01/01/2016
The fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" was written down by the famous Russian writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov (1791-1859). He heard it as a child during his illness. The writer talks about this in the story “Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson”: “Insomnia interfered with my speedy recovery ... On the advice of my aunt, they once called the housekeeper Pelageya, who was a great master of telling fairy tales and whom even the late grandfather liked to listen to ... Pelageya came, middle-aged , but still white, ruddy ... sat down by the stove and began to speak, a little in a singsong voice: “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state ...” Is it necessary to say that I did not fall asleep until the end of the tale, that, on the contrary, I did not sleep longer than usual? The very next day I heard another story about the Scarlet Flower. From then on, until my recovery, Pelageya told me every day one of her many fairy tales. More than others, I remember “The Tsar Maiden”, “Ivanushka the Fool”, “The Firebird” and “The Serpent Gorynych”. In the last years of his life, while working on the book "Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson", Sergei Timofeevich remembered the housekeeper Pelageya, her wonderful fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" and wrote it down from memory. It was first published in 1858 and has since become our favorite fairy tale.
Tale of the housekeeper Pelageya
In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent person.
He had a lot of wealth, expensive overseas goods, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury, and that merchant had three daughters, all three beautiful women, and the smallest is the best; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and there was no one to love him; he loved his older daughters, and he loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and more affectionate to him.
So that merchant is going on his trading business overseas, to distant lands, to a distant kingdom, to a distant state, and he says to his kind daughters:
“My dear daughters, my good daughters, my handsome daughters, I’m going on my merchant business to distant lands, to a distant kingdom, a distant state, and you never know, how much time I’ll travel - I don’t know, and I punish you to live without me honestly and peacefully, and if you live honestly and peacefully without me, then I will bring you such gifts as you yourself want, and I give you time to think for three days, and then you will tell me what kind of gifts you want.
They thought for three days and three nights and came to their parent, and he began to ask them what kind of gifts they wanted. The eldest daughter bowed at her father's feet and said to him first:
“Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black sable furs, nor Burmitz pearls, but bring me a golden crown of semi-precious stones, and so that there is such light from them as from a full moon, as from a red sun, and so that it is from it is light on a dark night, as in the middle of a white day.
The honest merchant became thoughtful and then said:
“Well, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will bring you such a crown; I know a man across the sea who will get me such a crown; and there is one overseas princess, and he is hidden in a stone pantry, and that pantry is in a stone mountain, three fathoms deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: yes, there is no opposite for my treasury.
The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said:
“Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black furs of Siberian sable, nor a necklace of Burmitz pearls, nor a semi-precious gold crown, but bring me a toilette made of oriental crystal, whole, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I see all the beauty of the heavenly and so that, looking at him, I would not grow old and my girlish beauty would increase.
The honest merchant became thoughtful and, thinking whether it was not enough, how much time, he said to her these words:
“Well, my dear daughter, good and handsome, I will get you such a crystal toilette; and the daughter of the king of Persia, a young princess, has a beauty inexpressible, indescribable and unexplained; and that tovalet was buried in a stone, high tower, and it stands on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain is three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven German locks, and three thousand steps lead to that tower, and on each step stands a warrior Persian day and night with a naked damask saber, and the queen wears the keys to those iron doors on her belt. I know such a person across the sea, and he will get me such a toilette. Your work as a sister is harder, but for my treasury there is no contrary.
The younger daughter bowed at the feet of her father and said this word:
“Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor Siberian black sables, nor Burmitsky necklaces, nor a semi-precious wreath, nor a crystal toilette, but bring me The Scarlet Flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.
The honest merchant became more thoughtful than before. You never know, how much time he thought, I can’t say for sure; thoughtfully, he kisses, caresses, and caresses his younger daughter, his beloved, and says these words:
“Well, you gave me a job harder than my sister’s: if you know what to look for, then how not to find it, but how to find what you yourself don’t know? It’s not tricky to find a scarlet flower, but how can I find out that there is no more beautiful one in this world? I will try, but don’t look for a hotel.”
And he let his daughters go, good, handsome, into their maiden chambers. He began to get ready to go, to the path, to distant overseas lands. How long, how much he was going to, I do not know and do not know: soon the fairy tale is told, not soon the deed is done. He went on his way, on the road.
Here an honest merchant travels on foreign sides overseas, in kingdoms unseen; he sells his own commodities at exorbitant prices, buys others' commodities at exorbitant prices, he exchanges commodities for commodities and the like, with the addition of silver and gold; The ships are loaded with gold treasury and sent home. He found a treasured gift for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. He also found a treasured gift for his middle daughter: a crystal toilette, and in it all the beauty of the heavenly places is visible, and, looking into it, the girlish beauty does not grow old, but is added. He just cannot find the treasured gift for the smaller, beloved daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.
He found in the gardens of the royal, royal and sultan's many scarlet flowers of such beauty that one cannot say in a fairy tale or write with a pen; Yes, no one gives him guarantees that there is no more beautiful flower in this world; and he doesn't think so either. Here he is going along the road with his faithful servants through loose sands, through dense forests, and, out of nowhere, robbers, Busurman, Turkish and Indian, flew at him, and, seeing the imminent misfortune, the honest merchant abandons his rich caravans with his servants. faithful and flees into the dark forests. “Let the fierce beasts tear me to pieces, than to fall into the hands of robbers, filthy and live out my life in captivity in captivity.”
He wanders through that dense forest, impassable, impassable, and as he goes further, the road becomes better, as if the trees part in front of him, and often the bushes move apart. Looks back. - do not stick your hands in, looks to the right - kick and decks, a slanting hare cannot slip through, looks to the left - and even worse. The honest merchant marvels, he thinks he won’t come up with what kind of miracle is happening to him, but he himself goes on and on: he has a tornado road under his feet. He walks day from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: exactly around him everything died out. Here comes the dark night; around him at least gouge out an eye, but under his feet it is light. Here he goes, read it, until midnight, and he began to see ahead like a glow, and he thought: “It can be seen that the forest is on fire, so why should I go there to certain death, inevitable?”
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