Works by Krylov. School encyclopedia
We love reading Krylov's fables since childhood. Krylov’s images are stored in our memory, which often pop up in our heads in various life situations; we turn to them and each time we never cease to be amazed at Krylov’s insight.
It happens that I remember the Pug, who barks at the Elephant in order to give the impression of being brave and fearless, or suddenly the Monkey pops up before my eyes, who mocked himself, not recognizing the reflection in the Mirror. Laughter, and that's all! And how often do encounters occur that are involuntarily compared to the Monkey, who, out of her own ignorance, not knowing the value of the Glasses, broke them on a stone. Krylov's little fables are short in size, but not in meaning, because Krylov's word is sharp, and the morals of the fables have long turned into idioms. Krylov's fables accompany us through life, have become close to us and at any time will find understanding in us and help us re-realize our values.
Krylov is a famous writer. Of all the children's poems and fables, Krylov's works are always the best, they are etched in the memory and emerge throughout life when encountering human vices. It is often said that Krylov did not write for children, but isn’t the meaning of his fables clear to children? Usually the moral is clearly written, so even the smallest child can read Krylov’s fables with benefit.
On our website we post the most best works the author in the original presentation, and also separately highlight the morality for convenience and better memorization of sometimes philosophical thoughts. Both children and adults will find a lot of meaning in these little life stories in which animals symbolize people, their vices and ridiculous behavior. Krylov's fables online are remarkable because they contain not only text, but also a remarkable picture, easy navigation, educational facts and reasoning. After reading, the author will probably become your favorite, and his life essays in the form humorous fables will be remembered for many years.
The fabulist led an absolutely open life, communicated a lot, published books one after another and did not shy away from his obesity and laziness. The oddities that happened to Krylov were expressed by him in instructive scenes, the simplicity of which is deceptive. He was not a fabulist, he was a thinker-philosopher, capable of, with childish unobtrusiveness and ease, comically describing the shortcomings of people in a stunning form accessible only to him. There is no need to look only for satire in Krylov’s fables; their value does not end there. The content and meaning are more philosophical than humorous. In addition to human vices, the truths of existence, the foundations of behavior and relationships between people are presented in a light form. Each fable is a combination of wisdom, morality and humor.
Start reading Krylov's fables to your child from an early age. They will show him what to watch out for in life, what behavior others condemn and what they can encourage. According to Krylov, the laws of life are natural and wise; he despises artificiality and self-interest. Morality, cleared of any impurities and trends, is clear and concise, containing the division between right and wrong. The remarkable manner of writing led to the fact that every moral became a folk proverb or a cheerful aphorism. The works are written in such a language that, although they look like literary forms, they actually carry intonations and ridicule inherent only in the great national mind. Krylov's little fables changed the general view of this genre. Innovation was manifested in realism, a philosophical note and worldly wisdom. Fables became small novels, sometimes dramas, in which the accumulated wisdom and cunning of the mind over centuries was revealed. It is remarkable that with all this, the author did not turn the fable into a satirical poem, but managed to preserve the deep meaningful part, consisting of a short story and morality.
Krylov's fable penetrated into the essence of things, the characters' characters, and became a genre practically unattainable by other authors. Despite the satire, the fabulist loved life in all its manifestations, but he would really like simple and natural truths to finally replace base passions. The fable genre under his pen has become so high and refined that, after re-reading the fables of other authors, you will understand that there is no other like it, and there is unlikely to be one.
In the section of Krylov's fables online, we invite you to get acquainted with folk wisdom. Short philosophical works will not leave either children or adults indifferent.
It is a work in verse or prose that is satirical in nature. Any fable begins or ends with moralizing phrases, which in literary circles are usually called morality. The main characters of such works are people, birds, animals, plants, and inanimate objects.
From the history of fables
Aesop, who lived in Ancient Greece in VI-V centuries. BC e. Among the Romans, Phaedrus (1st century AD) was a famous author of satirical works. The 17th century gave France and the whole world the talented fabulist Jean de La Fontaine. In Russia, the most famous writer of moralizing tales poetic works was Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769-1844). The poet wrote 236 fables during his life, which were published in 9 collections during his time. In his satirical creations, Ivan Andreevich affected the whole of Russia: from ordinary men to nobles and the tsar. Some of Krylov's fables in their plots echo the works of Aesop and La Fontaine. There are also completely original stories in his work, the content of which has not been found anywhere before.
Heroes of stories
Every Russian person has known Ivan Krylov since childhood. His fables are written in accessible language using phraseological units, sayings and proverbs. Their stories are distinguished by the authenticity of what is happening and touch on topical topics. Greed, stupidity, vanity, hypocrisy, mental limitations and other human vices are presented in the poet’s works in the most unattractive form. Although the heroes of Krylov’s fables are mostly animals, the author always associated their images with people. His satire ridicules idle nobles, judges, officials, bureaucrats who do their dirty deeds with impunity. Emperor Alexander I also suffered from Ivan Andreevich’s creativity: he was not in the best at its best represented in the image of the king of beasts, a lion, in the fables “The Motley Sheep” and “The Fish Dance”. In contrast to the nobility and rich people, Krylov sympathizes with the poor suffering from lawlessness and serfdom.
Features of the poet's works
Krylov's fables are short satirical literary creations, distinguished by a fascinating plot, dynamism, realistic dialogues, and psychological authenticity of the characters. Some of his satires describe everyday scenes (“Merchant”, “Two Men”), others are allegories (“Wild Goats”), and others are pamphlets (“Pike”, “Motley Sheep”). Krylov also has stories in poetic form (“Mot and Swallow”). The uniqueness of the poet’s fables lies in the fact that, despite their advanced age, they have not lost their relevance today. And this is not surprising, because human vices do not change over time.
Characteristics of the “Quartet”
Everyone is familiar with the fable “Quartet”. Krylov was pushed into her consciousness by ignoramuses who mind their own business. The plot of the fable, written in 1811, is quite simple: a monkey, a bear, a donkey and a goat decide to organize a musical quartet. But no matter how hard they tried to play the instruments, no matter how many times they changed seats, they couldn’t do anything. The heroes of the fable did not take into account the most important thing: desire alone is not enough to become musicians. To do this, you also need to at least know notation and play instruments. The phrase of the nightingale, who became an accidental witness to the quartet’s unsuccessful attempts to play, contains the moral of the entire fable: no matter how they sit down, they will still not make musicians.
The fable “Quartet” by Krylov applies not only to would-be musicians. The poet in it expressed the idea that skill and talent are necessary in all endeavors that a person undertakes. Often people overestimate their abilities and take on impossible tasks, being confident that they will succeed without knowledge and preliminary preparation. Vanity, self-confidence and boastfulness cover their eyes with a veil, and they do not want to understand one thing: any occupation needs to be learned, and for this it is necessary for a long time and talent. In his work, the author openly laughs at fools and talkers whose words do not match their deeds. The heroes of the fable “Quartet” personify the author’s political figures of those times who lacked the professionalism to make the right decisions.
A few words about “Swan, Crayfish and Pike”
Considering Krylov’s fables, one cannot ignore his famous satirical creation “Swan, Crayfish and Pike” (1814). The plot of the work contains a subtle hint of the events taking place in Russia at that time - the indignation of the Russian people by the discord that reigned in the State Council. The fable begins with a short three-line edification, the meaning of which lies in a simple truth: if there is no agreement among friends, then no matter what they undertake, nothing will work out for them. It was in the introduction that Krylov expressed the moral of the fable. What follows is the story of how a pike, a crayfish and a swan harnessed themselves to a cart, but could not move it from its place, because each of them pulled it in their own direction. The fable is one of the poet's most famous creations; it became popular during his lifetime and remains so to this day. The last line of the fable “and the cart is still there” turned into catchphrase, symbolizing the lack of unity in thoughts and actions, and the main characters of the poem became the heroes of numerous caricatures.
The modern school curriculum always includes Ivan Krylov. His fables are easy to understand and therefore understandable to children of all ages. The younger generation reads “The Crow and the Fox,” written by the author in 1807, with particular interest. The creation of Krylov’s work was inspired by the works of Aesop, Phaedrus, La Fontaine and other fabulists who had already used a similar plot with a fox and a crow. Summary The fable is as follows: a crow somewhere took out a piece of cheese and flew up a tree to eat it. A fox running past liked the treat and wanted to lure it away from the bird. Sitting under a tree, the cheat began to ask the crow to sing, praising her vocal abilities in every possible way. The bird succumbed to the flattering speeches, croaked and the cheese fell out of its beak. The fox grabbed him and ran away. The moral of the fable sounds in its first lines: with the help of flattery, a person will always achieve his goal.
Other famous fables
The moral of Krylov's fables is clear to everyone. In the work “The Dragonfly and the Ant” its meaning is that those who do not think about tomorrow risk being left hungry, cold and without a roof over their head. Krylov glorifies hard work in his work and mocks carelessness, stupidity and laziness.
The moral of the fable “Monkey Glasses” is that people who do not understand the business they are taking on look funny. In the satirical work, the ignorant are ridiculed in the image of a monkey, and glasses are identified with knowledge. People who do not understand anything about science and take it up will only make others laugh with their stupidity.
Despite the fact that Krylov’s fables are short, they very clearly reflect the author’s attitude to all kinds of human shortcomings. Oddly enough, after two centuries have passed since the poet’s works were written, nothing has changed in society, so they can still be used today as moralizing stories and the younger generation can be educated on them.
Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769-1844) is best known as the author of fables, although his work is much more diverse.
He was a publicist, poet, prose writer, and publisher of satirical and educational magazines.
From the biography
Krylov's father served in a dragoon regiment, but began his service as a simple soldier. He received the nobility already in his mature years, and distinguished himself by the fact that in January 1774 he did not surrender the fortress to Pugachev. This story by A.S. Pushkin mentioned in “The History of Pugachev” and in the story “ Captain's daughter" Born in Moscow, Krylov spent his childhood traveling with his family. He was taught to read and write by his father, who loved to read. But his father died when the future fabulist was not yet 10 years old. Young Krylov's career began as a scribe, and although he studied little, he read a lot and gradually began to write. His first literary experiments were not yet perfect enough (the opera libretto “The Coffee House”, the tragedies “Cleopatra” and “Philomela”, etc.), but Krylov did not give up writing. In 1789, he founded the monthly satirical magazine “Mail of Spirits,” in which he depicted in a fantastic form the shortcomings of modern Russian society. A total of 8 issues were published, and then publication was stopped due to dissatisfaction with the authorities.
I. Eggink “Portrait of I.A. Krylova"
In 1792, Krylov began publishing the literary magazine “Spectator”. At this time, he was already the center of the literary circle. In 1793, this magazine was renamed “St. Petersburg Mercury”. Krylov is published in it as a lyricist and imitator of Derzhavin’s poems. Mercury lasted only one year and was not particularly successful.
In literary and secular St. Petersburg, Krylov was known not only as the author of comedies and other works, but also as a kind of walking joke. He himself created myths and anecdotes about himself: about his amazing appetite, sloppiness, laziness, love of fires, amazing willpower, wit, popularity, etc. Was Krylov really a lazy person? We cannot agree with this - his manuscripts indicate that he worked carefully on his fables, constantly correcting them, achieving accuracy and aphorism. Publishing magazines also required diligence and work. And then there was service in the Imperial Public Library for almost 30 years (1812-1841). Krylov replenished the library's funds, served readers, and created a system for cataloging Russian books, which is still relevant.
In 1797 he went to the Zubrilovka estate of Prince S.F. Golitsyn as a children's teacher, secretary, etc. At this time, Krylov already had a broad and varied education. In 1801, Prince Golitsyn was appointed governor-general of Riga, and Krylov was appointed his secretary. In 1803 he retired.
The beginning of fable creativity
In 1805 Krylov translated from French two fables by La Fontaine. I.I. Dmitriev, to whom Krylov showed his experiments, approved of them: “This is your true family; at last you have found it.” This is how Krylov’s career as a fabulist began.
Krylov's fables begin to be studied in primary school, but their deep meaning sometimes becomes available only in mature age. This is some of the mystery of Krylov. It is not as simple as it seems.
Most of Krylov's fables are original works, but some themes were borrowed by him from Aesop, La Fontaine, and Phaedrus.
But Krylov’s fables, including those translated, are unique and deeply national in language, philosophy, and spirit. He first studied and then used in his fables that common vernacular, which was understandable to every Russian person - from nobleman to peasant. Krylov managed not only to comprehend the spirit of the Russian people, but also to express it in his fables.
Children of any era need education and guidance from adults. And this role of educators is still performed by Krylov’s fables, although, as we have already said, the deep meaning of his fables is sometimes accessible only to adults.
There are 236 known fables by I.A. Krylova. Many expressions from his fables have become popular and are still relevant today. For example, the fable “Swan, Cancer and Pike”. The phrase “when there is no agreement among comrades, their business will not go well” is used if they want to emphasize the disunity of those who have jointly taken on some business. What about the situation in Russia in the 90s? Isn't this a swan, crayfish and pike situation? An allusion (hint) to “Swan, Cancer and Pike” is often found in speeches by politicians, headlines of media articles, parodies, caricatures: “but things are still there” - that is, things have not moved forward.
In various life situations, Krylov’s sharp and wise words often pop up in my head.
The task of any fabulist is to expose the shortcomings of man and society that have plagued the human race for a long time. That is why the plots of fables are so similar among fabulists different countries. And Krylov also borrowed most of his plots from La Fontaine, and he, in turn, from Aesop, Phaedrus, etc. But Krylov always filled the borrowed plot with Russian realities, and he created a Russian national fable.
Themes of Krylov's fables
Socio-political topics
Krylov believed that power should be strong, but wise and fair, and if “the strong are always to blame for the powerless,” then this speaks of the arbitrariness of power and lawlessness.
I. Krylov
The Wolf and the Lamb 
The powerful are always to blame for the powerless:
We hear countless examples of this in History,
But we don’t write History;
But this is what they say in fables.
***
On a hot day, a lamb went to a stream to drink;
And something must happen,
That a hungry Wolf was prowling around those places.
He sees a lamb and strives for the prey;
But, to give the matter at least a legal look and feel,
Shouts: “How dare you, insolent, with an unclean snout
Here's a clean drink
My
With sand and silt?
For such insolence
I’ll rip your head off!”
When the brightest Wolf allows,
I dare say that down the stream
From the lordship of his steps I drink a hundred;
And he deigns to be angry in vain:
There is no way I can make him drink worse.
- That's why I'm lying!
Waste! Such insolence has never been heard of in the world!
Yes, I remember that you were still last summer
Here he was somehow rude to me:
I haven't forgotten this, buddy!
“For mercy, I’m not even a year old yet,”
The lamb speaks.
- So it was your brother.
- I have no brothers.
- So this is godfather or matchmaker
And, in a word, someone from your own family.
You yourself, your dogs and your shepherds,
You all want me harm
And if you can, then you always harm me,
But I will tell you about their sins!
- Oh, what is my fault?
- Shut up! I'm tired of listening
It’s time for me to sort through your faults, puppy!
It's your fault that I want to eat.
He said - and dragged the Lamb into the dark forest.
(1808). The plot of the fable is borrowed from Aesop.
The fable “The Cat and the Cook” is on the same topic.
Theme of education
On this topic there are fables “The Casket”, “The Curious”, “The Pig under the Oak”, etc. Only stupid and ignorant people can scold science and learning.
I. Krylov
Pig under the oak tree 
Pig under the ancient oak
I ate my fill of acorns to satiety;
Having eaten, I slept under it;
Then, having cleared her eyes, she stood up
And she began to undermine the roots of the Oak tree with her snout.
“After all, this harms the tree,”
The raven tells her from Dubu, -
If you expose the roots, it may dry out.”
“Let it dry,” says the Pig, “
It doesn’t bother me at all;
I see little use in it;
Even if he doesn’t exist for a century, I won’t regret it at all,
If only there were acorns: they make me fat.” -
“Ungrateful! - Oak said to her here, -
Whenever you could lift your snout up,
You should have seen
Why are these acorns growing on me?
* * *
The ignorant is also blinded
Scolds science and learning,
And all the scientific works,
Without feeling that he is tasting their fruits.
But, on the other hand, a certain measure is needed in learning, because excessive philosophizing leads to a dead end. This is what the fable “Larchik” is about.
Historical topics
Krylov responded wittily to various events in the country. The fable "The Wolf in the Kennel" is associated with Patriotic War 1812, when Napoleon (Wolf) tried to conclude a peace beneficial to him, but Kutuzov (Lovchiy) unraveled the enemy’s plan and was able to adequately respond to him.
I. Krylov
Wolf at the kennel 
The wolf at night, thinking of getting into the sheepfold,
I ended up at the kennel.
Suddenly the whole kennel yard rose up:
Smelling gray so close to the bully,
The dogs are flooded in the barns and are eager to fight.
The hounds shout: “Wow, guys, thief!” -
And instantly the gates are locked;
In a minute the kennel became hell.
They run: another with a club,
Another with a gun.
“Fire! - they shout, - fire! They came with fire.
My Wolf sits with his backside pressed into the corner,
Teeth snapping and fur bristling,
With his eyes, it seems he would like to eat everyone;
But, seeing what is not here in front of the herd
And what finally comes
To him to pay for the sheep, my cunning man set off
In negotiations
And he started like this: “Friends! What's all this fuss about?
I, your old matchmaker and godfather,
I came to make peace with you, not at all for the sake of a quarrel;
Let's forget the past, let's establish a common harmony!
And not only will I not touch the local herds in the future,
But I’m happy to fight for them with others
And I affirm with a wolf’s oath,
What am I...” - “Listen, neighbor, -
Here the hunter interrupted in response, -
You are gray, and I, buddy, are gray,
And I have long known your wolfish nature;
Therefore, my custom is:
There is no other way to make peace with wolves,
Like skinning them off.”
And then he released a pack of hounds at the Wolf.
(1812)
In Moscow, Napoleon expected a deputation from the Russians, but in vain. Then he sent General Lauriston to Kutuzov with a peace proposal, but he replied: “Posterity will curse me if they recognize me as the first culprit of any truce. This is the real spirit of my people."
There is a legend that Krylov rewrote the fable with his own hand and passed it on to Kutuzov. After the battle of Krasnoye, Kutuzov read a fable to the assembled officers and, at the words: “And I, friend, am gray...”, he took off his white cap and shook his bowed head.
A response to other events in the life of Russia at that time are the fables “Quartet”, “Swan, Pike and Cancer”, etc.
Literary-magazine struggle
The fables “The Donkey and the Nightingale”, “Demyan’s Ear”, “The Cuckoo and the Rooster”, etc. are dedicated to this topic.
Household fables
Household fables are the most numerous. They talk about various life situations in which people show their true qualities - good or evil. Universal human vices are exposed: idleness (“Dragonfly and Ant”), flattery (“Crow and Fox”), ignorance (“Monkey and Glasses”), ingratitude (“Wolf and Crane”), vanity (“Geese”) and other low manifestations human being.
I. Krylov
Wolf and Mouse 
From the herd gray wolf
He dragged the sheep into the forest, into a secluded corner,
Certainly not for a visit:
He skinned the poor glutton's sheep,
And so he removed it,
That bones crunched in my teeth.
But no matter how greedy he was, he could not eat everything;
I left a supply for dinner and lay down next to
Soak up, sigh from a fatty lunch.
Here is his close neighbor,
The mouse was attracted by the smell of the feast.
He quietly crept between the mosses and hummocks,
He grabbed a piece of meat and quickly left with it
To my home, in the hollow.
Seeing the kidnapping
My wolf
A howl rose through the forest;
He shouts: “Guard! robbery!
Stop the thief! Ruin:
They plundered my property!”
I saw such an adventure in the city:
The thief stole the watch from Klimych the judge,
And he shouts at the thief: guard!
Monument to Krylov in St. Petersburg. Sculptor Klodt
Krylov's fables are fascinating, interesting, written from the heart for children and adults. They are familiar to people from other countries and have been translated into more than fifty languages of the world.
Krylov's fables for children early age parents read. By nature, children are fidgety, it is difficult for them to long period focus your attention on some subject. Therefore, short fables are often written for children.
Krylov's fables are short in size, but capacious in content. They are written with an amazing sense of humor. They do not contain tedious moralizing, but only briefly emphasized truths that should not be forgotten.
The texts of the fables are given without abbreviations.
"Siskin and Dove"
Listen to the fable “The Siskin and the Dove”
The siskin was slammed shut by the villainous trap:
The poor thing in it was torn and tossed about,
And the young Dove mocked him.
“Isn’t it a shame,” he says: “in broad daylight
Gotcha!
You wouldn’t trick me like that:
“I can confidently vouch for this.”
And look, you immediately got caught in the snare.
That's it!
"The Lion and the Fox"
Listen to the fable “The Lion and the Fox”
The Fox, having never seen Leo,
Having met him, I was left barely alive from my passions.
So, a little later, she came across Leo again.
But he didn’t seem so scary to her.
And then the third time
The Fox started talking with Leo.
We are also afraid of others,
Until we take a closer look at him.
"The Wolf and the Shepherds"
Listen to the fable “The Wolf and the Shepherds”
Wolf walking close to the shepherd's yard
And seeing through the fence,
That, having chosen the best ram in the herd,
Calmly, the shepherds are gutting the lamb,
And the dogs lie quietly,
He said to himself as he walked away in frustration:
“What a fuss you all make here, friends,
If only I could do this!”
"The Boy and the Snake"
Listen to the fable “The Boy and the Snake”
The boy, thinking of catching an eel,
He grabbed the Snake and, looking up, out of fear
He became as pale as his shirt.
The snake, looking calmly at the Boy,
“Listen,” he says: “if you are not smarter,
That insolence will not always go over easily for you.
This time God will forgive; but watch out ahead
And know who you’re joking with!”
"Swan, Pike and Crayfish"
Listen to the fable “Swan, Pike and Cancer”
When there is no agreement among comrades,
Things won't go well for them,
And nothing will come out of it, only torment.
Once upon a time Swan, Cancer, and Pike
They began to carry a cart full of luggage,
And together the three all harnessed themselves to it;
They are doing their best, but the cart is still moving!
The luggage would seem light to them:
Yes, the Swan rushes into the clouds,
The cancer moves back, and the Pike pulls into the water.
Who is to blame and who is right is not for us to judge;
Yes, but things are still there.
"Mosquito and Shepherd"
Listen to the fable “The Mosquito and the Shepherd”
The shepherd slept under the shadow, hoped for the dogs,
Having noticed that, a snake from under the bushes
It crawls towards him, sticking out its sting;
And the Shepherd would not exist in the world:
But taking pity on him, Mosquito, with all his might,
Sleepy bitten.
Waking up, the Shepherd killed the snake;
But before that, Komar was so sleepy,
That poor man was gone.
There are many such examples:
If the weak are strong, even though he is motivated by goodness,
Open your eyes, the truth will encroach,
Just expect the same thing to happen to him,
What's wrong with Mosquito?
The nature of children is characterized by a desire for bright, unusual images, for a good poetic style, for an understandable life situation. All these rules were masterfully used by the famous fabulist.
The fable is like a fairy tale. Animals talk, think, and wonder in it. This is how they captivate and attract children. They are already familiar with this: from the first years of their lives, their mothers and fathers read Russian folk tales to them.
To fully understand the deep meaning and morality of Krylov’s works childhood It’s quite difficult, but the grain falls into fertile soil; over time, the baby will grow up and understand the moral ideas that are embedded in smart works.
Krylov's fables, short and long, serious and funny, instill in children hard work, decency, courage, and the ability to understand the situation. “When there is no agreement among the comrades, their business will not go well, and what will come out of it is nothing but torment.”
Compilation, preface, notes and explanations
V.P. Anikina
Artists
S. Bordyug and N. Trepenok
Russian genius
Twenty-year-old Ivan Andreevich Krylov, a still little-known writer, published his first fables in 1788, without a signature, in the St. Petersburg magazine “Morning Hours.” And he published his first book of fables years later - only in 1809. Having worked, not without success, in different types creativity, Krylov realized that he was most successful in the fable genre. The fable became almost the exclusive genre of his work. And soon the fame of a first-class author came to the writer.
The artistic gift of Krylov the fabulist was fully revealed when he combined his extensive knowledge of ancient and modern European literature with the realization that the type of creativity he favored by nature belonged to the type of creativity in which folk morality is expressed. This morality, for example, is revealed in Russian fairy tales about animals, in proverbs, in teachings - in general, in peasant fables. In Rus', an intricate story has long been called fable. “Fables and fairy tales” are inseparable from the living telling of a fictional story, flavored with jokes and teaching. This was something that many of Krylov’s predecessors did not understand for a long time, who failed because they did not realize that the fable is inseparable from the spoken language.
Thus, the hardworking philologist, famous in the 18th century, member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences V.K. Tredyakovsky (1703–1768), long before Krylov, published a retelling of several “Aesopian fables.” Among them was the fable “The Wolf and the Crane.” Its plot is the same as that of Krylov, but in the presentation of the fable almost everything is alien to colloquial speech.
A wolf choked on a sharp bone one day.
So that he was not strong enough to howl, but became completely stumped.
For this purpose he hired a crane at a price
To extract the nose from the throat with longitude.
Tredyakovsky guessed that the fable story should be presented in a folk style, and it was no coincidence that he introduced some colloquial words and expressions into his translation (although not without distortion): “he was not strong enough to howl,” “he became completely stumped,” but the translation remained heavy and bookish.
Let’s compare Krylov’s fable with Tredyakovsky’s translation:
Everyone knows that wolves are greedy:
Wolf, eating, never
Doesn't understand bones.
For that, for one of them trouble came:
He almost choked on a bone.
Wolf can't neither sigh nor sigh;
It's time to stretch your legs!
The whole structure of the presentation is easy, elegant, understandable to any Russian person! This is our living speech. Krylov followed the intonation of the oral story; in the fable story there is not even a shadow of any artificiality.
The famous 20th century philologist Viktor Vladimirovich Vinogradov specially studied the language and style of Krylov’s fables and noted dozens of them folk proverbs. The scientist cited a long list of proverbs and sayings that the fabulist used and called them “semantic bonds,” that is, connections that impart semantic unity to the presentation of the fable story. Here are some of them: “There is a black sheep in a family” (“Elephant in the Voivodeship”), “Though the eye sees, the tooth is numb” (“The Fox and the Grapes”), “Poverty is not a vice” (“The Farmer and the Shoemaker”), “Out of the Fire and into the Fire” (“The Lady and the Two Maids”), “Don’t Spit in the Well—You’ll Need to Drink Water” (“The Lion and the Mouse”) and dozens of others. The fabulist relied on the usual in our language designations and comparisons of animals and birds with people: the crow is a prophet, but is susceptible to flattery, the donkey is stubborn, the fox is cunning, the bear is strong but stupid, the hare is cowardly, the snake is dangerous, etc. And they act like people. Proverbs and sayings, proverbs and allegorical words included in fables were developed and semantically clarified by Krylov.
Krylov's primacy among fabulists continues to this day. And in our time, his fables captivate readers. He is placed on a par with the greatest artists of all times and peoples. No one is surprised that he is compared to the ancient Greek Aesop and other world-famous fabulists. But most of all he is valued in Russia as an artist who expressed the common sense and intelligence of our people.
V.P. Anikin
A Crow and a fox
How many times have they told the world,
That flattery is vile and harmful; but everything is not for the future,
And a flatterer will always find a corner in the heart.
___
Somewhere God sent a piece of cheese to a crow;
Raven perched on the spruce tree,
I was just about ready to have breakfast,
Yes, I thought about it, but I held the cheese in my mouth.
To that misfortune, the Fox ran close by;
Suddenly the cheese spirit stopped the Fox:
The fox sees the cheese, and the fox is captivated by the cheese.
The cheat approaches the tree on tiptoe;
He twirls his tail and doesn’t take his eyes off Crow,
And he says so sweetly, barely breathing:
“My dear, how beautiful!
What a neck, what eyes!
Telling fairy tales, really!
What feathers! what a sock!
And surely there must be an angelic voice!
Sing, little light, don’t be ashamed! What if, sister,
With such beauty, you are a master at singing,
After all, you would be our king bird!”
Veshunin's head was spinning with praise,
The breath stole from my throat with joy, -
And to the fox’s friendly words
The crow croaked at the top of its lungs:
The cheese fell out - such was the trick with it.
Oak and Cane
With Trostinka, Oak once came into speech.
“Truly, you have the right to grumble about nature,”
He said: “The sparrow is heavy for you too.
A slight breeze will make the water ripple,
You will stagger, you will begin to weaken
And so you bend down lonely,
What a pity to look at you.
Meanwhile, on a par with the Caucasus, proudly
It’s not just the sun that I block the rays of,
But, laughing at both whirlwinds and thunderstorms,
I stand firm and straight,
As if surrounded by an inviolable peace.
Everything is a storm to you - everything seems like marshmallows to me.
Even if you grew in a circle,
Covered in the thick shadow of my branches,
I could be your protection from bad weather;
But nature has given you your destiny
Brega of the stormy Eolian domain:
Of course, she doesn’t care about you at all.” -
"You are very pitiful"
said the Cane in response,
“However, don’t be downhearted: I don’t have much to lose.
It’s not for myself that I fear the whirlwinds;
Although I bend, I don’t break:
So storms do little harm to me;
They threaten you almost more!
It is true that even hitherto their ferocity
Your strength has not overcome you,
And you did not bow your face from their blows;
But let’s wait for the end!”
As soon as the Cane said this,
Suddenly rushing from the northern sides
And with hail and rain, the noisy aquilon.
The oak is holding on, - Reed fell to the ground.
The wind is raging, it has doubled its strength,
Roared and uprooted
The one who touched heaven with his head
And in the region of shadows he rested his heel.
Musicians
Neighbor invited neighbor to have a meal;
But there was a different intention here:
The owner loved music
And he lured his neighbor to listen to the singers.
The fellows sang: some into the forest, some for firewood,
And who has gained any strength?
The guest's ears began to crackle,
And my head started spinning.
“Have mercy on me,” he said in surprise:
“What is there to admire here? Your choir
He's babbling nonsense! -
“That’s true,” the owner answered with emotion:
“They fight a little;
But they don’t put drunken things in their mouths,
And all with excellent behavior.”
___
And I’ll say: for me it’s better to drink,
Yes, understand the matter.
Crow and Chicken
When the Prince of Smolensk,
Armed against insolence with art,
The vandals installed a new network
And he left Moscow to their destruction:
Then all the inhabitants, small and large,
Without wasting an hour, we got ready
And they rose from the walls of Moscow,
Like a swarm of bees from a hive.
A crow from the roof is here to all this alarm
He looks calmly, cleaning his nose.
“What about you, gossip, are you going on the road?”
The Chicken shouts to her from the cart:
“After all, they say that at the threshold
Our adversary." -
“What does this matter to me?”
The prophetess answered her: “I will stay here boldly.
Here are your sisters, as they wish;
But Raven is neither fried nor boiled:
So it’s no wonder for me to get along with the guests,
And maybe you can still make some money
Cheese, or a bone, or something.
Farewell, little corydalis, happy journey!”
The crow truly remained;
But, instead of all the bait for her,
How Smolensky began to starve the guests -
She herself got caught in their soup.
___
So often a person is blind and stupid in his calculations.
It seems that you are rushing on the heels of happiness:
How do you actually get along with him?
Caught like a crow in soup!
Chest
It often happens to us
And work and wisdom to see there,
Where you just have to guess
Just get down to business.
___
A Casket was brought to someone from the master.
The decoration and cleanliness of the Casket caught my eye;
Well, everyone admired the beautiful Casket.
Here the sage enters the Mechanics room.
Looking at the Chest,
he said: “A box with a secret,
So; it doesn't even have a lock;
And I undertake to open it; yes, yes, I'm sure of it;
Don't laugh so secretly!
I will find the secret and I will reveal the little chest to you:
I’m worth something in Mechanics too.”
So he set to work on the Casket:
Turns him from all sides
And he breaks his head;
First a carnation, then another, then a bracket.
Here, looking at him, another
Shakes his head;
They whisper, and they laugh among themselves.
It just rings in my ears:
“Not here, not like that, not there!” The mechanic is even more eager.
Sweated, sweated; but finally got tired
I left Larchik behind
And I couldn’t figure out how to open it:
And the casket simply opened.
Frog and Ox
The frog, seeing Ox in the meadow,
She decided to match his stature herself:
She was envious.
And well, puff up, puff and pout.
“Look, wah, what, will I get rid of him?”
He says to his friend. “No, gossip, far away!” -
“Look how wide I am now.
Well, what's it like?
Am I replenished? - “Almost nothing.” -
“Well, how now?” - “It’s all the same.”
Puffed and puffed
And my idea ended with
That, not being equal to Vol,
With an effort it burst and died.
___
There is more than one example of this in the world:
And is it a wonder when a tradesman wants to live,
As a distinguished citizen,
And the fry is small, like a noble nobleman.
Wolf and Lamb
The powerful are always to blame for the powerless:
We hear countless examples of this in History,
But we don’t write History;
Here's how they talk about it in Fables.
___
On a hot day, a lamb went to a stream to drink;
And something must happen,
That a hungry Wolf was prowling around those places.
He sees a lamb and strives for the prey;
But, to give the matter at least a legal look and feel,
Shouts: “How dare you, insolent, with an unclean snout
Here is a clean drink
My
With sand and silt?
For such insolence
I'll rip your head off." -
“When the brightest Wolf allows,
I dare to convey: what’s down the stream
From the Lordship of his steps I drink a hundred;
And he deigns to be angry in vain:
There’s no way I can make him drink worse.” -
“That's why I'm lying!
Waste! Such insolence has never been heard of in the world!
Yes, I remember that you were last summer
Here he was somehow rude to me:
I haven’t forgotten this, buddy!” -
“For mercy, I’m not even a year old yet,”
The lamb speaks. "So it was your brother." -
"I have no brothers." - “So this is godfather or matchmaker
And, in a word, someone from your own family.
You yourself, your dogs and your shepherds,
You all want me harm
And if you can, then you always harm me:
But I will clear out their sins with you.” -
“Oh, what’s my fault?” - “Be quiet! I'm tired of listening
It’s time for me to sort through your faults, puppy!
It's your fault that I want to eat."
Said in dark forest The lamb was dragged.
Monkey
When you adopt wisely, then it’s not a miracle
And find benefit from it;
And it’s crazy to adopt,
And God forbid, how bad it is!
I will give an example of this from distant countries.
Those who have seen Monkeys know
How greedily they adopt everything.
So in Africa, where there are many Monkeys,
A whole flock of them sat
Along the branches, along the branches of a thick tree
And she looked at the catcher furtively,
As if he were rolling around on the grass in nets.
Each friend here quietly pushes her friend,
And they all whisper to each other:
“Look at the daredevil;
There really is no end to his undertakings:
It will tumble
It will turn around
It's all in a lump
He'll get it together like that
That there are no arms or legs to be seen.
Are we really not masters of everything?
But we don’t see this kind of art!
Beautiful sisters!
It would be a good idea for us to adopt this.
He seemed rather amused;
Maybe he’ll leave, then we’ll immediately...” Look,
He truly left and left the nets for them.
“Well,” they say, “should we lose time?
Let's go try!"
The beauties have come down. For dear guests
There are a lot of nets spread out below.
Well, they tumble and roll in them,
And wrap up and curl;
They scream and squeal – it’s a lot of fun!
Yes, that's the problem
When did it come to break out of the network!
Meanwhile the owner guarded
And, seeing that it’s time, he goes to the guests with bags,
Let them run away
Yes, no one could unravel:
And they were all taken by hand.
Tit
The tit took off to the sea;
She boasted
What the sea wants to burn.
The speech immediately became famous around the world.
Fear embraced the inhabitants of Neptune's capital;
Birds fly in flocks;
And the animals from the forests come running to watch,
How will the Ocean be, and how hot will it be to burn?
And even, they say, on hearing the winged rumor,
Hunters wander around feasts
Of the first to come to the shores with spoons,
To sip the fish soup of such a rich woman,
What a tax farmer and the most well-packed one
Didn't give it to secretaries.
They crowd: everyone marvels at the miracle in advance,
He is silent and, staring at the sea, waits;
Only occasionally will someone whisper:
“It’s about to boil, it’s about to catch fire!”
Not so: the sea doesn’t burn.
Is it even boiling? – and it doesn’t boil.
And how did the majestic undertakings end?
The titmouse swam away in shame;
The Tit made glory,
But she didn’t light the sea.
___
It’s good to keep a speech here,
But without touching anyone's face:
What's going on without reaching an end?
There is no need to boast.
Donkey
When did Jupiter inhabit the universe?
And he started a tribe of various creatures,
That’s when the Donkey was born.
But with intent, or while getting pregnant,
In such a busy time
The cloud chaser made a mistake:
And the Donkey poured out almost as small as a squirrel.
Almost no one noticed the donkey,
At least in arrogance the Donkey was not inferior to anyone.
The donkey would like to boast:
But with what? having such a height,
And it’s a shame to appear in the world.
My arrogant donkey stuck to Jupiter
And he began to ask for more growth.
“Have mercy,” he says, “how can you take this down?
Lions, leopards and elephants are everywhere so honored;
Moreover, from the greatest to the least,
Everything is about them only and about them;
Why are you so daring towards Donkeys?
That they have no honor,
And no one says a word about Donkeys?
And if only I were the height of a calf,
If only I had knocked down the arrogance of lions and leopards,
And the whole world would talk about me.”
What day, then again
My donkey sang to Zeus;
And before that he was tired,
What's finally the donkey's prayers
Zeus listened:
And the Donkey became a great beast;
And on top of that, he was given such a wild voice,
What is my eared Hercules
The whole forest was scared.
“What kind of animal is this? what kind?
Tea, does he have teeth? horns, tea, no number?
Well, the only talk was about the Donkey.
But how did it end? Not even a year has passed
How everyone found out who Donkey is:
My donkey's stupidity has become a proverb.
And they carry water on a Donkey.
___
Highness is good in breed and rank;
But what is gained in it when the soul is low?
Monkey and glasses
The monkey's eyes became weak in old age;
And she heard from people,
That this evil is not yet so big:
All you have to do is get glasses.
She got herself half a dozen glasses;
He turns his glasses this way and that:
Either he will press them to the crown, or he will string them on his tail,
Sometimes he sniffs them, sometimes he licks them;
The glasses don't work at all.
“Ugh, the abyss! - she says: - and that fool,
Who listens to all human lies:
They only lied to me about the Glasses;
But there’s no use for hair in them.”
The monkey is here out of frustration and sadness
Oh stone, there were so many of them,
That only the splashes sparkled.
___
Unfortunately, this is what happens to people:
No matter how useful a thing is, without knowing its price,
The ignoramus tends to tell everything about her for the worse;
And if the ignorant is more knowledgeable,
So he also drives her away.
Atheists
There was a people in ancient times, to the shame of the earthly tribes.
Who was so hardened in his hearts,
That he armed himself against the gods.
Rebellious crowds, behind a thousand banners,
Some with a bow, some with a sling, rush noisily into the field.
The instigators, from the daring heads,
To incite more riots among the people,
They shout that the court of heaven is both strict and stupid;
That the gods are either asleep or ruling recklessly;
That it’s time to teach them a lesson without rank;
Which, however, is not difficult with stones from nearby mountains
Throw into the sky at the gods
And sweep Olympus with arrows.
Confused by the insolence of madmen and blasphemies,
All Olympus approached Zeus with prayer,
So that he averts trouble;
And even the whole council of the gods of those thoughts was,
Which, to the rebels’ conviction, is not bad
Show at least a small miracle:
Or a flood, or thunder with a coward,
Or at least hit them with stone rain.
"Let's wait"
Jupiter river: “and if they don’t reconcile
And in a riot they will abuse, not fearing the immortals,
They are executed for their deeds.”
Then it soared into the air with a noise
Darkness of stones, cloud of arrows from the rebel troops,
But with a thousand deaths, both evil and inevitable,
Chapters fell on their own.
___
The fruits of unbelief are terrible;
And know, peoples, you
That the supposed sages of blasphemy are bold,
What do they arm you against the deity?
Your hour of destruction is approaching,
And they will all turn into arrows of thunder for you.
Eagle and chickens
Wanting to fully admire the bright day,
An eagle flew in the sky
And I walked there
Where lightning is born.
Having finally descended from the cloudy heights,
The King Bird sits on a barn to rest.
Although this is an unenviable perch for the Eagle,
But the Kings have their own quirks:
Perhaps he wanted to honor the barn,
Or if he wasn’t nearby, he should sit down according to his rank,
Neither oak nor granite rock;
I don’t know what this thought is, but just Eagle
Didn't sit much
And then he flew to another barn.
Seeing that, the crested hen
He talks like this to his godfather:
“Why are the Eagles so honored?
Is it really for the flight, dear neighbor?
Well, really, if I want,
From barn to barn I will fly too.
Let's not be such fools forward,
To honor the Eagles who are more noble than us.
They have neither legs nor eyes larger than ours;
Yes, you saw it now,
That below they fly like chickens.”
The eagle answers, bored with the nonsense:
“You're right, but not quite.
Eagles sometimes descend lower than chickens;
But chickens will never reach the clouds!”
___
When you judge talents, -
Do not waste your labors in vain by counting their weaknesses;
But, feeling that they are both strong and beautiful,
Know how to comprehend their different heights.
