In the capital of Denmark, in Copenhagen, in the shady Royal Garden there is a monument to Hans Christian Andersen - a bronze figure of the great storyteller with a book in his hands. Around, in the greenery of the trees, you can always hear the living voices and laughter of children - devoted and faithful readers of his fairy tales.
You, too, probably know his fairy tales - about the ugly duckling who turned into a beautiful white-winged swan, and about the cruel snow queen who never defeated the brave, kind girl Gerda, and many other interesting fairy tales and stories.
In 1805, in the small Danish city of Odense with narrow streets and peaked roofs, so close to each other that you could step from one to another, a boy was born. His father was a shoemaker, and his mother was a laundress. The son was named Hans Christian. He grew up silent and thoughtful, loved to invent unprecedented stories about himself. So, when Hans learned that the earth was round, he told his girlfriend that soon a Chinese prince living on the opposite side of the globe would dig an underground passage into their town and take him to his kingdom. His comrades often laughed at the fantasies of this nice guy, but they never offended him.
Father Hans had golden hands - he made all the household utensils himself and made toys for his son. In his free hours, he read La Fontaine's fables and other books to Hans. One day, father and son built a puppet theater with wooden actors. The boy enthusiastically sewed costumes for them (his mother taught him this), skillfully cut out decorations from paper, and then presented comedies in his theater, playing all the roles alone.
When Hans Christian was 14 years old, he broke his clay piggy bank, took out 30 thalers from there and used this money to go to Copenhagen to seek his fortune. Hans dreamed of becoming an actor in a real theater. But he didn’t turn out to be an actor, although he played in one of the productions and was very happy that his name was on the posters posted around the city. Then the young man sat down to read Latin books to get a real education...
Andersen composed his first fairy tales after he became a famous poet. He believed that they would be interesting to read for both children and adults. These were the fairy tales "Flint", "The Princess and the Pea", "The Little Mermaid". At the same time (1835-1837) Andersen composed one of his wisest fairy tales - about the naked king.
Andersen traveled a lot, he traveled almost all over the world and brought his new fairy tales from everywhere. “There are no fairy tales better than those that life itself creates,” he often said. And this is probably why Andersen in fairy tales so often recalled his childhood in his hometown, where he, like all the boys, ran in wooden shoes, and his father’s house, where all the things were made by his father’s hands and were so familiar and familiar, that it seemed they could talk to each other.
The writer's friends believed that fairy tales would make his name immortal. And they were right. Very soon Andersen's fairy tales became known throughout the world. And now not only little Danes read them - these fairy tales have been translated into all languages of the earth.
You will hear one of them today. The same one that was once told to the boy Gialmar by the greatest connoisseur of fairy tales, Ole Lukoje. You probably know this nice, kind gnome. He walks silently, on tiptoe, so that adults do not see him - after all, he only appears to children. He will quietly approach a boy or girl, blow lightly on the back of his head, so that his head droops, and he will immediately want to sleep. And if the child was not capricious during the day, did not cry over trifles, Ole-Lukoye will open an umbrella with pictures over his crib, and the baby will dream of fascinating fairy tales all night, one more interesting than the other. And Ole Lukøje opens a boring black umbrella over the guilty children, and they, as Andersen says, “sleep like logs all night, and in the morning it turns out that they saw absolutely nothing in their dreams!”
But the boy Gialmar, apparently, really liked Ole Lukoya, and for a whole week the kind gnome opened an umbrella over him only with pictures, and fairy tales poured out of it. Hear for yourself what...
M. Belykh
No one in the world knows as many stories as Ole Lukoje. What a master of storytelling!
In the evening, when the children are sitting quietly at the table or on their benches, Ole Lukoje appears. Wearing only stockings, he quietly climbs the stairs, then carefully opens the door, silently steps into the room and lightly sprinkles sweet milk into the children’s eyes. The children's eyelids begin to stick together, and they can no longer see Ole, and he creeps up behind them and begins to blow lightly on the back of their heads. If it blows, their heads will become heavy. It doesn’t hurt at all - Ole-Lukoje has no malicious intent; he only wants the children to calm down, and for this they certainly need to be put to bed! Well, he puts them to bed, and then he starts telling stories.
When the children fall asleep, Ole-Lukoje sits down on the bed with them. He is dressed wonderfully: he is wearing a silk caftan, but it is impossible to say what color - it is blue, then green, then red, depending on which direction Ole turns. Under his arms he has an umbrella: one with pictures - he opens it over good children, and then they dream of fairy tales all night, the other is very simple, smooth - he opens it over bad children: well, they sleep all night like the dead , and in the morning it turns out that they saw absolutely nothing in their dreams!
Let's hear about how Ole Lukoje visited one boy, Hjalmar, every evening and told him stories! This will be seven whole stories: there are seven days in a week.
Monday
Well,” said Ole-Lukoje, putting Hjalmar to bed, “now let’s decorate the room!”
And in an instant, all the indoor flowers turned into large trees that stretched their long branches along the walls to the ceiling, and the whole room turned into a wonderful gazebo. The branches of the trees were strewn with flowers; each flower was better in beauty and smell than a rose, and in taste (if only you wanted to try it) sweeter than jam; the fruits shone like gold. There were also donuts on the trees that almost burst from the raisin filling. It’s just a miracle what it is!
Suddenly, terrible groans arose from the desk drawer where Yalmar’s school supplies lay.
What is there? - said Ole-Lukoje, went and pulled out the drawer.
It turns out that it was the slate board that was torn and thrown: an error had crept into the solution of the problem written on it, and all the calculations were ready to fall apart; The slate was jumping and jumping on its string like a dog: he really wanted to help the cause, but he couldn’t. Hjalmar’s notebook also moaned loudly, it was simply terrible to listen to it! On each page there were large letters, and next to them small ones, and so on in a whole column, one under the other - this was the cursive; others walked along the side, imagining that they were holding just as firmly. Hjalmar wrote them, and they seemed to trip over the rulers on which they were supposed to stand.
This is how you should behave! - said the copybook. - Like this, with a slight tilt to the right!
“Oh, we would be glad,” answered Yalmar’s letters, “but we can’t!” We are so bad!
So you need to be tightened up a little! - said Ole-Lukoje.
Oh, No! - they shouted and straightened up so that it was pleasant to watch.
Well, now we have no time for stories! - said Ole-Lukoje. - Let's practice! One-two! One-two!
And he completed all the letters of Yalmar so that they stood straight and cheerfully, like your copybook. But in the morning, when Ole Lukoje left and Hjalmar woke up, they looked as pitiful as before.
Tuesday
As soon as Hjalmar lay down, Ole Lukoye touched the furniture with his magic sprinkler, and all the things immediately began to chatter, and they all chatted about themselves, except the spittoon; This one was silent and angry to herself at their vanity: they talk only about themselves and about themselves and don’t even think about the one who stands so modestly in the corner and allows herself to be spat on!
Above the chest of drawers hung a large picture in a gilded frame; it depicted a beautiful area: tall old trees, grass, flowers and a wide river running past the palaces, beyond the forest, into the distant sea.
Ole Lukoje touched the painting with a magic sprinkler, and the birds painted on it began to sing, the branches of the trees moved, and the clouds rushed across the sky; you could even see their shadow gliding along the ground.
Then Ole lifted Hjalmar up to the frame, and the boy stood with his feet straight in the tall grass. The sun was shining on him through the branches of the trees, he ran to the water and sat down in a boat that was swaying near the shore. The boat was painted red and white, the sails glittered like silver, and six swans with golden crowns on their necks and shining blue stars on their heads drew the boat along green forests, where the trees told of robbers and witches, and the flowers told of lovely little elves and about what they heard from the butterflies.
The most wonderful fish with silver and golden scales swam behind the boat, diving and splashing their tails in the water; red and blue, large and small birds flew behind Yalmar in two long lines; mosquitoes danced, and cockchafers buzzed:
“Zhuu!” Zhuu!”; everyone wanted to see Hjalmar off, and everyone had a story ready for him.
Yes, that was swimming!
The forests grew denser and darker, then became like beautiful gardens, illuminated by the sun and dotted with flowers. Large crystal and marble palaces rose along the banks of the river; princesses stood on their balconies, and these were all girls familiar to Yalmar, with whom he often played.
Each was holding in her right hand a nice sugared gingerbread pig - something you rarely buy from a merchant. Hjalmar, sailing by, grabbed one end of the gingerbread, the princess held tightly to the other, and the gingerbread broke in half; everyone received their share: Hjalmar - more, the princess - less. Little princes stood guard at all the palaces; they saluted Hjalmar with golden sabers and showered him with raisins and tin soldiers - this is what real princes mean!
Hjalmar sailed through the forests, through some huge halls and cities... He also sailed through the city where his old nanny lived, who carried him in her arms when he was still a baby, and loved her pet very much. And then he saw her: she bowed, sent him air kisses with her hand and sang a pretty song that she herself composed and sent to Yalmar:
My Hjalmar, I remember you
Almost every day, every hour!
I can’t say how much I wish
To see you again at least once!
I rocked you in the cradle,
Taught me to walk and talk
She kissed me on the cheeks and forehead.
Because I can't love you!
And the birds sang along with her, the flowers danced, and the old willows nodded, as if Ole Lukoje was telling them a story.
Well, it was raining! Hjalmar heard this terrible noise even in his sleep; when Ole-Lukoje opened the window, it turned out that the water was level with the window sill. The whole lake! But a most magnificent ship moored to the house itself.
Do you want to take a walk, Hjalmar? - asked Ole. - You will visit foreign lands at night, and by morning you will be home again!
And so Hjalmar, dressed in festive style, found himself on the ship. The weather immediately cleared; They sailed through the streets, past the church, and found themselves in the middle of a continuous huge lake. Finally they sailed so far that the land was completely hidden from view. A flock of storks rushed across the sky; they, too, gathered in foreign warm lands and flew in a long line, one after another. They had been on the road for many, many days, and one of them was so tired that his wings refused to serve him. He flew behind everyone, then fell behind and began to fall lower and lower on his outstretched wings, so he flapped them once, twice, but in vain... Soon he touched the mast of the ship. slid along the rigging and - bang! - fell straight onto the deck.
Young picked him up and put him in the poultry house with the chickens, ducks and turkeys. The poor stork stood and looked around sadly.
Wow! - said the chickens.
And the Indian rooster pouted and asked the stork who he was; The ducks backed away, pushing each other with their wings, and quacked: “Fool! Fool-cancer!”
The stork told them about hot Africa, about the pyramids and ostriches that rush across the desert with the speed of wild horses, but the ducks did not understand anything and again began to push one another:
Well, aren't you a fool?
Of course you are a fool! - said the Indian rooster and muttered angrily.
The stork fell silent and began to think about his Africa.
What wonderful thin legs you have! - said the Indian rooster. - How much is an arshin?
Crack! Crack! Crack! - the laughing ducks quacked, but the stork seemed not to have heard.
You could laugh with us too! - the Indian rooster said to the stork. - That was a very funny thing to say! Why, it’s too low for him! And in general it cannot be said that he is distinguished by his understanding. Well, let's amuse ourselves!
And the chickens cackled, the ducks quacked, and it amused them terribly.
But Hjalmar went up to the poultry house, opened the door, beckoned to the stork, and it jumped out onto the deck to join him - he had already managed to rest. The stork seemed to bow to Hjalmar as a sign of gratitude, flap his wide wings and fly to warmer lands. The chickens cackled, the ducks quacked, and the Indian rooster puffed up so much that his comb was filled with blood.
Tomorrow they will make soup out of you! - said Hjalmar and woke up again in his small bed.
They made a glorious journey at night from Ole Lukoje!
Thursday
You know? - said Ole-Lukoje. - Do not be scared! I'll show you the mouse now! - Indeed, he had a pretty mouse in his hand. - She came to invite you to the wedding! Two mice are going to get married tonight. They live under the floor of your mother's closet. Wonderful room, they say!
How can I get through the small hole in the floor? - asked Hjalmar.
Rely on me! - said Ole-Lukoje. He touched the boy with his magic spray, and Yalmar suddenly began to shrink, shrink, and finally became the size of a finger.
Now you can borrow a uniform from the tin soldier. In my opinion, such an outfit will suit you quite well: the uniform is so beautiful, and you are going on a visit!
Fine! - Yalmar agreed, changed clothes and became like an exemplary tin soldier.
Would you like to sit in your mother's thimble? - the mouse said to Yalmar. - I will have the honor to take you.
Oh, what a worry for the lady! - said Hjalmar, and they went to the mouse wedding.
Having slipped through a hole gnawed by mice in the floor, they first found themselves in a long narrow corridor, here it was just possible to get through in a thimble. The corridor was brightly lit by rotten buildings.
Isn't it a wonderful smell? - asked the mouse-driver. - The entire corridor is greased with lard! What could be better?
Finally we reached the hall where the wedding was celebrated. To the right, whispering and laughing, stood the mouse-ladies, to the left, twirling their mustaches with their paws, stood the mouse-gentlemen, and in the middle, on a eaten-out rind of cheese, stood the bride and groom themselves, kissing in front of everyone. Well, they were engaged and getting ready to get married.
And the guests kept coming and coming; the mice almost crushed each other to death, and so the happy couple were pushed back to the very doors, so that no one else could enter or leave. The hall, like the corridor, was all greased with lard; there was no other treat; and for dessert, the guests were surrounded by a pea, on which one relative of the newlyweds had gnawed out their names, that is, of course, just the first letters. It’s amazing, and that’s all!
All the mice declared that the wedding was great and that they had a very pleasant time.
Hjalmar went home. He had the opportunity to visit noble society, although he had to shrink down and put on the uniform of a tin soldier.
Friday
I just can’t believe how many older people there are who are desperate to get me to join them! - said Ole-Lukoje. - Those who have done something bad especially want this. “Dear, dear Ole,” they tell me, “we simply cannot close our eyes, we lie awake all night long and see all our bad deeds around us. They, like nasty little trolls, sit on the edges of the bed and splash boiling water on us. If only you could come and drive them away. We'd love to pay you, Ole! - they add with a deep sigh. - Good night, Ole! Money on the window!” What do I care about money! I don't come to anyone for money!
What are we going to do tonight? - asked Hjalmar.
Would you like to attend a wedding again? Just not like yesterday. Your sister's big doll, the one dressed as a boy and called Herman, wants to marry the doll Bertha; And today is the doll’s birthday, and therefore a lot of gifts are being prepared!
I know I know! - said Hjalmar. - As soon as the dolls need a new dress, the sister now celebrates their birth or wedding. This has already happened a hundred times!
Yes, and tonight will be the hundred and first, and therefore the last! That’s why something extraordinary is being prepared. Look at this!
Hjalmar looked at the table. There stood a cardboard house: the windows were lighted, and all the tin soldiers held guns on guard. The bride and groom sat thoughtfully on the floor, leaning against the table leg: yes, they had something to think about! Ole Lukoje, dressed in his grandmother’s black skirt, married them.
Then the newlyweds received gifts, but refused the treat: they were full of their love.
Well, shall we go to the dacha now or go abroad? - asked the young man.
An experienced traveler, a swallow, and an old hen, who had already been a hen five times, were invited to the council. The swallow told about warm lands where juicy, heavy clusters of grapes ripen, where the air is so soft, and the mountains are colored with colors that they have no idea about here.
But our curly cabbage is not there! - said the chicken. - Once I spent the summer in the village with all my chickens; there was a whole heap of sand in which we could rummage and dig as much as we wanted! We also had access to the cabbage garden! Oh, how green she was! Don't know. What could be more beautiful!
Why, the heads of cabbage are as similar as two peas in a pod! - said the swallow. “Besides, the weather here is so often bad.”
Well, you can get used to it! - said the chicken.
And how cold it is here! Just look, you'll freeze! It's terribly cold!
That's what's good for cabbage! - said the chicken. - Yes, in the end, it’s warm here too! After all, four years ago, summer lasted for five whole weeks! Yes, what a heat it was! Everyone was suffocating! By the way, we don’t have poisonous creatures like you do there! There are no robbers either! You have to be a renegade not to think our country is the best in the world! Such a person is not worthy to live in it! - Then the chicken started crying. - I also traveled, of course! Traveled twelve whole miles in a barrel! And there is no pleasure in traveling!
Yes, the chicken is quite a worthy person! - said the Bertha doll. - I also don’t like driving through the mountains at all - up and down! No, we will move to the dacha in the village, where there is a sand pile, and we will walk in the cabbage garden.
That's what they decided on.
Saturday
Will you tell me today? - Hjalmar asked as soon as Ole-Lukoje put him to bed.
No time today! - Ole answered and opened his beautiful umbrella over the boy. - Look at these Chinese!
The umbrella looked like a large Chinese bowl, painted with blue trees and narrow bridges on which little Chinese stood and nodded their heads.
Today we will need to dress up the whole world for tomorrow! - continued Ole. - Tomorrow is a holiday, Sunday! I need to go to the bell tower to see if the church dwarfs have cleaned all the bells, otherwise they won’t ring well tomorrow; then you need to go to the field to see if the wind has swept away the dust from the grass and leaves. The most difficult work is still ahead: we need to remove all the stars from the sky and clean them. I collect them in my apron, but I have to number each star and each hole where it sat, so that later I can put each one in its place, otherwise they won’t hold on and will fall out of the sky one after another!
Listen to me, Mr. Ole-Lukoje! - an old portrait hanging on the wall suddenly said. - I am Yalmar’s great-grandfather and I am very grateful to you for telling the boy fairy tales; but you must not distort his concepts. Stars cannot be removed from the sky and cleaned. Stars are the same celestial bodies as our Earth, that’s why they are good!
Thank you, great-grandfather! - answered Ole-Lukoye. - Thank you! You are the head of the family, the ancestor, but I’m still older than you! I'm an old heathen; The Romans and Greeks called me the god of dreams! I have had and still have entry into the most noble houses and I know how to deal with both large and small. Now you can tell it yourself!
And Ole-Lukoje left, taking his umbrella under his arm.
Well, you can’t even express your opinion! - said the old portrait. Then Hjalmar woke up.
Sunday
Good evening! - said Ole-Lukoje. Hjalmar nodded to him, jumped up and turned his great-grandfather’s portrait to face the wall so that he would not interfere in the conversation again.
Now tell me the story about five green peas born in one pod, about a rooster's leg that looked after a chicken's leg, and about a darning needle that imagined itself to be a sewing needle.
Well, no, a little of the good stuff! - said Ole-Lukoje. - I better show you something. I'll show you my brother, his name is also Ole-Lukoje. But he knows only two fairy tales: one is incomparably good, and the other is so terrible that... no, it’s impossible to even say how!
Here Ole-Lukoje lifted Hjalmar, brought him to the window and said:
Now you will see my brother, the other Ole Lukoje. The caftan on him is all embroidered with silver, like your hussar uniform; a black velvet cloak flutters behind your shoulders! Look how he gallops!
And Hjalmar saw another Ole-Lukoje rushing at full speed and putting both old and young on his horse. He planted some in front of him, others behind; but first I asked everyone:
What grades do you have for behavior?
Good ones! - everyone answered.
Show me! - he said.
I had to show it; and so he sat those who had excellent or good marks in front of him and told them a wonderful fairy tale, and those who had mediocre or bad marks - behind him, and these had to listen to a terrible fairy tale. They shook with fear, cried and wanted to jump off the horse, but they couldn’t - they immediately grew tightly to the saddle.
And I'm not at all afraid of him! - said Hjalmar.
And there is nothing to be afraid of! - said Ole. - Just make sure you always have good grades!
This is instructive! - muttered the great-grandfather's portrait. - Still, it doesn’t hurt to express your opinion sometimes.
He was very pleased.
That's the whole story about Ole Lukoya! And in the evening, let him tell you something else.
No one in the world knows as many stories as Ole Lukoje. What a master of storytelling!
In the evening, when the children are sitting quietly at the table or on their benches, Ole Lukoje appears. Wearing only stockings, he quietly climbs the stairs, then carefully opens the door, silently steps into the room and lightly sprinkles sweet milk into the children’s eyes. The children's eyelids begin to stick together, and they can no longer see Ole, and he creeps up behind them and begins to blow lightly on the back of their heads. If it blows, their heads will become heavy. It doesn’t hurt at all - Ole-Lukoje has no malicious intent; he only wants the children to calm down, and for this they certainly need to be put to bed! Well, he puts them to bed, and then he starts telling stories.
When the children fall asleep, Ole-Lukoje sits down on the bed with them. He is dressed wonderfully: he is wearing a silk caftan, but it is impossible to say what color - it is blue, then green, then red, depending on which direction Ole turns. Under his arms he has an umbrella: one with pictures - he opens it over good children, and then they dream of fairy tales all night, the other is very simple, smooth - he opens it over bad children: well, they sleep all night like the dead , and in the morning it turns out that they saw absolutely nothing in their dreams!
Let's hear about how Ole Lukoje visited one boy, Hjalmar, every evening and told him stories! This will be seven whole stories: there are seven days in a week.
Monday
Well,” said Ole-Lukoje, putting Hjalmar to bed, “now let’s decorate the room!”
And in an instant, all the indoor flowers turned into large trees that stretched their long branches along the walls to the ceiling, and the whole room turned into a wonderful gazebo. The branches of the trees were strewn with flowers; each flower was better in beauty and smell than a rose, and in taste (if only you wanted to try it) sweeter than jam; the fruits shone like gold. There were also donuts on the trees that almost burst from the raisin filling. It’s just a miracle what it is!
Suddenly, terrible groans arose from the desk drawer where Yalmar’s school supplies lay.
What is there? - said Ole-Lukoje, went and pulled out the drawer.
It turns out that it was the slate board that was torn and thrown: an error had crept into the solution of the problem written on it, and all the calculations were ready to fall apart; The slate was jumping and jumping on its string like a dog: he really wanted to help the cause, but he couldn’t. Hjalmar’s notebook also moaned loudly, it was simply terrible to listen to it! On each page there were large letters, and next to them small ones, and so on in a whole column, one under the other - this was the cursive; others walked along the side, imagining that they were holding just as firmly. Hjalmar wrote them, and they seemed to trip over the rulers on which they were supposed to stand.
This is how you should behave! - said the copybook. - Like this, with a slight tilt to the right!
“Oh, we would be glad,” answered Yalmar’s letters, “but we can’t!” We are so bad!
So you need to be tightened up a little! - said Ole-Lukoje.
Oh, No! - they shouted and straightened up so that it was pleasant to watch.
Well, now we have no time for stories! - said Ole-Lukoje. - Let's practice! One-two! One-two!
And he completed all the letters of Yalmar so that they stood straight and cheerfully, like your copybook. But in the morning, when Ole Lukoje left and Hjalmar woke up, they looked as pitiful as before.
Tuesday
As soon as Hjalmar lay down, Ole Lukoye touched the furniture with his magic sprinkler, and all the things immediately began to chatter, and they all chatted about themselves, except the spittoon; This one was silent and angry to herself at their vanity: they talk only about themselves and about themselves and don’t even think about the one who stands so modestly in the corner and allows herself to be spat on!
Above the chest of drawers hung a large picture in a gilded frame; it depicted a beautiful area: tall old trees, grass, flowers and a wide river running past the palaces, beyond the forest, into the distant sea.
Ole Lukoje touched the painting with a magic sprinkler, and the birds painted on it began to sing, the branches of the trees moved, and the clouds rushed across the sky; you could even see their shadow gliding along the ground.
Then Ole lifted Hjalmar up to the frame, and the boy stood with his feet straight in the tall grass. The sun was shining on him through the branches of the trees, he ran to the water and sat down in a boat that was swaying near the shore. The boat was painted red and white, the sails glittered like silver, and six swans with golden crowns on their necks and shining blue stars on their heads drew the boat along green forests, where the trees told of robbers and witches, and the flowers told of lovely little elves and about what they heard from the butterflies.
The most wonderful fish with silver and golden scales swam behind the boat, diving and splashing their tails in the water; red and blue, large and small birds flew behind Yalmar in two long lines; mosquitoes danced, and cockchafers buzzed:
That's
Yes, that was swimming!
The forests grew denser and darker, then became like beautiful gardens, illuminated by the sun and dotted with flowers. Large crystal and marble palaces rose along the banks of the river; princesses stood on their balconies, and these were all girls familiar to Yalmar, with whom he often played.
Each was holding in her right hand a nice sugared gingerbread pig - something you rarely buy from a merchant. Hjalmar, sailing by, grabbed one end of the gingerbread, the princess held tightly to the other, and the gingerbread broke in half; everyone received their share: Hjalmar - more, the princess - less. Little princes stood guard at all the palaces; they saluted Hjalmar with golden sabers and showered him with raisins and tin soldiers - this is what real princes mean!
Hjalmar sailed through the forests, through some huge halls and cities... He also sailed through the city where his old nanny lived, who carried him in her arms when he was still a baby, and loved her pet very much. And then he saw her: she bowed, sent him air kisses with her hand and sang a pretty song that she herself composed and sent to Yalmar:
My Hjalmar, I remember you
“Zhuu!” Zhuu!”; everyone wanted to see Hjalmar off, and everyone had a story ready for him.
Almost every day, every hour!
I can’t say how much I wish
To see you again at least once!
I rocked you in the cradle,
Taught me to walk and talk
She kissed me on the cheeks and forehead.
And the birds sang along with her, the flowers danced, and the old willows nodded, as if Ole Lukoje was telling them a story.
Because I can't love you!
Well, it was raining! Hjalmar heard this terrible noise even in his sleep; when Ole-Lukoje opened the window, it turned out that the water was level with the window sill. The whole lake! But a most magnificent ship moored to the house itself.
Do you want to take a walk, Hjalmar? - asked Ole. - You will visit foreign lands at night, and by morning you will be home again!
And so Hjalmar, dressed in festive style, found himself on the ship. The weather immediately cleared; They sailed through the streets, past the church, and found themselves in the middle of a continuous huge lake. Finally they sailed so far that the land was completely hidden from view. A flock of storks rushed across the sky; they, too, gathered in foreign warm lands and flew in a long line, one after another. They had been on the road for many, many days, and one of them was so tired that his wings refused to serve him. He flew behind everyone, then fell behind and began to fall lower and lower on his outstretched wings, so he flapped them once, twice, but in vain... Soon he touched the mast of the ship. slid along the rigging and - bang! - fell straight onto the deck.
Young picked him up and put him in the poultry house with the chickens, ducks and turkeys. The poor stork stood and looked around sadly.
Wow! - said the chickens.
And the Indian rooster pouted and asked the stork who he was; The ducks backed away, pushing each other with their wings, and quacked: “Fool! Fool-cancer!”
The stork told them about hot Africa, about the pyramids and ostriches that rush across the desert with the speed of wild horses, but the ducks did not understand anything and again began to push one another:
Well, aren't you a fool?
Of course you are a fool! - said the Indian rooster and muttered angrily.
The stork fell silent and began to think about his Africa.
What wonderful thin legs you have! - said the Indian rooster. - How much is an arshin?
Crack! Crack! Crack! - the laughing ducks quacked, but the stork seemed not to have heard.
You could laugh with us too! - the Indian rooster said to the stork. - That was a very funny thing to say! Why, it’s too low for him! And in general it cannot be said that he is distinguished by his understanding. Well, let's amuse ourselves!
And the chickens cackled, the ducks quacked, and it amused them terribly.
But Hjalmar went up to the poultry house, opened the door, beckoned to the stork, and it jumped out onto the deck to join him - he had already managed to rest. The stork seemed to bow to Hjalmar as a sign of gratitude, flap his wide wings and fly to warmer lands. The chickens cackled, the ducks quacked, and the Indian rooster puffed up so much that his comb was filled with blood.
Tomorrow they will make soup out of you! - said Hjalmar and woke up again in his small bed.
They made a glorious journey at night from Ole Lukoje!
Thursday
You know? - said Ole-Lukoje. - Do not be scared! I'll show you the mouse now! - Indeed, he had a pretty mouse in his hand. - She came to invite you to the wedding! Two mice are going to get married tonight. They live under the floor of your mother's closet. Wonderful room, they say!
How can I get through the small hole in the floor? - asked Hjalmar.
Rely on me! - said Ole-Lukoje. He touched the boy with his magic spray, and Yalmar suddenly began to shrink, shrink, and finally became the size of a finger.
Now you can borrow a uniform from the tin soldier. In my opinion, such an outfit will suit you quite well: the uniform is so beautiful, and you are going on a visit!
Fine! - Yalmar agreed, changed clothes and became like an exemplary tin soldier.
Would you like to sit in your mother's thimble? - the mouse said to Yalmar. - I will have the honor to take you.
Oh, what a worry for the lady! - said Hjalmar, and they went to the mouse wedding.
Having slipped through a hole gnawed by mice in the floor, they first found themselves in a long narrow corridor, here it was just possible to get through in a thimble. The corridor was brightly lit by rotten buildings.
Isn't it a wonderful smell? - asked the mouse-driver. - The entire corridor is greased with lard! What could be better?
Finally we reached the hall where the wedding was celebrated. To the right, whispering and laughing, stood the mouse-ladies, to the left, twirling their mustaches with their paws, stood the mouse-gentlemen, and in the middle, on a eaten-out rind of cheese, stood the bride and groom themselves, kissing in front of everyone. Well, they were engaged and getting ready to get married.
And the guests kept coming and coming; the mice almost crushed each other to death, and so the happy couple were pushed back to the very doors, so that no one else could enter or leave. The hall, like the corridor, was all greased with lard; there was no other treat; and for dessert, the guests were surrounded by a pea, on which one relative of the newlyweds had gnawed out their names, that is, of course, just the first letters. It’s amazing, and that’s all!
All the mice declared that the wedding was great and that they had a very pleasant time.
Hjalmar went home. He had the opportunity to visit noble society, although he had to shrink down and put on the uniform of a tin soldier.
Friday
I just can’t believe how many older people there are who are desperate to get me to join them! - said Ole-Lukoje. - Those who have done something bad especially want this. “Dear, dear Ole,” they tell me, “we simply cannot close our eyes, we lie awake all night long and see all our bad deeds around us. They, like nasty little trolls, sit on the edges of the bed and splash boiling water on us. If only you could come and drive them away. We'd love to pay you, Ole! - they add with a deep sigh. - Good night, Ole! Money on the window!” What do I care about money! I don't come to anyone for money!
What are we going to do tonight? - asked Hjalmar.
Would you like to attend a wedding again? Just not like yesterday. Your sister's big doll, the one dressed as a boy and called Herman, wants to marry the doll Bertha; And today is the doll’s birthday, and therefore a lot of gifts are being prepared!
I know I know! - said Hjalmar. - As soon as the dolls need a new dress, the sister now celebrates their birth or wedding. This has already happened a hundred times!
Yes, and tonight will be the hundred and first, and therefore the last! That’s why something extraordinary is being prepared. Look at this!
Hjalmar looked at the table. There stood a cardboard house: the windows were lighted, and all the tin soldiers held guns on guard. The bride and groom sat thoughtfully on the floor, leaning against the table leg: yes, they had something to think about! Ole Lukoje, dressed in his grandmother’s black skirt, married them.
Then the newlyweds received gifts, but refused the treat: they were full of their love.
Well, shall we go to the dacha now or go abroad? - asked the young man.
An experienced traveler, a swallow, and an old hen, who had already been a hen five times, were invited to the council. The swallow told about warm lands where juicy, heavy clusters of grapes ripen, where the air is so soft, and the mountains are colored with colors that they have no idea about here.
But our curly cabbage is not there! - said the chicken. - Once I spent the summer in the village with all my chickens; there was a whole heap of sand in which we could rummage and dig as much as we wanted! We also had access to the cabbage garden! Oh, how green she was! Don't know. What could be more beautiful!
Why, the heads of cabbage are as similar as two peas in a pod! - said the swallow. “Besides, the weather here is so often bad.”
Well, you can get used to it! - said the chicken.
And how cold it is here! Just look, you'll freeze! It's terribly cold!
That's what's good for cabbage! - said the chicken. - Yes, in the end, it’s warm here too! After all, four years ago, summer lasted for five whole weeks! Yes, what a heat it was! Everyone was suffocating! By the way, we don’t have poisonous creatures like you do there! There are no robbers either! You have to be a renegade not to think our country is the best in the world! Such a person is not worthy to live in it! - Then the chicken started crying. - I also traveled, of course! Traveled twelve whole miles in a barrel! And there is no pleasure in traveling!
Yes, the chicken is quite a worthy person! - said the Bertha doll. - I also don’t like driving through the mountains at all - up and down! No, we will move to the dacha in the village, where there is a sand pile, and we will walk in the cabbage garden.
That's what they decided on.
Saturday
Will you tell me today? - Hjalmar asked as soon as Ole-Lukoje put him to bed.
No time today! - Ole answered and opened his beautiful umbrella over the boy. - Look at these Chinese!
The umbrella looked like a large Chinese bowl, painted with blue trees and narrow bridges on which little Chinese stood and nodded their heads.
Today we will need to dress up the whole world for tomorrow! - continued Ole. - Tomorrow is a holiday, Sunday! I need to go to the bell tower to see if the church dwarfs have cleaned all the bells, otherwise they won’t ring well tomorrow; then you need to go to the field to see if the wind has swept away the dust from the grass and leaves. The most difficult work is still ahead: we need to remove all the stars from the sky and clean them. I collect them in my apron, but I have to number each star and each hole where it sat, so that later I can put each one in its place, otherwise they won’t hold on and will fall out of the sky one after another!
Listen to me, Mr. Ole-Lukoje! - an old portrait hanging on the wall suddenly said. - I am Yalmar’s great-grandfather and I am very grateful to you for telling the boy fairy tales; but you must not distort his concepts. Stars cannot be removed from the sky and cleaned. Stars are the same celestial bodies as our Earth, that’s why they are good!
Thank you, great-grandfather! - answered Ole-Lukoye. - Thank you! You are the head of the family, the ancestor, but I’m still older than you! I'm an old heathen; The Romans and Greeks called me the god of dreams! I have had and still have entry into the most noble houses and I know how to deal with both large and small. Now you can tell it yourself!
And Ole-Lukoje left, taking his umbrella under his arm.
Well, you can’t even express your opinion! - said the old portrait. Then Hjalmar woke up.
Sunday
Good evening! - said Ole-Lukoje. Hjalmar nodded to him, jumped up and turned his great-grandfather’s portrait to face the wall so that he would not interfere in the conversation again.
Now tell me the story about five green peas born in one pod, about a rooster's leg that looked after a chicken's leg, and about a darning needle that imagined itself to be a sewing needle.
Well, no, a little of the good stuff! - said Ole-Lukoje. - I better show you something. I'll show you my brother, his name is also Ole-Lukoje. But he knows only two fairy tales: one is incomparably good, and the other is so terrible that... no, it’s impossible to even say how!
Here Ole-Lukoje lifted Hjalmar, brought him to the window and said:
Now you will see my brother, the other Ole Lukoje. The caftan on him is all embroidered with silver, like your hussar uniform; a black velvet cloak flutters behind your shoulders! Look how he gallops!
And Hjalmar saw another Ole-Lukoje rushing at full speed and putting both old and young on his horse. He planted some in front of him, others behind; but first I asked everyone:
What grades do you have for behavior?
Good ones! - everyone answered.
Show me! - he said.
I had to show it; and so he sat those who had excellent or good marks in front of him and told them a wonderful fairy tale, and those who had mediocre or bad marks - behind him, and these had to listen to a terrible fairy tale. They shook with fear, cried and wanted to jump off the horse, but they couldn’t - they immediately grew tightly to the saddle.
And I'm not at all afraid of him! - said Hjalmar.
And there is nothing to be afraid of! - said Ole. - Just make sure you always have good grades!
This is instructive! - muttered the great-grandfather's portrait. - Still, it doesn’t hurt to express your opinion sometimes.
He was very pleased.
Wednesday
That's the whole story about Ole Lukoya! And in the evening, let him tell you something else.
No one in the world knows as many fairy tales as Ole Lukoje knows. Here is a master of storytelling!
In the evening, when the children are sitting quietly at the table or on benches, Ole Lukoje appears. Wearing only stockings, he silently climbs the stairs, then carefully opens the door and splashes sweet milk into the children's eyes - in his hands he has a small syringe, which throws out the milk in a thin stream. Then everyone’s eyelids begin to stick together, and the children can no longer see Ole, and he sneaks up behind them and begins to blow lightly on the back of their heads. It will blow and the children's heads will droop. But it doesn’t hurt - Ole-Lukoje isn’t planning anything bad, he only wants the children to calm down, and they won’t calm down until you put them to bed. And as soon as they calm down, he begins to tell them stories.
So let's listen to how Ole Lukoje visited one little boy, Hjalmar, for a whole week, and told him fairy tales every evening. He told as many as seven fairy tales - there are seven days in a week.
Monday
- So! - said Ole-Lukoje, putting Hjalmar to bed. – First of all, I’ll decorate the room!
And so all the flowers in the pots instantly grew, became large trees and stretched their long branches to the very ceiling; the room turned into a wonderful gazebo. The branches of the trees were covered with flowers; and not a single flower was inferior to a rose in beauty and aroma, and the taste (if only you wanted to try them) was sweeter than jam; the fruits shone like gold. There were also crumpets growing on the trees that almost burst, they were so generously stuffed with raisins. Just a miracle! But suddenly loud groans were heard from the desk drawer where Hjalmar’s textbooks lay.
- What is there? – asked Ole-Lukoye and, going up to the table, pulled out a drawer.
It turned out that it was the slate board that was cracking and creaking: an error had crept into the solution of the problem written on it, and all the numbers were ready to scatter in all directions; The stylus, like a little dog, jumped and jumped on its string: he ardently wanted to help the cause, but he could not. Piteous moans also came from Hjalmar’s notebook, and it was scary to hear them. On each page of this notebook, at the beginning of each line, there were large and small letters next to each other - both of them were very beautiful. Those were copybooks. And next to them were others who imagined themselves equally beautiful. Hjalmar himself wrote them, and they actually fell onto the line drawn in pencil, instead of standing straight on it.
- This is how you should behave! - I learned the copybook. - Like this, with a slight tilt to the right!
“Oh, we would be glad,” answered Yalmar’s letters, “but we don’t know how!” We are so miserable!
- So you need to be tightened up a little! - said Ole-Lukoje.
- Oh no, no! – the letters shouted and immediately straightened up, just a sight for sore eyes!
- Well, now we have no time for fairy tales! – said Ole-Lukoje. - Let's practice! One-two! One-two!
And he trained Hjalmar’s letters so well that they now stood straight and slender, the way only letters in copybooks can stand. But when Ole Lukoye left and Hjalmar woke up in the morning, the letters again became as crooked as before.
No one in the world knows as many fairy tales as Ole Lukoje knows. What a master of storytelling!
In the evening, when the children are sitting quietly at the table or on their benches, Ole Lukøje appears. He will be wearing only stockings and will quietly walk up the stairs; then he carefully opens the door, silently steps into the room and lightly sprinkles milk in the children’s eyes. He has a small syringe in his hands, and milk sprays out of it in a thin, thin stream. Then the children’s eyelids begin to stick together, and they can no longer see Ole, and he creeps up behind them and begins to blow lightly into the backs of their heads. It will blow, and their heads will now become heavy. There is no pain: Ole-Lukoje has no malicious intent; he only wants the children to calm down, and for this they certainly need to be put to bed! So he’ll put them to bed, and then he’ll start telling stories. When the children fall asleep, Ole-Lukoje sits down on the bed with them; he is dressed wonderfully - he is wearing a silk caftan, but it is impossible to say what color: it is blue, then green, then red, depending on which direction Ole turns. Under his arms he has an umbrella: one with pictures, which he opens over good children, and then they dream of the most wonderful fairy tales all night, and the other is completely simple, smooth, which he unfurls over bad children; These sleep all night like logs, and in the morning it turns out that they saw absolutely nothing in their dreams!
Let's listen to how Ole Lukoye visited one little boy Yalmar every evening and told him fairy tales! There will be seven whole fairy tales: there are seven days in a week.
Monday
“Well,” said Ole-Lukoje, putting Hjalmar to bed, “now let’s sort out the room!”
And in an instant, all the indoor flowers and plants grew into large trees, which stretched their long branches along the walls to the very ceiling; the whole room turned into the most wonderful gazebo. The branches of the trees were strewn with flowers; each flower was better in beauty and smell than a rose, and sweeter in taste than jam; the fruits shone like gold. There were also donuts on the trees that almost burst from the raisin filling. It’s just a miracle what it is! Suddenly, terrible groans arose from the desk drawer where Hjalmar’s school supplies lay.
- What is there! - said Ole-Lukoje, went and pulled out the drawer.
It turned out that it was the slate board that was torn and thrown: an error had crept into the solution of the problem written on it, and all the calculations were ready to fall apart; the slate jumped and jumped on its string like a dog; he really wanted to help the cause, but he couldn’t. Hjalmar’s notebook also groaned loudly; I was simply terrified listening to her! On each page, at the beginning of each line, there were wonderful large letters and small letters next to them - this was cursive; others walked nearby, imagining that they were holding just as firmly. Hjalmar himself wrote them, and they seemed to stumble over the rulers on which they should have stood.
- This is how you should behave! - said the copybook. - Like this, with a slight tilt to the right!
“Oh, we would be glad,” answered Yalmar’s letters, “but we can’t!” We are so bad!
- So I’ll treat you to baby powder! - said Ole-Lukoje.
- Oh, no, no! - they shouted and straightened up so that it was amazing!
- Well, now we have no time for fairy tales! - said Ole-Lukoje. - Let's practice! One-two! One-two!
And he brought the letters of Yalmar to the point that they stood straight and cheerfully, like any copybook. But when Ole Lukoje left and Hjalmar woke up in the morning, they looked as pitiful as before.
As soon as Hjalmar lay down, Ole Lukoye touched the room furniture with his magic syringe, and all the things immediately began to chatter among themselves; everything except the spittoon - she was silent and angry to herself at their vanity of talking only about themselves and about themselves and not even thinking about the one who stands so modestly in the corner and allows herself to be spat on!
Above the chest of drawers hung a large picture in a gilded frame; it depicted a beautiful area: tall, old trees, grass, flowers and a large river, running past wonderful palaces, beyond the forest, into the distant sea.
Ole-Lukoye touched the picture with a magic syringe, and the birds painted on it began to sing, the branches of the trees moved, and the clouds rushed across the sky; you could even see their shadow gliding across the picture.
Then Ole lifted Hjalmar up to the frame, and the boy stood with his feet straight in the tall grass. The sun was shining on him through the branches of the trees, he ran to the water and sat down in a boat that was swaying near the shore. The boat was painted red and white, the sails shone like silver, and six swans in golden crowns, with shining blue stars on their heads, drew the boat along the green forests, where the trees told about robbers and witches, and the flowers told about lovely little elves and what the butterflies told them.
The most wonderful fish with silver and golden scales swam behind the boat, diving and splashing their tails in the water; red, blue, large and small birds flew behind Yalmar in two long lines; mosquitoes danced, and cockchafers buzzed - everyone wanted to see Hjalmar off, and everyone had a fairy tale ready for him.
Yes, that's how swimming was!
The forests grew thicker and darker, and then became like the most wonderful gardens, illuminated by the sun and dotted with flowers. Along the banks of the river lay large crystal and marble palaces; princesses stood on their balconies, and these were all girls familiar to Yalmar, with whom he often played.
They all held out their hands to him, and each held in her right hand a nice sugared gingerbread pig. Yalmar, floating by, grabbed one end of the gingerbread, the princess held tightly to the other, and the gingerbread broke in half - everyone got their share, but Yalmar was bigger, the princess was smaller. Little princes stood guard at all the palaces; they saluted Hjalmar with golden sabers and showered raisins and tin soldiers with rain - this is what real princes mean!
Hjalmar sailed through the forests, through some huge halls and cities... He also sailed through the city where his old nanny lived, who nursed him when he was still a baby and loved him very much. And then he saw her: she bowed, sent him air kisses with her hand and sang a pretty song that she herself composed and sent to Yalmar:
My Hjalmar, I remember you
“Zhuu!” Zhuu!”; everyone wanted to see Hjalmar off, and everyone had a story ready for him.
Almost every day, every hour!
I can’t say how much I wish
To see you again at least once!
Taught me to walk, talk,
She kissed me on the cheeks and on the forehead,
Because I can't love you!
I love you, my dear angel!
May the Lord God be with you forever!
And the birds sang along with her, the flowers danced, and the old willows nodded their heads, as if Ole Lukoye was telling them a fairy tale.
Wednesday
Well, it was raining! Hjalmar heard this terrible noise even in his sleep; when Ole-Lukoje opened the window, it turned out that the water was level with the window. The whole lake! But a most magnificent ship moored to the house itself.
- Do you want to go for a ride, Hjalmar? - asked Ole. - You will visit foreign lands at night, and by morning you will be home again!
And so Hjalmar, dressed in festive style, found himself on the ship. The weather immediately cleared up, and they sailed through the streets, past the church - all around was a continuous huge lake. Finally they sailed so far that the land was completely hidden from view. A flock of storks rushed across the sky; they, too, gathered in foreign warm lands and flew in a long line, one after another. They had been on the road for many, many days, and one of them was so tired that his wings almost refused to serve him. He flew behind everyone, then fell behind and began to fall lower and lower on his outstretched wings, so he flapped them two more times, but all in vain! Soon he touched the ship's mast, slid along the rigging and - boom! - stood straight on the deck.
Young picked him up and put him in the poultry house with the chickens, ducks and turkeys. The poor stork stood and looked around sadly.
- Look what! - said the chickens.
And the turkey pouted as best he could and asked the stork who he was; the ducks backed away, pushed each other and quacked.
And the stork told them about hot Africa, about the pyramids and ostriches that rush across the desert with the speed of wild horses, but the ducks did not understand any of this and again began to push one another:
- Well, isn't he stupid?
- Of course, stupid! - said the turkey and muttered angrily. The stork fell silent and began to think about his Africa to himself.
- What wonderful thin legs you have! - said the turkey. - How much is an arshin?
- Quack! Crack! Crack! - the laughing ducks quacked, but the stork seemed not to have heard.
- You could laugh with us too! - the turkey said to the stork. - That was a very funny thing to say! Why, this is probably too low for him! In general, one cannot say that he is distinguished by his understanding! Well, let's amuse ourselves!
And the chickens cackled, the ducks quacked, and it amused them terribly.
But Hjalmar went up to the poultry house, opened the door, beckoned to the stork, and it jumped onto the deck with him - now he had time to rest. And so the stork seemed to bow to Yalmar as a sign of gratitude, flap his wide wings and fly to warmer lands. And the hens clucked, the ducks quacked, and the turkey puffed up so much that his comb was filled with blood.
- Tomorrow they will make soup from you! - said Hjalmar and woke up again in his small bed.
They made a glorious journey at night from Ole Lukoje!
Thursday
- You know? - said Ole-Lukoje. - Just don't be scared! I'll show you the mouse now! - Indeed, he had a very pretty mouse in his hand. - She came to invite you to the wedding! Two mice are going to get married tonight. They live under the floor of their mother's pantry. Wonderful room, they say!
- How can I get through the small hole in the floor? - asked Hjalmar.
- Rely on me! - said Ole-Lukoje. - You will become small with me.
And he touched the boy with his magic syringe. Hjalmar suddenly began to shrink, shrink, and finally became only the size of a finger.
- Now you can borrow a uniform from the tin soldier. I think this outfit will be quite suitable: the uniform is so beautiful, you’re going to visit!
- OK then! - Yalmar agreed and was dressed up with the most wonderful tin soldier.
- Would you like to sit in your mother's thimble! - the mouse said to Yalmar. - I will have the honor to take you.
- Oh, are you really going to worry yourself, young lady? - said Hjalmar, and they went to the mouse wedding.
Having slipped through a hole gnawed by mice in the floor, they first found themselves in a long narrow passage-corridor, in which it was just possible to pass in a thimble. The corridor was illuminated with rotten buildings.
- It's a wonderful smell, isn't it? - asked the mouse-driver. - The entire corridor is greased with lard! What could be better?
Finally we got to the hall where the wedding was celebrated. To the right, whispering and laughing among themselves, stood all the lady mice, and to the left, twirling their mustaches with their paws, were the gentleman mice. In the very middle, on a hollowed-out cheese rind, the bride and groom stood and kissed in front of everyone: they were engaged and were preparing to get married.
And the guests kept coming and coming; the mice almost crushed each other to death, and so the happy couple were placed right at the door, so that no one else could enter or leave. The hall, like the corridor, was all greased with lard; there was no other treat; in the form of dessert, the guests were surrounded by a pea, on which one relative of the newlyweds had chewed out their names, that is, of course, just the first two letters. It’s amazing, and that’s all!
All the mice declared that the wedding was magnificent and that the time had been very pleasant.
Hjalmar went home. He also had the chance to be in a noble company, but he had to cower down and put on the uniform of a tin soldier.
Friday
“I just can’t believe how many older people there are who are desperate to get me to join them!” - said Ole-Lukoje. - Those who have done something bad especially want this. “Dear, dear Ole,” they tell me, “we simply cannot close our eyes, we lie awake all night long and see all our bad deeds around us. They, like nasty little trolls, sit at the edges of the bed and splash boiling water on us. We would be happy to pay you, Ole,” they add with a deep sigh. - Good night, Ole! Money on the window! What do I care about money! I don't come to anyone for money!
- What should we take on tonight? - asked Hjalmar.
- Would you like to go to the wedding again? Just not like yesterday. Your sister's big doll, the one dressed as a boy and called Herman, wants to marry the doll Bertha; In addition, today is the doll's birthday and therefore many gifts are being prepared!
- I know I know! - said Hjalmar. - As soon as the dolls need a new dress, the sister now celebrates their birth or wedding. This has happened a hundred times!
- Yes, and tonight will be the one hundred and first and, therefore, the last! That’s why something extraordinary is being prepared. Look at this!
Hjalmar looked at the table. There was a cardboard house there; the windows were lighted, and all the tin soldiers held their guns on guard. The bride and groom sat thoughtfully on the floor, leaning against the table leg; Yes, they did have something to think about! Ole-Lukoje, dressed in his grandmother’s black skirt, married them, and all the room furniture sang, to the tune of the march, a funny song that he wrote in pencil:
Let's sing a little more friendly song,
Let it rush like the wind!
Although our couple, hey,
There will be no response.
They both stick out from the husky
On sticks without moving,
But their outfit is luxurious -
A feast for the eyes!
So let us glorify them with a song:
Hooray! Bride and groom!
Then the newlyweds received gifts, but refused everything edible: they were full of their love.
- Well, should we go to the dacha now or go abroad? - asked the young man.
A swallow and an old hen, who had already been a hen five times, were invited to the council. The swallow told about warm lands where juicy, heavy grapes ripen, where the air is so soft, and the mountains are colored with colors that they have no idea about here.
- But our green cabbage is not there! - said the chicken. - Once I spent the summer in the village with all my chickens; there was a whole heap of sand in which we could rummage and dig as much as we wanted! In addition, we were given access to the cabbage garden! Oh, how green she was! I don't know what could be more beautiful!
- But one head of cabbage is as similar to another as two peas in a pod! - said the swallow. “Besides, the weather here is so often bad.”
- Well, you can get used to it! - said the chicken.
- How cold it is here! Just look you'll freeze! It's terribly cold!
- That’s what’s good for cabbage! - said the chicken. - Yes, finally, it’s warm here too! After all, four years ago, summer lasted for five whole weeks! Yes, what a heat it was! Everyone was suffocating! By the way, we don’t have those poisonous animals like you have there! There are no robbers either! You have to be a worthless creature not to consider our country the best in the world! Such a creature is not worthy to live in it! - Then the chicken started crying. - I also traveled, of course! Traveled twelve whole miles in a barrel! And there is no pleasure in traveling!
- Yes, the chicken is quite a worthy person! - said the Bertha doll. - I also don’t like driving through the mountains at all - up and down, up and down! No, we will move to the dacha, to the village, where there is a sand pile, and we will walk in the cabbage garden.
That's what they decided on.
Saturday
-Are you going to tell me today? - Hjalmar asked as soon as Ole-Lukoje put him to bed.
- Today there is no time! - Ole answered and opened his beautiful umbrella over the boy. - Look at these Chinese!
The umbrella looked like a large Chinese bowl, painted with blue trees and narrow bridges on which little Chinese stood, nodding their heads.
- Today we will need to dress up the whole world for tomorrow! - continued Ole. - Tomorrow is a holy day, Sunday. I need to go to the bell tower to see if the church dwarfs have cleaned all the bells, otherwise they won’t ring well tomorrow; then you need to go to the field to see if the wind has swept away the dust from the grass and leaves. The most difficult work is still ahead: we need to remove all the stars from the sky and clean them. I collect them in my apron, but I have to number each star and each hole where it sat in order to then place them properly, otherwise they will not hold up well and will fall out of the sky one after another!
- Listen to me, Mr. Ole-Lukoje! - an old portrait hanging on the wall suddenly said. “I am Yalmar’s great-grandfather and I am very grateful to you for telling the boy fairy tales, but you should not distort his concepts. Stars cannot be removed from the sky and cleaned. The stars are the same luminaries as our earth, that’s why they are good!
- Thank you, great-grandfather! - answered Ole-Lukoye. - Thank you! You are the head of the family, the “old head,” but I’m still older than you! I'm an old heathen; The Romans and Greeks called me the god of dreams! I have had and still have access to the most noble houses and I know how to deal with both big and small! Now you can tell it yourself!
And Ole-Lukoje left, taking his umbrella under his arm.
- Well, you can’t even express your opinion! - said the old portrait.
Then Hjalmar woke up.
Sunday
- Good evening! - said Ole-Lukoje.
Hjalmar nodded his head to him, jumped up and turned his great-grandfather’s portrait to face the wall so that he would not interfere in the conversation again.
“Now tell me stories about five green peas born in one pod, about a rooster’s leg that looked after a chicken’s leg, and about a darning needle that imagined itself to be a sewing needle.”
- Well, a little bit of good stuff! - said Ole-Lukoje. - I better show you something. I will show you my brother, his name is also Ole-Lukoje, but he never appears to anyone more than once in his life. When he appears, he takes the man, puts him on his horse and tells him fairy tales. He knows only two: one is so incomparably good that no one can even imagine, and the other is so terrible that... no, it’s impossible to even say how!
Here Ole-Lukoje lifted Hjalmar, brought him to the window and said:
- Now you will see my brother, the other Ole-Lukoje. People also call it death. You see, he’s not at all as scary as they make him out to be in pictures! The caftan on it is all embroidered with silver, like your hussar uniform; a black velvet cloak flutters behind your shoulders! Look how he gallops!
And Hjalmar saw how another Ole-Lukoje rushed at full speed and put both old and young on his horse. He seated some in front of him, others behind him, but first he always asked:
- What are your marks for behavior?
- Good ones! - everyone answered.
- Show me! - he said.
He had to show them, and he sat those who had excellent or good marks in front of him and told them a wonderful fairy tale, and those who had mediocre or bad marks - behind him, and these had to listen to a terrible fairy tale. They shook with fear, cried and wanted to jump off the horse, but they couldn’t: they immediately grew firmly attached to the saddle.
- But death is the most wonderful Ole-Lukoje! - said Hjalmar. - And I’m not at all afraid of him!
- Yes, and there is nothing to be afraid of! - said Ole. - Just make sure that you always have good grades for your behavior!
- Yes, this is instructive! - muttered the great-grandfather's portrait. - Still, it doesn’t hurt to express your opinion sometimes!
He was very pleased.
That's the whole story about Ole Lukoya! And in the evening, let him tell you something else.