Russian folk tale The Wolf and the Calf. Mikhail Lipskerov - how a wolf was a mother to a calf and other favorite fairy tales

10.11.202027.05.2017

Hello. When compiling such a list of honor, it would be rude to bypass our native lands. And not only because, they say, this is your homeland, which means it’s closer and more understandable. No. It's much deeper here. This is precisely because such creations are so instructive that they truly deserve to be known to the whole world.

“The Wolf and the Calf” is a short (about 10 minutes), puppet story about how a lonely, middle-aged gray predator showed himself, and goodness returned to him

That's all Isn't this enough? The wolf brought the calf home and wanted to eat it, but his hand (paw) did not rise

So that it doesn’t seem too much, let’s look at all this from the other side

Wolf wild predator. If he has strayed from the pack and lives alone, then his life is a complete nightmare. He is neither a leader nor a subordinate, he is an eternal wanderer, the master of his own destiny. Moreover, he is constantly hungry and angry. Attacking all year round against deer, elk, roe deer, wild boar, antelope, sheep, cows, horses, hares, gophers, small rodents and even dogs, the wolf is ruthless and merciless. He is a predator and that says it all People are rightly afraid of him and protect their homes as best they can

This is all true and there is no escape from it. And our wolf is the same. But Look at him. He stole the calf, brought it home to eat it, and took pity on it. Without understanding it or realizing it, he became his dad!

“What are we doing, dad?”

“Don’t you see, or what? We wash the calf.”

The invented excuse, they say, let him grow up, and then we’ll see, already implied care, love and care! I would like to eat it right away!.. And then the neighbors constantly pestered me. Either a fox will come in, or a boar, or even the bear himself will come. And give everyone a piece. Oh, cunning ones. The wolf caught and must share? Singles have no such rule! Since he is the owner, he himself has the right to decide what to do with him

And he decided But the baby wants to eat. And the house is not tidy. And these beggars came again Here the wolf showed himself in all his glory

Sparkling humor, funny scenes, natural instincts, parental education, willpower, kindness and manifestation of character that’s what the Soviet cartoon “The Wolf and the Calf” is! Some viewers learn good things, others parse the story into quotes, others pick up the book “Mu-mu” by I. S. Turgenev, mentioned in the story (well, how could it be otherwise? It’s curious, after all!), in a word, everyone finds that something of your own. And that's the main thing!

And on my own behalf, I’ll add that when such good cartoons exist, willy-nilly, you begin to think about the fact that, no matter what the creature is, the main thing is its inner side. And thanks to director Mikhail Kamenetsky and screenwriter Mikhail Lipskerov for once again confirming this.

Thank you for your attention.

Based on the fairy tale by M. Lipskerov “Like a wolf was a mother to a calf”
and my favorite cartoon “The Wolf and the Calf.”

In the dense forest lived the Gray Wolf,
He was always hungry -
He caught sheep, knew a lot about hares...
Lived without a pack, free...

One day he is at the old man's
Stole a baby calf...
He didn’t eat it, he said: “Live for now!
At least you grow up a little...

You are very small and good!
Born yesterday, apparently...
Now you'll look like a bull -
And you won’t be ashamed to eat...”

“Children need cleanliness” -
Cleaned up the house
And put the child to bed
At the stove on straw...

The little one cried: “I want to eat!”
Give me something to eat, mom!
I would like some milk... at least a little
And hay and sour cream!

“Am I mom? - the wolf frowned -
Yes, it seems like a man, "
But so that the little calf is silent,
I took a jar and a basket -

I ran to the goat in the village
For milk for the baby...
And there was a boar at the gate,
Looked through the windows:

“Did you take the calf for fattening?
I'll wait - we'll divide it!
Did you want to eat everything alone, in silence?
Animals need to share!

You forgot the fox, brother,
And a brown bear!
They also want to eat -
We haven’t eaten for three weeks..."

The wolf rushed about: “Small heifers...
I'll fatten you up first...
Well, for now, keep quiet about that!”
My stomach growled...

In the village he took milk,
And gave the baby something to drink...
“The calf has grown a little!
No, really! No jokes!"

And the baby again: “I want to eat!”
Give me something to eat, mom!”
“Now, baby, I’ll get busy!”
How stubborn you are!”

The wolf just left the threshold,
And there are his neighbors:
“Well, how ready is the heifer already?
Children grow up quickly!”

“Yes, the heifer is still quite small!
The baby is asking for food..."
Locked all the doors,
I took a bucket and a basket

I ran to the village again -
Get food "son"
After all, I didn’t plant potatoes myself,
No bread and saucepan...

In the village, grandfather chopped wood,
But suddenly my back was twisted...
The wolf helped his grandfather - he deserved it -
We made soup for “my son”!

The “chefs” have tried their best -
There are onions and potatoes in the stew!
Grandfather gave half a bucket to the calf
And a bread basket...

The wolf wrapped his nose with a rag,
Closed the bucket tighter,
And he ran into the forest to the calf:
“Hungry son...” - whispers...

The neighbors were waiting. All to him:
"Well? Is the calf ready?
Will it be too much for one -
The heifer is not a chicken!”

And the wolf fell in love with the calf,
How a father loves his son...
“He's mine! - shouts with all his might, -
I won’t let you ruin the kid!”

The wolf fought back and slipped into the house,
Closed all the windows, doors...
He pushed the bucket to the calf:
“Here, eat before you’re gone!”

Bear with fox and boar
Already crept up to the door -
They want to take the chick by force -
Animals smell prey...

Well, what about the calf? He is silent
I finished the stew with bread,
He grew up and became a bull -
Huge, strong, brave!

And the wolf defended his “son”,
But the strength was gone...
The bull came to the rescue!
The horns are like pitchforks!

From the sight of his menacing
The neighbors rushed away...
Having escaped from the sharp horns,
Forgot about lunch...

Well, the bull, having driven away the enemies,
He pressed himself close to the wolf: “Dad!”
With a smile, that “son” hugged
And gently slapped his paw...

...It doesn’t matter whether you’re a bull or a wolf,
Hungry or full,
Don't be cruel to the weak
And with the strong, he is a coward!
2012

Current page: 1 (book has 9 pages in total) [available reading passage: 7 pages]

Mikhail Lipskerov
How the Wolf Was a Mother to a Calf and Other Tales

* * *

Living toy

In one forest lived (and where else could she live) a hare family. Mom and three bunnies. Dad, of course, was there too, but where exactly he was is unknown. Most likely, he left for some manly business of his own.

In the morning the bunnies woke up, at least two of them, but the third continued to sleep. It was always difficult to wake him up. Perhaps he was shown some surprisingly interesting dreams that simply needed to be watched. But they finally pulled him out of the hole (den, den, cave - I don’t know what the hares’ home is called), and the little hares began to enjoy life. This concept includes studying rabbit cabbage, getting to know a beetle, trying to jump further than a grasshopper. For two of the bunnies, these classes are quite successful, but for the third, not very well. The only thing he managed to do was swallow the Bee, from which neither one nor the other received the slightest pleasure. The little hare barely cleared his throat, and the bee barely restrained herself from biting the little hare. Bees don't like to be swallowed. And then the Little Hare began to chase some Butterfly and came across a vegetable garden, which, as is typical for vegetable gardens, was located near the house.

And a girl lived in this house. History is silent about where her Mom and Dad were, but since they do not participate in our history, we are not interested in where they were. The girl was playing with dolls. Into a bear doll, a bunny doll, a doll doll. And she was terribly tired of all this. Because all these dolls were NOT ALIVE. And she really wanted to have a living toy. She went out into the garden. (Not in order to find a living toy there, of course, but in order to do a socially useful task: weeding and watering vegetables.) But I found our Little Bunny in the garden. These are the kind of coincidences that happen in life.

- How lovely! – the Girl exclaimed, grabbing the Bunny in her arms. -You will be my living toy. I will call you Katya.

She brought the Little Bunny into the house and quickly swaddled him. Which, frankly speaking, the Bunny didn’t like. Either he is not used to swaddling, or he has already outgrown this procedure. He tried to roll over, but the Girl swaddled him very well, so the Little Bunny could only cry quietly.

“Don’t cry, Katya,” the Girl began to rock him, “now I’ll feed you semolina porridge.” – I put the Little Bunny in the crib and went to get some porridge.

And in the forest, the hare family was alarmed: where is the Little Bunny?! Aw! Aw! Aw!.. No answer! No answer! No answer! Because the Little Bunny doesn't hear them. Or maybe he hears, but cannot answer. The mouth is filled with cold semolina porridge, which not only rabbits, but also human children cannot tolerate.

The hare sniffed the ground around, caught the smell of her dear son, the smell of her little blood, and led the rest of the children in the footsteps of their lost brother.

And at this time the Girl slips candy to her brother, which hare children do not like as much as human children do not like boiled onions. The little hare began to choke and closed his eyes in despair.

“You’re probably sick, Katenka,” the Girl became worried, “now I’ll give you tea with raspberry jam, put out jars and mustard plasters...” And the Girl went to look for the above-described medicines in the house.

But at that time the hares followed the trail to the vegetable garden, which, as is typical for vegetable gardens, was located near the house. However, we have already talked about this. The hares dug a hole under the fence, ran up to the house and saw their son and brother in distress. He was even tired of crying and prepared to quietly say goodbye to life. But the hares quickly jumped into the house, grabbed the Little Bunny and took him back into the forest. Do-o-o-o-o-o!

The Little Bunny recovered and began jumping merrily along with his whole family. What happiness!..

And the Girl returned to the room with medicines: raspberry jam, jars and mustard plasters. I looked and there was no one to treat. Katya ran away.

- Why did she run away? – the Girl asked an unknown person.

And you, my young friends, ask yourself: why did Ka... excuse me, Little Bunny?

How the Wolf Was a Mother to the Calf

One day the Wolf stole a Calf from the village. He put it in a bag and brought it to his hut. And there I decided to eat it slowly and with pleasure. He shook it out of the bag and gasped:

- How small! What a nice one!

“Ma-a-ama,” the Calf squeaked subtly.

- Where? – the Wolf perked up.

“You are mother,” said the Calf and pointed his hoof at the Wolf.

The Wolf was dumbfounded, rushed around the hut: he found a mirror, wiped off the dust from it, smoothed his ears and looked at himself:

- Looks like a man... Were you born yesterday, or what?

“No...” said Calf, “today.”

– A-ah... then it’s a different matter! - Wolf agreed. - Just sleep for now, and then we’ll figure out who I am to you: mom or dad.

The Wolf put the Calf on the mat, lay down on the bed and thought: “It’s uncomfortable to even eat something so small, so stupid!”

And the little calf woke up and mooed:

- I want to eat!

At this time, the Fox was walking past the Wolf's hut. She heard a moo and looked out the window:

- Oh, Wolf, what a Calf! Let's eat it!

- What are you talking about?! – the Wolf was indignant. - He's so small!

“That’s right,” Lisa agreed. “When it grows up, then we’ll eat it.” When will there be more of it! – The fox licked her lips and went her way.

And the Wolf quickly ran to the Goat for food. The Goat saw the Wolf, got scared, and locked herself in the hut. The Wolf persuaded her for a long time and told her about the Calf.

Well, when the Goat understood everything, she brought him a whole bucket of aromatic goat’s milk. The Wolf became emotional, bowed low to the Goat and presented her with a flower. And then he carefully carried the milk home.

He put the bucket in front of the Calf, and sat down next to him, watching him drink.

THE CALF EATED AND GREW IMMEDIATELY!

And the Wolf has already acquired a taste: it’s nice to take care of someone. Here he says:

- Go for a walk in the clearing over there, breathe some air! And I’ll clean up the housework here...

The Calf ran into the clearing and the Wolf started doing the laundry and talking to himself:

“What children need is cleanliness.” Children - they cannot grow in mud!

A hooligan boar walked past the hut, a cigarette sticking out of his teeth:

- What are we doing, dad?

– Don’t you see, or what? I wash the calf...

– I promised, I promised...We’ll see!

“Well, there you go, father,” said the Pig and moved on.

And the Wolf continued washing. But something became uneasy in his soul. And he ran straight out of the hut with a wet towel - and into the clearing! And on time! There the Boar was already handing the Calf a cigarette. The Wolf hit him with a wet towel:

- I'll show you! Give a cigarette to a stupid child! Well, get out of here!

The Wolf brought the Calf home, and he asked for food again! What to do?

The Wolf thought and thought and decided to dress up as a robber. He hid in the bushes near the forest road. He looks and sees a man driving along the road with a cartload of hay. The Wolf Robber jumped out onto the road: wearing a hat, a mask over his eyes and a knife in his paw! And he croaked:

– Hay or life?!

“Life, life,” the man quickly realized. He rolled off the cart and ran to the village.

And the Wolf dragged all the hay home. Called Calf:

- Eat, son, grow big!

Then the Bear looked through the fence into the yard.

“Hello, neighbor,” he said in a deep voice. - The Fox said that you are fattening the Calf...

“Quiet, quiet,” the Wolf pressed his finger to his lips. - Go, get out of here!

AND THE CALF FINISHED THE HAY AND TURNED INTO A FAT BULL.

“Listen,” he said to the Wolf, “the one with the teeth out, his last name is Boar, says that I’m not your own...

- What are you talking about?! – the Wolf gasped in indignation. He brought a mirror into the yard: - Look! Well, I'm just like him!

“Yeah,” agreed the Calf. - Just you know what... I'm hungry again!

At this point the Wolf became seriously concerned. Since he is a parent, that means he needs to behave more respectably... And so he went to the village. I started looking into the courtyards. He sees that in one of them a peasant started chopping wood, but got tired of it. He sat down on the rubble and became sad. The wolf is right there: please allow me to help!

He quickly chopped all the wood and put it in the woodpile.

What can you do to make your own child eat!

Well, the peasant gave him a tub of delicious stew for his work.

The Wolf brought the tub home, and then the Boar, Fox and Bear appeared.

The Wolf hid the Calf in the house, placed the tub in front of him, locked the door tightly, and went out to the guests. He pressed himself against the door for safety and shouted:

- I won’t give it up! He's mine, he's mine!

But the Boar, Fox and Bear did not listen to the Wolf. They climbed over the fence and went straight to the Wolf, they wanted to push him away from the door and eat the Calf.

What will happen? One against three!

MEANWHILE, THE CALF EATEN ALL THE STAGE - AND TURNED INTO A HEALTHY BULL!

He heard that the Wolf was being insulted, and knocked down the door with his horns, so that the Wolf even flew to the side, and how he would attack the uninvited guests!

Out of fear, they hurry through the fence - and into the forest! The legs barely carried away.

And the Wolf stretched out his paws to the Bull and yelled:

- My son, smart girl!

- Dad! – Bychok said in a deep voice.

- That's it! – the Wolf was happy. - Otherwise it’s all “mom, mom”...

The smallest gnome

In the green forest there lived a gnome named Vasya. He was so small, so tiny that no one noticed him. He greeted the Hare five times in a row, said “good night” to the Goat ten times, wished bon appetit to the Bear fifteen times, but it was all in vain. The Hare did not see him, the Goat did not hear him, and bears, as you know, do not see or hear anything while eating.

Then Grandfather advised Vasya:

– To be noticed, you must do something good, something that your heart tells you.

One day Vasya was walking through the forest and saw a big, big house in which a terrible, terrible Wolf lived. The wolf was preparing to visit three little pigs, seven kids, Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother.

Vasya climbed into the house of the three little pigs and hid behind the fan.

Meanwhile, the piglets were solving a crossword puzzle and wondering what a four-letter “gray predatory animal” meant.

And then the Wolf appeared in disguise and pretended to be Zhuchka, a crossword-solving champion.

The piglets let him in - and then they already guessed what the four-letter “gray predatory animal” meant.

The Wolf rushed at the piglets, but just opened his mouth when Vasya turned on the fan. A terrible wind rose, and the Wolf was sucked into the stove.

The Wolf climbed out through the pipe, caught his breath, shook himself off and headed towards the seven kids. And the gnome Vasya is behind him.

The Wolf came to the house where the kids lived and thought about how to lure them outside. I thought and thought and came up with an idea.

The Wolf hid behind a tree and sang a beautiful song. The kids jumped out of the house into the clearing - and then Vasya understood everything! There is a tape recorder on a stump, the music is playing, and the Wolf just opens his mouth...

The little gnome pressed the button on the tape recorder, the tape began to roll in the opposite direction, and terrible sounds rushed throughout the forest.

Seven kids were blown away by the wind.

The Wolf became furious, broke the tape recorder and went to Little Red Riding Hood, who at that time was going to the sick Grandmother with gifts.

The Wolf met her on the path and spoke to her in a gentle voice, but Little Red Riding Hood didn’t even want to listen to him - after all, she had already been deceived by the same gray Wolf once and was almost eaten along with Grandmother.

The Wolf began to cry, sobbed and began to assure that he was kind and good and that he was going in a completely different direction. And he was very happy when he saw a sign that told him which way to go.

The Wolf didn’t know that this time the gnome Vasya managed to outwit him: Vasya turned the arrow... and the Wolf fell right into the Bear’s paws.

And Vasya ran home to tell Grandfather how he saved three piglets, seven kids, Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother from the Wolf.

- Well, did they notice you? – Grandfather asked.

– Is this the most important thing? – Vasya laughed.

What do you guys think?

One day the gnome Vasya was blowing soap bubbles in a clearing, a Wolf passed by, and the two largest bubbles hit the Wolf in the eyes.

– Who’s doing the bully stuff here?! – the Wolf growled. “Come closer so I can see who I’m going to eat!”

“Nothing will work out,” said Vasya. “I’m so small that no one notices me.” My name is Vasya.

“I hate little ones,” the Wolf snorted, “everything evil comes from them.” Take me to the river to wash my eyes. And then I'll eat you. You'll be the first little one I deal with. You will learn how to offend adults!

Vasya Volk led him to the river. The Wolf washed his eyes and saw on a lily leaf... Thumbelina.

“So that’s what you are, Vasya...” said the Wolf.

- I’m not Vasya, I’m Thumbelina.

- A! We know. We read it. Was it you who ran the house for Mole?

– I am. Let me go, please, I’m in a hurry to see the Prince of the Elves!

- Quiet! - ordered the Wolf. - Now I'm your prince! I'm your elf. Now you will manage my household.

Wolf put Thumbelina in a bag and went home happy.

Suddenly - bang! – slipped on an apple core.

– Who is polluting the forest here?! – the Wolf howled in pain.

- It's me, Thumb Thumb. Forgive me, it’s out of habit that I throw away the stubs so as not to get lost.

– Now you won’t get lost! – the Wolf laughed. “Now you have one road – to my stomach.”

As soon as he uttered these words, a strong whirlwind came and knocked the Wolf off his feet: it was Little Muk in running shoes.

- That's good! – the Wolf was happy when he caught Muk. - You will drive the prey to me in your fast walkers. And if there is no prey, I, you know, will eat you. So,” the Wolf rubbed his paws contentedly, “there will be three fewer kids!”

“Look, Wolf, you’ll regret it,” Vasya warned. – You know that in fairy tales, good always triumphs over evil!

“Don’t tell tales,” the Wolf laughed and went home.

The Wolf came home and took the prisoners out of the bag.

“You,” he turned to Thumb, “get ready for dinner.” You, Little Muk, are going to go for prey, and you, Thumbelina, are going to clean the house. I went to get some overalls for you.

The kids are sitting sadly, and then out of nowhere - Vasya.

“You have to do something,” Vasya told the kids, “otherwise they’ll eat you!”

– What can we do? – Thumbelina answered sadly. - After all, we are so small...

“We all need to come up with something together!”

“I have dates that reduce and increase height,” Little Muk recalled.

– How can this help us? - Vasya thought.

Then everyone else became thoughtful and began to walk around the hut. They walked and walked until Little Thumb broke the mirror.

- Ah! This is unfortunate! - Thumbelina cried.

- Exactly! - Vasya shouted. - Unfortunately for the Wolf!

Vasya gathered the kids in a circle and began to whisper something to them.

At this time the Wolf entered the hut.

“Come on, try it on,” he said to Thumbelina, “what’s left from Cinderella will give you work clothes.”

– What’s a fitting without a mirror?! Could you try on the dress yourself so I can see how I would look in it? – Thumbelina asked the Wolf.

- I can’t fit into something so small! - the Wolf growled.

“If you remember,” said Little Mook, “I have dates that reduce growth.”

- Okay, come on! - Wolf agreed. He swallowed a date and immediately became as small as his captives.

The Wolf climbed under his hat to change clothes. A second later he crawled out from under her in a woman’s dress and asked flirtatiously:

- Well, how?

- Wonderful! – the kids shouted in unison. - Stay like that! Now you are not afraid of anyone! Now you are as small as we are.

“Vasya, I won’t offend the little ones anymore,” the Wolf cried. - My word of honor! Make me big again!

Vasya took pity on the Wolf and gave him a date that increases his height, and he went home and told Grandma and Grandpa about everything.

The wolf had long been planning to eat the Little Gray Goat. And so he went to the Gray Goat, who lived with Grandmother. The Wolf himself once barely escaped from this Grandma. But he did not abandon his evil thoughts and, disguised as Little Red Riding Hood, went to Vasya’s Grandmother and Grandfather.

From Vasya's Grandma, the Wolf found out where Grandma Koza lives. And, licking his lips, he ran to her house.

Vasya followed him: no matter what happens!

The Wolf ran to Granny Goat and found out that the Gray Goat had gone into the forest for a walk and that she was very worried that the gray wolves would attack him again.

Vasya began to beg the Wolf to take pity on the Little Gray Goat.

- What else! – the Wolf was indignant. “I just have to eat it, because the Goat made poor old Grandmother worry.” He won't get away with it like that!

As soon as the Wolf finished his speech, he was knocked down from nowhere by the Hare, who, out of fear, immediately fainted. But as soon as the amazed Wolf brought the Hare to his senses, he started running.

And at the same time, a deep bass “me-e-e, me-e-e...” was heard nearby.

“Really Kozlik?!” – the Wolf was happy.

No matter how it is! It was the Bear. He ran into the Wolf and, without apologizing, ran on faster than the Hare.

The Wolf sat down on a tree stump. He can’t understand anything: where are the Hare and the Bear running and from whom? They knocked him, the quiet, peaceful Wolf, off his feet and quickly ran off somewhere!

Before the Wolf had time to come to his senses, someone threw a net over him. The wolf fell on all fours, completely entangled in the net, and right in front of his nose he saw someone’s huge shoes.

- Oh, who is this? Who dared to catch me?! – the gray one was seriously angry.

And then he saw that it was a much grown Gray Goat! Not only did this Goat treat the Wolf so impolitely, throwing a net over him, but he also threatened to put him on a chain, call him Sharik and make him bark!

As always, Vasya intervened on time:

- Chaining wolves is cruel. A wolf on a chain will not survive, but you, Goat, if you have become so big and strong, you must be kind.

The goat only grinned in response to these words.

“The strong are kind only in fairy tales,” he said and dragged the Wolf towards the house.

Kozlik's house stood on the other side of the river. Kozlik thought for a long time about how they could get across the river. He decided to fell a tree and build a bridge so that the Wolf wouldn’t catch a cold in cold water and not hoarse - otherwise he will not be able to bark properly.

Meanwhile, Vasya ran to Grandma Goat and, in order to save the Wolf, said that it was not the Goat who caught the Wolf, but the Wolf who caught the Goat, and that the Wolf was going to put the Goat on a chain, call him Sharik and make him bark.

Of course, Grandma Goat was indignant and rushed to help her grandson.

Grandma Goat and Vasya ran to the river and saw: the Goat had rested its horns on a tree and was trying to knock it down, and the Wolf, although entangled in a net, was resting his feet on the tree on the other side and holding it with all his might.

True, it still seemed to Grandma Goat that the Wolf wanted to offend her poor grandson.

Grandma Goat picked up her grandson in her arms and carried him home.

- Wait, grandma! You can't leave the evil wolf in the forest! You need to take it with you! - Kozlik yelled.

– Why do we need an evil wolf? I'll buy you a nice plush one at the store! - Grandmother promised and dragged the Goat home.

And Vasya and the Wolf are sitting sad in the clearing.

The wolf says:

- Yes... this Goat needs to be treated immediately so that others do not become infected with anger from him.

Vasya returned home, and when Grandfather asked if he had saved the Little Gray Goat from the Wolf, he answered:

- No, I saved the poor Wolf from the evil Gray Goat.

Grandma Yozhka and others

Foundling

Forest. An ordinary Russian forest with thickets, a swamp, and a river flowing through it. A stork flies across the sky and carries a swaddled baby in its beak. Will someone get it? But to whom. In a hut in the village, a young woman and her husband are waiting for him. Every now and then they look out the window to see if the long-awaited stork has arrived.

A stork is flying - and suddenly a hawk swoops down on it from the sky. The hawk hits the stork with its sharp beak, and the stork dodges it, trying to protect its precious burden. But then the hawk pecked the stork on the head with all its might - and the stork dropped the child. The swaddled child flew down. It's about to break. But the branches of the tree sprang, and he fell into a snowdrift near it. The child fell and cried. Subtly, subtly, like only newborn babies can cry. And the stork began to fight with the hawk, pecked him on the head, the hawk screamed in pain and flew away. The stork began to fly over the forest, looking for the child. Can't find it. And now he is already standing in front of the open door of the hut and guiltily turns his head away. A woman began to cry, and her husband consoled her.

A child is crying in a snowdrift, and the inhabitants of the forest wake up from this crying. Baba Yaga leaned out of the hut on chicken legs. Leshy woke up in his hollow, Vodyanoy emerged from the hole, Koschey the Immortal woke up in his palace, and Kikimora Bolotnaya emerged from under the quagmire in the swamp. And everyone listens: what kind of unknown sound is heard in their native forest?

And at the sound of crying, a hut on chicken legs makes its way through the snowdrifts, Vodyanoy slides through the snowdrifts, steering with a fish tail, Leshy jumps along the tree branches, Koschey the Immortal makes his way through the snowdrifts, groaning, and Kikimora Bolotnaya also runs.

The hut on chicken legs was the first to reach the snowdrift. Baba Yaga jumped out of the hut and began to rake the snowdrift over the crying sound with her broom. And then everyone else joined in. Baba Yaga raked the snowdrift, and everyone saw a bundle with a crying child.

“Here you go,” Baba Yaga said thoughtfully, “we’ve never seen such a tiny thing in our forest before.” All sorts of knights roamed around, princes...

- The girls were messing around, wow, how I scared them! – Leshy remembered with pleasure and started hooting.

“Sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka wandered in,” Koschey the Immortal recalled.

“That’s right,” Kikimora said ironically to Baba Yaga, “you also wanted to push Ivanushka into the oven.”

- Yes, I’m joking! - Baba Yaga screamed. “There wasn’t even a fire in the oven.”

- And about last summer, a girl drowned in the river. Now she lives in a distant pool as a mermaid. Beautiful... She’s going to marry a burbot,” Vodyanoy recalled.

“Okay,” Kikimora interrupted decisively, “enough talking, we need to decide what to do with the child.”

“I’ll take the child,” suggested Koschey the Immortal, “to my luxurious, wonderful palaces.” Let him get used to luxury from childhood, and he began to think. “And then,” Koschey continued dreamily, “I will give him all my untold riches, and in my place he will become Koschey the Immortal with all the ensuing consequences.”

“Koshcheev’s adoption option is not the most suitable, to put it mildly,” Kikimora concluded. – Will there be any other offers?

“But of course,” Leshy was the first to respond, “we are always ready to squeeze the boy’s education into our hands.”

– I wonder who you will raise from him, it’s interesting to know? – Kikimora asked a completely legitimate question.

- How - who? – Leshy was even surprised. - Of course Leshy. Soon I will retire, I will form a working dynasty of Leshys.

- And what will he do with you when he grows up? - Baba-ya asked.

– Like “what”, like “what”? – Leshy became worried. “The usual fucking job...” and thought sweetly. - Zdorovo?!

“It’s much healthier,” Kikimora sighed, “to scare girls until they’re old.”

“It’s better for me to dance in circles with mermaids in the river,” said Vodyanoy.

And then the child began to cry. What to do - everyone began to take turns rocking him in their arms, but he didn’t let up. Then Baba Yaga snatched the child from the hands of Koshchei, who was rocking him upside down, put a pine cone in the baby’s mouth and began to rock him herself, cradling him. The child smacked the pine cone, closed his eyes and began to snore in his sleep. Baba Yaga smiled with all her wide mouth. And everyone immediately calmed down. They sit and think about who to give the child to. And suddenly everyone sniffed and wiggled their nostrils.

- You need to change the swaddling clothes. “Let’s go to the hut,” said Baba Yaga.

And the whole company climbed into the hut on chicken legs. Baba Yaga unwrapped the package, then turned her face to the inhabitants of the forest and, stuttering, said:

- This is not a boy, but a girl...

Everyone put their heads to the bundle and smiled blissfully.

“Charming,” said Koschey and kissed his fingers.

“I’ve never even seen such mermaids,” Vodyanoy shook his head and smacked his lips with pleasure.

“That’s for sure,” said Leshy, “it’s not for her to scare the girls.” She's the one who makes the guys faint and slap them.

- Do you have anything clean? – Kikimora asked Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga rushed to the chest, tossed and turned in it, so much so that she fell into it, only her legs sticking out. Vodyanoy and Leshy pulled it out, and Baba Yaga held a dress of unprecedented beauty in her hands. She held it to her, walked with a proud gait and explained:

– The Ghoul gave this to me when he was wooing me. This happened when I was young. Yes, it floated away. – And with a decisive gesture she tore the dress.

And Kikimora took out a trough from under the bench. The merman instantly released a fountain of water into the trough. And Leshy jumped out and dragged a bunch of brushwood. Koschey long finger scratched his bald head. The finger caught fire, and Koschey set fire to the wood in the stove.

While Baba Yaga is rinsing the girl in a trough, Kikimora is sewing diapers from scraps of a dress, and the rest are making a cradle from boards. And now Water’s foot is rocking the cradle with the girl.

The girl is crying again.

- What is she for? - Leshy asked.

“He must be hungry,” said Kikimora.

“This is almost certain,” Koschey said thoughtfully, “after being on fresh air children definitely want to eat.

“Bring some meat to her, perhaps...” Leshy suggested.

“Better than a fish,” Vodyanoy objected to him, “I’ll run away now.”

- What are you talking about?! - Baba Yaga was alarmed. – Children do not eat meat or fish.

-What do they eat? – the male population of the forest asked in unison.

– Haven’t you forgotten how to cast magic? – Kikimora thoughtfully asked Baba Yaga.

- Well, I guess not. Although I haven’t done magic for two hundred years.

“So, that’s it,” Kikimora said decisively, “Leshy, Vodyanoy, Koschey - immediately outside.”

“It’s cold there,” Koschey shuddered.

- For what? - Leshy asked.

- Are you kicking me out? – Vodyanoy asked with offense.

“Nobody is kicking you out,” Kikimora said decisively. - You will sculpt a goat out of snow. Then Baba Yaga will revive her with her witchcraft, and here’s milk for you.

“We don’t need milk,” Koschey, Vodyanoy and Leshy said in unison.

- It’s not you who needs it, but the girl. Small children are adapted to milk.

Koschey, Leshy and Vodyanoy instantly jumped out.

And now, near the hut, an incomprehensible monster stands on chicken legs. With horns, bald, like Koschey, with a fish tail, like Vodyanoy, and with a huge udder.

Baba Yaga jumped out onto the porch, saw an incomprehensible snow monster, sank and would definitely have fallen in horror, but Koschey and Leshy supported her, and Kikimora said:

- Conjure.

“Brex, cake, mex,” Baba Yaga muttered, and the snow monster came to life and said:

- Meeeee...

And Baba Yaga settled down in an unconscious state.

Kikimora flew into the hut, flew out with a bucket and began to milk the revived udder. Milk splashed out, hitting the bottom of the bucket in a tight stream, and everyone smiled with relief. Even Baba Yaga woke up and smiled relaxedly.

And now everyone is sitting in the hut and blissfully watches the child suck milk from a rag. The girl ate and fell asleep.

“Perhaps I’ll take her for myself,” Vodyanoy said decisively, “you see, soon the mermaid with the burbot will give birth to a baby, the girl will be a friend,” and Vodyanoy thought...

“I’m completely crazy,” Kikimora snorted, “she’s a human child.” She will drown in the river. And mermaids only come from unhappy love. And she, our little one, doesn’t know these nonsense yet. I would also take her to my swamp. Just what kind of life is she like in a swamp? Let's wait until it grows.

“That’s it,” Baba Yaga said decisively, “she will live with me, and I will be her foster grandmother, and I will call her Grandmother Yozhka, and when she grows up, she will determine her own destiny.”

And then the girl began to cry in her sleep. Everyone looked at each other. What to do? She seems to be full, but she’s crying. The goblin slapped his forehead, picked up a pine cone from the floor, wiped it on himself and put it in Grandma Yozhka’s mouth. She smacked her lips and fell asleep smacking her lips.

And everyone started smiling.