Petr Pavlovich Ershov - Russian prose writer, playwright, poet. One of his most famous works is The Little Humpbacked Horse. Those who read this fairy tale in poetry will probably remember that one of the most striking characters is the Whale Fish. If you have not had the pleasure of reading this work, you can do it right now.
Background of writing a masterpiece
Ershov Petr Pavlovich was born on February 22, 1815 in the town of Bezrukovo, Tobolsk province. His father, on duty, often moved, so Peter had the opportunity to communicate with different people.
The boy listened to folk traditions, which formed the basis of his famous work "The Little Humpbacked Horse." As the author himself said, he only slightly modified them, gave the words a poetic form. Opinions about the work were controversial. So, Belinsky said that in the fairy tale there is no Russian spirit, despite the fact that it is written in Russian words. However, there were many positive reviews. So, A. S. Pushkin, having familiarized himself with the work, said: “Now I can leave this kind of works to me.” With these words, he put the budding poet on a par with himself. And it was under the influence of Pushkin's fairy tales that the 19-year-old P.P. Ershov created the "Little Humpbacked Horse".
Summary of "The Little Humpbacked Horse": the beginning
One peasant had three sons. The elder was Danilo, he was smart. The middle Gavrilo was “this way and that,” and the younger Ivan was a fool at all.
The family grew wheat and sold it. But someone began to trample the crops at night and thereby inflict great damage. Then it was decided that all brothers take turns on duty. The elder, when he was on duty, was attacked by fear. The young man buried himself in the hay and lay there all night, so he did not recognize anything. The middle brother froze and stepped down. Only Ivan was able to understand what was the matter. He saw a beautiful white horse, managed to saddle it and bring it to the shepherd's booth.
As the mare promised him, she gave birth to three horses. Danilo and Gavrilo saw two handsome stallions and secretly stole them for sale. He comforted the saddened little humpbacked horse. He told him to sit on his back and rushed after the brothers. From this begins the tale of Ershov, in which the Whale Fish will soon appear.
Tests for the peasant son
The horses were so good that the king bought them in the capital. When the animals were taken to the stable, they fled to Ivan. Then the king appointed him groom. But the envious sleeping bag could not survive this, he threw Ivan the feather of the Firebird to Ivan and told the king that the guy promises to bring the owner of the feather.
With the help of a humpbacked horse, the young man fulfilled this order of the king. Then a faithful friend helped the guy bring the Tsar Maiden. At the emperor’s offer to become his wife, the girl said she would not agree until she got a ring from the ocean floor. It is this event that will bring the reader closer to the next character, who should help get a ring out of the water abysses.
Finding himself at the ocean, Ivan and the horse saw that Wonder Yudo Fish-whale lies across it.
First encounter with a giant fish island
The whale was unusual. It turns out that for ten years now, he turned into a living island. Further, Ershov describes what the Wonder Yudo Fish-whale looks like.
There was a village on his back, there were real houses here. Palisades were driven into the ribs of a poor animal. Men plowed on his lip, mushrooms that the girls were looking for grew between the mustache.
Skate and Ivan jumped on a strange creature. The whale asked where they came from and where they were heading.
They replied that they were traveling from the capital on behalf of the Tsar Maiden, were sent to the Sun, which would help them fulfill the girl's instructions. Hearing this, the whale asked the travelers to find out from the Sun how long he should still be in this form and for what transgressions this punishment. Ivan promised to fulfill the request, and the travelers went on.
Description of a fairy tale hero
They will help you to find out what the Whalefish looks like, pictures. It can be seen that a forest is growing on its tail. It begins with a birch grove, becoming all dense. There are already dark spruces, oaks and other trees.
On the body of the sufferer are village houses. Each of them has a garden. Plowing the ground and transporting the weight of a horse, which can also be seen in the illustration. On one side of the giant fish is a church where peasants go to pray. On the other is a mill, here they turn grain into flour.
His face is covered with shoots. You can see how the Whale Fish is suffering. Pictures convey the joyless existence of the animal. Although only one of his eyes is painted, and the other is hidden under the vegetation, it is clear what kind of longing and prayer for travelers he is filled with. Will Ivanushka and the skate help him? You will learn about this very soon.
In a palace
The young man climbed up with an assistant to heaven and got into the palace of the Tsar Maiden. However, the sun rested here only at night, and during the day they found it there for a month, but they were also happy about it. The night luminary was also happy, having received through messengers the news of its missing daughter, the Tsar Maiden. To celebrate, Mesyats Mesyatsovich told the guests why the Fish-Whale is suffering. The tale proceeds to the next episode, which opens the curtain of secrecy. It turns out that a giant fish swallowed 30 ships. As soon as she releases them back, she will be forgiven and again able to swim freely in the ocean.
Forgiveness
Ivan and the hunchback said goodbye to the Month and set off on the return trip. When they approached the ocean, they were seen by the Whale Fish. The tale continues, and now there are only joyful moments in it.
The hunchback galloped to the peasants to tell them that they would quickly gather and leave this living island, otherwise they would drown. They obeyed, and at noon there was no longer a living soul.
Then only the travelers told the whale how to earn forgiveness. He opened his mouth and all the ships jumped out of it with noise, cannon shots. The rowers sang funny songs.
The search for the ring
For those who are interested, a whale is a fish or animal, it should be clarified. Previously, people thought it was a giant fish, because a whale lives in water and is similar in shape to it. But then it turned out that this mammal, which breathes air, is viviparous, which means it is an animal. But back to the tale.
The whale fish asks its rescuers how they can thank them. They said that they only need a ring. He dived into the abyss, called sturgeons, and ordered them to find a piece of jewelry. They searched for a long time, but returned with nothing. They said that only a ruff could find it.
After that, two dolphins went in search of a ruff. He was a reveler and a bully, so finding him was not so easy.
They looked for him in the seas, rivers, lakes, but all in vain. Then the dolphins heard exclamations and realized that ruff in the pond. There he intended to fight with crucian carp. This is the story I came up with in the poems of P. P. Ershov. The whale fish, to which the sea party was delivered, tells him to find a chest in which there was a ring.
Ruff said he knows where all this is. He dived into the whirlpool and dug up a treasured chest there, then called for sturgeons, told them to take the find to the whale, and then he went about his business.
Happy ending tales
At this time, Ivan sat on the ocean shore and waited for the whale fish to appear. It was already evening, but the surface of the water did not flutter. The young man was worried, since the deadline for the execution of the royal order was drawing to a close, and he still had no ring. Suddenly the sea began to boil, and a whale appeared. He gave the young man a chest, saying that he had fulfilled the request.
Ivan tried to lift the chest, but could not. Then the hunchback easily threw the luggage around his neck, ordered the young man to sit on his back and went to the royal palace. Travelers gave the Emperor a ring, he handed it to the Tsar Maiden and told her to marry him faster. The girl replied that she was 15 years old and that she would not marry an old man. The Tsar Maiden advised him to bathe in cold water, then in hot and milk, so that he would turn into a young one.
He first decided to conduct tests on Ivan. The young man was sad. The hunchback told him he would help. Indeed, when Ivan jumped into a cauldron of boiling liquid, the horse cooled it with magic movements. As a result, the young man became handsome and handsome. And the evil king, jumping into the cauldron, cooked there.
The girl married Ivan, this ends the tale. After reading it, children can draw a drawing. The whale fish will be like or different from a book illustration.