Sometimes even its brief content helps to convey the whole meaning of a literary work. “Poor Gnedko” is a story by Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevsky, in which he addresses the topic of animal cruelty. The narration in it is conducted on behalf of the author. The work is written for children in a language that they understand. In it, he urges young people to treat animals humanely, whether it be a cat, dog or horse. After all, the cruel treatment of “our smaller brothers” is not only bad, immoral, but it can also be dangerous to human health and life.
A few facts from the author’s biography
Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevsky is a well-known Russian writer, musicologist and music critic, philosopher and active public figure. He was born in Moscow on August 1, 1803 in a family of noble origin. His father was a grandson of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich. Vladimir was orphaned early. A boy was brought up in the paternal guardian's house. He woke up early interest in music and literature. All this man’s life and work can be conditionally divided into three periods: the first Moscow, St. Petersburg and the second Moscow.
All this time he is fond of philosophy, mysticism, musical criticism, writes novels and short stories, creates literary circles, attracting like-minded people. It was during the Petersburg period, in 1841, that V.F. Odoevsky "Poor Gnedko." A summary of the work is given below.
The main characters of the tale
- The author walking along the Neva embankment. It is he who observes the picture of neglect and sometimes very cruel treatment of animals.
- Cab. A boy running a horse. He was hired by the owner of the stallion Gnedko.
- Fat gentleman with glasses. Sits in a chaise driven by Gnedko.
- Vanya with Dasha. Children of the first owner of the stallion Gnedko. They knew this horse as a foal, they loved and cared for it very much.
Who else is narrated in the story “Poor Gnedko”? The main characters in it are not only people, but also animals, for example, a horseback horse, a small dog Charlot.
Sick Gnedko
On the embankment of the Neva River runs a horse with a chaise. On the gantry sits a young cab and drives her. Today is a holiday, the streets are crowded. The cab driver is in a hurry to help out as much money as possible on this day.
After all, today they travel a lot and pay well. Likhach did not notice how his horse lost a horseshoe, slipped and hit his leg. Poor Gnedko (that’s the name of the stallion) goes and limps. The cabman does not pay attention to this and drives the horse.
A passerby, the author, makes a remark to him, indicating that the animal can no longer run. But the boy on the goats dismisses. The owner who hired him will probably ask him for good revenue in the evening. And after Gnedko boys run and tease him. It seems funny to them that the horse goes and stumbles. The cab driver is angry with them and takes out all his irritation on the poor animal, whipping him harder and harder.
And in the chaise that Gnedko carries, a fat gentleman with glasses sits. He wrapped himself in a fur coat from the cold and jammed a hat over his eyes. This gentleman hurries to someone for lunch, and he does not care at all about a sick horse taking him. He reasoned like this: “The horse is not mine. Let the charioteer even kill her, I don’t care. ” What will end the torment of a sick animal? Further, the story “Poor Gnedko” tells of the time when this stallion was still small.
Gnedko - foal
The hard life is now with the horse. But once, when she was little, everything was different. In the yard there is spring, grass turns green, birds tweet, and the foal Gnedko frolics near his mother, the mare Serko, plowing the ground.
And in the evening, when the horses return to the paddock, Gnedko will meet Vanyusha with Dasha, the owner’s children. They comb him a short mane, wipe it with straws, give fresh juicy weed, specially plucked for him in advance. At night, the children will bring bedding to their ward so that he can lie softly.
How their foal loved! Slightly envies Vanyusha with Dasha, rushing towards them on her frisky legs. He will come running and stretch out his neck in confidence. And they feed him a bread. Soon Gnedko grew up and turned into a stately stallion.
The owner decided to sell it, having estimated what good money can be gained for such a horse. How the children cried when Gnedko was taken away to Horse, how they asked the buyer not to torment their glorious horse, not to make it carry heavy loads. To convey all the bitterness of loss, the disappointment of children described in the work, can even its brief content. “Poor Gnedko” is a story that can cause stinging even for the most callous person. This is exactly what the author of the story hoped for.
Desperate situation
On the embankment crowded people. What happened? Poor Gnedko, unable to flee anymore, fell, burrowing his face in the snow from pain. His leg is swollen. A cabman scurries around him, trying to lift a sick horse. Passers-by help him. But the stallion only snores, but cannot stand. The cabman is ready to cry. Now he will fall for the damaged horse from the owner. The fat gentleman, sitting in a chaise, was angry and left, without paying the boy a dime. How to be The compassionate passerby, the author of the story, gives the cabman money to call a friend with a horse and sled to take the poor stallion home. The unlucky coachman received a lesson - not to ride on a sick horse from now on and not to torment her, since this will not end in anything good.
This is an instructive story told by M.F. Odoevsky. “Poor Gnedko,” a summary of which is given here, is a story read in one breath. Surely children will like it.
Do not torture poor animals!
In conclusion, the author gives another instructive story. It is about a little dog Charlot, who lost her master. This defenseless animal, left unattended, pressed against the wall and looked at everyone from underneath. She was surrounded by street boys who began to tease her, drag her tail and throw stones.
Poor Charlot could not stand it and rushed at some of them and bit her. What happened to the dog? Nothing. But bitten boys fell ill with rabies. It is known that this is a terrible insidious disease, often ending in the death of the patient. This is where the story ends. What would we like to complete the story (its summary)? Poor Gnedko probably recovered and began to carry people again, the cabman became more attentive to him, and Charlo's dog found her owners ... This is perhaps the most coveted end to this work.
The moral of the author
In the collection of short stories V.F. Odoevsky under the title "Tales of Grandfather Irenaeus" and entered the tale "Poor Gnedko." A brief summary of it may well convey what the author wanted to convey to his young readers. Vladimir Fedorovich urges children not to mock animals and not to tease them. After all, even the smallest dog, defending itself, can bite its offenders. And this is already very dangerous for health, since the disease rabies, transmitted to humans from animals, is fatal.
And finally, the ill-treatment of “our lesser brothers” suggests that such a person is angry and immoral. It is unlikely that someone will ever want to be friends or communicate with him. There is even a proverb to the story “Poor Gnedko”. It sounds like this: “Through the force and the horse does not ride.” And there are a few more proverbs about horses, for example, this: "Do not drive the horse with a whip, but drive the horse with oats." And another one: "Either feel sorry for the stern, or a horse."
We read the work of V.F. Odoevsky from the collection "Tales of Grandfather Irenaeus", or rather its summary. “Poor Gnedko” is a story about how animals should not be handled.