When a person hears the word "fable", he is reminded of I. A. Krylov, Lafontaine, Aesop, but rarely does anyone think of the giant of Russian prose L. N. Tolstoy, and yet he proved himself in this genre too. In this article, the moral of the fable “Leo and the Fox” by Tolstoy will be analyzed in detail.
Plot
Once upon a time there was a Leo, and then grew old and could no longer hunt animals, as before. But he did not despair and decided to continue to get his food, not by force, but by cunning. He lay down in a cave, pretended to be sick and called to himself various animals (edible, of course) to visit, so that they would visit him. Animals entered the cave and did not return home again. Once a fox looked at Leo in the light, but she turned out to be smarter than other animals. Kuma wolf in Russian fairy tales stopped at the entrance to the cave where the “sick” Leo was lying, when he asked why she didn’t go to his apartment, Lisa replied like this: “Because I don’t enter, I see in the tracks there are many entrances and exits not". Such is the story, and the moral of the fable “Leo and the Fox” by L. N. Tolstoy follows. It is highlighted more clearly in the process of comparison with the original of Aesop.
Translation difficulties. Aesop and L.N. Tolstoy
The ancient Greek has the same plot, but he has the last phrase of the Fox: “I would have entered if I hadn’t seen that there are a lot of tracks in the cave, but not a single one from the cave”.
Aesop’s moral of the fable “Leo and the Fox” is that an intelligent person can circumvent any trick. Tolstoy, when translating this fable, somewhat changed the ending. The word “trace” means a print left by a person or an animal, a very specific object. When Leo Nikolayevich’s Fox says: “There are many entrances, but there is no way out,” something already existential is heard in it, as if the Fox were broadcasting on behalf of the author and passing a verdict to everything that exists. Here is such a different interpretation can be obtained in the subject "Moral of the fable" Leo and the Fox ", if we analyze only the last words of the Fox from Aesop and L. N. Tolstoy.
M. A. Bulgakov and the testament: “Never and ask nothing from those who are higher than you”
We go further and plunge deeper into the realm of pure, not scientific, but literary fiction. If M. A. Bulgakov could publicly reflect on the moral meaning of Leo Tolstoy’s fable, then the following would come out: the creator of the “Master”, of course, would immediately make Lysitsa (or rather, he would have Lys) personification of a creative person, and Leo, of course, is the personification of power. And on the basis of such a not-too-complicated model, one can read the moral of the fable “Leo and the Fox” of Tolstoy in a completely different way than the inhabitant of Yasnaya Polyana wanted when he read it to peasant children in his own school. M. A. Bulgakov would say: a creative person should be wary of power and keep a respectful distance from it. Talk to her in such a way as not to hurt her in any way and in no way show her superiority, neither mental nor moral. Vitally, huh? Such is the reading and interpretation of the theme “The moral of the fable“ Leo and the Fox ”of Tolstoy” in the style of M. A. Bulgakov. It is worth saying that the author of “Dog’s Heart” himself secretly hoped that the authorities would notice and benefit him. But all the same, as a rational and extremely insightful person , he still chose caution as his main strategy of behavior with the authorities, and he was absolutely right, for whether they will give or not give gifts is unknown, but they can easily crush them in one minute .
Classics lessons and modernity
Are the teachings of the Greek and Russian classics contemporary? Of course, yes, moreover, the interpretation of Bulgakov’s views that is given in this article is also relevant. The principles of government are still the same on Russian soil as they were 80 years ago, although the political climate is much milder. And we even have the freedom of speech now, but it’s still better not to flirt with the authorities and not to trust them blindly - they will swallow them at one point on occasion.
If we return to the main character of the story and its moral message, the moral of the fable “Leo and the Fox” by Tolstoy is still relevant: the child is still not bad to know that if he studies well, he will be able to recognize any trick and answer it brilliantly . What he learns is good: any power can be answered by cunning, and now strong is weak, and weak is strong. It follows from this: no matter how strong a person is, he still needs to learn.
Dr. House: “Everyone Lies,” and “People Don't Change”
Finally, the interpretation of one of the "heroes of our time", the modern "Sherlock Holmes" from medicine - Dr. House. If he was asked to answer the question, what is the moral of the fable “Leo and the Fox” by Tolstoy? He would say in his cynical-ironic style: it is that people (and animals) do not change, and everyone lies without stopping. So, Leo can’t be trusted in any way. Accordingly, Fox did everything right. And of course, the best invented diagnostician in the world would not leave Leo without a diagnosis and treatment. At the end of the story, Leo could run and kill animals as usual. This is how the presentation of the theme “Moral of the fable“ Lion and the Fox ”turned out in his own words.