Many of us are familiar with such tales as “The Gingerbread Man”, “The Cat and the Fox”, “The Wintering of Animals”, “Turnip”, “Morozko”, “Vasilisa the Beautiful” and others. But few people know that their author is the people. They were created several centuries ago. For many years they are passed down from generation to generation, without losing all relevance. The folk legend “Soldier and Death” is not at all like traditional Russian fairy tales. A summary of it is given in this article. What's so unusual about her? What characters are represented in it? What is the moral of the work? All of this can be found here.
Heroes of folk tales
From childhood, we are familiar with legends and legends in which the main characters are animals, Baba Yaga, Koschey the Immortal, Russian heroes, tsars and princes, Ivan the Fool and others.
In each work, truth and fiction intertwined, a rich folk fantasy manifested itself, inexhaustible to fiction. In almost every such legend there is a battle between good and evil, in which good invariably triumphs. But in order for this to happen,
fairy-tale characters must have certain qualities. And here not only physical strength, courage, will and subtle mind matter. In order to defeat evil, sometimes cunning, ingenuity and resourcefulness are necessary. It is these qualities that the protagonist of the legend “Soldier and Death” possesses. With these qualities, he manages to deceive death itself. It is worth saying that the soldier is one of the most beloved characters in folk tales. As a rule, in Russian legends he appears strong, courageous, savvy.
The end of the military service
Once upon a time there was a soldier. He regularly carried his service to the king. But the time approached her. And the soldier began to ask the king for his homeland - to see his relatives. The emperor did not want to let him go, and there was nothing to do - he had to be awarded and given free. His comrades told him: “Can't you bring us goodbye? After all, who knows, maybe we will not see each other again? ” To the joys of what will soon be at home, he treated the soldiers of his colleagues in the tavern, and he lowered all the money. Only five dimes he left. But the old warrior did not lose heart. He did not care about wealth. He wanted to quickly see his family and hug them.
The tale "Soldier and Death" speaks of the generosity of the Russian soul. More than once this golden quality will be shown by our hero in the story.
Magic cat
How long the soldier walked and decided to go into the zucchini - to drink and have a bite. Looks - the old woman stands and asks for alms. Our hero took pity and handed her a nickle. Then he drank, had a bite and went on. Only the same old woman meets him again and asks for alms. The soldier was surprised and threw her a nickle again. After some time, the servant again sees the same beggar. His heart contracted, and again he gave her a nickel. A soldier walked a mile and a half. And for the fourth time he meets an old woman. Only this time the servant could not stand it, swung at her - he wanted to hit. And the beggar threw a knapsack at his feet and disappeared. Suddenly, out of nowhere, two good fellows grew up in front of a soldier and asked what his soul wanted. Our hero realized that the tomcat is not simple, but magical. He wished himself food, drink, a pipe with tobacco and a bed to sleep. Having fulfilled all his needs, the servant asked the fellows how long he should lie so long. To this the servants replied that as much as he desired. Then the warrior ordered them to remove everything and clean the bag themselves. Well done, they did everything, as was punished. The fairy tale “Soldier and Death” tells of a seasoned Russian soldier. Its author is the people. He reflected in the characters' characters her all those spiritual qualities that are inherent in a simple Russian person. This is courage, and daring, and generosity, and sometimes - laziness and impatience.
Soldier visiting the master
Soon the servant’s road leads to one estate where a rich nobleman lives. Only in this house does this gentleman not sleep, as devils are found in him. Local residents warned the soldier that the rich man was angry, cunning and greedy, that he would send his guest to hell for dinner. Only our hero was not cowardly. He came to the master and asked for an overnight stay.
And as a reward for this, the soldier fed and watered the nobleman, summoning the fellows from the bag and ordering them to set a rich table. Barin could not resist and stole a golden spoon from the table. The soldier, having searched him and having taken the device, “pounded the sides” to the mean owner. Further it will be told about what other ups and downs the heroes fall here. “Soldier and Death” is a tale of the great courage of a simple servant. In the next chapter we will see it.
Night at the lord's castle
Offended by the master, he angrily closed all the doors in the castle so that the servant could not escape, and left him for the night. But our hero was not afraid here either. He bolted all the windows and doors of other rooms and began to wait for the night. Soon a squeak was heard at the door. And then the whole house was filled with terrible screams. Countless hordes of evil spirits burst at the door to the soldier.
“Open, open,” shouted the demons. The servant thought that he was already gone. But he noticed a bag of weights in the corner. He took it and opened the door. All the devils in the bag and jumped. The soldier baptized him and let the devils walk with weights. And then he untied the sack and shook out all the devils from it. Our warrior is watching, but the demons are all mutilated - they lie and cannot stand up. He barked at them. The devils fled - who where. So our hero defeated the
evil spirits. The boldness and courage of a Russian soldier is spoken of in this part of the tale “Soldier and Death”. A brief summary of it can convey the fullness of the spiritual qualities of the protagonist.
Meeting with Death
The servant went on. He meets a thin, terrible old woman on his way, oblique props up. It was Death itself. The soldier wanted to go around her. Yes, only she blocked his path, not allowing to pass. Our hero turned to her with a question about what she needed from him. Death answered that she was sent by the Lord God in order to take his soul. A soldier fell in front of an old woman with a scythe on her knees and prayed that she would give him some time to see his family. But Death was adamant, she did not let him go and the extra three minutes. She waved her scythe and killed the servant. So there was a meeting of the main characters of the fairy tale “Soldier and Death”. Its brief content allows us to convey its meaning for the development of the future plot.
In the other world
So the soldier found himself in heaven. At first he went to hell. But the devils whom he "marked" in the manor house did not dare to drag the daredevil into the fire. They ran in fear to Satan and talked about how he beat them in the master’s house.
The devil, having heard this, also fell down. He rushed into the fire with his imps. A servant walked through an empty hell, and he became bored. He went to heaven. But they didn’t let him go there. They said they were not worthy. Our hero came to God with the question of what to do. Then the Lord ordered the soldier to take the gun from Michael the Archangel and guard the doors to the heavenly monastery. So the servant did. This business was to his liking. Here the legend "Soldier and Death" tells how the hero performs his service in heaven.
On the watch at the doors of paradise
A soldier is standing, fulfilling the order of the Lord. Death comes to the heavenly door and asks the servant to let her go to God for the next task. Just did not let her servant. Himself volunteered to go to the Lord for her and ask what kind of people to stain this year. God ordered that the oldest be sent to the next world. But the soldier realized that his father and mother would die then. And he told Death that the Lord told her to bite the oaks for a whole year. And as the time approaches, so let him come again for a new mandate. Time has passed, and Death is right there again - it asks who it is now to stain. And here the soldier cheated. He did not tell her that the Lord told the most seasoned to be sent to the next world, but ordered the thickest oaks to be bitten. So another year has passed. The third time, a “bony” one comes with a scythe to the Lord to ask whom this time to torment her. And the servant punishes Death to destroy young oaks instead of the youngest people. Here about the Russian ingenuity and cunning narrates the story “Soldier and Death”.
Disclosure of fraud
For the fourth time, Death comes to the Lord for another commandment. Here the soldier already let her pass to God. The Creator saw that the old woman with the scythe looks very bad: she is thin, terrible, she looks tortured. He asks her why she became so. To which Death answered: “So you yourself, Lord, sent me three years in a row to gnaw oaks. I was emaciated, I broke all my teeth. Why should I be good? ” As God found out that the servant was deceiving his faithful ward, he ordered the angels to immediately find him and bring him to him. In punishment for this trick, the Lord ordered our hero to feed Death in this world. So the heroes of the legend “Soldier and Death” again found themselves in our world.
Again in this world
The servant found himself in the very place where Death took him. He put her in his bag and went on around the world. He threw stones and sticks there and strode like a soldier with a sweeping step. Death in a bag is bad, her bones moan. But the soldier doesn't care about that. To all her requests to go quietly, he answers with rudeness.
How long is it short, our hero comes to the tselnik in a tavern. He threw his bag on the counter and asked himself for a drink. Only the servant had no money. In return for the payment, he promised the owner to leave his burden and return in three days with coins. The Tselovnik agreed to
this, threw the soldier’s bag under the counter and poured him a glass. Further, the legend of the soldier tells of the following wanderings of the old servant.
Meeting with relatives
The soldier went on. Finally, he reached his home. How happy his father was when he saw him. And all the relatives began to hug and kiss the servant. Our hero wanted to go home for three days, and he lived there for a year. And only then he remembered that he had left his bag in the tavern at the tselovnik. And although he did not want to leave his home, there was nothing to do - it was necessary to fulfill the command of the Lord.
Death and the snuffbox
The soldier came back to the tavern and began to ask about his bag. And he is right there - under the counter lies. A servant untied it to find out if Death is still alive in him. And the "slave" forcibly waited for the servant, almost suffocated in a stuffy bag. The soldier decided to snuff. He opened the snuff box and let's sneeze. And Death also wanted the same. She asked for a tobacco from our hero. And he said to her: “What do you need a pinch of? Get into the snuff box and smell as much as you want. " So Death did. She climbed into the snuff box and let's sneeze. And the soldier closed it, and wore it for a whole year. And when he opened the snuffbox, Death barely caught her breath - it was so hard for her. The old woman did not spare the scythe of the old servant. And he decided not to spare her, in every way mocking her. Still a lot of bullying had to endure from him "bony." This is further narrated by the legend “Soldier and Death”.
As a soldier Death buried
Finally, the servant decided to fulfill the command of the Lord - to feed the old woman with a scythe. He brought her home, put her at the table, set food in front of her. Death began to eat in seven. I dared everything from the table. The soldier was angry at this. He grabbed it, put it again in a bag and carried it to the cemetery - to bury it in the grave. And buried the "bony" soldier here. Three years passed, and the Lord remembered that he had released the servant with a mandate. And that on time is not. And there is no more death. God orders the angels to find both. Holy spirits walked around the world, but they did not find Death. Then they came to the soldier and began to ask him where he was doing her. Our hero went to the cemetery and dug up an old woman with a scythe. Death was hardly alive. The angels took it and carried it to the Lord. When God asked the "bony" about why she is so thin and tortured, she replied that the servant almost killed her. Then the Lord told her: “Well, apparently, there will be no use to you from the old soldier. Go feed yourself. " And Death went again with her scythe in the world.
Yes, only she did not dare to touch her tormentor. The whole flavor
of folklore in this legend can convey even its brief retelling. “Soldier and Death” is a work about the best qualities of our national character. In a somewhat unexpected light, the heroes of biblical tales appear before us: the Lord, demons, Death, angels. But the moral of the fairy tale remains the same: good and courage always conquer evil.
We talked about the legend "Soldier and Death." A summary of the work is given in this article. In this tale, ordinary people tried to make fun of what they fear - death. People believe that courage, daring, courage are able to defeat any evil.