The tale was written by Pavel Petrovich Ershov almost two centuries ago. Children's literature cannot be imagined without this work. A fairy tale awakens the imagination of children, serves as a decoration of our literature.
For the first time the fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse" was published in 1834 in the journal "Library for Reading." There is evidence of the Pushkin edition of the work. It was he who wrote the introduction to the tale.
Criticism did not take Ershov’s book seriously, considering it to be too lightweight. The tale of The Little Humpbacked Horse was appreciated by the king. The first edition of the book came out with notes.
The main character of the tale is the son of an old peasant, Ivan. The author never calls him “Ivan the Fool,” but from the philistine point of view, from the point of view of people who, for the sake of a quiet well-fed life, are cunning and deceiving for their own well-being, Ivan looks straightforward and silly. The hero of the tale does not pursue the momentary benefits that so attract sensible people. His wisdom can be called universal.
No need to represent Ivan as a superhero. His character contains features that make him understandable and not particularly attractive to us in the main character of the fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse". The tale says that Ivan was naive and foolish, loved to sleep, was lazy. But at the same time, he was honest in words and deeds, did not be greedy, did not steal, acted according to duty and this word, which helped him to attract magical powers to his side. Often the “mind” of Ivan’s older brothers exposes them as limited and primitive people who are not able to step over petty benefits.
“Though Ivan is smarter than you,
Yes, Ivan is more honest than you:
He didn’t steal your horses, ”Ivan reproaches his brothers.
The contrast of mind and stupidity, honesty and dishonor tells us that the "Little Humpbacked Horse" was written by Ershov not only for children. The rich content, magic and colorfulness make the tale beloved by children. The Little Humpbacked Horse is in many ways interesting for adults too - above all, for the various twists and turns of the plot that stem from the characters of the fairy tale characters, bright and convex, masterfully described by Ershov in a few words.
The hero of the tale, having received wonderful horses in his possession, does not become arrogant and arrogant from this. Willingly agrees to help out relatives from trouble. Once in the royal service, Ivan shows his "talents":
“He eats sweetly.
He sleeps so much
What expanse, and only! ”
The main "employer" of Ivan - the king - turned out to be petty tyrant, easily influenced by headphones envious of Ivan. The plan conceived by the tsar, how it is easier to lime Ivan, forces the latter to turn to the wonderful forces that always come to the aid of honest and fair people. The protagonist of the fairy tale “Warm up dressed up, seated on his skate ...” and goes on a “long journey” to fulfill the orders of the tsar-tyrant.
The image of the king is contrasted in the fairy tale with the image of Ivan. Ershov’s tsar is stupid, cruel and despotic. Mainly takes care of things that are not related to the good of the state and people. The king is worried about the desire to become young in order to marry the young princess. Being burdened with many worries about the state, the king prefers to lazily lie on his side and listen to the gossip of his scammers.
The stupid tricks of the king lead him to death in boiling cauldrons, from which Ivan emerges as a handsome man who has got rid of his plain peasant appearance.