Shackles

Plaintively and fantastically the song sounded. The grandmother, representing a wolf, spoke and sang by a thick voice; representing a kozlyatok, again changed a timbre.

When the wolf went to shape thinner language to the smith, the grandmother did a special face and spoke on – wolf low and densely:

– The smith, the smith, painfully I is simple, language at me is thick, hold down to me thin language!

The wolf achieved the, deceived and ate a kozlyatok; children with horror, as if in reality, saw an execution which the offended mother revenged it:

– The godmother, the godmother, a hair burns!

– So it is also necessary to you: why mine the kozlyatok ate?

– The godmother, the godmother, a leg burn!

– So it is also necessary to you!.

A story about Ivanushka and Alyonushka was top of art of the storyteller: listening to this fairy tale, children already not for the first time shed tears of the best human feelings.

The grandmother told about the wonderful mare who gave rise zolotogrivy horses and the fad-gorbunka about clever brothers and Ivan the Fool; clever married and deceived the father, and Ivan honestly guarded the fatherly field. For it clever brothers considered him the fool, but left so that to it tumbled down happiness when clever got zolotogrivy horses, and to the fool an ordinary-looking gorbunok. Gorbunok had magic power and bore to the owner faithful service. At the end of the fairy tale when Ivanushka, apparently, inevitably had to die in the boiling copper, the gorbunok came of it to the rescue also here and even rewarded it for his sorrows: having boiled down in a copper, Ivan was the handsome, the clear head and the owner of the biggest kingdom in the world.

Was marvelous fairy tales at the grandmother much: about a firebird, about Zmey Gorynych, about the tsar Saltan, about the sleeping tsarevna, the Golden Cockerel, about a bottom a tolokonny forehead and the worker to his Head.

Absolutely close the hand bell tinkled and calmed down. At gate the Ball began a bark, runners of sledge began to creak, someone knocked on a gate.

Yafim threw шубняк shoulders and left through an outer entrance hall to the yard.

– To whom a tepericha to be? – the grandfather grumbled, getting up from a bench.

In an outer entrance hall creaking, frosty steps were heard, and together with clouds of white frosty air the tall person in the fur coat brought by snow with the big lifted wolf collar tied by a scarf with the become covered with hoarfrost ice-covered beard entered a log hut. Behind it Yafim entered, bearing the big knot brought by snow.

The guest grunted, unbent a collar and began to tear off from moustaches the cold hand ice icicles. Yafim helped it to take off a fur coat, and to the middle of a log hut there was a red curly person in a jacket and fur boots overknee.

The grandfather turned pale.

– Really you, Elizarushka? – the grandmother threw up the hands. – Vospodi!

– I am most! – the guest answered. – Great you live. Did not wait?

– Come, kindly to favor! To wait for Kuda here? Three years passed!

Vukol pricked up the ears.

Elizar solemnly, three times kissed each other with all. Lifted on Vukol’s hands, pricked to him cheeks with a beard, told:

– Masha with Vovka in the city!

The grandmother has a little cry in a voice:

– Darling you are our Elizarushka, a falcon clear, an eagle gray-winged!

The old man grunted, pushed the son-in-law to a table and itself sat down.

In a log hut began to fuss, laid a table. Nastya brought a tin samovar from an outer entrance hall and was engaged in it.

The guest put near himself children. Developed a small parcel: there were painted pictures, several brand new basten books and one big.

– With mail reached – he told – yes nearly went astray, strayed a little bit, here and were late!

– Where you there, in Siberia, lived? – gloomy the grandfather asked.

– In the city of Kolymi… Only a rank that the city, and actually – a hole! Solitude, game, deficiency!. But, by the way, grew roots, we see – and in Siberia good people are.

The grandmother sobbed.

– Everything эфто left because of us, because of our village – the grandfather noticed – because of the earth! The landowner on “conclusion” brought us here and deprived of the earth! you suffered for the earth!

Vukol attentively listened attentively to the father’s conversation with the grandfather, understood badly, but intuition caught that all this has some communication with a half-forgotten trip. Suddenly pulled it to the father, взлез to it on knees.

– Aha! – the father laughed – you will go with me to the city to mother? and?

Vukol stretched to his ear and in a whisper reported in confidence:

– I will go!

Seniors long spoke about life in exile, about for what his parents got there, but a lot of things seemed unclear. Vukol decided to choose a moment when the grandfather is not for inquiries. He listened and kept the eyes glued from the father: for long time this image grew dull in his memory. Now Vukol with curiosity and pride admired still the young, talkative and attractive man. Its exterior which is almost forgotten by Vukol seemed very beautiful. The hair which grew in exile almost to shoulders were cast away back, opening a big clean forehead; the thin nose – with a small hump, eyes – cheerful, derisive, a beard of pure gold, curls locks. Absolutely to the man it is not similar. In all bearing – daring. It was joyful to watch Vukola at him.

– Books what for? – the grandfather grinned. – We are illiterate, not about us pisano!

– In Siberia kind people educated! – Elizar objected. – And these took for children! From there is nothing to do and you will listen!

The grandfather took the big book, carefully developed it on a table and slowly began to overturn sheets hardened fingers. Long with surprise and bewilderment looked at the opened page speckled by ranks of black signs, mysterious for it, on white paper.

– What you look? – quietly the grandmother grinned. – Chitaka!

– Knowledge! – the grandfather told. – About what pisano?.

– Yes you and head over heels hold the book! – the son-in-law noticed.

– To it all one! – Yafim grinned.

– This is Paulson, the book for general reading! There is a story about Englishman Franklin who opened why there is a thunder and a lightning, and many other things about science! Is about Fulton who launched the first steamship!

– See you! – the grandfather told. – Bat, Ilya prophet rattles, on the sky goes!

– Fairy tales! The science everything learned that it to what happens in the nature…

The grandfather shook the head.

– And god? You Nanyukhatsya, it is visible, in only three years! And here to me everything is uniform: I and in церкву Nicoli do not go – far, by the Lower Farms, she! Old women of an efta of a prayer invented!. God willing a dozhdichka, here and thanks to it, to Christians from it more is necessary nothing!.