Antony PogorelskyBlack chicken. Fairy tales. Black chicken, or Underground inhabitants

A wonderful fairy tale about a black hen was written by Antony Pogorelsky for his ten-year-old nephew Alyosha Tolstoy. This boy later became famous writer and a poet.

Very briefly

The main character of the fairy tale is also ten years old and his name is also Alyosha. He lives at a boarding house in St. Petersburg, far from his parents. Alyosha is a diligent student, a good friend and just a kind boy. One day he saves a chicken that was assigned to the kitchen, and from that moment his life changes completely. He gains an amazing ability, but instead of using it to benefit himself and others, he imagines that he is now better than his comrades, becoming proud, arrogant and lazy. Alyosha commits an act for which he later deeply repents, and this becomes the beginning of his return to old life diligent student.

The wonderful fairy tale of Anthony Pogorelsky has been teaching boys and girls for almost 200 years to take responsibility for their words and actions, value friendship and not look for workarounds where diligence is needed. And for adults, this work is an opportunity to remember their childhood, plunging into the atmosphere of one of the favorite fairy tales of their childhood.

Read the summary of the story The Black Chicken or the Underground Inhabitants of Pogorelsky

So, our Alyosha is a lonely, quiet boy who lives very far from home and your family. He was brought to St. Petersburg to receive a good education. Alyosha constantly lives in a boarding house and does not even have the opportunity to go home during the holidays. He misses his loved ones very much, he invents stories for himself about a kind sorceress who will someday come to the fence of the boarding house and give him a gift from his parents.

The days of study are filled with a variety of activities, and time passes quickly for Alyosha, on holidays, weekends and vacations, his fellow students go to their families, and he is left completely alone. The boy has very little entertainment during such periods, he reads chivalric novels, fortunately the teacher allows him to borrow books from his library, walks in the yard and makes friends with the chickens, plays with them, and feeds them bread crumbs. Of all, the boy singles out one, the most beautiful, in his opinion. He calls her Chernushka for the color of her feathers, and considers her his friend.

One day, while walking in the yard, Alyosha sees the cook trying to catch his beloved Chernushka. Further fate The chicken is clear to the boy, and he, rushing to the cook, begs her to let go of the black chicken, giving in exchange for her life, his only, carefully kept, jewel - a gold coin. From this moment, real magic begins in Alyosha’s life.

That same night Chernushka comes to his bedroom and invites him with him to a part of the house where the boy has never been before. On the way, the black chicken asks him to be quiet. But the surrounding situation surprises Alyosha so much that he cannot restrain himself and it is his fault that noise occurs. The knights guarding the magical passage wake up, and Chernushka enters into battle with them. From the unreality of what is happening and strong emotions, Alyosha loses consciousness and... wakes up in the morning in his bed. He is annoyed with himself for his incontinence and waits for the night in the hope that the chicken will come to him again. That's what happens.

This time Alyosha tries her best to be quiet, and they still end up in the magic kingdom. Suddenly it turns out that Chernushka is not a chicken, but a prime minister, whom all residents value underground kingdom. The king himself comes out to Alyosha to thank him and promises to fulfill any wish. Alyosha, not ready for such a turn, asks for the first thing that came to mind - the ability to always know a given lesson without making an effort. He is given a magic seed that has such power as long as it is in the pocket of his clothes. Then the underground inhabitants show Alyosha the wonders of their kingdom, invite him to hunt and treat him to a delicious meal. Chernushka tells the history of the kingdom and asks the boy never to tell anyone about their existence, because otherwise they will have to leave here far, far away.

School begins. On the very first day, Alyosha, having studied nothing, answers all the lessons brilliantly. At first, he is embarrassed by the praise; he understands that he is not responsible for the excellent results. But as time goes by, he gets used to his gift and begins to look down on his comrades, for whom studying is not so easy. From a modest, diligent and kind boy, he turns into an arrogant, proud, arrogant one. He becomes a notorious naughty boy and the more he plays pranks, the more lessons he is given in the form of punishment. And then one day he failed to answer the teacher for the given lesson.

Putting his hand in his pocket, he discovered that the wonderful seed had disappeared. He spent the whole day upset, and at night Chernushka brought him the loss. The Minister of the Underworld was very upset by the change that had occurred in his friend. Alyosha decides to improve. The next day he answers the lesson to the teacher, lying that he learned everything in the morning, but his comrades catch him in a lie, and out of fear of punishment, Alyosha tells the whole truth about his gift and Chernushka and the underground inhabitants. Of course, they don’t believe him, the boy is punished. At night, it turns out that all the underground inhabitants are leaving their habitable place, and Chernushka is now forced to wear chains on his hands as a sign of punishment. Alyosha becomes seriously ill from his worries the next morning. While recovering, he realizes that the changes that have happened to him have ruined his character. Alyosha greatly repents of his attitude towards his comrades and most of all of the fact that he told about the underground kingdom, forcing its inhabitants to go to new places. The boy improves, once again becoming kind, diligent, hardworking and modest.

Picture or drawing Black chicken or underground inhabitants

Other retellings for the reader's diary

• Summary of the novel Demons by Dostoevsky

  Stepan Trofimovich is an unusual person, because although he is quite middle-aged, he still often behaves like a capricious child. He managed to be widowed twice, and therefore agrees with Varvara Petrovna Stavrigina to become for her son,

• Summary of Zoshchenko Beda

  In that humorous story The main character actually does have a problem... but it’s something that is “laughter and sin.” And everything happens at the very end.

• Summary Bondarev Hot Snow

  The action of the work takes place in war time. Colonel Deev's division is sent to Stalingrad to repel the enemy group. The battle goes on for many days and nights. During the battle, many German and Soviet soldiers die.

• Summary Vasily Terkin Tvardovsky

  The story is told about young man, named Vasily Terkin. Having been to war for the second time. The man talks about how they made their way from the Germans. Once in the commander’s village, we went to his house

• Summary of Durov My animals

  Durov loved animals and wrote stories about them. In the huge house where the bears lived, an elephant, various breeds pets... He not only kept them, but taught them various tricks

A. Pogorelsky

About forty years ago in St. Petersburg on Vasilievsky Island, in the First Line, there lived the owner of a men's boarding house, which to this day, probably, remains in the fresh memory of many, although the house where the boarding house was located has long been gave way to another, not at all similar to the previous one. At that time, our St. Petersburg was already famous throughout Europe for its beauty, although it was still far from what it is now. Then there were no cheerful shady alleys on the avenues of Vasilyevsky Island: wooden stages, often knocked together from rotten boards, took the place of today’s beautiful sidewalks. Isaac's Bridge, narrow and uneven at that time, presented a completely different appearance than it does now; and St. Isaac's Square itself was not like that at all. Then the monument to Peter the Great was separated from St. Isaac's Church by a ditch; The Admiralty was not surrounded by trees; The Horse Guards Manege did not decorate the square with the beautiful façade it now has - in a word, the Petersburg of that time was not the same as it is now. Cities have, by the way, the advantage over people that they sometimes become more beautiful with age... However, that’s not what we’re talking about now. Another time and on another occasion, perhaps I will talk to you at greater length about the changes that have taken place in St. Petersburg during my century, but now let’s turn again to the boarding house, which about forty years ago was located on Vasilyevsky Island, in the First Line.

The house, which now - as I already told you - you will not find, was about two floors, covered with Dutch tiles. The porch along which one entered it was wooden and overlooked the street... From the entryway a rather steep staircase led to the upper housing, which consisted of eight or nine rooms, in which the owner of the boarding house lived on one side, and classrooms on the other. The dormitories, or children's bedrooms, were located on the ground floor, right side the entryway, and on the left lived two old women, Dutch women, each of whom was more than a hundred years old and who saw Peter the Great with their own eyes and even spoke to him...

Among the thirty or forty children studying at that boarding school, there was one boy named Alyosha, who was then no more than nine or ten years old. His parents, who lived far, far from St. Petersburg, had brought him to the capital two years before, sent him to a boarding school and returned home, paying the teacher the agreed upon fee several years in advance. Alyosha was a smart, cute boy, he studied well, and everyone loved and caressed him. However, despite this, he was often bored at the boarding house, and sometimes even sad. Especially at first, he could not get used to the idea that he was separated from his family. But then, little by little, he began to get used to his situation, and there were even moments when, playing with his friends, he thought that it was much more fun in the boarding house than in parental home.

In general, the days of study passed quickly and pleasantly for him; but when Saturday came and all his comrades hurried home to their relatives, then Alyosha bitterly felt his loneliness. On Sundays and holidays he was left alone all day, and then his only consolation was reading books that the teacher allowed him to take from his small library. The teacher was a German by birth, and at that time in German literature the fashion for knightly novels and fairy tales prevailed—and the library that our Alyosha used consisted mostly of books of this kind.

So, Alyosha, while still ten years old, already knew by heart the deeds of the most glorious knights, according to at least just as they were described in the novels. His favorite pastime during long periods of time winter evenings, on Sundays and others holidays, was mentally transported to ancient, long-past centuries... Especially in the vacant time, when he was separated for a long time from his comrades, when he often sat for whole days in solitude, his young imagination wandered through knightly castles, through terrible ruins or through dark, dense forests .

I forgot to tell you that this house had a fairly spacious courtyard, separated from the alley by a wooden fence made of baroque planks. The gate and gate that led to the alley were always locked, and therefore Alyosha never had the opportunity to visit this alley, which greatly aroused his curiosity. Whenever they allowed him to play in the yard during rest hours, his first movement was to run up to the fence. Here he stood on tiptoe and looked intently into the round holes with which the fence was dotted. Alyosha did not know that these holes came from the wooden nails with which the barges had previously been nailed together, and it seemed to him that some kind sorceress had drilled these holes on purpose for him. He kept expecting that someday this sorceress would appear in the alley and through the hole would give him a toy, or a talisman, or a letter from daddy or mummy, from whom he had not received any news for a long time. But, to his extreme regret, no one even resembling the sorceress appeared.

Alyosha’s other occupation was to feed the chickens, who lived near the fence in a house specially built for them and played and ran around in the yard all day long. Alyosha got to know them very briefly, knew everyone by name, broke up their fights, and the bully punished them by sometimes not giving them anything from the crumbs for several days in a row, which he always collected from the tablecloth after lunch and dinner. Among the chickens, he especially loved one black crested one, named Chernushka. Chernushka was more affectionate to him than others; she even sometimes allowed herself to be stroked, and therefore Alyosha brought her the best pieces. She was of a quiet disposition; she rarely walked with others and seemed to love Alyosha more than her friends.

One day (it was during the winter vacation - the day was beautiful and unusually warm, no more than three or four degrees below zero) Alyosha was allowed to play in the yard. That day the teacher and his wife were in great trouble. They gave lunch to the director of the schools, and the day before, from morning until late evening, they washed the floors everywhere in the house, wiped the dust and waxed the mahogany tables and chests of drawers. The teacher himself went to buy provisions for the table: white Arkhangelsk veal, a huge ham and Kiev jam. Alyosha also contributed to the preparations to the best of his ability: he was forced to cut out a beautiful mesh for a ham from white paper and decorate six wax candles that had been specially purchased with paper carvings. On the appointed day, early in the morning, the hairdresser appeared and showed his art on the teacher’s curls, toupee and long braid. Then he set to work on his wife, pomaded her curls and hairpiece, and piled a whole greenhouse on her head. different colors, between which shone skillfully placed two diamond rings, once given to her husband by the parents of the students. After finishing the headdress, she threw on an old, worn-out robe and went to work on the housework, watching strictly so that her hair would not somehow get damaged; and for this reason she herself did not enter the kitchen, but gave her orders to the cook, standing in the doorway. When necessary, she sent her husband there, whose hair was not so high.

During all these worries, our Alyosha was completely forgotten, and he took advantage of this to play in the yard in the open space. As was his custom, he first approached the plank fence and looked through the hole for a long time; but even on this day almost no one passed along the alley, and with a sigh he turned to his kind chickens. Before he had time to sit down on the log and had just begun to beckon them to him, he suddenly saw a cook next to him with a large knife. Alyosha never liked this cook - angry and scolding. But since he noticed that she was the reason that the number of his chickens was decreasing from time to time, he began to love her even less. When one day he accidentally saw in the kitchen a pretty, very beloved cockerel, hanging by his feet, with his throat cut, he already developed a disgust for her. Seeing her now with a knife, he immediately guessed what it meant, and, feeling with sorrow that he was unable to help his friends, he jumped up and ran far away.

- Alyosha, Alyosha, help me catch the chicken! - the cook shouted.

But Alyosha began to run even faster, hid by the fence behind the chicken coop and did not notice how tears rolled out of his eyes one after another and fell to the ground.

He stood by the chicken coop for quite a long time, and his heart was beating strongly, while the cook ran around the yard, either beckoning to the chickens: “Chick, chick, chick!”, or scolding them.

Suddenly Alyosha’s heart began to beat even faster: he thought he heard the voice of his beloved Chernushka! She cackled in the most desperate way, and it seemed to him that she was shouting:

Alyosha could not remain in his place any longer. Sobbing loudly, he ran to the cook and threw himself on her neck at the very moment she caught Chernushka by the wing.

- Dear, dear Trinushka! - he cried, shedding tears. - Please don’t touch my Chernukha!

Alyosha so suddenly threw himself on the cook’s neck that she lost Chernushka from her hands, who, taking advantage of this, flew out of fear onto the roof of the barn and there continued to cackle.

But Alyosha now heard as if she were teasing the cook and shouting:

Meanwhile, the cook was beside herself with frustration and wanted to run to the teacher, but Alyosha did not allow her. He clung to the hem of her dress and began to beg so tenderly that she stopped.

- Darling, Trinushka! - he said. - You are so pretty, clean, kind... Please leave my Chernushka! Look what I'll give you if you're kind!

Alyosha took out of his pocket the imperial coin that made up his entire estate, which he cherished more than his own eyes, because it was a gift from his kind grandmother... The cook looked at the gold coin, looked around the windows of the house to make sure that no one saw them, and extended her hand behind the imperial. Alyosha was very, very sorry for the imperial, but he remembered Chernushka - and firmly gave the precious gift.

Thus Chernushka was saved from cruel and inevitable death.

As soon as the cook retired into the house, Chernushka flew off the roof and ran up to Alyosha. She seemed to know that he was her savior: she circled around him, flapping her wings and clucking in a cheerful voice. All morning she followed him around the yard like a dog, and it seemed as if she wanted to tell him something, but couldn’t. At least he couldn't make out her cackling sounds. About two hours before dinner, guests began to gather. Alyosha was called upstairs, they put on a shirt with a round collar and cambric cuffs with small folds, white trousers and a wide blue silk sash. His long brown hair, which hung almost to his waist, was thoroughly combed, divided into two even parts and placed in front on both sides of his chest.

This is how children were dressed up back then. Then they taught him how he should shuffle his foot when the director enters the room, and what he should answer if any questions are asked of him.

At another time, Alyosha would have been very happy about the arrival of the director, whom he had long wanted to see, because, judging by the respect with which the teacher and teacher spoke of him, he imagined that this must be some famous knight in shiny armor and helmet with large feathers. But that time, this curiosity gave way to the thought that exclusively occupied him then: about the black chicken. He kept imagining how the cook was running after her with a knife and how Chernushka was cackling in different voices. Moreover, he was very annoyed that he could not make out what she wanted to tell him, and he was drawn to the chicken coop... But there was nothing to do: he had to wait until lunch was over!

Finally the director arrived. His arrival was announced by the teacher, who had been sitting by the window for a long time, looking intently in the direction from which they were waiting for him.

Everything was in motion: the teacher rushed headlong out of the door to meet him below, at the porch; the guests got up from their places, and even Alyosha forgot about his chicken for a minute and went to the window to watch the knight get off his zealous horse. But he did not manage to see him, because he had already entered the house. At the porch, instead of a zealous horse, there stood an ordinary carriage sleigh. Alyosha was very surprised by this! “If I were a knight,” he thought, “I would never drive a cab, but always on horseback!”

Meanwhile, all the doors were opened wide, and the teacher began to curtsey in anticipation of such an honorable guest, who soon appeared. At first it was impossible to see him behind the fat teacher who stood right in the doorway; but when she, having finished her long greeting, sat down lower than usual, Alyosha, to extreme surprise, saw from behind her... not a feathered helmet, but just a small bald head, whitely powdered, the only decoration of which, as Alyosha later noticed, was a small bun! When he entered the living room, Alyosha was even more surprised to see that, despite the simple gray tailcoat that the director wore instead of shiny armor, everyone treated him with unusual respect.

No matter how strange all this seemed to Alyosha, no matter how much at another time he would have been delighted by the unusual decoration of the table, on that day he did not pay much attention to it. The morning incident with Chernushka kept wandering through his head. Dessert was served: various kinds of preserves, apples, bergamots, dates, wine berries and walnuts; but even here he never stopped thinking about his chicken for a single moment. And they had just gotten up from the table when, with his heart trembling with fear and hope, he approached the teacher and asked if he could go play in the yard.

“Come,” answered the teacher, “just don’t stay there for long: it will soon become dark.”

Alyosha hastily put on his red cap with squirrel fur and a green velvet cap with a sable band and ran to the fence. When he arrived there, the chickens had already begun to gather for the night and, sleepy, were not very happy about the crumbs he had brought. Only Chernushka seemed to have no desire to sleep: she ran up to him cheerfully, flapped her wings and began to cackle again. Alyosha played with her for a long time; Finally, when it became dark and it was time to go home, he himself closed the chicken coop, making sure in advance that his dear chicken sat on the pole. When he left the chicken coop, it seemed to him that Chernushka’s eyes glowed in the dark like stars, and that she quietly said to him:

- Alyosha, Alyosha! Stay with me!

Alyosha returned to the house and sat alone in the room all evening. classrooms, meanwhile, at the other half of the hour until eleven, the guests stayed. Before they parted, Alyosha went to the lower floor, to the bedroom, undressed, went to bed and put out the fire. For a long time he could not fall asleep. Finally, sleep overcame him, and he had just managed to talk with Chernushka in his sleep when, unfortunately, he was awakened by the noise of the guests leaving.

A little later, the teacher, who was seeing off the director with a candle, entered his room, looked to see if everything was in order, and went out, locking the door with the key.

It was a month's night, and through the shutters, which were not tightly closed, a pale ray of moonlight fell into the room. Alyosha was lying with with open eyes and listened for a long time as in the upper dwelling, above his head, they walked from room to room and put chairs and tables in order.

Finally, everything calmed down... He looked at the bed next to him, slightly illuminated by the monthly glow, and noticed that the white sheet, hanging almost to the floor, moved easily. He began to peer more closely... he heard as if something was scratching under the bed, and a little later it seemed that someone was calling him in a quiet voice:

- Alyosha, Alyosha!

Alyosha was frightened... He was alone in the room, and the thought immediately occurred to him that there must be a thief under the bed. But then, judging that the thief would not have called him by name, he became somewhat encouraged, although his heart was trembling.

He sat up a little in bed and saw even more clearly that the sheet was moving... he heard even more clearly that someone was saying:

- Alyosha, Alyosha!

Suddenly the white sheet lifted, and out from under it came... a black chicken!

- Ah! It's you, Chernushka! - Alyosha cried out involuntarily. - How did you come here?

Chernushka flapped her wings, flew up to his bed and said in a human voice:

- It's me, Alyosha! You're not afraid of me, are you?

- Why should I be afraid of you? - he answered. “I love you; It’s only strange for me that you speak so well: I didn’t know at all that you could speak!

“If you’re not afraid of me,” the hen continued, “then go

behind me. Get dressed quickly!

- How funny you are, Chernushka! - said Alyosha. “How can I get dressed in the dark?” Now I won’t find my dress; I can hardly see you too!

“I’ll try to help,” said the chicken.

Then she cackled in a strange voice, and suddenly, out of nowhere, small candles appeared in silver chandeliers, no bigger than Alyosha’s little finger. These sandals ended up on the floor, on the chairs, on the windows, even on the washstand, and the room became so light, so bright, as if it were daytime. Alyosha began to dress, and the hen handed him a dress, and thus he was soon completely dressed.

When Alyosha was ready, Chernushka cackled again, and all the candles disappeared.

- Follow me! - she told him.

And he boldly followed her. It was as if rays came out of her eyes and illuminated everything around them, although not as brightly as small candles. They walked through the front...

“The door is locked with a key,” said Alyosha.

But the chicken did not answer him: she flapped her wings, and the door opened by itself... Then, passing through the hallway, they turned to the rooms where the hundred-year-old Dutch women lived. Alyosha had never visited them, but he had heard that their rooms were decorated in the old-fashioned way, that one of them had a large gray parrot, and the other gray cat, very smart, who can jump through a hoop and give a paw. He had long wanted to see all this, and therefore he was very happy when the chicken flapped its wings again and the door to the old women’s chambers opened.

In the first room Alyosha saw all kinds of antique furniture: carved chairs, armchairs, tables and chests of drawers. The large couch was made of Dutch tiles, on which people and animals were painted in blue. Alyosha wanted to stop to examine the furniture, and especially the figures on the couch, but Chernushka did not allow him.

They entered the second room - and then Alyosha was happy! A large gray parrot with a red tail sat in a beautiful golden cage. Alyosha immediately wanted to run up to him. Chernushka again did not allow him.

“Don’t touch anything here,” she said. “Be careful of waking up the old ladies!”

Only then did Alyosha notice that next to the parrot there was a bed with white muslin curtains, through which he could make out an old woman lying with eyes closed: she seemed to him like wax. In another corner there was an identical bed where another old woman was sleeping, and next to her sat a gray cat and washed itself with its front paws. Passing by her, Alyosha could not resist asking her for her paws... Suddenly she meowed loudly, the parrot became ruffled and began to shout loudly: “Fool! Fool! At that very time it was visible through the muslin curtains that the old women sat up in bed. Chernushka hurriedly left, Alyosha ran after her, the door slammed hard behind them... and for a long time the parrot could be heard shouting: “Fool! Fool!

- Aren `t you ashamed! - said Chernushka when they moved away from the old women’s rooms. - You probably woke up the knights...

- Which knights? - asked Alyosha.

“You’ll see,” answered the hen. “Don’t be afraid of anything, though; follow me boldly.

They went down the stairs, as if into a cellar, and walked for a long, long time along various passages and corridors that Alyosha had never seen before. Sometimes these corridors were so low and narrow that Alyosha was forced to bend down. Suddenly they entered a hall illuminated by three large crystal chandeliers. The hall had no windows, and on both sides hung on the walls knights in shiny armor, with large feathers on their helmets, with spears and shields in iron hands.

Chernushka walked forward on tiptoe and ordered Alyosha to follow her quietly and quietly.

At the end of the hall there was a large door made of light yellow copper. As soon as they approached her, two knights jumped from the walls, struck their spears on their shields and rushed at the black chicken.

Chernushka raised her crest, spread her wings... suddenly she became big, tall, taller than the knights, and began to fight with them!

The knights advanced heavily on her, and she defended herself with her wings and nose. Alyosha became scared, his heart began to tremble violently, and he fainted.

When he came to his senses again, the sun was illuminating the room through the shutters and he was lying in his bed: neither Chernushka nor the knights were visible. For a long time Alyosha could not come to his senses. He did not understand what happened to him at night: did he see everything in a dream or did it really happen? He got dressed and went upstairs, but he could not get out of his head what he had seen the previous night. He was looking forward to the moment when he could go play in the yard, but all that day, as if on purpose, it was snowing heavily, and it was impossible to even think about leaving the house.

During lunch, the teacher, among other conversations, announced to her husband that the black chicken had hidden in some unknown place.

“However,” she added, “it wouldn’t be a big problem even if she disappeared: she was assigned to the kitchen long ago.” Imagine, darling, that since she has been in our house, she has not laid a single egg.

Alyosha almost began to cry, although the thought occurred to him that it would be better for her not to be found anywhere than for her to end up in the kitchen.

After lunch, Alyosha was again left alone in the classrooms. He constantly thought about what had happened the previous night, and could not in any way console himself with the loss of his dear Chernushka. Sometimes it seemed to him that he would definitely see her the next night, despite the fact that she had disappeared from the hen house. But then it seemed to him that this was an impossible task, and he again plunged into sadness.

It was time to go to bed, and Alyosha impatiently undressed and went to bed. Before he had time to look at the next bed, again illuminated by a quiet moonlight, as the white sheet moved - just like the day before... Again he heard a voice calling him: “Alyosha, Alyosha!” - and a little later Chernushka came out from under the bed and flew up to his bed.

- Ah! Hello, Chernushka! — he cried, beside himself with joy. “I was afraid that I would never see you.” Are you healthy?

“I’m healthy,” answered the hen, “but I almost fell ill due to your mercy.”

- How is it, Chernushka? - Alyosha asked, frightened.

“You are a good boy,” the hen continued, “but at the same time you are flighty and never obey the first word, and this is not good!” Yesterday I told you not to touch anything in the old ladies’ room, despite the fact that you couldn’t resist asking the cat for a paw. The cat woke up the parrot, the old women's parrot, the old women's knights - and I managed to cope with them!

“I’m sorry, dear Chernushka, I won’t go forward!” Please take me there again today. You will see that I will be obedient.

“Okay,” said the chicken, “we’ll see!”

The hen clucked as the day before, and the same small candles appeared in the same silver chandeliers. Alyosha got dressed again and went to get the chicken. Again they entered the old women's chambers, but this time he did not touch anything. When they passed through the first room, it seemed to him that the people and animals drawn on the couch were making various funny faces and beckoning him to them, but he deliberately turned away from them. In the second room, the old Dutch women, just like the day before, lay in their beds as if they were made of wax. The parrot looked at Alyosha and blinked, the gray cat again washed itself with its paws. On the cleared table in front of the mirror, Alyosha saw two porcelain Chinese dolls, which he had not noticed yesterday. They nodded their heads at him; but he remembered Chernushka’s order and walked on without stopping, but he could not resist bowing to them in passing. The dolls immediately jumped off the table and ran after him, all nodding their heads. He almost stopped - they seemed so funny to him; but Chernushka looked back at him with an angry look, and he came to his senses. The dolls accompanied them to the door and, seeing that Alyosha was not looking at them, returned to their places.

They again went down the stairs, walked along passages and corridors and came to the same hall, illuminated by three crystal chandeliers. The same knights were hanging on the walls, and again - when they approached the door of yellow copper - two knights came down from the wall and blocked their way. It seemed, however, that they were not as angry as the day before; they could hardly drag their feet like autumn flies, and it was clear that they held their spears with force...

Chernushka became big and ruffled. But as soon as she hit them with her wings, they fell apart, and Alyosha saw that they were empty armor! The copper door opened of its own accord, and they moved on.

A little later they entered another hall, spacious, but low, so that Alyosha could reach the ceiling with his hand. This hall was lit by the same small candles that he had seen in his room, but the candlesticks were not silver, but gold.

Here Chernushka left Alyosha.

“Stay here a little,” she told him, “I’ll come back soon.” Today you were smart, although you acted carelessly by worshiping porcelain dolls. If you had not bowed to them, the knights would have remained on the wall. However, you didn’t wake up the old women today, and that’s why the knights had no power.” After this, Chernushka left the hall.

Left alone, Alyosha began to carefully examine the hall, which was very richly decorated. It seemed to him that the walls were made of marble, such as he had seen in the mineral cabinet in the boarding house. The panels and doors were pure gold. At the end of the hall, under a green canopy, on an elevated place, there were armchairs made of gold. Alyosha really admired this decoration, but it seemed strange to him that everything was in the smallest form, as if for small dolls.

While he was looking at everything with curiosity, a side door, previously unnoticed by him, opened, and many small people, no more than half an arshin tall, in elegant multi-colored dresses, entered. Their appearance was important: some looked like military men by their attire, others looked like civil officials. They all wore round hats with feathers, like the Spanish ones. They did not notice Alyosha, walked sedately through the rooms and spoke loudly to each other, but he could not understand what they were saying.

He looked at them silently for a long time and just wanted to approach one of them with a question, when a large door opened at the end of the hall... Everyone fell silent, stood against the walls in two rows and took off their hats.

In an instant, the room became even brighter, all the small candles burned even brighter, and Alyosha saw twenty little knights in golden armor, with crimson feathers on their helmets, who entered in pairs in a quiet march. Then, in deep silence, they stood on both sides of the chairs. A little later a man with a majestic posture entered the hall, wearing a shining crown on his head. precious stones. He wore a light green robe, lined with mouse fur, with a long train carried by twenty little pages in crimson dresses.

Alyosha immediately guessed that it must be the king. He bowed low to him. The king responded to his bow very affectionately and sat down in the golden chairs. Then he ordered something to one of the knights standing next to him, who, approaching Alyosha, told him to approach the chairs. Alyosha obeyed.

“I have known for a long time,” said the king, “that you are a good boy; but the day before yesterday you rendered a great service to my people and for that you deserve a reward. My chief minister informed me that you saved him from inevitable and cruel death.

- When? - Alyosha asked in surprise.

“It’s yesterday,” answered the king. “Here is the one who owes you his life.”

Alyosha looked at the one to whom the king was pointing, and then only noticed that between the courtiers stood small man, dressed all in black. On his head he had a special kind of crimson-colored cap, with teeth at the top, worn slightly to one side; and on his neck was a white scarf, very starched, which made it seem a little bluish. He smiled tenderly, looking at Alyosha, to whom his face seemed familiar, although he could not remember where he had seen him.

No matter how flattering it was for Alyosha that such a thing was attributed to him Noble act, but he loved the truth and therefore, making a low bow, said:

- Mister King! I can't take it personally for something I've never done. The other day I had the good fortune to save from death not your minister, but our black hen, which the cook did not like because she did not lay a single egg...

- What are you saying? - the king interrupted him with anger. “My minister is not a chicken, but an honored official!”

Then the minister came closer, and Alyosha saw that in fact it was his dear Chernushka. He was very happy and asked the king for an apology, although he could not understand what this meant.

- Tell me what do you want? - continued the king. - If I am able, I will certainly fulfill your demand.

- Speak boldly, Alyosha! - the minister whispered in his ear.

Alyosha became thoughtful and didn’t know what to wish. If they had given him more time, he might have come up with something good; but since it seemed discourteous to him to make him wait for the king, he hastened to answer.

“I would like,” he said, “that, without studying, I would always know my lesson, no matter what I was given.”

“I didn’t think you were such a sloth,” answered the king, shaking his head. “But there’s nothing to do: I must fulfill my promise.”

He waved his hand, and the page brought a golden dish on which lay a hemp seed.

“Take this seed,” said the king. “As long as you have it, you will always know your lesson, no matter what you are given, with the condition, however, that you do not say a single word about it to anyone under any pretext.” what you saw here or will see in the future. The slightest immodesty will deprive you of our favors forever, and will cause us a lot of trouble and trouble.

Alyosha took the hemp grain, wrapped it in a piece of paper and put it in his pocket, promising to be silent and modest. The king then got up from his chair and left the hall in the same order, first ordering the minister to treat Alyosha as best he could.

As soon as the king left, all the courtiers surrounded Alyosha and began to caress him in every possible way, expressing their gratitude for the fact that he had saved the minister. They all offered him their services: some asked if he wanted to take a walk in the garden or see the royal menagerie; others invited him to hunt. Alyosha didn’t know what to decide. Finally, the minister announced that he himself would show the underground rarities to his dear guest.

First he took him to the garden. The paths were strewn with large multi-colored pebbles, reflecting the light from countless small lamps with which the trees were hung. Alyosha really liked this shine.

“You call these stones,” said the minister, “precious.” These are all diamonds, yachts, emeralds and amethysts.

- Oh, if only our paths were strewn with this! - Alyosha cried.

“Then they would be just as valuable to you as they are here,” answered the minister.

The trees also seemed extremely beautiful to Alyosha, although at the same time very strange. They were of different colors: red, green, brown, white, blue and purple. When he looked at them with attention, he saw that they were nothing more than various kinds of moss, only taller and thicker than usual. The minister told him that this moss was ordered by the king for a lot of money from distant countries from the very depths of the globe.

From the garden they went to the menagerie. There they showed Alyosha wild animals that were tied on golden chains. Peering more closely, he, to his surprise, saw that these wild animals were nothing more than large rats, moles, ferrets and similar animals living in the ground and under floors. He thought it was very funny; but out of politeness he did not say a word.

Returning to the rooms after the walk, Alyosha big hall I found a set table on which all sorts of sweets, pies, pates and fruits were placed. The dishes were all made of pure gold, and the bottles and glasses were carved from solid diamonds, yachts and emeralds.

“Eat whatever you want,” said the minister, “you are not allowed to take anything with you.”

Alyosha had a very good dinner that day, and therefore he did not feel like eating at all.

“You promised to take me hunting with you,” he said.

“Very good,” answered the minister. “I think the horses are already saddled.”

Then he whistled, and the grooms came in, leading the reins with sticks, the knobs of which were carved and represented horses' heads. The minister jumped onto his horse with great dexterity; Alyosha was let down much more than others.

“Be careful,” said the minister, “that the horse doesn’t throw you off: it’s not one of the quietest.”

Alyosha laughed internally at this, but when he took the stick between his legs, he saw that the minister’s advice was not useless. The stick began to dodge under him, like a real horse, and he could barely sit up.

Meanwhile, the horns were blown, and the hunters began to gallop at full speed along various passages and corridors. They galloped like this for a long time, and Alyosha did not lag behind them, although he could hardly restrain his mad stick...

Suddenly, several rats jumped out from one side corridor, the largest rats Alyosha had ever seen. They wanted to run past, but when the minister ordered them to be surrounded, they stopped and began to defend themselves bravely. Despite this, however, they were defeated by the courage and skill of the hunters. Eight rats lay down on the spot, three took flight, and the minister ordered one, quite seriously wounded, to be cured and taken to the menagerie.

At the end of the hunt, Alyosha was so tired that his eyes involuntarily closed... with all that, he wanted to talk about many things with Chernushka, and he asked permission to return to the hall from which they left for the hunt. The minister agreed to this.

They rode back at a fast trot and, upon arriving in the hall, handed the horses over to the grooms, bowed to the courtiers and hunters, and sat down next to each other on the chairs brought to them.

“Tell me, please,” Alyosha began, “why did you kill the poor rats that don’t bother you and live so far from your home?”

“If we had not exterminated them,” said the minister, “they would soon have kicked us out of our rooms and destroyed all our food supplies.” Besides, mice and rat furs are in our high price due to their lightness and softness. Some noble persons are allowed to use them here.

- Tell me, please, who are you? - Alyosha continued.

“Have you never heard that our people live underground?” - answered the minister. - True, not many manage to see us, but there were examples, especially in the old days, that we came out into the world and showed ourselves to people. Now this rarely happens because people have become very immodest. And we have a law that if the one to whom we have appeared does not keep this a secret, then we are forced to immediately leave our location and go far, far away, to other countries. You can easily imagine that it would be sad for our king to leave all the local establishments and move with the whole people to unknown lands. And therefore I earnestly ask you to be as modest as possible. Otherwise, you will make us all unhappy, and especially me. Out of gratitude, I begged the king to call you here; but he will never forgive me if, due to your immodesty, we are forced to leave this region...

“I give you my word of honor that I will never talk about you to anyone,” Alyosha interrupted him. “I now remember that I read in one book about gnomes who live underground.” They write that in a certain city a shoemaker became very rich at the very a short time, so that no one understood where his wealth came from. Finally, somehow they found out that he sewed boots and shoes for the gnomes, who paid him very dearly for it.

“Perhaps this is true,” answered the minister.

“But,” Alyosha said to him, “explain to me, dear Chernushka, why do you, being a minister, appear in the world in the form of a chicken and what connection do you have with the old Dutch women?”

Chernushka, wanting to satisfy his curiosity, began to tell him in detail about many things, but at the very beginning of her story, Aleshina’s eyes closed and he fell fast asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he was lying in his bed.

For a long time he could not come to his senses and did not know what to think... Blackie and the minister, the king and the knights, the Dutch women and the rats - all this was mixed up in his head, and he mentally put in order everything he had seen the previous night. Remembering that the king had given him hemp seed, he hastily rushed to his dress and actually found in his pocket a piece of paper in which the hemp seed was wrapped. “We’ll see,” he thought, “whether the king keeps his word!” Classes start tomorrow, and I haven’t learned all my lessons yet.”

The history lesson particularly bothered him: he was asked to memorize several pages from world history, and he didn’t know a single word yet!

Monday came, the boarders arrived, and classes began. From ten o'clock to twelve o'clock the owner of the boarding house taught history.

Alyosha’s heart was beating strongly... By the time it was his turn, he several times felt the piece of paper with a hemp seed in his pocket... Finally they called him. With trepidation, he approached the teacher, opened his mouth, not yet knowing what to say, and unmistakably, without stopping, said what was asked. The teacher praised him very much; however, Alyosha did not accept his praise with the pleasure that he had previously felt in similar cases. An inner voice told him that he did not deserve this praise, because this lesson did not cost him any work.

For several weeks the teachers could not praise Alyosha enough. Without exception, he knew all the lessons perfectly, all the translations from one language to another were without errors, so that one could not be surprised at his extraordinary successes. Alyosha was internally ashamed of these praises: he was ashamed that he was being held up as an example to his comrades, when he did not deserve it at all.

During this time, Chernushka did not come to him, despite the fact that Alyosha, especially in the first weeks after receiving the hemp seed, did not miss almost a single day without calling her when he went to bed. At first he was very sad about this, but then he calmed down with the thought that she was probably busy with important matters according to her rank. Subsequently, the praise that everyone showered on him occupied him so much that he rarely remembered her.

Meanwhile, rumors about his extraordinary abilities soon spread throughout the whole of St. Petersburg. The director of the schools himself came to the boarding school several times and admired Alyosha. The teacher carried him in his arms, for through him the boarding house entered into glory. Parents came from all over the city and pestered him to take their children into his home, in the hope that they too would be scientists like Alyosha.

Soon the boarding house was so full that there was no longer room for new boarders, and the teacher and teacher began to think about renting a house much more spacious than the one in which they lived.

Alyosha, as I said above, at first was ashamed of the praise, feeling that he did not deserve it at all, but little by little he began to get used to it, and finally his pride reached the point that he accepted, without blushing, the praise that was showered on him . He began to think a lot about himself, put on airs in front of other boys and imagined that he was much better and smarter than all of them. As a result, Aleshin’s character completely deteriorated: from a kind, sweet and modest boy, he became proud and disobedient. His conscience often reproached him for this, and an inner voice told him: “Alyosha, don’t be proud! Do not attribute to yourself what does not belong to you; thank fate for giving you advantages against other children, but do not think that you are better than them. If you don’t improve, then no one will love you, and then you, with all your learning, will be the most unfortunate child!”

Sometimes he even intended to improve; but, unfortunately, his pride was so strong that it drowned out the voice of his conscience, and he became worse day by day, and day by day his comrades loved him less.

Moreover, Alyosha became a terrible naughty man. Having no need to repeat the lessons that were assigned to him, he was engaged in pranks while other children were preparing for classes, and this idleness spoiled his character even more.

Finally, everyone was so tired of him with his bad temper that the teacher seriously began to think about ways to correct such a bad boy and for this purpose gave him lessons twice and three times greater than others; but this didn’t help at all. Alyosha did not study at all, but still knew the lesson from beginning to end, without the slightest mistake.

One day the teacher, not knowing what to do with him, asked him to memorize twenty pages by the next morning and hoped that, at least on that day, he would be more humble.

Where! Our Alyosha didn’t even think about the lesson! On this day he deliberately played more naughty than usual, and the teacher vainly threatened him with punishment if he did not know his lesson the next morning. Alyosha laughed internally at these threats, being sure that the hemp seed would certainly help him.

The next day, at the appointed hour, the teacher picked up the book from which Alyosha’s lesson was assigned, called him over and ordered him to say what was assigned. All the children turned their attention to Alyosha with curiosity, and the teacher himself did not know what to think when Alyosha, despite the fact that he had not taught the lesson at all the day before, boldly stood up from the bench and approached him. Alyosha had no doubt that this time he would be able to show his extraordinary ability, he opened his mouth... and could not utter a word!

- Why are you silent? - the teacher told him. - Say your lesson.

Alyosha blushed, then turned pale, blushed again, began to knead his hands, tears welled up in his eyes from fear... everything was in vain! He could not utter a single word, because, hoping for hemp grain, he did not even look into the book.

- What does this mean, Alyosha! - the teacher shouted. “Why don’t you want to talk?”

Alyosha himself didn’t know what to attribute such strangeness to; he stuck his hand into his pocket to feel the seed... But how can one describe his despair when he didn’t find it! Tears poured out of his eyes like hail... he cried bitterly and still could not say a word.

Meanwhile, the teacher was losing patience. Accustomed to the fact that Alyosha always answered accurately and without hesitating, it seemed impossible to him that he did not at least know the beginning of the lesson, and therefore attributed the silence to his stubbornness.

“Go to the bedroom,” he said, “and stay there until you know the lesson completely.”

Alyosha was taken to the lower floor, they gave him books and locked the door with a key.

As soon as he was left alone, he began to look everywhere for hemp seeds. He rummaged in his pockets for a long time, crawled on the floor, looked under the bed, sorted through the blanket, pillows, sheets - all in vain! There was no trace of the dear grain anywhere! He tried to remember where he could have lost it, and finally became convinced that he had dropped it the day before while playing in the yard.

But how to find it? He was locked in the room, and even if he had been allowed to go out into the yard, it probably would have been of no use there, for he knew that the chickens were greedy for hemp and its grain, probably one of them managed to peck ! Desperate to find him, he decided to call Chernushka to his aid.

- Dear Chernushka! - he said. - Dear Minister! Please appear to me and give me another grain! I really will be more careful going forward...

But no one answered his requests, and he finally sat down on a chair and again began to cry bitterly.

Meanwhile, it was time for lunch; the door opened and the teacher entered.

- Do you know the lesson now? - he asked Alyosha.

Alyosha, sobbing loudly, was forced to say that he didn’t know.

- Well, then stay here while you learn! - said the teacher, ordered to give him a glass of water and a piece of rye bread and left him alone again.

Alyosha began to repeat it by heart, but nothing entered his head. He has long been unaccustomed to studying, and how can he proofread twenty printed pages! No matter how much he worked, no matter how much he strained his memory, but when evening came, he did not know more than two or three pages, and even then poorly.

When it was time for the other children to go to bed, all his comrades rushed into the room at once, and the teacher came with them again.

- Alyosha! Do you know the lesson? - he asked.

And poor Alyosha answered through tears:

- I only know two pages.

“So, apparently, tomorrow you will have to sit here on bread and water,” said the teacher, wished the other children a good night’s sleep and left.

Alyosha stayed with his comrades. Then, when he was kind and modest, everyone loved him, and if he happened to be punished, then everyone felt sorry for him, and this served as a consolation to him. But now no one paid attention to him: everyone looked at him with contempt and did not say a word to him. He decided to start a conversation with one boy, with whom he had previously been very friendly, but he turned away from him without answering. Alyosha turned to another, but he didn’t want to talk to him either and even pushed him away when he spoke to him again. Then unfortunate Alyosha felt that he deserved such treatment from his comrades. Shedding tears, he lay down in his bed, but could not sleep. He lay like this for a long time and remembered with sorrow the past. happy days. All the children were already enjoying a sweet sleep, only he could not fall asleep. “And Chernushka left me,” thought Alyosha, and tears flowed from his eyes again.

Suddenly... the sheet next to him began to move, just like on the first day when the black chicken came to him.

His heart began to beat faster... he wanted Chernushka to come out from under the bed again, but he did not dare hope that his wish would come true.

- Chernushka, Chernushka! - he finally said in a low voice.

The sheet lifted and a black chicken flew onto his bed.

- Oh, Chernushka! - said Alyosha, beside himself with joy. “I didn’t dare hope that I would see you!” Have you forgotten me?

“No,” she answered, “I cannot forget the service you provided, although the Alyosha who saved me from death is not at all like the one I see before me now.” You were a kind boy then, modest and courteous, and everyone loved you, but now... I don’t recognize you!

Alyosha cried bitterly, and Chernushka continued to give him instructions. She talked to him for a long time and with tears begged him to improve. Finally, when daylight was already beginning to appear, the hen said to him:

- Now I have to leave you, Alyosha! Here is the hemp seed that you dropped in the yard. It was in vain that you thought that you had lost him forever. Our king is too generous to deprive you of this gift for your carelessness. Remember, however, that you gave your word of honor to keep everything you know about us secret... Alyosha, don’t add even worse to your current bad qualities - ingratitude!

Alyosha took his kind seed from the chicken’s feet with admiration and promised to use all his strength to improve.

“You will see, dear Chernushka,” he said, “that today I will be completely different.”

“Don’t think,” answered Chernushka, “that it is so easy to recover from vices when they have already taken over us.” Vices usually enter through the door and exit through a crack, and therefore if you want to improve, you must constantly and strictly look after yourself. But goodbye, it's time for us to part!

Alyosha, left alone, began to examine his grain and could not stop admiring it. Now he was completely calm about the lesson, and yesterday’s grief did not leave any traces on him. He happily thought about how everyone would be surprised when he spoke twenty pages without a mistake, and the thought that he would again gain the upper hand over his comrades who did not want to talk to him caressed his vanity. Although he did not forget about correcting himself, he thought that it could not be as difficult as Chernushka said. “As if it’s not up to me to improve! - he thought. “You just have to want it, and everyone will love me again...”

Alas! Poor Alyosha did not know that in order to correct himself it is necessary to begin by putting aside pride and excessive arrogance.

When the children gathered in their classes in the morning, Alyosha was called upstairs. He entered with a cheerful and triumphant look.

- Do you know your lesson? - asked the teacher, looking at him sternly.

“I know,” Alyosha answered boldly.

He began to speak and spoke all twenty pages without the slightest error or stop. The teacher was beside himself with surprise, and Alyosha looked proudly at his comrades.

Aleshin’s proud appearance did not hide from the teacher’s eyes.

“You know your lesson,” he told him, “it’s true, but why didn’t you want to say it yesterday?”

“I didn’t know him yesterday,” answered Alyosha.

- It can not be! “- the teacher interrupted him. “Yesterday evening you told me that you only knew two pages, and even then poorly, but now you’ve spoken all twenty without making a mistake!” When did you learn it?

- I learned it this morning!

But then suddenly all the children, upset by his arrogance, shouted in one voice:

“He’s not telling the truth, he didn’t even pick up a book this morning!”

Alyosha shuddered, lowered his eyes to the ground and did not say a word.

- Answer me! - continued the teacher. - When did you learn the lesson?

But Alyosha did not break the silence: he was so amazed by this unexpected question and the hostility that all his comrades showed him that he could not come to his senses.

Meanwhile, the teacher, believing that the day before he did not want to answer the lesson out of stubbornness, considered it necessary to punish him severely.

“The more natural abilities and gifts you have,” he said to Alyosha, “the more modest and obedient you should be.” The mind was not given to you so that you could use it for evil. You deserve punishment for yesterday’s stubbornness, and today you have increased your guilt by lying. Gentlemen! - the teacher continued, turning to the boarders. - I forbid you all to talk to Alyosha until he completely reforms. And since this is probably a small punishment for him, order the rod to be brought.

They brought rods... Alyosha was in despair! For the first time since the boarding school existed, they were punished with canes, and who - Alyosha, who thought so much about himself, who considered himself better and smarter than everyone else! What a shame!..

He, sobbing, rushed to the teacher and promised to completely improve.

“You should have thought about this before,” was the answer.

Alyosha's tears and repentance touched his comrades, and they began to ask for him. And Alyosha, feeling that he did not deserve their compassion, began to cry even more bitterly.

Finally the teacher took pity.

- Fine! - he said. - I will forgive you for the sake of the request of your comrades, but so that you admit your guilt in front of everyone and announce when you have learned the given lesson.

Alyosha completely lost his head... he forgot the promise he made to the underground king and his minister, and began to talk about the black chicken, about knights, about little people...

The teacher did not let him finish...

- How! - he cried with anger. “Instead of repenting of your bad behavior, you still decided to fool me by telling me a fairy tale about a black hen?.. This is too much.” No, children, you see for yourself that he cannot but be punished!

And poor Alyosha was whipped!

With his head bowed and his heart torn to pieces, Alyosha went to the lower floor, to the bedrooms. He felt like he was dead... Shame and remorse filled his soul. When, after a few hours, he calmed down a little and put his hand in his pocket... there was no hemp seed in it! Alyosha cried bitterly, feeling that he had lost him irrevocably!

In the evening, when the other children came to bed, he also went to bed; but I couldn’t fall asleep. How he repented of his bad behavior! He resolutely accepted the intention to improve, although he felt that it was impossible to return the hemp seed!

Around midnight, the sheet next to the bed moved again... Alyosha, who had been happy about this the day before, now closed his eyes: he was afraid to see Chernushka! His conscience tormented him. He remembered that just yesterday he had so confidently told Chernushka that he would certainly improve, and instead... What would he tell her now?

For some time he lay with his eyes closed. He heard the rustle of the sheet rising... Someone approached his bed, and a voice, a familiar voice, called him by name:

- Alyosha, Alyosha!

But he was ashamed to open his eyes, and meanwhile tears rolled from them and flowed down his cheeks...

Suddenly someone pulled the blanket. Alyosha involuntarily looked: Chernushka stood in front of him - not in the form of a chicken, but in a black dress, in a crimson cap with teeth and in a white starched neckerchief, just as he had seen her in the underground hall.

- Alyosha! - said the minister. - I see that you are not sleeping... Goodbye! I came to say goodbye to you, we won’t see each other again!.. Alyosha sobbed loudly.

- Goodbye! - he exclaimed. - Farewell! And, if you can, forgive me! I know that I am guilty before you, but I am severely punished for it!

- Alyosha! - the minister said through tears. “I forgive you; I can’t forget that you saved my life, and I still love you, although you made me unhappy, perhaps forever!.. Farewell! I am allowed to see you for the shortest possible time. Even during this night, the king and his entire people must move far, far from these places! Everyone is in despair, everyone is shedding tears. We lived here so happily, so peacefully for several centuries!..

Alyosha rushed to kiss the minister’s little hands. Grabbing his hand, he saw something shiny on it, and at the same time some extraordinary sound struck his ear...

- What it is? he asked in amazement.

The minister raised both hands up, and Alyosha saw that they were chained with a gold chain... He was horrified!..

“Your immodesty is the reason that I am condemned to wear these chains,” said the minister with a deep sigh, “but don’t cry, Alyosha!” Your tears can't help me. You can only console me in my misfortune: try to improve and be again the same kind boy as you were before. Goodbye for the last time!

The minister shook Alyosha's hand and disappeared under the next bed.

- Chernushka, Chernushka! - Alyosha shouted after him, but Chernushka did not answer.

The whole night he could not close his eyes for a minute. An hour before dawn, he heard something rustling under the floor. He got out of bed, put his ear to the floor and for a long time heard the sound of small wheels and noise, as if many small people were passing by. Between this noise one could also hear the crying of women and children and the voice of Minister Chernushka, who shouted to him:

- Goodbye, Alyosha! Goodbye forever!..

The next morning, the children woke up and saw Alyosha lying on the floor, unconscious. They raised him up, put him to bed, and sent for the doctor, who declared that he had a violent fever.

Six weeks later Alyosha recovered, and everything that happened to him before his illness seemed to him like a bad dream. Neither the teacher nor his comrades reminded him a word about the black chicken, or about the punishment to which he was subjected. Alyosha himself was ashamed to talk about it and tried to be obedient, kind, modest and diligent. Everyone loved him again and began to caress him, and he became an example for his comrades, although he could no longer suddenly learn by heart twenty printed pages, which, however, were not assigned to him.

Current page: 1 (book has 3 pages in total) [available reading passage: 1 pages]

Anthony Pogorelsky

Black chicken, or Underground inhabitants

About forty years ago, 1
The tale was written in 1829.

in St. Petersburg on Vasilyevsky Island, in the First line, 2
Vasilyevsky Island- district in St. Petersburg, line– the name of each street on Vasilyevsky Island.

Once upon a time there was a keeper of a men's boarding house, 3
Pension– a school with a dormitory for students.

which to this day, probably, remains in the fresh memory of many, although the house where the boarding house was located has long given way to another, not at all similar to the previous one. At that time, our St. Petersburg was already famous throughout Europe for its beauty, although it was still far from what it is now. At that time, there were no cheerful shady alleys on the avenues of Vasilyevsky Island: wooden stages, often knocked together from rotten boards, took the place of today’s beautiful sidewalks. Isaac's Bridge, narrow and uneven at that time, presented a completely different appearance than it does now; and St. Isaac's Square itself was not like that at all. Then the monument to Peter the Great was separated from St. Isaac's Square by a ditch; The Admiralty was not surrounded by trees, the Horse Guards riding arena did not decorate the square with its beautiful current façade, 4
Facade- front side of the building.

– in a word, Petersburg then was not the same as it is now. Cities have, by the way, the advantage over people that they sometimes become more beautiful with age... However, that’s not what we’re talking about now. Another time and on another occasion, perhaps I will talk to you at greater length about the changes that have taken place in St. Petersburg during my century, but now let’s turn again to the boarding house, which about forty years ago was located on Vasilievsky Island, in the First Line.

The house, which you now - as I already told you - will not find, was about two floors, covered with Dutch tiles. The porch along which one entered it was wooden and overlooked the street. From the vestibule, a rather steep staircase led to the upper housing, which consisted of eight or nine rooms, in which the keeper of the boarding house lived on one side, and classrooms on the other. The dormitories, or children's sleeping rooms, were located on the lower floor, on the right side of the entryway, and on the left lived two old Dutch women, each of whom was more than a hundred years old and who saw Peter the Great with their own eyes and even spoke to him. Nowadays, it is unlikely that in all of Russia you will meet a person who has seen Peter the Great; the time will come when our traces will be erased from the face of the earth! Everything passes, everything disappears in our mortal world... but that’s not what we’re talking about now.

Among the thirty or forty children studying at that boarding school, there was one boy named Alyosha, who was then no more than 9 or 10 years old. His parents, who lived far, far from St. Petersburg, had brought him to the capital two years before, sent him to a boarding school and returned home, paying the teacher the agreed fee for several years in advance. Alyosha was a smart, cute boy, he studied well, and everyone loved and caressed him. However, despite this, he was often bored at the boarding house, and sometimes even sad. Especially 5
Especially(an old word) – especially.

At first he could not get used to the idea that he was separated from his family. But then, little by little, he began to get used to his situation, and there were even moments when, playing with his friends, he thought that it was much more fun in the boarding house than in his parents' house. In general, the days of study passed quickly and pleasantly for him, but when Saturday came and all his comrades hurried home to their relatives, then Alyosha bitterly felt his loneliness. On Sundays and holidays he was left alone all day, and then his only consolation was reading books that the teacher allowed him to take from his small library. The teacher was a German by birth; at that time, the fashion for chivalric novels and fairy tales dominated in German literature, and this library mostly consisted of books of this kind.

So, Alyosha, while still ten years old, already knew by heart the deeds of the most glorious knights, at least as they were described in the novels. His favorite pastime on long winter evenings, on Sundays and other holidays was to mentally transport himself to ancient, long-past centuries... Especially during vacant times, 6
Vacant time, or vacations, - holidays.

as, for example, about Christmas or on Easter Sunday - when he was separated for a long time from his comrades, when he often sat in solitude for whole days - his young imagination wandered through knightly castles, through terrible ruins or through dark, dense forests.

I forgot to tell you that this house had a fairly spacious courtyard, separated from the alley by a wooden fence made of baroque planks. 7
Baroque boards- boards from which barges are made - river vessels.

The gate and gate that led to the alley were always locked, and therefore Alyosha never had the opportunity to visit this alley, which greatly aroused his curiosity. Whenever they allowed him to play in the yard during rest hours, his first movement was to run up to the fence. Here he stood on tiptoe and looked intently into the round holes with which the fence was dotted. Alyosha did not know that these holes came from the wooden nails with which the barges had previously been knocked together, and it seemed to him that some kind sorceress had drilled these holes on purpose for him. He kept expecting that someday this sorceress would appear in the alley and through the hole would give him a toy, or a talisman, 8
Mascot- an object that, as some people thought, brings happiness and protects from troubles.

or a letter from daddy or mummy, from whom he had not received any news for a long time. But, to his extreme regret, no one even resembling the sorceress appeared.

Alyosha’s other occupation was to feed the chickens, who lived near the fence in a house specially built for them and played and ran around in the yard all day long. Alyosha got to know them very briefly, knew everyone by name, broke up their fights, and the bully punished them by sometimes not giving them anything from the crumbs for several days in a row, which he always collected from the tablecloth after lunch and dinner. Among the chickens, he especially loved the black crested one, called Chernushka. Chernushka was more affectionate to him than others; she even sometimes allowed herself to be stroked, and therefore Alyosha brought her the best pieces. She was of a quiet disposition; she rarely walked with others and seemed to love Alyosha more than her friends.

One day (it was during the holidays, between New Year and Epiphany - the day was beautiful and unusually warm, no more than three or four degrees below zero) Alyosha was allowed to play in the yard. That day the teacher and his wife were in great trouble. They gave lunch to the director of the schools, and even the day before, from morning until late evening, they washed the floors everywhere in the house, wiped the dust and waxed the mahogany tables and chests of drawers. The teacher himself went to buy provisions for the table: white Arkhangelsk veal, a huge ham and Kiev jam from the Milyutin shops. Alyosha also contributed to the preparations to the best of his ability: he was forced to cut out a beautiful mesh for a ham from white paper and decorate six wax candles that had been specially purchased with paper carvings. On the appointed day, the hairdresser appeared in the morning and showed his art on curls, toupee and long braids. 9
Bukly, dumb down And long braid - an old men's hairstyle.

teachers. Then he set to work on his wife, pomaded and powdered her curls and hairpiece. 10
Chignon– women's hairstyle, usually from someone else's hair.

and perched a whole greenhouse on her head 11
Greenhouse– a warm room for artificial cultivation of plants. Here: many flowers.

of different colors, between which shone skillfully placed two diamond rings, once given to her husband by her students’ parents. After finishing the headdress, she threw on an old, worn-out cloak 12
Salop- an ancient women's outer dress.

and went to work on the housework, watching strictly so that her hair would not get damaged in any way; and for this reason she herself did not enter the kitchen, but gave orders to her cook, standing in the doorway. In necessary cases, she sent her husband there, whose hair was not so high.

During all these worries, our Alyosha was completely forgotten, and he took advantage of this to play in the yard in the open space. As was his custom, he first went up to the plank fence and looked through the hole for a long time; but even on this day almost no one passed along the alley, and with a sigh he turned to his kind chickens. Before he had time to sit down on the log and had just begun to beckon them to him, he suddenly saw a cook next to him with a large knife. Alyosha never liked this cook - an angry and scolding little girl. But since he noticed that she was the reason that the number of his chickens was decreasing from time to time, he began to love her even less. When one day he accidentally saw in the kitchen a pretty, very beloved cockerel, hanging by the legs with its throat cut, he felt horror and disgust for her. Seeing her now with a knife, he immediately guessed what it meant, and, feeling with sorrow that he was unable to help his friends, he jumped up and ran far away.

- Alyosha, Alyosha! Help me catch the chicken! - the cook shouted, but Alyosha began to run even faster, hid by the fence behind the chicken coop and did not notice how the tears rolled out of his eyes one after another and fell to the ground.

He stood by the chicken coop for quite a long time, and his heart was beating strongly, while the cook ran around the yard, beckoning to the chickens: “Chick, chick, chick!” - she scolded them in Chukhon.

Suddenly Alyosha’s heart began to beat even faster: he heard the voice of his beloved Chernushka! She cackled in the most desperate way, and it seemed to him that she was shouting:

Where, where, where, where!
Alyosha, save Chernukha!
Kuduhu, kuduhu,
Chernukha, Chernukha!

Alyosha could not remain in his place any longer. Sobbing loudly, he ran to the cook and threw himself on her neck at the very moment she caught Chernushka by the wing.

- Dear, dear Trinushka! – he cried, shedding tears. – Please don’t touch my Chernukha!

Alyosha so suddenly threw himself on the cook’s neck that she lost Chernushka from her hands, who, taking advantage of this, flew out of fear onto the roof of the barn and there continued to cackle. But Alyosha now heard as if she was teasing the cook and shouting:

Where, where, where, where!
You didn't catch Chernukha!
Kuduhu, kuduhu!
Chernukha, Chernukha!

Meanwhile, the cook was beside herself with frustration.

- Rummal sing! - she shouted. “That’s it, I’ll fall to the cassai and plow.” Shorna kuris nada cut... He's lazy... He doesn't do anything, he doesn't sit down.

Then she wanted to run to the teacher, but Alyosha did not let her in. He clung to the hem of her dress and began to beg so touchingly that she stopped.

- Darling, Trinushka! - he said. - You are so pretty, clean, kind... Please leave my Chernushka! Look what I'll give you if you're kind!

Alyosha took an imperial coin out of his pocket, 13
Imperial- gold coin.

which made up his entire estate, 14
Estate– here: wealth, savings.

who took better care of his eyes, because it was a gift from his kind grandmother. The cook looked at the gold coin, glanced around the windows of the house to make sure that no one saw them, and extended her hand for the imperial. Alyosha was very, very sorry for the imperial, but he remembered Chernushka - and firmly gave the precious gift.

Thus Chernushka was saved from cruel and inevitable death.

As soon as the cook retired into the house, Chernushka flew off the roof and ran up to Alyosha. She seemed to know that he was her savior: she circled around him, flapping her wings and clucking in a cheerful voice. All morning she followed him around the yard like a dog, and it seemed as if she wanted to tell him something, but couldn’t. At least he couldn't make out her cackling.

About two hours before dinner, guests began to gather. Alyosha was called upstairs, they put on a shirt with a round collar and cambric cuffs with small folds, white trousers and a wide blue silk sash. His long brown hair, which hung almost to his waist, was thoroughly combed, divided into two even parts and placed in front - on both sides of his chest. This is how children were dressed up back then. Then they taught him how he should shuffle his foot when the director enters the room, and what he should answer if any questions are asked of him. At another time, Alyosha would have been very happy about the arrival of the director, whom he had long wanted to see, because, judging by the respect with which the teacher and teacher spoke of him, he imagined that this must be some famous knight in shiny armor and helmet with large feathers. But this time this curiosity gave way to the thought that exclusively occupied him then: about the black chicken. He kept imagining how the cook was running after her with a knife and how Chernushka was cackling in different voices. Moreover, he was very annoyed that he could not make out what she wanted to tell him, and he was drawn to the chicken coop... But there was nothing to do: he had to wait until lunch was over!

Finally the director arrived. His arrival was announced by the teacher, who had been sitting by the window for a long time, looking intently in the direction from which they were waiting for him.

Everything was in motion: the teacher rushed headlong out of the door to meet him below, at the porch; the guests rose from their places. And even Alyosha forgot about his chicken for a minute and went to the window to watch the knight get off the zealous 15
Zealous- lively, lively.

horse But he was unable to see him: the director had already entered the house. At the porch, instead of a zealous horse, there stood an ordinary carriage sleigh. Alyosha was very surprised by this. “If I were a knight,” he thought, “then I would never drive a cab, but always on horseback!”

Meanwhile, all the doors were opened wide; and the teacher began to squat 16
She started squatting.- In the old days, when greeting and saying goodbye, women curtsied - a special bow with a curtsey.

in anticipation of such an honorable guest, who soon showed up. At first it was impossible to see him behind the fat teacher who stood right in the doorway; but when she, having finished her long greeting, sat down lower than usual, Alyosha, to extreme surprise, saw from behind her... not a feathered helmet, but just a small bald head, whitely powdered, the only decoration of which, as Alyosha later noticed, was a small bun ! When he entered the living room, Alyosha was even more surprised to see that, despite the simple gray tailcoat that the director wore instead of shiny armor, everyone treated him with unusual respect.

No matter how strange all this seemed to Alyosha, no matter how much at another time he would have been delighted by the unusual decoration of the table, on that day he did not pay much attention to it. The morning incident with Chernushka kept wandering through his head. Dessert was served: various kinds of preserves, apples, bergamots, dates, wine berries 17
Bergamots- a variety of pears. Dates– fruits date palm. Wine berries, or figs, – dried fig tree fruits.

and walnuts; but even here he never stopped thinking about his chicken for a single moment. And they had just gotten up from the table when, with his heart trembling with fear and hope, he approached the teacher and asked if he could go play in the yard.

“Come,” answered the teacher, “just don’t stay there for long, it will soon become dark.”

Alyosha hastily put on his red bekesha 18
Bekesha– a warm coat with a gathered waist.

on squirrel fur and a green velvet cap with a sable band and ran to the fence. When he arrived there, the chickens had already begun to gather for the night and, sleepy, were not very happy about the crumbs he had brought. Only Chernushka seemed to have no desire to sleep: she ran up to him cheerfully, flapped her wings and began to cackle again. Alyosha played with her for a long time; Finally, when it became dark and it was time to go home, he himself closed the chicken coop, making sure in advance that his dear chicken sat on the pole. When he left the chicken coop, it seemed to him that Chernushka’s eyes glowed in the dark like stars, and that she quietly said to him:

- Alyosha, Alyosha! Stay with me!

Alyosha returned to the house and sat alone in the classrooms all evening, while at the other half of the hour until eleven the guests stayed and played whist on several tables. Before they parted, Alyosha went to the lower floor, to the bedroom, undressed, went to bed and put out the fire. For a long time he could not fall asleep. Finally, sleep overcame him, and he had just managed to talk with Chernushka in his sleep, when, unfortunately, he was awakened by the noise of the guests leaving.

A little later, the teacher, who was seeing off the director with a candle, entered his room, looked to see if everything was in order, and went out, locking the door with the key.

It was a month's night, and through the shutters, which were not tightly closed, a pale ray of moonlight fell into the room. Alyosha lay with his eyes open and listened for a long time as in the upper dwelling, above his head, they walked from room to room and put chairs and tables in order.

Finally everything calmed down. He looked at the bed next to him, slightly illuminated by the monthly glow, and noticed that the white sheet, hanging almost to the floor, moved easily. He began to peer more closely: he heard as if something was scratching under the bed, and a little later it seemed that someone was calling him in a quiet voice:

- Alyosha, Alyosha!

Alyosha was scared! He was alone in the room, and the thought immediately occurred to him that there must be a thief under the bed. But then, judging that the thief would not have called him by name, he became somewhat encouraged, although his heart trembled.

He rose a little in bed and saw even more clearly that the sheet was moving, and even more clearly heard someone say:

- Alyosha, Alyosha!

Suddenly the white sheet lifted, and out from under it came... a black chicken!

- Ah! it's you, Chernushka! - Alyosha cried out involuntarily. - How did you come here?

Chernushka flapped her wings, flew up to his bed and said in a human voice:

- It's me, Alyosha! You're not afraid of me, are you?

- Why should I be afraid of you? - he answered. - I love you; It’s only strange for me that you speak so well: I didn’t know at all that you could speak!

“If you’re not afraid of me,” the hen continued, “then follow me: I’ll show you something nice.” Get dressed quickly!

- How funny you are, Chernushka! - said Alyosha. - How can I get dressed in the dark? Now I can’t find my dress, I can’t even see you!

“I’ll try to help,” said the chicken.

no more than Alyosha’s little finger. These sandals ended up on the floor, on the chairs, on the windows, even on the washstand, and the room became so light, so bright, as if it were daytime. Alyosha began to dress, and the hen handed him a dress, and thus he was soon completely dressed.

When Alyosha was ready, Chernushka cackled again, and all the candles disappeared.

- Follow me! - she told him.

And he boldly followed her. It was as if rays came out of her eyes and illuminated everything around them, although not as brightly as small candles. They walked through the hall.

“The door is locked with a key,” said Alyosha.

But the chicken did not answer him: she flapped her wings, and the door opened by itself... Then, passing through the hallway, they turned to the rooms where hundred-year-old Dutch women lived. Alyosha had never visited them, but he had heard that their rooms were decorated in the old-fashioned way, that one of them had a large gray parrot, and the other had a gray cat, very smart, who knew how to jump through a hoop and give a paw. He had long wanted to see all this, and therefore he was very happy when the chicken flapped its wings again and the door to the old woman’s chambers opened.

In the first room Alyosha saw all kinds of antique furniture: carved chairs, armchairs, tables and chests of drawers. The large couch was made of Dutch tiles, on which were painted blue tiles 20
Murava- a thin layer of liquid colored glass used to cover tiles (clay tiles) and pottery.

people and animals. Alyosha wanted to stop to look at the furniture, and especially the figures on the couch, but Chernushka did not allow him.

They entered the second room, and then Alyosha was happy! A large gray parrot with a red tail sat in a beautiful golden cage. Alyosha immediately wanted to run up to him. Chernushka again did not allow him.

“Don’t touch anything here,” she said. - Be careful not to wake up the old ladies!

Only then did Alyosha notice that next to the parrot there was a bed with white muslin curtains, through which he could make out an old woman lying with her eyes closed; it seemed to him as if it were waxy. In another corner there was an identical bed where another old woman was sleeping, and next to her sat a gray cat and washed itself with its front paws. Passing by her, Alyosha could not resist asking her for her paws... Suddenly she meowed loudly, the parrot became ruffled and began to shout loudly: “Fool! fool! At that very time it was visible through the muslin curtains that the old women sat up in bed. Chernushka hurriedly left, and Alyosha ran after her, the door slammed hard behind them... And for a long time the parrot could be heard shouting: “Fool! fool!

- Aren `t you ashamed! - said Chernushka when they moved away from the old women’s rooms. - You probably woke up the knights...

- Which knights? - asked Alyosha.

“You will see,” answered the chicken. - Don’t be afraid, however, nothing, follow me boldly.

They went down the stairs, as if into a cellar, and walked for a long, long time along various passages and corridors that Alyosha had never seen before. Sometimes these corridors were so low and narrow that Alyosha was forced to bend down. Suddenly they entered a hall illuminated by three large crystal chandeliers. The hall had no windows, and on both sides hung on the walls knights in shiny armor, with large feathers on their helmets, with spears and shields in iron hands.

Chernushka walked ahead on tiptoe and ordered Alyosha to follow her quietly, quietly...

At the end of the hall there was a large door made of light yellow copper. As soon as they approached her, two knights jumped from the walls, struck their spears on their shields and rushed at the black chicken.

Chernushka raised her crest, spread her wings and suddenly became big, tall, taller than the knights, and began to fight with them!

The knights advanced heavily on her, and she defended herself with her wings and nose. Alyosha became scared, his heart fluttered violently, and he fainted.

When he came to his senses again, the sun was shining through the shutters into the room and he was lying in his bed. Neither Chernushka nor the knights were visible. Alyosha couldn’t come to his senses for a long time. He did not understand what happened to him at night: did he see everything in a dream or did it really happen? He got dressed and went upstairs, but he could not get out of his head what he had seen the previous night. He was looking forward to the moment when he could go play in the yard, but all that day, as if on purpose, it was snowing heavily, and it was impossible to even think about leaving the house.

During lunch, the teacher, among other conversations, announced to her husband that the black chicken had hidden in some unknown place.

“However,” she added, “it wouldn’t be a big problem even if she disappeared: she was assigned to the kitchen a long time ago.” Imagine, darling, that since she has been in our house, she has not laid a single egg.

Alyosha almost began to cry, although the thought occurred to him that it would be better for her not to be found anywhere than for her to end up in the kitchen.

After lunch, Alyosha was again left alone in the classrooms. He constantly thought about what had happened the previous night, and could not in any way console himself with the loss of his dear Chernushka. Sometimes it seemed to him that he would definitely see her the next night, despite the fact that she had disappeared from the coop. But then it seemed to him that this was an impossible task, and he again plunged into sadness.

It was time to go to bed, and Alyosha eagerly undressed and went to bed. Before he had time to look at the next bed, again illuminated by a quiet moonlight, the white sheet began to move, just like the day before... Again he heard a voice calling him: “Alyosha, Alyosha!” - and a little later Chernushka came out from under the bed and flew up to his bed.

- Oh, hello, Chernushka! – he cried beside himself with joy. “I was afraid that I would never see you.” Are you healthy?

“I’m healthy,” answered the hen, “but I almost fell ill due to your mercy.”

- How is it, Chernushka? - Alyosha asked, frightened.

“You are a good boy,” the hen continued, “but at the same time you are flighty and never obey the first word, and this is not good!” Yesterday I told you not to touch anything in the old ladies’ rooms, despite the fact that you couldn’t resist asking the cat for a paw. The cat woke up the parrot, the old women's parrot, the old women's knights - and I managed to cope with them!

“I’m sorry, dear Chernushka, I won’t go forward!” Please take me there again today; you will see that I will be obedient.

“Okay,” said the chicken, “we’ll see!”

The hen clucked as the day before, and the same small candles appeared in the same silver chandeliers. Alyosha got dressed again and went to get the chicken. Again they entered the old women's chambers, but this time he did not touch anything.

When they passed through the first room, it seemed to him that the people and animals drawn on the couch were making various funny faces and beckoning him to them; but he deliberately turned away from them. In the second room, the old Dutch women, just like the day before, lay in beds like wax; the parrot looked at Alyosha and blinked, the gray cat again washed itself with its paws. On the dressing table in front of the mirror, Alyosha saw two porcelain Chinese dolls, which he had not noticed yesterday. They nodded their heads to him, but he remembered Chernushka’s order and walked on without stopping, but he could not resist bowing to them in passing. The dolls immediately jumped off the table and ran after him, still nodding their heads. He almost stopped - they seemed so funny to him, but Chernushka looked back at him with an angry look, and he came to his senses. The dolls accompanied them to the door and, seeing that Alyosha was not looking at them, returned to their places.

They again went down the stairs, walked along passages and corridors and came to the same hall, illuminated by three crystal chandeliers. The same knights were hanging on the walls, and again, when they approached the door made of yellow copper, two knights came down from the wall and stood in their way. It seemed, however, that they were not as angry as the day before; they could hardly drag their feet like autumn flies, and it was clear that they held their spears with force...

Chernushka became big and ruffled; but as soon as she hit them with her wings, they fell apart - and Alyosha saw that they were empty armor! The copper door opened of its own accord, and they moved on.

A little later they entered another hall, spacious, but low, so that Alyosha could reach the ceiling with his hand. This hall was lit by the same small candles that he had seen in his room, but the candlesticks were not silver, but gold.

Here Chernushka left Alyosha.

“Stay here a little,” she told him, “I’ll come back soon.” Today you were smart, although you acted carelessly by worshiping porcelain dolls. If you had not bowed to them, the knights would have remained on the wall. However, you didn’t wake up the old women today, and that’s why the knights had no power. - After this, Chernushka left the hall.

Left alone, Alyosha began to carefully examine the hall, which was very richly decorated. It seemed to him that the walls were made of Labradorite, such as he had seen in the mineral cabinet in the boarding house; the panels and doors were of pure gold. At the end of the hall, under a green canopy, on an elevated place, there were armchairs made of gold. Alyosha really admired this decoration, but it seemed strange to him that everything was in the smallest form, as if for small dolls.

While he was looking at everything with curiosity, a side door, previously unnoticed by him, opened, and many small people, no more than half an arshin tall, in elegant multi-colored dresses, entered. Their appearance was important: some looked like military men by their attire, others looked like civil officials. They all wore round hats with feathers, like the Spanish ones. They did not notice Alyosha, walked sedately around the rooms, and spoke loudly to each other, but he could not understand what they were saying.

He looked at them silently for a long time and was just about to approach one of them with a question, when a large door opened at the end of the hall... everyone fell silent, stood against the walls in two rows and took off their hats.

In an instant, the room became even brighter, all the small candles burned even brighter, and Alyosha saw twenty little knights in golden armor, with crimson feathers on their helmets, who entered in pairs in a quiet march. Then, in deep silence, they stood on both sides of the chairs. A little later, a man with a majestic posture entered the hall, wearing a crown glittering with precious stones on his head. He was wearing a light green robe, 21
Mantle– wide, long clothing in the form of a cloak, reaching to the ground.

lined with mouse fur, with a long train carried by twenty little pages 22
Page- a noble boy who serves noble people or the king.

in crimson dresses.

Alyosha immediately guessed that it must be the king. He bowed low to him. The king responded to his bow very affectionately and sat down in the golden chairs. Then he ordered something to one of the knights standing nearby, who approached Alyosha and told him to come closer to the chairs. Alyosha obeyed.

“I have known for a long time,” said the king, “that you are a good boy; but the day before yesterday you rendered a great service to my people and for that you deserve a reward. My chief minister informed me that you saved him from inevitable and cruel death.

- When? - Alyosha asked in surprise.

“It’s yesterday,” answered the king. - This is the one who owes his life to you.

Alyosha looked at the one the king was pointing at, and then he only noticed that among the courtiers stood a small man dressed entirely in black. On his head he had a special kind of crimson-colored hat, with teeth at the top, put on a little to one side, and on his neck was a white scarf, very starched, which made it seem a little bluish. He smiled tenderly, looking at Alyosha, to whom his face seemed familiar, although he could not remember where he had seen him.

No matter how flattering it was for Alyosha that such a noble deed was attributed to him, he loved the truth and therefore, bowing deeply, said:

- Mister King! I can't take it personally for something I've never done. The other day I had the good fortune to save from death not your minister, but our black hen, which the cook did not like because she did not lay a single egg...

- What are you saying! – the king interrupted him with anger. - My minister is not a chicken, but an honored official!

Then the minister came closer, and Alyosha saw that in fact it was his dear Chernushka. He was very happy and asked the king for an apology, although he could not understand what this meant.

- Tell me, what do you want? - continued the king. – If I am able, I will certainly fulfill your demand.

- Speak boldly, Alyosha! – the minister whispered in his ear.

Alyosha thought about it and didn’t know what to wish for. If they had given him more time, he might have come up with something good; but since it seemed discourteous to him to make him wait for the king, he hastened to answer.

“I would like,” he said, “that, without studying, I would always know my lesson, no matter what I was given.”

“I didn’t think you were such a sloth,” answered the king, shaking his head. - But there is nothing to do, I must fulfill my promise.

He waved his hand, and the page brought a golden dish on which lay one hemp seed.

“Take this seed,” said the king. “As long as you have it, you will always know your lesson, no matter what you are given, with the condition, however, that under no pretext do you say a single word to anyone about what you saw here or will see in the future.” The slightest immodesty will deprive you of our favors forever, and will cause us a lot of trouble and trouble.

For more than 150 years, the literary creation of Anthony Pogorelsky, “The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants,” has lived without losing its relevance. Summary the work transmitted below will allow readers to pay attention to the fact that for the author it is very important human values. It is about them that he tries to speak in the language of a fairy tale to the younger generation.

From the history of writing the work

A magical fairy tale about underground inhabitants was written specifically for Alyosha Tolstoy, a student of Alexei Alekseevich Perovsky. This is the real name of the author of the story. He was the uncle of the future famous writer, playwright, public figure Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy.

In 1829, the fairy tale was published and immediately received enthusiastic responses from readers, critics, and teachers. Children's audiences also loved the book "The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants." A summary and reviews of those who read the fairy tale were often published in the press of those times. Even then, the work was repeatedly republished as a separate book, and was also included in best collections for children's reading.

The main characters of the fairy tale

The fairy tale “The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants,” a summary of which is presented in the article, is no different big amount characters. All the events described in the work happen to a little boy Alyosha, who is 9-10 years old. He lives in St. Petersburg, in a boarding house for children. Here the boy receives an education.

One of the young pupil’s favorite pastimes was reading books, which he took from the personal library of his German teacher. Most it consisted of chivalric romances. The stories described in them made a huge impression on Alyosha.

There was one more activity that gave the boy great pleasure. While walking around the yard, he loved to feed the chickens who lived here in a special building.

Among the birds was a chicken named Chernushka. She allowed Alyosha to come close to her and even stroke her feathers. This amused and surprised the boy. The chicken became another main character of the story.

“Black Hen, or Underground Inhabitants”: a summary in parts

Antony Pogorelsky did not identify individual chapters in the tale. But the work is presented in such a way that the reader can easily find the semantic parts himself.

The first of them is dedicated, as mentioned above, to introducing the reader to the main characters of the events - the boy Alyosha and the chicken Chernukha. The story began after Alyosha persuaded the cook to let her beloved chicken live. He saved Chernushka by giving Trinushka an imperial - the most expensive thing he owned.

It soon becomes clear that the black chicken is very unusual. She is a minister to the king, who rules the people who have been living underground in these places for many, many years. Chernushka, in gratitude to the boy, wished to introduce him to a fantastic country.

After passing several tests, Alyosha and the chicken find themselves at a reception with the king. All the residents and the ruler himself are very grateful to Alyosha for the noble deed he performed in saving their minister. Everyone wants to thank the boy. After a conversation with the king, Alyosha receives a magical hemp seed as a gift, which made the boy, without any effort of his own, turn into best student schools. So that the grain does not lose its magical power, its owner should not have told anyone about the existence magical land. The secret must also be kept because after its announcement, all residents of the underground kingdom were obliged to leave their homeland forever, which would make them unhappy.

Return of Alyosha from the underground kingdom

This is exactly how the next part of the work “Black Chicken, or Underground Inhabitants” can be titled. A summary of the chapters leads the reader to the events that will happen to the boy in real life.

Alyosha's school teachers and friends began to notice his unique learning abilities. The rumor about this quickly spread throughout the city. The boy's talent was noticed by everyone. And Alyosha himself quickly got used to signs of attention.

At first, he always remembered Chernushka, thanks to whom he gained popularity. But gradually he began to forget about his favorite chicken. He remembered her when he lost the hemp seed, and with it the ability to answer lessons without learning them.

The minister of the underground inhabitants immediately came to the aid of his friend. But, returning the lost treasure to the boy, he strongly advised him to think about what kind of person he had become. Alyosha was once again reminded of the need to keep the secrets of the underground inhabitants.

Final parts

The narrative of “The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants,” a summary of which is conveyed in the article, ends in an unusual way for a work of this genre.

The reader learns that the boy begins to be haunted by failures. He loses the trust of the boarding house teachers and his comrades. And most importantly, Alyosha realizes that he betrayed an entire people led by their king and the chicken minister. After all, he failed to keep the secret. All this leads the main character to difficult psychological experiences. But it was they who changed the boy, making him stronger.

Formation of Alyosha's character

Anthony Pogorelsky, who wrote the fairy tale “The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants,” a summary of which is given here, along with the presentation of the plot, repeatedly points to the character traits that his main character possessed.

At the beginning of the fairy tale, everyone sees a kind, shy boy who is loved by those around him. Then a magical gift, obtained in a simple way, changes Alyosha’s character. He becomes arrogant and disobedient. Loses friends, self-respect. But up to a certain point this doesn’t bother him much.

The author of the fairy tale “The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants” warns young readers about the consequences of such behavior. The summary, the main characters of the work, and the plot lead to the conclusion that a person can obtain everything useful for the soul only through his own labor.

Title: Black chicken, or Underground inhabitants

About the book “The Black Hen, or Underground Inhabitants” by Antony Pogorelsky

Alexey Perovsky (1787-1836) – Russian writer, honorary member Russian Academy, who took the name Antony Pogorelsky as a pseudonym. For the first time I tried myself as an author when publishing three lectures on botany, which were published in a separate brochure. After that, he organized a union of lovers of Russian literature, and often personally took part in organizing literary evenings.

During the war of 1914-1918. Perovsky went to the front and showed extraordinary courage in battle. And at the end of hostilities, he left the service and settled in the village of Pogoreltsy, which he inherited after the death of his father. It was the name of the village that served as the idea for the writer’s pseudonym - Antony Pogorelsky.

Fairy tale " Black chicken, or Underground Inhabitants,” the author wrote for his beloved nephew Alyosha Tolstoy, who later also became a writer. Antony Pogorelsky felt extraordinary affection for the boy and devoted a lot of time to his upbringing.

The work “The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants” traces autobiographical moments in the life of the writer himself, and the name of the main character coincides with his name.
Pogorelsky's fairy tale became the first author's children's work in Russian. "The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants" in contrast to folk stories contains specifics - the author reflects in detail the realities of that time.

The main character of the fairy tale is a kind and obedient boy Alyosha. He lives in one of the children's boarding houses in St. Petersburg, studies well and reads a lot. Parents rarely visit Alyosha and don’t even take him away for the holidays, so the boy escapes boredom by reading science fiction stories. But soon miracles begin to happen in the boy’s real life.

One day he saved a black chicken from the yard from the cook, who was going to cook dinner from it. The boy parted with the gold coin given to him by his grandmother in order to protect Chernushka. That same night he was woken up by the same chicken, which turned out to be magical. She accompanied Alyosha to the land of the Dungeon, where he received an unusual gift from the king - a small grain capable of fulfilling any desire. From that moment on, the kind and sympathetic Alyosha turned into an angry and arrogant rude man, since he had the opportunity to get everything from life without putting any effort into it. Because of his behavior, the boy lost all his friends, Chernushka and the inhabitants of the Dungeon also condemned him. But at the end of the story “The Black Hen, or the Underground Inhabitants,” the main character managed to realize his mistakes and correct the situation.

On our website about books you can download the site for free without registration or read online book“The Black Hen, or Underground Inhabitants” by Antony Pogorelsky in epub, fb2, txt, rtf, pdf formats for iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle. The book will give you a lot of pleasant moments and real pleasure from reading. Buy full version you can from our partner. Also, here you will find last news from literary world, learn the biography of your favorite authors. For beginning writers there is a separate section with useful tips and recommendations, interesting articles, thanks to which you yourself can try your hand at literary crafts.

Quotes from the book “The Black Hen, or Underground Inhabitants” by Antony Pogorelsky

“Don’t think,” answered Chernushka, “that it is so easy to recover from vices when they have already taken over us. Vices usually enter through the door and exit through a crack, and therefore, if you want to improve, you must constantly and strictly look after yourself.

The more natural abilities and gifts you have,<...>the more humble and obedient you should be. God did not give you a mind so that you could use it for evil.

Cities, by the way, have the advantage over people that they sometimes become more beautiful with age...

... to correct yourself, you need to start by putting aside pride and excessive arrogance.

Download for free the book “The Black Hen, or Underground Inhabitants” by Antony Pogorelsky

(Fragment)