All about the story of the Caucasian prisoner. Three "Caucasian captives" (Comparative analysis)

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Prisoner of the Caucasus (story)

1
One gentleman served as an officer in the Caucasus. His name was Zhilin.
One day he received a letter from home. His old mother writes to him: “I have become old, and I want to see my beloved son before I die. Come say goodbye to me, bury me, and then with God, go back to the service. And I have found a bride for you: she is smart, and good, and has property. If you fall in love, maybe you’ll get married and stay completely.”
Zhilin thought about it: “Indeed, the old woman has become really bad; maybe you won’t have to see it. go; and if the bride is good, you can get married.”
He went to the colonel, straightened out his leave, said goodbye to his comrades, gave his soldiers four buckets of vodka as a farewell, and got ready to leave.
There was a war in the Caucasus at that time. There was no passage on the roads either day or night. As soon as any of the Russians leave or move away from the fortress, the Tatars will either kill them or take them to the mountains. And it was customary that escorted soldiers walked from fortress to fortress twice a week. Soldiers walk in front and behind, and people ride in the middle.
It was summer. At dawn the convoys gathered for the fortress, the accompanying soldiers came out and set off along the road. Zhilin was riding on horseback, and the cart with his things was in the wagon train.
It was twenty-five miles to go. The convoy walked quietly; Then the soldiers will stop, then someone’s wheel will come off in the wagon train, or a horse will stop, and everyone will stand there, waiting.
The sun had already set for half a day, and the convoy had only covered half the road. Dust, heat, the sun is so hot, but there is nowhere to hide. Bare steppe, not a tree or bush along the road.
Zhilin rode forward, stopped and waited for the convoy to arrive. He hears a horn playing behind him, and stands again. Zhilin thought: “Shouldn’t I leave alone, without soldiers? The horse under me is good, even if I attack the Tatars, I will gallop away. Or not to go?..”
He stopped and thought. And another officer, Kostylin, with a gun, rides up to him on a horse and says:
- Let's go, Zhilin, alone. There’s no urine, I’m hungry, and it’s hot. At least squeeze my shirt out. - And Kostylin is a heavy, fat man, all red, and the sweat just pours from him.
Zhilin thought and said:
- Is the gun loaded?
- Charged.
- Well, then let's go. The only agreement is not to leave.
And they drove forward along the road. They drive along the steppe, talk and look around. You can see far all around.
As soon as the steppe ended, the road went between two mountains into a gorge, Zhilin said:
“We need to go out onto the mountain and have a look, otherwise they’ll probably jump out from behind the mountain and you won’t see it.”
And Kostylin says:
- What to watch? Let's go forward.
Zhilin did not listen to him.
“No,” he says, “you wait below, and I’ll just take a look.”
And he turned his horse to the left, up the mountain. The horse near Zhilin was a hunting horse (he paid a hundred rubles for it in the herd as a foal and rode it out himself); how she carried him up the steep slope on wings. As soon as he jumped out, lo and behold, in front of him, on a tithe of space, there were about thirty Tatars standing on horseback.
He saw it and began to turn back; and the Tatars saw him, rushed towards him, and at a gallop they grabbed their guns from their cases. Zhilin set off at full speed and shouted to Kostylin:
- Take out the gun! - and he thinks to his horse: “Mother, take it out, don’t catch your foot, you’ll stumble - you’re lost.” If I get to the gun, I won’t give in to them.”
And Kostylin, instead of waiting, as soon as he saw the Tatars, he rolled as fast as he could towards the fortress. The horse is fried with a whip, first from one side, then from the other. Only in the dust can you see the horse wagging its tail.
Zhilin sees that things are bad. The gun is gone, you can’t do anything with one checker. He let the horse go back to the soldiers - he thought about leaving. He sees six people rolling across him.
Under him the horse is kind, and under those they are even kinder, and they even gallop across. He began to turn around, wanted to turn back, but the horse was already running wild, he couldn’t hold it, he was flying straight at them.
He sees a Tatar on a gray horse approaching him with a red beard. Squeals, teeth bared, gun at the ready.
“Well,” Zhilin thinks, “I know you devils, if they take you alive, put you in a pit, and flog you with a whip. I won’t give in alive.”
And Zhilin, although small in stature, was brave. He grabbed his saber, launched his horse straight at the Red Tatar, and thought: “I’ll either knock him down with the horse or cut him down with the saber.”
Zhilin couldn’t get enough space to get on the horse, they shot at him from behind with guns and hit the horse. The horse hit the ground with all its might and fell on Zilina’s leg.
He wanted to get up, but two stinking Tatars were sitting on him, twisting his arms back. He rushed, threw off the Tatars, and three people jumped off their horses and started beating him on the head with rifle butts. His vision grew dim and he staggered. The Tatars grabbed him, removed the spare girths from the saddles, twisted his arms behind his back, tied him with a Tatar knot, and dragged him to the saddle. They knocked off his hat, pulled off his boots, ransacked everything, took out his money, his watch, and tore up his dress.
Zhilin looked back at his horse. She, my dear, fell on her side and lies there, only kicking her legs, not reaching the ground; there is a hole in my head, and black blood is whistling from the hole - the dust has moistened an arshin all around.
One Tatar approached the horse and began to remove the saddle. She keeps fighting,” he took out a dagger and cut her throat. It whistled from the throat, fluttered - and the steam was gone.
The Tatars took off the saddle and harness. The Tatar with a red beard sat on the horse, and the others lifted Zhilin into the saddle; and so as not to fall, they pulled him with a belt to the Tatar and took him to the mountains.
Zhilin sits behind the Tatar, sways, rubs his face into the stinking Tatar back. All he sees in front of him is a hefty Tatar back, a sinewy neck, and the shaved back of his head turning blue under his hat. Zhilin’s head is broken, blood is caked above his eyes. And he can neither recover on horseback nor wipe off the blood. My arms are twisted so tightly that my collarbone ache.
They drove for a long time from mountain to mountain, forded a river, got onto the road and drove through a ravine.
Zhilin wanted to notice the road where he was being taken, but his eyes were smeared with blood, but he couldn’t turn around.
It began to get dark. We crossed another river, began to climb a stone mountain, there was a smell of smoke, and dogs began to bark.
We arrived at the village. The Tatars got off their horses, the Tatar boys gathered, surrounded Zhilin, squealed, rejoiced, and began to shoot stones at him.
The Tatar drove the guys away, took Zhilin off his horse and called to the worker. A Nogai man came with high cheekbones, wearing only a shirt. The shirt is torn, the whole chest is bare. The Tatar ordered something to him.
The worker brought a block: two oak blocks were mounted on iron rings, and in one ring there was a punch and a lock.
They untied Zilina’s hands, put him in a shoe and led him to the barn; They pushed him there and locked the door. Zhilin fell on the manure. He lay down, felt in the dark, where it was softer, and lay down.

2
Zhilin did not sleep almost all that night. The nights were short. He sees that the crack has begun to glow. Zhilin got up, dug out a larger crack, and began to look.
He can see the road from the crack - it goes downhill, to the right is a Tatar hut, two trees next to it. A black dog lies on the threshold, a goat with kids walks around, their tails twitching. He sees a young Tatar woman coming from under the mountain, wearing a colored shirt, a belt, pants and boots, her head covered with a caftan, and on her head a large tin jug of water. He walks, his back trembles, he bends over, and the Tatar girl leads the shaven man in only a shirt by the hand. The Tatar woman went into the hut with water, the Tatar from yesterday came out with a red beard, wearing a silk beshmet, a silver dagger on his belt, and shoes on his bare feet. On the head there is a tall, black, lamb’s hat, folded back. He came out, stretched, and stroked his red beard. He stood there, said something to the worker, and went somewhere.
Then two guys rode on horseback to a watering hole. Horses snore wetly. More boys ran out, shaven, wearing only shirts, without trousers, gathered in a group, went up to the barn, took a twig and stuck it in the crack. Zhilin howled at them: the guys screamed and started running away, only their bare knees shining.
But Zhilin is thirsty, his throat is dry; thinks: “If only they would come and visit.” He hears the barn being unlocked. The Red Tatar came, and with him another, shorter, blackish. The eyes are black, light, ruddy, the beard is small, trimmed; The face is cheerful, everything is laughing. The blackish one is dressed even better: a blue silk beshmet, trimmed with braid. The dagger on the belt is large, silver; The shoes are red, morocco, also trimmed with silver. And on the thin shoes there are other, thick shoes. The hat is tall, white lambskin.
The Red Tatar entered, said something, as if he was swearing, and stood, leaned his elbows on the ceiling, moving his dagger, like a wolf looking sideways at Zhilin. And the blackish one - fast, lively, so he walks all on springs - walked straight up to Zhilin, squatted down, bared his teeth, patted him on the shoulder, began to babble something often, often in his own way, winks with his eyes, clicks his tongue, keeps saying everything. :
- Good Urus! Nice Urus!
Zhilin did not understand anything and said:
- Give me some water to drink!
Black laughs.
“Korosh Urus,” he babbles in his own way.
Zhilin indicated with his lips and hands that they give him a drink.

In a big village, under the mountain,
Near the sakleys, smoky and simple
Circassians late at times
Sitting - about daring horses
They start talking about well-aimed arrows,
About the villages they devastated,
And how the Cossack fought with them,
And how the Russians were attacked,
How they were captured and defeated.
10 They smoke their tobacco carelessly,
And the smoke, curling, flies over them,
Or, knocking their sabers,
The song of the mountaineers will be sung loudly.
Others sit on horses,
But before we part,
They shake hands with each other.

2

Meanwhile, young Circassian women
Run up steep mountains
And they look into the distance into the darkness - but the dust
20 Lying calmly along the road,
And the feather grass does not move,
There is no noise or alarm.
There the Terek circles from afar,
Flows between desert rocks
And irrigates with unsteady foam
Highland; the forest is silent;
Only occasionally the deer is shy
Will run through the desert,
Or a herd of playful horses
30 The silence of the valley will outrage.

3

There was a patterned carpet of flowers
Over that mountain and over the hills,
The mountain stream sparkled below
And flowed streamily over the flints...
Circassian women ran to him,
They washed with clean water.
With the simple laughter of youth
Others on the transparent bottom
Dear rings were thrown;
40 And to your thick hair
Spring flowers were woven;
We looked into the mirror of the waters,
And their faces trembled in it.
Weaving into a quiet round dance,
Eastern songs were sung,
And near the village under the mountain
We sat in a playful crowd,
And the sounds of an arbitrary song
The gorges echoed involuntarily.

4

50 The last golden ray of the sun
It burns out on the silver ice,
And Elborus as his head
It covers him like a cloud.
..........
The mooing of herds was already heard
And the neighing of merry herds;
They are coming back from the fields...
But what is that sound of heavy chains?
Why the sadness of these shepherds?
Alas! then the young captives,
60 Having lost golden years,
In the desert of the mountains, in the depths of the forests,
Near the Terek they graze sadly
Circassian fat herds,
Remembering what happened
And that will never happen!
How happiness caressed them in vain,
How it finally left
And how it became a dream!..
And there are no compassionate hearts for them!
70 They are in chains, they are slaves!
Everything merged like in a muddy dream,
Without feeling the soul, he
They can already see the coffin before their eyes.
Unhappy ones! In a foreign land!
The hearts of hope have disappeared;
In some tears, in only suffering
They see their joy.

5

There is no hope for them to return,
But my heart inevitably races
80 To the native land. They are soul
We were drowning in a fatal thought.
..........
But the dust rose over the hills
From herds and greyhound herds;
They take tired steps
They're going home. Barking faithful dogs
It was not heard around the village;
Noisy nature fell asleep;
You can only hear the maidens from afar
The tune is sad. The mountains echo
90 And he is gentle, like a choir of birds,
Like the sound of a welcoming stream:

SONG

‎ Like a strong thunderstorm
‎ The pine tree will suddenly bend;
‎ Pierced by an arrow,
‎ Like a lion roars, -
‎ So Russian in the middle of battle
‎ He will fall before ours,
‎ And with a bold hand
‎ The Chechen will take
‎ 100 Golden armor
‎ And a steel saber
‎ And he will go to the mountains.

‎ Not a horse, animated
‎ Military pipe,
‎ Neither the barbarian, confused
‎ Sudden struggle,
‎ It doesn’t tremble more fearfully,
‎ When suddenly it starts to shine
‎ Fatal dagger.

110 The prisoners listened sadly
This sad song is for them,
And my heart ached terribly in sadness...
The Circassians lead them to the sakla;
And tied at the fence,
Gone. The fire crackles between them,
But sleep does not close their gaze,
They cannot forget the sorrow of the day.

6

The month is pouring with languid radiance.
The brave Circassians do not sleep,
120 They have a noisy meeting:
They want to attack the Russians.
There are saddled horses around,
Silver armor shines,
Each one has a bow, a dagger, a quiver
And a saber on the inlaid belts,
Two pistols and a lasso,
Gun; and in burkas, in black hats,
Young and old are ready for the raid,
And the tramp of herds is heard.
130 Suddenly dust rose above the mountains,
And a knock is heard from afar.
Circassians look: between the bushes
Girey is visible, a rider!

7

He forced with a mighty hand
He pushed the horse with his foot,
And a flying lasso dragged him along
Take the young prisoner with you.
Girey approached - with a rope
A Russian was tied up, barely alive,
140 The Circassian jumped down with a deft hand
Cut the rope; but he
Lying on a stone - death dream
Flew over the young head...
..........
The Circassians are already jumping - just
They hid behind a steep mountain,
The midnight hour strikes a lesson.

8

From death only out of regret
The young Russian was saved
They carried him to his comrades.
150 Forgetting about your torment,
They, without retreating away,
We sat next to him all night...
..........
And a pale face, washed in blood,
It burned in his cheeks - he barely breathed
And, drenched in mortal cold,
He lay stretched out on the grass.

9

It’s already midday, right above the village,
At a light blue height,
He shone in his usual beauty.
160 Merged with a lingering hum
Circassian herds - over the hills
The breath of nimble winds,
And the murmur of mountain streams,
And the singing of birds in the bushes.
Caucasian peak ridge
Pierced the blue of the sky,
And the dense forest fledged
Its jagged rapids.
Surrounded by degrees of mountains,
170 The patterned carpet blossomed;
There under the hundred-year-old oak trees,
In the shadows, bound in chains,
Our prisoner was lying on the grass.
Bowing in tears to the young head,
Companions of his misfortune
They tried to revive it with water.
(But ah! lost happiness
No one could return it.)
...........
So he sighed and stood up,
180 And his gaze was already opening!
Here he looked!.. trembled.
...He is with unforgotten friends! -
He flared up and rattled his chains.
The terrible sound says it all!!
The unfortunate man burst into tears,
Fell on the chest of his comrades
And he cried and sobbed bitterly.

10

Happy still: his torment
Friends are ready to share
190 And cry and suffer together...
But who is this consolation?
Deprived of tears and troubles in this life,
Who is in the bloom of his young ardent years
Deprived of what flattered the heart,
How happiness beckoned from afar...
And if the years have taken away
It's time to look for flowers, as before,
A moment of joy in hope, -
Let him not live on earth.

11

200 So my prisoner is with his native country
I said “sorry” almost forever!
Tormented by a past dream,
I remembered her places:
Where did he spend his golden youth?
Where I experienced the sweetness of life,
Where I loved a lot of sweet things,
Where I knew fun and suffering,
Where did he, unfortunate, destroy
Holy hearts of hope...
..........

12

210 He heard the word “forever!”
And, doomed by a heavy fate,
He was almost friends with captivity.
Sometimes with friends
He tended Circassian herds.
He looked at them like avalanches
They roll down the mountains and make such noise;
They glisten like snow lava,
How they cover the valleys;
Although he was chained,
220 But I often went to Terek.
And he listened to the waves howling,
The soles of gloomy rocks are digging,
Flowing among wilds and forests...
Looked like in the height of the hills
The guard lights are shining
And how the Cossacks are around them
They look at the muddy current of the river,
Leaning on the battle spears.
Oh! how he wished he could be there,
230 But the chain made it difficult to swim across.

13

When is noon overhead?
Burned in the rays, then my prisoner
I sat in a cave, where from the heat
He could have gone into hiding. Under the mountain
There were herds of people walking around. were lying
There are other shepherds in the shadows,
In the bushes, in the grass and near the river,
In which the thirst was quenched...
And there my prisoner looks:
240 How sometimes an eagle flies
He spreads his wings in the wind
And, seeing victims between the bushes,
The claws suddenly grab - and again
He lifts them up with a scream...
"So! - he thought. - I'm the victim
Which they took as food."

14

He looked just like the bushes
Or the blue steppe, through the mountains,
Saigas, with fast legs,
250 Over sharp stones, over flints,
They fly, despising the rapids...
Or like a deer and a young doe,
Hearing birds singing in the bushes,
From the rocks, without moving, they listen -
And then suddenly they disappear
Whirling up sand and ashes.

15

Watched the mountaineers rush to battle
Or they gallop boldly over the river;
Stopped - horses
1260 They push with a bold foot...
And suddenly, falling to his bow,
They flash near the shores,
They rush - and, galloping again,
Falling headlong from a cliff
AND...
... disappear noisily in the spray -
Then they swim and reach
Already opposite shores,
They are already there in the darkness of the forests
They are hiding themselves from the Cossacks...
270 Where are you looking, Cossacks?
Look, the waves are by the river
They turned white with gray foam!
Look, the corvids are on the oak trees
They perked up and flew away,
They disappeared screaming into the hills!
Circassians lasso the traveler
They will lure you into their gorges...
And, hidden by the night fog,
The shackles will bring death upon you.

16

280 And often, driving away sleep,
In the dead of midnight he looks,
Like sometimes the Circassians through the Terek
Sails on a faithful tuluk, -
The waves are raging on the river,
The distant shore is visible in the fog,
They hang all around on a stump in front of him
His weapons are steel:
Quiver, bow, battle arrows,
And the saber is sharp, with a belt
290 Tied, ringing on it.
He flashes like a point in the waves,
It suddenly appears, then disappears...
Here he landed on the shores.
Trouble for the careless Cossacks!
They will never see their native Don,
Don't hear the bells ringing!
Already a Chechen under the mountain,
The iron chain mail shines,
The bow is ringing, the arrow is trembling,
300 The fatal blow is coming!...
Cossack! Cossack! alas, unfortunate one!
Why did the villain kill you?
Why is your lead dangerous?
Didn’t he get hit so quickly?..

17

So my poor captive sadly,
Even though he himself is under the burden of shackles,
I watched the death of the Cossacks.
When did the midnight light
He rises, he is near the fence
310 Lies in the village - quiet sleep
Only rarely closes his eyes.
With friends - remembers
Oh dear one home country,
Sad, but more than that...
Leaving there a lovely pledge,
Freedom, happiness, that I loved,
He set off into an unknown land,
And... he destroyed everything in the region.

PART TWO

18

One day, while deep in a dream,
320 Sometimes he sat late;
On a dark vault without radiance
The colorless month is young
Stood and the beam was trembling, pale
Lying on the green hills,
And the shadows of shaky trees,
Like ghosts on the poor roof
The Circassian sakla lay down.
The fire has already been lit in her, -
Blushing, he, in the copper lamp,
330 A little light illuminated the large fence...
Everything is asleep: the hills, the river and the forest.

19

But who flashes in the shadows of the night?
Who is a light shadow between the bushes
He comes closer, steps a little,
Getting closer... closer... across the ditch
Walking with wandering feet?..
Suddenly he sees in front of him:
With a silent smile of pity
There is a young Circassian!
340 Gives with a caring hand
Cool bread and kumiss,
Kneeling before him.
And her gaze depicted
An impulse of the soul, as if in confusion.
But the Russian prisoner took the food
And he thanked her with a sign.

20

And for a long, long time, like a mute,
A young maiden stood.
And the look seemed to say:
350 “Comfort yourself, dear slave;
You haven’t ruined everything yet.”
And the sigh is not heavy, but sad
Young sounded in his chest.
Then through the shaft it is steep
I went home along the mossy path
And suddenly disappeared into the shadowy distance,
Like some kind of grave ghost.
And only the virgins veil
Even my eyes flashed in the distance,
360 And for a long, long time my prisoner
I looked after her - she disappeared.
He thought: but why
Unfortunately for me she
Bowed down with such pity?
He didn't close his eyes all night;
I fell asleep an hour before dawn.

21

I went to see him on the fourth night
She also brought food
But the prisoner often remained silent,
370 I didn’t listen to the sad words.
Oh! a heart full of excitement,
I shunned new impressions -
He didn't want to love her.
And what joys are there in a foreign land?
In his captivity, in his fate?
He couldn't forget the past...
He wanted to be grateful
But the hot heart was lost
In his silent suffering
380 And, as in an unsteady fog, in it
Absorbed without an echo!..
It is both in noise and in silence
The sleep of his soul is disturbed.

22

He is always with a sad thought
In her shining eyes
Meets the image of the eternally sweet.
In her friendly speeches
He hears familiar sounds...
And hands rush to the ghost.
390 He remembered everything - he was calling her...
But suddenly he woke up. Oh! unhappy,
What a terrible abyss he is in here;
His life will not flourish.
It fades, fades, fades,
Like a beautiful color at dawn;
Like a young flame it goes out
On the illuminated altar!!!

23

He did not understand her aspirations,
Her sorrows and worries;
400 He didn't think that she
I came out of pity alone,
Looking at his torment;
I also didn’t think that love
Sharpened the heart and blood in her, -
And I was in terrible bewilderment...
.........
But that night he was waiting for her.
The fateful night has come;
And, driving away sleep from my eyes,
My prisoner lay in the cave.

24

410 The wind rose at that time,
Rocked in the darkness of the tree,
And his whistle is like a howl -
How an owl howls at midnight.
The rain made its way through the leaves;
In the distance thunder rolled on the clouds;
Shining, lightning stream
Lighted up the darkness of the cave,
Where my poor prisoner lay, -
He was all wet and shaking...
..........
420 The storm gradually subsided,
Only water dripped from the trees.
Here and there streams between the hills
They ran in a muddy stream
And they fell into the Terek with splashes.
There are no Circassians in the dark field...
And the clouds are already scattering,
And here and there stars flicker, -
The moonlight will soon appear.

25

And there's a golden moon above him
430 Floated on a light cloud
And to the top of the heavenly glass,
Playing through the blue vaults,
She held out her shiny ball.
Covered with a veil of silver
Hills, forests and meadow with a river.
But who with sad feet
Walking alone along a mountainous path?
She... with a dagger and a saw.
Why does she need a damask dagger?
440 Is he really going to perform a feat of war?
Is he really going to a secret battle!..
Oh no! filled with excitement
Sad thoughts and reflections,
She approached the cave,
And a famous voice rang out,
The prisoner woke up as if from a dream,
And in the depths of the close cave
They sit down... They've been there for a long time
They didn’t dare give free rein to words...
450 Suddenly the maiden steps cautiously
She walked up to him, sighing,
And, taking your hand, with gentle greetings,
With ardent feeling, but rebellious,
The words are sad at the beginning:

26

“Oh Russian! Russian! what's wrong with you!
Why are you with dumb pity
Sad, cold, silent
To my desperate call?..
You still have a friend in the world -
460 You haven't lost everything yet...
I'm ready for leisure hours
To share with you. But you said
What do you love, Russian, you are different.
Her shadow runs after me,
And that’s what it’s about, both night and day,
I'm crying, that's what I'm sad about!..
Forget her, I'm ready
Run with you to the edge of the universe!
Forget her, love me
470 Your unchanging friend..."
But a prisoner of his heart
I could not open in deep anguish,
And the tears of the black-eyed maiden
Souls did not touch him...
“So, Russian, you are saved! But first
Tell me: live or die?!!
Tell me, should I forget about hope?..
Should I wipe away these tears?”

27

Then he suddenly stood up and flashed
480 His lovely eyes
And large tears flashed
On them, like light dew:
“Oh no! leave your tender delight,
Do not be flattered by the hope of saving me, -
This steppe will be my grave;
Not on the remains of the glorious, abusive,
But on the bones of my exiled
The painful chain will rust!”
He fell silent, she cried,
490 But she took courage, stood up quietly,
I took the saw with one hand,
She handed the dagger to the other.
And so, under a sharp saw
Iron creaks - it disintegrates,
The chain shines and rings slightly.
She lifts him up
And so, sobbing, he says:

28

“Yes!.. captive... you will forget me...
Sorry!..forgive...forever:
500 Sorry! forever!.. How happy you will be,
Ah!.. remember me then...
Then!.. perhaps by the grave
I will be hidden and desired;
Perhaps... you will say sadly:
“She loved me too!”
And the maidens have pale cheeks,
Almost extinct eyes
Confused face, killed by melancholy,
One tear will not refresh!..
510 And only screams of agony are torn...
She takes his hands
And he hurries into the dark field,
Where the path lies through the cliffs.

29

They go, they go; stopped;
Sighing, they turned back;
But the fateful hour struck...
A shot rang out - and just
My prisoner falls. Not flour
But death portrays a look;
520 Quietly puts his hand on his heart...
So slowly along the slope of the mountains,
Sparkling in the sun,
A block of snow falls.
How amazed I am with him,
She falls without feeling,
It's like a fatal bullet
With one blow, in one moment
Both were suddenly struck down.
..........

30

But the Russian's eyes close
530 Death is a cold hand,
He takes his last breath,
And he’s already there - and there’s blood flowing like a river
Frozen in cold veins;
In his numb hands
The dagger still lies there, shining;
In all his senses numb
Life no longer burns forever,
Joy does not shine forever.

31

Meanwhile, the Circassian, with an evil smile,
540 Coming out of the wilderness of trees.
And, like a predatory wolf,
He glances... stands... without words,
He tramples with his proud foot
The dead man... He saw
That the cartridge was lost in vain
And again he runs away through the mountains.

32

But then she suddenly woke up
And he looks for the prisoner with his eyes.
Circassian! where, where is your friend...
550 He's no longer there.
She's in tears
Can't express horror
Can't wash away the blood.
And her gaze is as if insane
He depicted a rush of love;
She suffered. The wind is noisy.
Whistling, its cover swirled!..
Gets up... and with quick steps
I went with my head down,
Through the clearing - behind the hills
560 She suddenly disappeared into the shadows of the night.

33

She's already approaching Terek.
Alas, why, why does she
So timidly looks around,
Full of terrible sadness?..
And for a long time on the running waves
She looks. And a silent gaze
Shines like a star in the midnight darkness.
She is on a stone cliff:
“Oh, Russian! Russian!!!" - exclaims.
570 The waves splashed under the moon,
They splashed on the shore!..
And the maiden disappears with a noise.
Only the white cover floats out,
Rushing along the dull waves:
The rest is sad and sad
Floats like a funeral shroud,
And he disappeared to the stone cliffs.

34

But who is their cruel killer?
He had a gray beard.
580 Without seeing the black-eyed maiden,
He hid in the depths of the forest.
Alas! that was an unfortunate father!
Perhaps he ruined her
And that lead is dangerous
Did he kill his daughter along with the prisoner? -
He doesn't know. She hid
And she hasn’t appeared since that night.
Circassian! where is your daughter? Look,
But you can’t return it!!

35

590 In the morning the corpse is frozen
Found on foamy beaches.
He was cold and ossified;
It seemed on her lips
The voice of the former torment remained;
It seemed pitiful sounds
The lips have not yet fallen silent.
We found out everything. But it was too late!
- Father! you are her killer.
Where is your hope?
600 Be tormented forever! Live sadly!..
She's no longer there. And behind you
The ghost of the fatal is everywhere.
Who will show her coffin to you?
Run! Look for her everywhere!!!
“Where is my daughter?” - and the review will say:
Where?..
1828

“Prisoner of the Caucasus” is a story about a brave officer who did not lose hope of surviving when he was captured by the Tatars.

IN mid-19th V. there was a difficult and bloody war in the Caucasus, L.N. Tolstoy served there at that time, so he saw everything with his own eyes.

The genre of the work is determined by the writer himself - a true story, it indicates the reality of the events described. The beginning. Life goes to his mother. Highlights:

1. Zhilin and Kostylin are captured.
2. Unsuccessful escape.
3. Zhilin’s second escape.

The denouement is the happy release of Zhilin, he finds himself in a Cossack detachment. Barely alive, Kostylin, having paid off, ends up in his camp.

The story fully and in detail describes the life of the highlanders, their customs. The narration amazes with its dynamism: everything around moves, breathes, lives, everything is real, but at the same time we are as if in a fairy tale. But most importantly - vivid description characters and actions of people who know how to endure difficulties with dignity, fight for freedom without losing their own dignity.

The story is based on a comparison of two heroes. By the way, their last names are significant. Zhilin - from the word “lived”, popular name blood vessels and tendons. This is a strong, strong-willed, calm, courageous person, capable of withstanding a lot. Kostylin - from the word “crutch”, a wooden tool that helps the lame to move. This is a weak-willed person who easily gives in to despondency; he needs to be supported and guided. From the very beginning, the characters behave differently. They both don’t want to move with the barely crawling convoy. However, Zhilin is thinking about whether it is worth risking his life by getting through dangerous places on his own. This hero always thinks first, makes a decision, and then acts. Kostylin’s thoughts here (and further) are deliberately hidden from us by the author. He does not think through his actions in advance. He invites Zhilin to go together, without thinking about the consequences, and tacitly agrees with Zhilin’s proposal not to separate in case of danger. When meeting with the Tatars, Kostylin instantly forgets his promise and, seeing that Zhilin is almost in captivity, shamelessly runs away.

When both end up with the Tatars, Kostylin immediately agrees to write a letter home to be ransomed for five thousand rubles. Zhilin knows that his mother will not be able to send such a sum for ransom, so he first bargains with his captors, and then indicates the wrong address on the envelope. Zhilin says that they won’t be able to give more than five hundred rubles for it. He just wants to gain time so he can get out of captivity himself.

Zhilin commands respect even from his enemies. His “master” Abdul-Murat calls him a horseman, local residents They value him as a master who can fix any thing. Zhilin made friends with Dina, the daughter of Abdul-Murat, and makes toys for her.

Kostylin, in captivity, is simply waiting for help from home, and Zhilin is counting only on himself. He prepares an escape: he examines the area to know where to move when escaping, feeds the owner’s dog to tame it, and digs a hole out of the barn. Trying to escape from captivity, he does not forget Kostylin and takes him with him. Zhilin does not remember evil (after all, Kostylin once betrayed him). After an unsuccessful escape, Zhilin still does not give up, and Kostylin completely loses heart. Thanks to a happy coincidence of circumstances (Dina’s help, the absence of the Tatars), his own perseverance, courage and ingenuity, Zhilin manages to escape from captivity.

Introduction

In the history of Russian literature there are such facts when writers different directions, aesthetic positions refer to the same titles of their works. I was interested in three " Caucasian prisoner» A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, L.N. Tolstoy. Why do authors name their works the same? Maybe this indicates continuity between the works? Or maybe they are polemically opposed to each other?

Goal of the work: identify the features of the plot of A.S.’s poems Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, story by L.N. Tolstoy "Prisoner of the Caucasus".

Tasks:

• Analysis of the plot of A.S. Pushkin’s poem “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, highlighting its structural elements;
• Determine the influence of Pushkin’s poem on the plot of M.Yu. Lermontov’s poem, finding common and different things in them;
• Study of the features of the Caucasian plot in the story of L.N. Tolstoy;
• Conduct a comparative analysis of three works.

Object of study- works by A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, L.N. Tolstoy “Prisoner of the Caucasus”.

Subject of study: plots of these works.

Practical significance: The work can be used in literature lessons, as well as in preparation for olympiads and the Unified State Exam in literature.

Research methods: comparison, juxtaposition.

Hypothesis: We believe that the implementation of the plot about the Caucasian captive depends entirely on the author’s concept and literary direction, to which the author belongs.

Poem by A. S. Pushkin “Prisoner of the Caucasus”

“Prisoner of the Caucasus” is a romantic poem by Pushkin, written by him during his southern exile in 1822. The author set himself the goal of reproducing the character young man of his time, dissatisfied with reality and seized by a thirst for freedom. The hero, who has neither a name nor a past, went to the Caucasus - the land of strong and freedom-loving people - to find the freedom of spirit he desired and needed, but was captured.

In the romantic poem, the epic line (the Caucasus, the exotic life of the highlanders, the arrival of Russian conquerors) is intertwined with the lyrical line (the love of a captive Russian and a Circassian woman). Highlanders are “natural” people who live in harmony with the world. A stranger to the wild world, the captive brings destruction to it: because of him, a young Circassian woman throws herself into the abyss of the sea.

It is in the poem by A. S. Pushkin that one can highlight the main structural elements the so-called Caucasian plot, which were transformed in the works of the same name by M. Yu. Lermontov and L. N. Tolstoy.

Basic plot elements:

• Russian in the Caucasus;
• he is amazed by the beauty of the area;
• disappointed hero;
• love story;
• motives for capture and escape.

Poem by M.Yu. Lermontov “Prisoner of the Caucasus”

His romantic poem M.Yu. Lermontov wrote in 1828, when he was only 14 years old. The poem was created under the strong influence poem of the same name Pushkin. It is clear that, by giving the same name to his work, the young poet consciously refers to the plot of the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Prisoner of the Caucasus". In his poem, he raises the same problems as his idol, showing the moral superiority of the “children of nature” over the “children of civilization.” To show that over time the problems raised by A.S. Pushkin, have not lost their relevance, Lermontov uses the technique of poetic roll call. Some of Pushkin’s poems were included in their entirety in the poem, others in slightly altered form.

The author of the poem is an aspiring poet, trying to give expression to his own moods, thoughts and feelings using someone else's material. By calling his poem this way, young Lermontov boldly strives to measure his strength with the greatest poet modernity, he wants to tell the story that excited him, captured him in his own way, to convey it somehow in his own way. Lermontov did not imitate, did not copy, but assimilated from Pushkin’s experience that which could contribute to the expression of his own creative individuality.

General and different in poems

Both poems are romantic. Like A.S. Pushkin, Lermontov’s hero is nameless. There is a lot of Pushkin in the depiction of the captive; the hero is a lonely wanderer. It is not surprising that certain features, such as proud loneliness, mystery, and ardent passion, unite the heroes of the two poems:
And the shine of his eyes is cold.../...Feelings, passions,

Burnt in the eyes forever/Lurking like a lion in a cave/Deep in the heart...
Plot-wise, Lermontov’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is close to Pushkin’s work of the same name, but Lermontov has increased the number of characters and their characters are different. The prisoner is devoid of the traits of disappointment and satiety with life. The hero yearns for his homeland and freedom, seeks the support of friends. The Circassian woman has a more decisive character than Pushkin’s heroine; she demands the love of a captive.

In Pushkin’s poem, the captive invites the Circassian woman to leave with him:

“Oh my friend!” the Russian cried, “I am yours forever, I am yours until the grave.

Let’s both leave this terrible land./Run with me!”

The Circassian woman, knowing that he loves another, refuses to follow him and commits suicide. The prisoner happily leaves captivity.

Lermontov gives a completely different outcome. His heroine is a more determined and courageous person. She says to the Russian:

“But you said / That you love, Russian, you are different.

Forget her, I’m ready / To run with you to the edge of the universe!

Forget her, love me / Your unchanging friend."

The prisoner cannot reciprocate her feelings. The Circassian woman helps him free himself from the chains, but the hero did not have to return to his homeland. Father of a Circassian woman ( new character, brought out by Lermontov), ​​kills the fugitive. The daughter, like a Pushkin heroine, throws herself into the river and drowns. Her father is tormented by remorse, unable to find peace of mind.

We see that in his poem “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” the young poet is looking for new plot points and depicts the characters of the characters in his own way, although the main structural elements of the Caucasian plot remain Pushkin’s.

The story of L. N. Tolstoy “Prisoner of the Caucasus”

Tolstoy creates a realistic work with Pushkin’s title “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, starting from the same title, Tolstoy, as it were, declares his desire to write about the same thing in a new way.

“Prisoner of the Caucasus” by L.N. Tolstoy is a true story, the material for which was events from the life of the writer and stories he heard while serving in the Caucasus. The story was written in 1872 and refers to realistic works.

We found out why Lermontov gave his youthful poem the title “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” But why does L.N. Tolstoy, almost half a century later, give his work the same name? Let's try to figure this out.

In the 60-70s, Tolstoy thought a lot about the true purpose of literature. Analysis critical literature By this work allows us to conclude that by the time L.N. Tolstoy himself began working on the story, he was finally convinced of the need to learn from the people their morality, their views on the world, simplicity and wisdom, the ability to “get accustomed” to any environment, to survive in any situation , without complaining and without shifting your troubles onto the shoulders of others. The writer is completely busy at this time public education, he writes the "ABC" for peasant children, that's all literary texts in which they are simple, entertaining, and instructive.

"Caucasian Prisoner" was originally published in the magazine "Zarya", intended exclusively for adults, and then placed in the 4th book of "Russian children's books for reading", that is, the story was written by Tolstoy specifically for children. Tolstoy addresses children who have not yet been “spoiled” by social and national abnormal relations. He wants to tell us the truth, teach us to distinguish good from evil, help us follow goodness.

“The Prisoner of the Caucasus” by Leo Tolstoy is not just a story written specifically for children, and that is why it is so instructive. This was a sample of him new prose, a kind of experiment in language and style. Therefore, sending criticism to Nikolai Strakhov of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” he wrote for children, Tolstoy explains: “This is an example of the techniques and language with which I write and will write for big people.” IN highest degree This testimony of Leo Tolstoy is noteworthy. He, at that time already a famous author, " Sevastopol stories", "Cossacks", "Childhood and Adolescence" and "War and Peace", as if learning to write again while working on a book for children. And at the same time he also claimed that he would write for adults in the same way, using the same “techniques of language.”

It is in order to emphasize the polemical nature of his position that Tolstoy gives his story the title “Prisoner of the Caucasus” - a title that evokes direct associations with the poems of Pushkin and Lermontov. With his story, he wanted to expose the “false” poetics of romanticism. IN romantic literature Tolstoy was irritated by many things: both the heroes and the situation that surrounds them. Tolstoy highly valued Pushkin's prose and spoke negatively about his poems. It was surprising to read in Leo Tolstoy’s diary dated June 7, 1856, where he wrote: “Gypsies” are charming<...>, the rest of the poems, excluding Onegin, are terrible rubbish"

Benchmarking works

General

In his “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” L.N. Tolstoy leaves the basic structural elements of the Caucasian plot intact:

· the Russian is captured by the highlanders;

· meets a Circassian/Tatar woman who brings him food;

· with her help he manages to escape. (In Lermontov’s poem, the hero was unable to reach his homeland: he was overtaken by a Circassian bullet).

But otherwise, Tolstoy’s story in all respects represents a complete antithesis to the other two “Prisoners of the Caucasus” by Pushkin and Lermontov.

Various

Subtitle

The very subtitle of the story (truth) contrasts the truthfully told story with romantic “fables”. It is known that the story is based on a real incident - an attack by highlanders on L.N. Tolstoy and four other officers who had become separated from the convoy.

Hero names

The heroes of both poems do not have names, with the exception of Giray, who delivered the prisoner to the village. (In Lermontov's poem). In Tolstoy’s story, all the main characters have names, and the main characters are given “speaking” surnames. (Zhilin and Kostylin)

Age

The characters of Pushkin and Lermontov are young men (typical of romantic poetry). Zhilin is an older man. We learn about this when we mention the old mother.

The reasons why the heroes ended up in the Caucasus

Pushkin's hero, disillusioned with the “unfaithful life” and “dreams of love,” goes to the Caucasus to find freedom there, and is captured.

We know practically nothing about the motives for Lermontov’s hero’s stay in the Caucasus. Lermontov says that “in his native country” the captive “destroyed the holy hearts of hope.” But the reason that made him leave Father's house, not named.

Zhilin serves in the Caucasus, sends money to his mother and plans to get married after leaving the service.

Thus, the romantic motives of escape from civilization and disappointment in love are opposed by rational and completely prosaic motives.

Capture

All three heroes are captured. Neither Pushkin nor Lermontov see the reasons why this happened. For them, the very fact of loss of freedom is important. Tolstoy tells in detail how and why this happened. Zhilin is captured by the Tatars, among other things, because it is important for him to emphasize: Kostylin’s cowardice is to blame.

The hero of Pushkin - Lermontov is captured by a lone warrior who drags his captives to the village on a lasso. The situation described by Tolstoy is more realistic. A whole detachment attacks Zhilin and Kostylin, and the bound Zhilin is placed on a horse. Tolstoy draws attention to the everydayness of the prisoner’s feelings. “Zhilin sits behind the Tatar, sways, rubs his face into the stinking Tatar back. All he sees in front of him is a hefty Tatar back, a sinewy neck, and the shaved back of his head turning blue under his hat.”

The description is also emphatically unromantic appearance hero: “Zhilin’s head is broken, blood is caked over his eyes.” The heroes of the poems of Pushkin and Lermontov also suffered ( From Pushkin:“a cold and dumb prisoner, / with a disfigured head”;

From Lermontov:"pale face, washed in blood")

In captivity

The heroes of both poems, brought to the village, “lie in heavy oblivion” until noon. Zhilin, on the contrary, maintains clarity of thought throughout the entire journey and even tries to notice the road.

The behavior of the heroes in captivity is completely opposite. The heroes of the poems mainly contemplate what surrounds them and indulge in fruitless hopes.

(from Pushkin: “The night follows the night; / He longs for freedom in vain.". The prisoners in the poems are absolutely inactive: passionately dreaming of escape, they do nothing to achieve freedom.

In captivity, Zhilin is constantly busy with some kind of “handicraft” and at the first opportunity begins preparations for escape. It should be noted that in Tolstoy's story much attention is paid to the unromantic issue of ransom. In the poems of Pushkin and Lermontov this issue is not addressed at all.

All three characters observe the life of the mountaineers with interest. Tolstoy debunks the romantic idea of ​​the “free sons of the Caucasus”, showing readers that the Tatars are the most ordinary people.

In Pushkin, the “hopeless captive” often climbs the mountain near the village, where “magnificent pictures” open before him: "Thrones eternal snows, / Their peaks seemed to their eyes / A motionless chain of clouds, / And in their circle there was a two-headed colossus, / in a crown of shining ice, / Elbrus was huge, majestic, / White in the blue sky.”. Zhilin also climbs the mountain and sees the same landscape: “There is another mountain from the village, even steeper; and behind that mountain there is another mountain. Between the mountains the forest turns blue, and there are more mountains - rising higher and higher. And above all, mountains white as sugar stand under the snow. And one snowy mountain stands taller than the others.”. The description is emphatically not romantic: “white as sugar”, “stands like a hat”.

The very idea of ​​climbing a mountain in chains to admire the beautiful landscape seems absurd to Tolstoy. His hero climbs a mountain to choose a route for his future escape.

Heroines

In all three works, the heroine helps the prisoner escape. In the poems of Pushkin and Lermontov, these are young black-haired, black-eyed beauties. ( At Pushkin's: “And a black wave falls / Her hair falls on her chest and shoulders.” At Lermontov's : “And the tears of the black-eyed maiden / did not touch his soul”.) Typical romantic heroines. Tolstoy, trying to exclude any romantic situation, turns his heroine into a “thin, skinny”, black-eyed girl of about thirteen with a black braid.

Circassian by own initiative brings a saw and herself frees the prisoner from his shackles. Zhilin escapes from captivity twice and each time the initiative comes from him. Tolstoy includes in his story the scene of the failed release from the shackles, when Dina tries to knock the lock off Zhilin’s block with a stone. “Yes, the hands are thin, like twigs - there is no strength at all. Threw a stone and cried".

Moon image

Young Caucasian captives leave the village moonlit night, without thinking about conspiracy at all. ( From Pushkin:“The pale light of the moon flashes through the white huts of the village”. From Lermontov: “And above him the golden moon / floated up on a white cloud”.) The moon also appears in Tolstoy’s story, but it causes nothing but trouble for the hero. “I began to approach the forest, a month emerged from behind the mountains - white, light, just like daytime. All leaves are visible on the trees. Quiet, light in the mountains". Tolstoy repeatedly emphasizes that on his first escape, when Zhilin could choose, he was waiting for a moonless night. “The moon had just begun - the nights were still dark.”

River image

In Pushkin and Lermontov, the river is an insurmountable barrier separating the hero from freedom. In both poems it is a mighty stream. Zhilin and Kostylin ford the river, barely getting their feet wet. “We went through the yard under the steep slope to the river, crossed the river, went through the ravine.”

Conclusion

Thus, having examined the works of the same name by A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, L.N. Tolstoy, we can conclude that the implementation of the plot about a Caucasian prisoner completely depends on the author’s concept and the literary movement to which the author belongs.

In romanticism (Pushkin and Lermontov) the main ones are the disappointed fugitive and the ideal of a free, natural world, and in realism (Tolstoy) the description of war and military actions.

Based on the plot of the poem by A.S. Pushkin, the theme of the Caucasian captive subsequently passes through the plots of other works, enriching them and at the same time influencing them, that is, it appears as an invariant for all subsequent post-Pushkin plots.

Job prospects

Pushkin's poem opens the theme of the tragic confrontation between Russia and the Caucasus, a theme that, apparently, will never be exhausted. We would like to continue this work by examining the plot of the Caucasian captive using the example of works of Russian literature of the 20th century: the story by Vladimir Makanin “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (1995) and the documentary story by Irina Kolontaevskaya “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (2001)

It is in vain that Leo Tolstoy is considered a purely serious, “adult” writer. In addition to “War and Peace”, “Sunday” and others the most complex works, he wrote a number of stories and fairy tales for children, developed the “ABC,” which he used to teach literacy to peasant children. The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is included in it and has enjoyed constant interest among all generations of girls and boys from the end of the 19th century to the present day.

Genre and place of the work in the writer’s work

"Prisoner of the Caucasus" by Tolstoy, summary which we will now consider, researchers call a short story or big story. The confusion in the genre nature of the work is associated with its non-standard sizes, big amount characters, multiple storylines and conflicts. The author himself defined it as “truth”, i.e. a narration of real-life deeds and events. The story takes place in the Caucasus, during the war with the highlanders. It is worth noting that this topic was not completed for the writer, and Tolstoy’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (a summary follows below) was not the only work related to it. “Cossacks” and “Hadji Murat” are also devoted to the description of military clashes and the peculiarities of human relationships different cultures and nationalities and contain many interesting observations and colorful sketches. The story was published in 1872 in the magazine “Zarya”. Since Soviet times and to this day, it has been part of school programs most of the former Soviet republics.

History of creation

What is Tolstoy’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus”? Its brief content can be correlated with real events, in which Tolstoy became a participant. He himself served in the Caucasus, was a participant in the fighting and once almost was captured. Lev Nikolaevich and his comrade Sado, a Chechen by nationality, miraculously escaped. The sensations they experienced during the adventure formed the basis of the story. As for the name, there are some literary associations associated with it. In particular, from the south romantic poem Pushkin. True, Tolstoy’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (a brief summary of the story gives a complete idea of ​​the writing method) belongs to realistic works, but the corresponding “exotic” flavor is clearly felt in it. I would like to note one more detail. Tolstoy gave the story great importance, because it was a sample of his new prose, a kind of experiment in the field of language and style. Therefore, when sending the work to critic Nikolai Strakhov, I asked him to pay attention to this aspect of the work.

Plot and characters

So, what did Tolstoy tell us about (“Prisoner of the Caucasus”)? The summary of the story can be reduced to several storylines. A poor Russian officer Zhilin, serving in a remote fortress, receives a letter from his old mother asking him to come on leave and see him. Having asked for leave, he and the convoy set off on the road. Another officer, Kostylin, is traveling with Zhilin. Since the convoy is moving slowly, the road is long, and the day is hot, the friends decide not to wait for an escort and cover the rest of the journey on their own. Kostylin has a gun, the horses under both are good, and even if they catch the eye of the mountaineers, they will be able to avoid a skirmish. However, due to Kostylin's oversight and cowardice, the officers are captured. Their behavior gives a clear idea of ​​the character and personality type of each. Kostylin is heavy on the outside and equally apathetic and clumsy on the inside. When in trouble, he resigns himself to the circumstances, sleeps or grumbles, complains. When the Tatars demand to write a ransom request, the hero fulfills all the conditions. He is passive, phlegmatic, devoid of any enterprise. Zhilin is a completely different matter. He clearly sympathizes with Tolstoy. “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (a brief summary allows us to reveal the meaning of the title) is therefore named in singular that this character is the main one actor, a real hero. Not wanting to burden his mother with debts, Zhilin signs the letter incorrectly, gains authority and respect from the village residents, and finds mutual language with the girl Dina and organizes an escape twice. He does not lose heart, fights against circumstances, and does not abandon his comrade. Strong-willed, energetic, enterprising, courageous, Zhilin achieves his goal. It’s not scary to go on reconnaissance missions with this one. This is a reliable, simple person who has always been close and interesting to the writer.

It is in the charm of Zhilin’s personality, the entertaining plot, and the simplicity and brevity of the language that lies the secret of the story’s enormous popularity.