A. Platonov

An old man lived with an old woman, and Dunya's granddaughter lived with them. And Dunya was not so beautiful, as the fairy tales say, only she was smart and willing to do housework.

Once old people are going to the market in a large village and think: what should they do? Who will cook cabbage soup and porridge for them, who will give the cow to drink and milk, who will give millet to the chickens and drive them to roost?

And Dunya says to them:

- Who, if not me! I'll cook cabbage soup and steam porridge, I'll meet a cow from the herd and dress her up for the night, I'll calm down the chickens, I'll clean up the hut, I'll turn the hay while the bucket is in the yard.

- Yes, you are still small, granddaughter, - says her grandmother, - seven years in total for you!

- Seven is not two, grandma, seven is a lot. I can handle it!

Grandfather and grandmother left for the bazaar, and in the evening they returned. They see, and it’s true: the hut is tidied up, the food is prepared, the yard is in order, the cattle and poultry are well fed, the hay is dried, the wattle fence has been repaired (grandfather had been going to fix it for two summers), sand was sprinkled around the well log - so much has been accumulated that it’s as if there were four.

The old man and the old woman look at their granddaughter and think: live for them now and rejoice!

However, the grandmother did not have to rejoice at the granddaughter for long: the grandmother fell ill and died. The old man was left alone with Dunya. It was difficult for grandfather to remain alone in his old age. Here they live alone, without their grandmother. Dunya pleases her grandfather and does all the work on the farm alone; though she was small, she was diligent.

It happened to my grandfather to go to the city, the need came. On the way, he overtook a rich neighbor, who was also driving to the city. They went together. We drove and drove, and the night came. A rich neighbor and poor Dunin's grandfather saw a light in a roadside hut and knocked on the gate. They stopped for the night, unharnessed their horses; Dunya's grandfather had a mare, and a rich man had a gelding.

At night, grandfather's horse gave birth to a foal, and the foal is not intelligent, he fell off his mother and found himself under the cart of that rich man.

A rich man woke up in the morning.

- Look, neighbor, - he says to the old man, - my gelding gave birth to a foal at night!

“How can you!” Grandfather says. “They don’t sow millet into a stone, and a gelding doesn’t give birth to foals! This is my mare brought.

And a rich neighbor:

- No, - he says, - this is my colt! If your mare had brought it, the foal would have been by her side! Otherwise, look where - under my cart!

They argued, but there is no end to the dispute: the poor have the truth, but the rich have benefits, one is not inferior to the other.

They arrived in the city. The king lived in that city at that time. And that king was the richest man in the whole kingdom, he considered himself the smartest man and loved to judge and judge his subjects.

Here came the rich and the poor to the king-judge. Dunin's grandfather and complains to the king:

- The rich foal does not give me back, says the gelding gave birth to a foal!

And to the tsar-judge, what a deal about the truth: he could judge this way and that, but at first he wanted to amuse himself.

And he said:

- Here are four riddles for you - whoever solves, he and the foal will receive: "What is stronger and faster than everything in the world?", "And what is fatter than everything in the world?"

The king gave them a period of three days, and on the fourth day so that the answer was.

In the meantime, the trial and business, the king ordered to leave in his yard and grandfather's horse with a foal and a cart and a gelding of a rich man: let both the poor and the rich live on foot until their king judges.

Send the rich and the poor home. The rich thinks: empty, they say, the tsar made a guess, I know the answer. And the poor man grieves: he does not know the answer.

Dunya met her grandfather and asked:

- Who do you miss, grandpa? About grandma? So I stayed with you!

Grandfather told his granddaughter how it was, and cried: he felt sorry for the foal.

- And also, - the grandfather says, - the tsar made a riddle, but I don't know the answer. Where can I guess them!

- Tell me, grandfather, what are the riddles? They are not smarter than the mind.

Grandpa told riddles. Dunya listened and said in response:

- You will go to the king and say: the wind is stronger and faster than anything in the world; the fatter of all is the earth: whatever grows on it, whatever lives, it feeds everyone; and the softest of everything in the world are hands, grandfather: whatever a person lies on, he puts his whole hand under his head; and nothing in the world is sweeter than sleep, grandfather.

Three days later, grandfather and his rich neighbor came to the tsar-judge Dongin.

Rich and says to the king:

- Although your riddles are wise, our sir, our judge, but I immediately guessed them: the strongest and fastest is the karaya mare from your stable: if you hit her with a whip, she will catch up with the hare. And the fatter of all is your pockmarked hog: it has become so fat that it has not risen to its feet for a long time. And the softest of all is your feather bed, on which you rest. And the nicest of all is your son Nikitushka!

The tsar-judge listened - and to the poor old man:

- What do you think? Did you get a clue or not?

The old man answers as his granddaughter taught him. He answers, but he is afraid: it must be that he guesses wrong; the rich neighbor must have said it right.

The Tsar-Judge listened and asked:

- You yourself came up with the answer, or who taught you?

The old man says the truth:

- But where can I myself, the king-judge! I have a granddaughter, she is so smart and skillful, she taught me.

The tsar became curious, and even funny, but he still had nothing to do.

“If your granddaughter is clever,” says the tsar-judge, “and is skilled at work, take this silk thread to her. Let her weave a patterned towel for me, so that it would be ready by morning. Have you heard or not?

“I hear, I hear!” The grandfather replies to the tsar. “I’m so stupid!

He hid the thread in his bosom and went home. He walks, but he is shy: where is it here to weave a whole towel from one thread - that even Dunyushka will not be able to ... Yes, by morning, also with patterns!

Dunya listened to her grandfather and said:

- Do not twist, grandfather, it does not matter yet!

She took it, broke off a twig from it, gave it to grandfather and said:

- Go to this king-judge and tell him: let him find such a master who will make a crochet out of this twig, so that I have something to weave a towel on.

The old man went back to the king. Goes, and he himself awaits another misfortune, another task, for which Dunyushka is not smart enough.

And so it happened.

The tsar gave the old man a hundred and fifty eggs and ordered the old man's granddaughter to bring out one and a half hundred chickens by tomorrow.

The grandfather returned to the yard.

- One trouble did not go away, - he says, - another appeared.

And he told his granddaughter a new royal task.

And Dunya answered him:

- And that's not a problem, grandfather!

She took the eggs, baked them and served them for supper.

the next day says:

A - Go, grandfather, again to the king. Tell him to send one-day millet to the chickens for feed; let the field be plowed one day, sowed with millet, let it ripen, and then it will be harvested and threshed, windy and collapsed. Tell the king: chickens of other millet do not peck, they will die.

And the grandfather went again. The king-judge listened to him and said:

- Your granddaughter is cunning, and I'm not simple either. Let your granddaughter come to me in the morning - not on foot, not on horseback, not naked, not dressed, not with a present, and not without a present!

My grandfather went home. "What a whim!" - he thinks.

When Dunya found out a new riddle, she was on fire, and then cheered up and said:

- Go, grandfather, to the forest to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail ... But no, you do not go, you are old, you are tired of walking, you have a rest. I'll go myself - I'm small, the hunters will give me a hare and a quail for nothing, but we have nothing to buy them for.

Dunyushka went into the forest and brought a hare and a quail from there. And as morning came, Dunya took off her shirt, put on a fishing net, picked up a quail, sat astride a hare and went to the tsar-judge.

When the king saw her, he was surprised and frightened:

- Where does this monster come from? Such a freak has never been seen before!

And Dunyushka bowed to the king and said:

- Here's to you, father, take what was ordered to bring!

And gives him a quail. The king-judge stretched out his hand, and the quail - flutter! - and flew away.

The tsar looked at Dunya.

- In nothing, - she says, - did not retreat: as I ordered, so you came. And what do you, - asks, - feed with your grandfather?

Dunya answers the tsar:

- And my grandfather catches fish on the dry shore, he does not put nets into the water. And I carry the fish home with the hem and cook in a handful of fish soup!

The king-judge became angry:

- What are you saying, stupid! Where does this fish live on a dry shore? Where is the fish soup boiled in handfuls?

And Dunya says against him:

- Are you smart? Where have you seen that a gelding gives birth to a foal? And in your kingdom the gelding is giving birth!

The king-judge was puzzled here:

- And how to find out whose foal? Maybe a stranger ran in!

Dunyushka got angry.

“How do you know?” He says. Let my grandfather ride his horse one way and a rich neighbor the other. Where the foal runs, there is his mother.

The Tsar Judge was surprised:

- And it's true! How could I not have judged, not guessed?

- And if you were to judge the truth, - answered Dunya, - you wouldn't be rich either.

“Oh, you ulcer!” Said the tsar. “What will come of you when you grow up big?

- D you judge first, whose foal, then I'll tell you who I am big!

The tsar-judge has appointed a court here this week. Dunin's grandfather and their rich neighbor came to the royal court. The king ordered their horses and carts to be brought out. Dunin's grandfather sat in his cart, and the rich man in his; and they drove in different directions. The king then released the foal, and the foal ran to his mother, grandfather's horse. Here is the whole court. The foal remained with the grandfather.

And the king-judge asks Dunya:

- Tell me now, who are you going to be?

- I will be the judge.

The king laughed:

- Why do you need to be a judge? I'm the judge!

- You to judge.

Grandfather sees - it's a bad thing, no matter how angry the tsar-judge is. He grabbed the granddaughter - and into her cart. He drove the horse, and the foal ran alongside.

The king released after them angry dog so that he tore apart the granddaughter and grandfather. And Dunin's grandfather, although he was old, was dexterous and did not give offense to anyone. The dog caught up with the cart, was about to rush, and his grandfather with a whip, a whip, and then took a spare little shank that was in the cart, and with its shaft the dog fell down.

And the grandfather hugged his granddaughter.

- Nobody, nobody, - he says, - I will not give you: neither to the dog, nor to the king. Grow big, my clever girl.

Russian folk tale "Smart granddaughter" read the text online:

An old man lived with an old woman, and Dunya's granddaughter lived with them. Dunya was not so beautiful as the fairy tales say, only she was smart and willing to do housework.

Once old people are going to the market in a large village and think: what should they be? Who will cook cabbage soup and porridge for them, who will give the cow to drink and milk, who will give millet to the chickens and drive them to roost? And Dunya says to them:

- Who, if not me! I’ll cook cabbage soup for you, and steam up the porridge, I’ll meet a cow from the herd, I’ll calm down the chickens, I’ll clean up the hut, I’ll turn the hay while the bucket is in the yard.
- Yes, you are still small, granddaughter, - says her grandmother.
- Seven years in total for you!
- Seven is not two, grandma, seven is a lot. I can handle it!

The old men left for the bazaar, and returned in the evening. They see, and it’s true: the hut is tidied up, the food is prepared, the yard is in order, the cattle and poultry are well fed, the hay is dried, the wicker has been repaired (grandfather had been going to fix it for two years), sand was sprinkled around the well log - as much as if there were four It was.

The old man and the old woman look at their granddaughter and think: live for them now and rejoice!

However, the grandmother did not have to rejoice at her granddaughter for long: she fell ill and died. The old man was left alone with Dunya. It was difficult for grandfather to remain alone in his old age.

Here they live alone. Dunya watches her grandfather and does all the work on the farm alone; although she was small, she was diligent.

It happened to my grandfather to go to the city: the need came. On the way, he overtook a rich neighbor, who was also driving to the city. They went together. We drove and drove, and the night came. A rich neighbor and poor Dunin's grandfather saw a light in a roadside hut and knocked on the gate. They stopped for the night and unharnessed their horses. Dunya's grandfather had a mare, and the rich man had a gelding.

At night, grandfather's horse gave birth to a foal, and the foal is not intelligent, he fell off his mother and found himself under the cart of that rich man.

A rich man woke up in the morning.

“Look, neighbor,” he says to the old man. - My gelding gave birth to a foal at night!
- How can you! - grandfather says. - Millet is not sown into the stone, and the gelding does not give birth to foals! My mare brought it!

And a rich neighbor:

- No, - he says, - this is my colt! If your mare had brought it, the foal would have been by her side! Otherwise, look where - under my cart!

They argued, but there is no end to the dispute: the poor have the truth, but the rich have benefits, one is not inferior to the other.

They arrived in the city. The king lived in that city at that time, and that king was the richest man in the whole kingdom. He considered himself the smartest and loved to judge and judge his subjects.

Here came the rich and the poor to the king-judge. Dunin's grandfather and complains to the king:

- The rich foal does not give me, he says, the gelding gave birth to a foal!

And the tsar-judge, what a matter of the truth: he could judge this way and that, but at first he wanted to amuse himself.

And he said:

- Here are four riddles for you. Whoever decides will get a foal. What is stronger and faster than anything in the world? And what is fatter than anything else? And also: what is softer and what is sweetest?

The king gave them a period of three days, and on the fourth day so that the answer was.

In the meantime, the trial and business, the king ordered to leave in his yard grandfather's horse with a foal and a cart and a gelding of a rich man: let both the poor and the rich live on foot until their king judges.

Send the rich and the poor home. The rich thinks: empty, they say, the tsar made a guess, I know the answer. And the poor man grieves: he does not know the answer.

Dunya met her grandfather and asked:

- Who do you miss, grandfather? About grandma? So I stayed with you!

Grandfather told his granddaughter how it was, and cried: he felt sorry for the foal.

- And also, - the grandfather says, - the tsar made a riddle, but I don't know the answer. Where can I guess them!
- Tell me, grandfather, what are the riddles? They are not smarter than the mind.

Grandpa told riddles. Dunya listened and said in response:

- You will go to the king and say: the wind is stronger and faster than anything in the world; the fattest of all is the earth - whatever grows on it, whatever lives, it feeds everyone; and the softest of all things in the world are hands, grandfather - whatever a person lies on, he puts his whole hand under his head; and nothing in the world is sweeter than sleep, grandfather.

Three days later, grandfather and his rich neighbor came to the tsar-judge Dongin.

Rich and says to the king:

- Though your riddles are wise, our sovereign is our judge, but I guessed them right away: the strongest and fastest is karyaya a mare from your stable; if you hit her with a whip, she will catch up with the hare. And the fattest of all is your pockmarked hog: he has become so fat that he has not been able to stand up for a long time. And the softest of all is your feather bed, on which you rest. And the nicest of all is your son Nikitushka!

The king-judge listened, and to the poor old man:

- What do you think? Did you get a clue or not? The old man answers as his granddaughter taught him. He answers, but he is afraid: it must be that he guesses wrong; the rich neighbor must have said it right. The Tsar-Judge listened and asked:

- You yourself came up with the answer, or who taught you?

The old man says the truth:

- But where am I, tsar-sir! I have a granddaughter, she is so smart and skillful, she taught me.

The tsar became curious, and even funny, but he still had nothing to do.

“If your granddaughter is clever,” says the tsar-judge, “and is skilled at work, take this silk thread to her. Let her weave a patterned towel for me, so that it would be ready by morning. Have you heard or not?

- I hear, I hear! - answers the grandfather to the king. - I’m so stupid!

He hid the thread in his bosom and went home. He walks, but he is shy: where can we weave a whole towel from one thread - that even Dunyashka will not be able to ... Yes, by morning, also with patterns!

Dunya listened to her grandfather and said:

- Do not twist, grandfather. It doesn't matter yet!

She took a broom, broke off a twig from it, gave it to grandfather and said:

- Go to this king-judge and tell him: let him find such a master who will make cuttings out of this twig, so that I have something to weave a towel on.

The old man went back to the king. Goes, and he himself awaits another misfortune, another task for which Dunyashka is not smart enough.

And so it happened.

The tsar gave the old man a hundred and fifty eggs and ordered the old man's granddaughter to bring out one and a half hundred chickens by tomorrow.

The grandfather returned to the yard.

- One trouble did not go away, - he says, - another appeared. And he told his granddaughter a new royal task.

And Dunya answered him:

- And that's not a problem, grandfather!

She took the eggs, baked them and served them for supper. And the next day he says:

- Go, grandfather, again to the king. Tell him to send one-day millet to the chickens for feed: let the field be plowed one day, sowed with millet, let it ripen, and then it will be harvested and threshed, weathered and dried. Tell the king: chickens of other millet do not peck, they will die.

And the grandfather went again. The king-judge listened to him and said:

- Your granddaughter is cunning, and I'm not simple either. Let your granddaughter come to me in the morning - not on foot, not on a horse, not naked, not dressed, not with a present, and not without a present!

My grandfather went home. "What a whim!" - thinks. When Dunya found out a new riddle, she was on fire, and then cheered up and said:

- Go, grandfather, to the forest to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail ... But no, don’t go, you’re old, tired of walking, you have a rest. I'll go myself - I'm small, the hunters will give me a hare and a quail for nothing, but there is nothing to buy them for. Dunyushka went to the forest and brought a hare and a quail from there. And as morning came, Dunya took off her shirt, put on a fishing net, picked up a quail, sat astride a hare and went to the tsar-judge.

The king, when he saw her, was surprised and frightened:

- Where does this monster come from? Such a freak has never been seen before!

And Dunyushka bowed to the king and said:

Here, father, take what was ordered to bring!

And gives him a quail. The king-judge held out his hand, and the quail fluttered! and flew away.

The tsar looked at Dunya.

“In nothing,” she says, “I didn’t retreat: as I ordered, I came. And what do you, - asks, - feed with your grandfather?

Dunya answers the tsar:

- And my grandfather catches fish on the dry shore, he does not put nets into the water. And I carry the fish home with the hem and cook in handfuls of fish soup!

The king-judge became angry:

- What are you saying, stupid! Where does this fish live on a dry shore? Where is the fish soup boiled in handfuls?

And Dunya says against him:

- Are you smart? Where have you seen that a gelding gives birth to a foal? And in your kingdom the gelding is giving birth!

The king-judge was puzzled here:

- And how to find out whose foal? Maybe a stranger ran in!

Dunyushka got angry.

- How to find out? - is talking. - Yes, then a fool would have judged, and you are the king! Let my grandfather ride his horse one way, and a rich neighbor the other. Where the foal runs, there is his mother.

The Tsar Judge was surprised:

- And it's true! How could I not have judged, not guessed?
“If you were to judge the truth,” replied Dunya, “you wouldn't be rich either.
- Oh, you ulcer! - said the king.
- What will come of you next when you grow up big?
- And you judge first, whose foal, then I will tell you who I am big!

The Tsar-Judge has appointed a trial here this week. Dunin's grandfather and their rich neighbor came to the royal court. The king ordered to bring their horses with carts. Dunin's grandfather sat in his cart, and the rich man in his, and they drove in different directions. The king then released the foal, and the foal ran to his mother, grandfather's horse. Here is the whole court. The foal remained with the grandfather.

An old man lived with an old woman, and with them the granddaughter of Dunya

lived. Dunya was not so beautiful as

she says in fairy tales, only she was smart

and willing to do housework.

Now, the old people are going to the bazaar in

a large village and think: how can they be? Who

for them he will cook cabbage soup and cook porridge, who will drink and milk the cow,

Who will give the chickens millet and drive them to roost? And Dunya im

says: - Who, if not me! I will cook cabbage soup for you, and I will steam porridge,

I’ll meet a cow from the herd, I’ll calm down the chickens, I’ll clean up the hut, I’ll turn the hay while the bucket is in the yard. - Yes, you are still small, granddaughter, - says her grandmother. - Seven years in total for you! - Seven is not two, grandma, seven is a lot. I can handle it! The old men left for the bazaar, and returned in the evening. They see, and it’s true: the hut is tidied up, the food is prepared, the yard is in order, the cattle and poultry are well fed, the hay is dried, the wicker has been repaired (grandfather had been going to fix it for two years), sand was sprinkled around the well log - as much as if there were four It was. The old man and the old woman look at their granddaughter and think: live for them now and rejoice! However, the grandmother did not have to rejoice at her granddaughter for long: she fell ill and died. The old man was left alone with Dunya. It was difficult for grandfather to remain alone in his old age. 2 Now they live alone. Dunya watches her grandfather and does all the work on the farm alone; although she was small, she was diligent. It happened to my grandfather to go to the city: the need came. On the way, he overtook a rich neighbor, who was also driving to the city. They went together. We drove and drove, and the night came. A rich neighbor and poor Dunin's grandfather saw a light in a roadside hut and knocked on the gate. They stopped for the night and unharnessed their horses. Dunya's grandfather had a mare, and a rich man had a gelding. At night, grandfather's horse gave birth to a foal, and the foal is not intelligent, he fell off his mother and found himself under the cart of that rich man. A rich man woke up in the morning. “Look, neighbor,” he says to the old man. - My gelding gave birth to a foal at night! - How can you! - grandfather says. - Millet is not sown into the stone, and the gelding does not give birth to foals! My mare brought it! And the rich neighbor: - No, - he says, - this is my colt! If your mare had brought it, the foal would have been by her side! Otherwise, look where - under my cart! They argued, but there is no end to the dispute: the poor have the truth, but the rich have benefits, one is not inferior to the other. They arrived in the city. The king lived in that city at that time, and that king was the richest man in the whole kingdom. He considered himself the smartest and loved to judge and judge his subjects. Here came the rich and the poor to the king-judge. Dunin's grandfather complains to the tsar: - The rich foal does not give me, he says, the gelding gave birth to a foal! And the tsar-judge, what a matter of the truth: he could judge this way and that, but at first he wanted to amuse himself. And he said: - Here are four riddles for you. Whoever decides will get a foal. What is stronger and faster than anything in the world? And what is fatter than anything else? And also: what is softer and what is sweetest? The king gave them a period of three days, and on the fourth day so that the answer was. In the meantime, the trial and business, the king ordered to leave in his yard grandfather's horse with a foal and a cart and a gelding of a rich man: let both the poor and the rich live on foot until their king judges. Send the rich and the poor home. The rich thinks: empty, they say, the tsar made a guess, I know the answer. And the poor man grieves: he does not know the answer. Dunya met her grandfather and asks: - Who do you miss, grandfather? About grandma? So I stayed with you! Grandfather told his granddaughter how it was, and cried: he felt sorry for the foal. - And also, - the grandfather says, - the tsar made a riddle, but I don't know the answer. Where can I guess them! 3 - Tell me, grandfather, what are the riddles? They are not smarter than the mind. Grandpa told riddles. Dunya listened and said in response: - You will go to the king and say: the wind is stronger and faster than anything in the world; the fattest of all is the earth - whatever grows on it, whatever lives, it feeds everyone; and the softest of all things in the world are hands, grandfather - whatever a person lies on, he puts his whole hand under his head; and nothing in the world is sweeter than sleep, grandfather. Three days later, grandfather and his rich neighbor came to the tsar-judge Dongin. The rich man says to the tsar: - Though your riddles are wise, our sovereign is our judge, but I guessed them right away: the strongest and fastest of all is karyaya a mare from your stable; if you hit her with a whip, she will catch up with the hare. And the fattest of all is your pockmarked hog: he has become so fat that he has not been able to stand up for a long time. And the softest of all is your feather bed, on which you rest. And the nicest of all is your son Nikitushka! 4 The king-judge listened, and to the poor old man: - What do you say? Did you get a clue or not? The old man answers as his granddaughter taught him. He answers, but he is afraid: it must be that he guesses wrong; the rich neighbor must have said it right. The Tsar-Judge listened and asked: - You yourself came up with the answer, or who taught you? The old man says the truth: - But where am I myself, tsar-sir! I have a granddaughter, she is so smart and skillful, she taught me. The tsar became curious, and even funny, but he still had nothing to do. “If your granddaughter is clever,” says the tsar-judge, “and is skilled at work, take this silk thread to her. Let her weave a patterned towel for me, so that it would be ready by morning. Have you heard or not? - I hear, I hear! - answers the grandfather to the king. - I’m so stupid! He hid the thread in his bosom and went home. He walks, but he is shy: where can we weave a whole towel from one thread - that even Dunyashka will not be able to ... Yes, by morning, also with patterns! Dunya listened to her grandfather and said: - Do not twist, grandfather. It doesn't matter yet! She took a broom, broke off a twig from it, gave it to grandfather and said: - Go to this king-judge and tell him: let him find such a master who will make cuttings out of this twig so that I have something to weave with a towel on. The old man went back to the king. Goes, and he himself awaits another misfortune, another task for which Dunyashka is not smart enough. And so it happened. The tsar gave the old man a hundred and fifty eggs and ordered the old man's granddaughter to bring out one and a half hundred chickens by tomorrow. The grandfather returned to the yard. - One trouble did not go away, - he says, - another appeared. And he told his granddaughter a new royal task. And Dunya answered him: - And this is not a problem, grandfather! She took the eggs, baked them and served them for supper. And the next day he says: - Go, grandfather, again to the king. Tell him to send one-day millet to the chickens for feed: let the field be plowed one day, sowed with millet, let it ripen, and then it will be harvested and threshed, weathered and dried. Tell the king: chickens of other millet do not peck, they will die. And the grandfather went again. The king-judge listened to him and said: - Your granddaughter is cunning, and I am not simple either. Let your granddaughter come to me in the morning - not on foot, not on a horse, not naked, not dressed, not with a present, and not without a present! 5 Grandfather went home. "What a whim!" - thinks. When Dunya found out a new riddle, she was on fire, and then she became cheerful and said: - Go, grandfather, to the forest to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail ... ... I'll go myself - I'm small, the hunters will give me a hare and a quail for nothing, but there is nothing to buy them for. Dunyushka went to the forest and brought a hare and a quail from there. And as morning came, Dunya took off her shirt, put on a fishing net, picked up a quail, sat astride a hare and went to the tsar-judge. The tsar, when he saw her, was surprised and frightened: - Where does the monster come from? Such a freak has never been seen before! And Dunyushka bowed to the tsar and said: Here, father, take what was ordered to bring! And gives him a quail. The king-judge held out his hand, and the quail fluttered! - and flew away. The tsar looked at Dunya. “In nothing,” she says, “I didn’t retreat: as I ordered, I came. And what do you, - asks, - feed with your grandfather? Dunya answers the tsar: - And my grandfather catches fish on the dry shore, he does not put nets into the water. And I carry the fish home with the hem and cook in handfuls of fish soup! The tsar-judge became angry: - What are you saying, stupid! Where does this fish live on a dry shore? Where is the fish soup boiled in handfuls? And Dunya said against him: - Are you clever? Where have you seen that a gelding gives birth to a foal? And in your kingdom the gelding is giving birth! The tsar-judge was puzzled here: - And how to find out whose foal? Maybe a stranger ran in! Dunyushka got angry. - How to find out? - is talking. - Yes, then a fool would have judged, and you are the king! Let my grandfather ride his horse one way and a rich neighbor the other. Where the foal runs, there is his mother. The Tsar-Judge was surprised: - But it's true! How could I not have judged, not guessed? “If you were to judge the truth,” answered Dunya, “you wouldn't be rich either. - Oh, you ulcer! - said the king. - What will come of you next when you grow up big? - And you judge first, whose foal, then I will tell you who I am big! 6 The king-judge has appointed a court here this week. Dunin's grandfather and their rich neighbor came to the royal court. The king ordered to bring their horses with carts. Dunin's grandfather sat in his cart, and the rich man in his, and they drove in different directions. The king then released the foal, and the foal ran to his mother, grandfather's horse. Here is the whole court. The foal remained with the grandfather. And the tsar-judge asks Dunya: - Tell me now, who will you be big? - I will be the judge. The king laughed: -Why do you need to be a judge? I'm the judge! - To judge you! Grandfather sees - it's a bad thing, no matter how angry the tsar-judge is. He grabbed his granddaughter and into her cart. He drove the horse, and the foal ran alongside. The king released them after the evil dog, so that he tore both the granddaughter and the grandfather. And Dunin's grandfather, although he was old, was dexterous and did not give offense to anyone. The dog caught up with the cart, was about to rush, and his grandfather with a whip, a whip, and then took the spare little shank that was in the cart, but with its shank - the dog fell down. And the grandfather hugged his granddaughter. - Nobody, nobody, - he says, - I will not give you up: neither to the dog, nor to the king. Grow big, my clever girl.

Smart granddaughter

An old man lived with an old woman, and with them the granddaughter of Dunya

lived. Dunya was not so beautiful as

she says in fairy tales, only she was smart

and willing to do housework.

Now, the old people are going to the bazaar in

a large village and think: how can they be? Who

for them he will cook cabbage soup and cook porridge, who will drink and milk the cow,

Who will give the chickens millet and drive them to roost? And Dunya im

says: - Who, if not me! I will cook cabbage soup for you, and I will steam porridge,

I’ll meet a cow from the herd, I’ll calm down the chickens, I’ll clean up the hut, I’ll turn the hay while the bucket is in the yard. - Yes, you are still small, granddaughter, - says her grandmother. - Seven years in total for you! - Seven is not two, grandma, seven is a lot. I can handle it! The old men left for the bazaar, and returned in the evening. They see, and it’s true: the hut is tidied up, the food is prepared, the yard is in order, the cattle and poultry are well fed, the hay is dried, the wicker has been repaired (grandfather had been going to fix it for two years), sand was sprinkled around the well log - as much as if there were four It was. The old man and the old woman look at their granddaughter and think: live for them now and rejoice! However, the grandmother did not have to rejoice at her granddaughter for long: she fell ill and died. The old man was left alone with Dunya. It was difficult for grandfather to remain alone in his old age. 2 Now they live alone. Dunya watches her grandfather and does all the work on the farm alone; although she was small, she was diligent. It happened to my grandfather to go to the city: the need came. On the way, he overtook a rich neighbor, who was also driving to the city. They went together. We drove and drove, and the night came. A rich neighbor and poor Dunin's grandfather saw a light in a roadside hut and knocked on the gate. They stopped for the night and unharnessed their horses. Dunya's grandfather had a mare, and a rich man had a gelding. At night, grandfather's horse gave birth to a foal, and the foal is not intelligent, he fell off his mother and found himself under the cart of that rich man. A rich man woke up in the morning. “Look, neighbor,” he says to the old man. - My gelding gave birth to a foal at night! - How can you! - grandfather says. - Millet is not sown into the stone, and the gelding does not give birth to foals! My mare brought it! And the rich neighbor: - No, - he says, - this is my colt! If your mare had brought it, the foal would have been by her side! Otherwise, look where - under my cart! They argued, but there is no end to the dispute: the poor have the truth, but the rich have benefits, one is not inferior to the other. They arrived in the city. The king lived in that city at that time, and that king was the richest man in the whole kingdom. He considered himself the smartest and loved to judge and judge his subjects. Here came the rich and the poor to the king-judge. Dunin's grandfather complains to the tsar: - The rich foal does not give me, he says, the gelding gave birth to a foal! And the tsar-judge, what a matter of the truth: he could judge this way and that, but at first he wanted to amuse himself. And he said: - Here are four riddles for you. Whoever decides will get a foal. What is stronger and faster than anything in the world? And what is fatter than anything else? And also: what is softer and what is sweetest? The king gave them a period of three days, and on the fourth day so that the answer was. In the meantime, the trial and business, the king ordered to leave in his yard grandfather's horse with a foal and a cart and a gelding of a rich man: let both the poor and the rich live on foot until their king judges. Send the rich and the poor home. The rich thinks: empty, they say, the tsar made a guess, I know the answer. And the poor man grieves: he does not know the answer. Dunya met her grandfather and asks: - Who do you miss, grandfather? About grandma? So I stayed with you! Grandfather told his granddaughter how it was, and cried: he felt sorry for the foal. - And also, - the grandfather says, - the tsar made a riddle, but I don't know the answer. Where can I guess them! 3 - Tell me, grandfather, what are the riddles? They are not smarter than the mind. Grandpa told riddles. Dunya listened and said in response: - You will go to the king and say: the wind is stronger and faster than anything in the world; the fattest of all is the earth - whatever grows on it, whatever lives, it feeds everyone; and the softest of all things in the world are hands, grandfather - whatever a person lies on, he puts his whole hand under his head; and nothing in the world is sweeter than sleep, grandfather. Three days later, grandfather and his rich neighbor came to the tsar-judge Dongin. The rich man says to the tsar: - Though your riddles are wise, our sir is our judge, but I guessed them right away: the strongest and fastest of all is karya mare from your stable; if you hit her with a whip, she will catch up with the hare. And the fattest of all is your pockmarked hog: he has become so fat that he has not been able to stand up for a long time. And the softest of all is your feather bed, on which you rest. And the nicest of all is your son Nikitushka! 4 The king-judge listened, and to the poor old man: - What do you say? Did you get a clue or not? The old man answers as his granddaughter taught him. He answers, but he is afraid: it must be that he guesses wrong; the rich neighbor must have said it right. The Tsar-Judge listened and asked: - You yourself came up with the answer, or who taught you? The old man says the truth: - But where am I myself, tsar-sir! I have a granddaughter, she is so smart and skillful, she taught me. The tsar became curious, and even funny, but he still had nothing to do. “If your granddaughter is clever,” says the tsar-judge, “and is skilled at work, take this silk thread to her. Let her weave a patterned towel for me, so that it would be ready by morning. Have you heard or not? - I hear, I hear! - answers the grandfather to the king. - I’m so stupid! He hid the thread in his bosom and went home. He walks, but he is shy: where can we weave a whole towel from one thread - that even Dunyashka will not be able to ... Yes, by morning, also with patterns! Dunya listened to her grandfather and said: - Do not twist, grandfather. It doesn't matter yet! She took a broom, broke off a twig from it, handed it to grandfather and said: - Go to this king-judge and tell him: let him find such a master who will make cuttings out of this twig so that I have something to weave with a towel on. The old man went back to the king. Goes, and he himself awaits another misfortune, another task for which Dunyashka is not smart enough. And so it happened. The tsar gave the old man a hundred and fifty eggs and ordered the old man's granddaughter to bring out one and a half hundred chickens by tomorrow. The grandfather returned to the yard. - One trouble did not go away, - he says, - another appeared. And he told his granddaughter a new royal task. And Dunya answered him: - And this is not a problem, grandfather! She took the eggs, baked them and served them for supper. And the next day he says: - Go, grandfather, again to the king. Tell him to send one-day millet to the chickens for feed: let the field be plowed one day, sowed with millet, let it ripen, and then it will be harvested and threshed, weathered and dried. Tell the king: chickens of other millet do not peck, they will die. And the grandfather went again. The king-judge listened to him and said: - Your granddaughter is cunning, and I am not simple either. Let your granddaughter come to me in the morning - not on foot, not on a horse, not naked, not dressed, not with a present, and not without a present! 5 The grandfather went home. "What a whim!" - thinks. When Dunya found out a new riddle, she was on fire, and then she became cheerful and said: - Go, grandfather, to the forest to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail ... ... I'll go myself - I'm small, the hunters will give me a hare and a quail for nothing, but there is nothing to buy them for. Dunyushka went to the forest and brought a hare and a quail from there. And as morning came, Dunya took off her shirt, put on a fishing net, picked up a quail, sat astride a hare and went to the tsar-judge. The tsar, when he saw her, was surprised and frightened: - Where does the monster come from? Such a freak has never been seen before! And Dunyushka bowed to the tsar and said: Here, father, take what was ordered to bring! And gives him a quail. The king-judge held out his hand, and the quail fluttered! - and flew away. The tsar looked at Dunya. “In nothing,” she says, “I didn’t retreat: as I ordered, I came. And what do you, - asks, - feed with your grandfather? Dunya answers the tsar: - And my grandfather catches fish on the dry shore, he doesn't put nets into the water. And I carry the fish home with the hem and cook in handfuls of fish soup! The Tsar-Judge got angry: - What are you saying, stupid! Where does this fish live on a dry shore? Where is the fish soup boiled in handfuls? And Dunya said against him: - Are you clever? Where have you seen that a gelding gives birth to a foal? And in your kingdom the gelding is giving birth! The tsar-judge was puzzled here: - And how to find out whose foal? Maybe a stranger ran in! Dunyushka got angry. - How to find out? - is talking. - Yes, then a fool would have judged, and you are the king! Let my grandfather ride his horse one way and a rich neighbor the other. Where the foal runs, there is his mother. The Tsar-Judge was surprised: - But it's true! How could I not have judged, not guessed? “If you were to judge the truth,” replied Dunya, “you wouldn't be rich either. - Oh, you ulcer! - said the king. - What will come of you next when you grow up big? - And you judge first, whose foal, then I will tell you who I am big! 6 The king-judge has appointed a court here this week. Dunin's grandfather and their rich neighbor came to the royal court. The king ordered to bring their horses with carts. Dunin's grandfather sat in his cart, and the rich man in his, and they drove in different directions. The king then released the foal, and the foal ran to his mother, grandfather's horse. Here is the whole court. The foal remained with the grandfather. And the tsar-judge asks Dunya: - Tell me now, who will you be big? - I will be the judge. The king laughed: -Why do you need to be a judge? I'm the judge! - To judge you! Grandfather sees - it's a bad thing, no matter how angry the tsar-judge is. He grabbed his granddaughter and into her cart. He drove the horse, and the foal ran alongside. The king released them after the evil dog, so that he tore both the granddaughter and the grandfather. And Dunin's grandfather, although he was old, was dexterous and did not give offense to anyone. The dog caught up with the cart, was about to rush, and his grandfather with a whip, a whip, and then took the spare little shank that was in the cart, but with its shank - the dog fell down. And the grandfather hugged his granddaughter. - Nobody, nobody, - he says, - I will not give you up: neither to the dog, nor to the king. Grow big, my clever girl.

Platonov Andrey

Smart granddaughter

Andrey Platonov

Smart granddaughter

An old man lived with an old woman, and Dunya's granddaughter lived with them. Dunya was not so beautiful as the fairy tales say, only she was smart and willing to do housework.

Once old people are going to the market in a large village and think: what should they be? Who will cook cabbage soup and porridge for them, who will give the cow to drink and milk, who will give millet to the chickens and drive them to roost? And Dunya says to them: - Who, if not me! I’ll cook cabbage soup for you, and steam up the porridge, I’ll meet a cow from the herd, I’ll calm down the chickens, I’ll clean up the hut, I’ll turn the hay while the bucket is in the yard.

Yes, you are still small, granddaughter, - says her grandmother. - Seven years in total for you!

Seven is not two, grandma, seven is a lot. I can handle it!

The old men left for the bazaar and returned in the evening. They see, and it’s true: the hut is tidied up, the food is prepared, the yard is in order, the cattle and poultry are well fed, the hay is dried, the wicker has been repaired (grandfather had been going to fix it for two years), sand was sprinkled around the well log - as much as if there were four It was.

The old man and the old woman look at their granddaughter and think: live for them now and rejoice!

However, the grandmother did not have to rejoice at her granddaughter for long: she fell ill and died. The old man was left alone with Dunya. It was difficult for grandfather to remain alone in his old age.

Here they live alone. Dunya watches her grandfather and does all the work on the farm alone; although she was small, she was diligent.

It happened to my grandfather to go to the city: the need came. On the way, he overtook a rich neighbor, who was also driving to the city. They went together. We drove and drove, and the night came. A rich neighbor and poor Dunin's grandfather saw a light in a roadside hut and knocked on the gate. They stopped for the night and unharnessed their horses. Dunya's grandfather had a mare, and the rich man had a gelding.

At night, grandfather's horse gave birth to a foal, and the foal is not intelligent, he fell off his mother and found himself under the cart of that rich man.

A rich man woke up in the morning.

Look, neighbor, - he says to the old man. - My gelding gave birth to a foal at night!

How can you! - grandfather says. - Millet is not sown into the stone, and the gelding does not give birth to foals! My mare brought it!

And a rich neighbor:

No, - he says, - this is my colt! If your mare had brought it, the foal would have been by her side! Otherwise, look where - under my cart!

They argued, but there is no end to the dispute: the poor have the truth, but the rich have benefits, one is not inferior to the other.

They arrived in the city. The king lived in that city at that time, and that king was the richest man in the whole kingdom. He considered himself the smartest and loved to judge and judge his subjects.

Here came the rich and the poor to the king-judge. Dunin's grandfather and complains to the king:

The rich foal does not give me back, he says, the gelding gave birth to a foal!

And the tsar-judge, what a matter of the truth: he could judge this way and that, but at first he wanted to amuse himself.

And he said:

Here are four riddles for you. Whoever decides will get a foal. What is stronger and faster than anything in the world? And what is fatter than anything else? And also: what is softer and what is sweetest?

The king gave them a period of three days, and on the fourth day so that the answer was.

In the meantime, the trial and business, the king ordered to leave in his yard grandfather's horse with a foal and a cart and a gelding of a rich man: let both the poor and the rich live on foot until their king judges.

Send the rich and the poor home. The rich thinks: empty, they say, the tsar made a guess, I know the answer. And the poor man grieves: he does not know the answer.

Dunya met her grandfather and asked:

Who do you miss, grandpa? About grandma? So I stayed with you!

Grandfather told his granddaughter how it was, and cried: he felt sorry for the foal.

And yet, - the grandfather says, - the tsar made a riddle, but I don't know the answer. Where can I guess them!

Tell me, grandfather, what are the riddles? They are not smarter than the mind.

Grandpa told riddles. Dunya listened and said in response:

You will go to the king and say: the wind is stronger and faster than anything in the world; the fattest of all is the earth - whatever grows on it, whatever lives, it feeds everyone; and the softest of all things in the world are hands, grandfather - whatever a person lies on, he puts his whole hand under his head; and nothing in the world is sweeter than sleep, grandfather.

Three days later, grandfather and his rich neighbor came to the tsar-judge Dongin.

Rich and says to the king:

Even though your riddles are wise, our sir, our judge, I guessed them right away: the strongest and fastest of all is karyaya a mare from your stable; if you hit her with a whip, she will catch up with the hare. And the fattest of all is your pockmarked hog: he has become so fat that he has not been able to stand up for a long time. And the softest of all is your feather bed, on which you rest. And the nicest of all is your son Nikitushka!

The king-judge listened, and to the poor old man:

What do you think? Did you get a clue or not? The old man answers as his granddaughter taught him. He answers, but he is afraid: it must be that he guesses wrong; the rich neighbor must have said it right. The Tsar-Judge listened and asked:

You yourself came up with the answer, or who taught you?

The old man says the truth:

But where am I myself, sir-tsar! I have a granddaughter, she is so smart and skillful, she taught me.

The tsar became curious, and even funny, but he still had nothing to do.

If your granddaughter is clever, - says the tsar-judge, - and skillful for business, take this silk thread to her. Let her weave a patterned towel for me, so that it would be ready by morning. Have you heard or not?

I hear, I hear! - answers the grandfather to the king. - I’m so stupid!

He hid the thread in his bosom and went home. He walks, but he is shy: where can we weave a whole towel from one thread - that even Dunyashka will not be able to ... Yes, by morning, also with patterns!

Dunya listened to her grandfather and said:

Do not twist, grandfather. It doesn't matter yet!

She took a broom, broke off a twig from it, gave it to grandfather and said:

Go to this king-judge and tell him: let him find such a master who will make cuttings out of this twig, so that I have something to weave with a towel on.

The old man went back to the king. Goes, and he himself awaits another misfortune, another task for which Dunyashka is not smart enough.

And so it happened.

The tsar gave the old man a hundred and fifty eggs and ordered the old man's granddaughter to bring out one and a half hundred chickens by tomorrow.

The grandfather returned to the yard.

One trouble did not go away, - he says, - another appeared. And he told his granddaughter a new royal task.

And Dunya answered him:

And that's not a problem, grandfather!

She took the eggs, baked them and served them for supper. And the next day he says:

Go, grandfather, again to the king. Tell him to send one-day millet to the chickens for feed: let the field be plowed one day, sowed with millet, let it ripen, and then it will be harvested and threshed, weathered and dried. Tell the king: chickens of other millet do not peck, they will die.

And the grandfather went again. The king-judge listened to him and said:

Your granddaughter is cunning, and I'm not simple either. Let your granddaughter come to me in the morning - not on foot, not on a horse, not naked, not dressed, not with a present, and not without a present!

My grandfather went home. "What a whim!" - thinks. When Dunya found out a new riddle, she was on fire, and then cheered up and said:

Go, grandfather, to the forest to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail ... But no, don't go, you're old, you're tired of walking, you rest. I'll go myself - I'm small, the hunters will give me a hare and a quail for nothing, but there is nothing to buy them for. Dunyushka went to the forest and brought a hare and a quail from there. And as morning came, Dunya took off her shirt, put on a fishing net, picked up a quail, sat astride a hare and went to the tsar-judge.

The king, when he saw her, was surprised and frightened:

Where does this monster come from? Such a freak has never been seen before!

And Dunyushka bowed to the king and said:

Here, father, take what was ordered to bring!

And gives him a quail. The king-judge held out his hand, and the quail fluttered! and flew away.

The tsar looked at Dunya.

In nothing, - she says, - she did not retreat: as I ordered, I came. And what do you, - asks, - feed with your grandfather?

Dunya answers the tsar:

And my grandfather catches fish on the dry shore, he doesn't put nets into the water. And I carry the fish home with the hem and cook in handfuls of fish soup!

The king-judge became angry:

What are you saying, silly! Where does this fish live on a dry shore? Where is the fish soup boiled in handfuls?

And Dunya says against him:

Are you smart? Where have you seen that a gelding gives birth to a foal? And in your kingdom the gelding is giving birth!

The king-judge was puzzled here:

And how to find out whose foal was? Maybe a stranger ran in!

Dunyushka got angry.

How to find out? - is talking. - Yes, then a fool would have judged, and you are the king! Let my grandfather ride his horse one way, and a rich neighbor the other. Where the foal runs, there is his mother.

The Tsar Judge was surprised:

And it’s true! How could I not have judged, not guessed?

If you were to judge the truth, - answered Dunya, - you wouldn't be rich either.