Who wrote the fairy tale The Golden Antelope. Audio tale golden antelope listen online. Reviews of the cartoon “Golden Antelope”
Actors Valentina Sperantova, Ruben Simonov, Nina Nikitina, Alexander Gruzinsky, Kolya Tagunov
A beautiful cartoon based on Indian fairy tales. In the forests you can find many miracles, for example, an amazing antelope, which can knock out gold with a blow of its hoof. Many people hunt for such a magical animal, because everyone wants to get rich without doing anything. Therefore, the antelope has to most spend time endlessly escaping the pursuit, because now the Raja’s own people have declared a hunt for her. One day, during such a pursuit, an antelope is wounded, and it seems that it will no longer be able to escape from the hunters, but it is saved by a boy from a poor village. The antelope can enrich him with one blow of his hoof, but the savior does not need anything, he simply took pity on the poor, driven animal. But the enemy does not want to be left without easy gold; he wants to get an antelope at any cost. His servants grab the poor boy, because he knows exactly where to look for the magical fugitive. Only true friends never betray each other, and the boy, even on pain of death, does not betray the antelope. You can watch online in the cartoon “The Golden Antelope” to see whether the boy can get out of the Rajah’s palace.
You can watch the cartoon "Golden Antelope" online for free at good quality without registering. Enjoy watching!
Reviews of the cartoon “Golden Antelope”
"100 best cartoons of all time."
"Golden Antelope" (USSR, 1954).
(T. Fuller)
Good day to you...
The second ten are already ready... 1-3) “Toy Story” - 1, 2, 3; 4-7) " glacial period" - 1, 2, 3, 4; 8) "Get Away", 9) "Wook", 10) "The Adventures of Lolo the Penguin"; 11) "Finding Nemo"; 12) "The Fox and the Hound"; 13) "Lady and the tramp"; 14) "Shark Tale; 15) "Rescuers"; 16) "The Sword in the Stone"; 17) "The Tale of Tsar Saltan"; 18) "The Tale of dead princess and about the seven heroes"; 19) "How to Train Your Dragon"; 20) " The Scarlet Flower"Not bad, right? Let's move on!..
When I start watching stories about gold, I often remember one funny anecdote...
During the exam, the professor asks the student:
“If you were offered brains or gold, what would you choose?”
“Of course, gold!” without hesitation, he answers.
“And I’m smart,” the professor proudly notes. “And do you know why?”
"Of course I know. Everyone takes what he lacks...
Jokes aside, but there is a point in all this. And a considerable one. And the cartoon?..
Let's get a look…
India. Distant past. The Raja (Ruben Simonov) lives for himself and laments that he has nothing magical. Like, all the neighboring overlords have it, but he doesn’t...
Once, while hunting, he caught up with a golden antelope (it was golden because real gold coins flew out from under its hooves). And only thanks to a worker - an orphan boy (voice: Valentina Sperantova), the poor animal managed to escape. One of the rajah's servants, who was lagging behind the rest of the retinue, saw how the boy and the antelope then said goodbye. Wanting to become famous and be closer to the master, the servant runs to report this to the palace...
Ah, gold... An eternal theme for beautiful, bright and wise cartoons...
You know, this story is wise and interesting because:
Based on Indian folk tales;
teaches kindness, help and mutual assistance (the boy helped the antelope, the antelope helped the boy, the boy is kind, and treats everyone with respect and an open soul);
The behavior of the Raja and his servants shows how greedy, evil and unreasonable people they are. Just listen to what the Raja says!
“Boy, virtuous boy. I will make you a minister. You can be my son. Even if you want to be a father, just tell me where the antelope lives!”
This is what the thirst for gold can lead you to! He did not think about the prosperity of his region, cared little about his subordinates, servants, slaves, and workers. Which one is it! More than anything else, he was only interested in his insatiable vanity!
“Stupid animal. There can’t be too much gold.”
But it can! Such people, due to their character and personality type, very often forget that there is a limit to everything! There is no wealth (lying from all over the world at your feet) without consequences! If you aim so high, then please don’t forget about responsibility! Nothing is that simple! That's life!..
“Man tests the hallmark of gold, and gold tests the hallmark of man.”
Truly, this is so... It's nice that there are stories that show this so exciting, exciting and interesting!..
Despite the fact that “The Golden Antelope” is an old cartoon, in my opinion, you can watch it forever. The atmosphere that permeates the picture, the musical design that takes us to the distant East and the narrative itself (so worldly, wise, kind) can delight and teach more than one generation of people!..
And, although I heard that the film was dubbed in a new way, for my part, I advise you to still watch original version 1954, staged by director Lev Atamanov, screenwriters Nikolai Abramov, N. Erdman and composer Vladimir Yurovsky. Believe me, you won't regret it!!!..
My rating: 10 points out of 10.
And thank you for your attention!
- Hey, be careful, barber. Be careful not to cut off my head with my beard! - the noble merchant was indignant when the informer stared at the singing boy.
- Dear, I have nothing to do with it, you yourself are spinning in all directions!
- Be careful not to touch my mustache.
“Sir, I shave the greatest Rajah, and he has the most luxurious mustache in the entire kingdom, thanks to my efforts.” At the same time, I still have time to entertain him with news and have never touched a single hair.
-What are you looking at there?
- The boy is riding a buffalo. I have never seen such a good buffalo.
- Yes, what is true is true. In our entire kingdom there is no buffalo like this orphan’s.
- Hey, boy. Is this your buffalo? - the barber shouted.
- My. I work on it in the field.
- Listen, give it to me. For this, I will shave you for free when you grow up, of course.
- No need, barber. I don't want you to shave me ever.
- Why?
“You will report me to the Rajah.” I’d rather not shave at all when I grow up.
- Oh, you worthless boy. Here I am... - the angry barber shouted and threw his cup of water on the floor. - Here, admire it. Your buffalo's tail broke my cup.
“Yes, you broke it yourself,” the boy answered. - My buffalo is not to blame.
“I’ll show you, you worthless boy.” I won't leave it like this. Today I will complain to the Raja himself.
Meanwhile, the Raja went hunting. Important and arrogant, he proudly sat on his horse in a golden blanket, followed closely by a one-eyed executioner with a sword. His forked beard fluttered menacingly in the wind, and his single eye glared fiercely from under his turban. A retinue followed: obsequious courtiers and hunters, who loudly blew their horns and drove hunting leopards in front of them. Behind everyone, an angry barber trotted on a donkey and could not catch up with the rajah. And then drumming sounded from all sides as the beaters began to drive the frightened animals out of their holes. Suddenly the Raja raised his hand and the riders stopped their horses.
- Look, antelope! - exclaimed the Raja.
- Where? “I don’t see her,” answered the one-eyed executioner. Great Raja, allow me to cut off her head.
- Fool, you are only capable of cutting off heads. And you are of no use when hunting!
- I, I, I see her great Raja. I see her.
- There she is between the trees. Oh how her hooves shine. Give me a bow and a fiery arrow. Forward!
- Great Raja, look, she is carving gold coins with her hooves!
- Money?!
- Money!
- Gold!
- This is a golden antelope! Catch her, catch her at all costs!
- Look, she has already disappeared into the jungle.
- Surround her!
- Download, download! Catch the antelope! In the meantime, I'll pick up the coins. Second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh,” the barber grinned and began to fill his wallet while the Rajah’s retinue rushed into the jungle.
An orphan boy was working in a field in the jungle. Leaning on the plow, he drove his powerful buffalo with heavy curved horns. Hearing the fighting of rams and the neighing of horses, he stopped. “Perhaps the Raja has gone hunting again,” the boy thought. Suddenly an antelope ran out of the thickets into the clearing. And she froze, looking at him in fear.
– Don’t be afraid, antelope, I’m not a hunter. I'll hide you. Go, go, don't be afraid. Here look, huge tree with such a large hollow that you can easily fit in it, and the hunters will not see you. What is this? Can you carve coins with your hooves? Oh no, I don't need money. Now I’ll throw them into these bushes, far away, so that the hunters won’t see or guess anything. Hide quickly! Like this. Now I will cover the hollow with vines, and you will not be visible at all.
“Hey, boy,” the boy suddenly heard a menacing shout behind him.
- Great Raja!
- An antelope ran through here. Tell me, where did she disappear to?
-Antelope? The antelope ran there, in that direction, along that path.
- Why do her tracks end here? You're lying to me?
- Hey, executioner.
“Great Raja, allow me to cut off his head.”
- No, executioner, if he deceived me, I will hunt him down with leopards. Look around!
“Great Raja, he told the truth.” On the path behind the bushes I found gold coins.
– I am a strict boy, but fair. For telling the truth, I will reward you generously. Executioner, give me some gold coins. “That’s it,” said the rajah and hid the money, “and to you, boy, I give life.” Now go ahead! “I must catch an antelope,” the Raja commanded and galloped away with his retinue.
“We galloped away,” the boy sighed, “well, you’ve had a lot of fear, poor thing.” Come out of the hollow. Come out. There are no more hunters.
“Thank you, my little brother,” replied the antelope.
- You can speak!? – the boy was surprised.
-You saved my life. If you ever need my help, come to me.
-Where can I find you?
“You will find me far, far away in the jungle, near the humpbacked mountain.” There the green bamboo quietly makes the noise of “cash-mesh”, “cash-mesh”. A wild plum grows there. There are twelve bear cubs shouting “ho-ho”, “ho-ho”, tumbling and frolicking. And when a leaf occasionally falls from a tree, thirty-five tigers come running to see this miracle. Come, little brother, if you find yourself in trouble.
- Thank you, sister antelope. I will come.
- Hold it, hold it, hold it tight! - suddenly there was a cry from the barber, who fell behind his retinue and saw a boy in a clearing talking with a golden antelope. - Damn donkey. When you need to jump, he always starts to resist. Hey boy, hold the antelope tight.
- Run, run, sister antelope. Hurry!
- Goodbye, my little brother.
- Is that you, impudent boy? Why did you let her go?
- I was afraid of you, Barber.
- Do not lie! Tell me where she ran off to. Tell! Or you will feel worse.
“It couldn’t be worse for me, I’m an orphan.”
- Oh, just think, an orphan. Listen, orphan, tell me where the golden antelope ran away. And don’t even think about lying, orphan, as if you don’t know. I saw you standing hugging each other like old friends. Well, tell me, and I will forgive the insult that your buffalo caused me by breaking my cup. Well, tell me, orphan, and I will give you a gold coin.
- I don't need your coin.
“Do you want me to give you all these coins, orphan?”
– If I don’t need one coin, why do I need all of them?
- Yeah! Do you think the antelope will give you more? Tell me where to find her? Tell! Oh, you're laughing at me!
- It's not me. These are monkeys laughing in the trees.
– And they, damned ones, are at the same time with you? Stop! – the barber shouted and grabbed the boy tenaciously by the hand.
- Let me go, let me go!
- Yeah, gotcha. Now you won't leave. Damn monkeys. They throw coconuts at me! Ouch, it hurts! Well, I won't leave it like that. I will complain about you to the Raja himself!
The great Raja was gloomy and angry when he returned to the palace after an unsuccessful hunt. He kept thinking about the golden antelope that had so easily escaped him.
“All rajahs have something magical,” he reasoned. The raja in the north has a wooden horse that flies through the air. And the rajah in the south has a wife who can turn into a bird. Even the Rajah in the west has some kind of Magic wand, with a wave of which the most wonderful treats appear. Not to mention the Raja in the east, who has such an elephant that it can replace an entire army. And only I have nothing. No, of course, I could have this golden antelope, and also more money, but the antelope ran into the jungle... So who missed my antelope?
-Who missed the antelope? Great Raja, let me cut off his head! - exclaimed the executioner.
-Who missed the antelope?
-Who missed the antelope? – the servants echoed.
- Shut up, you stupid executioner.
“Great Raja,” the barber’s obsequious voice suddenly rang out. “There lives a boy in the village, he is an orphan. The same one you met in the jungle and gave so generously to.
- What did I give the boy?
Hindustan has always been one of the most mysterious countries in the world.
Many have probably read a fairy tale about a magical antelope, from under whose hooves gold coins scattered in all directions, or watched a cartoon based on it. But few people know that this old story is based on real facts.
The legendary antelope lived on the territory of modern Pakistan in medieval India during the Mughal era.
Northwestern India had long been a Muslim state when it was conquered by the Mongols; foundation of the Great Mongol Empire on the territory of Hindustan was associated with the descendants of Timur (Tamerlane).
Along with Delhi (Delhi Sultanate) and a sultanate with its capital in the city of Lahore. Currently, Lahore is the capital of the most developed province of Pakistan - Punjab - and the second largest city in the country. It is in this city that many originate oriental tales and legends.
Let's try to travel back to the end of the 16th century, when one of the most powerful emperors, Akbar the Great, ruled in Lahore.
The city was amazing in its size: a huge fort and a royal palace (in which, due to the network of fountains, waterfalls and canals, it was cool even on the hottest summer day), a huge number of magnificent mosques, shady parks, amazingly beautiful streets (where At that time both sewerage and water supply were functioning)…
At this time, the Sultans of Lahore controlled vast territories from Afghanistan to Bangladesh, almost the entire territory of Hindustan.
The story about the antelope is directly related to the name of Salim Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir, the eldest son of Emperor Akbar, who a little later will also enter the world history. The emperor had two twin sons, but they died in infancy. Akbar, who feared being left without offspring, visited the famous Sufi sheikh Salim Chishti. The child born after his blessing was named after him (Salim) and affectionately nicknamed Sheikha - the child of many prayers. You can hear many legends about it, but, of course, the most popular is the “Golden Antelope”!
Despite the fact that Prince Salim was very popular among the people, he himself was most prone to hunting and loneliness. One day, while hunting, a very large male antelope was hunted for him. Its surviving descriptions suggest that it was a Chinkara gazelle, one of the most graceful and fastest among the antelope tribe. These animals are still highly valued, and some landlords even breed them on their estates in a semi-domesticated form.
Jahangir managed to catch the antelope alive; she attracted him very much with her beauty, grace and elegance, and so he gave her the name Masranj - “King of the Antelopes” - and left her to live with him. The antelope accompanied the emperor on all horseback rides; a special palace was built for it and a park was created.
Jahangir's hunting grounds were located near Lahore, in a place called Sheikhupura. The name of the city has this version: on behalf of Prince Salim - “Sheikh”, who built his summer residence here and named it in honor of the Sufi who blessed his birth.
Modern Sheikhupura is regional center in Punjab province, quite Big City. On its outskirts there is a well-preserved park and the summer residence of the emperors. It is called Hiran Minar. It was in this place that the famous golden antelope lived, and here she died of old age. . When this happened, Jahangir was very sad and ordered to bury her in front of his gazebo, and to build a high tower over the grave (hiran translated from Urdu - “antelope”, minar - “tower”) as a memory of his devoted and, perhaps, only true friend .
While resting, he could watch wild animals and remember his friend. Quite cruel by nature, the emperor had a very limited number of people whom he could trust, and had no friends at all. Royalty does not fundamentally imply friendship, since relationships are built solely on the basis of “master and subject.” The dumb and undoubtedly intelligent animal replaced Jahangir's friend.
At present, the Hiran Minar complex, of course, has not been completely preserved. However, even what is there is enough to understand the level of wealth and power of the Mughals.
In the middle of the park there is a huge man-made lake; According to stories, its depth exceeds 20 meters. And in the very center of this reservoir there is an octagonal gazebo, which is connected only by one narrow road to the shore. At the entrance to this road there are two towers that previously housed guards (the same towers are located in all four corners of the square lake).
No one checked in detail, but there is a legend that it was possible to enter this gazebo not only from the park. Local residents say that it was once connected by a secret underground passage to Jahangir’s chambers in Lahore; a horse rider could ride along it in half an hour from one city to another. It was in this way that the emperor escaped attempts on his life several times. The construction of the complex was completed in 1620, and is currently a protected historical site. He is among the candidates for inclusion in the list World Heritage UNESCO.
Some time after construction, the emperor prohibited all hunting in this place, preserving it for relaxation and contemplation of nature. Jahangir, as a sign of his highest regard for the antelope, ordered his hooves to be gilded and shod with golden horseshoes. The animal moved very quickly, and therefore, during the imperial trips, it seemed to the people that gold coins were flying out from under its hooves (moreover, the antelope sometimes actually lost its golden horseshoes, which local residents found). Actually, this is what gave rise to the legend. They immediately started talking about the fact that the emperor was so rich because he owned a wonderful golden antelope. From generation to generation, the stories have grown into a tale that is now told to everyone visiting Hiran Minar for the first time.
Currently, Hiran Minar Park is one of the favorite recreational places for the residents of Sheikhupura. They love to go into the gazebo on the water. It was built according to a very precise architectural calculation - direct rays of the sun never fall into it, but it is always light inside, and the window system creates a cool breeze from the lake, even when it is completely calm outside.
Vacationers gather here with families on weekends and holidays, go boating on the lake, walk in the corner of the preserved wild jungle, feed the pigeons and remember the legend of the powerful emperor and his antelope.
Children who hear it from adults are always surprised: how could a person with so much power become friends with a wild animal? But in fact, Emperor Jahangir, who conquered many lands, was unhappy in his own way, he survived several assassination attempts, including from his own children, was disappointed in the courtiers who only wanted more money, power and honors from him, did not truly understand needs common people. A dumb but devoted animal constantly saved him from depression, gave him an incentive to continue living, and simply healed him.
,
Alexander Gruzinsky,
Kolya Tagunov
USSR USSR
31 min. 37 sec.
Plot
An orphan boy saved a magical antelope, capable of making gold from sparks with the blow of its hooves, from a rajah when he was hunting it. When the greedy Raja and his servants grabbed the boy, demanding to know where the Golden Antelope lived, she appeared and taught the greedy Raja a lesson.
We were working on the film
- Scriptwriter: Nikolai Abramov, N. Erdman (participation in the script) uncredited
- Director: Lev Atamanov
- Production designers: Alexander Vinokurov, Leonid Shvartsman
- Animators: Vladimir Arbekov, Renata Mirenkova, Roman Davydov, Vasily Ryabchikov, Roman Kachanov, Nikolai Fedorov, Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin, Konstantin Chikin, Boris Chani
- Set designers: Dmitry Anpilov, Irina Svetlitsa, Olga Gemmerling, Konstantin Malyshev
- Composer: Vladimir Yurovsky
- Cinematographer: Mikhail Druyan
- Sound engineer: Nikolay Prilutsky
- Second operator: E. Rizo
- Assistant director: Roman Kachanov
- Artist's assistants: Lana Azarh, Grazina Brašiškite, Lidia Model
- Technical assistants: V. Shilina, Galina Andreeva
- Editor: Lydia Kyaksht
- Cast:
- Valentina Sperantova - boy
- Nina Nikitina - antelope
- Ruben Simonov - rajah
- Alexander Gruzinsky - servant
- Kolya Tagunov
Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Culture
- Conductor: G. Hamburg
Awards
Audio tale
In 1978, the fairy tale “The Golden Antelope” was released as a children's gramophone record.
Dubbing
In 2001, the cartoon was restored and re-voiced by the companies Studio AS LLC and Children's Session 1 LLC. IN new version The phonogram was completely replaced, modern actors were involved in the dubbing, and the information about the sound engineer and voice actors was replaced in the credits. The re-voice was received extremely negatively by both the majority of television viewers and members of the professional community.
- Yulien Balmusov - rajah
- Vitaly Ovanesov - executioner
- Vladimir Konkin - barber
- Irina Malikova - antelope
- Zhanna Balashova - tigress
- Tatiana Kanaeva - boy
- Boris Tokarev - elephant
Video edition
- In the 1980s in the USSR, the cartoon was released on video cassettes by the USSR Goskino Video Program. In Russia, in the early 1990s, the cartoon was released on video cassettes by the Krupny Plan film association in a collection. In the first half of the 1990s, it was also released on VHS in the collection “The Best Soviet Cartoons” by Studio PRO Video along with the cartoons “Gray Neck”, “High Hill” and “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, and since the mid-1990s the cartoon also released on VHS by the Soyuz Video studio in the collection of cartoons by the Soyuzmultfilm film studio.
- From the mid-1990s to the 2000s, a collection of cartoons from the association “ Close-up» on Video CDs by Lizard. In the early 2000s, the cartoon was restored and released on DVD by the Krupny Plan association, the Soyuz Video studio, as well as in the Golden Collection of Favorite Cartoons with Dolby Digital sound (Dolby Mono 1.0, later 2.0).
About the cartoon
In the 50s, Atamanov staged his widely famous films- fairy tales “The Scarlet Flower” (1952) by S. Aksakov, “ golden antelope"(1953) based on Indian fairy tales, "The Snow Queen" (1957) based on G.-H. Andersen.
In his films, the director is able to skillfully convey the national flavor and characteristics of the folklore of the countries where the fairy tales were created. Thus, “The Golden Antelope” conveys the atmosphere of an Indian fairy tale. The images of the boy and the antelope itself are not without fairy-tale charm; their selfless friendship is poetically told. The image of Raja greatly benefited from the fact that he was voiced by a first-class actor Ruben Simonov. The film was dubbed in France and, as far as I know, was a success.
In The Golden Antelope, Raja was played by Ruben Nikolaevich Simonov. They put a turban and robe on him, and he walked bent over with his hands behind his back, just like his hero later on the screen. Simonov brought a lot to this role - his characteristic gait, gestures, intonation. This is how we created our external image...
From an interview with artist Leonid SHVARTSMAN, 2003.
Write a review about the article "Golden Antelope"
Literature
- . - M.: Art, 1954. - 248 p. - 90,000 copies..
Contents: K. Schneider “Sarmico” p. 7, V. Suteev “The arrow flies away into a fairy tale” p. 25, V. Morozov, N. Erdman “Flight to the Moon” p. 49, M. Pashchenko “An extraordinary match” p. 81, A. Zubov, A. Galich “Stubborn dough” p. 103, S. Ermolinsky “Styopa the Captain” p. 113, V. Chaplina, G. Skrebitsky “In the forest thicket” p. 133, N. Erdman “Orange neck” p. 149, B. Brodsky “The Painted Fox” p. 169, V. Danilov “Alyonushka” p. 179, G. Graebner “The Scarlet Flower” p. 191, N. Abramov " Magic antelope" With. 221. Illustrations and text based on the cartoon.
Notes
Links
- on "Animator.ru"
- "The Golden Antelope" (English) on the Internet Movie Database
- on the website "Encyclopedia of Russian Cinema"
Excerpt characterizing the Golden Antelope
– La vilaine affaire de trainer ces cadavres apres soi. Vaudrait mieux fusiller cette canaille, [It’s a bad thing to carry these corpses around with you. It would be better to shoot this bastard.] - and laughed loudly with such a strange laugh that Petya thought the French would now recognize the deception, and he involuntarily took a step away from the fire. No one responded to Dolokhov’s words and laughter, and the French officer, who was not visible (he was lying wrapped in an overcoat), stood up and whispered something to his comrade. Dolokhov stood up and called to the soldier with the horses.“Will they serve the horses or not?” - Petya thought, involuntarily approaching Dolokhov.
The horses were brought in.
“Bonjour, messieurs, [Here: farewell, gentlemen.],” said Dolokhov.
Petya wanted to say bonsoir [good evening] and could not finish the words. The officers were whispering something to each other. Dolokhov took a long time to mount the horse, which was not standing; then he walked out of the gate. Petya rode beside him, wanting and not daring to look back to see whether the French were running or not running after them.
Having reached the road, Dolokhov drove not back into the field, but along the village. At one point he stopped, listening.
- Do you hear? - he said.
Petya recognized the sounds of Russian voices and saw the dark figures of Russian prisoners near the fires. Going down to the bridge, Petya and Dolokhov passed the sentry, who, without saying a word, walked gloomily along the bridge, and drove out into the ravine where the Cossacks were waiting.
- Well, goodbye now. Tell Denisov that at dawn, at the first shot,” said Dolokhov and wanted to go, but Petya grabbed him with his hand.
- No! - he cried, - you are such a hero. Oh, how good! How great! How I love you.
“Okay, okay,” said Dolokhov, but Petya did not let him go, and in the darkness Dolokhov saw that Petya was bending down towards him. He wanted to kiss. Dolokhov kissed him, laughed and, turning his horse, disappeared into the darkness.
X
Returning to the guardhouse, Petya found Denisov in the entryway. Denisov, in excitement, anxiety and annoyance at himself for letting Petya go, was waiting for him.
- God bless! - he shouted. - Well, thank God! - he repeated, listening to Petya’s enthusiastic story. “What the hell, I couldn’t sleep because of you!” Denisov said. “Well, thank God, now go to bed.” Still sighing and eating until the end.
“Yes... No,” said Petya. – I don’t want to sleep yet. Yes, I know myself, if I fall asleep, it’s over. And then I got used to not sleeping before the battle.
Petya sat for some time in the hut, joyfully recalling the details of his trip and vividly imagining what would happen tomorrow. Then, noticing that Denisov had fallen asleep, he got up and went into the yard.
It was still completely dark outside. The rain had passed, but drops were still falling from the trees. Close to the guardhouse one could see black figures of Cossack huts and horses tied together. Behind the hut were two black wagons with horses standing, and in the ravine the dying fire was red. The Cossacks and hussars were not all asleep: in some places, along with the sound of falling drops and the nearby sound of horses chewing, soft, as if whispering voices were heard.
Petya came out of the entryway, looked around in the darkness and approached the wagons. Someone was snoring under the wagons, and saddled horses stood around them, chewing oats. In the darkness, Petya recognized his horse, which he called Karabakh, although it was a Little Russian horse, and approached it.
“Well, Karabakh, we’ll serve tomorrow,” he said, smelling her nostrils and kissing her.
- What, master, aren’t you sleeping? - said the Cossack sitting under the truck.
- No; and... Likhachev, I think your name is? After all, I just arrived. We went to the French. - And Petya told the Cossack in detail not only his trip, but also why he went and why he believes that it is better to risk his life than to make Lazar at random.
“Well, they should have slept,” said the Cossack.
“No, I’m used to it,” answered Petya. - What, you don’t have flints in your pistols? I brought it with me. Isn't it necessary? You take it.
The Cossack leaned out from under the truck to take a closer look at Petya.
“Because I’m used to doing everything carefully,” said Petya. “Some people just don’t get ready, and then they regret it.” I don't like it that way.
“That’s for sure,” said the Cossack.
“And one more thing, please, my dear, sharpen my saber; dull it... (but Petya was afraid to lie) it was never sharpened. Can this be done?
- Why, it’s possible.
Likhachev stood up, rummaged through his packs, and Petya soon heard the warlike sound of steel on a block. He climbed onto the truck and sat on the edge of it. The Cossack was sharpening his saber under the truck.
- Well, are the fellows sleeping? - said Petya.
- Some are sleeping, and some are like this.
- Well, what about the boy?
- Is it spring? He collapsed there in the entryway. He sleeps with fear. I was really glad.
For a long time after this, Petya was silent, listening to the sounds. Footsteps were heard in the darkness and a black figure appeared.
- What are you sharpening? – the man asked, approaching the truck.
- But sharpen the master’s saber.
“Good job,” said the man who seemed to Petya to be a hussar. - Do you still have a cup?
- And over there by the wheel.
The hussar took the cup.
“It’ll probably be light soon,” he said, yawning, and walked off somewhere.
Petya should have known that he was in the forest, in Denisov’s party, a mile from the road, that he was sitting on a wagon captured from the French, around which horses were tied, that the Cossack Likhachev was sitting under him and sharpening his saber, what a big black spot to the right is a guardhouse, and a bright red spot below to the left is a dying fire, that the man who came for a cup is a hussar who was thirsty; but he knew nothing and did not want to know it. He was in magical kingdom, in which there was nothing similar to reality. A large black spot, perhaps there was definitely a guardhouse, or perhaps there was a cave that led into the very depths of the earth. A red spot, maybe there was fire, or maybe an eye huge monster. Maybe he’s definitely sitting on a wagon now, but it’s very possible that he’s not sitting on a wagon, but on a terrible high tower, from which if you fall, you would fly to the ground for a whole day, a whole month - you’d keep flying and never reach it. It may be that just a Cossack Likhachev is sitting under the truck, but it may very well be that this is the kindest, bravest, most wonderful, most excellent person in the world, whom no one knows. Maybe it was just a hussar passing for water and going into the ravine, or maybe he just disappeared from sight and completely disappeared, and he was not there.
Whatever Petya saw now, nothing would surprise him. He was in a magical kingdom where everything was possible.
He looked at the sky. And the sky was as magical as the earth. The sky was clearing, and clouds were moving quickly over the tops of the trees, as if revealing the stars. Sometimes it seemed that the sky was clearing and black was showing, clear sky. Sometimes it seemed that these black spots were clouds. Sometimes it seemed as if the sky was rising high, high above your head; sometimes the sky dropped completely, so that you could reach it with your hand.
Petya began to close his eyes and sway.
Drops were dripping. There was a quiet conversation. The horses neighed and fought. Someone was snoring.
“Ozhig, zhig, zhig, zhig...” the saber being sharpened whistled. And suddenly Petya heard a harmonious choir of music playing some unknown, solemnly sweet hymn. Petya was musical, just like Natasha, and more than Nikolai, but he had never studied music, did not think about music, and therefore the motives that unexpectedly came to his mind were especially new and attractive to him. The music played louder and louder. The melody grew, moving from one instrument to another. What was called a fugue was happening, although Petya had no the slightest idea about what a fugue is. Each instrument, sometimes similar to a violin, sometimes like trumpets - but better and cleaner than violins and trumpets - each instrument played its own and, not yet finishing the tune, merged with another, which started almost the same, and with the third, and with the fourth , and they all merged into one and scattered again, and again merged, now into the solemn church, now into the brightly brilliant and victorious.
“Oh, yes, it’s me in a dream,” Petya said to himself, swaying forward. - It's in my ears. Or maybe it's my music. Well, again. Go ahead my music! Well!.."
He closed his eyes. And from different sides, as if from afar, sounds began to tremble, began to harmonize, scatter, merge, and again everything united into the same sweet and solemn hymn. “Oh, what a delight this is! As much as I want and how I want,” Petya said to himself. He tried to lead this huge choir of instruments.
“Well, hush, hush, freeze now. – And the sounds obeyed him. - Well, now it’s fuller, more fun. More, even more joyful. – And from an unknown depth arose intensifying, solemn sounds. “Well, voices, pester!” - Petya ordered. And first, male voices were heard from afar, then female voices. The voices grew, grew in uniform, solemn effort. Petya was scared and joyful to listen to their extraordinary beauty.
The song merged with the solemn victory march, and drops fell, and burn, burn, burn... the saber whistled, and again the horses fought and neighed, not breaking the choir, but entering into it.
Petya didn’t know how long this lasted: he enjoyed himself, was constantly surprised by his pleasure and regretted that there was no one to tell it to. He was awakened by Likhachev's gentle voice.
- Ready, your honor, you will split the guard in two.
Petya woke up.
- It’s already dawn, really, it’s dawning! - he screamed.
The previously invisible horses became visible up to their tails, and a watery light was visible through the bare branches. Petya shook himself, jumped up, took a ruble from his pocket and gave it to Likhachev, waved, tried the saber and put it in the sheath. The Cossacks untied the horses and tightened the girths.
“Here is the commander,” said Likhachev. Denisov came out of the guardhouse and, calling out to Petya, ordered them to get ready.
Quickly in the semi-darkness they dismantled the horses, tightened the girths and sorted out the teams. Denisov stood at the guardhouse, giving the last orders. The party's infantry, slapping a hundred feet, marched forward along the road and quickly disappeared between the trees in the predawn fog. Esaul ordered something to the Cossacks. Petya held his horse on the reins, impatiently awaiting the order to mount. Washed cold water, his face, especially his eyes, burned with fire, a chill ran down his back, and something in his whole body was trembling quickly and evenly.