Stone heart - German fairy tale. Petrified Kingdom - Russian folk tale

There was a knight in the world who wanted to become famous and become the first in his country. He often said that for wealth and power he was ready for all sorts of sacrifices. Nevertheless, he was kind, just, and compassionate, and was loved by all who depended on him. By the way, he dealt graciously with a poor collier who lived with his family in the forest. The poor man could not pay tribute to the knight, and the managers wanted to sell all his belongings and drive him out of the forest.
Maria, the coal miner's daughter, decided to go to the knight and ask him to take pity on her father. The knight listened to her and ordered his managers not to touch the coal miner and his family. In addition, he gave her money and sent everything she needed to her sick mother.
Once the knight went to the forest to hunt. He chased a beautiful deer and got lost. Trying to get out of the thicket, he fell into a swamp and almost drowned in a viscous quagmire. When he managed to get back to solid ground, he noticed the lights that jumped back and forth. They were wandering lights. And suddenly they laughed and shouted:
You almost fell into our hands. But we don't want you to die. On the contrary, we will make you powerful and rich, only for this give us your heart. Instead, we will put a stone in your chest.
They laughed, trembled, and a whole rain of gold pieces of gold fell all around. The offer of lights seemed tempting to the knight. He agreed, especially since the wandering lights did not say that they would hurt him. They surrounded him and began to breathe into his face. He felt dizzy and fell unconscious.
When the knight came to his senses, he noticed that everything had changed. The beauty of the forest, the sweet singing of birds, did not please him anymore, when his horse stumbled, he severely beat her. On the high road, he met peasants, they bowed to him, but he did not thank them for their greetings and only looked around with an angry look.
And so it has always been. Nothing else amused the knight. He forgot how to laugh, but he was not afraid of anything, he never cared about anything, he did not worry, he did not feel sorry for anyone, he did not show compassion to anyone. And no wonder: in his chest was a cold stone heart.
He became a cruel master to his subjects. A watchman walked along its tower, who looked to see if a wagon loaded with goods of wandering merchants, fearfully passing by the castle, would appear. When the sound of the watchman's horn was heard, the knight armed his warriors and squires and jumped on his horse. Hiding in an ambush, he lay in wait for the approaching carts and attacked them. He robbed and killed, took rich merchants to the castle and, in anticipation of a ransom, put them in underground dungeons.
All goods, all treasures were appropriated by this robber. However, he gave a small part of the stolen goods to his people. Its prisoners sat in prisons, eating bread and water. They were released only when they managed to pay a large ransom.
The knight became unusually powerful and rich. Everyone was afraid of him, but they considered him the worst of the bad. It didn't bother him. He didn't care what people thought of him. However, the stolen treasures did not please him. Now nothing gave him pleasure. He loved no one, he never smiled, his heart knew only cruelty. Many became unhappy because of him, but he himself was the most unhappy of all, as a stone heart crushed his chest.
Everyone hated him now. Only Mary continued to love the knight and did not forget his good deeds. She was very sad when she was told about his cruelty, and, without ceasing, prayed for him, asking Heaven to make him again the same as he was before.
Once she met him in the forest. Shyly and respectfully, Maria stepped aside and bowed deeply. Noticing the basket in her hands, the knight asked what she was carrying.
“Only the berries and mushrooms I picked in the forest, sir,” she said.
- How dare you do that? he shouted in rage. Everything that grows in the forest is mine. You stole my mushrooms and berries, and I will punish you for it.
He snatched the basket from her hands, scattered mushrooms and berries, knocked the girl down with his horse, drew his sword and hit the poor thing with it. Maybe he wanted to hit Maria only with the flat of his head, but wounded her. Blood spattered from the girl's body, and she fell unconscious to the ground.
The knight left without thinking about what would happen to her, and Maria came to her senses only after a few hours. She got up with difficulty. The blood stopped on its own, but the wound burned fiercely, and she wanted to cool it. In the distance, a clearing was visible, which ended in a swamp, a stream ran through it. Maria approached him and leaned towards his life-giving streams. She was told that evil forest spirits appeared in this place in the form of wandering fires, but she had a pure heart, she relied on God and therefore was not afraid of anything.
With the water of the stream, the girl refreshed the wound, but she was so weak that she could not go further, but lay down in the grass, hoping to rest. Maria fell asleep. When she opened her eyes, it was completely dark. Only in the direction of the swamp flickered a strange light. Soon the girl noticed the swinging lights, which became either giganticly large, or quite tiny. They jumped as if they were dancing, and their whispering and crackling sounded like mocking laughter.
Mary sat still and listened. Here heavy steps were heard, it seemed that an armed man was walking. A moment later, a voice called out that reminded her of a knight's voice.
He said to the wandering lights:
- You lied to me. I am so unhappy that I can no longer live. Everyone has been avoiding me since I have a heart of stone in my chest and I feel nothing.
The wandering lights laughed, hissed, whistled.
- After all, we gave you power, power and wealth, - they said, - and you wanted it. We kept our word.
- Wealth and power do not give me happiness, - the knight answered, - give me back my former beating, feeling heart.
“That will never happen,” the wandering lights laughed. You gave it up of your own free will. You can't get it back. Only if another pure heart is given to us, yours will return to your chest. But whoever wants to give us a heart will die. And who would dare to sacrifice himself for you? After all, you became hated by everyone.
The knight sighed and was about to leave when Maria approached him. What she heard both delighted and excited her. So the knight was not as guilty as it seemed. In an unfortunate moment, he made a pact with the fires and became evil only because he was given a stone instead of a living heart. Now he wanted to free himself from the terrible spell, and the girl decided to help him and die for him.
She no longer felt weak, the decision gave her strength and courage. She said:
“I am ready to give my heart for the heart of this noble lord.
“But it will cost you your life,” the lights said.
“I will sacrifice my life if you promise me to return the knight to his former heart.
The lights promised her this and added:
We give you time to think. If you do not change your mind, come here on the next full moon, and then we will do what you ask.
Maria agreed. The knight listened in silence. He was not even surprised that the girl he treated so cruelly wanted to sacrifice her life to save him.
As time went. Mary's wound healed thanks to medicinal herbs and ointments. Her decision did not waver. In order not to upset her parents, she did not say anything to them, and when the full moon came, she went along the forest road. Near the swamp, she saw wandering lights and a knight. The fires asked her what she wanted, and, having heard from her the same firm answer, ordered her to prepare for death.
Until now, the knight had stood silent and motionless. When Maria so calmly and firmly said yes, something changed in his soul. Had his heart awakened after such a long time? It began to beat fearfully again. When the girl finally prepared to give her heart away, such terrible blows were heard in his chest that it seemed that it would burst. The knight's heart revived.
He rushed and shouted:
Maria shouldn't suffer. Do what you want with me, but I won't give her up!
At that moment, the wandering lights went out. It got dark all around. Maria trembled like an aspen leaf and wept softly. The knight reassured her and led her out of the forest, carefully choosing the path for her. She was embarrassed that her sacrifice was not required, but the knight said that her desire alone had already saved him, since now a living, feeling heart was beating in his chest. He again became as kind and meek as he was before. Soon the knight tried to make amends, and everyone fell in love with him again. He was deeply grateful to Mary, gave her a golden ring and took her into his house as his wife. And they lived for a long time in peace, harmony and love.

The tale of the Petrified Kingdom is about a brave and responsible soldier. You will find out what reward the soldier received for diligence and courage when you read an interesting tale online.

Fairy tale petrified kingdom read

Tired of the soldier for faithful and impeccable service from the authorities to receive scoldings and beatings undeservedly, he decided to run away from the service. A servant for three years to one king was hired to guard the garden, in which at night someone broke trees. At the end of the third year, a terrible bird flew in and began to uproot the trees in the garden. A soldier rushed after her with all his might. The bird disappeared into the gorge. The soldier rushed after her and found himself at the bottom of a deep sinkhole. I woke up and saw the city exactly the same as on earth. Only all living things in it turned to stone, except for the beautiful princess. The princess told the soldier that her sister, who had done atrocities in the king's garden, brought a lot of evil to people and bewitched the whole kingdom. The princess asked the young man to read spells from a magic book. Only in this way can the curse be lifted and the people freed. The soldier spent three terrible nights reading a magical book. All sorts of evil spirits curled around him, he imagined horrors, a terrible rattle and howl was heard, executioners with axes rushed at him, terrible ghosts tried to take away the magic book. The soldier survived. After the third night, he went out into the street, he sees that the city came to life. Everyone began to thank the soldier and made him their king. And the princess gladly married a daredevil. Live in love and joy. You can read the story online on our website.

Analysis of the fairy tale Petrified Kingdom

The plot of the fairy tale is simple and clear. It clearly expresses the line of the protagonist, who embodies the best human qualities. Honesty, responsibility, courage are traits that help the hero in life. the main idea fairy tales Petrified Kingdom - no need to be afraid of difficulties, you need to find a way to overcome them.

Maria, the coal miner's daughter, decided to go to the knight and ask him to take pity on her father. The knight listened to her and ordered his managers not to touch the coal miner and his family. In addition, he gave her money and sent everything she needed to her sick mother.

Once the knight went to the forest to hunt. He chased a beautiful deer and got lost. Trying to get out of the thicket, he fell into a swamp and almost drowned in a viscous quagmire. When he managed to get back to solid ground, he noticed the lights that jumped back and forth. They were wandering lights. And suddenly they laughed and shouted:

“You almost fell into our hands. But we don't want you to die. On the contrary, we will make you powerful and rich, only for this give us your heart. Instead, we will put a stone in your chest.

They laughed, trembled, and a whole rain of gold pieces of gold fell all around. The offer of lights seemed tempting to the knight. He agreed, especially since the wandering lights did not say that they would hurt him. They surrounded him and began to breathe into his face. He felt dizzy and fell unconscious.

When the knight came to his senses, he noticed that everything had changed. The beauty of the forest, the sweet singing of birds, did not please him anymore, when his horse stumbled, he severely beat her. On the high road, he met peasants, they bowed to him, but he did not thank them for their greetings and only looked around with an angry look.

And so it has always been. Nothing else amused the knight. He forgot how to laugh, but he was not afraid of anything, he never cared about anything, he did not worry, he did not feel sorry for anyone, he did not show compassion to anyone. And no wonder: in his chest was a cold stone heart.

He became a cruel master to his subjects. A watchman walked along its tower, who looked to see if a wagon loaded with goods of wandering merchants, fearfully passing by the castle, would appear. When the sound of the watchman's horn was heard, the knight armed his warriors and squires and jumped on his horse. Hiding in an ambush, he lay in wait for the approaching carts and attacked them. He robbed and killed, took rich merchants to the castle and, in anticipation of a ransom, put them in underground dungeons.

All goods, all treasures were appropriated by this robber. However, he gave a small part of the stolen goods to his people. Its prisoners sat in prisons, eating bread and water. They were released only when they managed to pay a large ransom.

The knight became unusually powerful and rich. Everyone was afraid of him, but they considered him the worst of the bad. It didn't bother him. He didn't care what people thought of him. However, the stolen treasures did not please him. Now nothing gave him pleasure. He loved no one, he never smiled, his heart knew only cruelty. Many became unhappy because of him, but he himself was the most unhappy of all, as a stone heart crushed his chest.

Everyone hated him now. Only Mary continued to love the knight and did not forget his good deeds. She was very sad when she was told about his cruelty, and, without ceasing, prayed for him, asking Heaven to make him again the same as he was before.

Once she met him in the forest. Shyly and respectfully, Maria stepped aside and bowed deeply. Noticing the basket in her hands, the knight asked what she was carrying.

“Only the berries and mushrooms I picked in the forest, sir,” she said.

How dare you do this? he shouted in rage. Everything that grows in the forest is mine. You stole my mushrooms and berries, and I will punish you for it.

He snatched the basket from her hands, scattered mushrooms and berries, knocked the girl down with his horse, drew his sword and hit the poor thing with it. Maybe he wanted to hit Maria only with the flat of his head, but wounded her. Blood spattered from the girl's body, and she fell unconscious to the ground.

The knight left without thinking about what would happen to her, and Maria came to her senses only after a few hours. She got up with difficulty. The blood stopped on its own, but the wound burned fiercely, and she wanted to cool it. In the distance, a clearing was visible, which ended in a swamp, a stream ran through it. Maria approached him and leaned towards his life-giving streams. She was told that evil forest spirits appeared in this place in the form of wandering fires, but she had a pure heart, she relied on God and therefore was not afraid of anything.

With the water of the stream, the girl refreshed the wound, but she was so weak that she could not go further, but lay down in the grass, hoping to rest. Maria fell asleep. When she opened her eyes, it was completely dark. Only in the direction of the swamp flickered a strange light. Soon the girl noticed the swinging lights, which became either giganticly large, or quite tiny. They jumped as if they were dancing, and their whispering and crackling sounded like mocking laughter.

Mary sat still and listened. Here heavy steps were heard, it seemed that an armed man was walking. A moment later, a voice called out that reminded her of a knight's voice.

He said to the wandering lights:

- You lied to me. I am so unhappy that I can no longer live. Everyone has been avoiding me since I have a heart of stone in my chest and I feel nothing.

The wandering lights laughed, hissed, whistled.

“After all, we gave you power, power and wealth,” they said, “and you wanted it. We kept our word.

“Wealth and power do not give me happiness,” the knight replied, “give me back my former beating, feeling heart.”

“That will never happen,” the wandering lights laughed. You gave it up of your own free will. You can't get it back. Only if another pure heart is given to us, yours will return to your chest. But whoever wants to give us a heart will die. And who would dare to sacrifice himself for you? After all, you became hated by everyone.

The knight sighed and was about to leave when Maria approached him. What she heard both delighted and excited her. So the knight was not as guilty as it seemed. In an unfortunate moment, he made a pact with the fires and became evil only because he was given a stone instead of a living heart. Now he wanted to free himself from the terrible spell, and the girl decided to help him and die for him.

She no longer felt weak, the decision gave her strength and courage. She said:

“I am ready to give my heart for the heart of this noble lord.

“But it will cost you your life,” the lights said.

“I will sacrifice my life if only you promise me to restore the knight to his former heart.”

The lights promised her this and added:

We give you time to think. If you do not change your mind, come here on the next full moon, and then we will do what you ask.

Maria agreed. The knight listened in silence. He was not even surprised that the girl he treated so cruelly wanted to sacrifice her life to save him.

As time went. Mary's wound healed thanks to medicinal herbs and ointments. Her decision did not waver. In order not to upset her parents, she did not say anything to them, and when the full moon came, she went along the forest road. Near the swamp, she saw wandering lights and a knight. The fires asked her what she wanted, and, having heard from her the same firm answer, ordered her to prepare for death.

Until now, the knight had stood silent and motionless. When Maria so calmly and firmly said yes, something changed in his soul. Had his heart awakened after such a long time? It began to beat fearfully again. When the girl finally prepared to give her heart away, such terrible blows were heard in his chest that it seemed that it would burst. The knight's heart revived.

In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a soldier; he served for a long time and flawlessly, he knew the service well, he came to reviews, to exercises clean and in good order. He began to serve his last year - as a misfortune, his superiors, not only big, but also small, disliked him: every now and then under the sticks take the rap.
It became hard for the soldier, and he decided to run away; a knapsack over his shoulder, a gun on his shoulder, and began to say goodbye to his comrades, and they asked him:
- Where are you going? Al battalion requires?
- Do not ask, brothers! Pull up the satchel tighter and do not remember dashingly!
And he went, good fellow, wherever his eyes look.
How much, how little he walked - he ended up in a different state, saw a sentry and asks:
- Is it possible to stop and rest somewhere?
The sentry told the corporal, the corporal to the officer, the officer to the general, the general reported to the king himself. The king ordered to call the servant in front of his bright eyes.
Here a soldier appeared - properly, in uniform, made a gun on guard and stood in his tracks. The king tells him:
- Tell me honestly, from where and where are you going?
- Your Royal Majesty, do not order to execute, order to say a word.
He confessed everything to the king in good conscience and began to ask for the service.
- Well, - said the king, - hire me to guard the garden. Now my garden is unfavorable - someone is breaking my favorite trees - so you try, save it, and I will give you a considerable payment for your work.
The soldier agreed and began to keep guard in the garden.
He serves a year and two - everything is in order with him; so the third year was running out, one day he went to look around the garden and saw: half of the best trees were broken.
“My God!” he thinks to himself. “What a misfortune has happened! As the king notices this, he now orders me to be seized and hanged.”
He took a gun in his hands, leaned against a tree and thought hard, hard.
Suddenly there was a crackling and noise; the good fellow woke up, lo and behold, a huge, terrible bird flew into the garden and, well, cut down trees! The soldier shot at her with a gun, did not kill her, but only wounded her in the right wing; three feathers fell out of that wing, and the bird itself fled on the ground. The soldier is behind her. The bird's legs are fast, it quickly ran to the failure and disappeared from sight.
The soldier was not afraid and after her rushed into that hole: he fell into a deep, deep abyss, knocked off all his livers and lay unconscious for a whole day.
After he came to his senses, he stood up and looked around. What? - and under the ground the same light.
"So," he thinks, "there are people here too!"
Walked, walked - in front of him Big city, at the gate of the guardhouse, with her sentry; began to ask him - the sentry is silent, does not move; I took him by the hand - and he is completely stone!
A soldier entered the guardhouse. There are a lot of people - and they stand and sit, - only all are petrified; started wandering the streets - everywhere the same thing: there is not a single living human soul, everything is like a stone! Here is the palace - painted, carved. March there, he looks - the rooms are rich, there are all sorts of snacks and drinks on the tables, and the surroundings are quiet and empty.
The soldier ate, drank, sat down to rest, and it seemed to him that someone had driven up to the porch; he grabbed his gun and stood at the door.
A beautiful princess with her mothers and nannies enters the ward. The soldier saluted her, and she bowed affectionately to him.
- Hello, servant! Tell me, - he says, - how did you get here?
The soldier began to speak:
- I hoped de I guard the royal garden, and got into the habit there big bird fly and break trees. So I lay in wait for her, fired a gun and knocked out three feathers from her wing; rushed after her and ended up here.
- This bird is my sister; she does a lot of all sorts of evil and sent misfortune to my kingdom - she petrified all my people. Listen: here's a book for you, stand right here and read it from the evening until the roosters crow. No matter what passions seem to you, you know your own - read the book and hold it tight so that you don’t tear it out, otherwise you won’t live! If you stay idle for three nights, I will marry you.
- Okay! - answered the soldier.
As soon as it got dark, he took a book and began to read.
Suddenly there was a knock, a thunder - a whole army appeared in the palace, his former bosses approached the soldier and scolded him and threatened him with death for escaping; and the guns are being loaded, they are aiming. But the soldier does not look at that, does not let go of the book, know that he reads it to himself.
The roosters crowed - and everything perished at once!
On the next night it was worse, and on the third even worse: the executioners came running with saws, axes, hammers, they want to crush his bones, pull his veins, burn him on the fire, but they themselves only think how to snatch the book from their hands. There were such passions that the soldier could hardly stand it.
The roosters crowed - and the obsession was gone!
At that very hour, the whole kingdom came to life, the people bustled through the streets and in the houses, the princess appeared in the palace with the generals, with her retinue, and everyone began to thank the soldier and call him their sovereign.
The next day he married a beautiful princess and lived with her in love and joy.

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