An old man lived with his old woman
By the bluest sea;
They lived in a dilapidated dugout
Exactly thirty years and three years.
The old man was catching fish with a net,
The old woman was spinning her yarn.
Once he threw a net into the sea, -
A net arrived with nothing but mud.
Another time he cast a net, -
A net came with sea grass.
For the third time he cast the net, -
A net came with one fish,
With not just a simple fish, but a golden one.
“You, elder, let me go to sea!
Dear, I will give a ransom for myself:
I’ll pay you back with whatever you want.”
The old man was surprised and frightened:
He fished for thirty years and three years
And I never heard the fish speak.
He released the goldfish
And he said a kind word to her:
“God be with you, goldfish!
I don’t need your ransom;
Go to the blue sea,
Walk there in the open space."
The old man returned to the old woman,
He told her a great miracle:
“Today I caught a fish,
Goldfish, not an ordinary one;
In our opinion, the fish spoke,
I asked to go home to the blue sea,
Bought at a high price:
I bought whatever I wanted.
I did not dare take ransom from her;
So he let her into the blue sea.”
The old woman scolded the old man:
“You fool, you simpleton!
You didn’t know how to take ransom from a fish!
If only you could take the trough from her,
Ours is completely split.”
So he went to the blue sea;
He sees that the sea is a little rough.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
“Have mercy, lady fish,
My old woman scolded me,
Doesn't give me peace of mind, old man:
She needs a new trough;
Ours is completely split.”
The goldfish answers:
“Do not be sad, go with God.
There will be a new trough for you."
The old man returned to the old woman,
The old woman has a new trough.
The old woman scolds even more:
“You fool, you simpleton!
You begged for a trough, you fool!
Is there a lot of self-interest in the trough?
Turn back, fool, you are going to the fish;
Bow to her and beg for a hut.”
So he went to the blue sea
(The blue sea has become cloudy).
He began to click on the goldfish.
“What do you want, elder?”
“Have mercy, lady fish!
The old woman scolds even more,
Doesn't give me peace of mind, old man:
A grumpy woman is asking for a hut.”
The goldfish answers:
“Do not be sad, go with God,
So be it: you’ll have a hut.”
He went to his dugout,
And there is no trace of the dugout;
In front of him is a hut with a light,
With a brick, whitewashed chimney,
With oak plank gates.
The old woman is sitting under the window,
On what light is the husband scolding:
“You are a fool, you are a simpleton!
The simpleton begged for a hut!
Turn back, bow to the fish:
I don't want to be a black peasant girl
I want to be a pillar noblewoman.”
The old man went to the blue sea
(Restless blue sea).
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
The old woman became more foolish than ever,
Doesn't give me peace of mind, old man:
She doesn't want to be a peasant
She wants to be a high-ranking noblewoman.”
The goldfish answers:
“Do not be sad, go with God.”
The old man returned to the old woman,
What does he see? High tower.
His old woman is standing on the porch
In an expensive sable jacket,
Brocade kitty on the crown,
Pearls weighed down the neck,
There are gold rings on my hands,
Red boots on her feet.
Before her are diligent servants;
She beats them and drags them by the chuprun.
The old man says to his old woman:
“Hello, madam noblewoman!
Tea, now your darling is happy.”
The old woman shouted at him,
She sent him to serve at the stables.
One week goes by, another goes by
The old woman became even more foolish;
Again he sends the old man to the fish:
“Turn back, bow to the fish:
I don't want to be a pillar noblewoman,
But I want to be a free queen.”
The old man got scared and prayed:
“What, woman, have you eaten too much henbane?
You can neither step nor speak!
You will make the whole kingdom laugh."
The old woman became even more angry,
She hit her husband on the cheek.
“How dare you, man, argue with me,
With me, a pillar noblewoman?
Go to the sea, they tell you with honor;
If you don’t go, they will lead you willy-nilly.”
The old man went to the sea
(The blue sea turned black).
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
My old woman is rebelling again:
She doesn't want to be a noblewoman,
She wants to be a free queen."
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God!
Good! the old woman will be a queen!”
The old man returned to the old woman.
Well? before him are the royal chambers,
In the chambers he sees his old woman,
She sits at the table like a queen,
Boyars and nobles serve her,
They pour her foreign wines;
She eats printed gingerbread;
A formidable guard stands around her,
They hold axes on their shoulders.
When the old man saw it, he was scared!
He bowed to the old woman's feet,
He said: “Hello, formidable queen!
Well, is your darling happy now?”
The old woman did not look at him,
She just ordered him to be driven out of sight.
The boyars and nobles ran up,
The old man was pushed back.
And the guards ran up at the door,
Almost chopped her up with axes.
And the people laughed at him:
“Serves you right, you old ignoramus!
From now on, science for you, ignoramus:
Don’t sit in the wrong sleigh!”
One week goes by, another goes by
The old woman became even more furious:
The courtiers send for her husband.
They found the old man and brought him to her.
The old woman says to the old man:
“Turn back, bow to the fish.
I don't want to be a free queen,
I want to be the mistress of the sea,
So that I can live in Okiyan-Sea,
So that the goldfish may serve me
And she would be on my errands.”
The old man did not dare to contradict
I didn’t dare to say a word.
Here he goes to the blue sea,
He sees a black storm at sea:
So the angry waves swelled,
That's how they walk and howl and howl.
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
What should I do with the damned woman?
She doesn't want to be a queen,
Wants to be the mistress of the sea:
So that she can live in Okiyan-sea,
So that you yourself serve her
And I would have been on her errands.”
The fish didn't say anything
Just splashed her tail in the water
And went into the deep sea.
He waited for a long time by the sea for an answer,
He didn’t wait, he returned to the old woman -
Lo and behold, there was a dugout in front of him again;
His old woman is sitting on the threshold,
And in front of her is a broken trough.
An old man lived with his old woman
By the bluest sea;
They lived in a dilapidated dugout
Exactly thirty years and three years.
The old man was catching fish with a net,
The old woman was spinning her yarn.
Once he threw a net into the sea -
A net arrived with nothing but mud.
Another time he cast a net -
A net came with sea grass.
For the third time he threw the net -
A net came with one fish,
With not just any fish—golden fish.
How the goldfish prays!
He says in a human voice:
“You, elder, let me go to sea!
Dear, I will give a ransom for myself:
I’ll pay you back with whatever you want.”
The old man was surprised and frightened:
He fished for thirty years and three years
And I never heard the fish speak.
He released the goldfish
And he said a kind word to her:
“God be with you, goldfish!
I don’t need your ransom;
Go to the blue sea,
Walk there in the open space."
The old man returned to the old woman,
He told her a great miracle:
“Today I caught a fish,
Goldfish, not an ordinary one;
In our opinion, the fish spoke,
I asked to go home to the blue sea,
Bought at a high price:
I bought whatever I wanted
I didn’t dare take a ransom from her;
So he let her into the blue sea.”
The old woman scolded the old man:
“You fool, you simpleton!
You didn’t know how to take ransom from a fish!
If only you could take the trough from her,
Ours is completely split.”
So he went to the blue sea;
He sees that the sea is a little rough.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
“Have mercy, lady fish,
My old woman scolded me,
The old man gives me no peace:
She needs a new trough;
Ours is completely split.”
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God.
There will be a new trough for you."
The old man returned to the old woman,
The old woman has a new trough.
The old woman scolds even more:
“You fool, you simpleton!
You begged for a trough, you fool!
Is there a lot of self-interest in the trough?
Turn back, fool, you are going to the fish;
Bow to her and beg for a hut.”
So he went to the blue sea
(The blue sea has become cloudy).
He began to click on the goldfish.
“What do you want, elder?”
“Have mercy, lady fish!
The old woman scolds even more,
The old man gives me no peace:
A grumpy woman is asking for a hut.”
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God,
So be it: you’ll have a hut.”
He went to his dugout,
And there is no trace of the dugout;
In front of him is a hut with a light,
With a brick, whitewashed pipe,
With oak, plank gates.
The old woman is sitting under the window,
What the world stands on scolds her husband:
“You are a fool, you are a simpleton!
The simpleton begged for a hut!
Turn back, bow to the fish:
I don't want to be a black peasant girl,
I want to be a pillar noblewoman.”
The old man went to the blue sea
(Restless blue sea).
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
The old woman became more foolish than ever,
The old man gives me no peace:
She doesn't want to be a peasant
She wants to be a high-ranking noblewoman.”
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God.”
The old man returned to the old woman,
What does he see? High tower.
His old woman is standing on the porch
In an expensive sable jacket,
Brocade kitty on the crown,
Pearls weighed down the neck,
There are gold rings on my hands,
Red boots on her feet.
Before her are diligent servants;
She beats them and drags them by the chuprun.
The old man says to his old woman:
“Hello, madam noblewoman!
Tea, now your darling is happy.”
The old woman shouted at him,
She sent him to serve at the stables.
One week goes by, another goes by
The old woman became even more foolish;
Again he sends the old man to the fish:
“Turn back, bow to the fish:
I don't want to be a high-ranking noblewoman.
But I want to be a free queen.”
The old man got scared and prayed:
“What, woman, have you eaten too much henbane?
You can neither step nor speak.
You will make the whole kingdom laugh."
The old woman became even more angry,
She hit her husband on the cheek.
“How dare you, man, argue with me,
With me, a pillar noblewoman?
Go to the sea, they tell you with honor;
If you don’t go, they will lead you willy-nilly.”
The old man went to the sea
(The blue sea turned black).
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
My old woman is rebelling again:
She doesn't want to be a noblewoman,
She wants to be a free queen."
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God!
Good! the old woman will be a queen!”
The old man returned to the old woman,
Well? before him are the royal chambers,
In the chambers he sees his old woman,
She sits at the table like a queen,
Boyars and nobles serve her,
They pour her foreign wines;
She eats printed gingerbread;
A formidable guard stands around her,
They hold axes on their shoulders.
When the old man saw it, he was scared!
He bowed to the old woman's feet,
He said: “Hello, formidable queen!
Well, is your darling happy now?”
The old woman did not look at him,
She just ordered him to be driven out of sight.
The boyars and nobles ran up,
The old man was pushed back.
And the guards ran up at the door,
Almost chopped me up with axes,
And the people laughed at him:
“Serves you right, you old ignoramus!
From now on, science for you, ignoramus:
Don’t sit in the wrong sleigh!”
One week goes by, another goes by
The old woman became even more furious:
The courtiers send for her husband.
They found the old man and brought him to her.
The old woman says to the old man:
“Turn back, bow to the fish.
I don't want to be a free queen,
I want to be the mistress of the sea,
So that I can live in the Okiyan-sea,
So that the goldfish may serve me
And she would be on my errands.”
The old man did not dare to contradict
I didn’t dare say a word.
Here he goes to the blue sea,
He sees a black storm at sea:
So the angry waves swelled,
That's how they walk and howl and howl.
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
What should I do with the damned woman?
She doesn't want to be a queen,
Wants to be the mistress of the sea:
So that she can live in the Okiyan-sea,
So that you yourself serve her
And I would have been on her errands.”
The fish didn't say anything
Just splashed her tail in the water
And went into the deep sea.
He waited for a long time by the sea for an answer,
He didn’t wait, he returned to the old woman
Lo and behold, there was a dugout in front of him again;
His old woman is sitting on the threshold,
And in front of her is a broken trough.
| Cm. Tales of A. S. Pushkin. Date of creation: October 14, 1833, publ.: 1835 (“Library for reading”, 1835, vol. X, May, department I, pp. 5-11). Source: Pushkin, A. S. Complete works: in 10 volumes - L.: Nauka, 1977. - T. 4. Poems. Fairy tales. - pp. 338-343.. |
| This work is in public domain throughout the world, since the author died at least 100 years ago. |
Fairy tale
about the fisherman and the fish
An old man lived with his old woman
By the bluest sea;
They lived in a dilapidated dugout
Exactly thirty years and three years.
The old man was catching fish with a net,
The old woman was spinning her yarn.
Once he threw a net into the sea, -
A net arrived with nothing but mud.
Another time he cast a net,
A net came with sea grass.
For the third time he cast the net, -
A net came with one fish,
With a difficult fish - gold.
How the goldfish prays!
He says in a human voice:
“You, elder, let me go to sea,
Dear, I will give a ransom for myself:
I’ll pay you back with whatever you want.”
The old man was surprised and frightened:
He fished for thirty years and three years
And I never heard the fish speak.
He released the goldfish
And he said a kind word to her:
“God be with you, goldfish!
I don’t need your ransom;
Go to the blue sea,
Walk there in the open space."
The old man returned to the old woman,
He told her a great miracle.
“Today I caught a fish,
Goldfish, not an ordinary one;
In our opinion, the fish spoke,
I asked to go home to the blue sea,
Bought at a high price:
I bought whatever I wanted.
I did not dare take ransom from her;
So he let her into the blue sea.”
The old woman scolded the old man:
“You fool, you simpleton!
You didn’t know how to take ransom from a fish!
If only you could take the trough from her,
Ours is completely split.”
So he went to the blue sea;
He sees that the sea is playing up a little.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
“Have mercy, lady fish,
My old woman scolded me,
The old man gives me no peace:
She needs a new trough;
Ours is completely split.”
The goldfish answers:
There will be a new trough for you."
The old man returned to the old woman,
The old woman has a new trough.
The old woman scolds even more:
“You fool, you simpleton!
You begged for a trough, you fool!
Is there a lot of self-interest in the trough?
Turn back, fool, you are going to the fish;
Bow to her and beg for a hut.”
So he went to the blue sea,
(The blue sea has become cloudy.)
He began to click on the goldfish,
“What do you want, elder?”
“Have mercy, lady fish!
The old woman scolds even more,
The old man gives me no peace:
A grumpy woman is asking for a hut.”
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God,
So be it: you’ll have a hut.” 
He went to his dugout,
And there is no trace of the dugout;
In front of him is a hut with a light,
With a brick, whitewashed pipe,
With oak, plank gates.
The old woman is sitting under the window,
For what it's worth, she scolds her husband.
“You are a fool, you are a simpleton!
The simpleton begged for a hut!
Turn back, bow to the fish:
I don't want to be a black peasant girl
I want to be a pillar noblewoman.”
The old man went to the blue sea;
(The blue sea is not calm.)
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
The old woman became more foolish than ever,
The old man gives me no peace:
She doesn't want to be a peasant
She wants to be a high-ranking noblewoman.”
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God.”
The old man returned to the old woman.
What does he see? High tower.
His old woman is standing on the porch
In an expensive sable jacket,
Brocade kitty on the crown,
Pearls weighed down the neck,
There are gold rings on my hands,
Red boots on her feet.
Before her are diligent servants;
She beats them and drags them by the chuprun.
The old man says to his old woman:
“Hello, madam, noblewoman!
Tea, now your darling is happy.”
The old woman shouted at him,
She sent him to serve at the stables.
One week goes by, another goes by
The old woman became even more furious:
Again he sends the old man to the fish.
“Turn back, bow to the fish:
I don't want to be a pillar noblewoman,
But I want to be a free queen.”
The old man got scared and prayed:
“What, woman, have you eaten too much henbane?
You can neither step nor speak,
You will make the whole kingdom laugh."
The old woman became even more angry,
She hit her husband on the cheek.
“How dare you, man, argue with me,
With me, a pillar noblewoman? -
Go to the sea, they tell you with honor,
If you don’t go, they will lead you willy-nilly.”
The old man went to the sea,
(The blue sea has turned black.)
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
My old woman is rebelling again:
She doesn't want to be a noblewoman,
She wants to be a free queen."
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God!
Good! the old woman will be a queen!”
The old man returned to the old woman.
Well? before him are the royal chambers.
In the chambers he sees his old woman,
She sits at the table like a queen,
Boyars and nobles serve her,
They pour her foreign wines;
She eats printed gingerbread;
A formidable guard stands around her,
They hold axes on their shoulders.
When the old man saw it, he was scared!
He bowed to the old woman's feet,
He said: “Hello, formidable queen!
Well, now your darling is happy.”
The old woman did not look at him,
She just ordered him to be driven out of sight.
The boyars and nobles ran up,
They pushed the old man backwards.
And the guards ran up at the door,
Almost chopped her up with axes.
And the people laughed at him:
“Serves you right, you old ignoramus!
From now on, science for you, ignoramus:
Don’t sit in the wrong sleigh!”
One week goes by, another goes by
The old woman became even more furious:
The courtiers send for her husband,
They found the old man and brought him to her.
The old woman says to the old man:
“Turn back, bow to the fish.
I don't want to be a free queen,
I want to be the mistress of the sea,
And she would be on my errands.”
The old man did not dare to contradict
Here he goes to the blue sea,
He sees a black storm at sea:
So the angry waves swelled,
That's how they walk and howl and howl.
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
What should I do with the damned woman?
She doesn't want to be a queen,
Wants to be the mistress of the sea;
So that she can live in Okiyan-sea,
So that you yourself serve her
And I would have been on her errands.”
The fish didn't say anything
Just splashed her tail in the water
And went into the deep sea.
He waited for a long time by the sea for an answer,
He didn’t wait, he returned to the old woman -
Lo and behold, there was a dugout in front of him again;
His old woman is sitting on the threshold,
And in front of her is a broken trough.
Option
In the draft manuscript - after the verse “Don’t sit in the wrong sleigh!” there is the following episode, not included by Pushkin in the final text:
Another week goes by
His old woman got mad again,
She ordered to find the man -
They bring the old man to the queen,
The old woman says to the old man:
“I don’t want to be a free queen,
I want to be the Pope!”
The old man did not dare to contradict
I didn’t dare to say a word.
He went to the blue sea,
He sees: a stormy black sea,
So the angry waves go,
So they howl with an ominous howl.
He began to click on the goldfish.
Good, she will be the Pope.
The old man returned to the old woman,
In front of it is a Latin monastery,
Latin monks on the walls
They sing a Latin mass.
In front of him is the Tower of Babel.
At the very top at the top of the head
His old crone is sitting.
The old woman is wearing a Saracen hat,
There is a Latin crown on the hat,
There is a thin knitting needle on the crown,
There is a bird on the knitting needle.
The old man bowed to the old woman,
He shouted in a loud voice:
"Hello, old woman,
I’m tea, is your darling happy?”
The stupid old woman answers:
“You’re lying, you’re talking empty talk,
My darling is not happy at all,
I don't want to be the Pope
And I want to be the mistress of the sea,
So that I can live in Okiyan-Sea,
So that the goldfish may serve me
And I would have it on my parcels.”
Notes
There is a note in the manuscript: “Serbian Song 18.” This mark means that Pushkin was going to include it in the “Songs of the Western Slavs”. The fairy tale and poetic meter are similar to this cycle. The plot of the fairy tale is taken from the collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, from the Pomeranian fairy tale “About a Fisherman and His Wife” (). Pushkin, apparently, attributed its origin to the ancient inhabitants of Pomerania - the Slavs “Pomeranians”. Freely altering the fairy tale, Pushkin replaced the Western European flavor with folk Russian ones. This is probably why he excluded the episode about the old woman who became the “Pope” from the final edition. This episode is located in a German fairy tale, but it is too contrary to the Russian flavor given to the fairy tale in its Pushkin adaptation.On the sea, on the ocean, on an island on Buyan, there was a small dilapidated hut: in that hut lived an old man and an old woman. They lived in great poverty; The old man made a net and began to go to the sea and catch fish: this is how he got his daily food. One day the old man threw out his net, began to pull, and it seemed so difficult to him that it had never happened before: he could barely pull it out. He looks, and the network is empty; I only caught one fish, but it was not an ordinary fish—a gold one. The fish begged him in a human voice: “Don’t take me, old man! It's better to be in the blue sea; I myself will be useful to you: I’ll do whatever you want.” The old man thought and thought and said: “I don’t need anything from you: go for a walk in the sea!”
He threw the goldfish into the water and returned home. The old woman asks him: “Did you catch a lot, old man?” - “Yes, just one goldfish, and he threw it into the sea; She prayed strongly: let her go, she said, into the blue sea; I’ll be of use to you: I’ll do whatever you want! I felt sorry for the fish, did not take a ransom from it, and released it freely.” - “Oh, you old devil! A great fortune fell into your hands, but you couldn’t even control it.”
The old woman got angry, scolded the old man from morning to evening, did not give him peace: “If only I could beg bread from her!” After all, soon there will be no dry crust; What are you going to eat? The old man could not stand it and went to the goldfish for bread; came to the sea and shouted in a loud voice: “Fish, fish. Stand with your tail in the sea and your head towards me.” The fish swam to the shore: “What do you want, old man?” - “The old woman got angry and sent for bread.” - “Go home, you will have plenty of bread.” The old man returned: “Well, old woman, is there any bread?” - “There is plenty of bread; but here’s the problem: the trough is split, there’s nothing to wash the clothes in; go to the goldfish and ask for something new.”
The old man went to the sea: “Fish, fish! Stand with your tail in the sea and your head towards me.” A goldfish swam: “What do you want, old man?” - “The old woman sent it, she’s asking for a new trough.” - “Okay, you will have a trough.” The old man returned, just at the door, and the old woman pounced on him again: “Go,” he said, “to the goldfish, ask him to build a new hut; You can’t live in ours, and look what will fall apart!” The old man went to the sea: “Fish, fish! Stand with your tail in the sea and your head towards me.” The fish swam, stood with its head towards him, its tail in the sea and asked: “What do you want, old man?” - “Build us a new hut; The old woman swears and doesn’t give me peace of mind; I don’t want, he says, to live in an old hut: just in case it’s all falling apart!” - “Don’t bother, old man! Go home and pray to God, everything will be done.”
The old man returned - in his yard there was a new hut, made of oak, with carved patterns. An old woman runs out to meet him, more angry than ever, swearing more than ever: “Oh, you old dog! You don't know how to use happiness. You begged for a hut and, tea, you think - you did the job! No, go back to the goldfish and tell her: I don’t want to be a peasant, I want to be a commander, so that good people will listen to me and bow to the waist when they meet.” The old man went to the sea and said in a loud voice: “Fish, fish! Stand with your tail in the sea and your head towards me.” A fish swam, stood in the sea with its tail and its head towards him: “What do you want, old man?” The old man answers: “The old woman doesn’t give me peace of mind, she’s completely gone crazy: she doesn’t want to be a peasant, she wants to be a commander.” - “Okay, don’t bother! Go home and pray to God, everything will be done.”
The old man returned, and instead of a hut there was a stone house, built on three floors; servants are running around the yard, cooks are knocking in the kitchen, and an old woman in an expensive brocade dress sits on high chairs and gives orders. “Hello, wife!” - says the old man. “Oh, you such an ignoramus! How dare you call me, the commander, your wife? Hey people! Take this little guy to the stables and whip him as painfully as possible.” The servants immediately came running, grabbed the old man by the collar and dragged him into the stable; The grooms began to treat him with whips, and they treated him so much that he could barely rise to his feet. After that, the old woman appointed the old man as a janitor; She ordered him to be given a broom so that he could clean the yard, and to give him food and water in the kitchen. It’s a bad life for an old man: you clean the yard all day, and if it’s unclean, go to the stables! “What a witch! - the old man thinks. “Happiness was given to her, but she buried herself like a pig, she doesn’t even consider me a husband!”
No more or less time passed, the old woman got tired of being a commander, demanded the old man to come to her and ordered: “Go, old devil, to the goldfish, tell her: I don’t want to be a commander, I want to be a queen.” The old man went to the sea: “Fish, fish! Stand with your tail in the sea and your head towards me.” A goldfish swam: “What do you want, old man?” - “Why, my old woman is more foolish than ever: she doesn’t want to be a commander, she wants to be a queen.” - “Don’t push! Go home and pray to God, everything will be done.” The old man returned, and instead of the previous house, a high palace stood under a golden roof; The sentries walk around and throw out their guns; behind there is a large garden, and in front of the palace there is a green meadow; The troops are gathered in the meadow. The old woman dressed up as a queen, stepped out onto the balcony with the generals and the boyars and began to review and parade the troops: the drums were beating, the music was thundering, the soldiers were shouting “hurray!”
No more or less time passed, the old woman got tired of being a queen, and ordered to find the old man and present him before his bright eyes. There was a commotion, the generals were fussing, the boyars were running: “What kind of old man?” They found him forcibly in the backyard and took him to the queen. “Listen, old devil! - the old woman tells him. Go to the goldfish and tell her: I don’t want to be a queen, I want to be the mistress of the sea, so that all the seas and all the fish will obey me.” The old man was about to refuse; where are you going? If you don’t go, head off! Reluctantly the old man went to the sea, came and said: “Fish, fish! Stand with your tail in the sea and your head towards me.” There is no goldfish! The old man calls another time - again no! He calls for the third time - suddenly the sea becomes noisy and agitated; It was bright and clean, but here it turned completely black. A fish swims to the shore: “What do you want, old man?” - “The old woman became even more foolish; he no longer wants to be a queen, he wants to be the mistress of the sea, to rule over all the waters, to command over all the fish.”
The goldfish said nothing to the old man, turned and went into the depths of the sea. The old man turned back, looked and couldn’t believe his eyes: the palace was gone, and in its place stood a small dilapidated hut, and in the hut sat an old woman in a tattered sundress. They began to live as before, the old man again took up fishing; But no matter how often I threw nets into the sea, I was unable to catch any more goldfish.
An old man lived with his old woman
By the bluest sea;
They lived in a dilapidated dugout
Exactly thirty years and three years.
The old man was catching fish with a net,
The old woman was spinning her yarn.
Once he threw a net into the sea, -
A net arrived with nothing but mud.
Another time he cast a net,
A net came with sea grass.
For the third time he cast the net, -
A net came with one fish,
With a difficult fish - gold.
“You, elder, let me go to sea,
Dear, I will give a ransom for myself:
I’ll pay you back with whatever you want.”
The old man was surprised and frightened:
He fished for thirty years and three years
And I never heard the fish speak.
He released the goldfish
And he said a kind word to her:
“God be with you, goldfish!
I don’t need your ransom;
Go to the blue sea,
Walk there in the open space."
The old man returned to the old woman,
He told her a great miracle.
“Today I caught a fish,
Goldfish, not an ordinary one;
In our opinion, the fish spoke,
I asked to go home to the blue sea,
Bought at a high price:
I bought whatever I wanted.
I did not dare take ransom from her;
So he let her into the blue sea.”
The old woman scolded the old man:
“You fool, you simpleton!
You didn’t know how to take ransom from a fish!
If only you could take the trough from her,
Ours is completely split.”
So he went to the blue sea;
He sees that the sea is playing up a little.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
“Have mercy, lady fish,
My old woman scolded me,
The old man gives me no peace:
She needs a new trough;
Ours is completely split.”
The goldfish answers:
There will be a new trough for you."
The old man returned to the old woman,
The old woman has a new trough.
The old woman scolds even more:
“You fool, you simpleton!
You begged for a trough, you fool!
Is there a lot of self-interest in the trough?
Turn back, fool, you are going to the fish;
Bow to her and beg for a hut.”
So he went to the blue sea,
(The blue sea has become cloudy.)
He began to click on the goldfish,
“What do you want, elder?”
“Have mercy, lady fish!
The old woman scolds even more,
The old man gives me no peace:
A grumpy woman is asking for a hut.”
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God,
So be it: you’ll have a hut.”
He went to his dugout,
And there is no trace of the dugout;
In front of him is a hut with a light,
With a brick, whitewashed pipe,
With oak, plank gates.
The old woman is sitting under the window,
For what it's worth, she scolds her husband.
“You are a fool, you are a simpleton!
The simpleton begged for a hut!
Turn back, bow to the fish:
I don't want to be a black peasant girl
I want to be a pillar noblewoman.”
The old man went to the blue sea;
(The blue sea is not calm.)
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
The old woman became more foolish than ever,
The old man gives me no peace:
She doesn't want to be a peasant
She wants to be a high-ranking noblewoman.”
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God.”
The old man returned to the old woman.
What does he see? High tower.
His old woman is standing on the porch
In an expensive sable jacket,
Brocade kitty on the crown,
Pearls weighed down the neck,
There are gold rings on my hands,
Red boots on her feet.
Before her are diligent servants;
She beats them and drags them by the chuprun.
The old man says to his old woman:
“Hello, madam, noblewoman!
Tea, now your darling is happy.”
The old woman shouted at him,
She sent him to serve at the stables.
One week goes by, another goes by
The old woman became even more furious:
Again he sends the old man to the fish.
“Turn back, bow to the fish:
I don't want to be a pillar noblewoman,
But I want to be a free queen.”
The old man got scared and prayed:
“What, woman, have you eaten too much henbane?
You can neither step nor speak,
You will make the whole kingdom laugh."
The old woman became even more angry,
She hit her husband on the cheek.
“How dare you, man, argue with me,
With me, a pillar noblewoman? -
Go to the sea, they tell you with honor,
If you don’t go, they will lead you willy-nilly.”
The old man went to the sea,
(The blue sea has turned black.)
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
My old woman is rebelling again:
She doesn't want to be a noblewoman,
She wants to be a free queen."
The goldfish answers:
“Don’t be sad, go with God!
Good! the old woman will be a queen!”
The old man returned to the old woman.
Well? before him are the royal chambers.
In the chambers he sees his old woman,
She sits at the table like a queen,
Boyars and nobles serve her,
They pour her foreign wines;
She eats printed gingerbread;
A formidable guard stands around her,
They hold axes on their shoulders.
When the old man saw it, he was scared!
He bowed to the old woman's feet,
He said: “Hello, formidable queen!
Well, now your darling is happy.”
The old woman did not look at him,
She just ordered him to be driven out of sight.
The boyars and nobles ran up,
They pushed the old man backwards.
And the guards ran up at the door,
Almost chopped her up with axes.
And the people laughed at him:
“Serves you right, you old ignoramus!
From now on, science for you, ignoramus:
Don’t sit in the wrong sleigh!”
One week goes by, another goes by
The old woman became even more furious:
The courtiers send for her husband,
They found the old man and brought him to her.
The old woman says to the old man:
“Turn back, bow to the fish.
I don't want to be a free queen,
I want to be the mistress of the sea,
So that I can live in Okiyan-Sea,
So that the goldfish may serve me
And she would be on my errands.”
The old man did not dare to contradict
I didn’t dare to say a word.
Here he goes to the blue sea,
He sees a black storm at sea:
So the angry waves swelled,
That's how they walk and howl and howl.
He began to click on the goldfish.
A fish swam to him and asked:
“What do you want, elder?”
The old man answers her with a bow:
“Have mercy, lady fish!
What should I do with the damned woman?
She doesn't want to be a queen,
Wants to be the mistress of the sea;
So that she can live in Okiyan-sea,
So that you yourself serve her
And I would have been on her errands.”
The fish didn't say anything
Just splashed her tail in the water
And went into the deep sea.
He waited for a long time by the sea for an answer,
He didn’t wait, he returned to the old woman -
Lo and behold, there was a dugout in front of him again;
His old woman is sitting on the threshold,
And in front of her is a broken trough.
