Peter the Great and a resourceful soldier.
Tsar Peter wanted to find out everything himself. Sometimes he will change into a simple dress and go around the city: he listens to people's rumors and enters into conversations himself.
One day he went into a tavern in this manner. And the day was festive. There were a lot of people in the tavern. They sit in threes, fours, and who talks about what.
Peter looked around and sat down at the last table, and a soldier was sitting at the table.
Peter asks:
Where are you from, officer?
I am Kostroma, - the soldier answers.
Peter smiled.
Countrymen, that is. My grandfather is the same from Kostroma.
And what part of the countryman? What are you doing in the city?
I'm a craftsman, in carpentry. My name is Pyotr Alekseev.
That's it, - picked up the soldier, - that's what I thought. For us, for the Kostroma people, this is the first craft. And grandfather, and parent, and I myself are also carpenters. And what, fellow countryman, shall we order a decanter?
Peter refuses:
No money. And you, after all, get up early in the morning - the service!
This is nothing, but there is no money - we will lay the broadsword.
Peter urges:
What are you, fellow countryman, inventing! You will lay down the broadsword - what if there is an alarm at night, what will you do?
The soldier laughs
Our officers and the general sleep until noon. You can redeem a mortgage seven times.
Well, you do as you wish, but it's time for me to go home.
Peter got up and left. And the soldier laid down his broadsword, drank a decanter, and with songs went to the barracks.
In the morning, neither light nor dawn, alarm in the regiment.
Royal review, royal review! The king has arrived!
The soldier jumped up, put on ammunition, but no broadsword. What to do?
No time to think. He cut off the splinter, blackened the handle with soot, put the splinter into the scabbard.
And the officers, from small to large, and the general himself are running around, fussing.
The king walked through the rows once, twice, he saw a soldier.
Orders:
Four steps forward!
The soldier carried out the command and went out in front of the line.
Show how they teach you military service. Chop me with your broadsword!
No, I can't take up arms against your majesty.
Ruby - I order!
The soldier grabbed the hilt and shouted at the top of his lungs:
Lord, turn this formidable weapon into a tree!
He swung and hit Peter - only chips flew.
All the soldiers and officers are neither alive nor dead, and the regimental priest began to pray:
Miracle, God gave a miracle!
Peter winked at the soldier and said in a barely audible voice:
Well done! I love these. Sit in the guardhouse for three days, and then go to the navigation school.
Tsar Peter wanted to find out everything himself. Sometimes he will change into a simple dress and go around the city: he listens to people's rumors and enters into conversations himself. One day he went into a tavern in this manner. And the day was festive. There were a lot of people in the tavern. They sit in threes, fours, and who talks about what. Peter looked around and sat down at the last table, and a soldier was sitting at the table.
Peter asks:
- Where are you from, officer?
“I am from Kostroma,” the soldier replies.
Peter smiled.
- Compatriots, then. My grandfather is the same from Kostroma.
- And in what part of the countryman? What are you doing in the city?
- I'm a craftsman, carpenter. My name is Pyotr Alekseev.
“That's it,” said the soldier, “that's what I thought. For us, for the Kostroma people, this is the first craft. And grandfather, and parent, and I myself are also carpenters. And what, fellow countryman, shall we order a decanter?
Peter refuses:
- No money. And you, after all, get up early in the morning - the service!
- It's nothing, but there is no money - we'll lay the broadsword.
Peter urges:
- What are you, countryman, invented! You lay down the broadsword - what if there is an alarm at night, what will you do?
The soldier laughs
“Our officers and the general sleep until noon. You can redeem a mortgage seven times.
- Well, you do as you wish, but it's time for me to go home.
Peter got up and left. And the soldier laid down his broadsword, drank a decanter, and with songs went to the barracks. In the morning, neither light nor dawn, alarm in the regiment.
- Royal review, royal review! The king has arrived!
The soldier jumped up, put on ammunition, but no broadsword. What to do? No time to think. He cut off the splinter, blackened the handle with soot and put the splinter into the scabbard. And the officers, from small to large, and the general himself are running around, fussing.
The king walked through the rows once, twice, he saw a soldier.
Orders:
- Four steps forward!
The soldier carried out the command and went out in front of the line.
- Show how they teach you military service. Chop me with your broadsword!
“No way, I can’t raise a weapon against your majesty.
- Ruby - I order!
The soldier grabbed the hilt and shouted at the top of his lungs:
- Lord, turn this formidable weapon into a tree!
He swung and hit Peter - only chips flew.
All the soldiers and officers are neither alive nor dead, and the regimental priest began to pray:
“A miracle, God has given a miracle!”
Peter winked at the soldier and said in a barely audible voice:
- Well done! I love these. Sit in the guardhouse for three days, and then go to the navigation school.
resourceful soldier
About a soldier and Peter the Great.
Whether it was or not - go and know, but as I heard, I tell it.
Once Tsar Peter the Great was hunting, chasing a red beast, and he got lost.
Turn right - forest; to the left will go - the forest; wherever you turn - everywhere the forest stands like a wall. Trees tops in the sky rest.
He circled, circled, played the horn - no one responds. It must be, far from his hunters strayed.
Day to evening, and the road is gone. The horse was tired, and he himself wanted to rest. As soon as he dismounted, he heard - nearby someone was singing a song.
A soldier sits on a stone by the roadside and sings a mournful song.
Hello service!
Good, - the soldier answers.
Where, where, why? - asks Peter.
From vacation, to the regiment, to edit the service. And who will you be?
My name is Peter, I was chasing a red beast and lost my way, and now it would be nice to get into the city.
Well, okay, - the soldier says, - you and I, friend, need to look for a lodging for the night. You can’t get to the city from here in a day, and in an hour it will be completely dark. Stay here, and I will climb a tree, which is higher, and see if there is any housing nearby.
A soldier climbed to the very top and shouted:
Here to the left, not far from here, the smoke curls and, you can hear the dog barking.
He went down and led Peter in the direction where the smoke is visible.
They walk straight ahead and talk. Peter asks about the service and about the war with the Swedes.
Soldier says:
The soldier's share is not one's own will. In war, everything is necessary: the heat is pestering, and the wind blows, and it wets with rain, and the rust wears away the heart. Officers and generals, and especially from foreigners, our brother, a Russian soldier, they don’t even consider him a person, they beat him with a batozh indiscriminately: right and wrong. If the soldiers had the will and more guns and supplies, the Swede would have been defeated long ago. And so: the war drags on, no end in sight. Here the soldiers are bored: one wants to see his father and mother, another is grieving about his young wife, and another will say: “It would be nice to see the king, all the soldiers’ thoughts would be told to him.”
Have you seen the king? - Peter asks.
No, it didn’t happen, but I heard that he does not disdain our brother, a soldier. Fair, they say, well, cool: for a fault, he will beat the general with a stick, as they say.
So they go and go and soon came to a wide clearing.
In front of them is a high, large five-walled hut, surrounded by a strong fence. They knocked - there was no answer, only the dogs barked.
The soldier jumped over the fence, and two terrible dogs attacked him. The soldier drew his saber and cut down the dogs.
Then he opened the gate:
Come on, Petrusha; although housing is not to our liking, we will still be protected from the night, and it doesn’t interfere with grubs to get hold of.
As soon as they went up to the porch, an old woman met them.
Hello, grandmother, shelter the road people for the night and give me something to eat, the soldier says.
I have nothing for you, and there is nowhere to spend the night, leave where you came from.
If so, we, Petrusha, will have to see for ourselves what is going on here.
We went into the upper room, a girl was sitting on a bench.
Gather, beauty, to eat, not for nothing, we ask for money, - the soldiers say.
The girl in response only hums and shows her hand and smiles affably.
You see, Petrusha, dumb at the stove and pointing at the chest.
The soldier opened the damper, pulled a roast goose out of the oven; He opened the chest, and there was something missing: ham, butter, and various snacks - he would get all sorts of food and drinks for twenty people.
We had dinner, the soldier says:
It would be nice now on the side. Where does this door lead? Give me, grandma, the key!
I don’t have a key,” the old woman grumbles.
The soldier leaned his shoulder, strained - with a crash the door swung open.
And in that room, weapons are different: pistols, flails, sabers, daggers.
The soldier looked into the room, closed the door, he himself thinks: “That's it, not to kind people pleased. By all appearances, the owners are robbers.
And Peter just said:
There's nowhere to lie down, let's go to the attic to spend the night, it's more spacious and brighter there.
The soldier found two sheaves of straw. We went up the ladder to the attic.
You, Petrusha, you see, are very tired, go to bed first, and I will stay on guard, then I will sleep, and you will watch.
Peter just managed to lie down - he immediately fell asleep like the dead.
And the soldier perched near the hatch with a saber drawn.
A little time passed - a noise, a whistle was heard. The gate swung open, you can hear - three riders arrived. We are talking:
Where is the girl to go?
Lock it in the closet for now, now there is no time to mess with it.
At that time, the old woman went out into the yard, says:
Two of them arrived on the same horse, hacked the dogs to death, and ran the house as they pleased.
Where are they?
They sleep in the attic, - the old woman answers.
Well, let them sleep, let's have dinner and deal with them - they won't wake up for a century.
The robbers went into the upper room, began to feast, and soon everyone got tipsy.
The elder took the saber.
Well, I'll go see the guests.
He walks along the hallway, hears - they sleep, they snore in two voices in the attic. Peter is sleeping, he does not feel troubles, hardships, and the soldier pretends: he snores, as if he is also sleeping; he himself all crept up, sits over the hatch, and the saber is brought up. The robber, without any fear, once, once along the ladder - and just leaned out, as the soldier cut off his head, as if he took off a head of cabbage.
One less!
And those two robbers are drinking wine, they are waiting for the third, they cannot wait. One got up, grabbed a dagger:
Where did he disappear to? Pour it up, I'm tossing and turning now.
He walks along the canopy, staggers. It is heard that he stepped onto the ladder ... The soldier also cut off his head in the same way as the first one. Then he dealt with the third robber in the same manner.
The dawn began to dawn, Peter's soldier wakes up:
Get up, friend Petrusha, get up! You slept, and I fought; it's time to hit the road.
Peter woke up, began to go down, saw - the robbers were lying around:
What didn’t wake me up, the two of us would have coped easier.
I am no stranger to becoming, I fought with the Swedes, managed, and this dirty trick will not frighten. You know the saying: a Russian soldier does not sink in water and does not burn in fire.
A dumb woman met them in the passage, began to mumble and wave her arms. They hardly guessed what she wanted to say: "The old woman ran away from home."
Then she led him to the closet, showed him to the castle, and handed the ax to the soldier.
The soldier knocked down the lock, swung the door - and there was a girl, a hand-written beauty, lying tied up.
Unleashed, released the girl. The dumb woman led them to the yard, pointed to a stone slab, and with signs teaches: "Raise, they say."
The slab was raised, and there was a passage to the dungeon. The soldier went down into the hiding place and sees countless riches: silver, and gold, and velvet, and brocade, and semi-precious stones.
The soldier took as much gold as he could carry into his backpack, took a bag of gold for his comrade, got out, moved the slab to its original place.
Well, Petrusha, let's saddle the horses, we must go.
They saddled four horses, sat both girls down, sat down themselves and drove off.
I am a traveling man, - the soldier says, - and you, Petrusha, if you are not married, take a closer look at the girl; she is not offended by her beauty, and her father, a rich merchant, says that he will reward her with a dowry.
Peter chuckled.
It will be visible there.
In the evening we reached the capital.
Well, that's what, serviceman, we will part at the outpost. You and the girls go to such and such an inn, and I will go to look for a friend. As soon as I find it, I'll let you know.
On that they parted.
The soldier brought the girls to the inn, the yard, where the hunter pointed out. We ordered a rich dinner.
And just sat down at the table, when suddenly a carriage drove up to the gate, harnessed with six. Mounted soldiers surround the carriage. The officer is ahead.
"What? - the soldier thinks. “Have they already found out that I killed the robbers and used a little robber money?”
At that time, an officer just entered and strictly asked the inmate in this way:
Where are such and such guests here: a soldier and two girls with him?
The inmate is trembling, he cannot utter a word.
“So it is, follow me,” the soldier realized and said:
I haven’t been to the courts for a century and now I’m in a hurry to join the regiment, I don’t have time, but as for money, take it, take their ashes, I only have to carry an extra load in the war.
All right, all right, don't talk, - the officer orders, - all three of you get into the carriage, they'll figure it out without us!
The soldier sat down with the girls in the carriage. Go.
The carriage rolled up to the royal palace.
On the porch of the generals, apparently, invisibly, and all turn to the same high one, salute, call the sovereign. And he is in the guise of everything - well, as there is the spitting image of yesterday's hunter Petrusha.
The king called the soldier:
Well, serviceman, great! Do you recognize me?
The soldier stood in front, stretched out, looking at the king, without blinking an eye. The king hugged the soldier, winked:
Do not be shy, service, with me even foreign generals will not dare to beat with a batozh without guilt.
Oh, sir, - says the frightened soldier, - I spoke to you in a simple way, and if I said something wrong, they didn’t order me to execute: it’s better for me to lay down my head in the war for the fatherland.
On that they parted.
The soldier brought the girls to the inn, the yard, where the hunter pointed out. We ordered a rich dinner.
And just sat down at the table, when suddenly a carriage drove up to the gate, harnessed with six. Mounted soldiers surround the carriage. The officer is ahead.
"What? - the soldier thinks. “Have they already found out that I killed the robbers and used a little robber money?”
At that time, an officer just entered and strictly asked the inmate in this way:
Where are such and such guests here: a soldier and two girls with him?
The inmate is trembling, he cannot utter a word.
“So it is, follow me,” the soldier realized and said:
I haven’t been to the courts for a century and now I’m in a hurry to join the regiment, I don’t have time, but as for money, take it, take their ashes, I only have to carry an extra load in the war.
All right, all right, don't talk, - the officer orders, - all three of you get into the carriage, they'll figure it out without us!
The soldier sat down with the girls in the carriage. Go.
The carriage rolled up to the royal palace.
On the porch of the generals, apparently, invisibly, and all turn to the same high one, salute, call the sovereign. And he is in the guise of everything - well, as there is the spitting image of yesterday's hunter Petrusha.
The king called the soldier:
Well, serviceman, great! Do you recognize me?
The soldier stood in front, stretched out, looking at the king, without blinking an eye. The king hugged the soldier, winked:
Do not be shy, service, with me even foreign generals will not dare to beat with a batozh without guilt.
Oh, sir, - says the frightened soldier, - I spoke to you in a simple way, and if I said something wrong, they didn’t order me to execute: it’s better for me to lay down my head in the war for the fatherland.
Peter laughed.
After all, you yourself said that the tsar is at least cool, but only with those who are guilty of something, and you, for your services to me, are now not a soldier, but an officer. You will command a company, and when we defeat the Swedes, we will get you that beauty that you saved from the robbers. If all my soldiers are as good as you, then we will beat the Swedes like a drink.
Well, what a fine fellow I am, - the soldier says, - we have eagles, where can I go before them!
And if so, - the tsar laughs, - then you will not go unmarried for long: victory is not far off!
Indeed, after the Poltava battle, Peter promoted the soldier to colonel and himself walked at his wedding.
Peter the Great and a resourceful soldier.
Tsar Peter wanted to find out everything himself. Sometimes he will change into a simple dress and go around the city: he listens to people's rumors and enters into conversations himself.
One day he went into a tavern in this manner. And the day was festive. There were a lot of people in the tavern. They sit in threes, fours, and who talks about what.
Peter looked around and sat down at the last table, and a soldier was sitting at the table.
Peter asks:
Where are you from, officer?
I am Kostroma, - the soldier answers.
Peter smiled.
Countrymen, that is. My grandfather is the same from Kostroma.
And what part of the countryman? What are you doing in the city?
I'm a craftsman, in carpentry. My name is Pyotr Alekseev.
That's it, - picked up the soldier, - that's what I thought. For us, for the Kostroma people, this is the first craft. And grandfather, and parent, and I myself are also carpenters. And what, fellow countryman, shall we order a decanter?
Peter refuses:
No money. And you, after all, get up early in the morning - the service!
This is nothing, but there is no money - we will lay the broadsword.
Peter urges:
What are you, fellow countryman, inventing! You will lay down the broadsword - what if there is an alarm at night, what will you do?
The soldier laughs
Our officers and the general sleep until noon. You can redeem a mortgage seven times.
Well, you do as you wish, but it's time for me to go home.
Peter got up and left. And the soldier laid down his broadsword, drank a decanter, and with songs went to the barracks.
In the morning, neither light nor dawn, alarm in the regiment.
Royal review, royal review! The king has arrived!
The soldier jumped up, put on ammunition, but no broadsword. What to do?
No time to think. He cut off the splinter, blackened the handle with soot, put the splinter into the scabbard.
And the officers, from small to large, and the general himself are running around, fussing.
The king walked through the rows once, twice, he saw a soldier.
Orders:
Four steps forward!
The soldier carried out the command and went out in front of the line.
Show how they teach you military service. Chop me with your broadsword!
No, I can't take up arms against your majesty.
Ruby - I order!
The soldier grabbed the hilt and shouted at the top of his lungs:
Lord, turn this formidable weapon into a tree!
He swung and hit Peter - only chips flew.
All the soldiers and officers are neither alive nor dead, and the regimental priest began to pray:
Miracle, God gave a miracle!
Peter winked at the soldier and said in a barely audible voice:
Well done! I love these. Sit in the guardhouse for three days, and then go to the navigation school.
Peter the Great, monks and a retired soldier.
Peter the Great once heard that in one rich monastery three hundred young monks live in clover: they drink, eat sweetly, sleep for a long time, and they have no work. Peter found out about this and became angry:
How so? All the people and I myself live in labors and worries, there is no time to rest. There is no rest day or night, and here three hundred young and healthy people are chilling, living like cheese in butter. They know neither care nor work, they grow fat on free bread.
And he ordered to send a messenger to the monastery:
Go, tell the abbot: the tsar ordered to count the stars in the sky and find out if the earth is deep, mother, but let that abbot know what I think, what I, the tsar, have on my mind. Give me three days. On the fourth day, let the abbot himself come to me with an answer. If he does not fulfill the order, I will order all the monks and the abbot himself to be sent to work, and the monastery to be closed.
The abbot received the royal order and grieved, grieved:
Oh, trouble has come!
He told everything as it is to the monks. And the monks hung their heads. They thought and thought, but they couldn't come up with anything.
At that time, a retired soldier entered the monastery and asked:
Why are you grieving, elders? They always lived without need, without sorrow, and now they hanged their heads.
The monks answer him:
Oh, soldier, you do not know our great grief! The king ordered to guess three riddles and in three days the hegumen should come to the palace with the answer.
What riddles did the king make? - asks the soldier.
The soldier listened and said:
If only I knew how to keep the answer to the king, as if I were in your place.
The monks ran to the abbot:
The soldier undertakes to guess riddles and give the answer to the king.
The hegumen of the soldier asks:
Take what you want, just help us, teach us how to answer the king!
Retired Soldier says:
I don't need anything. Give me only your clothes, and I will go to the king instead of you.
The abbot rejoiced, and all the monks cheered up:
Well, thank God, that trouble is over! Like a mountain off your shoulders!
They began to treat the soldier:
Drink, eat whatever your heart desires.
Yes, and they did not forget themselves - they ate so much that they rested for a day after. And then the time has come to go to the king. The retired soldier dressed up in hegumen's clothes and went to the palace.
Peter asks:
Well, did you solve the riddles?
Guessed, your majesty.
How many stars did you count in the sky? - asks the king.
Seven hundred forty-two thousand four hundred and eighty-nine stars.
)
resourceful soldier
About a soldier and Peter the Great.
Whether it was or not - go and know, but as I heard, I tell it.
Once Tsar Peter the Great was hunting, chasing a red beast, and he got lost.
Turn right - forest; to the left will go - the forest; wherever you turn - everywhere the forest stands like a wall. Trees tops in the sky rest.
He circled, circled, played the horn - no one responds. It must be, far from his hunters strayed.
Day to evening, and the road is gone. The horse was tired, and he himself wanted to rest. As soon as he dismounted, he heard - nearby someone was singing a song.
A soldier sits on a stone by the roadside and sings a mournful song.
Hello service!
Good, - the soldier answers.
Where, where, why? - asks Peter.
From vacation, to the regiment, to edit the service. And who will you be?
My name is Peter, I was chasing a red beast and lost my way, and now it would be nice to get into the city.
Well, okay, - the soldier says, - you and I, friend, need to look for a lodging for the night. You can’t get to the city from here in a day, and in an hour it will be completely dark. Stay here, and I will climb a tree, which is higher, and see if there is any housing nearby.
A soldier climbed to the very top and shouted:
Here to the left, not far from here, the smoke curls and, you can hear the dog barking.
He went down and led Peter in the direction where the smoke is visible.
They walk straight ahead and talk. Peter asks about the service and about the war with the Swedes.
Soldier says:
The soldier's share is not one's own will. In war, everything is necessary: the heat is pestering, and the wind blows, and it wets with rain, and the rust wears away the heart. Officers and generals, and especially from foreigners, our brother, a Russian soldier, they don’t even consider him a person, they beat him with a batozh indiscriminately: right and wrong. If the soldiers had the will and more guns and supplies, the Swede would have been defeated long ago. And so: the war drags on, no end in sight. Here the soldiers are bored: one wants to see his father and mother, another is grieving about his young wife, and another will say: “It would be nice to see the king, all the soldiers’ thoughts would be told to him.”
Have you seen the king? - Peter asks.
No, it didn’t happen, but I heard that he does not disdain our brother, a soldier. Fair, they say, well, cool: for a fault, he will beat the general with a stick, as they say.
So they go and go and soon came to a wide clearing.
In front of them is a high, large five-walled hut, surrounded by a strong fence. They knocked - there was no answer, only the dogs barked.
The soldier jumped over the fence, and two terrible dogs attacked him. The soldier drew his saber and cut down the dogs.
Then he opened the gate:
Come on, Petrusha; although housing is not to our liking, we will still be protected from the night, and it doesn’t interfere with grubs to get hold of.
As soon as they went up to the porch, an old woman met them.
Hello, grandmother, shelter the road people for the night and give me something to eat, the soldier says.
I have nothing for you, and there is nowhere to spend the night, leave where you came from.
If so, we, Petrusha, will have to see for ourselves what is going on here.
We went into the upper room, a girl was sitting on a bench.
Gather, beauty, to eat, not for nothing, we ask for money, - the soldiers say.
The girl in response only hums and shows her hand and smiles affably.
You see, Petrusha, dumb at the stove and pointing at the chest.
The soldier opened the damper, pulled a roast goose out of the oven; He opened the chest, and there was something missing: ham, butter, and various snacks - he would get all sorts of food and drinks for twenty people.
We had dinner, the soldier says:
It would be nice now on the side. Where does this door lead? Give me, grandma, the key!
I don’t have a key,” the old woman grumbles.
The soldier leaned his shoulder, strained - with a crash the door swung open.
And in that room, weapons are different: pistols, flails, sabers, daggers.
The soldier looked into the room, closed the door, he himself thinks: “That's it, they pleased not good people. By all appearances, the owners are robbers.
And Peter just said:
There's nowhere to lie down, let's go to the attic to spend the night, it's more spacious and brighter there.
The soldier found two sheaves of straw. We went up the ladder to the attic.
You, Petrusha, you see, are very tired, go to bed first, and I will stay on guard, then I will sleep, and you will watch.
Peter just managed to lie down - he immediately fell asleep like the dead.
And the soldier perched near the hatch with a saber drawn.
A little time passed - a noise, a whistle was heard. The gate swung open, you can hear - three riders arrived. We are talking:
Where is the girl to go?
Lock it in the closet for now, now there is no time to mess with it.
At that time, the old woman went out into the yard, says:
Two of them arrived on the same horse, hacked the dogs to death, and ran the house as they pleased.
Where are they?
They sleep in the attic, - the old woman answers.
Well, let them sleep, let's have dinner and deal with them - they won't wake up for a century.
The robbers went into the upper room, began to feast, and soon everyone got tipsy.
The elder took the saber.
Well, I'll go see the guests.
He walks along the hallway, hears - they sleep, they snore in two voices in the attic. Peter is sleeping, he does not feel troubles, hardships, and the soldier pretends: he snores, as if he is also sleeping; he himself all crept up, sits over the hatch, and the saber is brought up. The robber, without any fear, once, once along the ladder - and just leaned out, as the soldier cut off his head, as if he took off a head of cabbage.
One less!
And those two robbers are drinking wine, they are waiting for the third, they cannot wait. One got up, grabbed a dagger:
Where did he disappear to? Pour it up, I'm tossing and turning now.
He walks along the canopy, staggers. It is heard that he stepped onto the ladder ... The soldier also cut off his head in the same way as the first one. Then he dealt with the third robber in the same manner.
The dawn began to dawn, Peter's soldier wakes up:
Get up, friend Petrusha, get up! You slept, and I fought; it's time to hit the road.
Peter woke up, began to go down, saw - the robbers were lying around:
What didn’t wake me up, the two of us would have coped easier.
I am no stranger to becoming, I fought with the Swedes, managed, and this dirty trick will not frighten. You know the saying: a Russian soldier does not sink in water and does not burn in fire.
A dumb woman met them in the passage, began to mumble and wave her arms. They hardly guessed what she wanted to say: "The old woman ran away from home."
Then she led him to the closet, showed him to the castle, and handed the ax to the soldier.
The soldier knocked down the lock, swung the door - and there was a girl, a hand-written beauty, lying tied up.
Unleashed, released the girl. The dumb woman led them to the yard, pointed to a stone slab, and with signs teaches: "Raise, they say."
The slab was raised, and there was a passage to the dungeon. The soldier went down into the hiding place and sees countless riches: silver, and gold, and velvet, and brocade, and semi-precious stones.
The soldier took as much gold as he could carry into his backpack, took a bag of gold for his comrade, got out, moved the slab to its original place.
Well, Petrusha, let's saddle the horses, we must go.
They saddled four horses, sat both girls down, sat down themselves and drove off.
I am a traveling man, - the soldier says, - and you, Petrusha, if you are not married, take a closer look at the girl; she is not offended by her beauty, and her father, a rich merchant, says that he will reward her with a dowry.
Peter chuckled.
It will be visible there.
In the evening we reached the capital.
Well, that's what, serviceman, we will part at the outpost. You and the girls go to such and such an inn, and I will go to look for a friend. As soon as I find it, I'll let you know.
On that they parted.
The soldier brought the girls to the inn, the yard, where the hunter pointed out. We ordered a rich dinner.
And just sat down at the table, when suddenly a carriage drove up to the gate, harnessed with six. Mounted soldiers surround the carriage. The officer is ahead.
"What? - the soldier thinks. “Have they already found out that I killed the robbers and used a little robber money?”
At that time, an officer just entered and strictly asked the inmate in this way:
Where are such and such guests here: a soldier and two girls with him?
The inmate is trembling, he cannot utter a word.
“So it is, follow me,” the soldier realized and said:
I haven’t been to the courts for a century and now I’m in a hurry to join the regiment, I don’t have time, but as for money, take it, take their ashes, I only have to carry an extra load in the war.
All right, all right, don't talk, - the officer orders, - all three of you get into the carriage, they'll figure it out without us!
The soldier sat down with the girls in the carriage. Go.
The carriage rolled up to the royal palace.
On the porch of the generals, apparently, invisibly, and all turn to the same high one, salute, call the sovereign. And he is in the guise of everything - well, as there is the spitting image of yesterday's hunter Petrusha.
The king called the soldier:
Well, serviceman, great! Do you recognize me?
The soldier stood in front, stretched out, looking at the king, without blinking an eye. The king hugged the soldier, winked:
Do not be shy, service, with me even foreign generals will not dare to beat with a batozh without guilt.
Oh, sir, - says the frightened soldier, - I spoke to you in a simple way, and if I said something wrong, they didn’t order me to execute: it’s better for me to lay down my head in the war for the fatherland.
Peter laughed.
After all, you yourself said that the tsar is at least cool, but only with those who are guilty of something, and you, for your services to me, are now not a soldier, but an officer. You will command a company, and when we defeat the Swedes, we will get you that beauty that you saved from the robbers. If all my soldiers are as good as you, then we will beat the Swedes like a drink.
Well, what a fine fellow I am, - the soldier says, - we have eagles, where can I go before them!
And if so, - the tsar laughs, - then you will not go unmarried for long: victory is not far off!
Indeed, after the Poltava battle, Peter promoted the soldier to colonel and himself walked at his wedding.
Tsar Peter wanted to find out everything himself. Sometimes he will change into a simple dress and go around the city: he listens to people's rumors and enters into conversations himself.
One day he went into a tavern in this manner. And the day was festive. There were a lot of people in the tavern. They sit in threes, fours, and who talks about what.
Peter looked around and sat down at the last table, and a soldier was sitting at the table.
Peter asks:
Where are you from, officer?
I am Kostroma, - the soldier answers.
Peter smiled.
Countrymen, that is. My grandfather is the same from Kostroma.
And what part of the countryman? What are you doing in the city?
I'm a craftsman, in carpentry. My name is Pyotr Alekseev.
That's it, - picked up the soldier, - that's what I thought. For us, for the Kostroma people, this is the first craft. And grandfather, and parent, and I myself are also carpenters. And what, fellow countryman, shall we order a decanter?
Peter refuses:
No money. And you, after all, get up early in the morning - the service!
This is nothing, but there is no money - we will lay the broadsword.
Peter urges:
What are you, fellow countryman, inventing! You will lay down the broadsword - what if there is an alarm at night, what will you do?
The soldier laughs
Our officers and the general sleep until noon. You can redeem a mortgage seven times.
Well, you do as you wish, but it's time for me to go home.
Peter got up and left. And the soldier laid down his broadsword, drank a decanter, and with songs went to the barracks.
In the morning, neither light nor dawn, alarm in the regiment.
Royal review, royal review! The king has arrived!
The soldier jumped up, put on ammunition, but no broadsword. What to do?
No time to think. He cut off the splinter, blackened the handle with soot, put the splinter into the scabbard.
And the officers, from small to large, and the general himself are running around, fussing.
The king walked through the rows once, twice, he saw a soldier.
Orders:
Four steps forward!
The soldier carried out the command and went out in front of the line.
Show how they teach you military service. Chop me with your broadsword!
No, I can't take up arms against your majesty.
Ruby - I order!
The soldier grabbed the hilt and shouted at the top of his lungs:
Lord, turn this formidable weapon into a tree!
He swung and hit Peter - only chips flew.
All the soldiers and officers are neither alive nor dead, and the regimental priest began to pray:
Miracle, God gave a miracle!
Peter winked at the soldier and said in a barely audible voice:
Well done! I love these. Sit in the guardhouse for three days, and then go to the navigation school.
Peter the Great once heard that in one rich monastery three hundred young monks live in clover: they drink, eat sweetly, sleep for a long time, and they have no work. Peter found out about this and became angry:
How so? All the people and I myself live in labors and worries, there is no time to rest. There is no rest day or night, and here three hundred young and healthy people are chilling, living like cheese in butter. They know neither care nor work, they grow fat on free bread.
And he ordered to send a messenger to the monastery:
Go, tell the abbot: the tsar ordered to count the stars in the sky and find out if the earth is deep, mother, but let that abbot know what I think, what I, the tsar, have on my mind. Give me three days. On the fourth day, let the abbot himself come to me with an answer. If he does not fulfill the order, I will order all the monks and the abbot himself to be sent to work, and the monastery to be closed.
The abbot received the royal order and grieved, grieved:
Oh, trouble has come!
He told everything as it is to the monks. And the monks hung their heads. They thought and thought, but they couldn't come up with anything.
At that time, a retired soldier entered the monastery and asked:
Why are you grieving, elders? They always lived without need, without sorrow, and now they hanged their heads.
The monks answer him:
Oh, soldier, you do not know our great grief! The king ordered to guess three riddles and in three days the hegumen should come to the palace with the answer.
What riddles did the king make? - asks the soldier.
The soldier listened and said:
If only I knew how to keep the answer to the king, as if I were in your place.
The monks ran to the abbot:
The soldier undertakes to guess riddles and give the answer to the king.
The hegumen of the soldier asks:
Take what you want, just help us, teach us how to answer the king!
Retired Soldier says:
I don't need anything. Give me only your clothes, and I will go to the king instead of you.
The abbot rejoiced, and all the monks cheered up:
Well, thank God, that trouble is over! Like a mountain off your shoulders!
They began to treat the soldier:
Drink, eat whatever your heart desires.
Yes, and they did not forget themselves - they ate so much that they rested for a day after. And then the time has come to go to the king. The retired soldier dressed up in hegumen's clothes and went to the palace.
Peter asks:
Well, did you solve the riddles?
Guessed, your majesty.
How many stars did you count in the sky? - asks the king.
Seven hundred forty-two thousand four hundred and eighty-nine stars.
It's true?
I, Your Majesty, counted correctly, and if you do not believe, count yourself, check.
Peter smiled and asked:
Okay, you counted the stars correctly. But tell me: is the depth of the earth great?
The depth of the earth is very great.
How did you know?
Yes, my father went into the earth - it will soon be thirty years old - and until now he has not returned back - it means that the earth's depth is firmly great.
Peter smiled again.
Well, now tell me what I think? What do I, the king, have in mind?
You, sovereign, are now thinking: “Well done this abbot! How cleverly he managed to answer all my riddles!”
Peter burst out laughing, winked:
Your truth! Well done, hegumen, you managed to answer everything!
And a retired soldier to this:
This is where you made a mistake, sir.
Peter was surprised:
How so? What slip are you talking about?
And here's how: you took me, your retired soldier, for the abbot.
Peter's face turned stern, he began to question and found out who was answering him. The soldier told the whole truth. Peter clutched his sides, laughed for a long time - he was laughing - and immediately ordered the soldier to be rewarded, and ordered the monks, along with the abbot, to be sent to hard work.
Porridge from an ax.
Once Tsar Peter decided to visit one of his generals.
As soon as it became known about this, turmoil began in the general's palace. Still would! The tsar-sovereign himself will be a guest! How to amuse the king? What to treat? You can’t hit your face in the dirt, disgrace yourself, accept it worse than others!
However, the general was not particularly worried about the treat. He himself loved to eat, he knew a lot about food, and in his kitchen he kept excellent cooks from different kingdoms-states.
The general liked to brag to other princes and generals: here I am, they say, what kind of food I want, I eat like that - even the most overseas-seaside, even from a far-away-thirtieth kingdom!
On the eve of the royal arrival, the fattest cook, who was considered the most important, came to the general and said:
In the kitchen, Your Excellency, we cooks cannot do it alone. Who will carry and turn boilers, heat and kindle stoves, chop and bring firewood?
Get the men into the kitchen right away! the general ordered the servants. - Yes, look after them, so that they don’t eat a crumb, while they will trample around the boilers and braziers!
Servants rushed to the village, rounded up the peasants, drove them to the estate.
I got to the general's kitchen and a retired soldier. He faithfully served, won twenty-five years in the tsarist army.
He returned to his native village - as he left: with nothing. However, he did not grieve, because he was much ready for any invention.
The tsar was still expected only in the evening, and the peasants were driven to the kitchen early in the morning, they did not even have time to eat at home. To what extent the peasants were accustomed to hunger, but in the middle of the day their stomachs began to fail from hunger.
And the general's servants and cooks look after them, look after them: so that no one is left without work. Only heard:
Faster! turn around! Get moving! Don't you dare eat - it's not about your honor! Hurry!
All hope is on you, - the men say to the soldier. - Think of how to get at least a piece of bread here. Such villains are all around - a person will die of hunger, they will not give him crumbs! Save me, soldier!
You will get it yourself - you will be full! the soldier chuckled. - We will not bow to anyone, but we will take our own. Give me time - I'll feed everyone!
The closer to evening, the more food in the kitchen was fried and steamed, stewed and baked. The king is about to arrive.
The general himself, his excellency, went down to the cooks; I looked into all the frying pans and boilers, examined all the braziers and pots.
Don't shame! he threatened the cooks. - Invent such and such, so that the tsar-father will be amazed by your cooking! Otherwise, I’ll take off not only caps from you - I’ll take off my heads!
The soldier stood up as expected, quietly, picked up the poker like a gun, and turned to the general:
Your Excellency! Let the peasants cook porridge, otherwise they will soon fall down from hunger!
Kashu?! the general laughed. - What kind of porridge? Of what? Here we have no peasant food! The boyars are not great - you will starve for a day!
Your Excellency! - says the soldier. - We don't need the Lord's porridge. Let me cook porridge from an ax!
What? From an ax? - the general even opened his mouth in surprise. - It can not be!
Yes indeed, Your Excellency, it can! - answers the soldier. - You'll see for yourself!
Overseas cooks grab their bellies and laugh.
All right, - said the general, - give him an axe. Let it cook. But if the porridge does not work out, blame yourself, soldier. I'll constipate! Hey, servants, don't forget to pick up the ax from him later!
And left. The soldier chose a cauldron, took a bigger axe.
This one will probably be hotter! he winked at the cooks.
He put the ax into the cauldron and filled it with water.
Spare the water - you can’t see the porridge!
The cooks are no longer laughing, they are staring with all their eyes - the unprecedented ax porridge is starting to cook!
Didn't you know that an ax is boiled, fried, smoked, steamed? the soldier laughed. - Oh, you, overseas cooks! The ax can still be wetted, stewed, salted, infusion made on it! Now it will boil with me - it will be interesting to look at it dearly. Go, go about your business for now - I'll call you when the porridge is ripe!
And the soldier drove the cooks away.
When the water in the cauldron with the ax gurgled and bubbled, the soldier approached the fattest, most important cook and said:
Ax broth turned out good! But for taste, you need to add a little millet groats to it.
The fat man ordered to give the soldier millet - as much as needed. The overseas cook really wanted to try porridge from an ax!
The millet cooked quickly. The porridge swelled, the lid of the cauldron breathed, moved as if alive.
The soldier again approached the fat cook:
Porridge is good for everyone, but it gives off a little iron from the ax - the old one, apparently, the ax was caught, hard. Salsa would need a few pieces. We heard how we say in Russia: you can’t spoil porridge with bacon!
Glancing at the cauldron of porridge, the cook asked:
How much fat do you have?
I don't need anything! the soldier chuckled. - Porridge itself requires fat! Now, if you heat this brazier - just enough!
They put the fat on the brazier, put it on the fire. Salo hissed, sizzled.
Ax porridge respects onions very much, - as if by the way, the soldier said, taking the onion lying near the fat cook. - A dozen onions for me ... these ... that's enough! Yes, chop them smaller ... like this ...
The soldier threw a chopped onion into a brazier with lard. The onion is fried and browned. Then the soldier overturned the entire brazier into a cauldron of porridge. Such an inviting, sweet smell came from the boiler that the knees of the hungry peasants trembled, and all the cooks, as if on command, turned their noses to the soldier.
The soldier mixed the porridge with lard-onion with a ladle, winked at his fellow countrymen:
Unbelt, let's eat our peasant porridge from an ax!
Overseas cooks crowded around: a curiosity!
We tried it - delicious!
How is an ax for porridge selected? the fat cook asked the soldier respectfully. - Which ax boils better, and which is worse? Does the tree from which the ax handle is made matter or not? Young, that is, new, is the ax juicier than the old one?
The soldier only grins - he cannot answer, he eats porridge for both cheeks. After all, there were no crumbs in my mouth in the morning!
And the peasants do not lag behind him - they piled on the porridge so much that the ax that lay at the bottom of the boiler appeared.
Good porridge! And from above, from the general's chambers, servants run, waving their arms, shouting:
The tsar-father will now come to the kitchen! So that everything is quiet! To be in order! And not that...
Before the men had time to wipe the porridge from their mustaches and beards, there was a rustle on the stairs, a rustle, a tinkle - Tsar Peter himself descends from the front chambers. And behind him - princes, counts and all sorts of others. And everyone has orders, stars, medals, multi-colored ribbons on their chests.
Tsar Peter looked around the kitchen and asked:
They told me that some soldier was cooking porridge from an ax here?
That's right, Your Imperial Majesty! - reported the soldier. - I cooked. Here, on the bottom, on the ax itself, there is still a little left.
I want to take a test! - said Tsar Peter and went to the cauldron.
He was immediately brought a long spoon-ladle. The king scooped up the porridge from the bottom and tried it.
There was silence in the kitchen. Princes, counts and all others look into the mouth of the king: did he like it or not?
A good kulesh turned out from an ax! - Tsar Peter said cheerfully. - Ay yes soldier, ah yes well done! Praise!
Following the king, everyone began to try the porridge and praise it. Even the ax was licked all over.
He, your imperial majesty, cooked from my ax! - said the general. - And this soldier himself is my man, from my village!
Well, soldier, how did you cook porridge? - asked Tsar Peter.
The soldier told, and the overseas cooks nodded their heads, confirming his words.
The king laughed so hard that for a long time he could not utter a word from laughter.
Looking at him, the princes, counts and others burst out laughing.
That's what a Russian soldier is! Finally, Tsar Peter spoke. - All overseas chefs scorched! I applaud you for your ingenuity! What would you like to reward, soldier?
The king looked around, snatched an ax from the hands of some count, on which not a single grain of porridge was left, and handed it to the soldier.
Here, soldier, I give you an ax!
Princes, counts and others shouted:
Vivat Tsar Peter!
The soldier took the ax and bowed:
Thank you for the royal gift, Your Imperial Majesty!
Here the general fussed and bowed:
Tsar-father, they brought fried swans to the table, they need to be eaten hot, otherwise they lose a lot in taste ...
Tsar Peter turned around, walked towards the stairs, and the princes, the counts, and all the others followed him to feast.
And the general's servants shouted at the peasants:
Faster! turn around! Get moving! Hurry!
The soldier put the royal gift in his belt and went to turn the cauldrons.
Whose clothes are better?
Once, in the presence of Tsar Peter himself, the admiral and the general argued - whose clothes are better?
The general praises his clothes, the admiral - his.
My fur coat is not afraid of frost, it does not care about the storm, the bullet does not pierce it! boasts the general.
And my fur coat, - the admiral shouts, - is such that in the heat it is cold in it, and in the frost it is warm! In the rain, she does not get wet, and in battle, cannonballs bounce off her like nuts!
Tsar Peter listened to this argument, listened, it became funny to him.
They swung their tongues like sabers, and sparks fly! - he said. - Let's better ask a soldier: whose clothes are better - general's or admiral's? As he says, so be it!
You can’t argue with the king: the admiral and the general bowed to him - they say, we agree.
Soldier, come to me! - Tsar Peter ordered.
A soldier with a gun on his shoulder and a clear step towards the king.
Who, tell me, has better clothes - a general or an admiral? the king asked. - Answer me, don't lie!
In my opinion, your imperial majesty, my soldier's caftan is the best! - answered the soldier. - He is not afraid of heat or frost, and even more so of the wind!
Tsar Peter laughed, and the general and the admiral pouted with anger.
Well, the dispute is now between the three of you! Tsar Peter said. - If the general wins - be his field marshal. If an admiral, then he will command the fleet. If the soldier proves his case, I will make him a general, and I will demote you into a soldier!
How are we going to resolve the dispute? - ask the admiral with the general.
So, - answers Tsar Peter, - first we will ask brother frost to wrap it more abruptly, and then his excellency the sun - so that it warms more hotly. Whoever endures the cold and heat will win the argument! Tomorrow morning we will start!
The general arrived at his palace, sat down to think - how could he defeat the admiral and the soldier? He called a faithful servant and ordered:
Here is a purse of gold, ride to the frost, bow low to his lordship and ask that tomorrow it doesn’t freeze me too much. Let him turn the admiral and the soldier into icicles!
The servant took the gold and rode away.
“Since they both freeze, then this will end the dispute,” the general decided.
The admiral came to his palace, also began to think - how can he get the upper hand in the dispute? He called a faithful servant and ordered:
Jump to his lordship the sun, give him this chest with semi-precious stones. Ask it not to fry me tomorrow, but turn the general and the soldier into firebrands!
The general's messenger visited the frost, galloped back, reassured the owner:
His Grace thanks for the purse and promised to fulfill Your Excellency's request exactly!
The general immediately cheered up - he already sees himself as a field marshal!
The admiral's messenger handed over the casket to the sun, returned home, reported:
His Excellency send you a bow and promised to fulfill your request!
The admiral lit up with joy: from tomorrow he will command the fleet!
And the soldier sat in his barracks and put patches on his old caftan and darned holes.
The next morning the admiral, the general and the soldier came to Tsar Peter.
Where do we start? the king asked. - From the cold or from the heat?
From the heat, from the heat! shouts the admiral.
From the cold, from the cold! the general shouted even louder.
And I don't care! - said the soldier. - Any order will be executed!
Okay, let it be cold! Brother frost, start! - ordered the king.
As soon as the king with the queen and with all his retinue had time to take refuge in the palace, an unprecedented cold set in. Stones began to burst from the cold, all living things turned to ice.
The admiral and the general are standing in fur coats on three furs - from a distance, well, just like haystacks - you can’t tell.
The soldier girded his caftan tighter, stamped his feet, and lashed his sides with his hands. He sits down, then he gets up, then he sits down, then he gets up. He rubs his ears, nose, cheeks, runs back and forth, starts to squat again. Then he began to perform rifle techniques. Commands himself:
If! Bay! If! Bay!
From the soldier such steam went, as if he had just got out of the bathhouse.
The more fierce the frost, the faster the soldier ran. The cold could not do anything with him!
Well, that's enough! Tsar Peter said. - Thank you, brother frost! Let's see who's still alive!
It immediately warmed up, the birds sang again, the leaves on the trees turned green.
The king with the queen and with all his retinue went out of the palace.
Look: the soldier stands at attention in front of the general, and the general scolds him. For the fact that when a soldier did rifle tricks in the cold, he made two mistakes - he held the butt high and stabbed shallowly.
And why doesn't the admiral get out of his fur coat? - asked Tsar Peter.
Not otherwise, he froze to death there, the king-father, - the general answered joyfully.
They approached the fur coat, opened it - and there, instead of the admiral, there was an icicle in uniform!
His clothes turned out to be bad, - said the king. But your argument is not over. Now let's see how you handle the heat!
Why do you offend me, tsar-father? the general pleaded. - After all, I argued with the admiral, and not with the soldier. I won my dispute, but it is impossible for me to be on an equal footing with a soldier! I'm a general!
If you are a real general, then what are you afraid of? Tsar Peter laughed. - And if a soldier wins an argument with you, then what kind of general will you be after that? Sun, Your Excellency, begin!
As soon as the king and queen and with all their retinue took refuge in the palace, an unprecedented heat began. Everything turned black. Streams and rivers dried up, turned into clouds. Bears in the dense forests threw off their skins.
The general stuck out his tongue, rolled out his eyes - he could neither inhale nor exhale. And the soldier, as if nothing had happened, walks back and forth, plays with a rifle.
The sun is even hotter than ever. The general had already begun to shrink, wrinkled, blackened.
Oh, the sun, - said the soldier and twisted his mustache, - you saw Russian soldiers in battles and battles! It used to be so hot there, not like the current one! And nothing - remained alive! Why are you trying in vain? Look, don't burn yourself!
It can be seen that the sun itself became unbearable - the heat began to subside.
The king and queen and all his retinue went out of the palace.
Look: the soldier, as if nothing had happened, walks back and forth, plays with his rifle.
And in a general's uniform - a firebrand.
So, the general's clothes are no good! - said Peter. - The soldier's caftan defeated everyone! To be you, soldier, from now on a general!
Or maybe a general walk in a soldier's caftan? - asked the soldier.
No, it's a mess! Tsar Peter answered.
But if a general's uniform is worse than a soldier's caftan, then why should I change good for bad? the soldier chuckled. - No, I'd rather be a soldier and stay. And can you fulfill one request of mine, your imperial majesty?
If I can, I will. Speak.
The request is this: that I, until the end of my days, do not give honor to anyone except you, the tsar-sovereign - neither generals, nor admirals, nor field marshals!
Tsar Peter cheerfully looked around his retinue - princes, counts, generals, admirals - and said:
Although it is not supposed to, but okay, let it be your way! You can not give honor to the generals and admirals - you defeated them in an honest dispute. But if you please, welcome the field marshals, as the military charter prescribes!
The king laughed and said:
But if there is a chance, and you, soldier, win some dispute with the field marshal - then another matter!
A soldier was walking home - he was returning from the army. He walked cheerfully, sang a song - an experienced soldier does not like to walk without a song.
The road went through the forest. He sees a soldier: a cart of firewood overturned. The horse is entangled in the lines and cannot get out onto the road. The little old man is pulling the reins, but what's the point!
Famously you, grandfather, managed! the soldier chuckled. - How long have you been stuck here?
For a long time, son, for a long time, a serviceman, - the old man answers, - already one cart drove past, and two carriages, and boyar servants passed by - everyone just laughs, but no one wants to help.
You alone, grandfather, will never get out on the road! - said the soldier, went up to the cart, propped it up with his shoulder - one, two, three! and put it on wheels. Then he pushed the cart - one, two, they took it! - and pushed him out into the road.
He helped the old man to gather firewood and put it on the cart.
It is a pity that we are not on the way, - the soldier sighed. - Otherwise, you would give me a lift, grandfather, at least a little!
Thank you, servant! The old man bowed. - You have a good soul!
And thank you for your kind words! - answered the soldier. - A Russian warrior will never pass by someone else's misfortune. He heard our commandment: take care of your native land, destroy the enemy, help the young and the old!
In Russia, good is answered with kindness, - said the old man. - I want to give you one piece of advice. If you happen to end up in the capital and suddenly please the king with something and he will tell you: “Ask me for whatever you want,” then you ask him for an old soldier's satchel, which is lying around in the royal treasury. And whatever the king offers you, take nothing in return.
The little old man said these words and melted away, disappeared - as if neither he, nor the cart of firewood, nor the horse had ever existed.
Deftly! The soldier shook his head. - No matter how many miracles I have seen in the world, I am still surprised every time! Deftly!
And just at that time all sorts of foreign kings and princes came to visit the king. They feasted for a day, another, and on the third a dispute arose between them: who is stronger than whom!
Kings and princes themselves measure their strength with each other inconveniently - this is not a noble, not royal matter. In such a case, each of them carries a strong man with him. And that strong man fights instead of a king or a prince, showing his strength and dexterity.
Since this is the case, then the king threw a cry: everyone who firmly believes in his strength, immediately come to the palace!
The soldier heard this, twisted his mustache:
What Russian does not believe in his strength?
And he went to the capital, straight to the royal palace.
The strongmen gathered, began to fight with each other. Whoever is laid on the shoulder blades - he leaves to drink honey. And whoever takes over, he begins to fight with another strong man.
And it so happened that the soldier, in the end, defeated everyone. And those who boasted of their strength, and those who kept quiet. Who by cunning, who by dexterity, and who simply - he will throw over his head and knee to the ground and press him! It turned out to be the strongest!
The king hugged him and said:
Well done! Didn't shame the Russian silushka! Now let's fight me! Lay me down - ask what you want! Well, hold on, soldier!
They embraced each other so that the bones crunched. Foreign guests crowded around - they had never seen such fun.
The soldier did not want to defeat his king in front of strangers. He decided to succumb, loosened his grip - the king immediately put him on both shoulder blades.
Vivat! everyone screams. - Vivat to the king-bogatyr!
And the king got angry, his mustache bristles, he says to the soldier:
You don’t play gum in front of me, otherwise I’ll give you a scolding instead of a reward! You won't deceive me! Let's fight again!
Again they grappled. And again the soldier succumbed - he really did not want to disgrace the king in front of the guests.
The royal character was even more playful.
Do you regard me as your commander? - shouted the king.
That's right, Your Imperial Majesty! - answered the soldier. - You are my very first commander!
Tsar-sovereign, after all, foreign guests are here ... what will they tell about you later?
Let them say what they want! - shouted the king. - They can't fight as well as I can! And I command you: fight with all your might! Honestly, no lies!
It will be done, Your Imperial Majesty! - reported the soldier.
Well, an order is an order - you have to follow it. As soon as the struggle began, the soldier contrived, and twisted the king so much that he immediately laid him on both shoulder blades.
Well done! - Rising and brushing himself off, said the king. - An agreement is more valuable than money - ask for what you want!
I do not need anything, except for an old soldier's satchel from your treasury, - the soldier answered.
Oh, you are cunning, soldier! the king chuckled. - I would never have given that knapsack to anyone, but I can’t break the royal word! Hey, generals, bring me a knapsack!
The soldier received a knapsack, and the king says:
I take you, soldier, to my service. You will guard my treasury. It seems to me that thieves visit her. You will stand guard at night, and rest during the day!
And so it went: during the day the soldier rests, and at night he guards the royal treasures.
He walks with a gun near the royal treasury and wonders:
“Why did this knapsack in the treasury lie next to precious stones and pure gold? The knapsack is old, empty inside - what is the self-interest in it?
The soldier looked at him from all sides, twisted and turned - he did not see anything. I thought about it, but I tapped my knapsack with my fingers - it seemed like I knocked out a drum roll.
And then, out of nowhere, two young men stood up in front of him.
We are two from a satchel! they said. - We serve the one who owns the knapsack!
Deftly! the soldier laughed. - I have seen many miracles in my life, but still - every time I am surprised!
What do you order? - the good fellows ask.
Yes, it seems that I won’t order anything yet, - the soldier answers. - It will be necessary - I will call.
And in the courtyard lived, among other miscellaneous servants, three boyars. It was they who got into the habit of visiting the royal treasury. All the secret doors were found out, the keys to them were picked up. The king has a lot of gold - you won’t immediately notice if someone stole it.
This time, in the dead of night, the boyars came out of the secret passage, and the soldier was standing at his post! There is nothing to do - the thieves turned back.
We will not live from this soldier! - said one boyar.
If we do not destroy him, we will not see the royal good! - said the other.
And the third slapped his forehead:
I know how to get rid of a soldier! Let's go to the king and say that a soldier walks around the city, boasting at every corner that he laid the king himself on his shoulder blades! What, they say, is weak in our tsar-sovereign!
So the boyars did. They bowed to the king the next day:
They didn’t order them to be executed, tsar-father, but they told them to tell the truth!
I command! - said the king.
We alone, boyars, know the price of your kind word, tsar-father! - said one boyar. - And the peasants and soldiers, the kinder you are with them, the more they turn up their noses!
What is this talk about? the king asked.
To the fact that a soldier walks around the city and blasphemes you! - said the second boyar. - They say that our king is weak, he stands badly on his feet, anyone can overcome him!
He dishonors you, our sovereign, dishonors last words! shouted the third boyar. - It is better to be deaf than to hear the words of a soldier! On both, he says, I put the king's shoulder blades and, he says, held it with my knee!
The king got angry and flared up:
Where is it seen that they make fun of me, the king ?! I order: immediately put the soldier in stocks and put him in a prison cell! So that he should not open his tongue another time!
The servants ran, grabbed the soldier, hung oak blocks on his feet and on his hands, and put him in a prison cell.
Not a big problem! the soldier chuckled. - I would only reach out to the knapsack with my hand!
He dropped the knapsack from his shoulders and drummed on it with his fingers. Two young men stood in front of the soldier.
What do you order? - they ask.
Remove the pads, otherwise your arms and legs are tired of them! - the soldier ordered, and at the same moment the oak blocks fell apart. - And now go to the palace, find out why they took me under arrest!
The fellows disappeared, and the soldier put the knapsack under his head and fell asleep.
Well done returned in the evening, everyone told how it was.
It’s not like I got in the way of these boyars, - the soldier guessed. It looks like they've got a bad idea in mind!
Order - we will guard the treasury, - the good fellows say, - neither the beast nor the bird will come close to it!
No, the soldier must carry out orders himself, do not blame others! You, well done, deliver me from here to the post - it's time for me to intercede!
The soldier did not have time to twist his mustache, as he ended up at the post near the royal treasury.
The boyars just began to unlock the secret door, and the soldiers were right there:
Stop! Who goes?
The boyars were frightened and ran away with all their might. They ran so hard that they couldn't catch their breath the whole night.
Where did he come from, this soldier? - asked the first boyar, when he finally took a breath.
It can be seen that the prison guard is bad! - said the second boyar.
And how did he take the pads off his hands and feet? - the third boyar scratched his head. - No, something is wrong here ... We need to go to the king - let the soldier be put in a pit, he won’t get out of there!
Went to the king. Bowed.
Tsar-father, where is it seen that your decrees are not executed? - asked the first boyar.
And what happened?
The soldier left the arrest, walked around the city all night, you yourself saw it! - said the second boyar.
And again he boasted of his strength, and yours, tsar-father, of weakness! - added the third boyar. - Plant him, tsar-father, in the deepest hole, so that from there you can’t even see the sky! Yes, on his feet, on his hands - iron shackles, heavier ...
The king flared up more than ever:
What is it? Prisoners roam free?! Throw the soldier into the pit! Put him on a chain!
And the soldier from his post returned to the prisoner, a knapsack under his head, fell asleep.
So he, sleepy, was chained to a chain and into a pit and thrown.
Oh, and the thieves-boyars are afraid of me, since they blacken me in front of the tsar! the soldier laughed. - Well, yes, you won’t get me with this - I know my service.
And as soon as evening came, the soldier drummed on his knapsack - good fellows appeared before him.
What do you order?
Release me and deliver me to the post! the soldier ordered.
Immediately the chain fell off, and the soldier found himself at the royal treasury.
Only after midnight had passed, the boyars approached the secret door. Boldly, without hiding - who to be afraid of? A soldier is sitting in a hole!
Keys jingled, locks began to be unlocked. And the soldier came closer and how he barked:
Get it, fat-bellies! Knit thieves!
The boyars hardly lost their lives from fear right there, without moving from their place. They can’t move from their place - their knees buckled.
The soldier, looking at the boyars, laughed so hard that tears flowed from his eyes. Only then the thieves came to consciousness and gave a strekach - only the heels flashed.
When dawn broke, the soldier called the fellows out of his knapsack and ordered:
Take me back to the hole! Yes, put on a chain, otherwise the guards, the hour is uneven, will notice something was wrong.
In the pit he lay down more comfortably, put the knapsack under his head and fell asleep.
And the boyars sat in their stone chambers until the morning and could not even talk to each other - they were shaking with fear, the tooth did not fall on the tooth.
The sun had already risen when one of the boyars finally uttered a word:
How did he, the damned soldier, get out of the pit, free himself from the chain?
We need to ask the guards about it! - said the second boyar.
There's something wrong here, mark my words! - the third boyar scratched his head.
The boyars went to the pit. They began to scold the guards:
Do you know what kind of violation of the royal order happens? BUT?
Why does the soldier come out of the pit?
You, open it up, you yourself need to be put in a pit along with a soldier.
The guards swore and swore that the soldier did not show from the pit and the nose - and how can you show if it is deep, like a well?
The boyars thought.
How so? The soldier did not leave the pit - but did he stand at the post? - one boyar was surprised.
Wonders! - said the second. - Magic power, not otherwise!
This is all because of the knapsack that the tsar gave to the soldier, - the third whispered. - That knapsack is magical - not otherwise! He fulfills all the soldier's desires! Until we take away the satchel from the soldier, we will not be able to cope with it!
The guards opened the lid, and the boyar shouted to the soldier:
You are now a sovereign criminal, not a soldier! And you are not supposed to have a soldier's knapsack! Let's get him here!
How can I give it to you? From here do not drop! Lower the rope! - the soldier answers from below.
The boyars sent a guard for a rope.
Meanwhile, the soldier called the fellows out of the knapsack and ordered:
Bring me a soldier's satchel to look like mine!
Before the guards had time to lower the rope to half of the pit, the fellows appeared with an old soldier's satchel.
Two drops of water! - the soldier chuckled, comparing the satchels. - Tie the satchel that they brought to the rope, but stronger! Hey, pick it up!
The boyars pulled out the rope, grabbed a soldier’s satchel, and carried it to themselves. No matter what they did with him, they did not notice any magic.
It's not a problem! they said. - The main thing is that the soldier is now without a knapsack! And tonight we will go about our business without interference!
By evening, the soldier was again taken to the post.
Only midnight had passed, the soldiers heard - the thieves were coming.
They approached the secret door, began to open the locks.
“Oh, apparently, the tsar himself will never guess why the boyars want to destroy me! thought the soldier. “We should show him these thieves!”
Bring the king here at once! - the soldier ordered the fellows from the knapsack.
The boyars did not have time to unlock the first three locks, when the tsar found himself next to the soldier. He stands, rubs his eyes, he won’t understand in any way - where is he?
I saw a soldier, his mustache twitched in anger:
So, my faithful servants told me the truth, that you come out of the pit at night, walk around the city?
Truth, tsar-sovereign! - answered the soldier. - But do not be angry without a reason, but listen ...
And the soldier told the tsar everything as it was - about the boyars-thieves, about the fellows from the knapsack.
Do you hear, Your Imperial Majesty? - said the soldier. - Now the villains are opening a secret door, they want to rob your treasury!
I want to see them! - said the king and went forward.
And the boyars-thieves are glad that no one bothers them, the last lock has already been removed from the door. As soon as they began to open the door, the king would shout:
There you are, my faithful servants!
It's a pity! - said the king. - I would put them in a hole instead of you! Well, soldier, get a reward for your faithful service! I give you everything that these thieves-boyars owned. Live for fun!
Thank you, tsar-sovereign, on a kind word! - said the soldier. - Only a well-fed share of the boyars is not to my liking! Let me go home, to the village, and order me not to take any taxes and taxes from me!
It's you, serviceman, asking for the impossible! the king laughed. - In my kingdom, only one person does not pay taxes - I myself! There can't be two kings at the same time! Here's a caftan from my royal shoulder and go on all four sides! Yes, leave the satchel to me! Now these fellows will guard the treasury instead of you!
And thanks for that, father-tsar, - the soldier bowed, handed over his satchel, put on the royal caftan, sang a song and walked home.
