- •A cunning fox – 8
- •A timid hare (кролик).-1
- •A white winter dress - 2
- •In summer he hides in the grass.9 But he does not know what to do when winter comes. “I must ask my friends. They are always ready to help,” he thinks.
- •In the morning he gets up and looks round. But what does he see? The forest is white!
- •Fabre, the naturalist, and the hungry ducks. – 12
- •Mike and the colt – 14
- •Roses on the mountain top – 13
- •It was raining and the friends could not go to the forest. So they came to Karl’s home to spend the afternoon together.
- •Squirrel’s lesson.30 – 10
- •In the centre of the grass-plot was standing a beautiful rose-tree, and when she saw it she flew over to it, and lit upon a spray.
- •The sun shows the way – 15
- •The twelve months – 11
- •Ivan returns, with Elena, the horse and the Fire Bird, however when the wolf leaves him he is ambushed and killed by his brothers.
The sun shows the way – 15
Once upon a time the earth was very bare. There were people, but their life was very difficult. There was little to eat. They had no roof over their heads.
The sun was very, very hot, the people had no place to hide. When it rained, it was the same: they had no place to hide.
The people did not know what to do. They wanted to be happy. When they met, they talked about their life.
There was an old man with them. His hair was as white as snow. He said: “I lived a very long time on this earth and I saw little good. Maybe the sun can see it because he is so high.”
“Let’s go to the sun and ask him about it,” said a young man. His name was Ivan.
The people did not think that the sun could help them, but they agreed to go to the sun. it was a very difficult way. The people came to the sun at that moment when he had his supper.
“Good evening,” the people said. “Good appetite to you.”
“Good evening to you too, and thank you for the good word,” answered the sun. “Please, sit down and tell me what I can do for you.”
The people stood and looked at the sun. They did not know what to say. Then Ivan began to speak: “Our life is not good. We are not happy. The earth where we live is bare. Now it’s very hot, now it rains, now it is very cold. We have never seen good. You, O Sun, are very high. Maybe you can see this good. Then show it to us or tell us what we must do to be happy.”
“You are tired. Sit down and eat,” the sun said.
The people sat down and began to eat. What a wonderful dinner it was! “You must also go to sleep,” the sun told the people. “It’s dark now, you can’t go home. You can leave in the morning after a good rest.” But he did not say anything about food.
All people were sleeping, only Ivan couldn’t sleep. “Why aren’t you sleeping, Ivan?” asked the sun. “You know why,” said Ivan. He was very sad. Then the sun did a very strange thing. He gave Ivan all kinds of seeds35 and said: “Here, take these. When you come home, you must plant them.”
The people got up in the morning. The sun was high in the sky. They decided to go home. “The sun can’t help us,” they said. “The sun can’t tell us where we can find food.” They began to laugh at Ivan. “Ivan is a fool,” they said.
Ivan didn’t say a word. When they came home, Ivan said: “Now take your spades and start digging36 the earth. I will go after and sow food.”
But the people did not want to work. “If you like, you may dig. But we won’t do it.” And again they laughed at him and said: “You are a fool.”
Ivan began to work. He didn’t say anything to them. It was not easy to work, but Ivan didn’t stop. The sun looked down at him and smiled.
At last Ivan finished digging and began to throw seeds. When he threw his seeds into the earth with his right arm, the rye sprang up,37 when he threw some seeds with his other arm, the wheat came up.38 The field was full of white blossom and the earth was full of the aroma of bread and honey.
The people saw it and stopped laughing. “Give us some too,” they asked. Ivan gave them some food. He showed the people his toil-hardened hands and said: “YOU MUST WORK TOO!”