A little anguish about Jamie when he wrote the piece. Encyclopedia of fairy-tale heroes: "Little Muk". Signs of a fairy tale in the fairy tale "Little Muk"

"Little Muck"- a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff.

What is the fairy tale about?"Little Muck" You will find out by reading it in abbreviation.

It is told by the young merchant Muley as a story from his childhood. The plot is based on oriental tales about talismans (for example, the Crimean Tatar tale “Three Talismans”).

Prologue

Muley tells his memories of childhood and meets Little Muk from the city of Nikea as a child:

The fact is that in those days Little Muk was already an old man, no more than three or four feet tall. Moreover, he was built very strangely: on his body, small and fragile, sat a head, much larger in size than that of other people.

The dwarf lived all alone in a huge house. He went outside once a month, but every evening the neighbors saw him walking on the flat roof of his house. Muley and other children often teased the dwarf, stepped on his huge shoes, pulled his robe and shouted offensive rhymes after him. One day the narrator greatly offended Muk, and he complained to Muley's father. The latter was punished, but he learned the story of Little Muk.

Memories

The father of Little Muk, whose real name is Mukra, was a respectable man here in Nicaea, although poor. He lived almost as secluded as his son does now. He did not like this son, ashamed of his small stature, and did not give him any education.

When Muk was 16 years old, his father died, and his house and all his belongings were taken by those to whom the family owed money. Muk took only his father’s clothes, shortened them, and went to seek his happiness. It was difficult for the dwarf to walk: mirages appeared to him, and he was tormented by hunger. Two days later he entered a city. There he saw the old woman Agavtsi, who was inviting everyone to come and eat. Only cats and dogs ran towards her, but Little Mook came too. He told Agavtsi about what happened to him, and she offered to stay and work for her. Muk looked after the cats and dogs living with the old woman.

Soon the pets became spoiled and began to destroy the house in the absence of the owner. Naturally, the old woman believed her favorites, not Muk. One day the dwarf managed to get into the old woman’s room, but there he broke the lid of one of the vessels. Muk decided to run away, taking new shoes from the room (his old ones were already completely worn out) and a stick with a beautifully carved lion's head - the old woman still did not pay him the promised salary. The shoes and wand turned out to be magical:

In a dream, a dog appeared to him, who helped him get shoes in the house of Mrs. Agavtsi, and made the following speech: “Dear Muk, you have not yet learned how to handle shoes. Know that, having put them on and turning over three times on your heel, you will fly wherever you want, and the wand will help you find treasures, for where gold is buried, it will knock on the ground three times, where silver - twice.”

Thus, Muk reached the nearest big city and hired himself as a walker to the local king. At first everyone ridiculed him, but after he won a competition with the first fast walker in the city, they began to respect him. All the king's courtiers hated the dwarf. The same one wanted to get their love through money. Using his wand, he found the treasure and began handing out gold coins to everyone. But he was accused of stealing gold from the royal treasury and was sent to prison.

To avoid execution, Little Mook revealed to the king the secret of his shoes and wand. The dwarf was freed, but his magical things were taken away from him. Little Mook left the country and found two trees with ripe figs, although it was not yet in season. From the fruits of one tree, the ears and nose lengthened, and from the fruits of another they returned to their previous state.

Muk changed clothes and went back to the city to trade the fruits of the first tree. The royal chief cook Auli was very happy with his purchase and everyone praised him until they turned ugly. Not a single doctor - neither city nor visiting - could return the previous appearance courtiers and the king himself.

Then Little Muk disguised himself as a scientist and went back to the palace, where he healed one of those disfigured by a fig from the second tree. The king, in the hope of improvement, opened his treasury to Muk: he could take anything. Little Muk walked around the treasury several times, looking at the riches, but chose his shoes and wand. After that, he revealed himself to the king, but did not give him medicinal figs, and he forever remained a freak, so that this would remind him of his treachery.

Little Muk settled in another city, where he lives now. He is lonely because he despises people, but he has become very wise.

Epilogue

Muley told the other boys about the adventures of Little Muk, and now no one dared to insult the dwarf. On the contrary, the boys began to bow to him with love and respect.

Title of the work: "Little Muk".

Number of pages: 52.

Genre of the work: fairy tale.

Main characters: orphan boy Muk, King, Mrs. Ahavzi, courtiers.

Characteristics of the main characters:

Little Muck- honest, kind.

Caring and loves animals.

Resourceful and decisive.

Confiding.

Mrs. Ahavzi- an old woman who loves cats.

Strict. Didn't pay Muku.

King and courtiers- greedy, envious and stingy.

Tyrants.

Brief summary of the fairy tale "Little Muk" for the reader's diary

A boy named Muk was born a dwarf with an ordinary appearance.

His head was many times larger than his body.

He was left without parents early on, and on top of that, he was paying off his father’s debts on his own.

Evil relatives drove the boy away because of his ugly appearance and Muk went to another city.

There he began working for Mrs. Ahavzi.

The woman had many cats, which every now and then played mischief and set the boy up.

Soon Muk ran away from the mistress and took with him her magic cane and running boots.

The walking boots make Muk the first in the walking competition.

Many hated him, and many were grateful to him.

With the help of a cane, he found the treasure and distributed it to others.

Muk was mistaken for a thief and put in prison.

Only before his execution did he admit to the King that he had magical objects.

Muk was released.

One day Muk found trees with dates.

Having tried the fruits from one, he grew donkey ears and a tail, and having tasted them from the other, they disappeared.

He sold the dates to the cook and he treated them to all the courtiers.

The courtiers began to look for a doctor, and Muk came to them in disguise.

He wanted to take the cane and boots as gratitude.

He left the king with donkey ears.

Plan for retelling the work "Little Muk" by V. Gauf

1. An ugly dwarf named Muk.

2. Punishment for the son and the father's story.

3. Relatives throw Muk out of the door.

4. Service with Mrs. Ahavzi.

5. Lunch and the whims of cats.

6. Escape from the mistress.

7. Walking shoes and a magic cane.

8. Fast walkers hate Muk.

9. Envious courtiers.

10. Muk finds a treasure.

11. The dwarf is sent to prison.

12. Before execution, Muk gives his items to the King.

13. Hermit Muk.

14. Date trees.

15. Muk gives the cook wine berries.

16. Courtiers with donkey ears.

17. Mook disguises himself as a healer.

18. How Muk took revenge on the courtiers and the King.

19. A dwarf walking on the roof.

The main idea of ​​the fairy tale "Little Muk"

The main idea of ​​the fairy tale is that a person cannot be assessed by his external data.

Advantages do not depend on appearance or height and beauty.

What does the work “Little Muk” teach?

The fairy tale teaches us to be kinder and more tolerant of others, not to judge by appearance and not to focus on a person’s shortcomings.

The fairy tale teaches us to treat all people equally.

The fairy tale teaches us not to be greedy, envious and those who strive to collect all the wealth of the world.

A short review of the fairy tale "Little Muk" for the reader's diary

The fairy tale "Little Muk" is an instructive work.

The main character is a boy with an ugly appearance, but a kind heart and ingenuity.

They didn’t like Muk and everyone drove him away, calling him a freak.

But the young man steadfastly endured all the words addressed to him.

He managed to prove that beauty is not the main thing, but the main thing is intelligence, resourcefulness and ingenuity.

I believe that Muk, although a strong-willed dwarf, was still vindictive.

He wanted to take revenge on his offenders and left them with donkey ears.

On the one hand, he did the right thing and punished those who thought too highly of themselves.

But on the other hand, he should have forgiven the King and his courtiers and moved on with his life.

I think that the fate of the main character was extremely sad.

But I’m glad that Muk didn’t put up with it, but continued to surprise everyone and do good.

The fairy tale taught me that we shouldn’t worry about how we differ from others and not dwell on our flaws.

What proverbs fit the fairy tale "Little Muk"

“He is not good who has a handsome face, but he is good who is good in action.”

“When you achieve success, don’t cackle about it.”

“Whoever wants it badly will certainly take it.”

"The soap is gray, but the wash is white."

“The face is bad, but the soul is good.”

The excerpt from the work that struck me most:

Muk went up the stairs and saw that old woman screaming from the window.

What do you need? - the old woman asked angrily.

“You called for dinner,” said Muk, “and I’m very hungry.” So I came.

The old woman laughed loudly and said:

Where did you come from, boy?

Everyone in town knows that I cook dinner just for my cute cats.

And so that they don’t get bored, I invite neighbors to join them.

Unknown words and their meanings:

Honorable - respected.

A mirage is a deceptive ghost of something.

The treasury is state property.

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Fairy tale Little Muk

Wilhelm Hauff

Fairy tale Little Muk summary:

The fairy tale “Little Muk” is about a dwarf man who was born different from everyone else. Everyone around him mocked and laughed at him. Little Muk was left an orphan early on, and his relatives kicked him out of the house. In search of food, he gets a job in the house of the old woman Akhavzi-khanum, who loves cats. When he ran away from her, he had magical things in his hands: shoes and a cane.

Unusual adventures happened to him. Muk was a walker in the king's service. He was quick-witted, resourceful, quick-witted, punished the king and his retinue for insults, and managed to achieve success.

The fairy tale teaches us that money doesn’t buy happiness and that you shouldn’t laugh at people if they don’t have the same appearance as everyone else.

Fairy tale Little Muk read:

In my hometown of Nicaea, there lived a man nicknamed Little Muk. The father of Little Muk, whose real name is Mukra, was a respectable man in Nicea, although poor.

He lived almost as secluded as his son does now. He did not like this son, ashamed of his small stature, and did not give him any education.

At the age of sixteen, Little Muk was still a playful child, and his father, a positive man, always reproached him for the fact that he had long since left infancy, and yet was stupid and foolish, like a child.

One day the old man fell, was badly hurt and died, leaving Little Muk in poverty and ignorance. The cruel relatives, to whom the deceased owed more than he could pay, kicked the poor thing out of the house, advising him to go seek his fortune around the world.

Little Muk replied that he was already getting ready to set off, and asked only to give him his father’s clothes, which was done. But the clothes of his father, a thick-set and tall man, did not fit him.

However, Muk, without thinking twice, cut off what was long and dressed up in his father’s dress. But he, apparently, forgot that he should also cut down in width, and this is where his extraordinary outfit came from, in which he flaunts to this day:

a large turban, a wide belt, fluffy trousers, a blue robe - all this is his father’s inheritance, which he has been wearing ever since. Having tucked his father's Damascus dagger into his belt and taking his staff, he set off on his way.

He walked briskly all day - after all, he went to seek happiness. Noticing a shard shining in the sun, he must have picked it up in the hope that it would turn into a diamond; seeing in the distance the dome of the mosque, shining like a glow, seeing the lake,

sparkling like a mirror, he joyfully hurried there, for he thought that he had found himself in a magical land.

But alas! Those mirages disappeared close by, and fatigue and the hungry rumbling in his stomach immediately reminded him that he was still in the land of mortals.

So he walked for two days, tormented by hunger and grief, and already despaired of finding happiness; cereals served him as his only food, bare earth as his bed.

On the morning of the third day he saw from the hill Big city. The crescent moon shone brightly on its roofs, colorful flags fluttered over the houses and seemed to beckon Little Muk to them. He froze in amazement, looking around the city and the entire area.

“Yes, little Muk will find her happiness there! - he said to himself and even jumped, despite his fatigue. - There or nowhere"

He gathered his strength and walked towards the city. But although the distance seemed very small, he reached there only at noon, for his small legs refused to serve, and more than once he had to sit down in the shade of a palm tree and rest.

Finally he found himself at the city gates. He pulled on his robe, tied his turban more beautifully, straightened his belt even wider and thrust the dagger into it even more at random, then brushed the dust off his shoes, grabbed the staff and bravely passed the gate.

He had already walked several streets, but no door opened anywhere, no one shouted from anywhere, as he expected: “Little Muk, come in here, eat, drink and rest.”

As soon as he looked longingly at one large beautiful house, a window opened there, an old woman looked out of it and shouted in a sing-song voice:

Here, here! The food is ripe for everyone,
The table has long been set,
Whoever comes will be full.

Neighbors, everyone is here,
Your food is ripe!

The doors of the house opened, and Muk saw many dogs and cats running in. He stood, not knowing whether to accept the invitation, but then he gathered his courage and entered the house.

Two cats were walking ahead, and he decided to follow them, because they probably knew the way to the kitchen better than he did.

When Muk climbed the stairs, he came across the old woman who was looking out the window. She looked at him angrily and asked what he wanted.

“You invited everyone to come and eat,” answered Little Muk, “and I’m very hungry, so I decided to come too.”

The old woman laughed and said:

Where did you come from, weirdo? The whole city knows that I cook only for my cute cats, and sometimes I invite them for the company of neighboring animals, as you yourself have seen.

Little Mook told the old lady how hard it was for him after his father's death, and asked her to let him have lunch with her cats once.

The old woman, softened by his sincere story, allowed him to stay with her and generously fed and watered him.

When he was full and refreshed, the old woman looked at him carefully and then said:

Little Muk, stay in my service, you will have to work a little, but you will live well.

Little Muk liked cat stew, so he agreed and became Mrs. Agavtsi’s servant. His work was not difficult, but strange.

Mrs. Agavtsi kept two cats and four female cats; Little Muk had to comb and anoint their fur with precious ointments every morning;

when the old woman left the house, he pleased the cats while they were eating, put bowls in front of them, and at night he laid them on silk pillows and covered them with velvet blankets.

In addition, there were several dogs in the house, which he was also ordered to look after, although they were not coddled as much as the cats, which for Mrs. Agavtsi were like their own children.

Here Muk led the same secluded life as in his father’s house, because, apart from the old woman, he saw only cats and dogs all day long.

For some time Muku lived well: he always had plenty to eat and not much work to do, and the old woman seemed happy with him; but little by little the cats became spoiled:

when the old woman left, they rushed around the rooms like mad, knocking over everything and breaking expensive dishes that came across them on the way.

But, hearing the old woman’s steps on the stairs, they huddled in their beds and, as if nothing had happened, wagged their tails towards her.

Finding her rooms in disarray, the old woman became angry and blamed everything on Muk; and no matter how he made excuses, she believed more in the innocent appearance of her cats than in the speeches of the servant.

One morning, when Mrs. Agavtsi left the house, one of the dogs, for whom the old woman was a real stepmother and who had become attached to Muk for his affectionate treatment, pulled him by the fold of his trousers, as if indicating to him that he should follow her.

Mook, who eagerly played with the dogs, followed her, and - what do you think? - the dog led him to Mrs. Agavtsi’s bedroom, straight to the door, which he had not noticed until now.

The door was half open. The dog entered there, Muk followed - and what was his joy when he saw that he was in the room where he had been striving for so long!

He began to rummage around in search of money, but found nothing. The whole room was full of old clothes and oddly shaped vessels. One of these vessels especially attracted his attention: it was made of cut crystal, with a beautiful design.

Muk took it and began to turn it in all directions; but - oh horror! - he did not notice that there was a lid that was holding on very weakly: the lid fell and broke into pieces.

Little Muk was numb with fear - now his fate was being decided by itself, now he had to run, otherwise the old woman would beat him to death.

He made up his mind instantly, but before leaving, he looked again to see if any of Mrs. Agavtsi’s goods would be useful for his journey.

Then a pair of huge shoes caught his eye; True, they were not beautiful, but his old ones would no longer withstand the journey, and besides, these attracted him with their size; because when he puts them on, everyone will see that he has long been out of diapers.

So, he hastily kicked off his slippers and stepped into new ones. It seemed to him that the stick with the beautifully carved lion’s head was wasted in the corner, he grabbed it too and hurried out of the room.

He noticed that the situation with the shoes was unclean: they rushed forward and carried him along with them. He tried his best to stop, but in vain.

Then in despair he shouted to himself, as one shouts to horses: “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” And the shoes stopped, and Muk fell to the ground exhausted.

He was delighted with the shoes; This means that he still acquired something for his service with which it will be easier for him to seek happiness in the world.

Despite his joy, he fell asleep from exhaustion, for Little Muk’s body, which had to carry such a heavy head, was not one of endurance.

In a dream, a dog appeared to him, who helped him get shoes in the house of Mrs. Agavtsi, and made the following speech:

“Dear Muk, you have not yet learned how to handle shoes; know that, having put them on and turning over three times on your heel, you will fly wherever you want, and the wand will help you find treasures, for where gold is buried, it will knock on the ground three times, where silver - twice.”

This is what Little Muk saw in his dream.

Waking up, he remembered a wonderful dream and decided to make an experiment. He put on his shoes, raised one foot and began to spin on his heel; but anyone who has tried to perform a similar trick three times in a row in excessively large shoes will not be surprised,

that Little Muk did not succeed immediately, especially if we take into account that his heavy head weighed him on one side or the other.

“Perhaps my shoes will help me feed myself,” he thought and decided to hire himself as a walker. But such service is probably best paid by the king, and so he went to look for the palace.

There were guards at the palace gates who asked him what he wanted here.

When he replied that he was looking for service, he was sent to the slave master. He expressed to him his request to arrange him as a royal messenger.

The overseer looked him up and down and said:

How did you decide to become a royal walker when your legs are no more than a span? Get out quickly, I don’t have time to joke around with every fool.

But Little Muk began to swear that he was not joking and was ready to argue with any walker. The overseer found that such a proposal would amuse at least anyone;

he ordered Muk to prepare for the competition before evening, took him to the kitchen and ordered that he be properly fed and watered; he himself went to the king and told him about little man and his bragging.

The king was a merry fellow by nature, so he was very pleased that the overseer left Little Muk for fun.

He ordered everything in the large meadow behind the royal castle to be arranged so that the court could conveniently follow the race, and he ordered that special care be taken for the dwarf.

The king told his princes and princesses what entertainment awaited them in the evening; they told their servants about this, and when evening came, the impatient expectation became general - everyone who was carried by their feet rushed to the meadow,

where platforms were built, from where the court could follow the run of the boastful dwarf.

When the king and his sons and daughters were seated on the platform, Little Muk stepped out into the middle of the meadow and made a most graceful bow to the noble company.

Cheerful exclamations greeted the baby - no one had ever seen such a freak. A body with a huge head, a robe and fluffy trousers, a long dagger behind a wide belt, small legs in huge shoes - really, at the sight of such a comical figure one could not help but laugh.

But the laughter did not bother Little Muk. He poised himself, leaning on his stick, and waited for the enemy. At the insistence of Muk himself, the slave overseer chose the best walker. He also stepped forward, approached the baby, and both began to wait for a sign.

Then Princess Amarza, as agreed, waved the veil, and like two arrows shot at the same target, the runners rushed across the meadow.

At first, Muk’s opponent was noticeably ahead, but the kid rushed after him on his self-propelled shoes, caught up with him, got ahead of him, and had long since reached his goal when he ran up, barely catching his breath.

The spectators froze for a moment in amazement and surprise, but when the king first clapped his hands, the crowd burst into enthusiastic cries: “Long live Little Muk, winner of the competition!”

Little Muk was brought to the platform, he threw himself at the king’s feet with the words:

Great sir, I have now shown you only a modest example of my art. Deign to command that I be accepted as one of your messengers.

To this the king objected to him:

No, you will be a messenger personally in front of me, dear Muk, you will receive a salary of one hundred gold pieces a year, and you will eat at the same table with my first servants.

But the king’s other servants did not have any kindness towards him: they could not bear the fact that an insignificant dwarf, who only knew how to run fast, took first place in the sovereign’s favours.

They launched all sorts of intrigues against him in order to destroy him, but everything was powerless against the unlimited trust that the king had in his secret chief life courier (for he achieved such ranks in a short time).

Muk, from whom all these intricacies were not hidden, was not thinking about revenge - he was too kind for that - no, he was thinking about means to earn the gratitude and love of his enemies.

Then he remembered his wand, which luck had made him forget about. If he managed to find the treasure, he decided, all these servants would immediately become more favorable to him.

He had heard more than once that the father of the present king buried many of his treasures when his country was attacked by an enemy; According to rumors, he died before he could reveal his secret to his son.

From now on, Muk always took a wand with him in the hope that he would happen to pass through the places where the money of the late king was buried.

One evening he accidentally wandered into a remote part of the palace park, where he had rarely been before, and suddenly felt that the wand trembled in his hand and hit the ground three times. He immediately realized what this meant.

He pulled a dagger from his belt, made notches in nearby trees and hurried back to the palace; there he got himself a shovel and waited until nightfall to get down to business.

Getting to the treasure turned out to be more difficult than he thought. His arms were weak, and his shovel was large and heavy. In two hours he dug a hole no more than two feet deep.

Finally he came across something hard that rang like iron. He began to dig even harder and soon got to the bottom of a large iron lid.

He climbed into the hole to see what was under the lid, and in fact discovered a pot full of gold coins.

But he didn’t have the strength to lift the pot, and so he stuffed as many coins into his trousers and into his belt as he could carry, also filled his robe and, carefully covering the rest, he put the robe on his back.

If he hadn’t been wearing his shoes, he would never have moved from his place - the gold weighed so heavily on his shoulders. However, he still managed to sneak into his room unnoticed and hide the gold under the sofa cushions.

Finding himself the owner of such wealth, Little Muk decided that from now on everything would go differently and that now many of his enemies from among the courtiers would become his zealous defenders and patrons.

From this alone it is clear that good-natured Muk did not receive a thorough education, otherwise he would not have been able to imagine that true friends are acquired with money. Oh! Why didn’t he then put on his shoes and fly away, taking a robe filled with gold!

The gold, which Muk was now distributing by the handful, was not slow to arouse the envy of the rest of the courtiers.

The head cook, Auli, said: “He is a counterfeiter”; the overseer of the slaves, Ahmet, said: “He begged gold from the king”; Treasurer Arkhaz, his worst enemy, who himself from time to time put his hand into the royal treasury, said bluntly: “He stole it.”

They agreed on how best to conduct the matter, and then one day the handsome Korkhuz appeared before the royal eyes with a sad and despondent appearance. He tried in every possible way to show his sadness: in the end the king actually asked him what was wrong with him.

Alas! - he answered. “I am saddened that I have lost the favor of my lord.” “Why are you talking nonsense, my dear Korkhuz,” the king objected to him, “since when did the sun of my mercy turn away from you?”

Kravchiy replied that he showered the chief life courier with gold, but gave nothing to his faithful and poor servants.

The king was very surprised by this news; he listened to the story of Little Muk's bounty; Along the way, the conspirators easily instilled in him the suspicion that Muk had somehow stolen money from the royal treasury.

This turn of affairs was especially pleasant for the treasurer, who generally did not like to report.

Then the king ordered to watch Little Muk's every step and try to capture him red-handed. And when, on the night after this ill-fated day, Little Muk, having exhausted his reserves with excessive generosity, took a shovel and crept into the palace park,

in order to obtain new funds from his secret storage, he was followed at a distance by guards under the command of the chief cook Auli and the treasurer Arkhaz, and at the moment when he was about to transfer the gold from the pot to the robe, they pounced on him, tied him up and led him to to the king.

The king was no longer in a good mood because he had been awakened; He received his ill-fated secret chief courier very unmercifully and immediately began an investigation.

The pot was finally dug out of the ground and, together with a shovel and a robe filled with gold, was brought to the feet of the king. The treasurer testified that he, with the help of the guards, covered Muk just as he was burying a pot of gold in the ground.

Then the king asked the accused whether this was true and where he got the gold that he was burying.

Little Mook, in full consciousness of his innocence, testified that he had found the pot in the garden and that he had dug it up and not buried it.

Everyone present greeted this justification with laughter. The king, extremely angry at the dwarf’s supposed deceit, shouted:

Do you still dare, scoundrel, to deceive your king so stupidly and vilely after you robbed him?! Treasurer Arkhaz! I command you to tell me - do you recognize this amount of gold as equal to what is missing in my treasury?

And the treasurer replied that for him there was no doubt; For some time now, even more has been missing from the royal treasury, and he is ready to swear that this is precisely the stolen gold.

Then the king ordered Little Muk to be chained and taken to the tower, and gave the gold to the treasurer so that he would take it back to the treasury.

Rejoicing at the happy outcome of the matter, the treasurer went home and there began to count the shiny coins. But the villain hid that at the bottom of the pot there was a note that read: “The enemy has invaded my country, and therefore I am hiding part of my treasures here.

Whoever finds them and does not hand them over to my son without delay, may the curse of his sovereign fall on his head. King Sadi."

In his dungeon, Little Muk indulged in sad thoughts. He knew that theft of royal property was punishable by death, and yet he did not want to reveal the secret of the magic wand to the king, for he was rightly afraid that both it and his shoes would be taken away from him.

The shoes, unfortunately, also could not help him out - after all, he was chained to the wall, and no matter how he struggled, he still could not turn on his heel.

But after the death sentence was announced to him the next day, he decided that it was still better to live without a magic wand than to die with it.

He asked the king to listen to him face to face and revealed his secret to him.

At first the king did not believe his confession, but Little Muk promised to do the experiment if the king promised to spare his life. The king gave him his word and ordered, without Muk’s knowledge, to bury some gold in the ground, and then ordered him to take a stick and look for it.

He instantly found the gold, for the stick clearly struck the ground three times.

Then the king realized that the treasurer had deceived him, and, according to the custom of eastern countries, sent him a silk cord so that he could hang himself.

And the king announced to Little Muk:

One night in the tower was enough for Little Muk, and therefore he admitted that all his art was hidden in the shoes, but hid from the king how to handle them.

The king himself got into his shoes, wanting to do the experiment, and rushed around the garden like a madman. At times he tried to rest, but did not know how to stop the shoes, and Little Mook, out of gloating, did not help him until he was about to faint.

The King, having come to his senses, vomited and threw at Little Mook, because of whom he had to run until he was unconscious.

I gave my word to grant you life and freedom, but if within two days you are not outside my country, I will order you to be strung up. - And he ordered the shoes and wand to be taken to his treasury.

Poorer than before, Little Muk wandered away, cursing his stupidity, which inspired him to believe that he could become a person at court.

The country from which he was expelled, fortunately, was not large, and after eight hours he found himself at its border, although it was not easy to walk without his usual shoes.

Finding himself outside that country, he turned off the high road to go deeper into the wilderness and live in complete solitude, for people were disgusted with him. In the thicket of the forest, he came across a place that seemed suitable for his intended purpose.

A bright stream, shaded by large fig trees, and soft grass beckoned him to them. Then he sank to the ground, deciding not to eat and wait for death.

Sad thoughts about death put him to sleep; and when he woke up, tormented by hunger, he decided that starvation was a dangerous thing, and began to look for something to eat.

Wonderful ripe figs hung on the tree under which he fell asleep. He climbed up, picked a few pieces, feasted on them and went to the stream to quench his thirst.

But what was his horror when he saw his own reflection in the water, adorned with long ears and a fleshy long nose!

In confusion, he grabbed his ears with his hands, and in fact, they turned out to be half an elbow long.

“I deserve donkey ears,” he cried, “for trampling on my happiness like a donkey!”

He began to wander through the forest, and when he became hungry again, he once again had to resort to figs, because there was nothing else edible on the trees.

While devouring his second helping of figs, he decided to hide his ears under his turban so as not to seem so funny, and suddenly he felt that his ears were getting smaller.

He instantly rushed to the stream to make sure of this, and in fact - the ears became the same, and the ugly, long nose disappeared.

Then he realized how it happened: from the fruits of the first fig tree he grew long ears and an ugly nose, and by eating the fruits of the second, he got rid of the misfortune.

He joyfully realized that merciful fate was again putting into his hands the means to become happy. Having picked as many fruits from each tree as he could carry, he set off for the country he had recently left.

In the first town he changed into a different dress, so that he became unrecognizable, and then went further to the city where the king lived, and soon arrived there.

It was the time of year when ripe fruits were still quite rare, and therefore Little Muk sat down at the gates of the palace, remembering from earlier times that the chief cook came here to buy rare delicacies for the royal table.

Before Muk had time to settle down, he saw that the chief cook was walking across the yard to the gate. He looked at the goods of the peddlers gathered at the gates of the palace, and suddenly his gaze fell on Muk’s basket.

Wow! A tasty dish,” he said. - His Majesty will certainly like it. How much do you want for the whole basket?

Little Muk set a low price, and the auction took place. The head cook gave the basket to one of the slaves and moved on, and Little Muk hurried to sneak away, fearing that he would be caught and punished for selling the fruit if trouble befell the ears and noses of the royal court.

During the meal, the king was in an excellent mood and more than once began to praise the chief cook for the delicious table and for the diligence with which he always tries to get exquisite dishes.

And the chief cook, remembering what tasty morsel he had in stock, grinned touchingly and only briefly said: “The end of the matter is the crown” or “These are the flowers, and the berries are ahead,” so that the princesses were burning with curiosity about what else he would treat them with .

When the magnificent, seductive figs were served, an enthusiastic “Ah!” burst out from all those present.

How ripe! How delicious! - cried the king. - You're really good, chief cook, you deserve our highest favor.

Having said this, the king, who is very thrifty with regard to such delicacies, personally distributed figs to those present.

The princes and princesses received two pieces each, the ladies of the court, viziers and agis - one each, the king pulled the rest towards him and began to gobble them up with the greatest pleasure.

God, what a strange look you have, Dad! - Princess Amarza suddenly cried out.

Everyone turned their surprised glances to the king: huge ears stuck out on both sides of his head, and his long nose hung down to his chin.

Then those present began to look at each other with amazement and horror - all their heads turned out to be, to a greater or lesser extent, decorated with the same strange headdress.

It is easy to imagine the turmoil of the court! Messengers were immediately sent out to find all the doctors in the city. They came in a crowd, prescribed pills and mixtures, but the ears and noses remained as they were. One of the princes had surgery, but his ears grew back.

The whole story reached the shelter where Muk took refuge. He realized that the time had come to act.

With the proceeds from the sale of figs, he stocked up in advance on clothes in which he could pass himself off as a scientist; a long goat hair beard completed the masquerade.

Taking a bag of figs, he headed to the palace, identified himself as a foreign doctor and offered his help.

At first they were very distrustful of him, but when Little Muk fed one of the princes figs and thereby returned his ears and nose to their previous size, everyone vying with each other rushed to the foreign doctor for healing.

But the king silently took him by the hand and led him to his bedchamber. There he unlocked the door leading to the treasury and called Muk with a nod.

“Here are all my treasures,” said the king. “You will get everything you want if you save me from this shameful misfortune.”

These words sounded sweeter than any music in the ears of Little Mook. From the threshold he saw his shoes, and next to them lay a wand.

He began to wander around the room, as if marveling at the king's treasures, but when he reached his shoes, he hastily slipped into them, grabbed his wand, tore off his false beard and appeared before the astonished king in the guise of an old acquaintance - the poor exile Muk.

“Treacherous king,” he said, “you pay with ingratitude for your faithful service.” May the ugliness that has afflicted you be your well-deserved punishment. I leave you long ears so that they remind you of Little Muk day after day.

Having said this, he quickly turned over on his heel, wished to find himself somewhere far away, and before the king had time to call for help, Little Muk disappeared.

Since then, Little Muk has lived here in complete prosperity, but completely alone, because he despises people. Life experience made him a sage who deserves respect.

The fairy tale Little Muk tells readers about a proud little man who had to endure a lot of ridicule because of his appearance, about running boots and a magic cane. The story is designed for children 10-12 years old. Be sure to read the fairy tale online and discuss it with your child.

Fairy tale Little Muk read

The story of Little Mook is told by a grown man who, as a boy, was the biggest nuisance to the poor tiny old man. After his father gave him a good beating and told him about the life of Little Mook, the boy began to respect the old man. Born a dwarf, Mukra annoyed his father. Then the father stopped paying attention to his son. The boy's relatives did not take care of him after his father's death. The guy went to wander around the world. A compassionate old woman who fed cats and dogs from all over the area took in Muk. But her charges behaved outrageously in the absence of their mistress, and Muk got the punishment for their mischief. The old woman did not pay the servant's salary. One day the guy ran away. He put on the old ugly shoes of the mistress, because his shoes were worn out, and grabbed her cane. The shoes carried the dwarf forward at great speed. It turned out that these things are magical. After some thought, Muk hired himself as a walker to the king. The guy’s appearance puzzled everyone, but he served the ruler faithfully, and the king began to give him the most important assignments. Out of envy, the other servants wanted to harm Muk. He tried to appease them by giving them gold, which his magic cane produced. The king was informed that his favorite walker was stealing gold from the royal treasury. The king believed him and ordered Muk to be imprisoned. The poor fellow had to reveal the whole truth to the king. The king took the magic items and drove the walker away. Hungry Muk ate the fruits of a strange tree, from which he grew donkey ears. Then he safely got rid of them by trying the fruits of another tree. He decided to take revenge on the ruler. For his treachery and greed, the king received donkey ears forever, and Little Muk returned to hometown. You can read the fairy tale online on our website.

Analysis of the fairy tale Little Muk

Wilhelm Hauff shows many complex facets of human life in a difficult fairy tale: the humiliation of a person with physical disabilities, human dignity, the ability to find a way out difficult situation, envy, cruelty, mercy, justice, loneliness. What does the fairy tale Little Muk teach? The fairy tale teaches us to deal with difficulties, resist evil, have self-esteem and treat people with respect.

Moral of the story Little Muk

You can’t judge a person by his appearance, much less offend people with physical disabilities - that’s the main idea fairy tales. Often, for the purpose of self-affirmation, people choose as targets for ridicule their comrades who do not correspond to the general template (flaws in appearance, unfashionable clothing, shyness, speech impediments). Teenagers treat “non-standard” people with particular cruelty. Children need to be explained that each person is an individual, so they need to be tolerant, show mercy and kindness.

Proverbs, sayings and fairy tale expressions

  • Small but remote.
  • What goes around comes around.
  • Judge not by appearance, but by deeds.

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Little Muck - Wilhelm Hauff

The fairy tale tells about the life and adventures of a dwarf - a man with a small stature and a large head. Everyone called him Little Mook. He was left an orphan early and his relatives drove him out of the house. Little Muk sets off around the world in search of housing and food. He first gets to the old woman who fed all the cats and dogs in the city. When he escaped from the old woman, he found magical things in his hands: shoes and a cane. Thanks to the running shoes, Little Mook serves as a messenger for the king. Unusual adventures happen to him. Intelligence, courage and resourcefulness help him punish the king and retinue for insults and achieve success...

Little Muk read

In the city of Nicaea, in my homeland, there lived a man whose name was Little Muk. Although I was a boy then, I remember him very well, especially since my father once gave me a healthy beating because of him. At that time, Little Muk was already an old man, but he was tiny in stature. His appearance was quite funny: a huge head stuck out on his small, skinny body, much larger than that of other people.
Little Muk lived in a big old house all alone. He even cooked his own lunch. Every afternoon thick smoke appeared over his house: without this, the neighbors would not know whether the dwarf was alive or dead. Little Muk went outside only once a month - every first day. But in the evenings people often saw Little Mook walking on the flat roof of his house. From below, it seemed as if one huge head was moving back and forth across the roof.

My comrades and I were angry boys and loved to tease passers-by. When Little Mook left the house, it was a real holiday for us. On this day, we gathered in a crowd in front of his house and waited for him to come out. The door opened carefully. A large head in a huge turban protruded from it. The head was followed by the whole body in an old, faded robe and loose trousers. At the wide belt hung a dagger, so long that it was difficult to tell whether the dagger was attached to Muk or Muk was attached to the dagger.


When Muk finally came out into the street, we greeted him with joyful cries and danced around him like crazy people. Muk nodded his head at us with importance and walked slowly down the street, his shoes slapping. His shoes were absolutely huge - no one had ever seen anything like them before. And we boys ran after him and shouted: “Little Muk! Little Muck!" We even composed this song about him:

Little Mook, little Mook,

You yourself are small, and the house is a cliff;

You blow your nose once a month.

You're a good little dwarf

The head is a little large

Take a quick look around

And catch us, little Mook!

We often made fun of the poor dwarf, and I have to admit, although I am ashamed, that I offended him more than anyone else. I always tried to grab Muk by the hem of his robe, and once I even deliberately stepped on his shoe so that the poor fellow fell. This seemed very funny to me, but I immediately lost the desire to laugh when I saw that Little Muk, with difficulty getting up, went straight to my father’s house. He didn't leave there for a long time. I hid behind the door and eagerly awaited what would happen next.

Finally the door opened and the dwarf came out. His father walked him to the threshold, respectfully supporting him by the arm, and bowed low to him in farewell. I did not feel very pleasant and for a long time did not dare to return home. Finally, hunger overcame my fear, and I timidly slipped through the door, not daring to raise my head.

“You, I heard, offend Little Muk,” my father told me sternly. “I’ll tell you his adventures, and you probably won’t laugh at the poor dwarf anymore.” But first you will get what you are entitled to.

And for such things I was entitled to a good spanking. After counting out the number of spanks, the father said:

Now listen carefully.

And he told me the story of Little Mook.

Father Muk (in fact, his name was not Muk, but Mukra) lived in Nicaea and was a respectable man, but not rich. Just like Muk, he always stayed at home and rarely went out. He really didn’t like Muk because he was a dwarf and didn’t teach him anything.

“You’ve been wearing out your children’s shoes for a long time,” he said to the dwarf, “but you’re still just being naughty and idle.”

One day, Muk’s father fell in the street and was badly hurt. After this he fell ill and soon died. Little Muk was left alone, penniless. The father's relatives kicked Muk out of the house and said:

Walk around the world, maybe you will find your Happiness.

Muk begged for himself only old trousers and a jacket - all that was left after his father. His father was tall and fat, but the dwarf, without thinking twice, shortened both his jacket and trousers and put them on. True, they were too wide, but the dwarf could not do anything about it. He wrapped a towel around his head instead of a turban, attached a dagger to his belt, took a stick in his hand and walked wherever his eyes led him.


He soon left the city and walked along the high road. He was very tired and hungry. He had no food with him, and he chewed roots that grew in the field. And he had to spend the night right on the bare ground.

On the third day in the morning he saw from the top of a hill a large beautiful city, decorated with flags and banners. Little Muk gathered his last strength and went to this city.

“Maybe I will finally find my happiness there,” he said to himself.

Although it seemed that the city was very close, Muk had to walk the whole morning to get there. It was not until noon that he finally reached the city gates.


The city was all built up with beautiful houses. The wide streets were full of people. Little Muk was very hungry, but no one opened the door for him and invited him to come in and rest.

The dwarf wandered sadly through the streets, barely dragging his feet. He passed by one tall, beautiful house, and suddenly a window in this house opened and some old woman, leaning out, shouted:

Here, here -

The food is ready!

The table is set

So that everyone is full.

Neighbors, here -

The food is ready!

And now the doors of the house opened, and dogs and cats began to come in - many, many cats and dogs. Muk thought and thought and also entered. Two kittens entered just before him, and he decided to keep up with them - the kittens probably knew where the kitchen was.

Muk went up the stairs and saw that old woman screaming from the window.

What do you need? - the old woman asked angrily.

“You called for dinner,” said Muk, “and I’m very hungry.” So I came.

The old woman laughed loudly and said:

Where did you come from, boy? Everyone in town knows that I cook dinner just for my cute cats. And so that they don’t get bored, I invite neighbors to join them.

“Feed me at the same time,” Muk asked. He told the old woman how hard it was for him when his father died, and the old woman took pity on him. She fed the dwarf to his fill and, when Little Muk had eaten and rested, she said to him:

You know what, Mook? Stay and serve with me. My work is easy, and your life will be good.

Mook liked the cat's dinner and agreed. Mrs. Ahavzi (that was the old woman's name) had two cats and four female cats. Every morning Muk combed their fur and rubbed it with precious ointments. At dinner he served them food, and in the evening he put them to bed on a soft feather bed and covered them with a velvet blanket.

In addition to the cats, there were four other dogs living in the house. The dwarf also had to look after them, but there was less fuss with dogs than with cats. Mrs. Akhavzi loved cats as if they were her own children.

Little Muk was as bored with the old woman as with his father: he saw no one except cats and dogs.

At first, the dwarf still lived well. There was almost no work, but he was fed well, and the old woman was very pleased with him. But then the cats got spoiled for something. Only the old woman is at the door - they immediately start rushing around the rooms like mad. They will scatter all your things and break expensive dishes. But as soon as they heard Akhavzi’s steps on the stairs, they instantly jumped onto the feather bed, curled up, tucked their tails between their legs and lay as if nothing had happened. And the old woman sees that the room is in chaos, and well, scold Little Muk... Let him justify himself as much as he wants - she trusts her cats more than the servant. It is immediately clear from the cats that they are not to blame for anything.

Poor Muk was very sad and finally decided to leave the old woman. Mrs. Ahavzi promised to pay him a salary, but she still did not pay him.

“When I get her salary,” thought Little Muk, “I’ll leave right away.” If I knew where her money was hidden, I would have taken what I owed long ago.”

In the old woman's house there was a small room that was always locked. Muk was very curious about what was hidden in it. And suddenly it occurred to him that perhaps the old woman’s money lay in this room. He wanted to go there even more.

One morning, when Akhavzi left the house, one of the dogs ran up to Muk and grabbed him by the lapel (the old woman really did not like this little dog, and Muk, on the contrary, often stroked and caressed her). The little dog squealed quietly and pulled the dwarf along with her. She led him to the old woman's bedroom and stopped in front of a small door that Muk had never noticed before.

The dog pushed the door and entered some room; Muk followed her and froze in place in surprise: he found himself in the very room where he had wanted to go for so long.

The whole room was full of old dresses and strange antique dishes. Muk especially liked one jug - crystal, with a gold pattern. He took it in his hands and began to examine it, and suddenly the lid of the jug - Muk did not even notice that the jug had a lid - fell to the floor and broke.

Poor Muk was seriously scared. Now there was no need to reason - he had to run: when the old woman returned and saw that he had broken the lid, she would beat him half to death.

Mook in last time looked around the room, and suddenly he saw shoes in the corner. They were very large and ugly, but his own shoes were completely falling apart. Muk even liked that the shoes were so big - when he put them on, everyone would see that he was no longer a child.

He quickly kicked off his shoes and put on his shoes. Next to the shoes stood a thin cane with a lion's head.

“This cane is still standing here idle,” thought Muk. “I’ll take a cane by the way.”

He grabbed the cane and ran to his room. In one minute he put on his cloak and turban, attached a dagger and rushed down the stairs, hurrying to leave before the old woman returned.

Leaving the house, he started to run and rushed without looking back until he ran out of the city into a field. Here the dwarf decided to rest a little. And suddenly he felt that he could not stop. His legs ran on their own and dragged him, no matter how hard he tried to stop them. He tried to fall and turn around - nothing helped. Finally he realized that it was all about his new shoes. It was they who pushed him forward and did not let him stop.

Muk was completely exhausted and didn’t know what to do. In despair, he waved his hands and shouted like cab drivers shout:

Whoa! Whoa! Stop!

And suddenly the shoes immediately stopped, and the poor dwarf fell to the ground with all his might.

He was so tired that he immediately fell asleep. And he had an amazing dream. He saw in a dream that the little dog that led him to the secret room came up to him and said:

“Dear Muk, you still don’t know what wonderful shoes you have. All you have to do is turn on your heel three times and they will take you wherever you want. And the cane will help you look for treasures. Where the gold is buried, it will knock on the ground three times, and where the silver is buried, it will knock twice.”

When Muk woke up, he immediately wanted to check whether the little dog was telling the truth. He raised his left leg and tried to turn on his right heel, but fell and hit his nose painfully on the ground. He tried again and again and finally learned to spin on one heel and not fall. Then he tightened his belt, quickly turned over three times on one leg and said to the shoes:

Take me to the next city.

And suddenly the shoes lifted him into the air and quickly, like the wind, ran across the clouds. Before Little Muk had time to come to his senses, he found himself in the city, at the market.

He sat down on a rubble near some bench and began to think about how he could get at least some money. True, he had a magic cane, but how would you know where the gold or silver was hidden so that you could go and find it? At worst, he could show himself off for money, but he is too proud for that.

And suddenly Little Muk remembered that he could now run fast.

“Maybe my shoes will bring me income,” he thought. “I’ll try to hire myself as a runner for the king.”

He asked the owner of the shop how to get to the palace, and after about five minutes he was already approaching the palace gates. The gatekeeper asked him what he needed, and, learning that the dwarf wanted to enter the king's service, he took him to the master of the slaves. Muk bowed low to the chief and said to him:

Mister Chief, I can run faster than any fast walker. Take me as a messenger to the king.

The chief looked contemptuously at the dwarf and said with a loud laugh:

Your legs are as thin as sticks, and you want to become a runner! Get out in good health. I wasn’t made a slave leader so that every freak would make fun of me!

“Mr. Chief,” said Little Mook, “I’m not laughing at you.” Let's bet that I will outrun your best walker.

The slave master laughed even louder than before. The dwarf seemed so funny to him that he decided not to drive him away and tell the king about him.

“Okay,” he said, “so be it, I’ll test you.” Get into the kitchen and get ready for the competition. You will be fed and watered there.

Then the master of the slaves went to the king and told him about the strange dwarf. The king wanted to have fun. He praised the master of the slaves for not letting Little Muk go, and ordered him to arrange a competition in the evening in the large meadow, so that all his associates could come to watch.

The princes and princesses heard what an interesting spectacle there would be that evening, and told their servants, who spread the news throughout the palace. And in the evening everyone who had legs came to the meadow to see how this boastful dwarf would run.

When the king and queen sat down in their places, Little Mook went out into the middle of the meadow and made a low bow. Loud laughter was heard from all sides. This dwarf was very funny in his wide trousers and long, very long shoes. But Little Muk was not at all embarrassed. He proudly leaned on his cane, put his hands on his hips and calmly waited for the walker.

Finally the walker appeared. The master of the slaves chose the fastest of the royal runners. After all, Little Muk himself wanted this.

Skorokhod looked contemptuously at Muk and stood next to him, waiting for a sign to begin the competition.

One two Three! - Princess Amarza, the king’s eldest daughter, shouted and waved her handkerchief.

Both runners took off and ran like an arrow. At first the walker slightly overtook the dwarf, but soon Muk overtook him and got ahead of him. He had been standing at the goal for a long time and fanning himself with the end of his turban, but the royal walker was still far away. Finally he reached the end and fell to the ground like a dead man. The king and queen clapped their hands, and all the courtiers shouted in one voice:

Long live the winner - Little Muk! Little Muk was brought to the king. The dwarf bowed low to him and said:

O mighty king! I have now shown you only part of my art! Take me into your service.

“Okay,” said the king. - I appoint you as my personal walker. You will always be with me and carry out my instructions.

Little Muk was very happy - he had finally found his happiness! Now he can live comfortably and peacefully.

The king highly valued Muk and constantly showed him favors. He sent the dwarf with the most important assignments, and no one knew how to carry them out better than Muk. But the rest of the royal servants were unhappy. They really didn’t like that the closest thing to the king was a dwarf who could only run. They kept gossiping about him to the king, but the king did not want to listen to them. He trusted Muk more and more and soon appointed him chief walker.

Little Muk was very upset that the courtiers were so jealous of him. He tried for a long time to come up with something to make them love him. And finally he remembered his cane, which he had completely forgotten about.

“If I manage to find the treasure,” he thought, “these proud gentlemen will probably stop hating me. They say that the old king, the father of the present one, buried great wealth in his garden when enemies approached his city. He, it seems, died without telling anyone where his treasures were buried.”

Little Muk only thought about this. He walked around the garden all day long with a cane in his hands and looked for the old king's gold.

One day he was walking in a remote corner of the garden, and suddenly the cane in his hands trembled and hit the ground three times. Little Muk was shaking all over with excitement. He ran to the gardener and begged him for a large spade, and then returned to the palace and waited for it to get dark. As soon as evening came, the dwarf went into the garden and began to dig in the place where the stick had struck. The spade turned out to be too heavy for the dwarf’s weak hands, and in an hour he dug a hole about half an arshin deep.

Little Muk worked for a long time, and finally his spade hit something hard. The dwarf bent over the pit and felt with his hands some kind of iron lid in the ground. He lifted the lid and was stunned. In the light of the moon, gold sparkled in front of him. In the hole stood a large pot filled to the top with gold coins.

Little Muk wanted to pull the pot out of the hole, but he couldn’t: he didn’t have enough strength. Then he stuffed as many gold pieces as possible into his pockets and belt and slowly returned to the palace. He hid the money in his bed under the feather bed and went to bed happy and happy.

The next morning Little Muk woke up and thought: “Now everything will change and my enemies will love me.”

He began to distribute his gold left and right, but the courtiers only began to envy him even more. Chief cook Ahuli whispered angrily:

Look, Mook is making counterfeit money. Ahmed, the leader of the slaves, said:

He begged them from the king.

And the treasurer Arkhaz, the most evil enemy of the dwarf, who had long secretly put his hand into the royal treasury, shouted to the whole palace:

The dwarf stole gold from the royal treasury! In order to find out for sure where Muk got the money, his enemies conspired among themselves and came up with such a plan.

The king had one favorite servant, Korhuz. He always served the king food and poured wine into his cup. And then one day this Korkhuz came to the king sad and sorrowful. The king immediately noticed this and asked:

What's wrong with you today, Korhuz? Why are you so sad?

“I am sad because the king deprived me of his favor,” answered Korhuz.

What are you talking about, my good Korkhuz! - said the king. - Since when did I deprive you of my grace?

Since then, Your Majesty, how your main walker came to you,” answered Korkhuz. “You shower him with gold, but give us, your faithful servants, nothing.”

And he told the king that Little Muk had a lot of gold from somewhere and that the dwarf was distributing money to all the courtiers without counting. The king was very surprised and ordered to call Arkhaz, his treasurer, and Ahmed, the chief of the slaves. They confirmed that Korhuz was telling the truth. Then the king ordered his detectives to slowly follow and find out where the dwarf gets the money from.

Unfortunately, Little Muk ran out of all his gold on that day, and he decided to go to his Treasury. He took a spade and went into the garden. The detectives, of course, followed him, Korkhuz and Arkhaz too. At that very moment, when Little Muk put on a robe full of gold and wanted to go back, they rushed at him, tied his hands and led him to the king.

And this king really didn’t like being woken up in the middle of the night. He met his chief walker angry and dissatisfied and asked the detectives:

Where did you catch this dishonest dwarf? “Your Majesty,” said Arkhaz, “we caught him just at that moment when he was burying this gold in the ground.”

Are they telling the truth? - asked the king of the dwarf. - Where do you get so much money?


“My dear king,” the dwarf answered innocently, “I am not guilty of anything.” When your people grabbed me and tied my hands, I did not bury this gold in a hole, but, on the contrary, took it out from there.

The king decided that Little Muk was lying and became terribly angry.

Unhappy! - he shouted. - First you robbed me, and now you want to deceive me with such a stupid lie! Treasurer! Is it true that there is just as much gold here as is missing from my treasury?

“Your treasury, dear king, lacks much more,” answered the treasurer. “I could swear that this gold was stolen from the royal treasury.”

Put the dwarf in iron chains and put him in a tower! - the king shouted. - And you, treasurer, go to the garden, take all the gold that you find in the hole, and put it back into the treasury.

The treasurer carried out the king's orders and brought the pot of gold to the treasury. He began to count the shiny coins and pour them into bags. Finally there was nothing left in the pot. The treasurer looked into the pot for the last time and saw at the bottom a piece of paper on which was written:

ENEMIES ATTACKED MY COUNTRY. I BURIED PART OF MY TREASURES IN THIS PLACE. LET ANYONE WHO FINDS THIS GOLD KNOW THAT IF HE DOES NOT GIVE IT TO MY SON NOW, HE WILL LOSE THE FACE OF HIS KING.

KING SADI

The cunning treasurer tore the piece of paper and decided not to tell anyone about it.

And Little Muk sat in a high palace tower and thought about how to escape. He knew that he should be executed for stealing the royal money, but he still didn’t want to tell the king about the magic cane: after all, the king would immediately take it away, and with it, perhaps, the shoes. The dwarf still had the shoes on his feet, but they were of no use - Little Muk was chained to the wall with a short iron chain and could not turn on his heel.

In the morning, the executioner came to the tower and ordered the dwarf to prepare for execution. Little Muk realized that there was nothing to think about - he had to reveal his secret to the king. After all, it’s still better to live without a magic wand and even without walking shoes than to die on the chopping block.

He asked the king to listen to him in private and told him everything. The king did not believe it at first and decided that the dwarf had made it all up.

Your Majesty,” Little Muk said then, “promise me mercy, and I will prove to you that I am telling the truth.”

The king was interested in checking whether Muk was deceiving him or not. He ordered several gold coins to be quietly buried in his garden and ordered Muk to find them. The dwarf didn't have to search long. As soon as he reached the place where the gold was buried, the stick hit the ground three times. The king realized that the treasurer had told him a lie and ordered him to be executed instead of Muk. And he called the dwarf to him and said:

I promised not to kill you and I will keep my word. But you probably didn’t reveal all your secrets to me. You will sit in the tower until you tell me why you run so fast.

The poor dwarf really did not want to return to the dark, cold tower. He told the king about his wonderful shoes, but he did not tell the most important thing - how to stop them. The king decided to test these shoes himself. He put them on, went out into the garden and rushed along the path like mad.

Soon he wanted to stop, but that was not the case. In vain he grabbed the bushes and trees - the shoes kept dragging him forward. And the dwarf stood and chuckled. He was very pleased to take at least a little revenge on this cruel king. Finally the king became exhausted and fell to the ground.

Having come to his senses a little, he, beside himself with rage, attacked the dwarf.

So this is how you treat your king! - he shouted. “I promised you life and freedom, but if you are still on my land in twelve hours, I will catch you, and then do not count on mercy.” I'll take the shoes and cane for myself.

The poor dwarf had no choice but to quickly get out of the palace. He trudged sadly through the city. He was as poor and unhappy as before, and bitterly cursed his fate...

The country of this king, fortunately, was not very large, so after eight hours the dwarf reached the border. Now he was safe, and he wanted to rest. He turned off the road and entered the forest. There he found a good place near a pond, under dense trees, and lay down on the grass.

Little Muk was so tired that he fell asleep almost immediately. He slept for a very long time and when he woke up, he felt that he was hungry. Above his head, on the trees, hung wine berries - ripe, fleshy, juicy. The dwarf climbed the tree, picked a few berries and ate them with pleasure. Then he got thirsty. He approached the pond, bent over the water and became completely cold: a huge head with donkey ears and a long, very long nose looked at him from the water.

Little Muk grabbed his ears in horror. They really were long, like a donkey's.

That's what I need! - poor Muk shouted. “I had my happiness in my hands, and like a donkey, I ruined it.”

He walked under the trees for a long time, feeling his ears all the time, and finally he became hungry again. I had to start working on the wine berries again. After all, there was nothing else to eat.

Having eaten his fill, Little Muk, out of habit, raised his hands to his head and cried out joyfully: instead of long ears, he again had his own ears. He immediately ran to the pond and looked into the water. His nose also became the same as before.

“How could this happen?” - thought the dwarf. And suddenly he immediately understood everything: the first tree from which he ate berries gave him donkey ears, and from the berries of the second they disappeared.

Little Muk instantly realized how lucky he was again. He picked as many berries as he could carry from both trees and went back to the country of the cruel king. It was spring at that time, and berries were considered rare.

Returning to the city where the king lived, Little Muk changed his clothes so that no one could recognize him, filled a whole basket with berries from the first tree and went to the royal palace. It was morning, and in front of the palace gates there were many merchant women with all sorts of supplies. Muk also sat down next to them. Soon the chief cook came out of the palace and began to walk around the merchants and inspect their goods. Having reached Little Muk, the cook saw the wine berries and was very happy.


Aha,” he said, “this is a suitable delicacy for a king!” How much do you want for the whole cart?

Little Muk did not take any price, and the chief cook took the basket of berries and left. As soon as he managed to put the berries on the dish, the king demanded breakfast. He ate with great pleasure and praised his cook every now and then. And the cook just chuckled into his beard and said:

Wait, Your Majesty, the most delicious dish is yet to come.

Everyone who was at the table - courtiers, princes and princesses - tried in vain to guess what delicacy the chief cook had prepared for them today. And when a crystal dish full of ripe berries was finally served on the table, everyone exclaimed in one voice.



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