A tale of how one man fed the two generals
M. Ye. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
A tale of how one man of two generals fed.
Two frivolous generals retired on an uninhabited island. “Generals served the whole life in some registry, they were born, brought up and grew old, therefore, did not understand anything, even the words did not know anything except:” Accept the assurance of my full respect and devotion. “Once the generals woke up, they lie on the shore and there is nothing on either, except for the nightgown and the order on the neck.
The general, who served as a teacher of calligraphy, was a little smarter than the other. He suggests walking along the island and searching for food. But where to go? The generals can not determine where the west is, where the east is. The island is abundant, everything is there, but the generals are tormented by hunger, and they can not get anything. Find only the “Moscow Gazette”, where, as luck would have it, they describe luxurious lunches. From hunger
The former teacher of calligraphy came up with: we need to find a peasant who will take care of them. “Long they wandered around the island without any success, but at last the pungent smell of chaff bread and sour lambskin brought them to the trail.” They are watching, a lazy man is sleeping under a tree. He saw the generals, wanted to escape, but they tightly clung to him. The peasant starts to work: he grabbed the generals by a dozen ripe apples, and took himself one, sour; dug in the ground and obtained potatoes; rubbed two pieces of wood against each other – and received fire; made a silk from his own hair – and caught a hazel grouse. And he cooked so much food that the generals even thought about whether to give a “parasite” a piece.
Before going to rest, the peasant, on the orders of the generals, lugs a rope, and they tie him to a tree so that he does not run away. Two days later the peasant became so clever that he “began to cook soup even in a handful”. The generals are full and happy, while in Petersburg their
But here at last and Petersburg. “The cooks flashed their hands to see how generous the generals had gotten, white and merry! The generals had drunk coffee, ate the buns, went to the treasury and received a lot of money.” However, they did not forget about the peasant, they sent him a glass of vodka and a nickel of silver: , man! “
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