Bharavi Kirat and Arjuna Poem on one of the plots of the “Mahabharata” During the stay of the Pandava brothers in the twelve-year forest exile, their common wife Draupadi once rebuked the eldest brother among the brothers – Yudhisthira in inaction, indecision, indulgence to the kauravas, and urged them to attack them immediately. A second … Read more
In 1938, the narrator accidentally met the knight of the Order of Maria Theresa Anton Hofmiller, who told him about what happened to him a quarter of a century ago when he was twenty-five years old. The narrator wrote down his story, changing only the names in it and some small details, allowing to guess … Read more
Yu. M. Nagibin Rise and Go Story “Arise and Go” is the story of the relationship between father and son, on whose behalf the narrator-author acts. Divided into relatively short twenty-two chapters, she honestly talks about filial feelings, sincere and spontaneous, passing from adoration to pity, from deep devotion to duty, from sincere love for … Read more
E. T. A. A. Hoffmann The Crumb of Zahez, nicknamed Zinnober In a small state where Prince Demetrius reigned, every citizen was given complete freedom in his endeavor. And fairies and magicians above all put warmth and freedom, so with Demetrius, many fairies from the magical land of Ginistan moved to the blessed little principality. … Read more
K. E. Porter The Fool Ship August 1931 The German passenger ship Vera sails from the Mexican port of Veracruz, which in mid-September is due to arrive in Bremerhaven. From the torn by the political passions of Mexico, the ship follows to Germany, where national socialism raises its head. The diverse passenger community – Germans, … Read more
At the end of the winter of 1873 in Moscow, in the house of Oblonsky, a serious family conflict broke out. Prince Stepan Arkadievich Oblonsky was convicted by his wife of treason with a governess. The prince himself was a very good man, but unfortunately he did not like his job and his wife. And … Read more
The main actions of AI Kuprin’s work “Gambrinus” unfold in a pub with the same name. The pub was named in honor of King Gambrinus, a patron of the beer business. The place was in the basement. The walls of the beer garden were always damp, the floor was thickly covered with sawdust, and instead … Read more
The universe – some call it the Library – consists of a huge number of hexagonal galleries, with wide ventilation wells, enclosed by handrails. The arrangement of the galleries is invariable: five shelves on each wall… To one of the free sides there is a corridor leading to another gallery, the same as all the … Read more
A girl named Jan was orphaned early. The reigning emperor Xuanzong honored her with his benevolence, elevated him to the title of “Guifei” and generously endowed him. The rain of favors was also spilled on the entire family of Jan, the sister and brothers acquired unprecedented power. Gradually the emperor stopped visiting other palace concubines. … Read more
Alexandre Dumas Three Musketeers On the first Monday of April 1625, the population of the town of Meng in the suburbs of Paris seemed to be agitated as if the Huguenots had decided to turn it into the second fortress of La Rochelle: a young man of eighteen entered the Meng, wearing a red gelding … Read more