“Little Tsakhes, nicknamed Zinnober. Little Tsakhes, nicknamed Zinnober

(Short story, 1819) Prince Demetrius ruled in one small state. In this state, each inhabitant was given complete freedom in his endeavors. Fairies and magicians put freedom above all else, so under Demetrius, many fairies from the magical land of Jinnistan moved to a small principality. But after the death of Demetrius, his heir Paphnutius decided to introduce enlightenment in his fatherland, which seemed to him that all magic should be abolished. Pursuing his goal, he sent all the fairies to Dzhinnistan, and only the fairy Rosabelverde managed to stay in the principality, who persuaded Paf-nutia to give her a place as canoness in an orphanage for noble maidens. The result of the expulsion of the fairies was the drying gardens of this fertile land. And then one day the Rosabelverda fairy, the mistress of flowers, saw a peasant woman Lisa asleep on the side of the road. Lisa was returning from the forest with a basket of brushwood, carrying in the same basket her ugly son, nicknamed little Tsakhes. This dwarf had a disgusting old face, twig legs and spider arms. Taking pity on the evil freak, the fairy combed his tangled hair for a long time and, smiling mysteriously, disappeared. good-looking, I decided to take him in. Liza was glad to get rid of the burden, although she did not understand why people could like her freak. At the same time, the young poet Balthazar, who was in love with the daughter of his professor Mosh Terpin, Candida, was studying at Kerpes University. was possessed by the ancient Germanic spirit, as he understands it: heaviness combined with a vulgarity even more unbearable than the mystical romanticism of Balthasar.Meanwhile, a new face invades the touching university reserve: little Tsakhes, endowed with a magical gift to attract people. then once, having got into the house of Mosch Terpin, he completely fascinates both him and Candida. Now his name is Zinnober. It is worth someone in his presence to read poetry or about to put it sternly, as everyone immediately thinks, that this is the merit of Zinnober. As soon as he mewed vilely or stumbled, one of the other guests turned out to be guilty. Everyone admires the grace and dexterity of Zinnober, and only two students - Balthazar and his friend Fabian - see all the ugliness and malice of the dwarf. Meanwhile, he manages to take the place of a freight forwarder in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and there also a Privy Councilor for Special Affairs, and all this is a deceit, for Zinnober managed to appropriate the merits of the most worthy. Once the city was visited by Dr. Prosper Alpanus, a magician wandering incognito. Balthasar immediately recognized him as a magician, but Fibian, spoiled by enlightenment, doubted at first. However, Alpanus proved his power by showing his friends Zinnober in a magic mirror. It turned out that the dwarf is not a wizard or a dwarf, but an ordinary freak who is helped by some secret power. Alpanus discovered this secret power without difficulty, and the Rosabelverde fairy hurried to pay him a visit. The magician told the fairy that he had made a horoscope for a dwarf, and that Tsakhes-Zinnober could soon destroy not only Balthazar and Candida, but the whole principality, where he became his man at court. The fairy is forced to agree and refuse Tsakhes her patronage, especially since the magic comb with which she combed his curls, Alpanus, not without intent, broke. However, after these combing, three fiery hairs appeared in the head of the dwarf. They endowed him with witchcraft power: all other people's merits were attributed to him, all his vices to others, and only a few saw the truth. The hairs had to be pulled out and immediately burned, and Balthazar and his friends managed to do this when Mosh Terpin was already arranging the engagement of Zinnober with Candida. Thunder struck, and everyone saw the dwarf as he really was. He was played like a ball, he was kicked, he was thrown out of the house. In wild anger and horror, he fled to his palace, which the prince gave him, but confusion among the people grew. Everyone heard about the transformation of the minister. The unfortunate dwarf died, stuck in a jug where he tried to hide, and as a last blessing, the fairy returned to him the appearance of a handsome man after death. She did not forget the unfortunate mother, the old peasant Lisa. In Lisa's garden, such a wonderful and sweet onion grew that she was made the personal supplier of the enlightened court.

Did not your heart grieve at the sight of how an unworthy and insignificant person was surrounded by honors, endowed with all kinds of blessings and looked around with swaggering arrogance? The same sadness overcame the great romantic Ernest Theodore Amadeus Hoffmann, who turned his clever and accurate pen as a weapon against stupidity, vanity, injustice, of which there are so many in our world.

The genius of German romanticism

Hoffmann was a truly universal personality in culture - a writer, thinker, artist, composer and lawyer. Having lived a short life (only 46 years old), he managed to create works that became an event not only in global art, but also in the personal cultural space of every person who touched the work of this genius.

Many of the images created by Hoffmann have become household names. Among them is the hero of the fairy tale "Little Tsakhes, nicknamed Zinnober." Here the author showed such remarkable wit, depth of imagination and the power of artistic generalization that the tale itself and the images recreated in it look extremely relevant today. Either in politics, or in art, or in the media, no, no, yes, this sinister dwarf will flash - Little Tsakhes.

The story begins with a picture of a hot day and the sad lamentations of a tired peasant woman. We learn that wealth, despite hard work, does not go into the hands of this mendicant family. In addition, a rare freak was born in it, the body of which the author very expressively compares either with a forked radish, or with an apple planted on a fork, on which an absurd mug was drawn, or with an outlandish stump of a gnarled tree. Two and a half years have passed since the baby Tsakhes was born, but no one saw any human manifestations in him. He still could not walk and talk, and made only some meowing sounds. And it had to happen that at that time a real fairy passed by, who, however, had to disguise herself as a canoness (privileged nun) of an orphanage for noble maidens, since fairies in that principality were under the greatest ban.

The Rosabelverde Fairy was imbued with keen compassion for the miserable family and rewarded the tiny freak with extraordinary magical powers, which did not take long to manifest itself before the peasant woman returned home. The pastor, whose house she was passing by, stopped the woman and, forgetting about his lovely three-year-old son, suddenly began to admire the monstrous dwarf clutching his mother's skirt. The holy father was terribly surprised that the mother could not appreciate the wondrous beauty of a beautiful child, and asked to take the baby to her.

A Note on Mental Qualities

The reader's next meeting with the one called little Tsakhes took place many years later, when he grew up and became a student. The first who met the evil dwarf in the forest on the way to Kerepes were noble young people - Fabio and Balthazar. And if the first had a mocking and sharp mind, then the second was distinguished by thoughtfulness and romantic aspirations. The look and manner of the ugly stranger, most pitifully rolling out of the saddle at the feet of the young men, caused Fabio to burst out laughing, and Balthasar to sympathy and pity. Balthazar was a poet whose inspiration was fueled by an ardent love for Candida, the pretty daughter of a professor from whom the young man had taken a course of lectures on natural science.

Witch power

The appearance of the vile dwarf caused in the city not at all the reaction that Fabian had expected, anticipating the general fun. Suddenly, for some reason, all the inhabitants started talking about the unsightly freak as a stately and handsome young man with many virtues. The city went even madder, calling the little monster “a graceful, handsome and most skillful young man,” when little Tsakhes attended the literary tea party of Professor Mosh Terpin, whose daughter Balthazar was in love with. Here the young man read his delightful and refined poem about the love of a nightingale for a rose, in which he expressed the heat of his own feelings. What happened after that was just fantastic!

Conquered by the poem, the listeners vied with each other to praise ... little Tsakhes, referring to him respectfully "Mr. Zinnober." It turned out that he was not just "intelligent and skillful", but "wonderful, divine." Then Professor Mosh Terpin showed amazing experiments, but it was not he who won fame, but the same little Tsakhes. It was he who, due to an inexplicable witching aura, was instantly called perfection in the presence of talented and intelligent people. Whether a gifted musician plays a concert - admiring glances are directed towards Tsakhes, whether a great artist sings with a magnificent soprano - and an enthusiastic whisper is heard that such a singer as Zinnober cannot be found all over the world. And now the blue-eyed Candida is madly in love with little Tsakhes. He makes a stunning career, becoming first a privy councilor, and then a minister of the principality. Imbued with great importance and became demanding of honors, as Hoffman, little Tsakhes, ironically characterizes him.

Everything that someone does or says something remarkable in his presence is immediately attributed to Tsakhes. And vice versa, all the vilest and absurd antics of a freak (when he hoots, croaks, clowns and talks nonsense) in the eyes of society are imputed to a real creator. That is, a certain diabolical substitution is taking place, plunging into despair those who deserve success, but are doomed to shame because of the damned freak. Balthazar calls the evil dwarf's magical gift an infernal force that steals hopes.

But there must be some remedy for this madness! Witchcraft can be resisted if "with firmness to resist it," where there is courage, victory is inevitable. The positive ones come to this conclusion - Balthazar, Fabian and the young referendary, who was aiming for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs Pulcher (whose merits and position were stolen by Tsakhes). Friends learn about an amazing circumstance: every nine days, a fairy flies into the garden to Tsakhes to comb his curls and renew his magical power. And then they start looking for ways to cope with the spell.

Evil can be defeated

After that, another character appears in the tale - the magician Prosper Alpanus. After studying books about gnomes and alrauns, he comes to the conclusion that little Tsakhes is an ordinary person, endowed with a wonderful gift beyond his merit. In the magical battle between Alpanus and Rosabelverde, a more powerful magician deprives the fairy of the opportunity to help her ward: the comb with which she combed the hair of a small monster broke. And the magician told Balthazar that the secret of Zinnober lies in the three fiery hairs on the top of his head. They must be pulled out and burned immediately, then everyone will see Tsakhes as he really is.

From a philosophical point of view, the conflict of the plot lies in the fact that, due to incomprehensible spontaneous interference, injustice triumphs, and the truth is defeated. Thanks to the support of the majority, evil becomes legitimate and begins to rule reality. And then you need a strong-willed impulse, resistance to mass hypnosis, in order to change the situation. As soon as this happens in the minds and deeds of some, albeit a small part, of people acting together, the situation changes.

The young man successfully copes with his mission: people are convinced of the true state of affairs, little Tsakhes is drowning in a chamber pot with his own sewage. The heroes are justified, Candida admits that she has always loved Balthazar, the young people get married, having inherited a magical garden and Alpanus' house.

Fantasy is the other side of reality

As an apologist for the ideas of the Jena romantics, Hoffmann was convinced that art is the only source of life transformation. Only strong emotions are involved in the narrative - laughter and fear, worship and disgust, despair and hope. In the fairy tale about little Tsakhes, as in his other works, the writer creates a half-real, half-mythical world in which, according to the Russian, a fantastic image does not exist somewhere outside of reality, it is the other side of our reality. Hoffmann uses the motif of magic in order to more vividly and clearly demonstrate what reality is. And in order to throw off her shackles, he resorts to sharp and subtle irony.

Artistic techniques

The well-known folklore motifs, which mean sorcery, are gracefully woven into the fabric of the narrative and played out in a peculiar way. The magic hairs that the fairy provided her pet, the head of a magic cane that emits rays, in which all falsehood turns into something that does not seem to be, but is in fact, a golden comb that can turn the ugly into the beautiful. Hoffmann also uses the famous fairy-tale theme of clothing, filling it with topical content not only for his contemporaries, but also for you and me. Let us recall the sleeves and tails of Fabian's frock coat, the length of which immediately became a reason to hang evil and stupid labels on its owner.

Irony of Hoffmann

The writer laughs at the ridiculous innovations in the bureaucracy. The satirical image of an official's uniform with diamond buttons, the number of which indicates the degree of merit to the fatherland (ordinary people had two or three of them, Zinnober had as many as twenty), the author also beats with exquisite artistic meaning. If an honorary ministerial ribbon was perfectly held on an ordinary human figure, then on the torso of Tsakhes - a short stump "with spider legs" - it could only be held by means of two dozen buttons. But the "honorable Mr. Zinnober" was, of course, worthy of such a high honor.

Finally, a statement of the result of the dishonorable life of the ugly impostor seems brilliant: he died from fear of dying - such a diagnosis is made by the doctor after examining the body of the deceased.

We have something to think about

Hoffmann wittily shows us a portrait of society, the mirror of which was the ill-fated little Tsakhes. An analysis of the problem leads us to the conclusion that it is very easy and hopeless to become mad in this way. If you yourself are ready to replace the truth with a lie out of selfish motives, if you are not alien to the tendency to ascribe other people's merits to yourself, if, finally, you are driven in life not by bold and free ideas, but by narrow-minded conformism, sooner or later you will put little Tsakhes on a pedestal. nicknamed Zinnober.

Hoffmann, like no one else, demonstrates with his work the versatility of the possibilities of romanticism. And he, like Kleist, revises the basic ideas of romanticism and rises above them, opening up new horizons. The famous fairy tale of Hoffmann "Little Tsakhes", which I liked very much, confirms this to an even greater extent. This time the action takes place not in the entire well-known German city, but in a certain kingdom, a certain state, called Kerepes by Hoffmann. The world depicted in this tale is also dominated by various forces, but everything is not so simple here. Good forces are personified in the images of the fairy Rosabelverde and Dr. Prosper Alpanus, partly competing, partly supporting each other. She is the embodiment of a good heart, he is a good mind.

There are no evil wizards at all, because the evil here is not magical at all, but the most earthly: petty-bourgeois narrow-mindedness, dull rationality, police-bureaucratic zeal, the fetishization of gold. However, if wizards make mistakes, they can aggravate evil, while people can be kind and beautiful without any wizards. So just the opposition of good and evil is not enough to understand the contradictions depicted in this tale. The irony of Hoffmann, by its romantic nature, does not allow unambiguous judgments at all. As soon as there is an assumption that the answer to the question has been found, another answer arises, followed by a third, and so on.

It can be seen that the ratio of the forces of good and evil in this tale is somewhat different than in the tale "The Golden Pot". There, the spirit prince Salamander openly demonstrated superiority over the evil witch. Here, the stupid and soulless Prince Pafnuty takes over the good wizards for a while, and the Rosabelverde fairy has to hide under a different name and secretly manage her affairs, which, moreover, being good by design, turn into obvious evil, so that their consequences have to be corrected later Prosper Alpanus. In the kingdom of Paphnutius, the pseudo-scientist Moshe Terpin flourishes, who “concluded all of nature in a small elegant compendium, so that he could always use it and extract the answer to every question, as if from a drawer”; he examined birds and animals boiled, and the liquid in the wine cellar. In this dwarf state, insignificant lackeys and officials prosper, who imagine themselves to be high-ranking persons, and the poor are starving.

Little Tsakhes is a miserable freak born to a poor, already offended by the fate of a peasant woman. Fairy Rosabelverde took pity on the unfortunate woman and decided to help her boy by sticking three golden hairs into his crown. It was they who caused many disasters, which, however, would not have happened if there had not been prepared ground for this in the state of Paphnutia.

A miserable two-year-old freak with senile features, who can neither walk nor speak, looks like a forked radish, “a real alraun” (alraun is the root of a mandrake plant, resembling a man in its shape; many legends and beliefs are associated with it, and the Compendium is an abbreviated presentation foundations of any science), suddenly began to attract universal, ever-increasing admiring attention. The priest, touched by this, as it seemed to him, a lovely child, adopts him. When Tsakhes becomes a student, he seems to everyone to be stately, handsome, talented, although neither his appearance nor his mind improved.

During a tea party with Professor Moshe Terpin, the piercing meow of Tsakhes (he is now called Mr. Zinnober) is attributed to the poet Balthazar, in love with the professor's daughter Candida, but Balthazar's poems about the nightingale's love for a scarlet rose, dedicated to Candida, are attributed to Little Tsakhes and praise him in unison. He is also applauded for the virtuoso playing of the famous violinist Vincenzo Schiocca. He is also given excellent marks for Pulcher's answers during competitive tests for a position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Pulcher is told that he failed. Tsakhes is appointed to a high position, awarded with a sash for a report prepared by an official of the ministry, Adrian.

In a word, whoever does something talented or simply successful, the freak Tsakhes is thanked and rewarded for all this, and everything vile that comes from Tsakhes is attributed to other innocent people. Moreover, Tsakhes does not show any initiative - he himself is not capable of anything, his strength is borrowed, or rather, he is just a sign, a symbol of some anonymous force: everything happens apart from his personal efforts. Before us is an allegorical depiction of the so-called alienation characteristic of bourgeois society, where labor is the subject of purchase and sale. This is a social satire on a society in which all ideas about values are shifted. Everyone shows respect and admiration for a person who is incapable of anything good, a completely insignificant person, who appropriates the fruits of the labor and talent of others. He is credited with various virtues that he never had in his birth, and his vices, no matter how monstrous they may be, no one notices. And all this is done by money, gold, in a fairy tale, the very three golden hairs with which the fairy, out of compassion, awarded the freak Tsakhes.

There was no such thing in the short story "The Golden Pot": there the prince of spirits did good deeds, and the witch did evil deeds. Here, the good fairy, taking pity on the poor peasant woman, gave rise to consequences by her act, which she could neither foresee nor stop. Hoffmann, in fact, like Kleist, depicted the element, but not the element of growing passion, but the element of increasing blindness of people who began to take white for black, and black for white, that is, the growing loss of true value standards. A dark, destructive chaos sets in, the roots of which are in the golden mirage, which, according to Hoffm'an, spreads with the expulsion of poetry and the imposition of a police-bureaucratic order that mortifies all living things.

For a moment, Little Tsakhes influences even the poet Balthasar, which would hardly be possible with any other romantic. It is also unconventional for romanticism that Balthasar's sober-minded friend Fabian resists this evil influence longer than others. True, then he just as stubbornly does not want to believe in the power of good miracles, for which the magician Prosper Alpanus punishes him in the same magical way: no matter what Fabian puts on himself, this clothes immediately shrink and shorten, and he falls into a strange dependence on the most simple things that should just serve him. But things are not always subject to a person - in a fairy tale they can rebel and even control him. In each of the young people whose work or art is inexplicably appropriated by Tsakhes, the initial blindness is replaced by insight. The spread of general madness is gradually beginning to be countered by the development of a reverse process. The number of enemies of Mr. Zinnober, who fits into the system introduced by Paphnutius so well that it already threatens the system itself, is growing. It is noteworthy that among the enemies of Tsakhes are not only people of art - the poet Balthasar and the violinist Vincent Schiokka - but also the officials Pulcher and Adrian, who seem to be "not musicians." They grab the little monster, Balthazar pulls out three golden hairs from his crown, throws them into the fire - and the delusion immediately disappears.

Everyone now sees Tiny Tsakhes in his real form, "there was a rumor among the people that this is a hilarious monster ... - indeed Tiny Tsakhes, .. exalted by all sorts of dishonorable deceit and lies." A real uprising breaks out. "Down with that little bastard! Down with! Knock him out of his ministerial jacket! Put him in a cage! Show it for money at fairs! .. Up! “And the people began to break into the house ... The doors were broken down, and the people stomped up the stairs with wild laughter.” Fleeing from the indignant crowd, the unfortunate freak drowns ingloriously in a chamber pot, and in the country of Kerepes the most beautiful, very similar to theatrical, miracles are arranged - this time in honor of the wedding of Candida and Balthazar. They are satisfied with Prosper Alpanus, who, as the bride's father assured, "was none other than a rogue youngster - an opera decorator and a prince's fireworks."

Brief retelling of Hoffmann's fairy tale "Little Tsakhes"

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In a small state ruled by Prince Demetrius, each inhabitant was given complete freedom in his undertaking. And fairies and magicians value warmth and freedom above all, so under Demetrius, many fairies from the magical land of Jinnistan moved to a blessed little principality. However, after the death of Demetrius, his heir Paphnutius decided to introduce enlightenment in his fatherland. He had the most radical ideas about enlightenment: any magic should be abolished, fairies are busy with dangerous witchcraft, and the ruler's first concern is to grow potatoes, plant acacias, cut down forests and instill smallpox. Such enlightenment dried up the flowering land in a matter of days, the fairies were sent to Jinnistan (they did not resist too much), and only the Rosabelverde fairy managed to stay in the principality, who persuaded Paphnutius to give her a canoness position in a shelter for noble maidens.

This kind fairy, the mistress of flowers, once saw on a dusty road a peasant woman, Liza, asleep on the side of the road. Lisa was returning from the forest with a basket of brushwood, carrying in the same basket her ugly son, nicknamed little Tsakhes. The dwarf has a disgusting old muzzle, twig legs and spider arms. Taking pity on the evil freak, the fairy combed his tangled hair for a long time... and, smiling mysteriously, disappeared. As soon as Lisa woke up and set off again, she met a local pastor. For some reason, he was captivated by the ugly baby and, repeating that the boy was wonderfully good-looking, decided to take him up. Liza was glad to get rid of the burden, not really understanding how her freak began to look to people.

Meanwhile, a young poet Balthazar, a melancholy student, is studying at the Kerepes University, in love with the daughter of his professor Mosh Terpin, the cheerful and charming Candida. Mosch Terpin is possessed by the ancient Germanic spirit, as he understands it: heaviness combined with vulgarity, even more unbearable than the mystical romanticism of Balthazar. Balthazar strikes at all the romantic eccentricities so characteristic of poets: he sighs, wanders alone, avoids student feasts; Candida, on the other hand, is life and gaiety incarnate, and she, with her young coquetry and healthy appetite, is a very pleasant and amusing student admirer.

Meanwhile, a new face invades the touching university reserve, where typical burches, typical enlighteners, typical romantics and typical patriots personify the diseases of the German spirit: little Tsakhes, endowed with a magical gift to attract people to him. Having wormed his way into the house of Mosh Terpin, he completely charms both him and Candida. Now his name is Zinnober. As soon as someone reads poetry in his presence or expresses himself wittily, everyone present is convinced that this is the merit of Zinnober; if he meows vilely or stumbles, one of the other guests will certainly be guilty. Everyone admires the grace and dexterity of Zinnober, and only two students - Balthazar and his friend Fabian - see all the ugliness and malice of the dwarf. Meanwhile, he manages to take the place of a freight forwarder in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and there a Privy Councilor for Special Affairs - and all this is a deception, because Zinnober managed to appropriate the merit of the most worthy.

It so happened that in his crystal carriage with a pheasant on the goats and a golden beetle on the backs, Dr. Prosper Alpanus, a magician wandering incognito, visited Kerpes. Balthasar immediately recognized him as a magician, but Fabian, spoiled by enlightenment, doubted at first; however, Alpanus proved his power by showing Zinnober to his friends in a magic mirror. It turned out that the dwarf is not a wizard or a dwarf, but an ordinary freak who is helped by some secret power. Alpanus discovered this secret power without difficulty, and the Rosabelverde fairy hurried to pay him a visit. The magician told the fairy that he had made a horoscope for a dwarf and that Tsakhes-Zinnober could soon destroy not only Balthazar and Candida, but the whole principality, where he became his man at court. The fairy is forced to agree and refuse Tsakhes her patronage - especially since Alpanus cunningly broke the magic comb with which she combed his curls.

The fact of the matter is that after these combing, three fiery hairs appeared in the head of the dwarf. They endowed him with witchcraft power: all other people's merits were attributed to him, all his vices to others, and only a few saw the truth. The hairs were to be pulled out and burned immediately - and Balthazar and his friends managed to do this when Mosh Terpin was already arranging the engagement of Zinnober with Candida. Thunder struck; everyone saw the dwarf as he was. They played with him like a ball, they kicked him, he was thrown out of the house - in wild anger and horror he fled to his luxurious palace, which the prince gave him, but the confusion among the people grew unstoppably. Everyone heard about the transformation of the minister. The unfortunate dwarf died, stuck in a jug where he tried to hide, and as a last blessing, the fairy returned to him the appearance of a handsome man after death. She did not forget the unfortunate mother, the old peasant woman Lisa: such a wonderful and sweet onion grew in Lisa's garden that she was made a personal supplier of an enlightened court.

And Balthazar and Candida lived happily, as a poet should live with a beauty, whom the magician Prosper Alpanus blessed at the very beginning of his life.

retold

Section One

Little freak. How Prince Pafnuty planted education in his country, and the Rosabelverde fairy ended up in an orphanage for noble maidens

On the way, a peasant woman, exhausted by hunger and thirst, fell down. Behind her shoulders was a box of brushwood. She complained about her unfortunate fate, about a beggarly life, about the shame that a freak child born by herself brought her family. Most of all, she cursed the child, who was already two and a half years old, and she had not even zipyalas on her frail legs and had not yet learned to talk. her son ate a lot, like an eight-year-old boy, but there was no hope that he would ever work. In the box, the woman carried, along with brushwood, her geek: “the head of the monster sunk deep between the shoulders, a hump grew on its back like a pumpkin, and thin, like hazel sticks, legs hung from the chest, so it all looked like a forked radish» . This manifestation had a long pointed nose, black shaggy hair, and a "pair of black eye sockets" glittering on a wrinkled, old face.

The woman fell into a deep sleep, and the boy, coming out of the box, was busy beside her. At present, the patroness of the refuge was walking through the forest. Seeing this picture, she was upset because she could not help the grief of this woman.

Panna caressed the boy, combed his disheveled hair and decided in her own way to help his grief by splashing the child with odorous water.

When the peasant woman woke up, she felt rested and cheerful, praised the curls of her little Tsakhes, was surprised because he could walk and talk.

On the way home, at the request of the pastor, she stopped to rest at his house. Batiushka praised her little son, who seemed to him a smart and handsome boy. The pastor asked Lisa to leave Tsakhes for him to raise and, angry with the peasant woman for her belief in the foolishness of her own son, took the monster and clicked on the door.

Lisa returned home with a light heart and a box, which now, without Tsakhes, seemed almost weightless.

As our reader understands, the whole secret lay in the charms of the patroness. Indeed, she was an extraordinary woman. Everyone who knew her said that since the patroness appeared in this area, she had not changed at all, had not aged. Back there were rumors that this girl was a witch. People told all sorts of fables: either someone saw her talking to animals and birds in the forest, or how she flew on a broom - they even wanted to throw her into the water to confirm their thoughts. Upon learning of such intentions, the patroness complained to the prince, who stood up for her. Then the peasants, recollecting themselves, gradually began to forget all sorts of fables and no longer touched her.

This respected lady of an imperious character was called Fraulein von Rosenshen, or, as he spoke of himself, Rosenshen-Zelenova. She had a friendly look, she seemed especially beautiful at a time when roses were blooming.

Panna Rosenshen was appointed patroness of the asylum by the prince himself, so Baron Pretextatus could not do anything, although he did not like this woman, because in one chronicle he did not find the name Rosenshen-Zelenova and could not say anything about this genealogy.

In the prince's office, they knew that panna was glorious, the Rosabelverde fairy was known to the whole world.

That's how it all happened.

In the beautiful, warm, cozy and carefree country of Prince Demetrius, fairies settled, they loved freedom and a warm climate. The inhabitants of the villages - since there was not a single city in the principality - believed in miracles. After the death of Demetrius, his son Paphnutius began to rule, who was tormented by one thought: why the people were abandoned and dark. He really began to lead the country by appointing his valet Andres as the first minister, who once did him a favor by borrowing six ducats.

Andres advised Paphnutius to introduce education. But in order for the reception to work better, much more had to be done: repair schools, rebuild roads, cut down forests, make the river navigable, plant poplars and acacias, plant potatoes, teach young people to sing evening and morning songs in two voices, instill smallpox and drive them out of countries of people interfering with their dangerous moods. The minister considered fairies to be such people, for they worked miracles and made people incapable of enlightenment. Therefore, it was decided to surround the castles of the fairies, destroy them, confiscate their property, and evict the fairies themselves to their country of Dzhinnistan, which is known from the Thousand and One Nights.

Prince Pafnutiy signed a decree on the introduction of education. And they decided to leave one fairy to do some useful work among people, then the peasants will forget about the fairies. Thus, they decided to “domesticate” not only the fairy, making her a useful member of society, but also animals and birds confiscated in these sisters.

Fairy Rosabelverde, a few hours before the introduction of education, managed to release her swans and hide her magical roses and various jewels.

Pafnuty settled Rosabelverde in a shelter for noble maidens, where she called herself Rosenshen-Zelenova and began to host there.

Chapter Two

University in Kerepesi. How Mosh Terpin invited student Balthazar for tea

The all-seeing scientist Ptolomeus, while on a trip, wrote letters to his friend Rufin:

“Dear Rufina, I am afraid of exhausting sunlight, so I decided to rest during the day and travel at night. The nights are dark here, and my driver has strayed from the smooth road to the pavement. My head was covered with bumps, and from the push I flew out of the carriage, the wheel of which broke. I made my way to the city, where I met amazingly dressed people. There was something oriental in their clothes, which was combined with western. They shot artificial clouds from the tubes. They surrounded me on all sides and shouted: “Philistine! Philistine!" It offended me, so I went to the police. This barbarian people made a fuss, and my driver advised me to go from this city. Now I am in one of the villages closest to the city, where I am writing to you, my dear Rufin. I want to know about the customs and habits of this amazing people, etc.

My dear reader, the great scientist Ptolomeus Philadelphus did not know that he was near the University of Kerepes, and that these strange barbaric people were students. What fear would seize him if an hour ago he would have been at the house of Mosh Terpin, professor of natural sciences. It was his lectures that the students loved most of all, so Mosh Terpin could explain why it rains, why it sparkles and thunders, why the sun shines during the day and the moon at night. He explains in a way that every child would understand. Permit me, kind reader, to send you to Kerepes to the house of this scientist. Among the professor's students, one young man, about twenty-three or four years old, will attract your attention. He has an almost bold look, but on his pale face the rays of his eyes are passionately extinguished by a dreamy longing. This young man, dressed in an ancient German frock coat, is none other than the student Balthazar, the son of decent wealthy parents, modest and smart.

All the students went to the fencing ground, and the thoughtful Balthazar went for a walk in the grove.

His comrade Fabian suggested practicing the "noble art of swordsmanship" rather than melancholy wandering through the forest, because this is a bad habit.

Fabian went for a walk with a fellow student and started talking about Mr. Mosh Terpin and his lecture. Balthasar yelled that lectures and natural experiments to the professor were “disgusting laughter from divine nature.” “Often I wanted to break his glasses and flasks. After his lectures, it seems to me that the buildings will collapse on my head, and an oppressive horror drives me out of the city. But I can’t help but go to Terpin’s lectures, some strange force pulls me there, ”Balthasar explained to a friend.

Fabian exposed this strange force by naming the name of Candida, the professor's daughter, with whom Balthazar fell in love.

The guys noticed a horse without a rider in the distance, thinking that the horse had thrown off his master. They stopped the horse, on the sides of which the boots "dangled" in order to find the rider. But suddenly something small rolled under the horse's feet. It was a hunchbacked baby, reminiscent of an apple impaled on a fork. Fabian burst out laughing, and the dwarf asked in a rough voice for directions to Kerepes.

The kid was trying to put on his boots. Every now and then he stumbled and fell into the sand, until Balthazar dug his thin legs into his boots, lifting the kid up and lowering him into the boots.

Then the strange rider tried to get into the saddle, and again in vain: he rolled over and fell. Balthazar helped him again.

This stranger was offended by Fabiani's laughter and declared that he was "Princeton", so the guy should fight him.

Balthasar shamed his comrade for his behavior, but Fabian was not interested in this, he wanted to return to the city as soon as possible to see the reaction of others. There will be laughter when they see this ugly little rider. Fabian himself wanted to laugh, so he moved through the forest into the city.

Balthazar, walking this time in the forest, met Candida with his father. Mosh Terpin invited him to tea, to have fun with a pleasant conversation. What a smart young man should come.

Chapter Three

Literary tea party in Mosh Terpin. young prince

Fabian asked all the passers-by if they had seen the strange little boy on horseback. But no one could say anything, and the guy did not notice the mocking smiles on their faces. People only told that two slender horsemen were passing by, one of them was short, handsome and pleasant in appearance. Balthasar and Fabian tried to convince everyone that the baby was ugly and not good at all, but they were not lucky. Fabian reminded his friend that tomorrow they would see "gentle Mamzel Candida."

Candida was pretty, as painted, with radiant eyes. She was a slender and agile girl, but her arms and legs could have been more sophisticated if she had eaten fewer cakes. Candida loved a cheerful company: she played the piano, sang along, danced.

But poets can find flaws in every woman. their ideal: a girl should rush after poetry, according to their poems, sing songs to them.

Candida is the most cheerful and carefree, she liked conversations and humor. But there was a feeling in her that never turned into "banal sensitivity." Therefore, Fabian decided that she did not suit Balthasar.

Fabian, entering Balthazar, smiled, because his comrade was sitting so dressed up. The guy wanted to hit the heart of his girlfriend.

In Turpin's house, Candida treated the guests to rum, crackers and cakes. The student simply admired her and could not find the right words. The professor introduced to the society Mr. Zinnober, who is to study law at the University of Kerepes.

Fabian quietly joked to Balthazar: “I will probably have to fight this Potorocha on flutes or maybe on awls! Therefore, I cannot accept any other weapon against such a terrible adversary.”

The comrade shamed him again. Balthazar asked the kid if anything bad happened to him because of the bad ride on the horse. And Mr. Zinnober did not even remember that he had fallen from his horse, because, it turns out, he is “the best rider” and even taught officers and soldiers horseback riding in the arena.

Suddenly, the baby went head over heels as the stick he was leaning on slipped out of his hands. The dwarf is busy. Everyone decided that there was a huge cat in the hall, and then they said that Balthazar was joking like that. The student was confused, and Candida calmed him down.

The turmoil subsided in the hall, everyone sat down and had some conversations. It was a convenient time to read a new, fresh piece. And Balthazar, coming to his senses, read his poem about the nightingale and the purple rose. He read passionately, pouring out all the passion of his loving heart. The guy trembled with joy when he heard sighs or the words: “Wonderful… Extremely… Divine! The poem captured everyone.

But as soon as he finished reading, both listeners rushed to the dwarf with their praises and cries of his talent. Balthazar was confused. Even Fabian was convinced that Zinnober wrote and read the poems. A beautiful girl, Candida, at the request of those present, gave the freak her kiss. Balthazar got angry, and Fabian said that his comrade was jealous of Candida, and invited him to make friends with this young man, for he really deserves praise.

Now in the hall, Mosch Terpin, with his physical accessories, showed everyone the experience, and again the audience praised and applauded "dear Mr. Zinnober." They tried to pick him up or shake his hand, but he "behaved extremely indecently": he waved his small legs, poking them into the professor's thick belly, and then croaked in a disgusting voice, creaked, pouting, "like a small turkey-cock."

Among the society was also the young Prince Gregor, who studied at the university. He is very handsome with a noble and laid-back demeanor, showing his high birth.

Now Prince Gregor did not leave Zinnober, praising him as the best poet and physicist.

Mosh Terpin put forward versions that, perhaps, his protégé, Mr. Zinnober, is of princely, even royal blood: he is talented, of noble behavior. The pastor recommended him that way, that he raised him.

At that moment we were informed that dinner was ready. Zinnober hobbled over to Candida, clumsily grabbed her by the arm, and led her into the dining room. Like a frantic Balthazar rushed into the dark night, through the storm and rain, home.

Chapter Four

As an Italian violinist, Sbioka boasted of putting Mr. Zinnober on the double bass, and Referendarius Pulcher could not get a position in the Foreign Office. How Balthazar was enchanted with the head of a stick

Balthasar sat on a rock in the wilderness, thinking of Candida. After analyzing recent events, he realized that the kid was enchanted, and this witchcraft must be stopped.

Returning to Kerepes, Balthazar met signor Vincenzo Sbioca, a violin virtuoso known throughout the world, from whom he studied playing for two years. Sbioka spoke about his concert, where all the applause and praise went to Mr. Zinnober, and he, the musician, was nearly beaten. Signora Bragazi lies in a fever, for everyone praised Zinnober's singing, but she sang the aria. Offended by all this, Vincenzo Sbioka boasted of stuffing Zinnober into the double bass.

As soon as Balthasar saw the violinist, he saw his fellow referendary Pulcher, who was trying to shoot himself. Pulcher spoke about his oral examination for the position of a secret forwarder in the Foreign Office. The embassy adviser encouraged him, because the work submitted to the ministry was approved by the minister himself.

“The counselor took the exam with me and the little dwarf. I answered all the questions, but the monster was mumbling. The kid behaved indecently, fell off a high chair several times, and I had to put him down. The adviser smiled kindly at him, they hired me, and they scolded me, as if I came drunk, fell off my chair, behaved obscenely and did not know anything.

Balthazar shared his thoughts on witchcraft with the referendary, and they decided to bring the baby to clean water.

Comrades heard the music of harmony. A man was riding through the forest, dressed in Chinese, with a magnificent beret on his head. Crystal carriage and wheels too. White unicorns drove the carriage, a golden pheasant instead of a cab, and a golden beetle sat behind. The man greeted his friends, and a bright beam fell on Balthazar from the shiny head of a long stick held by a stranger. The young man seemed to have been pricked in the chest. From that moment, he decided that this man would save them from "the unholy Zinnober charms."

Chapter Five

How Prince Barsanuf made the secret forwarder Zinnober a Privy Councilor for special affairs. Picture book of Dr. Prosper Alpanus. Baltazar's escape

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, under whom Herr Zinnober took up his new position, was a descendant of Baron Protextatus von Mondschein, who in the chronicles looked for the genealogy of the Rosabelverde fairy. His ancestor's name was Protextatus von Mondschein, and he had the best education.

The successor of the great Paphnutius, Prince Barsanuf loved him, for every question must be answered, he danced well and understood money matters.

The baron invited the prince to breakfast with Leipzig larks and a glass of golden vodka from Gdansk. Zinnober was also invited. The prince praised the baby, thinking that now it was he who filled out the papers so beautifully and correctly. At this time, the kid, stuffed with larks, insignificantly mumbling and champing, planted an oil stain on the prince's cashmere trousers.

A young man approached, saying that he was making a report. But the prince snapped at him, accusing the guy of lying, he also noticed that he was chomping and put a stain on his trousers.

During breakfast, the prince appointed Mr. Zinnober as Privy Councilor for Special Affairs, noting: “A real Englishman!

Fabian told Balthasar about Zinnober's career, how Candida fell in love with him and enlisted. And Balthazar didn't care. He told his friend about what he had heard and seen in the forest, about the dwarf's witchcraft.

Fabian assured that this stranger was not a magician, but Dr. Prosper Alpanus, who wanted to appear as one. To verify this, the comrades went to the doctor's villa.

They knocked on the lattice gate with a hammer, an underground rumble was heard, and the gate slowly opened. The guys walked along a wide alley, and along them two huge frogs jumped. Fabian threw a stone at one, and suddenly she turned into a woman, ugly and old, and the other into a man, carefully dug a garden.

On the grass, as it seemed to Balthasar, white unicorns grazed, and Fabian saw only horses among them.

Instead of a doorman, there was a golden, ostrich-like, shiny bird. Fabian did not believe his eyes here either, assuring that this was a guy in disguise.

The guests were met by Dr. Alpanus. Balthazar told him everything he thought about Zinnober. In his library, the owner took a book about brownies-roots, where they were drawn. When the doctor touched them, they came to life, then he pushed them back into the book. Balthazar did not find little Zinnober among the brown-haired brownies, nor among the red-haired gnomes.

Then Dr. Alpanus decided to perform another operation. They went into another room, where Prosper Alpanus demanded that Balthazar wish that Candida appeared.

There was blue smoke. Candida appeared, and next to him was the nasty Zinnober, whom she spoiled. Prosper gave Balthazar a club to beat the monster.

After this experience, the doctor concluded: Zinnober is a man, but what forces help him. He invited Balthazar to come again. Fabian yelled that he did not believe in these women's fairy tales. Prosper Alpanus reassured him by stroking his arm, from shoulder to wrist.

On the way to Kerepesa, Balthazar noticed that his friend was wearing a strange frock coat: the skirts were long and the sleeves were short.

Fabian himself did not understand anything. When he reached the gate, he saw that his sleeves were shortening, and the skirts were lengthening and dragging along the ground behind him. Passers-by laughed at him, and the children pulled and tore at his coat. As soon as he jumped into a house, both the floors disappeared and the sleeves appeared.

At this time, Balthazar was dragged into which lane Pulcher. He said that they were looking for Balthazar, because he was accused of violating domestic law: he broke into the house of Mosh Terpin and beat an ugly baby to death. The referendary promised the guy his help, and now sent him to the village of Goh-Jakobsheim, where the famous scientist Ptolomeus Philadelphus wrote his book about an unknown student tribe.

Chapter six

As a Privy Councilor, Zinnober combed his hair in his garden and took a dewy bath. Order of the Green-spotted Tiger. How Panna Rosenschen visited Prosper Alpanus

Professor Mosh Terpin rejoiced at the fact that his daughter was marrying a Privy Councilor. Now he will be able to climb up the corporate ladder, like his son-in-law.

At dawn, the secretary Adrian, the young man who almost lost his place in the office of the ministry, walked around Zinnober. He regained the favor of the prince by obtaining for him a wonderful remedy for removing stains. Privy Councilor Zinnober lived in a beautiful house with an even better garden. Every nine days at dawn, he himself, without a servant, although it was very difficult for him, dressed and went to the garden.

Pulcher and Adrian felt some kind of secret, and, recognizing the valet, whom the master was supposed to go to the garden at night, penetrated the estate.

They saw that a woman with wings over her shoulders flew to the baby, combed his long curls with a golden comb. She wished him to be reasonable. And Kurdupel replied that he was already the smartest.

When the woman disappeared, Pulcher and Adrian jumped out of the bushes, noting that he was well combed.

Zinnober wanted to run away, but his frail legs let him down. He fell, tangled in the flowers that overgrown him.

On this occasion, Pulcher wrote a letter to Balthasar. Zinnober, upset by this incident, lay down in bed and groaned. The rumor about his illness came to the prince, who sent him his personal physician.

The life doctor determined that the Privy Councilor does not spare himself for the sake of the fatherland. He must have noticed the red stripe on Zinnober's head and inadvertently touched it. Zinnober, ominous with rage, slapped the doctor in the face, the echo went around the room:

"I'm fine, what do you want from me?" I'm going to get dressed and go to the ministry for a conference.

Pretextatus von Mondschein asked the little Zinnober to read a note that he allegedly composed himself. Hoping for the talent of the Privy Councilor, Praetextatus wanted to win on this report.

But in fact, the note was not written by Minister Mondschein, but by Secretary Adrian.

The kid then muttered and mumbled unintelligibly, so the prince himself began to read the report. Satisfied, he appointed Zinnober minister and sent Mondschein to rest. The prince also awarded the baby with the Order of the Green-Spotted Tiger, he wanted to hang an order ribbon, but it did not hang properly, according to the rules, on Zinnober - the hill interfered.

But the prince gathered an order council, to which he ordered to figure out how to fix this ribbon on the body of the new minister. He gave them eight days. There were also philosophers and a naturalist.

Everyone thought. In order to think better, they created conditions for complete silence: in the palace they walked in soft slippers, spoke in a whisper; near the palace the street was covered with a thick layer of straw; it was forbidden to beat drums and play musical instruments near the palace.

The theater tailor Kes, a clever and cunning person, was invited to the council. He quickly came up with the idea that the ribbon could be fastened with buttons.

The prince approved the decision of the Order Council: to introduce several degrees of the Order of the Green-Spotted Tiger, depending on the number of buttons. Minister Zinnober received a special award: an order with twenty diamond buttons, since that is exactly how many of them are needed for his strange figure.

Despite the wise invention, the prince did not like the tailor Kes, but nevertheless awarded him with an order with two gold buttons.

Dr. Alpanus spent the whole night composing Balthazar's horoscope, learned something about the little Zinnober. He wanted to go to Goch-Jakobsheim, and Fraulein von Rosenschen came to see him.

Vonbulla in a long black dress and black haze. Directing the beam of the stick at her, Prosper saw the patroness in white robes, with transparent wings behind her back, with white and red roses in her hair.

He hid the stick and invited the lady for coffee. On this day, a lot of miracles happened: a lady spilled coffee, broke a golden comb, became a butterfly and a mouse, and the doctor turned over like a bug, then a cat.

Prosper Alpanus told Mrs. Rosenshen that it was he who warned her about the introduction of education, it was he who kept intact his park, his magical accessories.

Panna asked the doctor to pardon her comrade as her pupil, then the sage showed Balthazar a horoscope. And Panna Rosenshen succumbed to this higher power. Thus, the patroness and the wizard be friends.

Chapter Seven

How Professor Mosh Terpin explored nature in the princely cellar. "Mycetes Beelzebub" (1). The despair of the student Balthazar. Gift from Prosper Alpanus

Balthazar received a letter from referendary Pulcher: “Our affairs, dear friend Balthazar, are getting worse. The disgusting Zinnober is now Minister of Foreign Affairs and has received the Order of the Green-Spotted Tiger with twenty buttons. Professor Mosh Terpin pinned, through his future son-in-law he received the post of general director of all natural affairs. He censors and revises solar and lunar eclipses, as well as weather forecasts in calendars permitted in the state, and especially explores nature in the residence and its surroundings. He receives rare birds, the best animals, and in order to investigate their nature, he orders them to be roasted, and then eats them. Zinnober made sure that Mosh Terpin could study his new treatise on wine in the prince's cellar. He thus studied a lot of wine and champagne.

The minister promises to take revenge on you. And my every meeting with him becomes fatal. In the zoological study, when he stood in front of a glass case with rare American monkeys, the strangers confused him with a monkey, calling him the Howler-Beelzebub monkey. I laughed so hard, I couldn't help it. Zinnober almost did not burst, his legs gave out, and the valet carried him to the carriage. He even refused the services of the prince's life physician. Farewell, Balthasar, don't lose hope, hide better."

Balthazar sat thus in thought in the thick of the forest, lamenting his fate and the vain promises of Prosper Alpanus. Suddenly, something strange flashed, the guy saw a doctor flying towards him on an insect that looked like a field horse.

Prosper forgave the young man for his thoughts and spoke of his love. In India, he has a beloved, from whom his friend Lotus conveyed greetings to him. A point replacement, that was the name of the Indian princess, calls him to her. He also told about Panna von Rosenschen and her pet baby Tsakhes.

His strange charms are hidden in three fiery-shiny hairs, which Balthazar must pull out and immediately burn so that trouble does not happen. In order to look at the hairs, Alpanus gave the boy a lorgnette, and for his punished comrade Fabian, a tortoiseshell snuffbox that would relieve him of the spell. Prosper will issue a formal deed of gift, where he will be called Balthazar's uncle and will give him his wonderful estate. There, after the wedding, the young live with his young wife. This homestead has the best vegetables for salads, the best weather for linen, the best carpets that won't rot or stain.

And Prosper Alpanus himself will go to his Balsamina.

(1) Mycetes Beelzebub (lat.) - Beelzebub monkey.

Section Eight

Balthazar crept into Kerepes in the morning to the house of his friend Fabian. Fabian lay pale in bed. Now he already believed in all sorts of charms, because no matter what suit, which tailor was not, the sleeves were still shortened and the floors were lengthened. There were a lot of suits hanging in his house right now. Fabian told his friend that theologians consider him a sectarian, and diplomats - for a rebel. The rector called him, and the student appeared in a waistcoat without a frock coat. Mr. Rector was terribly angry, ordered to appear in a decent form in a week. This deadline expired today. Balthazar handed Fabiano a snuffbox. When the guys opened it, a beautifully tailored tailcoat made of the finest cloth fell out of it. This tailcoat was very suitable for the young man. The charms are gone. Then Balthazar told his friend about the conversation with his uncle Prosper Alpanus. Fabian promised his support and help.

At that moment Referendarius Pulcher was walking down the street, very upset. And Fabian called him, and he went to see the rector.

Pulcher listened to Balthazar's story, speaking about the sad hour, because it was today that the disgusting dwarf solemnly celebrated his engagement. Mosh Terpin even invited the prince. In the hall, lit by hundreds of candles, the tidy little Zinnober stood, holding young Candida by the hand, he grinned disgustingly and smiled. When it was time to exchange rings, Balthazar burst into the hall, followed by Pulcher and Fabian. Everyone started screaming and complaining about this disgrace. Balthazar through a glass of glass proceeding a magical strand of hair. He grabbed it and Zinnober began to vibrate with his legs, scratch, bite. Then Fabian and Pulcher began to hold the baby. After that, neither the prince nor those around him saw in him that minister Zinnober; everyone began to laugh at the dwarf-kurdupel, a disgusting monster.

The prince was angry with Mosh Terpin, took away from him the post of general director of natural affairs, because he did not find his minister at the engagement.

Mosh Terpin, furious, wanted to throw the dwarf out the window, and the caretaker of the zoological office confused the baby with a monkey. In mocking laughter, the monster ran out and, grunting, ran home, not even noticed by its servants.

Balthasar told everything to Candida, who was bewildered by the Zinnober spell. And the girl confessed her love to him. Mosh Terpin yelled, wringing his hands. He was also assured of the charm of the ugly kurdupel obtained from the fairy Rosabelverde.

- Yes, - said Mosh Terpin, - yes, I was fascinated by an ugly sorcerer ... I no longer stand on my feet ... I soar under the ceiling ... Prosper Alpanus will come for me ... I will fly on a butterfly ... comb my fairy | Rosabelverde... patroness Rosenschen... I will become a minister! King! Emperor!

Candida and Balthasar informed the professor of their decision to marry. The father allowed: "... Marry, Love, starve together, I will give Candida not a penny of dowry."

Balthazar wanted to convince him that they would not starve, and they postponed it until tomorrow, because the professor was very, very tired.

Chapter Nine

How old Liza started a rebellion, and the minister Zinnober, running away, slipped. How depressed Prince Barsanuf was, how he ate onions, and how no one could replace Zinnober for him.

Minister Zinnober's carriage stood idle almost all night outside Terpin's house. The driver did not believe for a long time that Zinnober had gone home on foot and that he was not here.

Arriving home, he asked the valet, or the master of the house. The servant said that the master returned from the holiday dissatisfied, now grunting, now cat-like meowing, he crawled under the feet of the valet. And now they're sleeping, snoring like they always do on big business.

The servants went to check, and now Zinnober is snoring. The kid snored, won, whistled in bizarre ways.

Early in the morning there was a noise in the minister's house. Some old peasant woman, dressed in long-faded, wretched festive dress, asked for her son, to the little Tsakhes. The porter said that this was the house of Minister Zinnober, and there was no such thing among the servants. The woman was driven away.

Then she sat down on the stone steps of the house on the other side of the street. People began to gather around her. They didn't know if she was crazy or if there was truth in her words. The woman looked at the Zinnober window. And then she smiled.

“Here he is, my little Tsakhes.

Everyone looked there and began to laugh when they saw little Zinnober, who, in embroidered scarlet robes, tied with a sash, was standing at the window, reaching to the very floor.

The spectators laughed and shouted:

“Little Zaches!” Little Tsakhes!

The servants laughed the most furiously when they saw their master.

The minister, realizing that they were laughing at him, began to threaten the police, the guards, and the prison. But the more the Minister mounted, the stronger the laughter rose. They started throwing stones and vegetables at him.

Meanwhile, there was a rumor that this was really the little Tsakhes, that he climbed upstairs with a shameful lie and deceit, removing the proud name of Zinnober for himself.

People poured into the ministers' house, the valet wringing his hands. He could not find his master, neither did the people.

When the rebellion subsided, Zinnober did not leave his hiding place. The valet remarked, “that from one beautiful silver vessel with ears, which always stood white in the toilet, because the minister greatly appreciated it, as a precious gift from the prince himself, small, thin legs stick out.” When the servant pulled him out of there, his excellency was dead - the valet wept; after wiping it off, put it on the bed and called the life doctor.

Fraulein von Rosenschen entered the room. She calmed the people, and after her came Liza, the mother of little Tsakhes. Dead Zinnober seemed better now than ever in his life. There was a soft smile on his lips. Her hair fell back to her shoulders in curls, instead of tufting. Panna stroked the baby on the head, and in an instant a red streak shone in her hair.

Lisa began to cry and complain: it would be better if he stayed at home, I would carry him in a basket, and they would never give me coins.

Liza thought that all this house and the money that her son had amassed would remain for her. But no. The woman blushed even more. She wanted to take her little Tsakhes so that the priest could make a stuffed animal out of him. The fairy got angry, escorted the woman out, ordered her to wait, wanted to console and help with something.

Rosabelverde thanked Prosper Alpanus, who restored the baby to his appearance, that the monster would be buried with honors.

Prince Barsanuf wept greatly when he saw his minister dead. The life doctor, having examined the deceased, determined the cause of death - not physical, but mental. He believed that the minister was engaged in state affairs a lot, and that the pressure of the sash interfered with the activity of the brain and nodal system.

The prince cried a little more and went. Leaving the house, he saw old Lisa with a wreath of golden bows. He spoke to her affectionately, tasted her golden sweet onions, ordered her to supply onions to the prince's kitchen. The prince tried sweet, strong, burning onions, and in front of him he saw the deceased Zinnober, who whispered to him: “Buy, eat this onion, prince, for the good of the state!” The prince gave the League a few gold coins, so she got out of poverty with the help of the secret charms of Rosa-pretty.

The funeral of Minister Zinnober was one of the most magnificent: he was buried with honor, remembering all the merits of his mind to the state.

Section last

How Professor Mosh Terpin calmed down, and Candida never got annoyed. How a golden beetle buzzed in the ear of Dr. Prosper Alpanas that he said goodbye and left, and Balthazar lived happily with his wife

Now, dear reader, I want to say goodbye to you. The one who copies these sheets for you knows a lot about the glorious deeds of Zinnober and would gladly tell you. But alas! Looking back at the strange events, having accumulated them, he is afraid of losing your trust, dear reader. Having written "The Last Section", he asks to look at these images at ease, even to make friends with them.

The story could have ended with the death of Zinnober, and it would have been better to put a joyful wedding at the end.

Balthasar reassured Mosh Terpin by showing Minister Zinnober through his lorgnette; surprised him by introducing him to his uncle Prosper Alpanus, who gave the newlyweds his estate with the surrounding forests, fields, meadows. Here the professor could study his new experiments.

The guy introduced Candida's father to a spacious pub, which was no worse than the prince's cellar.

On this, the professor calmed down.

Baltazarov's wedding was celebrated in a suburban villa. The bride was absorbed by the Rosabelverde fairy, who surrounded the girl with her charms. Candida was extremely charming. In addition, Rosenshen gave her a wonderful magic necklace, and since then she has put it on, she has never been annoyed over trifles.

Young and young were happy.

The wizard and sorceress decorated the wedding with miracles: sweet songs about love, tables with dishes and crystal bottles rose from the ground.

At night, a golden beetle descended, and Prosper, saying goodbye to everyone, flew to India.

Balthazar, remembering the advice of Prosper Alpanus, wisely used a beautiful suburban estate, became a good poet. Candida never got annoyed, for she never took off her necklace. The young did not have enough, they began to live a happy family life.

So, the tale of the little Tsakhes, nicknamed Zinnober, now really has a completely happy ending p>