Shortening the night before Christmas gogol. Gogol "The Night Before Christmas" - Good drinking

For changing last day it's clear before Christmas frosty night. The girls and boys had not yet come out to carol, and no one saw how smoke came out of the chimney of one hut and a witch rose on a broom. She flashes like a black speck in the sky, gathering stars into her sleeve, and the devil flies towards her, who “had his last night left to wander around.” white light" Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket, assuming that the coming darkness will keep the rich Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk for a feast, at home, and the blacksmith Vakula, hated by the devil (who painted a picture of the Last Judgment and the shamed devil on the church wall) will not dare to come to Chubova’s daughter Oksana . While the devil is building chickens for the witch, Chub and his godfather, who came out of the hut, do not decide whether to go to the sexton, where a pleasant company will gather over the varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, to return home - and they leave, leaving the beautiful Oksana in the house, who was dressing up in front of the mirror, for which and Vakula finds her. The stern beauty mocks him, not at all moved by his gentle speeches. The disgruntled blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has lost his way and lost his godfather, knocks, having decided on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil to return home. However, the blacksmith’s voice makes him think that he was not in his own hut (but in a similar one, the lame Levchenko, to whose young wife the blacksmith probably came). Chub changes his voice, and the angry Vakula, jabbing him, kicks him out. The beaten Chub, having realized that the blacksmith has therefore left his own home, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, who was a witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew with her, dropping a month in the chimney.

It became light, the snowstorm subsided, and crowds of carolers poured into the streets. The girls come running to Oksana, and, noticing on one of them new slippers embroidered with gold, Oksana declares that she will marry Vakula if he brings her the slippers “that the queen wears.” Meanwhile, the devil, who had relaxed at Solokha’s, is scared away by his head, who did not go to the clerk for the feast. The devil quickly climbs into one of the bags left among the hut by the blacksmith, but soon his head has to climb into another, since the clerk is knocking on Solokha’s door. Praising the virtues of the incomparable Solokha, the clerk is forced to climb into the third bag, since Chub appears. However, Chub also climbs into the same place, avoiding meeting with the returning Vakula. While Solokha is talking in the garden with the Cossack Sverbyguz, who has come after him, Vakula takes away the bags thrown in the middle of the hut, and, saddened by the quarrel with Oksana, does not notice their weight. On the street he is surrounded by a crowd of carolers, and here Oksana repeats her mocking condition. Having thrown all but the smallest bags in the middle of the road, Vakula runs, and rumors are already creeping behind him that he was either mentally damaged or hanged himself.

Vakula comes to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, as they say, is “a little like the devil.” Having caught the owner eating dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves climbed into Patsyuk’s mouth, Vakula timidly asks the way to hell, relying on his help in his misfortune. Having received a vague answer that the devil is behind him, Vakula runs away from the savory dumplings falling into his mouth. Anticipating easy prey, the devil jumps out of the bag and, sitting on the blacksmith’s neck, promises him Oksana that same night. The cunning blacksmith, having grabbed the devil by the tail and crossed him, becomes the master of the situation and orders the devil to take himself “to Petemburg, straight to the queen.”

Having found Kuznetsov’s bags at that time, the girls want to take them to Oksana to see what Vakula caroled. They go for the sled, and Chubov’s godfather, calling a weaver to help, drags one of the sacks into his hut. There, a fight ensues with the godfather's wife over the unclear but tempting contents of the bag. Chub and the clerk find themselves in the bag. When Chub, returning home, finds a head in the second bag, his disposition towards Solokha greatly decreases.

The blacksmith, having galloped to St. Petersburg, appears to the Cossacks who were passing through Dikanka in the fall, and, holding the devil in his pocket, tries to be taken to an appointment with the queen. Marveling at the luxury of the palace and the wonderful paintings on the walls, the blacksmith finds himself in front of the queen, and when she asks the Cossacks, who came to ask for their Sich, “what do you want?”, the blacksmith asks her for her royal shoes. Touched by such innocence, Catherine draws attention to this passage of Fonvizin standing at a distance, and gives Vakula shoes, having received which he considers it a blessing to go home.

In the village at this time, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about exactly how Vakula committed suicide, and the rumors that have reached about this confuse Oksana, she does not sleep well at night, and not finding the devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith simply slept through matins and mass, and upon awakening, he takes a new hat and belt out of the chest and goes to Chub to woo him. Chub, wounded by Solokha’s treachery, but seduced by gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered and is ready to marry the blacksmith “without slippers.” Having started a family, Vakula painted his hut with paints, and painted a devil in the church, and “so disgusting that everyone spat when they passed by.”

We hope you enjoyed the summary of The Night Before Christmas. We will be glad if you take the time to read this story in its entirety.

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N.V. Gogol’s story “The Night Before Christmas” is one of the peaks early creativity author. Saturated with rich Ukrainian flavor, this story is not only filled with sparkling humor, but also whimsically combines humorous aspects with Christmas mysticism.

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Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s story “The Night Before Christmas” is one of the author’s best early works devoted to Ukrainian themes. Brought up in a picturesque village near Poltava, Nikolai Vasilyevich from childhood absorbed the riches of Ukrainian folklore, which were cleverly intertwined in his mind mystical stories and incomparable Ukrainian humor. In his story, part of the series of works “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka,” the writer paints a colorful portrait of a Ukrainian village celebrating Christmas. This snowy time has always been rich in people's memory not only with cheerful celebrations and amusements, but also with hidden sides, when dark forces make themselves felt.

The main character of the story is the blacksmith Vakula, who not only forges iron, but is also famous for his artistic talents. While painting the church, Vakula depicted a very ugly and evil devil, defeated after the Last Judgment. This greatly angered the devil flying over Dikanka these days, and from now on Vakula became for him evil enemy. At the same time, shaming the devil, Vakula is not afraid to challenge him, fight him and subsequently subjugate him. In the history of the relationship between Vakula and the devil, the comic chance of their acquaintance is intertwined with a fatal predisposition. Most accurately, this state is captured by the cunning Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who hints to Vakula about “the devil behind his shoulders.” In the folklore of many countries, including Ukraine, blacksmiths have traditionally been considered people who know how to establish contact with “evil spirits.” Vakula’s predisposition to becoming acquainted with the devil is also determined by the fact that his mother is the witch Solokha, who flew across the sky with the devil and plucked stars from the sky.

Challenging the devil, Vakula eventually defeats him, forces the “devilishness” to work for himself and fulfill it cherished dream- get real slippers of the empress in “Petersburg” for your beloved Oksana. The treacherous and proud Oksana makes Vakula suffer, forces him to enter into an alliance with the “evil spirits”.

After his disappearance, Vakula seems to die for the village residents, who claim that the blacksmith either went crazy or hanged himself. Suddenly, the blacksmith, who flew on the devil to St. Petersburg, “resurrects” again, appearing with the slippers obtained from the queen herself. The blacksmith’s “new birth” is capable of melting any ice: the rich Chub remains pleased with his gifts, and his daughter Oksana also does not refuse Vakula to marry him. Severely frightened by the sudden disappearance of the blacksmith, rumors of his insanity and suicide, Oksana understands how important it is to appreciate loved ones. Now she is ready to marry Vakula just like that, and not at all because he managed to get such beautiful little slippers for her.

Even more essays on the topic: “The Night Before Christmas”:

“The Night Before Christmas” by N.V. Gogol is a funny and magical story. However, besides jokes and pre-holiday pranks, fantasy and Ukrainian folklore, true love works wonders here.

Seventeen-year-old Oksana, the daughter of the rich Cossack Chub, is famous throughout the area for her extraordinary beauty. However, this girl knows her worth very well. She is proud, flirtatious, a little capricious - in general, an ordinary beauty. The young blacksmith Vakula, who fell in love with her, is not like that. He is simple and honest, gentle and caring. Whatever feats he is ready to perform for the sake of mutual feeling“wonderful, beloved Oksana”! But the frivolous girl only laughs at the blacksmith and jokes: if you bring me the royal booties, I will marry you.

How can poor Vakula get to the queen if St. Petersburg is thousands of kilometers from Dikanka?! And here magic comes to the aid of love: Vakula comes across the devil himself, who decides to laugh at the blacksmith on Christmas night. No matter how it is! The dexterous, strong, brave and resourceful Vakula saddled the unclean one and drove him to the capital, to royal palace. This is how the young blacksmith obtained Oksana’s dream, although it would seem that before that he had completely lost hope in the girl’s favor.

And while Vakula was traveling, no less miraculous transformations occurred with Oksana. Having heard rumors about the death of the blacksmith from hopeless love, she probably thought about the strength of his feelings, and then began to scold herself for being so harsh with the boy. Worried more and more, Oksana realized that she was madly in love with the blacksmith. She doesn’t even need the slippers anymore, as long as he can be found. And then Vakula turned around - he came to woo, bringing his beloved as a gift of amazingly beautiful little slippers, granted to him by the queen herself.

This is how love helped the most extraordinary miracles happen, which are only possible in magical night before Christmas.

Source: www.allsoch.ru

Belongs to the great writer N.V. Gogol great amount works, including The Night Before Christmas. Fiction and humor are intertwined in it and make the reader smile.

The beginning of the work is the meanness committed by the devil, who looks like a German, a pig, and a provincial attorney at the same time. The night before Christmas begins and the devil, seeing the majestic month in the sky, decides to steal it, which he succeeds in doing. Then the devil conceives another meanness - to pit the village blacksmith against the Cossack Chub, whose daughter the Cossack is courting.

At this time, the blacksmith goes to visit Chub’s daughter Oksana, knowing that her father has been invited to visit. But Chub, getting lost in the darkness, ends up with Solokha, the Blacksmith’s mother, who, despite her forty years, knew how to charm the most sedate Cossacks... And Solokha’s guest is the devil. Chub arrives and begins to court Solokha, but there is a knock on the door and Solokha hides Chub in a bag where the devil is already sitting.

There is another knock on the door - the clerk comes in. There is another knock - and the clerk ends up in the same bag where Chub is. A blacksmith enters the hut and, seeing strange bags, takes them to the forge. On the way, he thinks about his sad fate, about the fact that the proud and wayward Oksana agrees to be his wife only if he brings her the tsarina’s slippers.

Suddenly, Oksana herself and her friends meet on his way. The blacksmith tells her that she will not see him again. In reality, he goes to the Cossack Patsyuk, who knows all the devils. From Patsyuk the blacksmith learns that the devil is behind his back and is catching the devil. Vakula is afraid of the devil that he will begin to baptize him, and the devil, in fear, agrees to help Vakula get the royal slips.

At the same time, the beautiful Oksana is saddened by Vakula’s words. Now our heroine understands that she herself loves Vakula... The bags lying on the road were thrown by the blacksmith; farmers find it. They untie it and the evil Chub and the clerk fall out.

And what happens to our blacksmith? Having ridden the devil, he flies to St. Petersburg. Here he meets his fellow countrymen - the Cossacks, who are going to the palace on business. Vakula, with the help of the devil, persuades them, and they take him with them. In the palace, he asks the queen to give her little slippers, and, to everyone’s surprise, she agrees. Then the blacksmith returns to the farm. He goes to Oksana’s house, proposes to her and serves her little slippers. Oksana is very happy and says that she loves the blacksmith anyway.

At the conclusion of this work, N.V. Gogol reports on the further happy fate of the heroes; as a result of which the reader learns that the newlyweds were happy, and the blacksmith, in addition, repented in church for communicating with the devil.

Source: www.allsoch.ru

I recently read fairy tale N.V. Gogol “The Night Before Christmas”. Various magical events occur in this work.

Firstly, the story contains fairy tale characters. This is the devil who stole the month, the witch Solokha, cutting through the sky on her broom, and Patsyuk, who knew how to very quickly cure people of various ailments and ate dumplings in a very strange way.

Secondly, in the story there is a fabulous request from Oksana to Vakula. She wanted to have little slippers, like those of the queen herself. The reward for this would be that Oksana would marry Vakula. I think that Oksana was sure that Vakula would never be able to get these slippers.

There are also funny moments in the story. Men often came to visit Solokha, Vakula’s mother. And none of them suspected that there were several of them. And then this story happened. Solokha flew in with the Devil, but then the Head knocked on the door. The witch Solokha immediately hid the Devil in a bag lying on the floor. The clerk came for the Head, and Chub for the clerk, and in the end they all ended up in bags, and two people were sitting in one bag at once.

At first, the blacksmith Vakula wanted to drown himself because of unrequited love to Oksana, but the bag in which the Devil was lying ended up with him. The devil was very happy to be freed from the bag and wanted to use Vakula for his own purposes. The blacksmith Vakula forced him to fly to St. Petersburg to the queen herself. Vakula saddled the Devil and they flew off. There the Devil turned into a horse. Vakula saw the Cossacks and decided to go with them to the queen. And the Devil shrunk and climbed into his pocket. Thanks to his quick wits and courage, Vakula got the slippers.

Like all fairy tales, this tale has a happy ending. Vakula flew home and married Oksana. They lived happily ever after. And then Vakula endured church repentance, painted the left choir of the church for free, and painted a devil inside for the church. And this devil was so terrible that people came to church and spat at his image.

The magical moments in the story are not accidental. After all, everything happened on Christmas night, on which absolutely anything can happen.

The fairy tale "The Night Before Christmas" was written by Nikolai Gogol on early stage creativity. The writer created this work “in one breath.” The author had plenty of material for writing this story, since he devoted quite a lot of time to studying the folklore and customs that reigned in the Ukrainian village. But most of all, the fairy tale “The Night Before Christmas” amazes with the abundance of colorful living images.

History of creation

This work was written in 1831. The author was then only twenty-two years old, and the decision to devote his life literary creativity At that time he had not yet accepted it completely. But the success achieved by the fairy tale “The Night Before Christmas” and other romantic works published in the thirties inspired Gogol to continue his writing career.

The work revealed to Russian readers the beauty and originality of the Ukrainian region. The fairy tale "The Night Before Christmas" was written not only on the basis theoretical knowledge Ukrainian folklore. The writer himself witnessed the vibrant celebration of Christmas in Ukraine.

Gogol was a deeply religious man, and therefore the main idea of ​​the story, which brought him fame, was the idea that a person is always able to find strength in order to overcome evil. The devil from the fairy tale “The Night Before Christmas” is the personification of this evil.

Evil spirits

The representative is depicted in Gogol's work as a cunning, insidious prankster. His numerous attempts to stir up good Christian souls are not always successful. But the devil from the fairy tale “The Night Before Christmas” is still an extremely stubborn character. Despite all the failures, he does not stop committing his unsightly insidious actions.

The character of the devil is remarkably characterized by his meeting with Solokha. Here he is depicted as a character, although negative, but quite passionate, and not even without a certain charm. But, despite the devilish persistence and inhuman cunning, nothing works out for Gogol’s devil. Good conquers evil. The enemy of the human race has been fooled by ordinary mortals.

Image of Vakula

Nikolai Gogol, like many other Russian writers, sought to create ideal image. And already in their early works he wanted to portray a man who would become the embodiment of the best national qualities. Such a hero was Vakula from the fairy tale “The Night Before Christmas”. This hero is endowed with spiritual strength and beauty. He is brave and smart. In addition, the blacksmith is full of energy and youthful enthusiasm.

The main characteristic feature of the blacksmith Vakula is loyalty to his duty and the desire to keep his promise at all costs.

The heroes of the fairy tale “The Night Before Christmas” are prototypes of Ukrainian villagers, endowed by the author with fabulous and romantic features. Vakula loves the beautiful but absurd Oksana with all her heart. He is ready to do anything to achieve her affection. And he decides on a dangerous adventure to get his beloved girl slippers, the likes of which only one queen wears.

The plot of Gogol's story contains character traits such literary direction like romanticism. The hero sets a goal for himself, withstands all sorts of tests, overcomes a long dangerous path, but still gets the treasured cherevichi. It should be noted that even when he finds himself in the queen’s palace, a simple blacksmith does not lose his composure and retains his sense of self-esteem. The splendor and wealth of the capital do not seduce him. Vakula thinks about only one thing - about his small modest house and about his beloved girl, who will very soon become his wife.

Main female image

Oksana from the fairy tale “The Night Before Christmas” is a flighty and narcissistic girl. At least, this is how she appears in the eyes of the reader at the beginning of the work. She is pretty, and is also the daughter of a wealthy Cossack.

Excessive attention from young people somewhat spoiled her, made her capricious and even cruel. But all these negative traits instantly dissipate immediately after the blacksmith leaves. After some thought, Oksana realized the cruelty of her action. Having promised to marry the blacksmith in exchange for the royal slippers, she doomed him to death. In any case, she was deeply confident of this during the absence of the young man in love, and that’s why she was tormented. But when Vakula finally returned, Oksana realized that she really didn’t need any wealth. The capricious Cossack daughter eventually fell in love with a simple blacksmith.

Solokha

Vakula's mother is a cunning, hypocritical and selfish woman. Solokha is half a woman. During the day she is a lively village woman. And at night she turns into a witch, riding around on a broomstick. Solokha is a bright and charming woman, which allows her to have “cordial” relationships with both the clerk and the devil himself.

Feature of the genre

There are other bright characters in the story: clerk, head, godfather. Traditions had a great influence on the plot folk tale, in which there is often a motive of testing and travel. In this romantic tale you can also find symbols that have a mythological origin. For example, dumplings, which Patsyuk eats with enviable appetite, are associated with magical power moon.

Using the example of the heroes of the story “The Night Before Christmas,” the author not only depicted human vices, but also expressed the idea that everything bad in a person is revealed sooner or later, and bad deeds never go unpunished.

Retelling plan

1. The appearance of a devil.
2. The story of the blacksmith Vakul.
3. Conversation between the arrogant Oksana and the lover Vakula.
4. Chub, Oksana’s father, goes to visit Solokha.
5. Oksana promises Vakula to marry him if he brings her the slippers that the queen herself wears.
6. Solokha hides her unlucky suitors (the devil, the head, the clerk, Chub) in coal sacks.
7. Vakula sits on the devil and flies on it to St. Petersburg.
8. The villagers find out who was in the sacks.
9. Vakula, having reached the capital, goes to the queen for a reception together with the Cossacks and receives the empress’s slippers.
10. Oksana is sad about Vakula’s absence and feels that she is in love.
11. Vakula, having returned, wooed Oksana.
12. The life of Vakula and Oksana.

Retelling

“The last day before Christmas has passed. A clear winter night has arrived.” Through the chimney of one of the huts, along with the smoke, a witch rose on a broom. WITH opposite side a speck appeared, which stretched and turned out to be just a devil. He had one last night left, when he could still “roam around the world and learn his sins.” good people" The devil crept up to the month to drag him away, and after several unsuccessful attempts Still, he grabbed it, hid it in his pocket and flew on.

The blacksmith Vakula was known as the best painter in Dikanka. “The blacksmith was a God-fearing man and often painted images of saints... But the triumph of his art was one picture painted on the church wall in the right vestibule, in which he depicted St. Peter on the day of the Last Judgment, with keys in his hands, expelling him from hell evil spirit; the frightened devil rushed in all directions, anticipating his death, and the previously imprisoned sinners beat and drove him with whips, logs and anything else they could find.” Since then, the devil swore to take revenge on the blacksmith. To do this, he decided to steal a month, hoping that old Chub would not go to visit the clerk in such darkness, where his acquaintances would gather for kutya. “And the blacksmith, who had long been at odds with him, would never dare to go to his daughter in his presence, despite his strength.” The devil, meanwhile, was building “love hens” for the witch.

Chub and his godfather Panas left the door of their hut. Seeing that there was no month in the sky, he doubted whether he should go to the clerk. But, having quarreled and consulted with his godfather, he decided to go, and “the two godfathers set off on the road.”

Meanwhile, Oksana, Chub’s daughter, who was considered the best girl on both sides of Dikanka and “was capricious, like a beauty,” when left alone, could not stop admiring herself in the mirror: “Oh, how pretty! Miracle! What joy will I bring to the one I will marry! How my husband will admire me! He won't remember himself! He will kiss me to death!

While Oksana was praising her appearance, Vakula, who was madly in love with her, entered the hut: “If the king called me and said: “Blacksmith Vakula, ask me for everything that is best in my kingdom, I will give it all to you. I will order it.” “I don’t want,” I would say to the king, “neither expensive stones, nor a gold forge, nor your whole kingdom: give me my Oksana instead!” “Oksana is cold and cold. arrogant with Vakula. She is bored with the blacksmith, and she is waiting for the girls and boys to have a fun Christmas night.

The witch, frozen, descended through the air straight into the pipe. The devil followed her, and “both found themselves in a spacious stove between the pots.” Then Solokha crawled out of the oven, shook herself off, and no one would have thought that she had just flown on a broom.

The mother of the blacksmith Vakula, who was no more than forty years old, was “neither good-looking nor bad-looking... However, she was so able to charm the most sedate Cossacks that both the head and the clerk Osip Nikiforovich, and the Cossack Korniy came to her Chub, and the Cossack Kasyan Sverbyguz. And, to her credit, she knew how to skillfully deal with them. It never occurred to any of them that he had a rival.” But Solokha was friendliest of all with the Cossack Chub, because he was reputed to be rich on the farm. And so that her son Vakula “wouldn’t drive up to his daughter and have time to take everything for himself,” she tried to quarrel between her son and Chub as often as possible. We went to the farm different stories and stories about Solokha being a witch.

Solokha, like a good housewife, began to clean up and put everything in its place, but did not touch the bags that stood by the stove. The devil, when he flew into the chimney, saw Chub with his godfather and decided to blow a snowstorm so that Chub would come back and find the blacksmith at home. Indeed, having gotten lost in a snowstorm, Chub and godfather began to look for a way back. The godfather came across a tavern and forgot everything. Chub saw his hut and began to call his daughter. But, hearing Vakula’s voice, he decided that he had stumbled upon someone else’s hut. Not wanting to admit that he, Chub, was lost, he said that he came to sing carols. Vakula, not recognizing Chub, beat him up and kicked him out. Chub decided to go to Solokha because he realized that she was alone now.

At that moment, the stolen month flew away from the devil. “Everything lit up. The snowstorm was gone... Crowds of boys and girls showed up with bags.” The carolers burst into Chub's hut with noise and laughter. Oksana noticed beautiful shoes on one girl and immediately wanted hers to be no worse. Vakula volunteered to get “the kind of booties that a rare lady wears.” To which the beauty replied: “Yes, all of you be witnesses: if the blacksmith Vakula brings those same booties that the queen wears, then here’s my word that I will marry him right away.” The girls took the “capricious beauty” with them, and the blacksmith “thought only about Oksana.” Meanwhile, the devil grew soft around Solokha. Suddenly the voice of the head was heard. Solokha ran to open the door, and the nimble devil climbed into the bag lying by the stove. Before the head had time to say a word, the clerk’s voice was heard. Solokha, at the request of the head, hid it in a coal sack. The clerk had just begun to court Solokha when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Frightened that he would be found at Solokha’s place, the clerk also asked him to hide it, which the witch did, pouring out coal from another bag. Chub entered the hut. It didn’t take long for Vakula to return. Solokha, frightened, herself signaled to Chub to climb into the very bag in which the clerk was already sitting.

The blacksmith was “very out of sorts.” Looking around the hut, he fixed his gaze on the bags: “Why are these bags lying here? It's time to remove them from here long ago. This stupid love has made me completely stupid. Tomorrow is a holiday, and all sorts of rubbish is still lying in the house. Take them to the forge!” The bags seemed very heavy, but Vakula put everything on his shoulders and left the hut. Hearing Oksana's voice among the carolers, Vakula threw the bags on the ground and walked as if spellbound, "with a small bag on his shoulders, along with a crowd of boys walking behind the crowd of girls." Oksana again began to laugh at the blacksmith, so much so that out of grief he decided to drown himself. He said goodbye to everyone and ran away. And when he stopped to catch his breath, he decided: “I’ll try another remedy, I’ll go to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk. He, they say, knows all the devils and will do whatever he wants. I’ll go, because my soul will still have to disappear!” Vakula asked Patsyuk to show the way to hell. To which he indifferently replied: “He who has the devil behind him doesn’t have to go far.” Vakula was amazed at how Patsyuk ate dumplings. They themselves dipped into the sour cream and went into his mouth. One even smeared sour cream on the blacksmith’s lips. The devout blacksmith, in order not to accumulate sin, since it was impossible to eat meat that night, ran out of the hut.

Meanwhile, the devil jumped out of the bag and sat astride Vakula’s neck, whispering in his ear: “It’s me, your friend, I’ll do anything for my comrade and friend! I’ll give you as much money as you want... Oksana will be ours today.” The blacksmith agreed. The devil began to “gallop on the blacksmith’s neck” with joy. Then Vakula grabbed him by the tail and “created a cross.” The devil was quiet as a lamb. “Then the blacksmith, without letting go of his tail, jumped astride him and raised his hand to make the sign of the cross.” The devil begged, asking to let him go. To which Vakula said: “Take me this very hour... to St. Petersburg, straight to the queen.”

The girls, having stumbled upon Vakula’s bags, decided to take them to Oksana’s house to see what the blacksmith had caroled. But since the bags were too heavy to lift, we decided to go get a sled. Meanwhile, the godfather came across the bags, and soon the weaver Shapuvalenko came up. Rejoicing at the find, they dragged the sacks to the godfather’s house in the hope that the godfather’s wife would not be at home. This grumpy, greedy and pugnacious woman beat her husband, and then complained about him to her friends, selflessly talking “about the outrage of her husband and the beatings she suffered from him.” But the wife happened to be at home and noticed the bags. A quarrel ensued, which turned into a fight, until Chub got out of the bag, followed by the clerk. “Here you go!” oh yeah Solokha! put her in a sack... Well, I see she has a house full of sacks... Now I know everything: she had two people in each sack... So much for Solokha!” - Chub exclaimed.

The girls returned and did not find one bag. Having loaded the other one onto a sled, they rushed through the creaking snow and brought it into the hut. But suddenly they got scared because the bag began to hiccup and cough. At this time Chub arrived, and the secret of another bag was revealed. “And the head fit right in,” Chub said to himself in bewilderment, measuring him from head to toe, “see how!.. Eh!..” - he couldn’t say anything more.

Let's return to Vakula. He was already flying on horseback towards St. Petersburg. “The devil, having flown over the barrier, turned into a horse, and the blacksmith saw himself on a dashing runner in the middle of the street.” Finding himself in St. Petersburg, Vakula was afraid to immediately go to the queen. He ordered the devil to lead him to familiar Cossacks who were passing through Dikanka in the fall.

By the way, the Cossacks were going to the queen. At the instigation of the devil, they agreed to take Vakula with them. He was amazed by the beauty and splendor of the palace. “What a ladder,” the blacksmith whispered to himself, “it’s a pity to trample underfoot. What decorations! Well, they say fairy tales lie! Why the hell are they lying! oh my god, what a railing! What job! here one piece of iron is worth fifty rubles! The blacksmith timidly followed the Cossacks and admired the beauty, gold and luxury that surrounded him. A few minutes later a man entered, accompanied by a whole retinue, who turned out to be “Potemkin himself.” Following the court ladies, the empress appeared. Vakula saw nothing, only stretched out on the floor after the Cossacks.

At the end of the conversation, Catherine carefully asked: “What do you want?” Then the blacksmith again fell to the ground and began to ask for his favorite slippers: “My God, what if my little girl wore such slippers!” The Empress laughed, and everyone laughed: “Really, I really like this simplicity...” Vakula’s request was fulfilled, and he, stepping back, bent down to his pocket, said quietly: “Take me out of here quickly!” — and suddenly found himself behind the barrier.

A rumor spread throughout Dikanka that Vakula had drowned. Oksana was embarrassed when she heard about this, but did not quite believe it: she knew that the blacksmith was quite devout to decide to destroy his soul. The girl did not sleep all night, tossed about, kept thinking, and by morning she fell head over heels in love with the blacksmith. Chub remained indifferent to Vakula’s fate, since he could not forget Solokha’s treachery, and kept scolding her.

It's morning. All the people gathered in the church. “The celebration was visible on all the faces, wherever you looked. The head licked its lips, imagining how he would break his fast with sausage; the girls thought about how they would skate with the boys on the ice; the old women whispered prayers more diligently than ever... Only Oksana stood as if not at home: she prayed and did not pray...” But Oksana was not the only one thinking about the blacksmith. All the laity noticed that the holiday was not a holiday: as if something was missing. The clerk became hoarse after sitting in the sack, and the visiting singer sang differently from the way Vakula used to sing the “Our Father.”

Vakula found himself near his hut as the rooster crowed. He gave the devil three blows with a twig, and he “started to run.” “So, instead of deceiving, seducing and fooling others, the enemy of the human race was himself fooled.”

Vakula, having slept until lunch, got up, dressed smartly, took a new belt, hat, whip and went to Chub. Vakul pulled out the booties from his scarf, fell at the feet of the surprised Cossack Chub and asked not to be angry with him for the past: “Have mercy, dad! don't be angry! Here’s a whip for you: hit as much as your heart desires, I give myself up...” He began to beg to give Oksana for him. And then Oksana screamed, crossing the threshold and seeing Vakula. "No! No! I don’t need booties,” she said, waving her hands and not taking her eyes off him, “I don’t even need booties...” She didn’t finish further and blushed.”

Time has passed. A bishop was passing through Dikanka and saw a very painted hut. This is where Oksana, Vakula and the child lived. And in the church, on the wall, a blacksmith painted a devil in hell, so disgusting that the women used it to scare the children who burst into tears.

The story “The Night Before Christmas” was written by N.V. Gogol in 1830 – 1832. The first edition of the work was published in 1832 in the printing house of A. Plushar. The story is part of the writer’s famous cycle “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. In “The Night Before Christmas,” Gogol humorously depicted poeticized rural life on a holiday, turning the plot around the love story of the blacksmith Vakula and the daughter of a rich Cossack Oksana.

Main characters

Vakula- blacksmith, “a strong man and a kid anywhere”, in free time was engaged in “painting”, was in love with Oksana and flew to St. Petersburg on the devil to get her slippers from the Tsarina herself.

Oksana- daughter of the Cossack Chuba, Vakula’s beloved, she “was not yet seventeen years old”, “she was capricious, like a beauty.”

Crap- He disliked Vakula because he painted him in a bad light and took the blacksmith to St. Petersburg.

Other characters

Forelock- a rich Cossack, widower, father of Oksana.

Solokha- the witch, Vakula’s mother, “was no more than forty years old.”

Pot-bellied Patsyuk- a healer, a former Cossack, who has been living in Dikanka for many years.

Head, clerk, godfather Panas, Queen Catherine.

It was a clear winter night in Dikanka before Christmas. Suddenly, a witch flew out of the chimney of one of the huts riding a broom and, rising to the sky, began collecting stars in her sleeve.

On the other hand, a devil appeared in the sky. He hid the month in his pocket, and everything around immediately became dark. The devil did this so that the Cossack Chub would be too lazy to walk in the dark and stay at home, and therefore the blacksmith Vakula could not come to his daughter Oksana. So the devil wanted to take revenge on the blacksmith, who painted him disgraced in the painting of the Last Judgment.

Chub and Panas, waiting for a “good drinking party” at the clerk’s, leave the Cossack’s hut and see that a month has disappeared in the sky, and it has become completely dark outside. After hesitating, they still decide to continue on their way.

While Chub left, Oksana, left alone at home, admired herself in front of the mirror. Vakula, who came to her, finds the girl doing this. The blacksmith addresses Oksana with tender speeches, but she only laughs and mocks him. Frustrated, Vakula decides that the girl does not love him.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and the blacksmith went to open it.

The frost increased, so the devil and the witch went down through the chimney into her hut. The witch was none other than Vakula’s mother, Solokha. She knew how to charm men so much that many Cossacks of the village came to her, but none of them knew about their rivals. Among all her admirers, Solokha singled out the rich Cossack Chub.

Meanwhile, when the devil was going down the chimney, he noticed Chub and created a strong snowstorm, thus trying to bring him home.

And indeed, seeing nothing because of the snowstorm, Chub decided to go back and he and his godfather parted ways. different sides. Having reached his hut, the Cossack knocked, but, hearing Vakula’s indignant cry, decided that this was not his house and changed his voice. Not recognizing Chub in the newcomer, the blacksmith beat the Cossack. Then Chub, reasoning that if Vakula was here, then he was not at home, went to Solokha.

While the devil was flying out of the chimney and back, the month flew out of the “palm” hanging on his side and rose into the sky. “Everything lit up. Snowstorms like never before." Crowds of caroling boys and girls with bags appeared on the street.

The girls hurried to Chub's house. Oksana noticed one of the girls had new shoes and was sad that she had no one to get her a beautiful new thing. Then Vakula himself volunteered to get “the kind of slippers that a rare lady wears.” Jokingly, Oksana said that only those worn by the queen herself would suit her, and if the blacksmith got hold of them, she would marry him.

A hefty head suddenly comes to Solokha, who is sitting with the devil. While the woman was opening the door, the unclean hid in the bag. The head only had time to drink a glass of vodka and say that because of the snowstorm he didn’t get to the clerk, when there was another knock on the door - it was the clerk himself. Solokha hid her head in the second bag. However, the woman’s conversation with the clerk was soon interrupted - the Cossack Chub came to Solokha. The hostess hid the clerk in the third bag, and soon Chub ended up in the same bag, who did not want to see Vakula, who had come to his mother.

While Solokha went out to see the next visitor, the blacksmith takes away all three bags and, saddened by Oksana’s bullying, does not even notice their weight.

On the street, Vakula meets carolers. Oksana, laughing, repeats her condition again in front of everyone. Upset, Vakula threw the bags on the ground and, taking the smallest one with him, said goodbye to everyone and ran away.

Vakula decides to go to the local healer - Pot-bellied Patsyuk - “he, they say, knows all the devils and will do whatever he wants.” Finding Patsyuk eating first dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves flew into the owner’s mouth, Vakula asks him how to find the devil in order to ask him for help. To this the healer answered him: “He who has the devil behind him does not need to go far.” Frightened by a quick dumpling flying into his mouth, Vakula runs away from Patsyuk.

Hearing the blacksmith’s words, the devil immediately jumped out of the bag and offered to conclude a contract, signing it in blood. However, Vakula grabbed the devil by the tail. After baptizing the unclean one, the blacksmith saddled him and forced him to take him to St. Petersburg to the queen.

Oksana notices the bags left by Vakula and offers to pick them up. While the girls went to get the sled, the bag with Chub and the clerk is carried away by the godfather who came out of the tavern. During a quarrel between Panas and his wife over the contents of the bag, Chub and the clerk got out of it, explaining that they had decided to make a joke.

The girls took the remaining bag to Oksana. At this time, Chub returned home and, finding the confused head in the bag, was outraged by Solokha’s cunning.

Having flown to St. Petersburg, the devil turned into a horse, and then, at the behest of Vakula, he shrunk and hid in his pocket. The blacksmith finds familiar Cossacks, and with the help of the evil spirit, he receives consent to go with them to the queen.

In the palace, the Cossacks and Vakula were met by Potemkin, and then by the queen herself. When Catherine asked the Cossacks what request they came to her with, the blacksmith immediately fell at the queen’s feet, asking for his wife the same beautiful slippers as hers. Catherine was amused by his simplicity, and she ordered to bring the most expensive shoes with gold. Praising the queen’s legs, the blacksmith, pushed by the Cossacks, stepped back and the devil instantly carried him “behind the barrier.”

Rumors had already spread around Dikanka at this time that Vakula had either drowned or hanged himself. Hearing about this, Oksana was very upset - after all, he loved her, and now, perhaps, he left the village forever or disappeared completely. Vakula did not appear after mass either.

The blacksmith got back even faster, and after giving the devil three blows with a twig, he released him. Upon entering home, Vakula immediately fell asleep and slept until mass. Waking up, the blacksmith took with him the queen’s shoes for Oksana and a hat and belt for Chub and went to the Cossack. After her father’s consent to the matchmaking, the embarrassed girl said that she was ready to marry Vakula “without any stalks.”

After getting married, the blacksmith painted his entire hut, and in the church he depicted the devil in hell - “so disgusting that everyone spat when they passed by.”

Conclusion

In the story “The Night Before Christmas” Gogol reveals the theme folk life, depicting a number of typical rural characters - the clever and strong blacksmith Vakula, the beautiful and narcissistic Oksana, the stupid and rich Chub, the cunning Solokha and others. By introducing mythical characters into the narrative (witch, devil, healer), the author brings the plot of the work closer to a fairy tale, thus intertwining the techniques of realism and romanticism in the story.

A brief retelling of "The Night Before Christmas" describes the main plot of the work, but for better understanding We advise you to read the full version of the story.

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