It’s a little pain to read the online summary. Encyclopedia of fairy-tale heroes: "Little Muk". A fairy tale for children and adults and its “non-childish questions”
Wilhelm Hauff is a famous German short story writer and writer. He is familiar to us thanks to his wonderful fairy tales. The story of their creation is interesting: he wrote them when he worked as a tutor in the family of the Minister of Defense. Fairy tale "Little Muk" summary which is given here, was included in his collection “Märchen”, which he wrote for the children of the minister. The author's works quickly became popular in many countries.
Wilhelm Hauff. "Little Muck". Summary. Introduction
The story of little Muk is told by a man who
I met him as a child. While main character was already an old man. He looked funny: a huge head sticking out on a thin neck, very short stature. The children laughed at him, shouting offensive rhymes after him, and stepped on his long shoes. The dwarf lived alone and rarely left the house. One day the narrator offended little Muk. He complained to his father, who, having punished his son, revealed to him the story of the poor dwarf.
WilliamGauff. "Little Muck". Summary. Developments
Once upon a time, Muk was a child and lived with his father, a poor man, but very revered in the city. Dwarf is rare
I left the house. His father did not love him for his ugliness and did not teach his son anything. When Muk turned 16, he was left completely alone. His father died, leaving nothing for his son. The dwarf took only his parent's clothes, shortened them to suit his height and went around the world to seek his fortune. He had nothing to eat, and he would certainly have died of hunger and thirst if he had not met an old woman who fed all the cats and dogs in the area. After listening to his sad story, she invited him to stay and work for her. Muk looked after her pets, who soon became very spoiled: as soon as the mistress left the house, the animals began to destroy the home. One day, when one of the pets broke an expensive vase in the old woman’s room, Muk entered there and found magic shoes and a wand. Since the mistress insulted him and did not pay his salary, the dwarf decided to run away, taking with him the miracle things.
In a dream, he saw that his shoes could take him anywhere in the world; all he had to do was turn on his heel three times, and the wand would help him find the treasure. Where the gold is hidden, it will strike the ground three times, and where the silver is hidden, it will strike the ground twice. Soon little Muk reached one big city and hired himself out there to serve as a walker for the king. He carried out all the assignments quickly and well, but the city did not like the dwarf and laughed at him. To earn the respect and sympathy of people, Muk began to distribute gold coins to everyone, which he found with the help of a wand. Soon he was convicted of stealing the royal treasury and thrown into prison. Little Muk admitted that magic shoes and a wand help him. He was released, but these things were taken away.
WilliamGauff. "Little Muck". Summary. Ending
The dwarf went on a long journey again and found two trees with dates. Having eaten the fruits of one of them, he discovered that he had donkey ears and a large nose. When he tried dates from another tree, his ears and nose became the same again. Having collected the fruits from which his ears and nose grew, he goes to the city to the market. The royal cook takes all the goods from him and returns to the palace satisfied. Soon all the subjects and the king grow ugly ears and a big nose. Disguised as a scientist and taking with him the fruits from the second tree, Muk goes to the palace. There he relieves one of the king's associates from deformities. Everyone gasps and begs the dwarf to cure everyone. The king opens his treasury in front of him, offering to choose any treasures, but Muk takes only his shoes and wand. Having done this, he takes off his clothes as a scientist, and everyone recognizes him as the former royal walker. Despite the king's pleas, Muk does not give him dates and leaves, and the king remains a freak. This is where the fairy tale “Little Muk” ends.
A summary of the work is unlikely to convey all the unusualness of the adventures of the main character. The shortcomings of his appearance were more than compensated for by his sharpness and intelligence. We advise you to read the work in the original. Marvelous good fairy tales wrote Gauff: “Little Muk,” a summary of which is given here, is a work about the triumph of justice, about the fact that evil is always punished.
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Wilhelm Hauff is a famous German short story writer and writer. He is familiar to us thanks to his wonderful fairy tales. The story of their creation is interesting: he wrote them when he worked as a tutor in the family of the Minister of Defense. The fairy tale "Little Muk", a brief summary of which is given here, was included in his collection "Märchen", which he wrote for the children of the minister. The author's works quickly became popular in many countries.
Wilhelm Hauff. "Little Muck". Summary. Introduction
The story of little Muk is told by a man who met him as a child. At that time, the main character was already an old man. He looked funny: a huge head sticking out on a thin neck, the children laughed at him, shouting offensive poems after him, and stepped on his long shoes. The dwarf lived alone and rarely left the house. One day the narrator offended little Muk. He complained to his father, who, having punished his son, revealed to him the story of the poor dwarf.
William Gauff. "Little Muck". Summary. Developments
Once upon a time, Muk was a child and lived with his father, a poor man, but very revered in the city. The dwarf rarely left the house. His father did not love him for his ugliness and did not teach his son anything. When Muk turned 16, he was left completely alone. His father died, leaving nothing for his son. The dwarf took only his parent's clothes, shortened them to suit his height and went around the world to seek his fortune. He had nothing to eat, and he would certainly have died of hunger and thirst if he had not met an old woman who fed all the cats and dogs in the area. After listening to his sad story, she invited him to stay and work for her. Muk looked after her pets, who soon became very spoiled: as soon as the mistress left the house, the animals began to destroy the home. One day, when one of the pets broke an expensive vase in the old woman’s room, Muk entered there and found magic shoes and a wand. Since the mistress insulted him and did not pay his salary, the dwarf decided to run away, taking with him the miracle things.
In a dream, he saw that his shoes could take him anywhere in the world; all he had to do was turn on his heel three times, and the wand would help him find the treasure. Where the gold is hidden, it will strike the ground three times, and where the silver is hidden, it will strike the ground twice. Soon little Muk reached one large city and hired himself out there to serve as a walker for the king. He carried out all the assignments quickly and well, but the city did not like the dwarf and laughed at him. To earn the respect and sympathy of people, Muk began to distribute gold coins to everyone, which he found with the help of a wand. Soon he was convicted of stealing the royal treasury and thrown into prison. Little Muk admitted that magic shoes and a wand help him. He was released, but these things were taken away.
William Gauff. "Little Muck". Summary. Ending
The dwarf went on a long journey again and found two trees with dates. Having eaten the fruits of one of them, he discovered that he had donkey ears, and when he tried dates from another tree, his ears and nose became the same again. Having collected the fruits from which his ears and nose grew, he goes to the city to the market. The royal cook takes all the goods from him and returns to the palace satisfied. Soon all the subjects and the king grow ugly ears and a big nose. Disguised as a scientist and taking with him the fruits from the second tree, Muk goes to the palace. There he relieves one of the king's associates from deformities. Everyone gasps and begs the dwarf to cure everyone. The king opens his treasury in front of him, offering to choose any treasures, but Muk takes only his shoes and wand. Having done this, he takes off his clothes as a scientist, and everyone recognizes him as the former royal walker. Despite the king's pleas, Muk does not give him dates and leaves, and the king remains a freak. This is where the fairy tale “Little Muk” ends.
A summary of the work is unlikely to convey all the unusualness of the adventures of the main character. The shortcomings of his appearance were more than compensated for by his sharpness and intelligence. We advise you to read the work in the original. Gauff wrote amazingly good fairy tales: “Little Muk,” a summary of which is given here, is a work about the triumph of justice, about the fact that evil is always punished.
Main characters: the dwarf Muk, the king, the courtiers and the old witch.
The fairy tale tells about all the troubles and adversities that befell poor, ugly in appearance, but kind and sensitive inside, little Muk. After going through many trials, he becomes stronger and wiser. He is not attracted by his wealth. He wants justice. Lives to a ripe old age, endures insults, but cannot withstand cruel treatment.
The fairy tale shows that good triumphs over evil. We must respect people, old people. Even the quietest ones weak people. Money can't buy friends.
Read the summary of Gauf Little Muk
In my city (Nicaea) there lived a man. His physique was ridiculous: a huge head on a fragile body. They called him Little Muk. He rarely went outside and loved to walk on the roof. Our company loved to make fun of him. Having waited for the moment, we began to dance and toss our hats. There was a block of wood on the huge head, making it even larger.
In response, the old man, about a meter tall, calmly bowed and shuffled slowly forward. He was wearing an old robe and huge shoes, voluminous trousers and a large dagger. I must say that among everyone, I was the most cocky! Singing offensive rhymes, I stepped on huge shoes. Grandfather fell, then went to my house. I immediately stopped laughing.
Time passed, my father came out, and carefully holding the guest’s hand, he bowed many times. I will tell you the story of my life, but first I will punish you properly. He gave me twenty-five blows. And he began the story.
Mukra's father, who was poor but revered in the city, was ashamed of his son, did not give him an education and reproached him for his childish behavior. One day his father suffered a serious blow and quickly died.
The boy's relatives kicked him out of the house. After asking for his father's things, he set off. Of course, the size did not suit him, and the hero cut the robe, but did not remove the width. Having shut the dagger and taking a stick in his hands, he walked for two days. Thirst and hunger tormented him. The damp earth was his bed, and the grains in the fields were his food. On the morning of a new day, he saw a huge city. Only by lunchtime did he reach his goal, as his legs could barely move. Having put himself in order, he walked under the gate. Suddenly he heard the song of an old woman inviting him to eat, after her words, cats and dogs ran there. After some thought, he decided to take a risk by following the cats.
After listening to the story, the grandmother softened and left him to work. He laid the cats on silk pillows, fed and watered them. The cats got spoiled and began to break the dishes; when they heard the old woman’s steps, they lay down in their place. The mistress trusted her animals and scolded the servant! Realizing that it was bad without money, he decided to take his earnings. And then the day came when one of the dogs, which Muk loved and was offended by the mistress, tugged at his pants, as if inviting him to follow her. They approached the secret door. There were antiques and containers of different shapes. He dropped one and broke the lid. I had to run!
Having looked at the huge shoes, and grabbing a cane with a lion's head, he rushed out of the house. For a long time the young man could not stop, as if an unprecedented force was helping him. Finally, he realized that these were shoes and he shouted as one stops horses and he stopped. Having fallen asleep, he saw a dog. The animal told about the magical properties of the shoes and the cane, which indicates where the treasure is.
It took him a while to learn to turn on the spot, but when he could, he flew to the square. He began to think: how to earn a living. He came up with the idea of hiring as a walker. After thinking, he went to the king. At the entrance he was stopped by the guards, who sent him to the overseer. He didn't like it appearance hero. Thinking that the dwarf would make everyone laugh, he agreed!
The servant went to the king to tell about the sensation. The idea delighted the king, who appointed a competition outside the palace. When the king and his family were seated, the hero bowed. In response, he heard cheerful exclamations. The best walker was assigned to him. And so the princess gave the command, waving her handkerchief.
Having overtaken his opponent, Muk reached the goal first. Since the king laughed, everyone supported him. Muk threw himself at the king’s feet, and the sovereign promised a salary of one hundred coins a year. The king trusted him with the most urgent messages and thought that he had found his happiness. All the servants envied him. They tried to harm him. Since he was too kind, he thought that the wand would help him and the servants would treat him better. Rumors reached him that the treasures of the king's father were buried somewhere. Every time he took his wand with him.
And then one day he got lucky. The wand knocked three times and with difficulty he dug up the pot of gold, taking a little and burying the rest. The shoes carried him into the bedroom, and he put coins under the pillow. He thought that with the help of coins he would find friends. It would be better if he flew away! By handing out coins, he made the situation worse. And so Korhuz made a dejected appearance to attract the king’s attention. He said that the king did not love him, the walker Muk was distributing gold, and the rest of the servants were without money. The king was convinced that Muk was robbing the treasury. The order was given to keep an eye on the thief.
Evening came when Muk again went for coins, he was caught and taken to the sleepy king. They brought a buried pot and a robe with money. The treasurer said that he caught Mook while he was burying the pot. Mook was sent to prison. In fear that he would be executed, the hero discovered the magical properties of the wand and the king realized that the treasurer was deceiving him. Then the sovereign demanded to reveal the secret of speed; the ruler, unable to resist, climbed into his shoes and ran until he fell. The king drove Muk out of his domain; he wandered into the wilderness. Seeing the juicy fruits, he ate them and leaned towards the stream, and was afraid of his own reflection. A long-nosed monster with donkey ears looked at him.
Heartbroken, he wandered through the forest. Nothing grew except the unfortunate fruits; he ate them again, but his ears and nose became the same. He wanted to teach the offenders a lesson. Mook sat down in front of the gate where the head cook who bought them usually buys food. The king liked the delicious dishes, but in the end the cook brought figs. Everyone took the treats, the king ate a lot of them, and the daughter noticed her father’s terrible appearance. Everyone became ugly.
The messengers shouted from all directions that a doctor was needed. Rumors also reached Muk. Using the proceeds, he made himself a suit and a beard, and took a bag of antidote. At first they treated him with distrust, but then the king took him to his treasures and suggested that he take as much as he wanted. But, going to the shoes, he grabbed the cane, put on his shoes and was like that, shouting goodbye that the king would remain like this forever. And so he lives in abundance, despises people. After that, we treated the old man with respect.
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“Little Muk” is a work by V. Gauff, famous throughout the world. It is about an unprepossessing boy who could not grow up. He was nicknamed "Little Mook." Expelled from home after the death of his father, he hires out to an old woman to look after her cats. When the cats begin to harm him and the mistress begins to punish him, he runs away, taking his shoes and cane with him. Later he learns that things are magical. Muk gets a job as a walker for the ruler, finds the treasure with the help of a cane, but soon he loses everything because his secret is discovered. Little Mook is expelled. How will the former walker live on and will he be able to repay the greedy king? The fairy tale teaches resourcefulness, justice and that people should not be judged by their appearance.
Reading time: 35 min.
This was a long time ago, in my childhood. In the city of Nicaea, in my homeland, there lived a man whose name was Little Muk. Although I was a boy then, I remember him very well, especially since my father once gave me a healthy beating because of him. At that time, Little Muk was already an old man, but he was tiny in stature. He looked rather funny: a huge head protruded from his small, skinny body, much larger than that of other people.
Little Muk lived in a big old house all alone. He even cooked his own lunch. Every afternoon thick smoke appeared over his house: without this, the neighbors would not know whether the dwarf was alive or dead. Little Muk went outside only once a month - every first day. But in the evenings people often saw Little Mook walking on the flat roof of his house. From below, it seemed as if one huge head was moving back and forth across the roof.
My comrades and I were angry boys and loved to tease passers-by. When Little Mook left the house, it was a real holiday for us. On this day, we gathered in a crowd in front of his house and waited for him to come out. The door opened carefully. A large head in a huge turban protruded from it. The head was followed by the whole body in an old, faded robe and loose trousers. At the wide belt hung a dagger, so long that it was difficult to tell whether the dagger was attached to Muk or Muk was attached to the dagger.
When Muk finally came out into the street, we greeted him with joyful cries and danced around him like crazy people. Muk nodded his head at us with importance and walked slowly down the street, his shoes slapping. His shoes were absolutely huge - no one had ever seen anything like them before. And we boys ran after him and shouted: “Little Muk! Little Muck!" We even composed this song about him:
Little Mook, little Mook,
You yourself are small, and the house is a cliff;
You blow your nose once a month.
You're a good little dwarf
The head is a little large
Take a quick look around
And catch us, little Mook!
We often made fun of the poor dwarf, and I have to admit, although I am ashamed, that I offended him more than anyone else. I always tried to grab Muk by the hem of his robe, and once I even deliberately stepped on his shoe so that the poor fellow fell. This seemed very funny to me, but I immediately lost the desire to laugh when I saw that Little Muk, with difficulty getting up, went straight to my father’s house. He didn't leave there for a long time. I hid behind the door and eagerly awaited what would happen next.
Finally the door opened and the dwarf came out. His father walked him to the threshold, respectfully supporting him by the arm, and bowed low to him in farewell. I did not feel very pleasant and for a long time did not dare to return home. Finally, hunger overcame my fear, and I timidly slipped through the door, not daring to raise my head.
“You, I heard, offend Little Muk,” my father told me sternly. “I’ll tell you his adventures, and you probably won’t laugh at the poor dwarf anymore.” But first you will get what you are entitled to.
And for such things I was entitled to a good spanking. After counting out the number of spanks, the father said:
Now listen carefully.
And he told me the story of Little Mook.
Father Muk (in fact, his name was not Muk, but Mukra) lived in Nicaea and was a respectable man, but not rich. Just like Muk, he always stayed at home and rarely went out. He really didn’t like Muk because he was a dwarf and didn’t teach him anything.
“You’ve been wearing out your childish shoes for a long time,” he said to the dwarf, “but you’re still just being naughty and idle.”
One day, Muk’s father fell in the street and was badly hurt. After this he fell ill and soon died. Little Muk was left alone, penniless. The father's relatives kicked Muk out of the house and said:
Walk around the world, maybe you will find your Happiness.
Muk begged for himself only old trousers and a jacket - all that was left after his father. His father was tall and fat, but the dwarf, without thinking twice, shortened both his jacket and trousers and put them on. True, they were too wide, but the dwarf could not do anything about it. He wrapped a towel around his head instead of a turban, attached a dagger to his belt, took a stick in his hand and walked wherever his eyes led him.
He soon left the city and walked along the high road. He was very tired and hungry. He had no food with him, and he chewed roots that grew in the field. And he had to spend the night right on the bare ground.
On the third day in the morning he saw a large beautiful city, decorated with flags and banners. Little Muk gathered his last strength and went to this city.
“Maybe I will finally find my happiness there,” he said to himself.
Although it seemed that the city was very close, Muk had to walk the whole morning to get there. It was not until noon that he finally reached the city gates. The city was all built up with beautiful houses. The wide streets were full of people. Little Muk was very hungry, but no one opened the door for him and invited him to come in and rest.
The dwarf walked sadly through the streets, barely dragging his feet. He passed by one tall, beautiful house, and suddenly a window in this house opened and some old woman, leaning out, shouted:
Here, here -
The food is ready!
The table is set
So that everyone is full.
Neighbors, here -
The food is ready!
And now the doors of the house opened, and dogs and cats began to come in - many, many cats and dogs. Muk thought and thought and also entered. Two kittens entered just before him, and he decided to keep up with them - the kittens probably knew where the kitchen was.
Muk went up the stairs and saw that old woman screaming from the window.
What do you need? - the old woman asked angrily.
“You called for dinner,” said Muk, “and I’m very hungry.” So I came.
The old woman laughed loudly and said:
Where did you come from, boy? Everyone in town knows that I cook dinner just for my cute cats. And so that they don’t get bored, I invite neighbors to join them.
“Feed me at the same time,” Muk asked. He told the old woman how hard it was for him when his father died, and the old woman took pity on him. She fed the dwarf to his fill and, when Little Muk had eaten and rested, she said to him:
You know what, Mook? Stay and serve with me. My work is easy, and your life will be good.
Mook liked the cat's dinner and agreed. Mrs. Ahavzi (that was the old woman's name) had two cats and four female cats. Every morning Muk combed their fur and rubbed it with precious ointments. At dinner he served them food, and in the evening he put them to bed on a soft feather bed and covered them with a velvet blanket.
In addition to the cats, there were four other dogs living in the house. The dwarf also had to look after them, but there was less fuss with dogs than with cats. Mrs. Akhavzi loved cats as if she were her own children.
Little Muk was as bored with the old woman as with his father: he saw no one except cats and dogs.
At first, the dwarf still lived well. There was almost no work, but he was fed well, and the old woman was very pleased with him. But then the cats got spoiled for something. Only the old woman is at the door - they immediately start rushing around the rooms like mad. They will scatter all your things and break expensive dishes. But as soon as they heard Akhavzi’s steps on the stairs, they instantly jumped onto the feather bed, curled up, tucked their tails between their legs and lay as if nothing had happened. And the old woman sees that the room is in chaos, and well, scold Little Muk... Let him justify himself as much as he wants - she trusts her cats more than the servant. It is immediately clear from the cats that they are not to blame for anything.
Poor Muk was very sad and finally decided to leave the old woman. Mrs. Ahavzi promised to pay him a salary, but she still did not pay him.
“When I get her salary,” thought Little Muk, “I’ll leave right away.” If I knew where her money was hidden, I would have taken what I owed long ago.”
In the old woman's house there was a small room that was always locked. Muk was very curious about what was hidden in it. And suddenly it occurred to him that perhaps the old woman’s money lay in this room. He wanted to go there even more.
One morning, when Akhavzi left the house, one of the dogs ran up to Muk and grabbed him by the lapel (the old woman really did not like this little dog, and Muk, on the contrary, often stroked and caressed her). The little dog squealed quietly and pulled the dwarf along with her. She led him to the old woman's bedroom and stopped in front of a small door that Muk had never noticed before.
The dog pushed the door and entered some room; Muk followed her and froze in place in surprise: he found himself in the very room where he had wanted to go for so long.
The whole room was full of old dresses and strange antique dishes. Muk especially liked one jug - crystal, with a gold pattern. He took it in his hands and began to examine it, and suddenly the lid of the jug - Muk did not even notice that the jug had a lid - fell to the floor and broke.
Poor Muk was seriously scared. Now there was no need to reason - he had to run: when the old woman returned and saw that he had broken the lid, she would beat him half to death.
Muk looked around the room one last time, and suddenly he saw shoes in the corner. They were very large and ugly, but his own shoes were completely falling apart. Muk even liked that the shoes were so big - when he put them on, everyone would see that he was no longer a child.
He quickly kicked off his shoes and put on his shoes. Next to the shoes stood a thin cane with a lion's head.
“This cane is still standing here idle,” thought Muk. “I’ll take a cane by the way.”
He grabbed the cane and ran to his room. In one minute he put on his cloak and turban, attached a dagger and rushed down the stairs, hurrying to leave before the old woman returned.
Leaving the house, he started to run and rushed without looking back until he ran out of the city into a field. Here the dwarf decided to rest a little. And suddenly he felt that he could not stop. His legs ran on their own and dragged him, no matter how hard he tried to stop them. He tried to fall and turn around - nothing helped. Finally he realized that it was all about his new shoes. It was they who pushed him forward and did not let him stop.
Muk was completely exhausted and did not know what to do. In despair, he waved his arms and shouted like cab drivers shout:
Whoa! Whoa! Stop!
And suddenly the shoes immediately stopped, and the poor dwarf fell to the ground with all his might.
He was so tired that he immediately fell asleep. And he had an amazing dream. He saw in a dream that the little dog that had led him to the secret room came up to him and said:
“Dear Muk, you don’t yet know what wonderful shoes you have. All you have to do is turn on your heel three times and they will take you wherever you want. And the cane will help you look for treasures. Where the gold is buried, it will knock on the ground three times, and where the silver is buried, it will knock twice.”
When Muk woke up, he immediately wanted to check whether the little dog was telling the truth. He raised his left leg and tried to turn on his right heel, but fell and hit his nose painfully on the ground. He tried again and again and finally learned to spin on one heel and not fall. Then he tightened his belt, quickly turned over three times on one leg and said to the shoes:
Take me to the next city.
And suddenly the shoes lifted him into the air and quickly, like the wind, ran across the clouds. Before Little Muk had time to come to his senses, he found himself in the city, at the market.
He sat down on a rubble near some bench and began to think about how he could get at least some money. True, he had a magic cane, but how would you know where the gold or silver was hidden so that you could go and find it? At worst, he could show himself off for money, but he is too proud for that.
And suddenly Little Muk remembered that he could now run fast.
“Maybe my shoes will bring me income,” he thought. “I’ll try to hire myself as a runner for the king.”
He asked the owner of the shop how to get to the palace, and after about five minutes he was already approaching the palace gates. The gatekeeper asked him what he needed, and, learning that the dwarf wanted to enter the king's service, he took him to the master of the slaves. Muk bowed low to the chief and said to him:
Mister Chief, I can run faster than any fast walker. Take me as a messenger to the king.
The chief looked contemptuously at the dwarf and said with a loud laugh:
Your legs are as thin as sticks, and you want to become a runner! Get out in good health. I wasn’t appointed as the head of slaves so that every freak would make fun of me!
“Mr. Chief,” said Little Mook, “I’m not laughing at you.” Let's bet that I will outrun your best walker.
The slave master laughed even louder than before. The dwarf seemed so funny to him that he decided not to drive him away and tell the king about him.
“Okay,” he said, “so be it, I’ll test you.” Get into the kitchen and get ready for the competition. You will be fed and watered there.
Then the master of the slaves went to the king and told him about the strange dwarf. The king wanted to have fun. He praised the master of the slaves for not letting Little Muk go, and ordered him to hold a competition in the evening in the large meadow, so that all his associates could come to watch.
The princes and princesses heard what an interesting spectacle there would be that evening, and told their servants, who spread the news throughout the palace. And in the evening everyone who had legs came to the meadow to see how this boastful dwarf would run.
When the king and queen sat down in their places, Little Mook went out into the middle of the meadow and made a low bow. Loud laughter was heard from all sides. This dwarf was very funny in his wide trousers and long, very long shoes. But Little Muk was not at all embarrassed. He proudly leaned on his cane, put his hands on his hips and calmly waited for the walker.
Finally the walker appeared. The master of the slaves chose the fastest of the royal runners. After all, Little Muk himself wanted this.
Skorokhod looked contemptuously at Muk and stood next to him, waiting for a sign to begin the competition.
One two Three! - Princess Amarza shouted, eldest daughter king, and waved her handkerchief..
Both runners took off and ran like an arrow. At first the walker slightly overtook the dwarf, but soon Muk overtook him and got ahead of him. He had been standing at the goal for a long time and fanning himself with the end of his turban, but the royal walker was still far away. Finally he reached the end and fell to the ground like a dead man. The king and queen clapped their hands, and all the courtiers shouted in one voice:
Long live the winner - Little Muk! Little Muk was brought to the king. The dwarf bowed low to him and said:
O mighty king! I have now shown you only part of my art! Take me into your service.
“Okay,” said the king. - I appoint you as my personal walker. You will always be with me and carry out my instructions.
Little Muk was very happy - he had finally found his happiness! Now he can live comfortably and peacefully.
The king highly valued Muk and constantly showed him favors. He sent the dwarf with the most important assignments, and no one knew how to carry them out better than Muk. But the rest of the royal servants were unhappy. They really didn’t like that the closest thing to the king was a dwarf who only knew how to run. They kept gossiping about him to the king, but the king did not want to listen to them. He trusted Muk more and more and soon appointed him chief walker.
Little Muk was very upset that the courtiers were so jealous of him. He tried for a long time to come up with something to make them love him. And finally he remembered his cane, which he had completely forgotten about.
“If I manage to find the treasure,” he thought, “these proud gentlemen will probably stop hating me. They say that the old king, the father of the present one, buried great wealth in his garden when enemies approached his city. He, it seems, died without telling anyone where his treasures were buried.”
Little Muk only thought about this. He walked around the garden all day long with a cane in his hands and looked for the old king's gold.
One day he was walking in a remote corner of the garden, and suddenly the cane in his hands trembled and hit the ground three times. Little Muk was shaking all over with excitement. He ran to the gardener and begged him for a large spade, and then returned to the palace and waited for it to get dark. As soon as evening came, the dwarf went into the garden and began to dig in the place where the stick had struck. The spade turned out to be too heavy for the dwarf’s weak hands, and in an hour he dug a hole about half an arshin deep.
Little Muk worked for a long time, and finally his spade hit something hard. The dwarf bent over the pit and felt with his hands some kind of iron lid in the ground. He lifted the lid and was stunned. In the light of the moon, gold sparkled in front of him. In the hole stood a large pot filled to the top with gold coins.
Little Muk wanted to pull the pot out of the hole, but he couldn’t: he didn’t have enough strength. Then he stuffed as many gold pieces as possible into his pockets and belt and slowly returned to the palace. He hid the money in his bed under the feather bed and went to bed happy and happy.
The next morning Little Muk woke up and thought: “Now everything will change and my enemies will love me.”
He began to distribute his gold left and right, but the courtiers only began to envy him even more. Chief cook Ahuli whispered angrily:
Look, Mook is making counterfeit money. Ahmed, the leader of the slaves, said:
He begged them from the king.
And the treasurer Arkhaz, the most evil enemy The dwarf, who had long been secretly putting his hand into the royal treasury, shouted to the whole palace:
The dwarf stole gold from the royal treasury! In order to find out for sure where Muk got the money, his enemies conspired among themselves and came up with such a plan.
The king had one favorite servant, Korhuz. He always served the king food and poured wine into his cup. And then one day this Korkhuz came to the king sad and sorrowful. The king immediately noticed this and asked:
What's wrong with you today, Korhuz? Why are you so sad?
“I am sad because the king deprived me of his favor,” answered Korhuz.
What are you talking about, my good Korkhuz! - said the king. - Since when did I deprive you of my favor?
Since then, Your Majesty, how your main walker came to you,” Korhuz answered. “You shower him with gold, but give us, your faithful servants, nothing.”
And he told the king that Little Muk had a lot of gold from somewhere and that the dwarf was distributing money to all the courtiers without counting. The king was very surprised and ordered to call Arkhaz, his treasurer, and Ahmed, the chief of the slaves. They confirmed that Korhuz was telling the truth. Then the king ordered his detectives to slowly follow and find out where the dwarf gets the money from.
Unfortunately, Little Muk ran out of all his gold on that day, and he decided to go to his Treasury. He took a spade and went into the garden. The detectives, of course, followed him, Korkhuz and Arkhaz too. At that very moment, when Little Muk put on a robe full of gold and wanted to go back, they rushed at him, tied his hands and led him to the king.
And this king really didn’t like being woken up in the middle of the night. He met his chief walker angry and dissatisfied and asked the detectives:
Where did you catch this dishonest dwarf? “Your Majesty,” said Arkhaz, “we caught him just at that moment when he was burying this gold in the ground.”
Are they telling the truth? - asked the king of the dwarf. - Where do you get so much money?
“My dear king,” the dwarf answered innocently, “I am not to blame for anything.” When your people grabbed me and tied my hands, I did not bury this gold in a hole, but, on the contrary, took it out from there.
The king decided that Little Muk was lying and became terribly angry.
Unhappy! - he shouted. - First you robbed me, and now you want to deceive me with such a stupid lie! Treasurer! Is it true that there is just as much gold here as is missing from my treasury?
“Your treasury, dear king, lacks much more,” answered the treasurer. “I could swear that this gold was stolen from the royal treasury.”
Put the dwarf in iron chains and put him in a tower! - the king shouted. - And you, treasurer, go to the garden, take all the gold that you find in the hole, and put it back into the treasury.
The treasurer carried out the king's orders and brought the pot of gold to the treasury. He began to count the shiny coins and pour them into bags. Finally there was nothing left in the pot. The treasurer looked into the pot for the last time and saw at the bottom a piece of paper on which was written:
ENEMIES ATTACKED MY COUNTRY. I BURIED PART OF MY TREASURES IN THIS PLACE. LET ANYONE WHO FINDS THIS GOLD KNOW THAT IF HE DOES NOT GIVE IT TO MY SON NOW, HE WILL LOSE THE FACE OF HIS KING.
KING SADI
The cunning treasurer tore the piece of paper and decided not to tell anyone about it.
And Little Muk sat in a high palace tower and thought about how to escape. He knew that he should be executed for stealing the royal money, but he still didn’t want to tell the king about the magic cane: after all, the king would immediately take it away, and with it, perhaps, the shoes. The dwarf still had the shoes on his feet, but they were of no use - Little Muk was chained to the wall with a short iron chain and could not turn on his heel.
In the morning, the executioner came to the tower and ordered the dwarf to prepare for execution. Little Muk realized that there was nothing to think about - he had to reveal his secret to the king. After all, it’s still better to live without a magic wand and even without walking shoes than to die on the chopping block.
He asked the king to listen to him in private and told him everything. The king did not believe it at first and decided that the dwarf had made it all up.
Your Majesty,” Little Muk said then, “promise me mercy, and I will prove to you that I am telling the truth.”
The king was interested in checking whether Muk was deceiving him or not. He ordered several gold coins to be quietly buried in his garden and ordered Muk to find them. The dwarf didn't have to search long. As soon as he reached the place where the gold was buried, the stick hit the ground three times. The king realized that the treasurer had told him a lie and ordered him to be executed instead of Muk. And he called the dwarf to him and said:
I promised not to kill you and I will keep my word. But you probably didn’t reveal all your secrets to me. You will sit in the tower until you tell me why you run so fast.
The poor dwarf really did not want to return to the dark, cold tower. He told the king about his wonderful shoes, but he did not tell the most important thing - how to stop them. The king decided to test these shoes himself. He put them on, went out into the garden and rushed along the path like mad. Soon he wanted to stop, but that was not the case. In vain he grabbed the bushes and trees - the shoes kept dragging him forward. And the dwarf stood and chuckled. He was very pleased to take at least a little revenge on this cruel king. Finally the king became exhausted and fell to the ground.
Having come to his senses a little, he, beside himself with rage, attacked the dwarf.
So this is how you treat your king! - he shouted. “I promised you life and freedom, but if you are still on my land in twelve hours, I will catch you, and then do not count on mercy.” I'll take the shoes and cane for myself.
The poor dwarf had no choice but to quickly get out of the palace. He trudged sadly through the city. He was as poor and unhappy as before, and bitterly cursed his fate...
The country of this king, fortunately, was not very large, so after eight hours the dwarf reached the border. Now he was safe, and he wanted to rest. He turned off the road and entered the forest. There he found a good place near a pond, under dense trees, and lay down on the grass.
Little Muk was so tired that he fell asleep almost immediately. He slept for a very long time and when he woke up, he felt that he was hungry. Above his head, on the trees, hung wine berries - ripe, fleshy, juicy. The dwarf climbed the tree, picked a few berries and ate them with pleasure. Then he got thirsty. He approached the pond, bent over the water and became completely cold: a huge head with donkey ears and a long, very long nose looked at him from the water.
Little Muk grabbed his ears in horror. They really were long, like a donkey's.
That's what I need! - poor Muk shouted. “I had my happiness in my hands, and like a donkey I ruined it.”
He walked under the trees for a long time, feeling his ears all the time, and finally he became hungry again. I had to start working on the wine berries again. After all, there was nothing else to eat.
Having eaten his fill, Little Muk, out of habit, raised his hands to his head and cried out joyfully: instead of long ears, he again had his own ears. He immediately ran to the pond and looked into the water. His nose also became the same as before.
“How could this happen?” - thought the dwarf. And suddenly he immediately understood everything: the first tree from which he ate berries gave him donkey ears, and from the berries of the second they disappeared.
Little Muk instantly realized how lucky he was again. He picked as many berries as he could carry from both trees and went back to the country of the cruel king. It was spring at that time, and berries were considered rare.
Returning to the city where the king lived, Little Muk changed his clothes so that no one could recognize him, filled a whole basket with berries from the first tree and went to the royal palace. It was morning, and in front of the palace gates there were many merchant women with all sorts of supplies. Muk also sat down next to them. Soon the chief cook came out of the palace and began to walk around the merchants and inspect their goods. Having reached Little Muk, the cook saw the wine berries and was very happy.
Aha,” he said, “this is a suitable delicacy for a king!” How much do you want for the whole cart?
Little Muk did not take any price, and the chief cook took the basket of berries and left. As soon as he managed to put the berries on the dish, the king demanded breakfast. He ate with great pleasure and praised his cook every now and then. And the cook just chuckled into his beard and said:
Wait, Your Majesty, the most delicious dish is yet to come.
Everyone who was at the table - courtiers, princes and princesses - tried in vain to guess what delicacy the chief cook had prepared for them today. And when a crystal dish full of ripe berries was finally served on the table, everyone exclaimed in one voice:
"Oh!" - and even clapped their hands.
The king himself began to divide the berries. The princes and princesses received two pieces each, the courtiers got one each, and the king saved the rest for himself - he was very greedy and loved sweets. The king put the berries on a plate and began to eat them with pleasure.
Father, father,” Princess Amarza suddenly cried, “what happened to your ears?”
The king touched his ears with his hands and screamed in horror. His ears became long, like those of a donkey. The nose also suddenly stretched out to the very chin. Princes, princesses and courtiers were little better in appearance: each had the same decoration on his head.
Doctors, doctors quickly! - the king shouted. They immediately sent for doctors. A whole crowd of them came. They prescribed various medicines to the king, but the medicines did not help. One prince even had an operation - his ears were cut off, but they grew back.
After two days, Little Mook decided it was time to act. With the money he received for the wine berries, he bought himself a large black cloak and a tall, pointed cap. So that he could not be recognized at all, he tied a long white beard to himself. Taking with him a basket of berries from the second tree, the dwarf came to the palace and said that he could cure the king. At first no one believed him. Then Muk invited one prince to try his treatment. The prince ate several berries, and his long nose and donkey ears disappeared. At this point the courtiers rushed in a crowd to wonderful doctor. But the king was ahead of everyone. He silently took the dwarf by the hand, led him to his treasury and said:
Here in front of you are all my riches. Take whatever you want, just cure me of this terrible disease.
Little Muk immediately noticed his magic cane and running shoes in the corner of the room. He began to walk back and forth, as if looking at the royal wealth, and quietly approached the shoes. He instantly put them on his feet, grabbed the cane and tore the beard off his chin. The king almost fell in surprise when he saw the familiar face of his main walker.
Evil king! - Little Mook shouted. - So you repaid me for my faithful service? Remain a long-eared freak for the rest of your life and remember Little Mook!
He quickly turned three times on his heel and before the king could say a word, he was already far away...
Since then, Little Muk has lived in our city. You see how much he has experienced. You need to respect him, even though he looks funny.
This is the story my father told me. I passed all this on to the other boys, and none of us ever laughed at the dwarf again. On the contrary, we respected him very much and bowed to him so low on the street, as if he were the head of the city or the chief judge.