Scarlet Sails the story of A. Green (Grinevsky) has long become a symbol romantic love and belief in miracles that loving hearts create with their own hands.
In a small, run-down town, former sailor Longren lived with his daughter Assol. Many years ago, when he was sailing, his young wife Mary was left completely without money and turned to the innkeeper Manners for help.
But he offered the girl money in return for her love. She rejected his vile proposal, and went into the city in the cold rain to pawn her wedding ring. As a result, Mary caught a severe cold and died, leaving her baby daughter in the care of neighbors.
Longren, returning from his last voyage, remained on the shore and began making a living by making toy sailboats and ships. One day, during a strong storm, the boat with Manners on board was carried into the open sea. Only Longren was on the shore at that time.
When Manners began to beg him for help, he reminded the innkeeper how his young wife had once asked him for help. As a result, Manners died, and in Kapern people began to avoid the former sailor. Evil and unfair rumors about him were spread by Manners' son, who became an innkeeper following his father's example.
Assol grew up as a lonely girl, next to her unsociable father. Other children did not want to play with her, they teased and offended her. Therefore, communication with children was replaced by dreams and fantasies. She believed in every fairy tale she had ever heard. One day Assol lowered a toy yacht with scarlet sails into the water stream. Fast water took away the fragile toy.
The girl ran for a long time after the yacht and could not reach it. But she was helped in this by the old tramp Egle, who told the child about the dream ship. Someday such a ship with scarlet sails will come for her and take her to the land of love and happiness. You just have to really believe in it. Assol began to wait for her yacht, although people often laughed at her and considered her eccentric and abnormal. Only some good people in Kaperna loved and pitied the girl.
Arthur Gray was born into a rich and noble family. But nobility and wealth did not make him arrogant and arrogant; he was a kind and warm-hearted person. From a young age he dreamed of traveling and distant countries. Contrary to the wishes of his parents, he first joined the schooner Anselm as a simple sailor. After several years of hard work, the young man became the owner and captain of the galliot "Secret".
One day, fate brought him to a place not far from Kaperna. Having gone fishing with a sailor, the captain saw Assol sleeping in the forest. Admiring the beauty and tenderness of the girl, he put a ring on her finger. In a city tavern, Manners' son spoke loudly about a madwoman waiting for her yacht with scarlet sails. But the old coal miner interrupted him and replied that little Assol was not crazy at all, but amazing girl living in the world of her fantasies.
She is a faithful and devoted daughter, a kind and sympathetic person. She sees the world in her own way, in all its beauty. Arthur decided to perform a miracle: he bought scarlet silk and ordered sails to be sewn, hired musicians and sailed to Caperna at sunset. All city residents gathered on the shore to admire the miracle. Assol also came running here. In front of the entire amazed public, the captain took the girl into his boat and within a few moments they were on board the galliot. The next day the dream ship was far from this city.
Reviews of the book “Scarlet Sails”, which are given in this article, allow you to get a full impression of this work. This is an amazing story by Alexander Green. The author himself defined its genre as an extravaganza. She teaches everyone faith and dreams and that everyone can create a miracle for a loved one. It is especially noteworthy that Green wrote this book in Russia during difficult times. From 1916 to 1922.
Extravaganza "Scarlet Sails"
Reviews of the book “Scarlet Sails” classify it as one of the most significant and popular works this author.
Green himself claimed that the idea for this work came to him while he was standing in front of a toy store window. The writer saw a boat with a sharp sail made of pure white silk. Then for the first time he thought whether a red sail, or even better, a scarlet one, could tell more. After all, it is in scarlet that there is a certain jubilation.
The manuscript was tentatively completed back in 1920. After this, the author made minor changes to the text until the first publication. In May 1922, the chapter of "Grey" appeared in the newspaper "Evening Telegraph". The book “Scarlet Sails” was first published as a separate edition in 1923. Green dedicated the story to his second wife, Nina Nikolaevna.
The story begins with a description of an unsociable and unsociable hero named Longren. He devoted his entire life to making and selling models of steamships and sailing ships. In the past he was a sailor, but now few people remembered this. Those around him were not very fond of him, recalling to him an old and unpleasant incident.
Once there was a strong storm. The local innkeeper and shopkeeper Menners was carried far out to sea on his boat. The only one who saw this was Longren. But instead of coming to the rescue, he continued to calmly and calmly smoke his pipe. At the same time, carefully observing how Menners desperately asks for salvation. Only when it became obvious that the innkeeper would no longer be saved, Longren shouted to him that in the same way his Mary had prayed to a fellow villager for help, but never received it.
Six days later, the shopkeeper was picked up by a steamer. He was dying. Just before his death he managed to tell everyone who was responsible for his death.
Revenge for the death of his wife
At the same time, he kept silent about another important episode. About how five years ago Longren’s wife asked the innkeeper for help: she urgently needed some money on loan. Then she had just given birth to a girl, who was named Assol. The birth turned out to be very difficult, so all the accumulated money had to be paid for treatment. The husband was on a long voyage at that time; it was completely unknown when he would return home.
Menners replied that he was ready to help, but only if Mary was not so touchy. Longren's wife refused such a shameful proposal. In order to somehow survive, she went to the city in bad weather to pawn the last thing she had left - a ring. Returning home, she became seriously ill. She turned out to have pneumonia. Soon Mary died. Longren was left a widower with a little girl in his arms and could never go to sea again. There was no one to leave the child with.
Hatred for Longren
In reviews of the book “Scarlet Sails,” readers often note with surprise that the news of Longren’s demonstrative inaction struck his fellow villagers more than if he had dealt with him with his own hands. And, for example, he drowned.
As a result, this ill will almost developed into hatred. This also affected Assol, who was not to blame for anything. Reviews of the book “Scarlet Sails” note that the girl grew up almost alone, without friends. She was surrounded only by her own fantasies and dreams. At times it seemed that she didn’t even need to communicate with her peers, the girl was so immersed in her imagination. As a result, one father replaced her mother, and all her friends and fellow villagers. She didn't communicate with anyone else.
When Assol was eight years old, her father sent her to the city to bring new toys that he had made. Among them there was one especially beautiful and unusual. A miniature yacht with scarlet silk sails. On the way, the girl launched the boat into the stream, and the fast stream began to carry it towards the mouth. She began to worry that she would lose a valuable toy. Soon she saw that the yacht was being held by a man she did not know.
He turned out to be the old and wise Egle. Local collector of fairy tales and legends. He, naturally, returned the toy to the girl, and at the same time told her that many years later, a prince would sail for her on exactly the same ship with scarlet sails, only a real one. He will take her to a distant country, in which they will certainly be happy.
Alexander Greene in “Scarlet Sails” describes how the girl was surprised and amazed by this prophecy. When she returned home, she immediately told her father about it. At the same time, she was so emotional that a beggar passing by heard her. Angry and envious person That same hour spread the rumor throughout the area that Assol was waiting for an unprecedentedly beautiful ship and a handsome overseas prince. Since then, all the children certainly shouted after her that they saw red sails floating past. Soon among her fellow villagers she was known as crazy and a girl out of this world.
Arthur Gray
An important episode in summary books "Scarlet Sails" - the appearance of a new character, Arthur Gray. This is a young rich and noble man. He grew up in his own family castle. His life was predetermined almost from birth. He himself and everyone around him knew what his next step would be. At the same time, the boy turned out to have a lively and romantic soul, who sought to realize his destiny, no matter how incredible it might turn out to be. His most important qualities are determination and fearlessness.
In the castle where Arthur grew up, there was a wine cellar keeper named Poldishok. He told the boy a legend that in one place two whole barrels of amazing Alicante, from the time of Oliver Cromwell, are stored. The color of this wine is darker than cherry, its taste is incredible, and its consistency is thick, like good country cream.
The barrels themselves are made of ebony noble wood, with double copper hoops mounted on them, on which there is an inscription stating that only one person will drink this wine. Grey, when he ends up in heaven. In fact, no one on earth has ever tasted this wine. Having learned about this legend, Gray confidently decided for himself that he would definitely not only try, but also drink all this wine. To confirm his words, he even stamped his foot and clenched his fist tightly in his palm. “Heaven is here,” he said confidently.
Gray grew up to be a kind and sympathetic young man, ready to respond to the misfortune of another, even stranger. The summary of Green's book "Scarlet Sails" notes that his sympathy was not only in words. It always resulted in real and tangible help.
Service on a schooner
Gray determined his destiny when he came across a painting by the famous marine painter in the castle library. The sea has since swallowed him up. The picture helped him understand who he is and what he wants from life.
As soon as the hero of the book “Scarlet Sails” grew up, he secretly left home and entered service on a schooner called “Anselm”. The schooner was controlled by Captain Gop. He is a kind man by nature, but a stern sailor.
He almost immediately appreciated intelligence and perseverance young man, his love for the sea and the desire to realize himself. Gop decided that he could make a real captain out of this cabin boy. He himself began to teach him everything he needed. Navigation, international maritime law, pilotage and ship accounting.
Own galliot
When Gray turned 20, he purchased his own three-masted galliot called the Secret. The book “Scarlet Sails” says that he sailed on it for four whole years, until fate threw him into Liss. A city, not far from which was the village of Kaperna, where Assol lived. It was about an hour and a half away.
One night, Gray, along with the sailor Letika, went on a boat in search of a suitable place for successful fishing. It was in the Kaperna area that they landed on the shore and lit a fire. Letika went to fish from the shore, and Gray stayed by the fire. In the morning, as soon as it was dawn, he went to wander around the area and came across Assol sleeping in the thickets. The book “Scarlet Sails” describes how long Gray looked at the sleeping girl, amazed by her beauty, while being afraid to disturb her. At parting, he decided on an unexpected act. He took off the old ring from his finger and put it on Assol’s little finger.
Having reached the Menners tavern with their friend Letika, which was now run by the son of a shopkeeper named Khin, they found out what her fellow villagers thought about Assol. They immediately admitted to them that this was a crazy girl who had been early childhood dreams of a prince who will sail for her on a ship with exclusively scarlet sails. Her father is hostile to all the residents of Kaperna, since everyone considers him directly responsible for the death of the owner of this tavern.
Gray immediately had doubts about what people were saying about Assol. And soon they intensified. The drunken coal miner assured the guests that the innkeeper was blatantly lying. And Gray himself had already managed to understand something about this extraordinary girl while he watched her sleep. He realized that although she lived exclusively within the limits of her experience and her own ideas about the world around her, in fact she saw in the phenomena of this world a meaning of a completely different order than most people. She managed to make many discoveries every day, seemingly insignificant at first glance, but important to her. At the same time, unnecessary and completely incomprehensible to the rest of the inhabitants of Kapera.
Scarlet silk
Reviews of the book “Scarlet Sails” always note that Captain Gray himself was not entirely of this world. Therefore, he immediately went to Liss, where he found scarlet silk in one of the shops. There he met his old acquaintance - a traveling musician named Zimmer. He asked him to arrive on his ship in the evening along with his orchestra.
The entire crew of the Secret galleon was completely bewildered when the captain ordered the sails to be replaced with scarlet ones, and then also turned to the small and insignificant village of Kaperna. But Gray's order was still carried out. In the morning, the Secret left the port under scarlet sails and by noon was at the Kapera pier.
Dream Assol
Assol's dream, which no one but her alone ever believed in, finally came true. She was deeply shocked by the sight of a snow-white ship with scarlet sails. At the same time, amazing and romantic music flowed from the deck of the ship. She immediately rushed to the sea, where almost the entire population of Kaperna had already gathered.
As soon as Assol appeared, everyone immediately fell silent and at the same time made way for her, confidently walking towards the water's edge. The ship dropped anchor, and soon a boat detached from it, which began to rapidly approach the shore on which Assol stood. The captain of the Secret, Gray, was standing in the boat. After some time short time the girl was already in the cabin. Her dream was coming true right before her eyes. Everything happened exactly as the old and wise magician predicted many years ago.
On the same day, another omen came true. They opened a barrel of hundred-year-old wine that no one had ever tasted before. The next morning, the ship sailed far from Kaperna, taking with it the lovers Gray and Assol. The crew, defeated by the extraordinary wine, carried the ship further and further. And the wandering musician Zimmer continued to quietly play his cello and think about real happiness.
The main thing that the book “Scarlet Sails” teaches is that you should never stop believing in your dream and striving for the goal you have set for yourself. And also that true love capable of creating the most incredible miracles for family and friends.
Longren, a closed and unsociable person, lived by making and selling models of sailing ships and steamships. The fellow countrymen were not very kind to the former sailor, especially after one incident.
Once, during a severe storm, the shopkeeper and innkeeper Menners was carried away in his boat far out to sea. The only witness to what was happening was Longren. He calmly smoked his pipe, watching how Menners called to him in vain. Only when it became obvious that he could no longer be saved, Longren shouted to him that in the same way his Mary asked a fellow villager for help, but did not receive it.
On the sixth day, the shopkeeper was picked up among the waves by a steamer, and before his death he spoke about the culprit of his death.
The only thing he didn’t tell was how five years ago Longren’s wife approached him with a request to lend him some money. She had just given birth to baby Assol, the birth was not easy, and almost all her money was spent on treatment, and her husband had not yet returned from the voyage. Menners advised not to be hard to touch, then he is ready to help. The unfortunate woman went to the city in bad weather to pawn a ring, caught a cold and died of pneumonia. So Longren remained a widower with his daughter in his arms and could no longer go to sea.
Whatever it was, the news of Longren’s demonstrative inaction struck the villagers more than if he had drowned a man with his own hands. The ill will turned almost into hatred and also turned on the innocent Assol, who grew up alone with her fantasies and dreams and seemed to need neither peers nor friends. Her father replaced her mother, her friends, and her fellow countrymen.
One day, when Assol was eight years old, he sent her to the city with new toys, among which was a miniature yacht with scarlet silk sails. The girl lowered the boat into the stream. The stream carried him and carried him to the mouth, where she saw a stranger holding her boat in his hands. It was old Aigle, a collector of legends and fairy tales. He gave the toy to Assol and told her that years would pass and a prince would come for her on the same ship under scarlet sails and take her to a distant country.
The girl told her father about this. Unfortunately, a beggar who accidentally heard her story spread rumors about the ship and the overseas prince throughout Kaperna. Now the children shouted after her: “Hey, hanged man! Red sails are sailing! So she became known as crazy.
Arthur Gray, the only son of a noble and wealthy family, grew up not in a hut, but in a family castle, in an atmosphere of predetermination of every present and future step. This, however, was a boy with a very lively soul, ready to fulfill his own destiny in life. He was decisive and fearless.
The keeper of their wine cellar, Poldishok, told him that two barrels of Alicante from the time of Cromwell were buried in one place and its color was darker than cherry, and it was thick, like good cream. The barrels are made of ebony, and have double copper hoops on them, on which is written: “Gray will drink me when he is in heaven.” No one has tried this wine and no one will try it. “I’ll drink it,” Gray said, stamping his foot and clenching his hand into a fist: “Paradise?” He's here!.."
Despite all this, he was in highest degree responsive to the misfortune of others, and his sympathy always resulted in real help.
In the castle library, he was struck by a painting by some famous marine painter. She helped him understand himself. Gray secretly left home and joined the schooner Anselm. Captain Gop was kind person, but a stern sailor. Having appreciated the intelligence, perseverance and love of the sea of the young sailor, Gop decided to “make a captain out of the puppy”: introduce him to navigation, maritime law, pilotage and accounting. At the age of twenty, Gray bought the three-masted galliot Secret and sailed on it for four years. Fate brought him to Liss, an hour and a half walk from which was Caperna.
With the onset of darkness, together with the sailor Letika Gray, taking fishing rods, sailed on a boat in search of a suitable place for fishing. They left the boat under the cliff behind Kaperna and lit a fire. Letika went fishing, and Gray lay down by the fire. In the morning he went for a wander, when suddenly he saw Assol sleeping in the thickets. He looked at the girl who amazed him for a long time, and when leaving, he took off the ancient ring from his finger and put it on her little finger.
Then he and Letika walked to Menners's tavern, where young Hin Menners was now in charge. He said that Assol was crazy, dreaming of a prince and a ship with scarlet sails, that her father was responsible for the death of the elder Menners and terrible person. Doubts about the veracity of this information intensified when a drunken coal miner assured that the innkeeper was lying. Gray, even without outside help, managed to understand something about this extraordinary girl. She knew life within the limits of her experience, but beyond that she saw in phenomena a meaning of a different order, making many subtle discoveries that were incomprehensible and unnecessary to the inhabitants of Kaperna.
The captain was in many ways the same himself, a little out of this world. He went to Liss and found scarlet silk in one of the shops. In the city, he met an old acquaintance - the traveling musician Zimmer - and asked him to come to the "Secret" with his orchestra in the evening.
The scarlet sails bewildered the team, as did the order to advance to Kaperna. Nevertheless, in the morning the Secret set out under scarlet sails and by noon was already in sight of Kaperna.
Assol was shocked by the sight of a white ship with scarlet sails, from the deck of which music flowed. She rushed to the sea, where the inhabitants of Kaperna had already gathered. When Assol appeared, everyone fell silent and parted. The boat in which Gray was standing separated from the ship and headed towards the shore. After some time, Assol was already in the cabin. Everything happened as the old man predicted.
On the same day, they opened a barrel of hundred-year-old wine, which no one had ever drunk before, and the next morning the ship was already far from Kaperna, carrying away the crew defeated by Gray’s extraordinary wine. Only Zimmer was awake. He played his cello quietly and thought about happiness.
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The story is distinguished by perfection of form, spiritual richness and sublimity, deep immersion in the special world of youthful fantasy.
About Alexander Green's story "Scarlet Sails"
Alexander Green painted Scarlet Sails in Petrograd. The idea for the story arose in 1916, and final version extravaganza appeared in 1922. The author worked hard and painstakingly on the text, making changes to the plot and rewriting passages.
Alexander Stepanovich Green (1880-1932)
The fruit of many years of work is an amazing, heartfelt and poignant story that revives faith in a dream and the desire to create miracles with one’s own hands.
Main characters
The heroes of the book are people endowed with bright and romantic characters:
- Longren is a sailor who left maritime affairs for his daughter and devoted himself to raising his only child;
- Assol is Longren’s daughter, a charming short girl, looking at the world with a special kind look, immersed in a world of dreams;
- Arthur Gray is the son of wealthy parents, who from an early age took on, according to the author, “the role of providence.”
Minor characters
The secondary characters of the fairy tale play a direct role in the fate of the main characters:
- Menners is a wealthy village resident who owns a shop and an inn. The image of the innkeeper is presented as a cunning, evil miser, devoid of humanity and compassion;
- Menners Hin is the son of an innkeeper, who inherited all the negative qualities from his father;
- Egle is an old collector of songs and legends, who introduced himself to Assol as a wizard;
- Lionel Gray - Arthur's father, busy with countless family processes and affairs, did not take an active part in raising his son;
- Poldishok is the cellar keeper in the Gray family, who told little Arthur the legend of the old wine;
- Betsy is a young servant in the castle, Arthur's childhood friend;
- Lillian Gray is a noble lady, Arthur’s loving mother, who forgave her son all his quirks;
- Gop is the captain of the schooner "Anselm", who accepted fourteen-year-old Gray as a cabin boy on the ship and taught the young man the intricacies of the craft;
- Letika is a nimble sailor on Gray’s ship, expressing himself bookishly and sometimes in rhyme;
- Panten – assistant captain of the “Secret”;
- Zimmer is a drinker, musician, violinist and cellist who assembled an orchestra for Gray;
- Atwood is the boatswain on the ship Secret.
A brief retelling of the story “Scarlet Sails”
ChapterI.Prediction
The sailor of the brig "Orion" Longren returns home, but does not meet his wife Mary on the threshold. A neighbor, who looked after the sailor’s small child for three months, tells a sad story about Mary’s illness and death. During her husband's absence, the poor woman was left completely without money. She turned to Menners, but he demanded love in return.
Out of desperation, Mary goes to Liss late in the evening to pawn her engagement ring. Dank weather and a piercing wind lead to pneumonia, and a five-month-old girl is left without a mother in the care of a kind neighbor.
Longren takes the settlement and remains alone with his daughter. To earn a living, the former sailor makes toy models of boats and sailing ships. Father and child live as hermits, avoiding communication with the inhabitants of Kaperna.
One harsh spring, when the coastal north was raging, Longren, walking along the pier, witnessed how the boat with Menners was carried into the ocean. The sailor did not come to the innkeeper’s aid, remembering how Mary also cried out for help.
Six days later, Menners was brought barely alive to the village, and he angrily spoke about Longren’s behavior. The villagers, not understanding the sailor’s silence, stopped noticing him forever, forbidding the children to communicate with Assol.
One day, her father sent eight-year-old Assol out with toys to sell in the city. The girl, sitting down to have a snack, was sorting through Longren’s handicrafts and came across a beautiful yacht with scarlet sails. While playing, the child launched the boat into a nearby stream. The current carried the toy, and Assol set off in pursuit through the forest. The yacht came to old man Aigle, who admired the skillfully made layout.
Looking up at the girl, the old man read in her amazing face “an involuntary expectation of beauty.” Egle, prone to myth-making, told the girl fairy tale story about a ship with scarlet sails on which a prince will sail for Assol. He will be distinguished by his courage and unearthly beauty.
Arriving home, the child tells the story to his father. Longren decides not to destroy the fairy tale, thinking that “he will grow up and forget.” A young beggar overhears the conversation and relays the story to the inn. Stupid people begin to mock a naive child.
ChapterII.Gray
Arthur Gray was born in a huge, gloomy and majestic house into a family of noble parents. The child had a lively soul. At the age of eight, he covered up the nails in the picture of the crucified Christ, saying, “I cannot allow nails sticking out of my hands and blood flowing.”
Gray spent his entire childhood striving for knowledge, studying the contents of the closet, cellar, library, and even being in the kitchen. One day he witnessed how the maid Betsy scalded her hand. Wanting to understand how painful it was, the boy splashed hot soup on his hand.
The mother, living “in a half-dream of security,” became a different person with her son, “became a simple mother,” forgiving disobedience and quirks. The father did little with Arthur; he only limited the bad influence of his peers by removing the children of employees from the castle.
An indelible impression on the boy was made by a picture in the library, depicting the figure of a man on the forecastle of a ship, rising on a high sea wave. He re-read all the books about sea voyages and brave captains.
At the age of fourteen, Gray secretly leaves the castle and ends up on the schooner Anselm. Under the strict guidance of the ship's captain, Gray strengthened himself morally and physically, without losing “his strange flying soul.”
Gop, seeing the cabin boy's success, began to teach him the wisdom of the sea.
Five years later, Gray, using a stop in Dubelt, goes home. Having stayed with his mother for seven days and taken home a large sum money, Arthur sets sail on his own ship as captain.
ChapterIII.Dawn
Trying to dispel the melancholy and thoughtful absent-mindedness, Arthur Gray, captain of the ship "Secret", sets off with the nimble, roguish sailor Letika to fishing. They land on the shore near Kaperna. Gray rests by the fire at night, and the sailor fishes.
Having fallen asleep imperceptibly and waking up in the morning, the captain takes a walk. In a picturesque clearing, he notices Assol asleep. Having admired the lovely picture, he leaves an old precious ring on the girl’s little finger.
In a village inn, Arthur asks Hin Menners about the mysterious stranger and learns the story about the scarlet sails. The innkeeper calls Assol crazy, and Longren the killer of his father. A vile lie exposes a coal miner drinking in a tavern.
Gray leaves, leaving Letika to find out more. Now Arthur is no longer left with “the feeling of amazing discoveries.”
ChapterIV.The day before
On the eve of the day described, Assol unsuccessfully tries to sell toy boats in city stores. She tells her father about her ordeals. Longren is thinking about joining a ship again. He goes ashore, and the girl stays at home and sits down to sewing. Having finished sewing, Assol goes to bed, but an elusive premonition of a miracle does not allow her to fall asleep for a long time.
Waking up at dawn with a feeling of novelty and inexplicable inspiration, the girl goes outside. Dreaming, looking at the sea, Assol falls asleep, and when he wakes up, he discovers a ring on his little finger. She is overcome with quiet joy.
ChapterV.Combat preparations
Gray, returning to the ship, gives Panten the command to go to the mouth of Liliana. Arthur decisively and calmly gets down to business. In various shops he looks through bales of silk until he finds the fabric of the required shade. On the way from the shop, the captain meets a musician he knows and offers him and his comrades a job. He supplies the musicians with money and orders them to appear at the “Secret”.
An intoxicated Letika returns with a report. Atwood reports that the ship has moored at the dam and the musicians have arrived. Gray announces to the team that he is heading to his wife. Everyone congratulates their beloved captain.
Panten still thinks that the trick with the scarlet sails is being carried out to transport contraband, but Arthur assures that the assistant is mistaken.
ChapterVI.Assol is left alone
Assol returns home in an excited state, but his father, busy with his thoughts, does not find out what’s wrong. Longren leaves the house, leaving his daughter alone.
The girl cannot sit still, and she goes to Liss to wander around the city. On the way back, she meets the coal miner Philip, telling him confidentially that she will leave soon.
ChapterVII.Scarlet "Secret"
In the morning, among the trees on the shore, the hunter hears music. Having made his way to the shore, he notices on the surface of the sea an amazing ship under scarlet sails on white masts among the whiteness of the rigging.
The military cruiser orders the strange ship to drift and sends a lieutenant to find out what's going on. Gray talks to him in the cabin. After which the smiling lieutenant leaves the Secret.
By noon, Arthur observes Caperna from the deck through a telescope.
Assol is reading by the window. A beetle stubbornly makes its way through the pages and stops at the word “Look.” The girl, looking up, notices a snow-white ship driven by scarlet sails. She runs to the sea in excitement. And all the inhabitants of Kaperna rush to the shore in a hurry, gloomily pronouncing her name.
When Assol appears, women and men part with fear. And she, stretching out her arms, rushes into the water towards the boat that has set sail from the ship.
Music is heard. Gray picks up the happy Assol and takes her to the carpeted Secret.
First Arthur, and then the whole crew, drink hundred-year-old holy wine.
The next day the ship leaves Caperna far behind.
Conclusion
“Scarlet Sails” is a wonderful example of the work of Alexander Green. Life-affirming and celebratory of strength human spirit the story immerses the reader in a dazzling and fairy world, forcing you to act, create magic with your own hands and follow your dreams.
"Scarlet Sails" is the most romantic story, which all little girls dream of repeating in life. It tells how, despite hard life, full of grief, you can never stop believing in a dream that will definitely come true. Below you can find a summary of “Scarlet Sails” by chapter.
Main actors books are:
- Gray,
- Longren.
Other characters:
- old man Egle,
- innkeeper - Hin Menners,
- coal miner
A.S. Green summary of the work:
In this book main character named Assol is the true embodiment of innocence and purity, a little girl dreams that a prince will come for her on a ship with scarlet sails. But the townspeople don't understand her, so she becomes an outcast. At the same time, a rich heir is being raised in a distant country, but the palace halls are alien to him and the norms of etiquette are boring to him.
The guy runs away from home and becomes a sailor, and after many years - the captain of a ship. One day a ship comes to the town where Assol lives, the young man falls in love with a girl and learns her dream of scarlet sails.
Pay attention! For a more complete introduction to the plot of the story “Scarlet Sails”, you can read the chapter-by-chapter summary presented below.
Chapter 1 Prediction
One day, sailor Longren returns from a long voyage and learns that his wife died, but before that she managed to give birth to his daughter.
The family's difficult life in the absence of her father became the cause of Assol's mother's illness. There was practically no means of subsistence; all the money was spent on restoring the mother’s health after childbirth. The woman tried to escape as best she could.
The wedding ring, which meant so much and was the only thing of value to her, went as payment for the bread. It was hard for Longren to hear all this from his friends and neighbors.
A man has to leave his job to take care of the child. He appears small and not at all profitable business: He made toy boats out of wood and sold them.
But Longren was not accepted by society, and as a result, Assol faced the same fate. Unsuccessful attempts to find friends ended in bruises, bitterness and ridicule for her.
One day a girl saw her father’s white yacht with bright scarlet sails, while playing with a boat by the stream, the girl came across old man Egle, who was considered a collector of fairy tales and fables. The old man told her that in many years such a ship with scarlet sails would sail for her, and the captain of the board would be a handsome prince in love with her, who would want to show her his land and make her a princess.
Assol believed the old man and told this story to her father, who said that it would be so. But the people heard about it, began to tease the girl even more and branded her crazy, but she simply believed in a miracle.
Chapter 2 Gray
And there, across the seas, lived the young Prince Arthur Gray. He was a descendant of a rich and noble family, but since childhood he did not fit into the accepted framework. The boy was bored in the palace, he dreamed of something else.
Gray was brave, smart, self-confident, but at the same time he had kindest heart and a pure soul. While wandering around the castle, Gray invented games for himself and played alone all the time.
There was a unique aloofness in the whole behavior of the young man, as if he was living in his own fantasy and was not like anyone else. One day the young heir wandered into the library; there hung a painting depicting a stormy seascape with the ship on which he stood brave captain. At that moment, Arthur realized what he really wanted.
Having run away from home, Gray joined a schooner as a sailor. The captain of the schooner immediately saw in him an ardent mind, agility and youthful courage, and decided that he would raise a real captain from the young man. The guy diligently studied maritime affairs and soon learned everything.
Many years later, Arthur Gray was able to buy himself a small yacht “Secret” and, having hired a crew, set off on his own voyage, which, by the will of fate, took him to a town located very close to where Assol lived.
Chapter 3 Dawn
The ship stood nearby for a little over a week, Captain Gray became sad, and then decided to take the sailor and 
go fishing. It wasn’t long before they found a place suitable for fishing, which was located right in the town where the girl lived.
Walking the next morning, Arthur came across a girl sleeping in the forest; she seemed beautiful to him. This living embodiment of tenderness and spirituality so struck the mind of the young captain that without understanding how, he put his family ring on her finger and promised himself that he would return.
In the town, the innkeeper told him about Assol, adding that this girl was crazy and it was better not to hang out with her. He also mentioned that the girl believed in a stupid dream that a ship with scarlet sails would come for her.
But to the young captain it seemed like a simple-minded desire worthy of fulfillment. The innkeeper decided to tell about his father, because of whom, according to the whole city, the fisherman died, which, of course, was not true. But Gray realized that the girl was much smarter than everyone else, she believed and noticed what other people could not understand.
And these thoughts were confirmed by a drunken coal miner who was sitting right there in the tavern. He said that it was all a lie, that the girl was absolutely normal, besides, she was smart and sweet. Suddenly the source of the conversation walked past the window, and looking at her again, Gray realized that without a doubt the coal miner was right.
Chapter 4 The day before
The day before, Assol went into town with her father’s toys to give them to the store for sale. But unfortunately they no longer wanted to accept them for sale in shops and stores in the city.
Wooden crafts went out of fashion; no one needed them anymore. Having learned about this, Longren decided that he would go to sea again, since they had no other way to earn money. They really didn't want to leave. The father could not imagine how he would leave his daughter alone, and how he would live without her.
The girl, overwhelmed with sadness, went wandering through the forest, got tired and fell asleep. In the morning she discovered a ring on her finger, it scared and amazed her a little, but in general she considered it someone’s stupid trick. And yet she put the gift away and decided not to tell anyone about it.
Chapter 5 Combat preparations
Gray got the idea to perform cherished dream Assol, he was in love with this girl. She was so unusual, exactly the one who could understand him, exactly the one he needed. Returning to the ship, he ordered the sailors to head to the city in search of scarlet silk for sails. At first, the assistant captain even thought that Gray had decided to engage in illegal transportation of goods. Having found the desired shade, several thousand meters of the scarlet silk that was found in the city were purchased.
And Gray, walking through the streets of the city, met a musician he knew and asked him to gather all the musicians he knew to serve on the ship. The musician gave his consent and by the evening a whole street orchestra had already settled down in front of the ship.
Chapter 6 Assol is left alone
Returning from the sea, his father told Assol that he would have to go on a long voyage. He did not want to leave the girl alone, because he was very afraid for her. And she was for him, but there was no choice, the man had to go sailing.
The girl was terribly lonely, she could not live without her father, without her only loved one, who took care of her, with whom she shared all her sorrows and joys.
Their house became unbearable for her, it was difficult and bitter to remain alone in it, everything here reminded her of her father. Once having met that same drunken coal miner, the girl said goodbye to him, saying that she was going to leave the city.
Chapter 7 Scarlet "Secret"
Having straightened the sails, Gray's ship moved towards the city along the river. The ship had already begun to approach the city, the entire crew was surprised, and the captain was in joyful anticipation that he could finally fulfill the dream of the angelic creature.
Assol was sitting at home at this time, busy reading a book. But a small bug was crawling along the sheet, which was terribly annoying; it kept getting caught in my hands and getting in the way of reading. The girl wearily raised her head to blow the bug into the grass, and lo and behold, she couldn’t believe her eyes: from the window the very desired scarlet sails could be seen.
She rushed headlong to the pier, and when she reached the shore, she saw in front of her an embittered, incomprehensible, arrogant, stupid crowd that still did not believe in the fulfillment of the dream and did not understand where the scarlet sails came from. In front of the heroine, everyone fell silent and began to part in slight fear and bewilderment.
A boat was launched into the water, in which Gray was sailing to his beloved. Assol rushed into the water towards him. He picked her up and the young couple boarded a ship with scarlet sails, music flowing all around.
But the girl was still bothered by one important question: whether he would take her father with him, and, having received an affirmative answer, she set off with her groom on the way back to the distant country from which Gray had arrived. Both heroes were absolutely happy, the guy turned out to be exactly the one the girl had been waiting for for so long.
The tragic story of the exile of Assol and her father ended truly happily. Perhaps this is a reward for the troubles and difficulties experienced, or maybe a reward for the girl’s unchanging faith. But the fact that the old man’s prediction came true and Gray sailed for her on a ship with scarlet sails makes one believe in the fairy tale.
To better experience the ending of “Scarlet Sails,” we suggest reading an excerpt from the text, because no description can compare with the author’s style:
“soft music flowed into the blue day from the white deck under the fire of scarlet silk... Again Assol closed her eyes, afraid that all this would disappear if she watched. Gray took her hands and, knowing now where it was safe to go, she hid her face, wet with tears, on the chest of her friend, who had come so magically.
Carefully, but with laughter, himself shocked and surprised that an inexpressible, inaccessible to anyone, precious minute had come, Gray lifted this long-dreamed-of face up by the chin, and the girl’s eyes finally opened clearly. They had everything best man. They had all the best of a person.
- Will you take my Longren to us? - she said.
- Yes. “And he kissed her so hard after his iron “yes” that she laughed.”
Pay attention! If you don't have time to read a book but still want to know full story with all the details, and not its abbreviation, then you can listen to “Scarlet Sails” on the audiobook website.
Listening to the text online will take much less time than reading, and while listening to the story you will be able to do your own thing.
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Conclusion
The book “Scarlet Sails” is deservedly recognized as an achievement of world literature. It shows how pure and kind a person can be, and how evil and stupid society can be. In the summary, we tried to tell you this story as accurately as possible, but still this does not convey all the beauty and subtlety of the author’s narrative.