Wolf in fairy tales about animals. Wolf - fairy tale character

01.05.2019

Department of Education of the Yustinsky District Administration municipality

Municipal government educational institution
"Harbin Secondary School"

Regional correspondence competition “My small homeland: nature, culture, ethnicity"

Nomination "Humanitarian-ecological research"

The image of a wolf in Kalmyk and Russian folk tales.

Angarikov Angrik Alekseevich,

7th grade student of MKOU "Harbin Secondary School" of Yustinsky district

Supervisor: Angarikova Bain Anatolyevna, teacher of Russian language and literature MCOU "Harbin Secondary School" of Yustinsky district

Kharba, 2015.

Content:

Introduction. 2.

1.1. Relevance of the topic.

1.2. Area of study, object of study.

1.3. Goals and objectives of the study.

1.4. Stages of research. Research methods.

1.5. Literature review

Main part. 4.

2.Theoretical research. Tales about animals. 4.

3. Practical research:

3.1. The image of a wolf in fairy tales about animals. 8.

3.2. Comparative analysis the image of a wolf in Kalmyk and Russian folk tales about animals 10.

Conclusion 12.

References. 13.

Introduction

“The fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it! A lesson to good fellows."
A.S. Pushkin. "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel"

Fairy tale - amazing world, where real and fictional events and characters are intricately intertwined , there is its own unusual poetics, the beauty of the language, and there is certainly a moral that is hidden or obvious in the fairy tale.

Getting acquainted with fairy tales, we notice that Kalmyk and Russian fairy tales are very similar. What do the fairy tales of different nations have in common? How are they different? I had questions that I wanted to find answers to.

The study is devoted to the analysis and comparison of the image of the wolf in fairy tales about animals - Russian folk and Kalmyk folk tales. The fulfillment of this goal began with an acquaintance with the history of fairy tales: defining the genre, collecting and studying fairy tales, and their classification.

I did the research purpose which was a comparison of the image of a wolf in Russian folk and Kalmyk folk tales about animals

Object of study- the image of a wolf in folk tales about animals.

Subject of research– common and distinctive features of the image of a wolf in Russian folk and Kalmyk folk tales about animals.

Research objectives:

Learn about the history of folk tales.

Analyze the features of folk tales about animals.

To establish common and distinctive features of the image of a wolf in Russian and Kalmyk folk tales about animals.

Working methods:

Studying literary sources on the problem.

Search method.

Comparison of two fairy tales (analogy, contrast, generalization).

Analysis of results.

Project work plan:

Choosing a topic, drawing up a work plan

Working with literature, searching for information on the issue

Reading fairy tales.

Comparison of the plot, composition and language features of the Russian folk tale “Beasts in the Pit” and the Kalmyk folk tale “ Leopard, wolf, fox and camel»

Comparison and analysis of results, description.

Literature review:

In the textbooks for schools Moiseev A.I., Moiseeva N.I. “History and culture of the Kalmyk people (XVII - XVIII centuries)” and V.T. Sarangov “Kalmyk folk poetry: Fairy tales” reveals the form of existence, the structure of the Kalmyk fairy tale

The book by V. Ya. Propp (1895-1970), the greatest folklorist of the 20th century, “Russian Fairy Tale” is a kind of textbook on fairy tales, a popular encyclopedia of fairy tales. The final work on the fairy tale includes a set of information about the collection, study, structure and development, form of existence of all types of Russian fairy tales.

For comparison, a Russian folk tale is taken “Beasts in the Pit” from the collection “Russian folk tales” (compilation and introductory article by Anikin V.P.) and a Kalmyk folk tale “ Leopard, wolf, fox and camel ” from the book « Kalmyk fairy tales about animals. Mouse and camel. Translation from Kalmyk" (compiled by V.D. Badmaeva)

Practical value of the work: the results of the study can be used in the study of Russian and Kalmyk folklore.

The work consists of an introduction, main part, conclusion and list of references. The introduction indicates the goals and objectives of the study and justifies the relevance of the chosen topic. The main part examines the image of the wolf in fairy tales of the peoples of the world as a whole, examines the images of the wolf in Russian and Kalmyk folk tales, and identifies similar features and characteristics of the wolf in the fairy tales of different peoples. In conclusion, conclusions are given based on the material studied.

Main part.

2. Features of fairy tales about animals.

In the "Bolshoi" explanatory dictionary modern Russian language" D.N. Ushakova fairy tale defined as a narrative work of oral folk art about fictitious events. We love fairy tales since childhood, they warm the heart, awaken the mind and imagination. Fairy tales are filled with incredible events, fantastic adventures; in fairy tales, animals and birds speak and act like people, they reason, deceive, quarrel and make friends. A fairy tale is the soul of the people, embodied in words, the richest source of folk wisdom.

Modern science distinguishes the following genres of fairy tales:

1) about animals;

2) magical;

3) novelistic;

4) legendary;

5) fairy tales-parodies;

6) children's fairy tales.

In Kalmyk folklore, researchers note four main fairy tale genres: a) magical, b) heroic, c) everyday, d) fairy tales about animals.

V.Ya. Propp gives the following definition of animal tales: “By animal tales we mean those tales in which the animal is the main object or subject of the story. On this basis, tales about animals can be distinguished from others, where animals play only a supporting role and are not the heroes of the story.”

Tales about animals are called those in which the characters are wild animals, less often domestic animals. These tales arose in an era when the main occupations forced a person to often encounter animals, i.e. in the era of hunting and cattle breeding. In this era, fighting animals was very dangerous due to poor human weapons; man seemed weak to himself compared to a number of predatory animals; on the contrary, many animals must have seemed unusually powerful to him. Under the influence of an animistic worldview, people attributed human properties to animals, even in exaggerated proportions: the cry of an animal or bird was incomprehensible to humans, but human speech was understandable to animals and birds; the beast and the bird know more than man and understand the aspirations of man. During this era, a belief arose in the possibility of turning into a beast and back. The growth of human power should have gradually weakened these views and beliefs, and this should have been reflected in the content of fairy tales about animals.

At first, simple stories were formed about animals and birds and fish, about their relationships with each other and with humans. Later, with the development of artistic thinking, the stories turned into fairy tales. The genre was formed over a long period of time, enriched with plots, types of characters, and developed certain structural features.

The identification of similar features in animals and humans (speech - cry, behavior - habits) served as the basis for combining their qualities with human qualities in the images of animals: animals speak and behave like people. V.Ya. Propp wrote: “The power of artistic realism is so great that we do not notice that, despite the subtly noticed properties of animals, animals in fairy tales often do not act like animals at all and their actions are not consistent with their nature. The animal epic is widely reflected human life, with her passions, greed, greed, deceit, stupidity and cunning and at the same time with friendship, loyalty, gratitude, i.e. a wide range of human feelings and characters, as well as a realistic depiction of human life, in particular, peasant life.” This combination also led to the typification of the characters of animals, which became the embodiment of certain qualities: the fox - cunning, the wolf - stupidity and greed, the bear - gullibility, the hare - cowardice. So fairy tales acquired an allegorical meaning: animals began to mean people of certain characters. But there is hardly any reason to believe that in all fairy tales human traits are depicted in animal images. The uniqueness of the image of an animal in fairy tales lies precisely in the fact that the human features in it never completely supplant the animal features.

In fairy tales about animals, animal figures are realistic; they differ sharply from the fantastic firebird of fairy tales: such a bird does not exist in reality, but the fox, wolf, bear, hare, crane are taken from real life.

However, it should be emphasized that the main semantic aspect of fairy tales about animals is moral. In moral terms, two main ideas of animal fairy tales can be distinguished: the glorification of camaraderie, thanks to which the weak defeat the evil and strong, and the glorification of victory itself, which brings moral satisfaction to the listeners.

The structure of animal tales is quite simple. The most notable feature of the structure of this type of tale is the stringing of episodes. The meeting of animals with each other is very characteristic of the development of action. Perhaps only in fairy tales about animals is the composition distinguished by such pronounced functionality. All parts of the plot are structured in such a way as to reveal the essence of phenomena and convey the nature of the relationships between the characters with the utmost speed in a short episode.

Each hero has his own individual character and unique traits. Characteristics of animals in a fairy tale includes several distinct characters, personifying strength and cunning, anger and brute force.

National traits fairy tales are determined by the folklore traditions of the people. Animals are reflected in fairy tales and flora the country where these tales appeared. Animals - the heroes of fairy tales - in their speech and behavior resemble the people of the country where these fairy tales exist. And it cannot be otherwise, since a fairy tale has always been a reflection folk life, a mirror of the people's consciousness.

2.1. Russian fairy tales about animals

Animal Tales- one of the oldest types of Russian fairy tales. The animal world in fairy tales is perceived as an allegorical image of the human. Animals personify the real carriers of human vices in everyday life (greed, stupidity, cowardice, boasting, trickery, cruelty, flattery, hypocrisy, etc.).

V.Ya. Propp in his book “Russian Fairy Tale” (Chapter 6 “Tales of Animals”) identifies six groups of tales about animals:

1) tales about wild animals;

2) tales about wild and domestic animals;

3) tales about humans and wild animals;

4) tales about domestic animals;

5) tales about birds, fish, etc.;

6) tales about other animals, plants, etc.

Allegory is manifested in the characterization of the characters: the depiction of the habits of animals and the peculiarities of their behavior resembles the depiction of human behavior and introduces critical principles into the narrative, which are expressed in the use of various techniques of satirical and humorous depiction of reality.

The humor is based on reproducing the absurd situations that the characters find themselves in (the wolf puts his tail into the hole and believes that he will catch a fish).

The language of fairy tales is figurative, reproducing everyday speech, some fairy tales consist entirely of dialogues ("The Fox and the Black Grouse", "The Bean Seed"). In them, dialogue dominates the narrative. They move the action, reveal situations, show the state of the characters. The text includes small songs ("Kolobok", "Goat-dereza"). Fairy tales about animals are characterized by bright optimism: the weak always come out of difficult situations.

The composition of fairy tales is simple, based on the repetition of situations. The plot of the fairy tales unfolds rapidly ("The Bean Seed", "Beasts in the Pit"). Tales about animals are highly artistic, their images are expressive.

2.2. Kalmyk tales about animals.

Kalmyk fairy tales about animals are simple in plot, uncomplicated in composition and small in volume. Wild animals and animals act in them - wolves, foxes, leopards, lions, elephants, hares; domestic animals - rams, camels, goats; birds - sparrows, crows, peacocks, roosters, owls; rodents - gophers, mice; The most common insect is the mosquito.

These tales are allegorical: khans, noyons, and zaisangs were bred under the guise of predators. In the image of a leopard, a lion, a wolf, stupid, ruthless people are depicted, in the image of a fox - deceivers, cunning, liars, in the image of an elephant and a camel - strong, but lazy and not loving to work. It is absolutely clear that these tales condemn bad, unjust deeds and negative actions of representatives of the exploiting class that are incompatible with popular morality. In the image of birds, obviously, innocent people were depicted, who, due to their naivety, fell into the networks of deceivers, oppressors, and various oppressors in the class society of that time.

Fairy tales written in the Kalmyk language provide an opportunity to get acquainted with traditions, culture and oral creativity. For example, Buryat fairy tales, in which the main characters are animals, teach the reader to distinguish the good, bright principle from the evil, to empathize and help the weak, and to believe in justice. Wait for the happy completion of the tests.

The entire plot of the fairy tale is built on the constant clash of good and evil. The power of evil is softened by humor, which occupies a significant place in fairy tales. Evil heroes are constantly ridiculed and often find themselves in ridiculous, comical situations. Usually the fairy tale ends with the victory of good. Evil is punishable.

The peoples of the world live on one planet, develop according to general laws history. Each people has its own path and its own destiny, its own language and living conditions. In the similarity of historical folk life we should look for the answer to the question of what are the reasons for the similarity and closeness of fairy tales of peoples living on different continents.

Speaking about fairy tales of different peoples with similar plots, it is necessary to note three cases:

1. Fairy tales are formed among some people, and then move to other countries, but they are influenced by their own folklore traditions (beginnings, motives) and are adapted to local customs.

2. There are similar fairy tales that arise independently of each other in different countries due to the commonality of life, psychology, conditions and laws of the socio-historical development of peoples.

3. Fairy tales can also be transmitted through a book.

3. The image of a wolf in folk tales

Who is cold in winter b an evil one will give birth in the forest, hungry?

The wolf is a predatory animal common in the northern hemisphere of planet Earth. The wolf looks quite ferocious and terrifying. The wolf is a traditional hero of folk tales and epics of most peoples of the world. In our minds, the image of a wolf is endowed with mostly negative characteristics:

You are cold snow beasts.

Your losses are incalculable...

The night will split with terrible crying.

That's it, no one can help me.

A mad howl will freeze under the windows -

These snow wolves came for me.

V. Butusov “Snow Wolves”

IN " Etymological dictionary schoolchild" G.N. Sycheva the word "wolf" is defined as a common Slavic, Indo-European character. There is an opinion that the name "wolf" is derived from the verb drag, i.e. "drag". The wolf is a predatory animal, it often drags away and drags away livestock. Therefore, literally - “dragging” (livestock).

The word “wolf” is widely used in both literal and figurative meanings, for example: don’t go into the wolf’s mouth - when communicating with someone, expose yourself to danger and trouble. But nevertheless, the wolf symbolizes freedom, independence in the animal world, and fearlessness. In nature, a wolf is a dangerous, predatory, intelligent, resourceful animal that evokes fear and respect.

3.1.1. The image of a wolf in Russian fairy tales about animals.

In Russian fairy tales There is an image of a wise wolf, a wolf who helps the heroes of fairy tales. In such fairy tales, the wolf appears as an unknown force, a kind of sorcerer (gives advice to Ivan the prince), a medicine man (heals illnesses), for example, in the fairy tale “Ivan the prince and gray wolf". The wolf personifies mysterious powers endowed with enormous knowledge.

Wolf in fairy tales about animals already performs with evil traits: he is angry, greedy, gluttonous, but stupid and slow-witted. In ancient cultures, the image of a wolf was associated with death, so in fairy tales this animal character often eats someone (“The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats”) or disrupts the quiet life of animals (“”). But in the end

A. Pushkin wrote: “The fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it.” The social prototype of the wolf is quite clear. The people knew many scoundrels and criminals from whom they had a hard time. The tale of how a wolf slaughtered a pig (“The Pig and the Wolf”) depicts in the image of a wolf a cruel and unforgiving master who exacted money from the peasants for poisoning.

Good fairy-tale characters in Russian fairy tales always deceive or defeat the wolf: the wolf devours the kids and dies (“The Wolf and the Goat”), fattens a hungry dog in order to eat it, and is left without a tail (“The Wolf the Fool”).

More often than other animals, the wolf is deceived and cruelly laughed at by the fox.ButVRussian fairy tale, we can feel sympathy and sympathy expressed towards the wolf, even if he was “remained a fool” (“The Tale of the Little Fox-Sister and the Wolf”, “How the Fox Sewed a Fur Coat for the Wolf”, “For the Lapotok - a Chicken, for the Chicken” - little goose”, “Fox-midwife”, “Beasts in the pit”). The way the Fox deceives the Wolf actually speaks only in favor of the latter - yes, he is too naive and simple-minded (although in nature this is not the case), because he takes the trickster Fox at his word. Neither give nor take - a simple village peasant.

3.1.2. Wolf in Kalmyk fairy tales.

Wolf among many Mongolian peoples was considered ancient and one of the main totems. The Kalmyks have an ethnic subdivision called “chonos” (“wolves”): “iki chonos” (big wolves) and “baga chonos” (small wolves). The people have preserved a legend about the origin of this clan, the action of which takes place “in pre-Chinggis Khan Mongolia, when tribes and clans lived separately.” The plot of this legend is not new. Romulus and Remus from Roman mythology were also suckled by a she-wolf. The legend about the origin of the Chonos clan was literary processed and used in the novel people's writer Kalmykia Alexey Badmaev “Zulturgan - steppe grass”, written in the Soviet years.

In fairy tales about animals The wolf is strong, but stupid, narrow-minded and often fooled.

An angry, greedy, gluttonous wolf in the fairy tale “The Mouse Brothers,” but the mice in the fairy tale were able to defeat the terrible beast. stupid and slow-witted. In the fairy tale “The Elephant and the Wolf,” the wolf tries to deceive the simple-minded and cowardly elephant, but in the end he himself dies.

The wolf is often depicted as stupid and slow-witted. The fox makes fun of the wolf and deceives him, but the wolf deceives her again every time: “The wolf and the fox”, “The cunning fox”, “The fox, the wolf and the bear”, “The wolf, the fox and the hare”, “Leopard, wolf, fox and camel."

Fairy tales about animals were created not only for the edification of little ones. Many of them use funny fiction and jokes to ridicule vices. The wolf is often the embodiment of stupidity. His stupidity is the stupidity of a cruel and greedy beast.

From the fairy tales discussed above, we can make conclusion, that the wolf is often stupid, but this is not his main feature: he is cruel, ferocious, angry, greedy - these are his main qualities. But such qualities are never encouraged in fairy tales, so the wolf always gets what he deserves.

3.2. Comparison of Russian and Kalmyk folk tales

Our task is to compare Russian folk and Kalmyk folk tales . For example, let's compare the Russian folk tale “Beasts in the Pit” and Kalmyk folk tale “ Leopard, wolf, fox and camel ” .

Comparison of Russian and Kalmyk folk tales.

Elements of a fairy tale

Russian folk tale "Beasts in the Pit"

Kalmyk folk tale “Leopard, Wolf, Fox and Camel”

Location

Animals fell into the pit.

Action time

Winter has come

Fairy tale characters

cockerel and hen, hare, wolf, fox and bear

Leopard, wolf, fox and camel

Animal actions

They talk and think.

They think and talk.

Problems that heroes solve

Everyone wants to get out of the hole, and need to satisfy your hunger

Food supplies have run out and need to satisfy your hunger

Initiation

Once upon a time there lived a cockerel and a hen.

It was a long time ago. There lived four brothers: a leopard, a wolf, a fox and a camel.

The beginning

Here comes the hail. The hen got scared, the cockerel and the hen ran.

Climax

The fox tricked others into eating someone.

The fox ate part of the camel's meat and blamed it on the wolf. Leopard killed him, but he himself died

Denouement

The fox ate everyone and, with the help of the bird, got out of the hole.

The fox ate the camel's meat, deceived all the animals and lived happily ever after.

Dialogue that drives action.

Animals talk to each other. The fox sings songs that lead to the death of someone

Animals talk to each other. The fox is always the first to start a conversation and deceives others.

Repetition of situations and words

1) They ran, they ran. A hare meets them:

- Where are you running, cockerel?

- Ay, don't ask me, ask the chicken!

2) And the fox sang:

- Bear-bear is a good name...

Kura-okurava is a bad name!

Here we ate the chicken.

The fox ate the tripe.

What are you doing? The leopard will check and kill us,” the wolf shouted.

The camel was stupid, and stupid people don’t have a scar.

Artistic media language: suffixation

Cockerel, chicken, little bear, titmouse bird.

Conclusions.

The wolf is widely represented in fairy tales of different nations.

In fairy tales, the wolf can play both a major and a secondary role, but this does not change the image of the wolf.

In the traditions of both peoples, the wolf is shown as a cruel but stupid animal.

Most often, in the fairy tales of both peoples, the wolf is deceived by the fox.

In Kalmyk fairy tales there is practically no clash between wild and domestic animals.

The Russian fairy tale, although the plot and characters are externally similar to the Kalmyk fairy tale, is more lively, bright, and imaginative. It contains more epithets, onomatopoeia, and songs. This is due to ancient tradition telling a fairy tale to music and its theatricalization.

Conclusion

Fairy tales are the most ancient creations human spirit. A fairy tale is one of the popular and favorite genres in folklore and literature.

We didn’t know how to walk yet, but we had already heard fairy tales from our mothers and grandmothers. Having matured, we will read and study them for a long time. And while reading, we always immerse ourselves in their fantastic, magical and at the same time so alive and real world. Each fairy-tale image comes to life vividly in the imagination. And this is no coincidence, a fairy tale is a perfect work folk spirit, honed over centuries or even millennia.

Absolutely everyone understands the fairy tale. It seamlessly crosses all linguistic boundaries, from one people to another, and remains alive for thousands of years.

The form of the tale, compact, capacious, and the manner of presentation of the tale, unedifying, seemingly so unpretentious, usually illuminated by the narrator’s soft smile, allows us to convey not only the most characteristic qualities a person, but also to capture his deepest, most hidden features and show in a publicly accessible form for any listener or reader what is good and what is bad. A fairy tale is the soul of the people, eternally seeking truth and justice, love and happiness, embodied in words.

From the material studied, it is clear that the goals and objectives set for us were solved, and we received answers to all the questions that interested us. In our work, we compared Russian folk and Kalmyk folk tales about animals and saw that they have a lot in common, since the peoples of the world live on the same planet and develop according to the general laws of history. But fairy tales at the same time demonstrate the national originality of the folklore of each nation. And animals - the heroes of fairy tales - resemble both in their speech and behavior the people of the country where these fairy tales exist. It cannot be otherwise, since fairy tales have always been a reflection of people's life.

As long as humanity exists, it needs a dream, and, therefore, it cannot do without a fairy tale that inspires, gives hope, amuses and consoles.

Literature:

3. Mouse and camel. Kalmyk tales about animals. Translation from Kalm.: collection. Comp.

V.D. Badmaeva. – Elista: AU RK “ Publishing house“Gerel”, 2012.

Propp V.Ya. Russian fairy tale.

Russian folk tales. Compilation and introductory article by Anikin V.P. – Moscow: Pravda Publishing House, 1990

“A philosopher, legislator, historian - anyone who wants to understand their people to the end must take a closer look at their songs, proverbs, fairy tales, as well as their sayings, individual expressions and words. Behind a word there is always its meaning, behind the literal meaning there is a secret, allegorical meaning, under the strange colorful robe of a fairy tale lies the history and religion of peoples and nations,” the Italian folklorist Giuseppe Pitre (1843 – 1916) insightfully admonished everyone.

Today we are increasingly turning to Russian folk tales, trying to find the hidden truth in them, that magical little ball that will lead us to the distant kingdom, where our dreams will come true and everything will be fine.

Not only magical things help the hero on his journey, but also animals and plants. In our work we will try to understand not only the symbolic meaning of these images, but also their structure. In my research work I will use such a concept as a totem. This concept was taken from the language of the North American Indians and was introduced into scientific circulation in the 19th century. “Totem” is translated as “his clan” and means clan affiliation, but not by family ties, but by unification of oneself and a kind of tribe with some animal, plant, element (for example, water, wind, lightning) or object (for example, a stone). Despite the apparent non-Russian nature of the concept of “totem”, it is consonant with the most Russian words “father”, “fatherland”, “stepfather”, etc.

What are totems for and why did they appear? Every person needs to distinguish himself from others. How to emphasize your uniqueness and originality at the level of clan, tribe, ethnic group? This is where the tradition of distinguishing by totems developed, linking itself with inextricable ties to the world of living and inanimate nature. In this interconnected system, the totem was assigned the role of a talisman: it guarded, protected a person, helped him in difficult situations. In turn, all totemic animals and plants are taboo: what was considered

2 totem, it was impossible to kill, offend, or eat. The totem was worshiped, sacrifices were made to it, it was glorified and depicted by everyone accessible ways. IN Ancient Rome the most exotic totem was the woodpecker, and the most famous was the wolf (the Capitoline she-wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus).

Greek mythology is especially rich in the transformations of gods and heroes into animals, plants and some inanimate objects (stones, rocks, stars). Ovid wrote 15 books on this topic, combined into the famous “Metamorphoses”. Zeus turns into a bull; Helios - into a lion, boar, panther; Athena - into a deer, etc.

Among the Russian people, echoes of totemism have been preserved mainly in ritual folklore, associated with the veneration and glorification of trees, birds, animals, in fairy tales - especially about animals. This is clearly evidenced by the positive human traits that the people endowed with fabulous animals, as well as the protective functions that they perform (the primary purpose of the totem is to help everyone who is in a socially related relationship with it). Convincing confirmation of the totem-kinship relationship between animals and people in the vulgar can be at least the well-known nickname of the fox - Little Chanterelle-Sister (aka Kuma-Fox). Whose sister and godfather is she to?

Not a wolf, not a hare, not a bear, but you and me, or rather our distant ancestors!

The fox is a bright female image in the animal world, the companion and embodiment of Mokosh - the goddess of fate and harvest. The Slavs revered the fox for its cunning, resourcefulness and ingenuity, and affectionately called it godfather and sister. For the red color

3 the fox was compared to fire, and also to a thundercloud because of the brown tint of its fur coat. In Siberia, the pre-dawn twilight, when the sun's rays painted the sky dark orange, was called fox darkness. But the fox was also associated with the winter cold, illnesses and illnesses caused by the cold. The fox owes this relationship to Mara, the goddess of winter, possibly an incarnation of Mokosh.

Fox time is the beginning and middle of winter. Colors - red, red, brown.

Proverbs and signs:

The fox is always fuller than the wolf

To pass by a fox is by cunning

Whoever entered the rank of fox will rule as a wolf

If the fox had not arrived in time, the sheep would have eaten the wolf!

The fox counts chickens in his sleep

The fox crossed the road, bad luck.

Hearing a fox bark is unlucky.

Animals - the main characters of Russian folk tales - are usually masculine: bull, horse, wolf, bear. Hare, rooster, cat, ram, etc. But there are, of course, animals too feminine: goat, frog, mouse, chicken. However, all of them, neither in popularity nor in importance, can be compared with Lisa Patrikeevna - the bearer of both the best and worst qualities of the entire female tribe, and to a certain extent - an exponent of the very essence of female nature.

The fox is the heroine of mainly everyday fairy tales. Here she lies on the road with glassy eyes. She was numb, the man decided, he kicked her and she wouldn’t wake up. The man was delighted, took the fox, put it in the cart with fish, covered it with matting: “The old woman will have a collar for her fur coat,” and started the horse from its place, he himself went ahead. The fox threw all the fish out of the cart and left. The man realized that the fox was dead. It's already late. There is nothing to do.

The fox is true to herself everywhere in fairy tales. Her cunning is conveyed in the proverb: “When you look for a fox in front, then she is behind.” She is resourceful and lies recklessly until the time when it is no longer possible to lie, but even in this case she indulges in the most incredible invention. The fox thinks only about his own benefit. If the deal does not promise her acquisitions, she will not sacrifice anything of hers. The fox is vindictive and vindictive. Having collected the fish thrown on the road, the fox began to have lunch. The wolf runs: “Hello, gossip, bread and salt!” - “I eat mine, and you stay away.” Why would a fox give a treat to a wolf? Let him catch it himself. The fox instantly has an epiphany: “You, little kuman, go to the river, lower your tail into the hole - the fish attaches itself to the tail, but look, sit longer, otherwise you won’t catch it. Sit and say: “Catch, fish, both small and large!” Catch, little fish, both small and great!

The proposal is absurd, wild, and the stranger it is, the more readily one believes in it. The wolf obeyed. Lisa volunteered to help. She is worried: as long as there is no thaw, as long as it is a frosty night. He walks around the wolf and says:

Make it clear, make it clear, there are stars in the sky,

Freeze, freeze, wolf's tail!

“I’m trying to catch the fish,” she explains to the wolf, who does not understand all her words. The wolf sat the whole night at the ice hole. His tail froze. The women came to the river for water and saw a wolf and began to beat it with rockers. The wolf was eager and eager - he tore off his tail and took off running.

After this, it would seem that the fox should be afraid of meeting her godfather. The wolf is angry with her: “That’s how you teach, godfather, how to fish!”

The fox managed to visit the hut, ate some dough from a kneading bowl from one woman and smeared herself in it. “Oh, kumanek! You don’t have a tail, but your head is intact, but they smashed my head: look at the brain - it’s come out!” And the wolf believed her, took pity on her, sat him down: “The beaten one carries the unbeaten one.”

The tale depicts the triumph of the fox. She revels in revenge, feels complete superiority over her gullible and stupid godfather. How much resourcefulness she has and how much vengeful feeling she has! Both are so often found in people with a practical, resourceful mind, overwhelmed by petty passions. And the wolf is good! Envy and stupidity destroy him. This way you can lose your skin. For all its simplicity, the fairy tale with psychological truth conveys in these animals the traits of people, the peculiarities of their characters and behavior.

Of course, storytellers could tell about human vices without resorting to fantastic fiction, but how insipid this story would become! He would not have conveyed to us even a small part of the caustic, deep meaning that the satirical narrative contains.

The fairy tale tells us that the hero’s selfish invention, no matter how implausible and incredible it may seem (catch fish with the tail!), will always find a greedy fool who will believe it. Stupidity and gullibility are as endless as cunning and calculation. When they meet, everything is possible: you can fish with your tail, you can lose your head, you can feel sorry for the one who almost ruined you. Is the Wolf always stupid and funny in fairy tales? What is the attitude of our distant ancestors to this image?

6 The wolf is one of the central and widespread mythological figures of world folklore and one of the oldest totems of the Russian people. The duality (duality) of this fairy-tale image is clear. On the one side. The wolf is a bloodthirsty predator that attacks livestock and people; on the other hand, he is a faithful assistant and even a relative of fairy-tale heroes.

This is evidenced by some wedding customs that persisted in Rus' until the twentieth century. Thus, in the northwestern regions of Russia (in particular in Pskov), it was customary to call the groom’s groom’s representative a wolf, and the groom’s relatives in songs called the bride a she-wolf; She, too, did not remain in debt and in the traditional lamentation called the groom’s brothers gray wolves.

Cultural historian Edward Tylor (1832 – 1917) in his classic work “ Primitive culture» drew attention to the fact that the famous Russian fairy tale “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats” contains fragments and mythologies of the ancient cosmic worldview, when “wolf” was understood dark forces chaos, which absorbed the sun, moon and wandering celestial bodies during eclipses (as in the old days the seven observable bodies were called naked eye planets) in their fairy-tale-symbolic guise, and “little goats” appeared, which were swallowed by the “wolf” and then (voluntarily or by force) released into the wild.

Among the Russians, traces of such an ancient identification are found, among other things, in an archaic riddle-proverb, where the dark night is identified with a wolf: “The wolf [dark night] came - all the people fell silent; the clear falcon [sun] flew up - all the people left!” Traces of such an ancient cosmic worldview and beliefs are found even in the simple children's game “Geese-Swans and the Wolf”, where the latter personifies the dark night trying to overtake and absorb the bright sunny days - the geese-swans.

It was widely distributed throughout Eastern Europe belief about wolf people. Herodotus in his “History” wrote about the Neuroi, a people who lived on the territory of present-day Belarus and, according to scientists, were undoubtedly associated with the Slavs. Herodotus relayed the stories of the Greeks and Scythians that “every year every neuros becomes a wolf for a few days, and then again takes on its previous appearance.” Isn’t this belief reflected in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, which tells how Prince Vseslav “himself barked at night.”

The tale of Ivan Tsarevich and the gray wolf also preserved the meaning of the ancient mythical belief quite well. Folklorists classify it as a type of fairy tale. In the form in which we know it, it is truly a fairy tale.

The son is guarding his father's garden. The firebird pecks apples in it, the hero wants to catch it; he is looking for a golden-maned horse and getting himself a bride in distant lands - fairy tales love such plot points. At the same time, the fairy tale was influenced by ancient beliefs about animals. In the fairy tale, there is a werewolf. At times he takes on the appearance of a man and even a horse. The gray wolf faithfully serves the hero. Where does this arrangement come from? The wolf explains to Ivan Tsarevich: “Because I tore your horse to pieces. Then I will serve you faithfully.”

If we see the remnants of totemism in the beliefs about werewolves, then it’s clear why fairy wolf Having harmed a wolf or harmed a person, he considers himself obligated to compensate for the damage with faithful service. Family ties were considered sacred and violation of them was punishable. When actions went against ancestral morals, they demanded the most exact compensation. The wolf ate the horse. He himself serves the hero as a horse, he takes upon himself the responsibility of helping a person voluntarily, without coercion: and for him, family ties are sacred. The logic of primitive thinking here is undeniable. True, we do not know what specific form the ancient stories about wolves had, but it is quite possible that the fairy-tale situation we have taken is in some connection with them.

Wolf, like the bear folk beliefs appears as an animal in whose honor holidays were held. They did not call him by his real name, fearing that he himself would be called out by doing so. A hostile and dangerous creature, the wolf evoked respect and fear.

From experience, people knew that the wolf is a predatory, cunning, intelligent, resourceful, and evil creature. Meanwhile, in fairy tales the wolf is a stupid, always hungry, always beaten animal.

The ingenuous fairy tale “Kolobok” encodes information about the competition between the totems of the hare, wolf, bear and victorious fox for the right to be the keeper of the traditions of the cult of the sun-Kolo, personified by Kolobok, identical to the ancient luminary both in name and in ritual functions (he is eaten, as on Maslenitsa eat pancakes symbolizing the sun).

And in the equally popular fairy tale “Teremok”, the former totem struggle for “living space” is reflected: overpopulation of the “teremok” is resolved by displacing the totems of the Mouse, Frog, Hare, Fox and Wolf with a stronger contender for “living space” - the Bear clan.

Observations by ethnographers convince us that the bear was considered by people as a patron. They believed that a bear could lead a lost person out of the forest.

Numerous Belarusian beliefs speak about the patron bear. There was a custom to invite a safecracker and a bear into your home. The bear was put in the red corner, under the icon, generously treated with honey, cheese, butter, and after the treat, they were led through all the nooks and crannies of the house and into the barn. They believed that the bear exorcised evil spirits. In other cases, the bear stepped over the patient or even stepped on him. It was as if the healing power of the beast was at work. This power supposedly freed people from witchcraft.

Bear - Beast Velesov

Bear - witch, black beast, forester, breaker, shaggy, bear, forest king. Hunters distinguish three breeds of bear: the large carnivore - the vulture, the medium - the fescue and the smallest - the ant.

The bear was the most revered Slavic animal. It’s not for nothing that Russian people are still compared to bears. According to legend, the bear was the incarnation of the god Veles, also very ancient god, the image of which has been preserved since the Stone Age. Images of bears can be found on the walls of caves of primitive man and on the coats of arms of many cities. Cave bears have long been neighbors of people; the Slavs considered them their ancestors (in addition to some other totem animals). The bear was considered the owner of the forest, the guardian of its wealth. It is possible that the bear’s paws raised to the sky and its threatening stance were adopted by people in their dances and rituals.

While seemingly good-natured and clumsy, the bear is actually very strong, cruel and quick to kill. Hunters who risked going out with a spear to hunt a bear were called “inveterate” in Rus', that is, going to certain death. Unlike the predator wolf, the bear is omnivorous and does not disdain honey, raspberries and other sweet berries. For his passion for destroying the hives of wild bees, he received his nickname - Med-ved (who knows honey). His true name is ber, this is evidenced by the name of the bear's dwelling - den (ber's lair). By the way, the den was considered one of the passages to the Underworld, and its owner was the guardian of the Navya kingdom. The bear climbs into its den with the onset of winter, and comes out with the first warm days of spring. On the days of winter confrontation (Kolyad), the bear turned over in its den, marking the turning of the annual wheel.

Just like the wolf, the bear could be a werewolf. Only, as a rule, the bear turned into a man, while with the wolf the opposite was the case. This feature suggests that people encountered the bear earlier and considered it their main ancestor, that is, man descended from the bear through the ritual of werewolf, and only then learned to take the form of a wolf, hare and other animals.

The time of the bear is the end of winter. Colors - brown, black

Proverbs and signs:

The bear is strong, but he lies in the swamp

A bear is not given the courage of a wolf, and a wolf is not given the strength of a bear.

The bear was wrong for eating the cow, and the cow was wrong for going into the forest.

Don't sell the skins without killing the bear

Two bears do not live in the same den

The bear is happy that he didn’t get caught by the shooter, and the shooter is happy that he didn’t get caught by the bear

A bear in a den turns over on the other side, winter meets summer (about Candlemas, celebrated on February 15).

One must think that this position of the bear on the animal hierarchy is explained in its own way by its connection with those traditional pre-story mythological legends in which the bear occupied the most important place as the owner of forest lands. Perhaps, over time, the bear began to be seen as the embodiment of the sovereign, the ruler of the district. Fairy tales emphasized enormous strength bear He crushes everything that comes under his feet. The fragile little mansion, a house in which a variety of animals lived peacefully, could not withstand its weight. Isn't this half-forgotten fairy tale a half-forgotten allegory? The world-community experienced pressure from princes and patrimonial lords: the masters decided to impose tribute on more people, and in case of disobedience they punished all disobedient people. “I’m oppressive to everyone,” the bear says about himself.

And in the final part of his research work I would like to pay attention to my favorite fairy-tale image - Sivka-Burka.

And I'll start at grandma's

I ask for a fairy tale;

And my grandmother will start for me

Tell a fairy tale:

Like Ivan Tsarevich

He caught the firebird

How can he get a bride?

The gray wolf got it

Ivan Surikov

Horses flying and galloping to the skies are favorite images of Russian and Slavic folklore.

Since childhood, bewitching lines have been etched in my memory, coming down from time immemorial and sounding like spells:

“The horse is running - the earth is trembling, smoke is pouring out of its ears, flames are burning from its nostrils.”

“Sivka-Burka, Prophetic Kaurka, stand before me like a leaf before the grass!”

“Get into your right ear, out of your left, and you will become such a handsome man as the world has never seen.”

Cosmic reflections appear in stories about horses galloping to the sky, and in stories about heroes born from a horse. Thus, in the famous fairy tale about Ivan-Kobylnikov’s son, recorded in Siberia at the beginning of the twentieth century, the hero’s companions and assistants are Ivan-Solntsev’s son and Ivan-Mesyatsev’s son.

In Russian folklore and the popular worldview, other things are associated with the consubstantiality of the horse and the sun. famous images and names. Thus, the fairytale horse Sivka-Burka (or in the fairy tales of other peoples - the Solar Horse, the Sun Horse), without a doubt, personifies the daylight. His name also dates back to Proto-Indo-European beliefs (goddess Siwa "god Shiva").

In one of the most capacious in terms of mythological encoding, the tales about Vasilisa the Wise (the Beautiful) reveal the most ancient ideas of the Russian people about the change of day and night as cosmic riders: A clear day - “itself is white, dressed in white, the horse under it is white and the harness on the horse is white” ; The sun is red - the rider is “red himself, dressed in red and on a red horse.” The night is dark - again the horseman: he himself is black, dressed in all black and on a black horse.”

Numerous and varied images of solar horses are found in Russian ornaments, carvings, and utensils. Horse heads, mounted on the edge of the roofs, symbolize the sun chariot (in detailed scenes of embroidery, paintings and carvings, these horses are usually depicted together with the sun).

In the composition of a Russian hut, horses rushing into the sky seem to carry the entire house into space. The sun is present here in various decorations - it is inseparable from this flight, moreover, it is like a model of a solar chariot drawn by wooden horses.

The connection of the horse with the cult of fertility is obvious in calendar rites and customs. The custom of dressing up as a filly or horse on Christmastide is preserved, bringing light, work in the field, and a new time - New Year. IN distant times When laying the foundation of a house, a ritual of burying a horse's head took place, giving a connection with deceased ancestors. Among family rituals the horse played a special role in the wedding: the horse was given as a ransom for the bride, the horse and mare were tied in the entryway, where the couple spent their first wedding night.

A horse was buried with its owner in pagan times; a fallen horse was buried with honors, like a devoted warrior.

The sensitive and devoted animal gave rise to many fortune-telling and beliefs. If a horse stumbles on its left leg, it means trouble. During Christmas fortune telling the horses were blindfolded, sat on her, where she went, the girl would go to get married. When sending off to war or recruiting, if the horse flinches, this is considered a bad sign. A horse neighs - for good, stomps towards the road, draws in air through its nostrils - for arriving home, snorts for a good meeting or for rain. A horse skull is terrible for evil spirits, which is why many horse skulls were hung on fences in villages. A collar removed from a horse and water not drunk by the horse are considered healing.

Almost everything magic functions twin horse are successfully combined in the classic literary fairy tale by Pyotr Petrovich Ershov “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, who carefully and meticulously used images of Russian folklore.

Two unprecedented horses with golden manes, their mother, a magical mare, who rushed Ivanushka to the skies, and, finally, the wonderful Humpbacked Horse, carrying his master even further, to the heavenly bodies.

Modern Russian word“horse” is an abbreviation of the Old Russian word “komon”. “The Komoni are laughing at Sula” - a memorable phrase from “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” This root is preserved in the Old Russian words “orat” - “plow”, “oral” - “plow”, “oratay” - “plowman”.

The history of totems - Russian and world - is an inexhaustible storehouse of knowledge about the distant past. The past must be preserved and remembered. The totemic past did not disappear without a trace. It lives in modern symbols, state and class heraldry, rituals, traditions, and, finally, in many surnames, names of rivers, lakes, ancient cities, villages and simply protected places. I want to know a lot, but these are the topics of my next research.

In culture Eastern Slavs The wolf is an animal - a myth.
The wolf belongs to the “alien” world.

The appearance of the wolf in legends is associated with the earth. According to legend, the Devil was jealous of God, who sculpted a man. The devil sculpted a wolf from clay. But having created the form, he could not revive him.

The devil suggested that if a wolf was directed against God, it would come to life. The devil began to run around the wolf and shout: “Bite him!” But the wolf did not come to life. This continued until God shouted, “Bite him!”

The revived wolf attacked the Devil. The devil got scared and climbed onto the alder tree.

But the wolf managed to grab the Devil by the heel. Blood from the Devil’s wounded heel fell onto the tree trunk. Since then, alder wood has been reddish.

And the Devil became fifthless. People call him Antipka (Anchutka) Fingerless or Fingerless.

In folk culture, the image of a wolf is associated with death and the world of the dead.

The wolf acts as an intermediary between the world of people and the forces of other worlds.

Proverbs and sayings about the wolf.

If you're afraid of wolves, don't go into the forest.
And the wolves are fed - and the sheep are safe.
No matter how much you feed the wolf, he looks into the forest.
The wolf can also be seen in sheep's clothing.
A wolf won't eat a wolf.

Poems about the wolf.

"Wolf" Sasha Cherny

The whole village sleeps in the snow.
Not a word.
The month disappeared for the night.
Snow is blowing.
The kids are all on the ice,
On the pond.
The sleighs squeal together -
Let's go in a row!
Some are in the harness, some are the rider.
Wind to the side.
Our convoy has expanded
To the birches.
Suddenly the front line shouts:
"Devils, stop!"
The sleds have become. The laughter stopped.
"Brothers, wolf!.."
Wow, they sprayed back!
Like hail.
Scattering everything from the pond -
Who goes where.
Where is the wolf? Yes, it's a dog -
Our Barbos!
Laughter, roar, laughter and talk:
"Oh, yes, a wolf!"

Counting rhymes about the wolf.

One, two, three, four, five.
There is no place for the bunny to jump.
There's a wolf walking everywhere, a wolf.
He uses his teeth - click, click!
And we will hide in the bushes.
Hide, bunny and you!

Wolves prowl
They are looking for food.
We'll catch them first
And then we'll play

Tales of the Wolf.

The wolf is the hero of many fairy tales. Everyone knows them.
Vladimir Propp in his book “The Mythology of Fairy Tales” writes that in Russian fairy tales there is admiration and respect for the wolf. The wolf is an assistant and friend in "The Tale of Ivan the Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf."

In the fairy tale "The Tale of the Little Fox - Sister and the Wolf" a simple-minded wolf is deceived by a fox. In the fairy tale “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats,” the wolf is bloodthirsty and wants to eat the kids. In the fairy tale "Teremok", the wolf, like all animals, asks to go to the tower and lives amicably with other animals.

Outdoor game "Wolves and Koloboks"

For a group of children

Purpose of the game: development of speech, development of dexterity and attention, adherence to the rules of turn-taking.

Progress of the game:

All children stand in one big circle. Each child holds an object in his hands (a cube, a circle made of cardboard, a small hoop for throwing rings, a round or oval lid of a bright color, or something else.) One half of the circle of children is “Wolves”, and the second is “Koloboks”. And there is a dialogue between them.

Wolves: Kolobok - Kolobok,

We know that you are timid.

Get into our bag

Shut your mouths,

Wait quietly for your result.

Koloboks: We won’t get into the bag.

We know that the wolf is cruel!

Animals in fairy tales represent certain human types: a cunning fox, a kind and defenseless hare, a strong but stupid bear. The relationship between such characters is a human relationship, a person as such is “superfluous” in this world, and people, as a rule, do not appear in such fairy tales.

On the other hand, animals that behave like people (speak, make decisions, give advice, etc.) often appear in fairy tales about people. They seem to become intermediaries between two fairy-tale “universes” - the world of animals and the world of people. Most often, either a horse or a wolf acts as such an “intermediary.” In fairy tales entirely devoted to animals, the wolf appears much more often than the horse.

It is noteworthy that the interpretation of the image of the wolf in Russian fairy tales is practically no different from its embodiment in the folklore of other peoples, which indicates the antiquity of the stories associated with it. Therefore, when talking about the image of the wolf in Russian fairy tales, one cannot confine oneself to the confines of Russian folklore itself.

Wolf as a negative character

In fairy tales about animals, the wolf most often appears as an aggressive, dangerous creature - a real robber who should be feared. One of the most famous examples of this kind is the fairy tale “The Wolf and”, known not only in the Russian tradition. A meeting with such a character does not bode well even for a person. It is no coincidence that in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, also taken by Charles Perrault from European folklore, it is the wolf who becomes the enemy of the main character.

If a wolf can be defeated, it is done not by force, but by cunning. Most often this is done by the fox, to which this quality is traditionally attributed. This asserts that it is impossible to defeat force with force, aggression with aggression.

This perception of the wolf is not surprising. Fear of these animals arose long before the advent of cattle breeding, for which they became “enemy No. 1.” There was nothing irrational in this guard: the wolf is a predator, quite capable of killing a person.

The fear was aggravated by the nocturnal lifestyle of wolves. The night has always scared people. In the dark, vision, the main human “supplier of information,” does not work well; a person becomes defenseless. Nocturnal animals, which are well oriented in an alien and dangerous environment for humans, have never inspired confidence in people. This was especially true for dangerous predators, who had an advantage over humans at night.

The demonization of the wolf was aggravated by the binary opposition “friend or foe.” Before the emergence of cattle breeding, any animal was “alien” from a human point of view. But if a deer, for example, was to a certain extent “one of ours” because it could be eaten, then the wolf was not a source of food. Ancient people did not know that they were forest orderlies, and they did not immediately realize that a wolf cub could be tamed, raised and used for hunting. They did not see any practical benefit from wolves, so wolves in their eyes were completely alien to the human world. Alien means enemy.

But, paradoxically, the wolf does not always appear as a negative character in fairy tales. And even such familiar stories from childhood as “The Wolf and the Little Goats” and “Little Red Riding Hood” are not as clear-cut as they might seem.

The duality of the wolf

If in fairy tales about animals the image of a wolf is more or less unambiguous - a cruel but not endowed with intelligence robber, then in fairy tales about people the wolf often acts as a magical assistant. It is this fairy-tale wolf that A.S. Pushkin mentions in the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”:

“In the dungeon there the princess is grieving,
And the brown wolf serves her faithfully.”

In the fairy tale “Tsarevich Ivan and the Gray Wolf,” it is the wolf who comes to the aid of the hero, and here he can no longer be called a negative character.

Duality folklore image The wolf becomes even more obvious if you go beyond the fairy tale itself and look at the image in a broader mythological context.

Notable in this regard is the famous notebook of Novgorod Onfim, which lifted the veil of secrecy over the inner world of a child from medieval Rus'. The drawings in this notebook embody ordinary boyish dreams of exploits and military glory. But one drawing causes bewilderment: a four-legged creature, in which one can guess a wolf, and next to it is the inscription “I am a beast.” If the boy identified himself with the wolf, it means that this character was not negative in his eyes.

The Tale of Igor’s Campaign mentions Vseslav, Prince of Polotsk, who “prowled like a wolf in the night.” This is hardly a figurative literary expression: the chronicles mention that this prince was “the mother of sorcery,” and the author of “The Lay ...” could well attribute werewolf to such a person.

A werewolf is a creature that belongs simultaneously to both the human world and the world wildlife, which is for ancient man identified with the other world. The wolf, as already mentioned, due to its special “alienity” to man, is an ideal expression of this world. It is his appearance that must be accepted in order to become involved in the other world. Therefore, werewolfism (originally a type of magical practice) is associated with the wolf form.

So the wolf turns into an intermediary between the human world and the other world. Such an intermediary is necessary for a person going to " other world" for a rite of passage. Many fairy-tale motifs originate from this ritual, including the motif of “difficult tasks.” In this light it becomes clear origin fairy-tale wolf-magic assistant.

The plot of a wolf swallowing the heroes of a fairy tale can also go back to the rite of passage. As you know, goat kids swallowed by a wolf eventually return safely to their mother goat. And this is not at all a fake “happy ending” pasted on so that the children don’t cry. Teenagers who went to the “kingdom of the dead” for an initiation rite also, in most cases, happily returned to the village. Among many primitive peoples, ethnographers observed huts where rituals took place, built in the shape of an animal’s head. This animal seemed to “swallow” the initiates. Probably similar customs existed among the Proto-Slavic peoples. A wolf swallowing and then releasing the heroes of a fairy tale is a distant echo of such customs.

The wolf in Russian fairy tales and folklore in general is a dual character who cannot be unambiguously called either positive or negative. This duality is associated with the antiquity of the image, rooted in pagan times.

Krendelev Anton

Tales about animals are not only entertaining and funny, but also instructive.

Man attributed to animals the ability to reason and speak, but people’s misconceptions were also permeated by the desire to understand the life of animals, to master the means of taming them, protecting them from attack, and methods of hunting.

The most common heroes of fairy tales about animals are the fox and the wolf. This is explained by the fact that, firstly, a person most often had to encounter them in economic activity; secondly, these animals occupy the middle in the animal kingdom in size and strength; finally, thirdly, thanks to the previous two reasons, a person had the opportunity to get to know them very closely.

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IV regional youth “Philological readings”

Municipal educational institution Mikhailovskaya secondary school

Krendelev Anton

Municipal educational institution Mikhailovskaya secondary school, 5th grade, 11 years old

Competition work

Genre: Exploration

“Images of animals in Russian folk tales”

Teacher-mentor:

Yablokova Svetlana Vladimirovna

Teacher of Russian language and literature

Mikhailovsky village, Yaroslavl municipal district, 2010.

1.Introduction 2 pages

2. Chapter “Images of animals in Russian folk tales”

1.1 The Fox of the Seven Wolves will spend 5 pages.

1.2. The wolf changes its fur, but not its character 7 p.

1.3. A bear, although old, is worth two foxes 9 p.

1.4. Soft paws, and in the paws there are scratches 11 p.

3. Conclusion 12 pages.

4. References 14 pages.

Introduction

What is a fairy tale? This beautiful world magic and transformations in which we live in childhood, where reality ends and this world, amazing and incomprehensible, begins. This is a world in which good triumphs over evil, which is probably why this genre is so loved by children.

And speaking in scientific language, a fairy tale is a type of narrative, mostly prosaic folklore. Its history goes back a long way. Word " fairy tale " recorded in written sources of the 16th century. From the word"show". Meaning: list, list, exact description. Modern meaning the word has been acquired since the 19th century. Until the 19th century, the 11th century word was used - blasphemy.

There are several types of Russian folk tales: magical, everyday, tales about animals.The purpose of my work is to identify the features of animal images in folk tales. To achieve the goal, a number of tasks must be solved:

identify the place and features of the depiction of animals in fairy tales;
see whether they are the main or secondary person;
consider character traits;

I used several folk tale sources to write my work.

This type of fairy tales differs significantly from other types of fairy tales. A fairy tale about animals is a work in which the main characters are animals, birds, fish, as well as objects, plants and natural phenomena. The question of the original origins of fantasy in fairy tales about animals has worried scientists for many decades. The beliefs of the Russian people and, in general, the beliefs of the East Slavic peoples allow us to assume with all confidence which animals were the heroes of mythical stories and legends of ancient fables. The peculiarity of these legends was that the animals were endowed with various human qualities, but in the animals they saw precisely the animals. Not all stories and legends of this kind have disappeared from the memory of the people. Their traces are preserved in fairy tales thattraditionally acceptedfrom ancient fables some of its essential features. This is the tale of the bear on a fake leg. This fairy-tale narrative is unknown in Western Europe. Its origin is purely East Slavic. The system of characters in Russian folk tales about animals is represented, as a rule, by images of wild and domestic animals. Images of wild animals clearly prevail over images of domestic animals: these are fox, wolf, bear, hare, and among birds - crane, heron, thrush, woodpecker, sparrow, raven, etc. Domestic animals are much less common, and do not appear as independent or leading characters, but only in conjunction with forest birds: this is a dog, a cat, a goat, a ram, a horse, a pig, a bull, and among domestic birds - a goose, a duck and a rooster. There are no tales only about domestic animals in Russian folklore.

In fairy tales about animals, animals implausibly argue, talk, quarrel, love, make friends, and quarrel: the cunning “fox is beautiful in conversation,” the stupid and greedy “wolf-wolf who grabs from under a bush,” the cowardly bow-legged bunny who hops up the hill "

The fox will lead seven wolves

Favorite hero of the Russians fairy tales about animals, as, indeed, in all East Slavic fairy tales, a fox became.

The image of the fox is stable. She is portrayed as a lying, cunning deceiver: she deceives a man by pretending to be dead (“The Fox steals fish from a sleigh”); deceives the wolf (“The Fox and the Wolf”); deceives the rooster (“The Cat, the Rooster and the Fox”); drives the hare out of the bast hut (“The Fox and the Hare”); exchanges a goose for a lamb, a lamb for a bull, steals honey (“The Bear and the Fox”). In all fairy tales, she is flattering, vengeful, cunning, calculating.Lisa Patrikeevna, beautiful fox, oily fox, gossamer fox, Lisafya. Here she lies on the road with glassy eyes. She was numb, the man decided, he kicked her, she wouldn’t wake up. The man was delighted, took the fox, put it in the cart with fish, covered it with matting: “The old woman will have a collar for her fur coat,” and started the horse from its place, walking in front. The fox threw all the fish out of the cart and left. The man realized that the fox was not dead, but it was already too late. There's nothing to do.

The fox is true to herself everywhere in fairy tales. Her cunning is conveyed in the proverb: “When you look for a fox in front, it is behind.” She is resourceful and lies recklessly until the time when it is no longer possible to lie, but even in this case she often indulges in the most incredible invention. The fox thinks only about his own benefit. If the deal does not promise her acquisitions, she will not sacrifice anything of hers. The fox is vindictive and vindictive.

Fairy tales often depict the triumph of a fox. She revels in revenge, feels complete superiority over the gullible heroes. How much resourcefulness she has and how much vengeful feeling she has! Both are so often found in people with a practical, resourceful mind, overwhelmed by petty passions... Infinitely deceitful, she takes advantage of gullibility, plays on the weak strings of friends and foes.

I have a lot of pranks and pranks in my memory.foxes. She chases the hare out of the bast hut (“The Fox and the Hare”), exchanges the rolling pin for a goose, the goose for a lamb, the lamb for a bull, threatens the thrush to eat the chicks, forces him to water, feed, and even make himself laugh (“The Fox and the Blackbird”) . The fox marries the cat-voivode with the hope of seizing power in the entire forest district (“The Cat and the Fox”), learns to fly (“How the Fox Learned to Fly”), orders the wolf to take the oath to be sure of the correctness of his words: indeed Is the sheep wearing a wolf caftan? The wolf foolishly stuck his head into a trap and got caught (“Sheep, Fox and Wolf”). The fox steals the stored honey (“The Bear and the Fox”).

The fox is a pretender, a thief, a deceiver, evil, unfaithful, flattering, vindictive, clever, vindictive, cunning, selfish, calculating, cruel. In fairy tales, she is faithful to these traits of her character throughout.

The wolf changes its fur, but not its character

Another hero that the fox often encounters is the wolf. He is stupid, which is expressed in the attitude of the people towards him, he devours kids (“Wolf and Goat”), is going to tear apart a sheep (“Sheep, Fox and Wolf”), fattens a hungry dog in order to eat it, is left without a tail (“Fox and wolf").More often than other animals, the fox deceives the wolf and laughs cruelly at him. Who do people understand in this image?? In fairy tales, the wolf is infinitely stupid.Phenomenal stupidity discredits the wolf. Such an image expressed not so much the real features of that human type, which the wolf personifies, as well as the attitude towards him.

Let us think about why the wolf takes blows from angry women who come to the river by water, why, having barely survived one misfortune, the wolf ends up in another. The tale ends with the death of the wolf. The wolf dies a cruel death so that a new fairy tale come to life and again accept an evil death. What ineradicable evil is driven out and executed by the people?

An insatiable thirst for blood, the traits of a rapist who recognizes one right - the right of the strong, the right of the teeth - without this trait a wolf is not a wolf. The social prototype of this fairy-tale character becomes clear. The people knew many scoundrels and criminals from whom they had a hard time.

Tales about the wolf do not hide who they mean... The irony of fiction lies in playing on a folk custom.

The tale of how a wolf slaughtered a pig (“The Pig and the Wolf”) depicts in the image of a wolf a cruel and unforgiving master who exacted money from the peasants for poisoning. There lived an old man and with him an old woman. The only livestock they have is a pig. The devil took her, and into someone else's lane - into oats. A wolf came running there, “he grabbed the pig by the bristles, dragged it away by the legs and tore it to pieces.”

Such tales contain that sharp social allegory that made the tale interesting for adults as well. Fantasy narratives talk about social class relations. We cannot ignore this meaning if we do not want to see Fairy tales are just fun.

Fantastic fiction in these fairy tales is also connected with their ideological concept. Boyar, the master is cruel as a wolf, you cannot expect mercy from him, you can only deal with him as the proverb advises: “Trust the wolf in the torok,” that is, the killed one. The fairy tale conveys, as it were, the essence of the wolf law, according to which the weak becomes a victim of the strong. The prince, the boyar, did not need to be cunning. His right is the right of a cruel and strong master. Such is the fairy-tale wolf. The storytellers took revenge on the oppressors, exposed their moral rudeness and lack of intelligence: the system of social oppression, resorting to the force of the fist, rod and weapon, did not require mental effort from its founders and defenders.

A bear, although old, is worth two foxes

Another hero of fairy tales about animals is the bear. He personifies brute strength and has power over other animals. In fairy tales he is often called “the oppressor of everyone.” The bear is also stupid. Persuading with the peasant to harvest the harvest, he is left with nothing each time (“The Man and the Bear”).

The human type embodied in the bear is partly similar to that reproduced in the image of the wolf. It is not for nothing that the wolf often replaces the bear in fairy tales. These are the numerous versions of fairy tales: “A Man, a Bear and a Fox”, “A Bear, a Dog and a Cat”, etc. However, the similarity of the images is only partial. In the minds of any person familiar with fairy tales, the bear is a beast of the highest rank. He is the most powerful forest animal. When in fairy tales one animal replaces another, the bear is in the position of the strongest. Such is the tale of the little tower, the beasts in the pit, and other tales. One must think that this position of the bear in the animal hierarchy is explained in its own way by its connection with those traditional pre-story mythological legends in which the bear occupied the most important place as the owner of forest lands. Perhaps, over time, the bear began to be seen as the embodiment of the sovereign, the ruler of the district. Fairy tales constantly emphasized the enormous strength of the bear. He crushes everything that comes under his feet.

The stupidity of a bear is the difference between the stupidity of a wolf. The wolf is slow-witted, not stupid. The stupidity of a bear is the stupidity of a person in power. The bear does not use his strength wisely. There is an assumption that the bear represents a person in authority.

The bear is the owner of the forest, has great strength and a rich fur coat, which is obviously why he was assigned the role of a landowner. These tales describe the life of captivity of the Russian people, the period of serfdom. Then the peasants paid rent (half a field of wheat, which for some reason was called tithe) and worked off corvée (they worked in a bear’s house, sometimes it lasted 6 days). The bear decided when to let Masha go and how much to rip off the man. Through such a prism, it becomes clear not only the difficult life of the once free Russian people, but also why they constantly tried to outwit the bear, and even hunt it down with dogs. It is worth noting that in Russian fairy tales the landowner is always stupider than the peasant, and the image of the landowner - the bear - is endowed with the same intelligence. Behind these images is the thought: “You may be a strong gentleman, but I’m smart and I’ll stick to my guns!”

There are fairy tales where the bear gives Masha gifts and punishes her lazy sister. Here the image of a bear carries within itself the image of nature, good and evil. If a person works honestly, then nature rewards him with its gifts, but whoever is lazy has no water flowing.

Soft paws, and scratches in the paws

Among domestic animals and birds, the cat is a positive hero in fairy tales. In a Russian folk tale, a cat (it's a cat, not a cat) is often found in the image of a savior from various misfortunes. For example, take the cycle of fairy tales" Cat, rooster and fox", which A.N. Afanasyev go by numbers. These tales are very similar, and in essence almost the same. They only replace some of the heroes. He acts as a gallant defender of the rooster. Moreover, the cat has excellent hearing, he is smart and caring. That is, in these fairy tales the cat acts as a positive hero. To sum up the conversation about the cat, we can note common features. Firstly, animals everywhere are afraid of cats. Secondly, a cat always has a name, and with a patronymic. The cat is selfless in friendship. The warlike rooster is ready to come to the aid of anyone who is offended. However, the positivity of these characters is very conditional. The tale of how a rooster drove a fox out of a hare's hut (“The Fox, the Hare and the Rooster”) is basically a cheerful humoresque. The irony is that the rooster - the fox's prey - managed to scare the lover of white chicken meat. The fairy tale “Cat in the Voivodeship” is ironic - it makes a lover of hut warmth, a bakery resident, a hero by coincidence of circumstances: the wolf, hiding in a pile of leaves, began to stir; the cat thought there was a mouse there, jumped, the wolf jumped to the side, and a general commotion began - the flight of the animals. Only in the fairy tale “The Cat, the Rooster and the Fox” is the cat really a hero. This fairy tale was probably created for children from the very beginning.

It should be concluded that in all the Russian fairy tales reviewed, the cat is shown to be dexterous and cunning. In a number of fairy tales, he is a warrior and comes to the aid of his friends. He loves to bask on the stove and enjoy sour cream or fresh mouse. He might stage a “massacre”, or he might resign himself to death. The characteristics of fairy tales certainly depend on the characteristics of the people of a particular region. After all, despite the fact that there is one people - Russian, people are still different.

Conclusion

In the course of working on this topic, we conducted a survey among students in grades 3-6. The following questions were proposed:

How many fairy tales about animals have you read?
What animals were most common in fairy tales?
What features are present?
What do fairy tales about animals teach?

The survey yielded the following results:

1 question: 1 fairy tale-6%

2 fairy tales -18%

Several - 76%

Question 2: wolf - 7%

Bear-18%

Fox – 75%

Question 3: The fox is cunning

Bear - stupidity

The wolf is angry

question: Kindness

Love

Don't hurt the little ones.

To summarize all of the above, it should be noted: fairy tales about animals are not only entertaining and funny, but also instructive.

The most common heroes of fairy tales about animals are the fox and the wolf. This is explained by the fact that, firstly, people most often had to deal with them in economic activity; secondly, these animals occupy the middle in the animal kingdom in size and strength; finally, thirdly, thanks to the previous two reasons, a person had the opportunity to get to know them very closely.

The wolf, like the bear, in popular beliefs appears as an animal in whose honor holidays were held. They did not call him by his real name, fearing that he himself would be called out by doing so. A hostile and dangerous creature, the wolf evoked respect and fear.

From experience, people knew that the wolf is a predatory, cunning, intelligent, resourceful, and evil creature. Meanwhile, in fairy tales the wolf is stupid and easy to deceive. There seems to be no such trouble as this unlucky, always hungry, always beaten beast might find himself in.

The respectful attitude towards the fox expressed in beliefs also contradicts the outright mockery with which fairy tales tell about its frequent mistakes and failures. The beliefs of the Russian people and, in general, the beliefs of the East Slavic peoples allow us to assume with all confidence which animals were the heroes of mythical stories and legends of ancient fables.

Literature used

Anikin V.P. Russian folk tale M., “Enlightenment”, 1977
Afanasiev. A.N. Russian folk tales / Ed. Georgian. - Ed. 3rd. - 1897.
Vedernikova N .M. Russian folk tale M., “Science”

4) Fokeev A.L. “An inexhaustible source. Oral folk art» ed. "Lyceum"

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