Title of tales about winter. Winter tales for children

I know, I know, my article with a selection of New Year’s books comes out too late, all the gifts have already been selected and presented. The thing is that I spent a very long time collecting my thoughts and forming my opinion about our winter book releases for too long, so I waited until the new year. However, I decided not to put off writing this article for a whole year, so as not to forget everything that was in my head.

1. V. Odoevsky “Moroz Ivanovich” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

As a child, I had a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm about Lady Snowstorm, I remember that for me it was just some kind of magic, I loved it madly and re-read it many times. Imagine my surprise that the fairy tale “Moroz Ivanovich” has a completely similar plot. The same lazy daughter, and the same hard-working one. Both of them, in turn, descend into the well and end up in the service of the “winter ruler” (Moroz Ivanovich or Lady Metelitsa). And each of them eventually receives a corresponding reward for her work: the needlewoman - a bucket with silver spots, and the sloth - an ingot of mercury. The fairy tale, although with an instructive plot, is not at all boring, but kind and magical. Tasya asks a lot of questions as she reads, and, of course, associates herself with a needlewoman; she doesn’t want to be lazy

2. D. Donaldson "Chelovetkin" (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

Another creation by our much-adored trio Donaldson, artist Scheffler and translator Boroditskaya. As always, everything is at the highest level - both pictures and text.

This book is about how everything in nature is alive. And even an ordinary stick can have its own opinion, feelings and even a family. Wherever the main character of Chelovetkin’s book took him: the dog played with him, the children threw him into the river, and the swan used him to build his nest. And in the end, Chelovetkin actually found himself among the firewood in the New Year’s fireplace. Being away from home, Chelovetkin dreamed of only one thing - to return to his stick family. He would have died ingloriously if he had not been saved by Santa Claus crawling through the fireplace (I replace it with Santa Claus, since my daughter is not yet familiar with a foreign grandfather). In other words, a very touching New Year's story.

3. Ya. Tayts "Father Frost" (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

I didn't expect to like this book so much. Reviews about it were somewhat contradictory, so I was not sure. But my daughter listened to the fairy tale with her mouth open. The fairy tale is very New Year's, very atmospheric. The plot is not hackneyed, and familiar characters are shown not only from the side we are used to. In addition to Father Frost, the Snow Maiden and the classic animals, there is a new interesting character, Egor-in-contrary. Taisiya is really amused by his transversality; he always does the opposite. And the main disturber of public peace here is the Nightingale the Robber; he cannot come to terms with the fact that Santa Claus has taken the best Christmas tree in the forest.

The book is divided into chapters, and therefore, if desired, you can read it in parts. But we just can’t do it, we read it in one sitting, it takes quite a long time.

I can't say that I really liked the pictures in the book. They are not bad, but I wanted more of them or something bigger, I don’t know. But I think that you need to look at a variety of illustrations, so these ones won’t be superfluous either.

4. V. Zotov “New Year’s Story” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

My impressions of this book are somewhat mixed, and I cannot recommend it unequivocally. What did you like about the book? I liked the illustrations, they are colorful, bright, with interesting details that you can look at with pleasure. I liked the idea that Santa Claus quietly spies on all the children, finds out who likes to do what, and thus easily guesses who needs what as a gift. I liked the style of the book, it is written in an accessible manner and is easy to read. But what I categorically did not like was the instructive and boring tone of the book.

In this “New Year's story”, Santa Claus, watching the children, chose for everyone the most suitable gifts that they had long dreamed of. But he not only left the boy Vitya, who behaved badly, did not listen and did not want to study, without a long-awaited gift, but also “brought his case” to public condemnation. And then he also gave a corrective gift, which should remind Vita every day of how badly he behaved today. The moral of this book contradicts too much my model of raising my daughter. Because I am convinced that misunderstandings with a child should not be brought to public condemnation (even if it is the condemnation of grandparents), no matter how badly he behaves. I am also convinced that if you tell a child every day that he is a hooligan and a poor student, then he will grow up to be a bully and a poor student, and therefore the gift of Santa Claus in the form of a projector, which reminds him of bad behavior every day, is also incomprehensible to me.

My daughter really liked the book. Tormented by doubts, I still read this book to her a couple of times. However, then I decided to remove it from our library, because... Mostly this book teaches how to judge people and divide them into good and bad.

5. Sven Nordqvist "Christmas at Pettson's House" (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

Sweet, kind New Year's story. The plot of the book is quite simple - before Christmas, the main character of the book, Petson, injured his leg, and therefore could not go to the forest for a Christmas tree or to the store for holiday treats. Petson had already come to terms with the fact that his holiday was ruined, but then the neighbors, having learned about his misfortune, began to come one by one, congratulating him on the holiday and presenting him with various delicious gifts. Thus, the holiday, which promised to be so dreary, turned into a cheerful celebration of Christmas, which Petson had never had before.

So, the moral of the book is that we should not forget about our neighbors, who may need our help right now; the slightest attention to their problem can play an invaluable role in solving it.

The book has very rich, colorful, well-drawn illustrations. There are a lot of them, so you can look at them for a long time.

6. P. Bazhov “Silver Hoof” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

There’s probably no point in evaluating Bazhov’s tale itself, because time has already done it for us. More than one generation has grown up with his “Malachite Box”. The fairy tale “The Silver Hoof” is simply magical, it is about winter, about a miracle, about kindness and patience. Of course, for a modern child, some things in the text will be incomprehensible, some will have to be explained, some will have to be paraphrased. But in general, the plot is understandable and interesting for a three-year-old child. It seems to me that it is best to begin with this fairy tale to get acquainted with Bazhov’s work.

Illustrations by Mikhail Bychkov, already familiar to us from the book “ Childhood» ( Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop) , made the fairy tale even more magical and colorful, supplemented with interesting details about the time and place where the events of the fairy tale take place. The illustration on each page represents a separate work of art - very picturesque, realistic paintings immerse you in the atmosphere of the Ural village. I liked how clearly the artist conveyed the characters of the book - the kind and wise old man Kokovanya, the funny and curious Daryonka, and the cat - so funny and cunning, a truly fairy-tale character.

As for the shortcomings of the book, I personally did not like the layout. There are several spreads in the book without any text at all, which means you need to first read the text, and only then turn the page and look at the picture. In my opinion, this is very inconvenient for children's perception. However, I am ready to put up with it for the sake of such beauty.

I chose this particular edition of this fairy tale for us, but there is another very worthy one edition with illustrations by Marina Uspenskaya (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop), take a look, maybe you'll like it more.

7. E. Serova “New Year’s Incidents” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

A small instructive (but not boring) New Year's story. It will be very relevant for those who are already learning to read. The story that happened to a boy nicknamed Whistler will clearly show what confusion a person who cannot read can create. After all, the boy, unable to read the addresses on the gifts entrusted to him by Santa Claus, gave them out at random. The book will tell you what came of it.

8. "Big New Year's gift" (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

I have already written in detail about this wonderful collection earlier in. There are a lot of fairy tales, stories and poems on winter and New Year's themes collected here. Moreover, the works are designed for a variety of ages. You can start reading a lot at 2 years old (for example, “Yolka” by Suteev, “Frost and Frost” by Mikhalkov, "Happy New Year" by Alf Preisn and etc.). This year (when my daughter is 3 years old) we are enjoying reading “I will not ask for forgiveness” by Prokofieva, "New Year's Pie" by Oster, « Morozko", etc. Until now, some things in the book have remained untouched, so it will be interesting to read next year.

If “The Great New Year's Gift” does not suit you in terms of price or quality, you can also look at other New Year’s collections with works by Soviet writers, for example “ Big New Year's book», « Tales for the New Year».

9. A. Usachev “Winter's Tale” (Ozon, Labyrinth)

You can find many collections of New Year's poems on sale. Of course, we also tried a variety of collections, but this one became our favorite. My daughter happily learned several poems and recites them by heart on her own initiative. And after this book, I generally became a fan of Usachev’s work and immediately ordered several more of his creations.

You definitely won't get bored reading this book. The poems are cheerful and humorous, Taisiya often smiles and laughs while reading. Olga Demidova’s illustrations are also not boring. Yes, they are not classic, perhaps not everyone will like the long-nosed and somewhat angular characters, but, in my opinion, the pictures perfectly complement the funny text and create a cheerful mood.

10. « (Labyrinth, My-shop)

A wonderful thin collection from the Foma publishing house. Here are collected poems mainly by contemporary authors, whose names were still unknown to me personally. But I was very pleased with the poems, they are touching and cozy, with humor and a truly winter atmosphere.

The illustrations in this book are also not for everyone. Taisiya and I liked them, but perhaps not everyone will like them.

11. Other collections of winter and New Year poems

There are other good collections of poems by authors known to us from childhood. It is not possible to tell about everyone. Here are some examples: " What will happen on New Year's Day? (I wrote about him earlier), “ It was in January», « Poems for the New Year for kindergarten».

12. Entertaining New Year's books for children with games and tasks

Here are the New Year's books with logical and creative tasks I chose this year for Taisiya (I already mentioned them earlier in the article about):

• Visiting Santa Claus (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

On long winter evenings, the best thing to do is read fairy tales. Winter tales for children- these are not only fascinating New Year's stories, but also magic, fabulous miracles and interesting adventures. What winter tales can you recommend? For different ages, these will be different fairy tales. Therefore, we will divide our review into 2 parts:

• winter tales for kids
• amazing New Year's tales for schoolchildren.

Winter is a wonderful time of year. Despite the cold winds and angry blizzards, under a white blanket of snow in the forest, in the field and even in the very center of the city, various unusual things can happen. So, I present to you my selections of winter tales.

Winter tales for kids

Winter tales for schoolchildren

This list includes fairy tales for elementary school. These are wonderful and familiar New Year's fairy tales, which are more suitable for pre-New Year and Christmas reading to schoolchildren.

This list of winter fairy tale books can be continued for a long time, but the ones I cited should also please your children and you, dear parents. I wish you a wonderful and interesting New Year's reading!

Very soon it will snow, winter will cover it with snow, cold winds will blow and frosts will hit. We will watch the mischief of winter from the windows of the houses, and on fine days we will arrange winter photo sessions, sledding, sculpting snow women and organizing snow fights. But long winter evenings seem to be meant for reading winter fairy tales together, filled with adventures, miracles and magic. We have prepared a list of just such fairy tales to make reading truly interesting and exciting.

Do you want to play with your child easily and with pleasure?

List of winter tales for children

1. V. Vitkovich, G. Jagdfeld “A Tale in Broad Daylight” (Labyrinth). The adventures of the boy Mitya, who met the unusual snow girl Lelya and now protects her from the evil Snow Women and the Old Year.
2. M. Staroste "Winter's Tale" (Labyrinth). The Snow Maiden baked a gingerbread man - Khrustik. But the inquisitive Khrustik did not want to lie in the basket with other gifts, he got out... and decided to go to the guys under the Christmas tree ahead of time. On this path, many dangerous adventures awaited him, in which he almost disappeared. But Santa Claus saved the hero, and he, in turn, promised not to go anywhere without asking.
3. N. Pavlova “Winter Tales” “Winter Feast” (Labyrinth). The hare fed the squirrel with a broken leg all summer, and when the time came to return kindness to the squirrel, he began to feel sorry for his supplies. She came up with all sorts of tasks to ward off the hare, but in the end her conscience tormented her and they had a real winter feast. A dynamic and child-friendly plot and N. Charushin’s illustrations will be a good reason for discussing with your child issues of generosity and mutual assistance.
4. P. Bazhov “Silver Hoof” (Labyrinth). A good story about the orphan Darenka and Kokovan, who told the girl about an unusual goat with a silver hoof. And one day the fairy tale became reality, a goat ran to the booth, beat with its hoof, and precious stones fell out from under it.
5. Yu. Yakovlev “Umka” (Labyrinth). A fairy tale about a little polar bear cub who discovers the huge world in all its diversity, about his mother, a polar bear, and their adventures.
6. S. Nordkvist “Christmas in Petson’s house” (Labyrinth). Petson and his kitten Findus had big plans for this Christmas. But Petson twisted his ankle and can’t even go to the store or buy a Christmas tree. But is this an obstacle when there is ingenuity and friendly neighbors?
7. N. Nosov “On the Hill” (Labyrinth). A story about a cunning but not very far-sighted boy Kotka Chizhov, who ruined the slide that the guys had been building all day by sprinkling it with snow.
8. Odus Hilary "The Snowman and the Snow Dog" (Labyrinth, Ozone). The story is about a boy who recently lost his dog. And, having found “clothes” for the snowman, he decided to make both: the snowman and the dog. The snow sculptures came to life and a lot of amazing adventures awaited them together. But spring came, the snowman melted, and the dog... became real!
   
9. Tove Jansson "Magic Winter" (Labyrinth). One day in winter, Moomintroll woke up and realized that he no longer wanted to sleep, which meant it was time for adventure. And there will be more than enough of them in this book, because this is the first Moomintroll who has not slept all year.
10. W. Maslo “Christmas at the Godmother’s” (Labyrinth). Kind and magical tales about the adventures of Vika and her fairy godmother, who works miracles for her goddaughter with her own hands. Just like us, passionate mothers :-)
11. V. Zotov “New Year’s Story” (Labyrinth). On New Year's Eve, Santa Claus visits the children to find out what they really want for the holiday. And so grandpa found himself visiting the boy Vitya, who was rude at home, quiet at school and at the same time dreamed of a real car. And he received a film projector that shows the boy’s behavior from the outside. Great teaching move!
12. Peter Nikl "The True Story of the Good Wolf" (Labyrinth). A fairy tale about a wolf who decided to change his fate and stop being just a frightening and terrifying beast. The wolf became a doctor, but his previous glory did not allow him to fully reveal his talent until the animals were convinced of the wolf’s good intentions. A multi-layered, philosophical tale. I think that readers of different ages will find something of their own in it.
13. (Labyrinth). A folk tale about a cunning fox and a short-sighted, gullible wolf, who suffered the most, was left without a tail, and never understood who was to blame for all his troubles.
14. (Labyrinth). A folk tale about friendship and mutual assistance, in which animals built themselves a hut and together defended themselves from forest predators.
15. (Labyrinth). A folk tale in which the grandfather lost his mitten and all the animals that were cold came to warm up in the mitten. As usual in fairy tales, many animals fit into the mitten. And when the dog barked, the animals ran away, and the grandfather picked up an ordinary mitten from the ground.
16. V. Odoevsky “Moroz Ivanovich” (Labyrinth). The adventures of the Needlewoman, who dropped a bucket into a well and discovered at its bottom a completely different world, in which its owner, Moroz Ivanovich, gives everyone justice. For the needlewoman - silver patches and a diamond, and for Lenivitsa - an icicle and mercury.
17. (Labyrinth). An original folk tale about Emel, who caught and released a magic pike and now strange and unexpected things are happening throughout the kingdom at his command.
18. Sven Nordqvist "Christmas Porridge" (Labyrinth). A fairy tale by a Swedish writer about how people forgot traditions and decided not to serve porridge to their dwarf father before Christmas. This may anger the dwarves, and then people will face a whole year of trouble. The gnome decides to save the situation; she wants to remind people of herself and bring porridge for the gnome.
19. S. Kozlov “Winter Tales” (Labyrinth). Kind and touching stories about Hedgehog and his friends, about their friendship and desire to help each other. The original decisions of the main characters and the author's kind humor make this book understandable for children and interesting for older children.
20. Astrid Lindgren "The Jolly Cuckoo" (Labyrinth). Gunnar and Gunilla had been sick for a whole month and dad bought them a cuckoo clock so that the children would always know what time it was. But the cuckoo turned out to be not wooden, but alive. She made the kids laugh and helped with Christmas gifts for mom and dad.
21. Valko "New Year's Trouble" (Labyrinth). Winter has come in the hare valley. Everyone is preparing for the New Year and making gifts for each other, but then there was a snowfall and Jacob the Hare’s house was completely destroyed. The animals helped build him a new house, saved the stranger and celebrated the New Year in a big friendly company.
22. V. Suteev “Yolka”(a collection of winter tales in Labyrinth). The guys gathered to celebrate the New Year, but there was no Christmas tree. Then they decided to write a letter to Santa Claus and deliver it with the Snowman. The snowman faced danger on his way to Santa Claus, but with the help of his friends he coped with the task and the guys had a festive tree for the New Year.
23. E. Uspensky “Winter in Prostokvashino” (Labyrinth). Uncle Fyodor and dad go to celebrate the New Year in Prostokvashino. The plot is slightly different from the film of the same name, but in the end the mother still joins the family, coming to them on skis.
24. E. Rakitina “The Adventures of New Year’s Toys” (Labyrinth). Small adventures told on behalf of various toys that happened to them throughout their lives, most of which they spent on the Christmas tree. Different toys - different characters, desires, dreams and plans.
25. A. Usachev “New Year at the Zoo” (Labyrinth). A fairy tale about how the zoo residents decided to celebrate the New Year. And near the zoo, Father Frost had an accident and his horses ran away in all directions. Zoo residents helped deliver gifts and celebrated the New Year with Grandfather Frost.
26. A. Usachev “Miracles in Dedmorozovka” (Ozone). A fairy tale about Father Frost, the Snow Maiden and their assistants - snowmen and snowmen, who were sculpted from snow and brought to life at the beginning of winter. The snowmen have already helped Santa Claus with the delivery of gifts for the New Year and organized a holiday in their village. And now they continue to study at school, help the Snow Maiden in the greenhouse and play a little mischief, which is why they end up in funny situations.
27. Levi Pinfold "Black Dog" (Labyrinth). “Fear has big eyes,” says popular wisdom. And this fairy tale shows how brave a little girl can be, and how humor and games can help cope with even great fear.
28. "Old Frost and New Frost". A Lithuanian folk tale about how easily you can freeze in the cold, wrapped in warm blankets, and how the frost is not scary while actively working with an ax in your hands.
29. V. Gorbachev “How Piggy spent the winter”(Labyrinth). The story is about Piggy the boaster, who, due to his inexperience and gullibility, went north with a fox and was left without provisions, ended up in a bear’s den and barely escaped with his feet from the wolves.
30. Br. and S. Paterson “Adventures in the Fox Forest” (Labyrinth). Winter had come in the Fox Forest and everyone was preparing for the New Year. Hedgehog, Little Squirrel and Little Mouse were preparing gifts, but there was little pocket money and they decided to earn extra money. New Year's songs and collecting brushwood did not help them earn money, but helping a carriage that had an accident gave them an acquaintance with a new judge and a New Year's masquerade ball awaited them.
31. S. Marshak “12 months” (Labyrinth). A fairy-tale play in which a kind and hardworking Stepdaughter received a whole basket of snowdrops in December from the month of April.

Let's tell you a secret that we decided not just to read fairy tales, but to read and play based on their plots in anticipation of the New Year 2018. Adventures, quests, games and creative tasks await us. If you want the same fabulous Advent that lasts all December, then we invite you to New Year's quest "The Dog Saves the New Year."

It was completely quiet. Everyone in the forest knew that Aunt Winter was coming and were waiting for her arrival. Little Fox, Little Hare and Little Squirrel have never seen the winter mistress before. Still would! After all, when they were born, it was warm, the whole earth was covered with a soft green carpet. So the animals have not yet had a chance to see winter, they only listened to the stories of their elders about frosts and blizzards, and could not imagine that one day it would be cold and chilly.

Finally, a snow cloud appeared over the forest. The fleet-footed white hare saw her first. He looked forward to the arrival of the new season, but it never came. Finally, a snow cloud lingered over the forest, and Aunt Winter descended to the ground.

First of all, Little Fox, Little Hare and Little Squirrel saw white, silvery snow. Wow! The snowball is coming from somewhere above, as if a machine is turned on. And through the snow, the winter hostess herself walked towards them.

- Well, are the forest dwellers afraid of me?
“No, Auntie, Winter,” the Little Bunny was the first to answer. “I’ve been trumping in a white fur coat for a long time, and I’m waiting for your arrival.”
- Well done! And you, little squirrel?
“I made a supply of nuts, hid them in a hollow tree and buried a few nuts in the ground.
“Commendable,” said Winter. - What will Little Fox say? - she asked sternly.
“I didn’t make any supplies, because I’m a hunter, my mother told me so, and I hunt all year round,” said the Little Fox. “Mom explained to me that I could hear the squeak of a field mouse under the snow and be sure to catch it. Because I am clever and my ears are sensitive. But I’m also ready for your arrival, Aunt Winter. Look what a fur coat I have, what long winter fur it has, thick and lush. In the summer my fur coat was completely different. And now I am not afraid of either snowstorms or cold.

Aunt Winter was very glad that the animals were well prepared for her arrival. She decided to give them a small gift. She generously sprinkled snow on the clearings, forest edges, and slopes and asked the sun to shine brighter.

Until the evening, Little Fox, Little Hare and Little Squirrel frolicked in the snowy clearing. They played snowballs, jumped into snowdrifts, rode downhill, ran races and jumped off snowy slopes. They have never had such a wonderful holiday - the Winter Festival.

Read the continuation of the tale

Magical tales of winter

Snow Maiden. Russian folktale

Every thing happens in the world, everything is said about in a fairy tale. Once upon a time there lived a grandfather and a woman. They had plenty of everything - a cow, a sheep, and a cat on the stove, but there were no children. They were very sad, they kept grieving. One day in winter there was knee-deep white snow. The neighborhood kids poured out into the street to ride sleds, throw snowballs, and began to sculpt a snow woman. The grandfather looked at them from the window, looked and said to the woman:

- Why, wife, you’re sitting thoughtfully, looking at other people’s guys, let’s go and have some fun in our old age, we’ll make a snow woman too.

And the old woman probably also had a happy hour.

- Well, let's go outside, grandfather. But why should we sculpt a woman? Let's sculpt a daughter, Snow Maiden.

No sooner said than done.

The old people went to the garden and let’s sculpt a snow daughter. They sculpted a daughter, inserted two blue beads instead of eyes, and made two

dimples, made of scarlet ribbon - mouth. How beautiful is the snowy daughter Snegurochka! Grandfather and woman look at her - they can’t stop looking at her; they admire her - they can’t stop looking at her. And the Snow Maiden’s mouth smiles, her hair curls.

The Snow Maiden moved her legs and arms, moved from her place and walked through the garden to the hut.

Grandfather and woman seemed to have lost their minds - they were rooted to the spot.

“Grandfather,” the woman shouts, “this is our living daughter, dear Snow Maiden!” - And she rushed out of the hut... That was such joy!

The Snow Maiden is growing by leaps and bounds. Every day the Snow Maiden becomes more and more beautiful. Grandfather and woman will not look at her enough, they will not breathe enough. And the Snow Maiden is like a white snowflake, with eyes like blue beads, a brown braid down to her waist. Only the Snow Maiden has no blush, and not a speck of blood on her lips. But the Snow Maiden is so good!

Spring has come, it’s clear, the buds have swelled, the bees have flown into the field, the lark has begun to sing. All the guys are happy and happy, the girls are singing spring songs. But the Snow Maiden got bored, became sad, kept looking out the window, shedding tears.

So the red summer has come, the flowers have bloomed in the gardens, the grain is ripening in the fields...

The Snow Maiden frowns even more than before, hides everything from the sun, everything would be in the shade and in the cold, and even better - in the rain.

Grandfather and grandmother all gasp:

“Are you okay, daughter?”

- I'm healthy, grandma.

But she keeps hiding in a corner, she doesn’t want to go outside. One day the girls gathered in the forest for berries - raspberries, blueberries, scarlet strawberries.

They began to invite the Snow Maiden with them:

- Let's go and let's go, Snow Maiden!.. Let's go and let's go, friend!.. - The Snow Maiden doesn't want to go into the forest, the Snow Maiden doesn't want to go into the sun. And then the grandfather and grandmother say:

- Go, go, Snow Maiden, go, go, baby, have fun with your friends.

The Snow Maiden took the box and went into the forest with her friends. Girlfriends walk through the forest, weave wreaths, dance in circles, and sing songs. And the Snow Maiden found a cold stream, sits next to it, looks into the water, wets her fingers in the fast water, plays with the drops, like pearls.

So evening has come. The girls played around, put wreaths on their heads, lit a fire from brushwood, and began jumping over the fire. The Snow Maiden doesn’t want to jump... Yes, her friends pestered her. The Snow Maiden approached the fire... She stood trembling, there was not a single blood in her face, her brown braid was falling apart... The girlfriends shouted:

- Jump, jump, Snow Maiden!

The Snow Maiden ran and jumped...

It rustled over the fire, moaned pitifully - and the Snow Maiden was gone.

White steam stretched over the fire, curled into a cloud, and the cloud flew into the heights of heaven.

The Snow Maiden has melted...

Two Frosts. Russian folktale

Two Frosts, two brothers, were walking through the open field, jumping from foot to foot, beating hand in hand. One Frost says to another:

- Brother Frost - Crimson Nose! How can we have fun - freezing people?

Another one answers him:

- Brother Frost - Blue Nose! If we freeze people, it’s not for us to walk in an open field. The field was covered with snow, all the roads were covered with snow; no one will pass, no one will pass. Let's better run to the clean forest!

There may be less space there, but there will be more fun. No, no, no, but someone will meet along the way.

No sooner said than done. Two Frosts, two brothers, ran into the clear forest. They run and amuse themselves on the road: they jump from foot to foot, click on fir trees, and click on pine trees. The old spruce forest is cracking, the young pine tree is creaking. If they run through loose snow, the crust is icy; If a blade of grass peeks out from under the snow, it will be blown away, as if it were being humiliated with beads.

They heard a bell on one side, and a bell on the other: the gentleman was riding with the bell, and the peasant was riding with the bell. The Frosts began to judge and decide who should run after whom, who should freeze whom.

Frost—Blue Nose, as he was younger, says:

“I’d better chase the guy.” I’ll catch him sooner: his short fur coat is old, patched, his hat is all full of holes, there’s nothing on his feet except for his bast shoes. Of course, he’s going to chop wood... And you, brother, as strong as I am, run after the master. You see, he’s wearing a bear’s fur coat, a fox’s hat, and wolf’s boots. Where can I be with him? I can't cope.

Frost—The crimson nose only laughs.

“You’re still young,” he says, “brother!.. Well, so be it your way.” Run after the peasant, and I’ll run after the master. When we get together in the evening, we will find out for whom the work was easy and for whom it was hard. Goodbye for now!

- Goodbye, brother!

They whistled, clicked, and ran.

As soon as the sun set, they met again in an open field. They ask each other:

“Well, I think you’ve been tired of it, brother, with the master,” says the younger one, “but, as you see, it didn’t come to any sense.” Where was he to get through?

The elder chuckles to himself.

“Eh,” he says, “Brother Frost, Blue Nose, you are young and simple.” I respected him so much that he would warm up for an hour and not warm up.

- But what about the fur coat, the hat, and the boots?

- They didn’t help. I climbed into his fur coat, and into his hat, and into his boots - and how I began to shiver!.. He shudders, he huddles and wraps himself up; he thinks: let me not move a single joint, maybe the frost won’t overcome me here. But that was not the case! I can't afford it. As soon as I started to take care of him, I released him from the cart, barely alive in the city. Well, what did you do with your little man?

- Eh, Brother Frost - Crimson Nose! You played a bad joke on me because you didn’t come to your senses in time. I thought I’d freeze the guy, but it turned out that he broke off my sides.

- How so?

- Yes, that’s how it is. He was on his way, you saw it yourself, to chop wood. On the way, I began to penetrate him; Only he’s still not shy - he’s still swearing: this is what this Frost is like, he says. It even became quite offensive; I started pinching and stabbing him even more. I only had this fun for a short time. He arrived at the place, got out of the sleigh, and set to work on the axe. I’m thinking: “Here I should break him.” I got under his sheepskin coat and let’s be sarcastic. And he swings an ax, only chips fly all around. He even began to break out in sweat. I see: it’s bad - I can’t sit under my sheepskin coat. At the end of the day, steam started pouring out of him. I'll leave quickly. I think: “What should I do?” And the guy keeps working and working. Anything to make him feel cold, but he felt hot. I look - he takes off his sheepskin coat. I was happy. “Wait,” I say, “I’ll show you myself.” The short fur coat is all wet. I climbed into it everywhere, froze it so that it became a splint. Put it on now, try it! As the man finished his work and walked up to the sheepskin coat, my heart leaped: I’m amused! The man looked and began to scold me - he went through all the words that there were none worse. “Swear! - I think to myself, - swear! But you still won’t survive me!” So he was not content with scolding. I chose a log that was longer and more gnarled, and would start beating a sheepskin coat. He hits me on my sheepskin coat and keeps scolding me. I wish I could run faster, but I’m too stuck in the wool—I can’t get out. And he’s pounding, he’s pounding! I left by force. I thought I wouldn’t collect the bones. My sides still ache. I repented of freezing men.