"The Little Witch" Otfried Preusler. Online reading book Little Witch Little Witch Little Witch read online
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Otfried Preusler
Small witch
LITTLE WITCH IS ANGRY
Once upon a time there was a Little Witch. And she was one hundred and twenty-seven years old, which, of course, is not old for a witch. The Witch lived deep in the forest, in an unsightly-looking house with a rickety, wind-blown roof and rattling shutters. But he quite suited the Little Witch, she did not dream of anything else, more. Outside, a stove was attached to the hut. What is a witch's house without a stove?
A talking raven named Abrahas lived with the Witch. He knew how not only to say hello, to wish good morning or good evening, like any trained raven, but he was also amazingly wise, had his own opinion on any occasion and expressed it bluntly. The Little Witch had high hopes for him.
Every single day for six hours, the Little Witch studied witchcraft. And this is not an easy task.
Who wants to learn how to conjure, must forget about laziness. At first, you should master the simplest tricks, then move on to complex ones, for which you thoroughly memorize the witch book from cover to cover, without missing a single very easy exercise.
The Little Witch has already reached the two hundred and thirteenth page. And from the very morning she practiced in making rain.
She was sitting in the yard by the stove, holding a book on her knees and conjuring.
Raven Abrajas was displeased with her.
“You have to make it rain,” he croaked reproachfully, “and what did you conjure?” For the first time, white mice fell from the sky. The second time - frogs, the third - spruce cones! I wonder if you'll finally make it rain
The witch tensed as she tried for the fourth time to make it rain.
She conjured a cloud, lured her closer and shouted with all her might:
- Make it rain!
The cloud burst and splashed ... with serum.
– Ha-ha! Serum! screeched Abrajas. “You seem to be crazy. What else hasn't fallen from the sky? Clothespins? Shoe nails? Isn't it better to throw bread crumbs or raisins?
– Probably, I misspoke, – the Witch was embarrassed. I used to get confused too. But four times in a row, this did not happen!
- Agreed! Abrajas grumbled. - I'll tell you straight: you are absent-minded! When you think of something else during witchcraft, everything goes awry. Gotta focus!
– You think! - the Witch said embarrassedly and slammed the witch's book shut. "You're right," she continued, irritated. Right, right, a thousand times right! I can not concentrate. And why? She rolled her eyes. - Because I'm angry!
- Are you angry? On whom?
- It pisses me off that today is Walpurgis Night. And all the witches will gather to dance on Mount Blocksberg.
- So what?
- I'm sorry, what! I'm too young to dance, adult witches say. And they don't want me to dance with them until the morning!
Raven tried to console his friend:
“You see, at your age—only a hundred and twenty-seven—you can’t demand that adult witches take you seriously. You grow up, and everything will be fine.
- Here's another! The Witch was outraged. “And I want to be with them now!” Understand?
“Each cricket must know its own pole,” said the raven thoughtfully. - You can't jump above your head. What is inaccessible is inaccessible, and it is better to forget it ... Calm down! .. But it seems to me that you have something in mind?
- Yes, I thought! I'll fly to Blocksberg mountain at night!
Raven got scared.
- On Mount Blocksberg? But adult witches forbade you. They want to dance in their own circle.
- So what! Many things in life are forbidden. But if I don't get caught...
- Get caught! - croaked the raven.
- Nonsense! I will make my way to them when they begin to dance, and in the end I will slowly disappear. In the festive turmoil, they will not notice me ...
HOORAY! WALPURGIS NIGHT
The witch did not let herself be intimidated and nevertheless rushed to Mount Blocksberg. Adult witches were already dancing there in ecstasy.
A waterfall of flowing hair, a whirlwind of colorful skirts swirled around the festive fire. Five hundred or even six hundred witches gathered here: mountain, forest, swamp, grass, wind, fog and storm witches. They jumped, jumped, twirled, waving brooms.
Oh, Walpurgis Night! Hooray! Hooray! Long live Walpurgis Night! - they sang, shouted, bleated, crowed, squealed, whistled, witches rumbled, called thunder and threw lightning.
The witch slipped imperceptibly into the circle of dancers.
- Hooray, Walpurgis Night! she sang in ecstasy with all her childlike strength. And she rushed around the fire like a whirlwind, proud of herself: “Abraxas would see me now. That would have bulged his eyes like a forest owl!
Everything was going well until the Witch came face to face with her aunt, the wind witch Rumpumpel. My aunt was by nature stern, even angry, and did not understand jokes at all.
"Look," said Rumpumpel indignantly, bumping into the Little Witch in the general turmoil. - What a surprise! What are you missing here, little one? Don't you know that youngsters are not allowed on the Blocksberg on Walpurgis Night? Answer!
- Don't betray me! - the Witch stammered, frightened.
But Rumpumpel remained adamant.
- Do not even hope! Such insolence must be punished.
Meanwhile, they were surrounded by curious witches.
Outraged, Rumpumpel told them about what had happened and asked for advice on how to deal with the impudent niece.
"She must atone for her guilt," the witches of the mist shouted.
- To her High Witch! Let him appear before the Supreme Witch! the mountain witches rasped.
- Right! the others agreed. “Grab her and drag her to the High Witch!”
Neither prayers nor tears helped the Witch. Rumpumpel grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and dragged her towards the Chief Witch. She sat on a throne built from stove tongs.
Wrinkling her forehead, the ruler listened to the wind witch and rumbled, turning to the intruder:
“You dared to appear on Mount Blocksberg, although it is forbidden for youngsters. How did you decide on this?
“I don’t know…” the Witch mumbled, stuttering with fear. - I really wanted ... I sat on a broomstick and flew ...
“Well, as soon as you arrived, be kind and fly away,” the Supreme Witch concluded peacefully. Get out of my sight, hurry up. Otherwise I'll be angry!
The witch came to her senses a little. She realized that the Supreme Witch is not so evil and can be negotiated with.
– Will I be able to dance with you next year? she asked timidly.
“Hm,” thought the ruler. Now I can't promise. But if you're a good witch by then, then we'll see. The day before the next Walpurgis Night, I will convene the Supreme Council, and we will examine you. However, be aware that the exam will not be easy.
- Thank you! - the Witch was delighted. - Thank you! Thank you
And she promised to be a good witch in a year. She sat on a broom, deciding not to hesitate to fly home. However, the wind witch Rumpumpel did not reconcile.
"Don't you want to punish the impudent one roughly?" she asked the Supreme Ruler.
- Punish! Punish! - supported by other wind witches.
- Punish! Punish! cried the others. - There must be order! Anyone who breaks the rules deserves to be punished. And let the violator remember!
“Let’s throw the impudent into the fire!” Rumpumpel suggested.
“Maybe we should lock her up?” said the herbal witch. I have an empty chicken coop.
The swamp witch was no less resourceful:
“It’s even better to stick it up to your ears in a quagmire. Give it to me. I'll teach the daring one!
- No and no! the mountain witches objected. We'll scratch her face!
- And besides, - the wind witches flashed, - let's make her like a breeze.
- We unfasten with willow rods! the forest witches hissed.
“Let’s take her broom first!” Rumpumpel suddenly advised.
The witch became uncomfortable.
“Not this!”
- Attention! - Called to order the Supreme Witch, after listening to all the proposals. If you want punishment...
- We demand! We demand! the witches answered in unison. Aunt Rumpumpel screamed the loudest.
“Then I suggest,” the Supreme Witch loudly shouted over the noise, “take away her broom.” Let him stomp on foot. For three days and three nights she will have to trudge home. This, I think, is enough.
- No, not enough! Rumpumpel persisted.
But the rest were satisfied with the decision of the ruler.
They took the broom from the Little Witch, laughingly threw it into the fire and sarcastically wished her a pleasant journey.
REVENGE PLANS
It was an unbearably long and painful journey. For three days and three nights the poor thing trudged home. On the fourth, finally, she made it, trampling her shoes and breaking her legs in the blood.
- Finally! the raven Abraxas rejoiced. He sat on the pipe and looked anxiously in all directions. As soon as he saw the Witch, it was as if a stone had fallen from his soul.
The raven spread its wings and flew towards her.
Can't you do without adventures? - the faithful friend croaked indignantly. - You disappear all day long, you don’t know where, and I sit and worry! ..
How do you look like! Dust from head to toe. And why are you limping? Did you come on foot? You had a broom...
“That’s exactly what it was,” the Little Witch sighed.
- What does it mean - was?
- She was and swam away.
“Yes, she swam away, or rather, she flared up,” the Witch repeated languidly.
The raven finally got it.
“So you were caught after all?” I warned! It would be strange if this did not happen! You don't deserve anything else.
The Little Witch just nodded indifferently. All she wanted was to sleep!
Sleep! She stumbled into the room and collapsed onto the bed.
- Hey! Abrajas was outraged. “Take off your dusty dress and dirty shoes!
But she was already asleep. And slept like a woodchuck until the next day. And when she woke up, Abrajas was sitting at her feet.
- Did you get enough sleep?
“Not really,” the Witch yawned.
“But at least tell me what happened?”
“Let’s eat first,” the friend muttered. “There is no time for talking on an empty stomach.
Having eaten to satiety, the Witch pushed the plate away and began the story.
“For all your frivolity, you are still lucky,” the raven remarked when she had finished. “Don't forget that in a year you should be a good witch.
- Will try. From today I will study not for six, but for seven hours. Besides, I'll do one more thing. Very important…
- What? Abrajas asked.
The witch frowned, then put on an air of importance and announced in syllables:
- I will take revenge!
- Aunt Rumpumpel! She's the one who's to blame for everything. Who dragged me to the Supreme Witch? Who demanded punishment? Who turned everyone against me? She's all vile! I will thank her for the worn shoes and bloody calluses!
- Right! Abrajas agreed. She is known for her meanness. But revenge...
“I’ll conjure her a pig’s snout,” the Witch hissed, “donkey ears and calf’s legs ... A goat’s beard and, in addition, a cow’s tail.”
"A cow's tail and a goat's beard?" Abraxas wondered. “Like you can get old Rumpumpel!” She is a witch just like you! And with a wave of his hand will destroy your sorcery.
- You think so? - The witch realized that with donkey ears and calf legs, she had made a mistake. But still she stood her ground: - Wait, wait! I'll come up with something cooler, something that even Aunt Rumpumpel can't handle. Do you believe me?
- Why not! Abrahas reassured her friend. “But I’m afraid you might end up in trouble yourself.”
- Why? The Witch was surprised.
“Because you promised to be a good witch.” And good witches do nothing wrong. Get it on your nose!
The witch looked uncertainly at the raven.
- Are you serious?
- Of course. If I were you, I would think deeply...
DO YOU SELL BROOMS?
What does the Little Witch do with her legs covered in blood?
Heals them.
And for this, he mixes healing herbs, mouse droppings, crushed teeth of bats, adds water and boils the mixture over an open fire. Then he lubricates the sore spots with the drug, casting spells from the witch's book. And the wounds instantly heal.
- Finally! - the Witch sighed with relief when the healing ointment and the conspiracy worked.
"Will you limp no more?" Abrajas asked.
- Look!
The witch danced throughout the house. Then she sat down on the bed and put on her shoes.
– Are you going somewhere? the raven wondered.
- I'm going to the village. Do you want with me?
"But it's far away," Abraxas warned, "and you don't have a broom."
- That's it. You'll have to get on your own two feet. I don't want to walk anymore. And since I don't want to walk, I must go to the village.
- Are you laughing at me?
Why am I laughing? I'll buy a broom there.
- Oh, it's quite another matter! Then I'm with you. Not that you will be delayed again, but for me - worry!
The path to the village went through the forest, through the brambles, past boulders, fallen trees, thick stumps.
Raven Abraxas didn't care. He sat on his girlfriend's shoulder and made sure not to touch the branches.
But the Witch stumbled over the roots of trees, clung to the bushes with her skirt.
- Cursed road! she cursed. - One consolation: a little more - and I will fly again.
They soon reached the village and entered Baldwin Pfeferkorn's shop.
Herr Pfeferkorn was not at all surprised by their appearance.
To this day, he had never seen a witch, so he mistook her for an ordinary old woman from a neighboring village.
Hello. The witch replied.
Then Mr. Pfeferkorn kindly inquired what the customer wanted.
The witch asked for a hundred grams of candy. She opened the box and treated the crow.
- Thank you! croaked Abrajas.
- Learned bird! Mr. Pfeferkorn muttered respectfully, knowing firsthand that there are talking ravens. – Would you like anything else?
- I hope you sell brooms? Yes? Or not?
- We have everything you want: brooms, brushes, whisks, mops, dusters. And if you really need...
– No, no, thank you. I need the biggest broom.
- On a stick or without?
- On a stick, but not a short one. The stick is the most important.
“What a pity,” Pfeferkorn sighed worriedly. – Brooms with long sticks, unfortunately, are over. These are the middle ones.
“I think it will do,” the Little Witch nodded. - I'm taking it.
- May I wrap up the purchase? the owner helpfully suggested. - A tied broom is more convenient to carry.
“You are very attentive,” the Witch thanked. “But you shouldn't do it.
- As you please! Mr. Pfeferkorn counted out the change and escorted the Little Witch to the door. - Thank you very much. Goodbye. I am your humble...
“Servant,” he wanted to add, but he froze with his mouth open. He didn't have enough air to finish his sentence. He saw how the customer sat on a broom astride, muttered something and poof! Soared up with a broom and a raven.
Mr. Pfeferkorn could not believe his own eyes.
"Oh my God! he thought. Am I seeing this in reality or in a dream?
GOOD INTENTIONS
Like a whirlwind, with disheveled hair and a fluttering handkerchief, the Little Witch was rushing on a new broom. Here it is already above the roofs of the village. Abrajas convulsively clung to her shoulder.
- Carefully! he croaked. - Ahead of the church!
The witch turned the broom in time, otherwise they would have stumbled upon the church steeple. Only the tip of the apron caught on the cockerel on the weather vane.
Tr-r - a piece of fabric remained there.
- Can't you slow down! Abraxas warned. - So it won't take long to break your neck! Are you crazy?
- It's a broom! the Witch shouted. - She's hard to deal with.
With a new broom, the situation is the same as with a young obstinate horse, it must first be tamed and ridden. Getting off with only a torn apron is such a small thing!
Fortunately, the Witch knew what to do. She pointed the skittish broom into the open field. At least there's nothing to grab on to.
- Come on, come on, kick it! she shouted at the broomstick. - Bounce! When you're tired, you'll come to your senses! Goplya!
The broom in every conceivable and inconceivable way tried to get rid of the rider.
She made dizzying leaps, reared up, descended, lifted up. All in vain!
The witch sat firmly on the broomstick.
In the end, tired, the broom obeyed the rider and now obeyed every command.
She flew fast, then slowly, then straight, then in a circle.
- That's better! – the Witch remarked with satisfaction. "I'm sorry I didn't come to my senses right away.
She straightened her scarf. She pulled down her skirt, slapped the broom with her palm and glided smoothly over the forest.
The new broom has become more gentle than a lamb.
They hovered over the treetops, looking out over the mountaintops and the brambles.
The witch cheerfully dangled her legs in the air, glad that she no longer had to stomp on foot. She waved her hand in greeting to the hares and roe deer peeping out of the thickets, and counted the fox holes in the ground.
“Look, hunter! Abrajas was surprised.
“I see, I see,” the Witch said, pursing her lips and spitting right on the hunter’s hat.
- Why did you do that? Abrajas was surprised.
- I like it so! Ha ha ha! The Witch laughed. Let him think it's raining!
But the raven remained serious.
- You can't do that! he remarked reproachfully. "Good witches don't spit on people's hats!"
- Oh, stop it! – irritably waved the Witch.
“Please,” Abraxas said offended. “But Aunt Rumpumpel will only gloat over such jokes of yours.”
- Wind witch? What's up with her?
- Don't tell me! I can imagine how happy she will be if you don't become a good witch in a year! Do you want to give her such pleasure?
The witch shook her head vigorously.
“Nevertheless, you do everything for this.
And the raven fell silent.
The witch thought too. Wherever you throw it, the raven was right all around.
When they flew home, the Witch said:
“You're right, I should be a good witch. That's the only way I can get my revenge on Aunt Rumpumpel. Let her turn green with anger!
“So it will be,” the raven agreed. “But from now on, you must do only good things.
- It won't rust after me! the Little Witch promised him.
From that day on, the Witch sat over the witch's book for seven hours. By the next Walpurgis Night, she must have in her head everything that is written in it.
The teaching was given without difficulty: she was young and diligent.
And soon she knew by heart all the most important witchcraft tricks.
Sometimes she was distracted from her studies. When you work out a lot, you should take a break to air out. Sometimes she even walked through the woods, because it's one thing to be forced to walk, quite another - when you yourself want it.
Once, while walking through the forest, he and Abraxas met three old women with empty baskets on their shoulders.
The old women walked with their eyes down to the ground, as if they were looking for something.
- What are you looking for here? – inquired the Witch.
- Dry bark and brushwood for their stoves, - one old woman answered.
“But we’re out of luck,” another sighed. - The forest now seems to be swept - not a single dry twig!
- How long have you been looking for? the Witch asked.
“In the morning,” said the third old woman. We search and search, and all in vain. For three of us, and half a basket will not be typed. Winter is coming, and we don't know how we will heat our stoves.
The witch looked into the baskets. There were only a few frail twigs.
“If this is all your prey,” she said to the old women, “then I understand why you are so sad. What's the matter?
“In the wind,” the old women said.
- In the wind? The Witch was surprised. - What's with the wind? I don't understand!
“And despite the fact that it does not blow,” the first old woman explained.
“When there is no wind, branches and branches do not fall from trees,” added another.
- And if the branches do not fall, what should we fill the baskets with? - said the third.
- Ah, there it is! The witch understood.
The old ladies nodded their heads. And one of them dreamed:
“What wouldn’t I give to be able to conjure!” I would conjure the wind. But, alas, unfortunately, I am not a witch.
“Yes, yes,” agreed the Witch. “You are not a witch.
Sad old women decided to go home.
“There is no point in looking for brushwood,” they said. Until there is no wind, you will not find anything. Goodbye!
“Goodbye,” said the Witch.
- Can I help them in any way? Abrajas whispered as the old ladies disappeared from view.
The witch smiled.
- I've already figured it out. Hold on tight, or you'll be blown away.
Raising the wind for a witch is child's play. A light whistle through your teeth, and a whirlwind will rise.
But what! And the Little Witch whistled.
At that moment, a terrible wind arose.
He swept through the tops of the trees, shook the trunks, tore off the branches, threw the bark to the ground.
The old women screamed in fright, drew their heads into their shoulders and clutched at their fluttering skirts.
A little more - and they would have been blown away by the wind. But the Little Witch didn't want that.
- Enough! she called. - Stop doing that!
And the wind immediately died down.
The old ladies looked around fearfully.
They saw that the forest was strewn with branches and brushwood.
- What happiness! the old ladies were delighted. - So much brushwood at once! Now we have enough firewood for the whole winter.
They quickly filled the baskets and, beaming, trudged home.
The Little Witch looked after them, grinning. Even the raven Abrajas was pleased. He pecked the Little Witch on the shoulder and said:
- Not bad for a start. It seems you have a chance to become a good witch.
GO, SON!
From that day on, the Witch always made sure that the old women did not return home with empty baskets.
The old women, meeting the Little Witch in the forest, cheerfully said:
- It's a pleasure to collect firewood this year! Do not walk through the forest in vain!
It was all the more surprising for the Witch to meet once weeping grannies with empty baskets. The day before, she conjured a strong wind, and the whole forest was strewn with brushwood.
What's the matter?
“Just think, what a disaster! the old women said through tears. - The new forester forbade us to collect firewood. He emptied our full baskets and threatened that next time he would put us in jail.
- Where will they plant it?
- To jail! the old women sobbed.
- Wow! – the Witch was surprised. - Why is he so cool?
And the old women sobbed more than ever. The witch tried to comfort them.
“The new ranger will regret this,” she promised confidently. - I'll make him understand.
- How? the old ladies asked.
- That's my concern. Go home and don't worry. From tomorrow you can collect firewood again. The forester will not interfere with you.
The reassured old women left.
And the Witch conjured herself a huge basket of brushwood. I put it by the road and sat down next to it, pretending to be resting after hard work.
We didn't have to wait long.
The new forester appeared - he was not dusty.
The Little Witch immediately recognized him by his green leather jacket. He had a gun hanging over his shoulders, and a leather hunting bag - a game bag - over his shoulder.
- Hey! the forester shouted rudely. - Another one! What are you doing here?
“I’m resting,” the Witch answered imperturbably. The basket is so heavy, I need to catch my breath.
“Don’t you know that collecting firewood is forbidden? - the forester boiled up on the move.
- No. How should I know?
“But now you know it!” Shake out the basket and get out!
- Shake everything out of the basket? the Witch asked in surprise. - Dear, dear mister forester, have pity on me! Sympathize with the old feeble woman!
“Now I sympathize with you!” the forester continued to rage.
And he grabbed the basket to shake the brushwood out of it.
But then the Little Witch said:
- No, you won't!
The forester roared with rage.
“I’ll put you in jail,” he wanted to say, but instead he suddenly said: “Forgive me generously! I was joking. Of course, you can keep this brushwood for yourself.
“What is it with me? thought the perplexed forester. “I want to say one thing, but I say another?”
He did not know that the Little Witch had bewitched him.
"That's better, son!" The Witch agreed. “Ah, if only the basket weren’t so heavy!”
- May I help? the forester inquired. - I could take the brushwood to your house ...
The witch giggled.
"Really, son?" Very kind of you. Such a polite young man!
“The devil knows what it is! thought the forester. “What nonsense am I talking about?”
“Grandma,” he heard his own voice in amazement, “if you are tired, sit on the basket, I will carry you too.”
- You're not kidding? the Witch asked.
The forester, in despair, again heard his own friendly voice:
- Of course not! Get on your backs.
The witch did not force herself to beg. In one fell swoop, she jumped astride the basket, and the raven Abrajas saddled her right shoulder.
- Go! said the Little Witch. - Go ahead, son!
In his heart, the forester wished the old woman with her basket and raven to fall into hell.
But so what!
He obediently, like a pack animal, set off.
“Straight ahead, don’t swerve,” Abrajas commanded. - And live, do not sleep on the go. Live! Not that I will peck you in one place!
The forester became either hot or cold.
He stomped and stomped, drenched in sweat. His tongue protruded out.
He lost his green hat, then his leather bag.
And he threw the gun on the move.
He was chased through the forest until he was completely exhausted.
- To the left! Abraxas ordered. - And behind the ditch - to the right, then straight up the hill!
When they finally reached the hut, the poor forester could barely stand on his feet.
Nevertheless, the Witch asked him without a trace of compassion:
- Well, how, son, can you chop this brushwood?
“I’ll chop it up and lay it in a pile,” the forester promised, puffing.
And so he did.
When he finished, and a lot of time had passed, the Little Witch thanked the worker.
“Now you can go home, son. Such a nice, helpful forester is a rarity these days. Something other old women will be delighted with. Hope you help them too.
The forester just nodded in agreement.
And, staggering from fatigue, he trudged to his home.
Since then, he has made a big detour, avoiding every old woman he meets.
The Little Witch laughed for a long time, remembering her trick.
“Now I will always do this,” she confessed to the crow. - Help good people, and punish bad people and arrange various jokes on them.
However, Abraxas had his own opinion:
- Good can be done in a different way: without jokes and pranks.
- But it's boring without jokes!
PAPER FLOWERS
One Sunday, the Little Witch wanted to fly into the city, hang around in the market.
Abrajas rejoiced:
- Wonderful! And I'm with you. It is so lonely in the forest - many trees and few people. And in the city - a lot of entertainment!
They could not fly into the city on a broom, so as not to cause a commotion and not bring disaster on their heads - the police. Therefore, they hid the broom by the road and set off on foot to the market square.
People were already crowding there: housewives, maids, cooks.
Peasant women praised their goods in every way, and sellers of vegetables and fruits touted:
– Buy white filling! Juicy pears!
The fishermen offered salted herring, the sausage man offered hot Frankfurt sausages.
The potter demonstrated clay jugs and dishes.
Here and there shouts were heard: “Sauerkraut!”, “Pumpkins, watermelons!”.
Cheap Jacob shouted the loudest.
He stood with a tray at the fountain, on the market square and called out in a loud voice:
- Buy! Buy! Buy! Selling cheap! Today is my charity day. I'm giving it away for half price. Snuff, braces, razor blades, toothbrushes, shoe laces, hair clips, kitchen rags, shoe wax, garlic seasoning. To me, to me, gentlemen! Buy, buy at a discount from Cheap Jacob!
The Little Witch enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the market.
In the market crowd, she felt like a fish in water. She looked at the goods with interest, tried a juicy pear, tasted sauerkraut.
I bought a lighter from Cheap Jacob for a couple of pfennigs. He also gave her a glass ring.
- Thank you very much! - the Witch was delighted.
- Please please! Happy to serve. Buy, buy, gentlemen! Buy from Cheap Jacob!
In the far corner of the market, a pale girl with a basket of paper flowers stood sadly.
People passed by, not paying attention to the shy little girl. No one even asked the price of her product.
“I feel sorry for the poor thing,” Abraxas drew attention to the girl. - Take care of her!
The witch approached the girl and asked:
“What, they don’t buy flowers?”
- Oh, who needs paper flowers in summer! The little girl sighed sadly. Mom will cry again. If I don't bring money in the evening, she won't be able to buy us bread. I have seven brothers and sisters. And my dad died last winter. We make paper flowers. But nobody buys them...
The Little Witch, having listened sympathetically, thought about how to help her?
And I came up with.
“It's strange that people don't buy your flowers,” she said. “They smell so wonderful!”
The girl was surprised.
- Do they smell? What do paper flowers smell like?
“They smell, they smell,” the Witch assured her. - They smell better than real ones. Don't you feel?
Indeed, the flowers smelled. It wasn't just the girl who felt it. People in the crowd began to sniff.
- What is it that smells so wonderful? they asked each other. - Incredible! Paper flowers, you say? Are they for sale? Inexpensive? Then I'll buy a few.
Everyone who had a nose and legs hurried to the girl.
Housewives, cooks, peasant women rushed from all over the bazaar.
The fishermen abandoned the herring, the butchers abandoned the sausages, the greengrocers abandoned the greens.
Everyone crowded around the girl to buy flowers.
Cheap Jacob came last. He stood on tiptoe, folded his hands like a mouthpiece and shouted:
“Can you hear me, flower girl?” It's me, Cheap Jacob. Leave me some flowers, please! Well, at least one. Can you hear me? The only one!
The crowd murmured:
- Hold your pocket wider! No, dummies! Even Cheap Jacob will not yield! Sell, girl, take turns!
“What a blessing that we are the first! thought the people ahead. “Of course, there won’t be enough for everyone.”
Latecomers looked with envy at the lucky ones.
And the girl sold everything, sold and sold.
The flowers didn't end. Even Cheap Jacob was enough.
- It's amazing that the flowers do not decrease! people whispered.
But even the saleswoman could not reveal the secret to them. Only the Little Witch knew the answer. But she had already retired from the crowd and even left the market place. He and Abraxas found a secluded place where they hid the broom.
The witch was still thinking about the baby with flowers and smiled contentedly.
The raven tapped his beak lightly on her shoulder to bring her back to reality, and pointed to a black cloud floating across the sky. She wouldn't have looked suspicious if it wasn't for the tip of the broom on the side.
– Look! Abrajas was outraged. “Aunt Rumpumpel, the old hag, is spying on us!”
- She's good for that! the Witch muttered. - You can't hide from her. But we didn't do anything wrong!
GOOD LESSON
For several days it rained incessantly. Little Witch had no choice but to sit at home and yawn, waiting for good weather. Out of boredom, she did a little magic: she made a rolling pin with a poker on the stove to dance a waltz, put a pot of butter upside down. But all this did little to entertain her and soon got tired of it.
As soon as the sun came out, the Witch could not sit at home.
- Hurry up the pipe! she yelled happily in anticipation of adventure. - Stop hanging around at home! Let's see where we can tinker!
Dec 20, 2016little witch Otfried Preusler
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Title: Little Witch
About the book "The Little Witch" by Otfried Preusler
We have no doubt that you read Otfried Preusler's book "The Little Witch" as a child. There is no such person who would not read this fairy tale, or did not watch the cartoon. Or maybe you saw a play or a feature film based on the work? In any case, the character of the legendary wonderful witch is known to you. It's time to introduce her to your children. Start by reading the book, let the child's imagination create its own unique image of this wonderful fairy tale of all time!
The popular German children's writer Otfried Preusler wrote 32 books in his lifetime, which have been translated into 55 languages. Awarded with many different awards. The most famous of his works was the fairy tale "The Little Witch". A good story about friendship, honesty and justice has found its fans in all corners of the world.
The work is one of the components of the trilogy about mythical supernatural beings. The series also includes the stories "Little Ghost" and "Little Water". It also makes sense to get to know them. The same storytelling style and no less interesting characters.
The plot is captivating and interesting. The little witch lives in a hut in the forest, as it should be for a real Baba Yaga. From friends - raven Abrajas. Very young, only some 127 years old. Once on a dark Walpurgis night, all the witches flock to the mountain to have great fun and do dirty tricks. Don't take the baby with you. When you grow up, learn how to conjure, become a real evil witch - then come.
We urgently need to learn how to conjure, the main character decides and begins to study the magic book ... What will come of this? The answer is in a fairy tale.
A good story full of wonders and magic. "The Little Witch" is a real instructive lesson from Otfried Preusler. In an easy accessible form, understandable even to children of primary school age, the author talks about good and evil, about the destiny of man, about his contribution to the world around him. And even though the heroes of the fairy tale are all fictional, they act like real ones. They make friends, love, help each other - everything is like people do.
If you can’t decide what to read to your child at night, choose the fairy tale “The Little Witch”! It will be interesting not only for the baby, but also for you. Because we adults have a lot to learn from children. Kindness, for example, or sincerity. The ability to enjoy every day. Laugh when it's funny or cry when it's sad.
We wish you a pleasant pastime!
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Which breaks all the rules accepted in the society of witches.
The tale is included in a kind of trilogy about small representatives of supernatural beings; This series also includes the stories Little Ghost" and "Little Water". It has been filmed many times, including in USSR.
Plot
The little Witch lives in a forest hut with her best friend - raven Abrahas. She is only 127 years old, and among the older witches, she is still considered a girl, although she looks like a little old woman. When it comes Walpurgis Night, and all the witches flock to Blocksberg Mountain for dancing and fun, the Little Witch flies there too. However, she is expelled because she is still too young and inexperienced. However, in a year, the Little Witch may be allowed to participate in the holiday if she learns to conjure and becomes a “good witch”.
In a year, the main character masters her entire witch book and performs many deeds that she and the raven Abraxas consider good:
- The Little Sorceress helps the old women to collect brushwood;
- punishes an evil forester who forbids picking firewood in his forest;
- at the fair she helps a poor girl to sell paper flowers;
- does not allow the beer driver to beat the horses with a whip;
- helps lost children, Thomas and Vronya, find their way;
- at the Bottom, the Strelka saves the bull Corbinian, who they want to kill;
- arranges so that the seller of chestnuts, who treated her, does not freeze and does not burn his hands in the oven;
- punishes hooligans who wanted to destroy a snowman for fun;
- participates with children in a rural carnival and arranges a big treat;
- organizes a carnival for animals in the forest;
- helping the wife of a roofer whose husband spent his earnings on bowling;
- saves a family of ravens from boys stealing eggs from their nests.
In the exam, the Little Witch shows excellent knowledge of witchcraft. But unexpectedly for her, the witches are horrified by her good deeds: after all, for them, the “good witch” is just the one that makes everyone bad! The Council of Witches does not allow the Little Witch to have fun at the next Walpurgis Night, but instructs her to prepare firewood for the fire. Around midnight, the Little Witch collects the brooms and witch books of all the witches with the help of witchcraft, and burns it all. Now she remains the only witch in the world, moreover, a good one.
| Chapter number | Original | Retelling by Yuri Korints (1973) | Translation by Elvira Ivanova (2001) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Die kleine Hexe hat Ärger | Trouble | Little Witch is angry |
| 2 | Heia, Walpurgisnacht! | Hooray, Walpurgis Night! | |
| 3 | Racheplane | I will take revenge! | revenge plans |
| 4 | Fuhren Sie Besen? | Buying a broom | Do you sell brooms? |
| 5 | Gute Vorsatze | Good intentions | |
| 6 | Wirbelwind | Storm | Vortex |
| 7 | Vorwarts, mein Söhnchen! | Go ahead, son! | Go ahead, son! |
| 8 | papierblumen | Paper flowers | |
| 9 | Eine saftige Lehre | good lesson | |
| 10 | Freitagsgaste | Unexpected guests | |
| 11 | Das leicht verhexte Schützenfest | Enchanted holiday | |
| 12 | Der Maronimann | chestnut seller | |
| 13 | Besser als sieben Rocke | Better than seven skirts | |
| 14 | Schneemann, Schneemann, braver Mann | Brave snowman | Are you cold, sir? |
| 15 | Wollen wir wetten? | Let's argue! | Do we argue? |
| 16 | Fastnacht im Walde | forest carnival | Maslenitsa in the forest |
| 17 | Der Kegelbrüder | bowling alley lover | |
| 18 | Festgehext! | Sticky Boys | The stuck boys |
| 19 | Vor dem Hexenrat | Council of Witches | |
| 20 | Werzuletzt lacht… | Who laughs last | |
Change of text by censorship
Translations
There are two translations of the fairy tale into Russian: Yuri Korinets("Little Baba Yaga") and Elvira Ivanova ("Little Witch"). IN USSR the story was originally published in the retelling of Yuri Korints (moreover, 4 chapters out of 20 were omitted) and was published in the magazine " Murzilka"(1972-1973). It was subsequently filmed.
In 1977, the filmstrip "The Little Witch" was released based on the fairy tale of the same name by Otfried Preusler. The filmstrip came out in the production and graphic materials of the director-animator Elena Malashenkova.
In 1986 Leningrad television released teleplay"Little Baba Yaga" based on the fairy tale of the same name in translation Yuri Korinets. The film performance was staged Anatoly Ravikovich. The main role of Little Baba Yaga was played by Irina Mazurkevich, in the role of the raven Abrahas - Vladimir Martyanov.
Czechoslovak-German cartoon (1986)
IN 1986 Animated film released Czechoslovakia And Germany, directed by Zdenek Sour cream. Film on Czech, but has two original names at once - Czech and German. Contrary to the original book, in it Little Baba Yaga is shown as a girl, not an old woman. In the Soviet dubbing, the roles were voiced by: Marina Neyolova(Little Baba Yaga) and
Die kleine Hexe) - an adventure fairy tale by the German writer Otfried Preusler about a playful, but kind and fair witch who violates all the rules accepted in the society of witches.The tale is included in a kind of trilogy about small representatives of supernatural beings; this series also includes the stories "Little Ghost" and "Little Waterman". It was repeatedly filmed, including in the USSR.
Plot
The Little Witch lives in a forest hut with her best friend, the raven Abraxas. She is only 127 years old, and among the older witches, she is still considered a girl, although she looks like a little old woman. When Walpurgis Night falls, and all the witches flock to Blocksberg Mountain for dancing and fun, the Little Witch flies there too. However, she is expelled because she is still too young and inexperienced. However, in a year she (that is, the Little Witch) may be allowed to participate in the holiday if she learns to conjure and becomes a “good witch”.
In a year, the main character masters her entire witch book and performs many deeds that she and the raven Abraxas consider good:
- The Little Sorceress helps the old women to collect brushwood;
- punishes an evil forester who forbids picking firewood in his forest;
- at the fair she helps a poor girl to sell paper flowers;
- does not allow the beer driver to beat the horses with a whip;
- helps the lost children, Thomas and Vronya, find their way and on the Day of the Shooter saves the bull Korbinian, who they want to kill;
- arranges so that the seller of chestnuts, who treated her, does not freeze and does not burn his hands in the oven;
- punishes hooligans who wanted to destroy a snowman for fun;
- participates with children in a rural carnival and arranges a big treat;
- organizes a carnival for animals in the forest;
- helps the roofer's wife, whose husband spent his earnings on bowling;
- saves a family of ravens from boys stealing eggs from their nests.
In the exam, the Little Witch shows excellent knowledge of witchcraft. But unexpectedly for her, the witches are horrified by her good deeds: after all, for them, the “good witch” is just the one that makes everyone bad! The Council of Witches does not allow the Little Witch to have fun at the next Walpurgis Night, but instructs her to prepare firewood for the fire.
Around midnight, the Little Witch, using sorcery, collects all the brooms of all the witches and all their witchcraft books in a heap, and burns them. Now she remains the only witch in the world, moreover, a good one.
Change of text by censorship
Translations
There are two translations of the tale into Russian: Yuri Korints ("Little Baba Yaga") and Elvira Ivanova ("Little Witch"). In the USSR, the story was originally published in the retelling of Yuri Korints (moreover, 4 out of 20 chapters were omitted) and was published in the Murzilka magazine (1972-1973). It was subsequently filmed.
In 1977, the filmstrip "The Little Witch" was released based on the fairy tale of the same name by Otfried Preusler. The filmstrip came out in the production and graphic materials of the director-animator Elena Malashenkova.
Czechoslovak-German cartoon (1986)
The film was made by director Gennady Sokolsky in a grotesque style, and the heroine in it does not look like a child. The same version of the image is used in the filmstrips of the same name (although, perhaps, the filmstrip appeared long before the cartoon) and in most Russian editions of Preusler's book. As the soundtrack of the cartoon, a fully electronic musical suite by composer Philip Koltsov was used, which was not common at that time - synthesizers, of course, were introduced earlier into the sound range of domestic cartoons, but never before such a large cartoon (24 min.) had a fully synth soundtrack.
The script for the cartoon was written by Genrikh Sapgir, director - Gennady Sokolsky, composer - Philip Koltsov, artist - Tatyana Sokolskaya, the roles were voiced by: Natalya Derzhavina (Little Sorceress), Armen Dzhigarkhanyan (Raven Abrahas), Boris Novikov (Chief Witch), Yuri Volintsev (forester ), Maria Vinogradova (an old woman in the forest), Vsevolod Larionov (foreman of the shooters), etc.
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Notes
Links
- Die Kleine Hexe(English) on the Internet Movie Database
- Die Kleine Hexe(English) on the Internet Movie Database
An excerpt characterizing the Little Witch
– Non, non, non! Quand votre pere m "ecrira, que vous vous conduisez bien, je vous donnerai ma main a baiser. Pas avant. [No, no, no! When your father writes to me that you are behaving well, then I will let you kiss my hand. Not before.] - And, raising her finger and smiling, she left the room.Everyone dispersed, and, except for Anatole, who fell asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed, no one slept that night for a long time.
“Is he really my husband, this particular stranger, handsome, kind man; the main thing is kindness, ”thought Princess Marya, and fear, which almost never came to her, came over her. She was afraid to look back; she fancied that someone was standing behind the screens, in a dark corner. And this someone was he - the devil, and he - this man with a white forehead, black eyebrows and a ruddy mouth.
She called the maid and asked her to lie down in her room.
M lle Bourienne walked for a long time in the winter garden that evening, waiting in vain for someone and then smiling at someone, then moving to tears with the imaginary words pauvre mere, reproaching her for her fall.
The little princess grumbled at the maid because the bed was not good. She could not lie on her side or on her chest. Everything was hard and awkward. Her stomach bothered her. He interfered with her more than ever, precisely today, because the presence of Anatole transferred her more vividly to another time, when this was not the case and everything was easy and fun for her. She was sitting in a blouse and cap on an armchair. Katya, sleepy and with a tangled scythe, interrupted and turned over the heavy feather bed for the third time, saying something.
“I told you that everything is bumps and pits,” the little princess repeated, “I myself would be glad to fall asleep, therefore, it’s not my fault,” and her voice trembled, like that of a child about to cry.
The old prince did not sleep either. Tikhon, through his sleep, heard him walking angrily and snorting his nose. It seemed to the old prince that he was offended for his daughter. The insult is the most painful, because it did not apply to him, but to another, to his daughter, whom he loves more than himself. He told himself that he would rethink the whole thing and find what was right and right to do, but instead he only annoyed himself more.
“The first person he met appeared - and the father and everything is forgotten, and runs upstairs, combs her hair and wags her tail, and she doesn’t look like herself! Glad to leave my father! And she knew that I would notice. Fr... fr... fr... And don't I see that this fool is only looking at Buryenka (I must drive her away)! And how pride is not enough to understand this! Though not for myself, if there is no pride, so for me, at least. We need to show her that this blockhead does not think about her, but only looks at Bourienne. She has no pride, but I will show it to her "...
Having told his daughter that she was mistaken, that Anatole intended to look after Bourienne, the old prince knew that he would irritate Princess Mary's pride, and his case (desire not to be separated from his daughter) would be won, and therefore calmed down on this. He called Tikhon and began to undress.
“And the devil brought them! he thought while Tikhon covered his dry, senile body, overgrown with gray hair on his chest, with a nightgown. - I didn't call them. They came to ruin my life. And there's a little left."
- To hell! he said while his head was still covered with a shirt.
Tikhon knew the prince's habit of sometimes expressing his thoughts aloud, and therefore, with an unchanged face, he met the inquiringly angry look of the face that appeared from under his shirt.
- Lie down? the prince asked.
Tikhon, like all good lackeys, instinctively knew the direction of the master's thoughts. He guessed that they were asking about Prince Vasily and his son.
- We deigned to lie down and put out the fire, Your Excellency.
“There’s nothing, there’s nothing ...” the prince said quickly and, putting his feet into his shoes and hands into his dressing gown, went to the sofa on which he slept.
Despite the fact that nothing was said between Anatole and m lle Bourienne, they completely understood each other in relation to the first part of the novel, before the pauvre mere appeared, they realized that they had a lot to say to each other secretly, and therefore in the morning they were looking for an opportunity see you alone. While the princess went to her father at the usual hour, m lle Bourienne met with Anatole in the winter garden.
Princess Mary approached that day with special trepidation to the door of the study. It seemed to her that not only did everyone know that today the decision of her fate would be made, but that they knew what she thought about it. She read this expression in the face of Tikhon and in the face of the valet Prince Vasily, who met with hot water in the corridor and bowed low to her.
The old prince this morning was extremely affectionate and diligent in his treatment of his daughter. This expression of diligence was well known to Princess Mary. This was the expression that used to appear on his face at those moments when his dry hands clenched into a fist from vexation because Princess Mary did not understand an arithmetical problem, and he, getting up, moved away from her and in a low voice repeated several times the same and the same words.
He immediately got down to business and began the conversation by saying "you."
“They made me a proposition about you,” he said, smiling unnaturally. “I think you guessed,” he continued, “that Prince Vasily came here and brought his pupil with him (for some reason, Prince Nikolai Andreevich called Anatole a pupil) not for my beautiful eyes. I made a proposition about you yesterday. And since you know my rules, I treated you.
“How can I understand you, mon pere?” said the princess, turning pale and blushing.
- How to understand! the father shouted angrily. - Prince Vasily finds you to his liking for his daughter-in-law and makes you a proposition for his pupil. Here's how to understand. How to understand?! ... And I ask you.
“I don’t know about you, mon pere,” the princess said in a whisper.
- I? I? what am I? then leave me aside. I won't get married. What do you? Here is what you want to know.
The princess saw that her father looked at this matter with unkindness, but at that very moment the thought came to her that now or never the fate of her life would be decided. She lowered her eyes so as not to see the look, under the influence of which she felt that she could not think, but could only obey out of habit, and said:
“I desire only one thing - to fulfill your will,” she said, “but if my desire had to be expressed ...
She didn't have time to finish. The prince interrupted her.
“And wonderful,” he shouted. - He will take you with a dowry, and by the way, he will capture m lle Bourienne. She will be a wife, and you ...
The prince stopped. He noticed the effect these words had on his daughter. She lowered her head and was about to cry.
“Well, well, I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he said. - Remember one thing, princess: I adhere to those rules that the girl has every right to choose. And I give you freedom. Remember one thing: the happiness of your life depends on your decision. There is nothing to say about me.
- Yes, I don't know ... mon pere.
- Nothing to say! They tell him, he will marry not only you, whom you want to marry; and you are free to choose ... Come to yourself, think it over and in an hour come to me and say in front of him: yes or no. I know you will pray. Well, please pray. Just think better. Go. Yes or no, yes or no, yes or no! - he shouted even at that time, as the princess, as if in a fog, staggering, had already left the office.
