Ivan Krylov the best fables for children. Ivan Krylov the best fables for children Krylov's first fable title

Krylov Ivan Andreevich (1769-1844) - Russian poet, author of more than 200 fables, publicist, published satirical and educational magazines.

Childhood

Father, Andrey Prokhorovich Krylov, was a poor army officer. When the Pugachev rebellion was pacified in 1772, he was in the service of a dragoon regiment and proved to be a hero, but he did not receive any ranks or medals for this. My father was not particularly trained in sciences, but he knew how to write and read. After retiring, he was transferred to the civil service as chairman of the Tver magistrate. Such a service did not bring a good income, so the family lived very poorly.

The poet's mother, Krylova Maria Alekseevna, was left a widow early. The husband died at the age of 42, the eldest son Ivan was only 9 years old. After the death of the head of the family, the life of the Krylovs became even poorer. Ivan's early childhood years were spent on the road, as the family moved very often as part of his father's service.

Education

Ivan Krylov did not have the opportunity to receive a good education. When he was little, his father taught him to read. The elder Krylov himself was very fond of reading and left a large chest full of books as a legacy to his son.

Wealthy neighbors lived nearby, allowing the boy to attend French lessons taught to their children. So Ivan gradually learned a foreign language. In general, Krylov received all his education mainly due to the fact that he read a lot.

But what attracted him greatly as a teenager was noisy fairs and fist fights, shopping areas and folk gatherings, he liked to hang around among the simple people and listen to what they were talking about. At one time, he even took part in street fights, which were called "wall to wall", the guy himself was very strong and tall, so he often came out the winner.

Labor activity

Due to the fact that the family was in need, Krylov started working very early. In 1777, he was taken to the magistrate of Tver, where his father served until his death, as a subclerk. They paid a penny there, but at least the family did not die of hunger.

In 1782, the mother and sons moved to St. Petersburg to apply for a pension. Here Ivan got a job in the state chamber with a salary of 80-90 rubles.

In 1788, his mother died, and Krylov was completely responsible for raising his younger brother Lev. Ivan Andreevich took care of him all his life as if he were his own son. Work in the state chamber ceased to suit Krylov and he went to work in the Cabinet of Her Majesty (it was an institution like the personal office of the Empress).

Literary activity

In 1784, Krylov wrote his first work, the opera libretto The Coffee House. In the next two years, he composed two more tragedies, Cleopatra and Philomela, followed by the comedies The Mad Family and The Writer in the Hallway. So the young playwright began to work closely with the theater committee, while receiving a free ticket.

The next comedy "Pranksters" was different from the two previous ones, it was already bold, lively and witty in a new way.

In 1788, Krylov's first fables were published in the Morning Hours magazine. They did not receive caustic and sarcastic approval from readers and critics.

Krylov decided to abandon the public service and engage in publishing. For several years he was engaged in the release of satirical magazines:

• "Mail of Spirits";
• "Viewer";
• "St. Petersburg Mercury".

In these magazines he published his fables and some prose works.

The authorities were not too fond of such sarcasm of Krylov, the Empress even suggested that he go abroad for a while. But Ivan Andreevich refused and moved to Zubrilovka, the estate of Prince Golitsyn. There he worked as a secretary, taught children, and also wrote plays for home performances.

Krylov returned to active literary activity in 1806. He arrived in St. Petersburg, where he staged two comedies, Fashion Store and A Lesson for Daughters, one after the other, which were a huge success.

And in 1809, Krylov began to take off as a fabulist. The first collection of his fables included 23 works, among them the famous "Elephant and Pug". The book turned out to be very popular, and readers began to look forward to Krylov's new fables.

Along with this, Ivan Andreevich returned to public service, for almost 30 years he worked in the Imperial Public Library.

More than 200 fables came out from Krylov's pen, in which he denounced both human vices and Russian reality. Each child knows such his works:

• "Wolf and Lamb";
• "A Crow and a fox";
• "Dragonfly and Ant";
• "Swan, Cancer and Pike";
• "Monkey and Glasses";
• "Quartet".

Many expressions from his fables have firmly entered the colloquial Russian speech and have become winged.

last years of life

In the last years of his life, Krylov was in good standing with the tsarist government, received the post of State Councilor and had an ample pension allowance. He became lazy, did not hesitate to be known as a slut and a glutton. We can say that all his talent at the end of his life was dissolved in gourmetism and laziness.

Officially, Krylov was never married, but his contemporaries claimed that he lived in a civil marriage with his cook Fenya, and from him she gave birth to a daughter, Sasha. When Fenya died, Sasha lived in Krylov's house, then he married her off, nursed the kids, and after death wrote off all his fortune to Sasha's husband.

Fox, not seeing Leo's kind,
Having met him, with passions she remained a little alive.
Here, a little later, she again caught a lion,
But it didn't look so scary to her.
And then a third time
The fox started talking with the Lion.
We are also afraid of something else
As long as we don't look at him.

Chizh and Dove

Chizha was slammed by the villainess-trap:
The poor thing in it was torn and rushed about,
And the young Dove mocked him.
“Aren't you ashamed,” he says, “in broad daylight
Gotcha!
Wouldn't have taken me like this:
For this I vouch boldly.”
An, look, he immediately got himself entangled in a snare.
And business!
Do not laugh at someone else's misfortune, Dove.

Wolf and Shepherds

The wolf, closely bypassing the shepherd's yard
And seeing through the fence
That, having chosen the best ram in the herd,
Quietly Shepherds gutting lamb,
And the dogs lie quietly,
He himself said to himself, walking away in annoyance:
"What a fuss you all made here, friends,
When would I do it!”

Waterfall and Stream

Boiling Waterfall, overthrown from the rocks,
He said to the healing key with arrogance
(Which under the mountain was barely noticeable,
But he was famous for his healing power):
“Isn't it strange? You are so small, so poor in water,
Do you always have a lot of guests?
No wonder if someone comes to me to marvel;
Why are they coming to you?" - "treat" -
The brook murmured humbly.

Boy and snake

The boy, thinking to catch an eel,
He grabbed the Serpent and, looking up, from fear
He became as pale as his shirt.
The snake, calmly looking at the Boy:
“Listen,” he says, “if you don’t get smarter,
That insolence is not always easy for you to pass.
This time God will forgive; but watch out ahead
And know who you're joking with!

Sheep and Dogs

In a flock of sheep,
So that the Wolves could no longer disturb them,
It is supposed to multiply the number of Dogs.
Well? Divorced so many of them, finally
That the Sheep from the Wolves, it is true, survived,
But dogs also need to eat.
First, the wool was removed from the Sheep,
And there, by lot, the skins flew from them,
And there were only five or six Sheep left,
And those dogs ate.

Rooster and pearl grain

I will dung up a bunch of tearing,
The Rooster Found the Pearl Seed
And he says: “Where is it?
What an empty thing!
Isn't it stupid that he is so highly valued?
And I would really be much more glad
Grain of Barley: it is not so at least visible,
Yes, satisfying.
***
The ignoramuses judge exactly like this:
What's the point of not understanding, then everything is a trifle for them.

Cloud

Over the side exhausted from the heat
The Big Cloud has passed;
Not a drop of refreshing her alone,
She poured like a big rain over the sea
And she boasted of her generosity before the Mountain,
“What? did good
Are you so generous? -
Mountain told her. -
And it doesn't hurt to look at it!
Whenever you pour your rain on the fields,
You would have saved the whole region from hunger:
And in the sea without you, my friend, there is enough water.

The Peasant and the Fox (Book Eight)

The fox once said to the Peasant:
"Tell me, my dear friend,
How did a horse earn such friendship from you,
What, I see, is she always with you?
In contentment you keep her in the hall;
On the road, you are with her, and often with her in the field;
But of all the animals
She's hardly the dumbest of all." -
“Oh, gossip, the power is not in the mind! -
The peasant answered. - All this is vanity.
My goal is not the same.
I need her to drive me
Yes, to obey the whip.

Fox and grapes

Hungry godmother Fox climbed into the garden;
In it, the grapes were reddened.
The gossip's eyes and teeth flared up;
And brushes juicy, like yachts, burn;
The only problem is that they hang high:
Whence and how she comes to them,
Though the eye sees
Yes, the tooth is numb.
Breaking through the whole hour in vain,
She went and said with annoyance:
"Well!
Looks like he's good
Yes, green - no ripe berries:
You will immediately set the teeth on edge."

Falcon and Worm

At the top of a tree, clinging to a branch,
The worm swung on it.
Above the Worm the Falcon, rushing through the air,
So from a height he joked and scoffed:
“What you, poor thing, did not endure!
What profits that you crawled so high?
What is your will and freedom?
And with a branch you bend where the weather dictates. -

"It's easy for you to joke, -
The worm answers - flying high,
Then, that you are strong and strong with wings;
But fate gave me the wrong dignity:
I'm here on top
The only thing I hold on to is that, fortunately, I am tenacious!

Dog and Horse

Serving one peasant
The Dog and the Horse somehow began to be considered.
“Here,” says Barbos, “the big lady!
For me, if only you were completely driven out of the yard.
Great thing to carry or plow!
Not to hear of your remoteness:
And can you be equal in what with me?
Day or night I do not know peace:
During the day, the herd under my supervision in the meadow,
And at night I guard the house.
“Of course,” the Horse answered, “
Your truthful speech;
However, whenever I plow,
Then there would be nothing for you to guard here.

Mouse and Rat

“Neighbour, have you heard the good word? -
Running in, the Mouse said to the Rat, -
After all, the cat, they say, fell into the claws of a lion?
Now it’s time for us to relax!”
"Do not rejoice, my light, -
The Rat says to her in response, -
And do not hope in empty!
If it reaches their claws,
That's right, the lion will not be alive:
There is no beast stronger than a cat!

How many times have I seen, take it for yourself:
When a coward is afraid of whom,
That thinks that
The whole world looks through his eyes.

Peasant and Robber

Peasant, starting a house committee,
I bought a pail and a cow at the fair
And with them through the oak
Quietly wandered home by a country road,
When suddenly the Robber got caught.
Robber Peeled off the Muzhik like sticky.
“Have mercy,” the Peasant will cry, “I am lost,
You totally got me!
For a whole year I was going to buy a cow:
I've been looking forward to this day."
"Good, don't cry at me, -
He said, complaining, Rogue.
And truly, after all, I can’t milk a cow;
So be it
Take your pail back."

frog and ox

The frog, seeing Ox in the meadow,
She herself ventured to catch up with him in stature:
She was envious.
And well, bristle, puff and pout.
“Look, wah, what, will I be with him?”
Girlfriend says. "No, gossip, far away!" -
“Look how now I swell up widely.
Well, what's it like?
Have I replenished? - "Almost nothing."
"Well, how now?" - "All the same." Puffed and puffed
And my entertainer ended on that
That, not being equal to the Ox,
It burst with an effort and - died.

***
There is more than one example of this in the world:
And is it any wonder when a tradesman wants to live,
As a distinguished citizen
And the fry is small, like a nobleman?

Ivan Andreevich Krylov was born in February 1769 in Moscow, in the family of a poor army officer. Having shown heroism and courage during the pacification of the Pugachev rebellion, Andrei Krylov did not receive any awards and ranks. After retiring, he entered the civil service and moved with his wife and two sons to Tver. The position of chairman of the magistrate did not bring tangible income, the family lived in poverty. Krylov Sr. died in 1778 with the rank of captain. The life of the widow and children (the eldest son Ivan was only 9 years old) became even poorer.

Ivan Andreevich Krylov did not have the opportunity to get a good education. From his father, he adopted a great love of reading, having inherited only a huge chest of books. Wealthy neighbors of the Krylovs allowed Ivan to be present at the French lessons that were given to their children. Thus, Ivan Krylov learned French tolerably well.

The future fabulist set to work very early and learned the hardship of life in poverty. After the death of his father, Ivan was taken as a subclerk to the provincial magistrate of Tver, where Krylov Sr. had previously worked. A penny content allowed, perhaps, not to die of hunger. After 5 years, Ivan Krylov's mother, having taken the children, went to St. Petersburg to petition for a pension and the arrangement of her eldest son for work. So Ivan Krylov received a new position, having settled down as an orderly servant in the state chamber.

Young Krylov, having not received any systematic education, was persistently engaged in self-education. He read a lot, independently learned to play different instruments. At the age of 15, Ivan even wrote a small comic opera, composing couplets for it and calling it "Coffee House". It was his first, albeit unsuccessful, but still debut in literature. The writing language was very rich, to which Krylov owes his love to push among the common people at fairs and various common folk amusements. "Thanks" to poverty, Ivan Andreevich was well acquainted with the life and customs of ordinary people, which was very useful to him in the future.

Creation

The move of Ivan Andreevich Krylov to St. Petersburg coincided with the appearance of a public theater in the city. The young man, drawn to art, immediately visited the opened theater. There he met some artists and from then on lived in the interests of this temple of art. Krylov did not want to seriously pursue a career in the new state service, all his interests were directed in a completely different direction. Therefore, the 18-year-old young man resigned and took up literary activities.

She was unsuccessful at first. Ivan Krylov wrote the tragedy Philomela, imitating the classics. There were some glimmers of talent and free-thinking of the novice author, but in terms of literary "Philomela" was a very mediocre work. But the young writer was not going to stop.

The tragedy was followed by several comedies. "Mad Family", "Pranksters", "The Writer in the Hallway" and others also did not impress readers and critics with talent. But the growth of skill in comparison with the "Philomela" was still noticeable.

The first fables of Ivan Andreevich Krylov were printed without a signature. They appeared in The Morning Hours in 1788. Three works, called "Shameful Player", "The Fate of the Players", "The Newly Granted Donkey", were almost not noticed by readers and did not receive critical approval. They had a lot of sarcasm, causticity, but no skill.

In 1789, Ivan Krylov, together with Rakhmanin, began publishing the journal Spirit Mail. He seeks to revive that strong satire that Novikov's magazines used to show. But the publication is not successful and in the same year stops its publication. But this does not stop Krylov. After 3 years, he creates another magazine with a group of like-minded people, calling it "Spectator". A year later, the magazine "St. Petersburg Mercury" appeared. These publications published some of Krylov's prose works, the most striking of which are the story "Kaib" and the article "Eulogy to my grandfather", a rather bold for its time article, denouncing landlord tyranny.

Journal of Ivan Krylov "Mail of Spirits"

It is not known for certain what caused Ivan Krylov's temporary departure from literary activity, and why he left St. Petersburg. Perhaps some kind of harassment from the authorities began, or maybe a literary failure pushed the writer to leave the city, but until 1806 Krylov almost abandoned writing. In 1806, Krylov returned to active literary activity.

He writes rather talented translations of Lafontaine's fables "The Oak and the Cane", "The Picky Bride" and "The Old Man and the Three Young Ones". Translations with the flattering recommendation of Ivan Dmitriev are printed by the capital's magazine Moscow Spectator. In the same 1806, Ivan Krylov returned to St. Petersburg and staged the comedy Fashion Store. Next year, another one - "Lesson to daughters." Society, which experienced an upsurge of patriotic feelings in connection with the Napoleonic wars, welcomes the performances with great enthusiasm. After all, they ridicule Frenchmania.

In 1809, the real creative takeoff of Ivan Krylov begins. The first edition of his fables, consisting of 23 works (including the well-known "Elephant and Pug"), is very popular. Since then, Krylov has become a famous fabulist, whose new works the public is looking forward to. Ivan Andreevich returns to public service. First, he enters a prominent position in the Mint Department, and after 2 years - in the Imperial Public Library, where he worked from 1812 to 1841.

During this period, Krylov also changed internally. Now he is complacent and restrained. He does not like to quarrel, he is very calm, ironic and more and more lazy. Since 1836, Ivan Krylov no longer writes anything. In 1838, the literary community solemnly celebrates the 50th anniversary of the fabulist's creative work. The writer died in November 1844.

More than 200 fables came out from the pen of Ivan Andreevich Krylov. In some, he denounced Russian reality, in others - human vices, and others - simply poetic anecdotes. A lot of well-aimed Krylov's expressions eventually entered into colloquial speech and enriched the Russian language. His fables are very popular and generally understood. They are aimed at everyone, not just the highly educated intelligentsia. During the life of the author, almost 80 thousand copies of published collections of fables were distributed. At that time - an unprecedented phenomenon. The popularity of Ivan Andreevich Krylov can be compared with lifetime popularity and.

Personal life

There were legends and jokes about the absent-mindedness, careless slovenliness and incredible appetite of Ivan Krylov. It was quite in his spirit to put a night cap in the pocket of his coat instead of a handkerchief, pull it out while in society and blow your nose. Ivan Andreevich was absolutely indifferent to his appearance. It would seem that such a person could not enjoy the attention of the ladies. Nevertheless, the information of his contemporaries has been preserved, claiming that Ivan Krylov's personal life, although not stormy, was certainly not absent.

At 22, he fell in love with the daughter of a priest from the Bryansk district, Anna. The girl answered him in kind. But when the young people decided to get married, Anna's relatives opposed this marriage. They were distantly related to and, moreover, wealthy. Therefore, they refused to marry their daughter to a poor rhymer. But Anna was so sad that her parents finally agreed to marry her off to Ivan Krylov, about which they telegraphed him to St. Petersburg. But Krylov replied that he had no money to come to Bryansk, and asked to bring Anna to him. Native girls were offended by the answer, and the marriage did not take place.

Contemporaries of Ivan Krylov wrote that eminent ladies were not indifferent to the sloppy and extravagant fabulist. Allegedly, he was loved by a ballerina, a former kept woman of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. But the fabulist joked that he was unsuitable for marriage. They say that the empress herself was very sympathetic to the charming fat man. And this despite the fact that Ivan Andreevich dared to appear in front of her in a holey boot, from which a finger was sticking out, and even to sneeze when he kissed the hand of the empress.

Ivan Krylov never married. Officially, he has no children. But contemporaries of the fabulist claimed that Ivan Andreevich still had a common-law wife. It was his housekeeper Fenya. Krylov could not marry her, as society would have condemned him. Nevertheless, Fenya gave birth to a girl, Sasha, who is considered Krylov's illegitimate daughter. That this may be true is evidenced by the fact that after the death of Fenya, Sasha remained to live with Krylov. And after her marriage, Krylov happily nursed her children and rewrote all his property in the name of Alexandra's husband. During the death of Ivan Krylov, Sasha, her husband and two children were at his bedside.

fables

• Dragonfly and Ant
• Swan, Cancer and Pike
• A Crow and a fox
• Wolf and Lamb
• Monkey and Glasses
• Quartet
• Pig under the Oak
• Demyanov's ear
• Leaves and roots
• Picky Bride

We love to read Krylov's fables since childhood. Krylov's images are stored in memory, which often pop up in our heads in various life situations, we turn to them and each time we never cease to be surprised at Krylov's insight.

It happens that you remember the Pug who barks at the Elephant to give the impression of being brave and fearless, or suddenly the Monkey pops up in front of your eyes, which mocked itself, not recognizing the reflection in the Mirror. Laughter, and more! And how often there are meetings that are involuntarily compared with the Monkey, which, out of her own ignorance, not knowing the value of the Points, broke them against a stone. Krylov's little fables are short in size, but not in meaning, because Krylov's word is sharp, and the morals of the fables have long turned into popular expressions. Krylov's fables accompany us through life, become related to us and at any time they will find understanding in us and help us re-realize values.

Krylov is a famous writer. Of all the children's poems and fables - Krylov's works are always the very best, they cut into memory and emerge during life when they meet with human vices. It is often said that, they say, Krylov did not write for children, but is the meaning of his fables not clear to children? Morality is usually clearly written, so even the smallest child can read Krylov's fables with benefit.

On our site, we place the best works of the author in the original presentation, and also highlight morality separately for convenience and better memorization of sometimes philosophical thoughts. Both a child and an adult will find a lot of meaning in these little life stories in which animals symbolize people, their vices and ridiculous behavior. Krylov's fables online are remarkable in that they contain not only text, but also a remarkable picture, easy navigation, informative facts and reasoning. After reading, the author will surely become your favorite, and his life essays in the form of humorous fables will be remembered for many years.

The fabulist led an absolutely open life, talked a lot, printed books one after another and did not shy away from his obesity and laziness. The oddities that happened to Krylov were expressed by him in instructive scenes, the simplicity of which is deceptive. He was not a fabulist, he was a thinker-philosopher, capable of comically describing the shortcomings of people in a stunning form accessible only to him with childish unobtrusiveness and ease. No need to look for satire in Krylov's fables, their value does not end there. The content and meaning is philosophical rather than humorous. In addition to human vices, the truths of being, the foundations of behavior and relationships between people are presented in an easy form. Each fable is a combination of wisdom, morality and humor.

Start reading Krylov's fables to your child from an early age. They will show him what to watch out for in life, what behavior others condemn and what they can encourage. The laws of life according to Krylov are natural and wise, he despises artificiality and self-interest. Morality, cleansed of any impurities and trends, is understandable and concise, contains a division between right and wrong. The remarkable manner of writing has led to the fact that each morality has become a folk proverb or a cheerful aphorism. The works are written in such a language that, although they look like literary forms, they actually carry the intonations and mockery inherent only in the great folk mind. Krylov's little fables changed the general view of this genre. Innovation manifested itself in realism, a philosophical note and worldly wisdom. Fables have become small novels, sometimes dramas, in which the accumulated wisdom and cunning of the mind manifested itself over the centuries. It is remarkable that with all this, the author did not turn the fable into a satirical poem, but managed to preserve a deep meaningful part, consisting of a short story and morality.

Krylov's fable penetrated the essence of things, the characters' characters and became a genre almost unattainable by other authors. Despite the satire, the fabulist loved life in all its manifestations, only he would very much like simple and natural truths to finally replace low passions. The fable genre under his pen has become so high and refined that, after re-reading the fables of other authors, you will understand that there is no other like it, and it is unlikely to be.

In the section of Krylov's fables online, we invite you to get acquainted with folk wisdom. Short philosophical works will not leave indifferent neither children nor adults.

It is a work in verse or prose, which is satirical in nature. Any fable begins or ends with moralizing phrases, which in literary circles are usually called morality. The main characters of such works are people, birds, animals, plants, inanimate objects.

From the history of fables

The first fabulist is considered to be Aesop, who lived in Ancient Greece in the VI-V centuries. BC e. Among the Romans, Phaedrus (1st century AD) was a famous author of satirical works. The 17th century gave France and the whole world the talented fabulist Jean de La Fontaine. In Russia, the most famous writer of moralistic poetic works was Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769-1844). The poet wrote 236 fables during his life, which were published in 9 collections during his lifetime. In his satirical creations, Ivan Andreevich touched the whole of Russia: from ordinary peasants to nobles and the tsar. Some of Krylov's fables in their plots have something in common with the works of Aesop and La Fontaine. There are also completely original stories in his work, the content of which has not been found anywhere else.

Heroes of stories

Every Russian person has known Ivan Krylov since childhood. His fables are written in an accessible language using phraseological units, sayings and proverbs. Their stories are distinguished by the reliability of what is happening and touch on topical topics. Greed, stupidity, vanity, hypocrisy, mental limitations and other human vices are presented in the poet's works in the most unattractive form. Although the heroes of Krylov's fables are mostly animals, the author has always associated their images with people. His satire ridicules idle nobles, judges, officials, bureaucrats, doing their dirty deeds with impunity. Emperor Alexander I also inherited from the work of Ivan Andreevich: he is not presented in the best possible way in the form of the king of beasts, a lion, in the fables “Motley Sheep” and “Fish Dance”. In contrast to the nobility and rich people, Krylov sympathizes with the poor, suffering from lawlessness and serfdom.

Feature of the poet's works

Krylov's fables are short satirical literary creations that are distinguished by a fascinating plot, dynamism, realistic dialogues, and psychological authenticity of the characters' images. Some of his satires describe everyday scenes (“The Merchant”, “Two Men”), others are allegories (“Wild Goats”), and others are pamphlets (“Pike”, “Motley Sheep”). Krylov also has stories in poetic form (“Mot and Swallow”). The uniqueness of the poet's fables lies in the fact that, despite their more than respectable age, they have not lost their relevance today. And this is not surprising, because human vices do not change over time.

Characteristics of the "Quartet"

The fable "Quartet" is familiar to everyone. Krylov was pushed into her mind by ignoramuses who do not take up their own business. The plot of the fable, written in 1811, is quite simple: a monkey, a bear, a donkey and a goat decided to organize a musical quartet. But no matter how hard they tried to play the instruments, no matter how many times they changed seats, nothing worked out for them. The heroes of the fable did not take into account the most important thing: one desire is not enough to become musicians. To do this, you still need to know at least musical notation and play the instruments. In the phrase of the nightingale, who became an accidental witness to the unsuccessful attempts of the quartet to play, the moral of the whole fable lies: no matter how they sit down, they still will not turn out to be musicians.

Krylov's fable "Quartet" refers not only to unfortunate musicians. The poet in it expressed the idea that skill and talent are necessary in all endeavors that a person undertakes. Often people overestimate their abilities and grab onto overwhelming things, being sure that they will succeed without knowledge and preliminary preparation. Vanity, self-confidence and boastfulness cover their eyes with a veil, and they do not want to understand one thing: any occupation needs to be trained, and this requires a long time and talent. In his work, the author openly laughs at fools and talkers, whose words disagree with their deeds. The heroes of the Quartet fable personify the author's political figures of those times who lacked the professionalism to make the right decisions.

A few words about "Swan, cancer and pike"

Considering Krylov's fables, one cannot ignore his famous satirical creation The Swan, Crayfish and Pike (1814). In the plot of the work, there is a subtle allusion to the events taking place in those days in Russia - the indignation of the Russian people with the discord that reigned in the State Council. The fable begins with a short three-line edification, the meaning of which lies in a simple truth: if there is no agreement among friends, then no matter what they undertake, they will not succeed. It was in the introduction that Krylov expressed the moral of the fable. This is followed by the story itself about how a pike, a crayfish and a swan harnessed to the cart, but could not budge it, because each of them pulled it in its own direction. The fable is one of the most famous creations of the poet, it became popular during his lifetime and remains so to this day. The last line of the fable “and things are still there” turned into a catchphrase symbolizing the lack of unity in thoughts and actions, and the main characters of the poem became the heroes of numerous caricatures.

The modern school curriculum always includes Ivan Krylov. His fables are easy to understand and therefore understandable to children of all ages. With particular interest, the younger generation reads "To the Crow and the Fox", written by the author in 1807. The creation of Krylov's work was inspired by the work of Aesop, Phaedrus, La Fontaine and other fabulists who had already used a similar plot with a fox and a crow. The summary of the fable is as follows: a crow somewhere got a piece of cheese and flew up a tree in order to eat it. A fox running past liked the delicacy, and she wanted to lure him out of the bird. Sitting under a tree, the cheat began to ask the crow to sing, praising her vocal abilities in every possible way. The bird succumbed to flattering speeches, croaked and the cheese fell out of its beak. The fox grabbed him and ran away. The moral of the fable sounds in its first lines: with the help of flattery, a person will always achieve his goal.

Other notable fables

The moral of Krylov's fables is clear to everyone. In the work "Dragonfly and Ant" its meaning lies in the fact that one who does not think about tomorrow runs the risk of remaining hungry, cold and without a roof over his head. Krylov sings of industriousness in his creation and mocks carelessness, stupidity and laziness.

The moral of the fable "Monkey Glasses" is that people who do not understand the business they are taking on look ridiculous. In a satirical work, ignoramuses are ridiculed in the image of a monkey, and glasses are identified with knowledge. People who do not understand anything in science and take up it will only make others laugh with their stupidity.

Despite the fact that Krylov's fables are short, they very clearly reflect the author's attitude to all kinds of human shortcomings. Oddly enough, but after two centuries that have passed since the writing of the poet's works, nothing has changed in society, so they can still be used today as moralizing stories and educate the younger generation on them.