home › This is interesting › Silver hoof - Bazhov P.P. Online reading of the book Silver Hoof Pavel Petrovich Bazhov

Silver hoof - Bazhov P.P. Online reading of the book Silver Hoof Pavel Petrovich Bazhov

Pavel Bazhov

silver hoof

Recently, the family of Grigory Potopaev was orphaned on Glinka. The clerk ordered the older girls to be taken to the master's needlework, but no one needs one girl in the sixth year. Here you take it.

It's not good for me with a girl. Boy would be better. I would teach him my business, I would raise an accomplice. How about the girl? What am I going to teach her?

Then he thought and thought and said:

I knew Gregory and his wife too. Both were funny and smart. If a girl goes after her parents, she will not be sad in the hut. I'll take her. Will it just go?

Neighbors explain:

She has a bad life. The clerk gave the hut to Grigoriev to someone and ordered the orphan to be fed until she grows up. And he has a family of more than a dozen. They don't eat enough. Here the hostess eats up the orphan, reproaches her with a piece. Even though she is small, she understands. It's a shame for her. How can one not go from such a life! Yes, and persuade, come on.

And that's true, - answers Kokovanya, - I'll persuade you somehow.

On a holiday, he came to those people with whom the orphan lived. He sees that the hut is full of people, big and small. On the trestle bed, by the stove, a girl is sitting, and next to her is a brown cat. The girl is small, and the cat is small and so thin and skinned that rarely anyone will let her into the hut. The girl strokes this cat, and she purrs so loudly that you can hear it all over the hut.

Kokovanya looked at the girl and asked:

Is that Grigoriev's gift to you?

The hostess replies:

She is the most. Not only one, so she picked up a tattered cat somewhere. We can't drive away. She scratched all my guys, and even feed her!

Kokovanya and says:

Unkind, apparently, your guys. She's purring.

Then he asks the orphan:

Well, how, darling, will you come to live with me?

The girl was surprised

You, grandfather, how did you know that my name is Darenka?

Yes, - he answers, - it just happened. I didn’t think, I didn’t guess, I accidentally hit it.

Who are you? - the girl asks.

I, says, like a hunter. In the summer I wash the sands, mine gold, and in the winter I run through the forests for a goat and I can’t see everything.

Will you shoot him?

No, - answers Kokovanya. - I shoot simple goats, but I won’t do this. I have to look at the hunt, in which place he stomps with his right front leg.

What is it for you?

But if you come to live with me, I’ll tell you everything,” Kokovanya answered.

The girl was curious about the goat to find out. And then he sees - the old man is cheerful and affectionate. She says:

I'll go. Only you take this cat Murenka too. Look how good.

About this, - answers Kokovanya, - what to say. Do not take such a sonorous cat - you will remain a fool. Instead of a balalaika, she will be in our hut.

The owner hears their conversation. Radehonka is glad that Kokovanya is calling the orphan to her. I quickly began to collect Darenka's belongings. Afraid lest the old man change his mind.

The cat seems to understand the whole conversation too. Rubs at the nail and purrs:

Correctly figured it out. Correct.

So Kokovanya took the orphan to live with him.

He himself is big and bearded, and she is tiny and has a small nose with a button. They are walking down the street, and a skinned cat jumps after them.

So the grandfather Kokovanya, the orphan Darenka and the cat Murenka began to live together. They lived and lived, they didn’t make much good, but they didn’t cry for life, and everyone had a job.

Kokovanya left for work in the morning. Darenka cleaned up in the hut, cooked stew and cooked porridge, and the cat Murenka went hunting - she caught mice. By the evening they will gather, and they will have fun.

The old man was a master of telling fairy tales, Darenka loved to listen to those tales, and the cat Murenka lies and purrs:

Correctly says. Correct.

Only after every fairy tale will Darenka remind you:

Dedo, tell me about the goat. What is he?

Kokovanya made excuses at first, then he said:

That goat is special. He has a silver hoof on his right front foot. In what place he stomps with this hoof - there an expensive stone will appear. Once he stomps - one stone, two stomps - two stones, and where he starts to beat with his foot - there is a pile of expensive stones.

He said this, and was not happy. From that time on, Darenka's only conversation was about this goat.

Grandpa, is he big?

Kokovanya told her that the goat was not taller than the table, the legs were thin, and the head was light. And Darenka asks again:

Grandpa, does he have horns?

The horns, - he answers, - are excellent. Simple goats have two branches, and he has five branches.

Grandpa, who does he eat?

No one, - answers, - does not eat. It feeds on grass and leaves. Well, hay also eats up in stacks in winter.

Grandpa, what kind of fur does he have?

In summer, - he answers, - brown, like our Murenka, and gray in winter.

Grandpa, is he stuffy?

Kokovanya even got angry:

What stuffy? There are such domestic goats, and a forest goat, he smells like a forest.

Kokovanya began to gather in the forest in the fall. He should have looked in which direction the goats graze more. Darenka and let's ask:

Take me, grandfather, with you. Maybe I can even see that goat from afar.

Kokovanya and explains to her:

You can't see it from a distance. All goats have horns in autumn. You can't figure out how many branches they have. In winter, it's a different matter. Simple goats go without horns, but this one. Silver hoof, always with horns, even in summer, even in winter. Then it can be recognized from a distance.

This is what he answered. Darenka remained at home, but Kokovanya went into the woods.

Five days later, Kokovanya returned home, tells Darenka:

Now in the Poldnevsky side a lot of goats graze. I will go there in the winter.

But how, - asks Darenka, - will you spend the night in the forest in winter?

There, - he answers, - I have a winter booth near the mowing spoons. A good farce, with a hearth, with a window. It's good there.

Darenka asks again:

Is the silver hoof grazing in the same direction?

Who knows. Maybe he's there too.

Darenka is here and let's ask:

Take me, grandfather, with you. I'll sit in the booth Maybe the Silver Hoof will come close - I'll take a look.

The old man waved his hands.

What you! What you! Is it a good thing for a little girl to walk through the woods in winter! You have to ski, but you don't know how. Load it up in the snow. How will I be with you? You will still freeze!

Only Darenka does not lag behind:

Take it, grandfather! I don't know much about skiing.

Kokovanya dissuaded, dissuaded, then he thought to himself:

“Bring it together? Once he visits, he will not be asked for another.

Here he says:

Okay, I'll take it. Only, mind you, don’t roar in the forest and don’t ask to go home until the time.

As winter entered in full force, they began to gather in the forest. Kokovanya laid two sacks of breadcrumbs on a hand sledge, stocked him with hunting supplies and other things he needed. Darenka also tied a knot on herself. Patchwork took the doll to sew a dress, a ball of thread, a needle, and even a rope.

“Is it possible,” he thinks, “to catch the Silver Hoof with this rope?”

It’s a pity for Darenka to leave her cat, but what can you do. Stroking the cat goodbye, talking to her:

We, Murenka, will go to the forest with my grandfather, and you sit at home, catch mice. As soon as we see the Silver Hoof, we will return. I'll tell you everything then.

The cat looks slyly, and purrs herself:

Correctly figured it out. Correct.

Let Kokovanya and Darenka go. All neighbors marvel:

The old man is out of his mind! He took such a little girl into the woods in winter!

As soon as Kokovanya and Darenka began to leave the factory, they heard that the little dogs were very worried about something. They raised such barking and squealing, as if they saw an animal on the streets. They looked around - and this is Murenka running in the middle of the street, fighting off the dogs. Murenka had recovered by that time. Big and healthy. Dogs don't even dare to approach her.

Darenka wanted to catch the cat and take it home, but where are you! Murenka ran to the forest, and to the pine tree. Go get it!

Darenka shouted, but she could not lure the cat. What to do? Let's move on. They look - Murenka runs sideways. And so I got to the booth.

So there were three of them in the booth. Darenka boasts:

It's more fun that way.

Kokovanya agrees:

Known to be more fun.

And the cat Murenka curled up in a ball by the stove and purrs loudly:

There were a lot of goats that winter. It's simple. Kokovanya dragged one or two to the booth every day. They accumulated skins, salted goat meat - they couldn’t be taken away on hand sleds. We should go to the factory for a horse, but how to leave Darenka with a cat in the forest! And Darenka got used to it in the forest. She says to the old man:

Dedo, you should go to the factory for a horse. You have to take the corned beef home.

Kokovanya was even surprised:

What a wise man you are, Darya Grigoryevna. How big judged. Just be afraid, come on, alone.

What, - answers, - to be afraid. Our farce is strong, the wolves cannot achieve. And Murenka is with me. I'm not afraid. And you quickly turn around all the same!

Kokovanya left. Darenka remained with Murenka. During the day, it was customary to sit without Kokovani while he tracked the goats ... As it began to get dark, I became afraid. Just looking - Murenka lies calmly. Darenka and cheered up. She sat down by the window, looked in the direction of the slanting spoons and saw - some kind of lump was rolling through the forest. As it rolled closer, I saw it was a goat running. The legs are thin, the head is light, and on the horns there are five branches.

Darenka ran out to look, but no one was there. She turned back and said:

Apparently, I dozed off. It seemed to me.

Murenka purrs:

You speak right. Correct.

Darenka lay down next to the cat, and fell asleep until the morning.

Another day has passed. Kokovanya did not return. Darenka became bored, but did not cry. Stroking Murenka and saying:

Do not be bored, Murenushka! Tomorrow grandfather will certainly come.

Murenka sings his song:

You speak right. Correct.

Again Darenushka sat by the window and admired the stars. I wanted to go to bed, suddenly a clatter passed along the wall. Darenka was frightened, and there was a clatter along the other wall, then along the one where the window was, then where the door was, and there was a rattling from above. Not loudly, as if someone light and fast walks.

Darenka thinks:

“Didn’t that goat yesterday come running?”

And before that she wanted to see that fear did not hold. She opened the door, looked, and the goat was here, quite close. He raised his right front leg - he stomps, and on it a silver hoof glistens, and the horns of a goat have five branches. Darenka does not know what to do, and beckons him like a home:

Me-ka! Me-ka!

The goat laughed at this. Turned around and ran.

Darenushka came to the booth, tells Murenka:

I looked at the Silver Hoof. And I saw the horns, and I saw the hoof. I didn’t see only how that goat knocks out expensive stones with his foot. Another time, apparently, will show.

Murenka, know, sings his song:

You speak right. Correct.

The third day has passed, but Kokovani is gone. Darenka was completely clouded. Tears were buried. I wanted to talk to Murenka, but she was not there. Then Darenushka was completely frightened, ran out of the booth to look for the cat.

The night is monthly, bright, far visible. Darenka looks - a cat is sitting close on a slanting spoon, and a goat is in front of her. He stands, raised his leg, and on it a silver hoof glistens.

Murenka shakes his head, and so does the goat. It's like they're talking. Then they began to run along the mowing spoons. A goat is running, stop and let's beat with a hoof. Murenka will run up, the goat will bounce further and beat with its hoof again. For a long time they ran along the mowing spoons. They were not visible. Then they returned to the booth itself.

Then the goat jumped onto the roof and let's hit it with a silver hoof. Like sparks, pebbles fell from under the legs. Red, blue, green, turquoise - all sorts.

By this time, just Kokovanya returned. Can't recognize his booth. All of it has become like a heap of expensive stones. So it burns and shimmers with different lights. A goat stands at the top - and everything beats and beats with a silver hoof, and the stones roll in and roll out. Suddenly Murenka jumped there too. She stood next to the goat, meowed loudly, and neither Murenka nor Silver Hoof was gone.

Kokovanya immediately raked up half a hat of stones, but Darenka asked:

Don't touch it, grandfather, we'll have another look at it tomorrow afternoon.

Kokovanya obeyed. Only in the morning, a lot of snow fell. All the stones fell asleep. Then they raked the snow, but found nothing. Well, that was enough for them, how much Kokovanya got into his hat.

Everything would be fine, but Murenka is a pity. She was never seen again, and Silverhoof didn't show up either. Amuse once - and will be.

And on those slanting spoons where the goat rode, people began to find pebbles. More green ones. They are called chrysolites. Did you see?

Dear friend, we want to believe that reading the fairy tale "Silver Hoof" by P. P. Bazhov will be interesting and exciting for you. Everyday problems are an incredibly successful way, with the help of simple, ordinary examples, to convey to the reader the most valuable centuries-old experience. Loyalty, friendship and self-sacrifice and other positive feelings overcome everything that opposes them: malice, deceit, lies and hypocrisy. How charmingly and penetratingly the description of nature, mythical creatures and life of the people was transmitted from generation to generation. Reading such creations in the evening, the pictures of what is happening become more vivid and rich, filled with a new range of colors and sounds. Probably due to the inviolability of human qualities in time, all morality, morality and issues remain relevant at all times and epochs. With the virtuosity of a genius, portraits of heroes are depicted, their appearance, rich inner world, they "breathe life" into creation and the events taking place in it. The fairy tale "Silver Hoof" Bazhov P. P. read for free online will be fun for both children and their parents, kids will be happy with a good ending, and moms and dads are happy for the kids!

There lived an old man in our factory alone, nicknamed Kokovanya. Kokovani had no family left, and he came up with the idea of taking an orphan as a child. I asked the neighbors if they knew anyone, and the neighbors said:
- Recently, the family of Grigory Potopaev was orphaned on Glinka. The clerk ordered the older girls to be taken to the master's needlework, but no one needs one girl in the sixth year. Here you take it.
- It's not good for me with a girl. Boy would be better. I would teach him my business, I would raise an accomplice. How about the girl? What am I going to teach her?
Then he thought and thought and said:
- I knew Grigory and his wife too. Both were funny and smart. If a girl goes after her parents, she will not be sad in the hut. I'll take her. Will it just go?
Neighbors explain:
She has a bad life. The clerk gave the hut to Grigoriev to some goryuny and ordered for this to feed the orphan until she grows up. And he has a family of more than a dozen. They don't eat enough on their own. Here the hostess eats at the orphan, reproaches her with a piece. Even though she is small, she understands. It's a shame for her. How can one not go from such a life! Yes, and persuade, come on.
- And that's true, - answers Kokovanya, - I'll persuade you somehow.
On a holiday, he came to those people with whom the orphan lived. He sees that the hut is full of people, big and small. On a golbchik, by the stove, a girl is sitting, and next to her is a brown cat. The girl is small, and the cat is small and so thin and skinned that rarely anyone will let her into the hut. The girl strokes this cat, and she purrs so loudly that you can hear it all over the hut.
Kokovanya looked at the girl and asked:
- Is this a gift from Grigoriev? The hostess replies:
- She is the best. Not only one, so I picked up a tattered cat somewhere. We can't drive away. She scratched all my guys, and even feed her!
- Unkind, apparently, your guys. She's purring. Then he asks the orphan:
- Well, how, darling, will you come to live with me? The girl was surprised
- You, grandfather, how did you know that my name is Darenka?
- Yes, - he answers, - it just happened. I didn’t think, I didn’t guess, I accidentally hit it.
— Who are you? the girl asks.
“I,” he says, “is like a hunter. In the summer I wash the sands, mine gold, and in the winter I run through the forests for a goat, but I can’t see everything.
- Will you shoot him?
“No,” Kokovanya answers. - I shoot simple goats, but I won’t do this. I have to look at the hunt, in which place he stomps with his right front leg.
- What is it for you?
“But if you come to live with me, I’ll tell you everything,” replied Kokovanya.
The girl was curious about the goat to find out. And then he sees - the old man is cheerful and affectionate. She says:
- I'll go. Only you take this cat Murenka too. Look how good.
“About that,” Kokovanya answers, “what can I say. Do not take such a sonorous cat - you will remain a fool. Instead of a balalaika, she will be in our hut.
The owner hears their conversation. Radehonka is glad that Kokovanya is calling the orphan to her. I quickly began to collect Darenka's belongings. Afraid lest the old man change his mind.
The cat seems to understand the whole conversation too. It rubs at the feet and purrs:
- Right thought. Correct. So Kokovanya took the orphan to live with him. He himself is big and bearded, and she is tiny and has a small nose with a button. They are walking down the street, and a skinned cat is jumping after them.
So the grandfather Kokovanya, the orphan Darenka and the cat Murenka began to live together. They lived and lived, they didn’t make much good, but they didn’t cry for life, and everyone had a job.
Kokovanya went to work in the morning, Darenka cleaned the hut, cooked stew and porridge, and the cat Murenka went hunting and caught mice. By the evening they will gather, and they will have fun. The old man was a master of telling fairy tales, Darenka loved to listen to those tales, and the cat Murenka lies and purrs:
- He speaks correctly. Correct.
Only after every fairy tale will Darenka remind you:
- Dedo, tell me about the goat. What is he? Kokovanya made excuses at first, then he said:
That goat is special. He has a silver hoof on his right front foot. In what place he stomps with this hoof - there an expensive stone will appear. Once he stomps - one stone, two stomps - two stones, and where he starts to beat with his foot - there is a pile of expensive stones.
He said yes and was not happy. From that time on, Darenka's only conversation was about this goat.
- Grandpa, is he big?
Kokovanya told her that the goat was not taller than the table, the legs were thin, and the head was light. And Darenka asks again:
- Grandpa, does he have horns?
“Horns,” he answers, “he has excellent ones. Simple goats have two branches, and he has five branches.
- Grandfather, who does he eat?
“No one,” he answers, “does not eat. It feeds on grass and leaves. Well, hay also eats up in stacks in winter.
- Grandfather, what kind of fur does he have?
- In summer, - he answers, - brown, like our Murenka, and gray in winter.
- Grandfather, is he stuffy? Kokovanya even got angry:
- How stuffy! There are such domestic goats, and a forest goat, he smells like a forest.
Kokovanya began to gather in the forest in the fall. He should have looked in which direction the goats graze more. Darenka and let's ask:
- Take me, grandfather, with you. Maybe I can even see that goat from afar.
Kokovanya and explains to her:
- You can't see it from a distance. All goats have horns in autumn. You can't figure out how many branches they have. In winter, it's a different matter. Simple goats go without horns, but this one, the Silver Hoof, always has horns, even in summer, even in winter. Then it can be recognized from a distance.
This is what he answered. Darenka remained at home, but Kokovanya went into the woods.
Five days later, Kokovanya returned home, tells Darenka:
“Now there are a lot of goats grazing in Poldnevskaya side. I will go there in the winter.
“But how,” Darenka asks, “will you spend the night in the forest in winter?”
- There, - he answers, - I have a winter booth near the mowing spoons. A good farce, with a hearth, with a window. It's good there.
Darenka asks again:
“A silver hoof grazes in the same direction?”
- Who knows. Maybe he's there too. Darenka is here and let's ask:
- Take me, grandfather, with you. I will sit in the booth. Maybe Silverhoof will come close, I'll see.
The old man waved his hands.
- What you! What you! Is it a good thing for a little girl to walk through the woods in winter! You have to ski, but you don't know how. Load it up in the snow. How will I be with you? You will still freeze!
Only Darenka does not lag behind:
- Take it, grandfather! I don't know much about skiing. Kokovanya dissuaded, dissuaded, then he thought to himself:
"Is it possible to reduce? Once he visits, he will not be asked for another." Here he says:
- Okay, I'll take it. Only, mind you, don’t roar in the forest and don’t ask to go home until the time.
As winter entered in full force, they began to gather in the forest.
Kokovanya laid two sacks of breadcrumbs on a hand sledge, stocked him with hunting supplies and other things he needed. Darenka also tied a knot on herself. Patchwork took the doll to sew a dress, a ball of thread, a needle, and even a rope.
“Is it possible,” he thinks, “to catch the Silver Hoof with this rope?”
It’s a pity for Darenka to leave her cat, but what can you do. Stroking the cat goodbye, talking to her:
- We, Murenka, with the grandfather will go to the forest, and you sit at home, catch mice. As soon as we see the Silver Hoof, we will return. I'll tell you everything then.
The cat looks slyly, and purrs herself:
- I guessed it right. Correct.
Let Kokovanya and Darenka go. All neighbors marvel:
“The old man is out of his mind!” He took such a little girl into the woods in winter!
As soon as Kokovanya and Darenka began to leave the factory, they heard that the little dogs were very worried about something. They raised such barking and squealing, as if they saw an animal on the streets. They looked around - and this is Murenka running in the middle of the street, fighting off the dogs. Murenka had recovered by that time. Big and healthy. Dogs don't even dare to approach her.
Darenka wanted to catch the cat and take it home, but where are you! Murenka ran to the forest and even to the pine tree. Go get it!
Darenka shouted, she could not lure the cat. What to do? Let's move on.
They look - Murenka runs sideways. And so I got to the booth.
So there were three of them in the booth. Darenka boasts:
- It's more fun that way. Kokovanya agrees:
- It's more fun, you know.
And the cat Murenka curled up in a ball by the stove and purrs loudly:

There were a lot of goats that winter. It's simple. Kokovanya dragged one or two to the booth every day. They accumulated skins, salted goat meat - they couldn’t be taken away on hand sleds. We should go to the factory for a horse, but how to leave Darenka with a cat in the forest! And Darenka got used to it in the forest. She says to the old man:
- Dedo, you should go to the factory for a horse. You have to take the corned beef home. Kokovanya was even surprised:
- What a sensible person you are, Darya Grigorievna! How big judged. Just be afraid, come on, alone.
- What, - answers, - to be afraid. Our farce is strong, the wolves cannot achieve. And Murenka is with me. I'm not afraid. And you quickly turn around all the same!
Kokovanya left. Darenka remained with Murenka. During the day, it was customary to sit without Kokovani while he tracked the goats ... As it began to get dark, I became afraid. Just looking - Murenka lies calmly. Darenka and cheered up. She sat down by the window, looked in the direction of the slanting spoons and saw - some kind of lump was rolling through the forest. As I rolled closer, I saw that it was a goat running. The legs are thin, the head is light, and on the horns there are five branches.
Darenka ran out to look, but no one was there. She turned back and said:
“Looks like I fell asleep. It seemed to me. Murenka purrs:
- You speak right. Correct. Darenka lay down next to the cat and fell asleep until the morning. Another day has passed. Kokovanya did not return. Darenka became bored, but did not cry. Stroking Murenka and saying:
- Do not be bored, Murenushka! Tomorrow grandfather will certainly come.
Murenka sings his song:
- You speak right. Correct.
Again Darenushka sat by the window and admired the stars. I wanted to go to bed, suddenly a clatter passed along the wall. Darenka was frightened, and there was a clatter on the other wall, then on the one where the window was, then on the one where the door was, and there was a rattling from above. Not loudly, as if someone light and fast walks. Darenka thinks:
"Didn't that goat yesterday come running?"
And before that she wanted to see that fear did not hold. She opened the door, looked, and the goat was there, quite close. He lifted his right front leg - now he stomps, and on it a silver hoof glistens, and the goat's horns are about five branches. Darenka does not know what to do, and beckons him like a home:
- Me-ka! Me-ka!
The goat laughed at this. Turned around and ran.
Darenushka came to the booth, tells Murenka:
I looked at Silverhoof. And I saw the horns, and I saw the hoof. I didn’t see only how that goat knocks out expensive stones with his foot. Another time, apparently, will show.
Murenka, know, sings his song:
- You speak right. Correct.
The third day has passed, but Kokovani is gone. Darenka was completely clouded. Tears were buried. I wanted to talk to Murenka, but she was not there. Then Darenushka was completely frightened, ran out of the booth to look for the cat.
The night is monthly, bright, far visible. Darenka looks - a cat is sitting close on a slanting spoon, and a goat is in front of her. He stands, raised his leg, and on it a silver hoof glistens.
Murenka shakes his head, and so does the goat. It's like they're talking. Then they began to run along the mowing spoons. The goat runs and runs, stops and starts to beat with a hoof. Murenka will run up, the goat will bounce further and beat with its hoof again. For a long time they ran along the mowing spoons. They were not visible. Then they returned to the booth itself.
Then the goat jumped onto the roof and let's hit it with a silver hoof. Like sparks, pebbles fell from under the legs. Red, blue, green, turquoise - all sorts.
By this time, just Kokovanya returned. Can't recognize his booth. All of it has become like a heap of expensive stones. So it burns and shimmers with different lights. A goat stands at the top - and everything beats and beats with a silver hoof, and the stones roll and roll. Suddenly Murenka jumped there too. She stood next to the goat, meowed loudly, and neither Murenka nor Silver Hoof was gone.
Kokovanya immediately raked up half a hat of stones, but Darenka asked:
- Don't touch it, grandfather! We'll take another look at that tomorrow afternoon.
Kokovanya obeyed. Only in the morning, a lot of snow fell. All the stones fell asleep. Then they raked the snow, but found nothing. Well, that was enough for them, how much Kokovanya got into his hat.
Everything would be fine, but Murenka is a pity. She was never seen again, and Silverhoof didn't show up either. Amuse once - and will be.
And on those slanting spoons where the goat rode, people began to find pebbles. More green ones. They are called chrysolites. Did you see?

silver hoof

An old man lived in our factory alone, nicknamed Kokovanya. Kokovani had no family left, and he came up with the idea of taking an orphan as a child. I asked the neighbors - do they know anyone, and the neighbors say:

- Recently, the family of Grigory Potopaev was orphaned on Glinka. The clerk ordered the older girls to be taken to the master's needlework, but no one needs one girl in the sixth year. Here you take it.

- It's not convenient for me with a girl. Boy would be better. I would teach him my business, I would raise an accomplice. How about the girl? What am I going to teach her?

Then he thought and thought and said:

- I knew Grigory, and his wife too. Both were funny and smart. If a girl goes after her parents, she will not be sad in the hut. I'll take her. Will it just go?

Neighbors explain:

She has a bad life. The clerk gave the hut to Grigoriev to some goryuny and ordered for this to feed the orphan until she grows up. And he has a family of more than a dozen. They don't eat enough on their own. Here the hostess eats up the orphan, reproaches her with a piece. Even though she is small, she understands. It's a shame for her. How can one not go from such a life! Yes, and persuade, come on.

“And that’s true,” Kokovanya answers, “I’ll persuade you somehow.”

On a holiday, he came to those people with whom the orphan lived. He sees that the hut is full of people, big and small. On a golbchik, by the stove, a girl is sitting, and next to her is a brown cat. The girl is small, and the cat is small and so thin and skinned that rarely anyone will let her into the hut. The girl strokes this cat, and she purrs so loudly that you can hear it all over the hut.

Kokovanya looked at the girl and asked:

- Is this a gift from you Grigorieva?

The hostess replies:

- She is the best. Not only one, so I picked up a tattered cat somewhere. We can't drive away. She scratched all my guys, and even feed her!

Kokovanya and says:

- Unkind, apparently, your guys. She's purring.

Then he asks the orphan:

- Well, how, darling, will you come to live with me?

The girl was surprised

- You, grandfather, how did you know that my name is Darenka?

- Yes, - he answers, - it just happened. I didn’t think, I didn’t guess, I accidentally hit it.

– Who are you? the girl asks.

“I,” he says, “is like a hunter. In the summer I wash the sands, mine gold, and in the winter I run through the forests for a goat and I can’t see everything.

- Will you shoot him?

“No,” Kokovanya answers. - I shoot simple goats, but I won’t do this. I have to look at the hunt, in which place he stomps with his right front leg.

- What is it for you?

“But if you come to live with me, I’ll tell you everything,” Kokovanya answered.

The girl was curious about the goat to find out. And then he sees - the old man is cheerful and affectionate. She says:

- I'll go. Only you take this cat Murenka too. Look how good.

- About this, - answers Kokovanya, - what to say. You can’t take such a sonorous cat - you will remain a fool. Instead of a balalaika, she will be in our hut.

The owner hears their conversation. Radehonka is glad that Kokovanya is calling the orphan to her. I quickly began to collect Darenka's belongings. Afraid lest the old man change his mind.

The cat seems to understand the whole conversation too. It rubs at the feet and purrs:

- I guessed right. Correct.

So Kokovanya took the orphan to live with him.

He himself is big and bearded, and she is tiny and has a small nose with a button. They are walking down the street, and a skinned cat jumps after them.

The old man was a master of telling fairy tales, Darenka loved to listen to those tales, and the cat Murenka lies and purrs:

- He speaks correctly. Correct.

Only after every fairy tale will Darenka remind you:

- Grandfather, tell me about the goat. What is he?

Kokovanya made excuses at first, then he said:

He said this, and was not happy. From that time on, Darenka's only conversation was about this goat.

- Grandpa, is he big?

Kokovanya told her that the goat was not taller than the table, the legs were thin, and the head was light.

And Darenka asks again:

- Grandfather, does he have horns?

“Horns,” he answers, “he has excellent ones. Simple goats have two branches, and he has five branches.

- Grandfather, who does he eat?

“No one,” he answers, “does not eat. It feeds on grass and leaves. Well, hay also eats up in stacks in winter.

- Grandfather, what kind of fur does he have?

- In summer, - he answers, - brown, like our Murenka, and gray in winter.

- Grandfather, is he stuffy?

Kokovanya even got angry:

- How stuffy! There are such domestic goats, and a forest goat, he smells like a forest.

Kokovanya began to gather in the forest in the fall. He should have looked in which direction the goats graze more. Darenka and let's ask:

- Take me, grandfather, with you. Maybe I can even see that goat from afar.

Kokovanya and explains to her:

- You can't see it from a distance. All goats have horns in autumn. You can't figure out how many branches they have. In winter, it's a different matter. Simple goats go without horns, but this one, the Silver Hoof, always has horns, even in summer, even in winter. Then it can be recognized from a distance.

This is what he answered. Darenka remained at home, but Kokovanya went into the woods.

Five days later, Kokovanya returned home, tells Darenka:

“Now there are a lot of goats grazing in Poldnevskaya side. I will go there in the winter.

- And how, - asks Darenka, - will you spend the night in the forest in winter?

- There, - he answers, - I have a winter booth near the mowing spoons. A good farce, with a hearth, with a window. It's good there.

Darenka asks again:

“Silver hoof is grazing in the same direction?”

- Who knows. Maybe he's there too.

Darenka is here and let's ask:

- Take me, grandfather, with you. I will sit in the booth. Maybe Silverhoof will come close, I'll see.

The old man waved his hands.

- What you! What you! Is it a good thing for a little girl to walk through the woods in winter! You have to ski, but you don't know how. Load it up in the snow. How will I be with you? You will still freeze!

Only Darenka does not lag behind:

- Take it, grandfather! I don't know much about skiing.

Kokovanya dissuaded, dissuaded, then he thought to himself:

“Bring it together? Once he visits, he will not be asked for another.

Here he says:

- Okay, I'll take it. Only, mind you, don’t roar in the forest and don’t ask to go home until the time.

“Is it possible,” he thinks, “to catch the Silver Hoof with this rope?”

It’s a pity for Darenka to leave her cat, but what can you do. Stroking the cat goodbye, talking to her:

- We, Murenka, will go to the forest with my grandfather, and you sit at home, catch mice. As soon as we see the Silver Hoof, we will return. I'll tell you everything then.

The cat looks slyly, and purrs herself:

- I guessed it right. Correct.

Let Kokovanya and Darenka go. All neighbors marvel:

“The old man is out of his mind!” He took such a little girl into the woods in winter!

As Kokovanya and Darenka began to leave the factory, they heard that the little dogs were very worried about something. They raised such barking and squealing, as if they saw an animal on the streets. They looked around - and this is Murenka running in the middle of the street, fighting off the dogs. Murenka had recovered by that time. Big and healthy. Dogs don't even dare to approach her.

Darenka wanted to catch the cat and take it home, but where are you! Murenka ran to the forest, and to the pine tree. Go get it!

Darenka shouted, she could not lure the cat. What to do? Let's move on. They look - Murenka runs sideways. And so I got to the booth.

So there were three of them in the booth. Darenka boasts:

- It's more fun that way.

Kokovanya agrees:

- It's more fun, you know.

And the cat Murenka curled up in a ball by the stove and purrs loudly:

- Dedo, you should go to the factory for a horse. You have to take the corned beef home.

Kokovanya was even surprised:

- What a wise man you are, Darya Grigorievna. How big judged. Just be afraid, come on, alone.

- What, - answers, - to be afraid. Our farce is strong, the wolves cannot achieve. And Murenka is with me. I'm not afraid. And you quickly turn around all the same!

Darenka ran out to look, but no one was there. She turned back and said:

Apparently, I fell asleep. It seemed to me.

Murenka purrs:

- You speak correctly. Correct.

Darenka lay down next to the cat, and fell asleep until the morning.

Another day has passed. Kokovanya did not return. Darenka became bored, but did not cry. Stroking Murenka and saying:

- Do not be bored, Murenushka! Tomorrow grandfather will certainly come.

Murenka sings his song:

- You speak correctly. Correct.

“Didn’t that goat yesterday come running?”

And before that she wanted to see that fear did not hold. She opened the door, looked, and the goat was here, quite close. He raised his right front leg - he would stomp, and on it a silver hoof glistens, and the goat's horns have five branches. Darenka does not know what to do, and beckons him like a home:

- Me-ka! Me-ka!

The goat laughed at this. Turned around and ran.

Darenushka came to the booth, tells Murenka:

I looked at the Silver Hoof. And I saw the horns, and I saw the hoof. I didn’t see only how that goat knocks out expensive stones with his foot. Another time, apparently, will show.

Murenka know your song sings:

- You speak correctly. Correct.

The night is monthly, bright, far visible. Darenka looks - a cat is sitting close on a slanting spoon, and a goat is in front of her. He stands, raised his leg, and on it a silver hoof glistens.

Murenka shakes his head, and so does the goat. It's like they're talking. Then they began to run along the mowing spoons. The goat runs and runs, stops and starts to beat with a hoof. Murenka will run up, the goat will bounce further and beat with its hoof again. For a long time they ran along the mowing spoons. They were not visible. Then they returned to the booth itself.

Then the goat jumped onto the roof and let's hit it with a silver hoof. Like sparks, pebbles fell from under the legs. Red, blue, green, turquoise - all sorts.

Kokovanya immediately raked up half a hat of stones, but Darenka asked:

- Do not touch, grandfather! We'll take another look at that tomorrow afternoon.

Everything would be fine, but Murenka is a pity. She was never seen again, and Silverhoof didn't show up either. Amuse once - and will be.

And on those slanting spoons where the goat rode, people began to find pebbles. More green ones. They are called chrysolites. Did you see?

Silver hoof - the storyteller Bazhov. The tale can be read to children online, or downloaded to your phone or computer in three formats fb2, txt, rtf. You can see more works in the collection of fairy tales in the Bazhov's Tales section.

There lived an old man alone in our factory, nicknamed Kokovanya. Kokovani had no family left, and he came up with the idea of taking an orphan as a child. He asked the neighbors if they knew anyone, and the neighbors said:
- Recently, the family of Grigory Potopaev was orphaned on Glinka. The clerk ordered the older girls to be taken to the master's needlework, but no one needs one girl in the sixth year. Here you take it.
- It's not good for me with a girl. Boy would be better. I would teach him my business, I would raise an accomplice. How about the girl? What am I going to teach her?
Then he thought and thought and said:
- I knew Grigory and his wife too. Both are funny and dexterous
Will it just go? Neighbors explain:
She has a bad life. The clerk gave the hut to Grigoriev to some goryuny and ordered for this to feed the orphan until she grows up. And he has a family of more than a dozen. They don't eat enough on their own. Here the hostess eats up the orphan, reproaches her with a piece. Even though she is small, she understands. It's a shame for her. How can one not go from such a life! Yes, and persuade, come on.
- And that's true, - answers Kokovanya, - I'll persuade you somehow.
On a holiday, he came to those people with whom the orphan lived. He sees that the hut is full of people, big and small. On a golbchik, by the stove, a girl is sitting, and next to her is a brown cat. The girl is small, and the cat is small and so thin and skinned that rarely anyone will let her into the hut. The girl strokes this cat, and she purrs so loudly that you can hear it all over the hut. Kokovanya looked at the girl and asked:
- Is this a gift from Grigoriev?
The hostess replies:
- She's the best. Not only one, so I picked up a tattered cat somewhere. We can't drive away. She scratched all my guys, and even feed her!
Kokovanya and says:
- Unkind, apparently, your guys. She's purring.
Then he asks the orphan:
- Well, how, darling, will you come to live with me?
The girl was surprised
- You, grandfather, how did you know that my name is Darenka?
- Yes, - he answers, - it just happened. I didn’t think, I didn’t guess, I accidentally hit it.
- Who are you? - the girl asks.
- I, - says, - like a hunter. In the summer I wash the sands, mine gold, and in the winter I run through the forests for a goat and I can’t see everything.
- Will you shoot him?
- No, - answers Kokovanya. - I shoot simple goats, but I won’t do this. I have to look at the hunt, in which place he stomps with his right front leg.
- What is it for you?
“But if you come to live with me, I’ll tell you everything,” answered Kokovanya.
The girl was curious about the goat to find out. And then he sees - the old man is cheerful and affectionate. She says:
- I'll go. Only you take this cat Murenka too. Look how good.
- About this, - answers Kokovanya, - what to say. Do not take such a sonorous cat - you will remain a fool. Instead of a balalaika, she will be in our hut.
The owner hears their conversation. Radehonka is glad that Kokovanya is calling the orphan to her. I quickly began to collect Darenka's belongings. Afraid lest the old man change his mind.
The cat seems to understand the whole conversation too. It rubs at the feet and purrs:
- R-correctly thought of. Correct.
So Kokovanya took the orphan to live with him. He himself is big and bearded, and she is tiny and has a small nose with a button. They are walking down the street, and a skinned cat jumps after them.
So the grandfather Kokovanya, the orphan Darenka and the cat Murenka began to live together. They lived and lived, they didn’t make much good, but they didn’t cry for life, and everyone had a job. Kokovanya left for work in the morning. Darechka cleaned up in the hut, cooked stew and cooked porridge, and the cat Murenka went hunting - she caught mice. By the evening they will gather, and they will have fun.
The old man was a master of telling fairy tales, Darenka loved to listen to those tales, and the cat Murenka lies and purrs:
- He speaks correctly. Correct.
Only after every fairy tale will Darenka remind you:
- Dedo, tell me about the goat. What is he?
Kokovanya made excuses at first, then he said:
- That goat is special. He has a silver hoof on his right front foot. In what place he stomps with this hoof - there an expensive stone will appear. Once he stomps - one stone, two stomps - two stones, and where he starts to beat with his foot - there is a pile of expensive stones.
He said this, and was not happy. From that time on, Donenia's only conversation was about this goat.
- Grandpa, is he big?
Kokovanya told her that the goat was not taller than the table, the legs were thin, and the head was light. And Darenka asks again:
- Grandpa, does he have horns?
- Horns, - he answers, - he has excellent ones. Simple goats have two branches, and he has five branches.
- Grandfather, who does he eat?
- Nobody, - answers, - does not eat. It feeds on grass and leaves. Well, hay also eats up in stacks in winter.
- Grandpa, what kind of fur does he have?
- In the summer, - he answers, - brown, like our Murenka, and gray in winter.
- Grandpa, is he stuffy?
Kokovanya even got angry:
- How stuffy! There are such domestic goats, and a forest goat, he smells like a forest.
Kokovanya began to gather in the forest in the fall. He should have looked in which direction the goats graze more. Darenka and let's ask:
- Take me, grandfather, with you. Maybe I can even see that goat from afar. Kokovanya and explains to her:
- You can't see it from afar. All goats have horns in autumn. You can't figure out how many branches they have. In winter, it's a different matter. Simple goats go without horns, but this one, the Silver Hoof, always has horns, even in summer, even in winter. Then it can be recognized from a distance.
This is what he answered. Darenka remained at home, but Kokovanya went into the woods. Five days later, Kokovanya returned home, tells Darenka:
- Now in the Poldnevsky side a lot of goats graze. I will go there in the winter.
- And how, - asks Darenka, - in winter, will you spend the night in the forest?
- There, - he answers, - I have a winter booth near the mowing spoons. A good farce, with a hearth, with a window. It's good there.
Darenka asks again:
- Is the silver hoof grazing in the same direction?
- Who knows. Maybe he's there too. Darenka is here and let's ask:
- Take me, grandfather, with you. I will sit in the booth. Maybe Silverhoof will come close, I'll see.
The old man waved his hands.
- What you! What you! Is it a good thing for a little girl to walk through the woods in winter! You have to ski, but you don't know how. Load it up in the snow. How will I be with you? You will still freeze!
Only Darenka does not lag behind:
- Take it, grandfather! I don't know much about skiing.
Kokovanya dissuaded, dissuaded, then he thought to himself:
"Is it possible to reduce? Once he visits, he will not be asked for another."
Here he says:
- All right, I'll take it. Only, mind you, don’t roar in the forest and don’t ask to go home until the time.
As winter entered in full force, they began to gather in the forest. Kokovanya laid two sacks of breadcrumbs on a hand sledge, stocked him with hunting supplies and other things he needed. Darenka also tied a knot on herself. Patchwork took the doll to sew a dress, a ball of thread, a needle, and even a rope.
"Isn't it possible, - he thinks, - to catch the Silver Hoof with this rope?" It’s a pity for Darenka to leave her cat, but what can you do. Stroking the cat goodbye, talking to her:
- We, Murenka, will go to the forest with my grandfather, and you sit at home, catch mice. As soon as we see the Silver Hoof, we will return. I'll tell you everything then.
The cat looks slyly, and purrs herself:
- I guessed it right. Correct.
Let Kokovanya and Darenka go. All neighbors marvel:
The old man is out of his mind! He took such a little girl into the woods in winter!
As soon as Kokovanya and Darenka began to leave the factory, they heard that the little dogs were very worried about something. They raised such barking and squealing, as if they saw an animal on the streets. They looked around - and this is Murenka running in the middle of the street, fighting off the dogs. Murenka had recovered by that time. Big and healthy. Dogs don't even dare to approach her.
Darenka wanted to catch the cat and take it home, but where are you! Murenka ran to the forest, and to the pine tree. Go get it!
Darenka shouted, she could not lure the cat. What to do? Let's move on. They look - Murenka runs sideways. And so I got to the booth. So there were three of them in the booth.
Darenka boasts:
- It's more fun that way.
Kokovanya agrees:
- It's more fun, you know.
And the cat Murenka curled up in a ball by the stove, purring loudly:

There were a lot of goats that winter. It's simple. Kokovanya dragged one or two to the booth every day. They accumulated skins, salted goat meat - they couldn’t be taken away on hand sleds. We should go to the factory for a horse, but how to leave Darenka with a cat in the forest! And Darenka got used to it in the forest. She says to the old man:
- Dedo, you should go to the factory for a horse. You have to take the corned beef home.
Kokovanya was even surprised:
- What a wise man you are, Daria Grigorievna. How big judged. Just be afraid, come on, alone.
- What, - answers, - to be afraid. Our farce is strong, the wolves cannot achieve. And Murenka is with me. I'm not afraid. And you quickly turn around all the same!
Kokovanya left. Darenka remained with Murenka. During the day, it was customary to sit without Kokovani while he tracked the goats ... As it began to get dark, I became afraid. Just looking - Murenka lies calmly. Darenka and cheered up. She sat down by the window, looked in the direction of the slanting spoons and saw - some kind of lump was rolling through the forest. As it rolled closer, I saw it was a goat running. The legs are thin, the head is light, and on the horns there are five branches.
Darenka ran out to look, but no one was there. She turned back and said:
Apparently, I fell asleep. It seemed to me.
Murenka purrs:
- You speak right. Correct.
Darenka lay down next to the cat, and fell asleep until the morning. Another day has passed. Kokovanya did not return. Darenka became bored, but did not cry. Stroking Murenka and saying:
- Do not be bored, Murenushka! Tomorrow grandfather will certainly come.
Murenka sings his song:
- You speak right. Correct.
Again Darenushka sat by the window and admired the stars. I wanted to go to bed, suddenly a clatter passed along the wall. Darenka was frightened, and there was a clatter along the other wall, then along the one where the window was, then where the door was, and there was a rattling from above. Not loudly, as if someone light and fast walks. Darenka thinks:
"Didn't that goat yesterday come running?" And before that she wanted to see that fear did not hold.
She opened the door, looked, and the goat was here, quite close. He raised his right front leg - he stomps, and on it a silver hoof glistens, and the horns of a goat have five branches. Darenka does not know what to do, and beckons him like a home:
- Me-ka! Me-ka!
The goat laughed at this. Turned around and ran.
Darenushka came to the booth, tells Murenka:
I looked at the Silver Hoof. And I saw the horns, and I saw the hoof. I didn’t see only how that goat knocks out expensive stones with his foot. Another time, apparently, will show.
Murenka, know, sings his song:
- You speak right. Correct.
The third day has passed, but Kokovani is gone. Darenka was completely clouded. Tears were buried. I wanted to talk to Murenka, but she was not there. Then Darenushka was completely frightened, ran out of the booth to look for the cat.
The night is monthly, bright, far visible. Darenka looks - a cat is sitting close on a slanting spoon, and a goat is in front of her. He stands, raised his leg, and on it a silver hoof glistens.
Murenka shakes his head, and so does the goat. It's like they're talking. Then they began to run along the mowing spoons. The goat runs and runs, stops and starts to beat with a hoof. Murenka will run up, the goat will bounce further and beat with its hoof again. For a long time they ran along the mowing spoons. They were not visible. Then they returned to the booth itself.
Then the goat jumped onto the roof and let's hit it with a silver hoof. Like sparks, pebbles fell from under the legs. Red, blue, green, turquoise - all sorts.
By this time, just Kokovanya returned. Can't recognize his booth. All of it has become like a heap of expensive stones. So it burns and shimmers with different lights. A goat stands at the top - and everything beats and beats with a silver hoof, and the stones roll in and roll out. Suddenly Murenka jumped there too. She stood next to the goat, meowed loudly, and neither Murenka nor Silver Hoof was gone.
Kokovanya immediately raked up half a hat of stones, but Darenka asked:
- Do not touch, grandfather! We'll take another look at that tomorrow afternoon.
Kokovanya obeyed. Only in the morning, a lot of snow fell. All the stones fell asleep. Then they raked the snow, but found nothing. Well, that was enough for them, how much Kokovanya got into his hat.
Everything would be fine, but Murenka is a pity. She was never seen again, and Silverhoof didn't show up either. Amuse once - and will be.
And on those slanting spoons where the goat rode, people began to find pebbles. More green ones. They are called chrysolites. Did you see?
The tale was published for the first time in 1938 in the almanac "Ural Contemporary", book 2.
P. Bazhov in collaboration with Evg. Permyak wrote the play "Silver Toe" for young children. It was published in the magazine "Zateynik", e 6, M, 1947.

An old man lived in our factory alone, nicknamed Kokovanya.
Kokovani had no family left, and he came up with the idea of taking an orphan as a child. I asked the neighbors if they knew anyone, and the neighbors said:
- Recently, the family of Grigory Potopaev was orphaned on Glinka. The clerk ordered the older girls to be taken to the master's needlework, but no one needs one girl in the sixth year. Here you take it.
- It's not good for me with a girl. Boy would be better. I would teach him my business, I would raise an accomplice. How about the girl? What am I going to teach her?
Then he thought and thought and said:
- I knew Grigory, and his wife too. Both were funny and smart. If a girl goes after her parents, she will not be sad in the hut. I'll take her. Will it just go?
Neighbors explain:
She has a bad life. The clerk gave the hut to Grigoriev to some goryuny and ordered for this to feed the orphan until she grows up. And he has a family of more than a dozen. They don't eat enough on their own. Here is the hostess and eats up the orphan, reproaches her with a piece. Even though she is small, she understands. It's a shame for her. How will not go from such a life! Yes, and persuade, come on.
“And that’s true,” Kokovanya answers. - I'll do it somehow.
On a holiday, he came to those people with whom the orphan lived. He sees that the hut is full of people, big and small. A girl is sitting by the stove, and next to her is a brown cat. The girl is small, and the cat is small and so thin and skinned that rarely anyone will let her into the hut. The girl strokes this cat, and she purrs so loudly that you can hear it all over the hut. Kokovanya looked at the girl and asked:
- Is this a gift from Grigoriev? The hostess replies:
- She is the best. Not only one, so I picked up a tattered cat somewhere. We can't drive away. She scratched all my guys, and even feed her!
Kokovanya and says:
- Unkind, apparently, your guys. She's purring.
Then he asks the orphan:
- Well, as a present, will you come to live with me? The girl was surprised
- You, grandfather, how did you know that my name is Daryonka?
“Yes, that’s right,” he replies, “it just happened. I didn’t think, I didn’t guess, I accidentally hit it.
— Who are you? the girl asks.
“I,” he says, “is like a hunter. In the summer I wash the sands, mine gold, and in the winter I run through the forests for a goat, but I can’t see everything.
- Will you shoot him?
“No,” Kokovanya answers. - I shoot simple goats, but I won’t do this. I have to look at the hunt, in which place he stomps with his right front leg.
- What is it for you?
“But if you come to live with me, I’ll tell you everything. The girl was curious about the goat to find out. And then he sees - the old man is cheerful and affectionate. She says:
- I'll go. Only you take this cat, Muryonka, too. Look how good.
“About that,” Kokovanya answers, “what can I say. Do not take such a sonorous cat - you will remain a fool. Instead of a balalaika, she will be in our hut.
The owner hears their conversation. I'm glad that Kokovanya is calling the orphan to her. I quickly began to collect Daryonka's belongings. Afraid lest the old man change his mind. The cat seems to understand the whole conversation too. It rubs at the feet and purrs: “R-correctly thought it up. Correct.”
So Kokovanya took the orphan to live with him. He himself is big and bearded, and she is tiny, and has a small nose with a button. They are walking down the street, and a skinned cat jumps after them.
So the grandfather Kokovanya, the orphan Darena and the cat Muryonka began to live together. They lived and lived, they didn’t make much good, but they didn’t cry for living, and everyone had a job. Kokovanya went to work in the morning, Daryonka cleaned up in the hut, cooked stew and porridge, and the cat Muryonka went hunting and caught mice. By the evening they will gather, and they will have fun.
The old man was a master of fairy tales. Daryonka loved to listen to those tales, and the cat Muryonka lies and purrs:
“R-correctly speaking. Correct.”
Only after every fairy tale will Daryonka remind:
- Dedo, tell me about the goat. What is he?
Kokovanya made excuses at first, then he said:
— That goat is special. He has a silver hoof on his right front foot. Wherever he stomps with this hoof, an expensive stone will appear there. Once he stomps - one stone, two stomps - two stones, and where he starts to beat with his foot - there is a pile of expensive stones.
He said this, and was not happy. From that time on, Daryonka's only conversation was about this goat.
- Grandpa, is he big?
Kokovanya told her that the goat was not taller than the table, the legs were thin, and the head was light. And Daryonka asks again:
- Grandpa, does he have horns?
“Horns,” he answers, “he has excellent ones. Simple goats have two branches, and this one has five branches.
- Grandfather, who does he eat?
“No one,” he answers, “does not eat. It feeds on grass and leaves. Well, hay also eats up in stacks in winter.
- Grandfather, what kind of fur does he have?
- In the summer, - he answers, - brown, like our Muryonka, and gray in winter.
- Grandfather, is he stuffy?
Kokovanya even got angry:
- How stuffy! There are such domestic goats, and a forest goat, it smells like a forest.
Kokovanya began to gather in the forest in the fall. He should have looked at which side of the goats grazes more. Daryonka and let's ask:
- Take me, grandfather, with you! Maybe I can even see that goat from afar.
Kokovanya and explains to her:
- You can't see it from a distance. All goats have horns in autumn. You can't tell how many branches there are. In winter, it's a different matter. Simple goats go without horns in winter, but this one - Silver Hoof - always has horns, even in summer, even in winter. Then it can be recognized from a distance.
This is what he answered. Daryonka remained at home, and Kokovanya went into the forest.
Five days later, Kokovanya returned home, tells Daryonka:
“There are a lot of goats grazing in Poldnevskaya side now. I will go there in the winter.
- But how, - asks Daryonka, - in winter, will you spend the night in the forest?
- There, - he answers, - I have a winter booth near the mowing spoons< покосный ложок - неглубокий, но широкий лесной овраг, где косят сено. - Ред.>placed. A good farce, with a hearth, with a window. It's good there.
Daryonka asks again:
“Dedo, is Silverhoof grazing in the same direction?”
- Who knows. Maybe he's there too.
Daryonka is here and let's ask:
- Take me, grandfather, with you! I will sit in the booth. Maybe Silverhoof will come close, I'll take a look.
The old man waved his hands.
- What you! What you! Is it a good thing for a little girl to walk through the woods in winter! You have to ski, but you don't know how. Load it up in the snow. How will I be with you? Freeze more!
Only Daryonka does not lag behind:
- Take it, grandfather! I don't know much about skiing. Kokovanya dissuaded, dissuaded, then he thought to himself: “Is it possible to reduce? Once he visits, he will not be asked for another.
Here he says:
- Okay, I'll take it. Only, mind you, don’t roar in the forest and don’t ask to go home until the time.
As winter entered in full force, they began to gather in the forest. Kokovanya laid two sacks of breadcrumbs on a hand sledge, stocked him with hunting supplies and other things he needed. Daryonka also tied a knot for herself. Patchwork took the doll to sew a dress, a ball of thread, a needle, and even a rope. “Isn’t it possible,” he thinks, “to catch Silver Hoof with this rope?”
It’s a pity for Daryonka to leave her cat, but what can you do! Stroking the cat goodbye, talking to her:
- We, Muryonka, will go to the forest with my grandfather, and you sit at home, catch mice. As soon as we see the Silver Hoof, we will return. I'll tell you everything then.
The cat looks slyly, and purrs herself: “P-ra-vil came up with it. Correct.”
Let Kokovanya and Daryonka go. All neighbors marvel:
“The old man is out of his mind!” He took such a little girl into the woods in winter!
As Kokovanya and Daryonka began to leave the factory, they heard that the little dogs were very worried about something. They raised such barking and squealing, as if they saw an animal on the streets. They looked around - and this is Muryonka running in the middle of the street, fighting off the dogs. Muryonka had recovered by that time. Big and healthy. Dogs don't even dare to approach her.
Daryonka wanted to catch a cat and take it home, but where are you! Muryonka ran to the forest, and to the pine tree. Go get it!
Daryonka shouted, but she could not lure the cat. What to do? Let's move on. They look - Muryonka runs sideways. And so I got to the booth.
So there were three of them in the booth. Daryonka boasts:
- It's more fun that way.
Kokovanya agrees:
- It's more fun, you know.
And the cat Muryonka curled up in a ball by the stove and purrs loudly: “You speak right. Correct.”
There were a lot of goats that winter. It's simple. Kokovanya dragged one or two to the booth every day. They accumulated skins, salted goat meat - they couldn’t be taken away on hand sleds. We ought to go to the factory for a horse, but how to leave Daryonka with a cat in the forest! And Daryonka got used to it in the forest. She says to the old man:
- Dedo, you should go to the factory for a horse. You have to take the corned beef home. Kokovanya was even surprised:
- What a sensible person you are, Darya Grigorievna! How big judged. Just be afraid, come on, alone.
“What,” answers, “to be afraid of!” Our farce is strong, the wolves cannot achieve. And Muryonka is with me. I'm not afraid. And you quickly turn around all the same!
Kokovanya left. There was Daryonka with Muryonka. During the day, it was customary to sit without Kokovani while he tracked the goats ... As it began to get dark, I became afraid. Just looking - Muryonka lies calmly. Daryonka and cheered up. She sat down by the window, looked in the direction of the slanting spoons and saw - some kind of lump was rolling from the forest. As I rolled closer, I saw that it was a goat running. The legs are thin, the head is light, and on the horns there are five branches. Daryonka ran out to look, but no one was there. She waited, she waited, she returned to the booth, and she says:
“Looks like I fell asleep. It seemed to me. Muryonka purrs: “You speak right. Correct.”
Daryonka lay down next to the cat and fell asleep until the morning.
Another day has passed. Kokovanya did not return. Daryonka became bored, but did not cry. Stroking Muryonka and saying:
- Do not be bored, Muryonushka! Tomorrow grandfather will certainly come.
Muryonka sings her song: “You speak right. Correct.”
Again Daryonushka sat at the window, admired the stars. I wanted to go to bed - suddenly a clatter passed along the wall. Daryonka was frightened, and there was a clatter on the other wall, then on the one where the window was, then on the one where the door was, and there was a rattling from above. Quietly, as if someone is light and fast walking.
Daryonka thinks: “Didn’t that goat, yesterday, come running?”
And before that she wanted to see that fear did not hold. She opened the door, looked, and the goat was there, quite close. He lifted his right front leg - now he stomps, and on it a silver hoof glistens, and the goat's horns are about five branches.
Daryonka does not know what to do, and beckons him like a home:
- Me-ka! Me-ka!
The goat laughed at that! Turned around and ran.
Daryonushka came to the booth, tells Muryonka:
I looked at Silverhoof. And I saw the horns and saw the hoof. I didn’t see only how that goat stomps with his foot, knocks out expensive stones. Another time, apparently, will show.
Muryonka know your song sings: “You speak right. Correct.”
The third day has passed, and all Kokovani is gone. Daryonka was completely clouded. Tears dripped. I wanted to talk to Muryonka, but she was not there. Then Daryonushka was completely frightened, ran out of the booth to look for a cat.
The night is monthly, bright, far visible. Daryonka looks - a cat is sitting close on a slanting spoon, and a goat is in front of her. He stands, raised his leg, and on it a silver hoof glistens.
Muryonka shakes his head, and the goat too. It's like they're talking. Then they began to run along the mowing spoons.
The goat runs and runs, stops and starts to beat with a hoof. Muryonka will run up, the goat will bounce further and again beat with its hoof. For a long time they ran along the mowing spoons. They were not visible. Then they returned to the booth itself.
Then the goat jumped onto the roof and let's hit it with a silver hoof. Like sparks, pebbles fell from under the legs. Red, blue, green, turquoise - all sorts.
By this time, just Kokovanya returned. Can't recognize his booth. All of it has become like a heap of expensive stones. So it burns and shimmers with different lights. A goat stands at the top - and everything beats and beats with a silver hoof, and the stones roll and roll.
Suddenly Muryonka jumped there too! She stood next to the goat, meowed loudly, and neither Muryonka nor Silver Hoof was gone.
Kokovanya immediately piled up half a hat of stones, but Daryonka asked:
- Don't touch it, grandfather! We'll take another look at that tomorrow afternoon.
Kokovanya obeyed. Only in the morning, a lot of snow fell. All the stones fell asleep. Then they raked the snow, but found nothing. Well, that was enough for them, how much Kokovanya piled into his hat.
Everything would be fine, but Muryonka is a pity. She was never seen again, and Silverhoof didn't show up either. Amuse once - and will be.
And on those slanting spoons where the goat rode, people began to find pebbles. Green ones more. They are called chrysolites. Did you see?