Star boy print. Oscar Wilde - star boy

Once, two poor Lumberjacks were returning home, making their way through a dense pine forest. It was a winter night, it was bitter cold. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground and on the trees. As the Lumberjacks pushed their way through the thicket, small icy twigs broke off from their movements, and when they approached the Mountain Falls, they saw that it was motionless in the air, because it was kissed by the Ice Queen.

The frost was so fierce that even the animals and birds were completely taken aback by surprise.

- Uff! grumbled the Wolf, jumping between the bushes, his tail between his legs. What terrible weather. I don't understand where the government is looking.

- Phew! Phew! Phew! - the green linnets whistled. “Old Earth is dead and dressed in a white shroud.

“The Earth is preparing for the wedding, and this is her wedding dress,” the Gorlinkas whispered to each other. Their little pink feet were completely numb from the cold, but they considered it their duty to maintain a romantic outlook on things.

- Nonsense! Wolf growled. - I tell you that the government is to blame for everything, and if you do not believe me, I will eat you. - The wolf had a very sober view of things and in a dispute he never climbed into his pocket for a word.

“Well, as far as I am concerned,” said the Woodpecker, who was a born philosopher, “I do not need physical laws to explain phenomena. If a thing is such in itself, then it is such in itself, and now it is hellishly cold.

The cold was really hellish. The little Squirrels, who lived in the hollow of a tall spruce, were constantly rubbing their noses to get a little warm, and the Rabbits huddled into a ball in their holes and did not dare to look out. And only the great horned owls - alone among all living creatures - were apparently satisfied. Their feathers were so iced up that they were completely hard, but this did not bother the Owls in the least; they goggled their huge yellow eyes and called to each other through the whole forest:

- Wu-u-u! Woo! Woo! Woo! What amazing weather today!

And the two Lumberjacks walked and walked through the forest, blowing fiercely on their frozen fingers and stomping on the icy snow with heavy, iron-lined boots. Once they fell into a deep, snow-covered ravine and crawled out white, like flour millers when they stand at the spinning millstones; and another time they slipped on the hard, smooth ice of a frozen swamp, their bundles of brushwood scattered, and they had to collect them and re-tie them; and somehow it seemed to them that they were lost, and great fear fell upon them, for they knew that the Snow Maiden was merciless to those who fell asleep in her arms. But they placed their hopes in the intercession of Saint Martin, who favors all travelers, and went back a little in their footsteps, and then walked with more caution, and finally came to the edge of the forest and saw, far below in the Valley, the lights of their village.

They were very glad that they finally got out of the forest, and laughed out loud, and the Valley seemed to them a silver flower, and the Moon above it - a golden flower.

But, having laughed, they again became sad, because they remembered their poverty, and one of them said to the other:

- Why are we so excited? After all, life is good only for the rich, and not for people like you and me. It would be better for us to freeze in the forest or become the prey of wild animals.

“You are right,” his friend replied. “Some have been given a lot, while others have been given very little. Injustice reigns in the world, and it bestows blessings only on a few, but it measures grief with a generous hand.

But while they were lamenting their bitter fate, something wonderful and strange happened. A beautiful and extraordinarily bright star fell from the sky. She rolled across the firmament between other stars, and when the amazed Lumberjacks followed her gaze, it seemed to them that she fell behind the old willows near a small sheepfold, not far from where they stood.

- Listen! Why, this is a piece of gold, we must find it! - both shouted at once and immediately started to run - such a thirst for gold seized them.

But one of them ran faster than the other, overtook his comrade, made his way between the willows ... and what did he see? On the white snow, indeed, lay something sparkling like gold. The lumberjack ran up, bent down, picked up this object from the ground and saw that he was holding in his hands a cloak of golden fabric, intricately embroidered with stars and falling in magnificent folds. And he called out to his companion that he had found a treasure that had fallen from the sky, and he hurried to him, and they sank down into the snow and straightened the folds of their cloak to take out the gold from there and divide it among themselves. But alas! In the folds of the cloak, they did not find any gold, silver, or other treasures, but they saw only a sleeping child.

And one Lumberjack said to another:

- All our hopes have gone to dust, we have no luck with you! Well, what is the use of a child for a person? Let's leave him here and go our own way, because we are poor people, we have enough of our children, and we cannot take away bread from them to give it to others.

But the other Lumberjack replied:

- No, you can’t do such an evil deed - to leave this child to freeze here in the snow, and even though I’m not richer than you and even more mouths ask for bread, and there aren’t a lot of pots either, I’ll still take this child to my home, and my wife will take care of him.

And he carefully picked up the child, wrapped him in a cloak to protect him from the burning frost, and strode down the hill to his village, and his companion was very surprised to himself at his stupidity and kindness.

And when they came to their village, his companion said to him:

But he answered him:

“No, I won’t give it back, because this cloak is neither yours nor mine, but belongs only to the child,” and, wishing him good health, he went up to his house and knocked on the door.

When the wife opened the door and saw that it was her husband who had returned home safe and sound, she threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him, and removed the bundle of brushwood from his back, and shook the snow from his boots, and invited him to enter the house.

But the Lumberjack said to his wife:

“I found something in the forest and brought it to you to take care of it,” and he did not cross the threshold.

- What is it? the wife exclaimed. - Show me quickly, because our house is empty, and we need a lot. And then he opened his cloak and showed her the sleeping child.

“Alas, I am sad! whispered the wife. “Don’t we have children of our own!” What is it that you, master, needed to plant a foundling near our hearth? Or maybe he will bring us bad luck? And who knows how to take care of him? And she was very angry with her husband.

- Yes, you listen, because this is a child-star, - the husband answered and told his wife the whole amazing story about how he found this child.

But this did not calm her down, and she began to taunt and scold him and shouted:

- Our children are sitting without bread, and we will feed someone else's child? And who will take care of us? Who will give us food?

“But the Lord even cares about the sparrows and gives them food,” the husband answered.

“Are few sparrows dying of starvation in winter?” the wife asked. “Isn't it winter now?”

To this, her husband did not answer her, but he did not cross the threshold either.

And then an evil wind, flying in from the forest, burst into the open door, and the wife shuddered, shivered and said to her husband:

Why don't you close the door? Look how cold the wind is, I'm completely cold.

“In a house where people with stone hearts live, there will always be a cold,” said the husband.

And his wife did not answer him anything, only moved closer to the fire.

But a little more time passed, and she turned to her husband and looked at him, and her eyes were full of tears. And then he quickly entered the house and put the child on her lap. And she, having kissed the child, lowered him into the cradle next to the youngest of her children. And the next morning, the Lumberjack took an unusual cloak of gold and hid it in a large chest, and his wife removed an amber necklace from the child’s neck and also hid it in the chest.

So the Star-Child began to grow up with the Woodcutter's children, and ate at the same table with them and played with them. And every year he became more and more beautiful, and the inhabitants of the village marveled at his beauty, for they were all swarthy and black-haired, and his face was white and delicate, as if carved from ivory, and his golden curls were like the petals of a narcissus, and the lips are like the petals of a scarlet rose, and the eyes are like violets reflected in the clear water of the stream. And he was slender, like a flower that grew in thick grass, where no mower's foot had set foot.

But his beauty brought him only evil, for he grew up selfish, proud and cruel. On the children of the Lumberjack, and on all other children in the village, he looked down, because, he said, they are all of low origin, while he is of a noble family, for he comes from the Star. And he pushed around the children and called them his servants. He had no compassion for the poor, or for the blind, the sick and the crippled, but he threw stones at them and drove them out of the village onto the road and shouted to them to go to beg elsewhere, after which none of the beggars, except some the most desperate, did not dare to come to this village again for alms. And he was as if bewitched by his beauty and ridiculed all who were pitiful and ugly, and made a mockery of them. He loved himself very much and in summer, in calm weather, he often lay by the reservoir in the orchard of the priest and looked at his wondrous reflection, and laughed with joy, admiring his beauty.

The lumberjack and his wife scolded him more than once, saying:

“We didn’t do the same to you as you do to these unfortunate, destitute fate, who do not have a single close soul in the world. Why are you so cruel to those who need participation?

And the old priest sent for him more than once and tried to teach him love for all God's creatures, saying:

- The moth is your brother, do not harm him. The birds that fly through the forest are free creatures. Do not lay snares for them for your own amusement. God created the earthworm and the mole and gave each of them their place. Who are you that you dare to bring suffering into the world created by God? After all, even cattle grazing in the meadows glorify God's name.

But the Star-Child did not listen to anyone's words, only frowned and grinned contemptuously, and then ran to his peers and pushed them around as he pleased. And his peers obeyed him, because he was handsome, quick-footed and knew how to dance, and sing, and play the flute. And wherever the Star-Child led them, they followed him, and whatever he ordered them to do, they obeyed him. And when he pierced the blind eyes of the mole with a sharp reed, they laughed, and when he threw stones at the leper, they laughed too. Always and in everything he was their leader, and they became as hard-hearted as he was.

And one day an unfortunate beggar woman was passing through the village. Her clothes were in tatters, her bare feet were wounded on the sharp stones of the road, all in blood, in a word, she was in the most disastrous condition. Exhausted from fatigue, she sat down to rest under a chestnut tree.

But then the Star-Child saw her and said to his comrades:

– Look! Under a beautiful green-leaved tree sits a disgusting dirty beggar woman. Let's go chase her out, because she's disgusting and ugly.

And with these words, he came closer to her and began to throw stones at her and taunt her. And she looked at him, and horror was reflected in her eyes, and she could not take her eyes off him. But then the Lumberjack, who was cutting the poles under the shed, saw what the Star-Child was doing, ran up to him and began to scold him, saying:

“Truly, you have a heart of stone, and pity is unknown to you. What did this poor woman do to you, why are you driving her out of here?

Then the Star-Child blushed with anger, stamped his foot, and said:

“And who are you to ask me why I do this? I am not your son and I am not obliged to obey you.

“That’s true,” answered the Lumberjack, “but I took pity on you when I found you in the forest.

And when the beggar heard these words, she cried out loudly and fell unconscious. Then the Woodcutter picked her up and carried her to his house, and his wife began to attend to her, and when the woman woke up, the Woodcutter and his wife put food and drink before her and said that they were glad to give her shelter.

But the woman did not want to eat or drink and said to the Lumberjack:

– Did you say that you found this boy in the forest? And ten years have passed since that day, haven't they?

And the lumberjack replied:

- Yes, it was so, I found him in the forest, and ten years have passed since that day.

“Did you find anything else with him?” the woman exclaimed. “Didn’t he have an amber necklace around his neck?” And was he not wrapped in a golden cloak embroidered with stars?

"That's right," answered the Lumberjack. And he took out a cloak and an amber necklace from the chest in which they were kept, and showed them to the woman.

And when the woman saw these things, she burst into tears of joy and said:

This child is my little son, whom I lost in the forest. I beg you, send for him quickly, because in search of him I went around the whole world.

And the Lumberjack and his wife went out of the house and began to call the Star-Child and said to him:

- Enter the house, there you will find your mother, who is waiting for you.

And the Star-Child, filled with joy and amazement, ran into the house. But when he saw the one who was waiting for him there, he laughed contemptuously and said:

“Well, where is my mother?” I don't see anyone here but this nasty beggar.

And the woman answered him:

- I am your mother.

"You must be out of your mind," cried the Star-Child angrily. “I am not your son, because you are a beggar, you are ugly and dressed in rags. Now get out of here so I don't see your ugly face.

“But you really are my little son, whom I gave birth to in the forest,” cried the woman, and, falling on her knees before him, stretched out her arms to him. “The robbers stole you and left you to die in the forest,” she said weeping. oskakakh.ru - site - But I immediately recognized you as soon as I saw you, and I recognized the things by which you can be identified - a golden cloak and an amber necklace. And I beg you, come with me, because, looking for you, I went around the whole world. Come with me my son, because I need your love.

But the Star-Child did not stir; he tightly closed his heart so that her complaints could not penetrate there, and in the silence that followed, only the wailing of a woman sobbing with grief was heard.

“If it is true that you are my mother,” he said, “it would be better for you not to come here and disgrace me, because I thought that Star was my mother, and not some beggar, as you tell me. So get out of here so I never see you again.

“Alas, my son! the woman cried. "Won't you kiss me goodbye?" After all, I endured so much agony to find you.

“No,” said the Star-Child, “you are too repulsive, and it is easier for me to kiss a viper or a toad than you.”

Then the woman got up and, weeping bitterly, hid in the forest, and the Star-Child, seeing that she had gone, was very glad and ran to play with his comrades.

But they, looking at him, began to laugh at him and said:

“Why, you are as vile as a toad and as repulsive as a viper. Get out of here, we don't want you to play with us. And they kicked him out of the garden. Then the Star-Child thought for a moment and said to himself:

– What are they saying? I will go to the pond and look into it, and it will tell me that I am beautiful.

And he went to the reservoir and looked into it, but what did he see! His face became like a toad, and his body was covered with scales, like a viper. And he threw himself face down on the grass and wept and said:

“Not otherwise than this is my punishment for my sin. After all, I renounced my mother and drove her away, I was proud of her and was cruel to her. Now I must go on a quest and go around the world until I find her. Until then, I will know neither rest nor peace.

Then the little daughter of the Lumberjack came up to him, and put her hand on his shoulder, and said:

“It doesn’t matter that you have lost your beauty. Stay with us and I will never tease you.

But he told her:

“No, I was cruel to my mother, and this misfortune befell me as punishment. Therefore, I must leave here and roam the world until I find my mother and beg her forgiveness.

And he ran into the forest and began to loudly call his mother, asking her to return to him, but he did not hear the answer. All day he called her, and when the sun went down, he lay down on a pile of leaves and fell asleep, and all the birds and animals left him, because they knew how cruelly he had acted, and only the toad shared his loneliness and guarded his sleep, and the viper slowly crawled past.

And in the morning he got up, picked a few sour berries from the tree, ate them and wandered through the dense forest, weeping bitterly. And whoever he met on the way, he asked if they had seen his mother.

He asked Mole:

- You dig your passages underground. Tell me, have you seen my mother?

But the Mole replied:

You gouged out my eyes, how could I see her?

Then he asked Konoplyanka:

“You fly higher than the tallest trees and you can see the whole world from there. Tell me, have you seen my mother?

But Konoplyanka answered:

“You clipped my wings for fun. How can I fly now?

And the little Squirrel, who lived in a hollow, ate alone, he asked:

– Where is my mother?

And Belochka answered:

“You killed my mother, maybe you are looking for yours to kill her too?”

And the Star-Child lowered his head, and wept, and began to ask for forgiveness from all God's creatures, and went deeper into the forest, continuing his search. And on the third day, having passed through the whole forest, he came to the edge and went down to the valley.

And when he passed through the village, the children teased him and threw stones at him, and the peasants did not even allow him to sleep in the barn, fearing that mold might sit on the grain from him, for he was very ugly in appearance, and ordered the workers to drive him away away, and not a soul took pity on him. And nowhere could he learn anything about the beggar woman who was his mother, although for three years now he had wandered around the world, and more than once it seemed to him that he saw her ahead on the road, and then he began to call her and run after her, though the sharp rubble had wounded his feet and were bleeding. But he could not catch up with her, and those who lived nearby claimed that they had not seen either her or anyone who looked like her, and made fun of his grief.

For three full years he wandered around the world, and nowhere he ever met love, compassion, or mercy; the whole world treated him just as he himself did in the days of his pride.

And then one evening he approached the city, located on the banks of the river and surrounded by a high fortress wall, and approached the gate, and although he was very tired and strained his legs, he still wanted to enter the city. But the warriors who stood guard at the gate crossed their halberds and shouted rudely to him:

What do you need in our city?

“I am looking for my mother,” he answered, “and I beg you, let me enter the city, because it may happen that she is there.”

But they began to mock him, and one of them, shaking his black beard, placed his shield in front of him and shouted:

“Indeed, your mother will rejoice when she sees you, because you are uglier than a toad in a swamp or a viper crawling out of a swamp. Get out of here! Get out! Your mother is not in our city.

And the other, the one who held in his hand a staff with a yellow banner, said to him:

Who is your mother and why are you looking for her?

And he answered:

- My mother lives on alms, just like me, and I treated her very badly and I beg you: let me pass so that I can ask her forgiveness if she lives in this city.

But they did not want to let him pass and began to prick with their peaks.

And when he turned back crying, someone in chain mail, decorated with golden flowers, and in a helmet with a crest in the form of a winged lion, approached the gate and asked the soldiers who asked permission to enter the city. And the soldiers answered him:

“He is a beggar and the son of a beggar woman, and we drove him away.

“Well, no,” he said, laughing, “we will sell this vile creature into slavery, and its price will be equal to the price of a cup of sweet wine.

And at this time some terrible and angry-looking old man was passing by and, hearing these words, said:

“I will pay that price for him. And having paid it, he took the Star-Child by the hand and led him into the city.

They went through many streets and finally came to a small gate in the wall, shaded by a large pomegranate tree. And the old man touched the gate with a jasper ring, and it opened, and they went down the five bronze steps into the garden, where black poppies were in bloom and there were green clay jugs. And then the old man took out a patterned silk scarf from his turban, and blindfolded the Star-Child with it, and led him somewhere, pushing him in front of him. And when he removed the bandage from his eyes, the Star-Child saw that he was in a dungeon, which was illuminated by a lantern hung on a hook.

And the old man put a piece of moldy bread in front of him on a wooden tray and said:

And he put before him a cup of brackish water, and said:

And when the Star-Child had eaten and drunk, the old man went away and locked the door of the dungeon with a key and secured it with an iron chain.

The next morning the old man, who was in fact one of the most skillful and cunning magicians of Libya and had learned his art from another magician who lived in a tomb on the banks of the Nile, entered the dungeon, frowned at the Star-Child and said:

- In the forest, not far from the gates of this city of giaurs, three golden coins are hidden: white gold, yellow gold and red gold. Today you must bring me a coin of white gold, and if you do not bring me, you will receive a hundred lashes. Hurry, at sunset I'll be waiting for you at the gate of my garden. Look, bring me a piece of white gold, or you will feel bad, because you are my slave, and I paid the price of a whole cup of sweet wine for you. - And he blindfolded the eyes of the Star-Child with a scarf of patterned silk, and led him out of the house into a garden where black poppies grew, and, forcing him to climb five bronze steps, opened the gate with his ring.

And the Star-Child came out of the gate, passed through the city, and entered the forest of which the Magician had told him.

And this forest from afar seemed very beautiful, and it seemed that it was full of songbirds and fragrant flowers, and the Star-Child happily went deep into it. But he did not have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the forest, for wherever he stepped, everywhere in front of him rose from the ground a thorny bush full of sharp thorns, and evil nettles burned his feet, and thistles stabbed him with their thorns, sharp as a dagger, and the Boy The star had a very bad time. And most importantly, he could not find anywhere the white gold coin that the Wizard told him about, although he was looking for it from early morning until noon and from noon until sunset. But then the sun set, and he wandered home, weeping bitterly, for he knew what fate awaited him.

But when he approached the edge of the forest, a cry reached him from the thicket - it seemed that someone was crying out for help. And, forgetting about his misfortune, he ran to this cry and saw a little Hare, who fell into a snare placed by some hunter.

And the Star-Child took pity on the Hare, and freed him from the snare, and said to him:

“I myself am only a slave, but I can grant you freedom.

And the Hare answered him like this:

- Yes, you gave me freedom, tell me, how can I thank you?

And the Star-Child said to him:

“I am looking for a white gold coin, but I can’t find it anywhere, and if I don’t bring it to my master, he will beat me.”

“Follow me,” said the Hare, “and I will take you where you need to go, because I know where this coin is hidden and why.

Then the Star-Child followed the little Hare, and what did he see? In the hollow of a large oak tree lay the white gold coin he was looking for. And the Star-Child was overjoyed, grabbed her and said to the Hare:

- For the service that I have rendered you, you have thanked me a hundredfold, and for the good that I have done for you, you have repaid me a hundredfold.

- No, - answered the Hare, - as you did to me, so I did to you. And he galloped off nimbly, and the Star-Child made for the city.

Now it should be said that a leper was sitting at the city gates. His face was hidden by a gray canvas hood, and his eyes burned in the slits like coals, and when he saw the Star-Child approaching the gate, he rattled his wooden bowl, and rang his bell, and called out to him thus:

“Give me alms or I will have to starve to death.” For they drove me out of the city, and there is no one who has pity on me.

- Alas! cried the Star-Child. “I have only one single coin in my purse, and if I do not take it to my master, he will kill me, because I am his slave.”

But the leper began to beg and beg him, and did this until the Star-Child took pity on him and gave him a piece of white gold.

When he approached the Wizard's house, he opened the gate, and let him into the garden, and asked him:

Did you bring a coin of white gold?

And the Star-Child replied:

- No, I don't have it.

And then the Magician jumped on him, and began to beat him, and put before him an empty wooden tray for bread, and said:

- Eat. And he put an empty cup in front of him and said: “Drink.” And threw him back into the dungeon.

“If you don’t bring me a piece of yellow gold today, you will forever remain my slave and receive three hundred lashes from me.

Then the Star-Child went to the forest and searched there for a whole day for a piece of yellow gold, but could not find it anywhere. And when the sun went down, he sank to the ground and wept, and while he was sitting there, shedding tears, a little Hare ran up to him, whom he freed from the snare.

And the Hare asked him:

- Why are you crying? And what are you looking for in the forest?

And the Star-Child answered:

“I am looking for a yellow gold coin that is hidden here, and if I do not find it, my master will beat me and leave me forever as a slave.

- Follow me! - shouted the Hare and galloped through the forest until he rode to a small lake. And at the bottom of the lake lay a coin of yellow gold.

How can I thank you? said the Star Boy. - After all, this is the second time you help me out.

“Well, well, but you were the first to take pity on me,” said the Hare and quickly galloped away.

And the Star-Child took the piece of yellow gold, put it in his purse, and hastened to the city. But the leper saw him on the road, and ran to meet him, and fell on his knees before him, crying:

Give me alms or I'll starve to death!

But the Star-Child said to him:

“I have nothing in my wallet but a yellow gold coin, but if I don’t bring it to my master, he will beat me and leave me forever as a slave.

But the leper begged him to take pity on him, and the Star-Child took pity on him and gave him a piece of yellow gold.

And when he came to the Wizard's house, he opened the gate, and let him into the garden, and asked him:

Did you bring a yellow gold coin?

And the Star-Child replied:

- No, I don't have it.

And the Magician fell upon him, and began to beat him, and put him in chains, and threw him into prison again.

And in the morning the Wizard came to him and said:

“If you bring me a coin of red gold today, I will set you free, and if you don’t bring me, I will kill you.”

And the Star-Child went into the forest and searched there all day long for a piece of red gold, but he could not find it anywhere. When it got dark, he sat down and cried, and while he was sitting there, shedding tears, a little Hare ran up to him.

And the Hare said to him:

“The red gold coin you are looking for is in the cave behind you. So stop crying and be happy.

How can I thank you! exclaimed the Star-Child. “This is the third time you have helped me out of trouble.

“But you were the first to take pity on me,” said the Hare and nimbly galloped away.

And the Star-Child entered the cave and in the depths of it saw a coin of red gold. He put it in his wallet and hurried back to the city. But when the leper saw him, he stood in the middle of the road and shouted loudly, calling to him:

"Give me the red gold coin, or I'll die!"

And the Star-Child took pity on him again and gave him a piece of red gold, saying:

Your need is greater than mine.

However, his heart sank with anguish, for he knew what a terrible fate awaited him.

But a miracle! When he passed the city gates, the soldiers bowed low before him, saluting him and exclaiming:

How beautiful is our lord!

And a crowd of townspeople followed him, and everyone repeated:

- Truly, there is no one more beautiful in the whole world!

And the Star-Child wept and said to himself:

They laugh at me and make fun of my misfortune.

But the concourse of people was so great that they lost their way and came to a large square where the royal palace stood.

And the gates of the palace were flung open, and the clergymen and the noblest nobles of the city hurried towards the Star-Child, and, humbly bowing to him, said:

“You are our master, whom we have been waiting for a long time, and the son of our sovereign.

And the Star-Child answered them:

“I am not a king's son, I am the son of a poor beggar woman. And why do you say that I am beautiful when I know that my appearance is vile?

And then the one whose coat of mail was decorated with golden flowers and on whose helmet the crest was in the form of a winged lion, raised his shield and cried out:

Why doesn't my lord believe that he is beautiful?

And the Star-Child looked into the shield, and what did he see? His beauty returned to him, and his face became the same as before, only in his eyes he noticed something new that he had never seen in them before.

And the clergy and nobles bowed their knees before him and said:

- There was an old prophecy that on this day the one who is destined to rule us will come to us. So let our lord take this crown and this scepter and become our king, just and merciful.

But the Star-Child answered them:

- I am not worthy of this, because I renounced the mother who carried me under her heart, and now I am looking for her in order to beg forgiveness from her, and I will not rest until I find her. So let me go, for I must once again set out to roam the world, and I must not linger here, even though you offer me a crown and a scepter.

And having said this, he turned away from them and turned his face towards the street that stretched to the very gates of the city. And what did he see? Among the crowd that pushed back the guards, there was a beggar woman who was his mother, and next to her stood a leper.

And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and, rushing to his mother, he showered kisses on the wounds on her legs and watered them with tears. He bowed his head into the dust of the road, and weeping as if his heart were breaking, he said:

- Oh my mother! I denied you in the days of my pride. Do not reject me in the hour of my humility. My mother, I gave you hate. Give me love. My mother, I rejected you. Take your child.

But the beggar woman did not answer him a word. And he stretched out his hands to the leper and fell at his feet, saying:

“Three times have I shown mercy to you. Beg my mother to answer me just once.

But the leper remained silent.

And the Star-Child sobbed again and said:

“O my mother, this suffering is beyond my power. Grant me your forgiveness and let me return to our forest.

And the beggar woman put her hand on his head and said:

- Get up!

And the leper put his hand on his head and said also:

- Get up!

And he got up from his knees and looked at them. And what! Before him were the King and the Queen. And the Queen said to him:

“Here is your father whom you helped in his hour of need.

And the King said:

“Here is your mother, whose feet you have washed with your tears.”

And they fell into his arms, and showered him with kisses, and took him to the palace, where they clothed him in marvelous clothes, and placed a crown on his head, and gave him a scepter in his hand, and he became the lord of the city, which stood on the banks of the river. And he was just and merciful to all. He expelled the evil Wizard, and sent rich gifts to the Lumberjack and his wife, and made their sons nobles. And he did not allow anyone to treat birds and forest animals cruelly and taught everyone goodness, love and mercy. And he fed the hungry and orphans and clothed the naked, and peace and prosperity always reigned in his country.

But he did not reign for long. His torments were too great, he underwent too severe a test - and three years later he died. And his successor was a tyrant.

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Oscar Wilde

star boy

Once, two poor Lumberjacks were returning home, making their way through a dense pine forest. It was a winter night, it was bitter cold. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground and on the trees. As the Lumberjacks pushed their way through the thicket, small icy twigs broke off from their movements, and when they approached the Mountain Falls, they saw that it was motionless in the air, because it was kissed by the Ice Queen.

The frost was so fierce that even the animals and birds were completely taken aback by surprise.

Phew! - grumbled the Wolf, jumping between the bushes, his tail between his legs. - What terrible weather. I don't understand where the government is looking.

Phew! Phew! Phew! - the green linnets whistled. - The old woman-Earth died, and she was dressed in a white shroud.

The earth is preparing for the wedding, and this is her wedding dress, - Gorlinkas whispered to each other. Their little pink feet were completely numb from the cold, but they considered it their duty to maintain a romantic outlook on things.

Nonsense! Wolf growled. - I tell you that the government is to blame for everything, and if you do not believe me, I will eat you. - The wolf had a very sober view of things and in a dispute he never climbed into his pocket for a word.

Well, as for me, - said the Woodpecker, who was a born philosopher, - I do not need physical laws to explain phenomena. If a thing is such in itself, then it is such in itself, and now it is hellishly cold.

The cold was really hellish. The little Squirrels, who lived in the hollow of a tall spruce, were constantly rubbing their noses to get a little warm, and the Rabbits huddled into a ball in their holes and did not dare to look out. And only the great horned Owls - alone among all living creatures - were, apparently, satisfied. Their feathers were so iced up that they were completely hard, but this did not bother the Owls in the least; they goggled their huge yellow eyes and called to each other through the whole forest:

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! What amazing weather today!

And the two Lumberjacks walked and walked through the forest, blowing fiercely on their frozen fingers and stomping on the icy snow with heavy, iron-lined boots. Once they fell into a deep, snow-covered ravine and crawled out white, like flour millers when they stand at the spinning millstones; and another time they slipped on the hard, smooth ice of a frozen swamp, their bundles of brushwood scattered, and they had to collect them and re-tie them; and somehow it seemed to them that they were lost, and great fear fell upon them, for they knew that the Snow Maiden was merciless to those who fell asleep in her arms. But they placed their hopes in the intercession of Saint Martin, who favors all travelers, and went back a little in their footsteps, and then walked with more caution, and finally came to the edge of the forest and saw, far below in the Valley, the lights of their village.

They were very glad that they finally got out of the forest, and laughed out loud, and the Valley seemed to them a silver flower, and the Moon above it - a golden flower.

But, having laughed, they again became sad, because they remembered their poverty, and one of them said to the other:

Why are we so amused? After all, life is good only for the rich, and not for people like you and me. It would be better for us to freeze in the forest or become the prey of wild animals.

You're right, his friend replied. Some are given a lot, while others are given very little. Injustice reigns in the world, and it bestows blessings only on a few, but it measures grief with a generous hand.

But while they were lamenting their bitter fate, something wonderful and strange happened. A beautiful and extraordinarily bright star fell from the sky. She rolled across the firmament between other stars, and when the amazed Lumberjacks followed her gaze, it seemed to them that she fell behind the old willows near a small sheepfold, not far from where they stood.

Listen! Why, this is a piece of gold, we must find it! - both shouted at once and immediately started to run - such a thirst for gold seized them.

But one of them ran faster than the other, overtook his comrade, made his way between the willows ... and what did he see? On the white snow, indeed, lay something sparkling like gold. The lumberjack ran up, bent down, picked up this object from the ground and saw that he was holding in his hands a cloak of golden fabric, intricately embroidered with stars and falling in magnificent folds. And he called out to his companion that he had found a treasure that had fallen from the sky, and he hurried to him, and they sank down into the snow and straightened the folds of their cloak to take out the gold from there and divide it among themselves. But alas! In the folds of the cloak, they did not find any gold, silver, or other treasures, but they saw only a sleeping child.

And one Lumberjack said to another:

All our hopes have gone to dust, we have no luck with you! Well, what is the use of a child for a person? Let's leave him here and go our own way, because we are poor people, we have enough of our children, and we cannot take away bread from them to give it to others.

But the other Lumberjack replied:

No, you can’t commit such an evil deed - to leave this child to freeze here in the snow, and although I’m not richer than you and even more mouths ask for bread, and there aren’t a lot of pots either, I’ll still take this child to my home, and my wife will take care of him.

And he carefully picked up the child, wrapped him in a cloak to protect him from the burning frost, and strode down the hill to his village, and his companion was very surprised to himself at his stupidity and kindness.

And when they came to their village, his companion said to him:

But he answered him:

No, I won’t give it back, because this cloak is neither yours nor mine, but belongs only to the child, - and, wishing him good health, he went up to his house and knocked on the door.

When the wife opened the door and saw that it was her husband who had returned home safe and sound, she threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him, and removed the bundle of brushwood from his back, and shook the snow from his boots, and invited him to enter the house.

But the Lumberjack said to his wife:

I found something in the forest and brought it to you to take care of it - and he did not cross the threshold.

What is it? exclaimed the wife. - Show me quickly, because our house is empty, and we need a lot. And then he opened his cloak and showed her the sleeping child.

Alas, I am sad! whispered the wife. “Don’t we have children of our own!” What is it that you, master, needed to plant a foundling near our hearth? Or maybe he will bring us bad luck? And who knows how to take care of him? And she was very angry with her husband.

Yes, you listen, because this is a Star Child, - the husband answered and told his wife the whole amazing story about how he found this child.

But this did not calm her down, and she began to taunt and scold him and shouted:

Our children are sitting without bread, and we will feed someone else's child? And who will take care of us? Who will give us food?

But the Lord cares even about the sparrows and gives them food, - answered the husband.

And few sparrows die of hunger in winter? the wife asked. "And isn't it winter now?"

To this, her husband did not answer her, but he did not cross the threshold either.

And then an evil wind, flying in from the forest, burst into the open door, and the wife shuddered, shivered and said to her husband:

Why don't you close the door? Look how cold the wind is, I'm completely cold.

In a house where people with stone hearts live, there will always be a cold, - said the husband.

And his wife did not answer him anything, only moved closer to the fire.

But a little more time passed, and she turned to her husband and looked at him, and her eyes were full of tears. And then he quickly entered the house and put the child on her lap. And she, having kissed the child, lowered him into the cradle next to the youngest of her children. And the next morning, the Lumberjack took an unusual cloak of gold and hid it in a large chest, and his wife removed an amber necklace from the child’s neck and also hid it in the chest.

So the Star-Child began to grow up with the Woodcutter's children, and ate at the same table with them and played with them. And every year he became more and more beautiful, and the inhabitants of the village marveled at his beauty, for they were all swarthy and black-haired, and his face was white and delicate, as if carved from ivory, and his golden curls were like the petals of a narcissus, and the lips are like the petals of a scarlet rose, and the eyes are like violets reflected in the clear water of the stream. And he was slender, like a flower that grew in thick grass, where no mower's foot had set foot.

But his beauty brought him only evil, for he grew up selfish, proud and cruel. On the children of the Lumberjack, and on all other children in the village, he looked down, because, he said, they are all of low origin, while he is of a noble family, for he comes from the Star. And he pushed around the children and called them his servants. He had no compassion for the poor, or for the blind, the sick and the crippled, but he threw stones at them and drove them out of the village onto the road and shouted to them to go to beg elsewhere, after which none of the beggars, except some the most desperate, did not dare to come to this village again for alms. And he was as if bewitched by his beauty and ridiculed all who were pitiful and ugly, and made a mockery of them. He loved himself very much and in summer, in calm weather, he often lay by the reservoir in the orchard of the priest and looked at his wondrous reflection, and laughed with joy, admiring his beauty.

Everyone knows the name of Oscar Wilde - a wonderful writer. But, unfortunately, the increased attention of the public attracts only one work of the writer - "The Picture of Dorian Gray", leaving other works of the master undeservedly in the shade. This article will be devoted to one such "shadow masterpiece".

"Star Boy" - a fairy tale with an unhappy ending

Even if you watch only a summary, O. Wilde's "Star Boy" will seem like a very sad tale. It all starts with the lumberjacks going through the forest. It's a bitter winter. They no longer feel their hands or feet. And suddenly they see how They run from the sky to the place where, as they think, she fell, and find there a child wrapped in a cloak (it is embroidered with gold), even with the child there is an amber necklace. One of the lumberjacks took pity on the baby and took him to his home.

The lumberjack's wife at first did not want to accept the baby, said that they had so many mouths and little food, but then the "good Samaritan" put the baby on her knees, and the woman's heart melted. She adopted the child. The lumberjack and his wife raised the boy as their own, never letting him know by their attitude that he was adopted. This is the plot of the story. Ahead is a summary. "Star Boy" is not an easy story, and you will see it.

The main moral conflict of the tale:

Surprisingly, despite the excellent attitude from the side, the boy grew up angry and cruel, because he considered himself the son of a star. In addition, the boy was good-looking, strong. This allowed him to be the leader not only of his named brothers and sisters, but of all the surrounding children. One day a beggar woman came to the house. Outwardly, she was terrible: her face was pierced by leprosy, her hands were sores, and she was dressed in rags. The cruel boy began to scoff at her in every possible way. The lumberjack was furious at the behavior of his adopted son and made him a severe suggestion. However, the boy did not heed his father and, with his usual arrogance, said: “You are a commoner, you have no right to tell me. I am the son of a star." His father reasonably reminded him that it was he, a simple woodcutter, who saved him from death a long time ago. The beggar woman, hearing this, rushed to him and confessed that it was she who was the mother of the "boy from the star." The lumberjack was delighted and told his son, who was playing in the street, to go into the house, for the boy was waiting for his mother. The heartless youth entered the house. In front of him was just a beggar woman, over whom he had recently mocked. He said that it was not his mother and that he would rather kiss a toad or a viper than her. Having said this, he left the house. But before he had time to appear on the street, his now former friends called the beautiful young man a “freak”, a “toad”. He could not understand what was the matter, but then he found a pond and saw in it that he had become terribly disgusting in appearance (here one can see some vice versa). He understood what the punishment for his sins befell him. Ashamed of his behavior, he said goodbye to the lumberjack and his family and went in search of the beggar mother whom he had treated so unjustly. This is the summary. "The Star Boy" is a fairy tale, the main moral conflict of which is the battle between good and evil in a person's heart.

Rising tension and climax

Further, the action develops very rapidly, and the tale is read in one breath. No matter how much the boy wandered, he could not find his mother. One way or another, the road led the terrible young man to the gates of the city, and he asked the guards if they had seen a beggar woman. She is his mother. He told them that finding her was a matter of life and death for him. The guards only laugh at the "freak" and eventually sell him into slavery to a passing sorcerer. The sorcerer locks him in his castle and releases him only so that the former "star boy" gets three coins for him in the forest - from white, from red, from

The boy went into the forest. Accidentally saved a bunny there, and for good reason. Because it was the bunny who helped him get coins for the old sorcerer, but they never got to the villain. Every time the boy returned from the forest, he met a beggar on the road and asked him to return the coins. And each time the boy, who at that moment was completely transformed, yielded to the request of the tramp. When the boy gave the last coin to the beggar and was already waiting for death at the hand of the sorcerer, the world suddenly changed: the guards knelt down, and next to the beggar was the same beggar woman - the boy's mother. The young man washed her feet, her wounds and her ulcers with his tears. She said, "Get up. You didn't help a beggar, you saved your father." Needless to say, both his beauty and his strength returned to the boy. He was the prince of that kingdom, the main city of which he had not been able to enter until some time ago. This is the culmination of the tale, its summary. Star Boy doesn't end there.

The final "hairpin" from Oscar Wilde

The author of The Picture of Dorian Gray would not be himself if he ended the tale on a major note. He said something else. Of course, in order to feel the full charm of Wilde's joke, you need to read the whole fairy tale, and not watch the summary of the story "The Boy Star". But it is my duty to tell the reader of this article that O. Wilde ended the essay something like this: our dear prince, although he was fair, kind and merciful to everyone, did not rule for too long. His poor heart could not stand the suffering, and three years later he died, and the heirs to the throne were tyrants, so his subjects were not too lucky. This end of the tale replaces Wilde's signature. Unmistakably recognizable style of the master.

"Star Boy" is "Dorian Gray" in reverse

So, what did O. Wilde want to say? “Star Boy”, the summary of which you read, is an unusual fairy tale. But, yielding to temptation, it is worth saying that even a cursory glance is enough to understand: “The Star Boy” is a work about the moral rebirth of a person, about a spiritual upheaval, about the unconditional victory of good over evil. The Picture of Dorian Gray, on the other hand, is about the moral and spiritual degradation of man. And from the denouement, or rather, from the final "hairpin", it is clear that Wilde, as an artist, hates happy endings. He loves the boundless deployment of evil in man. The aesthetic position of O. Wilde can be expressed in one quote from "Portrait ...": "When tragedy is combined with beauty, beauty is born." And what could be more tragic and beautiful than the gradual death of beauty?

Among the many fairy tales, it is especially fascinating to read the fairy tale "Star Boy (Star Boy)" by Oscar Wilde, it feels the love and wisdom of our people. 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. The story takes place in ancient times or "Once upon a time" as the people say, but those difficulties, those obstacles and difficulties are close to our contemporaries. A person's worldview is formed gradually, and such works are extremely important and instructive for our young readers. And a thought comes, followed by a desire, to plunge into this fabulous and incredible world, to win the love of a modest and wise princess. It is very useful when the plot is simple and, so to speak, vital, when similar situations develop in our everyday life, this contributes to better memorization. The protagonist always wins not by deceit and cunning, but by kindness, gentleness and love - this is the main quality of children's characters. The fairy tale "Star Boy (Star Boy)" by Oscar Wilde can be read for free online countless times without losing love and hunting for this creation.

Stepping heavily, two woodcutters were returning home through a pine forest. The winter night was especially cold. Snow thickly covered the ground and hung in large caps on the winds of the trees. Frost forged even thin twigs. And the forest around was motionless. The small river that ran down from the mountains froze and became like stone when the Ice Prince's breath touched it.

It was so cold that even the animals and birds froze and could not keep warm.

— Phew! grumbled the Wolf, hobbling through the bowl. His tail, like that of a beaten dog, dangled limply from below. Where is the government looking?

- Fuck. fuck! squealed the motley Linnet. “The old earth has died, and she has been covered with a white shroud.

“The earth is preparing for the wedding, and trying on her wedding dress,” the doves chirped.

Their little pink paws turned almost blue from the cold, but they felt that there was some secret hidden here.

- Nonsense! Wolf snapped. “I told you, the Government is to blame for everything. And if someone doesn't believe me, I'll eat that one.

The wolf was very practical, and never climbed into his pocket for a word.

- As for me. - said the Woodpecker, and he was a born philosopher. - then all explanations are superfluous. Life is what it is. And now she's terribly cold.

Indeed, life in the forest has become terribly cold. The squirrels, who lived in the hollow of a tall spruce, rubbed their noses against each other so as not to freeze at all. And the Hares lay curled up in their hole, and did not even dare to look out. Only the Owls were delighted. Their feathers were frosty and sticking out in all directions, but the Owls didn't care. They rolled their big yellow eyes, and shouted loudly to each other:

— U-uh! Ho-ho-ho! Great weather!

The lumberjacks stubbornly continued on their way. They stopped, blew on their chilled fingers for a long time, danced with heavy boots on the hardened crust, trying to warm their feet, and again walked forward. Once they fell into a deep bergschrundt, and crawled out white, like a miller who had taken on an untied sack of flour. Another time they slipped on a frozen swamp, and all the brushwood scattered across the ice. I had to collect it and again tie it into armfuls. One day it seemed to them that they had lost their way, and an icy fear seized them. Woodcutters knew how cruel Snow is to those who fall asleep in his arms. But they trusted St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, who helps all travelers, returned back in their tracks, and carefully moved on.

Finally, they got out of the forest. Far below, in the valley, they saw the lights of their native village. The woodcutters laughed with joy. “There is our house!” they repeated, clumsily slapping each other on the shoulders.

But then they remembered what was waiting for them at home, and they became sad.

“There is no time for fun,” one of them said. “Life is for the rich, not for the poor like us. It would be better if we were frozen in the forest, or we would be lifted up by a connecting rod.

- You're right, - answered the second, - some have everything, others have nothing. There is only one lie around, and everything, except for grief, is divided unfairly.

While they were lamenting in this way, something extraordinary happened in the dark firmament. A bright beautiful Star fell from its place and rolled to the ground.

Opening their mouths, the lumberjacks watched as it flew past the moon, past other stars, and, crossing the Milky Way, landed right into their forest. It seemed that she fell very close - there, behind the old willows.

“Noble, must be a piece of gold,” they decided. “A good present for whoever finds it.”

And the woodcutters ran with all their might to the fallen star. They really wanted to get at least some gold.

The one who ran first made his way through the thickets and ran out into the clearing. Well well! In the snow, something really shone. In two steps the woodcutter was near and, bending down, gazed intently down. There lay a cloak folded several times over. It was made of expensive golden silk, embroidered with stars.

- I found it, I found it! he shouted to his friend. When he ran, they took the bundle in their hands and began to carefully unfold it - after all, there was gold that still had to be divided. Alas! There was no gold, no silver, no precious stones. In the cloak lay a tiny child who was sleeping peacefully.

“But we thought…” one of them said bitterly. “What good is this baby. Let's leave it here and move on. We are so poor that we cannot even feed our children.

“No,” said the other. You can't leave him here to die from the cold. Although I am a poor man, and there is never enough porridge in our pot for everyone, but I will take him with me, and my wife will take care of him.

He carefully took the child in his arms and wrapped him in a cloak so that the cruel Cold would not breathe on his face.

"That's a slobber," the second woodcutter cursed to himself as they descended into the valley. In front of the village he said:

“Listen, we need to share the find honestly. If you have taken this baby, at least leave me a cloak.

“I can’t,” replied the good woodcutter. This cloak is neither mine nor yours. Let him stay with the child.

And the woodcutter went to his house.

- My dear! his wife shouted with joy, and threw herself into his arms, “I was so worried about you. Terrible frost!

Immediately she picked up a bundle of brushwood, and brushed the snow from his boots.

But the woodcutter did not cross the threshold.

“I found something in the forest,” he said quietly, and I want you to take care of it.

- Amazing! the wife replied. We have so much missing in the house.

The husband unfolded the cloak and showed her the sleeping child.

- Oh my God! she said. “Are our children not enough for you that you brought this foundling?” And who will look after him?

And his wife looked at him angrily.

“This is a star boy,” the husband answered, and told her the strange story of his find. But the wife only got more upset.

“Don’t you know that our children do not have enough bread, and you want us to feed someone else. Who will feed us?

- He who feeds small birds will not leave us.

- Little birds! What are you talking about! Haven't you met in the forest stiff sparrows lying breathless on the ground, hares bullied by wolves?

But the husband was silent and still did not cross the threshold. At this time, a gust of harsh wind blew in through the open door, and the wife shuddered.

“Are you going to keep the door open until the whole house is chilled out?”

“A house with an icy heart will never be warm,” he replied.

The wife said nothing and only moved closer to the fireplace.

When she turned back to her husband, her eyes were full of tears. And then he entered the house, and the wife gently took the child in her arms, kissed him and put him in the bed to their youngest son. In the morning, the woodcutter carefully folded the golden cloak and put it away at the very bottom of the old chest. After looking at him, the wife took the amber necklace that was around the boy's neck and put it in their only chest as well.

So the Star Boy began to live in the family of a kind woodcutter. He grew up with his children, they sat at the dinner table together and played together in the street.

Every year he became more and more beautiful. Neighbors often wondered why, when the woodcutter's other children were swarthy and jet-black-haired, this child was as pale and exquisite as an ivory figurine. His golden hair fell down in ringlets, and his lips were like the petals of a scarlet rose. His eyes were like violets on the banks of a clear stream, and his tender hands were like daffodils on the untouched edge of the forest. But beauty did not make him kind. Quite the contrary, the boy grew up proud and cruel (however, this is almost the same thing). He simply despised the villagers, and even his named brothers - the children of a woodcutter.

“They are all mere peasants, and I am the son of a star,” he used to say.

In children's games, the Star Boy became king and called the rest his servants. There was not a drop of pity in him for the poor, the blind and the wretched. He threw stones at them and drove them back to the main road. So no one who begged for alms entered their village twice. The Star Boy adored beauty and hated the lame and the crippled. As soon as they appeared on the street, he began to mimic and loudly ridicule them.

“What freaks they are,” he said, “and how handsome I am.

On windless summer days, he lay down on the bank of a small church pond and admired his reflection for hours. The Star Boy liked this activity so much that he laughed with pleasure.

And more than once the good woodcutter and his wife reproached him:

Is that what we did when we found you? Why do you offend those who are left completely alone, and there is no one to help them? Why are you so cruel to those who need compassion?

The old village priest often sent for the Star Boy and tried again and again to teach him to love.

“The smallest bug was made by the same One who created you.” All animals and even butterflies in the meadow are our brothers. And the birds in the forest are made free. Don't spread the snares for fun. The mole and the gray mouse are God's creations and live where the Lord commanded them. Who are you that you bring suffering into the world of God? Every breath in the forest, in the sky, and in the river glorifies its Creator, and you offend Him.

The Star Boy silently listened to what was said to him, and again returned to the street. Friends listened to him. And how could you not imitate him. “He was handsome and smart. He could dance wonderfully and played the flute very well. The village boys ran wherever he went and did what he told them. They were amused when he pierced the blind eyes of a helpless mole with a sharp reed, and they rejoiced with him when the Star Boy threw stones at a leper patient. They were at heart, whatever he did, and their hearts became as stone as his.

One day a poor beggar woman was passing through their village. She was wearing shabby, torn clothes, and her bare feet were bloody from sharp stones that were lying on the road. Her appearance was pitiful. She could hardly walk from fatigue, and having reached the old chestnut tree, she sat down to rest.

But then Star Boy saw her.

— Look! he called to his friends. - Under this noble chestnut some dirty beggar sat down. Come on, let's get her out of here - she ruins such a magnificent view.

And he began to throw stones at her and laugh loudly. But the beggar only looked at him, and seemed to freeze, unable to take her eyes off him. Horror was in her eyes.

At this time, a good woodcutter was chopping firewood with a huge ax in front of his house. Seeing what Star Boy was doing, he ran up to him and gave him a good slap in the face.

You don't seem to have a heart at all! What did that poor woman do to you?

The Star Boy blushed with anger, and, stamping his foot, shouted:

"Who are you that I should report to you?" I am not your son, and I do not want to obey you!

"You're right," said the Woodcutter. “But I felt sorry for you when I found you in the forest.

Hearing this, the beggar woman screamed and fell unconscious to the ground. The good Woodcutter picked her up and carried her home. His wife immediately realized what had happened. She put a wet towel on the head of the unfortunate woman, and when she woke up, they put in front of her all the food that was found in their house. But the beggar woman did not even touch the food.

“Tell me,” she asked, “you said you found this boy in the woods. Wasn't that ten years ago?

“Yes, it’s been ten years since I found the boy in the forest, and we took him in with us.

“And there was nothing with him?” Maybe there were still amber beads on his neck? Maybe he was wrapped in a gilded cloak with embroidered stars?

“Your truth, that’s how it was.

And the Good Woodcutter, having rummaged fairly in the chest, took out a cloak and beads from there. Seeing them, the beggar cried out for joy.

“This is my son, whom I lost in the forest. I beg you, call him quickly here. For ten years I have been looking for him all over the world.

The Joyful Woodcutter and his wife ran out of the house and called the Star Boy:

"Hurry, hurry home!" We found your mom and she's waiting for you.

Holding his joy, the Star Boy went to the house, wondering who he would see there.

“Well, where is my mother?” - he asked. “There is no one here but this ragged woman.

“I am your mother,” said the beggar woman.

- You're just out of your mind! the boy exclaimed angrily. “I am not your son. You're just an ugly scarecrow dressed in some rags. Get out of here and live, I don't even want to look at your ugly face.

But you really are my son! The robbers attacked me in the forest and stole you, and then left you alone to die. I immediately recognized you, and here are the things that remained with you. Come with me, for I have traveled the world looking for you. Come on, I need your love so much.

But Star Boy did not move a single step from his seat. He closed the doors of his heart and did not utter a word. Only the sobs of the unfortunate mother were heard in the house.

Finally, he spoke, and the cruel words hurt his mother painfully.

“Even if it’s true, it would be better if you never came here. I am the son of a star, and you tell me that I am the son of a beggar. I already told you get out of here so I never see you again.

- Woe to me! she said. “But at least give your mother a kiss before I leave.” I suffered so much to find you.

“No,” said Star Boy. “I hate to even look at you. I'd rather kiss a viper or a toad than kiss you.

The beggar woman got up, and weeping bitterly went along the road leading into the forest. Star Boy looked after her. When she was completely out of sight, he joyfully ran back to his friends. But as soon as the boys saw him, they started making faces at him, poking their fingers at him, laughing.

“Look, look—nasty as a toad!” shouted his former friends. "He's slimy as a viper!" Get out for good - in health!

And they drove him out of the garden.

What are they all crazy about? and the Star Boy smiled contemptuously. “I’ll go and admire my reflection.” He went to the old pond and looked down.

What is this! His face became nasty, like that of a frog, and his skin shone like snake scales. Sobbing, the Star Boy fell on the grass, and clutching his hair with his hands, buried his face in the ground. "It's my own fault! he thought. “I disowned my mother and kicked her out of the house. How cruel I was to her! I'll go look for her in the wide world. And I will not rest until I find my mother, until she forgives me.

Behind him, the woodcutter's youngest daughter quietly approached and put her hand on his shoulder.

“Don't cry,” she said. - Stay with us. I will never laugh at you.

“I can’t,” said Star Boy. “I was cruel to my mother and deserved this punishment. I'm leaving. I'm going to wander and look for her. Only she can give me forgiveness.

And he ran along the road to the forest and began to scream and beg his mother to return. But the voice was lost among the centuries-old trees, and there was no answer to it. All day the boy called to her, and only when the sun went down did he lie down on a bed of withered leaves. Beasts and birds fled from him - they knew the Star Boy too well. Only a huge green toad watched him attentively, and a poisonous snake hissed past his very face.

Early in the morning he got up, tasted the bitter berries from the bushes that grew nearby, and went further along the road through the dark terrible forest. The Star Boy walked and wept bitterly.

“Have you met my mother?” he asked everyone. But his heart was getting heavier.

“Tell me, dear mole,” he said, “you live underground. Did you see my mother there?

“You gouged out my eyes,” he answered. “How should I know now?

- Maybe you, linnet, saw her? You fly high above the forest and see everything around.

“You clipped my wings for fun. How can I fly now?

The boy asked a lonely squirrel that lived in a tall pine tree:

- Do you know where my mother is?

But the squirrel cried:

You killed all my children. Now you want to kill her?

“God, forgive me, the ugly one! the boy repeated, and, sobbing, went on. On the third day he left the forest and went through the valley.

When he passed the village, the boys teased him and threw stones at him. And the peasants did not let him spend the night even in the barn, so that he would not bring damage to the cows or to the harvested grain - his appearance was so vile. There was no one to take pity on him, and no one saw that beggar woman. For three years now he had wandered the world, and more than once it seemed to him that she was over there, ahead. And he ran with all his might, and the sharp stones on the road tormented his legs until they bled. But his mother was not there, and those who always sit on the sidelines did not see any beggar. But they were not averse to having fun with Star Boy.

He spent three years wandering on the roads, but did not meet with love, mercy, or even kindness. He saw only the world that he himself invented while living with the Woodcutter.

It was late in the evening when the Star Boy saw the fortified walls of some city ahead. Haggard and barefoot, he approached the gate, but the guards lowered their halberds before him. Who are you, and what do you need in our city? they asked without ceremony.

- I'm looking for my mom. Please, let me pass. She might end up in the city,” Star Boy asked.

— Ha-ha-ha! they cackled.

And one guard, with a black beard shaking with laughter, leaned on his shield and barely uttered: - Oh, I can't! Do you think she'll be happy when she sees you? You are as beautiful as a swamp toad or a vile viper. Go, get out of here. Your mother can't be here.

Another guard who held a yellow banner asked the boy:

“Who is she, your mother?” Why are you not together, and you are looking for her?

“She is as poor as I am. But I did harm to her, I was proud and cruel to her. Please let me through. Suddenly she is here. Only she can forgive me.

— No, there are none in our city, no. Get out of here, - and they began to push him out with their sharp peaks.

When the Star Boy had already left the city gates, weeping, a man with gilded flowers on his armor and a winged lion on his helmet approached the guards.

Who wanted to join us? - he asked.

“Yes, nothing,” they said. - Poor son of a poor mother. We drove him away.

"Come on, bring him back here!" We better sell it. The red price for this monster is a bottle of red wine.

Out of nowhere, an old man with a devilish expression jumped up to them.

“I buy it for this price,” he intervened, and after paying the price, he grabbed the boy's hand with an iron grip.

“Follow me,” the old man said and dragged the boy into the city. They rushed past the street vendors, past the palace, past the temple; They descended into narrow, dirty streets, where two people could hardly pass, and began to stray along them until they found themselves in front of a low door. The door was right in the wall, and from the side of the street it was covered by a large pomegranate tree. The old man touched the door with a jasper ring, and it immediately opened. Five copper steps led to a garden where a black poppy grew and a few meager jugs stood. The old man pulled out a painted strip of Chinese silk from his turban and blindfolded the boy's eyes with it. Now he stood behind the boy and only with pushes in the back showed him the way. When Star Boy was untied, they were in the dungeon. Only dim torches on the walls lit the place slightly.

The old man threw a piece of moldy bread on the board in front of the boy.

“Eat,” he said.

“Drink,” he muttered, putting down a mug of rotten water.

When the Star Boy had gnawed the bread and drunk the water, the old man left, locking the door from the outside with an iron bolt.

The old man was the last of the Egyptian magicians, and he learned his art from a sorcerer who spent his life in a damp crypt on the banks of the Nile. However, he soon surpassed his teacher, and there would hardly have been a warlock on earth more cunning than this old man.

As soon as the sun came up, the old man went down to the cellar to the Star Boy.

- Hey, you! he muttered through his teeth. Enough wallowing, time to get to work. Go to the forest at the western city gates. Three precious ingots are hidden there - white, yellow and red gold. Today you will bring me a white ingot. Look, don't get confused. And if you don't, I'll give you a hundred sticks. At sunset, I'll be waiting for you at the door to the garden. Remember that you are my slave - I already paid more for you than you are worth.

The old man again blindfolded the boy and led him out of the house. They passed through a poppy garden, climbed five bronze steps, and the old man opened the door with a jasper ring.

“Come on, get on with it,” he said, and shoved the boy out into the street.

The Star-Child left through the western gate and went into the forest, as the evil old man had told him to. Outside, the forest was so beautiful that it seemed as if it consisted of tender birches, birdsong and lovely flowers. But when the boy entered the thicket, there were no traces of this grandeur. The thorny bushes of wild rose and hawthorn did not allow him to pass, the nettles painfully whipped his bare feet, and the thistle, as if with steel needles, dug into the exhausted body of the Star Boy. Where are those ingots the old man was talking about? The sun was just rising when the boy began to search, and now it was getting dark. It was time to return. Quietly sobbing, the Star Boy went home, imagining how the old man would meet him. Already leaving the forest, the boy heard a thin squeak from somewhere in the thickets. Forgetting his grief, he rushed in that direction. There the boy saw a little hare caught in a hunter's trap.

"Poor fellow," said Star Boy, releasing the hare. “Although I am now a slave, I can help you.

- You gave me freedom, - the Hare answered, - how can I thank you?

Star Boy did not even have time to be surprised.

“I've been looking all day for a bar of white gold, but I haven't found it. My master promised me a hundred blows with a stick if I returned empty-handed.

“Come with me,” the Hare rejoiced. “I know where he is hidden. And now I even know why he's there.

The boy went after the Hare, and oh, a miracle! It can be seen that the lightning split the huge oak in two, and in the black crack lay the same ingot!

- Thank you, kind Hare. You repaid me in full. that I let you go, and for my kindness returned you as a sevenfold.

- That's nonsense! - answered the Hare. “I just did the same as you.

And he ran off into the woods.

When the happy boy approached the city, he saw a leper sitting at the gate. The gray hood covered his entire face, only red eyes, like embers. seen in narrow slits. When the leper spotted the Star Boy, he held out an empty begging mug to him.

"Help me," he croaked. - I am starving. In this city, no one took pity on me, and they threw me out the gate.

"But I can't," the boy cried. “I have only one ingot, which I must return to my master. I am a slave and will be beaten if I give you the gold.

“I am dying of hunger,” the leper repeated in a barely audible voice.

Star Boy thrust a white ingot into his hands and, closing his eyes, ran into the city gates.

The sorcerer was already waiting for him at the small door. Letting him into the garden, he asked:

Where is my gold?

“I have nothing,” said Star Boy.

The enraged old man rushed at him with his fists. After beating the boy, he threw an empty bowl in front of him.

— Eat! - he said.

Then he placed an empty mug in front of him.

And the sorcerer dragged him into the same dungeon.

The next morning the sorcerer again came for the Star Boy.

“If you don’t bring me a piece of yellow gold, you will forever remain my slave, and I will pour three hundred sticks into you.” Now get moving!

The Star Boy again wandered into the forest. All day he searched for the yellow ingot, but he could not find it anywhere. When the sun set below the horizon, the boy sat down on a rotten stump and began to cry. When he was so sad, the Hare jumped up, whom he pulled out of the trap yesterday.

- Why are you crying? And what are you looking for in the forest?

— I'm looking for a yellow gold ingot. If I don't find him, I'll be a slave forever.

“Let’s go,” said the Hare and galloped through the forest to a small pond. At the bottom of it lay a yellow ingot.

- What can I do for you? Star Boy asked. “This is the second time you have helped me out of trouble.

- Again you are for your own, - the Hare answered. “You were the first to take pity on me.

And he disappeared behind the bushes.

Star Boy took the ingot from the pond, put it in his knapsack and hurried to the city. The leper, noticing him from a distance, limped towards him, holding out his ugly hands.

"Gold, gold," he groaned. "Give me at least a few coins, or I'll starve to death."

“But I only have one ingot,” said the boy. “If I don't bring it, I'll never be free again.

“And I will die of hunger,” said the leper.

Star Boy handed him his knapsack.

When he returned, the old man simply dragged him through the door.

— Where, where is the yellow ingot? he shouted.

"I don't have one," the boy replied.

- Oh, are you like that? - and the sorcerer grabbed a stick and beat him half to death. Then he bound his hands with a chain, and again dragged him into the dungeon.

In the morning the old man opened the iron bolt and said:

“If you bring me a red ingot, I will let you go. If there is no gold in the evening, you will not see the next sunrise.

And again, the whole day, the barely alive Star Boy was looking for a red ingot, and could not find it anywhere. At the end of the day, he came to the same stump, and weeping, he sank down on it. The boy was almost not surprised when the little Hare galloped up to him.

- Silly you! he said. “The red ingot lies behind you in the ditch. Take it, and stop shedding tears.

The boy climbed into the ditch, and at the far end he found red gold.

- How can I repay you? he asked the Hare.

“Twenty-five again,” the Hare got angry. You pulled me out of the trap!

And he quietly jumped somewhere in the forest. And Star Boy went to the city as fast as he could.

The leper was already standing in the middle of the road. Seeing the boy, he spread his rags and prayed:

“Give me red gold or I will die.”

“Well, take him,” said Star Boy, taking pity. - You need it more.

And with a heavy sigh, he entered the city gates.

But what is it? When the guards saw Star Boy, they jumped to attention and saluted him. Passers-by, staring at the boy, forgot about all their business, and the merchants threw their goods and ran to meet him.

“How handsome our young Prince is! the people exclaimed.

"I know they're laughing at me again," thought Star Boy, and tears welled up in his eyes. “My misfortune only amuses them.

A whole crowd gathered around the boy, preventing him from turning to the door in the wall, and he obediently walked along a narrow corridor among people. So he ended up on the Palace Square. The doors of the Palace opened wide, and the Bishop with the City Bishop, with all the city's nobility came out to meet him.

“You are our sovereign,” said the Bishop, and the people knelt down. “You are the son of our King, we have been waiting for you for many years.

“I am not the son of a King, but of a poor beggar woman. Why do you call me beautiful when I know how ugly I am?

Then a warrior with gilded flowers on his armor and a winged lion on his helmet raised his shining shield before the Star-Child and asked him:

"Isn't our master beautiful?"

And in this shield, as in a mirror, the boy saw his face, beautiful as before. The boy saw his eyes and did not recognize them.

Then even the Eparch knelt before him, and the Bishop said:

- An ancient prophecy says that our Sovereign will come on this day. You must receive the crown and scepter from my hands. Be our King, merciful and just.

“But I am not worthy,” said the young Prince. “I have renounced my mother, and there will be no forgiveness or peace for me until I find her. Neither crown nor scepter will keep me here. I have to go.

Star Boy turned to the city gates, and in the crowd, which the guards had already pushed back, saw a familiar face. It was the same beggar!

- Mother! the Prince shouted and rushed towards her. He fell at her feet and kissed them. He wet her wounds with tears, and lowering his face to the ground, he said:

“Forgive me, Mommy! I betrayed you when I was happy, forgive me when I feel bad. Only evil you saw from me, show me your love. I renounced you - take me to yourself.

Not a word was said by the beggar.

Then the Star-Child stretched out his arms and clasped the leprous-white legs of the one who stood beside him. “Three times I took pity on you, have pity on me too - ask my mother to forgive me.

But the leper was also silent.

The unfortunate Star Boy sobbed:

Mom, I can't take this anymore! Forgive me and I will go back to the forest.

- Get up! said the beggar, and put her hand on his head.

- Get up! - said the leper and put his hand on top.

Star Boy rose to his feet and saw the King and Queen before him.

Oscar Wilde Star Boy (Star Child) (read online)

The Star-child - Star Child (Star Boy)

It was winter. There was a fierce cold...

The great pine forest froze; the snow enveloped him in a thick veil and hung in intricate tufts on the branches of the trees. The Ice King ordered the Mountain Stream to stop, and it, hanging in the air, became motionless.

Birds and animals were chilly and did not know how best to hide from the cold.

What unbearable weather... Phew! - said the Wolf, raising his tail and sneaking between the bushes.

Kuit! quit! quit! the green Linnets groaned plaintively. - The earth froze: a white shroud was put on it ...

The earth has put on her wedding dress, she must be getting married ... - the gentle Turtle Doves said to each other, not knowing where to put their pink paws, stiff from the cold.

If you talk nonsense, I will eat you, - the Wolf angrily told them.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter why it’s cold, - the Green Woodpecker pointed out instructively. - After all, your reasoning will not make it warmer ...

Nobody objected to the woodpecker. And he was right.

In fact, the cold was unbelievable. Little Squirrels shivered even in the hollow. Rubbing their muzzles against each other, they still could not warm up. The rabbits also shivered, although they lay in balls in their burrows. Only the horned owls and owls did not complain about the weather: they were very warmly dressed. Rolling their round red eyes, they echoed with each other and shouted to the whole forest:

Tu-vit! woo! Tu-vit! woo! what a glorious weather!

In this cold season, two woodcutters were returning home. They walked through the pine forest, cowering in the cold. More than once they fell and fell into a deep snowdrift, from where they crawled out white, showered with snow. Somehow, having slipped, they dropped their bundles of brushwood, and they were untied. It took a lot of work to bind them again with stiff hands. Soon they lost their way and became terribly afraid, because the snow was already stretching out its icy embrace to them. After a long wandering, they finally reached the edge of the forest and saw the lights of their village flickering in the distance. This made them so happy that they became cheerful. It was only when they approached the village that they remembered their terrible poverty, and their hearts were filled with sadness.

Yes, - said one of them, - life does not please us: it belongs only to the rich. Indeed, it would not be so bad if we died in the forest.

That's right, - answered the comrade. - The world is divided too unfairly: some have a lot, while others have too little.

As soon as the woodcutter uttered these words, a bright star flashed ahead of him. Slipping across the horizon, she fell. It seemed to the woodcutters that a star fell near the willows, not far from them.

Hey! Isn't this a treasure! - one woodcutter exclaimed.

And both comrades set off in a race to the place where, as it seemed to them, a star fell.

Soon one woodcutter was ahead of his friend. Running through the willows, he actually saw a large golden bundle in the snow. Leaning towards it, the woodcutter noticed that it was a cloak of golden cloth folded several times over.

Go quickly to look at the fallen treasure! - the woodcutter shouted to his comrade.

Probably, there are gold coins here, - said the woodcutter who came up.

The comrades sat down near the cloak and began to unfold it, anticipating a pleasant division of gold.

Yes, there is something soft and warm here,” said the woodcutter suddenly, unrolling his cloak.

What a bitter disappointment! - they exclaimed at once, when instead of gold they saw a sleeping child.

The woodcutters quickly covered the child with a cloak and thought sadly.

Yes, we are not lucky, - one said to the other. - Where are we going to put this child? We'll have to leave it here. Let's go home soon, we must feed our children, not strangers.

I can't leave a child here to perish: it's not good, said another woodcutter.

And the woodcutter, gently wrapping the child in a cloak, picked him up and went home.

After all, this is madness! - a comrade who was walking behind told him

But, on reflection, he began to marvel at his gentleness.

When they came to the village, the comrade said to the woodcutter who was carrying the child:

You can’t do that,” answered the woodcutter. - The cloak belongs to neither you nor me, it is the property of the child.

And he said goodbye to his friend and went to the house. His wife was very happy about his arrival, freed him from the bundle of brushwood, shook off the snow from him, and then only noticed the bundle in his hands.

What is it?” she asked.

And this is a child; I found him in the forest and brought him to you so that you would take care of him as well as our children.

And the husband, unfolding the cloak, opened the sleeping child to his wife.

Are your children not enough for you? - the wife said reproachfully. - How are we going to feed and educate him when we don’t have the strength to keep our children? Who can guarantee that this child will not bring us misfortune!

This child should bring us happiness: it is the Child-Star, answered the woodcutter and began to talk about the wondrous find.

But it was difficult to calm the wife; she grumbled that there was not enough food anyway, and then there was someone else's child.

God cares not only about people, but even about birds; look: He feeds them in the winter, - said the woodcutter.

How? - the wife exclaimed. - You don't even know that birds die of hunger in winter? Be ashamed and remember that it is winter now!

The woodcutter stood near the open door and did not budge.

A sharp wind blew through the open door. The woodcutter's wife felt cold and she said to her husband:

Close the door, a sharp wind is blowing into the chamber!

Where there is a callous heart, it is always cold, - answered the woodcutter.

The wife silently sat down by the fire.

After a few minutes, she looked at her husband. There were tears in her eyes. The husband noticed this, went up to her and handed her the child. Taking him in her arms, she carried him to the crib where her youngest son slept.

The next morning, the woodcutter hid the golden cloak and the amber chain that hung around the child's neck in a chest.

We must keep it for the time being,” he said to his wife.

The Child-Star was brought up in the family of a lumberjack. It sat at the same table with his children and played with them together.

As time went. The Star-Boy became more and more beautiful. Everyone was amazed at his beauty: he was gentle and white, he had beautiful curls, coral lips and eyes like violets.

Conscious of his superiority and his beauty, the Star-Child became proud. And in his pride he became cruel and proud. He treated the woodcutter's children and other village children with contempt, considering himself noble, born of the Star, and them low in origin. He began to command the children and call them his servants. The poor, the crippled, the blind, and generally the weak and unfortunate, he also despised. Not having the slightest pity for them, he threw stones at them, drove them onto the high road and threatened them so that they would not appear next time. Evilly mocking the weak, the Star-Child loved only himself, his beauty. Often he went down to the stream on the priest's estate and admired the reflection of his handsome face in its water.

The Woodcutter and his wife often reprimanded the Star-Child for his cruel treatment of the weak and crippled. They taught him compassion.

The old priest called him to him more than once and instructed:

Child, treat all living things with love. Do not bring suffering into God's world. Do not even offend a fly, because she, like you, is a creation of the Creator, therefore, she is your sister. God gave the birds freedom. It is not good to catch them in a net just for fun. Remember that you are not the owner of at least an earthworm or a mole. God created them and assigned each of them a place on earth. Every creature praises its Creator.

The Star-Child listened silently to these instructions. Bending his head, he either frowned or grinned. But as soon as he returned to his comrades, he again commanded everyone and again became cruel. All the children obeyed him, because he was dexterous, handsome, knew how to whistle, play the flute and dance. The children always obediently did everything he ordered them to do. When he tortured the mole by gouging out his eyes, the children laughed. When he threw stones at the blind or at the lepers, they helped him. His cruelty infected them.

Once a poor beggar happened to pass by the village where the Star-Child lived. She was in torn clothes and barefoot. There were bloody abrasions on her legs from walking on the flinty road. Broken, exhausted, she sat down near the chestnut tree. Noticing her, the Star-Child called out to his peers

Look, there is a beggar woman in rags sitting under that tree. We need to get this bastard out of there. Let's go!

He ran closer to the beggar woman and, cursing, threw a stone at her. When the beggar woman saw him, horror was reflected in her eyes, and she did not take her eyes off the Star-Child. But he began to throw stones at her again. Seeing this, the woodcutter ran out of the shed where he was chopping wood, and angrily said to the adopted child: - Indeed, there is no pity in your heart and you are cruel! What harm has this woman done to you, and why are you beating her?

The Star-Child looked proudly at him and angrily said:

I don't have to give you an explanation for my actions. You are not my father to order!

That's true, - answered the woodcutter, - but still I took pity on you and saved you from death when you were freezing near the forest; and then I raised you.

The last words of the woodcutter so struck the beggar woman that she cried out and fainted. The woodcutter rushed to her and carried her to his house. The woodcutter's wife brought her to her senses, fed her and comforted her.

Having recovered a little, the woman asked the woodcutter:

You said that this boy was freezing near the forest and you found him. Has it been ten years since then?

Yes, that was ten years ago,” answered the woodcutter.

Was he not wrapped in a cloak of golden cloth and was there an amber chain around his neck? the woman asked quickly.

Yes, he was wrapped in a cloak and had an amber chain around his neck, the woodcutter replied.

And he took out a golden cloak and an amber chain from the chest and showed them to the woman.

As soon as the woman saw the cloak and the chain, she wept for joy and exclaimed:

Right! This is my son, whom I lost in the forest ... Be kind, go for him: after all, I was looking for him all over the world.

The woodcutter immediately went out and, finding the Star-Child, said to him:

Go home: your mother has come to you.

The Star Boy was terribly surprised. He happily ran home, but, seeing the beggar woman, he exclaimed indignantly:

Apart from this beggar, there is no one here. Show me my mother!

Then the woman said to him in embarrassment:

Your mother is me...

How? You are my mother! shouted the Star-Child angrily. You have to be crazy to say that! Who will believe you that I was the son of such a dirty beggar. I don't want to see you anymore: get out of here!

What I say is true, - said the woman. - You are my son, who was stolen from me by robbers and then thrown. True signs: a golden cloak and an amber chain ... Come with me, my son, I love you and you will be my consolation!

And the woman fell on her knees and held out her hands to him.

But the Star-Child gave her a contemptuous look, and said sharply:

If you really are my mother, then it would be better for you not to bring shame to me. Until now, I have been called the son of the Star, and not the beggar. Get out of here, I don't want to see you!

My dear son, - the woman said pleadingly, - I have suffered so much in search for you that I can hardly bear this new suffering. Kiss me goodbye before leaving!

You are so ugly that I would rather kiss a snake or a toad, but not you, - the Star-Child answered and turned away from the woman.

Weeping bitterly, the woman went into the forest and disappeared. And the Star-Child returned to his comrades.

But then something strange happened... When the children saw the Star-Boy, they began to taunt him, saying:

Woo! How ugly you are, like a toad or a snake! We won't play with you. Get away from here!

And the children drove him away.

The Star-Child was terribly surprised at this. "What does it mean?" he thought and decided to go to the stream and look at himself in the mirror of its waters.

But when he came to the stream and looked at his reflection, his face was contorted with horror. He saw that he had become like a toad in face and a snake in body. He had a flat gray face, green eyes, and snakelike skin on his body.

The Star-Child fell to the ground and burst into tears.

Oh, I'm unhappy! he exclaimed. Now I understand that I am punished for my cruelty. And I even disowned my mother. I will now look for her in the wide world and until then I will not rest until I find her.

At this time, someone put a hand on his shoulder and gently said:

Do not Cry! It doesn't matter that you've become ugly. I won't laugh at you. Just stay with us.

He turned around and saw the woodcutter's little daughter beside him.

No, I must leave here, - he answered - I am punished for my cruelty and must find my mother and beg her forgiveness.

Having said this, the Star-Child jumped to his feet and ran into the forest. All day long he called his mother there, but no one answered him. As the sun went down, he lay down on the grass. Birds and animals, knowing his cruelty, ran around him; and only one toad was not afraid of him, and a viper crawled past him without fear.

At sunrise he got up, ate wild berries, and weeping ran forward. And whoever he came across, whether it was an animal or a bird, he asked everyone if they had met his mother.

Mole was the first to meet him. The Star Boy asked him:

You walk under the earth and hear the steps of those who pass on the earth. Tell me, have you heard the steps of a woman passing by and weeping?

You gouged out my eyes for fun and I can’t repay you with kindness for your cruelty, ”answered the Mole.

You soar above the treetops and see the whole earth. Tell me, have you seen my mother?

You were so cruel, - answered Linnet, - that you cut off my wings, and now I cannot fly.

Have you seen my mother?

I will not answer this question for you, said Belka, because you killed my mother. I'm afraid you're looking for your mother too to kill her.

The Star-Boy then fell on his knees and, with tears in his eyes, began to ask for forgiveness from God's creatures. And again he went to look for a beggar woman.

After passing through the forest, he came to a village. But as soon as the village children saw him, they threw stones at him and drove him away. No one treated him with pity: both the peasants and the workers laughed at his ugliness and persecuted him, not even giving him a lodging for the night. So he wandered around the world for three years, not meeting anywhere with mercy or participation. He was treated the same as he once treated the unfortunate in the days of his pride.

One evening he came to the gates of a great city. This city was surrounded by a stone wall. Soldiers stood guard at the gate. When the Star-Child wanted to enter the city, the soldiers blocked his entrance and asked:

Why are you going to the city?

I need to find my mother, - he answered, - let me in: maybe she is there.

But the soldiers began to mock him, and one of them said:

I don't think your mother would be happy with you. After all, you are uglier than a toad and a snake. Get away from here! Your mother is not in town.

And the soldiers began to push him away from the gate. No matter how he pleaded with them, they remained adamant. He already wanted to leave. Suddenly, a man in military uniform appeared.

What happened here?” he asked the soldiers. This vagabond, the son of a beggar, was walking into the city,

but we didn't let him in.

Wait to drive him, - said the man, - let's sell him into slavery. Such a disgrace is rare. There will be, perhaps, an eccentric who will buy it. We will drink a cup of sweet wine with this proceeds.

And the man, having detained the Star-Boy, began to offer him for sale to some passers-by. But no one bought it.

The Star Boy began to rejoice at this, and the military already wanted to abandon their idea. At this time, an old man with an angry face passed by.

There is a magician (sorcerer), - said one of the soldiers, - let's offer him this freak.

To the proposal of the military, the magician replied:

I agree to buy it for this price. Here's the money. The magician paid, took his newly bought slave by the hand and led him into the city.

For a long time they walked through the streets. Finally they reached a stone wall under the shade of pomegranate trees. There was a small door in the wall. The magician put the ring he had taken off his hand to the door, and it opened. The magician led the Star-Child down five bronze steps into a garden where there were many green clay bowls filled with black poppies. Then he blindfolded Star-Child with a silk scarf and pushed him through a door. After the scarf was removed, the Star-Child noticed that he was in a dungeon, dimly lit by the light pouring from a glass horn.

The magician put a piece of stale bread and a cup of salt water on the table and said to the Star-Child:

Eat and drink!

While the Star-Child was restoring his strength, the mage slipped out unnoticed and chained the door behind him.

The next morning, the magician arrived at the dungeon and, turning to the Star-Child, said menacingly:

Near this city, three golden coins are hidden in the forest: one is made of white gold, the other is made of yellow and the third is red. Today you will go to the forest, find a white gold coin and bring it to me. By sunset you must come to the garden door: there I will wait for you. If you do not bring me this coin, then remember - you will receive a hundred strokes. From now on, you are my slave, because I bought you for three cups of wine.

The Magician blindfolded Star-Child with a scarf and led him through the garden to the five bronze steps. Opening the door with his ring, the magician released the Star-Child into the street.

Leaving the city, the Star-Child headed for the forest. Luxurious forest seemed like a paradise. In it songbirds sang and beautiful parrots chatted; beautiful flowers were everywhere, emitting the fragrance of fragrances. But as soon as the Star-Child entered this forest, sharp thorns, evil nettles and thorny thistles attacked him. They pricked and burned his bare feet and hands, and he suffered terrible torment from them.

From early morning until sunset, he searched the forest for a coin of white gold and did not find it. When the sun went down, he went home. Bitter tears flowed from his eyes, for he knew what fate awaited him.

Coming out to the edge of the forest, the Star-Child suddenly heard a plaintive cry. Listening, he noticed that the cry was coming from the thicket of the forest. The Star-Child forgot his grief and rushed into the thicket. There he found a little Hare caught in a hunter's trap. Freeing him from the grip of the trap, the Star-Child said:

Though I am a slave myself, I can grant you freedom.

I am very grateful to you, - the Hare answered unexpectedly in a human voice. - You returned my freedom and I would like to repay you for this with something.

I am ordered to find a piece of white gold, - said the Star-Child. - I have been looking for it all day and could not find it. Now I'm going to be beaten for this.

Follow me! - answered the Hare, - I know where it is and what you will need.

The Hare led the Star-Child to the hollow of a large oak tree.

Here in this crevice you will find a coin of white gold, he said.

The Star-Child rushed to the cleft of the oak and found there a piece of white gold.

Pleased with the find, he began to thank the Hare.

For my service you pay me excessively!” he exclaimed.

No, - answered the Hare - I did the same to you as you did to me: I pay good for good.

And the Hare quickly disappeared, and the Star-Child headed for the city.

At the city gate sat a man stricken with leprosy. His face was covered with a gray cloth. Pupils peeped through the eye holes like hot coals. As the Star-Child passed by the leper, the latter struck the bottom of the wooden cup loudly and, ringing the bell, said:

I was expelled from the city, no one has pity for me, and now I'm dying of hunger. Give me money - I will be saved.

I can't help you, replied the Star-Child, because there is only one coin in my pocket, and I must bring that to my master. If I don't bring it, he will kill me like his slave.

But the leper so pleaded with the Star-Child to give him the coin, that at last the leper took pity on him and gave him the white-gold coin.

It was hard for him to return to the magician's house. Approaching the door, he noticed that the magician was impatiently waiting for him.

Well, give me a coin of white gold!” shouted the magician, quickly pushing the Star-Child through the garden door.

I don't have it, answered the Star-Child.

That's how! - the magician said ominously and, attacking him, began to beat him.

Then he placed an empty table in front of him, put an empty cup on it, and saying: "Eat, drink," again locked him in prison.

In the morning the magician came to the dungeon and, angrily banging his ring on the table, said:

If you do not find me a yellow gold coin today, I will severely punish you: you will receive three hundred strokes.

And he led the Star-Child to the door and released him into the street.

The Star-Child again went into the forest and began to look for a coin of yellow gold. He searched all day for her, but he couldn't find her anywhere.

In the evening he got out of the forest and, sitting down on the edge of the forest, began to cry.

What are you crying about? - the Hare suddenly ran up to him.

Yes, I have been looking all day for a coin of yellow gold and have not found it anywhere, answered the Star-Child. - Now my master will beat me severely, because I - his slave - did not fulfill the assignment given to me.

Follow me! - said the Hare and ran into the forest to the stream.

There, - he said, - at the bottom of the stream, near the stone lies a coin of yellow gold.

I don’t know how to thank you!” cried the delighted Star-Child.

Why, you were the first to take pity on me, - the Hare told him and disappeared.

The Star Boy, taking out a yellow gold coin, hurriedly headed towards the city. But as soon as he approached the gate, the leper stretched out his hands to him and shouted:

I'm starving, give me money!

But I only have one yellow gold coin. If I do not hand it over to my master, he will beat me like a slave, answered the Star-Child.

The leper begged him to give him the coin. The Star-Child was touched by his complaints and gave him the coin.

Meanwhile, the magician had been waiting for the Star-Boy for a long time. Opening the door for him, he asked sternly:

Did you bring a yellow gold coin?

No, replied the Star-Child.

The magician grabbed him and began to beat him. Then he imprisoned him and put heavy iron chains on him.

When morning came, the magician came into the dungeon and said to the Star-Child:

You must bring a coin of red gold today. If you fulfill my order, I will set you free, if not, I will kill you.

Going into the forest, the Star-Child searched from morning to evening for a coin of red gold, but all in vain. Tired, exhausted, he sank to the ground and burst into tears. And again the little Hare appeared and asked:

What are you crying about?

I can’t find red gold coins anywhere, answered the Star-Child through tears.

Look back... In that gorge over there you will find a red gold coin. Do not cry and be cheerful, - said the Hare.

I don't know how to thank you! - exclaimed the delighted Star-Child. - After all, you are helping me for the third time.

You were the first to take pity on me, - the Hare answered and ran away.

The Star-Child easily found a coin of red gold in the gorge.

When he approached the city gates, the leper again began to ask him for money. The Star-Boy at first refused, but then could not stand it and, taking pity on the leper, gave him the coin.

You need more than me,” he said, and, sighing heavily, he went through the city.

The mage will kill me, he thought.

When the Star-Child approached the main city tower, he was met by military guards. She paid him respects and greeted him. Immediately a crowd of citizens appeared.

How beautiful is our master! There is no one better in the world than him!” she exclaimed.

The Star-Child looked at all this with surprise and thought with sorrow:

"They mock my ugliness."

The crowd of people grew and grew. Avoiding her, the Star-Child turned into King's Square, where the King's palace was. But as soon as he appeared on the square, the gates of the palace opened and the priests and high dignitaries appeared. They went out to meet the Star-Child, and, going up to him, said respectfully:

You are the son of our King and our lord, we salute you!

The astonished Star-Child replied:

You are wrong. I am the son of a beggar, not the son of the King. And I'm not beautiful, but ugly.

At that moment, the head of the detachment stepped forward and said:

Your Majesty, you are beautiful and you cannot deny it.

The Star-Child drew near to his gleaming helm, studded with gold, looked in it at the reflection of his own face, and saw that beauty had returned to him again. Only the eyes were different: there was no former pride and a spark of cruelty in them, but there was something new.

Priests and dignitaries bowed before him and said:

Our King is old and gives you this crown and scepter. Take them, be our King, and may justice and mercy accompany you.

But I am not worthy to be a king: I offended my mother and must find her in order to receive forgiveness, answered the Star-Child.

And he turned back to go. His gaze suddenly fell on the crowd, and among them he noticed a beggar woman - his mother, and next to her - a leper. With a cry of joy, the Star-Child rushed to his mother, fell on his knees and kissed the wounds on her legs. Weeping, he said:

I'm sorry! When I was proud, I pushed you away. Accept me now, in the days of my humiliation. I need your Love. Forget my hatred and don't push your child away!

The beggar was silent.

The Star-Child turned to the leper and, stretching out his hands, said:

I pity you three times. Ask my mother once to take pity on me.

But the leper was also silent.

The Star-Child sobbed harder and, turning to his mother, said:

Mother, my suffering exceeds my strength. Forgive me, and I will leave again to wander the world.

The beggar put her hand on his head and said softly:

Get up!” said the leper. The Star-Child rose and looked at his mother and at the leper. Instead of them stood the Queen and the King.

And the Queen said, pointing to the transformed leper:

This is your father. You helped him.

And the King said, pointing to the transformed beggar:

This is your mother. You kissed her wounds.

The King and Queen embraced the Star-Child and kissed him. After that, everyone went to the palace. There the Star-Child was dressed up in the finest clothes and crowned king. And he began to rule the city.

As a ruler, he was kind and just. He drove out the evil magician, and bestowed gifts on the woodcutter and his wife, and took the children of the woodcutter to serve in the palace.

The young King could not bear cruelty. He constantly taught his subjects love and mercy. Every poor man could freely turn to the King for help. And the young King helped everyone: he fed the hungry, and clothed the naked. And peace reigned in that country. But the glorious reign of the young King was short-lived. The past tormented him and he suffered. But even more he suffered at the sight of human suffering. Three years later, he died, unable to bear his suffering.

Oscar Wilde. Star Boy (Star Child). 1891 Translation: I.P. Sakharov as presented for children. Illustrations: F. Miloslavina