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Адаптация текста, комментарии и словарь С.А. Матвеева, Е.А. Лебедевой, К.Г. Дмитриевой

Иллюстрации М.М. Салтыкова

© Матвеев С.А., Лебедева Е.А., Дмитриева К.Г., адаптация текста

© ООО «Издательство АСТ», 2019

Tom Tit Tot

Once upon a time, there was a woman¹, and she baked five pies. And when they came out of the oven, they were very hard to eat. So she says to her daughter:

“Daughter, put the pies on the shelf and leave them there a little, and they will come again².” That is³, the crust will become softer.

But the girl says to herself, “Well, if they come again, I will eat them now.” And she ate them all.

Well, when supper-time came, the woman said, “Go and get one of the pies. I think they came again now.”

The girl went and looked, and there were only dishes. So she comes back and says, “No, they did not come again.”

“No?” says the mother.

“No,” says the daughter.

“Well,” said the woman, “I’ll⁴ eat one for supper.”

“But you can’t⁵ if they didn’t⁶ come,” said the girl.

“But I can,” says she. “Go you and bring the best pie.”

“Best or worst,” says the girl, “I ate them all, and you can’t eat the pie till it comes again.”

Well, the woman was very angry, and she took her spinning to the door, and she began to sing:

“My daughter ate five, five pies today.

My daughter ate five, five pies today.”

The king was coming down the street, and he heard her song. So he stopped and said:

“What were you singing, my good woman?”

The woman told him these other words instead of that⁷:

“My daughter span five, five skeins today.

My daughter span five, five skeins today.”

“Oh!” said the king, “I never heard of anyone who could do that.” Then he said, “Listen, I want a wife, and I’ll marry your daughter. During eleven months of the year, she will have everything that she wants; but the last month of the year she will spin five skeins every day, and if she can’t, I shall kill her.”

“All right,” says the woman; she thought only about a grand marriage. Her daughter was very happy. “I’ll marry a king!” she thought. “And in eleven months the king will forget about skeins.”

Well, so they were married. And for eleven months the girl had all she liked to eat, all the dresses she liked to wear, and all the friends she liked.

When the time came, she began to think about the skeins. But the king did not say any word about them, and she decided that he forgot them.

However, the last day of the last month he takes her to a new room. There was nothing in it but a spinning-wheel and a stool. And he says, “Now, my dear, I’ll shut you here tomorrow with some food and some flax, and if you do not spin five skeins by the night, your head will be cut⁸.” And he went away.

The girl was very frightened; she didn’t know how to spin, and what will she show the king tomorrow? Nobody will come to help her. She sat down on a stool in the kitchen and began to cry.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. She stood up and opened it, and she saw a small black impet with a long tail. He looked at her and asked:

“Why are you crying?”

“Why do you ask?” says she.

“Tell me,” said he, “why are you crying.”

And he turned his tail around.

So the poor girl told him about the pies and the skeins and everything.

“I’ll help you,” says the little black impet, “I’ll come to your window every morning and take the flax and bring it ready at night.”

“What do you want for that?” says she.

He said, “I’ll give you three guesses every night to guess my name, and if you don’t guess it before the end of the month, you will be mine⁹.”

“Well,” she thought, “I’ll guess his name for sure¹⁰”. “All right,” says she, “I agree.”

The next day, her husband took her into the room, and there was the flax and her food.

“This is the flax,” says he, “and if you don’t spin it this night, you’ll lose your head.” And then he went out and locked the door.

So the girl heard a knock near the window. She stood up and opened it, and there was the little old impet.

“Where’s the flax?” says he.

“Here it is,” says she. And she gave it to him.

When the evening came, the knock came again to the window. The girl stood up and opened it, and there was the little old impet with five skeins of flax on his arm.

“Here it is,” says he, and he gave it to her.

“Now, what’s my name?” says he.

“Is that Bill?” says she.

“No, it isn’t!” says he, and he twirled his tail.

“Is that Ned?” says she.

“No, it isn’t!” says he, and he twirled his tail.

“Well, is that Mark?” says she.

“No, it isn’t!” says he, and he twirled his tail harder and flew away.

When her husband came in, there were the five skeins ready for him. “Well, I shan’t¹¹ kill you tonight, my dear,” says he; “you’ll have your food and your flax in the morning,” says he and goes away.

Every day he brought the flax and the food, and every day that little black impet came mornings and evenings. And all the day the girl was trying to guess his name in order to¹² say it when the impet came at night. But she did not say the right name. By the end of the month, the impet began to look very angrily, and twirled his tail faster and faster.

Finally, the last day came. The impet came at night with the five skeins and said:

“Do you know my name?”

“Is that Nicodemus¹³?” says she.

“No, it isn’t,” he says.

“Is that Sammle¹⁴?” says she.

“No, it isn’t,” he says.

“Is that Methusalem¹⁵?” says she.

“No, no, no!” he says.

Then he looks at her and says: “Woman, there’s only tomorrow night, and then you’ll be mine!” And he flew away.

She was very afraid. But the king came. When he sees the five skeins, he says:

“Well, my dear, if I see the skeins ready tomorrow night, I shan’t kill you. And I’ll have supper here.” So he brought supper and another stool for him, and they sat down.

Suddenly, he stops and begins to laugh.

“What’s up?¹⁶“ says she.

“Oh,” says he, “I was hunting today, and I went very far in the wood. And I heard a song. So I got off¹⁷ my horse, and I went forward. I saw a funny little black man. He had a little spinning-wheel, and he was spinning wonderfully fast, and he was twirling his tail. And he was singing:

“Nimmy nimmy not,

My name’s Tom Tit Tot.”

When the girl heard this, she became very happy, but she didn’t say a word.

Next day, that little impet looked very maliceful when he came for the flax. And when the night came, she heard the knock. She opened the window, and the impet came into the room. He was grinning, and his tail was twirling very fast.

“What’s my name?” he asked when he was giving her the skeins.

“Is that Solomon¹⁸?” she says.

“No, it isn’t,” he said and came further into the room.

“Well, is that Zebedee¹⁹?” says she again.

“No, it isn’t,” says the impet. And then he laughed and twirled his tail like a wheel.

“Take time²⁰, woman,” he says, “next guess, and you’re mine.” And he lifted his black hands.

The girl smiled and said:

“NIMMY NIMMY NOT,

YOUR NAME’S TOM TIT TOT!”

When the impet heard her, he cried awfully and flew away into the dark, and she never saw him any more.

How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune²¹

Once on a time, there was a boy named Jack²², and one morning he decided to go and seek his fortune.

He did not go very far, and he met a cat.

“Where are you going, Jack?” said the cat.

“I am going to seek my fortune.”

“May I go with you?”

“Yes,” said Jack, “the more the merrier²³.”

So on they went.²⁴

They went a little further, and they met a dog.

“Where are you going, Jack?” said the dog.

“I am going to seek my fortune.”

“May I go with you?”

“Yes,” said Jack, “the more the merrier.”

So on they went.

They went a little further, and they met a goat.

“Where are you going, Jack?” said the goat.

“I am going to seek my fortune.”

“May I go with you?”

“Yes,” said Jack, “the more the merrier.”

So on they went.

They went a little further, and they met a bull.

“Where are you going, Jack?” said the bull.

“I am going to seek my fortune.”

“May I go with you?”

“Yes,” said Jack, “the more the merrier.”

So on they went.

They went a little further, and they met a rooster.

“Where are you going, Jack?” said the rooster.

“I am going to seek my fortune.”

“May I go with you?”

“Yes,” said Jack, “the more the merrier.”

So on they went.

The day was over, and they began to think of some place where they could spend the night. They found a house, and Jack told his friends to keep still²⁵ while he went up and looked in through the window²⁶. There were some robbers; they were counting their money. Then Jack went back and told his friends to wait till he gave the word²⁷ and then to make all the noise they could. So when they were all ready, Jack gave the word, and the cat mewed, and the dog barked, and the goat bleated, and the bull bellowed, and the rooster crowed, and all together they made such a dreadful noise that it frightened the robbers, and they ran away.

And then our friends came in. Jack was afraid that the robbers could come back in the night. So when it came time to go to bed, he put the cat in the chair, and he put the dog under the table, and he put the goat upstairs, and he put the bull down cellar, and the rooster flew up on to the roof²⁸, and Jack went to bed.

The robbers saw that it was all dark, and they sent one man back to the house to look after²⁹ the money. But he came back in a great fright and told them his story.

“I went back to the house,” said he, “and went in and tried to sit down in the chair, and there was an old woman; she was knitting, and she stuck her knitting-needles into me.” That was the cat, you know.

“Then I went to the table to look after the money, and there was a shoemaker under the table, and he stuck his awl into me.” That was the dog, you know.

“Then I started to go upstairs, and there was a man up there; he was threshing, and he knocked me down with his flail.” That was the goat, you know.

“Then I started to go down cellar, and there was a man down there; he was chopping wood, and he knocked me up with his axe.” That was the bull, you know.

“But the most dreadful thing was that little boy on top of the house. He was crying, ‘Chuck him up³⁰ to me-e! Chuck him up to me-e!’” Of course³¹ that was the cock-a-doodle-do³².

Johnny-Cake

Once upon a time, there was an old man. He lived with an old woman and a little boy. One morning, the old woman made a Johnny-cake and put it in the oven to bake.

“Watch the Johnny-cake, and I will go to work in the garden,” she said to the little boy. Then the old man and the old woman went out.

But the little boy didn’t watch the Johnny-cake, and suddenly, he heard a noise. He looked up and saw how the oven door opened. Out of the oven³³ jumped Johnny-cake and went towards the door of the house.

“Stop, stop!” cried the little boy, but Johnny-cake was very quick and ran away. The boy called his parents for help, but they could not catch Johnny-cake. Soon, he was out of sight³⁴.

Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to two well-diggers who were digging a well. They saw him and asked, “Where are you going, Johnny-cake?”

He said, “I outran an old man, and an old woman, and a little boy, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”

“Really? You can, can you? We’ll see!” they said and threw down their picks and ran after him³⁵. But they could not catch him, and soon they sat down by the road to rest.

Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to two ditchdiggers who were digging a ditch.

“Where are you going, Johnny-cake?” said they.

He said, “I outran an old man, and an old woman, and a little boy, and two well-diggers, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”

“You can, can you? We’ll see!” they said, and threw down their spades and ran after him. But Johnny-cake soon was very quick, and when they saw that they could never catch him, they sat down to rest.

Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to a bear. The bear said, “Where are you going, Johnny-cake?”

He said, “I outran an old man, and an old woman and a little boy, two well-diggers and two ditch-diggers, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”

“You can, can you?” growled the bear, “We’ll see!” and tried to catch Johnnycake. But Johnny-cake did not stop and ran away. The bear was very tired and lay down to rest.

Johnny-cake was going along the road, and he came to a wolf. The wolf said, “Where are you going, Johnny-cake?”

He said, “I outran an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well-diggers, two ditch-diggers, and a bear, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”

“You can, can you?” snarled the wolf. “We’ll see!” And he began to run after Johnny-cake, but Johnny-cake was so quick that the wolf saw that there was no hope to catch him, and he lay down to rest.

Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to a fox that was lying quietly near the fence. The fox asked him gently, “Where are you going, Johnny-cake?”

He said, “I outran an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well-diggers, two ditch-diggers, a bear, and a wolf, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”

The fox said, “I can’t hear you, Johnny-cake, please come a little closer.”

Johnny-cake stopped and went a little closer and said in a very loud voice, ”I outran an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well-diggers, two ditchdiggers, a bear, and a wolf, and I can outrun you too-o-o!”

“Oh, I can’t hear you; can you come a little closer?” said the fox in a weak voice.

Johnny-cake came closer and screamed, “I OUTRAN AN OLD MAN, AN OLD WOMAN, A LITTLE BOY, TWO WELLDIGGERS, TWO DITCH-DIGGERS, A BEAR, AND A WOLF, AND I CAN OUTRUN YOU TOO-O-O!!!!”

“You can, can you?” yelped the fox and caught Johnny-cake with his paw and threw him in his sharp teeth.

The Mouse and the Cat

The Mouse went to visit the Cat. The Cat was sitting behind the hall door and spinning.

MOUSE. What are you doing, my lady, my lady,

What are you doing, my lady?

CAT. I’m spinning old breeches, my dear, my dear,

I’m spinning old breeches, my dear.

MOUSE. I was sweeping my room, my lady, my lady,

I was sweeping my room, my lady.

CAT. It will be cleaner, my dear, my dear,

It will be cleaner, my dear.

MOUSE. I found a silver sixpence, my lady, my lady,

I found a silver sixpence, my lady.

CAT. You’ll be richer, my dear, my dear,

You’ll be richer, my dear.

MOUSE. I went to the market, my lady, my lady,

I went to the market, my lady.

CAT. You went so far, my dear, my dear,

You went so far, my dear.

MOUSE. I bought me a pudding, my lady, my lady,

I bought me a pudding, my lady.

CAT. You’ll have more food, my dear, my dear,

You’ll have more food, my dear.

MOUSE. I put it in the window to cool, my lady,

I put it in the window to cool.

CAT. You’ll eat it faster, my dear, my dear,

You’ll eat it faster, my dear.

MOUSE. The cat came and ate it, my lady, my lady,

The cat came and ate it, my lady.

CAT. And I’ll eat you too, my dear, my dear,

And I’ll eat you too, my dear.

Jack the Buttermilk

Jack was a boy who sold buttermilk. One day he met a witch. She asked him to give her some of his buttermilk for free³⁶. “If you don’t give me some buttermilk,” said the witch, “I’ll put you into my bag and carry away³⁷”. Jack refused to give the witch any of his buttermilk, so the witch put him into a bag that she carried over her shoulders.

She walked home with him. But on her way she suddenly remembered that she forgot a pot of fat that she bought in the town. Jack was very heavy, and the witch did not want to carry him back to the town, so she asked some men who were brushing the hedge by the road to take care³⁸ of her bag till she came back.

When the witch went away, Jack cried to the men, “If you take me out³⁹ of this bag and fill it full of thorns⁴⁰, I will give you some of my buttermilk.”

So the men took Jack out of the bag and filled it with thorns, and then Jack gave them some buttermilk and ran home.

When the witch came back from town, she picked up her bag and walked home. But the thorns began to prick her back. When she came home, she emptied the bag on a clean white table. But when she found that there was nothing in the bag but thorns, she was very angry and said, “I’ll catch you tomorrow, Jack, and I’ll boil you.”

Next day she met Jack again and asked him for some buttermilk and told him, “If you do not give me some buttermilk, I’ll put you into the bag again.” But Jack said, “I’ll give you no buttermilk.” So the witch put him into her bag, and again she remembered that she forgot something in the town.

This time she left the bag with some men who were mending the road.

When the witch went away, Jack cried to the men, “If you will take me out and fill this bag full of stones, I will give you some of my buttermilk.”

Then the men took Jack out of the bag, and he gave them the buttermilk.

When the witch came back from town, she picked up her bag and walked home. But the bag was very heavy. So she chuckled and said, “Indeed, Jack, you must eat less.”

When she came home, she emptied the bag on the white table again. But when she saw the stones, she was very angry and cried, “I swear, Jack, that I’ll boil you when I catch you!”

Next day she met Jack again and asked for some buttermilk. But Jack said, “No,” again, so she put him into her bag and went straight home with him and threw him out on the white table.

When she did this, she saw she did not have enough water to boil the boy. So she put Jack back in the bag and went away. But she forgot to tie the bag. So while she was away, Jack crept out of it, opened all the cupboards in the house, and filled the bag with all the pots that he could find. After that he went away, and soon he was safely home.

When the witch came back, she emptied the bag on the table again and broke all the pots that she had. After this she never caught Jack any more.

Teeny-Tiny

Once upon a time, there was a teeny-tiny woman. She lived in a teeny-tiny house in a teeny-tiny village. Now, one day this teeny-tiny woman put on her teeny-tiny bonnet and went out of her teeny-tiny house to take a teeny-tiny walk. And when this teeny-tiny woman went a teeny-tiny way, she came to a teeny-tiny gate. So the teeny-tiny woman opened the teeny-tiny gate and went into a teeny-tiny churchyard. And when this teeny-tiny woman got into the teeny-tiny churchyard, she saw a teeny-tiny bone on a teeny-tiny grave, and the teeny-tiny woman said to her teeny-tiny self, “This teeny-tiny bone will make me some teeny-tiny soup for my teeny-tiny supper.” So the teeny-tiny woman put the teeny-tiny bone into her teeny-tiny pocket and went home to her teeny-tiny house.

Now, when the teeny-tiny woman got home to her teeny-tiny house, she was a teeny-tiny bit tired. So she went up her teeny-tiny stairs to her teeny-tiny bed and put the teeny-tiny bone into a teeny-tiny cupboard. And when this teeny-tiny woman was teeny-tiny sleeping, she was awakened⁴¹ by a teeny-tiny voice from the teeny-tiny cupboard which said, “Give me my bone!”

And this teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny frightened, so she hid her teeny-tiny head under the teeny-tiny clothes and went to sleep again. And when she was again teeny-tiny sleeping, the teeny-tiny voice again cried out from the teeny-tiny cupboard a teeny-tiny louder, “Give me my bone!”

The teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny bit more frightened, so she hid her teeny-tiny head a teeny-tiny further under the teeny-tiny clothes. And when she was again teeny-tiny sleeping, the teeny-tiny voice from the teeny-tiny cupboard said again a teeny-tiny louder, “Give me my bone!”

And this teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny bit more frightened, but she put her teeny-tiny head out⁴² of the teeny-tiny clothes and said in her loudest teeny-tiny voice, “TAKE IT!”

The Glass Ball

There was once a woman who had two daughters. She gave each of them a beautiful glass ball, and they liked them very much.

One day, they were playing together, and one of the girls tossed her ball over the wall into the next garden. The house in that garden belonged to a fox who never talked to his neighbours.

The girl that tossed her ball over the wall was afraid of this fox, but she liked the glass ball very much, so she said to herself, “I must not lose my ball and I’ll get it back.⁴³”

So she bravely walked to the fox’s house, but she knocked at the door very timidly. The fox opened the door, and the girl told him how she lost her glass ball in his garden.

“You can have your ball,” said the fox, “if you become my housekeeper for a year.”

The girl agreed to live in the fox’s house for a year. She did not see the fox very often because he went out early every morning and came back late at night.

Now, before the fox went out as usual⁴⁴ one morning, he called the girl to him and said to her, “I am going away for a little time⁴⁵. While I am away,⁴⁶ there are five things you must not do: you must not wash up the dishes or sweep the floor or dust the chairs or look into the cupboard, and you must not look under my bed.”

And the fox went away. But the girl decided to disobey him, and she said to herself, “I will see what happens if I don’t do as he tells me.”

So first of all, she washed up the dishes. Suddenly, a great bag full of copper fell down before her.

“Very good,” said the girl.

Next, she swept the floor. This time⁴⁷, a great bag full of silver fell down before her.

“Better still⁴⁸,” said the girl.

Next, she dusted the chairs when a great bag full of gold fell down before her.

“That’s just what I want,” said the girl.

Next, she looked into the cupboard, and there was her glass ball!

“Oh, you don’t know how glad I am,” she said and clapped her hands.

Finally, she went upstairs and looked under the bed, and there was the fox! She was awfully frightened and ran downstairs, through the garden and up the town street. She came to a lane, and at the top of the lane she met a horse and said to the horse:

 
“Horse of mine, horse of thine⁴⁹,
If you meet a fox today,
Do not tell I passed this way.”
 

And the horse neighed and said, “I will not.”

A little further she met a cow and said:

 
“Cow of mine, cow of thine,
If you meet a fox today,
Do not tell I passed this way.”
 

And the cow mooed and said, “I will not.”

A little further she met a mule and said:

 
“Mule of mine, mule of thine,
If you meet a fox today,
Do not tell I passed this way.”
 

And the mule brayed and said, “I will not.”

A little further she met a dog and said:

 
“Dog of mine, dog of thine,
If you meet a fox today,
Do not tell I passed this way.”
 

And the dog barked and said, “I will not.”

A little further on she met a cat and said:

 
“Cat of mine, cat of thine,
If you meet a fox today,
Do not tell I passed this way.”
 

And the cat mewed and said, “I will not.”

Finally, she met an owl and said:

 
“Owl of mine, owl of thine,
If you meet a fox today,
Do not tell I passed this way.”
 

And the owl hooted and said, “I will not.”

The fox followed the girl, and now he came to the same lane where he met the horse and sang to him with such a lovely voice:

 
“Horse of mine, horse of thine,
Did you meet a maid of mine?”
 

And the horse said, “She passed me by.⁵⁰”

Next he met the same cow and sang to her:

 
“Cow of mine, cow of thine,
Did you meet a maid of mine?”
 

And the cow said, “She passed me by.”

A little further on he met the same mule and sang:

 
“Mule of mine, mule of thine,
Did you meet a maid of mine?”
 

And the mule said, “She passed me by.”

A little further he met the same dog and sang:

 
“Dog of mine, dog of thine,
Did you meet a maid of mine?”
 

And the dog said, “She passed me by.”

A little further he met the same cat and sang:

 
“Cat of mine, cat of thine,
Did you meet a maid of mine?”
 

And the cat said, “She passed me by.”

Finally, he met the owl and sang:

 
“Owl of mine, owl of thine,
Did you meet a maid of mine?”
 

And the owl said, “She passed me by.”

“Which way did she go?” said the fox.

The owl answered, “You must go over that gate⁵¹ and across that field, and you will find her behind the wood.”

The fox ran away, over the gate and across the field and into the wood, but he did not find neither the girl nor the glass ball.