Gauf little torment read in full. Proverbs, sayings and expressions of a fairy tale

that fairy tale story about a dwarf man who was born a freak, he had a small stature and a big head, everyone called him Little Muk. This dwarf was left an orphan early and his relatives kicked him out of the house. He went around the world in search of a better life, entered the service of an old woman who fed all the cats and dogs in the city. When he ran away from the old woman, he had magical things in his hands: shoes and a cane. Extraordinary adventures happened to him. Muk was a runner in the service of the king. He was quick-witted, resourceful, quick-witted, punished the king and his retinue for insults, and managed to achieve good luck. The storyteller Wilhelm Hauff teaches us that happiness is not in money and that you can’t laugh at people if they don’t have the same appearance as everyone else.

Watch the fairy tale "Little Muk":

It was a long time ago, in my childhood. In the city of Nicaea, in my homeland, there lived a man whose name was Little Muk. Although I was a boy then, I remember him very well, especially since my father once gave me a healthy beating because of him. At that time, Little Muck was already an old man, but he was tiny in stature. He looked rather funny: a huge head stuck out on a small, skinny body, much larger than other people.

Little Muck lived in a big old house all alone. He even cooked his own dinner. Every noon, thick smoke appeared over his house: if it were not for this, the neighbors would not know whether the dwarf was alive or dead. Little Muck went outside only once a month - every first day. But in the evenings, people often saw Little Muck walking on the flat roof of his house. From below, it seemed as if one huge head was moving back and forth across the roof.

My comrades and I were mean boys and liked to tease passers-by. When Little Muck left the house, it was a real holiday for us. On this day, we gathered in a crowd in front of his house and waited for him to come out. The door was carefully opened. A large head in a huge turban protruded from it. The head was followed by the whole body in an old, faded dressing gown and spacious trousers. A dagger dangled from a wide belt, so long that it was hard to tell whether the dagger was attached to Muk or whether Muk was attached to the dagger.

When Muk finally went out into the street, we greeted him with joyful cries and danced around him as if crazy. Muk nodded his head to us solemnly and walked slowly down the street, his shoes slapping. His shoes were just huge - no one had ever seen them before. And we, the boys, ran after him and shouted: “Little Muk! Little Muck!" We even composed a song about him:

- Little Muk, little Muk,
You yourself are small, and the house is a cliff;
You show your nose once a month.
You are a good little dwarf
The head is a little big
Take a quick look around
And catch us, little Muk!

We often made fun of the poor dwarf, and I must confess, though I am ashamed, that I offended him most of all. I always strove to grab Muk by the hem of his dressing gown, and once I even purposely stepped on his shoe so that the poor fellow fell. This seemed very funny to me, but I immediately lost the desire to laugh when I saw that Little Muck, with difficulty getting up, went straight to my father's house. He didn't leave for a long time. I hid behind the door and looked forward to what would happen next.

Finally the door opened and the dwarf stepped out. His father accompanied him to the threshold, holding him respectfully by the arm, and bowed low in farewell. I did not feel very pleasant and for a long time did not dare to return home. Finally hunger overcame my fear, and I timidly slipped through the door, not daring to raise my head.

“I heard you offend Little Anguish,” my father told me sternly. “I will tell you his adventures, and you will probably no longer laugh at the poor dwarf. But first you get what you deserve.

And I relied on a good spanking for such things. After counting out the spanks as needed, the father said:

“Now listen carefully.

And he told me the story of Little Muck.

Muk's father (in fact, his name was not Muk, but Mukra) lived in Nicaea and was a respectable man, but not rich. Like Muk, he always stayed at home and rarely went outside. He did not like Muk very much because he was a dwarf, and did not teach him anything.

“You have been wearing off your children's shoes for a long time,” he said to the dwarf, “and you are still just playing naughty and idle.

One day Father Muk fell down on the street and hurt himself badly. After that, he fell ill and soon died. Little Muk was left alone, penniless. Father's relatives drove Muk out of the house and said:

- Go around the world, maybe you will find your Happiness.

Muk begged for only old pants and a jacket - all that was left after his father. His father was tall and fat, but the dwarf without thinking twice shortened both the jacket and trousers and put them on. True, they were too wide, but there was nothing the dwarf could do about that. Instead of a turban, he wrapped his head in a towel, fastened a dagger to his belt, took a stick in his hand and went where his eyes looked.

Soon he left the city and walked along the high road for two whole days. He was very tired and hungry. He had no food with him, and he chewed the roots that grew in the field. And he had to spend the night right on the bare ground.

On the third day in the morning, he saw from the top of the hill a large beautiful city, decorated with flags and banners. Little Muk gathered his last strength and went to this city.

“Maybe I will finally find my happiness there,” he said to himself.

Although it seemed that the city was very close, Muk had to walk to it all morning. It was not until noon that he finally reached the city gates. The city was full of beautiful houses. The wide streets were full of people. Little Muk was very hungry, but no one opened the door for him and invited him to come in and rest.

The dwarf wandered dejectedly through the streets, barely dragging his feet. He was passing by a tall, beautiful house, and suddenly a window in this house was flung open and some old woman, leaning out, shouted:

- Here, here -

Food is ready!

The table is covered

So that everyone is full.

Neighbors, here -

Food is ready!

And immediately the doors of the house opened, and dogs and cats began to enter - many, many cats and dogs. Muk thought and thought and also entered. Two kittens entered just before him, and he decided to keep up with them - the kittens must have known where the kitchen was.

Muck went up the stairs and saw that old woman who was screaming from the window.

- What do you need? the old woman asked angrily.

“You called for dinner,” said Mook, “and I am very hungry.” Here I come.

The old woman laughed out loud and said:

- Where did you come from, boy? Everyone in town knows that I only cook dinner for my cute cats. And so that they would not be bored, I invite neighbors to them.

“Feed me at the same time,” Muk asked. He told the old woman how hard it was for him when his father died, and the old woman took pity on him. She fed the dwarf to his fill, and when Little Muck had eaten and rested, she said to him:

“You know what, Mook? Stay and serve me. My work is easy, and you will live well.

Muk liked the cat's dinner and agreed. Mrs. Ahavzi (that was the name of the old woman) had two cats and four cats. Every morning, Muk combed their fur and rubbed it with precious ointments. At dinner, he served them food, and in the evening he put them to sleep on a soft feather bed and covered them with a velvet blanket.

In addition to cats, four other dogs lived in the house. The dwarf also had to look after them, but there was less fuss with dogs than with cats. Mrs. Ahavzi loved cats like her own children.

Little Muk was just as bored with the old woman as with his father: apart from cats and dogs, he saw no one.

At first, the dwarf still lived well. There was almost no work, but he was well fed, and the old woman was very pleased with him. But then the cats got spoiled. Only the old woman is out the door - they immediately let's rush through the rooms like mad. All things will be scattered and even expensive dishes will be killed. But as soon as they heard Ahavzi's footsteps on the stairs, they instantly jumped onto the featherbed, curled up, tucked their tails and lay as if nothing had happened. And the old woman sees that the room is devastated, and, well, scold Little Flour .. Let her justify herself as much as she wants - she trusts her cats more than the servant. It is immediately clear from the cats that they are not to blame for anything.

Poor Muk was very sad and finally decided to leave the old woman. Mrs. Ahavzi promised to pay him a salary, but she did not pay.

“I’ll get a salary from her,” thought Little Muck, “I’ll leave right away. If I knew where her money was hidden, I would have taken myself a long time ago, as much as I should.”

There was a small room in the old woman's house, which was always locked. Muk was very curious about what was hidden in it. And suddenly it occurred to him that in this room, perhaps, the old woman's money was lying. He wanted to go there even more.

One morning, when Ahavzi left the house, one of the little dogs ran up to Muk and grabbed him by the floor (the old woman did not like this little dog very much, and Muk, on the contrary, often stroked and caressed her). The little dog squealed softly and pulled the dwarf along. She led him to the old woman's bedroom and stopped in front of a small door that Muck had never noticed before.

The dog pushed open the door and entered some room; Muk followed her and froze in place in surprise: he found himself in the very room where he had wanted to go for so long.

The whole room was full of old dresses and outlandish antique crockery. Flour especially liked one jug - crystal, with a gold pattern. He took it in his hands and began to examine, and suddenly the lid of the jug - Muk did not notice that the jug was with a lid - fell to the floor and broke.

Poor Muk was seriously frightened. Now there was no need to reason - it was necessary to run: when the old woman returned and saw that he had broken the lid, she would beat him half to death.

Mook looked around the room for the last time, and suddenly he saw shoes in the corner. They were very large and ugly, but his own shoes were completely falling apart. Muk even liked that the shoes were so big - when he puts them on, everyone will see that he is no longer a child.

He quickly kicked off his shoes and put on his shoes. Next to the shoes stood a thin cane with a lion's head.

“That cane is still standing idle here,” thought Muk. “I’ll take a cane by the way.”

He grabbed a cane and ran to his room. In one minute he put on his cloak and turban, put on a dagger and rushed down the stairs, hurrying to leave before the old woman returned.

Leaving the house, he started to run and rushed without looking back until he ran out of the city into the field. Here the dwarf decided to rest a little. And suddenly he felt that he could not stop. His legs ran on their own and dragged him, no matter how hard he tried to stop them. He tried to fall and turn around - nothing helped. Finally he realized that it was all about his new shoes. It was they who pushed him forward and did not let him stop.

Muk was completely exhausted and did not know what to do. In despair, he waved his hands and shouted, as cab drivers shout:

— Whoa! Whoa! Stop!

And suddenly the shoes stopped at once, and the poor dwarf fell to the ground with all his might.

He was so tired that he immediately fell asleep. And he had an amazing dream. He saw in a dream that the little dog that led him to the secret room came up to him and said:

“Dear Muk, you don’t know yet what wonderful shoes you have. Once you turn three times on your heel, they will carry you wherever you want. A cane will help you look for treasures. Where gold is buried, it will hit the ground three times, and where silver is buried, it will hit twice.”

When Muk woke up, he immediately wanted to check if the little dog had told the truth. He lifted his left leg and tried to turn on his right heel, but he fell and hit his nose painfully on the ground. He tried again and again and finally learned to spin on one heel and not fall. Then he tightened his belt, quickly turned over three times on one foot and said to the shoes:

“Take me to the next town.

And suddenly the shoes lifted him into the air and quickly, like the wind, ran through the clouds. Before Little Muk had time to come to his senses, he found himself in the city, in the bazaar.

He sat down on a mound near some shop and began to think how he could get at least a little money. True, he had a magic cane, but how do you know where the gold or silver is hidden in order to go and find it? At worst, he could show up for money, but he is too proud for that.

And suddenly Little Muck remembered that he now knew how to run fast.

“Maybe my shoes will bring me income,” he thought. “I’ll try to get hired by the king as a runner.”

He asked the owner of the shop how to get into the palace, and after about five minutes he was already approaching the palace gates. The gatekeeper asked him what he needed, and, having learned that the dwarf wanted to enter the service of the king, he took him to the head of the slaves. Muk bowed low to the chief and said to him:

- Mr. Chief, I can run faster than any runner. Take me to the king in messengers.

The chief looked contemptuously at the dwarf and said with a loud laugh:

“Your legs are as thin as sticks, and you want to join the runners!” Get out, hello. I was not put in charge of the slaves so that every freak would make fun of me!

“Mr. Chief,” said Little Muck, “I am not laughing at you. Let's bet that I will overtake your best runner.

The head of the slaves laughed even louder than before. The dwarf seemed to him so funny that he decided not to drive him away and tell the king about him.

"All right," he said, "so be it, I'll test you." Get in the kitchen and get ready to compete. You will be fed and watered there.

Then the head of the slaves went to the king and told him about the outlandish dwarf. The king wanted to have fun. He praised the master of the slaves for not letting Little Torment go, and ordered him to arrange a contest in the evening on a large meadow, so that all his servants could come to see.

The princes and princesses heard what an interesting spectacle would be in the evening, and told their servants, who spread the news throughout the palace. And in the evening, everyone who only had legs came to the meadow to see how this braggart dwarf would run.

When the king and queen were seated, Little Muck stepped into the middle of the meadow and bowed low. Loud laughter erupted from all sides. This dwarf was very ridiculous in his wide trousers and long, long shoes. But Little Muck was not at all embarrassed. He proudly leaned on his cane, put his hands on his hips and calmly waited for the runner.

Finally, the runner has arrived. The head of the slaves chose the fastest of the royal runners. After all, Little Muck himself wanted it.

The runner looked contemptuously at Muk and stood next to him, waiting for a sign to start the competition.

- One two Three! - shouted Princess Amarza, the eldest daughter of the king, and waved her handkerchief ..

Both runners took off and rushed like an arrow. At first, the runner slightly overtook the dwarf, but soon Muk overtook him and got ahead of him. He had long stood at the goal and fanned himself with the end of his turban, but the royal runner was still far away. Finally, he ran to the end and fell to the ground like a dead man. The king and queen clapped their hands, and all the courtiers shouted with one voice:

- Long live the winner - Little Muk! Little Muck was brought before the king. The dwarf bowed low to him and said:

“O mighty king! I just showed you part of my art! Take me to your service.

“Good,” said the king. “I appoint you as my personal walker. You will always be with me and fulfill my orders.

Little Muk was very happy - at last he found his happiness! Now he can live comfortably and calmly.

The king highly appreciated Muk and constantly showed him favors. He sent the dwarf with the most important assignments, and no one knew how to fulfill them better than Muk. But the rest of the royal servants were unhappy. They really didn’t like that some kind of dwarf became closest to the king, who only knows how to run. They kept gossiping about him to the king, but the king would not listen to them. He trusted Muk more and more and soon appointed him as the main runner.

Little Muck was very upset that the courtiers were so envious of him. For a long time he tried to come up with something so that they would love him. And finally he remembered his cane, which he had completely forgotten about.

“If I manage to find the treasure,” he thought, “these proud gentlemen will probably stop hating me. It is said that the old king, the father of the present, buried great wealth in his garden when enemies approached his city. He seems to have died like that, without telling anyone where his treasures were buried.”

Little Muck was only thinking about it. He spent days walking around the garden with a cane in his hand and looking for the gold of the old king.

Once he was walking in a remote corner of the garden, and suddenly the cane in his hands trembled and hit the ground three times. Little Muk was shaking all over with excitement. He ran to the gardener and asked him for a large spade, and then returned to the palace and waited for it to get dark. As soon as evening came, the dwarf went into the garden and began to dig in the place where the wand had struck. The spade turned out to be too heavy for the weak hands of the dwarf, and in an hour he dug a hole some half an arshin deep.

Little Muck labored for a long time, and at last his spade hit something hard. The dwarf leaned over the pit and felt with his hands in the ground some kind of iron cover. He lifted the lid and froze. In the light of the moon, gold glittered before him. In the pit stood a large pot filled to the brim with gold coins.

Little Muk wanted to pull the pot out of the hole, but he couldn't: he didn't have enough strength. Then he stuffed as much gold as possible into his pockets and belt and slowly returned to the palace. He hid the money in his bed under the featherbed and went to bed contented and joyful.

The next morning, Little Muck woke up and thought: "Now everything will change and my enemies will love me."

He began to distribute his gold right and left, but the courtiers only became more envious of him. Head chef Ahuli whispered angrily:

“Look, Mook makes counterfeit money. Ahmed, the head of the slaves, said:

“He begged them from the king.

And the treasurer Arkhaz, the most evil enemy of the dwarf, who had long secretly put his hand into the royal treasury, shouted to the whole palace:

“The dwarf has stolen gold from the royal treasury!” In order to find out for sure where Muk got the money from, his enemies conspired among themselves and came up with such a plan.

The king had one favorite servant, Korhuz. He always served food to the king and poured wine into his goblet. And once this Korkhuz came to the king sad and sad. The king immediately noticed this and asked:

"What's the matter with you today, Korhuz?" Why are you so sad?

“I am sad because the king has deprived me of his favor,” answered Korhuz.

“What are you talking about, my good Korhuz!” said the king. "Since when did I deprive you of my favor?"

“Since then, Your Majesty, how did your chief runner come to you,” answered Korhuz. “You shower him with gold, but give us, your faithful servants, nothing.

And he told the king that Little Muck had a lot of gold from somewhere, and that the dwarf was distributing money without an account to all the courtiers. The king was very surprised and ordered to call Arkhaz, his treasurer, and Ahmed, the head of the slaves. They confirmed that Korhuz was telling the truth. Then the king ordered his detectives to slowly follow and find out where the dwarf gets the money from.

Unfortunately, Little Flour ran out of all the gold that day, and he decided to go to his Treasury. He took the spade and went into the garden. The detectives, of course, followed him, Korhuz and Arkhaz too. At the very moment when Little Muck put on a full robe of gold and wanted to go back, they rushed at him, tied his hands and led him to the king.

And this king really did not like being awakened in the middle of the night. He met his chief runner angry and displeased and asked the detectives:

“Where did you get that dishonorable dwarf?” “Your Majesty,” said Arkhaz, “we caught him just at the moment when he was burying this gold in the ground.

- Are they telling the truth? the king asked the dwarf. - How do you get so much money?

“Dear King,” the dwarf answered ingenuously, “I am not guilty of anything. When your people seized me and tied my hands, I did not bury this gold in the pit, but, on the contrary, took it out.

The king decided that Little Muck was lying, and became terribly angry.

- Unfortunate! he shouted. “First you robbed me, and now you want to deceive me with such a stupid lie!” Treasurer! Is it true that there is just as much gold here as there is not enough in my treasury?

“Your treasury, gracious king, lacks much more,” replied the treasurer. “I could swear this gold was stolen from the royal treasury.

“Shackle the dwarf in iron chains and put him in a tower!” the king shouted. - And you, treasurer, go to the garden, take all the gold that you find in the pit, and put it back into the treasury.

The treasurer carried out the king's order and brought the pot of gold to the treasury. He began counting the shiny coins and pouring them into sacks. Finally, there was nothing left in the pot. The treasurer looked into the pot for the last time and saw at the bottom of it a piece of paper on which was written:

ENEMIES ATTACKED MY COUNTRY. I BURY PART OF MY TREASURES IN THIS PLACE. LET ANYONE WHO FINDS THIS GOLD KNOW THAT IF HE DOES NOT GIVE IT TO MY SON NOW, HE WILL LOSE HIS KING'S MERCY.

KING SADI

The cunning treasurer tore up the paper and decided not to tell anyone about it.

And Little Muk was sitting in a high palace tower and thinking how to save himself. He knew that he should be executed for stealing the royal money, but he still did not want to tell the king about the magic cane: after all, the king would immediately take it away, and with it, perhaps, shoes. The shoes were still on the dwarf's feet, but they were of no use - Little Muck was chained to the wall with a short iron chain and could not turn on his heel.

In the morning the executioner came to the tower and ordered the dwarf to prepare for the execution. Little Muck realized that there was nothing to think about - he had to reveal his secret to the king. After all, it is still better to live without a magic wand and even without walking shoes than to die on a block.

He asked the king to listen to him in private and told him everything. The king did not believe at first and decided that the dwarf had made it all up.

“Your Majesty,” said Little Muck then, “promise me mercy, and I will prove to you that I am telling the truth.”

The king was interested in checking whether Muk was deceiving him or not. He ordered to slowly bury some gold coins in his garden and ordered Muk to find them. The dwarf did not have to look long. As soon as he reached the place where the gold was buried, the wand hit the ground three times. The king realized that the treasurer had told him a lie, and ordered him to be executed instead of Muk. And he called the dwarf to him and said:

“I promised not to kill you, and I will keep my word. But you probably didn't reveal all your secrets to me. You will sit in the tower until you tell me why you run so fast.

The poor dwarf really did not want to return to the dark, cold tower. He told the king about his wonderful shoes, but did not say the most important thing - how to stop them. The king decided to test these shoes himself. He put them on, went out into the garden, and rushed like a madman along the path. Soon he wanted to stop, but there it was. In vain he clutched at the bushes and trees - the shoes kept dragging and dragging him forward. And the dwarf stood and laughed. He was very pleased to have a little revenge on this cruel king. Finally, the king lost his strength and fell to the ground.

Recovering a little, he, beside himself with rage, attacked the dwarf.

“So this is how you treat your king!” he shouted. “I promised you life and freedom, but if you are still on my land in twelve hours, I will catch you, and then do not count on mercy. And I'll take the shoes and the cane.

The poor dwarf had no choice but to get out of the palace as soon as possible. Sadly, he wandered around the city. He was just as poor and unhappy as before, and bitterly cursed his fate.

The country of this king was, fortunately, not very large, so after eight hours the dwarf reached the border. Now he was safe, and he wanted to rest. He turned off the road and entered the forest. There he found a good place near the pond, under thick trees, and lay down on the grass.

Little Muk was so tired that he fell asleep almost immediately. He slept for a very long time and when he woke up, he felt that he was hungry. Above his head, on the trees, hung wine berries - ripe, fleshy, juicy. The dwarf climbed up a tree, picked some berries and ate them with pleasure. Then he wanted to drink. He went up to the pond, leaned over the water, and went completely cold: out of the water a huge head with donkey ears and a long, long nose was looking at him.

Little Muk clutched his ears in horror. They really were long, like a donkey's.

- So I need it! cried poor Muk. - I had my happiness in my hands, and I, like a donkey, ruined it.

He walked for a long time under the trees, constantly feeling his ears, and finally got hungry again. I had to get back to the wine berries. After all, there was nothing else to eat.

Having eaten his fill, Little Muck, out of habit, raised his hands to his head and cried out with joy: instead of long ears, he again had his own ears. He immediately ran to the pond and looked into the water. His nose is also the same as before.

“How could this happen?” thought the dwarf. And suddenly he immediately understood everything: the first tree from which he ate the berries rewarded him with donkey ears, and from the berries of the second they disappeared.

Little Muk instantly realized how lucky he was again. He picked as many berries from both trees as he could carry, and went back to the country of the cruel king. At that time it was spring, and berries were considered a rarity.

Returning to the city where the king lived, Little Muck changed his clothes so that no one could recognize him, filled a whole basket with berries from the first tree and went to the royal palace. It was in the morning, and in front of the gates of the palace there were many merchants with all sorts of supplies. Muk also sat down next to them. Soon the chief cook came out of the palace and began to bypass the merchants and inspect their goods. Having reached Little Muk, the cook saw figs and was very happy.

"Aha," he said, "that's a proper treat for a king!" How much do you want for the whole basket?

Little Muk did not appreciate it, and the chief cook took a basket of berries and left. As soon as he managed to put the berries on a dish, the king demanded breakfast. He ate with great relish and kept praising his cook. And the cook just chuckled in his beard and said:

“Wait, Your Majesty, the most delicious dish is yet to come.

Everyone at the table - courtiers, princes and princesses - tried in vain to guess what delicacy the head chef had prepared for them today. And when at last a crystal dish full of ripe berries was brought to the table, everyone exclaimed with one voice:

"Oh!" and even clapped their hands.

The king himself undertook to divide the berries. The princes and princesses got two each, the courtiers got one each, and the king kept the rest for himself - he was very greedy and liked sweets. The king put the berries on a plate and began to eat them with pleasure.

“Father, father,” Princess Amarza suddenly cried, “what has become of your ears?

The king touched his ears with his hands and cried out in horror. His ears are long, like those of a donkey. The nose, too, suddenly stretched out to the very chin. The princes, princesses, and courtiers were little better looking: each had the same decoration on his head.

"Doctors, doctors quickly!" the king shouted. Now they sent for the doctors. There was a whole crowd of them. They prescribed various medicines for the king, but the medicines did not help. One prince even had an operation - his ears were cut off, but they grew back.

After two days, Little Muck decided it was time to act. With the money he received from the wine berries, he bought himself a large black cloak and a tall pointed cap. So that he would not be recognized at all, he tied himself a long white beard. Taking with him a basket of berries from the second tree, the dwarf came to the palace and said that he could cure the king. At first, no one believed him. Then Muk suggested that one prince try his treatment. The prince ate some berries, and his long nose and donkey ears were gone. At this point, the courtiers rushed in a crowd to the wonderful doctor. But the king was ahead of everyone. He silently took the dwarf by the hand, led him to his treasury and said:

“Here are all my treasures before you. Take what you want, just cure me of this terrible disease.

Little Muck immediately noticed his magic cane and walking shoes in the corner of the room. He began pacing back and forth as if he were looking at the royal treasures, and quietly approached the shoes. In an instant he put them on his feet, grabbed a cane and plucked his beard from his chin. The king almost fell over in surprise at the familiar face of his chief runner.

"Evil king!" shouted Little Mook. Is this how you repay me for my faithful service? Remain a long-eared freak all your life and remember Little Torment!

He quickly turned three times on his heel, and before the king could say a word, he was already far away ...

Since then, Little Muk has been living in our city. You see how much he has experienced. He needs to be respected, even though he looks funny.

This is the story my father told me. I passed it on to the other boys, and neither of us ever laughed at the dwarf again. On the contrary, we respected him very much and bowed to him so low in the street, as if he were the head of the city or the chief judge.

In my native city of Nicaea, there lived a man called Little Muk. Although I was just a child then, I remember him very well, especially because my father once beat me half to death because of him. The fact is that in those days Little Muck was already an old man, but no more than three or four feet tall. Moreover, he was very strangely built: on his body, small and fragile, sat a head, much larger in size than other people. He lived all alone in a big house and even cooked for himself, he only showed up on the street once a month, and no one in the city would have known whether he was alive or dead, if at lunchtime smoke did not pour from the chimney of his house; True, in the evenings he often walked on the roof, and from the street it seemed as if his huge head was rolling on the roof. My comrades and I were mean boys, ready to ridicule and tease anyone, so it was a holiday for us every time Little Muck left the house. On a certain day we crowded in front of his house and waited for him to come out; when the door opened and at first a large head in an even larger turban was shown, and then the whole body, dressed in a shabby dressing gown, magnificent trousers and a wide belt, behind which stuck out a long dagger - so long that it was not known whether the dagger was attached to Muk or Muk to the dagger - so, when he showed himself, cheerful exclamations were heard towards him, we threw our hats into the air and broke off a frantic dance around him. Little Muck calmly nodded his head at us in response and slowly walked along the street, while he shuffled his feet, for his shoes were so long and wide, which I have never seen again. We boys ran after us, shouting tirelessly: “Little Muk, Little Muk!” In addition, we composed funny poems that we sang in his honor. Here are the verses:

Little Mook, little Mook,

You yourself are small, and the house is a cliff;

You show your nose once a month.

You are a good little dwarf

The head is a little big

Turn around at our knock

And catch us, little Muk.

This is how we often had fun, and, to my shame, I must admit that I was the most mischievous: I pulled on his dressing gown, and once stepped on his huge shoes from behind, so that he fell. This made me laugh, but I didn't want to laugh when I saw Little Muck heading towards our house. He went in there and stayed there for a while. I hid behind the door and saw Muk go out accompanied by my father, who respectfully supported him and at the door said goodbye to him with many bows. I was very uneasy, and for a long time I did not dare to get out of my secluded corner, but in the end, hunger, which seemed to me worse than beatings, drove me out, and, humbly bowing my head, I appeared before my father.

- I heard that you mocked the kindest Muk? he began in a very stern tone. “I will tell you the story of this same Mook, and you will probably stop teasing him, but before and after you will get the usual portion. - The usual portion - it was twenty-five strokes, which he always counted accurately. So he took his long chubuk, unscrewed the amber mouthpiece, and beat me harder than usual.

When all twenty-five had been counted out in full, he ordered me to listen carefully and began to talk about Little Torment.

The father of Little Muk, whose real name is Mukra, was a respectable man in Nicaea, though he was poor. He lived almost as secluded as his son does today. He did not like this son, being ashamed of his small stature, and did not give him any education. At the age of sixteen, Little Muck was still a frisky child, and his father, a positive person, always reproached him for the fact that he had long since passed the age of infancy, and meanwhile was stupid and foolish, like a child.

One day the old man fell, badly hurt himself and died, leaving Little Anguish in poverty and ignorance. The hard-hearted relatives, to whom the deceased owed more than he could pay, drove the poor thing out of the house, advising him to go seek his fortune in the world. Little Muk replied that he had already prepared to go, and asked only to give him his father's clothes, which was done. But the clothes of his father, a thick and tall man, did not fit him. However, Muk, without hesitation, cut off what was long and dressed up in his father's dress. But he apparently forgot that the width should also be cut, and this is where his extraordinary outfit came from, in which he flaunts to this day; a large turban, a wide belt, lush trousers, a blue robe - all this is the legacy of his father, which he has been wearing ever since. Putting his father's Damascus dagger into his belt and taking the staff, he set off.

He walked briskly all day, - after all, he went to seek happiness; noticing a shard shining in the sun, he must have picked it up, in the hope that it would turn into a diamond; seeing in the distance the dome of the mosque, shining like a glow, seeing the lake, sparkling like a mirror, he joyfully hurried there, for he thought that he had entered a magical land. But alas! Those mirages disappeared close by, and the fatigue and hungry rumbling in his stomach immediately reminded him that he was still in the land of mortals. So he walked for two days, tormented by hunger and grief, and already despaired of finding happiness; cereals were his only food, the bare earth his bed. On the morning of the third day, he saw a big city from the hill. The crescent moon shone brightly on its roofs, the colorful flags flew over the houses and seemed to beckon Little Torment to them. He froze in amazement, looking around the city and the whole area. “Yes, there little Muk will find his happiness! - he said to himself and even jumped, despite the fatigue. “There or nowhere.” He rallied his strength and marched towards the city. But although the distance seemed quite short, he did not get there until noon, for his small legs refused to serve, and more than once he had to sit down in the shade of a palm tree and rest. At last he came to the city gates. He straightened his robe, tied his turban more beautifully, straightened his belt even wider and thrust the dagger behind it even more sideways, then brushed the dust from his shoes, took up the staff and bravely passed the gate.

He had already passed several streets, but the door did not open anywhere, there was no shout from anywhere, as he expected: “Little Muk, come in here, eat, drink and rest.”

As soon as he looked longingly at one big beautiful house, a window opened there, an old woman looked out of it and shouted in a singsong voice:

Here, here.

The food has ripened for everyone,

The table has already been set

Whoever comes will be full

Neighbors, all here

Your food is ripe!

The doors of the house opened, and Muk saw many dogs and cats run in. He stood, not knowing whether to accept the invitation too, but then he mustered up his courage and entered the house. There were two cats in front, and he decided to follow them, because they probably knew the way to the kitchen better than he did.

When Muck went up the stairs, he met the old woman who was looking out the window. She glared at him and asked him what he wanted.

“You called everyone to your place to eat,” answered Little Muk, “and I am very hungry, so I decided to come too.”

The old woman laughed and said:

- Where did you come from, weirdo? The whole city knows that I cook only for my cute kitties, and sometimes I invite them for the company of neighbor animals, as you yourself saw.

Little Muck told the old woman how hard it had been for him since his father's death, and asked her to let him have lunch with her cats once. The old woman, softened by his sincere story, allowed him to stay with her and gave him plenty to eat and drink. When he had eaten and refreshed himself, the old woman looked at him attentively and then said:

“Little Muk, stay in my service, you will have to work little, but you will live well.

Little Muk liked cat stew, and therefore he agreed and became the servant of Mrs. Agavtsi. His work was not difficult, but strange. Mrs. Agavtsi kept two cats and four cats - Little Muck had to comb and anoint his hair with precious ointments every morning; when the old woman left the house, he appeased the cats during meals, offered them bowls, and at night laid them on silk pillows and covered them with velvet blankets. In addition, there were several dogs in the house, which he was also ordered to follow, though they were not so coddled as with cats, which for Mrs. Agavtsi were like their own children. Here Muck led the same closed life as in his father's house, because, apart from the old woman, he saw only cats and dogs for whole days.

For some time, Muk had an excellent life: he always had plenty of food and not much work, and the old woman seemed to be pleased with him; but little by little the cats became spoiled: when the old woman left, they rushed about the rooms like mad, knocked over everything and beat the expensive dishes that came across them on the way. But, hearing the old woman's footsteps on the stairs, they huddled into their beds and, as if nothing had happened, wagged their tails towards her. Finding her rooms in disarray, the old woman got angry and blamed everything on Muck; and no matter how he defended himself, she believed more in the innocent appearance of her kitties than in the words of a servant.

Little Muk was very sad that he did not have a chance to find his happiness here, and decided to quit the service of Mrs. Agavtsi. But remembering, from his first trip, how difficult it is to be without money, he decided in some way to get his salary, which the hostess kept promising him, but never paid. There was a room in the house of Mrs. Agavtsi, which was always under lock and key, and where he never looked, but often he heard the old woman fussing about there, and he would give dearly to find out what she kept there. When he thought about how to get money for the trip, it occurred to him that the treasures of the old woman were stored in that room; but the door was always locked, and he never managed to get to the treasure.

One morning, when Mrs. Agavtsi left the house, one of the little dogs, for whom the old woman was a real stepmother and who became attached to Muk for affectionate treatment, pulled him by the fold of his trousers, as if telling him to follow her. Muk, who willingly played with the dogs, followed her, and - what do you think? - the little dog led him to the bedroom of Mrs. Agavtsi, right to the door, which he still did not notice. The door was half open. The dog went in. Muk followed, and what was his joy when he saw that he was in the room where he had been striving for so long! He began to fumble in search of money, but found nothing. The whole room was full of old clothes and oddly shaped vessels. One of these vessels especially attracted his attention: it was cut crystal with a beautiful design. Muk took it and began to turn it in all directions; but - oh, the horror! - he did not notice that there was a lid that was held very weakly: the lid fell and shattered.

Little Muk was numb with fear - now his fate was decided by itself, now he had to run, otherwise the old woman would beat him to death. He made up his mind in an instant, but as he parted, he glanced once more to see if any of Mrs. Agavtsi's goodies might come in handy on his journey; then a pair of huge shoes caught his eye; True, they were not beautiful, but his old ones would no longer have survived the journey, and, besides, these attracted him with their size; because when he puts them on, everyone will see that he has long been out of diapers. So he hastily threw off his slippers and slipped into new ones; it seemed to him that the wand with a beautifully carved lion's head was wasted in the corner, he grabbed it too and hurried out of the room. He quickly ran to his closet, threw on a dressing gown, pulled his father's turban on, tucked a dagger into his belt, and ran as fast as he could out of the house and out of the city. He ran farther and farther from the city, fearing the wrath of the old woman, until he was completely exhausted. He had never walked so fast in his life, moreover, he seemed unable to stop, as if some invisible force was driving him. Finally, he noticed that the shoes were not clean: they rushed forward and dragged him along. He tried his best to stop, but in vain. Then he shouted in despair to himself, as they shout to horses: “Whoa, stop, whoa!” And the shoes stopped, and Muk fell to the ground without strength.

He was delighted with the shoes; it means that he nevertheless acquired something for his service with which it will be easier for him to search for happiness in the world. Despite his joy, he fell asleep from exhaustion, for Little Anguish's body, which had to bear such a heavy head, was not one of endurance. In a dream, a dog appeared to him, which helped him get shoes in the house of Mrs. Agavtsi, and spoke like this: “Dear Muk, you have not yet learned how to handle shoes; know that, putting them on and turning three times on your heel, you will fly wherever you wish, and the wand will help you find treasures, for where gold is buried, it will knock on the ground three times, where silver - twice. This is what Little Muck saw in his dream; waking up, he remembered a wonderful dream and decided to make an experiment. He put on his shoes, lifted one leg and began to turn on his heel; but whoever tried to do this trick three times in a row in oversized shoes will not be surprised that Little Muck succeeded at once, especially considering that his heavy head outweighed him on one side or the other.

The poor thing hit his nose painfully on the ground several times, but courageously continued to try until he finally got his way. He turned like a wheel on his heel, wished to find himself in the nearest big city, and lo and behold - the shoes rose into the air, rushed like a whirlwind through the clouds, and before Little Muck had time to recover, he found himself in a large market square, where many tents were pitched and countless number of people. He wandered among the crowd, but then decided that it was more prudent to go to one of the secluded streets, because in the market every now and then someone stepped on his shoes, so that he almost fell, or he himself pushed someone with his protruding dagger and barely dodged the beatings.

Little Muck seriously thought about how he could earn a little money; True, he had a wand indicating treasures, but how can one immediately find a place where gold or silver is buried? At worst, he could show up for money, but then pride interfered with him, And suddenly he remembered the agility of his legs. “Perhaps my shoes will help me feed myself,” he thought, and decided to hire himself as a runner. But after all, such a service is probably best paid by the king, and therefore he went to look for the palace. At the gates of the palace there were guards who asked him what he needed here. When he replied that he was looking for service, he was sent to the overseer of the slaves. He stated to him his request to arrange him as a royal messenger. The overseer looked at him from head to toe and said: “How did you plan to become a royal runner when your little legs are no more than a span? Get out quick, I don't have time to joke with every fool. But Little Muck began to swear that he was not joking and was ready to argue with any runner. The overseer found that such a proposal would amuse anyone; he ordered Muk to get ready for the competition before evening, took him to the kitchen and ordered that he be properly fed and watered; he himself went to the king and told him about the little man and his boasting. The king was by nature a merry fellow, and therefore it pleased him very much that the overseer left Little Anguish for amusement; he ordered everything to be arranged in a large meadow behind the royal castle, so that it would be convenient for the court to follow the run, and he ordered the dwarf to have special care. The king told his princes and princesses what entertainment awaits them in the evening; the same told their servants about it, and when evening came, impatient expectation became universal, - everyone who was carried by their feet rushed to the meadow, where scaffolds were arranged, from where the court could follow the run of the boastful dwarf.

When the king with his sons and daughters settled down on the platform, Little Muck stepped into the middle of the meadow and made a most graceful bow to the noble society. Cheerful exclamations greeted the baby - no one has ever seen such a freak. A little body with a huge head, a dressing gown and magnificent trousers, a long dagger behind a wide belt, small legs in huge shoes - really, at the sight of such a comical figure, one could not help laughing. But the laughter didn't bother Little Muck. He drew himself up, leaning on a stick, and waited for the enemy. At the insistence of Muck himself, the overseer of the slaves chose the best runner; he also stepped forward, went up to the baby, and both began to wait for a sign. Then the princess of Amarza, as agreed, waved her veil, and like two arrows shot at the same target, the runners rushed across the meadow.

At first, Muk's opponent was noticeably ahead, but the kid rushed after him on his self-propelled shoes, overtook him, got ahead of him and had long since reached the goal when he ran up, barely taking a breath. The audience froze for a moment in amazement and surprise, but when the king first clapped his hands, the crowd burst into enthusiastic cries: “Long live Little Muck, winner of the contest!”

Little Muck was led to the platform, he threw himself at the feet of the king with the words:

“Great sovereign, I have now shown you only a modest example of my art; deign to order me to be accepted among your messengers. To this the king retorted:

- No, you will be a messenger in my person, dear Muk, you will receive a salary of a hundred gold pieces a year, and you will eat at the same table with my first servants.

Then Muk decided that he had finally found the long-awaited happiness, was delighted and rejoiced in his soul. The king showed him special favor, sending through him the most urgent secret missions, which he carried out with the greatest diligence and incomprehensible speed.

But the other servants of the king had no affection for him; they could not bear the fact that an insignificant dwarf, who only knew how to run fast, took first place in the favors of the sovereign. They plotted against him all sorts of intrigues in order to destroy him, but everything was powerless against the unlimited trust that the king had in his secret chief life courier (for he reached such ranks in a short time).

Muk, from whom all these intricacies were not hidden, did not think about revenge - he was too good for that - no, he thought about means to earn the gratitude and love of his enemies. Then he remembered his wand, which luck had made him forget. If he managed to find the treasure, he decided, all this servants would immediately become more favorable to him. He had often heard that the father of the present king buried many of his treasures when the enemy attacked his country; according to rumors, he died before he could reveal his secret to his son. From now on, Muk always took a wand with him in the hope that he would happen to pass those places where the money of the late king was buried. One evening, he accidentally wandered into a remote part of the palace park, where he had rarely been before, and suddenly felt that the wand trembled in his hand and hit the ground three times. He immediately realized what that meant. He drew a dagger from his belt, made notches in the nearby trees, and hurried back to the palace; there he got himself a shovel and waited for the night to get down to business.

Getting to the treasure was harder than he thought. His hands were weak, and the shovel was large and heavy; in two hours he dug a hole no more than two feet deep. Finally he stumbled upon something hard, ringing like iron. He began to dig even more diligently and soon got to the bottom of a large iron lid; he climbed into the pit to see what was under the lid, and indeed found a pot full of gold coins. But he did not have the strength to lift the pot, and so he took as many coins as he could carry into his trousers and belt, filled his dressing gown and, carefully covering the rest, hefted the dressing gown on his back. But if he hadn't been wearing his shoes, he would never have moved from his place, so the gold weighed down his shoulders. However, he still managed to sneak into his room unnoticed and hide the gold under the sofa cushions.

Having found himself the owner of such riches, Little Muck decided that from now on everything would go in a new way and that now many of his enemies from among the courtiers would become his zealous defenders and patrons. From this alone it is clear that the good-natured Muk did not receive a thorough education, otherwise he could not imagine that true friends are acquired with money. Oh! Why didn't he then put on his shoes and disappear, taking a robe filled with gold!

The gold, which Muk was now handing out in handfuls, was not slow to arouse the envy of the rest of the courtiers. The head cook, Auli, said, "He's a counterfeiter"; the overseer of the slaves, Ahmet, said: "He begged for gold from the king"; the treasurer Arkhaz, his worst enemy, who himself from time to time put his hand into the royal treasury, said bluntly: "He stole it." They came to an agreement on how best to conduct the business, and then one day the ruddy Korhuz appeared before the royal eyes with a sad and dejected look. He did his best to show his sadness: in the end, the king really asked him what was wrong with him.

- Alas! he answered. “I am saddened that I have lost the favor of my lord.

“Why are you talking nonsense, my dear Korhuz,” the king objected to him, “since when did the sun of my grace turn away from you?

Kravchiy replied that he showered the chief life courier with gold, but gave nothing to his faithful and poor servants.

The king was greatly surprised by this news; he listened to the story of Little Muck's bounties; along the way, the conspirators had no difficulty in instilling in him the suspicion that Muk had somehow stolen money from the royal treasury. Such a turn of affairs was especially pleasing to the treasurer, who generally did not like to report. Then the king ordered to follow every step of the Little Anguish and try to capture him red-handed. And when, on the night after that ill-fated day, Little Muk, having depleted his reserves by excessive generosity, took a shovel and crept into the palace park to get new funds from his secret store, he was followed at a distance by guards under the command of the chief cook Auli and the treasurer Arkhaz , and at the moment when he was about to transfer the gold from the pot to the dressing gown, they pounced on him, tied him up and took him to the king. The king was already out of sorts, having been awakened; he very mercilessly received his unfortunate secret ober-life courier and immediately began an investigation. The pot was finally dug out of the ground and, together with a shovel and a dressing gown stuffed with gold, was brought to the feet of the king. The treasurer testified that, with the help of the guards, he covered Muk just as he was burying a pot of gold in the ground. Then the king turned to the accused with a question whether this was true and where he got the gold that he buried.

Little Muck, in full consciousness of his innocence, testified that he had found the pot in the garden, and that he dug it out, and did not bury it.

All those present greeted this excuse with laughter; the king, extremely angry at the imaginary deceit of the dwarf, shouted:

“You still dare, scoundrel, to deceive your king so stupidly and vilely after you have robbed him? Treasurer Arkhaz! I command you to tell me whether you recognize this amount of gold as equal to what is lacking in my treasury?

And the treasurer answered that for him there was no doubt; for some time now the royal treasury has been missing even more, and he is ready to swear that this is exactly what the stolen gold is.

Then the king ordered that Little Anguish be bound in chains and taken to the tower, and he gave the gold to the treasurer to take it back to the treasury. Rejoicing at the happy outcome of the case, the treasurer went home and there began to count the shiny coins; but the villain hid that at the bottom of the pot was a note that read: “The enemy has invaded my country, and therefore I hide here part of my treasures. Whoever finds them and does not hand them over to my son without delay, let the curse of his sovereign fall on his head. King Sadie.

In his dungeon, Little Muck indulged in sad reflections; he knew that theft of royal property was punishable by death, and yet he did not want to reveal to the king the secret of the magic wand, for he rightly feared that both it and shoes would be taken away from him. Shoes, unfortunately, could not save him either, because he was chained to the wall, and no matter how hard he fought, he still could not turn on his heel. But after he was sentenced to death the next day, he decided that it was still better to live without a magic wand than to die with it: he asked the king to listen to him face to face, and revealed his secret to him. At first the king did not believe his confession, but Little Muck promised to do the experiment if the king promised to spare his life. The king gave him his word and ordered him to bury some gold in the ground without the knowledge of Muk, and then ordered him to take a wand and search. He instantly found gold, for the wand clearly hit the ground three times. Then the king realized that the treasurer had deceived him, and, according to the custom of Eastern countries, he sent a silk cord to him so that he himself would hang himself. And the king announced to Little Flour:

Little Anguish had had enough of one night in the tower, so he admitted that all his art was hidden in shoes, but withheld from the king how to use them. The king himself put on his shoes, wishing to make an experiment, and, as if mad, he rushed about the garden; at times he tried to rest, but did not know how to stop the shoes, and Little Muck, out of malevolence, did not help him until he fainted.

The king, having come to his senses, tore and threw at Little Torment, because of which he had to run until he was unconscious.

“I gave my word to grant you life and freedom, but if within two days you will not be outside my country, I will order you to hang up. - And he ordered the shoes and wand to be taken to his treasury.

Poorer than before, Little Muck wandered off, cursing his stupidity, which inspired him as if he could become a person at court. The country from which he was expelled, fortunately, was not large, and already eight hours later he found himself at its turn, although it was not sweet to go without his usual shoes.

Finding himself outside the borders of that country, he turned off the main road to go deeper into the wilderness and live in complete solitude, for people were disgusted with him. In the depths of the forest, he came across a place that seemed to him suitable for his intended purpose. A bright stream, overshadowed by large fig trees, and soft ants beckoned him to them; then he sank to the ground, deciding not to eat and wait for death. Sad thoughts of death put him to sleep; and when he woke up, tormented by hunger, he reasoned that starvation was a dangerous business, and began to look for something to eat.

Wonderful ripe figs hung on the tree under which he had fallen asleep; he climbed up, plucked a few pieces, feasted on them and went to the stream to quench his thirst. But what was his horror when he saw his own reflection in the water, adorned with long ears and a fleshy long nose! In dismay, he grabbed his ears with his hands, and in fact - they turned out to be half an cubit long.

“I deserve donkey ears,” he cried, “for trampling on my happiness like a donkey!”

He began to wander through the forest, and when he got hungry again, he had to resort to figs again, for there was nothing else to eat on the trees. Devouring the second portion of figs, he decided to hide his ears under a turban so as not to seem so ridiculous, and suddenly he felt that his ears had shrunk. He immediately rushed to the stream to make sure of this, and in fact - the ears became the same, the ugly, long nose also disappeared. Then he realized how it happened: from the fruits of the first fig tree, he grew long ears and an ugly nose, eating the fruits of the second, he got rid of the misfortune; he realized with joy that a merciful fate again placed in his hands the means to become happy. Picking as much fruit from each of the trees as he could carry, he set off for the country he had recently left. In the first town, he changed into another dress, so that he became unrecognizable, and then went on to the city where the king lived, and soon arrived there.

It was a time of year when ripe fruits were still quite rare, and so Little Muck sat down at the gate of the palace, remembering from the old days that the chief cook came here to buy rare delicacies for the king's table. Before Muck had time to settle down, he saw that the head cook was walking across the courtyard to the gate. He looked around at the goods of the peddlers who had gathered at the gates of the palace, and suddenly his eyes fell on the basket of Muck.

- Wow! Delicious dish, - he said, - his Majesty, of course, will like it: how much do you want for the whole basket?

Little Muk set a low price, and the bargaining took place. The chief cook gave the basket to one of the slaves and went on, and Little Muck hastened to slip away, fearing that he would be caught and punished for selling the fruits if trouble befell the ears and noses of the royal court.

During the meal, the king was in an excellent mood and more than once began to praise the chief cook for a delicious table and for the zeal with which he always tries to get delicious dishes, and the chief cook, remembering what a tidbit he has in stock, grinned touchingly and he only briefly said: “The end is the crown,” or “These are flowers, and the berries are ahead,” so that the princesses burned with curiosity, what else he would treat them to. When the magnificent, seductive figs were served, all those present burst out enthusiastic: “Ah!”

- How ripe! How appetizing! cried the king. “You are a fine fellow, chief cook, you have earned our highest mercy.

Having said this, the king, being very thrifty with regard to such delicacies, with his own hands gave figs to those present. The princes and princesses received two pieces each, the ladies of the court, the viziers and the agha each received one, the rest the king pulled towards him and began to devour them with the greatest pleasure.

“God, what a strange look you have, dad!” the Princess of Amarza suddenly cried out.

All turned to the king with astonished glances; huge ears stuck out on both sides of his head, a long nose hung down to the very chin; then those present began to look at each other with amazement and horror - all of them turned out to have their heads, to a greater or lesser extent, decorated with the same strange attire.

It is easy to imagine the confusion of the court! Messengers were immediately sent out for all the doctors of the city; they came in a crowd, prescribed pills and potions, but the ears and noses remained as they were. One of the princes had an operation, but his ears grew back.

The whole story has reached the refuge where Muk took refuge; he knew it was time to act. With the proceeds from the sale of figs, he stocked up in advance with clothes in which he could impersonate a scientist; a long goat hair beard completed the masquerade. Grabbing a bag of figs, he went to the palace, called himself a foreign doctor and offered his help. At first, he was treated very distrustfully, but when Little Muck fed one of the princes with a fig and thereby returned his ears and nose to their former size, everyone vying with each other rushed for healing to a foreign doctor. But the king silently took him by the hand and led him to his bedchamber; there he unlocked the door leading to the treasury, and nodded to Muk.

“Here are all my treasures,” said the king, “you will have everything you want if you save me from this shameful scourge.

Sweeter than any music, these words sounded in Little Torment's ears; from the threshold he saw his shoes, and next to them lay a wand. He began to wander about the room, as if marveling at the treasures of the king, but when he reached his shoes, he hurriedly slid into them, grabbed his wand, tore off his fake beard and appeared before the astonished king in the form of an old acquaintance, the poor exile Muk.

“Treacherous king,” he said, “you pay ingratitude for your faithful service, may the ugliness with which you are afflicted be your well-deserved punishment. I leave you long ears to remind you of Little Anguish day by day.

So saying, he quickly turned over on his heel, wished to find himself somewhere far away, and before the king could call for help, Little Muck disappeared. Since then, Little Muck has been living here in full prosperity, but completely alone, for he despises people. Worldly experience has made him a sage who, despite his somewhat strange appearance, deserves more respect than ridicule.

That's what my father told me. I expressed sincere regret that I had been rude to a nice little man, after which I received from my father the second half of the punishment assigned to me. I, in turn, told my comrades about the wonderful adventures of the dwarf, and we all fell in love with him so much that no one thought to mock him anymore. On the contrary, we showed him every respect until his death and bowed to him as low as a mufti or qadi.

The travelers decided to stay for a day in this caravanserai, so that both people and animals would stock up on strength for the further journey.

Yesterday's gaiety has survived to this day, and they did not get tired of indulging in all sorts of amusements. But after the meal, they turned to the fifth of the merchants, Ali Siza, demanding that he, following the example of others, do his duty and tell some story. He objected that his life was poor in interesting events and he had nothing to learn from it, and therefore he would tell them something else, namely the tale of an imaginary prince.

The tale tells about the life and adventures of a dwarf - a man with small stature and a large head. Everyone called him Little Muck. He was left an orphan early and his relatives drove him out of the house. Little Muk goes around the world in search of shelter and food. First he gets to the old woman who fed all the cats and dogs in the city. When he ran away from the old woman, he had magical things in his hands: shoes and a cane. Thanks to walking shoes, Little Muk serves as a messenger for the king. He has extraordinary adventures. Mind, courage and resourcefulness help him punish the king and retinue for insults and achieve good luck ...

Little Mook read

In the city of Nicaea, in my homeland, there lived a man whose name was Little Muk. Although I was a boy then, I remember him very well, especially since my father once gave me a healthy beating because of him. At that time, Little Muck was already an old man, but he was tiny in stature. He looked rather funny: a huge head stuck out on a small, skinny body, much larger than other people.
Little Muck lived in a big old house all alone. He even cooked his own dinner. Every noon, thick smoke appeared over his house: if it were not for this, the neighbors would not know whether the dwarf was alive or dead. Little Muck went outside only once a month - every first day. But in the evenings, people often saw Little Muck walking on the flat roof of his house. From below, it seemed as if one huge head was moving back and forth across the roof.

- Little Muk, little Muk,

You yourself are small, and the house is a cliff;

You show your nose once a month.

You are a good little dwarf

The head is a little big

Take a quick look around

And catch us, little Muk!

“I heard you offend Little Anguish,” my father told me sternly. “I will tell you his adventures, and you will probably no longer laugh at the poor dwarf. But first you get what you deserve.

And I relied on a good spanking for such things. After counting out the spanks as needed, the father said:

“Now listen carefully.

And he told me the story of Little Muck.

“You have been wearing off your children's shoes for a long time,” he said to the dwarf, “and you are still just playing naughty and idle.

One day Father Muk fell down on the street and hurt himself badly. After that, he fell ill and soon died. Little Muk was left alone, penniless. Father's relatives drove Muk out of the house and said:

- Go around the world, maybe you will find your Happiness.

On the third day in the morning, he saw from the top of the hill a large beautiful city, decorated with flags and banners. Little Muk gathered his last strength and went to this city.

“Maybe I will finally find my happiness there,” he said to himself.

Although it seemed that the city was very close, Muk had to walk to it all morning. It was not until noon that he finally reached the city gates.

The city was full of beautiful houses. The wide streets were full of people. Little Muk was very hungry, but no one opened the door for him and invited him to come in and rest.

- Here, here -

Food is ready!

The table is covered

So that everyone is full.

Neighbors, here -

Food is ready!

Muck went up the stairs and saw that old woman who was screaming from the window.

- What do you need? the old woman asked angrily.

“You called for dinner,” said Mook, “and I am very hungry.” Here I come.

The old woman laughed out loud and said:

- Where did you come from, boy? Everyone in town knows that I only cook dinner for my cute cats. And so that they would not be bored, I invite neighbors to them.

“You know what, Mook? Stay and serve me. My work is easy, and you will live well.

In addition to cats, four other dogs lived in the house. The dwarf also had to look after them, but there was less fuss with dogs than with cats. Mrs. Ahavzi loved cats like her own children.

Little Muk was just as bored with the old woman as with his father: apart from cats and dogs, he saw no one.

Poor Muk was very sad and finally decided to leave the old woman. Mrs. Ahavzi promised to pay him a salary, but she did not pay.

“I’ll get a salary from her,” thought Little Muck, “I’ll leave right away. If I knew where her money was hidden, I would have taken myself a long time ago, as much as I should.”

The dog pushed open the door and entered some room; Muk followed her and froze in place in surprise: he found himself in the very room where he had wanted to go for so long.

Poor Muk was seriously frightened. Now there was no need to reason - it was necessary to run: when the old woman returned and saw that he had broken the lid, she would beat him half to death.

He quickly kicked off his shoes and put on his shoes. Next to the shoes stood a thin cane with a lion's head.

“That cane is still standing idle here,” thought Muk. “I’ll take a cane by the way.”

He grabbed a cane and ran to his room. In one minute he put on his cloak and turban, put on a dagger and rushed down the stairs, hurrying to leave before the old woman returned.

Muk was completely exhausted and did not know what to do. In despair, he waved his hands and shouted, as cab drivers shout:

— Whoa! Whoa! Stop!

And suddenly the shoes stopped at once, and the poor dwarf fell to the ground with all his might.

He was so tired that he immediately fell asleep. And he had an amazing dream. He saw in a dream that the little dog that led him to the secret room came up to him and said:

“Take me to the next town.

And suddenly the shoes lifted him into the air and quickly, like the wind, ran through the clouds. Before Little Muk had time to come to his senses, he found himself in the city, in the bazaar.

And suddenly Little Muck remembered that he now knew how to run fast.

“Maybe my shoes will bring me income,” he thought. “I’ll try to get hired by the king as a runner.”

- Mr. Chief, I can run faster than any runner. Take me to the king in messengers.

The chief looked contemptuously at the dwarf and said with a loud laugh: