Fables of Tolstoy - a textbook translation of Aesop

Just to discuss the fables of Tolstoy Leo Nikolayevichthere is no point. As such, he did not write fables, he translated. Although even this is not the main thing, after all, many people have done it and achieved success, for example Krylov, Pushkin, Dmitriev, Lafontaine. It is strange, at first glance, to start what you have already done more than once. But Tolstoy's goal was different, one might say, a saint. Thanks to his work, and fables including, several generations of our country learned to read. The famous "ABC" was created in order to help ordinary children from peasant families learn the language and the native language.

Aesop's stories for "ABC"

To consider the fables of Tolstoy without the famoustextbook is not a very good idea, because he was engaged in translating fables of an ancient Greek writer who lived in the VI century BC. E., he is for the "ABC", processing images to a level in which the children will not be difficult to understand them. By the way, the works of Aesop, written two and a half thousand years ago, were not poetic, but rather a simple language. And most importantly, they are still relevant, are not they?

Material for children's reading

School for the peasant children in YasnayaGlade needed a training manual. Tolstoy conducted a grandiose work to study the existing material before the light saw his "textbook." They decided to include Aesop's work in the form of reading materials. Translated Tolstoy's fables, many are called textbooks for maximum proximity to the original. He recycled some of his works in a new way in order to bring the images closer to the reality at that time for easier perception.

Concept

Leo Tolstoy, whose fables were very different fromtranslations made by other venerable authors, tried not to overload the work with unnecessary details. Brevity is the main thing. He wanted this kind of creations to look more like proverbs, they were simple and easy to assimilate. Creating small instructive comedies with a clear conclusion is his goal.

"ABC" and fables

In 1872, the "Azbuka" was published, and together with itand the fables of Tolstoy. For the sake of justice I would like to say that, unlike the rest of his works, fables have never been printed separately, but only as a material for reading in the textbook. He had them in increasing complexity of perception, that is, first they went through the lungs, and the book ended with complex instructive stories.

Story-fable (Tolstoy)

"Squirrel and the Wolf" - this is not a translation, but its owncomposition. The character is instructive and unlike the works of other writers, it does not have a clearly defined morality. Familiar to everyone, the fable "The Crow and the Fox" in its interpretation is quite different: she fought for meat in the beak of a raven, and not on cheese, it is more natural, and most importantly, as written by Aesop. "Dragonfly and Ants" in his publication is not as colorful work as after the treatment of Krylov, in whose hands the story became incredibly eloquent. "The Lion and the Mouse" is an example of the conciseness of utterances. "The Wolf and the Crane," "Thin Threads," "Turtle and the Eagle" ... You can enumerate to infinity. In total, Tolstoy wrote 629 works for children. Among them were fairy tales, stories, and essays.