How often evil tongues, empty speculations and absurd inventions turn a person into a monster, which he is not really. What can fantasy and slander lead to? The story of N. Leskov “Scarecrow”, written in 1885 and published in the journal “Sincere Word”, makes us think about this. Here we describe the plot and main events from the book, and you will find an analysis of the work here.
(591 words) The storyteller’s childhood takes place in Orel. Every day, he sees pictures of brutal army life that scare him. An elderly nanny, Maria Borisovna, leads a child to the river bank, where small children catch fish. This fish, like a kind of fishing for kids, pulled the narrator to freedom, which, according to the arguments of the nanny, would be available to him only in the village. The joy of the boy knew no bounds when his noble parents acquired a name-list in Kromsky district, where the whole family moved.
In the village, the boy makes a lot of acquaintances. The old miller, grandfather Ilya, became both the main friend and mentor. He believed in water, with which he had a "close relationship", and in the brownie, and the goblin, and in kikimora. Grandfather Ilya opened a different world for a city boy, full of fairy tales. All the characters became so real that they began to scare the child. In particular, he was afraid of the sorcerer Selivan, who had power over the whole region.
"An empty janitor" Selivan is a Kromsk tradesman who was orphaned early. From childhood, he sold kalachi, earning a living. But people were afraid of him, because the guy had a red mark on his face. They said: “the god of the dodger marks”, they expected a dirty trick from him. And at that time in Kromy came the "executed executioner" with his daughter. And people didn’t want to accept him, they drove him out from everywhere. The old executioner died, and the girl was left alone. Everyone forgot about her, she disappeared. And with it, Selivan disappeared. The hero did not take anything with him, even left all the money earned for the punishment. Only three years later, did they learn that the wanderer Selivan saved the merchant, who, in gratitude, gave him an empty yard for rent.
He settled in the yard with his crippled wife, who did not leave the house.
A lot of time passed, and Selivan regularly paid the rent, although no one drove into his yard. He lived poorly, but did not starve. Rumors began to circulate that he had contacted evil spirits - he had sold his soul to the devil, and he brought the confused strangers to the courtyard. But no one came back.
Everyone looked at Selivan like a terrible scarecrow.
They again remembered about Selivan, when a man Nikolai froze near his yard. They began to recall old tricks. Nearby people avenged him for witchcraft.
The boy does not believe everything that people say about Selivan. He believes that he will make friends with him. He does not wait until he encounters a sorcerer. Once everyone gathered to go through that terrible forest and capture Selivan. In the forest, everyone was frightened and fled, and the children were left to their own devices. A thunderstorm was approaching, no one knew the way home. Seeing the man’s terrible face in the bushes, the boy and his little brother ran in fright. When they reached a stream that was great for children, they stood in a daze in the rain. And suddenly strong hands grabbed the kids. Selivan (and it was he) carried the children on his shoulders to the estate itself. After this incident, the courtyards took up arms against Selivan even more, claiming that it was he who rigged it all.
Once a crew in which there was a storyteller with an aunt covers a blizzard. It is impossible to get to the house. Fate brought the travelers straight to the Selivans courtyard. It was terrible to spend the night at Selivan, and even my aunt carried a box with a large amount of money. But there was nothing to do. No one could sleep a night except the boys. Everyone was worried about the box. In the morning, not hiding the horror, the whole crew hastily set off on the road.
They realized at home - there were no caskets. They began to slander Selivan, when suddenly he himself brought the loss and did not even take the due reward. After that incident, the hero was treated with respect. Auntie offered him an inn in her new estate.
A few years later, after the death of Selivan, the aunt revealed the secret of the former "empty janitor." Pitying the little orphan, the executioner's daughter, he hid her from prying eyes, knowing that evil tongues would not give her life because of her father’s past.
Ranger
