Svyatogor: a hero of enormous stature and incredible strength. Slavic epics about Svyatogor add your price to the database comment Opinion about the epic Svyatogor and Ilya Muromets

The epic "Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich" is a famous work of ancient Russian epic. She talks about the famous giant hero.

Bogatyr Svyatogor

Epics about Svyatogor belong to East Slavic mythology. This is one of the most ancient cycles of the Russian epic epic. It is located outside the popular Novgorod and Kyiv cycles. At the same time, it intersects with them in some epics dedicated to the meetings of Svyatogor with Ilya Muromets.

According to the popular plot of the epic, Svyatogor was very heavy. So much so that the earth could not bear him. At the same time, he himself could no longer overcome the gravity of the earth and sank with his feet into the ground. According to another legend, Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor take turns trying on a coffin made of stone. They suddenly meet him on their way. In this epic, Svyatogor is a hero for whom the coffin was just right.

However, once in the coffin, he finds out that he cannot get out of it, even the lid does not lift. Just before his death, Svyatogor manages to transfer part of his power to Ilya Muromets through breathing. This is how the most famous epic defender of the Russian land becomes even stronger.

Description of Svyatogor

As a rule, in epics Svyatogor is described as a huge giant of incredible strength. He is taller than the trees in the forest. He visits Holy Rus' itself only occasionally. Basically he prefers to live on the high Holy Mountains almost completely alone.

When he does leave his home, the whole neighborhood knows about it. The ground beneath him sways, the trees sway, and the rivers simply overflow their banks.

Svyatogor is the personification of the ancient Russian hero, the pre-Christian hero of the Slavic epic, who is the personification of the power of the Russian people and their divine destiny.

It is noteworthy that the father of the epic Svyatogor was a “dark”, that is, a blind man. And this is a clear sign that he belonged to the beings of the other world.

The gigantic forces of Svyatogor

In the summary of the epic about Svyatogor, there is often a plot in which he feels gigantic powers within himself. To prove this, he boasts that he is able to turn heaven and earth if there were two rings: one in the sky and the second in the earth. Another famous man named Mikula Selyaninovich heard about this. He then threw the bag containing all the “earthly burdens” onto the ground.

In the epic “Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich,” a summary of which is given in this article, our hero makes unsuccessful attempts to somehow move this bag without getting off his horse, but fails. Then he dismounts and tries to lift the bag with both hands. But instead of lifting it above his head, he sinks into the ground almost up to his knees, because he cannot overcome the earth’s pull. This is how he ends his life, unable to confirm in reality the words about his strength and power.

There is another version of how the epic “Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich” develops. After reading it completely, you can find out a different ending to this story. In it, Svyatogor remains alive, and Mikula, taking pity on him, reveals the secret of her unaffordable bag.

Epics with Ilya Muromets

In the epics about Svyatogor, the content of which is given in this article, perhaps the most famous Russian epic hero, Ilya Muromets, is often found.

The plot is well known in which Ilya Muromets finds a real heroic bed almost in an open field, under an oak tree. It is 10 fathoms long and another 6 wide. The tired hero of the Russian epic falls asleep on it for three whole days.

In this epic, Svyatogor and Ilya Muromets meet on the third day, when Ilya’s horse wakes him up. A noise is heard from the north side, which alarmed the animal. It is the horse that advises the hero to hide behind an oak tree.

The appearance of Svyatogor

At this moment Svyatogor appears. He sits on a horse and holds a crystal casket in his hands. It contains his beautiful wife. Svyatogor himself lies down to rest on the heroic bed. While he is sleeping, his wife notices Ilya Muromets. She seduces him into love and puts him in the pocket of her giant husband, so that unnoticed he will continue his journey with them.

In this epic, Svyatogor and Ilya set off on a further journey, with one of them unaware of the existence of the other. His horse begins to talk to Svyatogor, who complains that it is very difficult for him, because until now he was carrying only one hero and his wife, but now there are two heroes. This is how the insidious plan of Svyatogor’s wife is revealed.

The giant hero quickly finds Ilya in his pocket. He asks carefully and in detail how he got there. Having learned about his wife’s infidelity, Svyatogor, without any regret, kills her. He enters into a brotherhood with Ilya. Together they continue their journey.

Stone at the crossroads

Near the Northern Mountain, the heroes encounter the famous stone at the crossroads, which was later repeatedly found in other heroic epics. It is written on it that as a result, only the one who is destined to lie there will end up in the coffin.

The heroes begin to try on the stone coffin. It turns out to be too big for Ilya, but Svyatogor fits just right. As soon as Svyatogor lies down in it, the lid immediately slams shut behind him. He is no longer able to lift it, cannot get out and ends his life in this coffin. Having transferred part of his mighty strength, as well as his sword to Ilya Muromets, he asks Ilya to cut the hated coffin. But everything is in vain. With each blow, the coffin is only covered with a powerful iron hoop.

Svyatogor's wedding

Another popular plot of Svyatogor’s epic is his marriage. In this epic, Svyatogor and Mikula talk about how to find out the future, their upcoming destiny.

Mikula gives the hero practical advice - to go to the Northern Mountains. They are also called Siverskaya. There, according to him, lives a prophetic blacksmith who can give answers to all these questions.

Svyatogor comes to the blacksmith, who predicts that he will soon get married. His bride will be from a distant seaside kingdom. Svyatogor goes there and looks for the sick Pomeranian Film, as the blacksmith predicted, she lies on pus (as manure was called in Ancient Rus'). Svyatogor lays next to her, hits her in the chest with a sword and leaves.

From everything that is happening, the girl wakes up and comes to her senses. She lay in the rot for 30 years, so awakening is difficult for her. During this time, her entire body was covered with ugly bark. But as soon as she comes off, it turns out that underneath she was hiding a beautiful woman. Rumors about the beauty of the beautiful stranger reach Svyatogor itself. He immediately comes again to this overseas kingdom and takes her as his wife.

Only after the wedding Svyatogor discovers that his young wife has a scar on her chest. He recognizes the mark from his sword and realizes that this is exactly the woman who was predicted for him.

Legends about Svyatogor

In the analysis of the ancient Russian epic, much attention is paid to the analysis of legends dedicated to Svyatogor. Their detailed study leads researchers to three fundamental conclusions.

First, they highlight the motive of raising the bag. This plot is very common not only in Russian legends, but also among other peoples in legends about heroes and giants. For example, about Volga, Anika, Samson, Kolyvan. So, in the Yugoslav ancient poetry, the analogue of Svyatogor is the prince Marko. In the Caucasus, a similar situation happens to Soslan.

Suma corresponds in other legends to a stone, for example, in epics about a stream. This, in turn, coincides with the story from the biography of the exploits of Alexander the Great. About how the inhabitants of the heavenly capital give him one stone each as a tribute. However, it turns out that this pebble can neither be weighed nor measured in any way.

In a symbolic interpretation, this sum corresponds to human envy. A similar legend is found among the ancient Scandinavian peoples - in an episode about a dispute between Thor and a giant.

A cheating wife

Secondly, the researchers of the ancient Russian epic analyze in detail the situation with the marriage of Svyatogor and his unfaithful wife. They see parallel motifs among Persian authors in a book called "Tuti-name". This is a famous collection of short stories with humorous, didactic and even erotic content, which was extremely popular in Ancient India.

Often episodes with a wedding and adultery, similar to the story of Svyatogor, can be read in Buddhist tales. Many authoritative researchers are inclined to believe that this episode is of Eastern origin.

The very episode of the marriage of the hero Svyatogor is attributed by most literary scholars and historians to folk tales, which at that time were based on popular medieval stories.

This is especially noticeable if you analyze these legends in detail. Thus, a trip to the sorcerer-blacksmith to the north is reminiscent of an episode from the epic “Kalevala”. The wife, lying on the rot for a long time, is also found in the old Russian story, in which the main character is Tsarevich Firgis.

At the moment, it has already been possible to collect many parallels in order to study in detail the personality of Svyatogor, but still there remains a lot of unclear and incomprehensible things in it. For example, it was never possible to definitely find the absolute prototype of the strongman Svyatogor. There are only a few hypotheses. For example, it could be with whom Wilhelm Wollner compares Svyatogor.

Folklorist Ivan Zhdanov believes that the real prototype of Svyatogor was the biblical strongman Samson. Literary critic Alexey Veselovsky puts forward a similar version.

But the historian of Russian literature Mikhail Khalansky notes the similarity of stories about Svyatogor with Russian folk epics. Most likely, his name is an epithet that comes from the name of the places in which he lived - the Holy Mountains.

Magic power

The famous researcher of Russian fairy tales and folklore also expresses his opinion on this issue. He believes that Svyatogor personifies a primitive force that cannot be used in ordinary standard life.

That is why it is doomed to failure and subsequent death.

Native from Chernigov

There is also a version that the epic about Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich, like other epic stories about this hero, originally took shape in Chernigov.

The fact is that in one of the epics Svyatogor appears as a hero defending the Chernigov prince named Oleg Svyatoslavovich. On this basis, archaeologist Boris Rybakov puts forward the version that the epic initially took shape precisely in the environment of the Chernigov prince. This means that it could reflect much earlier tales, for example, the epic of the early 10th century.

Literary reading lessons (author of the course) are aimed at developing students’ speech and reading activity. They are designed to help the child become a reader: to bring him to an awareness of the rich world of domestic and foreign art as a literary word; enrich the reading experience, develop interest in reading and books. In order for a child to become a full-fledged reader, it is important to create conditions for the formation of reading activity: organizing the reading space, selecting reading material and mastering basic literary concepts and knowledge.

Lesson summary developed

MBOU "Gymnasium "SAN" Penza

Lesson topic: Works. Epic "Svyatogor - the hero"

Lesson objectives:

Educational: introduce children to the epic “Svyatogor the Bogatyr”; identify the artistic features of epics (melody, repetition, set expressions, epithets, hyperbole); teach how to work with a work, develop the skills of full perception and analysis of a work, literary ideas, teach various types of reading; develop skills of self-control and self-esteem.

Developmental: develop coherent speech, imagination, holistic perception, the ability to compare, analyze and draw conclusions.

Educational: to cultivate a love of Russian literature, patriotic feelings and moral qualities of the individual, to cultivate the ability to work together.

Equipment:

Multimedia equipment. Presentation. Cards with diagrams.

Material for the lesson:

For the teacher:

Literary reading: program: grades 1-4 / , . - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2013 Literary reading: 4th grade: methodological manual / - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2012 3-5 books with works

For the student:

7. Literary reading: 4th grade: textbook for students of general education institutions: in 2 hours. Part 2 /, – 3rd ed. revised - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2013.

8. Literary reading: 4th grade: workbook for students of general education institutions: in 2 hours. Part 2 / - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2013.

9. Literary reading: 4th grade: educational reader for students of general education institutions: in 2 hours. Part 2 /, – 3rd ed. revised - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2013.

During the classes

I. Work to identify students’ reading experience

Guys, go to the exhibition and look at the books. What books are you familiar with?

(Children give the full names of the books.)

What two groups can these books be divided into?

(A book is a work and a book is a collection.)

What do all these books have in common?

Right. All these works were written by the great Russian writer.

A comment:

In literary reading and listening lessons, it is necessary to turn to books and book exhibitions. This is important for the formation of special reading skills (the ability to navigate in books, understand the features of a literary work, work with the apparatus of a book, compare, classify). Working with book exhibitions involves each child in an active cognitive process, encourages children to read, and develops interest in reading activities.

What kind of works did you write by genre? To answer this question, complete the diagram on the card that is on your desk.

did you write stories?

arts.

Now compare your diagrams with the finished one. Please add if you forgot to write something.

(Self-test. Slide 2)

Give examples of works for each of the genres you recorded. Don't forget to name the theme of the work.

(Children's answers. Additions.)

Well done. You know a lot of works.

A comment:

Schemes and tables are types of tasks that are introduced to summarize the knowledge gained, the development of reader's vigilance. This work allows children to see their level of reading. The diagram filled in by the children summarized their knowledge of the genre diversity of works. The formation of self-control and self-esteem is the most important stage of work in the lessons of literary reading. Self-examination according to the model is an effective technique for developing reader's vigilance, an important element of educational and reading activities.

II. Working with a new work

Today at the lesson we will get acquainted with another work. This is the epic "Svyatogor - the hero." Find it in the textbook. Get ready to listen. Now I will read to you. After reading, you must answer the questions: Did you like this work? What do you remember most?

(Reading bylina by the teacher.)

A comment:

The main task of this stage of the lesson is for children to master the ability to hear a work of art, feel it, think about moral categories, and express their own attitude to what they read.

2. Conversation after hearing and work with the text

Did you like this piece? What do you remember most? Name the work correctly.

(children's answers)

Guys, look at the dictionary for this work. Let's read the words and their meanings. Find sentences with these words in the text.

(Working with a dictionary in the textbook pp. 22-23)

What does Svyatogor the Bogatyr tell about in the epic?

(in the epic he talks about the meeting of two Russian heroes - Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich.)

Read the description of Svyatogor and his mighty power.

(Children read the passage aloud)

Why was Svyatogor surprised? Find in the text and read the answer to this question.

(Children read the passage aloud)

Find and read the dialogue between Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich.

(Children read the passage aloud)

How do rich people behave?

(Svyatogor boasts of his strength, and Mikula Selyaninovich is very modest.)

Prove it's epic. What is characteristic of all epics?

(This is a work about Russian heroes who defended their native land. It contains set expressions, epithets, hyperboles.)

Find and read these characteristic features in the epic.

(children's answers) Slide 3.

Well done. You correctly named all the characteristic features of epics and found them in the text.

A comment:

Working with a dictionary allows you to conduct lexical work, enrich your vocabulary, practice reading skills, master various types of reading, organize the analysis of a text and its units (sentence, paragraph, episode, passage). Students read the word and its meaning in the dictionary, find and read a sentence with this word in the text, highlight paragraphs with this word and learn it in context.

At this stage, the ability to navigate the text was formed. Questions and assignments are exploratory in nature, aiming students to analyze the text, its

features and understanding of meaning. Simultaneous work is being done on the language of the work and on the speech of children.

3. Repeated reading of the epic aloud by children

(Reading epics aloud to children)

A comment:

Formation of reading skills remains one of the main tasks of each lesson. During the lessons, students' reading techniques are constantly improved, expressive reading is practiced, and children's attention to the author's word is developed.

III. Comparison of the epic “Svyatogor - the hero” and the folk epic “Svyatogor”

1. Didactic game “Remember and name”

Guys, today you named the epics you wrote. Let's remember what folk epics you know? I will read excerpts from epics that we met in literary reading lessons, and you must name them. When naming the epic, also name the names of Russian heroes. You will write these names in the diagram, which is in your notebook on page 13, task 3.

(The teacher reads passages, children name familiar epics and write down the names of heroes in the chart).

1. ...Ilya walked on the water, but the earth really couldn’t carry him: his foot was stuck in the ground, in the swamp, he grabbed an oak tree - the oak tree was uprooted, the chain from the ring, like a thread, tore into pieces...

(Russian folk epic “How Ilya from Murom became a hero”)

2. ...At the fork in the road there is a stone, and on the stone there is an inscription: “If you go straight, you will be killed, if you go to the right, you will be married, and if you go to the left, you will become rich.” Ilya read the inscriptions and became thoughtful...

(Russian folk epic “Three trips of Ilya Muromets”)

3. ...But Dobrynya was not afraid of the Snake: he managed to deftly jump out onto the shore. He grabbed his three-pound cap, and it hit the Snake on the head! Instantly knocked off her poisonous trunks...

(Russian folk epic “Dobrynya and the Snake”)

4. ...The guests are sitting and see: the oak door opens, a filthy miracle comes into the upper room. The height, and that’s right, is three fathoms, the width is two girths. He doesn’t bow to anyone, doesn’t say hello, he goes straight to the table...

(Russian folk epic “Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmeyovich”)

5. ...And Volga sent his entire squad at once - to pull the peasant plow out of the ground. But the entire princess squad could not cope with the plow...

(Russian folk epic “Volga and Mikula”)

6. ... Svyatogor got off his horse, grabbed his handbag with both hands, gathered all his strange strength, raised the handbag above his knees and the old hero felt that he had sunk knee-deep into the ground, and not sweat was streaming down his face from the effort - heroic blood flowed...

(Russian folk epic “Svyatogor”)

If you remember any other heroes, complete the diagram, and then check each other’s work.

(mutual check)

Now compare your notes with the finished diagram. Please fill in if you forgot to write something.

Svyatogor Mikula Volkh Yakim

Selyaninovich Vseslavevich Ivanovich

Svyatoslavovich Russian heroes

Dobrynya Ilya Alyosha Nikita

Nikitich Muromets Popovich Kozhemyaka

2. Comparison of epics

And what epic did you read at home? Name it.

(Russian folk epic "Svyatogor")

Let's compare the epic "Svyatogor - the hero" and the folk epic "Svyatogor". What is common and how are these two epics different?

(The epics are similar in that they tell about the same heroes - Svyatogor and Mikul Selyaninovich. Both epics describe their meeting and conversation. The strength of the heroes is described in the same way. The plots and endings of these works are different. The epics are also different in form: folk the epic is written in prose, and the author's - in verse.)

Children support their answers with passages from the texts.

Well done boys. You correctly compared these epics. They named a lot of similarities and differences in them.

This is a strange hero - majestic, stern and at the same time pathetic, tragic. He is fantastically strong, many times stronger than Ilya Muromets, but the strength in him is somehow useless. This hero does not perform feats, like Ilya Muromets, for the sake of his native land, does not crush its enemies, does not fight evil. He has no father, no mother, no friends. Even the native land, as it is said in the epic, “does not bear it”, cannot withstand it. He does not go either to the open field, like other heroes, or to Kyiv-grad. He lives like a giant hermit, alone in the mountains and himself resembles a formidable motionless rock. This mountain giant is doomed to death, because his life is meaningless, his strength is useless. And all the epics about Svyatogor tell how he gives up his life. He dies not in battle, but in competition with some unknown, irresistible force. This power is not human, it lies in some objects, and Svyatogor, despite his great power, cannot cope with it. In the epic “Svyatogor and Ilya Muromets” this object becomes an empty coffin, where Svyatogor lies down, as if jokingly, but cannot get out. The “oak lid” has closed, and Ilya cannot open it. Svyatogor asks:
- You break the lid with a saber,
Ilya Svyatogor obeyed,
He takes the saber sharply,
Strikes the oak coffin,
Where will Ilya Muromets strike?
Here the iron hoops become
Ilya does everything that Svyatogor advises in order to rescue him from the coffin, but each action only worsens the situation and brings the end of the hero closer. Apparently, Svyatogor’s meeting with the coffin is fate, and death is inevitable. Svyatogor, realizing that his death is near, wants to transfer his power to Ilya Muromets. But Ilya doesn’t need this power; he has enough of his own.
In another epic, Svyatogor wants to lift a “saddle bag,” but cannot tear it off the ground.
He takes his bag, and with one hand -
This handbag won't move,
How he takes both hands,
He strained himself with heroic strength.
Svyatogor is stuck in the ground up to his knees,
And on the white face there are not tears, but blood flowing...
Why is this bag so heavy that the hero grew into the ground and found his death here? It turns out that in the purse there is “earthly craving”, “the burden of mother damp earth”. This is what the hero tried to compete with - with great earthly power! The epic seems to warn: in such a struggle - unjust, destructive - the hero will lose, because the land needs to be plowed, developed and protected, and not compete with it in power and strength. Svyatogor, the hero of old times, far from the concerns and interests of the Russian land, is leaving forever. New heroes come who see their calling in serving their native land, in protecting it from enemies.

Hello guys, sit down. My name is Daria Vladimirovna. Today I will teach you a literary reading lesson. Check your workspaces, remove all unnecessary items from tables.

Guys, today we will have an interesting topic, but I won’t tell you what it is yet.

First, let's remember what genre you studied in the last lesson?

How does a short story differ from other genres?

Today we will study a very interesting, but not simple genre.

In order for you to be able to determine what kind of genre this is, 6 people come to me and receive letters from me.

Guys, what kind of word can be made from these letters?

Today we are studying a new genre called epic.

Maybe someone knows what an epic is?

In order to find out, let's take card number 1, and.... will read to us.

So, what signs of the epic can we identify?

Today we will study the epic called “Svyatogor the Hero”.

Why do you think the hero was named Svyatogor, what is the meaning of his name?

Do you think it’s possible to call a not very strong person Svyatogor? Why?

Now listen to the epic Svyatogor the Hero. (Children’s textbooks are closed.)

How many heroes were there in the epic?

How many heroes have measured their strength?

How did Svyatogor’s attempt to raise the “Handbag” end?

Let's open our textbooks on page 21 and look at the content of the text of the epic.

This epic is quite difficult to read, we need to read it beautifully.

To do this, I have selected words for you in advance, the meaning of which I want you to understand.

Now look at page 23, read the words you don’t know.

(reading by rhyme).

Well done, you read it well, but since the epic is difficult, let's read it again.

1)Where did Svyatogor walk?

2) Was there such a person with whom Svyatogor could measure his strength?

3) Guys, who told Svyatogor that he has such great power?

4) What words did Svyatogor say, boasting of his strength?

5) Who did Svyatogor see after those words?

6) Could Svyatogor immediately catch up with a passerby?

7) Find in the text what Svyatogor had to do to catch up with the passerby.

8) How did the passerby behave?

9) Find in the text the words about how Svyatogor examined the handbag of a passerby.

11) Were Svyatogor able to lift his purse?

12) Find in the text what happened to Svyatogor at this moment?

13) Find in the text what Svyatogor asked the passerby?

14) What was the name of the passerby?

Guys, what words do you think characterize this character?

(I have selected a statement for you in advance. Can you now choose the words yourself?)

Guys, now we'll take a little rest.

I will tell you the part of the body that you need to touch, but listen carefully because I will confuse you. Touch your nose, touch your ear, touch your neck (I repeat, but I’m not showing it correctly). Now we have rested a little and are ready to continue the lesson.

Open the printed notebooks on page 12.

Let's complete the cover model.

As you can already see, the epic is indicated by a rhombus.

What do you think is the theme of this work?

What color will we need to paint the diamond?

Let's write the author's surname above the diamond, and the name of the epic under the diamond.

Let's do #3 on pages 12-13.

Now let’s work in pairs, take cards No. 2. Before you are parts of a proverb, make a proverb out of these parts.

We have collected 3 proverbs, let's read them.

Do any of these proverbs fit this epic?

Why?

Now take card number 3 and answer the test questions.

1.Where did Svyatogor walk?

A) in the steppe

B) in the field

B) in the forest

2.Who did Svyatogor meet?

A) passerby

B) horse

B) Ilya Muromets

3.Name the genre of the work Svyatogor the Hero.

A) story

B) epic

B) story

4.What did the passerby have?

A) bag

B) basket

B) handbag

5. What was the name of the man Svyatogor met?

A) Alyosha Popovich

B) Dobrynya Nikitich

B) Mikula Selyaninovich

6. Were Svyatogor able to lift the bag?

A) picked up easily

B) raised only a hair's breadth from the ground

B) didn’t pick it up

Please submit your work.

Guys, let's remember what new things you learned?

What genre were you introduced to?

What words did you learn?

Guys, please stand up, those who understand what an epic is.

Please stand up, those who saw the human features of the hero.

Our lesson has come to an end, thank you all for your attention, it was a pleasure working with you, goodbye.

The Holy Mountains are high in Rus', their gorges are deep, their abysses are terrible. Neither birch, nor oak, nor pine, nor green grass grows there. Even a wolf won’t run there, an eagle won’t fly by; even an ant has nothing to profit from on the bare rocks. Only the hero Svyatogor rides between the cliffs on his mighty horse. The horse leaps over chasms, jumps over gorges, and steps from mountain to mountain.

An old man rides through the Holy Mountains.
Here the mother-cheese earth shakes,
There are dark forests staggering here,
The streams flow quickly.
The hero Svyatogor is taller than a dark forest, he props up the clouds with his head, he rides through the mountains - the mountains shake under him, he drives into the river - all the water from the river splashes out. He rides for a day, two, three, then he stops, pitches his tent, lies down, gets some sleep, and again his horse wanders through the mountains.

Svyatogor the hero is bored, sadly old: in the mountains there is no one to say a word with, no one to measure his strength with.

He would like to go to Rus', walk with other heroes, fight with enemies, shake his strength, but the trouble is: the earth does not support him, only the stone cliffs of Svyatogorsk do not crumble under his weight, do not fall, only their ridges do not crack under his hooves heroic horse.

It’s hard for Svyatogor because of his strength, he carries it like a heavy burden, he would be glad to give half of his strength, but there is no one. I would be glad to do the hardest work, but there is no work I can handle. Whatever you touch with your hand, everything will crumble into crumbs, flatten into a pancake.

He would begin to uproot forests, but for him forests are like meadow grass. He would move mountains, but no one needs that...

So Svyatogor travels alone through the Holy Mountains. So he travels alone through the Holy Mountains, his head weighed down with melancholy...

Eh, if only I could find earthly pull, I would drive a ring into the sky, tie an iron chain to the ring, pull the sky to the earth, turn the earth upside down, mix the sky with the earth - I would spend a little power! But where can you find it - cravings!

Once Svyatogor was riding along a valley between the cliffs, and suddenly - a living person was walking ahead!

A nondescript little man walks, stamping his bast shoes, carrying a saddlebag on his shoulder.

Svyatogor was delighted: he would have someone to exchange a word with, and began to catch up with the peasant.

He walks on his own, in no hurry, but Svyatogorov’s horse gallops at full speed, but cannot catch up with the peasant. A man is walking, not in a hurry, throwing his handbag from shoulder to shoulder. Svyatogor gallops at full speed - all passers-by are ahead! He's walking at a pace - he can't catch up with everyone! Svyatogor shouted to him:

Hey, well done passerby, wait for me! The man stopped and put his purse on the ground.

Svyatogor galloped up, greeted him and asked:

What kind of burden do you have in this bag?

And you take my purse, throw it over your shoulder and run across the field with it.

Svyatogor laughed so hard that the mountains shook; I wanted to pry the purse with a whip, but the purse did not move, I began to push with a spear - it did not move, I tried to lift it with my finger - it did not rise...

Svyatogor got off his horse, took his handbag with his right hand, but did not move it by a hair. The hero grabbed the purse with both hands and pulled with all his might, only lifting it up to his knees. Lo and behold, he’s sunk knee-deep into the ground, not sweat is running down his face, but blood is flowing, his heart is frozen...

Svyatogor threw his handbag, fell to the ground - a rumble went through the mountains and valleys.

The hero barely caught his breath:

Tell me what you have in your purse? Tell me, teach me, I have never heard of such a miracle. My strength is exorbitant, but I can’t lift such a grain of sand!

Why not say it, I’ll say it: in my little bag all the earthly cravings lie.

Svyatogor lowered his head:

This is what earthly craving means. What is your name, passer-by?

My name is Mikula Selyaninovich.

I see that you are not an ordinary person; maybe you can tell me about my fate; It’s hard for me to ride through the mountains alone, I can’t live like this in the world anymore.

Go, hero, to the Northern Mountains. There is an iron forge near those mountains. In that forge, the blacksmith forges everyone’s destiny, and from him you learn about your own destiny.

Mikula Selyaninovich threw his purse over his shoulder and walked away.

And Svyatogor jumped on his horse and galloped towards the Northern Mountains.

Svyatogor rode and rode for three days, three nights, did not go to bed for three days - he reached the Northern Mountains. Here the cliffs are even bare, the abysses are even blacker, the rivers are deep and raging...

Under the very cloud, on a bare rock, I saw an iron forge at Holy Mountain. A bright fire is burning in the forge, black smoke is pouring out of the forge, and there is a ringing and knocking sound throughout the area.

Svyatogor went into the forge and saw: a gray-haired old man standing at the anvil, inflating the bellows with one hand, hitting the anvil with a hammer with the other, but nothing was visible on the anvil...

Blacksmith, blacksmith, what are you forging, father?

Come closer, bend down lower! Svyatogor bent down, looked and was surprised: a blacksmith was forging two thin hairs.

What do you have, blacksmith?

Here are two hairs, a hair with a hair - two people get married.

Who does fate tell me to marry?

Your bride lives on the edge of the mountains in a dilapidated hut.

Svyatogor went to the edge of the mountains and found a dilapidated hut. The hero entered and placed a bag of gold on the table. Svyatogor looked around and saw: a girl was lying motionless on a bench, covered with bark and scabs, and did not open her eyes.

Svyatogor felt sorry for her. Why is he lying there and suffering? And death does not come, and there is no life.

Svyatogor pulled out his sharp sword, turned away and hit the girl in the chest with the sword. She didn’t move, didn’t gasp...

Svyatogor jumped out of the hut, mounted a horse and rode to the Holy Mountains.

Meanwhile, the girl opened her eyes and saw: a heroic sword was lying on the floor, a bag of gold was on the table, and all the bark had fallen off her, and her body was clean, and her strength had returned.

She got up, walked along the hill, walked out the threshold, bent over the lake and gasped: a beautiful girl was looking at her from the lake - stately, and white, and rosy-cheeked, and with clear eyes, and fair-haired braids!

She took the gold that was lying on the table, built ships, loaded them with goods and set off across the blue sea to trade and seek happiness.

Wherever she comes, all the people run to buy goods and admire the beauty. Her fame spreads throughout Rus'.

So she reached the Holy Mountains, the rumor about her reached Svyatogor. He also wanted to look at the beauty.

He looked at her, and the girl fell in love with him.

This is the bride for me, for this I will woo!

Svyatogor also fell in love with the girl.

They got married, and Svyatogor’s wife began to tell him about her former life, how she lay covered in bark for thirty years, how she was cured, how she found money on the table.

Svyatogor was surprised, but did not say anything to his wife.

The girl gave up trading, sailing the seas, and began to live with Svyatogor on the Holy Mountains.