Episode Details

Five fables by Ivan Krylov (1769–1844), in new English verse translations made for this show, read aloud over a gentle instrumental bed.

The Casket (Ларчик, Book I, No. 5) — A Casket from a master's hand, a marvel of finish and polish, is brought into the room, and a celebrated sage of mechanics takes it up: it has a secret, he swears — though strangely, no lock — and he will ferret that secret out if any man can. Krylov's moral stands at the head of the fable; the sage's long sweat discovers the rest.

The Cat and the Cook (Кот и Повар, Book III, No. 8) — A Cook of pious rules runs to the tavern, where a funeral feast is being held for his godmother, leaving Vaska the Cat to guard the provisions from the mice. He returns to pie-scraps on the floor and Vaska crouched behind the vinegar cask, purring and growling over a chicken — and delivers a reproach for the ages. Vaska listens, all right. The closing moral advises where such speeches belong.

The Cat and the Nightingale (Кошка и Соловей, Book VII, No. 24) — The Cat has caught the Nightingale and holds him, ever so gently, in her claws. Sing, dear soul — the Fox herself says the shepherds and shepherdesses swoon at your songs — sing, and you shall go free among the groves. The poor singer, barely breathing, can only squeak; and the Cat gives her verdict on his art, and then her sentence. Krylov whispers the moral in your ear at the close.

The Cloud (Туча, Book V, No. 20) — Above a country worn out by the heat a great Cloud passes — and lets fall not one drop on the thirsty fields. Its whole bounty pours in heavy rain upon the sea, and it boasts of its generosity to the Mountain. The Mountain's reply is the fable's moral, and it is addressed to more than clouds.

The Cobblestone (Булыжник, Book VII, No. 3) — A lost Diamond, found by a merchant on the road, is presented to the Tsar, bought, and set in gold as an ornament of the crown. The Cobblestone, who lay beside it in the mud for years — a stone is a stone, surely — begs a passing muzhik for a ride to the capital and a chance to shine as well. He is taken into use, just as he hoped. Krylov's closing line names the use.

Krylov Fables.

Intermission: "Santa Fe Springs" — instrumental.

KacheliTV — Russian classics, read aloud.