Episode Details

The Fables of Ivan Krylov — Episode Twenty-Three

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

The Miser and the Hen (Скупой и Курица, Book VI, No. 4) — A man who knows no trade at all watches his coffers fill, because his Hen lays eggs of gold. Another man would be glad to grow rich by slow degrees; the Miser wants the whole treasure at once — and cuts the Hen open to get it. Krylov's opening line tells the whole story: a miser loses all, in wishing all to gain.

The Monkey (Обезьяна, Book III, No. 6) — At dawn a Peasant ploughs his strip of land until the sweat rolls off him like hail, and everyone who passes calls out thanks and bravo. Praise is tempting, and the Monkey wants her share: she finds a heavy log and hauls it, hugs it, drags it and rolls it until sweat streams off her in rivers. No one praises her — and Krylov's opening moral explains exactly why.

The Monkey and the Glasses (Мартышка и Очки, Book I, No. 17) — Grown weak-eyed with age, the Monkey hears from men that the trouble is easily cured: she has only to get some Glasses. She gets half a dozen pairs — and presses them to her crown, strings them on her tail, sniffs them and licks them. The Glasses do not work at all, and in spite and grief she smashes them on a stone. Krylov's closing moral is for every ignorant judge of a useful thing.

The Monkeys (Обезьяны, Book I, No. 14) — In Africa a whole troop of Monkeys sits in a thick tree, secretly watching a hunter tumble and roll in his nets on the grass. What a clever fellow — head over heels, then curled in a ball so tight you cannot see his hands or feet! The beauties cannot resist trying it themselves once he leaves the nets behind. Krylov's opening moral warns what copying without sense can cost.

The Mosquito and the Shepherd (Комар и Пастух, Book V, No. 9) — A Shepherd sleeps in the shade, trusting his dogs, while a Snake crawls toward him with her sting out. In pity, a tiny Mosquito bites the sleeper with all his strength and wakes him in time to kill the Snake. Half-asleep, the Shepherd strikes first at the one who saved him. Krylov's closing moral is for every weak truth-teller who moves a stronger man.

Krylov Fables.

Intermission: "Before the Pines End 2" — instrumental.

KacheliTV — Russian classics, read aloud.