A Soviet pioneer releases a genie from a thousand-year imprisonment. After magical and funny adventures, an ancient genie is re-educated and finds his place in the modern world.
The story begins with an acquaintance with one of the main characters - Vladimir Kostylkov, a simple Soviet pioneer who was lucky enough to get an ancient jug from the bottom while swimming in the lake. Of course, curiosity does not allow him to take the find to the police station without looking inside, and it is from this moment that real miracles begin to happen in Moscow. After all, the real genie Gassan Abdurrahman ibn Hottab has been languishing in the jar for several millennia, who, after being released, swears allegiance to his young savior.
The temporary gap between the Soviet Aladdin, Volka, and the ancient oriental genie Hottabych turns out to be so huge that the two heroes constantly find themselves in the most ridiculous situations. Burning with a desire to help the incomparable Volka ibn Alyosha, Hottabych hurries with him to the geography exam and "amazes" ordinary Soviet teachers with extensive knowledge of the subject. Examiners are surprised to learn that the main representatives of the fauna in India are dog-sized gold-bearing ants, the Earth has the shape of a flat disk, and the horizon is called "the edge where the crystal dome of heaven touches the edge of the Earth." The first miracle created by Hottabych ends with Volka's crushing failure in the exam.
The frustrated pioneer does not dare to tell the genie that he did not pass the exam with an "excellent" at all, rightly fearing that the genie's wrath will fall on the "ignorant teachers." However, going to the cinema turns into an even greater disaster for Volka. The afternoon screening has already ended, and in order to please his saddened master and help him get to the cinema for the evening screening for adults, the genie rewards the sixth grader Kostylkov with a bushy beard. And Volka's friend Zhenya Bogorad, whom he met in the cinema, is sent to distant India in order to stop the spread of rumors about a bearded boy. But Zhenya does not stay in India for long - Volka makes Hottabych fly after him on a magic carpet and pulls Zhenya out of the embrace of too friendly Indians.
No matter how hard Zhenya and Volka try to accustom Hottabych to the realities of modern life, the genie, accustomed to ancient Eastern customs, continues to get into trouble, causing a commotion near a street kiosk, in a circus, at a stadium ... He also has noble deeds on his account: for example, he upsets an inhuman mercantile foreigner, sends hooligan guys to the police station and even does justice in Italy.
At the very end of the story, the friends go on a cruise across the Arctic Ocean on the steamship Ladoga. Zhenya finds an old jug and releases Hottabych's brother, Omar Yusuf, from there. The brothers are completely different. If Gassan is a good-natured genie, then Omar is heartless and selfish. According to the custom of the genies, he immediately tries to kill the one who released him, and Zhenya is saved only by the intervention of Hottabych. Omar is stubborn and does not believe in many scientific discoveries, for example, that the Moon is a satellite of the Earth. He goes to check it out and becomes a prisoner of the earth's orbit. After talking with his brother, Hottabych understands how far behind he is in life, and begins to catch up.
Time passes. The guys study for one “five”, because they need to transfer all the knowledge gained to Hottabych, who has become a very diligent student. Zhenya chooses the profession of a doctor, while Volka dreams of becoming a radio designer. Hottabych at first dreams of working in the Arctic, but his respectable appearance and a questionnaire where he writes the honest truth prevent him from getting there. Nothing prevents a genie from turning into young man but he doesn't want to cheat anymore. Over time, Hottabych takes an example from Volka and is also interested in radio engineering. On this, the author says goodbye to the genie and his young friends.
“The Soviets have their own pride,” Vladimir Mayakovsky once wrote. This also applies to fairy tales. There was the Soviet Pinocchio - Pinocchio, the Soviet Doolittle - Aibolit, the Soviet Wizard of Oz - the Wizard of the Emerald City ... Well, the Soviet genie was presented to us by a writer named Lazar Iosifovich Lagin.
The book "Old Man Hottabych" by the famous Soviet writer Lazar Lagin (12/04/1903 - 06/16/1979), a native of Belarus, was probably read by every representative of the older generation.
And if you haven't read it, you've certainly seen the movie of the same name. Even if you haven't watched it, you've heard the title. So, if you ask - "Do you know who Hottabych is?", The answer will be in the affirmative. What is the popularity of this character?
Every Soviet child dreamed that one day a genie would come to him, fulfilling his cherished desires with the help of a magical beard. Surely, many envied Volka Kostylkov, because this boy managed to ride on a magic carpet and eat a free popsicle.
The old man Hottabych became a cult literary hero, children loved the book of Lazar Lagin no less than the adventures of Pinocchio or the tale of Cheburashka and Gena the crocodile. But did we think in childhood what the writer wanted to convey to his readers, what is the meaning of this literary tale?
But first, let us briefly recall life path writer, because his biography is closely intertwined with his creative credo.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF LAZAR LAGIN
In fact, he is not Lagin, but Ginzburg. From the name and surname - Lazar GINzburg - a literary pseudonym turned out.
Our hero was born on December 4, 1903 in the Belarusian city of Vitebsk in a poor Jewish family. Immediately after graduation, 16-year-old Lazar goes to civil war, a year later he joins the Communist Party (then the RCP (b)), and after (!) - the Komsomol. Which, in general, is not surprising, given that the Komsomol organization arose later than the party one. In fact, Lagin created this same Komsomol in Belarus.
Young Lagin
Lagin's further career develops no less rapidly and colorfully. He begins to publish essays and poems in newspapers, then enters the Minsk Conservatory in the vocal department, but due to difficulties with music theory, he drops out.
In 1924, Lagin was already in Moscow, where he graduated from the Institute National economy majoring in political economy. For some time, Lagin served in the Red Army. And, finally, in 1930 he completely immersed himself in literary activity.
His career is gradually going up. Since 1934, Lagin has been deputy editor-in-chief of the Krokodil magazine, since 1936 he has been a member of the Writers' Union, and in 1938 his fairy tale about Hassan Abdurrahman ibn Khottab was published ...
A separate edition of "The Old Man Hottabych" was published in 1940.
Lazar Lagin in the Navy
Soon the war began, and Lazar Lagin did not sit in the rear. He defended Odessa and Sevastopol, and ended his military career in Romania as part of the Danube Flotilla. In battles with the Nazis, he used not only weapons, but also his literary talent, composing military songs and caustic satire.
At the end of the war, Lagin returns as a correspondent to Krokodil, writes the satirical "Injurious Tales" and several novels in the style of "social fiction". Precisely for fantasy novel"Island of Disappointment" he is awarded the Stalin Prize. By the way, Lagin considered the novel “The Blue Man” to be the best of his works, about how a student of the history department of Moscow State University falls into the past and participates in the birth of a revolutionary movement.
But none of the writer's books could surpass the popularity of his fairy tale Old Man Hottabych.
And in 1955, Lagin released a new edition of his fairy tale. As a result, the volume of the book Old Man Hottabych almost doubled. Some scenes have been added, others have been heavily modified, others have simply been removed. But since 1999, it has become the rule to publish Starik Hottabych in the 1938 edition. As a reader, it is difficult to make a choice between two versions of a fairy tale: each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
We will focus on the analysis of the original version (1938).
WHAT IS THE MYSTERY OF THE FAIRY TALE OLD MAN HOTTABYCH?
“I don’t know if anyone paid attention to the striking coincidences in the story with another work created around the same time.
I mean "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Read from this angle, "Old Man Hottabych" gives reason for reflection.
In both cases, in absolutely materialistic Moscow, there is a character endowed with supernatural power. He is not afraid of a man with a gun (Mauser), personifying power. And the very omnipotence of this power seems illusory ”(From the article by G. Alyunin“ The tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it ”).
Take the same Hottabych, who is he?
What is unclear here? - anyone who read the book of the writer Lagin as a child will be surprised. - Gassan Abdurrahman ibn Khottab - a child of the Arab East, a Muslim. The name is Arabic, the clothes are Arabic, Allah remembers… By the way, the powerful ruler Suleiman ibn Daoud imprisoned him in a jar for more than three millennia. Also an Arab, presumably!
Here, as young readers say, is the first “plug”: Islam today is a little more than fourteen centuries old. About any Suleiman three thousand years ago, no one heard of, but everyone knew the brilliant Solomon, the builder of Jerusalem and the son of the Israeli king David.
"Gag" is the first, but not the only one. Here's the next one! Recall the scene in the circus. Do you remember the spell that Hottabych utters? It sounds unpronounceable “lehododilikraskalo”, its meaning for our hearing is not clear. For Arabic, I must say, too. But religious Jews, having easily broken this verbal pile-small into separate words, will also be able to sing it!
“Leho dodi likras kalo,” they will drag on Friday evening, meeting the arrival of Saturday. And this will be the first line of the Jewish liturgical hymn.
"Go, my friend, meet your bride" - that's what Hottabych shouted in 1938 and is still sung by Jews on Friday evenings. And the bride - she is Saturday!
It is difficult to say today whether the editor of the Pionerskaya Pravda newspaper and the Soviet censors knew what kind of "lekho ..." this was. Nevertheless, the publication of the story was, although at the same time Yiddish itself had just been struck out of the list of state languages and removed from the coat of arms of the Byelorussian SSR ... It is worth noting that the intellectual professionalism of writers and editors of that time was quite high, therefore, as the press writes today, that the editors did not know Yiddish and therefore missed the tale in print, the probability is low.
Probably, the background was in something else - do not forget that it was 1938, tense relations with Germany, where the persecution of Jews began.
But let's continue about the writer's hints in the fairy tale.
The writer, as if not feeling danger, continues to give us secret signs.
Even before shouting out an outlandish spell, Old Man Hottabych pulls out 13 hairs from his beard and tears them into small pieces: magic does not work without them. But why exactly 13? Don't say it's a coincidence! Maybe because the genie is an evil spirit? Although we are not talking about any black deeds here.
On the contrary, a little earlier, Old Man Hottabych, who was carried away by his omnipotence and cleared the circus of orchestra players, artists and spectators, now, at the request of Volka, returns to their places the victims of his vanity scattered on the four sides of the inhabited world. That is, he does a good deed - just with the help of an outlandish spell and these same 13 hairs!
Well, to whom does the number 13 help to do good and useful deeds? In Christian civilization, it brings only misfortunes: it is not for nothing that they call it the devil's dozen. For Muslims, 13 is not distinguished from a number of other numbers in any way. And only among the Jews is it happy: it unites the disparate parts into a whole, and restores the lost harmony. Here the old genie pulls out exactly 13 hairs - and in the blink of an eye, all the people scattered around the world again find themselves together under the dome of the circus. Deafening applause is heard, and the lost harmony ceases to be lost.
In Lagin's books, names and titles are scattered around the books, the roots of which lie in Hebrew, and events that originate in Jewish traditions. At the same time, they are hidden no worse than the origin of Hottabych.
marginal notes
When Lazar turns thirteen, his parents will gather guests for a bar mitzvah - a celebration of growing up. Now boys are given money on such an occasion, they used to give books. There will be many books, as well as guests.
One of them - shortly before that published in Russia "Copper Jug" by the Englishman F. Anstey - Lazar immediately singled out from the total number.
Looking from a distance into the century, you understand how timely this book was in the hands of the boy. Growing up will coincide with the beginning of his passion for the East. Four years later, when Lazar, who had just graduated from school, and his parents would be forced to flee to Moscow from the pogroms perpetrated in Minsk by Polish legionnaires, he met the writer Shklovsky.
He will take an interest in what the young man is reading, and will hear in response: the tales of the Thousand and One Nights. Seven years later, the future author of the book, Old Man Hottabych, will enthusiastically retell all the same fairy tales, sitting at the bedside of a sick boy. And ten years later, this boy will become the prototype of Volka ibn Alyosha.
WHY DID LAGIN ENCRYPT HIS WORKS?
So why, in fact, did the writer “encrypt” his works, hide in them secret references to the forbidden language? And all this in a “ruthless” country towards people during the years of the so-called “Great Terror” promoted today by liberals and the West?!
Jewish codes - written, cultural, Jewish and Kabbalistic (Lagin also has a lot of them) - are not a fig in your pocket for Soviet power but the connection with childhood and youth. Connection with Minsk. In multinational Moscow, neither Yiddish nor Hebrew sounded. There, nothing reminded of the traditions that filled the childhood of a boy from the Pale of Settlement.
Yes, and Lagin would not have been honored with the fig of Soviet power! He was a profoundly Soviet man who firmly believed in the ideals of justice, which at that time did not seem to many to be either wild or unattainable. And he also has this faith from Minsk - here he joined the party, here he headed the Jewish bureau of the Belarusian Komsomol, here he created the newspaper Krasnaya Smena (the progenitor of the Red Change).
It’s just that when Lagin wrote a children’s fairy tale, his childhood spoke in him. That without which a writer ceases to be a writer, just as any person cannot be a Human if there is no connection with childhood in his soul.
“Childhood is that great time of life when the foundation is laid for the whole future moral person- said the great Russian teacher N.V. Shelgunov (1824 - 1891).
But this tale is not only literary, but also fantastic.
WHAT FANTASTIC READERS NEED?
Fantasists somehow do not think, allowing the heroes of their works to achieve certain goals, most often reduced to personal well-being or achieving world peace (an example of this is Hollywood films). Lazar Lagin looked at this situation differently - the Old Man Hottabych presented by him turned out to be a powerful creature capable of changing reality, but at the same time he was overloaded with outdated ideas about reality, the return of which no one living today would wish.
From the first pages it becomes clear to the reader that no good can be expected from Hottabych. It does more harm than good. Of course, if someone else opened the vessel, who had other, selfish, convictions in life that were not saturated with Soviet everyday life, the skills of a genie would certainly be useful to such a person. To the pioneer Volka, the genie was unnecessarily, only a burden that would have to be brought up, showing him personal example how to proceed in any given case. If a person has no temptations, then such a genie is unnecessary: everything is available to everyone equally, no one cares about personal well-being, people have work, they do not know the need. This is how Lazar Lagin draws in front of the reader Soviet Union. You can’t even give to the beggars, because there are no beggars in the country.
So is it possible to change the world for the better, given the appropriate opportunities? Using the example of Old Man Hottabych, it becomes clear that we only imagine the idyll of today, which should be deeply disgusting to those who lived in the past and who will have to live in the future.
It is this truth that is proposed to be taken as the main idea of the work of Lazar Lagin. There is no need to try to adjust other people's mores to our own ideas about what should be, otherwise those whose way of life we will try to change will have an equally destructive effect on our own way of life.
This is what we felt during the reign of Gorbachev-Yeltsin, when our liberals chose the collective West as the genie (Old Man Hottabych).
marginal notes
The image of the genie needs some clarification.
Jinn are the heroes of Arabic mythology, most often acting in a role similar to the more familiar demons or devils.
Jinn gained popularity in Western culture after the release of the Thousand and One Nights collection of fairy tales.
In myths, there were four types of genies: evil ifrits who commanded fire, cruel werewolves Gulas, omnipotent rational marids and weak forces. Jinn lived in parallel world where people couldn't get in. Even in translation, the word "genie" means "hidden".
Old Hottabych was a marid - these higher genies could be both evil and good, they were able to predict the future and help achieve goals.
They looked like tall, pale people with white beards, they knew how to release fire from their nostrils and turn into ethereal flying creatures. But it was the marids who often became prisoners of various objects: for example, rings or lamps in the fairy tale about Aladdin or bottles in the story of Hottabych.
The Islamic prophet and Jewish king Suleiman ibn Daud, whom Hottabych served and was a slave to his ring, is better known as King Solomon.
He possessed extraordinary wisdom, knew how to talk with animals, control the wind and had power over all creatures, including jinn. The Hottabovich brothers did not want to be under the rule of Suleiman anymore, for which they were punished by imprisonment in bottles.
By the way, there are many historical absurdities in the biography of Hottabych. In the fairy tale, the genie is a Muslim and commemorates the Baghdad caliph Harun al-Rashid - the real historical figure and at the same time the hero of the fairy tales "1001 Nights". However, if Solomon put the genie in the bottle, then the Old Man Hottabych could not practice Islam, which appeared much later, and even more so he could not know Harun.
By the way, about caliphs. In Jerusalem, and today you can see the square of Omar ibn Khattab. That was the name of another famous and Arab caliph (585 - 644), who was personally converted to Islam by the prophet Muhammad himself.
And here is what L. Lagin says about Old Man Hottabych:
"According to the concept of genies from ancient fairy tales and those whose desires they fulfilled in these tales, this was the most complete human happiness, which one could only dream of.
Hundreds and hundreds of years have passed since these tales were first told, but the idea of happiness has long been associated, and in capitalist countries, many people to this day are still associated with chests chock-full of gold and diamonds, with power over others. people (highlighted by us).
... Well, what if such a genie suddenly came to our country, where there are completely different ideas about happiness and justice, where the power of the rich has long and forever been destroyed, and where only honest work brings happiness, honor and glory to a person?
HOW THE TALE IS INTERPRETED BY THE MODERN SEREBRNIKOVS
Frame from the movie "Hott @ Bych" 2008
In the 2006 film "Hott @ Bych" there are no longer ideological silver-bearers, and the genie is a hardened and brutal cynic.
Natalya Lagina (daughter of the writer)
“I managed to ban several adaptations, but when I saw this film, I was in a swoon. There remained only the name of the father character and the fact that he got out of the bottle. Well, come up with your own "Pokhabych", and do not speculate on the brand. The old man Hottabych from a children's book cannot be interested in women with tits on TV and walk around "piss", say through every word "goof off".
It is difficult to add anything to these words. But, I would like to hope that the adventures of the Soviet Hottabych did not end with the Soviet era. The book is still interesting, instructive, and let's hope that it will also be interesting and useful to the modern generation.
AFTERWORD
In 1979, the all-Union recording studio "Melody" released a disc with the musical "Hottabych" by composer G. Gladkov. And the heroes of the famous story-tale sang in the voices of popular actors M. Boyarsky, L. Gurchenko, I. Muravyova ...
Lazar Iosifovich Lagin no longer had to see the record. He died on June 16, 1979. In Moscow, on Chernyakhovsky Street, there is a house, noticeable with a memorial plaque with the inscription "The writer Konstantin Simonov lived here ...". In the same house last years Lazar Iosifovich Lagin also lived. True, there is still no memorial plaque testifying to this.
Strange and insulting ... For some reason, there is a plaque to Solzhenitsyn, against whose work the majority of our country, but no memorial plaque a writer whose fairy tale is loved by all generations both in Russia and in the post-Soviet space.
In Belarus, in Vitebsk, there is a decorative sculptural composition at the Lyalka puppet theater, a monument to the old man Hottabych. Belarusians honor their famous people who left a mark both in Soviet culture, as well as in Belarusian.
Isn't it time for us to pay tribute to our beloved writers, who proclaimed Justice in their works, to erect monuments to such as Lagin, and not to Solzhenitsyn.
Year: 1938 Genre: story
Main characters: the schoolboy Volka and the magician Hottabych.
While swimming in the lake, the young pioneer Volka finds a jug containing the real magician Hottabych. The curiosity of the boy leads to the fact that a wide variety of miracles begin to happen in Moscow. Volka and his friend Zheka find themselves in amazing, fabulous situations, from which they come out with honor, because it is not for nothing that these boys are pioneers. Friends fly on a magic carpet, travel on an icebreaker in the Arctic, save brother Hottabych and figure out how to pacify him, that is, they lead an active, adventurous life.
Conclusion. This tale tells that true friendship and faith in yourself and your friends conquers everything.
Read the summary of the tale Old Man Hottabych
Adventurer and great dreamer Volka Kostylkov, swimming in a pond, found an amazing vessel. Diving a third time, he pulled out a slippery, greenish object from the bottom. It was all covered in amazing writing.
Without thinking twice, the boy opened it and with noise, dirt and sparks, the genie Hassan Abdurrahman ibn Hottab appeared from it. He spent many millennia in a jug. There he was imprisoned, by agreement, by evil spirits, since he often showed good feelings. The old wizard, in gratitude, swore to Volka in eternal friendship and devotion. From that moment, in Moscow, and in the boy's life, various miracles begin to happen. Dishes begin to fly and furniture begins to move arbitrarily.
The boy does not hide anything from the new "old" friend. Tells him about his life, school, friends. And the genie, in many respects, having made his conclusions, proceeds to action. Trying to help his young friend, the wizard interferes in the life of Volka ibn Alyosha, as the genie calls the boy, and creates so many ridiculous situations that not only Volka, but also many of his friends live interesting and fun. So, during the exam in geography, Hottabych inspired the boy with such knowledge that horrified not only the teachers, but also Vladimir Kostylkov himself. The boy, at the exam, declares that ants the size of a dog live in India, and the Earth is a disk, and so on. The student fails this test and is very upset. But he, fearing that Hottabych would not take revenge on the teachers taking the exam, did not tell the old man anything about the problem that had arisen.
What followed was even worse. Helping Volka to get to the evening session at the cinema, the magician "rewards" him with a large beard, which surprised and amazed the boy's friend, and so that the comrade would not spill the beans, the genie sends him away - to India, where he is very warmly received by the locals: they feed him delicious food, treat him amazing fruits, ride on an elephant. Volka rushes to save his friend: he flies with Hottabych on a flying carpet and returns with his friend.
It is difficult for an old wizard to live in the modern world. He does not understand either the actions of people or their deeds. The genie does not know what many household items are for. It is often very difficult to explain to him their functional purpose. It is sometimes impossible for both Volka and his friend Zhenya to familiarize the old magician with the realities of our time. He does not know what the subway and trolley bus are. I have never seen such tall buildings and noisy streets, so many well-dressed people before.
But Hottabych really likes the events of which he suddenly became a participant. He "has fun" in the circus, and shows such miracles that are beyond the control of magicians from different countries. At the stadium, "helping" Volka's beloved team, at the request of the magician, goal after goal flies into the opponents' gates. The players themselves, both teams, do not understand what is happening, because the balls fly by themselves, the players do not even touch them.
Volka is not only frightened by what is happening, but simply does not agree with this turn of events. Near the bookstand, Hottabych creates a noisy commotion, that is, he is freaking out with might and main. It is not possible to stop and persuade the genie not to help and change nothing. Both Volka and his friends have to work hard to save one of the objectionable or "guilty", according to the genie, from the magician's spells here and there.
Then the friends go on a trip to the Arctic Ocean. Everything around surprises and amazes the guys. White silence surrounds them. From the deck of the ship "Ladoga" they see polar bears, which are slowly wandering in the distance. The boys have a great mood and they crave adventure. Unexpectedly, they manage to save Hottabych's brother, Omar Yusuf, who, according to ancient tradition, must kill his savior. Genie and Volka barely manage to save Zheka from a big disaster. After all, it was he who opened another jug where he lived, this evil wizard, completely unlike Hottabych. He was not only heartless, but also loved only himself, moreover, he does not believe in progress and scientific discoveries. To save the world and everyone around him from the disaster in the person of Omar, the wizard brother turns Omar into a satellite of the Moon and "sends him to surf the expanses of the starry ocean."
Day after day runs, and the boy friends study well, get deep knowledge to pass it on to Hottabych, who, with their help, masters and learns everything new and interesting that the guys tell him. The boys and the genie have an interesting, multifaceted life, full of adventures, deeds and fantasies. They are interesting and fun. They have big life plans. Each of them has chosen for himself a further path and a dream to which they will strive and achieve their goal.
This fairy tale book tells that dreams come true, you just need to want it and, of course, make efforts.
Picture or drawing Lagin - Old Man Hottabych
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Before you get an idea of the plot of the book, you need to get acquainted with each of its characters. The main character of this fairy tale is an ordinary schoolboy Volka Kostylkov, who begins this whole adventure story by coming to the beach. The next person we will meet is the Old Man Hottabych, referred to as Gassan Abdurrahman ibn Hottabych. Another main character, who was present in every event that happens to Volka and Hottabych, is the friend of the protagonist Zhenya, who travels with them throughout the tale. And what happened to the main characters, we will find out right now.
"Old Man Hottabych": a summary of the tale
The adventure story begins after Volka, an ordinary pioneer from Moscow, bathes, during which he accidentally finds a bottle with a genie imprisoned in it more than three thousand years ago. Interest and curiosity forced the boy to open the bottle, from which Hottabych appeared, swearing eternal loyalty to Volka for the service rendered.
After that, real miracles began to happen in Moscow. The temporary gap that exists between the two - Volka and the genie, often contributes to the emergence of ridiculous situations. Indeed, in the time of Hottabych, everything was different, and he does not understand many moments in modern life.
The first aid, as it seemed to the genie, was crowned with failure: wanting to help the boy pass the exam in geography, Hottabych, on the contrary, aggravates the situation without knowing it. But it's still half the trouble. A string of adventures goes one after another, and the genie, accustomed to his ancient Eastern ways, continues to get into trouble. But, despite these failures, Hottabych still does useful things: he punishes delinquent hooligans, besieges an inhuman foreigner, and even administers justice in Italy. Many adventures happen with friends in the circus, and at a football match, and on a boat.
Outcome
Fairy tale "Old Man Hottabych", summary which is described in this article, is in demand for reading not only by children, but also by adults who have forgotten what fairy tales are. The story illustrated in this work will be interesting for young readers, and in some places instructive. Based on this, we can say that the fairy tale is suitable for any age category. If you have not had time to read it yet, then pick up the book "Old Man Hottabych". The summary does not describe all the adventures, funny and funny, the moments that happen to the main characters, so it is simply necessary to read the book in its entirety.
Title of the work: Old Man Hottabych
Year of writing: 1938
Genre: story
Main characters: Volka- Soviet pioneer Hottabych- wizard.
You can quickly understand the essence of Larin's work if you read the summary of the story-tale "Old Man Hottabych" for reader's diary.
Plot
Volka takes an ancient jug out of the water and opens it. Jinn ibn Hottab is released. As a token of gratitude for the rescue, he promises to help Volka. Different eras and different understanding of the world create comical and sometimes dangerous situations. Hottabych, who spent 3.5 thousand years in a jar, finds it difficult to adapt to modern world. His miracles look ridiculous and inappropriate - either he gives Volka palaces with slaves, then Volka grows a beard, then he tries to help him in the geography exam and gives him knowledge of his era. Once Hottabych throws Zheka into India, and you have to fly after him on a magic carpet. Having freed brother Hottabych in the Northern arctic ocean, Volka and Zheka flee from his wrath, Hottabych manages to save Zheka and sends Omar into space. Gradually, Volka re-educates the old man and teaches the Soviet way of life.
Conclusion (my opinion)
Larin's story casually introduces us to Eastern culture. It is important to understand the difference between customs and values different peoples and take it into account when communicating with other people. And also - our life does not need magic, anyone who knows how to love, helps his neighbor, shows kindness, generosity and courage in any situation can be happy and self-sufficient.
