dancing flowers. Mashenka comes out for the third part of the music and

collects these flowers. The snowdrops are gradually leaving. Mashenka

coming up to the Months.

Mashenka.

Thank you all for your kindness,

You gave me a fairy tale.

Wait, don't go!

Take a ring to say goodbye.

If suddenly something bad happens,

Let it roll faster.

Don't waste your time,

Repeat these words:

“You roll, roll, little ring,

On the spring porch,

In the summer canopy,

In the autumn mansion,

Yes on the winter carpet

To the New Year's bonfire!

Take care of the ring

Don't say where you got it.

Mashenka:

I got it! Thank you

I won’t say a word! (Leaves).

Picture 2.

Decorating the Christmas tree from P. I. Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” sounds. Royal Palace. The Queen sits on a throne near the Christmas tree, in her hands

chamomile. The Queen picks off chamomile petals and says:

Queen: They will bring it - they won’t bring it - they will bring it - they won’t bring it.

Teacher: No, this has never happened before,

So that spring comes in winter

And on snowdrifts

A snowdrop would suddenly bloom.

Skip! Skip!"

The Stepmother and Marfusha enter and fall at the Queen’s feet.

Stepmother: We heard a decree,

They immediately ran into the forest.

Look - flowers are blooming there

Unprecedented beauty.

And snowdrops and roses,

Despite all the frosts,

They bloom on the snowdrifts,

Everything around is fragrant!

Queen: It turned out I was right!

Well, everyone shout “Hurray!”

I am so glad! I am so glad!

You will be rewarded for this!

And now everyone is in a round dance,

We are celebrating the New Year!

Everyone is dancing couples dance around the Christmas tree

(or a New Year's round dance is performed).

Queen:

I'm tired of dancing here,

I wanted to take a walk.

Order the sleigh to be equipped,

Let's go to the forest to look for flowers,

But these two persons

They will show us where the snowdrifts are,

Which have flowers

Unprecedented beauty!

The stepmother and Marfusha fall at the Queen’s feet.

Stepmother: Oh, forgive us! We lied!

We have never been to the forest!

Queen: Where did you get the flowers?

Stepmother: We took this from Masha.

At night she went into the forest

And I found snowdrops.

Queen: Let her show us the way,

Otherwise she will be punished!

And now we are going to the forest,

How many miracles await us there!

Professor: But it’s dark in the forest now,

All the paths are covered with snow,

Neither pass nor pass,

We'll get stuck there on the way!

Queen: The soldiers must be ordered

Clear the road in the forest.

Soldiers! Attention! Take the brooms

Follow the order!

Act three. Picture 1.

The music "Rime" from the ballet "The Seasons" by A. Glazunov is playing

Winter forest. Forest Glade. Two squirrels run out.

1st squirrel. Hello, squirrel! Happy New Year!

2nd squirrel. Happy new snow and frost!

1st squirrel. Here's a cone for you as a gift!

2nd squirrel. Wait, a little bunny is running.

The hare runs out.

1st squirrel. Hello, hare! Happy New Year!

2 apple. Happy new coat and frost!

You'd better tell me:

Have you seen a wolf here?

The gray one wants to eat me!

1st squirrel. I see a wolf by the road.

2nd squirrel. Take your feet away, hare.

The hare and squirrels run away. Mashenka comes out into the clearing.

Mashenka.

What should I do? What should I do?

How can I help my grief?

I'll have to take the ring

Call Mesyatsev for help.

(raises the ring high and says)

You roll, roll, little ring.

The Queen and her retinue creep up from behind.

Queen: Where did she get the ring from?

My heart tells me

That there is room for miracles here.

I will take it away and not give it back!

The Queen is trying to take Mashenka’s ring, all the courtiers are

they attack her, the ring rolls.

Mashenka:

You roll, roll, little ring,

On the spring porch,

In the summer canopy,

In the autumn mansion,

Yes on the winter carpet

To the New Year's bonfire! (S. Ya. Marshak)

G the light goes out, it sounds Winter Vivaldi, Dance of Snowflakes, they spin and take you away Stepdaughter.

Daughter. Oh, save me, help me.

Mother, hold me.

Queen. I want to go home soon.

Professor. The wind died down and everything became lighter.

Sounds music Snowdrop by Tchaikovsky. Streams sound and birds sing.

And the streams are babbling. Spring!

That's right, the kidneys are swelling.

And the snowdrop blooms.

Tchaikovsky's "Snowdrop" is playing. The girls run out with snowdrops, sit down and everyone starts picking flowers. Butterflies and bees fly out.

Daughter. How much sun, how much light

Queen. It's summer.

Professor.

This is no accident.

Winter - and butterflies fly,

This simply does not happen!

Stepmother. Oh, how stuffy!

Daughter. Ah, the heat.

Professor.

My throat is dry

Where is the water?

Phonogram of thunder, rain. Vivaldi Storm. T the appearance of autumn leaves.

Queen: I'm wet, help me

Bring me the umbrella quickly.

Professor. Everything is blurry, there is dirt everywhere,

We can't get into the palace.

The sleigh will not go without snow.

God, what will happen to us?

Soundtrack of a blizzard.

Daughter. The water in the stream froze again.

Chancellor. Look at the snow. It's winter again

Waltz of snow flakes. Tchaikovsky Dance of Snowflakes.

Queen.

I'm cold. What frost!

Stepmother. And a wolf howl is heard nearby.

We would like to get to the palace.

No horses, no dogs.

Professor.

Yes, we were in trouble.

Who should we harness to the sleigh?

I have not solved such problems.

Queen.

If only I knew

I didn’t sign the decree.

Yes, it was a stupid decree.

Freeze here because of you.

Stop the screaming and tears!

Look: at the birch...

(An old man in a fur coat comes out - January)

Oh, what beauty!

Well, winter has come again.

Oh, I'm tired, I'm tired.

Who will rescue us?

Stepmother: I wish I could call Santa Claus!

Stepmother and Queen (together): Santa Claus! Come here!

We have trouble, trouble, trouble!

Santa Claus (aka January) comes out.

Santa Claus: Who's yelling at the whole forest?

Who is calling me for help?

Queen: It’s me, your Queen,

Help me out of trouble quickly.

Take us to the palace

I'll give it to you for this. casket

Santa Claus: Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

You made me laugh.

What is the casket? I'm rich myself

A hundred times richer than you.

Would you like to keep warm,

Well, don’t you have anything to wear?

Come on, Mishenka, my friend,

Bring the big chest here!

The bear brings out a large chest.

Stepmother: Good Grandfather Frost!

Did you bring us gifts?

Give us a fur coat quickly,

We can't stand it for a minute!

Santa Claus: Get what you deserve

Don't forget me!

The stepmother and Marfusha put on fur coats. They start arguing loudly about whose

the fur coat is better and more expensive, they gradually lower themselves onto all fours and

turn into dogs and run away barking.

Santa Claus: And for our Queen,

Let's find an even more beautiful fur coat,

Queen: Santa Claus! I'm sorry!

I will be good from now on!

I'll become smarter now

Be kinder to your subjects.

Father Frost: It’s not me who needs to forgive,

And who was offended by you!

To the music - the introduction to the Waltz of the Flowers from the ballet "The Nutcracker" - an elegant Mashenka comes out.

Everyone admires her.

Stepdaughter: I don’t hold a grudge against the Queen,

I know how cold it is here in a snowstorm.

Forgive everyone, Grandfather Frost,

Come home for the holiday!

Father Frost: For the sake of such a holiday

We are ready to forgive you all.

Get into the wonderful sleigh,

Rush quickly to the palace.

Santa Claus hits his staff three times, three horses appear,

everyone gets into the sleigh. To the music from Minkus's ballet "Horses", all participants in the performance go around the Christmas tree and arrive at the "palace".

Father Frost:

We rushed for a long time, finally

There is a palace in front of us!

There's a Christmas tree here,

Forest beauty.

Let's light the lights on it,

Let's sing a sonorous song.

The lights on the tree are lit, everyone stands around the tree and walks

attractions). Gifts are decorated as if they were flowers

snowdrift (each gift is wrapped in a green bag with a flower).

Slavic fairy tale

Do you know how many months there are in a year?

Twelve.

What are their names?

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

As soon as one month ends, another begins immediately. And it has never happened before that February came before January left, and May overtook April.

The months go one after another and never meet.

But people say that mountainous country Bohemia was a girl who saw all twelve months at once.

How did this happen?

That's how.

In one small village there lived an evil and stingy woman with her daughter and stepdaughter. She loved her daughter, but her stepdaughter could not please her in any way. No matter what the stepdaughter does, everything is wrong, no matter how it turns, everything is in the wrong direction.

The daughter lay on the feather bed all day long and ate gingerbread, but the stepdaughter had no time to sit down from morning to night: fetch water, bring brushwood from the forest, rinse the linen on the river, weed the beds in the garden.

She knew winter cold, summer heat, spring wind, and autumn rain. That’s why, perhaps, she once had the chance to see all twelve months at once.

It was winter. It was January. There was so much snow that it had to be shoveled away from the doors, and in the forest on the mountain the trees stood waist-deep in snowdrifts and could not even sway when the wind blew on them.

People sat in their houses and lit their stoves.

At such and such a time, in the evening, the evil stepmother opened the door, looked at how the blizzard was sweeping, and then returned to the warm stove and said to her stepdaughter:

You should go to the forest and pick snowdrops there. Tomorrow is your sister's birthday.

The girl looked at her stepmother: was she joking or was she really sending her into the forest? It's scary in the forest now! And what are snowdrops like in winter? They will not be born before March, no matter how much you look for them. You'll just end up lost in the forest and get stuck in the snowdrifts.

And her sister tells her:

Even if you disappear, no one will cry for you! Go and don't come back without flowers. Here's your basket.

The girl began to cry, wrapped herself in a torn scarf and walked out the door.

The wind dusts her eyes with snow and tears her scarf off. She walks, barely pulling her legs out of the snowdrifts.

It's getting darker all around. The sky is black, not a single star looks at the ground, and the ground is a little lighter. It's from the snow.

Here is the forest. It's completely dark here - you can't see your hands. The girl sat down on a fallen tree and sat. All the same, he thinks about where to freeze.

And suddenly, far away, between the trees, a light flashed - as if a star was entangled among the branches.

The girl got up and went towards this light. He drowns in snowdrifts and climbs over a windbreak. “If only,” he thinks, “the light doesn’t go out!” But it doesn’t go out, it burns brighter and brighter. There was already a smell of warm smoke, and you could hear brushwood crackling in the fire.

The girl quickened her pace and entered the clearing. Yes, she froze.

It’s light in the clearing, as if from the sun. In the middle of the clearing a large fire is burning, almost reaching to the sky. And people are sitting around the fire - some closer to the fire, some further away. They sit and talk quietly.

The girl looks at them and thinks: who are they? They don’t seem to look like hunters, even less like woodcutters: look how smart they are - some in silver, some in gold, some in green velvet.

The young people sit near the fire, and the old people sit at a distance.

And suddenly one old man turned around - the tallest, bearded, with eyebrows - and looked in the direction where the girl stood.

She was scared and wanted to run away, but it was too late. The old man asks her loudly:

Where did you come from? What do you want here?

The girl showed him her empty basket and said:

I need to collect snowdrops in this basket.

The old man laughed:

Is it snowdrops in January? Wow, what did you come up with!

“I didn’t make it up,” the girl replies, “but my stepmother sent me here for snowdrops and didn’t tell me to return home with an empty basket.”

Then all twelve looked at her and began to talk among themselves.

The girl stands there, listening, but doesn’t understand the words - as if it’s not people talking, but trees making noise.

They talked and talked and fell silent.

And the tall old man turned around again and asked:

What will you do if you don’t find snowdrops? After all, they won’t even appear before March.

“I’ll stay in the forest,” says the girl. - I’ll wait for the month of March. It’s better to freeze in the forest than to return home without snowdrops.

She said this and cried.

And suddenly one of the twelve, the youngest, cheerful, with a fur coat on one shoulder, stood up and approached the old man:

Brother January, give me your place for an hour!

The old man stroked his long beard and said:

I would have given in, but March would not be there before February.

“Okay,” grumbled another old man, all shaggy, with a disheveled beard. - Give in, I won’t argue! We all know her well: sometimes you’ll meet her at an ice hole with buckets, sometimes in the forest with a bundle of firewood... She’s different for all the months. We need to help her.

Well, have it your way,” said January.

Marshak Samuil Yakovlevich

Twelve Months (play)

Dramatic tale

CHARACTERS

Old stepmother.

Stepdaughter.

Ambassador of the Eastern Power.

Chief gardener.

Queen, a girl of about fourteen.

Chamberlain, a tall, skinny, old lady.

The Queen's teacher, professor of arithmetic and penmanship.

Chief of the Royal Guard.

Royal Guard Officer.

Crown Prosecutor.

Ambassador of the Western Power.

Ambassador of the Eastern Power.

Chief gardener.

Gardeners.

Old Soldier.

Young Soldier.

Old Raven.

First Squirrel.

Second Squirrel.

Twelve months.

First Herald.

Second Herald.

Courtiers.

ACT ONE

PICTURE ONE

The Hare jumps out into the clearing.

Another one appears on the branches next to the previous Squirrel.

HARE (slapping paw on paw). Cold, cold, cold! The frost is breathtaking; your paws freeze as you run toward the snow. Squirrels, squirrels, let's play burners. Call out to the sun, invite spring!

FIRST SQUIRREL. Come on, hare. Who will burn first?

Oblique, oblique,

Don't go barefoot

And walk around with shoes on,

Wrap up your paws.

If you're wearing shoes,

The wolves won't find the hare

The bear won't find you.

Come out - you'll burn!

(The Hare stands in front. Behind him are two Squirrels.)

Burn, burn clearly

So that it doesn't go out.

Look at the sky -

Birds are flying

The bells are ringing!

FIRST SQUIRREL. Catch it, hare!

SECOND SQUIRREL. You won't catch up!

The squirrels, having run around the Hare to the right and left, rush through the snow. The hare is behind them. At this time, the Stepdaughter comes into the clearing. She is wearing a large torn scarf, an old jacket, worn-out shoes, and rough mittens. She pulls a sled behind her, and has an ax in her belt. The girl stops between the trees and looks intently at the Hare and Squirrels. They are so busy playing that they don’t notice it. Squirrels are running up a tree.

HARE. Where are you going, where are you going? You can’t do that, it’s not fair! I'm not playing with you anymore.

FIRST SQUIRREL. And you, hare, jump, jump!

SECOND SQUIRREL. Jump up, jump up!

FIRST SQUIRREL. Wave your tail and hit the branch!

HARE (trying to jump, pitifully). Yes, I have a short tail...

(The Squirrels laugh. The girl too. The Hare and the Squirrels quickly look back at her and hide.)

STEPDAUGHTER (wiping tears with a mitten). Oh, I can't! How funny! My tail, he says, is short. That's what he says. (Laughs.)

A Soldier enters the clearing. He has a large ax in his belt. He also pulls a sled. The soldier is a mustachioed, experienced, middle-aged soldier.

SOLDIER. I wish you good health, beauty! Why are you happy about this?

(The stepdaughter waves her hand and laughs even louder.)

Yes, tell me why you laugh. Maybe I'll laugh with you too.

STEPDAUGHTER. You won't believe it!

SOLDIER. From what? We soldiers have heard enough of everything and seen enough of everything in our time. If we believe, we believe, but we do not give in to deception.

STEPDAUGHTER. Here a hare and squirrels were playing with burners, in this very place!

SOLDIER. Well?

STEPDAUGHTER. Pure truth! This is how our children play on the street. “Burn, burn clearly, so that it doesn’t go out...” He is behind them, they are from him, across the snow and onto a tree. And they also tease: “Jump, jump, jump, jump!”

SOLDIER. Is that what we say?

STEPDAUGHTER. In our opinion.

SOLDIER. Please tell me!

STEPDAUGHTER. So you don’t believe me!

SOLDIER. How can you not believe it! What day is it today? The old year is over, the new year is the beginning. And I also heard from my grandfather that his grandfather told him that on this day everything in the world happens - you just know how to lie in wait and spy. This doesn’t happen on New Year’s Eve.

STEPDAUGHTER. So what?

SOLDIER. Is it true or not, but my grandfather said that on the very eve of the New Year his grandfather had the opportunity to meet all twelve months.

STEPDAUGHTER. Yah?

SOLDIER. Pure truth. The old man saw all year round at once: winter, summer, spring, and autumn. STEPDAUGHTER. How is it possible for winter and summer and spring and autumn to come together! There is no way they can be together.

SOLDIER. Well, what I know, that’s what I say, but what I don’t know, I won’t say. Why did you come here in such cold weather? I am a forced person, my superiors sent me here, but who are you?

STEPDAUGHTER. And I didn’t come of my own free will.

SOLDIER. Are you in service, or what?

STEPDAUGHTER. No, I live at home.

SOLDIER. How did your mother let you go?

STEPDAUGHTER. The mother would not have let him go, but the stepmother sent him to gather brushwood and chop firewood.

SOLDIER. Look how! So you are an orphan? Well, let me help you, and then I’ll get down to my business.

The stepdaughter and the Soldier collect brushwood together and put it on the sled.

STEPDAUGHTER. What's your business?

SOLDIER. I need to cut down a Christmas tree, the best one in the forest.

STEPDAUGHTER. Who is this tree for?

SOLDIER. How - for whom? For the queen herself. Tomorrow our palace will be full of guests. So we need to surprise everyone.

Stepdaughter. What will they hang on your Christmas tree?

SOLDIER. What everyone hangs, they will hang here too. All sorts of toys, firecrackers and trinkets are made of pure gold and diamonds. Others have cotton dolls and bunnies, but ours are satin.

STEPDAUGHTER. Is the queen still playing with dolls?

SOLDIER. Why shouldn't she play? Even though she is a queen, she is not older than you.

STEPDAUGHTER. Yes, I haven't played for a long time.

SOLDIER. Well, you apparently don’t have time, but she has time. Just as her parents died - the king and queen - she remained a complete mistress of both herself and others.

STEPDAUGHTER. So our queen is an orphan too?

SOLDIER. It turns out that he is an orphan.

STEPDAUGHTER. I feel sorry for her.

SOLDIER. What a pity! There is no one to teach her wisdom. Well, your job is done. And now it’s time for me to look for a Christmas tree, otherwise our orphan will give me one. She doesn't like to joke with us.

STEPDAUGHTER. So my stepmother is like that... And my sister is all like her. No matter what you do, you will never please them.

SOLDIER. Wait, you won’t be able to endure this forever. Our soldier’s service is long, and she’s running out of time.

STEPDAUGHTER. Thank you for your kind words and thanks for the brushwood. Let me show you one Christmas tree. Such a beautiful Christmas tree - twig to twig.

SOLDIER. Well, show me. Apparently you belong here in the forest. No wonder squirrels and hares play with burners in front of you!

The stepdaughter and the Soldier, leaving the sled, hide in the thicket. For a moment the stage is empty. Then the branches of the old snow-covered fir trees move apart, two tall old men come out into the clearing: January the month in a white fur coat and hat, and December the month in a white fur coat with black stripes and a white hat with a black edge.

DECEMBER. Here, brother, take over the farming. It's like everything is fine with me. There is enough snow today: the birches are waist-deep, the pine trees are knee-deep.

JANUARY. Thank you brother. And now, brother, it’s time for us to prepare for our holiday - to renew the snow in the forest, to silver the branches. Wave your sleeve - you are still the boss here.

DECEMBER. Isn't it too early? Evening is still far away. Yes, there’s someone’s sled standing there, which means people are wandering around the forest. If you fill the paths with snow, they won’t be able to get out of here.

JANUARY. And you start slowly. Blow the wind, mark it with a blizzard - the guests will guess that it’s time to go home.

DECEMBER. Well, let's start little by little.

Faithful servants -

Snowy blizzards,

Notice all the ways

So as not to pass into the thicket

Neither on horseback nor on foot!

Neither the forester nor the goblin!

A blizzard begins. Snow falls thickly on the ground and on the trees. Old people in white fur coats and hats are almost invisible behind the snow curtain. They are indistinguishable from trees. The Stepdaughter and the Soldier return to the clearing. They walk with difficulty, get stuck in snowdrifts, cover their faces from the blizzard. The two of them carry the Christmas tree.

SOLDIER. What a snowstorm it was - frankly speaking, it was like a New Year's snowstorm! Nothing in sight. Where did we leave the sled here?

STEPDAUGHTER. And there are two tubercles nearby. (He sweeps the sled with a branch.)

SOLDIER. I’ll tie the Christmas tree and let’s get going. Don’t wait for me - go home, otherwise you’ll freeze in your clothes, and you’ll be swept away by the snowstorm.

STEPDAUGHTER. Nothing, it's not the first time for me. (Helps him tie the Christmas tree.)

SOLDIER. Well, it's ready. And now, step by step, on your way. I go ahead, and you follow me, following in my footsteps. That way it will be easier for you. Let's go!

STEPDAUGHTER. Go.

The stepdaughter and the Soldier leave. The Old Men appear from behind the trees again.

JANUARY. Gone?

DECEMBER. Gone. (Looks into the distance from under his palm.)

JANUARY. Call your brothers to build a New Year's fire.

DECEMBER. Who will supply the wood?

JANUARY. We, the winter months.

DECEMBER. Who will stir up the heat?

In the depths of the thicket, figures flash in different places. Lights shine through the branches.

JANUARY. Well, brother, it’s as if we are all assembled - all all year round. Lock the forest at night so that there is no way in or out.

DECEMBER. Okay, I'll lock it!

White blizzard - blizzard,

Whip up the flying snow.

You smoke, You smoke,

They fell to the ground in peace,

Wrap the earth in a shroud,

Become a wall in front of the forest.

Here's the key, here's the lock,

So that no one can pass!

A wall of falling snow covers the forest.

PICTURE TWO

Castle. Queen's classroom. Wide board in a carved gold frame. Rosewood desk. The fourteen-year-old Queen sits on a velvet pillow and writes with a long golden pen. In front of her is a gray-bearded Professor of Arithmetic and Calligraphy, looking like an ancient astrologer. He's wearing a robe and a fancy doctor's cap with a brush.

QUEEN. I hate writing. All fingers are covered in ink!

PROFESSOR. You are absolutely right, Your Majesty. This is a very unpleasant task. However, I dare to ask you to write four more lines in Your Majesty’s own hand.

QUEEN. Okay, dictate.

PROFESSOR.

The grass is turning green

The sun is shining

Swallow with spring

It's flying towards us in the canopy!

QUEEN. I will only write “The grass is greener.” (Writes.) Grass ze-ne...

The Chancellor enters.

CHANCELLOR (bowing low). Good morning, Your Majesty. I dare to respectfully ask you to sign one ORDER and three decrees.

QUEEN. More writing! Fine. But then I won’t add “turns green.” Give me your papers here! (Signs the papers one by one.)

CHANCELLOR. Thank you, Your Majesty. And now let me ask you to draw...

QUEEN. Draw again!

CHANCELLOR. Only your highest resolution on this REFERENCE.

QUEEN (impatiently). What should I write?

CHANCELLOR. One of two things, Your Majesty: either “execute” or “pardon.”

QUEEN (About myself). Po-mi-lo-vat... Execute... I’d rather write “execute” - it’s shorter.

The Chancellor takes the papers, bows and leaves.

PROFESSOR. Oh, Your Majesty, what have you DONE!

QUEEN. I was mistaken?

PROFESSOR. No, you spelled this word correctly and still made a very serious mistake.

QUEEN. Which one?

PROFESSOR. You decided the fate of a person without even thinking!

QUEEN. What more! I can’t write and think at the same time.

PROFESSOR. And it is not necessary. First you need to think, and then write, Your Majesty!

QUEEN. If I had listened to you, all I would have done was think, think, think, and in the end I would probably go crazy or come up with God knows what... Well, what do you have next? Ask soon!

PROFESSOR. I dare to ask, Your Majesty: what is seven eight?

QUEEN. I don’t remember something... Well, goodbye, our lesson is over. Today, before the New Year, I have a lot to do.

PROFESSOR. As your Majesty wishes!.. (Sadly and obediently collects books.)

QUEEN (puts his elbows on the table and watches him absentmindedly). Tell me, what would you do with another student if she refused to tell you what seven is eight?

PROFESSOR. I dare not say, Your Majesty!

QUEEN. It's okay, I allow it.

PROFESSOR (timidly). I'd put it in a corner...

QUEEN. Ha ha ha! But only?

PROFESSOR. I would... I beg your Majesty's pardon... I would leave her without dinner.

QUEEN . It turns out you are a very cruel old man. Do you know that I can execute you? And even today, if I want!

PROFESSOR (dropping books). Your Majesty!..

QUEEN. Yes, yes, I can. Why not?

PROFESSOR. But how did I anger Your Majesty?

QUEEN. You are a very wayward person. Whatever I say, you say is wrong. No matter what you write, you say: it’s not true. And I love it when people agree with me!

PROFESSOR. Your Majesty, I swear on my life, I will no longer argue with you if you don’t like it!

QUEEN. Do you swear on your life? OK then. Then let's continue our lesson. Ask me anything. (Sits down at the desk.)

PROFESSOR. What is six six, Your Majesty?

QUEEN (looks at him, tilting his head to the side). Eleven.

PROFESSOR (sad). Absolutely right, Your Majesty. What is eight eight?

QUEEN. Three.

PROFESSOR. That's right, Your Majesty. How much will it be...

QUEEN. How much and how much! You are a curious person... He asks, asks... It’s better to tell me something interesting yourself.

PROFESSOR. About what? In what way?

QUEEN. Well I do not know. Something New Year's... After all, today is New Year's Eve.

PROFESSOR. (gesture of submission) A year, Your Majesty, consists of twelve months!

QUEEN. How's that? Indeed?

PROFESSOR. Absolutely, Your Majesty. The months are called: January, February, March, April, May, June, July...

QUEEN. What a wonderful memory you have!

PROFESSOR. Thank you, Your Majesty! August, September, October, November and December.

QUEEN. Just think about it!

PROFESSOR. The months go by one after another. As soon as one month ends, another begins immediately. And it has never happened before that February came before January, and September before August.

QUEEN. What if I wanted it to be April now?

PROFESSOR. This is impossible, Your Majesty.

QUEEN. Are you again?

PROFESSOR (pleadingly). It is not I who object to Your Majesty. This is science and nature!

QUEEN. Tell me please! What if I make such a Law and put a big seal on it?

PROFESSOR (waves his hands helplessly). I'm afraid this won't help either. But every month brings us its own gifts and fun. December, January and February - ice skating, a New Year tree, Maslenitsa booths, in March the snow begins to melt, in April the first snowdrops peek out from under the snow...

QUEEN. So I wish it was already April. I really love snowdrops. I've never seen them.

PROFESSOR. There is very little left until April, Your Majesty. Just some three months, or ninety days...

QUEEN. Ninety! I can't wait even three days. Tomorrow is the New Year's party, and I want these - what did you call them - on my table? - snowdrops.

PROFESSOR. Your Majesty, but the laws of nature!..

QUEEN (interrupting him). I will publish new law nature! (Claps his hands.) Send the Chancellor to me. (To the professor.) And you sit down and write. Now I will dictate to you. (Thinks.)“The grass is turning green, the sun is shining, therefore I command that a full basket of snowdrops be delivered to the palace for the New Year. We will reward the one who fulfills our highest will like a king...” What could we promise them? M! Write. “We will give him as much gold as will fit in his basket and give him a velvet coat on a gray fox.” Well, did you write it? How slow you write!

PROFESSOR. “...on a gray fox...” I haven’t written a dictation for a long time, Your Majesty.

QUEEN. How cunning you are, you don’t write it yourself, but you force me! Well, oh well. Give me a pen - I will inscribe my highest name! (He quickly puts down a squiggle and waves the piece of paper so that the ink dries faster.)

At this time, the Chancellor appears at the door.

Place your stamp here and here! And make sure everyone in town knows my orders.

CHANCELLOR (reads quickly with his eyes). What about the seal? Your will, queen!..

QUEEN. Yes, yes, my will, and you must fulfill it!..

The curtain falls. One after another, two Heralds come out with trumpets and scrolls in their hands. Solemn sounds of fanfare.

First Herald

On New Year's Eve

We issued an order:

Let them bloom today

We have snowdrops!

Second Herald

The grass is turning green

The sun is shining

Swallow with spring

It's flying towards us in the canopy!

First Herald

Who dares to deny

That the swallow flies

That the grass is turning green

And the sun is shining?

Second Herald

Snowdrop blooms in the forest,

And not a blizzard blows,

And that one of you is a rebel,

Who will say: it doesn’t bloom!

Streams run into the valley,

Winter has come to an end.

First Herald

Snowdrops basket

Bring it to the palace!

Second Herald

Narvit before dawn

Simple snowdrops.

First Herald

And they will give you for it

A basket of gold!

First and Second (together)

The grass is turning green

The sun is shining

Swallow with spring

It's flying towards us in the canopy!

FIRST CERRIDER (slapping palm against palm). Brr!.. It's cold!..

PICTURE THREE

A small house on the outskirts of the city. The stove is burning hot. There is a snowstorm outside the windows. Twilight. The old woman rolls out the dough. The daughter is sitting in front of the fire. There are several baskets on the floor near her. She is sorting through the baskets. First he picks up a small one, then a larger one, then the largest one.

DAUGHTER (holding a small basket in her hands). And what, mom, will there be a lot of gold in this basket?

OLD WOMAN. Yes, a lot.

DAUGHTER. Enough for a fur coat?

OLD WOMAN. What's on the fur coat, daughter! Enough for a full dowry: both fur coats and skirts. There will also be some left over for stockings and handkerchiefs.

DAUGHTER. How much will this include?

OLD WOMAN. There's even more to this one. There is enough here for a stone house, for a horse with a bridle, and for a lamb with a lamb.

DAUGHTER. Well, what about this one?

OLD WOMAN. And there’s nothing to say here. You will drink and eat on gold, you will dress in gold, you will wear gold, you will wear gold, you will cover your ears with gold.

DAUGHTER. Well, then I’ll take this basket! (Sighing.) One problem - you can’t find snowdrops. Apparently the queen wanted to laugh at us.

OLD WOMAN. She’s young, so she comes up with all sorts of things.

DAUGHTER. What if someone goes into the forest and picks snowdrops there? And he will get this basket of gold!

OLD WOMAN. Well, wherever there is - he will dial it! Snowdrops won't even appear before spring. There are so many snowdrifts - right up to the roof!

DAUGHTER. Or maybe they are growing little by little under the snowdrifts. That's why they are snowdrops... I'll put on my fur coat and try to look for it.

OLD WOMAN. What are you doing, daughter! Yes, I won’t even let you out of the threshold. Look out the window, what a blizzard is blowing up. Or maybe it will be by nightfall!

DAUGHTER (grabs the largest basket). No, I'll go and that's it. For once, there was a chance to get to the palace, to visit the queen herself for a holiday. And they'll give you a whole basket of gold.

OLD WOMAN. You'll freeze in the forest.

DAUGHTER. Well, then you go into the forest yourself. Pick some snowdrops, and I’ll take them to the palace.

OLD WOMAN. Why don’t you, daughter, feel sorry for your own mother?

DAUGHTER. I feel sorry for you, and I feel sorry for the gold, and most of all I feel sorry for myself! Well, what does it cost you? What an incredible snowstorm! Wrap yourself up warm and go.

OLD WOMAN. Nothing to say, good daughter! In such weather, the owner of the dog will not kick the dog out into the street, but she chases the mother.

DAUGHTER. Why! You will be kicked out! You won’t take an extra step for your daughter. So I’ll sit because of you the whole holiday in the kitchen by the stove. And others with the queen will ride in a silver sleigh, raking gold with a shovel... (Crying.)

OLD WOMAN. Well, that's enough, daughter, that's enough, don't cry. Here, eat some hot pie! (Pulls out an iron sheet with pies from the stove.) In the heat, in the heat, boiling and hissing, almost talking!

DAUGHTER (through tears). I don’t want pies, I want snowdrops!.. Well, if you don’t want to go yourself and won’t let me in, then at least let your sister go. She will come from the forest, and you will send her there again.

OLD WOMAN. But it’s true! Why not send her? The forest is not far away, it won't take long to escape. If she picks flowers, you and I will take them to the palace, but if she freezes, well, that means that’s her fate. Who will cry for her?

DAUGHTER. Yeah, that's right, not me. I was so tired of her, I can’t say. You can’t go outside the gate - all the neighbors say only about her: “Oh, the unfortunate orphan!”, “The worker has golden hands!”, “A beauty - you can’t take your eyes off her!” Why am I worse than her?

OLD WOMAN. What are you, daughter, for me - you are better, not worse. But not everyone will see it. After all, she is cunning - she knows how to flatter. He will bow to this one, he will smile at this one. So everyone feels sorry for her: an orphan and an orphan. And what does she, an orphan, lack? I gave her my handkerchief, a very good handkerchief, and I didn’t wear it for seven years, and then I just wrapped the sauerkraut. I let her wear your shoes from the year before last - it’s a pity, isn’t it? And how much bread goes into it! A piece in the morning, a crumb at lunch, and a crust in the evening. Calculate how much this will cost per year. There are many days in a year! Another wouldn’t know how to thank her, but you won’t hear a word from this one.

DAUGHTER. Well, let him go into the forest. Let's give her a larger basket that I chose for myself.

OLD WOMAN. What are you doing, daughter! This basket is new, recently purchased. Look for her later in the forest. We'll give you that one, and it will disappear, so it's not a pity.

DAUGHTER. It's too small!

Stepdaughter enters. Her scarf is completely covered with snow. She takes off the scarf and shakes it off, then goes to the stove and warms her hands.

OLD WOMAN. Is it blowing outside?

STEPDAUGHTER. I barely made it home.

OLD WOMAN. That's why it's winter, so that there's a blizzard.

STEPDAUGHTER. No, there hasn’t been such a blizzard in a whole year and there never will be.

DAUGHTER. How do you know that it won’t happen?

STEPDAUGHTER. But today is the last day of the year!

DAUGHTER. Look how! Apparently you're not very cold if you're asking riddles. Well, are you rested and warmed up? You still need to run somewhere else.

STEPDAUGHTER. Where is this, far away?

OLD WOMAN. Not that close, not even close.

DAUGHTER. In the forest!

STEPDAUGHTER. In the forest? For what? I brought a lot of firewood, enough for a week.

DAUGHTER. Not for brushwood, but for snowdrops!

STEP-DAUGHTER (laughing). Except for the snowdrops - in such a blizzard! But I didn’t immediately understand that you were joking. I was scared. Nowadays, the abyss is no wonder - it keeps circling and knocking you down.

DAUGHTER. Haven't you heard about the decree?

STEPDAUGHTER. No.

DAUGHTER. You don’t hear anything, you don’t know anything! But the whole city is talking about it. The queen will give the one who collects snowdrops a whole basket of gold, a fur coat on a gray fox, and will allow him to ride in his sleigh.

STEPDAUGHTER. What kind of snowdrops are they now - it’s winter...

OLD WOMAN. In the spring, people pay for snowdrops not in gold, but in copper!

DAUGHTER. Well, what’s there to talk about! Here's your basket.

STEP-DAUGHTER (looks out the window). It's getting dark.

OLD WOMAN. If you had spent even longer searching for brushwood, it would have gotten completely dark.

STEPDAUGHTER. Maybe we should go tomorrow morning?

DAUGHTER. I came up with the same idea - in the morning! What if you don’t find flowers before evening? So they will wait for you and me in the courtyard. After all, flowers are needed for the holiday.

STEPDAUGHTER. I’ve never heard of flowers growing in the forest in winter... But can you really see anything in such darkness?

DAUGHTER (chewing a pie). And you lean lower and look better.

STEPDAUGHTER. I won't go!

DAUGHTER. How is it that you won’t go?

STEPDAUGHTER. I won't be able to return from the forest.

DAUGHTER. So, should I go into the forest instead of you?

STEP-DAUGHTER (lowering her head). But it’s not me who needs gold.

OLD WOMAN. It's clear, you don't need anything. You have everything, and what you don’t have, your stepmother and sister will have it!

DAUGHTER. She's rich and refuses a whole basket of gold! Well, are you going or not? Answer directly - won't you go? Where's my fur coat? (With tears in his voice). Let her warm herself here by the stove, eat pies, and I’ll walk through the forest until midnight, get stuck in the snowdrifts... (He rips his fur coat off the hook and runs to the door.)

OLD WOMAN (grabs her by the floor). Where are you going? Who allowed you? Sit down, stupid! (To the stepdaughter.) And you, put a scarf on your head, a basket in your hands, and go. Look at me: if I find out that you’ve been staying with the neighbors somewhere, I won’t let you into the house - freeze in the yard!

DAUGHTER. Go and don't come back without snowdrops!

The stepdaughter wraps herself in a scarf, takes the basket and leaves. Silence.

OLD WOMAN (looking at the door). And she didn’t properly slam the door behind her. It blows like that! Close the door well, daughter, and get ready for the table. It's time for dinner.

ACT TWO

PICTURE ONE

Forest. Large flakes of snow fall to the ground. Thick twilight. The stepdaughter makes her way through deep snowdrifts. Wraps himself in a torn scarf. Blowing on frozen hands. It's getting darker and darker in the forest. A lump of snow falls noisily from the top of a tree.

STEP-DAUGHTER (shudders.) Oh, who's there? (Looks around.) The snow cap fell, and it seemed to me as if someone had jumped from a tree on me... And who would be here at such a time? The animals also hid in their holes. I’m alone in the forest... (He makes his way further. He stumbles, gets entangled in a windfall, stops.) I won’t go any further. I'll stay here. It doesn't matter where you freeze. (Sits on a fallen tree.) How dark! And I don’t know where I went. There is no way forward or back. So my death has come. I’ve seen little good in my life, but it’s still scary to die... Should I scream, call for help? Maybe someone will hear - a forester, or a belated woodcutter, or some hunter? Aw! Help! Aw! No, no one is responding. What should I do? Just sit here until the end comes? Something crunched over there, as if someone was sneaking. Oh, I'm afraid! (Approaches the tree, looks at the thick, knotty branches covered with snow.) Climb, or what? They won't get me there. (Climbs one of the branches and sits down in a fork. Begins to doze.)

Squirrel appears on the tree and drops a pine cone on the Stepdaughter.

SQUIRREL. Don't sleep - you'll freeze!

STEPDAUGHTER. What's happened? Who's here, who? But I dreamed of something good, and it even became warmer. It’s as if my mother is walking around the house with a lamp and the light is shining right into my eyes. (Raises his head, brushes the snow off his eyelashes with his hand.) But something is really shining - over there, far away... It’s shaking and twinkling, as if a star is entangled in the branches... I’ll run! (Jumps off the branch.) Still glowing. Maybe there really is a forester’s hut nearby, or maybe the woodcutters have lit a fire. We have to go. Need to go. Oh, my legs can’t move, they’re completely numb! (He walks with difficulty, falling into snowdrifts, climbing over windbreaks and fallen trunks.) If only the light doesn’t go out!.. No, it doesn’t go out, it burns brighter and brighter. And it seemed to smell like warm smoke. Is it really a fire? This is true. Whether it’s my imagination or not, I hear brushwood crackling on the fire. (He goes further, spreading and lifting the paws of the thick tall spruce trees.)

Twelve Months is a fairy tale by S. Ya. Marshak, which has been loved by more than one generation of children. The fairy tale tells about the life of a girl in a house with her stepmother and stepsister. One day, having heard the order of the young queen, the stepmother sends her stepdaughter to New Year's Eve for snowdrops in the forest. The girl understands that she is in danger of death, but goes in search of flowers in the cold. Will she find the treasured snowdrops, for which a generous reward is promised? Find out with your children what will happen to an orphan in the forest from a fairy tale about good and evil, greed, hard work and the ability to forgive insults.

Slovak fairy tale adapted by S. Marshak

Do you know how many months there are in a year?

Twelve.

What are their names?

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

As soon as one month ends, another begins immediately. And it has never happened before that February came before January left, and May overtook April.

The months go one after another and never meet.

But people say that in the mountainous country of Bohemia there was a girl who saw all twelve months at once.

How did this happen? That's how.

In one small village there lived an evil and stingy woman with her daughter and stepdaughter. She loved her daughter, but her stepdaughter could not please her in any way. No matter what the stepdaughter does, everything is wrong, no matter how she turns, everything is in the wrong direction.

The daughter lay on the feather bed all day long and ate gingerbread, but the stepdaughter had no time to sit down from morning to night: fetch water, bring brushwood from the forest, rinse the linen on the river, weed the beds in the garden.

She knew winter cold, summer heat, spring wind, and autumn rain. That’s why, perhaps, she once had the chance to see all twelve months at once.

It was winter. It was January. There was so much snow that it had to be shoveled away from the doors, and in the forest on the mountain the trees stood waist-deep in snowdrifts and could not even sway when the wind blew on them.

People sat in their houses and lit their stoves.

At such and such a time, in the evening, the evil stepmother opened the door, looked at how the blizzard was sweeping, and then returned to the warm stove and said to her stepdaughter:

- You should go to the forest and pick snowdrops there. Tomorrow is your sister's birthday.

The girl looked at her stepmother: was she joking or was she really sending her into the forest? It's scary in the forest now! And what snowdrops there are in the middle of winter! They will not be born before March, no matter how much you look for them. You'll just end up lost in the forest and get stuck in the snowdrifts. And her sister tells her:

“Even if you disappear, no one will cry for you!” Go and don't come back without flowers. Here's your basket.

The girl began to cry, wrapped herself in a torn scarf and walked out the door.

The wind dusts her eyes with snow and tears her scarf off. She walks, barely pulling her legs out of the snowdrifts.

It's getting darker all around. The sky is black, not a single star looks at the ground, and the ground is a little lighter. It's from the snow.

Here is the forest. It’s completely dark here—you can’t see your hands. The girl sat down on a fallen tree and sat. All the same, he thinks about where to freeze.

And suddenly a light flashed far between the trees - as if a star was entangled among the branches.

The girl got up and went towards this light. He drowns in snowdrifts and climbs over a windbreak. “If only,” he thinks, “the light doesn’t go out!” But it doesn’t go out, it burns brighter and brighter. There was already a smell of warm smoke, and you could hear brushwood crackling in the fire. The girl quickened her pace and entered the clearing. Yes, she froze.

It’s light in the clearing, as if from the sun. In the middle of the clearing a large fire is burning, almost reaching to the sky. And people are sitting around the fire - some closer to the fire, some further away. They sit and talk quietly.

The girl looks at them and thinks: who are they? They don’t seem to look like hunters, even less like woodcutters: they look so elegant - some in silver, some in gold, some in green velvet.

And suddenly one old man turned around - the tallest, bearded, with eyebrows - and looked in the direction where the girl stood.

She was scared and wanted to run away, but it was too late. The old man asks her loudly:

- Where did you come from, what do you want here? The girl showed him her empty basket and said:

— I need to collect snowdrops in this basket. The old man laughed:

- Is it snowdrops in January? What did you come up with!

“I didn’t make it up,” the girl answers, “but my stepmother sent me here for snowdrops and didn’t tell me to return home with an empty basket.”

Then all twelve looked at her and began to talk among themselves.

The girl stands there, listening, but doesn’t understand the words—as if it weren’t people talking, but the trees making noise.

They talked and talked and fell silent.

And the tall old man turned around again and asked:

- What will you do if you don’t find snowdrops? After all, they won’t even appear before March.

“I’ll stay in the forest,” says the girl. — I’ll wait for the month of March. It’s better for me to freeze in the forest than to return home without snowdrops.

She said this and cried.

And suddenly one of the twelve, the youngest, cheerful, with a fur coat on one shoulder, stood up and approached the old man:

- Brother January, give me your place for an hour! The old man stroked his long beard and said:

“I would give in, but Mart wouldn’t be there before February.”

“Okay,” grumbled another old man, all shaggy, with a disheveled beard. - Give in, I won’t argue! We all know her well: sometimes you’ll meet her at an ice hole with buckets, sometimes in the forest with a bundle of firewood. All months have their own. We need to help her.

“Well, have it your way,” said January. He struck the ground with his ice staff and spoke:

Don't crack, it's frosty,

In a protected forest,

At the pine, at the birch

Don't chew the bark!

You're full of crows

Freeze,

Human habitation

Cool down!

The old man fell silent, and the forest became quiet. The trees stopped crackling from the frost, and the snow began to fall thickly, in large, soft flakes.

“Well, now it’s your turn, brother,” said January and gave the staff to his younger brother, shaggy February. He tapped his staff, shook his beard and boomed:

Winds, storms, hurricanes,

Blow as hard as you can!

Whirlwinds, blizzards and blizzards,

Get ready for the night!

Trumpet loudly in the clouds,

Hover above the ground.

Let the drifting snow run in the fields

White snake!

As soon as he said this, a stormy, wet wind rustled in the branches. Snow flakes began to swirl and white whirlwinds rushed across the ground. And February gave his ice staff to his younger brother and said:

- Now it’s your turn, brother Mart. The younger brother took the staff and hit it on the ground. The girl looks, and this is no longer a staff. This is a large branch, all covered with buds.

Mart grinned and sang loudly, in all his boyish voice:

Run away, streams,

Spread, puddles,

Get out, ants,

After the winter cold!

A bear sneaks through

Through the dead wood.

The birds began to sing songs,

And the snowdrop blossomed.

The girl even clasped her hands. Where did the high snowdrifts go? Where are the ice icicles that hung on every branch?

Under her feet is soft spring soil. It's dripping, flowing, babbling all around. The buds on the branches have puffed up, and the first green leaves are already peeking out from under the dark skin.

The girl looks - she can’t get enough of it.

- Why are you standing there? - Mart tells her. “Hurry up, my brothers gave you and me only one hour.”

The girl woke up and ran into the thicket to look for snowdrops. And they are visible and invisible! Under bushes and under stones, on hummocks and under hummocks - everywhere you look. She collected a full basket, a full apron - and quickly went back to the clearing, where the fire was burning, where the twelve brothers were sitting.

And there is no longer a fire, no brothers: It’s light in the clearing, but not as before. The light did not come from the fire, but from the full moon that rose over the forest.

The girl regretted that she had no one to thank and ran home. And a month swam after her.

Not feeling her feet under her, she ran to her door - and as soon as she entered the house, the winter blizzard began to hum outside the windows again, and the moon hid in the clouds.

“Well,” her stepmother and sister asked, “have you returned home yet?” Where are the snowdrops?

The girl didn’t answer, she just poured snowdrops out of her apron onto the bench and put the basket next to it.

The stepmother and sister gasped:

- Where did you get them?

The girl told them everything that happened. They both listen and shake their heads - they believe and don’t believe. It’s hard to believe, but there’s a whole heap of fresh, blue snowdrops on the bench. They just smell like March!

The stepmother and daughter looked at each other and asked:

— Haven’t they given you anything else for months?

- Yes, I didn’t ask for anything else.

- What a fool! - says the sister. “For once, I met all twelve months, but I didn’t ask for anything except snowdrops!” Well, if I were you, I'd know what to ask for. One has apples and sweet pears, another has ripe strawberries, a third has white mushrooms, a fourth has fresh cucumbers!

- Smart girl, daughter! - says the stepmother. - In winter, strawberries and pears have no price. We would sell it and how much money we would make. And this fool brought snowdrops! Dress up, daughter, get warm and go to the clearing. They won’t deceive you, even if there are twelve of them and you are alone.

- Where are they! - the daughter answers, and she herself puts her hands in her sleeves and puts a scarf on her head.

Her mother shouts after her:

- Put on your mittens, button up your fur coat!

And my daughter is already at the door. She ran into the forest!

She follows her sister's footsteps and is in a hurry. “Hurry up,” he thinks, “to get to the clearing!”

The forest is getting thicker and darker. The snowdrifts are getting higher and the windfall is like a wall.

“Oh,” thinks the stepmother’s daughter, “why did I go into the forest!” I would be lying at home in a warm bed right now, but now go and freeze! You’ll still be lost here!”

And as soon as she thought this, she saw a light in the distance - as if a star had become entangled in the branches.

She went to the light. She walked and walked and came out into a clearing. In the middle of the clearing, a large fire is burning, and twelve brothers, twelve months old, are sitting around the fire. They sit and talk quietly.

The stepmother's daughter approached the fire itself, did not bow, did not say a friendly word, but chose a place where it was hotter and began to warm herself.

The month brothers fell silent. It became quiet in the forest. And suddenly the month of January hit the ground with his staff.

- Who are you? - asks. -Where did it come from?

“From home,” the stepmother’s daughter answers. “Today you gave my sister a whole basket of snowdrops.” So I came in her footsteps.

“We know your sister,” says January-month, “but we haven’t even seen you.” Why did you come to us?

- For gifts. Let the month of June pour strawberries into my basket, and bigger ones. And July is the month of fresh cucumbers and white mushrooms, and the month of August is of apples and sweet pears. And September is the month of ripe nuts. A October:

“Wait,” says January-month. - There will be no summer before spring, and no spring before winter. The month of June is still a long way off. I am now the owner of the forest, I will reign here for thirty-one days.

- Look, he's so angry! - says the stepmother's daughter. - Yes, I didn’t come to you - you won’t expect anything from you except snow and frost. I need the summer months.

The month of January frowned.

- Look for summer in winter! - speaks.

He waved his wide sleeve, and a blizzard rose in the forest from ground to sky - it covered both the trees and the clearing on which the moon brothers had been sitting. The fire was no longer visible behind the snow, but you could only hear a fire whistling somewhere, crackling, blazing.

The stepmother's daughter was scared.

- Stop doing that! - shouts. - Enough!

Where is it?

The blizzard swirls around her, blinds her eyes, takes her breath away. She fell into a snowdrift and was covered with snow.

And the stepmother waited and waited for her daughter, looked out the window, ran out the door - she was gone, and that’s all. She wrapped herself up warmly and went into the forest. How can you really find anyone in the thicket in such a snowstorm and darkness!

She walked and walked and searched and searched until she herself froze.

So they both remained in the forest to wait for summer.

But the stepdaughter lived in the world for a long time, grew up big, got married and raised children.

And they say she had a garden near her house - and such a wonderful one, the likes of which the world has never seen. Earlier than everyone else, flowers bloomed in this garden, berries ripened, apples and pears were filled. In the heat it was cool there, in the snowstorm it was quiet.

“They’ve been staying with this hostess for twelve months at once!” - people said.

Who knows - maybe it was so.

Fairy Tale Twelve Months watch cartoon online:

Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak - fairy tale Twelve months , read the text online:

Do you know how many months there are in a year?

Twelve.

What are their names?

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

As soon as one month ends, another begins immediately. And it has never happened before that February came before January left, and May overtook April. The months go one after another and never meet.

But people say that in the mountainous country of Bohemia there was a girl who saw all twelve months at once. How did this happen? That's how.

In one small village there lived an evil and stingy woman with her daughter and stepdaughter. She loved her daughter, but her stepdaughter could not please her in any way. No matter what the stepdaughter does, everything is wrong, no matter how she turns, everything is in the wrong direction. The daughter spent whole days lying on the feather bed and eating gingerbread, but her stepdaughter had no time to sit down from morning to night: either fetch water, or bring brushwood from the forest, or wash out the laundry on the river, or weed the beds in the garden. She knew winter cold, summer heat, spring wind, and autumn rain. That’s why, perhaps, she once had the chance to see all twelve months at once.

It was winter. It was January. There was so much snow that it had to be shoveled away from the doors, and in the forest on the mountain the trees stood waist-deep in snowdrifts and could not even sway when the wind blew on them. People sat in their houses and lit their stoves. At such and such a time, in the evening, the evil stepmother opened the door, looked at how the blizzard was sweeping, and then returned to the warm stove and said to her stepdaughter:

You should go to the forest and pick snowdrops there. Tomorrow is your sister's birthday.

The girl looked at her stepmother: was she joking or was she really sending her into the forest? It's scary in the forest now! And what are snowdrops like in winter? They will not be born before March, no matter how much you look for them. You'll just get lost in the forest and get stuck in the snowdrifts.

And her sister tells her:

Even if you disappear, no one will cry for you. Go and don't come back without flowers. Here's your basket.

The girl began to cry, wrapped herself in a torn scarf and walked out the door. The wind dusts her eyes with snow and tears her scarf off. She walks, barely pulling her legs out of the snowdrifts. It's getting darker all around. The sky is black, not a single star looks at the ground, and the ground is a little lighter. It's from the snow. Here is the forest. It's completely dark here - you can't see your hands. The girl sat down on a fallen tree and sat. All the same, he thinks about where to freeze.

And suddenly a light flashed far between the trees - as if a star was entangled among the branches. The girl got up and went towards this light. He drowns in snowdrifts and climbs over a windbreak. “If only,” he thinks, “the light doesn’t go out!” But it doesn’t go out, it burns brighter and brighter. You could already smell warm smoke and hear the crackling of brushwood in the fire. The girl quickened her pace and entered the clearing. Yes, she froze.

It’s light in the clearing, as if from the sun. In the middle of the clearing a large fire is burning, almost reaching to the sky. And people are sitting around the fire - some closer to the fire, some further away. They sit and talk quietly. The girl looks at them and thinks: who are they? They don’t seem to look like hunters, even less like woodcutters: look how smart they are - some in silver, some in gold, some in green velvet. She began to count and counted twelve: three old, three elderly, three young, and the last three were still just boys.

The young people sit near the fire, and the old people sit at a distance.

And suddenly one old man turned around - the tallest, bearded, with eyebrows - and looked in the direction where the girl stood. She was scared and wanted to run away, but it was too late. The old man asks her loudly:

Where did you come from, what do you want here?

The girl showed him her empty basket and said:

Yes, I need to fill this basket with snowdrops.

The old man laughed:

Is it snowdrops in January? What did you come up with!

“I didn’t make it up,” the girl replies, “but my stepmother sent me here for snowdrops and didn’t tell me to return home with an empty basket.” Then all twelve looked at her and began to talk among themselves.

The girl stands there, listening, but doesn’t understand the words - as if it’s not people talking, but trees making noise.

They talked and talked and fell silent.

And the tall old man turned around again and asked:

What will you do if you don't find snowdrops? After all, they won’t even appear before March.

“I’ll stay in the forest,” says the girl. - I’ll wait for the month of March. It’s better for me to freeze in the forest than to return home without snowdrops.

She said this and cried. And suddenly one of the twelve, the youngest, cheerful, with a fur coat over one shoulder, stood up and approached the old man:

Brother January, give me your place for an hour!

The old man stroked his long beard and said:

I would have given in, but March would not be there before February.

Okay, then,” grumbled another old man, all shaggy, with a disheveled beard. - Give in, I won’t argue! We all know her well: sometimes you’ll meet her at an ice hole with buckets, sometimes in the forest with a bundle of firewood. All months have their own. We need to help her.

Well, have it your way,” said January.

He struck the ground with his ice staff and spoke:

Don't crack, it's frosty,

In a protected forest,

At the pine, at the birch

Don't chew the bark!

You're full of crows

Freeze,

Human habitation

Cool down!

The old man fell silent, and the forest became quiet. The trees stopped crackling from the frost, and the snow began to fall thickly, in large, soft flakes.

Well, now it’s your turn, brother,” said January and gave the staff to his younger brother, shaggy February.

He tapped his staff, shook his beard and boomed:

Winds, storms, hurricanes,

Blow as hard as you can!

Whirlwinds, blizzards and blizzards,

Get ready for the night!

Trumpet loudly in the clouds,

Hover above the ground.

Let the drifting snow run in the fields

White snake!

As soon as he said this, a stormy, wet wind rustled in the branches. Snow flakes began to swirl and white whirlwinds rushed across the ground.

And February gave his ice staff to his younger brother and said:

Now it's your turn, brother Mart.

The younger brother took the staff and hit it on the ground. The girl looks, and this is no longer a staff. This is a large branch, all covered with buds. Mart grinned and sang loudly, in all his boyish voice:

Run away, streams,

Spread, puddles,

Get out, ants,

After the winter cold!

A bear sneaks through

Through the dead wood.

The birds began to sing songs,

And the snowdrop blossomed.

The girl even clasped her hands. Where did the high snowdrifts go? Where are the ice icicles that hung on every branch! Under her feet is soft spring soil. It's dripping, flowing, babbling all around. The buds on the branches are inflated, and the first green leaves are already peeking out from under the dark skin. The girl looks and can’t see enough.

Why are you standing? - Mart tells her. - Hurry, my brothers gave you and me only one hour.

The girl woke up and ran into the thicket to look for snowdrops. And they are visible and invisible! Under bushes and under stones, on hummocks and under hummocks - everywhere you look. She collected a full basket, a full apron - and quickly went back to the clearing, where the fire was burning, where the twelve brothers were sitting. And there is no longer a fire, no brothers... It’s light in the clearing, but not as before. The light did not come from the fire, but from the full moon that rose over the forest.

The girl regretted that she had no one to thank and went home. And a month swam after her.

Not feeling her feet under her, she ran to her door - and had just entered the house when the winter blizzard began to hum again outside the windows, and the moon hid in the clouds.

“Well,” her stepmother and sister asked, “have you returned home yet?” Where are the snowdrops?

The girl didn’t answer, she just poured snowdrops out of her apron onto the bench and put the basket next to it.

The stepmother and sister gasped:

Where did you get them?

The girl told them everything that happened. They both listen and shake their heads - they believe and don’t believe. It’s hard to believe, but there’s a whole heap of fresh, blue snowdrops on the bench. They just smell like March!

The stepmother and daughter looked at each other and asked:

Have months given you anything else? - Yes, I didn’t ask for anything else.

What a fool, what a fool! - says the sister. - For once, I met all twelve months, but didn’t ask for anything except snowdrops! Well, if I were you, I'd know what to ask for. One has apples and sweet pears, another has ripe strawberries, the third has white mushrooms, the fourth has fresh cucumbers!

Smart girl, daughter! - says the stepmother. - In winter, strawberries and pears have no price. We would sell this and make so much money! And this fool brought snowdrops! Dress up, daughter, warmly, and go to the clearing. They won’t deceive you, even if there are twelve of them and you are alone.

Where are they! - the daughter answers, and she herself puts her hands in her sleeves and puts a scarf on her head.

Her mother shouts after her:

Put on your mittens and button up your fur coat!

And my daughter is already at the door. She ran into the forest!

He follows his sister's footsteps and is in a hurry. I wish I could get to the clearing soon, he thinks!

The forest is getting thicker and darker. The snowdrifts are getting higher and the windfall is like a wall.

“Oh,” the stepmother’s daughter thinks, “why did I go into the forest!” I would be lying at home in a warm bed right now, but now go and freeze! You'll still be lost here!

And as soon as she thought this, she saw a light in the distance - as if a star had become entangled in the branches. She went to the light. She walked and walked and came out into a clearing. In the middle of the clearing, a large fire is burning, and twelve brothers, twelve months old, are sitting around the fire. They sit and talk quietly. The stepmother's daughter approached the fire itself, did not bow, did not say a friendly word, but chose a place where it was hotter and began to warm herself. The month brothers fell silent. It became quiet in the forest. And suddenly the month of January hit the ground with his staff.

Who are you? - asks. -Where did it come from?

From home,” the stepmother’s daughter answers. - Today you gave my sister a whole basket of snowdrops. So I came in her footsteps.

We know your sister,” says January-month, “but we haven’t even seen you.” Why did you come to us?

For gifts. Let the month of June pour strawberries into my basket, and bigger ones. And July is the month of fresh cucumbers and white mushrooms, and the month of August is of apples and sweet pears. And September is the month of ripe nuts. And October...

Wait,” says the month of January. - There will be no summer before spring, and no spring before winter. The month of June is still a long way off. I am now the owner of the forest, I will reign here for thirty-one days.

Look, he's so angry! - says the stepmother’s daughter. - Yes, I didn’t come to you - you won’t get anything from you except snow and frost. I need the summer months.

The month of January frowned.

Look for summer in winter! - speaks.

He waved his wide sleeve, and a blizzard rose in the forest from ground to sky, covering both the trees and the clearing on which the moon brothers had been sitting. The fire was no longer visible behind the snow, but you could only hear a fire whistling somewhere, crackling, blazing.

The stepmother's daughter was scared. - Stop doing that! - shouts. - Enough!

Where is it?

The blizzard swirls around her, blinds her eyes, takes her breath away. She fell into a snowdrift and was covered with snow.

And the stepmother waited and waited for her daughter, looked out the window, ran out the door - she was gone, and that’s all. She wrapped herself up warmly and went into the forest. How can you really find anyone in the thicket in such a snowstorm and darkness!

She walked and walked and searched and searched until she herself froze. So they both remained in the forest to wait for summer. But the stepdaughter lived in the world for a long time, grew up big, got married and raised children.

And they say she had a garden near her house - and such a wonderful one, the likes of which the world has never seen. Earlier than everyone else, flowers bloomed in this garden, berries ripened, apples and pears were filled. In the heat it was cool there, in the snowstorm it was quiet.

This hostess has been staying with this hostess for twelve months at once! - people said.

Who knows - maybe it was so.