The night before Christmas summary. Brief retelling of The Night Before Christmas (Gogol N

It's a clear, frosty night on the eve of Christmas. The stars and the moon are shining, the snow is sparkling, smoke is billowing above the chimneys of the huts. This is Dikanka, a tiny village near Poltava. Shall we look through the windows? Over there, the old Cossack Chub has put on a sheepskin coat and is going to visit. There is his daughter, the beautiful Oksana, preening in front of the mirror. There flies into the chimney the charming witch Solokha, a hospitable hostess, whom the Cossack Chub, the village head, and the clerk love to visit. And in that hut, on the edge of the village, an old man sits, puffing on a cradle. But this is the beekeeper Rudy Panko, a master of telling stories! One of his funniest stories is about how the devil stole the month from the sky, and the blacksmith Vakula flew to St. Petersburg to visit the queen.

All of them - Solokha, Oksana, the blacksmith, and even Rudy Panka himself - were invented by the wonderful writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809-1852), and there is nothing unusual in the fact that he managed to portray his heroes so accurately and truthfully. Gogol was born in the small village of Velikie Sorochintsy, Poltava province, and from childhood he saw and knew well everything that he later wrote about. His father was a landowner and came from an old Cossack family. Nikolai studied first at the Poltava district school, then at the gymnasium in the city of Nezhin, also not far from Poltava; It was here that he first tried to write.

At the age of nineteen, Gogol left for St. Petersburg, served for some time in the offices, but very soon realized that this was not his calling. He began to publish little by little in literary magazines, and a little later he published his first book, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” - a collection of amazing stories allegedly told by the beekeeper Rudy Panko: about the devil who stole the month, about the mysterious red scroll, about rich treasures that open on the night before Ivan Kupala. The collection was a huge success, and A.S. Pushkin really liked it. Gogol soon met him and became friends, and later Pushkin helped him more than once, for example, by suggesting (of course, in the most general outline) the plot of the comedy “The Inspector General” and the poem “Dead Souls”. While living in St. Petersburg, Gogol published the next collection “Mirgorod”, which included “Taras Bulba” and “Viy”, and “Petersburg” stories: “The Overcoat”, “The Stroller”, “The Nose” and others.

Nikolai Vasilyevich spent the next ten years abroad, only occasionally returning to his homeland: little by little he lived in Germany, then in Switzerland, then in France; later he settled in Rome for several years, which he fell in love with very much. The first volume of the poem “Dead Souls” was written here. Gogol returned to Russia only in 1848 and settled at the end of his life in Moscow, in a house on Nikitsky Boulevard.

Gogol is a very versatile writer, his works are so different, but they are united by wit, subtle irony and good humor. For this, Gogol and Pushkin appreciated most of all: “This is real gaiety, sincere, relaxed, without affectation, without stiffness. And in places what poetry! What sensitivity! All this is so unusual in our current literature...”

P. Lemeni-Macedon

The last day before Christmas has passed. A clear winter night has arrived. The stars looked out. The month majestically rose into the sky to shine on good people and the whole world, so that everyone would have fun caroling and praising Christ. It was freezing more than in the morning; but it was so quiet that the crunch of frost under a boot could be heard half a mile away. Not a single crowd of boys had ever appeared under the windows of the huts; for a month he only glanced at them furtively, as if calling the girls who were dressing up to run out quickly into the crunchy snow. Then smoke fell in clouds through the chimney of one hut and spread like a cloud across the sky, and along with the smoke a witch rose riding on a broom.

If at that time the Sorochinsky assessor was passing by on a trio of philistine horses, in a hat with a lambswool band, made in the manner of the Uhlans, in a blue sheepskin coat lined with black smushkas, with a devilishly woven whip, with which he is in the habit of urging his coachman on, then he would probably , noticed her, because not a single witch in the world could escape from the Sorochinsky assessor. He knows off the top of his head how many piglets each woman has, and how much linen is in her chest, and what exactly from his clothes and household goods a good man will pawn in a tavern on Sunday. But the Sorochinsky assessor did not pass through, and what does he care about strangers, he has his own parish. Meanwhile, the witch rose so high that she was only a black speck flashing above. But wherever the speck appeared, there the stars, one after another, disappeared from the sky. Soon the witch had a full sleeve of them. Three or four were still shining. Suddenly, on the opposite side, another speck appeared, grew larger, began to stretch, and was no longer a speck. A short-sighted person, even if he had put wheels from the Komissarov chaise on his nose instead of glasses, he would not have recognized what it was. From the front it was completely German: a narrow muzzle, constantly twirling and sniffing whatever came its way, ending, like our pigs, in a round snout, the legs were so thin that if Yareskovsky had such a head, he would have broken them in the first Cossack. But behind him he was a real provincial attorney in uniform, because he had a tail hanging, so sharp and long, like today’s uniform coattails; only by the goat beard under his muzzle, by the small horns sticking out on his head, and by the fact that he was no whiter than a chimney sweep, one could guess that he was not a German or a provincial attorney, but just a devil, who spent his last night wandering around the world and teach good people the sins. Tomorrow, with the first bells for matins, he will run without looking back, tail between his legs, to his den.

Meanwhile, the devil was creeping slowly towards the month and was about to stretch out his hand to grab it, but suddenly he pulled it back, as if he had been burned, sucked his fingers, swung his leg and ran on the other side, and again jumped back and pulled his hand away. However, despite all the failures, the cunning devil did not abandon his mischief. Running up, he suddenly grabbed the month with both hands, grimacing and blowing, throwing it from one hand to the other, like a man getting fire for his cradle with his bare hands; Finally, he hastily put it in his pocket and, as if nothing had happened, ran on.

In Dikanka, no one heard how the devil stole the month. True, the volost clerk, leaving the tavern on all fours, saw that he had been dancing in the sky for no reason at all for a month, and assured the whole village of this to God; but the laymen shook their heads and even laughed at him. But what was the reason for the devil to decide on such a lawless deed? And here's what: he knew that the rich Cossack Chub was invited by the clerk to kutya, where they would be: the head; a relative of the clerk in a blue frock coat who came from the bishop's choir and played the deepest bass; Cossack Sverbyguz and some others; where, in addition to kutya, there will be varenukha, saffron-distilled vodka and a lot of other edibles. Meanwhile, his daughter, the beauty of the whole village, will remain at home, and a blacksmith, a strong man and a fellow anywhere, who was damned more disgusting than the sermons of Father Kondrat, will probably come to his daughter. In his spare time from business, the blacksmith was engaged in painting and was known as the best painter in the entire area. The centurion L...ko himself, who was still in good health at that time, deliberately called him to Poltava to paint the board fence near his house. All the bowls from which the Dikan Cossacks drank borscht were painted by a blacksmith. The blacksmith was a God-fearing man and often painted images of saints: and now you can still find his evangelist Luke in the T... church. But the triumph of his art was one painting painted on the church wall in the right vestibule, in which he depicted St. Peter on the day of the Last Judgment, with keys in his hands, expelling an evil spirit from hell; the frightened devil rushed in all directions, anticipating his death, and the previously imprisoned sinners beat and drove him with whips, logs and anything else they could find. While the painter was working on this picture and painting it on a large wooden board, the devil tried with all his might to disturb him: he pushed him invisibly under his arm, lifted ash from the furnace in the forge and sprinkled it on the picture; but, despite everything, the work was finished, the board was brought into the church and embedded in the wall of the vestibule, and from that time on the devil swore to take revenge on the blacksmith.

The last day before Christmas has passed. Night has fallen. The moon has risen to heaven. All residents of Sorochin are looking forward to caroling. The streets are so quiet that any rustling noise can be heard. And then suddenly a large plume of smoke poured out of the chimney of one house, and from it a witch appeared riding on a broom. Nobody saw her. However, if the Sorochinsky assessor was passing by, he would immediately notice her.

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Since not one witch could hide from him. And in general he knew everything, even how many piglets someone had. The witch rose high into the sky, and the stars gradually began to disappear from the sky. She was the one who stole them. I collected a large pile in my hands and finished with this matter. However, suddenly something else appeared in the sky that looked like a person. From a distance he looked exactly like a German, but up close one could see that he was completely black, thin, with a tail and a heel on his face. And only by the horns could one understand that it was the devil. He has the last day left to walk free, since the next day, after the bells, he will run, tail between his legs, to his den. The devil began to sneak around by the month. He took it, but immediately let go because he got burned. Then it cooled down and he grabbed the heavenly body and put it in his pocket. And then the whole world became dark. On Dikanka, no one saw how the villain stole the month. Only the clerk noticed how the moon suddenly seemed to dance in the sky.

The devil stole the month in order to take revenge on the blacksmith, who loved to draw and painted a wall in the church on which the Last Judgment was depicted, and the devil who was shamed. The villain’s strategy included the following thoughts: The fact is that the rich Cossack Chub was going to the clerk for a kutya, and the blacksmith Vakula wanted to come to his daughter Oksana. The road to the clerk led through a cemetery, ravines and generally outside the village. And if it’s so dark on the street, then it’s not a fact that something will force the Cossack to leave his house. And since the blacksmith and Chub did not get along well, Vakula would not risk going to Oksana.

The witch, seeing herself in the dark, screamed. And the Devil quickly ran up to her and began to whisper something in her ear, thereby seducing her, like a real man.

Cossack Chub went out into the street with his godfather, they talked about their own things. And then they notice that there is no month in the sky. They don’t understand what’s going on, and they need to go to the clerk. They are thinking about whether to stay or not, but Chub says that if they don’t go, then it won’t be convenient for the clerk’s other guests, since they might think that these two are lazy and cowards. Eventually they hit the road. At this time, the daughter of the Cossack Chuba Oksana was preening in her room. She was the most beautiful girl, according to all the boys in the entire district. Crowds ran after her, but she was adamant. And the guys slowly chose others, those who were much less spoiled than the beauty. Only the blacksmith Vakula was stubborn and, no matter what, continued to pursue the girl. She stood and admired herself in the mirror. She was talking to herself. She told me that she was not good-looking and didn’t understand what there was to like about her. But then she jumped up and began to praise herself. To say that everything about her is beautiful, both herself and the clothes that her dad bought her so that the most eligible groom could marry her. Vakula watched all this through the window. And suddenly the girl saw him and screamed. I asked what he was doing here. She started saying that all the guys are so good at going to her when their father is away, they are so brave. Then she asked how things were going with her chest, which Vakula forged especially for her. He replied that he took the best iron, no one had anything like it. And when she paints it, it will be better than any other girl’s. Oksana kept preening and spinning around the mirror. With her permission, Vakula sat down next to her and wanted to kiss her. He said that he would give anything to have this girl as his. But she behaved so rudely that Vakula was deeply broken in his soul, because he understood that she did not feel anything for him at all. Someone knocked on the door.

Meanwhile, the Devil, suffering from the cold, and the witch, who is also Vakula’s mother, climbed through the chimney to her house. Vakula’s mother, the witch Solokha, was already an adult woman. She was about forty. She was not a beauty, but at the same time she was pretty. And, despite her wisdom, she attracted all the most sedate Cossacks. They came to her, and the head sat down, and the clerk, and the Cossack Chub, and the Cossack Kasyan Sverbyguz. She accepted these men so much that not one of them had any idea about the existence of competitors. But most of all she liked the father of the beautiful Oksana - the Cossack Chub. He was a widower and had a lot on his farm. Solokha dreamed of taking it all for herself. However, she was afraid that her son Vakula would marry Oksana, and this farm would belong to him. Therefore, she did everything to scold Chub and the blacksmith as much as possible. And because of this, all the old women around said that Solokha was a witch. And they came up with different stories, then they saw her tail, then something else. However, only the Sorochinsky assessor could see the witch, and he was silent, and therefore all these stories were not taken seriously. Having flown through the pipe, Solokha began to clean everything up. And the devil, while flying to the pipe, saw Chub and his godfather who were going to the clerk, and began to shovel snow in their direction, which started a blizzard. The devil wanted Chub to go back home and scold the blacksmith. And his plan came true. As soon as the snowstorm began, Chub and his godfather immediately got ready to go back home. But nothing was visible around. And then the godfather went a little to the side to look for the way, and if he found it, he had to shout. And Chub, in turn, remained in the same place and also looked for the way. But the godfather immediately saw the tavern, and, forgetting about his friend, went there. And at that time Chub saw his house. He began to shout to his daughter to open it, but the blacksmith Vakula came out and, not realizing that it was Chub with the question “what do you want?” threw him out the door. Chub thought that he had not come to his home. Since the blacksmith has nothing to do with him, and he would not have found the way back so soon. He knew that only the lame Levchenko, who had recently married a young wife, had a similar house. But the lame man himself is now definitely visiting the clerk. And Chub then thought that Vakula came to his young wife. The Cossack received several blows on the back and shoulder from the blacksmith and, with offended shouts and threats, went to Solokha. However, the snowstorm really bothered him.

While the devil was flying from the created blizzard into the Solokhin chimney, a month got out of his pocket and, taking advantage of the opportunity, returned to its place. It became light outside and it was as if the snowstorm had never happened. All the young people ran out into the street with bags and began to sing carols. Then they went into the house of the Cossack Chub and surrounded Oksana, showed them carols, and the girl had a lot of fun. Although Vakula, despite the fact that he loved caroling, at that moment hated it. Oksana saw her friend’s shoes and began to admire them. And Vakula told her not to be upset, he would buy her slippers that no one else had. And then the pampered beauty declared in front of everyone that if Vakula gets her the slippers that the queen herself wears, then she will immediately marry him.

Vakula was in despair, he understood that the girl did not love him. And he wanted to promise himself to forget about her, but still love won, and he began to think about how he could continue to woo the girl.

Meanwhile, in Solokha’s house, the devil wanted to set a condition for the witch to please her. And that if she does not agree to satisfy his passions and, as usual, reward him, then he is ready for anything, will throw himself into the water, and send his soul straight to hell.

Solokha wanted to spend this evening alone, but a sudden knock on the door alarmed both her and the devil with his plans. He knocked his head, shouted, open it. Solokha hid the devil in a bag, and she opened it for the man and gave him a glass of vodka to drink. He said that because of the snowstorm he did not go to the clerk. And seeing her light in the window, he decided to spend the evening with Solokha. But, before he had time to finish this, they began to knock on the door again, this time it was the clerk himself, who, due to the blizzard, had lost all his guests, but he was glad, because he wanted to spend the evening with her. The head, meanwhile, also hid in a sack of coal. He began to touch his hand, then the witch’s neck, and who knows what he would touch next time, when there was a knock again. It was the Cossack Chub. The clerk also ended up in the bag. Chub came in, also drank a glass of vodka, and began joking about whether Solokha had any men. In this way she consoles her pride, since she thinks that he is the only one she has. And then they knock again, this time it was the witch’s son - the blacksmith Vakula. Solokha hastily seated Chub in the same bag where the clerk was already sitting. But he didn’t even make a sound when Chub placed his boots, cold from the frost, right at his temples. Vakula entered the house and sat down on the bench. There was a knock on the door again, this time it was the Cossack Sverbyguz. But the bag was no longer there, and so Solokha took him out into the garden to ask what he wanted.

Vakula sits and wonders why he needs Oksana. He sees the bags and decides that he needs to bring himself to his senses, since he has completely neglected everything with his love. He decides to take these bags outside. He threw them over his shoulder, although it was hard, he endured it. There was noise in the yard. There was a lot of caroling there. Fun all around. Suddenly Vakula hears Oksana’s voice and, throwing the bags, all except one, the one with the devil in him, he goes towards her voice. She talks to some guy and laughs. When Vakula approached her, she began to say that he had a very small bag and began to laugh about little slippers and the wedding. The guy's patience ran out and he decided to drown himself. And then, he approached the girl and said “goodbye” to her; before she had time to answer, he left. The boys shouted after him, but he said that perhaps they would see each other in the next world, but there was nothing for him to do in this world. And the grandmothers immediately began to mutter that the blacksmith had hanged himself.

Vakula walked without realizing it. Then, having come to his senses a little, he decided to seek help from a healer - pot-bellied Patsyuk. When he went into his house, he saw that he was eating dumplings without using his hands, he simply took them out of the plate with his mouth. Vakula began asking what to do and how to find the devil. He replied that everyone knows who has the devil behind him. Afterwards, this Patsyuk continued to eat dumplings, which flew off the plate on their own, dipped in sour cream, and just as independently flew into his mouth. Vakula came out, and the devil came out of the bag. He thought that Vakula was now in his hands. He began to say that he would do everything that the guy needed, but he needed to sign a contract. However, the blacksmith was not stupid. He grabbed the devil by the tail, threatened him with a cross, and after that the devil became very obedient. Then the blacksmith climbed onto his back and told him to fly to St. Petersburg to the queen, and felt himself take off. Meanwhile, Oksana was walking with her friends and thinking that she was too strict with Vakula. The girl is sure that he would not exchange such a beauty for anyone. She decides that the next time he comes, she will let herself be kissed, as if reluctantly.

They go and see the bags left by Vakula. They think that they contain a lot of sausage and meat, although they contain the head, clerk and Chub. They decide to go get a sled and bring the bags to Oksana’s house. However, while they were going to get the sled, godfather Chuba came out of the tavern. I saw the bags and wanted to take one, which contained a clerk and a forelock. But the sack was heavy, so when the godfather met Tkach, he asked him to help him carry the sacks home, in return he divided them in half. He agreed. When they went to their godfather’s house, they were afraid to find his wife. Since she constantly took away everything that she and her husband had acquired. And she was still at home. The three people got into a fight over the bag. And the godfather’s wife won, using a poker. And when the godfather and the Tkach wanted to try to take the loot again, the forelock came out of the bag, followed by the clerk. Chub realized that the other bags also contained men who came to Solokha. And this made him upset, because he thought that he was the only one.

Meanwhile, the girls ran up to the sacks with the sled, but there was only one there. They took him, the head that was sitting in him decided to endure everything, just so as not to be left on the street. The bag was dragged into the house, but the man began to hiccup and cough. The girls were scared, but Chub just arrived, took his head out of the bag, and realized that Solokha had it too.

While Vakula was flying astride the line, he was both scared and surprised. He periodically frightened him with a cross. When they arrived in St. Petersburg, the devil turned into a horse. There he met familiar Cossacks who were just heading to the queen, and Vakula then asked them to take him with them. They agreed. They got into the carriage and rushed off.

IN royal palace everything was very beautiful. Vakula walked and at the same time looked at everything he saw. Finally, having passed through numerous halls, they found themselves at the princess's hall. Potemkin came out and told the Cossacks to speak as he taught them. Suddenly everyone suddenly fell to the floor. A woman’s voice several times ordered them to get up, but they continued to lie on the floor, saying that they would not get up and addressing her as “mom.” It was Tsarina Catherine. She began to ask the Cossacks about life and soon asked what they wanted. And then Vakula plucked up courage and asked where he could find such slippers for his woman. The queen ordered her servants to bring the most beautiful slippers with gold. They wanted to reason with her, but she did not change her decision. When they were brought, Vakula made a very beautiful compliment to the queen. Calling her legs “made of real sugar.” And then he whispered to the devil in his pocket to take it away and then find himself behind the barrier.

On Dikanka, meanwhile, they were arguing whether Vakula had hanged himself or drowned himself. All this pandemonium, quarrels, and therefore rumors about the death of the blacksmith greatly upset Oksana. She cannot sleep and realizes that she has fallen in love with a guy. And when she doesn’t see him at the church service, she completely loses heart.

Vakula rode very quickly across the line. He found himself near his house. The devil wanted to leave, but Vakula took the whip and hit the villain a couple of times, who himself wanted to teach the blacksmith a lesson, and in the end he himself was fooled. The guy entered the house, but Solokha was not there. He went to bed and slept until lunchtime. He was upset because he was not present at the service. I thought that the Almighty punished him in this way because Vakula got involved with the devil. The guy promised that he would atone for this sin for a whole year. Then he dressed in his best. He took the belt and hat, and, of course, the slippers, and went to the forelock. Chub did not expect to see him. Vakula fell in front of his feet and began to ask for forgiveness for everything, said that he should hit him, which the forelock did not do too much, but three times. Vakula gave him a belt and a hat as a gift. The blacksmith then asked for his daughter's hand in marriage. He, remembering the unfaithful Solokha, agreed and told him to call the matchmakers.

This story is included in the series of stories “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, recorded and retold by the hospitable beekeeper Rudy Panko. Its very summary necessary for the student, because Ukrainian folklore is difficult to understand, and it would not hurt to further clarify the main events of the work. in order to understand and remember the plot.

(275 words) On Christmas night, when the month has just risen in the sky, and young people are gathering for carols, the devil steals the month from the sky. At the same time, the blacksmith Vakula comes to the daughter of the Cossack Chuba Oksana. She mocks the boy in love and says that she will marry him if only she gets little shoes like the queen herself.

The disgruntled boy goes home. And at home, Vakula’s mother, the witch Solokha, receives in turn the devil, the village head, the clerk, and then Oksana Chuba’s father. Having scared his head, the devil climbs into one of the bags on the floor of the hut. The head is hidden in the same bag when the clerk arrives. The clerk also soon finds himself in the bag because of Chub. And with the arrival of Vakula, Chub also gets into the bag. Vakula takes the bags out of the hut, not noticing their heaviness, but when he meets Oksana with a crowd of carolers, he throws everything away except the lightest. He runs to Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, according to rumors, is akin to the devil. Having achieved nothing from Patsyuk, the unfortunate blacksmith again finds himself on the street, and then the devil jumps out of the bag at him. Having crossed him, Vakula orders the evil spirits to take him to the Empress in St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, Chub, the clerk and the head are selected from the bags.

Vakula, finding himself in St. Petersburg, persuades the Zaporozhye Cossacks to take him with them to a reception at the Tsarina’s palace. There he asks Catherine for her royal shoes, and having received them, he quickly goes home.

There were already rumors on the farm that Vakula had committed suicide out of grief and insanity. Oksana finds out about this, cannot sleep all night, and not seeing the always devout blacksmith in church in the morning, she realizes that she loves him.

Vakula overslept from fatigue church service, and when he wakes up, he goes to woo Oksana with the little shoes. Chub gives his consent, as does his daughter, who no longer needs any shoes.

Review: Like all of Gogol’s works, “The Night Before Christmas” is not without mystical themes. Love, which is sometimes helped or hindered by evil spirits, remains the main theme of almost every story in this cycle. And all this against the background of the life of a Ukrainian farm, with priceless flavor. And to more accurately convey the picture, use truly Gogolian vocabulary, using “speaking” surnames and folk colloquial speech.

The Night Before Christmas - a story by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, written in 1830 - 1832.

The witch flies out on a broom and collects stars in her sleeve. The devil in the sky hides the moon in his pocket. She's hot and he can't do it. Finally there is complete darkness. He steals so that the father of the girl Chub does not go to the clerk in the dark, and Vakula cannot come to his daughter Oksana.

The devil takes revenge on the blacksmith for painting a picture of the expulsion of Satan from hell in his forge. Vakula loves the local beauty Oksana very much. He was about to have a serious conversation with her. But, despite the abduction of the night luminary, Chub goes to visit the clerk.

The witch and the devil go down the chimney into her hut. The witch is Solokha, the mother of the blacksmith Vakula. It must be said that Solokha had such an ability to charm men that many Cossacks from the village came to see her. And none of them even suspected that he was not alone, there were rivals. Of all of them, she singled out the rich Chub.

Oksana looks in the mirror and admires herself. Vakula comes and confesses his love to the girl. She laughs at him. Suddenly someone knocks on the house. An angry Vakula jumps out of the hut, threatening to deal with uninvited guest. It was Chub, the owner of the hut, who returned.

It's all because of the treacherous devil. He created a whole snowstorm along the way of Oksana’s father and he returned home. Because of the snowstorm, the Cossack even doubts that this is his home. Vokula also doesn’t quite see who is in front of him. He rewards Chub with two fists. Thinking that he really made a mistake and went into the wrong hut, Chub goes to Solokha to spend the rest of the night.

Solokha and the devil have mercy and the month jumps out of his pocket and returns to heaven. It becomes light again and all the young people go out to carol. Oksana sees one of her friends has very beautiful shoes and sighs and says that she won’t be able to get a new thing. Vkula volunteers to find beautiful boots for the girl. Oksana jokingly asks the blacksmith for slippers like the queen's and promises to marry him.

There's a knock on the door of Solokha's hut. She pushes the devil into the bag. Another admirer arrives - the village head. All he had time to say was that the snowstorm did not allow him to go to the clerk to drink some vodka. Soon there is a knock on the door again. The resourceful woman hides the guest in another bag. This time the clerk came - Osip Nikiforovich. Soon the clerk also finds himself in the bag, as Chub arrived and was beaten by Vakula.

Solokha's son returns. Chub climbs into the clerk's bag. Vakula looks around and sees that a lot of garbage has accumulated in the house. He picks up all the bags at once and leaves with them. On the way he meets boys and girls who continue to sing carols. Oksana mockingly reminds me about the slippers. Vakula threatens suicide and, abandoning his heavy burden, he runs away with one bag.

The blacksmith goes to the Cossack Patsuk, who knows evil spirits, for advice. At this time, Patsuk eats dumplings, and they themselves end up in his mouth. And to the blacksmith’s question about the assistance of evil spirits to bewitch Oksana, Patsuk replies that the devil is already behind him. And indeed! The devil ends up in that bag that Vakula has behind his back. The blacksmith forces the devil to lead him to St. Petersburg, to the queen.

Meanwhile, in Dikanka, Solokha’s “friends” are being released from the bags. All this is accompanied by jokes. Vakula approaches the capital and goes to the Cossacks who have arrived for the reception. He asks to join them. The story describes all the splendor of the queen's palace. Vokula falls at the empress’s feet and asks for her boots for Oksana. The queen gives him little slippers. Having taken them, the boy hurries to Oksana, sitting astride the devil.

Meanwhile, the girl managed to regret her words. The village is buzzing that the blacksmith either failed or drowned. Vakula goes to Oksana with a gift from the queen. She agrees to become his wife.

As part of the project "Gogol. 200 Years", RIA Novosti presents a summary of the work "The Night Before Christmas" by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - the story that opens the second part of the series "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" and is one of the most famous in the cycle.

The last day before Christmas is replaced by a clear, frosty night. The girls and boys had not yet come out to carol, and no one saw how smoke came out of the chimney of one hut and a witch rose on a broom. She flashes like a black speck in the sky, gathering stars into her sleeve, and the devil flies towards her, for whom “the last night was left to wander around the white world.” Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket, assuming that the coming darkness will keep the rich Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk for a feast, at home, and the blacksmith Vakula, hated by the devil (who painted a picture of the Last Judgment and the shamed devil on the church wall) will not dare to come to Chubova’s daughter Oksana . While the devil is building chickens for the witch, Chub and his godfather, who came out of the hut, do not decide whether to go to the sexton, where a pleasant company will gather over the varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, to return home - and they leave, leaving the beautiful Oksana in the house, who was dressing up in front of the mirror, for which and Vakula finds her.

The stern beauty mocks him, not at all moved by his gentle speeches. The disgruntled blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has lost his way and lost his godfather, knocks, having decided on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil to return home. However, the blacksmith’s voice makes him think that he was not in his own hut (but in a similar one, the lame Levchenko, to whose young wife the blacksmith probably came). Chub changes his voice, and the angry Vakula, jabbing him, kicks him out. The beaten Chub, having realized that the blacksmith has therefore left his own home, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, who was a witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew with her, dropping a month in the chimney.

It became light, the snowstorm subsided, and crowds of carolers poured into the streets. The girls come running to Oksana, and, noticing on one of them new slippers embroidered with gold, Oksana declares that she will marry Vakula if he brings her the slippers “that the queen wears.”

Meanwhile, the devil, who had relaxed at Solokha’s, is scared away by his head, who did not go to the clerk for the feast. The devil quickly climbs into one of the bags left among the hut by the blacksmith, but soon his head has to climb into another, since the clerk is knocking on Solokha’s door. Praising the virtues of the incomparable Solokha, the clerk is forced to climb into the third bag, since Chub appears. However, Chub also climbs into the same place, avoiding meeting with the returning Vakula. While Solokha is talking in the garden with the Cossack Sverbyguz, who has come after him, Vakula takes away the bags thrown in the middle of the hut, and, saddened by the quarrel with Oksana, does not notice their weight. On the street he is surrounded by a crowd of carolers, and here Oksana repeats her mocking condition. Having thrown all but the smallest bags in the middle of the road, Vakula runs, and rumors are already creeping behind him that he was either mentally damaged or hanged himself.

Vakula comes to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, as they say, is “a little like the devil.” Having caught the owner eating dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves climbed into Patsyuk’s mouth, Vakula timidly asks the way to hell, relying on his help in his misfortune. Having received a vague answer that the devil is behind him, Vakula runs away from the savory dumplings falling into his mouth. Anticipating easy prey, the devil jumps out of the bag and, sitting on the blacksmith’s neck, promises him Oksana that same night. The cunning blacksmith, having grabbed the devil by the tail and crossed him, becomes the master of the situation and orders the devil to take himself “to Petemburg, straight to the queen.”

Having found Kuznetsov’s bags at that time, the girls want to take them to Oksana to see what Vakula caroled. They go for the sled, and Chubov’s godfather, calling a weaver to help, drags one of the sacks into his hut. There, a fight ensues with the godfather's wife over the unclear but tempting contents of the bag. Chub and the clerk find themselves in the bag. When Chub, returning home, finds a head in the second bag, his disposition towards Solokha greatly decreases.

The blacksmith, having galloped to St. Petersburg, appears to the Cossacks who were passing through Dikanka in the fall, and, holding the devil in his pocket, tries to be taken to see the queen. Marveling at the luxury of the palace and the wonderful paintings on the walls, the blacksmith finds himself in front of the queen, and when she asks the Cossacks, who came to ask for their Sich, “what do you want?”, the blacksmith asks her for her royal shoes. Touched by such innocence, Catherine draws attention to this passage of Fonvizin standing at a distance, and gives Vakula shoes, having received which he considers it a blessing to go home.

In the village at this time, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about exactly how Vakula committed suicide, and the rumors that have reached about this confuse Oksana, she does not sleep well at night, and not finding the devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith simply slept through matins and mass, and upon awakening, he takes a new hat and belt out of the chest and goes to Chub to woo him. Chub, stung by Solokha’s treachery, but seduced by the gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered and is ready to marry the blacksmith “without slippers.” Having started a family, Vakula painted his hut with paints, and painted a devil in the church, and “so disgusting that everyone spat when they passed by.”

Material provided by the internet portal briefly.ru, compiled by E. V. Kharitonova