Muffin and spider
One day Mafin went to the garden to look at his vegetable beds. Behind a greenhouse frame with cucumbers, he suddenly came across a huge spider with big sad eyes. Mafin had no idea that such monsters existed in the world. For some reason he suddenly wanted to run away. But the spider looked so sad, and such huge tears appeared in his eyes, that the donkey could not leave him.
- What happened to you? - he asked timidly.
- The same as always! — the spider grumbled darkly in response. - Things are always bad for me. I am so huge, ugly and scary that, as soon as they see me, everyone runs away without looking back. And I am left alone, offended for no reason and terribly unhappy.
- Oh, don't be upset! - said Mafin. - You are not so scary at all... That is, I want to say that, of course, you cannot be called handsome... but... Hm... Uh-uh... In any case, I didn’t run away from you, did I? “He finally managed to find the right words.
“True,” answered the spider. “But I still can’t understand why.” All the same, of course, you will never come to see me again.
- Nonsense! - exclaimed Mafin. - I'll definitely come. And not only that, I’ll invite you to my place and show you to all my friends. They won't run away from you either.
- Will you really do this? - asked the spider. — I would really like to make as many friends as possible. I am very sociable and kind. Your friends will like me, you'll see, just let them get to know me better.
“Come to my barn in ten minutes, I’ll call them all!” - said Mafin and quickly ran home.
To tell the truth, he still doubted his friends a little, but he never wanted to show this to the spider.
Mafin was the first to see Peter's puppy. The puppy was lying on the wet grass, all four paws raised up.
“Get up, Peter,” Mafin ordered, “and run to the barn.” We have a very important meeting in ten minutes.
And the donkey ran on. He stuck his head out the kitchen window, where Poppy the parrot was basking in her warm corner behind the fireplace.
“Please, Poppy, be so kind as to fly to the barn for the meeting—we can’t do it without you.”
Poppy screamed and reached for her shawl. Mafin realized that she agreed and ran away.
Sally the seal was splashing in the pond, as usual. Mafin invited her too. In the pit where people took sand to sprinkle the paths, two inseparable friends were busy: Oswald the ostrich and Willie the worm. When they heard about the meeting, they became very excited and immediately went to the barn. Louise the sheep was in the garden making a garland of daisies. As soon as the donkey mentioned the meeting, she flew as fast as she could to the barn: she really liked to please Mafin. Kangaroo Katie sat in a wicker chair under an apple tree and knitted. Abandoning her work, Katie galloped after Louise.
Running up to Peregrine the penguin's hut, Muffin knocked.
- Come in! - said the penguin.
The donkey opened the door slightly and, sticking his head through the crack, said politely:
- Please, Mr. Peregrine, be so kind as to come with me to the barn - we have a very important meeting there.
Peregrine simply doted on meetings. He had absolutely no intention of refusing Mafin. But the penguin never agreed right away. He really liked to be persuaded and begged. So now he muttered dryly: “Busy,” and buried his face in his book.
- Oh, Mr. Peregrine, will you really refuse us? We ask you so! - Mafin begged. Remembering that the penguin loves honor, he added: “We will seat you in a chair.”
Penguin raised his head.
- Which chair? - he asked.
- There is only one chair there, and you will sit in it.
Peregrine stood up, put a fish bone in the book instead of a bookmark, and hurried to the meeting. Mafin ran after him.
Grace the giraffe poked her head out from behind a bed of climbing beans.
- What's happened? she asked. - Why is everyone in a hurry? And Peter, and Poppy, and Sally, and Oswald, and Willie, and Katie, and Louise, and you and Mr. Peregrine. I want to go with you too, is it possible?
Muffin hesitated. “What if the giraffe can’t make friends with the spider?” But it was impossible to offend Grace, and he replied:
- Okay, let's go. We rush to the barn for a very important meeting. Just don’t try to stretch your neck, otherwise last time you broke the roof with your head. Now when it rains, it pours there like that.
At the barn all the friends were already waiting for Mafin. But the donkey did not let them in right away. He first took care of Peregrine's chair. The fact is that this single chair only had three legs. The fourth was broken, and a flower pot had to be substituted in its place. Mafin then invited his friends to enter.
- Make yourself comfortable! - he said. The noise was terrible. Everyone fussed, shouted, bumped into each other and finally sat down. Muffin stood at the door.
“Listen to me carefully,” he began loudly and clearly. - You will now meet my new friend. This is a huge spider... What's wrong with you? In places! - he shouted, because his friends jumped up in horror and rushed to the exit. - I still won’t let anyone out! - the donkey added fiercely.
The animals somehow calmed down, and Mafin continued:
“My new friend is very, very unhappy.” He has neither relatives nor acquaintances in the whole wide world! There is no one to caress and console him. Everyone is afraid to even approach him. Just think how painful and offensive it is for him!
Mafin talked so touchingly about the spider that everyone felt terribly sorry for the poor fellow. Many began to cry, Louisa and Katie began to sob loudly, and even Peregrine began to sob. At that moment, a timid knock was heard on the door, and a terrible spider entered the barn. How could the poor animals not be scared? However, they all smiled affably and began vying with each other:
- Come in, don't be afraid!
- We are so glad to see you!
- Welcome!
And then a miracle happened. The scary spider disappeared, and in its place a lovely tiny fairy appeared.
“Thank you, Mafin,” she said. - Thank you and your friends very much. Many years ago, an evil witch turned me into an ugly spider. And I had to remain a monster until someone took pity on me. If it weren’t for you, I would have suffered for a long time. And now goodbye! I'm flying to Fairyland.
She took off and flew out the open window. The animals were completely confused! They simply couldn't say a word.
The little fairy disappeared forever, but it seemed to Mafin that she remembered them, because since then miracles began to happen in their garden: flowers bloomed earlier than in other gardens, apples became rosy and sweeter, and bird feathers and butterfly wings sparkled with colorful colors.
And as soon as a spider wandered into the garden, everyone ran warmly towards it. After all, you never know who could be hiding under an ugly appearance!
The fairy tale "Muffin and the Spider" by the English writer Anne Hogarth.
One day Mafin went to the garden to look at his vegetable beds. Behind a greenhouse frame with cucumbers, he suddenly came across a huge spider with big sad eyes. Mafin had no idea that such monsters existed in the world. For some reason he suddenly wanted to run away. But the spider looked so sad, and such huge tears appeared in his eyes, that the donkey could not leave him.
– What happened to you? - he asked, - The same as always! - the spider grumbled gloomily in response. “Everything is always bad with me. I am so huge, ugly and scary that, as soon as they see me, everyone runs away without looking back.” And I am left alone, offended for no reason and terribly unhappy.
- Oh, don't be upset! - said Mafin. - You are not so scary at all... That is, I want to say that, of course, you cannot be called handsome... But... Hm... Uh-uh... In any case, I didn’t run away from you, did I? “He finally managed to find the right words.
“True,” answered the spider. “But I still can’t understand why.” All the same, of course, you will never come to see me again.
- Nonsense! - exclaimed Mafin. - I'll definitely come. And not only that, I’ll invite you to my place and show you to all my friends. They won't run away from you either. - Will you really do this? - asked the spider. - I would really like to make as many acquaintances as possible. I am very sociable and kind. Your friends will like me, you'll see, just let them get to know me better.
– Come to my barn in about ten minutes, I’ll call them all,” Mafin said and quickly ran home.
To tell the truth, he still doubted his friends a little, but he never wanted to show this to the spider.
Mafin was the first to see Peter's puppy. The puppy was lying on the wet grass, all four paws raised up.
“Get up, Peter,” Mafin ordered, “and run to the barn.” We have a very important meeting in ten minutes.
And the donkey ran on. He stuck his head out the kitchen window, where Poppy the parrot was basking in her warm corner behind the fireplace.
“Please, Poppy, be so kind as to fly to the barn for the meeting—we can’t do it without you.”
Poppy screamed and reached for her shawl. Mafin realized that she agreed and ran away. Sally the seal was splashing in the pond, as usual. Mafin invited her too. In the pit from which people took sand to sprinkle the paths, two inseparable friends were busy: Oswald the ostrich and Willie the worm. When they heard about the meeting, they became very excited and immediately went to the barn. Louise the sheep was in the garden making a garland of daisies. As soon as the donkey mentioned the meeting, she flew as fast as she could to the barn: she really liked to please Mafin. Kangaroo Katie sat in a wicker chair under an apple tree and knitted. Abandoning her work, Katie galloped after Louise.
Running up to Peregrine the penguin's hut, Muffin knocked. Sign in! - said the penguin. The donkey opened the door slightly and, sticking his head into the target, politely said:
– Please, Mr. Peregrine, be so kind as to come with me to the barn - we have a very important meeting there. Peregrine simply doted on meetings. He had absolutely no intention of refusing Mafin. But the penguin never agreed right away. He really liked to be persuaded and begged. And now he muttered dryly: “Busy,” and buried his face in the book.
– Oh, Mr. Peregrine, will you really refuse us? We ask you so! - Mafin begged. Remembering that the penguin loves honor, he added, “We will seat you in a chair.”
Penguin raised his head.
- Which chair? he asked.
- There is only one chair there, and you will sit in it. Peregrine stood up, put a fish bone in the book instead of a bookmark, and hurried to the meeting. Mafin ran after him.
Grace the giraffe poked her head out from behind a bed of climbing beans.
- What's happened? she asked. “Why is everyone in a hurry?” And Peter, and Poppy, and Sally, and Oswald and Willie, and Katie, and Louise, and you and Mr. Peregrine. I want to go with you too, is it possible? Muffin hesitated. (What if the giraffe can’t make friends with the spider?) But it was impossible to offend Grace, and he replied:
- Okay, let's go. We rush to the barn for a very important meeting. Just don’t try to stretch your neck, otherwise last time you broke the roof with your head. Now when it rains, it pours there like that.
At the barn all the friends were already waiting for Mafin. But the donkey did not let them in right away. He first took care of Peregrine's chair. the fact is that this single chair only had three legs. The fourth was broken, and a flower pot had to be substituted in its place. Mafin then invited his friends to enter.
– Make yourself comfortable!” he said. The noise was terrible. Everyone fussed, shouted, bumped into each other and finally sat down. Muffin stood at the door.
“Listen to me carefully,” he began loudly and clearly. “You will now meet my new friend.” This is a huge spider. What's wrong with you? In places! - he shouted, because his friends jumped up in horror and rushed to the exit. - I still won’t let anyone out! the donkey added fiercely.
The animals somehow calmed down, and Mafin continued:
“My new friend is very, very unhappy.”
He has neither relatives nor acquaintances in the whole wide world. There is no one to caress and console him. Everyone is afraid to even approach Him. Just think how painful and offensive it is for him!
Mafin talked so touchingly about the spider that everyone felt terribly sorry for the poor fellow. Many began to cry, Louise and Katie began to sob loudly, and even Peregrine began to sob. At that moment, a timid knock was heard on the door, and a terrible spider entered the barn. How could the poor animals not be scared? However, they all smiled affably and began vying with each other:
– Come in, don't be afraid!
– We are so glad to see you!
– Welcome!
And then a miracle happened. The scary spider disappeared, and in its place a lovely tiny fairy appeared.
– “Thank you, Mafin,” she said, “Thank you very much to you and your friends.” Many years ago, an evil witch turned me into an ugly Spider. And I had to remain a monster until someone took pity on me. If it weren’t for you, I would have suffered for a long time. And now goodbye, I'm flying to the Magical Land of Fairies.
She took off and flew out the open window. The animals were completely confused! They simply couldn't say a word.
The little fairy disappeared forever, but it seemed to Mafin that she remembered them, because since then miracles began to happen in their garden: flowers bloomed earlier than in other gardens, apples became rosy and sweeter, and bird feathers and butterfly wings sparkled with colorful colors. And as soon as a spider wandered into the garden, everyone ran warmly towards it. After all, you never know who could be hiding under an ugly appearance!
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