The epic “Sadko” is one of the pearls of Russian folk epics of the Novgorod cycle. Her main theme is a colorful description of the trading merchant life of Novgorod and the fantastic wanderings of a merchant guslar through the depths of the sea.
Story
According to historians, the first basis ancient epic There was a song about Sadko about a Novgorod merchant whose name was Sodko Sotynets. He was mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle of 1167 as the builder of the Boris and Gleb Church in Novgorod. It is noteworthy that the prototypes of the main characters - Sadko the Guslar and the Sea King - are found in the epic narratives of different peoples - Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Kyrgyz and Old French tales.
Analysis
Description of the work
The action takes place in a rich and prosperous Novgorod. The young guslar singer Sadko pleases numerous Novgorod merchants with his sweet-voiced singing. At one of the feasts, realizing that no one is listening to him, the saddened singer goes to the shore of Lake Ilmen. Having poured out his soul in a beautiful, but at the same time filled with sadness song, Sadko excited with his singing the king of the sea, who thanked the guslar with the opportunity to gain wealth. Having won an argument with three merchants that there are fish with golden feathers in Lake Ilmen, Sadko becomes a rich man and over the course of twelve years increases his property many times over.
One day, Sadko the merchant sets out on a long trading journey, loading thirty ships with untold riches. A sudden strong storm forces Sadko to try to appease the king of the sea, but the lot shows that the ruler of the sea does not need wealth, he needs a sweet-voiced psaltery singer. Sadko pleased the tsar and his entire retinue with his play from morning to evening; he was promised untold riches, but dreams of his beloved Novgorod turned out to be stronger than the devilish temptation of the underwater world. Thanks to his love for the sea beauty Chernavushka and the help of the famous saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (Mozhaisky), Sadko returns to his hometown, throws a feast and builds a church in the name of the saint who saved him.
Main characters
A talented young guslar singer. He sacrifices himself during a storm, thereby saving the lives of his squad. In this act, the Christian spirit of the hero is manifested, along with high morality and patriotism.
The image of the ruler of the seas is very ambiguous; it combines both power and destructive force, and love for the talent of the guslar singer Sadko. This character acts first as a benefactor, and over time as an enslaver of the singer, while he does not understand that for Sadko earthly life in hometown there is nothing.
Structure of the work
The plot and compositional structure of the epic includes three self-sufficient parts. According to Belinsky, the work clearly expresses a dramatic conflict of a historical nature. The uniqueness of the work is the combination of three epics from different times of writing, starting from the early pagan (the image of the good sea king) and ending with the Christian (the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker). Also unusual is the choice of the main character - not an epic hero, but a poor talented guslar singer.
Final conclusion
The epic “Sadko” is a unique monument of Russian culture, which expresses the entire historical and patriotic essence of the image of a wandering guslar singer who defeated both merchants and the seductive temptations of fantastic underwater life. The holiness of the image of his native Novgorod is what turns out to be above all for Sadko, a patriot and Christian. The epic is of particular historical value - it shows with great truthfulness the everyday life of Novgorodians in all its manifestations.
In the glorious Nove Grad
Like Sadko the merchant, a rich guest.
And before Sadok had no property:
Some were vernal goslings;
Sadko walked and played at the feasts.
Sadka day is not invited to a feast of honors,
Sadko missed that.
Sat on a white-flammable stone
This is where Sadko got into a fight,
The other is not invited to the honorable feast
And the third is not invited to the honorable feast,
Sadko missed that.
How Sadko went to Lake Ilmen,
Sat on a white-flammable stone
And he began to play spring goosebumps.
How the water in the lake began to shake,
This is where Sadko got into a fight,
He went away from the lake to his home in Novgorod.
Sadka is not invited to an honorable feast on the day,
The other is not invited to the honorable feast
And the third is not invited to the honorable feast,
Sadko missed that.
How Sadko went to Lake Ilmen,
Sat on a white-flammable stone
And he began to play spring goosebumps.
How the water in the lake began to shake,
The king of the sea appeared,
I left Ilmeni from the lake,
He himself said these words:
- Oh, you, Sadho Novgorod!
I don’t know how to greet you
For your joys, for the great ones,
For your gentle game:
Al countless golden treasury?
Otherwise, go to Novgorod
And hit the great mortgage,
Lay down your violent head
And unload from other merchants
Red goods shops
And bet that in Ilmen Lake
There are fish - golden feathers.
When you hit a great mortgage,
And go tie the silk net
And come fishing in Lake Ilmen:
I'll give you three fish - gold feathers.
Then you, Sadko, will be happy!
Sadko went from Ilmen to the lake,
How Sadko came to his home in Novgorod,
They invited Sadok to an honorable feast.
How is Sadko Novgorodsky
He began to play spring goosebumps;
How did they start giving Sadka water?
They began to nurse Sadka,
That’s when Sadko began to boast:
As I know the miracle-wonderful thing in Lake Ilmen:
And there are fish - golden feathers in Lake Ilmen!
How are the Novgorod merchants doing?
These are the words they say to him:
- You don’t know a miracle, a miracle,
There cannot be fish in Lake Ilmen - gold feathers.
- Oh, you, Novgorod merchants!
What are you betting on me about?
Let's hit the big bet:
I'll lay my head down
And you set up shops selling red goods.
The three merchants threw themselves out,
They laid out three shops of red goods,
How did they tie a silk seine?
And we went fishing to Lake Ilmen.
They threw the thin one into Lake Ilmen,
We got a fish - golden feathers;
They threw another thin one into Lake Ilmen,
We got another fish - golden feathers;
The third one was thrown into Lake Ilmen,
We got the third fish - golden feathers.
Novgorod merchants are here
They gave away three shops of red goods.
Sadko began to trade,
I began to make great profits.
In their white stone chambers
Sadko arranged everything like heaven:
There is sun in the sky - and there is sun in the chambers,
There is a month in the sky and a month in the chambers,
There are stars in the sky and stars in the chambers.
Then Sadko the merchant, a rich guest,
Invited to his place for an honorable feast
Those men of Novgorod
And these abbots of Novgorod:
Foma Nazaryev and Luka Zinoviev.
Everyone ate their fill at the feast,
Everyone got drunk at the feast,
Everyone boasted with praises.
Another boasts of countless golden treasuries,
Another boasts of his valiant strength and luck,
Who boasts of a good horse,
Who boasts of a glorious middle name.
Glorious patronymic, young youth,
The smart one brags about the old priest,
The madman brags about his young wife.
The Novgorod abbots say:
- We all ate our fill at the feast,
Everyone got really drunk,
Everyone boasted with praises.
Why doesn’t Sadko boast of anything?
Why doesn’t Sadko boast of anything?
- What should I, Sadku, brag about?
What should I, Sadku, boast about?
Isn’t my treasury running low on gold?
I can't wear a colored dress,
The horobra squad does not change.
And to boast is not to boast of a countless golden treasury:
I will buy goods from Novgorod,
Bad goods and good ones!
Before he could utter a word,
As abbots of Novgorod
They hit a great bet,
About the countless golden treasury,
About thirty thousand money:
How to buy Sadka goods from Novgorod,
Bad goods and good ones,
So that there would be no more goods for sale in Nove Grad.
Sadko became very early the next day,
I woke up my squad Khorobraya,
Without an account he gave the golden treasury
And he himself went straight to the living room row,
How I bought Novgorod goods,
Bad goods and good ones,
The next day Sadko stood up very early,
I woke up my good squad,
Without an account he gave the golden treasury
And he dispersed his squad through the shopping streets,
Twice the goods were brought,
Twice full of goods
To the glory of the Great Novgorod.
Again I bought goods from Novgorod,
Bad goods and good ones,
To your countless gold treasury.
On the third day Sadko stood up very early,
I woke up my good squad,
Without an account he gave the golden treasury
And he dispersed his squad through the shopping streets,
And he himself walked straight into the living room:
Triple the goods were brought,
Three times full of goods,
Moscow goods arrived in time
To thuja to the great glory of Novgorod.
As Sadko thought about it:
"You can't buy goods from all over the world:
I will also buy Moscow goods,
Overseas goods will arrive in time.
It’s not me, apparently, the merchant is rich from Novgorod -
Glorious Novgorod is richer than me."
He gave it to the abbots of Novgorod
He has thirty thousand money.
To your countless gold treasury
Sadko built thirty ships,
Thirty ships, thirty blackened ones;
On those on the ships on the blackened ones
He dumped Novgorod goods,
Sadko went along Volkhov,
From Volkhov to Ladoga,
And from Ladozhsk to the Neva River,
And from the Neva River into the blue sea.
How he rode across the blue sea,
He turned to the Golden Horde,
Sold Novgorod goods,
I made great profits
He poured forty barrels of red gold, pure silver,
I went back to Novgorod,
He rode across the blue sea.
The weather was strong on the blue sea,
The blackened ships stagnated on the blue sea:
Breaks blackened boats;
Says Sadko the merchant, a rich guest,
To your squad, to the good ones:
- Oh, you good friend!
How we traveled by sea for centuries,
But they did not pay tribute to the sea king:
Apparently, the king of the sea demands tribute from us,
Demands tribute in the blue sea.
Hey, brothers, good squad!
Take a forty-barrel of pure silver,
Release the barrel into the blue sea, -
His squad is good
She took a barrel of pure silver,
She lowered the barrel into the blue sea;
And the wave hits, tears the sails,
Breaks blackened boats,
And the ships are not moving from their place on the blue sea.
His squad is good here
I took a barrel of forty red gold,
Lowered the barrel into the blue sea:
And the wave hits, tears the sails,
Breaks blackened boats,
And the ships are still moving from their place on the blue sea.
Says Sadko the merchant, a rich guest:
- Apparently, the king of the sea demands
A living head in the blue sea.
Make, brothers, draw lots for Volzhan,
I'll do it myself on red on gold,
Everyone sign your names,
Cast lots on the blue sea:
Whose lot will go down?
For such a person to go into the blue sea.
The Volzhans drew lots,
And Sadko himself did it on red on gold,
Everyone signed their name
They cast lots on the blue sea.
Like the whole squad is good
Lots float on the water like gogol,
Says Sadko the merchant, a rich guest:
This lot is incorrect:
Draw lots for red on gold,
And I’ll draw Volzhan’s lot.
They drew lots for red and gold,
And Sadko himself made the Volzhan draw.
Everyone signed their name
They cast lots on the blue sea:
Like the whole squad is good
Lots float through the water like gogol,
And Sadok the merchant has the key to the bottom.
Says Sadko the merchant, a rich guest:
- Hey brothers, good squad!
Apparently, the king of the sea demands
The rich Sadok himself in the blue sea.
Bring my imposing inkpot,
Swan feather, stamp paper.
They brought him an imposing ink bottle,
A swan feather, a sheet of stamp paper,
He began to write to the estate owner:
He assigned some property to God's churches,
Another property of the poor brethren,
Another name for the young wife,
The remaining estate of the good squad.
Said Sadko the merchant, a wealthy guest:
- Hey brothers, good squad!
Give me the spring goose,
I should play the rest:
I don’t want to play goose-bumps anymore.
Shall I take my harp with me into the blue sea?
He collects spring goosebumps,
He himself says these words:
- Drop the oak plank onto the water:
Even if I fall onto an oak board,
I'm not so afraid of accepting death in the blue sea.
They dumped an oak plank on the water,
Then the ships sailed across the blue sea,
They flew like black crows.
Sadko remained on the blue sea.
From the passions from the great
I fell asleep on an oak plank.
Sadko woke up in the blue sea,
In the blue sea at the very bottom,
Through the water I saw the red sun baking,
Evening dawn, morning dawn.
Saw Sadko: in the blue sea
There is a white stone chamber.
Sadko entered the white stone room:
The king of the sea sits in his chamber,
The king's head is like a hay heap.
The king says these words:
- Oh, you, Sadko the merchant, a rich guest!
For a century you, Sadko, traveled on the sea,
He did not pay tribute to me, the king,
And all the nons came to me as gifts.
They will say that he is a master of playing goose-bumpers;
Play me the spring goosebumps.
How Sadko began to play guselki yarovchaty,
How the king of the sea began to dance in the blue sea,
How the king of the sea danced.
Sadko played for 24 hours, others also played
Yes, Sadko and others also played -
And still the king of the sea dances in the blue sea.
In the blue sea the water shook,
The water became confused with yellow sand,
Many ships began to break on the blue sea,
Many property owners began to die,
Many righteous people began to drown.
How the people began to pray to Mikola Mozhaisky,
How Sadok was touched on the right shoulder:
- Oh, you, Sadko Novgorodsky!
Stop playing with the spring goose! -
He turned around and looked at Sadko Novgorodsky:
There's a gray-haired old man standing there.
Sadko Novgorodsky said:
- My will is not my own in the blue sea,
It was ordered to play yarovchaty guselki.
The old man says these words:
- And you rip out the strings,
And you break off the pins,
Say: “I didn’t have any strings,
And the pins weren’t useful,
There's nothing left to play
The spring goosenecks broke."
The king of the sea will tell you:
"Would you like to get married in the blue sea
On the darling on the red girl?"
Speak to him these words:
“I have no will of my own in the blue sea.”
The king of the sea will say again:
“Well, Sadko, get up early in the morning,
Choose a beautiful girl for yourself."
How do you choose a beautiful girl?
So let the first three hundred girls pass,
And let the other three hundred girls pass,
And let the third three hundred girls pass;
Behind is a beautiful girl,
Beautiful maiden Chernavushka,
Take Chernava to marry you...
You will be, Sadko, in Nove Grad.
And with my countless gold treasury
Build a cathedral church for Mikola Mozhaisky.
Sadko pulled out the strings in the goosenecks,
I broke off the pins in the spring ones.
The king of the sea says to him:
- Oh, you, Sadko Novgorod!
Why don’t you play yarovchaty guselki?
- The strings in my goosebumps were pulled out,
And the pegs in the spring ones broke off,
But there were no spare strings,
But the pins weren’t useful.
The king says these words:
- Would you like to get married in the blue sea?
On the darling of a red girl?-
Sadko Novgorodsky tells him:
“My will is not my own in the blue sea.”
oskazkah.ru - website
The king of the sea speaks again:
- Well, Sadko, get up early in the morning,
Choose a beautiful girl for yourself.
Sadko got up early in the morning,
Look: three hundred red girls are coming.
He missed the first three hundred girls,
And I missed another three hundred girls,
And he missed the third three hundred girls;
Behind was a beautiful girl,
Beautiful maiden Chernavushka,
He took this Chernava to marry him.
How was their meal? An honorable feast.
How Sadko went to bed on the first night,
How Sadko woke up in Nove Grad,
About the river Chernava on a steep ridge,
Whenever they look at it, they're already running
His blackened ships along the Volkhov
Sadok’s wife remembers him and his squad in the blue sea:
- Sadk will not be from the blue sea! -
And the squad remembers one Sadok:
And Sadko stands on a steep ridge,
Meets his squad from Volkhov
Here his squad was astonished:
- Sadko remained in the blue sea!
He found himself ahead of us in Nove Grad,
Meets the squad from Volkhov!
Sadko met a good squad
And he led me into the white stone chambers.
Here his wife rejoiced,
She took Sadka by the white hands,
Kissed me on the sugar lips.
Sadko began to unload from the blackened ships
The estate has a treasure trove of countless gold.
How he unloaded from the blackened ships,
He built a cathedral church for Mikola Mozhaisky.
Sadko no longer rode on the blue sea,
Sadko began to live in Nove Grad.
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There lived in rich Novgorod a good fellow named Sadko, and in the street he was nicknamed Sadko the Guslar. He lived as a bob, subsisting from bread to kvass - no yard, no cola, only a harp, ringing, spring-like, and the talent of a guslar-singer, which he inherited from his parents.
And his fame flowed like a river throughout Veliky Novgorod. It was not for nothing that Sadka was called to play at feasts and entertain guests in the golden-domed mansions of the boyars, and in the white-stone mansions of the merchants.
He will play, start a tune - all the noble boyars, all the first-class merchants listen to the guslar, they cannot hear enough. That's why he lived well because he went to feasts. But it turned out like this: for a day or two Sadok was not invited to the feast, and on the third day they were not invited, they were not called. It seemed bitter and offensive to him.
Sadko took his spring-necked caterpillars and went to Lake Ilmen. He sat down on the shore on a blue-flammable stone and struck the sonorous strings, starting to play an iridescent tune. I played on the shore from morning until evening. And at sunset, the red sun began to agitate Lake Ilmen.
A wave rose like a high mountain, water mixed with sand, and Vodyanoy himself, the owner of Lake Ilmen, came ashore. The guslar was taken aback. And Vodyanoy said these words:
- Thank you, Sadko-guslar of Novgorod! Today I had a banquet, a feast of honors. You made my guests happy and amused. And I want to congratulate you for that!
Tomorrow they will invite you to play the harp with a top-ranking merchant and entertain the famous Novgorod merchants. The merchants will drink and eat, they will boast, they will brag. One will boast of an innumerable gold treasury, another - of expensive goods from overseas, a third will boast of a good horse and a silk port. The smart one will boast about his father and mother, and the stupid one will boast about his young wife. Then eminent merchants will ask you what you, Sadko, could boast about, boast about. And I will teach you how to keep the answer and become rich.
And Vodyanoy, the owner of Lake Ilmen, told the orphan guslar a wondrous secret.
The next day they invited Sadok to the white stone chambers of the eminent merchant to play the harp and entertain the guests.
The tables are full of drinks and food. The feast is half-feasted, and the guests, Novgorod merchants, are sitting half-drunk. They began to boast to each other: some about their golden treasury and wealth, some about expensive goods, some about a good horse and a silk port. A smart man boasts about his father and mother, and a stupid man boasts about his young wife.
Then they began to ask Sadka, to extract from the good fellow:
- And you, young guslar, what can you boast about?
To those words and speeches, Sadko answers:
- Oh, you rich merchants of Novgorod! Well, what should I brag about in front of you? You know yourself: I have neither gold nor silver, there are no shops with expensive goods in the living room. That's the only thing I can boast about. I am the only one who knows and knows the miracle, the marvelous, the marvelous. There is a golden feather fish in our glorious Lake Ilmen. And no one had ever seen that fish. I didn’t see it, I didn’t catch it. And whoever catches that golden feather fish and sips that fish soup will turn from old to young. That's all I can boast about, boast about!
The eminent merchants began to make noise and argue:
– You, Sadko, boast about nothing. For centuries, no one has heard that there is such a golden feather fish and that by consuming fish soup from that fish, an old man will become young and powerful!
The six richest Novgorod merchants argued the most:
“There is no such fish as you, Sadko, are talking about.” We will bet on a great bet. All our shops are in the living room, we are mortgaging all our property and wealth! Only you have nothing to put forward against our great pledge!
- I undertake to catch the golden feather fish! “And I’ll bet my wild head against your great pledge,” answered Sadko the Guslar.
With that, they settled the matter and ended the dispute with a handshake about the mortgage.
Soon a silk seine was tied. They threw that net into Lake Ilmen for the first time - and pulled out a golden feather fish. They swept out the net another time and caught another golden feather fish. They cast the net a third time and caught the third golden feather fish.
Vodyanoy, the owner of Lake Ilmen, kept his word, rewarded Sadok, and granted him a favor. The orphan guslar won a great bet, received untold wealth and became a famous Novgorod merchant. He carried on a large trade in Novgorod, and his clerks trade in other cities, in places near and far. Sadok's wealth is increasing by leaps and bounds. And he soon became the richest merchant in the glorious Veliky Novgorod. He built white stone chambers. The rooms in those chambers are wonderful: decorated with expensive foreign wood, gold, silver and crystal. No one had ever seen such chambers, and no one had ever heard of such chambers.
And after that Sadko got married, brought the young mistress into the house and started an honorable feast in the new chambers. He gathered the noble boyars and all the eminent Novgorod merchants for a feast, and also invited the Novgorod men. There was a place for everyone in the mansion of the hospitable owner. The guests got drunk, ate too much, got drunk, and argued. Who talks loudly and boasts about what? And Sadko walks around the wards and says these words:
- My dear guests: you, well-born boyars, you, rich, eminent merchants, and you, Novgorod men! All of you at my place, at Sadok’s, got drunk and ate at the feast, and now you argue noisily and boast. Some speak the truth, while others boast emptyly. Apparently, I need to tell about myself. And what can I boast about? My wealth has no cost. I have so much gold treasury that I can buy up all Novgorod goods, all goods - good and bad. And there will be no goods in Great Glorious Novgorod.
That arrogant, boastful, offensive speech seemed offensive to the entire capital: the boyars, the merchants, and the peasants of Novgorod. The guests made noise and argued:
“It has never happened and never will happen that one person could buy up all Novgorod goods, buy and sell our Great, Glorious Novgorod. And we are betting with you on a great bet of forty thousand: you, Sadko, will not be able to overcome the master of Veliky Novgorod. No matter how rich and powerful one person may be, against the city, against the people, he is a dry straw!
But Sadko stands his ground, does not let up and bets on a great bet, putting up forty thousand... And with that the feasting and dining ended. The guests left and went their separate ways.
And Sadko got up early the next day, washed his face white, woke up his squad, his faithful assistants, poured the gold treasury full for them and sent them along the shopping streets, and Sadko himself went to the living room row, where shops sell expensive goods. So all day long, from morning to evening, Sadko, a rich merchant, and his faithful assistants bought all the goods in all the shops of the Great Glorious Novgorod, and by sunset they had bought everything as if they had swept it with a broom. There were no goods left in Novo-Gorod, not worth a penny. And the next day - lo and behold - the Novgorod shops are bursting with goods; they brought in more goods during the night than before.
With his squad and assistants, Sadko began to buy goods along all the shopping streets and in the living room. And by the evening, by the time the sun was setting, there were not even a penny worth of goods left in Novgorod. They bought everything and took it to the barns of Sadka the Rich. On the third day, Sadko sent assistants with the gold treasury, and he himself went to the living room and saw: there was more goods in all the shops than before. Moscow goods were delivered at night. Sadko hears a rumor that carts with goods are coming from Moscow, and from Tver, and from many other cities, and ships are running across the sea with goods from overseas.
Here Sadko became thoughtful and sad:
“I can’t overcome Mr. Veliky Novgorod, I can’t buy up goods from all Russian cities and from all over the white world.” Apparently, no matter how rich I am, the glorious Great Novgorod is richer than me. It’s better for me to lose my mortgage with forty thousand. I still can’t overcome the city and the people of Novgorod. I see now that there is no such power that one person can resist the people.
He gave Sadko his great pledge - forty thousand. And he built forty ships. He loaded all the goods he had bought onto the ships and sailed on the ships to trade in overseas countries. In overseas lands he sold Novgorod goods with a large profit.
And on the way back, a great misfortune happened on the blue sea. All forty ships, as if rooted to the spot, stood still. The wind bends the masts and tears the rigging, the sea waves beat, and all forty ships, as if standing at anchor, cannot move.
And Sadko said to the helmsman and the ship's crew:
- Apparently, the King of the Sea is demanding a tribute-ransom from us. Take a barrel of gold, guys, and throw money into the blue sea.
They swept a barrel of gold into the sea, but the ships still did not move. The wave hits them, the wind tears the gear.
“The King of the Sea does not accept our gold,” said Sadko. “No other way than he demands a living soul from us.”
And he ordered the lot to be cast. Everyone got a linden lot, and Sadko took an oak lot for himself. And on each lot there is a personal mark. They cast lots in the blue sea. Whose lot is to drown, he must go to the Sea King. Linden - like ducks swam. Swinging on the wave. And the oak lot of Sadok himself sank to the bottom. Then Sadko said:
- Here there was a mistake: the oak lot is heavier than the linden ones, that’s why he went to the bottom. Let's throw it one more time.
Sadko made a fake lot for himself, and once again they cast lots in the blue sea. All the lots floated like a goldeneye duck, but Sadkov’s lot, like a key, dived to the bottom. Then Sadko, a rich merchant from Novgorod, said:
“There’s nothing to do, guys, apparently the King of the Sea doesn’t want to accept anyone else’s head, but he demands my violent head.”
He took paper and a quill pen and began to write a list: how and to whom to leave his property and wealth. He wrote off and refused money to the monasteries for the funeral of the soul. He awarded his squad, all his assistants and clerks. He assigned a lot of treasury to the poor brethren, to widows, to orphans, he gave away a lot of wealth and refused to his young wife. After that he said:
- Lower, my dear warriors, an oak board overboard. I'm scared to suddenly descend into the blue sea.
They lowered a wide, reliable board into the sea. Sadko said goodbye to his faithful warriors and grabbed his ringing, spring-shaped harp.
– I’ll play on the board one last time before accepting death! And with those words, Sadko descended onto the oak raft, and all the ships immediately set off, the silk sails were filled with the wind, and they sailed on their way, as if there had never been a stop.
Sadka was carried on an oak plank across the sea-ocean, and he lay there, strumming and strumming on the tracks, grieving about his fate and fate, remembering his former life. And the sea wave rocks the board-raft, the cage on the board lulls him to sleep, and he didn’t notice how he fell into a doze, and then fell into a deep sleep.
How long or short that dream lasted is unknown. Sadko woke up and woke up at the bottom of the sea-ocean, near the white stone chambers. The servant ran out of the chambers and led Sadok into the mansions. He led me into a large upper room, and there the King of the Sea himself sat. The king has a golden crown on his head. The Sea King spoke:
– Hello, dear, long-awaited guest! I heard a lot about you from my nephew Vodyanoy - the owner of the glorious Ilmen Lake - about your playing on the spring harp. And I wanted to listen to you myself. For this reason, your ships were stopped and your personal lot sank twice.
After that he called the servant:
- Run a hot bath! Let our guest take a steam bath from the road, wash himself, and then rest. Then we'll have a feast. Soon invited guests will begin to arrive.
In the evening, the king started a sea feast for the whole world. Kings and princes came from different seas, Watermen from different lakes and rivers. Vodyanoy, the owner of Lake Ilmen, also arrived. The King of the Sea has plenty of drinks and food: drink, eat, soul of measure! The guests feasted and got drunk. The owner, the King of the Sea, says:
- Well, Sadko, have fun, amuse us! Yes, play more fun so that your legs can move.
Sadko played cheerfully and cheerfully. The guests could not sit at the table, they jumped out from behind the tables and started dancing, and they danced so much that a great storm began on the sea-ocean. And many ships disappeared that night. Passion, how many people drowned!
The guslar is playing, and the Sea Kings with their princes and the Water Ones are dancing and shouting:
- Oh, burn, speak!
Then the Water Master of Lake Ilmen appeared near Sadok and whispered in the guslar’s ear:
“Something bad is going on here with my uncle.” This dance caused such bad weather on the sea-ocean. Ships, people and goods were lost - darkness and darkness. Stop playing and the dance will end.
- How can I stop playing? At the bottom of the sea-ocean I do not have my own will. Until your uncle, the King of the Sea himself, orders, I cannot stop.
- And you break off the strings and break out the pins and tell the Tsar of the Sea: you don’t have any spare ones, but here there’s nowhere to get spare strings and pins. And when you stop playing and the feast is over, the guests go home, the King of the Sea, in order to keep you in the underwater kingdom, will force you to choose a bride and get married. And you agree to that. First, three hundred beautiful girls will pass in front of you, then another three hundred girls - no matter what you think of saying, not describing with a pen, but only telling in a fairy tale - they will pass in front of you, and you stand and be silent. Three hundred more girls more beautiful than before will be brought before you. You let them all through, point to the last one and say: “It’s this girl, Chernavushka, that I want to marry.” That is my own sister, she will rescue you from captivity, from captivity.
Vodyanoy, the owner of Lake Ilmen, spoke these words and mingled with the guests.
And Sadko broke the strings, broke the pins and said to the Sea King:
“I need to replace the strings and attach new pins, but I don’t have any spare ones.”
- Well, where can I find strings and pins for you now? Tomorrow I will send messengers, but today the feast is over.
The next day the Sea King says:
- To be you, Sadku, my faithful guslar. Everyone liked your game. Marry any beautiful sea maiden, and you will live better in my sea kingdom-state than in Novgorod. Choose your bride!
The King of the Sea clapped his hands - and out of nowhere, beautiful maidens walked past Sadok, one more beautiful than the other. Three hundred girls passed this way. Behind them are still three hundred girls, so beautiful that you can’t describe them with a pen, you can only tell them in a fairy tale, but Sadko stands there, silent. Three hundred girls still follow those beauties, much more beautiful than before. Sadko looked and couldn’t stop looking, and when the last beautiful girl in the row appeared, the guslar said to the Sea King:
- I chose a bride for myself. This is the beautiful girl I want to marry. – he pointed to Chernavushka.
- Oh, well done, Sadko-guslar! You chose a good bride, because she is my niece. Chernava River. We will now be related to you.
They began to have a merry feast and celebrate the wedding. The feast ended. The young people were taken to a special chamber. And as soon as the doors closed, Chernava said to Sadk:
- Lie down, sleep, rest, don’t think about anything. As my brother, the Water Master of Lake Ilmen, ordered me, so everything will come true.
A deep sleep fell over Sadok. And when he woke up in the morning, he couldn’t believe his eyes: he was sitting on the steep bank of the Chernava River, where the Chernava flows into the Volkhov River. And along the Volkhov, forty ships with their faithful squad are running and hurrying.
And the squad from the ships saw Sadok and was amazed:
“We left Sadko in the blue sea-ocean, and Sadko meets us near Novgorod. Either, brothers, it’s not a miracle, or it’s not a miracle!
They lowered and sent a small boat for Sadko. Sadko moved onto his ship, and soon the ships approached the Novgorod pier. They unloaded overseas goods and barrels of gold into the barns of Sadok the merchant. Sadko called his faithful assistants, his squad, into his white-stone chambers.
And a beautiful young wife ran out onto the porch. She threw herself on Sadk’s chest, hugged him, kissed him:
“But I had a vision, my dear husband, that you would arrive today from overseas countries!”
They drank, ate, and Sadko began to live and live in Novgorod with his young wife. And that’s where my story about Sadok ends.
Page 1 of 2
Sadko (epic)
There lived in rich Novgorod a good fellow named Sadko, and in the street he was nicknamed Sadko the Guslar. He lived as a bob, subsisting from bread to kvass - no yard, no cola, only a harp, ringing, spring-like, and the talent of a guslar-singer, which he inherited from his parents. And his fame flowed like a river throughout Veliky Novgorod. It was not for nothing that Sadka was called to play at feasts and entertain guests in the golden-domed mansions of the boyars, and in the white-stone mansions of the merchants. He will play, start a tune - all the noble boyars, all the first-class merchants listen to the guslar, they cannot hear enough. That's why he lived well because he went to feasts. But it turned out like this: for a day or two Sadok was not invited to the feast, and on the third day they were not invited, they were not called. It seemed bitter and offensive to him.
Sadko took his spring-necked caterpillars and went to Lake Ilmen. He sat down on the shore on a blue-flammable stone and struck the sonorous strings, starting to play an iridescent tune. I played on the shore from morning until evening. And at sunset, the red sun began to agitate Lake Ilmen. A wave rose like a high mountain, water mixed with sand, and Vodyanoy himself, the owner of Lake Ilmen, came ashore. The guslar was taken aback. And Vodyanoy said these words:
- Thank you, Sadko-guslar of Novgorod! Today I had a banquet, a feast of honors. You made my guests happy and amused. And I want to congratulate you for that!
Tomorrow they will invite you to play the harp with a top-ranking merchant and entertain the famous Novgorod merchants. The merchants will drink and eat, they will boast, they will brag. One will boast of an innumerable gold treasury, another - of expensive goods from overseas, a third will boast of a good horse and a silk port. The smart one will boast about his father and mother, and the stupid one will boast about his young wife. Then eminent merchants will ask you what you, Sadko, could boast about, boast about. And I will teach you how to keep the answer and become rich.
And Vodyanoy, the owner of Lake Ilmen, told the orphan guslar a wondrous secret.
The next day they invited Sadok to the white stone chambers of the eminent merchant to play the harp and entertain the guests.
The tables are full of drinks and food. The feast is half-feasted, and the guests, Novgorod merchants, are sitting half-drunk. They began to boast to each other: some about their golden treasury and wealth, some about expensive goods, some about a good horse and a silk port. A smart man boasts about his father and mother, and a stupid man boasts about his young wife.
Then they began to ask Sadka, to extract from the good fellow:
- And you, young guslar, what can you boast about?
To those words and speeches, Sadko answers:
- Oh, you rich merchants of Novgorod! Well, what should I brag about in front of you? You know yourself: I have neither gold nor silver, there are no shops with expensive goods in the living room. That's the only thing I can boast about. I am the only one who knows and knows the miracle, the marvelous, the marvelous. There is a golden feather fish in our glorious Lake Ilmen. And no one had ever seen that fish. I didn’t see it, I didn’t catch it. And whoever catches that golden feather fish and sips that fish soup will turn from old to young. That's all I can boast about, boast about!
The eminent merchants began to make noise and argue:
– You, Sadko, boast about nothing. For centuries, no one has heard that there is such a golden feather fish and that by consuming fish soup from that fish, an old man will become young and powerful! 
The six richest Novgorod merchants argued the most:
“There is no such fish as you, Sadko, are talking about.” We will bet on a great bet. All our shops are in the living room, we are mortgaging all our property and wealth! Only you have nothing to put forward against our great pledge!
- I undertake to catch the golden feather fish! “And I’ll bet my wild head against your great pledge,” answered Sadko the Guslar.
With that, they settled the matter and ended the dispute with a handshake about the mortgage.
Soon a silk seine was tied. They threw that net into Lake Ilmen for the first time - and pulled out a golden feather fish. They swept out the net another time and caught another golden feather fish. They cast the net a third time and caught the third golden feather fish.
Vodyanoy, the owner of Lake Ilmen, kept his word, rewarded Sadok, and granted him a favor. The orphan guslar won a great bet, received untold wealth and became a famous Novgorod merchant. He carried on a large trade in Novgorod, and his clerks trade in other cities, in places near and far.
Sadok's wealth is increasing by leaps and bounds. And he soon became the richest merchant in the glorious Veliky Novgorod. 
He built white stone chambers. The rooms in those chambers are wonderful: decorated with expensive foreign wood, gold, silver and crystal. No one had ever seen such chambers, and no one had ever heard of such chambers.
And after that Sadko got married, brought the young mistress into the house and started an honorable feast in the new chambers. He gathered the noble boyars and all the eminent Novgorod merchants for a feast, and also invited the Novgorod men. There was a place for everyone in the mansion of the hospitable owner. The guests got drunk, ate too much, got drunk, and argued. Who talks loudly and boasts about what? And Sadko walks around the wards and says these words:
- My dear guests: you, well-born boyars, you, rich, eminent merchants, and you, Novgorod men! All of you at my place, at Sadok’s, got drunk and ate at the feast, and now you argue noisily and boast. Some speak the truth, while others boast emptyly. Apparently, I need to tell about myself. And what can I boast about? My wealth has no cost. I have so much gold treasury that I can buy up all Novgorod goods, all goods - good and bad. And there will be no goods in Great Glorious Novgorod.
That arrogant, boastful, offensive speech seemed offensive to the entire capital: the boyars, the merchants, and the peasants of Novgorod. The guests made noise and argued: 
“It has never happened and never will happen that one person could buy up all Novgorod goods, buy and sell our Great, Glorious Novgorod. And we are betting with you on a great bet of forty thousand: you, Sadko, will not be able to overcome the master of Veliky Novgorod. No matter how rich and powerful one person may be, against the city, against the people, he is a dry straw!
But Sadko stands his ground, does not let up and bets on a great bet, putting up forty thousand... And with that the feasting and dining ended. The guests left and went their separate ways.
And Sadko got up early the next day, washed his face white, woke up his squad, his faithful assistants, poured the gold treasury full for them and sent them along the shopping streets, and Sadko himself went to the living room row, where shops sell expensive goods. So all day long, from morning to evening, Sadko, a rich merchant, and his faithful assistants bought all the goods in all the shops of the Great Glorious Novgorod, and by sunset they had bought everything as if they had swept it with a broom. There were no goods left in Novo-Gorod, not worth a penny. And the next day - lo and behold - the Novgorod shops are bursting with goods; they brought in more goods during the night than before.
With his squad and assistants, Sadko began to buy goods along all the shopping streets and in the living room. And by the evening, by the time the sun was setting, there were not even a penny worth of goods left in Novgorod. They bought everything and took it to the barns of Sadka the Rich. On the third day, Sadko sent assistants with the gold treasury, and he himself went to the living room and saw: there was more goods in all the shops than before. Moscow goods were delivered at night. Sadko hears a rumor that carts with goods are coming from Moscow, and from Tver, and from many other cities, and ships are running across the sea with goods from overseas.
Here Sadko became thoughtful and sad:
“I can’t overcome Mr. Veliky Novgorod, I can’t buy up goods from all Russian cities and from all over the white world.” Apparently, no matter how rich I am, the glorious Great Novgorod is richer than me. It’s better for me to lose my mortgage with forty thousand. I still can’t overcome the city and the people of Novgorod. I see now that there is no such power that one person can resist the people.
He gave Sadko his great pledge - forty thousand. And he built forty ships. He loaded all the goods he had bought onto the ships and sailed on the ships to trade in overseas countries. In overseas lands he sold Novgorod goods with a large profit.
And on the way back, a great misfortune happened on the blue sea. All forty ships, as if rooted to the spot, stood still. The wind bends the masts and tears the rigging, the sea waves beat, and all forty ships, as if standing at anchor, cannot move.