Frogs asking for the king. Frogs asking for the Tsar - Ivan Krylov So, what does the fable tell us about?
Frogs asking for a king
Frogs asking for a king
The title of the fable (1809) by I. L. Krylov (1768-1844). The Russian fabulist borrowed the plot from the fable of the same name by Jean La Fontaine, who, in turn, took it from the legendary fabulist of ancient Greece Aesop (VI century BC).
The beginning of I. S. Krylov’s fable:
The frogs became uncomfortable
Government is people's
And it seemed to them not at all noble
Without service and in freedom to live.
To help me in grief,
Then they began to ask the gods for the King.
At first, Jupiter sent the Frogs an ordinary elk-log block,” but after three days the Frogs were disappointed in it, since the Tsar was not at all formidable - “he endures everything by his mercy.” And they sent a new “petition” to Olympus,
Let them have Jupiter in their swamp kingdom
He truly gave the Tsar for glory!
I listen to their warm prayers,
Jupiter sent the Crane to their kingdom.
This king is not a blockhead, he is of a completely different character:
He does not like to pamper his people;
He eats the guilty, and at his trial
No one is right;
(...)
From morning to evening their King walks around the kingdom
And everyone he meets,
He will immediately judge and swallow...
Quoted: as an ironic description of those who are waiting for all social problems to be solved by some external force, who are waiting for a “firm hand”, a “good king”.
It can serve partly as an analogue of Nekrasov’s line: When the master comes, the master will judge us.
Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.
See what “Frogs asking for the king” are in other dictionaries:
- (foreigner) dissatisfied with everyone The king’s frogs were interrogated. Wed. The frogs did not like the rule of the people, and it seemed to them not at all noble to live without service and in freedom. In order to help my grief, they began to ask the gods for a king. Krylov. Frogs asking... ...
Frogs asking for the king (foreign language) are dissatisfied with everything. The king's frogs were interrogated. Wed. The frogs began to dislike the government of the people, and it seemed to them not at all noble to live without service and in freedom. To help my grief, they began...
Ivan Andreevich Krylov Portrait by Ivan Eggink... Wikipedia
- (often in combination with the particle “zhe” or “zh”). 1. adversative conjunction. Used to attach sentences or individual members of a sentence with the meaning of opposition, inconsistency with the previous one or limitation of the previous one;... ... Small academic dictionary
Wed. ...There is no miracle in the light, to which the light would not look closely. Krylov. Frogs asking for the king. See oh my god, oh my god. See your bread is picky... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary
- (foreign) unfortunate Wed. He will buy up bread, and in a black year he will rip off the beggar threefold. Nekrasov. Vlas. Wed. No one is right: A black year is coming to the inhabitants of the swamps. Krylov. Frogs asking for the king... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary
See Frogs asking for the king... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)
Black year- Outdated. Simple Time, a streak of failures, troubles. A black year is coming for the inhabitants of the swamps. Every day there is a great deficiency in the Frogs (Krylov. Frogs asking for the Tsar) ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language
Krylov Iv. Andes- KRYLOV Iv. Andes. (1769 1844) fabulist, playwright, prose writer, journalist. The son of an army officer who rose through the ranks of the soldiers. After the death of his father (1778) he entered the service (Kalyazin Zemsky Court, Tver Magistrate, from 1782 St. Petersburg State Chamber, in ... ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary
Books
- I. A. Krylov. Fables (audiobook MP3), I. A. Krylov. We present to your attention an audiobook with fables by I. A. Krylov. The collection includes such fables as “The Crow and the Fox,” “The Wolf and the Lamb,” “The Monkey and the Glasses,” “The Dragonfly and the Ant,” “The Rooster and…
About the fable
Fable by Ivan Krylov “Frogs asking for the Tsar”
All the work (if we take fables) of the famous publicist and fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov can be divided into two categories: fables with an original plot, that is, invented by the author himself, and fables borrowed from the predecessors of the genre - Aesop or La Fontaine. The fable “Frogs Asking for a Tsar” falls into the latter category. The Russian writer created the fable under the impression of reading La Fontaine’s work “Les grenouilles qui demandent un roi” (“The Frogs Who Asked for the King”). However, the French fabulist La Fontaine himself was not original, having borrowed the plot outline from Aesop. Isn't this an example of the fact that the vices of society do not know time and nationality?
It is unknown when exactly Krylov wrote this fable, but the reader first became acquainted with it in 1809 from the collection “Fables,” which has since gone through many reprints and is still published, intended for the younger generation.
So, what does the fable tell us?
One day, the inhabitants of the swamp, the frogs, wanted to be ruled by a king. They began to ask the god Jupiter to give them a ruler. He heeded the requests and sent down a large aspen block to the frogs. At first the heroines were afraid of the “king”, and then, having gained courage, they began to jump all over him. The frogs did not like such a silent and uninitiative king - they began to demand something else from Jupiter.
Said and done, the Crane appeared in the swamp as a king. This ruler was active, held trials, but in those trials there were no right people - only the guilty, whom the Crane Tsar immediately ate. Every day the frogs have a “great disadvantage.” Again the restless frogs began to ask Jupiter for the king, but this time God became angry. Jupiter answered loudly that let the frogs live with the king he sent them, since they did not like the previous idol king. And at the end he also threatened that if they ask for a new king, he will send them a master even worse than the gluttonous Crane.
Subtext of the fable
A fascinating work with animal characters actually hides quite serious issues regarding social order. The frogs themselves did not want to live - give them a king, but a peaceful, quiet king did not suit them either. And having received the Crane as king, they began to shout and lament.
“They don’t seek good from goodness,” Krylov once again confirms to us the wise proverb. It is very important to appreciate the good things that happen in our lives. Sometimes the dignity of a person, a ruler, a situation, etc. you can appreciate having lost it. How can we not remember another saying: “what we have we don’t keep, when we lose it, we cry.”
On the other hand, Ivan Krylov also raises the issue of passion for change. Was life bad for the frogs under “people's rule”? Obeying a blind, thoughtless desire, they wanted change, without thinking in advance how this could turn out for them. Wouldn't it be worse? And it just got worse. First, a nominal ruler who did nothing, and then a cruel tyrant who destroys the swamp inhabitants.
Vivid, clear images of the characters make the fable fascinating to read for children, and the moral embedded in the content is intended more for adults.
This fable has been filmed more than once through the means of animation. Based on its semantic content, it is often called “folk” - for the large number of folk proverbs and sayings embedded in it. This also applies to the fable style. You can notice the deliberately popular speech: “I’m sorry to help,” “Well,” and so on.
Today, the fable, written more than 200 years ago, rings especially poignantly. Political history and modern times prove that no matter how they live under a ruler, good or bad, the people always want another “king.” At the same time, rarely does anyone think that maybe the new government will be a crane...
Frogs asking for a king
The frogs didn't like it anymore
Government is people's
And it seemed to them not at all noble
Without service and in freedom to live.
To help me in grief,
Then they began to ask the gods for the King.
Although the gods would not like to listen to any nonsense.
This time, however, Zeus listened to them:
Gave them a King. The King flies towards them from heaven with noise,
And so tightly it cracked into the kingdom,
That along the way the state became a quagmire:
From all Frog legs
They rushed about in fright,
Who managed, where who could,
And in whispers they marveled at the Tsar in their cells.
And it is true that the Tsar was miraculously given to them:
Not fussy, not a helipad,
Sedate, silent and important;
Portliness, giant stature,
Well, look, it’s a miracle!
There was only one thing bad about the Tsar:
This king was a block of aspen.
First, honoring his person highly,
None of the subjects dares to approach:
They look at him with fear, and then
Stealthily, from afar, through calamus and sedge;
But since there is no miracle in the light,
To which the light would not look closely,
Then they, too, first rested from fear,
Then they dared to crawl up to the King with devotion:
First, face down before the Tsar;
And then, whoever is braver, let him sit sideways to him,
Let me try to sit next to him;
And there, who are still further away,
They sit with their backs towards the Tsar.
The king endures everything out of his mercy.
A little later, you'll see who wants it,
He will jump on him.
In three days I became bored with living with such a Tsar.
Frogs new petition,
Let them have Jupiter in their swamp kingdom
He truly gave the Tsar for glory!
I listen to their warm prayers,
Jupiter sent them to the kingdom of the Crane,
This king is not a blockhead, he has a completely different disposition:
He does not like to pamper his people;
He eats the guilty: and at his trial
No one is right;
But he already has
Whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, there's punishment.
To the inhabitants of the swamps
The black year is coming.
Every day there is a great flaw in the Frogs.
From morning to evening their King walks around the kingdom
And everyone he meets,
He will immediately judge and swallow it.
There’s more croaking and groaning than ever,
May they have Jupiter again
He granted the Tsar a new name;
That their current King swallows them like flies;
That even they can’t (as terrible as it is!)
It is safe to neither stick out your nose nor croak;
That, finally, their King is more sickening to them than droughts.
“Why didn’t you know how to live happily before?
“Isn’t it for me, crazy people,” a voice told them from the sky, “
Was there no peace for you?
Was it not you who made my ears ring about the Tsar?
Was a King given to you? - so he was too quiet:
You rebelled in your puddle,
Another one was given to you - so this one is very dashing:
Live with him so that things don’t get worse for you!”
The frogs didn't like it anymore
Government is people's
And it seemed to them not at all noble
To live without service and in freedom. To help my grief,
Then they began to ask the gods for the King.
Although the gods would not like to listen to any nonsense.
This time, however, Zeus listened to them:
Gave them a King. The King flies towards them from heaven with noise,
And so tightly it cracked into the kingdom,
That along the way the state became a quagmire:
From all Frog legs
They rushed about in fright,
Who managed, where who could,
And in whispers they marveled at the Tsar in their cells.
And it is true that the Tsar was miraculously given to them:
Not fussy, not a helipad,
Sedate, silent and important;
Portliness, giant stature,
Well, look, it’s a miracle!
There was only one thing bad about the Tsar:
This king was a block of aspen. 
First, honoring his person highly,
None of the subjects dares to approach:
They look at him with fear, and then
Stealthily, from afar, through calamus and sedge;
But since there is no miracle in the light,
To which the light would not look closely,
Then they, too, first rested from fear,
Then they dared to crawl up to the King with devotion:
First, face down before the King;
And then, whoever is braver, let him sit sideways to him,
Let me try to sit next to him;
And there, which are still further away,
They sit with their backs towards the Tsar.
The king endures everything out of his mercy.
A little later, you'll see who wants it,
He will jump on him.
In three days I became bored with living with such a Tsar.
Frogs new petition,
Let them have Jupiter in their swamp kingdom
He truly gave the Tsar for glory!
I listen to their warm prayers,
Jupiter sent them to the kingdom of the Crane,
This king is not a blockhead, he has a completely different disposition:
He does not like to pamper his people;
He eats the guilty: and at his trial
No one is right;
But he already has
What? breakfast, what? lunch, what? dinner, then reprisal.
To the inhabitants of the swamps
The black year is coming.
Every day there is a great flaw in the Frogs.
From morning to evening their King walks around the kingdom
And everyone he meets,
He will immediately judge and swallow it.
There’s more croaking and groaning than ever,
May they have Jupiter again
He granted the Tsar a new name;
That their current King swallows them like flies;
That even they can’t (as terrible as it is!)
It is safe to neither stick out your nose nor croak;
That, finally, their King is more sickening to them than droughts.
“Post? Well, you didn’t know how to live happily before?
“Isn’t it for me, crazy people,” a voice told them from the sky, “
Was there no peace for you?
Was it not you who made my ears ring about the Tsar?
Was a King given to you? - so he was too quiet:
You rebelled in your puddle,
Another one was given to you - so this one is very dashing:
Live with him so that things don’t get worse for you!”
Fable by I. Krylov. Illustrations
The frogs didn't like it anymore
Government is people's
And it seemed to them not at all noble
To live without service and in freedom. To help my grief,
Then they began to ask the gods for the King.
Although the gods would not like to listen to any nonsense.
This time, however, Zeus listened to them:
Gave them a King. The King flies towards them from heaven with noise,
And so tightly it cracked into the kingdom,
That along the way the state became a quagmire:
From all Frog legs
They rushed about in fright,
Who managed, where who could,
And in whispers they marveled at the Tsar in their cells.
And it is true that the Tsar was miraculously given to them:
Not fussy, not a helipad,
Sedate, silent and important;
Portliness, giant stature,
Well, look, it’s a miracle!
There was only one thing bad about the Tsar:
This king was a block of aspen. 
First, honoring his person highly,
None of the subjects dares to approach:
They look at him with fear, and then
Stealthily, from afar, through calamus and sedge;
But since there is no miracle in the light,
To which the light would not look closely,
Then they, too, first rested from fear,
Then they dared to crawl up to the King with devotion:
First, face down before the King;
And then, whoever is braver, let him sit sideways to him,
Let me try to sit next to him;
And there, which are still further away,
They sit with their backs towards the Tsar.
The king endures everything out of his mercy.
A little later, you'll see who wants it,
He will jump on him.
In three days I became bored with living with such a Tsar.
Frogs new petition,
Let them have Jupiter in their swamp kingdom
He truly gave the Tsar for glory!
I listen to their warm prayers,
Jupiter sent them to the kingdom of the Crane,
This king is not a blockhead, he has a completely different disposition:
He does not like to pamper his people;
He eats the guilty: and at his trial
No one is right;
But he already has
What? breakfast, what? lunch, what? dinner, then reprisal.
To the inhabitants of the swamps
The black year is coming.
Every day there is a great flaw in the Frogs.
From morning to evening their King walks around the kingdom
And everyone he meets,
He will immediately judge and swallow it.
There’s more croaking and groaning than ever,
May they have Jupiter again
He granted the Tsar a new name;
That their current King swallows them like flies;
That even they can’t (as terrible as it is!)
It is safe to neither stick out your nose nor croak;
That, finally, their King is more sickening to them than droughts.
“Post? Well, you didn’t know how to live happily before?
“Isn’t it for me, crazy people,” a voice told them from the sky, “
Was there no peace for you?
Was it not you who made my ears ring about the Tsar?
Was a King given to you? - so he was too quiet:
You rebelled in your puddle,
Another one was given to you - so this one is very dashing:
Live with him so that things don’t get worse for you!”
- END -
Fable by I. Krylov. Illustrations
The fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar” should be read as an allegory, like other works by Krylov. In her text it is easy to see an analogy between the images of frogs and ordinary people, always dissatisfied with the way they are ruled. At the same time, the form gave the fabulist the opportunity to express his views on free thought and government. Studying it in a literature lesson provides an opportunity to understand that the poet saw the shortcomings of the monarchical system, but did not see a way out of this situation. After all, in his opinion, the people are completely lacking initiative: they are not capable of not having a ruler, that is, with the possibility of a free life, which is clearly stated in the verse.
Thus, it turns out that an imperfect ruler, who is easy to see in the characters of Krylov’s fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar,” is still better than his absence. If the work is downloaded for free, read online or in a book, then it is easy to see that its author saw the solution to the problem of reorganizing society in the fact that it developed and reformed gradually. It is enough to read the fable “Frogs Asking for the Tsar” in full to see that the poet advocates not cutting from the shoulder, but relying on the natural path of movement of society.
The frogs didn't like it anymore
Government is people's
And it seemed to them not at all noble
Without service and in freedom to live.
To help me in grief,
Then they began to ask the gods for the King.
Although the gods would not like to listen to any nonsense,
This time, however, Zeus listened to them:
Gave them a King. The King flies towards them from heaven with noise,
And so tightly it cracked into the kingdom,
That along the way the state became a quagmire:
From all Frog legs
They rushed about in fright,
Who managed, where who could,
And in whispers they marveled at the Tsar in their cells.
And it is true that the Tsar was miraculously given to them:
Not fussy, not fussy,
Sedate, silent and important;
Portliness, giant stature,
Well, look, it’s a miracle!
There was only one thing bad about the Tsar:
This king was a block of aspen.
First, honoring his person highly,
None of the subjects dares to approach:
They look at him with fear, and then
Stealthily, from afar, through calamus and sedge;
But since there is no miracle in the light,
To which the light would not look closely,
Then they, too, first rested from fear,
Then crawl to the King with devotion
dared:
First, face down before the Tsar;
And then, whoever is braver, let him sit sideways to him:
Let me try to sit next to him;
And there, who are still further away,
They sit with their backs towards the Tsar.
The king endures everything out of his mercy.
A little later, you'll see who wants it,
He will jump on him.
In three days I became bored with living with such a Tsar.
Frogs new petition,
Let them have Jupiter in their swamp kingdom
He truly gave the Tsar for glory!
I listen to their warm prayers,
Jupiter sent the Crane to their kingdom.
This king is not a blockhead, he is of a completely different character:
He does not like to pamper his people;
He eats the guilty: and at his trial
No one is right;
But he already has
Whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, there's punishment.
To the inhabitants of the swamps
The black year is coming.
Every day there is a great flaw in the Frogs.
From morning to evening their King walks around the kingdom
And everyone he meets,
He will immediately judge and swallow it.
There’s more croaking and groaning than ever,
May they have Jupiter again
He granted the Tsar a new name;
That their current King swallows them like flies;
That even they can’t (as terrible as it is!)
It is safe to neither stick out your nose nor croak;
That, finally, their King is more sickening to them than droughts.
“Why didn’t you know how to live happily before?
Isn’t it for me, crazy people,” a voice told them from the sky, “
Was there no peace for you?
Was it not you who made my ears ring about the Tsar?
Was a King given to you? - so he was too quiet:
You rebelled in your puddle,
Another one was given to you - so this one is very dashing;
Live with him so that it doesn’t get any worse for you!”
