2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The folk tale about the chicken Ryaba is known to everyone from early childhood. She is easy to remember, children love her very much.
What is this tale about?
She tells about how once a hen, who lived with her grandfather and woman, suddenly laid a golden egg. The grandfather and the woman could not break it, despite many attempts. But the mouse was able to do it by accident. She just had to wag her tail. But instead of rejoicing, the grandfather and the woman for some reason were very upset. The hen reassured them and said that they would have a new testicle, an ordinary one, not a golden one.
However, this story has several variants. Some of them have new characters: pop and popadya.
The meaning of the fairy tale
This is such a seemingly simple story. But what is the meaning of the fairy tale about the chicken Ryaba? This question is of interest to many. Some people think that the story doesn't make sense at all. This statement is unlikely to be accepted by most people. After all, fairy tales have long been told not only for interest, but also in order to teach something good. The meaning of this tale remains to be seen.
The main contradiction of the tale is that the grandfather and grandmother are crying because the golden eggit broke. But they really wanted it! Perhaps the egg was empty, and grandma and grandpa were disappointed. Maybe they just wanted to eat, and the egg, broken by the mouse, accidentally spread on the floor? It is possible that it was not golden, but simply with a golden shell, the old people thought that it was especially tasty.
Hidden meanings
Some fairy tale researchers have devoted many years to find its connection with mythology. Often the fairy tale is associated with ancient myths about the World Egg, from which either the whole Universe, or part of the world, or one of the gods is born. The image of the mouse is also symbolic. The myths of many nations say that this animal was born from the earth. Thus, the tale is associated with the myths of creation and the end of the world.
In some fuller versions of the tale, after the egg was broken, some kind of misfortune happened to everyone who found out about it.
There is an opinion that the tale has a connection with pagan rites. In this case, the egg is compared with the moon or the sun. The golden egg is the sun. The image of a gray mouse is evening. Broken golden egg - sunset. A simple egg is the moon.
Interpretation of the fairy tale by M. E. Vigdorchik is interesting. He believes that the golden egg is a symbol of the child. Trying to break an egg is a symbol of raising a child. But the grandfather and grandmother did not succeed, but the mouse did. The mouse is a symbol of a frivolous daughter-in-law, who for her husband's parents seems to be some kind of rival. They are offended that she managed to raise a child, but they do not.
Supporters of psychoanalysis (for example, SZ Agranovich) believe that the egg in a fairy tale plays the role of a savior, it is a kind of symbol of life. Gold symbolizes death. That's why the old people tried so hard to break it. But when the mouse did this, they were frightened, because they did not know what to expect next. The mouse is an intermediary between the world of the living and the world of the dead, it can do both good deeds and bad ones. At your own discretion. And when the chicken says that she will lay an ordinary testicle, everyone rejoices, as the future has become clear. Life won.
Relevance of a fairy tale in our time
Children's stories are a collection of folk wisdom, albeit not in the form of teaching. The tale of Ryaba the chicken is no exception. However, times are changing, new realities are emerging. Many authors try to tell a well-known legend in their own way. The tale about the chicken Ryaba in a new way by Olga Akhmetova is very interesting. In her interpretation, the mouse, seeing the egg, wanted to steal it, she envied the fact that the grandfather and grandmother "become rich", and yet she "worthy of a million." Those, in turn, thought for too long what to do with the we alth that had fallen on their heads. As a result, the egg broke and no one got it. The meaning of this fairy tale is that everyone in life can have a lucky chance, but you need to use it wisely.
Another tale about Ryaba the chicken tells that the egg was not golden, but just a kinder surprise. In Igor Shandra's fairy tale, Ryaba laid a Faberge egg. It was taken to the bank for safekeeping, so thatsure it didn't crash. But even in this version of the grandfather and grandmother, tears awaited. And the computer mouse turned out to be to blame: “it waved its tail”, and the entire bank disappeared. And Ryaba consoled with the fact that the fake had disappeared, and the real egg was safe and sound.
These are such interesting stories, and this is only a small part. Everything suggests that in our time, the tale about the chicken Ryaba is of interest not only to children, but also to adults.
Disputes about the moral of the tale
Serious studies of fairy tales inspire respect, but it is unlikely that an ordinary person will look for hidden meanings. But what does this story teach? What is the moral of the fairy tale about Ryaba the chicken?
Everyone can understand it in their own way. There is an opinion that the egg is a symbol of love that grandfather and grandmother could not save. The speckled chicken is a symbol of the Higher Mind, which is why it is black and white, as it combines both good and evil. The mouse is some kind of gossip. If you break love for a long time, then the relationship may end because of some little thing like gossip. And a simple egg is not love, but a habit that has appeared over time. The moral is to cherish relationships, cherish love.
Someone believes that the fairy tale says that one should not be stupid and envious. After all, the grandfather and grandmother did not even understand why they wanted to break the egg, and when the mouse did it, they simply envied her. Moral - you need to think about your actions and not be envious.
Perhaps the golden egg is a symbol of we alth, which should not be so desperately sought. Grandfather and grandmother fought for a long timein order to achieve material we alth, but then the mouse (accident) showed them by breaking the egg that there was nothing special about it. A simple egg, which the chicken then promised, is a symbol of eternal values. Moral - you can be happy without the desire to accumulate we alth.
There is also a version that the fairy tale teaches not to plan life to the smallest detail. There is always room for randomness.
Can a child understand this tale?
It's not just that they say that the mouth of a baby speaks the truth. Despite many interpretations, the tale of the chicken Ryaba is still a children's work.
Grandfather and woman, according to many kids, cry because they themselves could not break the golden egg. That's where so many experiences come from.
Of course, later parents can offer their child their own version of what this fairy tale teaches. A good educational conversation will turn out.
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