The young male narrator, whom “fate threw for six months into the remote village of Perebrod in the Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polissya”, is unbearably bored, and his only entertainment was hunting with the servant Yarmola and trying to teach the latter to read and write. One day, during a terrible snowstorm, the hero learns from the usually untalkative Yarmola that the real witch Manuilikha lives ten versts from his house, who appeared in the village from nowhere, and then was evicted outside of it for her witchcraft deeds. The opportunity to get to know her appears quickly: as soon as it gets warmer, the hero goes hunting with Yarmola and, getting lost in the forest, stumbles upon a hut. Assuming that a local forester lives here, he goes inside and discovers a real Baba Yaga, which, of course, turns out to be Manuilikha. She met the hero unfriendly, but when he took out a silver quarter and asked the old woman to tell fortunes, she noticeably perked up. And in the midst of fortune-telling, she again began to see the uninvited guest out - the witch’s granddaughter, a dark-haired beauty “about twenty to twenty-five years old”, came into the house, who showed the hero the way home and called herself Olesya.

All first spring days the hero's thoughts did not leave the image of Olesya. And as soon as the forest paths dried up, he went to the witch's hut. As for the first time, the granddaughter greeted the guest much more affably than Manuilikha. And when the guest asked Olesya to tell him fortunes, she admitted that she had already thrown cards at him once, and the main thing that she told him was that this year “great love falls to you from the lady of clubs with dark hair.” And for those "who will love you, you will bring a lot of grief." The cards also told Olesya that the hero would bring shame to this lady of clubs, one that is worse than death ... When Olesya went to see off the guest, she tried to prove to him that the real gift of witchcraft belonged to her and her grandmother, and conducted several experiments on him. Then the hero tries to find out where Manuilikha came from in Polissya, to which Olesya answered evasively that her grandmother does not like to talk about it. Then the hero introduces himself for the first time - his name is Ivan Timofeevich.

From that day on, the hero became a frequent guest in the hut. Olesya I was always glad to see him, although I met him with restraint. But the old woman was not particularly pleased, but Ivan managed to appease her with gifts, Olesya's intercession also played a role.

Ivan was fascinated not only by the beauty of Olesya. He was also attracted by her original mind. A lot of disputes between them flared up when Ivan tried to scientifically substantiate Olesino's "black art". And despite their disagreements, a deep affection arose between them. Meanwhile, the character's relationship with Yarmola deteriorated, who initially did not approve of the desire to meet the sorceress. He does not like the fact that both witches are afraid of the church.

Once, when Ivan once again appeared in the hut, he found the sorceress and her granddaughter in frustrated feelings: the local constable ordered them to leave the hut at twenty-four hours and threatened to let them go in stages in case of disobedience. The hero volunteers to help, and the old woman does not refuse the offer, despite Olesya's displeasure. Ivan tries to beg the constable not to drive the women out of the house, to which he objects with the words that they are "an ulcer of these places." But, appeasing him with treats and expensive gifts Ivan gets his way. Police officer Evpsikhy Afrikanovich promises to leave Manuilikha and Olesya alone.

But the relationship between Olesya and Ivan has since changed for the worse, and Olesya diligently avoids any explanations. Here Ivan unexpectedly and seriously falls ill - for six days he was "beaten by a terrible Polissya fever." And only after recovery he manages to find out the relationship with Olesya. Who honestly admitted that she avoided meeting Ivan only because she wanted to get away from fate. But, realizing that this was impossible, she confessed her love to him. Ivan reciprocated her. But Olesya still could not forget about her fortune-telling. But still, their love, despite Ivan's bad forebodings and Manuilikha's malice, developed.

Meanwhile, Ivan's official duties in Perebrod were over, and more and more often the idea came to him to marry Olesya, to take her with him. Convincing himself of the correctness of this decision, he proposes to his beloved. But Olesya refuses, motivating the refusal by the fact that she does not want to spoil the life of a young, educated gentleman. As a result, she even offers Ivan to simply follow him, without any marriage. Ivan has a suspicion that her refusal is connected with the fear of the church, to which Olesya says that for the sake of love for him, she is ready to overcome this superstition of hers. She made an appointment for him in the church the next day, on the feast of the Holy Trinity, and Ivan was seized by a terrible premonition.

The next day, the hero did not have time to get to the church in time, being late on official business, and when he returned, he found a local clerk at his place, who told him about today's "fun" - the village girls caught a witch in the square, who was shaken, they wanted to smear with tar, but she managed to escape. Indeed, Olesya came to the church, defended the mass, after which the village women attacked her. Miraculously escaped Olesya threatened them that they would still remember her and cry their fill. But Ivan was able to find out all these details later. In the meantime, he rushed into the forest, and found in the hut beaten Olesya without memory, seized with a fever, and Manuilikha cursing him. When Olesya came to her senses, she told Ivan that they could no longer stay here, so they needed to say goodbye. At parting, Olesya admitted that she regretted that she did not have a child from Ivan.

That same night, a terrible hailstorm hit Perebrod. And in the morning, Yarmola, who woke Ivan, advised him to get out of the village - the hail, which beat the life of half the village, according to the villagers, was sent by sorceresses out of revenge. And the embittered people began to “shout unkindly” about Ivan. Wanting to warn Olesya about the misfortune that threatens her, the hero rushes to the hut, where he finds only traces of a hasty flight and bright red beads, which remained the only thing left to remember Olesya and her tender, generous love ...

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin

"Olesya"

The young male narrator, whom “fate threw for six months into the remote village of Perebrod in the Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polissya”, is unbearably bored, and his only entertainment was hunting with the servant Yarmola and trying to teach the latter to read and write. One day, during a terrible snowstorm, the hero learns from the usually untalkative Yarmola that the real witch Manuilikha lives ten versts from his house, who appeared in the village from nowhere, and then was evicted outside of it for her witchcraft deeds. The opportunity to get to know her appears quickly: as soon as it gets warmer, the hero goes hunting with Yarmola and, getting lost in the forest, stumbles upon a hut. Assuming that a local forester lives here, he goes inside and finds an old woman there "with all the features of a Baba Yaga, as the folk epic depicts her." Manuilikha met the hero unfriendly, but when he took out a silver quarter and asked the old woman to tell fortunes, she noticeably perked up. And in the midst of fortune-telling, she again began to see the uninvited guest out - the witch's granddaughter, a dark-haired beauty "about twenty or twenty-five years old", came into the house, who showed the hero the way home and called herself Olesya.

All the first spring days, the image of Olesya did not leave the hero’s thoughts, and as soon as the forest paths dried up, he went to the sorceress’s hut. As for the first time, the granddaughter greeted the guest much more affably than Manuilikha. And when the guest asked Olesya to tell him fortunes, she admitted that she had already thrown cards at him once, and the main thing that she told him was that this year “great love falls to you from the lady of clubs with dark hair.” And for those "who will love you, you will bring a lot of grief." The cards also told Olesya that the hero would bring shame to this lady of clubs, one that is worse than death ... When Olesya went to see off the guest, she tried to prove to him that she and her grandmother owned the real gift of witchcraft, and conducted several experiments on him. Then the hero tries to find out where Manuilikha came from in Polissya, to which Olesya answered evasively that her grandmother does not like to talk about it. At the same time, the hero introduces himself for the first time - his name is Ivan Timofeevich.

From that day on, the hero became a frequent guest in the hut. Olesya was always glad to see him, although she met him with restraint. But the old woman was not particularly pleased, but Ivan managed to appease her with gifts, Olesya's intercession also played a role.

Ivan was fascinated not only by the beauty of Olesya. He was also attracted by her original mind. A lot of disputes between them flared up when Ivan tried to scientifically substantiate Olesino's "black art". And despite their disagreements, a deep affection arose between them. Meanwhile, the character's relationship with Yarmola deteriorated, who initially did not approve of the desire to meet the sorceress. He does not like the fact that both witches are afraid of the church.

Once, when Ivan once again appeared in the hut, he found the sorceress and her granddaughter in frustrated feelings: the local constable ordered them to leave the hut at twenty-four hours and threatened to let them go in stages in case of disobedience. The hero volunteers to help, and the old woman does not refuse the offer, despite Olesya's displeasure. Ivan tries to beg the police officer not to kick the women out of the house, to which he objects with the words that they are “an ulcer of these places.” But, appeasing him with treats and expensive gifts, Ivan gets his way. Police officer Evpsikhy Afrikanovich promises to leave Manuilikha and Olesya alone.

But the relationship between Olesya and Ivan has since changed for the worse, and Olesya diligently avoids any explanations. Here Ivan unexpectedly and seriously falls ill - for six days he was "beaten by a terrible Polissya fever." And only after recovery does he manage to sort things out with Olesya, who honestly admitted that she avoided meeting Ivan only because she wanted to get away from fate. But, realizing that this was impossible, she confessed her love to him. Ivan reciprocated her. But Olesya still could not forget about her fortune-telling. But still, their love, despite Ivan's bad forebodings and Manuilikha's malice, developed.

Meanwhile, Ivan's official duties in Perebrod were over, and more and more often the idea came to him to marry Olesya, to take her with him. Convincing himself of the correctness of this decision, he proposes to his beloved. But Olesya refuses, motivating the refusal by the fact that she does not want to spoil the life of a young, educated gentleman. As a result, she even offers Ivan to simply follow him, without any marriage. Ivan has a suspicion that her refusal is connected with the fear of the church, to which Olesya says that for the sake of love for him, she is ready to overcome this superstition of hers. She made an appointment for him in the church the next day, on the feast of the Holy Trinity, and Ivan was seized by a terrible premonition.

The next day, the hero did not have time to get to the church in time, being late on official business, and when he returned, he found a local clerk at his place, who told him about today's "fun" - the village girls caught a witch in the square, who was shaken, they wanted to smear with tar, but she managed to escape. Indeed, Olesya came to the church, defended the mass, after which the village women attacked her. Miraculously escaped Olesya threatened them that they would still remember her and cry their fill. But Ivan was able to find out all these details later. In the meantime, he rushed into the forest, and found in the hut beaten Olesya without memory, seized with a fever, and Manuilikha cursing him. When Olesya came to her senses, she told Ivan that they could no longer stay here, so they needed to say goodbye. At parting, Olesya admitted that she regretted that she did not have a child from Ivan.

That same night, a terrible hailstorm hit Perebrod. And in the morning, Yarmola, who woke Ivan, advised him to get out of the village - the hail, which beat the life of half the village, according to the villagers, was sent by sorceresses out of revenge. And the embittered people began to “shout unkindly” about Ivan. Wanting to warn Olesya about the misfortune that threatens her, the hero rushes to the hut, where he finds only traces of a hasty flight and bright red beads, which remained the only thing left to remember Olesya and her tender, generous love ...

For half a year, fate throws the young master Ivan Timofeevich into a remote village on the outskirts of Polesye. Out of boredom, he hunts and teaches the servant Yarmol to read and write. One winter, the servant tells: a real witch lives in the local forests. She used to live in the village, but she was expelled for witchcraft deeds.

In the spring, the master and Yarmola go hunting, go astray and come across the hut. They thought it was the forester's house, but it turned out to be Manuilikha. The hostess, resembling a Baba Yaga, is unfriendly with guests, but a silver quarter changes things - she even agrees to tell fortunes to Ivan. At this time, a dark-haired girl entered the house - the granddaughter of the hostess, who called herself Olesya.

The beauty of the girl conquers the heart of Ivan. As soon as the paths are dry, he goes to the forest hut. The old woman expresses dissatisfaction, Olesya, on the contrary, is friendly with the guest. He asks his granddaughter to tell fortunes, she admits: she has already thrown cards at him. Ivan gets a lot of love from the lady of clubs, but he will bring her a lot of grief and shame, which is worse than death. Olesya volunteers to see the guest off. On the way, the girl tries to convince: she and her grandmother have a real gift of witchcraft.

From that day Ivan became a frequent visitor to Manuilikha's house. The old woman managed to appease with gifts, and Olesya always stood up for the master. A bond developed between the young people. He even lobbied with the constable to leave the women alone when he intended to evict the "ulcers of these places" and threatened to let them go through the escort. Yarmola condemns the master: both witches are afraid of the church.

For some unknown reason, Olesya begins to avoid Ivan. Unexpected fever fell young man for a week. Only after recovery did he return to the showdown. The girl confesses: she wanted to get away from fate, but she realized that it was impossible. Olesya confesses her love for the master. Ivan himself has long had tender feelings for the original girl and is even thinking about getting married.

Official business in Perebrod is coming to an end. Ivan decides to propose. However, Olesya does not want to spoil the life of an educated person, she is ready to go with him just like that, without marriage. Ivan thinks that the refusal is connected with the fear of the church, but Olesya is ready to prove the opposite. She makes an appointment at church for the next day.

On the feast of the Holy Trinity, Ivan is delayed on business, does not have time to get to the appointed place on time, he is tormented by bad forebodings. The local clerk tells the gentleman who has appeared how the local girls caught a witch in the square and gave a shake-up. Later, Ivan learns: Olesya was in the church and defended the mass, then the women attacked her. She miraculously escaped, threatening in the end that they would cry their fill.

Ivan rushes into the forest. Olesya beats in a fever without memory, Manuilikha blames her boyfriend for everything. Having come to her senses, the girl says goodbye to her beloved, regrets not having a child from Ivan. She knows that she and her grandmother must not stay in the forest.

On the same night, the strongest hail beats the life of half the village. The villagers consider this the revenge of the sorceress and are going to go into the forest. Ivan is ahead of the locals, but finds only Olesya's red beads in an abandoned hut. They become the only reminder of tender and generous love.

Compositions

A. I. Kuprin

My servant, cook and hunting companion Yarmola, the woodsman, entered the room, bending under a bundle of firewood, dropped it with a crash on the floor and breathed on his frozen fingers.

“Oh, what a wind, panych, in the yard,” he said, squatting down in front of the shutter. - It is necessary to heat it well in coarse. Allow me a spark, sir.

- So, tomorrow we won’t go to the hares, huh? What do you think, Yarmola?

- No ... you can’t ... hear what a mess. The hare is now lying and - and not purr-murr ... Tomorrow you will not see even a single trace.

Fate threw me for six whole months in a remote village in the Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polissya, and hunting was my only occupation and pleasure. I confess that at the time when I was offered to go to the village, I did not at all think that I would be so unbearably bored. I even went with joy. “Polesie… backwoods… the bosom of nature… simple morals… primitive nature,” I thought, sitting in the carriage, “a people completely unfamiliar to me, with strange customs, a peculiar language… and, probably, what a lot of poetic legends, legends and songs!” And at that time (to tell, to tell everything like that) I had already managed to emboss in one small newspaper a story with two murders and one suicide, and I knew theoretically that it is useful for writers to observe morals.

But ... either the Perebrod peasants were distinguished by some kind of special, stubborn lack of communication, or I did not know how to get down to business - my relations with them were limited only to the fact that, when they saw me, they still took off their hats from a distance, and when they came abreast of me, they said sullenly: "Guy bug", which was supposed to mean "God help." When I tried to talk to them, they looked at me with surprise, refused to understand the most simple questions and everyone tried to kiss my hands - an old custom left over from Polish serfdom.

The books that I had, I read them all very soon. Out of boredom - although at first it seemed unpleasant to me - I made an attempt to get acquainted with the local intelligentsia in the person of a priest who lived fifteen miles away, the "pan organist" who was with him, the local constable and the clerk of the neighboring estate from retired non-commissioned officers, but nothing of this didn't work out.

Then I tried to treat the inhabitants of Perebrod. At my disposal were: castor oil, carbolic acid, boric acid, iodine. But here, in addition to my meager information, I came across the complete impossibility of making diagnoses, because the signs of the disease in all my patients were always the same: “it hurts in the middle” and “I can’t eat or drink.”

For example, an old woman comes to me. Wiping his nose with an embarrassed look with his index finger right hand, she takes out a couple of eggs from her bosom, and for a second I can see her brown skin, and puts them on the table. Then she starts catching my hands to plant a kiss on them. I hide my hands and convince the old woman: “Come on, grandma ... leave it ... I don’t pop ... I’m not supposed to ... What hurts you?”

- In the sulfur?

- How long have you been doing this?

– Do I know? She also answers with a question. - So it bakes and bakes. I can't drink or eat.

And no matter how much I fight, there are no more definite signs of the disease.

“Don’t worry,” a non-commissioned clerk once advised me, “they will heal themselves.” Dry like a dog. I will tell you that I use only one medicine - ammonia. A man comes to me. "What do you want?" - "I, he says, is sick" ... Now he has a bottle of ammonia under his breath. "Smell!" Sniffing… “Smell more… stronger!..” Sniffing… “Is it easier?” - "It seemed to feel better ..." - "Well, go with God."

In addition, this kissing of hands disgusted me (and others so directly fell at my feet and tried with all their might to kiss my boots). It was not a movement of a grateful heart at all, but simply a disgusting habit, instilled by centuries of slavery and violence. And I was only surprised at the same clerk from the non-commissioned officers and the sergeant, looking with what imperturbable gravity they thrust their huge red paws into the lips of the peasants ...

All I had to do was hunt. But at the end of January, such weather came that it became impossible to hunt. Every day a terrible wind blew, and during the night a hard, icy layer of crust formed on the snow, over which the hare ran without leaving traces. Sitting shut up and listening to the howling of the wind, I yearned terribly. It is clear that I greedily seized on such an innocent entertainment as teaching Yarmola the woodsman to read and write.

It started, however, in a rather original way. I was writing a letter one day and suddenly I felt that someone was standing behind me. Turning around, I saw Yarmola approaching, as always, soundlessly in his soft sandals.

Year of writing:

1898

Reading time:

Description of the work:

Olesya's story was written by Alexander Kuprin in 1898. If we talk about the cycle of "Polesye stories", then it should be noted that the story of Olesya - best work Kuprin.

Throughout 1897, Kuprin lived in Polissya, Rovno district. There he served as manager of the estate. Kuprin had the opportunity to observe a lot how the peasants live, as well as absorb the sensations of the majestic nature. All this gave Kuprin an excellent basis for the future work.

Read below summary story Olesya.

The young male narrator, whom "fate threw for six months in the remote village of Perebrod in the Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polissya," is unbearably bored. His only entertainments are hunting with the servant Yarmola and attempts to teach the latter to read and write. One day, during a terrible snowstorm, the hero learns from the usually untalkative Yarmola that the real witch Manuilikha lives ten versts from his house, who appeared in the village from nowhere, and then was evicted outside of it for her witchcraft deeds.

The opportunity to get to know her appears quickly: as soon as it gets warmer, the hero goes hunting and, getting lost in the forest, stumbles upon a hut. Assuming that a local forester lives here, he goes inside and finds an old woman there "with all the features of a Baba Yaga, as the folk epic depicts her." Manuilikha greets the hero unfriendly, but noticeably perks up when he takes out a silver quarter and asks the old woman to tell fortunes. In the midst of fortune-telling, the witch's granddaughter, Olesya, a dark-haired beauty "about twenty to twenty-five years old" enters the house. She treats the narrator kindly and shows him the way home.

All the first spring days, the image of Olesya does not leave the narrator's thoughts.

When the forest roads dry up, the narrator goes to the witch's hut. As for the first time, the granddaughter greets the guest much more affably than Manuilikha. And when the guest asks Olesya to tell him fortune, she admits that she has already spread cards on him once and guessed that this year he will have “great love from the lady of clubs with dark hair.” And for those "who will love you, you will bring a lot of grief." More cards told Olesya that the hero will bring shame to this lady of clubs, which is worse than death ...

Seeing off the narrator, Olesya will try to prove to him that the real gift of witchcraft belongs to her and her grandmother, and conducts several experiments on him - Heals a deep cut on him and makes him stumble after her. Then the hero tries to find out where Manuilikha came from in Polissya, to which Olesya replies evasively that her grandmother does not like to talk about it. Then the narrator introduces himself for the first time - his name is Ivan Timofeevich.

From that day on, the hero becomes a frequent guest in the hut. Olesya is always glad to see him, although she greets him with restraint. But the old woman is not particularly pleased, but Ivan manages to appease her with gifts, Olesya's intercession also helps.

Ivan is fascinated not only by the beauty of Olesya. He is also attracted by her original mind. A lot of disputes flare up between them when Ivan tries to scientifically substantiate Olesino's "black art". Despite their differences, a deep bond develops between them. Meanwhile, Ivan's relationship with Yarmola deteriorates, who does not approve of his acquaintance with the sorceress. The servant does not like the fact that both witches are afraid of the church.

Once, when Ivan once again comes to the hut, he finds the sorceress and her granddaughter upset: the local officer ordered them to leave the hut at twenty-four hours and threatened to let them go in stages in case of disobedience. The hero volunteers to help, and the old woman does not refuse the offer, despite Olesya's displeasure. Ivan begs the constable not to drive the women out of the house, to which he objects and calls the old woman with her granddaughter "an ulcer of these places." Having cajoled the constable with treats and expensive gifts, Ivan still achieves his goal. The constable promises to leave Manuilikha and Olesya alone.

From this time on, Olesya begins to avoid Ivan and any explanations with him.

Here Ivan unexpectedly and seriously falls ill - for six days he was "beaten by a terrible Polissya fever." And only after recovery he manages to explain himself to Olesya. The girl avoided meeting Ivan only because she wanted to get away from fate. Realizing that this is impossible, she confesses her love to him. Ivan reciprocates her feelings, but Olesya still cannot forget about her fortune-telling. However, despite Ivan's misgivings and Manuilikha's malice, their love blossoms.

Meanwhile, Ivan's official duties in Perebrod are coming to an end, and more and more often the idea comes to him to marry Olesya and take her with him. Convincing himself of the correctness of this decision, he proposes to his beloved. But Olesya refuses - she does not want to spoil the life of a young, educated gentleman. The girl even offers Ivan just to go after him, without any marriage.

Ivan has a suspicion that her refusal is connected with the fear of the church, to which Olesya says that for the sake of love for him, she is ready to overcome this superstition. She makes an appointment for him in the church the next day, on the feast of the Holy Trinity, and Ivan is seized by a terrible premonition.

The next day, Ivan is late on official business and does not have time to get to the church on time. Returning home, he finds a local clerk at his place, who tells him about today's "fun" - the village girls caught a witch in the square, who was shaken up, they wanted to smear it with tar, but she managed to escape. Indeed, Olesya came to the church, defended the mass, after which the village women attacked her. Having miraculously escaped, Olesya threatened them that they would still remember her and cry their fill.

Ivan will find out all these details later. In the meantime, he rushes into the forest, and finds in the hut beaten Olesya without memory, seized with a fever, and Manuilikha cursing him. Olesya comes to her senses and explains to Ivan that she and her grandmother can no longer stay here, so she and Ivan will have to part. At parting, Olesya admits that she would like to have a child from Ivan and regrets that he is gone.

On the same night, a strong hail falls on Perebrod. In the morning, Yarmola wakes Ivan up and advises him to get out of the village - the hail that killed half the village, according to the villagers, was sent by sorceresses out of revenge, and the embittered people are already beginning to "shout unkind" about Ivan. Wanting to warn Olesya about the misfortune that threatens her, the hero rushes to the hut, where he finds only traces of a hasty flight and bright red beads, which remained the only memory of Olesya and her tender, generous love...

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Fate threw the hero for six whole months in a remote village in the Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polissya, where hunting was his only occupation and pleasure. By that time, he had already "managed to emboss in one small newspaper a story with two murders and one suicide, and he knew theoretically that it is useful for writers to observe morals." When all the books of his library were re-read, he tried to treat the Perebrod residents, but it was impossible to make a diagnosis, because “... the signs of the disease in all ... patients were always the same: “it hurts in the middle” and “no I can't eat or drink." He tried to teach Yarmola Popruzhin to read and write, but abandoned this idea. For several months, this careless tramp, poacher and hunter mastered only the letters of his last name. Yarmola soon became attached to the young master because of his common passion for hunting, for a simple appeal, for helping his family, and mainly because he did not reproach him with drunkenness.

On one of the winter blizzard evenings, he told the hero about one witch, Manuilikha, who was driven out of the village and to whom the village women run. Once during a hunt, Ivan Timofeevich (the hero of the story) got lost and came across a hut that stood in a swamp. “It was not even a hut, but a fabulous hut on chicken legs. It did not touch the ground with the floor, but was built on piles, probably due to the flood that floods the entire ... forest in spring. But one side of it sagged from time to time, and this gave the hut a lame, sad look. In the hut, an old woman sat on the floor and sorted out feathers. The arrival of the guest did not please her. And only a small silver quarter attracted the attention of Manuilikha. Hiding the coin behind her cheek, she began to guess, but suddenly, hearing a resonant female voice, she began to see the young master out. A young girl entered the hut, holding finches in her hands. “There was nothing in her like the local “girls”, whose faces under ugly bandages ... wear such a monotonous, frightened expression - the Stranger ... kept herself light and slender ... The original beauty of her face, once seen, could not be forget, but it was difficult ... to describe it. His beauty lay in ... large, shiny, dark eyes ... in the masterful curve of his lips. The girl escorted the guest to the forest path leading to the village. Upon learning that Ivan Timofeevich had visited the witch, Yarmola became angry with him.

Spring has come, early and friendly. As soon as the roads dried up, the hero went to the hut, taking tea and a few lumps of sugar for the grouchy old woman. This time the girl was at home, and the guest began to beg her to tell fortunes to him. But it turned out that Olesya had already thrown her cards once in order to find out the fate of the master. It turned out this: her new acquaintance is a kind man, but weak. His kindness is not good, not cordial. He is not master of his word. Likes to take over people. Loves wine and women. He does not value money, so he will never be rich. He will not love anyone with his heart, because his heart is cold and lazy. But very soon he falls in love. And this love will bring shame and long sorrow to the woman. Olesya, seeing off the guest, showed him "her charms."

From that day Ivan Timofeevich became a frequent guest in the hut on chicken legs. Every time he came, "Olesya met ... with her usual restrained dignity ... The old woman still did not stop mumbling something under her breath." "Not only Olesya's beauty ... fascinated in her, but also her whole, original free nature, her mind, both clear and shrouded in unshakable hereditary superstition." Young people talked about everything, including superstitions. And the girl argued that she could not and was afraid to go to church, because her soul had been “sold to him” since childhood. So far, not a word has been said about love, but our heroes became more and more attached to each other. “But ... relations with Yarmola completely deteriorated. For him, obviously, it was not a secret to visit the hut on chicken legs.

Once, a constable, having come to Manuilikha, ordered her and her granddaughter to leave the hut at 24 o'clock. The poor old woman turned to a new acquaintance for help. Ivan Timofeevich gave the sergeant a gun, and he left the inhabitants of the forest hut alone for a while. But Olesya has changed since then. There was no former gullibility, naive caress and former animation. The young man "was indignant ... against the habit that pulled ... every day to Olesya." He himself did not suspect with what strong invisible threads his heart was tied to a charming and incomprehensible girl for him.

Once, returning from a swamp, he felt ill, and then spent two weeks lying in bed, he was beaten by a fever. But as soon as he got stronger, he went back to the swamp, to the forest hut. The young people sat down nearby, and the girl began to ask in detail about the disease, about medicines. Olesya again went to see off the guest, although her grandmother was against it. Left alone, they confess their love to each other, because “... separation for love is the same as wind for fire; she extinguishes a small love, and inflates a big one even more strongly. “And the whole night merged into some kind of magical, bewitching fairy tale.”

“For almost a month, the naive, charming fairy tale of our love continued, and to this day, together with the beautiful appearance of Olesya, these blazing evening dawns, these dewy mornings, fragrant with lilies of the valley and honey, live with unfading strength in my soul ...” - says the author.

Ivan Timofeevich discovered in this girl, who grew up in the middle of the forest, who could not read, sensitive delicacy and innate tact. “In love - in its direct, in its rough sense - there are always terrible sides that make up torment and shame for nervous artistic natures. But Olesya knew how to avoid them with such naive chastity that not a single bad comparison, not a single cynical moment offended our connection. Meanwhile, the time of departure was approaching, more and more often the thought of marrying a forest sorceress came into the young man's head. Only one circumstance was frightening and alarming: would the girl be able to live in the city, "torn out of this charming frame of the old forest, full of legends and mysterious forces." Ivan Timofeevich told his beloved both about his departure and about his proposal, once again tried to shake her superstition, her humble confidence in the mysterious fatal calling, spoke of the mercy of God. The girl was amazed by everything she heard. To please her beloved, she decides to go to church. A superstitious thought flashed through Ivan Timofeevich's head: wouldn't some misfortune happen from this?

The premonition did not deceive him. Olesya “overcame her fear and came to church... Throughout the service, the women whispered and looked back. However, Olesya found enough strength in herself to survive until the end of mass. Perhaps she did not understand the real meaning of these hostile looks, perhaps out of pride she neglected them. But when she left the church, at the very fence she was surrounded on all sides by a bunch of women ... At first they only silently and unceremoniously looked at ... the girl. Then rude ridicule rained down ... Several times Olesya tried to pass through this terrible ring, but she was constantly pushed back to the middle ... Almost at the same moment, a daub with tar and a brush appeared over the heads of the raging women, passed from hand to hand .. But Olesya, by some miracle, managed to slip out of this tangle, and she ran headlong along the road ... Stones flew after her, along with scolding, laughter and hooting.

Having learned from the clerk what had happened in the church, Ivan Timofeevich flew straight to Manuilikha's hut. The poor girl lay unconscious. The old woman was wailing all the time. In the evening, Olesya felt better. Tortured and humiliated, she confessed to her Vanechka that out of shame and evil she threatened the villagers, now, if anything happens, people will blame her and her grandmother, so they need to leave.

That night a terrible thunderstorm broke out with hail, which destroyed the entire crop near half of the village. The village was restless. Wanting to save his beloved, Ivan Timofeevich again rushed to the hut. But it was empty. In memory of Olesya, her devoted love, only a string of cheap red beads, known in Polissya as "corals", remained.