The fairy tale of the cabinet

From the new collection of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya

In the publishing house "Alpina. Prose ”was published by a collection of fairy tales of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya“ Queen of Lear ”. With the permission of the publisher, we publish one of these wonderful stories.

Starting from February 24, 2022, we were all in the face of the advancing barbarism, violence and lies. In this situation, it is extremely important to preserve at least the remnants of culture and support the values ​​of humanism - including for the sake of the future of Russia. Therefore, the editorial office of Gorky will continue to talk about books, reminding our readers that the world remains in the world and fiction.

Lyudmila Petrushevskaya. Queen Lear. Wonderful stories. M.: Alpina. Prose, 2022. Content

In one city there was an adult girl who really wanted to get to the ball. By the way, during the dancing, the prince had to choose a bride.

Everyone knew it.

On the streets of the city there were ads about the ball, there was a luxurious advertisement on television with a portrait of a fairly young prince, and all the ladies and young ladies tried on dresses in stores, very beautiful and expensive.

The girl, like everyone else, had already loved this prince for a long time, he always walked in military uniform with cords, all in gold, slender, as an athlete was supposed to, and on his head he wore without removing a blue cap with an emblem.

But the girl did not have a new outfit! Honestly, she had few old outfits.

Then she decided that she would sew her dress from paper. And inexpensive, and at once everyone will pay attention. And she sat down to make a dress from newspapers to catch up in the evening!

And she did as she wanted - quickly sewed a new outfit and was about to go out into it, but dad understood everything and did not allow her to go to the ball, said that everyone would laugh. But she nevertheless ran out of the house in her newspaper dress, just in case, taking a needle with a thread with her (you never know, suddenly where it will break), and my dad leaned out the window and shouted that she could not return home!

He even added:

- Do not be a laughing stock! Shame, and that’s it!

At the same time, passers -by ladies, and especially schoolgirls, really laughed ...

Then the girl decided to leave the city. She specially ran into the forest in her newspaper dress, where there were many branches and thorns.

And suddenly, ragged and tearful, she saw a small house in the forest, on which a light score was immediately lit up, and the words appeared on it: “Come in and live, the house is magical!”

The girl was in this house, where there was a very beautiful closet and next to him the old chest.

And in this closet there was a beautiful suit with a plaid skirt and apron!

The delighted girl put on this outfit, and she hid her battered newspapers in an old chest, calling them with a needle.

The girl rejoiced, imagining that she came to the ball in this costume, is still better than in newspapers!

She dented a little in front of the mirror to herself to the sounds of the orchestra, which came from the palace, and was about to leave the magic house, but she saw that the inscription was again glowing above the half-open doors: “Our dresses, as soon as you leave the house, would become invisible.”

There was nothing to do, the girl returned, sat down and sad.

But then she decided to change into her torn newspapers again, what to do!

However, at first the girl opened the closet. She was not going to rummage in other people's treasures, it was just that it was necessary to hang back a suit with a apron!

And in the closet it shone so that it hurt my eyes. It turned out that a dress in the color of the morning sky is now hanging there - blue and transparent.

And the girl put it on immediately. She became beautiful like a fairy! And the mirror smiled at her.

But in the closet, everything appeared again. The girl opened it again.

There hung a dress of a sunny day - everything is gold!

The girl changed clothes and ended up in this dress. In it, she looked like a princess!

And then suddenly the closet caught fire in evening lights - the next dress was blue and all in the bulbs!

She measured him. Now she would clearly become the queen of the ball if she was in the palace.

And in the restless closet there was again music. There now hung the dress of the queen of the night - black and all in the stars.

The girl put it on, forgot everything in the world and turned to the door to run out, but again saw the inscription there: “Our dresses, as soon as you leave the house, will become invisible.”

And the girl did not go anywhere.

She sat by the table and sad in her dress in the queen of the night. Even in the mirror I no longer looked so as not to be frustrated anymore.

And at that moment the prince himself, who was heading for the ball, drove past. He looked out the window and saw a beautiful young girl in a dress with stars. The prince knocked on the door.

The girl quickly put things in order in the house, put all the dresses in the closet, adjusted the chest cover. And only then in her luxurious outfit of the queen of the night the girl sat in her former place.

And she shouted affably:

-Yes, come in!

The prince entered and said:

- Why are you not in the palace? Why aren't you at the ball? Let me take you. I just have a chair in the carriage for you. She is double!

And the horse of the prince was already looking into the house, smiling.

But above the door, above the prince’s head, it immediately lit up, blinked and went out a luminary display with a familiar inscription.

And the girl shook her head:

“I can't go to the ball.” You see, I have nothing to do.

- You have a wonderful dress! - the prince was surprised.

And the girl almost cried. She could not say that if you leave this house in such a dress, it will become invisible, and a person may be on the street just in shorts and a T -shirt.

But the girl resisted tears, turned away and said:

“But I don't like it!” And in general I do not want to go to the ball!

And the prince replied:

“You probably don't like me!”

And his horse, who looked at the door, cried with grief.

The matter was done!

The prince left.

The girl knocked herself on the head with her fist and also cried, sitting in her dress in the queen of the night.

And the music began to play in the chest, and he opened. There were old newspapers - the former dress of the girl.

And the girl was stuck on top!

The girl took a needle with a thread and somehow fastened, sewed these rags.

And she put on her paper dress, and then led order in the house, gathered all the scraps of newspapers from the floor, and the completely useless dress of the queen of the night and the rest of the outfits hung it back into the closet.

Immediately on the doors, the inscription lit up: "Good path!"

And the girl, stuck a needle with a thread into the sleeve, sadly left the magic house in her torn newspapers.

But then she shuddered: a horse with a carriage was waiting for her at the door. The girl carefully looked at the prince. She was ready to jump back into the house.

And the horse told her:

- No, do not be afraid, the prince is already at the ball. Sit down soon. As soon as I was freed, I immediately decided to call in for you. It's not far here. By the way, there are a lot of sweets in the carriage.

Indeed, beautiful boxes with lace were visible outside the carriage door.

The girl sat in a carriage and did not eat sweets, but pulled paper lace from them and quickly sewed it to the dress.

But, when they arrived at the palace and it was necessary to leave the carriage, everything turned out to be in vain: the girl had a skirt with a bang. And behind her and the back of the dress!

And at this time, as luck would have it, the prince approached his sea cap and said:

- Ah, it's you! How nice! Finally! Glory to you Lord, you decided! And I really thought you were bad about me!

“I can’t go to the ball with you,” the girl answered and tried to close the carriage door. But the torn newspapers prevented her.

And the prince, looking at the girl in a half -open door, said:

- Well! I understood it for a long time! I am a poor prince whom no one loves, and if they say anything to me, then always lie! They love my crown, to be honest! You do not hide anything, and I respect you even more!

At the door of the palace, ladies and servants crowded, and everyone looked at the girl who was sitting like a tramp, wrapped in old torn newspapers.

The orchestra played unbearably loudly, in the palace everyone danced like the leads, and the prince turned sharply, lowered his head and left, and the guards closed the doors behind him.

Silence came. The girl was attached and did not cry, only everything picked up paper lace from the floor and for some reason folded them in a heap.

But then the horse turned around and asked the girl:-Can I help you with something?

The girl answered through the ajar door:

- I need new newspapers.

They rushed so that scraps of torn paper flew from the carriage.

The horse stopped in front of a newspaper kiosk and asked to give her all the last editions, and she promised to pay later.

The seller immediately decided to get rich, exclaimed: "Only this will cost you a little expensive!" - And he began to give the girl the old newspapers that he had long gathered in order to throw it out.

He was so glad! And so I did not notice that the girl quickly and quickly sews something from this yellowed paper. And the horse did not notice anything even more, she stood her tail to the carriage!

The girl even sewed those very lace from sweets to new newspapers!

Finally, the girl leaned out the window and said as an astronaut:

- Let's go !!!

And the horse realized that everything was in order, laughed and rushed.

They quickly jumped into the palace, and then the prince stomped at the door, went to his carriage and asked the horse:

- Who exactly did you bring?

And the horse replied:

- Open the door yourself and see!

And the prince took a girl out of the carriage in a new newspaper dress with luxurious lace.

The girl jumped, and the newspapers were cloar and swayed! And the prince exclaimed:

- What a wonderful dress for you! You are like a ballerina! I invite you to dance with me!

They danced, and the ladies looked at them in all their eyes, trying to understand what such a dress was sewn from. And in the doorway, photographers and movie operators with cameras crowded.

The girl had scraps all the time all the time, and the ladies picked them up, read aloud, but they could not understand anything and whisper.

And in the end, the girl was proclaimed the queen of the ball!

True, by that time there was little left on it. Panties with T -shirt and scraps of lace around the belt.

However, everyone considered that this was a new fashion!

And the prince himself fell in front of her on one knee and kissed her hand.

And he said:

- I ask you to be my princess !!

And at all this, a horse looked from the door over the photographers and literally laughed with happiness.