Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) is one of the most famous Russian writers and thinkers and is considered one of the greatest writers in the world. His work marked a new stage of the development of the Russian and world’s realism and connected the literature of the XIX and the XX centuries. His short stories stated his thoughts on the God, the Good and the Evil and their place in our lives.This story is a parable of a sinner trying to get past the Pearly Gates having no good thing done du...

Learn the folklore of the Western Europe with French Fairy Tales. Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy is said to be the one who coined the name of the genre, “fairy tale”. However the person, who popularized the genre, was Charles Perrault, whose fairy tales Bluebeard, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Puss in Boots are famous all around the world. French Fairy Tales, full of surrealism and unexplainable actions tell us the stories of kindness, friendship and love. The Submerged City is a story ...

The Fairy Tales of Old England collection is a remarkable treasure, a work that contains the best-loved tales of your childhood! This volume seeks to reclaim the powerful cultural legacy, presenting exciting stories that we all think we know while at the same time providing the historical contexts that reveal the mysteries of the fairy tales Binnorie is a story about two sisters which were a king’s daughters and lived near the bonny mill-dams of Binnorie. Young Sir William has won love of ...

King Arthur is a very famous myth character. Being strong and strategic he had a great success in conquer. He loved his own country so well, that to gain glory at home made him happiest of all. But once a false knight with his followers was laying waste the country across the sea, and Arthur had gone to wage war against him."And you, Sir Modred, will rule the country while I am gone," the King had said. Being a coward, Sir Modred smiled as he thought of the power that woul...

One morning there was a burial of the collegiate assessor, Kirill Ivanovitch Babilonov who died because of two diseases, that were the most common in the society: an angry wife and alcoholisms. When the funeral procession moved on from the church towards the cemetery, one of teammate of the dead man, sat into a coach and went to his friend Zapoikin who was young and popular man. Zapoikin was well known and had a rare talent - to speak extempore wedding, anniversaries and funeral speeches. ...

The story “The Toad-Woman” tells us about a young woman who was living alone in the woods met a handsome young man who was providing her with meat. They got married soon and had a son. One day her husband didn’t return from hunting. She waited till late at night, but he came no more. The next day, she swung her child to sleep in its cradle, and then said to her dog, "Take care of your brother while I am gone, and when he cries, halloo for me." Soon she heard the cry of the dog and ran home...

This is a story of one goldsmith, living in a village full of bad greedy people. The only person he could communicate to was a cowherd. But every evening the cowherd had to go for a walk with the goldsmith, even though he was very tired. Once he asked another cowherd, could he go to have a quarrel with the goldsmith? That guy advised him to kill a goldsmith’s wife. The cowherd was stupid enough to take the advice and he killed poor woman. When the goldsmith came home and found the wife dea...

The death of a government clerk is a short humoristic story which was published in 1883. In this story the author raises the problem of a "little" man. In the article there are only three persons: a government clerk, a wife of the clerk and a general Brizzhalov. The main hero is a government clerk who is an object to joke. The author isn't interested in other persons. A "little" man in this story is comic and miserable. One evening, a government clerk who is called Ivan Dmitritch Tchervyak...

For the first time the story was published in 1883. In the center of the story - 13-year-old student Vanya Ottepelov. Worrying before the exam in Greek, he did, as he thought, his best not to get the two grade. But nothing has helped him - he failed the exam.For Vanya this was not the only exam he failed. He really does not fit in that school. But his mother chose that school because it represents the ideals and the future she expects to attain one day. Vanya’s aunt criticized her ...

This story was written in 1886. Vanka Zhukov was a Nine-year-old boy who was an orphan and he was a pupil of the shoemaker - Alyakhin. His grandfather was watchman in the mansion of some gentlefolk called Zhivarev. On the eve of Christmas Vanka decided to write a letter to his grandfather. In the letter he was pleading to take him back to the Zhivarev's mansion. He told his grandfather how his life was difficult in Moscow, how he was punished and hurted. He even wanted to escape from Mosco...

Hercules was the most famous ancient Greek hero. Zeus was his father. There were twelve labors of Hercules in total.“Black Tartarus and Elysian Fields” describes two places: Black Tartarus is an analog of Hell. Into Tartarus we're thrown, never to come out again, the shades or manes of traitors, ingrates, perjurers, unnatural children, murderers and hypocrites who had during their lives pretended to be upright and honorable in order to deceive the just. Also, there were to be seen ...

The sky was totally covered with heavy clouds - it was a cold rainy day. Pavel Petrovitch Somov was annoyed by this weather. His room was dark and cold and the tears of rain on the window made him depressed. He was bored because he hadn't any entertainment or any affair. His wife was sitting at the table and was writing something. Madame Somov was a pretty lady in a light blouse and pink stockings. Pavel Petrovitch asked: " Lidotchka, what are you writing?" She told that she was writing a ...