The night before Christmas - a story by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, written in 1830 - 1832.

The witch flies out on a broomstick and collects stars in her sleeve. The devil in the sky hides the moon in his pocket. She's hot and he can't seem to get it done. Finally, complete darkness sets in. He steals so that in the dark the father of the girl Chub would not go to the deacon, and Vakula could not come to his daughter Oksana.

The devil takes revenge on the blacksmith because he painted a picture of the expulsion of Satan from hell in his forge. Vakula loves the local beauty Oksana very much. He was about to have a serious talk with her. But, despite the kidnapping of the night luminary, Chub goes to visit the deacon.

The witch with the devil goes down the chimney to her hut. Witch - Solokha, mother of the blacksmith Vakula. I must say that Solokha had such an ability to charm men that many Cossacks from the village visited her. And none of them even suspected that he was not alone, there were rivals. Of all, she singled out the rich Chub.

Oksana looks in the mirror and admires herself. Vakula comes and confesses his love to the girl. She laughs at him. Suddenly, someone knocks on the house. An angry Vakula jumps out of the hut, threatening to deal with the uninvited guest. It was Chub who returned - the owner of the hut.

It's all the fault of the treacherous devil. He made a whole snowstorm along the path of Oksana's father and he returned home. Because of the snowstorm, the Cossack even doubts that this is his house. Vokula also does not quite see who is in front of him. He rewards Chub with two fists. Thinking that he really made a mistake and went into the wrong hut, Chub goes to Solokha to spend the rest of the night.

Solokha has mercy on the devil, and a month jumps out of his pocket and returns to heaven. It becomes light again and all the young people go out into the street to carol. Oksana sees one of her friends wearing very beautiful slippers and, sighing, says that she cannot get a new thing. Vkula volunteers to find beautiful boots for the girl. Oksana jokingly asks the blacksmith for such slippers as the queen and promises to marry him.

There is a knock on the door of Solokha's hut. She stuffs the devil into the bag. Another admirer comes - a rural head. All he had time to tell was that the blizzard had prevented him from going to the clerk to drink some vodka. Soon there is another knock on the door. The resourceful woman hides the guest in another bag. This time the clerk came - Osip Nikiforovich. Soon the clerk also finds himself in a sack, as Chub came, who was beaten by Vakula.

The son of Solokha returns. The forelock climbs into the clerk's sack. Vakula looks around and sees that a lot of rubbish has accumulated in the house. He picks up all the bags at once and leaves with them. On the way he meets guys and girls who continue to carol. Oksana mockingly recalls the slippers. Vakula threatens suicide and, leaving his heavy burden, he runs away with one sack.

The blacksmith goes to the Cossack Patsuk, who is known with evil spirits, for advice. Patsuk at this time eats dumplings, and they themselves recover into his mouth. And to the blacksmith's question about the assistance of evil spirits to bewitch Oksana, Patsuk replies that the devil is already behind him. And indeed! The devil is in the bag that Vakula has behind his back. The blacksmith forces the devil to lead him to St. Petersburg, to the queen.

Meanwhile, in Dikanka, Solokha's "friends" are being released from bags. All this is accompanied by jokes Vakula approaches the capital and goes to the Cossacks who have come to the reception. He begs with them. The story describes all the splendor of the queen's palace. Vokula falls at the feet of the Empress and asks for her boots for Oksana. The queen gives him little slippers. Taking them, the lad hurries to Oksana, riding the devil.

The girl, meanwhile, managed to regret her words. The village is buzzing that the blacksmith either failed or drowned himself. Vakula goes to Oksana with a gift from the queen. She agrees to become his wife.

Year of writing: 1832

Genre: story

Main characters: crap, blacksmith Vakula, Oksana

Plot

The mighty blacksmith Vakula is in love with the capricious and proud beauty Oksana, but the girl only plays with the feelings of the lad. She declares to him that she will marry him only if he gives her little laces, the same ones the queen has.

At first, the young man fell into despair, but the devil appeared to him and promised help. Vakula, on the other hand, was a God-fearing person and did not count on the help of evil spirits. He grabbed the devil and saddled him, on it he flew to Petersburg, where he was able to get an audience with the queen and asked to give him shoes. The queen could not refuse such a simple-minded request, and she ordered to give the young man her slippers.

And in his native village Vakula was already buried, the neighbors believed that he committed suicide because of unhappy love. At that moment, the blacksmith came to Oksana's house with a gift, but the girl already realized that she did not need anyone except a devoted blacksmith.

Conclusion (my opinion)

No wonder they say that true love will overcome all obstacles and hardships. So Vakula proved his devotion to Oksana and won the girl's heart.

On our site you can read a summary of "The Night Before Christmas" by Gogol. Nikolai Vasilyevich worked on the story from 1830 to 1832. The first edition of the second part, included in the cycle "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka", was first published in 1832.

Read a summary of the story "The Night Before Christmas"

Wonderful events take place before Christmas Eve in the village of Dikanka, Poltava province. Suddenly, a witch on a broom flies out of the chimney of a house. She gathers the stars in the sky with agility, and the sorceress is accompanied by the devil, who has decided nothing less than to steal the month from the sky.

The devil decided in this way to teach a lesson to the local blacksmith Vakula because the insolent person in the church painting put the devil in an unattractive light.

The demon knows about the blacksmith's love for the charming Oksana, the daughter of the village head. And in order to prevent their meeting, he decides to arrange impenetrable darkness, then Chub will stay at home, and this will disrupt the meeting of young people.

The devil's plan doesn't work. Oksana's father goes to visit Diak. The girl, left alone, flaunts in front of the mirror, once again making sure that there is no one more beautiful than her in all of Dikanka.

Vakula comes to the house of her beloved and passionately talks about her feelings, the flirtatious girl laughs at the blacksmith, and then they hear a knock on the door. A blizzard broke out (rigged by the devil, who does not leave the thought of annoying the young blacksmith) forced Chub to return home, but due to a strong blizzard, he is not sure that he came to his hut. The young blacksmith, who did not recognize Pan Chub, gives him a couple of cuffs. Annoyed, Chub decides to go to Solokha, Vakula's mother. As the narrator informs readers, Solokha is the same witch who stole the stars from the sky.

The witch, meanwhile, is talking with the devil, who is not averse to indulging in love pleasures with her, but everything is violated by the pan head, who knocked on the hut at the wrong time. The woman, not at a loss, orders the devil to get into the bag, and he loses a month in a hurry. The moon that has risen in the sky instantly calms the blizzard, and from all over Dikanka one can hear the voices of caroling young lads and maidens. Vakula and Oksana join the general festivities. Noticing new laces on one of her friends, the girl complains that no one will give her such an expensive gift. Vakula eagerly agrees to give the windy beauty whatever she wishes. The girl mockingly tells him that if the blacksmith gets the royal slippers, she will marry him. In the meantime, Solokha invited the pan head to the table, and, having drunk a glass, he only had time to complain that because of the blizzard that had broken out he could not get to the deacon, when suddenly they again heard a knock on the door. The clerk came to visit the witch. The hefty head was of a strong build and had to be hidden in a second bag.

The clerk tries to woo the woman, but then they hear a persistent knock on the door, and the frightened Osip Nikiforovich is hidden by the witch in the third bag. Chub, Oksana's father, came to visit Solokha, and before he had time to undress, someone again knocked on the door. Chub had no choice but to get into the sack, in which the clerk was already hiding.

An annoyed Vakula enters the hut, and, immersed in sad thoughts, he lies down on a bench. After a while, there was another knock on the door, but this time the hostess did not invite the uninvited guest into the house, deciding to talk with the Cossack Sverbyguz in the garden. Vakula notices several sacks in the middle of the room and decides to take them to the forge. Along the way, he meets a crowd of carolers, and among them Oksana. The haughty beauty repeats her condition again. In anger, throwing bags, except for the lightest one, in which the devil sits, Vakula goes to Patsyuk, who has a reputation as a healer associated with the Devil himself. Having caught the latter eating dumplings, which now and then flew into his mouth, the surprised blacksmith asks for advice on how to fulfill the request of the beauty. The healer hints that the devil sitting behind him will help Vakula. Going out into the street, the blacksmith finds the devil in the bag and, threatening to cross the demon, takes over him, ordering him to fly to the capital itself for an royal audience.

Meanwhile, fellow villagers find the remaining Vakulin's bags and free the unfortunate lovers of the witch from the stuffy sacks. In the village itself, a rumor spreads that Vakula has lost his mind and died. These unhappy rumors reach Chub's daughter. She is no longer glad that she joked so cruelly with poor Vakula, at night the young girl, tormented by pangs of conscience, could not sleep ... Meanwhile, the blacksmith, who saddled the devil, flies to the capital and meets familiar Cossacks there, by a lucky chance going to the royal reception. In the middle of the audience, Vakula hits the queen with her brow, asking permission to take the slippers from the royal leg. Touched by the innocence of the young Cossack, Catherine II gives the blacksmith her shoes.

A few hours later, he finds himself in his native village and, having driven the devil away, goes to sleep out of fatigue. To the surprise of his fellow villagers, who had already buried him, the blacksmith in the morning with rich royal gifts goes to woo Oksana. After some thought, Chub agrees to marry his daughter to a blacksmith.

Audiobook "The Night Before Christmas", listen online

“The Night Before Christmas” is the first story of the second book “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” by N. V. Gogol.

In Little Russian Dikanka, the night before Christmas comes. A witch flies out of the chimney of a house on a broomstick and begins to collect stars from the sky in her sleeve. Next to her, a devil appears in the sky, who grabs a hot month and hides it in his pocket. In this way, the devil wants to take revenge on the village blacksmith and painter Vakula, who painted in the church an unpleasant picture for him about the expulsion of the unclean from hell.

Vakula is passionately in love with Oksana, the daughter of the Cossack Chub. Chub is going to spend the night before Christmas drinking at the clerk's, while Vakula is waiting for Oksana to be left at home without a father to come and declare his love to her. But the devil, having stolen the moon from the sky, plunges Dikanka into darkness with the expectation that this darkness will force Chub to stay at home and upset the blacksmith's plan.

"The Night Before Christmas" ("Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka"). 1961 film

However, Chub still goes to treat the deacon. Young Oksana, seeing off her father,. Vakula enters her hut. He tells Oksana about his love, but the capricious coquette only laughs at him. A heated explanation is interrupted by an unexpected knock on the door. Dissatisfied with this hindrance, Vakula leaves the door with the intention of hitting the side of the uninvited guest.

Knocking on the hut is none other than its owner, Chub. The devil, the insidious enemy of Vakula, made a snowstorm on his way, which nevertheless forced Oksana's father to leave the thought of drinking at the deacon's and return home. But because of the heavy snow, Chub is not quite sure that he is knocking on his own hut, and not on someone else's. And Vakula, who came out to knock in the middle of a snowstorm, does not recognize Chub. He tells him to get out, rewarding him with two strong cuffs. Mistakenly believing that the hut is really not his, Chub decides to spend the rest of the night before Christmas with Vakula's mother, Solokha, with whom he has been playing love tricks for a long time.

Gogol. Christmas Eve. audiobook

Gogol informs the reader that Vakula's mother, Solokha, is the witch who stole the stars from the sky. Now she again descends on a broom into the chimney of her hut. She is followed by the devil, who is not averse to indulging in love pleasures with the witch. In this regard, unmarried Solokha has no equal among Dikan women. Many Cossacks enjoy her favor. At the same time, Solokha is so dexterous that each of her admirers does not even suspect that he has rivals.

Loosened with the devil, Solokha suddenly hears a knock on the door. She hurriedly hides the devil in a bag standing on the floor, and another fan of hers enters the hut - a rural head. But a date with the head is soon interrupted by a new knock. Solokha hides her head in another bag - from the deacon Osip Nikiforovich, who has looked at her with the same love purpose. However, the clerk almost immediately has to be hidden - Chub, beaten by Vakula, comes to take advantage of Solokha's female bounties. Following this, Vakula himself returns home. Solokha in a hurry hides Chub in the bag where the deacon is already sitting.

Vakula looks around the hut and decides that the bags standing in the middle of it are full of garbage that should be thrown away. The strong blacksmith puts the bags on his back and goes out into the street, where on the night before Christmas, the guys and girls are engaged in carols: they sing funny songs under the windows of their fellow villagers, receiving food or some money as a reward. The mocking Oksana, in order to play a trick on Vakula, promises to marry him if he gets her little boots (boots) that the queen herself wears. Almost dizzy from unrequited passion, Vakula loudly promises to end his life and, throwing two bags, runs away with the third - the one in which the devil is sitting.

Vakula decides to go to the Cossack Patsyuk, who has a reputation in the village as a healer associated with evil spirits. He finds Patsyuk eating dumplings and dumplings, which themselves jump into his mouth. In response to Vakula's request for the assistance of the devil to bewitch Oksana, Patsyuk hints that the devil is sitting behind him. Going out into the street, Vakula discovers a devil in a bag and threatens to make the sign of the cross and forces him to carry him through the air to St. Petersburg to the queen.

Gogol "The Night Before Christmas". Illustration by Olga Ionaitis

In Dikanka, fellow villagers untie bags thrown by a blacksmith, releasing Solokha's lovers from them (in Gogol's description, this is accompanied by comic scenes). Vakula with the devil arrive in the capital shining from the illumination. The blacksmith finds fellow Cossacks there, who are going to receive the queen. He is bound to go along with them. Gogol describes a brilliant audience of Little Russians with Catherine II in the presence of Potemkin and Fonvizin. In the middle of the reception, Vakula collapses at the queen's feet and asks for "for her wife" a little lace from the king's leg. Laughing at his naivety, Ekaterina orders to bring the slippers. Grabbing them, Vakula hurries back to Dikanka astride the devil.

They are already marveling at his sudden disappearance. There is a rumor that the blacksmith either hanged himself or drowned himself. Learning about this, Oksana regrets Vakula for the rest of the Christmas night - and from this pity, love for him flares up in her heart. Arriving in Dikanka and driving the devil away, Vakula with little slippers and other gifts goes to woo Oksana, who is already ready to marry him without them.

Gogol "The Night Before Christmas". Illustration

They settle in a new hut, painted by the blacksmith with his own hand.

As part of the project "Gogol. 200 years" RIA Novosti presents a summary of the work "The Night Before Christmas" by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - a story that opens the second part of the cycle "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" and is one of the most famous in the cycle.

The last day before Christmas is replaced by a clear frosty night. The maidens and lads had not yet gone out to carol, and no one saw how smoke came out of the chimney of one hut and a witch rose on a broomstick. She flashes like a black speck in the sky, picking up stars in her sleeve, and the devil flies towards her, to whom "the last night was left to stagger around the white world." Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket, assuming that the darkness that has come will keep the rich Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk at kutya, at home, and the hated devil blacksmith Vakula (who painted a picture of the Last Judgment and the shamed devil on the church wall) will not dare to come to Chubova’s daughter Oksana . While the devil is building chickens for the witch, Chub and his godfather, having left the hut, do not dare to go to the sexton, where a pleasant society will gather for varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, return home, and they leave, leaving the beautiful Oksana in the house, dressing up in front of a mirror, for which and finds her Vakula.

The severe beauty taunts him, untouched by his gentle speeches. The frustrated blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has gone astray and lost his godfather, knocks, deciding to return home on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil. However, the blacksmith's voice leads him to think that he did not end up in his hut (but in a similar, lame Levchenko, whose young wife the blacksmith probably came to), Chub changes his voice, and an angry Vakula, poking, kicks him out. The beaten Chub, considering that the blacksmith, therefore, left his own house, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, who was a witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew in with her, dropping a month in the chimney.

It became light, the blizzard subsided, and crowds of carolers poured into the streets. The girls run to Oksana, and, noticing new laces embroidered with gold on one of them, Oksana declares that she will marry Vakula if he brings her the laces "which the queen wears."

In the meantime, the devil, who has become mellow at Solokha's, is frightened away by the head, who has not gone to the clerk at the kutya. The devil quickly gets into one of the bags left in the middle of the hut by the blacksmith, but the head soon has to climb into the other, as the clerk knocks on Solokha. Praising the virtues of the incomparable Solokha, the clerk is forced to climb into the third bag, since Chub appears. However, Chub also climbs there, avoiding a meeting with the returned Vakula. While Solokha is explaining herself in the garden with the Cossack Sverbyguz, who came after him, Vakula carries away the bags thrown in the middle of the hut, and, saddened by the quarrel with Oksana, does not notice their weight. On the street he is surrounded by a crowd of carolers, and here Oksana repeats her mocking condition. Leaving all but the smallest sacks in the middle of the road, Vakula runs, and rumors are already crawling behind him that he either lost his mind or hanged himself.

Vakula comes to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, as they say, is "a little like the devil." Having caught the owner eating dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves climbed into Patsyuk's mouth, Vakula timidly asks for directions to hell, relying on his help in his misfortune. Having received a vague answer that the devil is behind him, Vakula runs away from the quick dumpling that climbs into his mouth. Anticipating easy prey, the devil jumps out of the bag and, sitting on the blacksmith's neck, promises him Oksana that very night. The cunning blacksmith, grabbing the devil by the tail and crossing him, becomes the master of the situation and orders the devil to take himself "to Petemburg, straight to the queen."

Having found Kuznetsov's bags about that time, the girls want to take them to Oksana to see what Vakula caroled. They go after the sled, and Chubov's godfather, having called for help from the weaver, drags one of the sacks into his hut. There, for the obscure, but seductive contents of the bag, there is a fight with the godfather's wife. Chub and the clerk are in the bag. When Chub, returning home, finds a head in the second bag, his disposition towards Solokha is greatly reduced.

The blacksmith, having galloped to St. Petersburg, comes to the Cossacks, who are passing through Dikanka in the autumn, and, pressing the devil in his pocket, seeks to be taken to the tsarina's reception. Marveling at the luxury of the palace and the wonderful paintings on the walls, the blacksmith finds himself in front of the queen, and when she asks the Cossacks who came to ask for their Sich, “what do you want?”, the blacksmith asks her for her royal shoes. Touched by such innocence, Catherine draws attention to this passage of Fonvizin standing at a distance, and Vakula gives shoes, having received which he considers it good to go home.

In the village at this time, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about exactly how Vakula laid hands on himself, and the rumors that have come about embarrass Oksana, she does not sleep well at night, and not having found a devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith, on the other hand, simply overslept Matins and Mass, and waking up, takes out a new hat and belt from the chest and goes to Chub to woo. Chub, wounded by Solokha's treachery, but seduced by gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered, ready to marry the blacksmith "and without the slippers." Having started a family, Vakula painted his hut with paints, and in the church he painted a devil, but “so nasty that everyone spat when they passed by.”

The material was provided by the Internet portal briefly.ru, compiled by E. V. Kharitonova