The work that we intend to tell about is known and loved by many since school, but suddenly someone forgot the plot and the main moral, therefore we decided to present the reader with a brief summary of The Gray Neck.
Chapter 1. Unpleasant chores and Nietzschean Drake
The story begins with a picture of how different birds gather to the south. The Old Duck is the hardest hit. She faces a difficult moral dilemma. She has a daughter - Gray Neck. When she was still a little duckling, the Fox broke her wing, and now the young duck can’t fly. Now Sheika only swims, but she swims perfectly.
It's no secret that not all birds get to warm countries. And we are talking about animals in good physical shape. Mom was worried, because she would have to leave the child all alone, and wild animals and not very favorable weather conditions were around. Even a brief summary of the “Gray Neck” makes it clear why mother duck was so tormented.
Drake (husband of the Old Duck) refers to the torment of his wife indifferently, even cynically. He says that, of course, the Gray Neck is a pity, but the duck mother has other children. In her thoughts, Old Duck got to the point that she decided to stay with her crippled daughter. What about healthy children? Healthy children can do without it.
Drake, to whom the spirit of Nietzsche’s philosophy was not alien, approached the problem of the Gray Neck in a surprisingly indifferent way. He believed that since the daughter gives so much inconvenience, it would be better if the Fox then bit her.
The summary of the “Gray Neck” allows us to clearly understand the maternal heart and the inexplicable callousness of the father of the “wrong” duckling.
Chapter Two 2. The Journey Through the Valley of Solitude
This is not to say that the mood of the father was not felt and was not transmitted to the child. The last day came when the birds were ready to fly away. Old Duck's heart was bleeding, she did not want to leave her child to the mercy of nature and eating wild animals. Mom even wanted to stay, but nevertheless decided that this would not be very fair with the rest of the children. She gave the last instructions to Gray Sheika.
When the land around the lake lowered, Sheika thought about the same thing that her father had thought a little earlier: “Maybe it would not be bad if the Fox killed her?”
So the summary of the “Gray Neck” sets up a sad mood. One can only hope that the duck with honor will pass the test in winter and loneliness.
Chapter 3. Sometimes They Come Back
This is not to say that winter took over space quickly, but still it happened. Unfrozen water in the lake became less and less. But the duck still had where to swim. There are two significant events in this chapter. One with the “+” sign, the other with the “-” sign. First, Sheika met a hare.
Here is how it was. A young duck, out of desperation, decided to visit the forest, and a hare ran out to her. Both animals were frightened. She admitted that she is very afraid of the Fox. The hare agreed with her and said that there was no worse beast. But at the same time Ushasty noted that Sheika at least can swim. If he could swim and dive, he would never be afraid of the Fox.
Great writes Mamin-Sibiryak. “The Gray Neck” is a wonderful work not only for children, but also for adults. Reading it, one involuntarily becomes kinder and more humane.
The appearance of the fox
However, for the duck, which was left alone without help and support, there was bad news. The fox found out that Sheika was now without protection, and began to visit her. And the lake was increasingly covered with ice. The duck remained only a small part of the water surface, where wormwood blossomed in order to swim. The fox walked around this islet and licked its lips. Fairly believing that Sheika cannot be vigilant all the time, and someday she will be forgotten.
Masterfully everything was done by Mamin-Sibiryak. The gray neck in this place makes the reader very worried about their fate.
Chapter 4. The Old Hunter as a Savior
Both the reader and the author understood: if all this continues, the Fox will achieve its goal. But, for Sheika’s happiness, the wife of the old hunter needed a fur coat. He wanted to shoot a hare and make him a fur coat for his wife. But the hare community noticed the approach of a man with a gun and fled. The old man was annoyed at his sluggishness. Then he saw: A fox lay on a lake in front of a small island of water. He thought: “It’s strange, what is she doing there?” He took a couple of steps forward, took aim and fired. When the smoke from the shot cleared, he decided to check how Fox feels there. He went to the remaining water in the lake and saw that the Fox was not there, but a small duck was swimming. The old man felt sorry for Sheika and took her home. He will give it to his granddaughters, and "a wife will not freeze on the stove even without a fur coat."
So ends his story Mamin-Sibiryak. “Gray Neck” is an extremely kind work that inspires hope in a positive outcome for almost any kind of trouble.
What does the fairy tale teach us?
Actually a lot. And this is despite the fact that the fairy tale is a children's work. There are maternal feelings and the indifference of the father. How many such families where the parents are charged in relation to the child are polar? There is also a monument to human, teenage courage. The summary of the tale “The Gray Sheyka” (at least I want to believe in it) adds, makes the reader sympathize with the ordeals of ducks.
She herself understood that she had few chances to survive. But it is worth paying tribute to her courage and perseverance. She did not panic, did not commit suicide, rushing into the jaws of the Fox, and courageously fought to the very end, and luck smiled at her.
Hemingway once said: "Life is a tragic thing with a predetermined ending." Indeed, we are all mortal. But it does not follow from this that people should surrender to the mercy of the strong, predators and all those who want to defeat us. The same Hemingway wrote in his epic work “The Old Man and the Sea”: “A man can be killed, but he cannot be defeated.”
The most valuable thing is that all these moral imperatives (premises, attitudes, instructions) are "mounted" in a children's fairy tale. Thus, the child, reading it, becomes a little more humane and kinder. He understands that the world is not so bad and angry as various talk shows now imagine.
This is the summary of the story “Gray Neck”. We not only retold the content, but also revealed the moral content of the work of Mamin-Sibiryak.