Vitaly Valentinovich Bianchi (1894–1959) discovered nature by observing its representatives on the shores of the Gulf of Finland at a cottage in Lebyazhye. He was a naturalist writer, and a hunter, and a local historian. When he wrote a fairy tale, he himself alternately became one or the other insect, humanizing them. This happened with Bianchi’s fairy tale, “How an Ant Hastened Home”. The summary will introduce the reader to various insects and gnats.
A bit about the author
The writer wanted his stories and tales to be interesting to both children and adults. Children who do not know how to read listen with interest to short tales “Whose legs are they?”, “Who sings what?”, “Where do crayfish hibernate?”, As well as Bianca’s little tale “How the ant rushed home”. A summary of this story will be outlined below. Many, more than 300 stories, written by the author.
They are translated into different languages. His daughter often made illustrations to them, and 30 (!) Illustrator artists turned to them. His entertaining and instructive stories were published in many children's magazines: “Young Naturalist”, “Chizh”, “Friendly Guys”, “Bonfire”, “Sparkle”. One hundred twenty books were printed in separate editions. And, of course, there were cartoons. Among them there is also a colorful hand-drawn film based on Bianchi's fairy tale “How an Ant Hurried Home”. A summary of the tale we will tell later.
The film based on the work is called "The Journey of the Ant," the script and director E. Nazarov.
Encyclopedias about nature
Each story by V. Bianchi reveals to the reader something new and unknown. They collected facts and observations, described the time of year and time of day when the action takes place. Each animal, bird, insect and plant are described with biological certainty. To make the reader more interested, the heading often turns into a question or begins with the word "how." This draws attention to the content of Bianchi’s fairy tale “How an Ant Hastened Home”. A brief summary of this forest story immediately informs the reader why the ant was in a hurry to his home. And gradually we will find out all his assistants.
We begin to read a fairy tale
The sun was going to sunset, and the ant was sitting at the very top of the birch. Underneath was his native anthill. He had to hurry: with the last ray of the sun, ants close all the entrances and exits from their house. He sat down on a piece of paper to rest, then to quickly go downstairs and have time to get into his home.
What happened then
The wind blew and tore the leaf from the birch, and the ant flew on it far, far beyond the river and beyond the village. So begins to describe Bianchi, how the ant hurried home. A summary of this amazing story is set forth below. He fell with a leaf on a stone and painfully bruised his paws. The poor thing is very grieving: now he certainly won’t have time to go home.
First mates
His legs hurt, and he cannot run. Suddenly he sees the poor fellow Caterpillar-Land Surveyor and asks her for help.
"Sit down," the Caterpillar agrees, "just don't bite." It turned out to be very uncomfortable to ride on it. She bent high hump, then straightened into a wand. The ant was very tired and cried from the uncomfortable “horse”. He sees the Hayfinger Spider and asks to be taken home. The spider agreed.
His legs are higher than his body. The baby climbed on the leg, and then moved to the back. The legs of the spider are like walking, but it is walking slowly. The ant will not have time to get home. The story of Bianchi “How an ant hurried home” continues further.
Ground beetle and flea bug
When Spider saw the Ground Beetle, he said that she was running very fast and would instantly bring the ant home.
The ground beetle planted a sick ant on itself, quickly and quickly ran with all six legs. I ran to the potato field and broke up with the ant. Here he was helped by a tiny bug-flea. The Ant clings to him tightly, because the flea’s legs are like springs. They will either fold or straighten. Instantly the whole field galloped by the frisky Flea. That's how the ant rushed home. Bianchi put before him an insurmountable barrier - a high fence. Who will help him further? The sun is lower and lower, and the anthill is still far away.
Grasshopper and Water Strider
A grasshopper carried the mountain traveler through the fence. And ahead is a river. How an ant hurried home! Bianchi again complicated his path. But there was also an assistant here - the Water Strider-Klop.
On water The hydrometer goes like others on the ground, more precisely, like a skater on a skating rink. So we got a little acquainted with the features of the movement of different insects. So the ant moved to the other side.
The sun is already hiding
The ant is watching - the sun is almost invisible. Her legs hurt and hurt, he can’t run as before. But you need to hurry, but how? Here May Crawfish creeps (a beetle, very powerful and heavy). All the insects saw the ant rushing home. The tale of V. Bianchi will continue the flight. The ant climbed onto the wings, and the Beetle tells him to transplant on his head. The May Khrushchev opened in two, first firm wings, and then released from them thin, translucent and - flew. We got to our native birch tree and said goodbye to it above. It's getting really dark. The last adventure of the ant will show Bianchi. How did the ant rush home? The content of the tale shows how difficult it was for the baby to get to his native anthill. The Leafworm caterpillar refused to help him. But to go down urgently is necessary: the last minutes remain. The ant rushed at her and bit her. The caterpillar got scared and fell off the leaf.
The ant gripped it tightly, and they fall together. Suddenly something delayed them. The ant sees a thin thread. She leaves the abdomen of the Leafworm and becomes longer and longer and does not break. So they fall down together on a thread. They went down, and there was only one move left, as if waiting for a traveler. The ant jumps into him - and he is at home. Managed! The sun has gone. Here are the adventures while the ant rushed home. The author described each assistant in such detail - no textbooks need to be read.
Fairytale Analysis
Both talents of the writer - a scientist and a storyteller - appeared here. The scientist told how ants go to bed in the evenings. He described in detail the skills of all the insects that the ant met. The caterpillar-surveyor crawls folding, and then straightens. The good Spider-Haymaker with huge paws walks slowly. Ground beetle out of the blue is very agile, it rushes like a car, but not all obstacles can be overcome. The potato field was too much for her. The Flea Bug jumps very briskly, but he does not know how to jump high, like a Grasshopper. Klop-Water meter runs perfectly on water and does not sink. Cockchafer flies like a plane. By the way, he has a feature. By all the laws of physics, he cannot fly, but he flies! Scientists have yet to solve this riddle. The caterpillar Leafloader can release threads from the abdomen, then to make a cocoon from them. And in the cocoon will be the chrysalis, from which young leaflets will appear. All this is the knowledge of a scientist.
Bianchi storyteller
All residents of the forest and fields are talking to each other, striving to help the unfortunate ant. The road home is full of trials and adventures. But the end, as expected, in a fairy tale is prosperous.
"How the ant hurried home": reviews of parents
Readers note the friendship and mutual assistance that a fairy tale brings up. And the scientist’s knowledge is just a treasure, which he skillfully shares in an artistic form with a young reader. Many note the high quality of the illustrations. It is good that they are placed on all turns. In some families, this story aroused a new interest in insects. Many children listened to her so many times that they know her by heart.
Such reviews are not random. V. Bianchi was born in the family of a biologist. He lived next to the Zoological Museum, where his father worked. It was father who taught Vitali to keep a diary of nature. Later he traveled around our country a lot and always brought new recorded observations. This created a lot of works that captivate the reader with the artistic and scientific side.