Ryaba the Hen (Cyrillic: Курочка Ряба, Kurochka Ryaba) is an Eastern Slavic folktale of Ukraine[1][2][3] and Russia.[1][2][4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/2002._%D0%9A%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D1%8F%D0%B1%D0%B0_%28%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B0%29.jpg/220px-2002._%D0%9A%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%A0%D1%8F%D0%B1%D0%B0_%28%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B0%29.jpg)
Plot
edit- There lived an old man and an old woman, and they had a hen named Ryaba.
- One day, the hen laid an egg.
- It was not a simple egg, but a golden one.
- The old man tried to crack it, but could not.
- The old woman tried to crack it, but could not.
- A mouse ran by.
- With a mere sway of the mouse's tail, the egg fell, cracking upon hitting the floor.
- The old man cried. The old woman cried.
- "Don't cry", said Ryaba the hen, "I'll lay you a new egg, not a golden egg, but a simple one".[3]
Interpretation
editProfessor of Russian at Williams College, Darra Goldstein, interpreted the story's meaning for children as teaching children to "value what is simple and real in life, for those are the things that nourish and sustain us, rather than riches we haven’t earned, which can disappear as suddenly as they appear."[4]
In popular culture
editStamps
edit- Kurochka Ryaba was featured in a 2002 stamp series of the Ukrainian national postal service, Ukrposhta.[5]
Films based on the tale
edit- A 1982 film by Moscow's Soyuzmultfilm entitled About an Old Man, an Old Woman and Their Hen Ryaba
- A 1994 Russian-French comedy film referencing the folk tale entitled, Assia and the Hen with the Golden Eggs.[6]
Statues
editOther
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Rosenberg, Steve (27 April 2011). "Russia and Ukraine in bun fight over fairy tales". BBC. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ a b Tamkin, Emily (2017-05-30). "And Now, a Brief Explanation as to Why Russia and Ukraine Are Fighting on Twitter:". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ a b Malkovič, Ìvan Antonovič, ed. (2006). 100 kazok: najkraŝì ukraïnsʹkì narodnì kazki z ìlûstracìâmi provìdnih ukraïnsʹkih hudožnikìv. 100 kazok (25-te vidannâ ed.). Kyiv: A-ba-ba-ga-la-ma-ga. p. 3. ISBN 978-966-7047-27-6.
- ^ a b St, Williams College : Today: Magazine 63 Spring; Williamstown, Suite 300; tel: 413.597.4278, MA 01267 USA. "The Lesson of a Broken Egg". Today: Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Stamp: Ukrainian Folk Tales - Kurochka Riaba (Ukraine 2002)". touchstamps.com. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Andrey Konchalovskiy - Kurochka Ryaba AKA Ryaba My Chicken (1994) | Cinema of the World". 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Sculpture Depicting the Folktale Kurochka Ryaba in the Park Kazka in Sumy Editorial Photo - Image of folktale, animal: 146719956". Dreamstime. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ "Kurochka Ryaba Holiday Park,Seversky District 2023 | Trip.com". www.trip.com. Retrieved 2023-09-19.