Children's fairy tales online. Blue Beard

Once upon a time there lived a man who had a lot of all sorts of good things: he had beautiful houses in the city and outside the city, gold and silver dishes, embroidered chairs and gilded carriages, but, unfortunately, this man had a blue beard, and this beard gave him such an ugly and menacing appearance that all the girls and women used to say, as soon as they saw him, God bless him.

One of his neighbors, a lady of noble origin, had two daughters, perfect beauties. He wooed one of them, without specifying which one, and leaving it to the mother herself to choose his bride. But neither one nor the other agreed to be his wife: they could not decide to marry a man who had a blue beard, and only quarreled among themselves, sending him to each other. They were embarrassed by the fact that he already had several wives and no one in the world knew what happened to them.

Bluebeard, wanting to give them the opportunity to get to know him better, took them along with their mother, three or four of their closest friends and several young people from the neighborhood to one of his country houses, where he spent a whole week with them. The guests walked, went hunting and fishing; the dancing and feasting did not stop; there was no trace of sleep at night; everyone had fun, came up with funny pranks and jokes; in a word, everyone was so good and cheerful that the youngest of the daughters soon came to the conviction that the owner’s beard was not at all so blue and that he was a very amiable and pleasant gentleman. As soon as everyone returned to the city, the wedding was immediately celebrated.

After a month, Bluebeard told his wife that he was obliged to be away for at least six weeks on very important business. He asked her not to be bored in his absence, but, on the contrary, to try in every possible way to unwind, invite her friends, take them out of town if she wanted, eat and drink sweetly, in a word, live for her own pleasure.

“Here,” he added, “the keys to the two main storerooms; here are the keys to gold and silver dishes, which are not placed on the table every day; here from chests with money; here from the boxes with precious stones; here, finally, is the key with which you can unlock all the rooms. But this small key unlocks the closet, which is located below, at the very end of the main gallery. You can unlock everything, enter everywhere; but I forbid you to enter that closet. My prohibition on this matter is so strict and formidable that if you happen - what God forbid - to unlock it, then there is no such misfortune that you should not expect from my anger.

Bluebeard's wife promised to strictly carry out his orders and instructions; and he, having kissed her, got into the carriage and set off. The young woman’s neighbors and friends did not wait for an invitation, but all came on their own, so great was their impatience to see with their own eyes the countless riches that were rumored to be in her house. They were afraid to come until her husband left: his blue beard frightened them very much. They immediately went to inspect all the chambers, and there was no end to their surprise: everything seemed magnificent and beautiful to them! They got to the storerooms, and there was something they didn’t see there! Lush beds, sofas, rich curtains, tables, tables, mirrors - so huge that you could see yourself in them from head to toe, and with such wonderful, extraordinary frames! Some frames were also mirrored, others were made of gilded carved silver. Neighbors and friends incessantly praised and extolled the happiness of the mistress of the house, but she was not at all amused by the spectacle of all these riches: she was tormented by the desire to unlock the closet below, at the end of the gallery.

So strong was her curiosity that, not realizing how impolite it was to leave guests, she suddenly rushed down the secret staircase, almost breaking her neck. Having run to the door of the closet, she, however, stopped for a moment. Her husband's prohibition came to her mind. “Well,” she thought, “I will be in trouble for my disobedience!” But the temptation was too strong - she could not cope with it. She took the key and, trembling like a leaf, unlocked the closet. At first she couldn’t make out anything: the closet was dark, the windows were closed. But after a while she saw that the entire floor was covered in dried blood and in this blood were reflected the bodies of several dead women tied along the walls; these were Bluebeard's former wives, whom he killed one after another. She almost died on the spot from fear and dropped the key from her hand. Finally she came to her senses, picked up the key, locked the door and went to her room to rest and recover. But she was so frightened that she could not completely come to her senses.

She noticed that the key to the closet was stained with blood; She wiped it once, twice, three times, but the blood did not go away. No matter how she washed it, no matter how much she rubbed it, even with sand and crushed bricks, the blood stain remained! This key was magical, and there was no way to clean it; the blood came off on one side and came out on the other.

That same evening Bluebeard returned from his journey. He told his wife that he had received letters on the road, from which he learned that the matter for which he had to leave had been decided in his favor. His wife, as usual, tried in every possible way to show him that she was very happy about his speedy return. The next morning he asked her for the keys. She handed them to him, but her hand trembled so much that he easily guessed everything that had happened in his absence.

“Why,” he asked, “isn’t the key to the closet with the others?”

“I must have forgotten it upstairs on my table,” she answered.

- Please bring it, do you hear! - said Bluebeard.

After several excuses and delays, she was finally supposed to bring the fatal key.

- Why is there blood? - he asked.

“I don’t know why,” answered the poor woman, and she herself turned pale as a sheet.

- You do not know! - picked up Bluebeard. - Well, I know! You wanted to go into the closet. Okay, you will go in there and take your place next to the women you saw there.

She threw herself at the feet of her husband, cried bitterly and began to ask him for forgiveness for her disobedience, expressing the most sincere repentance and grief. It seems that a stone would have been moved by the prayers of such a beauty, but Bluebeard had a heart harder than any stone.

“You must die,” he said, “and now.”

“If I really have to die,” she said through tears, “then give me a minute of time to pray to God.”

“I give you exactly five minutes,” said Bluebeard, “and not a second more!”

He went downstairs, and she called her sister and said to her:

- My sister Anna (that was her name), please go up to the very top of the tower, see if my brothers are coming? They promised to visit me today. If you see them, give them a sign to hurry up. Sister Anna climbed to the top of the tower, and the poor unfortunate thing shouted to her from time to time:

- Sister Anna, don’t you see anything?

And sister Anna answered her:

Meanwhile, Bluebeard, grabbing a huge knife, shouted with all his might:

- Come here, come, or I’ll come to you!

“Just a minute,” his wife answered and added in a whisper:

And sister Anna answered:

“I see the sun is getting clearer and the grass is turning green.”

“Go, go quickly,” yelled Bluebeard, “or else I’ll come to you!”

- I'm coming! - the wife answered and again asked her sister:

- Anna, sister Anna, don’t you see anything?

“I see,” answered Anna, “a large cloud of dust is approaching us.”

- Are these my brothers?

- Oh, no, sister, this is a flock of sheep.

- Will you finally come? - Bluebeard yelled.

“Just a little second,” his wife answered and asked again:

- Anna, sister Anna, don’t you see anything?

“I see two horsemen galloping here, but they are still very far away.” “Thank God,” she added after a while. - These are our brothers. I give them a sign to hurry up as soon as possible.

But then Bluebeard made such a racket that the very walls of the house began to tremble. His poor wife came down and threw herself at his feet, all torn to pieces and in tears.

“This will serve no purpose,” said Bluebeard, “your hour of death has come.”

With one hand he grabbed her by the hair, with the other he raised his terrible knife... He swung at her to cut off her head... The poor thing turned her faded eyes to him:

- Give me one more moment, just one moment, to gather my courage...

- No no! - he answered. - Entrust your soul to God!

And he raised his hand... But at that moment there was such a terrible knock at the door that Bluebeard stopped, looked back... The door opened at once, and two young men burst into the room. Drawing their swords, they rushed straight at Bluebeard.

He recognized his wife's brothers - one served in the dragoons, the other in the mounted rangers - and immediately sharpened his skis; but the brothers caught up with him before he could run behind the porch. They pierced him through with their swords and left him dead on the floor.

Bluebeard's poor wife was barely alive herself, no worse than her husband: she did not even have enough strength to rise and embrace her deliverers. It turned out that Bluebeard had no heirs, and all his property went to his widow. She used one part of his wealth to marry her sister Anna to a young nobleman who had long been in love with her; with the other part she bought captain's ranks for her brothers, and with the rest she herself married a very honest and good man. With him, she forgot all the grief that she endured as Bluebeard's wife.

Blue Beard

Bluebeard, wanting to give them the opportunity to get to know him better, took them with their mother, three or four of their closest friends and several young people from the neighborhood to one of his country houses, where he spent a whole week with them. The guests walked, went hunting and fishing; the dancing and feasting did not stop; there was no trace of sleep at night; everyone had fun, came up with funny pranks and jokes; in a word, everyone was so good and cheerful that the youngest of the daughters soon came to the conviction that the owner’s beard was not so blue at all and that he was a very amiable and pleasant gentleman. As soon as everyone returned to the city, the wedding was immediately celebrated.

Here,” he added, “are the keys to the two main storerooms; here are the keys to gold and silver dishes, which are not placed on the table every day; here from chests with money; here from boxes with precious stones; here, finally, is the key with which you can unlock all the rooms. But this small key unlocks the closet, which is located below, at the very end of the main gallery. You can unlock everything, enter everywhere; but I forbid you to enter that closet. My prohibition on this matter is so strict and formidable that if you happen - what God forbid - to unlock it, then there is no such misfortune that you should not expect from my anger.

Bluebeard's wife promised to follow his orders and instructions exactly; and he, having kissed her, got into the carriage and set off.

The young woman’s neighbors and friends did not wait for an invitation, but all came on their own, so great was their impatience to see with their own eyes the countless riches that were rumored to be in her house. They were afraid to come until her husband left: his blue beard frightened them very much. They immediately went to inspect all the chambers, and there was no end to their surprise: everything seemed magnificent and beautiful to them! They got to the storerooms, and there was something they didn’t see there! Lush beds, sofas, rich curtains, tables, tables, mirrors - so huge that you could see yourself in them from head to toe, and with such wonderful, extraordinary frames! Some frames were also mirrored, others were made of gilded carved silver. Neighbors and friends incessantly praised and extolled the happiness of the mistress of the house, but she was not at all amused by the spectacle of all these riches: she was tormented by the desire to unlock the closet below, at the end of the gallery.

At first she couldn’t make out anything: the closet was dark, the windows were closed. But after a while she saw that the entire floor was covered in dried blood and in this blood were reflected the bodies of several dead women tied along the walls; these were Bluebeard's former wives, whom he killed one after another. She almost died on the spot from fear and dropped the key from her hand.

Finally she came to her senses, picked up the key, locked the door and went to her room to rest and recover. But she was so frightened that she could not completely come to her senses.

The next morning he asked her for the keys. She handed them to him, but her hand trembled so much that he easily guessed everything that had happened in his absence.

Why, he asked, is the key to the closet not with the others?

“I must have forgotten it upstairs on my table,” she answered.

Please bring it, do you hear! - said Bluebeard. After several excuses and delays, she was finally supposed to bring the fatal key.

Why is this blood? - he asked.

“I don’t know why,” answered the poor woman, and she turned pale as a sheet.

You do not know! - picked up Bluebeard. - Well, I know! You wanted to go into the closet. Okay, you will go in there and take your place next to the women you saw there.

She threw herself at her husband’s feet, wept bitterly and began to ask him for forgiveness for her disobedience, expressing the most sincere repentance and grief. It seems that a stone would have been moved by the prayers of such a beauty, but Bluebeard had a heart harder than any stone.

“You must die,” he said, “and now.”

If I really have to die,” she said through tears, “then give me a minute of time to pray to God.”

“I give you exactly five minutes,” said Bluebeard, “and not a second more!”

He went downstairs, and she called her sister and said to her:

My sister Anna (that was her name), please go up to the very top of the tower, see if my brothers are coming? They promised to visit me today. If you see them, give them a sign to hurry up.

Sister Anna climbed to the top of the tower, and the poor unfortunate thing shouted to her from time to time:

Sister Anna, don't you see anything?

And sister Anna answered her:

Meanwhile, Bluebeard, grabbing a huge knife, shouted with all his might:

Come here, come, or I'll come to you!

Just a minute,” his wife answered and added in a whisper:

And sister Anna answered:

I see the sun is getting clearer and the grass is turning green.

Go, go quickly,” yelled Bluebeard, “or else I’ll come to you!”

I'm coming! - the wife answered and again asked her sister:

Anna, sister Anna, don't you see anything?

“I see,” answered Anna, “a large cloud of dust is approaching us.”

Are these my brothers?

Oh no, sister, this is a flock of sheep.

Will you finally come! - Bluebeard yelled.

Just a little second,” his wife answered and asked again:

Anna, sister Anna, don't you see anything?

I see two horsemen galloping here, but they are still very far away. “Thank God,” she added after a while. - These are our brothers. I give them a sign to hurry up as soon as possible.

But then Bluebeard made such a racket that the very walls of the house began to tremble. His poor wife came down and threw herself at his feet, all torn to pieces and in tears.

“This will serve no purpose,” said Bluebeard, “your hour of death has come.”

With one hand he grabbed her by the hair, with the other he raised his terrible knife... He swung at her to cut off her head... The poor thing turned her faded eyes to him:

Give me one more moment, just one moment, to gather my courage...

No no! - he answered. - Entrust your soul to God!

And he already raised his hand... But at that moment there was such a terrible knock at the door that Bluebeard stopped, looked back... The door opened at once, and two young men burst into the room. Drawing their swords, they rushed straight at Bluebeard.

He recognized his wife's brothers - one served in the dragoons, the other in the horse huntsmen - and immediately sharpened his skis; but the brothers caught up with him before he could run behind the porch.

They pierced him through with their swords and left him dead on the floor.

Bluebeard's poor wife was barely alive herself, no worse than her husband: she did not even have enough strength to rise and embrace her deliverers.

It turned out that Bluebeard had no heirs, and all his property went to his widow. She used one part of his wealth to marry her sister Anna to a young nobleman who had long been in love with her; with the other part she bought captain's ranks for her brothers, and with the rest she herself married a very honest and good man. With him, she forgot all the grief that she endured as Bluebeard's wife.

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Once upon a time there lived a man. He was very rich: he had beautiful houses, many servants, gold and silver dishes, gilded carriages and magnificent horses. But, unfortunately, this man's beard was blue. This beard made him so ugly and scary that all the girls and women, seeing him, got scared and hid in their homes. This man was given a nickname - Bluebeard

One of his neighbors had two daughters, wonderful beauties. Bluebeard wanted to marry one of them and told his mother to marry him no matter which one. But none of the sisters agreed to marry a man with a blue beard. They were also frightened by the fact that he already had several wives, but they all disappeared somewhere, and no one in the world knew what became of them. So that the girls could get to know him better, Bluebeard brought them, along with his mother, girlfriends and several young neighbors to his country castle and stayed there with them for a whole week.

The guests had a great time: they walked, went hunting, feasted all night long, forgetting about sleep. Bluebeard had fun with everyone, joked, danced and was so kind that the younger girl stopped being afraid of his beard and agreed to marry him. The wedding took place immediately upon returning to the city, and the younger sister moved to Bluebeard's castle.

A month after the wedding, Bluebeard told his wife that he had to leave for a long time due to a very important matter. He tenderly said goodbye to his wife and persuaded her not to be bored without him, but to have fun as she pleased.

Here,” he said, “are the keys to two large storerooms; here are the keys to the cabinet with gold and silver dishes; this key is for chests with money; this one is from boxes of precious stones. Here is the key that can unlock all the rooms. Here, finally, is another small key. He unlocks the room, which is located below, at the very end of the dark corridor. Open everything, go everywhere, but I strictly forbid you to enter this small room. If you don’t listen to me and unlock it, the most terrible punishment awaits you!

Hello, dear reader. The tale of Charles Perrault's Bluebeard is probably taken from an old Breton legend. Many motifs of this tale are contained in folk songs of complaint. Let's take, for example, a song quoted in the book by J. Tiersot, about a girl whom someone like Bluebeard brings to the river bank: You see, there is a river, Fourteen ladies are drowned in it, You will be the fifteenth. Here is a song recorded in the Lozère mountains, it tells the story of three brothers who married their sister to a villain. He beats her. The blood just flows, the blood just flows. Her blood flows into the cup... The husband forces, the husband forces to drink this Blood instead of wine. A girl tries to wash her dress in the river. Her brothers gallop past without recognizing the girl. She complains to them about her husband being a villain. Knights are galloping, knights are galloping, They are galloping quickly to the castle. They searched everywhere, they searched everywhere, They found a husband in the tower... With a sharp sword, with a sharp sword, they took away the husband’s head. The motives of racing and retribution are already evident here. Let's compare with the text of the fairy tale: “I see two horsemen, they are galloping here...” - “Thank God!.., these are my brothers”; “They pierced him through with their swords, and he fell dead.” The psychoanalytic conclusion from this tale is the following: nothing is perfect in the sublunary world and one should not abuse the secrets of the male subconscious, since sadism and bloodlust can be hidden behind love. The key with indelible blood stains has important: It's stupid to ignore the danger when you're around a serial killer. The heroine of the fairy tale is saved by brotherly love, and not love for a man. The unusualness of this tale lies in the fact that the title character had a real historical prototype. On October 26, 1440, Baron Gilles de Rais was executed in the central square of Nantes. Michelet wrote about this, for example. In all cities and large towns of France, a court ruling was read that the executed man had killed many innocent children in order to obtain gold using diabolical tricks. Subsequently, a legend arose about a bloodthirsty villain, which was reflected in the tale of Bluebeard. However, the real Gilles de Rais is a talented military leader who, at the age of twenty-five, became Marshal of France, an associate of Joan of Arc. He was born into a rich and noble family and received an excellent education. He was married only once to a peer, Catherine de Thouars, who, we note, outlived her husband, later marrying John II, Duke of Vendôme. After the execution of Joan of Arc, Gilles de Rais became interested in alchemy, spending huge sums on experiments, trying to obtain the philosopher's stone. Four years later, Gilles de Rais shows in the presence of the king the grandiose performance “The Siege of Orleans”: one hundred and forty actors read twenty thousand five hundred poems dedicated to the Maid of Orleans. The production was defiantly luxurious, even the theatrical rags were made of expensive fabric. These huge costs at the trial of 1440 appeared in the speeches of the baron's accusers. The trial took place in a huge hall with a large crowd of people. Many of those present were parents of missing children. The unfortunates, gathered throughout the country, were able to convince that the culprit of their grief was none other than the baron. His servants, carefully “processed” in the basements of the Inquisition, also acted as witnesses; they told things that made the hair stand on end. A thorough search was carried out in the castles. But, contrary to rumors about the castle cellars filled with bones, not a single corpse was found there. However, after a series of meetings at which, in violation of all existing rules, neither a lawyer nor a notary were allowed in, an accusation was brought forward that boiled down to three main points: insulting a minister of the Church, invoking demons, killing children, accompanied by bullying and sexual perversion. Gilles de Rais declared that the indictment was a complete slander and began to persistently demand another trial. He even agreed to be tested with a hot iron. But his protest was declared unfounded, and the bishop solemnly excommunicated him from the Church. Under threat of torture, the accused confessed to murder, alchemy and sodomy. One can only wonder how Gilles de Rais turned into the Bluebeard of folk tales. Meanwhile, in one Breton ballad the names Bluebeard and Gilles de Rais alternate in the verses so much that both characters apparently merged into one. Allegedly tortured children turned into murdered wives. A Blue colour The beard probably comes from a completely different legend. In 1866, Abbot Bossard wrote a voluminous book about the man nicknamed Bluebeard, where he devoted considerable space to the famous trial, the judges, the charges brought and the verdict. In the 20th century, researchers repeatedly asked the question: “Was Gilles de Rais really guilty of the crimes attributed to him?” - and each time we came to the conclusion that most likely not. The baron was charged with the death of seven or eight hundred boys, however, as follows from the case materials, not a single body or skeleton was found in the castle. It is not for nothing that the court verdict refers to only thirty-four cases. However, this accusation was not supported either. real evidence, except for the confession of the defendant himself, obtained under torture. The testimonies vary about the same thing: - there was a boy (good, small, capable, like an angel, white); - one day he left (to herd sheep; to the city for bread, to school; to the castle for alms; he was taken to study; disappeared without explanation); - his parents did not see him again (but someone heard from someone that he ended up in the castle of Sir de Re). Meanwhile, it is known that in France in the 15th century, up to thirty thousand children disappeared a year, and no one really looked for them. Historians argue only about the motives that gave impetus to the persecution of Gilles de Rais and the subsequent trial. Was this a heralding of a “witch hunt”, or was the process dictated by political motives? Or maybe someone was eager to profit from the property confiscated from the convicted person? It is known that Gilles de Rais inherited a huge family fortune; his lands were not inferior in size to the possessions of the Duke of Breton himself and even surpassed them. By the way, the widow of the executed man remarried a year later. In 1992, on the initiative of the Vendean writer-historian Gilbert Prouteau, a new trial took place, which completely rehabilitated Gilles de Rais. Documents extracted from the archives of the Inquisition confirmed that there were neither tortured children nor terrible experiences. The researchers took into account a lot, including the testimony of contemporaries. For example, in a 15th-century chronicle written by Monstrelet, the following is said about the sentence imposed on Gilles de Rais: “Most of the nobles of Brittany, especially those who were related to him, were in the greatest sadness and embarrassment at his shameful death. Before these events he was much more famous as the most valiant of knights." Before reading this fairy tale to their children, we advise parents to first familiarize themselves with its contents, and then, having made the appropriate decision, read the fairy tale “Bluebeard” online with pictures, with illustrations from famous books, to young children. In our opinion, it is more suitable for teenagers.

Once upon a time there lived a rich and noble man. He had a lot of everything: estates, houses, gold, and silver, but one problem - his beard was completely blue and that made him so ugly and scary that everyone ran from him like a scarecrow.

A noble lady lived next to him, and she had two beautiful daughters. So Bluebeard decided to marry one of them: but neither one nor the other wanted to marry him, because they were afraid of his beard, and, in addition, they knew that he had several wives, but no one knew what happened to them.

To get to know his neighbors better, Bluebeard invited them, along with his mother and friends, to his estate, where they spent a whole week.

It was so fun there that at the end of the week the younger sister stopped being afraid of Bluebeard and agreed to marry him.

As soon as they returned to the city, the wedding took place.
A month after the wedding, Bluebeard told his wife that he had to leave for six weeks on one important matter. He asked her not to be bored, invite her friends, ride, have fun and not deny herself anything. At the same time, he gave her the keys.
“Here,” he said, “are the keys to the storerooms: here is the key to gold and silver dishes, this one to the chests of money, this one to the boxes with precious stones, with this key you can unlock all the rooms, this same key to the small one.” rooms on the lower floor. You can unlock everything, go everywhere, but I strictly forbid you to enter this room, and if you enter it, then expect severe punishment.
The young woman promised to fulfill everything, and Bluebeard, after kissing her, got into the carriage and left.

Neighbors and friends did not wait for the invitation and came to the young woman themselves: they had long wanted to see her untold wealth, but they were afraid of Bluebeard. The friends immediately ran to inspect the rooms, which were one more beautiful than the other, and then moved on to the storerooms. What was there: magnificent carpets, sofas, curtains, tables and mirrors in which you could see yourself from head to toe, in wonderful silver and gilded frames. The guests did not stop gasping and envying their friend: but she was not happy about her wealth - she wanted to quickly unlock the room on the lower floor.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore, left her guests and went downstairs. Having run to the room, she stopped, remembering her husband’s threat. But she so wanted to know what was in this room that she could not resist, took out the key and unlocked the door.

At first she could not see anything, since the windows in the room were closed. But then she noticed that the entire floor was covered in blood, and the bodies of dead women lay against the wall: these were all Bluebeard’s wives, whom he killed one by one. The poor thing almost died on the spot from fear and dropped the key on the floor.
Having come to her senses a little, the young woman picked up the key, locked the door and went to her room.
Only then did she notice that the key to the room was stained with blood. She began to wipe it away, but the blood did not go away. No matter how much she washed, no matter how much she rubbed with sand and crushed brick, the stain did not decrease. The fact is that the key was magical and could not be cleaned: on one side the blood was erased, and on the other it came out.
That same evening Bluebeard returned from his journey. He told his wife that on the way he learned that the matter was already over and he hurried to return home. The wife tried in every possible way to show that she was glad to see him return.
The next morning, Bluebeard demanded the keys back from her. When she handed them over, her hands shook so much that he immediately guessed that she had not listened to him.
“Why,” he asked, “is there no key to the room here?”
“That’s right, I left it in my room on the table,” she answered.
“Well, bring it now,” said Bluebeard. Willy-nilly I had to bring the key. Bluebeard examined him.

- Why is there blood on the key? - he asked his wife.
“I don’t know,” answered the poor woman, turning pale as death.
- How you do not know? - Bluebeard cried. - Well, I'll tell you why. You wanted to go into the room. Okay, my dear, you will go in there,
Yes, you will stay there.
The poor thing threw herself at his feet and began to ask for forgiveness with tears. But Bluebeard didn’t want to listen to anything.
- No no. You must die now,” he said.
“If I must certainly die,” she said through tears, “then let me at least pray to God.”
“Okay, pray, I give you 7 minutes,” answered Bluebeard, “but not a second more.”
Left alone, she called her sister and told her:
“My sister Anna, go to the very top of the tower and see if my brothers are coming.” They promised to visit me today. If you see them
give them a sign to hurry up.
The sister went to the top of the tower, and the poor thing asked her every minute:
And sister Anna responded:

“I only see dust sparkling in the sun and green grass.” Meanwhile, Bluebeard took big knife and shouts to his wife:
“Come here quickly, otherwise I’ll come up to you.”
“Give me at least one more minute to pray,” the wife answered and then quietly asked:
- Anna, my sister, don’t you see anything?
And Anna responded:
I see only dust sparkling in the sun and green grass.
“Come here this minute, otherwise I’ll come to you myself!” - Bluebeard shouted.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” the wife answered and quietly asked her sister:
- Anna, my sister, don’t you see anything?
“Now I see,” answered Anna, “a large cloud of dust approaching from the other side...
- Thank God, these are my brothers coming.
- Oh, no, my sister, it’s a herd of sheep coming.

-Will you finally get off? - Bluebeard shouted.
“One more minute,” his wife begged and asked her sister again: “Anna, my sister, don’t you see anything?”

“I see two horsemen, but they are still very far away... Thank God,” she exclaimed a little later, “these are our brothers.” Now I will give them a sign to hurry...
But then Bluebeard raised such a scream and noise that the whole house shook. The poor woman came down and threw herself at his feet, begging him to forgive her.
“Well, tears won’t help matters,” said Bluebeard: “you must die.”

And he, grabbing her by the hair, took a knife and swung it, intending to cut off her head. But the poor woman asked him to give her another minute to gather her courage.
“No, that’s enough,” he answered: “pray to God,” and waved his knife.
But at that moment the brothers burst into the room and rushed with swords straight at Bluebeard.

Bluebeard recognized them and began to run. But the brothers caught up with him and pierced him through with their swords. The poor woman was almost alive with fear: she could not even get up from her seat to hug and thank her brothers.

Bluebeard, wanting to give them the opportunity to get to know him better, took them with their mother, three or four of their closest friends and several young people from the neighborhood to one of his country houses, where he spent a whole week with them. The guests walked, went hunting and fishing; the dancing and feasting did not stop; there was no trace of sleep at night; everyone had fun, came up with funny pranks and jokes; in a word, everyone was so good and cheerful that the youngest of the daughters soon came to the conviction that the owner’s beard was not at all so blue and that he was a very amiable and pleasant gentleman. As soon as everyone returned to the city, the wedding was immediately celebrated.

“Here,” he added, “the keys to the two main storerooms; here are the keys to gold and silver dishes, which are not placed on the table every day; here from chests with money; here from boxes with precious stones; here, finally, is the key with which you can unlock all the rooms. But this small key unlocks the closet, which is located below, at the very end of the main gallery. You can unlock everything, enter everywhere; but I forbid you to enter that closet. My prohibition on this matter is so strict and formidable that if you happen - what God forbid - to unlock it, then there is no such misfortune that you should not expect from my anger.

“Why,” he asked, “isn’t the key to the closet with the others?”
“I must have forgotten it upstairs on my table,” she answered.
- Please bring it, do you hear! - said Bluebeard.

After several excuses and delays, she was finally supposed to bring the fatal key.

- Why is there blood? - he asked.
“I don’t know why,” answered the poor woman, and she herself turned pale as a sheet.
- You do not know! - picked up Bluebeard. - Well, I know! You wanted to go into the closet. Okay, you will go in there and take your place next to the women you saw there.

“You must die,” he said, “and now.”
“If I really have to die,” she said through tears, “then give me a minute of time to pray to God.”
“I give you exactly five minutes,” said Bluebeard, “and not a second more!”

He went downstairs, and she called her sister and said to her:
- My sister Anna (that was her name), please go up to the very top of the tower, see if my brothers are coming? They promised to visit me today. If you see them, give them a sign to hurry up. Sister Anna climbed to the top of the tower, and the poor unfortunate thing shouted to her from time to time:
- Sister Anna, don’t you see anything?

And sister Anna answered her:

Meanwhile, Bluebeard, grabbing a huge knife, shouted with all his might:
- Come here, come, or I’ll come to you!
“Just a minute,” his wife answered and added in a whisper:

And sister Anna answered:
“I see the sun is getting clearer and the grass is turning green.”
“Go, go quickly,” yelled Bluebeard, “or else I’ll come to you!”
- I'm coming! - the wife answered and again asked her sister:
- Anna, sister Anna, don’t you see anything?
“I see,” answered Anna, “a large cloud of dust is approaching us.”
- Are these my brothers?
- Oh, no, sister, this is a flock of sheep.
- Will you finally come? - Bluebeard yelled.
“Just a little second,” his wife answered and asked again:
- Anna, sister Anna, don’t you see anything?
“I see two horsemen galloping here, but they are still very far away.” “Thank God,” she added after a while. - These are our brothers. I give them a sign to hurry up as soon as possible.

But then Bluebeard made such a racket that the very walls of the house began to tremble. His poor wife came down and threw herself at his feet, all torn to pieces and in tears.

“This will serve no purpose,” said Bluebeard, “your hour of death has come.”

With one hand he grabbed her by the hair, with the other he raised his terrible knife... He swung at her to cut off her head... The poor thing turned her faded eyes to him:
- Give me one more moment, just one moment, to gather my courage...
- No no! - he answered. - Entrust your soul to God!

Children's fairy tales online. Blue Beard

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