Eastern parable. Eastern parable - a storehouse of wisdom

Behind high mountains, behind wide valleys, behind dense forests, there was one kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a king, and he had a daughter, the beautiful princess Vanya. All was well in the kingdom. People in it lived quietly and in abundance. Until one day he appeared in the kingdom.

The dragon's name was Elmar. He flew from afar and settled in a mountain cave. Elmar really wanted peace and quiet, so he changed his place of residence and chose this secluded cave, away from the city. But people in the kingdom, of course, immediately learned that a dragon had settled in them. Valiant knights in heavy armor volunteered to defeat the dragon and free the kingdoms from the evil monster. Therefore, one by one, they immediately rushed to the dragon's cave. And Elmar sat quietly, drinking tea with cakes and. He was very upset when desperate brave men began to come to his cave. Elmar was a very kind and peaceful dragon, he did not want to offend anyone at all, and even more so, accidentally injure a knight. Fortunately, all the brave knights immediately ran away in fear, as soon as Elmar stuck his head out of the cave. And in appearance, Elmar, indeed, was terrible. A huge head, a body covered with green scales, clawed paws and large strong wings. Try not to be afraid.

This went on for several months. Elmar is very tired. no rest in own house! Therefore, he decided to teach the kingdom and its inhabitants a lesson. And so ... That night, the beautiful princess Vanya disappeared in the kingdom. Of course, it was Elmar who decided to scare people and stole Princess Vanya. He brought it to his cave in the mountains. At first, the princess was very frightened, but when Elmar offered her a cup of tea with biscuits and eclairs, she realized that Elmar was a good and kind dragon. They sat comfortably at a small table, lined with white china cups and plates of cakes, and began to drink tea and talk about books.
It turned out that Vanya, like Elmar, loves to read. Elmar was a great conversationalist. Vanya has never been so interesting with anyone else. So they sat and talked for a long time, until there was a noise outside the cave. Elmar looked with one eye and said to the princess.

- They came for you. There is a crowd of people, and at the head of it is a noble prince on a white horse. He is determined to defeat me. Go home, your papa the king must be very worried.

“I’m not going anywhere,” the princess answered, “I’m fine here too.” And this stupid pompous prince wants to defeat you so he can marry me and get a kingdom to boot. Do not want.

“Well, go, at least tell them that everything is all right with you,” Elmar persuaded her.

Princess Vanya agreed and left the cave to meet the crowd.

“I’m all right,” she said, “the dragon Elmar is very kind and good. He is my friend. Now go home, and tell the king that I myself will return home a little later.

But then the noble prince stepped forward and said:

“Well, no, we’re not going anywhere. I came here to kill the dragon that kidnapped you, princess.

“I know you want to kill the dragon so that you can marry me later and have a kingdom to boot.” This will not happen! Princess Wanya replied and already turned to go back into the cave.

Here, the prince grabbed Vanya by the hand and did not let her go.

- Let me go! the princess shouted at him.

And at this time, Elmar was very worried in the cave for the beautiful princess Vanya. As soon as he heard her scream, he immediately left the cave. The crowd was horrified at the sight of the dragon. As he walked, the ground shook.

“Let the princess go now!” he said sternly to the prince.

"Here's the dragon, that's what I need." Now I will kill him, - the prince was delighted and somehow very evilly grinned.

Princess Vanya knew that Elmar was a very kind dragon. He never killed anyone, never even hurt anyone. Elmar will not fight the prince, especially when there are so many people nearby, because he can accidentally burn someone with his fiery breath. Most likely, Elmar will allow the prince to kill himself without a fight. At this thought, Princess Vanya's heart sank in pain. She looked into Elmar's gentle and slightly sad eyes, and without hesitation stood in front of him, shielding the dragon from the prince.

"Don't touch him," said the princess, "I won't let you kill the dragon."

— Ha-ha-ha! the prince laughed, “maybe you love this terrible vile dragon and therefore do not want to marry me?”

“Yes, I do,” said Princess Vanya. With these words, she turned to Elmar, hugged him by the neck and kissed him.

And then a miracle happened! The second the princess kissed the dragon, he turned into a beautiful, kind prince. It turns out that many years ago, an evil sorceress turned the handsome prince Elmar into a dragon. Only a kiss from a beautiful princess who would sincerely love the dragon could disenchant him. So many years have passed, and the spell was so strong that Elmar himself forgot that he was once a prince. He thought he was the real dragon.

This is how this story about the beautiful princess Vanya and the good dragon prince Elmar ended. Vanya and Elmar got married and lived happily ever after, ruling their kingdom wisely and fairly.

Many thanks to Ekaterina Kolesnikova for the illustration ( [email protected] com, Instagram profile: kolesnikova_ekaterina).

Headless princess

“Did you have other princesses before me?” the princess asked.

“Of course,” the dragon replied. - Many.

They sat on a steep bank, dangling their legs, and threw pebbles into the river.

"And where are they all?" the princess frantically scooped up a stone and, without looking, threw it away.

“How can I tell you…” the dragon paused. - They're all over.

“That’s because you live longer than humans, right? Was it just a long time ago?

“Not only,” the dragon threw a pebble. From below came the thumping, crackling of a boat and curses. The princess brushed the spray from her face. “You know, love is hard. I want to gently hug the princess to me and never, never let go.

“That I understand,” said the princess. She moved closer to the dragon and gently pressed his left paw to her. The dragon squinted apprehensively. - So what?

“Pretty soon the princess starts to stir and tries to break free. She wants something else, and not just to be gently pressed, - on the third attempt, the dragon released its paw. The princess sighed and threw a pebble into the river. - It's hard to bear. Then I bite off the princess's head. She stops struggling, and I can gently hold her further. But then it quickly ends.

They were silent as they watched the sunset.

- Do you love me? the princess asked.

“But not like that,” the dragon replied. - Not this way.

Andrey Novoselov "Love"

I really want to know if you have "draconophobia"? And what are you doing with it?

It turns out that in the arms of the dragon, first of all, it is incredibly warm. It doesn’t blow straight from any direction, and a draft doesn’t threaten you. But we are flying to this warmth in search of love ... Byak-byak-byak wings ... According to advanced comrades, fools are fools.

Then the dragons are delightful: they are so huge, sparkling, smart, strong and beautiful - you want to look at them, touch them, talk to them. It is much more convenient to study this rare species when you can get close, very close.

You will definitely not be attacked by any beast: who in their right mind would think of joking with a living dragon? It does not wet with rain, and the sun does not fry very much. You are surrounded by a dragon on all sides.))))

The dragon will admire you, will not let anyone offend you, will feed you deliciously and take care of you - this is not some kind of swineherd-bulldyg for you. Dragons know for sure that princesses should be worshiped and bestowed with gifts. At the same time gently pressing, it is difficult to do this, but the dragons cope. They are specially designed for this.

Nowhere, except in the arms of a dragon, will you feel so necessary, significant, so necessary for a whole huge dragon. Otherwise, why would he start to press you like that? Or stomp on a bear who dared to look askance at you somehow?

All princesses are different, of course, but there are two main common fears.

Fear of being an impostor. The princess is afraid to fainting that the dragon, having pressed her, will see closer that she is not a real princess. And all these crinolines and crowns, or, on the contrary, armor and a spear, for example, cardboard tinsel, rented. And without asking.

Fear of dissolving in love for the dragon until the head is completely lost. Lose yourself as a person, forget about your desires, goals, intentions. In essence, cease to be, "end". It is especially scary for princesses who have already been in the iron embrace of not too tactful dragons. Miraculously escaping and with difficulty growing their heads back, they run from "tenderness" like the devil from incense, because they feel that love and intimacy are like alcohol for them. They're like an alcoholic who can't stop drinking if there's a bottle in front of him. Here to slam it against the wall in a rush - yes, it's real.

You suddenly realize that facing your fears is an adventure. You begin to see why you are afraid to come closer. And it turns out that you can ask the dragon, you can negotiate with him, that he didn’t even think about hugging you to death - he just doesn’t know how to do it differently, he didn’t try. And it is no longer necessary to defend the boundaries of that very personal space by armed means, because when you feel them clearly enough, the dragons also suddenly realize...

- Ai!! Everyone, give up, let go!!! It hurts! You will break my tail!!

— Are you giving up?? - said the knight.

The knight released the dragon's paw from the pain grip and the dragon sat down, rubbing its neck.

“I have slain you in a fair duel,” the knight declared.

“But not a fair reception!!” the dragon growled.

- Does not matter. The main thing that struck. Where is my prize?

- I'll take it out right now.

The dragon got up and limped into the cave. After a while, he reappeared, leading the princess by the hand.

- On the. Here is your winnings.

- Are you laughing?? yelled the knight. What should I do with this woman??? I'm a Templar, a minister of the church!! Where is the Holy Grail??

- How do I know?

— And who should know?

The dragon shrugged and gasped as his left shoulder hurt.

Boy, this is your problem. Are you taking her?

- Fuck you!

The knight swore dirtyly, collected his weapons, mounted his horse and rode away.

What if he came for me? the princess asked.

“Well, then I would bring him the grail,” the dragon chuckled.

“We didn’t have time,” the Knight breathed doomedly, looking at the sky.

The dragon landed on the road in front of the fugitives with a noise and clang, and cocked its head to one side, looking at them like a bird, with one eye.

- Shhhhh...

"I'll divert his attention," whispered the Knight. - And you run.

- Without you, alone in the mountains, looking at the night? Never!

— Ts-s-s! said the Dragon.

- I will not be back! the Princess shouted, raising her head to the dragon's muzzle. And don't try to force me!

— Pfft! The dragon snorted and threw off a heavy bundle from his back. Then he braced his paws, jumped up, flapped his leathery wings, and flew away.

- What is he? The knight stared in bewilderment after the Dragon, then at the abandoned bale.

The princess untied the string and peered inside.

— What is there? the Knight asked.

- Change of linen, fried chicken in a bag, towel, Toothbrush and a spare crown,” the Princess listed. - Well, and so, something on trifles.

She tied the string and loaded the pack onto the Knight.

- Let's go, shall we? It gets dark early in the mountains.

A quarter of an hour later, the Dragon again caught up with the fleeing, put a warm scarf into the Princess's hands and rushed off again, muttering something angrily under his breath.

Petr Bormor

view from the outside

I don’t understand one thing, - said the right hedgehog to the left, - why is he calling her a princess, and she is his dragon. Everything seems to be like ours: the female is quite ordinary, neither of the august origin, nor of special beauty. And he is an ordinary male - he does not blaze with fire and does not fly.

People ... - answered the left hedgehog. - They would not know half of their problems if they learned to call things by their proper names.

Day Leclerc

princess and dragon

"Calm down, nerd!" Sheila Charleston ordered herself, standing in front of a mirror in the luxurious ladies' room in the California office of Dante, one of the world's largest jewelry empires. To her great relief, outwardly her excitement did not manifest itself in any way. After she passed today's test, everything would be over. Tomorrow she turns twenty-five, and perhaps she will solve the three tasks that she has set for herself.

Task number one: pay off your grandmother. For the past three years, Sheila has been working like a mad woman to pay her grandmother back the money she had saved for a long time, in many ways denying herself, in order to pay for her granddaughter's college education. Although her grandmother hoped that Sheila would revive the family business, her granddaughter did not inherit her business acumen. But Sheila might be representing her family at tomorrow's meeting with the Dante clan. If she is lucky, then as a result of this meeting, her grandmother will receive the necessary financial stability. Sheila was determined to achieve this at any cost.

Challenge number two: Find your dream job. Sheila smiled widely. Tomorrow she would board a plane and fly to Europe, where she would start working as an interpreter for an international businessman named Derek Alger. Thanks to this work, she will be able to visit various exotic countries, which she has always dreamed of.

Problem number three: before tomorrow's trip, Sheila wanted to give herself a night of insane passion. After this night, she will again become a reserved and reasonable girl. Does she want too much?

She sucked in the pit of her stomach and pressed her hand to her stomach. But first she has to show up uninvited to the party.

The door opened and several women entered the room. They exchanged polite smiles with Sheila. One of them looked enviously at Sheila's dress. She calmed down a bit. So, it's imperceptible that she altered the haute couture dress her mother wore during the time of the power of the Charlestons.

Casting an appraising glance in the mirror, she noted with pleasure to herself that her makeup and hair were also in order. This is a real miracle, considering that the small room of the cheap motel she stayed in had poor lighting and a scratched mirror. Undoubtedly, her whole appearance spoke of the wealth and high position that the Charlestons had lost ten years ago through the fault of Dante.

Now she needs to repeat something before tomorrow's meeting. Reaching for her evening bag, which also belonged to her mother, she was disappointed to find that the clasp was open. Sheila would not have been so upset if not for one detail.

What was in that purse was worth millions of dollars. She couldn't afford to lose the little leather pouch, so she reached into her purse and pushed it into the furthest corner. Then she took out the list her grandmother had given her and ran her eyes over the names for the last time.

Primo Dante, founder of Dante's jewelry empire, is now retired. Severo Dante is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Next are the twins Marco and Lazzaro. Marco is in charge of international sales. She hardly sees him. Lazzaro is in charge of the finance department. He will definitely attend tomorrow's meeting.

Satisfied that she remembered everything perfectly, Sheila folded the list in half and put it back in her purse. Then she double-checked that she had closed the clasp tightly. Taking a deep breath, she took one last look at her reflection in the mirror and nodded. She just had to hope that everything would work out for her.

Stepping out of the ladies' room, Sheila glanced around at the guests gathered in the foyer next to the ballroom entrance. The most difficult and humiliating moment for a man of her origin had come. Security at the entrance checked the invitations. Sheila waited until a large laughing crowd descended from above and joined her side. The guard gaped for a few seconds, and she slipped into the hall after the other two women. So, she managed to sneak into Dante's party uninvited. The first task has been completed. Now she will watch those whose names are on her list.

Then she might find attractive man who will give her a night of crazy passion.

Draco Dante noticed her the moment she entered the hall. He noticed and wanted so much that his knees trembled. He felt lust and did not suppress the inner urge. Of course, at that moment he did not think about the possible consequences of what was happening. Perhaps, deep down, he believed that at any moment he could break free. He did not suspect that Inferno, a fateful passion, had already taken possession of him and was leading him in a dangerous dance to the edge of the abyss. He still believed that he was in control of his own destiny.

Until this evening, he had never believed in Inferno. I never believed in a family legend, or a curse, as some believed. In his opinion, it is absurd to believe that a person can recognize his other half through a single touch. It is absurd to think that for every person in the world there is his other half. Believe that the world exists one and only woman destined for him by fate. For many years he listened to stories that refute his opinion. Watched how his brothers and cousins, one by one, become victims of the insidious Inferno. But as skeptical as he was, from the moment he saw this woman, all but one thought vanished from his head.

This woman should be his.

She is tall, somewhere around five feet seven inches. Her jet black hair is pulled back into a bun at the back of her head. While her curves aren't flashy, they're good enough to grab the attention of most of the men in the room. Perhaps the reason for this is the ruby ​​red dress, which is tight around the chest and hips and emphasizes the narrow waist.

Stepping over the threshold, she separated from the main stream of people and went to the shop window in the corner.

Without wasting a second, Draco followed her. She stopped at a display case of wedding rings and looked at them.

- They're beautiful, aren't they? Draco asked.

The brunette continued to admire the jewelry, ignoring him.

“Amazing,” she muttered.

“I suppose we should introduce ourselves now,” he said with a smile.

“No, thank you,” she replied, giving him a fleeting glance and moving around him.

This is where he did fatal mistake. Before she could leave, he caught her by the arm.

- Wait...

At that moment, he was struck like lightning. A fire of desire flared from the bottom of his belly, exploding in a firework of sparks that scattered all over his body. This feeling was painful and unexpected. But the worst thing is that his worst fears have just been confirmed.

The woman pulled away from him.

- What was it? What have you done?

Draco shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“I think I just made contact with you.

- Don't do it again. I did not like. With that, she turned her back on him and disappeared into the crowd.

Not sure if he should curse or laugh, Draco immediately followed her and overtook her at the next window.

He stood next to her, but she didn't react.

“Are you saying that you only felt indignation when I touched you?”

All her attention was riveted to the diamonds, as if they contained clues to all life's mysteries.

“Was I supposed to feel something else?”

- Judging by the way you reacted, yes.

Turning her head, she gave him a look of curiosity. In her huge, sad eyes, he read "go away."

“I have no idea what you're talking about.

Why did it happen that the woman he wanted more than all those that were in his life so far, did not want to give him a drop of her precious time? It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Princess and Dragon

Sometimes princesses are not princesses at all. These non-princesses do not wear crowns, do not ride in carriages, they do not have servants and a beautiful palace.

Not princesses have to clean the house, go shopping, work - in general, do the most ordinary everyday things. It would seem, how to meet the Dragon here ... that's the whole trouble. The dragon will find itself. And when he finds his special princess, he will force everyone else to accept her, princess or not.

As a child, I always wanted to please my father. Alas, I was not born a blond angel, I never knew how to sit quietly in a corner, straighten an impeccable elegant dress in order to demonstrate a beautiful outfit on a beautiful girl at any moment.

Although I still had dresses. Along with a ponytail of brown hair, knees smashed on the landing and torn off by sandals.

For some reason, I felt much more confident in these sandals than in an elegant girl's dress and white patent leather shoes...

Smiling at childhood memories, I reached for the kettle, which was already boiling on the stove. A modest one-room apartment in a nine-story panel building, a small six-meter kitchen ... - and complete anonymity, despite the sonorous surname. It was a pity to lose all this. Looking around the walls, which have already become familiar over the past 6 years, I sighed: soon my quiet pastime will come to an end.

Alina, that same flawless blond sister, next to whom I never could compete, called a couple of hours ago with a request that was difficult for me to return to my hometown. She, like no one else, was aware of our difficult relationship with her father. Despite the complicated family situation, my sister and I were very close, and if Lina asked me to come, then it's time to pack a bag.

My sister showed up at about nine in the evening - I had just had dinner and was just reading a book in the kitchen, slowly drinking tea. Complete peace and idyll. However, the barely highlighted number on the cell phone display immediately frightened me - usually Alina did not call on weekdays. Having pressed the call, from the first seconds of the conversation, I realized that something had happened at home: Alina's voice, contrary to her usual, was somehow dull and not emotional.

What happened?” I asked in fear instead of greeting.

Father was in the hospital after training, - answered the sister after a short pause. - There is no danger, but the doctors want to observe him. Can you come, Marina?

Yes, I replied, biting my lip. -Certainly.

I really need you here. Father needs to be kept in the hospital and then sent on vacation ... besides, there were some problems at the club.

What problems?

If you come, we'll talk, - Alina hesitated. You shouldn't discuss things like this over the phone.

Certainly. Here I am a badass. Having discussed the most important points- of those that could be discussed on the phone, we began to say goodbye.

So when are you due? - already saying goodbye, my sister asked.

Tomorrow evening I will try to be, - I said, estimating that the whole day would be enough for me to settle things at work and with the landlady.

Excellent, - Alina said abruptly. - I'll be waiting.

I was afraid to return. Admitting this embarrassing weakness to myself, I sat down in the kitchen to make a list of everything I needed to take with me on the road. I hoped to come back here, to my already established habitual life, but I didn’t have much confidence that my father would let this happen. Father or Coach - as his wards called him - did not just give up, and even if something floated into his hands, he did not miss his own. It is unlikely that he would just let go of his prodigal daughter, who had finally returned home ... Not that I was very important to him, but the Coach liked to keep everything under his control, and the closer this control was exercised, the better father felt.

Just think, but once I was even grateful to him for this - having stupidly made a child to a young naive waitress, the famous master of sports throughout the city did not renounce paternity. And this despite the fact that at that moment he himself was going to marry a very beautiful daughter of a diplomat - the young and successful always tried to stick together.

My mother wedding ring didn’t earn money, but, to her father’s credit, there was always enough money in the house - and my mother didn’t overstrain at three jobs, like other single mothers. Besides, I actually had a father - even if only on weekends and for a couple of hours - but I always waited for him, sitting for hours in the hallway waiting for him to come. At that time, I knew that I had a sister - my father introduced us to very young ones - but I was not jealous of Alinka. And who could be jealous of Alina?

Our age difference was only a year and a half - but I always felt much older - maybe it's all about character, or maybe circumstances. Alina's mother - the daughter of a diplomat - could not do without a housekeeper and a nanny, so her little sister was under observation all the time. I used to come running from school and from the age of seven I turned on the stove myself to warm up my lunch. I remember once, when I was in the third grade, my mother had an emergency at work (at that moment she was already working not as a waitress, but as a teacher at the school), and so, my mother was at work, and I knew for sure that she would return home only at night and very hungry. So I decided to bake my own cake.

It must happen that it is on this evening that my father came to visit us. He and his mother had to swallow half-baked pie dough with half-burned jam leaked out for a couple and at the same time praise my cooking.

After that, my mother decided that it was time to teach me how to cook - and I completely turned into an independent girl.

True, my mother claimed that I was already born like this - I turned out to be very similar to my father. Moreover, not only in character, but also externally. Olga, Alina's mother, echoed her - I often visited my father's house. Already an adult, I tried to understand what this woman felt when she saw me - there was too little difference between me and her daughter. Be that as it may, she always treated me evenly, and even seemed to be friendly - but I never knew whether she herself showed such courtesy or it was the order of her father.

By that time, my father had become very popular, becoming an even more respected person in the city. Of course, there was no real respect for citizens here, but as for power and money ... Having finished his career as an athlete, his father first became a coach, and although not every good athlete becomes a good coach, he succeeded, and how ... Soon he began to train representatives of the special services, training them in hand-to-hand combat. With the collapse of the union, the Coach did not lose his head - now not only representatives of legal services, but also some illegal groups who also needed well-trained fighters turned to him. His father's name boomed and soon he became one of the respected and wealthy people in our city. They came to him for consultations from Moscow, he himself sometimes left for some kind of training ... Lina and I were finishing by that time high school and thought about where to go. I was older, but Lina always wanted to study with me, so we often sat on the weekends with a reference book, wondering what we should choose.

Mom says that you need to learn the language, - my sister assured me, rustling with the thin pages of the book. - Don't lose your tongue.

You won't be lost - your grandfather is a diplomat. And I?

And if anything, you can always go to work in school. Foreign language teachers are always appreciated.

You're right, - I then nodded to Linke, who immediately began to paint the dignity in English. The most expected and widespread. Sighing, I also concentrated on the handbook.

But life in the face of Alinka's mother gave us a surprise - Olga, who herself managed to see the world, sent Alinka to finish high school in England. My sister's dream of learning English came true. Left alone, for some reason I became interested in mathematics and changed my mind about entering the foreign language.