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  .., 2026.



Pavel Petrovich Bazhov   

The Mistress of the Copper Mountain   



Mistress of the Copper Mountain   

One day, two of our factory workers went to look at the grass.       . And their hayfields were far away.      . Somewhere beyond Severushka.   -.

It was a festive day, and it was incredibly hot.   ,    . The parun was pure.  . And both of them were working in the mountain, that is, on Gumyoshki.     ,    . They were mining malachite ore, and also azure tit. - ,  . Well, when a kinglet and a coil came in, and then there was something else that would do. ,         ,  .

One was a young guy, unmarried, but his eyes had already started to gleam green. -   , ,       . The other was older.  . This one was completely ruined.    . His eyes were green, and his cheeks seemed to be covered with green.   ,     . And that man kept coughing.     .

It's nice in the forest.  - . The birds are singing happily, there's a lift from the ground, the breath is light.  -,   ,  . They're, listen, drowsy. , -,  . They reached the Krasnogorsk mine.    . They were mining iron ore there at the time.     . So our guys lay down on the grass under the rowan tree and fell asleep right away. , , -        . Only suddenly the young man - as if someone had nudged him in the side - woke up.   ,       ,  . He looks, and in front of him, on a pile of ore, by a large stone, there's some woman sitting. ,           - . Her back is to the guy, and by her braid, you can tell she's a girl.   ,      . Her braid is black and doesn't dangle like our girls', but is stuck straight to her back.  -       ,     . At the end, there are ribbons that are either red or green.      ,   . They shine through the light and ring thinly, like sheet copper.      ,   . The guy admires the braid, and then takes notice.    ,    . The girl is short, well-built, and such a cool wheel - she wont sit still.   ,             . She bends forward, looks right under her feet, then leans back again, bends to one side, then to the other.  ,      ,    ,    ,  . She jumps to her feet, waves her arms, then bends again.   ,  ,   . In a word, shes an artful girl.  , -. You can hear her babbling something, but what language shes speaking is unknown, and with whom shes talking - you cant see.    -,  -  ,       . All she does is giggle.   . Shes obviously having fun. , , .

The guy was about to say a word, when suddenly he felt something hit him on the back of the head.     ,      .

- My mother, its the Mistress herself!    ,     ! Her clothes. Ÿ -. How come I didnt notice it right away?     ? She averted her eyes with her braid.   - .

And the clothes are truly such that you wont find another in the world.     ,      . A dress made of silk, listen, malachite.  , -,  . There is such a kind.   . Stone, but to the eye like silk, you can even stroke it with your hand. ,     ,   .

This, the boy thinks, is a disaster! ,   ,  ! If only I could escape before she notices.     ,   . From the old men, you see, he heard that this Mistress  the malachite one  loves to philosophize over people.   , , ,     -     .

As soon as I thought this, she looked back.   -,   . She looked at the guy cheerfully, bared her teeth and said jokingly:    ,     :

- What are you doing, Stepan Petrovich, staring at a girls beauty for nothing?    ,  ,      ? After all, they charge money for looking.  -   . Come closer. - . Lets talk a little.  .

The guy was scared, of course, but he didnt show it.  , ,    . He held on. . Even though shes a secret power, shes still a girl.     ,     . Well, and hes a guy  that means hes ashamed to be timid in front of a girl. ,     , ,     .

I have no time to talk, he says.  ,  ,   . We overslept anyway, and went to look at the grass.   ,    .

She chuckles and then says:  ,    :

- You will have to play the tune.     . Go, I say, I have something to do. , ,  .

Well, the guy sees that there is nothing to do. ,     . He went to her, and she waves her hand, saying, go around the ore on the other side.   ,    , - -   . He went around and sees that there are countless lizards here.        . And all of them, listen, are different.  , -, . Some, for example, are green, others are blue, which flow into the blue, and some are like clay or sand with golden specks. , , ,  ,    ,         . Some, like glass or mica, shine, and others, like faded grass, and some are again decorated with patterns. ,    , ,  ,   ,     .

The girl laughs.  .

Dont make way, she says, my army, Stepan Petrovich.   ,  ,   ,  . Youre so big and heavy, and theyre small.      ,     .  And she clapped her hands, and the lizards ran away, making way.      ,   ,  .

Then the guy came closer, stopped, and she clapped her hands again and said, all laughing:    , ,      ,   ,   :

- Now you have nowhere to step.     . If you crush my servant, there will be trouble.      .

He looked at his feet, and there was no sign of the ground.    ,     . All the lizards had huddled together in one place, like a patterned floor beneath his feet.  -    ,       . Stepan looked - good heavens, this is copper ore!    ,     ! All sorts of varieties and well polished.     . And there was mica right there, and blende, and all sorts of glitter that looked like malachite.    ,  ,   ,    .

Well, have you recognized me now, Stepanushka?  ,   , ?  asks the malachite woman, laughing heartily.    ,   -.

Then, a little later, he says: ,  ,  :

- Dont be afraid.    . I wont do anything bad to you.    .

The guy felt sorry that the girl was making fun of him and even saying such words.   ,          . He became very angry and even shouted:   ,  :

 Who should I be afraid of, if I am timid in grief!    ,     !

Thats good, the malachite woman replies.    ,   . Thats just the kind of person I need, someone who isnt afraid of anyone.        ,    . Tomorrow, as were going down the mountain, your factory clerk will be here. Tell him, and, look, dont forget the words: ,    ,     ,    , , ,   -:

The Mistress of the Copper Mountain, they say, ordered you, stuffy goat, to get out of the Krasnogorsk mine. , ,    , ? ,      . If you continue to break this iron cap of mine, then I will dump all the copper in Gumyoshki there, so that it will be impossible to extract it.        ,         ,     .

She said this and narrowed her eyes:    :

 Do you understand, Stepanushka?   , ? In grief, you say, you are timid, you are not afraid of anyone?  , , ,   ? So tell the clerk as I ordered, and now go and see to the one who is with you, dont say anything.    ,   ,     ,   , , ,  . He is a ruined man, why bother him and involve him in this matter.   ,        . And so I told the blue tit, so that she would help him a little.     ,     .

And again she clapped her hands, and all the lizards ran away.     ,    . She also jumped to her feet, grabbed the stone with her hand, jumped up and also, like a lizard, ran along the stone.     ,    ,   ,  ,   -. Instead of arms and legs, her paws turned green, her tail stuck out, a black stripe halfway down her spine, and her head was human.  -      ,  ,      ,   . She ran to the top, looked back and said:   ,   :

- Don't forget, Stepanushka, as I told you.   , ,   . I told you, you stuffy goat, to get out of Krasnogorka. , , ,  ??? ,    . If you do it my way, I'll marry you!  -,    !




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   ,     (https://www.litres.ru/book/raznoe/bazhov-p-p-khoziaika-mednoi-gory-i-drugie-skazy-na-angliiskom-iazyk-74377818/)  .

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