Reading time: 4 minutes

Read and listen to Mashenka and the bear

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Summary

Hi everyone "Mashenka and the bear” è un’antica fiaba russa alla quale si sono ispirati gli sceneggiatori di Masha e Orso.

Tra i racconti della tradizione, questa favola per bambini gioca su due elementi comuni a molti miti e storie popolari: un animale grande, che può essere un pericolo per le persone, la paura dei bambini di stare fuori di casa e la paura dei genitori, di perdere i bambini.

Read with me

Masenka was a very intelligent eight-year-old girl.

One day of celebration, the little girl asked her parents for permission to go into the woods to pick berries. Suddenly she jumped out a bear, took Masenka, caught her and brought her to her house.
The little girl was very scared, but the bear said to her:
"Do not Cry Baby. I don't want to eat you. I'm lonely, so you'll stay with me and keep me company."
Masenka and the bear then lived together for a while.

The bear made her a bed of moss, fed her berries and honey, and treated her kindly. But Masenka was sad and she wanted to go home.
“Why are you crying, child?” asked the bear.
Masenka was very smart and didn't want to tell the bear the truth.

He replied thus:
“I cry for my parents. Since I didn't come home, they'll surely think you ate me."
“Okay,” replied the bear. "I'll go to yours parents e dirò loro che stai bene e che continuerai a vivere con me”. “Cucina dei dolcetti da dare alla tua mamma, li porterò in una cesta”.

Masenka accepted but also said:

“I dolci sono per la mamma. Non dovrai toccare nulla dalla cesta. Se disobbedirai, io ti vedrò”.
Masenka era una bambina molto furba.

He prepared a very large basket, slipped inside and covered himself with a layer of sweets.
The bear did not notice anything.

Prese la cesta e si incamminò nel bosco. In questo modo, Masenka e l’orso andarono insieme verso il villaggio: orso con la cesta in mano e la bambina, nascosta dentro.
The bear, having reached halfway, mumbled loudly: “How heavy is this basket. I'll sit down for a minute and have a dessert."
Masenka, dentro la cesta, sentì tutto e sussurrò: “Ti vedo. Non mangiare i dolci della mia mamma”.
Bear didn't see that the baby was inside the basket, but he heard her voice.
He thought: “What eyes that little girl has! She can still see me ”.

He thought the little girl was watching him from a distance! The big animal gave up eating sweets.
After a while, the bear tried again to say: “Now I'm far away. The little girl won't see me if I taste some sweets".

Masenka sentì tutto e prima che l’orso potesse aprire la cesta, sussurrò: “Ti vedo, ti vedo! Non mangiare i dolci della mia mamma!”.

The bear gave up eating.

Masenka e l’orso arrivano così al villaggio, vicino a casa dei genitori della bambina.

All the dogs in the village smelled the bear and started barking and running towards that house.
The bear got scared, dropped the basket and fled into the woods.
Fu così che Masenka tornò a casa: saltò fuori dal canestro e abbracciò la sua mamma e il suo papà.
When the bear returned to his house, he found that the little girl was not there!
Dopo una settimana, l’animale tornò al villaggio a trovare la bambina.

The parents were afraid that the bear would kidnap her again, but the animal said:
“Sono venuto a salutarti, perché sto partendo per un lungo viaggio.

Thank you for keeping me company when you were at home with me.

I forgive you for deceiving me. You were very smart! I want to leave you a present, ”she said again and ran away, setting a leather bag on the table.
In the purse, there were many gold and silver coins. Masenka's parents built a bigger and better house and never forgot the good bear. Russian children are always very happy when the story of Masenka and the bear is told to them: because Masenka is a clever and nice girl and the bear is a big good animal.