: Satirical tales allegorically describe human vices, ridicule power, liberal intelligentsia, officials and landlords, touch on ethical problems and troubles of the common people.

Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote fairy tales from 1869 to 1886, but due to censorship some of them were published only after his death. Here, tales are listed in the order they were published.

The story of how one man fed two generals

Stupid helpless generals get on an uninhabited island, but they manage to find a man there and force him to serve them. He dutifully gets them food, builds a ship and takes them back to St. Petersburg.

Conscience is gone

Conscience turns into a dirty rag, and everyone wants to get rid of it. After wandering around the world, conscience finds refuge in the pure heart of a child. She will grow with him and will rule the world.

Wild landowner

Stupid landowner gets rid of men. Food disappears in the bazaar, money runs out in the treasury, and he runs wild. Everything comes back to normal when men again appear on the estate.

Wise clerk

A smart gudgeon decides that if you live in a dark hole and tremble quietly, they will not catch him. Dying alone, he realizes that in his life there was neither friendship nor love, and everyone around him considered him a fool.

Selfless hare

The wolf catches a hare and decides to eat, but then lets go to say goodbye to the bride, leaving the rabbit friend hostage. Instead of fleeing, the hare dutifully returns to wolf captivity.

Poor wolf

The wolf kills and robbers all his life in order to get food for himself and his family. By old age, he understands that killing is bad, but he cannot live otherwise, so he decides to end his life by surrendering to hunters.

Virtues and Vices

Virtues and Vices are bored with hostility. They decide to reconcile, the intermediary becomes Hypocrisy - the daughter of Virtue and vice. Soon, under its influence, Virtues are compared with Vices.

Bear in the voivodship

Three bears in turn are appointed governors of the forest. The first two bet on bloodshed and lose. The latter does not interfere in the life of the forest and deserves the praise of the ruler.

Newspaper trickster and gullible reader

The newsboy deceives the reader and profits from gloomy lies. When the reader is told that he lives in a lie, the newsboy begins to write a beautiful truth, which has the same price as a lie.

Sun-dried roach

Sun-dried roach, devoid of thoughts, feelings and conscience, penetrates into all spheres of human life and inspires people with its philosophy, then becomes a liberal and a dinner of a zealous slanderer.

Patron eagle

Gathering the courtyard, the eagle establishes science and art, but enlightenment is not good for him. The eagle remains an ignorant, bloodthirsty tyrant, and the aides remain thieves and schemers.

Crucian idealist

Karas discusses freedom and equality for all fish, he is convinced that he knows words that can even re-educate pike. Having met a pike, he tells her these words, and she eats it in surprise.

Toy business people

The narrator gets acquainted with the master, whose mechanical dolls play disgusting and vicious performances. The narrator is shocked by what he saw and is glad that people do not always look like these dolls.

Chizhikovo mountain

A rich and middle-aged chizhik marries a pretty cannon-spider. Soon the wife flies away from him, the little fox waits for her for a whole year. The canary returns, and the spouses live in the same nest as strangers.

Faithful Trezor

The dog faithfully serves the owner all his life, protects his family and property.Finally, a dog that has grown old in service is found to be replaced, after which the owner orders him to be drowned and quickly forgets about him.

Undead eye

With one eye the Prosecutor sees non-existent crimes, and with the other does not see real criminals. From birth, he was promised a position in the Senate, but times are changing, and the Prosecutor remains without a post.

Fool

For smart parents, a fool’s son is born, living not according to the laws, but according to the dictates of the heart. Parents try to make their son like everyone else, but even wanderings do not change him, he remains a fool forever.

Neighbors

The rich man is trying to help the poor get rich, but nothing comes of it. Finally, the rich man turns to the sage and finds out that the poor man is poor because it is so written down in the plan, and it is impossible to change it.

Sane hare

The hare believes that the fate of hares is to be eaten, for which they exist. Having met a fox, he obeys fate, although he has a chance to escape. The fox plays with a hare for a long time and eats it.

Liberal

The liberal wants to realize his ideals and seeks advice from knowledgeable people. They force the liberal to make concessions until his lofty ideals are trapped in the filth of meanness.

Non-remembering ram

A ram bought to improve the breed sees a wonderful dream, but forgets what it is about. The ram begins to yearn and forgets about his duties, trying to remember what he dreamed of, and when he remembers, he dies.

Horse

Konyag, unlike his brother, has to work in difficult conditions. The brother is only surprised at the stability of Konyagi - you won’t pass him by anything.

Kissel

A cook cooks for gentlemen jelly. At first, everyone likes him, but then the gentlemen refuse jelly and leave. Kissel is eaten by a pig. After taking a walk, the gentlemen return and see that the jelly is over.

Idle conversation

The governor believes that no one needs his position - the less bosses creep into the affairs of men, the better they live. However, the governor does not refuse a salary, calling it "retribution."

Village fire

The village burns down, the widow's son dies. Immersed in the mountain, she refuses the money of the lady, helping the victims of the fire. The village is being rebuilt, but the widow cannot forget about her dead son and leaves.

By the way

Two peasants work in the city. On the way home, they complain to each other about a hard life, hunger, high taxes. One wants to find the Truth, but the other believes that the Truth is no longer in the world.

Hero

Baba Yaga gave birth and raised a strong athlete, but instead of helping people, he slept for a thousand years in a hollow.

Hyena

Hyena is a cunning and evil animal that some people look like. Sometimes it seems that the "hyena" character traits have replaced human ones, but the narrator hopes that the "human" one will win.

Adventure with Kramolnikov

A writer who protests against injustice falls into disgrace, stops writing and suddenly realizes that his work was useless, because it has not changed anything in people's lives.

Christ's night

The risen Lord rewards the unfortunate, judges sinners, and shows them the way to salvation. Forgiveness does not deserve only the traitor - he is condemned to wander forever on the earth, despised by all.

Raven-petitioner

The old raven, saving his family, exterminated by people and predators, seeks truth from his superiors and reaches the kite. He explains that the time of his truth has not come yet, but in the future it will unite everyone.

Christmas tale

Upon hearing a sermon on the Truth, an impressionable boy discovers that the words of the sermon do not correspond to what is happening in real life, and dies, unable to withstand this discrepancy.