The night before christmas short description. Brief retelling of the night before Christmas (Gogol N.V.)

The sixth of January... it's time to remember...

The Night Before Christmas (summary)

The last day before Christmas is replaced by a clear frosty night. The maidens and lads had not yet gone out to carol, and no one saw how smoke came out of the chimney of one hut and a witch rose on a broomstick. She flashes like a black speck in the sky, picking up stars in her sleeve, and the devil flies towards her, to whom "the last night was left to stagger around the white world." Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket, assuming that the darkness that has come will keep the houses of the rich Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk at kutya, and the blacksmith Vakula, hated by the devil (who painted a picture on the church wall doomsday and the shamed devil) will not dare to come to Chubova's daughter Oksana.

While the devil is building chickens for the witch, Chub and his godfather, who left the hut, do not dare to go to the sexton, where a pleasant society will gather for varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, return home, and they leave, leaving the beautiful Oksana in the house, dressing up in front of a mirror, for which and finds her Vakula. The severe beauty taunts him, untouched by his gentle speeches. The frustrated blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has gone astray and lost his godfather, knocks, deciding to return home on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil. However, the blacksmith's voice makes him think that he did not end up in his own hut (but in a similar, lame Levchenko, to whose young wife the blacksmith probably came), Chub changes his voice, and an angry Vakula, poking, kicks him out. The beaten Chub, considering that the blacksmith, therefore, left his own house, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, former witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew in with her, dropping a month in the pipe.

It became light, the blizzard subsided, and crowds of carolers poured into the streets. The girls run to Oksana, and, noticing new laces embroidered with gold on one of them, Oksana declares that she will marry Vakula if he brings her the laces "which the queen wears." In the meantime, the devil, who has become mellow at Solokha's, is frightened away by the head, who has not gone to the clerk at the kutya. The devil quickly gets into one of the bags left in the middle of the hut by the blacksmith, but the head soon has to climb into the other, as the clerk knocks on Solokha. Praising the virtues of the incomparable Solokha, the clerk is forced to climb into the third bag, since Chub appears. However, Chub also climbs there, avoiding a meeting with the returned Vakula. While Solokha is explaining herself in the garden with the Cossack Sverbyguz, who has come after her, Vakula carries away the sacks thrown in the middle of the hut, and, saddened by the quarrel with Oksana, does not notice their weight. On the street he is surrounded by a crowd of carolers, and here Oksana repeats her mocking condition. Leaving all but the smallest sacks in the middle of the road, Vakula runs, and rumors are already crawling behind him that he either lost his mind or hanged himself.

Vakula comes to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, as they say, is "a little like the devil." Having caught the owner eating dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves climbed into Patsyuk's mouth, Vakula timidly asks for directions to hell, relying on his help in his misfortune. Having received a vague answer that the devil is behind him, Vakula runs away from the quick dumpling that climbs into his mouth. Anticipating easy prey, the devil jumps out of the bag and, sitting on the blacksmith's neck, promises him Oksana that very night. The cunning blacksmith, grabbing the devil by the tail and crossing him, becomes the master of the situation and orders the devil to take himself "to Petemburg, straight to the queen."

Having found Kuznetsov's bags about that time, the girls want to take them to Oksana to see what Vakula caroled. They go after the sled, and Chubov's godfather, having called for help from the weaver, drags one of the sacks into his hut. There, for the obscure, but seductive contents of the bag, there is a fight with the godfather's wife. Chub and the clerk are in the bag. When Chub, returning home, finds a head in the second bag, his disposition towards Solokha is greatly reduced.

The blacksmith, having galloped to Petersburg, comes to the Cossacks, who pass through Dikanka in the autumn, and, pressing the devil in his pocket, seeks to be taken to the tsarina's reception. Marveling at the luxury of the palace and the wonderful paintings on the walls, the blacksmith finds himself in front of the queen, and when she asks the Cossacks who came to ask for their Sich, “what do you want?”, the blacksmith asks her for her royal shoes. Touched by such innocence, Catherine draws attention to this passage of Fonvizin standing at a distance, and Vakula gives shoes, having received which he considers it good to go home.

In the village at this time, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about exactly how Vakula laid hands on himself, and the rumors about this embarrass Oksana, she does not sleep well at night, and not having found a devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith, on the other hand, simply overslept Matins and Mass, and waking up, takes out a new hat and belt from the chest and goes to Chub to woo. Chub, wounded by Solokha's treachery, but seduced by gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered, ready to marry the blacksmith "and without the slippers." Having started a family, Vakula painted his hut with paints, and in the church he painted a devil, but “so nasty that everyone spat when they passed by.”

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The last day before Christmas has passed. Night has come. The moon has gone to heaven. All residents of Sorochin are in anticipation of caroling. The streets are so quiet that you can hear any rustle. And then suddenly a large tuber of smoke poured out of the chimney of one house, and from it appeared a witch riding a broomstick. Nobody saw her. However, if the Sorochinsky assessor were passing by, he would immediately notice her. Since not one witch could hide from him. And in general, he knew everything, even how many pigs each had.

The witch rose high into the sky, and the stars gradually began to disappear from the sky. She was the one who stole them. Gathered a large pile in my hands and finished with this case. However, suddenly something else appeared in the sky that looked like a man. From a distance, he looked exactly like a German, but up close you could see that he was completely black, thin, with a tail and a heel on his face. And only by the horns it was possible to understand that it was hell. He had the last day to walk free, because the next day, after the bells, he would run, tail between his legs, to his lair. The devil began to sneak by the month. He took it, but immediately let go, as he burned himself. Then he cooled down and grabbed the heavenly body and put it in his pocket.

And then the whole world became dark. On Dikanka, no one saw how the villain stole the moon. Only the clerk noticed how the moon suddenly seemed to dance in the sky.

The devil stole a month in order to take revenge on the blacksmith, who loved to draw and painted a wall in the church, which depicted a terrible judgment, and the devil, who was put to shame. The strategy of the villain included such thoughts: The fact is that the rich Cossack Chub was going to the clerk at Kutya, and the blacksmith Vakula wanted to come to his daughter Oksana. The road to the clerk led through the cemetery, ravines and, in general, outside the village. And if it is so dark on the street, then it is not a fact that something will force the Cossack to leave his house. And since the blacksmith and Chub did not get along well, Vakula would not dare to go to Oksana.

The witch, seeing herself in the darkness, screamed. And the Devil quickly ran up to her and began to whisper something in her ear, thereby seducing her like a real man.

Cossack Chub went out into the street with his godfather, they talked about their own. And then they notice that there is no moon in the sky. They don't understand what's the matter, and you have to go to the deacon. They think to stay or not, but Chub says that if they don’t go, then it will not be convenient in front of the other guests of the clerk, as they may think that these two are lazy and cowards. In the end, they hit the road. At this time, Oksana, the daughter of the Cossack Chuba, was preening herself in her room. She was the most beautiful girl, according to all the lads in the whole area. Crowds ran after her, but she was adamant. And those guys slowly chose others, those who were much less spoiled than the beauty. Only the blacksmith Vakula was stubborn and, in spite of everything, continued to seek the girl. She stood and admired herself in the mirror. She spoke to herself. She told me that she was not good and did not understand what she could like about her. But then she jumped up and began to praise herself. To say that everything in her is beautiful, both herself and the clothes that her dad bought her so that the most enviable groom would marry her. Vakula watched all this through the window. And suddenly the girl saw him and screamed. She asked him what he was doing here. She began to say that all the guys are much, go to her when her father is gone, they are so bold right away. Then she asked how things were going with her chest, which Vakula forged especially for her. He replied that he took the best iron, no one has it. And when he paints it, it will generally be better than any other girl. Oksana was preening herself and spinning near the mirror. With her permission, Vakula sat down next to her and wanted to kiss her. He said that he would give everything for this girl to be his. But she behaved so impolitely that Vakula was deeply broken in his soul, because he understood that she did not feel anything for him at all. Someone knocked on the door.

Meanwhile, Chert, suffering from frost with a witch, who is also Vakula's mother, climbed through the chimney to her house. Vakula's mother, the witch Solokha, was already adult woman. She was about forty. She was not beautiful, but at the same time good-looking. And, despite her wisdom, she attracted all the most sedate Cossacks. They visited her, and the head of the village, and the clerk, and the Cossack Chub, and the Cossack Kasyan Sverbyguz. She accepted these men in such a way that not one of them knew about the existence of competitors. But most of all she liked the father of the beautiful Oksana, the Cossack Chub. He was a widower, and he had a lot of things in the household. Solokha dreamed of taking it all for herself. However, she was afraid that her son Vakula would marry Oksana, and this household would belong to him. Therefore, she did everything to scold Chub and the blacksmith as much as possible. And because of this, all the old women around said that Solokha was a witch. And they came up with different stories, then they saw her tail, then something else. However, only the Sorochinsky assessor could see the witch, and he was silent, and therefore all these stories were not taken seriously. Having flown through the pipe, Solokha began to clean everything up. And the devil, while flying to the pipe, he saw Chub with a godfather, who were going to the deacon, and began to row snow in their direction, this started a snowstorm. The devil wanted Chub to go back home and scold the blacksmith. And his plan came true. As soon as the blizzard started, Chub and his godfather immediately got ready to go back home. But there was nothing to be seen around. And then the godfather went a little to the side to look for the road, and if he finds it, he must shout. And Chub, in turn, remained in the same place and was also looking for a way. But the godfather immediately saw the tavern, and, forgetting about his friend, went in there. And Chub at that time saw his house. He began to shout to his daughter to open it, but the blacksmith Vakula came out and, not realizing that it was Chub, with the question “what do you want?” threw him out the door. Chub thought that he did not come to his home. Since the blacksmith had nothing to do with him, and he would not have found his way back so soon. He knew that only the lame Levchenko, who had recently married a young wife, had a similar house. But the lame man himself is now definitely visiting the deacon. And Chub then thought that Vakula came to his young wife. The Cossack received several blows on the back and shoulder from the blacksmith and, with offended cries and threats, went to Solokha. However, the blizzard bothered him greatly.

While the devil was flying from the created snowstorm into the Solokhin pipe, a month got out of his pocket, and, taking advantage of the opportunity, returned to his place. It became light outside and the blizzard seemed to have never happened. All the youth ran out into the street with bags and began to carol. Then they went into the house of the Cossack Chub and surrounded Oksana, they showed carols, and the girl had a lot of fun. Although Vakula, despite the fact that he loved caroling, at that moment hated him. Oksana saw her friend's slippers and began to admire them. And Vakula told her that she should not be upset, he would buy her such slippers that no one else had. And then the spoiled beauty declared in front of everyone that if Vakula gets her the little laces that the queen herself wears, then she will immediately marry him.

Vakula was in despair, he understood that the girl did not love him. And he wanted to give himself a word to forget about her, but still love won, and he began to think how he should continue to seek the girl.

Meanwhile, in Solokha's house, the devil wanted to set a condition for the witch to please him. And that if she does not agree to satisfy his passions and, as usual, reward him, then he is ready for anything, throws himself into the water, and sends his soul straight into hell.

Solokha wanted to spend this evening alone, but a sudden knock on the door aroused both her and the devil with his plans. The head knocked, shouted, open. Solokha hid the devil in a bag, and she opened it to the man, gave him a glass of vodka to drink. He said that because of the snowstorm he did not go to the deacon. And seeing her light in the window, he decided to spend the evening with Solokha. But, before he had time to finish this, they began to knock on the door again, this time it was the clerk himself, who, due to a snowstorm, lost all the guests, but he was glad, because he wanted to spend the evening with her. The head, meanwhile, also hid in a bag of coal. He began to touch the hand, then the neck of the witch, and it is not known what he would touch next time, as they knocked again. It was the Cossack Chub. The deacon was also in the bag. Chub came in, also drank a glass of vodka, and began to joke about whether Solokha had any men. Thus, she consoles her pride, because she thinks that he is her only one. And then they knock again, this time it was the son of a witch - the blacksmith Vakula. Solokha hastily put Chub into the same sack where the deacon was already sitting. But he didn’t even utter a peep when Chub put his boots, cold from the frost, right at his temples. Vakula went into the house and sat down on a bench. There was a knock on the door again, this time it was the Cossack Sverbyguz. But the bag was no longer there, and therefore Solokha took him out into the garden to ask what he wanted.

Vakula sits and thinks why he needs Oksana. He sees the bags and decides that he needs to bring himself to his senses, since he completely launched everything with his love. He decides to take these bags outside. He threw them over his shoulder, although it was hard, he endured. There was noise outside. There was a lot of caroling. All around fun. Suddenly, Vakula hears Oksana's voice and, throwing bags, all but one, the one in which the devil was, he goes to her voice. She is talking to some guy and laughing. When Vakula approached her, she began to say that he had a very small bag and began to laugh about the little boots and the wedding. The guy lost his patience, he decided to drown himself. And then, he approached the girl and said goodbye to her, she did not have time to answer, as he left. The lads shouted after him, but he said that they might see each other in the next world, but there was nothing for him to do in this. And the grandmas immediately began to mutter that the blacksmith hanged himself.

Vakula walked without realizing it. Then, having recovered a little, he decided to seek help from a healer - pot-bellied Patsyuk. When he went to his house, he saw that he was eating dumplings without the help of his hands, he simply took them out of the plate with his mouth. Vakula began to ask what to do and how to find the devil. He replied that everyone knows who the hell is behind them. After that, this Patsyuk continued to eat dumplings, which flew off the plate on their own, dipped in sour cream, and also flew into his mouth on their own. Vakula came out, and the devil came out of the bag. He thought Vakula was now in his hands. He began to say that he would do everything that the guy needed, but he needed to conclude a contract. However, the blacksmith was not stupid. He grabbed the devil by the tail, threatened him with a cross, and after that the devil became very obedient. Then the blacksmith climbed on his back and told him to fly to St. Petersburg to the queen, and felt how he was taking off. Meanwhile, Oksana was walking with her friends and thought that she was too strict with Vakula. The girl is sure that he will not exchange such a beauty for anyone. She decides that the next time he comes, she will let herself be kissed, no matter how.

They go and see the bags left by Vakula. They think that they contain a lot of sausage and meat, although they contain a head, a clerk and Chub. They decide to go for the sled and drag the bags to Oksana's home. However, while they were going after the sled, the godfather Chub came out of the tavern. I saw the sacks and wanted to pick up one, in which there was a clerk and a forelock. But the bag was heavy, so when the godfather met the Weaver, he asked him to help drag the bags to the house, in return dividing them in half. He agreed. When they went to their godfather's house, they were afraid to find his wife. Since she constantly took away everything that was acquired by her and her husband. And yet she was at home. These three people got into a fight over the bag. And the godfather's wife won by using a poker. And when the godfather and the Weaver wanted to try again to take away the booty, a forelock crawled out of the bag, followed by a clerk. Chub realized that the rest of the bags also contained men who came to Solokha. And from this he was upset, because he thought that he was the only one.

In the meantime, the girls ran up with the sled to the bags, but there was only one. They took him, the head that sat in him decided to endure everything, so long as he was not left on the street. The bag was dragged into the house, but the man began to hiccup and coughed. The girls were frightened, and Chub just arrived, took his head out of the bag, and realized that Solokha had also had him.

While Vakula was riding on the line, he was both scared and surprised at the same time. He periodically frightened him with a cross. When they arrived in Petersburg, the devil turned into a horse. There he met familiar Cossacks who were just on their way to the queen, and Vakula then asked them to take him with them. They agreed. They got into the carriage and took off.

Everything in the royal palace was very beautiful. Vakula walked and at the same time looked at everything he saw. Finally, having passed through numerous halls, they found themselves at the hall of the princess. Potemkin came out and told the Cossacks to speak as he had taught them. All of a sudden they all fell to the floor. A female voice ordered them to get up several times, but they continued to lie on the floor, saying that they would not get up and turning to her “mother”. It was Empress Catherine. She began to ask the Cossacks about life and soon asked what they wanted. And then Vakula plucked up courage and asked where he could find such slippers for his woman. The queen ordered her servants to bring the most beautiful slips of gold. They wanted to reason with her, but she did not change her mind. When they were brought, Vakula made a very beautiful compliment to the queen. Calling her feet "made of real sugar". And then he whispered the devil into his pocket to take it away and then ended up behind the barrier.

On Dikanka, meanwhile, they were arguing whether Vakula hanged himself or drowned himself. All these pandemoniums, quarrels, therefore, about the reason, and indeed the rumors about the death of the blacksmith, greatly upset Oksana. She can't sleep and realizes that she has fallen in love with a guy. And when she does not see him at the service in the church, she completely loses heart.

Vakula raced astride the line very quickly. He ended up near his house. The devil wanted to leave, but Vakula took the whip and hit the villain a couple of times, who himself wanted to teach the blacksmith a lesson, and in the end he himself was fooled. The guy went into the house, Solokha was not there. He went to bed and slept until noon. He was upset because he was not present at the service. He thought that the Almighty punished him in this way, for the fact that Vakula contacted the devil. The guy promised that he would atone for this sin for a whole year. Then he dressed in his best. I took a belt and a hat, and, of course, little boots, and went to the forelock. Chub did not expect to see him. Vakula fell in front of his feet and began to ask for forgiveness for everything, said that let him hit him, that the forelock did not do much and three times. Vakula gave him a belt and a hat as a gift. The blacksmith then asked for his daughter's hand in marriage. He, remembering the unfaithful Solokha, agreed and said that he called the matchmakers.

Oksana left. She was glad that the blacksmith was alive. Vakula gave her little slippers, but she did not accept them, because she said that she loved him even without the slippers. She hesitated. And the boy and girl kissed.

They got married, they had children. Vakula painted the whole house with colorful paints. And in the church he drew a devil burning in hell, and insanely nasty that everyone spat when they passed.

The last day before Christmas is replaced by a clear frosty night. The maidens and lads had not yet come out to carol, and no one saw how smoke went out of the chimney of one hut and a witch rose on a broomstick. She flashes like a black speck in the sky, picking up stars in her sleeve, and the devil flies towards her, to whom "the last night was left to stagger around the white world." Having stolen the month, the devil hides it in his pocket, assuming that the darkness that has come will keep the houses of the rich Cossack Chub, invited to the clerk at kutya, and the hated devil blacksmith Vakula (who painted a picture of the Last Judgment and the shamed devil on the church wall) will not dare to come to Chubova’s daughter Oksana . While the devil is building chickens for the witch, Chub and his godfather, who left the hut, do not dare to go to the sexton, where a pleasant society will gather for varenukha, or, in view of such darkness, return home, and they leave, leaving the beautiful Oksana in the house, dressing up in front of a mirror, for which and finds her Vakula. The severe beauty taunts him, untouched by his gentle speeches. The frustrated blacksmith goes to unlock the door, on which Chub, who has lost his way and lost his godfather, knocks, deciding to return home on the occasion of the blizzard raised by the devil. However, the blacksmith's voice makes him think that he did not end up in his own hut (but in a similar, lame Levchenko, whose young wife, probably, the blacksmith came), Chub changes his voice, and an angry Vakula, poking, kicks him out. The beaten Chub, having found out that the blacksmith, therefore, left his own house, goes to his mother, Solokha. Solokha, who was a witch, returned from her journey, and the devil flew in with her, dropping a month in the chimney.

It became light, the blizzard subsided, and crowds of carolers poured into the streets. The girls run to Oksana, and, noticing on one of them new laces embroidered with gold, Oksana declares that she will marry Vakula if he brings her the laces "which the queen wears." In the meantime, the devil, who has become mellow at Solokha's, is frightened away by the head, who has not gone to the clerk at the kutya. The devil quickly gets into one of the bags left in the middle of the hut by the blacksmith, but the head soon has to climb into the other, as the clerk knocks on Solokha. Praising the virtues of the incomparable Solokha, the clerk is forced to climb into the third bag, since Chub appears. However, Chub also climbs there, avoiding a meeting with the returned Vakula. While Solokha is explaining herself in the garden with the Cossack Sverbyguz, who has come after her, Vakula carries away the sacks thrown in the middle of the hut, and, saddened by the quarrel with Oksana, does not notice their weight. On the street he is surrounded by a crowd of carolers, and here Oksana repeats her mocking condition. Leaving all but the smallest sacks in the middle of the road, Vakula runs, and rumors are already crawling behind him that he either lost his mind or hanged himself.

Vakula comes to the Cossack Pot-bellied Patsyuk, who, as they say, is "a little like the devil." Having caught the owner eating dumplings, and then dumplings, which themselves climbed into Patsyuk's mouth, Vakula timidly asks for directions to hell, relying on his help in his misfortune. Having received a vague answer that the devil is behind him, Vakula runs away from the quick dumpling that climbs into his mouth. Anticipating easy prey, the devil jumps out of the bag and, sitting on the blacksmith's neck, promises him Oksana that very night. The cunning blacksmith, grabbing the devil by the tail and crossing him, becomes the master of the situation and orders the devil to take himself "to Petemburg, straight to the queen."

Having found Kuznetsov's bags about that time, the girls want to take them to Oksana to see what Vakula caroled. They go after the sled, and Chubov's godfather, having called for help from the weaver, drags one of the sacks into his hut. There, for the obscure, but seductive contents of the bag, there is a fight with the godfather's wife. Chub and the clerk are in the bag. When Chub, returning home, finds a head in the second bag, his disposition towards Solokha is greatly reduced.

The blacksmith, having galloped to Petersburg, appears to the Cossacks, who pass through Dikanka in the autumn, and, pressing the devil in his pocket, seeks to be taken to an appointment with the queen. Marveling at the luxury of the palace and the wonderful paintings on the walls, the blacksmith finds himself in front of the queen, and when she asks the Cossacks who came to ask for their Sich, “what do you want?”, the blacksmith asks her for her royal shoes. Touched by such innocence, Catherine draws attention to this passage standing at a distance, and Vakula gives shoes, having received which he considers it good to go home.

In the village at this time, the Dikan women in the middle of the street are arguing about exactly how Vakula laid hands on himself, and the rumors about this embarrass Oksana, she does not sleep well at night, and not having found a devout blacksmith in the church in the morning, she is ready to cry. The blacksmith, on the other hand, simply overslept Matins and Mass, and waking up, takes out a new hat and belt from the chest and goes to Chub to woo. Chub, wounded by Solokha's treachery, but seduced by gifts, agrees. He is echoed by Oksana, who has entered, ready to marry the blacksmith "and without the slippers." Having got a family, Vakula painted his hut with paints, and in the church he painted a devil, but “so nasty that everyone spat when they passed by.”

Summary of "The Night Before Christmas" Option 2

1. About the work
2. main characters
3. Other characters
4. Summary
5. Conclusion

About the work

The story "The Night Before Christmas" was written by N.V. Gogol in 1830 - 1832. The first edition of the work was published in 1832 in the printing house of A. Plushard. The story is included in the famous cycle of the writer "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka". In The Night Before Christmas, he humorously portrayed poeticized rural life on a holiday, unfolding the plot around the love story of the blacksmith Vakula and the daughter of a wealthy Cossack Oksana.

main characters

Vakula- a blacksmith, "a strong man and a kid anywhere", in his spare time he was engaged in "painting", was in love with Oksana and flew to St. Petersburg on the line to get the tsarina's slippers for her.

Oksana- the daughter of the Cossack Chub, beloved of Vakula, she "was not yet seventeen years old", "she was capricious, like a beauty."

Heck- Disliked Vakula because he painted him in a bad light, took the blacksmith to St. Petersburg.

Other characters

Forelock- a rich Cossack, widower, Oksana's father.

Solokha- the witch, the mother of Vakula, "had no more than forty years of age."

Pot-bellied Patsyuk- a healer, a former Cossack who has been living in Dikanka for many years.

Head, clerk, godmother Panas, Empress Catherine.

In Dikanka, a clear winter night came before Christmas. Suddenly, a witch on a broom flew out of the chimney of one of the huts and, rising to the sky, began to collect stars in her sleeve. On the other hand, a devil appeared in the sky. He hid the moon in his pocket, and the surroundings immediately became dark. The devil did this so that the Cossack Chub would be too lazy to walk in the dark and stay at home, and therefore the blacksmith Vakula could not come to his daughter Oksana. So the devil wanted to take revenge on the blacksmith, who painted him ashamed in the picture with the Last Judgment.

Chub, together with Panas, waiting for a "good drink" at the deacon's, leave the Cossack's hut and see that the moon has disappeared from the sky, and it has become completely dark on the street. After hesitating, they still decide to continue on their way.

While Chub left, Oksana, who was left alone at home, admired herself in front of the mirror.
Behind this case, Vakula, who came to her, finds the girl. The blacksmith turns to Oksana with gentle speeches, but she only laughs and mocks him. Annoyed, Vakula decides that the girl does not love him.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and the blacksmith went to open it.

The frost increased, so the devil and the witch went down through the chimney to her hut. The witch was none other than Vakula's mother, Solokha. She knew how to charm men in such a way that many Cossacks of the village went to her, while not one of them knew about her rivals. Among all the admirers, Solokha singled out the rich Cossack Chub.

Meanwhile, when the devil was descending into the chimney, he noticed Chub and made a strong snowstorm, thus trying to bring him home.

And indeed - not seeing anything because of the snowstorm, Chub decided to go back and he and his godfather went in different directions. Having reached his hut, the Cossack knocked, but, hearing Vakula's indignant cry, he decided that this was not his house, and changed his voice. Not recognizing Chub in the newcomer, the blacksmith beat the Cossack. Then Chub, reasoning that if Vakula was here, then he was not at home, he went to Solokha.

While the devil was flying out of the chimney and back, the moon flew out of the "ladunka" hanging on its side and rose into the sky. “Everything lit up. Blizzards like never before." Crowds of caroling lads and girls with sacks appeared in the street.

The girls hurried to Chub's house. Oksana noticed new slippers on one of the girls and felt sad that she had no one to get a beautiful new thing. Then Vakula himself volunteered to get "such little laces as a rare lady wears." Jokingly, Oksana said that only those worn by the queen herself would suit her, and if the blacksmith got them, she would marry him.

A hefty head suddenly comes to Solokha, who was sitting with the devil. While the woman was opening the doors, the unclean man hid in a sack. The head had only time to drink a glass of vodka and say that because of the snowstorm he did not get to the deacon, when there was another knock on the door - it was the deacon himself. Solokha hid her head in the second bag. However, the conversation between the woman and the deacon was soon interrupted - the Cossack Chub came to Solokha.
The hostess hid the clerk in the third sack, and soon Chub, who did not want to see Vakula, who came to his mother, turned out to be in the same sack.

While Solokha went to the next visitor, the blacksmith takes away all three bags and, saddened by Oksana's bullying, does not even notice their weight.

On the street, Vakula meets carolers. Oksana, laughing, again repeats her condition in front of everyone. Frustrated, Vakula threw the bags on the ground and, taking the smallest one with him, said goodbye to everyone and ran away.

Vakula decides to go to the local healer - Pot-bellied Patsyuk - "he, they say, knows all the devils and will do whatever he wants." Having caught Patsyuk eating first dumplings, and after dumplings, which themselves flew into the owner's mouth, Vakula asks him how to find the devil in order to ask him for help. To this the sorcerer replied to him: "He does not need to go far, who has the devil behind him." Frightened by a quick dumpling flying into his mouth, Vakula runs away from Patsyuk.

Hearing the words of the blacksmith, the devil immediately jumped out of the bag and offered to conclude a contract, signing it with blood. However, Vakula grabbed the devil by the tail. Baptizing the unclean, the blacksmith saddled him and forced him to take him to St. Petersburg to the queen.

Oksana notices the bags left by Vakula and offers to pick them up. While the girls were fetching the sled, the sack with Chub and the clerk was carried away by the godfather who had left the tavern. During a quarrel between Panas and his wife over the contents of the bag, Chub and the clerk crawled out of it, explaining that they decided to joke like that.

The girls took the remaining bag to Oksana. At this time, Chub returned home and, finding an embarrassed head in a bag, was outraged by Solokha's cunning.

Having flown to Petersburg, the devil turned into a horse, and then, at the behest of Vakula, decreased and hid in his pocket. The blacksmith finds familiar Cossacks, and with the help of the unclean gets the consent to go with them to the queen.

In the palace of the Cossacks, Potemkin met Vakula, and then the queen herself. When Catherine asked the Cossacks with what request they came to her, the blacksmith immediately fell at the feet of the queen, asking for his wife the same beautiful little laces as hers.
Catherine was amused by his innocence, and she ordered to bring the most expensive shoes with gold. Praising the legs of the queen, the blacksmith, pushed by the Cossacks, stepped back and the devil instantly transferred him already “behind the barrier”.

At that time, rumors were already circulating in Dikanka that Vakula had either drowned or hanged himself. Hearing about this, Oksana was very upset - after all, he loved her, and now, perhaps, he left the village forever or disappeared altogether. Vakula did not appear even after mass.

The blacksmith got back even faster, and, after weighing the devil three blows with a twig, let him go. Entering the house, Vakula immediately fell asleep and slept until mass. Waking up, the blacksmith took with him the queen's shoes for Oksana and a hat and belt for Chub, and went to the Cossack. After her father agreed to the matchmaking, the embarrassed girl said that she was ready to marry Vakula "and without little laces."

Having married, the blacksmith painted over his entire hut, and in the church he depicted the devil in hell - "so nasty that everyone spat when they passed by."

Conclusion

In the story "The Night Before Christmas" Gogol reveals the theme of folk life, depicting a number of typical rural characters - the dexterous and strong blacksmith Vakula, the beautiful and narcissistic Oksana, the stupid and rich Chuba, the cunning Solokha and others. Introducing mythical characters (witch, devil, healer) into the narrative, the author brings the plot of the work closer to the fairy tale, thus intertwining the techniques of realism and romanticism in the story.

Brief retelling"Nights before Christmas" describes the main plot of the work, but for a better understanding of the story, we advise you to familiarize yourself with its full version.

Summary of "The Night Before Christmas" |