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The heroic death of Taras Bulba in the story “Taras Bulba” by Gogol - essay. Death of Andriy from the story “Taras Bulba” by Gogol

The old Cossack, Taras Bulba, lost both of his sons. The death of Ostap in the story “Taras Bulba” became a turning point: after that Taras disappeared, and after a while he reappeared with a Cossack army. He plundered and burned cities to avenge the death of his beloved son. The cause of Ostap's death was the inhuman torture of Polish executioners.

Ostap was a worthy son of his father. He proved himself in battle and was in good standing among other Cossacks. In one of the battles near the city of Dubno, Ostap brutally took revenge on the Polish soldiers for killing the Kurkin chieftain. The Cossacks, impressed by this act, choose Ostap as their new chieftain. Ostap was distinguished by his composure, but at the same time by his prudence. He ordered the Cossacks to stay away from the city walls, which saved many lives.

But Ostap was captured: several of the strongest warriors attacked him at the same time, the young Cossack’s strength left him, and he could no longer resist. Death awaited the captured Cossacks. The execution of Ostap in Taras Bulba took place in the square, in public. All the people gathered there. Both the mob, despite the hunger, and the nobles were curious to look at the Cossacks. Some spoke indignantly and with regret about the upcoming torment, but still stood until the end of the execution.

The Cossacks “walked fearlessly, not gloomily, but with a kind of quiet pride,” Ostap was ahead of everyone. But why are the people whom for a long time they were kept in prison, awaiting a painful death, so humbly accepting this state of affairs, why don’t they try to escape? The Cossacks do not bow to the people. This scene is extremely significant for understanding the main idea of ​​the work and expressing the theme. The Cossacks go to execution with the knowledge that they defended their freedom. For the Cossacks, death in battle or death for a just cause was considered an honor.
Taras Bulba watched Ostap's execution from the crowd. How did the father feel, knowing what was about to happen? One can only guess about this. Ostap should have been executed first. He stopped, looked at the other Cossacks and, raising his hand, said loudly: “God grant that all the heretics who stand here do not hear, wicked ones, how a Christian is tormented!” so that not one of us utters a single word!”

Taras whispered approval of his son's behavior. This is what a real Cossack, a courageous and unbroken defender of freedom, would do. Ostap boldly stepped onto the scaffold. The text of the work does not describe the torture itself. It only says that they were inhumanly cruel. Ostap holds out to the last: not a sound, not a scream was heard. His face did not waver when the executioner began to break the bones in his arms and legs. A terrible crunch was heard in the square, the ladies turned away and closed their eyes, but the Cossack did not say a word.

When the torment was almost over, Ostap’s strength and endurance began to leave. He looked around the crowd, but did not see a single familiar face. Suddenly he began to regret that he would die like this, in a foreign land, unknown. He didn’t want to see his wife crying and wailing, or his mother, for whom seeing her son’s death was tantamount to own death. No, Ostap only wanted to see an equally strong and strong Cossack next to him, so that he would cheer him up.

“And he fell with strength and exclaimed in spiritual weakness:
- Father! where are you! Can you hear?
“I hear you!”

This ends the execution episode. An analysis of Ostap's death in Taras Bulba allows us to say that this scene is extremely important for understanding the essence of the entire work. We should not forget that Gogol reflected an idealized idea of ​​the past. Some kind of historical myth. In the story “Taras Bulba” the death of Ostap is understood as the death of the free, pure and brave soul of the entire Cossacks, the entire Ukrainian people.

Work test

The old Cossack, Taras Bulba, lost both of his sons. The death of Ostap in the story “Taras Bulba” became a turning point: after that Taras disappeared, and after a while he reappeared with a Cossack army. He plundered and burned cities to avenge the death of his beloved son. The cause of Ostap's death was the inhuman torture of Polish executioners.

Ostap was a worthy son of his father. He proved himself in battle and was in good standing among other Cossacks. In one of the battles near the city of Dubno, Ostap brutally took revenge on the Polish soldiers for killing the Kurkin chieftain. The Cossacks, impressed by this act, choose Ostap as their new chieftain. Ostap was distinguished by his composure, but at the same time by his prudence. He ordered the Cossacks to stay away from the city walls, which saved many lives.

But Ostap was captured: several of the strongest warriors attacked him at the same time, the young Cossack’s strength left him, and he could no longer resist. Death awaited the captured Cossacks. The execution of Ostap in Taras Bulba took place in the square, in public. All the people gathered there. Both the mob, despite the hunger, and the nobles were curious to look at the Cossacks. Some spoke indignantly and with regret about the upcoming torment, but still stood until the end of the execution.

The Cossacks “walked fearlessly, not gloomily, but with a kind of quiet pride,” Ostap was ahead of everyone. But why do people who have been kept in prison for a long time, who face a painful death, so humbly accept this state of affairs, why don’t they try to escape? The Cossacks do not bow to the people. This scene is extremely significant for understanding the main idea of ​​the work and expressing the theme. The Cossacks go to execution with the knowledge that they defended their freedom. For the Cossacks, death in battle or death for a just cause was considered an honor.
Taras Bulba watched Ostap's execution from the crowd. How did the father feel, knowing what was about to happen? One can only guess about this. Ostap should have been executed first. He stopped, looked at the other Cossacks and, raising his hand, said loudly: “God grant that all the heretics who stand here do not hear, wicked ones, how a Christian is tormented!” so that not one of us utters a single word!”

Taras whispered approval of his son's behavior. This is what a real Cossack, a courageous and unbroken defender of freedom, would do. Ostap boldly stepped onto the scaffold. The text of the work does not describe the torture itself. It only says that they were inhumanly cruel. Ostap holds out to the last: not a sound, not a scream was heard. His face did not waver when the executioner began to break the bones in his arms and legs. A terrible crunch was heard in the square, the ladies turned away and closed their eyes, but the Cossack did not say a word.

When the torment was almost over, Ostap’s strength and endurance began to leave. He looked around the crowd, but did not see a single familiar face. Suddenly he began to regret that he would die like this, in a foreign land, unknown. He didn’t want to see his wife crying and wailing, or his mother, for whom seeing her son’s death was tantamount to her own death. No, Ostap only wanted to see an equally strong and strong Cossack next to him, so that he would cheer him up.

“And he fell with strength and exclaimed in spiritual weakness:
- Father! where are you! Can you hear?
“I hear you!”

This ends the execution episode. An analysis of Ostap's death in Taras Bulba allows us to say that this scene is extremely important for understanding the essence of the entire work. We should not forget that Gogol reflected an idealized idea of ​​the past. Some kind of historical myth. In the story “Taras Bulba” the death of Ostap is understood as the death of the free, pure and brave soul of the entire Cossacks, the entire Ukrainian people.

Work test

This work is dedicated to the battle of people from Ukraine for the independence and freedom of their homeland. The writer had a pretty good general idea history of his country, he was proud of the strong and brave people who are not afraid to give their lives for the independence of their region. It was about these people that N.V. Gogol wrote in his work.

The main characters are two sons Andriy and Ostap, and Taras Bulba himself. The children are young and strong. They just recently came from the bursa, where they received their knowledge. Their father is an elderly warrior, he has seen a lot of things in his life, knows a lot and can tell a lot. And for his children he wished the same thing, to defend his native land to the end, to fight and fight until his death, if so prophesied for his fate.

The work describes three deaths. Bulba's children are dying. He himself dies at the stake. But all three deaths are different from each other. Youngest child dies at the hands of his own father, due to the fact that he betrayed his native land, abandoned his relatives and friends. Taras Bulba could not understand and forget this, even in front of him native child and shoots at Andriy, although his son had everything to become the best warrior on the outskirts, but his feelings for his beloved were above all. For a father, there is no other love than for his homeland, for his friends. The son betrayed everything - and he deserves to die.
Ostap dies in captivity, he had to endure a lot because of this, but the elder was not afraid. He turned out to be an exemplary son of Taras. Even before his death, he did not ask for mercy, he endured everything with dignity.

The death of the ataman himself is an example of a real feat in the name of his homeland. He burns at the stake that the Poles made for him. But this is not what he thinks about when his death is so close, but he worries about his friends, who are in even greater danger.

Essay Three Deaths in Gogol's Story Taras Bulba

Gogol wrote the work “Taras Bulba” with a very interesting plot. But along with the fact that the story is interesting, it is also tragic to some extent, because it was in it, almost at the end of the work, that three deaths in a row were described. All the main characters of the story “Taras Bulba” died at the end, since the historical note is present in the entire plot of the work. That is why throughout the entire story there is also talk about military operations of that time.

Taras Bulba, his sons - Ostap and Andrey - here heroes are more important stories. It was these heroes who died at the end of the story, since the plot is very tragic at the end, because all the heroes turned out to be very brave and decisive in their goals and achievements. Also, Taras Bulba is a man who simply became famous in this story for his courage, his difficult and self-possessed character, and therefore it is fair to assume that his sons also took after their father at least half. Ostap is the eldest son of Taras Bulba, this young man was just like his father, self-possessed and very brave. He also never was and did not become a traitor, and did not disgrace his name and the name of his relatives like his younger brother. Therefore, we can assume that Ostap lived a very good and heroic life, and died as a hero of his homeland.

Andrei is a completely different case, he also took a sufficient part from his father’s genes, but unfortunately his determination and pride, like his father’s, went completely, unfortunately for his father, not where he wanted. Andrei fell in love with a girl who, unfortunately, was not the same nationality as him, and was also on the other opposite side of the enemy - Poland. She was Polish, and that said it all, the father would never have understood his youngest son, and this is what happened when he found out that because of her he had defected to the other side - the side of his sworn enemy. And therefore he automatically became an enemy, despite the fact that he was a relative, even more so - a brother and son.

But this did not save him from his sad fate. Andrei was killed by his own father in a clean deserted field, where his father said: “I gave birth to you, I will kill you!” - shot at him with a firearm.

Taras Bulba himself died at the stake, and before that he was also tortured very cruelly, but this man seemed to be made of steel and iron. He endured and endured everything without a single exclamation or cry of pain. He was incredibly proud to make such a mistake. He also died like a hero. Ostap died in the square before his father was caught. Taras Bulba saw how his son was cruelly tortured, but both did not make a sound or exclamation. Only when Ostap said to his father, “Can you hear me, father?...”, only then did Bulba say, “I hear.”

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Taras Bulba is a story by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, the idea of ​​which came to the author in 1830. The writing of the work lasted for ten years. The version revised by the author contains twelve chapters. Throughout the story, it tells about what happened during the war between the Cossacks and the Poles; what incredible difficulties the Cossacks had to experience while defending their land, how they did not bend under fire or sword, wanting to remain faithful to the Fatherland. Only the youngest son of Taras Bulba Andrei turned out to be a traitor and was killed by his own father... You can read more about the story by reading summary.

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Chapter 1

Two sons of Taras Bulba - Ostap and Andrey - return home after studying at the Kyiv Bursa. They are greeted by a joyful father and a worried mother. After a short greeting, Taras and the eldest son Ostap suddenly wanted to measure their strength and began to beat each other, much to the concern of their mother. Finally, the father appreciated his son’s strength with the words: “Yes, he fights well!.. He will be a good Cossack!”

The dream of making his sons fighters for his homeland has been ingrained in the soul of the stubborn Taras Bulba for a long time. And he decided to send them to Zaporozhye. He is not touched by the tears of his mother, who has not seen Ostap and Andrei for so long, nor by the fact that they have not been home for so long. “Sons should be at war - that’s it,” Taras thinks so. In the heat of inflamed feelings, he suddenly expresses a desire to go with them. The father and two young Cossacks, to the great grief of the poor old woman, set off on the road the very next day.

Chapter 2

Bursa, where Ostap and Andrey studied, did not teach them knowledge, but it strengthened their character. For example, the eldest son, often beaten with rods, began to be distinguished by firmness, which is acceptable for the Cossacks, and valued comradeship; The younger one studied better and knew how to at least sometimes evade punishment. In addition to the thirst for achievement, other feelings were also available to his soul.

On the way to Zaporozhye, sitting on a horse, Andrei began to remember his first meeting with a beautiful Polish lady, a lady: how frightened she was when she saw a stranger in front of her, how she put her brilliant diadem on his head; how childishly she behaved, confusing him.

And Zaporozhye was getting closer every day. The Dnieper was already blowing with cold waves, and the Cossacks, after crossing it, found themselves on the island of Khortitsa, near the Sich.

Chapter 3

The incessant feast of the Sich, where Taras Bulba settled with his sons, and the drunken gaiety of the people captivated Ostap and Andrei so much that they enthusiastically indulged in riotous life. The cruel laws of the Cossacks, when a person who stole was beaten to death with a club, and the debtor was chained to a cannon awaiting ransom for him, were not yet so severe punishments in comparison with those that were due for murder. The person who committed this was buried alive in the ground along with the murdered person. This made an indelible impression on Andrey.

So the sons of Taras lived relatively calmly until their father wanted a new war. It was he who began to encourage the Koshevoy to start a battle with the Busurmen, despite the fact that the Sultan had been promised peace. Believing that, without knowing how to fight, a person without a good deed will perish like a dog, Taras Bulba looked for any reason for enmity with other people. The Koschevoy’s objections were met with hostility, and very soon they elected another leader of the Cossacks, an old comrade of Taras Bulba named Kirdyaga. In Sich they celebrated this event all night.

Chapter 4

No matter how strange it may seem to a normal person, but Taras Bulba was simply obsessed with the idea of ​​fighting with someone. He lamented that “the Cossack strength is disappearing, there is no war” and began to incite the people to take radical action. A reason was soon found. A ferry with fugitive Cossacks arrived on the island, who spoke about the lawlessness of the “Jews”, who sew clothes from priests’ vestments and impose a ban on Christian holidays. This became a signal to start a new war between the Cossacks and the Poles.

Chapter 5

The beginning of the war satisfied Taras Bulba. He was proud of his mature sons, although he believed that Ostap was more capable of military affairs than Andrei. The romantic nature of the youngest son was also manifested in his longing for his mother, who handed over the icon; and in contemplation of beautiful nature. A soft heart, not completely hardened by battles, strived to love. That is why Andrei, having learned from the Tatar woman that the lady was starving, decided on a desperate act: to take a bag of food from his sleeping brother, follow the Tatar woman, see the beautiful Polish woman and help her.

Chapter 6

As the Tatar woman leads Andrei through the underground passage, he notices Catholic priests praying and women and children dying of hunger - a terrible picture that makes his heart freeze. Arriving at the place, the young man meets with someone whom he has not seen for a long time - and notices that she has become even more beautiful. Andrey's feelings prevailed over common sense, and he went so far as to give up everything for the sake of this girl - his homeland, his father, his brother, his friends. Without hesitation he went over to the side of the enemy.

Chapter 7

The Cossacks are preparing to attack Dubno in order to strike for the captured Cossacks. Taras Bulba is worried because he does not see his son Andrei anywhere - neither in the Cossack detachment, nor among the killed, nor among the prisoners. And suddenly Yankel reports terrible news: he saw Pan Andriy, but not tied up in captivity, but alive, a knight, all in gold, like the richest Polish lord. Taras was shocked by this news, and at first he did not want to believe his ears, accusing Yankel of lying. And he cited more and more terrible facts, saying that Andrei even renounced his father and brother, saying that he would fight with them.

A battle ensues between the Poles and the Cossacks, in which many Cossacks die, including the ataman. Ostap decides to avenge him, and for such a feat he himself is elected chieftain.

Taras worries about his son, worrying why he was not among those who fought.

Chapter 8

The Cossacks are attacked by the Tatars, and after consulting, the Cossacks decide to drive them away and return the loot. However, Taras has a different opinion: he proposes to first rescue his comrades from Polish captivity. wise advice Kasyan Bovdyuga’s idea of ​​dividing up and going to war against both sides turns out to be just the right thing. Warriors do this.

Chapter 9

In a harsh battle, the Cossacks suffered heavy losses: cannons were used against them. However, the Cossacks, encouraged by Bulba, do not give up. Suddenly Taras sees his youngest son riding a black horse as part of a Polish regiment. The father, distraught with anger, catches up with the young man. He kills Andriy with a shot with the words: “I gave birth to you, I will kill you.”

Ostap sees what happened, however, there is no time to figure it out - Polish soldiers attack him. So the eldest son becomes a prisoner of the Poles. And Taras is seriously injured.

Chapter 10

Bulba, brought by his comrades to Sich, recovers from his wounds a month and a half later and decides to go to Warsaw to see Ostap. He turns to Yankel for help, not even afraid that a lot of money is promised for his head. And he, having taken the reward, hides Taras at the bottom of the cart, covering the top with bricks.

Chapter 11

Ostap is going to be executed at dawn. Bulba was late: it was no longer possible to free him from prison. You are only allowed to see him at dawn. Yankel, in order to arrange a meeting, resorts to a trick: he dresses Taras in foreign clothes, but he, offended by a remark addressed to the Cossacks, gives himself away. Then Bulba goes to the place of his son’s execution. He stands in the crowd, sees the torment that one who did not betray the Fatherland has to experience, gives his life for it, and says approvingly: “Good, son, good.”

Chapter 12

The entire nation, led by Taras Bulba, rose up against the Poles. He became very cruel, did not spare any of his enemies, and burned eighteen cities. Considerable money was offered for Bulba's head, but they could not take him - until he himself, due to an absurd accident, fell into the hands of enemies. Taras's cradle of tobacco fell out, and he stopped his horses to look for it in the grass. Then the Poles captured him and sentenced him to a harsh death - by burning. But Taras did not give up in the face of torment, and even a blazing fire did not stop him. Until his last breath, he encouraged the Cossacks fighting the battle on the banks of the Dniester River.

And then they remembered and praised their chieftain.

The story begins with the arrival of Taras Bulba’s two sons, Ostap and Andriy, at their home. They, like many other children of the Cossacks-Cossacks, were sent to study at the Kyiv Bursa - to the seminary. There were no plans to make priests out of them, but Cossack Colonel Taras believed that his children should have an education. He considered the continuation of their male education in the Zaporozhye Sich, where he and his sons had to go as quickly as possible.

Already in the first scene of the story, the characters of the main characters are visible. Ostap is courageous, decisive, straightforward. He does not tolerate jokes and ridicule and is ready to defend his honor with all his might, even in front of his father. Andriy, on the contrary, is gentle, sensitive, dreamy. Taras is noisy, extravagant, does not tolerate refusal in anything, he is a man of action.

With great tenderness Gogol describes the mother of the young Cossacks - the wife of Taras Bulba. She is a quiet, unrequited woman, accustomed to obeying her husband, and suffered many insults from him. During his frequent departures, she managed a large household herself. She raised her children without the help of her husband, but does not have the opportunity to keep them at home. She only has one night left to admire the children before leaving. The poor mother does not know whether her sons will return home alive, because at that time the Cossacks were in a state of almost continuous war.

In Zaporozhye Sich

The day after the young people return from Bursa, their father takes them to the Cossack military camp. On the way, travelers have different thoughts. Ostap dreams of military glory, Taras remembers his old exploits, and Andriy dreams of a beautiful Polish girl whom he met and fell in love with during his studies.

Taras brings his sons to the Zaporozhye Sich - a Cossack camp. Here they spend almost all their time between battles. This is a male community with its own laws, where daring and youth, the ability to drink alcohol and fight enemies are valued. Kurenny atamans here are chosen by the Cossacks, the rules are established once and for all.

Ostap and Andriy, despite all their differences, come to court in the Sich. Both young Cossacks and veterans consider them good warriors, respect and love them. Old Taras is proud of them. He is glad that his children perform well in peacetime. He hopes that during the war he will not be ashamed of his sons.

The war has begun

You don’t have to wait long for a suitable opportunity, and Taras himself helps to increase the military fervor of the Cossacks. On his advice, the head of the Sich, the Koshevoy, was re-elected. Now the Cossacks are commanded by a warlike man who gives the command to prepare for war with Poland.

However, the Cossacks cannot break their word given to the Poles and Turks. They cannot attack their enemies without a reason. But the reason will also soon be found. A detachment of Cossacks appears in the Sich and talks about the atrocities of the Poles and Jews. This becomes the formal reason for the performance of the Cossacks.

War is always accompanied by death, blood and fires. The Cossacks marched across Poland, sparing no one, killing both old and young. Every Polish or Jewish family could become a victim of a pogrom.

Ostap and Andriy during the war

The sons of old Taras were tempered in battle. Ostap showed himself to be a skillful leader, and his father already dreamed that he would become famous commander. And in every battle Andriy surprised everyone with his reckless courage and military prowess.

The Cossacks brought with them fear, fires, hatred and murder. In battles and battles, in smoke and fire, the Zaporozhye army came to big city Dubna. It was a large and well-fortified fortress. The Cossack army could not take it right away, so a siege was organized.

Skirmishes rarely happened, and the rest of the time the Cossacks burned villages around, robbed local residents, had fun and waited for a real battle. And in the besieged fortress, real famine began. The residents of Dubna did not give up.

Andria's betrayal

One night an elderly woman came to Andriy. He recognized her as the maid of a beautiful Polish woman. The girl saw Andriy from the walls of the fortress and recognized him as a seminarian who was in love with her. She sent her maid for help. The old woman asked to give her some food for her mistress, but Andriy did differently. He decided to go to the Polish woman himself to see her again.

But, having seen the girl, he could no longer part with her, and remained in the fortress to protect her from his comrades. Andriy abandoned his Fatherland, his family and friends - he betrayed his land.

Andrey's betrayal
Taras did not believe this for a long time, but when he saw his son with the Poles, he vowed to kill him with his own hands. In one of the battles, when a detachment from the city tried to break the siege, the old Cossack fulfilled his promise - he killed his youngest son. In the same battle, Ostap Bulba was captured.

Death of Ostap

Taras was seriously wounded in the battle and was ill for a long time. He managed to recover only after lengthy treatment. And then he learned that Ostap was in Warsaw and was about to be executed.

Taras, with the help of a Jew whom he once saved from death, comes to Warsaw to try to save his son. He gives a large sum to the prison guard to see Ostap. But the Pole deceives Taras. He doesn't even get to see his son.

The old Cossack can do nothing more. But he wants to see Ostap at least once again and goes to the square where the execution of the Cossacks is to take place. Taras sees that Ostap did not lose the honor of an Orthodox warrior here either and withstood all the torture without requests or groans. And only before his death he loudly calls for his father. And his father responds to him, but the Poles, who were just waiting for this, fail to catch him. Taras leaves the city to begin a terrible revenge for his son.

Read a summary of Gogol’s “The Overcoat”. The story describes the difficult life of a St. Petersburg official who is forced to endure hardships every day for the sake of his dream.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s novel-poem “Dead Souls” is a recognized encyclopedia of human souls and characters, types of Russia at that time.

Death of Taras

The Poles captured many Ukrainian cities and villages, killed and burned Ukrainians. The entire Cossack army rose up to fight them. Everyone fought bravely, but Taras Bulba’s regiment was distinguished among them for its courage and cruelty.

The Poles began to ask for mercy from the Cossacks, but they did not believe their enemies. The war continued, and only the requests of the Orthodox clergy could give hope to the Poles.

A peace treaty was signed, according to which the Cossacks received their former rights and freedoms, and orthodox churches remained untouched. The Cossacks returned to the camps, but Taras urged not to believe the vile Poles and not to stop the war with them.

He turned out to be right: the Poles broke their word and killed the Cossack atamans and foremen. Taras and his regiment walked around Poland, celebrating a cruel funeral for his eldest son, sparing no one: neither children, nor old, nor young.

The Poles tried for a long time to catch Taras. They sent their best troops against him, led by Hetman Potocki. But old Bulba would have left him too, his regiment had already broken through the encirclement of the enemies. But he felt sorry for the lost old pipe that he had left on the battlefield, and Taras returned. Then the Poles captured him.

A terrible execution The Poles decided to execute Taras Bulba. They were so afraid of the old Cossack that they came up with the most terrible death for him - in fire. But even from the fire he gave instructions to his comrades on how they could escape.

The story “Taras Bulba” is a terrible story about cruel times, about fidelity, about love, about betrayal. Cossack Taras is a symbol of the unbending will and devotion of an Orthodox warrior, contempt for fear and love for his native land.

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“Hey, cereal! lure me only him to the forest, lure me only him! - Taras shouted. And immediately thirty of the fastest Cossacks volunteered to lure him. And, straightening their high hats, they immediately set off on horseback right across the hussars. They hit the front ones from the side, knocked them down, separated them from the rear, gave a gift to both, and Golokopytenko hit Andriy on the back with the flat of his hand, and at the same hour they began to run away from them as much as the Cossacks could piss off. How Andriy jumped up! How young blood rebelled in all veins! Hitting his horse with his sharp spurs, he flew at full speed after the Cossacks, without looking back, without seeing that only twenty people behind him managed to keep up with him. And the Cossacks flew at full speed on their horses and turned straight towards the forest. Andriy accelerated on his horse and almost overtook Golokopytenok, when suddenly someone strong hand grabbed the reins of his horse. Andriy looked around: Taras was in front of him! He shook all over and suddenly became pale...

So a schoolboy, having carelessly raised his comrade and received a blow from him on the forehead with a ruler, flares up like fire, madly jumps out of the shop and chases after his frightened comrade, ready to tear him to pieces; and suddenly bumps into a teacher entering the classroom: the frenzied impulse instantly subsides and the impotent rage subsides. Like him, Andriy’s anger disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed at all. And he saw before him only his terrible father.

Well, what are we going to do now? - Taras said, looking straight into his eyes.

But Andriy didn’t know anything to say and stood with his eyes fixed on the ground.

What, son, did your Poles help you?

Andriy was unresponsive.

So sell? sell faith? sell yours? Stop, get off your horse!

Obediently, like a child, he got off his horse and stopped, neither alive nor dead, in front of Taras.

Stop and don't move! I gave birth to you, I will kill you! - said Taras and, stepping back, took the gun off his shoulder.

Andriy was as pale as a sheet; you could see how quietly his lips moved and how he pronounced someone’s name; but it was not the name of the fatherland, or mother, or brothers - it was the name of a beautiful Pole. Taras fired.

Like an ear of grain cut with a sickle, like a young lamb sensing a deadly iron under its heart, he hung his head and fell onto the grass without saying a single word.

The son-killer stopped and looked for a long time at the lifeless corpse. He was beautiful even in death: his courageous face, recently filled with strength and a charm invincible for wives, still expressed wonderful beauty; black eyebrows, like mourning velvet, set off his pale features.

What would a Cossack not be? - said Taras, - and he was tall, and black-browed, and had a face like a nobleman, and his hand was strong in battle! Disappeared, disappeared ingloriously, like a vile dog!

Dad, what did you do? Did you kill him? - said Ostap, who arrived at that time.

Taras nodded his head.

Ostap looked intently into the dead man's eyes. He felt sorry for his brother, and he said right away:

Let us, father, give him over honestly to the earth, so that his enemies do not mock him and his bodies are not carried away by birds of prey.

They will bury him without us! - said Taras, - he will have mourners and comforters!..”