Silver Hoof facts for kids

Silver Hoof (which means "Small Silver Hoof" in Russian) is a magical short story. It was written by Pavel Bazhov. The story is based on old tales from the Ural Mountains in Siberia.

This fairy tale introduces a special creature from Ural folklore called Silver Hoof. It's a goat with a magical silver hoof! The story was first published in 1938. Later, it became part of a bigger collection of stories called The Malachite Casket.

Bazhov's stories come from the spoken tales of miners and gold hunters in the Ural region. The character of Silver Hoof is based on these old legends. Bazhov heard stories about a mythical creature called the Silver Deer. It was also known as the Golden Horns elk or the Silver Hoof goat.

The exact origin of this creature is not known. However, deer are very important in the myths of many different cultures around the world. In old tales, a magical goat or deer can be either helpful or harmful. Golden or silver deer became popular in the Urals in the 1700s. For example, the Bashkir people believed that dreaming about a goat was a good sign.

About the Story's Creation

Pavel Bazhov heard the tales about the goat with a silver hoof from a hunter named Bulatov. These stories seemed to come from an area where people often looked for chrysolites, which are green gemstones.

Even though he heard the tales, Bazhov had to write the actual story of "Silver Hoof" himself. He finished writing it on August 3, 1938.

The story was not in the very first edition of The Malachite Box. But because his stories were so popular, Bazhov kept writing more. "Silver Hoof" was first published in 1938 in a magazine called Uralsky Sovremennik. It was later included in a children's book collection called Morozko.

What Happens in the Story

An old man named Kokovanya lives alone. He decides to take in an orphan girl. He finds Daryonka, a 6-year-old girl who recently lost her family. He invites her to live with him, and she agrees.

Daryonka asks Kokovanya what he does for work. He tells her that in summer, he looks for gold. In winter, he hunts a special goat in the forest. He wants to see where this goat "stamps his right forefoot." Kokovanya, Daryonka, and her cat named Muryonka start living together.

Kokovanya works to earn money for them. Daryonka cleans the house and cooks. When winter arrives, Kokovanya decides to go hunting in the forest as usual. He tells Daryonka about the special grey goat called Silver Hoof:

That's a very special goat. On his right forefoot he's got a silver hoof. And when he stamps with that silver hoof he leaves a gem there. If he stamps once there's one gem, if he stamps twice there are two, and if he begins to paw the ground there'll be a whole pile. [...] Ordinary goats have two horns, but this one's got antlers, with five tines.

Unlike other goats, Silver Hoof's horns do not fall off in winter. This is how Kokovanya plans to recognize him. Daryonka really wants to go hunting with the old man. He finally agrees, and the cat Muryonka follows them too.

In the forest, Kokovanya hunts every day. He brings back a lot of regular goat meat and skins. Soon, they have so much meat that Kokovanya has to go back to the village. He needs to get a horse to carry everything back. He leaves Daryonka alone in the forest for a short time.

The next morning, Daryonka sees Silver Hoof walk by. That night, she sees her cat Muryonka sitting in a clearing. The goat is in front of her, and they seem to be talking. They run around the clearing for a long time. The next day, Muryonka and the goat are gone. But Kokovanya and Daryonka find many gemstones. People often found stones in that clearing after that. Most of them were green ones, called chrysolites.

Other Versions of the Story

A children's play called Silver Hoof was written in 1947 by Bazhov and Evgeny Permyak. Some people thought Permyak made the story too simple. He added new characters like a fox, a bear, and an eagle-owl. He wanted to make it a fun play about friendship and good versus evil.

In 1959, Lyubov Nikolskaya created a children's opera based on the story. There was also a radio play by Beryl E. Jones.

The 1978 Animated Film

A film called Podaryonka (which means Little Present) was made in 1978. It was based on "Silver Hoof." This film was part of a series of animated movies. These films were made to celebrate 100 years since Pavel Bazhov was born.

Podaryonka is a stop-motion animated film. This means objects are moved slightly between each photo, making them seem to move. Igor Reznikov directed the film. The music was composed by Vladislav Kazenin.