The Great Snake facts for kids

"The Great Snake" or "The Great Serpent" (Russian: Про Великого Полоза, tr. Pro Velikogo Poloza) is a special kind of folk tale called a skaz. It comes from the Ural region in Russia. The famous writer Pavel Bazhov collected and rewrote this story.

It was first printed in a magazine called Krasnaya Nov in 1936. Later, it became part of a book collection named The Malachite Casket. The story was translated into English in the 1940s and 1950s.

In this tale, two young boys meet a magical creature known as the Great Snake. This creature is also sometimes called Poloz the Great Snake (Russian: Великий Полоз, tr. Velikij Poloz). The adventures of these two brothers continue in another story called "The Snake Trail".

About the Story

This skaz was first published in 1936. It appeared in the Krasnaya Nov magazine along with two other stories. These tales were very close to the original stories told by Ural miners.

Later in 1936, "The Great Snake" was included in a collection of stories. It then became part of The Malachite Casket in 1939. This book became very famous.

The story was translated into English in 1944 by Alan Moray Williams. He called it "The Great Snake". In the 1950s, Eve Manning also translated The Malachite Casket. She used the title "The Great Serpent" for this story.

Who is Poloz?

The word Poloz (Russian: полоз, IPA: [ˈpoləs]) means a type of snake. The character of Poloz the Great Snake comes from old Ural legends. These legends were part of the beliefs of miners and local people like the Khanty and Mansi.

People in the Urals still tell stories about Poloz. He is said to be a giant serpent, often 6 to 10 meters long. In some folk tales, he is called the Master of Gold or the Snake King. People believed that if Poloz touched the ground, the grass would turn yellow. This yellow trail would show where gold could be found. Small, slow-moving lizards were thought to be his helpers.

The folk tales about Poloz often came from the old Sysert Mining District. This area had many mining towns, like Polevskoy. People often linked Poloz's appearances to the Polevskoy plant.

Pavel Bazhov also wrote about Poloz's many daughters. One famous daughter is Golden Hair, from the tale of the same name. The relationship between Poloz and another famous creature, The Mistress of the Copper Mountain, is not clear. Bazhov thought that Poloz was an older legend than the Mistress. He believed Poloz came from a time when people had animal totems.

Story Plot

In "The Great Snake," we meet an old miner named Levonty. He is weak and sick, and his family is very poor. He has spent his whole life mining. To try and earn more money, he decides to look for gold.

One day, Levonty goes to the mine with his two young sons. In the evening, he goes to the river to fish. While the boys wait, a soldier named Semyonich comes up to them. Semyonich is a strange man who loves to read books. People think he gets money from nowhere.

Semyonich shares bread with the boys. He learns how poor their family is. He promises to help them but tells them to keep it a secret. Semyonich leaves and then returns with a man who has green eyes.

The man is all yellow. His clothes, tunic, and trousers look like gold. He wears a wide belt with tassels that shine green. His cap is yellow with red flaps, and his boots are also gold. His eyes are green, like a cat's, but they look kind. He is tall and heavy, and the ground sinks a little where he stands.

The yellow man asks Semyonich if they might spoil the boys. Semyonich says the boys are humble, hardworking, and not greedy. The man agrees. He says he knows their father will not live much longer. He then tells the children to "watch for the trail" and dig along it.

The man then changes into a giant serpent and moves away. He leaves a shining trail behind him. Semyonich explains that this man is Poloz the Great Snake. He is the lord of all the gold in the earth. The next morning, the boys start digging for gold. They quickly find two large gold nuggets.

Adaptations

The story of "The Great Snake" has been used in other works. A Soviet writer named Klavdiya Filippova combined "The Great Snake" and "The Snake Trail" into a play. It was called Poloz's Daughter (Russian: Полозова дочка, tr. Polozova dochka). The play was published in 1949.

In 2007, a Russian film called The Golden Snake (Russian: Золотой полоз, tr. Zolotoj poloz) was made. This movie was loosely based on the story of "The Great Snake."