Vakula

Vakula speaks a lively, vernacular language *, like everyone else in Dikanka - with a Ukrainian accent, simple and expressive.

• His speech is not smooth, like that of an official, but rough, earthy, with a spark *, like sparks from a forge.

• He uses colloquial and vernacular expressions *.

• He says: "taki" , "well" , "damn it" , "look" , "watch" - words familiar to the locals.
  There are a lot of exclamations in his speech : “Well done” , “Well, there you go” , “Well, I’ll be damned” *- this is how he reacts to the unexpected.

• He speaks emotionally *- especially when he is angry or surprised.

• If he doesn’t like something, he will say sharply: “Leave me alone” , “Calm down” , “I don’t have time for you” .
  But if he praises, he praises from the heart: “Oh, what a fine piece , ” “Now it’s as tight as a coffin *.”

• There are many figurative expressions and metaphors in his speech *, like those of people close to the land and work.

• He says about a person: “A head like an empty pot,” about work: “Work is like a hammer on an anvil: it thunders, but holds fast.”
  About the weather: "It's raining cats and dogs, and there's hail - like the devil sweeping peas *."

• Sometimes he'll throw in a fashionable or "literate" word *- one of those he heard in Poltava.

• For example, he'll say: "I wish you plenty of everything, bread in proportion" - to show that he's not a bast-shoe wearer, but a seasoned person.
  *But this is rare and with a smile: he knows that the people of Dikanka do not like pretentiousness.

• He speaks clearly, without haste *, as befits a blacksmith: every word is like a hammer blow: thoughtful, accurate, to the point.

That's the way he speaks -* simple, strong, lively ,

Vakula is a strong, reliable, and simple man *, like an oak beam in a hut.

• People in Dikanka say: "Vakula is like a stone wall: he will cover you in trouble and will not let you down in business."

He is hardworking *- his hands know no rest.

• Whether on a holiday or a weekday, he always finds something to do: he will clean the forge, he will renew an icon, he will help a neighbor shoe his horse.
  *He says: "As long as the sun rises, the hammer must ring."

• Calm and reasonable *- not one of those who shout and slam doors.

• If someone starts a quarrel, Vakula will step aside and will not add fuel to the fire.
  *But once he gets going, he won't back down: his voice is firm, his gaze is direct, his word is like a nail: driven in, and it holds.

• Honest and straightforward *, he doesn't like lies and doesn't tolerate deception.

• Even in blacksmithing: if the metal is bad, he'll say it straight out and won't do a poor job.
  *People know: Vakula has one price, and it’s fair—he won’t shortchange or cheat.

• Modest , but proud of his craft *.

• He doesn’t boast, doesn’t push himself into positions of power, but he knows: a blacksmith is not the last person in the village.
  *He says: "He who forges holds the world: the plow, the lock, the chain, and the ring."

• A believer *goes to church, keeps fasts, crosses himself when the bells ring.

• But he is not a fanatic - he respects antiquity, faith, but also laughs, sings, and plays carols.

• *Kind to people , but not weak *.

• He will help an old man chop wood, fix an old woman’s hut - not for money, but for bread and a word of gratitude.
  But if they offend him, he won't tolerate it. He's strong—he won't be the first to fight, but if they do, he'll show that even a blacksmith can be like lightning from a cloud.

This is Vakula.

Vakula is a blacksmith from the village of Dikanka *, which is in the Poltava region.

• He lives on the outskirts, where the ravine begins, in a hut with a high porch and carved frames.
  *His forge stands nearby - during the day there is the sound of a hammer, at night - silence, only the dogs bark and the owl hoots.

• He works from morning until evening, forging plows, horseshoes, hinges, locks - everything is strong, clean, without defects.
  *People from the surrounding villages come to him for work, because Vakula is a master from God: not a single horseshoe will fall off, not a single lock will rust quickly.

• They say his hands are like those of a blacksmith's spirit: the strength is not of a man, but of a hero.

*Besides blacksmithing, Vakula also paints.

• He paints huts - icons in the red corner, panels on the walls, and even dishes for peasant women: with flowers, with birds, with patterns.
  *He is especially famous for his painting where he depicted the devil burning in a fire - it is painted so vividly that children are frightened and old people cross themselves.

• He is respected in the village.
  *He doesn't drink too much, doesn't make noise, doesn't fight, and if he does speak, it's to the point, without idle talk.

• He goes to church on holidays, stands in the front row, sings loudly, but not out of tune.
  *His mother, Solokha, is a widow and lives with him in the same house, and he himself is single, although he is no longer a boy.

• People notice that Vakula is not a simple man.
  *They say he's had encounters with the devil - they say he was seen one night racing across the sky on something black, but those who saw him remain silent, not that they don't believe him, but that they don't want to jinx it.

• And he himself just smiles, crosses himself, and goes to the hammer: work awaits, and as for fairy tales, let them ask the women on the church porch.