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Soyuzmultfilm
A SOLDIER'S CAFTAN after a Russian folk tale
[Saint Petersburg]
Directed by Vadim Kurchevsky art director Marina Kurchevskaya
cameraman Sergei Khlebnikov music Michael Meyerovich sound Vladimir Kutuzov
animators Roman Mitrofanov, Elena Gavrilko, Vyacheslav Shilobreyev, Lidia Mayatnikova
text is read by I. Agafonov
cutter Nadezhda Treshcheva script editor Raisa Frichinskaya
puppets and decor Vladimir Maslov, V. Ladygin, Ludmila Ruban, Natalia Barkovskaya, Pavel Gussev, Victor Grishin, Svetlana Znamenskaya, Nina Moleva,
Vladimir Abbakumov, Sergei Galkin, Alexander Maximov, Valery Petrov, Natalia Grinberg, Marina Chesnokova, Michael Koltunov, S. Etlis
executive producer Grigory Khmara Studio Soyuzmultfilm 1983
Whether it really happened, one cannot know, but what I tell is what I heard.
Once a general and an admiral came from overseas.
They had decided to serve under tsar Peter.
They came together with their loyal servants and ran into each other near the tsar's quarters.
The guests began to boast in front of tsar Peter, showing off their garments and sticking up their price.
Pyotr looked at this and said:
Well then, dear guests, your uniforms look good, one doesn't even know who's got the best.
But we in Russia have hot summers, cold winters and one has to serve in any kind of weather.
Let's ask this Russian soldier whose garments are better.
"In my opinon, Your Royal Highness", the soldier answered, "a soldier's caftan is the best of all."
Tsar Peter laughed, yet the admiral and the general, swelled up in anger.
This has to be proven! - the guests shouted out. -Proven! Proven!
Alright. Let's bet amongst the three of you.
We will ask Boreas, the north wind, to blow harder,
and then the high Sun to burn hotter.
The one who withstands the frost and the heat wins the bet.
If the guests win the bet, I will give them a royal reward.
If the soldier proves his point, I will make him a general.
We will begin tomorrow morning.
In the morning tsar Peter and his entourage came out.
With what should we begin? - he asked. Heat! Heat! - the admiral yells.
Frost! Frost! - the general yells even louder.
It's all the same to me, - the soldier said. - I will carry out any order.
Alright. Let it be frost, - Pyotr ordered.
That's enough, - tsar Peter said. - Thank you, brother frost!
Let's have a look who remained alive.
That's how it goes. The admiral's uniform turned out to be inferior.
Yet your bet is not settled. Let's see how you withstand the heat.
Sun, your highness, do your best!
So the private remembered how hot it was in battle.
Oh, Sun, - he said, - you have seen Russian soldiers in many battles.
There was often such a heat there, but we're still alive.
You're trying in vain. Be careful not to burn yourself out!
"So the general's garments are no good as well.
"The soldier's caftan defeated both of them", - Pyotr said.
"From now on, soldier, you're a general."
Your Highness, - the soldier laughed, - if a general's uniform is worse than a soldier's,
why should I exchange good for poor? No, I'd better remain a soldier.
They say that since that day, tsar Peter preferred wearing a simple soldier's caftan.
And that he always put it on when he met hard times.
The End