10 Russian proverbs from fairy tales

1. «Сказка – ложь, да в ней намек, добрым молодцам урок».

( “Skazka – lozh', da v ney namek, dobrym molodtsam urok.”) 

“A fairy tale is a lie, but it contains a hint, a lesson for good fellows.”

Even a fairy tale can be useful in real life.

2. «Красна сказка складом, а песня – ладом».

(“Krasna skazka skladom, a pesnya – ladom.”) 

“A fairy tale is beautiful in its structure and a song is beautiful in its harmony.”

A fairy tale has an interesting content and a song – good music.

3. «Не всякая водица для питья годится, не всякая сказка – людям указка».

(“Ne vsyakaya voditsa dlya pitya goditsya, ne vsyakaya skazka – lyudyam ukazka.”)

“Not every water is good for drinking, not every fairy tale is a guide for people.”

You need to be able to distinguish between idle talk and real wisdom.

4. «Быль за сказкой не угонится».

(“Byl za skazkoy ne ugonitsya.”)

“Reality cannot keep up with a fairy tale.”

Fictional stories often tend to be much more exciting than real life.

5. «Сказка – сердцу ласка».

(“Skazka – serdtsu laska.”)

“A fairy tale is a caress to the heart.”

It’s always pleasant to listen to (or read) a fairy tale.

6. «Быль не сказка: из нее слова не выкинешь».

(“Byl ne skazka: iz neye slova ne vykinesh.”)

“A true story is not a fairy tale: You can’t take a word out of it.”

In a fairy tale, everything can be changed, unlike in real life.

7. «Кто любит пляски, а кто слушать сказки».

( “Kto lyubit plyaski, a kto slushat skazki.”)

“Some love dancing and some love listening to fairy tales.”

Everyone has their own priorities!

8. «Сказку слушай, а к присказке прислушивайся».

(“Skazku slushay, a k priskazke prislushivaysya.”)

“Listen to a fairy tale and listen to a saying.”

Don’t forget to draw conclusions from any story.

9. «Скоро сказка сказывается, да не скоро дело делается».

(“Skoro skazka skazyvayetsya, da ne skoro delo delayetsya.”)

“A fairy tale is quickly told, but a deed is not quickly done.”

Events unfold quickly only in fairy tales, but in reality they take more time.

10. «Вот тебе сказка, а мне – бубликов вязка».

(“Vot tebe skazka, a mne – bublikov vyazka.”)

“Here’s a fairy tale for you and, for me – a bunch of bagels.”

Someone gets a made-up story, while someone gets a real benefit.