She has been known and loved by all of us since childhood. Her touching stories about the Moomins have won the hearts of more than one generation. I want to re-read and re-read these instructive, kind, sincere fairy tales. And even if you are already quite an adult, the words of the Moomins will not leave you indifferent.

So, what did Moominmama Tove Jansson teach us?

Someone who eats pancakes with jam cannot be that terribly dangerous.

When you have a desire to do something, you need to make a decision immediately and not wait until this mood passes.

Life becomes terribly complicated when you want to possess things, wear them, keep them with you. That's why I only look at things, and when I move, I carry them in my head. In my opinion, this is much more pleasant than lugging suitcases around.

You are a traveler, for a short time you are free.

I own everything I see and think about. I own the whole world.

We'll have to go at random. To tell the truth, I never trusted compasses. For those who sense the right path, they only get in the way.

It’s terrible to think that all the great people have died! Alexander the Great, Napoleon and everyone else... And I’m not feeling well either.

To give shape to a big dream, you need space and silence.

I love nothing more than stars. Before going to bed, I always look at the stars and wonder who lives there and how to get to them. The sky seems so friendly when it is full of little eyes.

Smell is a very important thing, it reminds you of what you have experienced, it is like a thin but reliable blanket woven from memories.

Oh, how wonderful it is to finally become old and retire! - thought the Hemulen. - Oh, how I love my relatives. Especially now that I can no longer think about them.

In everyday life, geniuses bring nothing but trouble.

Winters are always quite difficult. But nevertheless, snow is magic.

I was so unhappy that I didn’t even notice that I had built a two-story house!

Imagine how lonely those whom everyone is afraid of feel.

We must keep our eyes open and see when we are at a crossroads, because there are so many roads on our way: paths, side paths, different possibilities.

You will never be truly free if you admire someone too much.

You know, sometimes when everything is good, I get terribly bored.

These rivers and roads are an amazing thing. You watch how they rush past you, and your heart becomes so anxious, so vague. Irresistibly drawn to foreign lands, drawn to follow them - to see where they end...

Every person must make his own mistakes.

I believe that every canvas, still life, landscape, whatever, is at its very core a self-portrait.

Sometimes you need to change something. We take too much for granted, including each other.

The new season comes suddenly, in one leap! Everything changes in an instant, and those who have to leave must not waste a minute.

It's sad not to remember the names of others. But forgetting your own name is wonderful.

To feel sorry means to understand, and if you understand, then you must love.

I have always been surprised that the solemn moments of life are often spoiled by insignificant remarks, even if they are made not out of malice, but out of stupidity.

Oh, how sweet it is to eat everything, drink everything, talk about everything and dance so much that your tired legs can barely carry you home in the quiet hour before dawn - sleep, sleep!

We love surprises, but we prefer to arrange them ourselves.

A friend may say terrible things to you, but the next day everything is forgotten.

A comrade does not forgive, he only forgets, but a woman - she forgives everything, but never forgets.

Living for your own pleasure - what could be better in the world?!

You can lie on the bridge and watch the water flow. Or run, or wander through the swamp in red boots, or curl up in a ball and listen to the rain pattering on the roof.

It's very easy to be happy.

It's an amazing time - winter! Everything around is frozen, covered with a blanket of snow, nature is ruled by frost and darkness, and every foray out of the house becomes a feat.

And yet we love winter. For what? But everyone is for the same thing: there is nothing more beautiful than skillful frosty patterns on the glass, and icy trees dusted with snow turn the view from the window into a fairy-tale postcard; dark, long evenings make home the most comfortable place in the world, hot tea a fabulously warming infusion, and reading books a most enjoyable winter activity.

Finnish writer Tove Jansson knew a lot about a good winter, and she taught the heroes of her books this love for the harshest and at the same time most magical time of the year. We've selected some wonderful passages from The Magic of Winter to cheer you up on these cold, snowy days and make you fall a little in love with winter.

Moomintroll had never seen snowfall before and was therefore very surprised.

Snowflakes, one after another, fell on his warm nose and melted. He caught them with his paw, in order to admire their beauty at least for a moment, he raised his head and watched as they descended on him; they were softer and lighter than fluff, and they became more and more numerous.

“So this is how it turns out,” thought Moomintroll, “but I thought that snow grows from below, from the ground.”

The air immediately became warmer. Nothing was visible around except the falling snow, and Moomintroll fell into the same delight as he had in the summer when he forded the lake. Having thrown off his bathrobe, he stretched out at full length in a snowdrift.

"Winter! - he thought. “After all, you can love her too!”

The pot on the stove began to boil. The lid rose by itself, and the spoon began to stir the soup. Another spoon poured some salt into the pot and carefully returned to the windowsill.

Night was approaching, and the frost was getting stronger, and the moonlight was peeking into all the green and red glass.

“Tell me about the snow,” Moomintroll asked and sat down in his father’s sun-bleached chaise longue. “I don’t understand what it is.”

“Me too,” answered Too-tikki. “You think it’s cold, but if you fashion a snow house out of it, it becomes warm there.” It appears white, but sometimes it is pink, sometimes it is blue. It can be softer than anything in the world, or it can be harder than stone. Nothing can be known for sure about him.

Too-tikki rubbed her muzzle and thought.

You see,” she said, “so many different things happen only in winter, and not in summer, and not in autumn, and not in spring. In winter, the worst, most amazing things happen. All sorts of night animals and creatures appear that have no place anywhere. Yes, no one believes that they exist in the world. After all, the rest of the time they hide. And when white snow falls, the nights become long, peace sets in and everything goes into hibernation - that’s when they are right there.

Do you know them? - asked Moomintroll.

“Whom I know and who I don’t,” answered Too-tikki. “For example, I know the one who lives under the kitchen table very well.” I think he wants to keep his secret, and I can’t introduce you to each other.

Moomintroll kicked the table leg and sighed.

Suddenly the fur on Moomintroll's back stood on end, and after several minutes of painful waiting, he suddenly saw a reddish glow light up in the twilight sky, low above the horizon. It condensed into a narrow, dim strip that scattered long rays of light over the ice cover of the sea.

Here it is! - cried Moomintroll. Lifting little Myu up, he kissed her right on the face.

Oh! There's no need to fool around! - said little My. - Don’t make noise! No reason!

Hooray! - Moomintroll continued to shout. - Spring will come soon! It's going to get warm! Everything will start to wake up.

Having grabbed the four caught fish, Moomintroll threw them high into the air, then even stood on his head. Never before had he felt as happy as he did now on the ice.

At the same moment the ice darkened again.

The crows rose into the air and, slowly flapping their wings, flew towards land. Too-tikki collected her fish, and meanwhile a small reddish stripe sank over the horizon.

Did the sun change his mind?! - Moomintroll exclaimed in horror.

It’s not surprising, since you behave like that,” said Myu and rushed off on her tin skate lids.

The sun will return tomorrow,” Tuu-tikki consoled Moomintroll. “And it will be a little bigger, already like a cheese rind.” Don't take it so personally.

In the light of the rays of the pale winter sun, a huge hemulen slid down the mountainside. He blew a shining brass horn and seemed to feel great.

“This one will eat a whole lot of jam,” thought Moomintroll. “I wonder what’s on his feet?”

The hemulen placed the horn on the roof of the woodshed and took off his skis.

“You have good hills here,” he said. “Do you have slalom?”

“I’ll find out now,” answered Moomintroll.

He climbed into the living room again and asked:

Is there anyone here named Slalom?

“My name is Salome,” whispered the little one, frightened of the mirror.

Moomintroll approached Hemulen and said:

There is almost no one named Slalom. There is only one named Salome.

But the Hemulen, without listening to him, sniffed his father’s tobacco plot.

“It’s a good place to live,” he praised. “We’ll build a snow house here.”

“You can live with me,” said Moomintroll, after a little hesitation.

No, thank you,” answered the Hemulen. “There is stale air in the house, it is harmful to health.” I need fresh air, lots of fresh air. We will get to work right away so as not to waste time.

After eating, Hemulen put on his skis and climbed up the highest slope of the hill, the one that descended into the valley above the cave itself. All Moomin's guests stood at the foot of the hill and looked at the Hemulen, not knowing what to think.

They trampled in the snow, wiping their wet noses from time to time - the day turned out to be unusually cold.

But the Hemulen rushed down. Everyone held their breath in horror. In the middle of the hill, he made a sharp turn to the side, raising a whole cloud of sparkling snowflakes. Then, yelling at the top of his lungs, he just as sharply turned in the other direction. At great speed he made turns first in one direction and then in the other, and his black-yellow jacket dazzled the eyes.

Closing his eyes tightly, Moomintroll thought: “How different everyone who came here is.”

Little My stood on the top of the hill and screamed with joy and admiration. She broke a wooden barrel and tied two boards tightly to her shoes.

And now - me! - she screamed and, without a moment’s hesitation, she ran down the hill in a straight line. Moomintroll looked up at her with one eye and realized that My could handle it. Her small, unkind face expressed joy and confidence, and her legs, like sticks, stood firmly in the snow.

Moomintroll felt a surge of pride. Little My rolled so recklessly forward, she rushed desperately, headlong and almost crashed into a pine tree, staggered, but stayed on her feet. And now she was already downstairs and, laughing at the top of her lungs, plopped down in the snow.

She is one of my oldest friends,” Moomintroll explained to the fillyjonk.

“That’s what I thought,” said the fillyjonk sourly. “When is coffee served in this house?”

The wind immediately calmed down, and only then did Moomintroll feel: the wind was warm! He carried Moomintroll along with him, made him so light that Moomintroll thought he was flying.

“I am one with the wind and bad weather, I am a part of the snow storm,” thought the touched Moomintroll. “It’s almost like summer. You fight the waves, and then you turn around, allow yourself to be thrown straight into the surf and set sail like a bottle cap; Hundreds of small rainbows play in the foam of the sea, and you, a little scared, laughing, approach the deserted shore.”

Moomintroll spread his paws and flew.

“Scare yourself, winter, as much as you like,” he thought delightedly. “Now I’ve figured you out. You are no worse than anyone else, you just need to get to know you. Now you can’t deceive me anymore!”

And winter rushed along with him far, far along the entire shore, until Moomintroll buried his nose in a snowdrift on a snow-covered pier and saw a faint light falling from the window of the bathhouse.

“That’s it, I’m saved,” said the puzzled Moomintroll.

What a pity that all the most interesting things end when you stop being afraid of him and when, on the contrary, you already start having fun.

Material on the topic

Moomin Rules of Life

“I just want to live in peace, grow potatoes and dream!”

Delightful illustrated stories about the Moomins were present in the childhood of many of us and remained warm memories of a kind little world. Anyone who grew up with the Moomintrolls knows that they have many secrets of harmony and kindness. It’s so good that on the pages of Tove Jansson’s books these lovely creatures share their cozy wisdom with us!

1. You shouldn’t cling to things when you have the whole world at your disposal.

“Life becomes terribly complicated when you want to possess things, wear them, keep them with you. That's why I only look at things, and when I move, I carry them in my head. In my opinion, this is much more pleasant than lugging around suitcases... Everything I look at is mine. And I'm happy about it. The whole Earth is mine, if you want to know.”

2. Feelings are the best guide.

“We'll have to go at random. To tell the truth, I never trusted compasses. They only hinder those who sense the right path.”

3. Sometimes it is terribly difficult to be yourself.

4. Sometimes someone needs silence and solitude, and there is nothing wrong with that.

“You can’t always be friendly and sociable. You simply don’t have time.”

5. Live for your own pleasure - what could be better in the world?!

“...You can lie on the bridge and watch the water flow. Or run, or wander through the swamp in red boots, or curl up in a ball and listen to the rain pattering on the roof. It's very easy to be happy."

6. Sometimes all you have to do to calm someone down is remind them that you are there.

7. Each of us needs to be told a good story from time to time.

“The theater is the most important kind of home in the world, because it can show people what they could be if they wanted to, what they would be happy to become if they dared, and what they really are.”

8. Don’t worry - there is nothing worse in the world than ourselves.

“Hello, Uncle Muskrat,” said Moomintroll.
- Don't bother me, I'm working! - Muskrat answered.
- Are you working?.. On what? - Moomintroll was surprised.
“I think,” Muskrat grumbled angrily, “I think about the futility and futility of all things.”

9. We all have a responsibility to help those who are smaller than us.

10. Night can be either scary or magical, depending on the company.

“I love nothing more than stars. Before going to bed, I always look at the stars and wonder who lives there and how to get to them. The sky seems so friendly when it’s full of little eyes.”

11. Always remain childishly active and inquisitive.

“You will become an adult so soon if you continue in the same spirit,” said Khomsa, “You will become like mom and dad, and that’s what you want. You will see and hear like them, which means you will not see or hear anything.”

12. People with money sometimes try to tell you what to do... But they don't have flowers.

13. Being a collector is much more fun than being an owner.

“I think I’m beginning to understand,” said Moomintroll slowly. - “You have ceased to be a collector, now you are just an owner, and this is not at all that interesting.”

“Yes,” the Hemulen confirmed with a defeated look, “it’s not at all interesting.”

14. Everyone, no matter how small they are, has the right to be angry sometimes.

“If you’re in the mood, then you’re in the mood,” Little My remarked, peeling a potato with her teeth. “Everyone has to get angry from time to time. Even the smallest bug has the right to this.”

15. They make a trip during the day, and go on a journey at night.

16. Basically the world is an absolutely wonderful thing!

“What a pity if the Earth splits apart! She's so good."

17. You should treat troubles more simply.

“Well, it’s good that she crashed, she was terribly ugly,” said Moominmama.
“Oh yes, a comet...” said Moominmama worriedly. “The muskrat calculated that it would fall into our garden in the evening. So I didn’t bother weeding it.”

18. Those who love you will never pay attention to your clumsiness.

19. Live life to the fullest every minute.

“It’s no time to dance when the Earth is on the verge of destruction.”
“But maybe this is our only opportunity to dance?”

20. Impressions are more valuable than reports about them.

“Why do they never leave me alone, me and my travels? Don’t they understand that I will lose everything if I talk about them all the time? Then everything will disappear from memory. And when I try to remember how it all happened, I will only remember my own story.”

21. Anyone who eats pancakes with jam cannot be so terribly dangerous.

In the photo: Bronze Moomintroll in the Finnish city of Tampere.

22. It is dangerous to have a lot of things.

“She decided to give away her property so that there would be more air around her.”

23. Live in the present moment and enjoy it.

Oh, what a joy it is to be Moomintroll, just awakened from sleep and dancing in the mirror-green waves while the sun rises!

24. “How will we find the sun if we are afraid to cross the swamp?”

25. Even the saddest things can be less sad if you treat them correctly.

“Once he’s dead, he’s dead,” said Too-tikki conciliatoryly. “This little squirrel will little by little turn to dust. And then, a little later, trees will grow from it, and new squirrels will jump on them. Is it really that sad?

26. Don’t get hung up on one thing – the world is full of interesting things!

When Fredrickson replaced me at the helm at dawn, I briefly mentioned Yuksare's amazing and complete indifference to his surroundings.
- Hm! Fredrickson chuckled to himself. – Or maybe, on the contrary, he is interested in everything in the world? Calm and in moderation? We are all interested in only one thing. You want to become someone. I want to create something. My nephew wants to have something. But only Yuksare, perhaps, truly lives.

27. Our ancestors did not worry when they had to choose the right course. Unfortunately, instinct weakens if it is not used.

28. In most cases, the end is also the beginning.

“For every wave that dies on the shore, a little song is born in some shell.”

1. You need to find a balance between freedom and duty.


2. It is equally important to know two things: how to be alone and how to be with others.

3. In order to believe in something, it is not at all necessary to know whether it is true.


4. Sometimes a secret is much more convenient than knowing the answers to questions.


5. Even the strangest people can come in handy someday.

6. Sometimes someone needs silence and solitude, and there is nothing wrong with that.


* There were 50 rules, but I removed 10 very weak ones.
I left the numbering as is, sorry for the visual inconvenience.

9. Treat mystery packages with great care - you never know what might be inside!


10. Punishment is not the only way to get someone to behave.


12. Sometimes a good cry is what you need to grow.


14. Always warmly greet all those who enter your home.

15. Travel at night.


16. Discoveries account for a quarter of the best things in the world.

17. In fact, you can write a song about anything.

18. It is not at all necessary to adapt to someone.


19. Everyone needs to be told a good story from time to time.


20. Feelings are complex and don't always make sense.

21. Waking up while everyone else in the family is still in hibernation is not as fun as it seems.


22. Sometimes no one can cope with their feelings.


25. Night can be either scary or magical, depending on the company.


27. Life's ups and downs are an integral part of Moomintroll's life.

28. Sometimes all you have to do to calm someone down is remind them that you are there.

31. People with money sometimes try to tell you what to do... but they don't have flowers.


33. Sometimes it’s terribly hard to be yourself.

34. We are all responsible for those smaller than us.


35. Anyone who likes pancakes is not dangerous.


36. Always live in the present.

37. Milk, roses, buns and berries are the best way to celebrate someone coming home.


38. Those who love you will never pay attention to your clumsiness.


39. You need to beware of the consequences of your excess.


40. Moominmama can fix anything.

41. You need friends, not things, to have a home.


42. Everyone needs warmth and light, even Morra.


43. As long as you are in nature, you will never be bored.


44. Being a collector is much more fun than being an owner.

46. ​​Everyone, regardless of whether they are small or not, has the right to be angry sometimes.


47. Even the saddest things cease to be the saddest if you treat them correctly.

49. Your plans don't have to be extraordinary to make you extraordinarily happy.


50. In most cases, the end is the beginning!

Quotes from the book “All About the Moomins” by Tove Jansson:
“Well, there’s no order in the world,” he thought dissatisfied. “Yesterday it was hot, today it’s wet.” I'll go and go back to sleep.
- So you have a birthday? Just think about it!
- Oh, how wonderful it is to finally become old and retire! - thought the Hemulen. – Oh, how I love my relatives. Especially now that I can no longer think about them.
- You're just an ass. Or even worse. You are the one who can ruin any story.
- She even became more serious with joy.
- Living for your own pleasure - what could be better in the world?!
...You can lie on the bridge and watch

how the water flows. Or run, or wander through the swamp in red boots, or curl up in a ball and listen to the rain pattering on the roof.
It's very easy to be happy.

- He managed to understand how important it is to wait when you really want something.
- - This is too much! - he complained. Can't the poor innocent nerd live his life in peace and quiet!
“Life in general is a turbulent thing,” Snusmumrik remarked enthusiastically.
- Someone who eats pancakes with jam cannot be so terribly dangerous.
- You can’t always be friendly and sociable. You simply don't have time.
- In everyday life, geniuses bring nothing but trouble.
- - I survived the crisis.
- What did you experience? - Sniff was surprised.
“I felt terribly bad,” Dad explained angrily. - I was so unhappy that I didn’t even notice how I built a two-story house!
“You will become an adult so soon if you continue in the same spirit,” said Khomsa, “you will become like mom and dad, and that’s what you need. You will see and hear like them, which means nothing.” You will see and not hear."
- You can talk so much and still say nothing.
- Dear readers, in your own interests, I ask you to be careful with mumbles. They are interested in everything, but they themselves cannot understand that not everyone is interested in them.
- But sometimes you need to change something. We take too much for granted, including each other.
- You will never become truly free if you admire someone too much.
- You could be called Ti-ti-u-u. Ti-ti-u-u, you know, a cheerful and perky beginning and a long and sad “oo” at the end.
- The fillyjonk suddenly realized that it was not the flowers that were in poor harmony with the service, but the service that did not fit with anything at all.
“It was the smokiest, dirtiest kitchen in the world, but it was artistically decorated.
“These rivers and roads are an amazing thing,” Sniff reflected. - You look at how they rush past you, and your heart becomes so anxious, so vague. Irresistibly drawn to foreign lands, drawn to follow them - to see where they end...
- Life becomes terribly complicated when you want to possess things, wear them, keep them with you. That's why I only look at things, and when I move, I carry them in my head. In my opinion, this is much more pleasant than lugging suitcases around.
“Next spring I have to wake up before everyone else,” my mother repeated. - To live a little calmly and do whatever you want.
- What a pity that all the most interesting things end when you stop being afraid of him, and when, on the contrary, you already start having fun.
- Imagine how lonely those whom everyone is afraid of feel.
- And in general, who should I become: an adventurer or a celebrity? Finally, after some thought, I decided to become a famous adventurer.
- - Oh!.. - Sniff whispered. - And this is all yours?
“Mine while I’m here,” Snusmumrik answered casually. - I own everything I see and think about. I own the whole world.
- - Are you revelsla? - Vifsla asked.
- A! - that’s all Moomintroll answered. - Snusmumrik left.
- What a pity! - Tofsla responded sympathetically. - Maybe you were a little amused if you pecked Tofsla on the nose.
- The coffee pot fell into the ground! What will we do without coffee? “We’ll eat pancakes,” said Snusmumrik.
- Isn’t it nice when someone misses you and keeps waiting for you?
“I will love you, I will take care of you,” Moomintroll whispered. “You can sleep on my pillow at night.” And when you grow up and we become friends, you can swim in the sea with me...
“I’ll go make some coffee,” said my mother, “otherwise all I can do is sit and taste every minute.”
“I had a relative who studied trigonometry until his mustache drooped, and when he had learned everything, some kind of morra appeared and ate him. Yes, and after that he lay in Morra’s belly, so smart!
“Only things end badly for scoundrels.”
- How will we find the sun if we are afraid to cross the swamp?
- Of all the useless things, handbags are the most useless. Judge for yourself. Time passes, and one day follows another, completely regardless of whether Moominmama has a bag or not.
- Don't worry. There is nothing worse in the world than ourselves.
“And when they see a big fat fly, they forget about everything in the world.” That's just how they are, dragons. They cannot be relied upon.