Project Gutenberg 2020-01-14 Public domain in the USA. 226 Leskov, N. S. (Nikolai Semenovich) 1831 1895 Leskov, Nikolaj Leskow, Nikolai Leskow, Nikolaus Лесков, Н. С. (Николай Семенович) Stebnitskii, M. Stebnitsky, M. Lyeskoff, Nikolai Semyonovitch Hapgood, Isabel Florence 1850 1928 Hapgood, Isabel F. Levsha. English The Steel Flea Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Cross-eyed_Lefty_from_Tula_and_the_Steel_Flea Produced by deaurider, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "The Steel Flea" by N. S. Leskov is a legend that falls under the category of a fictional tale, likely written in the late 19th century. The story showcases Russian pride, particularly among artisans in the Arms Guild, and revolves around a competition between Russian and English craftsmen, exploring themes of ingenuity and cultural identity." The tale follows Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who, during a trip to England, becomes enamored with an exquisite steel flea crafted by English artisans. Accompanied by his Don Cossack, Platoff, the Emperor is determined to uphold Russian craftsmanship and, upon returning to Russia, enlists the help of Tula's skilled gunsmiths to create something even more remarkable. The artisans, led by a peculiar left-handed man, devise a plan so secretive that they only reveal their final creation when Platoff returns to collect it. Ultimately, they present a marvel: a tiny flea shod with miniature shoes, signifying their unmatched skills. The story concludes with the left-handed man embarking on a journey to England to demonstrate this impressive feat, juxtaposing the values of craftsmanship and personal integrity against the backdrop of international competition and cultural pride. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 64.0 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Russia -- Fiction Fleas -- Fiction PG Text Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore Category: Russian Literature 123965 2025-07-24T09:27:31.924614 text/html 103179 2024-10-17T15:44:51 text/html 133139 2025-07-24T09:27:34.682615 application/epub+zip 133958 2025-07-24T09:27:32.364649 application/epub+zip 115970 2025-07-24T09:27:32.124618 application/epub+zip 192728 2025-07-24T09:27:36.792614 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 165705 2025-07-24T09:27:34.417626 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 148136 2022-09-27T16:06:02.014255 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 100597 2025-07-24T09:27:31.457630 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 80662 2024-10-17T15:44:51 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18151 2025-07-24T09:27:36.935630 application/rdf+xml 10852 2025-07-24T09:27:32.199636 image/jpeg 2138 2025-07-24T09:27:32.161636 image/jpeg 107920 2025-07-24T09:27:31.941619 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia de.wikipedia en.wikipedia