The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea () or simply Levsha (, left-handed) is a well-known story (1881) by Nikolai Leskov.

Styled as a folk tale, it tells a story of a left-handed arms craftsman from Tula (traditionally a center of Russian armaments industry) who is ordered by Tsar Nicolas I to outperform the English who had created a clockwork steel flea (as small as a crumb, and the key to wind it up can only be seen through a microscope). Without any microscopes ("We are poor people"), Levsha and his accomplices manage to put appropriately-sized horseshoes (with the craftsmen's engraved signatures) on the flea, which amazes the Tsar and the English (even though the flea now cannot dance as it used to). Levsha then gets an invitation and travels to England to study the English way of life and technical accomplishments. The English hosts try to talk him into staying in England, but Levsha feels homesick and returns to Russia at the earliest opportunity. On the way back, he engages in a drinking duel with an English sailor, and soon after arriving to St.Petersburg dies in neglect, forgotten by all.

This story is deeply embedded into Russian consciousness as an archetype of relationships between Russia and the West. The language of the story is unique; many of its folk-flavored neologisms and colloquialisms (very funny and natural, though mostly invented by Leskov) have become common sayings and proverbs. Ironically, both Slavophiles and Westernizers used the story in support of their views; indeed the story of Levsha may signify Russian ingenuity and craftsmanship that amaze the world, or it may just as well be used as a symbol of the oppressive Russian society that mistreats its most talented people.

The story was made into a film in 1986.

See also

• List of fictional left-handed characters

External links

• ^* The text of Levsha in Moshkov's Library
• IMDb entry for the film
• ^* The Borzoi Kabinet Theater at the Museum of Jurassic Technology of Los Angeles, California screens the film "Levsha, the Cross-Eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" at hourly intervals. Visitors are encouraged to take tea afterwards in the Tula Tearoom.