Theater At the Nikitsky Gate (B. Nikitskaya St., 23/9)
A play based on the story by K. Sergienko “Farewell, ravine!” (2h10m)
V. Kopylova
700 - 1500 rub.
Performance DOGS
Vera Kopylova
Musical performance based on the story by Konstantin Sergienko "Goodbye, ravine"
“Dedicated to the memory of Kostya” M.R.
Production and scenography: People's Artist of Russia
Choreographer: Tatyana Borisova
Costume designer: Evgenia Shultz
Musical director: Viktor Glazunov
Artists:
Proud: Sergey Sholokh Konstantin Taran
Black:
Beautiful: Natalya Troitskaya
Golovasty: Honored Artist of Russia Yuri Golubtsov Alexander Chernyavsky
Former Dachshund: Marietta Tsigal-Polishchuk Honored Artist of Russia Irina Morozova
Lame: Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Andrei Molotkov Dmitry Rafalsky
Juju: Nika Pykhova Kira Transkaya
Baby: Honored Artist of Russia Olga Lebedeva Valery Tolkov
Yamomoto, cat: Denis Yuchenkov Natalya Koretskaya
Gully Voice: Viktor Glazunov
Violin: Valentina Lomachenkova M. Radovich
Songs from the play "Dogs"
(in order of execution):
1. “Why don’t you drink, devils?” Poems by Sergei Yesenin, folk music.
2. “Trash” Poems and music by A.P.
3. “I’m standing at the side of the road...” Poems and music by A.P.
4. “He had money” Poems by Andrei Molotkov, music by Viktor Glazunov.
5. “My bow is torn...” Poems and music by A.P.
6. “Mirror World” Poems by Boris Vlahko, Mark Rozovsky, music by Mark Rozovsky.
7. “I won’t give news about myself...” Poems by Yuri Levitansky, music by Mark Rozovsky.
8. “My name is silent...” Poems by Andrei Molotkov, music by Mark Rozovsky.
9. “Felt boots” Poems by David Samoilov, music by Mark Rozovsky.
10. “Yamamoto-san, tell me...” Poems and music by Sergei Shcheglov
1. “Song about carelessness” Poems by Yuri Ryashentsev, music by Mark Rozovsky.
2. “Great, dogs!” Poems and music by A.P.
3. “Oh, cherry blossoms…” Poems by Yuri Golubtsov, variations on music by I. Dunaevsky and A. Alyabyev.
4. “Flea Lice” Poems and music by Mark Rozovsky.
5. “Rastafar” Poems by Mikhail (Mike) Naumenko and Mark Rozovsky, music by Mark Rozovsky.
6. “Kuzma” Poems by Dmitry Laptev and Mark Rozovsky, music by Mark Rozovsky.
7. “It was, just so you know, politics...” Poems by Mikhail Eisenberg (collage), music by Mark Rozovsky.
8. “Swallow” Poems by Yunna Moritz, music by Mark Rozovsky.
9. “And I will rise...” Poems by David Samoilov, music by Mark Rozovsky.
10. “Crying” (in memory of Konstantin Sergienko) Poems by Mikhail Sinelnikov, music by Mark Rozovsky.
11. “Let us love each other” Poems by Andrei Molotkov, music by Viktor Glazunov.
Musical Quotes:
Sergey Shnurov and the Leningrad group (“Nobody Loves”, “Tango”, “Instrumental”);
Alfred Schnittke, Symphony No. 3, part I “Moderato”.
Vera Kopylova
About Konstantin Sergienko
“Once upon a time there lived a little-known but amazingly talented writer Konstantin Sergienko. His stories about love are half children’s, half adults. Stories where the heroes have strange, mysterious, exciting dreams, where thickets of delphinium crowd in an abandoned dacha and a juniper bush stands covered in rain after the rain. tears, where dreams do not come true in reality, but dissolve in it, change it and still make people happy.
The story “The Happiest Day” is a forbidden, secret, completely absurd relationship between a schoolgirl and a young teacher in the small town of Beavers during Soviet stagnation. A strange girl named Lesta in a red beret, living with dreams - or memories - of a non-existent life, of saffron Crimean roses, of cognac with Latin letters on a gold sticker and of evenings in the mysterious city of 's-Hertogenbosch. She is so inconsistent with the Komsomol, school, active public life and is so in contrast to reality that even her only friend and beloved, a 25-year-old literature teacher, could not understand her. “Days of Late Autumn” is the diary of a 16-year-old girl who fell in love with a strange, unhappy adult man with an incomprehensible past. A story about the unrealizability of their love, about the impossibility of breaking out of the strict rules of a conservative wealthy family, about a red sunset, about a star on a pine branch, about Mr. Blüthner’s piano, about the clavianissim instrument, about chrysanthemums and about autumn. This book was my favorite when I was 14 years old, I was then in the 9th grade at a French school on Old Arbat. Then I went to the theater “At the Nikitsky Gate” for the first time, I liked the theater so much - I later dreamed about these performances. I learned that Kostya Sergienko died in 1996, quite recently, that he was a very good friend of Mark Rozovsky and that there were attempts to dramatize his story “Goodbye, Ravine.” However, I still started with “Late Days.” autumn." Thanks to Kostya, the dramatization turned out to be subtle, transparent, pure and, thanks to me, childishly naive and funny. That must have been her strength. It became educational material for Mark Grigorievich’s students, which I am very happy about, it gave me a lot of experience, primarily in drama. I was going to enter the A. M. Gorky Literary Institute at the Faculty of Drama. This happened in 2002, my master was Inna Lyutsianovna Vishnevskaya. In the first year I wrote another dramatization based on the story by K. Sergienko, in the second year I wrote an independent play “They won’t catch up with us.” The dramatization of K. Sergienko's story appeared so that it would be staged on the stage of this particular theater. A theater where there is a tradition and the ability to combine the dramatic-sad and the musical-fun in one performance, just like in life. “Goodbye, Ravine” is Sergienko’s most scenic work that initially contains theater and life. The heroes of the story are stray dogs. Dogs that have lost or never had their home, their owner and a quiet, well-fed life live in a ravine on the edge of a big city, far from the self-sufficient and self-sufficient world of people. Uncle Ravine sheltered them on his grassy side. Each dog has its own sad past, its own character, its own little thing or object that helps them in moments of special melancholy. Everyone also has their own dream, and every dog has a dream - to find the Dog Door, behind which happiness is hidden. And winter is getting closer, and there is less and less food, and people are falling asleep and filling the ravine with earth, afraid of mad dogs. The last inhabitants of the Ravine, where during the day the flowers shake their heads and at night the endless starry sky spreads, fall into the hands of the flayers, and only one dog remains alive and finds that long-awaited happiness, his closest friend - the owner.
In the story, the characters were only indicated, outlined in several succinct features. To stage them on stage, it was necessary to develop them and try to convey in dialogues and music what K. Sergienko conveys in prose - sounds, aromas, the finest threads of love that stretch between the characters. The heroes are not exactly dogs, but simply creatures, creatures of nature who find themselves on the sidelines of the measured life of big, smart people. It is impossible not to feel sorry for them and it is impossible not to see the same “dogs” around you, which is why the story is not entirely for children. It is amazingly musical in itself, the dogs in it often sing, howl, laugh, talk about themselves, and, without a doubt, its most expressive form for staging on stage is the musical.
Konstantin Sergienko was too famous in the 80s, he was too subtle, elegant, sensual writer and too good a person, he died too accidentally and absurdly to be completely forgotten now. His books are not on the Internet, almost none in libraries, and very few are on sale. Publishing house "O.G.I." and Limbus Press have recently published his books, but they are so few and far between! K. Sergienko should be remembered or recognized. If something changes after Mark Grigoryevich Rozovsky’s production of the play “Dogs” at the “At the Nikitsky Gate” theater, then perhaps readers will appear - visitors to a completely different world, where the month of April has dragonfly wings, and August is the time of the silver web . Thanks to the fact that this world has settled inside me since childhood, I probably live.”
Vera Kopylova. Born in Moscow.
Second-year student at the A. M. Gorky Literary Institute, drama seminar under the direction of I. L. Vishnevskaya. Author of dramatizations “Days of Late Autumn”, “Goodbye, Ravine!” based on the stories of the same name by K. Sergienko and the play “They Won’t Catch Up with Us.”
People's Artist of Russia
Mark Rozovsky
About the play "Dogs"
“One day the door opened and a girl came into my office and said:
- “I wrote a play. My name is Vera Kopylova.”
- "And how old are you?"
- "Fourteen".
- “What kind of play?”
She handed me the manuscript and I gasped. On the title page it read: “Based on the story by Konstantin Sergienko “Days of Late Autumn.”
Kostya was my friend. And a friend of the Nikitsky Gate Theater, which he visited not dozens, no, hundreds of times!..
- “How do you know this writer?”
The schoolgirl hesitated and did not answer. But she muttered only one thing in embarrassment:
- “This is my favorite writer.”
I was terribly happy, because I thought - and still do! - Konstantin Sergienko A brilliant master of prose.
Liya Akhedzhakova once told me about Kostya’s story “Goodbye, Ravine”:
- “Read it. It’s brilliant. All the heroes are dogs. Homeless people.”
- “Who is the author?”
- “I forgot my last name. But you find it and read it.”
I found and read it. And this had to happen - literally a couple of days later I found myself in the Writers' House of Creativity in Dubulti in the room next to Konstantin Sergienko - we lived next door for almost a month, met and became friends.
Kostya turned out to be anything but simple.
Today, when several years have passed since his unexpected death, he remains in our memory as a poet who loved all sorts of adventures and adventures (especially night ones), with constant and countless bottles of dry wine under his arm, with a thirst for ironic and heartfelt conversations with any person, interest in which he felt... The nymphet girls were especially drawn to him, each of them cried into his vest, trusting Kostya with their deepest secrets, and he controlled this flock of restless living beings completely disinterestedly, gallantly and absolutely masterfully. Konstantin Sergienko professionally turned everyday life into feasts and holidays - suffice it to say that he taught all of us “in those still” years to celebrate Valentine’s Day. He amazingly skillfully processed his loneliness into unity with no less lonely souls - together it was no longer so lonely, not so sad.
At the same time, he wrote with frantic diligence. The sense of words made him similar to Sasha Sokolov, with whom they were friends, started together and together - before Sasha left abroad - defined their attitude towards language as the main means of self-understanding and mastering the world.
If I had the right, I would appoint Konstantin Sergienko as a “classic” - without effort, without exaggeration.
That’s why, when a girl I didn’t know, Vera Kopylova, revealed her admiration for Kostya, my heart felt good.
Later, Vera attended my classes at the Institute of Russian Theater as a “volunteer”, and then, after graduating from school, she entered the Literary Institute in the workshop of playwrights of Professor Inna Lyutsianovna Vishnevskaya.
But in order to enter the Literary Institute, I had to write another play. It was then that I suggested to Vera - if she really loves a writer named K. Sergienko - to make a dramatization of his story "Goodbye, Ravine" with the transfer of the action to the present day.
The result is a performance that is being shown to our audience today.
I won’t hide that a lot in the play had to be redone and a lot added. For example, songs by different authors and composers.
However, despite all this difference, I wanted to gather under the arches of the play “Dogs” a company of authors who knew Kostya well during his lifetime, respected and even worshiped him. This is also the winner of the award. Andrei Bely Mikhail Aizenberg, and Mikhail Sinelnikov, and Yuri Ryashentsev, and the author, hidden under the pseudonym A.P.
I wanted to create a kind of theatrical fantasy based on the story, placing a semantic emphasis on the restlessness of the characters. We made the play "Dogs" not about dogs, but about people living a dog's life.
There are a lot of them in our country...
Now let’s settle down in the ravine “At the Nikitsky Gate” and begin to empathize with their characters and destinies.
After the third call we will begin..."
Goodbye, Ravine
annotation
A play about stray dogs.Characters:
Black- stray dog, leader of the pack.
Proud- stray dog, does not belong to the pack
Former Dachshund- homeless dog
Chit- stray puppy
Lame- old stray dog
1 puppy- puppy
Summer has come. How I love this time! It's not easy to live in winter. If you find a stub on the road and it’s frozen, try it and bite it.
It's a bit boring in winter. The only joy is when children ride down the mountains. You can run, jump and bark after them.
One of our dogs was in the forest hunting. He says there are a lot of footprints in the snow. They set a dog's heart on fire.
But it's in the forest. And if a stitch is laid in our ravine, it will be a familiar cat. There are human footprints, bird crosses and ski rulers all around. Only in the morning after a snowfall does the ravine become clean and white.
No, it's better in summer. Big grass grows. Flowers shake their heads. And there are plenty of smells that make your nose shiver.
Our ravine is large and beautiful. In the ravine we have freedom, to run around it is a whole journey.
Bushes and trees grow along the edges of the ravine. Blackbird birds live in the trees. Their houses look like baskets, no roofs, no doors. A dog's house, of course, is better, but not every dog has its own kennel.
I know every hole here. A stream flows in the middle of the ravine. In summer it almost dries out, but the ground around is still wet, and there is even a small swamp. The grass here is tall, up to your ears. Mosquitoes fly in clouds and frogs laugh.
There are a lot of things in the ravine. What can you not find here! Old shoes and mittens. Wheels, balls and boards.
Bighead found a crumpled hat and learned to wear it, and Tiny lives in an apple box. The box smells of apples, but Tiny dreams of cutlets at night.
I know where the gold ring is. I smelled it and realized that the ring was worn by a kind man. I just don’t know why he put it in the ravine.
The ravine is surrounded on all sides by tall white houses. And further on there are more and more of these houses. There are cars humming and a glow rising at night.
Our ravine gets smaller every summer. This spring they poured a whole bunch of stone, sand and clay. They want to build a house again. All of us are fighting. Isn't there enough room for them? Why is it necessary in our ravine? Where should the dog go?
But there is no one to complain to.
I especially love our ravine at night. From its deep bottom you can see the black sky, and there are many beautiful shining stars sprinkled in it. They are very high, and no matter how you jump, you won’t be able to reach them.
Instead of the sun, a white moon appears. A chill runs down your back, your fur stands on end. And if you sleep under the moon, there are dreams from which tears flow, and inside you ache so sweetly.
We are all free dogs. Once upon a time there was a village around the ravine. Small houses were torn down and big ones were built. The owners left, but the dogs remained.
Our leader is Black. He's big and strong. Everyone obeys him, only I stay away. We got into trouble a couple of times. He realized that my fangs are no worse, and he no longer bothers me.
Sometimes I run with everyone, sometimes alone. I did not fight off the Black Dog, and he calmed down.
Previously, Black had a friend, a big and stupid hulk named Otpety. As soon as Dirty Rotten rushed into the fray. He was always for Black. Now Otpety is gone, but Black is still feared.
Big-headed:
- Proud one, take me into the pack.
Proud:
- I don’t have a pack, Bigheaded.
Big-headed:
- Then collect it. The former Dachshund asks for Lame too.
Proud:
“There shouldn’t be two flocks in a ravine.”
Big-headed:
-Then defeat Black. Yesterday he threw my hat into the swamp.
Win, win, win.
Proud:
Having let go of their heads, everyone goes to their kennels. And they go to bed.
Chit:
May I dream of a big bone today!
Former Dachshund:
And let me dream of a soft sheepskin, otherwise it’s completely wet in my box.
Big-headed:
And I want to find a beautiful and smart book in a dream, I will read it.
Black:
Let me dream about a man! I'll bite him!
Proud:
Not all people are bad! Good night everybody!
*****************************************************************************
People are divided into children and adults. Children are little people. Children are more fun and kinder. Adults can be evil, but they can also be kind.
Once upon a time, Black had his own Man. He kept him on a chain and beat him. When the village was broken down, that Man got into the car and drove away. Black ran after him for a long time.
The car stopped. The man came out and drove Black away. But Black ran after the car again. Then the Man hit him. The black man fell and the car drove away. Since then, Black has not liked people.
Song "Good morning, ravine."
After the song everyone runs away.
*****************************************************************************
Black comes onto the stage and takes the place of honor as the leader.
Former Dachshund comes running:
An iron box appeared in my groove.
Black:
- Rusty?
Former Dachshund:
- Yes, very rusty, with two holes.
Black:
- Okay, let him lie there.
Big-headed:
Someone left a book on my hillock.
Black:
– About dogs?
Big-headed:
- No, about people.
Black:
- Tear it into small pieces.
Lame:
They burned a fire near me at night and broke a convenient twig that we were all itching about.
Black:
“When I find out who broke it, I’ll pull his trouser leg so hard that it will rip!”
Chit:
But nothing has changed in my cleavage.
Black:
- How has this not changed? It's changed for everyone, but hasn't it changed for you? Have you felt everything well? Did you weave loops with your nose, fumble crosswise, lead from top to bottom?
Chit:
Yes, I weaved loops, fumbled crosswise and led from top to bottom.
Black:
- And what's that?
He throws an elderberry branch in front of Tiny.
Black:
“I checked you specifically, Baby.” I ran into your hollow and bit off this branch, but you didn’t notice.
The baby begins to fidget and giggle.
Black:
- It’s always like this. They don't know anything, they can't do anything. Cover the entire ravine with it, they won’t notice.
Line up! Put your noses in! Forward!
Song: "Free Dogs"
Everyone lines up at the edge of the stage.
And like a light shadow we glide along the ground past sleeping houses. My nose is itching. The thirst for search is dizzying. Night watch is a solemn hour for a dog.
Proud:
During the night watch we look for the doggy door. Finding a doggy door is every dog's dream. I have heard many stories about her. The dog door is very small, smaller than a bead. Until you bury your nose in it, you won’t find it. And when you find it, the dog door will open and become large, any dog will pass through.
Chit:
Behind this door is a completely different life. Always warm and beautiful. Lots of game and delicious food. There are fields and forests all around, and only dogs rule there.
Door, door, get caught, get caught! Door, door, open, open!
Lame:
If there is a dog door in our ravine, I will definitely find it. And when to look for the door if not at night. At night the ravine rests. Cars do not rumble, sand and stones do not fall. At night at the bottom of a ravine, like in a fairyland. Above you there is only a huge sky with blue grains and a large round mirror.
Former Dachshund:
You can look into this mirror endlessly. And you see something familiar there, but very distant. This makes me sad. I want to sing some song. Either complain to someone, or call someone, or just tell something.
Chit(he sits down, raising his sharp muzzle to the moon, and says in a thin voice):
- Oh, I’m Tiny, I’m a white dog, I just live and live!
Big-headed:
– And I’m a scientist, I’m smart. I sing glorious songs!
Former Dachshund:
- Oh, I’m Dachshund, Former Dachshund, where are you, my children? (At such moments, the Former Dachshund remembers her puppies).
Lame:
- Give it to the Lame Man, give it to the Lame Man, throw at least a small fragment of the moon!
Black:
- And I am Black, I am all black, I am black outside and inside! Move away from Black, don’t feel sorry for Black, I’m all black inside and out!
*********************************************************************************
2 small puppies appear on the stage unnoticed.
Black:
-Have you seen it? New addition.
He walked past the dogs back and forth, scratched the asphalt with contempt with his hind paw, and then lifted it and doused the pole. This meant ridicule and threat.
The dogs understood and clung to each other.
Black:
- Hey, what are you doing here?
1 puppy:
Black:
-Who are you waiting for?
2nd puppy:
- Our Man.
Black:
-Where is he?
- He'll be back soon.
Black:
- Do you know that this is our place?
2 puppy:
- No, we don’t know.
Black:
-Have you seen it? They are waiting for their Man. He brought them in the morning, and now it’s evening. They still think he will return.
Chit:
- Hahaha!
Big-headed:
- If it’s in the morning, then, of course, he won’t come back.
Former Dachshund:
“They brought me and abandoned me in the same way.” What is your name?
1 puppy:
– I’m Vavik and this is Tobik.
Black:
-What are these names? Vavik and Tobik! Isn’t it a shame to respond to such nicknames?
Chit:
- Hahaha!
Black:
- Now you will just be New. Well, come here!
Puppies:
- Will not go.
Black:
-Aren't you going? You don't want to listen to me?
1 puppy:
– We obey our Man.
Black:
- Now you will obey me! Your Man just abandoned you. He'll never come back!
2nd puppy:
– We don’t believe it.
Black:
– Do you know that I’m in charge here?
Puppies:
- We don’t know...
Black:
“Then I’ll teach you a lesson.”
Big-headed moved after him, albeit reluctantly, Tiny trotted along, Former Dachshund followed, and Lame one hobbled. It didn’t cost such a crowd anything to teach two young dogs a lesson.
Proud:
– Don’t touch them, Black.
Black:
- Don’t interfere, Proud.
Proud:
- Do not touch. Let them wait. They themselves will understand that their Human will not return, and they will ask you to join the flock.
Song "No... he will come!"
Former Dachshund:
- Boys are so modest.
The lame man coughed
Proud:.
- They will ask.
Black:
- OK. Let them ask themselves.
When Man and Dog spoke alike, they lived together and shared everything equally. They had a small house, a vegetable garden and a field.
In the morning the Dog got up and went to graze the cows, and the Man plowed and sowed. The harvest was collected together, food was eaten alone.
Somehow we went hunting. They chased the beast for a long time, and the Man said:
– I'm tired of running, I can't keep up with you. After all, you have four legs, and I only have two.
– Okay, says the Dog, rest. I will drive the beast towards you, and you catch it.
So they began to do so. The dog runs and chases the game, but the Man stands still and catches it.
They will catch the game and eat it. The man says:
– I'm tired of chewing raw meat. Look, you have fangs, and I have small teeth. Cook the meat for me to make it softer.
– Okay, says the Dog. I cooked meat for him.
– There's nowhere to turn around here. Build yourself a kennel. You have wool, you won’t freeze, but I only have skin.
– Okay,” said the Dog and built herself a kennel.
And in those days, many terrible animals roamed the forest. They gather at night, look into the windows, growl. The person is scared. Says to the Dog:
– I’m afraid to sleep without you, but it’s cramped with you. You would drive the animals away at night and shout at them.
– Okay,” says the Dog, “I’ll shout.”
At night, terrible animals gathered. The dog came out and started screaming:
– Get out of here, I'll bite you to death!
In the morning the Man says:
– You didn't let me sleep all night. You shout “I’ll bite you to death!” “But I’m scared. You shout something simple, for example “woof!”
At night, terrible animals came, the dog came out and began to scream:
– Get out of here, woof!
In the morning the Man says:
– Again you didn't let me sleep. When you shout “get out of here! “It seems to me that they are kicking me out of the house. You better just shout “woof!”
At night, terrible animals came again, The dog screamed at them:
– Bow-wow!
But even here the Man is dissatisfied:
– You scream too loudly, you drive away sleep. I even began to lose weight. Instead of shouting, go hunting and bring me some meat.
The Dog went hunting, brought meat to the Man, cooked it, and fed it. The man fell asleep, and when he woke up, he asked for food again:
– Hey Dog, where's the meat?
– Bow-wow! - answers the Dog.
– What does "woof" mean? - the Man is angry. - Speak so that it is clear.
– Bow-wow! - answers the Dog. - While we lived like brother and brother, I spoke clearly. Now we have nothing to talk about. Until you correct yourself, I will say “woof!” to you.
And so it happened that the Dog stopped talking to the Man. The man has improved a little since then. He goes hunting himself and cooks his own meat. But, apparently, the time has not yet come to make peace with him completely. That’s why the Man only hears from the Dog: “Woof!”
This is what my mother told me when I was still a little puppy.
*****************************************************************************
There is no one on stage, a lame man appears. He's all beaten up and can barely walk.
Lame:
That's how a dog's life is. Today you have a bone in your teeth, but tomorrow you don’t know how to survive.
Tiny runs out, helps Lame, and makes him sit down.
Chit:
What happened to you?
Lame:
As always, I was begging on the train, and there I got hit hard. I had three legs, but now I crawled on two.
But the New ones were lucky. I saw it myself. There was a car parked outside the house, and an adult was putting something in it. The New Ones were hovering nearby, waiting, maybe for something to happen.
Then a girl came out of the entrance. I knew this girl, she once treated me to a piece of meat. The girl said:
– Dad, such good dogs, they always come here.
“Dogs, little dogs, come here,” the girl called.
The new ones wagged their tails and ran up. On the contrary, I walked away. If the girl doesn’t call me, then there’s no need. She already gave me a piece of meat. And now she has nothing.
“Doggies, little dogs,” the girl said and stroked Novykh.
They jumped and squealed with pleasure, and Tobik turned over with his stomach up and kicked his paws. Nasty habit.
“Dad, let’s take them to the dacha,” said the girl.
“As you wish,” said dad, and his car began to purr.
The girl opened the door and called:
- Come here, doggies. Let's go to the dacha. It's good at the dacha.
The new ones looked at me questioningly. We have all heard enough of Dachshund's stories about the dacha. The dacha is not life, but a paradise for dogs.
Of course, I was offended by the girl. Why doesn't she call me? I’m not going anywhere, I have my own Man here, and I won’t leave the ravine, but still...
“Go, go,” the girl called.
By all appearances, the girl is kind. And dad is not evil. The New Ones should not have missed such an opportunity.
“Okay, go,” I said.
“And Black,” they asked, “Won’t Black be angry?”
Black probably wouldn’t have let the New ones go. Black people don't trust people. But Cherny is now on the other side of the ravine.
And the New ones went.
*****************************************************************************
All the dogs surrounded Lame, he was feeling very bad.
Black:
- Your business is bad, Lame. He said don’t go begging.
The lame man grunts something in response, doesn’t even raise his muzzle.
He lay with his muzzle buried in his paws. The fur on his side peeled off and the wound became even larger.
Big-headed:
- Do you want to eat?
Proud:
- Bring him a bone.
Someone ran for a bone. There is always a bone in Black’s hiding place, albeit gnawed off.
The lame man sniffed the bone and wanted to move it with his paw, but could not.
Former Dachshund:
-What do you want?
Lame:
- Some salty grass.
Former Dachshund:
Salty grass! Where can I get it? The place where the salt grass grew has long been littered with earth and stone. We knew that only salty grass could help the Lame One. But that's earlier. Now you don't even need salted grass. The last day of the lame man has come.
Black:
- Look for some salty grass for him!
Everyone silently ran down the ravine.
After some time they gathered in a circle again. Everyone brought what they could. A peel, an apple core, a sweet candy wrapper. The proud one before the lame one has a golden ring. Let him admire it one last time.
Lame:
- Thank you.
Black:
- Say goodbye!
Former Dachshund:
- Goodbye, Lame.
The former Dachshund ran away in tears.
Chit:
- See you soon, Khromka!
Big-headed:
Proud and Black remained. Black waited for Proud to say goodbye and leave first. But Proud sat silently.
They sat like that for a long time.
Black:
- Okay, Proud, I’m not the type to quarrel when someone dies.
He stood up, touched the lame man’s nose with his nose and said:
Black:
– The main thing is not to be afraid of anything.
Lame:
– I’m not afraid.
Black left.
Lame:
- Proud one, you... do you know where the crooked plank lies near the Cow Bush?
Proud:
Lame:
- There... my ball is hidden. Take it for yourself.
Proud:
Lame:
- Good ball. Brand new, just with a hole. Take it. It's good to play with him.
Proud:
Lame:
- Jump and hit him with your nose. You jump well... Proud, this is the very thing... Put a ring on my nose.
The Proud Man took the gold ring and hung it on the Lame Man's nose. It flashed in the rays of the setting sun.
Lame:
- Beautiful…
Song "Over the snowy ravine"
...But if we admit the possibility of the supernatural, the possibility of its intervention in real life, then let me ask, what role should common sense play after this? - Anton Stepanych proclaimed and crossed his arms over his stomach. Anton Stepanych held the rank of state councilor, served in some sophisticated department and, speaking with emphasis, thickly and in a deep voice, enjoyed universal respect. Not long before, in the words of his envious people, he was “slapped with a stanislashka.” “This is absolutely fair,” Skvorevich noted. “No one will argue about this,” added Kinarevich. “And I agree,” the owner of the house, Mr. Finoplentov, agreed with a fistula from the corner. “And I admit, I cannot agree, because something supernatural happened to me,” said a man of average height and middle age, with a paunch and a bald head, who until then had been sitting silently behind the stove. The eyes of everyone in the room turned to him with curiosity and bewilderment - and silence reigned. This man was a poor Kaluga landowner who had recently arrived in St. Petersburg. He once served in the hussars, lost, retired and settled in the village. The latest economic changes reduced his income, and he went to the capital to look for a convenient place. He had no abilities and no connections; but he firmly hoped for the friendship of an old colleague who suddenly jumped out into the public eye and whom he once helped beat up a sharpie. Moreover, he counted on his happiness - and it did not betray him; a few days later, he received the position of overseer of state-owned stores, a profitable position, even honorable and did not require excellent talents: the stores themselves existed only in theory and it was not even known with certainty what they would be filled with, but they were invented in the form of state economy. Anton Stepanych was the first to break the general stupor. - How, my dear sir! - he began, - you seriously claim that something supernatural happened to you - I want to say: something not in accordance with the laws of nature? “I affirm,” objected “my dear sir,” whose real name was Porfiry Kapitonich. - Inconsistent with the laws of nature! - Anton Stepanych repeated heartily, who apparently liked this phrase. - Exactly... yes; this is exactly what you want to say. - It is amazing! What do you think, gentlemen? - Anton Stepanych tried to give an ironic expression to his features, but nothing came of it, or, to put it more correctly, all that came out was that, they say, Mr. State Councilor smelled a bad smell. “Would you take the trouble, dear sir,” he continued, turning to the Kaluga landowner, “to convey to us the details of such a curious event?” - From what? Can! - answered the landowner and, swaggering towards the middle of the room, he spoke like this: “I, gentlemen, as you probably know—or maybe you don’t know—have a small estate in Kozelsky district. Previously I derived some benefit from it - but now, of course, nothing but trouble can be foreseen. However, keep politics aside! Well, on this very estate I have a “tiny little” estate: a vegetable garden, as usual, a pond with crucian carp, some buildings - well, and an outbuilding for my own sinful body... The matter is idle. Well, one day - about six years ago - I returned to my home quite late: I played cards with a neighbor - but, please note, not in one eye, as they say; undressed, lay down, blew out the candle. And just imagine, gentlemen: as soon as I blew out the candle, there was a fuss under my bed! I think it's a rat? No, not a rat: it scratches, fidgets, itches... Finally, its ears flapped! Of course: a dog. But where does a dog come from? I don't hold it myself; maybe someone ran in, I think? "chatty"? I called my servant; I call him Filka. A servant entered with a candle. “What is this,” I say, “Brother Filka, what a mess you are in!” The dog crawled under my bed.” - “What kind of dog does he say?” - “How should I know? “I say, “it’s your business not to let the master worry.” My Filka bent down and began to move the candle under the bed. “Yes, he says, there is no dog here.” I also bent down: definitely, there is no dog. - What a parable! “I glanced at Filka, and he smiled. “You fool,” I tell him, “why are you baring your teeth? The dog, probably, as soon as you began to open the door, just bolted into the hallway. And you, the mouthful, didn’t notice anything, because you’re always sleeping. Don’t you imagine that I’m drunk?” He wanted to object, but I chased him away, curled up in a ball, and that night I didn’t hear anything. But the next night - imagine! - the same thing happened again. As soon as I blew out the candle, he scratched again and flapped his ears. Again I called Filka, again he looked under the bed - again nothing! I sent him away, blew out the candle - ugh, damn you! the dog is right there. And just like a dog eats: you can hear how it breathes, how it goes through its fur with its teeth, looking for fleas... It’s clearly like that! “Filka! - I say, “come in here without a candle!” He came in. “Well, what, I say, do you hear?” “I hear,” he says. I can’t see him myself, but I feel like the guy has gotten cold feet. “How, I say, do you understand this?” - “How do you want me to understand this, Porfiry Kapitonich? - Obsession! - “You,” I say, “are a dissolute person, be silent with your obsession...” And both of us have voices like birds, and we tremble as if in a fever - in the dark. I lit a candle: there was no dog, no noise - and only both Filka and I - white as clay. So my candle burned until the morning. And I will report to you, gentlemen - believe me or not - but only from that very night for six weeks the same story repeated itself to me. In the end, I even got used to it and started putting out the candle, because I can’t sleep in the light. Let him tinker, they say! After all, she doesn’t do me any harm. “However, I see that you are not a coward,” Anton Stepanych interrupted with a half-contemptuous, half-condescending laugh. - Now we can see the hussar! “I wouldn’t be afraid of you under any circumstances,” said Porfiry Kapitonich and for a moment he really looked like a hussar. - But listen further. One neighbor comes to see me, the same one with whom I played cards. He had lunch with me, which God sent, and paid me fifty rubles for the visit; It's night outside - it's time to clean up. And I have my own thoughts. “Stay, I say, spend the night with me, Vasily Vasilich; You’ll make it up tomorrow, God willing.” I thought, my Vasily Vasilich thought, he stayed. I ordered him to put a bed in my bedroom... Well, we lay down, smoked, chatted - more and more about the female sex, as it befits in a single company, laughed, of course; I look: Vasily Vasilich extinguished his candle and turned his back to me; means: "schlafensivol." I waited a little and also put out the candle. And imagine: I didn’t have time to think, what kind of carom will happen now? how my little darling was already busy. Yes, she didn’t bother much: she crawled out from under the bed, walked across the room, knocking on the floor with her claws, shaking her ears, and suddenly she pushed the very chair that was next to Vasily Vasilyevich’s bed! “Porfiry Kapitonich,” he says, and in such, you know, an indifferent voice, “I didn’t even know that you bought a dog. What kind of cop is she, or what?” - “I say, I don’t have any dog and never have!” - “How not? and what's that?" - "What This?“- I say, “but light a candle, and you’ll find out for yourself.” - “Isn’t this a dog?” - "No". Vasily Vasilich turned over in bed. “Are you kidding me, damn it?” - “No, I’m not joking.” I hear: he scratches, strikes with a match, and so-and-so still won’t let up, scratching her side. The light came on... and that's it! The trail is gone! Vasily Vasilich looks at me - and I look at him. “What kind of trick is this?” “And this,” I say, “is such a trick that if you put Socrates himself on one side, and Frederick the Great on the other, they wouldn’t understand anything.” And then I told him everything in detail. How my Vasily Vasilich will jump up! As if burned! It won't get into your boots. “Horses! - shouts, - horses! I began to persuade him, so where to go! So I got excited. “I won’t stay,” he screams, “not for a minute!” - So, after this you are a declared person! “Horses!..” However, I persuaded him. They just dragged his bed into another room - and the nightlights lit up everywhere. In the morning, over tea, he calmed down; began to give me advice. “You should, says Porfiry Kapitonich, try to leave home for a few days: maybe this dirty trick would leave you behind.” But I must tell you: he, my neighbor, had a broad mind! By the way, he treated his mother-in-law wonderfully: he slipped her a bill of exchange; It means he chose the most sensitive hour! Silk steel; gave a power of attorney to manage the entire estate - what more? But what kind of business is it - to twist the mother-in-law, huh? You can judge for yourself. However, he left me in some displeasure: I still punished him with a hundred rubles. He even scolded me; he said that you are ungrateful and don’t feel; and what is my fault here? Well, that goes without saying, but I took his advice to heart: that same day I drove off to the city and settled in an inn with an old schismatic friend I knew. He was a respectable old man, although a little stern because of his loneliness: his whole family had died. Only he really didn’t like tobacco and felt a great disgust for dogs; It seems that, for example, he would agree to let a dog into his room - he would rather cut himself in half! “Because,” he says, “how is it possible! Here in my little room on the wall the Lady herself deigns to dwell, and immediately the filthy dog will point out its wicked snout.” It is known - lack of education! However, I have this opinion: whoever has been given some wisdom, stick to it! “Yes, I see, you are a great philosopher,” Anton Stepanych interrupted again and with the same grin. Porfiry Kapitonich even frowned this time. “What kind of philosopher I am, it’s still unknown,” he said with a gloomy twitch of his mustache, “but I would gladly take you into science.” We all stared at Anton Stepanych; Each of us expected a proud answer or at least a lightning-fast glance... But Mr. State Councilor turned his grin from contemptuous to indifferent, then yawned, dangled his leg - and that’s all! “It was with this old man that I settled,” continued Porfiry Kapitonich. “He gave me a room, based on his acquaintance, it was not the best; he himself was placed right there behind the partition - and that’s all I needed. However, I suffered in those days! The room is small, hot, stuffy, flies, and some kind of sticky ones; in the corner there is an extraordinary shrine with ancient images; their vestments are dull and puffy; it reeks of oil, and some kind of spice; there are two down jackets on the bed; You move the pillow, and a cockroach runs from under it... Out of boredom, I got incredibly drunk on tea - it’s just a disaster! I lay down; There is no way to sleep - and behind the partition the owner sighs, groans, and reads prayers. Well, however, I finally calmed down. I hear: he began to snore - and so lightly, in an old-fashioned, polite way. I put out the candle a long time ago - only the lamp in front of the images is burning... That means there is a disturbance! Here, take me and stand quietly, on your bare feet; he stepped up to the lamp and blew on it... Nothing. “Hey! - I think, - you know, he doesn’t take it from strangers...” Yes, I just sat down on the bed - the alarm went off again! And he scratches, and scratches, and flaps his ears... well, as it should be! Fine. I'm lying there, waiting, what will happen? I hear an old man waking up. “Master,” he says, “and master?” - “What, they say?” - “Did you put out the lamp?” Without waiting for my answer, he suddenly started babbling: “What is this? What is this? dog? dog! Oh, you damned Nikonian!” - “Wait, I say, old man, scold - but you’d better come here yourself. Here, I say, amazing things happen.” The old man fiddled behind the partition and came in with a candle, very thin, made of yellow wax; and I was surprised, looking at him! He is all rough, his ears are furry, his eyes are evil, like those of a ferret, he has a white felt cap on his head, a waist-length beard, also white, and a vest with copper buttons on his shirt, and fur boots on his feet - and he smells of juniper. He approached the icons in this manner, crossed himself three times with a two-fingered cross, lit the lamp, crossed himself again - and, turning to me, just grunted: explain, they say! And then, without any hesitation, I told him everything in detail. The old man listened to all my explanations and at least uttered a word: just know he shakes his head. Then he sat down, etta, on my bed - and still remained silent. He scratches his chest, the back of his head, etc., and remains silent. “Well,” I say, “Fedul Ivanovich, what do you think: is this some kind of obsession, or what?” The old man looked at me. “What did you make up! obsession! It would be good for you, the tabashnik, otherwise here! Just think about it: what holiness is there! I wanted obsession!” - “And if this is not an obsession, then what is it?” The old man was silent again, scratched himself and finally said, so muffled, because his mustache is creeping into his mouth: “Go to the city of Belev. Apart from one person, there is no one to help you. And this man lives in Belev, one of ours. If he wants to help you - your happiness; If he doesn’t want to, so be it.” - “How can I find him, this man?” - I say. “We can guide you,” he says, “but what kind of obsession is this? This is a phenomenon, or a sign; Yes, you will not comprehend this: it is not your flight. Go to bed now, with your father and Christ; I will smoke incense; and on morning we'll talk. Mornings, you know, evenings are wiser.” Well, sir, we talked on morning- and just from this very incense I almost suffocated. And the old man gave me the following instruction: that, having arrived in Belev, I should go to the square and in the second shop on the right ask a certain Prokhorych; and having found Prokhorych, hand him a letter. And the whole letter consisted of a piece of paper on which was written the following: “In the name of the father and son and the holy spirit. Amen. Sergius Prokhorovich Pervushin. Believe this. Feoduliy Ivanovich." And below: “The cabbages have arrived, for God’s sake.” I thanked the old man, but without further discussion I ordered the Tarantass to be laid and went to Belev. That’s why I thought this way: although, let’s say, my night visitor doesn’t cause me much sadness, it’s still creepy, and, finally, it’s not entirely appropriate for a nobleman and an officer - what do you think? - And did you really go to Belev? - Mr. Finoplentov whispered. - Straight to Belev. I went to the square and asked for Prokhorych in the second shop on the right. “Is there, I say, such a person?” “Yes,” they say. “Where does he live?” - “On the Oka, behind the vegetable gardens.” - “In whose house?” - “In my own.” I went to the Oka and found his house, that is, in essence, not a house, but a simple shack. I see: a man in a blue scroll with patches and a torn cap, so... a tradesman in appearance, standing with his back to me, rummaging through a skit. I approached him. “Are you so and so?” He turned around - and I will truly report to you: I have never seen such penetrating eyes in my life. But by the way, his whole face is the size of a fist, his beard is wedge-shaped, and his lips are sunken: an old man. “I’m such and such,” he says, “what do you need? do you need it?- “But, they say, what should I necessary",- and a diploma in his hand. He looked at me intently and said: “Come into the room; I can’t read without glasses.” Well, we went with him to his shack - and certainly a shack: poor, bare, crooked; as soon as it holds. On the wall is an image of an old letter, black as coal: only the whites on the faces are burning. He took out iron round glasses from the table, put them on his nose, read the letter and looked at me through the glasses again. “Do you need me?” - “Yes, I say, for sure.” “Well,” he says, “if you have it, then report it, and we’ll listen.” And just imagine: he sat down and took a checkered handkerchief out of his pocket and laid it out on his lap - and the handkerchief had holes in it - and he looked at me so importantly, even if it was for a senator or some minister, and he wouldn’t imprison me me. And what’s even more surprising: I suddenly feel that I’m timid, so timid... my soul just sinks into my heels. He looks right through me with his eyes, and that's it! However, I recovered and told him my whole story. He paused, shivered, chewed his lips, and, well, ask me, again like a senator, majestically, without haste: “What’s your name?” Summer? Who were the relatives? Are you single or married?” Then he chewed his lips again, frowned, pointed his finger and said: “Worship the holy icon, the honorable Solovetsky saints Zosima and Savvaty.” I bowed to the ground - and still don’t get up; I feel such fear in myself for that person and such humility that it seems that whatever he orders, I will carry it out immediately! “Stand up, sir,” he said at last. - We can help you. This is not sent to you as a punishment, but as a warning; this means there is care for you; It’s good to know who is praying for you. Now go to the market and buy yourself a puppy dog, which you keep with you constantly - day and night. Your visions will stop, and, besides, you will need that dog.” It was as if a light suddenly illuminated me: how I loved these words! I bowed to Prokhorych and was about to leave, but I remembered that I couldn’t help but thank him, and I took out a three-ruble note from my wallet. Only he took my hand away from him and said to me: “Give it, he says, to our chapel or to the poor, but that service is not paid for.” I bowed to him again - almost to the waist - and immediately marched to the market! And imagine: as soon as I began to approach the shops, lo and behold, a frieze overcoat was crawling towards me and under his arm was carrying a two-month-old cop puppy, brown fur, white lips, with white front paws. “Stop! - I say to the overcoat, - how much are you selling for? - “And for two rubles.” - “Take three!” He was surprised, he thought the master was crazy - and I gave him a banknote in his teeth, a puppy in my arms, and in a tarantass! The coachman quickly harnessed the horses, and that same evening I was home. The puppy sat in my bosom all the way - and at least made a peep; and I kept telling him: “Trezorushka! Trezorushko! He immediately fed him, gave him something to drink, ordered him to bring straw, put him to bed, and snuck into bed! He blew on the candle: it became dark. “Well, I say, start!” Silent. “Begin, I say, so and so!” Not a word, at least for a laugh. I began to swagger: “Yes, start, come on, melting, this and that!” But that was not the case - it was a Sabbath! All you can hear is the puppy panting. “Filka! - I shout, - Filka! Come here, you stupid man!” - He came in. - “Can you hear the dog?” “No,” he says, master, “I don’t hear anything,” and he laughs. - “And you won’t hear, I say, never again! Fifty dollars for vodka!” “Give me a pen,” says the fool, and in the dark he climbs on me... The joy, I’ll tell you, was great. - And that’s how it all ended? - Anton Stepanych asked without irony. “The visions were over, for sure—and there were no longer any worries—but wait, the whole thing isn’t over yet.” My Trezorushko began to grow - a palm goose came out of him. Thick-tailed, heavy, lop-eared, with winged hair - a real “pil-avant”. And besides, he became extremely attached to me. Hunting in our area is bad - well, but still, when I got a dog, I had to stock up on a gun. I began to wander around the neighborhood with my Trezor: sometimes you’d hit a hare (he was chasing those hares, my God!), and sometimes a quail or a duck. But only the main thing: Trezor is not a step away from me. Where I go, he goes too; I even took him to the bathhouse with me, really! One of our ladies ordered me to be taken out of the living room for this Trezor himself, but I launched such an assault: I broke some of her glass! Well, one day, it was in the summer... And, I’ll tell you, there was such a drought then that no one will remember; There’s either smoke or fog in the air, there’s a smell of burning, haze, the sun is like a hot cannonball, and there’s no other dust! People walk around with their mouths open, no worse than crows. I’m bored of sitting at home like this, in complete disbelief, behind closed shutters; By the way, the heat was starting to creep in... And I went, my lords, to one of my neighbors. This neighbor lived a mile away from me - and she was certainly a beneficent lady. In her young, still blossoming years and the most prepossessing appearance; Only she had a fickle disposition. Yes, this is not a problem in the female sex; It even gives me pleasure... So I got to her porch - and this journey seemed salty to me! Well, I think Nymphodora Semyonovna will now indulge me with lingonberry water, and other cool things - and I was already holding the door handle, when suddenly, around the corner of the courtyard hut, there was a stomping, squealing, screaming of boys... I look around. Oh my God! A huge red beast is rushing straight towards me, which at first glance I didn’t even recognize as a dog: open mouth, bloody eyes, hair on end... Before I had time to catch my breath, this monster jumped onto the porch and rose on its hind legs and straight onto my chest - what's the situation? I froze with horror and I can’t raise my arms, I’m completely stupefied... I see only terrible white fangs right in front of my nose, a red tongue, covered in foam. But at the same moment another, dark body floated up in front of me like a ball - it was my darling Trezor who stood up for me; Yes, like a leech in the throat of some beast! He wheezed, creaked, recoiled... I pulled the door open at once and found myself in the hallway. I’m standing there, not myself, leaning my whole body on the lock, and on the porch, I hear a desperate battle taking place. I started screaming, calling for help; everyone in the house was alarmed. Nymphodora Semyonovna came running with her braid loosened, voices began to roar in the yard - and suddenly they heard: “Hold it, hold it, lock the gate!” I opened the door - just a little - I looked: the monster was no longer on the porch, people were rushing around the yard in disarray, waving their arms, picking up logs from the ground - as if they were crazy. “To the village! ran away to the village!” - some woman in a kitty of extraordinary size squeals, leaning out of the dormer window. I left the house. “Where is Trezor?” - and immediately saw my savior. He walked from the gate, lame, all bitten, covered in blood... “What is it, finally?” - I ask people, and they circle around the yard like crazy. "Mad Dog! - they answer me, - the count's; has been hanging around here since yesterday.” We had a neighbor, a count; he brought some terrified dogs from overseas. My veins began to shake; rushed to the mirror to see if I had been bitten? No, thank God, nothing can be seen; only the face, naturally, is all green; and Nymphodora Semyonovna lies on the sofa and clucks a chicken. Yes, it’s understandable: firstly, nerves, secondly, sensitivity. Well, however, she came to her senses and asked me, languidly: am I alive? I say, he is alive, and Trezor is my deliverer. “Oh, he says, what nobility! And therefore, the mad dog strangled him? - “No, I say, I didn’t strangle you, but I seriously wounded you.” - “Oh, he says, in that case, we need to shoot him this minute!” - “Well, no, I say, I don’t agree to this; I’ll try to cure him...” Meanwhile, Trezor began to scratch at the door: I was about to open it for him. - “Oh, he says, what are you? Yes, he will bite us all!” - “For mercy, I say, the poison does not act so quickly.” - “Oh, he says, how is this possible! You're crazy! - “Nymph, I say, calm down, accept your reason...” And she suddenly shouts: “Leave, leave now with your disgusting dog!” “And I’ll leave,” I say. - “Now,” he says, “this second!” Get away, he says, robber, and don’t you ever dare show your face to me. You can go crazy yourself!” “Very good, sir,” I say, “just give me a carriage, because now I’m afraid to walk home.” She stared at me. “Give him, give him a carriage, a carriage, a droshky, whatever he wants, as long as he gets lost as quickly as possible. Oh, what eyes! oh, what eyes he has!” Yes, with these words, out of the room, and hit the startled girl on the cheek - and I hear that she’s having another seizure. And whether you believe me, gentlemen, or not, it was only from that very day that I stopped all acquaintance with Nymphodora Semyonovna; and based on a mature consideration of all things, I cannot help but add that for this circumstance I owe my friend Trezor gratitude to the very grave. Well, I ordered the stroller to be laid, put Trezor in it and went to my home. At home I examined him, washed his wounds - and I’m thinking: I’ll take him at first light tomorrow to his grandmother in Efremovsky district. And this old woman is an amazing old man: she will whisper to the water - and others interpret that he is releasing snake saliva into it, will give her a drink - and will take it off with his hand. By the way, I think I’ll give myself some blood in Efremov: it’s good against fear; only, of course, not from the hand, but from a falcon. - Where is this place - the falcon? - Mr. Finoplentov asked with shy curiosity. - Don’t you know? This very place, on the fist, next to the thumb, where tobacco is poured from a horn - right here! For bloodletting the first point; Therefore, judge for yourself: vein blood will come out of your hand, but here it is fake. Doctors don’t know and can’t do this; where are they, the parasites, incompetent? Blacksmiths practice more. And how clever they are! He points the chisel, taps it with a hammer - and it’s done!.. Well, while I was thinking in this way, it got completely dark in the yard, it’s time to go to the side. I went to bed - and Trezor, of course, was right there. But whether from fright, from stuffiness, from fleas or from thoughts - I just can’t sleep, no matter what! The melancholy attacked so much that it is impossible to describe; and I drank water, and opened the window, and played “Kamarinsky” with Italian variations on the guitar... no! He's rushing me out of the room - and that's it! I finally made up my mind: I took a pillow, a blanket, a sheet and went through the garden to the hay barn; Well, I settled down there. And so, gentlemen, I felt pleasant: the night was quiet, still, only occasionally a breeze, as if a woman’s hand would run across your cheek, it was so fresh; hay smells like your tea. the grasshoppers are chattering in the apple trees; there suddenly a quail bursts into life - and you feel that it’s good for him, the little duck, sitting in the dew with his girlfriend... And the sky is so beautiful: the stars are glowing, and then a cloud will float in, white as cotton wool, and even that is barely moving... At this point in the story, Skvorevich sneezed; Kinarevich also sneezed, never lagging behind his comrade in anything. Anton Stepanych looked approvingly at both. “Well,” Porfiry Kapitonich continued, “I’m lying like this and again I can’t fall asleep.” Reflection came over me; but I was thinking more about wisdom: that’s how, they say, Prokhorych rightly explained to me about the warning - and why is it that such miracles are performed on me? : It hurts him from his wounds. And I’ll tell you what prevented me from sleeping - you won’t believe it: a month! He stands right in front of me, so round, big, yellow, flat, and it seems to me that he is staring at me, by God; Yes, so brazenly, intrusively... I even stuck out my tongue at him, really. Well, why, I think, are you curious? I turn away from him - and he crawls into my ear, lights up the back of my head, and just pours on me like rain; I’ll open my eyes - what? Every blade of grass, every crappy twig in the hay, the most insignificant cobweb - he mints it just like that! Look, they say! There was nothing to do: I rested my head on my hand and began to look. Yes, and it’s impossible: believe me, my eyes, like a hare’s, bulge and open - as if they don’t even know what kind of dream there is. So, it seems, he would eat everything with these very eyes. The barn gate is wide open; You can see about five miles in the field: both clearly and not, as it always happens on a moonlit night. So I look, I look - and I don’t even blink... And suddenly it seemed to me as if something was dangling - far, far away... as if I was imagining something. Some time passed: again the shadow slipped by - a little closer; then again, even closer. What do you think this is? hare, or what? No, I think it will be larger than a hare - and the run is not the same. I look: again the shadow has appeared, and it is already moving across the pasture (and the pasture is whitish from the moon) like a large spot; of course: an animal, a fox or a wolf. My heart skipped a beat... why do you think I was scared? How many animals run across the field at night? But curiosity is even worse than fear; I stood up, widened my eyes, and suddenly I became completely cold, completely frozen, as if I had been buried up to my ears in ice, but why? The Lord knows! And I see: the shadow is growing and growing, which means it’s rolling straight towards the barn... And now it becomes clear to me that it’s like a big, big-headed beast... It rushes like a whirlwind, like a bullet... Fathers! What is this? He stopped at once, as if he sensed that... Yes, this... this is today's mad dog! She... she! God! But I can’t move, I can’t scream... She jumped up to the gate, flashed her eyes, howled - and walked through the hay right at me! And out of the hay, like a lion, is my Trezor - and here he is! Both of them clutched their jaws together - and hit the ground like a club! I don’t remember what happened here; I only remember that I was head over heels through them, into the garden, and home, into my bedroom!.. I almost hid under the bed - to be honest. And what races, what lansades around the garden he asked! It seems that the very first dancer who danced for Emperor Napoleon on the day of his angel - and she wouldn’t have kept up with me. However, having come to my senses a little, I immediately raised the whole house to its feet; He ordered everyone to arm themselves, and he himself took a saber and a revolver. (I must admit, I bought this revolver shortly after emancipation, you know, just in case - only I came across such a beast of a peddler, out of three shots, two would certainly misfire.) Well, I took it all, and in this manner we were a whole horde, with drekolyami , with lanterns and went to the barn. We approach, call out, and hear nothing; We finally enter the barn... And what do we see? My poor Trezorushko lies dead, with his throat torn out - and there’s no trace of that damned one. And then, gentlemen, I howled like a calf and, without shame, I will say: I fell to my two-time, so to speak, deliverer and kissed his head for a long time. And I remained in this position until my old housekeeper Praskovya brought me to my senses (she also came running to the hubbub). “Why are you, Porfiry Kapitonich,” she said, “are you so worried about everything? And you’ll catch a cold, God forbid! (I was very light.) And if this dog saves your lives made up his mind, so for him this can be considered a great mercy!” Although I did not agree with Praskovya, I nevertheless went home. And the next day a garrison soldier shot the mad dog with a gun. And, therefore, this was the limit set for her: for the first time in life, a soldier fired a gun, even though he had a medal for the twelfth year. So this is the supernatural event that happened to me. The narrator fell silent and began to fill his pipe. And we all looked at each other in bewilderment. “Yes, perhaps you have a very righteous life,” Mr. Finoplentov began, “so in retribution...” But he paused at this word, for he saw that Porfiry Kapitonich’s cheeks were puffed up and reddened and his eyes were shriveled - right now a man will laugh... “But if we admit the possibility of the supernatural, the possibility of its intervention in everyday life, so to speak,” Anton Stepanich began again, “then what role should common sense play after that?” None of us could answer anything - and we were still perplexed.At the Stanislavsky Theater people are told about dogsA performance marked “for family viewing” and also “12+” falls under these categories with a stretch. It’s even more strange to sit in the auditorium surrounded by groups of schoolchildren, some of them 9, and all of them, of course, with chips and crackers. However, no obscene language, everything is decent and falls within the formal requirements.
The play is based on the story “Goodbye, Ravine” by Konstantin Sergienko, it is about dogs and people; the plot has some parallels with Maxim Gorky's play “At the Depths”. Gorky's wanderer Luka is Yamomoto the Cat, ranting about heavenly life in Japan and convincing a pack of dogs to flee to the land of the rising sun. Suicide Actor is almost like an old dog named Lame, who became a victim of human cruelty. The dog “bottom” is a ravine they have chosen, which people will soon have to build up to suit their needs, it is known what - the housing problem has spoiled them.
One of the culminating moments of the performance is the legend of how a man and a dog were initially like brothers to each other, but consumer human nature turned the brother into a powerless servant, which is why the dogs switched from normal communication with the owner to barking. But once upon a time everything was completely different... And the memory of the lost paradise prompts some of the characters to hope again for a meeting with the owner, for returning home. Those who are desperate have no choice but to dream about the cherished “dog door” - you will enter it and forget all your sorrows. Only this door will be a knackery for dogs. An inherently creepy story, in no way intended for children's perception. Many young viewers understood almost nothing, and maybe that’s for the best.
But let’s return to Valery Belyakovich’s production itself. For more than 20 years, the play has been in the repertoire of the Theater in the South-West. The minimalist stage design was also embodied in the production of the Theater. Stanislavsky: car tires, costumes in earth tones, some lighting effects, music from the 90s. At some points Stanislavsky would have said “I don’t believe it”: for example, Cat Yamomoto looks more like a dog and in general is clearly overacting, almost pretending to be the main character, although there are no such characters in the play. At the same time, everyone is extremely individual. And for some reason, of the three female roles, two are played by men, which, however, does not in the least interfere with the perception of the plot, but does not add any special meaning.
One of the most powerful moments of the play is the death of the old dog and the subsequent preparation and embodiment of the pack’s revenge for its deceased friend. And so, closer to the end, you find yourself rejoicing for the dogs, who managed to take glorious revenge on the enemy in the person of all humanity, biting forty innocent people. That is, it could be called some kind of dog verbatim, if dogs could speak. To a certain extent, the play “Dogs” can be put on a par with the “Novodramov” stories about Tajiks, drug addicts and abandoned children - merciless, joyless, hopeless. No Japan, of course, can save you, the dog door doesn’t exist at all, and the owner will never return. And all we can do together is to unite in the face of a common enemy, eat everything in a rage and share the defeat together. And, of course, they will feel sorry for us. There is clearly something wrong with this story - either with the director’s decision, or with Sergienko’s story. Because if the author of a story doesn’t offer any way out, is it worth sincerely immersing yourself in it? After all, the fact that before his death Kromy’s leg, which had tormented him for years, stops hurting is hardly a consolation...
Black, Cat Yamamoto, Lame, Juju. Photo by Alexey KARAKOVSKY.
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kbanda.ru
T. Razdorozhnaya
dramatization of the story
K. Sergienko
DOGS
Black
Inveterate
Big-headed
Chit
Lame
Former Dachshund
Beautiful
Proud
Vavik
Tobik
Balcony
Yamomoto
Puppy
PROLOGUE
PUPPY: - Mom, tell me a story about how the Dog stopped talking to the Man.
BEAUTIFUL: - Once upon a time, Man and Dog spoke the same language, lived together and shared everything equally. But the Man was jealous of the dog, because it has four legs, warm fur and sharp fangs, while he only has two legs, skin, and small teeth. The Man kicked the Dog out of the house, forced him to bring him food and guard him. And the Dog said to the Man: “While we lived with you like brothers, you understood me.”
PUPPY: - “While we lived with you like brothers, you understood me.”
BEAUTIFUL
PUPPY: - “But we have nothing more to talk about.”
BEAUTIFUL: - Since then, Man and Dog speak different languages.
CHAPTER FIRST
BLACK
Domestic dogs are groomed in a special way
because they howl at the moon,
from the booth to the house everyone walks and walks
under the buzzing wire. Like trams...
I hate them, I don't know them.
For this they have the right to bark at me...
But it’s bittersweet for me to read the calm inscription:
“Dogs without collars will be caught.”
Why us? For looks? For shreds of burdock?
For dusty wool? For the obscurity of the breed?
For swimming to shore as puppies?
Did you swim and become a mistake of nature?..
Rogue dogs. Hermit dogs.
More hysterical than the wake. The child is kinder.
They would wear any collars,
We should put it on! If only the collars were warm.
And so, having lost faith in good wizards,
buried the last bone under the bushes,
Dogs without collars
They go into the forests. They gather in flocks...
INVETERATE: - Hey, you! Where did you come from in our ravine?
TAGALLY: - Why are you silent?
DAX: - He is too proud to talk to us!
CHIT: - He is Proud! (Laughs). He's too proud!
LAME: - Or maybe he’s... mute?
BLACK: - What are you doing here?
PROUD: - Looking for.
BLACK: - Whom?
PROUD: - Your Man.
BLACK: - A person? Once upon a time I had My Own Man. He kept me on a chain and beat me. And one day he got into the car and drove away. I ran after him for a long time. The car stopped. The man came out and hit me harder than he had ever hit me before. I fell, and the Man kept kicking and kicking me. Then he turned around and walked towards the car. I called My Man, with the last of my strength I crawled after him on broken paws, I was hoarse from howling, but he did not turn around and left.
INVETERATE: - Black doesn't like people.
BLACK: - We all don’t like people. We are dogs. Pack.
PROUD: - I am a free dog.
CHIT: - Free dog! Look, he's a free dog!
TAGALLY: - I think he won’t join our pack, Black.
BLACK: - Let's see. Move away, Beautiful. I said - move away.
TAGALLY: - I think she wants you not to touch Proud.
INVETERATE: - Black, give it to me!
BLACK: - This is our business. Mine and his. Everything - away! Remember, Proud One, this is our ravine. These dogs are mine. This is my pack.
CHAPTER TWO
TAGALLY: - Listen, Proud. Take me into your pack. I can read, everyone calls me Bigheaded.PROUD: - I don’t have a pack, Big-headed.
TAGALLY: - Then collect it. The former dachshund is asking. And Lame.
PROUD: - There shouldn’t be two flocks in the ravine, Bigheaded.
TAGALLY: - Then defeat Black. Yesterday he threw my hat into the swamp.
INVETERATE: - Why do you need a hat, Big-headed? Do you want to be like a person?
INVETERATE: - And I can bite like a dog!
CHIT: - Like a dog!
TAGALLY: - It’s always like this with us. Almost immediately, Dirty Rotten rushes into the fray. He is always for Black.
LAME: - Maybe I should go? And you don’t feel good... You shouldn’t have this...
DAX: - A lame woman goes to beg for the railroad. He climbs onto the train and wanders around the carriages looking pitiful. People throw all sorts of things to her, she eats herself, and brings the rest to Cherny. By the way, let me introduce myself, Dachshund.
CHIT: - She is a former Dachshund! Ex!
DAX: - Yes, I am a Former Dachshund. Look at my bow, it's a little frayed, but I don't want to take it off, it reminds me of the past... This is the tragedy of my whole life, there's nothing funny about it! And you, Tiny, live in an apple box! And you have absolutely nothing to be proud of!
INVETERATE: - Why are you wailing like toothless puppies in front of a bone?
DAX: - I have to ask you again, Inveterate, to express your thoughts more dignified...
INVETERATE: - Talk to me about dignity! Not enough thrashing from Black for you? Look, I’ll give you such a kick, it won’t seem too much!
DAX: - Excuse me, but I didn’t say anything like that...
INVETERATE: - Maybe someone else wants to express their opinion? Big-headed, are you? Chit? Lame?
PROUD: - I can talk to you about dignity. Or are you only so brave with the weak?
INVETERATE: - I'm weak? Come to me and I will tear you to pieces!
BLACK: - The moon has risen. We are going to the Night Watch.
TAGALLY: - Proud, will you come with us?
PROUD: - Where?
TAGALLY: - Look for the Dog Door.
BLACK: - Leave him, Big-headed. He doesn't need a Dog Door, he's looking for His Man!
PROUD: - No, why? I'll go with you. Just tell me what she is like, this is the Door.
CHIT: - We always look for the Dog Door during the night watch. Finding the Dog Door is every dog's dream!
DAX: - The Dog Door is very small, smaller than a bead. Until you bury your nose in it, you won’t find it. And when you find it, the Dog Door will open slightly and become big, big, any dog will pass through!
TAGALLY: - Behind this Door there is a completely different life. There is moonlight pouring in, white as milk.
CHIT: - There is a lot of delicious food there!
INVETERATE: - There are fields, forests and houses all around, real houses for dogs!
LAME: - Happy dogs live there!..
BLACK: - Do you believe, Proud, that there is a Dog Door?
PROUD: - If there is a Dog Door in your ravine, you should definitely find it.
BLACK: - Good answer, Proud. I'm starting to like you. Line up! Put your noses in! Forward!
CHAPTER THREE
DAX: - Black, a large rusty box with two holes appeared in the northern ditch.BLACK: - Let him lie there.
TAGALLY: - Someone forgot a book on the hillock.
BLACK: - About dogs?
TAGALLY: - No, about people.
BLACK: - Tear it into small pieces.
LAME: - They burned a fire there... and they broke that... twig that we were always itching about...
BLACK: - Find out who broke it! I'll tear him to shreds!
CHIT: - Nothing has changed for me.
BLACK: - So! Everything has changed, but Tiny has not changed. Have you checked everything well? And what's that? I found this in your clearing. It's always like this. They don’t know anything, they don’t want to do anything! Fill the whole ravine with them, they won't notice!
INVETERATE: - Black, it’s time, the moon has risen!
BLACK: - Flock, listen to me! Today we didn't find the Dog Door again. But we will find her! Someday we will enter Dog Paradise and live there forever! And now it's time for the Big Song!
CHIT
I'm Tiny, funny Dog!
I just live in the world!
When I feel a little sad,
I sing funny songs!
TAGALLY
And I am Bigheaded, I am a learned dog!
I can even read!
The Dirty Rotten and the Black offend me,
But we must remain silent about it!
DAX
I'm a Dachshund, adorable, sweet and polite!
Look at my bow, Luna!
He is yellow, just like you, and just as beautiful!
Streams like light from a window!
LAME
Moon! Good night! Sorry for not barking!
The strength has not been the same for a long time!
Did you recognize me? It's me, Lame!
You can't see in the dark!
INVETERATE
Luna, I'm Dirty Rotten, and everyone knows me!
I keep the whole ravine in fear!
Luna, where is the Door? Patience is running out!
Tell me where is heaven for dogs?
Come on, point me to the Door without a fight!
Otherwise we’ll quarrel into smoke!
Let the dogs live in the ravine!
I'll fit through the door alone!
BLACK
Do you hear, Luna, these stupid songs!
They make me laugh
They will not understand that this ravine is narrow,
And the Dog Door is for everyone!
PROUD
Moon, if you can, open this Door,
Which all the Dogs are looking for,
Here everyone will find their Person,
And our dreams will come true!
CHAPTER FOUR
PROUD (Beautiful): - What do you see there? You look at the moon as if someone is waiting for you there! Why don't you eat? Are you feeling heavy at heart, are you not interested in songs? Wait, don't go. I wanted to thank you.TAGALLY: - She won’t talk to you.
PROUD: - Why?
TAGALLY: - She’s dumb, buddy, like an oak tree in our ravine. When she was a puppy, Man's children stoned her mother to death.
PROUD: - She's beautiful.
TAGALLY: - We call her that too. But she is on her own.
PROUD: - By her own? Or with Black?
TAGALLY: - Black is the leader. Young, strong, big, brave. And we are all weak and cowardly. That's why she's with Black. But you are another matter.
PROUD: - What are you talking about?
TAGALLY: - You are a free dog, and Beautiful does not like chains.
CHAPTER FIVE
DAX:- Proud, your song broke my heart! My friends, how right he is! Your own Man is the embodiment of the dreams of any decent dog! Only a Man could tie me a new bow! This one, to be honest, is completely worn out!CHIT: - I never had my own person! Never! And that's great!
BLACK: - New song, but the words are all old! Lame! Tell them your story!
LAME: - This... again? Maybe that’s not necessary...
LAME:- I... this... I don’t want...
BLACK:- And I want! Let me start myself! The Lame One never had Her Man. She had a whole restaurant. In the evenings there were lights burning, music playing, and people dancing. There was always meat left after them, and there was so much of it that one could feed all the dogs in our ravine!
LAME: - And I danced that too...
BLACK: - One day a kind person even gave her a ball...
LAME: - You’re wrong, you can’t... Shut up, I’ll do it myself! That means I was dancing! And then, with the ball, she danced and jumped, high, high! And it was so beautiful!
BLACK: - Somehow her ball hit the table at which People were sitting. And she jumped after him.
LAME: - Because it was my ball!
BLACK:- Right. But for some reason the people at the table didn’t like it. They probably didn't like dancing... or dogs? What do you think, Proud?
PROUD: - Stop it!
BLACK: - What?
PROUD: - Stop tormenting her. And all these dogs! Why did you gather them into a flock? To remind them every day that Man is the Dog's enemy?
BLACK: - Isn't that so?
PROUD: - No! People are different, just like Dogs! Do you believe in the Dog Door? Fine. And I believe that every dog should have its own Person! A true friend! You will feel it as soon as you see it. Your eyes will sparkle, your tail will wag, and you will approach Your Human so that he can pet you. Your Man will pat you on the back of the neck and say: “Hello, dear, how are you doing? Where have you been for so long? I was waiting for you. Let's go! " And then you will follow Your Man to the ends of the world.
BLACK: - You speak well, Proud. It turns out that that Man of Mine...
PROUD: - Black! This was not Your Man at all! (Getting ready to leave).
BLACK: - Where are you going?
PROUD: - In town.
TAGALLY: - This is not a bad idea, because People live in the city, in large booths called houses.
CHIT: - Maybe you will find your Man there.
LAME: - I, this, with you... Show me the way there, or something else...
CHAPTER SIX
LAME: - You... don’t quarrel with those who are tied... otherwise they will...PROUD: - What should I talk to them about? Those tied up wear collars and muzzles. I wouldn't let anyone put a collar on me!
BALCONY: - That's because you don't have medals! The collar is worn to wear medals!
PROUD: - Just think - medals!
BALCONY: - I have a lot of medals, you can listen to how they ring! This means I'm purebred!
LAME: - I have that... ball!
BALCONY: - Ball! My Man also has a medal. This means he is also purebred.
LAME: - This, that... still need to be checked!
BALCONY: - My Man of the best breed!
PROUD: - The best breed is, of course, the poodle?
BALCONY: - Exactly, exactly! My Man is a poodle!
PROUD: - Although I heard somewhere that the best breed is a mongrel...
BALCONY: - Yes, yes, my man is a mongrel! My Man is taller than you! He runs faster than you! My Man has fangs so big he can rip you in half!
PROUD: - What a stupid dog you are, and with medals!
BALCONY: - Just try, climb onto my balcony! Just try, spit at me! I'll have a snack for everyone! I'll tear you to shreds!
PROUD: - Hey you lap dog, come down and let’s talk like dog to dog. Then I’ll climb onto your balcony and spit right in your nose!
BALCONY: - I’ll tear you apart! I'll tear it apart! I'll solve it together!
LAME: - This is necessary... shame and disgrace!
YAMOMOTO (suddenly appeared): - That's what dogs are like!
BALCONY: - Cat! Shoot! There she goes! Out!
YAMOMOTO (calmly): - I'll rip your face bloody. So-so. So here he is, a new dog from our ravine. Let's get to know each other. Yamamoto. Cat. Yamamoto is the Japanese emperor. And the emperor is more important than everyone.
LAME: - Well, yes, that’s it... not more important than Black...
YAMOMOTO: - Most important of all, you stupid dog!
PROUD: - Why doesn’t he run away from us?
YAMOMOTO: - What for? The lame one still won't catch up with me. But you don’t chase cats, it’s not your upbringing.
PROUD: - It's right. I am Proud.
LAME: - Talking to a cat... that's it...
YAMOMOTO: - Limp from here about your business, don’t ruin our first tete-a-tete.
PROUD: - I would chat with you, but I need to find My Man here.
YAMOMOTO: - Your Man? Commendable. Just you know, there are few people, but many dogs. But you search, search. I live over there, in the next house. Come visit me sometime when I'm not at home. The window is always open.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHIT : - Replenishment! We have a new addition! A bus arrived, a man with two dogs got off, left them at the bus stop, and he got on the bus and left!
BLACK: - What are you doing here?
VAVIK and TOBIK: - We wait.
BLACK: - Who are you waiting for?
VAVIK and TOBIK: - Our Man.
BLACK: - And where is he?
VAVIK and TOBIK: - He will be back soon.
INVETERATE: - Do you know that this is our place?
VAVIK and TOBIK: - We did not know. We can wait a little further.
BLACK: - Have you seen it? They are waiting for Their Man! He brought them in the morning, and now it’s evening! And they still think that he will return!
CHIT: - Will come back! The man will return!
TAGALLY: - Well, if it’s in the morning, then now, of course, he won’t come back.
LAME: - Yeah, this is the same thing... it won’t come back!
DAX: - I was brought in the same way, you know, and abandoned.
BLACK: - Did you hear? What is your name?
VAVIK and TOBIK:- Vavik and Tobik.
CHIT: - Vavik! Oh, I can't! And Tobik!
INVETERATE: - Vavik and Tobik? What kind of names are these?
BLACK: - Isn’t it a shame to respond to such nicknames? Now you will be simply New. Come here, quickly!
VAVIK and TOBIK: - Will not go.
BLACK: -Aren’t you going? You don't want to listen to me?
VAVIK and TOBIK: - We obey only Our Man.
BLACK: - And now you will obey me! Your Man has abandoned you! He will never come back again!
VAVIK and TOBIK: - We don’t believe it!
DAX: - They are so modest!
INVETERATE: - Black, let me explain to them who is in charge here!
PROUD: - Don’t touch them, Black. And put those dirty jaws away.
INVETERATE: - What did you call me?
PROUD: - Let them wait, they themselves will understand that their Human will not return, and they will ask to join your flock.
INVETERATE: - I'll bite you in two!
BLACK: - Proud, do you want to be my right paw?
INVETERATE: - What about me, Black?
BLACK: - Will you be my right paw, Proud?
PROUD: - No.
BLACK: - I don’t offer it twice. (Leaves).
TAGALLY: - Be careful, Proud! Black has very strong teeth.
CHAPTER EIGHT
PROUD: - Listen, Big-headed, you can read, right?
TAGALLY: - I studied at a human school on the other side of the ravine for two years!
DAX: - Oh, Big-headed, be a darling, teach me too!
PROUD: - Come on, Bigheaded. The lady is asking you!
CHIT: - Lady! Oh, I can't! Dachshund is a lady!
LAME: - You, this... is too small to talk about!
TAGALLY: - Well, if that’s what you ask... Sit down. No, on the contrary. Baby, stop giggling. Now let's begin. Hello children. Baby, go to the board. Answer lesson.
CHIT: - What?
TAGALLY: - Do you think I should give you a hint?
CHIT: - What is a lesson?
TAGALLY: - This is the kind of thing that needs to be told. Tell me what you want, and I'll mark it.
CHIT: - Well, I came last night, and there was a mouse in my box. I ran after her...
TAGALLY: - Did you catch it?
CHIT: - No, she went into a hole.
TAGALLY: - Well done, I give it five! Dachshund, go to the board and answer the lesson.
DAX: - When I lived in the country, I remember I had a lot, a lot of food...
TAGALLY: - Baby, don’t interfere!
DAX: - Yes, they fed me sausage!
CHIT: - Sausage? Oh, I can't! They fed me sausage!
DAX: - Why are you laughing? Yes, they fed me sausage, and everyone knows it.
TAGALLY: - Well done, I give it five! New ones, to the board!
VAVIK and TOBIK: - Our Man is the best! The strongest and bravest!
TAGALLY: - Well done, I give it five. Limp, go to the board.
LAME: - Well, I’m just... this is the very thing...
BLACK (approached unnoticed) : - Well done, I give it five! Can I go to the board?
TAGALLY: - Can.
BLACK: - It’s a pity, Beautiful can’t speak, otherwise she would tell you a lot of things! About people, about heavy stones, about big sticks. You are all fools. A dog must be a dog. Why does a dog need to read like a human? All the same, the Man will not give you his clothes, he will not give you food. We only get leftovers! Here's my story! What will you give me, Bigheaded?
TAGALLY: - I bet five.
INVETERATE: - We have no need to learn human words! We are dogs!
BLACK: - Remember the Dog Door! Marrow bones, a warm bed, a huge moon! And no people, only dogs! Strong, free dogs! Isn't this what we live for?
LAME: - Only, Black, it’s... that... it’s not there, Doors. We are looking and looking, and she is looking for that...
BLACK: - No, you say? Do you believe in it?
LAME: - Yes, I’m already that... old. What to believe? The stomach, it... wants food. There’s some meat there, or some kind of bone... But with faith... you can’t get enough of it!
BLACK: - Tell me, Lame, what do you dream about at night?
LAME: - Togo... food...
BLACK: - What do you dream about?
LAME: - This is... about a ball...
BLACK: - About the ball! To play, jump high and hit him with your nose, right?
LAME: - And so that the paw... it... doesn’t hurt...
BLACK: - So behind the Dog Door you will be healthy again, you will have not one, but ten balls...
LAME: - And so that the music... like in a restaurant... And dance!
BLACK: - You will dance, Lame! I myself will invite you to the most beautiful dance of your life!
DAX: - And they’ll tie a bow for me! Huge new speckled bow!
VAVIK: - What about sugar cubes?
TOBIK: - White and sparkling like snow in winter!
BLACK: - Whatever you want! Beautiful! And you will sing us your favorite song, your voice will be clear and ringing, like morning dew on a flower! Even the Proud One believes that such a Door exists. He even had a dream that he found it and opened it, and there...
PROUD: - My Man stood there.
CHAPTER NINE
BALCONY: - Hey, buddy! Hey, you, wait a minute!
PROUD: - Why don’t you swear?
BALCONY: - Do not want. How is it good out there?
PROUD: - Very.
BALCONY: - Tell me, what’s it like there in the ravine?
PROUD: - Come out! Let's take a walk.
BALCONY: - I can’t, they only let me out here, onto the balcony. You know, Proud, I would really like a little freedom!
PROUD: - What, aren’t you a dog?
BALCONY: - My hind legs are weak, I can hardly walk. I am sick.
PROUD: - Goodbye, I have no time! I'm going to visit.
BALCONY: - You come to me sometimes. Bring others too. Tell us what the grass smells like...
YAMOMOTO: - Proud! What a surprise! Come on in, come on in. This is where I live. Tea coffee? Maybe a glass of valerian?
PROUD: - I would like a bone...
YAMOMOTO: - We don’t hold bones, sorry. And I'll drink some valerian. Come on, Proud, I’d better tell you about Japan. Japan is a big country. There are a lot of mice in it, they obey the cats. The most important Emperor in Japan is Yamamoto.
PROUD: - Where is this – Japan?
YAMOMOTO: - Very far! Behind the ravine, on the other side of the road!
PROUD: - Yes, it’s far. Maybe My Man lives somewhere in Japan. You know, to find My Man, I would go anywhere: to Japan, or even to what’s it called America. Bighead says it’s terribly far away, you can’t reach there with your paws, you can’t get there by train, you can only fly across the sky! And I listen to him and think: My Man is standing somewhere, waiting for me, waiting, but I just can’t find him! What should I do, Yamomoto?
YAMOMOTO: - Let him wait! Man must be tamed!
PROUD: - How is it to tame?
YAMOMOTO: - For example, I tamed my pets. Washing, cleaning, cooking - that's up to them. I have said once and for all: I don’t have enough time. So they don't bother me. Because I am the Emperor of Japan!..
CHAPTER TEN
Rain in the ravine. Conversation between an ADULT and a CHILD about Vavik and Tobik (audio recording).
CHILD: - Dad! Look how cute the dogs are! Let's take them to the dacha? I will play with them, and they will guard the house!
ADULT: - Carefully! They may be sick.
CHILD: - Dogs, dogs! Come here! Dad, let's take these little dogs... Well, dad!
ADULT: - Where should we go in winter? Summer is ending...
CHILD: - I want these two little dogs! Want! Want!
ADULT: - Okay, okay, just don't cry!
CHILD: - Come to me, little ones. Let's go to the dacha. It’s good at the dacha...
PROUD: - Go, what are you waiting for?
DAX: - Oh, if only someone invited me to the dacha! I would lick his hands...
INVETERATE: - No doubt.
TOBIK: - Won’t Black be angry with us?
VAVIC: - If we don’t like it, we will definitely come back! (They run away).
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BLACK: - Proud, where is she? Don't turn your back on me!
PROUD: - I don't know.
BLACK: - Do not you know? The dachshund said that Beautiful left the ravine yesterday morning, and since then no one has seen her again.
PROUD: - She is a free dog.
BLACK: - She is in the pack. And she is with me, do you hear? No matter how you look at her, my beautiful!
PROUD: - Perhaps she thinks differently.
BLACK: - When she appeared in the ravine, no one would have called her Beautiful. It was a small, weak ball of fur on shaky legs. She didn’t whine, but simply came up and looked up at me with her huge eyes. You know those eyes! When the moon rises in the sky, it is reflected in them, like in saucers. Then she poked her nose into my side, pressed her thin puppy body against me, and suddenly stopped shaking. (Pause). I needed to tear you apart as soon as you appeared in our ravine.
PROUD: - I understand everything, Black. But I really don’t know where Beautiful is.
BLACK: - If Beautiful doesn’t return to the ravine tomorrow, I’ll go look for her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHIT: - There it is! There's Lame! She had three legs, but now she crawls on two!
DAX: - Poor thing, why are you doing this?
INVETERATE: - A piece of iron. By the paws. I already know.
CHIT: - Your business is bad, Lame. They told you not to beg.
TAGALLY: - Lame, maybe you want to eat?
LAME: - Don't know…
CHIT: - Do you want me to bring you a candy wrapper from a big candy?
LAME: - I would like this... some salty grass.
INVETERATE: - I remembered! Last year it was filled with earth and stones when the road was being built!
BLACK:- Look for some salted grass for her. Alive!
LAME: - Thank you.
BLACK: - Okay, Proud, I’m not the type to quarrel when someone dies.
LAME: - I don’t want this... that.... I need to find the Dog Door.
BLACK: - You will find it, Lame, you will definitely find it. Just don't be afraid of anything.
LAME: - I’m not afraid. Proud, do you know where the crooked plank lies near the old bush?
PROUD: - I know.
LAME: - There, this... my ball is hidden. Take it for yourself. This is a good ball, completely new, only with a hole. It's good to play with him.
PROUD: - OK.
LAME: - You jump higher and hit him with your nose. You're good at jumping. Proud... You will jump up to the sky, it's beautiful... (Dies).
BLACK: - I will take revenge on them!
PROUD: - No need, Black. I'll take Lame's place.
BLACK: - Friends, Proud is joining the pack! He will be my right paw! Let us swear to stand by each other and never be separated! Let us swear not to forget Lame!
ALL: - We swear!
DAX: - Trouble never comes alone.
PROUD: - I think big trouble awaits us.
BLACK: - What kind of mood? Don't be a bitch! We are a pack! (All dogs). We are a pack!
PROUD: - One of us needs to guard the ravine. Every night.
DAX: - Sorry, the dachshund is not a guard breed!
PROUD: - The one who did this to Chroma can come for any of us.
INVETERATE: - Yes, I’ll tear him to pieces!
PROUD: - I’ll look around the ravine. And you stick together, flock!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
GOLDY: - I think Proud is right after all. No one should come out of the ravine!
DAX: - Listen, where is our Beautiful One? I remember she looked so exhausted...
BLACK: - Unauthorized girl! She always went wherever she wanted! I was just about to look for her. And then there are these...
CHIT: - Puppies!
BLACK: - What... puppies?
CHIT: - Six puppies!
INVETERATE: - There, behind the ravine, under an elderberry bush, in a large box.
BLACK: - How do you know?
INVETERATE: - I carried Beautiful food.
BLACK: - And you were silent, Dirty Rotten?
INVETERATE: - She didn’t want people in the ravine to know about it. Especially you.
BLACK: - I want to see them.
TAGALLY: - I think, Black, it’s not time yet.
BLACK: - Nobody asked you. I want to see them! I have to see them, you know? They are also our flock.
INVETERATE: - She will bring the puppies, Black, when possible.
DAX: - Oh, puppies! How wonderful it is! You know, I also had children. Such nice kids...
CHIT: - Kids! Nice kids! (Laughs).
DAX: - Yes, my glorious children. They had such smart faces, gentle eyes, velvet fur...
CHIT: - He’s lying! And where are they, your children, Dachshund?
DAX: - They were taken away. First one, then the other. One by one. I asked the Owner to leave me at least one puppy, the youngest one. It was a girl, you know. She wagged her tail so funny when we played with her. When she grew up, I would give her my bow, a big speckled bow, such a beautiful bow! (Crying).
BLACK: - Don’t you dare howl, Dachshund! Here, in the ravine, there is only our flock. There will never be people here! No one will take Beautiful's puppies, this is me saying, Black!
YAMOMOTO (appeared suddenly) : - Not sure!
BLACK: - You? Go away!
YAMOMOTO: - No need to bark, Black. I decided to live with you for a while. You see, my family didn’t like that Proud came to visit me. But I was strict, stern and adamant.
While YAMOMOTO is ranting, the ragged and hungry VAVIK and TOBIK appear behind him.
VAVIC: - What is this, a cat?
TOBIK: - Exactly, cat!
YAMOMOTO: - Yes, I got into a fight with the owner! He, you see, swung at me! But I'm terrible in anger. I hit him with my paw so hard that he went head over heels!
VAVIC: - How smooth!
TOBIK: - And fat!
YAMOMOTO: - Then I decided that as a sign of protest I would live in your ravine!
VAVIK and TOBIK rush at YAMOMOTO.
CHIT: - Look, these are our New ones! We're back!
YAMOMOTO: - Dear dogs!..
DAX: - They were at the dacha!
YAMOMOTO: - Relatives! Friends! Brothers!..
TAGALLY: - It can be seen!
YAMOMOTO: - My skin is protected by the state!
INVETERATE: - Atta him! Atu! ( Yamamoto escapes).
BLACK: - Come on, you henchmen of the Man, get out of my ravine!
VAVIK and TOBIK: - Black, take us back to the pack!
INVETERATE: - You should have thought before!
VAVIC: - We did not know!
TOBIK: - We believed them!
VAVIC: - And they chained us up and took us to the yard!
TOBIK: - We thought we were going to play!
VAVIC: - And we have fleas!
BLACK: - I’ll howl now! It's a pity Proud didn't hear this story! He is waiting for His Man!
PROUD runs in.
BLACK: - Where have you been? Our summer residents are back!
PROUD: - Black, run with me!
BLACK: - For what?
PROUD: - Necessary. Just you and me.
BLACK: - Speak here. I have no secrets from my pack.
PROUD: - You don’t understand... There, behind the ravine, is a huge machine with a bucket!
BLACK: - And what from this?
INVETERATE (suddenly realizing): - Right there, under the elderberry bush, in a big box!..
The flock breaks away and runs.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
PROUD: - No one could have known that they would start dumping earth there. People rarely appeared there. You are not to blame for anything, Black!
TAGALLY: - Leave him, Proud.
INVETERATE: - He should howl now. It's a pity there is no moon.
DAX: - When the heart howls, the moon is not needed.
CHIT: - Look!
BEAUTIFUL and the PUPPY appear, he hesitantly takes his first steps.
BEAUTIFUL: - We loved too little on this earth. We didn't like trees, but how trusting are the leaves! We didn't like rivers, but the sun reflects in them. We didn’t like the sky, but in it clouds floated by, a bush by the road and birds chirping. We didn't like the wind, we didn't like the rocks, we didn't hear their heartbeat. We didn't like dreams, we didn't like hands and those who wanted to hold us in their arms. We loved the earth too little to stay on it!
PROUD: - Where are you going? Don't you dare, Black. The pack needs you, the Beautiful one needs you. If something happens to you, who will take care of them?
BLACK: - You will take care, Proud. Hopefully better than me.
PROUD: - I won’t let you in!
BLACK: - Let me go. They killed Lame! And she was just an old sick dog! They covered the blind puppies with a mountain of garbage! They will destroy us one by one, and we will remain sitting in the ravine and waiting for the end?
PROUD: - They won’t touch us!
BLACK: - Not touched? Let be! And his? Can you swear to me, Proud One, that he will have time to grow up, that his paws will get stronger, and his fangs will become sharper before people come here? How many of you dogs would swear to keep this puppy alive even if we all end?
BLACK: - I see you are afraid of people. Well, I will take revenge myself.
PROUD: - What about the Dog Door, Black? You won't look for her anymore?
BLACK: - Look for it yourself!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
BALCONY: - Hey, you, come here!
YAMOMOTO: - What a meeting! Why don't you bark? Not in the mood?
BALCONY: - I was taken out for a walk today. For half an hour!
YAMOMOTO: - What's this! I was recently taken out for a walk for a month! This, I tell you, was just an imperial walk!
BALCONY: - I saw this!
YAMOMOTO: - You won’t believe what I saw! I managed to walk beyond the ravine and almost reached Japan. But near the highway I thought: Japan probably already has its own emperor. I'd rather stay here!..
BALCONY: - Listen, I saw Black. In broad daylight, he attacked an adult. She was walking along the ravine. The black one jumped around her and clicked his teeth.
YAMOMOTO: - Yes, Black loves when people fear him. In this we are similar. Don't you think that in profile I look a little like a dog?
BALCONY: - And then one Man was not afraid, he threw a stone at Black. Then Black lost his temper and bit the Man on the leg.
YAMOMOTO: - People don’t like to be bitten. They consider such dogs to be rabid. They are sent to the slaughterhouse.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
YAMOMOTO: - Hey, dogs! I heard something here. They say mad dogs have appeared in the ravine and are biting people.
DAX: - Excuse me, but this is ridiculous! Can a decent dog bite people?
INVETERATE: - Why should we lick them? He hits you in the ribs with a stick, and you hit him in the leg with fangs, and it hurts so much that he remembers it for a long time!
TAGALLY: - These are dangerous thoughts, Inveterate.
INVETERATE: - To hell with your danger! They meowed like blind kittens: “scary”, “we are afraid”, “what should we do”! The black one has left, and you all have your tails between your legs, and just like that, you’ll crawl towards people on your belly - sorry! Why forgive us? Because we are dogs? While Black was with us, we had a flock. And when the strong paw was gone, you all drifted away!
VAVIC: - People don’t like us because we’re Black!
TOBIK: - What do we do?
TAGALLY: - I think they need to explain everything. I must say that Black did not intend to bite anyone, he was just very upset...
INVETERATE: - So you explain.
DAX: - What a pity that we don’t speak humanly. A spaniel I knew knew how to say “mama.”
YAMOMOTO : - Well, I have to go. I warned you out of old friendship! To be honest, I don't really like dogs. You can say I can't stand them!
PROUD: - He’s right: we have nothing more to wait for, it’s time to leave the ravine.
TAGALLY: - But where should we go?
PROUD: - We will look for the Dog Door!
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHIT (runs in) : - They throw food there! Lots and lots of food! Meat!
INVETERATE: - Meat? Not scraps from the trash heap, but real fresh meat?
TAGALLY: - Baby, maybe you found the Dog Door?
DAX: - What does she look like?
CHIT: - It’s light there! Very light! It was as if a huge sun appeared in the middle of the night!
TAGALLY: - Maybe it’s not the sun, but the moon?
INVETERATE: - Of course, the moon!
VAVIC: - Is it warm there?
CHIT: - Very warm!
TOBIK: - Are there any small pieces of sugar there?
CHIT: - There are mountains of sugar there!
DAX: - And a new dotted bow!
INVETERATE: - It’s a pity that Black is not with us! But he's on his own now. Well, who's first in Dog Paradise?
DOGS stand indecisive.
GOLDY: - So this is what it is, Dog Door.
CHIT: - We have been looking for her for so long in our ravine, and she is here!
DAX: - I can't even believe it! And how wonderful it smells from there!
VAVIC: - And the light! What a bright light!
TOBIK: - It blinds, and nothing is visible behind it.
INVETERATE: - I see Lame!
DOGS: - Where? Where?
CHIT: - Over there! She waves her tail and calls us!
TAGALLY: - Why are we standing here?
DAX: - Maybe we’re just a little scared?
INVETERATE: - I believe Black! I'll go first!
DOGS go to the light one after another.
PROUD: - You go, Beautiful, go. I'll stay for now and look for Black. He believed so much in this Door, but we found it and are going there without him. This is not good. If you meet My Man there, tell him to wait for me, I’ll be there soon. Well, go! (Beautiful and Puppy hesitate).
BLACK runs in.
BLACK: - Where is everyone? Proud, where is my flock?
PROUD: - We found the Dog Door, Black!
BLACK: - I learned their secret, Proud One! There is no Dog Door! They give you meat and then put a noose around your neck. You gasp, struggle, and they tighten the rope tighter and tighter. Then you start gnawing at the iron bars, but it’s a cage and there’s no way out of it! Do you know what people call this Door? "Knackery"!
PROUD: - All our people are already there...
BLACK: - Why are you here? Oh yes, I completely forgot that you are looking for Your Man! Take them away, Proud One! Beautiful, take care of yourself and your little one.
PROUD: - Black, run with us!
BLACK: - Oh, you proud, free dog! You did not understand anything. This is my pack, these are my dogs. I have to be with them. (He goes into the cage.)
BEAUTIFUL gives the PUPPY to PROUD, and also runs into the cage.
PROUD (To the puppy): - You and I will definitely find the Dog Door, baby. Someday we will open it, and our Man will stand behind it.
PUPPY: - Tell me a story about how the Dog stopped talking to the Man...
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