Dog happiness. Kuprin Fairy tale for children read
It was about six or seven o'clock on a good September morning when the one-and-a-half-year-old pointer Jack, a brown, long-eared, cheerful dog, went to the market with the cook Annushka. He knew the road perfectly and therefore confidently ran ahead all the time, sniffing the sidewalk curbs in passing and stopping at intersections to look back at the cook. Seeing confirmation in her face and gait, he resolutely turned around and started forward at a brisk gallop.
Having thus turned around the familiar sausage shop, Jack did not find Annushka. He rushed back so quickly that even his left ear curled up from his fast running. But Annushka was not visible from the nearby intersection. Then Jack decided to navigate by smell. He stopped and, carefully moving his wet, mobile nose in all directions, tried to catch in the air the familiar smell of Annushka’s dress, the smell of a dirty kitchen table and gray soap. But at that moment a woman walked past Jack with a hurried gait and, touching him on the side with her rustling skirt, left behind her a strong stream of disgusting Chinese perfume. Jack shook his head in annoyance and sneezed - Annushka’s trail was completely lost.
However, the pointer was not at all discouraged by this. He was well acquainted with the city and therefore could always very easily find his way home: he just had to run to the sausage shop, from the sausage shop to the greengrocer's, then turn left past a large gray house, from the basements of which there was always such a delicious smell of burnt butter - and he already on your street. But Jack was in no hurry. The morning was fresh, bright, and in the clean, softly transparent and slightly humid air, all shades of smells acquired extraordinary subtlety and distinctness. Running past the post office with his tail stretched out like a stick and his nostrils quivering, Jack could say with confidence that not more than a minute ago a large, mousey, middle-aged Great Dane, who was usually fed oatmeal, stopped here.
And indeed, after running two hundred steps, he saw this Great Dane, trotting at a sedate trot. The dog's ears were cropped short, and a wide, worn-out belt hung around his neck.
Dog noticed Jack and stopped, half turning back. Jack twirled his tail defiantly and began to slowly approach the stranger, pretending to be looking somewhere to the side. The mousey Great Dane did the same with his tail and showed his white teeth widely. Then they both growled, turning their muzzles away from each other and as if choking.
“If he says anything offensive to my honor or to the honor of all decent pointers in general, I will grab him in the side, near his left hind leg,” thought Jack. - Dog, of course, is stronger than me, but he is clumsy and stupid. Look, the idiot is standing sideways and doesn’t suspect that he has opened the entire left flank for attack.”
And suddenly... Something inexplicable, almost supernatural, happened. The mousey Great Dane suddenly fell onto his back, and some invisible force pulled him off the sidewalk. Following this, the same invisible force tightly engulfed the astonished Jack's throat... Jack planted his front legs and shook his head furiously. But an invisible “something” squeezed his neck so tightly that the brown pointer lost consciousness.
He came to his senses in a cramped iron cage, which was shaking on the stones of the pavement, rattling all its poorly screwed parts. From the pungent dog smell, Jack immediately guessed that the cage had been a home for dogs of all ages and breeds for many years. On the trestles in front of the cage sat two men of appearance that did not inspire any confidence.
A fairly large society has already gathered in the cage. First of all, Jack noticed a mousey Great Dane, with whom he almost quarreled on the street. The dog stood with his muzzle buried between two iron sticks and squealed pitifully, while his body swayed back and forth from the shaking. In the middle of the cage lay, with its intelligent muzzle stretched out between its rheumatic paws, an old white poodle, cut like a lion, with tassels on its knees and at the end of its tail. The poodle seemed to regard his situation with philosophical stoicism, and if he had not sighed occasionally and winked his eyebrows, one would have thought that he was sleeping. Sitting next to him, shivering from the morning cold and excitement, was a pretty, well-groomed Italian greyhound with long, thin legs and a sharp muzzle. From time to time she yawned nervously, curling her pink tongue like a tube and accompanying each yawn with a long, thin squeal... Closer to the rear end of the cage, a sleek black dachshund with yellow markings on its chest and eyebrows pressed tightly against the bars. She could not recover from the amazement that gave an unusually comical appearance to her long crocodile body on inverted low legs and her serious muzzle with her ears almost dragging along the floor.
In addition to this more or less secular company, there were two more undoubted mongrels in the cage. One of them, similar to those dogs that are universally called Buds and are distinguished by a base character, was shaggy, red and had a fluffy tail wrapped in the shape of the number 9. She got into the cage before everyone else and, apparently, became so comfortable with her exceptional position that she had long been looking for an opportunity to strike up an interesting conversation with someone. The last dog was almost invisible; he hid in the darkest corner and lay there, curled up in a ball. During the entire time, he only got up once to growl at Jack, who came close to him, but this was enough to arouse the strongest antipathy towards him in the entire casual society. Firstly, it was purple, which was smeared in it by a team of painters on their way to work. Secondly, the fur on it stood on end and in separate tufts. Third, he was obviously angry, hungry, brave and strong; this was reflected in the decisive push of his emaciated body with which he jumped up to meet the taken aback Jack.
The silence lasted for about a quarter of an hour. Finally, Jack, who never lost his sense of humor on any occasion in life, remarked in a foppish tone:
- The adventure is starting to get interesting. Curious where these gentlemen will make their first station?
The old poodle did not like the frivolous tone of the brown pointer. He slowly turned his head towards Jack and snapped with cold mockery:
- I can satisfy your curiosity, young man. Gentlemen will make a station in the knacker.
“What!.. Excuse me... I’m sorry... I didn’t hear,” Jack muttered, involuntarily sitting down, because his legs instantly began to tremble. - You deigned to say: in life...
“Yes, in the slaughterhouse,” the poodle confirmed just as coldly and turned away.
- Sorry... but I didn’t quite understand you... The knacker... What kind of institution is this - the knacker? Would you be so kind as to explain yourself?
The poodle was silent. But since the Italian greyhound and the dachshund joined Jack’s request, the old man, not wanting to be impolite in front of the ladies, had to give some details.
- This, you see, is mesdames, such a large yard, surrounded by a high, pointed fence, where dogs caught on the streets are locked up. I had the misfortune to end up in this place three times.
What a surprise! - a hoarse voice was heard from a dark corner. - This is my seventh time going there.
Undoubtedly, the voice coming from the corner belonged to the purple dog. The society was shocked by the interference of this torn personality in the conversation and therefore pretended not to hear her remarks. Only Budon, moved by the lackey zeal of an upstart, shouted:
- Please do not interfere unless asked!
And immediately he looked searchingly into the eyes of the important, mousey Great Dane.
“I’ve been there three times,” the poodle continued, “but my master always came and took me from there (I work in the circus, and, you understand, they value me) ... So, sir, two hundred or two hundred people gather in this unpleasant place at a time.” three dogs...
- Tell me, is there a decent society there? - the Italian greyhound asked coyly.
- It happens. We were fed unusually poorly and little. From time to time, one of the prisoners disappeared to unknown destination, and then we dined on soup from...
To enhance the effect, the poodle paused briefly, looked around the audience and added with feigned composure:
- ...from dog meat.
At the last words, the company was horrified and indignant.
- Damn it! What low meanness! - Jack exclaimed.
“I’m about to faint... I feel sick,” the Italian greyhound whispered.
- This is terrible... terrible! - the dachshund moaned.
- I always said that people are scoundrels! - the mousey Great Dane grumbled.
- What a terrible death! - Bud sighed.
And only one voice of the purple dog sounded from its dark corner with a gloomy and cynical mockery:
- However, this soup is okay... not bad... although, of course, some ladies who are accustomed to chicken cutlets will find that dog meat could be a little softer.
Ignoring this impudent remark, the poodle continued:
- Subsequently, from a conversation with my master, I learned that the skin of our dead comrades was used to make ladies' gloves. But - prepare your nerves, mesdames - but this is not enough. To make the skin more tender and soft, it is torn off from a living dog.
Desperate cries interrupted the poodle's words:
- What inhumanity!..
- What baseness!
- But this is incredible!
- Oh my God, oh my God!
- Executioners!..
- No, worse than executioners...
After this outburst there was a tense and sad silence. The terrifying prospect of being flayed alive was pictured in the mind of every listener.
- Gentlemen, is there really no way to once and for all free all honest dogs from shameful slavery among people? - Jack shouted passionately.
“Please indicate this remedy,” said the old poodle ironically.
The dogs thought.
- Have a bite of all the people, and that’s it! - the Great Dane blurted out in an embittered bass voice.
“That’s right, sir, the most radical idea,” supported Buton obsequiously. - At the very least, they will be afraid.
“Well, sir... a snack... great, sir,” objected the old poodle. - What is your opinion, dear sir, regarding the arapniks? Do you deign to be familiar with them?
“Hm…” the Great Dane cleared his throat.
“Hm…” Bud repeated.
- No, sir, I’ll tell you, my sir, we don’t have to fight people. I've been around the world a lot and I can say that I know life well... Let's take, for example, such simple things as a kennel, a trap, a chain and a muzzle - things, I think, that are well known to all of you, gentlemen?.. Suppose that We dogs will eventually figure out how to get rid of them... But won’t man immediately invent more improved tools? He will definitely invent it. You should see what kennels, chains and muzzles people build for each other! We must obey, gentlemen, that's all. This is the law of nature, sir.
“Well, he’s spoiled philosophy,” the dachshund said in Jack’s ear. “I can’t stand old people with their teachings.”
“Quite rightly, mademoiselle,” Jack gallantly waved his tail.
A mousey Great Dane with a melancholic look caught a fly in his mouth and said in a mournful voice:
- Eh, life is a dog!..
“But where is the justice here,” the Italian Greyhound, who had been silent until now, suddenly became worried. “At least you, Mr. Poodle... I’m sorry, I don’t have the honor to know the name...”
“Artaud, professor of balancing act, at your service,” the poodle bowed.
- Well, tell me, Mr. Professor, you are apparently such an experienced dog, not to mention your scholarship; Tell me, where is the highest justice in all this? Are people really so much more worthy and better than us that they enjoy such cruel privileges with impunity...
“Not better and not more worthy, dear young lady, but stronger and smarter,” Artaud objected bitterly. “Oh!” I know very well the morality of these two-legged animals... Firstly, they are greedy, like no other dog in the world. They have so much bread, meat and water that all these monsters could be well fed for a lifetime. Meanwhile, some tenth of them have seized all the supplies of life into their own hands and, not being able to devour them themselves, force the remaining nine-tenths to starve. Well, pray tell, wouldn’t a well-fed dog give his neighbor a gnawed bone?
“He will give, he will certainly give,” the listeners agreed.
- Hm! - the Great Dane grunted doubtfully.
-Besides, people are angry. Who can say that one dog kills another because of love, envy or anger? We bite sometimes - that's fair. But we don't take each other's lives.
“It’s true,” the listeners confirmed.
“Tell me again,” the white poodle continued, “would one dog dare to forbid another dog from breathing fresh air and freely expressing its thoughts about the organization of canine happiness?” And people do it!
- Damn it! - the mousey Great Dane energetically inserted.
- In conclusion, I will say that people are hypocritical, envious, deceitful, inhospitable and cruel... And yet people dominate and will dominate, because... because that’s how it’s already arranged. It is impossible to free yourself from their dominion... The whole dog's life, all the dog's happiness is in their hands. In our current situation, each of us who has a good master should thank fate. One owner can save us from the pleasure of eating the meat of our comrades and then feeling how he is being skinned alive.
The professor's words brought despondency to the community. No one else said a word. Everyone shook and swayed helplessly with the shocks of the cage. The dog whined in a plaintive voice. The bud, which was kept near him, howled quietly to him.
Soon the dogs felt that the wheels of their carriage were driving on the sand. Five minutes later the cage drove through a wide gate and found itself in the middle of a huge yard surrounded by a solid fence studded with nails at the top. Two hundred dogs, skinny, dirty, with drooping tails and sad faces, barely wandered around the yard.
The cage door opened. All seven dogs that had just arrived came out of it and, obeying instinct, huddled together.
“Hey, listen, how are you there... hey, professor...” the poodle heard someone’s voice behind him.
He turned around: standing in front of him was a purple dog with the most impudent smile.
“Oh, please leave me alone,” the old poodle snapped. - I have no time for you.
- No, I just have one remark... You said smart words in the cage, but still you made one mistake... Yes, sir.
- Get away from me, damn it! What other mistake is there?
And as for a dog’s happiness... Do you want me to show you now in whose hands a dog’s happiness is?
And suddenly, with his ears flattened and his tail stretched out, the purple dog rushed off at such a furious pace that the old balancing act professor just opened his mouth. “Catch him! Hold it!” - the guards shouted, rushing after the running dog.
But the purple dog was already near the fence. With one push, he jumped back from the ground and found himself at the top, hanging by his front paws. Two more convulsive movements, and the purple dog rolled over the fence, leaving a good half of his side on its nails.
The old white poodle looked after him for a long time. He realized his mistake.
Posted on 03/05/2018
The main characters of the story "Dog's Happiness".
The main idea of the story "Dog's Happiness."
Main characters,
literature,
Main thought,
education
answer
comment
To favorites
Taget-es
more than a month ago
The main characters are characters from the story by A.I. Kuprin - “Dog Happiness”:
- Pointer Jack is a domestic dog with a rather lively and cheerful disposition;
- the white, old poodle Artaud is a master of balancing act, a circus performer, tired and disappointed with life;
- a purple-colored yard dog, very impudent, headstrong, silent, rebellious, impudent, brave and decisive. It is this dog, which has shown all its qualities at the end of the story, that becomes the main character of the story, which turns the worldview of the other dogs upside down.
Other characters from "A Dog's Happiness" are supporting characters:
- an elderly dog of a mousey color, too arrogant and stupid;
- pampered and capricious Italian greyhound;
- a dachshund, which seemed to me the personification of a bourgeois woman;
- the yard dog, who could well be called Bud, is the personification of a beggar, a tramp, adapting to the environment where fate has brought him.
The main idea of the story:
- It’s better to die free while trying to escape than to live for several days or weeks waiting for death or some miracle, as the purple dog proved when he escaped from this institution. No matter how much the poodle tried to prove that a dog’s happiness lies in submitting to fate, all the dogs realized that this was not so. You must fight with all your fangs, claws and tail for life and believe in the success of your plan, and not be a submissive sheep voluntarily going to the altar...
comment
To favorites
thank
Lady v
more than a month ago
Kuprin's story "Dog's Happiness" tells the story of the fate of dogs who, by the will of fate, found themselves in the clutches of flayers. There are three main characters in it:
The main idea of the story “Heart of a Dog” is that the happiness of any person or dog is only in his own hands, and if he has enough willpower and determination to reverse an unsuccessful situation for him, then he is the master of his life.
This story teaches us not to surrender to someone else’s mercy and not to expect it from others, but to achieve our own happiness with our own hands.
comment
To favorites
thank
Trok
more than a month ago
The main characters of the story " Dog Happiness"Kuprin are:
- Great Dane
- Pointer Jack, who is one of the main characters.
- White poodle, who is one of the main characters.
- Dachshund, who is one of the main characters.
- Italian greyhound, who is one of the main characters.
- Mongrel Bud, who is one of the main characters.
- Mongrel (purple dog), who is one of the main characters.
The main idea of this story is the joy of freedom that exists in this world. The desperation of imprisonment is also present. In this world you need to feed only on yourself or on your owner. Freedom for a dog is happiness. Dogs also need friends, and it is the person who needs to be close to them.
Alexander Kuprin
One of the writer’s friends recalled that he “never saw Kuprin pass by a dog on the street and not stop so as not to pet him.” Kuprin created a whole series of stories about dogs: “White Poodle”, “Pirate”, “Dog’s Happiness”, “Barbos and Zhulka”, “Zaviraika”, “Barry”, “Balt”, “Ralph”, “Peregrine” and others.
Dog happiness
It was about six or seven o'clock on a good September morning when the one-and-a-half-year-old pointer Jack, a brown, long-eared, cheerful dog, went to the market with the cook Annushka. He knew the road perfectly and therefore confidently ran ahead all the time, sniffing the sidewalk curbs in passing and stopping at intersections to look back at the cook. Seeing confirmation in her face and gait, he resolutely turned around and started forward at a brisk gallop.
Having thus turned around the familiar sausage shop, Jack did not find Annushka. He rushed back so quickly that even his left ear curled up from his fast running. But Annushka was not visible from the nearby intersection. Then Jack decided to navigate by smell. He stopped and, carefully moving his wet, mobile nose in all directions, tried to catch in the air the familiar smell of Annushka’s dress, the smell of a dirty kitchen table and gray soap. But at that moment a woman walked past Jack with a hurried gait and, touching him on the side with her rustling skirt, left behind her a strong stream of disgusting Chinese perfume. Jack shook his head in annoyance and sneezed - Annushka’s trail was completely lost.
However, the pointer was not at all discouraged by this. He was well acquainted with the city and therefore could always very easily find his way home: he just had to run to the sausage shop, from the sausage shop to the greengrocer's, then turn left past a large gray house, from the basements of which there was always such a delicious smell of burnt butter - and he already on your street. But Jack was in no hurry. The morning was fresh, bright, and in the clean, softly transparent and slightly humid air, all shades of smells acquired extraordinary subtlety and distinctness. Running past the post office with his tail stretched out like a stick and his nostrils quivering, Jack could say with confidence that not more than a minute ago a large, mousey, middle-aged Great Dane, who was usually fed oatmeal, stopped here.
And indeed, after running two hundred steps, he saw this Great Dane, trotting at a sedate trot. The dog's ears were cropped short, and a wide, worn-out belt hung around his neck.
Dog noticed Jack and stopped, half turning back. Jack twirled his tail defiantly and began to slowly approach the stranger, pretending to be looking somewhere to the side. The mousey Great Dane did the same with his tail and showed his white teeth widely. Then they both growled, turning their muzzles away from each other and as if choking.
“If he says anything offensive to my honor or to the honor of all decent pointers in general, I will grab him in the side, near his left hind leg,” thought Jack. - Dog, of course, is stronger than me, but he is clumsy and stupid. Look, the idiot is standing sideways and doesn’t suspect that he has opened the entire left flank for attack.”
And suddenly... Something inexplicable, almost supernatural, happened. The mousey Great Dane suddenly fell onto his back, and some invisible force pulled him off the sidewalk. Following this, the same invisible force tightly engulfed the astonished Jack's throat... Jack planted his front legs and shook his head furiously. But an invisible “something” squeezed his neck so tightly that the brown pointer lost consciousness.
He came to his senses in a cramped iron cage, which was shaking on the stones of the pavement, rattling all its poorly screwed parts. From the pungent dog smell, Jack immediately guessed that the cage had been a home for dogs of all ages and breeds for many years. On the trestles in front of the cage sat two men of appearance that did not inspire any confidence.
A fairly large society has already gathered in the cage. First of all, Jack noticed a mousey Great Dane, with whom he almost quarreled on the street.
The dog stood with his muzzle buried between two iron sticks and squealed pitifully, while his body swayed back and forth from the shaking. In the middle of the cage lay, with its intelligent muzzle stretched out between its rheumatic paws, an old white poodle, cut like a lion, with tassels on its knees and at the end of its tail. The poodle seemed to regard his situation with philosophical stoicism, and if he had not sighed occasionally and winked his eyebrows, one would have thought that he was sleeping. Sitting next to him, shivering from the morning cold and excitement, was a pretty, well-groomed Italian greyhound with long, thin legs and a sharp muzzle. From time to time she yawned nervously, curling her pink tongue like a tube and accompanying each yawn with a long, thin squeal... Closer to the rear end of the cage, a sleek black dachshund with yellow markings on its chest and eyebrows pressed tightly against the bars. She could not recover from the amazement that gave an unusually comical appearance to her long crocodile body on inverted low legs and her serious muzzle with her ears almost dragging along the floor.
In addition to this more or less secular company, there were two more undoubted mongrels in the cage. One of them, similar to those dogs that are universally called Buds and are distinguished by a base character, was shaggy, red and had a fluffy tail wrapped in the shape of the number 9. She got into the cage before everyone else and, apparently, became so comfortable with her exceptional position that she had long been looking for an opportunity to strike up an interesting conversation with someone. The last dog was almost invisible; he hid in the darkest corner and lay there, curled up in a ball. During the entire time, he only got up once to growl at Jack, who came close to him, but this was enough to arouse the strongest antipathy towards him in the entire casual society. Firstly, it was purple, which was smeared in it by a team of painters on their way to work. Secondly, the fur on it stood on end and in separate tufts. Third, he was obviously angry, hungry, brave and strong; this was reflected in the decisive push of his emaciated body with which he jumped up to meet the taken aback Jack.
The silence lasted for about a quarter of an hour. Finally, Jack, who never lost his sense of humor on any occasion in life, remarked in a foppish tone:
The adventure starts to get interesting. Curious where these gentlemen will make their first station?
The old poodle did not like the frivolous tone of the brown pointer. He slowly turned his head towards Jack and snapped with cold mockery:
I can satisfy your curiosity, young man. Gentlemen will make a station in the knacker.
How!.. Excuse me... I’m sorry... I didn’t hear,” Jack muttered, involuntarily sitting down, because his legs instantly began to tremble. - You deigned to say: in life...
Yes, in the slaughterhouse,” the poodle confirmed just as coldly and turned away.
Sorry... but I didn’t quite understand you... The knacker... What kind of institution is this - the knacker? Would you be so kind as to explain yourself?
The poodle was silent. But since the Italian greyhound and the dachshund joined Jack’s request, the old man, not wanting to be impolite in front of the ladies, had to give some details.
This, you see, is a mesdames, a large yard surrounded by a high, pointed fence, where dogs caught on the streets are locked up. I had the misfortune to end up in this place three times.
What a surprise! - a hoarse voice was heard from a dark corner. - This is my seventh time going there.
Only Budon, moved by the lackey zeal of an upstart, shouted:
Please do not intervene unless asked!
And immediately he looked searchingly into the eyes of the important, mousey Great Dane.
“I’ve been there three times,” the poodle continued, “but my owner always came and took me from there (I work in the circus, and, you understand, they value me) ... So, sir, two or three hundred people gather in this unpleasant place at a time dogs...
Tell me, is there a decent society there? - the Italian greyhound asked coyly.
It happens. We were fed unusually poorly and little. From time to time, one of the prisoners disappeared to unknown destination, and then we dined on soup from...
To enhance the effect, the poodle paused briefly, looked around the audience and added with feigned composure:
- ...from dog meat.
At the last words, the company was horrified and indignant.
Damn it! What low meanness! - Jack exclaimed.
“I’m going to faint… I feel sick,” the Italian greyhound whispered.
This is terrible... terrible! - the dachshund moaned.
I always said that people are scoundrels! - the mousey Great Dane grumbled.
What a terrible death! - Bud sighed.
However, this soup is okay... not bad... although, of course, some ladies accustomed to chicken cutlets will find that the dog meat could be a little softer.
Ignoring this impudent remark, the poodle continued:
Subsequently, from a conversation with my master, I learned that the skin of our dead comrades was used to make ladies' gloves. But - prepare your nerves, mesdames - but this is not enough. To make the skin more tender and soft, it is torn off from a living dog.
Desperate cries interrupted the poodle's words:
What inhumanity!..
What baseness!
But this is incredible!
Oh my God, oh my God!
Executioners!..
No, worse than executioners...
After this outburst there was a tense and sad silence. The terrifying prospect of being flayed alive was pictured in the mind of every listener.
Gentlemen, is there really no way to once and for all free all honest dogs from shameful slavery among people? - Jack shouted passionately.
“Please indicate this remedy,” the old poodle said ironically.
The dogs thought.
Snack all the people and that's it! - the Great Dane blurted out in an embittered bass voice.
That’s right, sir, the most radical idea,” supported Buton obsequiously. - At the very least, they will be afraid.
Well... a snack... great, sir,” objected the old poodle. - What is your opinion, dear sir, regarding the arapniks? Do you deign to be familiar with them?
Hm... - the Great Dane cleared his throat.
Hm... - Bud repeated.
No, sir, I’ll tell you, my sir, we don’t have to fight people. I've been around the world a lot and I can say that I know life well... Let's take, for example, such simple things as a kennel, a trap, a chain and a muzzle - things, I think, that are well known to all of you, gentlemen?.. Suppose that We dogs will eventually figure out how to get rid of them... But won’t man immediately invent more improved tools? He will definitely invent it. You should see what kennels, chains and muzzles people build for each other! We must obey, gentlemen, that's all. This is the law of nature, sir.
“Well, I’ve lost my philosophy,” the dachshund said in Jack’s ear. - I can’t stand old people with their teachings.
Quite rightly, mademoiselle,” Jack gallantly waved his tail.
A mousey Great Dane with a melancholic look caught a fly in his mouth and said in a mournful voice:
Eh, life is a dog!..
But where is the justice here?” the Italian greyhound, who had been silent until now, suddenly became worried.
- At least you, Mr. Poodle... I’m sorry, I don’t have the honor to know the name...
Artaud, professor of balancing act, at your service,” the poodle bowed.
Well, tell me, Mr. Professor, you are apparently such an experienced dog, not to mention your scholarship; Tell me, where is the highest justice in all this? Are people really so much more worthy and better than us that they enjoy such cruel privileges with impunity...
“Not better or more worthy, dear young lady, but stronger and smarter,” Artaud objected bitterly. - ABOUT! I am well aware of the morality of these two-legged animals... Firstly, they are greedy, like no other dog in the world. They have so much bread, meat and water that all these monsters could be well fed for a lifetime. Meanwhile, some tenth of them have seized all the supplies of life into their own hands and, not being able to devour them themselves, force the remaining nine-tenths to starve. Well, pray tell, wouldn’t a well-fed dog give his neighbor a gnawed bone?
He will give, he will certainly give,” the listeners agreed.
Hm! - the Great Dane grunted doubtfully.
Besides, people are evil. Who can say that one dog kills another because of love, envy or anger? We bite sometimes - that's fair. But we don't take each other's lives.
Indeed it is, the listeners confirmed.
Tell me again,” the white poodle continued, “would one dog dare to forbid another dog from breathing fresh air and freely expressing its thoughts about the organization of canine happiness? And people do it!
Damn it! - the mousey Great Dane energetically inserted.
In conclusion, I will say that people are hypocritical, envious, deceitful, inhospitable and cruel... And yet people dominate and will dominate, because... because that is how it is already arranged. It is impossible to free yourself from their dominion... The whole dog's life, all the dog's happiness is in their hands. In our current situation, each of us who has a good master should thank fate. One owner can save us from the pleasure of eating the meat of our comrades and then feeling how he is being skinned alive.
The professor's words brought despondency to the community. No one else said a word. Everyone shook and swayed helplessly with the shocks of the cage. The dog whined in a plaintive voice. The bud, which was kept near him, howled quietly to him.
Soon the dogs felt that the wheels of their carriage were driving on the sand. Five minutes later the cage drove through a wide gate and found itself in the middle of a huge yard surrounded by a solid fence studded with nails at the top. Two hundred dogs, skinny, dirty, with drooping tails and sad faces, barely wandered around the yard.
The cage door opened. All seven dogs that had just arrived came out of it and, obeying instinct, huddled together.
Hey, listen, how are you there... hey, professor... - the poodle heard someone’s voice behind him.
He turned around: standing in front of him was a purple dog with the most impudent smile.
“Oh, please leave me alone,” the old poodle snapped. - I have no time for you.
No, I just have one remark... You said smart words in the cage, but still you made one mistake... Yes, sir.
Get the hell away from me, damn it! What other mistake is there?
And as for a dog’s happiness... Do you want me to show you now in whose hands a dog’s happiness is?
And suddenly, with his ears flattened and his tail stretched out, the purple dog rushed off at such a furious pace that the old balancing act professor just opened his mouth. “Catch him! Hold it!” - the guards shouted, rushing after the running dog.
But the purple dog was already near the fence. With one push, he jumped back from the ground and found himself at the top, hanging by his front paws. Two more convulsive movements, and the purple dog rolled over the fence, leaving a good half of his side on its nails.
The old white poodle looked after him for a long time. He realized his mistake.
What is Kuprin's work Dog's Happiness about???? and what is the main essence? in detail. plzzzz and got the best answer
Answer from Nina Demyanova[guru]
The narration is told as if on behalf of the dogs who are being taken to a feast - dogs of different status and origin have been collected in a van... And they are discussing the topic - what does a dog’s happiness consist of? Some believe that happiness is to have a good owner, others in food, etc. And one dog, a mongrel, sits in the corner silently... In general, in the end he was the only one who escaped - he turned out to be the most agile and fastest - he tore his side, but jumped over tall fence. A very philosophical story.
Answer from Elena Bandurina[active]
The narration is told as if on behalf of the dogs who are being taken to a feast - dogs of different status and origin have been collected in a van... And they are discussing the topic - what does a dog’s happiness consist of? Some believe that happiness is to have a good owner, others in food, etc. And one dog, a mongrel, sits in the corner silently... In general, in the end he was the only one who escaped - he turned out to be the most agile and fastest - he tore his side, but jumped over tall fence. A very philosophical story.
Answer from Yomil Aliyev[active]
Answer from Chief accountant Rus[newbie]
I think that according to A. Kuprin, a dog’s happiness lies in freedom, since the text says that the dogs discussed what a dog’s happiness is and, citing many examples, that a good owner is a dog’s happiness, at the end of the story they indicate, that not only in a good owner, but in freedom, when the purple dog jumped over the fence and ran away, and the rest of the dogs remained there. It turns out, according to A. Kuprin, a dog’s happiness is freedom. But, in my opinion, a dog’s happiness is a good, kind owner, because a good owner will always give the dog the food, care, home and freedom that it needs. And if a dog has freedom, but no owner, then it will have to look for food on its own, live on the street, freeze, and look for shelter every day. Also, using the example of the purple dog, we can say that if he had a good owner, he would not have ended up in the "knacker" and he would not have had to escape from it seven times.
Answer from Vladimir Chernavtsev[newbie]
Until yesterday, I had a fairly good attitude towards Kuprin’s work: “The Duel”, “The Shot” and others, and I even re-read “Shulamit” and “The Pomegranate Bracelet” more than once. But yesterday they told me to read one of Kuprin’s works, “Dog Happiness,” to my grandson at night, which is included in the literature program for 3rd grade students. It turns out I haven't read it before. And I began, as expected, with expression, to read this to my 9-year-old grandson. For some reason, the almost fairy-tale form of narration on behalf of the dogs, even after they were imprisoned in a cage, did not immediately alert me. I even hoped that they would soon talk about some kind of miraculous liberation. But very soon I felt that my grandson, for whom his parents had recently gotten a dog, had absolutely no need to know about various wild vicissitudes and began to miss some details, but in me Indignation began to simmer more and more, not so much at such an unpleasant essay by Kuprin, as at the FREAKS WHO ENTERED THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, cramming their flayer ideas about life into school curricula, even for the lower grades. How lucky our generation is - we were protected from cruelty and abomination at a young age!
Answer from Elena Matveeva[newbie]
I think that according to A. Kuprin, a dog’s happiness lies in freedom, since the text says that the dogs discussed what a dog’s happiness is and, citing many examples, that a good owner is a dog’s happiness, at the end of the story they indicate, that not only in a good owner, but in freedom, when the purple dog jumped over the fence and ran away, and the rest of the dogs remained there. It turns out, according to A. Kuprin, a dog’s happiness is freedom. But, in my opinion, a dog’s happiness is a good, kind owner, because a good owner will always give the dog the food, care, home and freedom that it needs. And if a dog has freedom, but no owner, then it will have to look for food on its own, live on the street, freeze, and look for shelter every day. Also, using the example of the purple dog, we can say that if he had a good owner, he would not have ended up in the "knacker" and he would not have had to escape from it seven times.
Answer from THEDEMENT0R[newbie]
Dog happiness
A one-and-a-half-year-old pointer, Jack, has fallen behind the cook and, together with a new acquaintance - a Great Dane - ends up in the flayer's van, where some canine society has already gathered. Jack starts a conversation with his fellow sufferers. The circus poodle Artaud, who had already been to the knacker 3 times, but was taken away by his owner, began to educate others about the horrors of knackers and what scoundrels people are (however, a dog’s happiness is in the hands of a good owner). A purple dog, who has been there 7 times already, cynically answers him from the corner, but they shut his mouth. When the frightened dogs arrive at the place, the purple dog turns to the poodle: “You said smart words in the cage, but still you made one mistake... Do you want me to show you now, in whose hands is a dog’s happiness?” The poodle just waved his interlocutor away, but the dog jumped over the fence and was gone
Year of publication of the book: 1896
Kuprin’s work “Dog Happiness” was first published in the fall of 1896 in one of the periodicals. The story is part of a series about animals in which the author presented the stories of dogs. The following year, after the first publication, the work was included in a collection of works called “Miniatures,” which, like other stories of one of them, received many positive reviews.
The story "Dog's Happiness" summary
It was an early September morning. A young pointer named Jack was walking with his owner, a cook named Annushka, to one of the local markets. Jack was a cheerful and energetic brown dog with long ears. If Kuprin’s work “Dog Happiness” is read in full, we learn that he knew the way to the market well, so he boldly ran ahead of Annushka, only occasionally glancing to see if she was following. But that morning, Jack turned around and saw that Annushka had disappeared. For some time he tried to track down the woman, but this idea failed. Unlike the main character, the pointer was not very scared, because he knew the way home well. He navigated the local kiosks and shops and could have been lying in his booth in a few minutes. But the morning turned out to be so good that Jack decided to take a walk.
In Kuprin’s work “Dog Happiness,” a brief summary tells that, while passing by the post office, a pointer smelled the scent of an old Great Dane. After just a few steps, he saw a slowly walking dog with a belt around its neck. Noticing Jack, the Great Dane began to growl. The Pointer also responded to an unfriendly encounter with a stranger by growling. He was about to start a fight with the big dog, when suddenly the Great Dane, for some reason, fell to the ground, and something pulled him to the side. The same fate befell Jack. The dog lost consciousness due to the strong pressure on his neck. He woke up in a small booth, which was moving in an unknown direction.
In the story “Dog Happiness” by Kuprin we can read that, upon waking up, Jack noticed that there were a large number of dogs around him. There was also a Great Dane, whom he met near the post office. Now he stood motionless and silent. A large white poodle lies imposingly in the middle of the iron cage. He was quite old and, as the main character, had small tufts on his legs and tail. Despite the scary situation, the poodle remained quite calm. Sometimes it even seemed like he was just sleeping. A small Italian greyhound was located next to him. The young dog was shaking from cold and fear and periodically yawning from fatigue. In the same cage one could see a small black dachshund, who was terrified by everything that was happening. But to other dogs, her fear looked ridiculous and even a little funny. In Kuprin’s work “Dog Happiness,” the description of dogs ends with the image of two small mongrels, one of which was waiting for the moment when she could start a conversation. The second mongrel had purple fur because paint had recently been poured on it by workers. She lay in the corner, not making a sound, and periodically became angry if someone came closer to her.
Jack, with his usual sense of humor, decided to find out where the carriage was heading. The old poodle replied that the dogs were being taken to a slaughterhouse. He said he had been there three times already. The old silent mongrel, interrupting the poodle, said that she had been taken there more than seven times already, but no one began to listen to the non-pedigreed dog. From Kuprin’s story “Dog Happiness” we learn that the poodle continued to talk about the rules of life at the knacker. He said that the dogs there are fed very poorly. In addition, every day several animals disappear from their cages, whose meat is later served in soup to the rest of the mongrels. Everyone who was sitting in the cage was horrified by his words. Continuing the story, the poodle said that the dogs' hair was sent to make women's gloves. He said that to ensure that the wool is not too rough, it is stripped from animals that are still alive.
Everyone present was horrified. They began to think about how cruel people can be. Jack began to wonder if there was a way to get rid of people forever. In Kuprin’s story “Dog Happiness,” the summary says that someone offered to have a bite of them all. However, the Great Dane said that even if dogs can get rid of the instruments of torture that people have invented at the moment, over time, new booths, collars, and muzzles will appear. Therefore, creatures such as people are not even worth fighting.
The poodle, who turned out to be a professor named Ator, said that dogs are much kinder than people. After all, they do not bite each other to death and will always share a bone with others if they themselves are full. However, despite the cruelty of people, a dog’s life and dog’s happiness depend on them. After these words, everyone in the cage fell silent. A few minutes later the cart drove up to the knackers and all the dogs were released into the street. An old mongrel with purple fur turned to the poodle. She asked if the old professor understood that he had made a mistake in his statement that the happiness of dogs is in the hands of people. He didn’t answer, and then the mongrel decided to convince Ator. She accelerated and pushed off with all her might from the fence that was erected around the knacker. Now there was a piece of her fur on it. Within a few minutes the mongrel was free. Then the poodle understood the main idea of Kuprin’s story “Dog Happiness” - the happiness of animals is in their own hands.
The story “Dog Happiness” on the Top Books website
You can read Kuprin’s story “Dog Happiness” in its entirety on the Top Books website.
Loading...