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«Балбес», Станислав Востоков
Almost all the yards of our village had a dog. The only person in the village who did not have a dog was shopkeeper Timofeev, but he finally wanted to get a dog. On a weekend when his store was closed he went to a market in Moscow. He bought the dog with the weirdest look.
“What is that breed?” Anna Petrovna asked when the shopkeeper went by with his dog.
“Ah there is no breed!” Timofeev waved his hand. “And his name is Вooby.”
“Well ok, maybe he is a good guard dog.”
The shopkeeper just shrugged his shoulders.
“We’ll see.”
And we saw it really soon. The same night when the whole village was sleeping tight, Booby suddenly started to howl and howled until morning.
In the morning Anna Petrovna hurried to Timofeev’s house to complain.
“Why are you hurting the dog?”
“How am I hurting him?” he answered in offended tone.
“Horribly,” Anna Petrovna said.
“I did not even touch him.”
“Then maybe he’s sick?”
“He is fine. Look he just ate a bowl of soup.”
“Watch out,” Anna Petrovna threatened. “If this doesn’t stop, I’m going to write a complaint.”
The next couple of days the same story happened. In the night Booby howled and in the morning someone came over to complain. The shopkeeper was about to cry.
“You should return him to the previous owner,” Mitrich recommended. “This is just the Hound of the Baskervilles.”
“Where am I gonna find him now?”
“Then at least take Booby to a vet. Our whole village can’t sleep because of your dog.”
Timofeev did not have a choice. Even though it was a weekday, Timofeev locked the store, took Booby on a leash and took a train to the city. They came back in the evening.
“So what?” Mitrich asked.
“The vet said he is not sick,” Timofeev answered gloomily. “But he has one defect.”
“What defect?”
“A speech defect. He can’t bark, so he howls instead. And you cannot do anything about it.”
“Unbelievable!” Mitrich was surprised. “Ok, let him be. Maybe we’ll get used to him.”
When everybody heard about the defect they felt sorry for Booby and started to bring treats for him. Little by little the villagers got used to the night howling, because they knew that it wasn’t the shopkeeper hurting the dog, he was just barking his way.
And then this happened. Three months later at night two thieves got into the store which was on the other side of shopkeeper’s house. Booby was the first one to notice that something bad was happening. He smelled the air and then he started to howl so loud that even the villagers who were already used to him became frightened. And the thieves who heard this howling for the first time barely did not lose their minds. Horrified, they dropped the irons and the buckets and ran away.
After that Booby got high respect and more yummy treats. The police officer, who came to investigate about the failed robbery, said that this dog does not have a defect, but extraordinary power. He asked Timofeev to sell him Booby.
“No way!” Timofeev answered.
And he was certainly right, because there is no other dog in the whole world with such unusual defect. A speech defect.
“What is that breed?” Anna Petrovna asked when the shopkeeper went by with his dog.
“Ah there is no breed!” Timofeev waved his hand. “And his name is Вooby.”
“Well ok, maybe he is a good guard dog.”
The shopkeeper just shrugged his shoulders.
“We’ll see.”
And we saw it really soon. The same night when the whole village was sleeping tight, Booby suddenly started to howl and howled until morning.
In the morning Anna Petrovna hurried to Timofeev’s house to complain.
“Why are you hurting the dog?”
“How am I hurting him?” he answered in offended tone.
“Horribly,” Anna Petrovna said.
“I did not even touch him.”
“Then maybe he’s sick?”
“He is fine. Look he just ate a bowl of soup.”
“Watch out,” Anna Petrovna threatened. “If this doesn’t stop, I’m going to write a complaint.”
The next couple of days the same story happened. In the night Booby howled and in the morning someone came over to complain. The shopkeeper was about to cry.
“You should return him to the previous owner,” Mitrich recommended. “This is just the Hound of the Baskervilles.”
“Where am I gonna find him now?”
“Then at least take Booby to a vet. Our whole village can’t sleep because of your dog.”
Timofeev did not have a choice. Even though it was a weekday, Timofeev locked the store, took Booby on a leash and took a train to the city. They came back in the evening.
“So what?” Mitrich asked.
“The vet said he is not sick,” Timofeev answered gloomily. “But he has one defect.”
“What defect?”
“A speech defect. He can’t bark, so he howls instead. And you cannot do anything about it.”
“Unbelievable!” Mitrich was surprised. “Ok, let him be. Maybe we’ll get used to him.”
When everybody heard about the defect they felt sorry for Booby and started to bring treats for him. Little by little the villagers got used to the night howling, because they knew that it wasn’t the shopkeeper hurting the dog, he was just barking his way.
And then this happened. Three months later at night two thieves got into the store which was on the other side of shopkeeper’s house. Booby was the first one to notice that something bad was happening. He smelled the air and then he started to howl so loud that even the villagers who were already used to him became frightened. And the thieves who heard this howling for the first time barely did not lose their minds. Horrified, they dropped the irons and the buckets and ran away.
After that Booby got high respect and more yummy treats. The police officer, who came to investigate about the failed robbery, said that this dog does not have a defect, but extraordinary power. He asked Timofeev to sell him Booby.
“No way!” Timofeev answered.
And he was certainly right, because there is no other dog in the whole world with such unusual defect. A speech defect.
