what happened but the resounded and we could not stop ourselves from a . . , briefly flashed through my mind durin the . And really. Precisely on that day started these , that is, these mishaps that are the reason I’m gettin broke payin the office fees. Have you heard the news? , , try to swim to it thru the air and slowly suck holes in ice. , the male species lost their cool and went crazy on account of . They, our , surface on the hillock , sit on whatever they can, and , . They’re waitin, hopin she’ll appear again, even though everyone knows she visits rarely, and when she does visit, . So let’s give what’s due to the mentioned , , or to , who did not depart yet but dried up and barks: Keeps clearin his throat. and your environs; everythin around you is . A lonely fellow assures his : I am goin to our backwater to round up some fish. But he’ll circle around the islands, make a few drafts—and all folks suddenly see him among them in the havin a glass of vino. The returns home, starts doin what he did before. We stir up trouble, clown around, mischief-makers, don’t care about anythin, it’s disgustin to look at us. Do think we don’t know the proper manners? Ain’t we well bred, as we should? We know, we’re well bred, , but mainly it makes no difference—we misbehave, find ourselves outside of the norms of decency. And the greed overcame us too. We are , begin to celebrate, and various folks appear out of the blue: Won’t you give us some? And we ain’t givin, we are pissed: Scram, the store’s still open, manage your feast yourself, freakin . .
I was walkin, keep readin,
, returnin on Christmas Eve from , from his funeral. The were provided by that ; he invited: Crawl in, all who want, ; are trumps. I crawled in. . And I also got bored with this wake, I wanted to go back to my , I wanted to celebrate Christmas with them. —and I . I was skatin homeward, and the strong wind was squeezin the tear out, and it—it was rollin merrily. So far we’re not missin any screws, we know what it means . . , was knockin about in the bast creel behind my spine, and there was gurglin in the container. But I did not hurry to light it; in the night blindness it’ll get even blinder, so—we call it a . Contradiction, blunder. After all, it doesn’t make itself blind—it makes us blind with its rays, therefore it appears we are , and ain’t us, ever. Why, I hasten to ask, ain’t among us now, but ? And why did he, the rash racer, light his lantern in the grayish air? The homeless clouds stiffened, my clothes also stiffened, the ground draft crawled up my ankels. And as soon as the , like in a water decal, started faintly showin through the murk, I, that I am, understood that all of its houses are from the ashcolored corduroy with a wide , and their roofs from felt, or perhaps someone stole from the hat undyed matted wool. Psst . . . . Who knows if from the factory or not, but various river folks kept walkin on hockey and figure skates over this dark blue ; some with an idea of a promenaid, some from the woods with Christmas trees, some to the store, but all of them far, far away, not nearby. It turns dreary when one’s alone; I got tense. Believe it or not, but there is someone invisible among us. I applied the skate’s brake and extracted the lamp— , with fire it’s not as scary. . Don’t be surprised, in winter that keeps wandrin hither and thither—boatload of tracks. They’re lucky, the animals, that the freeze bridges the waters and one can manage without any . , said , and much less the other one, even if in a muzzle; we have enough peripeties at the crossin without that. And when I noticed beyond the snowdrifts the gray hide and the eyes resemblin the precious iridescent Christmas tree ball, I got discouraged, a fearful billy . If I run, the predator will give chase, grab by the nape—and it’s all over, you’ve bit the dust. Yes, I got anxious, but more precisely—got angry, rebellious. There’s nothin out of the ordinary in dyin, and accordin to the earlier-mentioned reasons, it’s required. But to have the master suffer death on account of the primeval beast is inappropriate, rude; one has to get some respect, even if the most tiniest; after all, not all of us are , we’re not a complete ragtag rabble. I won’t succumb to the pangs of his fangs; . I put the bat down on the snow, took off the ; my courage came back. The is sittin, observin, . Why are you sorrowful, Wolfie, attack, if you dare. He’s stubborn, doesn’t do it. I take from under my shirt a bread ration of peeled rye and beckon: Come, devour, you’re probably starvin. The wolf stole up, ferocious, —snap—and swallowed my piece. I was nimble, , grabbed him by his collar—and started poundin. It’s no picnic for an to keep his balance durin such fracases, especially , but some experience had been accumulated; here, rarely a week passes without . When we, the , gather , ; with the across the temple—and with whatever is around we start mutilatin our fellow creatures. Such strategies make little sense, of course, but still: Friendship gets stronger and excessive foolishness gets knocked out and away. The adversary initially showed obstinacy, just kept spinnin around like on a stake, yelpin, but subsequently could not take it—and darted. He overturned , but as long as the collar held, I was thwartin the flight, and our twosome rolled, completely wild, dappled white, . And suddenly my lamp went out, my hand weakened—and the flew the coop. And the overwhelmed me, I am lyin , steamin—like a jellied on the of the . And though the blizzard crawls into the folds of my clothes and — . With hand on my heart, where and when else can one experience things like that? What a victory—I overcame the predator. But if you tell someone—they’ll doubt it: Where’s the hide? We are stalwart , , , but about happiness—we’re on our gard. , and the shooters, up to twelve in number—the corpse of a . It’s intrestin that the mugs of those carriers, due to what they’ve been downin beforehand, became exactly like snouts, and they . Congrats, congrats, I greeted the hunters. , they trumpet, gloomy . Apparently the cold deprived their tongues of their rights. Happy , I said. , garbled , . Listen, what a , I said, evenin’s smokin. Right, agreed the old man, ., and I tumble into the workshop. the entire grindin co-op gathered there—it gathered, started frolickin. Some got involved in the sacrilegious , others in the , and some, not afraid of , allowed themselves to play juggle ball, . They behave outrageously, dissolutely, and to straighten them up, to slap them on the wrist, there’s positively nobody; happy-go-lucky behaviors had spread all over—a million of them. And then, havin some plunk, About-goners and youngsters, I summoned, . He grew up and, in particular, announced: . We’re all , and . Take, for example, me personally. An offspring of my mother and father, from the stoop of and , respectively, I began the same way, but after the my cursed fate, fanned with carbolic acid and , changes to the core. I engage in various trades and learn them—inside out. As a result of my wandrin ordeals, in their conclusion, I arrive here and join this co-op. I am standin here in front of you, . Let the , the flabby, decrepit, and slurrin dwarf with a , descend on us tomorrow at lunch. But even in front of her I will claim, sayin it with pride, that I know no name loftier than the modest of the Russian riverside grinder. And if I hear a voice—throw Your away, but , similar to a , then I will answer: You asked for it, You got it! But don’t be envious that from the outside I am mighty and tough—inside I am simply a softy. And whether I grind my teeth or metal—I just grind them, while my longin after is grindin me. What a woman, one won’t forget her at any price. But don’t , better repent. All of you did secure for yourself permanent honey pies, but the sweetness of the , of the , attracts, and you desire them, committin a sin. I know, you pity your usual ’til death do you part, ’cuz, fortifyin themselves, they endure the of your corrupt bodies and natures. But you also fell in love with the visitin , and you love her devotedly, even though she’s nobody to you, and . , but I will wait a bit ’cuz I am also no angel, no better than you— . . So don’t and that’s the end of it. In those periods, different visitors like , buoy keepers, and loggers appeared here. They made excuses— —but in fact came . And they inquired: Gentlemen, I have no clue; if the , then yep, he did get beat up— . , receivin a shower of applause. When the holidays ended, I leave the co-op and, a braggart, ascend to . Yearnin after homemade was drivin me under the warm roof; . What did I understand, wandrin—how everythin is arranged? I did not understand nothin, wandrin, includin how everythin is arranged. I only see every is a , , she’s a , and we—we’re ordinary , and sooner or later we’ll be hers. Do You remember that case: a drawin called ? I also lumbered back, filled with remorse, and she’s beratin me: What, you lumbered back, you darned horse? I could not bear such slander, on . After that we made peace, she got generous and fried for me, and later even . As soon as the mornin has broken, I jump out into the entrance hall— , though I, bein of sound mind and memory, left them there, in a pickle barrel, and even covered them with a lid. I got used to keepin them there—my , Her Neatfreakness, does not permit me to : Even with there’s plenty of trouble, I just walk behind you and keep wipin. And I: But you yourself husk the sunflower seeds on the floor. And she: I haven’t asked you what I can husk; so far it’s not me who’s a squatter here but you. I looked at the porch—analogy. The was already warmin up the chow on the stovetop. My friend, quoth I to that woman, why did you dispatch my into the stove for the benefit of the ever-burnin fire? Eh, you don’t know what you’re babblin, she cuts me off. In that case—they got filched, I concluded. Serves you right, she scoffed, how many times I warned you not to be lazy in the evenin—and you didn’t even prick up your ears, so now sort it out. No, it serves you right, you pipette, it was you who forced me to leave them in the entrance hall, so from now on you’ll have to drive everywhere on a sled, ’cuz personally I find no evidence of any savins to purchase a new pair, and whether you will have enough strength to meddle with the wretch or not—it’s nobody’s concern, and on which sled are you plannin to pull me on , it doesn’t worry me in the least. Yakyak-yak, she utters, yak-yak-yak, the tattered chatterbox. The same day, I discovered by the gate a note delivered on the sly, secured with the indecent elastic from underwear and entitled: Affidavit. I’m quotatin: Given to Citizen and attestin that his went missin in connection with the fact that on such-and-such date of the he walloped with them the huntin bitch , therefore it’s unlikely they’ll be returned to him; the wardens of the . So I scribble to their —a wolf. The responds—a . And our started. It started and continues and . . What else am I involved in? I keep fightin with my scatterbrain, I recall for her zesty : . She’s gigglin—like a jingle bell. In addition, I am gazin at the past—my journeys, wandrins.
So depict somethin for farewell, the courier kept grievin, start somethin ours, make it as heartrendin as possible, or
. I and the inspector’s providin description. He’s providin description and I am singin: . Uh, that’s a great one, grieved the bro. I am singin and he reports. About the hunt, about the time when, not so long ago, he went huntin for the , and how, on the approach to , . , and the lieutenant, in those years . . Durin the hunt, flabbergasted by the theft, he shot at the target but missed, and now, attired in regalia, but . And they found her, he says, . . . . You were called around the barracks , and to whom do you belong now, to what kind of, let’s suppose, , ah? And the sailor—the sailor met in the car—have You figured out who he was? Earlier I also didn’t know who he was, from which fleet, lost or discharged? . Right now I believe he was the sailor , discharged for good. Be patient, we got acquainted . And the deputy started weepin, can’t enjoy the song enough. You see, a Russian tune moves even the big ranks, so what do expect from me, a tiny —I completely lost it. And if one looks out of the window—there’s also not much joy: shacks made of timber, December. And some vagabond —exactly like us—with a sack on a stick and bunches of pretzels on his neck instead of necklaces, tramples the of native expanses, and even if he acts like the devil-may-care, we read in his eyes that the situation sucks, that , even if not personally for us, and when we croak, it will be the others’ turn, and no special indulgences are anticipated. My past and present fiascos I esplained in two words—and it was rockin on switches. You may get envious: Yes, , you suffered and knew much sorrow. Don’t say that, I says, I’m so blessed that I could cry. We took a swig, . Hittin the sack?—the inspector hiccupped. I tell him: I’m not sleepy, I got enough sleep . Gonna brush your teeth? Pardon? Your teeth, I am askin, he asks, are you gonna brush? I apologize, I— , I don’t need to. Coincidence, he said, . So whose?—I stared. Official issue, on suction cups, said the lieutenant, here. And he took them out. I looked. I did like them a great deal—white, sharp, as if a prescribed; here’s what your health services do. Go ahead, try them, try them, don’t be shy, the lieutenant encouraged. . It’s a gift, he yelled. Oh my, are you nuts, how’s that possible, such presents. , he kept yellin, don’t I have the right to offer my bro the teeth? . Well, what a benefactor, you helped me out, I yelled. Forget it, the deputy grinned to me, empty-mouthed, just play. I started singin, playin—swiftly, swiftly, as if escapin . The inspector doesn’t give a spit about close quarters—he broke into a , keeps shakin his charms. In our blessed memory’s early years we called such fellows blubberlubbers: No problem, they all responded without fail. I was performin “ ,” probably in the rhythm of the squabble of the wheels. A filigree “ ”: Shake your lure, I cheered him on, . And in the same rhythm a fortunate thought came to that, say, he unexpectedly put in the gratis teeth. , eh, the new teeth I put in fast, I put them in myself, and so forth. . And it was rockin on switches. My ’til he dropped: He crashed on the berth and started sawin wood. So I took off his tall lined with fur, threw them for good memories into the knapsack, polished off what was left in the —for the road—and I greet the sailor in the car’s gangway: On leave to ? Durin our , he says, the followin emergency occurred. On the served two chums, two —the second and the first—and . But when the second, out of the most sincerest considerations for his attachment to the first’s gal from , secretly added to his some kind of bad substance and left, they were cruisin precisely to , to the factory of bubbly water. , so this one —and it’s all over. That is, when he swooshed his shovel into the ash pit and shoved it in up to, as they say in them fleets, its turnip and started stirrin with the shovel, then everythin went kaboom—a total nightmare. . At that time the other stoker runs into the boiler room, and this one says to him: Stand from under, we’re havin a malfunction, our valves and all their flaps are gone—for that reason, gimme a cig, bro, stick it in my kisser, so the smoke comes out of me. I don’t mind givin, his bro teases him, only with what, I would like to know, do you intend to hold it? I looked, he says, and — —and it’s a done deal. And I, he says, said then, a stoker to a stoker: Darn, you call yourself a pal, but stokerly speakin, you are a after that, not a sailor, and your mother’s a ., но тут раздался , и от не воздержались. , в минуту у . И действительно. Именно с того дня эта , то есть те , ради коих и на канцелярии. Слышали новость? просасывают. и и из-за . Выплывут, , на бугор, сядут о ней, из . Ждут, что снова она наведается, хоть любому известно — бывает редко, а . тем же или же , кто пока что не отошел, но усох и лает: . с окрестностями, все вокруг . Заверяет : еду на . Но покрутится меж островов, сделает немного — и все его видят вдруг среди себя в за чашкой вина. Возвращается , берется за прежнее. , , проказники, ни о чем не печемся, на нас поглядеть. Полагаете, достойных манер , , но в основном — , не в рамках приличия состоим. Жадность также нас обуяла. , , и разные: а нам не предложите? А мы не даем, мы : ступайте, еще открыто, в своем пиру, такие. .
Шел, читайте,
, выдвигаясь в от , с его похорон. тот , он приглашал: заползайте, желающие, , . Я заполз. . А наскучила и мне эта , захотелось к своим , с ними захотелось Рождества. — я в . Я катил , и слезу вышибал, и она же катилась радостно. , соображаем, что значит . . , в за плечьми, и во фляге ее побулькивало. Но возжечь не спешил, в , и вот — называем . , погрех. , мы, выходит, не мы никогда. Почему, разрешу спросить, не с нами, а сейчас? А чего ж, скороход опрометчивый, в сероватости засветил. и платье мое, . И лишь сквозь проступил, понял я, , что его все из пепловатого такого вельвета с широким , и кровли их — войлок, а может, с шляпной некрашеный фетр снесли. , . , но шагал на и по тому ли по синему ; кто с променада целью, кто , кто в магазин, но все далеко-далеко, не близко. Неприютно оборачивается одному, растревожился. , но есть кое-кто тут невидимый среди нас. и светильник достал — , с огнем храбрей. . Не удивляйтесь, зимой эта так и снует , следов — угол. им, животным, что вóды мороз мостит, и без всякой . , сказал, а тем его, пусть и в , перипетий нам на переправе хватает и без того. И когда усмотрел за суметами серую шкуру и глаз наподобие с переливами, то заскучал . Побежать — хищник, в вцепится — и , копыта прочь. Да, смутился, но более , возмутился. Умирать нам отнюдь , а по изложенным выше причинам и надлежит. Но от твари дремучей мастеру смерть принимать неприлично, неудобняк, уважение, хоть малеющее, дóлжно к себе заиметь, мы ведь все же не вовсе , не вовсе . Не отдамся на , стану . поставил на снег, скинул , ободрился. сидит, наблюдает, . Что , , налетай, смел. Уперся, . Достаю из и маню — на- , , голодом, вероятно, сидишь. Волк подкрался, свирепый, хвостом так и машет — — и мою заглотнул. Изловчился я, , ухватил его за ошейник — и ну . Мудрено в таких баланс удерживать, в особенности , ну да опыт накоплен кое-какой, без у нас недели тут не случается. Как сойдемся, , — , по — и давай ближнему увечия причинять. Толку мало, конечно, в подобных стратегиях, однако есть: . изначально упорство выказал, вертелся лишь, как , , но не вынес впоследствии — , завалил, но, ошейник выдерживал, я побегу препятствовал, и валялись мы оба-два дикие все, белесые, . А вдруг моя угасла, рука моя ослабела — утек. И взяла меня , лежу , распаренный — заливной на . И пускай заползает заметь в одежд, пускай — . , где еще и когда выпадает подобное испытать, ну и — хищника перемог. А кому — усомнится: где шкура-то. Черствые мы, , , а в счастье остерегаемся. : , а стрелки́, числом до двенадцати, — труп. Интересно, что у тех носильщиков за срокá стали точно такие же, , да и .я, заваливаюсь в цеха. Там . Где в завелись, где в , а некоторые, не убоясь, себе позволили, . , а одернуть, положительно некому, развелось всемерных — . И тогда, , . и юноши, я призвал, . Вырос и, в частности, : Все мы , и . Взять того же меня. своих матери и отца, с и соответственно, начинал я с того же, но после судьба моя и , меняется вкруть. в различные осваиваю — . В результате , в итоге их, прибываю сюда и зачисляюсь в эту артель. Предстою я тут перед вами, . Пусть нагрянет к нам завтра в обед , и картавая: . Но выше имени, чем скромное прозывание русского -речного точильщика. И если мне голос — да брось ты свои , , , то отвечу: бриться. Но не завидуйте, что снаружи могуч и , — я внутри прямо нежный. И , железы ль — я их, а меня — по грусть. женщина, не изживешь ни за что. Но не . Не у всех ли свои постоянные, но на медок потягивает к , к , ко греху. Знаю, своих привычных жалеете , тел и натур ваших они крепясь переносят. Но возлюбили также и , и лю́бите беззаветно, которая вам никто, и . , но пока , потому что и я же хорош, сам не лучше — . Так не , и . В те периоды возникали различные типа . Извинялись — , а в действительности — на . И они заодно разведывали: ? Господá, я в неведеньи, вот — да, его били, . , сорвав приличный аплодисмент. артель — восхожу, , в . Тоска по домашней гнала под приютный , . Что я понял, бродя, — через что все устроено? Ничего я не понял, бродя, в том числе через что все устроено. Вижу только — есть , , она — , а ты — натуральный , и — но ты ее. Помните случай: — рисунок такой? Я тоже притек, , воспользовалась моим обстоятельством. После чего примирились, , раздобрившись, напекла, а там и . Едва , выскакиваю в — , а оставил их тут , в огуречной , крышкой даже прикрыл. Их держать тут привык — ее с костылями в не велит: , подтирай за вами ходи. А сами нá пол лущите. Вас я не спросила, чего мне лущить, не я здесь жиличка у вас, но вы. Поглядел на крыльце — аналогия. на тогда разогревала уже. Друг мой, я женщине этой , отчего вы мои в печь отправили в угоду огню негасимому? Ой, вы сами не знаете что, . В таком разе , я заключил. вам, глумилась, ведь упреждала, чтоб с вечера не , — , вот и . Нет, это вам , пипетка вы этакая, это вы заставляли в тамбуре их оставлять, значит обязаны отныне Илью повсюду на санках возить, новую пару приобрести я лично не усматриваю накоплений, а хватит ли у вас сил с убогим возиться, не хватит ли — никого не касается, а на которых рассчитываете выгуливать, и вовсе не беспокоит. . В же день я у ворот и называемую — . . Дана гражданину в том, что его в связи с тем, что того-то числа , а возвращены ему будут вряд ли бы; егеря. И я — волк. Доезжачий — . И пошла у нас . Она шла и идет, а . . Чем еще увлечен я? С , ей вспоминаю . . — колокольчиком. Еще прошлое —
А изобрази на прощанье чего-нибудь, разъездной горевал, заделай нашу,
колес. Карусель : .
И находила на в том же ритме удачная мысль, что, , и так далее. . И мотало на стрелках. До упаду
: завалился на полку — и храповицкого. Снял
я, значит, с него высокие меховые, бросил на добрую в заплечный мешок, добрал, что оставалось в , — , и приветствую в тамбуре моряка: на , до маменьки? Вышло, говорит, у нас в нижеследующее . Плавали на два , два — второй
и первый, и . Но ведь когда
второй из лучших соображений привязанности к
первого подбросил ему в какое-то нехорошее вещество
и ушел, то шли они как раз в , на . , он — и готово дело.
Значит, когда он врубил поддув и посунул свой . . Тут
заскакивает в тот ему: вот,
, имеем аварию, наши со всеми их — . Дать , братишка над ним , только
чем ты ее, , желал бы я знать, прихватить имеешь в виду? Я посмотрел, говорит, а — , — как отрезало. И я, говорит, сказал тогда —
говоря, ты после этого, а не матрос — и мать твоя .
Despite its many oddities, Between Dog and Wolf features a strict, formal structure: eight prose chapters from the perspective of the itinerant grinder Ilya Zynzyrella; five prose chapters that concern the life and thoughts of the dog-keeper Yakov Palamakhterov; four chapters consisting of 36 poems written by Yakov; and a final chapter made up of a single, separate poem, again authored by Yakov. As Alexander Boguslawski writes, the chapters follow this pattern: ABCABACABACABACBAC (“How Sokolov’s” 205). Elena Kravchenko argues that, in opposition to the visual leanings of the chapters associated with Yakov, Ilya’s chapters “may become less impenetrable if received aurally, which will make its language play come ‘alive’. […] The unmistakable focus in Il’ia’s skaz on oral culture — through numerous allusions to fairy tales and epics — and language, especially its aural qualities illuminated through paronomasia, is juxtaposed with the literariness and visuality of the prose and verse fragments” (The Prose 80).