Summary of the White Poodle. A simple story, touching to the core

Before describing the short content of the "White Poodle", it is necessary to get acquainted with the protagonists of the work. In the center of the narrative is a small wandering troupe consisting of only three members. The oldest member is grandfather Martyn Lodyzhkin, an organ grinder. Martyn consistently accompanies the 12-year-old acrobat Seryozha, a goldfinch, trained to pull out from the special box colorful leaves with predictions, and white, trimmed like a lion, a poodle named Arto.

Acquaintance with the characters

Sharmanka was almost the only material wealth of Martyn. Although the instrument has long been unusable, and the only two melodies that he was able to reproduce somehow (the dull German Launer waltz, and also the gallop from "Journey to China") were in vogue thirty or forty years ago, Martyn treasured it. Sharmanshchik tried to hand over the barrel organ for repairs, but everywhere he was told that it was better to put such an ancient thing in a museum. However, Seryozha Martin often repeats that the barrel organ has been feeding them for many years, and will continue to feed them.

As much as his instrument, the organ-grinder loved, perhaps, only his eternal companions, Seryozha and Artaud. The boy appeared in his life unexpectedly: five years before the beginning of the story, Martyn took him from a swindler, a widowed shoemaker, "rented", and paid two rubles a month for this. However, soon the shoemaker died, and the boy remained connected with his grandfather and soul, and household chores.

The summary of the White Poodle begins on a hot summer day. The troupe travels around the Crimea hoping to earn some kopeck money. On the way, Martyn, who has already seen many things in his lifetime, tells Seryozha about unusual phenomena and people. The boy himself with pleasure listens to the old man, and does not cease to admire the rich and diverse Crimean nature.

Attempts to earn

However, the day did not ask our heroes: from some places the owners drove them away, while in others the servants came out and said that the owners were not present for the time being. Lodyzhkin, a good-natured and modest man, rejoiced, even when he was paid a little. And even if he was driven, did not start to grumble. But one magnificent, beautiful and seemingly very kind lady managed to get the old man out of herself. She listened for a long time to the sounds of the barrel organ, looked at the acrobatic numbers that showed Seryozha, asked questions about the life of the troupe, and then asked to wait and retired to the rooms. For a long time the lady did not appear, and the artists already began to hope that she would give them something of clothes or shoes. But in the end she just threw the old, erased from both sides, in addition to the hat of Seryozha, moreover, and a hole dime, and immediately retired. Lodyzhkin was extremely outraged that he was considered a walker who could drop such a coin to someone at night. The old man throws an unusable coin with pride and indignation, which falls directly into the road dust.

Already desperate to earn something, the characters stumble upon the dacha "Friendship." Martyn is surprised: he has visited these regions more than once, but the house was always empty. However, now the old organ-grinder senses that they are lucky here, and sends Seryozha forward.

Acquaintance with the inhabitants of the dacha "Friendship"

Describing the short content of the "White Poodle", we should say more about several characters. The characters were only prepared to perform, when suddenly a boy in a sailor suit flew out of the house, and six adults followed him. There was complete turmoil, people shouted something - it was immediately clear that the cause of the servants and gentlemen's anxiety was the very boy. All six tried to persuade the boy to drink medicine in different ways, but neither the reasonable speeches of the gentleman in gold glasses, nor the mother's mourning, nor the cries did not help the cause.

Martyn told Seryozha not to pay attention to the events and start performing. The fake hoarse notes of an old canter began to be heard in the garden near the dacha. The hosts and servants rushed to drive away the uninvited guests. However, here again, a boy in a sailor's suit (it turned out that his name is Trilly) reminded himself that he did not want the beggars to leave. His mother, not stopping to lament, orders to fulfill the wish of his son.

The performance took place. Arto carried in his hat the hat of Martyn, so that the owners rewarded the artists. But here the short content of the "White Poodle" again takes an unexpected turn: Trilly begins to demand a dog with a squeaky voice. Adults call Lodyzhkin and try to bargain with him, but the old man proudly declares that the dog is not for sale. The hosts continue to insist, Trilly bursts into hysterical cries, but Martyn, despite everything, does not give up. As a result, the whole troupe is driven out of the yard.

The mistress orders Arto to lead

Finally, the characters get to the sea and with pleasure bathe in the cool water, washing off sweat and road dust. Having got ashore, they notice that the same janitor from the "Druzhba" dacha is approaching them, which only a quarter of an hour ago drove them into the neck.

It turned out that the lady sent a janitor to buy Artaud for any price - the boy did not stop. Lodyzhkin several times repeats to him that he will never give back to the faithful dog. Then the janitor tries to bribe the animal with sausage, but Arto does not think to leave with a stranger. Martyn says that the dog is his friend, but does not sell friends. Despite the fact that the frail and weak old man can barely stand on his feet, he emits pride and dignity. Heroes collect their modest belongings and leave the shore. The janitor, however, remains standing in the same place and looks after them thoughtfully.

Further Kuprin's story "The White Poodle" leads us to a secluded place near a clean brook. Here the heroes stop to have breakfast and get drunk. Summer heat, a recent bath and a meal, even if modest, thawed the artists and they lay down to sleep right under the open sky. Before finally falling into a dream, Martyn dreams of how his young friend will eventually become famous and will perform in one of the magnificent circuses in some big city - Kiev, Kharkov or, say, Odessa. Through the sleep, the old man had time to hear Arto growl at someone or something, but then the doorman finally took over the organ grinder.

When the characters woke up, the dog was nowhere to be found. The old man and the boy began vying to call their faithful four-footed friend, but Arto did not respond. Suddenly, the old man found on the road a half-eaten piece of sausage, and beside him - dog tracks leaving into the distance. Heroes understand what happened.

Hope disappears

Seryozha is ready to rush into battle, to sue, that Artaud is returned. However, Martin sighs heavily and says that it is impossible - the owners of the dacha "Friendship" have already asked if he has a passport. His Martyn long ago lost, and when he realized that trying to return the document is useless, took advantage of the offer of a friend and made himself a fake passport. The organ-grinder himself is not a philistine Martyn Lodyzhkin, but an ordinary peasant, Ivan Dudkin. In addition, the old man is afraid that someone Lodyzhkin may be a criminal - a thief, a runaway convict or even a murderer. And then a fake passport will bring even more problems.

The actors did not perform that day. Despite his young age, Seryozha understood perfectly well how many problems a foreign "passport" can bring (this is how the old man pronounced this word). Therefore, neither about addressing the world, nor about the search, Artaud did not stutter. However, the impression was created that the boy was deliberately thinking about something.

Without speculation, the heroes once again pass by the ill-fated dacha. But the gates of Friendship are tightly closed, and no sound comes from the yard.

Seryozha takes the situation into his own hands

At night the heroes stopped in some dirty coffee, where, besides them, the Greeks, Turks and several Russian workers spent the night. When everyone fell asleep, the boy got out of bed and persuaded the owner of the coffee house, Turk Ibrahim, to release him. Under the cover of darkness he left the city, reached the "Friendship" and began climbing over the fence. However, the boy did not manage to stay. He fell and was afraid to move, fearing that now there would be a stir, the janitor would run out. For a long time Seryozha wandered around the garden and around the house. He began to feel that he not only would not be able to find the right Artoshka, but he himself would never get out of here. Suddenly he heard a soft muffled squeak. In a whisper, he called his beloved dog, and he answered him with a loud barking. Simultaneously with a joyful greeting in this bark was heard and anger, and a complaint, and a sense of physical pain. The dog struggled to get rid of something that kept him in the dark basement. With great difficulty, friends managed to tear themselves away from the wiper who had woken up and was furious.

Back in the coffee, Sergei almost immediately fell asleep soundly, without even having time to tell the old man about his nightly adventures. But now everything was fine: Kuprin's work "White Poodle" ends with the fact that the troupe, as in the very beginning, is assembled.