frog,
there bedspread somewhere run off....
somehow [officers] looked and counted: Kolya has served for a long time,
he's almost a private and it is needed to respect him somehow. He is man, after all.
And he was given a vacation.
Then our ship was standing near some village.
He went there and returned in the evening with a big bag.
He joyfully opened this bag threw out on the deck we had scrubbed
dead dog without head.
Huge dog. Already dead-stiff.
With a tail. When we saw this dog in our cockpit...
we said to Kolya right away.
What and how we said to Kolya I can't tell just now.
General idea went like this:
Kolya...
We're rather ???
It's not pleasant for us to look at this dog and
to look at you along with it.
Take it and bring it away,
just very fast!
But Kolya doesn't let go of the dog.
And it's can be seen it is so important for him
and, also, we have offended his best feelings,
he was supposed to say something to us but didn't have
the time because we began talking that way.
And it was clear if to take this dog and throw over board...
his life wasn't very pleasant until now
and after it will be impossible to understand how is he supposed to live.
I sat beside him and asked:
Kolya...
what does that mean?
He says: I wanted to make you a surprise.
I say: you have made it!
Now explain.
The he said that next day some important korean festivity
is due to take place, I don't remember the name.
And on this festivity dog must be cooked.
He, Kolya, knows how you cook this dog
he has killed appropriate dog, young one,
and killed it appropriate way,
it was clean, good, with a collar.
That is, it hadn't drank dirty water from gutters and ate from the street.
That is, it's possible to eat it.
It was clear it was so important for him. I said:
Oh, such festivity! Sure, cook it.
I remember, we sat in the night in caboose of our ship.
There was Kolya, our cook, an uzbek who was called Abror and
who didn't care about anything, and myself.
We were sitting and eating the dog.
Kolya had prepared souce. I teared off piece of dog meat with a fork,
dipped it in souce, put it in my mouth,
chewed and swallowed it.
And I began to listen into myself.
Well, there's a piece of god somewhere here in my stomach.
But this dog had wet nose.
It waggled its tail...
It had some name...
And now some little girl can't fall asleep...
And her parents [stroke] over the bedspread...
And sooth her: we will find it, we will...
In the morning girl will write in her childish handwriting:
Please, help to find my dog, it is very good dog.
She will stick it somewhere near grocery store, bus stop, somewhere else,
well, there where she lives.
Or some old woman in her kitchen...
She's sitting, crying, running to the window, looking outside,
turning off the light and looking out. Then on every noise
she opens the door and calls out...Sharik! or...
then she returns to kitchen, to table and looks at bowl near the fridge,
there's left some water dog didn't drink in the morning.
But I am sitting and eating dog.
And I like the taste.
Because Kolya [has prepared] good souce for Sharik...
It's even not the main idea. I understand I won't
be eating dog anytime else.
Not in the sense of: dog...
But in the sense: during night, in caboose of battleship,
together with Kolya and our cook...
I remember very cleary how last morning of my service in the fleet came.
I was waiting for it so much!
I was waiting for it so much! I counted the days.
I crossed out days in calendar.
I crossed out day with a cross, then over diagonals
and there was a snowflake.
Blue. Well, pen had blue ink. It was blue snowflake from a day.
Then I filled all this and there was blue square
out of day that had ended.
Then all month got crossed out like that.
Then, gradually, whole year.
And I was happy parting with calendar and starting new one.
I was waiting for this morning so much!
I though I wouldn't even by able to fall