Dogs' Happiness Page #3

"Dogs' Happiness" is a poignant novella by Aleksandr Kuprin that explores the simple yet profound joys of canine life. Through the eyes of a stray dog, the narrative delves into themes of loyalty, freedom, and the unfiltered happiness found in companionship and nature. Kuprin's vivid storytelling captures the essence of the bond between humans and dogs, while reflecting on broader existential themes. The tale is a celebration of the genuine joys of life, viewed through the lens of a creature who embodies unconditional love and innocence.

• Novel

								


"He'd share it, of course he would!" agreed all the listeners.

"H'm," coughed the dog doubtfully.

"And besides that, people are wicked. Who could ever say that one dog
would kill another--on account of love or envy or malice? We bite one
another sometimes, that's true. But we don't take each other's lives."

"No, indeed we don't," they all affirmed.

"And more than this," went on the white poodle. "Could one dog make up
his mind not to allow another dog to breathe the fresh air, or to be
free to express his thoughts as to the arrangements for the happiness
of dogs? But men do this."

"Devil take them!" put in the mouse-coloured dog energetically.

"And, in conclusion, I say that men are hypocrites; they envy one
another, they lie, they are inhospitable, cruel.... And yet they rule
over us, and will continue to do so ... because it's arranged like
that. It is impossible for us to free ourselves from their authority.
All the life of dogs, and all their happiness, is in the hands of men.
In our present position each one of us, who has a good master, ought
to thank Fate. Only a master can free us from the pleasure of eating a
comrade's flesh, and of imagining that comrade's feelings when he was
being skinned alive."

The professor's speech reduced the whole company to a state of
melancholy. No other dog could utter a word. They all shivered
helplessly, and shook with the joltings of the cart. The big dog whined
piteously. Bouton, who was standing next to him, pressed his own body
softly up against him.

But soon they felt that the wheels of the cart were passing over sand.
In five minutes more they were driven through wide open gates, and they
found themselves in the middle of an immense courtyard surrounded by a
close paling. Sharp nails were sticking out at the top of the paling.
Two hundred dogs, lean and dirty, with drooping tails and a look of
melancholy on their faces, wandered about the yard.

The doors of the cage were flung open. All the seven new-comers came
forth and instinctively stood together in one group.

"Here, you professor, how do you feel now?" The poodle heard a bark
behind him.

He turned round and saw the violet-coloured dog smiling insolently at
him.

"Oh, leave me alone," growled the old poodle. "It's no business of
yours."

"I only made a remark," said the other. "You spoke such words of wisdom
in the cart, but you made one mistake. Yes, you did."

"Get away, devil take you! What mistake?"

"About a dog's happiness. If you like, I'll show you in whose hands a
dog's happiness lies."

And suddenly pressing back his ears and extending his tail, the
violet dog set out on such a mad career that the old professor of
equilibristics could only stand and watch him with open mouth.

"Catch him! Stop him!" shouted the keepers, flinging themselves in
pursuit of the escaping dog. But the violet dog had already gained the
paling. With one bound he sprang up from the ground and found himself
at the top, hanging on by his fore-paws. And in two more convulsive
springs he had leaped over the paling, leaving on the nails a good half
of his side.

The old white poodle gazed after him for a long time. He understood the
mistake he had made.
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