The all-knowing Literaguru presents to your attention a summary of the story of Alexander Kuprin's “White Poodle”, which contained a description of the most important events of the work. You may need this retelling to work on an exam or lesson.
The story of the book originates on the Black Sea, where an elderly organ grinder, Martyn Lodyzhkin, a teenager of twelve years old Seryozha and a white trained poodle Arto travel. Trinity earns by playing performances in front of wealthy vacationers in a holiday village. The performances look like this: the old man plays the barrel organ, the guy shows acrobatic numbers, the poodle dances on his hind legs, performs different commands, and then goes around the audience with a cap in his teeth and collects alms. The boy’s story is rather sad: Martyn simply bought him from his father’s drunkard for three rubles a month. But soon the drunkard died and the boy stayed with the old man, as he became very attached to him.
I must say that the work of the stray artists was not going very well: they were quickly expelled from some houses, they were not allowed to go to others at all, in the third the servants answered that the gentlemen had not arrived yet. Sometimes, only after hearing music from an old barrel organ, the trios drove away. At those dachas where they still managed to perform, they paid very little. At one of the cottages, one rich lady watched the performance to the end, and then began to question Sergey for a long time and in detail where he came from, who he had to Martyn and who taught him acrobatic tricks. Then the rich lady left for a quarter of an hour at the house, and the boy and the old man began to hope that the lady would give them something of clothing or food, but their hopes were not fulfilled - the lady carried out only the old shabby, leaky dime. This offended the old organ grinder and he did not take alms, but only threw him onto the road.
After that, the trio ends up in a country house called “Friendship,” where a strange scene unfolds in front of them: a richly dressed boy of about nine to ten runs around the yard, and behind him a whole crowd of adults - a nanny, the boy’s mother, some well-dressed gentleman, footman and governess. Finally, the boy fell into the grass, started screaming, howling, waving his arms. Sergei was frightened that the boy would probably be beaten now, but the old man only laughed and said that such boys would not be whipped, unless they themselves could be chopped. This one seems blissful. As it turned out, the boy was hysterical because he did not want to drink the medicine. A decent-looking gentleman who ran after him in the yard was a doctor. Meanwhile, the blessed one continued to beat with his hands and feet on the ground, striving to hit the servants who were laughing near him, however, everything managed to dodge. His mother tried to bribe him - she offered a live horse, a live donkey, twenty gold, if only he would drink the medicine.
Martyn decided to try his luck and thought that perhaps playing the barrel organ would calm and distract the boy's attention, and began to play. But the lady ordered to drive them away, God forbid, they will upset Tilly even more (that’s the name of the boy) and the artists immediately began to drive them from the yard. But before the artists reached the gate, Tilly shouted that he wanted a dog. The lady immediately ordered the trinity to be returned back to the courtyard.
The artists began their usual performance and the boy really calmed down and looked with interest, like all the other servants, nannies and other participants in the scene. When the performance ended, the lady, the boy’s mother, pulled out a purse and an old organ-grinder
told Seryozha that at last they would be paid with dignity - probably no less than a ruble. But Tilly suddenly started screaming again that he wanted a dog. His mother thought that perhaps the boy simply wants to stroke the poodle and ordered him to be led, but it turned out that her son still wanted the dog for good. Then she turned to Lodyzhkin and asked him how much he wants money for a poodle, but he did not immediately understand the question and replied that it was not a pity. The lady began to get angry, and called him stupid - they say he does not understand his happiness, this is a chance to get a fortune for the dog. She offers the old man four hundred rubles - this is a mountain of money for such poor people as the old organ grinder. Then, finally, the old man understood what was going on, and proudly straightening his back, he replied that the dog was not for sale. The spoiled boy continued to cry and rage, and the lady again ordered the trinity to be driven from the dacha. This time the janitor successfully puts them out the door, promising to beat them if he sees here again.
When the old man and the boy were on the street, they laughed. Seryozha even made fun of his grandfather that he really could predict everything - they received both clothes from that lady and a ruble from this one. Having thrown out their emotions, the artists went to the seashore, but on the way they were again caught up by the janitor and again offered unthinkable money for the dog. The janitor said that the boy’s father is a millionaire and that he’s never really been denied anything, which the old man asks with a grin, and what will happen when the wretch asks for the moon from heaven? But the janitor still does not let up, and says that the old man can easily find another puppy and quickly teach him the same tricks, and with the money from the lady he can open his own shop and no longer live in poverty. The old organ grinder in response asks the janitor if he agrees to sell him his friend or brother, for the same unthinkable wealth. He sends the janitor back to the lady with the words "not everything is sold, what is bought." The janitor during the conversation feeds Arto sausage, and tries to establish contact with the dog, but the old man pulls him. After the caretaker leaves, the trinity goes to rest to the sea.
After swimming in the sea, Martyn, Seryozha and Artaud eat and go to bed. At night, through a dream, the old man hears the growl of a poodle, but does not get up to check what is the matter. Later, Sergey wakes him up with the news that the dog was stolen. Martyn and Serezha follow in the footsteps of thieves and find on the way a piece of the same sausage that the janitor fed Arto earlier, and they understand who stole the poodle. Seryozha suggests going to that country house and demanding the dog back, and otherwise file a complaint with the justice of the peace. But the old man says that it is impossible for the judge to complain, because he does not travel under his own name, he has other people's documents that are not yet known to which criminal belong. He lost his documents, and his real name is Ivan Dudkin. Not knowing what to do in this situation, the travelers went towards the Druzhba cottage, but there was nobody in the yard. They wait for some time and leave, spend a day in the city, spend the night in a Turkish eatery. The next night, Seryozha decides to go to Friendship again, but this time he is more determined and climbs over the fence. He understands that the dog is specially hidden, and not in the house, from where the barking will be heard well, but somewhere further, possibly in the basement. He walks around the house and really hears Arto barking from the basement, which wakes the janitor sleeping there. He screamed at the dog, and then, judging by the sound, he hit the dog. Seryozha could not stand it and shouted to the janitor in response, so that he would not dare touch Arto. A frightened janitor ran out of the basement, forgetting to close the door behind him, and Arto followed with a gnawed rope around his neck.
Then Seryozha and the dog began to run as fast as they were, frantically looking for a way out of a large territory of the summer cottage. Finally, they reach the wall, which Seryozha does not seem too high, and he successfully throws Arto through it, and then jumps himself. The janitor fails to catch up with them. The couple successfully returns to the coffee house, and the guy does not want to wake up the old man to tell the good news, but the joyful poodle does this by licking the face of his master.