"M. Gorky Central Film Studio" "WHITE BIM, BLACK EAR" "Based on the story by Gavriil Troyepolsky" "Starring" "Vyacheslav Tikhonov" "V. Vladimirova, M. Dadyko I. Ryzhov, I. Shevchuk" "M. Zimin, G. Kochkozharov R. Manukovskaya, M. Skvortsova" "A. Barantsev, V. Leonov L. Sokolova, A. Chernov" "D. Barkov, R. Ryazanova G. Svetlani, V. Sergiyenko" "Music by Andrei Petrov Sound by Igor Strokanov" "Production Designer Sergey Serebrenikov" "Director of Photography Vyacheslav Shumsky" "Written and Directed by Stanislav Rostotsky" "Bim!" "Why are you looking?" "I'll be back soon." "Stay, Lada!" "Stay!" "Oh, Ivan Ivanych!" "Come on in!" " You were about to leave." " Never mind, it can wait." " How are you?" " Fine." "Come in." "Thank you." "Come in and pick your choice." "There they are." "Lada, what's the matter?" "Good dog." "I don't mean any harm to you." "Don't be angry." "Lada, behave yourself!" " They take after father and mother." " Pure breed." " Yeah..." " Can't find any fault with them." "The elite." "Lada!" "Behave!" "She feels what I came for, that's why she's nervous." "Lada!" "Calm down." "No!" "No!" "I'll have to take her out." "Come on, as long as you don't behave." "Stop it!" "Aren't you ashamed?" "Take your time while I'll put her on a leash." "Come here." "You said she had seven." "Right." "I've already given away 3, with 4 left." "Ah..." "I see." "Stop it, Lada!" "No!" "I'll be right with you." "That's it, Lada." "Don't strain." "Have some milk." "Calm down." "He managed to get out." "I should've drowned him right away." "All the signs of degeneration." "The damned albino!" "How did he come about?" "Sometimes they're born yellow, but this happens once in a 100 years." "Disgracing all his forebears." "My wife wouldn't have him drowned, and now it's too late." "We have to rid of him some other way." "Don't tell anyone, or the parents will be ruined." "I'll put him to sleep." "What else can I do?" "If it gets known, no one will take the puppies." "It makes me sick just to look at him." "Go away!" "I advise you to take this one." "Hasn't he got a fine coloring?" "Take any of the four." "They'll all be medalists." "I guarantee it." "Bim!" "It's me." "Oh-oh-oh..." "How do you like that!" "Who did it?" "Whose doing is that?" "Tut-tut!" "You rascal!" "We got no one to clean here." "And it's hard for me to stoop." "Where're you?" "Come here!" "Where're you?" "Come on, come here." "Let's talk." "Look for yourself..." "You've torn the Bible for Believers and Non believers." "Never touch books." "Not books." "Listen to me, Bim!" "Never touch books, or else!" "You get it." "Shame on you!" "Shame on you!" "So you were interested in feathers." "It's a pillow, not a grouse." "Oh, you've come to help me?" "Go ahead." "Good boy!" "Thank you." "Hey!" "No!" "Stop it!" "Are you interested in my biography?" "Hello there!" "You feel lonely?" "I'm doing it for you." "Or you won't be let in a nice society." "All right, take it easy." "Listen to what I found in Sabaneyev's." "Given the fact that the Setter originated from an ancient breed of hunting dogs, it is not surprising that Setters perhaps represent the most cultured, intelligent breed." "That's right." "Let's go on." "Red Setters were also bred by the court doctor Bers." "He crossed one of the bitches with the Emperor's Black Setter." "I don't know what the puppies were like and where they went." "But one of them was raised by Count Leo Tolstoy." "You see, if you got your black ear from the Emperor's dog..." "All right, let's forget about the Emperor." "Then you may come from the dog ofthe world's greatest author!" "Go to sleep!" "Sleep!" "Everything will be all right." "Everything will be all right." "Search, Bim!" "Why are you standing?" "Search!" "You worked well today." "Only you must lie down when a bird flies up, and you get excited and carried away." "You shouldn't." "You might get shot." "We'll get a pedigree certificate and medals." "Who else should get them if not you?" "You'll see." "You're a dog with an amazing scent." " Am I intruding?" " No." "Now you made it clear to me." "I often see you in the meadows." "You look like a hunter, but you have no gun." "So it's all for his sake." "For him to live up to what he's destined for." "Just imagine, as soon as he scents a bird he gets like dead." "Yes!" "I'd love to have one like him scenting fish." "He must be very purebred." "Is he?" "He is." " But not everything's right with him." " Why not?" "His coloring should be black with reddish dapples." "And he's not that at all." "His coloring isn't typical." "The sign of degeneration." "They might not give us the documents." "And deprive him of all his dog's rights." "So if he was like everybody else, then it would be all right." "But once he has his own looks, it means he's bad?" "This is not right." "Bim and I also think so." " What about your fishing?" " Ah!" "Forget it." "You look around... and you fell better." "Everything has its use, everything's forjoy." "As with him: his legs, his ears, his nose." "With your nose, we'll be all right." "Others will be jealous ofyou." "Only don't you cock it." " Well, I must be going." " Good luck to you." "It's better to be not alone." "There's someone to talk to." "Sometimes I feel like it was only yesterday." "At other times it seems to have been long ago." "I didn't notice how our first summer had passed." "Bim got to know my duties and my habits." "We were looking forward to the fall." "And, at last, it arrived." "Hurry up, folks!" "Hurry!" "The bus is leaving." "Go on." "Don't be afraid, the dog's kind." "Sit!" " Dogs are not allowed on the bus." " Why not?" "So according to regulations... get out!" " Why are they not allowed?" " Just like that." " You're inventing it!" " I'm not!" " I won't go." " We waited half an hour for you." "Get ready your ticket money." "I said I won't go until you get out!" " What am I to do?" " How should I know?" "I'll pay you." "Get in, pop." "I'm not supposed to." "Otradnoye stop!" "Get off, folks!" "Don't forget your stuff!" "Thank you for your attention." " You know what you are, moonlighter?" " Get off!" "You are a parasite!" "I can deliver you to the commandant's." "I've got a whistle." "Go ahead, whistle!" "You whistler!" "You shouldn't have paid him." "He had no right to do it." " Good luck to you, guys!" " Goodbye." "Let's take a rest." "Can you imagine?" "I offered a bribe." "You don't care." "But what about me?" "It makes no difference if it's a ruble for a small thing or 20 for a big one, or 1000 for a major one." "It's a shame all the same." "As if selling my conscience by little bits." "You don't understand, Bim, that these pieces of paper and your conscience are sometimes directly correlated." "Hello, Trofimych!" "Oh!" "Ivan lvanych!" "Good evening!" " I wondered who could it be so late?" " Will you take me in for the night?" "A good man is always welcome here." "Here's some potatoes." "You've got some poor trophies." "You shot only one bird?" " Bim roused three more." " What?" "Did you miss?" "I guess I'm getting old." "I hate to kill game." "But if I don't shoot, I'll spoil the dog." "You got a beautiful dog." "His coloring is not standard." "I'm afraid we won't get the certificate." "Doesn't he obey?" "He obeys all right." "You won't find many clever dogs like him." "Look at him fawning." "You speak well of him and he's fawning." "Go to your place." "I guess life is more cheerful now, with him beside you." "That's right, more cheerful." "Eat, my dears, help yourself." "About killing." "You're right." "We've had our fill of killing." "Remember the instruction to kill magpies?" "A harmful bird." "And kites, too." "Yes, I remember." "Then a new edict: they're not enemies and killing them is prohibited." "And what about the wolves?" "We've annihilated almost all ofthem." "And another news: kill crows, because they ravage nests." "And how many birds I found who died of poisons poured in the soil!" "They tried to save the soil from pests and killed birds instead." "Killing birds means killing the forest." "The forest can't live without birds." "And who is to blame?" "Lump it all on the gray crow." "Now they got alarmed and passed a law and all kinds of edicts for the living creatures to breathe more easily." "Only each man has to have his own responsibility in this matter." "His heart should bleed for it." "Because nature means life, and life means nature." "They can't live without each other." "And everyone should know it since early years." "No matter ifyou become a minister or a ploughman." " Why don't you write about it?" " You talk some rubbish, old man." "No, he's right." "Only we must write about it in time, not after the event." "Right." "It's easy to be bold after the event." "Eat, my dears." "And the certificate should be given on the merit, not on the coloring." "Don't lose heart." "A clever dog will prove itself." " You better go, your hanger-on's here." " I'm coming." "It's an elk cub." "His mother was shot, so we're rearing him." "Coming, coming." "Here." "Come with me." "Come here." "Come on." "Here!" "Good boy!" "Don't be in a hurry." " Here, it's a present for you." " You shouldn't, Petrovna!" "Thank you." "Enjoy it." "Goodbye." " Let's go, Bim." " He can't wait." "Go on, run!" "Go!" "Why are you looking?" "Nobody's perfect." "What happened?" "Oh!" "It's a hedgehog, Bim." "It's a useful creature." "No!" "He's the enemy of bad insects." "You won't scare him." "He's bold." "Not even afraid of snakes." "Let's go." "Learned people say you see everything in gray." "That's too bad." "But cheer up." "In the first place, they may be wrong." "And in the second, it means you got your own point of view." "Today we had a happy day." "Those were truly happy days." "Winter came." "We were ready for the first exam and were waiting for the summer." "We didn't know that we were in for much more serious trials than the recognition of Bim's hunting skills." "We couldn't even imagine how many unexpected friends and enemies we would meet in the future." "Bim?" "Hi!" "Why are you sitting here?" "Have you got lost?" "Show me where's your home." "Come on, show me." "I'm coming." "You mean, here?" "Well, go in." "Be patient." "Your owner will open up now, and I have to go." "Come in!" "Why don't you come in, Bim?" "Good afternoon!" "I thought he got lost." "And he led me here." " Come in!" " No, I don't want to disturb you." "Come in, we'll be glad if you do." "I don't feel well." "So he has to go out alone." "Aren't you afraid?" "Bim doesn't leave me alone for long." "After he has his walk, he scratches at the door, knowing it will open." "He can't reach up to the doorbell." "That's how he announces himself." "He's learned that the doors are for everyone to come in." "You just have to ask, and you'll be let in." "I wish it was so." " What's wrong with you?" "A flu?" " No." "It's my heart..." "Old wounds." "Old wounds is an asset, of course, but they're no fun." "Right." "And where's your missus?" "I see you manage on your own." "She's gone..." "It's been three years." "I'm sorry..." "I didn't mean..." "It's too bad..." "How about his rights?" "Have they recognized them or not?" "We'll know next summer." "At the exhibition." "Your attention, please!" "Scottish setters are called to the ring." "Male dog youngest age group." "Please come to the ring." "Start moving in the ring." "Keep your distance!" "Follow your prescribed number." " You can begin." " Thank you." "Change to number five." " What kind of wonder is that?" " Something unprecedented." "From Bets and Lada." "Three of his brothers are here, too." " It's unbelievable!" " An albino." " I've never seen anything like that." " He could at least have dyed him." " Just amazing!" " He must be a humorist!" "He'd better choose another place and time for his jokes." " Who is the man?" " He's retired." "After the war." " He's a serious man." " A writer." "Sometimes gets published." "All retired men are writers." "Call him to the table." "Owner of the dog number six, please come to the judges' table." " All my puppies will be rejected now." " Maybe." "If only the judges were from our town, but they have a professor from Moscow." "That white dog is the most beautiful of all." "What are you presenting to us?" "A pure Scottish setter." "His parents are named in the appraising sheet." "But neither father nor mother has any white coloring." " That's right." "But..." " We have no right to appraise him." "Put it away." "But... he has outstanding field qualities." "Maybe." "I'm removing your dog from the ring, because its coloring doesn't meet the requirements of the breed." "You know, Leo Tolstoy had a setter from the red father and black mother, and hence..." "This way anyone can trace the origin of his dog to the great writer's dog." "And thus raise yourself to the level of Tolstoy." "You're right." "We have too many Tolstoys..." "They're turning up in numbers." "What does it mean?" " Ask the outsiders to leave the ring." " All right, Bim." "Let's go." "Unauthorized persons, please leave the ring." "Let's go." "Ivan lvanych, it's nothing personal!" "The dog Bim is being taken off the ring for not meeting the requirements." " Your briefcase." " Why did you bring him here?" "He's the most beautiful dog anyway." "Will you sell him to me?" "Sell me the dog!" "Good for you." "You said it honestly and on principle." "Take it easy." "We shall go on living." "You're a good dog." "Everybody loves such dogs." "Even if you have no pedigree certificate and medals." "Ha!" "Running like crazy." "Dogs all around." "In old times residents wouldn't have put up with this outrage!" "They only spread infection." "And eat food that's in short supply." " Who?" " Who?" "The dogs!" " Hello!" " Hello!" "Jerk!" " He visits her every day." " Perhaps they're in love." "Love!" "ln an individual one-room apartment!" "Of course!" "I bet they couldn't do it in a communal apartment." " No, there's some use in them, too." " In whom?" "I mean the dogs." "Oh!" "What an idea!" "Just look at what's going on." "What are their parents thinking about?" "I would've complained long ago." "What do you mean, some use?" "With an owner like his?" "He lets him run without a muzzle, scaring the children." "He may bite them." " Who?" " Who?" "We're talking about the dog." " You're not very quick-witted." " It's just that I..." "He bit me!" "He bit me!" "What on earth is going on?" "Good people, you're all witnesses!" "No, I'm not going to put up with it!" "Man-eater!" "Pal Titych!" "Pal Titych!" "Tell me, what is this?" "!" "I knew it was going to happen!" " What did you know?" " He bit me, the parasite!" "Hey!" "Bim, what's the matter?" "Who has scared you?" "We'll go to the editorial office now, and tomorrow the hunting season starts." "Come in!" "It's not locked!" " Hi there!" " Good morning." " Going hunting?" " Yes, hunting." " Fox hunting?" " No, we've nothing to do with foxes." "You'll have to wait." "May I ask why?" " Hunting is permitted." " Yes, permitted." "On a limited basis." "Well, let's get to the point." "Sit down!" "You've got a dog." "And I've got a complaint." "Here." "It's some nonsense." "He's never bitten anyone and will not." "Bim is an intelligent dog." "Intelligent!" "He nearly knocked me off my feet once." "A strange way to look into it." "One who is complained about has to read it." "That's the prescribed way." "Besides, the complaint is about a dog." "We won't give it to the dog to read." "The dog has to be fired." "It doesn't have proper documents either." "I checked it." "We should meet the plaintiff and talk to her." "Just a minute." " Where are you?" " I'm here." "Where else?" "Come here." "So much for our hunting." " There she is." " I can tell it right to his face." "There's no law allowing dogs to attack people." "He bit me." " Bit you?" " Wanted to bite." " Wanted to?" " He almost bit me." "Bim, where're you?" "Come here." "The door is open." "Go and close it." "And fetch my slippers." "Hurry up!" "Good." "Now bring the other one." "Thank you." "What do you know!" "Nice doing." "Good for him." "Sit on the chair." "We have guests." "Say hello." " Hi!" "Left one, closer to the heart." " You too." "Come closer." " Tell him: give me your paw." " He won't bite?" "Don't be afraid, he won't." "Say hello." " Give me your paw." " Don't be afraid!" "Bim!" "What's going on?" "What kind of behavior is that?" "!" "Come here!" "He insulted me!" "That lousy dog scorns me, a respectable lady!" "Enough!" "He never bit you and he doesn't even want to know you!" " Stop yelling at me!" " Hush!" "Some respectable lady!" "Go!" "Go!" "I'll go!" "But you will answer for it!" "You will have to remember everything you said here!" "I will make you to!" " You were rather rude to her." " It's the only way to speak to them." "If I let them get out of hand, there'll be anarchy in the house." "Bad resident makes a toilet rumble." " Who is my worst enemy?" " Who?" "Those who don't work." "They may not work but eat a bellyful." "Yes, that's possible." " What do you do, by the way?" " I write." "It's no work." "You just sit doing nothing, yet you're being paid." "Yes, sometimes." "But I live on my pension." "I do, too." "But I work as a housing committee chairman." "Without pay." "I've been at executive posts all my life, but didn't get a special pension." "Writing is not an easy job either." "Writing?" "Everyone can write today." "If you were younger, I would beat some sense into you." "Well, let it be." "If you write the truth, then carry on." "You can even be paid for the truth, but it happens more often that you yourself have to pay for it." "You may stay, Bim, but don't mess with that woman." "Get away!" "Go home!" "What's the matter?" "Quiet!" "Why all this racket, disturbing the working people's rest?" "Open up your eyes!" "This pest bites me again!" "Where are you going?" "Maybe you'll tell us all?" "I know where." "To the market place again, hiking your price triple-wise." "It's Sunday, people want to relax, and you rob them of their last kopeck." "What are you scolding her for?" "Maybe she's joining the hikers." "What is this?" "!" "You're disgracing me before everybody because of that dog!" " I'm going to report you!" " Aren't you ashamed?" "Me ashamed?" "It's you who should be ashamed!" "I'll write about you, too." "Go on, write!" "Authoress!" "Bim, go home." "I told you, don't mess with her." "What are you doing?" "!" "They're laughing." "Very funny." "I'd like to look at you when that beast bites you." "They've never seen a woman before!" "Crawling out of their holes!" "Just you wait!" "He will bite you all!" "Well?" "We go hunting." "Are you glad?" "Let's go." "Or they'll stop us again." "I've been on a lookout for you." " No see, though hunting's permitted." " Yes..." "I thought they deprived him of his rights and took the dog away." "No, it can't happen." "They deprived him of his rights, but not of his responsibilities." "You were hurt?" "Don't worry." "I won't trade you for anything." "Friendship doesn't need any documents." " Go run around." " The paper doesn't mean anything." "What kind of an apparition is that?" "It's not an apparition..." "It's a misfortune." "Where's its owner?" "It has no owner." "Used to have." "All homeless dogs used to have owners." "This shaggy creature lived in a small old wooden house." "It didn't burden anyone, it served as it could." "Then the house was pulled down." "The owners got an apartment with parquet floors." "The dog was turned out." "You know that or you made it up?" "Life made it up, not me." "It's going to perish." "No, I'll take it in." "Come here, come on." "Bim, here!" "Wait!" "Where are you going?" "I'll catch you anyway." "Wait!" "Why are you so angry?" "You can go." "I will catch it." " It won't go with you." " It will." "It doesn't believe people anymore." "Wait, I won't do you any harm." "Let's go." "I feel bad, Bim." "I feel so bad." "The shell fragment moved." "I feel so bad, Bim!" " Come on in." " Who's there?" "The doctors are here." " No, Bim!" "Here!" " Bim dear." " What do we do?" " Bim, come here!" "Calm down." "They're good people." "Don't be afraid, Doctor." "Give me your hand." "There you go." "What a misfortune!" " What's troubling you?" " It's my heart." " A shell fragment." "Since the war." " When was the last attack?" "It's never been that bad." "Never." "Unbutton your shirt." "You need to go to hospital." " Stepanovna!" "Where's Bim?" " He's here." "Hold it, dear." "Get ready." "And hurry up." "There's nothing we can do about it, Bim." "Wait!" "I'll be back soon." "Wait, understand?" "Wait." "Bim, you can't go." "No, you can't go!" "Stay." " Stepanovna, my dear." " Yes, Ivan Ivanych?" " Will you look after Bim?" " All right." "Let him out in the morning." "He'll come back himself." "Wait a second." " I'll do everything." " He'll be waiting for me." " All right, don't worry." " Please." "Get well." "Everything will be all right." "Get well." "Bim, I brought you some porridge." "Here, eat!" "You miss your owner so much!" "It's just unbelievable!" "Then go for a walk, Bim." "Look for something out there." "I guess you like grass, or you'll dig up something in the trash." "Go!" "Search." " What do you want here?" " Leave me alone!" "Why are you bothering me?" "Get away!" "Why did you come here?" "Hey!" "Just look at you!" " Ouch!" "Get away!" "Get away!" " Catch him!" "Petrov, drive him away, or the chiefwill give me hell." "Get out of here!" "There you go." "It's a serious institution." "It's medicine, pal." " Team 3, an emergency call!" " Where're you going?" "Are you still here?" "Go away!" "The address?" "Sadovaya Street, 47." "Will you go away or not?" "!" "I hate working nights." "Then look for some other job." "So you never left?" "That's too bad." "You must be hungry." "Let me share it with you." "Eat!" "Oh, you're in a pretty bad shape." "What happened?" "Tell me." "Here, eat." "Eat it." "You wretched creature!" "Waiting for your owner?" "It's not a hospital, it's an emergency room." "Come on, I'll let you out." "Run home." "Perhaps your owner is waiting for you." "Right." "Good boy!" "Goodbye!" "No, I'm saying the truth." "Run home!" "Coming, Bim!" "I'm opening." "You're here!" "Good dog." "You've come home, poor thing." "Are you hungry?" "I knew it, you found something to eat." "Good for you." "Go to sleep now." "I'll let you out in the morning." "Sleep." "Where are you going?" "!" " Good morning." " Good morning." "What is this?" "A dog in a medical institution?" "!" "Get rid of it immediately!" " Help me, please." " Go home." " Get out!" " Don't beat the dog!" " You managed, didn't you?" " Maybe he'll listen to you?" "Step back." "What if I treat you so...?" "He's waiting for his master." "Your master isn't here." "You must search for him." "Go!" "Come on!" "Search for your master." "Close the gate." "Waiting for your master or you got lost?" "Take the candy." "It's good." " He won't." " We have to unwrap it." "He must be not hungry." "Well now!" "Look what we got!" "Dogs on a thoroughfare!" "ls that your territory?" "Right." "I can see." "You don't see." "He refuses a candy." "They make our life miserable." "So don't live." "Look at you, so emaciated, poor thing." "Are you getting personal?" "!" "What's so funny?" "Get back, I have to work." "I'm speaking to you, dumbbell." "He insulted me again!" "I'm calling the police!" "Go ahead, call them!" " I'll show you!" " Scaring me with police." " Officer!" " Yes?" " And you, wait." "Your master will come." " He didn't persuade the policeman." "Natasha, what are you doing?" "!" " Where's the police?" " You'll see." "Don't touch him!" "He may be contagious." "It's really outrageous!" "With all the flues and infections around!" "A walking infection sitting next to the young generation." "Not every dog is infectious." "Look what a nice dog he is." "What barbarity!" "We fight it, give lectures." "What ignorance!" " Are you so sure?" " You yourself an infection!" "Yes, barbarity!" "He bit me, too!" "I even bled!" "I was disabled for a whole month." "No way!" "Where did he bite you?" "Show us." "You whippersnapper!" "They educate you in college, you vermin, and what are you saying to a respectable woman?" "Where's our country going?" "If you could only see yourself from the outside." " Who gave you the right to insult me?" " Police!" "Call the police." " Good afternoon." "Who shouted?" " She did." "Why don't you watch?" "Dogs at a street crossing of a regional center!" " And wild pithecanthropuses." " He's swearing, unafraid of jail." " Wait." "You insulted me." " Don't go yet." "Any witnesses?" "What's up?" "That student guy wouldn't go to the police station." "Them two want, but he ain't." "Resisting the police." " He must go if they take him." " Take him to the station." "What shall we do with you?" "Whom are you waiting for?" "Your owner?" "They're all like that." "We educate them on our money, and they insult us." "Oh!" "There he is!" "Speaking of the devil!" "The main culprit!" "It was all because of him." "It's good of you to bring him." "He came here himself." "He's a clever dog." "Clever." "How can you say such things about beasts?" "He and I, we saw everything." "That boy is not guilty." "What?" "I can't even pronounce what he called me." " It's a stray dog." "Should be poisoned." " Enough!" "We came here to..." "Keep quiet!" "Or I'll lock up everyone." "Come on, tell your story." " Lyucia, have you seen Bim?" " No." " He ran away." " He'll come back." "We told everything right, didn't we?" " Please." " You can go." " Can we go too?" " Thank you, dog." "And thank you, too." " He understands everything." " And what about us?" "You stay." " Connect me to the hunters' union." " All right." " Well, Black Ear?" " Andrei Leonidovich!" "Hello?" "We need information on a dog." "A setter." "Number?" "Let me see. 124." "No information?" "It can't be..." "It's a good dog." "Where?" "City Council?" "Thank you." "Get me the City Council." "He has no owner." "The dog is not registered." " Ifthey bark at us at the poluce..." " You can go." "That's all?" "How can we expect order?" "Everybody got out of hand." " Veterinarian department." " Go, granddad." "Look up No.124." " I'm father to you, not granddad." " Go and rest." "A setter with exterior defects?" "Perhaps he has defects." "Can't even be polite." "Yet they want to bring up such creatures." "Patting them on the back." "But he'll go, bow-wow!" "and eat you up." "Man-eater." "What?" "I need the owner's address." "Put it down:" "Proyezzhaya St. 41 , Apartment 19." "We found the owner." "Why do I know that address?" " It's the address ofthe bitten one." " Whose?" " The one who was bitten." " Pithecanthropus's." "Old scores." " Will you take him yourself?" " I will." "I'm coming." " Don't ring, my dear." " Hello." "Hello." "The owner's in a hospital." "Bim remained to watch the apartment." "He goes out and then comes back." "Go in." "Come on in." "No, Bim." "He's not back." "Do you know Ivan lvanych?" "I met Bim." "And he brought me here." " I got the address at the police." " What?" "I thought he got lost." "But he was looking for his master." "He doesn't eat anything?" "Not at home." "Maybe he finds something in the street." "No." "He's missing his master." "He may die if he goes on like that." "Such a clever dog won't die." "There're so many stray dogs." "They find some stuff in the street.." "Come on, let's make you eat something." "Eat, eat!" "That won't do." "Come on." "He's eating!" "What a smart dog!" "He feels when people like him." "I'll try to talk him into it, too." " His owner, is he in town?" " He was taken to Moscow." " Why do you do that?" " I'll explain." "Don't let Bim out until I bring the collar." "I'll be back in the morning." "Don't grieve." "Your master will be back." ""His name is Bim." "He's waiting for his owner, living alone in the apartment." "Please don't hurt him."" "You're a kind girl." "And he's a loyal and clever dog." "Wait." "Where're you going?" "I guess his owner is a very good man." "He's quiet and lonely." "He was seriously wounded in the war." "That's his son." "He died in the mountains." "Four years ago." "And that's his wife." "She couldn't cope with the son's death." "Are you from our town?" "No, I'm studying in Moscow." "I was here for practical work." "Very good writers lived in this city." "Ivan lvanych writes all the time, too." " May I have a look?" " Why not?" "These are not letters." "Look as much as you want." "It's all about you, Bim." "He loves you very much." "I got to go." "Tomorrow I'm leaving for Moscow." "Do you know what hospital he's in?" "I don't know, dear." "But if anything had happened, they'd have let us know." "Don't worry, Bim, I'll find your master." " So you're going?" " Yes." "Goodbye." "Goodbye, Dashenka." "Will you hold Bim?" "Or he may follow me." " Yes, yes, Bim." " Goodbye, Bim." "Wait, wait." "You should kick it into the goal!" "Come on, Tolya!" "Kick it!" "Oh, you missed!" "What do we do now?" "We must take it from him." "He'll bite it through." "Go take it!" "Look!" "He's bringing it." "See?" "You brought it to me?" "Give it to me." "Can I take it?" "Who do you belong to?" "Hi, Black Ear." "See?" "He gave it and greeted me." " He must be a trained dog." " Sure." "He got a plate on his neck." "Read it." ""His name is Bim." "He's waiting for his owner, living alone in the apartment."" "He must be hungry." "Let's get some food." " We'll get it." " Hurry up!" "Here." "You should've brought sausage!" "I would, but my mother's home." "She'll make me practice music." "I've got a tomato." "He doesn't eat tomatoes." "Try it, Bim." "Why don't you eat?" "Eat." "Look what a good apple it is." "So delicious." "So red." " Maybe he'll eat the tomato?" " No, he won't." "My mother said that all dogs are contagious." "Dog-catchers get the contagious ones, and he has a plate." "Here!" "He got it!" "He's eating, guys!" "Good dog!" "Eat, Bim!" "Eat it all!" "Why were you shy before?" "Whose dog is this?" " Well, whose dog is he?" " Nobody's." "He's mine." "At this moment he's mine." "So, is he nobody's or his?" " He got a plate on his neck." " Let go!" "You shouldn't lie, boy." "The plate says it's not your dog." "Shame on you!" "Did your parents teach you to lie?" "It's very bad." "I must deliver the dog to the proper place." "What are you doing?" "Don't touch the dog!" "Wait." "Maybe his owner is an alcoholic." "Then we'll draw up a report and confiscate the dog." "Don't you trust the plate?" "I do, boy." "Absolutely." "But, as they say, trust but verify." "What is vigilance?" "You don't know." "Let's go!" "Come on!" "Where are you going?" "Come on!" " Why did you tell about the plate?" " I thought he's a good man." "You thought." "And you couldn't even lie well:" "at this moment he's mine..." " He would've taken him anyway." " I pity the dog." " You think I don't?" " And they call themselves grownups." "What's the matter?" "Enough!" "Come on." "I called him." "He's not in the yard." "He'll come." "He's got a collar with a plate." "You've brought another one." "Oh God!" "Stop nagging!" "It's number 500 in my collection." "With text." "Here, look!" "A rarity." "Let him go." "Why did you drag him in?" "Might have taken it off in the street." "Boys were following me." "I can't let him go." "If they see, they may report it." "He'd better stay for the night." "Go to the hall!" "Just look at that!" "Go to sleep, Lyucia." "Bim will come." "He always comes home for the night." "What is it?" "What?" "Let him out." "It's morning." "He'll wake up the whole building." "Quietly." "Won't he bite?" "Get out!" "Go away, I said!" "You devil!" "Careful." "Get out, parasite!" "He'll bite you!" " Oh!" "Ouch!" " You got it." "I told you he'd bite you." "Give our regards to Moscow!" "Bim!" "My dear!" " Where're you going?" "No!" " Go home!" "Go home!" "Go home!" " Open just for a second." " I can't." "I'm not supposed to." " Open it for her." " Why do you meddle?" " When is the next stop?" " In about 90 min." "It's a fast train." "End of Part One" "WHITE BIM, BLACK EAR" "Part Two" " Thank you for taking me on." " You forgot something there?" "What's the matter, Black Ear?" "Whom did you run after?" "Your paws must be aching." "Come on." "You can't lie here." "You'll be run over by a train." "Get up." "Get up, dear." "There you go." "Come on." "Let's go." "This way." "Come on." " His owner must have abandoned him." " Everyone has his own misfortune." "There's someone to blame for every misfortune." "All evil is from vodka." "My man is only kind when sober." "When he's soused, he always fights." "Yes, vodka is a plague." "Almost all important man's work is done by women." "We do repairs, we work at blockhouses and as dispatchers." "Anisya!" "Anisya!" "You, steeplejack, getting off the tracks in the middle ofthe day?" " Leave me alone!" " Don't you fall!" "Shut up!" "Anisya!" "Wait till you come home." "You'll get a thrashing." "Call my wife." " Don't even try." "She's working." " I want to see her." " Her shift is over." " No, you can't." " Come on!" " You can't go into official premises." "Be quiet." "I'm not going anywhere." "Wait, I said." "Where are you going?" "Why aren't you answering?" "Come on, get out of here!" "Why is the dog on official premises?" "I will bring the police." " Beat it from here!" " Anisya, wait till you come home..." "How he threw himself on him." "All right, we'll meet yet." "Don't grieve." "We won't let anyone hurt you." "He's even worse off." "A human can complain, but a dog keeps it all inside." "Perhaps his owner will come back?" "Where're you going?" "Look." "What does he want?" "He's rested." "Now he wants to go home." "We'll see Anisya off, the Moscow train will pass, then I'll let you go." "Go home!" "Home!" "Go!" "Don't walk on the tracks!" " Thank you very much." " Thank you." "Well." "Now she came with her things." "Grandma, Aunt Dasha is here!" "Dasha, it's trouble." "Bim is gone." "He hasn't been back for two nights." "So he didn't come back." "Go and see Ivan lvanych in Moscow." "Tell him that everything's all right." "But we don't have his photograph." "Lyucia, time to go to bed." "It's late." "No." "You'd better write a letter." "What for?" "You're going to Moscow tomorrow anyway." "I can't lie to him." "How did you get in, poor thing?" "What do we do now?" "We'll get it hot for stopping." "The hell with it." "We must report it." " Come on, call the dispatcher." " Right." " Dispatcher?" " Dispatcher's on line." "It's engine driver Lazarev." "Dusya, change the points at 13." " Are you in your right mind?" " Yes, I am." "We're standing." "A dog got in the point." "How can I believe you?" "I can't see from here." "Change it and then switch it back." " But you'll be responsible." " All right." "Why is she so slow?" "Change it, quick!" "We must save a man!" "They're just crazy!" " Good." " Let's take him over there." "Put him down here." "That's it." "Come on, let's go." "Coming." "Sorry, pal." "We're in a hurry." "Goodbye!" "Take care!" " He came back, Stepanovna." " Hi did?" "Thank God!" " What's wrong?" " Who did it to you?" "Oh, my goodness!" "Oh God!" "You sleep here." "Tomorrow we'll discuss it." "All right." "Give me the letter, please." "I've got it here." "Oh, Bim, dear!" "It's for me." " Give it to me." " Let me see." "And this is for him." "This is for you." "Ivan lvanych writes:" ""Give this sheet to Bim, and he will read that I'm alive and remember him."" "Look, he understands." " Lyucia, why are you up so early." " I got an important thing to do." "Pal Titych, where were you?" "I've been looking everywhere for you." " I was on a night duty." "What's up?" " They're confiscating the apartment." " Didn't you sleep well?" " I did." "But you will be responsible." "Maybe the man's still alive, and she's brought her suitcases." "She spent the night there without being registered." "Give him a lot ofwater to drink." "Walk him out only on a leash." "If his leg gets worse, take him to a veterinarian." "I'll do everything." "You just tell Ivan lvanych not to worry." "Lyucia, you'll be late for school." "Aunt Dasha, give it to Ivan lvanych." "There's no photo, but he asked for it." "Thank you, Lyucia." "Go now." "You go, too." "Or you'll be late." "Well?" "Didn't I tell you?" " Good morning, Pal Titych." " Good morning." "Who allowed you to break into someone else's flat and spend the night there?" "I've been watching her." "First she was sizing it up and now she brought her things." "First, I didn't break in, the neighbors opened the door for me." "Of course." "What nonsense you're talking!" "And second, the dog is left in their care." "As you see, he's in a very bad state." "Someone has beaten him and mutilated his leg." "They'll have to answer for it." "I know it's not your fault." "I have a train to catch." "I hope my recommendations will be followed." "Further instructions will be in writing." "Everything will be done." "I'll find you anyway." "You can't hide from me." "That rotten woman!" "What can I say?" " Goodbye, Bim." "Goodbye." " Goodbye." "Please." " I count on you." " Everything will be all right." "You should've warned me that she's from Moscow." "Look, we must take care ofthat dog." "As long as he's in our charge, put him on a chain." "Such a clever dog on a chain?" "He'll get vicious." "Vicious, but alive." "You must know how to observe the world around you." "And if you pay attention, you will see how many beautiful things there are in this world, clever, good and interesting things." "Then you will grow up to be not indifferent, people who care, people who will help make life even better and more beautiful." " Yes, Kolia?" " What is indifference?" "Indifference..?" "For example, it's when I'm speaking to you and someone is whispering." "That would be indifference." "Maria Petrovna!" "It's all because of Lyuska." "We feel so bad about it." "Lyucia, not Lyuska." "What do you feel bad about?" " She's even drawn it." " Lyucia, what is it?" "We have a dog living next to us." "He used to be so cheerful." "And now he's sad." "His master was taken away." "He got a fragment in here." "I got it." "Lyuska is not indifferent." "Am I right?" "You're right, Kolia." "Very interesting!" "You shouldn't have been so nervous." "We even will send directives to other schools to have lessons on the subject of loving the animals." "Ivan lvanych!" "Come in." "You have a visitor." "A visitor?" " Hello, Ivan lvanych." " Hello." " I came from Bim." "From Bim?" "Why didn't you make an x-ray?" "Why wasn't the patient taken to the dressing room?" "Why didn't you tell me?" "Where's your sense of responsibility?" " If it ever happens again..." " Everything's alright, Alex Petrovich." " You said exactly that?" " Yes, I said exactly that." " Good morning." " Good morning." "Oh, we can even laugh." "And he said he had no one but Bim." " You see, Doctor..." " Quiet." "Calm down." "What is this?" " You worried about that ugly creature?" " Well." "He's not ugly." " Do you know him personally?" " Yes." "Then I give up." "Let's get ready for the operation." "Now when the humankind is concerned about the environmental issues, it's important to cultivate in oneself the feeling of compassion for animals and plants." "To offer them a timely help, and do it sensibly and carefully." " Will you pity a homeless dog?" " We will." "And if it's rabid?" "You must be very careful." "Or, for instance..." "Think about it, children." "Just think:" "a girl from School No.21 said that someone had torn off a dog's leg." "And the poor dog with a black ear became a cripple." "It's unworthy of a Soviet man." " In what school?" " No.21 ." "Now write a composition, "I Love Animals"." "A small and warm composition." "Distribute the sheets and questionnaires, please." "The questions are:" "What is the name ofyour dog?" "Is it white or what color is it?" "Does it bite or not?" "Who does it bite?" "What's that dog's name?" "Bem." "Bim!" "Let me go." "I'll go search for Bim." "Please!" "Sit down!" "You're disturbing the others." "Do your dad and mom love it?" "Why do you love it?" "Why is the cow milked and the elk is not?" "Should we love animals?" " Please let me go!" " Stop it!" "Think and write." "I cut classes and came to your school." "The boys helped me to find you." "Who said Bim got his paw torn off?" "Our teacher." "I didn't believe her." "Here we are." "He recognized you." "Look what they've done to him." "How did it happen?" "Someone has beaten him." "He won't eat or drink now." "Wait." "Where's the plate?" "He had it." "Yes, he did." "Someone took it off with the collar." "I bought a new one for him." " What do you want?" " Why did you take the plate off?" " Are you nuts?" " You took him away with the plate on." "And I let him go with the plate on." "He bit me." "You're lying!" "Bim is kind." "You beat him and made him an invalid." "Me?" "Me lying?" "You milksop!" "Where are your parents?" "You're not going to my parents because you're lying!" "Is that the way to talk to grownups, to honored people?" "What a generation!" "I'll show you!" "You won't do anything to me, because you're a coward and a liar!" " You will answer to me for that!" " Shame on you!" "You behave as ifyou were bitten again." "That collection ofyours will be the end of you." "I met that greenhorn, from whom I took the dog." "He'll go to the police, they'll come here, see all this and confiscate it." "Times are different now." "They don't arrest honest citizens." " I didn't mean that." " I must write to the newspaper." "Where have you been?" "You forgot about your music lesson?" " I don't want to do music lessons." " This is for us to decide." "We won't let you grow up a sponger." ""A setter dog with a black ear was running along." "It tore a piece of meat from my body..."" "That's right." "It was running like crazy." "I demand it be caught and destroyed, or I will complain about you being callous in doing your work." "Where did it bite you and when?" "Right here." "There's nothing to smile about." "Take measures." "And don't mock at me." "Don't get excited." "I treat dogs." "My association with them is different." " Different association." " Did it have a number on the collar?" " It didn't." " Are you sure?" " It didn't." "It didn't have anything." " I see." " Pasteur Institute?" "It's a vet doctor." "I've got a patient bitten by a rabid dog." "What?" "What kind of animal?" "It's not an animal, it's a homo sapiens." "Why homasapens?" "I have a name!" "Calm down." "All right, we'll wait." "Everything's all right." "They're coming." "Are you financed by the state?" "Right." "The vet services are free." "Free." "That's where our money goes." "You'd better kill it and make a soup." "Kill them all, and they'll not get sick." "You're being treated free, too." " How can you compare?" " I don't." " Where's the bitten one?" " There he is." "Which place?" "This." " I see." "Take your trousers off." " What are you talking about?" "!" "Come on, take them off!" "Is that some kind of joke?" " How much time has passed?" " About ten days." "In four days he'll go rabid." "You may dress." "And when was the last time you took a bath?" "Last Saturday, before I was bitten." "I was afraid of infecting it." " It's a serious spot." " A very serious one!" "Go to the clinic immediately!" "Injections to your belly for 6 months." "Are you crazy?" "Ifyou don't do it, we'll make you to, with the help of the police." "They'll come to your home, if you're so ignorant." "Me ignorant?" " You know where I used to work?" " It's none of my business." "What are you up to?" "ls it a conspiracy?" "To the clinic!" "To the clinic!" "Heel!" "Heel, I said!" "Quiet!" "Nikolai Yegorych." "He hasn't eaten for two days." " You're late again." " I wasn't late for the music lesson." "Did you hear it?" "He's doing me a favor." "You hang out in the street with some hooligans." "You shouldn't spend so much time in the street." "A rabid dog is out." "Show me." "What times we're living in." ""Anyone who knows the whereabouts of a setter with a black ear... as well as the persons bitten by it... please report to the following address..." "Be careful and don't keep silent."" "What's the matter, Tolik?" "Why are you so frightened?" " They'll catch it, won't they, Dad?" " Of course they will." " What do you want?" " The doctor." " It's our day off." "No one's here." " What about you?" "I'm a medical attendant." "We can't leave our patients alone." "They're mute." "Do you have the address, Mister?" " What address?" " The address ofyour doctor." "What for?" "I need it very much." "It's a matter of life and death." "Life and death?" "Are you about this matter too?" "Of course." "The public must help." "I know the dog and where they hide it." " You know its owners?" " It has no owners." "Used to." "No owners." "That's what I thought." " Did it bite you?" " Sure." "I brought a statement." "Good that you're so conscientious." " Hello." " Hello." " She's about that matter, too." " Also bitten?" " Of course." " She knows where to catch it." "Come in, please." " Hello." " Hello." "Hello..." "Nikolai Yegorych." "I'm from white Bim." " From whom?" " From Bim." "How can you stick a syringe in my belly, me a conscientious woman?" "I'm doing it for the public good, and you stick it into my belly." "You'd better catch the dog." "Calm down." "We've taken the necessary measures." "They went for the dog." "But we can't let you go without an injection." " Here's some water." " No." "It'll make me vomit." "You see?" "Water makes you sick." "That's the first symptom." "Lie down." "I'll write out prescriptions and tell you how to treat him." "Everyone leave the room except the owner." "We're taking the dog away." " No, you won't." " What do you mean?" "Don't you read the papers?" " You won't." "I'm a vet doctor." " Please." "The dog is not rabid." "He was just maimed, beaten by people." "You can see for yourself." "Take your gun away." "It's true, you're not rabid." "You're such a nice dog." "And we were called up by radio." " Is that apartment 19?" " Yes, 19." "You see?" "It was a misunderstanding." " May we go now?" " Yes, please." "We're sorry." "Sorry." "It was a mistake." "I think I know who called you." "This prescription is for an ointment, and that one for a syrup" " Here's some money." " Thank you, I've got money." " What's your name, hero?" " Tolik." "You're a good man, Tolik." "It was a false alarm." "When will you stop it at last?" "No, don't turn it on!" "Do you hear?" "My son just couldn't please me more." "No more that dog nonsense." "He enrolled in a photography class." "Developing shots in the bathroom." " I think nothing came out of it." " He will learn." "He himself began to practice music." "I can't tear him off it." "And all because we took measures just in time." "Squat, Lyucia." "Hold him." "Now it's perfect." "Smile." "Where shall we go now?" "Good that you have him on a chain and took the dog under your patronage." "Good, but it shouldn't interfere with your studies." "I know you." "But who are you?" " I'm not from here." "I'm a friend." " He's our friend." "Isn't it that rabid dog they were writing about?" "No, it's not him." "Go on, Mister." "Well, go on, walk him out." "The boy missed school several times." "He cuts classes." "He got very distracted." "It all began with the composition, for which I gave him a "D"." "As he well deserved." "Take a look." ""His name is Bim." "He is white with a black ear."" "Well... "He played with us." Oh, God." ""My mom and dad can't love him." "My mom says that flowers only breed filth in the house." That's right." ""But I love them." "I don't know why, just love them."" "What rubbish! "I'm afraid of mice." "The cow is milked to make milk available in the stores and to fulfill the plan."" "What's this?" "He's simply defective." ""And the elk is not milked, there's no elk milk in the stores." "But I'll find Bim anyway!" "Though you, Anna Pavlovna..." "Well, I don't care."" "Well, how do you like it?" "It's terrible!" "Thank you, Tolik." "What would we do without you?" "Thank your parents for us." "Do they ask you where you go?" " They do." " And my mom and dad are far away." "Cheer up." "They didn't go away for good." "They'll come back." " Of course they will." " And what about Ivan Ivanych?" "I'm sure he'll come back." "Tomorrow I'll bring you color crayons." "Honest?" "We're going to make an album of photos and pictures of Bim." "My son is a liar!" "My son is a truant!" "I'm sick and tired of it!" "You are grounded!" " But, Dad!" " I don't want to hear it!" "You've lost my trust." "That's enough!" " And no dogs!" "Especially rabid ones." " It's not true!" "He says that the newspaper didn't write the truth." "It's not true." "He is not rabid." "I know." "Perhaps you'll show me where the dog is?" "Come on, tell me!" "I'm not telling you anything." "Put him under a 24-hour care and keep me informed." "I'll be back." "All right." " Hello." " Hello." " You can't see him today." " I just want to know." "To know." "As they say, it's the echo ofthe war." "16.35 grams." "You can tell Bim with a black ear." "Thank you, Professor." "Thank you for everything." "And from Bim, too." "Hey, wait!" "Where are you going?" "Want a ride, too?" "You look familiar." "You don't remember, dog?" "Why are you alone?" "Well, let's go." "Come on!" "Sit!" "Sit!" "Sit!" "Otradnoye!" "Next stop - Prasulovo." "Thank you for your attention." "Those with no tickets, leave the premises." "Where are you going?" "!" "Sit!" " Is it your dog?" " Sure it's mine." "Wait, I said!" "Sit!" " Where is he so impatient to go?" " Where?" "It's a hunting dog." "I got no one at home to leave him with." "The neighbors protest." "He howls." "Then give him to me." " Shall I give you my pocketbook too?" " Then I'll buy him." "Are you serious?" " Serious." " Let's go out." "Come here." " How much will you pay me?" " Well, a ten." " Ah... it isn't worth the trouble." " How much do you want?" " Twenty five." " I don't have that much." "Fifteen." "All right." "If it weren't my neighbors." "They write letters, complaining." "Are we going or not?" "They do as they please." "As if it's his personal bus." " What's his name?" " Black Ear." " It's not your dog, is it?" " It's mine." "Black Ear." "Sure." "We're starting off." "Next stop - Prasulovo." "Where're you going?" "Let's go home." "Come on, home!" "Don't strain!" "What can you do now?" "You've been sold." "Sold, Black Ear." "Sold for money." "And your name was sold too." "You're not Black Ear." "That's not a dog's name." "I knew right away that you were not his." "That's our village over there." "You will live with me from now on." "Don't feel bad about that money." "Some people will sell not only you, but even their honor, their morals." "You're a dog, Black Ear." "You don't know that." "And it is as well." "Let you be Black Ear." "It sounds pretty dog-like." "Black Ear." "I'll be calling you that name." "Black Ear." "This way." "There you go." "We're home now." "Mother, father is back from town." "Here we are." "Look!" "Where did you get him?" "I'll tell you later." "Alyoshka, get the chickens in." " All right." " Where did you pick him up?" "It's a long story." " Grandma, Tolik is here!" " Tolik, why didn't you come?" "There was a reason." "These are photographs for Ivan lvanych." "And the crayons for you." "Oh, thanks." "Let's go to Bim, Lyucia." "I missed him so much." " Come on, Lyucia." " Bim is not here, Tolik." "Not here." " How come?" " He's been gone three days now." " How did it happen?" " It's all my fault." "I let him out." "He begged so much." "You were not here." "I can't walk, my legs are killing me." " Lyucia was at school." " Don't cry, Grandma." "I can't help it." "We got a letter from Dasha." "She wants to know about Bim." "What can I write to her?" "Let's not upset Ivan lvanych." "We'll send him the photos." "I'll find Bim." "Alyosha, come, I'll pour some milk." "Hold it." "Fresh milk from the cow for you." "Drink it, Black Ear." "His eyes look so human." "Yes, he's got kind eyes, but sad." "He must be missing his master." "Sure thing." "Such a dog must have had a master." ""My dear Stepanovna and Lyucia, and Tolik whom I never met." "The professor promises to discharge me any day now." "So I'll see you soon." "Thank you again for the photographs." "Don't write to me anymore."" "Black Ear!" "Black Ear!" "Come here." "Come here!" "Quick!" "Quick!" "Come on, catch me!" "Catch me, Black Ear!" "Take the mitten from me." "Come on!" "What?" "Catch me!" "Catch me!" "Alyosha, come home!" "Father is back." "It's dinnertime." "Let's go, Black Ear." " He's become so lively." " Sure thing." "He got used to us." "Home, Black Ear!" " Is that you, Klim?" " Come on in." " Good evening." " Just in time for tea." "Join us." "Don't bother, Petrovna." "I don't like tea." "I came about Black Ear." "The dog will be ruined without hunting or he'll run away." "Sell him to me." "I'll give you 25 rubles for him." " He's not for sale." " Where did you get him?" " I bought him." " From whom?" "I have my doubts." "But I feel he's a pedigree dog." "Must be taken care of." " What if his owner shows up?" " I'll give him back." "And you can kiss your money goodbye." "I'm giving you 25 rubles." "I'm not selling him!" "Look!" "He smells a hunter." "And you will ruin him." "That's too bad." "Alyoshka will grow up and they will go hunting." "You show respect for the boy and none for me?" "There will be no deal, Klim." "What a man you've got, Petrovna." "He has no sense in his head." "He said himself, the dog must be taken care of." "It's for the dog's good." "Klim!" "Klim, wait!" "What?" "All right, take him hunting." "For free." "Let him live up to his breed, as he's supposed to." " But bring him back the same day." " Don't you know me?" "Everything will be right." "Like it should be." " Where're your parents?" " They left for town." "I locked him in." "I came for him as we agreed." "Come on." "Well, Black Ear, let's go hunting." " I wish I hadn't to go to school." " You'll come with us next time." "Heel." "Heel." "Go!" " Black Ear must be home by nightfall." " All right." "He'll be here." " Goodbye, Black Ear!" " Enough." "Go!" "Come on, go!" "Bim!" "Bim!" "Bim!" "Bim!" "Ivan lvanych!" "Ivan lvanych!" "What a great book we've bought, "The Manual of Hunting Dog Breeding"." " Where have you been?" " I was at Klim's." " Take your coat off." " Why didn't you bring Black Ear?" " They're not back from hunting yet." " He'll come." "Where can he go?" "Alyoshka, look what I bought for Black Ear." "A lead with a collar." "Just like they write in the book." " What if Black Ear is gone?" " Don't worry." "He's with Klim." "I'm telling you, I didn't lay a finger on him." "I hardly took the belt off him when he ran off." "After you, I guess." "I rushed after him." "But I couldn't grab hold of him." "The collar was fixed to the belt." "You're lying!" " You beat him, that's why he ran away." " Beat him?" "I looked for him all night." " I can see it by your face." " He sold him." "Ifyou sold him, tell me." "I'll buy him out." "Who will buy him?" "He's no good for hunting." "I'll never ask you to give him to me again." "He must be home by now." "And you're rubbing salt into my heart." "You got no heart." "Neither heart nor honor." "Don't you insult me!" " May he go to hell!" " Insulting a man because of a dog!" "May that dog drop dead!" "Too bad I didn't kill him." " There's blood, Dad!" " Hurry up, Alyoshka!" "The bus has just left." "Dad, there's a lot of blood here, too." "He must have licked his wounds here." "Klim did beat him till he bled." "Why are such men allowed to live?" "A beast." "Black Ear!" "Black Ear!" "No use calling him." "He must have run to the city." "He doesn't believe in us anymore." "Bim?" "Bim!" "My dear Bim!" " What is this?" " This is Bim, Mom." " Get away from him." " No, don't, Mom." "Tolik, please, get away from him." "No, I won't." "It's Bim." "He has found me." "He's clever and kind." " Is it that dog?" " Yes, Mom, it's Bim." " Drive him out now!" " No, I will not." " Tolik!" " No, please!" " Drive him out!" " But it is Bim!" "I won't tolerate that Bim in my house." " Dad, it's Bim." "He found me." " The one with a black ear?" " Just look at that." " But, Dad!" " Well, it's a nice doggy." " What nonsense are you talking!" "There it goes again: mother says one thing, you say another." "You'll spoil the child, but it'll be too late when you understand it." " Quiet, quiet." " How can I be quiet?" " How can I go?" "He'll bite him." " No, Mom!" "He has never bitten anyone!" "Stop it." "What's this?" "Let's go and discuss it." "If they turn you out, I'll go with you." "I won't give you to anyone." "Let's go to my room." "Come on." "You think I don't want him to grow up a good man?" "And you say in front of him that I'm going to spoil the child." "And you?" "He just began to act sensibly, and now a stray dog." "And in our clean house." "He will get infected." "Turn the dog out!" "You don't know anything about tactics." "One should use one's head." "Everything will be all right." "Ivan Ivanych is getting well." " All right." "He may stay." " Thank you." " But he must sleep in the hall." " All right." "Let's go, Bim." " May I take the rug, Mom?" " You may." "Your place!" "Down!" " Mom, look how clever he is." " I see." "Tolik, go to bed." "It's late." "Just a bit more, please." " Go." " Coming, Mom." "Good night, Bim dear!" "Sleep!" "Get out!" "If you get hungry, here's some meat." "Why don't you sleep?" " Do we have some heart drops?" " What?" "Oh, God!" "We're so touchy!" "What's so awful?" "A dog's more dear to you than your son." " Shut up." " I don't understand it." "Exactly." " Say something." " No, you say." "Mom, where's Bim?" " Where's Bim, Mom?" " He wanted to pee." "Dad let him out and he ran away." "Dad called him, but he didn't return." " Come on, Dad, wasn't it so?" " Well... he'll come back." "If he doesn't, we'll find him and take him in." "I promise." "We'll find him." "A dog is not a needle." "Don't say anything, Dad." "I don't believe you anymore." "But I'll find Bim anyway." "Bim!" " We'll have to keep you here." " No, please, Professor." "A day or two." "Well, for a week." " I've bought a ticket already." " A ticket..." " Professor." " All right, go." "I know, they can't wait to see you there." "Take it." " What is this?" " Nothing." "A rattle as a keepsake." " Such a tiny thing." " And gave us so much trouble." " I envy you." " Me?" "What a beautiful lot: extracting fragments from human hearts." " Exterminating pain." " You're exaggerating." "These fragments come fewer and fewer, but the other kind, invisible, yet wounding as cruelly..." "Here surgeons are powerless." "I guess it's in your department." " Mine?" " Come on, you conspirator." " No, I didn't mean to." " May I?" "If it's of any interest to you." ""The forest was silent." "Only the golden leaves of birches quivered playfully, basking in the sun's rays." "Oh, the yellow forest!" "Here's a piece of happiness for you." "A place for meditation." "In the autumn forest a man becomes purer."" "Yes, I wish we all could go to that yellow forest more often." "Thank you, Alexander Petrovich." "That girl who helped us so much." "Is she any relation to you?" " Any relation?" "No." " How did she happen to know you?" "It's he who brought us together." "Bim." "Is that you, Kostya?" "It's me, Semyon." "Semyon?" "How are you?" "What's up?" "Will you do me a favor?" "I need to place an ad." "Can you do it quickly for old times' sake, without me waiting in line?" "If it's for old times' sake, I'll try to squeeze it in the Sunday issue." "Go ahead, dictate it." "Yes, I got you." "A dog is missing?" "White with a black ear." "Named Bim." "Unbelievably clever and very smart." "Why are you laughing?" "I don't know how to look my son straight in the eye, and you..." "Come here." "All right." "Stop yelling!" "I'm talking with someone here." "With whom?" "With a good man." "Take the phone." "Talk to him!" "Hello, Dad." " Dad, I'm not coming home tonight." " All right, Tolik." "Can you give me the address?" "Come on." "All right." " Where have you been?" " Skidding in the forest." "Our son got lost." "He didn't." "I found him." "But we could lose him by our own doing." " What rubbish!" "Where's he?" " He won't come home for the night." " Nut!" "Walking with your boots on." " You'd better mind other cleanness." "Valya, wait." "Come on, Valya, wait!" "Valya!" "It's you?" "You were gone, weren't you?" "Get out of here!" "Go away now!" "Your master is not here." "Go away, I said!" "What are you staring at?" "Why are you staring?" "I won't let you in." "Sitting here like it's his own home." "Stop!" " Whose dog is that?" " Mine." " Why is it without a collar?" " Try and put it on him!" "He gnawed the rope and keeps biting." "He's gone rabid." "If he bites anyone, I'll be responsible." "Put him on a leash." "Or we'll take him." "I'll be only glad if you do." "I wrote to everyone begging." "Please take him away." " He isn't rabid." " He's just sick." " What do we do?" " Take him as long as the owner asks." " Maybe she's lying?" " None of our business." "Fetch the net." "Take him, everybody will be grateful." "He doesn't like it." "Why are you grinning?" "Torturing a dog when you don't know how to keep it." "Herself is a tub of lard and the dog is reduced to such a sorry state." "You stinking dog-catcher, insulting a respectable woman?" "You jerk!" "Behave yourself!" "Or I'll get you with the net and into the iron box." "Their kind should be put in a van at least for a week each year." "You lousy alcoholics!" " Excuse me." " We're running late, aren't we?" "Yes, we are." "Don't worry." "We'll catch up at night." "Yes." " Excuse me." "Can you bring me tea?" " I will." "You're all packed too early." "We'll be there in an hour or two." "Some tea?" " No, thank you." " We'll be there on time." "Comrade, is your name Tolik?" " Yes, it is." "Why?" " I'm about the ad, about Black Ear." "Black Ear?" "Bim!" " Good morning!" " Good morning." "No, the local paper." "Thank you." "I haven't read it for quite a while." " Is that your dog missing?" " The dog?" "It's on the last page." " Give that note to the guard." " And the paper?" "Here." "Hurry up." "There you go." " Take them to the quarantine station." " Will do." "Good luck!" "Anybody here?" "Anybody here?" "Why all this racket?" "No one's here." "It's everybody's day off." "Any dogs brought here in the last three days?" "They didn't catch any on Thursday and Friday." "There're only yesterday's." " Not many though." " May I have a look?" "Tomorrow." "The doctor will come and say which for science and which for its hide." "Sometimes they bury them with a hide, or burn them." "The doctors know better." " Do they bring hunting dogs too?" " Not often." "Those are not killed, nor given to science." "First they wait for the owner or call the Hunters' Union." "We got one right now though." "Ivan said the owner herself gave him up." "Sure!" "Maybe her husband died." "Let me in, please." "I'm looking for my dog." "Don't you see what's written?" "Authorized personnel only." "It's their day off." "Wait!" "Wait." "Are you a man or some fiend?" "He's just from hospital." "Had a fragment in him since the war and was operated on." "His dog's missing." "It's such a wonderful dog." "Perhaps it's here." "They don't put wonderful dogs in here." "Only infectious ones." "Chief, come here." "Here's a ruble, let him in." "What?" "Get out of here!" "You know how many wounded I carried on my back?" "And you with your ruble!" "Come in, comrade." "Thank you." " Didn't I tell you!" " No, not you." "Fiend!" "You fiend yourself." "He'll never stop now!" "Hey!" "It's here, in the van." "Can I take him?" "What's the use now?" "Come tomorrow." "I've overstepped my authority as it is." "What?" "Done in?" "Thank you." "Alyosha, I think it's Ivan lvanych." "Ivan Ivanych!" " Ivan Ivanych, is it you?" " Yes." "I'm Tolik." "Do you remember?" "I sent you Bim's photos and the letter." "Tolik?" "And this is Alyosha." "Bim lived with him in the country." "We're looking for Bim." "We were sent here." "Is Bim here?" "No, boys." "Bim isn't here." "Tell us the truth, please." "Bim isn't here." "We should look for him, boys." "Look for him." "Why three shots?" "That's the hunters' tradition." "As many shots as the dog's age." "What a bitch!" "Take him, she says, I'm the owner." "Everybody will be only grateful." "And we believed that viper." "If we have only known!" "What can we do now?" "What?" "Nothing." "I'm quitting!" "That's it!" "Come here." "Come, shaggy." " Run for your life." " What are you doing?" " So what?" " They know there were two dogs." "One died, the other ran away." "Give it to me." "I've got an owner for it." "I don't think I would have been able to outlive that day if it were not for the boys to whom I had lied." "I didn't want to deprive them of hope." "Lies can be sacred, too." "And life goes on because there is hope, without which despair would have killed life." "It's winter now, but spring will come for sure." "And there will be snowdrops." "We have winters and springs in Russia." "That's what our Russia is like." "Winters and springs for sure." "I know and I have faith." "Life goes on." "Bim!" "Bim!" "THE END"