Petrushka
Once upon a time, there lived a wealthy landowner. He owned a large estate and had more riches than one could count. But of all his treasures, he loved his hound the most. And what a clever dog it was—almost like a human. Whatever the master commanded, the dog would do. And the landowner gave it not just any name, but a human one: Petrushka.Now, it must be said that this landowner was a cruel and wicked man. Not a single worker could last more than a week in his service.
One day, it so happened that the landowner was left without any workers at all—they had all run away. He tried to do the work himself, but where could he? He didn’t know how to do anything and was lazy besides. It’s no secret—he was used to living off the labor of others. So, the landowner hitched up his horse and went off to look for workers. He rode and rode, but no one would come to him—everyone knew what a terrible master he was!
The landowner returned home in a foul mood. Suddenly, he saw a young lad walking toward him, singing a song. The boy was ragged and barefoot.
“Well,” thought the landowner, “I’ll ask this beggar if he’ll work for me.”
He reined in his horse.
“Hey, barefoot boy,” he called, “would you like to work for me?”
The boy stopped.
“Why not?” he said. “If the master is good, I’ll work. Go ahead and hire me.”
The landowner smirked and thought, “Ah, so he’ll work if he thinks I’m a good master.”
“Well then, climb onto the cart,” he said. The boy, whose name was Yanka, climbed onto the landowner’s cart, and they rode off to the estate.
When they arrived home, the landowner said to Yanka:
“Take the second horse and go to the forest for firewood.”
Yanka hesitated.
“Master, maybe we should eat first… I’m hungry from the road.”
“Did I hire you to eat or to work?” shouted the landowner. “What a sly one you are!”
Yanka scratched the back of his head and said:
“But I don’t know where your forest is or which trees to cut.”
“Well,” replied the landowner, “I’m too tired to explain. My dog Petrushka will do it. I’ll whisper to her, and she’ll lead you where you need to go.”
Yanka hitched up the horse and followed the dog. The dog, overjoyed to be free, began jumping and running all over the place. And Yanka followed right behind. The dog ran into a puddle—and Yanka followed with the cart. The dog ran into the bushes—and Yanka went there too.
And so, they finally reached the forest.
Yanka had just cut down one tree when the dog turned around and ran back home. Yanka abandoned his work, climbed onto the cart, and followed the dog. Wherever the dog went, Yanka followed.
When the landowner saw that the worker had returned without firewood, he flew into a rage and began to beat him. He beat and beat him, nearly to death.
The next morning, the landowner woke Yanka and ordered:
“Go, you lazybones, and slaughter a ram. Guests are coming today.”
“Which ram should I slaughter, master?” asked Yanka.
The landowner waved his hand:
“I don’t feel like explaining. Call Petrushka—whichever ram she runs to, slaughter that one.”
Yanka took the largest knife, called the dog, and went to the sheepfold. The landowner’s sheepfold was large, with many sheep and rams. The dog began running around the sheepfold: it ran up to one ram, then another. And Yanka followed right behind—slitting the throats of the rams the dog ran to. He slaughtered them all.
The landowner came to see which ram Yanka had chosen for the guests. When he saw the sheepfold, he clutched his head in despair: all his rams had been slaughtered! Once again, the landowner began to beat Yanka. He beat and beat him, nearly to death.
When Yanka finally came to his senses, the landowner said:
“Now, you fool, cook the mutton! And make sure it’s tasty—add some pepper and chop up some parsley.”
Yanka thought and thought about what this “parsley” was, and then he remembered: that’s what the landowner called his dog! So, he slaughtered the dog, skinned it, chopped the meat finely, and threw it into the pot, just as the landowner had ordered.
The landowner’s guests arrived. Yanka began serving them the mutton. The guests ate the dog meat with gusto, their jaws cracking. They ate so much they could barely breathe.
“And now, dear guests,” said the landowner, “I’ll show you my clever dog. Hey, Yanka, call Petrushka here.”
“Which Petrushka, master?” Yanka asked in surprise. “You told me to chop her up and season the mutton with her.”
When the landowner heard this, he turned green with rage. And then he felt so sick that his insides turned upside down. Well, the landowner gave up the ghost.
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