same. He gladly met strangers, greeted them with dignity, and generally showed his benevolent attention in every possible way.

Once, on the street, several tipsy guys attached themselves to me. At first I tried to reason with them with words, and when they used their fists, I began to defend myself. My faithful dog at that time rushed around us and barked excitedly - he apparently decided that we had started a fun game. With difficulty fighting off two hefty guys, I grabbed the third by the scruff of the neck and threw it onto the sidewalk. His кепка почему-то оказалась в моих руках. In the heat of the moment, I launched it towards the dumbfounded hooligans. Whistling Karay, I rushed into the doorway, realizing that I had to urgently retreat, otherwise I would have to be tight. Already on the landing, Karay, out of breath, caught up with me. In his teeth he victoriously held someone else's hat...

Karai has always treated people too well. He was trusting and for the time being had never really encountered human meanness.

5
This house in Kuzhenkino was built by my grandfather before the revolution. After the war - the Germans bombed the village many times - the house was repaired. During the summer holidays, up to twenty people of relatives gathered in our old house. All знали Карая, и Карай всех знал. I even recognized those of our relatives whom I had seen only once many years ago.

I knew almost all the inhabitants of the village. I must say that they treated Karay very well. After I gave the dog full freedom of movement in the village in the thirteenth year of his life, he made a lot of friends here. The cook from the canteen fed him with bones, the children gave him sweets and gingerbread, which they bought in the selmag.

Airedales have never been seen in these parts. When I brought Karay, at first many people asked: “How is it? Sheep or monkey? And all this without a hint of humor. I once jokingly said that Karay is a cross between a mountain sheep and a Himalayan bear. Some seriously believed in this and then authoritatively explained to the uninitiated the amazing origin of my dog.

Local dogs also treated Karay with restrained respect, tried not to bully him, and he was not the first to start dog fights. Only one huge gloomy dog ​​- apparently, the leader in the village - immediately took a dislike to Karay. Once or twice they clashed violently. As a result, Karay's shoulder was bitten and his lower lip was torn, the gloomy dog ​​lost half of his ear and limped for a long time. Obviously, both of them drew the appropriate conclusions: since then they have developed a special manner of behavior. It was not without interest to watch them when they accidentally met on a dusty road. Karay, who did not let a single dog pass so as not to sniff with her, turned away from his enemy and began to busily examine the fence or the rusty bushes of horse sorrel growing near the telegraph poles. At the same time, he looked so preoccupied and he lifted his leg so diligently, without ceasing to sniff the grass, that no one simply should have had any doubts that he was completely absorbed in this serious occupation. The gloomy dog ​​behaved differently: he also pressed his side against the opposite wooden fence, but, unlike Karay, did not perform the usual dog ritual, but raised black muzzle with a gray mustache and peered into the distance with concentration. His imposing, scarred mouth opened, and he let out a low, cautious growl. Then, right off the bat, he fled in the opposite direction, making it clear that he had noticed something important, worthy of his attention, and now he was not up to Karay. And then my dog ​​broke away from a fence or a telegraph pole, turned around on the spot - it turns out that all this time he quietly watched his opponent - and with a muffled growl - God forbid the enemy hears! - resolutely ran after him, but no more than five or ten steps. He stopped just as suddenly - sometimes his splayed hind legs even drove a little along the road, kicking up dust - and looked back at me: they say, to hell with this gloomy dog ​​- after all, we also have more important things to do! And as if nothing had happened, he continued on his way ...

Karay was an ardent dog, and not a single dog wedding could do without him. And although he did not notice a permanent girlfriend, he still had one attachment. I found out this by accident. Once, returning on a moonlit night from the other end of the village, where my old acquaintance lived in an old, squat house on the bank of the river, I saw two vague shadows near the village outpatient clinic. They were dogs. They rushed along the road, rolled in the dust, fighting with each other, then jumped up again and, rising on their hind legs, clasped each other with their front paws, rubbing their muzzles. Tired, they lay down in the middle of the road side by side and lovingly licked each other. A real dog idyll in the moonlight!

Imagine my surprise when, coming closer, I recognized Karay in one of the dogs! He also recognized me and greeted me cheerfully. This night meeting of the owner, secretly returning home from his girlfriend, and his faithful dog, frolicking on the road, was also funny.

I was even more surprised to see Karay's friend. She was a little bow-legged bitch with an eyesore. As far as I remember, an ugly gray scar immediately caught my eye on her back: there was once a tuft of wool torn out along with meat. The tail, thin as a whip, was always tucked under a sagging belly that seemed to be dragging along the ground. In general, it is difficult to imagine a more unsightly little dog. She lived with a blind old woman and rarely appeared on the street - apparently embarrassed by her ugliness.

In that warm September night we returned home together with Karay. The lights in the windows have long gone out. I put my hand between the boards and opened the gate, trying not to rattle the bolt. The cement path leading to the porch was white underfoot. Glossy cherry leaves shimmered. The moon cast a silvery light on the brown iron roof. The neighboring house cut obliquely into the darkness at a sharp angle. A large bird was flying near the attic window. IN пожухлой картофельной ботве ярко сверкнули и потухли кошачьи eyes. Sleepy rabbits rustled softly in their cages.

Trying not to make any noise - my relatives went to bed early - I went up to the porch. The door was locked. So they thought I was upstairs and closed. Карай, следовавший за мной по пятам, сочувственно заглядывал мне в eyes. He would gladly wake up the whole house with a loud bark, but he understood that at such a late hour there was no need to advertise nightly adventures. Pulling on my trouser leg - they say, inviting me to my booth - he went to bed. He always went to bed noisily, with heavy sighs and groans. Yawning loudly several times and chattering his teeth at the same time, he grumbled something - obviously wishing me good night - and fell silent.

The next day, together with my numerous relatives, I was walking along the same street where I had met Karai and his girlfriend the previous night. We all went mushroom hunting. A bald-headed dog with a walleye rolled out of the gateway in a dirty gray ball and joyfully rushed towards Karay. In daylight, she looked even uglier. Dragging her sagging nipples through the dust and twisting her twig-tail with all her might, she fell on her crooked front paws, inviting him to play, frolic.

And then Karay behaved quite unexpectedly. Instead of stopping to sniff at his girlfriend - I remembered how recklessly they played in the moonlight - he stared at her, as if he had seen her for the first time in his life. The brick-like bearded muzzle of a thoroughbred intellectual expressed obvious disgust. Shaking his head indignantly so that his triangular ears flapped, he diligently walked around the taken aback dog and proudly, without looking back, trotted ahead of my companions who were watching him. His целеустремленная походка и озабоченный вид свидетельствовали о том, что произошло какое-то недоразумение, эта странная, уродливая мадам приняла его за кого-то другого — он и знать-то ее не knows! A little later, I looked into his shameless brown eyes and just shook my head: “Well, you are a fruit, a dog!” He perfectly understood me - he turned away, sighed and shook his head in the direction of his relatives: they say, just get caught in the teeth like that - they won’t let you live, they will laugh! ..

But Karai did not tolerate ridicule. Если подшучивали над кем-нибудь другим, он с удовольствием принимал участие в общем веселье — прыгал, лаял, дурачился, но лишь только сам становился объектом шуток — тотчас примолкал, втягивал голову в плечи и настороженно смотрел насмешнику в eyes. If he did not let up, from somewhere in the depths of the dog's insides, growing, a dull menacing growl rose. It became louder and louder, the upper lip began to tremble, rise, revealing white sharp fangs. If this didn’t help, he