Perhaps everyone without exception knows about Daria Dontsova’s boundless love for pugs. And the writer even proudly calls her country mansion a pug house, as evidenced by the sign on the porch of the house. And you really can’t argue with that! Already from the threshold, guests are greeted by a company of four charming pugs who are ready to happily lick you in honor of meeting you and give you a fascinating tour of the house.
Biography
Daria Dontsova (according to her passport - Agrippina Arkadyevna Dontsova) was born on June 7, 1952 in Moscow, in the family of writer Arkady Vasilyev and Mosconcert director Tamara Novatskaya.
She graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University, worked in the newspaper “Evening Moscow” and the magazine “Otchizna”. Author of over 100 detective novels, laureate of the “Book of the Year” competition, “Author of the Year”, “Name of the Year”, “Bestseller of the Year” awards, member of the Union of Writers of Russia, awarded the public Order of Peter the Great, 1st degree with a ribbon for great personal contribution and outstanding achievements in the field of literature. Previously, she had three pugs: Kapa, Fenya and Mulyana. But when Mulya became seriously ill, in order to somehow support her, daughter Masha bought two puppies - Fira and Musya. Mulya loved to play with the kids. She was delighted with the puppies and lived for another two months. Now Daria has four pugs, all of them female. Capa, Fenya and Musya are fawn in color and only Fira is black.
Pugs are very friendly dogs, and therefore there are simply no disagreements in her family. Fenya took charge of raising Fira and Musya, and Kapa was so happy about the appearance of new pugs that she licked the babies every now and then. As soon as they arrived, Musya and Fira first began to play with the cat, and even after that, the cat San Sanych allowed the puppies to sleep on his back! What a family idyll! In the evenings they love to frolic: they chase each other around the house. San Sanych does not lag behind them - sometimes he bullies the dogs himself, especially Fira: he knows that she will “behave.” For example, what’s the point of meddling with Fenya: she won’t play. They also love to run after the cat’s broom: as soon as you start playing with the cat, the dogs immediately fall into hysterics and chase after it.
San Sanych - dear, beloved, precious. And he, apparently, does not see dogs as his competitors. Recently Sveta Konegen came to visit them with her Yorkshire terrier Dusya. What they did is impossible to describe! And the cat was simply in seventh heaven! And when San Sanych lies down in the middle of the room and stretches out his paws, the dogs lie down next to him, also stretch out their paws and begin to lick them. That's what it means to pick up each other's habits! Many people don’t even believe that this happens.
In love and harmony,
Fira is very smart and is responsible for protecting the house.
As soon as she hears a rustle in the hallway, she is already flying to the door, starting to bark loudly. She is also very jumpy, unlike Musi, who has difficulty climbing onto the sofa on her own and asks to be lifted. At the same time, Musya is so active that she has time to go everywhere, she needs to know everything, she can be in several places at once. Now they are already two years old, but they continue to misbehave: they pester Capa and Fenya, jump up the stairs, and can steal something from the table. Everyone except Musi is not jealous at all. But Musya really loves it when people pay attention to her, and God forbid you pet someone and she doesn’t. She will ride until she gets her way. Daria tries not to deprive anyone of affection: if you suddenly want to treat someone, then, of course, everyone gets the treat at once, including the cat. And everyone relaxes together. Her house has spacious sofas that can accommodate all her four-legged friends at once. Pugs are friendly, they all have good relationships with each other and often frolic together with the toys that the house is full of. Musa especially liked my pug slippers, so I had to give them to her.
In Dontsova’s house you can find almost any thing with a picture of pugs. Friends and relatives constantly give souvenirs with pugs: there are already several thousand of them in her collection. There is even a table with pugs: my husband saw it in the store and bought it without hesitation.
Four-legged psychologists
If the pugs have been mischievous, she picks up a newspaper, knocks it on the floor and asks in a stern voice: “Who misbehaved?”
But these dogs know how to look with such eyes that you immediately melt, throw away the newspaper and treat the pugs with something tasty. And I didn’t even try to train them. But dogs know for sure that before going to bed they will certainly take a bath, that they need to walk outside, that they should not eat on the bed. But the late pug Mulya was a brilliant fashion model: when journalists came to the house, she followed all their commands and happily posed in front of the cameras. Once a month, all animals are examined by a veterinarian, their teeth and ears are regularly cleaned, their nails are trimmed and all necessary vaccinations are given, they eat good food... Pugs are heat-loving dogs, they are afraid of the cold. In cold weather they walk in warm down jackets, and in rain - in light blankets.
Pugs are four-legged psychotherapists, and you can talk to them about literally anything. If you are sad, the pug will be able to take pity on you and calm you down, and if you are in a good mood, he will be happy to play with you. Previously, Daria had dogs of other breeds, but now, in addition to four pugs and the cat San Sanych, fish and a turtle Gerasim also live in the house. At one time she also had hamsters. She bought a hamster for the children, but he got sick. The doctor said that he was bored, and they bought him a pair - a girl. Once every two weeks they had hamsters. There were a lot of them, and they grew up quickly. They began to take the hamsters to a pet store on Arbat.
They cost two kopecks a pair. They brought a dozen kids, received 20 kopecks for them and left. One day a seller, who already remembered Dontsova, says: “People bring us 200, 1000 hamsters, they breed them. What do you have? Daria replied that these were simply the fruits of love.
When people get a pet, they must clearly understand that this is a great responsibility, that they need to take care of their pet. If possible, try to help homeless animals. Daria agreed with one gas station where street dogs live that she would take them to the veterinarian, sterilize them and bring them back with a supply of medicine for a week. Very responsible people work at this station: they injected the animals with medicine and nursed them. And these dogs still live with them. She likes, for example, the system by which the English shelter for stray dogs operates. Photos of all animals are posted on the shelter's website. You can pay $10, and then your dog will wish you a happy birthday, send you news, you can come and play with her at the shelter or pay for her visit to the dentist, buy toys... One dog can have almost 100 sponsors at once. This is a solution for those who want to communicate with an animal, but for some reason cannot have one at home.
Darya Dontsova
Blue Pug of Happiness
If you do your homework according to all the rules, meticulously, it can kill you. Well, imagine for a moment that you are washing the floor as described in the book “To Help the Young Housewife.” I quote: “First, thoroughly vacuum the floor. Then use a damp cloth to clean the baseboards, legs of tables, chairs and armchairs. Move sofas and beds aside. Next, go over the floors with a broom; even a very good vacuum cleaner is not able to thoroughly collect all the dust. Then wipe the surfaces with a rag soaked in a disinfectant solution, wash the burlap thoroughly and repeat the procedure. Rinse off the bleach, changing clean water several times, wipe the floors dry, and ventilate the apartment. Remember, parquet and linoleum need to be treated at least twice a day.”
I looked longingly at the “landscape” surrounding me. Wash the floors twice a day, rearranging all the furniture in the process? This is cool. Probably, then even cleanliness would reign in our apartment. Now, to be frank, the home does not look very tidy.
However, there is a justification for everything. It's a slushy November. Snow falls from the sky, which, when it hits the ground, instantly turns into mush, so black traces remain in the hallway near the hanger. Moreover, every time Seryozhka, having already pulled on his jacket, starts yelling:
- I forgot, I forgot! - And rushes to his room straight in his boots.
To all my cries like: “Change your shoes immediately!” - he answers: “Well, don’t be boring, Lamp, they are clean, they stood in the corridor overnight and are already dry.”
But it’s true, the boots are dry, and now sand is simply falling from them, and not scraps of black dirt.
There are also four dogs living in our house. And, oddly enough, the shaggy-haired Ramik does not shed, but the short-haired Mulya, Adyusha and Rachel leave very small hairs everywhere, barely visible to the eye.
If dog hair is almost invisible, then why should it irritate anyone? The fact is that these hairs get into clumps after a while, and they are also sharp, like needles, and dig into your clothes. In addition, Mulya and Ada are big fans of lounging on sofas, armchairs and beds. In autumn and spring, the molting process becomes more severe. Yesterday Kostin screamed for a long time, discovering that he himself looked like a giant pug: “Disgusting, pull the fur out of me immediately!”
Hearing this phrase, Lisa giggled, and Yulia answered quite seriously:
“I’m afraid we’ll waste too much time, you’re hairy.” Maybe you should go for hair removal? I'll give you the address of the salon.
- Wow! – Kostin yelled. “What I meant was: shake the pug hair off my trousers!”
“I would have said so right away,” Yulia yawned, “why don’t you shake yourself off?”
- I can not! Hairs like needles.
“In this case, I use tweezers,” Lisa climbed in.
“There’s a sticky brush in the hallway,” advised Kiryushka.
Kostin left the kitchen, muttering angrily under his breath:
- It's horrible! Wherever you sit, there are tufts of fur everywhere. Lamp, when was the last time you cleaned your apartment?
I pretended not to hear the question. When when! Well, I don't remember. I cleaned the bathroom mirror on Monday, and what was the result? Yes, while no one was home, the bathroom was sparkling clean, but as soon as Kiryushka came home from school and washed his hands once, everything around was dirty again.
- And what's the point of cleaning? Well, I’ll vacuum the corridor... Then, in the evening, I’ll go out with the dogs, after the walk the dogs will run to the bathroom to wash their paws - and cleanliness will go down the drain,” I sighed.
“And you carry the dogs in your arms,” Yulechka advised.
- Great idea! – I was indignant. “Let’s say I manage the task, pick up two fat, barrel-shaped pugs at the same time and unlock the door to the bathroom.” Just think, Mulya weighs fifteen kilos, and Adyusha only twelve! But Rachel and Ramik? How to tear a Staffordshire dog and a court terrier off the floor, each of which is heavier than its owner?
Seryozhka finished his tea and said with the most serious face:
- There is a way out! And the dogs are in the bathroom, and the floor is untouched. Just a brilliant idea! Great idea.
I know that Seryozha cannot be trusted, he is simply not capable of behaving seriously, but the prospect of not washing floors stained by dogs was so tempting that I fell for the bait and impatiently exclaimed:
- What idea? Tell.
“We’re buying a luggage trolley,” Seryozhka declared with an absolutely impenetrable look, “you know, the ones the porters at the station deliver suitcases to!” You bring the dogs from a walk, sit them down and head to the bathroom. Class!
Liza, Yulia and Kiryushka burst into laughter, I became completely angry, and Seryozhka, terribly pleased with the impression he made, continued:
“And you can also make them suits, like diving suits.” And the trick is in the bag. Not a single hairy creature around. Or we’ll paint the dogs black, the dirt won’t be visible on the dark!
“Black isn’t interesting,” Lizaveta drawled, “but if it’s blue, it’ll be cool!”
“Cool,” Kiryushka jumped up, “super dogs!” Blue dogs.
“Well, you can’t paint them all,” Yulechka shook her head.
- Why so? – Kiryusha asked cockily.
“Rachel is very big, it will take two buckets of paint,” explained Seryozhka’s wife, “it won’t be noticeable on Ramik, he’s almost black, and he’s spinning all the time, leaving Mulya and Ada.”
“Then we’ll paint them,” Kiryusha and Lizaveta did not flinch.
Having suppressed my anger, I went to my room, and the nasty children had fun in the kitchen for a long time.
But this morning, when everyone had fled, some to study, some to work, I looked around the apartment and made a historic decision: it’s time to put things in order.
Well, be honest, what emotions does the need to pick up a vacuum cleaner evoke in you? I also didn’t feel any enthusiasm, so before getting down to the tedious task, I decided to treat myself to a cup of delicious tea.
During the autumn-winter season, our dogs prefer to sleep for twenty hours at a time. Even Ada, who always pesters everyone with offers to play, moderates her ardor. No one can bring the flock out of suspended animation. The doorbell rings, joyful cries: “Who came to us!” – do not evoke any emotions in four-legged animals. The order “Let's go for a walk” does not bring them joy. Hearing him, Mulya begins to bury herself in the pillows, Rachel begins to yawn with all her fanged mouth. Ramik pretends to be suddenly deaf, and Ada... she acts smarter than everyone else. At the sound of the drawer in which the leashes are kept being pulled out, she instantly understands: now she will be stuffed into a disgustingly rustling jumpsuit, and then dragged into the yard, where she will be forced to knead icy puddles with her tender paws.
Having assessed the situation, Adyusha, feigning complete delight, flies to my call, but doesn’t make it to the pug’s hallway. On the way, she quickly taxis into the bathroom, voluptuously pees on the rug, and then begins to bark loudly. It’s very easy to translate her speech into Russian; most likely the pug says: “That’s it. There's no need to take me out. It is done".
Adyusha is so reluctant to go out onto the slushy street that she is ready to come to terms with the punishment she will receive for the disgrace she has committed. Sometimes it seems to me that Ada is not at all afraid of my anger. Well, the stupid Lamp is squatting in front of her, banging a rolled-up newspaper on the floor in front of the hooligan’s nose, and hissing angrily: “Ugh, what a shame!” Bad pug!”
And what? They don’t take her outside, which means everything is just fine. Probably, in order to wean Ada from her nasty habit, the crazy pug, despite her hooliganism, should be squeezed into overalls and pushed out into the cold. Maybe then the right thought will arise in the dog’s cunning head: no matter how much you pee on the rug, you’ll still end up in the yard. Only I’m extremely lazy, I really don’t want to drag an extra dog out into the snow and rain, which has already relieved itself, and then wash it off the dirt. It’s because of my laziness that everything goes the way it does!
But you still have to take up the vacuum cleaner! Before I had time to come to terms with this, a bell rang in the hallway. The appearance of anyone around nine in the morning usually does not make me happy, but now I trotted to the door in complete delight. Whoever the intruder is will spare me the trouble of cleaning. I can then confidently tell my household: “Yes, I was about to vacuum, and then something fell on my head...”
Without looking through the peephole, I opened the door and stepped back. A gypsy stood on the threshold, dressed in a rather dirty down jacket, from under which a colorful skirt was visible. The not very pleasant guest's feet were shod in rough boots, and her head was tied with a red scarf.
“Listen, beauty,” the gypsy sang, squinting her beautiful, slightly bulging brown eyes. - Let the baby be swaddled.
And she thrust a fur envelope under my nose, from which not a sound came.
I am, of course, naive, but not to the same degree, and then, I simply love detective novels to the point of oblivion and I understand very well: there is no one in the fur bundle. Most likely there is a log there. If now I take this bait and let the black-eyed beauty in, then most likely she will lure money out of me or simply steal what is lying badly.
Daria Dontsova is the author of more than 70 detective stories, a favorite of millions of Russians. Her books have multi-million copies. Each of her novels is fun and cozy, and the pets are friendly with each other and not a single detective story can do without their participation. And it’s no longer a secret to anyone that all the characters in the writer’s novels are partly based on herself and those around her. All the animals of the main character of Dasha Vasilyeva’s book are animals that live with Dontsova. Pugs Mulya, Fenya, Kapa, dwarf Cherry, Cleopatra the cat, toad and fish - they all have real prototypes! Gifts from fans are always nice. As Daria admits, her main thing is pets. “I have always lived with animals. These are still my friends and my children,” she says. Even in Daria's books there are animals. Not only dogs, but also cats, toads, hamsters. Various funny stories always happen to them. Only a big animal lover could come up with something like this. Friendly family Now Daria Dontsova has three pugs: Mulya, Fenya and Kapa. “When I got them, I realized that these were my dogs,” says Daria. To understand this, you just need to go into the writer’s house - what is there for the comfortable life of her dogs. Everything is permeated with a single animalistic theme, dedicated to the writer’s favorite pets. That's why her house is jokingly called the Pug House. These are Dontsova’s pugs. Now you know why Daria is so good not only at detective stories, but also at describing home life, which would not be complete without our little brothers. The next time you read a novel by the writer, pay attention to the pets with which the main characters of Dontsova’s books are so friendly. Perhaps you will find something in common between them and your favorites.
Tattoos protect their meaning. Mystic. Space
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We say “Dontsova” - we mean “pugs”; we say “pugs” - we mean “Dontsov”. They are inseparable from each other, like a book from its cover.
Daria Arkadyevna managed to so sweetly and unobtrusively weave these bow-legged dogs with velvet eyes into the outline of her ironic detective stories that now a good half of Russian pugs bear the proud nickname Khuchik, and the second responds to Mulya or Fenya. The writer has done so much to popularize the breed in Russia that it’s time to open a pug museum named after Daria Dontsova: there will definitely be no shortage of exhibits. Just look at the copper plaque on the writer’s house “Pug House” or the sign on the wall notifying that only pug lovers can park here, as well as the flag with a pug’s face fluttering at the porch.
Today we decided to take a short “walk” through the books of Daria Dontsova, the main characters of which are often dogs - certainly kind, funny and gluttonous. We wanted to find out which of what was written about the beloved writers' pugs is true and which is fiction.
And so Mulya, Fenya and Kapa greet us with cheerful barking on the threshold of the Dontsov family’s house near Moscow, and then the always cheerful Daria Arkadyevna comes out.
GOLDFISH EAR
Hooch jumped onto the blanket again and sighed loudly. The smell of the “Rabbit in Jelly” he had eaten reached my nose, I wrinkled my nose in anticipation of an attack of nausea and suddenly saw how handsome Huchik was.
Plump, with a smooth beige coat. A dark stripe of coarser hairs runs along the back, a sweet little face with huge brown eyes and neatly hanging triangular ears, a tail curled into a donut... God, how I love Huchik! He has a wonderful character, affectionate and friendly.
— Daria Arkadyevna, they say that your family is even jealous of your dogs. How often do you experience attacks of irrepressible love for pugs?
- Yes, our whole family is crazy with love for dogs, so it never occurs to anyone to be jealous of me for pugs. Isn’t it true, Mash? — Daria Arkadyevna turns to her daughter for support.
Of course, of course,” Masha smiled. “Only for some reason, when I fell down the stairs, they told me that I should watch my step and not jump over the steps. When dad slipped and fell on the stairs, they said that he was already an elderly man with impaired coordination of movements. But when Mulya sprained her paw on the same stairs, a couple of days later the ill-fated steps were covered with a carpet so that the dogs could run comfortably on it! — the daughter sold out her mother.
GHOST IN SNEAKERS
Huchik is a big food lover. True, he destroys the finished food without any enthusiasm. At home, dogs cook delicious porridge in meat or chicken broth. Huchik always comes running first. As soon as someone rattles the bowls, the pug immediately comes towards the sound in the hope of getting something tasty. In general, all dogs have three joys: walking, eating and sleeping. But for Huchik, a full bowl simply causes ecstasy. I've never met a dog who loves to eat so much.
— Daria Arkadyevna, do pugs really like to eat that much? And do you really cook the porridge for them yourself?
“I used to cook it, but now, on the urgent recommendations of veterinarians, we switched the dogs to ready-made food. At first they turned up their noses at the canned food and demanded their favorite porridge, but then they resigned themselves and, as you can see, this did not affect their figures in any way, although in general a skinny pug is nonsense: they must have barrels and folds. The only thing left from pampering is our nightly ritual, which I call “candy-lambs”: as soon as I rattle a jar of dog treats, the whole flock is right there, sitting there, waiting for distribution.
The terrible secret of Daria Dontsova
Daria Dontsova reveals a secret: all her books are co-authored with pugs
The famous writer Daria Dontsova is also known for her love of animals. Several pets constantly live in her house. For example, not long ago she got two cute puppies - pugs Zephyra and Musya. Despite her total employment and workload, the writer managed to find time for the VM correspondent to talk about her favorite animals.
Four-legged psychotherapists
- Daria, what is so special about this breed that you love it so much?
– Love defies explanation, I love animals regardless of their breed and size.
And not only pugs lived in my house, but now, in addition to pugs, there is also a cat and turtles. Maybe I look like a pug. – There are probably many touching and funny episodes associated with these pugs. Please remember any of them. – Anyone who wants to know touching and funny stories about my pugs can pick up any of my books from the series about Dasha Vasilyeva or Evlampia Romanova. There are a lot of different stories there that happened not only with my pugs, but also with other animals living in our house. – How do you educate your students?
“Since I am the main pug in this pack, I sometimes use newspaper therapy: I take some publication rolled into a tube, knock it on the floor in front of the offending pug and sternly ask: “Who did the mischief?!”
The pug looks at me with her big brown eyes, I throw away the newspaper and begin to treat her with crackers. – Are you trying to accustom them to commands?
“Since I haven’t been able to train either my children or my husband over the years, I didn’t even try to do it with pugs.
My dogs, naturally, know that they should walk outside, that they will definitely wash themselves in the evening before going to bed, and that they should not eat crackers on the bed, but I am afraid that this is all that I have been able to teach them. I tried, however, to force them to read the works of great philosophers, but nothing came of it. And those journalists who came to my house with cameras and cameras know what an amazing fashion model my late pug Mulya was. She wanted fame so much that she obeyed all the reporters’ commands, and, I must say, Mulechka gained this fame: the image of her face was replicated in 125 million copies of my books. – Have you tried to train your other dogs in any way?
“I tried to teach Cherry the poodle to give her paw, but instead of her front paw, she always pulled out her back paw, and I gave up these attempts.
In the winter we harnessed the pit bull Bundy and the Rottweiler Snap to a sled - so I managed to make reindeer out of them. – In general, what are they like, these same pugs?
Obedient, daring, affectionate... - A pug is a dog for the house; you shouldn’t take it for a duck hunt or force it to run after your bike.
The pug is a companion dog: if you are in a cheerful mood, he is always ready to play, if you are tired, he will simply lie down next to you. The pug surprisingly senses the mood of the owner, he is able to feel sorry for you, he is a four-legged psychotherapist with whom you can talk about everything. – Do dogs have any influence on you and your writing?
– Exclusively for you, I can reveal a huge secret: in fact, I am co-writing these books. Capa comes up with the characters, Fenya perfectly describes nature, Zefira famously spins a detective plot, Musya is an unsurpassed master of dialogue. Every morning we get to work: the pugs dictate the text to me, and I carefully write it down.
Desperate bastards
- Daria, why did you decide to expand your pack of pugs?
– Last year my pug Mulya died, a month before her death we took two puppies into the house: Zephyrka and Musya.
Mulya loved the puppies very much, and we wanted to give her pleasant emotions before she died. Marshmallow and Musya were bought by my daughter Masha. Zephyrka is a black pug, and Musya is a regular beige color. – How did your pets begin to behave when they arrived at your home?
– Like all puppies, Fira and Musya are desperate miscreants, they can steal cookies from the table, constantly pester their friends Capa and Fenya, rush up the stairs and tease the cat - this is what they do regularly.
But we try to raise real noble pug ladies in them. – How do you choose your pets?
Do you use the services of breeders? Is a dog's pedigree important to you? – The more you know about your dog, the easier it will be for you to live with it.
Many diseases are transmitted genetically, and if you want to have a healthy dog, check the health of its parents. I don’t take my dogs to shows, but I really want them to live as long as possible, so I have friends among veterinarians. Moreover, we can say that in our family we raised a personal veterinarian: the son of my closest friend is a candidate of biological sciences and graduated from the veterinary academy. – What is the character of Musya and Fira?
– Musya is capable of being in five places at once, she doesn’t like to be picked up because she’s afraid of heights, and she still hasn’t learned to jump into a chair and asks to be lifted. Marshmallow, on the contrary, jumps very easily, while tucking in his hind legs - from the outside it looks very funny. Zephyra is a real security guard; as soon as she hears an extraneous sound from the hallway, she rushes to the door barking. She also loves to carry a ball and is smart beyond her years.
And no domestic squabbles
- How did they fit into the dog team already living with you?
Didn't they start barking and biting them? – Pugs are very tolerant dogs.
I can’t even imagine that a pug would bite. Kapa immediately began licking Fira and Musya, the cat San Sanych allowed the puppies to sleep on his back, and Fenya zealously began raising the young shoots. There are no dog fights in our house. – And yet, there is probably jealousy on the part of pugs towards new residents...
– The older generation of pugs is not jealous at all, and besides, in our house we have wide armchairs and spacious sofas, on which everyone can lie down very comfortably at once.
If it occurs to us to treat one of the dogs with an apple, then, of course, everyone gets apples, including the cat. – Do they show any feelings towards you?
“I want to believe that my dogs adore me.”
– How do they make you feel?
Do you like to pet them, scratch them behind the ears, or hand feed them? – To be honest, the question surprised me.
If I didn’t love doing all this, why would I get dogs for myself?! It’s clear that people get a dog in order to love it. – How do you take care of them?
– Once every six months, my dogs are examined by a veterinarian, I regularly give them the necessary vaccinations, brush their teeth and ears, trim their nails, feed them good quality food, and buy them toys. We have dog beds and couches all over our house. Since pugs are short-haired, heat-loving dogs, and we don’t live in Africa, then, of course, the whole flock has warm down jackets for cold weather and thin blankets for rain. Unfortunately, pugs have colds, so we didn't have air conditioning in the house. And at the front entrance of my house there is a large sign that says: Mops house. I think there is nothing more to add to this.
Dossier "VM"
Agrippina Dontsova was born in Moscow. Graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University. After university, she worked for two years in Syria, at the Soviet consulate, as a translator from French. Returning to Moscow, she worked in the information department of our newspaper until 1983. In 1983, she married an outstanding scientist, psychologist, dean of the psychology department of Moscow State University, Alexander Dontsov. In 1986, her daughter Masha was born. At the end of 1998, doctors pronounced a terrible verdict: oncology, stage 4... Agrippina Arkadyevna was saved by a course of conversations with a talented psychotherapist, her own love of life and the wonderful advice of her loving husband: “Write, Grunya!” Thus began her second life. Already Daria Dontsova, she wrote and published several dozen novels in the “ironic detective” genre.
Bakulina Ekaterina, K_№3-2012, My cat and I, Important people, Celebrities K A true Briton in the “pug house” of Daria Dontsova
Daria Dontsova's novels are called “pills for depression.” Ineradicable optimism and the ability to find a way out of any situation are the common features of the main characters of the writer’s numerous detective stories. The phenomenon of success of Daria Dontsova, whose books have the largest circulation in Russia, proves that people are tired of hopelessness, that they want to believe in themselves and in life. And Daria Dontsova knows firsthand that this faith is capable of working miracles, as well as the fact that a rapid fall is necessarily followed by a rise. You just need to not lose heart and fight.
To recharge with optimism from communicating with the writer, we had to leave noisy Moscow and head to a cozy village near Moscow, where her three-story house is located, which she calls a “pug house.” Clean air, silence, nature - what else is needed for a creative person!
As soon as we entered, a whole flock of pugs rolled out towards us with a ringing, booming bark. Dogs of this breed are Daria’s true passion. While preparing for the interview, I had already managed to get to know all her pets in absentia. Fira, Musya, Kapa, Fenya... Well, where is the Briton named San Sanych? A handsome black cat of the British breed finally came out of the room to greet us. As befits the British, San Sanych “greeted” with dignity and without unnecessary emotions and was about to leave, but, apparently, sensing that we were avid cat lovers, he still decided to stay and even reacted approvingly to our caresses.
No cats!
– Daria, I heard that your cat has a difficult temperament...
– Our cat’s character is like that of some count (by the way, he has an excellent pedigree): he is independent, imposing, and aware of his importance. For this behavior we called him respectfully - San Sanych. With us, he is not harmful, not malicious - he has never scratched anyone in his life, the main thing is not to touch him. If San Sanych is in a good mood, he starts talking. That's how it is now, do you hear? Meows about something. In general, if journalists come, the cat only comes out if he understands that he will be fed for it. That's how selfish he is! I usually feed him, so when I come home, San Sanych greets me joyfully.
– Is he always so calm or sometimes he still gives free rein to his instincts?
“Basically, he behaves very quietly and does not want to leave the house. Although one day a field mouse came running to the site, San Sanych caught it in one second. And how he catches birds! It jumps high, grabs the prey and solemnly carries it into the house. He also loves to watch through the window the squirrels that come running into the garden and eat nuts from the feeder. Squirrels love to tease the cat: they come down from the tree and sit in front of the house. But San Sanych can’t find a place for himself - he rushes about and mutters something under his breath. So our cat is obviously “passionate.” He just knows how to control himself.
– What kind of relationship does San Sanych have with your pugs?
“They are on good terms and love to frolic together.” When Sanya appeared in our house, we had three pugs - Kapa, Fenya and Mulya. They raised the cat! And they, in turn, were raised by the cat Cleopatra, who lived with us before. So these representatives of different species have complete mutual understanding. True, the cat clearly considers himself smarter than all these animals combined. And pugs recognize him as a full-fledged dog. Musya, for example, has loved lying on the cat’s back since childhood, and he doesn’t mind. Sanya has no complexes: he sleeps with the dogs in the same basket, calmly reacts to their hooligan antics, and sometimes pesters them himself. If the dogs refuse to play with him, San Sanych hits them in the face with his paw as hard as he can. Who can stand this? Then the running around the table, on the chairs and on the pillows begins.
– Your husband, Alexander Ivanovich, does not object to so many animals in the house?
- No, what are you talking about! My husband, Doctor of Psychology, professor at Moscow State University, loves animals very much. He is a cat person by nature, and he has always had cats, and red ones at that. And he dreamed of a red kitten, but his daughter Masha gave her dad a black Briton San Sanych for his birthday. This was seven years ago. He was so quiet as a child that one day we forgot him in the yard. We were just moving into this house, there were bundles and boxes lying around... It was impossible to even find cutlery! And in the confusion we completely forgot about the cat. And the housekeeper who arrived in the morning suddenly heard someone “meow” in the yard, and little San Sanych jumped off the wheel of the car, having slept on it all night. Since then, my husband has developed the habit of always walking around the whole house before going to bed and checking if our Sanyok is still there. (Laughs).
– Are you planning to get another cat?
- No, what are you talking about! San Sanych only accepts dogs, and never accepts cats. A few years ago, Masha was driving home and in the headlights she noticed a kitten on the road with a tin can on its head. She brought him here. Sweet, wonderful kitten! We all liked it and kept it. One day my husband complained that someone peed on the carpet in his office. Suspicion fell on the kitten. The next time Masha saw that her entire bed had been described. We thought about a kitten again. A friend of mine came here, whose cat recently died. She saw the baby and began to cry: “Give him to me, this is my cat who has returned!” We, of course, gave it away, and he still lives happily with her. The hooliganism stopped, but one day about 30 guests came to Masha’s anniversary, and everyone stayed overnight with us. And what do you think? The next morning, someone peed on the Car’s bed again. It was then that it was revealed that the kitten had nothing to do with it. It was San Sanych who expressed his protest in this way. Who would have thought! He rescued a kitten from the house and at the same time was so affectionate with him! Since then, there have been no cats in the house except San Sanych.
Suddenly our conversation was interrupted by a noisy group of pugs, keen on chasing a cat. But it was not there! San Sanych, having rebuffed them, with an absolutely calm look, retired to the house.
“He understands that they won’t do anything to him, they’ll just push him a little and that’s all!” Sanechka, Sanya! Sanya! Oh, my sunshine, you are my favorite! He starts to purr something in response to me, do you hear? Moreover, I noticed that cats and parrots react to my voice. Every time I see parrots in a pet store and start talking kindly, the birds immediately perk up: they talk, open their wings... So another of my pets, the red-eared turtle Gerasim, is happy when he sees me. He knows that I will feed him now. My husband once decided that the turtle was bored on its own, and added fish to it. When they simply began to disappear, we realized that Gerasim was eating them. It turns out that we have arranged some kind of Armageddon for the fish. Then we moved Hera to a nearby aquarium.
Personal masseur for Musi
– Daria, where does your love for animals come from?
– We always had a lot of animals: first there was the dog Snapik, then we added the poodle Cherry, then pugs appeared: Mulya, Kapa, Fenya... The dog Mulya loved little puppies very much. And when she became seriously ill, we decided to take the kids - Fira and Musya: we hoped that she would live longer on enthusiasm, but her oncology was already at such a stage that it was useless to do anything. We currently have four pugs living with us, all girls.
– Is four pugs in the house the limit or not?
- I think yes. With five pugs it would probably be difficult for me. You need to constantly monitor their health. We were very frightened by the story with Mulya - then we realized it too late. Now once a month a veterinarian always comes to us and examines the animals. It is important to prevent the development of the disease in time. For example, San Sanych, at the doctor’s orders, is now on a diet, which he is very dissatisfied with. And when we first adopted the puppies, it turned out that Musya had a weakened immune system and also had a curvature of the spine. She was cured by my personal massage therapist. Seeing Musya for the first time, he immediately diagnosed her with kyphosis and began treating her. Musya couldn’t stand the massage, and the doctor said: “Be patient, I don’t like your kyphosis!” (laughs), and stubbornly continued treatment - now the dog is completely healthy.
- Lucky Musa...
– Yes, but now I’ll tell you a story about real luck! As I already said, the veterinarian Pasha comes to see us every month. In his car there is a full intensive care unit with all the necessary equipment. As he was driving through the village, a car hit a cat right in front of him. Pasha stopped, grabbed the wounded man, gave him several injections, wrapped him in a blanket and left him to sleep in the car. Soon the cat came to his senses - it turned out that he escaped with only minor bruises! Pasha considered that the animal needed to be returned to its habitat, and released it in the place where he found it. The cat didn’t even understand how lucky he was to meet Pasha on the way!
– How do you keep track of all your pets at once?
- No problem, we can handle it. But, of course, you need to pay attention to everyone, stroke and caress everyone. In the evening we have a whole ritual: I go up to the second floor, plop down in bed and turn on the TV. Fenya and Capa immediately come running, I stroke them, then a little thing crawls up, Musya and Fira: “What about us?” And only the cat is far from all this: he remains sleeping downstairs. I wish him good night, and he says “meow” in response. Although he can come at 3 am and start trampling on me with heavy steps. Then the division of territory between the cat and dogs begins. The dogs sniffle and puff, and San Sanych silently wanders around the bed. In general, they are very quiet and only become animated when guests arrive or the refrigerator opens. As soon as Alexander Ivanovich sneaks into the kitchen at night to have a snack, Fira begins to scream loudly: “Dad went to the refrigerator!” (Laughs). The husband says: “Well, why does she always betray me!”
"Never give up!"
– Daria, you have a very beautiful house. Who designed it?
– We did the decoration ourselves: me, my husband and daughter Masha. Everyone contributed and bought what they liked. For this reason, the design of the house is very eclectic. At first we tried to turn to professional designers for help, but every time they insisted on their own, not listening to our wishes at all. In the end, I said that this is our home, everything will be the way we want it, and I refused the services of specialists. By the way, here is the picture that my husband gave me for my birthday, a completely exclusive one: in it Mulya, Fenya and Kapa are preparing a cake for their mother, and the cat is spying on them from the window.
– When you work, don’t animals distract you?
- How can they distract me! True, they wake me up in the morning: of course, I could sleep for another half hour, but what can I do! I get up early and start working: I write books right in bed, and by hand, because it’s more convenient for me than typing on a computer.
– Daria, don’t your colleagues envy your ability to work?
- No, at least I never noticed it. Everyone works differently: some are faster, some are slower. I publish 11 novels a year. I just can't work slowly. It was because of this that I got into trouble when I was a journalist. Many people thought I was trying to stand out. I once worked in a magazine, and the editor-in-chief gave me a task, which I successfully completed the very next day. This was repeated several times until my colleagues began to accuse me of writing too quickly, while they were working on the material for two months. But I can't do that! And I had to leave the magazine.
– I know that it was work that once helped you not to despair and overcome the disease...
– Yes, I am an optimist in life, and my motto is: “Never give up and believe only in the good!” Indeed, when at the age of 45 I was diagnosed with a tumor, the situation seemed serious, but I believed the doctors, never argued with them and carefully followed all their instructions. By the way, I was treated at the regular Moscow Clinical Hospital No. 62 absolutely free of charge. You could say the doctors gave me life for the second time. In everything bad, as a rule, you can find something good - it was in this hospital that I started writing books. One day my husband came to visit me and said: “Stop messing around! You’ve been dreaming of writing for a long time, and now you just have the time for it!” I obeyed and started working, and left the hospital with five novels written. I chose this genre for myself because I love it very much and have read a huge number of crime stories in different languages. My advice to everyone is to drive away bad thoughts and tell yourself: “This is not about me, and I won’t think about it!” Being unhappy and sick is easy, but being happy and cheerful is much more difficult.
Biography
Daria Dontsova (Agrippina Arkadyevna Dontsova) was born on June 7, 1952 in Moscow. She graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University and spent two years in Syria, translating from French at the Soviet consulate. After returning to Russia, she worked in the newspaper “Evening Moscow”, and then in the magazine “Otchizna”. Author of more than 100 detective novels, winner of the “Book of the Year” competition, “Author of the Year”, “Name of the Year”, “Bestseller of the Year” awards. In 2011, according to the results of a survey by VTsIOM, Daria Dontsova was once again recognized as “Writer of the Year”.
One of the rooms in Daria Dontsova’s house can easily be called a pug museum. What's missing here! In addition to the countless figurines, there are also spectacle cases with pugs, and specially produced coasters for dishes from Fedoskino, also with a portrait of your favorite breed, as well as bed linen, bags, matryoshka pugs - you can’t count everything! And next door is a much more modest collection of cat figurines, collected by Daria’s husband.
Daria Dontsova not only writes detective stories, but also has an interesting hobby. The writer collects pugs.
Dontsova's collection includes figurines and figurines, magnets, paintings with pugs, towel racks, watches, food boxes, cutting boards, key chains, cases for mobile phones, potholders and even New Year's tree decorations!
«I stopped counting the specimens in my pug collection at the second thousand. It’s like before in Rus': everything that is more than 10 thousand was already called “the darkness of darkness.” So I have “horrible darkness” of pugs. At the same time, I remember very well where each exhibit came from. The first one was given to me by my daughter in 1999. Little Masha in Bulgaria, in some store at the checkout, saw a figurine of a pug, which was used to store used receipts. She told the seller: “I have such a dog at home, can I buy it from you?” In the end, they simply gave her a pug as a gift
", notes Dontsova.
Dontsova is surprised that her pets - the cat San Sanych, the dogs Jozi, Kuki, Fira, Musya, Mafi - do not react in any way to the figurines that fill the whole house. One day, Daria was given a toy – a wind-up pug. He raised his paws and barked loudly. But her pets did not accept this pug at all.
Not only her family and friends know about the writer’s passion, but also her friends and colleagues. On the set of “Fashionable Sentence,” Alexander Vasiliev gave the writer a gift, at the sight of which she squealed with delight: “ Giving gifts is a great art. Alexander Vasiliev could give me, for example, a scarf. And it would definitely be a wonderful scarf, and Alexander would have no worries, and I would be happy. But he knows how and loves to give gifts. And now I have Cookie, it was made in a single copy, an original work. Cookie will live on my desk, guarding the new manuscripts of children's books.
».
Daria Dontsova does not work at a desk, and by posting a photo on her Instagram, she clearly demonstrated why. Author's manuscripts are “guarded” by a whole pack of dogs.
«In general, all the things with images of dogs in our house somehow very quickly lose their purpose. For example, we have a pug mat to dry our feet. As a result, we are even afraid to step on it. The same thing happened with the shoe shine device. And the last thing that pleasantly surprised me were coasters for the teapot and cups. Friends from Instagram, whom I invite to my Pughouse, agreed and brought a stand. And everyone is different! Of course, I didn’t dare put hot mugs on them, but now I have them hanging in my kitchen instead of pictures
“,” Antenna-Telesem quotes Dontsova.
Excerpt from an interview with Daria Dontsova “The writer has long been famous for her great love for dogs, and at home Daria Dontsova, as the Paparazzi found out, has an incredible number of four-legged friends. Filled with love for high literature and our smaller brothers, “Paparazzi” visited the queen of Russian ironic detective Daria Dontsova in her pug house. …” “Surely, many people know that the writer’s house is a kind of kingdom of pug dogs. Here they are everywhere - on the walls in the form of paintings, in cabinets and on shelves - in the form of souvenirs, sweets, bags, figurines, boxes and God knows what else. In the library there is even a shelf of unfortunate pugs that were given to Daria. These creatures, in fact, are not pugs, but the writer takes pity on them and puts them in a locker specially designated for them. The paintings decorating the walls of the house depict only dogs of the owner’s favorite breed. Many of them were painted to order, some of the paintings were brought by Daria’s daughter Masha from abroad, and some are of artistic value. For example, the English prints that hang on the wall in Daria’s bedroom. “If you promise not to laugh loudly, I’ll give you a tour and tell you something about my collection,” says Dontsova. Of course, we can’t resist this temptation, and we go on a journey through the pug house. “There are potholders, pug socks, “Pugs in the Forest” candies given by my friends,” says Dasha, “and this is a pug bag.” Have you seen Sex and the City? There, the main character is given a wooden handbag in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. My daughter couldn’t afford that someone else had such a miracle, but I didn’t. She found this designer and ordered him a pug bag. The complexity of the situation was that designer Woods lives in Japan. The handbag was in Japan, and half the fashion world passed it from hand to hand so that in the end it ended up with me. Daria's daughter works as a buyer at TSUM; she is involved in the fashion industry, concluding contracts with various Houses and designers around the world. “Pug dolls, pug boxes, pug keychains, here you can find very expensive items and just cute trinkets,” continues Daria, “This indecent figurine, pugs making love, we have in France at a flea market.” There are antique pugs and even a pug from Swarovski. And these ottomans are everywhere for Capa, she really loves to climb on them. Look, my friend sewed this box. She is an amateur photographer, first she photographed my pugs, then she sewed this piece from them. There is fan art. This picture, for example, was drawn by one cleaning lady. She said it was my portrait. And here is a pug with a rocket. Our driver lives in the city of Korolev, and from there he brought this exhibit. It is impossible not to say a few words about the culprits of all this splendor, the prototypes of the collection and the real owners of the house - Kap, Fen, Fira and Musa. Dogs are truly extraordinary. Starting with the fact that they do not bark like dogs, but grunt, ending with their good-natured character and extraordinary appearance. The owner of the pug house can talk endlessly about her pets. “I got my first pug dog about 14 years ago,” says Daria. - Her name was Mulya. She came to live with us when we already had a dog and a cat. They died of old age when Mulya was four years old. One day we come home and see Mulya sitting in the hallway looking terribly sad. She didn't eat, she was very lonely. We looked and looked at all this - and ran to buy another dog. Masha, my daughter, chose Kapu, and then the breeder made a mistake: she released a second dog, it was the huge Fenya. She immediately won my heart. I wanted Fenya, and Masha wanted Kapu. I had to buy both. Daria interrupts and calls Fenya: “Fenya, daughter of the deer, come here,” the writer calls. “She has canine Alzheimer’s and forgot to take her pills.” See how big it is? Three years ago Mulya got sick and died, and we took Fira and Musya. And you know, Mulya was a mother, she took care of everyone, and during filming she worked on camera. And so, when she left, Capa took her place. She even began to look like Mulya. We buried Mulya in the garden, right here, outside the window. Every evening Kapa sits by the window and barks at Muli’s grave. This is her ritual. Among other things, Capa maintains a Twitter account in which he talks about his difficult life as a dog. “She talks about her (and my) life and writes that I beat my housekeepers, that I am terribly greedy, and so on,” says the writer. - All the rumors there giggle. She calls me Pisaka, but if she realizes that I’m nearby, she quickly writes: “Mistress, dear, let me lick your hand.” And there are a lot of rumors about Kapa’s mistress. “One journalist asked me which leg I had made of wood,” recalls Daria. “At first I was indignant, and then I realized that people associate a “prosthesis” with a leg. One day a newspaper buried me. They wrote that today, after another serious operation at the Oncology Center, Daria Dontsova died. Then I had a program on radio “Mayak”. I sat down and said: “In front of you is the corpse of Daria Dontsova.” All the studio phones exploded. Everyone was trying to find out whether I was alive or not. As a result, after a working day I come to the store where I always buy groceries. The cashiers jump up and shout: “Dasha! We're so glad. And they told us that you hanged yourself.” So the rumor went around Moscow and returned, like my suicide. Well, the rumor that a team of people is working for me, in my opinion, has already filled everyone’s mind,” says Daria. - Well, should I show everyone the manuscripts? I still write only by hand (Daria shows the manuscript, covered with edits). Once I showed the manuscript to a young man, a journalist, and the reaction was: “Everything is clear. They bring you a text and you rewrite it.” Now I laugh at all these rumors. The second reproach that is thrown at me is that all my novels are the same. But there is an obvious contradiction here, reminiscent of a situation when a woman shouts during a divorce: “My husband is impotent!”, and five minutes later: “My husband is a womanizer.” It's either one or the other. Or a team works, and then all the novels are different, because the team cannot write the same thing. Or I still write them. ..." Read in full, here.
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Chapter 1
If you do your homework according to all the rules, meticulously, it can kill you.
Well, imagine for a moment that you are washing the floor as described in the book “To Help the Young Housewife.” I quote: “First, thoroughly vacuum the floor. Then use a damp cloth to clean the baseboards, legs of tables, chairs and armchairs. Move sofas and beds aside. Next, go over the floors with a broom; even a very good vacuum cleaner is not able to thoroughly collect all the dust. Then wipe the surfaces with a rag soaked in a disinfectant solution, wash the burlap thoroughly and repeat the procedure. Rinse off the bleach, changing clean water several times, wipe the floors dry, and ventilate the apartment. Remember, parquet and linoleum need to be treated at least twice a day.” I looked longingly at the “landscape” surrounding me. Wash the floors twice a day, rearranging all the furniture in the process? This is cool. Probably, then even cleanliness would reign in our apartment. Now, to be frank, the home does not look very tidy.
However, there is a justification for everything. It's a slushy November. Snow falls from the sky, which, when it hits the ground, instantly turns into mush, so black traces remain in the hallway near the hanger. Moreover, every time Seryozhka, having already pulled on his jacket, starts yelling:
- I forgot, I forgot! - And rushes to his room straight in his boots.
To all my cries like: “Change your shoes immediately!” - he answers: “Well, don’t be boring, Lamp, they are clean, they stood in the corridor overnight and are already dry.”
But it’s true, the boots are dry, and now sand is simply falling from them, and not scraps of black dirt.
There are also four dogs living in our house. And, oddly enough, the shaggy-haired Ramik does not shed, but the short-haired Mulya, Adyusha and Rachel leave very small hairs everywhere, barely visible to the eye.
If dog hair is almost invisible, then why should it irritate anyone? The fact is that these hairs get into clumps after a while, and they are also sharp, like needles, and dig into your clothes. In addition, Mulya and Ada are big fans of lounging on sofas, armchairs and beds. In autumn and spring, the molting process becomes more severe. Yesterday Kostin screamed for a long time, discovering that he himself looked like a giant pug: “Disgusting, pull the fur out of me immediately!”
Hearing this phrase, Lisa giggled, and Yulia answered quite seriously:
“I’m afraid we’ll waste too much time, you’re hairy.” Maybe you should go for hair removal? I'll give you the address of the salon.
- Wow! – Kostin yelled. “What I meant was: shake the pug hair off my trousers!”
“I would have said so right away,” Yulia yawned, “why don’t you shake yourself off?”
- I can not! Hairs like needles.
“In this case, I use tweezers,” Lisa climbed in.
“There’s a sticky brush in the hallway,” advised Kiryushka.
Kostin left the kitchen, muttering angrily under his breath:
- It's horrible! Wherever you sit, there are tufts of fur everywhere. Lamp, when was the last time you cleaned your apartment?
I pretended not to hear the question. When when! Well, I don't remember. I cleaned the bathroom mirror on Monday, and what was the result? Yes, while no one was home, the bathroom was sparkling clean, but as soon as Kiryushka came home from school and washed his hands once, everything around was dirty again.
- And what's the point of cleaning? Well, I’ll vacuum the corridor... Then, in the evening, I’ll go out with the dogs, after the walk the dogs will run to the bathroom to wash their paws - and cleanliness will go down the drain,” I sighed.
“And you carry the dogs in your arms,” Yulechka advised.
- Great idea! – I was indignant. “Let’s say I manage the task, pick up two fat, barrel-shaped pugs at the same time and unlock the door to the bathroom.” Just think, Mulya weighs fifteen kilos, and Adyusha only twelve! But Rachel and Ramik? How to tear a Staffordshire dog and a court terrier off the floor, each of which is heavier than its owner?
Seryozhka finished his tea and said with the most serious face:
- There is a way out! And the dogs are in the bathroom, and the floor is untouched. Just a brilliant idea! Great idea.
I know that Seryozha cannot be trusted, he is simply not capable of behaving seriously, but the prospect of not washing floors stained by dogs was so tempting that I fell for the bait and impatiently exclaimed:
- What idea? Tell.
“We’re buying a luggage trolley,” Seryozhka declared with an absolutely impenetrable look, “you know, the ones the porters at the station deliver suitcases to!” You bring the dogs from a walk, sit them down and head to the bathroom. Class!
Liza, Yulia and Kiryushka burst into laughter, I became completely angry, and Seryozhka, terribly pleased with the impression he made, continued:
“And you can also make them suits, like diving suits.” And the trick is in the bag. Not a single hairy creature around. Or we’ll paint the dogs black, the dirt won’t be visible on the dark!
“Black isn’t interesting,” Lizaveta drawled, “but if it’s blue, it’ll be cool!”
“Cool,” Kiryushka jumped up, “super dogs!” Blue dogs.
“Well, you can’t paint them all,” Yulechka shook her head.
- Why so? – Kiryusha asked cockily.
“Rachel is very big, it will take two buckets of paint,” explained Seryozhka’s wife, “it won’t be noticeable on Ramik, he’s almost black, and he’s spinning all the time, leaving Mulya and Ada.”
“Then we’ll paint them,” Kiryusha and Lizaveta did not flinch.
Having suppressed my anger, I went to my room, and the nasty children had fun in the kitchen for a long time.
But this morning, when everyone had fled, some to study, some to work, I looked around the apartment and made a historic decision: it’s time to put things in order.
Well, be honest, what emotions does the need to pick up a vacuum cleaner evoke in you? I also didn’t feel any enthusiasm, so before getting down to the tedious task, I decided to treat myself to a cup of delicious tea.
During the autumn-winter season, our dogs prefer to sleep for twenty hours at a time. Even Ada, who always pesters everyone with offers to play, moderates her ardor. No one can bring the flock out of suspended animation. The doorbell rings, joyful cries: “Who came to us!” – do not evoke any emotions in four-legged animals. The order “Let's go for a walk” does not bring them joy. Hearing him, Mulya begins to bury herself in the pillows, Rachel begins to yawn with all her fanged mouth. Ramik pretends to be suddenly deaf, and Ada... she acts smarter than everyone else. At the sound of the drawer in which the leashes are kept being pulled out, she instantly understands: now she will be stuffed into a disgustingly rustling jumpsuit, and then dragged into the yard, where she will be forced to knead icy puddles with her tender paws.
Having assessed the situation, Adyusha, feigning complete delight, flies to my call, but doesn’t make it to the pug’s hallway. On the way, she quickly taxis into the bathroom, voluptuously pees on the rug, and then begins to bark loudly. It’s very easy to translate her speech into Russian; most likely the pug says: “That’s it. There's no need to take me out. It is done".
Adyusha is so reluctant to go out onto the slushy street that she is ready to come to terms with the punishment she will receive for the disgrace she has committed. Sometimes it seems to me that Ada is not at all afraid of my anger. Well, the stupid Lamp is squatting in front of her, banging a rolled-up newspaper on the floor in front of the hooligan’s nose, and hissing angrily: “Ugh, what a shame!” Bad pug!”
And what? They don’t take her outside, which means everything is just fine. Probably, in order to wean Ada from her nasty habit, the crazy pug, despite her hooliganism, should be squeezed into overalls and pushed out into the cold. Maybe then the right thought will arise in the dog’s cunning head: no matter how much you pee on the rug, you’ll still end up in the yard. Only I’m extremely lazy, I really don’t want to drag an extra dog out into the snow and rain, which has already relieved itself, and then wash it off the dirt. It’s because of my laziness that everything goes the way it does!
But you still have to take up the vacuum cleaner! Before I had time to come to terms with this, a bell rang in the hallway. The appearance of anyone around nine in the morning usually does not make me happy, but now I trotted to the door in complete delight. Whoever the intruder is will spare me the trouble of cleaning. I can then confidently tell my household: “Yes, I was about to vacuum, and then something fell on my head...”
Without looking through the peephole, I opened the door and stepped back. A gypsy stood on the threshold, dressed in a rather dirty down jacket, from under which a colorful skirt was visible. The not very pleasant guest's feet were shod in rough boots, and her head was tied with a red scarf.
“Listen, beauty,” the gypsy sang, squinting her beautiful, slightly bulging brown eyes. - Let the baby be swaddled.
And she thrust a fur envelope under my nose, from which not a sound came.
I am, of course, naive, but not to the same degree, and then, I simply love detective novels to the point of oblivion and I understand very well: there is no one in the fur bundle. Most likely there is a log there. If now I take this bait and let the black-eyed beauty in, then most likely she will lure money out of me or simply steal what is lying badly.
“Go away,” I said angrily.
“Don’t be afraid,” the gypsy woman smiled, “I won’t do anything bad to you, I came to visit Aunt Masha, do you know her?” She lives on the top floor, but she’s not there. I don't know where I went. I would like to wash the baby and dilute the mixture.
The dark little hand dived into her pocket and pulled out a transparent bag containing an empty bottle and a small jar.
-What are you afraid of? - the dark-skinned woman chattered. – I am the sister of Aunt Masha’s daughter-in-law, well, Pavlik’s wife. By the way, do you know where they all are?
“No,” I answered automatically.
In fact, in our house, on the top floor, lives a successful business lady named Maria. We don’t know each other closely, we don’t go to visit each other, but when we bump into each other in the elevator, we always bow politely and exchange a couple of phrases like: “It’s very nasty on the street today.” Or: “How do you like the new supermarket on the ground floor?”
A couple of months ago I crossed paths with Maria in the yard. I sat on the bench and waited for the dogs to do their business. Suddenly Masha got out of a beautiful foreign car. At first, as always, she said politely:
- Hello, Lamp.
Then she suddenly came up to me and asked:
“Would it be okay if I smoke near you?”
“I’ll be happy to keep you company,” I replied and took out my cigarettes.
We exchanged meaningless phrases for a couple of minutes, then Masha, sighing, asked:
– Have you already heard about my misfortune?
- What's happened? – I was scared. - Is Pavlik sick?
- It would be better if I picked up some kind of infection! – the mother exclaimed in her hearts. – Everything is much worse: he got married.
– Well, that’s not the worst thing! – I exclaimed with relief.
“Lord,” Masha clasped her hands, “it’s just terrible!” Pavlik is still studying, which means I will have to drag my young family on my back until one of them starts earning money, which I personally seriously doubt. And if there is also a child...
“Well, it’s not all that bad,” I tried to reassure Masha, “many people get married while sitting, so to speak, on the student bench, and that’s okay.” Of course, at first...
“You haven’t heard the main thing yet,” my neighbor interrupted me nervously, “do you know who my daughter-in-law is?”
I wisely remained silent. Judging by Masha's upside-down face, her Pavlik brought home something extraordinary: what if the guy has unconventional views on family life and acquired a “young wife” named Vanya?
“The cabbage seller,” Masha soared, “a terrible, completely uncouth girl, standing at the stall near the metro!” Moldavian! Yes, she doesn’t know a word of Russian, I don’t understand a word of what she says, she calls me auntie, and she’s all grimy, blowing her nose on the tablecloth. Why do I need this, huh?
“Well,” I mumbled, “things happen, don’t be upset, you’ll get over it.”
“And she probably has a bunch of poor relatives,” Masha added quietly, “they’ll crawl out of all the cracks like cockroaches.” Now she is bleating: “I am an orphan,” and then cousins, second cousins, the seventh wife of the fifth grandfather will trample from everywhere. They’ll sing: “Give me some water to drink, otherwise I’m so hungry that there’s nowhere to sleep!”
- In no case! – I exclaimed passionately. - Don't let anyone in.
Masha threw away the cigarette butt.
“Pavlik adores Mariyka, I don’t want to cause trouble for my son.” No, I’ll just buy them an apartment and move them out.
I nodded. It looks like this is the only correct solution...
“You Muscovites, so disheveled,” the dark-skinned woman’s voice wedged itself into my memories, “why be so afraid?” I am alone, with a child, a relative of your neighbor. Is it really a pity for the water?
Suddenly an angry cry came from the bag. Inside the beautiful envelope was not a piece of wood, but a real, seemingly very hungry baby. I felt ashamed. Indeed, we are too suspicious and even cruel with each other. About twenty years ago, I suppose...
“Come in,” I invited, “go straight along the corridor.” There's a kitchen there, and the bathroom is on the left.
“Well, thank you,” the guest rejoiced.
Deftly jumping out of her jacket and taking off her boots, she quickly walked into the bathroom, put the bag on the washing machine, unwound the blanket and diaper, and I saw a rather fat little boy in a diaper.
-Where is the trash heap? – the mother inquired busily, pulling off the child’s paper pants.
– The bucket is in the kitchen under the sink.
“Take care of the child,” the gypsy girl asked, “I’d better throw it right on the stairs, in the trash can, otherwise it will stink.”
I nodded, the guest, fluttering her skirt, ran away, and the baby and I were left alone. I don’t have my own offspring, I haven’t raised Lisa and Kiryusha from the cradle, so I couldn’t determine the age of the cheeky creature. Maybe he is two months old, or maybe all six. One thing is clear - in front of me is a girl, clean, well-groomed, well-fed. And she seems to have a great personality. Seeing an unfamiliar woman, she did not cry, she lies to herself, smiles, there is not a single tear in her big blue eyes. Suddenly the little girl stretched out her little hands and said clearly:
- Gu-gu.
I was touched and replied:
- Agu-ahu.
The little one smiled and quickly moved her arms in different directions.
The gypsy flew back like a whirlwind, awkwardly wrapped the baby in a diaper and asked:
- Give me some boiling water.
We moved to the kitchen.
“Galya,” the guest said unexpectedly, pouring hot water into the bottle.
- What? - I did not understand.
- My name is Galya.
- Very nice. Evlampia,” I nodded.
- Thank you! – Galya exclaimed with feeling after feeding her daughter. - I'll go.
“You can sit and wait until someone returns home, Pavlik or Mariyka,” I suggested.
“No, I’ll go to Aunt Lena,” Galya shook her head, “we have a lot of our own in Moscow.” I’ll come to Mariyka later.
Having already reached the door, Galya suddenly slowed down.
- I want to thank you. My mother is a gypsy, her name is Sofia, she is the best at fortune telling, she sees the future. They come to her from God knows where. So the gift partially passed on to me. Do you want me to tell your fortune?
- No, thanks.
- For free!
- I still don’t want to.
- I won’t lie, I’ll tell the truth.
- No, no, I'll make do.
- I want to warn you.
“Let’s better say goodbye,” I didn’t flinch, “I’m sorry, I don’t believe the predictions.”
But Galya, not listening to me, began to jabber:
– You had happiness, but it’s gone. It flapped its wing and flew away, you missed your destiny, you are living someone else’s life. But the tests have just begun. A lot of grief awaits you, trouble lies ahead...
“Get out of here,” I got angry and cawed. It’s good that you decided to thank me!
“Know this,” the guest droned monotonously, not paying attention to my words, “death is at the threshold, waiting, waiting.” And the dog will die first, so goggle-eyed and fat...
I grabbed Galya by the breasts and tried to push her out of the apartment. Where there! The impudent gypsy turned out to be as if carved from steel, she didn’t even move.
- First the dog, then the children, then the girlfriend, then you yourself will die.
I kicked Galya hard on the ankle.
- Get out, you rubbish, so that you feel bad for yourself.
“Get unstuck from me and stick back,” the fortune teller answered instantly, “a meeting with an angel will save you all.” As long as he lives here, troubles will not come, if you drive away the angel, everyone will die, everyone, everything, everything...
My vision went blurry. I grabbed the long umbrella standing by the door.
“You’re ungrateful,” Galya whistled in a whisper. “I just want to warn you: an angel will avert trouble, you will meet him by chance, you will almost kill him, but remember, he is your common salvation, leave him, otherwise death to all!”
Quickly turning around, the gypsy girl jumped out onto the stairs, spat on the threshold and blurted out:
- Be in this house my way, amen!
With trembling hands, I slammed the door, locked all the locks, hung the chain and pushed the latch. Then she began to scold herself.
- Well, you, Lamp, are just an idiot! She let a complete stranger into the house, showed mercy and got what she deserved. It’s also good that Galya didn’t steal anything. Although if we remember that she, having ordered me to watch over the baby, disappeared from sight for some time...
Driven by this thought, I rushed to my bedroom, there, in the closet, there was a box of money hidden.
I ran into the room, opened the wardrobe, revealed the treasured hairstyle and took a breath. Everything is in place, it looks like Galya really went to throw away her diaper.
My legs buckled at the knees and I collapsed on the bed next to the sleeping Muli and Ada. Dogs, as I mentioned above, do not react to external stimuli in slushy autumn weather. None of the four-legged animals interrupted their sweet slumber when they heard the doorbell ring and then someone else's voice. Look how Mulya sniffles, and Ada...
Suddenly I felt uneasy. Mulechka, peacefully closing her eyes, curled up comfortably on the pillow, but here is Dusya! Ada’s mouth was slightly open, foam flowed profusely from it, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and her body was shaking with spasms.
The gypsy's prediction began to come true with terrifying speed. “The dog will die first, so goggle-eyed.”
“WHEN A PUG SNORES, IT’S TOUCHING!”
Dontsova has always been a “dog lover” for as long as she can remember. She had a poodle, a Rottweiler, and a pit bull. The latter, with his appearance, made people fall into a stupor of fear, but in fact he was a huge, kind dog.
Education, after all, depends on the owners, and in our family we caressed Bandyusha,” admits Daria. “We once came to an exhibition, and while we were waiting for our turn, Bandy licked everyone he could, and finally “kissed” the judge.
He was taken aback: “Lord, this is genetic garbage! You can’t even judge him, because Pete can’t be like that!” We were offended, went to a sports store, bought about 15 medals there and put them on Bundy. So our pit became the only dog awarded the medal “For victory in speed skating competitions”!
Unfortunately, dogs don't live long. Bundy is already in dog heaven. And Dontsova now has four pugs, all girls. Capa, Fenya and Musya are fawn in color, and only Fira is black. The owner dotes on them and literally allows them to sit on their heads.
They sleep with me. All four,” says Dontsova. -Once I dreamed that I was buried, I woke up in horror, deciding that I was buried alive. It turns out that Kapa is sleeping on my head, Fenya is sleeping on my chest, crushing me, and Musya is snoring next to me. Moreover, when a husband snores, it’s annoying, but when a pug snores, it’s touching.
