A Chameleon (Chekhov)
Short summary
A small Russian town, late 19th century. Police superintendent Otchumyelov is walking across the market square when he hears a commotion. A man named Hryukin is claiming that a small white dog bit his finger. Otchumyelov immediately takes charge of the situation.
At first, Otchumyelov threatens to punish the dog's owner severely, assuming it's a stray. When someone suggests the dog might belong to General Zhigalov, Otchumyelov immediately changes his tone, defends the dog, and blames Hryukin for provoking it. When the policeman says it's not the General's dog, Otchumyelov reverts to his harsh stance.
The General's cook arrives, and when asked about the dog, he confirms it doesn't belong to the General.
"Since he says it's a stray dog, a stray dog it is... It must be destroyed, that's all about it." "It is not our dog... It belongs to the General's brother, who arrived the other day."
Upon learning the dog belongs to the General's brother, Otchumyelov changes his opinion yet again, now praising the dog and scolding Hryukin. He leaves the scene, wrapping himself in his greatcoat, while the crowd laughs at Hryukin.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Otchumyelovs walk through the empty market square
Police superintendent Otchumyelov walked across the market square wearing a new overcoat and carrying a parcel under his arm. A red-haired policeman named Yeldyrin followed him, carrying a sieve full of confiscated gooseberries. The square was completely deserted, with not a soul in sight.
The open doors of the shops and taverns look out upon God's world disconsolately, like hungry mouths; there is not even a beggar near them.
The commotion: a dog bite incident and gathering crowd
Suddenly, Otchumyelov heard someone shouting about a dog bite. He looked in the direction of the commotion and saw a dog hopping on three legs running out of Pitchugin's timber-yard. A man in a starched cotton shirt with an unbuttoned waistcoat was chasing after it. The man fell down and grabbed the dog by its hind legs, causing it to yelp again.
Yeldyrin informed Otchumyelov that it looked like a disturbance. Otchumyelov turned and strode toward the growing crowd that had gathered around the timber-yard. There he saw the man with the unbuttoned waistcoat holding up his bleeding finger to display it to the onlookers. The man's half-drunken face clearly showed his indignation. Otchumyelov recognized him as Hryukin, the goldsmith.
In the middle of the crowd sat a white borzoy puppy with a sharp muzzle and a yellow patch on its back. It was trembling all over with its forepaws outstretched, its tearful eyes expressing both misery and terror.
Initial judgment: Otchumyelov sides with Hryukin against the dog
Otchumyelov pushed through the crowd and inquired about the situation. Hryukin explained that he had been walking along, not bothering anyone, talking about firewood with Mitry Mitritch when the dog suddenly bit his finger for no reason. He complained that as a working man who did fine work, he deserved compensation since he wouldn't be able to use his finger for a week.
Otchumyelov responded sternly, declaring that he wouldn't let the matter drop. He vowed to teach the dog's owner a lesson for allowing their dog to run loose.
"I'll teach them to let their dogs run all over the place! It's time these gentry were looked after, if they won't obey the regulations! When he's fined, the blackguard, I'll teach him what it means..."
Otchumyelov ordered Yeldyrin to find out who owned the dog and to draw up a report. He also commanded that the dog be strangled without delay, assuming it must be mad to have bitten someone.
Shifting position: The possibility of the Generals ownership changes everything
Someone in the crowd suggested that the dog might belong to General Zhigalov. Upon hearing this, Otchumyelov's demeanor changed immediately. He asked Yeldyrin to help him remove his overcoat, claiming it was too hot and might be a sign of rain. Then he turned back to Hryukin and questioned how the dog could have bitten him, given the size difference between the small dog and the "hulking fellow."
"You must have scratched your finger with a nail, and then the idea struck you to get damages for it. We all know... your sort! I know you devils!"
Someone else in the crowd claimed that Hryukin had put a cigarette in the dog's face as a joke, which provoked it to snap at him. Hryukin denied this accusation, insisting that the other person was lying and appealing to the superintendent's wisdom to determine the truth.
Confusion and reversed judgment as ownership remains unclear
The policeman Yeldyrin then stated with conviction that the dog couldn't belong to the General, as the General's dogs were mostly setters, not like this one. Otchumyelov agreed, adding that the General had valuable, thoroughbred dogs, while this one was "goodness knows what" with no coat or shape - a low creature.
"No, that's not the General's dog... the General hasn't got one like that. His are mostly setters." "Do you know that for a fact?" "Yes, your honour." "I know it, too."
Otchumyelov declared that they must teach the dog's owner a lesson, and that if such a dog appeared in Petersburg or Moscow, it would be strangled immediately without concern for the law. He assured Hryukin that the matter would not be dropped.
However, Yeldyrin then reconsidered, thinking aloud that perhaps it was the General's dog after all, as he had seen a similar one in the General's yard recently. Another voice from the crowd confidently affirmed that it was indeed the General's dog. Hearing this, Otchumyelov quickly changed his position again, asking Yeldyrin to help him put his overcoat back on as he was feeling cold.
"Yet maybe it is the General's," says the policeman, thinking aloud. "It's not written on its face... I saw one like it the other day in his yard." "It is the General's, that's certain!"
Final reversal: The Generals brothers dog is beyond reproach
The General's cook, Prohor, approached the scene. When asked if the dog belonged to the General, he denied it, stating they had never had a dog like that. Otchumyelov immediately reverted to his original position, declaring it a stray dog that must be destroyed.
However, Prohor then added that the dog actually belonged to the General's brother, Vladimir Ivanitch, who had recently arrived for a visit. He explained that while their master didn't care for hounds, his brother was fond of them.
"You don't say his Excellency's brother is here? Vladimir Ivanitch?" inquires Otchumyelov, and his whole face beams with an ecstatic smile. "Well, I never! And I didn't know!"
Upon learning this information, Otchumyelov's entire demeanor transformed once again. His face beamed with an ecstatic smile as he expressed delight at the news of the General's brother's visit. He completely reversed his judgment about the dog, now describing it as "not a bad pup" and a "lively creature." He even laughed about how it had snapped at Hryukin's finger.
"Delighted to hear it... Take it. It's not a bad pup... A lively creature... Snapped at this fellow's finger! Ha-ha-ha... Come, why are you shivering? Rrr... Rrrr... The rogue's angry... a nice little pup."
Prohor called the dog and walked away from the timber-yard with it. The crowd laughed at Hryukin, who was left standing there humiliated. Otchumyelov threatened him one last time, then wrapped himself in his greatcoat and continued on his way across the square.