Whitebrow (Chekhov)
Short summary
Russian countryside, presumably early 20th century. A hungry wolf-mother left her three cubs to go hunting. She approached a winter hut where sheep were kept, made a hole in the roof of the stall, and attempted to steal a lamb.
Instead, she grabbed a black puppy with a white patch on its brow. When she discovered her mistake, she tried to leave the puppy, but he followed her home and began playing with her cubs.
The next night, the wolf-mother went hunting again. The puppy followed her back to the sheep stall and barked excitedly, alerting the hut's keeper, Ignat. The wolf fled empty-handed. When Ignat investigated, he found the puppy had returned to sleep with the sheep.
"Our Whitebrow has taken to sleeping with the sheep in the warm. Only he hasn't the sense to go in at the door, but always tries to wriggle in by the roof. The other night he tore a hole in the roof and went off on the spree."
The next morning, Ignat scolded Whitebrow and tried to teach him to use the door instead of the roof.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The hungry she-wolf and her cubs
A hungry she-wolf left her den to hunt for food. Her three cubs were sleeping peacefully, huddled together for warmth. Before departing, she licked them affectionately and ventured into the night.
The wolf-mother was in delicate health and nervous; she started at the slightest sound, and kept hoping that no one would hurt the little ones at home while she was away.
Failed hunting attempt and capturing the puppy
About three miles from her lair stood a winter hut where an old keeper named Ignat lived. The wolf remembered hearing sheep bleating near this hut and decided to investigate, hoping to catch a lamb. She approached the cattle-stall, climbed onto the roof, and began scratching through the thatch with her paws.
When she broke through the roof, she fell onto something soft and warm. Suddenly, barking erupted in the stall. Startled, the wolf grabbed the first thing her teeth found and fled. Outside, Ignat's dog Arapka howled furiously while Ignat himself emerged shouting mechanical terms and whistling like a steam engine.
Once at a safe distance, the wolf stopped to examine her prey. To her disgust, she discovered she had not captured a lamb but a black puppy with a white patch on its brow. Despite being injured, the puppy wagged its tail and barked at her playfully. The wolf growled and ran away, but the puppy followed her all the way to her den in the aspen wood.
The puppy joins the wolf family
By daybreak, the wolf had reached her home where her three cubs were awake and standing at the edge of their shallow hole. The puppy stopped at a distance and barked at them while the cubs watched curiously. The mother wolf gnawed on a dry horse bone, tormented by hunger and irritated by the puppy's barking.
Eventually, the puppy grew tired of barking and cautiously approached the cubs. With his broad paws stretched out, he laid his head upon them and made strange noises. The cubs didn't understand but wagged their tails in response. Soon they were all playing together, chasing each other on the frozen snow under the warm sunshine.
As a rule, wolf-mothers train their children to hunt by giving them prey to play with; and now watching the cubs chasing the puppy over the frozen snow and struggling with him, the mother thought: "Let them learn."
After playing, the cubs went into the hole to sleep, and the puppy, who was hungry, stretched out in the sunshine. When they woke, they resumed their play. All day, the wolf-mother thought about the lamb she had smelled in the cattle-shed, gnawing the old bone and pretending it was lamb. The hungry puppy ran around them, sniffing at the snow.
The mother wolf decided to eat the puppy. She approached him, but when he licked her nose and yapped playfully, she felt disgusted by his doggy smell and walked away. As night fell, the puppy, feeling depressed, returned to Ignat's hut.
Second hunting attempt and the puppys betrayal
When her cubs were asleep, the wolf-mother went hunting again. She was still nervous, frightened by every sound and shadow in the forest. As she moved cautiously along the snow, she spotted something dark in the distance. It was the puppy with the white brow, slowly making his way back to the homestead.
Hoping the puppy wouldn't interfere with her hunt, the wolf ran ahead to the cattle-shed. She found that the hole she had made the previous night had been repaired with straw and new rafters. She began working rapidly with her legs and nose to create another opening, constantly checking to see if the puppy was approaching.
Just as she caught the warm scent of manure and sheep, she heard excited barking behind her. The puppy had followed her to the roof, jumped through the hole she had made, and began barking loudly inside the stall. Arapka woke up in the barn and howled, the hens began cackling, and by the time Ignat appeared with his gun, the frightened wolf had fled.
Ignat discovers Whitebrows double life
Ignat attempted to fire his gun, but it misfired twice. On the third attempt, it discharged with a deafening boom. He went to investigate the commotion at the cattle-shed, then returned to the hut where a pilgrim who was staying overnight asked what had happened.
Ignat explained that their dog Whitebrow had taken to sleeping with the sheep in the warm stall. Instead of using the door, the dog kept trying to enter through the roof. The previous night, Whitebrow had torn a hole in the roof and gone off, and now he had returned and damaged the roof again. Ignat called the dog stupid and climbed back onto the stove to sleep.
In the morning, Ignat called Whitebrow, smacked him hard about the ears, and repeatedly instructed him: "Go in at the door! Go in at the door! Go in at the door!"