Before describing the summary of The White Poodle, it is necessary to get acquainted with the main characters of the work. At the center of the story is a small vagrant troupe consisting of only three members. Her oldest member is grandfather Martyn Lodyzhkin, organ grinder. Martyn is invariably accompanied by a twelve-year-old acrobat Seryozha, a goldfinch trained to pull out colored leaves with predictions from a special box, and a white, trimmed like a lion, poodle named Artaud.
Meet the characters
The barrel organ was almost the only material wealth of Martyn. Although the instrument had long fallen into disrepair, and the only two tunes that he was able to somehow reproduce (the dull German waltz of Launer, as well as the gallop from Travels to China) were in fashion thirty or forty years ago, Martyn cherished it. The organ grinder has repeatedly tried to turn over the organ to the barrel organ, but they told him everywhere that it would be better to return such an ancient thing to the museum. However, Seryozha Martyn often repeats that the barrel organ fed them for more than one year, and will feed them again.
As much as his instrument, the organ-grinder, perhaps, loved only his eternal companions, Seryozha and Artaud. The boy appeared unexpectedly in his life: five years before the beginning of the narrative, Martyn took him “from a bungler,” a widowed shoemaker, and paid two rubles a month for this. However, the shoemaker soon died, and the boy remained connected with his grandfather and soul, and household chores.
A summary of the White Poodle begins on a hot summer day. The troupe travels around the Crimea in the hope of earning some penny. On the way, Martyn, who has already seen a lot of things in his lifetime, tells Seryozha about unusual phenomena and people. The boy himself is happy to listen to the old man, and does not cease to admire the rich and diverse Crimean nature.
Attempts to make money
However, our heroes did not have a day: the masters drove them out of some places, and in others the servants came out and said that the masters were absent for the time being. Lodyzhkin, a good-natured and modest man, rejoiced even when he was paid a little. And even if they persecuted him, he did not begin to complain. But one magnificent, beautiful and seemingly very kind lady nevertheless managed to get the old man crazy. She listened for a long time to the sounds of the barrel organ, looked at the acrobatic numbers that Seryozha showed, asked questions about the life of the troupe, and then asked to wait and left for the rooms. For a long time the lady did not appear, and the artists began to hope that she would give them something from clothes or shoes. But in the end, she simply threw an old, worn on both sides, and even a holey dime, into the framed hat of Seryozha, and immediately left. Lodyzhkina was extremely indignant that he was considered a rogue who is able to lower such a coin to someone at night. The old man throws with pride and indignation a worthless coin that falls right into the dust of the road.
Already desperate to earn something, the heroes stumble upon the Friendship cottage. Martyn is surprised: he has been to these parts more than once, but the house has always been empty. However, now the old organ grinder senses that they are lucky here, and sends Seryozha forward.
Acquaintance with the inhabitants of the cottage "Friendship"
Describing the summary of The White Poodle, it is worth mentioning a few more characters. The heroes were just getting ready to speak, when suddenly a boy in a sailor suit flew out of the house, and after him six adults ran out. There was complete turmoil, people were shouting something - it was immediately clear that the very boy was the cause of anxiety for the servants and gentlemen. All six tried in different ways to persuade the boy to drink potion, but neither the sensible speeches of the gentleman in the golden glasses, nor the lamentations of his mother, nor the cries helped the case.
Martyn ordered Seryozha not to pay attention to what was happening and start speaking. False hoarse notes of an old gallop began to spread through the garden near the dacha. The owners and servants rushed to drive away uninvited guests. However, here again a boy in a sailor suit reminded himself of himself (it turned out that his name was Trilli) and said that he did not want the beggars to leave. His mother, not ceasing to lament, orders to fulfill the wish of his son.
The performance took place. Arto carried Martyn’s hat in his teeth so that the owners would reward the artists. But here the brief summary of The White Poodle takes an unexpected turn again: Trilli starts to demand a dog with a squeaky voice. Adults call Lodyzhkin and try to bargain with him, but the old man proudly declares that the dog is not for sale. The hosts continue to insist, Trilli is filled with hysterical cries, but Martyn, in spite of everything, does not give up. As a result, the whole troupe is kicked out of the yard.
The lady orders to bring Artaud
Finally, the heroes reach the sea and enjoy swimming in the cool water, washing off sweat and road dust. Having got ashore, they notice that the same janitor from the Druzhba summer house is approaching them, who only a quarter of an hour ago drove them into the neck.
It turned out that the lady sent the janitor to buy Artaud for any price - the boy would not let up. Lodyzhkin repeats several times to him that he would never give a faithful dog. Then the janitor tries to bribe the animal with sausage, but Artaud does not even think of leaving with a stranger. Martyn says the dog is his friend, and they don’t sell friends. Despite the fact that the feeble and weak old man barely keeps his feet, he exudes pride and dignity. Heroes collect their modest belongings and leave the shore. The janitor, however, remains in the same place and looks after them thoughtfully.
Further, the story of Kuprin's “White Poodle” leads us to a secluded place near a clean brook. Here the heroes stop to have breakfast and get drunk. Summer heat, recent bathing and a meal, albeit modest, starved the artists and they lay down to sleep right in the open. Before finally falling asleep, Martyn dreams about how his young friend will become famous and perform in one of the magnificent circuses in some big city - Kiev, Kharkov or, say, Odessa. Through a dream, the old man managed to hear how Artaud growls at someone or something, but then the slumber finally took possession of the organ-grinder.
When the heroes woke up, the dog was nowhere to be found. The old man and the boy started vying to call their faithful four-friend, but Artaud did not respond. Suddenly, the old man found on the road an unfinished piece of sausage, and beside him were dog tracks that went into the distance. Heroes understand what happened.
Hope disappears
Seryozha is ready to rush into battle, to sue, so that Artaud will be returned. However, Martyn sighs heavily and says that this is impossible - the owners of the Druzhba cottage have already asked if he has a passport. He lost his Martyn a long time ago, and when he realized that trying to return the document was useless, he took advantage of a friend’s offer and made himself a fake passport. The organ-grinder himself is no tradesman Martyn Lodyzhkin, but an ordinary peasant, Ivan Dudkin. In addition, the old man fears that someone Lodyzhkin may be a criminal - a thief, a fugitive convict or even a murderer. And then a fake passport will bring even more problems.
Artists no longer performed that day. Despite his young age, Seryozha was well aware of how many problems a stranger “patchport” could bring (the old man said that word). And therefore, neither about addressing the world, nor about the search, Artaud did not stutter. However, it seemed that the boy was deliberately pondering something.
Without saying a word, the heroes once again pass by the ill-fated summer residence. But the gates of "Friendship" are tightly closed, and no sound comes from the yard.
Sergey takes the situation into his own hands
At night, the heroes stopped in a dirty coffee shop, where, besides them, the Greeks, Turks and several Russian workers slept. When everyone fell asleep, the boy got out of bed and persuaded the owner of the coffee shop, the Turkish Ibrahim, to let him out. Under cover of darkness, he left the city, reached the "Friendship" and began to climb over the fence. However, the boy could not resist. He fell and was afraid to move, fearing that now the turmoil would rise, the janitor would run out. For a long time Seryozha wandered around the garden and around the house. It began to seem to him that he would not only fail to find the faithful Artoshka, but he himself would never get out of here. Suddenly he heard a quiet muffled squeak. In a whisper he called his beloved dog, and he answered him with a loud bark. Along with a joyful greeting in this bark, anger, a complaint, and a sensation of physical pain were heard. The dog struggled to free himself from something that kept him in the dark basement. With great difficulty, friends managed to break away from the janitor who woke up and became furious.
Returning to the coffee room, Seryozha almost immediately fell asleep without a sound sleep, not even having time to tell the old man about his nightly adventures. But now everything was fine: Kuprin's work “The White Poodle” ends with the troupe, as at the very beginning, assembled.