Ralph is a police officer, wearing a new military coat and carrying a small bag, walking through the market square. He was followed by a policeman with lux hair, holding a sieve full of confiscated gooseberry. The air is quiet. There is no one in the square. The doors of shops and restaurants are listlessly open, facing the world created by God, like many hungry mouths; There is not even a beggar at the door.
"Well, did you bite? Damn thing! " Ralph suddenly heard a cry: "Guys, don't let go! You can't bite these days! Grab it! Hey ... hey! "
There is a dog screaming. Ralph looked over there and saw a dog running out of the wood factory of businessman Peter Ruqin, jumping on three legs and looking back. Followed by a man, wearing a starched tweed shirt and an open vest. He caught up with the dog, leaned forward, threw himself on the ground and grabbed the dog's hind legs. The dog barked again, and someone shouted, "Don't let it go!" "Someone sleepily poked his head out of the store. A group of people soon gathered around the firewood factory, as if they had suddenly emerged from the ground.
"Sir, there seems to be something wrong!" The patrolman said.
Ralph turned slightly to the left and walked towards the crowd. At the gate of the firewood factory, he saw a man with a vest raise his right hand and show a bloody finger. His half-drunk face showed this expression: "I skinned you, bad guy!" " "Even that finger is like a flag of victory. Ralph recognized the man as a jeweler khryukin. The "criminal" in this case was sitting on the ground in the middle of the crowd, with his front legs split and shaking all over-it turned out to be a white beagle with a pointed face and a yellow spot on his back. Its tearful eyes reveal pain and fear.
"What the hell happened here?" Ralph pushed his way into the crowd and asked, "What are you doing here? Why on earth are you holding that finger? ..... Who is shouting? "
"Sir, my path is very good. I didn't recruit anyone and didn't provoke anyone ..." Khryukin spoke, covering his mouth with his hand and coughing. "I'm talking about firewood with Mitri Mitri. Suddenly, this bitch bit this finger for no reason ... you must forgive me. I am a worker, and I do meticulous work. I have to ask them to pay me a sum of money, because I may not be able to use this finger for a week ... Sir, there is not even a law that people should tolerate being hurt by animals. If everyone lets animals bite like this for a while, there will be no living head in this world. "
"well! Good ... "Ralph said sternly, coughing and frowning. "Well ... whose dog is this? I will never let this go easily! I'll give some color to those who let the dogs run around. Since those lords are unwilling to obey the law, they must be controlled now. Only when he, the bastard, was punished and given money, did he know what would happen if he let this dog and this beast go. I want to teach him a lesson! Yelling, "the police officer said to the patrolman," go and find out whose dog this is and make a report! What about this dog? Kill it. Do it at once, don't delay! This is mostly a mad dog ... Whose dog is this? "
"This seems to be the dog of General Xi Gallov," someone in the crowd said.
"General Gallov? Oh! ..... Ye Linde, help me take off my coat ... Damn, it's too hot, it looks like rain ... Just one thing I don't understand: how did it bite you? " Ralph said to Khrukin, "Can it reach your fingers? So small; What about you? You look so big! Your finger must have been broken by a small nail, and then you had a whim to get some compensation. People like you are famous! I know what ghost you are! "
"Sir, he was joking, poking the cigarette butt in the dog's face; What about the dog-it can't be a fool, so it bit it ... he's a funny guy, sir! "
"Nonsense, one-eyed ghost! You didn't see anything. Why are you talking nonsense? His old man's house is a wise man, who can tell who is talking nonsense and who speaks according to his conscience as before God. If I tell a lie, let the mediation judge interrogate me. He made it clear in law that everyone is equal now. To tell you the truth, my brother is a gendarme ... "
"Cut the crap!"
"No, this isn't the general's dog ..." The policeman said thoughtfully, "There is no such dog in the general's family. His dogs are all big hounds. "
"Are you sure?"
"Certainly, sir ..."
"I also know that. The general's family are all rare purebred dogs; What about this dog? God knows what it is! His coat color is not good, and his appearance is not good. He is a stingy guy. I cann't believe someone keeps this dog! Where is this man's brain? If you meet such a dog in Petersburg or Moscow, guess what will happen? People there can call it death in the blink of an eye, no matter what laws are illegal! What about you, Kim? You are hurt, and we can't turn a blind eye. We must teach them a lesson! It's time. "
"But maybe it's the general's dog ..." The policeman spoke his mind. "This is not written on its face ... I saw such a dog in the general's yard the other day."
"Yes, the general's!" Someone in the crowd said.
"oh! ..... Brother shouted, put on your coat for me ... It seems cold and windy ... You take this dog to the general's house to ask. Just say I found the dog and sent someone to deliver it. Tell them not to put the dog in the street. Maybe this is a valuable dog; But if every little pig poked a cigarette in its nose, it would have been destroyed. Dogs are fragile animals ... you bastard, put your hands down! Don't stretch out your stupid finger! Blame yourself! ……"
"The general's chef is here. Ask him.-Hey, Prohor! Come on, man, come here! Look at this dog. Is it yours? "
"A shot in the dark! We have never had such a dog there! "
"Then don't waste any more time asking about it," Ralph said. "This is a wild dog! There is no need to waste time on empty talk. Since Prohor said it was a wild dog, it was a wild dog. Kill it. " "This is not our dog," Prohor continued. "This is the general's brother's dog. His brother came here a few days ago. Our general doesn't like this little hunting dog, but his brother does. " His brother is here? Is that Ulargui Mill Ivanic? "Ralph asked, the whole face is permeated with a warm smile," oh, my god! I don't know yet! Did he stay here for a while and then leave? "
"I'll stay for a while."
"Oh, dear! He misses his brother ... but I don't know yet! Is this his father's dog? Very happy ... take it away. This puppy is not bad, very smart, and bit this guy's finger in one bite! Ha ha ha ... Come on, why are you shaking? Loud noise ... Loud noise ... This bad guy is angry ... What a puppy ... "
Prohor called the dog's name and took it away from the firewood factory. Those people laughed at khryukin.
"I will punish you sooner or later!" Ralph threatened him, wrapped his coat tightly and crossed the market square.
Appreciating the Chameleon is one of Chekhov's representative works of satire. Written in 1884, when the writer was just 24 years old, it showed Chekhov's extraordinary writing ability.
Chekhov is good at choosing themes from daily life. Once the accustomed events enter his works, they not only have a vivid and real atmosphere, but also can write the essence of social environment, constitute a picture of life with the characteristics of the times, and become a unique satirical epic of Russian social life. That's what chameleons do. It only selects a fragment of social life ── the little thing that dogs bite people in the streets and lanes, but it shows a sharp and important social problem, that is, bureaucratic police are tools to safeguard the interests of the ruling class, and authoritarian systems oppress people unscrupulously. It is the uniqueness of Chekhov's short stories that small things reflect big problems and see big things from small ones.