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''Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat'' () is a children's novella written by Eduard Uspensky and first published in 1973. It is the first story in the series set in the fictional village of Milkville〔https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/eduard-uspensky/uncle-fedya-his-dog-and-his-cat/〕 (; lit."soured milk") created by Uspensky. The series features a city boy named Fyodor, or Fedya for short, and his friends, the talking animals. The stories focus on their adventures in Prostokvashino and their relationships with its residents, including the irritable postman Pechkin. In 1993 it was translated from Russian by Michael Henry Heim with illustrations by Vladimir Shpitalnik.〔http://www.shpitalnik.com/resume.html〕 == Plot == Fyodor lives in the apartment with his parents, who call him "uncle" because of his seriousness, independence and intelligence. He learns to read at 4, and starts cooking for himself at 6. Unlike his mother, he is very fond of animals. One day he meets a stray talking cat, who used to spend his nights in the attic but has nowhere to live now due to the house repair works. Fyodor takes the cat home, but his mother doesn't let him keep it, so the boy decides to run away and take his cat with him. The next day they leave a note to Fyodor's parents and take a bus to a rural area. Fyodor names the cat Matroskin. They arrive to a village called Prostokvashino, and settle in an empty house. A talking dog named Sharik promises to guard their new house, so they all start living together. The next day they go swimming and on their way back meet with curious Pechkin the Postmaster. He insists that they would subscribe to something. Fyodor chooses ''Murzilka'', Sharik opts for "something about hunting" and Matroskin politely declines, saying that he would rather save money. Fyodor's parents miss their son and start looking for him. They publish a missing person article in the newspaper. Meanwhile Matroskin decides to buy a cow. Unfortunately, they do not have any money. Fyodor suggests that they look for a buried treasure in the forest. They walk to the forest, find a hill with a cave, and Fyodor starts digging nearby. He indeed finds a chest with money and jewels. They all decide to buy present for themselves. Sharik wants a gun for hunting and a dog collar with medallions; Matroskin needs a cow (he decides to "borrow" one at the local service bureau and try it out before making a purchase); Fyodor wants to buy a bike, but his friends convince him to get a tractor instead, because it is much more practical. He sends a letter to the tractor plant and attaches 100 rubles, asking for a small tractor which "needs little gas and runs fast". In return, Fyodor gets send an experimental 20 hp tractor model "Mitya", which works on food instead of gas. Unfortunately the tractor stops next to every house when it smells food, so Matroskin has to force it to move on a straight line by holding a sausage on a fishing-rod in front of it. People from Prostokvashino start to like Uncle Fyodor, because he is hard-working and kind to animals. The villagers bring him stray and sick animals. including a small gloomy jackdaw Jack Grabbit, that they adopt. After Fedya finds out from Pechkin the Postmaster that his parents are worried about him, he decides to send them a letter. He starts by writing that his life in Prostokvashino is great, but then abandons his task to play with some children, while Matroskin and Sharik finish the letter. They add pieces of their own information, such as "my paws ache sometimes", but "I have so much warm milk" that "I don't even want to look at mice. I simply catch them for amusement", and "I started moulting the other day". After receiving this letter, Fyodor's parents start panicking. They find a mention of Prostokvashino on the post stamp and send messages to every Prostokvashino village that they can find in a map. They get a reply from Pechkin. Meanwhile Sharik purchases a gun and goes to the forest to hunt. He almost drowns in the process, but is saved by an annoyed beaver. Sharik is very ashamed at being saved by the very animals that he planned to hunt, so he decided to do fishing instead. However Sharik gets depressed, because he cannot satisfy his hunting instinct by shooting from the gun. Fedya eventually presents him with a camera gun for wildlife photography. Murka gives birth to a black calf Gavryusha. Summer is over, everyone goes about their own business. Sharik spends all his time in the forest enjoying photography, Matroskin trains Gavryusha in obedience, teaches him to play fetch with sticks and guard the house like a watch dog. Uncle Fyodor catches a serious cold, and Matroskin and Sharik cannot help him in any way. Suddenly Fedya's parents arrive. His mother takes care of the boy with Matroskin's help, while his father and Sharik take the tractor "Mitya" and drive to the city to buy antibiotics. Unfortunately Fyodor is still very ill and has to go back to the city. Fyodor's mother is impressed with Matroskin's skills and intelligence and invites him and Sharik back to their apartment, but the pair is unwilling to part with Murka and Gavryusha. Matroskin suggests that Fyodor should come to visit them on school holidays and at weekends. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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