"Wild Dog Dingo, or a Tale of First Love" by Reuben Fraerman, summary Automatic translate

This story about the emotional coming-of-age of a Far Eastern schoolgirl was written in 1939. The author transfers the classic theme of first youthful love to the harsh conditions of the Soviet Far East. The pioneers’ lives are closely intertwined with the wild nature of the taiga and the ocean coast. The work was successfully adapted for the screen by director Yuli Karasik. The film of the same name was released in 1962 and won the prestigious Grand Prize at the Venice Children’s Film Festival.

The last days in the camp

Tanya Sabaneeva lives with her mother, a doctor, in a small town in the Russian Far East. She often fishes by the river. She catches trout, scaring away water voles, and constantly dreams of other countries. The wild Australian dingo lives there. At summer camp, she befriends a Nanai boy named Filka. He is the son of a local hunter. Filka is incredibly devoted to his friend. The boy treats her to raw fish and sour ant juice. The camp shift ends abruptly due to the autumn cold.

The children return to the city. Tanya brings pale locusts from the forest. She plants them in a garden bed in the yard. Filka boasts about a wonderful gift from his father — real sled dogs. The children talk about Tanya’s father. Tanya admits that he lives very far away, on Maroseyka Street. Filka naively looks up this imaginary country in an atlas. Returning home, Tanya finds an open letter under her mother’s pillow. It turns out that Colonel Sabaneyev has been transferred to serve in the Far East. He left his family many years ago. The colonel arrives with his new wife, Nadezhda Petrovna, and her nephew, Kolya.

Meeting and school

In the morning, Tanya goes to the pier to meet the steamer. She hides behind wooden barrels, clutching withering locusts. She sees orderlies carrying out a sick boy on a stretcher. He notices her tears. Tanya deceives the stranger, claiming she got sand in her eyes, and gives him the flowers. She doesn’t find her relatives at the pier.

The school year begins. Homeroom teacher Alexandra Ivanovna greets the students. A star made of Ural stone sparkles on her dress. Two new students enter the classroom. One of them is a boy carrying a stretcher — Kolya. Filka tries to make a sad Tanya laugh. He writes a sentence on the board with gross spelling errors. Tanya laughs. The loyal friend is pleased with his cunning.

The Colonel’s New Family

Tanya’s father visits her in the courtyard of her house. The gift-giving is awkward. The colonel spends a long time trying to pull a box of chocolates from the narrow pocket of his coat. The girl remains distant. She finally agrees to have tea with him. Gradually, Tanya begins coming to her father’s new house on weekends. Nadezhda Petrovna is welcoming. Kolya tries to be polite. Tanya perceives his politeness as hypocrisy and is constantly insolent.

The teenagers agree to go fishing in the morning. Kolya is late, lost in the aquarium fish of his classmate Zhenya. Tanya is angry. The fish are biting well on the wooden walkway. Kolya quickly gets bored and gets ready to leave. An old cat named Kazak is catching a small fish. A small kitten accidentally falls into the water. Tanya dives into the cold river to save the animal. She mistakenly accuses Kolya of cruelty. The girl thinks her stepbrother pushed the kitten on purpose.

The offended schoolgirl refuses to go to her father’s for lunch. However, she later returns, slams the glass door, and sits down at the table. Kolya announces that he made the dumplings himself. Tanya defiantly refuses to eat. She takes the plate out onto the porch. The girl tearfully eats the cold dumplings next to her old dog, Tigr. Her father notices this and picks her up. The colonel sits with her on the porch for a long time, trying to calm her down.

A writer’s visit

It snows heavily in winter. Tanya makes a beautiful statue of a sentry in the schoolyard. A famous writer visits the school, wearing a fox fur hat and cold canvas boots. Tanya rescues a small mouse that Filka had previously given to Zhenya. The girl hides the shivering animal under her warm fur coat. The writer pays close attention to the brave schoolgirl with gray eyes.

Alexandra Ivanovna entrusts Tanya with presenting the writer with flowers at a gala evening. In the dim dressing room, the girl decides to examine her eyes in a large, old mirror. She accidentally knocks over a large bottle, spilling ink onto her palm. Kolya catches her in this awkward moment. Tanya, desperate, runs down the hallway. She intercepts the writer and begs him not to shake her dirty hand in front of everyone.

After the writer’s performance, Tanya timidly steps onto the stage. The guest takes the flowers, hugs the girl tightly, and takes her down into the hall. The writer saves Tanya from public embarrassment. In the noisy crowd, Kolya intercepts Tanya’s stained hand. He asks her consent to dance at the upcoming New Year’s party. The girl instantly forgets her deep-seated grievances and happily agrees.

Snowstorm and rescue

New Year’s Eve arrives. Tanya brings a young fir tree from the grove. She prepares the treats herself. Filka arrives with his hunter father, the colonel, and Nadezhda Petrovna. Kolya lingers. The girl runs out into the frosty street. Through the window of a stranger’s house, she sees the silhouettes of dancing children. Tanya notices the shadow of a huge fish and realizes it’s Zhenya’s aquarium.

Returning home, she encounters Kolya, who has arrived. He gives her a small goldfish. Consumed with jealousy, Tanya orders the old nanny to roast the gift. Filka sees his friend’s hidden suffering. He begins loudly chewing on a stearin candle from the Christmas tree, sincerely hoping to make her laugh.

During winter break, a terrible snowstorm hits the town. Tanya learns that Kolya and Zhenya have gone skating at the river. She helps the frightened younger schoolgirl get home and then runs onto the ice. Kolya sits in the snow with a sprained leg. Zhenya runs away, panicking. Tanya realizes the mortal danger of the approaching snowstorm. She rushes to Filka’s yard. The schoolgirl steals a light sled with sled dogs and returns for Kolya.

The team moves slowly through the thick white fog. Suddenly, a startled horse rushes past. The sled dogs give chase. Tanya throws the old dog Tiger from the sleigh, hoping to distract the enraged pack. Tiger dies under the fangs of his fellow dogs. The sleigh overturns, and the team disappears forever into the snowstorm. The teenagers are left completely alone. Tanya displays phenomenal resilience. She forces Kolya to move. The girl drags him through the hurricane wind. A cannon fires from the fortress, a signal for rescue. In the darkness, Tanya fumbles for the icy rope of the search party. She stumbles upon her father’s rough overcoat.

Newspaper article and awakening

Kolya is sick for a long time after suffering severe frostbite. Tanya and Filka visit him every day. Relationships within the family are gradually improving. Upon returning to school, Tanya is dealt a severe blow. Her history teacher, Aristarkh Aristarkhovich, publishes an accusatory article in the local newspaper. He categorically declares that the girl, out of sheer recklessness, took the boy out into the snowstorm. The teacher demands her expulsion.

Tanya’s classmates instantly turn away. A new, fat boy loudly demands that she be expelled from the Pioneer group. Filka knocks the offender down with the edge of his hand. The Nanai hunter fiercely defends his friend. The Pioneers find Tanya fast asleep on a gym mat in a dark storage room. Counselor Kostya and the homeroom teacher allow the meeting to be held right there. The children understand the true meaning of this heroic act. They quietly leave the room, protecting the sleeping girl’s peace.

Spring farewell

Far Eastern spring is approaching. Zhenya shares his purely pragmatic theory of love with Tanya. Filka helps Tanya study for a difficult geometry exam. The teenagers sit on the sturdy branches of a crooked Daurian birch. The girl notices a knot, panics, mistakes it for a caterpillar, and asks her friend to cut it off. Filka, with one swing of his hunting knife, cuts a huge piece of fabric right out of her light dress.

Early in the morning, Tanya puts on her mother’s white medical gown. The ruined dress remains at home. She goes to a wooded headland for a farewell meeting with Kolya. The girl fully understands her bright feelings. She sees the deep sadness of her mother, who still loves the colonel. Tanya decides to sacrifice her own nascent happiness. The schoolgirl plans to leave the city with her mother. Kolya timidly kisses her on the cheek. At that moment, the ringing sound of gunshots rings out. The colonel and Filka are successfully hunting pheasants. Tanya approaches her father, kisses his hand, and apologizes for his long-standing anger.

On the day of her imminent departure, Tanya searches everywhere for Filka. She finds a Nanai teenager on a distant sandbar. Her faithful friend has lain for hours under the scorching Far Eastern sun. The remaining untanned letters gleam bright white on his tanned chest. The boy has burned the name "Tanya." The friends embrace tightly. The Nanai boy says to his friend, "Farewell, wild dingo, farewell!" They bid their short childhood farewell forever. The teenagers gaze fixedly at the clear river, preparing for a new adult life.