Uncle Fyodor

Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat

The 1992 edition, published by Angstrem.
Author	Eduard Uspensky
Original title	Дядя Фёдор, пёс и кот
Translator	Michael Henry Heim
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian
Series	The Stories from Prostokvashino
Genre	a novella
Set in	Soviet Union
Publication date	1973
Published in English	1993
Pages	112
Followed by	Uncle Fyodor's Aunt (1994)

Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat (Russian: Дядя Фёдор, пёс и кот, lit. '"Uncle Fyodor, The Dog and The 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 (Russian: Простоквашино, tr. Prostokvashino; IPA: [prəstɐˈkvaʂɨnə]; 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.

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 does not 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 in 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 refuses, saying that he would rather save money.