Pluto

Inna Chernyak is the internationally-appreciated Ukrainian artist. She is well-known in Brazil, England, USA, Korea and Russia. The first degree she received was in economics.

However, the great passion for art brought her to Kharkiv State Academy for Arts and Design. She graduated from the Academy with a diploma of a graphic desiger. Inna says: «It’s a privilege for me to be an illustrator, and I consider my job as the dearest and most precious of treasures».

Valentyna Vzdulska

Valentyna Vzdulska

Valentyna Vzdulska is a children’s book writer, a journalist and an editor. She is the author of many famous children’s short stories: «Christmas for Nina», «Tailtwister», «A Letter’s Journey» etc. stiv, Kyiv region.

She was born in 1983 in Fastiv, Kyiv region. She graduated from the Kyiv-Mohyla National Academy with a degree in philology. She is a co-founder of Kazkarka, a literary blog about children’s literature.

Aquarelle Picture Books Series The little boy loved his huge black dog Pluto very much. When old Pluto passed away the boy used to watch the planet Pluto and imagine his friend living and playing there. But one day mom brings home a cute white puppy. Is it a betrayal to love a new puppy? — wonders the boy…

ISBN 978-617-690-564-6

The illustrator Iryna Chernyak 9 786176 905646

Valentyna Vzdulska

The illustrator Iryna Chernyak

Kharkiv

2016

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The live broadcast will not start. I cast glances at the big clock on the wall. The second hand is almost crawling: Plu-to, Plu-to, Plu-to…

This will be a special day in July.

Pluto is a small planet at the very edge of the Solar system. So small

Father takes me from grandparents’ earlier than usual. After dinner

indeed, that it is even called a dwarf planet. And some people do not

we go to the living-room, get seated simply on the rug and lean our

consider it a planet at all. Even our Moon is three times larger and six

backs against the sofa. Father turns on his laptop computer while I am

times heavier.

biting my nails impatiently.

‘Mark, stop doing it!’ Father gets annoyed at this habit of mine.

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Nobody has yet been able to take a proper look at Pluto as it is a distant place in outer space. But things will change today.

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The spacecraft equipped with cameras will reach Pluto at last. It has

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been dashing through the blackness of outer space for nine and a half years to get there. It is longer than I have lived. And when it does get

Pluto and I have a story of our own. It had started even before I was born.

there, it will send everything its advanced instruments will take pictures

My Mother and Father had just got married at that time. My Mother

of to the Earth.

Even pictures of aliens or souls of the dead.

is a physicist and my Father is an astronomer. They got acquainted while studying at university. They went out to the observatory on their dates — to look at planets and comets in the telescope. And they went to the Carpathian Mountains on their wedding journey.

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Having taken tents and sleeping-bags with them, my mom and dad slept under the starry sky.

‘Golden dashes of meteors swept past,’ they say.

My parents brought a puppy as black as outer space from that journey. They called it Pluto.

Pluto had grown up and turned from a puppy into a large dog. When he barked, the walls shook and the neighbours banged on the central heating radiator.

‘Woof! Woof! Woof!’

Pluto looked fierce. But only my parents and I knew that in fact he was kind and sweet.

Pluto really was my nanny. Mother says that I learned to walk holding on to his back. Once he even pulled me out of a large puddle into which I had fallen.

We ran grass sprints, played ball and splashed in the lake in the country. One day Pluto and I went to the wood. But there he was bitten by a forest fly and it took him long to recover. So we did not take Pluto on picnics with us anymore.

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Even now Pluto is looking at me from the photograph. He stares

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kindly and his tongue hangs out. He seems to be saying, ‘Why, what’s the matter, little boy? Don’t be upset!’

When the planet Pluto was discovered, an 11-year-old English school-

Still I do feel upset. I want to hug Pluto. But a year ago he was hit by

girl came up with the name for it. The girl’s name was Venetia Burney.

a car. And now he is no more. My parents keep saying that Pluto has

Venetia was keen on mythology. She knew the names of all ancient Greek

not gone away forever. He has just moved to the planet he shares the

gods and heroes. Scientists thanked Venetia and even paid her a reward.

same name with — to Pluto.

Pluto is the god of the Underworld who rules over the dead. He always welcomes guests but never lets them go back.

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And what if our dog has really moved to Pluto? Sometimes I imagine

Pluto lives well on Pluto. Sometimes he recalls our home, Father,

him there on his own. There are no cars on Pluto and he can scamper

Mother and me. How we went on a walking-tour all together. How we

about wherever he may want.

studied the star map stretching ourselves out on the sofa. Or how he

I fancy Pluto jumping over small craters, carrying meteorites in his mouth and barking thunderously, ‘Woof! Woof! Woof!’

And then Plutonian mountains quake and send hundreds of small stones rolling down.

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kept getting in our way while we were assembling an amateur telescope.

He stole parts and hid them under his mat.

He may feel lonely at such moments. He raises his head to the sky and growls at all five moons of Pluto: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos and Styx.

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I am waiting for the pictures of Pluto holding my breath. I will see our black dog with lively eyes and a big tongue in these pictures.

And what if I don’t?

Meanwhile a group of scientists are rejoicing and waving flags on the screen. Father translates what they are saying from English for me.

Although I am learning English, I cannot understand everything.

4 I stop biting my nails and get glued to the screen. It says that for the first time in history a planetary space probe will come close to Pluto in a few minutes’ time. The countdown has already begun.

‘Father, will the probe land on Pluto?’

‘No, it won’t,’ Father shakes his head. ‘It will only get close and take pictures.’

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‘This is really a breakthrough in science,’ they say.

‘We get to know a lot of new things,’ scientists go on.

‘We explore a lot of mysteries.’

I do not go on watching as nothing can interest me any more.

‘We shall shed light on many enigmas.’

I reach for the toy construction set. I want to add one more tower to

But photographs will not appear on the screen.

my castle with knights. The castle has been attacked by aliens. But at

‘They will come later,’ Father explains. ‘When the probe sends all

this moment somebody rings the doorbell.

information.’

Pluto’s secret as well as mine remains safe so far.

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‘It’s not Mother. Mother’s got keys,’ I say and run to open the door.

Father goes with me.

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As we open the door — Father ahead then me looking from behind his back — we see Mother on the doorstep. She stands looking at us and smiling. She is pressing a bundle tenderly to herself.

‘Ooh-oh,’ I whisper.

‘Surprise!!!’ Mother’s smile becomes even wider.

The «surprise» has light yellow fur, floppy velvet triangles of ears and a black nose. Mother holds out the puppy to me. Being wary, it smells at my palms first, then greets me with the amiable wagging of its tail.

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‘It’s a girl puppy,’ Mother says. Parents are embracing each other while looking at me. ‘You may name it as you wish.’

‘It’s unjust,’ I think. Nobody has asked me if I want a dog. I put the puppy carefully on the floor in the corridor.

‘And what about Pluto?!’ I want to cry. ‘How could you have forgotten about Pluto?!’

But exactly at this moment the puppy is smelling at my toes and I do not dare to move.

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6 It has been a week already and the puppy still does not have a name.

The puppy follows me about.

I do not want to think of a name for it. No name comes to my mind.

In the end Mother and Father cannot bear it any longer and name it.

Vanilla. Vanillapup.

To tell the truth, it makes no difference to me whether it is called Liza or

However, Vanillapup does not smell of vanilla, rather of milk, fur and

Princess. The only thing that matters is that parents should take care of

of something else. I do not know of what exactly, but of something very

it themselves. They should feed it, wash it and walk it — as well as play

nice. When Vanillapup makes a puddle, it smells different. The little one

with it, again by themselves. And they should not look at me like this

licks my hands time and again, though I try to take them away. It has

as if expecting something.

a pink and warm tongue.

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7 At the end of the week Father prints colourful pictures of Pluto and brings them to me. Mountains and plains can be seen on its surface.

One spot directly in the middle looks like a heart made of snow. But no dog can be seen on Pluto.

Vanillapup tugs at my tracksuit and growls — it wants to play, — but I ignore it.

‘Mark, if you want, Vanillapup can sleep in your room,’ my parents tell me during dinner.

‘No,’ I say sharply.

Vanillapup’s new, soft bed is set up in the corridor. But when it is left alone for the night, Vanillapup whines and it keeps everyone from falling asleep. Mother and Father give up and take it to their bedroom.

Vanillapup stops whining, and the mess in my head also subsides — till the morning.

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Now I want to gaze at the picture of Pluto in quiet.

‘Stop it! Stop it!’

‘Stop that!’ I order but it does not understand commands yet.

Jumping it snatches the picture out from my hands and starts to tear

Pluto consists mostly of rock and ice as scientists say. It even has

it. I want to take it back but Vanillapup rushes to another room.

mountains made up of frozen water three and a half kilometers high.

‘Give it back!’ I run after it.

It may be something similar to water though nobody can be sure yet.

But Vanilla does not do as it is told. It runs away, growls, shakes its head,

Much ice and rock, a thin layer of atmosphere. Chill and silence.

The piece of paper is slightly trembling in my hands vexing Vanillapup.

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photo in mouth. The snapshot of Pluto turns into wet shreds of paper.

‘Do-o-o-n’t!’ I give up and sink on the floor.

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Something bubbles and grows in me. As if I were the dwarf planet Pluto at the edge of the Solar system. And all ice mountains and the frozen inside of mine started melting and overflowing.

The puzzled Vanillapup lets the torn snapshot fall down and comes up to me. It licks my hands and my face wet with tears.

At this moment I still look like the planet Pluto, cold and distant. I feel that somewhere a large black dog is scampering about, his tongue stuck out from his mouth and his eyes looking kindly. He carries meteorites in his teeth, jumps over craters and barks at comets. I also picture a vast heart-shaped snow-clad plain not far away where Vanillapup is sitting.

And they definitely like each other.

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