There are many things in the world particularly suitable for biting, for example mothers’ ears, people’s fingers, shoelaces, carpets, telephone handsets, clothes pegs, but most of all the tip of a nose, which little Dášeňka is crazy about! And then off she goes! running around the garden, playing tug-of-war with a guest’s hat, wrestling with a broom, throwing herself into puddles and not standing still for a second! This stubborn fox terrier puppy – a little white wad with black ears – who, like every child, is always on the move to explore and bite everything, will turn your existence upside down as it has turned the author’s. With humour and tenderness, he tells us, draws and even photographs the growth of this canine fury and his eventful adventures, going so far as to invent fairy tales to keep her quiet. Jokes, tricks and pranks intertwine in the course of this tale – enjoyed by several generations of Czech readers – that seduces both young and old.

Karel Čapek,

Dášeňka. La Vita Di Un Cucciolo

Translated by Anna Maria Perissutti.

WoM Edizioni, 2022,

p. 100