KAP DOCHKA, end of chapter 9, khot' shersti klok

[Robert Chandler]

Dear all,

In the last lines of chapter 9 Savelich comes out with an odd variant of the
more usual ‘s parshivoi ovtsy khot’s shersti klok’.

"Вот  видишь ли, сударь", - сказал старик,  - "что  я не даром подал
мошеннику челобитье:
вору-то  стало совестно, хоть башкирская долговязая  кляча да овчинный тулуп
не  стоят и половины того, что они,  мошенники, у нас украли, и того, что ты
ему  сам изволил  пожаловать;  да всe же  пригодится, а с лихой  собаки хоть
шерсти клок".
Transliterated, the last line is ‘da vses zhe prigoditsya, a s likhoi sobaki
khot’ shersti klok’.

How comical is this?  I mean, is it just an acceptable variant of the normal
saying, or is Savelich getting laughably muddled?  What is the relationship
between the tulup and the shersti klok, or is that not intended?

My draft translation is:
 “His heart knows shame after all – not that a spindle-shanked Bashkir nag
and a sheepskin coat are worth half of what the bandits stole and what you
were pleased to give the rascal yourself.  Still they’re better than nothing
– and there’s worse to be got from a vicious dog than a tuft of fur.”

But the last words no longer seem right to me.  They seem self-consciously
clever in a way that is quite wrong for Savelich.  I could, of course, just
change ‘fur’ to ‘hair’.

Best wishes,

R.


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