The Real Socrates

Socrates, the sharp-tongued, independent and endlessly curious cat, returns with another extraordinary account of his life. This time, however, his adventures will take him far beyond the comfortable world of his beloved family. Before the story ends, he will become an internet sensation, risk his life, find an unexpected friend and discover just how deeply a cat can change a human destiny.

A New Home, and a Very Different Cat

Dmitry, the eldest son of the Smirnov family, has successfully passed his examinations and been accepted into university. His sister Katerina has also completed an important stage of her education. To reward their children, Alexander Petrovich and Tatyana Mikhailovna announce a month-long family holiday by the sea. The animals cannot accompany their owners abroad. Pukha is sent to friends, while Socrates is entrusted to Leonid Isaevich, a successful composer and friend of Alexander Petrovich.

Socrates is deeply offended. Nobody has asked his opinion, and he has no intention of spending an entire month away from Dmitry, Katerina and his beloved white cat, Bella. Leonid's magnificent house offers every conceivable comfort. The food is excellent, the rooms are spacious, and a housekeeper attends to the animals' needs. Socrates also meets Heinrich, a pampered British cat of aristocratic breeding who addresses him as "sir" and considers sleeping, eating and admiring the garden through the window perfectly satisfactory occupations.

Heinrich is proud of his pedigree and his show awards. Socrates values freedom above comfort. He cannot understand how a cat can live surrounded by beautiful gardens without ever exploring them. To Socrates, this luxurious existence increasingly resembles imprisonment.

Leonid and his wife Alla discover that their new guest cannot behave like a well-mannered aristocrat. Socrates chases insects, damages furniture, breaks a chandelier, steals small objects and hides them, and repeatedly demands to be let outdoors. Leonid's grandson, Innokenty, affectionately called Kesha, becomes Socrates' enthusiastic companion. Their adventures include a disastrous bicycle ride, an unexpected confrontation with an aggressive dog and incidents that test the grandparents' patience. The boy, despite having a loving family, is often lonely; his parents are busy and he longs for a brother or sister. The mischievous cat gives him the companionship he craves.

An Unexpected Celebrity

Socrates' demands to be let outside sound remarkably like the Russian word for "open." Kesha secretly records one of these performances and posts the video online. It spreads rapidly: viewers are delighted by a cat who seems to speak human language. Socrates and his temporary family are invited to television. The studio is full of unusual animals, cameras, microphones and excited strangers. His fame is entirely incomprehensible to him, however, and it does nothing to ease his loneliness.

After hearing stories about cats whose devotion brought them home across enormous distances, Socrates decides that he has had enough of waiting. He slips out of Leonid's house and sets off along unfamiliar roads, determined to find his family. He walks through villages and woodland, increasingly tired and hungry. Near a roadside rubbish heap, he encounters a pack of stray dogs. Their leader threatens him, and when they attack, Socrates fights desperately. He survives, badly wounded, bleeding and almost unable to walk.

The Artist Who Rescues Him

Socrates eventually reaches a small country house where a lonely man named Georgy, or Zhora, discovers him on the terrace. Zhora treats his injuries, feeds him and offers shelter. Seeing the wounds, he jokingly names the cat Tyson after the famous boxer. Socrates intends to leave as soon as he recovers, but the man's kindness makes him hesitate.

Zhora is an artist whose marriage has ended and whose professional ambitions have brought little success. He lives alone, earning money drawing portraits and caricatures of passengers on suburban trains. Socrates recognises his sadness. In turn, the artist discovers that the battered cat has brought companionship into an empty life. An extraordinary partnership grows between them.

Socrates begins accompanying Zhora on trains, usually perched on the man's shoulder. Passengers are fascinated. Many want portraits with the cat; their earnings improve, and Zhora begins to regain confidence. Socrates finally goes fishing and amazes his friend by catching fish with his paws. He explores the countryside, discusses art with his companion and listens to Zhora's stories of loneliness, disappointment and the sacrifices demanded by creativity.

The cat also discovers a beautiful ginger female named Matilda, left alone for long periods at a neighbouring holiday home. Their acquaintance starts when he catches her eating his food. Matilda has a fierce, possessive admirer, but Socrates uses cunning rather than strength, temporarily trapping his rival in Zhora's cellar and winning a chance to spend time with the proud ginger beauty. Yet his new romance cannot erase memories of Bella and his family.

One night, an electrical fault causes a fire in Zhora's house. The artist is asleep and unaware of the danger. Socrates jumps on his chest, strikes his face with his paws and finally wakes him. His intervention prevents catastrophe. Zhora later tells him about a rescued cat that saved a fellow soldier from despair, confirming Socrates' conviction that animals are capable of great devotion.

During other outings Socrates encounters the underground railway and a zoo, where he meets a magnificent tiger named Eling. Although well cared for, the tiger is confined in an enclosure. Socrates remembers Heinrich's luxurious but restricted life and realises that security can become another form of captivity.

Meanwhile, Zhora's fortunes improve. His paintings attract buyers, new commissions appear, and he is offered work designing a theatre production. He introduces Socrates to Nadezhda, a kind woman whose arrival suggests that his long loneliness may be ending. Zhora calls the cat his guardian angel.

A Reunion and a Difficult Goodbye

One day, while travelling with Zhora on a suburban train, Socrates hears a familiar voice. It is Dmitry. The Smirnov family has been desperately searching for their missing pet: Katerina has been crying, their parents have been worried, and Dima has tried to trace him. A friend had taken a photograph of Zhora and the cat aboard a train. Dima recognised Socrates and searched the railway routes until he found them.

The reunion is everything Socrates dreamed of, but it means saying goodbye. Zhora loves Tyson as a true companion. Socrates is torn between longing for his own family and gratitude towards the man who saved his life. Dima thanks Zhora, invites him to visit and exchanges contact details, making the farewell a little easier. As the cat leaves with Dmitry, he knows that part of his heart will remain with the lonely artist who welcomed a wounded stranger and became his friend.

The Real Socrates is an adventure about freedom, belonging and the extraordinary bond between animals and people. Beneath its humour lies a moving idea: sometimes the creature we believe we have rescued is the one that ultimately rescues us.