A. Sklyarenko: ... 'I refuse to share the ardor of your little canicule with an apple tree.' ...It seems that dogs (canicule, little dog), rabbits (Krolik), devils (chort) and female genitalia are indeed connected and meet again in Kunikulinov and Dan's cherti sobach'i.
 
JM: In English, "canicule" refers to a sudden heat wave or to the "dog days" in August but, using Portuguese links, the canicule is referred to a surge of heat in the Northern Hemisphere, to the thin stalks of the sugar-cane and to the star Sirius. In the French wiki, the connection to Sirius is made clearer: "En Occident, la canicule était censée survenir au moment où Sirius, l'étoile la plus brillante de la constellation du Grand Chien, se lève et se couche en même temps que le Soleil, c'est-à-dire grosso modo, au Moyen Âge et de nos jours, pendant le mois d'août.
Rather satisfying for my non-too-discriminating tastes: canicule - heat - constelation of Canis(Dog) Major*. Speaking of which...
 
Serge Soloviev (to Alexey and JM): "and what means in this conexts 'kos-khalva'? In Russia one knows this kind of oriental sweets".
JM: Relying on the online dics, I got to items as varied as a "sweet leaf", the "torrón" and the "Turkish Delight" ( Will it take us to Pale Fire's"So why join in the vulgar laughter? Why/ Scorn a hereafter none can verify:/ The Turk’s delight, the future lyres, the talks/ With Socrates and Proust in cypress walks,/ The seraph with his six flamingo wings,/ And Flemish hells with porcupines and things?" ).
 
I must confess that Serge Soloviev's "context" eludes me (was it the canicule? were they some verbiose confabulations?) (In VN-controlled  "Feu pâle" I find "Les délices du Turc," as it was originally presented in VN's unsweetened English.)  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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*Thanks to wiki I learned that this constelation in the southern hemisphere is variously represented in the Brasilian flag. α CMa, Sirius (Mato Grosso); β CMa, Mirzam (Amapá); y CMa, Muliphen (Rondonia);δ CMa, Wezen (Roraima); ε CMa, Adhara (Tocantins). I suppose I should have known this long before now... 
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