I sat down at the piano and decided to write some little sqibs of pieces, 'doggies' as I used to call them eight years or so ago. And the doggies started to grow incredibly easily, I liked thm very much and they emerged with impeccable finish. Three of them were completed on the first day: for Zoya (No. 6), for Lida (no. 5) - with a peal of bells to celebrate her marriage - and for Katya Schmidthof (No. 16). I decided to dedicate all of these doggies to my friends.