[节选]Master and Man

Now, having heard his master's order to harness, he went as

usual cheerfully and willingly to the shed, stepping briskly

and easily on his rather turned-in feet; took down from a nail

the heavy tasselled leather bridle, and jingling the rings of

the bit went to the closed stable where the horse he was to

harness was standing by himself.



'What, feeling lonely, feeling lonely, little silly?' said

Nikita in answer to the low whinny with which he was greeted by

the good-tempered, medium-sized bay stallion, with a rather

slanting crupper, who stood alone in the shed.  'Now then, now

then, there's time enough.  Let me water you first,' he went

on, speaking to the horse just as to someone who understood the

words he was using, and having whisked the dusty, grooved back

of the well-fed young stallion with the skirt of his coat, he

put a bridle on his handsome head, straightened his ears and

forelock, and having taken off his halter led him out to water.



Picking his way out of the dung-strewn stable, Mukhorty

frisked, and making play with his hind leg pretended that he

meant to kick Nikita, who was running at a trot beside him to

the pump.



'Now then, now then, you rascal!' Nikita called out, well

knowing how carefully Mukhorty threw out his hind leg just to

touch his greasy sheepskin coat but not to strike him--a trick

Nikita much appreciated.



After a drink of the cold water the horse sighed, moving his

strong wet lips, from the hairs of which transparent drops fell

into the trough; then standing still as if in thought, he

suddenly gave a loud snort.



'If you don't want any more, you needn't.  But don't go asking

for any later,' said Nikita quite seriously and fully

explaining his conduct to Mukhorty.  Then he ran back to the

shed pulling the playful young horse, who wanted to gambol all

over the yard, by the rein.



There was no one else in the yard except a stranger, the cook's

husband, who had come for the holiday.



'Go and ask which sledge is to be harnessed--the wide one or

the small one--there's a good fellow!'



The cook's husband went into the house, which stood on an iron

foundation and was iron-roofed, and soon returned saying that

the little one was to be harnessed.  By that time Nikita had

put the collar and brass-studded belly-band on Mukhorty and,

carrying a light, painted shaft-bow in one hand, was leading

the horse with the other up to two sledges that stood in the

shed.



'All right, let it be the little one!' he said, backing the

intelligent horse, which all the time kept pretending to bite

him, into the shafts, and with the aid of the cook's husband he

proceeded to harness.  When everything was nearly ready and

only the reins had to be adjusted, Nikita sent the other man to

the shed for some straw and to the barn for a drugget.