[节选]Master and Man

'Only a moment, Father, Vasili Andreevich!' replied Nikita, and

running quickly with his inturned toes in his felt boots with

their soles patched with felt, he hurried across the yard and

into the workmen's hut.



'Arinushka!  Get my coat down from the stove.  I'm going with

the master,' he said, as he ran into the hut and took down his

girdle from the nail on which it hung.



The workmen's cook, who had had a sleep after dinner and was

now getting the samovar ready for her husband, turned

cheerfully to Nikita, and infected by his hurry  began to move

as quickly as he did, got down his miserable worn-out cloth

coat from the stove where it was drying, and began hurriedly

shaking it out and smoothing it down.



'There now, you'll have a chance of a holiday with your good

man,' said Nikita, who from kindhearted politeness always said

something to anyone he was alone with.



Then, drawing his worn narrow girdle round him, he drew in his

breath, pulling in his lean stomach still more, and girdled

himself as tightly as he could over his sheepskin.



'There now,' he said addressing himself no longer to the cook

but the girdle, as he tucked the ends in at the waist, 'now you

won't come undone!'  And working his shoulders up and down to

free his arms, he put the coat over his sheepskin, arched his

back more strongly to ease his arms, poked himself under the

armpits, and took down his leather-covered mittens from the

shelf.  'Now we're all right!'



'You ought to wrap your feet up, Nikita.  Your boots are very

bad.'



Nikita stopped as if he had suddenly realized this.



'Yes, I ought to. . . .  But they'll do like this.  It isn't

far!' and he ran out into the yard.



'Won't you be cold, Nikita?' said the mistress as he came up to

the sledge.