"'Look out he doesn't cheat you, he is such a beast!'
"Father said:—
"'I will go and carry him some brandy,[1] and have a little talk with him. And do you cook an egg in the ashes for dinner.'
"Mother boiled a morsel for dinner—she got it of her folks. Then father took some liquor and went to Bryantsef, and we remained and sat a long time. I began to feel lonely without father, and so I begged mother to let me go where father had gone. Mother said:—
"'You will lose your way.'
"I began to cry and wanted to go, but mother beat me, and I sat on the stove and began to cry louder than ever. Then I saw father come in, and he asked:—
"'What are you crying about?'
"Mother said:—
"'Fedyushka wanted to run after you, and I whipped him.'
"Father came to me, and said:—
"'What are you crying about?'
"I began to be sorry for mother. Father went to her and began to make believe beat her, and he kept saying:—
"'Don't you whip Fedya! Don't you whip Fedya!'
"Mother made believe howl, and I sat on father's knee and was happy. Then father sat down to table, placed me next to him, and cried:—
"'Give me and Fedya something to eat, mother—we are hungry.'
"So mother gave us some meat, and we set to work eating. After we had eaten, mother said:—
"'Well, how about the wood?'
"Father said:—
"'Fifty silver rubles.'
"Mother said:—
"'That's nothing at all.'
"Father said:—
- ↑ Vodotchki, diminutive of vodka, which is in turn the diminutive of voda, water.—Ed.
