horse and drove out of the yard with a certain special, mysterious
mission.

Yura succeeded in concentrating himself for some time with the
greatest difficulty. Together with father he was hanging up the
lanterns. And father was charming; he laughed, jested, put Yura on
the ladder; he himself climbed the thin, creaking rungs of the
ladder, and finally both fell down together with the ladder upon the
grass, but they were not hurt. Yura jumped up, while father remained
lying on the grass, hands thrown back under his head, looking with
half-closed eyes at the shining, infinite azure of the sky. Thus
lying on the grass, with a serious expression on his face, apparently
not in the mood for play, father looked very much like Gulliver
longing for his land of giants. Yura recalled something unpleasant;
but to cheer his father up he sat down astride upon his knees and said:

"Do you remember, father, when I was a little boy I used to sit down
on your knees and you used to shake me like a horse?"

But before he had time to finish he lay with his nose on the grass;
he was lifted in the air and thrown down with force--father had
thrown him high up with his knees, according to his old habit. Yura
felt offended; but father, entirely ignoring his anger, began to
tickle him under his armpits, so that Yura had to laugh against his
will; and then father picked him up like a little pig by the legs and
carried him to the terrace. And mamma was frightened.

"What are you doing? The blood will rush to his head!"

After which Yura found himself standing on his legs, red faced,