juicy, dense grass laid down direct ranks and quickly dried under the scorching beams of the sun. All body ached from this hard and fascinating work.
Long summer day was divided into four “upovod” – from sunrise to snack, from snack till a breakfast, from a breakfast till a lunch and from a lunch till a dinner when the sun left for the end of the earth. Had a rest only after a lunch. Scary tired, filled up instantly, anywhere: in a cart shadow, under a shadow of a grass shock, under a bush. Slept like a log, and it seemed – only fell asleep when the severe voice of the grandfather calling for work was distributed.
By noon the mowed grass dried, women and children raked up dry hay in small kopeshka.
On a sunset all with braids and a rake on shoulders came back to a camp. Made fire and boiled in a copper gruel – millet with potato. The same fires appeared around on all steppe. Slowly the evening dawn when in the deep sky flickering stars already began to move went out. The steppe sensitively dozed, in silence of steppe evening each sound was far heard: someone’s far conversation, silvery neighing of a horse, the sad lingering song, and after a dinner when on all steppe mowers began to whet hammers scythes and melodiously steel ringed – it seemed that giant strings stretched from one end of the earth to another.
But little by little strings calmed down, fires died away, and everything filled up, only a myriads of mosquitoes filled with a thin ring drowsy air. It was possible to sleep only under bed curtains which was stretched on four low pegs.
Quickly short summer night flew by, and heavy day of work was started over again.
When all hay was slanted, ranks raked up in kopeshka, kopeshka in big shocks – and, at last, began to throw a stack. For children there was the most pleasant work – to go astride a horse and to dragging bring shocks to a stack. The stack was removed by the grandfather, and Yafim gave it a trekhrogy wooden pitchfork heavy armfuls of hay. On the growing stack placed children – to knead hay, and they floundered in it, rolling up to a breast in fragrant green waves. To sweep away a stack the correct cone that it did not leave lopsided, the wide experience, and the grandfather always was required itself managed this responsible business. Having finished a stack, carefully went down from it on a rope, brushed with a rake, prignetat from above thick slega and then left the field till winter; found a stack on special signs in the winter and transported hay on the wood sledge big heavy carts.
So there took place the haymaking week after a week. Worked tensely and hastily to harvest hay till the rains.
Hardly the haymaking came to an end, kept up жнитво, and then a threshing. Sheaves put in ricks, and then in ometa, similar to stacks to protect bread from casual summer rains. Sometimes for several days there came the bad weather, and then waited it in a tent or a tent, forcedly wasting working hours in inaction. But was hardly established buckets as the threshing began. About an omet arranged current – the round cleared-away platform – and dimmed it sheaves. Connected in a circle not less than five horses by reins – bridles of one horse to a tail another; here again children were necessary. Vukol and Laurels in turn became with a whip in the middle of a horse round dance and, gradually coming, drove a circle, adhering to edges of the current laid by sheaves. For want of habit at first at them from flashing of horses the head was turned, but, having accustomed, they with pleasure sent horses, patting a whip and shouting at them. Ded, Yafim and women methodically removed at this time a rake the straw threshed by hoofs of horses until on current did not remain жито together with chaff. Then horses were brought together from current, жито raked up aside, and current was dimmed again sheaves, already by the whole days, did not come to an end yet omt. Then the grandfather and Yafim blew жито, throwing it shovels downwind. Carried chaff wind, and pure жито fell on smooth current.
By the evening to children charged to drive horses on a watering place to the next steppe well, sometimes to the lake or the small river. Horses was five, the sixth – Karyukhin Vask’s foal. Boys walked all without saddle, three horses with a foal ran ahead. Also one person could drive such small herd, but the unseparable uncle and the nephew were sent together everywhere to accustom both to work and the treatment of horses. The trip on a verst watering place for two, for three was always for both great pleasure.
At the same time the difference of their characters affected: Vukol took himself Mishka, a young karakovy zherebchik, by all means bridled it though in it there was no need, invigorated, forced to dance or let gallop, and the Laurels were afraid behind it on the old man Chalke and laughed loudly over the nephew’s whims. As a result Vukol came back on the sweated horse, and Laurels on dry, hozyaystvenno preserving and feeling sorry for her while the desperate nephew without need rushed on жнивью with risk to break to itself the head. The laurels admonished and convinced the friend not маять a horse in vain, warned that the grandfather will swear if he learns, but itself and hid Vukol’s tricks.
So they lived in the steppe all summer, until the end of August when, at last, the threshing was ended. Nastya and Ondrevna went to the country.
Having spread in carts it is line, loaded carts with the golden, nourishingly smelling wheat, accurately sewn up with a thick needle, covered with integral tawing skin, stuck ropes and a slow wagon train, at a slow pace, at a dawn moved on the wide steppe road to a long journey. With a forward cart the grandfather, behind it Yafim went to Chalke, and two little friends were located on the last a supply.
It was good to lie on a cart from which smelled of wheat and tar, to take out sometimes from a bag a chunk of sitnik and to indulge in infinite friendly chats.
The steppe was enormous, majestic and sad. Fields were naked, the grass is mowed, fields are compressed. Here and there were seen, stacks and ometa which are not threshed yet. Highly in the sky flew to the South from time to time, having constructed by the correct triangle, wild geese and ducks.
The sun climbed up above and above, promising hot August day. Soared. The small white cloudlet heaved in sight, it quickly increased and soon turned into the fancy snow-white mountains which were piled up one on another. Pulled a crude breeze. On the road, being turned, small whirlwinds ran, dust twirled a column.
At this time a wagon train, having climbed up a slope, began to go down on the abrupt road. Chalka was the great master of it: it almost on grain slipped from the mountain, resting against the earth all four hoofs, with the tense breast-band and the collar shifted to the head. Yafim going to Karyukhe came off a cart, holding it by the bridle and resting a shoulder against collar tugs. Having looked back, he saw that the cart swings inexperienced Mishka here and there. Then he let to Karyukh one, and itself ran up to the cart of children and made it in time: children with the last bit of strength pulled reins, but the young zherebchik worried, without being able to hold a cart yet. Yafim seized him by a bridle, rested against a tug. The neck of the man reddened, from under bast shoes dust flew, roadside stones slid, but at once it became easier for a zherebchik, and it, like Chalke, began to slip slowly on grain. From a half of descent forward carts rushed a large lynx. Then Yafim jumped on a cart, snatched out reins at children, pulled. The bear felt in strong, skilled hands, went from the half-mountain the correct, bystry course. For nervousness and fear children did not notice that in the steppe it became more dark, on the mountain shadows ran, wind whistled in ears, and Yafim’s shirt was inflated with a bubble.
Only when horses dropped into a walk again, friends looked around themselves: on the sky crept, closing the sun, a huge blue cloud. Somewhere away grumbled the remote thunder.
– Chapan take! – Yafim told, throwing him reins, and ran to catch up to Karyukh. On forward to a cart the grandfather already with the head was covered line.
After a thunder the first heavy drops of a rain fell. Children took out prepared чапан and, having nestled to each other, muffled in it. Absolutely darkened as in twilight, and suddenly, having broken off darkness, through all sky convulsively, breaks the curve fiery crack ran, for a moment