During dessert Jakoff had been sent for, and orders given him to have ready the carriage, the hounds, and the saddle-horses--every detail being minutely specified, and every horse called by its own particular name. As Woloda's usual mount was lame, Papa ordered a "hunter" to be saddled for him; which term, "hunter" so horrified Mamma's ears, that she imagined it to be some kind of an animal which would at once run away and bring about Woloda's death. Consequently, in spite of all Papa's and Woloda's assurances (the latter glibly affirming that it was nothing, and that he liked his horse to go fast), poor Mamma continued to exclaim that her pleasure would be quite spoilt for her.
When luncheon was over, the grown-ups had coffee in the study, while we younger ones ran into the garden and went chattering along the undulating paths with their carpet of yellow leaves. We talked about Woloda's riding a hunter and said what a shame it was that Lubotshka, could not run as fast as Katenka, and what fun it would be if we could see Grisha's chains, and so forth; but of the impending separation we said not a word. Our chatter was interrupted by the sound of the carriage driving up, with a village urchin perched on each of its springs. Behind the carriage rode the huntsmen with the hounds, and they, again, were followed by the groom Ignat on the steed intended for Woloda, with my old horse trotting alongside. After running to the garden fence to get a sight of all these interesting objects, and indulging in a chorus of whistling and hallooing, we rushed upstairs to dress--our one aim being to make ourselves look as like the huntsmen as possible. The obvious way to do this was to tuck one's breeches inside one's boots. We lost no time over it all, for we were in a hurry to run to the entrance steps again there to feast our eyes upon the horses and hounds, and to have a chat with the huntsmen. The day was exceedingly warm while, though clouds of fantastic shape had been gathering on the horizon since morning and driving before a light breeze across the sun, it was clear that, for all their menacing blackness, they did not really intend to form a thunderstorm and spoil our last day's pleasure. Moreover, towards afternoon some of them broke, grew pale and elongated, and sank to the horizon again, while others of them changed to the likeness of white transparent fish-scales. In the east, over Maslovska, a single lurid mass was louring, but Karl Ivanitch (who always seemed to know the ways of the heavens) said that the weather would still continue to be fair and dry.
In spite of his advanced years, it was in quite a sprightly manner that Foka came out to the entrance steps. to give the order "Drive up." In fact, as he planted his legs firmly apart and took up his station between the lowest step and the spot where the coachman was to halt, his mien was that of a man who knew his duties and had no need to be reminded of them by anybody. Presently the ladies, also came out, and after a little discussions as to seats and the safety of the girls (all of which seemed to me wholly superfluous), they settled themselves in the vehicle, opened their parasols, and started. As the carriage was, driving away, Mamma pointed to the hunter and asked nervously "Is
that the horse intended for Vladimir Petrovitch?" On the groom answering in the affirmative, she raised her hands in horror and turned her head away. As for myself, I was burning with impatience. Clambering on to the back of my steed (I was just tall enough to see between its ears), I proceeded to perform evolutions in the courtyard.
"Mind you don't ride over the hounds, sir," said one of the huntsmen,
"Hold your tongue, It is not the first time I have been one of the party." I retorted with dignity.
Although Woloda had plenty of pluck, he was not altogether free from apprehensions as he sat on the hunter. Indeed, he more than once asked as he patted it, "Is he quiet?" He looked very well on horseback--almost a grown-up young man, and held himself so upright in the saddle that I envied him since my shadow seemed to show that I could not compare with him in looks.
Presently Papa's footsteps sounded on the flagstones, the whip collected the hounds, and the huntsmen mounted their steeds. Papa's horse came up in charge of a groom, the hounds of his particular leash sprang up from their picturesque attitudes to fawn upon him, and Milka, in a collar studded with beads, came bounding joyfully from behind his heels to greet and sport with the other dogs. Finally, as soon as Papa had mounted we rode away.
上甜食的时候，打发人把雅柯夫叫来，并且发出了有关车辆、狗群和乘骑的指示。指示非常详尽，连每匹马的名字都点出来了。沃洛佳的马瘸了；爸爸吩咐给他备上一匹猎马。“猎马”这个词妈妈听起来很不人耳：她以为猎马一定类似烈性的野兽，准会狂奔一阵，把沃洛佳摔死。任凭爸爸和沃洛佳怎么劝慰，沃洛佳怀着令人惊异的勇气说，这没人什么，他最喜欢马奔驰，可怜的妈妈还是一个劲儿说，那样一来，整个郊游的时间她都会心烦意乱。
午饭吃完了；大人们到书房里去喝咖啡，我们便跑到花园里，踏得落满黄叶的小径沙沙作响；谈着话。我们谈沃洛佳骑猎马的事，谈柳博奇卡跑得没有卡简卡快很丢脸，并且说要是看看格里沙的铁链会多么有趣，等等；但是关于我们就要分手的事，却只字未提。我们的谈话被驶近的马车声打断了，在那辆马车上每个装有弹簧的座位上都坐着一个小农奴。马车后面是猎手们，他们带着狗，骑着马；猎手们后面是车夫伊格纳特，骑着准备让沃洛佳骑的那匹猎马，牵着我的那匹老马。一开始我们都向篱笆旁边跑过去，从篱笆眼里可以看到这一切有趣的东西。随后，我们尖叫着跳着，跑上楼去换衣眼，尽量打扮得象猎人模样。最主要的办法是把裤子塞到靴子里。我们马上这样动手做起来。我们急着做完，好跑到门口去欣赏狗和马，跟猎手们交谈一下。
那天天气很热，从大清早起，就有洁白的、变幻无常的阴云飘在天边；后来，微风把它们吹得愈来愈近，有时甚至遮住了太阳。不过，尽管阴云密布，愈来愈浓，显然也不会形成暴风雨，使我们最后一次扫兴。傍晚时分，阴云开始消散：有的颜色变淡了，形状拖长了，向天边飘去；有的就在头顶上，变成透明的鳞片；只有一大片乌云停留在东方。卡尔·伊凡内奇一向懂得乌云的动向他说这块乌云会向马斯洛夫卡飘去，决不会下雨，一定是个好天气。
福加虽然上了年纪，却十分灵活；十分迅速地跑下楼。喊道：“赶过来！”于是，他叉开腿稳稳地站在大门口，也就是在车夫要把马车停下的地点和门槛的中间，并且摆出一副姿态，表示无须人家提醒他的职责。太太小姐们下来了，略略讨论了一下谁坐在哪边，抓住什么（虽然，我觉得，根本用不着抓住什么）之后，她们就坐上去，撑开阳伞，车就走动了。马车开动的时候，妈妈指着“猎马”，用颤巍巍的声音问车夫；
“这是给弗拉基米尔·彼得罗维奇备好的那匹马吗？”
车夫回答说是，这时候，她摆摆手，扭过身去。我简直忍耐不住了，就跨上马。把身子往前一伏，在院子里表演了好几手马术。
“请您不要踩着狗。”有个猎人对我说。
“你放心，我不是头一回呀！”我自豪地回答。
沃洛佳骑上“猎马”，尽管他性格坚强，也不免有些胆怯。他抚摩着马，问了好几次。
“它老实吗？”
他骑马的姿势很好看，就象大人似的。他那穿着紧身裤的大腿骑在马鞍上是那么健美，使我都嫉妒起来。特别是因为，从我的影子看来，我的姿势比他差远了。
现在可以听到爸爸下楼梯的脚步声。管追猎狗的人把四处奔跑的猎狗赶拢来，带着狼狗的猎人们把自己的狼狗唤到跟前，骑上马。马僮把一匹马牵到台阶边；爸爸的那一群猎狗本来都卧在台阶前面，摆出各种美妙的资态，这时一齐向他扑过来。米尔卡戴着珠项圈，铃挡叮当地响着，跟在爸爸身后快活地跑出来。它出来的时候，总要同猎狗打招呼：同这一些玩玩，和那一些嗅嗅鼻子或者吼一声；在另外一些身上捉捉跳蚤。
爸爸骑上马，我们就出发了。