“I?” said Nikoláy, trying to remember. “Well, you see, first I thought that Rugáy, the red hound, was like Uncle, and that if he were a man he would always keep Uncle near him, if not for his riding, then for his manner. What a good fellow Uncle is! Don’t you think so?⁠ ⁠… Well, and you?”

“I? Wait a bit, wait.⁠ ⁠… Yes, first I thought that we are driving along and imagining that we are going home, but that heaven knows where we are really going in the darkness, and that we shall arrive and suddenly find that we are not in Otrádnoe, but in Fairyland. And then I thought⁠ ⁠… No, nothing else.”

“I know, I expect you thought of him,” said Nikoláy, smiling as Natásha knew by the sound of his voice.