Page:Our Grandfather by Vítězslav Hálek (1887).pdf/11

 out of our heads, and it was only after a few minutes that we asked her why she did not come to meet us before, and she told us that she was on the point of setting out to look for us when we entered the hall. But she placed cakes and ripe cherries on the table for us without delay, and we reconnoitred her pockets, in which there was always something ready stowed away for us.

While we were at our meal, she took into her hands a plate from the range, and wiping it with her apron, kept continually balancing on tiptoe, just as if she was going to dance. This sort of dancing made her appear almost a young woman, and you always seemed to see it in her face when she told you anything of auld lang syne.

Grandfather was slightly lame of one foot, and he always sat in an arm chair, having this foot on a low stool. He wore the old-fashioned Bohemian dress of Manchester velveteen; this he always had new at festival time, and never ceased to wear it until a new festival again changed it for another suit.

As this dress was always of a black colour it contrasted very strongly with his greyness. He always wore his hair cut short in front, but long behind, so that it hung down over the collar of his velveteen camisole.

We only concerned ourselves with grandfather when we had completely done with grandmother. Then only we went to him, told him about what we had learnt at school, who of us could make the best whistles, who won at ball, and similar things, at which grandfather always smiled. After that we all of us got a few coppers for sugar plums from him, and all at once it seemed to us that even grandfather had something in him which pleased us