"A week is a long time, my dear. You can accomplish a lot in a week, and you can accomplish little. It depends on how you go about it."
"We'd better try and accomplish a great deal, uncle."
"That's just what I say. You can do a lot and you can do little, and sometimes you think you are doing little but before you look around, all the work is attended to. Here, for instance, you are in a hurry to go to Moscow, you've got business there, you say; and what the business is, you yourself don't know, I dare say. But the way I look on it is this, that you spend all your time here in real business instead of going to Moscow."
"No, I must go to Moscow because I want to see if I can't get on the stage there. And as to business, didn't you say we could accomplish a lot in a week?"
"Depending on how you go about it, my friend. If you go about it properly, all will be well and smooth, but if you don't go about it in a proper way, well, you'll strike a snag, and the thing will drag on."
"Well, you guide me, uncle."
"That's just it. When in need then 'You guide me, uncle,' but when not in need, then 'It's dull here, uncle, and I want to go away.' You can't say I'm not right."
"But please do tell me just what I am to do."
"Wait, don't be in a hurry! So, as I was saying, when uncle is needed, he is a dear and darling and a sweety, and when he is not needed he is no good. But you would never trust your uncle and ask him, 'What do you think, uncle dear, ought I to go to Moscow or not?'"
"How funny you are, uncle! I must go to Moscow, and suppose I ask your advice and you say no?"