def middle(lst):
    l = len(lst)
    del lst[l-1]
    del lst[0]
    return lst

print middle([1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,6])
43fbfde8625d3ad320b52d7b66a269873e37c0e3
def middle(lst):
    l = len(lst)
    del lst[l-1]
    del lst[0]
    return lst

print middle([1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,6])