def peel(iterable, count=1):
  """Returns the meat of an iterable by peeling off the specified
  number of elements from both ends.

  :param iterable:
      Iterable sequence.
  :param count:
      The number of elements to remove from each end.
  :returns:
      Peeled sequence.
  """
  if count < 0:
    raise ValueError("peel count cannot be negative: %r" % count)
  if not iterable:
    return iterable
  return iterable[count:-count]