"Raymond E. Feist - Wood Boy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Feist Raymond E)

the other buildings before breaking to eat, and he decided the sooner started,
the sooner done. As he turned to the woodshed, he caught a glimpse of a
soldier in black and orange moving towards the barn. He idly wondered if the
time would come when the invaders would be driven from White Hill. It seemed
unlikely, for there was no news of the war, and the Tsurani were settling in
at White Hill as if they were never leaving.
Reaching the woodshed, Dirk opened the door and saw Alex in the back of the
shed cutting more wood. The still-bruised man said, 'You can carry, lad. I'll
cut.'
Dirk nodded and went in the shed, to get another armful of firewood. He
sighed. As youngest boy in service, the worst jobs fell to him, and this would
just be another task added to his burden, one which would not free him from
any other.
Before coming to White Hill, Dirk had been nothing, the youngest son of a
stonecutter who had two sons already to apprentice. His father had cut the
stone for Lord Paul's home, and had used that slight acquaintanceship to gain
Dirk a position in Paul's household.
With that position was the promise that eventually he would have sort of
rank on the estate, perhaps a groundsman, a kennel master, or a herdsman. Or
he might gain a farm to work, with a portion of his crops going to his
landlord, even eventually earning the rank of Franklin, one who owned his own
lands free of service to any lord. He had even dared to imagine meeting a girl
and marrying, raising sons and daughters of his own. And perhaps, despite the
Tsurani, he still might.
Reminding himself he had much to be thankful for, he lifted the next load of
wood destined for the fireplaces of the invaders.

Fall brought a quick change in the weather, with sunny but cool davs and cold
nights. Apples were harvested and the juice presses were busy. The Tsurani
found the juice a wonderful delicacy and commanded a large quantity for
themselves. A portion was put aside for fermenting and the air around the
kitchen was spicy with the smell of warm pies.
Dirk had got used to hauling wood to the Tsurani, and now was the one
designated to keep all the woodboxes on the property filled, while Alex still
did most of the chopping. Everyone began calling him 'Wood Boy', rather than
his name.
Dirk also worked the woodpile, and the constant labour was broadening his
shoulders and putting muscle on him by the week. He could now lift as much as
the older boys and some of the men.
He found that as the nights cooled his workload increased, for now he had to
help plan for the coming winter. The sheep pens were repaired. The herd needed
to be kept close, as starving predators would come down from the mountain to
hunt. The cattle would be brought down from the higher meadows as well.
Fences needed repairing and the root cellar and springhouse needed stocking.
The winters in the foothills of Yabon came quickly and the snow was often deep
after the first fall, lasting until the thaw of spring.
Dirk worked hard and enjoyed those infrequent moments he could steal to
relax, joke with the older boys and young men, and talk to Litia, an old woman
who had once been in charge of the poultry and lambs. She was kind to the
awkward boy and told him things that helped him understand the world that