"Stephen Lawhead - Song Of Albion 1 - The Paradise War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawhead Stephen)

"Every word. Wandered out of the forest and fell down next to Inverness-probably from boredom," I
replied. "I know just how he felt."

Simon stared at me. "Don't you realize what this means?"

"It means that the local branch of the RSPCA gets a phone call. Big deal." I took a sip of coffee
and returned to the sports page before me. "I wouldn't call it news exactly."

"You don't know what an aurochs is, do you?" he accused. "You haven't a clue."

"A beast of some sort-you said so yourself just now," I protested. "Really, Simon, the papers you
read-" I flicked his upraised tabloid with a disdainful finger. "Look at these so-called
headlines: 'Princess Linked to Alien Sex Scheme!' and 'Shock Horror Weekend for Bishop with
Massage Parlor Turk!' Honestly, you only read those rags to fuel your pessimism."

He was not moved. "You haven't the slightest notion what an aurochs is. Go on, Lewis, admit it."


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I took a wild stab. "It's a breed of pig."

"Nice try!" Simon tossed his head back and laughed. He had a nasty little fox-bark that he used
when he wanted to deride someone's ignorance. Simon was extremely adept at derision; a master of
disdain, mockery, and ridicule in general.

I refused to be drawn. I returned to my paper and stuffed the toast into my mouth.

"A pig? Is that what you said?" He laughed again.

"Okay, okay! What, pray tell, is an aurochs, Professor Rawnson?"

Simon folded the paper in half and then in quarters. He creased it and held it before me. "An
aurochs is a sort of ox."

"Why, think of that," I gasped in feigned astonishment. "An ox, you say? It fell down? Oh my, what
won't they think of next?" I yawned. "Give me a break."

"Put like that it doesn't sound like much," Simon allowed. Then he added, "Only it just so happens
that this particular ox is an ice-age creature which has been extinct for the last two thousand
years."

"Extinct." I shook my lead slowly. "Where do they get this malarkey? If you ask me, the only thing
that's extinct around here is your native skepticism."

"It seems the last aurochs died out in Britain sometime before the Romans landed-although a few
may have survived on the continent in the sixth century or so."