"Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. The snail on the slope" - читать интересную книгу автора

other, of course ... for instance, it's not done without the elder or the
assembly, with the elder and the assembly it is permissible, of course,
though not in every sense. . . ." Kandid was walking as quickly as the
ennervating heat and humidity would allow and the old man gradually fell
behind.
On the village square, Kandid caught sight of Ears. Ears, staggering
and crossing his bandy legs, was moving around in circles, sprinkling
handfuls of brown grass-kiHer from a huge pot slung around his belly. Behind
him the grass was already smoking and shriveling. Ears had to be avoided and
Kandid tried to do just that, but Ears smartly changed direction and came
face to face with him.
"Ah . . . Dummy!" he cried joyously, hastily un-slinging the pot from
his neck and setting it on the ground. "Where are you off to. Dummy? Home,
is it to Nava? Well could be wrong but your Nava's not at home, your Nava's
in the field, with these eyes I saw her going to the field, you may believe
me or not. . . . Maybe, of course, she hasn't gone to the field, could be
wrong. Dummy, but your Nava definitely went along tha-at alley over there
and if you go along there the field's the only place you come to, and
where's else should she go, your Nava? Not looking for you, would she be. .
. ."
Kandid made another effort to get by but again ended up face to face
with Ears.
"No need anyway to follow her to the field. Dummy," he went on
convincingly. "Why go after her? I'm just killing off the grass then I'll be
calling them all here, the land surveyor came and said the elder had told
him to tell me to kill the grass on the square because there's to be a
meeting on the square. As there's a meeting they'll all come here from the
field, your Nava among them if it's to the field she's gone, and where else
could she have gone along that alley? Although now I think of it, you can
get to other places than the field there, you can. . . ."
He suddenly stopped and gave a shuddering sigh. His eyes screwed up,
his hands lifted palms upward, as if of their own accord. His face broke
into a sweet smile, then abruptly sagged. Kandid about to make off, stopped
to listen. A small dense purplish cloud had formed around Ears' bare head,
his lips quivered and he began to speak swiftly and distinctly, in a voice
not his own, a sort of announcer's voice; the intonation was alien and the
style was one no villager would use, it was as if he spoke an alien language
so that only certain phrases seemed comprehensible.
"In the far Southlands new . . . are going into battle. . . .
retreating further to the South ... of the victorious march . . . the Great
Harrowing in the Northern lands has been temporarily halted owing to
isolated and sporadic . . . new advances in Swamp-making are giving
extensive areas for peace and new progress toward ... In all settlements . .
. great victories . . . work and efforts . . . new detachments of Maidens .
. . tomorrow and forever calm and amalgamation."
The old man had caught up to Kandid and now stood at his shoulder
interpreting wildly:
"All the settlements, hear that? That means here as well. . . . 'Great
victories.' It's what I always say, you can't . . . calm and amalgamation .
. . you've got to understand. Here as well, if they say everywhere . . . and