"Adams, Douglas - Life, the Universe, and Everything" - читать интересную книгу автора (Adams Douglas)

"What?"
"Disturb you. But you may be interested to know that I am singlehandedly
responsible for the evolved shape of the animal you came to know in later
centuries as a giraffe. And I tried to learn to fly. Do you believe me?"
"Tell me," said Arthur.
"I'll tell you later. I'll just mention that the Guide says ..."
"The ...?"
"Guide. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. You remember?"
"Yes. I remember throwing it in the river."
"Yes," said Ford, "but I fished it out."
"You didn't tell me."
"I didn't want you to throw it in again."
"Fair enough," admitted Arthur. "It says?"
"What?"
"The Guide says?"
"The Guide says there is an art to flying," said Ford, "or rather a knack.
The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." He
smiled weakly. He pointed at the knees of his trousers and held his arms up to
show the elbows. They were all torn and worn through.
"I haven't done very well so far," he said. He stuck out his hand. "I'm
very glad to see you again, Arthur," he added.
Arthur shook his head in a sudden access of emotion and bewilderment.
"I haven't seen anyone for years," he said, "not anyone. I can hardly even
remember how to speak. I keep forgetting words. I practise you see. I practise
by talking to ... talking to ... what are those things people think you're mad
if you talk to? Like George the Third."
"Kings?" suggested Ford.
"No, no," said Arthur. "The things he used to talk to. We're surrounded by
them for heaven's sake. I've planted hundreds myself. They all died. Trees! I
practise by talking to trees. What's that for?"
Ford still had his hand stuck out. Arthur looked at it with
incomprehension.
"Shake," prompted Ford.
Arthur did, nervously at first, as if it might turn out to be a fish. Then
he grasped it vigorously with both hands in an overwhelming flood of relief.
He shook it and shook it.
After a while Ford found it necessary to disengage. They climbed to the
top of a nearby outcrop of rock and surveyed the scene around them.
"What happened to the Golgafrinchans?" asked Ford.
Arthur shrugged.
"A lot of them didn't make it through the winter three years ago," he
said, "and the few who remained in the spring said they needed a holiday and
set off on a raft. History says that they must have survived ..."
"Huh," said Ford, "well well." He stuck his hands on his hips and looked
round again at the empty world. Suddenly, there was about Ford a sense of
energy and purpose.
"We're going," he said excitedly, and shivered with energy.
"Where? How?" said Arthur.
"I don't know," said Ford, "but I just feel that the time is right. Things
are going to happen. We're on our way."