"(ebook) Anthony Piers - Xanth 21 - Faun And Games" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

two trees were in sight of each other. Almost every day Forrest would
drop out of his sandalwood tree, and join Branch in the glade between
them to dance a J'lg or two. With luck, their 'igging would attract the
fleeting attention of a nymph or three, who would join ill, jiggling.
With further luck, jig and Jiggle would lead to a pleasant chase and
celebration.

But this morning Branch's tree was in a sad state. It wouldn't fade so
soon if its faun were merely absent; fauns and nymphs shared an
awareness with their trees that alerted them instantly if harm came to
either. Let a human forester even come near such a tree with an axe,
and its faun would have a fit. Let a faun split a hoof, and his tree
would shudder. Such reactions were independent of distance; a faun
could run far away from his tree, and still be closely attuned to it.
They felt each other's pain.

"Are you trying to ignore me?" Mentia asked warningly. Demollesses
could handle almost anything except that.

"No. You're right. I am puzzled and alarmed by this dreadful scene. Do
you know anythin, about it?"

"No. I just happened to note it in passing, so I looked for the closest
creature who might be tormented by it."

He glanced at her. "You're one crazy organism."

"Thank you," she said, flushing red with candy stripes. The color
extended to her clothing and hair, and traces of it radiated into the
air around her.

The clog tree's distress meant that Branch was in serious trouble, if
not dead. What could have happened? Branch had been fine yesterday. In
fact he had encountered a nymph from a lady slipper tree whose slippers
gave her special fleetness, just as the sandals from Forrest's
sandalwood tree gave him excellent footing, and the clogs from Branch's
tree protected his hoofs. They had had quite a merry chase. Because
that was what fauns and nymphs did; they chased each other until they
came together, and then they celebrated in a manner that children were
not supposed to see. Because it did tend to get dull just sitting in
one's tree all the time.

In fact, Forrest now remembered, the nymph, clad only in her slippers,
had led Branch a chase right out of sight. Meanwhile her friend from an
oak tree, named Kara 0ke, had done some very nice singing to background
music of wind through trees, so Forrest had had his own distraction.
Naturally he had chased her, and naturally she had fled, but not too
swiftly, because she was still singing her oak song. So he had caught
her, and they had celebrated in the usual fashion, while she continued
singing. That had been interesting, because she had sung of every