"Anthony, Piers - Xanth 04 - Centaur Aisle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

horse. It was said that Mundania was the land of beautiful women

and fast horses, or maybe vice versa on the adjectives; Xanth was the

land where the two were one. Cherie's brown human hair trailed

back to rest against her brown equine coat, with her lovely tail

matching. She wore no clothing, as centaurs did not believe in such

affectations, and she was old, despite her appearance, of Doris fa
ther's generation. Such things made her far less interesting than

Irene. "About this paper, Dor-" Cherie began.

Dar and Irene froze in place, both suddenly conscious of their
condition. They were naked, half embraced in the water. Weedles
was idly playing with fragments of their clothing. This was definitely
not proper behavior, and was bound to be misunderstood.

But Cherie was intent on the paper. She shook her head, so that her
hair fell down along her breasts-a mannerism that indicated something
serious. "If you can interrupt your sexplay a moment," she said, "I
would like to review the spelling in this essay." Centaurs did not
really care what human beings did with each other in the water; to them,
such interaction was natural. But If Cherie reported it to the
Queen"Uh, well-" Dor said, wishing he could sink under the water.

"But before I go into detailed analysis, let's obtain another opinion."
Cherie held the paper down so Irene could see it.

Irene was fully as embarrassed by her condition as Dor was about his.
She exhaled to decrease her buoyancy and lower herself in the water, but
in a moment she was gasping and had to breathe againwhich caused her to
rise once more, especially since her most prominent attributes tended to
float anyway. But as her eyes scanned the paper, her mood changed. "Oh,
no!" she exclaimed. "What a disaster!" she chortled. "You've outdone
yourself this time, Dor!" she tittered. "Oh, this is the worst that
ever was!" she cried gleefully.

"What's so funny?" the water asked, and its curiosity was echoed by the
rocks, sand, and other inanimate things within range of Doris talent.

Cherie disapproved of magic in centaurs-she was of the oldfashioned,
conservative school that considered magic obscene in the civilized
species of Xanth-but appreciated its uses in human beings.

"I will read the essay to you, attempting to present the mords as they
are spelled," she said. She did-and somehow the new meanings came