"Dunsany, Lord - Fifty-one Tales" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dunsany Lord)

The Songless Country




The poet came unto a great country in which there were no
songs. And he lamented gently for the nation that had not
any little foolish songs to sing to itself at evening.
And at last he said: "I will make for them myself some
little foolish songs so that they may be merry in the lanes
and happy by the fireside." And for some days he made for
them aimless songs such as maidens sing on the hills in the
older happier countries.
Then he went to some of that nation as they sat weary
with the work of the day and said to them: "I have made you
some aimless songs out of the small unreasonable legends,
that are somewhat akin to the wind in the vales of my
childhood; and you may care to sing them in your
disconsolate evenings."
And they said to him:
"If you think we have time for that sort of nonsense
nowadays you cannot know much of the progress of modern
commerce."
And the poet wept for he said: "Alas! They are damned."