"Lord Dunsany - Time And The Gods" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dunsany Lord)

a song such as once long ago had troubled the stars and
brought down tears out of the twilight.
Sternly the white cliffs stood on guard to save the world
of the gods, but the song that once had troubled the stars
went moaning on awaking pent desires, till full at the feet
of the gods the melody fell. Then the blue rivers that lay
curled asleep opened their gleaming eyes, uncurled
themselves and shook their rushes, and, making a stir among
the hills, crept down to find the sea. And passing across
the world they came at last to where the white cliffs stood,
and, coming behind them, split them here and there and went
through their broken ranks to Slid at last. And the gods
were angry with Their traitorous streams.
Then Slid ceased from singing the song that lures the
world, and gathered up his legions, and the rivers lifted up
their heads with the waves, and all went marching on to
assail the cliffs of the gods. And wherever the rivers had
broken the ranks of the cliffs, Slid's armies went surging
in and broke them up into islands and shattered the islands
away. And the gods on Their hill-tops heard once more the
voice of Slid exulting over Their cliffs.
Already more than half the world lay subject to Slid, and
still his armies advanced; and the people of Slid, the
fishes and the long eels, went in and out of arbours that
once were dear to the gods. Then the gods feared for Their
dominion, and to the innermost sacred recesses of the
mountains, to the very heart of the hills, the gods trooped
off together and there found Tintaggon, a mountain of black
marble, staring far over the earth, and spake thus to him
with the voices of the gods:
"O eldest born of our mountains, when first we devised
the earth we made thee, and thereafter fashioned fields and
hollows, valleys and other hills, to lie about thy feet.
And now, Tintaggon, thine ancient lords, the gods, are
facing a new thing which overthrows the old. Go therefore,
thou, Tintaggon, and stand up against Slid, that the gods be
still the gods and the earth still green."
And hearing the voices of his sires, the elder gods,
Tintaggon strode down through the evening, leaving a wake of
twilight broad behind him as he strode: and going across the
green earth came down to Ambrady at the valley's edge, and
there met the foremost of Slid's fierce armies conquering
the world.
And against him Slid hurled the force of a whole bay,
which lashed itself high over Tintaggon's knees and streamed
around his flanks and then fell and was lost. Tintaggon
still stood firm for the honour and dominion of his lords,
the elder gods. Then Slid went to Tintaggon and said: "Let
us now make a truce. Stand thou back from Ambrady and let
me pass through thy ranks that mine armies may now pass up