"Carol Emshwiller - The Being of It All" - читать интересную книгу автора (Emshwiller Carol)

want anybody to see me like that.

I shout again, "Am I the one?"

No answer.

I give up тАж for now. I pick up Booboo so as to go faster and start down. I call after
the man, "Wait. The voice means you. It can't be me."

But he's ignoring the switchbacks, jumping straight down, from one turn to the other.
I start jumping down, too. It takes no time at all to get all the way down to the flat,
foresty place.

Then we, I and Booboo that is, sit down to catch our breath. We've walked тАж
jumped, rather, beyond the hail. The sun is shining. Booboo is happy. She loves
getting carried and cuddling up on my shoulder. She looks up at me like: What's
next? Are we going to have some more fun?

I tell her, "Yes."

I give us a drink from my water bottle.
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When we start again, we want to avoid other hikers so we stay off the trail. Or rather
slightly off it. We want to think about ourselves. We walk right in on a campsite.
Nobody's there. Booboo sniffs around the bear can. We realize how hungry we are.
I open it. I let Booboo eat anything she wants. I eat three breakfast bars, each a
different flavor. Then I spread the food around. The voice said do, so I'm doing
something for the bears. Why not? We're all hungry.

I do this at several places. We hurry away from each one, though. We don't want to
be there when they come. We stay on the trail this time, and then here's that man just
in front of us. He's still looking around as if he owned the whole forest. He's taking
the mountain's words to heart.

I thought he was long gone. For some reason Booboo goes after him, snarling and
barking, and he keeps backing up. She grabs his pants leg. He kicks out, but she
won't let go.

I say, "Sorry. She's usually not this way."

"Get him off me."

His voice is big and booming. I'll bet he's one of those people who can't talk softly
even when they try.

"Son," he says, "call off your damn dog."

Not only the voice on the mountain, but he, also, thinks I'm a boy. I have to admit I