"Brian Jacques - Redwall 02 - Mossflower" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jacques Brian)

One of the little hedgehogs threw the sacking aside and faced the stoat
boldly. "He came in for a warm by our fire. You leave him alone!" Splitnose
burst out laughing, spraying crumbs from the bread he was eating. "Look out,
Blackie. There's more of 'em under that blanket. I'd watch 'em, if I were
you."

A nearby weasel threw back the covering, exposing the other three young ones.

Blacktooth sized them up. "Hmm, they look big enough to do a day's work."

Goodwife Stickle sprang fiercely in front of them.

"You let my liddle ones be. They ain't harmed nobody.'*

Blacktooth seemed to ignore her. He knocked the loaves from Splitnose's paws,
then turning to a weasel he issued orders. "Pick that bread up, and no sly
munching. Deliver it to the stores when we get back to the garrison."

Waving his spear he signaled the patrol out of the hut. As Blacktooth left he
called back to Ben and Goody, "I want to see those four hogs out in the fields
tomorrow. Either that, or you can all spend the rest of the winter safe and
warm in Kotir dungeons."

Urthclaw kept an eye to a crack in the door, watching the patrol make its way
toward Kotir. Ben wasted no time; he began wrapping the young ones in all the
blankets they possessed. "Right, that's it! Enough is enough. We go tonight.
You're right, old girl, we should have left to live in the woods with the rest
long ago. What d'you say, Urthclaw?"
The mole stood with his eye pressed against the crack in the door. "Yurr, cumm
'ere, lookit thiz!"

While Ben shared the crack with his friend, Goody continued swathing her young
ones with blankets. "What is it, Ben? They're not comin' back, are they?"

"No, wife. Hohoho, lookit that, by hokey! See the punch he landed on that
weasel's nose? Go on, give it to 'em, laddo!"

Ferdy, the little one who had spoken up, scuttled over and tugged at Ben's
paw. "Punch? Who punched a weasel? What's happening?"

Ben described the scene as he watched it. "It's a mouse-big strong feller too,
he is. They're tryhT to capture him . , . That's it! Now kick him again,
mouse. Go on! Hahaha, you'd think a full patrol of soldiers could handle a
mouse, but not this one. He must be a real trained warrior. Phew! Lookit that,
he's knocked Blacktooth flat on his back. Pity they're hangin' on to his sword
like that. By the spikes, he'd cause

8

some damage if he had that blade between his paws, rusty as it is."