"Lafferty, R A - Among the Hairy Earthmen" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lafferty R A)

This is an allegory that contains a good deal of subtlety. It is
an entertaining and fanciful story by a writer who, although a
relative newcomer to science fiction, has developed a unique
understanding of his craft. Incidentally, Mr. Lafferty prefers
the title "A Pride of Children" for this story.

AMONG THE HAIRY EARTHMEN

R. A. Lafferty
There is one period of our World History that has aspects so
different from anything that went before and after that we can
only gaze back on those several hundred years and ask:
"Was that ourselves who behaved so?"
Well, no, as a matter of fact, it wasn't. It was beings of
another sort who visited us briefly and who acted so glorious-
ly and abominably.
This is the way it was:
The Children had a Long Afternoon free. They could go to
any of a dozen wonderful places, but they were already in
one.
Seven of themfull to the craw of wonderful places
decided to go to Eretz.
"Children are attracted to the oddest and most shambling
things," said the Mothers. "Why should they want to go to
Eretz?"
"Let them go," said the Fathers. "Let them seebefore they
be goneone of the few simple peoples left. We ourselves
have become a contrived and compromised people. Let the
Children be children for half a day."
Eretz was the Planet of the Offense, and therefore it was to
be (perhaps it recently had been) the Planet of the Restitution
also. But in no other way was it distinguished. The Children
had received the tradition of Eretz as children receive all
traditionslike lightning.
Hobble, Michael Goodgrind, Ralpha, Lonnie, Laurie, Bea
and Joan they called themselves as they came down on Eretz
for these were their idea of Eretzi names. But they could
have as many names as they wished in their games.
An anomalous intrusion of great heat and force! The rocks
ran like water where they came down, and there was formed
a scarp-pebble enclave.
It was all shanty country and shanty towns on Eretz
clumsy hills, badly done plains and piedmonts, ragged fields,
uncleansed rivers, whole weedpatches of provincesnot at all
like Home. And the Towns! Firenze, Praha, Venezia, Londra,
Colonia, Gant, Romawhy, they were nothing but towns
made out of stone and wood! And these were the greatest of
the towns of Eretz, not the meanest.
The Children exploded into action. Like children of the less