"Stanislaw Lem - The Offer Of King Krool" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lem Stanislaw)
Klapaucius began to question the emissary more closely on certain practical matters. But
after the King's generosity was glowingly described and sufficiently elaborated upon, they
hurriedly packed their things and a few books, ran up the magnificent staircase, hopped on
board and were immediately lifted, with a great roar and burst of flame that blackened the
ship's gold legs, into the interstellar night.
King Krool
As they traveled, the emissary briefed the constructors on the laws and customs prevailing
in the Kingdom of Krool, told them of the monarch's nature, as broad and open as a leveled
city, and of his manly pursuits, and much more, so that by the time the ship landed, they
could speak the language like natives.
First they were taken to a splendid villa situated on a mountainside above the villageтАФthis
was where they were to stay.
Then, after a brief rest, the King sent a carriage for them, a carriage drawn by six
fire-breathing monsters. These were muzzled with fire screens and smoke filters, had their
wings clipped to keep them on the ground, and long spiked tails and six paws apiece with iron
claws that cut deep pits in the road wherever they went. As soon as the monsters saw the
constructors, the entire team set up a howl, belching fire and brimstone, and strained to get
at them. The coach men in asbestos armor and the King's huntsmen with hoses and pumps
had to fall upon the crazed creatures and beat them into submission with laser and maser
clubs before Trurl and Klapaucius could safely step into the plush carriage, which they did
without a word. The carriage tore off at breakneck speed orтАФto use an appropriate
metaphorтАФlike a bat out of hell.
everything in their path and leaving a long trail of sulfurous smoke behind them, тАЬI have a
feeling that this king won't settle for just anything. I mean, if he has coursers like these...тАЭ
But level-headed Klapaucius said nothing. Houses now flashed by, walls of diamonds and
sapphires and silver, while the dragons thundered and hissed and the drivers cursed and
shouted. At last a colossal portcullis loomed up ahead, opened, and their carriage whirled into
the courtyard, careening so sharply that the flower beds all shriveled up, then ground to a
stop before a castle black as blackest night. Welcomed by an unusually dismal fanfare and
quite overwhelmed by the massive stairs, balustrades and especially the stone giants that
guarded the main gate, Trurl and Klapaucius, ranked by a formidable escort, entered the
mighty castle.
King Krool awaited them in an enormous hall the shape of a skull, a vast and vaulted cave
of beaten silver. There was a gaping pit in the floor, the skul1's foramen magnum, and beyond
it stood the throne, over which two streams of light crossed like swordsтАФthey came from high
windows fixed in the skull's eye sockets and with panes specially tinted to give everything a
harsh and infernal aspect. The constructors now saw Krool himself: too impatient to sit still on
his throne, this monarch paced from wall to wall across the silver floor, his steps booming in
that cadaverous cavern, and as he spoke he emphasized his words with such sudden stabs of
the hand, that the air whistled.
The Hunting Trophies
тАЬWelcome, constructors!тАЭ he said, skewering them both with his eyes. тАЬAs you've ┬╣doubt
learned from Lord Protozor, Master of the Royal Hunt, I want you to build me new and better
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