"Robin McKinley - The Outlaws of Sherwood" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinley Robin)

coming they could be hung for my offense if they were caught? Hardiness alone
grants you no woodscraft, and woodscraftтАФdo you understand what the isolation
of living in Sherwood would mean? It would be a short life, for one thing: we would
only be able to kill the kingтАЩs deer to feed ourselves for as long as our arrows held
out, for we would not be able to buy steel and twine to make more. Even if we
knocked a travelling fletcher on the head for his supplies, where could we leave the
wood we need for shafts to season, when we had not even a place to sleep dry? We
could not build anything, for large as Sherwood is, I can tell you that the foresters
might find their way to any part of it by lucky or unlucky chance; it is what we are
for. Is what they are for. And they will hear the same rumours that your like-minded
folk will, and they will be looking. The occasional rogue in Sherwood is a common
thing and no one cares overmuch so long as he kills no one important; but an entire
band of them, waving a banner saying тАШDown with the NormansтАЩ virtually in the
sheriffтАЩs teeth? Be sensible, man. тАЬ
тАЬThis is why we need you,тАЭ said Much comfortably. тАЬYouтАЩre a pessimist and a
good planner.тАЭ
тАЬI have not begun to plan and be pessimistic,тАЭ said Robin angrily. тАЬYou are
simply not listening; you wish to ignore meтАФbeyond my symbolic status, of course,
which you find valuableтАФbecause the price on my head, you think, is oppressing
my spiritsтАФas it damn well is, I agree, and as it should. Stop telling yourself
beautiful stories, Much. How many examples do I have to give you before you will
listen? Perhaps after we run out of arrows we can learnтАФ before we starveтАФto
make snares out of gut, to catch our food. Perhaps. But are we to raise our own
sheep for wool to make our clothing? Do any of your like-minded folk know how to
card and spin? A meadow, deep in the heart of Sherwood, full of sheep that donтАЩt
seem to belong to anybody might cause a little curiosity too. And where did the
sheep come from? Do we steal lambs from the farmers who are already being taxed
past bearing by the sheriff who wants my head? In that case we might as well go on
stealing lambsтАФand calves and chickensтАФand eat them too. IтАЩm sure snares would
be a nuisance. Of course then we wouldnтАЩt make so grand a rallying point for our
fellow Saxons. We would look, from the farmersтАЩ perspective, quite a lot like
Normans.тАЭ
Much and Marian exchanged glances. тАЬWe will not be entirely cut off from the
outside world,тАЭ said Marian carefully.
тАЬYou cannot be a part of this madness, Marian,тАЭ said Robin sharply; тАЬyou always
had less patience with MuchтАЩs will-oтАШ-the-wisps than I did.тАЭ
тАЬNor am I an overtaxed farmer or an outlaw in hiding?тАЭ said Marian. тАЬIt is
possible that it is exactly that that leaves my head clear now to judge what you
cannot judgeтАФтАЭ
тАЬJudgement!тАЭ said Robin. тАЬNeither of you is judging anything. Neither of you
wishes to look past a friend in trouble, and I honour you for it, but there is no future
in itтАФI must make you see that there is no future in it.тАЭ
Much said, тАЬYou are right that not everyone who believes in us will have both the
strength and the desire to live as an outlawтАФI do know what youтАЩre trying to say.
But we will not be completely isolated. We will be able to get arrowheads and wool
and other things through our friends.тАЭ
тАЬBought with leaves and twigs?тАЭ inquired Robin.
тАЬOur skills will still be saleable; it is the marketing that must be done by others,тАЭ
said Much.
тАЬThere is, of course, a great deal of call for bagging flour and meal in the kingтАЩs