"The Hunters" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morrison William)

glittering eyes that stared like a pair of critics from a small heart-shaped
face. "I've been here before. Wallabies and wombats!"
"Very good, Frances."
Frances smirked at the approbation. "I've been to the zoo lots of times," she
said to the girl next to her. "My father takes me."
"I wish my father would take me too," replied the other little girl, with an air
of wistfulness.
"Why don't you ask him to?" Before the other little girl could answer, Frances
paused, cocked her head slightly, and demanded, "Who are you? You aren't in our
class."
"I'm in Miss Hassel's class."
"Miss Hassel? Who is she? Is she in our school?"
"I don't know," said the other little girl uncertainly. "I go to P. S. 77Ч"
"Oh, Miss Burton," screamed Frances. "Here's a girl who isn't in our class! She
got lost from her own class!"
"Really?" Miss Burton seemed rather pleased at the idea that some other teacher
had been so careless as to lose one of her charges. "What's your name, child?"
"I'm Carolyn."
"Carolyn what?"
"Carolyn Manto. Please, Miss Burton, I had to go to the bathroom, and then when
I came outЧ"
"Yes, yes, I know."
A shrill cry came from another section of her class. "Oh, Miss Burton, here's
another one who's lost!"
The other little girl was pushed forward. "Now, who are you?" Miss Burton asked.
"I'm Doris Palit. I went with Carolyn to the bathroomЧ"
Miss Burton made a sound of annoyance. Imagine losing two children and not
noticing it right away. The other teacher must be frantic by now, and serve her
right for being so careless.
"All right, you may stay with us until we find a policemanЧ" She interrupted
herself. "Frances, what are you giggling at now?"
"It's Carolyn. She's making faces just like you!"
"Really, Carolyn, that isn't at all nice!"
Carolyn's face altered itself in a hurry, so as to lose any resemblance to Miss
Burton's. "I'm sorry, Miss Burton, I didn't really mean to do anything wrong."
"Well, I'd like to know how you were brought up, if you don't know that it's
wrong to mimic people to their faces. A big girl like you, too. How old are you,
Carolyn?"
Carolyn shrank, she hoped imperceptibly, by an inch. "I'm twoЧ"
An outburst of shrill laughter. "She's two years old, she's two years old!"
"I was going to say, I'm towelve. Almost, anyway."
"Eleven years old," said Miss Burton. "Old enough to know better."
"I'm sorry, Miss Burton. And honest, Miss Burton, I didn't mean anything, but
I'm studying to be an actress, and I imitate people, like the actors you see on
televisionЧ"
"Oh, Miss Burton, please don't make her go home with a policeman. If she's going
to be an actress, I'll bet she'd love to see Curt George!"
"Well, after the way she's behaved, I don't know whether I should let her. I
really don't."
"Please, Miss Burton, it was an accident. I won't do it again."