"Allen Steele - Zwarte Piet's Tale" - читать интересную книгу автора (Steele Allen)

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It was the third week of Aries, m.y. 53. Christmas was only a couple of weeks away, and already the
taprooms were brewing more beer for the festivities to come. We had just returned from delivering
medical supplies to the poor schmucks at Viking, and were watching the bartender as he strung some
discarded fiberoptics over the bar.

тАЬI miss mistletoe,тАЭ I murmured. I was working on my second beer by then, so I wasn't conscious of my
alliteration. тАЬMistletoe and Christmas trees.тАЭ

тАЬYou don't know mistletoe and Christmas trees,тАЭ Doc said.

тАЬSure do. Had them in my family's apartment. My mother and father, they used to kiss beneath the...тАЭ

тАЬYou grew up on the Moon. You had vinyl mistletoe and plastic Christmas trees. Bet you've never
smelled the real thing.тАЭ

тАЬNo, but it was close enough.тАЭ

тАЬNot in the slightest. You'd know the difference.тАЭ Doc sipped his beer. тАЬBut I get the point. Out in the
belt, we'd get together in the wardroom on Christmas Eve and sing carols. You know caroling...?тАЭ

тАЬSure. тАШSilent Night,тАЩ тАШThe First Day of Christmas,тАЩ тАШJingle Bell Rock'...тАЭ

тАЬ'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,тАЩ that's my favorite. And then we'd exchange gifts. Sarah gave me a
ring with a little piece of gold from an asteroid ore our ship had refined.тАЭ He smiled at the memory.
тАЬMarriage didn't last, but I held onto the ring.тАЭ

тАЬMy favorite was a little rocket from my Dad. I was eight ... nine, I guess. He made it for me in his lab.
About two meters long, with a hollow nose cone. We put a little note with our squid number in the cone,
then went EVA and hiked up to the crater rim, set the trajectory, fueled it up and fired it at Earth.тАЭ Once
again, I remembered that little rocket's silent launch, and how it lanced straight up into the black sky over
Tycho. тАЬDad told me that it would eventually get there and land somewhere, and maybe someone would
find it and send back a letter.тАЭ

тАЬAnyone ever fax you?тАЭ

тАЬNaw. It probably never got to Earth ... or if it did, it probably burned up on entry.тАЭ I shrugged. тАЬBut I
like to think that it made the trip, and just landed some place where no one ever found it.тАЭ

тАЬBut it meant something, didn't it? Like Sarah's ring. No Christmas gift is ever insignificant. There's
always a little of your soul in whatever you give someone.тАЭ Doc scowled at the lights being strung above
the bar. тАЬHere, it's just an excuse for people to get drunk and stupid, and the next day everyone has to
apologize to each other. Sorry for banging on your door. Sorry for keeping you awake last night. Sorry
for making a pass at your wife...тАЭ

тАЬWhat do you expect? Rudolph the green-nosed reindeer?тАЭ

тАЬRed. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. Don't they teach you selenians anything?тАЭ