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

тАЬOh, yeah. Red-nosed reindeer.тАЭ I polished off my second and last, shoved the mug across the bar.
тАЬYeah, I know, but all that Santa stuff doesn't make a lot of sense out here, y'know?тАЭ

тАЬIt doesn't? Why shouldn't it?тАЭ

I could tell that he was spoiling for a fight. тАЬAw, c'mon, Doc ... does this look like Earth to you?
Cheststuff smoking on an open fire, jackass stepping on your toes...тАЭ

тАЬYou can't even get the lyrics right! тАШChestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your
toes...'тАЭ
тАЬWhat's a chestnut?тАЭ

тАЬNever mind.тАЭ He turned away from me. тАЬJeff, I'll have another one. Put it on his tab.тАЭ

I didn't object. Doc was in a self-righteous mood; when he was this way, silence was the only way you
could deal with him. I helped myself to some fried algae from the bowl the bartender had placed between
us while I waited for him to calm down.

тАЬI guess what I miss the most,тАЭ he finally said, тАЬis the look ... no, not just the look, the glow ... children
have on Christmas morning. Until I came here, I'd never seen a kid who didn't think it was the best day
of the year. Even out in the belt, it was something they could look forward to. But here...тАЭ

тАЬI know what you mean.тАЭ My gaze wandered to the line of ceramic liquor bottles lined up on the shelf.
тАЬThe best some of them can hope for is that their folks won't be too hung over to make breakfast for
them. I mean, some people try to do better, but ... I dunno, something's missing.тАЭ

тАЬI'll tell you what's missingтАЭ Doc tapped his finger against the bartop. тАЬIt isn't just trees or presents.
Magic, that's missing. There's no Sinterklass.тАЭ

тАЬYeah. No Santa Claus.тАЭ

тАЬDid I say Santa Claus? I didn't say Santa Claus. I said Sinterklass.тАЭ

тАЬThere's a difference?тАЭ

For a moment, I thought he was going to brain me with his beer mug. тАЬHell, yes, there's a difference!
Sinterklass arrives in Holland on a ship from Spain. He's a tall, slender gent with a long white beard who
wears a red robe and bishop's minter. He rides into town on a white horse with his assistant Zwarte Piet,
where he gives presents to all the good children on his list. Then he ... what's so damn funny?тАЭ

тАЬThat's Santa Claus, you quack! Only the details are different! Reindeer, elves, a sleigh from the North
Pole ... it's still the same mook, right down to the extortion racket.тАЭ

тАЬTrue, but Sinterklass came first ... or St. Nicholas, if we want to call him by his proper name.тАЭ He
swigged his beer. тАЬHe was brought to America by the Dutch, but just like everything else brought over
from Europe, he was changed until virtually no one remembered his origins.тАЭ

тАЬTell me about it. Same thing happened to my African ancestors ... although not by choice.тАЭ