"Arkady & Boris Strugatsky - Hard to be a god" - читать интересную книгу автора (Strugatski Arkady)

"Can't see a thing," said Pashka.
"A huge pike," said Anton, a trifle too sure of himself.
"With fins like that?" asked Pashka.
Anton did not reply. Anka, too, looked into the water, but she
saw only
her own reflection in it.
"How about taking a swim?" said Pashka, and plunged his arm
into the
water up to the elbow. "Cold," he reported.
Anton climbed onto the bow and jumped ashore. The boat rocked
to and
fro. Anton took hold of the boat and glanced questioningly at
Pashka. Now
Pashka rose, placed the oar like a water carrier's beam across
his neck,
bent his knees a bit and sang at the top of his voice:

Old salt, sea-dog, Witzliputzli!
Are you watching, on your guard?
Look! A school of hard-boiled sharkies
Are approaching, swimming hard!

Anton rocked the boat.
"Hey, hey!" yelled Pashka, trying not to lose his balance.
"Why 'hard-boiled?'" Anka asked.
"I don't know," answered Pashka. They climbed out of the
boat. "But
it's pretty good, isn't it? 'A school of hard-boiled sharkies!'"
They pulled the boat ashore. Their feet slipped on the wet
sand, which
was strewn with dried needles and pine cones. The boat was
heavy and
slippery but they dragged it all the way up onto the land. Then they
stopped
for a while to catch their breath.
"Almost squashed my foot," said Pashka, and straightened his
red fez.
He made sure that the tassel hung directly above his right ear--
just like
the broad-nosed Irukanian pirates were wont to do. "life isn't
worth a

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Arkadi and Boris Strugatski. Hard to be a god

farthing, my dear!" he recited dramatically.
Anka was intently sucking her finger.
"A splinter?" asked Anton.
"No. Got a scratch. One of you two must have long nails."
"Let me see!"