"Sheri S. Tepper - Grass" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tepper Sherri)

turnip and every old woman at the well, too, along with her grandchildren.

"This is a parsnip, child. From long ago."

"When was long ago, Grandma?"

Here, there, as wide-scattered as the villages, the estancias of the aristocrats: bon Damfels' place, bon
Maukerden's place, all the places of the other bons, tall thatched houses set in gardens of grass among
grass fountains and grass courtyards, with their own high wallsтАФ these pierced with gates for the hunters
to go out of and for the hunters to return through again. Those who return.

And here, there, nosing among the grass roots, will come the hounds, muzzles wrinkling, ears dangling,
one foot before another in a slow pace to find it, the inevitable it, the nighttime horror, the eater of young.
And look, there behind them on the tall mounts, there will come the riders in their red coats, silent as
shadows they will come riding, riding over the grass: the Huntsman with his horn; the whippers-in with
their whips; the field, some with red coats and some with black, their round hats pressed hard upon their
heads, eyes fixed forward toward the houndsтАФriding, riding.

Among them today will be Diamante bon DamfelsтАФyoung daugh-ter DimityтАФeyes tight shut to keep
out the sight of the hounds, hands clenched pale upon the reins, neck as fragile as a flower stem in the
high, white cylinder of the hunting tie, black boots glistening with polish, black coat well brushed, black
hat tight on the little head, riding, riding, for the first time ever, riding to the hounds.

And there, somewhere, in the direction they are going, high in a tree perhaps, for there are copses of
trees here and there upon the vast prairies, will be the fox. The mighty fox. The implacable fox. The fox
who knows they are coming.



2

It was said among the bon Damfels that whenever the Hunt was hosted by the bon Damfels estancia the
weather was perfect. The family took credit for this personally, though it could as properly have been
ascribed to the Hunt rotation, which brought the Hunt to the bon Damfels early in the fall. The weather
was usually perfect at that time of the year. And early in the spring, of course, when the rotation brought
the Hunt back again.

Stavenger, Obermun bon Damfels, had once been informed by a dignitary from SemlingтАФone who
fancied himself an authority on a wide variety of irrelevant topicsтАФthat historically speaking, riding to the
hounds was a winter sport.

Stavenger's reply was completely typical of himself and of the Grassian aristocracy in general. "Here on
Grass," he had said, "we do it properly. In spring and fall."

The visitor had had better sense than to comment further upon the sport as practiced on Grass. He had
taken copious notes, however, and after returning to Semling he had written a scholarly monograph
contrasting Grassian and historic customs regarding blood sports. Of the dozen copies printed, only one
survived, buried in the files of the Department of Comparative Anthropology, University of Semling at
Semling Prime.