"J.R.R. Tolkien - Farmer Giles of Ham" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tolkien J.R.R)

'Indeed?' said Giles. `And what may that amount to?'

`The characters are archaic and the language barbaric,'
said the parson, to gain time. `A little closer inspection will
be required.' He begged the loan of the sword for the
night, and the farmer let him have it with pleasure.

When the parson got home he took down many learned
books from his shelves, and he sat up far into the night.
Next morning it was discovered that the dragon had
moved nearer still. All the people of Ham barred their
doors and shuttered their windows; and those that had
cellars went down into them and sat shivering in the
candle-light.

But the parson stole out and went from door to door; and
he told, to all who would listen through ,a crack or a
keyhole, what he. had discovered in his study.

`Our good Aegidius,' he said, `by the King's grace is now
the owner of Caudimordax, the famous sword that in
popular romances is more vulgarly called. Tailbiter.'
Those that heard this name usually opened the door.
They all knew the renown of Tailbiter, for that sword had
belonged to Bellomarius, the greatest of all the dragon-
slayers of the realm. Some accounts made him the mater-
nal great-great-grandfather of the King. The songs and
tales of his deeds were many, and if forgotten at court,
were still remembered in the villages.
`This sword,' said the parson, will not stay sheathed, if
a dragon is within five miles; and without doubt in a brave
man's hands no dragon can resist it.'
Then people began to take heart again; and some un-
shuttered the windows and put their heads out. In the end
the parson persuaded a few to come and join him; but only
the miller was really willing. To sec Giles in a real fix
seemed to him worth the risk.
They went up the hill, not without anxious looks north
across the river. There was no sign of the dragon. Probably
he was asleep; he had been feeding very well all the
Christmas-time.
The parson (and the miller) hammered on the farmer's
door. There was no answer, so they hammered louder. At
last Giles came out. His face was very red. He also had sat
up far into the night, drinking a good deal of ale; and he
had begun again as soon as he got up.
They all crowded round him, calling him Good
Ngidius, Bold Ahenobarbus, Great Julius, Staunch
Agricola, Pride of Ham, Hero of the Countryside. And
they spoke of Caudimordax, Tailbiter, The Sword that