"Yuri Olesha. The three fat men (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автораgrow up mean, cruel and hard-hearted, hating all people. When the three pigs
finally die, the cruel wolf will take their place.' " "Why didn't you stop them?" the State Councillor shouted, shaking the tutor's shoulder angrily. "Couldn't you see they were traitors who had gone over to the side of the people?" The tutor was now trembling like a leaf. He babbled: "Yes, I guessed it, but I was afraid of them. They were terribly angry. And I had no weapon at all. They had their hands on their swords and were ready to use them. 'Look,' one of them said, 'look at this stuffed dummy. The wolf-cub is playing with a doll. They don't let any live children near him. They gave him a stuffed toy, a doll with a spring inside, to be his playmate.' Then another said: 'My wife and son are back home in our village. One day my boy was out with his pea-shooter and hit a pear on a tree in a landlord's orchard. The landlord ordered my boy to be flogged for insulting the power of the rich, and his servants made my wife pay a big fine.' Then the Guards all started shouting together and crowded still closer round Tutti the Heir. The one who had just told them about his son pulled out his sword and stuck it into the doll. Then the others did, too." (At this Tutti the Heir sobbed louder than ever.) " 'Here, take this, wolf-cub!' they said. 'We'll get to your fat pigs next.' " "Where are the traitors?" the Three Fat Men thundered. "They dropped the doll and ran off into the park. They were shouting 'Long live Prospero the Gunsmith! Long live Tibul the Acrobat! Down with the Three Fat Men!' " "Why didn't the Palace Guards shoot them?" everyone wanted to know. "The Palace Guards were waving their hats at them. I was watching from behind the iron fence, and I saw the Guards saying good-bye to them. The Palace Guards said: 'Comrades, go to the people and tell them that the whole army will soon go over to their side.' " That is what happened in the park. The alarm was sounded. The loyal Palace Guards were stationed in the Palace, at all the park entrances and exits, at all the bridges and along the road leading to town. A meeting of the State Council was called. All the guests left. The Three Fat Men were weighed by the chief Palace doctor. Despite all the excitement, they had not lost a single bit of fat. The chief Palace doctor was then arrested and given nothing to eat but bread and water. Palace servants found the doll that belonged to Tutti the Heir lying in the tall grass. It had not seen the eclipse of the sun. It was broken beyond repair. Tutti the Heir could not stop crying. He hugged the broken doll and sobbed. The doll looked just like a little girl. It was as big as Tutti. This was a very expensive, beautifully made doll. Now her dress was all torn, and there were big black holes in her chest from the soldiers' swords. An hour before she could sit and stand, smile and dance, but now it was only a scarecrow, a heap of rags. Somewhere in the neck and chest, under the pink silk, a broken spring creaked, just as an old wall clock creaks before striking the hour. |
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