"Terry Pratchett. A Hat Full Of Sky " - читать интересную книгу автора

Granny Aching. Such things have a hold on people that goes right to the
heart. Tiffany only had to smell them now to be back there, in the warmth
and silence and safety of the hut. It was the place she had gone to when she
was upset, and the place she had gone to when she was happy. And Granny
Aching would always smile and make tea and say nothing. And nothing bad
could happen in the shepherding hut. It was a fort against the world. Even
now, after Granny had gone, Tiffany still liked to go up there.
Tiffany stood there, while the wind blew over the turf and sheep bells
clonked in the distance.
Ive got . . . She cleared her throat. Ive got to go away. I . . . Ive
got to learn proper witching, and theres no one here now to teach me, you
see. Ive got to . . . to look after the hills like you did. I can . . . do
things but I dont know things, and Miss Tick says what you dont know can
kill you. I want to be as good as you were. I will come back! I will come
back soon! I promise I will come back, better than I went!
A blue butterfly, blown off course by a gust, settled on Tiffanys
shoulder, opened and shut its wings once or twice, then fluttered away.
Granny Aching had never been at home with words. She collected silence
like other people collected string. But she had a way of saying nothing that
said it all.
Tiffany stayed for a while, until her tears had dried, and then went
off back down the hill, leaving the everlasting wind to curl around the
wheels and whistle down the chimney of the pot-bellied stove. Life went on.

It wasnt unusual for girls as young as Tiffany to go into service. It
meant working as a maid somewhere. Traditionally, you started by helping an
old lady who lived by herself; she wouldnt be able to pay much, but since
this was your first job you probably werent worth much, either.
In fact Tiffany practically ran Home Farms dairy by herself, if someone
helped her lift the big milk churns, and her parents had been surprised she
had wanted to go into service at all. But as Tiffany said, it was something
everyone did. You got out into the world a little bit. You met new people.
You never knew what it could lead to.
That, rather cunningly, got her mother on her side. Her mothers rich
aunt had gone off to be a scullery maid, and then a parlour maid, and had
worked her way up until she was a housekeeper and married to a butler and
lived in a fine house. It wasnt her fine house, and she only lived in a bit
of it, but she was practically a lady.
Tiffany didnt intend to be a lady. This was all a ruse, anyway. And
Miss Tick was in on it.
You werent allowed to charge money for the witching, so all witches did
some other job as well. Miss Tick was basically a witch disguised as a
teacher. She travelled around with the other wandering teachers who went in
bands from place to place teaching anything to anybody in exchange for food
or old clothes.
It was a good way to get around, because people in the chalk country
didnt trust witches. They thought they danced around on moonlit nights
without their drawers on. (Tiffany had made enquiries about this, and had
been slightly relieved to find out that you didnt have to do this to be a
witch. You could if you wanted to, but only if you were certain where all