Watership Down - Adams Richard George - Страница 93
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" 'They'd be much better to eat with the frost out of them, wouldn't they? said Rabscuttle. 'I wish we could get at them while they're in there. Still, never mind. Now's our chance. Let's see what we can do up this end of the garden while he's busy down there.
"But hardly had they crossed the top of the garden and got among the cabbages than Rowsby Woof had winded them and down he came, barking and yelping, and they were lucky to get out in time.
" 'Dirty little beasts, shouted Rowsby Woof. 'How-how! How-how dare you come snou-snou-snouting round here? Get out-out! Out-out!
" 'Contemptible brute! said El-ahrairah, as they scurried back to the warren with nothing to show for all their trouble. 'He's really annoyed me. I don't know yet how it's going to be done, but, by Frith and Inle, before this frost thaws, we'll eat his cabbages inside the house and make him look a fool into the bargain!
" 'That's saying too much, master, said Rabscuttle. 'A pity to throw your life away for a cabbage, after all we've done together.
" 'Well, I shall be watching my chance, said El-ahrairah. 'I shall just be watching my chance, that's all.
"The following afternoon Rabscuttle was out, nosing along the top of the bank beside the lane, when a hrududu came by. It had doors at the back and these doors had somehow come open and were swinging about as the hrududu went along. There were things inside wrapped up in bags like the ones men sometimes leave about the fields; and as the hrududu passed Rabscuttle, one of these bags fell out into the lane. When the hrududu had gone Rabscuttle, who hoped that the bag might have something to eat inside, slipped down into the lane to have a sniff at it. But he was disappointed to find that all it contained was some kind of meat. Later he told El-ahrairah about his disappointment.
" 'Meat? said El-ahrairah. 'Is it still there?
" 'How should I know? said Rabscuttle. 'Beastly stuff.
" 'Come with me, said El-ahrairah. 'Quickly, too.
"When they got to the lane the meat was still there. El-ahrairah dragged the bag into the ditch and they buried it.
" 'But what good will this be to us, master? said Rabscuttle.
" 'I don't know yet, said El-ahrairah. 'But some good it will surely be, if the rats don't get it. Come home now, though. It's getting dark.
"As they were going home, they came on an old black wheel-covering thrown away from a hrududu, lying in the ditch. If you've ever seen these things, you'll know that they're something like a huge fungus-smooth and very strong, but pad-like and yielding too. They smell unpleasant, and are no good to eat.
" 'Come on, said El-ahrairah immediately. 'We have to gnaw off a good chunk of this. I need it.
"Rabscuttle wondered whether his master was going mad, but he did as he was told. The stuff had grown fairly rotten and before long they were able to gnaw off a lump about as big as a rabbifs head. It tasted dreadful, but El-ahrairah carried it carefully back to the warren. He spent a lot of time that night nibbling at it and after morning silflay the next day he continued. About ni-Frith he woke Rabscuttle, made him come outside and put the lump in front of him.
" 'What does that look like? he said. 'Never mind the smell. What does it look like?
"Rabscuttle looked at it. 'It looks rather like a dog's black nose, master, he answered, 'except that it's dry.
" 'Splendid, said El-ahrairah, and went to sleep.
"It was still frosty-very clear and cold-that night, with half a moon, but fu Inle, when all the rabbits were keeping warm underground, El-ahrairah told Rabscuttle to come with him. El-ahrairah carried the black nose himself and on the way he pushed it well into every nasty thing he could find. He found a-"
"Well, never mind," said Hazel. "Go on with the story."
"In the end," continued Dandelion, "Rabscuttle kept well away from him, but El-ahrairah held his breath and still carried the nose somehow, until they got to the place where they had buried the meat.
" 'Dig it up, said El-ahrairah. 'Come on.
"They dug it up and the paper came off. The meat was all bits joined together in a kind of trail like a spray of bryony, and poor Rabscuttle was told to drag it along to the bottom of the vegetable garden. It was hard work and he was glad when he was able to drop it.
" 'Now, said El-ahrairah, 'we'll go round to the front.
"When they got to the front, they could tell that the man had gone out. For one thing, the house was all dark but, besides, they could smell that he had been through the gate a little while before. The front of the house had a flower garden and this was separated from the back and the vegetable garden by a high, close-boarded fence that ran right across and ended in a big clump of laurels. Just the other side of the fence was the back door that led into the kitchen.
"El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle went quietly through the front garden and peeped through a crack in the fence. Rowsby Woof was sitting on the gravel path, wide awake and shivering in the cold. He was so near that they could see his eyes blink in the moonlight. The kitchen door was shut, but nearby, along the wall, there was a hole above the drain where a brick had been left out. The kitchen floor was made of bricks and the man used to wash it with a rough broom and sweep the water out through the hole. The hole was plugged up with an old cloth to keep out the cold.
"After a little while El-ahrairah said in a low voice,
" 'Rowsby Woof! O Rowsby Woof!
"Rowsby Woof sat up and looked about him, bristling.
" 'Who's there? he said. 'Who are you?
" 'O Rowsby Woof! said El-ahrairah, crouching on the other side of the fence. 'Most fortunate, most blessed Rowsby Woof! Your reward is at hand! I bring you the best news in the world!
" 'What? said Rowsby Woof. 'Who's that? None of your tricks, now!
" 'Tricks, Rowsby Woof? said El-ahrairah. 'Ah, I see you do not know me. But how should you? Listen, faithful, skillful hound. I am the Fairy Wogdog, messenger of the great dog spirit of the East, Queen Dripslobber. Far, far in the East her palace lies. Ah, Rowsby Woof, if only you could see her mighty state, the wonders of her kingdom! The carrion that lies far and wide upon the sands! The manure, Rowsby Woof! The open sewers! Oh, how you would jump for joy and run nosing all about!
"Rowsby Woof got to his feet and looked about in silence. He could not tell what to make of the voice, but he was suspicious.
" 'Your fame as a ratter has come to the ears of the Queen, said El-ahrairah. 'We know you-and honor you-as the greatest ratter in the world. That is why I am here. But poor, bewildered creature! I see you are perplexed, and well you may be. Come here, Rowsby Woof! Come close to the fence and know me better!
"Rowsby Woof came up to the fence and El-ahrairah pushed the rubber nose into the crack and moved it about. Rowsby Woof stood close, sniffing.
" 'Noble rat-catcher, whispered El-ahrairah, 'it is indeed I, the Fairy Wogdog, sent to honor you!
" 'Oh, Fairy Wogdog! cried Rowsby Woof, dribbling and piddling all over the gravel. 'Ah, what elegance! What aristocratic distinction! Can that really be decayed cat that I smell? With a delicate overtone of rotten camel! Ah, the gorgeous East!
("What on earth's 'camel'?" said Bigwig.
"I don't know," replied Dandelion. "But it was in the story when I heard it, so I suppose it's some creature or other.")
" 'Happy, happy dog! said El-ahrairah. 'I must tell you that Queen Dripslobber her very self has expressed her gracious wish that you should meet her. But not yet, Rowsby Woof, not yet. First you must be found worthy. I am sent to bring you both a test and a proof. Listen, Rowsby Woof. Beyond the far end of the garden there lies a long rope of meat. Aye, real meat, Rowsby Woof, for though we are fairy dogs, yet we bring real gifts to noble, brave animals such as you. Go now-find and eat that meat. Trust me, for I will guard the house until you return. That is the test of your belief.
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