Одна из моих самых любимых глав
Бедный Така.....он так хотел быть счастливым
SCENE: A SIGN OF POWER
Six moons had passed since Muffy's chat with Rafiki. He and
Taka had grown in strength and size. This miracle was made all
the more evident by its speed. There was no difference from day
to day, but a clear, sharp memory of passing under a low branch
was no insurance against a bump on the head. The brothers, the
sons of the King, were attracting the attention of the others with
their strong, comely appearance.
Mufasa's pride was all out of proportion to the straggly
pioneering hairs that made his head and throat look somewhat
shaggier than the rest of his body. But that was matched by the
pride of his parents Ahadi and Akase. Ahadi insisted that he was
equally proud of Taka, and Taka wanted desperately to believe it.
Taka had a dark mane, something most lionesses consider very
attractive. Often his mother Akase told him that happiness was
more important than power, and if he had to choose one, go with
happiness. Taka saw the sense in this. He was often unhappy, but
he believed in his mother and in her love. And to a degree, he
believed Sarabi loved him though they were more prone to more
arguments than talks in recent days.
The Mantlement Ceremony is all that Ahadi and Akase seemed
to talk about--all everyone seemed to talk about. That first
trace of mane is for many male cubs a sign that they are about to
venture out into The Big World, and brings as many fears as it
does hopes. It is the wakening of their interest in lionesses as
more than playmates. For Mufasa, it was a step closer to the
kingship--the Prince was growing up. No one expected the brother
of Mufasa to go out into The Big World, and he, like Mufasa, would
be honored by all subjects in the Pride Lands as Prince Consort.
And yet there was no doubt that everyone of every species
would be staring at the future King. Taka's Mantlement was the
last big step that the public would take interest in, and he had
to endure it in the huge shadow of his brother.
Immersed in this thought, Taka sat alone on the point of
Pride Rock and looked down on the wide savanna below, now occupied
by a few wildebeests, but soon alive with bowing and scraping
subjects looking on their King-to-be. And that what's-his-name
brother of his--the one with the scar. Only recently had the
other lions begun to talk to him without staring at the eye. He'd
long passed the stage where those who were dying to know more
about it could ask, "How are you feeling?" or "Can I help?" Now
it was as healed as it would ever be, and they had gotten used to
it. But along with the familiarity came the rumors--mostly true--
about how he was marked, and the nickname Scar. Oddly enough, no
one blamed Mufasa in the least for what had happened to Taka's
eye. Instead they wondered who would be stupid enough to go into
a badger's hole in the first place. Everyone knew how badgers
act--that is, everyone with common sense.
"Hey, Taka!" said Mufasa, sitting alongside. "Thinking
about the big day tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Well, you don't look too happy about it."
"I'm just fine," Taka said firmly. "I can't help the way I
look."
"Yeah, right." Mufasa hopped up lithely and sat on the
other side of Taka to look him in the eyes. "What's your problem?
I mean, it's your big day too. Everyone who's anyone will be
there to look at your new mane. Besides, the babes dig it! I
mean, without a mane you're just another kitten."
"You must think I'm really stupid," Taka said. "Who's going
to care about me? Half of them don't even know who I am. I'm
just that kid with the funny-looking eye."
"You help protect the Pride Lands," Mufasa said. "That's
important. And hey, if something happened to me, you'd have to be
King." He made a sweeping gesture with his paw over the empty
savanna. "They all know that. And they know they better treat
you with respect, or they'll have to answer to me."
Taka stared at Mufasa right in the eyes, something that made
his brother feel uncomfortable. Mufasa could almost feel Taka
looking right through him, examining his bones and sinews. He was
looking for something he could remember from long ago, from days
when friendship could be taken for granted in the innocence of
early cubhood. "Would you miss me if I died?"
"Of course I would," Mufasa said, a little irritated. "What
kind of stupid question is that?"
"Don't call me stupid! I hate it when people call me that!"
"I didn't call you stupid," Mufasa said, backing back.
"What is your problem, anyway? Go ahead and sulk--that's all you
ever do now. But you watch yourself tomorrow. You're the son of
the King, and you act like it. I don't want you spoiling my
Mantlement, understand?"
"I understand clearly. I won't spoil YOUR Mantlement,
brother."
On that word, Taka left the point of the rock and headed
down quietly.
Sarabi was lying half-asleep in the shade of an acacia tree
when Taka walked by. Her keen senses were stirred by the light
tread in the grass. She looked up quickly, then relaxed her ears.
"Oh, it's only you, Taka."
"Only me?"
She frowned. "Not another one of those moods again. Get a
little fuzz on your neck and you lions take yourself soooo
seriously." She took a half-hearted swat at him. "Tell me, Taka,
will you be like that when I get you alone? Smile if you think
wicked thoughts."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Smile if you think I'm sexy."
He looked away. "Cut it out, will you?"
In a sultry half-purr, she added, "Smile if you think you'll
live through the honeymoon."
He broke into an embarrassed grin which he tried to hide
behind a paw.
"Optimistic little devil, aren't you?" She nuzzled him
affectionately. "I like that much better. I hate it when we
fight."
"So do I," Taka said. "I should let you have your way more
often."
Sarabi's eyes narrowed to slits. "I don't want to have my
way more often. I mean we should agree to disagree. Don't
patronize me."
"I didn't mean it that way."
"Then how did you mean it? I'm not stupid you know."
"I know." Taka licked his paw and tried to groom what there
was of his mane. It was a nervous habit. "Sassie, let's never
fight again. I was thinking about the prophesy. I've been
thinking about it a lot lately."
"I don't believe in it," Sarabi said firmly. "I thought we
had that settled."
"Still, you can't blame me for worrying. I mean we never
used to fight before that stupid thing with the badger." He
licked his paw again and began to nervously rub at the other side
of his neck.
"Please don't do that," Sarabi said.
"Don't do what? Oh...." Taka put down his paw. "Do you
think you'll always love me? I mean, Makedde said sometimes we
make our own destinies. If we work hard, we can change them."
Sarabi nuzzled him. "There are times your own mother
couldn't love you," she said. "This is not one of them. Forget
the prophesy--I liked you better the way you were, when you
trusted me."
"I trust you now," Taka said, beginning to groom his mane
again. "I don't think you'd ever WANT to hate me. But things can
happen--bad things."
"Like what?"
"I don't know what kind of things, but you know. I mean,
maybe I'll do something really stupid and you wouldn't love me
anymore."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm coming of age, the time when a lion goes out into The
Big World to make his fortune. Other than food and water, I have
one need. Love, Sassie. Right now, Mom and Dad still love me.
Maybe not as much as Muffy, but they do. And you love me, don't
you?"
"Yes! How many times do I have to tell you??"
"Once," Taka said quietly. He put his left paw on her
shoulder. He could feel her tremble. "It's time we stated our
intentions. I want you."
"We are not of age," Sarabi said. "Not in their eyes at
least. It is corban. They would never agree to this."
"Then don't ask them to," Taka said. "If you will always
love me, pledge to me. I won't ask more until you come to me of
your own free will. But we'll go away together. We'll leave
tonight at high moon."
"I'm honored, really," Sarabi said. "But how are you so
sure you will want me as your lioness? I mean we're friends, but
do you really know what you want?"
He put his left paw on her shoulder once more and let it
fondle her strong, shapely form. "Our love could move Heaven and
Earth," he whispered seductively. "It would spread like ripples
in a pond, growing, spreading, deepening. You know I want you.
When you look at me, when you touch me, I want you. Sarabi, look
at me. You know I want you."
She felt his eyes meet hers. It was what lionesses call
`The Look'. "I believe you." She tore herself away from The Look
and glanced down at the ground. "You will be Prince Consort. It
is foolish to go away when you are wanted here. It is safe here--
out there in The Big World it is so uncertain. We have to think
about our children."
"There is only one certainty I want," Taka said with barely
suppressed passion. "Before the gods, before the stars, before
the assembled host I swear to give you my protection, my love, and
my comfort forever." He looked at her pleadingly, like a small
cub who's afraid of the dark. "Come on, Sarabi. Say it."
She started to hold her paw out to touch his. It trembled.
She put it down. In the intensity of the moment she could not
speak.
A painful moment passed. Taka's face changed visibly--it
was like watching him die. "I understand," he said. "You are
only a small lioness in a big world. How could you hope to fight
destiny?" His ears laid back dejectedly and his tail hung limply.
"It would be better for all of us if I left. I want to be
remembered with some kindness-maybe a little regret for what might
have been. And it might have been fine, Sassie."
Sarabi felt her eyes mist up. He trotted off into the bush
without another word.
Deep in the heart is a land of shadows,
Its a place of sighs and tears
That's where the lost dreams and hopes forsaken
Tend to end up through the years.
Oh, but they don't go down easy, no, they do not meekly go,
To that graveyard for high expectations where the
broken dreams lie low!
They cry for attention and they seek intervention
till they shake your very soul.
You may try to bury what your heart can't carry,
but it won't stay in the hole.
Heavy the heart of the disappointed,
Long the empty path of night;
That is the fate of the broken-hearted,
When the darkness steals the light.
Oh, but they don't go down easy, no, they do not meekly go,
To that graveyard for high expectations where the
broken dreams lie low!
They cry for attention and they seek intervention
till they shake your very soul.
You may try to bury what your heart can't carry,
but it won't stay in the hole!
Sarabi watched him draw further and further away until he
was a small speck of tawny among the brush. Panic seized her, and
she found her tongue. "Taka! Wait! I'll do it!" Apparently he
did not hear any voices but those in his head. "Taka!"
Though his essence still hung in the air, he was gone.
Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "May the gods be with you."
..
Хочу такие ножки!Тоненькие!
