Английский язык с Крестным Отцом
Шрифт:
for small boys and a meandering (to meander [mi'жnd] – бродить без цели; meander
– извилина /дороги, реки/; меандр /орнамент/) donkey.
The proprietor of the cafй came to serve them. He was a short, burly man, almost
dwarfish but he greeted them cheerfully and set a dish of chickpeas (нут, горох
турецкий) at their table. "You're strangers here," he said, "so let me advise you. Try my
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wine. The grapes come from my own farm and it's made by my sons themselves. They
mix it with oranges and lemons. It's the best wine in Italy."
They let him bring the wine in a jug and it was even better than he claimed, dark
purple and as powerful as a brandy. Fabrizzio said to the cafй proprietor, "You know all
the girls here, I'll bet. We saw some beauties coming down the road, one in particular
got our friend here hit with the thunderholt." He motioned to Michael.
The cafй owner looked at Michael with new interest. The cracked face had seemed
quite ordinary to him before, not worth a second glance. But a man hit with the
thunderbolt was another matter. "You had better bring a few bottles home with you, my
friend," he said. "You'll need help in getting to sleep tonight."
Michael asked the man, "Do you know a girl with her hair all curly? Very creamy skin,
very big eves, very dark eyes. Do you know a girl like that in the village?"
The cafй owner said curtly, "No. I don't know any girl like that." He vanished from the
terrace into his cafй.
The three men drank their wine slowly, finished off the jug and called for more. The
owner did not reappear. Fabrizzio went into the cafй after him. When Fabrizzio came
out he grimaced and said to Michael, "Just as I thought, it's his daughter we were
talking about and now he's in the back boiling up his blood to do us a mischief. I think
we'd better start walking toward Corleone."
Despite his months on the island Michael still could not get used to the Sicilian
touchiness on matters of sex, and this was extreme even for a Sicilian. But the two
shepherds seemed to take it as a matter of course. They were waiting for him to leave.
Fabrizzio said, "The old bastard mentioned he has two sons, big tough lads that he has
only to whistle up. Let's get going."
Michael gave him a cold stare. Up to now he had been a quiet, gentle young man, a
typical American, except that since he was hiding in Sicily he must have done
something manly. This was the first time the shepherds had seen the Corleone stare.
Don Tommasino, knowing Michael's true identity and deed, had always been wary
(осторожный,
respect." But these unsophisticated sheep herders had come to their own opinion of
Michael, and not a wise one. The cold look, Michael's rigid white face, his anger that
came off him like cold smoke off ice, sobered their laughter and snuffed out (snuff –
нагар на свече; to snuff out – потушить /свечу/; разрушить, подавить) their familiar
friendliness.
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When he saw he had their proper, respectful attention Michael said to them, "Get that
man out here to me."
They didn't hesitate. They shouldered their luparas and went into the dark coolness of
the cafй. A few seconds later they reappeared with the cafй owner between them. The
stubby man looked in no way frightened but his anger had a certain wariness about it.
Michael leaned back in his chair and studied the man for a moment. Then he said
very quietly, "I understand I've offended you by talking about your daughter. I offer you
my apologies, I'm a stranger in this country, I don't know the customs that well. Let me
say this. I meant no disrespect to you or her." The shepherd bodyguards were
impressed. Michael's voice had never sounded like this before when speaking to them.
There was command and authority in it though he was making an apology. The cafй
owner shrugged, more wary still, knowing he was not dealing with some farmboy. "Who
are you and what do you want from my daughter?"
Without even hesitating Michael said, "I am an American hiding in Sicily, from the
police of my country. My name is Michael. You can inform the police and make your
fortune but then your daughter would lose a father rather than gain a husband. In any
case I want to meet your daughter. With your permission and under the supervision of
your family. With all decorum. With all respect. I'm an honorable man and I don't think of
dishonoring your daughter. I want to meet her, talk to her and then if it hits us both right
we'll marry. If not, you'll never see me again. She may find me unsympathetic after all,
and no I man can remedy that. But when the proper time comes I'll tell you everything
about me that a wife's father should know."
All three men were looking at him with amazement. Fabrizzio whispered in awe, "It's
the real thunderbolt." The cafй owner, for the first time, didn't look so confident, or