understand.
"War?"
"Are we fighting against people?"
"Fighting?" she asked doubtfully. "The men fight sometimes, about their wives and that. Of course there is no bloodshed, only scuffling to find the better man. Is that what you mean?"
"No. I meant fighting against armies: against other geese, for instance."
She was amused at this.
"How ridiculous! You mean a lot of geese all scuffling at the same time. It would be amusing to watch."
Her tone surprised him.
"Amusing to watch them kill each other!"
"To kill each other? An army of geese to kill each other?"
She began to understand the idea very slowly and doubtfully, an expression of grief and distaste coming over her face. When it had sunk in, she left him. She went away to another part of the field in silence. He followed her, but she turned her back. Moving round to get a glimpse of her eyes, he was startled by their abhorrence: a look as if he had made an obscene suggestion.
He said lamely: "I am sorry. You do not understand."
"Leave talking about it."
"I am sorry."
Later he added: "A person can ask, I suppose. It seems a natural question, with the sentries."
But she was thoroughly angry, almost tearful.
"Will you stop about it at once! What a horrible mind you must have! You have no right to say such things. And of course there are sentries. There are the jerfalcons and the peregrines, are there not: the foxes and the ermines and the humans with their nets? These are natural enemies. But what creature could be so low and treacherous as to murder the people of its blood?"
He thought: it is a pity that there are no big creatures to prey on humanity. If there were enough dragons and rocs, perhaps mankind would turn its might against them. Unfortunately man is preyed upon by microbes, which are too small to be appreciated.
Out loud, he said: "I was trying to learn."
She relented with an obvious effort to be good-natured. She wanted to be broad-minded if she could, as she was rather a blue-stockinp.
"You have a long way to go."
"Then you must teach me. You must tell me about the goose-people, so that I improve my mind."
She was doubtful, after the shock which he had given her, but her heart was not a malicious one. Like all the geese, she had a mildness which found forgiving easy. Soon they were friends.
"What would you like to know?"
He discovered, in the next few days, for they spent much time together, that Lyo-lyok was a charming person. She had told him her name at the beginning of their acquaintance, and had advised him to have one of his own. They had chosen Kee-kwa, a distinguished title taken from the rare red-breasted geese whom she had met in Siberia. Afterwards, once they were on name terms, she had buckled to his education manfully.
Lyo-lyok's mind did not run upon flirtation only. She took a rational interest in the wide world in her prudent way, and, although she was puzzled by his questions, she learned not to be disgusted by them. Most of these questions were based on his experience among the ants, and that was why they puzzled her.
He wanted to know about nationalism, about state-control, individual liberty, property and so forth: the things whose importance had been mentioned in the Combination Room, or which he had noticed in the ant-hill. As most of these things had to be explained to her, before she could explain herself, there were interesting things to talk about. They conversed amiably, and, as his education prospered, the surprised old man began to feel a sort of deep humility and even an affection for her geese: feelings which Olliver himself have had among the horses. No, she explained to him: there was no state control among the grey people. They had no communal possessions, nor did they make a claim to any part of the world. The lovely globe, they thought, could not belong to anybody except itself, and all their geese had access to its raw materials. Neither was any state discipline imposed upon the individual bird. The
"War?"
"Are we fighting against people?"
"Fighting?" she asked doubtfully. "The men fight sometimes, about their wives and that. Of course there is no bloodshed, only scuffling to find the better man. Is that what you mean?"
"No. I meant fighting against armies: against other geese, for instance."
She was amused at this.
"How ridiculous! You mean a lot of geese all scuffling at the same time. It would be amusing to watch."
Her tone surprised him.
"Amusing to watch them kill each other!"
"To kill each other? An army of geese to kill each other?"
She began to understand the idea very slowly and doubtfully, an expression of grief and distaste coming over her face. When it had sunk in, she left him. She went away to another part of the field in silence. He followed her, but she turned her back. Moving round to get a glimpse of her eyes, he was startled by their abhorrence: a look as if he had made an obscene suggestion.
He said lamely: "I am sorry. You do not understand."
"Leave talking about it."
"I am sorry."
Later he added: "A person can ask, I suppose. It seems a natural question, with the sentries."
But she was thoroughly angry, almost tearful.
"Will you stop about it at once! What a horrible mind you must have! You have no right to say such things. And of course there are sentries. There are the jerfalcons and the peregrines, are there not: the foxes and the ermines and the humans with their nets? These are natural enemies. But what creature could be so low and treacherous as to murder the people of its blood?"
He thought: it is a pity that there are no big creatures to prey on humanity. If there were enough dragons and rocs, perhaps mankind would turn its might against them. Unfortunately man is preyed upon by microbes, which are too small to be appreciated.
Out loud, he said: "I was trying to learn."
She relented with an obvious effort to be good-natured. She wanted to be broad-minded if she could, as she was rather a blue-stockinp.
"You have a long way to go."
"Then you must teach me. You must tell me about the goose-people, so that I improve my mind."
She was doubtful, after the shock which he had given her, but her heart was not a malicious one. Like all the geese, she had a mildness which found forgiving easy. Soon they were friends.
"What would you like to know?"
He discovered, in the next few days, for they spent much time together, that Lyo-lyok was a charming person. She had told him her name at the beginning of their acquaintance, and had advised him to have one of his own. They had chosen Kee-kwa, a distinguished title taken from the rare red-breasted geese whom she had met in Siberia. Afterwards, once they were on name terms, she had buckled to his education manfully.
Lyo-lyok's mind did not run upon flirtation only. She took a rational interest in the wide world in her prudent way, and, although she was puzzled by his questions, she learned not to be disgusted by them. Most of these questions were based on his experience among the ants, and that was why they puzzled her.
He wanted to know about nationalism, about state-control, individual liberty, property and so forth: the things whose importance had been mentioned in the Combination Room, or which he had noticed in the ant-hill. As most of these things had to be explained to her, before she could explain herself, there were interesting things to talk about. They conversed amiably, and, as his education prospered, the surprised old man began to feel a sort of deep humility and even an affection for her geese: feelings which Olliver himself have had among the horses. No, she explained to him: there was no state control among the grey people. They had no communal possessions, nor did they make a claim to any part of the world. The lovely globe, they thought, could not belong to anybody except itself, and all their geese had access to its raw materials. Neither was any state discipline imposed upon the individual bird. The
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