Мор - ученик смерти

           ’Embarrassing?’

           ’Yes,’saidDeath,IMEANYES.

           ’Itwouldseemthatyouhavenousefulskillortalentwhatsoever,’hesaid.’Haveyouthoughtofgoingintoteaching?’

           Death’sfacewasamaskofterror.Well,itwasalwaysamaskofterror,butthistimehemeantittobe.

           ’Yousee,’saidKeeblekindly,puttingdownhispenandsteeplinghishandstogether,’it’sveryseldomIeverhavetofindanewcareerforan–whatwasitagain?’

           ANTHROPOMORPHICPERSONIFICATION.

           ’Oh,yes.Whatisthat,exactly?’

           Deathhadhadenough.

           THIS,hesaid.

           Foramoment,justforamoment,MrKeeblesawhimclearly.HisfacewentnearlyaspaleasDeath’sown.Hishandsjerkedconvulsively.Hisheartgaveastutter.

           Deathwatchedhimwithmildinterest,thendrewanhourglassfromthedepthsofhisrobeandheldituptothelightandexamineditcritically.

           SETTLEDOWN,hesaid,YOU’VEGOTAGOODFEWYEARSYET.

           ’Bbbbbbb—’

           ICOULDTELLYOUHOWMANYIFYOULIKE.

           Keeble,fightingtobreathe,managedtoshakehishead.

           DOYOUWANTMETOGETYOUAGLASSOFWATER,THEN?

           ’nnN–nnN.’

           Theshopbelljangled.Keeble’seyesrolled.Deathdecidedthatheowedthemansomething.Heshouldn’tbeallowedtolosecustom,whichwasclearlysomethinghumansvalueddearly.

           Hepushedasidethebeadcurtainandstalkedintotheoutershop,whereasmallfatwoman,lookingratherlikeanangrycottageloaf,washammeringonthecounterwithahaddock.

           ’It’saboutthatcook’sjobupattheUniversity,’shesaid.