Повелитель мух / Lord of the Flies

But the island ran true to form and the incredible pool, which clearly was only invaded by the sea at high tide, was so deep at one end as to be dark green. Ralph inspected the whole thirty yards carefully and then plunged in. The water was warmer than his blood and he might have been swimming in a huge bath.

Piggy appeared again, sat on the rocky ledge, and watched Ralph’s green and white body enviously.

“You can’t half swim.”

“Piggy.”

Piggy took off his shoes and socks, ranged them carefully on the ledge, and tested the water with one toe.

“It’s hot!”

“What did you expect?”

“I didn’t expect nothing. My auntie—”

“Sucks to your auntie[3 - Sucks to your auntie! – На фиг твою тетушку!]!”

Ralph did a surface dive and swam under water with his eyes open; the sandy edge of the pool loomed up like a hillside. He turned over, holding his nose, and a golden light danced and shattered just over his face. Piggy was looking determined and began to take off his shorts.

Presently he was palely and fatly naked. He tiptoed down the sandy side of the pool, and sat there up to his neck in water smiling proudly at Ralph.

“Aren’t you going to swim?”

Piggy shook his head.

“I can’t swim. I wasn’t allowed. My asthma—”

“Sucks to your ass-mar!”

Piggy bore this with a sort of humble patience. “You can’t half swim well.”

Ralph paddled backwards down the slope, immersed his mouth and blew a jet of water into the air.

Then he lifted his chin and spoke.

“I could swim when I was five. Daddy taught me. He’s a commander in the Navy. When he gets leave he’ll come and rescue us. What’s your father?”

Piggy flushed suddenly.

“My dad’s dead,” he said quickly, “and my mum—”

He took off his glasses and looked vainly for something with which to clean them.

“I used to live with my auntie. She kept a candy store. I used to get ever so many candies.

As many as I liked. When’ll your dad rescue us?”

“Soon as he can.”

Piggy rose dripping from the water and stood naked, cleaning his glasses with a sock. The only sound that reached them now through the heat of the morning was the long, grinding roar of the breakers on the reef.

“How does he know we’re here?”

Ralph lolled in the water. Sleep enveloped him like the swathing mirages that were wrestling with the brilliance of the lagoon.