Лучшие смешные рассказы / Best Funny Stories

But yet the Frenchman prefers to play with his head, not with his legs. He would rather catch the ball upon his head than score a goal. He does not seem to care what happens with the ball. Anybody can have the ball; he has had his game and is happy.

They talk of introducing cricket into Belgium;[13 - Belgium – Бельгия] I shall certainly try to be present at the opening game. I am afraid that the Belgian[14 - Belgian – бельгийский] player will stop cricket balls with his heads. That the head is the proper thing with which to play ball appears to be in his blood.

My head is round, he thinks, and hard, just like the ball itself; what part of the human body is better to meet and stop a ball?

Tennis is firmly established from St. Petersburg[15 - St. Petersburg – Санкт-Петербург] to Bordeaux.[16 - Bordeaux – Бордо] University professors, rising early in the morning, hire boys and practise it. But to the Frenchman, as yet, it is a game. He plays it in a happy, merry fashion, that is shocking to English eyes.

Your partner’s game astonishes you. His ball runs outside the field constantly. The joyous laughter of the spectators explain everything. Your partner was trying to hit a man in the next court who was busy with his shoe-lace. With his last ball he has succeeded. He has hit the man in the small of the back,[17 - the small of the back – поясница] and has bowled him over.[18 - bowled him over – сбил его с ног] Doherty[19 - Doherty – Догерти] himself has never won greater applause from the crowd.

Even the man who has been hit is pleased.

But the Frenchman forgets his shoe, he forgets his game. He gathers together all the balls that he can find; his balls, your balls, anybody’s balls. And then commences the return match. At this point it is better to quit. Most of the players follow this plan; they go to the club-house, and, finding themselves there, order coffee and light up cigarettes.

After a while both players appear to be satisfied.

In about half-an-hour or so, when everybody is tired completely, the game – the original game – is resumed. You demand the score; your partner promptly says it is “forty-fifteen.” Both your opponents rush up to the net, and apparently there is going to be a duel. After a while they suggest a compromise. The discussion is concluded by calling it deuce.