Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

He said, “Im frendy with any thing if it comes in right. Im the Lissener you know. Im all ways lissening thats how I know about every thing. How I pult the dog I lissent him in. You know when I begun to lissen like that?”

I said, “When?”

He said, “When the Other Voyce Owl of the Worl begun saying the sylents.”

I said, “Wil you tel me about that?”

He said, “All right Iwl tel you. This is about when the Lissener wer a kid.”

This is what he tol:

There wer the Other Voyce Owl of the Worl. He sat in the worl tree larfing in his front voyce only his other voyce wernt larfing his other voyce wer saying the sylents. He had a way of saying them. He said them wide and far where he begun them he said them tyny when they come close. He kep saying the sylents like that in his other voyce and when he done it the sylents wer swallering up the souns of the worl then the owl wer swallering the sylents.

No 1 knowit he wer doing it. He wer trying to swaller all the souns of the worl then there wunt be no mor worl becaws every thing wud foller the soun of its self in to the sylents then it wud be gone. What the owl had in mynd wer to get it all swallert then fly a way. He only done it at nite he thot hewd get some of it swallert every nite and til he gone the woal worl a way.

No 1 knowit what the owl wer doing only a kid. He dint have no eyes he lissent all the time. When he heard the owl saying the sylents in his other voyce he heard the sylents swallering up the souns of the worl littl and big from the wind sying in the trees to the ants crying in ther hoals. The kid knowit the owl wer trying to say the woal worl a way and he knowit wer on him to stop the owl so he begun to lissen every thing back. He lissent them far and wide where he begun them he lissent them tyny when they come close. The eye of the goat and the dants in the stoan and the beatl digging a grave for the sparrer. He lissent them in to his ear hoals he kep them all safe there. The foot steps of the mof and the sea foam hissing on the stran he lissent every thing back.

The kid dint keap the souns of the worl in his ear hoals only at nite he kep them safe til morning. When the cock crowt in the middl nite it never foolt him nor when it crowt agen befor 1st lite. He kep them souns safe in his ear hoals til the day stood up and the cock of the morning crowt every thing a wake. Then the kid unheard the souns and they gone back where they livet. The kid wer larfing at the owl but the owl dint know it he thot he done a good nites work. He sat in the worl tree grooling and smarling all day thinking he wud get the woal worl gone only he never done it.

I said, “That owl tho he keaps trying dont he.”

The Ardship said, “O yes he keaps trying and hewl do it 1 day too. All it takes is for no 1 to be lissening every thing back. Hewl go the worl a way and his self with it and thatwl be the end of it. But may be not for a wyl yet. Lissener is my calling name you can call me that.”

So we past the time til it come dark. That black leader he had that pack in good shape there come back 1 of them and bringing him a hynt leg of a goat nor there wernt no wyld goats roun there some form had a hoal unner the fents and 1 goat short that day. Which he offert us nor I wuntve beleavit that hadnt I seen it. Lissener and me we et a littl jus to show meat brothers only we dint fancy it raw nor dursnt make a fire. We made do with some of the roady I had in my pockits which I had some I brung from fents and some I got out of the pockits of that bloak the dogs kilt. I give some of it to the black leader and the 2 nexters.

Going in to my pockits for that roady I brung out the dead han and that hook nose figger. I put that old blackent figger on my right han and it movit qwick and fearce waving its arms and looking all roun sharp. It pickt up a stoan and begun banging on the wall with it. I said, “Wutcha wutcha” then I put him back in my pockit. The dead han 1st I thot about it 1 way then I thot about it the other then I throwit over the wall. I lookit to see if any of the dogs wud eat it. They dint.

Like Ive said it stayd qwyet all day we dint hear nothing nor there wernt no lerting from the dogs. A littl too qwyet I thot it wer. Qwyet with may be eyes and ears in it waiting for us to make our move. The rain hevvit on by the end of the day it wer coming down in buckits plus it blowt up a hevvy wind out of the Norf and Eas you cud perwel lean on it.

It come dark early we waitit til it wer solid nite and filfy dark it wer you cudnt hardly see your han on the end of your arm. We slyd out slow and easy we had the woal Bernt Arse pack with us. I had the black leader nexy bumping agenst me now and agen and I wer leading Lissener by the han. Soons we come out of the outers and clear of stumps and stannings he pult his han luce and ternt his self a roun this way and that. Poyntit his self in to the wind and he said, “Cambrys this way innit?”

I said, “Thats it right a nuff.”

He said, “Wel Im on my way then. Thanking you for getting me out of the hoal. Good Luck to you where ever youre going.”

I said to him, “Whatre you on about? Be you out of your mynd or what? You think youre going to Cambry oansome?”

He said, “I can fynd it by insterment. Ive got a knife and spear plus Ive got the dogs to look after me dont you worry over me.”

I said, “Dont you want me to go with you?”

He said, “Back there when you brung me out of the hoal you dint say, ‘Wherewl we go?’ You said, ‘Wherewl you go?’”

I said, “Wel now Im saying, ‘Wherewl we go?’ Any where you go its the 2 of us going.”

He said, “You know how it is with me I wunt ask you to come. Me I dont have nothing to lose they ben going to put my head on a poal any how. It aint the same for you parbly you can stil go back to your fents and Blobs your nunkel.”

I said, “No odds. If the Ram aint after me all ready for what I all ready done theywl be after me soon a nuff for some thing else. We myswel joynt the effert.” When I said that I thot on Fister Crunchman what he said about connecting with a mans doing and how I had follerme. Yet there hadnt no 1 follert me and here I wer follering the Ardship nor I dint care what kynd of doing it wer.

So off we gone. I pirntowt we bes not go the straites way. Keap off the main tracks where we cud. I wer jus going to say les Eas roun by Monkeys Whoar Town and Norf up a long the Nellys Bum when I had like a mynd flash of colourt lites with clicking and bleaping it wernt like nothing I ever acturely seen nor heard only in dreams. I cud like feal the woal circel of the dead towns in me and see a line of grean lite sweaping roun that circel from the senter.

Lissener said, “What is it?”

I said, “What dyou mean?”

He said, “Im lissening some thing nor I dont know what it is. And youre lissening me.”

I said, “Dont break the circel yet.” The words jus come out of me by ther selfs I bint thinking them at all.

He said, “What dyou lissen else?”

I said, “I dont know its jus a line of grean lite sweaping and there come up blips.” Which Id usit that word times a nuff but never til then did I ever think of putting the word blip to a blob of grean lite.

He said, “Blips where?”

I said, “I dont know.”

He said, “Say Fools Circel 9wys .”

I begun it:

Thats where I stoppit. Fork Stoan be come sharp in my mynd. I said, “Fork Stoan.”