Рэй Брэдбери: The Veldt

Wendy was still crying and Peter joined her again. «Just a moment, just one moment, just another moment of nursery,» they wailed.

«Oh, George,» said the wife, «it can't hurt.»

«All right — all right, if they'll just shut up. One minute, mind you, and then off forever.»

«Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!» sang the children, smiling with wet faces.

«And then we're going on a vacation. David McClean is coming back in half an hour to help us move out and get to the airport. I'm going to dress. You turn the nursery on for a minute, Lydia, just a minute, mind you.»

And the three of them went babbling off while he let himself be vacuumed upstairs through the air flue and set about dressing himself. A minute later Lydia appeared.

«I'll be glad when we get away,» she sighed.

«Did you leave them in the nursery?»

«I wanted to dress too. Oh, that horrid Africa. What can they see in it?»

«Well, in five minutes we'll be on our way to Iowa. Lord, how did we ever get in this house? What prompted us to buy a nightmare?»

«Pride, money, foolishness.»

«I think we'd better get downstairs before those kids get engrossed with those damned beasts again.»

Just then they heard the children calling, «Daddy, Mommy, come quick — quick!»

They went downstairs in the air flue and ran down the hall. The children were nowhere in sight. «Wendy? Peter!»

They ran into the nursery. The veldtland was empty save for the lions waiting, looking at them. «Peter, Wendy?»

The door slammed.

«Wendy, Peter!»

George Hadley and his wife whirled and ran back to the door.

«Open the door!» cried George Hadley, trying the knob. «Why, they've locked it from the outside! Peter!» He beat at the door. «Open up!»

He heard Peter's voice outside, against the door.

«Don't let them switch off the nursery and the house,» he was saying.

Mr. and Mrs. George Hadley beat at the door. «Now, don't be ridiculous, children. It's time to go. Mr. McClean'll be here in a minute and…»

And then they heard the sounds.

The lions on three sides of them, in the yellow veldt grass, padding through the dry straw, rumbling and roaring in their throats.

The lions.

Mr. Hadley looked at his wife and they turned and looked back at the beasts edging slowly forward crouching, tails stiff.

Mr. and Mrs. Hadley screamed.

And suddenly they realized why those other screams bad sounded familiar.

«Well, here I am,» said David McClean in the nursery doorway, «Oh, hello.» He stared at the two children seated in the center of the open glade eating a little picnic lunch. Beyond them was the water hole and the yellow veldtland; above was the hot sun. He began to perspire. «Where are your father and mother?»

The children looked up and smiled. «Oh, they'll be here directly.»

«Good, we must get going.» At a distance Mr. McClean saw the lions fighting and clawing and then quieting down to feed in silence under the shady trees.

He squinted at the lions with his hand tip to his eyes.

Now the lions were done feeding. They moved to the water hole to drink.

A shadow flickered over Mr. McClean's hot face. Many shadows flickered. The vultures were dropping down the blazing sky.

«A cup of tea?» asked Wendy in the silence.