birdwatcher

В отпуске читал рассказы Янга.

Не буду оригинален, The Dandelion Girl понравился больше других (это самый знаменитый его рассказ; например, в википедии у него единственного есть своя собственная статья). Кто хочет, можно прочитать без смс и регистрации, например, здесь.

Но вот этот отрывок из The Stars Are Calling, Mr. Keats тоже очень ОК. Не знаю, когда написано, но Янг умер в 1986 г.

   Hubbard came down to supper one night and the minute he saw their faces, he knew. Even the kids showed it—not so much in the way they looked at him as in the way they kept looking away from him. The newspaper clipping Jack shoved under his nose was almost an anticlimax:

Queegy Bird Fever Strikes Family of Five
Deetville, Mo., March 28, 2043 — Dr. Otis Q. Farnham today diagnosed the illness which simultaneously afflicted Mr. and Mrs. Fred Krudlow and their three children, as queegy bird fever.

Recently, Mrs. Krudlow purchased a pair of queegy birds at the local five and ten dollar store. Several days ago, the entire Krudlow family began complaining of sore throats and aching limbs, and Dr. Farnham was called.

"The fact that queegy bird fever is not a great deal more serious than the common cold should not affect our attitude towards this totally unnecessary disease," Dr. Farnham said, in a prepared statement. "I have long deplored the unsupervised sale of these extraterrestrial bird forms, and I intend, immediately, to recommend to the WMA, a thorough examination of all birds being brought in from Venus, all birds now in department and five and ten dollar stores, as well as all birds already purchased and living in households throughout the world. They serve no useful purpose, and Earth will be better off without them."

   Hubbard's eyes trailed away from the clipping, rested unseeingly on the table. In the back of his mind, Mr. Keats gave a despairing peep.
   Jack was beaming. "I told you they carried germs," he said.
   "So does Dr. Farnham," Hubbard said.
   "Why what an awful thing to say," Alice said. "What germs could a doctor carry?"
   "The same germs all pompous and opportunistic people carry — the virii 'publicity-hunger,' 'ill-considered action,' and 'xenophobia,' to name a few . . . He'll do anything to get out of his provincial rut. He'll exterminate every queegy bird in the system if he has to."
   "You're not going to talk your way out of this one," Jack said. "That article says as clear as day that queegy birds are dangerous to have around."
   "So are cats and dogs.... So are automobiles. If you read about a traffic accident occurring in Deetville, Missouri, would you get rid of your car?"
   "You leave my car out of this!" Jack shouted. "And you get that damned bird out of here by tomorrow morning or get out yourself!"