Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was by Barry Hughart

Author:Barry Hughart [Hughart, Barry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Science Fiction, General, Fiction, China - History - Fiction, Fantastic Fiction, China, Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9780345321381
Google: MA7dEqtib-QC
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 1984-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

The Duke of Ch’in had left on his annual tax trip, with the Key Rabbit and Lotus Cloud, and we caught up with them in Chuyen. Unfortunately, the Key Rabbit’s apartment was high in an unclimbable tower in the palace of the duke’s provincial governor. There were no vines to cling to, and no foot-or handholds, and every entrance was guarded by soldiers. Master Li did not appear to be greatly disturbed.

“Ox, I learned a valuable lesson in natural history when I was exiled to Serendip,” he said. “When a foraging ant discovers something of value, it grabs a sample and dashes back to the colony screaming, ‘Awake! Arise! Beat the drums! Sound general quarters! I have discovered wealth beyond the dreams of avarice!’ Then the whole colony follows the ant back to the treasure, but are they content to take what they see? Not if it is a trail of something. Ants that find trails of something they like will follow those trails to the source, even if it means crossing half of the world. Do you see the significance of that?”

“No, sir,” I said.

“You will,” said Master Li.

In the marketplace he bought a large jar of honey and a box that contained a colony of ants. Then he bribed a maid to bring a message to Lotus Cloud, and on the first cloudy night we scaled the outer walls of the governor’s palace, slipped past the guards, and made our way to the tower. I hooted three times like an owl. Lotus Cloud, who was enjoying the game immensely, opened her window and poured the jar of honey that the maid had brought down the wall, and when the thick sweet trickle reached us Li Kao opened the box and released the ants. They plunged into the honey with bulging squeals of delight, discovered that it was a trail, and started to climb.

The last ant was the biggest, and it was towing a gauze thread that was lighter than a feather. It scrambled over Lotus Cloud’s windowsill, and she detached the thread and tugged three times. Li Kao tied a fine length of string to his end of the thread and tugged back, and Lotus Cloud began pulling it up. Then came a cord tied to the end of the string, and a rope tied to the end of the cord, and Lotus Cloud tied her end of the rope to something sturdy inside the apartment. Li Kao hopped upon my back and in a matter of minutes I had climbed an unclimbable wall and flopped over the windowsill.

“Boopsie!” Lotus Cloud squealed happily.

I dumped my pearls and jade at her feet. “Do I have a story to tell you!” I panted.

“Later,” Li Kao said warningly.

Footsteps were approaching the door. I took Master Li on my back and swung back out the window, and then I clung to the rope and lifted my eyes back up over the windowsill. A pasty-faced lout crashed through the door, staggered across the

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