Hogfather

HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HADN’T SAVED HIM ?
    “Yes! The sun would have risen just the same, yes?”
    N O .
    “Oh, come on . You can’t expect me to believe that . It’s an astronomical fact .”
    T HE SUN WOULD NOT HAVE RISEN .
    She turned on him.
    “It’s been a long night, Grandfather! I’m tired and I need a bath! I don’t need silliness!”
    T HE SUN WOULD NOT HAVE RISEN .
    “Really? Then what would have happened, pray?”
    A MERE BALL OF FLAMING GAS WOULD HAVE ILLUMINATED THE WORLD .
    They walked in silence for a moment.
    “Ah,” said Susan dully. “Trickery with words. I would have thought you’d have been more literal-minded than that.”
    I AM NOTHING IF NOT LITERAL-MINDED . T RICKERY WITH WORDS IS WHERE HUMANS LIVE .
    “All right,” said Susan. “I’m not stupid. You’re saying humans need… fantasies to make life bearable.”
    R EALLY ? A S IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL ? N O . H UMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN . T O BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE .
    “Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—”
    Y ES . A S PRACTICE . Y OU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES .
    “So we can believe the big ones?”
    Y ES . J USTICE . M ERCY . D UTY . T HAT SORT OF THING .
    “They’re not the same at all!”
    Y OU THINK SO ? T HEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY . A ND YET —Death waved a hand. A ND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME…SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED .
    “Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point —”
    M Y POINT EXACTLY .
    She tried to assemble her thoughts.
    T HERE IS A PLACE WHERE TWO GALAXIES HAVE BEEN COLLIDING FOR A MILLION YEARS , said Death, apropos of nothing. D ON’T TRY TO TELL ME THAT’S RIGHT .
    “Yes, but people don’t think about that,” said Susan. “Somewhere there was a bed…”
    C ORRECT . S TARS EXPLODE, WORLDS COLLIDE, THERE’S HARDLY ANYWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE WHERE HUMANS CAN LIVE WITHOUT BEING FROZEN OR FRIED, AND YET YOU BELIEVE THAT A…A BED IS A NORMAL THING . I T IS THE MOST AMAZING TALENT .
    “Talent?”
    O H, YES . A VERY SPECIAL KIND OF STUPIDITY . Y OU THINK THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS INSIDE YOUR HEADS .
    “You make us sound mad,” said Susan. A nice warm bed…
    N O . Y OU NEED TO BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT AREN’T TRUE . H OW ELSE CAN THEY BECOME ? said Death, helping her up onto Binky.
    “These mountains,” said Susan, as the horse rose. “Are they real mountains, or some sort of shadows?”
    Y ES .
    Susan knew that was all she was going to get.
    “Er…I lost the sword. It’s somewhere in the Tooth Fairy’s country.”
    Death shrugged. I CAN MAKE ANOTHER .
    “Can you?”
    O H, YES . I T WILL GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO . D ON’T WORRY ABOUT IT .

    The Senior Wrangler hummed cheerfully to himself as he ran a comb through his beard for the second time and liberally sprinkled it with what would turn out to be a preparation of weasel extract for demon removal rather than, as he had assumed, a pleasant masculine scent. * Then he stepped out into his study.
    “Sorry for the delay, but—” he began.
    There was no one there. Only, very far off, the sound of someone blowing their nose mingling with the glingleglingleglingle of fading magic.

    The light was already gilding the top of the Tower of Art when Binky trotted to a standstill on the air beside the nursery balcony. Susan climbed down onto the fresh snow and stood uncertainly for a moment. When someone has gone out of their way to drop you home it’s only courteous to ask them in. On the other hand…
    W OULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT FOR H OGSWATCH DINNER ? said Death. He sounded hopeful. A LBERT IS FRYING A PUDDING .
    “ Frying a pudding?”
    A LBERT UNDERSTANDS FRYING . A ND I BELIEVE HE’S MAKING JAM . H E CERTAINLY KEPT TALKING ABOUT IT .
    “I…er…they’re really expecting me here,” said Susan. “The Gaiters do a lot of entertaining. His business friends. Probably the whole day will be…I’ll more or less have to look after the children…”
    S OMEONE SHOULD .
    “Er…would you like a drink before you go?” said Susan, giving in.
    A CUP OF COCOA WOULD BE APPROPRIATE IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES .
    “Right. There’s biscuits in the tin on the mantelpiece.”
    Susan headed with relief into the tiny kitchen.
    Death sat down in the creaking