GiftsScattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability--with a glance, a gesture, a word--to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gift against another. Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill. In this beautifully crafted story, Ursula K. Le Guin writes of the proud cruelty of power, of how hard it is to grow up, and of how much harder still it is to find, in the world's darkness, gifts of light. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
adder afraid Alloc ash grove ash tree asked Barre betrothed blind blindfold Brantor Ogge Branty breath Caddard called Canoc Carrantages Caspromant cattle Coaly colt Cordemant dark Denno destroy domain Drummant Dunet Emmon Erroy eyes face father fear felt find fine finger fire first five gave girl grey goose Greylag Gry's Hamneda hand hard head hear heard hearth heifers hills horse hunt keep kill knew laughed lineage looked Lowlands mant Melle mother never night nodded Ogge Drum Ogge's Orrec Parn raid ride Roanie Rodd Roddmant rode Sebb serf shawl sheep shouting silence Sosso spoke stable stared Stone House stood stopped story strong talk tell Ternoc thing thought Tibro told took tower room Uplands Vardan voice walked whispered wife wild gift women word young