Elemoont/Chapter 21

tells how the pirates took the penguins' spaceship by storm and were stuffed with ice–cream.

So, the pirates spitefully laughed and sang discordantly,


 * "We're wanderers of Cosmos
 * Nevertheless, we want yogurt!
 * Yoh–ho–ho!
 * Yoh–ho–ho!
 * Yogurt want we!!!"

"What a terrible song of cosmic pirates!" said the Cat.

"And they are singing it also terrible," added the Elemoont.

"Do you hear, Crocomuzzle?" asked one pirate addressing to another, "It seems they don't like our song?"

"It must be so, Tusk," stated the pirate that was named as Crocomuzzle, "All songs of the pirates are terrible and all pirates must sing them awfully." And pirates struck their song much more discordantly,


 * "Yoh–ho–ho!
 * Yoh–ho–ho!
 * Yogurt want we!!!"

"They are very strange pirates!" muttered the Elemoont, "Why do they all wear top hats? And why do they adore yogurt?"

"I know why they wear top hats," said the Cat, "It's because they are cylindrical pirates."

"But why are they cylindrical?" did not understand the Elemoont.

"It's because in Mr. Red's Cylindrical Universe all things are cylindrical and the pirates are also cylindrical," explained the Cat.

"Well, but why do they adore just yogurt and not coca–cola, for instance?" there was no stopping the Elemoont.

"It's because they are cylindrical–yogurtical pirates!" exclaimed the Cat and his red fur stood on end, "They are the very dangerous pirates in this part of the Cylindrical Universe!"

"I never think that the pirates that like yogurt may be the very dangerous ones," said the Elemoont, "It's not seriously for any pirates to like yogurt,"

"You understand too much yogurt!" took offense the pirate named Tusk, "Crocomuzzle! Fasten them to the chairs and glue up their mouths with plaster. They don't respect yogurt!"

Crocomuzle got out of his pocket a bull of thick strong ripe and fastened the captives to the chairs, then he got out plaster and glued up their mouths.

"What have we to do now?" thought the Elemoont and immediately received the Cat's answering thought, "No one word about yogurt! It is not worth angering them for nothing."

"I just cannot say any word," pondered the Elemoont angrily, "They have glued up my mouth!"

"And my mouth too," thought the Cat, "But we are telepathists and can associate without words. Let use these abilities and invent how we can escape."

"And if the pirates also are telepathists?" thought the Elemoont, "Then they can unmask us at once!"

"Pirates don't think at all, and in any pirate's head there is too little anything like on a cabbage bed after a harvesting," thought the Cat, "No! I don't think of it!"

"What ‘don't think’?" was astonished the Elemoont, "I clearly heard your thought."

"It somebody else thought, but not I!" replied the Cat, "I even don't know how looks cabbage beds!"

The Elemoont and the Cat stopped thinking and fixed their gazes on each other.

"Stop exchange winks!" yelled Tusk, "Answer me, have you any yogurt?"

"Have you any yogurt?" thought the Elemoont. "

"No," answered the Cat.

"I have not any yogurt also," thought the Elemoont.

"Why do you silent?" flew into a rage Tusk, who did not think at all.

"They are silent because their mouths are glued up with plaster," suddenly said the Hare that Tusk hold by ears.

"Ah!" exclaimed Tusk releasing the Hare and slapping himself on his forehead, "Now, Crocomuzzle, unstick the plaster up!"

"Now glue up, now unstick up…" muttered Crocomuzzle but fulfilled the order,

"Now reply to the captain, have you any yogurt?" repeated his question Tusk.

"We have no yogurt," said the Elemoont, "There is not any yogurt about us, " confirmed the Cat.

"There is not any yogurt!" said the pirates all together and it seemed to the Elemoont that they burst out crying right now. At that moment, something clicked on the control desk and hoarse mechanical voice pronounced, "A spaceship is found straight along the course! It seemed that it made of snow."

"And not of yogurt?" asked Crocomuzzle.

"What a goose!" laughed Tusk, "Is there anybody who makes spaceships of yogurt?"

"But who makes them of snow?" took offense Crocomuzzle.

"Penguins!" guessed the Elemoont remembering what read to him the parrot Prokhor.

"Where do penguins spring from?" was amazed the Cat. And Tusk gave the command to Big Cylindrical Computer, "X–ray it!"

"I've done it already, captain!" answered Computer hoarsely, "It's a snow spaceship packed with penguins and else some substance remembering sweet frozen yogurt."

"Yogurt?! To board!" roaring the pirates and rushed to the exit getting without stopping their curved sabers and big pistols, "To board!"

When the cabin became deserted, the Hare quickly gave the captives freedom. "Thank you, Hare," said the Cat stretching his pads and trying is his tail move? "I can't make out why do spaceships of snow packed with penguins and frozen yogurt fly here?"

"It had happened by mistake," answered the Hare. "Mr. Red wanted to cover the Antarctic Continent with his top hat but he had covered only the penguin’s spaceship."

"And the frozen yogurt?" asked the Elemoont.

"I think it is simply ice–cream," said the Hare, "Penguins incessantly drag it over the place."

"Look at the screen!" interrupted them the Elemoont, "Pirates already have seized the spaceship!"

All turned to the screen in which they can see inner living quarters of the snow spaceship. The penguins stood along the walls lifting their short wings up and the pirates…The pirates ate ice–cream!

Many large boxes with bright labels representing the very various kinds of ice–cream (strawberry ice–cream, chocolate ice–cream, fruit jellies ice–cream and yet 1001 kinds of ice–cream) towered around them.

"They are lucky!" muttered the Elemoont.

"Let's better think how we can run from here away while the pirates overeat with the ice–cream" proposed the Hare.

"Run away?" was indignant the Elemoont. "And how do the penguins escape? Really we'll leave them in the lurch?"