Elemoont/Chapter 23

in which depicted the Elemoont's dream in the moonless night and stated some surmises why that night is so moonless.

So, the Big Cosmogrunt GRUNTED! It seemed to the Elemoont that the sky (if it existed there) fell on the ground (if it was there). "Well done! He is a great producer of grunts!" exclaimed the Elemoont, "Even my ears are blocked up! Although it's difficult to block any elemoont's ears, they are very big!"

"And all Cosmogrunts have very big grunts!" replied the Tiger–Cat, "The whole Universes crack when they grunt. In any case the Cylindrical Universe does it!"

The Elemoont looked around. There were neither the pirates nor the penguins' snow rocket anywhere. On the other hand, all entire space was strewed with sparkles of different colours. It was stars! "It seems they are real stars!" muttered the Elemoont and gave a start remembering how he took the piranhas' eyes as the real stars, "And if they are real, it means that we…"

"We have fallen out of the Cylindrical Universe," concluded the Cat.

"But how can it be?" asked the Elemoont.

"I also told you that when the cosmogrunt had grunted the Cylindrical Universe had cracked," explained the Cat, "We have fallen out of that split. Unfortunately, the Small Cosmogrunt did not grunt together with his colleague, the Big Cosmogrunt. In that case, the Cylindrical Universe simply would disperse into small pieces and our problems relative to Mr. Red's awful intentions disappeared. Those intentions will not be realised without his magic top hat."

"But why did he not grunt?" asked the Elemoont.

"Nobody knows it," waved his pad the Cat, "We can't give any orders to Cosmogrunts."

"I regret I can't scrutinize him," remarked the Elemoont, "It's very interesting to know what kinds of animals are the small cosmogrunts!"

"Never mind!" said the Cat, "Some other time. But now we have to choose the course and navigate somewhere."

"Navigate?" was astonished the Elemoont.

"Of course! You see we are becoming astronauts."

"Well, if we are the astronauts let's navigate," agreed the Elemoont and then fell to thinking, "But where shall we navigate?"

"What? Was surprised the Cat, "To the Moon of course! You intended to get to the Moon, don’t you?"

"Yes," said the Elemoont, "Otherwise lunar inhabitants can cover the Hunter with cherrystones which are special on the Moon. There are shrapnel or high–explosive cherrystones there. When I in the heat of the moment threw the Hunter to the Moon I didn't think about it."

«We must not forget that we have one more work," reminded the Cat, "We intended to steal Mr. Red's top hat together with all awful intentions which he plots in that top hat. Otherwise Mr. Red will execute his intentions and we again find ourselves in the Cylindrical Universe."

"I have remembered it," answered the Elemoont, "But in order to steal it we must to find it at first. Somehow I don't see any top hat anywhere!"

Indeed, it is very difficult to search for black top hats in black cosmic abysses, but I think the Elemoont and the Cat will cope with that work. Maybe the hare will help them, but where is he?

"Exactly! Where is he?" exclaimed the Elemoont, "I think it was he who thought about the cabbage bed in the previous chapter. And where are the pirates? And where are on the Earth the penguins?" "When the Big Cosmogrunt had grunted all they were blown off," said the Cat, "Only you and I remain on these fragments."

Only now, the Elemoont noticed that a pile of thirsted metal (if the cosmic–cylindrical pirates made their ships of metal) was left from the pirates' spaceship. The Elemoont scratched the back of his head with his trunk and said, "I think we cannot swim far on this pile of scraps."

"Never mind! We'll not sink here!" exclaimed the Cat, "The main thing is don't loose our heart!" He dragged a big piece of material and fastened it to a sticking beam. It turned out like a sail. "We'll drift in the space under the pressure of the solar wind," explained he, "It's possibly we can get to the Moon in that way. In what quarter is it?"

The Elemoont looked around but did not see the Moon anywhere. "It's strange," said he. "From the Earth I saw the Moon although it was wrapped up in a leaf of a burdock. Then I found myself in the Mr. Red's high silk hat and being there, I didn't see the Moon because there was not any Moon in the Cylindrical Universe. Then the big Cosmogrunt had grunted and we fell out through a split which was generated in that Universe…" The Cat nodded with an air of importance. "But why do I not see any Moon? The moons must exist in the real universes!" concluded the Elemoont.

"It's doubtful whether the Universe in which exist the elemoonts is real one," remarked the Cat, "However, all the same as there is the Moon in your Universe, we must see it!"

"And we don't see it!" said the Elemoont.

"I think we have to sleep a little," suggested the Cat, "If we don't see the Moon in our walking hours then, it maybe, we'll see it in our sleep?"

"Well, it's possible, agreed the Elemoont (he was sleepy after all adventures)."Sleep on it!"

And our friends went to beds. The Tiger–Cat dreamt about mice and the Elemoont dreamt about his native Moon but it was a kind of a strange Moon. "There are no some things on it," thought the Elemoont, "But what?"

"Water!" was heard in the answer.

"Who is there?" started the Elemoont.

"It's me, Elemoontopotamus, antediluvian elemoont." "Was the Deluge on the Moon?" was surprised the Elemoont.

"Of course. Otherwise the Lunar seas have not existed!" was the answer.

"But they have no water!" stated the Elemoont.

"It was at former times," said the Elemoontopotamus, "exactly those water are in short supply for us here”

"But where had it disappeared?" asked the Elemoont.

"It turned into a vapor," answered the Elemoontopotamus with annoyance, "Why do we talk about things which not exist? I have dreamt to you for another thing."

"And what for?"

"I must let you know beforehand that the Great Magician Mr. Moonswitcher intended to switch off the Moon! You must prevent him!"

"To prevent? But how can I do it?"

"I don't know," answered the Elemoontopotamus and disappeared. "It's a business!" muttered the Elemoont and wake up.