Elemoont/Chapter 36

tells how the Elemoont, the Cat, and all rascally crew got to the moon and noticed a great disorder there.

The Elemoont, the Cat, the penguins, and the yogurtical pirates looked at the opening them picture like enchanted. Parti-colored balls of planets ran along their orbits around the sun in dancing reflections of flame tongues (they looked like toys from the distance).

"It's like at a planetarium," said the Cat who was at the planetarium in his childhood.

Here clouds of white smoke began to float by. The Hare immerged from them and anxiously asked the Cat "Is the smoke good? Will it be fit for a trick?"

"I don't know," answered the Cat. "We don't need any smoke. We had left the Cylindrical Universe without it."

"Had left?" was amazed the Hare and looked around. "Where does the Fate landed us?"

"In the Solar System," said the Elemoont. "Look! The Mercury and the Earth run along their orbits. The right Moon — look! — flies around the Earth."

"Not triangle and not square!" confirmed the Cat.

"And it is not made of ice–cream," gave a sighed the penguins.

"It's the real Moon," concluded the Computer, "And notice, Mr. Moonswitcher's tracks leads straight to it."

Really, hanging in the outer space the chain of tracks crossed the Pluto's and Neptune's orbits, the orbits of gigantic planets (the Saturn and especially the Jupiter are awfully huge) ran over the wide red train of the dust stretching behind the Mars, dodged between the asteroids and ended on the Moon.

"Look at that now!" was uneasy the Elemoont, "Mr. Moonswitcher had got to the Moon. He'll extinguish it any minute! Does the Elemoontopotamus give me notify of it?"

"Exactly about it!" confirmed the Cat, "And we have to be in a hurry."

"To be in a hurry? Of course!" cried the Elemoont and fell to thinking, "But it's still far to the Moon. How can we get there?"

"We must use the gruntler–scooter," suggested the pirates.

"But we had returned it to the Gruntresses." severely said the Cat, "And it will be impolitely to take it away from them again."

"It's true," hang their heads the pirates, and Crocomuzzle exclaimed, "Swear! We'll never take the gruntler–scooter from the Gruntresses!"

"Swear!" barked the pirates so loudly that the Pluto almost left its orbit.

"Well," said the Cat, and Elemoont looked at the magic wand that he as before held in his trunk, "Maybe wizardry can help us?"

"I'm afraid no good will come of it," said the Cat, "You cope with the magic wand not very good."

"Just we'll see it," resentfully answered the Elemoont, stretched out his trunk towards the moon and pronounced, "I want to get to the Moon immediately!"

"And we want also," said the pirates.

"And we," added the penguins.

"And I, "said the Hare.

"Well, all right," reluctantly said the Cat, "And I."

Immediately the magic wand became to grow. Soon it grew so long that all could hold to this long magic wand: and the Elemoont, and the Cat and the Hare and the yogurtical pirates, and the penguins. Then the magic wand shone from its inside with orange light and impatiently droned like a vacuum cleaner before doing the room. "Fasten belts!" said the Elemoont and at the next instant the wand stretched up and rushed towards the Moon.

"What a speed!" was delighted the Cat. "It really takes my breath away!"

"And you had any doubts," said the Elemoont, "You can control any magic wand with aid of word ‘Caramba!’"

"Really?" was astonished the Cat, "And what does that word mean?" "I don't know," answered the Elemoont.

Possibly, they would continue their serious conversation, but the magic wand proved to be a very fast spaceship. The Moon was near. Some instances more and — bang! — all company made an almost soft landing.

"Here you are!" proudly said the Elemoont, waved his magic wand that became small again and…fell asleep. In a second, he awoke and muttered, "It's very strange!"

"What?" asked the Hare, "What is very strange?"

"Just I'll explain all," said the Elemoont, "As you could see, I fell asleep some time ago, and I had a strange dream."

"What precisely dreamt you?" was interested the Cat (all cats are fond of discussing dreams).

"I have a dream as if I went across the backside of the Moon," said the Elemoont pensively, "although we, elemoonts, never went there because we were afraid to catch cold. I was going…going…going…"

"You slept only a second," remarked the Hare, "and you could make only five or six steps at that time."

"What you understand!" said the Cat, "Times flows differently in any dream."

"And how does it flow in a dream?" asked the Hare.

"In a different way and that's all!”

- “And what was further?"

"Further I heard a sound," continued the Elemoont, "as if water made a noise. However, from what source does any water turn out to be on the Moon? And then the Elemoontopotamus (Antediluvian Elemoont) had appeared and said…"

"Antediluvian Elemoont had appeared! Where from?" again interested the distrustful Hare.

"Be silent for a while!" said the Cat and addressed the Elemoont, "Had you a dream about tiger–mice?" "No!" answered the Elemoont, "They didn't appear. But the Elemoontopotamus had appeared and said, ‘Take away the sorcery from the spring!’"

"What spring?" the Cat asked.

"I don't know," said the Elemoont, "There are no any springs on the Moon."

"And ice–cream?" asked the penguins, "There is any ice–cream on the Moon?"

"There is not," answered the Elemoont. "No water, no ice–cream."

"But what happen then?" asked the Cat.

"Then the Elemoontopotamus disappeared and I had awoken," finished the Elemoont, "And I understand that something is not enough here."

"There is not enough ice–cream here?" asked the penguins.

"Yogurt?" asked the pirates.

"Tiger–mice?" asked the Cat

“No,” answered the Elemoont.

"There is not enough the elemoonts' feet tramp. I don't understand what had become of them? Where are they?"

"We are over here! We are over here!" were heard the voices. All looked around and saw a large number of moon elephants that were rooted to the spot in incredible poses.

"What's the matter, my friends?" exclaimed the Elemoont, "Why do you stay motionless?"

"Lunatics–sorcerers had cast a spell over us," answered the elephants, "Take away the sorcery from us!"

"Take away? I'll do it with pleasure. Caramba!" said the Elemoont, waved his magic wand and all moon’s elephants soared high into the sky like balloons with helium. "Oh! Where are you going? Stop!" cried the Elemoont, "You'll fly into the outer space!"

"And we cannot gather them together," grumbled the Hare.

"What must we do? They will fly away!" was panic–stricken the Elemoont.

"Say the magic word ‘Caramba’ back to front," gave an advice the Cat, (All cats have very good understanding of magic).

"Abmarac!" hastily cried the Elemoont, and all moon elephants slowly went down.

"Thank you," said the elephants.

"I don't understand, are they elephants or are they elemoonts too?" fastidiously asked the Hare.

The elephants shrugged their shoulders (If they have it) and said, "We are the elephants but we live on the Moon. Consequently, we are the elemoonts and we'll celebrate our liberation by traditional dance of elemoonts."