"Just like all little girls - giggly and silly. Even worse then Red
Riding Hoods."
"Did they tickle you?"
"Gosh, if they'd tried! I took a big stick along just in case..."
"And then what happened?" asked Alex.
"Well, the Chief Controller registered me as one of his pilots and
said I'd be flying on Special Missions because I already had experience
and my plane was very reliable... I was issued a map-case and a uniform
but I don't like wearing it because it's made of very coarse prickly
cloth and its collar rubs my neck like a grater..."
"Are you pleased you became a pilot?"
Anton shrugged his shoulders and then replied with a smile,
"Sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not... Once we were having a maths test
and I was really stuck. Then all of a sudden someone called round the
door that the headmaster wanted to see me! The Chief Controller had sent
a parcel I was to deliver at once. What a stroke of luck it was! Vera
Severyanovna was really furious about it, though."
"You mean you fly all year round and not just in summer?"
"That's right... But when you fly into a Fairy-Tale, it's almost
always summer there. That's why I'm so tanned." The Pilot burst out
laughing and jumped up.
"Hang on!" said Alex cautiously. "You've forgotten the most important
part! Did you fly to your friends?"
Anton stopped laughing and said, "Yes, I did..."
Chapter Ten
It happened like this.
He flew to Blue Hills and found Arkady.
"Golly! Anton!" Arkady cried, his round face lighting up in a smile.
"Have you come for good or are you just visiting?"
"I've come for you," said Anton. "Let's fly to the others. I've got a
plane. Yes, a real plane, honest!"
Arkady did not seem very surprised.
"But where did you get it from? Built it at the Pioneers's Club? In
our engineering group we make robots, you know. I'll show you, if you
like."
"Another time," said Anton. "Arkady... Well, come on, let's fly to
Carroty and Tima right away!"
Arkady sighed again and said, "You see, I've got an engineering group
at two."
"Arkady..." said Anton quietly. "But what about Antarctica?"
Arkady sighed again and glanced at his watch.
"You know what? Fly to Timka first, arrange everything with him and
then fly back for me."
"Well, all right..." said Anton.
Timka was playing the violin. The music was coming through the
window and you could tell how well he played from a long way off.
He caught sight of Anton in the doorway, lowered his bow and said
quietly, "Anton... is it really you?"
"Do you want to go back to Antarctica?" asked Anton. "I've got a
plane. Honest, I have."
Timka looked at him and then at the violin.
"But can I take it with me? Nothing will happen to it on the way,
will it?"
"We'll wrap it up and, anyway, I'll fly ever so carefully," said
Anton.
And then Tima's famous father came in and said, "Anton, can I have a
heart-to-heart talk with you as one man to another?"
"Of course, Uncle Vic," replied Anton.
They went out into the corridor. Uncle Vic nervously adjusted the
braces over his round stomach and said, "The thing is... I know what
friendship's all about, too. I know all about favourite places and
favourite games and so on... But Tima's really got into music and he's
doing so well. He's already played in a real concert. He can't play games
now because he has to practise every day."
Anton felt like bursting into tears but checking himself, said, "Well
in that case..."
"We'll always be happy to see you!" Tima's father called after him.
Anton landed his plane in a meadow behind some vegetable plots, asked
a group of boys the way and went straight to Carroty's house.
Carroty was sitting on the porch and moulding a wonderful big
crocodile out of clay. Before Anton had time to say anything, he got up
and turned round quickly. Then he smiled very slightly but his eyes and
even freckles sparkled with joy.
"Well," he said. "I told everyone so. I knew you'd come, I promise I
did. Even Mum didn't believe me but I just knew it... How did you get
here?"
"By plane... Yes, really! I'm not joking, Carroty. I've a little
plane. Let's fly to Antarctica!"
Carroty went on smiling but the shine vanished from his eyes.
"I can't," he said. "I won't be allowed to."
"But it's completely safe!"
"That's not the point. My doctor won't let me. It seems, there's...
well, something's wrong with my heart... That's why we moved into the
country. It's quieter here. I'm not even allowed to run, and so I
certainly should not fly. If I disobey doctor's orders, I'll have to have
an operation. I'm not afraid of that, but Mum's terribly worried."
What could you say to that? If your heart stops, not even a
fairy-tale will help you. So trying as hard as he could to smile, Anton
said, "Don't you worry. I'll come and see you often..."
And so every now and then he flew to see Carroty, Arkady and Tima and
they were all pleased to see him. But in their new homes they made new
friends who were always close by, while Anton could not stay with them
for long because of his Special Missions.
"... And that's now it's been for a whole year now," he told Alex.
"Visiting enchanting forests and magic kingdoms..."
"Well it's interesting, isn't it?"
"Yes, sometimes it is and sometimes it's even frightening and at
others it's fun... But it still makes no difference..."
"What doesn't?"
"Well, you see... who wants magic countries when you're alone. You
get bored all by yourself."
"How can you say you're alone?" objected Alex. "After all, you always
carry a passenger."
"Well, what of it? My passenger leaves me as soon as he gets to his
destination. Everyone has his own fairy-tale and his own way to go. I fly
in other people's fairy-tales but don't seem to have one of my own. It's
come to an end."
"Do you really think it has?"
"Of course, it has. Antarctica no longer exists because I couldn't
get my friends together... And, you know, the best fairy-tale's about
finding a friend."
"That's true," said Alex. "You know what, Pilot? What you need is a
co-pilot."
"No, I don't," said the Pilot. "He'd be of no use. I'd need a second
seat for him but where would I put my passenger then? Now, if I had
someone near me like Carroty... or Tima. Well, someone who could sit near
me or even share the same seat, we'd never feel cramped. What matters
most is being together..."
"I understand," said Alex.
And he really did but the sun was already sinking and he had his own
fairy-tale and his own way to go. To remind the Pilot of this, he asked
cautiously, "Will I be flying back with you?"
"No, you'll go back by train," said the Pilot. "That's the rule.
It'll be simpler and easier that way, you'll see... Well, let's be off."
They flew until the sun dipped below the horizon. The sky was still
bright, but the earth became plunged in twilight.
The Pilot landed his plane in a large field and Alex jumped out of
the cabin. The grass was soft and springy. There was a smell of warm
earth, grass juice and, for some reason or rather, milk.
A pale yellow sunset gleamed over the tops of the grass in the west
and a half moon was floating in a green strip of sky just above the
sunset. It was very bright and porous and seemed to smell just like a
fresh loaf. And above this loaf-moon the lilac sky was studded with
stars.
The Pilot jumped out and stood next to Alex.
"Well, here we are," he said quietly. "Now we've really arrived...
Go straight towards the sunset. First you'll walk over some grass and
then you'll come to a path and then a road. Keep going until you see the
town. It's not far."
"Thank you, Anton," said Alex. For some reason he was feeling rather
guilty and did not dare look into Anton's face. However, when he finally
did, he saw tiny half moons reflected like gold dots in Anton's eyes.
"Good-bye," he said quietly and took Anton's firm, warm palm between
his own.
"Good-bye..." said the Pilot, looking down.
It did not seem right just to go off, and Alex sighed and asked,
"Will you fly back now?"
The Pilot shook his head and replied, "No, I'll sit here till
morning."
He moved away from the plane, sat down by its small wheel, and leaned
his back against its soft tyre.
"Why?" asked Alex anxiously.
"Well, no reason. Someone may suddenly come along. Some passenger or
other."
"But the Controller will lose track of you."
"No, he won't, he's used to me. And I don't like flying alone."
"Anton..." Alex said hesitantly. "You mean, there's no way I can fly
back with you?"
"No. You see, we mustn't take risks. Your journey with the Green Pass
on this plane is over. If you fly again, we'll get bogged down in all
sorts of business and be sent heaven knows where for a week, a month or
perhaps even forever. And you haven't the time. You've got your own way
to go.
"Yes," said Alex, straightening up. He came to his senses and said in
a resolute tone, "I'll go now."
"Of course. It's time you did," said the Pilot.
But Alex still hesitated and asked, "And you don't mind being left
here alone? It's night-time after all..."
"Of course not," replied the Pilot. "Nothing will happen to me. I'm
under Fairy-Tale's protection."
"Well, that may be so but it's still cold at night," grumbled
Alex. "Here, take my jacket. It's warm and tough."
"No, you mustn't! You'll get into trouble at home."
"No, I won't at all, don't worry!"
Alex took his jacket off and threw it to the Pilot who was sitting in
a huddle. The jacket completely covered him from shoulder to toe.
"Thanks," said the Pilot. "Well, off you go now. It'll soon be pitch
dark."
He stretched his hand out from under the jacket. Alex shook his
little hand again, turned and walked across the dark rustling grass. And
when he turned round, neither the Pilot nor his plane could be seen over
the grass.
Chapter Eleven
Sure enough, after a short while Alex came to a path and then a
country lane leading straight towards the sunset where the outlines of
black roofs and towers stood out against a yellow strip of sunset.
"If only I could get there before the museum closed," thought Alex.
And then a black cat crossed his path.
(In Russian folklore a black cat crossing your path
is supposed to bring bad luck. - Tr. remark)
It was a large cat and, unlike others of its kind, it was walking on
its hind legs with its front paws behind its back as if deep in thought.
Its head was inclined and its tail shaped like a question mark.
Generally speaking, Alex was not at all superstitious, but this time
he stopped and spat over his shoulder.
The cat stopped, too, and glancing over its shoulder at Alex, said in
a sharp shrill voice, "Lord, how sick I am of the lot of you!"
"Who do you mean?" asked Alex taken aback.
"Everyone," said the cat firmly. "Everyone who spits and swears when
he sees me."
Alex became totally confused.
"I spat for no particular reason," he muttered. "What's it got to do
with you?"
But the cat didn't believe him.
"I wish you were in my skin," he said in an offended tone. "Yes, in
this black furry skin of mine. Then you'd find out what it was like..."
The cat suddenly sat down on the roadside, scratched his ear with his
hind paw and went on in a calmer tone, "Wherever you go, there are always
roads, streets, pavements, paths, alleys and staircases. And there're
people everywhere too. Wherever you go, you're bound to cross someone's
path. And all of them hiss at you like snakes... It was only in
Vetrogorsk that I got some peace and quiet."
"Did you? How come?"
"I spent a whole week there in an empty barrel on the shore. Lovely
town it is. Nobody gets on your back. Not even the dogs pester you."
"Why did you leave, then?" asked Alex in surprise.
The cat sighed sadly.
"I couldn't find the right cobbler's there... I want to order some
boots but nobody wants to make them because they say they haven't small
enough boot-trees... I went to a puppet workshop but they don't make
boots there either. Only shoes and slippers of every shape and size. They
even make sandals. But what good are they to me? It's boots I need: red
ones with tops."
"What do you need boots for?" asked Alex in surprise.
I was now the cat's turn to be surprised.
"Can't you read and write, then?" he asked. "Don't you know the story
of Puss in Boots? They've even made a film of it."
"Yes, I know it," replied Alex in a rather offended tone. "But it's
not about just any cat. Do you reckon that if you put boots on, you'll
automatically became Puss in Boots?
Alex thought that the cat would get angry, but he thoughtfully
scratched his ear again and said, "Well... He was an ordinary cat, too,
before he got hold of his boots. He was no better than any other cat. The
whole thing is that a cat is noticed when he's walking about in boots.
They give him prestige and help him find his Marquis Carabas."
"You mean, you're looking for a marquis?" asked Alex in a slightly
mocking tone.
The cat sighed deeply and gloomily.
"Not necessarily a marquis but, to tell the truth, anyone at all.
Just so as not to wander about on my own any more."
"Poor thing," thought Alex. "He's unhappy although he lives in a
fairy-tale land and knows how to talk."
As if reading his thoughts, the cat looked at him with doleful green
eyes and asked, "Do you need a companion? I know everywhere around here.
And we can have a wonderful adventures together."
Of course, it would have been fantastic to go back home with a
talking cat but Alex remembered that his mother was away and Auntie Dasha
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