Наталия Боголюбова – The Button Witch (страница 2)
At first, Olivia was dizzy with excitement. Half an hour passed and nothing happened. The cold made Olivia's fingers tingle. The cat wrapped himself in the scarf to keep warm. Suddenly, they heard crunching and rustling. Olivia looked out from behind the snowdrift and saw a strange creature. It was staring at the button in the snow. The girl blinked her eyes and whispered in amazement, "Look! Is that a mouse?"
"A mouse can’t be that huge!" Fargo purred, his eyes narrowing.
"Why did it return? Its idealistic world lacks buttons?" Dean barked as he jumped out of the snowdrift.
The creature dropped the button, then turned its head, blinked at Dean, and remained silent. It was impossible to tell from its bug-eyed expression whether it was horrified or amused.
"What are you waiting for? Get that thing!" Fargo yelled. They chased the mouse into a ravine. There was a huge dead oak tree with strangely shaped roots there. The mouse darted into the hollow covered with a pile of dry leaves. Fargo ran after it, panting. Olivia and Dean followed the courageous cat.
"Good thing I'm thin and short," Olivia thought, "or that hollow in the oak is big enough for a nine-year-old girl to fit through."
CHAPTER THREE
Meeting Ron
The street was filled with beautiful buildings. Yet the houses seemed abandoned and uninhabited.
"What a strange place!" Olivia whispered.
One of the houses had a sign that read "Catsville."
"That's probably the name of the town," Dean suggested.
They turned the corner and bumped into a snowman. The snowman was playing basketball, but the ball was rather strange. It looked like a hedgehog.
Olivia asked, "Does it hurt to play basketball like that?"
The snowman looked at her and said, "I'm a frosty creature, and I don't feel any pain. It's fun."
Olivia was puzzled by his answer. "I mean the hedgehog. It could be hurt. Why are you throwing the poor creature in the basket?"
"I'm playing BASKETball, you know? Where else would I throw it? I wish I had a real ball, but the ugly witch turned the ball into a piece of ice. So I'll use what's handy. Besides, the wimpy hedgehog doesn't mind being a ball."
Olivia pleaded, "If I promise to get you a new ball, will you let the poor hedgehog go?"
The snowman said, "I don't need a ball! I need a button!"
The disappointed girl said, "I’ve got no buttons, sorry."
"You're wrong, Olivia," the cat meowed quietly, pointing at the girl's parka. "You've got six big buttons on it!"
The hedgehog looked at the girl hopefully. Olivia glanced at the poor creature with a warm smile, tore the button off, and handed it to the snowman.
"Good of you!" he said, dropping the hedgehog and walking away. The hedgehog was shivering with fear and cold.
"Are you all right?" asked Fargo. "This is an odd place to feel safe. Can you tell me why most of the houses in this town are abandoned?"
The hedgehog looked at Fargo with a mixture of curiosity and fear. He said, "I am very surprised to see you. Sorry, I have to explain myself. We're not used to meeting cats here anymore. Things have changed a lot since the Button witch came to town. Catsville used to be a place where cats lived happily. But the wicked witch wiped them out. Close to the town is a giant ice park. There are dozens of poor frozen cats there. Just be careful. It's best to stay out of her way."
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «Литрес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на Литрес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.