Читать книгу SPLINTERS OF FAIRY TALES: DRAGON’S STAR CLAW - Э. Григ - Страница 2

The Prince had no idea where he found himself. He was flying somewhere and could not stop. He remembered that he sighed, prepared to kiss the captivating scarlet lips of a beautiful girl, and suddenly an unknown force lifted and threw him into the darkness. The Prince rolled head over heels down the hill, and the hares ran away from him in fear. Finally he ended up at the bottom of a ravine, shook his head in shock and carefully stood up.

The Prince looked around himself. Magnificent velvet doublet with “peacock tail” embroidery seemed to have collected all the branches and leaves in the forest. Frowning in annoyance, the Prince began to shake himself off. He did not like nature. Rescuing princesses from various dangerous places was his main occupation, so the young man had to travel a lot. But he didn’t get used to sleeping in the open air, dirt, dust, insects and other features of nomadic life. In addition, the Prince was upset that, despite his long wanderings, princesses in trouble rarely got in the way.

“Hey! Will you be preening for a long time?” a mocking voice came from above.

The Prince carefully raised his head. He fought enough in recent days and was quite tired of any senseless rage. It seemed to him that there was a challenge in the stranger's voice. The prince extended his hand and sighed with relief when he found that his sword was in place.

“Are you talking to me?” the Prince squinted, peering at the man standing on the edge of the ravine.

“Do you think I’m talking to hares?” the stranger asked ironically. “Of course they can listen. But they are terrible interlocutors.”

The stranger went down to the Prince. Fallen autumn leaves flew from under his boots.

“Welcome, lad!” he said, approaching the Prince.

“Your Highness,” said the Prince, wincing.

“Well, what are you talking about! You can accost me easily, without ceremony,” the cheerful answer came.

“Yes, very funny. I mean, I'm the Prince.”

“As you say,” the stranger answered carelessly.

Finally the Prince was able to get a good look at him. A tall, wiry man. His long chin was covered with stubble, and his dark, gray hair was tousled. Deep-set gray-green eyes look with slyness. Under a shiny leather vest covered a gray shirt made of rough linen. The pants were tucked into high boots. A short sword on his belt.

“My name is Jorro,” the stranger extended his hand to the Prince.

The prince looked at the chapped hand with dirty nails and arrogantly ignored the greeting.

“Are princes being raised to be rude now?” Jorro sadly shook his head.

The Prince's face became flushed with blood, and he pulled out his sword with lightning speed. Jorro sighed and tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn't even take a step back, which impressed the Prince.

“It’s the same thing every time,” Jorro muttered. “Listen, you rode for many days, fought with wild animals, robbers, ate overcooked meat… And suddenly you flew halfway through the forest, counted the trees and hummocks with your head and ended up here. You're tired and don't want to fight me. Your Highness,” he added ironically.

“Yes, that’s how it was,” the Prince answered in surprise. “But how?.. How do you know?”

“I pulled half a dozen princes out of this ravine. They all stomped around here,” Jorro gestured the place. “And now you’ve shown up,” he added.

“Where’s this “here” exactly?” there was disaffection in the Prince’s voice. He had to pull every word out of the stranger.

“In our forest. Don’t worry,” Jorro answered nonchalantly. “We're good. Let's get out of here first and I'll take you to the town.”

“What town?” the Prince barked. “I was supposed to kiss the girl there,” he waved in the direction from which he came. At least he thought the side was right.

“You're too loud for a prince. As for kissing, you are free to do whatever you want. But here in the forest you’ll not find anyone suitable. And this is one more reason to go to the town.”

Jorro winked at the Prince, turned around and walked up. The young man ran his hand through his thick hair in confusion, looked around and followed Jorro. The Prince was not used to walking and regretted that his magnificent white horse remained next to the bulky crystal coffin. By the way, what idiot came up with the idea to create a crystal coffin?

The Prince felt relieved, although he did not want to admit it. He rode to save the girl for a long time, and he was pretty tired of everything. And now he was walking through the forest, breathing the fresh air and enjoying the unexpected respite.

Jorro and the Prince emerged from the forest and walked along a dirt road. The Prince could barely keep up with the energetic Jorro, who walked ahead and whistled something cheerful. “He’s an old man!” the Prince thought with annoyance. “How can he go faster than me?”

“Don’t lag behind, Your Highness!” Jorro shouted mockingly, turning around. The Prince stumbled and almost fell. He cast an angry glance at Jorro.

“This is not a throne room, Your Highness! Be careful!”

The Prince and Jorro approached a stone wall, which was accessible through a massive wooden gate. In some places, stones fell out of the wall, and the gates were askew. Even the Prince, who had never worked, realized that the people who built the wall were poor craftsmen. There were guards at the gate. One, a large red-haired guy, was gnawing an apple, leaning against the wall. And the second, to the Prince’s surprise, turned out to be… a cat. Yes, a large fluffy gray cat with white paws.

The cat noticed that the Prince was staring at him, stretched, fluffed his tail and yawned widely, showing magnificent teeth.

“Guys, I brought another one. Lately we get as many new residents as peas in a pod.”

“Peas are more useful,” the red-haired guy said displeasedly with his mouth full. “Another highness or something?” he chuckled, looking the Prince from head to toe.

“Be quiet, Thumb,” Jorro besieged him. “We’ll find the guy a job. We'll have use for him.”

“Thumb?” asked the offended royal heir. “At least I have a better name!”

To the Prince's satisfaction, the red-haired boy frowned.

“Actually, he’s Tom Thumb,” Jorro explained, “but we call him Thumb.”

“Tom Thumb?” the Prince was surprised. “The Tom Thumb? But shouldn't he be small?”

“He’s become a bit heavier here,” Jorro answered with a smile, glancing at Thumb. “And this,” Jorro turned to the cat, “is our beautiful Purrquise.” She was cat in boots, and now she serves in the guards.”

“I always thought that a he-cat walked in boots,” said the Prince.

Jorro sighed and muttered:

“You shouldn’t have said that…”

Purrquise's green eyes flashed. She slowly walked up to the gate, jumped onto a wooden post and, clinging with her claws, climbed to the very top. Having settled down on the gate and hanging her fluffy tail, the cat coldly asked:

“Do you think that she-cats are dumber than he-cats?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“Nobody believes that it was the she-cat in the boots!” Purrquise said angrily.

“The prince is new, my dear,” Jorro said conciliatoryly. “He’ll soon find out how smart you are.” And he can already see how beautiful you are.

The flattery calmed Purrquise a little. She stood up and said:

“My duty is over. I don't see any point in staying.”

The cat jumped down the other side of the gate.

“She never waits to be replaced,” Jorro sighed. “And I see, that you know how to make friends. Well, let’s go,” he made an inviting gesture.

Jorro and Thumb leaned on the gate and it opened with a heartbreaking creak. The Prince and his new acquaintance went inside.

“Welcome to Talestone!” said Jorro. The Prince looked at everything around him with curiosity as they walked through the streets. The pavement was uneven, and in some places there were not enough stones. The paint on the walls of some houses was peeling. The outfits of passers-by were bright and splendid, but were awkwardly sewn.

“We don’t have enough craftsmen,” Jorro explained, following the young man’s gaze.

“It’s strange, our kingdom is full of masters,” answered the Prince.

But for some reason they rarely come here…”

“So that’s why everything is like this here?” the Prince waved his hand around the street.

“Like what? Miserable? Unsightly?” Jorro asked with annoyance. “Not too graceful for Your Highness?”

“Listen, don’t pounce me!” the Prince said conciliatory. “I remember how neat my native kingdom was… But here everything is so… different.”

“Because almost everyone who gets here does not know any necessary craft,” Jorro snapped. “For example, you are a prince… Purrquise is actually a cat… And there, in the castle on the hill,” Jorro waved his hand, “the magical people live.” All sorts of wizards and fairy godmothers.

“They don't help you?”

“Sometimes the Supreme Mage Aydor leaves the castle and does something useful for the town,” Jorro said. “The others help only for money. Sometimes we buy various magical things from them. The rest of the time, sorcerers sit in the castle, casting spells and try to understand where people like you come from.”

“But it is important!” the Prince objected. “Isn’t it?”

“What's the big deal, lad?” exclaimed Jorro. “Let's say you weren't good enough for your fairy tale. Will this make you feel better? You got here and don’t know how to get out. So you better accept it. Don't waste your energy on longing and useless searches. And as for me,” Jorro smiled, “it’s very awesome here.”