Читать книгу The Gargoyle Overhead - Philippa Dowding - Страница 8

Ambergine:

Among Hot Dog Eaters

The little gargoyle was tired…

She had flown all night, and she needed to sleep. Dawn was breaking over the city, and she wanted to be safely hidden before the sun rose. Lately, she had been sleeping among the statues of giant people at the big white sports stadium by the lake. The huge fibreglass figures were sort of like gargoyles, although none of them was alive (which was probably just as well, she decided, since they were all about ten metres tall).

Today she’d decided to sleep on the statue of a giant man with a hot dog stuffed in his mouth. “He doesn’t look very appealing,” she thought, “but I guess he’ll do.” Her small leathery wings carried her slowly off the roof of the dome (it was closed for the day), and let her settle awkwardly on the giant hot dog man’s bronze head.

She waddled along the statue’s head then nestled deep into the wall of the building, safely hidden. She pulled her wings close about her and let her head fall onto her little chest.

I wonder what a hot dog tastes like? she thought as she began to doze. Soon she was snoring quietly.

Well, as quietly as a gargoyle can snore, even a delicate lady gargoyle like her.

She was hidden completely from the street, safe for now. If anyone looked up at the giant statues, they wouldn’t notice one small gargoyle tucked away among them, even if she was snoring. There was no one around anyway except for an old man wearing very thick glasses and a baggy brown jacket resting on a bench nearby, a white hat on his knee.

That night, Ambergine would continue her search.