“Or who was there,” whispered Cheese-eater.
“So, what do we have now?” said the Wolf indignantly. “Does it mean that I was scared by a mere human? And he wasn’t a horrible magician, neither a monster that breathes out fire, nor a werewolf! Well, just he waits!”
“He is a werewolf, indeed,” said Cheese-eater, “because somehow he turned into a wolf.”
“Cheese-eater, dearest,” laughed Vovka, “we’ll skin him and see what kind of a werewolf he is.”
“What do you mean we’ll skin him?! How?” exclaimed Cheese-eater.
“In a very simple way,” smiled Vovka. “We’ll unbutton him and take the skin off.”
“Don’t talk about his skin when he is still not caught,” growled the Wolf. “I have been disgraced, so he belongs to me; he brought shame on my honest reputation.”
“And he calls it honest!” Cheese-eater pursed her lips.
“Don’t argue,” asked both of them Vovka. “Now it’s more important to find this fake wolf.”
And they followed the path, taking a closer look at the surrounding area. Somewhere here the mysterious werewolf was hiding, and he might have been the robber of the Cheese Fairy and her magic animals.
Someone was persistently ringing the doorbell of Vovka’s apartment. At first nobody could move, but then almost all of the grown-ups ran to open the door, hoping that Vovka came back. They didn’t see the boy, though, but a stranger in a policeman’s uniform.
“Hello! Have you called the police?” he asked sternly. “I am a district officer captain Cheesekin. Who has been missing?”
“Please, come in. Our child has disappeared.”
Everybody went back to the kitchen and sat at the table, bringing another chair for captain Cheesekin. The officer listened attentively to everyone, made notes about when and where Vova had gone and asked for a photo of the boy. Vovka’s Mama went to get a photo-album in another room, and Grandma offered the captain some tea.
“You must be hungry and tired. It’s already late and you are still at work. Have some tea, it’s very good, and let me make a sandwich for you.”
All his life Grandpa had been in the army, and Grandma knew well how hungry a man could be at the end of a hard day. Also, they had to think well where to look for the child, and it was very difficult to think when you were hungry. And finally, it was absolutely impolite to sit at the table and not offer tea to the guest, especially when he came to help. Grandma gave to captain Cheesekin strong sweet tea and moved all the trays and pots with the treats up to him. The captain tried to refuse, but Grandma talked him into having a snack for the benefit of their business. Then there came Mama with an album in her hands, and all of them started to look through the photos, trying to find the one they could give to the police. Vovka’s Mama felt so bad that she couldn’t even cry. Only mothers of the lost children could feel that bad. Everybody was trying to distract her by talking, but it was even worse, because they talked about what they saw in the album. And there was Vovka. With his Mama, Grandma and Grandpa. With his Aunt and Uncle in the park. With Pavlik, in glue and wood curls, assembling a boat. There was Vovka in every photo. But he wasn’t at home, and nobody knew where to look for him. Vovka’s Mama was looking through the album in silence, and the district officer Cheesekin was silently having tea and looking at Vovka’s Mama. “Of all things,” he was wondering, “she is such a beautiful woman, so kind, intelligent and with strong character. She is scared, but not crying. And they’ve got a great family. The boy is good, not a troublemaker or I would have known about him. Only where is he? Oh, if only I had such a great family! If such a scamp were waiting for me in the evenings, we would make some craft with glue or a hammer and nails. And then, while it would be drying, our whole family would walk before going to bed. Or we would play lotto, or just have tea with a pie.” The officer was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t hear somebody was addressing him. A suitable photo was found; it had to be copied and sent to all the police checkpoints.
