The Magic Cheese | страница 43

   Still nervous and more disappointed, they went back to the kitchen. Grandma offered to have some tea and started to put everything on the table again. It was impolite to offer a slice of cheese that was left on a plate, so she ate it. Her thoughts were with her missing grandson, and she didn’t even notice how she put the cheese into her mouth and ate it up absent-mindedly. She was thinking that it would be so good if Vovka really were at home. Then Grandma made everyone have tea and eat something. The most difficult task was to talk Vovka’s Mama into eating something, but it was impossible not to give in to Grandma’s persuasions. And then, when all of them were silently chewing something, they heard a tinkle in Vovka’s room. Actually, anything could have produced such a sound, even a toy that had fallen down. But everybody was so nervous that they were up immediately, running there.

   Vovka was in his room, sleeping soundly. They were standing at the door and looking at the boy. Captain Cheesekin couldn’t help crossing himself, because though he had seen many things in his life, he had never seen such a miracle before. They were in this room a minute ago, and it was completely tidied up. There were no children in it. And now they had the boy, sleeping soundly in his bed, with a purple bruise on his arm, with the toys beside him – a red plush cat, a little clockwork mouse and a well-worn rubber wolf. The captain sighed with relief. Tomorrow he will write in his report that the boy had been playing and then fell asleep, and the grown-ups hadn’t noticed him. If he wrote the truth that a little child had vanished in his own apartment and then appeared again, many researchers would come to find out more about this mysterious phenomenon. People from television would come with their cameras, as well as journalists, who would want an interview. Many people would come out of curiosity, and the doorway and the yard would be crowded. And then (with this thought captain Cheesekin looked at Vovka’s Mama) you could say good-bye to a restful evening with lotto and a pie. And he couldn’t allow this to happen.

   “Pasha, do you think it has been only my dream?”

   Pavlik didn’t answer. He stood near the window-sill, looking out of the window. “Listen, a puppy is whining somewhere, let’s feed it.”

   Vovka took milk and a hamburger out of the fridge. Pavlik was ahead of Vovka, walking on crutches.