Дни грёз
The Reluctant Dragon
“Charlottesaysit’sadragon,butshedoesn’treallyknowmuchaboutbeasts.”
Thecircus-manlookedroundabouthimslowly.“Idon’tTHINK,”hesaid,“thatI’veseenadragoninthesepartsrecently.ButifIcomeacrossoneI’llknowitbelongstoyou,andI’llhavehimtakenroundtoyouatonce.”
“Thankyouverymuch,”saidCharlotte,“butdon’tTROUBLEaboutit,please,’cosp’rapsitisn’tadragonafterall.OnlyIthoughtIsawhislittlefootprintsinthesnow,andwefollowed’emup,andtheyseemedtoleadrightinhere,butmaybeit’sallamistake,andthankyouallthesame.”
“Oh,notroubleatall,”saidthecircus-man,cheerfully.“Ishouldbeonlytoopleased.Butofcourse,asyousay,itMAYbeamistake.Andit’sgettingdark,andheseemstohavegotawayforthepresent,whateverheis.You’dbettercomeinandhavesometea.I’mquitealone,andwe’llmakearoaringfire,andI’vegotthebiggestBookofBeastsyoueversaw.It’sgoteverybeastintheworld,andallof’emcoloured;andwe’lltryandfindYOURbeastinit!”
Wewerealwaysreadyforteaatanytime,andespeciallywhencombinedwithbeasts.Therewasmarmalade,too,andapricot-jam,broughtinexpresslyforus;andafterwardsthebeast-bookwasspreadout,and,asthemanhadtrulysaid,itcontainedeverysortofbeastthathadeverbeenintheworld.
Thestrikingofsixo’clocksetthemoreprudentCharlottenudgingme,andwerecalledourselveswithaneffortfromBeast-land,andreluctantlystooduptogo.
