Comet in Moominland (12 page)

'Tell me some more about your valley,' she said to Moomintroll.

'It's the most wonderful valley in the world,' he answered. 'There are blue-trees with pears growing on them, and chatterfinches sing from morning till night, and there are plenty of silver poplars, which are wonderful for climbing - I thought of building a house for myself in one of them. Then, at night the moon is reflected in the river, which tinkles over the rocks with a sound like broken glass, and pappa has built a bridge that is wide enough for a wheelbarrow.'

'Must you be so poetic?' said Sniff. 'When we were in the valley you only talked about how wonderful other places were.'

'That was different,' said Moomintroll.

'But it's true,' said Snufkin. 'We're all like that. You must go on a long journey before you can really find out how wonderful home is.'

'Where's
your
home then?' asked the Snork maiden.

'Nowhere,' said Snufkin a little sadly, 'or everywhere. It depends on how you look at it.'

'Haven't you got a mother?' asked Moomintroll looking very sorry for him.

'I don't know.' said Snufkin. 'They tell me I was found in a basket.'

'Like Moses,' said Sniff.

'I like the story about Moses,' said the Snork. 'But I think his mother could have found a better way of saving him don't you? The crocodiles might have eaten him up.'

'They nearly ate us up,' said Sniff.

'Moses' mother could have hidden him in a box with air-holes,' said the Snork maiden. 'That would have kept the crocodiles out.'

'Once we tried to make a diving helmet with an air-tube,' said Sniff. 'But we could never get it really water-tight. Once when Moomintroll was diving he swallowed some water and nearly choked. It
was
funny!'

'Oh!' exclaimed the Snork maiden in horror. 'I think it must have been awful.'

As they were wandering along and talking like this they suddenly came in sight of the Village Stores. Sniff gave a shout and waved the flag over his head, and they all hurried excitedly up the path.

It was a really good Village Stores. The garden had all the flowers you can think of planted in neat rows, and the house was white with grass growing on the roof. In front was a kind of sundial, but instead of telling the time it held a big silver ball like a looking glass, and in this the house and garden were reflected.

There were signs and posters for soap, and toothpaste, and chewing gum, and under the window grew huge yellow and green pumpkins.

Moomintroll went up the steps and opened the door, which set a little bell tinkling over his head. They trooped in, one after another, all except the Snork maiden, who stayed out in the garden admiring herself in the silver ball. Behind the counter sat an old lady with little bright eyes like a mouse, and white hair.

'Aha!' she said.' What a lot of children. And what can I do for you, my dears?'

'Lemonade please ma'am,' said Sniff. 'Green if you've got it.'

'Have you an exercise book with lines one inch apart?' asked the Snork, who intended to write down everything that ought to be done when a comet is going to hit the earth.

'Certainly,' said the old lady, 'Would you like a blue one?'

'Well, I'd prefer another colour,' said the Snork, because blue exercise books reminded him of school.

'I really need a new pair of trousers,' said Snufkin. 'But they needn't be
too
new. I like trousers that have stretched to my own shape.'

'Yes, of course,' said the old lady, climbing up a ladder and hooking a pair of trousers down from the roof. 'What about these?'

'But they are so horribly new and clean,' said Snufkin sadly. 'Haven't you got something older?'

The old lady thought for a time. 'These are the oldest trousers I have in stock,' she said at last, 'and tomorrow they'll be still older. Probably dirtier too,' she added looking at Snufkin over her glasses.

'Oh, well, he said, 'I might as well go round the corner and try them on. But I very much doubt if they'll be my shape.' And he disappeared into the garden.

'Now, what about you, my dear?' said the old lady, turning to Moomintroll, who wriggled with embarrassment and asked shyly: 'Have you got such a thing as a diamond tiara?'

'A diamond tiara?' the old lady asked in surprise. 'What are you going to do with that?'

'He wants to give it to the Snork Maiden, of course,' squeaked Sniff, who was sitting on the floor drinking green lemonade through a straw. 'He's been quite dotty since he met that girl.'

'It's not dotty at all to give jewellery to a girl,' said the old lady severely. 'You are too young to understand, but as a matter of fact, a jewel is the only correct present for a lady.'

'Oh,' said Sniff, and buried his nose in the lemonade.

The old lady searched all her shelves, but there was no tiara.

'Perhaps there's one under the counter?' suggested Moomintroll.

The old lady had a look. 'No,' she said sadly, 'not there either. Fancy not having a single tiara. But perhaps a little pair of Snork-mittens would do instead?'

'I'm not quite sure...' said Moomintroll, looking very worried.

At that moment the door-bell tinkled and the Snork maiden herself came into the shop.

'Good afternoon,' she said. 'What a beautiful looking-glass you have out there in the garden! Since I lost my pocket one I've had to look at myself in puddles, and you look so funny in puddles.'

The old lady winked at Moomintroll, took something from a shelf and passed it to him under the counter. Moomintroll glanced down: it was a little round looking-glass with a silver rim, and on the back was a red rose studded with rubies. He was very pleased and winked back at the old lady. The Snork maiden hadn't noticed anything.

'Have you any medals, ma'am?' she asked.

'Any
what,
my dear?' said the old lady.

'Medals,' said the Snork maiden.' Stars to hang on the chest. Gentlemen like such things.'

'Oh, yes, of course,' said the old lady. 'Medals.' And she looked all over the place - on all the shelves and under the counter.

'Haven't you got any?' asked the Snork maiden, and a tear began to trickle down her nose.

The old lady looked most unhappy, but she suddenly had an idea and climbed up the ladder to the highest shelf, where there was a box of Christmas-tree decorations, and amongst these she found a big silver star.

'Look!' she cried, holding it up,' here's a medal for you!'

'Oh, how beautiful!' the Snork maiden burst out. Then she turned to Moomintroll and said shyly: 'This is for you Moomintroll. Because you saved me from the poisonous bush.'

Moomintroll was overwhelmed. He knelt down, and the Snork maiden pinned the star somewhere about his tummy (Moomintrolls' noses cover up their chests, so you can't very well pin medals there), where it shone with matchless splendour.

'Now you should see how wonderful you look,' said the Snork maiden. At this Moomintroll brought out the looking-glass that he had been holding behind his back. 'I bought this for you,' he said.' Show me how
you
look in it!'

While they were gazing at themselves in the glass and exclaiming 'Oh', and 'Ah', the door-bell tinkled again and Snufkin came in.

'I think it would be better if the trousers got older here,' he said. 'They aren't my shape yet.'

'Oh dear,' said the old lady. 'What a pity! But perhaps you'd like a new hat?'

However this idea only filled Snufkin with alarm, and he pulled his old green hat farther down over his ears and said: 'Thank you, but I was just thinking how dangerous it is to load yourself up with belongings.'

The Snork had been sitting all this time writing in his exercise book, and now he got to his feet and said: 'One thing to remember when you are escaping from a comet is not to stand about too long in village stores. I suggest therefore that we continue our journey. Hurry up and finish your lemonade, Sniff.'

Sniff tried to gulp the lot and of course most of it went on the floor.

'He always does that,' said Moomintroll. 'Shall we go?'

'What does all that come to please?' the Snork asked the old lady. She began to count up, and while she was doing so Moomintroll suddenly remembered that they hadn't any money with them. None of them even had pockets except Snufkin, and his were always empty. Moomintroll nudged him, making desperate signs with his eyebrows, and the Snork and his sister looked at each other in horror. Not one of them had a single penny!

'That'll be 13/4d. for the exercise book, and 3d. for the lemonade,' said the old lady. 'The star is 5d. and the looking-glass IId. because it has real rubies on the back. That will be I/83/4d. altogether.'

Nobody said anything. The Snork maiden picked up the looking-glass and laid it on the counter with a sigh. Moomintroll started unpinning his medal, the Snork wondered if exercise books cost more or less after you had written in them, and Sniff just thought about his lemonade, which was mostly on the floor anyway.

The old lady gave a little cough.

'Well now, my children,' she said. 'There are the old trousers that Snufkin didn't want; they are worth exactly 1/8d., so you see one cancels out the other, and you don't really owe me anything at all.'

'Is that really so?' asked Moomintroll doubtfully.

'It's as clear as day, little Moomintroll,' said the old lady. 'I'll keep the trousers.'

The Snork tried to count it up in his head, but he couldn't, so he wrote it in the exercise book like this:

s. d.

Exercise book

13/4

Lemonade

3

Medal

5

Looking-glass (with rubies)

11

Total

1 83/4

Trousers

1 8

1/8d. = 1/8d.

3/4d. left over.

'It's quite right,' he said in surprise.

'But there's 3/4d. over,' said Sniff. 'Don't we get that?'

'Don't be mean,' said Snufkin. 'We'll call it even.'

So they thanked the old lady and were just leaving when the Snork maiden remembered something. 'Can you tell us where the dancing is tonight please?' she asked.

'Well,' said the old lady, 'you just follow the path until you come to it - and nothing begins until the moon gets up.'