Comet in Moominland Page 5

  ‘I should never think of fishing with my tail,’ said Moomintroll. ‘One should have respect for one’s tail. What did you do then?’

  ‘Oh, we celebrated my escape with minnows and cowslip wine for many hours,’ answered Snufkin. ‘And how beautiful the pale green Snork maiden was! She had sparkling blue eyes and was covered with beautiful soft fluff. She could weave mats of grass, and brew soothing herb drinks if you had tummy-ache. She always wore a flower behind her ear, and round her ankle she had a little gold ring.’

  ‘Pah! Women!’ scoffed Moomintroll. ‘That was a rotten story. Didn’t anything exciting happen?’

  ‘Wasn’t my escape from prison exciting enough?’ said Snufkin, and went on playing his mouth-organ.

  Moomintroll sniffed once more and then crept into his sleeping-bag and turned his nose to the wall.

  But that night he dreamt about a little Snork maiden who looked like him, and he had given her a rose to put behind her ear.

  In the morning he sat up muttering ‘how silly’ to himself.

  The others had already begun to take down the tent, and Snufkin declared that they would reach the highest peak that day.

  ‘But how do you know that the Observatory is on that peak especially?’ asked Sniff, craning his neck to see the top, but without success as it was hidden in the clouds.

  ‘Well,’ answered Snufkin, ‘you only have to look at the ground just here. It’s covered with cigarette ends which have obviously been thrown out of the windows by those absent-minded scientists up there.’

  ‘Oh, I see,’ said Sniff, looking a bit crestfallen, and wishing he’d noticed the cigarette ends himself.

  They began to trudge up a little twisting path, tied to each other by a rope to be on the safe side.

  ‘Don’t forget I warned you,’ shouted Sniff, who was last.’ Don’t blame me if something dreadful happens to us.’ Higher and higher, steeper and steeper.

  ‘Phew!’ said Moomintroll mopping his brow. ‘Mamma said it was cold here. Thank goodness the crocodiles ate up those woolly trousers!’

  They stopped and looked down into the valley, feeling very small and lonely amongst the vast empty hills. The only living thing to be seen was an eagle circling far above them on outspread wings.

  ‘What an enormous bird!’ exclaimed Sniff. ‘I feel quite sorry for him all alone in this place.’

  ‘I expect there are a Mrs Eagle somewhere, and probably some baby eaglets too,’ said Snufkin.

  The bird was hovering over them, turning his head with the cold eyes and strong curved beak from side to side, when suddenly he poised himself on trembling outstretched wings.

  ‘I wonder what he’s up to now?’ said Sniff.

  ‘I don’t like the look of him,’ Moomintroll said anxiously.

  ‘Perhaps…’ began Snufkin, but he got no further, except to scream frantically: ‘Look out – he’s diving!’

  They all threw themselves against the rocks looking wildly for somewhere to hide.

  In a rush of wings the eagle swooped towards them, while they squeezed themselves into a crevice in the rock, and held each other tight in terrified helplessness. He was on top of them!

  It was like a whirlwind. One moment they were surrounded by the great wings that beat wildly against the rock, and the next there was complete quiet.

  Trembling in every limb they peeped out of their hiding place to see the eagle sailing in a great semi-circle below them. After a moment he rose and disappeared amongst the mountain tops.

  ‘He’s ashamed that he missed us,’ said Snufkin. ‘Eagles are very proud. He won’t try again.’

  Sniff was counting on his fingers. ‘The crocodiles, the giant lizard, the waterfall, the underground tunnel, the eagle. Five awful experiences. It’s beginning to get monotonous!’

  ‘We’ve still got the biggest adventure to come,’ said Moomintroll. ‘The comet.’

  They all looked up at the heavy grey clouds.

  ‘I wish we could see the sky,’ he went on rather nervously. ‘Come on. Let’s start!’

  By the afternoon they had climbed so high that they had reached the clouds, and the going was slippery and dangerous. Damp veils of mist swirled around them. They were dreadfully cold (Moomintroll thought longingly of his woolly trousers), and surrounded completely by an awful floating emptiness.

  ‘I always thought clouds were soft and woolly and nice to be in,’ said Sniff sneezing. ‘Ugh! I’m beginning to be sorry I ever came on this expedition.’

  Suddenly Moomintroll stood still.

  ‘Wait!’ he said. ‘There’s something shining. A light… or is it a diamond…’

  ‘A diamond!’ screamed Sniff, who loved jewels.

  Moomintroll set off, dragging the others after him by the rope. ‘It’s a little gold bracelet,’ he announced at last.

  ‘Be careful,’ shouted Snufkin. ‘It’s right on the edge of the precipice!’

  But Moomintroll wasn’t listening. He crept slowly towards the edge and stretched down for the bracelet. Snufkin and Sniff held the rope tight and Moomintroll crept a little farther down until at last he reached the gold ring.

  ‘Do you think it could be the Snork Maiden’s?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes. That’s hers,’ said Snufkin, sighing. ‘It looks as if she has fallen over the edge. So young and beautiful too.’

  Moomintroll was too overcome to speak, and they went sadly on their way.

  The mists were beginning to thin out and it was warmer.

  They stopped on a ledge to rest and stared in silence at the swirling grey vapour on all sides of them. Suddenly it divided and rolled away until at last the three tired travellers could see where they were, and what they saw took their breath away! There was a sea of clouds at their feet, which looked so soft and beautiful that they wanted to wade out and dive and dance in it.

  ‘Now we’re above the clouds,’ said Snufkin solemnly, and they turned round to look up at the sky that had been hidden for so long.

  ‘Look!’ whispered Sniff in terror. The sky was no longer blue. It was a pale red!

  ‘Perhaps it’s the sunset,’ said Snufkin doubtfully.

  But Moomintroll looked very grave and said: ‘No. This time it’s the comet. It’s on its way to the earth.’

  On the very top of the jagged peak above them stood the Observatory. Inside, scientists made thousands of remarkable observations, smoked thousands of cigarettes, and lived alone with the stars.

  They made their way up to it in silence and Moomintroll

  opened the door. There was a staircase inside, and up they went to find themselves on the threshold of a high room with a glass roof. In the middle of the floor was a giant telescope, which revolved slowly, keeping watch on the sky, and there was the constant whirring sound of a machine. Two professors bustled here and there, tightening screws, pushing knobs and making notes.

  Moomintroll gave a respectful cough.’ Good afternoon! he said. But the scientists took no notice.

  ‘Fine weather!’ said Moomintroll a little louder. But there was still no answer. Then he went forward and touched one of the professors timidly on the arm.

  ‘We’ve come several hundred miles in order to meet you, sir,’ he said.

  ‘What! You again!’ exclaimed the professor.

  ‘Excuse me,’ said Moomintroll, ‘but I’ve never been here before.’

  ‘Then it was a couple extraordinarily like you,’ muttered the professor. ‘Crowds of people coming here… We haven’t time, you know, simply haven’t time. This comet is the most interesting thing in the last ninety-three years. Now, what do you want? Make it quick!’

  ‘I only w-wanted to know… those people who were here before,’ stammered Moomintroll. ‘I suppose it wasn’t a little pale green Snork maiden… all fluffy… perhaps with a flower behind her ear…’

  ‘Your explanation is most unscientific,’ said the professor impatiently. ‘I know nothing about it, except that there was a tiresome female here distur
bing me about some trinket she had lost. Off with you now! You’ve already wasted 44 seconds of my time!’

  Moomintroll backed out nervously.

  ‘Well?’ said Sniff. ‘Is it coming?’

  ‘When will it fall?’ asked Snufkin.

  ‘Oh! I quite forgot to ask,’ mumbled Moomintroll blushing. ‘But that little S-snork maiden has b-been here. She’s alive. She didn’t fall down the precipice!’

  ‘Well, I must say!’ Snufkin burst out.

  ‘I can’t make you out,’ said Sniff. ‘I thought you didn’t like girls. Now I’ll go and ask.’ And he trotted up to the other professor. ‘Please may I have a look through your telescope?’ he asked politely. ‘I am very interested in comets, and I’ve heard so much about your wonderful discoveries here.’

  The professor was very flattered and put his spectacles

  up on his forehead. ‘Have you now?’ he said. ‘Then you must come and have a look, my little friend.’

  He arranged the telescope for Sniff and told him to go ahead. Sniff was rather frightened at first. The sky was quite black and the big stars flickered as if they were alive, and far in the distance shone something red, like a wicked eye.

  ‘Is that the comet?’ he whispered.

  ‘Yes,’ said the professor.

  ‘But it’s not moving at all,’ said Sniff in a puzzled voice. ‘And I don’t see any tail either.’

  ‘Its tail is behind,’ explained the professor. ‘It is rushing straight towards the earth, that’s why it doesn’t look as if it’s moving. But you can see that it gets bigger every day.’

  ‘When will it arrive?’ asked Sniff, staring in fascinated curiosity at the little red spark through the telescope.

  ‘According to my reckoning it should hit the earth on the seventh of October at 8.42 p.m. Possibly four seconds later,’ said the professor.

  ‘And what will happen then?’ asked Sniff.

  ‘What will happen?’ said the professor in surprise. ‘Well, I hadn’t thought about that. But I shall record the events in great detail you may be sure.’

  ‘Can you tell me what the date is today, sir?’ Sniff asked.

  ‘It is the third of October,’ answered the professor. ‘And the time is exactly 6.28.’

  ‘Then I think we must go,’ said Sniff. ‘Thank you very much indeed for your help.’

  He returned to the others with an important look on his face.

  ‘I have had a very interesting conversation with the professor,’ he said, ‘and we have come to the conclusion that the comet will fall on the seventh of October at 8.42 p.m. Possibly four seconds later.’

  ‘Then we must hurry home as fast as we can,’ said Moomintroll anxiously. ‘If only we can get home to mamma before it comes nothing can happen. She will know what to do.’

  They left the Observatory and set off on the long journey home.

  It was getting dark and the awful red light in the sky was stronger. The clouds had gone, and far down in the valley below they could just make out the narrow ribbon of the river and patches of forest.

  ‘I’m longing to get away from this stony country,’ said Snufkin. ‘Even a poet can have enough sometimes.’

  ‘I wonder where the Snorks spent the night,’ said Moomintroll. ‘I must give that wretched girl her anklering back.’ And he hurried on at such a speed that the others could hardly keep up with him.

  CHAPTER 7

  Which is about how Moomintroll rescues the Snork Maiden from a poisonous bush and in which the comet appears in the sky.

  THE fourth of October dawned clear, but there was a strange haze over the sun as it rose slowly over the mountain-tops and sailed across the red sky. They hadn’t set up the tent for the night, but had kept going all the time.

  Sniff had got a blister on one foot and was grumbling,

  ‘Well, walk on the other foot,’ said Snufkin, but this wasn’t very helpful advice, and at last Sniff couldn’t stand it any longer.

  ‘Oh!’ he moaned. ‘Now I feel giddy.’ And he lay down and refused to go any farther.

  ‘We’re in a hurry,’ said Moomintroll. ‘I must find that little Snork as quickly as poss…’

  ‘I know, I know,’ interrupted Sniff. ‘Your wretched Snork maiden. But that’s nothing to do with me. I feel terrible, and I think I’m going to be sick.’

  ‘We could wait a bit, couldn’t we?’ said Snufkin. ‘And I know something we can do meanwhile. Have you ever rolled stones?’

  ‘No,’ said Moomintroll.

  First Snufkin found a heap of great boulders. ‘You take a boulder,’ he said, ‘like this. Roll it as hard as you can over the edge of the precipice – like this. And it rushes down,’ he puffed. ‘Like that!’

  Together they looked over the edge and watched the stone. It crashed its way down, carrying a shower of small stones with it, and for a long time the echo rumbled back and forth between the mountains.

  ‘That was great fun!’ burst out Moomintroll. ‘Let’s do another!’ And they rolled another huge boulder on to the edge, where it balanced precariously.

  ‘Heave ho!’ shouted Snufkin. ‘Heave and – push!’

  Away thundered the boulder, but, oh horror, Moomintroll didn’t have time to draw back and before anyone realized what was happening he was over the edge, and falling swiftly in the wake of the boulder.

  Now there would very likely be one Moomintroll less in the world if he had not had a rope tied round his middle. Snufkin threw himself on the ground and braced himself for the shock. And it was a big one; Snufkin felt as if he would be cut in half.

  Moomintroll swung to and fro on the end of the rope – and he was heavy.

  Snufkin was dragged slowly nearer and nearer to the edge. Behind him too the rope was pulled tight, and Sniff, who was tied to the other end, began to get pulled along. ‘Stop it!’ he shouted. ‘Leave me alone – I’m ill!’

  ‘You’ll be still worse in a minute if you don’t hold on to that rope,’ said Snufkin.

  And then Moomintroll’s voice bellowed up from below: ‘Help! Pull me up!’

  At last Sniff realized what was happening, and he was so frightened that he forgot to be ill. He began struggling frantically against the pulling rope, which got thoroughly

  tangled round him and everything else in sight, until in the end it caught fast, and Snufkin was able to crawl back.

  ‘When I say “Now” pull,’ he told Sniff. ‘Not now. Not now. But NOW!’ And they pulled with all their might, until at last Moomintroll appeared over the edge. First his ears, then his eyes, then his nose (then still more nose) and eventually the whole of him.

  ‘Well, strike me pink!’ he exclaimed. ‘I never thought I should see you two again.’

  ‘And you never would have done, but for me,’ remarked Sniff complacently. Snufkin gave him a queer look, but didn’t say anything, and they all sat down to recover themselves.

  ‘We’ve been stupid,’ said Moomintroll suddenly.

  ‘You’ve been stupid,’ said Sniff.

  ‘Absolutely criminal,’ went on Moomintroll, taking no notice. ‘We might easily have rolled one of those stones on to the little Snork maiden.’

  ‘If you did she’s flat by now,’ said Sniff quite unmoved.

  Moomintroll was dreadfully worried. ‘Well, anyhow, we must go on now,’ he said dejectedly. ‘It’s no good forgetting about the comet.’

  So on they went, steadily down the mountainside, with the pale sun shining overhead, out of the pale red sky.

  At the foot of the mountain a clear, shallow stream with a sandy bed, ran between the stones, and there sat the Hemulen, with his tired feet in the water, sighing to himself. Beside him was a large book called: ‘Moths of the Eastern Hemisphere – their Behaviour and Misbehaviour.’

  ‘Extraordinary!’ he was muttering. ‘Not one with a red tail. It might have been Dideroformia Archimboldes, but that is very common and has no tail at all.’ And he sighed again.

  Just then Moomintroll, Snufk
in and Sniff popped out from behind a rock and said ‘Hullo!’

  ‘Oh! How you frightened me!’ gasped the Hemulen. ‘So it’s only you three again. I thought it was another avalanche. This morning it was terrible.’

  ‘What was?’ asked Sniff.

  ‘The avalanche of course,’ answered the Hemulen. ‘Quite terrible! Rocks the size of houses bouncing about like hail-stones! My best glass jar was broken, and I myself had to move quite quickly to get out of the way.’

  ‘I’m afraid we happened to knock a few stones down as we were passing,’ said Snufkin. ‘It’s so easily done walking on these tracks.’

  ‘Do you mean to say it was you who made the avalanche?’ said the Hemulen.

  ‘Well – yes – sort of,’ Snufkin answered.

  ‘I never thought very much of you,’ said the Hemulen slowly, ‘and now I think even less. In fact I don’t think I want to know you any more.’ And he turned away and splashed some water over his tired feet. Snufkin and the others didn’t quite know what to say, so they kept silent. After a while the Hemulen looked over his shoulder and remarked: ‘Haven’t you gone yet?’

  ‘We’re just going,’ said Moomintroll. ‘But first I feel it’s my duty to ask you if you haven’t noticed something odd about the colour of the sky?’

  ‘The colour of the sky?’ asked the Hemulen, innocently.

  ‘Yes,’ said Moomintroll, ‘that’s what I said.’

  ‘Why ever should I?’ said the Hemulen. ‘It can be spotted fox all I care. I hardly ever look at it. What worries me is that my beautiful mountain stream is nearly dried up. If it goes on like this much longer I shan’t be able to splash my feet.’