Knight Caterino

PROLOGUE

I

In a far away country (I have never managed to find it on any map) is a big and beautiful city. It sits on an enormous hill and is visible from afar. High thick walls surround it on all sides and one can enter or leave the city only through the gates protected by armed guards. There are many houses in the city and life is buzzing on its streets. People come here from all over the country in order to sell or to buy something. Certainly, the city cannot manage without travellers; they want to see, in their opinion, the largest city in the world. We know though that in the world there are cities considerably bigger. This, however, is not in question. The people of the city which I am telling you about consider that there is only one country in the world, the one in which they live. A few rebellious principalities on its outskirts are persistently unwilling to become subjects of this great country.

The city stands on the hill and its cobble-stoned streets either lead up or run down. Most of the people live below near the city gates and the houses are poorly constructed. Here boisterous merriment reigns. It sometimes seems that it is an eternal fair and show here. Even the soldiers here are always happy, talkative, and love to enjoy themselves very much. The merriment, however, begins to quiet down several blocks above. The houses are more solid and luxurious. These citizens slam their heavy doors in an unfriendly way and cast haughty looks at the merriment on the streets below. Prosperous townsfolk live here. They keep many servants and ride in expensive coaches. The more splendid the coach, the more horses harnessed to it, and the richer and more notable its owner. The moneybags love to brag about their status to each other. They do not like to walk, however, and only ride in their coaches, hence all of them are either very fat or very thin. The people on the lower streets, when no police officers are beside them, laugh at the rich on the sly.

After passing the rich blocks, one can see a beautiful fairytale park surrounded by patterned iron railings and watched by guards with halberds. The richest townspeople with special passes enter the park through the gate and stroll along white sandy paths past fountains and ponds where snow-white swans swim. Everywhere grow carefully pruned trees and bushes and very many flowers. The noise of the merriment from the lower streets does not reach here.

In the depth of the park looms a gloomy palace, or more precisely, a castle, because it has too few windows for a palace. Here reigns complete despondency. Courtiers and grim guards in iron armours walk along the enormous gloomy halls. No one laughs and everyone talks only in a whisper. A tower stands on the highest part of the hill and one can see almost the whole country from it – dense forest, deep rivers, cities and knightly castles, large villages and lonely cabins, and quite far away, the huge bulk of a mountain with its snowy peaks resting against the sky. Sometimes tiny glimpses of fire are visible there at night when a dragon takes off on a hunt.

Long, long ago the great architect Walter built this tower from blocks of white marble and covered the roof with a thin layer of gold. The beauty of the tower amazes everybody. Walter died and a conflict immediately started around his creation. One prince took possession of the tower. He added his castle to the tower but this made his castle look like a deformed dwarf standing up next to a beautiful princess in a wedding dress. Later the tower and the castle frequently changed owners. Haughty barons and good fairies lived here. Even the elf king took up residence once. He surrounded the castle with a magnificent park. Five hundred years ago, after the elf king’s time, a city began to grow here.

The Sovereign appeared next. No one knew from where he came. This person turned out to be omnipotent. He subdued the dragons. None of the knights could oppose him and the wars, which had continued for almost a thousand years, ended. The Sovereign established strict laws and began to rule over the entire country.

The Sovereign settled in Walter’s tower alone, almost in seclusion. Only several loyal servants and guards were there with him. The courtiers who lived in the castle were rarely allowed into the tower. The Sovereign lived in the highest part of the tower where he could keep an eye on everything that was happening in his realm.

The people gazed at the tower with fear and respect and called it the White Tower.

II

Once on a bright summer day the Sovereign was sitting regally on the throne in the main hall of the White Tower. He was very old and decrepit. His hands gripped a heavy staff with an eagle carved from dragon bone topping the gold knob. A magnificent crown was restingon the Sovereign’s head.

Once on a bright summer day the Sovereign was sitting regally on the throne in the main hall of the White Tower. He was very old and decrepit. His hands gripped a heavy staff with an eagle carved from dragon bone topping the gold knob. A magnificent crown was resting on the Sovereign’s head.

The Sovereign was gloomy and sullen this day; he was usually this way and he never smiled. On this day, the Sovereign was particularly out of sorts. The bright sun in the blue sky among the carefree clouds spoiled the Sovereign’s mood even more: he preferred the dusk and the coolness of rains. In this country, however, it rained very rarely.

“Send for my chief minister Gargulio!” ordered the Sovereign. Gargulio, a portly squab with shifty eyes, then appeared before the stern gaze of the Sovereign. Gargulio was extremely uneasy because his lord had not summoned him for three whole years. “What does the great Sovereign want to say to his loyal servant?” Gargulio asked in a trembling voice. The first minister tried not to show how tired he was when he hurried to appear before his lord. On the contrary, he was all lit up with pride that the Sovereign had remembered him.

“Listen, Gargulio,” the Sovereign began gravely, “I’ve become quite old.” “What do you mean you are old?!” exclaimed the first minister. “Don’t interrupt!” the Sovereign became furious. “I’ll be a thousand soon. That means I must die. For five hundred years I have ruled the country, the people, and other creatures that settled on this land. Now the end for me has come. Yes, the end!” The Sovereign sighed and clutched the staff even firmer with crooked fingers. The first minister listened to him with bated breath.

“But the country will not be left without a ruler!” shouted the Sovereign and, after striking the staff against the floor, had a fit of coughing right then. “I will leave an heir.” “Oh, great Sovereign!” Gargulio yelled, having fallen onto his knees. “Who indeed is the lucky person who will take the place of so great a wizard?” “You don’t know him.” Gargulio was dismayed there and then: in the depth of his soul, he had hoped that the Sovereign would make him the heir. “He’s still not known to anyone,” continued the Sovereign. “Not even to me.” He said the last two words quite quietly, only to himself, then again spoke loudly, “Listen to my order.” Gargulio bent his back in a servile bow.

“Exactly at midnight,” the Sovereign’s hoarse voice became quiet and mysterious, “go into the Garden of the Elf King and find the pond in the growth of willows. Go up to the shore and stand next to the mermaid statue, after that you’ll blow this whistle three times.” The Sovereign handed a crystal whistle on a silver chain to the stunned minister and concluded, “And say to all who arrive at your call, ‘He who owns your freedom awaits you.’ Memorized?” Gargulio nodded. “Then go.”

That night a frightened Gargulio (he was very afraid of the dark) made his way along the park while lighting the way with a dim lantern. Finally, he found the necessary pond and the mermaid statue. With trembling hands the butterball put the whistle to his chubby lips, and three melodious sounds disturbed the silence of the night. The willows began to shake their branches and the water in the pond was set in motion as if small fishes in it had started to dance in a ring. Gargulio even sat down in fright.

Suddenly a soft blue light lit up everything in this pitch darkness. Gargulio saw how five beautiful swans, as white as the fresh snow at New Year, glided along the water directly to him. The swans stopped in their tracks several steps from the man and their leader glanced sternly, solemnly, and a little sadly at Gargulio.

On seeing that no one besides the swans had appeared, the man turned to the birds with the words already known to us, “He who owns your freedom awaits you!” Having heard this, the swans anxiously flapped their wings on the water, splashing Gargulio with a fountain of sprays. Only the leader remained calm and majestically proud. It bent its neck elegantly and sighed like a human.

The thunderstruck Gargulio saw how the birds lifted off after taking a running start. Having stretched out into a wedge and made a smooth circle above the water, they soared upward to the White Tower. They very quickly became barely discernible points. Nevertheless, Gargulio managed to make out the birds flying into the window of the throne hall where, in all likelihood, the Sovereign was waiting for them.

The first minister opened his mouth in amazement and looked at the crystal whistle. The magic whistle had disappeared as if it had dissolved in the air. The blue light had also faded and it became dark as in a cellar. After crying out in terror, Gargulio raced as fast as he could to the park exit. The astonished guards watched as he took off from the park as if a fire were lit under him and, whimpering from fear, jumped into the coach which had been waiting for him for a long time. After some time Gargulio came to his senses. It then seemed to him that he saw a flock of birds, bathed in moonlight, flying out of the Sovereign’s window to the east.

III

Grandpa and his two grandsons were sitting with fishing rods on the shore of the lake and waiting for sunrise. Grandfather was smoking a very big pipe and the boys, not moving, were watching the floats.

The sun emerged from below the horizon. It was so bright that grandpa and the grandsons screwed up their eyes. Then the strangest thing that could possibly happen took place. A strong whirlpool appeared in the lake. The height of the funnel gradually increased and it began to resemble a waterspout. Swans suddenly took off from the exposed bottom in the middle of the lake – real swans, the kind that swim in the ponds of zoos and royal castles in Andersen’s fairy tales. [1] Five white swans shot up into the sky and after circling above the lake which had returned to its shores, flew in the direction of the sun. When they were out of sight, peace and quiet reigned again.

“Ah-h!” escaped simultaneously from the boys and grandfather. Moreover, the old man let out so much smoke from his pipe that his grandsons coughed.

IV

When the topnotch pilot, Ivan Ivanovich Speechmaker, guided his Fulcrum [2] into the next loop, he saw something that almost blew his mind. His suddenly sweaty hands nearly let go of the controls. In front of him at an altitude of five thousand metres flew a flock of birds similar to large geese. The birds were flapping their wings slowly and smoothly but the pilot Speechmaker in the speediest aircraft in the world could not overtake them. The pilot increased his speed. He broke the sound barrier in a few seconds and caught up with the birds. No matter how he tried, however, the pilot could not outrun the flock of five white swans. “What the devil!” cursed the pilot. Suddenly it dawned on him. “But indeed this can’t be. It can’t be!”

What had Speechmaker not seen in the sky in hundreds of flights! He had seen flying saucers, which, after winking slyly, immediately disappeared into outer space, and sluggish airships similar to well-fed piglets. Once he even saw an octopus in a huge glass jar floating across the sky.

Speechmaker understood that the sky was not only for aircrafts and always reported his sightings in detail. Each time his chief General Barrel exclaimed indignantly, “Listen, Speechmaker, why only you see such things? Neither Major Hohum nor Colonel Insipid ever comes across anything in the clouds. But then Captain Speechmaker has seen everything in the sky except perhaps his own mother!” The General could not be angry with Speechmaker for long because he was the best pilot in his squadron. However, he had not been promoted for a long time because of his eccentricities.

Friends laughed at Speechmaker and said, “Well, brother, come on! Such tall tales even Baron Münchhausen [3] could not tell. Maybe write a book about you? A suitable h2 would be: The Wonder Tales of Captain Speechmaker.” Ivan Ivanovich was very offended by this and swore not to tell anything similar in the future. Nevertheless, after several flights he again came across something farfetched in the sky and all began anew.

Yet, Speechmaker had never seen anything like today. The spectacle of swans flying at supersonic speed was just too unusual and not only that! The swans began to overtake the pride of Russian aviation – the Fulcrum. Ivan Ivanovich could not stand this. The daring and talented pilot, the hero of the riskiest flights and experiments started to cry. He decided that he probably had gone insane and was seeing hallucinations.

The swans calmly pulled ahead without any effort and flew to the east towards the sun.

Chapter One ALONE AT HOME

“I depend on you,” said Papa, when he and Mama sat down in the car. “Everything will be fine!” Kate assured him. “I won’t take my eyes off him.” This was said about her younger brother who was standing beside her. In answer the boy stuck his tongue out at his sister but in such a way that their parents would not notice.

“Kate, Gene.” Mama looked pleadingly at the children. “Swear that you won’t fight.” “But we already promised!” the girl exclaimed impatiently. “All the same, swear,” insisted Mama. “I’m certain that as soon as we disappear beyond the turn, you’ll instantly start to fight.” “Okay, I swear,” the girl reluctantly agreed. “For some reason I’m sure that they’ll live perfectly in peace and harmony without us,” said Papa. “Really, just two days! Tell me, son, am I right?” “Of course, Papa, I’ll be good. I swear!” Gene had learned to win over almost all adults with his wide smile.

Mom sighed. The time had come to say goodbye. Tears appeared in her eyes. This was indeed the first time in her life that she had left the children alone. Papa tried to appear calm but it was obvious that he too was worried. Finally, the farewell ritual was over and the car, after tossing up dust on the road, disappeared beyond the turn. The children sighed with relief. Indeed! What effort they had to put in to convince their parents to leave home and leave them alone!

Although Mama and Papa were leaving the children alone for all of a couple of days, they felt like criminals. It was necessary to go, however, because the matter concerned the wellbeing of their family. In the two days, granted by the chief of Papa’s company, Papa had to correct the error, because of which the business turned out to be in a difficult position. The children never got the details but one thing was clear – Papa and Mama had to go to some settlement over fifty kilometres from the city and negotiate with someone there. What about? The children clearly did not understand this either.

Only one thing made the children uneasy – they had never been parted from their parents (not counting summer camp for Kate) but they assured friends that it would be awfully interesting. This is why the parents’ problems not only did not distress them but also even pleased them slightly. Independence promised so many delights!

Papa and Mama, however, were torn between parental and office duties. Mama had to go with Papa because she was his chief assistant. Indeed many parents leave their children alone for a day or two and nothing happens! Unfortunately, it was not the case in this family. Kate and Gene – sister and brother – did not get along at all. You may say, this cannot be! Alas, it is this way.

Kate was eleven and Gene, seven. The difference in age, however, did not prevent them from carrying on a real war between themselves. Certainly, it was a tragedy for the parents but they could do nothing. No matter how often they punished, scolded, tried to persuade and urge the children, nothing helped. The children continued to fight and bicker over every little thing. The children’s screams and tears, bruises and bumps tormented the parents. Now they were being left alone together.

When the children had been left alone, they immediately wanted to fight again. “Do up your sandals,” Kate ordered her brother. “Leave me alone!” he waved her off. “I won’t!” Kate had been appointed as the senior and she immediately felt all the charm of authority. “You promised to obey me so do what I say!”

Gene looked at his sister with hatred. He got down on his knees and began to do up the straps slowly. He was waiting for the sister’s patience to run out. It was her way to have patience. Gene could not bear it and groaned, “Help me.” This was a clever manoeuvre but Kate guessed her brother’s intention. She wanted to give him a good kick but kept herself in control and fastened the ill-fated clasps.

This time Gene and Kate did not fight. They did not fight for two more hours. When they got home, both started to be busy with their own things. Kate started to read a book about the adventures of a girl Alice, and Gene scattered his toys all over the room and set up a battle between the beasts and the dolls. He purposely tried to play noisily in order to bother his sister but she did not pay him any attention because she was captivated by the space adventures of the girl from the future.

“Read aloud!” Gene suddenly demanded. The last thing in the world Kate wanted now was to read aloud. “This book is not for you,” she answered, not taking her eyes off the page. “Why?” “You’re still little.” Nothing so upset the boy as these words from his sister. “Fool!” he fired maliciously. “Little and foolish.” Kate decided to tease her little brother. “You want to fight? Let’s! But consider, you started first.” “I need you!” “Then shut up!” “Didn’t ask you!”

Suddenly, both were silent because they remembered that they always started a squabble with precisely such words. Kate was older, and all the blame for the quarrel would lie on her. “Okay, Gene,” she said conciliatorily. “Already late; let’s have supper.” “Fine, let’s eat.”

Gene rejoiced that he had turned out to be the winner of this skirmish. He understood that his sister did not want to appear as the party at fault so he decided to bring her to a furious state and then retreat. He also did not want to become the instigator of an argument, or worse, a fight – although he could.

Do you think these children would respect and obey their parents? No, they were disobedient and now and then drove their unhappy parents almost to heart attacks. This time, however, they had given an oath and they had never done this earlier. From the stories of their parents and from books and movies, they knew that God, fate, or someone else would severely punish whoever broke any oath. Kate and Gene were afraid of becoming oath-breakers; therefore, they tried not to step over the boundary beyond which a quarrel would begin.

What happened next? Kate prepared supper. She was an independent girl. Gene tried to make trouble at the table. “Not tasty!” he stated while picking at the food on the plate. Mama in Kate’s place would start to assure the son that everything was very tasty, healthy, and nourishing. Kate, however, quietly said, “You don’t like it, you don’t eat.” There was nothing left for Gene to do but to resign himself.

Gene silently ate his supper and demanded to have the TV on. Kate had nothing against that; otherwise, why did they so long to be left at home alone? Certainly it was to have fun and do what they were not allowed to normally; for example, watch evening programs on TV.

Kate again decided to demonstrate her authority. “First pick up your toys,” she said sternly. “Why?” Gene was sincerely surprised. “You haven’t washed the dishes.” He was right. Kate had forgotten to do this. She bit her lip in annoyance but decided not to give up. “I’ll wash now and you pick up the toys.” “I don’t think so.” “Then I won’t turn on the TV.” “I’ll turn it on myself.” “I won’t let you.”

A quarrel was brewing. The children understood this but they were already tired of keeping the peace and they continued the skirmish. “What can you do to me?” There was no stopping Gene. “I’ll send you to bed and watch an interesting movie myself.” “Won’t work!” “Why is that?” “Because!”

In the depth of her soul, Kate understood that there was actually nothing she could do in this situation. She decided to take a different approach. “Okay, Gene,” she said in a sly voice. “Do you want me to take you to the zoo tomorrow?” The boy’s eyes sparkled. The proposal was very tempting. “You don’t say!” he exclaimed. “Of course I do!” “Then pick up the toys.” “Okay,” Gene agreed.

The first day without their parents ended peacefully. The brother and sister were glued to the TV for almost two hours; Papa and Mama would have gone out of their minds if they found out about this. Then Gene and Kate brushed their teeth and went to bed.

Chapter Two THE FIGHT AT THE ZOO

A shout woke Kate early in the morning. It was Gene shouting. “Get up!” he brusquely demanded and pulled the blanket off her. “Time for us to go.” The girl looked at the alarm clock. It was seven in the morning. “You’re out of your mind!” she was annoyed, “Still early; I want to sleep.” “But you promised!” Gene whined. “Let’s nap for at least one more hour, then we’ll go.” “I want to eat,” the boy stated. “Well, get something from the fridge and eat.”

Kate was in despair. She knew from personal experience that her brother would not leave her alone until he got his own way. Anger gradually began to take hold of her. When people’s sleep is interrupted, it is easy for them to be driven out of their wits. Kate started getting angry with her brother for not letting her sleep, with herself for thoughtlessly promising him the day before a trip to the zoo, and generally with everyone and everything.

“So, you’re not getting up?” Gene asked, squinting. “No!” “Then I’ll go alone.” “Just try,” Kate muttered and turned over to the other side.

Kate fell asleep and did not hear how Gene puttered in the kitchen, how he prepared breakfast and dropped a plate doing so. He wandered around the apartment for a long time in search of his clothes because he had scattered them all over the place the night before. He banged something in the foyer. It was scary to go out alone but Kate would not get up. Gene was obstinate and this time he was unable to get the better of his own stubbornness. Besides, it would be disgraceful to back off. Gene slammed the door and began to go slowly down the stairs. Kate continued to sleep.

It was such a bright, sunny morning in the courtyard that Gene instantly forgot the disagreement and headed straight for the zoo. There was some change in his pockets. He bought three lollipops at the kiosk and briskly walked along the street while looking around. Passers-by were moving to and fro. No one paid any attention to the little boy in unbuckled sandals and with a lollipop in his mouth. The question why the boy was alone at this early hour entered no one’s head. Trolley buses rushed past; streetcars dinged from time to time. The city was living its usual active life. Gene walked. He knew the way to the zoo even better than the way to school although the way there was about five times longer.

The boy loved animals very much and he was terribly envious of children whose home had a dog, a cat, or any little beast. He and his sister repeatedly asked their parents to let them get something. Nothing helped. Once, the children even promised their parents that they would live in peace and harmony if they could have a dog. Their parents did not believe them.

Gene got to the zoo but the gates were still closed. Time was dragging along very slowly. It even seemed to the boy that time had stopped completely. There was nothing left to do but be patient and wait.

“Nasty kid!” Kate cursed when she woke up and saw that her brother was not at home. “Ran off.” She was certain that Gene was running in the courtyard and therefore did not begin to worry. Mama and Papa forbade the boy to go out onto the street alone unaccompanied by an adult or his sister. Kate should run and get Gene home but she did not because she thought, “Why did we remain alone? In order not to interfere with each other. If I tell him to come home, he won’t listen. We’ll fight. Better let him play. When he gets hungry, he’ll come running like a good kid.”

Two hours passed and Gene did not return. Kate began to worry. She really did not want to go out but there was nothing else to do. She decided to give her brother a good dressing down. The boy, however, was not in the courtyard and Kate became very frightened. She ran along the street while glancing into all the secluded corners in vain. Kate sat on a bench and gave the situation some thought. Did Gene actually run off to the zoo? Apparently so, Kate decided and ran in the direction of the zoo. Passers-by looked at her with surprise.

When Kate got to the zoo, she discovered that she did not have any money at all. Would she really have to return home? The girl got even angrier with her brother. Her anger grew with each second. When Kate got angry, she became very obstinate. The girl decided to get into the zoo at any cost. Without thinking, she went along the fence in search of any hole.

Is it really possible there can be holes in normal zoo fencing? Of course not or else all the beasts would scatter. Kate was tired and found nothing. If she were to meet her brother now, without a moment’s hesitation, she would throw him into the lion cage. Poor Gene did not know what clouds were darkening over him!

Kate turned the corner and saw boys playing a trading card game right on the asphalt. Trading card games had become most popular among children very recently and resembled adult card games. The rules were different everywhere but one thing was essentially the same – instead of playing cards, they used bubblegum cards. In her class, Kate was the champion of this game. She groped in her pocket for her pack of cards and approached the boys. There were four of them and all were a year or two younger.

 “Let’s play?” Kate proposed. The boys uttered not a word. “What, afraid?” the girl asked maliciously. “We don’t play with girls,” answered the oldest who wore a yellow T-shirt. “Why is that?” Kate was indignant. “Because when girls lose, they squeal and howl so you have to give them back their loss. And what game is that?” said another boy. “Right, Ted?” The boy in the yellow shirt nodded with an air of importance. Obviously, he was Teddy.

“No,” Kate grunted, “You won’t beat me.” Such words greatly offended the boys. “Okay!” they yelled in eager rivalry. “You have to play something. Probably saved up five cards…” “Like hell!” Kate showed them her wealth. A whole pack of the finest cards flickered before their eyes. “Well?” Kate asked with a challenge. “Will you play?”

In fifteen minutes the boys were standing with downcast faces and Kate stuffed her pockets with their cards. She won with ease but this was only half the work. “Do you want to win them back?” Kate asked. She knew perfectly well that they had nothing to bet. The kids kept quiet and watched with melancholy as the girl shoved their wealth into her pockets. She specifically did this slowly and carelessly. The boys’ hearts broke when they saw how their cards with cars, airplanes, supermen, and toys were crushed.

“You know where to go!” Teddy muttered sullenly. “Took all away and says: win them back. How will we do that?” “You will redeem them from me and try to win,” proposed Kate. “How’s that?” Teddy did not understand. “Very simple.” Kate mentally divided the price of a ticket to the zoo by the cards won. The ransom was ridiculous. Kate was almost ready to sell the cards for a song. The boys shouted excitedly, expressing their agreement. The transaction took place; a satisfied Kate very quickly counted the money, and her partners retrieved their cards.

“Well, shall we play still?” Kate asked this just in case, for clear conscience. “No way!” the boys who had been taught a bitter lesson answered. “Okey-dokey!” Kate agreed with pleasure. “Bye then!” She ran to the zoo entrance. Her mood had improved noticeably. Winners are magnanimous. Her anger had disappeared by itself. The girl even decided not to punish her little brother but merely to chide him slightly.

Kate went through the gate with the alluring inscription and ran to the cashier, bought a ticket, and handed it to the old lady with the red band. After a minute, she was by the cages with animals but was not interested in them. Kate searched for Gene. In the zoo it was easier to find a camel or an orangutan than a seven-year-old boy. In fact, signs were hanging in the cages about where certain beasts or birds could be found. There was no sign where to search for Gene Constantinov and one cannot make the rounds of the entire zoo in a day.

Kate first rushed to the lion cages, then to the monkey cages. Gene was nowhere. The girl rushed about from side to side. She asked visitors whether they had seen a little boy in dark blue shorts and an orange short-sleeved shirt. She heard different answers; some positive, some negative, but no one could say anything specific.

Please do not think that Kate did not know that one could go into the broadcasting centre of the zoo and ask to announce over the PA about a lost boy named Gene. She was just so bewildered that she did not think of doing this. Sometimes even adults are at a loss in difficult situations.

Time passed. There were fewer and fewer people; the zoo visitors were moving one after the other to the exit but Kate was still running from one cage to another, from one enclosure to another. “Perhaps Gene isn’t in the zoo?” Kate posed the question to herself once again. Right then she saw her brother. The boy was standing in the pond with waterfowl and watching spellbound as ducklings played. He nearly fell into the water from surprise when his sister’s hand grabbed him by the collar.

“Gotcha!” Kate announced triumphantly. “Let me go!” the boy desperately struggled to break loose. “Now we’ll go home,” the girl said with threat in her voice. “I’ll have a talk with you there, an appropriate chat.” Then Gene bit his sister’s finger. “Ouch!” Kate yelled and let go of her brother. “There!” Gene bounced to a safe distance and stuck out his tongue at his sister. Kate rushed to him. Gene moved to the side but the girl managed to seize her brother’s hand. She dragged him to the exit.

“I still haven’t seen everything!” Gene yelled. “Enough for today.” “No! I want to stay!” “You can manage without,” Kate cut him off. She was barely restraining herself from delivery a good slap to the back of her obstinate brother’s head. To drag a resisting and struggling boy was difficult. To argue with him was even more so. The rare remaining visitors looked over at the children and disapprovingly shook their heads.

“You have no right to deprive me of cultural leisure in a public place!” Gene shouted. He knew many clever words and expressions and loved to use them on occasion. “Besides, you promised me!” “Yes, I did,” agreed Kate. “But who let you run away from home? Who? Disgusting boy!”

 “Not my fault that you sleep like a sick monkey.” He should not have said this. “You’re a monkey!” the girl was angry, downright mad with this comparison. Yes, she had this small fault; she loved lying in bed in the mornings but she let no one laugh at her, not even her own brother.

The boy continued to call her by other offensive nicknames. “Sleepyhead!” he shouted. “I saw this beast today. The spitting i of you! ” “Shut up!” Kate was ready to cry with mortification. There was no stopping Gene. He understood that at long last he had found his sister’s weak spot and decided to make full use of it. “No, you’re more like a sloth. It sleeps even when hanging on a branch. If you hang upside down, you’ll also sleep as if nothing has happened. ”

“Is that so?!” Tears escaped Kate because of her resentment. She broke down and, forgetting about everything in the world, encircled her brother with her left arm, turned him around with his back to her so that he could not break away; the immediate surrounding was filled with resounding slaps.

Hitting was a forbidden action. Their parents had never lifted a finger to either Kate or Gene in their whole lives; it was just not done. There was a law in their family: capital punishment was forbidden. In a fit of temper, Kate spanked Gene. This happened near the giraffe cage. The animals looked at the children with surprise.

When the stung boy finally broke loose from his sister’s hold, he leaped to the side, with both hands on the injured place and started to cry loudly. Kate looked stunned at her brother. She understood that she had done something terrible but did not know what she should do now. “Gene…” she muttered, “I didn’t mean…”

The insulted child, shaking with sobs, broke into a run. He had not experienced such humiliation for three years since Kate had done the same to him the first time. Then he had had a real fit. Their parents had been barely able to calm their son down and severely punished their daughter. They did not talk to her for a week. Kate vowed never to do this again.

Today she broke two oaths at once. She spanked Gene and quarrelled with him. The girl was so at a loss that she did not immediately run after her brother. When she came to her senses, he was nowhere to be seen. The search had to begin anew, only this time her mood was completely different. Kate was dispirited and downcast.

Gene hid in the bushes which grew by the water of one of the canals and cried bitterly. He wept with resentment, humiliation, and guilt. The boy squatted down, hugging his knees with his arms, and, after burying his face in them, quietly howled like an offended wolf cub. Tears fell on the sand and left dark specks on it. Suddenly through his tears, he heard someone hailing him by his name. The voice was low, deep, and unusual. “Gene. Little boy Gene,” the voice called.

Gene raised his head, wiped the tears with his fists, and looked around. There was nobody beside him; however, someone continued to call him non-stop. The boy turned his head in perplexity. Five swans were floating in the water so close to the shore that one could stretch a hand out to them. It could not really be them talking to him! Gene looked more attentively at the birds and unexpectedly realized that it was precisely them addressing him in a human tongue. “Who’s here?” he asked just in case. “Who’s calling me?” “We are,” answered the largest and the most beautiful swan. Gene stopped crying and plopped down onto the ground in surprise.

Chapter Three THEFT