Read Online Man From Mundania by Piers Anthony - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Piers Anthony
Tags: Fiction, General, Fantasy, Magic, Epic, Fantasy Fiction; American, princesses, Xanth (Imaginary place)
Ads: Link
any detail on Xanth. The de-
mons were only trying to help, in their fashion.
Satisfied, the matron brought Ivy back to the main
chamber, and spoke a torrent of gibberish to the demon
in charge. The demon made an "I surrender" gesture and
waved to the back of the room.
Grey appeared. Ivy ran to him and flung herself into his
arms and hugged him closely. What a relief to be with him
again after being captive by the demons!
The demons allowed them to go. In fact, they even ar-
ranged for Ivy and Grey to get a ride in a big car, one that
held about fifty people in twin rows of chairs. But Ivy,
catching on to a good thing, turned back to the matron
and made signs to ask for the picture book of signs. This
was a way she could talk to Grey in Mundania, too! The
matron, who was remarkably nice for a demoness, gave
her the book and a smile.
The big car came and they climbed in and found two
seats together near the rear. Then Ivy opened the picture
book and started teaching Grey the signs.
The "bus," as it turned out to be called, did not go
directly to No Name Key; in the confused Mundane man-
ner it went instead to a huge village, where they had to
get off and go find another bus. But the other bus wasn't
there yet, so they had to wait in the big, crowded building
for several hours. That was really no problem; there were
toilet facilities of the Mundane kind—separate ones for the
Man from Mundania 49
males and females—and places where Grey could buy them
more sandwiches. They used the extra time practicing
signs. Grey was almost as quick as she had been to realize
their usefulness; if they learned all of these signs, they
would not need Com-Pewter to make the Mundane gib-
berish intelligible.
A Mundane man saw them practicing, and approached.
Embarrassed, Grey desisted, but the man surprised them
by using the signs himself. You deaf? he inquired, touch-
ing his ear and then his mouth.
No Ivy signed. Then she did a double take. This man
knew sign language!
It turned out that the man was deaf and had long ex-
perience in using the signs and in something termed "lip
reading" that enabled him to understand the words spoken
by others. He was waiting for the same bus they were, and
had thought they were deaf like him. His name was Henry.
He was glad to give them practice in the signs, for he
could make them with marvelous finesse, so rapidly that
it was impossible for them to follow. But with practice,
he assured them, they too would be able to communicate
like this, so that it was almost as good as regular speech.
Their bus was late, but they hardly noticed. They went
right on practicing, their dialogue becoming increasingly
proficient, though nowhere close to Henry's proficiency.
When the bus came, they took seats beside Henry so they
could keep practicing.
Then their bus broke down. They had to wait for three
more hours for a "relief bus" to resume their journey. It
didn't matter. The other passengers, bored with the delay,
gradually joined in, and Henry became the teacher of a
class. It was evidently a game for some, using signs in-
stead of gibberish, but it was a game that several children
took up with great enthusiasm and aptitude.
The new bus came, and they all transferred to it, and
their journey resumed. Most of the Mundanes lost interest
in the class, but a number stayed with it. For the first time
Ivy was able to talk, in a limited way, directly with Mun-
danes! They turned out to be folk very like herself and
50 Man from Mundania
Grey, traveling to visit friends or family or to new types
of work or just for the fun of it.
Night closed, and finally they returned to their padded
chairs and rested, and Ivy slept. It had been a long day-
but a good one. She was glad, now, that the Flatfoots had
picked them up; she had gained far
mons were only trying to help, in their fashion.
Satisfied, the matron brought Ivy back to the main
chamber, and spoke a torrent of gibberish to the demon
in charge. The demon made an "I surrender" gesture and
waved to the back of the room.
Grey appeared. Ivy ran to him and flung herself into his
arms and hugged him closely. What a relief to be with him
again after being captive by the demons!
The demons allowed them to go. In fact, they even ar-
ranged for Ivy and Grey to get a ride in a big car, one that
held about fifty people in twin rows of chairs. But Ivy,
catching on to a good thing, turned back to the matron
and made signs to ask for the picture book of signs. This
was a way she could talk to Grey in Mundania, too! The
matron, who was remarkably nice for a demoness, gave
her the book and a smile.
The big car came and they climbed in and found two
seats together near the rear. Then Ivy opened the picture
book and started teaching Grey the signs.
The "bus," as it turned out to be called, did not go
directly to No Name Key; in the confused Mundane man-
ner it went instead to a huge village, where they had to
get off and go find another bus. But the other bus wasn't
there yet, so they had to wait in the big, crowded building
for several hours. That was really no problem; there were
toilet facilities of the Mundane kind—separate ones for the
Man from Mundania 49
males and females—and places where Grey could buy them
more sandwiches. They used the extra time practicing
signs. Grey was almost as quick as she had been to realize
their usefulness; if they learned all of these signs, they
would not need Com-Pewter to make the Mundane gib-
berish intelligible.
A Mundane man saw them practicing, and approached.
Embarrassed, Grey desisted, but the man surprised them
by using the signs himself. You deaf? he inquired, touch-
ing his ear and then his mouth.
No Ivy signed. Then she did a double take. This man
knew sign language!
It turned out that the man was deaf and had long ex-
perience in using the signs and in something termed "lip
reading" that enabled him to understand the words spoken
by others. He was waiting for the same bus they were, and
had thought they were deaf like him. His name was Henry.
He was glad to give them practice in the signs, for he
could make them with marvelous finesse, so rapidly that
it was impossible for them to follow. But with practice,
he assured them, they too would be able to communicate
like this, so that it was almost as good as regular speech.
Their bus was late, but they hardly noticed. They went
right on practicing, their dialogue becoming increasingly
proficient, though nowhere close to Henry's proficiency.
When the bus came, they took seats beside Henry so they
could keep practicing.
Then their bus broke down. They had to wait for three
more hours for a "relief bus" to resume their journey. It
didn't matter. The other passengers, bored with the delay,
gradually joined in, and Henry became the teacher of a
class. It was evidently a game for some, using signs in-
stead of gibberish, but it was a game that several children
took up with great enthusiasm and aptitude.
The new bus came, and they all transferred to it, and
their journey resumed. Most of the Mundanes lost interest
in the class, but a number stayed with it. For the first time
Ivy was able to talk, in a limited way, directly with Mun-
danes! They turned out to be folk very like herself and
50 Man from Mundania
Grey, traveling to visit friends or family or to new types
of work or just for the fun of it.
Night closed, and finally they returned to their padded
chairs and rested, and Ivy slept. It had been a long day-
but a good one. She was glad, now, that the Flatfoots had
picked them up; she had gained far
Similar Books
