Read Online The Exploits of Moominpappa (Moominpappa's Memoirs) by Tove Jansson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Tove Jansson
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Mymbles grow terribly big?'
'A small one's enough,' I said.
'That's what mother says, too,' she replied. 'D'you know, I was born in a clam and wasn't bigger than a water-flea when mother found me in her aquarium!'
'Fibbing again,' I said. 'I know perfectly well that people grow inside their mothers, like apple seeds.'
'Any way you like,' said the Mymble's daughter.
Just then the Joxter half-rose and said:
'Wait a bit! Here's something funny...'
A ragged cloud passed across the moon. We listened intently. Everything was silent.
'You're trying to scare us!' said the Muddler. 'We're the only colonists on this island.'
'Perhaps,' said the Joxter and sat down again. 'I just had a kind of feeling that somebody went sneaking over the sand. Like apple seeds, did you say?'
'Yes, or a plum-stone,' I replied. 'Are you sure you're mistaken? Didn't you see anybody?'
'Something grey and misty, perhaps - I don't really know,' mumbled the Joxter. 'It glided, sort of.'
'I'm cold,' said the Muddler nervously. 'Excuse me, won't anybody take me home?'
'You can stay with me tonight,' said the Mymble's daughter. 'I'm terribly brave.'
'Is your house strong?' asked the Muddler.
'Concrete and stone!' she answered.
(Of course we all knew that she was lodging under a big leaf.)
But the Muddler felt easier, and they walked off together with the Nibling, as soon as we had tied an address label to his tail for the voyage and kissed him on the nose. (It was greatly to his honour that he didn't bite anybody's snout for a farewell.)
'Best regards to your mother,' Hodgkins said. 'And don't sink the packet boat.'
'I shan't,' said the Nibling happily, and so he went.
'Well,' Hodgkins said and drained his wine cup. 'I suppose we'll call it a day, too. The laws can wait.'
'Couldn't we have an outlaw colony?' asked the Joxter. 'Laws are always a bother.'
'Ought to break them first, of course,' Hodgkins said. 'I mean, something has to go wrong before you know a law is called for.'
'But if you do something the wrong way and nothing goes wrong afterwards?' I asked. 'It happens, you know. Does that call for a law, too?'
'A poser, that,' Hodgkins said. 'Good night, everybody!'
We separated at the Muddler's tin, that stood empty and abandoned on the hill-top (as usual he had forgotten to put the lid on).
I walked on alone to my house.
It stood beautifully outlined against the sky between the cliff-tops by the beach. The sand glittered in the moonlight, and all the shadows were pitch-black. I mounted the stairs to the former steering-cabin and opened the window. The night was so silent that you could hear the big furry moths brushing their wings.
Then the door downstairs gave a creak.
A cold draught swept up from below and breathed down my neck.
Now, afterwards, I'm sure I wasn't scared; I simply took natural precautions. Determinedly I crawled under the bed and waited.
Soon the stairs began to creak also. One small creak, and then another. There were nineteen steps, I knew, because the staircase had been quite a complicated affair to build (it was a winding staircase, of course). I counted nineteen creaks, then everything was silent once more, and I thought: 'It's standing by the door.'
*
Here Moominpappa stopped reading. The thrill was intense.
'Sniff,' he said, 'turn up the wick, please. Do you know, my paws become all wet when I read about that ghastly experience!'
'Then it was a ghost?' asked Moomintroll who had pulled his quilt up to his ears.
'It was a ghost,' replied Moominpappa seriously.
'Did my daddy the Joxter like that Mymble very much?' Snufkin suddenly asked.
'I think he did,' said Moominpappa a little thoughtfully.
'More than me?' asked Snufkin.
'He never saw you, you know,' said Moominpappa. 'I mean - if he'd seen you I suppose he'd liked you more still. But Snufkin dear, don't look so downcast Wait a bit, I'll show you something!'
Moominpappa went to the big corner cabinet and started a search on the lowest
'A small one's enough,' I said.
'That's what mother says, too,' she replied. 'D'you know, I was born in a clam and wasn't bigger than a water-flea when mother found me in her aquarium!'
'Fibbing again,' I said. 'I know perfectly well that people grow inside their mothers, like apple seeds.'
'Any way you like,' said the Mymble's daughter.
Just then the Joxter half-rose and said:
'Wait a bit! Here's something funny...'
A ragged cloud passed across the moon. We listened intently. Everything was silent.
'You're trying to scare us!' said the Muddler. 'We're the only colonists on this island.'
'Perhaps,' said the Joxter and sat down again. 'I just had a kind of feeling that somebody went sneaking over the sand. Like apple seeds, did you say?'
'Yes, or a plum-stone,' I replied. 'Are you sure you're mistaken? Didn't you see anybody?'
'Something grey and misty, perhaps - I don't really know,' mumbled the Joxter. 'It glided, sort of.'
'I'm cold,' said the Muddler nervously. 'Excuse me, won't anybody take me home?'
'You can stay with me tonight,' said the Mymble's daughter. 'I'm terribly brave.'
'Is your house strong?' asked the Muddler.
'Concrete and stone!' she answered.
(Of course we all knew that she was lodging under a big leaf.)
But the Muddler felt easier, and they walked off together with the Nibling, as soon as we had tied an address label to his tail for the voyage and kissed him on the nose. (It was greatly to his honour that he didn't bite anybody's snout for a farewell.)
'Best regards to your mother,' Hodgkins said. 'And don't sink the packet boat.'
'I shan't,' said the Nibling happily, and so he went.
'Well,' Hodgkins said and drained his wine cup. 'I suppose we'll call it a day, too. The laws can wait.'
'Couldn't we have an outlaw colony?' asked the Joxter. 'Laws are always a bother.'
'Ought to break them first, of course,' Hodgkins said. 'I mean, something has to go wrong before you know a law is called for.'
'But if you do something the wrong way and nothing goes wrong afterwards?' I asked. 'It happens, you know. Does that call for a law, too?'
'A poser, that,' Hodgkins said. 'Good night, everybody!'
We separated at the Muddler's tin, that stood empty and abandoned on the hill-top (as usual he had forgotten to put the lid on).
I walked on alone to my house.
It stood beautifully outlined against the sky between the cliff-tops by the beach. The sand glittered in the moonlight, and all the shadows were pitch-black. I mounted the stairs to the former steering-cabin and opened the window. The night was so silent that you could hear the big furry moths brushing their wings.
Then the door downstairs gave a creak.
A cold draught swept up from below and breathed down my neck.
Now, afterwards, I'm sure I wasn't scared; I simply took natural precautions. Determinedly I crawled under the bed and waited.
Soon the stairs began to creak also. One small creak, and then another. There were nineteen steps, I knew, because the staircase had been quite a complicated affair to build (it was a winding staircase, of course). I counted nineteen creaks, then everything was silent once more, and I thought: 'It's standing by the door.'
*
Here Moominpappa stopped reading. The thrill was intense.
'Sniff,' he said, 'turn up the wick, please. Do you know, my paws become all wet when I read about that ghastly experience!'
'Then it was a ghost?' asked Moomintroll who had pulled his quilt up to his ears.
'It was a ghost,' replied Moominpappa seriously.
'Did my daddy the Joxter like that Mymble very much?' Snufkin suddenly asked.
'I think he did,' said Moominpappa a little thoughtfully.
'More than me?' asked Snufkin.
'He never saw you, you know,' said Moominpappa. 'I mean - if he'd seen you I suppose he'd liked you more still. But Snufkin dear, don't look so downcast Wait a bit, I'll show you something!'
Moominpappa went to the big corner cabinet and started a search on the lowest
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