Tales From the Secret Annex Part 5

But, oh, what was THAT? Something white with green eyes approached slowly, staring at him. Directly in front of him, it stopped and asked in a strange small voice: "Who are you, and why have you eaten all my food?"

"I am Blurry, and, on a voyage of discovery, a fellow needs something to eat. But 1 really didn't know that it belonged to you."

"So, you are on a voyage of discovery. But how is it that you had to discover just MY saucer?"

"Because I didn't see any other," Blurry answered in an unfriendly tone. Then he thought better of it, and asked in a kindlier manner:

"But what is your name, and what kind of strange creature are you?"

"I am Muriel and I belong to the family of Angora cats. I am very valuable, at least my mistress always says so. But you know, Blurry, I am forever alone and am often bored. Won't you stay with me for a while?"

"I will stay and sleep here," said Blurry, as though he were doing Muriel a favor. "But tomorrow, 1 must go on and discover the world."

As a beginning, this seemed fair enough to Muriel.

"Come along," she said, and Blurry followed her to an- other room where he again saw nothing but wooden legs. Still there was something else. In a corner stood a big wicker basket in which lay a pillow covered with green silk. Muriel stepped onto the pillow with her dirty feet, but Blurry thought it a pity to soil things that way. "Shan't I first wash up a bit?" he asked. "I'll wash you, just as I wash myself," replied Muriel. Blurry was not acquainted with that method, and that was a good thing, for had he known he wouldn't have permitted Muriel to start.

Now the cat told him to stand up straight and calmly ran her tongue over his feet. It made Blurry shiver and he asked if that was her usual way of taking and giving baths.

"Yes, it is," she said. "You will see how clean you'll get; you will shine, and a shiny bear has entree every- where and so finds it much easier to discover the world." Blurry controlled his shivers and uttered no complaint, brave bear. Muriel's bath seemed to take hours; Blurry was getting a little impatient, and his feet hurt from standing so long, but finally he did shine. Muriel again stepped into the basket and Blurry, who was exhausted, lay down. In less than five minutes they were both asleep.

Next morning Blurry awoke, and it took him a while to realize where he was. Muriel snored a little, and Blurry badly wanted his breakfast. Without considering the com- fort of his hostess, he shook her and started to give her orders: "Give me my breakfast, please, Muriel; I am awfully hungry."

The pretty Angora puss first had a good yawn, stretched to twice her usual length, and answered:

"No, no, you get nothing more. My lady mustn't notice that you are here; you must leave, as quickly as possible, through the garden."

Muriel jumped out of the basket, took Blurry along through the room, out of the door, into another door, and then again out of a door, this time a gla.s.s one, and they were outside. "Bon voyage, Blurry," she said. "Till we meet again!" And she was gone.

Lonesome and no longer convinced of his cleverness, Blurry walked through the garden and then, through the hole in the hedge, into the street. Where should he go, and how long would it take to discover the world? Blurry didn't know. Very slowly he walked along when, suddenly, a big four-legged thing ran toward him at full speed. It made tremendous noises so that Blurry, almost deafened and shaking with fear, clung to the side of a house. The gigantic thing halted, and Blurry began to cry from fear. The monster, not a bit disturbed by this, sat down and did nothing but stare at the poor little bear with his big eyes. Blurry pulled himself together. "What do you want of me?" he asked.

"I only want to take a look at you, because I've never seen anything like you."

Blurry breathed a sigh of relief. After all, one could talk, even with this ogre. Here was a curious thing, Blurry thought; why couldn't his own little mistress ever understand him? But he didn't have much time to consider this weighty question, for the big beast opened his mouth wide, showing all his huge cruel teeth. This made Blurry shiver worse than he had during Muriel's washing session.

What would the monster do to him? He soon found out, for the beast, without a by-your-leave or with-your-leave, grabbed him by the neck and dragged him through the street.

Blurry couldn't cry, for he would have choked to death if he had; shouting was also out of the question. All that was left him was to shudder, and that didn't give a fellow any courage. He didn't have to walk now; if his neck hadn't hurt so, it wouldn't have been too bad; it was like a ride.

After all, it could be worse. But you did get woozy in the head from that continuous pushing. Where, where, is he taking me? Where? . . . Blurry, held fast by the animal, had dozed off. But the nap didn't last long. The beast suddenly was at a loss to know why he carried this thing in his teeth. Carelessly, he dropped him and ran off. And there lay the helpless little bear who wanted to discover the world, all alone with his pain. Bravely, he rose in order not to be trampled upon, rubbed his eyes, and looked around.

Far fewer legs, far fewer people, much more sun, and fewer cobbles under his feet. Could this be the world? There was no room in his poor head for thoughts; every- thing hurt and hammered in there. He didn't want to walk anymore. Why should he? Muriel was far away, his mother still farther, and his little mistress. . . No! He was on his way, and he must persist until he had discovered the world.

A sound behind him startled him, and he turned around, hoping that no other beast was going to bite him. No, it was a little girl.

"Look, Mama, a little bear! May I take him along?"

"No, my dear, he is sick. Look, he is bleeding."

"That doesn't matter, Mama; we can wash it off when we get home. Then I'll have something to play with."

Blurry didn't understand a word of this conversation; little bears know only animal talk. But the little blond girl looked so sweet that he didn't resist when he was wrapped in a scarf and put into a bag.

So, swaying to and fro, Blurry continued his voyage through the world. After they had walked for a time, Blurry, with the scarf still around him, was taken out of the bag, and the girl carried him on her arm. That was a piece of luck, for now he could see the road from above. What big piles of stones, very high, with here and there a white opening! And, way on top, almost to the'sky, there was a swirl of smoke. That must be for decoration, just like the feather on his little mistress' hat. Wasn't that funny?

Below, on the road, something said "toot-toot" and ran very fast, though it had no legs, only some round, blown-up things. Say what you like, it was worth the trouble to go discover the world! What was the use of always staying home? Why were you born? Surely not to stick forever with your mother. No, see and experience things, that was the way to grow up! Yes, Blurry knew what he wanted.

At long last the girl stopped at a door. She went in, and the first thing Blurry saw was something on the order of Muriel. This one was called Puss, if Blurry remembered right. This Puss stroked the legs of the blond girl, but she pushed him away and took Blurry to a white thing. It was high above the ground, wide and smooth. At the side, there was something of shiny metal which could be turned. This the blond girl did, and she set him down on a hard, cold place. Then the girl began to wash him, especially that part of his fur where that nasty beast had bitten him. It hurt a lot and Blurry cried, but no one seemed to mind.

Fortunately, this wash didn't last as long as the one Muriel had given him, but it was colder and much wetter. The girl finished her task pretty quickly, dried him, wrapped him in a fresh scarf, and put him in a down bed, just like the one his little mistress had for him. But why go to bed? Blurry wasn't the least bit tired and didn't want to go to sleep. The girl was no sooner out of the room than he slid out of bed and, by way of a large number of doors and holes, landed once more in the street.

"I must get something to eat," thought Blurry. He sniffed; "Yes, there ought to be something good around here, for you can smell it."

He followed his nose and soon stood at the door from which the fine aroma came. He slipped into the big store between the stockinged legs of a lady. Behind a big high something stood two girls. They quickly caught sight of him. They must have worked hard all day long and could use a little help, for they picked him up at once and placed him in a rather dark s.p.a.ce where it was very, very hot.

That wasn't so bad; the main thing was that you could eat there as much as you pleased. On the floor and on low shelves, there lay rows of buns, rolls, and pastries, prettier than any Blurry had ever seen. What, after all, HAD Blurry seen? Not so much, come to think of it. Hungrily, he attacked the good things and ate so much that he almost got sick.

Then he took another thorough look around. There was really much to be seen here, it looked like a sweet-tooth's paradise. Everywhere loaves of bread, rolls, tarts, cookies, just for the taking!

And it was very busy here. Blurry saw many white t legs, very different from those in the street. But there i wasn't much time for dreaming; the girls, who had been' standing at a little distance, pushed a broom into his hands and showed him how to use it. Sweep the floor -- Blurry knew all about it -- he had seen his mother do it.

But it wasn't as easy as it looked. He tried bravely, but the broom was big and heavy, and the dust tickled his nose so that he had to sneeze. And it was so hot; he felt more and more uncomfortable from the work he wasn't used to and the heat, but each time he stopped to rest for a minute, somebody put him back to work and gave him a slap besides.

"If only I hadn't walked in here so hastily," he thought, "then I would have been spared all this heavy work." But there was nothing he could do about it. He had to sweep, and sweep he did. When he had swept a long time, so long that the dirt lay in a big heap in a corner, one of the girls took him by the hand and led him to a spot where some hard yellow shavings lay on the floor. They told him to lie down, and Blurry understood that he was allowed to sleep.

He stretched out as if the shavings were a comfortable bed, and he slept until the next morning. At seven o'clock he had to get up, was again permitted to eat all he wanted, and once more was put to work. Poor Blurry, he wasn't even rested. He wasn't used to working and the heat bothered him terribly. His little head, arms, and legs ached, and he felt as if every part of him was swollen.

Now for the first time, he began to long for home, for his mother, his little mistress, his soft bed, and the nice lazy life; but how would he ever get there? Escape was out of the question; they kept a sharp eye on him and, besides, the only door to the street was in the room where the two girls worked all day long. No, Blurry simply had to bide his time. His thoughts were confused, he felt dizzy and weak. Everything about him started to turn; he sat down -- n.o.body told him not to. When he felt a little better, he went back to work.

After a week of sweeping from morning until evening, he scarcely knew anything else. Little bears forget quickly, and that is a good thing. But he had not forgotten his mother and his home; only they seemed so unreal and so very far away!

One evening the two girls who had caught Blurry read this advertis.e.m.e.nt in the newspaper:

REWARD FOR THE RETURN OF A SMALL BROWN BEAR.

WHO ANSWERS TO THE NAME OF BLURRY.

"Do you think that could be our little bear?" they asked each other. "He doesn't work very hard; in fact, you can't expect it from such a small creature. If we get a reward for returning him, we will be better off than we are now."

They ran to the back of the store and yelled, "Blurry!"

Blurry looked up from his work; had anyone called him? The big broom fell from his hands; how did they know his name? The girls came closer, and once more they called, "Blurry!"

He ran toward them. "Yes, his name is Blurry, all right," one of the girls said to the other. "Let us take him back tonight." Agreed. That same evening, Blurry was delivered to the home of his little mistress, and the girls got their reward.

Blurry's little mistress gave him a spanking for his dis- obedience, and then a kiss because he was safely home again. His mother only asked:

"Blurry, why did you run away?"