Unconquered Sun (47 page)

And then the Fairy, having buzzed wings, rose in air, behind her also her new friends flew up. Three monkeys with onions and darts departed slightly ahead, probably, showing the road, and the former captive who was much less large by the size, maybe, a female, departed near the Fairy. Their Fairy did not understand language so she needed only to guess what they spoke among themselves about. But one was clear - what occurred in the gorge was for them absolutely exclusive event which blew their mind up to the depth of their dark monkey soul.

Soon they gained the sufficient height so mountains appeared far below. Also they flew strictly on the northeast. "Though in it it was lucky, we should go then to Monastery of the Invincible Sun less" - the Fairy thought.

5.

At last, having made sharp turn to the right and having rounded the last snow peak, the Fairy saw big, with almost flat top as though it was cut off by some giant knife, the gray rock. All rock was speckled by a set of black holes that gave it similarity to a piece of cheese or to a huge ant hill. And in these "holes" flew, winged monkeys took off.

- "Wow!" - the Fairy thought. - "Yes here their whole colony, is not less than at ants!"

But actually, having flown up closer, the Fairy noticed that there is not a lot of monkeys because flew inside and almost same monkeys took off from there. Having a little looked narrowly, the Fairy saw - why. It appears, monkeys put the hunting trophies on the next plateau, and now moved them inside in parts.

When the Fairy with accompanying flew up to one of openings, of it already tumbled down curious. They surrounded them with a dense ring and began to guffaw, pointing a finger at the Fairy and on the former captive, but average of three accompanying something roared, and curious parted. And the Fairy could enter, at last, in caves.

These caves were obviously man-made - such the nature cannot make. With high ceilings, equal, with correctly crossed corridors … Probably, the mountain consisted of some rather soft breed, perhaps, the limestone allowing to cut through such long caves.

The fairy went deep on transitions further and further. Soon the sunlight absolutely ran low, but here, on her surprise then, there in the depth of corridors small sparks began to appear. The rough ceramic flat dishes filled with animal fat stood on the ledges cut in the rock, and somehow lit dark tunnels.

At last, the tunnel led them somewhere down and brought the Fairy to the big stone hall. There already all population of caves gathered. In its opposite end the low rocky eminence on which the largest monkeys already gathered was seen. Three accompanying also joined them. The others gathered in a close semicircle at the bottom.

On an eminence there were white thrones which are cut out from bones of some local monsters - it is possible also with what the Fairy fought. On these thrones pompously of regal persons large monkeys sat, having efficiently spread the leather wings. The others stood silently. Probably, a sign nobody let them speak. The former captive took the Fairy by an arm and pointed a finger in the center of a circle where they also landed then.

In a spacious hall air was not such stuffy, than in corridors - probably, some system of ventilation - and a set of clay lamps on walls worked and on chandeliers gave some light. Monkeys, at least, three-four hundred gathered here.

The former captive on a sign of one of the sitting monkeys flew up on an eminence and began the story.

To the fairy could not look without laughter at it and it hardly restrained not to burst out laughing with might and main. Her story consisted of a set of different movements - she flew up, landed, jumped - supporting them with shrill squeal and a hilarious mimicry. She continually pointed a finger at the Fairy and then all monkeys with astonishment looked at it.

Especially ridiculously it narrated about fight with monsters. To show attack of a pangolin on the Fairy, she had to spit out language in all length, and it is so strong that it got saliva on the most important chairman, and then knocked to itself a fist on a skull and bit tongue, and, having sharply jumped up in air, flew up. And when it was required to describe a duel of the Fairy with dirty-white, she had to pull out a spear at other chairman and to throw it directly in the healthy skeleton of some monster decorating an opposite wall of a cave …

Generally, the story of a monkey was eloquent and made undoubted success. As soon as it finished, the monkeys who were silent until then deafeningly began to guffaw, began to jump, began to fly up up and to land, beat each other shoulders and to be pinched. The fairy nearly became deaf from the noise and din which filled the arches of an underground grotto. But chairmen sat, as well as it befits important persons, with advantage, silently.

At last, the chief chairman sitting in the center raised a paw up and all right there became silent. He pointed by a hand to the Fairy and told something. The fairy understood that he calls her to himself and flew up on an eminence. The Supreme leader of flying monkeys got up and, pointing a finger at the storyteller, told something. The fairy guessed that he asks, probably, what she wants for life of rescued. And the Fairy was ready to such question.

She in a whisper said a spell - and at the very same time from a stone of the Analyzer the bright green beam which, having fallen to the earth, began to grow escaped, having turned into the hologram from two figures - the Kitten and the Puppy. Monkeys in fear jumped aside from suddenly appeared image, some even flew up, but chairmen did not even stir, keeping the advantage. The fairy pointed a finger at Animals, and then - at herself. The chairman nodded, understanding what he there is a speech about.

He told something to others and those too according to nodded, and then told the former captive too. That took the Fairy by hand and together with it departed to one of lateral passes in a cave. Probably, they flew to the inhabited block because on the way to them the great number of winged monkeys, much more small than those that gathered in the hall met. "Probably, it is females" - the Fairy guessed. - "Probably, at flying monkeys, as well as at all lowest races, female individuals play a smaller role, than man's … Fi, what wildness!" - the Fairy thought and again rendered thanks destiny that she was born a reasonable being, but not an animal, the woman, but not the man, and in the highest race of Tselestiya, but not in the lowest.

The monkeys meeting to the Fairy often were not one. Many of them carried on hands small obezyenyshy, and sometimes little monkeys - such pretty, lysenky, covered with the wrinkled rozovenky thin skin, with small fingers on pads - sat at them directly on shoulders. All of them with surprise stopped and in all eyes stared at the Fairy, then began to squall from delight and to guffaw, and little monkeys even to cry with fear.

In a corridor continually there were passes to living rooms in one of which the conductor disappeared Fane.

Small deepening in the mountain, with a low ceiling was "room". In the middle of dark space the fire which several monkey females watched at once burned. They fried on fire pieces of meat on spits. Near them cubs crept. In the room there were intolerable fumes, it was difficult to breathe, and pinched eyes from a smoke. But after all extended the most part of a smoke draft. A floor was covered with skins of some hairy animals on which several obezyenok fell down. In general, as the Fairy understood, this room, apparently, was specially intended for children. They were more here than adults, in addition on a floor some rough toys in the form of the obezyenok which are cut out from bones or small animals rolled. So, one of toys was exactly similar to a zverozuby pangolin with whom the Fairy got acquainted today.

At last, one of females removed a spit with fried meat and began to awake sleeping obezyenyshy. Them slept five there. Three jumped up at once, one even flew up in air, and greedy attacked on food. They removed the hissing pieces of meat from a spit, dexterously transferring them from a palm on a palm to cool, and then greedy devoured them, loudly champing and starting up saliva.

But other two cubs did not wake up. Then a female from the meat remains, having given on a neck to especially zealous persons interested to regale on others share, sat down on edge of a shaggy skin and began to put by force food two remained in a mouth - can, they were patients? But those persistently turned off the muzzles and were spat. But the female, probably, decided to feed them despite everything because she took one of them by the throat and pressured him so that that was forced to open widely a mouth, but at this time other ka-a-a-a-a-k will begin to wail!

- Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Yes what you do, monkeys unfortunate, zveroubiyets and zveroyeda! Yes, how many you will scoff at us here! Yes we do not eat some meat, well understand you! - and ka-a-a-ak will strike with a paw a spit with meat that that flew up to the ceiling up and fell to a floor, and on the pieces which scattered on all room the horde small obezyenyshy right there flew and snatched away them at once!

The monkey female was upset, but managed to undertake nothing any more. The fairy, having learned the Kitten voice, loudly buzzing wings, right there rushed to a skin:

- Zveryatki my dear! I here, I am with you, to me! - also embraced both.

How many there were pleasures how many triumph! Animals just jumped with happiness! Monkeys - both females, and cubs - seeing their pleasure, screeched, and still they as any monkeys began to imitate them - right there started embracing and kissing each other.

It appeared how, interrupting each other, told the Fairy Zveryata, winged monkeys - very peace and kind beings. So far Zveryata played as kids, running one after another on the mountains, monkeys, seeing their shaggy fur coats, took them for the cubs who got lost in mountains and therefore took away them to themselves. Here the Fairy guessed why they committed an assault on it - yes they just protected from it "the" cubs, that's all! And so winged monkeys are the sweetest and kindest beings on light, very sociable and clever, unlike the wingless relatives. They never leave the in trouble - not incidentally they all pack began to beat off a wounded female from monsters, than rescued also the Fairy from danger of death! Now all became clear to the Fairy, and she rendered thanks to the Creator that through this unexpected adventure she got acquainted with absolutely unknown to it unique semi-reasonable race of Tselestiya hitherto.

6.

Flying monkeys long did not want to release friends.

At first they protaskat them on all cave, showing it to sight: a set of skeletons of different monsters which, probably, once were eaten by them, multi-colored rock paintings.

Drawings especially interested the Fairy. They consisted of various scenes of hunting on different creatures. By the way, in one of scenes the Fairy learned hunting even on terrible feelers! Having looked narrowly, the Fairy saw how winged hunters at first enticed the monster from a cave, pretending to be not flying. Then, having enticed it to break, promptly flew up, and the monster fell down and soft-boiled broke. From the drawings Fairy for the first time saw how this monster looks actually: the huge big-eyed sphere teeming with feelers. In comparison with it winged monkeys were all the same that ants before a dog. The fairy rendered thanks once again to the Creator, for the fact that she got off so light from this deadly creature about which existence she did not even suspect! And still she thought that when returns, she will surely report in Department of Community of Flora's safety and Tselestiya's Faunae about taking this wonderful folk finding on a border zone between reasonable and unreasonable types under Guardianship of Community.

But most of all it struck other drawing.

On a separate wall she saw the image of a huge yellow solntsevidny face. In a solar disk it was possible to consider distinctly lips, a mouth, a nose, eyes, however, without pupils and an iris of the eye what are at masks. A set of beams hands imperiously lasted extensively as if wanted to capture all universe. The fairy and gasped, having guessed WHO it is represented here!

Near the sun bit the dust, having upraised in prayful gesture of a paw, a great number of flying monkeys. And between the solar head and flying monkeys there were some strange black beings reminding whether spiders what they were far back in the past Tselestiya, whether ants. Too bowed to these disgusting monsters of a monkey and - oh, horror! (The fairy even hid the face in hands) - brought them the cubs whom those broke off on pieces …

The fairy pointed a finger at this scene and the monkeys surrounding it reverentially put paws on a breast and kneelt, in fear having looked down. The fairy understood that the religion of the Creator - only resolved by Community for reasonable inhabitants of Tselestiya - did not reach this wild, backward country, and unfortunate natives worship as gods to the Invincible Sun and its black servants, strange, absolutely unfamiliar for the Fairy.

"All this should be informed their Knowledge", - the Fairy resolved about herself. - "These unfortunate people have to be exempted from the religious prejudices, are relieved of monsters and acquainted with a civilization and only true religion - and I will do everything possible for this purpose, I promise!"

And then monkeys after all persuaded the guest and her friends to remain on a feast. Of course, the Fairy and Animals did not eat some meat. But offered them a lot of other food - vegetables and especially fruit - as monkeys, let and flying, and without fruit! - it were, generally wild sour apples and pears, and also a set of peanuts.

Having sated, monkeys began to dance dashingly under knock of bass drums and howl bone flutes, and at the separate moments of dance they flew up directly under a ceiling and executed separate pases in flight, and in general - proved to be cheerful, sociable and mild beings. Especially the Fairy was touched by the relations between males and females and between females and cubs. Males and females liked to hold each other by hands, to comb out each other a hair and even to kiss! And cubs - to sit on shoulders at mummies and to strong embrace them for a neck - it looked so touchingly!