The Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon

The Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon

Author:Eleanor Farjeon
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-59017-548-4
Publisher: New York Review Books
Published: 2012-03-14T04:00:00+00:00


II

It is a quick step from Paradise to the world, once you decide to take it, and Felix was at the City gates in a brace of shakes. It was still evening when he arrived. A river spanned by fine bridges ran through the middle of the City, dividing it into two halves; in one half the banks were bordered with trees and flower-beds, ornamental lakes and palaces, and gay places where people sat and ate, or danced in the open air. This side of the City was lit with thousands of golden lamps; the other side was darker. Felix wandered among the trees, wondering on which side he would find his brothers. All round him rolled carriages with prancing horses driven by coachmen who cracked their whips and never stopped shouting. This seemed great fun to Felix, and he stood still in the middle of the road, enjoying the noise and lively movement going on about him. Suddenly the shouts and excitement grew twice as loud as before, and Felix felt his shoulder seized by a tall man with a stick in his hand.

‘Now then, my little fellow, do you want to get run over?’ he demanded.

‘No,’ said Felix.

‘Then don’t stand in the middle of things. You’d better run along home.’

‘I can’t yet,’ said Felix.

‘Why not? Are you lost?’

‘Not at all,’ said Felix. ‘I know quite well that I am in the world, and that it is not Paradise.’

The tall man shook with laughter. ‘That’s something to know, that is!’ said he. ‘Well, and what are you doing in the world tonight?’

‘I am looking for my brothers,’ said Felix.

‘Then you are lost,’ said the man.

‘Not at all,’ repeated Felix. ‘I have only lost them, and it is very important to find them by tomorrow noon. Where are they?’

‘How should I know?’

‘I ought to have told you,’ said Felix, ‘that they are Theodore and Crispin.’

‘Oh, I see!’ said the man, winking at the crowd that had collected. ‘Theodore and Crispin! Well, you will no doubt find them on the top of the Eiffel Tower.’

‘Thank you,’ said Felix. A dozen laughing voices told him that he must cross the water by the next bridge, so he followed the river through the trees and lights, and the crowd followed Felix.

Before he reached the bridge his nose was assailed by the most tempting of smells, and he remembered that he had had no supper and was very hungry. So he stopped at the place the smells came from. It was the gayest of places, as gay as any in that gay City. Many tables spread with delicious food stood under coloured umbrellas among the trees; lights flashed among the leaves, music played from a white pavilion where waiters were moving to and fro with platters of fruit, dishes of ices, and decanters of wine. Round the tables sat men and women in brilliant dresses, with jewels on their hands and in their hair. Some danced, some ate and drank; snatches of song and ripples of talk and laughter filled the air.



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