chapter6-page_104-124

Chapter 6 Less than a kilometer from the villa was

a hill covered with grass and heather and three tiny olive groves.

I called these groves the cyclamen woods, for in the right season the ground beneath the

olive trees was covered with pink and red flowers of cyclamen.

The cyclamen woods were an excellent place to spend an afternoon.

Lying beneath the shade of the olive trees, you could look out over the valley and watch

the shining sea.

The hilltop had a tiny breeze and no matter how hot it was below in the valley, up here

the tiny wind played constantly.

It was an ideal place to rest after an exciting lizard hunt.

When your heart was beating and your clothes were soaked and sweat and the three dogs hung

out their tongues and breathed heavily.

One day the dogs and I were resting after such a hunt when I found two new pets.

The dogs, exhausted from the hunt, had thrown themselves down among the cyclamen and lay

on their stomachs.

Their eyes were half closed.

I sat leaning against a hundred year old olive tree and gazing out over the fields in

the valley.

Far below I saw a black and white shape appear in the sky.

It was a magpie that was flying towards me.

It dived into the depths of an olive tree not far from where I was.

And after a pause, I heard a chorus of baby birds from the tree.

The magpie flew out of the trees and down the hillside to get more food for her babies.

I waited until the bird was far away and then got up and found the tree from which the

sounds had come.

High up there in the branches, half hidden by the leaves, I could see a large nest.

Exitedly, I started climbing the tree while the dogs gathered at the bottom of the trunk

and watched me with interest.

Carefully, I reached the nest.

It was a huge structure in the form of a basket.

The entrance hole was small and the twigs that surrounded it had sharp thorns to discourage

unwanted guests.

Trying to avoid looking down, I lay on my stomach along the branch and pushed my hand

through the hole.

Under my fingers, I could feel soft skin.

Carefully, I took out one baby.

It was no beauty.

It had a bald head, half open sleepy eyes, and rather a silly look.

Its skin was pink and covered in wrinkles, and it had no feathers yet.

I removed three more babies from the nest, each as ugly as the one in my hand.

I examined them carefully and decided to take two and leave the other two for the mother.

I thought this was quite fair.

I chose the largest and the smallest, put them in my shirt, and climbed back down.

As I carried my new pets home, I tried to decide what to call them.

I reached the villa and found the family, who had just returned from shopping in town, getting

out of the car.

Holding out the babies in my hands, I asked if anyone could think of suitable names for

them.

The family reacted in different ways.

"'Aren't they sweet?' said Margot.

"'What are you going to feed them?' asked Mother.

"'How ugly they are,' said Leslie.

"'Not more animals,' said Larry."

"'Oh, Master Jerry's,' said Spiro.

"'What's them's?'"

I replied that they were baby magpies.

I asked if they could think of any names, but the family were not in a helpful mood.

"'You took them away from their mother, poor little things,' said Margot.

"'I hope they're old enough to eat, dear,' said Mother.

"'Honestly, the things Master Jerry's finds,' said Spiro.

"'You'll have to watch out they don't steal,' said Leslie.

"'Steal,' said Larry in fear.

"'Do they steal?'

"'Yes,' said Leslie.

"'Magpies are awful thieves.'

Larry took a banknote from his pocket and waved it over the babies.

"'They immediately pushed their heads up, opened their mouths, and started moving frantically.

"'Larry jumped back.

"'You're right,' he exclaimed.

"'Did you see that?

"'They tried to attack me and get the money.'

"'Don't be ridiculous, dear.'

"'said Mother.

"'They're only hungry.'

"'Mother, you saw them leap at me, didn't you?

"'It's the money that did it.

"'Even at this age they have criminal instincts.

"'He can't keep them.

"'Go and put them back where you found them, Jerry.'

"'I can't do that,' I said innocently.

"'The Mother would leave them, and they would starve to death.

"'As I had guessed, this immediately got Mother and Margot on my side.

"'We can't let the poor things starve,' protested Margot.

"'I don't see any harm in keeping them,' said Mother.

"'You'll regret it,' said Larry.

"'You're asking for trouble.

"'Every room in the house will be searched.

"'We'll have to hide all our valuable things away.

"'This is crazy.'

"'Don't be silly, dear,' said Mother.

"'We can keep them in a cage and only let them out for exercise.'

"'Exercise,' cried Larry.

"'I guess you'll call it exercise when they're flying around the house

"'with hundred drachma notes in their beaks.

"'I promise that the magpies will never be allowed to steal,' I said.

"'Larry gave me an angry look.

"'I pointed out that the birds had not been named yet,

"'but nobody could think of anything suitable.'"

"'What's you going to do with them's monsters?'

"'Ask Spiro.

"'I'm going to keep them as pets,' I said angrily.

"'Besides, they are not monsters.

"'They are magpies.'"

"'What's you calls them?',' asked Spiro.

"'Magpies, Spiro.

"'Magpies,' said Mother, slowly and clearly.

"'Spiro repeated this new English word to himself.'

"'Maginpies,' he said.

"'Maginpies.'

"'Magpies, Spiro,' corrected Margot.

"'That's what I says,' said Spiro.

"'Maginpies.'"

So, from that moment, we gave up trying to find a name for the birds

and called them maginpies.

By the time the maginpies had become fully grown birds,

Larry had become so used to seeing them around

that he had forgotten about their stealing habits.

In the beginning, they were shiny and fat and very talkative.

Sitting on top of their basket and flapping their wings,

they looked like two innocent little birds.

All went well until they learned to fly.

They began by jumping off the table on the veranda,

flapping their wings wildly and landing into a crash

on the stone's five meters away.

As their wings got stronger, their courage grew.

And before long, they accomplished their first real flight,

going around the villa.

They looked so lovely with their long tails in the sunlight.

They knew that the kitchen was an excellent place to visit,

but only if they stayed on the doorstep and did not go inside.

They never entered the sitting room in the dining room

if someone was there.

They knew that they could only enter my bedroom

because they were not welcome in the others.

They were constantly being told not to do things,

and they found this boring.

The bedroom that really fascinated them was Larry's,

and I think this was because they never managed to get a good look inside.

If they even attempted to sit on his window sill,

Larry would yell with anger and start throwing things at them.

They could not understand Larry's attitude at all.

They decided that if he complained so much,

it must be because he had something to hide,

and it was their duty to find what it was.

They waited patiently until one afternoon,

Larry went for a swim and left his window open.

I did not know what the magin pies had been doing until Larry came back.

They had carried out their attack in silence.

As he came up the hill, Larry saw one of them sitting on his window sill

and shouted angrily at the bird.

The bird made a sound of warning,

and the other one flew out of the room.

They both flew to the magnolia tree.

Larry ran into the house, grabbed me, and took me upstairs.

When he opened the door, he gave out a painful scream.

The magin pies had gone through the room,

like a secret service agent, searching for missing plans.

On the floor lay manuscripts of Larry's book and typing paper.

Most of them had holes made in them.

The magin pies loved paper and could never resist it.

The typewriter was sitting on the table, covered in bird droppings.

There were paper clips everywhere, on the carpet, on the bed, and on the table.

The table, the floor, the manuscript, and the bed

were decorated with footprints in red and green ink.

This is the last straw!

Said Larry, his voice shaking.

Either you do something about the birds or I will.

But you can't blame the magin pies, I protested.

They are interested in things.

They can't help it.

They were made like that.

All members of the Crow family are curious by nature.

I did not ask for a lecture on the Crow family.

Said Larry, threateningly.

I am just telling you that you will either have to get rid of them or lock them up.

Otherwise, I will do something else.

The rest of the family gathered to find out what was going on.

Oh no!

Dear, what have you been doing?

Asked Mother, looking at the destroyed room.

Mother, I'm not in a mood to answer silly questions.

It must be the magin pies, said Leslie.

Anything missing?

No, nothing missing, said Larry bitterly.

They've made an awful mess of your papers, said Margot.

Larry stared at her for a moment, taking a deep breath.

What an accurate observation, he said.

Well done.

There's no need to be rude, said Margot.

Larry didn't mean it, dear.

Explained Mother, he's just very upset.

Upset?

Upset?

Those vultures come in here and tear my book before it's even finished,

and you say I'm upset?

It's very annoying, dear.

Said Mother, trying to be understanding.

But I'm sure they didn't mean it.

After all, they're only birds, they don't understand.

Oh, please don't start, Mother.

Said Larry fiercely.

I've already been informed about the nature of the crow family.

It's unbelievable how this family treats animals.

You are about to say it was my fault that my room looks like it has been invaded by Attila the Hun.

Well, I'm telling you, if something isn't done about those birds right away,

I will deal with them myself.

Larry looked so mad that I decided to take the maggampies into my room and out of danger.

I locked them up in their basket while I thought about the best thing to do.

It was obvious that they had to go into a cage,

but I wanted a really large one for them.

I could not build one myself, and I could not ask the family to help me.

Thankfully, Mr. Kroleski helped me build one.

He came to the villa one day, and we built it together.

The maggampies were unhappy about their cage, even though it was very large.

They found it frustrating not to be able to examine things as they used to.

Their view was limited to the front of the house, so if anything happened in the back,

they would go almost crazy and start flying around the cage, making strange sounds.

Most of their time was spent on studying the Greek and English languages,

and imitating the sounds they heard.

Within a very short time, they had learned the names of all the members of the family.

They would wait until Spiro had got into the car and started driving.

They would then start screaming,

Spiro! Spiro!

Making him hit the brakes and returned to the house to find out who was calling him.

They also loved to shout,

Go away!

And come here.

At the same time, in both Greek and English, which confused the dogs very much.

The house was full of activity again.

Groups of villagers were gathered at the back door, holding hens and baskets of food.

Spiro arrived twice a day, the car full of food, drinks, chairs, and tables.

The maggampies, feeling the excitement, flew from one end of their cage to the other,

sticking their heads out through the wire.

In the dining room, Margot sat on the floor, drawing pictures on huge sheets of paper.

In the sitting room, Leslie was counting the chairs and tables to see if there were enough.

The kitchen, where mother and two village girls were cooking,

was like the inside of a volcano, clouds of steam, sparkling fires,

and the soft bubbling sound of pots.

The dogs and I wandered from room to room, giving advice and helping if we could.

Upstairs in his bedroom, Larry slept peacefully.

The family was preparing for a party.

We had decided to give a party again, and for no reason.

We had suddenly felt like it.

The family invited everyone they could think of, including people they disliked.

Everyone was preparing with enthusiasm.

It was early September, but we decided to call it a Christmas party.

We decided to invite our guests to lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner.

This meant we had to prepare a great amount of food,

so mother disappeared into the kitchen and stayed there for hours.

Even when she did come out, it was impossible to have a normal conversation with her,

because all she talked about was food.

Our parties never went as planned, no matter how hard we tried.

There was always a last minute problem.

We had become used to this.

This time, our Christmas party was almost taken over by animals.

It all started with the goldfish.

Recently, I had caught a new terrapin that I called Old Plop.

I got a large stone tank, which had been used as an olive oil store,

and turned it into a pool.

I furnished it with rocks, water plants, and sand, so it looked very natural.

I put my terrapins and water snakes in there, and they seemed to like it, too.

But I felt that the pool lacked something, and after some thought,

I concluded that what it needed was some goldfish.

The problem was I did not know where to get them.

The nearest place to buy them was Athens, but this would be very difficult.

I really wanted my pool to be ready for the party.

The family were all busy with the party preparations.

So I went to Spiro.

After I described in detail what goldfish were,

he told me that he thought my request was impossible.

He had never seen any such fish in Corfu, but he would try.

The day before the party, Spiro came and caught me in the quiet corner,

and looked around to make sure nobody could hear us.

Master Jerry's, I think I can get you them goldenfishes, he said.

Don't say anything to anyone's.

You come into town with me this evening, and bring something to put them in.

Very pleased with this news, I spent the afternoon preparing a can to bring them home in.

Spiro came and drove me to town.

We went to the other side of town, and parked outside some enormous gates.

Spiro got out of the car, looked around secretively, went to the gates, and whistled.

Immediately, a man with a big mustache appeared out of the bushes, and they started whispering.

Spiro came back to the car.

Gives me the cans, Master Jerry's, and you stay here's, he said.

The man opened the gates, and Spiro went in, and they both walked to the bushes.

Half an hour later, Spiro appeared, holding the tin next to his chest.

His shoes and trousers went.

There's you are, Master Jerry's.

He said, handing the tin to me.

Inside, swam five fat and shiny goldfish.

Extremely happy, I thanked Spiro.

That's all right, he said, starting the car.

Only, don't say the things to anyone's, all right?

Where did you get them, I asked?

And who does the garden belong to?

Never's minds, he smiled.

Just keeps them hidden, and don't tell anyone about them.

Some weeks later, walking with Theodore, I happened to pass those gates, and asked him what the place was.

He explained that it was the palace in which the Greek king stayed when he came to the island.

My admiration for Spiro was extreme.

He had broken into a palace, and stolen goldfish from the king's pond.

It was on the morning of the party that things really started to happen.

After breakfast, I ran to see my goldfish, and discovered that two of them had been eaten.

I had forgotten that terrapins and water snakes sometimes like to eat fish.

So, I had to move them into separate tins, until I could find a solution to the problem.

As I had other things to do that morning, I forgot about the terrapins and the water snakes.

It was now almost lunchtime, and the first guests would arrive soon.

I went back to the pond, and discovered that someone had moved the water snakes tin

out of the shade, and put it directly under the sun.

They were lying on the water surface, and not moving, so for a moment I thought they were dead.

I picked up the tin, and ran into the house.

Mother was busy in the kitchen.

I explained the problem of the snakes, and asked her if I could put them in the bath for

an hour or so.

Well, yes, dear.

I think that would be alright, but before you do that, make sure everyone has taken their

bath, will you?

She said.

I filled the bath with cool water, and placed the snakes inside.

In a few minutes they began moving.

Feeling satisfied, I left them, and went upstairs to change.

When I went downstairs, I got out into the veranda to take a look at the lunch table.

I was shocked to see that the magin pies were sitting in the center of the table.

The cutlery was thrown around, and there were footprints and butter all over the tablecloth.

Pepper and salt decorated the table, and the water jug had been emptied on everything.

The magin pies were acting very strangely.

Instead of flying away, they sat on the table, making happy sounds to each other.

One of them walked unsteadily across the table, lost his balance, and fell heavily off the table,

and onto the ground.

The other one made a sound of laughter, put his head under his wing, and fell asleep.

I was puzzled by this unusual behavior.

Then I noticed a broken bottle of beer on the ground.

It was clear that the magin pies were very drunk.

I caught them both easily.

I held them in my hands, and thought if I should put them back in the cage before anyone noticed.

Suddenly, mother appeared, carrying some sauce.

I had nowhere to run.

Really dear, you must be careful about their cage door.

You know what they're like.

Mother said unhappily, never mind, it was an accident.

I took the magin pies back to their cage.

Soon after, the guests started to arrive, and I joined them on the veranda.

I was talking to Theodore when suddenly, Leslie appeared out of the olive trees, his gun under his arm.

He had been shooting.

He came and showed us his bag full of things he had hunted.

Leslie then went into the house to change, and Theodore and I continued our conversation.

Everyone was busy talking and drinking, when suddenly we heard a cry from inside the house.

It sounded like the cry of a dinosaur suffering from toothache.

What's the matter with Leslie?

asked Mother.

Soon he appeared on the veranda, with a towel wrapped around him.

Jerry?

He roared, his face read with anger.

Where's that boy?

Now dear, said Mother, what's the matter?

Snakes, shouted Leslie, opening his arms wide to indicate extreme lengths.

Snakes, that's what's the matter.

The guests reacted in interesting ways.

The ones who knew us were watching with interest.

The ones who did not know us wondered if maybe Leslie was a little crazy,

and were not sure if they should ignore him and go on talking,

or jump onto him before he attacked someone.

What are you talking about, dear?

asked Mother.

The stupid boy has filled the bath with snakes, said Leslie.

Language, dear, language, said Mother.

I wish you would put some clothes on, you'll catch a cold.

They're so big, it's a miracle they didn't bite me.

Never mind, dear, it's really my fault.

I told him to put them there, said Mother.

She turned to the guests and explained.

They were suffering from a sunstroke, poor things.

Really, Mother?

Explained, Larry.

I think that's carrying things too far.

Now don't you start, dear, said Mother firmly.

It was Leslie bathing with the snakes.

I don't know why Larry always has to interfere, said Margot.

Interfere?

I'm not interfering.

If Mother and Jerry fill the bath with snakes, I think I have the right to complain.

Oh, shut up, said Leslie.

When is he going to remove the stupid snakes?

That's what I want to know.

I think you're making a fuss out of nothing, said Margot.

If we're going to start washing ourselves outside the house,

I will have to move, said Larry.

Am I going to get a bath or not?

asked Leslie.

Why can't you take them out yourself?

Only a caveman would feel at home here.

Oh, please be quiet.

I have a right to say my opinion.

I want a bath, that's all.

Shirley does not too much to ask.

Now, now, dears, don't quarrel.

Said Mother.

Jerry, go and take the snakes out of the bath.

Put them somewhere else for now.

No, they have to go outside.

All right, dear, don't shout.

So I borrowed a saucepan from the kitchen

and put my water snakes in that.

I was happy to see that they had recovered completely

and hissed at me when I removed them out of the bath.

I returned to the veranda and heard Larry talking to the guests.

I tell you, this house is a death trap.

Every single corner is filled with evil creatures waiting to jump on you.

A simple action like lighting a cigarette is dangerous.

First, I was attacked by a scorpion,

an ugly monster with babies all over the place.

Then my room was destroyed by magpies.

Now we have snakes in the bath.

Larry, dear, you do exaggerate, said Mother, smiling at the guests.

My dear Mother, I'm not exaggerating.

What about the night quasi -modo decided to sleep in my room?

That wasn't so awful, dear.

Well, said Larry.

It wasn't so wonderful to be woken at three in the morning by a pigeon

who's trying to poke your eye out.

Yes, well, we've talked enough about the animals, said Mother,

trying to change the subject.

I think lunch is ready, shall we all sit down?

Well, anyway, said Larry as we moved to the table.

That boy is a troublemaker.

The guests were shown to their places and everyone sat down.

The next moment, two of the guests gave out a scream and jumped up.

Oh dear, what's happened now?

Asked Mother.

It's probably scorpions again, said Larry, leaving his seat quickly.

Something bit me, bit me in the leg.

There you are, exclaimed Larry.

I told you, you'll probably find a bear under there.

The only person who was not frozen with horror was Theodore.

He lifted the cloth and poked his head under the table.

Uh -huh, he said, interestedly.

What is it?

Asked Mother.

Theodore reappeared from under the cloth.

It seems to be some sort of a bird, a large black and white one.

It was my goal, Aleko.

He had been given to me some time ago by a man called Kosti Penopolis.

It was a magnificent bird.

When I had brought it home, Larry was against the idea of keeping him.

But I had managed to convince the family to let me keep him.

It's that albatross, said Larry excitedly to Theodore.

No, no, correct at Theodore.

It's some species of goal, I think.

Don't move, keep still or he will bite your knees off.

Larry informed everyone.

Everybody rose and left the table.

Jerry, catch that bird immediately, commanded Larry.

Yes, dear, Mother agreed.

You'd better put him back in his cage, he can't stay under there.

I gently lifted the cloth.

Aleko stared at me with angry yellow eyes.

I stretched out a hand towards him and he lifted his wings and clicked his beak wildly.

I got a napkin and tried to hold his beak with it.

I explained to everyone that he was in a bad mood and it would take some time to catch him.

Well, please hurry up.

The soup's getting cold, said Larry irritably.

It's probably hungry, said Theodore, and seen us eat made him angry.

At last I succeeded in holding Aleko's beak.

With difficulty, I pulled him out from under the table.

I carried him back to his cage and left him there as he screamed at me.

I went back to lunch.

After lunch, everyone was full and there was nothing to do except siesta on the veranda.

Some of us went down to the beach for a swim until tea time.

Mother's food for tea was amazing.

Hot scones, paper thin biscuits, cakes with jam and fruit.

Conversation had almost stopped because everyone was busy eating and drinking tea.

Afterwards, we lay a bout on the veranda in little groups, talking sleepily as the sun went down.

Larry offered to go inside and have a drink.

Inside, the rooms glowed with lamp light.

Margot's brilliant pictures moved gently on the walls with the evening breeze.

Conversation continued into the night.

Later, we went back to the veranda where the moon was shining.

Larry, his mouth full of food, played his guitar gently.

Mother walked around, asking everyone if they were having enough to eat.

Karlefsky was sitting on the veranda wall, telling a story.

Theodore was giving a lecture about the stars, pointing at them with a half -eaten turkey leg.

Outside, the island was black and silver under the moonlight.

Far down in the cypress trees, the owls called each other comfortingly.

The sky was black and soft.

In the garden, the magnolia tree stood vast and tall, its branches full of white flowers.

Their thick, sweet scent hung over the veranda.

Mr. Karlefsky had informed Mother that he had taught me as much as he could.

He thought the time had come for me to go to England or Switzerland to finish my education.

I argued against the idea desperately and said I liked being half -educated.

You were much more surprised at everything when you were ignorant,

but Mother had made up her mind.

We were going to return to England and spend a month or so there.

We would then decide where I was going to continue my studies.

She told us we should see it as a holiday, a pleasant trip.

We would soon be back in Karlefsky.

So, we packed our boxes, bags, and trunks, and made cages for the birds and tortoises.

The dogs looked uncomfortable in their new collars.

We took our last walks among the olives and exchanged tearful goodbyes with our village friends.

We loaded our belongings into the cars and set about.

We got to the customs office and unloaded all of our belongings into the customs shed.

Mother stood, holding a big bunch of keys, waiting for the customs officer.

The rest of us were talking to Theodore and Karlefsky, who had come to see us off.

The customs officer appeared and was slightly shocked at the sight of our mountain of stuff.

The magin pies peered out of the cage.

Mother nervously shook her keys.

The customs man looked at Mother and the luggage and frowned.

"'This your?' he asked."

"'Yes, yes, all mine,' said Mother.

"'Do you want me to open anything?'"

The customs man paused.

"'Hof you, any new clues?' he asked.

"'I'm sorry,' said Mother.

"'Hof you, any new clues?'"

Mother looked around desperately to find Spiro.

"'I'm so sorry, I don't understand.'

"'Hof you, any new clues, any new clues?'"

Mother smiled.

"'I'm sorry, I can't.'"

The customs man looked at her angrily.

"'Madam,' he said, "'Do you speak English?'"

"'Oh, yes,' exclaimed Mother happily.

"'Yes, a little.'"

Fortunately, Spiro arrived.

He calmed Mother and the customs man.

He explained that we had not bought any new clothes for years.

The luggage was moved to the ship in a very short time.

He found a piece of chalk and marked all of the luggage so that there would be no confusion.

"'Well, I won't say goodbye, but only... see you later,' said Theodore,

shaking hands with each of us.

"'I hope we will have you back with us very soon.'

"'Goodbye, goodbye,' said Krelefsky.

"'We will look forward to your return and have a good time.

Make the most of your stay in England."

Spiro shook our hands silently and then stood staring at us.

He was holding his cap in his huge hands.

"'Well, I'll say goodbye,' he began in a shaky voice.

Great fat tears rolled down his eyes.

"'I didn't mean to cry, but it's just like saying goodbye to my own peoples.

I fear you belongs to me.'"

We got on the ship.

As the ship moved, we saw our three friends standing on the water's edge.

Theodore, standing straight and serious, was waving goodbye with his walking stick.

Krelefsky was jumping up and down.

And Spiro was crying and wiping his eyes as he waved his hand.

As the ship left Corfu, a sadness settled on us,

which lasted all the way back to England.

We got on the train from Brindice to Switzerland,

and we sat in silence, not wishing to talk.

Above our heads were the cages with the mag and pies and a let go.

Around our feet, the dogs lay snoring.

When we got to Switzerland, an official came in to check our passports.

He examined them and handed them back to Mother,

together with a small piece of paper,

bowed smilingly, and left.

Some time later, Mother looked at the form the official had filled in.

"'Just look at what he's written here,' she exclaimed.

Disrespectful man."

Larry looked at the little form.

"'Well, that's the price you pay for leaving Corfu,' he said.

On the little card, under description of passengers, had been written,

one traveling circus and staff.

"'What a thing to write,' said Mother.

Really, some people are strange."

The train moved towards England.