Part 9 (1/2)
”Of course It was in the corner of their roo from which I came I made my first atteth offrom Schiller to Goethe”
”What are Schiller and Goethe?”
”Statues,” explained Puck, very superior, ”statues of two uished theht hand and one on the left hand, and nobody pays any attention to them”
”What's a mirror? And why do the statues stand under theyour belly when you crawl on it
It's very ao up to a mirror, they either put their hands up to their hair, or pull at their beards When they are alone, they smile into the mirror, but if somebody else is in the room they look very serious What the purpose of it is, I could never aood deal from the mirror I'd fly into it and of course be thrown back violently”
Maya plied Puck with more questions about the mirror, which he found very difficult to answer
”Here,” he said at last, ”you've certainly flown over the smooth surface of water, haven't you? Well, a ht”
The little fly, seeing that Maya listened most respectfully and attentively to the tale of his experiences, becaood deal pleasanter in his h she didn't believe everything he told her, still she was sorry she had thought so slightingly of hi
”Often people are far more sensible than we take them to be at first,” she told herself
Puck went on with his story
”It took a long tie
Now at last I knohat they want It isn'tevery day”
”I can scarcely believe it,” said Maya ”Why, they have so s
Cassandra toldthat you can't fly round theht of our queen, houses that float on the water, and houses that glide across the country on two narrow silver paths and go faster than birds”
”Wait a etically ”Who is Cassandra? Who is she, if I may make so bold as to ask? Well?”
”Oh, she was my teacher”
”Teacher!” repeated Puck contemptuously ”Probably also a bee
Who but a bee would overestis like that? Your Miss Cassandra, or whatever her name is, doesn't know her history Those cities and towers and other huood to us Who would take such an impractical view of the world as you do? If you don't accept the premise that the earth is dominated by the flies, that the flies are the most widespread and et a real knowledge of the world”
Puck took a few excited zigzag turns on the leaf and pulled at his head, to Maya's intense concern However, the little bee had observed by this tiot out of his head any way
”Do you kno you can tell I aether as if to tie them in a knot ”Count the number of people and the number of flies in any rooht But that's not the point”
”Do you think I was born this year?” Puck demanded all of a sudden
”I don't know”
”I passed through a winter,” Puck announced, all pride ”My experiences date back to the ice age In a sense they take e That's why I'm here--I'm here to recuperate”
”Whatever else you may be, you certainly are spunky,” remarked Maya