LITMIR.BIZ

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we do not know that. What if there was a year in between? Or ten years? She could be as old as my own grandmother now.”

      “I used to pull such grandkids by their tails back in my days,” Lu was getting hot under the collar.

      However, Lemonade’s arguments seemed pretty reasonable.

      “Well, I don’t feel old, even twenty-five years old. I feel like a girl, just like I used to be.” Lu shrugged, puzzled.

      “‘Pull by their tails,’” muttered Lemonade, whose feelings were hurt. “Just look at yourself.”

      “Guys!” Allie pleaded, “Let’s not start a fight. We’ve got more than enough trouble on our hands. Let’s better think what we should do next.”

      That was hard to argue with. Putting their petty disagreements aside, the strange little group began to plan their further actions.

      4. LEMONADE GOES SPYING

      Dawn was already breaking when the friends were finally done discussing all potential courses of action and settled on the one that seemed the most safe and doable. They agreed on the following facts:

      Number one: Mean Jean had put a spell on Allie’s parents so that she could get hold of the magic cylinder, which had been meant for her use in the first place.

      Number two: According to Mean Jean’s calculations, Allie would be under a spell too; Mean Jean had no idea that Allie wasn’t, and that was good.

      Number three: Mean Jean also had no idea about Lu and the fact that one of the magic cylinder’s properties had been discovered. That was also good.

      And, finally, number four: Mean Jean had no idea about the secret plot against her; that was wonderful as it gave the friends certain advantages.

      The plan was to keep secret the fact that Allie was not under the spell like her parents. For that reason she was not allowed to leave the house, answer the door or the phone. Moreover, it was decided that Mean Jean should be followed in order to gather more information about her magic activities.

      “She might have some kind of magic books,” Lu was saying, “where you can find out how to break the spell. Or maybe we can learn how to use the cylinder for that purpose. You never know what you can find… Anyhow, we need to send a spy into the enemy’s lair. I will go.”

      Allie and Lemonade protested unanimously. Their reasons were simple and persuasive: how can a stuffed monkey climb into somebody’s window in the middle of the day unnoticed? On the other hand, Lemonade was an ideal candidate for a spy. After some brief arguing with Lu, he was finally appointed for that role.

      When the plan’s details had been all worked out, it was already morning. A sunbeam sneaked into the room in between the closed curtains and fell on the shelf that held the cylinder. The blue light was dimmed, but the cylider sparkled with a whole rainbow of colors.

      Allie got out of bed and reached for the cylinder. And then something happened that showed that this magic object was not only the source of good, but also of danger when handled by clumsy or careless hands.

      When Allie picked up the cylinder, she accidentally pressed on top of the blue disc, and it joined the cylinder with a soft click, becoming part of it like before. Allie heard a dull thump behind her; she turned around and saw that Lu was on the floor, with her arms and legs bent awkwardly. Lemonade was sitting nearby with his head tilted, looking at Allie with reproach.

      “Oh no, what have I done!” exclaimed the startled girl and began to pull on the blue disc to unclick it from the cylinder again.

      Her hands were sticky with sweat, her fingers felt awkward and clumsy, and it happened so that instead of one disk two clicked off the cylinder – the blue one and the yellow one.

      A bright green beam shot out of the cylinder, stretched across the room like a taut thin line and hit the armchair in the corner by the floorlamp. One second later, the chair… vanished. That is, Allie thought so at first. Only later, when, panic-stricken, she placed the disks back and the beam disappeared, she saw next to the floorlamp a tiny little toy chair – an exact copy of the big one that had just been there. Now it was only fit for the smallest of Allie’s dolls. Allie just shook her head and cautiously turned the cylinder in her hands, checking it around. Then, very slowly and carefully, she managed to pull off just the blue disk. Lu stirred and sat up. Then she turned her head from side to side, moved her arms and legs and finally looked at Allie and said in a stern voice:

      “You might want to be careful next time. Try not to do that again, OK?”

      Allie assured her that she would never-ever do that again. More than that, she suggested that Lu should keep the cylinder. The little zipped pocket on Lu’s overalls would be perfect for that. It was just the right size. The suggestion was accepted, and the cylinder was moved to Lu’s pocket.

      “Well,” mused the cat as he touched the little chair with his paw, “it would be nice to have a manual for this toy. I mean the cylinder.”

      “Well, then why don’t you go find it, Lemonade?” said Lu. It’s time for you to go scouting.”

      “I believe it is,” agreed the cat. “I’m going then.”

      “Be careful out there,” Allie petted his head and scratched behind his ear.

      “Listen, Lemonade,” the monkey said suddenly, “you never told us your story. How come you can talk now?”

      “What is there to tell? Always been a cat, just a smart one. I’ve always been able to talk, it’s just no one could hear me.”

      With a shot of his green eyes, Lemonade made his way to the door.

      ***

      A large tiger-striped cat slowly walked into the sunlit courtyard. Squeamishly making his way around the puddles, he headed toward the playground where some young moms were watching their kids. After he picked a good spot, Lemonade (it was, of course, him) made himself comfortable on the bench, drawing all his paws under his belly. He looked as content as could be, and an unsuspecting observer could have easily have thought that the cat had fallen asleep in the warm sun. But that person would be far from the truth. Lemonade’s eyes were indeed almost closed, but he had an excellent view of everything that was going on around him. So, when Jean emerged from the building and left for her usual morning rounds, the cat got up, stretched, jumped off the bench and slowly ran off in the opposite direction, as if on his own feline business.

      Jean lived on the first floor. Both of her windows faced the courtyard, so Lemonade had no trouble picking the right moment to jump through the open one into her house.

      The interior of the apartment puzzled the cat. To tell the truth, he had expected to see a dark dingy room overrun with cobwebs, perhaps a hearth and a boiling cauldron with some magic potion in it. Nothing of the sort. The studio apartment was unexpectedly spacious on the inside and very tastefully, and even elegantly, furnished. He saw massive polished dark-wood furniture that was clearly not from a regular furniture store. Lemonade was especially surprised to see the high-tech electronic gadgets around the room. He was even doubtful whether it was the right apartment, but, thinking about it, decided there could be no mistake. He was also surprised to see the heavy dark-green velvet drapes on the windows that made the room dim, almost dark. Lemonade could have sworn that from the outside it looked like the windows were covered with light tulle curtains. However, the darkness didn’t bother the cat, quite the opposite.

      Lemonade began with exploring the whole apartment, but didn’t find anything suspicious or interesting. There were no magic books, but even if he’d found some, it was hard to say what he could’ve gotten from them.

      Half an hour passed. The mistress of the apartment was supposed to come back soon, and Lemonade decided to look for a good hiding place. He decided to crawl under the couch, which would allow him not only to hear but also see all the happenings. He got under there just in time. It wasn’t

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