LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

hang it on the fridge. – I said, running past the open door and stopping for a second to triumphantly wave a leaf. Grandma was busy talking to Franklin. I ran into the kitchen, hung a piece of paper with a magnet in the very middle of the refrigerator (here my grandmother will definitely notice it right away) and ran back.

      – Forward, on a journey! Franklin yelled at me quite cheerfully. My grandmother called me over, sneezed and spoke in my ear:

      «I put you a little present in your suitcase. Don’t look at it until you arrive at school!

      I took one last look at my grandmother, into her watery eyes, and jumped into the basket of the balloon. I was bitter to fly away from my grandmother. It’s even worse to see her crying in front of our house. The lawn remained far below and I, a coward, immediately fell to the bottom of the basket. I could not look at the distant land. Franklin exclaimed cheerfully:

      – To the north! Wow-oh!

      He pulled on the side cable. And the sails opened behind the ball. Blue and red. Semitransparent, as if not material, but illusions. The basket shook slightly. The sky above with a blue blue sparkled with green waves, lilac sparks. I closed my eyes. She bent her head to her knees, just not to see these glow. It seemed to me that the ball could fall and break on the ground at any moment. I started humming an unlucky children’s song, just to distract myself and…

      – Wow-oh! Great view! The northern shores and mountains are amazing as always! Grandpa Franklin wheezed. «Does the young lady want to see this picture? Nordlig Castle on the horizon! Majestic as always!

      I caught the name of the school and leaned over to the edge of the basket. A gust of wind hit me in the face, and I immediately lay down on the floor again.

      Grandpa Franklin stood over me and pulled one cable, then another. The wind tugged at his gray hair, and the wizard was happy.

      – Let’s sit down on the front lawn, young lady! And you, as I see, are already being met!

      How? Already? So fast? Less than five minutes of flight? Then I noticed that the flashes of the blue sky disappeared, the green color too. A clear blue sky has appeared overboard and black trees can be seen at the edge of the view.

      The pitching stopped. And I looked around the lawn with joy, and then jumped out of the basket onto the soft green grass. My suitcase and bag landed nearby. I waved goodbye to Grandpa Franklin.

      – Thank you! – I shouted, trying to shout over the wind and glad that I left the aeronautical board. He rose higher and higher into the sky. Franklin waved to me too. He shouted something, and his balloon spread the sails. Another minute, and I have a clear sky over my head. Franklin was swept away in the winds in an unknown direction.

      I turned to the gray stone building. The castle is really beautiful. On the steps by the door stood a lone figure in a blue robe. Enchantress. She looked at me. And I went to her.

      «Miss Burling, Madame Director is expecting you. Please follow me. – She said and disappeared in the doorway. I turned to my things, and they obediently floated through the air past me to the door, as if it was said to them. I ran after.

      Finding myself in the large front hall of the castle, I admired the huge bronze clock, towering between the columns and arches. On the wall hung a huge tapestry with the school’s emblem – a huge gilded globe, against the background of the sun, whose rays in sharp lines diverged in all directions, and in the center there was a beautiful letter N with curls. Around this sun was the inscription: «Nordlig ly på jordkanten». This whole composition was cast in gold and glittered in the lights of a huge chandelier on the ceiling.

      My suitcase crashed against the left wall of the hall. The sorceress who meets me is gone. I was at a loss for a minute, but realized that the door in front of which my suitcase stood was where I should go.

      I went over and knocked on the door.

      Chapter 3. In the office of Brutilde

      I entered the office of the director, Madame Brutilde Escalotte, a sorceress of the highest order, as the golden plaque at the door said. The room in which I found myself was round, all in dark brown tones and with only one narrow window, filled with flowers so densely that it was impossible to see what was outside. The chocolate-colored bookcases filled with books and stacks of yellowed papers lent the cabinet a tangible library aura. A light rustled in the small fireplace. A chandelier hung over the table itself, illuminating the room, cabinets and table with the yellow light of an electric lamp, not penetrating into the shadows under the table and the mysterious gloom above the ceiling.

      A thin lady was seated at the table on a high-backed chair. She was the same age as my grandmother, but in her stern form and sharp-sighted look, one could feel energy and power. Brutilde looked at me.

      Hello Miss Burling. I’m tired of waiting for you. – said the director imperiously, calmly and unhurriedly. She tapped her finger lightly on the table. I noticed that on her thick wrinkled fingers large emeralds on the rings shimmered with a dull light. My grandmother has a similar ring. I greeted and handed to Brutilde a letter written by my grandmother, my application for admission.

      – Have a seat.

      On the left, I noticed a black figure. At first it scared me. I thought that someone was hiding against the wall. But it turned out to be just a raincoat hanging on a hanger. No, most likely, on a hook, because underneath the hanger legs were not visible. Someone from afar could have mistaken him for a man in a long cloak. But I saw that there were no boots under it. And the cloak itself was a thin shapeless matter and was too thin to hide a person under it. At the top of the cloak was a black head – a helmet-like mask, but made with small triangular ears and a pointed nose. The black eye sockets were empty. This made me happy. I felt creepy when the thought came that there was someone else in the office besides me and Madame Brutilde. This head itself was staring at the floor in front of it. She probably hung on the same hook as the cloak. To myself, I called this outfit «Black Fox». It was the fox that reminded me of the head-mask. I had no time to think why the director would need such an outfit. But this made Madame Brutilde seem even more stern and stern to me.

      Brutilda unrolled the pages on the table in front of her. She put on her glasses and stuck her pointed nose into the large swirls of grandmother’s ink.

      – Thirteen years! Good age, but you should have enrolled a year early! – There was a remark.

      All the stern look of the headmistress and her tough remark upset me. Really, they won’t take me to school? Will they refuse, as if I have no magical powers? Is it because I’m late?! And what will grandma say? She will probably cry. How do I get home?

      – Hmm, your birthday fell on an important astronomical date! Very rare. Appreciate it! I think your rebellious age will not be a hindrance.

      Brutilda put the papers in a drawer and lifted her spectacles to her forehead, peering into a thick open book.

      – Hmm, right and… Right. – Concluded Brutilde. At these words, the book rose above the table and floated in my direction. A large feather, probably a peacock, which served as a decoration for a gilded glass inkwell, suddenly hovered over the book. The book lay flat in front of me, the pen froze in the air. I was dumbfounded at the first moment.

      This is the moment when I sign my magic contract. The moment from which I am under the tutelage and protection of the castle and at the same time I am responsible for my actions to the school and its director. My grandmother used to tell me about the importance of her signature. It was a long time ago. I didn’t take her words seriously. And now, when the thick book lay in front of me, I felt cold inside. Feeling the stern gaze of Brutilde on me, I obeyed my choice. My grandmother’s choice, first of all. I will study at Nordlig and become a strong sorceress, a tall lady.

      I took

Скачать книгу