Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson Page B

rarebit!'
    The kitchen looked normal again, but no one sat down. And no one noticed that Toft wasn't there.
    'We'll leave things just as they are,' said Fillyjonk nervously. 'Don't move anything, I'll wash up in the morning.'
    'But you don't mean you're going home?' Grandpa-Grumble exclaimed. 'The Ancestor has gone to bed and now the fun can begin!'
    But no one felt like going on with the party. They said good night to each other, hastily and very politely, shook paws, and in a little while all the guests had disappeared. Grandpa-Grumble stamped on the floor before he left. He said: 'Well, I was the last to leave at any rate!'
    *
    When Toft got outside in the darkness he stood and waited on the steps. The sky was a little lighter than the mountains, whose undulating contours rose above Moomin-valley. The Creature was silent, but Toft knew that it was looking at him.
    Toft called softly: 'Nummulite... little Radiolaria, Protozoa...'But it couldn't recognize the strange names in the book. It was probably just bewildered and didn't even know why it growled.
    Toft was more worried than afraid. He was uneasy about what the Nummulite might do on its own, it was too big and too angry and not used to being either big or angry. He took an uncertain step and felt that the Creature immediately moved backwards.
    'You needn't go,' Toft explained. 'Just move a little farther away.' He continued over the grass and the Creature retreated, a clumsy, shapeless shadow, the bushes cracked and snapped where the Creature passed.
    It has become too big, Toft thought. It's so big that it can't move properly.
    There were cracking sounds from the jasmine-bush. Toft stopped and whispered: 'Take it easy, easy...'
    The Creature growled at him. He could hear the faint

    swish of the rain, the thunder was a long way away now. They went on. Toft talked softly all the time to his Creature. They arrived at the crystal ball, tonight it was clear blue and the heavy swell could be seen quite clearly in its depths.
    'It's no good,' said Toft. 'We can't hit back. Neither of us will ever learn to hit back. You must believe me.'
    The Nummulite listened, perhaps it was only listening to Toft's voice. He was cold and his shoes were wet, he grew impatient and said: 'Make yourself tiny and hide yourself! You'll never get through this!'
    And suddenly the crystal ball became overshadowed. A dizzy vortex opened in the heavy blue swell and then closed itself again, the Creature of the Protozoa group had made itself tiny and returned to its proper element. Moomin-pappa's crystal ball, which gathered everything and took care of everything, had opened up for the bewildered Nummulite.
    Toft went back to the house and crept up to his box-room. He curled up in the roach-net and went to sleep straight away.
    *
    After the others had all left, Fillyjonk remained standing in the middle of the floor, lost in thought. Everything was upside down, the streamers had been trodden on, the chairs overturned and the lanterns had dripped candlewax over everything. She picked up a Welsh rarebit off the floor, bit a piece off distractedly and threw the rest in the rubbish bucket. A successful party, she said to herself.
    It was raining outside. She listened carefully but could hear only the rain. They had disappeared.
    Actually, Fillyjonk was neither happy nor upset and not a little bit tired. It was as though everything had come to a standstill, and she went on listening. Snufkin had left his mouth-organ on the table, she picked it up, held it in her paw and waited. There was only the rain outside. She raised the mouth-organ and blew into it, she moved it backwards and forwards listening to the sound. She sat down at the kitchen table. How did it go? Toodledi, toodledoo... It was difficult to get it right, she tried and tried again, moved very carefully from one note to the next and found the right one, the next came of its own accord. The tune slipped past her, but then came back. Obviously one