Tales From Moominvalley by Tove Jansson Page B
Authors: Tove Jansson
Tags: General, Fantasy, Juvenile Nonfiction, Classics, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Short Stories, Animals, Dragons; Unicorns & Mythical, Moomins (Fictitious Characters), Children's Stories; Swedish, Fantasy Fiction; Swedish
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smallest ones sat up in the canopy. Everybody had a wonderful time, and her only worry was about that great party which she didn't seem to find the time to have.
'They used to tell ghost stories and funny stories all the night, and then one evening...'
'I know, I know,' Sniff said crossly. 'You're exactly like Moomintroll. I know how it turned out. Then one evening she gave away her bed too and then she went off to heaven and was so happy, and the right thing for me to do is to give away not only Cedric but everything I have and then hand in my spade and bucket on top of it all!'
'You're an ass,' Snufkin said. 'Or, still worse, you're a spoil-story. What I was about to relate was how this aunt
of my mother's laughed so terribly at one of the funny stories, that the bone jumped out of her stomach and she became absolutely well!'
'You don't say,' Sniff cried, 'the poor lady!'
'How do you mean, the poor lady,' Snufkin asked.
'Don't you see! She had given all her things away, hadn't she,' Sniff cried. 'Quite uselessly! Because she didn't die after all! Did she take all her things back then?'
Snufkin bit hard at his pipe and raised his eyebrows.
'You foolish little beast,' he said. 'She made the whole thing into a funny story. And then she gave a party. And built the house for lonely children. She was too old for deep sea diving, but she saw the volcano. And then she went off to the Amazonas. That was the last we heard about her.'
'Such things cost money,' Sniff said with practical disbelief. 'She had given everything away, hadn't she?'
'Had she? Indeed?' Snufkin replied. 'If you'd have
listened as you should you'd remember that she kept the canopied bed, and this bed, my dear Sniff, was made of gold and simply crammed with diamonds and carneoles.'
(As for Cedric, Gaffsie made the topazes into eardrops for her daughter and gave Cedric black button eyes instead. One day Sniff found him lying forgotten in the rain and took him back home. The rain had washed away the moonstone which was never found again. But Sniff went on loving Cedric all the same, even if he now did it only for love's sake. And this does him some honour, I believe. - AUTHOR'S NOTE )
The Fir Tree
O NE of the hemulens was standing on the roof, scratching at the snow. He had yellow woollen mittens that after a while became wet and disagreeable. He laid them on the chimney top, sighed and scratched away again. At last he found the hatch in the roof.
That's it, the hemulen said. And down there they're lying fast asleep. Sleeping and sleeping and sleeping. While other people work themselves silly just because Christmas is coming.
He was standing on the hatch, and as he couldn't remember whether it opened inwards or outwards he stamped on it, cautiously. It opened inwards at once, and the hemulen went tumbling down among snow and darkness and all the things the Moomin family had stowed away in the attic for later use.
The hemulen was now very annoyed and furthermore not quite sure of where he had left his yellow mittens. They were his favourite pair.
So he stumped down the stairs, threw the door open with a bang and shouted in a cross voice: 'Christmas's coming! I'm tired of you and your sleeping, and now Christmas will be here almost any day!'
The Moomin family was hibernating in the drawing-room as they were wont to do. They had been sleeping for a few months already and were going to keep it up until spring. A sweet sleep had rocked them through what felt like a single long summer afternoon. Now all at once a cold draught disturbed Moomintroll's dreams. And someone was pulling at his quilt and shouting that he was tired and Christmas was coming.
'Is it spring already?' Moomintroll mumbled.
'Spring?' the hemulen said nervously. 'I'm talking about Christmas, don't you know, Christmas. And I've made absolutely no arrangements yet myself and here they send me off to dig you out. I believe I've lost my mittens. Everybody's running about like mad and
'They used to tell ghost stories and funny stories all the night, and then one evening...'
'I know, I know,' Sniff said crossly. 'You're exactly like Moomintroll. I know how it turned out. Then one evening she gave away her bed too and then she went off to heaven and was so happy, and the right thing for me to do is to give away not only Cedric but everything I have and then hand in my spade and bucket on top of it all!'
'You're an ass,' Snufkin said. 'Or, still worse, you're a spoil-story. What I was about to relate was how this aunt
of my mother's laughed so terribly at one of the funny stories, that the bone jumped out of her stomach and she became absolutely well!'
'You don't say,' Sniff cried, 'the poor lady!'
'How do you mean, the poor lady,' Snufkin asked.
'Don't you see! She had given all her things away, hadn't she,' Sniff cried. 'Quite uselessly! Because she didn't die after all! Did she take all her things back then?'
Snufkin bit hard at his pipe and raised his eyebrows.
'You foolish little beast,' he said. 'She made the whole thing into a funny story. And then she gave a party. And built the house for lonely children. She was too old for deep sea diving, but she saw the volcano. And then she went off to the Amazonas. That was the last we heard about her.'
'Such things cost money,' Sniff said with practical disbelief. 'She had given everything away, hadn't she?'
'Had she? Indeed?' Snufkin replied. 'If you'd have
listened as you should you'd remember that she kept the canopied bed, and this bed, my dear Sniff, was made of gold and simply crammed with diamonds and carneoles.'
(As for Cedric, Gaffsie made the topazes into eardrops for her daughter and gave Cedric black button eyes instead. One day Sniff found him lying forgotten in the rain and took him back home. The rain had washed away the moonstone which was never found again. But Sniff went on loving Cedric all the same, even if he now did it only for love's sake. And this does him some honour, I believe. - AUTHOR'S NOTE )
The Fir Tree
O NE of the hemulens was standing on the roof, scratching at the snow. He had yellow woollen mittens that after a while became wet and disagreeable. He laid them on the chimney top, sighed and scratched away again. At last he found the hatch in the roof.
That's it, the hemulen said. And down there they're lying fast asleep. Sleeping and sleeping and sleeping. While other people work themselves silly just because Christmas is coming.
He was standing on the hatch, and as he couldn't remember whether it opened inwards or outwards he stamped on it, cautiously. It opened inwards at once, and the hemulen went tumbling down among snow and darkness and all the things the Moomin family had stowed away in the attic for later use.
The hemulen was now very annoyed and furthermore not quite sure of where he had left his yellow mittens. They were his favourite pair.
So he stumped down the stairs, threw the door open with a bang and shouted in a cross voice: 'Christmas's coming! I'm tired of you and your sleeping, and now Christmas will be here almost any day!'
The Moomin family was hibernating in the drawing-room as they were wont to do. They had been sleeping for a few months already and were going to keep it up until spring. A sweet sleep had rocked them through what felt like a single long summer afternoon. Now all at once a cold draught disturbed Moomintroll's dreams. And someone was pulling at his quilt and shouting that he was tired and Christmas was coming.
'Is it spring already?' Moomintroll mumbled.
'Spring?' the hemulen said nervously. 'I'm talking about Christmas, don't you know, Christmas. And I've made absolutely no arrangements yet myself and here they send me off to dig you out. I believe I've lost my mittens. Everybody's running about like mad and
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