"(ebook) Anthony Piers - Xanth 12 - Man from Mundania" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

Chapter 1. Heaven
Cent

Хvy woke, stretched, and opened her eyes. It
was dawn; the sun had not yet quite dared show its round
face, because darkness made it nervous, but soon it would
get up its nerve. She looked at the Tapestry, with its ever-
changing picture of Xanth. She never really tired of watch-
ing it, though her interest waxed and waned. It waxed
when it rained outside because it was more fun to remain
inside where it was dry, and it waned when Zora Zombie
was waxing the stairs and the smell of the wax got chok-
ingly thick. Thus, as she put it, it waxed when it waned,
and waned when it waxed. It was her private joke with
Dt^ph? the adults didn't understand. Adults were chroni-
cal^slow about such things.

Sure enough, Zora was waxing today; the smell was just
starting. Ivy had only minutes to find a pretext to go far
away, several days if possible, until the wax settled down.
But she was running out of pretexts; what was left?

She jumped out of bed so suddenly she frightened the
monster under itЧGrabraham; she heard his honk as he
shrank away. He was a young monster, replacing Snorti-
mer, who had departed long ago; he tended to be timid.
She was also reaching the age when folk started not be-
lieving in Bed Monsters, and that made it that much worse.
When she turned eighteen she would stop believing en-
tirely, and the poor thing would fade away. Grabby was

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Man from Mundania

Man from Mundania

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quite upset over the prospect, for some reason. She was
sorry about that, but there was really no alternative; she
couldn't stop herself from getting older.

She ran barefoot to the next room where Princess Nada
slept. Nada had moved in three years before when Dolph
brought her home, and the two had become great friends,
because they were the same age and rank and similarly
pretty. Nada was only half human, but she kept her human