The Cup of Galfar. Alderosa's Daughter. Alexander Pererva

monkey, who had been fidgeting during this speech, burst out:

      “Now, look here, you Stripey, it seems like you’ve spent your whole life studying at the library, not sleepingon top of an old coat in the closet, like you have. You remind me of our principal. Maybe you are him?”

      Lemonade snorted indignantly:

      “I have always been and always will be a cat. Intelligence runs in my family. Moreover, I have always paid close attention to mass media.”

      “That’s true. You have always been good at falling asleep in front of the TV.”

      “Lu, Lemonade, dearest, that’s enough. Please tell me everything you know,” Allie joined the conversation so naturally as if she’d been talking with cats and stuffed toys her entire life.

      “OK,” said the monkey. “But I’ll be the one telling the story. It’s all because of this thing,” she pointed at the cylinder that was still glowing blue. “Its rays have caused this wonderful transformation that you can witness, both in me and Lemonade.”

      “What about Mom and Dad? Did it make them ill, too?”

      “In a way, but not really. It’s something different. Your parents… They…” the monkey stammered and glanced at the cat. He nodded. “They are under a spell,” she continued. “That’s what Lemonade and I think.”

      Allie started.

      “That’s impossible!” she exclaimed incredulously. “A magic spell? Magic doesn’t exist!”

      “Well, look at us,” the monkey shrugged.

      “But you said that this is different. The cylinder made you talk. It must be some kind of secret scientific gadget. That’s it. Nothing magical.”

      The more Allie talked, the less confident she sounded. She wanted to hear the cat and the monkey say that she was right. But those two were silent, and all she could see in their eyes was sympathy.

      Allie then fell silent too. She was close to tears, but she didn’t cry and only bit her lip.

      “But who did it? And why?” she asked dejectedly.

      “That’s the point,” the monkey said. “Lemonade and I have thought about that, and we believe that we know the answer. Do you remember where the cylinder was found?”

      “In the fish’s belly.”

      “That’s it. I guess you are not naive enough to think this was a mere coincidence?”

      Allie only shrugged.

      “All right, now think about how that monster appeared in your home. Who put up a fight at the market because your Mom bought the fish right in front of her? Who then paid you a visit and seemed greatly interested in the fish?”

      At that moment, Allie vividly recalled her recent dream.

      “It was Mean Jean,” she said thoughtfully.

      “Correct! She was the one the cylinder was meant for. And the fish was… Well, it was like a mailing box, you understand?”

      “Some package it was,” Lemonade muttered under his breath, evidently remembering the fish’s teeth on his tail.

      “To make a long story short, it was Mean Jean who was supposed to receive the fish and its contents,” continued the monkey. “I don’t know what went wrong with their mailing system, but, as a result, you and your parents, as well as Lemonade and myself, are now part of this whole mess. And, it seems that your Mom and Dad have suffered the most.”

      “It’s all because they ate the fish that was under a spell,” interjected Lemonade.

      “Right. It was all Mean Jean’s doing too. She probably did it in order to get hold of the cylinder. It’s a good thing that you didn’t eat any fish. Otherwise you’d have turned into a sleeping beauty by now.”

      It was quiet for some time. Everybody seemed to be thinking of what might have been if Allie had eaten a piece of fish. Allie shuddered at the thought. Lu broke the silence at last. She scratched her head with her little paw and, with a somewhat guilty look at Allie, said:

      “You know, you can be mad at me, but I’m glad it all happened. Really, I’m the only one who’s had the best of the situation. If not for this whole story, I’d have remained a toy – motionless and dumb, like the rest of them.” She nodded towards the toy shelf with Allie’s dolls. Allie looked there and suddenly was shocked by an emerging idea.

      “You mean to say that you are…” she started to say.

      “Yes, that’s right. I have not always been what I am now. I used to be a girl…”

      “Yeah, of course. But you were bad, didn’t listen to your parents, and an evil witch turned you into a toy monkey.”

      “You don’t need to make fun of me. If you don’t want to hear my story, I won’t tell it,” said Lu sadly.

      Allie turned beet-red with embarrassment.

      “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Please, do tell your story.”

      “OK, I’ll try to remember it all.”

      Unfortunately, Lu’s story had many gaps, probably due to the fact that Lu had been in such an unusual state for so long. This is what Allie managed to find out…

      3. LU THE MONKEY’S STORY

      Once upon a time Lu really had been a girl, just like Allie, only a little older. She was in ninth grade, so she must have been fourteen or fifteen. She was really pretty, even beautiful.

      At that moment Lemonade snorted and covered his mouth with his paws, which earned him a slap on the head from the monkey.

      “That’s right,” she repeated, “you may laugh as much as you want, but I really was not ugly like you. All the boys at school were crazy about me. But I never made it something to boast about.”

      Lu was never conceited and never acted like she was better than other girls, so she had lots of friends. But she only had one best friend. They used to share a desk at school.

      When Lu started to tell Allie about her best friend, she realized with horror that she couldn’t recall the friend’s name. There were lots of names from the past whirling around in her memory – Mary, Jane and Rachel, but Lu just didn’t know how they were all related to her. Allie suggested that they call her Lucy, because Lu and Lucy sounded similar. Lu thought for a moment and then declined the offer, saying that Lu suited her better the way she was now, and, besides, she was used to the name.

      She had a hard time remembering her parents, too. Not only their names, but even their faces seemed to have been erased from her memory. The only thing she knew for sure was that she had had parents, and also a little brother who was three. There was also a feeling of warmth and love associated with them.

      This might seem strange, but Lu clearly remembered everything she had been taught during her nine years at school. She had been an excellent student, and was even now ready to take a test on any subject.

      She also remembered well the last day of her normal, human life.

      ***

      It was late spring, and the weather was summery warm. The tender green leaves on the trees were starting to turn dark emerald, but were still fresh and untouched by dust. The chestnut trees were in full bloom, covered in tall foamy-white pyramid blossoms. The air was fresh and clear, the sky was high and blue. It was that delightful time of the year when every school kid was keenly aware of the fact that there were only a handful more days left till summer vacation.

      On one of those lovely days the two ninth-graders went to the city park after classes. A traveling carnival had come to town.

      After