Cinderella and Alangazar - страница 3

But no one denied it: Peter was the best alarm clock in military history.

Once, he was asked not to crow – there was a secret night drill. Peter silently agreed. In the morning, he didn’t crow. Instead…

…he tapped out a march with his beak on a pot lid.

– TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!

Regulation wake-up!

If you oversleep – you march in your pajamas!

– That rooster’s louder than a cannon, – Cinderella smiled, stepping out of HQ. – But thanks to him, our army’s always on time.

Peter snorted:

– What matters most is waking up on time. Even if you’re a mare, a snail, or the commander herself.

The Story of Swiftpaw the Mouse – the Battalion’s Quietest Hero

If someone lost something – a button, a letter, a sock – everyone knew who to ask. Swiftpaw, the scout-mouse, was not just the fastest, but the most observant in Cinderella’s battalion.

Her paws moved so fast they left trails of smoke. She wore an invisibility hat (which was often forgotten during group photos), carried a cheese backpack, and had a map of all secret paths – even the ones beneath the kitchen cupboard.

Her missions included:

sneaking into a nearby camp to steal top-secret cookies;

eavesdropping on crow spies in the trees;

delivering chocolate to Cinderella before Alangazar devoured the rations.

Once, she was tasked with delivering a battle map during drills. Problem was – the map was twice her size.

But Swiftpaw rolled it up, strapped it to her tail, dashed across railings, somersaulted over a bucket, leapt over the soup pot – and in three minutes, the map was with the commander.

– How’d you do that?! – gasped Fox.

– I just have swift paws, – she said modestly, cleaning her whiskers.

Sometimes she got tired. Then Nettie would prescribe: “One quiet evening. Watch the moon.” That was the hardest order for Swiftpaw.

Cinderella valued her deeply. She once joked:

– If I ever need to get a secret letter into the king’s paws within an hour – I won’t send a raven. I’ll send Swiftpaw. The letter will arrive sealed with cheese.

The Next Morning…

With the first rays of sun, while the whole regiment was still stretching and sipping cocoa, a loud signal rang out.

Lapka dashed out of headquarters, rustling a paper bag.

– Everyone, to formation! Urgent news from the border! – she squeaked. – Someone has stolen… Masha’s soup pot!

The bear roared:

– That wasn’t just a pot! That was my grandmother’s enamel soup tureen!

Alangazar was already pulling on his boots, the cat was yawning but marching, and even Bulka was screwing the nut on the alarm kettle as she walked.

Cinderella stepped onto the porch, serious and focused.

– Well then, soldiers. Looks like we have a new mission…

Alangazar’s Vacation

Alangazar, the giant from the military regiment, once took a month-long vacation and went home to fetch firewood. He went into the forest, gathered a big bundle of twigs, tied it up, and carried it on his back. The load was heavy, and he walked with his eyes on the ground.

That’s when he found a needle!

Carefully, he stuck it into the bundle so he wouldn’t lose it.

When he got home, he started rummaging through the firewood.

– What are you looking for? – asked his wife, Victoria.

– A needle, – Alangazar replied.

– You stuck it into the firewood?

– Yes.

– You should’ve pinned it to your clothes – then you wouldn’t have lost it, – said Victoria.

– Alright, I’ll do that next time, – he agreed.