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Tainaron - Mail from another city { 1 }
by Leena Krohn { 2 }
The meadow and the honey-pattern - the first letter { 9 }
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'Admiral! Admiral!' I heard Longhorn shout delightedly one Sunday, when once again we were wandering along the paths that criss-cross the meadow. | { 16 } |
This Tainaronian waved all his legs at Longhorn, and began to whine earnestly: 'This way, ladies and gentlemen, please don't be shy!' | { 18 } |
But Longhorn peeped at my face and began to smile; and that only made me more angry. | { 20 } |
Appeased, I would have liked to have recited them at once to Longhorn, but his friend was now speaking incessantly. | { 23 } |
'My dear friends,' the Admiral stammered, 'I wager you have never seen nectaries like these, aaaah, follow me, quickly, I know the way....' | { 24 } |
And with that he disappeared into the depths of the huge corolla, so that I could make out only one of his hind legs, wriggling deep in the quivering cavity. | { 25 } |
{ 26 } |
'Well then,' said Longhorn amicably, 'let us continue on our way. Perhaps I may introduce you some other time. Let us continue now, and see whether the meadowsweet has flowered.' | { 27 } |
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He seemed absent-minded as he listened, and finally he interrupted me. | { 32 } |
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'Well, well,' said Longhorn, glumly, 'this is just what I expected. This is a vincetoxicum, a fly-trap.' | { 36 } |
And he directed his words to the ensnared creature: 'You are not the first to have met this fate.' | { 37 } |
But before I could reach them under the broken herb, both had risen to their feet and were brushing pollen off themselves, so that the air was dusty with a glittering haze. | { 39 } |
'But you are limping,' said Longhorn sternly to the shy creature he had saved. | { 40 } |
'Just a little accident,' said the luckless one, glancing at the ravaged plant as if a sudden attack could still be expected. 'There was some kind of trap in there....' | { 41 } |
'Never trust a flower,' Longhorn advised. 'Next time, think where you put your head.' | { 42 } |
'No, we do not know them,' I said to Longhorn, and he inclined his head silently. | { 46 } |
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