Vyhľadávanie
The next story is from the times when, right in the middle of the sea, there was a mysterious green island. The story begins with an old nautical map…
Once upon a time, the map was discovered in his prison cell by a certain count. The forgetful Queen Regina had ordered him to be locked up. Even she herself did not know why. She forgot all about him, and that count, who was called Menthol Christoph, spent thirty three years in the tower.
One day a powerful fit of sneezing shook the castle.
HA-HA-HA-PCHEE…!
The imprisoned Count had no idea what was happening. The tower shook and some of the stones loosened in the wall of his cell, and in a crack between them he noticed a crumpled roll of paper. It was an old nautical map. Goodness knows how long it had been hidden there! A green island in the middle of the sea was marked with a red cross. Certainly, that meant hidden treasure!
The Count only sighed, replaced the map in its hiding-place and looked out sadly through the barred window. He could see the harbour’s mouth, where the queen’s sailing-ship Finta had been lying at anchor for years on end.. The bored crew were asleep on deck. The helmsman was snoring, flat out at his helm; the cook was in a barrel; the deckhand was rocking to and fro in the net. They were torn from their sleep by the repeated sneezing:-
HA-HA-HA-PCHEE…!
“Poor Queen Regina!” the deckhand cried. “She shouldn’t have stuffed herself with ice-cream!” the cook grumbled.
And the helmsman said, laughing:-
“Queen Regina has now become Queen Angina!”
Really and truly!
Queen Regina was lying in her chamber in the middle of a huge canopied bed. She was suffering from a cold. Her big royal nose was going round in circles. Regina was trying to hold back the sneezing, but it was all in vain. Once she gave such a royal sneeze that the canopy over her bed collapsed and the queen got all tangled up in it.
“Help! Help!” she cried from under the canopy. “Doctors! Healers! I’ll give my entire kingdom for a medicine which will rid me of this ha-ha-hateful sneezing!”
News of the Queen’s pledge made its way even through the thick walls to the prisoner in the tower.
“By the rusty windowbars! Now I know how I can recover my freedom and wealth!”
Menthol Christoph carefully pulled a loose stone from the wall. A niche was revealed. He had a splendid working tool hidden there - a prison spoon! Menthol Christoph waited until the Queen’s sneezing started again, and then he set to work. His spoon was chipping into the wall all night long.
When the hole was big enough, Count Menthol Christoph looked round his cell for the last time, then he tied a leather bag to his breast, with the rare old map in it, and set about making his escape. He reached the outer walls of the guard tower. Carefully he let himself down, using stones that jutted out from the wall as handholds. Suddenly there was a resounding
HA-HA-HA-PCHEE…!
And immediately after that there was a loud
CHLYUP!
Count Menthol Christoph had dropped with a splash right into the sea!
On the deck of the sailing-ship Finta, idleness prevailed. It was night, so the lantern was lighted on the mast. The crew was sitting round an empty barrel, throwing dice.
“This is a bore” the helmsman said, yawning.
“If only something would happen!” the ship’s cook wished.
And the deckhand mused:
“I’d sail all the way to where the world begins!”
“Don’t talk gibberish!” the helmsman chided him. Suddenly he thought he could hear someone calling for help.
“Get a lifeline!” he ordered “Fast!”
A little while later, the soaked fugitive appeared on the deck. The helmsman immediately led him to the cabin, and the deckhand covered him with a warm quilt. But instead of a thank-you they received only a loud
HA-HA-HA-PCHEE…!
When Menthol Christoph had pulled himself together, he drew the old map from his bag and spread it out on the table. With a trembling hand he pointed out the green island to the sailors…
“I am Count Menthol Christoph. For the present I cannot reveal any more than that. But if you will go with me on a voyage of adventure to find the treasure of the mysterious island, which bears my name, Queen Regina will richly reward us all!…”
HA-HA-HA-PCHEE…!
The crew had never heard of any island called Menthol Christoph, but the Count’s proposal meant unexpected adventure! A little while later the sailing-ship Finta left the harbour’s mouth and without the Queen’s knowledge set off to sea.
The mysterious count became captain of the ship. The deckhand clipped his long hair, and the helmsman gave him a ceremonial sailor’s uniform. It suited Menthol Christoph so well that he certainly would have won the heart of a mermaid, if by any chance they had met one on their journey…
After some time there was a shout from the crow’s-nest:
“Horizon on the island! Er, I beg your pardon,- island on the horizon!”
The deckhand had finally spotted the secret island they were seeking. The helmsman made straight for its green shore, and shortly afterwards the sailors were hacking their way through a green jungle.
“Ha-ha-ha-pchee…!” All of them suddenly began to sneeze. Not because they’d caught a chill, but because of the intoxicating scents which were wafting in the air all around.
The adventurers finally came to a clearing. There they found a stone marked with a red cross. Exactly as it was in the old map!
The Count went behind the boulder and pushed it with all his might. To no avail. It didn’t even move.
“Hey-rup! Hey-rup!” The others all came to help him.
When finally the boulder shifted, underneath they could see a splendid wooden chest. Menthol Christoph cried out with relief:
“Oh-ho-ho! That’s my treasure!”
He opened the chest. It was full of green sweets! In the sunlight they glinted like precious stones. Menthol Christoph reached into the chest, took out one sweet, sniffed it, slipped it into his mouth, cautiously bit it to see if it was genuine, and after that began to suck it with pleasure.
“Yes,” he sighed, relieved. “That’s the real menthol!”
The crew goggled at the count. Then the helmsman, the deckhand and the cook flung themselves on the menthol sweets.
“I want to taste this treasure too! Me too! That’s all mine!” they shrieked in a frenzy, shoving each other away and stuffing tasty menthols into their mouths.
“Enough!” Menthol Christoph commanded. “Everyone will receive his share! And especially Queen Regina! For her it’s the last chance!”
The adventurers loaded the chest of menthols onto the ship and set out on the homeward journey. After some days’ sail, the deckhand on the mast began a mighty
HA-HA-HA-PCHEE…!
That was a clear signal that they were approaching the harbour. When they had anchored, Menthol Christoph unloaded the chest and brought it before the old queen. She was sitting on her throne amidst an assortment of potions, ointments and other medicines. Regina was completely dazzled by the gleaming green menthol cubes in the chest.
“Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh! What on earth is - hap-chee?! What are those jewels called? And what is your own name, strange voyager?”
“I am Count Menthol Christoph. I was confined for thirty three years in your prison. And these are menthols, a treasure beyond all treasures! You need only chew three of them - and your illness will be gone!”
Queen Regina clasped her head.
“Oh, this sclerosis of mine! I completely forgot about you, my dear Christoph! Why didn’t you leave the prison sooner?”
The mysterious count only smiled strangely and replied:
“It doesn’t matter in the least… Otherwise I would never have found the map of the mysterious green island.”
The queen, sucking a menthol sweet, wanted to protest, but all she could say was:
“Ha-ha-… ha-ppy ending for you; you shall have freedom and the queen’s reward!”
Menthol Christoph had spoken the truth. After the third menthol the queen relaxed so much that she completely forgot about her illness. She ordered that the chest in which the count had brought her the menthols should be filled to the top with golden ducats.
But what happened to the mysterious green island in the middle of the sea?
The sweet-toothed waves of the sea sucked away at it like candy, and so now you won’t find it in any map of the world!
Translated by John Minahane
