Mountains of the Moon Read Online Free Page B

down the drain and up the wall, don’t know if he’s thought of using newspapers. The box room at the front int friendly, case an airplane comes in, so I sleep on a camp bed long side Nan and Grandad. They pile up so many coats on me I’m like a jumble sale.
    “Did you ever hear the story about Hiawatha?” Grandad says.
    “No,” I says. “Is Hiawatha in Africa?”
    “Yes,” he says. Tells me how things is with that little African girl. In my Africa book he finds me where Hiawatha lives. There’s rainbows and Living Stones and Victorian water falls off the edge of the world. Hiawatha is brave, wonders if she does handstands on the edge.
    When I hear Nanny and Grandad snoring loud like hogs chewing, I creep out on the landing with my book. In the box room there’s junk and might be mice and lights from Nestles lorries come in. Auntie Valerie’s bedroom is locked. One time I arst Mum where Auntie Valerie was.
    “Same place as your father,” she said. Normal she does me with words, but slaps is better cos over quicker. I int never to say “Auntie Valerie” gain. In the bathroom I read the pictures in my book.
I need a shield, more clay and beads. Patterns is what I need.
When I hearthe milkman out the front, I go back to bed and put my legs down in the arms of coats.
    In the morning I get in bed with Nanny and Grandad. I does a run and jump to get up. We has tea from the Teasmade and wait for it to cool down fore we put the milk powder in. They does the crosswords and I sit tween them with my book. When they get dressed I rummages in the box room, finds a moldy handbag with raffle tickets and a pearl necklace. I make the pearls double and put them on with my conkers. In the kitchen I sit on the draining board and help Grandad shave, case he misses a bit. The razor blade int sharp so we has to put a new one in. Conkers is like my eyes, Grandad says, and pearls is like my teefs.
    “Has you got any string, Grandad?”
    “Why-eye, pet.”
    “Eight conkers is too tight.”

    In the back room downstairs I find an instant shoe shiner with a dabber on the end. I get to work. It dries nice on my legs. I has to do three coats on my face and keep my teefs smiling so it don’t crack. Then I polishes me up with a pair of tights. I int got my red cloth, weren’t time, so I has to do it with a tablecloth. Good cos done me a spear with cardboard and a bamboo cane. I take them by surprise in the front room.
    “Oh Biiiiiiillllllll, Biiiiiiiiiillllll.” Nanny hides behind the curtain.
    “Make way, make way,” Grandad says. “For an African queen.”
    He bows down but his back gets stuck and I has to lend him my spear to lean on.
    “I int a queen, I’m a warrior,” I says. I has to get the book to show him.
    “Ooga mooga wonga donga,” Grandad says.
    “Wonga jonga longa,” I says. Teefs clacking cos cold.
    “You come, we go jungle,” Grandad says.
    We run down the hall and through the kitchen and down the gardenpath into the greenhouse. It int green, it’s blue. It int cold, it’s all steamy and jungle grows like heaven.
    “Remember the seeds you and Philip sowed when you were here last?” Grandad arsts.
    I nod even though I forgot.
    “This is them,” he says, smiling up.
    They climb all cross the roof. He lifts a little pot down from the shelf.
    “See this one here,” he says. “I grew it specially for you, pet.”
    The leaves is tiny, it looks all trembly like a bird what is caught.
    “What’s it called?” I arsts.
    He writes it for me on the newspaper and I write it on the stick with big fat perm-nant ink.
Sensitive Plant.
I kisses it gentle and it curls all up. That’s how come it protects itself, mustn’t kiss them more than once cos they get wore out. All long one side is plants what I done called Coleus, they got patterns, red and pink and yellow, minds me of paisley and Auntie Fi. Nanny comes like a weeble down the path; she gets scared at all the cracks.
    “Bill, Biiiiiiilllllll, it’s