"Diana Wynne Jones - Howl's Moving Castle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jones Diana Wynne)

seven-league boots," this person said.
Behind him Sophie had glimpses of a coach waiting in a street full of sumptuous houses covered with
painted carvings, and towers and spires and domes beyond that, of a splendor she had barely before
imagined. She was sorry it took so little time for the person at the door to hand over a long, silken,
chinking purse, and for Howl to take the purse, bow back, and shut the door. Howl turned the square
knob back so that the green blob was downward again and stowed the long purse in his pocket. Sophie
saw Michael's eyes follow the purse in an urgent, worried way.
Howl went straight to the bathroom then, calling out, "I need hot water in here, Calcifer!" and was gone
for a long, long time.
Sophie could not restrain her curiosity. "Whoever was that at the door?" she asked Michael. "Or do I
mean wherever?"
"That door gives on Kingsbury," Michael said, "where the King lives. I think that man was the
Chancellor's clerk. And," he added worriedly to Calcifer, "I do wish he hadn't given Howl all that
money."
"Is Howl going to let me stay here?" Sophie asked.
"If he is, you'll never pin him down," Michael answered. "He hates being pinned down to anything."
5:Which is far too full of washing
The only thing to do, Sophie decided, was to show Howl that she was an excellent cleaning lady, a real
treasure. She tied an old rag round her wispy white hair, she rolled the sleeves up her skinny old arms
and wrapped an old tablecloth from the broom cupboard round her as an apron. It was rather a relief to
think there were only four rooms to clean instead of a whole castle. She grabbed up a bucket and besom
and got to work.
"What are you doing?" cried Michael and Calcifer in a horrified chorus.
"Cleaning up," Sophie replied firmly. "The place is a disgrace."
Calcifer said, "It doesn't need it," and Michael muttered, "Howl will kick you out!" but Sophie ignored
them both. Dust flew in clouds.
In the midst of it there came another set of thumps at the door. Calcifer blazed up, calling, "Porthaven
door!" and gave a great, sizzling sneeze which shot purple sparks through the dust clouds.
Michael left the workbench and went to the door. Sophie peered through the dust she was raising and
saw that this time Michael turned the square knob over the door so that the side with a blue blob of
paint on it was downward. Then he opened the door on the street you saw out of the window.
A small girl stood there. "Please, Mr. Fisher," she said, "I've come for that spell for me mum."
"Safety spell for your dad's boat, wasn't it?" Michael said. "Won't be a moment." He went back to the
bench and measured powder from a jar from the shelves into a square of paper. While he was doing it,
the little girl peered in at Sophie as curiously as Sophie peered out at her. Michael twisted the paper
round the powder and came back saying, 'Tell her to sprinkle it right along the boat. It'll last out and
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back, even if there's a storm."
The girl took the paper and passed over a coin. "Has the Sorcerer got a witch working for him too?" she
asked.
"No," said Michael.
"Meaning me?" Sophie called. "Oh, yes, my child. I'm the best and cleanest witch in Ingary."
Michael shut the door, looking exasperated. "That will be all around Porthaven now. Howl may not like
that." He turned the door green-down again.
Sophie cackled to herself a little, quite unrepentant. Probably she had let the besom she was using put
ideas into her head. But it might persuade Howl to let her stay if everyone thought she was working for
him. As a girl, Sophie would have shriveled with embarrassment at the way she was behaving. As an
old woman, she did not mind what she did or said. She found that a great relief.
She went nosily over as Michael lifted up a stone in the hearth and hid the little girl's coin underneath it.