Elemoont/Chapter 7
tells how the Elemoont went by a trolley bus and did not know what a word "fare" signified.
I must tell you that in fairy-tales the trolley busses usually also overcrowded. And this time there were many animals in the trolley–bus. Giraffes, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and other African living creatures sat on the seats and stood on their feet talking about diverse things. The Elemoont caught the handrail with his trunk, forced his way into the trolley–bus, and went into an unknown direction. Suddenly he heard the conductor’s voice, "All fares, please." "What does it means?" thought the Elemoont. "All fares, please," repeated the conductor and inquiringly looked at the Elemoont. "You see..."babbled the Elemoont, "I had fallen from the Moon not long ago and I don't know what the word 'fares' means…"
"In that case you'll have to get off at the next stop!" firmly said the conductor and turned to the Russian hare that sat on a side seat with a book under his arm. The hare showed him his ticket. "It's a strange thing," said the conductor, "The Russian hare has a ticket!" (All people around the world know that in Russia a person who has no ticket is named "a hare").
"You may consider I am not a real hare," smiled the hare.
At the next stop the Elemoont get off the trolley–bus and muttered, "Now the author will write again, ‘Our Elemoont was left alone’," and he felt melancholy. But the author cannot write so! This time the Elemoont found himself in a very lively place. There were boys and girls, men and women, birds and animals in here. The large flags were streaming in the wind and the large band was playing something bravura.
"The circus has arrived!" were pleased children. "Have you any unnecessary theatre tickets?" asked people. "Some sorts of tickets are necessary and here," thought the Elemoont, "I would like to know what this is?" But at this moment, a strange man with unimaginably long red moustaches came up to him. Not only were his moustaches red. The man was dressed all red. He wore red shoes, red trousers, a red jacket, a red shirt with red buttons, and a large red silk hat glared on his head. "It is a ticket," said the man with his red voice and trusts to the Elemoont some paper. The Elemoont became to look at the ticket with interest and the red man disappeared. However, the Elemoont had time to catch a retiring quite red thought, "Aha, it is caught!"
"About what does he think?" thought the Elemoont but immediately forgot of it because the door suddenly was opened and all the people rushed into the circus carrying the Elemoont along their way. At the last moment, it seemed to the Elemoont that in the very midst of the crowd the red top hat appeared for a moment and disappeared again.