The Black Gazelle (standard:fairy tales, 2776 words)
Author: Boris Sudarushkin	Added: Jan 19 2015	Views/Reads: 2403/2071	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Young russian girl meets a guy from Finland on Russia-Finland border. Together they go to Lapland where Santa lives and miracles happen...

The Black Gazelle 

Boris Sudarushkin 

... This story is a part of "Lapland and Little Hippo Boris" by Boris
Sudarushkin. 

Ch. 1 

-You see,- said Little hippo Boris to a young fowler, -I told you that
we would get lost.There was no reason to penetrate so deep into the 
forest! 

The young fowler was actually a student of about 19 years old. His name
was Martin and he  just entered the school of ecology at the university 
of Rovaniemi in the northern Finnish province of Lapland which is so 
famous for being the residence of Santa Claus. He made a deep breath, 
checked his camera and answered  Little hippo: -Why can you not 
understand that I have to come here to take pictures of local birds for 
my diploma thesis? Don't you know that I'm going to become an 
ornithologist, a specialist in birds?! 

-Yes,- responded Little hippo, -but what if we have incidentally crossed
the border and are now not in Lapland and even not in Finland, but...in 
Russia!... Santa does not let us  go so far away! 

The hippo raised his hand with a palm of spreaded fingers up to his ear
and his  eyebrows  moved up in disagreement and amusement. 

-Well,- agreed the student, -let's then try to get to that glade. It
looks like there starts a road. 

Little hippo Boris shaking his big head followed the student towards the
light between the trees. 

Approaching the glade he suddenly noticed that there was somebody on the
opposite side ... 

Ch. 2 

And sure...Little hippo was right. Under the bush there was a
chaise-long with a  beautiful girl taking a sunbath in the rays of the 
rare northern sun. Her motorbike  was parked  nearby. 

The girl was reading a book  not seeing our friends. -I  can hide here,-
murmured Little Boris. -She may be frightened to see a talking 
hippo...and you may go and ask her for the way. 

The student moved forward trying to protect his eyes from the bright sun
. 

The girl heard the footsteps and put her book aside looking surprisingly
at the approaching  youth. 

-Well,- thought the fowler, -she is not afraid of strangers in the
forest. 

At this moment he suddenly noticed a gun under the girl's book... -Hi,-
the young man greeted the girl and anxiously looked at the gun, -My 
name is Martin. I have got lost here and would like just to find out 
where the highway is ... 

-Hi,- responded the girl jumping to her feet. -The highway is just
behind your back...on the opposite side of the border... 

-It means I crossed the border!,- said frightened Martin. -Am I in
Russia!? 

He suddenly recalled that the girl might not understand what he was
talking about and so he explained, -I mean that I am from Lapland...I 
was brought there from ...from the Past...You see...it maybe looks 
strange, but I really was taken from the Past by Santa...Have you ever 
heard about Santa? 

The girl did not seem to believe in such an explanation and looking with


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