Chapter 34 Square 4 ... her little hand was as cool as the morning dew ...

On the magic island, I finally met my grandfather.It turned out that my father was the child conceived by my grandmother when he left Germany.Later, he encountered a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean and could not return to his hometown. Which one is weirder? A small seed finally sprouts and grows strong? A person who lives alone on an island finally turns his fantasy into reality? Looking at it from another angle, aren’t we human beings also a kind of fantasy? ——A living fantasy of walking on the earth? Who on earth projected "us" into this world? Floyd lived alone on this island for half a century.Can our grandparents and grandchildren go back to Germany together? Will there be a day when I go back to my hometown of Rubik, step into the bakery opened by my father, and introduce to him the old man who was with me: "Dad , I brought back a man from abroad, his name is Floyd, he is your father."

When my grandparents met each other and hugged each other tightly, I had mixed feelings and thoughts in my heart.At this moment, a group of dwarves in red hurried up the hillside. "Look!" I whispered to my grandfather, "there's a visitor." "That's the gnome of the heart," said Grandpa Floyd in a trembling voice. "They always come and take me to the Harlequin's Feast." "I would like to see and see." "I want to join, too," said Grandpa. "Son, did I ever tell you that the words 'the old lord has received an important message from his hometown' came from the Jack of Spades?"

"No." I said. "What's the matter?" "Spades always bring bad luck. Before the shipwreck, I used to listen to sailors talking about the bad luck brought by spades in the bars of the world's ports. I have lived on the island for so many years, and my own experience has confirmed it That. Every time you meet a gnome of spades in the village, there's bound to be an accident that day." No sooner had Grandpa finished speaking than nine gnomes from two to ten began dancing in front of the house.Each of them has blond hair and a red dress embroidered with a heart-shaped emblem.

Grandpa Frod was in brown sackcloth, and I was in a tattered sailor suit.In contrast, the red clothes of this group of dwarves are extraordinarily bright and eye-catching.I couldn't help rubbing my eyes, our grandparents and grandchildren walked towards them together. They formed a circle and gathered around us, smiling and saying, "Happy Clown's Day!" Then they kept walking around us, shaking their skirts and singing loudly. "Enough, enough!" Grandpa Floyd stopped them. He spoke to these dwarves as if he were treating pets raised at home. The girls stopped dancing and walked down the hillside surrounded by us, grandparents and grandchildren.The Five of Hearts held my hand and led me all the way into the village.Her little hand was as cool as the morning dew. The streets and squares in the village were quiet, but screams could be heard from nearby houses from time to time.The heart gnome who accompanied us down the mountain walked into a room and disappeared.

The oil lamps hanging under the eaves around the carpentry factory were still on, although the sun was still high on the zenith at this time. "Here it is," said Grandpa. We walked into the banquet hall. The gnomes hadn't arrived yet, but the four large tables were already covered with platters of fruit. I also saw many bottles and jugs with sparkling drinks on the table.Around each dining table, there are thirteen chairs. The walls of the ballroom are paneled in pale wood; several stained-glass oil lamps hang from ceiling beams.At one end of the hall, there were four windows on the wall; on the window sills and on the coffee table were glass bowls in which red, yellow and blue fish were kept.The warm sunlight projected into the window, illuminating the bottles on the dining table and the goldfish bowl on the window sill, causing rainbow-like light and shadows to flicker across the entire banquet hall, floor and walls.Directly opposite the dining table, three extra tall chairs are placed side by side.As soon as I saw these three seats, I couldn't help but think of the judge's bench in the court.

Before I could browse the entire banquet hall, the door was pushed open.The clown came skipping in from the street. "Hi, both of you, Shi He grinned and said hello. Every step he took, the bells on the purple suit of the clown would jingle.As long as he nodded, the red and green hat with two donkey ears on his head would shake non-stop. The clown suddenly ran up to me, jumped up, stretched out his hand and pulled my ear.His bells rattled like a sleigh being drawn by a wild horse. "Aren't you happy to be invited to our banquet?" he asked. "Thank you for the invitation." I replied.For some reason, I shuddered at the sight of this little monster.

"Really? Not bad, you are quite polite." The clown said. "You little fool, can you be quiet?" Grandpa Floyd said to the clown with a straight face. The clown looked at Grandpa Floyd with a sly gleam in his eyes. "Of course," he said, "in the face of today's grand occasion, your old man's legs will be weak with fright, but it's too late to back off, because today all the cards will be turned up, and everyone Take a look. The truth of the matter is in the card. Let's talk about it later!" The clown ran back into the street.Grandpa Floyd shook his head vigorously.

"Who's really in charge on this island?" I asked Grandpa. "Is it you or the clown?" "Until this moment, I am the one in power." Grandpa's tone seemed calm and a little uncertain. After a while the Clown entered the banquet-room again, and seated himself in a high chair by the wall; and with a mock gesture, Grandpa Floyd and I were seated beside him.Grandpa sat in the middle, and the clown and I sat on the left and right sides of him. "Quiet!" After everyone sat down, the clown shouted, although no one spoke at this time. A beautiful fife tune sounded leisurely.Amidst the music, thirteen square dwarf fish passed through the gate and walked quickly into the banquet hall.The little king walked in front of the procession, followed by the queen, attendants and all the squares, and the square was the last.Except for the king and his wife and attendants, every square girl held a slender glass flute in her hand and played it by her mouth.The waltz played on the glass flute has a tone so delicate and pure that it sounds like notes from the smallest pipe of a church organ.The square gnome has silver-white hair, blue eyes, and pink clothes.Except for the king and his squires, the dwarves were all women.

"It's wonderful!" The clown applauded and cheered.I saw Grandpa Floyd applauding, and I followed the thirteen square gnomes standing in the corner of the banquet hall, arranged in a quarter circle.Then came the plum gnome in a dark blue uniform.The queen and Mei Huayao wore the same color dress.The thirteen plum gnomes all had curly brown hair, dark skin, and brown eyes.Compared to box gnomes, they are more chubby in stature.Except for the queen and plum blossom, all the dwarves in this team are male. Plum blossoms join the ranks of squares, forming a semicircle together.Then came the heart gnome in blood red clothes.The king and squire were the only males; both of them wore uniforms of summer and scarlet.Heart gnomes all have fair hair, fair skin, and green eyes.Hong Xinyao's outfit is different.She was wearing the same yellow shirt that I met her in the woods that day.As soon as she entered the banquet hall, she walked up to Plum Blossom K and stood with him.The three teams of dwarves in the hall now form a three-quarters circle.

The gnome of spades enters the field last.Their hair was black and stiff, their pupils were pitch black, and they wore black uniforms.Among the four teams of dwarves, they had the broadest shoulders, the most gloomy expression, and the most dignified look, just like their uniforms.Only the queen and spades in the team are women; they wear purple clothes. The spade yao walked to the heart K and stopped.Fifty-two gnomes now form a complete circle. "Unbelievable!" I whispered. "The Harlequin's Feast is played out in this way every year," said Grandpa Floyd in a low voice. "Fifty-two dwarfs arranged in a circle, representing the fifty-two weeks of the year."

"Why does Hong Xinyao always wear yellow clothes?" "She represents the brightest sun in midsummer." There is a small gap between the K of Spades and the Unit of Diamonds.The Joker got down from the chair and stood between them.This way, the entire circle is intact.Hong Xinyao stood directly opposite the clown. Fifty-three dwarves held hands and cheered in unison: "Happy Clown Day! New Year Gong Xi Fa Cai!" The clown spread his arms and jingled his bells.He raised his voice and announced loudly: "Today, not only is one year over, but we have also reached the end of a deck of fifty-two years! The future belongs to the clown. Happy birthday to you, clown man! Without further ado, this is the end of my speech." The clown stretched out his right hand and shook his left hand, as if congratulating himself.The dwarves applauded, although none of them understood what the clown was saying.After clapping their hands, the four families went to their respective dining tables and sat down in a circle. Grandpa Floyd put his hand out and put it on my shoulder. "They have no idea what's going on!" he whispered. "They're doing the same thing every year, just like when I was playing alone." "But--" "Boy, have you ever seen a horse and a dog in a circus? These dwarves are like trained animals. But that clown..." "What's the matter with him?" "I've never seen him so arrogant and confident before."