"Part Three:" ""The Little Chess Champion"" "Everyday, we used to play until sundown, or even later." "This pig will be a real treat..." "One night, I heard the guards talking about a big fire on the island, but not on our island." "It was an island both far away and very near." "They called it Elephant Island." "Hey, you!" "Come over here." "Are you afraid?" "The fire won't hurt you!" "Madeira campfires were like this in the old days." "Understand?" "Don't be scared!" "Come here!" "That night, the shadows came to visit us." "Not so hard!" "Don't drink so noisily!" "Try to drink quietly." "Here they come." "I'd completely forgotten." "Greet them." "What?" " I won't go." " You have to." "I don't want to be a guide anymore." "Go greet them." "Go on!" "Be nice." "Why must you always sulk?" "To punish me?" "Why?" "You always regret it later." "You can be so nice, too." "Follow me." "This house was the scene of many historic events." "The emperor died in that room." "In that one, there important historical treaties were signed." "Everything here is historical." "In the other rooms, things are historical too, as you can see..." "The furniture and ornaments belonged to historical figures..." "That day, I saw Marylina up close for the first time." "She was very kind to us." "What nice children!" "They're all so sweet." "Do me a favor." "Get me 3 invitations." "How many are they?" "Then, get me 3 invitations." "A few days later, the rainy season began." "One afternoon, the captain came to visit." "He lived on Elephant Island but preferred to live with us." "I still see him walking in the rain untouched by a single drop." "But I could be wrong." "I was just a kid at the time." "That night, my cousins took me for the first time to Elephant Island." ""Come with us," she said," ""once you are there you won't want to leave."" "I found out that Elephant Island wasn't an island." "It was an elephant." "I remember that it was very hot and smelled of firewood." "It was the same fire where, some days ago, the museum guards had roasted a pig." "Let's get out of here!" "We're on Elephant Island." "We had a lot of fun there each in his own way." "Often we were scared and liked being scared or were scared of never again having so much fun." "That's where I saw the captain again." "Hey!" "I know you." "Come here!" "Come closer." "Commander Pombo de Albuquerque thus greets all children who dare to brave the wonder and the menace of the night." "These cards are very important." "Your whole life is in this pack." "You don't believe me?" "Don't be angry." "I brought you a beautiful present." "One of the elephant's eyes." "I ripped it out just for you." "Where were you?" "I looked everywhere for you." "Come with me." "It's late." "We have to get home and go to bed." "My cousins said we had to leave the elephant by a certain time or the shadows that lived in his belly would escape." "The next day, they claimed" "I hadn't left my bed all night and had talked in my sleep." "Marylina was the main topic of conversation." "People spoke only of her." "Did you hear that?" "You could be just like her." "And she's so sweet." "This is wonderful!" "The best players in the world had come to try and beat her." "Without leaving her room, Marylina beat all of them at once in exactly 10 minutes." "The world's 300 best chess players were defeated at five o'clock sharp." "It rained all the time." "Where's the captain?" "I'm Captain Pombo de Albuquerque." "Is anyone home?" "May I come in?" "Little creatures often need even smaller ones." "Repeat." "Little creatures often need even smaller ones." "Spiders need flies and fresh meat to weave their webs and lovely lace." "Spiders need fresh meat and flies to..." "It's Pedro." "He's going back to the dark room." "It's taking off." "It's circling around." "That's enough!" "That's enough!" "They're the captain's birds." "Come quick!" "Manuel!" "Manuel!" "Come here!" "Come here!" "I can't." "I can't." "Close your eyes and you'll be able to." "I can't." "Come here." "I can't." "Come here." "I can't." "I can't." "I can't." "I can't." "I can't." "I can't." "One day, the captain arrived sooner than expected." "Don't do that!" "You're very curious." "Can you see?" "Yes." "Take a good look." "Can you really see?" " Yes." "Is it what you wanted to see?" "Look!" "I don't have the words to tell you what I saw." "Suddenly, the captain's hands formed Pedro's head." "Pedro's shadow screamed for help as his body vanished in thin air." "It was the last time I ever saw him." "The days passed and my aunt never stopped crying." "Why doesn't he answer me?" "Why?" "Where is he?" "Bring me a strawberry liqueur." "I love strawberry liqueur." "Thank you." "Good night." "The next day, we decided to visit Marylina." "The world's most intelligent little girl might explain our cousin's disappearance." "I'm really really glad all of you could come for my birthday." "Forgive me for being dressed like this." "But yesterday, I had to pose in a bathing suit for Life magazine and I caught a cold." "What's my present?" "Pineapples or lace?" "Actually, we forgot we were supposed to bring a present." "I'll bet!" "Didn't you know it was my birthday?" " Sure we did." "You didn't even bring a pineapple." "We didn't dare." "I never expected this." "Someone dares to come see me empty-handed." "His genetic code won't let him love you!" "You invited us." "The more reason to demand my present!" "I told you, Marylina." "Everyone hates you!" "Our cousin disappeared." "We need your help." "His last words, before he disappeared, were:" ""Ask Marylina for help."" "How kind of him." "Help us find him as soon as possible." "Our aunt's heartbroken and when she's sad, she doesn't feed us." "Congratulations." "Happy birthday, Marylina." "They only say that because they need you." "Sweet nothings!" "Lace... it's beautiful!" "May I interrupt your meditation?" "I need to see new faces so badly." "You have such beautiful eyes." "It's hard to believe." " Have your got a cigarette?" "Anything you want." "Don't talk." "Don't say anything." "It's so wonderful just watching you." "I'll tell you a secret:" "I love women when they're stupid." "A word of advice:" "never cease to be stupid." "In this world without a trace of stupidity, nothing is possible." "Poor wretches, fools who run around, dashing in all directions, forever parading their indignation..." "Think of it: only a few months ago, I was stupid, too and now I'm condemned to understand everything." "What are they doing?" " They're deciphering." "They decipher day and night." "I think I discovered that the lace on the island is made up of a secret language." "What lace?" "All of them." "They all tell a story." "But... you're crying." "I was thinking of my cousin who I'll never see again." "Don't say "never"." " Why not?" "Because it's one of my favorite words." "People will think you're copying me." "I'm going to join Marylina." "What's you name?" " Manuel." "How old are you?" " Seven." "Seven!" "How fortunate!" "It's the age of reason." "You go to school?" " No." " How lucky!" "You love your parents no doubt?" "Yes, but my mother's dead." "You can't imagine how lucky you are!" "And your father?" " He lives far away." "What could be more ideal?" "Do you like to play?" "Yes." "What do you want to be when you grow up?" " A tourist." "You're so handsome." "Can I kiss you?" "Here's a kiss." "What?" "We have to find our cousin!" "Maybe I can help you." "I'm a populist, as you know." "Don't you remember Pedro?" "He played the piano and wore dark glasses." "I remember perfectly." "He's disappeared." "I love solving riddles." "Everyone knows about it." "It was in the papers." "Let me tell you a secret:" "I can't bear this life." "I want to live with you." "Fine." "Let me tell you another secret:" "I can do without luxuries." "I want you to come live with me, only you." "Let me tell you my last secret:" "I'm terrified of strangers." "I could never go live with you." "Fine." "Don't tell these secrets to the others." "What are they doing?" "What they always do:" "deciphering and deciphering." "Didn't you see?" "How could you not know?" "We discovered the Eiffel Tower's secret message." "I didn't know." "Well, now you know." "I hope you'll remember." "The Eiffel Tower is an iron code that transforms French body odor into perfume." "Another thing:" "we also found that a Coca-Cola bottle contains the formula for the neutron bomb." "That's how it is." "We're surrounded by codes and by secret messages." "Everything's grammatical." "What do you make of those clouds?" "I have no idea." "They're messages sent by the CIA." "And what do they mean?" "They say: "Happy birthday!"" "The flight of birds is news from the London Stock Exchange." "And those clouds are good tidings from my Aunt Mary, Miss World." "And what do all these messages say?" "The same eternal stupidities:" "Congratulations!" "Congratulations!" "Well, my friend, Art calls." "My lover is going to sing for me." "They're so kind." "I was sure that the lace contained messages." "Who are you?" " Who knows!" "Where do these voices come from?" " Who knows!" "Where do shadows go?" "Who knows!" "The captain of sky and sea, Pombo de Albuquerque and the entire universe wish you a happy birthday!" "Listen." "I've a surprise for you." "In the burning city the blazing children send you greetings and wish you luck." "They're going to dance a waltz for you." "They both look so beautiful!" "Pay attention!" "It's difficult to dance." "Learn..." "Later you'll see how simple it is." "It's not very exciting with your sister!" "No, it's exciting, don't you think?" "Catch!" "What did you do with my hat?" "Laura!" "My poor friend!" "You're in an embarrassing situation." "You wonder where your cousins disappeared to." "They're very far away now." "What a pity!" "How gladly I'd have taken them to the other world." "Because I am... a boundary spanner and a smuggler." "I take people from one world to the next." "From here to there, and from there to here." "I inhabit a submerged continent which the vulgar call Atlantis" "but I prefer to call it:" "Elephant." "Today, my continent has begun to burn." "Its inhabitants flee in hordes to this world of boredom and of misery." "Of course," "I took huge risks." "So, one day, you have to pay the bill and not complain." "Poor captain." "Poor..." "Poor, poor captain." "Poor captain." "Poor, poor captain." "This man is definitely not a human being." "He's only a doll." "At last we can dance." "Now, after all these years, when I remember my childhood," "I think these things were just my imagination." "Who knows?" "Children are like that." "They believe whatever they see." "It's nice." "I remembered this house much bigger." "It seems so small now." "It's time to pray and say your mother's name." "Mary!" "Pray and say your mother's name." "Mary!" "Pray and say your mother's name." "Everyone say your mother's name." "Louder!" "With more faith!" "Again!" "Again!" "Louder!" "With even more faith!" "English subs transcribed  edited by:" "marooned2  aloysius70, 2016"