A strange night guest

It was just after midnight. The room was illuminated by dim night-light. Lica was sitting on the window-sill and looking up at the starry sky. Suddenly the door of her room opened and her mother came in.

"Liсa, why are not you asleep?" she asked. "It's late!"

"Mom, you know, how I love night! Night is wonderful and quiet ... and it is so cool to dream at night! And it is so romantic to walk under the Moon!"

"And bump into the bandits under the Moon. Romantic, isn't it?" her mother remarked.

"You're always spoiling everything!" the girl said petulantly. "You can possibly cross with the bandits during the day. But at night it is easier to hide from them - all cats are grey at night!"

"Ok, a dreamer!" mom said amicably. "Let's get down sleep-ing! Sixteen-year-old girls must sleep at least nine hours a day."

She kissed her daughter on forehead and left the room. Liсa sat for another ten minutes looking at the stars. Then she jumped down from the window-sill and went to bed.

Suddenly, she noticed an envelope on the desk. Angelica could swear that ten minutes ago that envelope had not been there!

"My Mom must have laid it," she thought. "What a restless inventor!"

Young girl went to the desk and picked up the envelope. It was sealed. There were no inscriptions or names on it. Liсa opened the enve-lope and pulled out a folded sheet of thick paper. She opened it and read:

You are a true admirer of Night! So Prince Night invites you to his annual ball, which will be held today...

Get ready by three o'clock in the morning – You will be picked up!

And she saw a luxury signature below. Angelica read the letter once more and said aloud:

"What nonsense! Mom surpassed herself! Well, when she comes by three o'clock in the morning, I'll be waiting for her ready. Furthermore, I have not much time left to three."

The girl opened the wardrobe and pulled out her only ball dress, which her parents had bought when she participated in the school beauty contest. The beautiful golden dress was perfectly matching Liсa's auburn hair. Angelica put on the dress and high heels, let her hair and slightly tinted her lips. Then she looked in the mirror and satisfied with herself went to bed.

"Let a little scared," she thought sarcastically. "When she comes at night here, I'll be fully ready!"

She smiled her own joke, and did not notice that fell asleep. No sooner had she fell asleep, when something touched her face. Liсa opened her eyes and at first could not understand anything. Moonlight filled the room and she saw a huge eagle-owl sitting on the chair back just in front of her.

"Oh!" Angelica screamed. "Shoo, shoo!"

"It may have flown through the window," flashed in her mind. She was waving her hands but the owl just narrowed its eyes. "Oh, you're so!" the girl got her rag out. "Well, hold on!" She got up and began to creep to the owl slowly to grab it. But

it suddenly fluttered and whirled around the room.

"I wish it wouldn't break down anything!" Liсa had just thought.

At that time an owl's feather dropped from the wing and stacked into her hair. The girl did not understand what was happen-ing to her but suddenly she became to shrink. A minute later she was sitting on the floor scrutinizing her arms with surprise, which had turned into wings. Owl hooted and it is oddly enough but now Liсa could understand it!

"We're already late!" the owl said.

"Where to?" the girl wanted to ask but just heard bird squawking from her throat.

"To the ball, where else?!" the night guest hooted. "Fly!" "So is it all true?!" Angelica was marveled. "And what if I refuse?"

"In this case you will stay as an owl forever!" the eagle owl replied.

It did not explain anything more and making a circle around the room flew out of the window. Lica had no choice and followed him.

They were flying over the night city and she could not help admiring the beautiful neon advertising lights. Then the owl turned to the side and they flew over woods and fields. They were soaring for a long time Angelica even stopped counting the time. Finally they saw the walls of a castle in front of them. Lica couldn't see it properly but it seemed to her that the castle was pretty dark in the moonlight. The eagle owl circled and flew into the window of a high tower. The girl followed him. They passed through the long corridors and got into a small brightly lit room. Here the eagle owl hit the ground and turned into a quite old man, dressed in dark clothes. Angelica sat down on the chair back and was watching for a while.

"A little more and we would have been late!" the old man said peevishly.

He approached the girl and took out a feather from her plum-age. And immediately, Liсa became the young girl again.

"No good!" the fellow traveler said looking around Angelica. "You are so disheveled and your dress is tattered. As if we had made the way through the thorns! Who is flying like this? Ok, wait!"

Just he said that the man came out of the room. He was ab-sent a few minutes then he came back with a luxurious white dress.

"Put it on, hurry up!" he said throwing the dress to Liсa's hands. "Ball is in full swing! I'm waiting outside!"

The old man came out and closed the door. The girl imme-diately changed her clothes perplexedly. The dress fitted her like a glove. Angelica went to the mirror hanging on the wall and looked at herself. She saw a very pretty girl in the mirror's reflection; however, she was slightly disheveled. Liсa put her hair straight and said aloud:

"Well, those fools who had not given me the first place in the beauty contest! If only they would see me now!"

When she came out of the room the night guest had been waiting for her behind the door.

"Well now you are quite different!" he smiled and gave Angelica his hand.