Original subtitles

Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull

THE PRINCE'S VOYAGE

When I came round,

it was hard to tell whether I was among the dead

or the living.

Above me, a huge flower

lit up like the sun then went out,

no doubt to let me sleep.

But I did not sleep.

Shadows came and went around me.

I tried to follow them,

only able to move my head with great difficulty.

My body refused to cooperate.

My bones were surely broken.

As I was kept in the dark,

I decided to carry on playing dead,

which I did very convincingly.

In fact,

the shadows were monkeys like you and I

but their behavior was most odd.

Their chief occupation was taking notes.

He opened his eyes? Quick, notes!

He moved his head? More notes!

The most amiable was called Nelly.

She came at the crack of dawn,

observed me carefully

and took notes.

Elisabeth was not as friendly.

Preoccupied with small plants

that she lovingly nurtured,

she looked at me

as if I were an inconvenience

to be got rid of at once.

It hardly concerned me.

If they had meant to kill me, I would already be dead.

My entire being puzzled them,

especially my clothes, which they examined curiously.

But I could not understand

a single word of their chatter.

The next to arrive is easier to describe.

Nelly called him by an outlandish name:

"Professorabervrak."

And Elisabeth ,"Victor"

or "Mydear".

He nodded constantly

as if he knew everything.

I had known "superior" monkeys like him at the castle.

They have more faith in themselves

than in the science they profess.

But as he seemed particularly interested in me,

I thought I should introduce myself.

What is it you want?

Cut my throat at once, or leave me alone.

And stop taking notes!

I am not a freak.

I am Prince Laurent, King of the Laankos.

What did he say?

I don't have a darn clue!

It must be an archaic language.

Untie me from this table! I won't take flight.

He possesses language

and seems to express himself clearly.

Where can he be from?

Have you seen his clothes?

Finer than the finest finery.

And we're in a fine mess! What'll we do with him?

Elisabeth, you can be so negative.

I sometimes wonder why you chose science.

What are you afraid of?

I must revive my Latin.

He used an expression

that sounded familiar to me.

Where's my Latin dictionary?

Isn't his voice beautiful?

Don't talk nonsense, Nelly.

Help find the dictionary before he has a fall.

To understand him, there's something far better.

Tom?

What do you want to know?

As I said earlier,

I am Prince Laurent.

- I rode a long while. - A long while?

- I swam. - Swam?

- I am here now. - Now?

- I look around me. - Around me?

The light is too bright.

I am tired.

What else could I say?

He could not understand me.

Suddenly, maybe due to the likeness,

I mentioned Kom.

He was initially surprised.

Kom?

He shook his head and touched his chest.

Not Kom.

Tom.

We found him in the forest

while I was out tiger hunting.

He had fallen from the land above, Woonko country.

That strange country in the treetops:

Canopy.

My hunters were about to kill him, like an injured animal.

No!

But I decided to care for him back at the castle.

He was curious about everything

and surprisingly intelligent.

One evening, to amuse myself,

I had him brought up to my apartments.

He stared in wonderment at everything he saw:

the hangings, the pictures,

my model flying machines.

After looking around,

he turned to me and said with disarming naivety,

"You know, Prince,

"I didn't know I was a monkey

"or that monkeys were capable of such marvels."

I taught him many things

and he was keen to share his knowledge with me.

For instance, as well as their language,

his people used cries.

They knew hundreds of them.

Even the defensive cry, which paralyses the enemy.

Brave little Kom.

He was about your age.

No wonder I thought of him.

I find myself in the same situation.

I, too, am being examined like an animal.

Have I said enough?

Thank you, Prince. Continue tomorrow.

I know enough today.

How did you do that? You already understand my language?

Laughter is the property of monkeys. No need to look further!

He's a fellow primate.

You're surprised?

Nelly, see if Tom is done for today.

He crossed the sea!

How did he do it?

He must have used the sea ice.

The stranger refuses to stay in the laboratory.

He calls it a kitchen!

My lab, a kitchen? Whatever next!

Where will we put him?

My research is top secret.

If they find out we're using the museum,

they'll send us to a labor camp!

He's injured, Elisabeth.

Tom says he won't run away.

The Other even suggested, to reassure us,

we shackle his feet.

That monkey is capable of reason

and even of compromise.

We'll take care of him.

He can stay in the museum.

No one will spot him there.

Tom will visit him every day and tell us all we need to know.

- What about boarding school? - I'll fix things.

Tom's fascinated by the foreigner. Only he understands him.

Each day, we'll learn more about his country,

its traditions and gods.

Can you believe it? He crossed the sea!

He's a monkey from another country.

Elisabeth!

Everything we defended long ago.

I'll give the academy a piece of my mind!

They will have to reinstate me.

Until I was well enough to be presented at court,

Tom got me moved to another prison.

The place I was to be confined

seemed strangely deserted.

But it was bigger and pleasanter than their kitchen.

The paintings reflected their artists' skill.

Without resorting to color,

they were astonishingly realistic.

Tom came to see me each morning.

We chatted

and wrote in the notebook he had given me,

which I have to this day.

He asked me all about my country

before answering my questions.

As he had set his sights on teaching me his language,

I did my utmost to please him.

Although I wasn't as gifted as he,

I progressed quickly.

He held my hand if I was stuck,

as he had when we first met.

Do you do this with the birds and squirrels?

I wish I could, but it's hard.

I learn their language by listening.

I sneak out of school before dawn,

when the animals return from hunting.

The forest is filled with music!

I get the impression you do as you please.

Don't your parents mind you having so much freedom?

They're not my parents.

Elisabeth found me.

I was... What's the word? Abandoned.

They're still your parents. Are they affectionate?

Affectionate? Don't you mean kind?

Animals are affectionate to their young.

But the monkeys of my country don't show their feelings.

My parents are too busy to look after me.

Their work is very important.

What's this important work?

At the moment, it's you.

The professor is writing a report about you.

A report? What the dickens for?

He must present me to the king!

I may be your prisoner, but I expect you to listen

and treat me with dignity.

A report!

Once I have visited your country,

I will take you to my castle.

You will be given a warm welcome.

In my country, monkeys respect foreigners.

At noon, Nelly would take my pulse

then give me strange food,

in the form of vegetable medicine.

I never got used to it.

Every afternoon,

I was hounded by the professor.

From the start,

I realized that the young monkey related little of our talks.

He kept them to himself.

As a result, poor Abervrach

got nowhere with his report.

I could have helped him

but I found him incredibly annoying.

I don't want to play with you!

I want to meet your king.

We don't have a king.

- What did he say? - He's pleased to see you.

Is that so?

Since he saw me as a primitive being,

I occasionally played dumb

to prove him right.

I feel better!

Nothing beats an outburst to put you right again.

Take me outside, lad. Show me your country.

No! Wait till the report's finished.

That report again!

Look,

I have found my legs.

You're still a bit weak.

The forest has spread even further into the park.

The museum will soon be surrounded.

It's spared the greenhouse.

You know, Nelly,

sometimes I hate myself.

I never thought I'd one day use my knowledge to make poison,

to fight the forest I once cherished.

I'm asking it to turn against itself.

But if you succeed,

if you save the city,

the Nioukos will be truly free.

Is the professor around?

No.

Where can he be?

- I bet he's gone there. - To the academy?

I know what he's up to.

He's hanging about, chatting to the copyists.

They remember him.

- He'll buy them drinks. - Afraid he'll mention the prince?

No, but he'll do something stupid.

Like present his case.

It isn't his case, it's both of yours, Elisabeth!

You've always fought together.

He didn't even find the foreigner.

Tom did.

But he intends to make a scene.

He says the academy owes him an apology.

It's a recipe for disaster.

He's so naive!

Even the foreigner realizes.

Look what I found yesterday.

I scared you, didn't I?

No, not at all.

What's that cry?

Young Kom taught it to me.

It's the paralysing cry.

Come on, I found something else.

Is that your country, Tom?

Those magnificent towers.

All those lights.

How many years did it take to build this town?

My teachers say it took six days.

Six days? Extraordinary!

Your fellow monkeys must feel proud

to have built a city finer than any elsewhere.

What a marvel!

Elsewhere? There's no elsewhere for the Nioukos.

Just this marvel, as you call it.

There's no other.

The Laankos also thought they alone existed.

At night I would see the sea

turning red as coals.

Was the sun casting a farewell glow?

No. There was something else.

There was another world.

All night, in a kind of frenzy,

I'd design machines to cross the sea

or fly through the sky.

My bedroom floor was littered with paper dreams!

Sadly, in the morning, when the mist shrouded everything,

I'd come back down to earth.

My people would never follow me.

Why? Were they afraid?

No, but they're lazy.

They're philosophers.

They said, "But why, Majesty? We're happy here."

What's a philosopher?

Someone who does nothing and has an answer for everything.

Your philosophers are right.

Why two worlds and not three or four?

You're right, lad. I think we're going to get along.

For now, your world is enough for me.

It looks admirable in every way

and I can't wait to visit it.

Take me outside.

No one will know.

I'll behave myself

and we'll be back before dawn.

Show me your country, my boy.

I implore you.

Pain in the neck!

What a splendid idea to lay such perfectly straight avenues.

And what simplicity!

They just razed part of the forest,

built a tower and replicated it

with a few variations,

like toy blocks.

We soon came across the Nioukos.

They walked briskly and confidently.

Their solemnity and dignity were admirable.

They paid no attention to us,

which I took for a sign of great civility.

The Nioukos are quiet and charming.

Why aren't they speaking?

They're leaving work.

There's nothing to say, their routine never changes.

Why the metal gates?

Are they afraid of thieves?

We don't have thieves.

Everyone owns identical factory-made goods.

But the Nioukos need to feel fear, so they have these gates.

Look through here.

It's a working factory.

Goods are constantly replaced.

Clothing, furniture, everyday items.

Watch out!

How rude!

A truly infernal machine.

Here comes another.

Hop on, lad!

Good evening, lords.

Don't mind us.

My respects, madam.

She isn't very chatty either!

Look, Tom, isn't that a beautiful factory?

No, it's where we buy the newly manufactured goods.

Even if they're still useable,

the Nioukos have to replace them.

I'm learning about this practice at school.

It's known as planned obsolescence.

How admirable!

Look, they don't seem to be enjoying themselves.

Those Nioukos are being punished for not working hard.

Why do they have arms?

To fight the forest.

See how it's trying to take over.

If we don't beat it back, it will engulf the city.

What's going on? Everyone has alighted.

- Should we? - No, it's moving too fast.

- Where's it heading? - I don't know!

I've never been on it before.

We're going back in time.

Look at that castle, it's like those in my country.

Why has the forest taken it over?

It seems to be rebelling.

Some say that it's revenge for the city's expansion

but they're wrong!

Where are the Nioukos who were driven out?

In the city centre.

More storeys had to be added.

The buildings are growing higher and higher.

Look, we passed that earlier!

It's heading back into town. Does it ever stop?

There were more surprises in store.

The blind machine continued its tour of the city

by heading the other way along the same avenues.

Those who had alighted earlier got back on again,

but their behavior had changed.

Where did these folks spring from?

Don't you recognize them from earlier?

They're off to the Festival of Fear.

We're allowed to have fun at night.

Let's go with them, lad!

To the Festival of Fear? Children aren't allowed.

To hell with restrictions! You're not a child anymore.

Roll up, roll up, ladies and gentlemen,

for the Circus of Fear,

the bizarre and the terrifying!

Hurry, ladies and gents!

Come see the two-headed giant,

the three-footed skeleton,

and death warmed up!

Roll up, roll up, if you dare

Don't ever forget the sight

Enjoy a good scare Quake with fear all night

At the great Circus of Fear

At the great Circus of Fear

Roll up, roll up!

Come and be scared!

You can touch them for a small fee

No guarantee you won't feel queasy

That's how it goes

With the Circus of Fear's shows

Victor!

Victor!

The Thing from Another World

Look, Prince, monsters!

What happened that night

stayed with me for years.

I had already seen many marvels

but didn't think this people could invent something

quite this extraordinary.

Go on!

Sir!

Be quiet.

Unbelievable!

Show some respect.

Come now, sir! Get him out.

Go, sir!

Leave!

Get out!

Absolutely unbelievable!

What did you think of that invention?

I loved it! How about you?

Me too. Even though on the poster,

the dream was in color.

I'd heard about it.

Our masters say it's dangerous for young minds.

Dangerous?

Honestly! The monster was hardly scary.

And the dream has its flaws.

The ending was implausible.

- He doesn't eat her? - Of course not!

The monster is obviously in love with the girl.

He wouldn't hurt her.

Yet the audience was afraid for her.

And they stared at us!

You promised to behave.

We had a good night.

Yes, but let's go home now.

Run for it!

Why? What's wrong?

The cry, Prince, the cry!

Victor!

There you are!

Why are you in this cubbyhole?

What's the matter?

Your prince has left the museum!

I looked everywhere, I asked Nelly. He's gone!

- He couldn't have got out. - Well, he did!

Your protégé is wandering around Niouton.

He can't have got very far.

Where's Nelly?

Looking for him in the park.

I knew he'd be trouble!

No, let them sleep.

So you hide your work in here? You poor fool!

Yes, in my cubbyhole, as you call it.

My work and my archives.

They're safe here.

Unlike my savage.

If Tom let the prince out, I'll give him what for!

He won't tell you a thing. It's the same with me, mind.

He's changed so much, Tom, since the foreigner arrived.

You can't imagine how lonely I feel.

Come on, Elisabeth, you have me.

Listen to me,

my report will be discussed. Isn't that good news?

They haven't forgotten me.

I pulled strings, but all in a good cause.

And when they see my specimen,

I'll be reinstated.

Don't tell me... Have you lost your mind?

What's wrong with you?

I'm afraid, that's what's wrong.

Afraid? Not you, Elisabeth!

You always said, "That's what they expect us to feel.

"Fear. They rule with it."

- Remember! - It's you I'm afraid of.

You just want your seat back with a comfy cushion

embroidered with your name!

- It means a lot to you, eh? - Absolutely!

Tomorrow I shall be an academician once more.

I can't wait to see their faces!

And they'll find out we're squatting the museum.

We'll lose everything!

There's nothing to lose.

What about my research and my lab?

Go back to it then!

Nothing will stop me giving my presentation.

Focus on your own work!

Goodnight.

When I woke up, Tom had disappeared.

Surely no one had got wind of our escapade.

Where had he gone? Why wasn't he with me?

I realized a bond had formed

between the lad and myself.

It was stronger than I'd have liked.

So they didn't fall from the sky either.

Tom was still nowhere to be seen.

I started to worry.

Where's Tom? I haven't seen him today.

I knew enough words to ask Nelly.

But the girl knew nothing.

She had good news for me though.

I was to be presented at court

and I had to get ready.

My blue notebook, which had been missing,

had served as a guide for the little rascal,

for a doublet that actually...

looked quite good on me.

Time for your bath!

I was in a decidedly awkward position

for a prince of my rank.

Elisabeth was transfixed by the sight.

Her eyes were like daggers stabbing into my body.

- You didn't touch the soup? - Why? What's in it?

So you wanted to try out your experiments on me!

What an honor.

And which cabinet would I have graced with my presence?

Drawer 23?

Black label?

Dangerous species? To be eliminated?

Let go of me! Why didn't you run away yesterday?

You don't have a clue.

You're dangerous because you'll ruin everything!

I risked my life crossing the sea to meet your king.

I won't change my mind for you, my dear!

- Where's Tom? - You can't see him.

- Go home! - Where is he?

Good, you're ready. Let's be going.

I want Tom to come with me. I need him.

Of course! He'll meet us there.

Hurry, they're waiting.

Abervrach and I had agreed

he would give his presentation before I appeared.

So I gave him that pleasure

and sat there like an old actor

waiting for his cue.

To be honest,

this was not how I had imagined the court of this country.

I looked around for the king.

There wasn't one.

It seemed more like a theatre

where a few dozen old men

had evidently left their dignity at the door!

Was this, assembled before me,

the moral authority of this new world?

Fellow members.

A bit of silence, please!

This meeting is an extraordinary one.

Professor Abervrach,

whose scientific audacity we all remember clearly,

asked me to reopen the debate that we had here

a few years ago,

in the light of a strange discovery that he will present to us.

Professor, you have the floor.

Please keep it short.

Fellows,

distinguished members of the Academy of Science,

fifteen years ago, as you mentioned, President,

for want of counterexamples,

we concluded that we were alone in the universe.

Instead of a long speech,

and to summarize my report, which you might not have read,

I'll draw your attention to a picture.

The line I am drawing here

represents the sea.

On the horizon,

this land that I'm drawing represents Niouko country.

And on the other side,

an unknown country,

where other monkeys inevitably live.

Enough! We've been over this already.

Preposterous! Stop, old chap.

It was my hypothesis!

You quite rightly expelled me. I had no evidence to support it.

Well, this evidence arrived

on the north shore a month ago.

This monkey crossed the sea when it was frozen

and introduced himself to me

as the Prince of the Laankos.

Do you realize what you're claiming?

Absolutely, sir. The report before you

describes in detail the studies I have made of him,

including the tests...

Come, come, sir!

Let's not waste time.

Allow us to speak directly to your specimen.

You! Do you understand me?

- Yes, lord. - Very well.

Please walk up and down.

In fact your foreigner, if we except his get-up,

is not unlike our Simius sapiens.

And he speaks our language.

What's so remarkable about him?

He's from another country!

"That lies beyond the sea."

We understood your report!

However, no one has ever seen

this country "with strange monkeys, who are similar to us,

"capable of reason, arithmetic

"and even of humor."

Indeed, gentlemen!

The monkey before you can solve multivariable equations

and he played dumb for a month without my realizing.

And I believe he still is!

Professor Abervrach! This is quite preposterous.

Scientific proof!

He's clearly a vagabond

who was hanging about after the festival.

You say he hoodwinked you.

And you think you can fool us?

You can't, Professor.

The academy is not that gullible.

Here's what we think of your report!

It was a pathetic sight.

They attacked that poor report

with which I now identified.

So it was a pile of nonsense,

but it was about me!

Lords,

you don't need a report!

I am here, before you.

And Professor Abervrach is right:

I come from another country.

And I'm trying to understand you.

Haven't you ever dreamt of discovering other worlds?

I shall tell you what I dreamt of as a child.

- I longed for a horse. - A what?

- What did he say? - A horse?

What does he mean?

That's right, a horse with wings!

To reach the clouds.

No, it isn't a dog! It's much bigger.

- What's it called? - A horse.

- Can you ride it? - Only if you're a prince.

Time to go!

No, not you.

Professor Abervrach,

you prepared your case well

and your protégé has a talent for entertainment.

But how can you possibly claim,

as you do on page 125,

that he is like us in every way?

He is indeed a foreigner.

But he is violent and primitive,

close to nature.

We are cultural beings.

Therefore we are different.

Fellow members, this debate was resolved years ago.

Our moral superiority is a consequence of our evolution,

both cultural and scientific.

That is, our civilized condition.

This raises us above nature,

above other species!

Fellow members,

laugh at this foreigner if you wish but look at him.

We shouldn't be afraid of him. He came with empty hands

to meet us.

As he told you, his people are dreamers, childlike.

He came empty-handed, did he?

Seize him!

Get him!

Grab him!

Monster!

Don't let him get away!

Get him!

What an outrage!

Well done!

I could not say how long I remained thus,

my body aching, like some old animal.

For those devils got me in the end.

Later, it was children.

They'd opened the park to the public, no doubt in my honor.

They threw stones at me.

But the stones hurt me less

than the silence of the adults who stared at me,

with no expression at all.

Like the little old man, one day.

He stayed a long time.

He was one of the academicians who had silently weighed me up.

His smile was still just as sad.

Excuse me!

Tell me how it all ended.

Very well.

It was so predictable.

You inspired fear, and they used that.

Fear, as you surely noticed,

is their favorite instrument.

You were a godsend.

They should have decorated you, not locked you up.

Will they slay me?

Most certainly.

Even locked up, you're a danger for the Nioukos.

All they need is your image!

Then he walked away, shoulders hunched.

I gave up trying to understand this country's politics.

I had only one desire:

to see Tom again before I died.

Tonight! Be ready!

It'll be light soon. You have to go now.

Nelly will stall them. They won't dare enter the forest.

Go with him, Tom.

You were right, he's a good individual.

And the forest will protect you.

What will happen to you?

The academy says I can continue my research

provided Abervrach behaves himself.

What's he doing now?

He's incorrigible.

He's working on a new report.

Off you go.

Let's wait here a while,

until the Nioukos forget about me.

They won't, they're determined to kill you.

We have to go farther.

What will we find?

Trees, trees and more trees.

The forest is becoming denser.

- Will we still see the sky? - I don't know.

Tom actually had something in mind

but he didn't tell me.

Too busy fighting the brambles,

I followed him without question.

The next day, Tom behaved strangely.

He had never been this far.

Yet he looked around, as if trying to get his bearings.

The daylight disappeared altogether,

replaced by a sort of golden glow

emanating from the ground.

It was as if the thousands of flowers

blanketing the forest floor, had only just opened.

You're looking at the flowers as if they're telling you something.

Do you talk to plants too?

They're the same!

Last year, in the attic,

I found my old cradle.

There were dried petals in it.

I'm sure these are the same.

This is where she found me!

Elisabeth?

Wasn't she afraid of the forest?

She has never been afraid of it.

When I ran away, she always knew where I was.

But she wouldn't say where she had found me.

Hey!

We can't climb that tree.

It's easy, look!

Why do we have to climb up there?

I don't know. Come on!

Keep going, Prince! We're making good progress.

Leave me be, Tom. Go on alone

and stop worrying about me!

Shush.

Listen.

The forest is talking to us. Can you hear it?

Could you live here, with the wild animals?

Of course!

I know you understand them pretty well, but still...

you're not an animal, you're a monkey.

Is there really any difference?

Take the ring-tailed lemur.

It suffers, it loves, it knows it will die one night.

Just like you.

I'll find an easier route.

No! I'm coming with you.

Do you hear, lad? I'm coming with you.

I cannot tell you how many times I almost gave up,

let fall this unwieldy old body,

this life that weighed me down.

The youngster's agility irked me.

The higher we went, the faster he climbed.

So I forgot my aches and pains

and tackled each branch as if my life depended on it.

It's an old abandoned platform.

It's no miracle, Prince. Monkeys have been at work here.

The land of Canopy.

I rested at the home of a charming couple.

Rose and Julius.

I was up and about within days.

One morning, Rose took my hand and smiled.

Come on, I'll show you the garden.

Be careful.

Everything sways a little here.

To cross the vale, we take those gondolas.

But the garden is nearby.

How does everything work?

With the sun, the wind, water

and good old gravity.

We have everything we need.

Food, energy, transport.

By what miracle did you know we were coming?

Our ornithologist friends have studied

the language of birds for years.

Thanks to their work,

we know pretty much what's going on down below.

Birds are so inquisitive

and chatty with it!

Following your adventures was child's play.

Except for what happened at the academy,

where communication is very poor.

It seems you had a few differences.

Oh yes!

They're as stubborn as mules

and somewhat backward too.

We left them 15 years ago.

They're still harping on about the same thing.

Once they've evolved, we'll re-establish contact.

There's no point for now.

Then why observe them?

To amuse ourselves.

And we have a friend at the museum.

Elisabeth is a remarkable botanist.

How did he end up with the Nioukos?

It was an accident.

His mother was working on level C,

her baby on her back.

We saw her slip and disappear.

The safety net didn't work.

Elisabeth found the child among the ferns.

He was lucky.

How he survived is a mystery.

Do you hunt?

The gardens provide all we need.

Then what do you all day?

Nothing.

Really?

Yes.

I don't feel like doing anything.

Why the dickens did he speak to me that way?

Julius is old, maybe he's tired.

Good lord, I'm old and tired too!

So what?

Did you know he plans to live 150 years?

What will he do with all that time? Another philosopher!

At night, he waits for the stars.

He asked me to go stargazing!

Knowing Orion will be back in 60 days

in the Alcibiades Nebula

and that it will pass whatsit

doesn't interest me in the slightest!

And what will you do, Tom, in this paradise?

I feel at home here, and much needs to be done.

The village is growing

and the communication system is dated.

It works well with the birds, but we could do so much more.

I'd like to teach them the language of trees.

Well, I'm happy for you.

Rose brought me herbal tea.

She told me to beware of melancholia.

She said that in Canopy,

a monkey's gaze can suddenly grow soft

and his grip so loose that he lets go and disappears.

That wasn't my style.

I was in fact picking up the pieces of my soul.

Outside the village,

there was a big workshop they no longer used.

Tom helped me move in

and I set to work.

"Tom,

"I'm leaving you this notebook I'm never without.

"In it, you'll find the drawings we did together

"as well as the notes, which have proved most useful.

"The problem was always the weight. We discussed that.

"The balsa wood that you helped me find

"is much lighter than anything I used in the past."

Wow, they'll be amazed!

Ah, you're here?

I'm ready. I'll fly around the village twice

and then land. Don't you worry.

I'm not worried.

I hope you haven't told anyone.

I haven't, but you know what the birds are like!

"Dearest Tom,

"my young companion to whom I owe so much,

"I don't know how your life will be.

"But if it ever weighs you down,

"I know you, too, will spread your wings.

"Do not imitate the birds.

"They will always be superior to monkeys in this field.

"Reach for the skies with the same freedom."

Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull