The Magic Faraway Tree Page 11

  Fanny was delighted to see Jo, Bessie and Dick back. "Mother doesn't seem quite so well," she said. "She says she has such a bad headache. Did you get some medicine for her, Jo?"

  "Yes, I did," said Jo, showing Fanny the big bottle. "It's a Get-Well medicine. Let's give Mother some now. It smells of plums, so it should be rather nice." They went into Mother's bedroom and Jo took a glass and poured out two teaspoonfuls of the strange medicine.

  "Well, I hope it's all right, Jo dear," said Mother, holding out her hand for it. "I must say it smells most delicious-like plum tarts cooking in the oven!"

  It tasted simply lovely, too, Mother said. She lay back on her pillows and smiled at the children. "Yes, I do believe I feel better already!" she said. "My head isn't aching so badly." Well, that medicine was simply marvellous. By the time the evening came Mother was sitting up knitting. By the next morning she was eating a huge breakfast and laughing and joking with everyone. Father was very pleased.

  "We'll soon have her up now!" he said. And he was right! By the time the bottle of Get-Well Medicine was only half-finished, Mother was up and about again, singing merrily as she washed and ironed. It was lovely to hear her.

  "We'll put the rest of the bottle of magic medicine away," she said. "I don't need it any more-but it would be very useful if anyone else is ill."

  A whole week went by and the children heard nothing of their friends in the Faraway Tree. They were very busy helping their parents, and they wondered sometimes what land was at the top of the Tree now.

  "If it was a very nice Land Silky and Moon-Face would be sure to let us know," said Jo. "So I don't expect it's anything exciting."

  One evening, when the children were in bed, they heard a little rattling sound against their windows. They sat up at once.

  "It's Silky and Moon-Face!" whispered Jo.

  "They've come to say there's a lovely Land at the top of the Tree," said Dick, excited. The boys went into the girls' room to see if they were awake. They were looking out of the window.

  "It isn't Silky or Moon-Face," whispered Bessie. "I think it's old Watzisname!"

  "Gracious! Whatever has he come for!" cried Jo.

  "Sh!" said Fanny. "You'll wake Mother. Whoever it is doesn't seem to want to come any nearer. Let's creep down and see if it is Watzisname."

  So they put on their dressing-gowns and crept downstairs. They went into the garden and whispered loudly: "Who's there? What is it?"

  "It's me, Watzisname," said a voice, and Mister Watzisname came nearer to them. He looked terribly worried.

  "What's the matter?" asked Jo.

  "Have you seen Silky, Moon-Face or Saucepan lately?" asked Watzisname.

  "Not since we all went to the Land of Magic Medicines," said Jo. "Why? Aren't they in the Faraway Tree?"

  "They've disappeared," said Watzisname. "I haven't seen them for days. They went-and never even said good-bye to me!"

  "Oh, Watzisname! But what could have happened to them?" asked Bessie. "They must have gone up into some Land, that moved away from the top of the Tree-and that's why you haven't seen them."

  "No, that's not it," said Watzisname. "The same Land has been there ever since the Land of Medicines moved away. It's the Land of Tempers. I'm quite sure that Moon-Face and the others wouldn't visit it, because it's well known that everyone there is always in a bad temper. No-they've gone-vanished-disappeared. And I DO so miss dear old Saucepan. It makes me very, very sad."

  "Oh, Watzisname, this is very worrying," said Bessie, feeling upset. "Whatever can we do?"

  "I suppose you wouldn't come back to the Faraway Tree with me, would you, and help me to look for them?" asked Watzisname. "I feel so lonely there. And, you know, somebody else has taken Moon-Face's house and Silky's house, too. They have come from the Land of Tempers, and I'm so frightened of them that I just simply don't dare to go near them."

  "Good gracious! This is very bad news," said Jo. "Somebody else in Moon-Face's nice little house-and someone in Silky's house, too! Most extraordinary! I'm surprised you didn't hear anything, Watzisname. You know, I'm sure Moon-Face would have made an awful fuss and bother if anyone had turned him out of his house. Are you sure you didn't hear anything?"

  "Not a thing," said Watzisname, gloomily. "You know how I snore, don't you? I expect I was fast asleep as usual, and I shouldn't even have heard if they had called to me for help."

  "Well, listen, Watzisname, we can't possibly come to-night," said Jo. "Mother likes us to get the breakfast, and since she has been ill we make her have her breakfast in bed. But we will come just as soon as ever we can after breakfast. Will that do?"

  "Oh, yes," said Watzisname, gratefully. "That's marvellous. I shan't go back to the Tree to-night. It's too lonely without the others. May I sleep in that shed over there?"

  "You can sleep on the sofa downstairs," said Jo. "Come in with us. I'll get you a rug. Then we can all start off together to-morrow morning."

  So that night old Watzisname slept on the sofa. He snored rather, and Mother woke up once and wondered what in the wide world the noise was. But she thought it must be the cat, and soon went off to sleep again.

  Next morning the children asked if they might go off with Watzisname. They explained what had happened.

  "Well, I don't know that I like you going off if something horrid has happened," said Mother. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

  "I'll look after everyone," said Jo. "You can trust me, Mother; really you can. We'll be back soon."

  So Mother said they might go. They set off to the Enchanted Wood with Watzisname, feeling rather excited. Whatever could have happened to Silky and the others?

  They climbed up the Faraway Tree. It was growing peaches that day, and they were really most delicious. Dick ate far more than the others, of course, and nearly got left behind.

  They came to Silky's house. It was shut. From inside came a stamping and a roaring.

  "That's one of the people from the Land of Bad Tempers," said Watzisname in a whisper. "They're always losing their tempers, you know, whenever anything goes wrong. I just simply DAREN'T knock at the door and ask where Silky is."

  "Well, let's go on up to Moon-Face's," said Jo, feeling that he didn't really want to go knocking at the door either.

  So up they went, and at last came to Moon-Face's door. That was shut, too, and from inside came a banging and shouting.

  "Golly, they have got bad tempers, haven't they!" said Jo. "I'm quite certain I shan't go visiting the Land of Tempers! Let's peep in at the window and see who's there."

  So they peeped in, and saw a round, fat little man, with large ears, a shock of black hair, fierce eyes, and a very bad-tempered look on his face. He was looking for something on the floor.

  "Where's it gone?" he shouted. "You bad, wicked button! Where did you roll to? Don't you know that I want to put you on my coat again? I'll stamp you into a hundred bits when I find you!"

  Jo giggled. "If he does that it won't be much good trying to sew it on his coat!" he said.

  Just then the black-haired man looked up and saw the four children peering in at him. He got up in a rage, flew to the door and flung it open.

  "How dare you pry and peep!" he yelled, stamping first one foot at them and then the other. "How dare you look into my window!"

  "It isn't your window," said Jo. "This house belongs to a friend of ours, called Moon-Face. You'd better get out of it before he comes back, or he will be very angry."

  "Pooh! you don't know what you're talking about!" cried the bad-tempered man. "I'm Sir Stamp-a-Lot, and this is my house. My cousin, Lady Yell-Around, has taken the house a bit lower down. We've come to live in this tree."

  "But don't you belong to the Land of Tempers?" asked Jo. "Are you allowed to leave your own land?"

  "Mind your own business," said Sir Stamp-a-Lot. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!"

  "Well, it is my business to find out what you are doing in my friend's house," said Jo firmly. "Now, you just tell me wh
at has happened to Moon-Face-yes, and Silky and the old Saucepan Man, too."

  "Moon-Face said I could have his house whilst he went to live for a while in the Land of Tempers," said Sir Stamp-a-Lot, doing a bit more stamping. "And Silky said the same. The old Saucepan Man went with them."

  "Well, I just don't believe you," said Watzisname suddenly. "Moon-Face told me that the Land of Tempers had come, and he said nothing in the world would make him go there. So you are telling fibs."

  That sent Sir Stamp-a-Lot into such a rage that he nearly stamped the bark off the tree branch he stood on! "How dare you talk to me like that?" he cried. "I'll pull your hairs out! I'll pinch your noses! I'll scratch your ears!"

  "What a nice, kind, pleasant person you are," said Jo. "What a beautiful nature you have! What a sweet, charming friend you would make!"

  This made Sir Stamp-a-Lot so angry that he kicked hard at Jo, who dodged. Stamp-a-Lot lost his balance and fell. He fell down through the tree, yelling loudly.

  "Quick!" said Jo. "He'll be back in a minute; but we might just have time to pop into Moon-Face's house and see if there is any message from him!"

  They all crowded into the little round house and hunted hard. Wherever could their three friends be? It was too puzzling for words!

  23

  The Land of Tempers

  The four children and Mister Watzisname hunted in every corner of Moon-Face's house, but there was no message anywhere from their friends.

  "I say-that's old Stamp-a-Lot coming back," said Fanny. "I can hear him shouting. Let's get out, quick!"

  "We can go down the Slippery-slip," said Jo. But he was wrong! The Slippery-slip was stuffed up with all kinds of things -cushions, boughs, carpets, leaves-and nobody could possibly get down it. The children were all staring at it, puzzled, when Sir Stamp-a-Lot came back.

  And, my goodness me, what a rage he was in! He had bumped his head and his back in falling down the tree, and he had a tremendous bruise on his left cheek. He came in bellowing like a bull! "How dare you go into my house!" he stormed. "How dare you pry into my business! I'll throw you out! I'll throw you out!"

  He tried to get hold of Fanny, but Joe and Dick stopped him. "We're five to one," said Jo. "You might as well keep your temper, or we may do a bit of throwing out, too. We're going because we can only get fibs out of you, and it's quite plain that our friends are not here. But you'll feel very sorry for yourself when we do find our friends and we all come back to tell you what we think!"

  Stamp-a-Lot was furious. He began to throw things after the children and Watzisname as soon as they had gone out of the house. Crash! That was the clock. Clatter! That was a picture. Bang! That was a chair!

  "Oh, dear! Poor Moon-Face won't find a single thing in his house when he gets home," said Jo, dodging a soup plate that came flying past his head. "Now, what shall we do next? Perhaps we had better go down to Silky's house and see if we can find out anything from Lady Yell-Around or whatever her name is." Nobody really wanted to see Lady Yell-Around-but they saw her before they expected to. As they climbed down to where Dame Washalot lived, they heard a fierce quarrel going on.

  "You emptied your dirty water down on me just as I was going shopping!" yelled an angry voice. "You did, you did, you did!"

  Then came Dame Washalot's voice. "I did, I did, I did, did I? Well, I'm glad! If people can't look out for my washing water, it's their own fault!"

  "Look how wet I am; look at me!" came the other voice.

  "I don't want to look at you, you're a most unpleasant person," said Dame Washalot. "Now, look out -here comes some more water!" There was a sound of splashing -and then squeals and screams as Lady Yell-Around got the whole lot on top of her.

  The children began to giggle. They climbed down to where Dame Washalot was standing by her empty tub, grinning as she looked down the tree. Lady Yell-Around was hurriedly climbing down, dripping wet, her shopping basket still in her hand.

  "Dame Washalot-have you heard anything about Silky and the others?" asked Bessie.

  "Not a thing," said the old dame, "All I know is that that bad-tempered creature who calls herself Lady Yell-Around has taken Silky's house and says that Silky said she might have it, because she, Silky, wanted to go and live for a while in the Land of Tempers-a thing I don't believe at all, for a sweeter-tempered person than little Silky you could never find!"

  "It's awfully funny," said Jo, frowning. "Silky, Moon-Face and Saucepan disappeared and these two awful people take their places. There's only one thing to do. We'd better just pop up into the Land of Tempers to see if by any chance they have gone there."

  "Well, that's dangerous," said Dame Washalot. "Once you lose your temper up there you have to live there for always. And you might easily lose your temper with the cross lot of people who live there. I can't think how it is that these two have been able to leave."

  "It does sound dangerous," said Jo. "But I think we could all keep our tempers, you know, if we knew we had to. Anyway, I simply don't know what else to do. Perhaps it would be best if I just went by myself-then the others wouldn't have to risk getting into danger."

  But the others wouldn't hear of Jo going by himself. "We share in this," said Dick. "If you can go to the Land of Tempers and keep your temper, we can, too. We need only go up and ask if Silky and the others are there. If they're not, we can at once come away."

  "Well, then, we'd better go now," said Jo.

  So up the Tree they went, and then up the ladder through the hole in the cloud -and into the Land of Tempers.

  Well, it was a funny Land! There was such a lot of shouting and quarrelling going on -such a smashing of windows by people throwing stones in a rage-such a stamping and yelling!

  "Goodness! I vote we don't stay here long!" said Jo, dodging to miss a stone that someone had thrown. "Look! Let's ask that man over there if he has seen Silky or the others." So he asked him. But he glared at them and answered rudely.

  "Don't come bothering me with your silly questions! Can't you see I'm in a hurry?" He pushed Jo roughly, and the little boy at once felt angry.

  He was just about to push the man roughly too when Fanny whispered to him: "Jo! Don't lose your temper! Smile, quickly, smile!"

  So Jo made himself smile, for he knew that no one can really lose his temper when he is smiling. The man glared at him and went away.

  "Well, I can see that it would be jolly difficult to live here without getting angry almost every minute of the day," said Jo. "Hie, there-do you know anything about our friends, Silky, Moon-Face and Saucepan?"

  The boy he was calling to stopped and put out his tongue at Jo. "Yah!" he said. "Do you suppose I'm here to answer your questions, funny-face?"

  "No, I don't," said Jo. "But I thought perhaps you might be polite enough to help me." The boy made a lot of rude faces at all of them and then pulled Fanny's hair very sharply before he ran off.

  Dick and Jo felt angry, because they saw the tears come into Fanny's eyes. They began to run after the boy, shouting.

  "Dick! Jo! Come back!" cried Watzisname. "You are losing your tempers again."

  "So we are," said the boys, and they stopped and made themselves look pleasant.

  Watzisname went to meet them, and as he went two naughty little boys ran by. One put out his foot, and poor old Watzisname tripped over it, bang, on his nose. The boys stood and laughed till they cried.

  Watzisname got up, his face one big frown. "I'll teach you to trip me up!" he cried. "I'll . . ."

  "Smile, Watzisname, smile!" cried Bessie. "Don't look like that. You're losing your temper. Smile!"

  And Watzisname had to smile, but it was very, very difficult. The two bad boys ran off. The children went walking on, telling themselves that they MUST remember, whatever happened, not to lose their tempers.

  They met a very grand-looking fellow, wearing a gold chain about his shoulders. They thought he must be one of the head men of the Land of Tempers, and nobody liked to speak to him. But suddenly Fanny calle
d to him.

  "Do you know where Sir Stamp-a-Lot and Lady Yell-Around are?" she said. The haughty-looking man stopped in surprise.

  "No, I don't," he said. "They have disappeared, and I am very angry about it. Do you know where they are?"

  "Yes, I do," said Fanny boldly.

  "Where are they, then?" asked the grand man.

  "I'll tell you the answer to your question if you'll answer one of mine," said Fanny.

  "Very well," said the man.

  "Have our friends, Silky, Moon-Face and Saucepan come to live here for a while?" asked Fanny.

  "Certainly not," said the man. "I've never heard of them. No one is allowed to live here unless they first lose their tempers and then get permission from me to take a house. And now-tell me where Stamp-a-Lot and Yell-Around are."

  "They have escaped from your Land and are living in the Faraway Tree," said Fanny.

  "But they are not allowed to do that!" cried the head man. "How dare they? I didn't even know we were near the Faraway Tree. Wait till I catch them! I'll shake them till their teeth rattle. I'll scold them till they shiver like jellies."

  "Well, that would be very nice," said Fanny. "Good-bye. We're going."

  The others joined her as she ran towards the hole in the cloud. "How brave and clever you are, Fanny!" said Jo. "I should never have thought of all that! I'm quite, quite sure that Silky and the others aren't up here."

  "I was awfully afraid of that head man," said Fanny. "I just couldn't speak a word more to him. Hurry up-let's get back to the Tree. Silky isn't here. I can't imagine where they all are. There's something very, very mysterious about it."

  They all climbed down the ladder to the Tree, thankful to leave behind the horrid Land of Tempers. They went down to Silky's house and peeped in at the window. Lady Yell-Around wasn't there.

  "I vote we go in and have a look round," said Jo. But the door was locked and the key had been taken. Bother! "Well, I'm sure I don't know WHAT to do," said Jo. "But we simply must do SOMEthing!"