The Magic Faraway Tree Page 4

  Mr. Change-About suddenly got very big and fierce-looking, but old Saucepan didn't seem to mind at all. He just went on hitting out at him, and shouted: "The bigger you are, the more there is to hit!" So then Mr. Change-About got very small indeed, as small as a mouse, and ran squealing across the floor in fright. Quick as lightning, Saucepan picked him up, popped him into a kettle, and put the lid on him!

  "Oh, Saucepan! Whatever will you do next?" said Jo, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "I've never seen such a funny fight in my life. Be careful Mr. Change-About doesn't squeeze out of the spout."

  "I'll stuff it with paper," said Saucepan, tearing some from the box of chocolates. "Now he's safe. Well -what do we do next?"

  "We'd better get out of here," said Jo, standing up. He turned towards the doorway -but what was this! There was no doorway-and no door! Only a wall of rock that ran all round the underground room now.

  "Goodness! How do we get out?" said Jo, puzzled. "This is a very magic kind of place."

  "There's no window, of course, because we are underground," said Dick. "What in the wide world are we going to do?"

  "What about the chimney?" asked Fanny, running to the fire. "It looks pretty big. We could put the fire out and climb up, perhaps."

  "Well, that looks about our only chance of getting out of here," said Jo. He looked round for some water to put out the fire. He saw a tap jutting out from the wall and went to it. He put a pail underneath and turned on the tap. The water was bright green, and soon filled the pail. Jo threw it on the fire. It made a terrific sizzling noise and went out at once, puffing clouds of green smoke into the room.

  Jo stepped on to the dead fire and looked up the chimney. "There's an iron ladder going right up!" he called in excitement. "Come on! We shall get dirty, but we can't help that. Hurry, before anything else queer happens!" Up the ladder he went. It was hot from the heat of the fire, but grew colder the higher he went.

  "What an enormously long chimney!" called back Jo. "Is everyone coming?"

  "Yes! Yes!" called six voices below him. Jo climbed steadily upwards. At last the ladder came to an end. Joe clambered over the top of it and found himself in a most peculiar place.

  "This looks like some kind of cellar," he said to the others, as they scrambled up beside him. "Look at all those sacks piled up! What do you suppose is in them?"

  "Let's look," said Dick, who was always curious about everything. He undid a sack-and, goodness gracious me! -out poured a great stream of bright golden pieces of money! Everyone looked at it in astonishment.

  "Somebody VERY rich must live here," said Jo at last. "I never in my life saw so much gold. I can't believe that all the sacks are full of it!" He undid another sack-and out poured gold again. Just as everyone was running their fingers through it, marvelling at the gleam and shine of so much gold, there came the sound of quick footsteps overhead.

  A door above them opened, and a gleam of sunlight shone on to a flight of stone steps leading up from the cellar to the door. A tall man in a pointed hat looked down.

  "Golly! It's an enchanter!" whispered Moon-Face in a fright. "We must still be in the Land of Spells. Oh, dear!"

  "Robbers! Thieves! Burglars!" shouted the enchanter in a loud voice. "Servants, come here! Capture these robbers! They are after my gold! See -they have undone two sacks already!"

  "We don't want your gold!" cried Dick, "We only just wanted to know what was in all these sacks!"

  "I don't believe you!" cried the enchanter, as about a dozen small imps came running past him down the steps into the cellar. "Capture them, servants, and tie them up!" The little imps pulled everyone up the cellar steps into a big, sunlit room. Its ceiling was so high that nobody could see it. "Now tie them up," commanded the enchanter.

  Moon-Face suddenly snatched a kettle from Saucepan and snapped the string that tied it to him. He went towards the enchanter fearlessly.

  "Wait!" he cried, much to the astonishment of all the others. "Wait before you do this foolish thing! I am an enchanter, too -and in this kettle I have Mr. Change-About! Yes-he is a prisoner there! And let me tell you this, that if you dare to tie me up, I'll put you into the kettle, too, with Mr. Change-About!"

  From the kettle came a small, squealing voice: "Set me free, Enchanter, set me free! Oh, do set me free!" The enchanter turned quite pale. He knew it was Mr. Change-About's voice.

  "Er-er-this is most peculiar," he said. "How did you capture Mr. Change-About? He is a very powerful person, and a great friend of mine."

  "Oh, I'm not going to tell you what magic I used," said Moon-Face boldly. "Now -are you going to let us go- or shall I put you into this kettle, too?"

  "I'll let you go," said the enchanter, and he waved them all towards a door at the end of the room, "You may leave at once." Everyone rushed to the door gladly. They all ran through it, expecting to come out into the sunshine.

  But, alas for them! The enchanter had played them a trick! They found themselves going up many hundreds of stairs, up and up and up -and when they came to the top there was nothing but a round room with one small window! A bench stood at one end and a table at the other.

  The enchanter's voice floated up to them. "Ho! ho! I've got you nicely! Now I'm going to get my friend, Wizard Wily, and he'll soon tell me how to deal with robbers like you!"

  "We are in a trap!" groaned Jo. "Moon-Face, you were very clever and very brave. But honestly, we are worse off than ever. I simply don't see any way out of this at all!"

  8

  How Can They Escape?

  Moon-Face looked all round the room at the top of the tower. "Well, we're in a nice fix now," he said gloomily. "It's no use going down the stairs again -we shall find the door at the bottom locked. And what's the good of a window that is half a mile from the ground!"

  Jo looked out of the window. "Gracious!" he said, "the tower is awfully tall! I can hardly see the bottom of it. Hallo -there's the enchanter going off in his carriage. I suppose he is going to fetch his friend, dear Wizard Wily."

  "I don't like the sound of Wizard Wily," said Silky. "Jo-Dick-Moon-Face-please, please think of some way to escape!" But there just simply WASN'T any way. No one wanted to jump out of the window.

  They all sat down. "I'm dreadfully hungry," said Bessie. "Has anyone got anything to eat?"

  "I may have got some Pop Biscuits," said Moon-Face, feeling in his pockets. But he hadn't. "Feel in your pockets, Jo and Dick."

  Both boys felt, hoping to find a bit of toffee or half a biscuit. Dick brought out a collection of string, bits of paper, a pencil and a few marbles. Jo took out much the same kind of things -but with his rubbish came a pink jar, very small and heavy.

  "What's in that jar?" asked Bessie, who hadn't seen it before. "Isn't it pretty?"

  "Let me see -what can it be?" wondered Jo, as he unscrewed the lid. "Oh-I know. We saw a witch selling whizz-away ointment for broomsticks in the Land of Spells-and I thought it would be such fun to rub some on mother's broomstick and see it fly through the air. So we bought some. Smell it-it's delicious."

  Everyone smelt it. Moon-Face suddenly got tremendously excited. "I say-" he began. "I say -oh, I say!"

  "Well, say then!" said Jo. "What's the matter?"

  "Oh, I SAY!" said Moon-Face, stammering all the more. "Listen! If only we could get a broomstick-we could rub this pink ointment on it-and fly away on it!"

  "Moon-Face, that's a very good idea-if only we had a broomstick-but we haven't!" said Jo. "Look at this room-a table and a bench-no sign of a broomstick at all!"

  "Well, I'll run down the stairs and see if I can possibly get a broomstick," said Moon-Face, getting all excited. "I saw some standing in a corner of that room we were in. I'll do my best, anyway!"

  "Good old Moon-Face!" said everyone, as they watched the round-faced little fellow scurry down the hundreds of steps. "If only he gets a broomstick!" Moon-Face hurried down and down. It did seem such a very long way. At last he came to the bottom of the stairs. An enormo
us wooden door was at the bottom, fast shut. Moon-Face tried to open it, but he couldn't. So he banged on the door loudly.

  A surprised voice called out: "Hie, there! What are you banging on the door for? What do you want?"

  "A broomstick!" said Moon-Face loudly.

  "A broomstick!" said the voice, more astonished than ever. "Whatever for?"

  "To sweep up some crumbs!" said Moon-Face, quite untruthfully.

  "A dust-pan and brush will do for that!" cried the voice, and the door opened a crack. A dust-pan and brush shot in with a clatter and came to rest by Moon-Face's feet. Then the door shut with a bang and was bolted at the other side.

  "A dust-pan and brush!" said Moon-Face in disgust. "Now, who can ride away on those?" He banged on the door again.

  "Now what's the matter?" yelled the voice angrily.

  "These won't do," said Moon-Face. "I want a BROOMSTICK!"

  "Well, go on wanting," said the voice. "You won't get one. I suppose you think you'll fly away on one if I give it to you. I'm not quite so silly as that. What do you suppose my master would say to me when he came back if I'd given you one of his broomsticks to escape on?"

  Moon-Face groaned. He knew it was no good asking again. He picked up the dust-pan and brush and climbed the stairs slowly, suddenly feeling very tired.

  Everyone was waiting for him. "Did you get it, Moon-Face?" they cried. But when they saw Moon-Face's gloomy face and the dust-pan and brush in his hand, they were very sad.

  They all sat down to think. Jo" looked up. "I suppose it wouldn't be any good rubbing the whizz-away ointment on to anything else?" he asked. "Would it make anything but broomsticks fly away?"

  "I shouldn't think so," said Moon-Face. "But we could try. What is there to try on, though? We haven't a stick of any sort."

  "No -but there's a table over there, and this bench," said Jo, getting excited. "Couldn't we try on those? We could easily sit on them and fly off, if only the magic would work."

  "But it won't," said Silky. "I'm sure of that. It's only for broomsticks. But try it, Jo." Jo took off the lid of the jar again. He dabbed a finger into the pink ointment and rubbed some all over the top of the wooden bench, which was very, like a form at school. "Now for the table," said Jo. He turned it upside down, thinking that it would be more comfortable to sit on that way. They could hold the legs as they went! He rubbed the ointment all over the underside of the table. As he was doing this everyone heard the sound of horses' hoofs clip-clopping outside. Silky ran to the window.

  "It's the enchanter come back again -and he's got the Wizard Wily with him!" she cried. "Oh, do be quick, Jo! They will be up here in a minute."

  "Moon-Face, Silky and Saucepan, you sit on the bench," said Jo. "You girls and Dick and I will sit on the table. Hurry now!" Everyone scrambled to take their seats. Silky was trembling with excitement. She could hear the footsteps of the enchanter and the wizard coming up the steps.

  "Now, hold tight, in case we really do go off!" said Joe. "Ready, everyone? Then WHIZZ-AWAY HOME!" And, goodness gracious, the bench and the table began to move! Yes, they really did! They moved slowly at first, for they were not used to whizzing away-but as the children squealed and squeaked in surprise and delight, the table rose up suddenly s to the window and tried to get out! It stuck. It couldn't get through.

  "Oh, table, do your best!" cried Jo. "The enchanter is nearly here!" The table tipped itself up a little-and then it could just manage to squeeze through the opening. The children each clung tightly to a leg, afraid of being tipped off. Then at last the table was through the window, and, sailing away upside down, its four legs in the air, carrying the excited children safely, it whizzed off over the Land of Spells! Jo looked back to see if the wooden bench was coming, too. It had had to wait until the table was through the window.

  Just as it was about to jerk upwards to the window, the enchanter and the Wizard Wily had come rushing into the room. What would have happened if the old Saucepan Man hadn't suddenly thrown & kettle at them, goodness knows! It was the kettle with Mr. Change-About in! The lid came off. Mr. Change-About jumped out and turned himself almost into a giant! The enchanter fell over him, and Mr. Change-About, not seeing who it was at all, began to pummel him hard with his big fists, crying: 'I'll teach you to put me into a kettle!"

  Wily hit out at Mr. Change-About, not knowing in the least who he was, or where he had suddenly sprung from. And there was a perfectly marvellous fight going on, just as the wooden bench flew out of the window. The enchanter saw it going and tried to get hold of it-but just at that moment Mr. Change-About gave him such a hard punch on the nose that he fell over, smack, again!

  "Go it, Change-About!" yelled Moon-Face. "Hit him hard!" And out of the window sailed the bench, with Moon-Face, Silky and Saucepan clinging tightly to it. Far away in the distance was the upside-down table.

  The table whizzed steadily onwards, over hills and woods, and once over the sea. "We've come a very long way from home since we've been in the Land of Spells," said Jo. "I hope the table knows its way to our home. I don't want to land in any more strange lands just at present!"

  The table knew its way all right. Jo gave a shout as it flew over a big dark wood. "The Enchanted Wood!" he cried. "We're nearly home!" The table flew down to the garden of the children's cottage. Their mother was there, hanging out some clothes. She looked round in the greatest astonishment when she saw them arrive in such a peculiar way.

  "Well, really!" she said. "Whatever next! Do you usually fly around the country in an upside-down table?"

  "Oh, mother! We've had such an adventure!" said Jo, scrambling off. He looked up in the air to see if the bench was following -but there was no sign of it.

  "Where's the bench?" said Dick. "Oh-I suppose it will go to the Faraway, as that is where the others live. Gracious-I feel all trembly. Jo-I am NOT going into any more lands at the top of the Faraway Tree again. It's just a bit too exciting!"

  "Right," said Jo. "I feel the same. No more adventures for me!"

  9

  The Land of Dreams

  The children had had enough of adventures for some time. Their mother set them to work in the garden, and they did their best for her. Nobody suggested going to the Enchanted Wood at all.

  "I hope old Moon-Face, Silky and the Saucepan Man got back to the tree safely," said Jo one day.

  Moon-Face was wondering the same thing about the children. He and Silky talked about it.

  "We haven't seen the children for ages," he said. "Let's slip down the tree, Silky, and make sure they got back all right, shall we? After all, it would be dreadful if they hadn't got back, and their mother was worrying about them." So one afternoon, just after lunch, Silky and Moon-Face walked up to the door of the cottage. Bessie opened it and squealed with delight.

  "Moon-Face! So you got back safely after all! Come in! Come in, Silky darling. Saucepan, you'll have to take off a kettle or two if you want to get in at the door." The children's parents were out. The children and their friends sat and talked about their last adventure.

  "What land is at the top of the tree now?" asked Dick curiously.

  "Don't know," said Moon-Face. "Like to come and see?"

  "No, thanks," said Jo at once. "We're not going up there any more."

  "Well, come back and have tea with us," said Moon-Face. "Silky's got some Pop Biscuits -and I've made some Google Buns. I don't often make them-and I tell you they're a treat!"

  "Google Buns!" said Bessie in astonishment. "Whatever are they?"

  "You come and see," said Moon-Face, grinning. "They're better than Pop Biscuits -aren't they, Silky?"

  "Much," said Silky.

  "Well-Fanny and I have finished our work," said Bessie. "What about you boys?"

  "We've got about half an hour's more work to do, that's all," said Jo. "If everyone helps, it will only take about ten minutes. We could leave a note for Mother. I would rather like to try those Google Buns!"

  Well, everyone went into the g
arden to dig up the carrots and put them into piles. It didn't take more than ten minutes because they all worked so hard. They put away their tools, washed their hands, left a note for Mother and then set off for the Enchanted Wood.

  The Saucepan Man sang one of his ridiculous songs on the way: "Two tails for a kitten, Two clouds for the sky, Two pigeons for Christmas To make a plum pie!" Everyone laughed. Jo, Bessie and Fanny had heard the Saucepan Man's silly songs before, but Dick hadn't.

  "Go on," said Dick. "This is the silliest song I've ever heard."

  The Saucepan Man clashed two kettles together as he sang: "Two roses for Bessie, Two spankings for Jo, Two ribbons for Fanny, With a ho-derry-ho!"

  "It's an easy song to make up as you go along," said Bessie, giggling. "Every line but the last has to begin with the word 'Two'. Just think of any nonsense you like, and the song simply makes itself." Singing silly songs, they all reached the Faraway Tree. Saucepan yelled up it: "Hie, Watzis-name! Let down a rope, there's a good fellow! It's too hot to walk up to-day."

  The rope came down. They all went up one by one, pulled high by the strong arms of Mister Watzisname.

  Fanny was unlucky. She got splashed by Dame Washalot's water on the way up. "Next time I go up on the rope I shall take an umbrella with me," she said crossly.

  "Come on," said Moon-Face. "Come and eat a Google Bun and see what you think of it."

  Soon they were all sitting on the broad branches outside Moon-Face's house, eating Pop Biscuits and Google Buns. The buns were most peculiar. They each had a very large currant in the middle, and this was filled with sherbet. So when you got to the currant and bit it the sherbet frothed out and filled your mouth with fine bubbles that tasted delicious. The children got a real surprise when they bit their currants, and Moon-Face almost fell off the branch with laughing.

  "Come and see some new cushions I've got," he said to the children when they had eaten as many biscuits and buns as they could manage. Jo, Bessie and Fanny went into Moon-Face's funny round house.