Magic Faraway Tree (7 page)

 

   
"Well, does he suppose we can eat kittens?" said Bessie. "I say-aren't
they darlings? What are we going to do with them?"
"They seem to be growing," said Jo in surprise. And so they were. In
a minute or two the kittens were too heavy to carry-they were big cats!
They still went on growing, and soon they were as big as tigers. They gambolled
playfully round the children, who were really rather afraid of them.

 

   
"Now listen," said Jo to the enormous kittens, "You belong to the
muffin-man. You go after him and get on to his tray where you belong. Listen-you
can still hear his bell! Go along now!"
To everyone's surprise and delight the great animals gambolled down the road after
the muffin-man.

 

   
"He will get a surprise," said Dick with a giggle. "I say -don't
let's buy anything from anyone else. It's a bit too surprising."
"What we really ought to do is to try and find the hole that leads from this
land to the Faraway Tree," said Jo seriously. "Surely you don't want
to stay in this peculiar land for ever! Gracious, we never know what is happening
from one minute to another!"
"I feel terribly sleepy again," said Moon-Face, yawning. "I do
wish I could go to bed."
Now, as he said that, there came a clippitty-cloppitty noise behind them. They
all turned-and to their great amazement saw a big white bed following them, tippitting
along on four fat legs.

 

   
"Golly!" said Dick, stopping in surprise. "Look at that bed! Where
did it come from?"
The bed stopped just by them. Moon-Face yawned.

 

   
"I'd like to cuddle down in you and go to sleep," he said to the bed.
The bed creaked as if it was pleased.

 

   
Moon-Face climbed on to it. It was soft and cosy. Moon-Face put his head on the
pillow and shut his eyes. He began to snore very gently.

 

   
This made everyone else feel dreadfully tired and sleepy, too. One by one they
climbed into the big bed and lay down, snuggled together. The bed creaked in a
very pleased way. Then it went on its way again, clippitty-clopping on its four
fat legs, taking the six sleepers with it.

 

   
Now what had happened to Silky? Well, she had found Dame Washalot, Mister Watzisname
and the Angry Pixie, and had told them how the others had fallen asleep in the
Land of Dreams.

 

   
"Gracious! They'll never get away from there!" said Watzisname anxiously.
"We must rescue them. Come along."
Dame Washalot put a wash-tub of water on her head. The Angry Pixie picked up a
kettle of water. Watzisname didn't take anything. They all went up to the ladder
at the top of the tree.

 

   
"The Land of Dreams is still here," said Silky when her head peeped
over the top. "I can't see that horrid Sandman anywhere. It's a good chance
to slip up and rescue the others now. Come on!"
Up they all went. They stared round the field of poppies, but they could see none
of the others at all.

 

   
"We must hunt for them," said Silky. "Oh, my goodness, look at
that great brown bear rushing along! I wonder if he knows anything about the others."
She called out to him, but he didn't stop. He made a noise like a hen and rushed
on.
The four of them wandered on and on -and suddenly they saw something most peculiar
coming towards them-something wide and white.

 

   
"What in the world can it be?" said Silky in wonder. "Goodness
me-it's a BED!"
And so it was-the very bed in which the four children and Moon-Face and Saucepan
were asleep!
"Oh, look, look, look!" squealed Silky. "They're all here! Wake
up, sillies! Wake up!"
But they wouldn't wake. They just sighed a little and turned over. Nothing that
Silky and the others could do would wake them. And, in the middle of all this,
there came footsteps behind them.

 

   
Silky turned and gave a squeal. "Oh, it's the Sandman! Don't let him throw
his sand into your eyes or you will go to sleep, too! Quick, quick, do something!"
The Sandman was already dipping his hand into his big sack to throw sand into
their eyes. But, quick as lightning, Dame Washalot picked up her wash-tub and
threw the whole of the water over the sack! It wetted the sand so that the Sandman
couldn't throw it properly. Then the Angry Pixie emptied his kettle over the Sandman
himself, and he began to choke and splutter.

 

   
Watzisname stared. He suddenly took out his pocket-knife and slit a hole at the
very bottom of the sack. The sand was dry there. Watzisname took a handful of
it and threw it straight into the choking Sandman's eyes.

 

   
"Now you go to sleep for a bit!" shouted Watzisname. And, of course,
that's just what the big Sandman did! He sank down under a bush and shut his eyes.
His sleepy sand acted on him as much as on anyone else!
"Now we've got a chance!" said Silky, pleased. "Help me to wake
everyone!"
But, you know, they just would not wake! It was dreadful.

 

   
"Well, we can't possibly get the bed down the hole," said Silky in despair.
Then a bright idea came to her. She felt in Jo's pockets. She turned out the little
pink jar of Whizz-Away ointment. "There may be just a little left!"
she said.

 

   
And so there was -the very tiniest dab! "I hope it's enough!" said Silky.
"Get on the bed, Dame Washalot and you others. I'm going to try a little
magic. Ready?"
She rubbed the dab of ointment on to the head of the bed. "Whizz-Away Home,
bed!" she said.

 

   
And, good gracious me, that big white bed whizzed away! It whizzed away so fast
that Silky nearly fell off. It rushed through the air, giving all the birds a
most terrible scare.

 

   
After a long time it came to the end of the Land of Dreams. A big white cloud
stretched out at the edge. The bed flew through it, down and down. Then it flew
in another direction.

 

   
"It's going back to the Faraway Tree, I'm sure," said Silky. And so
it was! It arrived there and tried to get through the branches. It stuck on one
and slid sideways. Everyone began to slide off.
"Wake up, wake up!" squealed Silky, banging the children and Moon-Face
and Saucepan. They woke up in a hurry, for they were no longer in Dreamland. They
felt themselves falling and caught hold of branches and twigs.

 

   
"Where are we?" cried Dick. "What has happened?"
"Oh, goodness, too many things to tell you all at once," said Silky.
"Is everyone safe? Then for goodness' sake come into my house and sit down
for a bit. I really feel quite out of breath!"
II. Up the Tree Again.

 

   
Everyone crowded into Silky's room inside the tree. "How did we get back
to the tree?" asked Dick in amazement.

 

   
Silky told him. "We found you all asleep on that big bed, and we rubbed on
it some of the Whizz-Away ointment, the very last bit left. And it whizzed away
here. Oh, and we wetted the Sandman's sand so that he couldn't throw sand into
our eyes and make us go to sleep."
"Watzisname was clever, too. He slit the bottom of the sack with his knife,
found a handful of dry sand there and threw it at the Sandman himself!" said
the Angry Pixie. "And he went right off to sleep and couldn't interfere with
us any more!"
"It was all Dick's fault," said Jo. "We said we wouldn't go to
any more lands -and he went up there and got caught by the Sandman. So of course
we had to go after him."
"Sorry," said Dick. "Anyway, everything's all right now. I won't
do it again."
"We'd better go home," said Bessie. "It must be getting late. Goodness
knows when we'll come again, Silky. Good-bye, everyone. Come and see us if we
don't come to see you."
They all slid down the slippery-slip at top speed. Then they walked home, talking
about their latest adventure.
"It was so queer being awake and having dreams," said Fanny. "Do
you remember the muffins that turned into kittens?"
"I wish a really nice land would come to the top of the tree," said
Jo. "Like the Land of Take-What-You-Want. That was fun. I wonder if it will
ever come again."
For about a week the children did not even go into the Enchanted Wood. For one
thing they were very busy helping their parents, and for another thing they felt
that they didn't want any more adventures for a little while.

 

   
And then a note came from Silky and Moon-Face. This is what it said:
"DEAR BESSIE, FANNY, JO AND DICK,
"We know that you don't want any more adventures just yet, but you might
like to know that there is a most exciting land at the top of the Faraway Tree
just now. It is the Land of Do-As-You-Please, even nicer than the Land of Take-What-You-Want.
We are going there tonight. If you want to come, come just before midnight and
you can go with us. We will wait for you till then.

 

   
"Love from " SILKY AND MOON-FACE."
The children read the note one after another. Their eyes began to shine. "Shall
we go?" said Fanny. "Better not," said Jo. "Something silly
is sure
to happen to us. It always does."
"Oh, Jo! Do let's go!" said Bessie. "You know how exciting the
Enchanted Wood is at night, too, with all the fairy folk about -and the Faraway
Tree lit with lanterns and things. Come on, Jo -say we'll go."
"I really think we'd better not," said Jo. "Dick might do something
silly again,"
"I would not!" said Dick in a temper. "It's not fair of you to
say that."
"Don't quarrel," said Bessie. "Well, listen -if you don't want
to go, Jo, Fanny and I will go with Dick. He can look after us."
"Pooh! Dick wants looking after himself," said Jo.

 

   
Dick gave Jo a punch on the shoulder and Jo slapped back.

 

   
"Oh, don't!" said Bessie. "You're not in the Land of Do-As-You-Please
now!"
That made everyone laugh. "Sorry, Jo," said Dick. "Be a sport.
Let's all go to-night. Or at any rate, let's go up the tree and hear what Silky
and Moon-Face can tell us about this new land. If it sounds at all dangerous we
won't go. See?"
"All right," said Jo, who really did want to go just as badly as the
others, but felt that he ought not to keep leading the girls into danger. "All
right. We'll go up and talk to Silky and Moon-Face. But mind-if I decide not to
go with them, there's to be no grumbling."
"We promise, Jo," said Bessie. And so it was settled. They would go
to the Enchanted Wood that night and climb the Faraway Tree to see their friends.

 

   
It was exciting to slip out of bed at half-past eleven and dress. It was very
dark because there was no moon.

 

   
"We shall have to take a torch," said Jo. "Are you girls ready?
Now don't make a noise, or you'll wake Mother."
They all crept down stairs and out into the dark, silent garden. An owl hooted
nearby, and something ran down the garden path. Bessie nearly squealed.

 

   
"Sh! It's only a mouse or something," said Jo. "I'll switch on
my torch now. Keep close together and we shall all see where we're going."
In a bunch they went down the back garden and out into the little lane there.
The Enchanted Wood loomed up big and dark. The trees spoke to one another softly.
"Wisha, wisha, wisha," they said. "Wisha, wisha, wisha!"
The children jumped over the ditch and walked through the wood, down the paths
they knew so well. The wood was full of fairy folk going about their business.
They took no notice of the children. Jo soon switched off his torch. Lanterns
shone everywhere and gave enough light to see by.

 

   
They soon came to the great dark trunk of the Faraway Tree. A rope swung down
through the branches.

 

   
"Oh, good!" said Dick. "Is Moon-Face going to pull us up?"
"No," said Jo. "We'll have to climb up-but
we can use the rope to help us. It's always in the tree at night to help the many
folk going up and down."
And indeed there were a great many people using the Faraway Tree that night. Strange
pixies, goblins and gnomes swarmed up and down it, and brownies climbed up, chattering
hard.

 

   
"Where are they going?" asked Dick in surprise.

 

   
"Oh, up to the Land of Do-As-You-Please, I expect," said Jo. "And
some of them are visiting their friends in the tree. Look -there's the Angry Pixie!
He's got a party on to-night!"
The Angry Pixie had about eight little friends squashed into his tree-room, and
looked as pleased as could be. "Come and join us!" he called to Jo.

 

   
"We can't," said Jo. "Thanks all the same. We're going up to Moon-Face's."
Everyone dodged Dame Washalot's washing water, laughed at old Watzisname sitting
snoring as usual in his chair, and at last came to Moon-Face's house.

 

   
And there was nobody there! There was a note stuck on the door.

 

   
"We waited till midnight and you didn't come. If you do come and we're not
here, you'll find us in the Land of Do-As-You-Please.

 

   
"Love from
"SILKY AND MOON-FACE." "P.S. -DO come. Just think of the things
you want to do -you can do them all in the Land of Do-As-You-Please!"
"Golly!" said Dick, longingly, "what I'd like to do better than
anything else is to ride six times on a roundabout without stopping!"
"And I'd like to eat six ice-creams without stopping!" said Bessie.

 

   
"And I'd like to ride an elephant," said Fanny.

 

   
"And / should like to drive a motor-car all by myself," said Jo.

 

   
"Jo! Let's go up the ladder!" begged Fanny.

 

   
"Oh, do, do let's! Why can't we go and visit a really nice land when one
comes? It's just too mean of you to say we can't."
"Well," said Jo. "Well-I suppose we'd better! Come on!"
With shrieks and squeals of delight the girls and Dick pressed up the little ladder,
through the cloud, A lantern hung at the top of the hole to give them light-but,
lo and behold! as soon as they had got into the land above the cloud it was daytime!
How extraordinary!
The children stood and gazed round it. It seemed a very exciting land, rather
like a huge amusement park. There were roundabouts going round and round in time
to music. There were swings and see-saws. There was a railway train puffing along
busily, and there were small aeroplanes flying everywhere, with brownies, pixies
and goblins having a fine time in them.