Adventures of the Wishing-Chair (9 page)

“Hallo!” it said. “Are you wanting help?”

“Yes,” said Chinky. “Are you a merman?”

“I am!” said the little fellow. The children looked down at him, and through the green water they could see his fish-like body covered with scales from the waist downwards and ending in a silvery tail. “Do you want to be towed to land?”

“Yes, please,” said Chinky joyfully.

“That will cost you a piece of gold,” said the merman.

“I haven’t any with me, but we will send it to you as soon as we get home,” promised Chinky. The merman swam off and came back riding on a big fish. He threw a rope of seaweed around the back of the chair and shouted to Chinky to hold on to it. Then the fish set off at a great speed, towing the chair behind it with Chinky and the children safely on it! The merman rode on the fish all the way, singing a funny little watery song. It was a strange ride!

Soon they came to land, and the children dragged the chair out of the water on to the sun-baked sand. “Thank you,” they said to the merman. “We will send you the money as soon as we can.”

The merman jumped on the fish again, waved his wet hand, and dived into the waves with a splash.

“We’ll wait till the sun has dried the chair’s wings, and we’ll dry our own clothes,” said Chinky. “Then we’ll go home. I think that was a most unpleasant adventure. We might have been bobbing about for days on the sea!”

Mollie didn’t say anything. She knew it was all her fault. They dried their clothes, and as soon as the wings of the chair were quite dry too, they sat in it, and Chinky cried, “Home, wishing-chair, home!”

They flew home. Mollie jumped off the chair as soon as it arrived in the playroom and ran to her money-box. She tipped out all her pennies, sixpences, and shillings.

“Here you are, Chinky,” she said. “I’m going to pay for that fish-ride myself. It was all my fault. I’m very sorry, and I won’t be so silly again. Do forgive me!”

“Oh! That’s very nice of you, Mollie!” said Chinky, and he gave her a hug. “Of course we forgive you! All’s well that ends well! We’re home again safe and sound!”

He changed the pennies, sixpences, and shillings into a big gold piece and gave it to the blackbird in the garden, asking him to take it to the merman.

“That’s the end of
that
adventure!” said Chinky. “Well, let’s hope our next one will be much much nicer!”

ONE afternoon, when the children and Chinky were reading stories, there came a timid knock at the door. “Come in!” called Mollie. The door opened and in came two small elves.

“May we speak to Chinky?” they asked. Chinky waved them to a chair.

“Sit down,” he said. “What do you want?”

“Please, may we borrow your wishing-chair to go to the Magician Greatheart’s party,” said the bigger elf.

“Well, it doesn’t belong to me,” said Chinky. “It belongs to these two children.”

“Would you let us borrow it?” asked the little elves.

“Certainly,” said Mollie and Peter.

“What reward do you ask?” said the elves.

“Oh, you can have the chair for nothing,” said Mollie. “Bring it back safely, that’s all.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t like to come to the party?” asked the elves. “We are very small, and there are only five of us to go. There would be plenty of room for you and for Chinky too in the chair.”

“Stars and moon, what a treat!” cried Chinky in delight. “Yes, we’ll all go! Thanks very much! Greatheart’s parties are glorious! My word, this
is
luck! When is the party, elves?”

“Tomorrow night,” said the elves. “Sharp at midnight. We’ll be here at half-past eleven.”

“Right,” said Chinky. The little elves said goodbye and ran out. Chinky rubbed his hands and turned to the two delighted children.

“The magician is a marvellous fellow,” he said. “He is a good magician, and the enchantments and magic he knows are perfectly wonderful. I hope he does a few tricks! Put on your best clothes and be here at half-past eleven tomorrow night, won’t you!”

The children were most excited. They talked about nothing else all day long and the next day too. They dressed themselves in their best clothes and ran down to the playroom at half-past eleven the next night. Chinky was there too, looking very grand indeed, for he had on a suit that seemed to be made of silver moonbeams sewn with pearls.

The elves were there waiting, all dressed daintily in flower petals, sewn with spider thread. Even the wishing-chair looked smart, for Chinky had tied a big bow on each of its arms! Its red wings were lazily flapping.

The children got in and Chinky sat on the back. The five little elves easily found room on the two arms. Off they went, flying through the moonlight to their great and wonderful party!

The magician’s palace was set on top of a high hill. The chair did not take long to get there. It flew down and took its place among the long line of carriages that were drawing up one by one at the big front door. When their turn came the children and the elves jumped off the chair and ran up the steps. They were shown into a great hall and there they shook hands with the Magician Greatheart, a tall and handsome enchanter, whose cloak rippled out as he walked, as if it were made of blue water. His eyes were kind and looked right through every one.

A band was playing merrily in the big hall, and Chinky caught hold of Mollie and danced with her.

Peter found a small, shy fairy and danced with her too, though she was so light that he couldn’t make up his mind if she was real or not!

There were hundreds of fairy folk there of all kinds— gnomes, goblins, brownies, fairies, elves, pixies—but only two children, so Mollie and Peter felt most honoured. Then came the supper. It was so queer. The long, long table was spread with plates and glasses and dishes, but there was no food at all, no, not even a yellow jelly. The magician took his place at the end of the table. “Will you each wish for what you like best to eat?” he said in his kind, deep voice. “Take it in turn, please!” A brownie next to him said, “I wish for honey-lemonade and sugar biscuits!”

At once a jug of yellow lemonade appeared by him and a plate of delicious sugar biscuits! The fairy next to the brownie wished for chocolate blancmange and a cream ice. They appeared even as she spoke the words!

It was such fun to see them come.

Mollie and Peter watched in amazement as all the dishes and jugs on the table became full of the most exciting things when each little creature wished his or her wish. They had their turns too!

“I wish for cream buns and ginger-beer!” said Mollie.

“And I wish for treacle pudding and lemonade!” said Peter. A dish of cream buns and a bottle of fizzy ginger-beer appeared in front of Mollie, and a dish with a steaming hot treacle pudding and a jug of lemonade appeared by Peter. It was just like a dream!

Every one ate and drank and was merry as could be. Then, after the supper, the magician spoke one strange word, and the long, long table, with its dishes and plates, vanished into thin air!

“Now we will have some magic!” said the magician, beaming at his excited guests.

They all sat down on the floor. The magician took a silver stick and tapped three times on the floor. A spire of green smoke came up and made a crackling noise. It shot up into the air, turned over and over and wound its way among the guests, dropping tiny bunches of sweet-smelling flowers as it passed—buttonholes for every one!

The smoke went. The magician tapped the floor again and up rose five black cats, each with a violin except the last one, and he had a drum. After the cats came six plump rabbits, who danced to the tunes that the cats played. One rabbit turned upside down and danced on his ears, and that made Peter laugh so much that he had to get out his handkerchief to wipe his tears of laughter away.

Then an even stranger thing happened next. The magician tapped the floor once more, and up came a great flower of yellow. It opened, and in the middle of it the guests could see five red eggs. The eggs broke and out came tiny chicks. They grew—and grew—and grew— and became great brilliant birds with long drooping tails. Then they opened their beaks and sang so sweetly that not a sound could be heard in the great hall but their voices.