Magic Faraway Tree (14 page)

 

   
"I heard you the first time," said Saucepan. 150
"It would be lovely to be able to grow roses. Do I have to drink it?"
"Yes-if you want your nose to grow," said the goblin, looking at Saucepan's
nose.

 

   
Saucepan kept on hearing him wrong. He felt quite certain that the beautiful medicine
was to make roses grow. He thought that if he drank it he would be able to make
roses grow anywhere! That would be marvellous. So he took a jar of the medicine
and drank it all up before the goblin could stop him.

 

   
"Now I'll make the roses grow out of my kettles and pans!" said Saucepan,
pleased. "Grow, roses, grow!"
But they didn't grow, of course. It was his poor old nose that grew: It suddenly
shot out, long and pink, and Saucepan stared at it in surprise.

 

   
The others looked at him in amazement.

 

   
"Saucepan! What has happened to your nose?" cried Jo. "It's as
big as an elephant5s trunk!"
"He would drink it!" said the goblin in dismay, showing the children
the empty jar. "I told him it was to make a nose grow -but he kept on saying
it was to grow roses, not noses. He's quite mad."
"No, he's just deaf," said Jo. "Oh, poor old Saucepan! He'll have
to tie his nose round his waist soon. It's down to his feet already!"
"I can cure it," said the goblin with a grin. "I've got a disappearing
medicine. I'll just rub his nose with it till it disappears back to the right
size. I think you ought to watch him a bit, if he goes about hearing things all
wrong goodness
knows what may happen to him!"
Saucepan was crying tears that rolled down his funny long nose. The goblin took
a box of blue ointment and began to rub the end of Saucepan's nose with it. It
disappeared as soon as the ointment touched it. The goblin worked hard, rubbing
gradually all up the long nose until there was nothing left but Saucepan's own
pointed nose. Then he stopped rubbing.

 

   
"Cheer up!" he said. "It's gone, and only your own nose is left.
My, you did look queer! I've never seen anyone drink a whole bottle of that nose
medicine before!"
A shout carne from behind the watching children. "Where's that tiny boy in
the pill box? We've got the bath ready for him now."
Everyone rushed to where there was a tiny bath filled with steaming yellow water
that smelt of cherries. Bessie took the pill box from her pocket and opened it.

 

   
A squeaking came from the box at once. Dick was still there, too small to be seen!
But, thank goodness, his voice hadn't quite disappeared, or the others would never
have known if he was there or not!
"Get into this bath, Dick," said Bessie. "You will soon be all
right again then."
There came the tiniest splash in the yellow water. It changed at once to pink.
A squeaking came from the bath and bubbles rose to the surface. Then suddenly
the children could see Dick! At first it was a bit misty and cloudy, then gradually
the mist thickened and took the shape of a very, very small boy.

 

   
"He's coming back, he's coming back!" cried Jo. "Look, he's getting
bigger!"
As Dick grew bigger, the bath grew, too. It was most astonishing to watch. Soon
the bath was as big as an ordinary bath, and there stood Dick in it, his own size
again, his clothes soaked with the pink water. He grinned at them through the
steam.

 

   
"Just the same old cheerful Dick!" said Bessie gladly. "Oh, Dick,
you gave us such a fright!"
"Step out of the bath, quick!" cried the pixie nearby. "You're
ready to be dried!"
Dick jumped out of the bath -just in time, too, for it suddenly folded itself
up, grew a pair of wings, and disappeared out of a big window near by!
"Dry him!" cried the pixie, and threw some strange towels to the children
and Moon-Face. They seemed to be alive and were very warm. They rubbed themselves
all over Dick, squeezing his clothes as they rubbed, until in a few minutes he
was perfectly dry. But his clothes were rather a curious pink colour.

 

   
"That can't be helped," said the pixie. "That always happens."
"Well, I suppose I look a bit funny, but I don't mind," said Dick. "Golly,
that was a queer adventure."
"A bit too queer for me!" said Jo. "Now see you don't get into
any more trouble, Dick, or
I'll never bring you into any strange land again. I never knew anyone like you
for doing things you shouldn't. Now, look here everyone-I vote we try and get
some medicine for Mother, and then we'll go. Fanny is waiting patiently for us
to1 go back, and I really think we'd better go before Dick or Saucepan do anything
funny again,"
"What medicine do you want?" asked a goblin kindly. "What is wrong
with your mother?"
"Well, we really don't know," said Dick. "She just lies in bed
and looks white and weak, and she worries dreadfully about everything."
"Oh, well, I should just take a bottle of Get-Well Medicine," said the
Goblin. "That will be just the thing."
"It sounds fine," said Jo. The goblin poured a bubbling yellow liquid
into a big bottle and gave it to Jo. He put it carefully into his pocket.

 

   
"Thank you," he said. "Now, come along everyone. We're going."
"Oh, Jo-there's a medicine here for making teeth pearly," said Saucepan,
pulling at Jo's arm. "Just let me take some."
"Saucepan, that's for making hair CURLY!" said Jo. "You've heard
wrong again. Don't try it. Do you want curls growing down to your feet? Now take
my arm and don't let go till we're safely back in the Tree. If I don't look after
you, you'd have a nose like an elephant's, curly hair down to your toes, and goodness
knows what else!"
They were not very far from the hole in the cloud, and they were soon climbing
down the
ladder, leaving behind them the Strange Land of Magic Medicines. Jo was very careful
of the bottle in his pocket.

 

   
"Now we'll go straight home," he said. "I'm simply LONGING to give
dear old Mother a dose of this magic medicine. It will be so lovely to see her
looking well again and rushing round the house as she always did!"
22.

 

   
Watzisname Has Some Queer News.

 

   
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 what 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.