Читать книгу Jade and the Enchanted Wood - Darcey Bussell - Страница 9

There was a silence for at least ten seconds, then Madame Za-Za nodded slowly, a thoughtful look in her eyes. “You have dance in your soul, Jade,” she said quietly. “And somewhere in that soul of yours there is a place for ballet too. We just have to find it.”

Phew, at least she hadn’t been told off, but it didn’t help her to enjoy the rest of the class any better. It was “point this, straighten that”. In fact her whole body was itching to forget ballet with all its rules, and just dance freely. How much longer was this lesson going to go on for?

Jade glanced at the clock. Ten twenty-eight. Over half an hour left. If only she could have a break. Just for a few minutes to shake all the tension out of her body. Well, perhaps she could…

“May I go to the loo?” she asked politely.

Madame Za-Za nodded and Jade hurried into the corridor. Stretching her arms up, she flopped them over, laughing quietly to herself. But her amusement stopped abruptly. Something strange seemed to be happening to her feet. Was it her imagination or were her little red shoes glowing? No, it definitely wasn’t her imagination. Now they were sending a tingle through her whole body too.

Suddenly, she was surrounded by swirling, whirling colours. Could this be what the note had meant when it said the shoes were special? Jade felt her heart race with excitement as she rose up off the floor, spinning and whirling in a blur of rainbow colours…

Suddenly everything stopped swirling and Jade found herself in the middle of a quaint-looking village square.

She looked around her. “Where am I?” she whispered. Her immediate thought was that it all felt like a dream, so she pinched herself. No, it was definitely real.

“Hello! Hello!”

Jade looked round and saw a white cat, in a golden waistcoat and a top hat, leaping up to her. Stranger and stranger!

“Welcome to Enchantia!” the cat said. His kindly eyes twinkled as he looked at Jade’s shoes, then at her face. “You’re the new owner of the magic shoes!”

Enchantia? Magic shoes? Jade looked down at her feet. What was he talking about? But before she had a chance to ask any questions, the white cat had jumped high into the air and crisscrossed his feet at the ankles a few times before landing lightly and holding out a soft white paw to shake hands. “I am the White Cat, at your service.”

“I… I’m Jade.”

“Pleased to meet you, Jade. I guess you know why you’re here in Enchantia.”

Enchantia? There was that funny word again. Jade’s eyes widened. “Well, not really…” she said.