Читать книгу The Buttercup Farm Family - Enid blyton - Страница 4

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Everyone at school called Mike, Belinda and Ann the Caravan Family, because they lived in two caravans. They thought it would be lovely to do that.

“I wish I went home to a caravan every Friday like you do,” said Susan to Ann.

“It must be such fun,” said Tom to Mike. “I suppose when you get tired of being in one place, you just put in your horses and wander away!”

“Do ask me to spend a week-end with you!” said Hilda to Belinda. “I’ve never even been inside a caravan. I do so want to see what it’s like.”

Mike, Belinda and Ann loved the two caravans they lived in with their mother and father at the week-ends. They were yellow, painted here and there with red. Davey and Clopper were the two horses that pulled the caravans along, when the family wanted to move somewhere else.

“Once we went to Granny’s in our caravans,” said Ann, remembering. “She let us have them in her back garden. I liked that.”

It was at the end of the Christmas holidays now. The Caravan Family had been to Granny’s for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. After that the snow came, and Mummy said that living in caravans wasn’t so much fun then. The children loved the snow, and had built a most enormous snowman outside their own caravan, which quite scared the two horses when they first caught sight of it.

One afternoon the children went to their parents’ caravan and saw Daddy and Mummy sitting there, talking excitedly to one another.

“But what about the children?” Mummy was saying. “We can’t possibly take them with us. What shall we do with them?”

“Granny will have them,” said Daddy.

Belinda burst into the caravan at once.

“Mummy, Daddy! What are you talking about? Where are you going without us? Oh, please, please don’t go!”

“Oh, dear—did you hear what we were saying?” said Mummy. “I didn’t want to tell you till everything was decided.”

“What? Tell us what it is,” said Mike. “I don’t want you to go away and leave us.”

“Well, we’ll tell you,” said Daddy. “Come in and sit down, all three of you—and don’t look so upset, it’s nothing dreadful!”

Mike, Belinda and Ann came in, shut the door, and sat down in the caravan. Daddy waved a letter at them.

“I’ve just had a most exciting letter. It’s an invitation to Mummy and me to go to America for six months, from my brother out there—your Uncle Harry. A holiday like that would be so lovely for Mummy.”

“But—but—would you leave us behind?” said Ann, looking very unhappy.

“Yes, we should have to,” said Daddy. “But you are all big enough to look after yourselves now, and if anything happened Mummy and I could fly back and be with you in a day. So you needn’t worry about anything.”

“Would you like to go very much, Mummy?” asked Mike.

Mummy nodded. “Yes. Daddy and I haven’t had a proper holiday alone together for years and years. I don’t want to leave the three of you—but I’m sure you’d be all right with Granny.”

“Well, then,” said Mike, suddenly putting on a very brave look, “you go, Mummy. We won’t be selfish and make a fuss. You deserve a holiday. Doesn’t she, Daddy?”

“She certainly does,” said Daddy, and he put his arm round Mummy and kissed her. “Thanks, Mike, for being so nice about it.”

“I’ll be nice too,” said Ann, though she looked as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment.

Belinda hugged her mother.

“I’ll look after the others,” she said. “You needn’t worry a bit about them, Mummy.”

“Thank you, darling,” said Mummy. “Now we’ll go and ring up Granny and see if she can have you.”

But oh dear, Granny couldn’t have them after all! Daddy came back from telephoning looking quite upset.

“Granny can’t have the children,” he said. “She has asked her two little great-nephews to stay this year, because their mother is very ill and can’t look after them for months.”

“Well, I know what I should like to do,” said Ann. “I know where I’d like to go.”

“Where?” asked Mummy.

“To Buttercup Farm, of course—Uncle Ned’s farm,” said Ann. “Fancy you not thinking of it, Mummy! It’s a lovely place.”

“Oh, yes—we went there a year ago,” said Mike. “I like Uncle Ned and Auntie Clara. Oh, Daddy, if we went for six months we could really help properly on the farm. There’d be all kinds of things to do.”

“That really is a splendid idea,” said Mummy.

By the next day everything was arranged. Uncle Ned said he and Auntie Clara would love to have the children for six whole months and they were to come right away!

“We’ll set off on Thursday,” said Daddy. “Maybe the snow will have cleared by then, and Davey and Clopper will get a foothold on the roads. Ned will be glad to have both horses to help on the farm, I’m sure. The caravans can stand in a barn somewhere at the farm till we come back again.”

So on Thursday the little family set off to Uncle Ned’s. The children were all excited. To live on a farm for six months—what could be better than that, with the springtime just coming on?

“We’re going to Buttercup Farm!” sang Ann, as they went jogging along in the caravans. “Buttercup Farm, Buttercup Farm! We’re going to Buttercup Farm!”