Читать книгу The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid blyton - Страница 8

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Jo, Moon-Face, Silky and Saucepan sat down by the hole and thought hard. Silky began to cry.

The Saucepan Man looked most uncomfortable. He was very fond of Silky. “Silky, please do forgive me for being so careless,” he said in a small voice. “I didn’t mean to do this. Don’t cry. You make me feel dreadful.”

“It’s all right,” sobbed Silky, borrowing Moon-Face’s hanky. “I know you didn’t mean to. But I can’t help feeling dreadfully sad when I think I won’t ever be able to see my dear little room in the Faraway Tree any more.”

The Saucepan Man began to cry, too. Tears dripped with a splash into his saucepans and kettles. He put his arm round Silky, and two or three kettle-spouts stuck into her.

“Don’t!” she said. “You’re sticking into me. Moon-Face—Jo—can’t you think of something to do? Can we possibly squeeze down if we hold our breaths and make ourselves as small as we can?”

“Quite impossible,” said Moon-Face gloomily. “Listen—there’s somebody coming up the ladder.”

They heard voices—and soon a head popped up out of the hole in the cloud. It was Dick’s! He stared in the very greatest surprise at the four enormous people sitting by the hole.

He climbed up and stood beside them, looking very, very small. Then up came Bessie and Fanny. Their eyes nearly fell out of their heads when they saw how big Jo and his friends were.

“What’s happened!” cried Dick. “We began to be worried because you didn’t come home, Jo—so we climbed up to see where you were. But why are you so ENORMOUS?”

Jo told them. Silky sobbed into Moon-Face’s hanky. Bessie put her arm round her. It was funny to feel Silky so very big. Bessie’s arm only went half round Silky’s waist!

“And now, you see, we can’t get back down the hole,” said Jo.

“I know what you can do!” said Dick suddenly.

“What?” cried everyone hopefully.

“Why, rub the hole with the spell, and it will get bigger, of course!” said Dick. “Then you’ll be able to get down it.”

“Why ever didn’t we think of that before!” cried Jo, jumping up. “Saucepan, where’s that tin with the spell in?”

He picked up the tin—but, alas! it was quite, quite empty. Every single drop had been spilt when the Saucepan had fallen over.

“Well, never mind!” said Moon-Face, cheering up. “We can go and buy some more from that goblin. Come on!”

They all set off, Dick, Bessie and Fanny looking very small indeed by the others. They went up to the goblin who had sold them the spell.

“May we have another tin of that spell you sold us just now?” asked Moon-Face, holding out the empty tin.

“Sorry,” said the goblin. “I’m sold out of that. Not a drop left!”

Everyone stared in the greatest dismay. Sold out! Now what were they to do?

“Haven’t you even a little tiny drop left?” asked Jo. “Or couldn’t you make some more?”

“I’ve not the tiniest drop left,” said the goblin. “And I can’t make any more till the full moon comes. It can only be made in the moonlight.”

Everyone looked so miserable that the goblin felt sorry for them. “Why do you look so unhappy?” he said. “What has happened?”

Jo told him everything. The goblin listened with great interest. Then he smiled. “Well, my dear boy,” he said, “if you can’t get a spell to make the hole big, why don’t you buy a spell to make yourselves small? My brother, the green goblin over there, sells that kind of spell. Only be careful not to put too much on yourselves, or you may go smaller than you mean to! Once my aunt did that, and she went down to the size of a beetle. I was pleased, because she spanked me every day—but now she can’t spank me any more. I keep her in a match-box.”

“Could you show us?” asked Dick eagerly. But Moon-Face took his arm and led him away at once.

“Don’t let’s waste time,” he said. “Let’s get that spell for goodness sake! The green goblin may sell out all he’s got if we aren’t quick!”

They went over to the green goblin. He was yelling at the top of his voice.

“Buy my wonderful and most amazing spell! It will make anything as small as you like! Have you an enemy? Dab him with this and see him shrink to the size of a mouse! Have you too big a nose? Dab it with this and make it the right size! Oh, wonderful, astonishing, amazing....”

Everyone hurried up. Moon-Face took some money out of his purse. “I’ll have the spell, please,” he said. The green goblin gave him a tin. The spell in it looked rather like paint, just as the other had done.

“Now go slow,” said the goblin. “You don’t want to get too small. Try a little at a time.”

Moon-Face dabbed a little on Silky. She went a bit smaller at once. He dabbed again. She went smaller still.

“Is she the right size yet?” asked Moon-Face. Everyone stared at Silky.

“Not quite,” said Bessie. “But she is almost, Moon-Face. So be careful with your next dab.”

Moon-Face was very careful. At the next dab of the spell Silky went to exactly her right size. She was so pleased.

“Now you, Jo,” said Moon-Face. So he dabbed Jo and got Jo back to his right size again, too. Then he tried dabbing the Saucepan Man, and soon got him right. His kettles and saucepans went right, too. It was funny to watch them.

“Now I’ll do you, Moon-Face,” said Jo.

“No, thanks, I’ll do myself,” said Moon-Face. He dabbed the spell on to himself and shrank smaller. He dabbed again and went smaller still. Then he stopped dabbing and put the brush down.

“You’re not quite your ordinary size yet,” said Jo.

“I know,” said Moon-Face. “But I always thought I was a bit on the short side. Now I’m just about right. I always wanted to be a bit taller. I shan’t dab myself any more.”

Everyone laughed. It was funny to see Moon-Face a bit taller than usual. As they stood there and laughed, a curious cold wind began to blow. Moon-Face looked all round and then began to shout.

“Quick, quick! The land of Spells is on the move! Hurry before we get left behind!”

Everyone got a shock. Good gracious! It would never do to be left behind, just as everyone had got small enough to go down the hole in the clouds.

They set off to the hole. The wind blew more and more strongly, and suddenly the sun went out. It was almost as if somebody had blown it out, Jo thought. At once darkness fell on the Land of Spells.

“Take hold of hands, take hold of hands!” cried Jo. “We shall lose one another if we don’t!”

They all took hold of one another’s hands and called out their names to make sure everyone was there. They stumbled on through the darkness.

“Here’s the hole!” cried Jo, at last, and down he went. He felt the ladder and climbed down that, too. The others followed one by one, pushing close behind in the dark, longing to get down to the Faraway Tree they knew so well. How lovely it would be to sit in Moon-Face’s room and feel safe!

moon-face dabbed a little on silky.

But down at the bottom of the ladder there was no Faraway Tree. Instead, to Jo’s astonishment, there was a narrow passage, lit by a swinging green lantern.

“I say,” he said to the others, “what’s this? Where’s the Faraway Tree?”

“We’ve come down the wrong hole,” groaned Moon-Face. “Oh, goodness, what bad luck!”

“Well, where are we?” asked Dick in wonder.

“I don’t know,” said Moon-Face. “We’d better follow this passage and see where it leads to. It’s no use climbing back and trying to find the right hole. We’d never find it in the dark—and anyway, I’m pretty sure the Land of Spells has moved on by now.”

Everyone felt very gloomy. Jo led the way down the passage. It twisted and turned, went up and down steps, and was lighted here and there by the green lanterns swinging from the roof.

At last they came to a big yellow door. On it was a blue knocker, a blue bell, a blue letter-box and a blue notice that said:

“Mister Change-About. Knock once, ring twice, and rattle the letter-box.”

Jo knocked once, very loudly. Then he rang twice, and everyone heard the bell going “R-r-r-r-r-r-ring! R-r-r-r-r-r-ring!” And then he rattled the letter-box.

The door didn’t open. It completely disappeared. It was most peculiar. One minute it was there—and the next it had gone, and there was nothing in front of them. They could see right into a big underground room.

At the end of it, by a roaring fire, a round fat person was sitting. “That must be Mister Change-About!” whispered Dick. “Dare we go in?”