Читать книгу The Enchanted Wood - Enid blyton - Страница 4

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The three children had no chance to visit the Enchanted Wood until the next week, because they had to help their mother and father all they could. There was the garden to get tidy, curtains to sew for the house, and a great deal of cleaning to be done.

Sometimes Jo was free and could have gone by himself. Sometimes the girls were sent out for a walk, but Jo was busy. None of them wanted to go without the others, so they had to wait. And then at last their chance came.

“You can take your tea out to-day,” said Mother. “You’ve worked well, all of you, and you deserve a picnic. I’ll cut you some sandwiches, and you can take a bottle of milk.”

“We’ll go to the Wood!” whispered Bessie to the others, and with excited faces and beating hearts they helped their mother to pack their tea into a big basket.

They set off. There was a small gate at the bottom of their back garden that led into the overgrown lane running by the wood. They unlatched the gate and stood in the lane. They could see the trees in the wood, and hear them talking their strange tree-talk: “Wisha-wisha-wisha-wisha!”

“I feel as if there are adventures about,” said Jo. “Come on! Over the ditch we go—and into the Enchanted Wood!”

One by one the children jumped over the narrow ditch. They stood beneath the trees and peered about. Small freckles of sunshine lay here and there on the ground, but not very many, for the trees were so thick. It was dim and green there, and a small bird nearby sang a queer little song over and over again.

“It really is magic!” said Fanny suddenly. “I can feel magic about somewhere, can’t you, Bessie? Can’t you, Jo?”

“Yes,” said the others, and their eyes shone with excitement. “Come on!”

They went down a little green path that looked as if it had been made for rabbits, it was so small and narrow.

“Don’t let’s go too far,” said Jo. “We had better wait till we know the paths a bit better before we go deep into the wood. Look about for a good place to sit down and have our sandwiches, girls.”

“LOOK!” SAID FANNY IN A LOW VOICE, POINTING TO THE PIECE OF GRASS.

“I can see some wild strawberries!” cried Bessie, and she knelt down and pressed back some pretty leaves, showing the others deep red strawberries below.

“Let’s pick some and have them for tea too,” said Fanny. So they picked hard, and soon had enough to make a fine meal.

“Let’s sit down under that old oak tree over there,” said Jo. “It’s all soft moss beneath. It will be like sitting on a green velvet cushion.”

So they sat down, and undid their sandwiches. Soon they were munching away happily, listening to the dark green leaves overhead saying “Wisha-wisha” all the time.

And it was whilst they were in the middle of their tea that they saw a very peculiar thing. Fanny noticed it first.

Not far off was a clear piece of soft grass. As Fanny looked at it she noticed bumps appearing on it. She stared in surprise. The bumps grew. The earth rose up and broke in about six places.

“Look!” said Fanny, in a low voice, pointing to the piece of grass. “What’s happening over there?”

All three watched in silence. And then they saw what it was. Six big toadstools were growing quickly up from the ground, pushing their way through, and rising up steadily!

“I’ve never seen that happen before!” said Jo, in astonishment.

“Sh!” said Bessie. “Don’t make a noise. I can hear footsteps.”

The others listened. Sure enough they heard the sound of pattering feet and little high voices.

“Let’s get quickly behind a bush,” said Bessie suddenly. “Whoever it is that is coming will be frightened if they see us. There’s magic happening here, and we want to see it!”

They scrambled up and crept quietly behind a thick bush, taking their basket with them. They hid just in time, for even as Bessie settled down and parted the leaves of the bush to peep through, there came a troop of small men with long beards almost reaching the ground!

“Brownies!” whispered Jo.

The brownies went to the toadstools and sat down on them. They were holding a meeting. One of them had a bag with him which he put down behind his toadstool. The children could not hear what was being said, but they heard the sound of the chattering voices, and caught one or two words.

Suddenly Jo nudged Bessie and Fanny. He had seen something else. The girls saw it too. An ugly, gnome-like fellow was creeping up silently behind the meeting on the toadstools. None of the brownies saw him or heard him.

“He’s after that bag!” whispered Jo. And so he was! He reached out a long arm. His bony fingers closed on the bag. He began to draw it away under a bush.

Jo jumped up. He was not going to watch people being robbed without saying something! He shouted loudly:

“Stop thief! Hi, look at that gnome behind you!”

In a fright the brownies all leapt up. The gnome jumped to his feet and sped off with the bag. The brownies stared after him in dismay, not one of them following him. The robber ran towards the children’s bush. He didn’t know they were there.

As quick as lightning Jo put out his foot and tripped up the running gnome. Down he went, crash! The bag flew from his hand and Bessie picked it up and threw it to the astonished brownies, who were still standing by the toadstools. Jo tried to grab the gnome—but he was up and off like a bird.

The children tore after him. In between the trees they went, dodging here and there—and at last they saw the gnome leap up to the low branches of a great tree, and pull himself into the leaves. The children sank down at the bottom, out of breath.

“THAT IS THE OLDEST AND MOST MAGIC TREE IN THE WORLD. IT IS THE FARAWAY TREE,” SAID THE BIGGEST BROWNIE.

“We’ve got him now!” said Jo. “He can’t get down without being caught!”

“Here are the brownies coming,” said Bessie, wiping her hot forehead. The little bearded men ran up and bowed.

“You are very good to us,” said the biggest one. “Thank you for saving our bag. We have valuable papers in there.”

“We’ve got the gnome for you too,” said Jo, as he pointed up into the tree. “He went up there. If you surround the tree and wait, you will be able to catch him as he comes down.”

But the brownies would not come too near the tree. They looked half frightened of it.

“He will not come down until he wants to,” said the biggest brownie. “That is the oldest and most magic tree in the world. It is the Faraway Tree.”

“The Faraway Tree!” said Bessie, in wonder. “What a queer name! Why do you call it that?”

“It’s a very strange tree,” said another brownie. “Its top reaches the far-away places in a way we don’t understand. Sometimes its top branches may be in Witchland, sometimes in lovely countries, sometimes in peculiar places that no one has ever heard of. We never climb it because we never know what might be at the top!”

“How very strange!” said the children.

“The gnome has got into whatever place there is at the top of the tree to-day,” said the biggest brownie. “He may live there for months and never come down again. It’s no good waiting for him—and it’s certainly no good going after him. His name is Creepy, because he is for ever creeping about quietly.”

The children looked up into the broad, leafy boughs of the tree. They felt tremendously excited. The Faraway Tree in the Enchanted Wood! Oh, what magic there seemed to be in the very names!

“If only we could climb up!” said Jo longingly.

“You must never do that,” said the brownies, at once. “It’s dangerous. We must go now—but we do thank you for your help. If ever you want us to help you, just come into the Enchanted Wood and whistle seven times under the oak tree not far from our toadstools.”

“Thank you,” said the children, and stared after the six small brownies as they ran off between the trees. Jo thought it was time to go home, so they followed the little men down the narrow green path until they came to the part of the wood they knew. They picked up their basket and went home, all of them thinking the same thought:

“We must go up the Faraway Tree and see what is at the top!”