Читать книгу The Enchanted Wood - Enid blyton - Страница 8

Table of Contents

The children clung to the top branches of the Faraway Tree, whilst the rabbits slid down a bit lower. They could still hear the gay music of the Roundabout Land as it swung round overhead.

“We’d better get home,” said Jo, in rather a quiet voice. “It’s been just a bit too exciting.”

“Come on then,” said Bessie, beginning to climb down. “It will be easier to get down than it was to climb up!”

But Fanny was very tired. She began to cry as she clung to her branch. She was the youngest, and not so strong as Jo and Bessie.

“I shall fall,” she wept. “I know I shall fall.”

Jo and Bessie looked at one another in alarm. This would never do. There was such a long way to fall!

“Fanny dear, you simply must try!” said Jo gently. “We’ve got to get home safely.”

But Fanny clung to her branch and wept great tears. The two rabbits looked at her, most upset. One put his paw into her hand. “I’ll help you,” he said.

But Fanny wouldn’t be helped. She was tired out and afraid of everything now. She wept so loudly that two birds nearly flew off in fright.

Just as the others were really in despair, a small door flew open in the trunk of the tree not far below, and a round moon-like face looked out.

“Hey there! What’s the matter?” shouted the moon-faced person. “A fellow can’t get any sleep at all with that awful noise going on!”

Fanny stopped crying and looked at Moon-Face in surprise. “I’m crying because I’m frightened of climbing down the tree,” she said. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

Moon-Face beamed at her. “Have you got any toffee?” he asked.

“Toffee!” said every one in surprise. “What do you want toffee for?”

“To eat, of course,” said Moon-Face. “I just thought if you had any toffee to give me I’d let you slide down my slippery-slip—you get down to the bottom very quickly that way, you know.”

“HEY THERE! WHAT’S THE MATTER?” SHOUTED THE MOON-FACED PERSON.

“A slide all the way down the Faraway Tree!” cried Jo, hardly believing his ears. “Good gracious! Whoever would have thought of that!”

“I thought of it!” said Moon-Face, beaming again just like a full moon. “I let people use it if they pay me toffee.”

“Oh!” said the three children, and looked at one another in dismay, for none of them had any toffee. Then Jo shook his head.

“We’ve no toffee,” he said. “But I’ve a bar of chocolate, a bit squashy, but quite nice.”

“Won’t do,” said Moon-Face. “I don’t like chocolate. What about the rabbits? Haven’t they got any toffee either?”

The rabbits turned out their pockets. They had a very curious collection of things, but no toffee.

“Sorry,” said Moon-Face, and slammed his door shut. Fanny began to cry again.

Jo climbed down to the door and banged on it. “Hie, old Moon-Face!” he shouted. “I’ll bring you some lovely home-made toffee next time I’m up the tree if you’ll let us use your slippery-slip.”

The door flew open again, and Moon-Face beamed out. “Why didn’t you say so before?” he asked. “Come in.”

One by one the rabbits and the children climbed down to the door and went in. Moon-Face’s house in the tree was very peculiar. It was one round room, and in the middle of it was the beginning of the slippery-slip that ran down the whole trunk of the tree, winding round and round like a spiral staircase.

Round the top of the slide was a curved bed, a curved table, and two curved chairs, made to fit the roundness of the tree-trunk. The children were astonished, and wished they had time to stay for a while. But Moon-Face pushed them towards the slide.

“You want a cushion each,” he said. “Hie you, rabbit, take the top one and go first.”

One of the rabbits took an orange cushion and set it at the top of the slide. He sat down on it, looking a little nervous. “Go on, hurry up!” said Moon-Face. “You don’t want to stay all night, do you?” He gave the rabbit a hard push, and the rabbit slid down the slippery-slip at a tremendous pace, his whiskers and ears blown backwards. Jo thought it looked a lovely thing to do. He went next.

He took a blue cushion, sat on it at the top of the slide and pushed off. Down he went on his cushion, his hair streaming backwards. Round and round and round went the slippery-slip inside the enormous trunk of the old tree. It was quite dark and silent, and lasted a very long time, for the Faraway Tree was tremendously tall. Jo enjoyed every second.

When he came to the bottom his feet touched a sort of trap-door in the trunk at the foot, and the trap flew open. Jo shot out and landed on a big tuft of green moss which was grown there to make a soft landing-place. He sat there, out of breath—then he got up quickly, for he didn’t want Bessie or Fanny landing on top of him.

Bessie went next. She flew down on a fat pink cushion, gasping for breath, for she went so fast. Then Fanny went on a green cushion, and then the other rabbit. One by one they shot out of the strange little trap-door, which closed itself tightly as soon as the slider had gone through.

They all sat on the ground, getting their breath and laughing, for it really was funny to shoot down inside a tree on a cushion. Whoever would have thought of such a thing!

The rabbits stood up first. “We’d better be going,” they said. “So pleased to have met you!”

They disappeared down the nearest burrow, and the children waved good-bye. Then Jo stood up.

“Come on,” he said, “we really must get home. Goodness knows what the time is!”

“Oh, what a lovely way of getting down the Faraway Tree that was!” said Bessie, jumping to her feet. “It was so quick!”

“I loved it,” said Fanny. “I’d like to climb the tree every single day just so that I could slide down that glorious slippery-slip. I say—what do we do with the cushions?”

At that moment a red squirrel, dressed in an old jersey, came out of a hole in the trunk.

“Cushions, please!” he said. The children gathered them up and handed them to the squirrel one by one. They were getting quite used to hearing animals talk to them now.

“Are you going to carry all these cushions up the tree to Moon-Face?” asked Fanny, in wonder.

BESSIE FLEW DOWN ON A FAT PINK CUSHION, GASPING FOR BREATH.

The squirrel laughed. “Of course not!” he said. “Moon-Face lets down a rope for them. Look—here it comes!”

A rope came slipping down between the branches. The squirrel caught the end of it and tied the bundle of cushions firmly on to the rope. He gave three tugs, and the rope swung upwards again, taking the cushions with it.

“Good idea!” said Jo, and then they all turned to go home. They didn’t talk much on the way through the Enchanted Wood, for they were all tired, and very busy thinking of the strange and exciting things that had happened that day.

They came to the ditch and jumped across. They went down the lane and through their little back-gate. By the time they reached the cottage they were ready to drop with tiredness. Their mother and father were not yet home.

Bessie sleepily made some bread-and-milk. They undressed whilst the milk was heating, and then ate their supper sitting in their beds.

“I’m not going up the Faraway Tree again,” said Fanny, lying down.

“Well, I am!” said Jo. “Don’t forget we promised old Moon-Face some home-made toffee! We can climb up to his house, give him the toffee, and slide down that slippery-slip again. We don’t need to go into any land at the top of the tree.”

But Bessie and Fanny were fast asleep. And very soon Jo was too—dreaming of the strange Faraway Tree, and the curious folk who lived in its enormous trunk!