Part 6 (1/2)

aWhya”I've seen you before!a he said to the children. aHow are you? Quite well, I hope. And let me seea”have I seen this brownie before? Yesa”I have. Aren't you the bad fellow who turned all his grandmother's pigs blue? Isn't your name Winks?a aYes, Mr. Spells, sir,a said Winks, trying his best to hide behind Mollie and Peter.

aI hope you got spanked for that,a said Mr. Spells. aI had a terrible job turning the pigs back to their right colour again. I believe they've still got blue tails.a Winks wished the floor would open and swallow him up, but it didn't. Mr. Spells turned to Peter.

aWell, have you come visiting my dear old mother?a he said. aShe's a wonder at spells, you knowa”she taught me most of what I know.a Peter explained how it was they were in his mother's room. Then he told the enchanter about poor c.h.i.n.ky and the chair.

aGood gracious! a said Mr. Spells. aWe must certainly find out where that chair has gone. If it falls into the hands of some rogue he can use it for all kinds of wrong purposes. And c.h.i.n.ky, tooa”what a silly thing to do, to tie his foot to the chair! Why didn't he tie the chair to the door-handle, or something like that?a aWe didn't think of that,a said Peter. aCan you help us to find out where the chair is, and c.h.i.n.ky, too, Mr. Spells?a aOf course,a said Mr. Spells. aNow, let me think for a moment. This happened at night, you saya”and the chair, as usual, flew up into the sky?a aYes,a said everyone.

aWell, thena”who was about that night in the sky, who might possibly have seen the chair and c.h.i.n.ky?a said Mr. Spells thoughtfully.

aHoot, the owl,a said the old lady at once, aQuite right, Mother,a said Mr. Spells. aSplendid idea. We'll call Hoot, the owl, and see if he knows anything about this. He's a very wise and observant bird, you know,a he said, turning to the children. aNever misses anything that goes on at night,a aShall we go and ask him if he knows anything, then?a said Mollie. aWhere does he live?a aOh, we'll get him here,a said Mr. Spells. aThat's the easiest way. I'll go and call him.a He went to the window that looked out on the sunny hillside. He clapped his hands three times and muttered a word so magic that Winks trembled in his shoes. And a very curious thing happened. The sunny hillside went darka”as dark as night a”and behind the trees shone a little moon! It was all very peculiar, especially as the sun still shone out in the backyard and on the sea that could be seen from the other windows!

aI must make it dark, or the owl won't come,a explained Mr. Spells. aNow I'll call him.a He put his hands up to his mouth, placed his thumbs carefully together, and blew gentlya”and, to the children's delight and surprise, the hoot of an owl came from his closed hands. ''Ooo-ooo-oooo-oooh! Ooo-ooo-ooh!a aWhat a wonderful spell!a said Peter.

aThat's no spell!a said the enchanter. aWhy, anyone can do that. Look how I put my hands! Now you try!a So Peter trieda”and then he blew into his closed hands, between his two thumbs very gentlya”and, lo and behold, the hoot of an owl came from his hands, too. It was marvellous!

An answering hoot came from outside the window. A dark shadow pa.s.sed across the room. Then a big owl flew silently down and perched on Mr. Spells' shoulder. He caressed the big-eyed creature, whilst Cinders looked on rather jealously.

aHoot,a said Mr. Spells. aListen carefully. Two nights ago a Wis.h.i.+ng-Chair flew off into the sky, and hanging to it by a rope tied to his foot was a pixie called c.h.i.n.ky. Did you see anything of this?a aOoooooo-ooo-ooo! Oooooo-oo! Ooooh! Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooooooooh!a answered the owl, hooting softly into Mr. Spells' ear.

aThank you, Hoot,a said Mr. Spells, looking grave. aYou may go.a The owl flew off silently. Mr. Spells waited a moment and then muttered another magic word. The moonlit hillside grew lighter and lightera”and, hey presto, it was the sun behind the trees now and not the moona” daylight was everywhere!

aWhat did the owl tell you?a asked Peter.

aOha”I forgot you couldn't understand,a said Mr. Spells. aWell, he saw the chaira”and c.h.i.n.ky, too, dangling by his foot. He followed them out of curiositya”and he says they flew near the Wandering Castle, where Giant Twisty lives, and the giant must have seen them and captured them. He saw no more of them after that.a This was very bad news indeed. aOh, deara”whatever are we going to do, then?a said Peter at last. aPoor little c.h.i.n.ky!a aI must help you,a said Mr. Spells. aI can't let Twisty own that chair. Sit down. We must think of a plan!a

Away on Another Adventure.

aWe can't do anything this evening,a said Mr. Spells. aThat's quite certain. Anyway, the first thing to do is to find out where the Wandering Castle is.a aDon't you know?a said Mollie, in surprise.

aI know where it was last year, and the year before, and even last month,a said Mr. Spells, abut I don't know where it is now. It may have wandered anywhere.a aOha”does it move about?a asked Peter in amazement.

aGood gracious, yes! It's always wandering,a said the enchanter. aOne day it may be here, the next it's somewhere else. Giant Twisty finds that very useful because he's always getting into trouble because of his bad ways, and it's very convenient to have a castle that can slip away in the night.a aIt's going to be very difficult to find, isn't it?a said Mollie. aI mean, even if we find out where it is now, it may not be there when we get there.a aTrue. But there's a chance it may rest in the same place for some weeks,a said Mr. Spells. aWe must chance that. Winks, what are you doing?a Winks jumped. aJusta”just stirring this stuff in the pot,a he said.

aLook at your hands! a thundered Mr. Spells. aYou've been dipping them ina”and now see what you've done! Meddlesome little brownie!a Winks looked at his hands. Oh, dear, they were bright blue! He stared at them in horror.

aNow you know what your grandmother's pigs must have felt like when you turned them blue,a said the enchanter. aWell, keep your blue hands. Every time you look at them you can say to yourself, 'I must not meddle. I must not meddle.'a Winks put his hands into his pockets, looking very doleful. aBlue-hand, the Brownie,a said Peter. aOh, Winks, you're always into some mischief or other. Can't you be good even for a little while?a aWell, children,a said Mr. Spells, aI think you'd better leave things to me tonight. I'll do my best to find out where the Wandering Castle happens to be at the moment and we will make a good plan to get back the chair and c.h.i.n.ky. Can you come along early tomorrow morning?a aYes. We'll ask mother to let us go out for the day,a said Peter. aCome on, Mollie. Thank you, Mr. Spells, for your help. Goodbye, Mrs. Spells. Goodbye, Cinders.

aYou can go out of this door if you like,a said the enchanter, and the children suddenly saw a small silver door gleaming in the wall near the window that looked out on the hillside. They were sure it hadn't been there before. Cinders opened it for them.

He bowed politely to the children, but dug a claw into Winks, who yelled and shot outside in a hurry. Winks shook a bright blue fist at the cat.

aOh, dear, look at your hands,a said Mollie. aI do hope, Winks, that the blue will fade. You really do look awful.a aWhere are we?a said Peter, as they walked down the hillside, now filling with shadows as the sun sank low. aGoodnessa”why, there's our garden!a So it was, just nearby. How very extraordinary.

aIf only people knew how near their gardens are to curious and wonderful places, how surprised they would be!a said Mollie, walking in at their side-gate, and going to the playroom. aWell, we can take that short cut tomorrow. I do wonder how it is that the sea is outside that other window. I just simply can't understand that!a They said goodbye to Winks, who had tried in vain to wash the blue off his hands under the garden-tap. Then off they went to ask their mother if they could have the whole day to themselves tomorrow. She said, Yes, of course they could! It would do them good to go into the country in the lovely summer weather they were having now.

aWell, I don't know what Mother would say if she knew we were going to hunt for Giant Twisty in his Wandering Castle!a said Peter. aI suppose she just wouldn't believe it.a The next day the children had breakfast very early indeed, and then set off down the garden to collect Winks. His hands were still as blue as ever, so he had put on a pair of gloves.

aOha”you've borrowed them from my biggest doll, Winks,a said Mollie. aYou might have asked permission first. I should have said, 'No, certainly you can't have them.'a aYes. I felt sure you wouldn't let me,a said Winks. aThat's why I didn't ask you. I'll take great care of them, Mollie, I really will. Your doll doesn't mind a bit.a aOf course she doesn't. She hates wearing gloves!a said Mollie. aWell, I don't blame her. I don't like wearing them myself. Now, do take care of them, Winks, please.a They went out of the garden gate and looked round. Where was that short cut now? How queer! They couldn't find it at all! But Winks spotted it for them.

aI've better eyes for strange things than you have,a he said. aI can see a little s.h.i.+ning path in the gra.s.s that you can't see. Follow me.a aWell, you must be right,a said Peter, as Winks led them straight over the gra.s.s to the same trees on the same sunny hillside as they had seen the day before. aAnd there's the little silver door!a Cinders opened it as they came near. Winks shot in so quickly that he hadn't time to scratch the brownie, though he did try!

Mr. Spells was there, surrounded by papers and old books of all kinds. aMy mother is still asleep in bed,a he said. aI'm glad you're early. We can start off straight away.a aOha”have you found out where the Wandering Castle is?a asked Mollie, in delight. aDid your magic books tell you?a aThey helped,a said Mr. Spells. aAnd Cinders and I did a little Find-Out Spell we know. Wandering Castle is now on the island belonging to Giant Small-One, Twisty's brother.a aGiant Small-Onea”that's a funny name,a said Mollie.

aNot really,a said Mr. Spells. aHe's small for a giant, that's all. Well, we'd better start.a aBut how can we get to an island?a said Peter. aWe haven't a Wis.h.i.+ng-Chair to fly over the sea!a aThat doesn't matter,a said Mr. Spells. aCinders has been getting my s.h.i.+p ready. Haven't you noticed it out there?a He pointed to the window that so surprisingly looked out on the sea. The children stared in wonder and delight. A most beautiful s.h.i.+p rocked gently on the calm blue sea, a picture of loveliness with its big, white sails.

Mollie cried out in joy aOha”what a beauty! And it's called The Mollie!a aJust a little compliment to you,a said Mr. Spells, smiling. aAlso it's supposed to be lucky to sail in a s.h.i.+p bearing one of the pa.s.sengers' names. Wella”shall we set off? The wind is just right.a Cinders opened the window. Just outside was a stone ledge, with steps leading down to a tiny jetty. Cinders went first and helped Mollie down politely. Winks waited till last. He was afraid of Cinders' claws.

They all stepped aboard the beautiful white-sailed s.h.i.+p. Mr. Spells took the tiller.

aBlow, wind, blow. And on we will go over the waters blue,a he sang, and the white s.h.i.+p leapt forward like a bird.

aIs that a spell you sang?a said Mollie.

aOh, noa”just a little song,a said Mr. Spells. And he began to sing again, whilst the s.h.i.+p sailed lightly over the blue waters. The children and Winks enjoyed it very much. Mollie trailed her hand in the water. So did Winksa”but his came up as blue as ever! He sat as far away from Cinders as possible.

aDid we bring any food?a asked Mollie, suddenly.

aNo,a said Mr. Spells, and everyone at once looked rather gloomy. aEnchanters don't need to,a he went on. aI always carry a spell in my pocket that I use when I need any food. Is there anything you fancy at this particular moment, Mollie?a aWella”it would be nice to have an ice-creama”if it's possible,a said Mollie.

aI knew she was going to ask that,a said Peter. aI'd like an iced strawberryade, please, Mr. Spells.a Soon they were all eating and drinking, as the s.h.i.+p sped on and on. Cinders had a plate of fish and chips and Mr. Spells made him go right to the other end of the s.h.i.+p to eat them. aI wish you wouldn't always ask for fish and chips,a he complained. aReally, Cinders, you always smell of food nowadays.a For two hours the s.h.i.+p sailed ona”then Cinders gave a shout. aLand ahoy! It's the island, Mr. Spells, sir.a aAha!a said the enchanter. aNow we must be a bit careful.a They all looked hard at the island that was rapidly coming nearer as the s.h.i.+p sped over the water. It didn't look very big. It was crowded with tall buildings, some of them looking like palaces, some like castles.

aWhich is the Wandering Castle, I wonder?a said Mollie.

aCan't possibly tell,a said Mr. Spells. aNow here we go towards this little jetty. We'll land there. You'll have to watch out a bit, because several giants live here and you don't want to be trodden on like ants.a Mollie didn't like the sound of this much. She determined to keep very close to Mr. Spells. Cinders was left with the s.h.i.+p, much to Winks' relief. They all set off up an extremely wide street.

aWe shall be all right if we keep to the narrow pavements that run beside the walls of the building,a said Mr. Spells, guiding them to one. aThere are plenty of small folk living here, as well as giants.a So there werea”pixies and brownies and goblins and elvesa”but there were also giants, and Mollie suddenly saw a most enormous foot, followed by another one, walking down the street! She shrank close to Mr. Spells.

When the giant came by the children tried to see up to the top of him, but he was too tall. aThat's a large-sized giant,a said Mr. Spells. aI know hima”nice fellow called Too-Big. Here's a smaller one.a It was exciting and extraordinary to see giants walking about. Mr. Spells guided them to a palace not quite so tall as some of the buildings.

aThis is where Giant Small-One livesa”the giant the island belongs to,a he said. aCome alonga”we will ask him whereabouts his brother's Wandering Castle is. Don't be afraid. I am much more powerful than he is and he knows it.a They went up a long, long flight of steps. At the top was a big open door, leading into a vast hall. At the end of the hall sat a gianta”-but he was such a small one that he wasn't more than twice the size of the enchanter himself!

aAdvance, Mr. Spells, and pay your respects to Giant Small-One,a boomed an enormous voice from somewhere.

And Mr. Spells boldly went forward. Now to find out what they all wanted to know!

Wandering Castle at Last.

MR. SPELLS made a small bow. aGreetings, Giant Small-One,a he said. aI see you have not yet found a spell to make you Tall-One instead of Small-One. I come to ask you a question. We want to find your brother, Giant Twisty. Is Wandering Castle on your island?a aI believe so,a said the voice of Giant Small-One, rather a feeble voice for a giant. aGo to High Hill and you will see it there. Why does Mr. Spells, grand enchanter, want my brother?a aThat is my own business,a said Mr. Spells. The children thought he was very bold indeed to speak to a giant like that.

aPray stay to a meal,a said Small-One, and he clapped his big hands, making a noise like guns cracking. aI have few guests as important as you.a aThank you, no,a said Mr. Spells. aOur business is urgent. We will go.a He turned to go. He walked back to the children and Winks, and they made their way to the door. But it was shut! They couldn't open such a big door themselves, so they had to go all the way back to Small-One and ask for a servant to open the door.