More Wishing Chair Stories.
By Enid Blyton.
Contents.
THE WITCH"S CAT.
THE DEAR-ME GOBLIN.
THE ADVENTURE OF THE GREEN ENCHANTER.
PETER"S OWN ADVENTURE.
THE OLD, OLD MAN.
TOPSY-TURVY LAND.
THE CHAIR RUNS AWAY AGAIN.
THE LAND OF SCALLY-WAGS.
THE PRINCE"S SPELLS.
THE LAST ADVENTURE OF ALL.
HOME FOR HALF-TERM.
CREE-EE-EAK.
AN ADVENTUROUS NIGHT.
LAND OF WISHES.
SANTA CLAUS AND THE WISHING-CHAIR.
MORE ABOUT THE WISHING-CHAIR.
THE END OF THE ADVENTURE.
Original Ill.u.s.trations.
The Witch"s Cat.
ONE afternoon Mollie and Peter were talking to c.h.i.n.ky the pixie in their playroom. Mollie was sitting in the magic chair, knitting as she talked. She was making a warm scarf for c.h.i.n.ky, who often used to go out at night and talk to the fairies in the garden. It was still very cold, and Mollie was afraid he would get a chill.
Peter and c.h.i.n.ky were not looking at Mollie at alla"and then a dreadful thing happened! The chair grew its red wings all of a sudden, spread them out, and flew straight out of the open door! Yesa"with Mollie in it, all alone! Peter and c.h.i.n.ky gave a shout of dismay, and rushed after it. They were too latea"the chair rose over the trees, and the last they saw of Mollie was her pale anxious face looking over the arm at them.
aI say! The chair oughtn"t to do that!a said Peter. aNow what are we to do?a aWe can"t do anything,a said c.h.i.n.ky. aWe must just hope that the chair comes back safely, that"s all.a Mollie had the surprise of her life when the chair rose up so suddenly. She wondered where in the world it would take her to. It flew a long way, and when it came down Mollie saw that a very thick dark wood lay beneath her.
The chair squeezed its way through the trees, and Mollie crouched down in the chair, for the branches scratched against her face. At last she was on firm ground again, and she jumped off the chair to see where she was. She saw, not far off, a beautiful little cottage, and to her surprise, there were pink and red roses out all around ita"which was very astonishing, for it was only the month of February.
aPerhaps a fairy lives there,a thought Mollie, and she went up to the cottage. The door was shut, but there was a light in the window. Mollie thought she had better peep into the cottage and just see who lived there before she knocked at the door. So she dida"and inside she saw an old witch, standing before a curious fire whose flames were bright purple, stirring something in a big green pot.
aOoh!a thought Mollie. aIt"s a witch. I don"t think I"ll go in"a Suddenly the witch looked upa"and she saw Mollie peeping in. In a trice, she threw down the ladle she was using and ran to the door.
aWhat are you spying on me for?a she shouted, in such a rage that her face went red as a sunset. aCome here! Let me see who you are! If you are a spy, I"ll soon deal with you!a aBut I"m not!a said poor Mollie. She thought she had better run away, so she turneda"but the witch caught hold of the sleeve of her frock.
aYou go indoors,a she said, and pushed Mollie into the cottage. She slammed the door and went back to her green pot, which was now singing a curious tune to itself, and puffing out pale yellow steam.
aGo and help the cat to make my bed,a ordered the witch. aI won"t have you peeping round whilst I make this spell!a Mollie looked round for the cat. There was one in the corner, busily washing up some dishes in the sink. It was a black cat, but its eyes were as blue as forget-me-nots. How strange!
The cat put down the tea-cloth and ran into the next room. There was a bed there, and the two set to work to make it. As they were in the middle of it, the witch called sharply to the cat: aPuss! Come here a minute! I need your help.a The cat at once ran to hera"and Mollie took the chance to look round. She saw that the bedroom window was open. Good! It wouldn"t take her long to slip out of it and run back to her chair!
She climbed outa"but in doing so she knocked over a big vase on the window-sill. Crash! The witch at once guessed what was happening. She rushed into the bedroom, and tried to get hold of Mollie"s lega"but she was too late! Mollie was running between the trees!
aCat! Chase her! Scratch her! Bring her back at once!a yelled the witch.
The blue-eyed cat at once leapt out of the window and rushed after Mollie. How they ran! Mollie reached the wishing-chair, jumped into it, and cried, aHome, quickly!a It rose upa"but the cat gave an enormous leap and jumped on to one arm of the chair. Mollie tried to push it off, but it dug its claws into the arm, and wouldn"t leave go.
aYou horrid creature!a said the little girl, almost in tears. aGet off my chair!a But the cat wouldn"t move. The chair rose higher and higher. Mollie wondered what she should do if the cat flew at hera"but it didn"t. It crawled down into the chair, hid behind a cushion there, and seemed to go to sleep!
After a while Mollie saw that she was near her own garden. She was glad. The chair went down to the playroom, and Peter and c.h.i.n.ky rushed out excitedly. Peter hugged Mollie, and so did c.h.i.n.ky. They had been so worried about her.
Mollie told them her adventure. aAnd the funny thing is,a she said, athe witch"s cat is still in the chair! He didn"t scratch mea"he hid behind the cushion!a c.h.i.n.ky ran to the chair and lifted up the cushiona"yes, there was the cat! It opened its great blue eyes and looked at c.h.i.n.ky.
The pixie stared hard at it. Then he ran his hands over the cat"s sleek back, and shouted in surprise.
aCome here, children, and feel! This isn"t a proper witch"s cat! Can you feel these b.u.mps on its back?a Sure enough, Peter and Mollie could quite well feel two little b.u.mps there.
aThis cat was a fairy once,a said c.h.i.n.ky, in excitement. aYou can always tell by feeling along the back. If there are two b.u.mps there, you know that that was where the wings of the fairy grew, once upon a time. I say! I wonder who this fairy was!a aCan"t we change the cat back into its right shape?a asked Peter, in great excitement.
aI"ll try!a said clever c.h.i.n.ky. He drew a chalk circle on the floor, and then put a chalk square outside that. He stood between the circle and the square, and put the cat in the middle. Then he told the children to pour water on the cat whilst he recited some magic words.
Peter got a jug of water, and Mollie got a vase. Both children poured water on the silent cat, whilst c.h.i.n.ky chanted a string of strange words.
And then a most peculiar thing happened! The cat grew largera"and larger. The b.u.mps on its back broke out into a pair of bright blue wings. The cat stood upright on its hind legsa"and suddenly the whole of the black fur peeled away and fell offa"and inside was the most beautiful fairy that the children had ever imagined!
He had the brightest blue eyes, and shining golden hair, and he smiled in delight at c.h.i.n.ky.
aThank you!a he said. aI am Prince Merry, brother to the Princess Sylfai. The witch caught me and changed me into a cat at the same time as she caught my lovely sister. She sold her to the Green Enchanter, and she is still a prisoner.a aOh, your highness!a cried c.h.i.n.ky, bowing low before the beautiful prince. aIt is such an honour to have returned you to your right shape. What a good thing Mollie flew to the witch"s house!a aIt certainly was!a said Prince Merry. aI suddenly saw she had a wishing-chair out in the wood, though, of course, the witch didn"t know that! I was determined to come with her in the magic chaira"but I only just managed it! It is the first time I have had a chance to escape from the witch!a aI wish we could rescue your sister, the Princess!a cried Peter.
aThat would be splendid!a said the Prince. aIf we only could! But before we can get to the hill on which the Green Enchanter lives, we have to get a map to find ita"and there is only one map in the world that shows the Enchanter"s Hill.a aWho has it?a asked c.h.i.n.ky excitedly.
aThe Dear-Me Goblin has it,a said Merry. aHe lives in the caves of the Golden Hill.a aThen we"ll go there the very next time the chair grows wings!a shouted c.h.i.n.ky, Mollie, and Peter.
The Dear-Me Goblin.
PRINCE MERRY lived with c.h.i.n.ky in the playroom, waiting for the chair to grow its wings again. c.h.i.n.ky made himself Merry"s servant, and did everything for him gladly and proudly. Peter and Mollie thought they were very lucky childrena"to have a wishing-chair of their own, a pixie for a friend, and a fairy prince living in their playroom. n.o.body would believe it if they told the story of their adventures.
It was a whole week before the chair grew its red wings. It was one evening after tea, when Peter, Mollie, c.h.i.n.ky, and the Prince were sitting round the playroom fire, having a game of snap. All four had cards in front of them, when suddenly a draught blew the whole lot together!
aI say! Is the window open?a cried Peter, jumping up. But it wasn"t. He couldn"t think where the draught came from when he suddenly saw that it was the chair, flapping its red wings again! Of course! They made the wind that blew the cards together!
aLook!a cried Peter excitedly. aThe chair"s ready again! Come on! Is there room for us all?a aNo,a said c.h.i.n.ky, abut the Prince has wings. So he can fly beside us. Come ona"get in! I say, thougha"hadn"t we better take a rug? It"s an awfully cold night.a The children pulled a rug from the sofa, and then they and the pixie climbed in the chair, wrapping the rug closely round them. The prince opened the door, and the chair flew out at once. Merry followed it, and held on to one of the arms as he flew, so that he should not miss the way.
The Prince opened the door, and the chair flew out at once.
aI told the chair to go to the Dear-Me Goblin"s cave,a said c.h.i.n.ky. aI hope it knows the way.a It did! It flew to a hill that looked dark and lonely in the starlit night; but as soon as the chair had flown inside a big cave, and come to earth there, the children exclaimed in delight. The inside of the cave shone with a golden light, though there was no lamp of any sort to be seen.
aThat"s why it"s called the Golden Hill,a said Merry. aThe whole of the hill shines like gold inside. So plenty of goblins live here because they are mean fellows, you know, and are only too pleased to live in a hill where they do not need to buy candles by which to see!a The children and c.h.i.n.ky explored the golden cave. There was a pa.s.sage leading away into the heart of the hill, and the four of them walked down it, able to see everything quite clearly.
Along the pa.s.sage were many doors of all colours. Each door had a little notice on it, giving the name of the goblin who lived there. The children looked at them all, but could not see the name of Dear-Me. At last they came to the end door, and that had no name on at all.
aThis must be Dear-Me"s cave,a said Merry. aIt"s the only one left!a So they knocked, and the door opened. A queer-looking goblin poked out his head. He wore a wastepaper basket for a hat, and had a pencil in his mouth at which he kept puffing as if it were a pipe!
aHallo!a he said.
aHallo!a said c.h.i.n.ky. aWhat is your name?a aIt"s on the door,a said the goblin. aI"ve forgotten what it is.a aBut it isn"t on the door,a said Peter. aThere is no name there at all.a aOh,a said the goblin. aWell, come in, whilst I think of it.a They all went in. There was a large and cosy room made out of the cave behind the door. A fire glowed in one corner, and a small bed stuck out of the other. There was a table in the middle, and two or three stools stood here and there. There was no lamp, for the curious golden light shone here too.
aIs your name Dear-Me?a asked c.h.i.n.ky.
aOf course it is,a said the goblin. aEveryone knows that!a aWell, you didn"t seem to know it,a said Merry.
aOnly because it wasn"t on the door,a said the goblin. aWhat have you all come for?a aWell, we wanted to know if you have the map that shows the hill on which the Green Enchanter lives,a said c.h.i.n.ky.
aYes, I have,a said Dear-Me. aBut, dear me! I couldn"t tell you where it is at the moment!a aDid you put it in a safe place?a asked the Prince.
aOf course!a said the goblin. aBut it is always so difficult to remember safe places, isn"t it?a aWell, tell us one of your safe places, and we"ll look there,a said Mollie.
aIt might be in that drawer,a said the goblin, pointing to a drawer in the kitchen table. Mollie opened it, and then stared in the greatest surprise. It was full of pea-pods, turned brown and dry!
aDear me!a said the goblin. aSo that"s where those pea-pods went to last summer. Well, look in the teapot, then, and see if the map"s there.a aIn the teapot!a said Peter, thinking the goblin must be quite mad. However, he looked in the teapot on the dresser, and found it full of safety-pins. The goblin was so pleased to see them.
aI couldn"t think where I"d put those pins!a he said.
aYou know, b.u.t.tons are always coming off my clothes and I have to pin them up such a lot. So I bought a whole crowd of safety-pins and thought I"d better keep them somewhere safe in case I lost them. So I put them in the teapota"and then I couldn"t remember where they were.a aTell us another of your hiding-places,a begged c.h.i.n.ky patiently.
aYou might look in the boot-box,a said the goblin.
They all looked for it.
aWhere is the boot-box?a asked Peter at last. aHave you put that in a safe place too?a aOh, no,a said the goblin. aNow let me think. Yes! I remember nowa"when the laundry came, the carrier wanted the basket back, so I put the clean clothes into the boot-box.a aYou do think of some surprising ideas!a said Merry. aI don"t suppose the washing will be clean any longer. I suppose this is it, under the mangle.a He pulled out a dirty old box in which clean shirts and collars were stuffeda"but except for some old potatoes at the bottom, there was nothing else in the box at all.
aI suppose you use the boot-box for your vegetables as well,a said c.h.i.n.ky, shaking the potatoes about.
aOh, are there some potatoes there?a cried the goblin, pleased. aI"ll cook them for my dinner then. I was just going out to buy some, but I couldn"t find my hat.a c.h.i.n.ky, Merry, and the children stared at the wastepaper basket on the goblin"s head. aWell,a said c.h.i.n.ky, ayou"ve got something on your heada"we thought it was meant for a hat.a The goblin took the basket off and looked at it in surprise.
aIt"s my waste-paper basket!a he said. aNow how did that get there? I spent all the morning looking for it.a aIs this your hat?a asked c.h.i.n.ky, picking up something stuffed full with old newspapers.
aDear me, yes!a said the goblin, pleased. aI must have mistaken it for the basket. I do get into such muddles sometimes. I have so much to do, you know.a aWhat do you have to do?a asked Mollie curiously.
aOha"there"s getting upa"and having mealsa"and dressinga"and dustinga"and going to bed,a said the goblin. aThat reminds mea"it"s time for something to eat. Will you have a bit of cherry-pie?a He darted to a cupboard, opened it, and brought out a pie; but as he went to put it on the table he fell over the waste-paper basket, and smash! the pie fell to the floor and the red juice flowed out on to the carpet!
aDear me!a said the goblin. aThat"s the end of the pie, I"m afraid. Well, it wasn"t a very good pie. Now, what shall I wipe up the mess with?a He went to the cupboard and caught up the piece of paper that lined the shelf. He was just about to mop up the mess with it when c.h.i.n.ky gave a cry. aWait!a The pixie took the paper from him and shouted loudly aIt"s the map! Look! Fancy the goblin using it to line a shelf with! Just the sort of thing he would do!a At that moment another goblin came rushing into the room, crying, aYour chair"s flapping its wings!a aWe must go!a shouted c.h.i.n.ky, aor our chair will leave us behind! Goodbye, Dear-Me! Thanks for all the help you didn"t give!a Out they all ran and flung themselves into the chair. Prince Merry had the map safely in his pocket. To think how nearly they had lost it!
aHome, chair!a cried Peter, and off it went!
The Adventure of the Green Enchanter.
PETER, Mollie, Prince Merry, and c.h.i.n.ky the pixie all looked eagerly at the dirty old map.
aSee!a said c.h.i.n.ky, pointing. aThere is the Enchanter"s Hill. I will tell the wishing-chair how to get there as soon as it grows its wings again.a aThen we will rescue Sylfai!a cried Merry.
aYou can live here with c.h.i.n.ky,a said Mollie, looking round the playroom. aI will bring you an old rug, Prince. Let us know when the chair grows its wings again.a But a dreadful thing happened when the chair next grew its pretty red wings and flapped them in the playrooma"for Peter was in bed with a cold! When c.h.i.n.ky came climbing up the window to peep into the bedroom (the playroom was at the bottom of the garden, you remember), Mollie was ready to goa"but Peter was much too sneezy and snuffly, and he was sure that his mother would be very angry if she came and found him gone. So it was decided that Mollie, Merry, and c.h.i.n.ky should go alone, and Merry promised to look after Mollie. They all said goodbye to Peter and left him. He felt very sad and lonely.
The chair was anxious to fly off. Mollie sat in the seat with c.h.i.n.ky squeezed beside her. The Prince flew near them, holding on occasionally when the chair went very-fast.
aTo the Green Enchanter"s Hill!a cried c.h.i.n.ky to the chair. aGo by way of the rainbow, and then over the snowy mountains of Lost Land.a The chair flapped steadily up into the air. The sun shone out. Then there came a big cloud, and rain fell. The sun shone through the rain and made a glorious rainbow. At once the chair flew towards it, higher and higher into the air.
It came to the topmost curve of the glittering rainbow. It balanced itself therea"and then, WHOOOOOOooosH! It slid all the way down it! What a slide that was! Mollie held her breath, and Merry"s hair flew out behind him!
They slid down to the bottom of the rainbow, and then the chair flew steadily on towards some high mountains, whose snowy tops stood up through the clouds.
aThere"s Lost Land!a cried c.h.i.n.ky, pointing. aIf we got lost there, there"d be no finding us again.a aOoh!a said Mollie, shivering. aI hope the chair doesn"t go down there.a It didn"t. It flew on and on. Presently a big mountain-top loomed up in the distance, sticking its green head up through the clouds.
aThe Green Enchanter"s Hill!a cried c.h.i.n.ky, in delight. aWe haven"t taken long! Now, we must be careful. We don"t want the Enchanter to know we"re here.a The chair flew downwards. It came to a beautiful garden. It settled down on the ground in a sheltered corner, where high hedges grew all round. n.o.body could possibly see them there.