More Wishing-Chair Stories Part 5

aOh, here's just what I wanted!a cried Mollie, picking up a book. aMr. Galliano's Circus! And here's a doll that opens and shuts its eyesa"and a toy typewritera"and a doll's bathrooma"and, oh look, Peter, you've got six different kinds of aeroplanes!a Peter had plenty of other things beside those. The two children were very happy indeed. Mother was most astonished when she saw all their toys.

aWhy, anyone would think you were great friends of Santa Claus, by the way he has spoilt you with so many presents!a she said.

aWe are friends of his!a said Mollie happily.

After breakfast they went down to the playroom to wish c.h.i.n.ky a Merry Christmasa"and do you know, he had as many things as they had, too! So you can guess what a fine Christmas morning they had, playing with everything.

aGood old Santa Claus, and good old wis.h.i.+ng-chair!a said Peter, patting the chair, which was safely back in its place. aI do hope Santa Claus is having as good a Christmas as we are!a Well, I expect he was, don't you?.

More About The Wis.h.i.+ng-Chair.

YOU remember the wis.h.i.+ng-chair, don't you, that Mollie and Peter had, with c.h.i.n.ky the pixie?

Well, Mollie and Peter went to boarding-school, and c.h.i.n.ky took the chair home to his mother until the holidays came. And you can guess that the very first day of the holidays Mollie and Peter rushed down to the playroom at the bottom of the garden to see if c.h.i.n.ky was there!

ac.h.i.n.ky's not here!a said Mollie, in disappointment.

aNor is the chair!a said Peter, But just at that very moment there came a whizzing noise, and in at the door flew the good old wis.h.i.+ng-chair, with c.h.i.n.ky sitting as usual on the back, grinning all over his merry pixie face.

ac.h.i.n.ky! Oh, c.h.i.n.ky!a yelled Mollie and Peter, in delight. c.h.i.n.ky leapt off the chair and ran to the two children. They flung their arms round one another and hugged like bears.

aOh, it's good to see you again, c.h.i.n.ky,a said Mollie happily.

aYou don't know how I've missed you and Peter!a said c.h.i.n.ky. aNow we'll have some more adventures!a aWell, first of all, tell us any news you have,a said Peter. But c.h.i.n.ky pointed to the wis.h.i.+ng-chair. It was flapping its red wings as hard as ever it could, making quite a draught.

aThe chair's glad to see you, too!a said c.h.i.n.ky, laughing. aAnd it badly wants to take us somewhere. Come ona"let's get in and go whilst the chair has its wings.a Mollie and Peter sat on the seat as they always used to do, and c.h.i.n.ky sat on the back. The chair flapped its wings, rose into the air, and flew off.

aOh,a said Mollie. aWhat fun it is to fly off in the wis.h.i.+ng-chair again! I do so like it!a The children leaned over and looked at the towns and villages they were flying over. They knew exactly when they came to the borders of Fairyland, for Fairyland always had a soft blue mist hanging around it.

aWhere are we going?a asked Peter.

aDon't know,a said c.h.i.n.ky. aThis is the first time the chair has had a fly since you went to school. It's been a proper well-behaved, ordinary chair in my mother's house for weeksa"now it's enjoying a good fly!a The chair flew on and on. The children watched the towers of Giantland pa.s.sa"the blue seas of Pixielanda"the hills of the Red Goblinsa"and still the chair flew on.

At last it flew downwards. The children felt excited. c.h.i.n.ky looked down to see where they were going.

aIave never been here before,a he said. aI don't even know the name of the land.a The chair came to rest in a little town. The children jumped off, but c.h.i.n.ky still sat on the back of the chair, trying to think where they had come to.

A lot of little folk came running up. They had very wide-open eyes, long ears, long noses and no chin at all. Mollie wasn't sure that she liked the look of them.

aWhat is this land?a asked c.h.i.n.ky.

aIt's Disappearing Land,a said one of the little folk, smiling. aYou'll have to be careful you don't vanish.a Mollie remembered the Disappearing Island. It had disappeared suddenly just as they were going to land on it. Would this country disappear suddenly too? She asked c.h.i.n.ky.

aNo,a said c.h.i.n.ky. aBut we may disappear if we don't look out! I think we'd better go off again. I don't want to vanish somewhere!a The children sat down in the wis.h.i.+ng-chair once more. But its wings had gone. It wouldn't fly at all.

aOh!a said c.h.i.n.ky. aFirst disappearing trick! I suppose they've done that to keep us here. Now, hold hands, all of us then if one of us vanishes the others can still feel him and take him along. We may as well have a look round whilst we are here. We'll remember where the chair is just by that yellow lamp-post. Come on!a They went down the little, winding street. The strange little folk hurried everywhere, nodding and smiling. There was a market nearby, and the children and c.h.i.n.ky went to see what was being sold.

It was a strange village. Mollie was looking at a crooked little house with twisty chimneys when it quite suddenly disappeared and she was staring at nothing. It gave her such a shock.

Peter got a shock too. A dog with big pointed ears came running up to him and licked his fingers. Peter bent down to pat ita"and found he was patting air! The dog had vanished under his very nose!

Even c.h.i.n.ky got caught tooa"and he was used to strange things! He went to buy three rosy apples off a stall. He gave the old dame there three penniesa"but just as he took the apples from her they disappeared into nothing! There was c.h.i.n.ky, his three pennies given to the old dame, and his hands trying to take hold of three apples that had disappeared!

aI want my money back,a he said to the old woman, who was grinning widely. aI haven't got my apples.a aWell, I gave them to you,a said the old woman. aThey are not here! You can't have your money back.a c.h.i.n.ky was angry. He stalked off down the street with Peter and Mollie. He kicked crossly at the kerb. At once it disappeared!

aI say! Don't do that,a said Peter, in alarm. aYou might kick the whole street away!a c.h.i.n.ky was pleased to find he could kick things away. He kicked very hard indeed at a lamp-post. But that didn't disappear! It just stood there, as solid as evera"and c.h.i.n.ky gave a loud yell and hopped about holding his poor toe!

Mollie and Peter couldn't help laughing. Peter leaned against a shop window and roared at c.h.i.n.kya"and then, very suddenly, the window behind him vanished and he fell over backwards! The whole shop had disappeared!

Peter stopped laughing and picked himself up. Then it was c.h.i.n.ky's turn to laugh. Peter did look so very much astonished!

aThis is a funny sort of town,a said Mollie, looking round her carefully, not quite certain what was going to disappear next. As she spoke, three chimneys disappeared off a cottage, and a door nearby vanished as well. It seemed as if every-thing that she looked at disappeared!

aI am hungry,a said c.h.i.n.ky, wis.h.i.+ng he had the three apples he had bought. aLook! There's a shop selling buns. I wonder if they'll disappear if I buy some!a He walked into the shop. A pointed-eared girl sat knitting behind the counter as c.h.i.n.ky went in, and disappeared. But she didn't seem to mind at all.

aHave you any currant buns?a asked c.h.i.n.ky, looking round, hoping the whole shop wouldn't disappear before he had bought the buns.

aYes, fresh made today,a said the girl, and she pointed to some fine big ones, with plenty of currants in, and looking nice and sticky on the top.

aI'll take three, please,a said c.h.i.n.ky. He didn't give the girl the pennies until he had the bag of buns safely in his hand. Then he ran out of the shop and showed the buns to the others.

aLook at the lovely, juicy currants!a he said. aCome ona"let's sit down on this seat and eat our buns.a They sat down on the seata"but it at once vanished under them, and the three of them rolled over on the path. How all the little folk of the village laughed and laughed!

aI do think the way things disappear here is silly!a said c.h.i.n.ky, rubbing his head. aWhere are the buns?a aIn the bag,a said Mollie. aGood thing they are, or they would have rolled in the road!a But the buns had disappeared out of the bag, which was quite empty. The children stared into it in disgust. aOh, let's go back to the wis.h.i.+ng-chair,a said Peter. aI'm tired of this place.a aOooh, Peter!a said Mollie suddenly. aLook! Your feet have disappeared!a Peter stared down at his feeta"and it was true, they had gone!

aWell, I can still walk all right,a he said. aSo they must be there although we can't see them. Thank goodness for that! Oooh, c.h.i.n.ky! Where's your mouth?a c.h.i.n.ky hadn't got a mouth! It had disappeared!

A big wind suddenly swept round the corner of the street and took off c.h.i.n.kyas cap. He ran after it, and Peter ran tooa"and do you know, when they turned round to go back to Mollie, she had disappeared as well!

aOh! Mollie! Mollie!a cried Peter, in alarm. aWhere are you?a But there was no answer. Peter turned to c.h.i.n.ky. ac.h.i.n.ky! Did you see where Mollie went?a But c.h.i.n.ky had now gone too! There was n.o.body at all where c.h.i.n.ky had been standing, putting on his hat again. Peter felt more alarmed than ever. This would never do!

aBother!a he said fiercely. ac.h.i.n.ky said we'd better keep hold of each other's hands, in case this happeneda"and we all forgot about ita"and now, on our very first holiday adventure, this has happened! Mollie! c.h.i.n.ky!a n.o.body answered Peter. And then a strange thing happened. Peter disappeared too! He felt as if he was there all righta"but he couldn't see himself! He held out his hand and it wasn't there! He kicked up a foota"and it wasn't there either! Then he knew that he was invisible too.

aNow what am I to do?a he thought. aThis is dreadful. Let me think.a He stood and thought. Little folk came up and b.u.mped into him for they couldn't see him. At first Peter was crossa"then, as he saw their astonished faces, he remembered that he couldn't be seen. He ran and stood in a doorway where no one would b.u.mp into him.

aWhat's to be done, what's to be done?a thought Peter. aThe others are in the same fix as I am. What will they do? Whya"they will try to get back to the wis.h.i.+ng-chair, I expect! That's what I must do too! We left it by the yellow lamp-post!a And off he went to find it.

The End of the Adventure.

PETER made his way back to where they had left the wis.h.i.+ng-chair. He did hope he might meet Mollie and c.h.i.n.ky there. He soon saw the yellow lamp-post in the distance, where the chair had been left.

aGood!a thought Peter, hurrying. aI'll soon be back with the chair againa"and I'll sit in it and wait there till the others come.a But as he got nearer he could see a crowd round the chair. The strange little folk of the village were shouting to one another about it, and two of the pointed-eared men had hold of the chair.

aI tell you I shall have this chair!a yelled one man, and he pulled hard.

aAnd I tell you I want it!a shouted the other, angrily, and he pulled the other way.

aGoodness! The chair will be in bits soon,a thought Peter, and he ran at top speed to the crowd of people. aLeave that chair alone!a he shouted. aIt's not yoursa"it belongs to me!a Everyone looked rounda"but, of course, they couldn't see Peter, for he was quite invisible. They only heard his voice.

aWho are you?a they said.

aI'm Peter, and I want my chair,a said the little boy. He pushed his way through the crowd and took hold of the chair firmly. At once the other two who were holding it began to pull away hard. But Peter didn't let go.

aShow yourself, show yourself!a shouted the crowd.

aI don't know how to,a said Peter. aI suddenly disappeared, and I can't even see myself. But I'm real enough, and if anyone begins to be horrid to me I've got fists that can hit hard. And you won't see them coming, either! Now, let go my chair, please.a aWe don't believe it's yours, we don't believe it's yours!a cried everyone, siding with the two men who had got hold of the poor wis.h.i.+ng-chair.

Peter didn't know what to do. He certainly couldn't get the chair away by himself. aOh, wis.h.i.+ng-chair, we are in a fix!a he groaned. aOur very first holiday adventure, too! It's bad luck!a Suddenly the wis.h.i.+ng-chair decided to help matters itself. It grew its wings very fast. It flapped them strongly. It rose into the aira"and with it it took Peter, who was holding ita"and the two little men as well!

The crowd shouted in surprise to see the chair rise up. The two little men were full of fear. They hung on with all their might. Peter climbed up and sat safely in the chair. He had got away from the crowd, at any rate. He wondered what to do with the little men who were hanging on to the chair. He couldn't make them falla"they might be hurt.

The chair rose high up. Peter suddenly cried out in alarm. aHie, wis.h.i.+ng-chair! Don't go home yet! We've left Mollie and c.h.i.n.ky behind! Fly down again, quickly.a The chair flew down at once. As soon as it was safely on the ground the two little men began to quarrel again about who was to have the chair. Peter got really angry. He pushed them both hard. They fell over.

aI wish you'd stop this,a said Peter. aWhat's the good of quarrelling about my chair? Iam going to have it, not you. Leave go!a But they wouldn't. Peter picked up a twig and rapped their hands sharply. They let go at oncea"and before they could take hold again, what do you think happened? Why, the wis.h.i.+ng-chair most obligingly disappeared! Peter blinked in surprise, for he still wasn't used to seeing things disappear so suddenly.

Then he knew what to do. If he picked up the chair and ran off with it, the two little men wouldn't know where it had gonea"for they could see neither Peter nor the chair, now! So Peter felt for the chair, and, quick as lightning, s.n.a.t.c.hed it up and ran down the street! The two little men stared all round in astonishment, and then began to slap each other hard.

aJust what they both want!a thought Peter, pleased. He ran on and on and then stopped. He put the chair down just inside a field gate, sat down in it firmly, and tried to think what to do. How in the world could he find Mollie and Peter?

aIf I go through the village again, yelling out Mollie and c.h.i.n.ky's names, maybe they'll hear me and come to me,a thought Peter. aThey must be very worried, because they don't know where the chair is!a Back he went to the village, carrying the chair on his shoulder. As he went he shouted loudly, aMOLLIE! c.h.i.n.kY! MOLLIE! c.h.i.n.kY!a Suddenly he heard Mollie's voice, answering. How glad Peter was! It came from the other side of the road. aPeter! I can hear you! I'm still invisible. Where are you?a aI'm standing by the fruit-shop here!a yelled back Peter. aI've got the chair, too!a In half a minute he felt Mollie's hands touching him, and then she hugged him and felt for the good old wis.h.i.+ng-chair too. aNow we must get c.h.i.n.ky,a said Peter. aWhat have you been doing all this time, Mollie?a aOh, I've been looking for you,a said Mollie. aI went back to the yellow lamp-post but the chair was gone.a Just then someone they couldn't see b.u.mped into them. He couldn't see them either, for they were still invisible. As soon as the person who b.u.mped into them felt the chair, he gave a yell, and caught hold of it.

Peter s.n.a.t.c.hed at the chair too. He pulled and Mollie helped him. They were not going to lose their precious chair! But the one who was pulling against them was very strong, and suddenly the chair was tugged right away, and they could no longer feel it. They couldn't see it either, of coursea"it was gone!

aOh, it's gone, it's gone!a cried Mollie, almost in tears. aOh, Peter, what shall we do now?a aMollie! Peter! Is it you!a cried a voice gladly. aIt's me, c.h.i.n.ky! I didn't know I was pulling against you! I just came along the street, b.u.mped into the chair, felt it was ours and grabbed it. When I felt someone pulling hard against me, I jerked till I got it! Hurrah! We're all together again!a How pleased everyone was! aI've been looking everywhere for you,a said c.h.i.n.ky, climbing on to the back of the chair. aMy worda"fancy the chair disappearing, too! This is a most uncomfortable sort of place. Come ona"let's get away as soon as we can.a They all got on to the chair. It flapped its wings and rose up suddenly into the air. aOooh!a said Mollie, athat was quicka"it felt like a lift going up!a ac.h.i.n.ky, how are we going to get ourselves right again?a asked Peter. aWe can't go home like this.a aI can get some of that magic paint we once used at Witch Snippit's spinning house,a said c.h.i.n.ky. aThen we'll paint ourselves back again. That's easy. I'll send one of my friends to get the paint for us.a The children flew on and on through the air until at last they were over their own garden once more. They flew downa"and right through the open door of their playroom at the bottom of the garden. They were just going to shout and jump offa"when they saw someone there!

It was their mother. She had come to look for them. The children sat perfectly still on the chair. They knew they were invisible and couldn't be seen. If Mother heard their voices, she would get such a shock, for she wouldn't be able to see them! c.h.i.n.ky sat still too. He had always made the children promise that they would never, never say a word about him to any grown-up.

Mother looked round the playroom. aI wonder where those children are,a she said. Then she walked out, almost, but not quite, b.u.mping into the wis.h.i.+ng-chair as she went.

aMy goodness! That was a narrow escape!a said Peter, when Mother had gone. He jumped out of the chair. aWhat a good thing the chair and all of us couldn't be seen today! Mother would have got a fright if she had suddenly seen a chair come flying through the doorway with us in it!a aShe certainly would,a said c.h.i.n.ky, grinning. aSo would anyone! Now, I'll just send for that paint.a He ran out. In a few minutes he was back and said that a friend of his had flown off to Witch Snippit's at once.

aLet's play a game of ludo whilst we're waiting,a he said. aI haven't played since you went away to school. I've forgotten what a lovely feeling it is to throw a six!a It was rather peculiar to play with people you couldn't see. It was even funnier to see counters moving by themselves, as the children pushed them round the board. They just had time to play one game, when there came a knock at the door.

aThe paint!a said c.h.i.n.ky. He opened the door. On the step stood a large tin of Witch Snippit's magic paint. aGood!a said c.h.i.n.ky. aNow, what about brushes?a aThere are some in our paint-boxes,a said Mollie, and she fetched them. aThey are very smalla"it will take us ages to paint ourselves right again!a They began. They each had a paint-brush and they set to work. c.h.i.n.ky painted the wis.h.i.+ng-chair back first. Mollie began to paint herself back. Wherever she ran her brush full of paint a bit of her appeared! It was funny.

Mollie ran her brush over her left hand. At once it appeared. It was nice to see her fingers again!

aYou haven't painted that little nail on your fingers,a said Peter. aLook!a aAnd you've painted all your face back except your left eyebrow,a laughed Mollie. aYou look funny!a The wis.h.i.+ng-chair was soon back again. Then c.h.i.n.ky began to paint himself back. They all had to help each other when they came to bits of themselves that they couldn't reach. They had great fun.

aWe're quite done except that Peter hasn't got his feet yet,a said c.h.i.n.ky, and he stepped back to look at hima"and do you know, he stepped right on to the tin of paint and upset it. It ran all over the floor and the floor disappeared! The paint always acted both waysa"it made things disappear, or it made them come back if they had vanished.

ac.h.i.n.ky! You are clumsy!a cried Mollie, in horror. aWe shan't be able to do Peter's feet! Whatever will Mother say?a Peter caught up a rag and mopped up the spilt paint as fast as he could. He squeezed it from the rag into the tin, and then looked at the little bit there anxiously.

aDo you think there's enough for my feet?a he said. c.h.i.n.ky, who had gone very red, nodded his head, and took up his paint-brush again. Without a word he began to paint in Peter's feet, being very careful not to waste a drop of the precious paint. Mollie was very glad to see that there was enough.

aWhat about that hole in the floor?a said Peter. aIs there enough paint left to paint it back again?a aJust!a said c.h.i.n.kya"and there was! My goodness, there wasn't a single drop over.

aWell,a said Mollie, as she heard a bell ring to call them indoors, awe always seem to have narrow escapes and exciting times when we begin going off in the wis.h.i.+ng-chair. I did enjoy this adventure, now it's all over and we're safely back again, looking like ourselves!a aGoodbye,a said c.h.i.n.ky. aSee you tomorrow, I hope! It's been lovely to go adventuring again!a The End.