Five Children And It Chapter 6: Bedtime Story

Hello dear ones and welcome to today's reading of Five Children and It.

Just taking a moment as always to arrive here in the space and in your body.

Noticing any sensations that arise.

Noticing your breath and your thoughts.

Taking some moments to stretch out here in your bed and get all snuggled down and cozy.

Ready for a blissful night's sleep.

Whilst we continue with our adventures with the Five Children and It.

Chapter Six.

A Castle and No Dinner The others were to be kept in as a punishment for the misfortunes of the day before.

Of course Martha thought it was naughtiness and not misfortune,

So you must not blame her.

She only thought she was doing her duty.

You know,

Grown-up people often say that they do not like to punish you and that they only do it for your own good and that it hurts them as much as it hurts you.

And this is really very often the truth.

Martha certainly hated having to punish the children quite as much as they hated to be punished.

For one thing,

She knew what a noise there would be in the house all day and she had other reasons.

I declare,

She said to the cook,

It seems almost a shame keeping them indoors this lovely day.

But they are that audacious,

They'll be walking in with their heads knocked off some of these days if I don't put my foot down.

You make them a cake for tea tomorrow,

Dear,

And we'll have baby along with us as soon as we've got a bit forward with our work.

Then they can have a good romp with him out of the way.

Now,

Elisa,

Come,

Get on with them beds.

It's nearly 10 o'clock and no rabbit's caught.

So all the others were kept in.

But Robert,

As I have said,

Was allowed to go out for half an hour to get something they all wanted.

And that,

Of course,

Was the day's wish.

He had no difficulty in finding the sand fairy,

For the day was already so hot that it had actually,

For the first time,

Come out of its own accord and was sitting in a sort of pool of soft sand,

Stretching itself and trimming its whiskers and turning its snail's eyes round and round.

Ha,

He said,

When its left eye saw Robert,

I've been looking for you.

Where are the rest of you?

Not smashed themselves up with those wings,

I hope.

No,

Said Robert,

But the wings got us into a row,

Just like all the wishes always do.

So the others are kept indoors and I was only let out for half an hour just to get the wish.

So please,

Let me wish as quickly as I can.

Wish away,

Said the Samoyed,

Twisting itself round in the sand.

But Robert couldn't wish away.

He forgot all the things he had been thinking about and nothing would come into his head,

But little things,

Like candy,

A foreign stamp album,

Or a knife with three blades and a corkscrew.

He sat down to think better of things the others would not have cared for,

Such as a football or a pair of leg guards,

Or to be able to lick Simpkin's minor thoroughly when he went back to school.

You'd better hurry up with that wish of yours,

The Samoyed.

You'd better hurry up with that wish of yours,

The Samoyed said.

Time flies.

I know it does,

Said Robert.

I can't think what to wish for.

I wish you could give one of the others their wish without their having to come here to ask for it.

Oh,

No,

Don't!

But it was too late.

The Samoyed had blown itself out to about three times its proper size,

And now it collapsed like a pricked bubble,

And with a deep sigh,

Leaned back against the edge of the sand pool,

Quite faint with the effort.

There,

It said,

In a weak voice.

It was tremendously hard,

But I did it.

Now,

Run along home,

Or they're sure to wish for something silly before you get there.

As Robert ran home,

His mind was deeply occupied with the sort of wishes he might find that they had wished in his absence.

They might wish for rabbits,

Or white mice,

Or chocolate,

Or a fine day tomorrow,

Or even,

And that was most likely,

Someone might have said,

I do wish to goodness Robert would hurry up.

Well,

He was hurrying up,

And so,

They would have had their wish.

And so,

They would have had their wish,

And the day would be wasted.

Robert was running as fast as he could,

But when he turned the corner,

That ought to have brought him within the sight of the architect's nightmare,

The ornamental ironwork on the top of the house.

He opened his eyes so wide that he had to drop into a walk,

For you cannot run with your eyes wide open.

Then,

Suddenly,

He stopped short,

For there was no house to be seen.

The front garden railings were gone too,

And where the house had stood,

Robert rubbed his eyes and looked again.

Yes,

The others had wished,

There was no doubt about it,

And they must have wished that they lived in a castle,

For there the castle stood,

Black and stately,

And very tall and broad,

With battlements and lancet windows,

And eight great towers,

And where the garden and the orchard had been,

There were white things dotted like mushrooms.

Robert walked slowly on,

And as he got nearer,

He saw that these were tents,

And men in armour were walking about among the tents,

Crowds and crowds of them.

Oh,

Said Robert,

They have,

They've wished for a castle,

And it's being besieged,

It's just like that sand fairy,

I'd wish we'd never seen the beastly thing.

At the little window above the great gateway,

Across the moat that now lay where the garden had been but half an hour ago,

Someone was waving something pale,

Dust-coloured.

Robert thought it was one of Cyril's handkerchiefs.

They had never been white since the day when he had upset the bottle of combined toning and fixing solution into the drawer where they were kept.

Robert waved back,

And immediately felt that he had been unwise.

For this signal had been seen by the besieging force,

And two men in steel caps were coming towards him.

They had high brown boots on their long legs,

And they came towards him with such great strides that Robert remembered the shortness of his own legs and did not run away.

He knew it would be useless to himself,

And he feared it might be irritating to the foe.

So he stood still,

And the two men seemed quite pleased with him.

By my hallowed own,

Said one,

A brave val at this.

Robert felt pleased at being called brave,

And somehow it made him feel brave.

His garb is strange,

Said the other,

Some outlandish treachery be like.

Say,

Lad,

What brings thee hither?

Robert knew that this meant,

Now then,

Youngster,

What are you up to?

So he said,

If you please,

I want to go home.

Go then.

Non hitheren,

And nought let us follow.

Zooks,

I mist doubt me,

But he bereath tidings to the besieged.

Where dwellest thou,

Young knave?

Inquired the man with the largest steel cap.

Over there,

Said Robert,

And immediately he knew he ought to have said yonder.

Ha,

Sayest so,

Rejoined the longest boots.

Come hither,

Boy,

This is a matter for our leader.

And to the leader Robert was dragged forthwith,

By reluctant ear.

The leader was the most glorious creature that Robert had ever seen.

He was exactly like the pictures Robert had so often admired in the historical romances.

He had armour,

And a helmet,

And a horse and a crest,

And feathers,

And a shield,

And a lance and a sword.

His armour and his weapons were all,

I am almost sure,

Of quite different periods.

The shield was thirteenth century,

While the sword was of the pattern used in the Peninsular War.

The helmet dated from the Second Crusade,

And the arms on the shield were very grand,

Three red running lions on a blue ground.

The tents were of the latest brand approved of by our modern war office,

And the whole appearance of camp,

Army and leader might have been a shock to some.

But Robert was dumb with admiration,

And it all seemed to him perfectly correct,

Because he knew no more of archaeology than the gifted artists who usually drew the pictures for the historical romances.

The scene was indeed exactly like a picture.

He admired it all so much that he felt braver than ever.

Come hither,

Lad,

Said the glorious leader,

When the men in Cromwellian steel caps had said a few low,

Eager words.

And he took off his helmet,

Because he could not see properly with it on.

He had a kind face and long,

Fair hair.

Have no fear,

Thou shalt take no scathe,

He said.

Robert was glad of that,

And he wondered what it meant.

Unfold thy tail without alarm,

Said the leader,

Kindly.

Whence comest thou,

And what is thine intent?

My what?

Said Robert.

What seekest thou to accomplish?

What is thine errand,

That thou wander'st here alone among these rough men at arms?

The leader wiped away a manly tear,

Exactly as a leader in a historical romance would have done,

And said,

Fear not to speak the truth,

My child.

Thou hast naught to fear from Wulfric de Taubat.

Robert had a wild feeling that this glorious leader of the besieging party,

Being himself part of a wish,

Would be able to understand better than Martha,

Or the gypsies,

Or the policeman in Rochester,

Or the clergyman of yesterday,

The true tale of the wishes and the Samoyed.

Robert tried to make his talk sound like the talk of a boy in a historical romance.

He said,

Gramercy,

For thy courtesy,

Fair Sir Knight.

The fact is it's like this,

And I hope you're not in a hurry,

Because the story's rather a breather.

Father and mother are away,

And when we went down playing in the sand pits,

We found a Samoyed.

I cry thee mercy,

A Samoyed,

Said the knight.

Yes,

A sort of fairy or enchanter.

Yes,

That's it,

An enchanter,

And he said we would have a wish every day,

And we wished first to be beautiful.

Thy wish was scarce granted,

Muttered one of the men at arms,

Looking at Robert,

Who went on as if he had not heard,

Though he thought the remark to be very rude indeed.

And then we wished for money,

Treasure,

You know,

But we couldn't spend it,

And yesterday we wished for wings,

And we got them,

And had a ripping time to begin with.

Thy speech is strange and uncouth,

Said Sir Wulfric de Talbot.

Repeat thy words,

What hadst thou?

A ripping,

I mean a jolly.

We were contented with our lot,

That's what I mean,

Only after we got into an awful fix.

What is a fix?

A fray,

Mayhap?

No,

Not a fray,

A tight place,

A dungeon.

Alas for thy youthful fettered limbs,

Said the knight with polite sympathy.

It wasn't a dungeon,

We just,

We just encountered undeserved misfortunes,

Robert explained,

And today we are punished by not being allowed to go out.

That's where I live,

He pointed to the castle.

The others are in there,

And they're not allowed to go out.

It's all the Samoyads,

I mean the enchanter's fault.

I wish we'd never seen him.

He is an enchanter of might?

Oh yes,

Of might and main,

Rather.

And thou deemest that it is the spells of the enchanter whom thou hast angered,

That have lent strength to the besieging party,

Said the gallant leader.

But know thou that Wulfric de Talbot needs no enchanter's aid to lead his followers to victory.

No,

No,

I'm sure you don't,

Said Robert,

With hasty courtesy.

Of course not,

You wouldn't,

But all the same,

It is partly his fault,

But we're most to blame.

You couldn't have done anything if it hadn't been for us.

How now,

Bold boy,

Asked Sir Wulfric haughtily.

Thy speech is dark and eek scarce courteous.

Unravel me this riddle.

Of course,

You don't know it,

Said Robert desperately,

But you're not real at all.

You are only here because the others must have been idiots enough to wish for a castle,

And when the sun sets,

You'll just vanish away and it'll all be all right.

The captain and the men at arms exchanged glances,

At first pitying and then sterner,

As the longest-booted man said,

Beware,

My noble lord,

The urchin doth but feign madness to escape from our clutches.

Shall we not bind him?

I'm no more mad than you are,

Said Robert angrily.

Perhaps not so much,

Only I was an idiot to think you'd understand anything.

Let me go,

I haven't done anything to you.

Whither?

Asked the knight,

Who seemed to have believed all the enchanter's story till it came to his own share in it.

Whither wouldst thou wend?

Home,

Of course,

Robert pointed to the castle.

To carry news of succour?

Nay.

All right then,

Said Robert,

Struck by a sudden idea.

Then let me go somewhere else,

His mind sought eagerly among the memories of the historical romance.

Sir Wulfric de Talbot,

He said slowly,

Should think foul scorn to keep a chap,

I mean one who has done him no hurt,

When he wants to cut off quietly,

I mean to depart without violence.

This,

To my face,

Beshrew thee for a knave,

Replied Sir Wulfric,

But the appeal seemed to have gone home.

Yet thou sayest soothe,

He added thoughtfully,

Go where thou wilt,

Thou art free.

Wulfric de Talbot woreth not with babes,

And Jakin here shall bear thee company.

All right,

Said Robert wildly,

Jakin will enjoy himself,

I think.

Come on,

Jakin.

Sir Wulfric,

I salute thee.

He saluted after the modern military manor and set off running to the sandpit,

Jakin's long boots keeping up easily.

He found the sand fairy,

He dug it up,

Woke it up,

And implored him to give him one more wish.

I've done two today already,

It grumbled,

And one was as stiff a bit of work as ever I did.

Oh do,

Do,

Do,

Do,

Do,

Please,

Said Robert,

While Jakin looked on with an expression of open-mouthed horror at the strange beast that talked and gazed with its snail eyes at him.

Well,

What is it?

Snapped the Samoyed with cross sleepiness.

I wish I was with the others,

Said Robert,

And the Samoyed began to swell.

Robert never thought of wishing the castle and the siege away.

Of course,

He knew they had all come out of a wish,

But swords and daggers and pikes and lances seemed much too real to be wished away.

Robert lost consciousness for an instance.

When he opened his eyes,

The others were crowding around him.

We never heard you come in,

They said.

How awfully jolly of you to wish it,

To give us our wish.

Of course,

We understood that was what you'd done,

But you ought to have told us,

Robert.

Supposed we'd wished for something silly.

Silly,

Said Robert,

Very crossly indeed.

How much sillier could you have been,

I'd like to know.

You nearly settled me,

I can tell you.

Then he told his story,

And the others admitted that it certainly had been rough on him,

But they praised his courage and cleverness so much that he presently got back his lost temper and felt braver than ever,

And he consented to be captain of the besieged force.

We haven't done anything yet,

Said Anthea,

Comfortably.

We waited for you.

We were going to shoot at them through these little loopholes with the bow and arrows uncle gave you,

But you shall have the first shot.

I don't think I would,

Said Robert,

Cautiously.

You don't know what they're like to be near to.

They've got real bows and arrows,

An awful length,

And swords and pikes and daggers,

And all sorts of sharp things.

They're all quite,

Quite real.

It's not just a picture or a vision or anything.

They can hurt us,

Or kill us even.

Look here,

Have you explored the castle?

Because I think we'd better let them alone,

As long as they let us alone.

I heard that Jaekin man say that they weren't going to attack until just before sundown.

We can be getting ready for the attack.

Are there any soldiers in the castle to defend it?

We don't know,

Said Cyril.

You see,

Directly I'd wished we were in a besieged castle.

Everything seemed to go upside down,

And when it came back straight,

We looked out of the window and saw the camp and the things and you,

And of course we kept on looking at everything.

Isn't this room jolly?

It's as real as real.

And it was.

It was square,

With stone walls four feet thick and great beams for ceiling.

A low door at the corner led to a flight of steps,

Up and down.

The children went down.

They found themselves in a great arch gatehouse.

The enormous doors were shut and barred.

There was a window in a little room at the bottom of the round turret up which the stairs wound,

Rather larger than the other windows,

And,

Looking through it,

They saw that the drawbridge was up and the portcullis down.

The moat looked very wide and deep.

Opposite the great door that led to the moat was another great door,

With a little door in it.

The children went through this and found themselves in a big courtyard,

With the great grey walls of the castle rising dark and heavy on all four sides.

Near the middle of the courtyard stood Martha,

Moving her right hand backwards and forwards in the air.

The cook was stooping down and moving her hands,

Also in a very curious way.

But the oddest,

And at the same time most terrible thing,

Was the lamb,

Who was sitting on nothing,

About three feet from the ground,

Laughing happily.

The children ran towards him.

Just as Anthea was reaching out her arms to take him,

Martha said crossly,

Let him alone,

Miss,

When he's good.

But what's he doing?

Said Anthea.

Doing?

Why,

He's sitting in his eye-chair as good as gold.

Get along with you,

Will you?

She went towards the cook and seemed to poke an invisible fire with an unseen poker.

The cook seemed to be putting an unseen dish into an invisible fire.

Run along with you,

Do.

I'm behind as it is this morning.

We won't get no dinner if you come hindering me again like this.

Come on,

Off you goes,

Or I'll pin a disc cloth to some of your tails.

Are you sure the lamb's all right?

Asked Jane,

Anxiously.

Right as nine pence.

If you don't come unsettling him,

Of course.

I thought you'd like to be rid of him for today,

But take him if you want him,

For gracious sake.

No,

No,

It's okay,

They said,

And hastened away.

They would have to defend the castle presently,

And the lamb was safer,

Even suspended in mid-air in an invisible kitchen than in the guardroom of the besieged castle.

They went through the first doorway and sat down helplessly on a wooden bench that ran along the room inside.

Oh,

How awful,

Said Anthea and Jane together,

And Jane added,

I feel as if I were in a lunatic asylum.

It's creepy,

Said Anthea.

I don't like it.

I wish we'd have wished for something plain,

A rocking horse,

Or a donkey,

Or something.

It's no use wishing now,

Said Robert bitterly,

And Cyril said,

Do be quiet,

I want to think.

He buried his face in his hands,

And the others looked about them.

They were in a long room with an arched roof.

There were wooden tables along it,

And one across at the end of the room on a sort of raised platform.

The room was very dim and dark,

And the floor was strewn with dry things like sticks,

And they did not smell very nice.

Cyril sat up suddenly and said,

Look here,

It's all right,

I think it's like this.

You know,

We wish that the servants shouldn't notice any difference when we got wishes,

And nothing happens to the lamb unless we specifically wish it to.

So,

Of course they don't notice the castle or anything,

But then the castle is on the same place where our house was,

I mean is,

And the servants have to go on being in the house or else they would notice.

But you can't have a castle mixed up with our house,

And so we can't see the house because we see the castle,

And they can't see the castle because they go on seeing the house.

Oh don't,

Said Jane,

You make my head go all swimmy,

Like being on a roundabout.

I hope we shall be able to see our dinner,

That's all,

Because if it's invisible it'll be unfeelable as well,

And then we can't eat it.

I know it will,

I know,

Because I tried to feel if I could feel the lamb's chair,

And there was nothing under him at all but air,

And we can't eat air,

And I feel just as if I hadn't had any breakfast for years and years and years.

It's no use thinking about it,

Jane,

Said Anthea,

Let's go on exploring,

Perhaps we might find something to eat.

This lighted hope in every breast,

And they went on exploring the castle,

But though it was the most perfect and delightful castle that you can possibly imagine,

And furnished in the most complete and beautiful manner,

Neither food nor men-at-arms were to be found in it.

I should think it's about dinner time by now,

Said Anthea.

It wasn't,

But they hung about watching the strange movements of the servants in the middle of the courtyard,

Because of course they couldn't be sure where the dining room of the invisible house was.

Presently,

They saw Martha carrying an invisible tray across the courtyard,

For it seemed that,

By the most fortunate accident,

The dining room of the house and the banqueting hall of the castle were in the same place.

But oh,

How their hearts sank when they perceived that the tray was invisible.

They waited in wretched silence,

While Martha went through the form of carving an unseen leg of mutton,

And serving invisible greens and potatoes with a spoon that no one could see.

When she had left the room,

The children looked at the empty table,

And then at each other.

This is worse than anything,

Said Robert,

Who had not till now been particularly keen on his dinner.

I'm not so very hungry,

Said Anthea,

Trying to make the best of things as usual.

Cyril tightened his belt,

And Jane burst into tears.