Five Children and It

left whisker wetted. It was a long day, and it was not till the afternoon that all the children suddenly decided to write letters to their mother. It was Robert who had the misfortune to upset the

ave been the one chosen by the Lamb to get under the table and break his squeaking bird. There was a sharp convenient wire inside the bird, and of course the Lamb ran the wire into Robert's leg at o

quite well, and I hope Granny

nk, and at the bottom

h a time clearing up, so no more as it is po

of course after the ink was upset he had to help Anthea to clean out her desk, and he promised to make her another secret drawer, better

hat he had read about in the Home-made Gardener, and when it was post-time th

ll meant to do this - but she spent so long thinking how to spell the word that there was no time to tell the story

R MOTH

ha says it is nothing, only he upset the goldfish into himself yesterday morning. When we were

e of them spell Psammead. And they could not find it in the dictiona

s nearly post-time, so no more at

ave a wish come true

etter. And that was how it happened that, though all the children meant to tell their mother about the Sand-fairy,

to let children choose exactly what they like, because they are very foolish and inexperienced, and sometimes they will choose a really instructive thing without meaning to. This happened to Robert, who chose, at the last moment, and in a great hurry, a box with pictures on it of winged bulls with men's heads and winged men with eagles' heads. He thou

and then they all had tea at a beautiful pastrycook's, and when

ut the Psammead. I do not know why. And they

for it in the newspapers every morning, said afterwards that it was the hottest day there had been for years. They had ordered it to be 'warmer - some s

ellowy, and all the grass and trees are covered with dew-diamonds. And all the shadows go the opposite way to the

ke, and I must tell you how it is done, even

push your chin down on to your chest and then bang your head back on the pillow. And you do this as many times as there are ones in the time you want to wake up at. (It is quite an easy sum.) Of course everything depends on your really wanting to get u

ke a person talking a foreign language. If you know the language it is just as easy to understand as English. And Anthea knew the clock language. She was very sleepy, but she jumped out of bed and put her face and hands into a basin of cold water. This is a fairy c

e dining-room window and climbed out. It would have been just as easy to go out by

he said to herself. 'It was quite

e any better if she were to tell the others about it. And she had a feeling that, right or wrong, she would rather go through with it alone. She put on her shoes under t

pigeons do their feathers at Christmas time. 'The

pinafore and covered the Sand-fairy up with it, all but its h

'that's better. What's

to talk to you about it. But - would you mind not giving me any wishes till after breakfast

wish for things if yo

ople almost always

yosaurus they really

said Anthea, '

ad in a warning voice, and

glad if you'd not swell yourself out and nearly burst to

said indulgently,

me and sit on my lap? You'd be warmer, and I could turn

expected that it

rept on to her lap and snuggled down, and she put her arms rou

ed has turned out rather horrid. I wish you would

-fairy. 'I've spent the whole of my waking hours in

ance. It's so good and kind and dear of you to give us our wishes, and it seems such

o say it before the others. It's one thing to say you'r

leepily, 'I can only advise yo

ht you never

count,' it said. '

original. It's in

y if you think wings w

t in a box of sand on the palace terrace. It was a dreadful degradation for one of us, of course; still the boy was the Assyrian King's son. And one day he wished for wings and got them. But he forgot that they would turn into stone at sunset, and w

, 'why don't our wishe

hey just

utres moeurs,' s

ked Anthea, who had learned no fore

high-flying fanciful things nowadays. How are you going to turn being beautiful as the day, or being wanted by everybody, into stone? You see it can't be done. And it would never do to have two rules, so they simply vanis

lap - dug frantica

hed thoroughly directly after breakfast. And it was of course a very naughty thing to do; yet it served two purposes - it delighted the Lamb, who lo

thea, breathless from the scurr

nly, nobody's to have a wish if the others

rst wish?' asked

thea apologetically. 'And I've t

d fault, but it was hard, because the word 'wings' r

Cyril generously; and

ot quite such a f

ely. It's like a bright dream of delirium.' T

ad beautiful win

eeling, half heaviness and half lightness, on its shoulders. The Psammead

eally, Robert, you're not quite such an

ery feather lay neatly in its place. And the feathers were of the most lovely mixed changing colours, like the ra

d, standing anxiously first on

Cyril; 'you're tr

they looked, for that matter. For now they all spread out their wings and rose in the air. Of course you all know what flying feels like, because everyone has dreamed about flying, and it seems so beautifully easy - only, you can never remember how you did it; and as a rule you have to do it without wings, in your dreams, which is more clever and uncommo

colours on paper, you have real moving sunny woods and green fields laid out one after the other. As Cyril said, and I can't think where he got hold of such a strange expression, 'It does you a fair treat!' It was most wonderful and more like real magic than any wish the children had had yet. They flapped and flew and sailed on their

w this is done, but it is something like treading wate

no one had spoken. 'But stealing is

rd, and no one minds birds breaking the commandments. At least, they MAY mind

ause the rainbow wings were so very large; but somehow they all ma

t man, who looked exactly as though he owned the plum-trees, come hurrying through the orchard gate with a t

t once, for the lads of the village had taught him in past seasons that plums want looking after. But when he saw the rainbow wings flutter up out of the plum-tree he felt that he must have g

to hang on a ribbon round her neck, for luck. She hovered round the unfortunate plum-owner, and said, 'We have had

f plums, and slipped the coin into the pocket of his

n on the grass, su

t - 'THAT'S real enough. Well, from this day forth I'll be a better man. It's the kind of thing to sober a chap for life, this is. I'm glad it

f up and put a blue ribbon bow at the place where her collar fastened on, and looked so pretty that he was kinder than ever. So perhaps the winged children really did do one good thing that day. I

ed up their wings as small as possible and were going up to a farm door to ask for a crust

have had a good bite out of the brown-stockinged leg of Robert, who was the nearest. But at first growl there was a fl

ghtened to do anything but scream; and at last when it was nearly four o'clock, and their wings w

y home without dinner or tea,' sa

ny dinner, or even lunch,

ight,' suggested Anthea. 'He

,' said Jane. 'Look at Robert's b

TAKE them. In wars I mean. I'm quite certain you do. And even in other stories n

ers looked vaguely round the bare leads of the

rgyman's house, and I saw things to eat inside - custard pudding and cold chicke

r of you!'

general - Napoleon or the Duke of Marlborough

ery wrong,'

Sidney said when the soldier wouldn't stand hi

?' Anthea was persuasive, and very nearly in tears, because it is most tryi

' was the ca

heir own and their sweethearts' initials with penknives in the soft lead. There was five-and-sevenpence-halfpenny altogether, an

as finally agreed

h happened to be in her pocket, and from which she first to

EREND CL

ear you should say 'No', because of course you know about angels, but you would not think we were angels. We will only take the nessessities of life, and

others with one accord.

ite honourable if you

we are sinseer and gr

nd hosp

Us

n felt that when the clergyman had read it he would understand

r know. The window looks out into the shrubbery. It is embowered in foliage, like a window in a story. I'll go in and get the things. Robert and Anthea can take them as I hand them out through the window; and Jane can keep watch -

ded out of the larder window when, quite unobserved and without hindrance or adventure, he had led the others to that happy spot. He felt that to refrain from jam, apple turnovers, cake, and mixed candied peel was a really heroic act - and I agree with him. He was also proud of not taking the custard pudding - and there I think he was wrong - because if he had taken it there would have been a difficulty about returning the di

t of kitchen paper which Cyril had found on the top shelf of the larder. A

her day people got diseases from germans in rain-water. Now there must be lots of rain-water here - and whe

are ge

'They give you every illness you can think of! I'm sure the paper was a necessary,

ifficult - and paper dishes soon get to look very spotty and horrid. But one thing you CAN'T imagine, and that is how soda-water behaves when you try to drink it straight out of a syphon - especially a quite full one. But if imagination will not help you, experience will, and you can eas

a-water on a really fine hot day. So that everyone enjoyed the dinner very much indeed, and everyone ate as much as it possibly

in the hot sun on the top of a church-tower - or even anywhere else - you become soon and strangely sleepy. Now Anthea and Jane and Cyril and Robert were very like you i

peat, was sinking slowly in the west, and the children slept warmly and happily on - for wings are cosier than eiderdown quilts to sleep under. The shadow of the church-tower fell across the churchyard, and across the Vicarage, and across the field beyond; and presently there were no more shadows, and the sun had set, and the wings were gone. And still the children slept. But not for long. Twilight is very beautiful, but it is chilly; and you know, however sleepy you are, you wake u

her. Cyril spoke first

beastly thing. It's dark enough to leave it on t

noticed this when they were eating, but had not explored it, as you would have done in their place. Bec

turned to

d Cyril, 'this i

door was locke

darker. And they were miles from home

ried, nor who cried. You will be better employed in making up yo