The Story of the Amulet

a strange creature. Its eyes were on long horns like snail's eyes, and it could move them in and out like telescopes. It had ears like a bat's ears, and its tubby body was shaped like a sp

fairies have always been able to do this. Cyril, Robert, Anthea, and Jane now found their wishes come true; but, somehow, they never could think of just the right things to wish for, and their wishes sometimes turned out very oddly indeed. In the end their unwise wishings landed them in what Robert called 'a v

going to see you

d the wish. The book about all this is called Five Childre

again, but it was not in the sand

ain. Of course I knew they would meet it, because it was a beast of its word, and when it said a thing would happen, that thing happened without

mer holiday; but when it came everything was different, and very, very horrid. Father had to go out to Manchuria to telegraph news about the war to the tiresome paper he wrote for-the Daily Bellower, or something like that, was its name. And Mother, poor dear Mother, was away in Madeira, because she had been very ill. And The Lamb-I mean the baby-was with her. And Aunt Emma, who was Mother's sister, had suddenly married Uncle Reginald, who was Father's brother, and they had gone to China, which is much too far off for you to expect to be asked to spend the holidays in, however fond your aunt and uncle may be of you. So the children we

w he had quite enough to upset him without that. But when he was gone everyone felt as if it had

ss was arranged in a hedge round a fat glass salt-cellar, a tastefu

nd alone, and perhaps at that very moment wanting a little girl to put eau-de-cologne on her head, and make her sudden cups of tea, and she cried more than ever. And then she remembered what Mother had said, the night before she went away, about Anthea being the eldest girl, and about trying to

all by the efforts of Robert, who, to make the time pass,

onette, and feathery asparagus-of the wilderness which someone had once meant to make into an orchard, but which was now, as Father said, 'five acres of thistles haunted by the ghosts of baby cherry-trees'. They thought of the view across the valley, where the lime-kilns looked like Aladdin's palaces in the sunshine, and they thought of their own sandpit, wi

ifferent i

, with bits of grey and brown oilcloth in odd places. The fireplace had shavings and tinsel in it. There was a very varnished mahogany chiffonier, or sideboard, with a lock that wouldn't act. There were hard chairs-far too many of them-with crochet antimacassars slipping off their seats, all of which sloped the wrong way. The table wore a cloth of a cruel green colour with a yellow chain-stitch pattern round it. Over the fireplace was a looking-glass tha

engravings of the

ains of Heaven, an

's flat

mridge's Commentary on Thessalonians. There were-but I cannot dwell lon

palaver,' said

?' said Cyr

NG about,' said Robert kicking

ay,' said Jane, and

hard not to be cro

preachy or a beast in any way, but I want to what

said Cyril wit

count of the poor learned gentleman on the top-floor. And there was no one else Father could entrust

iffed m

things that cost a lot, but we must do SOMETHING. And I know there are heaps of things you can see in London wit

ed harder

s, or else we shall never have any sort of a time at all. And I vote we see everything there is, and let's begin by asking Nurse to give us some

ty!' said Robert,

sked Father, and he said yes; and what's more he told old Nurse we might, only he s

ied Cyril, now roused at last from his

ases. But they were used to crossings, for they had lived in Camden Town and knew the Kentish Town Road where the trams rush u

but it was July, so dark would be ve

ere stuffed with bits of bread and the crusts of toast, to feed

ssibly help stopping to look at. The children stopped to look at several with gold-lace and beads and pictures and jewellery and dresses, and hats, and oys

a mean jealousy), they came into the little interesting criss-crossy streets that held the most interesting shops of all-the shops where live things were sold. There was one shop window entirely filled with cages, and all sorts of beautiful bird

ly to be a bird in a cag

buy all the cats and put them on hearthrugs, which are the proper places for cats. And there was the dog-shop, and that was not a happy thing to look at either, because all the dogs were chained or caged, and all the dogs, big and little, looked at the four children with sad wistful eyes and wagge

orner of his eye-'YOU won't buy me. Nobody will-ever-I shall die

is, only once they had been in a besieged castle, so they k

ounds-but that was because it was a Japanese toy spaniel like the Queen once had her portrait painted with, when she was only Pri

such as goldfish and white mice, and sea-anemones and other aquarium beasts, and lizards and toads, and hedgehogs and tortoises, and tame rabbits and guinea-pigs. And there they stopped for a long

Jane. 'Rabbits are most awfully tame sometimes. I exp

wenty times a day,' sai

hastily, 'and besides, I never could c

els and slugs-I think it's because we d

got legs hidden away insi

s-but it doesn't either of it come to anything REALLY

oo many,' said Jane with a s

seemed empty when they had inspected the whole edifice of hutches one by one, and he was trying to reawaken the interest of a hedgehog that had curled itself into a ball earlier in the

do-pleas

had been pinched, and jumpe

uder but still softly; 'stoop down and pretend to be

dry, hot dusty pavement, peered into the darkness of th

its fur was untidy and ragged. It had hunched itself up into a miserable lump, and

. Tell the others I'm here-but tell them to look at some of those low, common beasts while I'm talking to you. The creature inside mustn't think you care much about me, or he'll put a price upon me far, far beyond your means. I remember in the dear old days last summer you never had much money. Oh-I never thought I

eal which in this family was never made in vain. 'Don't look at that hutch-

ont of it to p

ON'T look!-Yes; it's the Psammead, the good old Psammead! it wants us to buy it. It says you'

him out of countenance, so that he went and sat up on his hind legs in a far cor

ith the other bootlace and listened fo

the third hutch from the end." Oh-don't mind MY feelings-call me a mangy monkey-I've tried hard enough to look like one! I don't think he'll put a high price

promised never to have another wish

embling but affectionate tones, 'but find out how much mon

mployed his tongue, explained matters to the others, while the Psammead hunched itself, and bunched its

ant for that white

ce,' was

e guine

five bob, accord

he liz

pence

toa

which the shop was lined. 'Lookee here. I ain't agoin' to have you a comin' in here a turnin' the whole place outer winder, an' prizing every animile in the stock just for your

eaningly he had carried out the Psammead's instructions. 'Just tell me one thi

ly saw in this

said he; 'get along with your

osing her head altogether, 'don't you

three minutes before he would have been glad to sell the 'mangy old monkey' for ten shillings. Now-'Ho! 'e does, does 'e,' he said, 'then two pun ten's my price. He's not got his fellow that m

would have been merely three and fivepence, but for the sovereign which Father had given to them 'between the

wn cheek,' said the dealer, for he did n

e pause. Then Anthea

I had two

d the man with bitter politene

ng seemed to slide under it. She lifted i

said; 'here's the money, now let's h

the money, but he made has

st,' he said, shrugging his shou

st let you have it, but it's wor

gerly, and made a sudden fierce grab at the Psammead, whic

eezing the Psammead so tight that he nearly c

pened as Anthea

a leap from his dirty horny hands, and Anthea caught it in hers, which were not very

, 'we shall have a crowd after us,' and indeed two

aper-bag, like what we put the tor

ven Anthea the largest paper-bag he could find, he saw her hold it open, and the Psammead carefully creep

affably, 'he's an

ey. 'Owever,' he added, as the children disappeared, 'I ain't done so bad, seeing as

and excitement, carried home the P

stroked it, and would have cried over it, if

red enough to

from the oil and colour

, and rolled itself, and shook itself and scraped itself, and scratched itself, and preened itself,

r. Old Nurse had got them a lovely supper of bread and butter

, the Psammead was snuggling down

have died. I saw him wash out a guinea-pig's hutch yesterday morning. I'm still frightfully sleepy, I think I'll go back t

any breakfast?

rink to me, and coals and fire and wife and children.' With these words it clambered down by the

r holidays won't be dull NOW. W

ings. 'We shan't be dull-but it'll be only lik

hea. 'If it can't do anything else it ca