The Story of the Amulet

'poor learned gentleman's' breakfast. He did not recognize h

und my neck,' she said; 'I'm taki

he; 'did you have a g

de it all dark, and then greeny light, and then it spoke. Oh! I wish you could have heard it-it was such a darling

his hair with both hands an

so forth,' he said. 'Yet someone must have... Who

ind about telling us the name of power, and all that, but really, I'm not allowed to tell any

eebly and then frowned-not a c

be pleased if you'll look in-any tim

dbye. I'll always tell y

en were like these. He spent quite five minutes in wondering before he settled down to t

tay in the Past and never get back again, was anything but pleasing. Yet no one would have dared to suggest that the charm should not be used; and though each was in its hea

ng they could say-not even the truth-could in any way satisfy it. They were all very proud to think how well they had understood what the charm and the Psammead had said about Time and Space and things like that, and they were perfectly ce

Cyril a shilling. 'Don't go getting jam-tarts, now-so messy at the best of times, and without forks and

Road to buy a piece of waterproof sheeting to put over the Psammead in case it should be rain

e kind of roses you always want so desperately at about Christmas-time when you can only get mistletoe, which is pale right through to its very scent, and holly which pricks your nose if you try to smell it. So now everyone

to go first, you'll have to be last, Jane. You quite understand

't got to be l

aid Anthea. 'That is,' she added, remembering

wever, was unexp

ries me, so long as it doesn't dr

he charm's long string was hung round her neck. Then they all stood up. Jane hel

and stiffened his legs so that the others should not see that his knees were trembling and almost knocking together. 'Here goes!' he said, and, stepping up through the arch, disappeared. Then followed Anthea. Robert, coming next, held fast, at Anthea's suggestion, to the sleeve of Jane, who was thus dragged safely through the arch. And as soon as they were on the other side of the arch there was no more arch at all and no more Regent's Park either, only the ch

stretched a bank of strange black mud, then came the browny-yellowy shining ribbon of a river. Then more dry, caked mud and more greeny-browny jungle.

ked at e

bert, 'this IS

than they could have imagin

where we were

nder whether it's the Ama

the Psammead, lookin

id Robert, who had once

' Cyril objected. His prize

m from its basket and pointed to a

heap of mud slid into the river just as a slab of da

aid eve

mong the reeds on the

eat beast like an enormous slaty-blue slug showed itsel

'it seems much more real somehow th

was a crackling of reeds and twigs behind them. This was horrible. Of course it mi

ought to have a means of escape handy. I'm dead certain this i

going to happen to us,' sai

turned to fac

e Psammead in its friendly, informal way

ad a chance. She had every chance of being tanned, for she had no clothes to speak of, and the four English children, carefully dressed in frocks, hats, shoes, stockings, coat

the jungle, and she went forward to the brink of the river to fill her pitcher. As she went she made a strange sort of droning,

and threading it on a long osier that she carried. Then she knotted the osier, hung it on her arm, picked up the pitcher, and turned to come back. And as she turned she saw the four children. The white dresses of Jane and Anthea stood ou

d,' Anthea cried, '

you?' sai

like. Perhaps the children had found out the universal language which everyone can understand, and which wise men so far have not found. You will have noticed long ago that they were singularly lucky children, and they may have had this piece of luck as well as others. Or it may have been that... but why pursue the questi

are you?' everyone understoo

u. Don't be frightened. Won't

Psammead's basket, and burrowed h

t they eat us? Ar

ad shrugge

it said rather crossly. 'You can always get back to Regent

rl was trembli

eart of turquoise blue hanging from it, and it was the gift of the maid-of-all-work at the Fitzroy Street house. 'Here,' s

the bangle over it, and the girl's fac

ngly at the bangle; 'it is pea

led the way up the narrow path by whi

like!' said Cyril,

ing, 'this really and truly IS an adventure! Its being in the Pas

easant-looking-seemed about half a mile across. The path was narrow and t

rey rocks where spiky cactus plants showed gaudy crimson and pink flowers among their shabby, sand-peppered leaves. Away to the right was something that l

I live,' said t

ne into the basket, 'unles

roof of confidence. Perhaps, however, it looked u

now I'll never

f Father and Mother and all of us getting our hear

ad must know there's no danger or it wouldn't go.

t last cons

y saw that it was a great hedge about eigh

at for?' a

s and wild beast

o,' said he. 'Why, some of the

tle way further on was another hedge, not so high, also of dry thorn bushes, ve

alm-leaves, dumped down anywhere. The doors of these houses were very low, like the doors of dog-kennel

hat enclosed what seemed to be a piece of ground

orn hedge than dozens of men and women and children

ingly in front of the

sert. They bring marvellous gifts, and I hav

m with the Lowther

now surprises anyone, had never before

clothes, their shoes, the buttons on the boys'

thing,' whis

Daily Telegraph-'we come from the world where the sun never sets. And peace with honour is what we want. We are the great Anglo-Saxon or conquering race. Not that we want to conquer YOU,' he adde

clothes but the skins of beasts. The sewing, too, of modern clothes seemed to astonish them very much. They must have been able to sew themselves, by the way, for men who seemed to be the chiefs wore knickerbockers of goat-skin or deer-skin, fastened round the waist with twis

they kept asking touching th

lly lace collar and handed it to t

k at it. And leave us alone. We

brother to do as he was told. The tone was just as successful now. The children were left together and the cro

by remembering the girl's promise of friendliness, but of course the thought of the charm was more comfortable than anything else. They sat down on the sand in the shadow of

different coloured stone, and from these hung pendants of odd,

hat a lot we could teach

hat must have taken some making. Look here, they'll get suspicious if we talk among ourselves, and I do want to know about how they do things

standing a little way off looking w

the bracelets, the s

l; 'the men make them; we have me

you any i

know what you mean.' It was the

asked Cyril. 'Of course,' said

r holidays and you want to hear and to tell everything at the same time. As the talk went on there were more and more words that the girl could not understand, and the children soon gave up the at

of wood into a piece of ground the size of the hut they wanted to make. These were about eight inches apart; then they put in another row about eight inches away from the first, and then a thir

set up in the water with only one little opening in it, and in this opening, just below the water, were stuck reeds slanting the way of the river's flow, so that the fish, when they had swum sillily in, sillily couldn't get out again. She s

patronizingly, 'when you consider tha

rstand you,'

s just what I don't like about it. I say, DO let's get home again before

?' asked Anthea, struck by a sudden

one knows what is there. There are many walls, and inside the in

,' said Cyril, look

,' said Anthea taking off a bead-ring

m talk in his sleep. And he has spoken. I will tell you. But if they know I have told you they will kill me. In the ins

een it?' as

irl n

his?' asked Jane, rash

turned a sickl

e it they will kill us all. You for taking it, and me for knowing th

t's all. You see what will happen if you do. Now, tell me-' He turned to the girl, but before he had time

us!' he cried. 'Make

panting on the ground. 'Oh, DO let's go home

range, fair people were too busy to notice HE

d the word of po

d it-and still n

s the East, you si

id Jane, dancing about

opened the fish-bag

only a waterpr

mmead w

ng! Hide it! Hide it

, and tried to look as brave

'We are in for it now. We've j