Enid Blyton (17 page)

XVII

They all sat down on a flowery bank. It was still
twilight, which seemed very queer, as
J
o
’
s watch
said the time was half-past twelve in the middle
of the day. As they ate, they watched the different
visitors coming and going to the cave on the
hillside.

There was an old woman who wanted to ask
Witch Know-a-Lot the secret of youth, so that
she might become young again, and there was a
tiny goblin who had once done a wicked thing,
and couldn
’
t forget it. He wanted to know the
Secret of forgetting, and that is one of the most
difficult secrets in the world if you have done
something really bad.

The children talked to everyone who passed.
It was queer, the different Secrets that people
wanted to know. One cross-looking brownie
wanted to know the secret of laughter.

"I
’
ve never laughed in my life," he told
J
o.
"And I
’
d like to. But nothing ever seems funny
to me. Perhaps the Enchanter Wise-Man can tell
me. He
’
s very, very clever."

The Enchanter plainly knew the secret of
laughter because, when the cross-looking brownie
came out of the cave he was smiling. He roared
with laughter as he passed the picnicking party.

"Such a joke!" he said to them. "Such a joke!"

"What was the Secret?" asked Connie.

"Ah, that
’
s nothing to do with you!" said the
brownie. "That
’
s
my
Secret, not yours
!"

The tiny goblin who had once done a wicked
thing came up to the children. "Did you find
out the Secret of F
orgetting?" asked Bessie.

The goblin nodded.
"I
’
ll
tell it to you, because then if you do a
wrong thing, maybe you can get right with
yourself afterwards," he said. "It
’
s so dreadful
if you can
’
t. Well, the Wizard Tall-Hat told me
that if I can do one hundred really kind deeds
to make up for the one very bad one I did, maybe
I
’
l
l be able to forget a little, and think better
of myself. So I
’
m off to do my first kind deed."

"Goodness! It
’
l
l take him a long time to make
up for his one wicked deed," said
Jo
. "Poor little
goblin! It must be awful to do something wicked
and not be able to forget it. No wonder he looked
unhappy."

A very grand fairy came fl
ying down to the
hillside. She looked rich and mighty and very
beautiful. Connie wondered what Secret she had
come to
find
out. It must be a very fine Secret
indeed. The fairy did not tell the children what
she wanted to know. She smiled at them and went
to knock on Mrs. Hidden
’
s door.

"Ah!—did you see that fairy?" said Watzisname.
"It would be interesting to know what secret
she
is after! She has beauty and wealth and power—whatever Secret can she want now?"

"What do you think she wants to know,
Watzisname?" asked Connie.

"Call me by my proper name and I might tell
you," said Watzisname, haughtily. But Connie
couldn
’
t remember it. Nor could the others.

"We
l
l, it isn
’
t
going to be much use finding out
my real name, if nobody is going to bother to
remember it," said
Watzisname, in a huff. "Sauce
pan, do
you
remember my name?"

"Shame? Yes, it is a shame," said Saucepan.

In the middle of all the explanations to Saucepan
as to what Watzisname had really said, Connie
slipped away unseen. She was longing to know
what Secret the beautiful fairy wanted to
find
out. It must be a very powerful Secret. If only
she could hear it! Perhaps if she listened outside
Mrs. Hidden
’
s door, she might catch a few words.

She went
off very quietly without being
seen,
and climbed a little way up the hillside to where
she had noticed Mrs. Hidden
’
s door.

There it was—a pale green one, striped with
red lines and a curious pattern. It was open!

Connie crept up to it. She could hear voices
inside.

She stood in the doorway and peeped inside.
There was a winding passage leading into the
hill from the doorway. She crept down it. She
turned a corner and found herself looking into a
very curious room. It was small, and yet it looked
very, very big because when Connie looked at the
corners they faded away and weren
’
t there.

It was the same with the ceiling, which Connie
felt sure was very low. But when she looked up at
it it wasn
’
t there either! There didn
’
t seem to be
any end or beginning to the room at all, and yet
Connie knew that it was small.

It gave her an uncomfortable feeling, as if she
was in a dream. She tried to see Mrs. Hidden. She
could see the beautiful fairy quite well, and she
could hear Mrs. Hidden, whoever she was,
speaking in a low, deep voice.
But she couldn
’
t see her!

"Oh well—I suppose she
’
s called Mrs. Hidden
because she is hidden from our sight," thought
Connie. "I will just hear what she says to the
fairy, and then slip
away."

Connie heard the Secret that the beautiful fairy
wanted to know, and she heard Mrs. Hidden give
her the answer. Connie shivered with delight.
It was a very
wonderful and powerful Secret.
Connie meant to use it herself! She began to creep
out of the cave.

But her foot caught against a loose stone in the
passage and it made a noise. At once Mrs. Hidden
called out in a sharp voice: "Who
’
s there? Who
’
s
prying and peeping? W
ho
’
s listening? I
’
ll put a
spell on you, I will! If you have heard any Secrets,
you will not be able to speak again!"

Connie fl
ed, afraid of having a Spell put on her.
She came rushing down the hillside, her face
very frightened. The others heard her and frowned.

"Connie! Surely you haven
’
t been after Secrets
when we said you were not to try and find out
anything?" began
J
o.

Connie opened her mouth to answer—but not a
word came out! Not one single word!

"She can
’
t speak," said Watzisname. "She
’
s
been listening at doors and hearing things not
meant for her ears. I guess old Mrs. Hidden has
put a spell on her. Serve her right."

Connie opened her mouth and tried to speak
again, pointing back to the cave she had come
from. Saucepan got up in a hurry.

"I can see what she means to say," he said to
the others. "She
’
s been caught prying and peeping,
and she
’
s afraid M
rs. Hidden will come after her.
She probably will as soon as she has finished with
that beautiful fairy who went into her cave. We
’
d
better go. Mrs. Hidden is not a nice person to deal
with when she is angry."

They all ran to the hole, and got down it as
quickly as possible. Connie was so anxious to get
away from Mrs. Hidden that she almost fell off
the topmost branch.
Jo
caught her dress just
in time.

"Look out!" he said. "You nearly went headlong
down the Tree. Let me go first."

Connie couldn
’
t answer. Mrs. Hidden
’
s spell
was plainly very strong. She simply couldn
’
t say
a word. It was very queer, and very horrid.

"I say—do you suppose Silky and Moon-Face
are
still up there in the Land of
Secrets?" asked
Bessie. But they weren
’
t, for as they came down
the branch to Moon-Face
’
s house, they heard
voices, and saw Silky and Moon-Face undoing
parcels of shopping.

"Oh—so you went shopping, did you?" said
J
o. "We wondered where you were."

"Yes, we took the little red squirrel shopping
and bought him a new jersey,"
said Moon-Face.
"He
’
s terribly pleased. I say
—
did you go up into
the Land of Secrets? Did you find out anything?"

"Yes, we found out Watzisname
’
s real name,"
said
Jo
.

"Oh,
good
!" said Silky. "I
’
ve always wanted to
know it. What is it,
J
o?"

J
o wrinkled up his forehead. "I can
’
t remember,"
he said.

"What
’
s the good of a name nobody remembers?" said Watzisname, gloomily. "It
’
s just
stupid."

"You tell me it, and I
’
l
l
promise to remember,"
said Silky. "I
’
ll write it down and learn it by
heart, Watzisname, really I will."

Watzisname said nothing. Silky gave him a little
poke. "Go on, Watzisname. Tell me your name
—
slowly, now, so that I can say it after you."

Watzisname shook his head, and suddenly
looked miserable. "I—I can
’
t tell you my name,"
he said at last. "I
’
ve forgotten it myself! It was
such a fine name t
oo. You
’
ll have to call me Wat
zisname just the same as before. I expect that
’
s
why people
did
begin to call me Watzisname,
because nobody could ever remember my real
name."

"Well, it
’
s a pity to think that the only Secret
we found out has been forgotten already!" said
J
o. "Though I suppose Connie found out a
Secret she wasn
’
t
s
upposed to know and got
punished for it. Moon-Face, Connie can
’
t speak.
Isn
’
t it awful?"

"Good thing," said Saucepan, hearing unexpectedly. "Never says anything really sensible."

Connie glared at him and opened her mouth to
say something sharp. But no words came.

Silky looked at her in sympathy.

"Poor Connie! Whatever can we do about it?
We
’
l
l
have to wait till the Land of Enchantments
comes, and then go up and find someone who can
take the spell away.
I
don
’
t know how to make
you better."

"Why bother?" said Saucepan, quite enjoying
Connie
’
s anger at being unable to answer him
back. "Why bother? She
’
ll be much nicer if she
can
’
t say a word. We shan
’
t know she
’
s there!"

"Never mind, Connie," said Bessie, seeing that
Connie looked really upset. "As soon as the Land
of Enchantments comes, we
’
ll take you there and
have you put right!"