Enid Blyton (23 page)

XXIII

"We
’
d better get back up the Tree, and tell Silky
and the others we
’
ve failed," said Moon-Face,
gloomily. "It looks to me as if the poor old
Faraway Tree is done for. It
’
s very, very sad."

They all went back up the Tree, and the brownies
returned to their homes in the wood. Silky and
the girls were very
upset to hear that the rabbits
hadn
’
t been able to get through the floors of the
caves.

"Heavy stone there," said
J
o. "No one could
burrow through that, or even move it. It
’
s bad
luck. There
’
s no other way of getting down to
the caves at all."

Everyone sat and thought. Nobody could think
of any plan at all. "It isn
’
t that we
’
re stupid,"
said Moon-Face. "It
’s
just that it
’s
impossible."

"I suppose we couldn
’
t ask anyone in the Land
of Know-All for help, could we?" said Dame
Washalot, at last.

"The Land of Know-All! Is that up at the
top
of the Tree now?" said
Moon-Face
, looking
excited.

"Yes. Didn
’
t you know?" said Dame W
ashalot.
"I
went up there this morning to f
ind out how to
do my washing in cold water, when I can
’
t get
enough hot. I found out all right, too. There
’
s
nothing they don
’
t know up there!"

"Gracious! Perhaps they know how to get down
into the caves then!" said Moon-Face. "Or maybe
they could give us a key to open the doors."

"That wouldn
’
t be much use," said
Jo
. "You
may be sure the Trolls have put guards at the
doors in case we thought of that. They are well
armed, too. It is only by taking them completely
by surprise that we could defeat them."

"That
’s
true," said Moon-Face. "Well, what
about
going up into the Land of Know-
All? We
might get some good advice. There are only five
Know-Alls, and between them they know everything."

"Oh, do let
’
s go now, this very minute!" said
Connie, impatiently.

"All right, we will," said
J
o, and he got up.

"I
’
ll go and finish my washing," said Dame
Washalot. "And hadn
’
t you better see
if your
cakes are burning, Mrs. Saucepan? You left some
in the oven."

"My goodness, so I did," said old Mrs. Saucepan,
and climbed quickly down the tree.

The rest of them wanted to go into the Land of
Know-All, even the Angry Pixie, who didn
’
t
often go into any of the strange Lands.

They all went up the topmost branch and
climbed up the yellow ladder through the cloud.
They cam
e out into the Land of Know-All.

It was a small Land, so small that it looked as
if anyone could fall off the edge quite easily here
and there. In the very middle of it, on a steep hill,
rose a magnificent glittering palace, with so many
thousands of windows that it looked like one big
shining diamond. From the middle of the palace
rose a tremendously tall tower.

The children and the others went up two
hundred steps to the great front door. Then they
saw about a thousand servants lining the hall
inside, all dressed in blue and silver. They all
bowed to the little company at once, looking like
a blue and silver cornfield blown by the wind, so
gracefully did they bow at the same moment
together.

"What is your wish?" said the thousand servants,
sounding like the wind whispering.

"We want to see the Know-Alls," said Moon
-
Face, feeling rather awed.

"They are in the Tall Tower," said
the servants,
and bowed again. Then a hundred of them took
the little party to what looked like a small room,
but
which was really a lift. Ninety-
nine servants
bowed them in. One got in with them and pulled a
silver rope. The children and the others gasped
as the lift shot up the tower. It went so very fast.
Up and up and up it went, till the children thought
surely they would land on the moon!

At last the lift slowed down and stopped. The
door slid open. The children saw that they had
come to the top of the Tall Tower. It was
surrounded on all sides by wide windows, and the
children gasped with amazement as they looked
out. Surely they could see the whole world from
those windows! Oceans, seas, lands spread out
on each side of them, and lay glittering in the
brightest sunlight they had ever known.

Then they saw the f
ive Know-Alls. They were
strange, wonderful and peculiar folk, so old that
they had forgotten their youth, so wise that they
knew everything.

Only their calm, mysterious eyes moved in their
old, old faces. One of them spoke, and his voice
came from
very far away—or so it seemed.
"You have come to ask for advice. You want to know how to get into the jewel-caves?"

"How does he kno
w?" whispered Connie to
J
o in amazement.

"Well—he
’
s a Know-
All," said
J
o. "Sh! Don
’
t
talk now. Listen!"

Moon-Face knelt down before the wise Know-All, and spoke earnestly. "The Faraway Tree is
dying. It is because there are Trolls in the
jewe
l
-
caves underground, cutting the roots that
give the great Tree its life. How, oh great and wise
Master, can we get down to the caves and stop
them?"

The wise Know-All shut his gleaming,
mysterious eyes as if he were thinking or
remembering something. He opened them again
and looked at Moon-Face.

"There is only one way. Your Slippery-Slip
goes to the foot of the tree, down its centre. Bore
down still farther, from your Slippery-Slip, and you
will at last come out right under the Tree, in the
centre of its tangled roots. Then you can surprise
the Trolls and overcome them."

Everyone looked thrilled. Of
course! If only
they could make the Slippery-Slip go deeper down
and down and down, they would come out in the
middle of the roots! It was a marvellous idea.
"
Thank you, oh great and wise Master," said
Moon-Face, joyfully. "Thank you! We will go
straight away and follow your advice!"

The little party bowed to the five strange
Know-
Alls, w
ith their calm, mysterious eyes.
Then they stepped into the lift, and the little
servant pulled on the silver rope.

"Oh!" gasped everyone as the lift moved
swiftly downwards. It really seemed as if it was
falling! It slowed down at last, and the children
and everyone else walked out into the vast hall.

Down the steps they went, and back to the hole
in the cloud, feeling excited and a little queer.
The five Know-Alls always made people feel
strange.

"Well," said
Moon-Face
, when they were safely
in his curved room, and were beginning to feel a
little more ordinary. "Well, now we know what
to do. The next thing is—how do we bore a hole
down through the rest of the Tree to its roots?
I haven
’
t any tools big enough to do that."

"You know," said Silky, suddenly, "you know,
Moon-Face
, there is a caterpillar belonging to a
Goat-Moth, that bores tunnels in the trunks of
trees. I know, because I
’
ve seen one. It had made
quite a burrow in the wood of the tree, and it
lived there by itself till it was time to come out
and turn into a chrysalis. Then, of course, it
changed into a big goat-
moth."

"You don
’
t surely think that a little caterpillar
could burrow down this big Tree!" said
J
o.

"Well, if Moon-Face could get about twelve of
these goat-moth caterpillars, and could make
them ever so much bigger, they could easily eat
their way down, and make a way for us," said
Silky.

Moon-Face slapped his knee hard and made
everyone jump. "Silky
’s
got the right idea!" he
said. "That
’
s just what we will do! We can easily
make the caterpillars large. Then they can burrow
down fast. Silky, you
’
re really very clever."

Silky blushed. It wasn
’
t often she had better
ideas than Moon-Face, but this time she really
had thought of something good.

"Now we
’
ll have to f
ind out where a
ny goat-moth caterpillars are,"
said
Moon-Face
. "What
tree do they usually burrow in, Silky?"

"There is one in the big elm-tree, and two or
three in the willows by the stream, and some in
the poplars at the other side of the wood," said
Silky. "I
’
ll go and get them, if you like. They
smell a bit horrid, you know."

"Yes, like goats, don
’
t they?" said Watzisname.
"They
’
re funny creatures. They live for three
years in the trunks of trees, eating the wood!
Funny taste, some creatures have. Go and get
some, Silky. Take a box with you."

Silky sped off on her errand, taking a big box
from Moon-Face
’
s curved cupboard.
J
o looked at
the time.

"I really think we ought to go, Moon-Face,"
he said. "It
’s
getting awfully late. I suppose Silky
will bring back the caterpillars soon, and you
’
l
l
change them to enormous ones and set them to
work tonight? We
’
ll come back
tomorrow
morning and see how you
are getting on."

“I shall rub the caterpillars with growing-magic
when Silky brings them," said
Moon-Face
, "but
it will take them all night to grow to the right size.
I shall probably set them to work after breakfast,
Jo
; so come then."

J
o and the girls slid down the Slippery-Slip,
shot out of the trap-door and made their way home.
They were tired, but very thrilled. How they hoped
they could defeat those Trolls, and perhaps save
the dear old Faraway Tree!

"We
’
ll go back
tomorrow
, first thing after
breakfast," said
J
o. "I expect old
Moon-Face
will
have worked out some brilliant plan by then. I
only hope we punish those bad Trolls properly.
Fancy not caring if they killed the Faraway Tree
or not!"