Magic Faraway Tree (2 page)

 

   
"Come on," said Bessie. "We'll come to where the Owl lives soon.
He's a friend of Silky's, and sometimes brings us notes from her."
The owl was fast asleep. He usually only woke up at night-time. Dick peered in
at his window and saw the big owl asleep on a bed. He couldn't help laughing.

 

   
"I am enjoying all this," he said to Fanny. "It's quite an adventure."
The children climbed higher, and came to a broad branch. "There's a dear
little yellow door, with a knocker and a bell!" cried Dick in surprise, staring
at the door set neatly in the trunk of the tree. "Who lives there?"
"Our friend Silky," said Jo. "Ring the bell and she'll open the
door."
Dick rang the little bell and heard it go ting-a-ling inside. Footsteps pattered
to the door. It opened, and a pretty little elf looked out. Her hair hung round
her face like a golden mist.

 

   
"Hallo, Silky!" cried Jo. "We've come to see you -and we've brought
our cousin, Dick, who has come to live with us. He's having a lovely time exploring
the Faraway Tree."
"How do you do, Dick?" said Silky, holding out
her small hand. Dick shook hands shyly. He thought Silky was the loveliest creature
he had ever seen.

 

   
"I'll come with you if you are going to visit Moon-Face," said Silky.
"I want to borrow borne jam from him. I'll take some Pop Biscuits with me,
and we'll have them in Moon-Face's house."
"Whatever are Pop Biscuits?" asked Dick, in surprise.

 

   
"Wait and see!" said Jo with a grin.

 

   
They all went up the tree again. Soon they heard a funny noise. "That's old
Mister Watzisname snoring," said Jo. "Look-there he is!"
Sure enough, there he was, sitting in a comfortable chair, his hands folded over
his big tummy, and his mouth wide open.

 

   
"How I'd love to pop something into his open mouth!" said Dick at once.

 

   
"Yes, that's what everybody feels," said Jo. "Moon-Face and Silky
once popped some acorns in-didn't you, Silky? And Watzisname was very angry. He
threw Moon-Face up through the hole in the cloud, and landed him into the strange
country there."
"Where's the old Saucepan Man?" asked Bessie. "He is usually with
his friend, Mister Watzisname."
"I expect he has gone to see Moon-Face," said Silky. "Come on.
We'll soon be there."
As they went up the tree, Silky suddenly stopped. "Listen," she said.
They all listened. They heard a curious noise-"slishy-sloshy-slishy-sloshy"-coming
nearer and nearer.

 

   
"Ifs Dame Washalot's dirty water coming!" yelled Jo. "Get under
a branch, everyone."
Dick wasn't as quick as the others. They all hid under big boughs- but poor old
Dick wasn't quite under his when the water came pouring down the tree. It tumbled
on to his head and went down his neck. Dick was very angry. The others were sorry,
but they thought it was very funny, too.

 

   
"Next time I climb this tree I'll wear a bathing-dress," said Dick,
trying to wipe himself dry. "Really, I think somebody ought to stop Dame
Washalot pouring her water away like that. How disgusting!"
"Oh, you'll soon get used to it, and dodge the water easily," said Jo.
On they all went up the tree again, and at last came almost to the top. There
they saw a door in the trunk of the tree, and from behind the door came the sound
of voices.

 

   
"That's Moon-Face and the old Saucepan Man," said Jo, and he banged
on the door. It flew open and Moon-Face looked out. His big round face beamed
with smiles when he saw who his visitors were.

 

   
"Hallo, hallo, hallo," he said. "Come along in. The Saucepan Man
is here."
Everyone went into Moon-Face's curious round room. There was a large hole in the
middle of it, which was the beginning of the slippery-slip, the wonderful slide
that went round and round down the inside of the tree, right to the bottom. Moon-Face's
furniture was arranged round the inside of
the tree trunk, and it was all curved to fit the curve of the tree. His bed was
curved, the chairs were curved, the sofa and the stove. It was very queer.

 

   
Dick stared at it all in the greatest surprise. He really felt as if he must be
in a dream. He saw somebody very queer sitting on the sofa.

 

   
It was the old Saucepan Man. He really was a very curious sight. He was hung all
round with saucepans and kettles, and he wore a saucepan for a hat. You could
hardly see anything of him except his face, hands and feet, because he was so
hung about with saucepans and things. He made a tremendous clatter whenever he
moved.

 

   
"Who's that?" he said, looking at Dick.

 

   
"This is Dick," said Jo, and Dick went forward to shake hands.

 

   
The Saucepan Man was very deaf, though he did sometimes hear quite well. But he
nearly always heard everything wrong, and sometimes he was very funny.

 

   
"Chick?" he said. "Well, that's a funny name for a boy."
"Not Chick, but DICK!" shouted Moon-Face.

 

   
"Stick?" said the Saucepan Man, shaking hands. "Good morning, Stick.
I hope you are well."
Dick giggled. Moon-Face got ready to shout again, but Silky quickly handed him
her bag of Pop Biscuits. "Don't get cross with him," she said. "Look
-let's all have some Pop Biscuits. They are fresh made to-day. And, oh, Moon-Face,
do tell us -what land is at the top of the Faraway Tree to-day?"
"The Land of Topsy-Turvy," said Moon-Face. "But I don't advise
you to go there. It's most uncomfortable."
"Oh, do let's," cried Dick. "Can't we just peep at it?"
"We'll see," said Jo, giving him a Pop Biscuit. "Eat this, Dick."
Pop Biscuits were lovely. Dick put one in his mouth and bit it. It went pop! at
once -and he found his mouth full of sweet honey from the middle of the biscuit.

 

   
"Delicious!" he said. "I'll have another. I say, Jo -DO let's take
our lunch up into the land of Topsy-Turvy. Oh, do, do!"
The Land of Topsy-Turvy
"What is Topsy-Turvy Land like?" asked Jo, taking another Pop Biscuit.

 

   
"Never been there," said Moon-Face. "But I should think it's quite
safe, really. It's only just come there, so it should stay for a while. We could
go up and see what it's like and come down again if we don't like it. Silky and
I and Saucepan will come with you, if you like."
Moon-Face turned to the Saucepan Man, who was enjoying his fifth Pop Biscuit.

 

   
"Saucepan, we're going up the ladder," he said. "Are you coming?"
"Humming?" said Saucepan, looking all round as if he thought there might
be bees about, "No, I didn't hear any humming."
"I said, are you COMING?" said Moon-Face.

 

   
"Oh, coming?' said Saucepan. "Of course I'm coming. Are we going to
take our lunch?"
"Yes," said Moon-Face, going to a curved door that opened on to a tiny
larder. "I'll see what I've got. Tomatoes. Plums. Ginger snaps. Ginger beer.
I'll bring them all."
He put them into a basket. Then they all went out of the funny, curved room on
to the big branch outside. Moon-Face shut his door.

 

   
Jo led the way up to the very top of the Faraway Tree. Then suddenly Dick gave
a shout of astonishment.

 

   
"Look!" he cried. "There's an enormous white cloud above and around
us. Isn't it queer!"
Sure enough, a vast white cloud swam above them -but just near by was a hole right
through the cloud!
"That's where we go, up that hole," said Jo. "See that branch that
goes up the hole? Come on!"
They all went up the last and topmost branch of the Faraway Tree. It went up and
up through the purple hole in the cloud. At the very end of the branch was a little
ladder.

 

   
Jo climbed the ladder-and suddenly his head poked out into the Land of Topsy-Turvy!
Then one by one all the others followed-and soon all seven of them stood in the
curious land.

 

   
Dick was not as used to strange lands as were the others. He stood and stared,
with his eyes so wide open that it really seemed as if they were going to drop
out of his head!
And, indeed, it was a strange sight he saw. Every house was upside down, and stood
on its chimneys. The trees were upside down, their heads buried in the ground
and their roots in the air. And, dear me, the people walked upside-down, too!
"They are walking on their hands, with their legs in the air!" said
Jo, "Goodness, what a queer thing to do!"
Everyone stared at the folk of Topsy-Turvy Land. They got along very quickly on
their hands, and often stopped to talk to one another, chattering busily. Some
of them had been shopping, and carried their baskets on one foot.

 

   
"Let's go and peep inside a house and see what it's like, all topsy-turvy,"
said Jo. So they set off to the nearest house. It looked most peculiar standing
on its chimneys. No smoke came out of them-but smoke came out of a window near
the top.

 

   
"How do we get in?" said Bessie. They watched a Topsy-Turvy man walk
on his hands to another house. He jumped in at the nearest window, going up a
ladder first.

 

   
The children looked for the ladder that entered the house they were near. They
soon found it. They went up it to a window and peeped inside.

 

   
"Gracious!" said Jo. "Everything really is upside down in it-the
chairs and tables, and
everything. How uncomfortable it must be!"
An old lady was inside the house. She was sitting upside down in an upside-down
chair and looked very peculiar. She was angry when she saw the children peeping
in.

 

   
She clapped her hands, and a tall man, walking on his hands, came running in from
the next room.

 

   
"Send those rude children away," shouted the old woman. The tall man
hurried to the window on his hands, and the children quickly slid down the ladder,
for the man looked rather fierce.

 

   
"It's a silly land, I think," said Jo. "I vote we just have our
lunch and then leave this place. I wonder why everything is topsy-turvy."
"Oh, a spell was put on everything and everybody," said Moon-Face, "and
in a trice everything was topsy-turvy. Look-wouldn't that be a good place to sit
and eat our lunch in?"
It was under a big oak tree whose roots stood high in the air. Jo and Moon-Face
set out the lunch. It looked very good.

 

   
"There's plenty for everybody," said Jo. "Have a sandwich, Silky?"
"Saucepan, have a plum?"
"Crumb?" said Saucepan, in surprise. "Is that all you can spare
for me-a crumb?"
"PLUM, PLUM, PLUM!" said Moon-Face, pushing a ripe one into the Saucepan
Man's hands.

 

   
"Oh, plum," said Saucepan. "Well, why didn't you say so?'
Everybody giggled. They all set to work to eat a good lunch.

 

   
In the middle of it, Jo happened to look round, and he saw something surprising.

 

   
It was a policeman coming along, walking on his hands, of course.

 

   
"Look what's coming," said Jo with a laugh. Everyone looked. Moon-Face
went pale.

 

   
"I don't like the look of him," he said. "Suppose he's come to
lock us up for something? We couldn't get away down the Faraway Tree before this
land swung away from the top!"
The policeman came right up to the little crowd under the tree.

 

   
"Why aren't you Topsy-Turvy?" he asked in a stern voice. "Don't
you know that the rule in
this land is that everything and everyone has to be upside-down?"
"Yes, but we don't belong to this silly land," said Jo. "And if
you were sensible, you'd make another rule, saying that everybody must be the
right way up. You've just no idea how silly you look, policeman, walking on your
hands!"
The policeman went red with anger. He took a sort of stick from his belt and tapped
Jo on the head with it.

 

   
"Topsy-Turvy!" he said. "Topsy-Turvy!"
And to Jo's horror he had to turn himself upside-down at once! The others stared
at poor Jo, standing on his hands, his legs in the air.

 

   
"Oh, golly!" cried Jo. "I can't eat anything properly now because
I need my hands to walk with. Policeman, put me right again."
"You are right now," said the policeman, and walked solemnly away on
his hands.

 

   
"Put Jo the right way up," said Dick. So everyone tried to get him over
so that he was the right way up again. But as soon as they got his legs down and
his head up, he turned topsy-turvy again. He just couldn't help it, for he was
under a spell.

 

   
A group of Topsy-Turvy people came to watch. They laughed loudly. "Now he
belongs to Topsy-Turvy Land!" they cried. "He'll have to stay here with
us. Never mind, boy -you'll soon get used to it!"
"Take me back to the Faraway Tree," begged Jo, afraid that he really
and truly might be made to stay in this queer land. "Hurry!"
Everyone jumped to their feet. They helped Jo along to where the hole ran down
through the cloud. He wasn't used to walking on his hands and he kept falling
over. They tried their best to make him stand upright, but he couldn't. The spell
wouldn't let him.

 

   
"It will be difficult to get him down through the hole," said Dick.
"Look-there it is. I'd better go down first and see if I can help him. You
others push him through as carefully as you can. He'll have to go upside down,
I'm afraid."
It was very difficult to get Jo through the hole, because his hands and head had
to go first. Moon-Face held his legs to guide him. Dick held his shoulders as
he came down the ladder, so that he wouldn't fall.

 

   
At last they were all seven through the hole in the clouds, and were on the broad
branch outside Moon-Face's house. Jo held on to the branch with his hands, his
legs were in the air.

 

   
"Moon-Face! Silky! Can't you possibly take this spell away?" groaned
he. "It's dreadful."
"Silky, what land is coming to the top of the Faraway Tree next?" asked
Moon-Face. "Have you heard?'
"I think ifs the Land of Spells," said Silky. "It should come to-morrow.
But I'm not really sure."
"Oh, well, if it's the Land of Spells, we could easily get a spell from there
to put Jo right," said Moon-Face, beaming. "Jo, you must stay the night
with me and wait for the Land of Spells
tomorrow. The others can go home and tell what has happened."
"All right," said Jo. "I can't possibly climb up the tree again
if I'm upside down-so I'll just have to wait here. Mother will never believe it,
though, when the others tell her why I don't go home. Still, it can't be helped."
They all went into Moon-Face's house. Jo stood on a chair, upside down. The others
sat about and talked. Dick was sorry for Jo, but he couldn't help feeling a bit
excited. Goodness -if this was the sort of adventure that Jo, Bessie and Fanny
had, what fun things were going to be!
The others began telling him all the adventures they had had. Silky made some
tea, and went down the tree to fetch some more Pop Biscuits. When it was half-past
five Bessie said they must go.