Enid Blyton (4 page)

A MARVELLOUS AFTERNOON

JACKIE BROWN was so excited that he could hardly keep still. He kept hopping about, first on one foot and then on another, till his mother told him to go out into the garden and hop there, on the smooth green grass.

"I shall be a grass-hopper then!" said Jackie. "Oh, Mother, I'm so excited! To-morrow I'm going to see the conjurer at the flower-show. There's a great big tent there, and for sixpence every one can go in and see the conjurer. I've got sixpence and I'm going!"

"You've told me that about twenty

times already!" said his mother, laughing. "Go along out and play, and just think of something else for a change!"

But Jackie couldn't think of anything else. He had seen a conjurer once before, and the magic things he did were so wonderful that the little boy had never forgotten them. Fancy, he even made a rabbit come out of an empty glove! Jackie had known it was empty, because it was his own glove that he had lent to the conjurer!

"And to-morrow the conjurer will do lots more magic!" said the little boy happily. "Oh, shan't I enjoy it!"

He saw Eileen and Dick next door, and he climbed over the wall to play with them. Dick had a new kite and he was trying to fly it. It was a lovely one.

The wind suddenly took it up very high, and Dick squealed with delight. "Look at it!" he shouted. "It's flying like a bird!"

But it didn't fly like a bird for long. The wind dropped and down came the kite—and it fell on top of the greenhouse! Dick tugged it. It was stuck tightly.

"Oh, bother!" he said. "It's stuck! What shall I do?"

Jackie took the string and pulled gently. It was no use, the kite was held fast by something. "Wait till the gardener comes, and he'll get a ladder and get it down for you," he said.

"I did want to fly it this afternoon with Uncle Harry," said Dick. "He promised to take me to the hills."

"Well, perhaps I can get it for you if the ladder isn't too heavy to carry," said Jackie. He found the ladder, and the three children carried it carefully to the greenhouse. They set it up at the back, and Jackie went up the rungs.

He came to the kite. The string was wound round the spike at the top of the

greenhouse. Jackie pulled hard, and then let go the top of the ladder to undo the string.

The ladder wobbled—the ladder fell! Crash! Jackie and the ladder reached the ground together! Poor Jackie! He banged his head so hard on the ground that for a moment he couldn't get up. He felt queer. Then he sat up and held his head.

"You've cut your head on a stone," said Eileen, frightened. "It's bleeding. Come and show my mother, quickly."

It was such a bad cut that Jackie had have his head carefully bathed and bound up in a bandage. The little boy had had a bad shock, and his mother called in the doctor.

"The cut will soon heal," said kind Doctor Henry. "But he must be kept very quiet indeed for a day or two, Mrs. Brown, to get over the shock. Put him to bed."

"Oh, I can't go to bed—I can't, I can't!" wept poor Jackie. "I want to see the conjurer to-morrow at the flower-show. Oh, please let me go!"

"I'm afraid you wouldn't enjoy yourself a bit if you went all the way to the flower-show and back, with that dreadful aching head of yours," said Doctor Henry. "Be a good boy and lie quietly, and you'll soon be right. The conjurer will come again next year, I expect."

"But next year is so far away!" wept Jackie, more disappointed than he had ever

been in his life before. "My head feels all right, really it does. Oh, I do want to go and see the conjurer! I'm so unhappy! All I did was to try and help Dick get his kite down—and now I've got a most unfair punishment, because I'm not to have my treat."

"It's very bad luck, old man," said the doctor. "Very bad luck. But these things do sometimes happen, you know."

"It shouldn't have happened when I was doing somebody a good turn," wept Jackie.

"No, it shouldn't," said the doctor. "You deserved a better reward than this!"

Poor Jackie! He was put to bed and there he had to stay. Dick and Eileen knew all about it next day, and they were very sad indeed. "Just because he tried to get down my kite!" said Dick gloomily. "It isn't fair."

A small fat man, with queer big ears and bright green eyes like a cat's, was passing by when Dick said these words. He stopped at once.

"What isn't fair?"he asked.

Dick told him all about Jackie, and how he had hurt himself doing a kind

deed, and now couldn’t go to see the marvellous conjurer.

"He's very unhappy about it," said Eileen. "We've sent him in some books to read, and I've lent him my best jigsaw puzzle—but I'm sure he'll cry all the afternoon when the time comes for the flower-show."

"Too bad, too bad" said Mr. Pink-Whistle—because, as you have guessed, he was the little fat man! "I can't bear things like this, and I just won't have them. I shall put this right somehow!"

The two children stared in surprise at Mr. Pink-Whistle. There was something very queer about him—and in a minute there was something queerer still, because he just simply wasn't there! He had vanished before their very eyes!

"Where's he gone?" said Eileen in great surprise.

You would be surprised to know where he had gone! He had crept up to a rabbit-hole in the field nearby and had made a noise like a nice juicy carrot. Up came a tiny fat baby-rabbit—and Mr. Pink-Whistle caught it and put it into his pocket. Then he went back to Jackie's house. Nobody could see him, of course. He climbed up a pipe and looked in at a window.

In the bedroom there was a small boy lying in bed with his head bandaged up, and tears rolling down his white cheeks. It was Jackie, feeling very unhappy because it was the afternoon of the flower-show and he couldn't go to see the conjurer.

Mr. Pink-Whistle sighed. He hated to see anyone unhappy. He climbed quietly in at the window and stood looking at Jackie.

"Hallo!"he said suddenly.

"Hallo!" said Jackie in surprise, looking all round to see where the voice came

from.   There wasn't anyone he could see at all.

"I'm a conjurer, come to do a few tricks for you," said Mr. Pink-Whistle.

"Good gracious!" said Jackie, astonished. "But where are you? I can't see you!"

"Well, you see, I'm so magic that I'm invisible at present," said Mr. Pink-Whistle. "Now just tell me a few things you'd like to hop from the mantelpiece on to your bed, and they'll come!"

Jackie giggled. It was funny to think of things hopping from the mantel pieceto his bed.

"I'd like the clock to come," he said. At once the clock seemed to jump from the mantelpiece and land on Jackie's bed! Of course, it was really Mr. Pink-Whistle carrying it, but as Jackie couldn't see him, it looked as if the clock came by itself!

Then the china pig flew through the air and back again. The coal-scuttle did a little jigging dance round the room, all by itself—though, of course, it was really Mr. Pink-Whistle carrying it and jigging it about. But it did look so very funny!

Then Jackie's teddy-bear stood on the rail at the foot of his bed and danced a comical dance, sticking his legs out just as if he were doing steps! Jackie laughed till he cried. He couldn't see Mr. Pink-Whistle's hands holding the bear. He thought the bear really was doing it!

"Now ask any of your toys to speak to you, and hear them talk!" cried Mr.

Pink-Whistle, thoroughly enjoying himself. It was so lovely to make somebody happy.

"Well—I'd like my old golliwog in that corner to say something to me," said Jackie, sitting up in bed.

Mr. Pink-Whistle, quite unseen, walked to where the golly was sitting. He made it wave its hand to Jackie, and then he talked for it, in a sort of woolly, golliwoggy voice.

"Hallo, Jackie!   Get better soon!"

"Oh, Golly! I never knew you could talk before!" cried Jackie in great excitement. "Horsey, can you talk too?"

His old horse stood in the corner. Mr. Pink-Whistle made it jiggle about, and then he spoke for it. "Nay-hay-hay-hay-ay! Nay-nay-hay-hay-ay! Hurry up and get better and ride on me, Jackie! Nay-hay-hay-hay-ay!"

Jackie was thrilled. "You've got a lovely, neighing voice, Horsey!" he said.

"Oh, what fun this is!    How magic you are, Mr. Conjurer!"

"Pink-Whistle is my name," said Mr. Pink-Whistle politely. "I'm glad you like the magic I do."

"I only wish you could make a rabbit come out of somewhere, like the other conjurer did," sighed Jackie. "That was really most surprising magic."

Mr. Pink-Whistle felt the little baby-rabbit in his pocket, and was delighted that he had thought of bringing it.

"Where would you like a rabbit to come from?" he asked.

"Oh, out of my bed!" said Jackie. "It would be lovely to have a rabbit in bed with me! And Mr. Pink-Whistle, couldn't I see you, please? You sound the kindest, nicest person I've ever heard."

"Do I really?" said Mr. Pink-Whistle, feeling very happy. "I'm glad. Well— you
shall
see me, Jackie. Just look at the clock on the mantelpiece for one whole minute, and at the end of it, look at the foot of your bed. I'll be there!"