Enid Blyton (18 page)

XVIII

Mother was surprised to find that Connie couldn
’
t
speak, and very much alarmed.

"We
’
d better take her to the doctor," she said.

"Oh no, Mother, that
’
s no use," said
J
o. "It
’
s
a spell that Mrs. Hidden put on Connie for
hearing something she shouldn
’
t have listened to.
Only an
other spell can put her right."

"When the Land of Enchantments comes we
will take Connie there, and see if we can find
someone who will give her her voice back again,"
said Bessie.

"She
’
l
l have to be patient till then," said Fanny.
But Connie wasn
’
t patient. She kept opening her
mouth to try and speak, but she couldn
’
t say a
word.

"Connie shou
l
dn
’
t be so curious," said
J
o. "It
’
s
her own fault she
’
s like this. Perhaps it will teach
her a lesson."

Three days
went by, and no news came from
the Tree-
Folk. Then old Mrs. Saucepan arrived,
with a basket full of lovely new-made cakes for the
children
’
s mother.

"I have heard so much about you," she said to
their mother, smiling all over her apple-cheeked
face. "I felt I must come and call on you, Madam,
and bring you a few of my cakes. I have started a
shop up the Tree, near Dame Washalot, and
should be so pleased to serve you, if I could."

"Stop and have tea with us, and we
’
ll try your
cakes," said Mother at once. She liked the little
old lady very much. So Mrs. Saucepan stopped
and had tea. She shook her head when she saw
that Connie still could not speak.

"A pity," she said. "A great pity. It just doesn
’
t
do to poke your nose into other people
’
s affairs.
I hope the poor child will be put right soon. The
Land of Enchantments will be at the top of the
Tree
tomorrow
."

Everyone sat up. "What, so soon?" said
J
o.
"That
’
s
a bit of luck for Connie."

"It is," said old Mrs. Saucepan. "Still, there are
plenty of lands where she might get her voice put
right. You
’
ll have to be just a bit careful in the
Land of Enchantments, though. It
’
s
so easy to get
enchanted there, without knowing it."

"W
hatever do you mean?" said Mother, in
alarm. "I don
’
t think I want the children to go
there, if there is any danger."

"I
’
ll send Saucepan with them," said the old
lady. "I
’
ll give him a powerful spell, which will
get anyone out of an enchantment if they get into
it by mistake. You needn
’
t worry."

"Oh, that
’
s all right then," said
J
o. "I didn
’
t
want to get enchanted, and have to stay up there
for the rest of my life
!"

"You must
remember one or two things," said
Mrs.
Saucepan. "
Do
n
’
t
step into a ring drawn on
the ground in chalk. Don
’
t stroke any black cats
with green eyes. And don
’
t be rude to anyone at
a
ll
."

"We
’
ll remember," said
J
o. "Thank you very
much. Will you tell Saucepan we
’
ll be up the
Tree
tomorrow
, please?"

Old Mrs. Saucepan left after tea, having made
firm friends with Mother, who promised to send
the children once a week to buy new cakes.

"We
’
ll go to the Land of Enchantments tomorrow," said
Jo
. "Cheer up, Connie—you
’
ll soon
get your voice back!"

The next day was very rainy, and Mother didn
’
t
want the children to go up the Tree. But Connie
’
s
eyes filled with tears,
and Mother saw how badly
she longed to go.

"Well, put on your macs," she said, "and take
umbrellas. Then you
’
ll be all right. It may not be
raining in the Land of Enchantm
ents. And do
remember what Mrs. Saucepan said,
J
o, and be
very careful."

"We
’
ll be careful," said
J
o, putting on his old
mackintosh. "No treading in chalk rings—no
stroking of black cats with green eyes—and no
rudeness from anyone!"

Off they went. The Tree was very slippery to
climb, because it was so wet. Somebody had run
a thick rope all the way down it, and the children
were glad to hold on to it as they went up the Tree.
The Angry, Pixie was in a temper that morning
because the rain had come in at his window and
made puddles on the floor. He was scooping up
the water and throwing it out of the window.

"Look out!" said
Jo
. "Go round the other side
of the Tree. The Angry Pixie
’
s in a rage."

Silky was not at home. Dame Washalot for once
in a way was doing no washing, because it really
was too wet to dry it. So she was helping Mrs.
Saucepan to bake cakes on her little stove inside
the Tree. The children got a hot bun each.

Saucepan and Silky were at Moon-Face
’
s house
waitin
g for the children to come. "W
here
’
s
Watzisname?" said
Jo
.

"Gone to sleep," said
Moon-Face
. "Didn
’
t you
see him on the way up? Oh no—he would be
indoors on a day like this, of course. He sat up
half the night trying to remember his real name
and write it down so that he wouldn
’
t forget it
again. So he was very sleepy this morning. And
he didn
’
t remember his name of course."

"
Is the Land of Enchantments up there?" said
J
o, nodding his head towards the top of the tree.

"It must be," said Silky. "I
’
ve met two witches
and two enchanters coming down the Tree
today
.
They don
’
t live here, so they must have come down
from the Land of Enchantments."

"They come down to get the scarlet-spotted
toadstools that grow in the Enchanted Wood,"
said Saucepan. "They are very magic, you know,
and can be used in hundreds of spells."

"There goes an old wizard or enchanter now,"
said Silky, as someone in a tall pointed hat went
down past Moon-Face
’
s door. "Sha
l
l we go now?
I
’
m sure Connie will be glad to get her voice
back."

Connie nodded. But she suddenly remembered
what Mrs. Saucepan had said—that she would
give Saucepan a very powerful spell, so that if
any of them got c
aught in an enchantment, Sauce
pan could set them free by using his spell.

But she couldn
’
t say all this, of course. So she
pulled out the note
book she had been using for
messages and scribbled something on one of the
pages. She showed it to
J
o.

"What about the spell that Saucepan was going
to take with him?"

"Oh my goodness, yes," said
J
o, and he turned
to Saucepan. "Did your mother give you a powerful
spell to take with you, Saucepan, in case we get
caught in an enchantment?"

"My gracious!" said Saucepan, beginning to
look all round him in a hurry. "Where did I put
it? Silky, have you seen it? What did I do with it?"

"You really are a silly, Saucepan," said Silky,
lo
oking everywhere. "You know it
’
s a spell that
can move about. It
’
s no use putting it down for a
minute, because it will only move off somewhere."

The spell was found at
last. It was a funny round red spell, with little things that stuck out all round
it rather like spiders
’
legs. It could move about
with these, and had walked off Moon-Face
’
s
mantelpiece, and settled itself down at the edge
of the Slippery-Slip.

"Look at that!" said Saucepan, snatching it up
quickly. "Another inch and it would have been
down the Slippery-Slip and gone forever. Wherever
shall I put it for safety?"

"In a kettle, and put the lid on," said
J
o. So into
a kettle went the spell, and the lid was put on as
tightly as could be.

"It
’
s safe now," said Saucepan. "Come on—up
we go—and be careful, everyone
!"

They all left their umbrellas and macs behind,
and up into the Land of Enchantments they went.
It wasn
’
t a twilight Land like the Land of Secrets;
it was a land of strange colours and lights and
shadows. Everything shone and shimmered and
moved. Nothing stayed the same for more than a
moment. It was beautiful and strange.

Th
ere were curious little shops everywhere
where witches, enchanters and goblins cried their
wares. There was
a shining palace that looked as
if it was made of glass, and towered up into the
sky. The Enchanter Mighty-One lived there. He
was head of the whole Land.

There were magic cloaks for sale, that could
make anyone invisible at once. How
J
o longed to
buy one! There were silver wands full of magic.
There were enchantments for everything!

"Spell to turn your enemy into a spider," cried
a black goblin. "Spell to enchant a bird to your
hand! Spell to understand the whispering of the
trees!"

The spells and enchantments were very
expensive. Nobody could possibly buy them, for
no one in the little company had more than a few
pence in their pockets. Even the cheapest spell
cost a sack of gold!

"Oh, look at all those pixies dancing in a ring
and singing as they dance!" said Bessie, turning
her head as she saw a party of bright-winged pixies
capering in a ring together.

She went over to watch them, and they smiled
at her and held out their hands. "Come and dance
to
o, little girl!" they cried.

Bessie didn
’
t see that they were all dancing
inside a ring drawn on the ground in white chalk!
In a trice she was in the ring too, linking hands
with the pixies and dancing round and round!

The others watched, smiling. Then
J
o gave a
cry of horror, and pointed to the ground.

"Bessie
’
s gone into a ring! Bessie, come out,
quick!"

Bessie looked alarmed. She dropped the hands
of the pixies, and came to the edge of the ring. But
alas, poor Bessie cou
l
dn
’
t jump over it! She was a
prisoner in the magic ring.

"Saucepan, get out the spell at once, the one
your mother gave you!" cried
J
o. "Quick, quick!
Before anything happens to Bessie. She may be
getting enchanted."

Saucepan took the lid off the kettle into which
he had put the Spell. He put in his hand and
groped round. He groped and he groped, an
alarmed look coming on his face.

"Saucepan, be
quick
!
" said
Jo
.

"The Spell has gone
!
" said Saucepan dolefully.
"Look in the kettle,
J
o—the Spell isn
’
t there. I
can
’
t get Bessie out of the magic ring!"