Magic Faraway Tree (15 page)

 

   
"Quick!" said Jo. "He'll be back in a minute; but we might just
have time to pop into Moon-Face's house and see if there is any message from him!"
They all crowded into the little round house and hunted hard. Wherever could their
three friends be? It was too puzzling for words!
23.

 

   
The Land of Tempers.

 

   
The four children and Mister Watzisname hunted in every corner of Moon-Face's
house, but there was no message anywhere from their friends.

 

   
"I say-that's old Stamp-a-Lot coming back," said Fanny. "I can
hear him shouting. Let's get out, quick!"
"We can go down the Slippery-slip," said Jo. But he was wrong! The Slippery-slip
was stuffed up with all kinds of things -cushions, boughs, carpets, leaves-and
nobody could possibly get down it. The children were all staring at it, puzzled,
when Sir Stamp-a-Lot came back.

 

   
And, my goodness me, what a rage he was in! He had bumped his head and his back
in falling down the tree, and he had a tremendous bruise on his left cheek. He
came in bellowing like a bull!
"How dare you go into my house!" he stormed. "How dare you pry
into my business! I'll throw you out! I'll throw you out!"
He tried to get hold of Fanny, but Joe and Dick stopped him. "We're five
to one," said Jo. "You might as well keep your temper, or we may do
a bit of throwing out, too. We're going because we can only get fibs out of you,
and it's quite plain that our friends are not here. But you'll feel very sorry
for yourself when we do find our friends and we all come back to tell you what
we think!"
Stamp-a-Lot was furious. He began to throw
things after the children and Watzisname as soon as they had gone out of the house.
Crash! That was the clock. Clatter! That was a picture. Bang! That was a chair!
"Oh, dear! Poor Moon-Face won't find a single thing in his house when he
gets home," said Jo, dodging a soup plate that came flying past his head.
"Now, what shall we do next? Perhaps we had better go down to Silky's house
and see if we can find out anything from Lady Yell-Around or whatever her name
is."
Nobody really wanted to see Lady Yell-Around-but they saw her before they expected
to. As they climbed down to where Dame Washalot lived, they heard a fierce quarrel
going on.

 

   
"You emptied your dirty water down on me just as I was going shopping!"
yelled an angry voice. "You did, you did, you did!"
Then came Dame Washalot's voice. "I did, I did, I did, did I? Well, I'm glad!
If people can't look out for my washing water, it's their own fault!"
"Look how wet I am; look at me!" came the other voice.

 

   
"I don't want to look at you, you're a most unpleasant person," said
Dame Washalot. "Now, look out -here comes some more water!"
There was a sound of splashing -and then squeals and screams as Lady Yell-Around
got the whole lot on top of her. The children began to giggle. They climbed down
to where Dame Washalot was standing by her empty tub, grinning as she looked down
the tree. Lady Yell-Around was hurriedly climbing down, dripping wet, her shopping
basket still in her hand.

 

   
"Dame Washalot-have you heard anything about Silky and the others?"
asked Bessie.

 

   
"Not a thing," said the old dame, "All I know is that that bad-tempered
creature who calls herself Lady Yell-Around has taken Silky's house and says that
Silky said she might have it, because she, Silky, wanted to go and live for a
while in the Land of Tempers-a thing I don't believe at all, for a sweeter-tempered
person than little Silky you could never find!"
"It's awfully funny," said Jo, frowning. "Silky, Moon-Face and
Saucepan disappeared and these two awful people take their places. There's only
one thing to do. We'd better just pop up into the Land of Tempers to see if by
any chance they have gone there."
"Well, that's dangerous," said Dame Washalot. "Once you lose your
temper up there you have to live there for always. And you might easily lose your
temper with the cross lot of people who live there. I can't think how it is that
these two have been able to leave."
"It does sound dangerous," said Jo. "But I think we could all keep
our tempers, you know, if we knew we had to. Anyway, I simply don't know what
else to do. Perhaps it would be best if I just went by myself-then the others
wouldn't have to risk getting into danger."
But the others wouldn't hear of Jo going by himself. "We share in this,"
said Dick. "If you can go to the Land of Tempers and keep your temper, we
can, too. We need only go up and ask if Silky and the others are there. If they're
not, we can at once come away."
"Well, then, we'd better go now," said Jo.

 

   
So up the Tree they went, and then up the ladder through the hole in the cloud
-and into the Land of Tempers.

 

   
Well, it was a funny Land! There was such a lot of shouting and quarrelling going
on -such a smashing of windows by people throwing stones in a rage-such a stamping
and yelling!
"Goodness! I vote we don't stay here long!" said Jo, dodging to miss
a stone that someone had thrown. "Look! Let's ask that man over there if
he has seen Silky or the others."
So he asked him. But he glared at them and answered rudely.

 

   
"Don't come bothering me with your silly questions! Can't you see I'm in
a hurry?"
He pushed Jo roughly, and the little boy at once felt angry. He was just about
to push the man roughly too when Fanny whispered to him:
"Jo! Don't lose your temper! Smile, quickly, smile!"
So Jo made himself smile, for he knew that no one can really lose his temper when
he is smiling. The man glared at him and went away.

 

   
"Well, I can see that it would be jolly difficult to live here without getting
angry almost every minute of the day," said Jo. "Hie, there-do you know
anything about our friends, Silky, Moon-Face and Saucepan?"
The boy he was calling to stopped and put out his tongue at Jo. "Yah!"
he said. "Do you suppose I'm here to answer your questions, funny-face?"
"No, I don't," said Jo. "But I thought perhaps you might be polite
enough to help me."
The boy made a lot of rude faces at all of them and then pulled Fanny's hair very
sharply before he ran off.

 

   
Dick and Jo felt angry, because they saw the tears come into Fanny's eyes. They
began to run after the boy, shouting.

 

   
"Dick! Jo! Come back!" cried Watzisname. "You are losing your tempers
again."
"So we are," said the boys, and they stopped and made themselves look
pleasant.

 

   
Watzisname went to meet them, and as he went two naughty little boys ran by. One
put out his foot, and poor old Watzisname tripped over it, bang, on his nose.
The boys stood and laughed till they cried.

 

   
Watzisname got up, his face one big frown. "I'll teach you to trip me up!"
he cried. "I'll . . ."
"Smile, Watzisname, smile!" cried Bessie. "Don't look like that.
You're losing your temper. Smile!"
And Watzisname had to smile, but it was very, very difficult. The two bad boys
ran off. The children went walking on, telling themselves that they MUST remember,
whatever happened, not to lose their tempers.

 

   
They met a very grand-looking fellow, wearing a gold chain about his shoulders.
They thought he must be one of the head men of the Land of Tempers, and nobody
liked to speak to him. But suddenly Fanny called to him.

 

   
"Do you know where Sir Stamp-a-Lot and Lady Yell-Around are?" she said.
The haughty-looking man stopped in surprise.

 

   
"No, I don't," he said. "They have disappeared, and I am very angry
about it. Do you know where they are?"
"Yes, I do," said Fanny boldly.

 

   
"Where are they, then?" asked the grand man.

 

   
"I'll tell you the answer to your question if you'll answer one of mine,"
said Fanny.

 

   
"Very well," said the man.

 

   
"Have our friends, Silky, Moon-Face and Saucepan come to live here for a
while?" asked Fanny.

 

   
"Certainly not," said the man. "I've never heard of them. No one
is allowed to live here unless they first lose their tempers and then get permission
from me to take a house. And now-tell me where Stamp-a-Lot and Yell-Around are."
"They have escaped from your Land and are living in the Faraway Tree,"
said Fanny.

 

   
"But they are not allowed to do that!" cried the head man. "How
dare they? I didn't even know we were near the Faraway Tree. Wait till I catch
them! I'll shake them till their teeth rattle. I'll scold them till they shiver
like jellies."
"Well, that would be very nice," said Fanny. "Good-bye. We're going."
The others joined her as she ran towards the hole in the cloud. "How brave
and clever you are, Fanny!" said Jo. "I should never have thought of
all that! I'm quite, quite sure that Silky and the others aren't up here."
"I was awfully afraid of that head man," said Fanny. "I just couldn't
speak a word more to him. Hurry up-let's get back to the Tree. Silky isn't here.
I can't imagine where they all are. There's something very, very mysterious about
it."
They all climbed down the ladder to the Tree, thankful to leave behind the horrid
Land of Tempers. They went down to Silky's house and peeped in at the window.
Lady Yell-Around wasn't there.

 

   
"I vote we go in and have a look round," said Jo. But the door was locked
and the key had been taken. Bother!
"Well, I'm sure I don't know WHAT to do," said Jo. "But we simply
must do SOMEthing!"
24.

 

   
A Most Exciting Time.

 

   
As the children stood gloomily outside Silky's house, a voice called to them from
farther down.

 

   
"Is that you, Watzisname? Any news of our missing friends?"
"That's the Angry Pixie," said Jo. "Let's go down and talk to him."
The Angry Pixie was looking very miserable.

 

   
"I can't understand all this mystery," he said. "I saw Silky and
the others a few days ago-and then they suddenly disappear like smoke without
a cry or a yell. It's funny."
"We've just been up in the Land of Tempers," said Fanny. "But they're
not there."
"I thought of going up there to see," said the Angry Pixie, "but
I was so afraid I'd lose my temper and have to stay there always. You know what
a temper I've got."
"Yes," said Jo. "You certainly mustn't dream of going up there.
You'd never come back."
They sat there, looking at one another and then they all pricked up their ears.
They could hear a very peculiar noise.

 

   
Boom, boom, boom! Knock, knock, knock! Boom, boom, boom!
"Whatever's that?" said Fanny, looking all round. "And where is
it coming from?"
"I can't imagine," said the Angry Pixie. "I keep on hearing it.
I heard it yesterday and last
night and this morning. It just goes on and on."
Everyone listened. The noise stopped and then went on again. Boom, boom, boom!
Knock, knock, knock!
"Where does it come from?" said Bessie.

 

   
"From the inside of the tree," said Watzisname, listening hard. "I'm
sure of that!"
"Do you suppose -do you possibly suppose-that it might be Silky and the others-somewhere
inside the tree?" said Fanny suddenly.

 

   
Boom, boom, boom! Knock, knock, knock!
There it was again!
"I believe Fanny's right. I think Silky, Moon-Face and Saucepan are prisoners
inside the slippery-slip. Stamp-a-Lot must have pushed them down there, and then
stuffed up the hole with all those things," said Watzisname.

 

   
"But they would have shot out of the trap-door at the bottom," said
Dick.

 

   
"We'll go down and open it and see if anything has been put there to stuff
that up, too," said Jo. "Come on, everyone."
So they all went down to the tree to where the trap-door was at the bottom. Jo
opened it. He looked inside and then gave a shout.

 

   
"This end is all stuffed up, too! These two horrid people from the Land of
Tempers have got Silky and the others in there, I'm sure. Look-there's all kinds
of things stuffed in here. The poor things can't get up or down. They're trapped!"
"Well, let's pull everything out and set them free!" said Dick, and
he tugged at a great ball of
moss. But it wouldn't move!
Everyone had a turn at tugging and pulling-but it was no use at all. Not a thing
would move.

 

   
"They've stuffed everything in and then put a spell on it to make it stay
where it is," said Watzisname at last. "It's no good. We'll never be
able to move a thing. Look-there's Lady Yell-Around coming back from her shopping.
We'll just see if we can't make her do something about this!"
But that wasn't any good either. Lady Yell-Around pretended that she didn't know
anything about the stopped-up hole.

 

   
"What's the good of shouting at me and asking me something I don't know anything
about?" she said. "You go and ask old Stamp-a-Lot. He'll tell you what
you want to know."
"No, he won't," said Jo. "He's just as big a fibber as you are."
Anyway, no one wanted to see Stamp-a-Lot again. He was such a bad-tempered person.
They all climbed back to the Angry Pixie's house, sat down, and looked gloomily
at each other.

 

   
"Can't get in at the top of the Slippery-slip, and can't get in at the bottom,"
said Jo. "How in the world can we rescue poor Silky and the others? It's
simply dreadful."
"They'll be starving!" said Fanny, beginning to cry. "Oh, Jo, do
think of something!"
But nobody could think of anything at all. It was only when the woodpecker flew
by to go to his hole in the tree that any idea came -and then Jo jumped up with
his eyes shining.
"I know! I know!" he cried. "Let's ask the woodpecker to help us."
"But how could a bird help?" said Dick.

 

   
"Well, a woodpecker pecks holes in wood to make his nest," said Jo.
"I've seen them pecking hard with their strong beaks. They make a kind of
drumming noise, and can peck out quite a big hole in no time. If we asked him,
I'm sure the woodpecker could peck a hole at the back of this room, right into
the Slippery-slip-and then we could pull Silky, Moon-Face and Saucepan through
the hole."
"Oh, that really does sound a marvellous idea!" said Fanny, beaming.
"Let's call him now."
So they went outside on to a big branch of the Faraway Tree and called to the
woodpecker.