Five Children and It E. Nesbit (uplifting books for women TXT) đ
- Author: E. Nesbit
Book online «Five Children and It E. Nesbit (uplifting books for women TXT) đ». Author E. Nesbit
The woman murmured something indistinct, of which the children could only hear the words, âSwelp me!â âbalmy,â and âcrumpet,â which conveyed no definite idea to their minds.
She had taken Antheaâs hand, and was holding it very firmly; and Anthea could not help wondering what would happen if Robert should have wandered off or turned his proper size during the interval. But she knew that the Psammeadâs gifts really did last till sunset, however inconvenient their lasting might be; and she did not think, somehow, that Robert would care to go out alone while he was that size.
When they reached the barn and Cyril called âRobert!â there was a stir among the loose hay, and Robert began to come out. His hand and arm came firstâ âthen a foot and leg. When the woman saw the hand she said âMy!â but when she saw the foot she said âUpon my civvy!â and when, by slow and heavy degrees, the whole of Robertâs enormous bulk was at last completely disclosed, she drew a long breath and began to say many things, compared with which âbalmyâ and âcrumpetâ seemed quite ordinary. She dropped into understandable English at last.
âWhatâll you take for him?â she said excitedly. âAnything in reason. Weâd have a special van builtâ âleastways, I know where thereâs a secondhand one would do up handsomeâ âwhat a baby elephant had, as died. Whatâll you take? Heâs soft, ainât he? Them giants mostly isâ âbut I never seeâ âno, never! Whatâll you take? Down on the nail. Weâll treat him like a king, and give him first-rate grub and a doss fit for a bloominâ dook. He must be dotty or he wouldnât need you kids to cart him about. Whatâll you take for him?â
âThey wonât take anything,â said Robert sternly. âIâm no more soft than you areâ ânot so much, I shouldnât wonder. Iâll come and be a show for today if youâll give me,ââ âhe hesitated at the enormous price he was about to askâ ââif youâll give me fifteen shillings.â
âDone,â said the woman, so quickly that Robert felt he had been unfair to himself, and wished he had asked thirty. âCome on nowâ âand see my Billâ âand weâll fix a price for the season. I dessay you might get as much as two quid a week regâlar. Come onâ âand make yourself as small as you can, for graciousâ sake!â
This was not very small, and a crowd gathered quickly, so that it was at the head of an enthusiastic procession that Robert entered the trampled meadow where the Fair was held, and passed over the stubbly yellow dusty grass to the door of the biggest tent. He crept in, and the woman went to call her Bill. He was the big sleeping man, and he did not seem at all pleased at being awakened. Cyril, watching through a slit in the tent, saw him scowl and shake a heavy fist and a sleepy head. Then the woman went on speaking very fast. Cyril heard âStrewth,â and âbiggest draw you ever, so help me!â and he began to share Robertâs feeling that fifteen shillings was indeed far too little. Bill slouched up to the tent and entered. When he beheld the magnificent proportions of Robert he said but littleâ ââStrike me pink!â were the only words the children could afterwards rememberâ âbut he produced fifteen shillings, mainly in sixpences and coppers, and handed it to Robert.
âWeâll fix up about what youâre to draw when the showâs over tonight,â he said with hoarse heartiness. âLorâ love a duck! youâll be that happy with us youâll never want to leave us. Can you do a song nowâ âor a bit of a breakdown?â
âNot today,â said Robert, rejecting the idea of trying to sing âAs Once in May,â a favourite of his motherâs, and the only song he could think of at the moment.
âGet Levi and clear them bloominâ photos out. Clear the tent. Stick up a curtain or suthink,â the man went on. âLorâ, what a pity we ainât got no tights his size! But weâll have âem before the weekâs out. Young man, your fortuneâs made. Itâs a good thing you came to me, and not to some chaps as I could tell you on. Iâve known blokes as beat their giants, and starved âem too; so Iâll tell you straight, youâre in luck this day if you never was afore. âCos Iâm a lamb, I amâ âand I donât deceive you.â
âIâm not afraid of anyoneâs beating me,â said Robert, looking down on the âlamb.â Robert was crouched on his knees, because the tent was not big enough for him to stand upright in, but even in that position he could still look down on most people. âBut Iâm awfully hungryâ âI wish youâd get me something to eat.â
âHere, âBecca,â said the hoarse Bill. âGet him some grubâ âthe best youâve got, mind!â Another whisper followed, of which the children only heard, âDown in black and whiteâ âfirst thing tomorrow.â
Then the woman went to get the foodâ âit was only bread and cheese when it came, but it was delightful to the large and empty Robert; and the man went to post sentinels round the tent, to give the alarm if Robert should attempt to escape with his fifteen shillings.
âAs if we werenât honest,â said Anthea indignantly when the meaning of the sentinels dawned on her.
Then began a very strange and wonderful afternoon.
Bill was a man who knew his business. In a very little while, the photographic views, the spyglasses you look at them through so that they really seem rather real, and the lights
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