The three children, Gerald, James and Kathleen, went to different

boarding schools. They looked forward to going to the Hampshire home,

but their cousin Betty got measles when she went there, so they couldn’t.
They decided to stay at Kathleen’s school for seven weeks, as it was
better than staying at Miss Hervey’s house as it was somewhere they
couldn’t talk or play freely. The only mistress there was a French one, and
the children decided they ought to have some play during the holidays.
Kathleen suggested writing a book, but the others declined, as it would
probably get them expelled, as what they were writing might be
offensive. Gerald convinced the mistress to let them go into the woods.
They went into the woods with their dinner, and found a cave. Gerald
made stark remarks, as if he was telling a story. As they went on, they
realized the cave was an entrance to an enchanted garden, in the
enchanted castle.
There, near the sundial, on the grass lay a girl, with a rose-gold dress, and
a soft green petticoat. She lay there, sound asleep. Kathleen suggested
Gerald wake her, by kissing. Gerald denies, but James kisses her on a
condition that he becomes the lead, but suspects it’s just a girl playing the
princess, and he is right, as we see later on. She wakes up, and says that
her hundred years are over. When the Sleeping Princess had awakened,
and she invited the three children to go with her to her palace and get
something to eat, they all knew quite surely that they had come into a
place of magic happenings. She served them bread and cheese, and asked
them to think of whatever they wanted to eat, and it would turn into
that, unless they had some secret fault. They pretended to see it as beef,
chicken, and peacock, as they quietly thought it was some fault with
themselves.
She took them to her treasure room, which was empty at first, then filled
with gold and silver and ornaments when the children opened their eyes
again. They tried on some, and also found a shelf full of queer things,
including a ring that could turn a person invisible. The Princess said that
the magic would disappear if anyone but herself touched the objects.
There was also a buckle, that undid all the effects of the other charms.
 Then, the boys saw her prove it, as she said she would disappear at the
count of fifty, and reappear. But, she did not! She went invisible. She did
not believe it, until she saw herself, and cried on Kathleen’s shoulder.
She told everyone it was a game, and there was no King and Queen, and
that her aunt lived here. She was the housekeeper’s niece, Mabel Prowse.
She did not want to live with her aunt, so wrote a letter saying a lady on a
motor-car, and she was leaving. The children found no way to feed
Mabel, so they went back, and decided to think about it the morning.
Mabel removed her dress, and slept with Kathleen. In the morning,
Kathleen saw the maid, Eliza come in. She saw the clothes on the floor,
and asked Kathy what was up. Kathleen said it was lent to her for a play,
so Eliza shouldn’t tell anyone. Eliza agreed, and asked Kathleen to wear
the dear and show her later.
Mabel made Eliza fuss a great deal, by twitching up corners of the
bedsheets, to which Eliza thought this place bewitched. Mabel whispered
in Eliza’s ear, ‘Always sweep under the mats.’ Eliza remembered her
mother saying that, and thought she was going silly. When Kathleen
asked her what happened, she remained silent about the incident and
said she used to be a fanciful child. Kathleen snuck some bread and
water, the latter being in a tooth-mug.
They went to tell her aunt the news about Mabel, but she didn’t believe
it. She said she was sure that the child was swapped at birth, and was
claimed by her real parents. She also added the Mabel’s parents were
dead. They sat at the steps, thinking what they could do. Mabel said that
she couldn’t live with them, as she felt it was stealing. Then, they went to
the fair. There, as Gerald had nine pence, he got some food for everyone.
Then, dressed up as a conjurer, Gerald went to an old lady, promised her
a part of the earnings, and set up a stall. All the things he did, Mabel
helped him while being invisible. He set up the stall in a dark place, so
that no one would see Mabel’s shadow.
But, as Gerald tried to run, more and more people crowded his stall.
Mabel managed to remove the ring, and Gerald wore it. He disappeared,
with Mabel now visible. She didn’t want to go back to her aunt, so they
suggested she stay the night at the school, after asking Mademoiselle.
As James wanted to be a detective, they went to the police station to see
what kind of crimes they got. Gerald says he could detect the burglary, as
there were 20 pounds for any information. They called Johnson the
constable over. After talking to him a bit, they went to get buns to eat.
Then Mabel remembered she left the shutter open, and had to go back to
close it. She was very displeased with Mabel, and was happy to have her
back. The aunt then said she had episodes when she didn’t care about
Mabel at times, and felt awful. They both went inside, while Gerald
stayed. He saw the statues come to life.
Then, burglars came. Gerald knew they would steal everything before the
police came, so he followed them, and heard where they would keep the
stuff. They made a plan to send Johnson and two men first, and have two
more men near the motor car. Then, they took Mabel to the school, and
all of them had dinner together. They searched for the ring, but it was
gone. Mabel burst into tears and said Eliza stole it. Then, a strange man
appears. His face clearly displays how much he didn’t want to come. He
said his fiancée was here, but he couldn’t see her. Eliza had worn the ring,
so was invisible. She staggered when she realized her invisibility. She
cried, and wondered if it were permanent. She couldn’t see her own
hand.
As they went to the castle, Eliza saw the statues come alive. She
screamed, and ran off, while everyone followed her hysterical voice. She
went into the stable yard, with Mabel by her side. The next morning, she
came out, dishevelled and the ring in her palm. She went to her fiancé’s
house, while the children went back. Johnson had solved the case, but
the children got no credit. They went to the market, and got carnations
for Mademoiselle.
They discussed the castle, called Yarding Towers, and Lord Yarding. He
was poor, so he couldn’t live there. His uncle left him nothing but the
chateau, which he couldn’t sell. They also realized that when you were
invisible, your relations didn’t care about you.
They had a good feast, after which they got anything they wanted for the
play. They made Mademoiselle into Rapunzel. The governess denied
them nothing. The invited a few people, to which the French woman
became nervous. But she screamed when she realized they were just
filled with bolsters and mats and brooms. Gerald had done his best, but
even then, they were hardly faces, some of them, if they hadn't been in
their positions faces, between the collar and the hat. Their eyebrows with
frowns, their eyes the size, and the shape, of five-shilling pieces, and on
their lips and cheeks had used a lot of crimson and half a pan of
vermilion.
The play went smoothly. But, when the applause started by strings, it
continued without. Eliza and the governess were horrified. The ring had
turned into the wishing ring, and granted Mabel’s wish. Then they started
walking out. Gerald snatched the ring and wished the fake audience was
not alive anymore. But, one Ugly Wugly asked for a recommendation to a
good hotel. Gerald heard him say it five times before he responded in
wonderment. How did it learn politeness? Then a lady in a bonnet asked
for the location of the carriages. He told them that his uncle needed help,
and rushed out. He told the girls everything, including that the things
didn’t have a roof took their mouth.
The uncanny procession went uninterrupted, until one msn screamed and
told his wife who didn’t believe a thing. The Ugly-Wuglies went inside the
dark room, which twisted and turned. It had no steps. When the people
realized they were being tricked, they pushed the door with cries of
rebellion, which Gerald didn’t listen to. The pushed and they pushed,
until they felt velveteen hands on his shoulder. The gamekeeper had
come, and they all discussed in the moonlight. Gerard said the man
wouldn’t believe it, while the gamekeeper is actually a bailiff. They
decided to tell him, but he didn’t quite believe them, sod rhea decided to
show him the next morning at ten o’clock. But, the man opened it before
the curse faded, and was covered in cuts and bruises and greenish in
colour.
Then, Mabel thought something about the ring. it became exactly what
you said it was! When she said it was a ring of invisibility, it was one,
while it was said to be a wishing ring, it became one! In an effort to prove
it, she wished she was four yards tall. big mistake. She was at the
preposterous length of 12 feet, and had to go in and out on her hands
and knees. She hid in the bushes, and asked Gerald to get some picnic
from her aunt. Her aunt gave a lot of food, which they gladly consumed.
Kathleen went back to get the remains of the Ugly Wuglies, and
accidently wished to be a statue. The poor girl was turned into one, so
the boys left Mabel in charge. Mabel hid in the cover of a tall tree, close
to Kathy. She was covered in coats, trousers and more, all through, as she
slept peacefully. As night fell, Kathleen could move again! But, she was
stuck inside a moving dinosaurus.
She found another statue, Phoebus Apollo, who she talked to. Then, she
headed towards Mabel, who started shrinking back to her normal size.
Then, Kathleen remembered that she was still a statue, just alive due to
the nightfall. Apollo came back and saw that Mabel was able to see him.
He asked her why she wouldn’t want to be a statue, just like him. She
politely declined, as she didn’t want to get stuck as one. He said, that if
she asked specifically, she could set a time limit. She then removed her
stockings, shoes and pinafore, and followed Apollo to the other gods. He
then tells them everything is seven times here, including the moons.
Then, Hermes brought the boys to the feast as well.