Johnny

the Tin Tortoise

Johnny Here and There is a tin tortoise
who lives on a window-sill. He can see a
papier-mache dragon across the yard, and
decides he would like to go and visit him.
But it isn't easy if you're a tin tortoise who
can't go in a straight line! A pelican takes
him to Waterloo Station and Johnny finds
himself on a train going back to the ninth
century. The other passengers are very
strange - a Dark Horse with a party of other
idioms - and then he meets King Alfred.
By the time Johnny gets home he has plenty
to tell the dragon!
 DONALD BISSET

Johnny
the Tin Tortoise
Illus tra ted by the author

A Magnet Book
 Also by Donald Bisset in Magnet Books

WHAT TIME IS IT, WHEN IT ISN'T?

First published in Great Britain 1981

by Methuen Children's Books Ltd as Johnny Here and There
Magnet edition first published 1982
by Methuen Children's Books Ltd
Il New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Text and illustrations copyright© 1981 Donald Bisset
Printed in Great Britain by
Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk

ISBN o 416 24440 8

This book is published in both hardback and paperback editions

The paperback is sold subject to the condition
that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise
be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated
without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
 Contents

1 The Tin Tortoise Starts His

Adventures 7
2 On the Way 12
3 By Pelican to Waterloo 19
4 Catching the Train 27
5 The Dark Horse and his Friends 32
6 The Dogs 40
7 The World that Duck Drew 46
8 The Alarm Clock 57
9 A Misunderstanding 60
10 Kaleidoscope 64
11 Up or Down 73
12 Willow Tree Hovel 80
13 The Piper 84
14 Noah's Dove and Father
Christmas 91
15 The Field Outside the Barn 94
16 Charlie Snail 96
17 The Dragon, at Last! 102
18 The Last Chapter 105
Where ever o'er the world you roam here or
there is always home.

Motto of Gaylord Snail

1972-1978

For David Ostry

 1

The Tin Tortoise

Starts His Adventures
Once upon a time there was a tin tortoise lying on
a window s i l l . He thought his name was Tin but
didn 't feel quite sure .

ffe�/,;)?2'i'-
.......
.

- '. .
. �
·

·_ -�:
.
... '

___ :'�-·. . ,- I·•.

·G> ..
...

'
� '
. . ·

·
. • .

·
1·=·"1 ····\·.··c t ,_
.
. . . . ·_ him up and made
; �- --· ..
He had a key
-:;::/-///which
�/ wound
his wheels turn so that he ran along the floor.
His wheels were made rather loose so that they
could wobble. Even a crumb getting in the way of
a wheel would turn it, so that whenever Tin was
wound up he never went in a straight l ine or round
in circles, but turned this way or that way.

7
 Tin coul d see right across the yard to the duck
pond next to the railway s tation . Near there was
a barn and through its open door he coul d see a dra­
gon . It was made of papier- mache.

' H e is beautiful ! ' thought Tin . ' I would like to

go and see him ! But how ? ' The window-sil l was
at least a metre above the grass in the yard. ' I must
go down to the yard and then go all the way past
the duck pond and the station till I come to the
barn. Then I must climb up on to the table . '
Tin ' s spring was, wound up a little bit. Just
enough to reach the edge of the window-sill and
fall off.
'Nothing venture, nothing win ! ' he thought and
let his wheels run . He wobbled to the edge of the
window-sill but, j ust as he was going to fall off, a
piece of grit turned his wheels so that he shunted
away from the edge, but another little stone turned
him back again, right to the edge - and over !
Tin lay on his back . 'Whirr ! whirr ! ' went his
wheels and then s topped spinning. He could see

8
the window-sill high above that was the roof of the
house and away beyond was the blue sky . But what
was nearby or round about him he coul dn ' t see, and
he couldn' t turn over .
A sparrow arrived on the window-sil l . I t looked
down at the tortoise.

' H ow strange ! ' thought the s parrow . 'What is it ? '

he wondere d. ' I t i s very still ! Is it a new kind
of perch for a s parrow ? Or a bath ? Or something
to eat ? '
S parrow flew down and pecked him.
' Ouch ! ' said Tin.

9
 ' O h, tweet tweet ! ' said the sparrow . 'Who are
you ? '
' I a m the little tin tortoise that can run about on
wheels ! '
' Run, then ! ' said the sparrow.
' I can' t ! '
'Why not ? '
' Because I 'm upside down . '
'Why ? '
' O h, S parrow, please turn m e over, ' said Tin.
S parrow turned him over with his beak. ' Now,
let me see you run about ! ' he said. 'Were you going
anywhere ? '
' I was going t o visit the papier-mache dragon in
the barn . '
'All right ! I ' ll wind you up . '
Tin scuttled through grass and over rough
ground and came right back to where he had started
from .
' D o that again ! ' said the sparrow . He wound the
key an d Tin sped off, turning here and there . Once
he got two metres nearer the barn but turned away

IO
again and stopped against a large stone . 'Whirr !
Whirr ! Whirr ! '
S parrow hopped u p to him. ' Can't you help
that ? ' he said, ' turning here and there and round
and straight and left and right ? '
' I 'm that kind o f tortoise ! ' said Tin.
'What's your name ? '
' I think it's Tin,' said Tin.
'You think ! - Whew ! - Well , I can't spend all
day winding you , ' said the sparrow. ' Not that it
woul d do much good if I did. Tweet tweet ! Good­
bye ! '
With a flash of his wings he was gone.
 2

On the Way

'Wel l , ' thought Tin. ' I am not on the window-sill.

I am not on my back. That ' s something ! I am a
bit nearer to D ragon - but where next ? Or, how
next ? '
Some ants passed by - one o f them walked over
him. Then another one followed and another and
another and another.
'I wish they wouldn ' t do that ! ' thought Tin.
' They are very tickly ! '
' Please stop ! '
The ants were startled. They stopped. They
looked at each other. ' D i d you hear that ? ' said one
ant to another one .
' I did hear ! '
'What ? '
' I don ' t know ! - A t i n voice ? '
' Coul d be ! '
They started moving again.
' That tickles ! ' said Tin Tortoise.
The ants stopped. They came back. They sur­
rounded Tin Tortoise.
' Good gracious ! ' said one . 'It's an elephant.'

12
 ' I t ' s a sumatopoppih,' said another.
'What ? '
' I ' m sorry. I was so startled, I spoke b ackwards.'
'Try again ! '
' I t ' s a hippopotamus.'
' I ' m a tin tortoise ! ' said Tin. 'Please wind me
up.'
There were nine ants. Father ant, Mother ant.
Uncle ant. Aunt ant. Four children ants and a baby
ant.
Father ant took hold of the tin tortoise ' s key with
his feelers. Mother ant put her feelers round
Father. Uncle and Aunt took hold of the other end
of the key.
'Heave ! ' said Father Ant. 'Heave ! Heave !
Heave ! '
'Whew ! ' They rested, then heaved again and
again. At last Tin Tortoise was woun d up. Off
he went here and there and roun d an d left and
right.

13
 ' H i , come back ! ' called Father ant .
Tin came back and Father ant put a little stone
in front of him so that he wouldn ' t scuttle again
as soon as they had wound him up.
They wound him up .
'Now , ' said Father ant. ' I ' ve put a tiny stone in
front of you. When you want to start off again j ust
w iggle, then off you' ll go. '
'Thank you ! ' said Tin.
' O ur pleasure ! ' said Father Ant. ' Goodbye ! '
They went. But Baby Ant crawled over him j ust
once more.
Tin wiggled and slipped past the stone and was
off again .
'Hold on there ! ' said Father Ant. The ants
caught him up and put another little stone in front
of him.
'You are a naughty baby ant ! ' said the mother
ant.
When they had gone Tin stayed where he was
and rested.
' Hop ! ' a grasshopper hopped up to him.
' Hop ! ' another grasshopper hopped up to him.
 'You there ! ' said the fi rst grasshopper, politely,
and then hopped. 'What is your name ? ' - 'Hop ! '
' I wish they woul dn't keep doing that ! ' thought
Tin, 'Er .. . um . . . ! '
'Hasn ' t got' - 'Hop ! ' - 'a name ! ' - 'Hop ! ' said
the first grasshopper to the second grasshopper.
They hopped away .
'Hop !
'Hop !
'Hop !
'Hop ! '
When they had gone Tin thought, ' I ought to
have a name b ut I don ' t know what it is . Tin ?
That's what I ' m made of. I t ' s not really a name !
Coul d my name be Hamlet ? - No ! Christopher ?
- I don't think so. I van ? I van the Terrible Tor­
tois e . That sounds rather good. But I wish it was
something pleasant and comfortable, like - Edward
- A real name . Then, when I reache d Dragon, I
coul d say, " Hello, Dragon ! I ' m Edward ! " and
Dragon woul d say, " Hello, E dward ! " '
A small green grass-snake wriggled by and dis-
appeared.
' S ob ! sob ! sob ! '
'What was that ? '
'Sob, sob ! You've scattered my l etters . Sob !
sob ! '
Tin wriggled, then started off in the direction of
the s ound and stopped - 'Bump ! '
'Ouch ! '

15
 'Who said " Ouch ! " ? '
' Me ! Why don ' t you look where you are going ?
Oh dear ! Oh dear ! '
'Please don't cry ! ' said Tin.
' I ' m not crying because you banged into me!'
said the - whatever it was. Tin couldn' t see any­
thing.
'You must expect to be banged into if you are
invis ible ! ' he said. 'Who are you ? '
' I ' m a lost name ! '
'A los t name ? - You mus t belong to someone . '
' I do ! Only I - My goodness gracious me ! I
believe it's you ! '
' Me ? '
'Yes . John ? '
'That's your name ? '
'No, no, no ! Names don 't have names .
What' s your name ? '
' I ' m a tin torto ise ! '
'That's not a name. That's what you are . Tell
me - what IS your name ? '
' E r . . . um . . mine ? '
'Yes ! '
' Mine ! ! Er . . . I think I ' ve lost it ! '
'There you are , you're " J ohn " aren ' t you ? '
' Could b e . What's my surname ? '
'Wel l , I knew it a few minutes ago , ' s a i d the lost
name, 'but a l i ttle green grass snake wriggled over
me and muddled my letters . Coul d it be " I setorto ? " '
'No ! ' said Tin.

16
 ' I s a Torto ? - I zzy Torto ? '
'No!'
'What about Torto is e ? ' said the lost name . ' Oh,
that makes " tortoise " . That's what you are!'
' I t's still not a name, ' said Tin.
' I think john is right!' said the lost name . 'In
fact, I'm s ure - John Tortoise . '
' I am a tortois e , ' said Tin . 'But, after all , you
don ' t call a boy cal l e d Charles - Charles Boy. Or
a girl called Jenny - Jenny Girl!'
'Well, when this grass snake wriggled over
me, l ots of my letters were scattered here and
there . '
' S ay that again ! ' said Tin.
' . . . scattered here and there . '
' . . . here and there ? '
'Yes . '
' Here and there ! ! - Johnny Here & There.
That's it ! '
'You're right ! ' said the lost name . 'Do your
wheels wobble ? '
'Yes . They make me g o here a n d there . But, j ust
a minute, is it John or Johnny ? '
'Both ! ' said the lost nam e . ' I t doesn't matter
which . I 'm your name. Never forget me, again ! '
' I won' t ! - Johnny Here & There - Oh! ! ! !
I ' m Johnny!! John Tortois e. Johnny Here & There
Tortois e . Johnny ! ! - Your Lordship, may I intro­
duce Johnny Here & There ? - "Ah, Johnny!"
Your Majesty -' said Johnny. 'Oh, I AM a s illy

17
tortoise ! Now, when I meet Dragon I can say,
" Good morning, Dragon ! I ' m Johnny Here &
There ! " '

A worm poked its head out of the earth.

'Good morning, Worm. I 'm J ohnny Here &
There ! ' said Johnny Here & There . Then he
looked up at the blue sky.
' I ' m Johnny ! ' he said. 'Hello, Sky ! ! '
He was a very happy tin tortoise.
 3

By Pelican to Waterloo

LJ JI
'Thump ! '
Tin coul d see a real tortoise coming along. I t was
smgmg;

'Thump ! '

At every step it took it s ang, 'Thump ! '

'That last note is a very high note , '
said the tortoise to John . 'Oh dear ! I t's
_.J_
floating away ! '

19
 _/ /

Higher and higher went the note.

A crow that was coming along caught it in its
beak.

'Take it to Dragon ! ' called up the tortoise.

' - A present from John ! '
'Caw ! ! ' said the crow and dropped the note.
' I diot ! ' said the tortoise.

) ,�-- /
_/ _/
 The note floated down but a gust of wind b lew
it into the barn beside D ragon.
' I t ' s from the tin tortoise. I know it is ! ' thought
the dragon who had seen Johnny coming along and
was longing for him to arrive.
The note started to rise again.
Komodo put his foot on it. Komodo was Dra­
gon's name.
'Whew ! ' said the note. 'First it's crows and then
it's dragons. - I ' m a H I GH note, you know ! " it
said. ' I ' m an F' - I s houl d be higher up.'
'Dear F' ,' said Komo do. 'Woul d you please
be MY note to Father Christmas ? It's nearly
Christmas time, now. Please say to Father Chri s t­
mas that what I ' d like best for a present is for Tin
Tortoise to get here safely.'
' I ' m an F' ,' said the note. 'You know,
la�
la-
la-
la-
la-
I ' m not the sort of note you write.'
'Wel l , could you post a letter for me before you
start being a note in a song again ? '
'All right ! ' said P.
Komodo wrote to Father Chris tmas . F � flew
away and posted his letter, then became part of the
song again.
(a-r-b-r-a-r-b-r-a-d-c1-d-c1-b-a-r-b-r)

21
 Meanwhile a big shadow had come over Tortoise
and John.
Tortoise withdrew his head into his shell and
froze q uite stil l .
J o hn looked up . A huge pelican w a s there .

'This is my Waterloo ! ' said John. ' I 'll never see

Dragon , now !
' I t looks like a tin tortoise-swallow ing pelican ! '
he thought.
'Did you s ay "Waterloo" l ittle tin tortoise ? ' said
the pelican.
'Yes, ' said John . ' I meant I was beaten, you
know, like Napoleon at Waterloo. '
The pelican didn't seem to b e taking much
notice . It was thinking, 'Napoleon ! - That's the
name of the dog who lies under the clock at Water­
loo S tation and collects money for the blind in a
little money box on his back. '
The pelican, whose name was Joe, picked John

22
up in his beak and flew away with him past the barn
and the duck pond and the railway station .
It was dark inside the pelican ' s beak.
' Let me out ! ' called John. ' Let me out ! '
The pelican never heard. H e didn ' t know that
John j ust wanted to go to the barn to see the pa pier
mache dragon .

,
��
i
-
,
-

At length Joe flew down into Waterloo Station

to the place under the clock.
There he opened his beak and let John out.
' I didn't want to come here ! ' said John . 'I
wanted to go to the barn near where I l ive and see
the dragon there . '

23
 Joe was very upset. ' I ' m sorry, John ! ' he said.
'But where' s Napoleon ? '
'He 's gone o n hol iday, Joe,' said a porter who
was pas sing.
'Dear dear dear me ! ' said Joe . ' I am a foolish
pel ican !
'Don ' t worry, Johnny . I ' ll get you back to the
D uck Pond Station. Only, I ' ve got to fly away to
St James 's Park, now, to see my children. Where
can I put you so that you don ' t get lost or trodden
on ? Oh, here 's Lady Grace . S he 'l l help ! Explain
later. Goodbye ! '
'You dear little tin tortois e , ' said Lady Grace.
'What are you doing here, all alone? Joe, what - ?'
But Joe had gone .
Lady Grace, who was a Lady- in-Waiting to the
Queen , picked John up. 'Now , tell me what's the
matter ? ' she said.

_··.� .· '

' ·

' I 've come here by mistake, ' said Johnny. ' I

want to g o t o t h e barn near the D uck Pond t o be
w ith D ragon who lives there . '

24
 ' Don't cry ! ' said Lady Grace . ' My train stops
at the Duck Pond. You can come with me. I ' m
going t o the n inth century t o see m y forefather,
King Alfred. What's the matter, tortoise dear ? '
'Wasn't the ninth century the time w hen kings
and knights fought dragons and slayed them ? '
' King Alfred was very kind t o dragons ! ' said
Lady Grace. ' H e liked them . It was S t George who
fought dragons and that was very , very , very, very
long ago. Long before the ninth century . - There !
So don ' t fret ! What's your name ? '
'Johnny Here & There , ' said J ohnny. 'But, I
haven' t got a ticket . '
'Never mind, I ' ll smuggle you on to the train in
my hand-bag. Now, I ' m going to have a cup of tea
and then we'll catch the train. '
After tea, j us t as they came out of the tea room,
they heard, ' Ring ! ring ! ring ! ring ! ' I t was a b icycle
bell . Joe rode up. He whizzed along then s topped.
 ' I said I ' d see you again ! ' he said. As soon as I
had flown across to S t James ' s Park I was given
this telegram for Lady Grace from the Queen.
' I flew most of the way here so as to be quick ! '
he said.

' c
)
,,,,.- ...._,_

,, <'.-

;..
/

"

\
)
\\
'

'
--' -
)
- ';; -
\

'Flying time - three minutes , flat !'

' Why are you riding a b icycle, Joe?' said John.
' Pelican ' s fly. They don ' t ride b icycles . '
' They do when they ' re messengers delivering
telegram s . Hello, Lady Grace.
' I 've got a hat with a b adge ! ' s aid Joe.
 4

Catching the Train

Lady Grace opened the telegram and read it to

them :
'
LADY GRACE UNDER THE CLOCK WATERLOO
STOP PLEASE MEET CAT UNDER CLOCK 1 9.00HRS
STOP TAKE PRESENT TO KING ALFRED STOP LOVE
'
STOP THE QUEEN

'Oh dear ! ' said Lady Grace. ' I hope Cat won ' t
b e late . I t ' s twenty t o seven, now !
' He l ives under the Queen' s chair, Johnny, ' she
said. But, even as she s poke, the Queen' s motor car
drew up and there was Cat s i tting next to the
driver.

Lady Grace stroked Cat.

' Miaow ! ' said Cat and gave her a bag of j ewel s .

27
 ' Thank you, Cat, dear ! ' said Lady Grace. ' Hello,
S tan ! ' - This to the driver.
'Even'n, Mam ! ' said the driver.
They drove off. Then Lady Grace took Johnny
along to their platform. ' I wonder where Napoleon
is today ? ' s he said. 'He's my favourite dog ! Well ,
nearly my favourite.
' I 've got seven dogs ! ' she said. ' They are all in
the train, waiting for me. They are very noisy dogs.
We 'll go in the carriage next to them - or the next
but one , ' she added, seeing Johnny l ooking a little
nervous.
'Hello, Lady Grace ! ' said the man who cl ipped
the tickets. 'Where are you off to, today ? '
' I ' m going t o s e e King Alfred ! ' s a i d Lady Grace.
'Ah, he 'll be b urn ing them cakes, I s uppose ! ' said
the Ticket collector.
'Johnny, here, ' said Lady Grace, ' is going to the
Duck Pond. '
She opened her bag.
'Hello, Johnny ! ' said the man and winked at
Lady Grace. 'Bon voyage ! '
They went up the platform and Lady Grace took
John out of her handbag so that he coul d see what
was going on all round about.
'What does " Ladyship" mean ? ' aske d John.
' Does it mean anything about ships ?'
' O r b oats ?' he added. ' Are you the lady that
helped her father to row the boat that rescued some
people from a sinking ship ? '

28
 'No, Johnny ! That was Grace Darling. I am
Grace who is S un day's child. You know in the nur­
sery rhyme , " S unday ' s Child is full of Grace " . I was
born on the S abbath D ay ! My father was a D uke
and he christened me Grace . - Got it, J ohn ? '
' Yes , Your Ladyship ! ' said John.
' Call me Grace ! ' said Lady Grace . 'Now, let's
go and look at the engine . '
'What did the man mean when he said those
words ?' said John .
' Y o u mean "Bon Voyage ! " ? That's French for
" Good Journey ! " '

•' 111 I ' .' .. '. I

It was a beautiful diesel engine.

I t was very b ig and hummed to itself all the time .
Then they found an empty carriage near the
dogs . John sat in one corner and Grace sat oppos ite .
They could hear the dogs barking. But, close by,

29
Johnny thought he heard a very, very, very, very,
very s mall voice say, ' Hello ! '
He l ooked all around. Then he heard it again,
' Hello, Tin Thing ! '
Down by his left wheel i t looked as if something
moved.
' I t's smaller than a hundred mice ! ' thought
Johnny . ' Hello, Dot ! ' he whispered.
' I ' m not a dot, ' it said. ' I ' m a bug ! '
'What kind ? '
' I don' t know ! ' it s a i d . I t w a s smaller than a pin
head.
' What's your name, little one ? '
The b u g didn' t answer.
It said, ' I ' ve got two crumbs ! '
' Two ? '
' Yes ! '
'Do you live here ? D o you . . . I think it's fallen
asleep ! '
But i t hadn ' t . ' I ' ve got a song ! ' i t said. 'Look ! '
On a p iece of paper was written, ' C ome into the
garden Maud' - That was all !
' I s that your song ? '
'Yes ! ' said the Dot-bug, proudly.
'All of it ? ' - The paper was torn at the bottom !
' Yes ! Goodbye, dear one ! ' I t moved and dis-
appeared.
Grace picked Johnny up and settled him more
comfortably in the corner. 'Whirr whirr ! ' went his
wheel s . Just for a moment he thought he heard, 'O
come into the garden Maud ! ' Then the buffers
clanged all the way down the train. 'We ' re off ! '
thought John . ' I ' ll soon see D ragon, now ! ' Then
the door of the ir compartment opene d an d . . . . . .
 5

The D ark Horse

and his Friends
. . . . . . . . . . a dark horse appeared and nodded to
them. ' The Ticket Collector told me you' d be on
the train, ' said the dark hors e . 'You are Lady Grace
and you are - Tin Tortoise ? '
' His name is Johnny ! ' s a i d Grace.
' Hello Horse ! '

' D ark Horse ! ' s aid the dark hors e . 'Not quite the
same thing, but I will explain . Do you know, I
knew a Tin Tortoise, once . Ravishing creature, in­
cl ined to bang into things and had to be wound up
from time to time. One of the Glouces tershire Tin
Tortoises, I think. Any relation ? -
'No,' said John and then whispered to Grace,
'What does ravishing mean ? '
' H e means you're nice ! - D ark Hors e , are you
an idiom ? '

32
 ' You guessed ! ' said the dark hors e . 'Clever of
you ! Perhaps YOU would explain to Johnny and
I will fetch my friends, if I may ? I ' l l have to bring
.
them in one at a time, of course . One must never
get i dioms muddled. '
' A dark horse, Johnny, ' said Grace, ' i s someone
whom nobody seems to have heard of much but
may be cleverest of all . '
' But what i s an idiom ? '
' D ark Horse is a n i diom . '
'Are all dark horses i dioms ? '
' N o Johnny, a n idiom is an· express ion, a way of
saying something - for instance if you say, " I 'm

feeling blue ! " it doesn ' t mean you are touching

something blue. It means you are feeling fe d up.
"Fed up" itself is an idiom. If you say, " I ' m feel ing
fe d up ! " it doesn't mean that you have eaten too
much but that you are feeling unhappy.
'If you say, " I t's a rat race ! " you don ' t mean it's

~
a real rat race. You mean . . . ' Just then an old lady,
wearing a beautiful hat, passed their carriage, walk­
ing along the corridor.
' I sn't she a duck ! ' said John .
' There, Johnny, that's a n idiom . '
'Where ? '
'Oh dear ! You are a silly tortqise . Y o u j ust said,

" S he' s a duck! " , not meaning that she's a real duck.
B ut, " S he 's a dear ol d lady ! " "An ol d dear ! " '
' Like Father Chris tmas has to pull his sledge ? '
' Here & There , ' said Grace. ' I 'll never wind you
up again ! Look, darl ing - think. Oh, you are pig-
headed ! '

'That picture 's wrong, ' said John . ' I t shoul d b e : '
 ' Johnny, you are leading me on. You knew what
an idiom is all the time ! '
Dark Horse put his head round the door.
' This is Black S heep ! ' he said.
'Baa ! ' said the black sheep .
'You see, Johnny, ' said Grace, 'if a grown up in
a family is often naughty, people will say, " H e ' s the
black sheep of the family . " '

'That's me ! ' said the black sheep. 'Baaaa ! '

'Next, please ! ' said Dark Hors e .
A l l a t Sea came i n .

'When does the train start ? I ' m i n the dark ! ' said
All at Sea.
 ' That' s four of us, ' said D ark Hors e . 'Who ' s
next ? '
They came in o n e by one.

Let Your Hair Down - and

Crocodile Tears - with a crocodile ! - and

�
(!11
(�
_ ___ ____
--=-

Under a Cloud, who said, ' I made a bee l ine for

here . '

�----�z�
 ' Good ! Hello, Bee Line . '
' Hello, D ark Hors e , I came here . . . . '

' At the drop of a hat ! ' said John.

' Oh, Johnny, you a re a very clever tin tortoise ! '
s a i d Grace.
A Bee Line looked out of the w indow . 'We ' re
nearly there ! ' he s a i d .
' O h , A l l at Sea, you were in t h e dark ! ' said D ark
Hors e . ' I didn ' t know we ' d even started . I am
a fool ish Dark Horse . I mus t turn over a new
leaf. '

' Wrong ! ' said John.

'Oh ! '

' Ri ght ! ' said John .

37
 'You ' ve hit the nail on the head ! ' said Dark

I I

Hors e . 'Little Tortoise, you're running rings round

me ! '

�� (
�
..
.­

;;; ,,-/

'Well, we must go or w e ' l l miss the bus . . . and

have a wild goose chas e . Come on, my dears . '
 They all crowded out of the carriage on to the
platform .
Grace opened the window to wave goodbye .
D ark Horse poked his head in. ' They 've all got
a bee in their bonnet ! ' he said.

Grace hugged him. ' Goodbye, Dark Horse ! ' she

said.

..:--- - - -�-;:;:.._-

The train started again. Grace held John up to

the window to see all the idioms waving goodbye .

39
 6

The D ogs

It seemed very quiet in their carriage after the

idioms had gone. They could hear Grace's dog
barking.
'Oh, where is my ticket ? ' said Grace. 'Ah, here !
I ' m a terrible one for losing my ticket, John , '
s he s a i d . ' I know ! I ' ll t i e it t o t h e k e y that
winds you up, may I ? Then I ' l l know where it
is . '
' S hall w e go and see my dogs , now, Johnny ? I ' ll
hold you in my hand. Come on ! '
They went down the corridor. The train was
going very fast . A station whistled by. The dogs
had stopped bark ing . Grace slid open the door of
their carriage .
'Wuff wuff wuff ! ' they all barked. What a noise
there was !
Grace sat down. Some of the dogs sniffed John
and they all wagged their tails .
' They are good dogs ! ' said John.
' They are BAD dogs ! ' said Grac e . The nicest
dogs are usually the naughty ones . Well , when they
are small, anyway.

40
 'Now, all of you, please say your Nursery
Rhyme's,' said Grace.
'Wuff wuff!' said Monday's dog.

'Monday's dog is a disgrace.

He stepped in a puddle and splashed his face.
He ate some grass and chewed the cud,
Then stood on his head and fell in the mud.
BAD DOG'

'Now, Tuesday!'
'Wuff wuff!

' Tuesday's dog has jam for tea

He doesn't like jam but he does like me.
So he gave me some jam for me to keep
And then pretended to fall asleep.
BAD DOG'
'Are they talking about themselves or about other
dogs?' asked Johnny. 'They both said "He" as if
they were talking about another dog. '
'They change places. Sometimes one is Mon­
day's dog then, another time, he'll be Friday's dog. '
'On Friday?'
'No, they are p r et en di ng really, and they often
get the rhymes all wrong. In fact they always get
them wrong. Wednesday's dog, your turn!'
'Wuff wuff!

' Wednesday's dog is full of woe

A big fat man stood on his toe.
So he got some milk from a cow in a can
And poured that milk all over the man.
BAD DOG'

' - And he wasn't wearing his collar - '

'Now, Thursday ! Oh, Wednes day ' s dog, Thurs­
day ' s dog has fallen asleep . Please j og him . '

42
 Wednesday's dog jogged Thursday's dog who
woke up and shook himself.
'Thursday!'
'Wuff wuff!

'Thursday's dog is no good at singing,

So he borrowed a hat and barked for a living.
He barked all day, then barked all night.
He couldn't sing - but he barked all right!
BAD DOG'

'Wuff wuff ! ' said Friday' s dog. ' Wuff wuff wuff !

'Friday's dog painted some spots.

Some were big artd some were dots,
To pretend he'd got measles, and should stay in bed.
'I've got measles!' was what he said.
BAD DO G'
'Saturday!'

' Saturday's dog howled for his mum.

He howled and howled but his mum couldn't come.
Er . . . um . . . . ?'
' So he barked at butterflies and ate brown bread
. . . ' prompted Sunday's dog.
'Oh, yes! - Wuff!

'And twice a day he fell down dead.

POOR DOG'

�
�.
.

- .;: ·,'to-�
�-- -.,.

'Now, Sunday! '

Sunday's dog was washed and clean and his paws
weren't muddy and he sat up, properly.
'Wuff wuff! ' said Sunday's dog.

'Sunday's dog is as good as gold.

Doesn't pull on his lead and "sits" when he's told.
He likes the postman and waits on the mat
Then brings in the letters and kisses the cat.
GOOD DOG'
'Wuff wuff wuff ! ' barked all the dogs .
' I t ' s my turn to be S unday' s dog, next, ' said
Wednes day's dog.
'Not till you've found your collar ! ' said Grace.
' I t's naughty to go without a collar.
'Now, dogs , ' said Grace, then stopped; the train
was slowing down and they passed a s i gn saying,

THE D U C K POND

Grace got out and took John past the Ticket Collec­
tor and put him down and wound him up . 'Bye bye,
Johnny ! ' she called . 'I hope you reach Dragon
safely ! '
John couldn't wave because h e was facing the
wrong way. So he said goodbye ins i de himself and
listened to the train going away, getting fainter and
fainter in the distance .
 7

The World that Duck Drew

' Hello, Genghis Kahn ! ' s a i d Duck. Johnny Here

& There looked about him but he couldn' t see
anyone else there.
' Genghis, my dear,' said Duck, 'was a mighty
traveller. Went to China, and all that, you know ! '
' I 've been to Waterloo S tation ! ' said Johnny .
'We know ! ' sa i d Duck. 'All the ducks and frogs
and these and those around know you went to
Waterloo S tation . '
'Napoleon wasn't there ! ' s a i d Johnny.
'Napoleon not at Waterloo Station ? Well, of
course not . '
' Collecting money for the blind . '
Duck felt a l ittle out o f his depth. ' I ' m out of
my depth ! ' he s a i d .
'That ' s an idiom ! ' said Johnny .
'What i s ? '

�- �
,.�
"------ .....:___ .....

'Out of your depth ! '

'Quack q uack q uack ! ' said the duck. ' Travell ing
certainly does broaden the mind . '
' That's another one . '
'What ? '

' Travelling b roadens the mind . '

' An idiom ? ' said Duck.
'Yes . '
Duck went away and q uacked to the other ducks ,
then came back and said, 'Which came first - the
duck or the egg?'
' The duck, of course ! ' said John.
'Wrong ! ' said D uck .
' The egg, then ! '
'Wrong ! '
' They can ' t both b e wrong ! '
' They can b e right AND wrong a t the s ame time.
Look ! '

D uck waddled a few steps and made some foot­

prints in the soft groun d .
' See, m y friend - tI:ie ground is soft . But , ' went
on Duck, ' I didn't s ink into the ground. It sup­
ported me.
' E rgo : the ground is hard. '

47
 'Er - what ? ' said John.
'Go . '
' Al l right ! '
'No n o no ! - D on ' t go away ! - j ust an expression.
I t means , " therefore " . '
'Eh ? '
' O h , wel l , never mind ! Would you l ike t o hear,
"This is the World that Duck Drew " ? '
John w a s going to say, ' N o t now, thank you,
because I want to go and see Dragon as s oon as
I can . '
But Duck didn't give him time and went on :

This is the world that Duck drew.

This is the sea

Thai lay in the world that Duck drew.
 •

This is the flea

That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

This is the fish

That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

This is the man

Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

49
This is the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

This is the elephant

Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

50
This is the mouse
Who frightened the elephant
Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallOVJed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

This is the fly

Who tickled the mouse
Who frightened the elephant
Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallOVJed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

51
This is the frog
Who gobbled the fly
Who tickled the mouse
Who fnghtened the elephant
Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

This is the hole

Where lived the frog
Who gobbled the fly
Who tickled the mouse
Who frightened the elephant
Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
52
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

This is the space

Where was the hole
Where lived the frog
Who gobbled the fly
Who tickled the mouse
Who frightened the elephant
Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

This is the duck

Who flew into the space
Which was the hole
Where lived the frog
Who gobbled the fly
Who tickled the mouse

53
Who frightened the elephant
Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.
(.._·--·--- --
- · --- �

This is the pencil

That drew the Duck
Who flew into the space
Which was the hole
Where lived the frog
Who gobbled the fly
Who tickled the mouse
Who frightened the elephant
Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.
 This is the pencil
That drew the pencil
That drew the pencil
That drew the pencil
That drew the pencil
That drew the duck
Who flew into the space
Which was the hole
Where lived the frog
Who gobbled the fly
Who tickled the mouse
Who frightened the elephant
Who sat on the tiger
Who bit the man
Who caught the fish
That swallowed the flea
That swam in the sea
That lay in the world that Duck drew.

'Which pencil was which?' said John, looking at

the picture of the five pencils.
'Just you tell me,' said Duck, 'which came first,

55
the duck or the egg ? And I ' ll tell you which pencil
was which.'
'We met a dark horse ! '
'Who ?'
' I n the train !
'An d some bad dogs - except one. That was Sun-
day 's dog who kissed the cat.'
Duck put his head under his wing.
Duck pretended he wasn't there.
John wiggled - and went.
 The Alarm Clock

Then - he came bang up against a big shining clock.

'Tick tick tick tick ! ' went the clock.
' W hirrr !' went John ' s wheel s .
'Oh ! ! I 've run o u t o f wind, again ! ' s a i d John.
'Wind ? '
' No , wind, o f course ! '
' Like " winding m e up" ? '
'Yes . '
' Never mind, little tin tortoise ! ' said the clock.
' Stay and keep me company for a bit.
' Clocks have to be wound up as wel l , you know .
Well, you do know . I can wind you up and you
can wind me up. I 'm the S tationmas ter' s Alarm
Clock . '
' Where ' s the Stationmaster ? '
'There ! '
S ure enough there was a man lying on the grass
asleep, with his head on a folded blue j acket w i th
s ilver buttons and with a red handkerchief over his
face .
' The next train i s n ' t t i l l fi v e o' clock,' s a i d the
alarm clock. ' I 've got to wake him at a quarter to,

57
so that he has time to make himself a cup of tea
before the train comes in. '
Just then two trains passed each other in oppo­
site directions going through the station without
stopping. They both made a sort of 'mmph ! ' noise
as they passed each other.
Duck, who had pretended to be asleep, waddled
over.
'Why do trains make that "mmph ! " noise as they
pass?' asked John.
'It's a train's way of saying "Ouch! " ' said the
alarm clock.
Duck said,

'A train says, "ouch!"

When it passes the others.
Do you think it's afraid to collide?
Of course! It's a sensible train.
The speed of it plus the speed of another
Is a hundred and sixty or something or other.
I'd say "Ouch!" or tell my mother
At the thought of a bang
At a hundred or other.'

'Poem by Duck! ' said Duck and switched off the

clock's alarm bell. 'It's nearly a quarter to! ' said
Duck. 'Time to wake up the Stationmaster.
"QUAC K ! QUACK ! QUAC K ! QUACK !
QUAC K ! QUAC K ! " '
The Stationmaster woke up. 'Thank you,
Duck! ' he said. He put on his jacket and combed
his hair. Then they heard some crying. It was the
clock. 'Oh dear! Oh dear!' it sobbed. 'I was waiting
to ring my bell and Duck switched me off. Sob sob
sob! I LIKE ringing my bell. That's what alarm
clocks are for.'
'I am very sorry!' said Duck. 'I am a foolish
duck!' He moved the alarm switch at the back with
his beak and let it ring.

It rang and rang and was happy.

 9

A Misunderstanding

'What a beautiful day it is! ' said the Stationmaster.

'It's all quiet here. The duck pond, the barn, the
station. '
'The barn! ' thought John. 'I'll soon be there! '
'The station is very quiet and peaceful,' went on
the Stationmaster. 'Do you know that poem about
a country station written by . . . er . . . Thomas . . .
about seventy years ag o, I suppose? Listen! '
Duck listened politely and John a little im­
patiently while the Stationmaster recited
Adlestrop.

'Yes. I remember Adlestrop -

The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.

The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.

No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop - only the name

6o
 And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.
And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Then they heard an engine whistle in the distance .

' My goodnes s ! ' said the Stationmaster. 'That's
the five-three for the N inth Century ! ' He put on
his hat and was j ust going to dash to the station
when he caught s ight of Grace 's ticket to the
N inth Century tied to Johnny ' s winding key .
'You must have got out at the wrong station ! '
he said, snatching Johnny u p and putting him in
his pocket . 'Never mind, John, I 'l l get you there
in time . ' He dashed off.
Just as he got to the station the train was b egin­
ning to move out. ' Puff p uff ! ' went the engine . It
was a steam engine . The S tation Master took John
from his pocket where he had been s houting, in a
muffled sort of way, about wanting to stay and go
and see D ragon.
But the S tation Master was too hurried to notice
properl y . He flung open a carriage door and put
John on the seat and slammed the door.
The train gathered speed and was soon lost to
s ight.

61
 Poor John ! - There he was all alone in a carriage
- Oh, no, he was n ' t alone . A beautiful smooth­
haired black cat was there, with emerald-green
eyes . He was wearing a crown .
'Oh, Cat ! ' said John .
'Oh, John ! ' said Cat. 'Where are you going ? '
Then h e saw the ticket. 'Oh, t o King Alfred i n the
N inth Century, I see. '
'That's Grace' s ticket ! ' said John . ' S he tied it on
to me so as not to lose it.
'Oh, when shall I see D ragon ? '
'Never mind, John ! ' s a i d Cat. 'You will s e e him.
You are a resolute tin tortoise, and think of all the
adventures you are having which you can tell him
about. '
' True ! ' said John, cheering up a littl e . ' Are you
going to the Ninth Century, too ? '
'Yes,' said Cat.
' How shall I get back to the D uck Pond ? '
' Don ' t worry ! Grace will help you. S he ' s not a
Lady-in-Waiting for nothing.
' She is clever as well as beautiful ! ' added Cat.
He picked John up and put him on the window
l edge so that he could see out.
Glancing back, Johnny noticed a scrap of paper
on the seat. It looked like a bit of a song. A small
black dot was moving across it.
' Dot-bug ! ' said John.
I t d i dn ' t answer.
'Perhaps it's not the s ame one ? ' he thought,

62
l ooking at the words on the paper - ' I am here at
the gate , alone ! ' -
Cat opened the w indow s lightly and the paper
blew away.
'What a strange world it is to be sure ! ' said Cat.
' Mieow ! Look ! '
I t did look strange. As the train puffed through
the countryside the people they saw out of the w in­
dow seemed to become more old-fashioned and
dressed diffe rently . A carriage on the road, a l i ttle
way off, passed them going the other way and a lady
in the carriage bowed - a l ittle b i t.

' Queen Victoria ! ' said C a t. ' We 're going back

through time, you see . King Alfred lives in the
N inth Century . '
 10

Kaleidoscope

'Tickets , please ! T ickets , please ! ' They heard the

Ticket Inspector in the next carriage .
In a few moments their door s l i d open and the
Ticket Inspector came in .
' I s he the Guard ? ' whispered John.
The man heard him and said, 'No, l ittle tin tor­
toise, I am the man who looks at your tickets to see
that you are going to the right place - and that
you ' ve paid your fare . '
Cat s howed his ticket which was a travel warrant
s igned by the Queen.
'Ah, yer Honour ! ' said the Ins pector, touching
his hat. He clipped the tickets and gave them back.
'Would you l ike to see a fill um s how, yer Honours ? '
h e said. 'Well, a sort o f fi l lu m show, out of the win­
dow ? '
'We saw Queen Victoria pass i n the carriage ! '
said Cat.
'Now, yer Honour, all the people we pass are
supposed to be in the proper century they l ive in
and appear in the right order. But what with them
repairs and things , the rails bend here and there
so that the Good Lord knows w hat you' l l see.
Noah's Ark, as l ikely as not. Though that was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark, as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark� as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark, as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark� as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark, as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark� as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark, as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark� as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark, as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark� as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark, as. likely as not. Though that· was long
before King Alfred's time . Not to w orry, yer
Honours . S ure it's a fine soft evening. Raining a
Noah's Ark: as. likely as not. Though that· was long
the Captain on the bridge, who had a long beard,
was calling out, 'I don't care where the water goes,
if it doesn ' t get into the wine ! '
The rain began to clear.
' Long ago, Johnny, ' said Cat, ' there were great
floods all over the world. It rained every day and
every night for over a month. Animals would have
been drowned so Mr and Mrs Noah and their
children, who lived then, built a huge boat and put
two each of all the animals on board to make sure
they didn ' t get drowned and that they could have
more baby animals . '
' O h ! ' said J ohnny. 'Whew ! '
' And . . . ' w�nt on Cat, ' . . . when the flood water
began to s ink N oah s ent a dove out to find some
dry land. It flew away and came back with an olive
branch in its beak which it got from a tree on dry
land. ' Cat paused. 'I think that's right ! '
Still looking out of the carriage window, the next
thing they s aw was a man in a powdered white wig.

He had a beauty s pot on his cheek and was making

a sandwich, very carefully.

66
 ' That's the Earl of S an dwich inventing a sand­
wich, I expect,' said Cat.
The next figure they saw was a knight in shining
armour s ticking a lance into a dragon .
' S t George ! '

' ' , )-:"'1

� , / _-�
7
£,,,.._.-
-� ---�
-;, � :
-L:J).'
...A!��!i;;i'\\
�....,...
. - P?:2':.--- " >tit< --
0

, ..,
-.
. ::
u ?'! c�::;'-l'
. 1 , 11;.-.·�/)'
.;_ , �) � )� ·
,,. /) , , /'.,.':"."
. �
- ( I rh"L .
" .) S : _'. -:
0

'? " o "

•

" '
•

"��'\ ;; ! l1r;·x�·�
\) 1 ))-- :J ';_:,). )) --,
- '-V 7 ,....
- J > , ) ,, �) (
L
�)
' Booo ! ' called out John. ' Boooo ! Boooo ! ! ! '
Then they saw Chopin playing the p i ano and
D ylan Thomas drinking some beer. A tall man was
s itting on top of a hill nearby, thinking.
' Could be Wordsworth ! ' said Cat, who seemed
to know an awful lot.
'Who's Wordsworth ? ' asked John . ' An d that
other man ? '
' Both poets ! ' said Cat. ' But look ! '
' O h, look , ' said Johnny . ' I dioms ! '

' Cart before the hors e .

 'A white elephant . . . and . . . a red herring ! '

But no sooner than seen they were gone .

' Oh, dear, I dioms ! ' said Cat, who had never
S EEN an i diom before . 'But, what have we here ? '
The countryside h a d changed t o the sea-s ide and
a man, wearing a gol den crown, was s itting by the

-. o
�--­,
/ \ ..
I

---- � ­
� --- - - - - ---=- --

= -
.-.-

- \__ --
� --- .
waves and shouting at them to go back. But the
waves woul dn' t - then a man came along with a
towel and a dry pair of socks .
' That King got wet feet ! ' said Johnny.
A station flashed by. Cat had to turn his head
quickly to read its name, ' Adlestrop ' .
' The Station Master told Clock and Duck and
me a poem about that s tation. I like poems ! '

' S o do I ! ' said Cat . ' Listen to this one . You've

got to say it rather fast in one breath :

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,

Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches,
And charging along like troops in a battle
All through the meadows are horses and cattle :
All the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted Stations whistle by.
I can ' t remember who wrote it,' said Cat 'The
Queen taught it to me one evening when we were
sitting by the fire . Look, there' s s ome horses and
cattle .

' Look ! ' - They saw a great vista o f sand. A man

was there s inging to three girls .
' Bag's first ! ' said John.
'What ? '
' King Solomon ! '
' S o i t is ! '
Then they saw S inbad the S ailor l ooking abso­
l utely furious .
 He was giving a piggy-back to an old man and
a big genie, nearby, was laughing.
The old man had his legs clasped tightly round
S inbad ' s neck and wouldn't let go.
'Why doesn ' t S in bad s imply fall over ? ' asked
John. 'The old man would get a terrible bang and
S inbad wouldn't have to give him a piggy-back,
any more . '
The scene changed and they saw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

'That's our milkman ! ' said Cat. ' And Teddy is

with him !

'He is a naughty bear. I expect they have been

del ivering milk to King Alfre d . ' Even as he spoke
the train slowed down and stopped.

King Alfred hadn' t come to the s tation to meet

them.

71
 A sparrow, in a hedge, said he wasn't at his castle,
either, but was staying in a hovel with the Old
Woman .
 11

Up or Down

They started off for the Old Woman' s hovel . Cat

kept w inding Johnny up but he j ust went here and
there instead of in the right direction, so Cat said,
'Wait here , J ohnny, and when I reach the hovel I ' l l
ask Grace t o come and carry y o u . Y o u can have
a ride in her pocket. '
Cat went off and Johnny waite d . Then he heard,
'Pst ! Pst ! ' It was a fox in a hole call ing him . ' Come
here, friend ! ' he said.
 John wiggled and, by a stroke of luck, scuttled
in just the right direction to Foxy 's hole and
whizzed down the stairs into his den.

'Are you all right ? ' aske d Foxy.

' Yes, thank you ! '
' Come into the garden and meet my friends ! ' He
picked Johnny up very carefully in his mouth and
took him through a long passage. As they passed
the bathroom a giraffe poked his head out. ' Be up
in a minute ! ' he said.
When they got to the garden two men were there
having an argument . Foxy coughe d, 'Ahem ! Mr
N ewton, meet Tin Tortoise. And Mr . . . ' the men
didn ' t hear but went on arguing.
Foxy lay on the grass with his head on his paws .
' I f', said Mr Isaac Newton, ' I drop this apple,
it falls . '

74
 'You missed me ! ' said Johnny.
'I know ! '
'You nearly didn ' t miss me ! '
' I ' m sorry - I hadn ' t noticed you. Who are you ? '
' John ! ' said Johnny .
' I 'm I s aac ! ' said I s aac, 'And this is my friend,
Albert . '
' Hello, John ! ' said Albert. 'Are you a thoughtful
tin tortoise ? '

' Yes ! ' said John .

' Perhaps you can help us ! ' said Albert. 'My
friend, here, and I were coming down in the lift
from my fiat on the third floor where I live. I saac,
who was throwing that apple up in the air, said,
'Albert, my dear fellow, our lift i_s going D OWN .
I am throwing the apple UP. Now, my dear tin tor­
toise, was the apple going up or really going down ? '
John thought . Then h e thought some more .
' Both ! ' he said.
' I say ! ' said Mr Einstein, for that was his sur­
name . ' I saac, this tortoise is a genius . '
' A whatter ? ' thought John . ' Oh, well ! '

75
 I s aac shook his head . ' The apple cannot be going
both UP and DOWN at the same time . '
' Um - Excuse me ! ' said a voice .
Albert looke d roun d. All HE coul d see were
legs . B ut Albert was pretty bright. He knew that
if legs were there , , someone was us ually
,,
there , too. He looke d :'', , up - and up - and up.
'Oh, hello, Giraffe ! ' f' he said.
' Um ! ' said the giraffe, ' pardon me - do
you want that apple ? '
'Not a t all ! ' said Albert. 'Woul d
you l ike it ? '
'Yes , please ! ' s a i d the giraffe .
Albert gave i t to him. 'Eat i t up ! ' h e said.
' Down ! ' said Mr Newton .
' UP ! ' said Albert.
' DOWN ! ' s ighe d Isaac .
The giraffe took it up and
swallowe d it down.
'Hm ? ' said Mr
do you think, ,&�, 1 �

' If,' sa1· d John , �� 11. ! / '1 ' the g1· raae
HI
l I I
1
-�
s tood on its � 1 1 ! 11 . head an d ate
, :.. r I( / the one that
-
'-� /
the other appl e , .'

YOU'VE got, · ( / 2 he ' d swallow

it up. ' -- � · ·

'Down ! ' said Mr Newton, uncertainl y .

T h e giraffe, w h o seemed very interested in the
conversation, stood on its head, leaning against a
tree.
 Mr Newton gave the giraffe the other apple. H e
ate it - UP.
' There, he swallowed it UP, ' said Albert.
'He swallowed it DOWN ! ' I s aac drew a picture
of the giraffe with arrows pointing up AND down.
 'Now, look ! ' he said to Albert. They walked off
so absorbed in their argument that they forgot
John .
' Got a n appl e , Johnny ? ' s a i d the giraffe .
'No ! ' s a i d John .
The giraffe went away.
In a l ittl e while Albert and Isaac came back, s till
argumg.
'Wel l , J ohn, ' said I saac, 'up or down ? '
' Both ! ' s a i d John .
Foxy got up. He had scented Lady Grace coming
along.
' Coee ! ' she called. ' I ' ve come for Johnny . '
 ' Goodbye ! ' said Johnny . ' T hank you for having
me ! '
Grace set off for the hove l . ' D i d you have a nice
time, Johnny ? ' she said.
'Yes ! ' said Johnny. ' There was a giraffe in Foxy's
bathroom. Was that magic ? '
' Oh, yes ! ' said Grace, ' of course ! '
 12

Willow Tree Hovel

When they arrived at the hovel they found King

Alfred half asleep in front of the fire.
He got up as Grace came in.
She curts ied and said, 'Your Royal Highness,
this is Johnny Here & There . '
King Alfred was very pleased to see him. He
wound J ohn up and watched him scuttle here and
there.
The O l d Woman came in from the kitchen wip­
ing her hands on her apron. She was wearing some
diamond earrings which the Queen had sent her
along with the j ewels for King Alfred.
'Welcome , Johnny ! ' she said, then went out and

80
fetched some cakes she was making and put them
down in front of the fire. 'Please watch them and
see they don ' t burn, Your Maj es ty, my dear ! ' she
said and went back to the kitchen.
Cat came in and sat by the fire and John watched,
though he was a little worried how he was going
.to get back to the Duck Pond. I t was Christmas
Eve and there were going to be no more trains for
four days .
The King turned the cakes roun d . ' Nearly
done ! ' he said. ' Sorry that Grace's dogs weren ' t
here t o greet y o u , Johnny . They a r e in t h e kennels
at my castl e . They send their l ove . Monday ' s dog
said he ' d got a bone to pick with you ! - An idiom,
I suppose ! '

�­
�
' I fancy that's j us t another way to try to get an
extra bone, ' said Cat. ' They're clever dogs , you
know . '

81
 After looking thoughtful for a while King Alfred
turned to Cat and said, ' Tell me, my dear, what
are cats for ? '
' Cats are fo r stroking. '
'When you wake up in the morning, what do you
do ? '
'Your Maj esty , ' said Cat, 'first we yawn very
wide.
' Then we stretch our front paws and make our
claws stick out. Then we s tretch one back leg and
then the other. Then we go to our sand box. Then
kick up behind and shake our p aws . Then we have
a drink. Then we scratch all our tickles and make
sure we haven't got any fleas.
' Then we practice mieowing and go and s cratch
on the bedroom door of the people who live with
us. If it is not too early the people open the door
and say, " Come in, Cat ! " Then we j ump up on the
bed and rub faces and kiss and purr . '
'What happens, ' asked the King, ' i f people feel
it is too early to get up ? '

'They shout, " Go away, Cat ! "

' Then we go out and sit by the front gate and
yawn at the sparrows to show our teeth. Then we
go indoors and sleep for a little while l onger. '

82
 ' I see,' said the King, ' that is what you do. But,
what are cats for ? '
' Cats are fo r stroking and fo r children t o l earn
benevolence on.
' Every home is incomplete without a cat , ' said
Cat.
' Does the Queen chase you if you scratch very
early on her bedroom door ? '
' S he does ! ' said Cat. ' S he gets out o f b e d and
folds up her morning newspaper and opens the
door and clouts me with it.
' S he says I am a bad cat ! ' said Cat.
 13

The Piper

'Yours i s a curious question ! ' s a i d Cat.

- 'Are we in the next chapter ? ' said King Alfred.
'Yes ! '
'Thank you ! '
'Yours is a curious question ! - What are kings
for ? '
' For ruling and telling people what t o do . '
' But why are you here ins tead of sitting on your
throne ? '
' O h ? ' s a i d the King.
'Oh ?
' O h . . . er . . . I 'm not sure .
' I really can't remember.
' I ' l l look it up in the l ib rary, tomorrow . ' He
stroked Cat then yawned s leepily and closed his
eyes.
The clock, if there had been one , which there
wasn't, would have gone , ' Tick-tock ! Tick-tock !
Tick-tock ! Tick-tock ! '
Presently Cat sniffed, then sniffed, then sniffed
again . . . and then the old woman came in.
' My cakes ! ' she shrieked .
 S he picked up the griddle and put the cakes by,
then shook the King. 'You bad King ! ' she said.
'Eh, what ? ' said the King, waking up . . . ' Oh,
hello, Old Woman ! '
'You naughty wicked King ! ' shouted the Old
Woman. 'You've let the cakes b urn ! '
King Alfred was very sorry, then helped to
scrape the burnt bits off the cakes.
' O h dear, you are a silly, Your Royal Highness ! '
she said. Then laughed and gave him a big hug
because she wasn't angry any more .
'Why don' t you tel l your guests a story ? ' she
said. ' It's nearly bed-time, anyway . '
' A fa iry s tory ! ' demanded John.
' My dear tin tortoise,' said the K ing. ' You are
in Fairyland, now. How else could you have come
to the N inth Century ? All stories here are fairy
stories . '
 'Will you tell us one about the frog prince ? ' said
Grace.
' I ' ll try ! ' said the King and called out, ' Frog ! ! '

' Croak ! ' said a frog, j umping in at the window.

' Thank you ! ' said the King.
'Now , once upon a time there was a Princess
who met a frog and she thought, ' If I kiss Froggy
he'll turn into a handsome prince and marry
me ! '
' Grace ! ' said King Alfred. ' You b e the Princess
and Froggy, you be the frog. '
So Frog j umped up into Grace's arms and she
kissed him. But he d i dn ' t turn into a prince.
Grace looked puzzled. ' You are supposed to be
a frog-prince, now ! ' she said.
' I 'm a frog frog ! ' said the frog and j umped out
of the w in dow.

86
 Grace looked at the King but he had dozed off
agam.
' He is a tired King ! ' said the Old Woman .
The King snuffled .
' I think he's dreaming,' s h e said.
' Can we see his dreams ? ' asked Grace . 'After all
this I S Fairyland . '
' I don ' t think they' d come in here, not with all
on us crowding the place so. Not but that you're
welcome, I ' m s ure ! ' she said. ' Dreams are shy, you
know ! - Most on 'em ! One of you go outs ide and
look. They won ' t mind ! '
Grace opened the door very quietly and p icked
John up and laid him down j ust outside, behind
a small pebble.
They could hear some mus ic.
There was a glow in the sky and the wind s tirred
the willow trees .
' S sh ! ' said Grace.
' I t' s the Piper at the gates of Dawn. ' S he went
ins ide, s hutting the door, softly .
' I t ' s a l l i n the King's dream ! ' s h e thought.
Then - Mole appeared.
' H ello, Mole ! ' said John.
' Hello, John ! ' Mole faded away .
'Where' s he gone ? '
' I t ' s l ike that i n books ! ' s a i d the Piper. ' They
come and go ! '
Then John heard K ing Alfred's s leepy voice say­
ing in the dream insi de his head, ' Please give my
love to Kenneth Grahame and Ratty and Badger
and Toad . '
' I will ! ' said the Piper. The leaves s tirred a l ittle
and John felt he had gone .
Grace opened the door.
' H e ' s woken up ! ' s he said.
John wiggled. 'Whirrr ! ' went his wheels, then
he scooted here and there - and in.
King Alfred glanced at the clock which wasn't
there because clocks hadn ' t been invented then.
' Bed-time ! ' he said. ' Come on, my dears ! '
He and the O l d Woman put Cat and John to bed.
Cat fel l asleep, right away. Grace came in and
kissed them goodnight and whispered to Johnny,
'Go to sleep, now . I 'll wind you up again in the
morning ! '

88
 ' I want to see D ragon ! ' said Johnny.
' You will ! '
' D o you think it was two dot-bugs or were they
the same one ? '
' Go t o sleep ! ' said Grace.
'What's a Lady- in-Waiting ? '
' A lady who helps the Queen and l ives i n her
palace . '
' Do you . . . ? '
' Ssh ! ssh ! ssh ! '
Grace watched fo r a while then sang quietly :

'It's past your bed-time, sleepy Sun

The moon is out, the night's begun
Johnny close your pretty eyes
Until the morning Sun shall rise
Hushabye, sleepy head.

The Fox is out ; his babies sleep

In the meadows lie the sheep
The cows chew cud then close their eyes
Till the morning Sun shall rise
Hushabye, sleepy head.

Hushabye - hush!
Hushabye - hush!
Hushabye
Ssh!
Put out the light.
Hushahye - hush!
Hushabye - hush!
Hushabye
Ssh!
Good - - night! '
 14

Noah' s D ove and

Father Christmas
It was dark now and snowing outs ide. King Alfred
had gone to bed. The Old Woman wen t to see if
Cat and Johnny were all right. Then s he went to
bed, herself.
' There 's s omething s pecial I s houl d remember ! '
thought Grace . 'Now, what was it ? '
Then she did remember.
It was Chris tmas Eve.
Grace went outs ide. S he coul d hear a coomg
noise, somewhere.
S he followed the sound, and l ooked and l ooked.
I t was very dark but, j us t then, she s aw the rim
of the moon beginning to appear over a hill-top.
It rose ; s he could see it rising. And then she saw
- a dove . It cooed and pecked at an ol ive branch
at its feet. Then cooe d, again.

�f.WnL
0 '---»ff
� /':
'... '-" t
/ .
 ' Dove , ' said Grace . ' Beautiful white dove ! ' The
dove let her pick it up.
'Who are you, Dove ? ' she said.
' Then she heard a faint, almos t imaginary
whisper in her ear, ' I am Noah's dove ' .
' Does h e know the Flood i s over ? '
' Long long ago ! '
'But your olive branch is not wi thered.
' O H , Dove - how wonderful ! '
The snow fell l ightl y. Then Grace had an i dea.
' Dove , ' she said, 'coul d you fly to the house in the
sky where Father Christmas l ives and as k him to
come here and come down the Old Woman 's chim­
ney ? You'll have to fly to the Twentieth Century
then go high up in the air. You shoul d hear some
reindeer bells . Father Chris tmas will be there and
you can tell him the mess age . '
The dove picked up its olive branch an d flew
away.
Grace waited. ' He won ' t be long ! ' she thought.
' Time is different in Fairyland. Like Mr Einstein
said in that book I was reading to the Queen the
other day . '
Grace went in doors . ' He will come ! ' she said.
Then she got s ome paper and wrote a note to
Father Christmas saying, ' Please take John to the
barn near the Duck Pond, where Dragon l ives . '
She put it in an envelope and wrote,
' FATHER CHR I S T MA S '

92
Then s he put the note down by the fire-place . S he
crept into the bedroom an d took up John very
gentl y, so as not to wake him, and put him down
next to the note .
Then she went to bed and to sleep.
 15

The Field Outside

the Barn
Dove foun d Father Christmas and gave him the
message .
' Thank you, Dove ! ' h e s a i d . 'You know I had
a letter a l ittle while ago from a dragon . . . um . .
er . . name of . . e r . . Komodo . Yes , a l e tter, probably
'
posted by F , I think. - Wanted a tin tortoise to
come and see him at Chris tmas and s tay with him.
This " John' ' , is he a tin tortois e ? - Ah, yes , good !
They are the same, then ! ' He smiled an d s troked
his long white beard. ' Thank you, Dove ! '
He watched her flying away, with her ol ive
b ranch, till she was lost in the distance.
He went to see his reindeer. ' I 've got a tickle
j us t between my shoul ders , ' he said. Rein deer
rubbed the tickl y place w i th his antlers . ' That's
better !
'Now, firs t we'll take the chil dren 's presents and
fill their stockings , as usual . Then we'll fly to the
Ninth Century and get John and take him to the
field near the barn . Komodo W I LL be pleased ! '
They set off.
Some hours l ater Johnny was s till asleep. He

94
didn ' t know that he was in Father Christmas 's
sle dge .
It was nearly dawn and the magic reindeer flew
down and alighted in the field by the barn.
Father Christmas made s ure that John was
woun d up and then put him down behind a dande­
l ion, within s ight of the barn door.
'When he wakes up he can go straight in an d be
a Chris tmas surprise for Komodo Dragon ! ' he said.
( Of course John might not have gone 'straight' in.
He could go ' here and there ' . ) But Father Christ­
mas didn ' t know about John 's wobbly wheels . So
he got in his sledge and said, ' Gee up ! ' to his rein­
deer and away he went to his house in the sky.
 16

Charlie Snail

Johnny woke up . He coul d hear a faint quacking

in the distance.
'Am I wound up ? ' he thought. He must have
said that out loud because the dandel ion in front
of him said, ' Father Chris tmas wound you up and
put you down next to me so that you woul dn ' t get
away till you had woken up. Or let your wheels go
whirr whirr. '
' But where is Cat and Grace and King Alfred
and the Old Woman ? ' asked John. 'Am I in the
N inth Century ? '
' You are i n "now " , ' said the dandelion.
'When is now ? '
'Chris tmas Day Nineteen hundred and eighty.
That's the Twentieth Century, and - there is
Dragon 's barn. '
' Oh, Dandel ion ! ' said John . He was exc ited.
' Thank you ! I am going to go to the barn and see
Komodo, right away . '
' The papier mache dragon ? '
' Yes . '
'Wel l , off you go, then ! '
 Johnny tried to wiggle clear but the ground was
too soft to wiggle on properly and he was s tuck.
'Never mind, John , ' said the dandel ion . 'When
some wind blows I 'll sway to one s i de and then
you'll be able to scoot off, I hope . I may be able
to give you a little push, too, if the wind blows the
right way. '
' Thank you ! ' said John.
It was very quiet and there was no wind. Nothing
happened and nothing happened . Then - Charlie
happened.

Charl ie was a battle snail . A greedy, no nonsense,

I 'll-get-what- I -want snail .
He crawled underneath John and carried him on
his back careering towards the barn. Ten minutes
later, when they had travelled at leas t forty five
centimetres , he stoppe d for a rest.

97
 ' I 'm Charl ie Snail , ' he said, 'and you are a
beautiful tin tortoise. I am taking you home as a
present for my Granny. S he is a very old snail and
is l onely, sometimes . S he woul d l ike to watch you
scuttle about. Not that " scuttling" is a word for tor­
toise-walking or snail-crawling ! ' said Charlie. ' B ut
you are a tin tortoise - and you do scuttl e . I l ike
you ! '
John didn ' t want to go and s tay with Charl ie 's
Granny. He wanted to go and s tay with Komodo.
Charl ie crawled on . When they were near the
barn John said, ' Your Granny will not be able to
see me scuttl ing unless you wind me up. '
' That' s true ! ' said Charlie and put John down
to w ind him up. But John WAS wound up and,
as soon as he was put down, he scuttled. This time,
though he wobbled a bit, he managed to get to the
table in the barn where the dragon was .
' Come back ! ' called Charl ie , chasing after him.
Wel l , what was John to do, now ? There was a
spider's web above him across the rafters .
' I f the s pider let down a thread I think I could
climb up , ' thought John. 'Oh, no ! I coul dn ' t climb.
Tortoises can ' t ! '
He saw a spider l ooking down at him.
' Help ! ' called John. The spider seemed to take
no notice .
' Help ! Help ! '
Charlie Snail was approaching, menacingl y. He
was scarcely three metres off.
 I

' That gives me half an hour to escape ! ' thought

John. ' I ' m not wound up ! What shal l I do ? ' He
looked up ; the s p i der's web was empty , now.
' Help ! ! Help ! ! '
Charl ie was at least ten centimetres nearer.
' Help ! ! ! ' S uddenly there were four spiders on
the web .
' Bill , ' said the firs t spider. ' You go to that corner.
Mary - over there ! '
' How do you tell a girl sp i der from a boy spider ? '
thought John . ' Help ! ! ! '
' S sh ! ' said Bill. 'We ' l l rescue you. ' They let down
four threads and Bill and Mary ran down the ir
threads and fixed them to John.
' Heave ! ' called Bill . 'Wait ! Wait ! ' He and Mary
ran up their threads and then they all heaved and
heave d . ' You are too heavy ! ' said Bill.

99
 They had hauled him about three centimetres
above the ground.
Charlie Snail was only two metres away. The
spiders haul e d s ome more and John rose to nine
centimetres above the ground. But the spiders were
completely exhausted. ' Stay there ! ' they said.
'We'll have a l ittle sleep and come back for you . '
They went away to their webs and lay down to
sleep.
John swayed gentl y backwards and forwards
overhead.
Snail fume d !
There was nothing he coul d do. Snails are not
good at j umping. So he watched John swaying for
a while and then crawled on to see his Granny.

No sooner had he started than a mother black­

bird hopped into the barn.
Charl ie got ins ide his shel l .

1 00
 ' Pretty l ady ! ' said John .
When the blackb ird h a d gone Charl ie peeped out
and looked around then set off again. He was a sad
snail . He real l y wanted his Granny to have a happy
Christmas . ' S he woul d have loved Johnny ! ' he
thought . ' Ah, well ! ' An hour later, j ust as he was
crawling round the corner at the far end of the barn,
the owl who l ived there flew back.
He s potted the tin tortoise right away . 'What­
ever is that ? ' he thought. ' Perhaps it's a new kind
of mouse ! '
He clutched at John with his talons as he swept
by, then swooped up and alighted on a beam above
Dragon, s i tting on the table below.
 17

The Dragon, at Last !

' I t's not a mouse , ' thought the owl . ' I t's too hard.
I know ! I t ' s an egg ! ' H e sat on it. ' Perhaps it's a
new kind of egg and will hatch out a new kind of
owl and I s hall be famous . ' He stepped as ide to look
at John.
' Very strange ! ' thought Owl, scratching a tickle
on his leg. Then he accidentally knocked John off
the beam down on to the table below.

�
�

Komodo was a s mall dragon but from close to

he was very impressive.

1 02
 ' Dear D ragon , ' said John, who had landed the
right way up. ' Dear D ragon, I came all the way
from the window-sill to see you. You are a dragon
- will you please breathe some fire ? '
' I can ' t ! ' said Komodo. ' I a m not a real dragon.
I am a toy dragon . I am made of papier mache.
Anyway real fire might burn down the barn - and
me . I can bre athe imaginary fire, though. '
' Oh, please do ! ' said John. 'But won 't that burn
down the barn ? '
' Real fire burns down real barns , ' said Dragon.
'But this is imaginary fire an d woul d only b urn
down an imaginary barn . So it is quite safe ! '
He b reathed s ome imaginary fire .
Johnny was enchanted. ' Oh, I forgot ! ! M y name
is Johnny Here & There . '
' Komodo ! '
' Hello, Komodo !
' O, Komodo - I feel so happy ! Let's dance ! '
Komodo was s tartled.
'An imaginary dance ! ' said Johnny . ' In our
heads . '
' Of course ! ' said Komodo. 'What shall it be, a
polka ? - One, two , three ! '
They danced an imaginary polka.
'Now, a waltz ! '
They danced an imaginary waltz .
'Now , a mazurka ! '
They danced an imaginary mazurka.
'Now, a gavotte ! ' said the dragon . ' I bet a pa pier

103
mache dragon and a tin tortoise have never danced
an imaginary gavotte, before ! '
They tried everything. Even Rock.
' I maginary Rock is much better than real Rock ! '
said Johnny. ' Much quieter ! '
' I maginary quieter ! '
' Of course ! - I say, l ook at the dust. '

i
. · 1 . _,
. . . '.
I,
: /.

' I t's only imaginary dust ! '

The owl on the rafters above , woke up, coughed,
swore quietly, then went to sleep again.
 18

The Last Chapter

'Why haven ' t I got a title to say what I ' m about ? '
asked the chapter.
' Don 't as k for reasons ! ' said the story. ' Just
begin ! '
'All right ! ' said Chapter 1 8 . 'Here goes ! '
Owl was asleep.
Komodo and Johnny were quiet. I t had been
snowing outside . The trees l ooked still and bare.
Time p assed.
' Listen ! ' said Komodo. 'I thought I heard . . . '
No - all was quiet.
'Listen -
' I t soun ds l ike a train m the dis tance. There
are no trains on Chris tmas D ay. '
Presently they heard the sound of chattering.
S omeone laughed.
'Who coul d it be ? '
' Knock ! Knock ! '
The door opened and there was King Alfred and
Cat and Grace, with the dove s itting c omfortably
on her shoul der.

ms
 ' Happy Christmas , Darlings ! ' they called out.
' May we come in ? '
Bill and Mary and s ome other spiders came out
on their web to watch.
'We b rought you some presents , ' said Grace .
The Old Wom an has sent a Christmas Pudding s he
made . S he didn ' t come . S he always l ikes to s pend
Christmas Day alone in her hovel. But Cat and I
are going to see her, tomorrow . '
King Alfred poured some b randy on the pud­
ding. 'Now, l i ght it ! ' he said to Komodo. ' My
goodness , what was that ? '
Owl had flown down and perched o n the table.
The King WAS pleased. ' You are very beauti­
ful ! ' he said. Then, ' Komodo, please b reathe s ome
fire and l i ght the b randy on the pudding. '
'He can only breathe imaginary fire ! ' said
Johnny.
' I f he breathed out hard and we put a match to
his breath it might l ight and that woul d l ight the
b randy , ' said King Alfred. ' Of course we could
light the b randy with the match ! ' he whispered to
Grace . 'But I think D ragon woul d l ike to b reathe

1 06
REAL fire, j us t once. ' He fel t in his pockets . ' Any­
body got a match ? ' he said.
No one had.
' Dove , fly to the S un , ' said Grace, ' an d get a l ight
from it with your olive branch . '
S o D ove flew away . H igher and higher till he
reached the S un and got a l i ght then flew back and
Komodo b reathed out hard - and breathed real fire
and lit the brandy which b urnt with a blue flame .

Komodo breathed some more .

' I l ike doing that ! ' he said. ' Real fire ! '
'Oh, do put his fire out ! ' said Johnny . 'He's a
papier mache dragon . He might burn ! '
King Alfred tried to blow Dragon's fire out.

! 07
 Grace blew !
Cat blew !
I t was no good !
S u ddenly Owl beat his wings very hard . And
THAT put Komodo's fire out.
Komodo had been frightened but was sorry he
coul dn ' t breathe real fire any more .
'Never mind, Komodo ! ' said Johnny. ' Oh look !
S ome of Owl 's tail feathers are s inged. '

�y

\ r.J
,l

/'
- - -
......_ _ .

Owl turned his head right roWld and looked at

his tail . He didn 't seem worried. He closed his eye s .
' Gone t o sleep ? ' s a i d the King.
' I t's his waking-up time , ' said Grace. ' I believe
he 's thinking. '
The flame on the pudding had died down. Grace
took a spoonful of pudding and offered it to Owl
who opened his eyes then turned his head away but
put out his left claw and took the spoon and flew
up to the rafters .
Komodo breathed again. But no more flame s .

1 08
' You are quite right, Johnny , ' said the King. ' I t
wouldn' t be safe . - Ah, Komodo, I 've got a present
for you . '
He gave him a pair o f roller skates . ' You can't
skate yet, Komodo, ' he said. ' You haven ' t learnt,
but you could go downhill and then along for a bit
and Johnny coul d give you a bit of a push some­
times and you could wind him up. You could go
out together. '
Grace gave Johnny a tiny s i l ver clock that went
' T ing ting ting ! ' every hour.
Cat gave him a j ewel. ' I t is very beautiful ! ' said
Cat. 'You can look through it and see all different
colours . '
' Ss h ! ' said Grac e . ' Carol s ingers ! - ' O r i s it ? '
They opened the door and looked o u t and saw a
rose bush planted near the door with a label tied
to it which said, ' A happy Christmas from the
Stationmaster. '
 ' I think it's going to grow red roses ! ' said the
King.
Johnny loved it !
' Listen ! ' said Grace.
' Come into the garden Maud, I am here at the
gate alone ! '
' D ot-bug ! ! ' said Johnny . King Alfred picked it
up. 'And Charlie Snai l . Look ! ' The King put D ot­
bug down on the table then saw two snails by the
door, looking in.
' I ' ve brought my Granny to watch Johnny Here
& There go here and there , ' said Charl ie.
' Yes ! ' quavered Granny S nai l . ' And a happy
Christmas to you all ! '

' ' �rtfp

/
,,

Grace wound Johnny up and he went here and

there and s i de to s ide and round and back then
b umped into Komodo and went 'Whirr whirr ! '
Granny was s o happy but s he and Charlie
crawled away again , right away, so as to get home
to the crack in the rock where they lived before it
got dark.

I IO
 No sooner had they gone than they heard, ' D ing !
ding ! ding ! ding ! ' 'Well, bless my soul ! I t ' s a mes­
senger pelican ! '
Pelican nearly fell off his b ike then gave Grace
a telegram . ' Hello, Johnny ! ' he said. ' Turned out
all right then ! '
' I t's from the Queen,' said Grace . ' I t says ,
" W ishing you a Happy Christmas s top Love stop
the Queen . " '
' Happy Christmas , all ! ' said Pelican and picked
up his bike and flew away.

A_
/�'-
' I '

' H e does that, sometimes , ' said Cat. ' I t ' s quicker
than riding it. '

III
 Just then they heard the engine at the station give
a whistl e .
' O h , ' s a i d Johnny . ' I t whistles F � . '
The engine blew its whistle, again.
'P ! ! ! ! ! ! !'
' That's a note,' said J ohnny . ' I t's been here . I t
posted m y letter t o Father Christmas . '
' And now it's a note call ing us back to the
station,' said Grace. 'We are going to a party
tonight, at the Palace. ' They all said goodbye and
hugged Johnny and Komodo then ran for the train .
Dot-bug said, ' Can I be the full stop at the end
of this book ? '
' I expect so ! ' s a i d Johnny . 'When is the end ? '
'Now ! ' said Chapter 1 8 •