Four Children and It Read online

  We trailed after them, Alice grumbling because she was carrying too many bags, Maudie whining because she was tired and thirsty, and Smash in a foul mood, kicking her way through the pine needles – and kicking me, accidentally on purpose, when I got too near her.

  I walked along after them, my head spinning. I couldn’t believe the Psammead was real. I’d longed for storybooks to come true all my life. When I was Maudie’s age I’d kept a keen lookout for Wild Things and Gruffaloes and wanted a Tiger to come to tea. As I got older and read my way through Mum’s old Puffins, I played going to stage school with Pauline, Petrova and Posy, and I told stories in the attic with poor starving Sara Crewe, and I spent Christmas Day with Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy – but these were all pretend games, even though I imagined them vividly enough.

  If I’d encountered the Psammead on my own, I might have thought I’d imagined it too – but the others had all seen and heard it themselves. It really had granted Robbie his wish. My heart thudded hard as I watched Robbie and Dad together. I was so happy for Robs – though a mean little bit of me wished it was me making Dad so pleased and proud. I knew the Psammead could grant wishes. I should have got in first and wished that I could do something extraordinary to impress everyone. I knew something else from reading the book. The wishes always stopped working after sunset. I felt I had to warn Robbie – but he was so over the moon and stars with happiness I couldn’t spoil things for him just yet.

  Dad got tired after lugging Robs on his shoulders for a minute or two, so Robbie jumped down and they marched along together. Every now and then Robbie ran ahead, leapt up at a branch and swung madly round and round, while Dad cheered until he was hoarse.

  When we got back to Dad’s house at last, Robbie rushed out into the garden to climb the lime tree.

  ‘No, Robbie. You’ve done enough climbing for today. Just simmer down and stop being so boisterous. I don’t know what’s got into you,’ Alice snapped.

  ‘Hey, hey,’ said Dad. ‘Leave the boy alone. He’s not doing any harm. He’s just happy.’

  They usually took painstaking care not to criticize each other’s children.

  ‘Look, we agreed, climbing trees is dangerous. We got cross with Smash because she did it, so it’s not fair that you’re positively encouraging Robbie to climb trees now,’ said Alice.

  ‘Look, the lad’s really gifted – surely you can see that. Just look at him!’ They both stared out of the kitchen window as Robbie practically ran up the lime tree vertically, while two magpies flew out of the branches in alarm.

  ‘Yes, I’m looking – and I’m trying to be a responsible adult here. He could fall and break his neck,’ said Alice.

  ‘Yes, I know. You’re right.’ Dad opened the kitchen window. ‘Come down this minute, son. You’re scaring your stepmother.’

  ‘Don’t call me that!’ said Alice. ‘All the stepmothers in fairy stories are mean old witches.’

  ‘Well, nobody could mistake you for a mean old witch. You’re my fairy princess,’ said Dad.

  Smash and I looked at each other – and then we both mimed vomiting. Dad and Alice went out in the garden arm in arm to supervise Robbie, while Maudie toddled after them, sucking on her newly washed beaker.

  ‘Oh, yuck!’ said Smash. ‘I can’t stand it when they act like that.’

  ‘Me neither,’ I said.

  ‘Fairy Princess!’ said Smash, in a silly man’s voice – and we both fell about laughing.

  It felt as if we were almost friends instead of deadly enemies.

  ‘Still, your mum does look like one with all her lovely golden hair,’ I said, fingering my own meek mousy plaits. ‘She doesn’t actually look like a mum at all – she looks so young and she’s got such a fantastic figure.’

  ‘She has Botox injections every six months to smooth out all her lines – and she’s got false boobs,’ said Smash.

  ‘She hasn’t!’ I said. I started to feel a lot better. ‘Well, my dad still thinks she’s wonderful, anyway. And I wish he wouldn’t go on about it.’

  ‘It’s okay for you. You’ve just got to put up with one parent acting like an idiot. Your mum hasn’t met someone else, has she?’

  ‘No. She tried dating someone she hooked up with on the Internet but it didn’t work out.’

  ‘Well, my dad’s gone off with this really, really young girl. Everyone thought it wouldn’t last, but now he’s married her. I can’t stand her.’

  ‘Is she horrible to you?’

  ‘Not really. She acts all nicey-nicey, and says we’ll be just like sisters together, but I know she doesn’t really want to be lumbered with me.’ Smash’s voice went croaky, as if she might start crying.

  ‘You were a bridesmaid at their wedding, weren’t you?’ I asked quickly, to distract her.

  ‘Yes, and it was awful. I had to wear a stupid dress and have my hair all curly. I looked ludicrous.’

  ‘What colour dress? I’ve always longed to be a bridesmaid,’ I said.

  ‘Blue silk, and matching shoes with silly little heels,’ said Smash.

  ‘Oh wow, are you allowed to wear proper heels? I wish I had heels, but Mum won’t let me,’ I said.

  ‘Hey, you can wish for them tomorrow then!’ said Smash. ‘Just ask that Psammead thingy and it’ll puff up and those old Tesco trainers will turn into wicked high heels. Isn’t it amazing? We can have magic wishes! And I found it, don’t forget.’

  ‘Yes, but I identified it,’ I said.

  ‘Let’s have a deck at your book then, and see what those other children wished for,’ said Smash, grabbing it.

  ‘They wish to be beautiful,’ I said.

  ‘Well, that’s a waste of a wish,’ said Smash.

  ‘I’d quite like to be beautiful,’ I said wistfully. I had once heard two teachers discussing me at school. One wasn’t sure who I was, and the other one – my favourite, who started up our school library – said, ‘Oh, you know Rosalind, she’s that pale plain little kid with the pigtails.’

  ‘Well, you be beautiful then – but I’ll be rich,’ said Smash.

  ‘You’ll have to be more specific than that. The children in the book wished to be rich and they were showered with old gold coins and they found they couldn’t spend them anywhere.’

  ‘I shall be ultra specific. I’ll wish to be rich and famous,’ said Smash. ‘Then I can have my own show on television. I’ll have my very own penthouse suite with staff so I won’t need to live with my dad or my mum. I’ll get driven around everywhere in this huge great limo and all the paps will chase after me and people will scream and want my autograph all the time. When Maudie’s older, she can come and live with me too, and I’ll buy her everything she wants and take her to amusement parks during the day and out to a show every evening.’ Smash paused. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

  ‘Smash, the wishes don’t last. Only until sunset,’ I said. ‘At least, the wishes don’t last in the book for the other children.’

  ‘Well, that’s a bit of a let-down,’ said Smash. ‘It’s scarcely worth having them if they’re all over and done with in an afternoon.’ She looked out of the window again, where Robbie was swinging and whooping. ‘Does Tree Boy know?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ I said uncomfortably. ‘Oh dear, he’s going to be so disappointed tomorrow. And Dad.’

  ‘Are you going to tell him?’ asked Smash.

  ‘Not just yet. He’s so happy,’ I said. ‘Don’t you tell him either, Smash, please.’

  She hesitated, but then shrugged. ‘Okay.’ She looked out of the window once more. ‘Oh yuck and double yuck! The Fairy Princess and your dad are kissing.’

  ‘Yuck, yuck, yuck,’ I said, and we both giggled together and made disgusting kissing sounds.

  Smash went on doing it when they came back into the kitchen with Maudie and Robs. Alice glared at her but Dad was too hyper to even notice. He was clapping Robbie on the back and feeling his muscles and calling him The Champion.

  ‘We’re g