soldiers are coming!”Edmund’s father ran inside. “Quickly!” shouted Edmund. “We must help my father to hide. The soldiers mustn’t find him.” Everyone ran into the house. The soldiers came to the house. They knocked on the door. “Let us in!” they shouted. “Open the door, or we’ll smash it down.” Everyone ran to the library. The library had a secret room. The room was behind a bookcase. Edmund’s father hid in the secret room. “Good luck, Father,” said Edmund. Edmund’s mother pushed the bookcase back. “Don’t tell the soldiers about the secret room,” said Jane. “They will kill my father if they find him.” The soldiers ran into the house. They looked for Edmund’s father. “Tell us where he is!” they shouted. The children were frightened, but they didn’t say anything. The soldiers looked everywhere, but they couldn’t find Edmund’s father. One of the soldiers found a sword. “His sword is here,” he said, “so he must be here somewhere.” The soldiers took everyone into a room. Some men sat at a big table. They looked at the children. One of them looked at Kipper. “Come here, little boy,” he said. “Where is your father?” asked the man. Kipper was frightened, but he didn’t say anything. None of the children said anything. The important men were angry. “Your father is hiding,” they shouted. “Tell us where he is. If he is hiding in this house, we will soon find him.” Nobody said anything, so the soldiers began to pull up the floor. They tapped on the walls. Edmund’s mother was frightened. “They may find him,” she said.Edmund and Jane were frightened. They wanted to help their father. Suddenly, Chip had an idea. “Maybe your father could escape, if he dressed up as a woman,” he said. Biff and Anneena had an idea too. Biff threw the frisbee at a soldier. The soldier laughed. He had never seen a frisbee before. “Come and look at this!”he shouted. The soldiers wanted a rest, so they stopped looking for Edmund’s father. They all went outside and played with the frisbee. Soon, everyone was laughing. The soldiers liked the frisbee. They played with it for a long time. Suddenly, an old woman came up. She looked very poor. She wanted some money. The soldiers stopped playing with the frisbee. They shouted at the old woman. “Go away!” they shouted. “We don’t have any money.” Suddenly, one of the soldiers looked at the house. He saw someone running away. “Look! Over there!” he shouted. “Someone’s running away.”The soldiers chased the woman. “It’s not a woman, it’s a man,” they shouted. “It must be the man we want. Don’t let him get away.” The soldiers caught the man and took him back to the house. “Oh no!” said Anneena. “They’ve caught Edmund’s father. Our idea didn’t work.” The soldiers thought they had caught Edmund’s father. But it was a trick. “Grrr!” said the soldiers. “Hooray!” said the children. The children found some old clothes. “So Edmund’s father was the old woman,” said Anneena. “What a good trick,” laughed everyone. Suddenly, the magic key began to glow. The jigsaw puzzle was finished. Mum looked at something in the picture. “That’s funny,” she said. “That looks like a frisbee.” It must be a plate,” said Chip.
7-13 The Power Cut
The family was going on holiday. They were taking Biff and Chip. Mum and Dad were busy packing the car. “Will you pack these for us, please?” asked Wilma. “There will be lots to do,” said Dad. “You won’t need those.”“We will,” said Will. “We must take the games station. I’ve got a great new game.”“We want to watch these films,”said Wilma. “We haven’t seen some of them
yet.”“And can we take the CD player?” asked Biff. It was a long journey. It took hours. They stopped for a break. “Let’s get a drink,” said Mum. “Can we play a game in the arcade first?” asked Wilf. At last they arrived at the cottage. “We’re in the middle of a forest,” said Wilf. “We’re in the middle of nowhere,” said Wilma. They went inside the cottage. Mum and Dad began to unpack the car. There was a big television in the front room. “Great!” said Chip. “Let’s watch TV.”“We could play some games,” said Wilf. “Could you bring in our games station, Dad?”“Not now,” said Dad. “Come and help us unpack the car.” At breakfast Wilma put on a film. Dad sighed. “Get dressed everyone. We didn’t come on holiday to watch TV.”“Can we watch this first?” asked Wilma. “Later,” said Dad. “Let’s go out.” Wasn’t it fun on the beach today?” said Mum. But nobody said anything. Wilf and Biff were busy playing a game. Chip and Wilma were listening to a CD. Suddenly all the lights went out. The television and the CD player went off. “What’s happened?” called Biff. Dad came in with a torch. “There’s been a power cut!” he said. Mum found a lamp. “What if the power doesn’t come back on?” asked Chip, looking at the TV. “We’ll have to do without it,” said Dad. “Oh no!” said the children. The power didn’t come back on. “It may be off for a long time,” said Dad. It was time to eat. They all sat round the table and had supper by candlelight. It was fun eating in the dark. They took it in turns to tell stories. Dad told them a funny story about a time when he was a little boy. It made them all laugh. That night the power didn’t come back on. The children had to use the lamp to go to bed. Chip made a shadow on the wall with his hands. “Guess what it is,” he said. Wilma shone a torch under her chin. The light made her face look scary. “Whoooh!” she said. “I’m a monster.” Everyone laughed. Then Mum came in and said it was time to go to sleep. The next morning there was still no power. So the family spent all day on the beach. They played lots of games. “It’s late,” said Mum. “It’s time to go.”“Can’t we stay a bit longer?” asked Wilf. “I’ve got an idea,” said Dad. “Let’s build a fire. We could cook supper.”“Brilliant!” they all shouted. “Let’s get some driftwood,” said Mum. “I’ll go and get the food,” said Dad. It was getting dark by the time the fire was finished. “Hey Wilf! That looks like a giant bird’s nest,” said Mum. “You light it, not lay an egg in it!” Dad cooked lots of food on the fire. Then Mum toasted some marshmallows. They all sat and looked at the stars. “I have a surprise,” said Dad. “Sparklers!”“Sorry,” said Dad the next morning. “Still no power.”“We can do without it,” smiled Chip. “Last night was magic,” said Wilf. “What shall we do tonight?” asked Biff. That night Wilma had a good idea. “We could play hide and seek,” she said. “If you are ‘It’ you have a torch.”Everyone hid around the dark cottage. Wilf was ‘It’. He counted to a hundred.Wilf looked in every room. “Found you, Biff!” he called. Biff was hiding behind a big plant. he foundChip lying in the bath. Wilma was behind the TV. Mum was under a bed. But where was Dad? Suddenly, the moon came out from behind the clouds. It lit up the windows. Dad was hiding behind the curtains. “That gives me an idea,” thought Wilma. The next day Biff, Chip and Wilf went with Wilma to the woods. “Why have we brought the boxes and a sheet?” asked Chip. “And why are we here so early?” yawned Wilf. “There’s loads to do before tonight.” Wilma’s eyes sparkled. “This evening, we are going to do a shadow play!” “Brilliant!” said Chip. “What’s that?” The children worked all day. They cut out shapes from the cardboard boxes. Wilf tied the sheet between two trees. “What are you doing?” Dad asked. “It’s a surprise,” said Wilma. There was a golden sunset that evening. The children had put down lots of candles in jars. “How
beautiful!” said Mum. “It’s like magic!” gasped Dad. Suddenly Biff turned up the lamp. The sheet glowed. The play began. It was about elves. The elves were cardboard puppets. Wilf and Chip moved the puppets around. Biff did the elves’ voices. Wilma played the guitar. They all sang songs. It was a good story. It was funny and sad. It made Mum laugh and Day cry. The play had finished. Everyone bowed. “Hooray!” shouted Mum. “Well done!’ “Now,” said Dad. “I’ve got a surprise.” “What is it?” asked Wilma. “You’ll see,” said Dad. They went back to the cottage. It was pitch black. “We can’t see anything,” said Wilf. “I said ‘you’ll see’ and now you can,” said Dad. He turned on the power. Dad laughed. “Surprise!” he said. “I wanted you to enjoy the holiday without TV. There was no power cut.” “Turn it off again,” said the children. “We can do without it.”
7-14 Australian Adventure
Floppy had not been for a walk. “We should take Floppy out,” said Mum. Chip groaned, “Walking Floppy is boring.” “Well, you could bring the boomerangs,” said Mu. Biff threw her boomerang really hard. It flew up into the sky. “I’ll show them I’m not boring!” thought Floppy. “I’ll make them laugh.” Floppy chased after the boomerang. Suddenly it turned in the air. Floppy turned as well. “Mind the pond!” shouted Mum. “Too late!” laughed Chip. Splash! Floppy landed in the pond. “Oh Floppy, you’re filthy!” said Mum. Everyone laughed. Floppy was pleased. “At least I made them laugh,” he thought. Floppy was not so pleased when he got home. Mum wanted to give him a wash. “Let’s use the hose-pipe,” she said. “Oh no!” thought Floppy. Floppy hid under Biff’s bed. “Why do I need a wash?” he thought. “Dogs like being dirty.” Suddenly, the magic key began to glow. It was time for a new adventure. “Dogs don’t have magic adventures by themselves, do they?” thought Floppy. “Well, it’s better than a bath.” The magic key took Floppy to Australia. It took him to a red desert. The sand was hot. It hurt Floppy’s paws. Suddenly, a boomerang flew over his head. Whoosh! Another one landed next to him. Then Floppy saw some men. “Go away you dirty dingo!” they shouted. Floppy ran away. The men chased him. He ran past some rocks. “Quick!” said a voice. “Hide here!” The men ran past. Behind the rocks were four dogs. They all laughed at Floppy. “What floppy ears!” said one of them. “What’s your name?” asked another. “Floppy,” said Floppy. “My name is Red,” said Red. “This is Ginger, she’s Amber, and he’s called Tan. We’re dingos.” “What’s a dingo?” asked Floppy. “That’s what men call us,” said Amber. “Why did they chase me?” asked Floppy. The dingos looked sad. “We used to be friends,” said Tan. “But now men don’t like us because we have fleas.” “We’ll show you,” said Red. The dingos took Floppy to a cave. On the walls of the cave were paintings. Some of the paintings were of animals Floppy had never seen before. “These are very old paintings,” said Amber. “They show a time when men and dingos lived together.” “We used to help men get food and sleep near their fires,” said Red. “If only we didn’t have fleas,” said Tan. Outside the cave it was getting dark. The night was cold. Far away, the men had lit a fire. “Let’s hide near the men,” said Red. One of the men was telling a story. It was about a time long ago, when the world began. “Those times long ago were called. The Dreamtime,” whispered Amber. The story was about a creature called a kangaroo. The kangaroo wanted to steal fire from men. Floppy was tired. He closed his
eyes. He began to dream. In Floppy’s dream he met a strange animal with a long tail. It looked like one of the cave paintings. “What’s your name?” asked Floppy. “They call me Kangaroo,” he said. Kangaroo wanted to make a fire. He rubbed two sticks together. “This is how men make fire,” he said. Suddenly, The sticks caught fire. It made Kangaroo jump. He dropped the sticks. The dry grass caught fire. The fire spread quickly. Kangaroo jumped up and down. “It’s hot! It’s hot!” he said. “Run to the water-hole,” said Floppy. All the animals ran to the water-hole. As they went into the water, fleas began to jump off their backs. “Ah! Fleas don’t like getting wet!” thought Floppy. Floppy woke up. He had an idea. He crept up to one of the men and picked up his boomerang. “I have a plan,” Floppy said to the dingos. “I think Ican get rid of your fleas.” “You can?” said Amber. “Then we can make friends with the men.” “We need to find a water-hole,” said Floppy. “Follow us,” said Red. They walked for a long time. At last, they got to the water-hole. “Pick up the boomerang,” said Floppy. “And walk backwards into the water.” Ginger walked backwards into the water. The fleas on his legs began to crawl on to his back. They did not want to get wet. “Keep going!” said Floppy. Ginger went deeper. Soon his back was under the water. The fleas crawled on to his head. They did not want to get wet. All the fleas were now on Ginger’s head. “Now put your head under the water,” said Floppy. Ginger lay down in the water. The fleas crawled up his nose and on to the boomerang. “Let go of the boomerang!” said Floppy. The boomerang floated away. The fleas stayed on the boomerang. “Hooray!” cheered the dingos. “Now we can all get rid of our fleas and make friends with the men,” said Amber. “I hope so,” said Floppy. The magic key began to glow. It was time for Floppy to go home. “Oh no!” said Floppy. “I didn’t bring anything back from my adventure.” Floppy heard Mum calling. She was still in the garden. “Floppy! It’s bath-time,” she said. Mum washed Floppy with the hose-pipe. “Fleas!” she said. “How did you get fleas?” Floppy picked up the boomerang. “I’m off to the park,” he thought. “I need to find a water-hole!”
7-15 The Riddle Stone Part 1
Dad had pulled up some floorboards. “Hello!” he said. “What’s this?” Under the floor was a stone. It had some strange writing on it. Dad was going to throw the stone away, but Chip wanted to keep it. “Look at this,” he said to Biff. “Do you think the writing is Chinese?” “I don’t know,” said Biff. Chip took the stone to school. He showed it to a boy called Hong. “It is written in Chinese,” said Hong. “I can’t read it, but my grandfather can. Hong’s grandfather always came after school to take Hong home. Chip showed him the stone. “Yes, it is Chinese,” said Hong’s grandfather. “It says, ‘ Do you Mind?’” “What a strange question,” said Biff. “It may be a riddle,” said Hong’s grandfather. “See! The stone is broken. Maybe the answer is on the other half.” Chip gave Hong the stone to keep. He put it in his bag. “May Hong come round to play with us?” asked Biff. “All right,” said Hong’s grandfather. They went to play in Biff’s room. “What is a riddle?” asked Chip. “It’s a puzzle in words,” said Hong. “Here is a good riddle,” said Hong. “How do you spell ‘hungry horse’ using only four letters?” “We don’t know,” said Biff. “It’s easy,” laughed Hong. “M T G G. Here’s another riddle. What is this? The more it dries the more it gets wet.” Suddenly, the magic key began to glow. The magic took them to a rocky valley. Four paths met. There was a signpost
pointing four ways. Each way pointed to Riddle Mountain. A boy was sitting on a rock. “My name is Ty,” he said. “I want to go to Riddle Mountain, but I don’t know which path to tack. I can’t think of the answer to this riddle.” The riddle was on a tall post. It said, “It’s only one colour, but it can grow. Sticks to your feet, wherever you go. There in the sun, not in the rain. Never does harm, never feels pain.” “The answer is a shadow,” said Hong. “Look at the shadow of the post. It points up that path. That must be the way.” “Are you sure?” asked Biff. “Yes, it’s a riddle,” said Ty. “Let’s go!” “It is hard to get to Riddle Mountain,” said Ty. “It will be dangerous. I may never get there.” “Then why do you have to go?” asked Biff. “I want to be the Riddle Maker,” said Ty. “I have to get to Riddle Mountain. I have to answer all the riddles on the way. The last riddle is the hardest. No one has ever found the answer.” Suddenly, a huge giant stood in the way. “I hope he’s friendly,” said Chip. “Answer this riddle and you can pass by,” roared the giant. “Write down how much I weigh,” he said. “But he must weigh tonnes!” said Biff. “No, it’s a riddle,” said Hong. “I can do it.” He wrote down the answer. “Good luck in the Land of Riddle,” said the giant. “What did you write down?” asked Chip. “I wrote the words ‘how much I weigh’,” said Hong. It was not far to the top of the hill. Suddenly, a dragon stood in the way. “I hope he’s friendly,” said Hong. “Look!” said Biff. “There are bubbles coming out of his mouth!” The dragon spoke. “Over there is Riddle Mountain,” it said. “You have a long way to go.” “Help!” said Ty. “The journey looks dangerous.” Below was a black lake. Across the lake, the land was dry and rocky. Beyond, there was a deep river and dark forest. Far away was a tall, grey mountain. Huge bubbles came out of the dragon’s jaws. “Answer this riddle,” it said. “How many sides does a bubble have?” “That’s easy,” said Hong. “It has two.” “The inside and the outside,” he said. “Good,” said the dragon. “Now step inside this bubble.” Hong stepped into the bubble. It began to float away. “Step into a bubble,” yelled Hong. They all stepped inside the bubbles and floated up and up. “This is scary,” said Biff. “What if the bubbles pop?” They floated on and on. At last, they began to float down to the black lake. “I hope the bubbles don’t pop here,” yelled Chip. Then the bubbles popped and the children fell into the lake. Suddenly, a huge serpent rose out of the water. “I don’t like this adventure,” said Biff. “What is this?” said the serpent, “the more it dries, the more it gets wet?” “It’s easy,” said Hong. “It’s a towel.” “Good,” said the serpent. “Now climb on my back.” The serpent swan across the lake. “How do you know the answer to all these riddles, Hong?” asked Ty. “I don’t know,” said Hong. “They just come to me.” Goblins were waiting for the children. They pulled and pinched them. “Ouch! That hurts,” said Chip. “Ha! You won’t answer the next riddle,” said one of the goblins. The goblins put the children in a cage. One of the goblins stole the magic key. “Oh no!” said Biff. “Now we can’t get back from this adventure.” The Goblin King spoke to them. “Answer this,” he said. “How do you want to die?” “We don’t want to die,” said Chip. Hong began to laugh. “It’s not funny,” said Biff. “We don’t want to die.” “It’s a riddle,” said Hong. “Don’t worry. I know the answer.”
7-16 The Riddle Stone Part 2