knew what she was talking about. And if the cold cure worked, then the swan cure might work as well. She couldn’t wait to try it out. On the way to school she tired thinking herself a swan.
She glided on to the bus and sat down slowly. She didn’t trip over anyone’s feet. She didn’t knock anyone’s hat off. When the bus stopped, she rose slowly from her seat. She stepped on to the pavement.
It was surprising how different
she felt, so tall and graceful. In the school playground some children stood looking up into the chestnut tree. ‘Look out, here comes Trouble!’ called Rob Mason when he saw her.
Trudy pretended not to hear him. She saw that Lisa Gibbs was in tears. ‘What’s the matter?’ she asked. ‘It’s Lisa’s kite,’ said Rob. ‘It’s got stuck up the tree.’
‘Rob did it,’ Lisa said, wiping her eyes. ‘He let go and it flew up into the tree.’ Rob looked a bit
ashamed of himself. ‘Stupid old kite,’ he muttered.
‘It’s a beautiful kite!’ said Lisa. ‘I got it for my birthday. It was my best present.’ She began to sob again. ‘Don’t cry,’ Trudy said kindly. I’ll get it down for you. I’m good at climbing trees.’
Lisa looked horrified. ‘No, you’ll tear it! It’s only made of paper. Can’t somebody else get it down?’ But nobody else wanted to climb the tree.
Trudy jumped up and grabbed
the lowest branch. She swung herself up and began to climb. ‘Be careful,’ called Lisa. ‘It’s a special Chinese kite. It cost a lot of money.
Like the vase, Trudy though, and nearly stopped. But then she thought of Mrs Willow. ‘I’m a swan, I’m a swan,’ she muttered. And she started climbing again. She climbed higher and higher until she reached the kite.
The kite was caught on a sharp twig. It was made of thin, silky
paper and had a green dragon painted on it. Don’t rush, she told herself. Swans never rush. At last she managed to free the kite. But now she had to climb down again using only one hand. It took her ages, but she didn't rush. She saw that Mrs Weston had joined the crowd below. But she still didn't rush. Very, very carefully she swung herself down to the ground. The kite was safe!
‘Thanks, Trudy.’ Lisa showed it to the others. ‘Look, it’s all right!’