above silently,
and nobody could imagine why Dick didn't come back.
"I'll go and see what he's doing," said Moon-Face. So up he went. And
he didn't come back either! Then the old Saucepan Man went cautiously up, step
by step. He disappeared through the hole -and he didn't come back! , "Whatever
has happened to them?" said Jo in the gravest astonishment. "Look here,
girls-get
a rope out of Moon-Face's house and tie yourselves and Silky to me. Then I'll
go up the ladder-and if anyone tries to pull me into the land above, they won't
be able to, because you three can pull me back. See?"
"Right," said Bessie, and she knotted the rope round her waist and Fanny's,
and then round Silky's, too. Jo tied the other end to himself. Then up the ladder
he went.
And before the girls quite knew what had happened, Jo was lifted into the land
above -and they were all dragged up, too, their feet scrambling somehow up the
ladder and through the hole in the cloud!
There they all stood in a field of red poppies, with a tall man nearby, holding
a sack over his shoulder!
"Is that the lot?" he asked. "Good! Well, here's something to make
you sleep!"
He put his hand in his sack and scattered a handful of the finest sand over the
surprised group. In a trice they were rubbing their eyes and yawning.
"This is the Land of Dreams," said Moon-Face sleepily. "And that's
the Sandman. Goodness, how sleepy I am!"
"Don't go to sleep! Don't go to sleep!" cried Silky, taking Moon-Face's
arm and shaking him. "If we do, we'll wake up and find that this land has
moved away from the Faraway Tree. Come back down the hole, Moon-Face, and don't
be silly." 68
"I'm so-sleepy," said Moon-Face, and lay down among the red poppies.
In a trice he was snoring loudly, fast asleep.
"Get him to the hole!" cried Silky. But Jo, Dick and the Saucepan Man
were all yawning and rubbing their eyes, too sleepy to do a thing. Then Bessie
and Fanny slid down quietly into the poppies and fell asleep, too. At last only
Silky was left. Not much of the sleepy sand had gone into her eyes, so she was
wider awake than the rest.
She stared at everyone in dismay. "Oh dear," she said, "I'll never
get you down the hole by myself. I'll have to get help. I must go and fetch Watzisname
and the Angry Pixie and Dame Washalot, too!"
She ran off to the hole, slipped down the ladder through the cloud and slid on
to the broad branch below. "Watzisname!" she called. "Dame Washalot!
Angry Pixie!"
After a minute or two Jo woke up. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. Not far off he
saw something that pleased him very much indeed. It was an icecream man with his
cart. The man was ringing his bell loudly.
"Hie, Moon-Face! Wake up!" cried Jo. "There's an ice-cream man.
Have you any money?"
Everyone woke up. Moon-Face felt in his purse and then stared in the greatest
surprise. It was full of marbles!
"Now who put marbles there?" he wondered.
The ice-cream man rode up. "Marbles will do
to pay for my ice-cream," he said. So Moon-Face paid him six marbles.
The man gave them each a packet and rode off, ringing his bell. Moon-Face undid
his packet, expecting to find a delicious ice-cream there-but inside there was
a big whistle! It was most astonishing.
Everyone else had a whistle, too. "How extraordinary!" said Dick. "This
is the kind of thing that happens in dreams!"
"Well-after all-this is Dreamland!" said Bessie. "I wonder if these
whistles blow!"
She blew hers. It was very loud indeed. The others blew theirs, too. And at once
six policemen appeared near by, running for all they were worth. They rushed up
to the children.
"What's the matter?" they cried. "You are blowing police whistles!
What has happened? Do you want help?"
"No," said Dick with a giggle.
"Then you must come to the swimming-bath," said the policeman, and to
everyone's enormous astonishment they were all
and nobody could imagine why Dick didn't come back.
"I'll go and see what he's doing," said Moon-Face. So up he went. And
he didn't come back either! Then the old Saucepan Man went cautiously up, step
by step. He disappeared through the hole -and he didn't come back! , "Whatever
has happened to them?" said Jo in the gravest astonishment. "Look here,
girls-get
a rope out of Moon-Face's house and tie yourselves and Silky to me. Then I'll
go up the ladder-and if anyone tries to pull me into the land above, they won't
be able to, because you three can pull me back. See?"
"Right," said Bessie, and she knotted the rope round her waist and Fanny's,
and then round Silky's, too. Jo tied the other end to himself. Then up the ladder
he went.
And before the girls quite knew what had happened, Jo was lifted into the land
above -and they were all dragged up, too, their feet scrambling somehow up the
ladder and through the hole in the cloud!
There they all stood in a field of red poppies, with a tall man nearby, holding
a sack over his shoulder!
"Is that the lot?" he asked. "Good! Well, here's something to make
you sleep!"
He put his hand in his sack and scattered a handful of the finest sand over the
surprised group. In a trice they were rubbing their eyes and yawning.
"This is the Land of Dreams," said Moon-Face sleepily. "And that's
the Sandman. Goodness, how sleepy I am!"
"Don't go to sleep! Don't go to sleep!" cried Silky, taking Moon-Face's
arm and shaking him. "If we do, we'll wake up and find that this land has
moved away from the Faraway Tree. Come back down the hole, Moon-Face, and don't
be silly." 68
"I'm so-sleepy," said Moon-Face, and lay down among the red poppies.
In a trice he was snoring loudly, fast asleep.
"Get him to the hole!" cried Silky. But Jo, Dick and the Saucepan Man
were all yawning and rubbing their eyes, too sleepy to do a thing. Then Bessie
and Fanny slid down quietly into the poppies and fell asleep, too. At last only
Silky was left. Not much of the sleepy sand had gone into her eyes, so she was
wider awake than the rest.
She stared at everyone in dismay. "Oh dear," she said, "I'll never
get you down the hole by myself. I'll have to get help. I must go and fetch Watzisname
and the Angry Pixie and Dame Washalot, too!"
She ran off to the hole, slipped down the ladder through the cloud and slid on
to the broad branch below. "Watzisname!" she called. "Dame Washalot!
Angry Pixie!"
After a minute or two Jo woke up. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. Not far off he
saw something that pleased him very much indeed. It was an icecream man with his
cart. The man was ringing his bell loudly.
"Hie, Moon-Face! Wake up!" cried Jo. "There's an ice-cream man.
Have you any money?"
Everyone woke up. Moon-Face felt in his purse and then stared in the greatest
surprise. It was full of marbles!
"Now who put marbles there?" he wondered.
The ice-cream man rode up. "Marbles will do
to pay for my ice-cream," he said. So Moon-Face paid him six marbles.
The man gave them each a packet and rode off, ringing his bell. Moon-Face undid
his packet, expecting to find a delicious ice-cream there-but inside there was
a big whistle! It was most astonishing.
Everyone else had a whistle, too. "How extraordinary!" said Dick. "This
is the kind of thing that happens in dreams!"
"Well-after all-this is Dreamland!" said Bessie. "I wonder if these
whistles blow!"
She blew hers. It was very loud indeed. The others blew theirs, too. And at once
six policemen appeared near by, running for all they were worth. They rushed up
to the children.
"What's the matter?" they cried. "You are blowing police whistles!
What has happened? Do you want help?"
"No," said Dick with a giggle.
"Then you must come to the swimming-bath," said the policeman, and to
everyone's enormous astonishment they were all
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