The Girl Who Blew Up Her Brother and Other Naughty Stories for Good Boys and Girls by Christopher Milne Page B

him but it wouldn’t have mattered because he had boxes of them.
    You should have seen all the bits that Brett and Dave found. Enough to build six engines.
    â€˜Well,’ said Brett, ‘I say we connect it all together and just see what happens.’
    â€˜Fair enough,’ said Dave.
    So, they bent and screwed and lifted and twisted and if something didn’t fit, they hit it until it did. Softly at first and then really hard with a lump of steel. A couple of things smashed into a thousand bits but that was OK. They were having terrific fun and it had been really hot so the tip smelt great.
    Finally, there it stood. The… Well, what could you call it? The thing.
    There were bits of pipe and wires and batteries and pieces of engine all over the place. And two huge pieces of pipe tied together on top like a helicopter’s propeller.
    â€˜You ready?’ said Brett.
    â€˜What for?’ asked Dave.
    â€˜To hop in and see if it starts,’ said Brett.

    â€˜Hop in?’ said Dave. ‘It might explode!’
    â€˜No way,’ said Brett. ‘Trust me.’
    Dave always knew whenever Brett said ‘trust me’ something bad was going to happen.
    The two brothers got inside. Brett took a deep breath, leant forward and pressed the starter button. Nothing.
    Dave felt like shouting, he was so relieved.
    But Brett pressed the button again.
    â€˜Oh, cool!’ said Brett. ‘I think I heard something.’
    Although Brett wanted it to start, he sort of didn’t at the same time. He was excited but secretly scared as well. He pressed the button again.
    This time there was a louder sound. A much louder sound. The sound of an engine starting. And the sound of helicopter blades going around.
    â€˜Oh no!’ said Brett again. But this time he really meant it.
    Dave’s eyes were almost popping out.
    â€˜Brett!’ he screamed. ‘I think we’re moving. I think we’re moving up!’
    And they were. This was no pretend helicopter.
    Brett and Dave Porter were flying.
    â€˜Don’t panic,’ said Brett. ‘Dad always says not to panic.’
    Dave had never been really sure what ‘panic’ meant. And right now he didn’t care. He was too busy wishing he’d been to the toilet. Brett pushed and pressed at every lever he could find but they just kept going up.
    â€˜Make it stop!’ screamed Dave.
    But Brett didn’t know how.
    â€˜Hang on,’ said Brett.‘I’ve found something!
    If I push this lever we go sideways… And if I push this one we go forward.’
    â€˜Just find one to go down! Please!’ yelled Dave.
    â€˜I’m trying,’ said Brett.‘But I can’t. We’re just going to have to stay up here till the petrol runs out.’
    Now Dave needed to go to the toilet for two reasons. He was going to be sick.
    But someone else was starting to feel better. Much better. Brett Porter, ace helicopter pilot.
    Brett leant forward, and with a crazy look in his eyes, pushed a lever that he knew would make the engine go faster.
    Much faster.
    â€˜Hang on, Davey-boy,’ said Brett. ‘We’re going for a spin.’

    Meanwhile, Mr Porter was having a lovely day. The sun was shining, he was driving his favourite tractor and the birds were singing. And the birds were flying about, too. Big birds. In fact, one very big bird. Make that a huge bird.
    Headed straight at him!
    â€˜Oh no!’ shouted Mr Porter. ‘A space ship!’
    He flung himself under the tractor, waited till it had whooshed past, then raced inside.
    Brett was cacking himself laughing so much he almost crashed into a tree. And then, splutter, cough and the engine stopped. As quickly as the ride had started it was over.
    Now, if you’ve ever seen a rock fall from the edge of a cliff you’ll have some idea of how quickly their fantastic flying machine dropped into the middle of Dad’s dam. Never to be seen