The Kingdom of Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh Page B

at honest, workaday Fallowhithe animals. When the last house goes up, then look out for trouble!’
    â€˜What do you mean?’ Rosemary asked.
    â€˜I think I know,’ said John. ‘You mean when the last house is built that joins Broomhurst with Fallowhithe.’
    â€˜Ah,’ said Tudge. ‘No dividing line between the two there won’t be. And with King Castrum off to the Summoning, and no one to keep them Broomhurst cats in order, or his Queen who’s left in charge, there’ll be trouble right enough.’
    â€˜Good heavens!’ said John. ‘Listen, Tudge, if you hear anything more, will you let us know?’
    â€˜I will!’ promised Tudge. ‘And guard them precious kitlings as if they were gold. You can’t be too careful!’
    â€˜Oh dear!’ said John. ‘I wish we hadn’t left them for so long.’
    â€˜Don’t you think we ought to be going?’ said Rosemary anxiously.
    â€˜Bother! My watch has stopped,’ said John. ‘I think I’ve got it wet. We musn’t be late for Mr Featherstone. We have to get our shoes from the bridge. Let’s get going.’
    John and Rosemary said good-bye to Tudge and splashed their way back to the little bridge. As soon as they found their shoes, they hurried back to the signpost, but there was no sign of Mr Featherstone.
    The builders had finished for the day and gone home, so they examined a half-built house and tried to imagine it being lived in.
    â€˜Let’s go and look at the cement mixer,’ said John, so they went into the field. John found the cement mixer enthralling, but to Rosemary it was rather dull, so she wandered off, and found herself by the rubbish heap once again.
    â€˜I can’t see Mrs Cantrip in any of those shoes,’ she thought. ‘Not with high heels and open toes.’ Then she looked at the rocking chair which wasstill standing beside it. ‘I wonder who left it here?’ she said to herself.
    She rocked it idly with one toe. It did not seem broken, so she sat on the seat. She began rocking gently to and fro. It made a pleasant little breeze, and she went a little higher. As she rocked rhythmically to and fro, she said idly, ‘Rocking chair, rocking chair,’ in time to the movement, and then thinking a little anxiously about the kittens, added, ‘I wish I was home. I wish I was there. Oh, that rhymes!’ And she said again, in time to the rocking,
    â€˜Rocking chair, rocking chair.
I wish I was home, I wish I was there!’
    And because the chant went so well with the movement of the chair, she said it a third time, rocking higher and higher, and then she gave the chair a tremendous push forward.
    To her complete surprise, the chair rose steeply into the air, then banked sharply, nearly throwing her out. She held on firmly, too astonished to call out.
    Down below, John suddenly looked up and saw Rosemary, her feet curled around the front legs of the rocking chair and plaits flapping wildly. The chair righted itself and seemed to be flying steadilyin the direction of Fallowhithe. He thought he saw her lips moving as she turned to look back at him, but he was too far away to hear what she was saying. But he saw her point behind him toward Figg’s Bottom.

    â€˜Rosie, come back!’ he called, although he knew it was useless. He ran desperately in the direction the chair was taking, with some wild idea of keeping pace with it. But when he turned to look where Rosemary was pointing he stopped dead.
    Mrs Cantrip and Miss Dibdin were panting up the hill from Figg’s Bottom. They looked up at the disappearing chair and waved angrily.
    â€˜Stop thief! Stop thief!’ called Miss Dibdin shrilly.
    They had not seen John, so he slipped back tothe half-built house, and hid in what was going to be the kitchen. He held his breath as the hurrying feet came near. He could distinguish the flap, flap of Mrs Cantrip’s shoes