Von Gobstopper's Arcade by Alexandra Adornetto Page B

interior seemed to be choked with vegetation. Bulky vines hung from the ceiling and a carpet of leaves covered the floor. Milli was intrigued to see Jungle Life written on the plaque outside and in brackets below: Unsupervised Entry Strictly Prohibited.
    The main gallery, where they were now standing, was lit by enormous gaslights held by wrought-iron arms protruding from the walls. A familiar and mouth-watering aroma filled the air. It smelled like a mixture of popcorn and vanilla biscuits. Ms Anomali pointed a thin finger to the ceiling, and when the children looked up, they nearly jumped out of their skins. Suspended on fishing wire above them was a row of teddy bears in tutus. They did a little choreographed dance and sang a welcome song; a performance which the children rewarded with riotous applause.
     
Welcome to the Toy Arcade
    A world filled with laughter.
    Make sure you’ve left your worries behind
    For there’s no room for mopers.
    Welcome to the Toy Arcade We hope you’ll be enchanted.
     
    Ms Anomali waited for the applause to subside then ushered them over to a pile of brightly coloured beanbags and indicated they should sit down. The children settled into the beanbags, which let out a ‘Please sit down’ in a range of different accents each time they adjusted their position, but fell silent when Ms Anomali began speaking.
    ‘It is only when a toy loses its lustre of newness that it becomes really interesting,’ the curator began. ‘Many of the toy exhibits here are part of history. They all have a story to tell. I am sure you are already acquainted with the honey-coloured bear wearing a blue raincoat and red hat, or the wooden boy in overalls with the ridiculously long nose?’ She spoke in such an alluring tone that her words sent shivers down their spines.
    Looking down, Ernest noticed that the mosaic floor depicted characters and scenes from famous fairy stories. There was an ice castle, a knight in pursuit of a dragon and aprincess with hair the colour of corn leaning out of a tower. He wondered how long it had taken to assemble such a collection of images. The attention to detail was remarkable. Tempest Anomali’s velvet voice brought him back to the present.
    ‘A word of warning. This arcade, although built for the entertainment of children, is vast and contains many rooms and passageways. It would not do for any of you to get lost. You cannot be sure what you may encounter, and some of the electronic toys are not easy to control. It is therefore imperative that you follow my instructions at all times. The basement level is strictly out of bounds as it contains dangerous machinery. We don’t want to be sending anyone home minus a finger, do we?’
    The knuckles of the curator’s hands, which she’d clasped tightly in front of her throughout her talk, were white by the time she had finished and she wrinkled her nose as if there was a bad smell in the vicinity that she was having trouble identifying. Ms Anomali seemed about to announce the commencement of the tour when she was interrupted by a question. It came fromHa-Ha Pyles, who hadn’t been put off by her imperious manner. ‘Is Mr Von Gobstopper himself likely to make an appearance at any stage of the day?’ he asked eagerly.
    A look somewhere between scorn and amusement flickered briefly over Tempest Anomali’s chalky face.
    ‘I’m afraid not,’ she replied in dulcet tones. ‘Mr Von Gobstopper is in retirement and rarely appears in public. It is too stressful for him; it interferes with his creative chi. You will, however, see evidence of his creativity in abundance! To begin, we hope you enjoy our dramatisation of the poem written for children by Christina Rossetti, “Goblin Market”.’
    A suspended platform, unnoticed by the children up to now, lit up. On it stood a toy theatre made of cardboard, high enough for everyone to see without craning their necks. Even though the characters were printed on cards attached to wooden