by Diana Cooper
Then Ash-ting whispered that he had a plan. As he told her his idea, the child’s face lit up. “Ash-ting’s got an idea about how we’ll try to help,” she told the gathering. This time they all cheered.
“Who is that creature?” called a tiny sea horse, pointing to Ash-ting.
“It’s a catfish,” said a barracuda with a laugh, showing a row of sharp teeth. Everyone laughed. But it was friendly laughter, and Ash-ting waved a paw.
A real catfish swam forward then and growled that the creature didn’t look in the least bit like him. So Tara told him about her beautiful magical kitten who had wonderful ideas and would find some way of helping all the sea creatures.
The catfish looked happier and swam off with Ash-ting in the direction of the rocks. Tara could hear them chatting together.
A big octopus darted forward and hugged Tara with his eight arms, which quite startled her. All the fish blew bubbles, then they started to leave, swimming back to their own homes.
“Well done, girl,” mumbled the old turtle.
A wise dolphin added. “Tara, what you said is important. But it is even more important that you came. Thank you. Now what is Ash-ting’s plan?”
But Petronella interrupted by giving her a big hug, saying, “Come on. Let’s have some fun! You can tell us about Ash-ting’s idea later.”
She held Tara’s hand and dragged her to a piece of seaweed as thick as a rope. For some time they swung on it together, their hair flying in the current. Tara felt like Tarzan in the jungle.
Then Petronella spotted a huge old swordfish asleep under a rock. Quietly, she and Tara swam up to it and tied his snout up with a piece of seeweed. Jolly, the biggest merboy, saw this and told off his naughty sister, but she just laughed!
He offered to carry Tara on his shoulders back to the rocks. He was very strong, and she laughed with delight as the merpeople and Dolphie raced back with them through the waves to the rocks where Ash-ting and his new friend the catfish were waiting patiently for her.
The Fairy Spell
is Broken
Dad went up to his bedroom to find his glasses. He glanced out the window and was surprised to see Rocky in the meadow staring up into the oak tree. Mr. Jones was bending down to tie his shoelace, and his wife had her arms round the trunk of the tree. He took a second look.
“How very odd,” he thought, “and where’s Tara?” He decided he had better go and have a look.
As the unicorn arrived back with Tara and Ash-ting, the fairies broke the spell on the Jones family. At the same moment, Dad walked across the field to see what was happening.
They all stared at Tara with their mouths open in astonishment.
“Where have you come from?” Dad asked Tara.
“Nowhere!” said Tara, innocently.
“And what were you all doing?” Dad asked the Joneses, who looked at him puzzled. They had no idea they had been stuck in strange positions all that time.
“Nothing!” they replied in unison.
Tara saw all the wee folk grinning from the branches of the tree and wondered what had been going on.
Mrs Jones stuttered, “Tara, I could have sworn I saw you on a white horse!”
Her dad and Mr. Jones laughed. “You must have imagined it,” they said at the same time. Mrs. Jones just nodded perplexed.
Tara hugged Ash-ting close, and Rocky looked oddly at his friend.
“Ah, well,’ said Dad at last, then said to Rocky and his family. “Why don’t you come back with us for a cup of tea?”
So they all trooped home to the ordinary warmth of their kitchen. And by bedtime, Tara decided she must have dreamt it all. But as she took off her sock, she found a piece of seaweed stuck to her foot!
The River Floods
That night it rained and rained. All next day, the heavy rain continued.
“I hope the river doesn’t burst its banks,” commented Dad.
“Oh, do you think the Jones are alright? Their house is right down by the river,” replied Mum, sounding concerned.
“I’ll phone to check,” replied Dad.
He tried their number, and Rocky’s father answered. The news was not good. “I’ll be right round to help,” Dad said, clicking off the phone.
He turned to the family and said, “Bad news. The towpath by the river and the lower part of their garden are flooded. If the river rises much higher, it will get into the house. I’ll go there now to help.”
Mum said to Dad, “You’ll have to take the children. I’ve got to go to work.”
The children had never put on their raincoats and wellingtons so quickly.
Tara gave Ash-ting a quick cuddle. “Be careful, Tara,” he warned. Afterwards, she wondered if he knew what was going to happen.
Lots of neighbours had turned out to help. They all remembered how Rocky’s Dad had helped the village school build its swimming pool. The men filled bags with sand from Mr. Jones’ builder’s yard and drove them back on his truck to stack them along the back of the house.
The women and children carried everything they possibly could upstairs in case the water came in. Tara, Mel, and Jack ran up and
downstairs, helping willingly.
When everything movable was upstairs, Mrs Bright, Tara’s teacher, drove with Tara to the local restaurant and bought piles of fish and chips to feed everyone. Tara was glad to be on her own with Mrs. Bright. Ash-ting had told Tara to talk to Mrs. Bright about all the things humans were doing to the oceans and to ask her to start a petition. “Children can really help make a difference,” he had told her.
So now she took the opportunity of telling Mrs. Bright all about the bad things happening to the seas. The teacher heard the passion in Tara’s voice and said she would think about the best things to do.
Back at Rocky’s house, all the helpers ate fish and chips sitting on the bare floor in the sitting room.
“Just chips for me, please,” said Tara.
At last there was a lull in the rain.
“We’ve done all we can for now. We’ve run out of sacks to fill with sand,” Dad said to the children when they’d finished eating. “Let’s go to the bridge and see what the river is doing.”
Tara thought about Ash-ting’s warning to be careful. She held Dad’s hand as they looked down from the bridge at the swirling muddy water racing below them.
A fish came to the surface and flapped its tail at Tara, and she smiled. They watched Mr. Jones stride around the side of his house and paddle down the garden. Rocky was hurrying after him.
“Look, they’re saving the rowing boat,” Jack shouted, pointing to Rocky’s boat, which was tied up where the towpath should have been.
Dad frowned and muttered, “That’s dangerous.”
Tara felt her stomach clench with fear.
Rocky is Swept Away
Rocky’s dad reached the rope that tied the boat to a post. He pulled at it to draw the boat towards him, but it had moved and the back was caught in a bush. They saw him lift his son into the boat and indicate to push it away from the bush with one of the oars while he heaved.
The brown river water was rushing over Mr. Jones’s knees, and the boat was rocking. Tara screamed as Rocky’s dad slipped and let go of the rope. He disappeared under the water for a moment but surfaced and grabbed the bush that was holding the boat.
The boat lurched as Rocky’s dad’s weight dislodged it. Then it was carried away by the current into the middle of the racing river with Rocky crouching white-faced in the bottom of the boat.
The boat was swept under the bridge, and they all ran across to watch it, though they hardly dared to look. The boat was completely out of control taken by the current and lurching frighteningly.
They did not see one of the men save Mr. Jones, who was bellowing for his son.
Tara felt Ash-ting buzz her. The kitten was psychic, and she knew he was watching from a distance.
“Call for help,” he commanded urgently.
Tara understood he meant her to cal
l on the angels and elementals for assistance. “Help,” she screamed loudly. “Help!”
Rocky is Saved
Just ahead of the boat, a huge branch was thrashing in the torrent. Suddenly, an extraordinary thing happened. The branch swerved in front of the boat and seemed to slow it down slightly.
Tara saw Petronella the mermaid’s blonde hair swirling in the current as she held the boat. Then she saw that Petronella’s merbrothers Jolly, Julian, Joseph, John, Jerry, Jimmy, and Jupiter were pushing the boat towards the river bank to the place where it sloped gently.
The boat tipped, and Rocky was thrown onto the soggy grass. Tara caught a glimpse of Rocky’s guardian angel holding him and sighed with relief. Of course, she was the only one who saw that. Dad, Mel, Jack and the others who had come rushing to the bridge only saw the incredible luck of the branch turning the boat to the bank and tipping the boy out.
Rocky was scrambling up now and running back along the river bank, while his mother was racing towards him holding out her arms to him.
The boat had tipped upside down and was once again caught in the current, floating out of sight. And the rain became a deluge again.
“Rocky was very lucky! That was a miracle!” everyone said in wonder.
Dad said, “Come on. Let’s go home now. We’ve done all we can, and Rocky seems alright.”
Tara waved thank you to Petronella and her brothers, and they waved back.
Petronella called, “You have agreed to help the ocean creatures. Now we’ve helped your friend. Humans and elementals are meant to work together.”
“Hurry up, Tara. Who are you waving to?” asked Dad.
“No one, Daddy,” replied Tara.
The Children Help
the Oceans
At school the following Monday, Mrs. Bright asked Tara to talk about the oceans and what humans were doing. Tara told such a wonderful story that her teacher said it sounded as if she had been there! Tara just smiled.
The children drew pictures of the ocean. Lots of them drew reefs full of beautiful coral and coloured fish. Some of the boys drew horrible pictures of turtles suffocating on plastic bags and whales being killed. One depicted an oil rig pouring oil into the waters. But Mrs. Bright said all the drawings were perfect.
All the children wrote on their pictures that they wanted to live in a world with clean oceans. Then their teacher gathered them up and sent them to the prime minister through their member of parliament.
That week, Mrs. Bright busied herself phoning everyone she knew. A national newspaper took up the campaign, and children
all over the country drew pictures of the ocean world and wrote to their leaders that they wanted to live in a world with clean oceans. Children all over the world did the same thing.
Tara reminded her mum to take a bag when she went shopping so she wouldn’t need a plastic one. Rocky reminded his dad to recycle his aluminium beer cans. Tara and Ash-ting sat on the sofa watching a programme on television in which children all over the world were interviewed saying that they wanted clean oceans for the fish and the dolphins and whales. And grownups were listening.
Ash-ting purred. “I told you, Tara. Children can make a difference. We’d better go to see your friend Petronella again soon to tell her.”
“And your friend, the catfish,” said Tara with a grin.
Tara, Ask-ting
and the Wallet
Mrs. Pogg Loses
Her Wallet
Tara and Ash-ting were looking outof the sitting room window, watching for Daddy coming home.
The little girl stroked her kitten and said, “Daddy’s late tonight.”
Ash-ting was magic. He and Tara could talk to each other, but no one else knew. He told her about things no one else could see. “Your daddy has missed his train,” the kitten murmured.
“Oh,” responded Tara, disappointed. “He promised to draw a fairy for me. Now there won’t be time.” It put her into a bad mood, and she frowned.
Just then old Mrs. Pogg shuffled down the road. She wore a black coat and black hat pulled down against the wind and walked with a stick because of her bad hip. She lived three doors down from Tara.
“Look,” said Ash-ting pointing, to distract Tara from her cross thoughts. “There’s Mrs. Pogg.”
“I don’t like her. She’s a witch,” commented the child rudely.
Ash-ting was patient. “She’s sad and lonely and quite frightened,” he replied. “She doesn’t have a family round her like you do.”
“Huh,” said Tara and shrugged her shoulders.
Just then Mrs. Pogg’s wallet slipped from her bag onto the ground. She didn’t see it fall, so she limped on.
“Oh no!” exclaimed the little girl.
“Tell your mummy,” advised Ash-ting. “Mrs. Pogg can’t afford to lose her money.”
Tara forgot her bad mood and ran to the kitchen to tell Mummy, but she was on the phone.
“Can’t you see I’m busy,” her mother shushed her away.
Tara Looks for
the Wallet
Tara wasn’t supposed to go out onto the pavement on her own, especially when it was getting dark, but this was an emergency.
“Come on, Ash-ting,” she said, opening the front door. They latched the door behind them, so that the heat would not escape from inside the house.
It was darker than Tara thought, and she felt rather nervous. The wallet had fallen into the hedge, but she found it at last. Then for the difficult bit—taking it to Mrs. Pogg.
“Perhaps I should just give it to Mummy and let her take it round there?” said Tara.
“No,” replied Ash-ting. “Mrs. Pogg will soon realize it is missing, and she’ll be very worried.”
“Well,” Tara swallowed nervously. “Stay right by me, Ash-ting.”
They ran to Mrs. Pogg’s house before Tara could change her mind. Ash-ting held his tail straight up in the air.
The little girl’s heart thumped at the thought of ringing the old lady’s bell. What if she shouted at her?
“Can I ring the bell and leave the wallet on her doorstep?” she asked.
“What would you like if you were elderly and could hardly bend down to pick it up?” the kitten responded quietly.
“For someone to give it to me,” Tara replied. She knew she must give the wallet to Mrs. Pogg herself, but she was a bit scared.
Ash-ting nodded. “Even if it is scary, try to do what you’d like someone to do for you.”
Tara sighed and reached towards the bell, but then a thought struck her. “Perhaps I can push it through the letter box.”
Just then she heard a commotion and angry muttering. The door flew open. An angry Mrs. Pogg stood there glaring at them, holding up her stick as if to strike them. She thought they were going to ring the bell and run away.
“You bad child,” she shouted. “You think you
can ring my door bell and run away?”
“No,” replied the little girl in dismay.
“You just come here,” the old lady lurched forward, as if to grab her.
Tara didn’t wait. She threw the wallet to Mrs. Pogg, then turned and dashed after Ash-ting, her legs like jelly. They could hear the old lady shouting after them. “Come back, you naughty girl. I saw you. I know who you are. Wait until I tell your parents.”
Tara and
Ask-ting Hide
Tara could hear Mrs. Pogg hobbling down the road after them. She felt terrified and raced up their front path as fast as she could. Just as she reached their front door, a gust of wind took it and slammed it shut.
“Help,” shouted Tara, banging on the door. She could hear Mummy still on the phone. Mrs. Pogg was about to reach their house.
Like lightning, Tara and Ash-ting dived behind a bush. Tara’s stomach was clenched, and she felt sick. This was so unfair.
Mrs. Pogg rang their front door bell. She shouted at Mummy when she opened the door: “Where is she? Where have you hidden her? I caught her abo
ut to ring my door bell and run away. Then she threw something at me. Let me get my hands on her!”
Mummy looked shocked. Mel and Jack, Tara’s brother and sister, appeared from nowhere and stood by her, open mouthed at the sight of the enraged old lady waving her stick.
“Just a minute, Mrs. Pogg,” said Mummy, trying to placate her. “I think there’s some mistake. My children are indoors. It must be someone else.”
“Where’s the dark-haired one, then?” yelled Mrs. Pogg. “It was her.”
Mummy called, “Tara, where are you? Come here, please.”
There was no reply. How could there be, when Tara was crouching behind the hedge with Ash-ting, horrified at the terrible turn of events. How could her kind deed have gone so wrong?
“Tara, stand up and explain what happened,” Ash-ting urged Tara, but the little girl was too scared.
Mummy invited Mrs. Pogg inside while she and Mel and Jack searched for Tara. When they could not find her Mummy was frantic with worry, for it was very dark outside by now.
Mrs. Pogg was triumphant. “I told you so,” she said smugly.
Daddy Helps Tara
Outside in the cold and dark Tara shivered, for she had not put on her coat. What was she going to do? She was only trying to be nice, and now she was in trouble. It was so unfair.
Then Ash-ting whispered. “Your dad’s coming. Quick, tell him what happened before he goes indoors.”
So Tara and Ash-ting fled down the road to meet Daddy. Tara ran into his arms and sobbed out the whole story.
“Oh, what a pickle,” said Dad, when she had finished. “But it was a kind thought to take the wallet to her, and kind thoughts always work out for the best.”
That made Tara feel better. She held Dad’s hand tightly as he opened their door and went inside.