by Gwyneth Rees
I felt the ‘ping’ now just before the mum doll stood up again. I watched as she rubbed her head, then spotted her baby and rushed over to lift it up. She began rocking it in her arms. As soon as the mother picked up her baby I found that I was able to animate that too without any extra effort. I forgot everything else as I kept focusing on the little doll’s-house figures, watching as the mother gently placed the baby inside its crib and covered it with a tiny white square of knitted blanket before beginning to tidy up the rest of the house.
‘Wow!’ Saffie exclaimed. ‘You did that much better than me!’
I looked across at Granny, who was smiling at me proudly.
‘I don’t know how . . .’ I began, trailing off.
Granny smiled. ‘I told you, Emma. It’s not true that your power is weaker than Saffie’s. Your power is different, that’s all!’
I felt a sort of warm fuzzy feeling in my middle as she said that. It had never occurred to me before that there might be any sort of animation I could do more easily than my sister.
That night I was fast asleep, in the middle of a lovely dream where I was playing with a doll’s house full of teddy bears, when I felt my arm being shaken.
‘Saffie?’ I murmured groggily, before turning on the bedside light and letting out a little shriek of surprise. Howard was standing beside my bed wearing a pink cone-shaped party hat with streamers decorating the top.
‘I’m sorry, Emma,’ he said in his soft growly voice. ‘I wanted to wake you as soon as Saffie brought me to life, but there wasn’t time.’
‘Saffie?’ I hissed, automatically turning to look at my sister’s bed. It was empty and her duvet was half on the bed and half off it.
‘Elvira and Dorothy and two of the gnomes are out in the garden with us and we’re having a midnight feast,’ Howard continued. ‘Saffie sent me to fetch some biscuits from the kitchen, but I thought it would be better if I fetched you instead.’ He frowned. ‘Does this hat look very ridiculous? Saffie says I have to keep it on or I’ll be a party pooper. I don’t know what that is, but it doesn’t sound very pleasant.’ He seemed worried as he added, ‘I do so dislike looking ridiculous, because as you know I am a very sensible sort of bear.’
‘I think you look cute,’ I told him. ‘But you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.’
I suddenly realized something. ‘Hey, how is Saffie animating you when she can’t see you?’
‘I believe your grandmother calls the technique “blind” animating. Anyway, whatever it’s called I’m afraid she’s been teaching Saffie how to do it.’ As he carefully eased the hat elastic out from under his chin he added with a yawn, ‘I think I’d like to go back to sleep now.’
‘That’s fine. You do that.’ I quickly went over to the window and looked down into the back garden.
‘They’re in the front garden,’ Howard said at once.
‘The front garden?’ I was shocked.
I got downstairs to find the front door wide open and the porch light on. It was like a beacon signalling to any neighbours who happened to be awake to look this way, I thought crossly.
Saffie, Elvira, Dorothy and Cedric were all sitting cross-legged in a circle on Granny’s picnic rug with various bits of food set out in front of them on Granny’s best china plates.
Walter was standing on his upturned wheelbarrow over by the hedge, inspecting one of the hedge statues. Walter has white hair, a long white beard and a pair of round metal-rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose. In his plastic form he’s holding his wheelbarrow, but whenever he comes to life he gets one of the other gnomes to push it for him because he says it aggravates his bad back. ‘Really, Miss Serafina, I must say I’m surprised at you!’ he was saying sternly as he pushed his glasses further back on to his nose. ‘It’s lucky this peacock is still in one piece. You cannot bring a hedge sculpture to life when it is still attached to the rest of the hedge. You could have uprooted the whole thing!’
Saffie’s face was hilarious. She clearly didn’t appreciate being told off by Walter, who she had always thought of as an admirer until now.
‘I think you should uproot the hedge, Saffie!’ Dorothy (Saffie’s red-haired rag doll) suddenly declared, standing up and adjusting her party hat. ‘Think how funny a flying hedge would look! You could easily do it. You brought a garden shed to life before without any trouble, didn’t you?’ She stopped abruptly as she saw me standing on the porch. ‘Uh-oh . . .’
I ignored her and glared at my sister as she turned and saw me too. ‘Saffie, what are you doing out here? Anyone could be watching and you know you’re not allowed to be out the front on your own! And why are you using Granny’s best tea-plates?’
Saffie gave me an angelic smile. ‘Don’t be cross, Emma. We were going to have our midnight feast in the back garden, but Elvira and Dorothy wanted to see the hedge sculptures, so we came out here instead. I tried to bring the peacock to life, but it went a bit wrong. Elvira chose the plates. She said we had to have them to make the cucumber sandwiches look pretty.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Have you seen Howard? He was meant to be bringing biscuits.’
‘He came to find me instead,’ I grunted.
‘What?’ Saffie looked irritated. ‘Howard never does what I tell him to. He’s such a naughty bear!’
I couldn’t help laughing. ‘He never does what you tell him to because he’s such a good bear!’ I corrected her. ‘Come on, let’s go inside before someone sees us.’
‘Coming out front was Elvira’s idea, not mine,’ Dorothy announced suddenly. ‘Elvira is always getting poor Saffie into trouble.’ She gave Elvira a superior look. ‘I’m sure Saffie would get rid of you if you weren’t some old relic who used to belong to her mother.’
‘That’s not true!’ the china doll retorted hotly. ‘And the only reason she doesn’t give you away, Dorothy, is that nobody would want you with that dish-mop hair. In fact, if we turned you upside down and dipped you in some water we could use you to mop the floor! Tee-hee!’
‘Will you two stop it!’ I snapped, seeing that nothing had changed between Saffie’s two dolls just because they were away from home.
But instead of listening they started to hurl things at each other, throwing anything they could get their hands on – including Granny’s best china plates.
CHAPTER 5
Elvira ducked just in time as the first plate whizzed right over her head to land with a crash on the front path.
‘Stop it!’ I yelled. I quickly switched off the porch light and hustled Saffie and the dolls inside as Granny’s voice shouted down to us from the top of the stairs.
‘GIRLS, IS THAT YOU? WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN THERE?’
Granny was furious when she found out about her broken plate, and even more so when she heard how it had happened. Saffie had quickly de-animated the gnomes and the dolls when we’d heard Granny coming, and Elvira and Dorothy were now lying innocently on the sofa. But that didn’t stop Granny glaring daggers at them.
‘Your mother told me she would only let you bring one of those dolls,’ Granny challenged my sister sharply. ‘So why are they both here?’
In a small voice Saffie told Granny how she had sneaked Dorothy into the car at the last minute. ‘I was afraid she’d be lonely left at home all on her own,’ she finished. ‘Wasn’t I, Emma?’
I nodded, wishing now that I’d told Mum about the extra doll in the first place.
‘I see . . . well . . .’ Granny gave us both a stern look. ‘Dorothy and Elvira can both go home with your parents on Sunday. Until then I shall put them away somewhere safe.’ As she saw Saffie’s expression she added, ‘Don’t worry, Saffie. I’m sure your mother will let you have them back at the end of the holiday if you behave yourself while you’re here.’
I knew Granny was doing this for Saffie’s own good – as well as for the good of her best china crockery – but Saffie clearly didn’t see it that way. When we went back upstairs Saffie climbed into her bed with a fa
ce like thunder.
‘Saffie,’ I whispered after Granny had turned out our bedroom light and closed the door. ‘Are you OK?’
She didn’t reply apart from a sniff, and I was afraid she might be crying.
‘We can still bring Howard to life,’ I whispered. My teddy bear was no longer animated, which wasn’t surprising since Saffie had clearly forgotten all about him. ‘Howard won’t get us into any trouble with Granny. He’s too—’
‘Boring?’ Saffie hissed without looking up.
‘Sensible,’ I corrected her crossly, and I went to sleep deciding that I needn’t feel too worried about her after all.
The following morning at breakfast time Granny seemed back to her normal cheerful self until Saffie said, ‘I promise I’ll be really good from now on, Granny, so can I please have my dolls back?’
‘I don’t think that would be very wise, Saffie,’ Granny replied.
‘Well, just one of them then?’ Saffie pleaded. ‘Please?’
‘No, Saffie. Eat your breakfast or that boiled egg will go cold.’
Saffie put down her spoon. ‘Granny, where have you put my dolls?’ she demanded.
‘Serafina,’ Grandpa broke in, actually lowering his newspaper at the breakfast table, which he practically never does. ‘Granny told me what happened last night and I think she’s absolutely right. Now be a good girl and stop hounding her and eat up your breakfast.’
Of course, after that Saffie made a big thing of not eating her breakfast. She sat at the table in complete silence with her darkest scowl on her face and as soon as Grandpa went out to the garage she got up to leave the table too.
‘Just a minute, young lady,’ Granny said.
The first morning at Granny’s I’d offered to help with the washing-up. ‘Goodness, no!’ she’d exclaimed. ‘In this house the dishes do themselves!’ And this morning was no exception. As she spoke she turned and gave the sink a hard sort of stare. Seconds later the plates and mugs and everything else in the washing-up bowl had grown little arms and were vigorously scrubbing themselves.
Even Saffie started to giggle, and not for the first time I wished that Mum would let us bring the dishes to life at home.
Granny told Saffie she wanted to take her to the park that morning to practise using her superpower discreetly outside. Saffie clearly liked the idea too much to say no, even if she was still in a bad mood.
‘Saffie, I think you should change into some normal clothes before we go out,’ Granny added, frowning at my sister’s Supergirl outfit and in particular at the tomato-ketchup stain on her yellow leotard.
Saffie narrowed her eyes as she stated emphatically, ‘But I want to wear this.’
Granny sighed. ‘Very well then. Emma, we should be back by lunchtime, and Grandpa is in the garage if you need him.’
I nodded, because I was more than happy to be left on my own to play some more with Mum’s old doll’s house.
For the next hour or so I was totally caught up in my own little world. After setting the dolls to one side I finished sorting out the furniture inside the house – by hand rather than by animation. When I had all the rooms just how I wanted them I decided it was time to let the dolls move back in.
In addition to the mum and baby doll, there was a daddy doll dressed in a brown felt suit, two identical little girl dolls with brown curly hair and faded pink dresses, and a boy doll dressed in little blue shorts and a red top. There was also a stern-looking adult female doll in a black dress with a grey bun who I decided must be the nanny.
The thing about animating toys is that once you’ve brought them to life they sort of act independently. It’s not that you can’t influence the way they behave at all – if you’re a calm person in a calm mood then the doll you animate will probably be calm too. And of course the opposite applies if you’re angry. But aside from that an object that already has some kind of character – a doll with a cheeky face for instance – will tend to behave in keeping with that. In the case of my doll’s-house family I knew that the nanny would be strict and the children would all be mischievous. And I knew that as soon as I put the family back inside the house and brought them to life I would be setting off a little adventure that I could sit back and watch, as well as actually take part in if I wanted to. (Of course, I would seem like a giant to the doll’s-house family – but at least I’d be a friendly giant.)
I decided it would be fun to place the family in their beds before I ‘woke’ them up. The bedroom for the mum and dad dolls had a wooden double bed with a cover made from a square of white handkerchief material. The baby’s little pink plastic crib was in there as well.
The other upstairs bedroom was the nursery. It had red wooden bunk beds with orange covers, and two other single beds, a small red wooden one for the little boy, and a longer bed with a pretty floral cover for the nanny. Next to the nanny’s bed was a rocking chair with a tiny orange cushion to sit on. There was also a little white bookcase with some miniature books on the shelves, a cute plastic rocking horse, a teeny toy car and a tiny teddy bear. I had also squeezed in the fish tank since I couldn’t find any space for it elsewhere, and a plastic cat with two kittens in a basket.
After all the dolls were lying down in their beds I sat back and concentrated on animating them. I wasn’t sure how many I could bring to life at the same time, so I was really pleased when I managed to do them all. I guessed that when it came to animating very small things, a little superpower went a long way.
It gave me an excited tingly feeling inside as I watched all the dolls waking up. I’d even managed to animate the cats and the fish. Of course, I could have animated the furniture itself, but I didn’t want to do that, at least not at the moment. For now I just wanted to concentrate on getting to know the family. I had thought about giving them names, but then I’d realized that Mum must already have done that and I thought it might be nice to use the same ones.
The baby woke up first and started crying loudly. The mum and dad dolls woke up then and the mum picked up the baby and gave it a cuddle. At the same time in the other bedroom the nanny woke and started to shout at the children to get up or they’d be late.
‘Late for what?’ the children all shouted together, but the nanny didn’t seem to know.
The nanny was tutting loudly to herself as she spotted the fish tank. ‘I must get your father to take this downstairs. Never in all my years as a nanny have I had a fish tank in the bedroom. I’m sure one could catch all manner of diseases from it.’
‘What sorts of diseases?’ the children asked, but again the nanny didn’t seem to have an answer.
The little boy went to have a ride on the rocking horse and the twin girls were soon on their way into the other bedroom to see the baby. Meanwhile the kittens started chasing each other round the floor, nearly tripping up the nanny.
Since none of them seemed to have noticed me I decided it would be better to keep it that way for a while. I wasn’t sure that I was quite ready yet to play the part of the friendly giant.
Grandpa found me sitting with the doll’s house at the kitchen table when he came in from the garage to make himself a cup of tea.
‘It’s nice to see that old doll’s house getting some attention again, Emmeline,’ he said. ‘I remember your mother used to spend hours at a time with it when she was your age.’
‘Did Granny make the dolls come alive for her?’ I asked curiously.
Grandpa shook his head. ‘Your mother wouldn’t let her interfere.’ He chuckled at the memory. ‘Marsha always insisted on playing with it in a normal way, making up little voices for the dolls . . . all that sort of thing.’
‘I wonder why,’ I said in surprise. I couldn’t think of anything more exciting than having a doll’s house with real live little people inside it.
‘Oh, I expect she wanted to bring it to life using her imagination,’ Grandpa said. ‘That way it could be her own little world that she was in charge of rather than your grandmother . . .’ There w
as something in his voice that made me think his opinion came from personal experience.
I suddenly decided to ask him something that had been bugging me for a while. ‘Grandpa, why do you keep calling me Emmeline? Nobody else does . . . except Mum when she’s cross with me. And I really don’t like being called it.’ I felt my face flushing a little, but I kept looking at him.
‘I’m sorry!’ Grandpa looked taken aback. ‘I’ve always thought it a beautiful name. Call me a fanciful old man if you like, but it makes me think of someone special, like a queen. Queen Emmeline . . . But I’ll try to remember to call you Emma if you’d like that better.’
‘Yes please,’ I said. ‘I would.’ But I smiled, because I felt quite flattered by his answer.
‘Now . . .’ Grandpa said, looking at his watch. ‘Where can your sister and grandmother have got to? I do hope nothing’s gone wrong.’
CHAPTER 6
‘I’ll never be able to show my face in that supermarket ever again!’ Granny complained as she walked in through the front door half an hour later.
‘I’ve brought things to life in the supermarket with Mummy before, and she always shows her face there again,’ Saffie protested crossly as she followed behind Granny. ‘Anyway, you shouldn’t have kicked Trevor.’
‘Trevor?’
‘Our trolley, of course! He had a sweet little face as well, only you didn’t even see it!’
My sister pulled her Supergirl cape straighter on her shoulders before stomping off upstairs.
It turned out that after the park Granny had taken Saffie to the supermarket, where Saffie had decided to bring their shopping trolley to life.