“Look at the weather,” said Mog Og. “It never rains - it just pours.”
“Don’t worry,” said Dr Hoot-Hoot. “I’ve got something for each of you so you won’t get wet on your travels.
Dr Hoot-Hoot gave Mog Og a little tartan jacket. It was waterproof and it was just what Mog Og wanted. He loved tartan. Then Dr Hoot-Hoot gave Mysty a large umbrella, and he wrapped London Melody in deep-pink waterproof wrapping paper tied with a crimson bow. On the wrapping paper he put a gift tag: ‘To Penelope from Miles, with love from the Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop. Happy birthday’.
The friends waved goodbye to Milly, Mabble Merlin, Twilight, Dr Hoot-Hoot and Lucky.
Mog Og’s tartan jacket was a magical jacket. It made his fur change colour from grey to a mixture of black, ginger, white and tortoiseshell.
London Melody Goes on Show
Mysty said goodnight to Mog Og reluctantly. She didn’t have far to go to get home - she lived round the corner from the Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop - in the cobbled street known as Kensington Cobbles.
Mog Og said to Mysty he would meet her again in a few days’ time at the same place. They stood staring at each other. He was just going to give her a goodnight kiss when there was a big flash of lightning and they almost jumped out of their skins.
Then Mysty ran helter-skelter back to her home, while Mog Og and London Melody ran like the wind back to their home in Bayswater. London Melody looked hilarious running along next to Mog Og in her bright-pink shiny wrapping paper and crimson bow. She was still singing, and Mog Og in his tartan jacket was also singing, even though they were both running as fast as they could go. They ran over fields, over hills, under hills, up trees, down trees, over hedges, under hedges, over cows, over pigs, over geese, overground, underground, over barn owls and over barnyards, over turkeys and chickens and sheep, over the moon and over the stars, and finally they arrived home - home, sweet home.
They crept in through the cat flap. It was a bit of a squash for London Melody, but somehow she just managed it. She decided she wasn’t going back on the dusty shelf - she was going to lie on the sofa and go to sleep. She’d had an eventful night! Mog Og, of course, lay on the fluffy mat in front of the fire. Before long they had both fallen fast asleep.
The next morning, Miles got up very early as he always did. He went into the living room to open the curtains, and he was immediately struck by the sight of a large present on the settee. He realised that it must be the picture clock that Patrick had bought for Penelope’s birthday, but he couldn’t understand how on earth it came to be in pink wrapping paper. He was sure that, when Mabble Merlin had delivered it, it had been in deep-blue wrapping paper. He guessed that the wrapping paper had been damaged, and that was why it had been replaced. He decided to give Penelope the birthday present straight away because he wanted to know if it was indeed the picture clock.
At that moment Penelope appeared, and Miles gave her the present (because the little gift tag now read - ‘To Penelope from Miles’).
“Oh, that’s so kind of you, Miles,” she said.
Penelope opened the present and saw London Melody for the first time.
“It’s so beautiful, Miles. It’s so unusual. You just can’t stop looking at it, can you?”
‘I hope you can’t stop looking at me,’ thought London Melody. ‘I am so glad to be on display instead of wrapped up in bright paper, and feeling suffocated.’
“I’ll put it on the wall for you, Penelope,” said Miles. “I’ve got another small present for your birthday, but I’ll give you that at the party on the actual day.”
“Oh, that’s very sweet of you, Miles.”
Penelope looked at the picture clock again. It was mesmerising. Then she noticed the words on the bottom of the picture, which read, ‘The Possibilities Are Endless - London Melody’.
There was a tear in Penelope’s eye as she read the words - they were so sentimental and profound, and she felt that the possibilities were indeed endless.
When Mog Og finally woke up, still in his tartan jacket, he looked up to see London Melody smiling sweetly at him. Now her scene showed a beautiful autumn day in London, with the leaves falling from the trees. It looked like Hyde Park. Mog Og thought for a moment that he could see Mysty walking in and out of the trees.
The Invisibility Mirror
After the events of the night before, Mabble Merlin was just sitting having a cup of tea; he was wondering how his customers were doing. Mabble Merlin liked to ensure that all his customers were happy and contented - and even enchanted. He liked to know that when a customer bought something from his shop he or she would enjoy its magic. He maintained an interest in their lives.
Sometimes a customer purchased something and hadn’t a clue that it had any hidden powers.
Mabble Merlin’s crystal ball, which was hidden in a secret compartment of the shop counter when not in use, was now on the counter. Suddenly he noticed that the crystal ball was clouding over, which meant there was a vision coming through.
Gradually the cloudiness disappeared and a very clear scene appeared. Mabble Merlin found himself looking at a scene in the Lion and Unicorn Inn in Pluckley, where Sally and Richard Knight were standing in front of the antique mirror they had recently bought. They were in love and happy, and they looked at each other in the mirror, thinking how happy they were to have bought the pub and to be together.
Suddenly they felt a very strong tug - just as if an invisible hand had come out of the mirror and was pulling them into it.
When the feeling stopped, they both looked at each other, and Richard said, “Oh, boy, what was that?”
Sally said, “Did you have a strange feeling of being pulled into the mirror?”
Richard replied, “I felt the same thing.”
Mabble Merlin watched the scene in the crystal ball, engrossed in it.
Sally and Richard went downstairs, where the chef, Joseph Grylls, was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for the guests.
Sally and Richard went in, as they did every morning, and said, “Hi, Joe.”
Joe didn’t look up. He continued cooking, and he seemed to be ignoring them.
Richard went straight up to Joe and patted him on the back, and the chef screamed, “What the heck was that! Oh, dear Lord! This place is haunted.”
Sally said, “Stop kidding around, Joseph Grylls.”
When Joseph still didn’t look up from cooking the breakfast, they realised they were invisible. Something really strange had happened to them and they both realised that it was connected in some way with the mirror.
“Come on,” said Richard. “That antique mirror has magic powers - it has made us invisible. It must have happened when we felt that strange tugging sensation.”
They both scrambled upstairs as fast as their legs could carry them, and once again they looked intently into the mirror. After a few minutes they both felt a tug on their bodies, as though by an invisible hand, and they guessed that they probably weren’t invisible any more.
“Come on,” said Richard, “let’s check this out.”
They both scrambled downstairs once again and dashed into the kitchen as fast as their legs could carry them.
They both said, “Hi, Joe.”
“Morning, Sally. Morning, Richard,” replied Joe. “Are you both OK? You both look as if you have seen a ghost.”
“We’re fine, Joe,” said Richard, and they both gave Joe a big hug.
“Hey, steady on, guys! Is it my birthday?” he said, and they all laughed.
“Well, if you two haven’t seen a ghost, I certainly have felt one. This place is haunted. A few minutes ago someone patted me on the shoulder and I thought it was you, Richard, but oh boy! There was no one there. It’s a wonder I’ve managed to cook breakfast,” said Joe.
“W
ell, it looks lovely, as it always does, Joe,” said Richard.
Sally and Richard went upstairs again, and Sally said, “You know what, Richard: I think we could have fun with this magic mirror. Just for one day we’ll play a few pranks on the guests. They have been looking a bit tired and in need of a pick-me-up - we’ll make their hair stand on end if it isn’t already.”
Sally and Richard knew exactly what to do. They went to the mirror and stared at each other in the glass. They were scared and yet excited, and they felt compelled to become invisible again. They stared intently at each other in the mirror, and then suddenly they felt the strange tug as if an invisible hand had come out of the mirror. Suddenly it stopped, and it felt as though time had stood still. They felt the same - they could still see each other and they could see the room just as it always had been, but they knew that other people wouldn’t be able to see them. They dashed downstairs as fast as their legs could carry them.
Malcolm Drury was staying at the inn in order to visit relatives, who lived nearby, before the hectic Christmas season. He owned a turkey farm in Norfolk.
Malcolm was looking forward to a well-earned breakfast. He went over to the breakfast buffet, which looked delicious, and he piled up his plate with pork sausages, bacon, two fried eggs, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms and hash browns. He took the huge breakfast to his table. It was so heavy he could hardly carry it. He put it on the place mat on the table and went back to the breakfast buffet to pour himself some tea and a glass of orange juice, and while he was there he popped some bread in the toaster. As he waited for the toast to pop up, he was humming a tune.
Whilst his back was turned, Sally and Richard arrived in the dining room. Sally ate the mushrooms and tomatoes and Richard ate the sausages and black pudding.
When Malcolm got back to the table with his cup of tea, orange juice and toast and finally sat down, he noticed that the black pudding and sausages weren’t on the plate, and neither were the mushrooms or tomatoes. He thought another guest had taken the food, or maybe a dog had stolen it - either that or he was getting rather forgetful in his old age.
He decided to go and get some more food. He replenished the plate with three pork sausages and two pieces of black pudding, mushrooms and tomatoes; but whilst he was piling up the plate Sally drank Malcolm’s orange juice and Richard drank his tea.
When Malcolm got back to his seat, he didn’t at first notice that the tea and the orange juice had been drunk; he was too busy tucking into his black pudding and pork sausages. At last he picked up his cup of tea and saw that the cup was empty.
“What on earth is going on?” he shouted in a really loud, gruff voice.
The waitress came out of the kitchen and asked, “Is everything OK, Mr Drury?”
“Have you got a dog in this place, stealing my food and drinking my tea?”
“There’s no dogs in here, Mr Drury.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll pour myself another cup of tea and another glass of orange juice,” said Mr Drury in a very gruff voice.
Meanwhile Sally had stuck the toast to the back of Mr Drury’s jumper, and when he walked away to get another cup of tea and a glass of orange juice the waitress saw the toast hanging there. She thought it looked very funny, but she knew that he’d go mad when he realised the toast had disappeared as well. She didn’t want him shouting in his gruff voice any more, so she realised she would somehow have to get the toast off the back of his jumper. She decided to keep talking to Mr Drury to distract him.
“How are you enjoying your holiday, Mr Drury?”
“To be honest, I’ve really enjoyed it here. It’s clean and friendly, and Sally and Richard are two of the nicest people you could ever meet. But I do think you must have a phantom dog. I’ve heard stories about phantom dogs in Norfolk, and I believe they exist.”
The waitress of the inn, Beth Appleby, had heard that the ghost of a little dog was sometimes seen in the village of Pluckley. She thought it was best to agree that a phantom dog must have drunk Mr Drury’s tea and orange juice.
Sally and Richard thought it was great doing the prank on Malcolm; but when they heard him say that he was really enjoying his stay, and that Sally and Richard were lovely people, they felt a bit guilty. So they dashed upstairs as fast as their legs could carry them and stared into the mirror to quickly reverse the process.
When they were no longer invisible, they raced downstairs and into the dining room, where Mr Drury was just finishing his breakfast and Beth had somehow managed to get the toast off the back of his jumper and on to his plate.
“How good to see you both!” exclaimed Malcolm as they walked calmly into the room.
“You too,” said Richard. “We were thinking, Malcolm, that we would like to buy your turkeys this year for our restaurant - we know you look after your turkeys very well.”
“Indeed I do, and you look after me very well in your lovely restaurant,” said Malcolm, “apart from the phantom dog you’ve got.”
“Sorry about that,” said Richard apologetically.
They all laughed together, and every time Sally thought about the toast clinging to Mr Drury’s jumper she laughed a little bit more, but they still felt guilty about playing pranks on him. He was a lovely man, so they thought they would buy his turkeys - that was sure to cheer him up, as they would have a lot of people in their restaurant over Christmas for turkey dinners. They would require a lot of turkeys, so it could make a good sale for him.
Needless to say, he was very happy about the deal. He asked them if they wanted the cranberry sauce that his wife, Marjorie, made at their Norfolk farm, so Sally and Richard also bought their cranberry sauce and their free-range eggs and their organic honey and their royal jelly.
Mabble Merlin had watched the whole episode in the crystal ball, and he was very pleased indeed that Malcolm Drury had got to sell the produce from his Norfolk farm to Sally and Richard Knight. He did think the pranks were very funny, but they were also a little bit mean, so he was so pleased with Sally and Richard for making amends by deciding to buy Malcolm Drury’s farm produce.
A Ride on the Carousel
One morning the school teacher, Miss Carol Sums, went into school early, and she saw that the clock on the wall was covered with orange paint, with flour and with egg yolk. It was certainly no joke for the school clock, Erica English, and Miss Sums thought she would try to wash the clock face with soapy water.
She put the clock on the draining board and filled the sink with soapy water.
At nine o’clock all the pupils were in class, and Miss Sums asked them who was responsible for the state of the clock.
“Come on, pupils - someone must have done it,” she said.
Three hands went up.
“So tell me exactly what the three of you have done to this poor clock,” Miss Sums demanded.
Callum Chuckle said he was very, very, very sorry, but he’d thrown an egg at the clock.
“I’m very, very sorry, Miss Sums.”
The little tyke started to cry for fear he might get put in the naughty corner.
“Don’t worry, I won’t put you in the naughty corner. Instead you can help wash the face of the clock,” said Miss Sums.
Another little tyke, Natalie Apple, owned up that she had thrown flour at the clock when she was making fairy cakes.
“I didn’t mean to, Miss Sums. I’m very sorry.”
“OK, Natalie. Don’t worry. Mistakes happen,” said Miss Sums.
The last little tyke, Jason Jaffa, said that he’d put the paint on the face of the clock by mistake.
“I’m very sorry, Miss Sums. I didn’t mean to throw the orange paint.”
“All your apologies are accepted,” said Miss Sums.
Later on in the busy day, Miss Sums went over to the sink and picked up the clock on the draining board
, but she accidentally dropped the clock back into the soapy water in the sink.
“Oh, dear! Oh, dear me! How can I be so silly?”
Miss Sums took the clock out of the soapy water. The clock just wouldn’t work. The soapy water had got into the lungs of the clock and Erica couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t tick and tock. Miss Sums felt awful.
Erica had soapy water in her eyes and in her nose and in her mouth and in her hair. The paint and flour and egg yolk was no longer on her face, but now she had another problem: the water had got into her body. She felt dreadful.
Miss Sums didn’t know what to do. She only knew she needed help from somewhere. She said a little prayer to herself, and then suddenly she turned around and one of the pupils, Tamsin Sunshine, was handing her a little card she had found inside one of the library books. It was a business card, and it read, ‘Clocks repaired for free at the Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop, 35 Peek-a-Boo Street, Scarborough’.
Miss Sums immediately decided to take the clock to the shop, and she decided to take the three little tykes with her.
They eventually found the shop in the centre of Scarborough, between a bakery named Dainty Cakes and a fish-and-chip shop named Cod Plaice. Their school was in Osmotherley in the Yorkshire Dales, so it was a nice day out for the children to go to Scarborough.
Natalie Apple’s parents were farmers; they owned Apple Farm in Osmotherley. There was a campsite on part of their land, and this campsite wasn’t far from a sheep dip, where the sheep got put into disinfected water before they got their fleeces sheared.
Osmotherley is a beautiful little quaint English village.
Miss Sums went into the quaint old shop, and the little old doorbell rang as the door opened. Mabble Merlin stood in the middle of the shop.
“Well, hello, children.”
“Hello, Mr Shopkeeper,” said the children all at the same time.
“How can I help you all today?”
The Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop Page 9