Mog Og told Poly Quazar about his strange dream and he asked her what it meant.
Polly Quazar said that in the sixteenth century there was a king called Henry VIII who had a rat-catching cat called Razzamatazz. She said King Henry liked chopping people’s heads off, and that probably included cats’ heads if they tripped him up.
“Oh, goodness me!” said Mog Og. “I wouldn’t like to live in King Henry’s court because I’d always be tripping him up.”
The Clocks Come Back Home
Milly Paris had attended Tick-Tock School, and she had passed with flying colours. Mog Og went to collect her from Mabble Merlin’s shop and brought her back home. He put her on the sofa instead of putting her back in the dusty closet, and the next morning Miles noticed that she was working perfectly. He didn’t know how that had come about, but he put her back on the wall. Claudette de Seconds had decided not to come back. She asked to be taken back to the French court, and Mabble Merlin decided that was the best thing to do. She never again went back to the Laugherty household.
All the other clocks were repaired and in even better condition than when they were new. Miles was willing to collect them, but Mabble Merlin said he would deliver them back to their house, and this is what he did.
George Midnight, the grandfather clock, was feeling better than ever; Jasmine Feathersprings felt perfect and had a spring in her step; and Omega Horizon had had a facelift (a bit of a nip and tuck). Omega had her clock face seen to as it was cracked, but now she looked sensational with a slight tint to her face - as if she had a suntan.
The family were very pleased about the clocks returning in pristine condition. Mog Og was so glad they were back - especially his good friend George. He was over the moon, and he was looking forward to enjoying a lovely Christmas. He was so happy that Milly was back on the wall; and now she could tell the time perfectly - she didn’t miss a beat. She could tick and tock as well as anyone.
Polly Quazar was also glad to have Milly back on the kitchen wall.
All the clocks knew Claudette de Seconds would be going back to the French court, where she could be pampered, and they were very pleased for her.
The Magical Christmas Fairy
Penelope loved shopping at Christmas time. She decided to buy some new tinsel and bows, a new Christmas tree and a new Christmas fairy for the Christmas tree. The Christmas fairy they had was named Christabella, and she was going to sit on the mantelpiece from now on, as she was sick of sitting on the top of the Christmas tree.
Christabella wore a pretty cream dress with gold feathers on the bottom of the dress and the sleeves, and she had pretty glittery gold wings, blonde curly hair and green eyes. She was very happy to sit on the mantelpiece next to the snowman, who was named Jack Snowball. He was very friendly.
Penelope went shopping in the Bayswater area, and it wasn’t long before she came across the Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop. It was between a decorating shop called Paintbrush Alley and a very nice café called The Six Wise Monkeys Tea and Coffee Shop.
Penelope went into Mabble Merlin’s shop, and very soon saw just what she was looking for - a Christmas fairy.
Mabble Merlin said she was named Pumby Ely Fuddles, and Penelope said, “That’s a very unusual name for a Christmas fairy.”
“Well, she is an unusual Christmas fairy,” he replied. “And she will be just perfect for your Christmas tree.”
Penelope purchased her, and she was especially pleased because she thought Pumby would be a friend for Christabella. She looked lovely in her cerise dress, with her long, dark hair, light-blue eyes and silver wings.
Penelope went into the café next door to get a cup of tea and a scone, and as she sat drinking her tea she thought she heard a voice say, “I’m a magical Christmas fairy with special powers.” But Penelope decided she had imagined it.
She looked at the drawing of the six wise monkeys on the coffee-shop sign. There were three monkeys standing in a row. These said, “See no evil,” “Speak no evil” and “Hear no evil.” Two monkeys stood on their shoulders, and they said, “Think no evil” and “Feel no evil.” And there was one monkey standing on the shoulders of those two, and this one said, “Dream no evil.”
They were the Happy Tumbling Monkeys.
Penelope thought the tea was really nice and the scone was delicious. She felt sure it was going to be a great Christmas.
The Chocolate Advent Clock
It was the festive season, Christmas time, and the Christmas lights had been switched on in London. Everyone just thought, ‘Wow!’ Everything just sparkled with colour and life.
The Laugherty family decided to go Christmas shopping in the Bayswater area. They all thought that Christmas in London was magical, with the Christmas lights and the atmosphere and the smell of Christmas wafting through the air.
Because Christmas is a magical time, the Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop had appeared dramatically once again. It was now squashed between an Indian restaurant called The Indian Spice Experience and a sweet shop called Sweet As Candy.
As the Laugherty family walked along the street, they could smell the sweet aromas of sweets - Turkish delight, peppermint, truffles, liquorice, aniseed, chocolate, minty humbugs, marzipan, cough candy and nougat. Right next to the sweet shop, of course, was the curiosity shop. As the children looked in the window of the sweet shop they noticed a chocolate advent clock named Clementine Advent. The children rushed into the shop and bought the chocolate advent clock, and they rushed out again without even knowing they’d been in the shop. They then rushed straight back in again, and this time their parents followed.
The shop also sold milkshakes: the children had strawberry milkshakes, and Patrick and Penelope had chocolate milkshakes. Patrick noticed that the children had purchased the advent clock that was in the shop window. He guessed it was the advent clock, even though Mabble Merlin had wrapped it in dark-chocolate-coloured shiny wrapping paper and tied it with a coffee-coloured bow.
Clementine Advent had been to Mabble Merlin’s Music and Dance School, and she had passed with flying colours. She was so glad to be purchased that day by the Laugherty children and she was looking forward to life in a large Victorian house in London. She hoped she could create a wonderful, magical Christmas atmosphere, and she planned to sing a lovely magical song. Christmas is a magical time, and she hoped to spread a little magic.
Mabble Merlin liked to spread a little magic too, as did Dr Hoot-Hoot (the owl) and Twilight (the Persian cat) and Lucky (the sometimes-invisible cat).
Clementine Advent Starts to Sing
The one and only Clementine Advent was put on the kitchen wall. She was a Twelve Days of Christmas chocolate clock, and she counted down the twelve days before Christmas.
At the stroke of midnight the chocolate clock started to sing, and I must say she had a very sweet voice - it was as sweet as chocolate.
On the twelfth day before Christmas at midnight all of the Laugherty household was quiet, and a magical feeling of Christmas hung in the air. It was a lovely atmosphere. Then all of a sudden Clementine Advent started to sing:
“On the first day of Christmas
My true love sent to me ...”
Then instead of singing the words she sang to the music: “De de de, da da, de de, da da da, de de de, da da, la la la la la, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta....”
Milly started to sing along, and then the wristwatch sitting on the kitchen top (Omega Horizon) started to sing along, and the grandfather clock in the hall (George Midnight) sang and swayed to the music in a booming voice: “De de, da da da, de de, da da da....” The Australian Clock (Polly Quazar) sang along in her Australian voice: “De de, da da da, de de, da da da.... And the picture clock (London Melody) also started to sing along while showing a lovely scene of London with the Christmas lights and the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. And the cuckoo
clock (Jasmine Feathersprings) joined in too: “De de, da da da, de de, da da da....” In fact, soon every clock and watch in the house was singing along.
Unexpectedly, the cranberry jelly in the fridge started to sing along as it wibbled and wobbled: “De de, da da da, de de, da da da....” Then Midnight Owl in the oak tree in the garden started to hoot along: “Hoot hoot hoot, de de, da da da....”
Unexpectedly, and strangely enough, the fridge door swung open with a blast of cool air and the dead turkey cock took to his feet. Even though he was without his head, he started to strut his funky stuff on the tiled kitchen floor: “De de, da da da,” he sang in his beautiful turkey voice:
“On the first day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
Then the ice cubes in the fridge shook like maraccas and shouted, “That’s brrrilliant!” They shivered and quivered and then piped up in shrill tones:
“On the third day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
Then Mog Og, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up and stepped into the kitchen. He started to caterwaul in his lovely voice, and accompanying himself by using his long whiskers as a fiddle he sang:
“On the fourth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
He danced round the kitchen, singing with the headless turkey, and then he danced through the cat flap out into the garden where Midnight Owl was singing in the apple tree. He danced under the tree and then he started to run and jump and skip. He was so happy! He ran along the cobbled lanes, still singing, and the alley cats joined in with him, and he ran through hedges, over ditches and bridges singing all the while.
When he came to quilted fields of corn and barley and wheat, the swaying crops began humming along: “De, da da da da....”
And in a farmyard not too far away, under dreaming skies, the silly cows began to sing along with Mog Og:
“On the fifth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
And then the porky pigs in the pigpen started to sing along with Mog Og: “De, da, de, da da, de de, da da da....” and they snorted as they sang.
And then the geese gaggling in the farmyard started to sing with their lovely gaggling voices:
“On the sixth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
Then the sheep in the fields heard the singing and started to sing along as well. They piped up in their baa-baa voices:
“On the seventh day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
Even some very, very early morning milkmaids milking the cows started to sing in their milkmaid voices:
“On the eighth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
Then the early morning milkman struck up a note as he carried his bottles of milk in the quiet, sleepy village. The milkman sang:
“On the ninth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings ...”
In the manor house on the hill, the lord and lady of the manor suddenly started singing in their sleep:
“On the tenth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
There was a castle on another hill, and Mog Og danced into the courtyard, where he sang while the pipers played:
“On the eleventh day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying ...”
Then in the same courtyard Mog Og noticed some strange drummers. They were ghosts from years gone by, but they looked real enough so Mog Og sang while they played:
“On the twelfth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.”
Back at the Laugherty house there was a party atmosphere like never before. The clocks all sang together like an orchestra playing.
Mog Og had been singing for a very long time, but eventually he decided to run back home. He ran over hedges, over bridges, over fields, and even over sheep in the fields, until he finally arrived back home. By this time all the clocks had stopped singing and humming, the headless turkey had stopped strutting his funky stuff, the jelly had stopped singing, the ice cubes had stopped singing - everyone had stopped singing.
The house was quiet, and everyone fell asleep, having enjoyed the midnight festivities.
Dr Laugherty came downstairs very early as usual the next morning, and he wondered why on earth the turkey was out of the fridge, lying on the floor, and the jelly was in a heap and the ice cubes were all over the place.
Dr Laugherty didn’t have time to clean and tidy the kitchen, so he called Miles to come and put the turkey back in the fridge and tidy the place a little.
He never dreamt that Clementine Advent was the cause of it all. No one would have guessed. She was now sitting on the kitchen wall, not making a sound. The only thing different about her was the fact that a chocolate had been eaten. Daisy had eaten the first advent chocolate on the twelfth day of Christmas.
The Pantomime
In their luxurious living room the real-fir Christmas tree had been pu
t up by Miles. It was very large, with huge sparkling baubles and tinsel and gold and silver bows, and right at the top was Pumby Ely Fuddles, the Christmas fairy whom Penelope had purchased from the Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop.
The Christmas socks had been hung up beside the log fire in the Victorian living room, which looked very Christmassy. Dr Laugherty had hung his very own socks (washed, of course) from the Victorian mantelpiece, and inside each sock he’d put nuts, apples, oranges and chocolates and a £2 coin. Mog Og could vouch for the fact that the socks were clean. He would often lie on the fluffy fur rug in front of the fire, and he would have known if there were any smelly socks nearby.
The room looked lovely - so pretty and delightful with red, gold, silver, purple and green tinsel, and Christmas cards hung across the wall alcoves. There was mistletoe on the picture clock, London Melody. Everything was festive, and they were all as high as kites with the excitement and the festive mood.
The Laugherty family planned to go to the Christmas Eve pantomime at a theatre in Drury Lane, about fifteen minutes from where they lived.
Dr Laugherty had decided to get into the festive spirit by hiring a ‘Santa sleigh’.
Little did he know that it came originally from the Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop, and the sleigh and the reindeer were able to fly magically through the air.
The Laugherty family excitedly grabbed their hats, coats, scarves and gloves. It was a cold night and it looked like it could snow. They all climbed on to the ‘Santa sleigh’ and set off for the Petticoat Theatre in Drury Lane to watch the pantomime, which was called The Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop.
When they arrived at the theatre they took their seats in the front row. The children noticed some of their friends from school, who were sitting a few seats along on the same row. These friends were Sophia Louise and Laura Lou and Craig Anthony, and they were with their parents, Mr and Mrs Lemonade.
The Laugherty family had a box of popcorn, and the Lemonade family were eating hot dogs and drinking lemonade.
Daisy and Oliver suddenly wanted some lemonade, so Patrick went to the theatre shop and got four cartons of lemonade. He thought it was a bit silly the Lemonade family drinking lemonade - he hoped he didn’t start laughing. Then he remembered he had an unusual name, and some people might think the Laugherty family laughed all of the time. Some neighbours of his were named Mr and Mrs Rice, and he wondered if they cooked rice all the time, or if they loved rice.
The Musty Old Magical Curiosity Shop Page 17