peggy sat curled up on the big window seat in the nursery reading mary’s meadow. at least, you couldn’t call it exactly reading, but mother had read out bits to her so often that she could remember most of them by heart.
nurse was down in the kitchen talking to cook; and the rain was pelting against the window-panes and the wind was blowing the trees all sideways and flattening down the plants in the garden, and screaming round and round the house trying to get in and blow peggy about too.
her little fat fingers moved along below the words as she read to herself in a slow whisper:
“we went there for flow-ers; we went there for mush-rooms and puff-balls; we went there to hear the night-in-gale.”
peggy stopped, and looked out at the driving rain with a little sigh. “i wish i had a meadow of my very own!” she thought. and then she suddenly saw a bright green light coming from the cupboard in front of her, and at the same moment the ring flew right through the wooden door, and straight on to her thumb!
peggy gave a little shout of delight.
“i wish i was in my meadow with my giant,” she cried[16] as fast as she could, for she heard nurse’s step on the stairs. “and picking daisies, please,” she added, turning the ring round, and rubbing it too, so as to make quite certain lots would happen.
“i’m perfectly delighted with this effect. my powers are returning, it seems!” said the giant, speaking in his grandest though tiniest voice.
peggy rubbed her eyes and tried to open them wide, but the sunshine was so dazzling that for a few seconds she was quite blinded by it.
then she saw that she was in a great big green field, edged all round with a tall green hedge; and growing amongst the grass in the field were flowers, shaped like daisies of every kind and colour, big ones, little ones, tall ones, short ones, white, blue, pink, red, yellow, and purple ones, and even some of colours peggy had only thought about sometimes but knew no name for. and the most lovely scent—a sort of mixture of honey and roses and pansies—came up from the whole field.
peggy sat down amongst the flowers, clapping her hands. this was something like a wish! but where was the giant?
“may i really pick a bunch?” she asked, looking towards the place where she thought his voice had come from.
“yes, only be very careful of me!” said the giant, and peggy felt something tickling her hand.
she looked down and saw the giant.
he was still very tiny, and was balancing on the yellow centre of a scarlet daisy, and reaching up to prick her hand with a bit of tasselled grass. he had a most roguish and[17] good-tempered expression on his little fat face, and the sun shone down on his curly beard till it made it look quite golden.
“oh, what fun it must be to be small like that!” said peggy, clasping her hands (she was so pleased to find the giant wasn’t cross any longer). “i wish i could balance on a daisy too!”
she at once found herself standing amongst some thick bristling yellow stalks, like corn, whilst all around her spread up curving blue walls, stretching, it seemed, right up to the blue sky.
“what’s happened? where am i?” she asked in a rather surprised voice.
“balancing on a blue daisy,” said the giant, jumping into the yellow stalks by her side. and peggy noticed that they were now both exactly the same height. “look out! hold on!” he added excitedly, catching her hand. “there’s a breeze passing over the flowers. we’re going swinging!”
a great rustling sounded in the distance, which suddenly burst into a roar as a great wind swept by—and down they were flung on to the huge silky walls as the daisy bowed its head. then with a tremendous jerk the flower righted itself, and sent them spinning off on to another daisy. this one shook its head and slid them on to another, and so on and on, half across the field, until at last, when they had learnt to balance, and were swinging dizzily to and fro on a large violet-coloured petal, the whole thing tilted more suddenly than usual, and shot them down on to the ground below.
“oh, wasn’t it lovely!” cried peggy, looking up through the dim light at the gigantic heads, still swaying to and fro[18] amongst the great blades of grass which looked as tall as trees. “what fun it is to be tiny like this!”
“i’m getting a bit tired of it,” said the giant ruefully. he had knocked his knee on a little stone, and was sitting on the ground rubbing it. “you left me this size yesterday, you know—and i couldn’t remember the way to get back to my proper height! i think you’ll have to use up a wish on me now. after all, you’ve got four left still.”
“all right,” said peggy obediently. (anything to keep the giant in such a good temper.) “i wish you were as tall as you were before.”
the giant immediately shot up right through the grass and flowers, and apparently disappeared, for peggy found herself left by an enormous black rock which barred the way, and quite shut out all the light there was in that dark place. she at once began trying to climb it, so as to find her way back to the giant, but she had no sooner scrambled up the first ledge, than a voice that filled the air like several claps of thunder all sounding at once, bawled out:
“get off my boot! i daren’t move. you can’t possibly stay as small as that!”
“oh dear, it’s you i’m on, is it?” exclaimed peggy. “i quite forgot that i was left so tiny! now i must use up another wish, i suppose. what dreadful waste!” and of course there was nothing for it but to do so, as you can’t possibly have any fun with someone a million times taller than yourself.
the next moment she was sitting among the flowers, once more her proper size, with the giant, once more his proper size too, standing by her.
“and now, may i begin to pick a bunch for mummie?” she asked.
“certainly,” said the giant. “there’s no one to stop[19] you; they’re all your own.” he sat down on a hedge near by, which immediately sank with his weight, the trees that grew on it toppling down in all directions. “there, now i’m comfortable,” said he, “and i think i’ll have a nap. i never slept a wink last night.” and he lay down across what was left of the hedge, closed his eyes, and started snoring at once.
