“i wish it wasn’t such a wet day,” said peggy, lying full length in the loft amongst the hay, and looking through the cobwebby little window at the driving rain.
“why, what does the rain matter?” asked the giant, coming through the roof, and lying down in the hay, too, with both legs dangling out of the trap-door. and the sunshine poured through the hole he had made, and a big patch of blue sky gleamed above it.
“oh dear!” said peggy, “i never noticed i had the ring on! what waste of a wish! the garden boy said it was going to clear in half an hour anyway. nannie thinks i’m in the garden,” she went on, “but i ran up[55] here out of the rain. hadn’t we better go out again now it’s stopped?”
“oh, do let’s stop here for a bit,” said the giant. “i’m so stiff from yesterday’s digging. i stayed on and did a lot after you’d gone. look here,” and he pulled handfuls of glittering red and green stones out of his pocket.
“i didn’t mean to go off suddenly like that,” said peggy rather shamefacedly. “i hope you thanked the pixies for us both?”
“oh yes, that was all right,” said the giant, scooping together all the hay within reach and making it into a pillow for his head. “by the way,” he went on lazily, staring up at the dusty beams, “do you realise this is our last adventure?”
“why, so it is!” said peggy with a gasp. “oh, how awful! i can’t bear to think i shan’t see you again,” and she caught hold of the giant’s little finger and hugged it hard. “what shall i do without you?”
“well, you must think of something very exciting indeed for our last day,” said the giant. “and don’t go wasting wishes like you’ve been doing lately. it spoils all the fun.”
“the thing that puzzles me,” said peggy, looking at her ring as it gleamed and sparkled in that dark place, “is how much the ring does, and how much you do? and why sometimes it doesn’t work till it’s turned, and why you can’t always bring me back without my having to use up a wish, and where you live when you’re not here, and——”
“well, of all the inquisitive children you absolutely take the cake!” said the giant. “i don’t think i’ve been asked so many questions for the last five hundred years at least.[56] i haven’t the slightest intention of answering one of them. instead of being grateful for having so many wishes at a time, you begin grumbling——”
“o giant, darling, i didn’t mean to grumble!” cried peggy. “i was only wondering. but i won’t ask any more questions, i promise you, if you’ll only think of some lovely exciting adventure for to-day. you think of such beautiful things always,” she added.
“oh, that’s all very well!” said the giant, but his voice sounded rather pleased. “well now, let me see. this takes some thinking. what was it that that child and i did in 1350 or thereabouts? oh yes, i remember. she wished all her toys to come alive. how would you like that?”
“perhaps it would be rather fun,” said peggy—and she wished it, but in rather a doubtful voice. “you’re sure it will be really exciting?” she asked....
“listen to all that trampling,” said the giant in reply, nibbling at a straw and blinking at the rafters.
peggy raced to the loft door and looked down into the yard below, where an extraordinary sight met her eyes. for the whole place had suddenly become packed from end to end with every kind of animal, bird and insect, all rushing to and fro in the greatest state of excitement.
“oh, do look down!” peggy implored the giant. “where can they all have come from? there’s a camel, i’m sure. oh, and there’s a lion going right off into the rose bed! what will john say? and there’s a funny old man in a long coat running about amongst them all! who can he be?”
“noah,” answered the giant, “and it’s all the animals from your noah’s ark, of course. my word, you’ll have a lively time getting ’em in again! you’d better go down, i think.”
[57]peggy ran down the steps, and noah at once bustled up to her in a great state of mind.
“this coat of mine hampers me dreadfully,” he panted. “do you think you could restore any kind of order? the tigers have got into the kitchen garden, and a dromedary and one, if not both, the leopards, have gone down the high road towards the village!”
“giant, giant, come and help!” shouted peggy, and the next moment the giant was standing by her side, shaking pieces of hay off himself, which the few remaining animals immediately ate.
“he wants us to drive them up into the nursery again,” said peggy. “you go that way,” and she pointed through the open gate into the kitchen garden, “and i’ll go round the house and get them out of the flower beds. and you,” to noah, “run down the road after them!”
“chuck, chuck, chuck,” she went on to a pair of red storks strutting to and fro in the perennial border, but they simply flew on to the top of the house and stared down at her; whilst an elephant, standing in the asparagus bed on the other side of the garden wall, chose at that moment to trumpet loudly, and nearly startled peggy out of her wits.
“i don’t know how we’re to manage it!” she said at last to noah, who reappeared driving a bright blue pig and a dromedary up the road. “it’s no fun, is it? i only wish we could all go for a ride or something exciting! how about that animal there?” and she pointed at a giraffe engaged at the moment in licking a red creeper off one side of the house....
“hold me tight!” said noah very nervously, as they all three found themselves on the giraffe’s back and going at a brisk trot down the back drive. “do hold me tight! i haven’t ridden for years.”
[58]“how lovely this is!” said peggy, taking a firmer grip of noah, who sat in front, and looking back at the giant. “are you all right?” she asked.
“at present i am,” he answered carefully, “though i really ought to have been in front for the weight, i suppose. hulloa! what’s he doing now?”
for the giraffe had no sooner turned into the high road than he began to proceed in a series of jumps, all four feet pressed close together, and rising a good deal higher than the hedges at each effort.
“tell him to stop, noah!” gasped peggy. “you’re in front. hurry up! i’m shaken to bits.”
“it’s no good,” moaned noah. “i have, and he won’t listen. oh, if we only had some reins!”
“you must wish him to go slower,” said the giant to peggy in a faint voice. “i shall die if this goes on! it’s all your fault for saying ‘or something exciting’ after your wish. i forgot to tell you how very risky that was. ah, thank you! that’s better,” for peggy had wished, and the giraffe at once quieted down into a walk—in fact into such a slow walk that it almost might have been called standing still.
“get on!” said peggy, digging her heels into the giraffe’s back—but he went slower and slower still.
“oh dear, you’ll have to get off and push, i’m afraid,” she said to the giant. “we shall never get anywhere at all if you don’t. i’m not going to waste another wish on the horrid old thing!”
“all right,” said the giant, getting off—but the more he pushed the slower the giraffe went.
“why, here we are at the village!” cried peggy, as after half an hour’s steady pushing they turned a corner and saw a row of cottages stretching down the road on either side.[59] “now get on again,” she said to the hot and tired giant, “and we’ll ride grandly down to the shop and buy a pennyworth of sweets!”
“who’s to buy them?” asked the giant, wearily settling himself on the giraffe’s back again (it was quite easy to get on and off because the creature really went so very slowly). “i can’t. i only frighten people.”
“noah will—won’t you, noah?” asked peggy coaxingly. “i can’t, because i’ve no pennies left at all!”
“but i haven’t a farthing on me either,” said noah uncomfortably.
“oh, never mind, have it entered!” said peggy, pushing him off the giraffe’s back. “run along; we shan’t move far from here before you come back—and get acid drops if you can,” she added.
noah obediently crossed the road and walked into the shop; and about one minute afterwards he reappeared, bearing two enormous bottles of pear-drops under each arm.
“gracious me!” cried peggy, jumping off the giraffe, and followed by the giant. “how quick you’ve been! and that’s not a pennyworth!”
“i know it isn’t,” said noah. “but the woman made me take them. i asked her quite politely for a pennyworth, but instead of weighing them out like anyone else would, she fell down behind the counter and screamed, ‘take anything you like, only go away!’ so i did. i chose all pear-drops because they’re my favourite sweets,” he added simply, putting two into his mouth at once.
“oh you greedy!” cried peggy. “give us some at once! i’m very glad nobody sees us,” she added, looking anxiously up and down the village street; “they’d never believe the woman really gave them to you.”
and at that moment a perfect shout of delight rose up[60] in the road behind them, and peggy, turning hastily round, saw a troup of toys rushing towards them!
there were all the dolls she had ever had, all the people in every fairybook she had ever looked at, and all her wooden carts and horses. there were all her golliwogs and teddy-bears, all the ark animals again, all the rest of noah’s family (who had been lost for years), all the dolls’ tea-sets, and even the big dolls’ house, and the rocking-horse, and all the balls and tops, and ninepins, and whips, and whistles, in fact every single thing that had ever lived in the toy cupboard in the nursery.
“found at last!” they screamed, dancing and leaping round peggy. “now let’s play a game. you choose!”
