A wonderful Christmas night

 

 
A wonderful Christmas night 

Join Harriet and Pete as they embark on a wonderful midnight adventure, where they attend feasts, visit fairs and get into trouble with wizards.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Ch1: Just a beginning 

Little Harriet shut her eyes tight, trying to get some sleep. What a Christmas eve it had been! Plenty of presents followed by a delicious supper. She was too excited to fall asleep. She heard her brother Pete's gentle snoring on the other side of the room. He was always such a sound sleeper! Not even blowing a horn would wake him.

Harriet's mother peeped in to see if the children were sleeping. Harriet caught her mother's eye and smiled. Her mother shut the door softly.

After this, Harriet fell asleep. 'If only my Christmas wish could come true!' She thought as she dozed off.

A few hours later, a gentle tapping on the window woke Harriet. The girl woke up, rubbing her eyes, wondering what in the world woke her. She cautiously went up to the window and pulled it aside.

 A small white creature, about two feet tall, with a pointed nose and a pointed hat, pressed his nose against the window And continued tapping.

Harriet jumped, completely taken aback. She must be dreaming, right? But no, everything was as true as she was standing there! 

'Pete, Pete !' She said in a fierce whisper and gave him a hard poke in the back. Pete woke up with a start.His sister awoke him at midnight, and his startled eyes met a strange, mysterious creature with a tall hat - was it probably an elf?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ch2: The elf, Alfie 

 

The children stood in absolute surprise. Pete went and opened the window to let the elf in.

He obviously seemed in a hurry 'Hey you two! Hurry up or we 'll miss the midnight train to Fantasy Land. ' He shouted in his croaking voice. The children didn't like the look of him much.

And perhaps more importantly, they could not understand a word he said. They looked at him as if they simply didn't understand anything! 

The elf, thinking that the children perhaps might be deaf, shouted again at the top of his voice, right into their ears! - ' HEY YOU TWO, THE TRAIN!!!' 

'Shut up. ' said Pete rather calmly. 'We're not deaf.' 

'Then do you really not understand?' exclaimed the elf, thoroughly exasperated by now. ' Santa Clause sent me to take you to Fantasy Land. It's to fulfill the Christmas wishes you made, silly ! ' 

The children couldn't understand a thing. What kind of nonsense was this elf spewing up? 

The children digested this, then Harriet spoke ' You... you don't mean to tell me, do you , that Santa Clause actually exists, actually took it upon himself to fulfill our wishes , and actually sent you to take us to Fantasyland? ' 

'Of course, I can take you to meet Santa Clause himself. So, coming?' He asked.

Coming? Oh, of course coming! The children thought that this was a dream too good to be true, but it was true! They pulled over their jackets ,their scarves and also put on gloves, and set off with the elf - who said his name was Alfie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ch3: The adventure begins 

'We are going to Mystery woods.' Said Alfie suddenly and bit his lip .'Gosh, Mystery woods!' Exclaimed Pete 'The train will come there? ' Mystery woods was about a five minute walk down Covenly hill, where the children stayed . The children had been to Mystery woods once or twice before, but apparently it did not have anything to ignite the children's excitement. Now , though, the children began to see it in a new light, as it seemed their gateway to what seemed like a promising adventure! 

'Yup. Now hurry.' Said Alfie. 'Here's the way ' He said , pointing to a wooden plaque showing 'Mystery woods: welcome!' He squeezed his way through some bushes, jumped over a tiny rivulet, and screamed at seeing a snake, before signalling the children to follow suit.

Before long, they were standing in the midst of tall oak and birch trees, surrounded by complete wilderness, the children wishing they had not come on this daring adventure! 

He led the children to a kite- like shaped rock and stopped . The children stood a little distance away, rattling their brains to figure out what was happening.  

Alfie went round and round the boulder, stopping every seven steps and bending himself in a peculiar manner. Then he stopped, took out a book from his pocket and chanted something the children couldn't catch, and thrust his arms in the sky, before clapping twice.

And then Woosh! A strong BANG sound came, followed by radiant light given by the boulder. The light was as blinding as a star's light. Everything felt like going in a whirl. 'Really' thought Harriet to herself ' It almost seems like the big bang I read recently !' 

 

And then it all stopped. The noise, the light , the whirl ; everything vanished, and the children and Alfie were left shielding their eyes. 

Then Alfie opened his eyes, walked cautiously upto the nearest oak tree, tapped thrice smartly on its trunk - and then lo and behold! Behind the tree emerged a small kind of trapdoor. Alfie, the leader pushed opened the door and went in. Inside was a well paved road with street lamps on either side.  

The children stared in astonishment - there had been nothing except trees a few minutes back. This was magic , they knew it. Oh,what would the night bring with it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ch4: New faces

They walked the paved street , and when they reached the other end, the children couldn't believe there eyes! They saw a bustling little station with all kinds of folks - right out of fantasy novels. Fairies, pixies, goblins, elfs(looking very like Alfie) they saw a rabbit , dressed in a formal cloak, looking very like he had come right out of Lewis Caroll's Alice in wonder Land. 

As the children stood a gape at the sight, a goblin came up 'Where ya going?' He demanded of Alfie . 'Fantasy' He said and nodded. The goblin left. Harriet thought that he looked like a train manager and giggled.

Apparently Goblins were not any taller than elfs, and also most of the elfs were even smaller than Alfie, who only reached upto Pete's waist.

The group made their way through lots of folks, almost all of whom were going to Fantasy Land. 

 

The children really liked all the fairies they saw, as they were the prettiest. Pete pointed out that not all fairies had wings. 

'We've got an addition to us " Alfie said after the children had paused to catch their breath " This is Misty, the fairy of Goodness, a dear friend of mine. She is to join us for the Christmas party in Fantasy Land ." 

Misty smiled at them. The children liked her instantly. Misty had a small round shaped face, an upturned nose, brown hazel eyes coupled with straight, blond shoulder length hair. Misty was one with no wings. She was dressed in a pretty satin gown with gloves and the children, who had no idea that such a party awaited them, looked rather ashamed , because they had literally come in their night suits!

'Well, we really must go now.' Said Misty, brushing her hair aside. " I've got some Burst open toffees if you like." "Burst-open toffees?" Asked Pete, who was a great toffee lover " What're they like ?" "You'll see" she said , teasingly " we can try them once we're on the train ." "Here's the train ! " Cried Alfie, hearing the rumble of the engine "come along, all of you." It was kind of a toy train , very like the one Pete had at home. As soon as the train stopped, the two children, Alfie and Misty rushed up to get good seats.

"And now for the Burst- Open toffees." Said Misty as soon as they had settled down " try one." She said , passing round one to each. Alfie and Misty grinned at each other.

Pete had his toffee first. "Delicious." He said , sucking it slowly" And there's cream as well. And also..' BOOM! The chocolate literally burst! Pete felt as if his mouth would burst too. The look of horror on his face was too comical for words.

Alfie and Misty burst out laughing. Harriet also joined in. "It was supposed to do that !" Said Misty "Oh, your face when the toffee burst! My sides are aching!" 

Pete too recovered and saw the funny side of it. "Well, I still liked the toffee! " he said , taking another. It went boom again, sending the others into fits of laughter.

"I like it too." Said Harriet , tasting one. The four had their fill of the toffees before Alfie suddenly looked alarmed.

"That is the great wizard, wizard Almighty. Watch out for fireworks!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ch5 : In the train 

The children looked rather scared. Wizard Almighty really lived up to his name. He was a tall , slim and a rather bent man with a deep frown on his long face.He seemed perfect for a villanous role to the children just then! 

'Oh, come on ! ' said Misty 'I expect he'll get off at the Land of the Wizards and Enchanted. It's not a long way from Fantasy Land, isn't it? We need not worry about him'

'I say, ' Cried Harriet suddenly ' Why has the sky turned Pink? It's midnight!' She said, checking her watch. 

'We're at the Land of Candies. It's closed at the moment, so we shan't be able to see what's inside. ' said Alfie.

'Oh, ' said Harriet, dismayed. She could see the gate locked and wondered what was inside.

She looked out of the window. The sky had turned a brilliant shade of scarlet now, she didn't know why. 

 

It was fun seeing mysterious creatures get in at every other station. Fairies, pixies, elfs, dames ,wizards.. the train was completely packed know. She turned to her right - Alfie was asleep! He was giving little , contented snores .

Pete turned to Misty, who was brushing her hair. "What are we gonna do today at Fantasy Land? Is it some kind of a party, or a feast? " 

" Oh, Fantasy Land! " she said, her eyes twinkling " It's good fun. The atmosphere is simply marvellous. Almost all of the enchanted world , except, of course the wizards , giants and magic bears attend it. It's like a gala - you know, right out of books ! First we go and have a feast. You can choose your dishes and make wishes too. And... ' Choose our own feast? ' Cried the excited Harriet " I'll love it!" Misty smiled at the happy faces " then we will have a kind of fair with all kinds of ridiculous things. Like how to make your eyes rounder, how not to make your nose red when you sneeze and .... " " Gosh, do they really sell these things?" Asked Pete, half amused " I bet it'll be good fun. " "Oh yes, it will be." Said Misty at once. "I 'd love something to make the toy soldier I have at home speak. Won't mother sit up and notice!". Continued Pete. "Well, you may. Then we'll have illusions, I suppose. Last year, I jumped into a swimming pool to take a dip, only to discover it was an ordinary rug! I hit my head with a bang." Related Misty "Seriously, did you really? " Chorused the children together. Misty nodded. " Guess there'll be fancy show ....." 

The train stopped with a loud whistle. Alfie woke up. They had reached Fantasy land. If it was really as wonderful as Misty said, the children were sure to have a slap - up time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ch6: Some pleasant surprises...

 

As soon as the toy train stopped, the children got off at the little platform, their hearts full of anticipation. But after their very first glance of the so - called wonderful Fantasy Land, their high spirits vanished in an instant and their faces dropped! For Fantasy Land was far from what they had imagined it to be. The children had imagined vast , beautiful fields, set with tables for a party, perhaps a fair, a pool , magic shows.... and Goodness knows what else! But all that the two kids were able to see were vast expanses of barren land. The children looked on to see the endless stretches of Lands on either side of the platform. Surely this was not Fantasy Land? Surely they'd got off at the wrong station? 

Harriet nudged Misty for an explanation, but she signalled her to come aside first. Pete followed, carrying Misty 's hand bag. Then Alfie came, before glaring at another pixie who had almost squeezed him.

'Well,' said Misty ' Don't ask too many questions. In two minutes' time you'll get the greatest surprise of your life. Just wait and watch. What fun your Christmas will be!' 

'Here, ' said Misty, who always seemed to know what was to be done. Alfie smoothened his moustache, and gave a rather peculiar sneeze. 'A-wooooooo - shoooo!' He went , then wiped his nose clean with a spotless handkerchief that he had drawn from his back pocket. Pete clasped his hands tightly, partly because he was afraid of all this magic. Harriet looked on with great interest. She was always interested when Misty did anything! 

Misty drew a white chalk from the side pocket of her woollen coat. She drew a kind of circle round the children, Alfie and herself, and a big circle it was - for it fit in every one nicely. 'Hold hands , please!' She said , in her clear, sweet voice. They held hands, and out of the corner of her eye, Harriet saw a pixie throw a yellow coloured powder on them. She also saw the other folks from the train, standing in circles like herself. 

And then , the children really got the biggest surprise of their lives. They fell through a great, long and dark tunnel. Yes! They literally fell through a tunnel at top speed. Pete felt his head going in a whirl, but held on , just as his sister did. Then finally they saw a light at the end of the tunnel - and Gosh, they felt Land. Yup, Land. The children, alfie and Misty felt it was a pleasure to stand up on their legs again.

After catching their breath, the children got up to get a good glance of what they thought was Fantasy Land, and oh, it really did seem so wonderful! The sun was high up in the sky, but it was giving a most unusual reddish - Pink colour, like twilight. The atmosphere was already set for the first activity - tea time! The children ran up to the tables, Misty in toe. 'We'll sit here!' Called Harriet. Misty nodded . 'And now, ' She said, wiping her hands, before she slid down gracefully on to her seat, 'We choose our own banquet!'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7 : At the Fair

Choosing their own banquet turned out to be much more fun than they expected it to be. All they had to do was wish for something they’d like to eat and it would suddenly appear out of nowhere onto their plates. Pete wished for crunchy jam tarts, and at once got at least a dozen on his plate. Misty preferred to go for a butterscotch pastry while Alfie, who apparently had a very small appetite, settled on a bowl of caramel pudding, which he was hardly able to finish. Harriet almost shrieked with delight when a simply huge chocolate cake, which she had wished for, appeared on the table. The cake looked like it needed at least 10 people to eat it. The four of them, hungry as they were, managed to eat only about half of the cake. ‘I’d like some biscuits with tea now.’ Said Misty, and a cup of tea accompanied by butter cookies appeared on her plate. ‘Well,well, what a spread!’ said Pete happily, munching into the biscuits, ‘I would have liked to eat a lot more, but I daresay I’d burst if I have any more of these delicacies.’ ‘ Amazing!’ said Alfie, finally finishing his pudding. They washed down their wonderful meal with jugs of chilled lemonade, while Alfie preferred to go with a cup of coffee, explaining that he always liked one after meals.

‘Now I guess we should proceed to the Fantasy Land Fair.’ Said Misty ‘ I am dying to know what interesting things there will be on sale this time.’ ‘Yes.’ Agreed Alfie ‘I’ve got some money to spend too.’ ‘If they really sell those kinds of things that you told us about, we will have some good fun.’ Said Pete.

The children, Misty and Alfie saw a group of fairies get up from their table and go down the road before taking a turn to the right. ‘ They must be going to the fair ground’ said Harriet, ‘we better follow them.’ And the others agreed. It wasn’t really a long time before the four of them reached the fairground. They had lost sight of the fairies very soon, but they didn’t lose their way because at every other turn there was a board which told them which way to take to reach the fair. At last they came to a wooden plaque which said “ Welcome to the Fantasy Fair!”

The children looked around curiously at the big fair ground. It was full of shops run by different fairy folk. Pete looked very carefully at a bush before exclaiming with joy ‘ Oh, I say, these are candies stuck on the bushes and trees, aren’t they?’ ‘Oh, yes.’ Nodded Alfie, smiling at the two kids. ‘They always have candies on bushes and trees during Christmas, and you are free to have as many as you would like to.’ ‘ Thanks.’ Said Pete taking one and giving another to his sister.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8: Good fun indeed

The group made their way towards one of the shops. Most of the fairyfolk who had come aboard the train with them had already finished their meal and made their way to the fair. They first got into a shop with the name ‘ Ms.Square eyes’ sorcery’. ‘Interesting name for a shop, isn’t it?’ remarked Harriet.

Ms. Square eyes’ eyes were perfectly square and green. She was a tiny, plump old lady who was, according to Harriet, very much like a cat to look at. She was sitting on a small stool in a corner of her shop, brewing some kind of a green solution in a huge pot. ‘Hello.’ She said in an icy voice without looking up. ‘Would you like some potion to change the shape and colour of your eyes?’ ‘ I am not certain if I’d like something to change the shape of my eyes, Ms. Square eyes.’ Said Misty. The others didn’t want to either. The children looked at the big shelves in amazement. They had a hundred or so different potions, all arranged neatly with labels on them. ‘ If you’d not like anything from the shop, I would prefer you all to clear off .’ Said Ms. Square eyes sternly.

All of them turned around and left. ‘ She could have been nicer,’ complained Harriet, ‘ But all the same I am surprised to know that there are potions available to change the shape of our eyes. I’d not want to change mine though.’ The others felt the same. ‘Let’s go to the next shop. It is owned by Ms. Clara who is a really nice fairy and a good friend of mine. She ought to have some really interesting things in her shop.’ Said Misty.

‘ Alright, you guys go up to Ms. Clara’s shop while I do up my laces. I’ll be there in a minute.’ Said Harriet. ‘ Don’t take ages.’ Quipped her brother.

Harriet stopped beside a bush to do up her laces. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a large candy stuck in the bush. It was larger than the other candies she had had, and though she felt quite full, she decided that she could manage some space for the candy in her stomach.

She extended her hand to get the candy but then she suddenly heard a peculiar sound from behind the bush. ‘As if somebody were crying.’ She thought to herself . She went round the bush to the other side and was astonished to find a baby squirrel there. Its tiny leg had got stuck in the bush and gotten badly bruised. The squirrel couldn’t move and was looking like it was about to break into tears. ‘Poor thing!’ said Harriet. She was a very kind, caring girl and couldn’t bear to see anybody injured or upset. She looked about for a moment, trying to search for something with which she could plaster the squirrel’s leg. Not finding anything suitable, she thought for a minute before she tore off a little bit of cloth from her night suit and gently plastered the squirrel’s leg with it. As the night suit she was wearing was rather an old one, she could tear it without much effort. ‘There.’ She said with satisfaction, ‘ Now run off to your mother, Squeaky! And don’t you dare to injure yourself again.’ The squirrel wasn’t fit enough to run off, but it definitely looked much better.

Harriet always wished she could have a pet of some kind. She sighed to herself because she knew that this dream would never come true, for her mother simply hated pets!

She got up to make her way to Ms. Clara’s shop. The others were already inside, and she entered to see Misty happily talking to Ms. Clara.

Ms. Clara, like Misty, was a fairy without wings. She was tall, slender and very beautiful. Her deep blue eyes went very well with her long auburn hair, which was tied back in a high ponytail.

‘You’ve been ages.’ Said Pete, seeing Harriet enter the shop. ‘Hi!’ said Ms. Clara, smiling, ‘ What would you like, sweet girl? Something to make your nose thinner, eyes rounder or would you like to go with something to make your hair longer?’ ‘No, thank you.’ She smiled back. Harriet had really short hair, which she liked to wear loose around her face. For a moment she wondered if she would like to have longer hair, but then decided against it.

‘Or maybe,’ said Ms. Clara again, ‘You’d like something to make your dolls at home grow wings, or toy soldiers speak…,’ ‘Something to make my toy soldiers speak!’ exclaimed Pete happily, ‘I would simply love it.’ ‘ There you go, young boy.’ Said Ms. Clara, getting a bottle of blue liquid from one of the bottom shelves. ‘ You can have it for nothing at all, consider it a gift from me to Misty.’ ‘ O, Clara dear, that’s so nice of you. I would have loved to have tea with you, but I guess we will get late if I stay any longer. Take care.’ Said Misty. Clara embraced Misty in a hug and then they all left the shop, after waving Ms. Clara goodbye. ‘Mum will be so surprised!’ said Pete, ‘ Imagine my toy soldier Alex going up at dinner and saying “ Hi” to her.’ ‘She’d have fits, I suppose.’ Harriet giggled at the thought.

‘Look,’ said Alfie, ‘That’s the fence which separates Fantasy Land from the land of Wizards, isn’t it?’ ‘Oh yes, it is.’ Said Misty at once. ‘ If anyone enters the Land of Wizards without permission, the wizards get very angry and them being angry could lead to something terrible.’ The children remembered wizard Almighty and decided that none of them would like to visit the land if all its citizens were like him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 9: Trouble

‘I think I would like to explore that shop on the opposite street.’ Said Pete. ‘It looks most peculiar.’ So, they started walking to the shop. Suddenly, the land below them started shaking most dangerously. Since the road was on a kind of a small hill, they started rolling downwards. ‘Is it an Earthquake?’ cried the surprised Alfie. The shaking stopped for a bit, before starting all over again. ‘The wizards have attacked us!’ shouted a goblin, ‘ Someone dared to enter their land and they are terribly angry. Run if you want to save your life!’ The shaking became worse and all of the fairy folk began to run Helter – skelter. ‘ Quick, run this way!’ said Misty as she grabbed Harriet’s hand, afraid that she might be left behind. Pete and Alfie followed Misty as she ran forward without stopping for a breath. ‘But Misty,’ said Harriet suddenly, ‘ All the people ran the other way. No one’s with us right now!’ ‘Don’t you worry.’ She said almost in tears, ‘ We’ll be alright…..’ and then no one knew what happened. They ran over a seemingly ordinary part of land when suddenly the world around them disappeared and everything vanished from sight. They couldn’t hear each other for what seemed like eternity. It felt like they had travelled right through the universe across time. They could just barely see each other and nobody could hear anything. After what must have been a really long time, the four of them found themselves lying under the shade of a tree, on a soft tuft of grass, shielding their eyes from the bright sun which shined right above them.

It was a good couple of minutes before anybody spoke. ‘Where are we?’ asked Misty, finally ending the silence. She was quite horrified by the experience. ‘I guess,’ said Alfie slowly, ‘ I had read about a time loop being present somewhere in our world. It was believed to be in the land of Wizards. We must have fallen through the time loop and travelled trillions of kilometres away from our planet to a parallel world!’

‘We won’t be pestered by Wizards here, shall we?’ asked Harriet innocently. ‘No,’ said Misty, suddenly going white, ‘But it just might be that we never see our home again.’

Harriet broke the uncomfortable silence by breaking into tears. Pete, quite astonished, sat down under a tree and went pale. Alfie dabbed his somewhat wet eyes with a handkerchief while Misty went over to comfort the girl. ‘ I am so sorry, Harriet dear. I should’ve listened to you. The others must have known that the way we came led to Wizard land. That is why they ran the other way and must by now have escaped fantasy land.’ ‘ Oh Misty,’ said Harriet, ‘ Shall I never go back home again?’. ‘Can’t we go back the way we came in?’ asked Pete. ‘I guess not.’ Nodded the dejected Alfie, ‘ I’d read that the place where the time loop opens into the Parallel world is not fixed. It keeps shifting. So it may be in any part of the world now. Also remember that the time loop hole is invisible, so it shall not be easy for us to find it.’ ‘Oh.’ Sighed everybody in dismay.

‘Let’s explore this place a bit first. We might just end up finding the time loop hole.’ Said Pete. They all got up, looking rather subdued. ‘The parallel world means that it exists exactly like our own world, except that everything present here is going to be opposite to what we have on Earth.’ Said Alfie. They soon saw that he was right. In the parallel world, people walked upside down on their hands, sat on top of cars instead of sitting inside; entered their homes through windows instead of doors, and here green light meant stop red light meant go!

‘It’s so surprising! I never knew such a world existed.’ Said the astonished Misty. ‘ Nor did I.’ agreed Alfie.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 10: Harriet saves the Day

‘ I guess we are in New York City.’ Said Harriet. ‘ Look – There’s a board which says “ Welcome to York City New”.’

‘But how do we get back home?’ asked Pete, sitting on the grass again. ‘I wonder how this tree isn’t upside down.’ He remarked.

And then it all happened. ‘ I’ll save you all.’ Said a voice, right behind the tree, making the four of them jump. And then from right behind the tree, who should emerge, but Santa Claus himself! He was a big , fat man, with a white beard and large, deep brown, kind twinkling eyes. He was, as depicted in all pictures, dressed in red, with a black belt round his waist.

‘ Ho there, kids!’ he said, with a loud, booming voice. ‘ I hoped to give you both your perfect Christmas present, when I sent Alfie to get you to Fantasy Land. But it looks to me that things went wrong somewhere, isn’t it? Well, the time loop hasn’t yet left New York City, or rather, York New City. So, you’ve got time to search for it.’ ‘What? Really?’ cried Alfie in disbelief. ‘Yes.’ Said Santa Claus. ‘Harriet, you are a very nice, sweet and caring girl. Back at Fantasy land, you spared time even to save a little squirrel. Today, all of Squeaky’s relatives, here in the parallel world, will help you look for the time loop. Even though it is supposed to be invisible to you, the squirrels can see it.’ And to Harriet’s utter joy, about a hundred squirrels, just like the one she had nursed back at Fantasy Land, came up to them. Santa Claus vanished, and the squirrels went from one place to another, looking for the time loop. At long last, one of the squirrels found the time loop, and screeched loud enough for the four of them, about a kilometre away, to hear it. They rushed to the time loop. It was of course invisible and they couldn’t see it. They quickly thanked the squirrels, and then one by one jumped into the time loop……..

 

‘Harriet, Harriet! Get dressed for breakfast, quick!’ Harriet woke up with a start. Where were Alfie and Misty? Where was Fantasy Land, or the little train station? How did she reach her bed? She found herself tucked up with a warm blanket in her bed. Had she been dreaming? She found Pete washing his face in the basin. ‘ Get up, lazy. Its Merry Christmas! Get dressed and then we’ve got to open the presents. What fun!’ He said happily. ‘But…’ she stammered ‘Oh, Pete I had a most amazing dream. My earnest Christmas wish got fulfilled in that dream. I’ve got to tell mom all about it!’ And certainly she had quite a lot to tell her astonished parents that day, who didn’t understand a word but could only marvel at their little daughter’s imagination.

 

 

 

 

 

- By Sanrachana