The Book of Magical Mysteries Read online

‘Well,’ said Tashi, ‘I stopped looking into the dark and I whispered, “Hand me your lamp, please, Auntie. I’ll be back before the Baron comes down to his breakfast in the morning.”

  ‘The passage twisted and turned, winding like a rabbit’s burrow deep into the earth. I held my lamp high, but I could only see a short way in front of me, and the blackness ahead looked like the end of the world.

  ‘I must admit that once or twice I did think of going back. I had no idea how long I’d been walking, or how much time I had left.

  ‘But at last I felt the ground slope upwards, and I could feel my heart start thumping hard as I climbed up the steep path—and suddenly, at the top, I stopped. The path was blocked. I held up my lamp and saw a door, with a gold latch. I pulled at it and whoosh!—the door swung open.

  ‘I stepped out onto the Mountain of White Tigers.

  ‘My face tingled in the snowy air and I looked nervously into the night. The lamp showed me a path, but on each side of it were tall black trees, and behind those trees who knew what was waiting!

  ‘But I couldn’t bear to go back empty-handed. And just then, I heard a growl, deep as thunder. I peered into the dark, but I could see nothing, only hear a grinding of teeth, like stones scraping. The growling became roaring, and my ears were ringing with the noise, and then, right in front of me, a white shape came out from behind a tree, and then another and another. The tigers were coming!

  ‘They came so close to me that I could see their whiskers, silver in the moonlight, and their great red eyes, glowing like fires. They were even fiercer than I had been told, and their teeth were even sharper in their dark wet mouths, but I was ready for them. Second Aunt had warned me that the one thing white tigers fear is fire.

  ‘I took a big breath and swung my bright burning lamp round and around my head. I charged down the path roaring, “Aargh! Aargh!” till my lungs were bursting.

  ‘The tigers stopped and stared at me. They must have thought I was a whirling demon, with circles of light streaking about their heads. They bared their teeth, growling like drums rolling. But I saw them flinch, their white coats shivering over their muscles, and slowly, one by one, they turned away, gliding back through the trees. Oh, I was so happy watching those white shapes disappearing! I ran on and there, looming up above me, was the mouth of the cave.

  ‘The entrance was blocked by a huge stone boulder. I tried to squeeze through but the gap was too small.’

  ‘Did you have to turn back then, Tashi?’ Jack held his breath.

  ‘I thought for a moment I’d have to,’ Tashi nodded. ‘But then I remembered that I’d popped a piece of Ghost Pie into my pocket before leaving home. I quickly nibbled a bit and pushed at the boulder again. This time my hand slid right through it and the rest of me followed as easily as stepping through shadows.

  ‘I ran inside whooping! There were sacks and sacks of shiny, golden coins! Puffing and panting, I loaded them into a huge knapsack I had with me, and hauled it onto my back to carry.’

  ‘I wish I’d been there to help you!’ Jack said wistfully.

  ‘Me too,’ said Tashi. ‘That knapsack made my knees buckle. And then, coming out of the cave, I had to whirl my lamp round my head and roar as well, just in case there were still tigers lurking in the trees.’

  ‘So how did you crawl back through the tunnel with all that gold on your back?’ asked Mum.

  ‘Well, it was like this,’ said Tashi. ‘I took the sack off my back and put it on the ground. Then I rolled it along with my feet. It was easier that way, but very slow. And of course I was getting very worried about the time.

  ‘I crept back up the stairs and into the kitchen as it was growing light. Third Aunt was just putting a match to the kitchen fire, and she almost dropped the poker when she saw me.

  “‘What a clever Tashi,” she cried, when she spied the gold.

  ‘Well, I thanked her, but I wasn’t finished yet, oh no! I crept to each house in the village and whispered a few words, passing a little sack of gold through the windows.

  ‘Next morning all the people were in the square when the Wicked Baron arrived for his rent. Wise-As-An-Owl stepped forward. “Baron,” he began, “our children who went away to other parts for work have done well and sent gold home to their families. Now we would like to buy our houses.”

  ‘And all the villagers stepped up and poured the gold onto the table before the Baron. What a sight it was! The mountain of coins glittered so brightly in the morning sun that I had to turn my eyes away! But The Baron stared. He couldn’t stop looking! Still, he was hesitating. He liked getting money every month from his rents, but he couldn’t resist the sight of all those shining, winking coins. “Very well,” he agreed, and I could tell he was itching to gather up the coins and run his fingers through them. “I’ll sign right now,” and he took the papers that Wise-As-An-Owl had ready for him.

  ‘That night there was a great feast with music and dancing to celebrate the new freedom of the village. My grandmother and Second Aunt were singing so loudly, that only I heard the faint bellow of rage coming from the Mountain of White Tigers.’

  ‘Oh well,’ said Dad, ‘that wicked Baron got what he deserved, eh, Tashi? And I suppose all the village people were happy and contented from that day on.’

  ‘Oh yes,’ agreed Tashi, ‘and so was I, until I came face to face with the Genie. But now we’d better go—if we don’t run all the way we’ll miss the ferry! Are you coming, Jack?’ And the two boys raced out the door, as if the Genie itself were after them.

  Jack and Tashi ran up the wharf and hurtled onto the ferry. They flung themselves down on a seat outside, just as the boat chugged off.

  Tashi watched the white water foam behind them. The sun was warm and gentle on their faces. Jack closed his eyes.

  ‘What a magical day!’ they heard a woman say as she brushed past them. Jack’s eyes snapped open.

  ‘Talking of magic,’ he said to Tashi, ‘let’s hear about the time you saw that genie. What did he look like? How did you meet him?’

  ‘Well,’ said Tashi, taking a breath of sea air, ‘it was like this. One day, not long before I came to this country, I was in the shed looking for some nails. Grandmother called me, saying she wanted a few eggs. I gathered about four or five from under the hens and then looked around for a dish to put them in. I spied an old, cracked one on a top shelf, covered with a dirty piece of carpet. But there was something very strange about this bowl.’

  ‘Ooh,’ squealed Jack. ‘I know, I know what was in it!’

  ‘Yes,’ nodded Tashi. ‘When I lifted the carpet I saw a bubbling grey mist inside; soft rumbling snores were coming from it. The snores turned to a splutter when I poked it. A voice groaned, “Oh not again! Not already!” And the mist swirled and rose up in the air. Two big sleepy eyes squinted down at me. “And only twenty-five years and ten minutes since my last master let me go!” it said. Well, I was very excited.’

  ‘Who wouldn’t be,’ Jack agreed.

  “‘You’re a genie!” I shouted.

  “‘What if I am?” said he.

  “‘Why aren’t you in a bottle?” I asked. “Or a lamp, like normal genies?”

  ‘The genie looked shifty. “Oh, my master went off in too much of a hurry to put me back in my lamp. So I just crept into this bowl, hoping for some peace and quiet.”’

  Tashi winked at Jack. ‘I happened to know a lot about genies, because my grandmother was always telling me what to do if I met one. So I looked him in the eye and said, “Now that I’ve found you, don’t you have to grant me three wishes?”

  ‘The genie groaned. “Wishes, wishes! People don’t realise they are usually better off leaving things the way they are.” But he pulled himself up to his full height and straightened his turban. “What is your command, master?” he bowed.

  ‘I thought for a moment. “I would like an enormous sack of gold.” Imagine, I could build a splendid palace, for all my family to live in.

  ‘The genie
snapped his fingers and—TA RA—a sack of gold lay at my feet! I ran my hands through the glittering coins and held one up. Hmm, before I build the palace, I thought, I might just run down to the sweet-maker’s shop.’

  ‘Good idea!’ cried Jack. ‘You could buy a million sweets, to last you till you’re a hundred and ten!’

  ‘Yes, but when Second Cousin at the shop took my coin, she looked at it carefully and rubbed it on her sleeve. The gold rubbed right off. “This coin is no good, Tashi,” she told me. “It’s only copper.”

  ‘I stamped back to the shed and angrily shook the genie out of his dish. “Those coins are only copper!” I shouted.

  ‘The genie yawned. “Really? All of them? How tragic.” He stretched. “Maybe a few at the bottom will be gold. What I need now is a glass of tea before I do any more work.”’

  ‘What a lousy, lazy genie!’ exploded Jack.

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Tashi. ‘And it gets worse. By the time I’d brought his tea, I’d thought of my second wish. “What about a flying carpet?” I asked. Oh, if only I’d known. The genie looked at me doubtfully. “Flying carpets are not my best thing,” he said. But I was firm with him, so he snapped his fingers, and there, floating at my knees, was a glittering carpet. It was the most magnificent thing I had ever seen. All smooth and polished as skin, it was patterned with hundreds of tiny peacocks, with eyes glowing like jewels.

  ‘The carpet trembled as I climbed on. The genie showed me how to tug at the corners to steer it. And then we were off, the carpet and I, out of the shed, over the house and across the village square. All the people were amazed, as they looked up and saw me waving at them.’

  ‘I bet they were!’ cried Jack. ‘My dad would have fainted with shock. So, did you get to see Africa? Or Spain?’

  ‘No,’ Tashi frowned. ‘It was like this. I had just turned in the direction of Africa, in fact, when the carpet suddenly dipped and bucked like a wild horse. My knees slipped right to the edge! I threw myself face down on the carpet, grabbing hold of the fringe.

  ‘The carpet heaved up and down, and side to side, trying to throw me off. A hundred times it kicked me in the belly, but I clung on. The world was swirling around me like soup in a pot, and then I saw we were heading straight for the willow tree beside my house. I came crashing down through the branches. When I got my breath back, I marched off to find the genie.

  ‘“Well, you certainly aren’t very good at your job, are you?” I scolded as I brushed the leaves from my hair.’

  ‘Is that all you could say?’ yelled Jack. ‘I would have called him a fumble-bumble beetle-brain at the very least.’

  ‘Yes, but I still wanted my third wish,’ Tashi sighed. ‘Oh, if only I’d known. Well, the genie just yawned at me and said, “What is your third—and last—wish, master?”

  ‘I thought carefully. One thing I had often longed for was to meet Uncle Tiki Pu, my father’s Younger Brother. He had run away to the city while he was still a boy, but my father had told me stories of his pranks and jokes. “Yes, that’s it!” I said. “I would like to meet my Uncle Tiki Pu.”

  ‘It was suddenly very quiet in the shed. The genie rose up and clicked his fingers. Nothing happened. “You will find him in your bedroom,” said the genie, and slithered back into his bowl. I ran to my bedroom and there was my uncle, stretched out on my bed.

  ‘“Ah, Tashi,” he said, “it’s about time someone came to find me. My life has been very hard in the city.” Before I could say that I was sorry to hear it, and how pleased the family would be to have him back home again, Uncle Tiki Pu went on. “This bed is very hard, however.”

  ‘I looked around the room. “Where will I sleep, Uncle?”

  ‘“Who knows?” he answered in a bored voice. “Get me something to eat, Tashi, a little roast duck and ginger will do. And tell your mother when she comes home that these clothes need washing.”

  ‘He pointed to a pile of his clothes beside my toy box. The lid was open and inside my box were jars of hair oil and tins of tobacco instead of my train set and kite and rock collection.

  ‘“Where are my things?” I cried.

  “‘Oh, I threw them out the window,” he told me. “How else could I make room for my belongings?”

  ‘I ran outside and gathered up my toys. Two wheels had fallen off my little red train. “What about my belongings?” I called through the window.

  ‘“Don’t worry about them,” replied Uncle Tiki Pu. “You won’t be living here much longer. This house is too small for all of us now that I’ve come back. You can have my old job in the city, Tashi. But mind you take a rug to sleep on because they don’t give you any bedding there, and the stony ground is crawling with giant spiders that bite. See, I’ve got the wounds to prove it.”

  ‘And he lifted his holey old singlet to show big red lumps all over his tummy, like cherry tomatoes.

  “‘Do they give you food in the city?” I could hardly bear to ask.

  “‘No, there’s never enough, so you have to hunt for it. That’s where the spiders come in handy. If you squish them first, they’re not bad in a fritter. Oh, and watch out for alligators—they swim in the drains. Well, goodbye and good luck! You’ll need it, ha ha!” And he laughed a wicked laugh.’

  Tashi stopped for a moment, because he couldn’t help shivering at the terrible memory of his uncle, and also because Jack was jumping up and down on his seat in outrage. The woman who had said ‘What a magical day!’ was staring.

  ‘I know,’ said Tashi. ‘I know, I couldn’t believe it either, that a member of my family could be so evil. My head was pounding, and I ran straight to see the genie.’

  ‘How could he help, that old beetle-brain?’

  ‘Well,’ said Tashi. ‘It was like this. I picked up his bowl and tried to wake the genie again. I shook him and begged him to get rid of Uncle Tiki Pu, but he just closed his eyes tightly and said, “Go away, Tashi. You’ve had your three wishes and that’s that.” Suddenly I put the bowl down and smiled. I had just had a cunning idea. I remembered another thing Grandmother always told me about genies.

  ‘I hurried back to my room and said to Uncle Tiki Pu, “You are quite right. This house is very small and poky. How would you like to live in a palace instead?”

  ‘Uncle Tiki Pu sat up with a bounce. “Just what I’ve always wanted!” he cried. “How did you know?"

  ‘“Come with me,” I told him, “and I will show you how to do it.”

  ‘I opened the door of the shed and led him to the genie’s bowl. Uncle let out a howl of joy when he saw what was curled up inside, but when the genie rose into the air, his eyes weren’t sleepy any more. They were bright and sly.

  “‘I am your new master, so listen carefully, Genie,” Uncle Tiki Pu began. “For my first wish—”

  ‘The genie interrupted him. “There will be no wishes for you, my friend. You really should have been more careful. Don’t you know that every seventh time a genie is disturbed, he becomes the master, and the one who wakes him must be the slave?” He glided over and arranged himself on Uncle Tiki Pu’s shoulders. “Take me to the city,” he commanded, “and be quick about it.”

  ‘Uncle Tiki Pu’s face was bulging with rage and his knees sagged, but he staggered out of the shed with his load. As he sailed past, the genie turned and gave me a big wink.

  “‘Look out for alligators!” I called.’

  Jack was quiet for a moment, thinking. He watched people stand up and stretch as the ferry slowed, nearing the city.

  ‘I hope nothing with teeth lives in our drains,’ he said. ‘Well, Tashi, that’s amazing! Did you really fly on a magic carpet?’

  For an answer, Tashi opened the top buttons of his jacket, showing Jack the gold coin hanging on a cord around his neck. ‘How else would I have this?’ he said.

  And the two boys stepped off the ferry and strolled over to the ice-cream stand at the end of the wharf.

  TASHI AND THE STOLEN CHILDREN

  Jack burst into the kitc
hen. ‘Tashi’s back!’ he cried.

  ‘Oh, good,’ said Dad. ‘Has he been away?’

  ‘Yes, I told you,’ said Jack, ‘don’t you remember? He went back to the old country to see his grandmother for the New Year holiday. And while he was there, something terrible happened.’

  ‘His grandmother ran away with the circus?’ suggested Dad.

  ‘No,’ said Jack. ‘She can’t juggle. But listen, you know the war lord who came looking for Tashi last year?’

  ‘Yes, I do remember him,’ said Dad. ‘He was the only war lord in Wilson Street last summer, so I won’t forget him in a hurry.’

  ‘Yes, and guess what,’ Jack began, but Mum interrupted him.

  ‘Come and have some afternoon tea, while you tell us,’ she said, and brought a tray into the living room.

  ‘Well,’ said Jack, when they were settled comfortably. ‘It was like this. When Tashi arrived back in his village, it was all quiet. Strangely quiet. None of his old friends were playing in the square, and he could hear someone crying. His grandfather told him that the war lord had just made a raid through the village. He’d captured nearly all the young men for his army—and he had kidnapped six children as well!’

  ‘What did he take the children for?’ asked Mum.