‘We’d better set off or we’ll be late afterour early start. Thanks for listening, Ethel. I must admit I’m quite proud of myself, for once.’
‘And with very good reason,’ Ethel said, smiling. ‘It’s an excellent idea. I wish I’d thought of it myself.’
As they pulled themselves up on the branches, gathering their cats and bags, Ethel lurched sideways, knocking Mildred’s overstuffed school bag. It was still unfastened and everything went tumbling down through the branches in a cascade of pages and folders. Atthe same time, her pencil tin flipped open and her twenty brand-new sharp-pointed coloured pencils clink-clinked down the tree, bouncing through the twigs and buds.
‘Oh no!’ exclaimed Mildred as Tabby scrabbled further up the tree, miaowing with fright at the commotion.
‘Don’t worry, Mildred,’ said Ethel. ‘You grab Tabby and I’ll pick everything up for you.’
Ethel climbed down the tree, painstakingly picking up all the paperwork and the pencils and carefully putting everything back into the bag.
‘I’m so sorry not to help,’ called Mildred. ‘I’m trying to keep hold of Tabby or he’ll be off and I’ll never find him up here. Have you got everything?’
‘ Nearly everything!’ called Ethel, who was out of sight at the base of the tree. ‘How many coloured pencils were there?’
‘Twenty!’ called Mildred.
‘Hang on!’ Ethel shouted. ‘They’re scattered all over the place.’
For several minutes, Mildred heard Ethel rustling about in the bushes, then it went quiet. ‘Are you all right, Ethel?’ she called, holding on tightly to the struggling Tabby.
‘Yep!’ called Ethel. ‘Got the very last one – the red one! Coming right back up now!’
Ethel appeared through the branches with the bag across her shoulder and Mildred could see that it was nicelyfull, with the precious blue folder slightly sticking out between books and exercise books. Ethel patted everything neatly down into the bag and fastened the straps. ‘There you go!’ she said, handing it over, sounding really glad to have helped.
‘Thanks so much, Ethel,’ said Mildred. ‘This is such a great way to start a new term, isn’t it?’
‘Isn’t it just !’ said Ethel. ‘Come on, race you to school!’
CHAPTER TWO
y the time Ethel and Mildred had rearranged their belongings and launched themselves from a suitable cluster of branches, the morning was well under way and little knots of pupils could be seen converging on the school from all directions.
‘You don’t mind if I zoom on ahead, do you?’ asked Ethel. ‘I’m sorry, it’s just that you are still a bit slower than me.’
‘Of course I don’t mind,’ said Mildred cheerily. ‘Thanks for helping when I dropped everything.’
‘Don’t mention it,’ said Ethel, who shot off like a bullet and was out of sight in seconds.
Mildred bobbed along slowly towards the school feeling delightfully light-hearted. She could hardly wait to see the class turn in their seats, gazing up at her with admiration as she read out her well-researched notes, then gave a demonstration of how the spell worked. Best of all, she imagined the expression on Miss Hardbroom’s face, unsure at first, then fascinated and finally deeply impressed as she realized how hard the worst witch in school had been working during the holidays and how much she had improved.
The school bell began to clang in the distance and Mildred urged the broomstick on as fast as she dared, with Tabby yowling on the back.
‘Hang on, Tab,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘Nearly there now. Gosh, I can hardly wait!’
Mildred almost literally bumped into Maud and Enid, her two closest friends, as they approached the school, which rose up ahead of them in the most sinister way, like a cross between a castle and a top-security prison. Mildred looked upwards at the seemingly endless grey stone walls, which blotted out the sunny sky, and headed for the schoolyard
‘And with very good reason,’ Ethel said, smiling. ‘It’s an excellent idea. I wish I’d thought of it myself.’
As they pulled themselves up on the branches, gathering their cats and bags, Ethel lurched sideways, knocking Mildred’s overstuffed school bag. It was still unfastened and everything went tumbling down through the branches in a cascade of pages and folders. Atthe same time, her pencil tin flipped open and her twenty brand-new sharp-pointed coloured pencils clink-clinked down the tree, bouncing through the twigs and buds.
‘Oh no!’ exclaimed Mildred as Tabby scrabbled further up the tree, miaowing with fright at the commotion.
‘Don’t worry, Mildred,’ said Ethel. ‘You grab Tabby and I’ll pick everything up for you.’
Ethel climbed down the tree, painstakingly picking up all the paperwork and the pencils and carefully putting everything back into the bag.
‘I’m so sorry not to help,’ called Mildred. ‘I’m trying to keep hold of Tabby or he’ll be off and I’ll never find him up here. Have you got everything?’
‘ Nearly everything!’ called Ethel, who was out of sight at the base of the tree. ‘How many coloured pencils were there?’
‘Twenty!’ called Mildred.
‘Hang on!’ Ethel shouted. ‘They’re scattered all over the place.’
For several minutes, Mildred heard Ethel rustling about in the bushes, then it went quiet. ‘Are you all right, Ethel?’ she called, holding on tightly to the struggling Tabby.
‘Yep!’ called Ethel. ‘Got the very last one – the red one! Coming right back up now!’
Ethel appeared through the branches with the bag across her shoulder and Mildred could see that it was nicelyfull, with the precious blue folder slightly sticking out between books and exercise books. Ethel patted everything neatly down into the bag and fastened the straps. ‘There you go!’ she said, handing it over, sounding really glad to have helped.
‘Thanks so much, Ethel,’ said Mildred. ‘This is such a great way to start a new term, isn’t it?’
‘Isn’t it just !’ said Ethel. ‘Come on, race you to school!’
CHAPTER TWO
y the time Ethel and Mildred had rearranged their belongings and launched themselves from a suitable cluster of branches, the morning was well under way and little knots of pupils could be seen converging on the school from all directions.
‘You don’t mind if I zoom on ahead, do you?’ asked Ethel. ‘I’m sorry, it’s just that you are still a bit slower than me.’
‘Of course I don’t mind,’ said Mildred cheerily. ‘Thanks for helping when I dropped everything.’
‘Don’t mention it,’ said Ethel, who shot off like a bullet and was out of sight in seconds.
Mildred bobbed along slowly towards the school feeling delightfully light-hearted. She could hardly wait to see the class turn in their seats, gazing up at her with admiration as she read out her well-researched notes, then gave a demonstration of how the spell worked. Best of all, she imagined the expression on Miss Hardbroom’s face, unsure at first, then fascinated and finally deeply impressed as she realized how hard the worst witch in school had been working during the holidays and how much she had improved.
The school bell began to clang in the distance and Mildred urged the broomstick on as fast as she dared, with Tabby yowling on the back.
‘Hang on, Tab,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘Nearly there now. Gosh, I can hardly wait!’
Mildred almost literally bumped into Maud and Enid, her two closest friends, as they approached the school, which rose up ahead of them in the most sinister way, like a cross between a castle and a top-security prison. Mildred looked upwards at the seemingly endless grey stone walls, which blotted out the sunny sky, and headed for the schoolyard
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