A DAISY FIELD
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 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 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 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 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.