The Mountain of Adventure Enid Blyton - Adventure 5 - Chapter 1 ALL SET FOR A SUMMER HOLIDAY FOUR children were singing at the tops of their voices in a car that was going up a steep mountainside road. A parrot was also joining in, very much out of tune, cocking up her crest in excitement. The man at the wheel turned round with a grin. "I say! I can't even hear the car hooter. What's the matter with you all?" Philip, Jack, Dinah and Lucy-Ann stopped singing and shouted answers at him. "It's the beginning of the holidays!" "And we're going to have a donkey each to ride in the mountains!" "Pop goes the weasel!" That was Kiki the parrot, of course, joining in. "We've got eight weeks of fun all together." "And you'll be with us, Bill, as well as Mother! Mother, aren't you excited too?" Mrs. Mannering smiled at Philip. "Yes — but I hope you're not going to be as noisy as this all the time. Bill, you'll have to protect me from this rowdy crowd of children." "I'll protect you all right," promised Bill, swinging the car round another bend. "I'll knock all their heads together once a day at least — and if Lucy-Ann starts getting tough with me I'll . . ." "Oh, Bill!" said Lucy-Ann, the youngest and least boisterous of the lot. "Jack's always saying I'm not tough enough. I ought to be by now, though, considering all the adventures I've been through." "Tough enough, tough enough!" chanted Kiki the parrot, who loved words that sounded alike. "Tough enough, tough . . ." "Oh, stop her," groaned Mrs. Mannering. She was tired with their long car journey, and was hoping it would soon be over. She had eight weeks of the children's holidays before her, and was quite sure she would be worn out before the end of it. Philip and Dinah were her own children, and Jack and Lucy-Ann, who had no parents, lived with her in the holidays and loved her as if she were their own mother. Bill Cunningham was their very good friend, and had had some hair-raising adventures with them. He had come with them on these holidays to keep them out of any more adventures — or so he said! Mrs. Mannering vowed she was not going to let them out of her sight for eight weeks, unless Bill was with them — then they couldn't possibly disappear, or fall into some dreadful new adventure. "They ought to be safe, tucked away in the Welsh mountains, with both you and me, Bill, to look after them," said Mrs. Mannering. Mr. Mannering had been dead for many years and Mrs. Mannering often found it difficult to cope with so many lively children at once, now that they were growing older. Philip loved any animal, bird or insect. His sister Dinah didn't share this love at all, and was scared of most wild animals, and hated quite a number of harmless insects, though she was certainly better than she used to be. She was a hot-tempered girl, as ready to use her fists as Philip, and they had many a battle, much to gentle Lucy-Ann's dismay. Lucy-Ann and Jack were brother and sister too. Kiki the parrot was Jack's beloved parrot, usually to be found on his shoulder. In fact, Mrs. Mannering had actually suggested once that she should put a little leather patch on the shoulders of each of Jack's coats to stop Kiki from wearing thin places there with her clawed feet. Jack was fond of birds, and he and Philip spent many an exciting hour together bird- watching, or taking photographs. They had a marvellous collection of these, which Bill said was worth a lot of money. They had brought cameras with them on this holiday, and, of course, their field-glasses for watching birds at a distance. "We might see eagles again," said Jack. "Do you remember the eagle's nest we found near that old castle in Scotland once, Philip? We might see buzzards too." "Buzz-z-z-z-z-z," said Kiki at once, "Buzz! Buzz off!" "We might even have an adventure," said Philip, with a grin. "Though Mother and Bill are quite certain they will guard us from even the smallest one this time!" Now here they were, all set for a wonderful holiday in the Welsh mountains, in a very lonely spot, where they could wander about with cameras and field-glasses wherever they liked. Each child was to have a donkey, so that they could ride along the narrow mountain paths as much as they wished. "I shan't always come with you," said Mrs. Mannering, "because I'm not so thrilled with donkey-riding as you are. But Bill will be with you, so you'll be safe." "Ah — but will Bill be safe with us?" said Jack, with a grin. "We always seem to drag him into something or other. Poor Bill!" "If you manage to pull me into an adventure in the middle of some of the loneliest of the Welsh mountains, you'll be clever," said Bill. The car swung round another bend and a farm-house came into sight. "We're nearly there," said Mrs. Mannering. "I believe I can see the farm-house we're going to stay at. Yes — there it is." The children craned their necks to see it. It was a rambling old stone place, set on the mountainside, with barns and out-buildings all around. In the evening sunset it looked welcoming and friendly. "Lovely!" said Lucy-Ann. "What's it called?" Bill said something that sounded like "Doth-goth-oo-elli-othel-in." "Gracious!" said Dinah. "What a name! Not even Kiki could pronounce that, I'm sure. Tell her it, Bill. See what she says." Bill obligingly told the name to the parrot, who listened solemnly and raised her crest politely. "Now you just repeat that," said Jack to Kiki. "Go on!" "This-is-the-house-that-Jack-built," said the parrot, running all the words together. The children laughed. "Good try, Kiki!" said Jack. "You can't stump Kiki, Bill — she'll always say something. Good old Kiki!" Kiki was pleased by this praise, and made a noise like the car changing gear. She had been doing this at intervals during the whole of the journey and had nearly driven Mrs. Mannering mad. "Don't let Kiki start that again," she begged. "Thank goodness we are here at last! Where's the front door, Bill — or isn't there one?" There didn't seem to be one. The track went up to what appeared to be a barn and stopped there. A small path then ran to the farm-house, divided into three and went to three different doors. The children tumbled out of the car. Bill got out and stretched his legs. He helped Mrs. Mannering out and they all looked round. A cock near by crowed and Kiki promptly crowed too, much to the cock's astonishment. A plump, red-faced woman came hurrying out of one of the doors, a welcoming smile on her face. She called behind her to someone in the house. "Effans, Effans, they have come, look you, they have come!" "Ah — Mrs. Evans," said Bill and shook hands with her. Mrs. Mannering did the same. A small man came running out of the house, and came up to them too. "This iss Effans, my husband," said the plump woman. "We hope you will be very happy with us, whateffer!" This was said in a pleasant sing-song voice that the children liked very much. Everybody shook hands solemnly with Mrs. Evans and her husband, and Kiki held out a claw as well. "A parrot, look you!" cried Mrs. Evans to her husband. "Effans, a parrot!" Mr. Evans didn't seem to like the look of Kiki as much as his wife did, but he smiled politely. "It iss very welcome you are," he said in his sing-song voice. "Will you pleass to come this way?" They all followed Effans. He led them to the farmhouse, and, when the door was flung open, what a welcome sight met the children's eyes! A long, sturdy kitchen table was covered with a snow-white cloth, and on it was set the finest meal the children had ever seen in their lives. A great ham sat ready to be carved. A big tongue garnished round with bright green parsley sat by its side. An enormous salad with hard-boiled eggs sprinkled generously all over it was in the middle of the table. Two cold roast chickens were on the table too, with little curly bits of cold bacon set round. The children's eyes nearly fell out of their heads. What a feast! And the scones and cakes! The jams and the pure yellow honey! The jugs of creamy milk! "I say — are you having a party or something?" asked Jack, in awe. "A party! No, no — it is high tea for you, look you," said Mrs. Evans. "We cannot do dinners for you at night, we are poor people, whateffer! You shall have what we have, and that is all. Here is high tea for you today, and when you have washed, it iss ready!" "Oh — have we got to wash?" said Philip with a sigh. "I'm clean enough. Golly, look at that meal! I say, if we're going to have food like this these holidays I shan't want to go donkey-riding at all. I'll just stay here and eat!" "Well, if you do that you'll be too fat for any donkey to carry," said his mother. "Go and wash, Philip. Mrs. Evans will show us our rooms — we can all do with a wash and a brush — and then we can do justice to this magnificent meal." Up some narrow winding stairs went the little party, into big low-ceilinged rooms set with heavy old-fashioned furniture. Mrs. Evans proudly showed them a small bathroom, a thing usually unknown in lonely farm-houses! There were four rooms for the party. Bill had a small one to himself. Mrs. Mannering had a big one, well away from the children's rooms, because they were often so noisy in the mornings. Philip and Jack had a curious little room together, whose ceiling slanted almost to the floor, and the girls had a bigger one next door. "Isn't this going to be fun?" said Jack, scrubbing his hands vigorously in the bathroom, while Kiki sat on a tap. "I'm longing to get at that meal downstairs. What a spread!" "Move up," said Dinah impatiently. "There's room for two at this basin. We shall have to take it in turns in the morning. Oh, Kiki, don't fly off with the nail-brush! Jack, stop her." The nail-brush was rescued and Kiki was tapped on the beak. She didn't mind. She was looking forward to the food downstairs as much as the children. She had seen a bowl of raspberries which she meant to sit as near to as possible. She flew to Jack's shoulder and muttered loving things into his ear while he dried his hands on a very rough towel. "Stop it, Kiki. You tickle," said Jack. "Are you ready, you others? Aunt Allie! Bill! Are you ready? We're going downstairs." "Coming!" cried the others, and down they all went. Now for a proper feast! Chapter 2 AT THE FARM-HOUSE THAT first meal in the Welsh farm-house was a very happy one. Mrs. Evans was excited to have visitors, and Effans, her husband, beamed all round as he carved great slices of ham, tongue and chicken. There were a lot of "look yous" and "whateffers," and Kiki was especially interested in the up-and-down sing-song way the two Welsh folk talked. "Wipe your feet, whateffer," she said to Mrs. Evans suddenly. Mrs. Evans looked surprised. She hadn't heard the parrot speak before. "Shut the door, look you," commanded Kiki, raising her crest. The children squealed with laughter. "She's gone all Welsh already!" said Dinah. "Hey, watch her, Jack — she's absolutely wolfing those raspberries!" Jack put a plate over the bowl, and Kiki was angry. She made a noise like the car changing gear and Effans looked startled. "It's all right — it's only Kiki," said Jack. "She can make all kinds of noises. You should hear her give her imitation of a train whistling in a tunnel." Kiki opened her beak and swelled up her throat as if she was about to make this horrible noise. Mrs. Mannering spoke hastily. "Jack! Don't let Kiki make that noise. If she does you'll have to take her upstairs and put her in your bedroom." "Bad Kiki, naughty Kiki," said the parrot solemnly, recognising the stern tone in Mrs. Mannering's voice. She flew to Jack's shoulder and cuddled there, eyeing the plate that he had put over the bowl of raspberries. She gave his ear a little nip. What a meal that was for six very hungry travellers who had had nothing but sandwiches all day long! Even Mrs. Mannering ate more than she had ever eaten before at one meal. Mrs. Evans kept beaming round as she filled the plates. "There iss plenty more in the larder, look you," she said. "Effans, go fetch the meat- pie." "No, no!" said Mrs. Mannering. "Please don't. We have more than enough here — it's only that we are extra hungry and the food is so very very good." Mrs. Evans was pleased. "It iss plain country food, but it iss very good for the children," she said. "They will soon have good appetites in this mountain air, look you." "Indeed to gootness they will," agreed Effans. "Their appetites are small yet. They will grow." Mrs. Mannering looked rather alarmed. "Good gracious! I've never in my life seen them eat so much — if their appetites get any bigger I'll never be able to feed them at home!" "And we shall starve at school," grinned Jack. "The poor boy!" said Mrs. Evans. "It iss a big ham I must give him to take back, whateffer!" At last nobody could eat any more. They sat back from the table, looking out of the wide, low windows and the big open door. What a view! Great mountains reared up their heads in the evening light. Deep shadows lay across the valley, but the mountains still caught the sunlight, and gleamed enchantingly. It was all so different from the country round their home, and the children felt that they could never look long enough at the mountain-tops and the shadowed valleys below. "You are very lonely here," said Bill. "I can't see a single house or farm anywhere." "My brother lives on the other side of that mountain," said Mrs. Evans, pointing. "I see him at the market each week. That is ten miles away, or maybe eleven. And my sister lives beyond that mountain you can see there. She too has a farm. So we have neighbours, look you." "Yes — but not next-door ones!" said Dinah. "Don't you ever feel cut-off and lonely here, Mrs. Evans?" Mrs. Evans looked surprised. "Lonely? Indeed to gootness, what iss there to be lonely about, with Effans by my side, and the shepherd up on the hills, and the cow-herd and his wife in their cottage near by? And there iss plenty of animals, as you will see." Hens wandered in and out of the open door, pecking up crumbs fallen from the table. Kiki watched them intently. She began a warm, clucking noise, and the hens clucked back. A cock came strutting in and looked round for the hen that had a cluck he didn't quite know. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" suddenly crowed the cock defiantly, catching sight of Kiki on Jack's shoulders. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" answered Kiki, and the cock immediately jumped up on to the table to fight the crowing parrot. He was shooed down and ran out indignantly, followed by a cackle of laughter from Kiki. Effans held his sides and laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks. "That is a fine bird, look you!" he said to Jack, quite losing his heart to Kiki. "Let her help herself to the raspberries again." "She's had enough, thank you very much," said Jack, pleased at Effans' praise of Kiki. People didn't always like the parrot, and when she went away with him Jack was always anxious in case anyone should object to her. They all wandered out into the golden evening air, happy and well satisfied. Bill and Mrs. Mannering sat on an old stone wall, watching the sun sink behind a mountain in the west. The four children went round the farmhouse and its buildings. "Pigs! And what a marvellous clean pig-sty," said Dinah. "I've never seen a clean pig before. Look at this one, fat and shining as if it's been scrubbed." "It probably has, in preparation for our coming!" said Philip. "I love these little piglets too. Look at them routing round with their funny little snouts." "Kiki will soon have a wonderful collection of noises," said Lucy-Ann, hearing the parrot giving a very life-like grunt. "She'll be able to moo and bellow and grunt and crow and cluck . . ." "And gobble like a turkey!" said Dinah, seeing some turkeys near by. "This is a lovely farm. They've got everything. Oh, Philip — look at that kid!" There were some goats on the mountainside not far off, and with them was a kid. It was snow-white, dainty and altogether lovely. Philip stood looking at it, loving it at once. He made a curious little bleating noise and all the goats looked round and stopped eating. The kid pricked up its little white ears, and stood quivering on its slender legs. It was very young and new. Philip made the noise again. The kid left its mother and came leaping to him. It sprang right into his arms and nestled there, butting its soft white head against Philip's chin. "Oh, Philip — isn't it sweet!" said the girls, and stroked the little thing and rubbed their cheeks against its snow-white coat. "I wish animals came to me like they come to you, Philip," said Lucy-Ann enviously. It was amazing the attraction that Philip had for creatures of any kind. Even a moth would rest contentedly on his finger, and the number of strange pets he had had was unbelievable. Hedgehogs, stag-beetles, lizards, young birds, mice, rats — you never knew what Philip would have next. All creatures loved him and trusted him, and he in turn understood them and loved them too. "Now this kid will follow at his heels like a dog the whole time we're here," said Dinah. "Well, I'm glad it will be a kid, not a cow! Do you remember that awful time when Philip went into a field with a herd of cows, and they all went to him and nuzzled him and followed him about like dogs. They even tried to get over the gate and through the hedge when he went out. I was awfully scared they would." "You ought to be ashamed of being afraid of cows at your age," said Philip, fondling the kid. "It's silly at any age, of course — but you don't seem to learn sense as you get older, Di. It's surprising you're not afraid of this kid. I bet you'd run if the goats came near." "I shouldn't," said Dinah indignantly, but all the same she moved off hurriedly when the herd of goats, curious at seeing the kid in Philip's arms, began to come nearer to the children. Soon they were all round Philip, Lucy-Ann and Jack. Dinah watched from a distance. The kid bleated when it saw its mother, but as soon as Philip put the little thing down to run to her, it leapt straight back into his arms! "Well! You'll have to take it to bed with you tonight, there's no doubt about that," said Jack, grinning. "Come on — let's go and see the horses. They're the kind with shaggy hooves — I just love those!" The goats were shooed off, and the children went to look at the great horses standing patiently in the field. There were three of them. They all came to Philip at once of course. He had put down the little kid, and now it followed so close to his heels that, every time he stopped, it ran into his legs. At the first possible chance it sprang into his arms again. It followed him into the farm-house too. "Oh! You have found little Snowy!" said Mrs. Evans, looking round from her oven with a face redder than ever. "She has not left her mother before, look you!" "Oh, Philip, don't bring the kid in here," said Mrs. Mannering, seeing at once that yet another animal had attached itself to Philip. She was afraid that Mrs. Evans would object strongly to the kid coming indoors with Philip — and once it had felt the boy's attraction nothing would stop it from following him anywhere — even upstairs! "Oh, it iss no matter if a kid comes into the house," said Mrs. Evans. "We haff the new- born lambs in, and the hens are always in and out, and Moolie the calf used to come in each day before she was put in the field." The children thought it was a wonderful idea to let creatures wander in and out like that, but Mrs. Mannering thought differently. She wondered if she would find eggs laid in her bed, or a calf in her bedroom chair! Still, it was a holiday, and if Mrs. Evans liked creatures wandering all over her kitchen, the children would like it too! Lucy-Ann gave an enormous yawn and sank down into a big chair. Mrs. Mannering looked at her, and then at the grandfather clock ticking in a corner. "Go to bed, all of you," she said. "We're all tired. Yes, I know it's early, Philip, you don't need to tell me that — but we've had a long day, and this mountain air is very strong. We shall all sleep like tops tonight." "I will get ready some creamy milk for you," began Mrs. Evans, "and you would like some buttered scones and jam to take up with you?" "Oh, no," said Mrs. Mannering. "We simply couldn't eat a thing more tonight, thank you, Mrs. Evans." "Oh, Mother! Of course we could eat scones and jam and drink some more of that heavenly milk," said Dinah indignantly. So they each took up a plate of scones and raspberry jam and a fat glass of creamy milk to have in bed. There came the scampering of little hooves, and Snowy the kid appeared in the boys' bedroom. She leapt in delight onto Philip's bed. "Gosh! Look at this! Snowy's come upstairs!" said Philip. "Have a bit of scone, Snowy?" "I say — did we hear the kid coming up the stairs?" said Lucy-Ann, putting her head round the door of the boys' room. "Oooh, Philip! You've got her on your bed!" "Well, she won't get off," said Philip. "As soon as I push her off, she's on again — look! Like a puppy!" "Maa-aa-aa!" said the kid in a soft, bleating voice, and butted Philip with its head. "Are you going to have it up here all the night?" asked Dinah, appearing in her pyjamas. "Well, if I put it outside, it'll only come in again — and if I shut the door it will come and butt it with its head," said Philip, who had quite lost his heart to Snowy. "After all, Jack has Kiki in the room with him all night." "Oh, I don't mind you having Snowy," said Dinah. "I just wondered what Mother would say, that's all — and Mrs. Evans." "I shouldn't be at all surprised to hear that Mrs. Evans has got a sick cow in her room, and half a dozen hens," said Philip, arranging Snowy in the crook of his knees. "She's a woman after my own heart. Go away, you girls. I'm going to sleep. I'm very happy — full of scones and jam and milk and sleep." Kiki made a hiccuping noise. "Pardon!" she said. This was a new thing she had learnt from somebody at Jack's school the term before. It made Mrs. Mannering cross. "I should think Kiki's full up too," said Jack sleepily. "She pinched a whole scone, and I'm sure she's been at the raspberries again. Look at her beak! Now shut up, Kiki, I want to go to sleep." "Pop goes the weasel, look you," said Kiki solemnly and put her head under her wing. The girls disappeared. The boys fell asleep. What a lovely beginning to a summer holiday! Chapter 3 THE FIRST MORNING THE next day the two girls awoke first. It was early, but somebody was already about in the yard. Lucy-Ann peeped out of the window. "It's Effans," she said. "He must have been milking. Dinah, come here. Did you ever see such a glorious view in your life?" The two girls knelt at the window. The sun was streaming across the valley below through the opening between two mountains, but the rest of the vale was in shadow. In the distance many mountains reared their great heads, getting bluer and bluer the further away they were. The sky was blue without a cloud. "Holiday weather — real holiday weather!" said Dinah happily. "I hope Mother lets us go picnicking today." "There's one thing about this holiday," said Lucy-Ann, "we shan't have any awful adventures, because Aunt Allie is absolutely determined to go with us, or send Bill with us, wherever we go." "Well, we've had our share of adventures," said Dinah, beginning to dress. "More than most children ever have. I don't mind if we don't have one this time. Hurry, Lucy-Ann, then we can get to the bathroom before the boys. Don't make too much noise because Mother doesn't want to be wakened too early." Lucy-Ann popped her head in at the boys' room on the way to the bathroom. They were still sound asleep. Kiki took her head from under her wing as she heard Lucy-Ann at the door, but she said nothing, only yawned. Lucy-Ann looked closely at Philip's bed. Snowy the kid was still there, cuddled into the crook of Philip's knees! Lucy-Ann's heart warmed to Philip. What an extraordinary boy he was, to have every creature so fond of him, and to be able to do anything he liked with them. The little kid raised its head and looked at Lucy-Ann. She fled to the bathroom and washed with Dinah. They soon heard the boys getting up, and Kiki's voice telling somebody to wipe his feet. "She's probably teaching a few manners to Snowy," giggled Lucy-Ann. "Kiki always tries to teach things to all Philip's pets. Oh, Dinah — do you remember how funny she was with Huffin and Puffin, the two puffins we found when we had our last adventure?" "Arr," said Dinah, making the noise the puffins used to make. Kiki heard them. "Arrrrr!" she called from the boys' bedroom. "Arrrrr!" Then she went off into a cackle of laughter, and Snowy the kid stared at her in alarm. "Maa-aa-aa!" said the kid. "Maa-aa-aa!" said Kiki, and the kid looked all round for another kid. The boys laughed. Kiki, always encouraged when people laughed, swelled up her throat to make the noise of a car changing gear, her favourite noise of the moment but Philip stopped her hurriedly. "Stop it, Kiki! We've had enough of that noise. Do forget it!" "God save the King!" said Kiki, in a dismal voice. "Wipe your feet, blow your nose." "Come on," said the girls, putting their heads in. "Slow-coaches!" They all went downstairs just as Mrs. Evans was setting the last touches to the breakfast-table. It was loaded almost as much as the supper-table the night before. Jugs of creamy milk stood about, warm from the milking, and big bowls of raspberries had appeared again. "I shan't know what to have," groaned Jack, sitting down with Kiki on his shoulders. "I can smell eggs and bacon — and there's cereal to have with raspberries and cream — and ham — and tomatoes — and gosh, is that cream cheese? Cream cheese for breakfast, how super!" Snowy the kid tried to get onto Philip's knee as he sat down to breakfast. He pushed her off. "No, Snowy, not at meal-times. I'm too busy then. Go and say good morning to your mother. She must wonder where you are." Kiki was at work on the raspberries. Mrs. Evans had actually put a plate aside for Kiki's own breakfast. She and Effans beamed at the bird. They both thought she was wonderful. "Look you whateffer!" said Kiki, and dipped her beak into the raspberries again. It was rapidly becoming pink with the juice. The children made an extremely good meal before Bill or Mrs. Mannering came down. The Evans' had had theirs already — in fact they seemed to have done a day's work, judging by the list of things that Evans talked about — he had cleaned out the pigs, groomed the horses, milked the cows, fetched in the eggs, been to see the cow-herd and a dozen other things besides. "Mrs. Evans, do you know where the donkeys are that we arranged to have, for riding in the mountains?" asked Philip, when he had finished his breakfast and Snowy was once more in his arms. "Ah, Trefor the shepherd will tell you," said Mrs. Evans. "It iss his brother, look you, that has the donkeys. He is to bring them here for you." "Can't we go and fetch them and ride them back?" said Jack. "Indeed to gootness, Trefor's brother lives thirty miles away!" said Effans. "You could not walk there, whateffer. You go and see Trefor today and ask him what has he done about your donkeys." Mrs. Mannering and Bill appeared at that moment, looking fresh and trim after their good night's sleep in the sharp mountain air. "Any breakfast left for us?" said Bill with a grin. Mrs. Evans hurried to fry bacon and eggs again, and soon the big kitchen was full of the savoury smell. "Golly, if I stay here and smell that I shall feel hungry all over again," said Philip. "Bill, we're going up to see Trefor the shepherd to ask about our donkeys. Mother, can we have a picnic in the mountains as soon as the donkeys come?" "Yes — when I'm sure I can keep on my donkey all right," said his mother. "If mine's a very fat donkey I shall slide off!" "They are not fat," Effans assured her. "They are used in the mountains and they are strong and small. Sometimes we use ponies, but Trefor's brother breeds donkeys, and they are just as good." "Well, we'll go and have a talk with Trefor," said Philip, getting up and letting Snowy fall off his knee. "Come on, everyone! Kiki, do you want to be left with the raspberries? You greedy bird!" Kiki flew to Jack's shoulder, and the party set off up the path that Effans had pointed out to them. Snowy bounded with them, turning a deaf ear to his mother's bleats. Already he seemed one of the company, petted by them all, though Kiki was not altogether pleased to have another creature taking up so much of the children's attention. They went up the steep little path. The sun was up higher now and was hot. The children only wore thin blouses or shirts, and shorts, but they felt very warm. They came to a spring gushing out of the hillside and sat down to drink, and cool their hands and feet. Snowy drank too, and then capered about lightly on her strong little legs, leaping from place to place almost as if she had wings. "I wish I could leap like a goat," said Jack lazily. "It looks so lovely and easy to spring high into the air like that, and land wherever you want to." Philip suddenly made a grab at something that was slithering past him on the warm bank. Dinah sat up at once. "What is it, what is it?" "This," said Philip, and showed the others a silvery-grey, snake-like creature, with bright little eyes. Dinah screamed at once. "A snake! Philip, put it down. Philip, it'll bite you." "It won't," said Philip scornfully. "It's not a snake — and anyway British snakes don't bite unless they're adders. I've told you that before. This is a slow-worm — and a very fine specimen too!" The children looked in fascination as the silvery slow-worm wriggled over Philip's knees. It certainly looked very like a snake, but it wasn't. Lucy-Ann and Jack knew that, but Dinah always forgot. She was so terrified of snakes that to her anything that glided along must belong to the snake family. "It's horrible," she said with a shudder. "Let it go, Philip. How do you know it's not a snake?" "Well — for one thing it blinks its eyes and no snake does that," said Philip. "Watch it. It blinks like a lizard — and no wonder, because it belongs to the lizard family." As he spoke the little creature blinked its eyes. It stayed still on Philip's knee and made no further attempt to escape. Philip put his hand over it and it stayed there quite happy. "I've never had a slow-worm for a pet," said Philip. "I've a good mind . . ." "Philip! If you dare to keep that snake for a pet I'll tell Mother to send you home!" said Dinah in great alarm. "Dinah, it's not a snake!" said Philip impatiently. "It's a lizard — a legless lizard — quite harmless and very interesting. I'm going to keep it for a pet if it'll stay with me." "Stay with you! Of course it will," said Jack. "Did you ever know an animal that wouldn't? I should hate to go to a jungle with you, Philip — you'd have monkeys hanging lovingly round your neck, and tigers purring at you, and snakes wrapping themselves round your legs, and . . ." Dinah gave a little scream. "Don't say such horrible things! Philip, make that slow- worm go away." Instead he slipped it into his pocket. "Now don't make a fuss, Dinah," he said. "You don't need to come near me. I don't expect it will stay with me because it won't like my pocket — but I'll just see." They set off up the hill once more, Dinah hanging back sulkily. Oh dear! Philip would go and spoil the holiday by keeping something horrible again! Chapter 4 UP ON THE MOUNTAINSIDE TREFOR the shepherd had a small cabin-like cottage a good way up the mountainside. Around him for miles grazed the sheep. Nearer in were that year's lambs, now grown into sturdy little beasts, their woolly coats showing up against the sheared bodies of the older sheep. The shepherd was having a simple meal when they got to his hut. He had bread, butter, cream cheese and onions, and beside him a great jug of milk that he had cooled by standing in the stream that ran down the mountainside nearby. He nodded his head to the children as they came up. He was a curious-looking old fellow, with longish untidy hair, a straggling beard, and two of the brightest blue eyes the children had ever seen. He spoke Welsh, which they didn't understand. "Can you speak English?" asked Jack. "We can't understand what you say." Trefor knew a few words of English, which, after much thought and munching of onions, he spoke. "Donkeys. Tomorrow." He added something the children didn't understand, and waved his hand down the mountainside towards the farm-house.