The Ship that Flew

"It all began with Peter's toothache. You wouldn't think anything really nice could come out of having a toothache, would you? Well, this time it did."

"It was a narrow little street and rather dark, with old houses set close together. Peter was rather surprised. He didn't remember this street, and what is more, he hadn't known there were any old houses in new little Radcliff-on-the-sea. "But then," he told himself sensibly, "I don't know everything!""

"They don't make ships like that nowadays," he said, a little sadly. "Is it very old?" Peter asked, hoping that it wasn't, because very old things, he knew, often cost a good deal of money. The old man nodded. "Older than any one would believe."

"All the money in the world wouldn't have bought this once… no not if it were prince nor king nor emperor himself." Peter didn't know what to say to this, so he said, "Could I buy it, do you think?" Then the old man said a strange thing. "It would cost all the money you have in the world — and a bit over."

"Magic. Magic had happened to him. He knew it would one day. He had always believed in magic, even whe the others had laughed at him, laughed because he was the eldest and ought to know better."

"Earth and fire and water and air We solemnly promise, we solemnly swear Not a word, not a hint, not a sound to declare Earth and fire and water and air!"

"You don't believe me… Well I don't expect you to! I wouldn't myself unless I saw it with my own eyes. But I wish, I wish it would happen. I wish the ship would take us somewhere — anywhere!"

"Humphrey said in a funny little voice, "It's a dream. I'm dreaming it. You've all come into my dream!" "My dream!" said Sandy in the kind of voice that means to go on arguing. "It isn't a dream," Peter said happily. "It's happening. And it's real.""

"You've got to wish!"

"Magic doesn't happen often — not once in a blue moon … I expect there isn't another magic ship like this one in the whole world."

"No one sells a magic ship for three shillings,"' Peter said slowly. "And he was an old man — poor. He was blind in one eye, too. He couldn't see properly."

"I think you were meant to keep it Peter … I think that's part of the magic."

"From the garden came a dozen sweet smells. Sheila closed her eyes and wondered whether she could distinguish them. She was sure she could smell roses and night-scented stock."

"We all seem to want something different … let's leave it to the ship."

""We flew," said Peter, hoping the questions would now stop."

"We would not dream of telling you lies, sir, and we are grateful for all your kindness to us, really we are, but if we told you the truth you wouldn't believe it."

"It is true that no one had found either sapphires or diamonds or rubies on this particular stretch of beach, but that, Sandy was convinced, was because they hadn't looked hard enough."

"It is the best of ships. When her sails are hoisted a breeze springs up and carries her swift and safe to whatever place the gods choose. She is made of thousands of little pieces fitted together withs such cleverness that when she is not wanted Frey can fold her up and put her in his pocket."

"The light deepened in broad bands. Suddenly the sun burst through, fierce and bright as after a storm. The sky was clear and blue about them."

"Before them stood an old man, very tall and upright, carrying a staff as though it were a king's sceptre. There was something so noble about the old man that the children knew, in spite of his simple tunic and broad-brimmed hat, that he must be a king at the very least."

"This thing is beyond your understanding, my child. Think no further on the matter and maybe you will read the riddle in the end. Who knows? Meanwhile the air is fresh and the day golden and my palace is near at hand. The young should enjoy themselves while they may, so come!"

"Yes," she said, reading their thoughts, "it is a cloud. I spin the clouds into the finest linen for the gods to wear. I am the mother of the gods and I am called The Spinner in the Clouds."

"I am older than the stars."

"At last Sandy found her voice. "Who is the bravest warrior?" she asked. "They are all so brave that no man can say. But the greatest of them is my son, Thor. Thor wages unceasing fight against the giants, and will do so to the end of time." "There aren't any giants where we live," said Humphrey sadly. "Except at fairs and things, and they aren't real giants at all." "There are always giants," replied Odin, "and men must always fight against them." "I don't know what you mean," said Sandy, lifting a puzzled face. "I understand," said Sheila softly, "you mean fighting against the things that are wrong." Odin nodded. "Even children may fight that fight," he said. "Come!""

"Let these strangers tell us whence they have come, and why they have come, and how!"

"To the Peace Stead, for this thing must be settled in friendship."

"I must never leave Asgard and my work of watching all growing things … Frey must not seek his own, lest famine fall upon Asgard and the world of men starve."

"Where did this child find so great a sum to purchase the ship Skidbladnir? There is no treasure in the whole world can buy it."

"Frey, it is very clear that Skidbladnir has passed out of your hands. It was yours and you lost it. Now it has come to this child by right of purchase, and it is his until he, of his own free will, shall give it up!"

"Frey… men come and go. The years pass with them more swiftly than the flight of an arrow. But with the gods it is not so. Ages must pass, the sea may grow dry and the mountains crumble, but our hair is not less bright, nor our strength less, nor our wits more dim. The gods endure. Now let us strike a bargain. This child shall keep your ship until such a time as he no longer desires it, then he shall return it to you!"

"What man is born who would not desire Skidbladnir?"

"There is no magic when one no longer believes."

"We'll forget … Being grown-up does that to you."

"On the day you send back Skidbladnir, I will grant each one his heart's desire."

"Guard my ship well. And now I will tell you a secret concerning Skidbladnir that no soul knows, save Father Odin and me. When you alight from the ship and set foot in a foreign land whose tongue you can neither speak nor understand, pass each one of you a hand over the boar's head and the secret of foreign speech shall be made clear. And more, you shall look like the dwellers in the land and no man shall know that you are strangers. And so, brother, farewell!"

"You can't help troubles popping up now and then, even when you don't expect them. I mean, even if we stayed here on this spot without moving, something would happen!"

"These are bad times. One day you live in peace in the house you have built for yourself, and the next, who knows, but the house is burnt about your head, and you wander forth, starving."

"These days no man knows who may be his friend, nor who his enemy."

"Don't be silly … It isn't witchcraft at all. Just plain straightforward magic!"

"The inscription keeps mentioning a ship — a flying ship. … Now if the ship had been the ordinary pattern of Egyptian ship, I shouldn't have thought twice about it. The ship of Osiris — that's one of their chief gods, or the Sunboat of Ra — that's another god — well you might expect that. But it isn't. It's something quite different. It's the kind of ship you find a couple of thousand years later in a very different kind of land. A dragon-ship, complete with square sails and gilt boar's head at the prow."

"Usertsen ordered that an inscription be made testifying to the truth of the story, and placed it in his coffin. He also ordered that it should be carved into the rock so that it would endure for all time. Odd isn't it?"

"The children stood speechless, staring at the picture of their own ship. It was a faithful picture, the colours bright and the shape true."

"It was just possible that the magic had run out, as Peter said. After all, you knew a lot less about magic than you did about an electric torch."

"This is no time for anger … nor for any talk of punishment. First we must fight. And when we return in victory, then I shall deal justly with the traitors."

""I wonder what's really underneath that cloud?" asked Sandy. "I mean, if we could look through it, what would we see?" "The past, spread out like a map," Sheila answered."

"I had thought you were a dream, all of you. Or that you had forgotten me. And I do not know which thought I liked least. And now you are here at last!"

"Nobody must know where it has come from. It is my secret … We must slip it in through the vicarage door when it is dark!"

"She walked silent between the chattering children. This was their world, their own real world. But friendly and happy though it was, it wasn't her world. Hers was a world of cold stone castles and grim fighting; of hardship and courage. Of courage! She was suddenly impatient of this pleasant easy world of theirs, where life flowed so smoothly. She was so tired that it was almost as though she moved in a dream. Nothing seemed quite real any longer."

"I must live my life in my own way and in my own time."

""Did you hear that? gasped Humphrey. "The villain in the greenwood!" "Who robs the rich," continued Sheila. "To give to the poor," finished Sandy. Peter clapped his hands together. "Robin Hood!" he cried."