So the carpet was brushed (with tea-leaves, too) which was the only comfort Anthea could think of, and folded up and put away in the cupboard at the top of the stairs, and daddy put the key in his trousers pocket. Till Saturday, said he.
Never mind, said Anthea, weve got the Phoenix.
But, as it happened, they hadnt. The Phoenix was nowhere to be found, and everything had suddenly settled down from the rosy wild beauty of magic happenings to the common damp brownness of ordinary November life in Camden Townand there was the nursery floor all bare boards in the middle and brown oilcloth round the outside, and the bareness and yellowness of the middle floor showed up the blackbeetles with terrible distinctness, when the poor things came out in the evening, as usual, to try to make friends with the children. But the children never would.
The Sunday ended in gloom, which even junket for supper in the blue Dresden bowl could hardly lighten at all. Next day the Lambs cough was worse. It certainly seemed very whoopy, and the doctor came in his brougham carriage.
Every one tried to bear up under the weight of the sorrow which it was to know that the wishing carpet was locked up and the Phoenix mislaid. A good deal of time was spent in looking for the Phoenix.
Its a bird of its word, said Anthea. Im sure its not deserted us. But you know it had a most awfully long fly from wherever it was to near Rochester and back, and I expect the poor things feeling tired out and wants rest. I am sure we may trust it.
The others tried to feel sure of this, too, but it was hard.
No one could be expected to feel very kindly towards the cook, since it was entirely through her making such a fuss about a little foreign mud that the carpet had been taken away.
She might have told us, said Jane, and Panther and I would have cleaned it with tea-leaves.
Shes a cantankerous cat, said Robert.
I shant say what I think about her, said Anthea, primly, because it would be evil speaking, lying, and slandering.
Its not lying to say shes a disagreeable pig, and a beastly blue-nosed Bozwoz, said Cyril, who had read The Eyes of Light, and intended to talk like Tony as soon as he could teach Robert to talk like Paul.
And all the children, even Anthea, agreed that even if she wasnt a blue-nosed Bozwoz, they wished cook had never been born.
But I ask you to believe that they didnt do all the things on purpose which so annoyed the cook during the following week, though I daresay the things would not have happened if the cook had been a favourite. This is a mystery. Explain it if you can. The things that had happened were as follows:
Sunday.Discovery of foreign mud on both sides of the carpet.
Monday.Liquorice put on to boil with aniseed balls in a saucepan. Anthea did this, because she thought it would be good for the Lambs cough. The whole thing forgotten, and bottom of saucepan burned out. It was the little saucepan lined with white that was kept for the babys milk.
Tuesday.A dead mouse found in pantry. Fish-slice taken to dig grave with. By regrettable accident fish-slice broken. Defence: The cook oughtnt to keep dead mice in pantries.
Wednesday.Chopped suet left on kitchen table. Robert added chopped soap, but he says he thought the suet was soap too.
Thursday.Broke the kitchen window by falling against it during a perfectly fair game of bandits in the area.
Friday.Stopped up grating of kitchen sink with putty and filled sink with water to make a lake to sail paper boats in. Went away and left the tap running. Kitchen hearthrug and cooks shoes ruined.
On Saturday the carpet was restored. There had been plenty of time during the week to decide where it should be asked to go when they did get it back.
Mother had gone over to grannys, and had not taken the Lamb because he had a bad cough, which, cook repeatedly said, was whooping-cough as sure as eggs is eggs.
But well take him out, a ducky darling, said Anthea. Well take him somewhere where you cant have whooping-cough. Dont be so silly, Robert. If he DOES talk about it no onell take any notice. Hes always talking about things hes never seen.
So they dressed the Lamb and themselves in out-of-doors clothes, and the Lamb chuckled and coughed, and laughed and coughed again, poor dear, and all the chairs and tables were moved off the carpet by the boys, while Jane nursed the Lamb, and Anthea rushed through the house in one last wild hunt for the missing Phoenix.
Its no use waiting for it, she said, reappearing breathless in the breakfast-room. But I know it hasnt deserted us. Its a bird of its word.
Quite so, said the gentle voice of the Phoenix from beneath the table.
Every one fell on its knees and looked up, and there was the Phoenix perched on a crossbar of wood that ran across under the table, and had once supported a drawer, in the happy days before the drawer had been used as a boat, and its bottom unfortunately trodden out by Raggetts Really Reliable School Boots on the feet of Robert.
Ive been here all the time, said the Phoenix, yawning politely behind its claw. If you wanted me you should have recited the ode of invocation; its seven thousand lines long, and written in very pure and beautiful Greek.
Couldnt you tell it us in English? asked Anthea.
Its rather long, isnt it? said Jane, jumping the Lamb on her knee.
Couldnt you make a short English version, like Tate and Brady?
Oh, come along, do, said Robert, holding out his hand. Come along, good old Phoenix.
Good old BEAUTIFUL Phoenix, it corrected shyly.
Good old BEAUTIFUL Phoenix, then. Come along, come along, said Robert, impatiently, with his hand still held out.
The Phoenix fluttered at once on to his wrist.
This amiable youth, it said to the others, has miraculously been able to put the whole meaning of the seven thousand lines of Greek invocation into one English hexametera little misplaced some of the wordsbut
Oh, come along, come along, good old beautiful Phoenix!
Not perfect, I admitbut not bad for a boy of his age.
Well, now then, said Robert, stepping back on to the carpet with the golden Phoenix on his wrist.
You look like the kings falconer, said Jane, sitting down on the carpet with the baby on her lap.
Robert tried to go on looking like it. Cyril and Anthea stood on the carpet.
We shall have to get back before dinner, said Cyril, or cook will blow the gaff.
She hasnt sneaked since Sunday, said Anthea.
She Robert was beginning, when the door burst open and the cook, fierce and furious, came in like a whirlwind and stood on the corner of the carpet, with a broken basin in one hand and a threat in the other, which was clenched.
Look ere! she cried, my only basin; and what the powers am I to make the beefsteak and kidney pudding in that your ma ordered for your dinners? You dont deserve no dinners, so yer dont.
Im awfully sorry, cook, said Anthea gently; it was my fault, and I forgot to tell you about it. It got broken when we were telling our fortunes with melted lead, you know, and I meant to tell you.
Meant to tell me, replied the cook; she was red with anger, and really I dont wondermeant to tell! Well, I mean to tell, too. Ive held my tongue this week through, because the missus she said to me quiet like, We mustnt expect old heads on young shoulders, but now I shant hold it no longer. There was the soap you put in our pudding, and me and Eliza never so much as breathed it to your mathough well we mightand the saucepan, and the fish-slice, andMy gracious cats alive! what ave you got that blessed child dressed up in his outdoors for?