Five Children and It

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Five Children and It, by E. Nesbit

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Title: Five Children and It
Author: E. Nesbit
Illustrator: H.R. Millar
Release Date: December 15, 2005 [EBook #17314]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: The Psammead]

FIVE CHILDREN AND IT
BY E. NESBIT
AUTHOR OF "THE TREASURE-SEEKERS," "THE WOULD-BE-GOODS," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
[Illustration]
NEW YORK DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
1905

COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
Published October, 1905

TO
JOHN BLAND
My Lamb, you are so very small, You have not learned to read at all; Yet never a printed book withstands The urgence of your dimpled hands. So, though this book is for yourself, Let mother keep it on the shelf Till you can read. O days that pass, That day will come too soon, alas!

NOTE
Parts of this story have appeared in the Strand Magazine under the title of
"THE PSAMMEAD."

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I BEAUTIFUL AS THE DAY 1
II GOLDEN GUINEAS 36
III BEING WANTED 70
IV WINGS 108
V NO WINGS 141
VI A CASTLE AND NO DINNER 159
VII A SIEGE AND BED 183
VIII BIGGER THAN THE BAKER'S BOY 203
IX GROWN UP 236
X SCALPS 261
XI THE LAST WISH 287

ILLUSTRATIONS
The Psammead Frontispiece
That First Glorious Rush Round the Garden Facing page 2
Cyril Had Nipped His Finger in the Door of a Hutch " " 4
Anthea Suddenly Screamed, "It's Alive!" " " 12
The Baby Did Not Know Them! " " 28
Martha Emptied a Toilet-jug of Cold Water Over Him " " 32
The Rain Fell in Slow Drops on to Anthea's Face " " 36
He Staggered, and Had to Sit Down Again in a Hurry " " 50
Mr. Beale Snatched the Coin, Bit It, and Put It in His Pocket " " 58
They Had Run Into Martha and the Baby " " 64
He Said, "Now Then!" to the Policeman and Mr. Peasemarsh " " 66
The Lucky Children Hurriedly Started for the Gravel Pit " " 78
"Poof, poof, poofy," He Said, and Made a Grab " " 86
At Double-quick Time Ran the Twinkling Legs of the Lamb's Brothers and Sisters " " 88
The Next Minute the Two Were Fighting " " 90
He Snatched the Baby from Anthea " " 94
He Consented to Let the Two Gypsy Women Feed Him " " 98
The Sand-fairy Blew Himself Out " " 122
They Flew Over Rochester " " 126
The Farmer Sat Down on the Grass, Suddenly and Heavily " " 128
Everyone Now Turned Out His Pockets " " 132
These Were the Necessaries of Life " " 134
The Children Were Fast Asleep " " 138
The Keeper Spoke Deep-Chested Words through the Keyhole " " 150
There the Castle Stood, Black and Stately " " 164
Robert Was Dragged Forthwith--by the Reluctant Ear " " 166
He Wiped Away a Manly Tear " " 168
"Oh, Do, Do, Do, Do!" Said Robert " " 174
The Man Fell with a Splash Into the Moat-water " " 196
Anthea Tilted the Pot over the Nearest Leadhole " " 198
He Pulled Robert's Hair " " 210
"The Sammyadd's Done Us Again," Said Cyril " " 214
He Lifted Up the Baker's Boy and Set Him on Top of the Haystack " " 216
It Was a Strange Sensation Being Wheeled in a Pony-carriage by a Giant " " 220
When the Girl Came Out She Was Pale and Trembling " " 228
"When Your Time's Up Come to Me" " " 230
He Opened the Case and Used the Whole Thing as a Garden Spade " " 238
She Did It Gently by Tickling His Nose with a Twig of Honeysuckle " " 244
There, Sure Enough, Stood a Bicycle " " 248
The Punctured State of It Was Soon Evident " " 250
The Grown-up Lamb Struggled " " 258
She Broke Open the Missionary Box with the Poker " " 266
"Ye Seek a Pow-wow?" He Said " " 278
Bright Knives Were Being Brandished All about Them " " 284
She Was Clasped in Eight Loving Arms " " 294
"We Found a Fairy," Said Jane, Obediently " " 298
It Burrowed, and Disappeared, Scratching Fiercely to the Last " " 308
CHAPTER I
BEAUTIFUL AS THE DAY
The house was three miles from the station, but, before the dusty hired hack had rattled along for five minutes, the children began to put their heads out of the carriage window and say, "Aren't we nearly there?" And every time they passed a house, which was not very often, they all said, "Oh, is this it?" But it never was, till they reached the very top of the hill, just