"Blyton, Enid - Adv 05 - Mountain of Adventure" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

"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