Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

by Roald Dahl

  Suddenly Grandma Josephine put the brakes on so hard she skidded five yards before coming to a stop. 'Wait!' she screamed. 'We must be mad! We can't go to a famous party in the White House in our nightshirts! We can't stand there practically naked in front of all those people while the President pins medals all over us!'

  'Oh-h-h-h!' wailed Grandma Georgina. 'Oh, what are we going to do?'

  'Don't you have any clothes with you at all?' asked Mr Wonka.

  'Of course we don't!' said Grandma Josephine. 'We haven't been out of that bed for twenty years!'

  'We can't go!' wailed Grandma Georgina. 'We'll have to stay behind!'

  'Couldn't we buy something from a store?' said Grandpa George.

  'What with?' said Grandma Josephine. 'We don't have any money!'

  'Money!' cried Mr Wonka. 'Good gracious me, don't you go worrying about money! I've got plenty of that!'

  'Listen,' said Charlie. 'Why couldn't we ask the helicopter to land on the roof of a big shop on the way over. Then you can all pop downstairs and buy exactly what you want!'

  'Charlie!' cried Mr Wonka, grasping him by the hand. 'What would we do without you? You're brilliant! Come along everybody! We're off to stay in the White House!'

  They all linked arms and went dancing out of the Chocolate Room and along the corridors and out through the front door into the open where the big helicopter was waiting near the factory gates. A group of extremely important-looking gentlemen came toward them and bowed.

  'Well, Charlie,' said Grandpa Joe. 'It's certainly been a busy day.'

  'It's not over yet,' Charlie said, laughing. 'It hasn't even begun.'