Milly-Molly-Mandy’s Adventures

by Joyce Lankester Brisley

  Milly-Molly-Mandy ran off to tell Billy Blunt at once, because she felt she would burst if she didn’t tell someone. And Billy Blunt did wish he could be going too, but his father and mother were always busy.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy told Aunty, and Aunty said, “Tell Billy Blunt to ask his mother to let him come with us, and I’ll see after him!”

  So Billy Blunt did, and Mrs Blunt said it was very kind of Aunty and she’d be glad to let him go.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy hoppity-skipped like anything, because she was so very pleased; and Billy Blunt was very pleased too, though he didn’t hoppity-skip, because he always thought he was too old for such doings (but he wasn’t really!).

  So now they were able to plan together for Saturday, which made it much more fun.

  Mother had an old bathing-dress which she cut down to fit Milly-Molly-Mandy, and the bits over she made into a flower for the shoulder (and it looked a very smart bathing-dress indeed). Billy Blunt borrowed a swimming-suit from another boy at school (but it hadn’t any flower on the shoulder, of course not!).

  Then Billy Blunt said to Milly-Molly-Mandy, “If you’ve got swimming-suits you ought to swim. We’d better practise.”

  But Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “We haven’t got enough water.”

  Billy Blunt said,“Practise in air, then – better than nothing.”

  So they fetched two old boxes from the barn out into the yard, and then lay on them (on their fronts) and spread out their arms and kicked with their legs just as if they were swimming. And when Uncle came along to fetch a wheelbarrow he said it really made him feel quite cool to see them!

  He showed them how to turn their hands properly, and kept calling out, “Steady! Steady! Not so fast!” as he watched them.

  And then Uncle lay on his front on the box and showed them how (and he looked so funny!), and then they tried again, and Uncle said it was better that time.

  So they practised until they were quite out of breath. And then they pretended to dive off the boxes, and they splashed and swallowed mouthfuls of air and swam races to the gate and shivered and dried themselves with old sacks – and it was almost as much fun as if it were real water!

  Well, Saturday came at last, and Aunty and Milly-Molly-Mandy met Billy Blunt at nine o’clock by the cross-roads. And then they went in the red bus to the station in the next town.

  And then they went in the train, rumpty-te-tump, rumpty-te-tump, all the way down to the sea.

  And you can’t imagine how exciting it was, when they got out at last, to walk down a road knowing they would see the real sea at the bottom! Milly-Molly-Mandy got so excited that she didn’t want to look till they were up quite close.

  So Billy Blunt (who had seen it once before) pulled her along right on to the edge of the sand, and then he said suddenly, “Now look!”

  And Milly-Molly-Mandy looked.

  And there was the sea, all jumping with sparkles in the sunshine, as far as ever you could see. And little-friend-Susan, with bare legs and frock tucked up, came tearing over the sand to meet them from where Mrs Moggs and Baby Moggs were sitting by a wooden breakwater.

  Wasn’t it fun!

  They took off their shoes and their socks and their hats, and they wanted to take off their clothes and bathe, but Aunty said they must have dinner first. So they sat round and ate sandwiches and cake and fruit which Aunty had brought in a basket. And the Moggses had theirs too out of a basket.

  Then they played in the sand with Baby Moggs (who liked having her legs buried), and paddled a bit and found crabs (they didn’t take them away from the water, though).

  And then Aunty and Mrs Moggs said they might bathe now if they wanted to. So (as it was a very quiet sort of beach) Milly-Molly-Mandy undressed behind Aunty, and little-friend-Susan undressed behind Mrs Moggs, and Billy Blunt undressed behind the breakwater.

  And then they ran right into the water in their bathing-dresses. (And little-friend-Susan thought Milly-Molly-Mandy’s bathing-dress was smart, with the flower on the shoulder!)

  But, dear me! Water-swimming feels so different from land-swimming, and Milly-Molly-Mandy couldn’t manage at all well with the little waves splashing at her all the time. Billy Blunt swished about in the water with a very grim face, and looked exactly as if he were swimming; but when Milly-Molly-Mandy asked him, he said, “No! My arms swim, but my legs only walk!”

  It was queer, for it had seemed quite easy in the barn-yard.

  But they went on pretending and pretending to swim until Aunty called them out. And then they dried themselves with towels and got into their clothes again; and Billy Blunt said, well, anyhow, he supposed they were just that much nearer swimming properly than they were before; and Milly-Molly-Mandy said she supposed next time they might p’r’aps be able to lift their feet off the ground for a minute at any rate; and little-friend-Susan said she was sure she had swallowed a shrimp! (But that was only her fun!)

  They ran right into the water in their bathing dresses

  Then they played and explored among the rock-pools and had tea on the sand. And after tea Mrs Moggs and Baby Moggs and little-friend-Susan walked with them back to the station; and Aunty and Milly-Molly-Mandy and Billy Blunt went in the train, rumpty-te-tump, rumpty-te-tump, all the way home again.

  And Milly-Molly-Mandy was so sleepy when she got to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof that she had only just time to kiss Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty goodnight and get into bed before she fell fast asleep.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy Goes on an Expedition

  Once upon a time it was a Monday-bankholiday. Milly-Molly-Mandy had been looking forward to this Monday-bank-holiday for a long time, more than a week, for she and Billy Blunt had been planning to go for a long fishing expedition on that day.

  It was rather exciting.

  They were to get up very early, and take their dinners with them, and their rods and lines and jam-jars, and go off all on their own along by the brook, and not be back until quite late in the day.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy went to bed the night before with all the things she wanted for the expedition arranged beside her bed – a new little tin mug (to drink out of), and a bottle (for drinking water), and a large packet of bread-and-butter and an egg and a banana (for her dinner), and a jam-jar (to carry the fish in), and a little green fishing net (to catch them with), and some string and a safety-pin (which it is always useful to have), and her school satchel (to put things in). For when you are going off for the whole day you want quite a lot of things with you.

  When Milly-Molly-Mandy woke up on Monday-bank-holiday morning she thought to herself, “Oh, dear! It is a grey sort of day – I do hope it isn’t going to rain!”

  But anyhow she knew she was going to enjoy herself, and she jumped up and washed and dressed and put on her hat and the satchel strap over her shoulder.

  And then the sunshine came creeping over the trees outside, and Milly-Molly-Mandy saw that it had only been a grey day because she was up before the sun – and she felt a sort of little skip inside, because she was so very sure she was going to enjoy herself!

  Just then there came a funny gritty sound like a handful of earth on the window pane, and when she put her head out there was Billy Blunt, eating a large piece of bread-and-butter and grinning up at her, looking very businesslike with rod and line and jam-jar and bulging satchel.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy called out of the window in a loud whisper, “Isn’t it a lovely day? I’m just coming!”

  And Billy Blunt called back in a loud whisper, “Come on! Hurry up! It’s getting late.”

  So Milly-Molly-Mandy hurried up like anything, and picked up her things and ran creeping downstairs, past Father’s and Mother’s room, and Grandpa’s and Grandma’s room, and Uncle’s and Aunty’s room. And she filled her bottle at the tap in the scullery, and took up the thick slice of bread-and-butter which Mother had left between two plates ready for her breakfast, and unlocked the back door and slipped out into t
he fresh morning air.

  And there they were, off on their Monday-bank-holiday expedition!

  “Isn’t it lovely!” said Milly-Molly-Mandy, with a little hop.

  “Umm! Come on!” said Billy Blunt.

  So they went out of the back gate and across the meadow to the brook, walking very businesslikely and enjoying their bread-and-butter very thoroughly.

  “We’ll go that way,” said Billy Blunt, “because that’s the way we don’t generally go.”

  “And when we come to a nice place we’ll fish,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “But that won’t be for a long way yet,” said Billy Blunt.

  So they went on walking very businesslikely (they had eaten their bread-and-butter by this time) until they had left the nice white cottage with the thatched roof a long way behind, and the sun was shining down quite hotly.

  “It seems like a real expedition when you have the whole day to do it in, doesn’t it?” said Milly-Molly-Mandy. “I wonder what the time is now!”

  “Not time for dinner yet,” said Billy Blunt. “But I could eat it.”

  “So could I,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy. “Let’s have a drink of water.” So they each had a little tin mug full of water, and drank it very preciously to make it last, as the bottle didn’t hold much.

  The brook was too muddy and weedy for drinking, but it was a very interesting brook. One place, where it had got rather blocked up, was just full of tadpoles – they caught ever so many with their hands and put them in the jam-jars, and watched them swim about and wiggle their little black tails and open and shut their little black mouths. Then farther on were lots of stepping-stones in the stream, and Milly-Molly-Mandy and Billy Blunt had a fine time scrambling about from one to another.

  Off on their Monday bank-holiday expedition

  Billy Blunt slipped once, with one foot into the water, so he took off his boots and socks and tied them round his neck. And it looked so nice that Milly-Molly-Mandy took off one boot and sock and tried it too. But the water and the stones were so-o cold that she put them on again, and just tried to be fairly careful how she went. But even so she slipped once, and caught her frock on a branch and pulled the button off, and had to fasten it together with a safety-pin. (So wasn’t it a good thing she had brought one with her?)

  Presently they came to a big flat mossy stone beside the brook. And Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “That’s where we ought to eat our dinners, isn’t it? I wonder what the time is now!”

  Billy Blunt looked round and considered; and then he said, “Somewhere about noon, I should say. Might think about eating soon, as we had breakfast early. Less to carry, too.”

  And Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “Let’s spread it out all ready, anyhow! It’s a lovely place here.”

  So they laid the food out on the flat stone, with the bottle of water and little tin mug in the middle, and it looked so good and they felt so hungry that, of course, they just had to set to and eat it all up straight away.

  And it did taste nice!

  And the little black tadpoles in the glass jam-jars beside them swam round and round, and wiggled their little black tails and opened and shut their little black mouths; till at last Milly-Molly-Mandy said, “We’ve taken them away from their dinners, haven’t we? Let’s put them back now.”

  And Billy Blunt said, “Yes. We’ll want the pots for real fishes soon.”

  So they emptied the tadpoles back into the brook where they wiggled away at once to their meals.

  “Look! There’s a fish!” cried Milly-Molly-Mandy, pointing. And Billy Blunt hurried and fetched his rod and line, and settled to fishing in real earnest.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy went a little farther down-stream, and poked about with her net in the water; and soon she caught a fish, and put it in her jam-jar, and ran to show it to Billy Blunt. And Billy Blunt said, “Huh!” But he said it wasn’t proper fishing without a rod and line, so it didn’t really count.

  But Milly-Molly-Mandy liked it quite well that way, all the same.

  So they fished and they fished along the banks and sometimes they saw quite big fish, two or three inches long, and Billy Blunt got quite excited and borrowed Milly-Molly-Mandy’s net; and they got a number of fish in their jam-jars.

  “Oh, don’t you wish we’d brought our teas too, so we could stay here a long, long time?” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “Umm,” said Billy Blunt. “We ought to have done. Expect we’ll have to be getting back soon.”

  So at last as they got hungry, and thirsty too (having finished all the bottle of water), they began to pack up their things and Billy Blunt put on his socks and boots. And they tramped all the way back, scrambling up and down the banks, and jumping the stepping-stones.

  When they got near home Milly-Molly-Mandy said doubtfully, “What about our fishes?”

  And Billy Blunt said, “We don’t really want ’em now, do we? We only wanted a fishing expedition.”

  So they counted how many there were (there were fifteen), and then emptied them back into the brook, where they darted off at once to their meals.

  And Milly-Molly-Mandy and Billy Blunt went on up through the meadow to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof, feeling very hungry, and hoping they weren’t too badly late for tea.

  And when they got in Father and Mother and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty were all sitting at table, just finishing – what do you think?

  Why, their midday dinner!

  Milly-Molly-Mandy and Billy Blunt couldn’t think how it had happened. But when you get up so very early to go on fishing expeditions, and get so very hungry, well, it is rather difficult to reckon the time properly!

  Milly-Molly-Mandy Rides a Horse

  Once upon a time Milly-Molly-Mandy was out playing at horses with little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt.

  There was a clearing in the woods near the nice white cottage with the thatched roof, where Milly-Molly-Mandy lived, and they had found some fallen branches and were galloping astride them along a mossy track.

  Then Billy Blunt saw a low-growing branch of a tree which he climbed on, and sat bouncing up and down exactly like real horse-riding. Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan had to stop and watch him, till he let them each have a go.

  Then he said firmly, “Now it’s my turn.” And he got on again and bounced solemnly up and down, while Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan pranced around on their sticks.

  (Horse-riding is very good exercise!)

  Presently what did they hear but a thudthudding sound, like real horses’ hoofs. And what did they see but five or six real horse-riders come riding along down the mossy track.

  “Oh, look!” cried Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “Live horses!” cried little-friend-Susan.

  “Mind yourselves!” called Billy Blunt, from his tree.

  So they stopped well to one side as the horses passed in single file, hoofs thudding, harnesses creaking, breaths snorting.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy and little-friend-Susan and Billy Blunt hardly looked at the riders till one small one in fawn knee-breeches turned her head and said, “Hullo!” to them.

  It was the little girl Jessamine, who lived at the Big House with the iron railings near the cross-roads.

  “Well!” said Milly-Molly-Mandy, as the party cantered out into the road towards the village, “fancy Jessamine having a real horse!”

  “Isn’t she lucky!” said little-friend-Susan.

  “It’s the riding school,” said Billy Blunt. “She’s learning riding.”

  Somehow, their pretend-horses didn’t seem quite such fun now. Billy Blunt stopped bouncing and climbed down.

  “I wish we’d got real horses to ride on,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy.

  “So do I,” said little-friend-Susan.

  Billy Blunt said, “Well, what about your old Twinkletoes?”

  “He’s Grandpa’s pony,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy. “He isn’t meant for riding.”

  “He pulls their market-car
t,” said little-friend-Susan.

  “But he is a horse,” said Billy Blunt.

  Milly-Molly-Mandy stood and thought.

  “I don’t believe they’d let us ride him,” she said; “but we could ask, couldn’t we?”

  “Oh, do!” said little-friend-Susan.

  “No harm asking,” said Billy Blunt.

  So they all ran down the road to the nice white cottage with the thatched roof, into the kitchen, where Mother was busy ironing shirts.

  “Oh, look!” cried Milly-Molly-Mandy

  “Oh, Mother!” asked Milly-Molly-Mandy. “Please may we go horse-riding on Twinkletoes?”

  “Well, now,” said Mother, “you’d better see what Father has to say!”

  So they ran outside to the barn, where Father was busy sorting potatoes.

  “Father!” asked Milly-Molly-Mandy. “Please may we go horse-riding on Twinkletoes?”

  “Why, where do you want to go?” asked Father. “Land’s End or John o’ Groats?”

  “Oh, no,” said Milly-Molly-Mandy (she wasn’t sure where either of those places were), “only just in the meadow, perhaps.”

  “Well, now,” said Father, “perhaps you’d better see what Grandpa has to say!”

  So they ran around to the stable, where Grandpa was busy mending a broken strap.

  “Grandpa!” asked Milly-Molly-Mandy. “Please may we go horse-riding on Twinkletoes?”

  Grandpa didn’t answer at once. Then he said slowly: “Well, you know, he’s not exactly used to folks sitting on him, is old Twinkletoes. But we might try!”

  So Grandpa tried putting a bridle on Twinkletoes and strapping an old blanket across his back for a saddle. Then he stooped to lift Milly-Molly-Mandy up.