Alice and Alfie and the magic windmill

by Lloyd Jennings

  The rag dolls walked up a wide stone staircase to a huge old wooden door. Alfie opened it slowly and they walked through into a big hall. At the end of the hall there were some puppets dressed as clowns. They were dancing to some music that was being played by two cats and their kittens. The cats were playing the drums and the kittens were playing whistle flutes. They asked Alice and Alfie to join in, Alice said, “We would love to.” and they danced and danced and danced.

  After a while dancing, the rag dolls sat down on a bench. They were so worn out. Then all of a sudden some trumpets blew and the kittens shouted, “It’s the PRINCE.” The prince entered and sat down at the top of a long table. The rag dolls noticed that he looked just the same as the wood the table was made of. He told Alice and Alfie that he was indeed made out of wood – he was the Wooden Prince. He said, “Where do you come from?” They told him about the windmill and he said, “That sounds magical. I would love to see this windmill, but because I am made out of wood, I cannot go outside as my joints will rot in the wet and rain and so I stay indoors with all my friends.”

  The prince invited the rag dolls to eat with him and as they ate he said, “Tell me more about your travels.”

  Alice and Alfie told him all about Nichole and about all their adventures. They talked for a long time until it was dark outside. The Wooden Prince said they could stay the night and showed them to their bedroom.

  Alice thanked him and they both fell fast asleep on a huge bed.

  Alice and Alfie were woken soon after by a tapping sound on the window. The rag dolls looked out to see a glowing light. It was the moon and he said Jacques was on his way home and they must leave. The moon told them, “Close your eyes and make a wish, count to three and twitch your noses.” In no time at all they were back at the windmill. Alfie quickly put the tent into the barn and rushed upstairs with Alice. They had just climbed onto the windowsill as Jacques turned up in the van. “That was close,” said the moon. “Nichole says goodnight. God bless and sleep well.”

  “Alice, we must go camping again. What fun!”

  It was the first cold day of December and Alice and Alfie woke to hear Jacques downstairs talking to someone. It was his friend François who had come to stay. Jacques said to him, “It is going to snow. I have a feeling in my bones.” he said.

  François replied, “I think you are right. We will have to get lots of logs in for the fire I will go and get the logs while you cook the breakfast.”

  Alice said to Alfie, “Do you know what they are talking about? What do they mean by snow?” Alfie was confused, “Perhaps it is a kind of wind.” That day it got colder and colder and Jacques lit a big log fire. The heat from the fire gradually crept upstairs where Alice and Alfie were sitting snugly on the landing. They heard Jacques say to François, “You can have my room as it is warmer,” and so François picked up his cases and went upstairs.

  Alice and Alfie ran to the bedroom window and lay very still as they always did. François put his clothes in the cupboard and as he turned he saw the toys on the windowsill and picked them up saying, “It is going to snow you know.” He put them back on the sill and went downstairs.

  Alice and Alfie jumped up and Alice said, “It is going to snow but what is snow?” Just then they looked out of the window and they were amazed at the white fluffy stuff falling to the ground. They heard Jacques shout to François. “There, I told you. It’s snowing.” Alice said, “That’s snow! Isn’t it beautiful?”

  That afternoon the snow fell more and more and Alice said, “It is getting deeper and deeper.” They looked through the window and saw Jacques and François go out of the back door. The two rag dolls saw them get handfuls of snow and squeeze them in their hands, making a ball, and then start throwing them at each other. After a while they came back in and sat by the big log fire to warm.

  Alice said, “I would love to do that.”

  Alfie replied, “Yes, let’s.” So they climbed down the ladder at the side of the window. The snow was still falling. They both thought it was magical and they started making snowballs too and threw them at each other.

  After a while they got so cold they decided to go into the barn where it was warmer. Alfie said, “Look what is hanging up on the wall.” It was a seat with a cord and a handle and some metal tracks. Alice said “Perhaps you can pull me on it in the snow?” Alfie pulled it outside and they went round to the back of the barn so Jacques and François could not see them.

  There was a little slope down to the riverbank, they both sat on the sledge and to their amazement they started to move. They went up and down on the little sledge all afternoon. It was brilliant. Later, as they were coming back up the hill they saw a large heap of snow in the distance. It was quite tall and it seemed to have a head, so they trudged over to it and as they walked around to the front Alice said, “What is it?”

  It had a carrot for a nose, and two large lumps of coal for eyes and a woollen scarf and hat. Alfie said, “It is made of snow and it is a man so we shall call him Mr. Snowman.”

  He looked so sad and so Alice tickled the snowman’s tummy and all of a sudden he came alive. Alfie said, “What is your name?” and the snowman replied, “I am Mr. Snowman.”

  Alice said, “Wow! We guessed his name.”

  The snowman told them he could not move. Alice was upset and sad. She said, “Alfie, can we take him back to our bedroom?” The snowman, shouted “No, no, no, if you take me back indoors I will melt and another year will have gone.”

  “Every year I get built and every year as it gets warmer I melt and disappear.”

  Alice said, “We will come and see you every day.” and the snowman said thank you to them both.

  The rag dolls both went to see Mr. Snowman every day, but little by little they saw that he was melting away. One day Alice and Alfie felt it was a lot warmer and the snow had started to melt. As they turned the corner they saw that the snowman had disappeared and only the carrot, the coal and the hat and scarf remained on the ground. Alice cried and cried and cried but Alfie said, “Don’t cry, Alice, he will be back again next year.”

  It was getting dark so they went back to the windmill and fell fast asleep. Shortly afterwards there was a tap on the window which woke them up. As the rag dolls looked up they saw that the moon was smiling down on them. For the first time the moon had bought a friend. It was a bright sparkling star, which they had never seen before.

  The moon told them, “The bright sparkling star is Nichole’s own star and she has a message for you that says, “I love you both very much.” The star twinkled away into the distance as Alice and Alfie went off to sleep with their dreams.

  ‘Alfie, I do hope Mr. Snowman is back next year.”

  Alice was awoken by lots of talking downstairs. She woke Alfie and they crept to the top of the stairs.

  They could see Jacques and François sitting at the table. In the doorway were Jacques’s brother and his wife and their two children. Jacques had invited them all for Christmas. Alice and Alfie did not know what Christmas was but they were about to find out.

  The children were called Melanie and Jerome. Jacques said there was a small room at the end of the kitchen and he would sleep in there. François was going home to his family for Christmas, so he said that Jacques’s brother’s family could have the two bedrooms upstairs.

  Melanie and Jerome ran upstairs to find their bedroom. The rag dolls had to drop to the floor at the doorway as they had no time to get to the windowsill. The children nearly tripped over them as they put their cases on the bed. Melanie and Jerome picked up the rag dolls. The children chose one each and laid them on their beds and then they ran back downstairs.

  Jacques went to the village to buy more food for the Christmas holiday. The family went outside to look at the windmill. Jerome went into the mill where he found a big wheel. Melanie said, “I don’t think you should touch that,” but being a boy, of course he did. Jerome turned the wheel very slowly and all of a sudden the windmill�
��s sails began to move. Jerome and Melanie ran outside and said to their mummy and daddy, “Look it’s magic. The sails are moving.” By this time Alice and Alfie were on the windowsill.

  They knew the windmill’s secret but could not tell the children.

  Jacques returned with the food for Christmas and in the back of his van was a big fir tree. They put it up in the lounge and put lights, tinsel and balls on it with chocolate toys. That evening after dinner, Jacques and the family went for a walk down to the river.

  Alice and Alfie crept downstairs. To their joy they found the magical tree. They sat down in front of the log fire and stared at the pretty tree in amazement. After a while they both fell fast asleep in front of the log fire and were still there when the door opened and the family arrived back. Alice and Alfie were fast asleep and Jerome and Melanie could not understand how they had got there. However, they decided to leave them by the fire as they looked so peaceful.

  The next morning there was a loud knock on the door which woke Alice and Alfie. Jacques went and opened the door and there was the postman with a large sack. He said, “Lots of post today for you, Jacques.” Jacques replied, “Yes, I have my family staying with me.”

  The postman wished him a Merry Christmas but Alice and Alfie still did not know what Christmas was.

  All day the rag dolls watched the family baking cakes and getting food ready for Christmas Day. Jerome said, “I cannot wait for tomorrow, I am going to get up really early,”

  “I am too.” Melanie replied.

  Jerome told his mummy and daddy that they were going to bed so they could wake up really early. They picked up the rag dolls and went to their room where they laid Alice and Alfie on their beds and fell fast asleep.

  After a while Alfie and Alice gently crept out of bed and went and sat on the windowsill. They saw the magical stars shining in the sky with one larger star shining over the windmill. All of a sudden, far away over the hills, they saw a sledge like thing. It was just like the one they played with in the snow but a lot bigger. It had six large reindeer pulling it with a smiling man in a red coat and a white beard riding on the back.

  Alice said to Alfie, “How can it fly?” Then before

  Alfie could reply the sleigh had landed on the roof of the windmill.

  The rag dolls rushed downstairs and to their surprise the red coated old man was laying presents around the tree. Alfie said, “Hello, who are you?”

  The man replied, “Ho, Ho, Ho, rag dolls that can talk! I’m Father Christmas. I can’t remember making you two. You must be very special.”

  “Wait a minute” he said, “Are your names Alice and Alfie?” They both nodded and said, “yes” together. “I have a special present for you; I will put it next to the other presents.” He told them. “I must go now.” And to their amazement he walked over to the chimney and flew up it so fast that as they looked out of the window he was already back on his sleigh and shouting “Ho, Ho, Ho and away we go,” and flying off into the distance. The rag dolls rushed back upstairs and got into bed.

  The next morning they heard the sound of children shouting, “It’s just what I wanted, what lovely toys.” Mummy, daddy and Jacques sat round the tree and opened their presents. Soon all the presents had been opened except one. Jacques picked up the present and read the tag, “It reads, for Alice and Alfie the rag dolls, all my love Nichole.” Jacques told the children to go and get the rag dolls from their bedroom and they sat them in front of the fireplace and then they opened the present. It was a poem that Nichole had written and put into a frame it read:

  Alice and Alfie Happy Christmas,

  I miss you so much,

  Keep huddled together,

  Keep warm and dry,

  I will be back some day,

  So do not cry.

  Thinking of the lovely time we spent

  together,

  At the windmill with sunny weather,

  My life is empty without you two,

  One day I will come to collect you.

  Love Nichole xx

  The children had a lovely Christmas. They put the rag dolls to bed with the poem between them. That night the moon shone bright. He said, “Alice and Alfie, Nichole says goodnight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

  One day there was a knock at the door and Jacques opened it. It was the local vicar. Jacques said, “Come in,” and they sat and chatted at the table in the kitchen. The vicar told Jacques that in two weeks time it was the village fair and sports day and he asked Jacques if he could help. Jacques always helped every year and said he would think of some things he could do and then get in touch with him.

  Alice and Alfie were at the top of the stairs and heard what was said. Alice said, “It sounds exciting. I hope we can go.”

  Alfie said, “There will be lots of children and we will have to be very careful.”

  The two weeks passed quickly and when the day came and Jacques loaded his van with lots of things that he had been making in the barn. Alice and Alfie climbed down the ladder by the side of the window and ran to the van and jumped into the bucket in the corner.

  Jacques drove through the woods where two pigeons were following the van going coo, coo. Alice waved to them and they flew down and landed in the back of the van. Alice and Alfie jumped out of the bucket and said, “Hello.” The birds said coo, coo. Alice said to them, “We are going to the village fair. Is that where you are going?” The birds replied that no, they couldn’t go to the fair because if they went they could be shot and that was why they were going to stay in the woods all day.

  Jacques drove right up to the village green. There was a fun fair and music was playing. It was a band of boys and girls playing drums, flutes and trumpets. Alice said to Alfie, “What a lovely sound.” The van came to a halt and Jacques started unloading the stall that he had built. He had painted it in lots of lovely colours and at the far end there was a big sign saying Coconut Shy. He put up wooden posts and bales of straw all the way round. He had two buckets of wooden balls that he had made and he stood them at the front of the stall.

  Jacques went back to the van to pick up the last bucket, but put it down quickly as it had a hole in the bottom.

  He decided to use the old bucket he had at the back of the van, the one that had had Alice and Alfie in it. They were lucky as he didn’t see them. Jacques needed the empty bucket to collect all the balls that would be lying around. Alice said, “We can’t stay in here,” so when nobody was looking they jumped out and ran around the back of the straw bales. All of a sudden there was a loud blast of trumpets and everybody knew the mayor had arrived for the grand opening.

  “LET THIS FAIR BE OPEN” announced the mayor and the crowds came running in. They were queueing up at Jacques’ stall and were paying for six wooden balls and within moments balls were being thrown everywhere. Alice popped her head up and was nearly hit by a wooden ball. Alfie said it was too dangerous to stay there and they should move to another stall.

  They crept around the back of the stalls until they found the gun shooting range. People were trying to knock down packets of sweets and toys with pellets fired from rifles.

  The rag dolls watched from behind the stall and once again nearly got hit, this time by wooden pellets.

  Alfie said to Alice, “Let’s find somewhere much safer.”

  Alice looked across the field and in the middle of the fair was an area with straw bales all the way round the edge. It was called the arena. It was the sports day area. There were little girls and boys playing a game called the egg and spoon race. They had to run with an egg on a spoon without letting it fall off. Across the way mummies and daddies were doing the sack race. They were trying to run and jump in sacks which the rag dolls thought very funny.

  Alice and Alfie were hiding behind two of the straw bales when a pony and trap went past. At the back of the trap there was a square box and blankets and hay for the pony. Alfie said to Alice, “Quick jump on the back,” which they did and had a great r
ide all the way round the fair and could see everything. They saw the merry-go-round, swings and a slide. All the children were having so much fun. The trumpets blew again and the mayor called to the children to go to the main arena for the maypole dancing. Alice said, “I would love to do that.”

  Suddenly they jumped off the trap and hid behind the straw bales again. As they looked into the arena they saw a large tall pole with dozens of silk ribbons hanging from it. As the children started running across to the maypole Alice jumped up and was dragged along with them. The children each grabbed one of the silk ribbons. Alice had the last one and nobody even noticed her as they danced round and round with the music playing. Alfie sat by a straw bale, laughing.

  Alice made sure that she ran back to Alfie before the children had finished.

  There was one more stall left which was the wooden skittles. The children were throwing wooden balls to knock the skittles down. Alfie looked at Alice and said, “No, you are not, we have got to get back.”